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Rh in the army; the soldiers, conscious of their power, cared little for any authority.

Maharaja Sher Singh on all occasions expressed himself favourable to the British, scrupulously adhering to his father's policy. It was solely owing to him that the British army, returning from Afghanistan in 1842, was allowed undisputed passage through the Punjab, many of the Sikh sardars being strongly disposed to attack it, as they thought the potent spell of victory so long attached to it had been broken at Kabul and by the policy of evacuating Afghanistan. His constancy exasperated the hostile party, of which the sardars who had taken part in deposing Kharak Singh were the active spirits, and they disputed Sher Singh's right to the throne as that of a reputed son only. They formed a plot to assassinate him. This was effected in 1843 while he was inspecting some cavalry on parade, and was followed by the murder of his son and heir and the rest of the family. The