causes. One reason is that technical instruction has not so far attracted intelligent and earnest. young men. Only those who were likely to be hopeless failures in other walks of life have sought for industrial education, and it is no wonder that they have profited little by it. It is, however, a hopeful sign of the times that in recent years a greater attraction for it has become discernible among the better classes of young men in the country. The second reason is to be found in the fact that, owing to the lack of proper facilities for practical training, both in India and abroad, greater attention has been devoted to theory than to practical work. It is now being realised, however, that a thorough practical training is indispensable for success in industrial undertakings, and attempts are being made to remove the impediments which prevent students from getting it in workshops and factories. 1 The modern system of Technical Education is Technical different from the indigenous system. Under the old system every young man used to go through his period of apprenticeship in the profession of his father, and, on his attaining manhood, became a member of his caste-guild. He could not leave the profession proper to his caste and adopt some other.

1 Complaints are often heard to the effect that Indian students encounter greater difficulties in getting admission into workshops and factories in England than in Germany, America, or Japan. It is not too much to hope, however, that the narrow-minded selfishness of factory-proprietors will gradually give place to a more enlightened sense of self-interest. It is satisfactory to note that the matter is now beginning to engage the attention of the India Office.

education and

castes.

The new system does not recognise distinctions of caste, but admits young men of all classes and creeds. The system of training under caste-guilds has had its day of success; but under the changed conditions of the modern age, it must give place to a more systematic and scientific method of instruction.

Commercial Another need of the hour is for a proper system education. of commercial education. Modern business is a very complex affair, and no one can hope to achieve success in it unless he has thoroughly mastered its principles. The would-be captain of industry should, besides acquiring a general knowledge of economic science, make a serious study of the special problems which arise in this country in regard to the production and exchange of commodities. And a well-conceived method of instruction is needed to give them a sound knowledge of subjects like commercial law and history, banking methods, import and export problems, foreign exchange, transport and freight, company management, and the conditions of the markets in different countries. Commercial education is also necessary for those who intend to occupy the comparatively inferior positions in the business line. In recent years, colleges for the teaching of commercial subjects have been started at Calcutta, Bombay, and a few other cities, and it is expected that they will come into existence at other centres.

CHAPTER VIII

DISTRIBUTION

1. RENT

rent: custom,

RENT in India depends on the interaction of three Factors which forces-custom, competition, and legislation. In determine ancient days custom was the chief regulator of rents. competition, legislation. With the increase of population and the gradual disappearance of the semi-socialistic ideas which used to govern the mutual relations of the members of the ancient village communities, rents began more and more to be regulated by competition.

This led

to great hardship in many cases, and the Government had to intervene in the interests of the tenant. The rent laws differ in the different provinces, but their general effect is to put a check on the power of the landowner to raise rents at his pleasure. The rent legislation itself starts from a basis of custom, and, while accepting the legitimate influence of competition, seeks to confine it within reasonable limits. It aims not so much at the curtailment of advantages naturally accruing to landlords as at the maintenance of rights already conferred on tenants by custom. Custom is, therefore, still, to a large 1 Vide The Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. iii.

The relative influences of the factors.

extent, the foundation of Indian rents. The Ricardian doctrine of rent is not absolutely true of any country in the world. The conditions which it

assumes do not exist anywhere in the fullest degree; but in the United States and in England an approximation is made to these conditions, and to that extent the doctrine has application to those countries. In India, they are conspicuous by their absence; and, consequently, the theory can hardly be said to hold good in India. Here rent does not necessarily represent the difference between the produce of any particular plot and the plot on the margin of cultivation, but is a more or less definite charge. Productivity is, no doubt, a factor in the determination of the actual rent of any plot, but it is only one of several factors. Rent is often an element in the cost of agricultural produce.

The actual rates of rent in any part of the country depend on the relative strength of the three factors mentioned above. Where the influence of custom is very strong, it would overcome the influences of other factors. Where it is weak, competition has its way, unless it is checked by law. In sparsely-populated tracts, such as Assam, Central Provinces, and Rajputana, rents are low. In some cases, tenants are invited to occupy land by allowing them to hold it free of rent for the first few years. In the densely-populated parts-namely, the tracts of heavy rainfall, or those watered by the great riverscompetition for land is very keen, and the landowner is often able, when not prevented by law, to rack-rent the tenants. If custom and law be

regarded as constant quantities, any change in the force of competition would necessarily change the rate of rent. In the early days of British rule, the population was much smaller than what it is now. Land was abundant, and tenants were fewer. Rents were, therefore, comparatively low. The population has since considerably increased. Moreover, owing to the decay of manufacturing industries, a larger proportion of the people is now engaged in agriculture than before. The competition for land has thus become keener in most places, and, consequently, rents have gone up. In the larger cities, rents have risen very high.

a

between rents and prices.

Rents, as a rule, rise when there is a rise in Rise of rents. prices, but not proportionally. Generally they rise Connection considerably after prices. In some cases, however, rise in prices does not entail an increase of rents at all. Formerly, rents used to be paid in kind. At the Cash rents and time of the reaping of crops the representative of the rents in kind. landlord used to be present in the fields, and a division of the produce was made between him and the tenant. This system, although not free from difficulties, was very advantageous to the tenant. If crops failed, the tenant was not compelled to pay his rent in full,-perhaps not at all. The system still obtains, to some extent, in the remote villages; but cash rents have been generally substituted. These latter are less flexible than rents in kind. The legislative provisions deal mostly with money rents.

The systems of tenure under which land is held Systems of are various. Roughly speaking, the tenants or

tenure: