Letter referred to in the despatch of the Governor-General, dated December 2, 1845:

The Secretary to the Government of India to the GovernorGeneral's Agent.

SIR,

Fort William, 25th January, 1845.

of

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of the copy your letter of the 15th instant*, addressed to the Commander-inChief, on the subject of the alarms which prevailed at Lahore when you wrote, and the movement of troops towards the Sutlej, in consequence of certain rumours of orders alleged to have been issued by the Commander-in-Chief at Umballa.

2. In the absence of information of the orders which may have been given by the Commander-in-Chief, and which probably his Excellency could not have avoided giving, the Governor-General in Council is disposed to attribute this manifestation of alarm in some measure to the successful intrigues of the party of Gholab Singh at Lahore, which party, by detaching a portion of the Sikh army towards the Sutlej, would weaken its efforts, then about to be directed in operations against that Rajah.

3. Another cause which may have had some weight in the above movement, may be the anxiety of the Lahore Government to get rid of an army which is more formidable to its friends than its enemies, from the immediate vicinity of the seat of Government; and it may be convenient to ascribe this movement to the orders for military preparations issued at Umballa.

4.-Be this as it may, the Governor-General in Council desires me to refer you to the letter, Secret Department, of the 10th instant, addressed to the Commander-in-Chief, of which a copy was sent with my despatch of the same date, No. 17, and to beg forthwith to state to the Durbar the exact truth, as follows:5.-That a barrack for a European regiment of infantry had for a length of time been ordered to be constructed at Ferozepore, of

you

* This letter is the next in this collection, p. 15.

which the foundations are already laid; that the GovernorGeneral in Council, perceiving during the autumn the state of weakness in which the Government of the Maharajah had been for some time, under his Highness Wuzeer Rajah Heera Singh, had postponed to give orders for the completion of this building, in order that no question might arise, exciting any doubt or jealousy of our intention on the part of the Government of the Maharajah or of the Sikh army.

6.—That the British force stationed at Ferozepore has remained of the same strength as before, notwithstanding the recent violent proceedings of the Sikh army against its own Government, which conduct it is unnecessary now to comment upon, otherwise than to repeat that it is conduct utterly repugnant to British feeling and British policy; and that this army has become so notoriously beyond controul, that the Governor-General in Council, always anxious to preserve the tranquillity of the Sikh states under his protection, will, under existing circumstances, now proceed to complete the buildings at Ferozepore according to his original intention, and also to reinforce that post by an additional force of native infantry.

7.-You are requested to impress on the Vakeel, that the same forbearance has been shown since the death of the Wuzeer Rajah Heera Singh, in order to evince the friendly feeling of the Governor-General in Council towards the Maharajah, in proof of which you will advert to the sentiments expressed in the Governor-General in Council's letter to your address, and which you were desired to convey as from yourself to the Vakeel of the 15th instant, stating that if any attempts be made by violent proceedings to bring about any change, such as the army proclaiming Peshwa Singh as successor to his Highness the Maharajah, whom the British Government has recognised, that you would not feel yourself justified in recognising, without special orders, a chief whose power had been acquired by such means.

8. You will observe to the Vakeel that, in despite of the friendly conduct of the Governor-General in Council, a portion

of the Sikh army has been moved towards the Sutlej, on the pretext of rumours from the cantonments of Umballa; and you will say, that the Governor-General in Council advises the Maharajah's Government to disregard rumours and newspaper reports, over which the Governor-General in Council exercises no controul.

9. You will impress upon the Durbar Vakeel that you possess the confidence of the Governor-General in Council, and that your instructions are to declare the truth plainly to His Highness's Government, reiterating the same sentiments as those conveyed by your predecessor, that the Governor-General in Council has a sincere desire to see a strong Government re-established at Lahore, such as that which existed at the time of our faithful ally, His Highness Maharajah Runjeet Singh.

10. Having taken the opportunity which this movement of Sikh troops towards the Sutlej so suitably affords, of declaring our intentions as to the military arrangements about to be made at Ferozepore, you will state that the British Government does not desire to interfere in the internal affairs of the Punjaub; that the Governor-General in Council regrets the embarrassments under which the Sikh Government at present labours, and sincerely trusts that they may be overcome by firmness and prudence.

11. In making these communications, you will modify them, if necessary, in reference to any events which have occurred in the interval which must unavoidably elapse before your receipt of them, taking care not to commit the Government of India to any line of action involving any principle of policy not in accordance with the spirit of your instructions.

12. You will continue to do everything in your power to convince the Government of Lahore of the good faith of the Govern ment of India, so as to enable the Sikh Government to direct the efforts of their army to the legitimate object of coercing its enemies; and, if the opportunity should occur, you will, without exciting any irritation, but in the most friendly terms, state that

the Governor-General in Council has, in consideration of the difficult circumstances in which the Government of the Maharajah is placed, and for other obvious reasons, hitherto forborne to make the unruly and ungovernable condition of the Sikh army a subject of formal remonstrance to the Maharajah. The GovernorGeneral in Council trusts that a returning sense of the duty which the army owes to the Maharajah may avert the necessity of his taking any such step, and that he may hear that which will be much more gratifying to him, that it has obediently marched against his Highness's enemies, and honourably fulfilled the true functions of an army, by supporting the just authority of its Sovereign and his Government.

13.-You will understand that this caution, although incidentally given, will be distinctly delivered. The state of this army, the Governor-General in Council observes, so close upon our frontier, may become an intolerable nuisance; and, although it would be a mockery to expect that the Lahore Government, in the state of anarchy and weakness in which it at present can scarcely be said to exist, can regulate the conduct of an army which exercises over that Government daily acts of coercion and tyranny; nevertheless, the Governor-General in Council deems it expedient that a notice, in the most guarded terms, should be given of the great inconvenience to which the British Government is exposed, and of which, if the Lahore Government was in a state of greater strength and responsibility, the Governor-General in Council would justly have cause to complain.

14. You will observe, in the letter of the Governor-General in Council to the Commander-in-Chief, of the 10th January, that the reinforcements, European and native, to be posted at Ferozepore, were not to be moved up by the Commander-in-Chief, unless on a report of an emergency from yourself; and that, in that letter to the Commander-in-Chief, the Governor-General in Council would be satisfied if the reinforcements were posted towards the end of March and April-so short a time before the river would become unfordable as to be no longer a source of

uneasiness to the Sikh Government, and at the same time placing our advanced post in that condition to be able to defend the post and the passage of the river, in which, under existing circumstances, it ought at all times to remain.

15.-I am directed to take this opportunity to send you a copy of papers, by which you will be apprised that two additional native regiments of infantry have been ordered up, making the additional four between Meerut and the Sutlej, one European regiment, two battalions of European artillery, seven regiments of native infantry, and one N. I. horse artillery.

16. This movement of the Sikh army towards the Sutlej and its mutinous ungovernable state, will be your answer to any questions which may arise as to British reinforcements arriving on the Sutlej or its immediate neighbourhood.

I have, &c.,

F. CURRIE.

SIR,

Letter referred to in the preceding Letter.

The Political Agent to the Commander-in-Chief.

Camp, Laskar-Khas-kee-Serai, January 15, 1845.

I have the honour to enclose, for your Excellency's information, a translation of an extract from Lahore intelligence received last night.

2. Coming immediately after the reports respecting European troops, which I had yesterday the honour of mentioning, this caused extreme excitement, and among other resolutions, one was to demand explanations from me. In order to enable me to meet these demands, if made, I beg that your Excellency will do me the favour of saying whether there has been any thing of the kind described as having occurred at Umballa, or whether the whole is not mere idle rumour.

3.-A second despatch, arrived this evening, brings further intelligence on this subject, and I regret that in consequence of