ART. VI.-A History of the Reigning Family of Lahore, with some Account of the Jammú Rajahs, the Sikh Soldiers and their Sirdars; edited by Major G. Carmichael Smyth, third Bengal Light Cavalry; with Notes on Malcolm, Prinsep, Lawrence, Steinbach, McGregor, and the Calcutta Review. Calcutta: W. Thacker and Co., St. Andrew's Library, 1847.

THIS book professes to contain "the secret history of the Lahore Durbar." It is, to use a somewhat vulgar but expressive word, a "hash" got up between Major G. C. Smyth of the 3d Bengal Light Cavalry and a Mr. Gardner, late of the Sikh service, and is of the school of "the memoirs of a Lady of quality," the secret history of Josephine, and such like works concocted to suit the prurient appetites of a particular class of readers. Mr. Gardner seems to have supplied most of the facts and Major Smyth many of the opinions. The book is dedicated to the memory of Major Broadfoot, who, could he rise from the grave, would be astonished at the compliment paid to him by a man, who, in almost so many words, declares that he forced on the Sikh War. The book is, indeed, in all parts, a mass of contradictions. Nothing stops Mr. Gardner, or his Editor, Major Smyth; both rush headlong into the midst of matters of which they knew little or nothing, except from idle gossip and hearsay; and one and other contradicts himself almost in every page, often in many successive paragraphs. From internal evidence, and the orthography of the native words they use, it is clear that neither editor nor informer is an oriental scholar, and yet we are told that the volume is compiled partly from native manuscripts,"* and again that " various old Sanscrit manuscripts"† have contributed their treasures to enrich the work.

Mr. Gardner traces the history of "the Lords of the Hills" from the days of Cyrus, and is scarcely more precise in his narratives of particular portions of the recent history of the Punjab, being those connected with the butcheries of the Chiefs and the obscenities of the rulers, male and female, though in some of the former he has himself figured. Perhaps the most striking feature of the book is the minute acquaintance that Mr. Gardner professes to possess with tales of blood and bestiality that have left no witnesses, or that never had any but the immediate actors. For instance, where forty-six men withstood fifteen thousand and "broke through or drove back four entire batta

* Page 1 Introduction.

+ Page 219.

r

lions," the story is minutely told, and how, until the last moment, Suchet Sing and his followers remained composedly in the mosque, hearing some passages of their holy book read to them." This, be it remembered, was while fifty-six guns and 3000 or 4000 horse as well as the 15,000 Infantry were surrounding them. According to Mr. Gardner only one man of the devoted band escaped with life, and must therefore be the authority for "the history." The name of the "holy book" that he and his Rajput companions so devoutly listened to, is not mentioned. More extraordinary still is the intimate knowledge that Mr. Gardner seems to have had of the several individual murders that were about to be perpetrated at Lahore. The murderers were no ordinary villains. They made no secret of their intentions and often gave and took written orders for the work to be done. This is so unlike the usual method of doing these matters of business that on no less authority than Major Smyth and Mr. Gardner would we have credited their narratives. Sirdar Ajit Singh, who murdered Mahrajah Sher Singh and Rajah Dehan Singh, was an especially candid person. He not only went from one of his intended victims to the other and told each of the fate designed for him, but actually informed Major Smyth himself, some months before the tragedy occurred, that "The Lord Sahib, (Governor-General) has done nothing, but I will do something," meaning, that as the British authorities would take up the quarrel of his faction, he would cut the knot of the difficulty. Major Smyth is convinced he had fully made up his mind to take his "wild justice" when he thus spoke, and the Major is moreover of opinion that " had it not been for his too hasty proceeding, he would, in all probability, have been Minister at Lahore." We are not favored with the grounds of this sequitur, but offer it as a specimen of the style of reasoning that pervades the book under notice.

It is not however with "the secret history of the Lahore Durbar" that we propose here to deal, but with the portion of Major Smyth's book for which he is more directly responsible, viz. the introduction, containing fourteen pages, which professes to be his own, and the Chapter on "the War with the British" of eighteen pages, for which, as an eye-witness as well as Editor, he is more fully answerable, than for the rest of the extraordinary matter he has, with such brave defiance of all ordinary prudence, been pleased to endorse. We had hoped to have found in this Chapter the Sikh version of the invasion of India, but have been disappointed. It is rather a Frenchified version, disparaging every

Page 111.

one, aspersing the Sikh leaders and giving as little as possible credit to the English ones. Mr. Gardner is understood to have talent, and to be quite competent to have sat down and questioned the long bearded heroes of the fight, and, from some score of their narratives, to have concocted a very readable narrative in praise of Sikh valor and in dispraise of British doings. This would have been an intelligible and a legitimate course, and in every way more creditable than the one he has pursued; but he has done nothing of the kind: and Major Smyth, instead of correcting errors palpable to the meanest understanding, appears to have overloaded them with erroneous facts and crotchety opinions of his own. Indeed, however grieved to do so, truth compels us to say that we conceive the book to be, in all respects, discreditable to Major Smyth as a British Officer and as a servant of the Indian Government. He cannot be ignorant of the character of the man whose lucubrations he has condescended to edit; indeed our own pages must have informed him of one act of Mr. Gardner's life which alone should have disqualified him for any sort of fellowship with gentlemen. The stigma of that atrocious act has never been removed, and the youngest Officer of the Garrison of Lahore, during the last two years, could have informed Major Smyth that not only is Mr. Gardner, in general estimation, a disreputable person, but that he had no access to the Durbar of Lahore-was in no sense recognized there as a gentleman-and, as regarded any of its transactions, could only report the idle rumours of hangers on and low Adventurers like himself.

In proof of Mr. Gardner's capabilities, Major Smyth says in a note to his first page:

"To give an idea of Captain Gardner's knowledge of Sikh affairs, I may mention that Major Lawrence in writing to me from Katmandoo observed, 'If I was in Broadfoot's place I should like to have Gardner at my elbow."

In our mind, to give a proper idea" of this matter we should have Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence's opinion of Mr. Gardner from Lahore and not from Katmandoo. It is no secret,-not one but a score or more of officers are aware-that Colonel Lawrence never had any opinion of Mr. Gardner's character, and that, for a year or more before he caused him to be discharged from the Sikh service, he had ceased to place the slightest reliance on his reports. We observe that Mr. Gardner's name has been carefully kept back in the narratives of various scenes in which he took a prominent part, such as the first great murder, viz., that of Cheyt Singh, the favourite of Khuruk Singh, and in the account of the

* Sikh War, No. XI. Art. VI.

defence of the Fort of Lahore under Rajah Golab Singh, against Sher Singh. During the early part of the year 1846, when little of Mr. Gardner was known except that he commanded ten or twelve guns and was called a Colonel, he was pretty freely invited to British Messes until his extraordinary conduct and language unmasked the American Irishman.* He fought his battles freely enough on those days, and talked largely of what he had done and could do, but we cannot ascertain that he ever told the tale of the Brahman's nose and ears, which deserved a separate Chapter in "the secret history" quite as much at least as the career of Mungla, Futteh Khan, &c. The Brahman, Joda Ram by name, is at this very time to be seen at Lahore ready to tell the curious how a Ferringi was found to do the deed, that the vilest of Lahore refused to do.

We consider it only just to our readers to tell so much of the tale of Major Smyth's chief authority to enable them the better to judge of the value of his lucubrations and opinions, as well as to warn those who have not subscribed to the book against throwing away a gold mohur on its purchase. These preliminary remarks may appear harsh, but we are sure that no one, in the least cognizant of facts, after reading the book, will think so. Indeed it deserves no quarter, furnishing as it does a handle for the enemies of England and the calumniators of our noble. army, to asperse the one and the other. A twelvemonth or more ago, when Col. Monton put forward an offensive pamphlet as a feeler or precursor of a large volume, he had the excuse of being an enemy. It was therefore of little consequence that he doubled our numbers in the field, as well as of our killed and wounded, and that he declared that an order of the day for no quarter had been given at Sobraon. All this might have been expected from a disingenuous enemy; but from the ranks of the Indian army comes the present blow. Without further preface we shall run through the Introduction, as also the Chapter on the war, offering a few remarks as we proceed. The Introduction thus opens:

"The following pages have been compiled partly from native manuscripts, and partly from information collected from Sikh Sirdars, and European officers in the Sikh service; but chiefly from the notes of a Captain Gardner of the Sikh Artillery, who has for several years past supplied important information to the British Government without betraying his own, as all the intrigues he brought to light were those of the Jummoo family, and their Coadjutor the Pundit; and there is every reason to believe Captain Gardner could give further information, and prove that the Dogra chiefs were at the bottom of the Cabul insurrection!"

* He has registered himself in his list of Lahore officials as an American; but we understand that this speech betrayeth him to be Irish.

The reader will doubtless wonder at Mr. Gardner's skill in giving important information to the British Government without betraying his own," especially when they hear that, during the "several years" he was so employed, he was to all intents and purposes the servant of the Jammú family, which he now more especially asperses: moreover, that when he was turned out of the Lahore service, the wish of his heart was to join the "monster" Golab Singh, whose tool and instrument he had been, even while he was calumniating him! We do not understand how a spy can at any time be faithful to both parties, and believe that, in the present instance, it would be more correct to say that Mr. Gardner affected to supply all parties with information, and virtually betrayed all, by keeping them on a wrong scent, or by pretending to know what he was entirely ignorant of. The notion that Mr. Gardner could " prove that the Dogra Chiefs were at the bottom of the Kabul insurrection," is only one of many proofs given in the book of what, to use the mildest terms, may be designated Major Smyth's extreme gullibility. Heretofore we had believed that the British authorities in Affghanistan owed to themselves the small spark of disaffection that was eventually kindled by gross Military mismanagement into general insurrection. Because Rajah Golab Singh may have been wise enough to anticipate what hundreds of Europeans in India foresaw; he is not on that account to be put down as the cause of the commotion. Nor is the slowness of his movements, nor even the unwillingness with which he gave his assistance, any stronger proof of overt hostility. If Major Smyth had been better acquainted with oriental and especially with Indian history, he would have learnt that Indian allies seldom help a weak cause, and generally desert a losing one. Had Golab Singh been a less able man than he is, he would never have stirred a step in aid of Sir George Pollock; and had he not been a very wise one he never would have entered the Khybur Pass on the General's behalf: but the fact is notorious that he helped to win the pass, made all the arrangements for holding it, and even himself remained at Peshawar some time after he had been aware of the destruction of his own army beyond Ladak. Mr. Gardner is here doubly a deceiver; for, unless the information current in the best informed circles be utterly fallacious, no one knows better than he does that Golab Singh had only to have held up his finger to have induced the Sikh army to attack General Pollock instead of assisting him.

At page 18, Major Smyth says:

“Our connection with the Lahore Government, it is supposed, was much the same as our connection with Bhurtpore, the Rajah was independent, but we were bound to support the reigning family."