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

248

HISTORY OF THE SIKHS CHAP. vIII

1841. of ordinary supplies, and the British detachment effected
the relief of All Masjid. But the unpardonable neglect of
going to the fort without the food which had been provided,
obliged the garrison to retreat after a few days, and the
disinclination of the Sikhs to fight the battles of strangers
communicated itself to the mercenary soldiers of the English,
and thus added to the Governor-General's dislike of the
Afghan connexion.1
An army of The necessity of at least relieving the garrison of Jalalabad
assembled, was paramount, and in the spring of 1842 a well-equipped
1842. British force arrived at Peshawar; but the active cooperation of the Sikhs was still desirable, and it was sought
for under the terms of an obsolete article of the tripartite
treaty with Shah Shuja, which gave Lahore a subsidy of
two lakhs of rupees in exchange for the services of 5,000
men.2 Sher Singh was willing to assist beyond this limited
degree; he greatly facilitated the purchase of grain and the
hire of carriage cattle in the Punjab, and his auxiliaries
could be made to outnumber the troops of his allies; but
he felt uneasy about the proceedings of the Sindhianwala
chiefs, one of whom had gone to Calcutta to urge his own
claims, or those of Mai Chand Kaur, and all of whom retained influence in the Sikh ranks. He was assured that
the refugees should not be allowed to disturb his reign, and
there thus seemed to be no obstacle in the way of his full
co-operation.3 But the genuine Sikhs were held by the
1 The statements in this paragraph are mainly taken from the
author's notes of official and demi-official correspondence. The letter
of Government to Mr. Clerk, of the 7th Feb. 1842, may also be referred
to about the failure to hold All Musjid; and, further, it may be
mentioned that Mr. Clerk, in his letter of the 10th February, pointed
out, that although the Sikhs might not willingly co-operate in any
sudden assault planned by the English, they would be found ready
to give assistance during the campaign in the ways their experience
taught them to be the most likely to lead to success.
2 See Government to Mr. Clerk, 3rd May and 23rd July 1842. The
English agents, however, rather tauntingly and imploringly reminded
the Sikh authorities that they were bound to have such a force ready
by agreement as well as by friendship, than formally revived the
demand for its production under the stipulations of the treaty.
3 Cf. Mr. Clerk to Government, 2nd Jan. and 31st March 1842, and
Government to Mr. Clerk, 17th Jan. and 12th May 1842. With
regard to assistance rendered by the Sikhs durin the Afghan War in