If you undertake the duties, you will have to go to Lodheeana, seeing Major Graham at Agra, on the way, to get a little insight into the work.

Yours sincerely,
(Signed) W. H. SLEEMAN.

P.S.—­You will be in the most interesting scene in India, and need be under no apprehension about the permanency of the appointment.

To Lieut.  Weston,
    &c. &c.

________________________________

Jhansee, 18th May, 1848. 
My Dear Maddock,

Things are not going on so well as could be wished in the Punjaub; and it appears to me that we have been there committing an error of the same kind that we committed in Afghanistan—­that is, taking upon ourselves the most odious part of the executive administration.  In such a situation this should have been avoided, if possible.  There is a kind of chivalry in this—­if there is anything odious to be done, or repugnant to the feelings of the people, a young Englishman thinks he must do it himself, lest he should be thought disposed to shift off a painful burthen upon others; and he thinks it unbecoming of us to pay any regard to popular feeling.  Of course, also, the officers of the Sikh State are glad to get rid of such burthens while they see English gentlemen ready to carry them.  Now, it strikes me that we might, with a little tact, have altered all this, and retained the good feelings of the people, by throwing the executive upon the officers of the Sikh State, and remaining ourselves in the dignified position of Appellate Courts for the redress of grievances inflicted by these officers in neglect of duty or abuse of authority.  Our duty would have been to guide, control, and check, and the head of all might have been like the sovereigns of England—­known only by his acts of grace.

By keeping in this dignified position we should not only have retained the good feelings of the people, but we should have been teaching the Sikh officers their administrative duties till the time comes for making over the country; and the chief and Court would have found the task, made over to them under such a system, more easy to sustain.  In Afghanistan we did the reverse of all this, and became intolerably odious to the mass of the people; for they saw that everything that was harsh was done by us, and the officers of the King were disposed to confirm and increase this impression because they were not employed.  The people of the Punjaub are not such fanatics, and they are more divided in creed and caste, while they see no ranges of snowy mountains, barren rocks, and difficult passes between us and our reinforcements and resources; but it seems clear that there is a good deal of excitement and bad feeling growing up amongst them that may be very mischievous.  All the newspapers, English and native, make the administration appear to be altogether English—­it is Captain This, Mr. That, who do, or are expected to do, everything; and all over the country the native chiefs will think, that the leaving the country to the management of the Sirdars was a mere mockery and delusion.