When the news arrived at Lahore of the complete overthrow of the Sikh army at Sobraon, the Ranee (Queen Mother) and her Durbar, or council, urged Rajah Gholab Singh to proceed immediately to the British camp, and entreat forgiveness in the name of the Lahore Government for the outrage which had been committed by the army; and at the same time endeavour to negotiate some arrangement for the preservation of the country from the utter ruin impending over it. The Rajah first stipulated that the Durbar and the chief officers of the army, as well as the members of the Punchayets, should sign a solemn declaration that they would abide by such terms as he might determine on with the British Government. This is said to have been immediately acceded to; and on the 15th, Rajah Gholab Singh, Dewan Deena Nath, and Fakeer Nooroodeen, arrived in the British camp, at Kussoor, with full credentials from the Maharajah, and empowered to agree, in the name of the Maharajah and the Government, to such terms as the Governor-General of India might dictate. The Rajah was accompanied by the Barukzie chief, Sultan Mahommed Khan, and several of the most influential Sirdars of the nation. Sir Henry Hardinge in his despatch dated "Camp Kanha, Cuchwa, Feb. 19th," stated, that he received the Rajah in Durbar as the representative of an offending Government, omitting the forms and ceremonies usually observed on the occasion of friendly meetings, and refusing to receive, at that time, the proffered nuzzurs and complimentary offerings. He briefly explained to the Rajah and his colleagues that the offence which had been committed was most serious, and that the conduct of the chiefs and army was most unwarrantable; that this offence had been perpetrated without the shadow of any cause of quarrel on the part of the British Government, in the face of an existing treaty of amity and friendship; and that, as all Asia had witnessed the injurious conduct of the Sikh nation, retributive justice required that the proceedings of the British Government should be of a character which would mark to the whole world that insult could not be offered to the British Government, and our provinces invaded by a hostile army, without signal punishment. The terms demanded and conceded were the surrender, in full sovereignty, of the territory, hill and plain, lying between the Sutlej and Beas rivers, and the payment of one crore and a half of rupees as indemnity for the expenses of the war; the disbandment of the existing Sikh army, and its reorganization on the system, and regulations with regard to pay, which obtained in the time of the late Maharajah Runjeet Singh ; the arrangement for limiting the extent of the force to be thenceforth employed to be determined on in communication with the British Government; the surrender to us of all the guns that have been pointed against us; the entire regulation and control of both banks of the river Sutlej, and such other arrangements for settling the future boundaries of the Sikh state, and the organization of its administration, as might be determined on at Lahore. It was likewise determined that the young Maharajah Dhuleep Singh should meet the Governor-General states as would tend to the benefit on the 18th, at Lulleeana, eleven miles from Lahore. On that day the Maharajah, attended by several chiefs, had an interview with Sir Henry Hardinge at the place appointed, and the following is his account of the reception: "As on the occasion of Rajah Gholab Singh's visit, I omitted the usual salute to the Maharajah, and curtailed the other customary ceremonies on his arrival at my tent, causing it to be explained that, until submission had been distinctly tendered by the Maharajah in person, he could not be recognised and received as a friendly prince. "Submission was tendered by the minister and chiefs who accompanied the Maharajah, and the pardon of the British Government was requested, on such conditions as I should dictate, in the most explicit terms; after which, I stated that, the conditions having been distinctly made known to the Minister Rajah Gholab Singh and the chiefs accredited with him, it was unnecessary to discuss them in that place, and in the presence of the young Maharajah, who was of too tender an age to take part in such matters; and that, as all the requirements of the British Government had been acquiesced in, and their fulfilment promised in the name of the Maharajah and Durbar, I should consider myself justified in treating the young Maharajah from that moment as a prince restored to the friendship of the British Government. After some remarks regarding the fame and character of the late Maharajah Runjeet Singh, and a hope that the young prince would follow the footsteps of his father, and my desire that such relations should henceforward exist between the two of both, I broke up the Durbar. "On his taking leave, I caused the customary presents to be made to the Maharajah; and, on his retiring from my tent, the usual salute was fired from our 24pounders, drawn up at the bottom of the street of tents for that purpose." The remains of the Sikh army, after the battle of Sobraon, retreated under the command of Sirdar Tej Singh and Rajah Sall Singh, in the direction of Lahore, and were encamped at Raebam, about eighteen miles east of Lahore, when the British troops approached that capital. On the 20th of February our army appeared beneath the walls, and the Maharajah, who had since his interview with the Governor-General accompanied the British Camp, was conducted to his palace by an escort of our troops. When he had reached the inner door of his palace, in the interior of the citadel, a salute of twenty-one guns was fired by the British Horse Artillery, and the escort returned to the camp. It was remarked at the time that not a gun appeared upon the walls, and all the embrasures were empty. On the 22nd a brigade of British troops, under the personal command of Sir Hugh Gough, occupied the citadel of Lahore, and the Governor-General then issued the following general order : "Foreign Department, Camp, Lahore, February 22, 1846. "The British army has this day occupied the gateway of the citadel of Lahore, the Badshahee Mosque, and the Hoozooree Bagh. The remaining part of the citadel is the residence of His Highness the Maharajah, and also that of the families of the late Maharajah Runjeet Singh, for so many years the faithful ally of the British Government. In consideration of these circumstances, no troops will be posted within the precincts of the palace-gate. The army of the Sutlej has now brought its operations in the field to a close, by the dispersion of the Sikh army, and the military occupation of Lahore, preceded by a series of the most triumphant successes ever recorded in the military history of India. The British Government, trusting to the faith of treaties, and to the long subsisting friendship between the two States, had limited military preparations to the defence of its own frontier. Compelled suddenly to assume the offensive, by the unprovoked invasion of its territories, the British army, under the command of its distinguished leader, has in sixty days defeated the Sikh forces in four general actions; has captured 220 pieces of field artillery; and is now at the capital, dictating to the Lahore Durbar the terms of a treaty, the conditions of which will tend to secure the British provinces from the repetition of a similar outrage. "The Governor-General, being determined, however, to mark with reprobation the perfidious character of the war, has required, and will exact, that every remaining piece of Sikh artillery which has been pointed against the British army during the campaign shall be surrendered. "The Sikh army, whose insubordinate conduct is one of the chief causes of the anarchy and misrule which have brought the Sikh State to the brink of destruction, is about to be disbanded. "The soldiers of the army of the Sutlej have not only proved their superior prowess in battle, but have on every occasion, with subordination and patience, endured the fatigues and privations inseparable from a state of active operations in the field. The native troops of this army have also proved that a faithful attachment to their colours and to the company's service is an honourable feature in the character of the British Sepoy. The GovernorGeneral has repeatedly expressed, on his own part and on that of the Government of India, admiration and gratitude for the important services which the army has rendered. The Governor-General is now pleased to resolve, as a testimony of the approbation of the Government of India of the bravery, discipline, and soldier-like bearing of the army of the Sutlej, that all the generals, officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates, shall receive a gratuity of twelve months' batta. Every regiment which, in obedience to its orders, may have remained in posts and forts between Loodiana and Fe rozepore, and was not present in action-as in the case of the troops ordered to remain at Moodkee to protect the wounded, and those left in the forts of Ferozepore and Loodiana-shall receive the gratuity of twelve months' batta. Obedience to orders is the first duty of a soldier; and the Governor-General, in affirming the principle, can never admit that absence caused by the performance of indispensable duties, on which the success of the operations in the field greatly depended, ought to disqualify any soldier placed in these circumstances from participating in the gratuity given for the general good conduct of the army in the field. All regiments and individuals ordered to the frontier, and forming part of the army of the Sutlej, which may have reached Loodiana or Bussean before the date of this order, will be included as entitled to the gratuity. It now remained to adjust the terms of the treaty between the two Governments; and on the 8th of March this important instrument was signed in the GovernorGeneral's tent. The next day he held a public Durbar in great state, when the Maharajah, attended by his principal officers and a numerous suite, was present, and the treaty was ratified and exchanged with the usual ceremonies. The Governor-General then addressed the assembled chiefs in a speech which was translated to them as it was delivered. In the course of it he said "For forty years it was the policy of Runjeet Singh's time to cultivate friendly relations between the two Governments, and during the whole of that period the Sikh nation was independent and happy. Let the policy of that able man towards the British Government be the model for your future imitation. "The British Government in no respect provoked the late war. had no objects of aggrandizement to obtain by hostilities. The proof of sincerity is to be found in its moderation in the hour of victory. It "A just quarrel, followed by a successful war, has not changed the policy of the British Government. The British Government does not desire to interfere in your internal affairs. I am ready and anxious to withdraw every British soldier from Lahore. At the earnest solicitation of the Sikh Government, I have reluctantly consented to leave a British force in garrison at Lahore, until time shall have been afforded for the reorganization of the Sikh army, by which assistance the stipulations of the treaty may be more easily carried into effect. "In no case can I consent that the British troops shall remain in garrison for a longer period than the end of this year. 66 I state this publicly that all the world may know the truth, and the motives by which I am actuated in this matter.' The treaty consisted of sixteen articles, of which the following is a brief summary: 1. There is to be perpetual peace and friendship between the contracting parties. 2. All claim on the part of the Lahore Government to, or communication with, the territories lying to the south of the Sutlej, renounced. 3. The Maharajah cedes the sovereignty of all the country between the Beas and the Sutlej. 4. The Lahore Government, being unable to pay the full amount of indemnity demanded by the British, cede, as an equivalent for one crore of rupees, all the hill country between the Beas and the Indus, including Cashmere and Huzarah. 5. The Maharajah agrees to pay fifty lacs of rupees on or before the ratification of this treaty. 6. The mutinous troops of the Lahore army to be immediately disbanded; and the regular or Aeen Infantry regiments to be reorganized, and paid as in the time of Runjeet Singh. 7. The Lahore army to be limited for the future to twentyfive battalions of infantry of 800 bayonets each, with 12,000 cavalry. This number never to be exceeded without the concurrence of the British Government. 8. The thirty-six remaining guns which had been pointed against the British during the recent hostilities to be immediately surrendered to them. 9. The entire control of the rivers Beas and Sutlej, to the confluence of the Indus at Mikenkote, and the control of the Indus from Mikenkote to the borders of Beloochistan, shall, in respect to tolls and ferries, rest with the British Government. 10. British troops to be allowed to pass through the Lahore territories for the protection of the British territories, or those of their allies; due notice being given on the subject to the Lahore Government, who will afford facilities in forwarding supplies and boats for the passage of rivers. 11. The Maharajah never to take into his service any British subject, nor the subject of any European or American state, without the consent of the British Government. 12. Rajah Gholab Singh to be recognised as an independent sovereign over the territories which the British may make over to him. 13. All disputes between Gholab Singh and the Lahore Government to be referred to the British. 14. All change in the frontiers of the Lahore State prohibited without the concurrence of the British Government. 15. The British Government not to exercise any interference in the internal Administration of the Lahore State. 16. The subjects of either State, in visiting the territories of each other, to be on the footing of the VOL. LXXXVIII. subjects of the most favoured nation. In consequence of the neutrality observed by the powerful Chieftain Gholab Singh during the war, and his exertions to negotiate a peace between the British and Lahore Governments after the final catastrophe at Sobraon, the GovernorGeneral had determined to reward his conduct by raising him to the dignity of an independent Prince; and the object of the twelfth article of the treaty was to secure the recognition of his independence by the Lahore Government. The territory over which he was invested with dominion was defined in the first article of a separate treaty, which was concluded on the 16th of March, between him and the British Government, at Neuritzur. It was as follows:- Article I.-The British Govern ment transfers and makes over for ever, in independent possession, to Maharajah Gholab Singh, and the heirs-male of his body, all the hilly or mountainous country, with its dependencies, situated to the eastward of the river Indus and westward of the river Ravee, including Chumba and excluding Lahool, being part of the territory ceded to the British Government by the Lahore State, according to the provisions of Article IV. of the treaty of Lahore, dated the 9th of March, 1846. The only other articles which it is material to notice are the following: Article III.-In consideration of the transfer made to him and his heirs, by the provisions of the foregoing articles, Maharajah Gholab Singh will pay to the British Government the sun of seventy-five lacs of rupees (Nanuckshahee), fifty lacs to be [2 B] |