A history of the Sikhs, from the origin of the nation to the battles of the Sutlej.

CHAP. VIII DALIP SINGH PROCLAIMED

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to the high and fatal office of Wazir; but he was all-powerful 1843.
for the moment; the Sindhianwala possessions were con- Dalp Singh
fiscated, and their dwellings razed to the ground: nor did proclaimed
the youthful avenger stay until he had found out and put to Mahtarja,
death Bhai Gurmukh Singh and Missar Bell Ram, the former Sept. 1843.
of whom was. believed to have connived at the death of his
confiding master, and to have instigated the assassination
of the minister; and the latter of whom had always stood
high in the favour of the great Maharaja, although strongly
opposed to the aggrandizement of the Jammu family.
Sardar Atar Singh Sindhianwala, who was hurrying to
Lahore when he heard of the capture of the citadel, made
a hasty attempt to rouse the village population in his favour
through the influence of Bhai Bir Singh, a devotee of great
repute; but the ' Khalsa ' was almost wholly represented
by the army, and he crossed at once into the British territories to avoid the emissaries of Hlra Singh.1
The new minister added two rupees and a half, or five The power
shillings a month, to the pay of the common soldiers, and of the army
increases.
he also discharged some arrears due to them. The army felt
that it had become the master of the state, and it endeavoured to procure donatives, or to place itself right in
public estimation, by threatening to eject the Jammfi
faction, and to make the Bhai Bir Singh, already mentioned,
a king as well as a priest.2 Jawahir Singh; the maternal
uncle of the boy Maharaja, already grasped the highest post
he could occupy; nor was the minister's family united
within itself. Suchet Singh's vanity was mortified by the
ascendancy of his nephew, a stripling, unacquainted with
war, and inexperienced in business; and he endeavoured to
form a party which should place him in power.3 The youthful Wazlr naturally turned to his other uncle, Gulab Singh,
for support, and that astute chief cared not who held titles
so long as he was deferred to and left unrestrained; but the
Sikhs were still averse to him personally, and jealous lest he
should attempt to garrison every stronghold with his own
followers. Gulab Singh was, therefore, cautious in his pro1 Lieut.-Col. Richmond's letters from 21st Sept. to 2nd Oct. 1843.
2 Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Government, 26th Sept. 1843.
3 Lieut.-Col. Richmond to Government, 16th and 22nd Oct. 1843.
s