A History Of The Sikhs

joseph Davey Cunningham, · 1849 · Public domain (published pre-1930) · archive.org ↗

1Chap. IX.] THE WAR WITH THE ENGLISH.

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3On the night of the victory some regiments were i845,i846.

4pushed across the Sudlej opposite Feerozpoor — no '

5enemy was visible — and on the 12th February the

6fort of Kussoor was occiipied without opposition. On

7the following day the army encamped under the walls

8of that ancient town, and" it was ascertained that the

9Sikhs still held together to the number of twenty thou- occupation

10sand men in the direction of Amritsir. But the power of Lahore,

11of the armed representatives of the Kbalsa was gone ;

12the liolders of tr(‘asure and food, and all the munitions

13of war, had first passively helped to defeat them, and

14then openly joined the enemy; and the soldiery readily

15assented to the requisition of the court that Golab Singh,

16their chosen minister, should have full powers to treat

17with the English on the already admitt(‘d basis of re-

18cognising a Sikh government in Lahore. On the 15th

19of the month the Kaja and several other chiefs were

20rcc(‘ived by tlie Governor (ieneral at Kussoor, and they

21were told that Dlmleep Singli would continue to be

22regarded as a friendly sovereign, but that the country

23between the Beeas and Sutlej would be retained by the

24conquerors, and that a million and a half sterling must

25be paid as some indemnity for the expenses of the war,

26in ord(‘r, it was said, tliat all might hear of the

27punishment which had ov(‘rtaken aggressors, and be-

28come fully aware that inevitable loss followed vain

29liostilities with the unoffending English. After a long

30discussion the terms were reluctantly agreed to, the

31young Muharaja came and tendered his submission in

32pefson, and on the 20th February the British army

33arrived at the Sikh capital. Two days afterwards a

34portion of the citadel was garrisoned by English regi-

35ments, to mark more fully to the Indian world that

36a vaunting enemy had been effectually humbled ; for

37throughout the breadth of the land the chiefs talked, in

38the bitterness of their hearts, of the approaching down-

39fall of the stern unluirmonizing foreigners.^

40• Compare the Governor General the 19th l^'ebruary, and 4th March,

41to the Secret Committee, under datev