because diametrically opposite to the positive and repeated standing orders of that government for the rule of his conduct, as dewan, and native guardian of the public rights intrusted especially to his care; because it was his duty, not only not to be guilty of a breach of those rules himself, but, as dewan, and exercising the efficient office of kanungo, to prevent, detect, expose, and apprise his employers of every instance attempted to the contrary; because it was his duty to prevent the government being defrauded, and the Rajah, a child of nine years old, robbed of his hereditary possessions, as he would have been, if this transaction had not been detected:  whereas, on the contrary, the dewan is himself the principal mover and sole instrument in that fraud and robbery, if I am rightly informed, to the amount of 42,474 rupees[1] in perpetuity, by which he alone was to benefit; and because he has even dared to stand forward in an attempt to obtain our sanction, and thereby make us parties to (in my opinion) a false deed and fraudulent transaction, as his own defence now shows the bill of sale and all its collateral papers to be.

“If offences of this dark tendency and magnitude were not to be punished in a public manner, the high example here set the natives employed under the government by their first native officer would very soon render our authority contemptible, and operate to the destruction of the public revenues.  I will not dwell further on the contradictions in these papers before us on this subject.

“But I beg leave to point out how tenacious the government have been of insuring implicit obedience to their rules on this subject in particular, and in prohibiting conduct like that here exhibited against their public officer, and how sacredly they have viewed the public institutes on this subject, which have been violated and trampled on; and it will suffice to show their public orders on a similar instance which happened some time ago, and which the dewan, from his official situation, must have been a party in detecting.

“I desire the board’s letter to the Committee on this subject, dated the 31st May, 1782, may be read, and a copy be annexed to this minute.

“I therefore move the board that Gunga Govind Sing may be forthwith required to surrender the original deeds produced by him as a title to the grant of Salbarry, in order that they may be returned to the Rajah’s agents, to be made null and void.

“I further move the board, that the dewan, Gunga Govind Sing, together with his naib, Prawn Kishin Sing, his son, and all his dependants, be removed from their offices, and that the Roy Royan, Rajah Rajebullub, whose duty only Gunga Govind Sing virtually is to perform, be reinstated in the exercise of the duties of his department; and that Gunga Govind Sing be ordered to deliver up all official papers of the circar to the Committee of Revenue and the Roy Royan, and that they be ordered accordingly to take charge of them, and finally settle all accounts.”