had been thrown a good deal into contact with the 'dubashes' or native agents1 of the European officers and merchants: and these persons took the opportunity of buying up the lands for almost nothing, leaving the former owners in possession as cultivators. Through their real or pretended influence with the officials they kept the people in complete subjection. They found means to introduce their own 'ámildárs (Revenue-agents) into the management of the country and fomented quarrels between the cultivators and the Company's renters. Then the quarrels would subside, because the dubásh's interest was to keep things quiet and prevent enquiry. They, therefore, did not dispute any more with the inhabitants about their share in the crops, but they set the inhabitants fighting among themselves one man advanced pretensions for himself and precluded the rest: property having once been thrown into confusion, was easily invaded. In such a state of things the dubash was pampered by both parties. He lived on the people and only gave his favour in return.' It was not till 1793-94 that order began to prevail owing to Mr. Lionel Place's determination to restore the village organization as the basis of Revenue management. Other details will occur in the sequel, but this will suffice to show what a difficult task Collectors or Provincial Councils-more or less new to the work-had when they were called on not only to restore order but to devise a system of revenue administration by which the poor and the rich should be justly treated and the Government interests respected. 1 Dubash is a corruption of Dobhashi-one who speaks two languages-and means interpreter. The term and office are now entirely obsolete. The nearest thing we have to it is a ‘jamadár,' the headman among a staff of office-ushers and messengers: but in the old days the dúbash was a native agent on whom the European officer was always greatly dependent for any dealings with the people: they were thus able to represent things to their masters much as they chose, and also to work everything round to their own purposes and advan tago. SECTION IV.-EARLY HISTORY OF REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. §1. First attempts at British Administration- Taking the districts in the order of their coming under British rule, the first revenue administration was of the Zamíndárí order. The Northern Sirkárs were managed by the existing Zamindars, some of whom were local chiefs of importance and influence, and others of the ordinary type of revenue-agent. The 'havéli' lands, which had belonged, as private estates, to the Mughal Crown, or to members of the royal family, were given over to 'renters.' To ensure a botter control, Provincial Councils' were formed in 1769, after the model of Bengal, to supervise the Revenue arrangements. Their management of the Zamíndárís was unsuccessful1. "The Zamíndárs did not look after the collections themselves. They,' says Arbuthnot, 'for the most part employed subrenters or farmers of revenue, who made the collections from the ryots, and oppressed them grievously by unauthorized exactions. Renters were likewise employed by the Company's officers to collect the revenue of land not under Zamíndárs, a whole "sirkár" being sometimes let to one renter. The per. sons thus employed were usually strangers to the country, hangers-on of the chiefs or members of the Provincial Councils, three of which Councils, stationed at Ganjam, Vizagapatam, and Masulipatam were vested with the superintendence of the affairs of the Sirkárs. The renters employed by these Councils appear to have abused their powers even more grossly than those under the Zamíndárs.' § 2. The Jágír. The same system of renting was followed in the Jágír (Chingleput) and with similar want of success. The Court of Directors next appointed a Committee of Circuit,' to make tours and gather information. Their instructions were conceived in a liberal and enlightened spirit: but the them, and they did not effect much.' Arbuthnot, Memoir, I. xl. 1 Macleane says (vol. i. p. 115, note) that the work was too great for Local Courts did not support the members, and the renters tried to thwart them. Although all this time leases were only given for 1-3-5 years, there was no improvement. § 3. Proposals for the newly-acquired Districts. When, therefore, the new districts which became British in 1792, 1799, and 1800-1, had to be settled, the failure of management in the earlier acquired districts, induced the Governor-General to look beyond the Civil Service for officers to organize their administration. Indeed, civil officers were not available; and Lord Cornwallis determined to settle the Báramahál (1792) by the aid of military officers, who knew the language and the country. The instructions issued will be found in the Fifth Report, and show that the object was to make a permanent Settlement, but with whom was not determined. It should also be remarked that even if the experience of the Zamíndárí system in Bengal had been more favourable than it was, there were, for the most part, no Zamíndárs (properly so called); there were numerous chieftains called 'Poligars' (pálaiyakkárar)1 both as semi-independent revenuecollectors, and of smaller pretensions as police in aid of the Revenue-collector; but they were not such, in the majority of instances, as held out much prospect of their proving suitable landlords to hold the Settlement. Practically, therefore, all the early Settlements were tentative arrangements, which depended largely on what Or in the other vernaculars, 'pálégára.' Having once stated tho correct spelling, I shall continue, for brevity's sake, to use the an glicized ‘poligar.' The title 'poligar' is said by WILKS to have been given by the Vijayanagar kings to tho chiefs of the Telugu colonies planted in the neighbouring provinces for the purpose of overawing the original inhabitants. The Tamil nane is pálaiyakkárar, the literal meaning of which is holder of a camp'; secondly, the holder of a barony or military tenure. The English seem to have taken their name-'poligar' from the Canarese pálegára or the Telugu pálegádu. In the Canara country the poligar is called Odeyar (pronounced Wodeyár). A similar name, Udaiyar, is often used by the Zamindars of the Tamil country (Caldwell's History of Tinnerelly, p.58): sco also a curious account of how the conqueror Viswanatha Náyaka in the early sixteenth century set up poligars to keep order in the country, and how they gradually took virtual possession of the whole (pp. 57, 102-3). Tho Fifth Report (ii. p. 93) gives a long account of the Carnatic poligars, and of the Southern estates (p. 101) and Western 'pollams' (p. 103. the Settlement Officers found practicable. Read started in 1792 in Salem, with Munro and others as his assistants. Coimbatore in 1799 was taken in hand by Macleod and Hurdis, who had been under Read. The Ceded Districts were undertaken in 1801 by Munro. The Carnatic Districts immediately followed, and were settled on similar general principles. 84. The First Settlements. Of the earliest systems it is not necessary to speak in detail; whatever is of interest in them will be noted when we come to speak of Read and Munro's principles. In inost of them, however, there was a survey, probably as good as could be, considering the time; and although the assessments usually proceeded on the basis of a reference to past accounts1, corrected as far as possible by considering the average of the collections of several years, and so forth, the interest of the individual cultivator was always looked to; and in the course of time, the first signs of the modern system of grouping villages according to the advantages of their situation, classifying soils, ascertaining the average produce and finding the Government revenue by taking a reasonable percentage of the grain-produce converted into money value, may all be discerned. § 5. A Zamíndúrí (Permanent) Settlement ordered. The earliest general instructions of the Board of Revenue were to make the best arrangements possible pending the inquiries which must precede any Settlement whatever, and then to adopt a system of village leases.' But it is clear that the intention was to prepare, by these leases, for some form of Zamíndárí Settlement, i. e. one man should be made answerable for the revenue of each village or other estato. For, at an early date, i. e. soon after the Permanent Settlement Regulations had been The account of the total and detailed villago not assessment was called the 'bériz' (P. barij= account). This term, pronounced with the first syllable long, is constantly used in Madras official orders and reports, to signify, the not account payable, after allowing for authorized de ductions. passed and were in force in Bengal, the Governor-General and the authorities at home began to call for a Zamíndárí Settlement (which should also be permanent) in Madras. This proposition did not find much favour. District officers knew it was impossible, except (as already explained) in the Northern Sirkárs. And this view was 'shared by eminent civil servants in the Madras Presidency, some of whom were, or shortly afterwards became, members of the Board of Revenue.' Mr. Place (whose successful efforts at Chingleput probably gave weight to his objections) as well as others, reported very unfavourably. Accordingly, even the superior authorities hesitated for a time. But in 1799 positive orders were issued, and threats were conveyed, that officers found slack in introducing the Zamindarí system would be removed. A special commission to superintend the settlement was appointed in 1801. The Zamíndárí Regulation No. XXV was passed in 1802; and between 1802 and 1805, the introduction of the system, as far as it was possible, was effected1. § 6. How carried out—"Zamíndárís' and 'Muṭṭhás. The Northern Sirkárs being already in the hands of Zamindars, were permanently settled; and the 'haveli' lands were made into parcels or muṭṭhás, and sold to the highest bidder. The mutthádárs (or mittádárs, as they were called in some districts) became the proprietors and permanent Settlement-holders. The Jágír (Chingleput) was treated in the same way, in spite of there being considerable traces of landlord village communities, as we shall afterwards see. The district was made into sixty-one mutthás paying from 7000-17,500 rupees 2. The Báramahál was made into 205 mutthás during 1803-4-5. These were afterwards subdivided into 308 estates. Within eight years, however, the estates came back in numbers on the Government through failures, |