See Law, and Prisons. PUNJÁB.
The Punjáb, or more properly Panjáb, so called from the Persian words, panj, "five," ab, "water," in allusion to the five rivers, the Jilam¹ or Hydaspes, the Chenáb or Accines, the Ravi or Hydraotes, the Beah or Hypbhasis, and the Satej or Hysanrus, which water it, is bounded on the W. by the Sulaimán Mountains and that part of Afghanistan which adjoins the Khairar Pass, on the N., by the dominions of the Rájá of Jamú, on the E. by the Himálaya Mountains, and on the S. by the Satej. According to this limitation, the Panjáb does not coincide with the dominions of Ranjit Singh; the Jamú territory and Kashmir having been formed into an independent kingdom under Guláb Singh in March 1849, when the main portions of the Panjáb were annexed to the British empire. It is further to be observed that the portions then annexed are called the Panjáb proper, in contradistinction to two provinces, the Jalandar Doáb, or Trans-Satej states, with the adjoining hill district of Kangra, and the Cis-Satej states which had been annexed previously. The Cis-Satej states not properly belonging to the Panjáb, are excluded altogether from consideration here.
The Jalandar Doáb is the rich tract lying between the Beah and the Satej, or between N. Lat. 30° 57' and 32° 5', E. Long. 75° 4' and 76° 38'. It contains an area of 374 square miles; and Jalandar, the chief town, has a population of 40,000.
The Kangra Valley,² divided into three portions—the western or Rúl valley; the middle or Kangra valley, properly so called; and the eastern or Páhlem valley, is about 60 miles long, and averages 10 in breadth. These valleys are surrounded by hills. The complete area of the Kangra district, including both hills and valleys, has not been accurately ascertained.
The Panjáb proper extends from the 34th to the 29th degree of N. Lat., 344 miles in its greatest length, and from the 70th to the 75th meridian of E. Long., 293 miles in its greatest breadth. Its area is about 66,700 square miles. It is of a triangular shape, the apex being to the south, where the Panj-nad unites with the Indus. It is divided into four doábs or valleys, interjacent between two rivers. These doábs are—1. The Barz,³ between the Beah and Ravi; 2. The Rechmá, between the Ravi and the Chenáb; 3. The Chaj, between the Chenáb and the Jilam; and 4. The Sindh Ságár, between the Jilam and the Indus. Besides these doábs, the Hazára country and the Trans-Indus frontier must likewise be included in the Panjáb proper. The Hazára country has an area of 2500 square miles. It constitutes the extreme north-west angle of the Sindh Ságár Doáb. It consists of a series of valleys encircled by hills, the most remarkable of which are the Dond and Sati, on a spur of which latter range the sanatorium of Marri (Murree) was built in 1852, at the height of 7350 feet above the sea. In this delicious climate every kind of European and tropical fruit may be successfully cultivated. The station is fast becoming populous, and houses are rising in every direction. North-west of Hazára, and separated from it by the Indus, is the province of Peshawar, divided into the Yúsufzye country, Hashnagar, the Doáb, and Peshawar proper; the total area being about 2400 square miles. Yúsufzye is bounded on the south by the Indus, north and east by the Swát Mountains, and west by the Kábúl River, and the Melra, or desert, between it and Hashnagar. Hashnagar, or "Eight Cities," is a narrow but fertile tract on the Swát River, and has its name from eight large villages in that locality, of which the chief is Tungí. Doáb is inclosed by the Swát and Kábúl rivers. Peshawar proper is divided into two districts—one on the right bank of the Kábúl River, and adjoining the Khatak and Afridi Hills, which run down to a point at Atak; the other of a triangular shape, the base being the Khaiar Hills, and the two sides the Kábúl River and the Bara, one of its tributaries. South of Peshawar is Kohat, a valley 30 miles long, and on an average 4 miles broad. Its other boundaries are the Bannu valley to the south, the Wazirí and Bangash country to the west, and the ridges which overhang the Indus to the east, which are inhabited by the Khataks, a valiant Afghan tribe. The Kohat valley is continued by the valley of Hangu, 20 miles long by 3 broad, which opens into the plains of Miránzye. This plain is 9 miles square, and is bounded on the south-west by the Khurram River, 20 miles from where it emerges into the Bannu plain.
South of Kohat is the valley of Bannu, which is rich, fertile, and well irrigated. The capital is Dhaliqgarh, where there is a substantial fort with a cantonment. Still more to the south are the valley of Marwat, and the adjoining valley of 'Isa Khail, containing 45 villages. The Tánk valley comes next, and in fertility equals Bannu. South-east of Tánk is Derah Ism'áll Khán; 60 miles south of this, Derah Fath Khán; and 70 miles farther in the same direction, Derah Ghází Khán; all three formerly the camps of powerful Afghan chiefs who three centuries ago invaded the Panjáb. After passing Derah Ghází Khán, the country of the Biluchís is reached. Of these, there are the Ushtaranis, the Bozdarís, the Laghárís, Bugtís, Marís, and Ghurchánís, all valiant and refractory tribes.
The total area of the Panjáb, and the allied state of Jamu, is about 126,000 square miles.
The Panjáb is a country of extensive plains, but little General above the level of the sea, bounded on the N. and N.E. by aspects of hills which unite with the spurs of the gigantic Himalaya Mountains. The slope of the whole region is from N.E. to S.W., as is shown by the uniform course of the rivers. Jacquemont⁴ argues, from barometric and other observations, that the plain of the Panjáb is lower than that of Eastern Hindustán, and supposes that the beds of the rivers from the Jamú to the Indus are successively lower than one another.
According to Elphinstone⁵ the fertility of the Panjáb has been exaggerated; and, except near rivers, no part is comparable to the British provinces in Hindustán or Upper India, far less with Bengal. Of the four doábs cast of the Jilam, the two nearest that river are chiefly pasture grounds; the third, though most sterile, is best cultivated. The two former are flat, the latter undulating. To the east of the Jilam there is scarce a hill or a tree except the mimosa.
According to the General Report,⁶ "the face of the country presents every variety, from the most luxuriant
¹ McGregor's History of the Sikhs, p. 1. If the Indus be included in the five rivers, the Beah and Satej must be reckoned as one, which in fact they become in Lat. 31° 11', Long. 75° 4'. It is certain, however, that the Indus is not reckoned one of the five rivers by the natives, as the united rivers mentioned in the text, before their confluence with the Indus, are called Panjnad, which is equivalent to the Persian Panjáb.
² Selections from the Public Correspondence for the Affairs of the Panjáb, vol. i., p. 293 (Dr Jameson's Report).
³ It will be seen that the names of three of these Doábs are composed of composites taken from the names of the rivers that form their limits; thus, Barz takes B from Beah, and R from Ravi.
⁴ Voyage, v. 188.
⁵ Account of Kédul, §1.
⁶ On the Administration of the Panjáb, printed for the court of directors in 1854, p. 2. cultivation to the most sandy deserts, and the wildest prairies of grass and brushwood. A traveller, passing through those lines of communication which traverse the northern tracts, would imagine the Panjab to be the garden of India; again, returning to the road which intersects the central tracts, he would suppose it to be a country not worth annexing. The culture manifestly depends upon two causes—the lower Himalayan range and the rivers. From the base of the hills southward there stretches a strip of country from 50 to 80 miles broad, watered by mountain rivulets, and for fertility and agriculture unsurpassed in Northern India. In their downward course the rivers spread wealth and fruitfulness on either side, and their banks are enriched with alluvial deposits, and fringed with the finest cultivation. These tracts, though unadorned with trees, and unrelieved by any picturesque features, are studded with well-peopled villages, are twice a year covered with waving harvests, and are the homes of a sturdy, industrious, and skilful peasantry. Within this tract are situated the sister capitals of Lahore and Amritsar, and most of the chief cities, such as Dinanagar, Battala, Sialkot, Wazirabad, Gujaránwál, Rámnagar, and Gujarat. Far different is the scene which meets the eye in the centre of the Bari, the Rechnah, and the Chaj Deábs. Here are interminable wastes, overgrown with grass and bushes, scantily threaded by sheep-walks and the footprints of cattle. These parts are chiefly tenanted by nomad pastoral tribes, who, knowing neither law nor property, collect herds of cattle, stolen from the agricultural districts. Here and there a hamlet stands alone in the wilderness, whose semi-barbarous inhabitants are the aborigines of the land." Around the homesteads are patches of good cultivation, for the soil repays irrigation, though water must be raised from a considerable depth. But there are many proofs that these regions were once thickly populated. Everywhere are the ruins of cities, villages, temples, tanks, and water-courses. Even now these tracts are not without their practical value. They yield an abundant supply of grass, on which vast herds of cattle and buffaloes, and flocks of sheep and goats, are pastured, and firewood is collected from them sufficient for the requirements of all the neighbouring towns and villages. Camels, too, in great numbers, are fed in these plains, and form the carriage for the traffic with Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan. The Sindh Ságár Doáb is far less productive, being in fact little better than a sandy desert, within which the famous fort of Mankhira is the only spot where men seem to have a fixed abode.
But the want of vegetable products in this doáb is more than made up by its richness in minerals. The line of mountains called the Salt Range present an inexhaustible supply of salt, which, at its western extremity, near Kalá-bagh, is thus described by Ephraimstone:—"The road beyond was cut out of the solid salt at the foot of cliffs of that mineral, in some places more than 100 feet high above the river. The salt is hard, clear, and almost pure. It would be like crystal were it not in some parts streaked and tinged with red. In some places salt springs issue from the foot of the rocks, and leave the ground covered with a crust of the most brilliant whiteness. All the earth, particularly near the town, is almost blood-red; and this, with the strange and beautiful spectacle of the salt rocks, and the Indus flowing in a deep and clear stream through lofty mountains past this extraordinary town, presented such a scene of wonder as is seldom to be witnessed." The Cis-Indus salt mines, seven in number, have long been known, and are mentioned in the Ayin-i Akbari. Burnes states that in 1832 the quantity of salt dug out was 80,000,000 lb. The salt is either found cropping out in all directions, or else lies in strata, commencing near the surface, and extending downwards in deep veins of inexhaustible fecundity. The salt is brought to the mouth of the mine for less than 2 áás (3d.) a man of 80 lb., but is sold at the government depot at 2 áás. The mines now worked are five,—Khewra, near Pind Dádan Khán (which is the principal one), Makrách, Sardí, Chúá Varchá, and Kárá-bagh. The total yield for 1851 was 51,249,440 lb.; for 1855–6, 77,268,800 lb., yielding a revenue of L193,000. In 1857–8 the revenue from the salt mines was L207,500. The mineral in all its varieties is a nearly pure chloride of sodium with a trace of sulphate of lime. For consumption it requires no preparatory process, except pounding. It is of excellent flavour and purity, of transparent brilliance and solid consistency; but it assumes a reddish hue, when, as is sometimes the case, veins of iron lie adjacent to the strata. The Trans-Indus salt has a darker tinge than the Cis-Indus, and is generally of inferior quality. Some useful works have lately been executed to facilitate the mining operations. Roads have been cut, and a gallery carried through the heart of the mountain to the Longewala, the chief of the Khewra mines. Fresh water has also been brought to the mines by a canal, as the miners suffered greatly from the use of brackish water in former years.
The mountains in the Panjab increase gradually in height as they approach the Himalaya. In Kangra, for example, the greatest altitudes are between 3000 and 4000 feet. Thus, Barwánáh, about 20 miles E. of Kangra, is 3198 feet high; Baijáth, 15 miles E. of Barwánáh, 3357; and about 30 miles E. of this, again, are the snowy peaks, of which the nearest are 14,856, and the more remote 16,017 feet high. Beyond these, again, are the Great Himalaya, rising to from 20,000 to 25,000 feet.
In the Rajá of Janná's country, in N. Lat. 33.20., E. Long. 73.50., is the isolated peak of Chan Mukh, 4461 feet high. Not very far to the N. the barrier-line of mountains on the S. of Kashmir is more than double this altitude. Thus, Tikhar peak, in this range, is 16,305 feet; the Barina Sákáh is 15,483 feet; the Kohárdwáh, 12,746 feet; and the Dédgun Mountain is 14,952 feet. In the N.W. angle of the Panjab, where the province joins the Afghan hills, the heights range from 4000 to 8000.
The Panjab is a land of many rivers. Of these, the Rivers most eastern, the Sátlej, has its source in Thibet, in N. Lat. 30.8., E. Long. 81.53., and after a course of 550 miles, receives the Beál near Hareki, in Lat. 31.12., Long. 75.3., whence the united stream of the two rivers is called Ghárá, until it joins the Chenáb, after which it bears the name of Panjnad to its confluence with the Indus, a distance of 60 miles. The Beál, which comes next, following the order from S.E. to N.W., rises in Lat. 32.24., Long. 77.12., and joins the Sátlej after a winding course of 290 miles. The next stream in the same direction is the Rávi, which rises in a lake in the Himalayas, in Lat. 32.30., Long. 77.1., and after a tortuous course of 420 miles, runs into the Chenáb. The Chenáb rises in Lat. 32.48., Long. 77.27., and after a course of 600 miles unites with the Jilam at Trimu Ghláh. From this point it is called the Trimbáh. It receives the Rávi after a further course of 50 miles, and after 110 miles more the Ghárá. Hence to the Indus it is called the Panjnad or "Five Rivers," being the united streams of the Beál, the Sátlej, the Rávi, the Chenáb, and the Jilam. The Jilam rises in Kashmir, and, as above mentioned, joins the Chenáb after a course of 490 miles. The Indus, which is properly the boundary of the Panjab to the W., washes the confines of the province for 500 miles, in a course nearly due S. from Darband to its confluence with the Panjnad, a few miles N. of Mithankot.
The canals in the Panjab are classed under two heads,—Inundation canals, which are full during the latter part of spring, the summer and autumn, and empty during the winter. The fertility of the province, particularly of the S.W. portion, depends greatly on these canals, which, though individually insignificant, are in the aggregate of great importance. Permanent canals are full all the year round, and are adapted for navigation as well as irrigation. Of these, the principal is the Bari Doab Canal, running from N. to S. right down the centre of the tract between the Ravi and Sutlej. It leaves the Beah exactly in Lat. 32°, about 9 miles E. and by S. of Ghordaspur, and passing 3 miles to the E. of Amritsar, enters the Ravi in 30° 32' between Chichawatni and Burji. This is called the main branch, and is 265 miles long. It throws off 28 miles S. of the place, when it leaves the Beah, a branch to the W. called the Láhór branch. This will be 74 miles long, and of this distance 60 miles have been excavated. There are to be two eastern branches, one of which, called the Kassir branch, is to be 84 miles long, and of this about 30 miles are finished; the other is an offshoot of the Kassir branch, and when finished will be 61 miles long. At intervals of 2½ miles above Láhór, and of 4 miles below that latitude, there will be bridges, in all 115. The main channel is 120 feet broad, and 8½ deep. After the divergence of the Kassir branch it is 85 feet broad, with the same depth; and after the Láhór branch leaves it, 68 feet wide and 4½ deep. The last report on the administration of the Panjáb speaks of only 133 miles of the main branch being opened by the present year, down to the tail of the Láhór branch. It adds that the canal is eventually to be carried to Tolamba, near Multán. In connection with the canal, 500 miles of road have been completed, and 440,000 trees have been planted along its banks. Permanent workshops are in course of erection at Mādhipur, the canal head station. The total cost of this grand canal is estimated at L1,350,000 sterling. The Hasl Canal was made in 1633 A.D. by command of Shah Jahán, to supply the royal gardens near Láhór. When the Sikhs rose to power they carried a branch from it to Amritsar. It has a winding course of 110 miles, and is from 50 to 15 feet broad, from 7 to 2 feet deep. In the Pák Patan district of the Bari Doab is the Khánwa Canal, 54 miles long. The canals in the Multán districts are particularly numerous.
Up to May 1854 roads to the extent of 5229 miles had been constructed, at a cost of L545,000. Since that time very great progress has been made. The Panjáb section of the grand trunk road from Calcutta to Peshawar is the most important. This would probably have been nearly finished ere this, but owing to the mutinies and the expenses they entailed, no progress worth mentioning has been made during the last two years. The portion from Firázpur to Láhór, 45 miles, is still unfinished. Much remains to be done on the part from Láhór to Peshawar; and, according to the estimates, L353,000 are required to complete the works, and the whole road will then have cost £1 million. Along this road the main forces of the Panjáb army are massed; and its military and commercial importance cannot be exaggerated. Minor roads have been made in many directions; and since May 1854 the extent of new-made roads amounts to 3542 miles.
The first sod of the intended railway between Láhór and Amritsar, a distance of 35 miles, was turned by Sir J. Lawrence on the 8th of February 1859. Amritsar is the northern terminus of the Multán and Láhór Railway, which will join or cross the Great North-Western line between Calcutta and Peshawar. From Multán to Karáchi, the port of the Indus in Sindh, 425 miles, the communication will be continued in the first instance by steamers to Haidarabad, the capital of Sindh, 302 miles, and thence by rail to Karáchi. Ultimately the railway will be continued from Multán to Haidarabad. By this line the whole commerce of the Indus valley will be drained. In a military and political view, the line between Láhór and Peshawar, as yet uncommenced, is of hardly less importance.
The climate of the Panjáb is very trying to European constitutions. In the northern parts the fall of rain exceeds that at Delhi, but towards Multán there is hardly any at all, and in the central districts the rain is scanty. The average fall for the whole province was in 1853-54 only 39·38 inches; in 1854-55, 23·84; and in 1855-56, 15·18 inches. The general character of the climate may indeed be inferred from a well-known oriental couplet, often quoted by natives:—
"Deaf, beggars, dog-days, dead men's graves—these four Blessings, are the greetings of Láhór."
The months from October to March are pleasant; but during the rest of the year the heat is inconvenient, and at times almost insupportable. The thermometer then rises to 112° in a tent, with all cooling appliances. In the winter months, viz., December, January, February, the thermometer is some nights as low as 34°. In the northern and hilly parts it occasionally falls several degrees below the freezing-point. Fevers and ague are very common in the Panjáb, and may decidedly be attributed to the climate, the intense heat rendering the body susceptible of such complaints.
The beasts of prey ordinarily found in India are to be met with in the Panjáb. Tigers are not uncommon. The lion, which was some years back occasionally seen, is now extinct. Panthers, chitás, bears, and hyenas, are by no means scarce; and lynxes, foxes, jackals, otters, martins, storks, nilgai, wild hogs, porcupines, deer, and monkeys are found, as in India; but wolves are very numerous, and in some years have committed great ravages, even entering the villages and carrying off the children. Of birds there are many varieties, particularly of water-fowl, such as pelicans, cranes, herons, and ducks; eagles, vultures, hawks, pheasants, jungle-fowl, peafowl, parrots, partridges, quails, snipe, magpies, hoopoes, pigeons, doves, the bulbul, kokil or Indian cuckoo, and bats are also seen in great numbers. Alligators and the sharp-snouted porpoise of the Indus are plentiful in the rivers, which abound with fish, particularly with the pallá, which in flavour somewhat resembles the salmon. Snakes are rather common, and some kinds, as the cobra, are deadly. The silk-worm thrives; and the bees produce honey of the finest quality. Amongst domestic animals, the horse is very much cared for, and the breed is fine. Great herds of buffaloes are fed on the rivers' banks; and the camel seems to find the country and climate congenial.
About one-fourth of the whole area of the plains is under cultivation, but the cultivated land is now continually increasing. The crops are much dependent upon rain; and, besides, in most places constant irrigation from wells or canals is requisite. The great staples are cereals, three-fourths of the produce consisting of wheat, barley, Indian corn and maize of all sorts, and rice. In various districts sugar of excellent quality, gram (Cicer arietinum), cotton, indigo, linseed, turnips, pepper, tobacco, turmeric, poppy, hemp, and vegetables are largely grown, and one or other of these crops in detailed patches is to be found everywhere. All these miscellaneous products, however, united, do not cover more than one-fourth of the cultivated area, the rest being occupied by cereals. There is vast pasturage; and enormous numbers of sheep, goats, camels, and horned cattle are supported on it. Wheat is exported to the Mauritius; and upwards of 5000 tons of produce are annually carried from the Panjab down the Indus, consisting of cereals, indigo, sugar, cotton, flax.
In the Kangra valley, at Nagrota and at Bowarnah, in the eastern portion of the valley, are tea plantations, and excellent Pouchong, Souchong, and Bohea are made there. At Holia, in N. Lat. 32. and E. Long. 76.30., also in Kangra, another plantation has been formed. The height of the tract above the sea is from 3500 to 4000 feet; and the teas at this height are said to be very highly flavoured.
The cultivators of the Panjab are essentially peasant proprietors. There are no farmers or middle-men, and generally no great landlords. As a rule, each man owns and tills his own glebe, upon which he pays the revenue and pockets all the profits. In the Panjab one and the same man is usually absolute proprietor, and generally the sole cultivator, though he may occasionally lease out a few fields to tenants. He is saddled with no rents. He has to provide for the cost of cultivation and for the government demand; and the rest of the produce is his own. But these men, while maintaining their individuality, do yet belong to village communities. A village is not inhabited by a certain number of peasants, unconnected with each other, but by a number of persons of common descent, forming one large brotherhood, having their own headmen, accustomed to joint action and mutual support.
The Panjab beyond the Beah is divided for administrative purposes into five provinces. Between the Beah and the Satlej are the Trans-Satlej states, which may be viewed as one large province with five divisions. The whole country may be classed therefore under the following heads, the order being from S.E. to N.W.:—
| Division | Area in Square Miles | Revenue | Population | Pop. per Sq. Mile | |----------|----------------------|---------|------------|------------------| | TRANS-SATLEJ STATES | | | | | | 1. Kangra | | | | | | 2. Hushyarpur | | | | | | 3. Phagwara | 6,791-83 | 339,129 | 2,273,037 | 334-67 | | 4. Jalandar | | | | | | 5. Kapurthala | | | | | | PANJAB PROPER | | | | | | 1. Lahore | 11,627-88 | 431,711 | 3,458,694 | 297-41 | | 2. Multan | 15,494-00 | 237,736 | 971,175 | 62-68 | | 3. Leela | 15,271-70 | 169,666 | 1,122,621 | 73-50 | | 4. Jilam | 10,761-22 | 237,730 | 1,762,488 | 165-35 | | 5. Peshawar | 7,588-30 | 95,164 | 847,695 | 111-70 | | NATIVE STATES | | | | | | 1. Trans-Satlej principalities | 5,316-00 | 81,828 | 498,163 | 54-68 | | 2. Maharaja Ranbir Singh's territories | 60,000-00 | 800,000 | 3,000,000 | 50-00 | | Total | 138,851-13 | 2,402,958 | 16,933,673 | 136-246-25 |
From this calculation the Cis-Satlej states and principalities, and Bhawalpurd, and the hill states near Simla, are excluded. They are given in the Panjab Reports; but not properly belonging to that country, are here omitted.
The following table gives the income and expenditure for the three years from 1855 to 1858 of the Panjab territories, including the Cis- and Trans-Satlej states:—
| Year | Income | Expenditure | Surplus | |------|--------|-------------|--------| | 1854-5 | L.2,012,693 | L.1,632,974 | L.379,719 | | 1855-6 | L.2,937,779 | L.1,650,007 | L.387,772 | | 1856-7 | L.2,053,071 | L.1,766,076 | L.286,395 |
The various sections of the income and expenditure for the last of these years were as follows:—
**Revenue, 1857-8**
| Ordinary | | | |----------|-----------------|-----------------| | Land tax | L.1,546,752 | | | Excise and stamps | 275,123 | | | Nuzrath tribute, &c. | 42,025 | | | Postal, &c. | 31,894 | | | Miscellaneous | 47,552 | | | Toshakhana | 9,976 | | | **Total ordinary** | L.1,953,322 | | | Extraordinary | 522 | | | Local funds | 99,227 | | | **Grand total** | L.2,033,071 | |
**Expenditure, 1857-8**
| Ordinary | | | |----------|-----------------|-----------------| | General | L.60,421 | | | Judicial | 229,985 | | | Revenue | 148,673 | | | Excise and stamps | 31,508 | | | Postal, &c. | 152,485 | | | Miscellaneous | 40,601 | | | Military | 771,704 | | | Toshakhana | 9,923 | | | **Total ordinary** | L.1,451,200 | | | Extraordinary | | | | Settlement and survey | 15,942 | | | Public works | 224,984 | | | Miscellaneous | 3,643 | | | **Total extraordinary** | L.244,579 | | | Local funds | 70,897 | | | **Grand total** | L.1,766,676 | |
The expenditure for the year 1857-8 was considerably affected by the unsettled state of the country at that time. There was an increase of 8 per cent. on judicial charges for extra police; and on the other hand there was a more than corresponding reduction in public works. In military charges the difference was great; some 77 lakhs being charged this year, instead of 50 lakhs in the preceding years. It is to be observed, however, that the income did not materially fall off during that year. Under the expenditure are included all charges for civil and political establishments, works of public improvements, &c., but not charges for the regular army or the construction of cantonments. The outlay on public works for the last two years, together with the total previous expenditure, was as follows:—
| Year | Income | Expenditure | Surplus | |------|--------|-------------|--------| | 1856-7 | L.2,053,071 | L.1,766,076 | L.286,395 | | 1857-8 | L.2,033,071 | L.1,766,676 | L.266,395 |
In the Trans-Satlej states the only town of any importance principal is Jalandar, which contains a population of about 40,000. In cities, the Lahore division the two principal cities are Lahore and Amritsar. Lahore, in N. Lat. 31. 36., E. Long. 74. 21., is situated a mile E. of the Ravi River. It is surrounded by a fortification 7 miles in circuit. The citadel is on the N.W. angle of the city, and contains vast magazines of stores. There are many fine mosques, of which the Padshah masjid, built by Aurangzeb, and the mosque of Vazir Khan, are the most remarkable. Three miles to the west, across the Ravi, is the mausoleum of Jahangir, quadrangular, with a minaret 70 feet high at each corner, and built of red sandstone. About the same distance to the N.E. is the famous garden of Shah Jahán, called the Shalimar, or "House of Joy." It contains 450 fountains, and has three terraces rising one
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1 General Report from 1854-55 to 1855-56, p. 72. Panjab, above the other. The population of Láhór is reckoned at 95,000. This city was taken by Mahmúd of Ghazni in 1009, and in 1152 became the capital of the Ghaznivite dynasty. In 1186 it was taken by Sáhib-ud-Dín, of the House of Ghor, and in 1233 by Bábár. In 1748 it fell into the hands of Ahmad Sháh Durrání; and in 1799 Ranjit Singh was made governor by Zamán Sháh, and soon established his independence.
Amritsir ("The Fount of Immortality"), in N. Lat. 31. 40., E. Long. 74. 45., is situated about 30 miles E. of Láhór. It has its name from a sacred tank made by Rámdás, the fourth guru, or spiritual teacher of the Sikhs, in 1651. The tank is 150 paces square, and is filled with beautifully clear water. In the centre is an island with a temple to Vishnu, which blazes with gold and ornaments. The trade of the place is very great, and some of the richest merchants in India reside here. One of this class about twenty-five years ago established a banking-house at St Petersburg, and died worth millions of rubles. The city is completely commanded by the huge fortress of Govindgarh, built by Ranjit Singh in 1809, under the pretence of protecting the sacred spot, but in reality to overawe the turbulent multitudes that assembled there. The population of Amritsir is reckoned at 90,000. Siyálkot, in N. Lat. 32. 29., E. Long. 74. 33., with 20,000 inhabitants; Rámnagar, in N. Lat. 32. 20., E. Long. 73. 50., a large town; Wazírábád, with 17,000 inhabitants, in N. Lat. 32. 27., E. Long. 74. 10.; and Gujaránwála, in N. Lat. 32. 10., E. Long. 74. 13., the original residence of Ranjit Singh's family, are also in this division. Wazírábád is the handsomest town in the Panjab, having been rebuilt on a regular plan, with wide streets and a fine bázar, by General Avitabile.
In the Multán division the city of that name is the only one of great note. It stands in N. Lat. 30. 12., E. Long. 71. 30., 3 miles E. of the Chenáb. According to Burres, its name is properly Mallithan ("The City of the Malii"), taken by Alexander. It is more certain that it was captured by Muhammad-bin-Kásím in the close of the eighth century, by Mahmúd of Ghazni at the beginning of the eleventh, and by Timur in the fourteenth. In 1828 it was stormed by Ranjit Singh with great slaughter on both sides. The conqueror is said to have lost 10,000 men out of 25,000 during the siege, and the garrison of 3000 Afgháns were all put to the sword. In 1848 the Governor Móráj murdered two British officers, which led to the campaign in which Major Edwarde so much distinguished himself. On the 2d of January 1849 the city was taken by General Whish; and the citadel surrendered on the 22d. The population is reckoned at 81,000.
The towns in the province of Leía are none of them very large or populous, but their size and population are increasing with most rapid strides, and under the peaceful rule of the English it may be predicted they will soon grow up into great cities. Leía, in N. Lat. 30. 57., E. Long. 71. 4., has now 15,000 inhabitants, though Elphinstone in 1807 describes it as a poor place, of about 500 houses; but situated in the midst of a country producing great quantities of indigo, sugar, silk, and cotton, and being on one of the principal roads from India to Afgánistán by the Kahíri ferry, the trade of Leía, both direct and transit, is very great. In the Deraját, the slip of country across the river from Leía, and between the Indus and the Sulaimán Mountains, the principal towns are Dera Gházi Khán, in N. Lat. 30. 4., E. Long. 70. 54.; Dera Fath Khán, in N. Lat. 31. 9., E. Long. 70. 50.; and Dera Isma'il Khán, in N. Lat. 31. 50., E. Long. 70. 58. These places were originally, about three centuries ago, mere encampments of Bilífch chiefs, but grew up into towns, and are now places of great trade. Dera Gházi Khán has a population of about 15,000; the bázar containing 1600 shops, of which about 600 belong to weavers and cloth-sellers. The Lohání Afgháns carry on a brisk transit trade through this town. Of the other two Derás, that of Isma'il Khán has a population of about 10,000. The trade in grain and in salt from Kálá Bágh is very considerable; but the most important dealings are in cotton cloth, of which two millions of yards are annually sold here, while eighteen millions of yards pass through.
Jilam, in the division so named, is a large town on the right bank of the River Jilam, in N. Lat. 32. 56., E. Long. 73. 47. The steamers from Karáché are to ascend as far as this place. The river is crossed here in the cold season by a dangerous ford, which is 500 yards across, and has about 3 feet water running like a sluice. In December 1839, when the English army crossed here on their return from Kábúl, an officer and ten men were drowned at this ford. Pin Dádán Khán, in N. Lat. 32. 36., E. Long. 73. 5., also on the right bank of the Jilam, is a town with 14,000 inhabitants. It is close to the Salt range, and a vast quantity of salt is raised in the vicinity. Ráwal Pindi, in N. Lat. 33. 37., E. Long. 73. 6., between the Indus and the Jilam, has a population of 16,000, with a considerable transit trade. It is the capital of a large district. Here Sháh Shujá, on his expulsion from Kábúl, long resided, and a brick building erected by him is still dignified with the name of "The Palace."
Pesháwar, the capital of the division so called, lies in N. Lat. 34., E. Long. 71. 38. It is the portal of the Khaibar Pass, being 18 miles E. of the eastern extremity of that formidable defile. At the beginning of the present century the city was thought to contain 100,000 inhabitants; but it suffered much from Ranjit Singh, who, after his victory over the Afgháns at the battle of Naushahra, on the 14th of March 1823, sacked Pesháwar, demolished most of the fine buildings, and laid waste the surrounding country. The population at present is reckoned at 541,000, exclusive of a very strong British force in cantonments, numbering about 10,000 men.
The cradle of the Sikhs is the tract called the Mánjhá, or Races "Middle Land;" the Bari Doáb, between the Beálh and the Rávi; and to the south of the former river the district called Malwáh, around Bhútinda and Sunám. There are, however, in both the Mánjhá and Malwáh, many Bhattís, Dogras, Patháns, and Gujars, who are numerous everywhere in the Panjab, but came originally from Gujarát. In the territory of Rambir Singh the mass of the population are Dogras and Kanets to the east; while in the hills south of Kashmir, and west to the Indus, are Gikkars, Gujars, Khátirs, and Awáns. The people of Kashmir are a very mixed race; their language is Hindú, their faith that of Islam. Among the agricultural population Jats are numerous, and there are besides many wandering tribes, of whom the Changgárs are thought to be the same as the Zigeuners, Gitanos, or Gypsies.
The country through which the Indus flows is repeatedly mentioned in the Vedas. It was at the Vaidik era the abode of the Aryan nation, which was then passing slowly into India, which it now so completely occupies. The brief notices in the Vedas of the countries bordering on the Indus prepare the inquirer to believe the accounts of the teeming population and abundant resources those countries are said to possess in the chronicles of the campaigns of Alexander the Great. After Taxila and Abi-sares, kings of the most western part of the Panjab, had submitted, Porus, King of the Jech Doáb, encountered Alexander on the eastern shore of the Jilam. He had with him about 30,000 foot, 4000 horse, and 200 elephants; and his troops fought with a courage not inferior to that of their hardy descendants in these more recent times. It is impossible to trace the exact progress of the Macedonians after the defeat of Porus. Suffice it to say, that it was suc-
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1 Cunningham's History of the Sikhs, p. 164. 2 Ibid. p. 5. 3 Arrian, b. v. ch. xv. cessful, and that the Graeco-Bactrian kings exercised a powerful influence, if they did not actually govern, some provinces of the Panjab for centuries after the death of Alexander. The Musliman first made their appearance in the Panjab in the seventh century, when, under the generals of the Khalifah Walid, they conquered Multán. In 977 A.D., Sabuktigin, King of Ghazni, ravaged the Panjab, and subsequently several times invaded that country, over detached provinces of which he established his rule, as at Peshawar, where he left a governor. Mahmúd, son of Sa-buktigin, commenced his celebrated invasions of India in the year 1000 A.D. He repeatedly overran the Panjab, incorporated the province of Multán and some other districts with his dominions, took many cities and forts, including Láhor, and established a continuous rule over the greater part of the kingdom of the Five Rivers. In 1152 A.D. Bahrám, a descendant of Mahmúd, was expelled from Ghazni by Allah of the House of Ghor, but retained Láhor and his Indian dominions, which thus became a separate monarchy until 1184 A.D., when Muhammad Ghori, King of Ghazni, took Láhor from Khumrau II., and extinguished the so-called dynasty of Ghazni. His career of victory was terminated in 1205 A.D. by the Gikkars, a wild tribe who raised a rebellion in the Northern Panjab, and twenty of whom, having pledged themselves to destroy the king, forced their way into his tent at night, and stabbed him to death. From this date commenced the rule of the Pathán kings of India. Two of the great officers—Elduz and Kuth—succeeded Muhammad, and divided his empire; Elduz keeping all to the west of the Indus, and Kuth the Indian territories of which he was already viceroy. As he was originally a slave, the dynasty he founded was called that of the Slave Kings. Their capital was Delhi; and thenceforward the Panjab sank into a province, until raised by Ranjit into an independent kingdom. In order to trace the rise of the Sikh power, it is necessary to begin with the history of the founder of their religion. Nának, their first guru, or teacher, was born in 1549 A.D. at Talwandi, a village on the Ravi, above Láhor; or, according to one good authority,1 at Kánakish, 15 miles S. of Láhor. He died A.D. 1539 at Kartarpur, on the Ravi, 40 miles above Láhor, leaving many disciples or "Sikhs," a term which is now generally applied to all Hindú Panjábís. He taught belief in one God the Creator, self-existent, incomprehensible, sole, timeless, everlasting; that good deeds are nothing of themselves, and that the only true wisdom is the knowledge of God; that this knowledge is only attainable through the grace of God, but that it must be linked with good works for the attainment of salvation. He adopted the Hindú idea of the transmigration of the soul, and regarded beatitude as the dwelling with God after this purgatory course is over. His doctrines have been handed down in a book called the Granth, which was composed not many years after his death, and is still revered as the scripture of the Sikhs. Nának left two sons, of whom one, named Shri Chand founded the Hindú sect of Udasis,2 ascetics who renounce the world, Angad was the second Sikh guru. He occupied himself chiefly with committing to writing the doctrines of Nának, and died in 1552 A.D. at Kaddár, on the Beah. He was succeeded by Amarás, who composed part of the Granth, and died in 1574 A.D. The fourth guru was Rámás, who established himself at Amritsar, and died in 1581. He is said to have been much esteemed by Akbar the Great. Arjun his son became the fifth guru, and arranged and published the Granth. The Emperor Jahángir imprisoned him on a charge of treason, and impaled 700 of his followers. He died, probably from the rigour of his confinement, in 1606, and was succeeded by his son Har Govind, the sixth guru, who first laid aside the peaceful tenets of Nának for the warlike principles of the modern Sikhs. He died in 1645 at Kishtipur, on the Satlej, after repeatedly defeating the imperial troops. Under his chieftainship the Sikhs had grown up to a numerous and martial community. His son Har Ráe succeeded as seventh guru, and died in 1661. His younger son Har Kishan, a boy of six, was the eighth guru, and died in 1664 at Delhi. Tegh Bahádur, son of Har Govind, was the ninth guru, and having opposed and defeated the imperial troops, was ignominiously put to death by Aurangzib, and his body exposed in the streets of Delhi. That circumstance was one of the main inducements to the Sikhs to join the English in capturing Delhi and crushing the Bengal mutineers. Tegh Bahádur was executed in 1675, and for more than twenty years after his death his son Govind, the tenth and most famous of the gurus, lived in retirement, pondering revenge and the means of raising his oppressed followers to independence and power. It was he who instituted the Páhal or initiatory ceremony of the Sikhs, taught his disciples to call themselves Singh or Lions, to let their locks grow, and to devote their energies to steel, which they were always to wear about their persons. He thus established the Khálisa or special government of the Sikhs, and soon entered upon a war with the troops of Aurangzib. His two sons were slain, his followers dispersed, and he himself was obliged to fly to the deserts of Bhutinda, where he composed the tenth chapter of the Granth. After the death of Aurangzib, Govind took service with Bahádur Sháh, and was murdered in 1708 at Nadár, on the banks of the Godávari, by the sons of an attendant whom he had himself put to death. A disciple named Bandah now headed the sect, and after a fierce struggle with the Muhammadans, was taken at Ghérdaspur in the Panjab, which he had made his stronghold, carried to Delhi, and torn to pieces with hot pincers, after he had been first compelled to murder his own son. This was in 1716; and so hot was the persecution of the Sikhs that followed, that they are scarce heard of till 1738, when the invasion of Nádir Sháh gave them courage to re-appear as combatants. After various vicissitudes, they in 1756 captured Láhor; and their chief Jassá Singh struck a coin with the inscription, "Coined by the grace of the Khálisa in the country of Ahmad, conquered by Jassá the Kalál." They were soon after, however, compelled to surrender Láhor to the Maráthas, who in turn were crushed by Ahmad Sháh Abdalláh at the decisive battle of Panipat in 1761. During this campaign the Sikhs hung round the Durrání army, and plundered stragglers. They began, too, to erect forts; and Charat Singh, the grandfather of Ranjit, made his stronghold at Gujrán-wálá, whence in 1762 he repulsed the Afgháns. That year, however, Ahmad Sháh inflicted a terrible chastisement on the Sikhs at the battle of Ghálú Ghárá, south of the Satlej, where 20,000 of them fell. Nevertheless in 1764 they recovered Láhor, struck coins, established a general assembly, and divided themselves into twelve Mísís, or "confederacies." Ahmad Sháh made his last inroad in 1766, and the next year Charat Singh took the great fort of Rhotas, and the Bhangl Mial conquered as far as Ráwal Pindi. Charat Singh was killed in 1772 by the bursting of his matchlock, and was succeeded by his son Mahá Singh, who in 1784 rose to pre-eminent power. His son Ranjit was born in 1780, and was but eleven years old when his father died, and left him the first position in the Khálisa, to be still further improved by his own abilities. In 1798 Sháh Zemán, King of Kabúl, took Láhor, but was compelled to retire by the rebellion of his brother Mahmúd. As a reward for transporting his guns over the flooded Jilam, he bestowed Láhor upon Ranjit. In 1802 Perron, Sindhi's
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1 Cunningham's History of the Sikhs, p. 37. 2 Asiatic Researches, xvii. 252. 3 Great disaster. general, made an engagement with Ranjit for a joint expedition to the Indus, and the partition of all the country south of Lāhōr; but this agreement came to nothing, and Perron was soon afterwards disgraced by Sindhiā, and obliged to fly. In 1805 Jeewan Rao Holkar retreated before Lord Lake into the Panjāb; and by the treaty of the 24th of December of that year, was allowed to retire to his dominions. In 1806 Ranjit took Lodīāna, and in 1807 Kassīfūr, whither in September 1808 Mr Metcalfe proceeded to form a league between the English and the Sikh ruler. It was not, however, till the 25th of April 1809 that a treaty was made between the two powers, which precluded Ranjit from extending his territory to the south, and which inaugurated a lasting friendship between him and the British. The Sikh chiefs of Sirhind and Malwa were declared independent of Lāhōr; and this was further confirmed by the proclamation of August the 22d, 1811, which also forbade them to encroach on one another. From that time till 1818 Ranjit was occupied in consolidating his power. In June 1818 he took Multān; and in July 1819 annexed Kashmir, and a few months afterwards Derāh Ghāzi Khān. On the 14th of March 1823 he defeated the Afghāns in the great battle of Naushāhra, and sacked Peshāwar. The French generals Ventura and Allard had taken service with him the year previous, and his troops had now all the discipline of regular battalions. In October 1831 an interview took place between Lord W. Bentinck and Ranjit at Rūpār on the Satlej; and on the 17th of July previous a present of horses from the King of England arrived at Lāhōr, under the escort of Lieutenant Burnes. On the 26th of June 1838 the famous tripartite treaty between the English government, Shāh Shujā, and Ranjit, was concluded, which led to the Afghan war, the restoration of Shāh Shujā to his kingdom, and in the end to his murder and the expulsion of his English allies. Ranjit died before these events, on the 27th June 1839, and was succeeded by his only legitimate son Khāng Singh; but on the 8th of October Khāng Singh was seized and confined by his son Nāo Nihāl Singh, and died on the 5th of November 1840, poisoned by small doses of corrosive sublimate. On the same day, as Nāo Nihāl Singh was returning from attending the funeral rites to his father, a gateway fell on him, killed the son of Rājā Gulāb Singh, who sat by his side, and so injured him that he expired a few hours afterwards. This accident was owing to the treachery of Dhyān Singh, the prime minister, brother of Gulāb Singh. Chand Kunwar, widow of Khāng Singh, now assumed the government; but on the 18th of January 1841 Sher Singh, an illegitimate son of Ranjit, attacked the citadel where Chand Kunwar was, and compelled her to recognise him as supreme. Chand Kunwar was murdered in June 1842, and Sher Singh on the 16th September 1843, by Ajit Singh; while at the same moment Pratīp Singh, the son of Sher, was killed by Lehna Singh. These murders were committed with the aid and assent of the minister Dhyān Sing, who was immediately afterwards shot by the conspirators. Hirā Singh, the son of Dhyān, a few days after revenged his father's death by killing both the above-named assassins; and Dhalip Singh, said to be a posthumous child of Ranjit, was proclaimed king, with Hirā Singh as minister. Many murders and insurrections followed; and on the 21st December 1844 Hirā Singh was put to death. He was succeeded by Jawāshir Singh, who was shot by the soldiery on the 21st of September 1845; and Lal Singh was then made by them prime minister. The Sikh army had now for some time been utterly unmanageable; the English agent for Sikh affairs, Major Broadfoot, rather urged on than deprecated a collision; and on the 17th of November 1845 the Khālsā declared war against the English, and the Sikh troops crossed the Satlej on the 11th of December. On the 18th the battle of Mudki was fought. The English under Lord Gough numbered 11,000; and had 215 killed and 657 wounded. The Sikhs had about 4000 infantry, 10,000 horse, and 22 guns, of which 17 were taken by the English. On the 21st Sir J. Little joined Lord Gough with a fresh division, and the English advanced to storm the Sikh position at Fīrūzābahr, where they had 12 regiments of infantry, 10,000 horse, and 100 guns. The combat ended doubtfully, though the English captured many guns, and 2000 of the Sikhs fell. But the English lost 694 killed and 1721 wounded; and nothing but the treason of the Sikh general Tej Singh, whose object was to crush his mutinous army, alone saved them. The campaign was closed by the decisive battle of Sobrāon on the 10th of February 1846. The English loss was 320 killed and 2085 wounded; but the Sikhs had at least 5000 killed, and all their guns and baggage taken. On the 9th of March 1846 a treaty was concluded between Dhalip Singh and the English, by which the Maharājā renounced all claim to territory south of the Satlej; ceded the Doāb between the Beāh and Satlej, and the hilly countries between the Beāh and Indus, including Kashmir and Hazīra; paid 5,000,000 rupees; disbanded all but 25 regiments of infantry, and 12,000 horse, recognised the independence of the Jamu state; and agreed to other terms which placed the Panjāb in dependence on the British government. This treaty, however, was soon disturbed by an outbreak in Multān. Sāwan Mall, the able governor of this province under Ranjit, was murdered in September 1844, and was succeeded by his son Mālājāl. His exactions and misrule led to an order for his deposition; and in 1848, when the English were acting as advisers to Dhalip Singh, Mr Vans Agnew and Lieut. Anderson were sent to depose him, and instal Khān Singh as his successor. On the 18th of April 1848 they were attacked and murdered; and the second Sikh war broke out. The news reached Lieut. Edwardes on the 22d at Derāh Path Khān, where he was on political employ. He had with him 1 infantry regiment, with 4 extra companies, 2 guns, 20 swivels, and 350 horse. On the 25th he reached Leia, and commenced raising levies; and, being joined by the troops of Bhāwalpūr, held Mālājāl in check. Ere long, however, the old Sikh army joined the rebels, and Multān was not taken by the English till the 2d of January 1849. On the 15th of that month the indecisive battle of Chilānwalā was fought, in which the English under Lord Gough had 22 European officers and 580 men killed, 67 European officers and 1678 men wounded or missing. The Sikhs under Sher Singh suffered far less. Several other sharp actions were fought; and the campaign ended on the 21st of February 1849 by the decisive victory of Gujārat, in which the English loss was 5 European officers killed and 24 wounded, 93 men killed and 677 wounded or missing. The Panjāb was then permanently annexed, and has ever since continued under the British government. The news of the outbreak of the late rebellion reached Peshāwar on the 11th of May, the very day it occurred at Mirāt. There were then at Peshāwar H.M.'s 70th and 87th regiments, 2 troops of European horse artillery, 2 companies of artillery, the 5th Bengal light cavalry, the 21st, 24th, 27th, 51st, 64th Bengal native infantry, the regiment of Khālīti Ghilzye, the 7th and 18th Bengal irregular cavalry; in all about 12,000 men, of whom 2570 were Europeans. At Naushāhra were her H.M.'s 27th regiment, the 55th Bengal native infantry, the 10th irregular cavalry, and an artillery mountain train. At Atak were a detachment of
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1 Smyth's Reigning Family of Lāhōr, p. 33. 2 Cunningham's Sikhs, p. 303. 3 Report on the Administration of the Panjāb, 1856-58, section x. the 58th Bengal native infantry, a company of artillery, and one of sappers and miners; and close by at Shamshabad the 17th irregular cavalry. At Mardan, in the Yusufzai country, was the now famous corps of guides. At Rawal Pindi was H.M.'s 24th regiment, the 58th Bengal native infantry, the Kumson battalion of Gorkhas, the 16th irregular cavalry, and 1 troop of native horse artillery. Jilam was garrisoned by the 14th and 39th native infantry, and a native light field battery, H.M.'s 52nd regiment, and a European troop of horse artillery held Siyalkot with the 35th and 46th Bengal native infantry, and 9th light cavalry. At Lahore were H.M.'s 81st regiment, with 2 troops of horse artillery and 4 companies of reserve artillery,—all Europeans; with the 16th and 26th light infantry, and 8th light cavalry. Close by at Amritsar were the 59th Bengal native infantry, with a light field battery, and a company of European reserve artillery in the strong fort of Govindgarh. Ghordaspur was held by the 2d irregular cavalry; Kangra by the left wing of the 4th Bengal native infantry and half a company of native artillery; Nurpur by a similar force of artillery and the other wing of the 4th native infantry; Husbyarpur by the 33d native infantry, 9th irregular cavalry, and 1 troop of native horse artillery; Phillaur by the 3d native infantry; Jalandar by H.M.'s 8th regiment, a troop of European horse artillery, the 36th and 61st native infantry, and 6th light cavalry. At Firuzpur were H.M.'s 61st regiment, a European light horse battery, a company of European artillery, the 45th and 57th Bengal native infantry, and 10th light cavalry. At Multan were the 62d and 69th native infantry, 1st irregular cavalry, and a troop of native horse artillery. At Ambala were H.M.'s 9th dragoons, 2 troops of European artillery, the 5th and 60th native infantry, and 4th lancers natives. In the adjoining Himalaya range were the Nasiri battalion, H.M.'s 75th regiment, the 1st and the 2d Bengal fusiliers. To sum up, there were from Karnal to Peshawar about 36,000 native troops, most of whom were Purbiyals from the same localities as the Mirat and Delhi mutineers. Against these were 11 regiments of European infantry, 1 of cavalry, and 2000 artillery; in all about 10,500 men. There were, besides, 200 Panjab troops interspersed with a fourth part of Hindustanis. Immediately after the outbreak 3 regiments of European infantry and 1 of cavalry marched against Delhi, leaving 7500 Europeans to watch 38,000 Hindustanis, for only 2 native regiments went to Delhi. The whole province of the Panjab was to be held against such odds, the besieging army at Delhi was to be re-inforced, and the surrounding martial tribes kept in check. It was a prodigious task that was imposed on Sir John Lawrence, the chief civil officer in the Panjab; but he nobly and successfully accomplished it. It was soon seen that the Hindustani regiments were ripe for revolt. On the 14th of May the 45th and 57th native infantry mutinied at Firuzpur, and attempted to seize the great arsenal. The attempt failed, but most of the mutineers escaped. An outbreak at Lahore was prevented by dexterously disarming the native corps at Miyan Mir, the cantonment of Lahore, on the 13th of May. On the 21st the 55th mutinied at Mardan on seeing Europeans advancing to take their arms, and fled to the hills, but nearly all perished. On the 22d, the 6th light cavalry, the 24th, 27th, and 51st, were disarmed at Peshawar, and the 10th irregular cavalry at Naushahra on the 26th. On the 7th and 8th of June the 3d, 36th and 61st native infantry, and 67th light cavalry, in the Jalandar Doab, rose in revolt, and marched to Delhi. On the 1st the troops at Multan were disarmed; the 5th native infantry at Ambala on the 16th; the 33d and 35th in Jalandar on the 25th; the 58th and part of the 14th native infantry at Rawal Pindi on the 7th of July, on which day, however, the bulk of the 14th, seeing the Europeans approach, broke out, and were nearly all destroyed. Two days afterwards, the 46th and a wing of the 9th light cavalry mutinied at Siyalkot, and after murdering Brigadier Brind, Captain Bishop, two Drs Graham, the Rev. Mr Hunter, and others, the mutineers marched for Delhi by way of Ghordaspur and Phillaur. They were overtaken at Nurpur, 15 miles beyond that station, and, after a sharp struggle, all put to the sword. On the 30th of July the disarmed 26th fled from Lahore, but were overtaken and destroyed. The 10th light cavalry escaped from Firuzpur on the 19th of August. The 51st mutinied, and were destroyed at Peshawar on the 28th of that month. On the 15th of July 259 men of the 4th light cavalry were disarmed at Ambala; the 59th at Amritsar, seven days previous; the 4th at Husbyarpur, three days previous; the 39th in the Derajat, one day previous. Thus 18 regiments, numbering 13,000 men, were disarmed without resistance; the native gunners of four batteries were removed from their guns, and their places supplied by European volunteers. The 21st native infantry, the regiment of Khilai-Ghilzye, and the 1st, 2d, 6th, 7th, 16th, 17th, and 18th regiments of irregular cavalry alone remained armed, and continue so to this day. But not only did Sir J. Lawrence hold the vast force of mutinous Sipahis garrisoning the Panjab in check, but he also detached powerful reinforcements to Delhi, without which that city would not have been taken, and India might have been lost. The first body of troops detached to act against Delhi were the 1st and 2d Bengal European regiments, and H.M.'s 75th, which went with General Anson. The siege train was then sent from Phillaur. Then followed a wing of H.M.'s 8th, and one of H.M.'s 61st, the guide corps, the 4th Sikhs, the 1st Panjab infantry, the 1st, 2d, and 5th Panjab cavalry, 300 Sikh artillerymen, and 1200 Sikh sappers and miners. General Van Cortlandt, with 1000 irregulars, cleared the western part of the Delhi territory. Lastly, General Nicholson led the remainder of H.M.'s 8th and 61st, the 52d, the 2d, 4th, and 7th Panjab infantry, a siege train from Firuzpur, and the Kashmir contingent, against Delhi, leaving but 4500 European soldiers, sick included, to hold the Panjab. Not a day had been lost in calling on the rajas of the protected Sikh states for their contingents. They nobly obeyed, to the number of eighty chiefs; the Raja of Bashir alone remained inactive. The Raja of Jhind was actually the first man, European or native, who took the field against the mutineers. He openly declared at once that he should side with the British, under whom he had lived happily for fifty years,—a speech which powerfully influenced the popular opinion. He marched with 800 men to Karnal, and thence in the van of the British troops advancing against Delhi, clearing the road for them, and procuring supplies. He held an exposed post during the siege; his troops guarded the ferry over the Jamna, on the road to Mirat, and shared in the final assault on the Kashmir gate. The Maharaja of Pattiala supplied 5000 men, and kept open the road from Lahore to Delhi. The Raja of Nabha held the fort of Lodiana. The Raja of Kapurthala, of high rank among Sikhs, next perhaps to the Raja of Patiala, furnished 2000 men, and, after serving in Jalandar, marched with his contingent into Oudh. The Raja of Jamu supplied 2000 men. In short, the Sikh nation threw their sword into the scale against the rebels. A long-nourished hatred to Delhi and its people influenced them no doubt in this decision; but the stupendous fact remains, that England recovered her Indian empire mainly by the hands of those whom she had ten years before vanquished in many bloody battles. That administration must have been just, politic, and prosperous that could produce such a result.
Report on the Administration of the Punjab, 1856-58, section xi.