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CHAPTER XII.
THE SECOND SIKH WAR, 1848-49—ANNEXATION, 1849.
The policy of maintaining the Sikh kingdom was considered highly important, but the attempt to govern by a British protectorate broke down after a fair trial. The evil seeds of disintegration were in the Sikhs themselves. The Durbar was corrupt, weak, and divided against itself. Before the year was out the minister Lai Singh was caught red-handed in treachery. After the order was issued for the transfer of Kashmir to Maharaja Golab Singh according to the treaty, he sent letters to the governor there to resist this by force. Several conflicts ensued; and not till Colonel Henry Lawrence proceeded there, at the head of a
