ABSTRACT
The Government had called for a report on the operations in the Sundarbans on 28th November 1823, but the Board delayed replying until they should have been able to form a careful opinion on the fullest materials. The Board’s views were supplemented by a memorandum, dated 7th January, 1828, by Mr. Mangles, who had earned high commendation during his tenure of the Commissionership. In cases appealed to the civil court, the decisions of the Board, declaring the liability of the lands to assessment, were to be carried into immediate execution, and the holders dispossessed if they declined to pay the assessment. The lands therefore had been reclaimed without any labour, risk, or expense on the part of the talukdars, who had merely embraced opportunities of increasing their lands and rents with no chance of loss to themselves, and with no belief regarding the Permanent Settlement.
