1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 255
2 of being finished within- four months. The cir-
3 cumstance, therefore, of the war being carried on,
4 on the left bank of the Sutlej, was the chief cause
5 of the shortness of its duration.
6 The features of the. campaign are, therefore, reatures of
7 readily accounted for, and need not surprise any he wares,
8 one who takes the trouble of inquiring into all the
9 bearings of the case; and we trust the details given
10 in the present work will enable those who take an
11 interest in the affairs of the Sikhs to understand
12 their present position and future prospects ; regard-
13 ing both of which, however, a few observations may
14 be offered:—_- °
15 The kingdom of the Punjab, as established by The kingdom
16 . . . of the Punjab
17 the conquests of Runjeet Singh, no longer exists. broken up.
18 It has been shorn of its fairest territories ; the Bist
19 Jalindhur, looked upon as the garden of the Punjab,
20 has been ceded to the British. The states on the
21 left bank of the Sutlej, formerly owning the supre-
22 macy of Lahore, have-been confiscated by the same
23 power, and the beautiful province of Cashmere has
24 been sold to Goolab Singh, a vassal of Lahore.
25 What, it may be asked, now belongs to the go- The Punjab,
26 vernment of Lahore? We have taken the richest jane
27 Doab of which the Punjab can boast. The country “"*
28 no longer lays claim to five rivers; it is bounded
29 on the east by the Beas, and on the west by the
30 Indus. But all the hillor mountainous tracts have
31 been yielded up; not only those included in the
32 Bist Jalindhur, but likewise those from the Beas to Goclab Singh
33 an indepen-
34 the Indus; and over this last tract, Goolab Singh dent seve-
35 reign.