Having verbally demonstrated at the meeting by the Honourable Commander how it had come to his attention that the dispenser, Lodewijck Francois Bureau,272, on his private authority last Friday afternoon, at 5:30 a.m., had consumed brandy from the Comps. wine warehouse had been transported to the rice warehouse here within the castle, for which some Hottentots had been employed, and that in a very concealed and sneaky manner, wherefore His E., not without great reason, receiving bad suspicion that some deceit or misconduct lurked therein, ordered the lieutenant of this garrison to secretly order the sargeants or officers in the gate to keep a watchful eye on the said dispenser's behaviour in the warehouses and whatever might be brought out there, and to report it. So His E. was informed today that the said dispenser not only today the said half-famed brandy, after having made such known to the Commander in the morning under a frivolous pretence, had it transported from there again to his previous place (where they had come from), but also that evening by his slave and Hottentots three more sacks of rice from the Comps. warehouse to his residence, summoning the officer of the guard present to take note of it and also report it, from which it is sufficiently concluded that the said Bureau was fully informed of the previous secret order, which was given to none other than the three sargeants of this castle, and yet he did not hesitate to violate the said order and to ridicule it to the detriment of his superiors and with great audacity to directly oppose it, which nevertheless cannot or should not be tolerated in regulated political government, except that the said Bureau has for some time been suspicious regarding the administration of the Comps. goods are not being dealt with in good faith, as can be sufficiently measured in the above; which having been carefully considered in Council, it has been approved and understood that the said Bureau will be informed this evening by two members of this Council that he will furthermore have to join the said commissioners in the castle and remain detained there, furthermore that the said commissioners will have their duty to secure all his papers, and to agree to reconcile them with the Comps.'s office, to be consulted with the first to know the condition of the same with the Comps. goods, the warehouses under his control were inspected by the commissioners, and he was unable, in the meantime, to retrieve the keys to the warehouses from the house of the Lord Commander, in the presence of the commissioners, to make the delivery in their presence, and after completing this, to return the keys to the house of the Lord Commander, where they will remain at night, as usual.273
Thus resolved in the Castle of Good Hope, date 18.
[Signed:] S. VAN DER STEL.
[Signed:] TOBIAS VLASVAT.
[Signed:] J. CRUSE.
[Signed:] J. WITTEBOSL.
[Signed:] A. DE MAN, Rt. and Srs.
[Signed:] Ms. VAN BANCHEM.
[Signed:] PHILIP THEODOOR WELCKER.