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Hyderabad, 23rd August, 1891.
I said about three weeks ago in these columns, that it would be difficult to find a worse-managed department, in the Nizam's State, than the Public Works Department—though under the guidance and supervision of Englishmen, I shall now lay be fore yon the details of a case, a case still pending so to say, which makes what I stated then as clear as day-light; and which shows that things are as bad as they could be in this Department and the sooner it is subjected to an overhauling by the Government, the better it will be. Mr. Mancherjee Bazonje, District Engineer, was transferred from Gulburga to Aurangabad about the middle of March last. And no sooner did he set foot in the Division where Mr. Marret was Divisional Engineer than his troubles began. Mr. Marret had a reputation for being the most zealous divisional officer in the Nizam's service; he would have the District Engineer work nuder his very nose, he would have him obtain his advice and act according to it in the most trivial matters, in fact he would have him renounce the diguity of his office and sink to the level of a subordinate out and out; and, because of this zeal, ha had in a comparatively short period brought about the turning out of the Division" of five District Engineers, successively before Mr. Mancherjee Messrs. Neilson, Allen, Fitzgerald Plunkett, and Walter. Such as Mr. Marret was, it was not long before he found serions reasons for being seriously displeased with Mr. Mancherjee especially as the latter was somewhat independent and plain spoken. In fact Mr. Mancherjee was under suspension consequent upon charges brought against him by the Divisional Engineer in less than three months. Mr. Marret had written to him about overtopping of moram which he, Mr. Marret, had discovered on a certain road; and Mr. Mancherjee, being informed of the non-existence of any overtopping on the road by the Supervisor directly in charge of it, had written to request him to let him know at what mile on the road he had noticed it. This turned out to be an act of insubordination. Mr. Mancherjee had issued instructions to a certain contractor named Sorabji
