CHAPTER II. THE TEMPORARY SETTLEMENTS, INCLUDING THE RENTSETTLEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT ESTATES. SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY. § 1. Lands not Permanently Settled. In this chapter we have to treat of two different classes of lands, which must not be confused together: (1) lands held by persons recognized as proprietors, but not under the Permanent Settlement law; (2) lands which do not belong to proprietors, i.e. in which no proprietary right other than that of Government exists. In the first class there is, of course, a Settlement of landrevenue, only that it is not under the Permanent Settlement Regulations, but under later laws which contemplate the assessment being raised periodically, and the making of a Revenue-survey and record of the rights of all parties. In the second class there is properly no Settlement of land-revenue, because Government being itself the owner, the revenue is merged in rent taken by the Government as owner. Nevertheless Settlement operations' are spoken of as applicable to both classes of estates, under a view of the matter which I will presently endeavour to make clear. In the first class of lands,-proprietary estates temporarily settled, the law is chiefly contained in Regulations VII of 1822 and IX of 1833, and some special Acts which will be noticed more in detail hereafter. In the second class, or Government estates, two methods of management may be adopted: either the tract is kept 'raiyatwár,' i.e. Government deals as landlord directly with its tenants 1; or a farmer or some kind of middleman (who is in no sense a proprietor) may be employed on certain terms, to collect and pay in the rents of the tenantry, for which he receives a certain emolument by way of deduction from the collections. The present tendency is, however, against the employment of such persons; it is preferred to Ideal direct with the tenants 2. The origin of these two classes of lands has to be explained. § 2. Temporarily-settled Estates. To this class belong (1) Territory annexed by treaty or conquest at a date subsequent to 1793. In these Government recognized existing proprietary rights, but the Permanent Settlement Regulations did not apply; as (speaking in general terms) in the districts of the modern Orissa (Katák, Bálásúr, and Púrí). To this we may add districts exempted, for special reasons, from the operation of the Regulations; (2) Resumed and lapsed revenue-free (lákhiráj) lands,— not in permanently-settled districts, but held by persons who are recognized as proprietors 3; (3) Alluvial accretions to temporarily-settled estates, which, under the law, may belong to the estateowner, but be liable to pay revenue. 1 The student will mark this, and not confuse the 'raiyatwárí tracts' of modern Bengal Reports with the raiyatwárí districts of Bombay, Madras, &c. In the latter, Government treats the raiyats not as its tenants, but as individual proprietorswhether called in law proprietors' or 'occupants-and assesses their holdings to land-revenue properly so called. The term ' raiyatwárí tract' in the eleven Bengal districts in which it occurs, means that there is no proprietor but Government. and that Government acts directly as the landlord, taking rent from the tenants, which rent it enhances, &c., just as any other landlord does under the law. 2 See post, § 6, page 449. 3 Invalid or lapsed revenue-free holdings in a permanently-settled district, when resumed,' are entitled to be permanently settled, but no others. §3. Government Estates. To this class belong (1) Waste lands.-In the first place the Permanent Settlement Regulations extended only to estates of Zamíndárs and other actual proprietors as they existed at the time. These estates, no doubt, were very loosely defined, and all included a good deal more land than was actually cultivated at the time, and were intended to do so; but there were districts in which the area of waste was so large that no claim to it was made, not even by squatters or persons encroaching beyond their own adjacent estates. This is notably the case in such districts as Goálpárá and Sylhet (described under Assam) and Chittagong; and again in the tract known as the Sundarbans between the mouths of the Húghlí and Megná rivers (part of the districts of the 24-Pergunnahs,' Khúlná and Bákirganj), in the Dáman-i-koh,' or hilly tract of the Santál Pergunnahs. In all such waste lands, until (under 'Waste Land Rules') Government leased or granted the proprietary right, the ownership remained vested in the State. (2) When estates or parts of estates were sold for arrears of revenue and Government bought them in, either because no bidders appeared, or because satisfactory terms were not offered 1. 1793, sec. 8, cl. 4. (3) Thánadári lands, or lands formerly allotted to Zamín- Reg. I of dárs for keeping up 'thánas' or police stations. The Zamíndárs were exonerated from this duty, and the lands were resumed by Government. At one time it was supposed that if Government parted with the proprietary right in estates originally permanently settled but sold for arrears, the proprietor so acquiring was only entitled to a tem porary Settlement: but this is not (4) Islands and 'chars' formed in rivers or on the seashore-not being accretions by alluvion to existing estates, which by the law or custom (Reg. XI of 1825) belonged to the estate to which they accreted-were liable to a separate Settlement. With such a vast river-system as Bengal possesses, this head is not devoid of importance. (5) Lands escheated in default of legal heirs or claimants. (6) Lands forfeited for any State offence, e.g. the Khúrdá estate in Púrí. (7) Lands which were acquired by conquest in cases where the lands were not already owned, and the Government did not see fit to confer any general proprietary title: as, e.g. the Dwárs of Jalpáígúrí and the Darjiling District 1. §4. Official Classification. The existence of these variously-originating estates necessitated a recognized official classification. Such a classification was adopted under Sir G. Campbell's administration in the district Revenue Rolls for 1876-772: CLASS I. (All) permanently-settled estates(1) At the decennial Settlement (1789 to 1791); (2) Resumed revenue-free settled permanently; (3) Estates formerly the property of Government, but the proprietary right in which had been sold to private persons subject to revenue fixed in perpetuity. (4) Ditto, ditto, subject to a revenue liable to periodical revision 3. 1 I need hardly add an eighth class -Land acquired under the Acquisition Act-for such lands will usually be applied to a special purpose; but such lands are sometimes taken, and not being needed, are either re-sold or kept as Government lands. 2 And lands were described according to it in the Board's Report, 1874-75. See Report, 1883, p. 3. 3 As a subhead of Class I, No. 4 seems a little contradictory: I sup CLASS II. Temporarily-settled estates, the property of private persons— (1) Settled for definite periods, including (of course) such estates, when (2) Farmed (3) or managed direct. } Owing to refusal of the proprietors to accept the terms of Settlement. CLASS III. Estates the property of Government, however acquired, and whether settled (i. e. the rents are made over to a responsible collector, who is allowed a remuneration), or whether managed direct: but this class has been for convenience subdivided so as to give a further CLASS IV. Raiyatwárí tracts,' i.e. large Government estates with an area of not less than 5000 acres, where the Government deals direct with the cultivators, settling and recording their rents, and collecting them itself. A glance at the table of estates and revenue at pp. 470-1 will show how these are distributed. The orders contemplate the 'Daman-i-koh' of the 'Santál Pergunnahs,' being classified as a single raiyatwárí tract. The Khúrdá and Noánand estates in Orissa are, however, entered as Government estates under Class III, because, though in some respects raiyatwárí (all rents and rights being recorded), the collection is managed by responsible 'sarbarákárs,' who are allowed a sort of Settlement. 6 Government lands called Jalpáí' lands in Midnapore1 are not treated as 'raiyatwárí' unless the tract is 5000 acres or over-notwithstanding that the raiyats pay direct. In Chittagong, farms of circles, and 'nauábád' taluqs or holdings, are in Class III, because they are Government property as far as the right in the soil is concerned. pose it refers to cases where the Settlement has been made once for all, but at progressive rates. 2 Mentioned in the chapter on Tenures. They cover 76.835 acres (Statistical Acc., Bengal, Midnapore— vol. iii. 86-100). They are lands for producing the fuel used in boiling brine to make salt. Government resumed these lands under the Salt laws, and compensated the owners or holders. |