years on land from which he himself was to get no rent for six or seven years, perhaps not within the term of his lease. His object was that the cattle should be employed on land which would give him rent immediately. He therefore refused the cowle, and the black land, being overrun with nutt, was abandoned.

the cowle

system and

reduction of assessment.

The land will not now be thrown up from the want of Renewal of cowle, as it will now be granted according to former usage; and the overassessment, wherever it does exist, will be either completely or at least so far removed by the twenty-five per cent. remission, as to leave no material obstacle to the future improvement of the country.

Evil effects dency to

of the ten

adopt Eng

lish models.

idea of dis

a field

altogether

It is a great hindrance to the settlement of the country under the system of revenue in each province best known to the inhabitants, and best suited to their condition, that we are too apt to think that everything must be right in proportion as it is assimilated to the practice of England; that we are constantly bringing forward new projects for this purpose, and sometimes as new, what has been long known, and been given up from having been found on trial not to answer. The Collector of Ballári appears to regard the ryotwár settlement and field assessment as a new and erroneous system, and to think that another which he proposes, might have been, or might now be, substituted for it with advantage. He says that if the Collector's survey had stopped with the measurement, without assessing pensing with the fields, and a discretionary annual settlement had then been assessment 'formed with each ryot for his entire farm, without assessing erroneous. each field at different rates, the evil I have alluded to might 'perhaps have been avoided; and this subject seems deserving 'of the gravest consideration,' &c. The Collector here is evidently thinking of what is called the putkutt settlement, which he does not appear to know is only another name for the ryotwár. Both terms are indifferently applied in the provinces to the same settlement, though the local officers probably thought that one was sufficient for the purpose of explanation. The putkutt is the 'land held;' the ryot is the 'landholder.' Every ryot has always settled for his entire farm or putkutt, but this does not preclude the necessity of a field assessment, as supposed by the Collector. There was always in the Ceded Districts, long before they came into the possession of the Company, a field assessment or estimate of some

kind or other. There was in every village a register of the land, showing the rent of each field and its extent, either from actual measurements or estimates. Without such documents, though often extremely imperfect, no putkutt settlement could possibly have been made; for when a ryot either threw up two or three of the fields composing his putkutt, or took some additional, how was the decrease of rent in the one case and the increase in the other to have been determined without a knowledge of the assessment of such fields? If these points were to be determined by discretion, as recommended by the Collector, instead of by assessment accounts, we should do much mischief. We should never arrive at any fixed rent or settlement, and we should continue for ever going on in the dark, and acting in doubt. But the Collector appears to believe that this difficulty would be removed by competition, which forms a part of his system. He says, 'The natural competition for farms would, in 'time, point out their true value;' and 'the occupation of land 'in India might thus in time be regulated on a system similar 'to that in England.' This plan of the Collector is so contrary to everything that is right, that I am not sure whether I have not mistaken his meaning. If he mean by competition for farms, that the farm is to be given to the highest bidder, it could not be done without a general disregard of all the rights of property, without opening a wide field to fraud and corruption among the revenue servants, and without endless vexation and oppression. We already know what evil has resulted from competition in a few village leases; but the adoption of such a principle in the settlement of ryots' farms would produce general discontent, and excite endless village feuds, and, after all, it would involve us in more details than at present, without ever His misap- leading to any fixed assessment. The Collector looks upon the ryot as a mere tenant, and hence he infers that the occupation of land in India may be regulated as in England. But the station of the ryot is not so low as it is made by his plan. The ryot is certainly not like the landlord of England, but neither is he like the English tenant. If the name of landlord belongs to any person in India, it is to the ryot. He divides with Government all the rights of the land. Whatever is not reserved by Government belongs to him. He is not a tenant at will, or for a term of years. He is not removable because another offers more. The case, it is true, sometimes happens, but

prehension of the true

position of the ryot.

it is always regarded as one of injustice. He holds his land or putkutt, by inheritance, as long as he pays the public assessment upon it. That assessment has, under the native princes, always fluctuated, and been a great bar to improvement. It is our object to limit the demand upon his land, to secure him in the possession of it, and thus to render it a valuable property. But the proposed system of competition, instead of contributing to the attainment of this end, would take away all security, and not only prevent the growth of landed property, but shake and disturb all that now exists.

ency of any

vision of the

at the present

The Collector says that, notwithstanding the twenty- Inexpedifive per cent. reduction, a considerable quantity of land will further restill be too highly rated to admit of its being brought into assessment cultivation. It was stated nearly twenty years ago that no time. survey could at once be made so accurate as not to require correction. This is the very course which ought now to be adopted for that purpose. A very large proportion of the land under cultivation during the leases paid the full survey rent; a considerable proportion had a remission, but very little of it beyond twenty-five per cent. There can therefore be no doubt that all the land which the ryots were able to hold throughout the leases, will now be easily and profitably held, after a reduction of twenty-five per cent. But as the land held during the leases was more than they could adequately cultivate, we must, for some years, expect rather a diminution than an extension of cultivation. When the stock of the ryots increases beyond what is sufficient for the due culture of their present lands, they will take more, and it will then be easily discovered by what they reject, what is actually overassessed. A revision should then be made, and a second and final remission be granted to all such land as may be found to be overassessed, which I do not believe will make altogether a difference of Rs. 20,000 on the present assessment of the whole Collectorate. But no revisions should be attempted for at least seven, or probably eight or ten years. In the mean time the assessment should not be touched in any instance, under any plea whatever. The mischief of tampering with the assessment is that it destroys all confidence in its permanence; that if indulgence is granted in one place, it is expected in another, and cannot be refused without occasioning discontent; and that, when once begun,

Objections

to frequent revisions of

the assess

ment.

Temporary abatements

may be made

in the case of

poor ryots.

it never stops. If, instead of twenty-five, we were to give up fifty per cent., it would not perceptibly diminish the calls of the ryots for remission, whenever they see that there is any chance of getting it. The facility with which they can obtain it, unless strictly prohibited, is exemplified in the cowles granted by the Sub-Collector, and recommended by the Collector, where it will be found that much land originally assessed as low as from one and a half to two and a quarter Cantarai fanams, or from one shilling to eighteenpence per acre, and afterwards reduced twenty-five per cent., was still thought too high, and all reduced to half a Cantarai fanam, or fourpence per acre.

It has already been observed that a portion of the land-rent, amounting probably to one-fifth, is paid by poor ryots, many of whom never pay the full rent. These ryots should, according to ancient usage, have an abatement of rent for one, two, or three years, until they can pay the full rate, but no alteration of the assessment should be made on their account, for it never could be adapted to their circumstances without sacrificing the revenue altogether. We shall always have these ryots as long as there is unoccupied land, however flourishing the country may be. No reduction of rent will enable us to get rid of them, for their existence is not connected with the assessment, but is inherent in the state of society and the customs of the country. They are chiefly composed of the sons of petty ryots, and of industrious labourers, struggling with small and often inadequate means to become independent ryots. Many of them fail, but more are successful; and they not only fill up the vacancies constantly occurring among the old ryots from various accidents and calamities, but augment progressively the great body of the more substantial ryots, on whom the security of the revenue chiefly depends.

ON THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY AND THE
CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE.

31st December, 1824.

We are now masters of a very extensive empire, and we should endeavour to secure and improve it by a good internal administration. Our experience is too short to judge what rules are best calculated for this purpose. It is only within the last thirty years that we have here begun to acquire any practical knowledge; a longer period must probably elapse before we can ascertain what is best. Such a period is as nothing in the existence of a people; but we act as if this were as limited as the life of an individual.

We proceed, in a country of which we know little or nothing, as if we knew everything, and as if everything must be done now, and nothing could be done hereafter. We feel our ignorance of Indian revenue, and the difficulties arising from it; and instead of seeking to remedy it by acquiring more knowledge, we endeavour to get rid of the difficulty by precipitately making permanent settlements which relieve' us from the troublesome task of minute or accurate investigation, and which are better adapted to perpetuate our ignorance, than to protect the people.

of a thorough

indigenous

and especi

system of

land tenures

We must not be led away by fanciful theories founded on Importance European models, which will inevitably end in disappoint- knowledge of ment. We must not too hastily declare any rights permanent, institutions, lest we give to one class what belongs to another. We must ally of the proceed patiently, and, as our knowledge of the manners and customs of the people and the nature and resources of the country increases, frame gradually from the existing institutions such a system as may advance the prosperity of the country, and be satisfactory to the people. The knowledge

and assess

ments.