SELECTIONS FROM THE' 'iEOORDS*OF THE BOMBAY GOVERNMENT. - *> . 'v • ■' • No. CL.—New Seriisi / PAPERS EELATiarc; to the SL*n HEYI3IC1 \r o VIE o,;.Tm or AbbESbYENT ON THE Ebb HE* lON OF THK FIRST BE I HjEliKNT* IN THL OLD MAMA, SUOLATtiK, M >HQL, BA'RSi, A'iD KaMA’LA TAij KAb SKOI A'jAUxI COLLECTORArPE. PRxNTE- SonHifl'j; .vi jTIE government central press. 1877. SELECTIONS FROM THE RECORDS OF THE BOMBAY GOVERNMENT. " - ' No. CL.—New Series. PAPERS RELATING TO THE REVISION OP THE RATES OF ASSESSMENT ON THE EXPIRATION OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE OLD MA'DHA, SHOLATUIi, MOHOL, BA'ESI, AND KARJIA'LA . TALUKAS OF THE ' * SHOLA'PUR COLLECTORATE. ) Hom&ag: PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS. CONTENTS. REVISION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE MA'DHA TALUKA OF THE SHOLA'PUR COLLECTORATE. Page. Letter No. 424, dated 13th February 1871, from the Collector of Poona, to the Surrey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., submitting a report by the Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Surrey ... ... ... 3 Report addressed by the Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Collector of Sholapur, No. 40, dated 12th January 1871, submitting proposals for the re-assessment of the villages of the Madha Taluka ... 5 Accompaniments to report— 1.—Statement of sales and mortgages ... ... ... ... ... 13 2.— Do. of prices of grain ... ... ... ... ... 20 3.—Contrasted statement of number of houses and wells, &o. ... ... 22 4.—Statement of details of cultiration ... ... ... ... ... 40 5.— Do. do. population ... 41 6.— Do. showing occupations of the people... ... ... ... 43 7.— Do. of houses, wells, . ... ... ... 406 Accompaniments to Superintendent’s report— 1.—Letter No. 226, dated 19th September 1842, from the Superintend¬ ent, Revenue Survey, Deccan, to the Collector of Sholapur, re¬ porting on the proposed rates of assessment for the Ropla Petha of the Karmala District ... ... * ... ... ... 424 2.—Letter No. 3, dated 25th July 1842, from Mr. Price, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey, to Lieutenant Nash, Superin¬ tendent, Deccan Revenue Survey, proposing rates of assess- mentfor the Ropla Division of Karmala Taluka ... ... 430 3.—Statement of cultivation and collections, &c. ... ... 442 4.—Contrasted statement of price of grain ... ... ... ... 443 5.— Do, do. of average price of jowari ... ... ... 443 6.—Letter No. 367, dated 28th September 1842, from the Collector, Sholapur, to the Revenue Commissioner, forwarding the above letters from Lieutenant Nash and Mr. Price ... ... ... 444 7.—Letter No. 1565, dated 8th November 1842, from the Revenue Commissioner, to the Collector, Sholapur, ... ... ... 445 8.—Letter No. 1457, dated 11th October 1842, from the Revenue Com¬ missioner, to the Chief Secretary to Government, forwarding the above letters from Collector, Sholapur, LieutenaniNash, and Mr, Price ... ... ' ... ... ... ... * ... ... 446 9.—Reply of the Chief Secretary to Government, No. 3134, dated 31st October 1842 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 449 10.—Letter No. 166, dated 24th July 1843, from the Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Deccan, to the First Assistant Collector in charge Sholapur, proposing rates of assessment for the Subha Division of the Karmala Taluka ... ... ... ... ... 450 11.—Settlement of cultivation and collections, &c. ... ... ... 455 12.—Letter No. 117, dated 18th July 1843, from Mr. Price, Assistant Superintendent of Survey, to the Superintendent of Survey, pro¬ posing rates of assessment for the Subha Division of the Kar¬ mala Taluka ... ... ... ... ... ... 462 13.—Statement of cultivation and collections ... ... ... ... 468 14.— Do. of assessment under proposed rates ... ... ... 470 15.—Letter No. 330, dated 5th August 1843, from the First Assistant Collector in charge Sholapur, to the Revenue Commissioner, - S.D., forwarding the above-mentioned letters from the Super¬ intendent, Deccan Revenue Survey, and his Assistant, Mr. Price ... ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••• 472 CONTENTS. Vll 16.—Extract from a letter No. 926, dated the 30tb. August 1843, from the Revenue Commissioner, S.D., to the Chief Secretary, to Government ... ... ... ... ... 17.—Letter No, 3302, dated 12th October 1843, from the Chief Secretary to Government, to the Revenue Commissioner, S.D., communicating the orders of Government on the proposed survey settlement of the Subha Division of the Karmala Taluka Memorandum No. 2297, dated 13thDecember 1873, by the Survey and Set¬ tlement Commissioner, N.D., reviewing the proposals submitted for the revision of the assessment of the Karmala Taluka ... Memorandum No. 149, dated 14th January 1874, by the Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S.D., submitting, for the orders of Government, the above corre¬ spondence, regarding revision of the assessment of the Karmala Taluka ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 707, dated 7th February 1874... Memorandum No. 792, dated 21st May 1874, by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., submitting to Government a draft notification of the guarantee given to the revised settlement introduced into ninety-six villages of the Karmala Taluka • Government memorandum thereon, No. 2781, dated 3rd June 1874, pointing out that the draft notification includes ninety-six villages, whereas only ninety-three are mentioned in the revision settlement report, and calling for explanation in the matter... ... ... ... * ... Memorandum No. 965, dated 19th June 1874, by the Acting Survey and Set¬ tlement Commissioner, N.D., submitting a memorandum No. 478 and accompanying statement from the Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, containing the explanation called for by Government memoran¬ dum No. 2781 ... ... ... ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 3494, dated 8th July 1874 Letter No. 629, dated 3rd .August 1874, from the Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., forwarding a statement showing the result of the revised rates of assessment introduced into the Karmala Taluka ... ... ... Memorandum No. 1260, dated 7th August 1877, by the Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., submitting the foregoing letter and state¬ ment for the information of Government ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 5430, dated 13th October 1874 Letter No. 1843, dated 27th November 1875,-from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., to the Acting Secretary to Government, submitting proposals for reducing the revised assessment of the villages of the Kar¬ mala Taluka, in accordance with Government Resolution No. 5739 of the 29th October 1874 ... ... ... Government Resolution thereof, No. 6967, dated^l 1th December 1875 ... Page. 474 475 478 485 500 503 504 504 508 508 514 515 516 517 MA'DHA TALUKA. b 210—a No. 424 of 1871. To The SURVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER Sholdpur Collector's Office^ Camp Jehur, 13th February 1871. Sir, . . I have the honour to annex a letter from Mr. H. M. Grant, Superintendent of Survey, Poona and N&sik, No. 40 of the 12th ultimo, with accompaniments. 2. The present proposals will, if carried out, have the effect of raising the revenue assessment 75 per cent. This is a very large'increase, and should have very careful consideration before it he finally adopted. 3. You are aware, that by the Bombay Local Funds Act of 1869, every ryot is obliged to pay an additional local cess of one anna for every rupee of revenue. An increase of 75 per cent, is • therefore an increase of 75 Rupees 7 5 annas per cent., or of Rs. 79-11. 4. Another point deserves consideration. By the recent orders of the Government of India, cultivators are not altogether exempted from Income Tax. Persons whose total rental is equal to Rs. 250, and whose income from all sources is equal to Rs. 250, are made liable to the Income Tax. .If the increasing of the reve- nue, will have the effect of making any person wtm was not before liable to pay the Income Tax to be now liable, this point ought, I think, to be taken into consideration in determining the increase that'is to be made. 5. Lieutenant Wingate has, in his report made in 1839, well remarked upon the peculiar position occupied by the State, as a landlord, and of the great care that should be taken that the pres¬ sure put upon tenants by the State should not be excessive. 6. If the State as, landlord determine that a tenant can be justly deemed able to pay a certain proportion as rent, it is impoli¬ tic as well as unreasonable subsequently to place upon him an additional burden under the name of Income Tax. 7. I am of opinion, that the proper course for the State to adopt would be to allow a man, holding a rental of Rs. 250 inland, and having an income from all sources equal to Rs. 500, to be 4 taxed under the Income Tax Act for that income; hut I think that, by a special enactment, the portion of tax paid on account of income derived from land on which rent has been paid by him to Government, should be subsequently refunded to him. 8. If this be not done, the money so paid ought, at least, as an act of simple justice, to be deducted from the land revenue to be realized from the same person in the following year. 9. The State occupies two positions, one as Government of the country, the other as landlord of the tenant. It is not right that while in both capacities it receives the whole rent due from the land and the Income Tax due on the profit of the cultivator, it should as landlord refuse in every instance to pay any portion of the Income Tax. 10. It has been remarked by Lieutenant Wingate, that in England, unless land be given on a very long lease, all the farm buildings and other permanent improvements are effected at the expense of the landlord. Government escape all these expenses. They ought, therefore, to take them into some consideration when determining the rent to be demanded, 11. On the other side I must, however, draw attention to what has been said, in the 38th paragraph of Lieutenant Wingate’s report in 1839. Lieutenant Wingate has remarked that the result of very high assessment will be to lower the price of grain, the reason being that the high assessment compels the ryots to sell a large portion of their grain at one time, in order to pay their reve¬ nue. At the present time it is well known that in most parts of the Deccan the ryots store up their grain for long periods and can scarcely be induced to sell it when a bad season comes. That the price of grain has increased, as it has done during the last few years all over the country, would seem to show how very low the assess¬ ment of the land revenue is in proportion to what it ought to be. • 12. Mr. Grant has brought forward a very forcible argument for an enhancement of the present assessment, in the fact of the greatly increased facilities offered to the cultivators by the Railway for the transmission of their produce to distant markets. 13. Considering the altered condition of the country since 1839, I think that a large enhancement of the assessment should be made, and that so large an increase as Rs. 7S-11 would be reasonable. 1 fear, however, that so large an increase so suddenly made might give rise to some discontent. The Survey Officers 5 who, in their survey operations, have been brought into constant communication with the cultivators, ought however to be the best judges of this.. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, T. BOSANQUET, Acting Collector. To No. 40 of 1871. The COLLECTOR of SHOLA'PUR. Camp Chincholi, 12tli January 1871. Sir, I have the honour to report the completion of the re-measure¬ ment and classification of the Mfidha Taluka, and to submit propo¬ sals for its re-assessment. 2. This is the second district in which the original 30 years’ survey lease has expired, and in this, as in the first district (Indapur), the. settlement was made by Lieutenant (now Sir George) Wingate. Lieutenant Wingate’s Re¬ ports on the settlement of the Madha Taluka, paras. 14 and 15, The measurement of this district was originally effected by Mr. Pringle, and the work was not done over again, but only examined and corrected by ' Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson, and their measurements only embraced the arable land, unarable waste being left unmeasured. The boundary marks wrere not erected till some 8 or 10 years after the survey was made, and the village maps which were then constructed were merely rough kind of plans, showing the relative position of the village numbers to each other and nothing more, and are of no value in determining the actual position or boundaries of numbers as they were not drawn to scale. It has consequently been found necessary to re-measure the whole district. Owing to the great difference in the areas of numbers caused by waste having been included, and to many changes in the old boundaries, the classification values also were found to be vitiated to such an extent as to render it more satisfactory and expeditious to re-class the whole than to attempt to correct the original classification, 6 4.The Madha Taluka, as it now stands, does not unfortunate¬ ly correspond with the Mddha Taluka * 40 Klialsa. of Lieutenant Wingate’s time. The pre- 2 Dumalla. sent taluka consists of 42* villages of the ^ ^kaisa. 0lcl M4dha Taluka, 36t of the old Mohol 11 KhSsa.a" Taluka, and 11 villages of Karmala Taluka, ■ Parts of three talukas being thus includ- 80 ed in one, renders it somewhat inconve¬ nient to- show any comparison between the present and past state of the district. The total area according to the new survey amounts to 390,322 acres, distributed as under :— Culturable. Unculturable. Gairan, Inam. Total. 339,947 22,565 11,330 16,480 390,322 5. The Madha Taluka is described by Mr. Fletcher as being of irregular shape, its greatest length, which is from north-east to> south-west, measures about 40 miles, and in breadth it varies from twenty-five to thirty miles in its northern portion to eighteen or twenty in the south. Its eastern boundary, roughly speaking, is formed by the River Sina, though five villages on the east of this river .are included in the taluka. The river Bhima touches the north-western corner of the district, and its western and southern sides adjoin the Pandharpur and Sholapur Talukas. 6. The general appearance of the district is far from prepos¬ sessing, as it is merely a bare undulating plain, the tops of its, undulations often covered with yellow stunted spear grass, the sure sign of a barren soil, and its monotony almost unrelieved by trees.. The water shed traverses the taluka in the direction of its greatest length, viz., from north-west to south-east, and its streams flow east¬ ward into the Sina, and southward into the Bhima, which latter is at no point many miles from the south-western boundary ; none of these tributary nullas are of any size or importance, owing to the low elevation at which they take their rise and the short distance they have to flow; and none of them, except the Bhend, which is the largest, maintain a running stream all through the year. This nulla, which rises near Kem in the Karmala Taluka, empties itself into the Sina, little to the north of the village of Undargaon. 7 7. That part of the valley of the Sina which lies in its east¬ ern bank, and therefore is included in this taluka, is nowhere of any considerable breadth, Avhile the district does not extend far enough towards the west, to include any of the plain of the Bhima. It will be seen, therefore, that by far the larger portion of the district consists of comparatively high lying land, whose soil is generally shallow, though it varies very much both in depth and quality ; the villages along the bank of the Sina form the richest part of the district, and, as might be expected, are mostly of black, soil of great depth and excellent quality. 8. The state of the district when the present settlement was introduced is forcibly described in Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson’s reports, copies of which are annexed. 9. When the present settlement was introduced, the district was supposed to be suffering from the evils, of over-assessment, and the present rates were fixed with a view to afford substantial relief; the reduction in the revenue caused by them amounted to Rs. 25,000. 10. A recent article in the Indian Economist attributes the terrible depression which marked the agriculture of the country— some 30 or 40 years back, not to over-assessment, to which the- Revenue Officers of the day ascribed it, but to the contraction of the currency of the country (under the exaction of foreign rule) and the continuous fall in the price of produce that resulted from it. 11. Whatever may have been the real cause of the depression which is admitted to have existed then, the only remedy which lay in the hands of the Revenue Officers was to reduce the assessment, which, under the then existing circumstances, was higher than the people could pay. This Avas accordingly done, and the very low rates fixed have continued in force till eoav. But a few years after the introduction of these rates the real cause of depression, according to the Economist, wg,s removed by the influx of bullion into the country, consequent on the discovery of the gold-fields of California in 1847, followed almost immediately by those of Aus¬ tralia. “ The gold-fields,” says the Economist, “ set the industry of the world in motion. It was discovered in the Crimean war that India could grow oil-seeds as well as Russia, and the moment that a stream of silver in payment of these neAv exports was directed upon the thirsty land, the ryot’s emancipation came. We heard no more complaints of over-assessment or outstanding balances.” ' 8 12. The correctness of this view is apparently borne out by the returns of cultivation and price of produce in this district for the last 30 years. For the first 10 years after the introduction of the survey, the average assessment on waste land was Rs. 8,461, and the total remissions were Rs. 2,344. During the second decen¬ nial period the amount of waste land remained the same, but the improved condition of the country is evidenced by the decrease in remissions, the average of which is only Rs. 525. For the last 10 years the average amount of assessment on waste land was only Rs. 750, while the average remissions are nil. 13. It appears then that reduced rates of assessment have continued in force long after the cause which led to their introduc¬ tion has ceased to exist, and I cannot but think from my own observations of the state of agriculture in the district, that the lightness of the assessment, so far from being beneficial, has been a bar to improvement during the last 8 or 10 years. 14. That an unduly low assessment is prejudicial to agricul¬ tural industry of a district is proved by McCulloch, who thus writes on this subject: “ It is difficult to say whether the over or under-renting of land be most injurious. If a farm be too high- rented, that is, if no exertion of skill or reasonable outlay on the part of the tenant will enable him to pay his rent and obtain a fair return for his trouble, he gets dispirited. The farm is in con¬ sequence ill-managed, scourging crops are resorted to, and ultimate¬ ly it is thrown on the landlord’s haiTds in an impoverished and deteriorated condition. But the disadvantages attending the under-renting of'land are hardly less, obvious. To make farmers leave those routine practices to which they are very strongly attached and become really industrious and enterprising, they must not only have the power of rising in the world, but their rent must be such as to impress them with a conviction that if they do not exert themselves their ruin will assuredly follow. Estates that ’ are under-rented are, uniformly almost, farmed in an inferior style compared with those that are let at their fair value ; and the tenants are not generally in good circumstances.” 15. On this subject Mr. FletcKer, who conducted the classi¬ fication of this district, and has had an opportunity of seeing the state of every village, thus writes : “ The cultivation of dry-crop land is very lax and careless, though not perhaps, more so than is usual in this part of the Deccan. The land is never ploughed more than once in 3 or 4 years, and little or no attention is paid to any order of rotation in the raising of different crops. I believe it would be a mistake to suppose that this slovenly agriculture is the result of the ryots holding more land than they have oxen and 9 means to cultivate efficiently. The proportion of land to cattle is about 11^ acres to every ox. In the Neriad Taluka of Guzerat, which may perhaps be taken as the Indian ideal of .& highly cul¬ tivated district, the proportion is one ox to 9 acres of land. But considering the rich deep soil, extensive irrigation, and expensive crops raised, in the latter Taluka, there is no doubt that a very much smaller proportion would suffice for the efficient cultivation of light soil- and common crops, such as prevail in Madha. The slovenly system of agriculture now practised in the latter district, cannot then be attributed to the poverty of the royts at the present time, though it was probably induced by this cause. The present assessment, designedly a light one, when introduced some 30 years ago, has by the rise in prices since that time been practically re¬ duced some 75 per cent, with regard to the proportion it then bore to the produce of the soil. The ryots on the introduction of the survey, encouraged by the favorable terms of the settlement offered them, took up far more land than they then had means to cultivate, and the slovenly agriculture, which naturally resulted, has long survived the poverty which was formerly its excuse. When the demand for cotton doubled or trebled the value of his produce, the ryot found that his fields almost untilled produced sufficient for his wants, and has characteristically rested content ever since. The considerable increase, which I presume the present revision will impose, may be expected therefore to give a beneficial impulse to agriculture.” 16. As an indication that an independent and enterprising spirit is not altogether wanting, however, Mr. Fletcher instances the case of the village of Kurul called “ Malliacha, ” from its pre-eminence as a garden village in former days. Here nine new wells only have been added to the original thirty-nine, owing to the poorness of the soil, which would not repay any outlay of capital in well-sinking ; but failing this mode of employing their capital, it is interesting to observe that the inhabitants have invested ib carts and ply for hire between Sholdpur and Satara, the road between which places passes through their village. There are nearly 80 carts belonging to this village, and no less than three workshops in the village itself for their manufacture and repairs. The villages on the B&rsi road also have taken largely to the carrying trade, ' and indeed seem to depend on it for their living almost as much as on their land. In Mhaisgaon on this road there are 94 carts. The rates of hire from Bdrsi to the B5,rsi Road Station, a distance of about 21 miles, vary according to demand from Rs. 1-4 to Rs. 3. •> i 17. The statistical information collected during the recent survey, affords unmistakeable testimony to the improvement b 210—6, . 10 in the state of the disti'ict. According to a statement prepared from the* Mdmlatddr’s records, it appears that there were at the time of settlement 1,282 wells, of which 190 were out of repair and useless; 98 of these have subsequently been repaired and put in working order, and 861 new wells have been constructed. The following tabular statement shows these results more clearly :— Total number of wells in 1839-40. Deduct wells out of repair. Remaining in working order. Old wells subsequently repaired. New wells subsequently constructed. Total present number of wells in working order. 1,282 190 1,092 98 861 2,051' As in Ind^pur, keeping pace with the growth of capital, these improvements have been gradually increasing: during the first 10 years after the settlement, 57 new wells only were constructed, during the next 10 years 214, and in the last decennial period 590. Assuming, as has been done in the Indapur Report, that each of these new wells represents an outlay of Rs. 400, and each old well repaired a sum of Rs. 150 to 175, we find that capital amounting to more than three and a half lakhs of rupees has been expended on wells alone. 18. The cultivators of the district have also contributed over seven thousand rupees towards the construction of new chowris and dharamshilas, as shown in the following statement of buildings of this description recently constructed :— Description and Number of Buildings, # Contribution by Government. Ryots* payments. Total cost of buildings. Chowris ... ... 45 3,048 4,821 7,869 Dharamshalaa ... 21 4,275 2,687 6,962 Total... 66 7,323 7,508 14,831 19. The extent to which the floating capital of the district has been increased during the past thirty years’ lease may be learnt from a statement appended, which shows for each village the result 11 of two different census of inhabitants, cattle, agricultural imple¬ ments, carts, &c., taken in 1839-40 and 1868-69, respectively, and of which the following is an abstract:— ! Description. Numerical Return according to Census taken in r Increase in favour of 1868-69. 1839-40. 1868-69. Numerical. Percentage. Inhabitants ... ... 64,195 80,676 16,481 26 Bullocks employed in farming. 24,793 28,490 3,697 15 Cattle of other descriptions ... 66,345 59,193 7,152 11 decrease. Carts ... ... . ... 435 1,323 888 204 Ploughs 1,758 2,423 665 38 • From the above it will be seen that the numerical difference in the population is 16,481, which is equivalent to an increase of rather less than 26 per cent. only. This is a very small increase, and is even less than in the adjoining district of Indapur, where the population was found to have increased 31 per cent. The number of souls to the square mile, however, is greater than in Indipur, there being 146 souls to every square mile of culturabla area in this district, against 119 in Indipur. 20. There is an addition of 15 per cent, only to the number of cattle used for agricultural purposes, which, considering the large expansion of cultivation which has taken place, is less than might have been expected; and this paucity of cattle is doubtless, m some measure, the reason of the slovenly and lax system of cultivation noticed in paragraph 12. ♦ 21. Compared with the return of carts in 1839-40, our pre¬ sent return shows an increase of 888 carts; the total number now -in the district being 1,323. 22. The present condition of the cultivators of this district is happily a complete contrast to what it was when the present settlement was introduced ; the whole district is in a state of pros¬ perity, the waste land amounts to only g-Jo- of the whole culturable area, and the cultivators are nearly all well off and independent, while for many years there has not been a single rupee of out¬ standing revenue. 12 23."With regard to the value of land 30 years ago, Lieutenant Wingate states (para. 24): “Were instances to be found of the better descriptions of Jirayet land bearing some value in the market, were they at all saleable or could loans of however trifling amount be raised upon their security, we should have, I apprehend, satisfactory proof of the assessment on such lands not being oppressive. And, I think, we are entitled to expect some instances of the kind, as the practice of mortgaging land obtains in many parts of India, and even here is very common in the cases of Bdgdyet and Inam lands, several instances of which, obtained from original deeds, are given in my appendix B. After considerable inquiry, however, I have been unable to find a single recent case of a price being given for the privilege of occupying Government Jirayet land; the ab¬ sence of such contracts among the cultivators would seem to afford negative evidence of the oppressive nature of the present assess¬ ment, or at least of its absorbing the whole natural rent of the land,” ..... 24. As a contrast to the above, I may mention the following cases which came under my notice, while I was at Mddha, last season, In the village of M4dha itself, 18 acres of land, assessed at Rs, 18 and containing two wells, one pakd, and one half-built, sold last year for Rs. 1,000. Two Jirayet numbers containing 3 acres 21 goontas, assessed at Rs. 1-12, sold fop Rs, 30 in the same village. In the village of D^rphal a number of 4 acres, assessed at Rs. 3, sold last year for Rupees 30. Mr. Fletcher mentions a case where a number of 23 acres, assessed at Rs. 10, in the village of Padsali, was bought by the village W^ni for Rs. 350, and such a bargain was it considered, and so anxious were the villagers to get possession of the field, that some Kunbis clubbed together and offered him Rs, 2,000 for the field which he refused to take; a well has been built in this number within the last 10 or 12 years. The Wfini let out this field for one year for Rs. 125, he, the W4ni, pay¬ ing the assessment of Rs. 10, and the cultivator bearing all expenses of cultivation, seed, &c, 25. Some instances of money raised on the security of land are given in a statement appended. These facts speak for them¬ selves, and need no comment from me. To show the lightness of the present assessment, I may notice a case which I remarked when testing the village of Bhosra with Mr. Fletcher. The owner of a number containing 27 acres planted with cotton, sold his crop to a sowkar in advance for Rs, 100. The assessment on this number is Rs. 15, and the village Kulkarni informed me that though the crop .of cotton was sold last year for Rs. 100 in advance (on which 13 the sowkar would be a considerable loser as the crop entirely failed), sometimes the crop from the field realized as much as Rs. 200. 26, Great changes have taken place in the facilities for inter¬ nal communication since the last settlement. The district has been opened up by the line of railway passing through and along its northern border, and has three stations within its limits, viz., Mohol, Madha, and Bdrsi Road; the Sholdpur, Pandharpur, and Satara road passes through the south of the district, and the old Sholapur and Poona r,oad through its centre. In addition to these, there is a cross road from Bdrsi to the B4rsi Road Station, which, is continued to Temburni, In fact, the district is so thoroijghly accessible in very part, that, in point of communication, nearly all the villages are equally favourably situated, except, per¬ haps, 4 or 5 in the extreme west of the Taluka, which, though not far from the Poona and Sholapur road, are nevertheless somewhat inaccessible, owing to the rough and hilly nature of the country about there. 27, In respect of markets also, this district is particularly well supplied; with a few exceptions on the north-west corner, no village is more .than 4 or 5 miles from one or other of them ; they are, however, mostly small and unimportant. This is to be attri¬ buted to the vicinity of the several large markets of Sholapur, B&rsi, Kurkumb, and Temburni, where better prices being generally obtainable, the principal part of the produce of the district finds its way. There are markets in the villages noted in the margin, and the markets of Kurkumb and Temburni are close outside the border. Mr. Fletcher reports that Mddha is said to have been the principal of these till the establishment of a Municipality there. The tolls levied by that body have had the effect of reducing the market to a fourth of its original size and importance, and according to the statements of the people themselves, the chief purchasers there now on market days are inhabitants of the town itself. At present Mohol is the market most largely attended, but there is a most useful and promising market at the Barsi Road Station, which is yearly increasing in. size and im¬ portance. A small number of W4nis have established themselves here, attracted by the facilities afforded for the purchase of cotton, which arrives in large quantities from Barsi and the Nizam’s Dominion. These W4nis have built a large dharamsala for their caste people, who come here for the purpose of trade, and goods brought here meet with a ready sale, though there is no particular day of the week fixed as market day. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Madha. Lowul. Ashti N arkhed. Uplai Bk. An gar* Knrda. Mohol. Patknl. Kurul. 14 28. The only manufacture of any importance carried on in this Taluka is that of weaving. There are weavers in about 20 villages, the principal of which are Narkhed, Blrloni, Pdtkul and Bembleh. Both cotton cloth and woollen blankets are made; , but they are of inferior quality, and do not seem to be in more than local demand. 29. The rates applied to this district by Lieutenant Wingate were for Mohol an advance of 10 per cent, on Lwut. Wmgate s re- jn(j^pur rates, and for MMha an advance port, porao. 26 «d 27. ^ per ^ ^ tek;ng ^ Ind4pur ^ to have been 12 as., give 13 as. 2^ pies about as the maximum rate for Mohol, and 12 as. 7^ pies the maximum rg,te for Midha. Government letter . No. 3779 of 1839, to 30. The above rates were sanctioned the Revenue Commis- by Government in the following terms:— sioner, para. 12. “ The rates for Mohol are proposed at 10 per cent., and those for Midha at 5 per cent., in advance of those of Indipur. These rates, as has already been intimated to you, are sanc¬ tioned, as all parties concur in recommending them, and the reasons upon which they are founded seem good and sufficient. The Governor in Council relies greatly in his decision on this point, on the practised experience of the Survey Officers, and he trusts that these rates are sufficiently safe for the people and sufficiently low to bring them back, or perhaps more correctly, to establish them in a state of fair promise of prosperity.” 31. .When the present rates were fixed, Mohol was assessed at 10 per cent, higher than Indipur, and .M4dha at 5 per cent, higher, the reasons for keeping the Mddha rates 5 per cent, lower than Mohol are given in Lieutenant Wingate’s 26th and 27th para¬ graphs, and one of the principal ones appears to have been the difference in the price of grain in Mohol and MMha,—a difference which, Lieutenant Wingate in his 16th paragraph anticipates, the abolition of the transit rates, improvements in the means of trans¬ port, and increase of enterprise among the people, would tend to remove. This has actually taken place, there being now no material difference in prices at Mohol and M^dha. From the appended statement of the price of grain for the last 30 years, it will be seen that for the first ten years after the introduction of the survey, the average price of Jowari is 3^ per cent, lower in M&dha than in Mohol; for the next ten years it is 6 per cent, lower; but for the last ten years the average difference is little more than one-half per cent. There has been even less difference in the price of Bajri, the 15 comparative rates for this grain being as under: for the first ten years 2 per cent, higher at Madha than in Mohol, for the second ten years 3^ per cent, lower at Mddha, and for the last ten years 2^ lower at M4dha than Mohol. The district moreover has been so opened up by the Railway and by the various roads which traverse it in all directions; that I do not consider that any apreciable difference remains in the capabilities of the parts of the two districts of Mohol and M4dha now under revision, and consequently I see no reason to keep up the difference in their respective rate. 32.I therefore propose 1. Madha. 8. Tadwal. 2. Mahadpur. * 9. Chinchgaon. 3. Undargaon. 10. Akulgaon. 4. Darphal. 11. Barloni. 5. Nimgaon. 12. Mohol. 6. Kurdix* , 13. Wadwal, 7. Bhosra. ' 14 Kolgaon. 15. Ghatna. general rate of Its. 1-2 for the whole district, and a special rate of Es. 1-4 for the 15 villages marginally noted, in consideration of the advantages resulting from their situation with regard to the Railway stations of Mohol, Madha §nd Barsi road (Kurdu). 33. The effect of these rates will be seen from the accom¬ panying contrasted statement, which shows the amount of past # , , payments and new assessment according to not falHn till im-72? Proposed rates for 77* villages in which the settlement is now to be introduced. There are five villages settled in 1856-57 and 1857-58, regarding which there is some doubt whether their survey lease was guaranteed for 30 years, or expires with the rest of the Taluka; inquiry is being made on this point, and these villages will be settled accordingly. For the present I shall confine my remarks to the 77 villages of which the 30 years’ lease has or will immediately expire! 34. The proposed rates show an increase, of Rs. 77,469, over last year’s collections, according to the following abstract:— Cultivated Land. Waste Land. Total. Assessment according to pro¬ posed rates. 1,77,933 115 1,78,048 Do. do. present do. 1,00,531 48 1,00,579 - 77,402 67 77,469 16 This is an increase of 77 per cent, on the present assessment. With this large addition however the average rate per acre is only 9 annas 4 pies. 35. No extra assessment has been placed upon well garden lands, the maximum rate for which is the same as for first class dry-crop lands. Great care has been taken in the classification to prevent the lower and least productive soils being too highly classed, and I feel confident that in spite of the large increase over present revenue, the proposed rates will be found generally suitable to the district. 36. I may here remark that the necessity for re-measurement in early settled districts, where, as in the present case, the waste lands were not surveyed when the present rates were introduced, is proved by the result of re-measurement of this Taluka. The area of land actually under cultivation is now found to be 35,600 acres in excess of what has hitherto paid revenue; in other words, there has been so much concealed cultivation; the assessment on this land alone at the average rate for the whole Taluka amounts to :— as. p. 35,600x9-4=20,766 Rs. 20,766. 37. I have the honour to request you to be good enough to forward this Report, together with any remarks you may wish to make, to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. 38. I should explain that this Report was prepared in No¬ vember last, and a copy furnished to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D.; but owing to some alterations in the Statis¬ tical Returns,* and some slight modifications suggested by the Survey Commissioner in the original grouping of villages, I have re-cast the Report; and the rates now proposed are those approved by the Survey Commissioner, N. D. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik, Statement. STATEMENT giving the Particulars of several recent Sales and Mortgages of Klialsa Lands in the Mddha Talujca. No. of Acres in Field mort- gaged. / No. of Acres usually under Irrigation. Assessement on the whole Field inclusive of extra Bagayet cess. Portion of Field mortgaged or sold. Amount of Loan raised upon mort¬ gage or price for which sold. Conditions of Mortgage and Particulars of Sale. A. g. 45 8 A. g. 1 0 « Ks. a. p.> 13 0 0 The whole. Rs. a. p. 200 0 0 Sold. Two Gatkuli Numbers and a small house in the village* There is a, well in ohe of the numbers. Date of deed a.d.. 1869. .28 5 0 0 8 0 0 Do. 150 0 0 The lender is to hold this number for 5 years, the owner paying the assessment. In case of the lender having to pay the assessment for any year, he is to hold the land another year after the expiry of the original 5 years, for every year’s assess ment paid. The debt bears no interest. Date of Deed a.d. 1868. 34 38 0 * 0 17 0 0 One-half; 400 0 0 Sold. The right of ownership in half a Survey Number and half a well on which no assessment has hitherto been levied, Date of Deed a.d. 1868. 15 27 0 0 8 0 0 Two-thirds. i 100 0 0 Mortgaged. The lender is to hold the land, paying the as¬ sessment for 11 years, at the end of which time the debt is to be considered discharged. The debt bears no interest, There is a well (untaxed) in the number, of which the lender is to have the use, and in case of his making repairs to the well or “ Tal” the amount so expended is to be repaid with interest at the rate of 2 per cent, per annum. Date of Deed a.d. 1868. 23 23 0 0 17 8 0 The whole. 100 0 0 Sold. • 41 5 0 0 13 0 0 Do. 80 0 0 Sold. 29 14 0 0 8 13 0 The whole. 250 0 0 , Mortgaged, The lender is to cultivate the land and take a “bat&i” of J for first year and § for next two years, the owner paying the assessment; at the expiration of three years, the debt to be paid off with interest at 1 per cent. M CO CO 00 0 0 7 0 0 Do. ■ 50 0 0 Sold by order of Civil Court. Particulars not forthcoming. 3 34 0 0 9 8 0 One-half. ’ 275 0 0 Do. do. do. 29 33 0 0 5 0 0 The whole. 75 0 0 Do. ✓ do. do. 2 12* 0 20 .340 Do. 400 0 0 Mortgaged, The lender is to hold the garden and have the use of trees, &c., for 5 years, when the debt is to be repaid with interest at 1 per cent. In the event of principal and interest not being paid in 5 years, the lender is to continue to hold the land till paid. Government assessment to be paid by lender and he is to have use of J of the water of the well. Date of Deed a.d. 1868. 2 12J 0 ?0 3 4 0 Do. 100 0 0 Sold. £3 30 3 0 30 0 0 Do. 400 0 0 The lender is to receive a “ batai ” of £ of the whole pro. dace, the owner cultivating the land, paying the Government assessment, and keeping boundary marks in repair. When the owner pays the money he is to repay it at the end of a year Date of Deed a.d. 1868. 40 14 3 10 25 8 0 Do. 450 0 0 Mortgaged. The lender is to hold the land and pay the assessment until such time as the original debt shall be repaid* The debt bears no interest. Date of Deed a.d. 1868. 49 5 0 0 12 0 0 Do. 100 0 0 Sold, , • 13 0 2 28 ' 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 9 12 0 One-sixth, Do, } 150 0 0 The lender is to pay the assessment on the 6th share of 13 acres, but the owner pays assessment for the £ share of 2 acres 28 gts. The lender to hold the land for 5 years, when the debt is to be repaid; if not then paid, compound interest at rate of 3 pies per rupee per mensem to be charged. Whenever the money is paid off it is to be paid at the end of year. Date of Deed a.d. 1868. H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, 20 Statement showing the Average Yearly Price of Grain at Mohol and Mddha for 30 Years, in Seers. Mohol. Ma'dha. Jowari. Bajri. Jowari. Bajri. 1839/40 78 72 91 • 70 1840/41 84 78 84 63 1841/42- 108 96 102 68 1842/43 72 60 70 63 1843/44 54 47 56 49 1844/45 15 14 21 17 1845/46 47 36 49 35 1846/47 30 24 31 26 1847/48 36 30 35 28 1848/49 47 36 49 35 Average. 57 49 59 48 1849/50 47 42 49 42 ' 1850/51 54 36 56 35 1851/52 47 36 56 42 1852/53 ’ 42 36 42 35 1853/54 36 24 35 26 1854/55 . 16 15 17 16 1855/56 23 16 24 17 1856/57 31 27 35 28 1857/58 27 17 26 19 1858/59. 17 24 19 24 Average. 34 27 36 28 1859/60 46 38 45 38 1860/61 30 36 30 26 1861/62 24 21 26 23 1862/63 22 18 23 19 1863/64 15 12 16 14 1864/65 18 14 19 16 1865/66 24 19 26 21 1866/67 23 19 24 21 1867/68 24 21 24 21 1868/69 . 31 28 26 23 Average 25-7 21* 25'9 22 BEMARK9. Average 10 years’ price of Jowari is 3| per cent, lower at Madha than Mohol. Bajri 2 per oent. higher at Madha than Mohol, Average 10 years’ price of Jowari 6 per cent, lower at Madlia than Mohol. Bajri 2Jrd per cent, lower at Madha than Mohol. Average 10 years’ price of Jowari 0*7 per cent, lower at Madha than Mohol. Bajri 2£ per cent, lower at Madha than Mohol, H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment* Statement 22 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to tivo Census taken res No. Names of Villages. Houses. * Inhabitants. Males. Females. Total Columns 6 and 9. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. Below 15 years old. Married. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( 13 11 • 14 25 4 17 21 46 1 Tadwal ... ... < ( 109 117 184 301 45 180 225 526 r 149 145 277 422 88 315 403 825 2 Bhosra ... ... < l 201 184 361 . 545 147 375 522 1,067 ( 19 15 40 55 ' 14 34 .48 103 3 Nimbgaon ... < ( 51 48 78 126 32 68 100 226 ( 75 81 142 223 55 136 191 414 4 Mahadpur ... < l 128 136 192 328 103 204 307 635 ( 175 135 2/6 411 122 283 405 816 5 Darphal... ... < ( 215 211 319 530 188 336 524 1,054 ( 93 174 182 356 • 83 108 191 547 6 Undirgaon ... < ( 303 228 301 529 140 330 470 999 ( 243 245 431 676 150 458 608 1,284 7 Anjangaon ... < l 280 230 489 719 194 503 697 1,416 ( 195 205 360 565 150 371 521 1,086 8 Uplai Khnrd ... < l 493 339 674 1,013 280 692 972 1,985 ( 879 800 1,655 2,455 547 1,713 2,260 4,715 9 Madha ... ... < ( 1,039 1,006 1,409 2,415 627 1,551 2,178 4,593 ( 49 56 135 191 37 159 196 387 10 Chincholi ... < ( 176 192 272 464 152 274 426 890 23 Cattle, Sfc., in TaluJca Mddha of the Sholdjmr Collector ate, pectively in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. She- Ponies, r young ts and Carts. Ploughs. Remarks. Kept for agricul¬ tural pur¬ poses. Kept for other pur¬ poses. Cows. and Calves, Buffa¬ loes and their young ones. Horses and Mares and theii ones, Elephan Camels. Sheep and Goats, &c. Total. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 32 2 77 3 27 111 3 45 33 5 • 95 190 441 38 12 The red figures sho w the numbers ac¬ cording toreturns in 1839-40. 287 367 85 11 181 931 7 21 269 24 194 38 19 487 1,031 19 22 51 ... 44 20 5 243 363 1 4 101 12 53 16 8 193 383 11 7 164 ... 148 33 ... 14 359 5 12 251 8 194 41 10 93 597 10 6 352 HI 334 140 20 339 1)185 8 . 32 416 29 232 149 12 335 1,173 10 12 181 * » t> 293 29 4 438 945 11 19 448 35 278 107 22 729 1,619 32 4 437 «93 397 173 21 1)203 2,231 3 48 490 25 289 77 21 1,363 2,265 28 32 374 ... 504 128 19 541 1,566 10 30 698 57 350 125 27 1,516 2,773 42 50 1,103 ... 1)005 439 99 594 3,330 19 43 909 76 463 275 93 409 2,225 69 31 160 0 (1 9 168 33 4 242 607 5 5 259 13 129 54 12 243 810 12 15 24 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken res No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. Males. F emales. Total Columns 6 and 9. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. Below 15 years old. Married, Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( 199 191 3?4 515 124 358 482 997 11 Bawi ... ... < c 238 220 442 662 221 405 626 1,288 f 462 431 868 1,299 278 853 1,131 2,430 12 Uplai Budnik ... l 535 511 810 1,321 372 779 1,151 2,472 C 184 158 288 446 105 314 419 865 13 Waphla ... ... < ( 206 231 376 607 170 419 589 1,196 r 404 333 692 1,025 195 623 818 1,843 14 Shetphal ... < ( 441 467 657 1,124 327 693 1,020 2,144 . , . * ( 609 581 920 1,501 386 1,015 1,401 2,902 15 Asliti ... ... \ l 792 653 1,119 1,772 443 1,166 1,609 3,381 ( 779 618 1,207 1,825 405 1,021 1,606 8,431 1G Angar ... ... < l . 884 754 1,364 2,118 475 1,449 1,924 4,042 . ( 202 157 - 359 516 108 388 496 1,012 17 Fapn ... ... < (. 221 164 343 507 121 347 468 975 ^ v ( 101 101 173 274 57 184 241 515 18 c 121 136 188 324 88 182 270 594 19 Padsali ... ... < 75 76 117 193 40 155 195 388 - ( 93 97 171 268 85 163 248 516 20 ArKt,a ... " " ^ 86 81 159 240 64 159 223 468 140 ■t. 154 221 375 135 242 377 752 5* 25 Cattle, &c., in Taluka Madha of the Sholapur Collectorate, spectivelij in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cows and Calves. She-Buf- falijes and their young ones. Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. Sheep and Goats, &c. Total. Kept for agricul- ural purposes. Kept for other purposes. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 412 ... 455 130 22 954 1,963 6 14 450 21 265 84 23 505 1,348 20 26 895 ... 702 228 38 1,218 3,081 21 39 774 48 558 151 69 701 2,301 11 146 405 ... 399 120 3 603 1,530 10 42 481 24 268 67 13 607 1,460 21 42 761 ... 633 198 29 767 2,388 12 81 755 62 332 163 33 650 1,995 19 92 1,071 ... 1,002 398 43 1,039 3,553 25 no 1,217 101 639 221 62 1,406 3,646 19 41 1,240 ... 1,165 628 69 2,782 5,884 16 121 1,265 37 607 239 78 1,706 3,932 54 155 314 ... 270 92 13 679 1,368 1 23 ‘324 30 236 94 10 449 1,143 4 28 228 • o # 251 74 8 278 839 . 25 3 189 8 132 43 5 132 509 8 13 163 ... 140 30 10 362 705 3 16 178 14 127 35 5 465 824 4 69 236 • *% 213 52 10 122 632 3 22 311 20 199 57 25 889 1,501 13 21 b 210—d r 26 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken re No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. Males. Females. Total of Columns 6 and 9. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. Below 15 years old. Married. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( m 211 334 545 128 345 473 1,018 21 Sapatna ... ... ] . t 242 298 411 709 235 389 624 1,333 ( 199 192 407 599 154 427 581 1,180 22 Parita ... i l 164 288 382 670 179 430 609 1,279 ( 259 187 384 571 121 367 488 lj058 23 Ghoti \ l 224 285 455 740 198 474 672 1,412 ( 176 161 301 462 110 304 414 876 24 Tulslii ... < l 243 241 405 646 152 415 567 1,213 ( 55 62 113 175 62 98 160 335 25 Malegaon ... < l 69 82 126 208 57 130 187 395 ( 56 57 94 151 32 , 96 128 279 26 Aliirgaon ... < l 74 68 146 214 54 128 182 396 ( 36 53 50 103 22 63 85. 188 27 Palwan... ... < l 44 60 83 143 54 81 135 278 ( 24 16 31 47 11 29 40 87 28 Bliuing ... < l 31 31 43 74 29 45 74 148 ( 135 113 234 347 80 240 320 667 29 Bital ... ... < ( 171 167 246 413 122 266 388 801 ( * 6 « eeo 30 Kliarkatna ... < ( 9 13 9 22 7 13 20 42 27 f Cattle, &c., in Talulca Mddha of the Sholajpur Collectorate, <*pectively in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Remarks. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cows and Calves. She- Buffa- loes and their young ones. Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels &c. Sheep and Goats. Total. K ept for agricul¬ tural pur¬ poses. Kept for other pur¬ poses. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 SSI e»e 373 95 11 312 1,172 10 11 422 46 349 54 24 361 1,256 17 28 487 999 489 139 21 437 1,573 81 8 510 7 272 48 18 307 1,162 7 96 428 ... 882 109 20 83 1,022 10 25 ■ 465 * 209 59 17 63 813 14 10 425 8J3 382 103 80 517 1,457 7 18 460 22 191 85 25 1,046 1,829 17 47 147 ... 150 29 12 349 687 • 3 13 125 4 80 13 6 200 428 1 5 135 189 25 12 309 617 2 10 146 8 91 13 4 103 365 6 11 89 .4. 78 40 4 15 229 4 13 122 1 47 17 3 65 255 2 15 50 67 7 7 169 300 Ml 5 71 8 33 17 9 219 357 8 278 ... 174 68 15 794 1,829 6 23 335 19 274 47 27 676 1,378 4 14 30 • •• 12 2 340 384 ••• ... 28 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken re No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. Males. Females. Total Columns 6 and 9. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years Old. Total. Below 15 years old. Married. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( 25 58 83 36 46 82 165 31 Ghatna ... < l 50 31 59 90 25 64 89 179 ( &§ 47 96 143 43 89 132 275 32 Kolgaon... ... < ( 53 93 124 217 95 128 223 440 f 10 6 21 27 9 . 16 35 52 33 Ramhingm ... < ( 45 19 63 82 11 52 63 145 ( 89 88. 57 95 24 56 80 175 34 Malikpet ... < ( 66 17 188 205 19 180 199 404 x. ( 14 7 19 26 $ 19 22 48 35 Mundhewan ... •< l 33 50 68 118 39 64 103 221 ( 51 87 76 1X3 28 80 108 221 36 Nandgaon ... -s ( 55 55 92 147 45 80 125 272 37 Kotowdi ... < 69 49 109 158 54 115 169 327 ( 86 49 128 177 42 132 174 351 38 888 229 795 1,024 216 689 905 1,929 550 541 834 1,375 371 823 1,194 2,569 39 Akoli ... " ^ 172 153 304 457 100 303 403 860 224 174 342 516 161 346 507 1,023 40 Shez Babul gacm. \ 111 109 186 295 68 177 245 540 ( 169 160 280 440 131 262 393 833 29 m Cottle, $c., in Taluka Mddha of the Sholdpnr Collectorate, spectively in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Kemarks. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cows and Calves. She-Buf- faloesand their young ones. Horses and Ponies Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. Sheep and Goats, kc. Total. Kept for agricul¬ tural pur¬ poses. Kept for other purposes. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17* 18 19 20 6$ • « * 60 10 2 99 237 o a » 5 99 12 38 16 1 50 216 3 16 94 375 86 61 503 1,069 8 194 8 108 24 4 235 573 19 14 23 ... . 17 \ S 162 205 ... «•» 67 8 64 13 1 133 286 3 8 59 • <* 9 89 10 • S 131 292 tct 3 126 4 95 24 5 750 1,004 1 ... 20 ... 15 IS ... a » t 48 • »* 1 101 5 61 17 2 128 314 6 10 82 ... 83 41 ' S 75 284 4J, 2 110 '8 59 17 6 189 389 3 9 124 ... 171 28 9 40 372 - 1 8 167 6 75 24 8 174 454 5 15 675 « e • 766 226 52 410 2,129 2 59 944 29 563 200 55 473 2,264 79 100 304 ... 173 100 12 654 1,243 1 23 V 328 4 164 73 29 45 643 7 32 202 ft • 6 219 45 9 18 488 64ft 18 311 8 217 42 15 155 748 12 22 30 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken re No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. Males. Females. Total of Columns 6 and 9. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. Below 15 years old. Married. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 41 Warwad Said ... \ 157 117 247 364 89 237 326 690 1 196 165 255 420 106 251 357 777 42 Dliok Babulgaon < 94 79 155 234 62 165 227 461 ( 126 88 212 300 35 218 253 553 43 Wadwal ... ... \ 97 106 138 244 43 157 200 444 l 121 134 200 334 113 217 330 664 44 Mohol | 656 616 1,176 1,792 423 1,198 1,621 8,413 841 994 1,534 2,528 892 1,638 2,530 5,058 45 Nazik Pimpri ... < 95 66 169 235 82 41 123 358 l 129 122 203 325 78 207 285 610 46 Poklirapur ... \ 121 133 206 339 94 219 313 652 L 187 204 276 480 127 294 421 901 47 Yawuli ... ... s 151 113 239 352 81 232 313 665 L 166 175 262 437 143 282 425 862 48 Chikhli ... \ 35 41 68 109 25 72 97 206 ( 74 67 102 169 46 105 151 320 49 Sarola ... ... -s 43 56 79 135 21 84 105 240 ( 92 105 116 221 88 134 222 443 50 Khowni ... ... •s 48. 20 65 85 22 68 80 165 1 t 74 37 72 109 37 78 115 244 l 31 Cattle, &c., in Taluk a Mdclha of the Sholdpur Collectorate, spectively'in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Remarks. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cows and Calves. She- Buffaloes and their young ones. w WTO ® S g g o fP 00 cJ r_j T -P Q. . “ssl S ” ..-Is e 3 § | oO Sheep and Goats. Total. Kept for agricul¬ tural pur¬ poses. Kept for other purposes. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 266 275 69 2 369 981 • * » 21 321 8 219 64 6 750 1,368 2 44 161 ... 126 52 7 469 815 1 19 230 7 108 48 9 299 701 7 38 145 ... 190 62 16 221 634 2 8 242 4 107 27 27 ... 407 7 17 929 ... . 755 415 94 2,208 4,401 9 60 1,314 81 712 330 131 2,410 4,978 60 61 169 m 141 53 2 856 1,221 3 19 228 21 168 50 4 1,346 1,817 ... 21 292 ... 242 36 18 775 1,363 4 31 381 22 194 99 13 1,260 1,969 3 37 298 • »» 178 54 ' 16 . 463 1)009 4 23 309 19 188 31 11 1,397 1,955 4 19 103 • ft 125 23 5 208 459 3 10 126 14 97 25 5 811 1,078 1 13 146 • ft* 163 34 6 36 386 1 . 14 167 11 130 64 1L 461 844 2 15 77 • ftd 92 18 1 75 263 • ft 9 0 96 4 54 16 2 320 492 3 9 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants according to two Census taken re INHABITANTS. - Males. Females. No. Names of Villages. Houses. Below Above Below Total 15 years. 15 years Total. 15 years Married. Total. Columns old. od. old. 6 and 9, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( 251 212 757 152 495 647 1,404 51 Patkul ... ... < 352 331 603 934 222 600 822 1,756 ( 133 95 196 291 74 194 268 559 52 Takli Sikandar ... < 130 125 230 355 74 228 302 657 ( 98 74 116 190 58 130 188 378 53 Adhegaon ... < 138 114 180 294 111 192 303 597 ( 88 41 113 154 38 115 153 307 54 Sowndana ... < 271 I 100 125 146 69 162 231 502 ( 18 36 54 3 36 39 93 55 Warkuta ... < c 28 17 37 54 17 36 53 107 c 227 8 503 611 5 419 424 935 56 Aodhi ... ... < l 217 234 310 544 119 345 464 1,008 ( 599 481 824 1,305 272 847 1,119 2,424 57 Kurdu ... ... < l 561 543 1,087 1,630 388 1,085 1,473 3,103 ( 462 436 727 1,163 269 779 1,048 2,211 58 Lawul ... ... < l 447 370 756 1,126 245 764 1,009 2,135 Siral ... ... < 69 70 129 199 5L 124 175 374 59 t 112 127 166 293 86 184 270 563 Ambad ... ... < 43 38 59 97 U 71 95 192 60 l 55 59 92 151 48 10^ 150 301 33 Cattle, $c., in Taluha Mddha of the Sholdpur Collector ate, spectively in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Remarks. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. She- Buffaloes and theii young ones. Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels tcc. Sheep and Goats. Total. Kept for agricul¬ tural pur¬ poses. Kept for other purposes Cows anc Calves. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 -509 ... 376 22? IS 412 1,537 2 40 515 70 292 170 33 742 1,822 13 82 225 ... 145 58 7 582 1)017 2 20 276- 25 136 46 12 75 570 5 28 181 i * h 132 59 % 67 441 3 20 246 12 131 41 6 100 536 5 22 169 148 30 6 167 520 1 19 206 26 121 45 7 280 685 3 22 38 • •9 55 8 S 10 114 ... 3 36 5 38 7 3 9 94 • • • 4 457 ... 130 63 7 128 785 12 27 337 24 152 75 6 227 821 18 33 903 » 9 » 947 299 69 784 3,002 2 46 1,115 140 485 197 90 766 2,793 95 107 778 689 271 42 503 2*283 8 41 737 56 406 148 42 295 1,684 13 18 158 • 91 211 33 10 148 560 B 11 214 21 104 27 6 • 71 443 ... 48 n • •• 81 14 6' 429 609 3 IS 138 12 93 44 7 53 347 3 12 b 210—e ■■ Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken re Inhabitants. Names of Villages. Males. Females. Houses. Total of Below Above Below Columns 6 and 9. c3 15 years 15 years Total. 15 years Married. Total, s old. old. old. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 . 8 9 10 61 Bembla ... ... < 504 816 492 808 205 535 740 1,548 ( 313 285 587 872 220 616 836 1,708 62 Uzani ... ... \ 151 128 267 395 83 259 342 737 l 150 130 222 352 65 205 270 622 63 Tambwa ... ) 40 87 63 100 24 69 93 193 l 85 86 121 207 66 127 193 400 64 Pimpalkhunta ... < 204 203 803 506 137 820 457 963 c 200 169 330 499 75 327 402 901 65 SliedBinga ... < 72 67 98 165 60 96 156 321 ( 92 109 150 259 53 149 202 461 66 Sapatna... ... | 170 181 235 416 105 253 358 774 194 207 370 577 144 374 518 1,095 67 Akola Bk. ... < 91 97 123 .220 69 122 191 411 l 152 132 172 304 140 171 311 615 68 Yenegaon ... < 73 58 119 177 89 126 165 842 ( 92 76 163 239 72 160 232 471 69 Narkhed ... ) 328 835 559 894 173 594 767 1,661 l 552 508 833 1,341 266 873 1,139 ‘ 2,480 70 Morocki ... } 71 64 106 170 38 110 143 318 l 90 75 122 197 42 107 149 346 35 Cattle, fyc., in TaluTca Mddha of the S/ioldpur Collectorate, spectively in 1839-40 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Remarks. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cows and Calves. Sbe- Buffaloes and their young ones. to tfi'U ■» m •K fl ■*= 'ft 6 S'g.2* oT 8 g crl ll § 1 so Sheep and Goats. Total. Kept for agricul¬ tural pur¬ poses. Kept for other purposes 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 851 ... 896 217 S5 756 2,575 7 57 591 6 339 96 39 569 1,640 18 64 267 ... 335 89 10 1,084 1,785 8 24 308 3 61 32 8 117 529 5 7 116 ... 125 26 6 223 496 ... 12 169 15 104 32 9 165 494 9 11 419 ... 450 99 34 88 1,090 12 23 319 13 153 51 19 144 699 7 2 151 ... 162 42 5 267 627 3 9 134 2 60 34 2 328 560 5 • M 406 ... 380 129 22 423 1,360 12 15 489 16 226 58 18 389 1,196 24 49 196 ... - 274 32 6 422 930 7 20 257 30 199 77 9 308 880 8 20 153 ... 142 18 4 23 840 3 16 236 1 94 36 1 ... 368 4 32 808 . * ... '. 516 254 89 493 2,110 7 63 879 22 > 424 207 60 793 2,385 26 27 U9 ... 124 27 6 979 1,818 8 It 114 9 103 18 7 26 277 1 14 36 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken re Inhabitants. No. Names of Villages. Houses. Males. Females. Below Above Below Total of Columns 6 and 9. 16 years 16 years Total. 15 years Married. Total. old. Old. old. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( 171 116 276 392 no 287 397 789 71 Wadsinga ... < 172 • l 120 264 384 124 258 382 766 ( 38 41 82 123 30 72 102 225 72 Papnas ... ... •< 89 52 145 197 46 139 185 382 ( 81 156 271 427 118 806 424 851 73 Laliu ... ... -2 200 191 269 460 153 301 454 914 ( 79 86 142 228 65 156 221 449 74 Akulgaon ... -j 142 157 215 372 112 238 350 722 ( 101 123 168 291 71 174 245 636 75 Ckinchgaon ... -j 129 103 201 304 96 218 314 618 ( 247 265 497 762 158 482 640 1,402. 76 Mhaisgaon ... 240 242 484 726 165 476 641 1,367 77 ( 240 218 401 619 141 394 535 1,154 Barloni .., ... 1 l 209 240 373 613 179 390 569 1,182 ( ^3,002 11,657 22,280 33,937 7,827 22,431 30,258 64,195 Total ... ■< ( 16,515 15,818 26,314 42,132 11,433 27,111 38,544 80,676 Villages settled in 1856-57 and 1857-58. 171 182 226 388 122 241 363 751 78 Yerrati 183 193 271 464 147 294 441 905 37 t( Cattle, £c., in Taluka Madlia of the Sholapur Collectorate, pectively in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Remarks. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Dows and Calves. 3he-Buffa- loesand their young ones. Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. Sheep and Goats. Total. Kept for agricul¬ tural purposes. Kept for other purposes. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 347 ... 311 74 12 855 1,599 > 7 16 395 12 231 67 21 418 1,144 24 39 119 ... 97 16 4 125 360 3 8 142 1 51 19 7 220 440 37 ... 360 ... 277 134 26 21 818 3 25 436 20 293 101 17 241 1,108 54 28 197 ... 262 62 12 502 1,035 5 12 261 2 150 44 14 214 885 26 24 245 ... 243 47 14 233 788 8 14 326 8 101 30 15 414 524 47 20 622 ... 670 119 33 323 1,767 10 35 ' 547 8 186 62 24 23 850 94 109 452 ... 483 82 25 307 1,349 6 19 458 42 217 54 40 495 1,306 31 43 24,793 ... 23,685 7,492 1,373 33,795 91,138 435 1,758 28,490 1,646 15,581 5,458 1,552 34,956 87,683 1,314 2,423 336 2 176 93 7 734 1,348 6 374 20 198 75 11 284 962 5 41 38 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, according to two Census taken re No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. Males. Females. Total of Columns 6 and 9. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. Below 15 years old. Married. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ( 818 299 462 761 253 495 748 1,509 79 Pennur ... ... < c 398 320 590 910 181 600 781 1,691 _ J ( 68 56 90 146 55 99 154 300 80 Bhend < ( 121 109 172 281 70 . 180 250 531 ( 77 97 142 239 64 145 209 448 81 Kumbhei ... < ( 123 111 200 311 71 185 256 567 ( 59 63 91 154 56 110 166 320 82 Akumbli ... < ( 84 75 142 217 55 134 189 406 693 677 1,011 1,688 550 1,090 1,640 3,328 909 808 1,375 2,183 524 1,393 1,917 4,100 Dumala Villages. 83 Hingni Nipani 109 130 185 315 81 201 282 597 84 Wakao 198 217 339 556 158 359 517 1,073 85 Gotew&di ... 115 93 175 268 82 183 265 533 86 Pir Takli 102 131 160 291 77 168 245 536 87 Tombola 202 159 232 391 125 262 387 778 88 Bhambewadi 102 103 199 302 91 194 285 587 819 833 1,290 2,123 614 1,367 1,981 4,104 Camp Pokhrapur, 20th January 1871 $k 39 Cattle, 8fc» in TaluJca Mddha of the Skolapur Collectorate, spectively in 1839-40 and 1868-69. Cattle. Carts. Ploughs. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cows and Calves. She- Buffaloes and their young ones. Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young pnes, Elephants and Camels, &c. Sheep and Goats. Total. Kept for agricul tural pur. poses. Kept for other purposes. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 484 37 425 249 12 744 1,951 ... 600 14 254 170 34 667 1,739 5 39 110 7 139 35 6 145 442 ... ... 262 16 193 60 15 142 688 10 14 132 ... 114 32 15 492 785 ... ... 172 11 132 31 22 331 699 9 11 100 8 94 22 3 121 348 ... ... 137 * 10 74 17 4 216 458 5 6 1,162 54 948 431 43 2,236 4,874 ... 1,545 71 851 353 86 1,640 4,546 34 Ill 279 14 123 54 1 125 596 17 ’ 417 8 201 66 36 537 1,265 6 15 204 21 132 58 8 849 1,272 8 18 243 15 117 28 8 130 541 4 33 279 36 231 75 14 628 1,263 2 19 330 15 256 52 22 250 925 7 33 1,752 109 1,060 333 89 2,519 5,862 27 135 Remarks, 20 H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey, and Assessment, Poona and Ntfsik. 40 STATISTICAL TABLE IV.—Details of Cultivation™ A.D. 1869-70. District. Surveyed Villages. Crops. Percentages of Total Cultivation. 1 2 3 4 ' 88 Khar if, Bajri 18;8 Bice ... 1-1 Tobacco •5 Sugar-cane •6 Mutki ... . ... 1-6 Balthi ... ••• ... •5 - 231 Madha .... Bali. Jowari 547 ' Wheat ... ... ri_ Gram ... ... 1-6 Cotton 94 Linseed •5 Miscellaneous *8 Cultnrable land left fallow 1-6 76-9 1 Total 100 - H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N4sik. b 210- STATISTICAL Table V.—Detail of Population. Males. Females. Can read. Castes. 1 Below 15 years of age. Above 15 years of age. Total Males. Below 15 Above 15 years of years of age. age. , Total Females.- 2 3 4 5 6 7 82 Khalsa. Brahmins and Gowd Brahmins... Mahrattas Shepherds Wanis Wearers ... ... ... Oilmen ... Potters ... ... ... Goldsmiths Carpenters Gurows and Jan gams ... ... Pyrdeshis and Rajputs ... Coppersmiths Jains Kolis Salis Dyers Tailors Gardeners Barbers ... Guzars and Marwarris ... Mahomedans ... ”... Washermen ... .,. Leather workers ... Mhars, Dhers, and Manga R&iaosis 1,061 10,737 2,307 907 637 234 248 221 287 221 108 86 384 290 117 4 268 1,759 304 251 1,362 213 720 4,127 245 526 1,587 6,527 17,264 1,444 3,751 551 1,458 3Q4 941 133 367 151 399 132 353 176 463 139 360 44 152 42 128 192 576 184 474 64 181 1 5 129 397 1,002 2,761 200 504 127 378 832 2,194 112 325 503 1,223 2,568 6,695 181 426 395 4,568 1,012 347 226 90 100 87 122 96 42 29 144 131 55 3 78 751 126 103 594 91 328 2,105 152 979 1,374 11.274 15,842 2,457 3,469 950 1,297 661 887 226 316 260 360 226 313 296 418 234 330 95 , 137 76 105 378 522 333 464 125 180 1 4 244 322 1,719 2,470 329 455 221 324 1,367 1,961 217 308 734 1,062 4,197 6,302 255 407 Total of Columns Males. Females, 4 and 7.- No. Per Cent. No, Per Cent.. 8 9 10 11 12 2,961 1,158 73 33,106 353 2 1 7,220 44 I ... 2,755 472 3 1,828 106 11 • •» , 683 35 10 759 7 2 666 129 36 881 11 2 690 38 10 289 14 9 233 39 30 1,098 118 20 938 5 1 361 9 5 . . ♦ 9 1 20 719 140 35 5,231 33 1 “l 959 4 1 • * • 702 225 62 4,155 46 2 «. ♦ 633 1 •. • 2,285 4 ♦ .« 12,997 12 • • • 833 ... ' ... ... Malbs. Females. Total. Females. Total of columns 4 and 5 * Can Read. CASTES. Below 15 years of v age. Above 15 years of age. Total Males. Below 15 years of age. Above 15 years of age. Males. Females. No. per Cent. No. per Cent. Blacksmiths Miscellaneous Castes 6 Inam- Brahmins and Gowd Brahmins... Mahrattas • •• Shepherds Wanis Weavers Oilmen ... Potters ... Goldsmiths Carpenters Gurows and Jangams ... - • Pardeshis and Rajputs Kolis Tailors Gardeners Barbers Mahomedans Washermen Leather workers Mhars and Mangs Blacksmiths Miscellaneous castes 1 88 Total ,.. 149 442 98 264 247 706 82 100 150 500 232 600 479 1,306 7 105 3 14 *2 ... 27,689 16,626 44,315 11,957 28,504 40,461 84,776 3,114 7 3 ... 28 584 218 16 13 5 6 11 28 11 2 35 3 10 15 54 12 38 184 4 13 12 482 111 2 8 1 4 3 17 1 1 16 8 2 34 13 24 • 86 6 2 40 1,066 329 18 , 21 6 10 14 45 12 3 51 3 18 17 88 25 62 270 10 15 7 247 135 7 7 1 4 9 *14 4 9 37 4 18 101 1 9 26 638 227 13 12 4 4 16 31 7 2 36 1 10 17 70 13 41 176 9 14 33 885 362 20 19 4 5 20 40 7 2 50 1 14 26 107 17 59 277 10 23 73 1,951 691 38 40 10 15 34 85 19 5 101 4 52 43 195 42 121 547 20 88 23 4 3 *"l 1 1 1 56 •mm ♦ • * • *• • •• i • • 1,290 '833 2,123 614 1,367 1,981 4,104 34 1 ... 28,979 17,459 46,438 12,571 29,871 42,442 88,880 3,148 ... ... H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. Hadha. 43 STATISTICAL Table VI.—Occupations of the Population. District. Surveyed Villages. Occupations. Number. 3 82 Khalsa, 6 Inam ... 88 Writers Cultivators ... Government and village servants Goldsmiths ... Carpenters ... ... Barbers ... ... Washermen ... ... ... Potters ... ... ... Blacksmiths ... ... ... Shepherds ... ... Leather workers ... - ... Blanket weavers ... Coth do ... Oil makers and sellers... Bracelet sellers ... Sellers of pots ... ... Cloth sellers i,. ••• ... Priests .. ... Merchants and money-lenders ... Carriers ... ... Miscellaneous trades. ... Writers Cultivators ... Government and village servants Goldsmiths ... ... Carpenters ... Barbers. Washermen .... Potters ... .... Blacksmiths ... Shepherds ... Leather workers ... Blanket weavers •... ••• Cloth do Oil makers and sellers... Bracelet sellers Sellers of pots Cloth sellers ... ... . Priests Merchants and money-lenders ... Carriers ... Miscellaneous trades ... Total 392 13,417 3,865 197 271 264 177 220 143 153 691 102 574 193 48 294 158 272 6,258 27,689 4 727 197 4 17 13 4 14 5 23 * 2 11 269 1 ,290 28,979 H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, ' ' ■ Poona and N£sik. STATISTICAL Table VII.—Return of Houses., Wells, tyc., ana of Live and Dead Stock. •District. Surveyed Yilages. Houses. Wells. Carts and Ploughs. Live Stock. For Irriga¬ tion. Drinking. | Out of repair] Total. Carts. Ploughs. ' i, <-d *§ § d * . W bo r. « ffl 3 V © O 3** Cows. Plough Oxen. Buffaloes. Sheep, Horses. i 2 3 4 .5 6 7 .8 9 10 ii 12 13 ! 14 15 r Khalsa 82 17,424. 2,330 145 694 3,169 1,848 § 2,534 5,811 16,432 # 30,035 1,717 36,596 1,638 Madha ♦ Inam 6 ■819 109 3 38 150 27 135: 333 1,060 1,752 109 2,510 89 Total .. •• 88 18,243 2,439 148 732 3,319 1,375' 2,669 6,144 17,492 81,787 1,826 •39,115 1,727 H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent., .'Revenue .Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik- STATISTIC Ah Table Till.—Detail of Occupancy. District. Surveyed Villages. Number of Kha- tas distinctly recorded. Average Area of each Khata. Acres. Average Number of Agriculturists to each Khata Average Acres of Cultivation to each head of -total Population. Average Acres of Agricul¬ tural Popula¬ tion only. Average Acres to one Plough Average Assess¬ ment of Cultivat¬ ed Land in year vof Settlement per Khata. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ,7 8 9 Madha ,,, 88 7,625 46 0 30 1-8 p o 25 0 6 133 0 22 Rs. a. p. 27 3 0 H. M. GRANT, Acting Superint^ident, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N&sik STA TISTICAL Table IX.—Average of Population and Assessment. District. Number of Surveyed Villages. Population, Realizable Assessment (VideTable III.) Per Square Mile of Total Area. Per Square Mile of <0ul- turable Area. Realizable in year of Settlement. Survey Kamal or Assessment on Waste and Cul turable, deducting Value of Alienations.** Per head of Population. Per Square Mile of Cul- turable Area. Per Square Mile of Area. Per Square Mile of Cul turable Area. Per Square Mile of 'Total Area. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Madha ^ Khalsa ... 82 Dumala... 6 145 152 159 164 Rs. a. p. 2 3 4 2 6 7 Rs. a. p. 369 14 5 412 4 8 Rs. a. p. 231 0 9 866 7 8 Rs. a. p. 370 0 9 412 4 8 Ka. a. p. 321 3 11 366 7 8 148 J 161 \ 2 4 11 391 1 6 343 12 2 391 2 8 343 13 9 H, M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N&sik, Ot 46 4STATEMENT showing the "Relative Quantities of different Crops in the Madha Taluka for the Year 1869-70. Crops, Area, Rice «• «•« ... ••• Rs. a. p. • 0 0 2 3,541 Sugar-cane ... ... ... ... 0 0 1 1,770 Jowari ... ... „ ... 0 8 9 185,909 Tobacco ... ... 0 0 1 1,770 Wheat 0 0 2 3,541 Gram ... ... ... ... •003 5,312 Bajri 0 3 0 63,740 Cotton ... ... 0 16 31,870 Linseed • 0 0 1 1,771 Matki ... ... 0 0 3 5,312 Kulthi ... ... ... ... 0 0 1 1,770 Miscellaneous crops 0 14 28,329 Cult urable land left fallow 0 0 3 < 5,312 Total 10 0 139,947 H. M. GRANT, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N£sik. 47 No. 86 op 1839. To J. S. LAW, Esquire, First Assistant Collector, in Charge, Sholdpur. Sir, The correction of the survey measurements, and a classifica¬ tion of the arable, land of the Mddha Taluka, having been com¬ pleted, and these preliminary operations being also far advanced in Mohol, I have now the honour to present you with proposals for the settlement of both districts, which you will oblige me by taking an early opportunity of submitting for the sanction of Govern¬ ment, to enable me to proceed, without loss of time, with the cal¬ culations of the assessment, in detail, and the preparation of the yarious records required for the purpose of bringing the new settle¬ ment into practical operation. In bringing forward these proposals, I am happy to have the assistance of Lieutenant Davidson, who has favoured me with a very clear and able report on the District of Mohol, copy of which .will be found annexed to the present com¬ munication, and which I shall have frequent occasion to notice more particularly hereafter. 2. Before entering upon the more immediate subject of my report, I shall briefly refer to some points noticed by Government in connection with the settlement-of Ind^pur, and which appear to admit of being appropriately considered in this place, as the system and plan of operations adopted for the revision of assessment of that district have likewise been followed here. I shall also sub¬ mit some general reflections on the land assessment applicable to most parts of the Deccan, in common with these districts, in the hope that they may serve to establish, on a firmer basis than here¬ tofore, the soundness of the principles on which the revision of ' assessment, now in progress, is being conducted. I trust, there¬ fore, they will not be considered as out of place. . 3. Besides the sources of the immediate extension of cultiva¬ tion in Indapur, consequent upon the revision of its assessment, which I have already had an opportunity of satisfactorily explain¬ ing, the chief point noticed by Government, in remarking upon the settlement of that district, and from a misapprehension of which most of the other objections alleged appear to have taken their origin, is the nature of the table of rates adopted for the several descriptions of soil used in our system of classification. Govern¬ ment has received an impression, that this table exhibits the relative productive powers of the several soils, understanding by this 48 expression the relative quantities of gross produce yielded by each, and. has, therefore, had difficulty in perceiving the connection between the rate of assessment and.the classification.* The adop¬ tion of this view of the subject I attribute to some obscurity in .Lieutenant Nash’s or my report, which I am happy to have now an opportunity of removing. 4. In the Inddpur .reports the “ table of rates ” is described as representing the relative values of the several descriptions of soil used in the system of classification. The meaning intended to be conveyed by the phrase relative values was not the proportional quantities of gross produce yielded by the several classes of soil, but their proportional capabilities of paying a rent. That is to say, if a rent or rate of assessment be adopted or assumed for any one class of soil, the rates of all the others should vary from it in the proportions shown by the table. . I trust I have succeeded in clearing up this obscurity, and with it will probably disappear much of what would be deemed, under such impressions, vague and unsatisfactory in the definitions of the principles of the settle¬ ment. Government will now perceive that the rates of assessment, instead of being the result of some subsequent obscure and ill- explained operation, are identical with the scale itself, in so far as their relations among themselves are concerned; and the correct¬ ness of the positive amount of these rates, as shown in the general results of the settlement, was attempted to be established by argu¬ ment and comparisons founded on the past and present state of the district, and by setting forth the causes of the various periods of prosperity and adversity which its history exhibits. The only modifications to which these rates were subsequently subjected, was in the case of fields having some peculiar disadvantages, such as being situated at a great distance from the village or from water, &c., in which cases a deduction was made from the rate found from the table, according to the judgment of the settling officer, on a consideration of the particular circumstances in each instance. With thfe view, however, of preserving that simplicity in every department of our labours, which forms the best security against inaccuracy, fraud or collusion, such modifications were considered exceptions from the general rule, and in by far the greater majority of instances the rates adopted were those found from the Table. 5. I also gather from the general tenor of the remarks of Government on the Inddpur Settlement, that the methods of obtaining the rates are considered somewhat loose, and these last possibly too much dependent on the judgment of the individuals framing them ; but this objection, I respectfully submit, is owing to the necessities of the subject, and not to be got rid of by * Vide 5th and 8th paras, of G. L. to the Revenue Commissioner, dated 31st December 1838, No. 4739. 49 the adoption of any other system. I think especially, that the apparently more precise and trustworthy results obtained from calculations of produce and expenses are altogether illusory. Be¬ cause, however nicely adjusted and well adapted to the ends in view may be the several steps of such calculations, they proceed, in the first instance, from uncertain data. Their various elements are unavoidably pure assumptions, regarding every one of which it probably requires as great an exercise of penetration and judg¬ ment to arrive at an approximation to the truth, as is necessary in the case of the rent itself. For instance, few cultivators can give a connected or accurate account of the various expenses of cultivation, state the quantities of produce yielded by different varieties of soil, or even present us with clear descriptions of the methods of husbandry most generally followed by their class. All of these matters, indeed, are in their nature inconstant, varying almost infinitely with the seasons and the circumstances of the people; and 1 do not see how more than a general acquaintance with them is to be obtained. Yet information so very vague and unsatisfactory as this is confidently assumed for the data of calcu¬ lations which are to produce unerring results. To attain these ends, by the use of such means, may not be altogether impossible ; but the process may, I think, be aptly likened to the conduct of an appraizer or auctioneer, who, instead of making use of his own knowledge of the state of the market, should attempt to value a house with its furniture, pictures and other appurtenances, by laborious and tedious calculations of the money paid away to the various quarriers, stonemasons, bricklayers, glaziers, and people of all descriptions who might have been employed on its construction. 6. The various and conflicting opinions entertained of most of the Revenue Settlements of this country, appear to me to be, in a great degree, owing to a want of some generally received test by which their respective merits might be tried. There has been no distinct recognition, until lately, of the portion of the produce upon which taxation ought alone to fall. The framers of these settlements appear too frequently to have had their, attention directed to a consideration of what the cultivator can afford to pay to the State, rather than of what the State ought to exact from the cultivator; and, however unintentionally the general tendency of our land revenue administration has been to render taxation on maximums, more distinct perceptions upon this subject have now, however, become current, and it seems to be generally admitted that the claims of Government over the produce of the soil in this country are limited to that portion of it, which, in other states of society, would fall to the landlord. 7. The determination of this portion, then, which forms the natural rent of the land, becomes the object of our research, and B 210—g 50 to arrive at just conclusions upon a point so important, it appears indispensable to bear fully in mind the nature of rent, and the causes of the different appearances it exhibits at different stages ot improvement in society. I hope, on this account, to be held excused in offering the following brief observations upon this head. 8. The existence of a portion of the produce of land in the form of rent is, I need hardly observe, to be ascribed to the com¬ parative scarcity of fertile land, and the consequent necessity, in order to obtain a sufficiency of food for the wants of the society, of resorting to the cultivation of poorer soils, which with equal expenditure of capital and labour yield very inferior returns; and as the rates of the cultivator’s profits to be an equal one, must be regulated by that obtained from the worst description of land in cultivation, the excess beyond this yielded by all the other kinds of soil in cultivation becomes their rent. This rent, however, is very different even in the same country at different stages of improvement; when population is limited, and the more fertile soils suffice to supply its wants, there is little rent and consequently nearly the whole produce of the soil is divided between profits and wages. It is at this period, if a spirit of enterprise is fully awaken¬ ed, that the most rapid additions to the numbers and wealth of the society are effected by the stimulus of high rates of profits and wages, and striking examples of this are now seen in North America, and many of our Colonies. As population becomes abun¬ dant, however, and the difficulties of obtaining a sufficient supply of food from the necessity of resorting to less fertile soils for its production increase, so will the portion of the produce allotted to wages and profits be diminished and the amount abstracted go to the augmentation of rent. While the capabilities of the soil con¬ tinue great, with reference to the demands of the population, there will be a high rate of profits and a low rent, and with every succeeding difficulty in the production of food, rent will rise and profits fall. 9. Let me endeavour now to apply these incontrovertible truths to the present state of the Deccan. We here find a scanty population and large tracts of fertile land still lying waste and unappropriated. The resources of the soil are boundless compared with the demands of the people. Under such circumstances, we should expect to find the society, if imbued with a spirit of improve¬ ment, in a state of transition, making rapid and great additions to. its numbers, wealth, and intelligence, or perhaps, if unactuated by the hope of bettering its condition, sunk in a state of indolence and apathy, having its origin and continuance in the very abundance of, and facility of obtaining, the means of subsistence. The world presents numerous examples of both'these conditions of society, 51 modified of course by surrounding circumstances, but the present state of the Deccan will, I think, be found to be essentially distinct from either. Notwithstanding its scanty population and abun¬ dance of unoccupied fertile land, we find that the means of sub¬ sistence are obtained with difficulty, that the exertions of even the laborious and industrious cultivator do not always avail in enabling him to preserve his position, and rarely indeed to better it. The population, in fact, while surrounded by great and untouched resources, yet presses hard upon the limits of subsistence, and its numbers, if not diminishing, are at least stationary; while there is little inducement for the employment of capital, and no evidence of advancing prosperity. Agricultural profits, and consequently those of most other employments, are at the lowest ebb, and the country, with abundant resources undeveloped, exhibits many of the features of the most advanced stages of improvement, when the wants of an over-abundant population have taxed the capabilities of the soil to the utmost, and the difficulties of procuring food have so lowered the rate of profits as to leave little inducement for any further investment of capital in productive pursuits. 10. So striking an inversion of the usual course of society must have its origin in some cause of almost universal operation, and seems clearly to me to be the consequence of a continued exac¬ tion of an excessive rent—a rent that but for the peculiar position of Government in this country, could not by possibility have been realized. And when it is recollected that every increase of rent must be accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the rate of profits, which forms the sole inducement to apply capital in pro¬ ductive industry, it will appear abundantly evident that this is a cause capable of prematurely checking, nay, barring altogether, any further progress of society at even the earliest stages of improve¬ ment. Mr. Malthus appears to have been fully persuaded of the existence of this evil in India, and I willingly avail myself of his authority in suport of my opinions. He says—“ There is reason “ to believe that in parts of India and other Eastern countries, “ and probably even in China, the progress of taxation on the land “ founded upon the sovereign right to the soil, together with “ other cusomary payments out of the raw produce, have forcibly “ and prematurely lowered the profits of stock and the wages of “ labour on the land, and have thrown great obstacles in the way “ of progressive cultivation nnd population in latter times, while “ much good land remains waste. This will always be the case “ when, owing to an unnecessary monopoly, a greater portion of the “ surplus produce is taken in the shape of rent or taxes, than “ would be separated by the natural fall of wages and profits.” Every line of this passage I consider to be strictly applicable to the present condition of the Deccan. 52 11. The peculiar position occupied by Government in this country, as proprietor of the soil, has not yet, it appears to me, received the consideration its importance deserves. Government is thus constituted the possessor of a vast monopoly, thereby depriving this country of the salutary and invaluable checks upon over-exactions on the part of the landlord, afforded by the com¬ petition of .interests existing in a sub-divided proprietorship which effectually prevent the rent of land being, for any considerable period, higher than would naturally result from the state of the society at the time. Here, however, Government as proprietor finds no such controlling influences operating upon its demands, or even any palpable evidence of their effects upon its own inter¬ ests, or those of the society entrusted to its care, and thus it is that an -assessment, however little in excess of what the land will bear, goes on from year to year slowly, but surely, exhausting the foun¬ tains of national wealth, without affording any marked indications of its baneful progress, and Government, with a lively solicitude for the welfare of the country, yet remains in ignorance of the deplorable state of the case, until it reaches a height of ruin that no longer admits of concealment. 12. When it is considered that every excess of assessment beyond the natural rent of the land, is reduction of what would otherwise be' the rates of profits and wages, and that these last constitute almost the sole funds from which any additions to the population and capital of this country are to be effected, some con¬ ception may be formed of the mighty power vested in the Govern¬ ment of India, in virtue of its claim of property in the soil, and the heavy responsibility attending its exercise. In every agricul¬ tural country, such as the Deccan, the general rate of profits on the usual reward of industry is regulated by that obtained from the cultivator of the soil; and to suppose that while this last is depressed, any considerable advances can be made by the society, would be to disregard the plainest lessons of experience. These general observations will, I hope, have served, in some degree, to show the vital importance of the land assessment, and the fearful consequences of any error on the side of over-taxation. No un¬ necessary reduction can injure the country, and the Government revenue can only suffer from it to the extent of such reduction. An error upon one side involves the inevitable ruin of the country, an error upon the other some inconsiderable sacrifice of the finance of the State, and with such unequal stakes depending, can we hesitate as to which should be given the preponderance ? The line of true policy, under such circumstances, is not shown in an attempt to fix the assessment at what the land will exactly bear, but in fixing it as far within this limit as the exigencies of the State will permit. 53 13.I now revert to the more immediate consideration of the settlement of these districts. The annexed report by Lieutenant Davidson contains a clear and convincing exposition of the effects of our -revenue administration upon Mohol, which, as it coincides with my own views, and applies with equal force to the Taluka of Mddha will enable me to be comparatively brief in my remarks upon this head. The excellent diagrams in particular, forming Appendix 0 to his report, and described in his 19th to 25thparas., are quite as applicable to the Mohol and Mtldha Districts taken together, as to the former singly. For, as you may be aware, the two districts originally formed but one, and their separation has been effected within the last three years, for which period only the accounts have been kept distinct. On this account Mr. Davidson, in constructing his diagram, has been obliged to assume a propor¬ tion of the cultivation, assessment, and collections of the old Mohol Taluka (present Mohol and Mddha) for those of the new, for the years preceding their separation. The only difference then that would be observable in the diagram, were it constructed for the two districts as a whole, would be a greater amount of cultivation, collections, &c., while their various fluctuations would remain quite unaffected by the change. 14. In the opening paragraphs of his report, Lieutenant Davidson gives an account of his proceedings in connection with the measurement and classification of the land; and I think the degree of accuracy attained by his establishment, more particularly as affording proof of what our present system is capable,, will give satisfaction to Government. The measurements made by his Establishment vary from his own by an average of only 2 per cent, while the average discrepancies of their classification do not exceed one anna per acre. The measurement of the Mohol Taluka made at the last survey appears to have been executed with a very credit- ‘able degree of accuracy, and Mr. Davidson states that out of 46 villages examined by him, in five only has the error in the measure¬ ment of cultivated land exceeded ten per cent, and that the average error of the remaining 41 is five per cent. 15. In the Taluka of Madha, where the revising operations have been superintended by myself, with the assistance of Mr. Bell, the former survey measurements of cultivated land have also been found tolerably correct; their average error, excluding villages entirely re-measured, being somewhat more than 6. per cent. This district contains 72 villages, in all of which it has been found necessary to re-measure 11. In four of these, however, lately trans¬ ferred ' from the Karmtlla Taluka, the land is still estimated in bigas; and’ although measured by Mr. Pringle, yet the existing arrangement of the field is so much at variance with that laid down 54 in his records, that I found it more convenient and expeditious to re-measure them entirely, than to attempt the restoration of the previous measurement. The divisions of waste land, from dis¬ appearance of boundary marks, it was frequently found impossible to identify with those laid down at the survey, and on this account I came to the determination of re-measuring the whole, which has accordingly been done. Mr. Davidson has followed the same plan in Mohol, so that the revision and correction of the measurements of these districts, as now complete, may be deemed but little, if at all, inferior to what would have resulted from their re-measurement. 16. As in Inddpur, no attempt has been made towards the correction of the survey classification, but the whole arable land has been re-classified upon the system followed in that district; in further proof of the capabilities of.which I beg to direct your attention to the 5th and 6th paras, of the accompanying report. Mr. Davidson therein states his conviction that “ it represents the various soils as nearly as possible in the order and degree of their several capabilities, and that their tabular arrangement coincides with the scale of preference which exists within the mind of the cultivator. ” 17. Mr. Davidson in his 10th and 11th paragraphs describes , in forcible language the present depressed condition of the Mohol district, and his remarks, I have already said, are equally applic¬ able to that of MMha, which, from the two districts having been long under the same management and subject to the same influences, is indeed to be expected. He states “ poverty in the midst* of great natural resources to be the chief characteristic of thetaluka,” and in calling attention to the sad consequences of a heavy assess¬ ment, observes: “ The great body of the people have brought nature down to the lowest terms on which she can exist; and when- the exigencies of a famine or even a scarcity call for a retrench¬ ment, every step of that retrenchment produces starvation instead of frugality, a reduction of life rather than an economy of living. ” 18. It requires perhaps a residence of some time amongst the cultivators of the Deccan, and habits of frequent and familiar communication with them, to become fully aware of their actual condition and the deplorable state of poverty in which they are plunged. I have not been without fears, indeed, of the descriptions given of this appearing to Government somewhat overcharged, and this makes me anxious to prevent the possibility of miscon¬ ception on a point so important. I shall, therefore, at the risk of being thought tedious, bring forward a few striking facts that can 55 hardly fail, I think, of inducing conviction, and making it appear that any description yet given has fallen short of the true state of the case. 19. The preparation of Statistical Tables of the population, castes, occupations and resources of every village, has formed one object of our operations for the revision of assessment. These returns, although infected by inaccuracies to which statistical in¬ quiries are always liable, yet contain much valuable information and are far superior to any thing of the kind yet collected. Regard¬ ing some of the more obvious items of information, and in particular as to the number of working cattle possessed by each individual cultivator,* they may be relied upon as substantially correct. The following table, compiled from these returns, shows the number of working cattle possessed by cultivators of the three principal agricultural castes, viz., Kunbis, Mallis, and Dhangars, in five villages of the Mohol and Mddha Taluka. Its results may be considered to give a fair idea of the stock held by cultivators in general:— • ' — Names of Villages. KUNBI, MALLI and DHANGAK CASTE. a m a3 fcss TZ o Jaloli, Babulgao.n. Tenki. Total of five Villages. Number of cultivators possessing 8 Bullocks and upwards ... .... ' 19 24 8 5 i 57 Number of cultivators possessing from 4 to 7 Bullocks ... 58 41 7 14 6 126 Number of cultivators possessing from 1 to 3 Bullocks ... 85 50 15 7 33 190 Total ... 162 115 30 26 40 373 20. To feel the full force of the facts presented in this table, it is necessary to bear in mind, that the preparation of the land for the reception of the seed is effected in this part of the Deccan by * For the accuracy of this item, indeed, we have an additional security in a superstitious feeling very prevalent among the cultivating classes. Shortly after these districts came into our possession, some statistical enquiries were instituted, with the view, I suppose, of obtaining more correct ideas of their resources, but they were looked upon with much distrust by the cultivators who imagined that in prosecuting them Government was merely seeking out pretext for addi¬ tional taxation. They accordingly almost universally gave false accounts of their stock, stating it at about one-half or a third of its actual amount. In the progress of time, however, and by the operation of an oppressive assessment, the stock of most of them has been reduced so as to correspond but too closely with what they had stated it to he on the occasion just alluded to, and this they very generally regard as a punishment for their deceit. This impression is very strong, and there are few matters on which the word of the cultivator may now he relied on so safely, as in stating the number of his bullocks. 56 means of two implements, viz., the “nangur” or plough, and the “ palli ” or “ kulao,” which is a cutting or scraping implement, and used for the same purposes as the harrow, scarifier, &c., at home. The plough is usually drawn by 8 bullocks, but the heavy black soils require 10. The upper line of the table, there¬ fore, shows the number of cultivators of the three principal agri¬ cultural castes, in each of the five villages, who can work the plough with their own cattle. The “ palli ” or “ kulao,” which cuts to a depth of 4 inches or so, requires occasionally from 6 to 8 bullocks in land recently ploughed up, but usually 4; and the second line of the table shows the number of cultivators who, although not possessed of cattle to yoke a plough, have yet sufficient to work this very useful implement. The third line of the table gives us the number of cultivators who, without hiring extra cattle or mutually assisting one another, would be unable to prepare their lands at all. The “ kulao” may indeed be occasionally seen drawn by two bullocks only, but in such cases it penetrates to a very slight depth, except in very friable soils, and is quite ineffective in ridding the land of grass and weeds ; the process, in fact, is a scraping of the mere surface, and quite unworthy the name of husbandry. 21. We are, thus, from an inspection of the foregoing table, made acquainted with the startling facts, that out of a total of 373 cultivators, there are 57 only, or considerably less than a sixth of the whole, who are possessed of the number of cattle required to work the plough; that of the remainder, 126 have sufficient cattle to work the “ kulao,” while no less than 190, or nearly a half of the whole body of cultivators, have actually not the means, without receiving assistance from others, of tilling their lands at all. The villages entered in the table have all some garden land, and may be considered rather favourable examples of the general condition of these districts, with the exception of the last, Tenki, which has been selected as one of those that suffered most severely by the last famine of It will be observed that in this village out of 40 cultivators, there is only one possessed of cattle to work a plough, while there are no less than 33 who have not even stock of their own to work a “ kulao.” Comment upon such facts is needless ; but I apprehend that of themselves they convey to the mind a more forcible impression of the poverty, I had almost said pauperism, characterizing the condition of the cultivating classes here, than could be done by any general description. 22. Husbandry, as might be anticipated from the general poverty just described, is in a very backward condition. The 57 general statistical results of the MMha Taluka, forming my Appen¬ dix D, give 21,834 bullocks and male buffaloes for the whole district, thus making it appear, ;on a proper allowance being made for tho number employed in garden cultivation and in carrying burdens, that there is only one bullock to every ten acres of Jerayet land now in cultivation.* From extended personal observation, embrac¬ ing nearly every village in both districts, I am convinced that this estimate forms a very close approximation to the truth. Now the quantity of Jerayet land capable of being prepared with a stock of 8 bullocks, by the best modes of husbandry practised in these districts, does not exceed 50 acres ; and therefore requires one bullock to every 6 acres instead of 10, as is the case at present; thus showing that the poverty of the agricultural classes, in addi¬ tion to other evils, is accompanied by, if not the chief cause of, a slovenly and inefficient tillage. . 23. In the introductory paragraphs of this report, I have endeavoured to trace the invariable consequence of over-assessment and think that, from what has already been said, it will be seen that the impoverished condition of these districts is to be ascribed to this cause. It may not be without use however, to adduce a few additional facts bearing upon this important ques¬ tion, and which have not, as far as I am aware, been brought for¬ ward for the same purpose before. I allude to some of the tenures by which the cultivators hold land of one another from which,* in my opinion, unexceptional and valuable evidence may be drawn, and I shall confine my remains to these, although proofs upon the same point might be multiplied to almost any extent by examples taken from every class and condition of the people. 24. Were instances to be found of the better descriptions of Jerayet land bearing some value in the market, were they at all saleable, or could loans of however trifling amount be raised upon their security, we should have, I apprehend, satisfactory proof of the assessment on such land not being oppressive. And I think we are entitled to expect some instances of the kind, as the practice of mortgaging land obtains in many parts of India, and even here is very common in the cases of Bagayet and Inam land, several instances of which, obtained from original deeds, are given in my Appendix B. After considerable enquiry, however, I have been unable to find a single recent case of a price being given for the privilege of occupying Government Jerayet land. The absence of such contracts among the cultivators would seem to afford negative evidence of the oppressive nature of the present assessment, or, * There are about 4,000 acres of Bagayet land in this Taluka, which, at the low estimate of 2 bullocks to 3 acres, would occupy 2,600 cattle in its cultivation ; and at least 400 more must be engaged in carrying burdens, working1 oil mills, &c., leaving thus 18,S00 cattle for the Jerayet laud ; or one bullock to every 10 acres, the cultivation of last year being 1S,6Q0 acres. b 210—h 58 at least of its absorbing the whole natural rent of the land; but positive and more unexceptional proofs upon the same point are to be found in the “Batdi” tenures, which obtain in every village, and under every variation are distinguished by the common feature of the actual cultivator of the land assigning a portion of its gross produce to the nominal holder, upon condition of the latter- paying the assessment, The common practice is for the cultivator to bear the whole expenses of seed and tillage, and to assign, after the customary payments from the crop have been made to the Balloti- darS, from a half to a third of the produce to the nominal holder, who is to pay the assessment. I have met with no instance of this tenure in which the portion of the crop assigned to the latter was less than a third, and even this almost invariably in newly ploughed land, which is prepared of course at greatly more than the ordinary expense. Bearing in mind, then, the fact of these tenures being Common in every village, even where waste land is abundant, and every effort made to effect its occupation, it will appear a considera¬ tion of capital importance, that where they occur, the cultivator, rather than become responsible for the payment of the assessment, will assign to another a third, nay in most cases a half, of his gross produce. The nominal holders of fields cultivated on the “ Bath ” tenures are generally Brahmans or poor Mirasdars, and they lay their account with obtaining some little profit in average and good ‘seasons, and remissions in bad. 25. These-facts, in my apprehension, are indisputable proofs of the grievous nature of the present assessment, and I am fully persuaded, that in the existing circumstances of these districts, marked by a deficiency of capital and population, and an abundance of unoccupied and badly tilled land, the rent .of even the most fertile soils, but for the monopoly possessed by the State, would fall short of a fourth, much more a third and a half of the gross produce. And it is to be recollected, that were the present assess¬ ment nothing more than what the land could pay in an. ordinary season, and when grain is selling at an average price, it would, nevertheless, be an oppressive and ruinous one. For to suppose it otherwise, we must believe, with Colonel Munro, that “ good and bad seasons being supposed to be equal in the long run^ the loss is merely temporary, and the making of it good, is only applying to the deficiency of a year of scarcity the funds which have arisen from one of abundance”*—a position which requires that the price of grain should be invariable, or rise and fall in exact proportion to the crop of the season, and that the impoverished and ignorant cultivators of India possess at once the capital and foresight to enable them to lay by carefully the whole surplus crop * P’l. Collector, Ceded Districts. Letter to Assistant. 59 of an abundant season, to meet the exigencies- of a deficient one ; both of which suppositions will be, admitted to be glaringly at, variance with all experience, The price of grain in particular- districts being generally regulated by a, foreign demand,, will, frequently be found, to continue falling, in spite of the certainty of a deficient crop, and the great body of the cultivators, so far from having* stores at hand to draw upon on occasion of need, are obliged to forestall the coming crop to obtain, supplies for the subsistence of their families. They have consequently no fund, whatever to. meet the demand of the State beyond..the crop, of the- seasons, and any invariable money assessment, therefore,.to have- pretensions to stability, must be fixed at what the cultivator can, pay in rather unfavourable seasons and notin average or abundant ones.. 26,. The rates, proposed by Mr. Davidson, for the Mohol Taluka, in, the propriety of which I acquiesce", are 10 per cent, higher than those of Indapur. In his 22nd and. 23rd. paragraphs, he states, the chief points, ofresemblance, and, disparity between the- two districts. The price of grain during the last 18 years has averaged 6 per cent higher in Indapur than in Mohol ; but this difference he considers compensated by the more abundant supplies, of water and grass, and the greater extent of. garden, cultivation, found, in the latter district, as well as by the larger proportion of its.- population employed in manufactures, and. other* occupations un¬ connected with the cultivation, of the soil. It is also worthy of mention, as may be seen in the table of prices forming my Appen¬ dix A,, that the average price of.grain for the last 5 years is slightly- higher in Mohol than in Indapur. In Madha, however, prices have been considerably lower than in either district, the average of the; last 19. years being 15 per cent, and of the last 5 years, .13 per cent, lower than Indipur.. These prices however, owing to the operation, of the transit rates, are but little to be relied on as guides for the.- fnture. The abolition of these injurious imports,, every improvement- effected in the means of transports, and increase of enterprise among the-people,, will tend to equalize prices and I. think we may safely speculate on the marked difference now observable, being in a few years greatly diminished. The capabilities of Mohol and M&dha for- the production of sugar, cotton,, silk and other exportable products,, will, if brought into action, render them in great measure indepen-- dent of'a foreign demand for the common grains,, and these will probably rise in price as the number of the population increases.. The markets of Sholapur and' Pandharpur, from their greater- proximity, are perhaps- more valuable to Mohol, and a few villages- in Madha, than that of Poona is to Indapur ; and I am of opinion that the price of grain will hereafter average somewhat higher in 60 the former, than in the latter district. In M;ldha, prices , may be expected to continue lower than in Inddpur ; but, in consequence of being less dependent upon a foreign demand, they will not be exposed to the same fluctuations, and this greater degree of steadi¬ ness will fully compensate any inferiority in their amount. Midha shares in the advantages noticed in Mr. Davidson’s 22nd para, as possessed by Mohol, and the climate of both districts is, perhaps, in some trifling degree superior for agricultural purposes to that of Indipur. I have an impression, at least, that the November showers, upon which the rabi crop is so dependent, are some¬ what more certain in the forfner districts ; but this conjecture would require to be verified by the carefully recorded observations of years, and I accordingly attach to it no weight. 27. Upon a consideration of the several circumstances just enumerated, I am of opinion that Midha may be assessed a little higher than Indipur ; but that it could not fairly bear the same assessment as Mohol. I, therefore, propose that it be assessed at rates 5 per cent, higher than those of Indipur ; or at a medium between them and those proposed by Mr. Davidson for Mohol. To this arrangement I would except a few villages, situated at no great distance from the market of Pandharpur, and which on this account I think capable of paying the same rates as Mohol. This assessment for reasons already given at some length in the preceding para¬ graphs of this report, I consider heavy, and in excess of the natural rent the land would yield to. the present cultivators were they in the position of proprietor ; but I do not consider it so heavy as to pre¬ vent, or even materially retard, their advancement, and this main object secured, it has been my anxious endeavour to make no un¬ called for sacrifice of the revenue of the State. Mr. Davidson, in his 27th para., has clearly shown that the rates proposed for Mohol will, in the very first year of their operation, yield l'evenue consider¬ ably in excess of the average of that received in the fourteen years immediately preceding our occupation of the country, and eventual¬ ly secure a considerable addition to the resources of the State; and 1 shall now state the effects of the proposed settlements upon the revenue of both districts, 28. In Mohol and Mddha there are altogether 3,81,000 acres of arable land belonging to Government, the assessment on which, at the rates proposed in the preceding paragraph will, as nearly as I can estimate, amount to Rs. 1,37,000. If we add to this 8,000 rupees on account of sayer revenue, and the same sum for the extra assessment on watered land, which will be very near the truth, we have Rs. 1,53,000 for the maximum rental of the two dis¬ tricts under the new settlements. The average collections from all sources, including the full allowances of Hakdars, village expenses, G1 outstanding balances,. &c., from our obtaining possession of these districts up to the termination of the official year 1838-39, vide Appendix C., amount in round numbers to Rs. 1,14,500 per annum, or Rs. 38,500 less than the maximum rental above- noted. In Indapur, the effect of the revised settlement has already been to bring the whole arable land of the district under cultiva¬ tion with the exception of about l-12th, and I have little doubt that in a few years more great part of even this small remainder will be brought under the plough. A deduction of l-20th or 5 per cent, from the whole rental on account of waste is, I conceive, a liberal one, and although I should be sorry to see cultivation proceed at the same rapid rate as in Indapur, yet there cannot be a doubt of the annual rental of these-districts eventually attaining to Rs. 1,45,000 under the new settlements ; and if from this sum we make the liberal deduction of 10 per cent for bad crops and occasional seasons of dearth, there remain upwards of Rs. 1,30,000 for the average amount of annual collections, after the effects of the revi¬ sion shall have been fairly developed. This exceeds by Rs. 15,500 what we have hitherto been able to realize; but if we exclude from our average collections the two last years, when the revenue has been sustained at an unnatural height, by a partial introduction of the revised settlements, under the name of Ukti rates, its amount will fall to Rs. 1,10,500, or nearly Rs. 20,000 less than will eventually, and at no distant period, be the average collections under the new rates of assessment. . 29. Instead of this very favourable prospect, it might natur¬ ally have been anticipated that, in order to restore to a state of healthful prosperity a country wasted and impoverished by a long course of over-exaction, it would be necessary for the State to sub¬ mit to most serious and long continued, if not permanent, sacrifices of its revenue; and it must, at all events, be admitted, that the amount of taxation now proposed, is to the full as heavy as in the present circumstances of the districts could with safety be imposed. The immediate effect of the new settlement will be to reduce the rental to Rs. 1,16,000, which is Rs. 5,000 more than the average collections previous to the introduction of the Ukti rates, although Rs. 25,000 less than the collections of the past year. This latter sum of Rs. 25,000, then, will be the amount of immediate relief afforded to the districts by the new rates ; and al¬ though it may seem that a,sum so limited when distributed among the whole cultivating classes, could be but little felt by each indivi¬ dual, I do not think that such will be the case. The relief will be found substantial, as has already been proved in the case of Tnd4- pur ; and Mr. Davidson has well shown in the 26th paragraph of his report “ that a district may be ruined without the assessment 62 seeming exorbitant,” and that such “ ruin may be averted by a reduction, moderate in itself, but doubly moderate when contrasted with the misery it alleviates.” 30. The only point remaining to be noticed in connection with the rates of assessment, is' the additional taxation to be impos¬ ed upon irrigated land. From the circumstances of there being no perennial streams in these districts, the quantity of p4tdsthal land is very limited. Upon this I propose to place a small extra assessment, to be regulated in amount by the particular circumstan¬ ces of each case, but as the whole quantity of this land is quite inconsiderable and does not exceed 50 acres, it will be unnecessary to enter into any details. There is also a little rice land, in particu¬ lar villages, which has been obtained by the construction of large and massive bunds, behind which the finer particles of soil and the water coming down from the higher lands are retained, and in these shallow reservoirs the rice is raised during the monsoon ; and occasionally a second crop of grain or wheat during the cold weather. These bunds have in many instances been constructed at great expense, and the more valuable produce raised by their means being wholly due to the outlay made by the cultivator, and not to any natural advantages, it cannot, according to the instruc¬ tions of the Honourable Court of Directors, be made the subject of any extra assessment ; were it otherwise, the taxation of such im¬ provements would be in the highest degree impolitic, as they form one of the readiest means of increasing the fertility and resources of these districts. The remaining irrigated lands are the Mothas- thal Bagayet, which, from their greater extent and importance in every respect, will require more detailed mention. 31. There are between five and six thousand acres of land in the Mohol and Mddha Taluks now cultivated as Bagayet, and paying in addition to the Jerayet assessment an extra cess of about B,s. 7,500. This tax, which is merely a modification of the M&mul Bagayet rates,, falls very unequally upon .the different, gardens. It is not perhaps heavy as a. whole,’but is so upon parti¬ cular villages and gardens, in consequence of its unequal distribu¬ tion. With the ample information in my possession regarding the condition of every well, its depth andsupply of water, the quantity and quality of the land capable of being irrigated by it, and its advantages, or disadvantages of situation, it will be a comparatively easy task te ascertain with sufficient exactness the relative value of every garden, and thus to remedy the evil of unequal taxation above complained of. Something more than this, however, would appear to be ne¬ cessary, owing to the circumstances of these gardens being to all intents and purposes private property, and freely disposed of by sale, gift, or mortgage. Under these circumstances it may be ques- 63 tioned whether it would be just to assess all ’according to one unbending scale, for- the purchaser of a garden which has hitherto paid no extra assessment, or a merely nominal one, has doubtless paid for the exemption, and might think himself hardly treated, by being placed on exactly the same footing with a neighbour who had always previously paid a high assessment, and whose property was .consequently just of so much less value. This objection indeed of disturbing the existing relations of property, applies with more or less force to every revision of taxation, but it is not of the less impor¬ tance on that account, and ought strongly to inculcate the neces¬ sity of caution in introducing changes likely to interfere with the interests or prejudices of those affected by them. It is of especial importance in the present case, that the changes introduced should be acceptable to the people, for it is to the extension of Bagayet cultivation that we have to look for the most considerable additions to the resource and value of those districts ; and as affording the best provision against the recurrence of those dearths and famines which have so frequently ravaged this part of the country. The policy of imposing an extra tax at all, under such circumstances, may well be doubted; but as Government might have difficulty in finding a less objectionable substitute for the loss of revenue its remission would entail, I do not venture to recommend this step, but proceed to state my proposal for its revision. 32. The extreme poverty of many of the Bagayet cultivators in villages where the present assessment is heavy is very observable ; and it will be seen from my Appendix B, giving the substance of a number of deeds mortgaging garden land, that the value of this property now is almost nominal and far short of the sums that must have been originally expended on it; or, at all events, that the exigencies of its owners have been so pressing as to compel them to part with it at a most inadequate price. In consequence of this poverty, a great majority of the Bagayet cultivators are obliged to confine their attention to raising crops of wheat, gram, maize, vegetables, &c., and are unable to command the outlay required for sugar-cane, fruits, turmeric, and other remunerating garden pro¬ ducts. Under such circumstances, it may be difficult to prove what ought to be the exact amount of extra taxation upon irrigated land; but it is evident that it should be. very low, and my own ob¬ servation, assisted by the opinions of those well qualified to judge upon this matter, has convinced me that 2 rupees per acre In excess of the Jerayet rate, is the utmost limit of taxation that can be imposed without endangering the continued cultivation of gar¬ den land, and discouraging the cultivators from sinking new wells. I have in several instances been obliged to reduce the assessment on gardens, rated at not more than 4 or 5 rupees per acre, from 64 the impossibility of their cultivation being continued on these terms; and as a reduction from these rates to 2 rupees per acre, will only amount to from 10 to 15 rupedis upon a whole garden, this must be considered a small matter when the capital and outlay required for its cultivation are kept in recollection. I am of opinion, indeed, that few cultivators of gardens now paying an extra assessment, and who are unable to raise the more valuable products, receive any profit whatever upon the original capital expended in digging the well and preparing the garden, and this view of the subject is, I think, fully borne out by the information contained in my Appendix B. 33. The plan I propose for the settlement of this tax is as follows :—That to each well be assigned the number of acres it is estimated to be capable of irrigating one year with another, which number should under no circumstances be increased, and to have for these three rates of assessment, of 2 rupees, 1^, and 1 rupee per acre respectively, in addition to the Jerayet taxation. The object of having so many rates, is to admit of a proper allowance being made for disparities in the quality of the soil, the varying depth of the water in the well, and the situation of the garden with reference to facilities for obtaining manure, &c., and also of a dis¬ cretionary reduction being made in the cases of gardens which have hitherto paid no extra assessment, or a very light one, and when the imposition of the full rate would obviously be unpopular and give reasonable ground of complaint. The assessment thus found will be entirely distinct from the Jerayet and levied only when the garden is irrigated. In event of a portion only of the garden being irrigated, it is intended that the cultivator should be pennitted to • make a petition to that effect, in the same way as he now does upon a failure of crop, and that the watered portion should then be measured by a Government karkun, and the assessment levied upon that only, in event of its differing by more than one acre, , from the whole number of acres his well is rated at, which restric¬ tion would be necessary to prevent a needless multiplication of petitions. By the plan just sketched out, the present inequality of Bagayet taxation would be got rid of without any sacrifice ; on the contrary I estimate a slight increase and yet a degree of respect accorded to prejudice and former usage, which, in combination with the general reduction effected in the Jerayet assessment, would effectually prevent the change being unpopular. 34. In reporting upon Indapur, I recommended that the 10 years’ lease originally sanctioned for that district should be extended to one of 30 years, or the settlement at once declared permanent. Government, however, upon consideration declined to accede to either of these proposals, influenced, as it appears to 65 me by doubts of tbe solidity of the principles of the settlements, and the permanency of its beneficial results, rather than by any disbelief of the real superiority of long leases and permanent settle¬ ments over those of very limited duration. I am on this account induced to bring the subject again under consideration, and in the hope that the additional information now before Government, regardingthe real sources of the present prosperity of Indapur, and the further explanation which has been given of the principles of its settlement, will have served to establish the latter on a firmer basis than before, and to dispel many previously entertained doubts of their ultimate tendencies. While, to afford full scope for the development of these tendencies, and even to allow the present settlements fair play, it appears indispensable, in my humble opinion, to protect them by a lease of sufficient dura¬ tion, to give perfect security to the operation of the cultivator, and to hold out to him powerful inducements for the undertaking of permanent improvements. For the attainment of these objects, a ten years’ lease appears altogether inadequate, and it may be doubted whether it would have a beneficial effect at all; some years will probably elapse after the introduction of the new settlements before capital will have sufficiently accumulated to admit of improve¬ ments being extensively undertaken; but by that time, a ten years’ lease would be rapidly approaching its termination, and the doubt and uncertainty created by this prospect would sadly inter¬ fere with expensive speculations, such as the digging of wells, which require many years of exemption from assessment to repay their original outlay. And as these districts have great capabilities for the extension of garden cultivation, the question of a long lease becomes in their case of vastly greater importance than in that of Indipur, where the field for improvement is comparatively limited. 35. But independent of these considerations, there are others connected with the peculiar position of Government as proprietor , of the soil, noticed in my 11th and 12th paras., which appear to render the grant of a long lease to the cultivators of this country an act of bare justice, and hardly to be withheld, unless by some pressing necessity. In the countries of Europe where the land is possessed by a body of proprietors, it is found I believe invariably that where the tenant is not protected by a long lease, all permanent improvements are effected by the landlord. In England, when farms are let to tenants at will, or on short leases, every outlay of capital of which the return is not immediate, is made by the owner of the estate. He erects the farm buildings, makes all the permanent drains, fences, roads, plantations, and in most cases bears the cost of improving the quality of the soil, by the application of lime and other permanent and expensive manures. All these and similar improvements, where long leases do not b 210—i 66 obtain, to be made at all, must be made by the landlord. Is the Government of this country then, which occupies the position of the landlord in Europe, prepared to enter upon the extensive sphere of his duties, and if willing, is there the remotest possibility of its being capable to execute them? It will be admitted that there is not, and it seems clear then that this impossibility of Government undertaking the duties of the landlord, makes it incumbent to provide for their execution by the tenant, which can only be effected by means of a long lease, or by creating him a proprietor by a permanent settlement of the land tax. 36. Although convinced of the superiority of a permanent over every other description of settlement 'for this country, yet as there is great difference of opinion on the subject, I do not press its adoption in the case of these districts ; but beg earnestly to recommend that the settlement now proposed be protected by a lease of 21 years terminating in SktsIsotL during the whole of which time the cultivator should be allowed to reap undisturbed the full advantages of all improvements effected in his holding; and no reduction in the amount of the rates now fixed or interference with their unassisted operation, whether by means of Kowls or other expedients for forcing cultivation, should be permitted without the express sanction of Government. The effect of the announcement of this lease being granted would, I am persuaded,, be quite electric, and at once impart that feeling of security in being permitted to reap the fruits of industry, which is essential to the very existence of industry, and under the absence of which this country has long languished in poverty and mental degradation. The length of lease recommended in the case of IiwMpur was 30 years; but I have limited the present application to 21 years, or the shortest period I deem at all compatible with the attainment of the import¬ ant objects in view, and, under these circumstances, I feel sanguine of Government acceding to my request. * % 37. There are yet a few points in connection with the pros¬ pects of the present settlements which I am anxious .to notice in this place. That the great increase of production, consequent upon the extension of cultivation effected by a reduction of assess¬ ment, will cause ruinous depreciation in the price of grain, by bring- ing'into the market a supply much beyond the demand, has been contemplated as a possible, if not a probable, result of the new set¬ tlements; and as such a consequence would go far to neutralize all the benefits expected of them, I trust to be excused in offering a few observations upon this head. 38. The very low prices of grain in late years I attribute chiefly to two causes, viz., the onerous nature of the land tax, and the manner in which it has been collected. That a heavy assessment 67 which opposes a direct obstacle to production, should lower price may, at first sight, appear a paradox, but on closer enquiry it will be seen to be abundantly evident. The only portion of his crop which the cultivator is under the necessity of disposing of at all hazard, is that which must be sold in order to obtain funds for the payment of his assessment. The heavier this assessment is, then the larger will be the portion of his crop requiring thus to be disposed of, and the greater the straits to which the cultivator will be reduced in order to obtain the sum required. And these difficulties are greatly aggravated by the necessity of raising much of this sum before the crop is ready for market, owing to the date on which the first instalment of his revenue becomes due. The whole of the cultivators are, in consequence, driven to the village bankers: and the sudden demand for money, thus occasioned, causes it imniediately to rise in value, or in other words grain to fall below the usual market price of the season, which it will do just in proportion to the weight of the assessment, and the conse¬ quent necessities of the borrowers. This effect is also enhanced by the village bankers being obliged to keep large sums lying un¬ productive by them in order to meet these demands of their con¬ stituents ; or, which is frequently the case, to borrow them at a high rate of interest from larger Sowkars. The consequence of all this, then, is not only to throw upon the market the quantity of grain that would exchange for a sum of money equal to the assessment, at the ordinary prices of the season; but the greatly en¬ hanced quantity required to exchange for this sum at the temporary high prices caused by the weight of the assessment, and the mode of its collection; an oppressive assessment, also, by impoverishing the cultivators, necessitates them to borrow grain very generally for the subsistence of their families and for seed, and these loans being always repaid in kind with a high interest of 25 or 50 per cent, the whole of this interest goes of course to augment the sup¬ ply of grain in the market. Hence it is very apparent, that the direct tendency of a heavy assessment is to render the consump¬ tion of the agricultural classes, which form the great bulk of the community, a minimum, and the supply of grain thrown upon the market for consumption of the manufacturing and non-producing classes a maximum. 39. The reduction of assessment now proposed will in pro¬ portion to its extent mitigate these evils, but with the view of still further promoting this desirable object, I beg to recommend a slight alteration in the present mode of collecting the instalments due on account of the Ilabi crop, which is the only one of consequence in these districts. The assessment of this crop is now collected in two equal instalments, falling due upon 15th February and 15th March respectively. But when the former falls due, the crop is 68 never ready for market, and its sale under these circumstances is always effected at a great disadvantage, while the general effect of collecting in so short a period as a month or six weeks the large gum of money required for the payment of these two instalments, is to cause a sudden and most severe contraction of the currency throughout the country, and to interfere most injuriously with the usual course of trade, by the difficulties thrown in the way of nego- ciating bills owing to the sudden scarcity of money thus created. 40. I propose, therefore, that the revenue due on account of the Rabi crop be, in future, collected in three instalments, in¬ stead of two as at present, viz., one of 20 per cent due on 15th February, another of 40 per cent due on 15th March, and the last also of 40 per cent due on 15th April. The first instalment due on 15th February is purposely made lighter than the other, as the crop will not then be ready for market. The only objection which, I conceive, can be urged against this change is, that before the last instalment becomes due the crop will be removed from the field, and Government deprived of its security for the realization of the revenue; but, however valid this objection might be under an op¬ pressively heavy assessment, it is of no effect in the present case. Government possesses ample security for its revenue in the right of employing Mohasals, and distraining the property of the ten¬ ant, and I ani quite certain that in the case of these districts, the revenue would be realized with greater punctuality and ease and satisfaction to all parties, under the plan I have proposed, than can possibly be the case under the present; and this too without contracting the currency to so injurious an extent. . A necessity for attaching the crop at all speaks loudly, of the weight of the assessment, or of the prevalence of the common practice of forcing cultivation, which throws land into the hands of paupers and other persons without either character or credit, who, of course, will not be made to pay without difficulty if once allowed to make away with the produce. 41. "With a moderate assessment collected as I have pro¬ posed, the cultivator, instead of being obliged to part with his crop at a ruinous sacrifice, as is the case at present, would have ample time to prepare it for market before the heavy instalments of his payments become due. He would not often have occasion, however, to take it to any distant market, as the mere circumstance of his being able to do so would induce the grain dealer of his own village to give him a fair price for it on the spot; and the effect would be to lessen most considerably the quantity of grain now annually requiring to be thrown upon the market in order to raise money for the payment of assessment. There would consequently remain a much larger surplus than at present in the hands of the culti- 69 vator, which, besides sufficing to support his family and depen¬ dents in comfort and plenty, would form a reserve fund for the supply of the market as occasion might require, and thus tend to prevent any great fluctuation of price. But every portion of the surplus produce thus brought into market by the cultivator, would be given in exchange for other articles, and prove a direct addition to the demand for manufactured commodities, with every increase of which there would be a corresponding increase of demand for raw produce. The cultivator would soon be enabled to discontinue the ruinous practice of borrowing grain, to be .repaid in kind with a high rate of interest, and perhaps to keep by him a sufficient store to provide against a season of scarcity, and thus to avert in great measure a repetition of the dreadful scenes of misery and death by which these periods have hitherto been cala¬ mitously distinguished. 42. I am not without hopes that the preceding observations will tend to remove any apprehension of a continued fall in the price of grain being a probable effect of the revised assessment, as they will have placed it beyond dispute, that the measure will eventually add considerably to the amount and still more to the stability of the land revenue, but even this is a very insuffi¬ cient enumeration of its ultimate effects on the general finances. These districts possess great natural capabilities of improvement, and poverty alone has hitherto prevented their being taken advan¬ tage of. With every increase of wealth, population and the con¬ sumption of taxed commodities will also increase, and the indirect revenues oi* the State be to a corresponding extent augmented. The inhabitants of these districts, who number about 80,000, con¬ tribute even now a sum of not less than Rs. 16,500 to the revenue by their consumption of salt* alone, and though their consumption of other taxed articles at present is not considerable, it may soon be expected to become so. I believe that without the intervention of some, extraordinary calamities, the population of these districts, on the expiration of the lease I have proposed, will have been aug¬ mented a half, and its indirect contributions to the revenue have reached a sum of at least 35,000 rupees per annum. * From personal inquiries I have been led to estimate the annual consump¬ tion' of salt in these Districts at 660 tolas ■weight or 15 lbs. 14 ozs. for each individual. This is probably not beyond the truth, as Mr. McCullock estimates that of Great Britain at 22 lbs. and mentions that Necker had estimated that of the provinces of France which had purchased an exemption from the “ Gazette ” at 19*. lbs. for each individual. The present duty upon 660 tolas of salt is 3 annas 4 pies, which multiplied by 80,000, the number of inhabitants in these districts, gives Rs. 16,666 for the amount of their annual contributions to the revenue by their consumption of this necessary. 70 43. In these endeavours to trace out the probable results of the revised settlements, I have considered simply the effect of a removal of the pressure of a heavy assessment, which has hitherto weighed down and stifled every nascent effort at improvement on the part of the people. But the prospect thus held out to view, however fair and promising it may seem, is yet distant and bar¬ ren compared with the proximity and richness of that which will open out before us, by calling into action the mental energies of the people in aid of their physical improvement. The cultivator is ignorant, his wants and desires are alike confined, and there is ground for apprehending that, these once satisfied, the motive for active and sustained exertion will cease. The people will attain a degree of prosperity with which they may rest contented; but however advantageously this may contrast with their present con¬ dition, it is not, I apprehend, the goal to be held in view. . In the present condition of these districts, there is more required than the mere unfettering of industry ; she must be roused and stimulat ed into action, and guided in the paths that lead on to yet un¬ trodden heights of mental and physical development. It is in the power of Government to do this, and to advance the country to an early maturity of prosperity which centuries of her own unaid¬ ed efforts might fail in enabling her to acquire. For the attain¬ ment of these all-important objects the present opportunity is especially favourable, while the means are also at hand; and Mr. Davidson, in the concluding paragraphs of his report, has pointed out how these may be rendered available, with a sagacity and judgment which, in my.humble opinion, do equal honour to his head and to his heart. # 44. His views may be shortly stated thus. He considers “ that as Government is now relinquishing a portion of its revenue for the purposes of improving the condition of the people, and through them its own resources, it is reasonable and just that this should be done in the manner best adapted to the end it has in view,” and he therefore proposes, that instead of the whole reduc¬ tion, three-fourths only should go direct to the cultivator by dimi¬ nishing the rent of his field, and that the remaining fourth should reach him indirectly by being disposed of in. the following manner :— lsf.—The establishment ii^ each of the larger villages :of a school endowed to an amount not exceeding 10 or 12 rupees per mensem. 2nd.—The entertainment of a body of instructed artificers for the purpose of making carts at a reduced price, and of improving by their influence the mechanical resources of the district. 71 3rd.—The expenditure under these heads being so regulated as to leave a small surplus, to be allowed to accumulate into a fund for the supply of occasional rewards to the more enterprising husbandmen. . After stating these proposals, Mr. Davidson shows most ably and convincingly how their execution would conduce to an early deve¬ lopment of the physical resources of these districts, and at the same time to forward the more important objects of the mental and moral enlightenment of their inhabitants. 45. The argument for the policy of adopting Mr. Davidson’s suggestions as a means for developing the resources of these dis¬ tricts, evidently depends upon this : that the retention of a certain amount of taxation to be expended in tlio way he has proposed, will be of equal, if not greater, benefit to them, and admit of their accumulating wealth with the same or greater rapidity than they could do were the taxation given up altogether. Unless it can bo shown that the effect of this taxation is different from that of other taxation, the plan would involve a charge upon the finances of the State for the support of educa tion. But, on the other hand, if it ean be made to appear that the resources of these districts will not lose, but gain, by its operation, it is equally clear that, in¬ stead of being a contribution from, it will be a contribution to, the revenues of the State, and another means of permanently adding to its resources. 46. The Government revenue drawn from these districts is mostly spent at a distance, and the beneficial influence of that expenditure is ^here but little felt; while, on the other hand, the taxation proposed to be retained by Mr. Davidson would be spent among the people, and be a mere transfer from one hand to another, without in any degree diminishing the general stock. In this alone consists a marked difference between the two taxations, and sufficient almost of itself to establish the position contended for; but even this must be considered a mere tittle, and might well be left out of consideration altogether, when weighing the accumulation of other benefits the measure would confer. It must be admitted by every one, that education offers the fairest prospect of arousing the native mind to action, and overcoming that indisposition to leave the beaten track of the past, which has hitherto proved a stumbling block in the way of all our attempts to hasten the development of the resources of this country, and introduce the culture of valuable^ products, or improvements in the - processes of husbandry. And it will also be equally generally ad¬ mitted, that the example of one intelligent instructed cultivator, pursuing boldly a course of successful innovation, would do more towards effecting the objects we have so anxiously in view, by breaking down, the barriers thrown up by prejudice and custom 72 within the sphere of his influence, than is likely to be done by the most elaborate and expensive efforts on the part of Government. But if such may be looked for from the example of an individual, what may not reasonably be anticipated from the establishment of a school in every considerable village, where the minds of a large portion of the rising generation will be trained into habits of re¬ flection, and stored with knowledge, fitting them to press on suc¬ cessfully in their several paths of life. Among all these young villagers, conscious of the proud position they occupy in their little circle, will none be found to carry the spirit of emulation and ambition awakened at school, into the occupations of manhood: and will all descend without a struggle from the eminence thus early attained, and be content to tread again the narrow and beaten path in which prejudice and ignorance had confined the steps of their fathers ? The supposition is too improbable to be entertain¬ ed for a moment, and we may safely rest assured that the mighty engine of education, if brought into operation in the manner pro¬ posed, will act most powerfully in furtherance of the objects of the revision of assessment; as it presents the readiest means of creat¬ ing those wants and tastes at present unknown to the native mind, and that desire to consume, which are, at once, the occasion of an increasing demand for manufactured commodities, and for the capital which is to produce them. 47. Mr. Davidson’s suggestions for improving the mechanical and agricultural resources of these districts, by the entertainment of instructed artificers and the distribution of rewards to success¬ ful husbandmen, are also calculated to be of great and immediate benefit. The workshops he proposes to establish might be made available for instructing the sons of the carpenters and blacksmiths of the most considerable villages in their respective handicrafts, and these would be glad to serve an apprenticeship there on receiv¬ ing a small sum for maintenance, as a rupee per mensem, which might be paid from the Educational Fund; they would also be en¬ abled to attend at the adjoining school, and thus, in a few years, might be trained up a body of skilful and intelligent artificers, the beneficial effect of whose influence, improving the implements of husbandry, and introducing widely the use of wheeled carriages of superior construction, it may be difficult to over-estimate. 48. To provide for the accomplishment of the important objects here hastily sketched out, but of which a fuller and more able exposition is contained in the •accompanying report, Mr. David¬ son proposes, in general terms,that one-fourth of the reduction of assessment recommended by him should be kept back from the ryot. This object will be sufficiently attained, and a sum adequate to the ends in view be realized, by the imposition of an increase of 5 per cent on the Jerayet rates of assessment proposed for adop- 73 tion in the present .report. This extra taxation, however, being imposed for the specific object of improving the resources of these districts, it would be necessary to guard it strictly from being trenched upon for other purposes. It must not be considered, as it would not be, a portion of the Government revenue* and* there¬ fore, no haks or other incumbrances on, or alienations of the latter could be charged upon it. A simple, but effective, plan would be to deduct 5 per cent of the sum to be realized oil ac¬ count of the Jerayet assessment of each village, for the purpose of being credited to the Educational Fund, from its total rental as entered in the Jamabandi Chitta, in the same way as remissions are now managed. The balance would then be the amount of the Government claims upon the village, on which the allowances of Hakdars, and other expense's, would be charged as at present The fund thus rendered available would amount to about 5,000 rupees in the first year of the settlement, and with the increase of cultivation might at length attain to nearly 7,000 rupees for both districts. These sums will appear limited when compared with the magnitude of the objects to be effected by their instrument¬ ality ; but they will* I think, suffice* and are as considerable as can safely be rendered available in the present impoverished condition of the Cultivators. These suggestions are offered in order to ad* mit of Mr. Davidson’s scheme being acted upon at once, in event of its principle being approved of; while further details connected with the. most advantageous disposal of the funds can be prepared hereafter, and will more appropriately form the subject of a dis¬ tinct communication. 49. The plan which has been here brought tinder review, to Use the words of Lieutenant Davidson, “ is the outline of a mighty engine which, if constructed wisely and impelled by the energy of our enlightened Rulers, can scarcely fail to work out a mighty change in the moral and physical condition of these districts.” I await its reception by my superiors with feelings of deep anxiety ; an opportunity like the present of keeping back a portion of the benefits of a reduction of assessment in order to confer others of still higher importance, is never likely to recur ; and Government, by taking advantage of this, will, without abstracting one rupee from its own coffers, secure the invaluable benefits of education to the population of these districts, and lay, in my humble estimation, the only sure foundation for their lasting prosperity. I have the honour, &c., GEORGE WINGATE, Superintendent of Revenue Survey. Camp at Dehgaon, Mohol Districts, ■ 15th jurie 1839. b 210—j 74 APPENDIX A. Average prices o/Jowdri during the lastly years in Inddpur, Mddha, Mohol, and Sholdpur. Paha Seers of 80 Tolas weight selling for one Ballapur Rupee. PERIODS, 0 0i *43 a HH e3 3 . -cS 3 O o a t-i 0 04 -C5 O •0 CQ Average price of Jowari for tlie last 19 years... 52 60 55 48 Do. do. do. 15 do. 58 eo 63 50 Do. do. . do. 10 do. 56 62 58 47 Do. do. do. 5 do. 62 70 60 46 G. WINGATE, Superintendent of .Revenue Survey. APPENDIX B. STATEMENT giving the particulars of several recent Mortgages of Government Garden andlnam Jerayet Lands in the * Mohol and Mddha Districts. No, of Acres in field Mort¬ gaged. _ No. of Acres usually under Irrigation. Assessment on the whole field inclusive of extra Bagayet Cess. Portion of field Mortgaged. Amount of Loan raised upon Mortgage, * Conditions of Mortgage. A. 0. A. a. a. a. Rs. A. P. Es. A. Pw 15 2 0 4 25 0 17 2 5 The whole. 92 0 0 The lender is to hold the field, paying the assessment, until the debt is repaid with interest at the rate of 2 pice per rupee per mensem. Date of Mortgage a.d. 1824-25. p < 16 18 0 2 20 0 25 7 0 Do. Rs. 30 cash and 1 Candy of grain. The garden is to be held by the lender, paying the assessment, until the cash loan is repaid with interest of 2 pice per mensem on each rupee and the grain with 50 per cent interest. Date a.d. 1825-26. w W >< ◄ & < P 10 6 0 3 25 0 23 4 1 Do. 207 0 0 The lender n to receive for the next two years a “ buttaee ” (usually |rd) of the produce of the watered land, ^rd of that of the newly ploughed land, and \ of that of the other unwatered land. The debt is to be discharged, with interest at 2 per cent per mensem, within 2 years, in failure of which the lender is to become proprietor of the garden and the borrower is to give him a deed of sale to that effect. Date/A. d. 1830-31. 13 11 0 7 15 0 S4 1 9 One-ninth. Do. 20 0 0 30 0 0 The debt bears no interest and the lender is to hold the mortgaged portion of the garden, paying a share of the assessment, until the principal of the loan is discharged. Date a.d. 1832-33. Conditions same as preceding. Date a.d. 1833-34. No. of Acres in field. Mort¬ gaged. No. of Acres usually trader Irrigation. Assessment on the whole field inclusive of extra Bagayet Cess. Portion of field Mortgaged. Amount of Loan raised upon Mortgage. Conditions op Mortgage, « ■ & < A. G. A. 12 29 0 A. G. A. 5 0 0 Rs. A. P. 23 8 6 One-third. Rs. A. p. 30 0 0 j 16 0 oj The lender is to hold this share of the garden for 10 years, paying the assessment, at the expiration of which period the debt is to be con¬ sidered as discharged, principal and interest. Date 1832-33. The same share is to continue in the possession of the lender until this additional loan is discharged with interest of 2 pice per mensem on each rupee. Date a. d. 1833*34. 26 0 0 3 26 0 32 6 0 The whole. 187 8 0 The lender is to hold the garden, paying the assessment, until the debt is discharged with interest at the rate of 2 pice on each rupee per mensem. Date a.d. 1833-34. 3 36 0 3 36 0 15 0 0 Do. 15 0 0 The lender is to hold the garden, paying the assessment, until the debt is discharged with interest at the rate of 2 pice on each rupee per mensem. Date a.d. 1833-34. 11 25 0 2 4 0 16 0 10 One-fifth. 18 0 0 * The lender is to hold this share of the garden, paying the assessment, until the debt is discharged with interest of 2 pice on each rupee per mensem. Date A. d. 1833-34. 25 30 0 5 0 0 21 0 0 One-half. 20 0 0 The lender is to hold this share of the garden, paying the assessment, until the debt is discharged with interest of pice on each rupee per mensem. Date a.d. 1833-34. BAGAYfiT • Produce of fruit trees in above share. 57 0 0 This loan is to be repaid with interest at 2 per cent per mensem, be¬ fore the share of the garden can be released according to terms of preceding mortgage, and until discharged the fruit trees in the share are to be held by the lender. Date 1833-34. 7 15 D 7 15 0 20 15 0 One-eighth. One-eighth. One-fourth. 40 0 0 ' 45 0 0 80 0 0 This loan bears no interest and the lender is to hold the share of the garden until the principal of debt is repaid, but the borrower is to ^discharge the assessment. Date 1833-34. Terms same as preceding. Date 1833-34. Do. Do. 1834-35. 75 33 0 4 0 0 Inam, The whole. 100 0 0 The borrower is to continue to hold the field, but until the principal of the loan is discharged he is, after deducting hues, googree, and seed, to give 2-6ths of the gross produce to the lender. Date a.d. 1835-36. 25 30 0 5 0 0 21 0 0 One-half. 50 0 0 The lender is to hold this share of the garden, until the loan is repaid with interest at 2 per cent per mensem. The lender pays the assess¬ ment a. d. 1836-37. 49 37 0 12 26 0 42 6 9 One-sixth* 36 0 0 This loan bears no interest and the lender is to hold this share of the' garden, paying the assessment until the principal is repaid. Date a.p. 1837-38. 13 11 7 5 9 0 17 11 7 One-half. 24 0 0 The borrower is to continue to cultivate this share but is to give 2-5ths of the produce of the watered and £ of that of the unwatered land to the lender, who is, however, to discharge the assessment and the arrangement is to remain in force, until the loan is repaid with inter¬ est at 1 per cent per mensem. Date A.D. 1837-38. 5 3 0 3 0 0 4 8 1 The whole. 50 0 0 The lender is to hold the garden for 4 years, paying the assessment, with the exception of the first year, when it is to be paid by the borrower. The debt, principal, and interest is to be considered dis¬ charged at the end of the 4 years. No. of Acres in field Mort¬ gaged. No. of Acres usually under Irrigation. Assessment on tlie whole field inclusive of extra Bagayet Cess. Portion of field Mortgaged. Amount of Loan raised upon ~ Mortgage. Conditions of Mortgage. A. G. A. A. G. A. Rs. A. F. Rs. A. P. 12 13 0 Inam. The whole. 32 0 0 This field is to be held by the lender for a period of 7 years, when the debt, principal, and interest is to be considered discharged. Date a.d. 1832-33. H W ►x 03 • W 52 34 0 Inam. The whole. 250 0 0 This field is to be held by the lender, free of all encumbrances what¬ ever, such as hues, babs, &c., for a period of 11 years, at the end of which the debt, principal, and interest is to be considered discharged. Date a, d. 1834-35. 67 12 0 Inam. The whole., 140 0 0 This loan bears no interest, and the lender is to hold the field until the principal is discharged. In the event of the lender ploughing the field his tenure is secured for 3 years afterwards. a,d. 1837-38. (Signed) G. WINGATE, Superintendent of Revenue Survey. 79 APPENDIX C. STATEMENT of the Gross Annual Jamabandi of the Mohol and Madha,'Taluks, and the Gross Amount of Revenue realized from all sources, from the date of their passing into the possession of the British Government up to the termination of the past official year, A,D. 1838-39. Official Years. Land Re¬ venue. Sayer Revenue. Total of Gross Jam^butidy. Total collections made up to end of liast year on ac¬ count of current Revenue and outstanding balances and inclusive of the full allowances of Hakdars, village expenses, &c. Percentage of Total collections of Gross Jam&bandb A.D. 1821-22 1,68,395 9,481 1,77,876 1,16,574 65| 1822-23 1,85,500 12,077 1,97,577 1,56,327 79 1823-24 1,72,595 9,606 1,82,201 1,17,894 64 1824-25 1,80,118 4,703 1,84,821 . 38,923 21 1825-26 1,85,386 „ 8,297 1,93,683 1,22,874 ■ 634 1826-27 1,58,505 8,541 1,67,046 1,32,343 79 1827-28 1,50,676 8,199 1,58,875 86,495 54| 1828-29 1,60,644 8,311 1,68,955 1,08,640 64 1829-30 1,46,000. 8,351 1,54,351 6,9379 45 1830-31 1,63,175 8,558 1,71,733 84,031 49 1831-32 1,44,637 8,256 1,52,893 1,2S,691 84 1832-33 1,26,870 6,563 1,33,433 30,479 23 1838-34 1,55,851 9,259 1,65,110 1,61,282 97| 1834-35 1,49,996 9,342 1,59,338- 1,42,704 894 1835-36 1,51,338 8,682 1,60,020 1,16,749 73 1836-37 1,60,612 9,685 1,70,297 1,56,800 92 1837-38 1,70,070 7,810 1,77,880 1,52,494 854 1838-39 1,69,901 8,312 1,78,213 1,41,561 79 Average. 1,61,126 8,557 1,69,683 1,14,680 674 Note.—The results shown in the last two columns of this Statement are somewhat in excess of the truth, in consequence of the full charges of hakdars, village expenses, &c., being included in them, whereas there are considerable balanees outstanding on account of these items in every village. Deducting the odd hundreds on this account, we have Rs. 1,14,000, for the gross average annual collections upon all accounts, made in both districts from the date of their coming into our possession up to the end of the past official year. (Signed) G. WINGATE, Superintendent of Revenue Survey. 80 To Lieutenant G. WINGATE, Superintendent, Revenue Survey in the Deccan'.- Sib, Mohol, 20tk May. 1839. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of yoUr letter Mohol Assessment. N°* 60 °.f ,1839> Calling on mG for PW Sedi¬ ments with respect to the proposed assess¬ ment of the Mohol Taluka, and participating, as I do, in the anxiety you express for the early introduction of the new rates, I hasten to comply with your request. 2.The survey and classification are sufficiently advanced to enable me to form a fair estimate of the capabilities of the district, and the probable revenue it would yield under an assessment based upon the Inddpur settlement already sanctioned by Government. 3.Before entering upon the consideration of this point, I proceed to lay before you the result of my operations in testing the survey measurements and forming a new classification of the soil. 4.As the measurements of my K&rkuns were to form a Method pursued in standard for the trial of the recorded mea- testing the former mea- surements of the former survey, I have en- Burements. deavoured to ensure their accuracy by a strict and continued examination. To do this with confidence, it was necessary that the -proof measurements of their work, executed by myself, should be as correct as possible. 1 have, in consequence, made it my practice to chain the entire boundary of each field, besides fixing the distant points with the theodolite, from two or more stations. The average difference, between my measurements and those of my establishment, from the commencement until now, is 2 per cent. In order to bring the survey of the taluka within the Result maximum of allowable error (10 per cent), I have found it necessary to re-measure the whole of the waste land. I am now testing the measurement of the cultivated land, and find it much more correct. Out of 46 villages which I have examined, in 5 only has the error exceeded 10 per cent ; and the average error of the remaining 41 of these villages is 5 per cent. 81 5.With the view of giving weight to my opinion, as to the degree of uniformity attained by my Estab- twisfficatione0king lament of Tarams in the classifying of the soils, I have had my own work, in almost every instance, checked by an experienced classer ; we made our separate valuations, and on comparing them with the recorded classification and with each other the result was as follows :— a. p. Average difference between my classification and the recorded one per acre 1 2 Average difference between the Tarams’ classification Result. and the recorded one per acre......... 1 10 Average difference between my classification and that Average. of the Tarams who checked it 0 7 This difference is, perhaps, greater than it ought to be, and I . hope greater than it will be on the whole, taluka. 6. Permit me to offer a few remarks on - the tables showing the relative value of each class and variety of vaW soils cZidoS sod, framed for Inddpur assessment, and adopted for the survey m which I am engaged. I have endeavoured to form an unbiased opinion of the merits . of the table in question from personal observation, and I believe it represents the various soils, as nearly as possible, in the order and degree of their several capabilities. It is difficult to trace the process by which we arrive at a conclusion on a point which admits of no certain demonstration. I can only say I have taken advantage of the frequent opportunities which my occupation affords, for eliciting his real opinion, and have had every reason to believe that the tabular arrangement of the soils coincides with the scale of preference which exists within the mind of the cultivator. The classification is not new to him. He is accus¬ tomed to regard the soils as divided, with a few exceptions, into three colours ; and these he sub-divides by three degrees of compa- rison, Best, Medium and Worst—Awal, Madhiam, and Niras. An experienced Kunbi would make an excellent classifier if his own interest were not immediately concerned. When a difference of opinion has arisen betwixt one of the Tarams and myself, I have not unfrequently asked a Kunbi to pronounce upon the point, and his judgment was generally'received with deference. I have found the diagrams given in Appendix A useful in elucidating the nature and arrangement of the table. 7. Assuming this table of comparative values to be sufficient¬ ly correct, also that the positive quantity and termtned °mt t0 **e" average quality of each field has been deter¬ mined with a fair degree of accuracy, by b 210—h 82 State of Mohol Ta- luka. means of revised measurements and a new classification, another and a very material point still remains t& be adjusted, namely* the height at which the rates for the district should he pitched. 8. I enter upon this part of my subject impressed with a sense of its importance, and of my own insufficiency to handle it. It is a satisfaction to me to know that my remarks, being subject to your review, are not likely to mislead. 9. I shall not attempt to give the history of Mohol. I under¬ stand it has been the subject of some excellent reports, and if any¬ thing is wanting in the present instance, I may rely on its being supplied by your abler pen, from your larger store of information. 10. Poverty in the midst of great natural resources is the chief characteristic of the taluk, and among the causes of its reduced condition, a dispro- portioned Land Tax- stands the most con¬ spicuous. The escape pipe - of' a reservoir could not more effec¬ tually prevent the rise and accumulation of its waters, than the Kamdl exaction of Aurangzebe did the rise and advancement of this district. And I trust it will.be exempted from another mode of drainage, of more scientific adjustment, but not less injurious in its tendency ; I allude to that system, where the aperture is most nicely regulated, so that its demand, when added to the other sources of exhaustion, exactly amounts to the supply. •11. If there exists a doubt that the plan of. a heavy assess- * ment and annual remissions presents a direct System of high premium upon poverty, a glance at the district remission.!" • under review will effectually remove it. It is a take-all from him who has to give, and a take-as-much-as-you-ean from him who has it not. Under such a system none are rich, because all find it their interest to be poor, and what are the sad consequences ? The great body of the peo¬ ple have brought Nature down to the lowest terms on which she can exist, and when the exigencies of a famine or even of a scarcity call for a retrenchment, every step of that retrenchment produces starvation, instead of frugality ; a reduction of life, rather than economy of living. "We have visited together some of the villages ... which suffered the greatest blight of the Its injurious effect. famine in Fasli 1242 (1833), and it is not necessary I should remind you of the feelings with which we looked upon the masses of roofless walls, which, except that they were not blackened,' presented all the . appearance of a recent con¬ flagration. The miserable inhabitants of those villages died, or fled, not because there was no corn in the land, but because they 83 were poor, and had not wherewith to huy. Ot er causes. ■ j am aware that fn eVery country there must be a portion of the people, living from hand to mouth, who are rendered destitute whenever a season of scarcity arrives; but it is seldom they form, as here, the larger body of the populace. 12.- The poverty arising from a heavy taxation presents a barrier to all agricultural improvements re- checked*1011 °*Bagayet quiring the expenditure of capital. Through- c ec 6 out the greater portion of this taluk, garden cultivation might be readily extended if the ryots had the means of sinking wells for the purpose of irrigation, and this increase of bagayet would be one of the best provisions against famine. 13.The construction of bunds for retaining the soil that is c. t -D r .. washed from the high lands during the mon- - soon, is also much limited by reason of the heavy assessment, and the features ■ of this district are such as to afford an almost inexhaustible field for the profitable employment of capital in works of this kind. I have been surprised at the ra¬ pid ' deposit of first rate soil behind embankments that have only lately been raised. This naturally suggests the consideration, of what the country must suffer annually from the impoverished con¬ dition of the land-holder. The heavy rain of the monsoon which falls on the hilly land, in the _ centre of the taluk, rapidly finds its way into the river that flows on either side, bearing along with it some of the richest' portions of the" soil, and leaving the district, each succeeding season, more bare and battered than before. 14. In making these remarks, and charging a heavy land tax with so many evils, I have not lost sight of other causes, such as the sub-division of property and early marriages, which com¬ bine with it in producing such unhappy results. These, as Mr. Mills justly observes in his comments on the Inddpur settlement, can be touched only with the hand of education. 15. There can be no doubt, and I believe nobody entertains Proposition stated. “V* that the Present assessment of the taluk is too high ; the proposition to be solved is rather, how far it may be lowered without unduly sacrificing the resources of the State. 16.I trust it may be considered an acknowledged principle, A principle assumed. ^at Berests of Government are best se¬ cured by pursuing such measures as tend to promote the welfare of the ryot, and the general improvement of the country. 84 Two sources of in¬ formation. 17. There appear to be two sources from which information may be derived for the purpose of determin¬ ing the proper rates for this district. One, the analogy it bears to the taluk in which the revised assessment is in full and successful operation, and the other, the evidence contained within itself and in favour of a cer¬ tain scale of taxation. 18. As I allude to Indipur in the last paragraph, it may • not be out of place briefly to advert to the ofThTlSpur SeWe! P^ples on which the assessment of that ment. taluka was fixed, lhe officers to whom the important duty was entrusted do not appear to have aimed at ascertaining, by long and minute calculation of produce and expenditure, the exact productive power of each va¬ riety of soil; but guided by their own experience, and assisted by the judgment of such men as might Tbe expected to afford an un¬ biased opinion, they framed a settlement which has fairly stood the test of experiment. They set out with the maxim, that a cer¬ tain quantity and quality of land would admit of a certain taxation, and when the arms of this proportion were extended, so as to em¬ brace all the arable land within the district, it was found that, al¬ though the nominal revenue of Government was reduced, its actual collections were increased, and the prosperity of the taluk secured by the arrangement. ■ ' 19. In order to. ascertain the* extent of analogy between Mohol and Indipur, I have drawn out the diagram appendix B, in which the cultivation and collections of the taluks for each ,n ?he form of UWi duriog the last 3 years, has operated as a relief to the cultivator/and has, therefore, tended to improve his condition, by giving him for nearly the same money a larger quantity of land, part of which he holds on the' survey rates and part on the reduced rates. It follows that the new rates have already, in some measure, increased the capital of the cultivator, for in the instance before us, improved condition, and increased capital, may be deemed one and the same thing. But let us consider what the proposed rates will now do. The collections for the present year ontheJerayat land were 47,00(7 rupees, while the revised assessment on the*same land .will be about 37,000 rupees. From this it is evident that the difference, namely 10,000 rupees, will be left as capital in the hands of the cultivators of this taluk the first year the new rates are fully estab¬ lished. . ' 2nd.—In my 12th and 13th paras have noticed the natural » 2nd Argument " resources of thfe district, and shall in this * ’ ‘ 'place be contented to repeat that, it affords an abundant field for the profitable expenditure of capital, in the construction,of bunds, and in the extension of garden cultivation. 3rd.—It can be proved only by inference that the Kunbi 3rd Ar umenfc " having capital placed at his disposal, will ‘ • expend it in the improvements alluded to. Some Kunbis have capital and they lay it out almost entirely in that way. The Kunbi is not dissipated ■ and has a desire to rise in the world, in common with other men. Any one living for some time in this district, and witnessing the efforts at improve¬ ment, too often marred from insufficiency of means (of which every village affords a few interesting examples), would at once acquit the Kunbi of the charge of natural, and therefore unconquerable, apathy, which is so frequently preferred against him through an ignorance of humanity, the more culpable because it is refined. 88 31.Should the proposed rates, or any other low rates, receive . ~ the sanction of Government, it will be extend1 gradually8, if at necessary to guard as much as possible against all. any sudden increase of cultivation. It must always be most injurious to a Kunbi to hold more land than he can cultivate properly, for he, in that case, has to pay the full rent to the State, while he is unable to draw upon the full resources of his field. The capital of the cultivator must enlarge gradually, if at all, and so ought the sphere of its employ¬ ment. 32. The happy results to be expected from the introduction of a light and equitable land tax will be sadly neutralized, unless it be made in some degree, if not altogether, permanent. The Permanency requisite. ?ra?d object is’.to imP.art to,cultivator a feeling of security against the inroads, of an exaction which shall increase, as hitherto, in the measure of his improvements. The following remark which fell from a native to whom I was explaining the present prospects of the taluk, may show the Kunbi’s habit of thinking on the subject:—“ The Ukti rates,” said he, “ would make the ryot happy and prosperous, but how long will they last ? . In a few years another Saheb will come, and after examining the village, will propose a higher assessment.” 33. I am not prepared to advance a decided opinion with re- ' j}asravej. rates spect to the Bagayet assessment, and as the sy ■ subject may be considered a general one, would rather leave it entirely with you to make proposals for the Bagayet rates of the Mohol taluk. The proportion the Bagayet levy bears to that on the Jerayet is very small, being only 6 per cent. I may remark that I have received an impression, the source of which it might be difficult to trace, that a rent not ex¬ ceeding 2 rupees per acre in addition to the Jerayet rates might be fixed for the Bagayet. 34. According to the proposed rates the State is required to relinquish a portion of its demand, under the fair anticipation of an ultimate increase to its revenue. I shall conclude this report with a proposal having reference to the manner in which I think this relinquishment should be made. 35. I take it for granted, that in relinquishing a right for the purpose of improving the condition of the people, and through them its own resources, it is reasonable and just that Government should do so in the manner best adapted to bring about the end it has in view. 36.Three ways suggest themselves in which such a sum may be distributed. It may be given unreservedly to the culti¬ vator in the form of a reduction on the rent of his fields, to be 89 applied as he thinks fit; it may be expended at the discretion of Government with a direct view to the advantage of the ryot, or in its application both of these may be combined. The first system has been hitherto pursued, and if the mental and physical energies of the natives are fully aroused, and their efforts at their improvement rightly directed, such a system were assuredly the best, as it is better than the second. Because to carry the second into successful operation, it were necessary that the liberality of the State should reach its object and effect its end, through a diligent and inquiring agency ; an agency that partook of the philanthropic spirit of the Government of which it is the hand, and such is not always to .be found. In the present state of the district it is essential, while we afford the means of improvement, that we impart therewith the spirit of improvement. I therefore recommend the adoption of the third system, and that of the proposed reduction three-fourths go direct to the cultivator, by diminishing the rent upon his fields, while the remaining portion reaches him indirectly, by being dis¬ posed of in the following manner :— ls£.—The establishment in each of the larger villages of a school, endowed to an amount not exceeding ten or twelve rupees per mensem. • 2nd.—The entertainment at the village of Mohol of. a body of instructed artificers, for the purpose of making carts * at a reduced price ; and of improving, by their influence, the mechanical resources of the district. 3rd.—The expenditure under those heads being so regulated as to leave a small surplus, I suggest that such surplus be allowed to accumulate into a fund, for the supply of occa¬ sional rewards to the more enterprising husbandmen. 37. I shall offer a few observations on each of these proposals. We may infer from the past exertions of Government in the cause of education, that the relative merit of the college and vil¬ lage school systems has been the subject of debate. I am ignorant of the conclusion arrived at, but would give my humble voice in favour of the latter. In a college we have instruction condensed, if I may so speak, into a mass, and extending its influence in con¬ centric circles till in process of time it reaches the outer verge of the community; whereas in the system of village schools, we have the dividing of such a mass into small but efficient particles, and the spreading of the whole over the entire surface of the commu- nity. The latter seems a better mode of diffusing than the former. But there is something wanting in the items of a village school education. There ought to be a more direct aim at importing ideas b 210—1 90 as well as a knowledge of the mere vehicle by which they are con¬ veyed. To the ordinary branches might be added the initiatory principles of mechanics, illustrated from the field of every day oc¬ currence, and thus brought within the grasp of the most limited capacity. For example, the properties of the lever, of the pulley, and of the wedge, with a few maxims, such as a saving of time attendant on increase of power in mechanical combinations, might be set forth and brought home to the mind of the young villager without there being any necessity to expatiate beyond the limited circle to which his associations are confined. This point till of late years has been too much neglected in the seminaries in which our working classes at home received, their education; and we may attribute to the influence of such elementary knowledge as is dis¬ seminated by schools of arts and cheap publications, the enlarged spirit of invention which is the characteristic feature of the age. The ingredients have been thrown into many minds, and their combinations have increased in number and variety. The survey of fields, as practised by our native measurers, might be taught with great facility, and with practical advantage. A chain and cross-staff being deposited with each school-master, he might occa¬ sionally be called on to measure a doubtful field, and in this way a number of measurers would be available with additional expense being incurred. 38. The natives are very averse to making experiments, and the advantage arising from a proposed innovation must be very evident, before they will adopt it. Much injury has beerf done by attempts to introduce implements which were not adapted to the country, and the failure of every ■ such attempt has had the effect of arming the native mind against succeeding ones. The introduction into these districts of a very superior cart is a pleas¬ ing exception to the above. I think the principal cause, of its success is its great durability. I should feel myself more at liberty to enlarge on the benefits conferred by the introduction of the cart in question, were I not addressing the very individual who, sparing neither trouble nor expense, has in this case so effectually combated native prejudice. You are aware that the possession of a cart has in several instances created a spirit of enterprise, in carrying produce to distant markets, which is altogether new among the Kunbis. In constructing these carts, the assistance of carpenters from surrounding villages is occasionally required, and instruction in its most acceptable form is thus conveyed to a class of workmen whose mechanical acquirements have been for genera¬ tions of the rudest kind. In short, it is one of those improvements which ought not to be left dependent on the rise and fall of indi¬ vidual philanthropy, and the establishment I have proposed would secure for it a firmer basis. 91 39. The judicious distribution of rewards would aid power¬ fully in the introduction of the richer products, and would tend to increase the number of enterprising cultivators. 1 The example of such men has a very beneficial effect. I could mention instances in which the salutary influence has extended from one or two men to a whole village, so that its superior tillage has been strongly contrasted with the superficial culture of those in its vicinity. 40. The above is a mere outline, and a very imperfect one, but I feel the conviction that it is the outline of a powerful engine which, if constructed wisely and impelled by the energy of our enlightened Rulers, can scarcely fail to work out. a mighty change in the moral and physical condition of this district, and I press its consideration with the greater earnestness, because an oppor¬ tunity so favourable as the present is not likely to recur. A reduction is about to be made in the rental claim upon the district and it has been my object to show that the grand organ of educa¬ tion may be called into existence, and sustained in action, if the State will only lay its hand upon a part of that education, not in the spirit of appropriation, but with the view, by its judicious expenditure, of establishing a system of intellectual training for the youthful portion of its subjects. 41. The amelioration of the district to which it is extended is expected to follow the revised survey and assessment, and the absence of such a result would be readily deduced as an evidence of its failure. But while the removal of a heavy and unequal burden will do much, it will not do all. Under these circum¬ stances, I have been induced to notice principles and systems which are inseparable from the subject of this report, since they must operate along with it in order to secure a successful termination. 42. In making the proposal which occupies my concluding paragraphs, I have struggled betwixt the feelings of anxiety and diffidence, the one prompting me to say more and the other telling ine I had already said too much. 43. Should it appear that I have occasionally expressed myself with greater freedom than is consistent with my limited experience, I trust it will be remembered that the subject before me is one in .which the heart, as well as the reason, must engage. I have the honour, &c., D. DAVIDSON, ■ Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey. 92 No. 1301 of 1839. Territorial Department.—Revenue. To Sir, L. R REID, Esquire, Acting Chief Secretary to Government, Bombay. I do myself the honour to hand up an original letter from the Collector of ShoMpur, dated 2nd instant, No 377, with accompani¬ ments, being reports from Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson on the survey and classification of the lands of the M<4dha and Mohol Districts of the ShoLpur Collectorate, and proposing a new settle¬ ment of assessment for the same. 2. Lieutenant Wingate, before proceeding to the more imme¬ diate subject of the report, enters into an explanation of certain points connected with the late settlement in the Inddpur Taluka, which he conceives have not been rightly understood by Govern¬ ment, owing to some obscurity in his and Lieutenant Nash’s re¬ ports, which has led to the supposition that the table of rates adopted in Indfipur exhibits the productive powers of the several soils, that is, the relative quantities of gross produce yielded by each; this view led to the difficulty in perceiving the connection between the rate of assessment and the classification of the lands. 3. In para. 4 Lieutenant Wingate proceeds to clear up this difficulty, and states that the classification of the different soils has not been made from a calculation of their gross produce, but according to the capabilities of paying rent. If I understand the meaning of this, it is that a rate has been assumed for a parti¬ cular kind of soil, say for the worst, and then a proportional rise has taken place in the different grades of the superior soils. This certainly is a more simple plan of proceeding than on calcu¬ lations of the produce and expenses, but still I am of opinion that in this system even the data is far from theoretical accuracy, though perhaps as near to it as can be obtained in practice, all the subsequent calculations resting on the first assumed rate, which, as far as I can learn from the report before me, is nearly altogether dependent on the judgment of the Survey Officer. It consequently follows that the subsequent calculations must par- 93 take of any error that existed in the first assumption, an objection, however, that 1 agree with Lieutenant Wingate in thinking must ■attend in some measure any other system of assessment. 4. I do hot deem it necessary to follow Lieutenant Wingate through his able disquisition on rent, and the extent to which he conceives Government have a right to carry their demands on the cultivators as landlords of the country. I shall, therefore, proceed at once to the subject treated of in Lieutenant Wingate’s 17th, and Lieutenant Davidson’s 10th'and 11th paras. 5. In regard to the much depressed condition of the M4dha and Mohol Districts, I would state that although I freely allow that a case has been made out by these officers, that a revision and reduction of assessment is urgently called for, yet I cannot go the length of arguing with them that the whole of the cultivating population has been brought to the verge of starvation, or allow that every step of retrenchment produces starvation ’ instead of economy, a reduction of life rather than an economy of living. I would respectfully remark, that in my opinion this state of affairs • is rather assumed than proved, at least the facts produced by Lieutenant Wingate in support of this opinion do not carry con¬ viction to my mind. 6. I allow in the statement exhibited in the 19th para, that in the five villages brought forward the number of agricultural cattle is deficient, and shows lamentable want of capital in the great body of cultivators, but at the same time it does not amount to actual starvation; though I will allow, from what I saw in my last visit to that part of the country, that the inhabitants are per¬ haps. in a greater state of poverty than in any other part of the Presidency I have visited. 7. It is with considerable diffidence I offer an observation in opposition to that expressed in Lieutenant Wingate’s 24th para, as 1 am sure that his personal experience is very considerable; but I cannot agree with him in thinking that the fact of no Govern¬ ment land being mortgaged is satisfactory proof that the assess¬ ment is oppressively burdensome on the land. This is a state of affairs rather to be expected in villages where the population is large and where lands fit for cultivation are scarce, or rather unequal to meet the demands of the cultivators. In such a case it might be expected that the right to cultivate lands would be worth' purchasing, but when the case is the reverse, when the population is thin and the land extensive; there will be no inducement to purchase a right which can be acquired without any outlay. I am at issue also with regard to the inference that is to be drawn from the method adopted by the holders of lands under the Baffii 94 tenure. It is stated that the nominal holders let their lands to cultivators who pay them from one-half to one-third of the net produce, they, the nominal holders, paying the Government rent. Now I would respectfully state that such a system goes rather to prove that the assessment is rather light than heavy on these lands. One-third of the produce in any province is not considered so tremendously heavy, but in these cases nothing like one-third can he the Government demand, unless we suppose that the nominal holders of these lands are content to hold them for the mere plea¬ sure of being answerable for the Government dues, and that no¬ thing whatever is left for their own subsistence out of the one-third they receive from the cultivator. That such can be the actual state of this class of persons is difficult to understand, and it would have been satisfactory to have been informed by what means they gain their livelihood, if not from the produce of the lands they hold. I will not occupy Government time by going further into this subject. A case of revision and reduction has, I am quite aware, been fully made out, and I would not have said as much as I have on the point, had I not been apprehensive that to have passed by these remarks in silence, would have led to the supposi¬ tion that I concurred in the opinion that the cultivators had been reduced to actual starvation by the grinding demands of Govern¬ ment. 8. I shall now proceed to the actual gist of these reports, the rates of the proposed new assessment. It will be perceived that the base of these rates has been taken from Indapur, and that it is proposed to make the Mohol rates 10 per cent above the Ind&pur standard. The reasons given for this increase by Lieutenant Davidson and concurred in both by Lieutenant Wingate and the Collector of ShoUpur, are, I think, conclusive, and I would therefore recommend that they should be adopted. For the neighbouring pargana of Mddha, Lieutenant Wingate is of opinion that a medium rate of assessment should be assumed be¬ tween that of Ind&pur and Mohol, that is, 5 per cent above the Indapur rates and below those of Mohol; for the reasons urged in the ‘26th para., and trusting to his experience in this district, I would also recommend this rate being sanctioned. 9. The adoption of the new rates will reduce the rental to Rs. 1,16,000, which is Rs. 5,000 more than the average collections of the last ten years previous to the introduction of the Ukti rates. This amount, however, compared with last year’s revenue shows a decrease of Rs. 25,000, which is the actual immediate re¬ lief proposed to be granted—a sum that must be considered trifling considering the benefits that are likely to accrue to these districts from its temporary relinquishment. 95 10. The only other point connected with the revision of the assessment is the proposed modification of the rates on Bagayet lands, and I should state that I generally concur in the plans pro¬ posed by Lieutenant Wingate. The rates appear to be rather un¬ equal than oppressive, and require, therefore, equalization rather than abatement. 11. It is proposed to assign a certain number of acres to each well which it is considered can be, one year with another, properly irrigated. The rates are fixed at Rs. 2, 1^, and 1, these being levied in addition to the Jerayet assessment. So far I think the plan may be good, but I do not altogether approve of the sys¬ tem of yearly measurement, with all its attendant train of evil, which must be introduced, or rather continued if the proposed assessment is to be only levied on such part of the garden lands as are irrigated. I think it would be preferable to fix a rate on these lands such as can be easily paid in ordinary seasons and no deduc¬ tion allowed either for want of irrigation or deficiency of crops, except in years of general failure—care being taken not to appor¬ tion more land to each well than can be easily watered. 12. Lieutenant Wingate argues at some length in favour of long leases if not altogether permanent ones, and points out the advantages likely to accrue both to Government and the cultiva¬ tors by their introduction in these districts, and as the reasoning is very conclusive on this point, perhaps Government will, on a reconsideration of the subject, see fit to declare the rates shall be in force 20 years. 13. I approve of the proposition of Lieutenant Wingate for altering the periods of the instalments for the payment of the revenue, on the Rabi crops, as - a measure likely to afford sub¬ stantial relief to the cultivator, by enabling him to bring his produce to market on more favourable terms than he can now. I should anticipate but little risk to the revenue if the Komavisdar is active and zealous in the discharge of his duty. 14. In para. 48 Lieutenant Wingate supports a proposition started by Lieutenant Davidson for introducing a system of village education throughout these districts. . The advantages to be de¬ rived by the community by a diffusion of useful knowledge are too obvious and too well admitted to render it necessary for me to en¬ ter into any arguments on the subject. Whether the plan sub¬ mitted would be likely to succeed is another question. The method of obtaining the necessary funds for carrying out Lieutenant Win¬ gate’s view is, I also submit, not altogether free from objection. Government have been called upon to revise and reduce the assess- 96 ment on the grounds of the utterly destitute state of the cultiva¬ tors, a state declared to he, by both Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson, bordering on actual starvation; for their relief a reduc¬ tion of Rs. 25,000 is proposed to be made in the present demands* a small sum it would appear to administer relief to the large body of the cultivators, even if the whole were allowed to reach them direct. By the proposed plan it is intended to divert one-fourth of this sum to another channel, leaving only about Rs. 20,000 as the actual relief of taxation to a population pressed down, it is urged,, to the lowest abyss of misery and want. That the coming genera¬ tion would benefit by the measure proposed there can be but one opinion, but the question is whether the present cultivators could afford to give up so large an amount of immediate relief for the distant chance of benefit held out to themselves personally by the proposed measure. 15. I would respectfully submit that the proposition now brought forward by Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson, praise¬ worthy as it is, goes far to bear me out in the opinion I have already expressed, that the state of the cultivating classes bas been rather too highly coloured, as I cannot suppose, if misery and starvation as described in their reports were actually pressing on the cultivators, that it would be proposed to withdraw from them so large a portion of the proposed relief. If the true state of the district has been shown, it is incumbent on us in the first instance to relieve personal suffering, for which end even the philanthropic- proposition for general education must give away. If it is con¬ tended that the 5,000 rupees, or possibly the 7,000 rupees, can be paid by the cultivators without difficulty, it becomes a mere question of finance whether Government can give up such a por¬ tion of its revenue; for I would respectfully submit, if the present, plan is sanctioned, a like boon must or ^ought to -be extended to the other districts under this Presidency. I have the honour, &c., J. VIBART, Revenue Commissioner. Revenue Commissioner’s Office, Poona, 12th July 1839. 97 No. 3447 OF 1839. Territorial Department—Revenue. To J. Y IB ART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, 7 * . I am directed by the Honourable the Governor in Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1301, dated the 12th July last, handing up reports by Lieutenants Wingate and David¬ son on the survey classification and assessment of the lands in the Mohol and Madha Talukas. 2. In reply, I am directed to acquaint you that the senti¬ ments and instructions of Government on these interesting docu¬ ments will be hereafter communicated to you. Meanwhile, as the season for settling the Jamabandi settlements is approaching, I am desired to state that the Honourable the Governor in Council, concurring in the opinions expressed by you in the 8th para,, authorizes the adoption during the ensuing season of the proposed rates of assessment on the lands in the Madha and Mohol Talukas, and to request that you will immediately issue the requisite in¬ structions to the proper officers. I have the honour, &c., -&c., L. R. REID, Acting Chief Secretary. Bombay Castle, 21 st November 1839. b 210—m 98 No. 3779 of 1839. Territorial Department—Revenue.' To J. VIBART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, • Adverting to the 2nd para, of my letter dated the 21st November last, I am now directed to convey to you the sentiments and instructions of the Honourable the Governor in Council upon Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson’s Survey Reports on the Mohol and M4dha Parganas. 2. These reports are exceedingly valuable, and display in the strongest light the talents of these officers, their perfect acquaintance with the subject which they are discussing, and the enlarged and philanthropic sentiments by which they are guided. 3. There are, .1 am instructed to observe, some points of the reasoning contained in these reports, and some deductions from facts, in which Government is unable fully to concur, yet these for the most part concern matters of mere theory; and as a more particular reference to them might only lead to a voluminous and needless discussion, the following observations will be confined to the practical questions on which the decision of Government is required. These are as follows :— 1st.—The rates of assessment to be adopted in Mohol and Madha for dry lands. 2nd.—The rates for Bagayet of irrigated lands. 3rd.'—The duration of the present settlement. 4 th.—The alteration in the periods at which the revenue should be paid. 5 th.-—The scheme of district education. 4. It is freely admitted by all who have written on the sub¬ ject, that the burden of the assessment (or perhaps the demands that have been made upon the ryots) has been too heavy and requires reduction. That the existing rates are -too high is con¬ clusively shown from the fact of its having rargly or never been practicable to realize them. It is needless therefore to enter upon any further discussion of this point, -or to remark upon the tend¬ ency of the facts on which Lieutenant Wingate grounds his con¬ clusions regarding it. 99 5. The Governor in Council trusts, however, that you are correct (para. 5) in your impression, that the impoverished state of the population so much dwelt upon by the Survey Officers, is depict¬ ed with too strong a shade of colouring. Benevolent and humane dispositions are apt to be led astray by appearances, especially in a country where what constitutes the comfort of the inhabitants is in its nature and extent so totally different from what would be required in their own and in less temperate climates. 6. Were the impressions, of these officers substantially correct, and the state of poverty so abject as they represent it, the ryots not only being unable to- pay the revenue, but not having absolutely the means, nor even the physical power, to cultivate the soil, being limited to a bare subsistence, almost starved, and nearly roofless, it is difficult to imagine that sufficient relief could be afforded, and much less that capital for. improvement could be ■ created by a reduction of assessment to the extent proposed. Not¬ withstanding the state of wretchedness in which the people are described as subsisting, cultivation does go on and revenue is still paid. 7. It is unquestionable, however, that misery and poverty do exist; and that, as the Government assessment is one, though it may be by no means the sole, or principal cause of these, there is an undoubted necessity for reduction. It must not be forgotten that the Government assessment, including, of course, the just dues of Zemindars, &c., has been hitherto by no means the criterion of the demands which the cultivator has had to satisfy from the produce of his fields. If those demands were, in practice, limited to that assessment, much of the misery so graphically described would disappear. Investigations of late years, in various parts of the country, have proved the fact that the village officers exact from the ryots far more than the amount of settlement,, and there are no grounds for believing that a similar system of extortion has not generally prevailed throughout our districts.. 8. Though the substitution of a simple and less complicated system will naturally tend to leave the ryots less at the mercy of those who have the power and opportunity of oppressing them, it will not wholly free them from them; and it must be borne in mind, that all our attempts at improving the condition of the culti¬ vators by reduction of assessment will be of little avail, unless we can efficiently superintend those who are employed in the collec¬ tion and management of the Government revenue.. 9. It is now proposed to adopt the rates introduced into Indipur with this modification, that they be increased 5 per cent in Mareh, and 10 per cent in Mohol. The successful adaptation of the Inddpur rates is shown in para. 28 of Lieutenant Wingate’s 100 report, where he states that, since their introduction, the whole of the arable of the district is under cultivation, with the exception of one-twelfth, and that even this may be expected to be soon brought under the plough. 10. On the mode in which the Inddpur rates were fixed, the sentiments of the Governor in Council were communicated to you in my letter No. 4739, of the 31st December 1838, paras. 5 to 8. Lieutenant Wingate replies to these remarks in paras. 2 to 5. The objection urged by Government against the table of rates was, that though it represented the relative productive powers of each class of land, the connection of this with the positive productive power to pay a certain money assessment, was not apparent. Lieutenant Wingate explains that the table showed the proportional capability of paying a rent possessed by each class. There is, in truth, but little gained by the distinction. The argument of Government was that a relative scale of rates is useless, unless it can be made applicable to a positive standard. So say that B is double the value of A, and 0 treble the value conveys no idea of the value of B and C, unless that of A is known. 11. The conclusion at which Government arrived, however, differs in no respect from that of Lieutenant Wingate, for he ad¬ mits that the settlement of the rates has been left entirely to the judgment and discretion of those by whom they have been framed. This was precisely what was asserted in the 9th para, of my letter above referred to. The framer of the rates might have proceeded on calculations of produce and expenses, or might have preferred' some other process, but while it must be admitted that the former is vague and unsatisfactory, it may be asserted that it would be difficult to show any other process which is not equally so. Whether it is the net produce, or the rent, which is to be ascer¬ tained, much must, in fact, depend upon mere assumptions; and the elements of our calculations are necessarily of that nature, that the accuracy of conclusions drawn from them must be depen¬ dent almost wholly on the qualifications of those by whom a judg¬ ment is to be formed of their bearing upon the case. In the pre¬ sent instance, it can scarcely be doubted that the rbsult of actual experiment in Indapur will prove that such qualifications as can fully be depended on, have been brought to the task. 12. The rates for Mohol are proposed at 10 per cent, and those for M&dha at 5 per cent, in advance of those of Indapur. These rates, as has already been intimated* to you, are sanctioned as all parties concur in recommending them, and the reasons upon which they are founded seem good and sufficient. The Governor in Council relies greatly, in his decision on this point, on the prac¬ tical experience of the Survey Officers; and he trusts that these * Vide my letter No. 3447, dated 21st November 1839. 101 rates are sufficiently safe for the people, and sufficiently low to bring them back to, or perhaps, more correctly, to establish them in a state of fair promise of prosperity. ' 13. The next question regards the rate to be fixed' on the Bagayet. The conversion of dry into irrigated land is an object which cannot be too highly supported. Every means should be taken of encouraging the employment of capital in this manner, so as to extend the cultivation of exportable produce, and to draw the ryots from that of common grain, the redundant supply of which (the necessary consequence of a very low assessment) is certain, by reducing its money value to perpetuate an evil under which the country has long laboured. 4 14. It is the opinion of Government, therefore, that on the Bagayet should be imposed the smallest increase on the dry land rate, consistent with what is due to those who have already expended capital on such improvements, and with the object of pre¬ venting the abandonment of old lands and the taking up .of others at the new rates. 15. Increase of Revenue is not, I am directed to observe, es¬ pecially at the first, an object of much consideration. It will be well, particularly in these districts where the Bagayet is of small extent, if the general dry land assessment fixed upon the country is readily collected. The improvement of the- revenue is to be looked for on any revision of the settlement after the stipulated term shall have expired. 16. The Bagayet is here divided into “ Pdtasthal ” and “ Motasthal” ; and there appears to be some rice lands which could be included in this classification. 17. Lieutenant Wingate proposes that these rice lands should be subject to no extra assessment beyond that of the Jerayet. The Governor in Council doubts the expediency of adopting this proposition. These lands must be far more valuable than the mere Jerayet. They produce two crops—whatever may be the case in Madha, such lands are formed in many places by large bunds or embankments, the 'builders of which are either lost in tradition, or supposed to be some former rulers of the country. In such cases no reason can well be assigned why these lands should not be assessed according to their productive powers. Fields originally Jerayet, but now producing rice in consequence of the outlay of the occupants, may fairly, as Lieutenant Wingate pro¬ poses, be left subject to the Jerayet rate. 102 18. The “ Pdtasthal Bagayet,” or that irrigated by aqueducts from rivers and petty streams, is said not to exceed 50 acres. Lieutenant Wingate’s proposition to fix an extra assessment ac¬ cording to the circumstances of each case is approved. 19. The “Motasthal,” or well cultivation, has in Indapur been assessed at one uniform rate of two rupees per acre, (extra to the Jerayet assessment,) calculated according to the quantity of land which each well can irrigate. In fact, a tax on each well has been imposed according to its power of irrigating a certain portion of land. 20. For Mohol and M£dha, Lieutenant Wingate proposes an assessment on a similar principle, but with three different rates per acre, viz., rupees two, one and half, and one, instead of an uniform rate of two rupees. This may not be very objectionable : but the Government considers that one uniform rate will be pre¬ ferable, as the number of acres allotted to each well can be so calcu¬ lated as to meet those differences which it is proposed to obviate by separate rates. The differences arising from “ disparities in the quality of the soil, situation with reference to facilities of obtaining manure, &c.,” (para. 33 of Lieutenant Wingate’s report) should be arranged for in the settlement of the Jerayet rates. The extra assessment in the Bagayet should depend on circumstances con¬ nected with irrigation alone. 21. But it is very justly remarked by you (para. 11) that Lieutenant Wingate’s scheme of annual measurements of irrigated lands is objectionable. Such a measure would tend to destroy, or greatly to interfere with the feeling of permanent property which it is so much an object to establish. It would be far better, in the opinion of the Hon’ble the Governor in Council, to fix the extra rent so low that the holder could without difficulty pay such rent, even should he be disposed to discontinue his irrigation partially, or for a season—general droughts, or total failure of crops, of course, will always require to be specially considered. 22. The Governor in Council observes that you have made no remark upon that part of Lieutenant Wingate’s report (31 to -33 paras.) in which he advocates the relinquishment [of the extra rent in favour of the gardens “ which have hitherto paid no assess¬ ment, or a very light one.” This is totally at variance with our principle of imposing not only a light, but an equal assessment. It is true that property in such gardens may have been trans¬ ferred at a value commensurate with any preference which they may have enjoyed, but if that preference is found to be unautho¬ rized, and based upon no just and reasonable grounds, it should at once be discontinued. To carry Lieutenant Wingate’s principle 103 to its full extent would be to declare that in no case should any field be burdened with an assessment higher than that which it has hitherto paid. 23. The Governor in Council has noticed Lieutenant David¬ son’s proposition to collect water from hills by means of bunds. This is a very important feature in irrigation, and does not appear to have been much attended to under this Presidency. In the Deccan there are great facilities for the formation of such works, and every inducement should be held out to individuals, or to villages, to undertake them. This might be done by assessing for a specific period lands brought under cultivation by means of such works, at the same rates that they would pay if dry land. 24. The duration of the settlement is next to be considered. Lieutenant Wingate advocates, as he did in Inddpur, permanency; and Lieutenant Davidson supports the same view, but under the impression that the measure would not, for various reasons, be acceded to, they so far modify their opinion as to recommend that leases for 21 years at least be granted, and in this recommendation you concur. 25. In my letter to your address of the 31st December last, No. 4739, Government stated fully the grounds on which it de¬ clined to sanction for Ind&pur a permanent settlement, or one for a very long term of years. Lieutenant Wingate justly ascribes the disinclination of Government to accede to his proposition “to “ doubt of the solidity of the principles of the settlement, and the “ permanency of its beneficial results, rather than to any disbelief “ of the real superiority of long leases and permanent settlements “ over those of very limited duration.” The Governor in Council is quite satisfied that long leases alone can induce general and great improvements, but it is obvious the longer the period of a lease, the more certain ought to be the data on which the terms of it are founded ; and the more assured should the governing autho¬ rity feel that those terms were fixed on sound principles, neither bearing too heavily on the agriculturists, nor awarding to the State less than.its just and reasonable demands. 26. These considerations induced the Government to object to a longer period than ten years for Indapur, but this was attended by a declaration that, at the expiration of this period, the settlement should be continued during a further term, should the beneficial effects expected from it be found to have’ resulted. 27. Since then further experience of the working of the Inddpur revision has been attained; and though it may still be 104 argued that that experience is scarcely sufficiently long to warrant any positive conclusion as to its ultimate success, yet we may so far rely upon it as safely to extend the term of settlement. The shortness of the period as now fixed must, it may he observed, naturally fail to encourage important and permanent improvement; and, to some extent, consequently defeat the principal object which the revised system has in view. 28. The good policy of long leases, or settlements, under a moderate assessment, is so obvious as scarcely to require remark. It is vain to look for permanent improvement, or judicious outlay of capital on the land, unless the agriculturist has before him a ' fair prospect of enjoying the full return of his expenditure, and of his exertions to advance his condition, while, on the other hand, it is inexpedient to deprive the State of the power of remedying any evils, and of benefiting ultimately by the augmented resources of the country. 29. These considerations, and an understanding that the Hon’ble the Court of Directors has authorized the introduction of leases for a similar period under the Bengal Presidency, have in¬ duced the Hon’ble the Governor in Council to fix the term of 30 years for the settlement of the Mohol and Madha districts; and to extend the same measure to Indapur. For this purpose you will be pleased to issue the necessary instructions. 30. The Governor in Council is the more disposed to adopt this plan at the present time, because it would be difficult to imagine a case where it could be acted upon with a better chance of success, than when Government has on the spot the services of intelligent and able officers to carry it into effect. 31. A system of leasing villages for the extended period now fixed, the Hon’ble the Governor in Council is disposed to look upon as highly calculated to lead to the permanent prosperity of the country. There may, he is aware, be difficulty in finding indi¬ viduals of substance to undertake such leases; though he hopes that Patels may sometimes be found equal to the responsibility. It is of the first importance to the relief of the people, that they should become emancipated from the thraldom of money-dealers whose usurious rates of interest on the .advances made by them is one of the causes of poverty among the ryots. Nothing is better calculated to accomplish this end than a system of leases, which will give them a permanent interest in their lands, and stimulate their improvement, provided the assessment is in the first instance moderate. 105 32. Where circumstances do not admit of such leases of villages, the rates of assessment will remain fixed, and subject to no increase for the stipulated term. This, I am -directed to ob¬ serve, will in no way interfere with the leasing of villages in which such a settlement has been introduced to Patels, or to the village community, at any future period, should they desire to engage for the revenue at a fixed amount. 33. The proposed alteration in the period on which the. revenue is to be considered as due, noticed in para. 13 of your letter, is approved. You are requested to state whether a similar change may not be made in all parts of the Deccan to which the reasonings contained in paras. 39 to 41 of Lieutenant Wingate’s letter apply. The loss of security for the payment of its dues to which Government may be exposed by such an arrangement, is of trifling importance in comparison with the advantages which would accrue to the ryots by their being thus kept out of the hands of the money-lenders, and the power thus given to them to dispose of their produce at more favourable periods than at present, will tend to create a greater certainty of the full assessment of the year being paid. .34. The next subject for consideration and that one of the highest importance is the introduction of a system of District Education. This subject is clearly and ably brought forward by Lieutenant Davidson, who is entitled to the warmest commenda¬ tions for submitting it to the notice of Government. His views are well supported by Lieutenant Wingate, who justly observes that the means by which the object can be effected are explained by that officer with “ a sagacity and judgment which do equal honour to his head and to his heart.” 35. The scheme is virtually to impose a tax upon the land, independent of that carried to the credit of the State, and which is to be appropriated to the establishment of village schools, and a mechanical institution, and in agricultural rewards. Upon the general principles on which so benevolent a scheme has been re¬ commended there can be no doubt, .whatever there may be in re¬ spect to their immediate application to the districts in question. 36. The objections which have been urged against the scheme may, the Governor in Council considers, be rather apparent than real; for Lieutenant Davidson .contends, if he does not satisfac¬ torily prove, that the increase of revenue to be reasonably expected from the revised settlements will amply provide for the necessary outlay; whilst the advantage and benefit to the community, and b 210—n 106 to the rising generation especially, are, it must be admitted by all who have the welfare, happiness, and prosperity of the people in view, great and manifold. 37. As, however, it may be premature to adopt and act on the scheme, however philanthropic and praiseworthy in itself, without more experience of the new settlements, on the successful v working of which it would, in a great measure, depend, the Go¬ vernor in Council is not disposed, at present, to take it into con¬ sideration, but would rather that, should circumstances warrant the measure, it may be kept in view for eventual adoption. 38. It may further be observed, in reference to this subject, that the fruits of education in any country, and especially in a tract where it has hitherto scarcely existed, are but slowly matured, that in the distrcts now under review, if the accounts we receive of their condition are to be credited, what is most wanted is im¬ mediate relief from taxation, and that it is very doubtful how far any part of such relief should be diverted to objects which the present generation, as far as we know them, can but little appre¬ ciate. When that relief has been fully afforded, and its imme¬ diate object attained, it may then be considered whether the exigencies of the State will admit of a further reduction in its demands to provide a fund for educational purposes. 39. The attention of the Governor in Council has been par¬ ticularly attracted by the useful and ingenious diagrams by which Lieutenant Davidson’s report is accompanied. They con¬ vey at one glance a general view of the state of the districts and villages in past years ; and while they note the fluctuations, in the revenue and cultivation, they show how mutually dependent on each other are a moderate demand on the. part of Government and the prosperous condition of the agriculture of the country. 40. In conclusion, I am directed to request that you will convey to Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson the expression of the approbation of Government for the able -and zealous manner in which they have executed the work with which they have been entrusted. I. have the honour, &c., (Signed) L. It. REID, Chief Secretary. Bombay Castle, 31 st December 1839. 107 •No. 250 op 1871. Bombay, 14th March 1871. The accompanying Report from the Acting Superintendent of the Poona and N4sik Survey relates to the important question of the re-assessment of the Mddha Taluka of the Sholapur Collec- torate, being the next district after Inddpur to which the survey settlement was originally extended. 2.The Acting Superintendent explains (paragraph 4) that the M4dha Taluka, as constituted under the recent re-distribution of districts, now comprises 89 villages—42 of which belonged to it, and 36 to the Mohol Taluka when the first settlement of these dis¬ tricts was made. Eleven belonged to Karin 41a at that time, seven • are Dum41a holdings, 82 being the total number of Government Paragraph 33, villages in the taluk. The proposals refer to 77—inquiry being in progress as to whether the lease of the other (5) five, settled in 1856-57 and 1857-58, is to be held to have expired with the rest of the taluka or to be continuable for 80 years from the date of the rates being introduced. 3. The breaking up of the old revenue divisions of the original settlement is to be regretted. For it would have been more con¬ venient in many respects to have had the assessment of the same tract of country to revise at the expiration of the 30 years’ lease. The changes made are fortunately not very great in this case, and for purposes of comparison the state of things described in the reports may be taken to be generally applicable to the tract of country now included under the district. 4. Mr. Grant has not alluded to the state of the district when the first settlement was introduced, but refers to the reports of the former Survey Officers for information on this subject. More attention should, in my opinion, be given to this subject in future revision reports, and where, as in this case, the villages of the .re¬ vision are not identical with those of the original settlement, fresh returns of the revenue realized for a series of years prior to the introduction of the latter measure should be prepared complete for the identical villages to which the revision settlement is to be ex¬ tended. But as this has not been done in this case, the only 108 returns we have of the revenues of the period referred to, are those ■ given in Lieutenants Wingate’s and Davidson’s reports, prepared for the districts as they then stood, as explained above. 5. Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson both give a sad ac¬ count of the distressed state of the people of the district at the time their operations were carried out. The latter officer has recorded the following remarks on the subject:— “ The great body of the people have brought nature down to Paragraph 11, the lowest terms on which she can exist, and when the exigencies of a famine, or even of a scarcity, call for a retrenchment, every step of that re¬ trenchment produces starvation instead of frugality.” And he observes again in another part of his report— “ I am aware that in every country there must be a portion of the people living from hand to mouth who are rendered destitute whenever a season of scarcity arrives, but it is seldom they form, as here, the larger body of the populace.” 6. 1 This opinion is endorsed by Lieutenant Wingate, who considers the state of poverty and distress prevailing in Mohol, as reported by Lieutenant Davidson, to be equally applicable to the Mddha District, which is represented to have been “long under the same management and subject to the same influences.” The dis¬ tressed condition of the people is attributed by these officers to the oppressive nature of the revenue rates of that period. 7. The Revenue Commissioner of the day in submitting these reports to Government expressed his opinion that the Survey Officers had given an exaggerated account of the depressed con¬ dition of the people of the Madha and Mohol Districts. “ I freely allow,” he observes, “ that a case has been made out by these offi¬ cers that a revision and reduction of assessment is urgently called for, yet I cannot go to the length of arguing with them that the whole of the cultivating population has been brought to the verge of starvation.” It is evident, however, that he considered the people to be in a very bad state; for, in referring to his last visit to that part of the country, he represents them to be “ in a greater' state of poverty than in any other part of the Presidency I have visited.” The rapid improvement in their condition which is shown to have taken place immediately after the introduction of the settle- 109 ment, seems to me to be conclusive that the Revenue Commis¬ sioner’s was the more correct view of the real state of the case at the time. 8.It is of considerable importance, as affects our revision, to consider what the rates were and what the collections amounted to that were felt to be so oppressively heavy at the time referred to. 9. Information in regard to cultivation and collections is very complete for a series of 17 years in Lieutenant Davidson’s report. It is given in the form of a coloured diagram prepared generally in the manner in which diagrams are now prepared. The credit of inventing this ingenious and complete way of exhibiting the fluctu¬ ations in the cultivation and revenue of a district for a series of years, is due to that officer, this being the first case, I believe, in which a diagram appears in a Settlement Report. 10. Referring to this return, I find that in the first year in which the District (Mohol) came into our possession, the revenue amounted in round numbers to Rs. 50,000 on a cultivated area of about 62,000 acres. Cultivation progressed a little at first, hav- . # j,agli ing gone up from 76 to 84,000 acres in 1234-35.* This, however, was one of the dreadful famine years of the Deccan of which the. recollection is still retained, and its effect is most marked in the revenue accounts, the total realizations having amounted to only about Rs. 8,500 out of a demand of Rs. 63,000 according to the regular rates of assess¬ ment. A decline in cultivation set in steadily from this period to 1242, when the area had gone down to 66,000 acres. This was an equally bad year as 1234-35—cited above—and the revenue reached only about the same sum of between Rs. 8 and 9,000. It fluc¬ tuated considerably during the next six years, and in 1247-48, which is the last of the series, it had run up to Rs. 47,000. The average for the period of 17.years is about Rs. 32,000. 11. Taking the whole of this period for which the cultivation and revenue returns are given, I find that the average annual extent of land under tillage amounted roughly to 69,000 acres, and the assessment or full demand thereon to 53,560—which gives a rate of 12^ annas per acre. ^But the average realizations of the same period were but Rs. 32,000 as shown above, being at the rate of 7\ annas per acre. These facts clearly indicate, not merely that 12| annas per acre was an oppressively heavy rate, but that after deducting remissions, the levy of the reduced rate of 7§ annas 110 proved burdensome in tlie extreme, and brought down the district to the depressed condition in which it was described to be at the time the Survey Settlement was introduced. 12. The information and data given above have been taken entirely from the Mohol report. Similar, but not such complete revenue returns are given for M£dha in Lieutenant Wingate’s Re¬ port. But as they exhibit the same result, the foregoing remarks as to the state of cultivation—large remissions, and general depress¬ ed state of the people—may be taken to be equally applicable of that district, and to the particular tract of country also under re¬ vision, though, as explained in a former place, the villages are not indentical with those of the first settlement. IB. The rates introduced by Lieutenant Wingate are de¬ scribed to be 10 per cent higher than those fixed for Indipur in the case of the Mohol, and 5 per cent of the Madha Taluka; that is to say, 12 annas being the Indapur maximum—13 annas 2% pies and 12 annas pies were the respective rates fixed for the above districts. # 77 villages. Diagram for tlie 30 years* settlement. being Rs. 1,00,579. In 14. The villages* to be brought under the revision settle¬ ment contain, according to the former survey, an extent of 269,587 acres of culturable land, the total assessment leviable under the rates then imposed the first year of the introduction the cultivation is shown at 223,835 acres, and the realized revenue at Rs. 81,386. During the first 3 or 4 years of the lease, cultivation increased considerably accompanied with a corresponding increase of revenue. A decline then occurred, and in 1845-46 both culti¬ vation and revenue had gone back almost, exactly to the mark at which they stood in the first year, referred to above. A reaction set in again after this year, and cultivation soon went up to 250,000 acres and it remained about the same with slight fluctuations to 1858-59, which was the 20th year of the lease. The area under cultivation in that year was 251,200 acres and the realized reve¬ nue Rs. 97,375. 15. Deducting the returns of the last-mentioned year from the total area and assessment, we find that at the close of the twentieth- year of the lease, there was an area in round numbers of 18,000 acres bearing assessment of Rs. 5,800 still uncultivated. In the next five years’ time this had been taken up, and for the last five years the whole assessed area may be said to have been under tillage, the return showing only 170 acres assessed at Rs. 48 to be the present waste. nr 16.The result of the settlement for the three decennial pe¬ riods included, in the lease is shown below :— Cultivated Area. Assess¬ ment. Remis¬ sions. Revenue realized. Acres. Rs. Rs. Rs. 1st Decennial period from 1839-40 to 1848-49 ... 239,618 92,991 2,344 90,647 2nd do. do. 1849-50 to 1858-59 ... 242,548 94,053. 525 93,528 3rd do. do: 1859-60 to 1868-69' ... 266,932 1,01,397 17 1,01,180 These figures show that the collections for the first decennial period averaged Rs. 90,647, the remissions being about 2| per cent. During the next ten years the latter were somewhat less than per cent upon an average annual revenue of Rs. 93,528, and they amounted only to 17 rupees per annum out of a yearly revenue of above a lakh during the last decennial period. These results prove that the settlement has been eminently successful in a financial point of view, and we have now to see how far it has been operative in augmenting the resources of the district and ameliorating the condition of the people. 17. With regard to the present state of the district, Mr. Grant describes the cultivation to be slovenly owing to insufficient ploughing and want of due care in ordinary tillage operations. He considers this to be the result of the present low rates of as¬ sessment, which, in his opinion, are prejudicial to agricultural in¬ dustry, and he quotes remarks from McCulloch representing the disadvantages attending the under-renting of land (paragraph 14) as applicable to this case. I am, however, of opinion that the slo¬ venly cultivation of this district is attributable chiefly to natural causes, that is to say, to the uncertainty and insufficiency of the rainfall; for it is obvious that tillage operations cannot be regu¬ larly carried on unless the soil is in a state of moisture to admit of its being constantly worked. The soil, however, is seldom in this state ; it becomes hard and quite impervious to the plough by the influence of the hot weather. This is especially the case with deep black soil, and the rainfall is frequently insufficient to admit of its being tilled till near the close of the season when the late rains set in. The cultivator being naturally anxious to get his land sown as soon as possible after this, loosens the upper surface of the soil a little, and puts in his seed as quickly as possible. 18. Insufficient working cattle is another cause to which I should ascribe the bad state of cultivation to be due in some mea- 112 sure. Many of the small holders of land—cultivators paying less than 10 rupees—have not the requisite number of cattle for work¬ ing their land, and, as a rule, you will find the smaller holdings to be the worst cultivated. Another reason that leads me to think the state of things alluded to is not due to the cause mentioned by Mr. Grant, is the very careful manner in which all the bagayet lands are cultivated, which is strong proof that a spirit of industry is not wanting amongst the people when the conditions, as in that case, admit of tillage operations being favourably carried on. I agree with Mr. Grant that the cultivation of dry-crop soils is slovenly, though an improvement on what it was described to be years ago,, but I differ as to the causes to which it is to be ascribed. 19. “ The present condition of the cultivators of this district,” Mr. Grant observes, “is happily a complete contrast to what it was when the present settlement was introduced. The whole district is in a state of prosperity * * * and the cultivators are nearly all well off and independent.” My own observations and inquiries during a recent tour through the district, lead me to confirm the general correctness of this description of the condition of the peo¬ ple of the districts, except in regard to the small holders of land— the class alluded to above—whose payments are below 10 rupees. A considerable proportion of this class of cultivators is still in debt, and without the capital requisite for the proper tillage of their land, and when a bad season occurs they are put out to find the means for their support throughout the year. In a country, however, where the Hindu Law of Inheritance obtains, and where the land is much sub-divided, there must always be a proportion of the cul¬ tivators whose holdings are insufficient for their support. 20. The most striking change perhaps whioh has taken place during the lease is in regard to the value of land. We find in -Lieutenant Wingate’s Report, as noticed by the Acting Superin¬ tendent in his 23rd paragraph, that jerayet (dry-crop) land had no saleable value whatever at that time, nor could money be raised in mortgage on its security. He mentions cases of mortgages on bagayet and Inarn lands, but adds “I have been unable to find a single recent case of a price being given for the privilege of occupy¬ ing Government jerayet land.” 21. In marked contrast to this state of things Mr. Grant gives (paragraph 24 and statement appended) the particulars of several sales of land, in which the price fixed ranged in one case (padsali) as high as 35 years’ purchase of the assessment, and adds that. Rs. 2,000 was offered to the Wani for this same land for which he had paid Rs. 350 only. It contained a well of which the cost is not given, and this added, of course, materially to the value of the 113 property. This, however, may be regarded as an exceptional case, but from information gained on the subject during my recent tour through the district, I find that from 12 to 15 years’ purchase is about the average sale price for jerayet land. ¥e may safely assume, therefore, taking the assessment of the district at a lakh, that the property in land represents a capital of 15 lakhs which has accrued to the cultivators during the lease. 22.It is satisfactory to note from the return given in para-' graph 17, that there has been a large increase in the number of wells during the lease, 861 have been newly built and 98 old ones repaired, there being now 2,051 in working order. A small ex¬ penditure of private capital on local works, such as chauris and dharamshallas, is also shown to have taken place. 23.Mr. Grant also gives a contrasted statement showing the increase in the number of inhabitants aragrap . and of agricultural stock and imple¬ ments which has taken place during the 30 years. In comment¬ ing on this he observes : “ From the above it will be seen that the numerical difference in the population is 16,481, which is equivalent to an increase of rather less than 26 per cent only. This is a very small increase, and is even less than in the ad¬ joining district of Indapur, where the population was found to have increased 31 per cent. The number of souls to the square mile, however, is greater than in Indapur, there being 146 souls to every square mile of culturable in this district against 119 in Indapur.” I agree also with Mr. Grant in the remarks in the following paragraph in which he states that the “ addition of 15 per cent only to the number of cattle used for agricultural pur¬ poses which, considering the large expansion of cultivation which has taken place, is less than might have been expected, and this paucity of cattle is doubtless in some measure the reason of the slovenly and lax system of cultivation noticed in paragraph 12.” 24.With regard to the works affecting communications car¬ ried out during the lease, it is shewn in the Report there was not a mile of made road in the district at the time the first settlement was introduced, whereas it has now been opened out to traffic in every direction. The G. I. P. Railway Line from Poona to Sho- htpur skirts the northern part of it. The great trunk road running between the above stations passes through the centre, and the southern corner is crossed by a part of the road from Sholapur to Pandharpur. In addition to these, there is, as mentioned by Mr. Grant, “ a cross road from Bhrsi to the Barsi Road Station (situated in the district), which is continued to Temburni. In b 210—o 114 fact, the district is so thoroughly accessible in every part, that in point of communication nearly all the villages are equally favour¬ ably situated.” 25. This is a very satisfactory account of the present state of the means of communication possessed by the district, and nothing more may be said to be needed. The construction of one or two branch roads leading from the Shol&pur and Poona road to the railway stations, would be an improvement, and the Loca Funds may be looked to for eventually supplying the means for carrying out such small works. The State has done all that is re¬ quired of it; indeed, few districts have been so fortunate as this, which'has had a first class metalled road and a railway run through it tluring the last twenty years. 26. The next point for consideration as affecting the question of what the new rates of assessment should be fixed at, is the price of grain. The two chief markets of the district when the first set¬ tlement was introduced were Mddha and Mohol. The latter has fallen a good deal in importance since it ceased to be a Kutcherry station, and the opening of the road and railway has also tended to bring about its decline, as a good deal of the grain of that part of the district is now Bent to ShoMpur. Mddha, which is the head-quarter station of the taluk, has a pretty good market, but Mr. Grant states that it has declined since a municipality was established there. The former reports contain a statement show¬ ing the price of grain in these markets for 19 years prior to the introduction of the settlement, and Mr. Grant’s report supplies similar information for the 30 years of the lease. We have con¬ sequently returns of the price of grain for 49 years. 27. The following statement taken from Lieutenant Win¬ gate’s Report exhibits, as abovementioned, the price of grain for the period prior to the first settlement commencing with the intro¬ duction of the British rule :— Pucka Seers of 80 Tolas weight selling for one Ballapuri Rupee. Period. • M&lha. Mohol. Average price of Jowari for the last 19 years... 60 55 Do. do. do. 15 do. ... 63 63 Do. do. do. 10 do. ... 62 58 Do. do. do. 5 do. ... 70 60 115 It will be observed that the price of jowdri ranged, with the exception of the 15 years’ average, from 5 to 10 per cent higher in Mohol than in Mddha during the period referred to. This was duly considered at the time by the Survey Officers who made the Mddha five per cent less than the Mohol rate. But Mr. Grant has explained that this difference in the price of grain in the re¬ spective markets no longer exists ; and he has consequently done away with the difference in the rates of the two districts adopted at the first settlement. 28. The averages for the several periods given in the state¬ ment exhibit but little fluctuation in prices, which ranged from 60 to 70 seers per rupee.. They were 70 and 62 for the five and ten years respectively preceding the settlement, and the depressed state of the district when that measure was introduced is a clear • indication that cultivation was not remunerative under the rates then in force when jowdri was selling at these prices. 29. The returns in Mr. Grant’s report give the following as the average price of grain during the several decennial periods :— Periods* Average Price. Midha. Mohol, Jowdri, Bdj'ri. Jowdri. Bdjri. 1st ten years of lease, viz., from 1839-40 to 1848-49* 59 48 57 49 2nd do* do, from 1849-50 to 1858-59* 36 28 34 27 3rd do, do* from 1859-60 to 1868-69* 25 22 25 21 The fluctuations were very great during the first 10 years, _ jowdri being as low as 102 seers in >841-42 “ and as high as 21 in 1844-45. I he average is 59 seers. For the first four years of the next decennial period prices were pretty steady, ranging from 42 to 56. They were at 17 however in 1844-45 and closed at 19 at the end of the period. 30."We must bear in mind that the last decennial series in¬ cludes the exceptionally high prices brought about by the Ameri¬ can war. For two years 1863-64 and 1864-65 jowdri was selling at 16 and 19 seers per rupee. - It has since fallen somewhat, 26 116 seers, being the market rate in 1868-69, and I think we may expect to see it go down to what it was before the American war. It is not yet so low as it should be, considered with reference to the great fall which has recently taken place in the price of cotton, but as the price of grain has for some years been governed to a great extent, and will be so in future, by the price of cotton, we may safely reckon on a further decrease in the market value of the former. The average for the whole of this period is 25 seers. 31. It appears to me to be open to discussion as to what in¬ crease of assessment should now be made with reference to the rise in the price of grain which has taken place since the settlement was introduced. If the difference between the prices of the first and last ten years of the lease be taken, the increase calculated on this data should be 130 per cent. But in the first place there is no evi¬ dence to show that 59 seers was a paying price to the ryots, on the contrary we find it recorded in Mr. Green’s review of the state of these districts written in 1852,* that the cennta{eaeriodt0r * ° 86 cultivators were much involved at that time. Writing on this subject he observes as follows : “ There is everywhere a lamentable amount of indebt¬ edness and of a thraldom to money-lenders most depressing in its effects on the ryots’ energies. But this again is entirely dimi¬ nishing in the best districts and perhaps also very slowly in others.” Major Wingate expresses his entire concurrence-with Mr. Green in his remarks upon this subject; and again it is obvious that it would be unfair to take the average of the last ten years including the exceptional prices of the American war, as the standard of .comparison with the prices of the remote period referred to. 32. If again we take the difference between the two last de¬ cennial periods the increase would be only 44 per cent, and this certainly does' not represent the change in the value of produce which has taken place since the first assessment was fixed. We have good proof that the people were generally well off at the end of the twentieth year of the lease, and we may safely take the average of prices from its commencement to the end of that period as sufficiently high to be profitable to the cultivators under the former settlement. 47^ seers is the average for this period, and the dif¬ ference between it and the average price of the last 10 years would represent fairly the increase to be now made were it not for the exceptional years of the American war. Deducting the two years in which jowdri was selling at 16 and 19 seers the rupee, and taking the remaining eight of the series, an average of 28 seers is the result. By this mode of estimating the increase due to rise in. prices, we have 47^ seers of the former period against 28 of the latter, being a percentage increase of 70 per cent, and this appears to me 117 to be a fair approximate estimate of the excess on the former assess¬ ment that may now be imposed. • 33. The Acting Superintendent, as explained in paragraph 32, proposes to have a general rate of Rs. 1-2 for the district, but to make an increase of 2 annas to the rates of the villages, com¬ prising 15 in number, situated within a distance of 5 miles of the railway stations, Its. 1-4 being consequently the maximum in such cases. The general rate of Rs. 1-2 is an increase of only 36 per cent on the former maximum of Rs. 0-13-2^, and it is 12^ per cent on the rate recently introduced in Indflpur. The difference in the former rates of the respective districts being 10 per cent, we may say that the same relative standard has been adopted at their respective revision settlement. 34. But although, the rates as mentioned above are but 36 per cent in excess of the former scale, the actual increase in assessment amounts to 77 per cent as shown below :— Cultivated Land. Waste Land. Total. Rs. Rs. Rs. Assessment according to proposed rates... .. 1,77,933 1,00,531 115 1,78,048 1,00,579 Do. do. present do... 48 Increase 77,402 67 77,469 The average rate being 9 annas 4 pies per acre. Above twenty thousand of this increase represents the assessment on the excess in culturable area of the present over the former survey, and Mr. Grant puts this down under the head of “ concealed cultivation.” It may literally be said to be so, but as it has been held for a leng¬ thened period by the cultivators, it forms in reality part of the area on which the former assessment has been paid, and cannot conse¬ quently be considered to be extra or new land now made over to them, which is what Mr. Grant represents it to be, and no set-off from the new assessment can therefore be fairly made on this account. 35.I am glad to find from the remarks in paragraph 35, that the Acting Superintendent has not imposed any extra cess on well garden lands, but adopted the Indapur plan of assessing them only 118 at the highest jerayet rate of the village. I am sure it is a wise policy to forego the taxation of wells in, a district subject, as this is, to periodical droughts. Every encouragement should be given to the construction of wells, and. if the plan of granting loans for agricul¬ tural improvements is ever brought out, I should like to see the funds largely devoted to the above purpose. -In his Famine Report Colonel Baird Smith records it as his, opinion, that at least one- third of the culturable area of a district should be supplied with the means of irrigation to, enable the people to withstand the effects, of a season of drought. Now if we take the case of this district,. we find the irrigable land**which is al- , «acres., most entirely under wells, bears the small proportion of 8-22 per cent to the total culturable area. X think so large a proportion as a third is not necessary in this case,, and that if we can bring about a tenth part of it under irrigation,, provided it is pretty generally distributed over the district, we need fear no disastrous results from an occasional failure of the ordi¬ nary dry crops. The encouragement given to the expenditure of capital. on such works by the remission of all special taxation will lead, I hope, to a considerable extension of the irrigable area in the course of a few years. 36. The importance of bagayet cultivation to this district, -l si was fully recognized by Survey Officers, Paragrap . f,}ie grst settlement. Referring to the subject, Lieutenant Wingate observes: “ It is to the extension of' bagayet cultivation that we have to look for the most considerable; addition to the resources and value of these districts; and as afford¬ ing the best provision against the recurrence of those dearths and! famines which have so frequently ravaged this part of the country.. The policy of imposing an extra tax at all under such circumstan¬ ces may well be doubted; but as Government might have difficulty in finding a less objectionable substitute for- the loss of revenue its; remission would entail, I do not venture to recommend this step.” This reason for the imposition of a special tax on well garden lands, no longer exists, on the contrary, the increase of 77 per cent enables us easily to forego the revenue that would be realized by such a tax- 37. 1865. 1866. 1867., 1868. 1869. Inches. Cents. .' 12 96 Mddha is represented by the Survey Officers (Lieutenants, Wingate and Davidson) to be superior to Indapur in point of climate, and this is borne out by the returns given in the margin, which show an average fall of 19f inches against an average of a little over 6 inches in Ind&pur. The latter is somewhat less, I think, than the ordinary fall in the district, as it embraces a cycle of bad seasons. The Mddha average, on the 19 29 14 22 58 95 64 1 119 other hand, includes two or three years when the fall was more than ordinarily larg§. The difference See return of crops ap- therefore is not so great, in my opinion, pended to Mr. Grant’s Ee- ag -g represented to be by the compa- port' rative results of these returns. Great part of the Mddha fall occurs in the latter part of the season, and we find accordingly that Eabi crops, of which jowdri is the chief, bear the proportion of 76 to 23 per cent of kharif crops. See Collector’s letter ap pended, paragraph 2. 38. I agree with the Collector that 77 per cent is a large increase and “ should have very careful consideration before it is finally adopted.” But considering the rise in the price of grain, the increase in material wealth, the improvement in com¬ munications, and in the general condition of the people of this district which has taken place since the first settlement was intro¬ duced, I think there is no reason to apprehend our having exceeded the limit of increase fairly imposable under the present state of things. , . • 39. I would draw attention to the concluding remarks in Lieutenant Davidson’s report, proposing that one-fourth of the reduction made, by the survey settlement should be set apart as a fund to provide for (a) the establishment of village schools, and (6) the entertainment of a body of trained artificers for the purpose of making carts and improving the mechanical resources of the district. These proposals were warmly supported by Lieu¬ tenant Wingate. They were also approved of by the Revenue Commissioner of the day, but having regard to the depressed con¬ dition of the district generally, he considered the plan of withhold¬ ing from the cultivator a portion of the reduction was objectionable, and accordingly recommended that the proposal, though praise¬ worthy in every respect, should not be carried out in the manner suggested ; and Government, concurring with that officer, declined to give their consent to it. The establishment of Local Funds has happily afforded . the means of carrying out the intellectual im¬ provement in the condition of the agricultural classes foreshadowed in the measures suggested 30 years since by Lieutenants Wingate and Davidson. 40.Before concluding, I think it desirable that I should re¬ fer to an article upon the re-assessment of the Indapur Taluka which appears in the January number of the Indian Economist, as the statements therein made, if left uncontradicted, would seriously mislead Government and the public generally as to the bearing of the new assessment upon. the profits of cultivation. The Editor has assumed that the average produce of jowdri for the whole 120 culturable area of the district, given in round number at 300,000 acres, may be taken to be 350 lbs. per acre, and that this quality of produce converted into money at the rate of 36 lbs. or 18 seers per rupee, represents an annual return of Rs. 29,20,000, and he adds to this a further sum of Rs. 12,00,000 as the value of the karbi or jowdri straw, making a total of Rs. 41,20,000 forty-one lakhs and twenty thousand, as the annual value of the harvest of the district for the last six years. These estimates, he proceeds to observe, have been adduced “ simply to show how vast the accu¬ mulations of the cultivators must have been during the last years of the old lease, and yet under the new terms, he is to pay no more than Rs. 1,20,000 a year, lest we should impoverish him ! But the assessment for the whole period of the lease will amount to no more than Rs. 36,00,000 :— Yearly Assessment. Year. 1,20>000 x 30 = Rs. 36,00,000. Any one harvest therefore of the last ten years (for prices are 'now higher than ever) has sufficed to pay the entire levy of the State throughout the whole currency of the new lease. In view of these considerations, we see surely how needless it was to assume as the basis of the new assessment, a return of the price of jowari to former rates. We are satisfied that Colonel Francis might have fixed the assessment at three times the old rates. And ‘ the exi¬ gencies of the State’ really required an assessment upon this scale. We are not at all sorry that Indapur has been so gently treated; but we must protest against a precedent being made of this drought stricken district, in renewing the leases of other taluks. ” 41. The sacrifice of revenue under the new settlement would be great indeed were the foregoing a correct estimate of the re¬ turn from the land in the Indapur District. We find, however, from the Editor’s remarks, that this return of the produce is entirely an assumed estimate. “ The settlement proceedings, ” he observes, “ give us no statistics of the produce of the soil and we have assumed it to be 350 lbs. per acre. ” It is true that no returns of produce have been given in the report, but the difficulty of fixing the as¬ sessment on such data is alluded to at considerable length in the early part of it; and the case of Mr. Pringle’s failure in fixing his See pages 11 to 15 of In- assessment upon that plan is brought dapur Report. Selections forward as a reason against its adoption, from Government Records, But although estimates of produce are No. CYII., New Scries. . not usec[ by us in the manner contemplat¬ ed by the Economist, we make careful inquiry as to the productive¬ ness of the soil and its general outturn, and these points are duly considered in fixing the standard of rates. 121 42. The Uncertainty of the seasons in Inddpur, coupled with the great variation in the quality and fertility of the soil, renders it almost impossible, as pointed out in the parts of the report refer¬ red to above, to frame any reliable estimate of its average return of produce. In good seasons the best soils* often produce from 5. to 600 lbs. of jowdri per acre. But the 300,000 acres on which the Econo¬ mist's estimate is framed, include a con¬ siderable extent of land + assessed at 2 or 3 annas per acre, the yield from which is about an eighth or a tenth of what the best soils ordinarily return. Taking good, indifferent, and poor soils together, I should estimate that with the ordinary run of seasons the average produce of the whole would not be above one-half of what the Economist estimates it to be. * Those assessed at 1 rupee to 14 annas per acre* t Some part of It is assessed at only one anna per acre. This is not cultivated but kept for grass* 43. I have gone through the district after a bad season when, literally speaking, “ scarce a blade of grass or an ear of corn ” was to be seen except in the tracts irrigated from wells. The year re¬ ferred to is one of ’those included in the Economist's statements given above ; and instead of realizing their 29 lakhs from the sale of their jowdri, the cultivators had actually in many cases to im¬ port the supply of it required for their own consumption l 44 I must also take exception to the Economist's estimate of the value of karbi or jowdri straw, which is given at Us. 12,00,000 per annum 1 Karbi is not grown in Inddpur as a product of marketable value, nor is there any sale for it, except perhaps in some of the villages on the Poona road, where carts or¬ dinarily halt for the night. It is required for the support of the cultivator’s working cattle, and is valuable to him for that purpose. But its value can scarcely be reckoned, as the Economist has done, as part of the returns upon which the land rent should be assessed. 45. It will be observed from the foregoing remarks that my estimate of the annual value of the produce of this district, which is based upon an intimate knowledge and long acquaintance with its peculiarities, gives the outturn, excluding karbi altogether, at about half what the Economist has assumed it to he. It is import¬ ant, too, to notice, as affecting the rates imposed, that his estimate of . the value of the produce is based entirely on the high prices of the American War period. But these prices, as pointed out in the In¬ ddpur Report, and concurred in by Sir George Wingate, were re¬ garded as exceptional and excluded from the general estimate of the rise in the price of grain on which the rates were based. With this information before him it is strange that the Economist should have taken such figures as the basis of an argument for showing the rates to have been fixed lower than they ought to be. b 210—p 122 46. In the face of his estimate of the pile of wealth said to have been showered upon the cultivators of Ind£pur for six years by the recent high prices, it will surprise the Editor to hear that the Collector, owing to the extensive failure of crops in the first season in which the new rates came into operation, deemed it ex¬ pedient to remit the difference (50 per cent, in round numbers) between the revised and the old assessment—to levy only jhe lat¬ ter, in fact. It was a mistake, in my opinion, to have given this remission, and, if there was any difficulty in levying the full assess¬ ment, part of it should have been left outstanding and collected in the succeeding year. I notice the fact, however, not so much for the purpose of commenting on the Collector’s proceedings, but because it directly negatives the Economisth assumption of the large profits left to the cultivators owing to the low assessment fixed ; and because also it shows that the Revenue Officers by no means look upon the latter as a mere quit-rent. The settlement, in my opinion, is not too high, but may be considered to be “ as liberal as the exigencies of the State will permit,” and this, according to the Economist, is the golden rule by which we. should be guided. 47. I regret to notice that the statistical information in the Acting Superintendent’s report is not so full or so complete as is desirable. It will be seen by his remarks in his concluding para¬ graph, that in compliance with instructions certain amendments were made in the returns first submitted, but those subsequently rendered are somewhat imperfect. His attention will be drawn to the subject and the defect remedied'in future reports. 48. It remains for me to recommend that the rates which have been already introduced, should be sanctioned for 30 years. J. FRANCIS, Lieut.-Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 1441 of 1871. . Revenue Department. Poona, 13th April 1871. Submitted for the orders of Government, with general concur¬ rence in the terms of revised assessment recommended by the Sur¬ vey and Settlement Commissioner for seventy-seven villages of the Mddha Taluka of the SlioMpur Collsctorate. 123 2. The Revenue Commissioner will not follow in detail the review, furnished by Colonel Francis, of the report from Mr. Grant, Acting Superintendent of the Survey, but begs to point out that the facts establish a considerable increase of prosperity in the dis¬ trict and capacity to bear, without undue pressure in ordinary sea¬ sons, the enhancement of assessment proposed. 3. During the progress of the period of thirty-years’ guar¬ anteed assessment, which Colonel Francis has, for the purpose of comparison, divided into three decennial periods, the cultivation has increased from 223,835 acres in 1839-40 to about 269,000 acres in 1869-70, which was the whole culturable recorded area, with the exception of 170 acres assessed at Rs. 48. The assess¬ ment had increased during the same period from Rs. 81,386 to Rs. 1,00,531. 4. It appears, further, that during the period under review the population is estimated to have increased by about 26 per cent., and the number of plough cattle by about 15 per cent. The num¬ ber of carts is now, however, shown at 1,323, against 435 in 1839-40, or an increase of more than 200 per cent. The number of ploughs has increased 38 per cent., or more than double the increase in plough cattle. These figures require attention, as they undoubtedly illustrate a feature noted by Mr. Grant, namely, careless tillage, and which is concurred in by Colonel Francis, though the latter does not agree with the Superintendent in attributing it to lowness of assessment. The Revenue Commissioner has passed through the districts and adjoining ones during the last year’s tour, and confirms, the impression derived by the Survey Officers as to great neglect of tillage, which is understood to have attended recent ex¬ tension of cultivation in this and many other districts. At the same time the Revenue Commissioner finds no more reason than Colonel Francis to attribute this state of things to lowness of' as¬ sessment, except so far as that may have induced extension of cul¬ tivation beyond the means of careful farming by the ryots, unless their enhancement of assessment should lead to some resignations of holdings or a system of fallow, the first of which has certainly not followed the revision in Ind4pur. It is not anticipated that enhancement of the rates alone will have any marked beneficial effect on the system of cultivation. The people will have so much less profit, but still in ordinary years a fair and sufficient profit. 5. Another element of prosperity is the increase in the num¬ ber of wells, which is not inconsiderable. The Revenue Commis¬ sioner concurs in the remarks made by Colonel Francis on the sub¬ ject of garden cultivation under wells, and considers the abstention 124 from levying water-rate on the lands so brought under cultivation equitable and judicious. The rate imposed in such cases is the maximum dry-crop rate. 6. The recent operations in this district have shown that a great many acres have been added to the nominal culturable area which had not been previously brought to account. It appears that this area represents about Its. 20,000 of the Its. 77,000 added to the assessment, which will make an enhancement of nearly 77 per cent, on the highest assessment hitherto recorded. 7. The undersigned respectfully invites attention to the re¬ marks in paragraphs 40 to 45 of the memorandum from the Sur¬ vey and Settlement Commissioner, in which he refutes a rather hastily considered argument by the able Editor of the Indian Economist relative to the capacity for production and payment of assessment of the district under review. The undersigned will go further than Colonel Francis, and assert that half the estimate of the produce taken by the Economist is still a very high one. Look¬ ing also at the money value assumed, such calculations on paper must always be modified by a consideration of the money available from bullion in circulation. The Economist’s figures, as they stand apart from the amount of local currency, are useless for any safe calculation of assessment, and his off-hand multiplication of the assessment threefold is not warranted by the reliable statistics ob¬ tainable through more patient inquiry, 8. The Revenue Commissioner regrets to have to differ from the views expressed in paragraph 46 of Colonel Francis’ memoran¬ dum. The question of remission in Inddpur was not in a princi¬ pal degree based on the recent enhancement of assessment’. There was a very general failure of crops which was, after a most care¬ ful personal inquiry by the Assistant Collector, found so seriously to cripple the resources and even the immediate means of subsist¬ ence of the cultivators, that remission of assessment was urgently required. There have not been wanting instances of remission on a large scale when required by extraordinary calamity under the moderate assessments now prevailing, and the Revenue Commissioner considers that it was far preferable in such a serious and general instance of drought and failure to relieve the cultivators in the manner entirely approved by Government in their Resolution No. 715, dated 19th February 1869, rather than leave the balance for future collection, which could not fail to tell heavily on the resour¬ ces of the cultivators, unless the next season should have proved an extraordinarily good one, which in most respects it was not. 9. Taking into consideration the very advantageous posi¬ tion of the Mridha District as respects the railway and intercom- 125 munication by road, the Revenue Commissioner will not raise ob¬ jection to the assessment recommended by the District Superin¬ tendent and approved by the Survey Commissioner, and he recom¬ mends its adoption by Government. A general maximum dry-crop rate of Rs. i-2-0, raised for special reasons to Rs. 1-4-0 in 15 vil¬ lages only, is certainly not a high rate for good black soil, and is lower than the maximum in the Carnatic, where grain fetches a lower price. But the Revenue Commissioner thinks 77 per cent, a high total enhancement for the Deccan, which is liable to exces¬ sive fluctuation of rain-fall, and that if the rate is to be taken as a precedent for revision in other cases, it would be well to inculcate a caution, and to keep the scale nearer to 50 per cent., as in Indd- pur, which, over a large tract of country, will give a sensible in¬ crease of revenue, and will lessen the risk of over-assessment in any case where the recent general fall in the value of money may be so checked as to render it difficult for the ryots to meet a high enhancement in bad years. It was one of the cardinal virtues of the survey assessment hitherto that it left profits enough in good years to enable cultivators to meet the comparative losses of a year of drought or other failure. 10. A reference will be made to the Collector of Sholdpur relative to the asserted decadence of the trade in Madha in conse¬ quence of municipal taxation in that town. W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 2757. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 9th June 1871. Resolution.—Mr. Grant’s report is very meagre. The statis¬ tical information is incomplete, especially as regards the revenue yielded by the several villages before the original survey settle¬ ment in 1839-40. 2. The statistics that have been compiled show that the taluk has made considerable progress in material prosperity dur¬ ing the last thirty years. There are now 2,051 wells in working order, against 1,092 in 1839-40. The population has increased 26 per cent.; the number of agricultural bullocks 15 per cent.; 126 the number of carts 204 per cent.; and the number of ploughs 38 per cent. But the most striking alteration has been in prices. Jowdri is the staple grain of the country. During the first ten years of the settlement just expired the average price was 57 seers for the rupee; during the next ten years 34; and during the last, 25*7. The greatest fluctuations are exhibited between the two years 1841-42 and 1863-64, when the prices were, respectively, 108 seers and 15 seers per rupee. The following table shows the average area cultivated, and the average revenue realized during each of these three decennial periods:— 1839-40 to 1848-49... 1849-50 to 1858-59 ... 1859-60 to 1868-69 ... Cultivated Area. Assessment. Remission. Revenue realized. Acres. Rs. Rs. Rs. 2,39,618 92,991 2,344 90,647 2,42,548 94,053 525 93,528 2,66,932 1,01,197 17 1,10,180 3. Under the old assessment the maximum rates for the two taluks of Mohol and Madha, the villages of which, together 'with eleven villages of the Karm^la Taluk, now form the new Mddha Taluk, were 13 annas 2^ pies, and 12 annas 7^ pies. It is pro¬ posed to have a maximum rate of Us. 1-2-0 for the taluka gen¬ erally and a special maximum rate of Rs. 1-4-0 for some fifteen vil¬ lages in an exceptionally favourable position near the railway. The average proposed rate throughout the taluk is 9 annas and 4 pies per acre. The result of the revision (exclusive of the five doubtful villages) is to raise the revenue from Rs. 1,00,579 to Rs. 1,78,048, and thereby to give an increase of Rs. 77,469, equivalent to 77 per cent. It is to be observed, however, that of this increase no less than Rs. 20,766 is due to assessment on land, for which hitherto, owing to defective measurements, nothing whatever has been paid. 4. His Excellency in Council is of opinion that the variations of prices of produce form the most important element in the deter¬ mination of the amount of the revised assessment. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that the most trustworthy information on this point should be obtained. Contrasting year by year the 127 list prepared by Mr. Grant, and that submitted by Colonel Francis • in his report on the Inddpur Taluka, there is a considerable dis¬ crepancy between the prices which are said to have prevailed in particular years in market-towns so close to each other as M4dha and Inddpur. A comparison of the averages of a series of years shows, however, but little differ encet 5. There can be no doubt the extraordinary rise in prices which took place throughout the Presidency during the years from 1862-63 to 1866-67 was owing to the American War, and the consequent increase in the value of cotton. It is equally certain that a re-action has now'set in ; the importation of bullion has for the present ceased, and prices have fallen considerably, and are likely to go still lower. The average to be deduced from the prices of the five years from 1856-57 to 1860-61 is, perhaps, the fairest criterion that can be adopted for the determination of the average standard of prices which is likely to be maintained in future. This gives the price of jowdri at 31 seers per rupee. The average price of seventeen years, from 1839-40 to 1855-56, is 51 seers. There is thus a difference of 64 per' centum in the prices between these two periods. If a comparison be made with the average prices that obtained during the first ten years of the settlement from 1839-40 to 1848-49, the difference will be found to amount to 83 per cent. 6. A perusal of the reports on the first settlement shows that, owing to the miserably impoverished state the country was in, the rates then fixed were extremely low. His Excellency in Council believes that the increased rates now proposed are not higher than may fairly be imposed. They are accordingly sanctioned for a period of thirty years. 7. The principle of placing no extra cess on lands irrigated by wells has the entire approval of Government. It is presumed that the highest Jerayet rate has only been imposed on such lands as were formerly subjected to extra well-assessment, and not on lands irrigated from wells constructed during the period of the set¬ tlement just expired. It is of the utmost importance to give every encouragement to the sinking of wells in a district where the rain¬ fall is so light and uncertain ; and any applications that may be made for advances for this purpose will meet with favourable consi¬ deration. 8.This is the second revision report that has been received by Government. It is by no means so complete or exhaustive as Government Keeolntion Ko. f* g™t jmportace of tie subject 5028, dated 19th October 1870. demands.. Ihe burvey Commissioners were desired, as far back as October 1870, to submit to Government detailed proposals as to the form in 128 which these revision reports should be submitted, and the statis¬ tics that ought to accompany them. Government desire that these * proposals be submitted without fail during the course of the ' approaching rainy season.. The officers who made the first settle¬ ments obtained and recorded a mass of valuable information; similar information ought invariably to be collected at the time of revision, and the facts ascertained at the two periods should be carefully examined and collated before the work of revision is commenced. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 1101 of 1871. From To Revenue Department. Lieut.-Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., The CHIEF SECRETARY to GOVERNMENT. Poona, ZlstJuly 1871. Sir, In discussing the question of assessing lands irrigated by wells in their Resolution upon the revision of the settlement of the Miidha Taluk, Government observe as follows “ It is presumed that the highest Jerayet -rate has only been imposed on such lands as were formerly subjected to ex¬ tra well-assessment, and not on lands irrigated from wells con¬ structed during the period of the settlement just expired.”. As, however, assessment operations were not carried out in the manner indicated above, I would beg to offer the following expla¬ nation on the point. 2. As mentioned in my memo, in submitting the correspond¬ ence, the Acting Superintendent adopted the Inddpur plan of assessing well garden lands, which provides for the imposition of the highest Jerayet rate of the village on all lands irrigated from exist¬ ing wells, which include those constructed during the period of the settlement as well as the old ones subjected to assessment at the 129 first settlement of the district. The following is the part of the lndipur Report alluded to:— “178. The course adopted by me is to put the first class Jerayet rate upon all land capable of being irrigated from ex¬ isting wells, irrespective of the value assigned to it by the Je¬ rayet classification. But when the land has been classed at the full Jerayat rate, no addition has been made in considera¬ tion , of its being irrigated by a well. Government wish a general addition to be made to the Jerayat rates of all lands possessing a water-bearing stratum; but it is almost impos¬ sible, I think, to work out this plan in the ever-varying soil of the Deccan. I have, therefore, taken existing wells as the guide, and considered only the land under them as having a water stratum.” 3. This plan of dealing with the assessment of well garden lands was fully approved of by Government, as will be seen from the remarks on the subject in para. 10 of their Resolution. It was their wish, indeed, to extend it by putting the highest Jerayet rate on lands supposed to have a water-bearing stratum, but in consequence of its being reported impracticable to carry out such a system of assessment, they gave their full approval to my plan of making “ the maximum for dry crop lands the maximum for well lands also.” 4. Under the rules in force the existence of well water- supply is taken as an element of special value pertaining to the soil, which is provided for by a small addition to the classifica¬ tion rate, in the same way that we increase the classification value of a field if it is capable of growing a second crop owing to some inherent moisture in the soil. The plan provides for an equitable rating of all existing well garden lands, and in my opinion it does not carry with it any infraction of the rule laid down in Section XXX. of the Act as to the manner in which the revised assessment On the Revision Set- should be fixed. Sir George Wingate takes the tlement of the Indapur same view of this case, for in referring to the Talaka- subject in para. 7 of his memorandumwe find him stating thus :—“ I would not, however propose to apply to such land* any higher rate of assessment than * Dry crop converted the maximum dry-crop rate which Colonel mto garden land by the Francis has recommended.” For the rea- construction of a new , ..it iii , ,, or repair of an old well. sons here stated, 1 would advocate the con¬ tinuance of the Indfipurplan, as also adopt, ed in M£dha Taluka of putting the highest Jerayet rate of the b 210—g 130 village on all well land—irrespective of tbe well being an old one or one constructed during the currency of tbe first settlement. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. FRANCIS, Lieut.-Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 4050. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 22nd August 1871. Resolution.'—The plan of assessing lands irrigated by wells in districts like those of 1 ndapur and Midha at the highest Jerayet rate, instead of imposing an extra well-assessment, has the entire approval of Government. But a maximum Jerayet rate should clearly not be imposed in cases where a well has been constructed since the introduction of the survey, and that alone, and not the actual quality of the soil, warrants the imposition. To do so would, in effect, be to tax improvements made ' during the currency of a settlement, and would be in contravention of Section XXX of the Survey Act. The only principle on which such a proceeding would be justifiable would be in consideration of the water-bearing pro¬ perties of the soil. But the Survey Officers have admitted their inability to act on this principle generally, and tbe result of the proposed system is to tax the man whose enterprise and labour have induced him to sink a well, while his neighbour, whose land may possess precisely the same properties, escapes the extra burthen, simply because he has not availed himself of his opportunities. 2. It is of the highest importance to offer every encourage¬ ment to increasing the number of wells in those districts which are so subject to drought. 3. His Excellency in Council directs that the rates on lands in these cases both in Ind^pur and M4dha be revised in order to their reduction where it is shown that the well from which they 131 are actually irrigated, and not simply rendered capable of irrigation, has been constructed subsequent to the introduction of the Survey. (Signed) F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government No. 325. Extract from the Proceedings of the Government of Bombay in the Revenue Department, dated 22nd January ,1872. Read the following despatch from Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for India, to His Excellency the Governor in Council, Bombay, No. 76, dated 20th December 1871:— 1. I have considered in Council the proceedings of your Excellency in Council on the re-assessment of the Madha Taluka of the Sholapur Gollectorate, which were forwarded by your Secre¬ tary’s letter of the 20th of June, No. 28, and by your Secretary’s letter No. 42. of the 29th of August, I have received two copies of the map and diagram referred to in those proceedings. 2. This is the second district in which the original settle¬ ment of 30 years has expired, and it has been found necessary to re-measure and classify afresh the whole of it. The former assess¬ ment was fixed purposely at a very low rate in order to enable the district to recover from the effects of the over-assessment under which it had suffered. That policy seems, from the contrast pre¬ sented by the district now, to have been completely successful 3. The results now prepared give the large increase of 77 per cent,, raising the assessment from £10,058 to £17,805. Nearly £2,100 of this amount is derived from the discovery of land which had escaped assessment. This increase is still large to be made all at once, and I appreciate the value of the caution given by the Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Havelock, at the conclusion of his • memorandum, that in the Deccan, where the rain-fall fluctuates so greatly, this high rate should not be converted into a precedent, lest profits enough should not be left to cultivators in good years to meet the losses of.unfavourable years. 132 4. In this case, however, the increase reported in the pros¬ perity of the district, as shown by the greater quantity of capital invested in the land, by the small extent of land left uncultivated, and by the great rise in the price of the staple grain, jowari, together with the increase of roads throughout the taluk, seem to me to justify your Excellency in Council in the view taken, that the increase was not higher than the districts could easily bear. I approve, therefore, your proceedings. 5. I quite concur with the observations of your government with respect to the impolicy of levying extra rates on lands watered from wells constructed during the course of the last settlement. It was, I supposed, a principle established, that improvements of that nature, made by the capital of cultivators themselves, were not subjected to extra assessment in consequence. 6. I agree also with your Excellency in Council that .It is very important that, on any renewal of these settlement terms, the statistics and other grounds on which the rates are fixed, should be fully and accurately recorded. / 7. I perceive by your proceedings of September last, that you have determined, in regard to the five villages excluded from these papers, that four of them should continue at their present rates for the full term of 30 years, and that the fifth should do so - likewise unless a notice was given in 1859 that the settlement would expire with that given to the taluk generally. Resolution.—Copies of the despatch to be communicated to the Survey Commissioner, Northern Division, and the Revenue Commissioner, Southern Division, with reference to correspondence ending with Government Resolution No. 5263, dated 20th October 1871. 2. Copy also to the Survey Commissioner, Southern Division. Ordered that copies of the above be forwarded to— The Revenue Commissioner, S. D. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D. The Revenue Commissioner, N. D. ♦ (Signed) E. W. RAYENSCROET, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. 133 CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THE REDUCTION ORDERED TO BE MADE IN 1874 IN THE REVISED SETTLEMENTS INTRODUCED IN THE POONA AND SHOLA'PUR COLLECTORATES. No. 5739 of 1874. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 29th October 1874. RESOLUTION of GOVERNMENT. The attention of His Excellency the Governor in Council has, for some time past, been anxiously directed to the effects of the revised rates of assessment introduced into certain parts of the Poona and ShoHpur Collectorates. 2. The published reports on which these-revisions have been sanctioned by Government show that the revised rates were not, taken as a whole, otherwise than moderate at the time they were imposed. The following is an abstract of the results obtained:— Name of Taluka. Number of culturable acres under old assess¬ ment. Number of culturable acres under new assess¬ ment. Total old assess¬ ment. Total new assess¬ ment. Average, per acre under old assessment. Average per acre under revised assessment Percentage increase on the whole. Acres. Acres. Rs. Rs. Rs. a. p* Rs. a. p. Inddpttr 2,38,135 2,70,076 8i;391 1,24,700 0 5 5 0 7 4 53 Sholdpur ... 3,81,882 4,33,572 1,74,915 3,09,630 0 7 4 0 11 4 77 Mddha ... 1,00,580 1,78,050 0 9 4 77 Bhimthari ... 1,90,410 2,12,703 86,464 1,46,596 0 *7 3 0 11 0 69 Pandharpur. 84,273 90,798 36,048 63,979 0 6 10 0 11 3 77 Bdrsi 2,48,405 2,78,509 1,24,658 2,07,174 0 8 0 0 11 11 66 Hdveli 1,27,610 1,46,745 80,965 1,34,768 0 10 2 0 14 7 66 Pabal 1,61,240 1,92,411 1,02,228 1,52,108 0 10 1 0 12 7 48 Supa (Petha), 1,47,244 1,59,227 59,926 78,788 0 6 6 0 7 11 36 Karmdla ... 2,71,194 2,99,242 1,10,824 1,46,890 0 6 6 0 7 6 32 3. Owing to the very remarkable fall in prices that has taken place of late, Government have, within the last two years, not failed to enjoin on the officers of the survey a policy of moderation. The time has, however, now arrived when it is due to those officers to lay down more precise instructions for their guidance, and to decide the extent to which it will be right to modify past revisions so as to bring them into accord with the limited increases that will be obtained by future revisions. 134 4. Before proceeding to determine the limits of the increases to be henceforth imposed in Deccan colleetorates, His Excellency the Governor in Council will record briefly the reasons which make it imperative that the right to revise past settlements should not. be foregone. In the first place, it must be borne in mind that the original assessments were imposed at a time when the country was in an extraordinary state of depression, when prices were extremely low, and when there were hardly any facilities of communication in the shape of wheeled carriage. It is unquestionable that in all these respects the condition of the country has materially improved. On these grounds alone it would not, in the general interests of the State, be just to waive the claim to the enhancements which are rightly due, and the liability to pay which has long since been anticipated by the people themselves. But there is another important consideration which must not be overlooked. The earlier original settlements were effected before the survey system had been matured and organized, and before the officers and their establishments had acquired the ne¬ cessary knowledge and experience. The work was consequently exceedingly imperfect as regards measurement and valuation. Without, therefore, abandoning the equitable principles which are the essence of the survey system, it is necessary to correct obvious errors in measurement and valuation ; and by this means to place the earlier settled districts on the same footing as those in which original settlements have been more recently introduced. 5. His Excellency in Council will now proceed to lay down the following precise rules as to limitation of increase. In doing so he has been influenced mainly by the consideration that it is not probable the higher prices which ruled during the last decade of the original settlements will be maintained :—• Is if.—The increase of revenue in the case of a taluka or group of villages brought under the same maximum dry-crop rate shall not exceed 33 per cent. 2nd.—No increase exceeding G6 per cent should be im¬ posed on a single village without the circumstances of the case being specially reported for the orders of Government. 3rd.—No increase exceeding 100 per cent, shall in like manner be imposed on an individual holding. 6. It is desirable here to state the principles which should be adopted in dealing with the last description of increases. Put¬ ting fraud or obvious error in the calculation of the original assess- 135 meats out of the question, thess excessive increases in individual cases will be found to be due to one of three causes :— Isi.—To the assessment of land which was deducted by the original survey as unarable and unassessed, but neverthe¬ less included within the limits of the original assessed number. 2nd,—To enlargement of the original assessed number by portions of neighbouring lands unassessed at the original assessment having been with or without permission encroached upon by the ryots and cultivated together, with the original assessed numbers, 3rd,—To the alterations that have been made (1) by the adoption of a different valuation scale, and (2) by putting a higher value on the soils themselves. 7. A consideration of the first cause turns mainly on the construction to be put on Section XXX. of the Survey Act, and on what are to be held to be improvements. It is well known that the practice in making these deductions was exceedingly lax, and that much land really arable was deducted as unassessed, simply from its being then uncultivated and covered with bushes and grass. It is further well known that, in the great majority of cases, the only outlay that has been incurred by the cultivator in bringing such pieces of land under the plough, has consisted in the labour of breaking them up. But, on the other hand, the Survey Act does not prescribe that the expenditure from private resources should be more than a particular sum, while.in very many cases it would be impossible to say that the reclamation had not cost more than was at first sight apparent. His Excellency in Council, on the whole, attaches such great importance to maintaining strictly the principle enjoined by law of non-assessment of improvements made by private enterprize, that he is pleased to direct that the same area shall be deducted from each number as unassessed as was allowed at the original settlement. 8. As regards the second cause, His Excellency in Council is of opinion that lands so appropriated must be regularly valued and assessed by the Revision Survey, no matter what increase in assessment may thereby result. 9. As regards the last cause, it must be borne in mind that the officers employed in the infancy of the survey worked on vary¬ ing scales of valuation, and that the systems they severally adopted were, consequently, more or less tentative or experimental. It was not till after the lapse of a few years that the then Superintendents of Survey were able to fix upon a uniform system of valuation which was subsequently embodied in the Joint Report. However 136 much, therefore, His Excellency in Council would wish to avoid extreme increases in the assessment on individual holdings, there can be no doubt about the superiority of the Joint Report system, and of the absolute necessity for determining and upholding a classification of soils based, as far as possible, on correct and uni¬ form data. 10. It is understood that the Joint Report system was gen¬ erally adopted a very few years after the introduction of the early assessments, and that, consequently, no alteration will be required to be made at future revisions. Explanation on this point should, how¬ ever, be clearly given in future, and also for each future revision in respect to the extent to which it has been found necessary to alter and depart from the classification value originally fixed on the different descriptions of soils. The smallest extent of variation from the old valuation consistent with the principle laid down in the last paragraph, should be permitted, and the greatest care should be taken to keep the valuation of the poorest and lighter soils low. 11. If the above rules are adhered to, the cases in which the enhancement of the assessment in individual holdings will be found to be in excess of the prescribed limit, will probably be very few. In order to prevent excessive individual increases, the fixed stand¬ ard of valuation must not be abandoned. It will always be optional with Government to remit wholly or in part, or for a particular period, such proportion of the increase in excess of 100 percent, as may seem necessary ; but the correct value of the land must be carefully ascertained on a uniform basis, and the proper assessment thereon duly calculated and recorded. 12. Lastly, it remains to be considered how the revised assess¬ ments that have already been introduced in certain parts of the Poona and Sholdpur Collectorates can best be assimilated with the rates that will probably be introduced elsewhere in these collector¬ ates under the above instructions. In dealing with this question, the fact must not be lost sight of, that the work of the earlier settlements was characterized by greater defects in respect to both measurement and classification than that done after some experi¬ ence had been acquired. It was, therefore, to be expected that larger proportionate increases would be obtained by the first than by subsequent revisions; and the progressive decreases observable in the figures shown in the table in paragraph 2 are understood to .be due chiefly to this cause. After very careful consideration, His Excellency in Council is pleased to authorize the requisite reductions being made on. the following principles:— 137 1$£.—Portions of cultivated numbers hitherto unassessed, are to be deducted, as laid down in paragraph 7 above, where it is practicable to do so. 2nd.—When this has been done, the maximum rates of the taluka are to be so reduced as to bring the increase in the total revenue demanded of a taluka or group of villages within the limits of 50 per cent. This having been done, any case in which the increase in a village is still above 75 per cent., or in an individual holding above 100 per cent., should be specially reported for orders, with distinct recommendations from the Survey Officers whether further alterations are necessary, and, if so, how they should be effected. His Excellency in Council is of opinion that, for the reasons given in paragraph 12, this reduction will, in the cases alluded to, be sufficient. • 13. His Excellency in Council hopes that, in talukas settled subsequent to 1848, little or no field operations will be required, and that the revision of the assessment by a mere re-adjustment of the maximum rates will be found to be all that is necessary. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. To The Revenue Commissioner, S. D. The Revenue Commissioner, N. D. • , The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D. All Collectors, including the Extra First Assistant Col¬ lector in charge Panch Ma'iia'ls. The instructions contained in para. 7 and Rule I., para. 12, of the foregoing Resolution (directing that land included in a number, and not assessed at the original survey, should remain exempt under a revision survey) were subsequently cancelled by the following Resolution:— b 210—r 138 No. 4506 of 1875. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 10th August 1875. RESOLUTION of GOVERNMENT. Under orders from the Government of India, His Excellency the Governor in Council is pleased to direct that paragraph 7 of Government Resolution No. 5739, of 29th October 1874, shall be cancelled, as also Rule L, para. 12, of the same Resolution. * * * * In all other respects the instructions laid down in that Resolution remain unaltered, and should now be carried into effect with the least possible delay. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government. No. 759 of 1875. Revenue Department. From Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.' D., To W. G. PEDDER, Esq, Acting Secretary to Government. Camp Mahablesliwar, 28th May 1875. Sir, Adverting to your letter No. 2210, of the 15th April, and to previous correspondence on the subject of effecting the proposed reduction of the revised assessments of the Poona and ShoMpur Colleetorates, by a reduction in the anna values of the classification scale in the manner, therein explained, I have the honour to state, that after trying the effect of this plan in several cases, which have been laid before the Honourable Mr. Rogers, I have been request¬ ed to prepare statements for each district showing the effect of this plan, combined with a reduction of maximum rates ; and I beg, 139 accordingly, to submit the accompanying statement* showing the manner in which I propose to reduce the * Not printed. assessment of. the Madha Taluka to 'the pre¬ scribed limit of increase, sanctioned in Government Resolution No- 5739, dated the 29th October last. 2. It will be perceived that in this case I propose to make a reduction throughout in the maximum rates of the district by adopting a 1 rupee 2 annas and a 1 rupee maximum in place of the 1 rupee 4 annas and 1 rupee 2 annas maxima on which the revised assessment is calculated; and to supplement this by reducing the classification annas according to the, accompanying scaled in cases in which the reduction by the former plan is not sufficient to bring down the village to the prescribed limit of increase fixed in the Resolution. 3. On referring to the accompanying statement, it will be seen that by the adoption of this plan the revised assessment will be reduced from Rs. 1,58,125 to Rs. 1,34,776, and the general per¬ centage of the whole district from 74 to 48. 4. There will still be cases, 4s marginally noted, in which the increase is in excess of the percentage limit fixed for individual villages, but it is expected they will be brought down to the prescribed limit by the application of the rule limiting increases in individual fields to 100 per cent. in excess o£ the former assessment. I beg, therefore, to request sanction to re-calculate the assessment of this district on the plan explained herein. 4 Mahadpur. 9 Ghatna. 10 Kolgaon. 11 Wadwal. 12 Mohol. I have, &c., J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. f The following is the scale alluded to Classification Scale annas. 10 reduced by 8 6 4 2 1 A. p. 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 6 0 3 140 No. 3624 of 1875. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 26th June 1875. To The SURVEYand SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, N.D. Sir, With reference to your No. 759, of the 28th ultimo, I am direct¬ ed to request that you will be so good as to let me have an esti¬ mate, as soon as it can be prepared, of the total assessment of the Mddha Taluka at the maximum rates of Rs. 1-2-0 and 1 rupee pro¬ posed by you, but with the reduced classification annas applied to all the villages of the taluka equally, instead of to a few only. I presume you will be able to make this estimate from the Darwaris with no great delay. I have, &c., (Signed) W. G. PEDDER, * Acting Secretary to Government. No. 937 of 1875. ft' From Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., To W. G. PEDDER, Esq., Acting Secretary to Government. Poona, 28th June 1875. Sir, With reference to your No. 3624, of the 26th instant, I have . , , the honour to forward the accompanying state- 0 prm e ' ment,* showing the reduction in the present assessment of the M4dha Taluka, by the application of the reduced classification annas and by the application of the proposed lower maximum rate, respectively, and by the two combined. 141 2.The general result of these measures, as will be seen by the statement, is to reduce the total assessment from Rs. 1,58,125 to Rs. 1,28,650, and the general increase from 74 to 41 per cent. . I have, See., J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 4515. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 11th August 187t> - Resolution.—By Government Resolution No. 2757, of 9th June 1871, the revision of the original settlement introduced in 1839-40 in the Madha Taluka of the ShoMpur Collectorate was sanctioned. The increase in demand caused by this revision was about 74 per cent., and, for reasons fully stated in the Resolution, it then appeared to Government by no means excessive. 2. Since the issue of that Resolution, however, various con¬ siderations,—the principal of which are the steady fall since 1871 in the prices of agricultural produce, and the probability that prices will range lower during the currency of the revised settlements than was anticipated from their course during the decade 1860-70 when the new rates for Madha were sanctioned,—have determined Gov¬ ernment, as far as Poona and Sholapur were concerned, both to limit the increase of assessment to be made in future revisions, and to modify revisions already effected, so as to bring them into accord with those hereafter to be made. Resolution No. 5739, of 29th October 1874, laid down rules to effect these object!, and by paragraph 12 of that Resolution it was directed that .the rates imposed in talukas hitherto revised should be so reduced as to bring the increase over the old assessments within the limit of 50 per cent. 3. The new settlement of Mddha has, therefore, to be revised in accordance with this principle, and* Government have now to determine the extent to which the reduction shall be carried, and the method in which it may most equitably and conveniently be effected. 4. After careful consideration His Excellency the Governor in Council is pleased to decide as follows upon these points :— 142 1. The maximum rates per acre imposed by the ori¬ ginal settlement were Rs. 0-13-2^ for one portion of the taluka, and Rs. 0-12-7| for the other portion. The max¬ imum rates sanctioned for the revision were Rs. 1-4-0 per acre for a group of 15 villages, with special facilities for Railway communication, and Rs. 1-2-0 per acre for the remaining 62 villages. These maximum rates must be lowered to Rs. 1-2-0 and Rs. 1-0-0 respectively. 2. The reduction thus effected will, in the opinion of Government, be quite sufficient for the more fertile lands. But there is reason to believe that in the classification of Madha the medium and lower soils have generally been valued somewhat too high in proportion to the better soils. A modification of the valuation scale to meet this defect has, therefore, been arranged, and should beadoptedthrough¬ out the taluka. 5. The effect of these alterations will be as follows :— Cultivated Area by Old Revised Assessment Assessment New Measurement, Assessment. originally sanctioned. now fixed. Acres. Rs. Rs. Rs. 303,655 1,00,531 1,74,448 1,42,208 6. The percentage increase of demand on the whole taluka will thus be lowered from 74 per cent, to 41^ per cent., 15 per cent, of the difference being due to the reduction of valuation of the poorer soils, and 18 per cent, to the alteration in the maximum rates. • Of the gross increase of 41J per cent., about 19 per cent, is due not to increase of rates, but to the assessment of lands left unassessed at the original settlement, but appropriated by the cultivators during its term. Such additions it has been already decided {vide paragraph 8 of Government Resolution No. 5739 of 29th October 1874) must be now assessed. The average rate of assessment per acre will be annas 7-6, against about annas 6 under the original settlement, and annas 9-4 by the revised rates at first sanctioned. And the rates of assessment will vary from Rs. 1-2-0 per acre on the best and most favourably situated lands to pies 9 per acre on the poorest soils capable of cultivation. 7. For the following reasons His Excellency the Governor in Council is of opinion, that the rates now imposed are extremely moderate, and the increase in assessment the least that, in justice to the rest of the country, can be made. 143 8. Before the introduction of the original settlement in 1839 the nominal average rate of assessment was about 12^ annas an acre ; the realizations, deducting remissions, averaged about annas an acre, to which must be added hdks and illicit exactions to a consider¬ able amount. The price of the staple, jowdri, for the 5 years preceding 1839 was about 65 seers the rupee. For the first 10 years of the original settlement, during which period the taluka increased rapidly in prosperity, the average price was about 55 seers, the average assessment rate being 6 annas. During the last decade of the original settlement the price averaged 25 seers, but for the last year or two it has fallen to from 35 to 40 seers. Assuming that the average price for the future will be as low as 40 seers, the weight of assessment will be much less than half that of the old nominal rate before 1839, about 30 per cent, less than that of the actual realizations, aiid considerably lighter than that of the original survey assessment when introduced. 9. Independently of prices, the increase in the population, material wealth, and value of land in Mddha during the last 30 years would justify an increase of assessment. Population has increased 26 per cent., plough cattle 15 per cent., ploughs 38 per cent., wells 65 per cent., carts 204 per cent., cultivation has increas¬ ed 35 per cent,, and the amount of arable waste-land is only 170 acres out of over 300,000. And whereas at the introduction of the original settlement it was stated that ordinary Government land had no saleable value, such land was found at the revision to be selling at 12 to 15 times its assessment. 10. At the introduction of the original survey the means of communication were extremely defective. The railway, of course, did not exist, and there were hardly any roads passable for carts. The railway now passes through a portion of the taluka, and it is traversed by several good roads; the enormous increase in the number of carts shows the improvement in communications, which means, of course, a better market for produce. 11. It has been estimated, by#the Revenue and Survey Commissioners, that, taking into consideration the had seasons common in this part of the Deccan, the average outturn per acre of jowdri, the staple of the taluka, is at least ll^L 160, or 2 maunds, and some authorities put it at double this. At this very low estimate, the value of the produce of the taluka at 40 seers the rupee would be (Rs. 2 x 300,000 acres) about 6 lakhs of rupees. But as the straw, which is valuable, has not been included in this computation and as about Jth of the arable area is under crops, sugar, rice, \ ''on, &c., more valuable than the staple grains, at least 3 lakhs\ ''1 be added to the above estimate. According 144 to this, the revised assessment now fixed represents only between £th and Jth of the gross produce of the taluka. Again, if the whole taluka was let out by the land-owners at a grain rental of •Jrd the produce, which is the usual rate, the assessment would amount to less than ^ the rent. 12. On the whole, then, the settlement now sanctioned must be considered an extremely light one. It only remains to inquire whether these rates will cause an inadmissible increase in parti¬ cular villages. 13. The chief. doubt is regarding the 15 villages placed in the higher, or Rs. 1-2-0 group. These were formerly the villages worst off in point of facilities for communication, and were, conse¬ quently, very lowly assessed by the original settlement. They are now close to Railway stations, and for this reason have properly been assessed at a special rate somewhat higher than that of the rest of the aluka. Hence in them the increase in assessment is 61 per cent, against 41 per cent, in the taluka generally, and two of them have been raised as much as 152 and HO per cent, respect¬ ively. This is partly due to the assessment of encroachments. But the valuation of some of these villages is very high. The average classification of some, for instance, appears to be 13 or 14 annas out of 16, and though it is understood that the land of these villages consists almost entirely of alluvial soil of remarkable fertility, yet this valuation for the Deccan is unusually high. Colonel Francis should, if he has not already done so, specially inquire into and report on the classification of these villages. If it is wrong, it must be corrected ; but if, on the other hand, it is accurate, an aver¬ age rate of 14 or 15 annas cannot be considered as other than very moderate for land of such fertility as this classification indicates, Government will decline to make any further reduction, and the people should consider themselves very fortunate in having enjoyed their land so long at wholly inadequate rates. W. G. PEDDER, • j . Acting Secretary to Government. To The Revenue Commissioner, S. D., The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D., The Collector of Shola'pur. 145 No. 223 op 1876. From Lieut.-Colonel E. L. TAVERNER, Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, ,N. D. Camp Nasilc, 23n7 March 1876. Sir, With reference to your letter No. 444, dated the 20th instant, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the result of the alteration made under Government Resolution No. 4515, dated ,11th August 1875, in the revision settlement rules of 77 villages of the Mddha Taluka of the Shol&pur Collectorate. 2. The estimate entered in paragraph 5 of the Government Resolution is that the assessment would be reduced from Rs. 1,74,448 to Rs. 1,42,208, orfrom an increase of 74 to one of 41^ per cent. The actual result is an assessment of Rs. 1,38,799 against the original assessment of Rs. 1,00,531, or an increase of Rs. 38,268, or 38 per cent. 3. A record is given, at the foot of this statement, of the corrections made in 5 other villages belon»ing-to this taluka, be¬ sides the 77 forming the subject of the Government Resolution. Of these one village, Kumbhej, was revised in 1873-74 under Govern¬ ment Resolution No. 5754,’dated 17th October 1873, for a period of 27 years; the revision for the remaining four is not due until 1886-87. 4. For this taluka, as is the case with Indapur, the period of the duration of the revision settlement has not yet been published in the Government Gazette. I, therefore, append the usual form ♦Not rinted notice>’“ by which it will be seen that the ° prui 6 ’ revision was not introduced into all the vil¬ lages in the same year. At the foot of the list are entered the names of sixDumala villages which were also settled for the first time, five in 1870-71 and one in 1873-74. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L. .TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Poona and N4sik Survey. b 210—* 9 rH > o 8 a & i 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 146 TEMENT showing the ultimate result of the Survey Revision Settlement finally adjusted under Government Resolution Name of Village, As per Cultivation Returns for 1869-70. Acres. As per Revision Acres. Assess¬ ment. Jerayet. 9. 3P . M ja m c3 S 5* SP 2 •8 - c8 1 PM Rice. Total. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rs. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Tadwal ... 2,978 1,394 3,093 106 3,199 Bhosra 2,792 1,392 2,776 173 2,949 iNimbgaon... 1,605 603 1,718 ... *•* 1,718 MdhMpur.... ... 1,224 573 3.309 ‘”34 1,343 D&rphal ... ... ... 3,386 1,867 3,587 15 3y602 Undirgaon ... ..... 3,283 2,090 3,398 9 3,407 M&dha ... 6,683 3,234 7,013 285 7,298 GMtna ... ••• 1,315 644 1,395 2 1,397 Kolgaon ... 1,609 581 1,759 7 1,766 Wadwal ... .... ... 2,237 . 850 2,250 89 ... 2,339 Mohol ... 8,477 2,545 8,794 215 9,009 Akulgaon ... ' 2,689 1,019 2,843 88 23 2,954 Chinchgaon 1,990 894 2,242 151 2,393 B&rloni ... 4,261 1,870 4,488 115 4,603 Kurdu 10,104 3,950 9,947 644 10,591 Total ... 54,633 23,506 - 56,612 1,933 • 23 58,568 Anjangaon 3,353 1,300* 3,872 233 4,105 Uplai Khurd 7,452 2,775 8,035 333 .. • 8,368 Chinelioli ... 2,292 904 2,237 195 2,432 B4wi 4,563 1,411 4,736 247 4,983 Uplai Budruk 9,578 3,534 10,214 365 10,579 Wdphla ... ... 3,734 1,252 4,144 358 4,502 Shetphal ... „ 7,631 2,135 7,994 491 8,485 Ashti ... 12,233 4,789 12,376 497 12,870 Angar 11,762 4,602 12,502 660 «•» 13,162 Pdpri 4,097 1,315 4,595 144 ... 4,739 Bardi 2,818 769 3,031 102 3,133 Padsdli 2,421 593 2,889 74 2,963 A'shta 2,955 967 3,277 162 ... 3,439 Sapatna (Pargana Bhosa) 3,886 1,551 3,871 193 ... 4,064 Parita 5,662 2,096 5,864 132 5,996 Ghoti ... 4,914 1,861 4,890 165 ... 5,055 Tulshi 5,072 1,448 5,490 307 5,797 Malegaon ... 1,696 678 1,775 29 1,804 - Ahirgaon .. 1,688 660 1,919 39 *26 1,984 Pdlwan ... ... • •• 1,156 359 1,369 61 1,430 Bhuinj 678 212 750 20 “2 772 Bital 3,315 1,265 3,359 90 3,449 Malik Peth 242 107 240 19 259 147 for the undermentioned Villages of Taluha Madha, Sholapur Collectorate, as No. 4515, dated 11th August 1875. Sshbvey. Increase. Maxi¬ mum dry-crop Rate per acre. Average dry-crop Rate per acre, exclu¬ sive of Rice and Water- cess. Remarks. Assessment. Numerical. Percent¬ age. Jerayet. ’ ■+! >> a O c/3 asthal a-yet. U s» £ ° Rice. Totals Acres. Assess> ment. Acres. Assessment. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.- Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. a., p Rs. a. P. 2,222 107 ... ' 2,329 221 935 7 67 1 2 0 0 11 6 1,680 190 ••. 1,870 157 478 6 34 0 10 0 1,048 ... ... 1,048 113 445 7 74 0 9 6 1,000 30 ... 1,030 119 457 10 80 ... 0 12 0 2,880 12 ... 2,892 216 1,025 6 55 0 13 0 3,203 9 ... 3,212 124 1,122 *4 0 15 0 5,273 294 ... ... 5,567 615 2,333 9 72 0 12 0 1,177 2 ... 1,179 82 535 6 83 0 13 6 1,459 ^ 7 ... 1,466 157 885 10 152 0 13 0 1,459 77 ... 1,536 102 686 5 81 0 10 6 4,292' 178 ... 4,470 532 1,925 6 76 0 8 0 1,383 74 20 45 ... 1,522 265 503 10 49. 0 8 0 991 116 ... 1,107 403 213 20 24 0 7 6 2,391 101 ... ... 2,492 342 622 8 33 - 0 8 6 5,549 514 ... 6,063 487 2,113 5 53 0 9 0 3,607 1,711 20 45 37,783 3,935 . 14,281 7 61 0 10 4 1,414 192 1,606 752 306 22 24 10 0 0 6 0 3,830 272 ... 4,102 916 1,327 12 48 0 8 0 918 179 1,097 140 193 6 21 ... 0 7 0 1,547 184 1,731 420 320 9 23 ... 0 5 6 3,908 294 ... ... 4,202 1,001 668 10 19 0 6 6 1,286 277 1,563 768 311 21 25 0 5 6 2,593 325 ... 2,918 854 783 11 37 0 5 6 5,179 370 »•» ... 5,549 637 760 5 16 0 7 0 5,588 513 ... 6,101 1,400 1,499 J2 33 0 7 6 1,375 114 ... 1,489 642 174 16 13 0 5 0 829 69 ... ... 898 315 129 11 17 0 4 6 651 37 ... 688 542 95 22 16 0 3 6 1,081 90 1,171 484 204 16 21 0 5 6 1,813 158 1,971 178 420 5 27 0 M i 6 2,300 1 QKO 98 i on 2,398 334 302 6 14 0 6 6 - izy 2,088 141 227 3 12 0 6 6 1,279 218 Ml 1,797 725 369 14 26 0 5 0 yoy 21 ... 990 108 312 6 46 0 s 6 793 /LiQ 36 is *39 886 296 226 18 34 0 7 0 *1:43 28 ... 477 274 118 24 33 0 5 6 oil 16 i 4 ... 332 94 120 14 57 0 7 0 l,4Uo 72 ... 1,565 134 300 4 24 0 7 0 loo 14 152 17 . 45 7 42 0 9 6 © I > o u a a a ss 5 1 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 148 Name of Village. Kharkatna Rimhingni Mundhewari Nandgaon Kurul Akoli Shez Babhulgaon Warwad Said Dhok Bdbhulgao Nazik Pimpri Pokhrapur Chikhli SArola Khowni P&tkul Tdkli Sikandar Adhegaon .. Sownddna Warkuta .. Aodhi Kotowdi .. Yiwli Lahu Wadsinga . Mh&isgaon P4pnas Lawnl Amb4d Sirdl Bembla Uzani Timbwa . Pimpalkhunta Sliedsinga... Akola Budruk Sdpatna (Najik Venegaon ... Moroehi Narkhed ... Te mburni) Total As per Cultivation Returns for 1869-70. As per Revision Acres. Acres, Assess¬ ment. Jerayet. MothasthalBagayet. "a> m % a •+* xn A P-1 Rice. Total. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rs. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. 1,837 782 1,990 3 1,993 990 358 1,034 2 1,036 917 443 968 4 972 707 429 716 9 •725' 7,411 2,167 8.728 290 9,018 4,332 1,462 4,531 98 4,629 3,195 1,006 3,714 99 3,813 2,169 852 2,752 180 2,932 3,015 1,117 3,157 84 3,241 1,881 677 3,051 79 .3,130 3,003 1,006 4,390 213 4,603 1,642 599 2,027 54 2,08i 1,364 453 2,656 144 2,800 652 277 1,074 60 1,134 5,010 1,796 5,923 236 6,159 3,570 1,344 3,586 99 3,685 3,059 593 3,302 134 3,436 1,904 859 2,036 127 2,163 1,440 504 1,546 5 1,551 1,785 787 1,759 90 1,849 2,330 961 2,417 62 2,479 3,906 1,408 4,312 222 4,534 2,391 1,238 2,547 37 2,584 5,129 1,767 5,175 61 • *« 5,236 5,418 2,246 5,675 155 ... < 5,830 1,216 559 1,353 -7 1,360 8,103 2,438 9,385 342 9,727 1,341 292 1,690 58 1,748 2,328 703 2,373 141 2,514 6,287 2,371 7,411 16 7,427 2,146 725 3,241 202 3,443 1,526 638 1,603 70 1,673 3,272 1,100 3,390 198 3,588 1,793 584 2,149 107 2,256 2,498 984 2,657 38 2,695 3,256 1,184 3,505 156 * *2 3,663 1,508 621 1,547 57 3 1,607 2,119 795 2,365 60 2,425 5,106 2,337 5,428 67 5,495 2,14,784 77,025 2,36,589 8,982 33 2,45,604 2,69,417 1,00,531 2,93,201 10,915 56 3,04,172 Ass essment of 170 48 ... 2,69,587 1,00,579 2,93,201 10,915 56 3,04,172 149 Survey. Increase. Maxi¬ mum dry-crop Rate per acre. Average dry-crop Rate per acre, exclu¬ sive of Rice and Water- cess. Remarks. Assessment. Numerical. Percent¬ age. Jerayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. * P&thasthal Bagayet. j Rice. Total. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assessment. Soil Assess¬ ment. Water- Cess. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs, Rs- Rs. Rs, Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. -P- 1,129 2 ... 1,131 - 156 349 8 45 10 0 0 9 0 500 1 501 46 143 5 40 0 7 6 612 1 ... 613 55 170 6 38 0 10 0 589 8 597 18 168 3 39 0 13 0 3,206 242 ... 3,448 1,607 1,281 22 59 0 6 0 1,924 94 2,018 297 556 7 38 0 7 0 1,458 85 1,543 618 537 19 53 0 6 6 965 148 1,113 763 261 35 31 0 6 0 1,286 51 ... 1,337 226 220 7 20 0 6 6 816 57 873 1,249 196 66 29 0 4 6 1,321 153 1,474 1,600 468 53 47 0 5 0 673 41 714 439 115 27 19 0 5 6 526 94 • •• 620 1,436 167 105 37 0 3 6 243 39 ... 282 482 5 74 2 0 4 0 1,753 195 1,948 1,119 152 22 8 o 5 0 1,714 90 ... 1,804 115 460 3 34 *0 8 0 729 127 856 377 263 12 44 0 4 0 935 112 ... 1,047 259 188 14 22 0 7 6 858 4 862 111 358 8 71 0 9 0 1,120 76 1,196 64 409 4 52 0 10 6 1,377 .54 1,431 149 470 6 49 0 9 0 1,461 161 1,622 628 214 16 15 0 5 6 1,709 20 1,729 193 ' 491 8 40 0 10 6 2,335 43 2,378 107 611 2 35 0 7 0 3,174 122 3,296 412 1,050 8 47 0 9 0 949 5 954 144 395 12 71 0 11 0 2,671 294 ... 2,965 1,624 527 20 22 0 5 0 429 34 463 407 171 30 59 0 4 0 926 102 1,028 - 186 325 8 46 0 6 6 3,335 10 ... 3,345 1,140 974 18 41 0 7 0 627 126 753 1,297 28 60 4 0 3 6 716 50 766 147 128 10 20 0 7 6 1,408 162 1,570 316 470 10 43 0 7 0 562 59 621 463 37 26 6 0 4 6 1,236 25 ... 1,261 197 277 8 28 0 7 6 1,458 98 ’”l *3 1,560 407 376 12 32 0 7 0 797 46 1 9 853 99 232 7 37 0 8 6 941 43 ... 984 306 189 14 24 0 6 6 3,644 45 ... 3,689 389 1,352 8 58 0 10 6 94,115 6,825 21 55 ... 1,01,016 30,820 23,991 14 31 0 6 7 1,30,122 8,536 41 100 1,38,799 34,755 38,272 13 38 0 7 4 uncultiv afced la nd. ... 1,30,122 ' 8,536 41 100 1,38,799 34,755 38,272 13 38 0 7 4 Number of Village. 150 Name of Village, 1 78 79 80 81 82 Bhend Yewti Akhumb Pennur Kumbhej 2 Total .. Orand Total .. As per Cultivation Returns for 1869-70. As pee Revision" Acres^ Jerayet. MothasthalBagayet, *+3 O 6* ? PQ i % P4 Rice. Total. Acres. Assess¬ ment. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3r85I 3,310 1,767 7,541 2,874 Rs’ 1,149 1,918 771 2,425 1,627 Acres. 8,7.57 3,089 1,710 7,270 2,814 Acres. 95 202 79 302 82 Acres, Acres. Acres. 3,852 3,291 1,789 7,572 2,896 19,400 19,343 7,890 18,640 760 .... . 2,88,930 1,08,469 3,11,841 11,675 56 3,23,572 151 -Survey. Increase. Maxi¬ mum dry- crop Rate per acre. Average dry-crop Rate per acre, exclu¬ sive of Rice andWater- cess. Remarks. Assessment. Numerical. Per centage. Jerayet. 5* sp P5 '•a 1 -+J . o * a 11 Pdthasthal Ragayet. 6 0 s 14 Total. Acres, Assess¬ ment. 03 . « 43 3 g =3 a. oa 12 m . « w 43 03 13. 10 15 16 17 19 20 ‘ 21 22 Rs. Rs, Rs. Rs. Rs. • Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p 1,018 73 1,091 X 58 5 1 0 4 6 , 1,690 183 1,873 19 45 ’l 2 0 9 0 705 64 769 22 2 1 0 7 0 2,109 .236. 2,345 31 80 3 0 5 0 1,505 61 1,566 22 61 ”i 4 0 8 6 7,027 617 ... 7,644 57 246 3 0 6 4 1,37,H9 9,153 41 100 1,46,443 34,812 38,026 12 35 ... 0 7 3 (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Poona and Nasik. Camp Nasik, 23rd March 1876. 152 No. 751 of 1876. Revenue Department. Camp Mahableshivar, lQth May 1876. Submitted for the information of Government with reference to Resolution No. 4515, dated 11th of August last. 2. It will be seen from the report that the assessment of the M&dha Taluka, after effecting the reductions ordered in the above Resolution, amounts to Rs. 1,38,799 against the original assessment of Rs. 1,00,531, the difference of Rs. 38,268 being equivalent to an increase of 38 per cent. 3. The notification regarding the duration of the settlement submitted by the Acting'Superintendent may now be published. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 3133. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 26th May 1876. Resolution.- -The notification may be published. E. W. RAVENS CROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. SHOLA'PUR TALUKA- b 210—t 155 No. 558 of 1872. To The SURVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, N.D. Sib, Gamp Bar si, 15 th March 1872. I have the honour to forward the report of Colonel Wadding- ton, Superintendent Revenue Survey, Poona No. 33, dated 15th and N&sik, on the revision of the survey rates on theTst March °1872, *n Shol4pur Taluka of this Collectorate, and accompaniments. ’ received with a letter from that officer No. 132, of the ^2 7th ultimo. '" 2. As I understand that, the season being far advanced, it is considered advisable that the orders of Government should be obtained with as little delay as the importance of the nature at issue will permit, I send the report to you without obtaining the opinion of my Assistant, Mr. Crowe, who is at present in revenue charge of the ShoKpur Taluka. I do this very unwillingly, as I think that Mr. Crowe might have been able to offer some remarks which would have assisted me in writing this letter 3. I observe that the increase of assessment over the old rates is the same as has been sanctioned for the neighbouring taluka of M&dha, 77 per cent. The maixmum Jerayet rate pro¬ posed, Rs. 1-8, is lower than that which has been sanctioned for the neighbouring State of Akalkot, or Rs. 1-12. The rate of Rs. 1-8 is proposed only for ShoKpur itself, the villages adjoining having a maximum rate of Rs. 1-6, and the maximum proposed . for more distant villages being lower still. 4. As stated generally, the maximum proposed does not seem to involve too great an increase over the old rates. I think, however, information should have been included in the report to sho'fr the maximum rate of enhancement on individual holdings. The report is surely imperfect, while it contents itself with stating the rate of enhancement, as concerns the villages taken as so many wholes, without entering into any detail to show whether or not lands which were favoured in the old assessment have now been subjected to rates several times higher than those hitherto in force and vice versa. In other words, we have not information to tell us whether, the old rates being as a basis for present calculations, * they have been raised uniformly, or whether a new principle has been introduced ; the effect of which will be, perhaps, to multiply several times the assessments on certain classes of land, while in regard to other classes little or no enhancement will be made. 156 5. The subject of the principle on which the rates of assess¬ ment should be increased from time to time, leads me to the 54th paragraph of the report, which recommends the time from which the new rates should be sanctioned. 6. Colonel Waddington has explained that the survey of 1840 was in many instances faulty and unequal. If the present survey is to be relied on, the duty of the officers to whom the work of the next revision survey will be entrusted, will be not so much to consider again the relative value of the produce* of the different plots of land, as to consider the change in the relative value of money which shall have taken place since the present time. 7. If this view-be correct, thirty years seems to be too long a time' for the rates now recommended to remain unchanged. 8. The value of money during the last thirty years has decreased so much, that, in connexion with this and other circum¬ stances, it is now recommended that the rates should be enhanced 77 per cent. Therefore, a cultivator paying, say, ten rupees in 1870-71, will have to pay nearly twenty in 18 72-7 3. In the former case he obtains a much larger profit, and Government a much smaller profit, than by a revision of rates would appear to be just. In the latter case, however just the newly-imposed rates may be both for the cultivator and for Government, the cultivator must probably feel some discontent. 9. The principle so long acknowledged in the Konkan, of Government receiving a certain share of the produce, fixed in kind and commuted year by year into a money payment calculated on its market value, appears to me not to be an altogether unsound one. The only disadvantage of it would appear to be, that in years of famine, when the cultivator would have a much smaller crop than usual, he would have to make a larger money payment, owing to the rise in the market value of grain. Such a system could, therefore, only continue where a system of remission from failure of crops was generally acknowledged, I think, however, that it would be worthy of consideration if, on account of the con¬ tinued change in the value of money, it. might not be advisable, taking the rates of the previous survey as a basis of calculation, to make more frequent changes in the figures representing the assess¬ able value of the land as expressed in money. If such changes were made every fifteen years instead of every thirty, as is usual at present, Government would obtain a fairer share of revenue, and the cultivators would not be liable to have to pay one year revenue nearly double that paid by them two years previously. 157 10. Paragraphs 20 and 49 of Colonel Waddington’s report treat of the water-rate to be levied on lands irrigated from the New Ekruk Tank. In paragraph 49 Colonel Waddington says :— « It will be impossible to fix any permanent water-rate on the lands to be irrigated until I have been supplied by the Irriga¬ tion Department with information as to the quantity of land com¬ manded by the canal, its situation, the area for which they will be able to supply water, and the period for which the supply will last. Meantime, I purpose to explain to the people and record that an extra cess will be hereafter levied on all lands to which water may be supplied from the tank.” 11. I am of opinion that, had it been possible, it would have been better for the required information to have been obtained in time for the rates as affected by the tank to have been fixed for these lands at the time of the general introduction of new rates into the whole taluks. The new rates to be imposed in regard to these particular lands should not, I consider, be regarded as liable to enhancement so much for their being afterwards actually supplied with water from the tank as for their being so situated as to be capable of being supplied with water if desired by the cultivators. It is clear that the value of land is increased by its being within the reach of irrigation. That a cultivator may be unwilling to take advantage of the means within his power for improving the resources of his land, is not a sufiicient reason for his being subjected to a lower rate of assessment than a cultivator of other land, similarly situated, who avails himself of such means. Government have already resolved that a cultivator who constructs a new well should not on that account be subjected to extra assess¬ ment, for he does but make use, and that by an expenditure of labour and money, of means put within the reach of many others. "When, therefore, water can be readily obtained without labour or money, it is obvious that a cultivator refusing to make use of it should not be exempted from the payment of the rates fairly calculated 'on the value of the crop which it is supposed to be capable of producing. This principle is, I believe, acknowledg¬ ed in regard to lands watered from Government Irrigation "Works in some other parts of India. 12.With regard to paragraph 50 of Colonel Waddington’s report, I have to state that the subject therein alluded to has formed the subject of a correspondence which has lately taken place between the Revenue Commissioner and the Military authori¬ ties and myself. I have expressed my opinion' that a portion of the Moti E4gh should be reserved for the uses to which it has been hitherto put: but I have expressed an equally strong opinion r 158 that a large portion of it, consisting of very rich garden land, should be disposed of for cultivation. It could be sold by public auction in the usual manner. 13. I agree with the opinion expressed by Colonel Wadding- ton in his 53rd paragraph, that Pir Tdkli, now belonging to the Mddha Taluka, should be incorporated with the Sholdpur Taluka, 14. I take this opportunity of mentioning a subject regard¬ ing which I have long desired to address Government. It is alluded to in the 7th paragraph of the letter of Mr. L. It. Reid, Chief Secretary to Government, No. 2587, of the 8th August 1840, to the address of the Revenue Commissioner. It suggests the advisability of the detached village of Mangrul being exchanged with the Government of His Highness the Nizam, for His Highness’ villages of Popla and Sewni, which are surrounded by British territory, “ but,” it is added, “ it is apprehended this cannot be effected,” 15. From the map accompanyingColonelWaddington’sreport, it will be seen how many villages of the ShoUpur Taluka are inconveniently situated at many miles’ distance in the midst of His Highness the Nizam’s territory. It is much to be regret¬ ted that at the time of their first acquisition by the British Govern¬ ment an attempt was not made to exchange them with villages lying in close proximity to British territory. It might be said that it would be difficult for such an exchange to be effected now, as it would necessitate so many British subjects being delivered over without their consent to another Government. 16, I consider, however, that it is a very serious inconveni¬ ence there being so many isolated British villages far off in His Highness the Nizam’s dominions, and that it would be worth a considerable sacrifice on the part of Government to make some attempt to.rectify the frontier. An opportunity for such rectifica¬ tion might have been found about ten years ago, when the Western Ceded Districts were delivered back to His Highness the Nizam’s Government.' • 17. The difficulty which would present itself on a rectifica¬ tion of the frontier being attempted now, would be that some com¬ pensation might have to be paid to British subjects possessing property in villages to be delivered in exchange to His Highness. I do not think, however, that such a difficulty should be acknow¬ ledged as an unanswerable reason why such rectification should not be attempted. The existence of these isolated villages renders the police arrangements in the Sholdpur and B&rsi talukas especi- 159 ally difficult, The crime in these talukas, from their position in respect to His Highness’ dominions, is probably more than that of all the other talukas of the Collectorate put together. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, T. BOSANQUET, Acting Collector. No. 33 of 1872. To The COLLECTOR of SHOLATUR. Camp Bhordpur, 15th January 1872. Sir, I have the honour to submit a report on the rates I propose to introduce in 147 villages of the present ShoMpur Taluka of the Collectorate Under your charge. 2. I have appended hereto printed copies of the reports of Messrs. Wingate, Bellasis, Robertson, Vibart, and G. Blane. The former three gentlemen, as you are aware, were officers of the Revenue Survey Department; Mr. Yibart was the then Revenue Commissioner, Northern Division, and Mr. G. Blane was the Assistant in charge of the Sub-Collectorate. 3. The report of Captain Bellasis relates to the Subhd, and the Ahirw&i Pargana, and that of Mr. Robertson to the Man- drup division of the taluka. Captain Wingate’s report forwards those of the above-named two gentlemen with his remarks, and such modifications in their proposals as he deemed requisite. 4. Before proceeding to express my own views of the rates that may be considered applicable at the present day, I will take a brief notice of the reports of the above-named gentlemen. 5.Captain Bellasis commences his report by describing the . survey operations which had been carried Captain Bellasis report. ov,t u^der his supervision. It appears that . 10 per cent of the survey measurements of 71 villages, contain¬ ing 256,828 acres, had been tested by his measurers between November 1838 and the end of June 1839. The result, although considered satisfactory by him, showed that in 17 out of the 71 160 villages the errors in excess and defect exceeded 10 per cent, whilst three required to he entirely re-measured. The difference between his men's measurement and the test taken by Captain Bellasis appears to have been a little more than 2\ per cent. The average .daily work of a measurer was 62 acres. 6. Captain Bellasis then proceeds to notice the re-classifica¬ tion work, which, however, had only been completed in 16 villages of Sholapur. He describes the old classification as “ perfectly unintelligible,” and ascribes the discontent which prevailed, and the declining state of cultivation, in a great measure to the discre¬ pancies in classification ; and says that the Very great inequality of assessment had thrown land of all qualities out of cultivation ! He probably, however, meant only, what he adds, namely, that much of the best land was waste in consequence of the heavy rates on it. 7. Captain Bellasis next gives a general description of the district, its soils, climate, products, &c., and appends a statement showing the price of jowdri and bdjri in the ShoMpur Bazaar from Fasli 1230 (a.d. 1821) to 1248 (a,d. 1839). 8. Captain Bellasis draws attention to the case of two vil? lages as exemplifying the evils of over-assessment, and the bless' ings arising from the imposition of moderate rates, and then pro' ceeds to some remarks on the general decline in the outward aspect of the villages. He, however, admits that, with the exception of certain Ahirw&ri villages, they were many degrees better than most in Bhimthari, Indapur, or Mohol. He describes the Patels as ill-paid, and the cultivators much involved in debt, and quite without the power of repairing wells or extending cultivation ; half the Ahirwari Pargana was untilled, and 17 out of the 30 villages nearly depopulated. He thinks that, at the prices then ruling, the produce of an acre of the best soil and most favourable season might be estimated at about Rs. 3. He, however, admits that much weight cannot be attached to any calculations whatever regarding the produce of lands. 9. Captain Bellasis concludes by recommending a rate not exceeding Rs. 1 per acre as the maximum rate for Jerayet crops, or 33‘3 higher than Inddpur—which would give, he calculates, an average of 6 annas per acre, or a total assessment of Rs. 56,300 on the Government assessed land under cultivation, and Rs. 87,388 on the whole arable land. 10. In an appendix Captain Bellasis refers to the cultivation of the Mauritius sugar-cane and potatoe as being worthy of encour¬ agement in these districts. The failure of cotton and the mul¬ berry he attributes to the want of pecuniary encouragement. He comments on the negligent system of husbandry in vogue, and the 161 neglect of manuring the land, the paucity of carts, neglect of drainage, and absence of education, he not having met with a single school in the district. 11. Mr. Robertson’s report is oh the Mandrup Bargana, ahd .he commences with a general description of re^ort1^11 R°kerts011's the district, on which it is not necessary for repor ' me to enlarge, beyond observing that Mr. Robertson gives a similar account of the condition of the villages to that given by Captain Bellasis, and a like description of the apathy of the village officials. He also notices that nullas which had formerly been used for irrigation had fallen into disuse and distress experienced from want of water. He mentions a curious superstition as existing among the Natives, and partly accounting for the fact that no use is made of the waters of the Bhima or Sina for irrigation. Education is described as being at the low¬ est ebb still he enumerates 12 schools. 12. In describing the survey operations carried out under his charge, Mr. Robertson remarks that the gross contents of fields according to the old survey had been correctly computed and re¬ corded, but that portions of fields had often been deducted as “ Krab ” or “ unculturable,” when no such land existed, in them, and thus the old measurements Were to a certain degree unreliable, though not to such an extent as to vitiate the assessment had tho classification of the soil been correct. The defects of the former classification he passes by as being already well known to Government. 13. Mr. Robertson describes the ryots as much impoverished, and the land-tax oppressive, and would fain hope that the “ dawn of ease and comfort, brought to existence by a new assessment, is now breaking on the tax-ground-down population.’’ He proposes a maximum rate of fifteen per cent increase on that of Inddpur. Mr. Robertson concludes his report by referring to various topics regarding the district officials, and to which I need not further allude. 14. Captain "Wingate, in forwarding the above reports, expresses his conviction that the state of the district was not one of prosperity, that the condition of the cultivators had deteriorated during the course of our administration, that there was an utter absence of activity or enterprise, and that the state of the villages and. husbandry was generally wretched. This state of affairs he attributes chiefly, as do his two Assistants, to an excessive land- tax. After setting forth his reasons for a reduction in the rates, he proposes, for the ShoMpur villages, the rates advocated by Captain Bellasis, viz., an advance of 33 per cent (more cbrrectly B 210—u 162 33*3) on the Indfipur rates, and for the Mandrup Pargana of 20 per cent, 5 more than proposed by Mr. Robertson. 15. At this distance of time it is difficult to say whether the pictures drawn by the officers of the Revenue Survey of the con¬ dition of the ryots were over-coloured or not, Mr. Blane expresses his dissent from the opinion of Captain Wingate on this point, and contents himself by observing that the rates proposed are not too high. Doubtless, however, the imposition of a lower assessment has had the best effect, in improving the condition of the people, and preparing them for a revision of rates more in accordance with the circumstances in which they are now placed. 16. The general features and character of the district have _ ,. . , been sufficiently described in the annexed Preliminary remarks, reports . j will> therefore, confine myself to reviewing the changes which have taken place in the last thirty years in the way of improved means of communication, facilities of education, increase in the value of land, and the present condi¬ tion of the district. 17. The Sholdpur Taluka as now constituted consists of 150 villages, viz., 112 Government and 2 Inara Number o vi ages. villages, originally belonging to the taluka; 9 villages of the Nipdnikur’s, which have since lapsed to Govern¬ ment ; 15 Government and 1 Inam village transferred from Mohol; and 11 villages received from His Highness the Nizam, Of these villages, 147 Government and 1 Inam village will now come under settlement. 18. The total area of the 135 villages included in the dia¬ grams is 504,080 square acres, or 789-6 square miles. The popu¬ lation in 1840-41 amounted ta> 106,962 ; by Area and population. pregen£ return it is 135,710, showing an increase of 28,748, or 26-8 per cent. The number of inhabitants per square mile is 172, and there are, therefore, 3'8 acres to each individual. The following statement, prepared from the Mamlat- ddr’s return, shows the number of inhabitants, &c., at the period of settlement, and at the present time :— At the time of Settlement. 1870-71. Increase in Number. Per Cent Increase. Inhabitants ... 1,06,962 1,35,710 28,748 26-8 Bullocks ••• ... 32,807 41,303 8,496 Decrease. 25-8 Decrease. Cattle, sheep, goats, &c. t * * 86,080 61,829 24,251 Increase. 28 Increase. Carta ... ... ... • t • 219 ' 1,167 948 433 Ploughs ... ••• ... 2,137 4,511 2,374 / 111 163 The great increase in the number of ploughs and carts compared with that in the number of bullocks, as also the decrease in the number of cattle, sheep, &c., makes me somewhat sceptical as to the correctness of this return, but 1 trust the coming census will enable me to submit more full and reliable information hereafter. 19. Among the chief causes affecting the progress of the district is the Great Indian Peninsula Roads, &c. Railway, which connects ShoMpur with the eastern and western shores of the Continent of Hindustan, a marvellous change since the days when (as Captain Wingate wrote) the “ ShoMpur ryot had to pay a higher price for his salt than the inhabitants of Mohol and Mddha.” There is, however, but one station within the limits of the district, namely, at ShoMpur itself, which, consequently, still continues to be the chief market for. the produce of the district, and source of supply. The numerous roads which have been constructed during the present lease (and not one of which existed 30 years ago) to Poona, Hyderabad, Pandharpur, Akalkot, BijMpur,—in fact in every direction, have given an impulse to traffic, which may be judged of from the fact that the number of carts has increased, during that period, from 219 to 1,167, or 433 per cent 1 The farm of the tolls on these roads for the last seven years has been sold for the ums shown below :— " w 1864-65. 1865-66. 1866-67. 1867-68. 1868-69. 1869-70. 1870-71. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. B41a (Poona road) 1,825 1,050 1,550 2,000 2,850 2,745 2,500 Soregoan (Bij&pur road) 5,500 3,425 4,500 1,022 3,500 4,500 3,700 Bordmani (Hyderabad road)... 5,500 8,500 11,500 9,450 9,600 9,100 7,800 Kumbhari (Akalkot road) 2,000 1,750 2,400 2,075 2,350 2,725 1,700 Tirha (Pandharpur road) 1,625 1,100 1,500 1,075 1,550 1,600 1,400 11,450 15,825 21,450 15,622 19,850 20,670 17,100 The sum paid for 1870-71 is equivalent to the taxon 68,400 laden carts ; so that some idea may be formed of the traffic passing through this district independent of that conveyed by rail. There are public ferries on the Sina at IMmboti, Tirha, WadaktMl, and W^ngi; and on the Bhima at Ghodeshwar, Tdkli, and Bandarkauta. The farm of these ferries has averaged during the last five years Rs. 3,394. 164 20. With the future prospects of the districts, another work THn-v Tfm1r is intimately connected, which, though as yet not utilized, is destined, let us hope, to have the most beneficial effects. I allude to the Ekruk Tank, an im¬ portant work which has just been completed at the expense of the State. It has been formed by the damming up of a large nulla about three miles north of the city of S hold pur. Three aqueducts are led from the reservoir, one of which, I believe, is intended to afford a perennial supply of water, and the two others to be equal to a four months’ supply. The courses of these aqueducts are shown by red lines on the accompanying map. The total area which will be irrigable is not as yet ascertained, but at the time of settle¬ ment I purpose to have a statement made out of all lands which are under the command of the canal level, and to explain to the oc¬ cupants and record that Government reserve the right-of levying such water-rate as may hereafter be decided—the rate, of course, only to be applied as each portion is brought under irrigation. At present water is being supplied gratuitously, with the sanction of Government, to a small quantity of land, as a temporary measure, but from next season the arrangement explained in para. 6 in Colonel Anderson’s memo. No, 1319, of 29th November last, might be brought into operation. 21. The following statement shows the number of chau- ris and dharamsalas erected in the whole Chanm. 0f the villages which form the taluka since Dharamsalas. , n . , ° 1840-41 dumber of Villages. During 1st Decade. During 2nd Decade. During 3rd Decade. h 1 ?« P? | Government Con- j tribution. Eyots’ Contribu¬ tion. i Government Con¬ tribution. £ i *8 s ij ft Government Con¬ tribution, Es. Es. ]}s. Es. Es. Es. Chauris 18 1,914 831 31 2,434 1,283 13 2,321 872 05 Dharamsalas ... 2 ‘ 145 75 4 657 7 1,053 6,682 Total... 2Q 2,059 9Q6 35 3,091 1,283 20 3,374 7,554 or a total of 62 chauris and 13 dharamsalas, built at a cost of Rs. 18,267, of which Rs. 9,743 were paid by Government, and Rs, 8,524 by the ryots, 165 22. At the time of the present settlement there were 1,119 wells in working order, and 463 out of re- ' Wells. pair. During the period of the lease 213, or nearly one-fifth of the wells then at work, have fallen into disre¬ pair ; but 75 of the old wells have been repaired, and 537 new wells built* of which 298, or nearly three-fifths, have been constructed during the last ten years. The increase on wells in working order is 395 or 33‘5, per cent. Water is, as a rule, found at a moderate depth below the surface in most parts of the district, and it is pro¬ bable that the ryots will not be slow to profit by this circumstance, when they find that no extra cess is placed on well-irrigated land. The following statment shows the number of wells in 1840-41, and at the present time :— Number of Wells at time of Settlement. Number of Wells in 1870-71. •to a ,9 1,119 ‘I * 463 Total. I 1,582 680 &o .9 . •II IS %'S a 2 o.S a 395 23. State of education. Captain Bellasis writes that he had not met with a sin¬ gle school in his districts; but Mr. Robertson enumerates twelve. There is no record of the number of schools in the district at the time of the present settlement, There are now 59 schools attended by 1,986 pupils. Of these 39 are kept by private individuals, and 20 supported by Government. In the city of ShoMpur there are four Government Schools—in one of which English alone is taught, the number of boys being 100, and one is a girls’ school, attended by 40 pupils. There are, besides, in the city 21 private schools, in one of which, containing 15 pupils, English is taught, the rest being vernacular. 24. There are several large villages in the district; but m ■ , . ShoMpur itself is a city containing at the pre- Towns, markets, &c. gent time gQme inhabitants> of wbom 7,228 follow various trades and professions. A large weekly bazaar is held, at which about Rs. 15,000 worth of cotton goods, kamblis, &c., made in ShoMpur and the neighbourhood, Rs. 10,000 worth of grain, and Rs. 500 or 600 of horses and cattle are exposed for sale. There are also weekly bazaars at Walsang, Mandrup, 166 Mangrul, Musti, Mardi, Ghodeshwar, Keshar Jowalga, and Wadala, at which from Rs. 300 to Rs, 2,500 worth of goods change hands. There was formerly a bazaar at BandarHnta which no longer exists. 25. There is a large manufacture of cotton goods, saris, _ pagris, carpets, kMdi, &c. ; and the woollen an ac urea. . “ kamblis,” or Native blankets, made in this district are superior. In the city of Sholdpur there are 6,425 looms for cotton cloths, 4,250 weavers, 310 dyers, and 840 spinners of thread. Walsang has 200 weavers and 100 dyers, and Man- drup, Ahirwari, Hotgi, Mardi, Salghar, and Ghodeshwar also have many looms. The cotton goods manufactured in the district year¬ ly are valued at Us. 5,76,000, woollen goods Rs. 39,000, brass and copper utensils Rs. 25,000, and implements of iron Rs. 30,000, making a total of Rs. 6,70,000. 26. The people appear to be well off and well clothed, and ' the villages are decidedly better kept and on i ion o e peop e. cieaner than those of Ind4pur and Bhimthari. The city of ShoMpur is within a few hours of any part of the district, and affords a ready market for their produce, to which the greater portion of it finds its way, and from whence they draw their supplies of salt, tobacco, spices, &e. Land, both in the vicinity of ShoMpur itself and in the more distant villages, sells readily at from 10 to 70 years’ purchase, as may be seen from the annexed statement. 27. The average rainfall, as registered at the civil hospital at Sholapur, for the last eighteen years, has Rainfall, been 27 inches, being the same as that of Poona for the last eight years. The eastern portion bordering on Akalkot is said to enjoy a somewhat more plentiful fall than the rest of the district, but there is no record of the amount. The appended comparative statement shows the rainfall at Poona, P4tas, Inddpur, and Barsi from 1863 to 1870, and for Sholapur from 1853 to 1870. 28. The tilling of the soil and other agricultural operations are conducted in the same primitive and Husbandry. inartistic manner noticed in the annexed re¬ ports, little or no attention being paid to weeding or manuring the land, or to rotation of crops except when irrigated. Mr. Fletcher (who superintended the classification of the N.W. portion of the taluk) reports that “ cultivation is carried on but laxly, and very little attention bestowed on it, as a rule, either in garden or dry-crop land.” He, however, excepts the outlying villages 167 of Mangrul, Arli, Kalegaon, and Kdkramba, the ryots of 'which villages take marked pains in tilling their land, and afford a pleas- inc example of what may he done in time in a naturally poor soil by constant manuring and irrigation. He also notices that in KAlegaon manuring Jerayet lands is not uncommon. There is a great deal of land, especially in the neighbourhood of Sholdpur, left untilled and let out for grazing, the occupants thereby realiz¬ ing in some cases as much as 18 times the Government assess¬ ment, as will be seen from the following cases :— Acres, Assessment* Sub-let for Grazing. Times Assessment, Sholdpui O CO Rs. 67 0... Rs. 800 ... 12 132 ... 99 19 'll... 99 350 ... 18* 92 ... 99 10 0... 99 150 ... 15 66 ... 99 15 0... 99 200 ... 13* 167 ... 99 23 0... 99 250 ... 10| Degaon. ..150 ... 99 39 13... 99 400 ... 10 53 ... 99 8 0... 99 30 ... 0 3 Shelgi . ..18 .;. 99 4 o... 99 40 ... 10 12 ... 99 1 8... 99 15 ... 10 16 ... 99 2 0... 99 15 ... 7 X • 2 29. Three-fourths of the crops grown consist of jow&ri, „ b&jri being the next in order, although only rop' to the extent of l-10th of the jow^ri. To¬ gether with the jowari “ Kardai ” is almost invariably grown, a row of it being planted here and there, and withstands drought well. Coarse rice is grown in small patches in hollows where water lodges, and occasionally a second crop of gram or wal succeeds. The Mauritius sugar-cane is reported to be unknown, as also the mulberry and potatoe. Cotton was sown to the extent of 14,000 acres, of 3'6 per cent of the whole. “ Surangi ” or the India madder dye is grown in inconsiderable quantities in dry- crop lands. The garden crops consist of sugar-cane, plantains, guavas, limes, earth-nut, wheat, turmeric, and vegetables. Tur- meric is chiefly grown in the outlying villages in rotation with sugar-cane and wheat. 30. Captain Bellasis in his returns of cultivation and collec- tions does not give either the names or num- Former reports. w q£ ^ ^ ^ apply. and Mr. Robertson’s, though given by villages, is so incomplete as to be of little service. Captain Wingate also does not mention the number of villages to which the statement furnished by him refers ; and, on looking at the Collector’s settlement reports from 1837-38 to 1840-41, I find. they- apply in the first year to 113 villages, in the next to 117, in the third to 110, and in the last to 109, so 168 that it is impossible to compare them with the diagram, which includes 120 villages properly belonging to the division. The ShoRpur Sub-Collectorate was formed into a separate Collectorate in November 1838, at which time the outstanding balances of the three talukas of ShoMpur, Bdrsi, and Karmdla amounted to Rs. 2,14,445, of which sum Its. 1*37,608 Was written off as irrecoverable. In 1842-43 a further sum of Its. 49,284 was written off the accounts of the Sholapur Taluka, and the outstand¬ ing balance reduced to Its. 5,138. I may add that for the two years 1839-40 and 1840-41 the gross land assessment, remissions, balances, &c., were as below :— Gross Land Revenue. Remissions* Balance Outstanding. Balance Realized. 1839-40...1,46,348 11 8...8,839 4 8... 722 11 2...1,80,786 11 ll 1840-41...1,15,116 4 1...4/178 12 0...750 10 4...1,10,186 13 9 Captain Wingate estimated roughly that the total maximum rental, exclusive of Indm, but including the items of “ Ain Jama’1 and extra cess on water lands, would be Its. 1,27,000. ' The following paras, give a brief analysis of the fluctuations in cultivation, and collections of the villages which originally formed the Sholapur Taluka. . * 31. The cultivated area during the first two years of the present settlement was, in round numbers, 1st Decade Statemeu . 314^00 acres, and the collections Its. 1,31,000, there being Its. 2,274 remitted during the first year, and only Its. 278 in the second. The average waste of these two years was 28,000, or about one-twelfth of the whole area. In the next two years the cultivation fell to Its. 2,47,000 ; the remissions, however, being only Its. 21, and the waste 44,400, or about one-eighth^ For the next three years the cultivation and collections rose, the average being 322,645 acres cultivated, and Its. 1,39,687 collec¬ tions, there being only Its. 576 remissions in the first of the three years. During the final three years of the first decade cultivation and collections again fell off, the cultivation being 313,000 acres, and collections Rs. 1,36,500, and no remission. The average area under cultivation during the first decade was 312,847 acres, and average collections Rs. 1,34,168, the average annual remissions being Rs. 315, and average waste 29,468 acres, or little over one- sixteenth of the whole. 32. During the first three years pf this period the average cultivation was 308,000 acres, and collections 2ad Deca e. Rs. 1,34,000, the average waste being 35,800 little over one-tenth, and the remissions Rs. 102. acres, or a During the next four years the cultivation rose to 315,000 acres; 169 and collections to Rs. 1,38,900, the average waste being 2,560 acres, or one-fifteenth, per dent, and remissions Rs. 62. In the concluding three years the cultivation averaged 335,300 acres, and collections Rs. 1,45,100, the waste being 9,940 acres, or one- thirty-fifth, and remissions Rs, 30. The average collections for this period were Rs. 1,39,268, being Rs. 5,100, or nearly 4 per cent in excess of the first ten years. The average remissions were only Rs. 64. 33. 3rd Decade. During the third decade the average cultivation has been 344,384 acres, and collections Rs, 1,48,887, or 7 per cent in excess of those of the second Decade, and nearly 11 per cent of those of the first decade. The waste at the present time is almost inappreciable, being about one- thousandth part of the whole area, and the average annual remis¬ sions, although slightly in excess of the second decade, have still been only Rs. 82. 34. Villages transferred from Mohol. In the 15 villages transferred from Mohol, the average waste during the first five years of the lease was 4,932 acres, or 13'8 per cent, and the average collections Rs. 11,808, the average annual remissions being only Rs. 109. During the remaining five years of this decade the remissions were nil, and the average annual collections Rs, 12,333, the waste being 1,092 acres, or 3 per cent. The average annual collections during the first decade were Rs. 12,292, remissions Rs. 54, and waste 3,012, or 8-4 per cent. 35. During the second decade the average collections were Rs. 12,840, or 467 more than those of-the first ten years ; the waste was 1,366 acres, or 3'6 per cent of total area ; and the remis¬ sions Rs. 19. 36. During the last ten years the average collections have been Rs. 13,240, or 8*75 per cent in excess of those of the first decade, and 3T above those of the second decade. The average waste during this period has been only *019 per cent, and the remissions nil. 37. I have Rise in prices. a satisfactory in Sholapur m vain endeavoured-to obtain return of the prices of grain during the past thirty years; but from the following list of prices, taken from the Bazaar Office records for the last seven years, it is evident that they are as high in ShoKpur as in any other part of the Deccan; indeed, from such returns as I have been able to procure, the rise in prices at ShoMpur during the present settlement has been greater than elsewhere :— b 210— 170 Statement showing the Average Prices of Grain in the Sholdpur Cantonment from 1864-65 to 1870-71, in seers of two pounds'. Years. Jow&ri, B&jri. Gram. Wheat. 1864-65 ... 14 10-75 9-75 10 1865-66 18-25 153 10-9 9-9 1866-67 166 1575 8-3 8-5 1867-68 20-5 1575 10 11 1868-69 25-5 27-2 14-4 12 1869-70 ... 18-65 16-45 9-9- 8-22 1870-71 219 15 8-3 7 38. The maximum rate for the Sholdpur and Ahirwdri parganas was fixed at 33 (33'3) per cent rates™^ aU<* *>ro^°SC above that of Indapur, and for the Mandrup Pargana and the outlying village of Man- grul at 20 per cent higher. The former rate is the same as that recommended by Captain Wingate for the Pimpalgaon division of the Bhimthari Taluka. In the case of the best situated vil¬ lages of that taluka, I have, lately proposed an increase of 75 per cent on the Inddpur rate, or Us. 1-12-0 as the maximum, which proposal has met with the approval of Government. The con¬ ditions affecting the material progress of the two districts, viz., the benefits accruing to either from the construction of the railway and extension of roads, are so similar, that a corresponding rate to that of Pimpalgaon would appear applicable in this instance. In the neighbouring State of Akalkot, into which the Survey Settlement has been lately introduced, the maximum Jerayet rate was Rs.- 1-12-0. But looking at the very large increase that an enhanced 'imposition of that rate would cause, and taking into consideration the opinion expressed by Colonel Francis in his memo¬ randum on the Bhimthari rates, and in which I fully concur, I cannot venture to recommend a higher maximum than Its. 1-8-0, and that only for the lands of the city of Shol&pur itself, placing the villages immediately adjoining it under a maximum of Rs. 1-6-0 and the more distant of Rs. 1-4-0. For the Mandrup villages, which have not been benefited so much from the construction of the railway and are still dependent on ferries for the crossing of the Sina in the monsoon, I would not recommend an increase of more than 25 per cent (Rs. 1-4-0) over the Indapur maximum for those most favourably situated, and of 12^ per cent (Rs. 1-2-0) for the more distant. 171 39. The application of these rates causes a somewhat large increase in the assessment, the average on Increase in Assess- ap tke villages of the taluka being 77 per ment' cent.’ But this unusual rise is not so much due to the imposition of an enchanced maximum rate, as to the ex¬ treme faultiness of the old classification, which, especially in Sho- ldpur itself and some of the large adjoining villages, is so unpre¬ cedentedly low as to be scarcely free from suspicion. For instance, there are cases of 15 and 16-anna fields which were classed at from 7 to 5 annas—a discrepancy so great that it can hardly be ascribed -to mere ignorance. The following figures show some of the errors of the old classification :— Numbers in which the difference in classification is above tested. ... 6 pies. 1 an. 2 as. 3 as. 4 as. 5 as. 6 as. 7 as. 8 as. 9 as. 10 as. lias. 81 4 9 7 18 13 15 5 4 1 1 1 2 1 You will see that, out of 81 numbers taken at random, in 30 the difference of classification exceeds three annas, whilst in ten number the difference exceeds five annas, and there is one in¬ stance in which it is above eleven annas. 40. Under these circumstances, and considering the rates at- which lands in the vicinity of ShoMpur are sub-let, the saleable value of land, and the exceptionally low assessment on which some of the villages which are most advantageously situated are at pre¬ sent held, there is no fear of my .rates being excessive. For instance, in the lands of the flourishing city of ShoMpur itself, the average rental is 4 annas 8 pies per acre. Again, the rich villages of De- gaon and Bfila are paying 5 annas and 6 annas 7 pies respectively. I cannot, therefore, but conclude that in those cases in which the new rates cause an unusual increase in the assessment, it is to be attri¬ buted to the observance of a lower scale of valuation in the former classification of the lands; and feeling confident, as I do, that the' rates are not too high, I do not feel justified in recommending the adoption of a lower scale. 172 41.The result of the grouping of the villages is as follows:— Number of Villages. Maximum Rate Remarks. Class Ir ... 1 1*8 ShoHpur. Class II. 39 1*6 Villages immediately adjoining Class III. ... the city. 52 1*4 Villages within a radius of 5 Class IV miles, or on high roads. 55 1*2 Villages beyond that distance and chiefly in Mandrup. 147 ... ■ 42.The effect of the proposed rates on the 120 villages of Sholapur and the 15 villages transferred from Effect of rates. Mohol which are entered in the two accom¬ panying diagrams, will be as follows :— 120 Villages of Shol&pur. Occupied Land. Unoccupied Assessed Land. Total. Area. Assessment. Area. Assessment. Assessment according to proposed rates... Assessment according to present rates .. * Increase 3,70,137 3,44,766 Rs. 2,70,696 1,49,190 1,520 365 Rs. 667 66 3,71,657 3,45,131 Rs. 2,71,363 1,49,256 25,371 1,21,506 1,155 601 26,526 1,22,107 15 Villages from Mohol. Occupied Laud. Unoccupied Assessed Land. Total. Area. Assessment. Area. Assessment. Assessment according to proposed rates .. Assessment according to present rates ... Increase Decrease 38,414 35,785 Rs. 22,776 13,249 28 * 33 Rs. 13 17 38,442 35,818 Rs. 22,789 13,266 2,629 9,527 2,624 9,523 5 4 43.The uneven manner in which the present assessment was imposed is rendered apparent by comparing Uneven mcidency of •(. tlaat resulting from the proposed rates, ssessmen . ][for instance, Dahitna, No. 25, will be raised 173 186 per cent by a maximum rate of Rs. 1-6-0; whilst Togarhali, No. 10, with the same maximum, only rises 43 per cent. Again, Kher, No. 4, and Kegaon, No. 36, adjoining villages with a similar maximum, are affected very differently—the former being raised 127 and the latter only 2 per cent. 44. The land which has been cultivated, though not recorded ' as such, is about 7 per cent of the whole area Unrecorded cnlfavatxon. cultivati(mj %xdvLding the 11 villages received from His Highness the Nizam. The assessment on this at 11 annas 4 pies—the average dry-crop rate of the district— amounts to Rs. 19,833, so that the actual increase in the assessment due to the new rates will be 70 per cent. 45. The assessment on cultivated land of the 147 Government villages for the year 1870-71 was Rs. 1,74,101 ; by the new rates it will be Rs. 3,09,315, showing an increase of Rs. 1,35,214, or 77 per cent. The waste-land only amounts to 1,548 acres, assessed at Rs. 680, making a total assessment of Rs. 3,09,995. 46. Irrigation from paths is very limited, and confined Pathasthal irrigation. to the outlying villages of Arli, Kalegaon, Salghar, &c. I propose a maximum rate of Rs. 6 (exclusive of the Jerayet assessment) for first class water-supply, descending to Rs. 1-8-0 in the lowest class. The total assessment on account of water is only Rs. 1,991. 47. I purpose exempting lands under wells constructed during the term of the present settlement from any extra assess¬ ment ; and on those under wells which existed previously nothing beyond the highest dry-crop rate will be levied. 48. There is a limited amount of rice land, in which coarse Rice rice is grown, and sometimes a second crop of wd.1 or gram. There are in all 2,503 acres of this land, which at the maximum rate of Rs. 3, which I propose, will realize Rs. 4,096. 49. With regard to the Ekruk Tank, it will be impossible to Ekruk Tank. ,any permanent Water-rate on the lands to be irrigated therefrom, until I have been sup¬ plied by the Irrigation Department with information as to the quan¬ tity of land commanded by the canal, its situation, the area for which they will be able to supply water, and the period for which the supply will last. Meantime I purpose to explain to the people and record that an extra cess will be hereafter levied on all lands to which water may be supplied from the tank. 50.By the late change in the limits of the military canton- Camp limits, ments, a considerable quantity of land has been thrown out of camp. Such portions of it as have been enclosed and built on, I purpose to assess at the 174 rate of Its. 2 per acre, whilst what is lying waste will be assessed as other culturahle lands. The Moti Bagh, however, has hitherto been used as a sort of public garden and pleasure ground; and as it is the only spot available for the recreation of the officers, I would recommend that it should be set apart for that purpose. 51.That the re-measurement of the district was equally as necessary as the re-classification, will be appa- Errors in old survey, rent from the following instances taken pro¬ miscuously from the survey records :— Numbers in which the error- amounted to per cent. Numbers compared. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 to 15 15 to . 20 20 to 30 30 to 50 Above 50 53 7 8 7 6 1 4 4 3 2 4 1 2 '2 2 In 24 out of 53 numbers the error exceeded 6 percent, whilst there are six cases in which it exceeded 20 per cent. I append state¬ ments showing the result of the test of the present measurement and classification, from which you will see that out of 2,120 numbers the measurement of which was tested, in only one the difference exceeded ten per cent, and of 2,022 numbers that were classed, a difference of 4 annas was only exceeded in one case. 52.The present survey was carried out under the superin- p , tendence of Messrs. Gibson, Bchalaz, Francis, resen survey. ancp Young, and the classification under Messrs. Cumming, Fletcher, and Whitcombe. All the village boundaries were carefully traversed and plotted from computation, and a map of the taluka compiled therefrom, copy of which is annexed. 53. Two diagrams accompany this report, showing the aver¬ age collections during the past thirty years in 120 villages of Sholapur and 15 transferred from Mohol. The Inam village of Pir Tdkli, which at present belongs to the Mddha Taluka, would more conveniently form part of this district. 54. In conclusion, I would recommend that the rates, if approved, may be sanctioned for 30 years. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, « Superintendent, Revenue Survey. 175 Extract from Statement of Sale and Mortgage of Lands in the Sholapur' 2'aluJca, from 1868 to 1870. Jerayet. • Bagayet. Karnes of Villages. Remarks. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assess¬ ment* Bs. Bs. - Sholapur 34-37 12 ... 200 Mortgaged ; mortgagee to enjoy usufruct in place of interest; no well. Mortgaged, 2 years; no well. 50-27 ii 500 53‘24 8 ... 550 Mortgaged for 3 years; no well. 29*38 13 400 Sold: no well. 19*19 5 ... 300 Do. 41*10 10 • •• 300 Do. 44*12 6-6 • € • 500 Do, 48-6 12 • * . 75 Do. Boramani 18*8 12*8 • • • 1,000 Mortgaged. 42*20 • 19 • » • 100 Sold; no well* 45-27 23 ... 365 Do. 20-33 16 • • • 1,625 Sold ; one well valued at Bs.. 200. 15-33 5 • « « 150 Sold ; no well. 47 28 80 Do. 27-14 9 ... 75 Do. 47-19 28 • • . 200 Do. 11-32 6 250 Do. Walsang 12-11 7 ’ 8 100 Sold; half of well valued at Bs, 500. 1215 18 ... 120 Sold; no well. 41-38 26-12 ... 500 Do, Ahirwdri 40-25 11 , 70 Do, 7-30 7 ’l2 400 Mortgaged for 4 years; mortgagee to have half produce in lieu of interest; *• one well worth Bs. 400. Mandrup 41-33 9 ... 90 Sold ; no well. 17-21 12-8 ... 450 Mortgagee to have usufruct Bandar Kauta ... 27-25 in lieu of interest; no well. 16 ... .400 Mortgaged; mortgagee to receive Bs. 70 per annum interest, and 1£ candy 35-2 19 jowari. Kandalgaon ... 400 Sold; no well. 15-24 8 400 Do. 14-29 4 ... 300 Do, 35-2 19 400 Do Soregaon 32-23 17 300 Do. 50-12 11 200 Do. 9-37 . 5 ... 600 Do. Ulha ... 2113 10 200 Do. 12-27 • 3 200 Do. 176 Statement showing Rainfall in Sholapur, Poona, Inddpur, Patas, and Bdrsi. Year, Sholdpur. Inddpur. Pdtas. Poona. Bdrsi. 1853 25-75 1854 31-58 1855 13-65 1856 23-77 ' 1857 3414 1858 33-50 1859 33-33 1860 3307 1861 26-47 - 1862 23-74 Average 10 years. 27-9 1863 21-28 301 9-52 22-55 • 24-20 1864 20-77 9-78 7-83 16-55 22-56 1865 13-72 6-95 11-69 31-28 1905 1866 20-02 4-06 6:57 - 18-90 22-45 1867 25-87 10-74 10-88 27-29 25-76 1868 25-92 8-43 10-32 30-91 18-62 1869 35-78 24-47 22-76 2816 3812 1870 3503 25-77 26-31 40-60 4319 26-5 10-4 13-23 2703 26-74 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment. b 210—w The following comparative statement exhibits the results of the new and former survey of 120 villages of the ShoMpur Taluka, shown in detail under the same head:— According to present survey... According to former survey ... Increase... Decrease... Government Land. Alienated Land. Grand Total. Culturable assessed. Uncultur- able. Kuran. G air an Boads, &c. Total. Culturable. XJncultur- able. Total. 3,71,657 3,45,131 6,556 23,437 4,227 5,483 23,761 20,058 4,06,201 3,94,109 52,352 49,332 890 3,018 63,242 52,350 4,59,443 4,46,469 26,526 3,703 30,229 3,020 ... 3,020 33,249 ... 16,881 1,256 18,137 2,128 2,128 20,265 The following comparative statement exhibits the results of the new and former survey of 15 villages of the ShoMpur Taluka shown in detail under the same head:— According to present survey According to former survey ... Increase... Decrease.., Government Land. . ' -■ rr Alienated Land, Grand Total. Culturable assessed. Uncultur- able. Kuran. Gairan Boads, &c. Total. Culturable. Uneultur- able. Total. 38,442 35,818 875 2,766 792 793 3,332 3,405 43,441 42,782 1,178 1,230 18 52 1,196 1,282 44,637 44,064 2,624 ... ... 2,624 ... ... 2,624 1,891 1 73 1,965 52 34 86 2,051 W. W ADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N£sik. MEASUREMENT TEST STATEMENT1. Names of Assistants. Lieut. C. T. Echalaz Mr. J. Young Mr. E. A. Francis Lieut. W. 0. Black Number of Fields tested, y 2,120 Field in which the Percentage Error was within 1,644 347 87 24 7/ 10 Above 10 per Cent. oo W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nisik. CLASSIFICATION TEST STATEMENT. Names of Assistants. Number of Fields tested. Result. • Errors within As. p. As, p. 0 6 As, p. 1 0 As. p. 1 6 As. p, 2 0 As; p. CO K35*” CG o As. p. 3 6 As. p. 4 0 Mr. A. Gumming ... i - Mr. W, Fletcher i > 2,022 339 806 577 165 100 21 6 2. ' 6 Mr, J. 0. Whitcombe ... .j W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N^sik. 179. 180 STATISTICAL TABLE No. III. Details of Cultivation. a.d. 1870-71. District. Surveyed Villages. Crops. Percentage of total Cultivation of Government and Inain Lands. 'Total. Kharif. Rabi. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jow&ri 74-2 74*2 B&jri ... 7-6 76 ... Cotton 3-6 3-6 ... Gram ... ... ... 2-3 ... 2*3 Shol&pur. 147 Khdlsa. Rice ... 1-5 1-5 ... Linseed 1-5 ... 1*5 Wheat 11 1*1 Sugar... •3 •3 ... Matki •2 •2 ... Hulga •1 •1 ... Tobacco •1 . ••• *1 Miscellaneou s... 5-5 ... ... Waste (Occupied) •2 ••• 100 13*3 79-2 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N£sik. 181 Sholdpur District, June 26th, 1839. Sib, The measurements of the Sholfipur and Ahirwdri parganas, comprising a circle of from 12 to 15 miles around the Kasbd, Sholdpur,.having been all tested during the last eight months, and the re-classification of the Sholdpur Pargana being also well advanced, I have the honour to address you on the subject of the new rates to be introduced; but, Firstly, beg to state for your information a few points imme¬ diately connected with the work which had as well be recorded in my first report. Operations commenced in November 1838, since which period , the kdrkun measurers under my immediate Measurements. , • , , ji.ii personal superintendence and check have tested 10 per cent of the whole survey measurements of 71 villages, comprising acres 256,828, the total area of the two parganas. The result has been, on the whole, satisfactory when we con¬ sider the very large proportion of land that has lain waste since the survey, and whose boundaries have in consequence been often nearly obliterated ; thus their errors in excess and defect— In 51 villages was within 10 per cent. In 5 „ was above „ in cultivated. In 12 „ was above „ in waste-land. And 3 „ required totally remeasuring. The old survey sub-divisions (Tut numbers) of Kadim Ddghs,- or ancient fields, have likewise in several villages been all re-measured, as also village boundary stones restored, whenever the parties could be brought to an amicable agreement and fair adjustment. . These disputes are still numerous, and would alone occupy a regularly constituted commission for a season. No necessity exists for their immediate settlement, nor are any of those remain¬ ing very considerable; but as the land is again all brought into tillage under a lighter assessment, it will then be to the interest of Government to dispose of them, cultivators being averse in these districts to hold lands bordering on these disputes. Out of 2,620 acres in Takrdr, 1,480 acres have been settled either by PancMet, arbitration, and in one instance the disputed land (140 acres) was divided between two of our own villages in proportion 182 to their respective akfirs by mutual consent, so that only 1,140 acres remain. Much of this I also hope to have adjusted.. 2. I have visited personally the whole of the above 71 vil¬ lages, and in most of them tested a fair portion of the karkuns’ measurements, in some more in others less, as I found I could depend on the accuracy and diligence of the individual’s work. About 2^ per cent (2 acres 25 guntas) was the difference between the karkuns’ and my own measurements, which, consider¬ ing the crops were on the ground great part of the time, added to the inexperience of my new establishment, I trust you will deem satisfactory also. - ‘ 3. Independent of this test I angulated large plots of from 200 to 250 acres at fandom, to be enabled to judge of ,the whole survey measurements in general (vide para. 1). 4. Several attempts to tamper with the karkuns in the most open manner by the cultivators having been reported, I am happy to say, by the karkuns themselves, the Acting Collector was kind enough to circulate a strict proclamation I drew up, pointing out the evil consequences of such conduct, which I attri¬ bute to custom and ignorance as much' as any thing else, since which no fresh cases have been detected, and I have every reason to think it has ceased. The fact of the kfirkuns themselves giving information becoming known to the kunbis, put, I hope, an effectual stop to all attemps at bribery. 5. As the classification proceeds, all numbers (fields) of doubt¬ ful extent or doubtful arable area noted by the Tarams, are tested and corrected if found requisite. 6. I may mention, as this appears the proper place and in order, the numerous trifling disputes of Mirasdars and others regarding field boundaries. These petty encroachments I consider impossible without the connivance of the village authorities boundaries are constantly ploughed through under my eyes, in almost every case by ignorant or careless hired ploughmen em¬ ployed by the better kunbis. If a balutedar or patel were to visit a field and see to the bounds before ploughing, and also to revisit it immediately after it is sown, this evil, I conceive, might.in a great measure be put down. The preservation of field boundaries is not at all attended to, and, it must be conceded, the mischief is of great magnitude; by degrees the dispute increases, ill-will ensues, cattle are destroyed, and even blood shed, and the land thrown up for want of some such little simple precautions as the above not being attended to. 7. The average daily work of a measurer has been 02 acres, including all interruptions. 183 / / 8. The re-classification of ,ne two parganas commenced in December 1838; in ShoMpur , 16 villages, Classification. - total 71,618 acres, or half of the whole has been finished and tested. In consequence of the very limited establishment at commencing (only 4 Tarams), the work neces¬ sarily proceeded but slowly. I calculate the whole of ShoMpur will be classified long before the next Jamfibandi settlement, and as all measurements are finished I shall be enabled to superin¬ tend a larger establishment of Tarams in Ahirwd,ri, the early or late close of the work in that pargana depending on this con-, tingency. 9. In every village yet examined I found the old classifica¬ tion (one great source of present discontent) perfectly unintelligi¬ ble ; the very great inequality of assessment thus caused, has con¬ tributed to throw land of all qualities out of cultivation; much of the best land is waste in consequence of the heavy rates alone precluding its culture. The present declining state of cultivation, particularly in those villages where the rates are not bearing so very heavily, is chiefly attributable to this discrepancy in classes ; particular instances I have already noticed to you, but they have been so often pointed out before my labours commenced, that it is scarcely necessary to advert to them again here more fully. 10 The p6t numbers have been abolished in every village yet visited by the Tarams, always at the request of Mirasdai-s and kunbis; in addition to the great vexation, trouble, and con¬ fusion the adoption of this splitting of fields into minute divi¬ sions by the old survey karkuns has caused, it was. to be regret¬ ted as a wanton disregard of local usages, often more unpopu¬ lar to a Native than acts of direct injustice. 11. During the course of other duties the Tarams have brought to light several instances of inam land having been brought, changed, or enlarged at or since the old survey, all which have been laid before the Collector for inquiry. The population and other returns and particular notices of wells and garden land are also in course of preparation by the classifiers, whose average daily work has been 168^ acres. 12. Before a few short remarks on the principal features of the country I give an abstract of the land in the two parganas. It may be remarked I have in many instances spoken of the two parganas as one; a glance at the sketch map, Appendix No. 4, will show that the villages of one are so mixed up with, those of the other that this is unavoidable. 184 Abstract. Sholdpur. Akirw&ri. Land now in cultivation ... 88,343 39,752 Waste formerly under the plough... 43,713 - 38,048 Kurans (grass preserves) camps ... ... 2,038 Inam land (alienated) ... ... 10,867 5,388 Disputed 367 773 Barren ... ... ... 19,852 7,737 Total... 165,180. 91,648 Grand Total... 256,828 acres, or square miles 401 13.The total arable area is 210,996 acres exclusive of indm, the remainder being common, appropriated as pasture and farmed out; 2,434 acres included in “ cultivation” are let at ulcti rates, average 2 annas an acre. 14.The Bagayet in both parganas only amounts to acres 1,044 in ShoMpur. 599 Total acres 1,643. In Ahirwdri it is all Mothasthal, and the assessment as fixed by Panchaet, Fasli 1245, I have never heard objections to, and it appears fair. Mangrul alone cultivates 400 acres; being a Kadim Bagayet village it is assessed at 6f rupees, the highest rate per acre of garden land in this, being the Kumdvisdar’s division of the taluka, although the average rate is only 2 rupees and 12 annas per acre. 15.The general aspect of the country is undulating and ^ , bare of trees, rising in some places into and soil/ 6 coun iy small hillocks showing the bare rock, but altogether it is less rugged and stony than the Mohol District, which bounds it.on the north-west. The only remarkable geological features are the columnar basaltic forma¬ tions visible from the.Naldrug direction towards Ahirw4ri, and discernible here and there from Kampur towards the latter village. The river Sina is the western boundary, on the south and east the Akalkot, and on the north-east His Highness the Nizam’s 185 territories, whose villages are mixed up with the Sholapur ones on the north. Three villages (Phutgaons) are quite cut off from the taluka and isolated in the Mogalai, a belt of which, about 10 miles broad, separate ShoKpur from the Vairag and Bar si parganas: Mangrul, the most distant, is 18 miles from the Kasha. The quality of this almost level surface is various and irregular ; in the dips is much fine alluvial soil. The specific portion attributable to each class in a few separate average villages I had the curiosity to examine, were blacks 10, reds 50, gravelly 40 — 100 parts; the black soil being about 1-10th of the whole, is only found in small patches and of no great depth, resting on a sandy loam, under it the pebbly lime stone as in Guzerat. Towards the banks of the Sina it is more plentiful but meagre, the sub-strata the same ; but, on the whole, the soil of this division, particularly near ShoMpur, Bdla, Degaom, and the south-east of Ahirw&ri, presents a fer¬ tility in many places capable of producing all the richer products, which our indigent and depressed ryots seem at present to possess neither the means nor energy to compass. A loose system of tillage is apparent everywhere, and a field is seldom ploughed but from necessity. 16. The climate is dry and supply of rain (there being Climate neither hills nor woods) very scanty ; within the last 24 years three partial famines have occurred, from drought—one from excess of rain, the Kardisd.1. In Fasli 1235 the crops were nearly destroyed by rats (the Ijndirsal), and last year there was little or no rain. During the last 22 years the cholera has thinned the population thrice, and only one extraordinary good season occurs, Fasli 1243, named the Piksffi. The great famine, Fasli 1214, the Panch-chipti, nearly depopulating the country. 17.' All the rabi grains, oils, pulses, &c., are grown, but Products little bcfjri; the rude, but often efficient, system of agriculture is similar in all respects to the surrounding districts, Inddpur, and east of Bhimthari. 18. The roads, or more properly cart tracts, throughout Roads and fords. these parganas are good; wherever trifling levelling of clearance was requisite, it has been brought to the Collector’s notice. The Poona road has been cleared of stone as far as the bounds of the collectorate. 19.The fords of the Sina near Narkhed, Ldmboti, Nan- dur, and Tirha all need clearance and repair, and have been more particularly noticed to the Collector in their respective village memoranda, agreeably to the late Revenue Commissioner’s instruc¬ tions. The form of one of these is appended, No. 9, - b 210—x ' 186 20.Sholtlpur, situated in the centre, affords a ready market for all surplus produce, and is from its prox- Market. imity the only one now resorted to. It is a considerable thriving town. Population 24,000. Import duties of last year amounted to Rs. 13,538. All the Khirana ginger, garlic, safflower, betel, surangi, and more valuable products raised in the neighbouring Mogalai villages are here brought in large quanti¬ ties; it is also a depot for salt, betel-nut, &c., from Malwan and the coast, and for cotton, coarse cotton cloths, sdris, &c., from the surrounding villages. Prices. 21.Although there have been five years of particular famine and scarcity during the last 24 years, yet it will be seen, on reference to No. 1 Appendix, that the price of jow&ri has averaged 32 pukha seers per rupee ; the fluctuations are also shown. Extraneous causes, previous to the British rule, caused so great fluctuations in prices, that 1 have rejected the .average further back, and confined myself to since a couple of years after the settlement of the country by. the late Sir T. Munroe and Assistants. 22.The most flourishing period of these districts anterior to our possession, is referred to the time and ormer management. revenue management of Ramchander Shiva- ji, a Konkani Brahmin and relative of the late Peishwa, 35 years ago, when nearly the whole division was in cultivation and all the wells in repair. From Fasli 1227 it was superintended by Abbaji Balal Kundlay, Killedar of ShoMpur, but under the Mankeshwar of Temburni, until the former was deposed for his rapacity and oppression, shortly previous to the affair at Ashti. The old M&mul measures, varying as usual in every six or eight vil¬ lages, had reference to the productiveness of the -soil; seers and taks 72 to the seer, pysas, adhelas, and the bigha of the Mussal- men, all vary with the quality of the soil. . The sflrti rates, including all the extra pattis and b4bs of the Peishwa’s ’managers, must have weighed heavily on the kunbi and paralyzed his exertions, had not tracts of the less fertile lands, particularly under Mankeshwar’s administration, been given on easy istawa kowls and light ukti rates as an off-set to the heavy mamul-dar. Thus the present clamour for kowls under the heavy survey assessments, which, it will be seen below, were as onerous as the kamril (never realized) without kowls, not mention the difference of currency Belapuri rupee. In some villages I find only one rate for every description of soil; in others there were so many as 5 or 6. At Narkhed, where the mhnul bigha was the nominal measure, they had five rates, from 8 to 12 187 annas per bigha and kowls run from 5 to 7 years. The nautank is one-eighth of a seer, from 20 to 40 acres the size of fields, and rates averaged 15 to 25 Rupees the nautank. Tankha. Kamdl. Paimash Survey. Rs. Rs. Rs. Sholapur Pargana 61,360 97,921 89,263 Ahirw&ri do. ...• ... 55,410 72,514. 59,098 23. I observe that, four years ago, the falling off in cul¬ tivation of the ShoMpur Sub-Collectorate was reported to be 49,000 acres in a single year, and; that the year following the Revenue Commissioner- had satisfied himself of the causes and reported the same to Government—facts I need not here recapi¬ tulate. If after 20 years of our management the country has so far deteriorated as to produce less exportable commodity and manufactures,, and the result that it is not merely stationary, but declining, and no sign whatever of improvement in the country or character of its inhabitants, the inference may readily be drawn. The same clumsy mode practised in most of their mecha¬ nical and agricultural operations is still adhered to, and yet might be swept away for a trifling consideration which would be cheaply purchased. Paragraph 12 shows the proportion of both parganas now lying uncultivated ; the greatest part of this land still bears the mark of former cultivation ;• full half of the Ahir- wari Pargana lies untilled! Seventeen out of the 30 villages are at present nearly depopulated,, all of which exhibit marks of former prosperity 24. The highest survey Jerayet rates are about Rs. 2, but there are a few villages assessed even higher Old survey rates. than this. Of'the most heavily assessed is the village of Ulha, distant from Sholapur 8 miles. The rate here is 2yg- Rs. per acre ; this place I well recollect a flourishing village. Seven years ago it had a couple of shops, and was to appearance populous; it is now next to deserted, the shops are removed, all the trees disappeared, walls down, and the place in ruins. Out of 4,100 acres, 2,475 acres are waste ; revenue fallen off from (Fasli 1241) 1,066 to Rs. 618 (1248) ; Patel and Eulkarni both ruined, being involved in Toti Farari defalcations which they could .not prevent; an acting Patel and Talati doing duty, and an outstanding balance of Rs. 3,466 : several of the villagers now cultivate in Taradgaon, Mogalai, having left Ulhe. Three 188 years prior to the survey this village produced net revenue Rs. 2,000. The rest of these over-assessed and mis-classified villages have all partaken more or less of similar ruin and misery. 25.Adjoining TJlha is the village of Honsal, one of the light¬ est assessed of the survey, Rs. 1 ■, per acre. The soil similar to Ulha, nearly the whole is under the plough; out of 2,049'acres 384 only are waste, but will also soon be turned up ; the revenue improving, only Rs. 80 outstanding, and during the last 7 years the remissions amount to Its. 100. Of the 12 villages similarly assessed the same remarks are applicable; indeed, a moderately assessed village may be discovered often in-passing through it. Need I say more to show the inequality and incongruous nature of the present rates. 26.It has been remarked by an intelligent statistical writer, that the accumulated experience of ages is General remarks. requisite to perfect one’s knowledge in the • several simpler departments of husbandry. The difficult and extensive nature of the subject, the importance and immense vari¬ ety of particulars relating to it, the vague, doubtful, and even , contradictory details of alleged facts in almost every branch of it, the obscurity of the principles, in which several of the operations and other usual business depend, augment the difficulties. It is to be regretted, therefore, that all former inquiries, &c., into the state of these districts, from their having so often been transferred to other, are not easily procurable, though so calculated to abridge the labour of the attentive inquirer, particularly in this climate, and whereby the general course of his researches might be direct¬ ed and made more easy and successful than otherwise, and his attention be solicited not only to what is confessed of importance and generally studied, but likewise to many new improvements and discoveries as they arise, and likewise direct his thoughts to other particulars which, though hitherto little regard may have been shown them, are nevertheless' of material consequence. Having been twice, however, stationed at Shohipur in 1823-24, again in 1830-32, I had during both these periods opportunities of visit¬ ing most of the villages around ; the principal ones several times, as well as the neighbouring parts and Mogalai; consequently I can unhesitatingly bear testimony to the general decline in the outward aspect of most of the villages. Appendices II. and III. will show the decline in the revenue and balances outstanding. 27.With the exception of 17 of the Ahirwari villages before noticed, after another eight months’ constant intercourse I can say they are many degrees better than most I visited in Bhimthari, Indapur or Mchol; still they £fre very ruinous and 189 filthy, the walls down, and with few exceptions are uncomfortable, and a desolate appearance pervades them. The patels having been deprived of their h&ks, with sometimes not half the value ot their gugri (enjoy.ed from time ,immemorial) in per cent as compensation, are everywhere apathetic and quite indifferent to the prosperity of their villages, having in many no interest in their concerns. Some patels have actually no remuneration. The acting patels. have salaries fixed so low that no honest man, if. found, could accept it, it being impossible' for those who did, to subsist on Rs. 5 without having recourse to nefarious practices, and they have no permanent interest in any lasting improvement. (Note). 28. I hope the above-paras, will not be deemed altogether supererogatory; that it bears on the subject before us, I think cannot be denied, and that must be my excuse. The kulkarnis are not quite so ill-off as the patels. The cultivators are quite without the' means of completing their teams—great and small, are much involved in debt, and quite without the power of repairing wells or extending cultivation beyond its present very limited bounds ; yet, strange enough, many of the more intelligent have often expressed their belief that something will soon be done for their relief. I am sure no one can more heartily wish their hopes may be speedily realized than myself. 29. Without entering into any very minute calculations, I think, after much inquiry and patient inves- ropose rates. tigation made of intelligent kunbis, that in 49- villages in both parganas, the produce of an acre of the best soil, most favourable season,' taking the average of some years’ prices, may be now estimated in this district at about Rs. 3. To the selling kunbi, leaving' entirely out of the ques¬ tion any of the more refined but conflicting European notions of fair proportion of rent said to be fixed and taken on perfect principles, one-third of the profits, as the late able Revenue Com¬ missioner very fairly remarks, cannot be called a very light corn tax. The great uncertainty of the rainy season, failure or excess though met by remissions, must preclude much weight being at tached to any calculations; and whether even the general reduction of assessment may be productive of better or lower prices, as faci¬ lities of market, increased production, consumption or demand, or the reverse, may lead to, 1 shall not intrude on your valuable Note.—The waris of the patels and all the old landed proprietors are gone to ruin, and they may be seem taking up their quarters in a corner thatched in. Numbers who formerly had a horse, camel, or cart are now reduced to the bare necessaries of life. J have seen patels working as common labourers—weeding to such straits are they put. 190 time with any idle speculations on the subject, let the experiment and time proclaim the result. I understand it to be the wish of Government that the Indapur assessment be the ground-work of the surrounding districts, and which is now fulfilling the expecta¬ tions entertained. < 30. On a comparison of prices at ShoMpur and Indfipuf. for 18 years, rejecting the two famine years, Fasli 1234 and 1242, from the Inddpur average, and 1230, 1234, and 1242 from the Sholdpur one, the difference in favour of Sholapur, taking the Indapur rates as the standard, would be nearly 2| annas, added to 12 of Inddpur equal to 14| annas, Sholapur first black per acre ; if Ioanna (which it is short of one rupee) be added, on account of the trifling difference in seer, total one nupee. 31. Whether the’above be the basis or not, I beg earnestly to recommend the new rate of assessment be fixed not higher than the present rates of assessment in the highest taxed of these villages, viz., one rupee per acre for first-class soil; the result of the inquiries made both by-Mr. Stuart and myself I have forwarded to you before ; indeed, all inquiries persuade me that this'should be the maximum, that is 33 percent, higher than Inddpur ; neither do I consider it a light one. But if anything was wanting, the flourishing state of the villages so assessed only is to me the best criterion when compared with the destitute state of most of the others. The inquiries made by Mr. Stuart at Honsal I forwarded at his request. I would also press the many other reasons, scattered through these pages, urging a lighter assessment, leaving to your superior judgment to recommend or modify it to the con¬ firming authorities. Under the supposition that this may meet with approval, I have calculated, as suggested by you, the land revenue of several villages already reclassified. Three of which— of best, average, and poor soil—are shown below, and contrasted with the old assessment Survey Assessment. Largest col¬ Last year’s, Proposed rates at Moil j L Acres. lection since the survey. an average year. Rs. 1 per acre, 1st Black. Es. a. p. Us. a. p. Rs. a. p Rs. a. p. E>s^ Bala ... 2,440 1,971 6 4 1,472 8 0 1,388 3. 11 1,096 11 8 1,775 on acres Sangdari 1,303 670 6 1 459 15" 8 371 7 6 462 5 10 4,664. Average Khair... 921 458 6 0 270 11 5 271 5 3 215 8 5 6 annas per acre. 4,864 3,100 2 5 2,203 3 1 2,031 0 6 1,774 9 11 191 As an estimate of the revenue on the Khalsa land now in cultivation, and also on the arable K balsa land in the whole division, I have carried on this calculation and applied it as below :— \ On present On the whole of Cultivation. the arable Khalsa Acres Acres 128,095. 210,996. Rs. Rs. Jerayet assessment at 6 annas ... 48,035 79,123 Bagayet ditto extra ... ... 2,385 2,885 Sayer Revenue ... 5,380 5,380 Maximum Rental Rupees 56,300 87,388 Rs. Last year’s collection ... ... 77,833 Largest collection since.survey ... 90,397 The great relief to the agricultural population by this slight sacrifice of revenue (if it does not prove an immediate gains to Government) will be more than counterbalanced by waste reclaimed, all those thrown out of cultivation by the survey now reclassified and equalized, and which will be more immediately brought under the plough—the return of many ryots from the neighbouring and Nizam’s villages,* consisting of the more substantial kunbis who can afford to transport their ploughs. One cause of their migration was the facilities of pasturage and water which in a bad season are always scarce here ; but they have been encouraged to remain and settle permanently by Takfivi and light kowls—abundance of good food and better command of markets and sale of their surplus produce without heavy loss; an increase to the present scanty and apparently decreas¬ ing population—according to census (1247 Fash) only 36,000 souls; a renovation of their dilapidated resources generally; and, lastly, an improvement, of revenue not a paper one. These I anticipate as results to be expected; should it not prove so the rates can be still lowered; but you will perceive I bear in, * Whilst at Narkhed the Patel of Baura, a Nizam’s village adjoining, was settling his jainabandi in the town ehauri with our own karkuns; he took that day 400 rupees from the Narkhed kunbis cultivating in his village (this is by no means a rare occurrence), How much more he carried off I could not discover, but he boasted of 600 rupees. The Narkhed rate is very heavy, 15 annas per acre. 192 remembrance the precautions on this point alluded to by the Acting Chief Secretary in the 6th paragraph of his communication to the Revenue Commissioner, No. 4619 of 1838, which is worthy of all consideration, and must ever be borne in mind, involving, as it does, Government interests of such magnitude that it can never be lost sight of. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed)- J. B. BELLASIS, Captain, 9th Regt. N. I., Assistant Revenue Survey. Average Price of Grain in the Sholdpur Bazaar for the last 20 years. Fasli,' Month. Pukka S 1 ru JowdrL eers per pee. B&jri. Remarks. 1230 14 21 No rain. 1231 25 221 1232 45 32 1233 28 20 1234 15£ 13 Partial famine. 1235 30 26 1236 P-l 46 42 1237 ' < • 40 ’ 34 1238 £ 52 48 1239 c3 44 32 1240 44 32 - 1241 § 27 20 1242 13 11 Famine. 1243 bo q 33 28' 1244 27i 21| 1245 C3 ft 26£ 20i 1246 34 23 1247 35 31 1248 31 27 20 years* average. 32 Large seer measuring one-ninth more than Indapur. 210- SHOLA'PUR PARGANA. Collections. Cultivation. Years. Ain Jam&. Sayer Jama. Total. Remis¬ sions. Hakdars. Grand Total. Eevenue Paid. Out¬ standing. Land in Cultiva¬ tion, Waste. Total. Years. Fasli. Es. Es. Es. Rfc Es. Es. Es. Es. Bighas. Bighas. .Bighas, Fasli. 1232... 46,797 5,924 52,721 12,379 65,100 52,126 • 594 92,960 14,798 107,758 1232 1233... 34,889 5,593 40,483 16,323 11,768 68,575 40,001 482 92,662 16,857 109,519 1233 1234... 19,966 4,238 24,205 37,034 7,365 68,605 23,847 355 Famine, 94,354 15,165 109,519 1234 1235... 45,555 5,021 50,575 8,728 12,276 71,580 49,651 923 93,722 15,796 109,519 1235 1236... 49,548 5,021 54,569 5,355 17,139 77,364 51,896 2,672 92,704 16,815 109,519 1236 1237... 26,653 4,653 31,306 27,542 18,010 76,858 30,191 1,114 88,292 21,361 109,654 1237 1238... 45,613 5,021 50,634 7,547 18,247 76,430 46,942 3,692 88,958 20,696 109,654 1238 1239... 26,159 4,491 30,650 24,193 14,660 69,504 27,428 3,222 88,005 21,652 109,657 1239 1240... 34,813 4,055 38,907 15,753 16,208 70,870 35,430 3,477 (Survey.) 91,243 18,414 109,657 1240 1241... 35,198 4,549 39,787 19,631 59,418 35,547 4,240 Scarcity, 85,668 43,740 129,409 1241 1242... 8,265 3,086 11,391 35,644 7,793 54,828 10,996 395 83,105 45,774 128,879 1242 1243... 35,197 4,846 40,083 20,235 60,319 38,204 1,898 89,716 39,787 129,503 1243 1244... 31,951 4,306 36,296 734 19,094 56,124 34,897 1,398 79,765 49,755 129,521 1244 1245... 33,915 4,356 38,311 243 18,573 57,130 37,395 915 82,720 .46,805 129,525 1245 1246... 36,081 4,165 40,286 1,755 18,946 60,989 39,714 571 85,894 43,620 129,515 1243 1247... 32,548 3,102 35,441 6,751 16,829 59,023 33,119 2,322 91,764 37,751 129,515 1247 193 AHIRWA'RI PARGANA, Collections, Cultivation. Years. Ain Jam A Sayer Jama. Total, Remis¬ sions. H&kdars, Grand Total. Revenue Paid. Out¬ standing Land in Cultiva¬ tion. Waste. Total. Years. Fasli. Rs. Rs. Rs, Rs. Rs, Rs, Rs. Rs. Bighas. Bighas. Bighas. Fasli. 1230... 1231... | Not forthcoming. 1232... 35,522 3,449 38,971 3,972 42,944 37,775 1,195 60,672 11,167 71,839 123* 1233... 30,384 3,312 33,696 8,277 4,148 46,122 32,309 1,386 57,958 13,881 71,839 1233 1234... 28,891 2,765 31,656 11,874 3,486 47,360 31,004 652 Famine. 58,005 12,939 70,945 1234 1235... 38,401 3,147 41,549 2,281 4,168 47,999 40,372 1,176 59,065 12,940 70,005 1235 1236... 33,727 3,068 36,795 8,176 7,186 52,159 34,112 2,672 58,770 13,307 72,177 1236 1237... 18,779 1,900 20,680 20,704 7,329 48,714 18,998 1,681 51,290 21,112 72,402 1237 1238... 31,818 2,803 34,621 6,206 7,436 48,294 30,016 4,604 53,549 18,853 7 2; 402 1238 1239... 14,591 2,773 17,364 16,361 6,500 40,226 14,265 3,099 50,183 22,219 72,402 1239 1240... 20,465 2,196 22,691 10,826 7,014 40,532 19,896 2,794 (Survey.) 50,183 22,219 72,402 1240 1241... 21,750 2,570 24,351 7,169 31,520 19,584 4,767 39,057 38,743 77,800 1241 1242... 6,153 1,318 7,502 18*, 310 3,421 29,234 7,381 121 ^Remission made on Beshpande, who was suspended. false report of detected and 37,250 40,560 77,800 1242 1243... 23,638 2,638 26,306 7,438 33,745 25,020 1,386 36,864 40,916 77,780 1243 1244... 22,262 2,252 2,343 24,545 1,091 7,468 33,104 21,982 2,562 36,143 41,696 37,042 77,839 1244 1245... 21,267 23,641 2,000 6,771 30,614 22,838 803 40,799 77,841 1245 1246... 22,875 2,161 25,037 1,281 6,808 33,127 24,924 112 39,332 38,468 77,800 1246 1247... 20,745 1,716 22,471 3,029 6,138 31,629 21,743 717 38,048 39,752 77,800 1247 195 APPENDIX VIII. The Mauritius sugar-cane I only found in two villages grow¬ ing luxuriously. At Arj unsonde the patel, Umrat Row, an intelli¬ gent man, had taken some pains at great expense to give it a fair trial, whilst his neighbours from prejudice had rejected it. He had also procured a man from Bhum to instruct him in the Bengal operations of refining, &c., and appears to have succeeded wonder¬ fully well, and is deserving of all encouragement, considering the difficulty of persuading Natives to attempt works of this nature as a mere speculation, which is great indeed. There, then, is a most desirable and excellent opportunity of effecting an important object; and should this person be speedily furnished with an iron mall, and a liberal advance of cash for wells, I have no doubt it would soon be extended over the district: all the assistance or encouragement that he has ever received was a pugree I I was struck at the con¬ trast whilst reading a Herts’ report: “a farmer of Herts had£100 per annum conferred on him to encourage him to introduce turnips and clover into England ”—a large sum in those days. I hope you will be enabled to bring the patel’s case to the notice of those in¬ terested in Bombay. From 5 to 700 rupees I would recommend, for which he will engage to sink wells and also supply cuttings to all applicants gratis. I have given Umrat Row all the assistance in my power and the instructions from the Horticultural Report regarding refining and crystallizing drawn up by Dr. Gibson. I trust you will deem the above as a highly beneficial measure to both country and revenue. Potatoes.—I have seen some very fine specimens of these from 4 villages surrounding the Kasba and in 4 out of 12 villages where I distributed seed and saw it sown, having been kindly supplied by the Assistant Collector, Mr. Stewart, a gentleman who takes much interest in any importance. Notwithstanding the great neglect and inattention with which they were all treated, in every instance they succeeded. It appears from the most careful trials in England that pota¬ toes will produce from 10 to 13 tons weight of food per statute acre, and the enormous crop 670 bushels, 80 lbs. each, has been raised with care from a single acre. In times of scarcity, so frequent in these parts, two crops might be raised ; whilst waiting for those of grain, other articles of food might be most effectually supplied by them. Much public consequence must, therefore, be attached to this branch of agriculture. o . • 196 The same remarks I have taken the liberty to make regarding / rewards and stimulating the cane cultivation apply here : a reward / of 3 or 4 rupees to a kunbi barely covers the expense of manure, weeding, &c., for one trial. Cotton and the mulberry have failed here merely for want of pecuniary encouragement; and considering the importance of ensur¬ ing success attending every first endeavour at introducing new and valuable products, it is greatly to be regretted, and renders subse¬ quent attempts doubly arduous. From a perusal of the country reports the operations of drain¬ ing, weeding, manuring, and top-dressing, which appear at home to be simply and efficaciously performed by the small land-holders, are here almost unknown, though it is not unusual to see, in the poorest villages, banks and embankments constructed at a considerable. labour and expense; yet in preventing their best land being injured and impoverished by the numbers of perennial weeds, or by adopt¬ ing rotations in which particular crops shall predominate as the means of ensuring their destruction, they seem almost quite unac¬ quainted ; these are sometimes so interwoven in the soil where it has been negligently cultivated as to form a perfect matting. The kunda, a species of couch grass, is one of the cultivators’ greatest banes; yet if collected and burnt, or deposited in a heap and mixed with a little lime, it would become the basis of an excellent com¬ post, and a pernicious nuisance might be converted into an excellent manure. The burnt kankar, marl, sand-refuse of oil plants, urine of cattle, the saline deposits so common in swampy nullas, the hemp water, chalky earths, scourings of ditches, night-soil, old leather, hair, and rags, river mud, and ashes are some of the chie^ingredients ' commonly found in the vicinity of every village where they lay neglected and unavailable. The introduction of carts (rarely seen in these parts) would be a boon to many, who anxiously wish for them if on very easy terms of payment; this measure will greatly facilitate the ryots in their intercourse with neighbouring markets, and also induce them to clear the roads. Draining the sub-soils, which absorb and retain a superabundant quantity of rain which is prevented percolating in heavy monsoons to the utter destruction of fine crops, appears another measure that might be very benefici¬ ally introduced either by the plough or pit draining. A great de¬ sideratum is a small code containing hints of agricultural matters ; true, there are very few who could benefit themselves by it, but surely much might be effected by a well-managed elementary edu¬ cation and at a trifling expenditure towards a superior system of tillage alone, to say nothing of their moral culture. 197 I havo not met with a single school in these districts. It will be seen in Appendix No. VI., tables of Mkdars, that the shetsandis in- the two parganas amount to 134, holding 4,686 Khalsa acres of Government, in lieu of services and rated by the last survey at Es. 3,085. This establishment seems to require re¬ forming. In Sholapur there are but 4, in Walsang 8, in Bandar- kduta 15 ! Some have thus more than required, others not sufficient, and in 15 villages there are none. Some are old men, some boys, and all subsist in a great measure on the charity (dharm penda) of the miserable kunbi, thereby diminishing the means of his paying his rent. Some have one nautank, some two. Their duties are various and responsible ; and if in lieu of, their Government land they received a small monthly money payment, say Es. 3, their duties as village police, &c., would be much more efficiently per¬ formed, and the Government land better tilled in other hands. One more point remains for me to notice, which is the Deshmukhs and Deshpandes being still permitted to levy Pend£wal or any Mk in kind, which is open to all kinds of abuse and merits immediate at¬ tention. The state of all the village chauries has been examined, also wells requiring repair, advances, and grants of money, and the same brought to the notice of the Acting Collector. The Baluti and Mohta'rfa taxes bear very heavily and un¬ equally on the payers and are subjects of great complaint. EEPOET ON THE MANDEUP PAEGANA. 1. This pargana is in the Sholapur Zillah, and lies between 75° 40'and 76° East Longitude, and 17° 20' and 17° 35' North Latitude, tnd is bounded on the north by the taluka of Mohol : the rivers Bhima and Sina form its western, southern, and eastern boundaries : across the Sina on the east lie the Sholapur Taluka, the pargana of Ahirwari, and the Akalkot Eaja’s territory l across the Bhima on the west and south-west there is a strip of land belonging to the Patwardhan family, and beyond this again stretches the territory of the Satara Eaja, coming up to and forming the bank of the Bhima on the south till its junction with the Sina. 2. The greatest length of the pargana measuring from north-west to south-west is about 23 miles, and its greatest breadth 18. miles. It is composed of 40 villages of this one is a Dumila of the Nipanikar, and two belong to the ShoMpur Taluka, but for convenience are. placed under the Mahdlkari of Mandrup, and, in fact, may be considered to be part of the par- 198 gana itself. The total area of the Government villages is 133,613 British acres, and of the Dum&la village of Aurad 4,857 acres, total 138,470 British acres. 3. The face of the country is in general flat, particularly on the bank of the Sina; in some part of the upper end of the district the ground is more uneven and also very rocky; but with this exception and that of a few risings here and there about the centre, the whole extent of the land may be put down as of a black quality. Commencing at K&mthi Khurd {vide the accom¬ panying sketch map) and going down the Sina to Kudal, 13 villages in all, the land is really beautiful; with the exception of little patches of Gairan the greater part is a deep black mould : the land of Kdmthi Budruk, Gunjegaon, Jamgaon, Watwate, Barrur, and Malkd,uta is not good. Kandalgaon, Antroli, Yelegaon, Mandrup and Ntindni having among good soil some very inferior. Wadipur has a ridge of rocky ground ; with these exceptions, commencing at Miri and going down the Bhima to the village above mentioned, Kudal, the land is on the Sina side excellent; this includes Vinchur and Nimbargi. Most of the villages are in a sadly dilapidated condition; the walls in some places are merely small unconnected pieces of mud, and in others the old site only is pointed out. Yelegaon is the only village at which any attempt has been made to re-build the wall; the Patel, Bhimgound walad Jagdeo, has induced the people to build a certain portion each. I mention him in the hope that, as he deserves great praise, Government will deem him deserving of its favourable notice; a small present would, I am persuaded, be attended with very beneficial effects, for at present the village officers are quite apathetic and indifferent. Through the kindness of the late Acting Collector of Sholdpur, Mr. Phillips Stewart, in advancing me money for the purpose, I liave been able to arrange for the building of a chauri in 25 villages; these will be a great comfort to the people and also to the Government servants who may have to proceed on duty to the village ; hitherto they have been much inconvenienced for want of a place to put up in. 5. Many villages have-streams with water in them through¬ out the year; in many cases no advantage is taken of them now, while the ruins of places for raising the water are visible in several directions. I fear it will be some time before these nullas are again made use of, probably, not until the villagers have acquired a little capital through the instrumentality of a low assessment. The village wells require something being done to them; great distress is experienced for want of.water for man. and beast. At Ndndni during the last season the villagers wei'c reduced to such 199 a atate that the water of the solitary and out-of-repair village well was divided among them daily j some rain fell much earlier than usual, and thus extreme misery was averted. 6. No use whatever for the purposes of irrigation is made of the two rivers which enclose the pargana on three sides : one reason (and a good one) given by the Natives is, that during the monsoon the rivers rise so high, and become so impetuous in their flow, that nothing they could build for drawing water would be able also to stand. . Another reason, and I imagine the more cogent one, with them, is, that he who makes use of river water for irrigation excepting by a path or water-course will be childless. Misfortune will certainly attend the unhappy wight who should venture to pollute the stream by raising water by a moth in conse¬ quence of its being leather! In illustration of the fact my attention was drawn to Aurungzebe’s encampment at Brahm&puri, a few miles from the village where the conversation occurred; this monarch had built places for raising the water from the Bhima, and what, it was triumphantly asked, were the consequences ? Was not the whole army washed away ? 7. The two principal roads are the Bijdpur and Rd,j£pur; coming from ShoUpur they traverse the pargana} the former through W£ngi, M^ndrup, and Tdkli; the latter crossing the Sina at Pdthri (of Pargana ShoUpur) through Gunjegaon and Miri. A few rupees would suffice to put the nullas that now injure them into good order and passable for carts, but the soil is of so heavy and black a description that it would cost a very large sum to make these roads so that they would remain in good condition during wet weather. Surrounded as the district is by water on three sides, there are, of course, many fords, and all require seine money to be expended upon them. The principal ones are those of W&ngi, Honmargi, T£kli, Bandarkduta and Miri; to these may be added that of Pdthri of the Sholdpur Pargana. 8. Education is in its lowest ebb in this district. Very few persons can read and write, many of the kulkarnis are obliged to engage some one more learned than themselves to perform their duties. In many instances the duties of several villages are undertaken by one such individual; this cannot but cause the greatest inconvenience to the public and village service. As a sample of the careless manner in which the kulkarnis’ business is conducted and the village records preserved, I beg to refer to Appendix II. I endeavoured to ascertain the amount of the revenue of each village for a period of 20 years; in this table where the columns are blank there are no accounts forthcoming for 200 those years f Now I think such a state of affairs could hardly exist if the kulkarnis were efficient men, and this they cannot be without education. The number of schools is as follows :— . . At Kasbe Mandrup two, Wdngi one, Talegaon one, Aunj one, Biirur one, Vinchur one, Kdmthi Khurd one, Bandarkdtua two, Nimbargi one, total eleven ; these are supported entirely by the villagers. The Dumala village, Aurad, also has a school. 9. I commenced measuring operations at the beginning of last November, and classifying, about a month afterwards- I have found the old survey measurements, upon the whole, very good; in¬ deed as good as could be expected or obtainedonly a very few “numbers” have been discovered where there evidently had been rascality. When the measurements of some numbers differ widely from what was marked down in the old records, the cause' of the difference was generally found by measuring the adjoining fields ; and it was only, as above-stated, in a few cases,, that it was clear from the measurements of the surrounding numbers being correct, and the suspected numbers far exceeding, what was in the village paper, that there had been fraud. 10. But although the gross contents of the numbers were in the old survey generally correctly computed and recorded, I have found that there was a great opening for rascality, and of which advantage was not omitted to be taken in what was denominated the Khardb or unculturable portion of the numbers. There have been made deductions under this head from the acres of fields where there is no unculturable ground. Mr. Pringle in his report to Gov¬ ernment of 6th September 1828, in paragraph 167, mentions that he occasionally caused experiments to be made, for the verification of the Native surveyor’s work, by the surveyors from the Engi¬ neer Institution. These were performed by trigonometrical com¬ putation of the acres of the villages, and the result was always highly satisfactory in its confirmation of the work of the Brahmins, the variation from which is seldom greater than might be expected from the difference in the mode of surveying. Probably some of the Mandrup villages were in like manner tested, and the conclu¬ sion arrived at was that the kdrkuns had faithfully performed their duty. As far as my examination extended, I was so convinc¬ ed of this, that I did not at first see the necessity of re-measuring many of the villages, only those indeed where the original measure¬ ments had been rendered of no longer use by the cultivators encroaching upon the waste-land and otherwise destroying the boundaries ; however by degrees I have discovered the fraud above- mentioned regarding the Khardb, and I now see there exists an abso¬ lute necessity that the numbers of every village which has not been re-measured should be carefully examined, and the Khardb, 201 where there is any measured. The Tarams (classifiers) have been strictly enjoined to pay particular attention to this head, and I have kept them constantly on the alert about.it. Perhaps I may be permitted to pass my opinion as to the adoption of acres and“guntas and the rejection of the antiquated bighas, &c., by the late and present surveys. I cannot agree with Captain Shortrede who, in the 100th paragraph of his report to Government, dated 24th October 1835, appears to think that the survey measurements occasioned a decrease of cultivation. The measurement is most frequently in favour of the cultivator, and can hardly be said to be the basis of the assessment; it must have a good deal to do with what a kunbi pays to Government; but the basis of the late assessment, as well as of the present, is, I con¬ ceive, the soil itself, and the kunbi pays more or less according to the quantity of the soil, the assessment being made on its quality. With regard to the survey measurements being imper¬ fectly understood by the people, the same objection applies equally to the Mamul or any other system. Colonel Sykes in his statis¬ tical report truly says that the Hindu denominations under which land is assessed, demonstrate by their variety and absurdity a*n oiitre bizarr'eness that could scarcely have been looked for in a people reputedly simple and uniform in their opinions and econo¬ mies. He also considers (alluding, I imagine, to the late survey) that a Revenue Survey was imperatively called for under the indefinite Hindu land denominations, to 'enable a Collector, to regulate his assessment with a shadow of equality. A glance at his tabular view of these denominations in his 6th Section would con¬ vince, one would think, the most enamoured of the Native system of the correctness of his opinion. It is but fair, however, briefly to recall to the remembrance of Government the substance of what Major Robertson in the letter mentioned in the margin states on this same head, viz., that what are termed measures of land in the Deccan, such as the Khandi, Ruka, Pysa, &c., are measures of the powers of the soil and not of superficial extent: that it is im¬ possible but the local measures of land should vary in size in almost every field, since a field of good soil whose measured extent is only one-half that of another, whose powers of production are only half so great, would have the very same denomination or exponent of its powers as the other field, for the reason that the net produce of both is the same. If the small field wjere called a Khandi so should the larger, if the one were a bigha (not a measured bigha) so must the other be a bigha, and so must every other portion of land, let its measured extent be greater or less or equal, in that village yielding exactly the same measure of net produce. Major Robertson adds that he has repeatedly and care¬ fully examined these measures as what they are, and their extreme b 210—g 202 accuracy in disclosing the relative capabilities of the various soils of a village is, in- his judgment, indisputable. The only measure Avhich is quite uniform is the Saehahi bigha; it formed the stand¬ ard for the Kamd.1 assessment and never fluctuates; it is totally distinct from the bigha of production mentioned above. Notwith¬ standing what Major Robertson has advanced, I cannot but view the adoption of the unvarying acre as a measure of no mean value. That there was much mismeasurement under the late survey, cannot be denied, but not to that extent (I speak of Mandrup Par- gana) as totally to vitiate the assessment, had the classification of the soil been correct. 12. Little need be said on the classification; it would occupy far too much space and time to point out its defects. Government is doubtless already fully satisfied that the real capabilities, powers, and qualities of the soil have had but little weight in determining the class under which the fields should be entered. 13. The boundaries (or rather the want of them) have been to me an increasing source of annoyance: orders after orders have been sent to the Patels, &c., of all villages, but they have met with little or no attention. The excuse given is, that there never have been any boundaries to the numbers, and so it appears ; nevertheless it is truly astonishing how accurately the limits are pointed out on a level plain, either cultivated or uncultivated : it seems as if this was done at random, but, on measuring, the result satisfactorily proves that the patels and others know what they are about. By the same token it is clear to my mind that in al¬ most every case of boundary disputes, whether between the fields of a village or between village and village, one or both parties are guilty of gross and wanton falsehoods ifi the hope of gaining some more land. 14. I have mentioned that I have seen no necessity to entirely remeasure some villages. I may add that this is generally the case with those which are almost wholly under cultivation. Tn consequence of the land on the Sina being superb, and many kunbis from its eastern side coming across to cultivate, there is very Tittle waste land on which to encroach, and each cultivator has taken good care of his quantum (although there are no boun¬ daries). Of many of these villages only a few numbers have been remeasured for a test; but it has often been necessary to measure others, because, on account of the absence of boundaries, the disputes among the cultivators are numerous; each fancies or pretends to fancy that his neighbour has encroached upon him, and although on measuring it is clear that the disputants have their proper share of land, and that their mutual accusations are groundless, yet these quarrels will be endless, unless the owAers 203 of the fields are compelled to make boundaries. With a few exceptions total disregard has been paid to the numerous orders given on this subject for months past, and a very serious inconveni ence to me has resulted therefrom ; for in many villages, when I proceeded to test the measurement of my kirkuns, I have often been quite at a loss to ascertain whether they and I measured exactly the same piece of ground and frequently when there has been the greatest difference I referred to them to ascertain the cause, and they had always the answer ready that there were no boundaries, that they had obeyed my orders by putting stones or other marks at certain distances all round the space they measured, but that the villagers will not complete the work by making the boundary, which is easily done either by a ridge of earth or by putting larger stones. The kunbis object to plant trees on the boundaries as marks ; they say they collect the birds, and I also found that where trees are on or near a boundary, they are a fruitful source of contention between the owners of the adjoining fields. • . - 15. The boundary disputes between the villages are also very numerous, and have existed for many years ; in some cases the disputed ground is under cultivation and in others it is waste. If a settlement could be made, it would be, no doubt, of great advan¬ tage to all parties, to the cultivators themselves, to the village officers, and to the Government, but I do not think they are worth the expense of a commission being especially appointed for such a measure 1 In many instances the disputes have been settled two or three times, and the papers are forthcoming; but each party refuses to abide by the papers which the other party produces. It seems to.be a hopeless business altogether, and any settlement now made would probably last but a few years. 16. The people of this district are very much impoverished, and nothing will tend so much to ameliorate this condition as a light assessment. With poverty co-exists ignorance, and these combined lead to violence developing itself in gang robberies and murders, from which atrocities the Mandrup Pargana unhappily is not exempt. For want of wealth nearly the whole population is compelled to have recourse to agriculture; but from an oppres¬ sive land-tax the hand of industry is paralysed, and the kunbis are prevented making those improvements from which much enjoyment and happiness as well as pecuniary- recompense would proceed. They are thus reduced to live on the lowest description of food, their standard of comfort being almost confined to a sufficiency of it; being the worst housed, fed, and clothed of'any people in the world perhaps, there is no demand for those- trades and manufactures which generate and support a respectable middle- 204 class population; this state of poverty and wretchedness of the cultivators is gradually undermining the comforts of the class above them, and bids fair to involve all in the same common ruin, for by their low standard of comfort they are the main instruments for bringing down all others to their own miserable standard. In a late address to the Irish people from upwards of a hundred Working Men’s Associations in England, Scotland, and Wales, I was so struck with the applicability to the people of India of much therein stated, that I have not hesitated, in penning this paragraph to borrow from it, because with local modifications it applies strictly to the subject on hand, and exhibits attention to facts and the knowledge of applying them. 17. It is painful to observe the expedients adopted by the ryots, evidently with the intention of alleviating themselves from severe pressure of as disproportionate an assessment as the one now to pass away. Government at one' time exempted all lands with cotton from the tax ; immediately a large quantity of ground was sown, but from the miserable crops I have seen I cannot but think that the ryots entertained no idea of getting a suitable re¬ turn ; the tax was more than they could endure, they were fast being ruined; those few whose doom was not already sealed,- were glad to catch at any straw that would afford them temporary relief and enable them to retain their lands. The same remarks apply to the giving out of land on ukti rates ; the moment such a measure is proposed, men, who have two or three or at utmost four bullocks, by no means sufficient for the land they are already holding, immediately seize upon the opportunity thus presented to them, and apparently recklessly take up land which has been lying waste many a year, and which will require immense labour and expense to bring into condition. Their object appears to be to get a certain quantity of land on low rates, so as to equalize in some measure the excessive tax they are paying for their present holding. 18. It has been said (by Major-General Briggs) that the moderate rent or tax so unceasingly ordered by the Court of Di¬ rectors in almost every despatch on the land revenue of India, and so strictly enjoined by all the Governments, is an object of visionary attainment: that such has been hitherto the case in the Deccan cannot be denied, but I would fain hope that this will no longer be the melancholy fact, but that the dawn of a period of ease and comfort, brought into' existence by a new assessment, is now break¬ ing upon the tax-ground-down population of this extensive portion of the British dominions in Hindustan. It was the conviction of the absolute necessity of such a work as this on which l am engag¬ ed, together with the manifestly impoverished condition of the 205 people, which enabled me to prosecute my labour so earnestly as I have done; for had I confined my view to the actual treatment I receive at their hands, I should soon have grown weary in well-doing. 19. At one time I thought the new rates of assessment should he the same as those of the adjoining district of Mohol, which, I understand, are recommended to he 10 per cent higher than those of Indapur; but further experience and intercourse among the people lead me to propose a still higher rate, viz., 15 per cent on the Indapur. Great advantage is enjoyed by the great proximity of many of the Mandrup villages to the market ^town of Shol&pur. I have frequently experienced the greatest difficulty in procuring forage, as the ryots prefer taking karba to Sholapur, where they sold it at an enormous profit: the villages on the Bhima enjoyed to a certain extent a similar advantage. Government has already declared that every day and hour must be deprecated which, by delaying a new revision, subject the ryots to a continuation of the miseries of a heavy and unequal assessment ; it, therefore, affords me extreme satisfaction to report that, with the exception of two whole villages and half of two others (which may be reckoned as three entire villages), and which must stand over until after the monsoon, the field work of the remaining 35 has now been brought to a conclusion, and if the rate proposed by me meets with the approbation and satisfaction of Government, I shall be able during the rains to get ready all the calculation, so that they may come into operation at the next Jamdbandi. 20. The bagayet rates of several maids were remodelled a few years ago by a Panchdet, but I have utterly failed in my endeavours to procure the proceedings. The survey acres were turned into bighas, and, as well as I can ascertain, the rate fixed at Rs. 3 per bigha ; the bigha was as near as possible three-fourths of an acre', so that the Panchiet rate may be called Rs. 4 per acre. I think this too high, but I am not prepared to say what I would recommend. I cannot learn from the people what they think of it; if it is not too heavy a rate, they will not commit themselves by saying so. 21. In some of the central villages there is a good deal of bagayet cultivation, but it might be carried to much greater extent; several wells are now useless, being chocked upVith mud, &c. It is to be regretted that when the Panch&et was engaged in fixing a lighter bagayet rate than that of the survey, its labours were not extended to all those villages where there was bagayet cultivation, instead of to only a few maids. 22. In 1246 Fasli (1236-37 a.d.) the then Principal Col¬ lector, Mr. Miles, allowed a few maids of Kasha Mandrup to be taken for a certain term of years at a still further reduced rate 206 than that of the Panehaet, under proviso that the occupants were to repair the wells. Three years have now elapsed, and Appendix III. will show how faithfully the occupants have acted up to their agreement. My opinion is, that those who have not fulfilled the terms of the engagement should forthwith be ejected. 23. In recommending a certain rate for this pargana, I beg to - observe that I have based it entirely on that of Indapur, which has been particularly proved to be just and equitable. I have not entered into any calculations regarding the expenses of cultivation, produce, &c., because I do not feel myself sufficiently experienced in these matters : I might easily be deceived or mis¬ led ; and, therefore, as any such calculations would, in my own opinion, be valueless,' I would not presume to offer them to Govern¬ ment. Independent, too, of this, I find that the Junior Principal Collector of Poona, Mr. Gibern, states that with regard to the share paid by the ryots generally of the. gross and net produce, many practical experiments have been made, and so unsatisfactory is the result on this subject that there are scarcely to be found two persons of the same opinion. Also the Principal Collector of Ahmednagar speaks of the cost of production and the amount of the produce as facts of a very unreliable description anywhere- and by any person even after long experience. 24. I avail myself of the present opportunity of commenting upon a few circumstances which have come under my notice. In doing so I must necessarily touch on many points that are not, perhaps, within my province ; if so, I trust Government will not misattribute my motives. I naturally feel a great anxiety in the welfare of a district in which I have expended so much labour and time : the majority of the people have never seen a European, and I believe that with a very few exceptions the villages, although so near to Shol£pur, have never been, entered by an Englishman before myself. I, therefore, in some measure consider it incumbent on me to state what I know, particularly, too, as the late Assistant Collector, Mr. Stewart, in his anxiety to benefit the ryots to the utmost of his power, requested me on more than one occasion to inform him of anything and everything worthy of notice, although out of the sphere of my duties. 25. A great irregularity exists in the practice of the village officers not residing in their own villages but in one at some dis¬ tance : for example, the Patel of Mfilkauthd lives at Barur, six miles off; that of Chinchpur at Nandni, upwards of four miles off; the Kulkarni of Bandagi at Aunj, upwards of nine miles off ; the Patel of Jamgaon is generally to be found at Begampur,— miles distant. This must cause frequent inconvenience ; besides, if. these officers are not present in their proper village, except 207 when sent for, or the occurrence of something recalls them, who is to see after the affairs of the village ? Doubtless many circum¬ stances which should be reported, pass unnoticed and unknown. 26. Another fact requiring mention is one of a most injuri¬ ous character to the hard-worked Balotidars, viz., the very few cultivators who reside in the village the land of which they cultivate.; the consequence is, the Mhars and Balotidars are robbed and cheated of their fair share of balot: the cultivator removes the produce of his land to the village where he lives, and then, of course, the Balotidar experiences greater difficulty in obtaining his right than if the cultivator remained in the same village with himself. This difficulty is greatly increased when, as in the case of the dis¬ trict on which I am reporting, the cultivator lives across the river where the villages do not belong to the British, and where he can put the Balotidars to defiance. . This custom of non-residence necessarily increases the Patel’s difficulty in collecting the revenue. Having stated this grievance of the Balotidar and entailment of extra work on the Patel, a very few words suffice to mention the remedy I would suggest, and that is that no man be allowed to occupy land who does not live in the village to which the land belongs. In the instance of individuals who cultivate extensively, and have land in neighbouring villages, an exception might be made. This remedy would also have the effect of re-building the villages now lying in ruins, nor do I think it can be considered objectionable in that it would cause many kunbis to throw up their land; if it did it would be merely temporarily. The land of this pargana is generally so excellent, that most would perfer remov¬ ing to the village to throwing up their holding. Another benefit would also, I think, be derived from it in the superior cultivation which would ensue ; the occupier, from having his land near at hand and under his own eye, would pay more attention to it. 27. All the villages have not shetsandis (sepoys), and many which have, require more ; again, sometimes more than are neces¬ sary, to wit, Bandarkauta, which has 15, No village should be without one, and, if possible, there should be two. Circumstances or the locality of the villages should be taken into consideration in determining the number. In Appendix IV. I have distributed the present estimate of shetsandis according to what appears most judicious from my knowledge of the wants and positions of the villages : this list may, perhaps, be of use should a remodelment . of the shetsandi system be deemed advisable or desirable. 28. The Deshmukhs and Deshpandes and village officers of this pargana appear to have been exceedingly hardly treated at the late survey. In other districts in lieu of hales in£m was assigned to them, but, strange to say, with one or two exceptions in the two 208 first-named classes of officers, no such in dm has been given them here. The greatest dissatisfaction and discontent exists, particularly among the Patels and Kulkarnis. They complain bitterly, and with reason, of the deprivation of rights to which they have been subjected. I have made careful inquiry, and I cannot find that the above alluded to indm (denominated Kambarti) has in any case been granted; in lieu of the gugri only do they seem. to have received any equivalent, and that was a trifling addition to their present average on the jamd. The exceeding high rates of assessment have thrown the lands of numerous villages out of culti¬ vation and rendered them a howling wilderness, so that the jamas have been very small, and the unfortunate village officers starve upon the paltry sums of 4, 5, 6, or 8 rupees per annum for all their work ; at the same time they are liable, on account of negli¬ gence or misconduct, to a fine, perhaps, double or treble their annual income. Appendix V. will show the Mushaira of the Patel and Kulkarni of each village for last year. 29. The Ballota and Mohtarfa taxes are in many instances exceedingly heavy, and call loudly for a revision. Appendix VI. exhibits these taxes of every village in the pargana where they are levied. In some cases they are so exorbitant and unreasonable that ho one will incur them, so that the table contains merely those which were actually levied during the past year. The cultivators complain that, while the survey and assessment operations are going on, they have not the same services of the Mhars and Ba- lotidars as at other times, and make this an excuse for not giving the proper proportion of balota or for withholding it altogether. It must be acknowledged that the kunbis have some reason on their side, and it appears to me worthy of consideration whether the Mhars and Balotidars should not be exempted from the tax for such a portion of their time as Government makes use of them in carrying on the survey in their village. The case of the Mhars is particularly deserving of some such exemption, because they are constantly employed in carrying letters, &c., and the tax taken from them by Government is avowedly in lieu of service. 30. The utter absence of medical aid is a subject that has specially forced itself upon my attention. Multiplied and melan¬ choly instances of sickness and death have fallen under my. notice during my peregrination in the jungles, and it is really appalling to reflect how much disease and misery exist among the poor Natives. They have no person of medical skill to apply to, and those of their countrymen to whom they have recourse are the veriest quacks, whose ignorance only aggravates what they pretend to prescribe for. I beg respectfully to suggest that a qualified Native practi¬ tioner be fixed at the centrical village of Mandrup, with directions to 209 travel about the district periodically and report accordingly. I feel less hesitation in making this suggestion than I otherwise should do, from the belief that the welfare of the millions placed by Pro¬ vidence under the British. Government is now more the object of its solicitude than in the dark days of bygone years. 31. My report would be incomplete did I not, before conclud¬ ing, briefly dwell upon the extreme annoyances I and my establish¬ ment have been exposed to from the people of the district during our operations. In some cases they have been of a nature more in¬ sulting to me than I could have expected from persons who readily admitted the value of and were loud in’their expressions of gratitude for the labours that, as the executive oflicer of the Government, I was both personally undertaking and superintending on their be¬ half. These annoyances, too, have been highly detrimental to the progress of the work. I have been singularly situated in as far as there was no civil officer in the district to whom I could on the moment apply. The Natives very soon discovered I had no authority, and the trouble they gave me and impediments they threw in my way increased : I was quite at a loss what to do. I spoke to the Acting Collector, Mr. Stewart, who told me to send the cases to him. I accordingly sent a few, but was obliged to discontinue, partly because they were so numerous that I felt sure they would cause great interruption to Mr. Stewart’s other duties, and partly on account of the extreme delay and inconvenience which arose from the kdrkuns of my establishment being ^obliged to proceed to ShoMpur. If the number of days the several kdrkuns were away from their work on account of the few cases I forwarded, were added together, they would amount to 4 months. This is a great deal when it is considered that the working season is barely 9 months altogether, and also that the cases were of a trifling nature, such as the villagers refusing to allow the k&rkuns to measure certain fields, or else taking up the signal stones and removing them to another spot as soon as the karkuns proceeded to measure, or else taking up and throwing aside the boundary stones they put down, &c. These appear to be circumstances utterly mi- worthy of notice ; but it must be remembered that several days’ delay occur during the karkun’s reporting the case and receiving my reply what to do, and also if allowed to pass unnoticed they multiply, for those persons acquainted with the character of the Natives will admit that none are so ready to exceed all bounds if allowed .the least latitude. GEORGE HENRY ROBERTSON, Ensign, ' Assist. Supt., Revenue Survey and Assessment in Mandrup. Camp near Poona, 1st August 1840. B—210 A 210 No. G3 of 1840. To G. BLANE, Esquire, First Assistant Collector in charge, Sholapur. Sir, I have the honour to transmit reports by Captain Bellasis and Lieutenant Bobertson, proposing rates of assessment for the divisions of the Sholdpur Taluka in which the present Revenue Survey operations were conducted under their superintendence. These reports were received by me so long ago as last monsoon; but, finding it would be impossible to introduce the revised assess¬ ment at the present Jamdbandi, there remained no object to be gained by laying them at once before Government; and I thought it every way preferable, to await a decision in the case of the Mohol and Mddha Talukas before submitting further proposals for any of the districts of this collectorate ; and having now com¬ pleted the introduction of the new rates in the districts just mentioned, and had opportunities of observing their immediate effects, I feel myself enabled to speak with more confidence of the results to be anticipated from the extension of similar settlements to other quarters. 2. The accompanying reports will be found to contain ample information regarding the soils, climate, and circumstances of the Sholdpur Taluka, and I have only occasion to observe that these, in all essential respects, are the same in the adjoining dis¬ tricts of Mohol and Madha. One great advantage, however, possessed by this taluka is the market of Shohipur, and to this we may safely ascribe the fact of its revenue and cultivation having, under our management, been less subject to the extremes of fluctuation and depression so remarkable in other districts. . 3. Notwithstanding, however, the fact of the present revenue and cultivation being fully equal to the average of past years, there is yet no want of convincing evidence to show that the pre¬ sent state of this district is far from being one of prosperity, and that the condition of the cultivators has become seriously deter¬ iorated during the course of our administration, and this, too, in despite of the extensive and flourishing market of Sholdpur, where the demand for agricultural produce is now greater than it ever was in the times of our immediate predecessors. For de¬ tails on the subject of these remarks I beg to refer you to the accompanying reports ; but may here observe that my own tours through the districts have fully satisfied me as to the utter absence of activity or enterprize among the cultivators, and the generally 211 wretched state of the villages, and husbandry—circumstances the more remarkable from the favoured position of the district in other respects. 4. That this state of things is chiefly owing to an excessive land tax, I feel convinced, from reflection on the subject and still more from observation, of the happy results which have imme¬ diately followed a reduction in every .one of the districts hitherto settled. In a climate so subject to drought as that of the Deccan, it will probably be found impracticable to avert entirely the ne¬ cessity of annual remissions, at least until Bagayet cultivation is greatly, more extended and the condition of the cultivators ruuch improved; but it is only necessary to inspect the table given in a subsequent page, and rate the large amount of annual remissions and outstanding balances, averaging 20 per cent of the land re¬ venue, to be convinced of the present assessment being grievously disproportioned to the means of the cultivators; and, in illustra¬ tion of the opposite effects of heavy and light assessment, it would be difficult to give a more forcible example than is furnished by the villages of Ulha and Honsal in the Sholdpur Pargana, describ¬ ed in the 24th and 25th paras, of Captain Bellasis’ report. 5. These two villages adjoin one another, and the quality of their lands is much alike, but by one of the caprices of the survey classification the rates of one village are about double those of the other. The heavily-assessed village which Captain Bellasis him¬ self well recollects as flourishing and populous a few years back, is now, he says, next to deserted, the shops are removed, all the trees “ have disappeared, and the place is in ruins,” while, great part of the land lies waste, the revenue has declined to not much more than a half of its former amount, and an enormous balance has accumulated on the unfortunate villagers. Contrasted with this, the lightly-assessed village of Honsal,. “ where nearly “ the whole arable land is under the plough, the revenue improv- “ ing, and Rs. 80 only outstanding, while the amount of remission “ given during the last 7 years does not exceed Rs. 100.” And in further proof of the importance of a moderate assessment, I beg to instance the district of Inddpur, which has enjoyed for some years the benefits of the new settlement, and where the remissions given in the present unfavourable season have been little more than nominal, being about 3,000 rupees in a revenue of 75,000 rupees, while the latter sum is much in excess of the average col¬ lections of the years preceding the revised settlement. From theory then, and actual observation of the effects of moderate and heavy assessments I am equally led to conclude that the present stationary, if not declining, condition of the Sholapur Taluka is chiefly, if not solely, due to the weight of its land tax. 212 6. Trusting to have satisfactorily established the necessity of a reduction, I shall now endeavour to show to what extent this should be effected, with reference to the standards already estab¬ lished in the settlement of other districts. Captain Bellasis, in his 29 th and following paragraphs, gives his reasons for proposing an increase of 33 per cent on the Indapur rates for ShoMpur, - or to make the rate in the latter district 1 rupee per acre for the best description of soil. I am inclined to agree with him in this opinion. From the table of prices given in my report upon Mohol and Md,dha, it appears that, taking Ind&pur as a standard, the selling price of grain in the ShoMpur bazaar has been about 35 per cent better than in Inddpur during the last five years. The bazaar price at ShoMpur is, however, considerably - higher than the average price in the villages of the district, from this town being the single market for the whole produce, of the ' taluka (which is not the case with Inddpur), and this circum¬ stance will make the price at ShoMpur 10 per cent, at least, higher than in the district generally. The prices of the Mohol District agree very nearly with those of Ind&pur, and, consequently, vary to the same extent from those of ShoMpur ; and I estimate that the cultivator in the Mdmlatddr’s division of the latter talu¬ ka can ordinarily obtain about 25 per cent better prices than those of the two former districts. He also possesses consider¬ able advantages over the ryots of distant districts in the facilities afforded for the disposal of the more bulky portion of his produce, and the purchase of clothes, spices, and other articles for domestic consumption at the ShoMpur bazaar. He has, however, to pay a higher price for his salt than the inhabitants of Mohol and Indapur, which lie nearer to the coast. The balance of these advantages and disadvantages, however, is decidedly in favour of the ShoMpur cultivator; and I feel assured that the rates advocated by Captain Bellasis, although somewhat higher than are deducible from a consideration of prices alone, may be adopted with perfect safety and without danger of assessing him relatively higher than those of the districts already settled. 7. These rates, however, will require some abatement for the Mandrup Pargana, which is separated from the rest of the taluka by the river Sina, which, when in flood or during the four monsoon months, prevents the produce of this division from readily finding its way to the market of ShoMpur. This and the greater distance separating most of its villages from the latter town, operate considerably to the disadvantage of its cultivators, compared with those of the Mdmlatd&r’s division ; but due allowance, would, I think, be made for this by fixing its rates about midway between those of the latter division and of ^the Mohol 213 District. Lieutenant Robertson proposes rates of 15 per cent in advance of those of Inddpur, of 5 per cent in advance of Mohol for tin's pargana; but this increase does not appear sufficient to secure equality of assessment, and I beg to recommend rates 20 per cent in advance of those of Indapur for the Mandrup pargana. Table of the Gross Land Assessment of the Sholdpur Taluha, during 17 years of British management, the remissions given, balances still due, and sums actually realized up to termination of the year A.D. 1838-39 :— Official Year. Gross. Lan(t Bevenue, or u Ain Jam4.^ Bemissions. Balances out¬ standing at termination of 1837-38. Balances realized inclusive of the full allowances to Hakdars, Village Charges, &c. Its, a. P* Es. a. P* Es. s. P* Es. a* p. 1822-23 1,72,472 3 9 22,456 8 0 3,530 14 8 1,46,484 13 1 1823-24 ... ... 1,51,525 12 0 35,853 5 0 2,509 10 0 1,13,162 13 0 1824-25 1,60,492 0 9 72,568 9 0 1,496 7 3 86,427 0 6 1825-26 1,66,257 14 0 16,144 1 6 3,726 5 6 1,46,387 7 0 1826-27 1,69,875 15 6 17,553 8 9 8,633 9 10 1,43,688 12 11 1827-28 1,64,334 15 0 62,734 4 6 3,743 15 11 97,856 10 7 1828-29 1,65,636 5 6 17,377 9 6 11,578 4 8 1,36,680 7 4 1829-30 1,46,050 15 3 38,358 4 0 9,018 0 1 98,674 11 2 1830-31 1,53,013 11 0 34,435 0 6 9,448 11 5 1,09,129 15 1 1831-32 1,26,499 11 0 13,877 0 6 1,12,622 10 6 1832-33 1,21,731 6 10 87,624 3 10 . 1,251 2 7 32,856 0 5 1833-34 1,32,108 4 6 ... .. • 4,299 13 9 1,27,808 6 9 1834-35 1,25,625 9 3 2,140 15 9 6,505 0 9 1,16,979 8 9 1835-36 1,26,149 14 2 1,133 11 5 3,347 7 0 1,21,668 11 9 1836-37 1,37,291 14 7 4,903 11 0 889 4 3 1,31,498 15 4 1837-38 1,32,883 10 2 15,903 15 7 5,664 8 4 1,11,315 2 3 1838-39 1,34,004 14 4 11,248 7 5 2,109 0 5 1,20,647 6 6 Total... 24,85,955 1 7 4,40,436 3 9 91,629 4 11 19,53,889 8 11 Average... 1,46,232 10 5 25,903 0 3 5,389 15 4 1,14,934 10 10 Add estimated amount of annual remissions on account of Sayer Bevenue ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,065 5 2 Average annual collections on account of Land Bevenue... 1,16,000 0 0 In the second column of this statement, besides the assessment upon land in cultivation, is included the amounts receivable from • sheep and grazing farms, melon-beds, &c.,—in fact, every item of assessment falling upon the land. In the third and fourth columns the remissions given and balances still due on account of sayer revenue are included; but a liberal allowance is made for this at the foot of the statement, while the realizations given in the last 214 column, must be in excess of the truth, in consequence of the entries including the full allowances to H&kdars, &c.; but con¬ siderable balances are due to these officers from every village, although not shown in the public accounts. 8. I now proceed to show the effect the adoption of these rates will have upon the revenue. The gross collections (inclusive of allowances to H&kdars, &c.,) on account of the land revenue during the last seventeen years, as will be seen from the table on ♦the opposite page, give an average of Rs. 1,16,000 per annum, as nearly as I can estimate, while the average of the last 4 years is Rs. 1,23,000. 9. The rates now proposed for the Kamavisdar’s division, as shown by Captain Bellasis in his 31st para., will average 6 annas per acre; but in Mandrup, where the soil is superior, this average will be exceeded and probably.reach 7 annas per acre. According to these rates the total rental of the taluka, exclusive of in4m, would amount to Rs. 1,22,000 nearly, and if to this be added Rs. 5,000 for the extra cess to be imposed on water-lands and items of the “ain jama” not embraced in the regular assessment, we have Rs. 1,27,000 as the maximum land rental under the revised settle¬ ment. This is Rs. 11,000 in excess of the average collections of the last 17 years, and Rs. 4,000 in excess of those of the last 4 years. Under the new settlement, then, it is not probable that the average collections on account of land will exceed what we have hitherto obtained from the district, but this affords no ground for concluding that the reduction now proposed is excessive. The neighbourhood of a large market and good and steady prices of grain have kept a large portion of the Sholapur District under tillage throughout the period of our management, and prevented the excessive fluctuations in cultivation and revenue so remarkable in other talukas ; but that, under circumstances so favourable, the condition of the cultivators should have been deteriorated, or at least stationary, is a striking proof of the burdensome nature of the present assessment. The advantages of a ready market for all kinds of agricultural produce are so important, that this district could not have failed to prosper under our management had the assessment been at all moderate. 10. Although the settlement now proposed holds out little prospect of any direct increase of revenue beyond that of past cul¬ tivations, it will yet ensure Government against any material decrease, and holds out the fairest promise of changing a poor and. stationary, if not decaying, district into one comparatively wealthy, populous, and improving—and I. advance this opinion with the more confidence from observation of the happy effects of moderate assessment, already being rapidly developed, in the. Mohol and 215 . / . • « Mddha Districts, where numerous new wells are now being dug by- cultivators at their own charge, bunds are being thrown up for the protection and improvement of fields, and a striking increase of activity is exhibited in husbandry generally. During my late Jamdbandi settlement I received an unusual number of petitions for Tagdi to build and repair wells or construct bunds, and the prospect of industry now meeting its due reward, may be said to have given the cultivators new life. While this is nothing more than what with reason was anticipated of the new settlement, it is yet gratifying to find that our expectations upon this head are so* soon being realized. 11. The present Bagayet assessment of the Sholdpur Dis¬ trict, of which I have now to say a few words, was fixed by a Panchdet, about three years back, oh a plan of the late Revenue Commissioner’s, and is noticed by Captain Bellasis in his 14th, and by Lieutenant Robertson in his 20th and following paras. The former officer states he has heard no complaints of it and that it appears fair. It is certainly moderate but very unequal, as the rates per acre vary from under Rs. 2 up to Rs. 6f; and I believe that the number of acres allotted to the gardens are in many cases under-rated—on this account, and to ensure greater equality of assessment, as well as similarity of system in the newly-set¬ tled district, the extension to this district of the plan carried into effect in Inddpur, Mohol, and Mddha would, I think, be advisable. The plan originally proposed for the latter districts differed in a slight degree from that carried into effect in the first-mentioned ; but the modifications not having met the approval of Goveniment, the Inddpur plan has been adhered to. Every garden whatever, whether previously taxed or not, has been assessed at one uniform rate of Rs. 2 per acre, the number of acres being adjusted to meet the difference in the supply of water and other circumstances affect¬ ing the value of the land for the purposes of irrigation. This settlement, as I have good grounds for believing, proved generally acceptable to the Bagayet cultivators; and notwithstanding that the aggregate amount of the extra tax thus imposed is very con¬ siderable, being upwards of Rs. 8,000 for the two districts of Mohol and Mddha, very few complaints, indeed, have been made to me of our assessment. I beg, therefore, to recommend the adoption of this plan in the Sholdpur District; and it may be remarked of the existing settlement there, that it was intended by the late Revenue Commissioner as a temporary arrangement, pending a regular revi¬ sion of assessment. 12. To the rates recommended for the Mamlatdar’s division of the taluka, I would suggest that exceptions be made in the cases of the villages of Mangrul and Narkhed, which are both, as will be seen from the map appended to Captain Bellasis’ report, 216 situated at a great distance from the market of Sholdpur, and completely separated from the rest of the taluka by His Highness the Nizam’s territory. To these villages the Mandrup rates ought, I think, to be applied, and I have further to recommend that the village of Narkhed be transferred to the Mohol Taluka, as it is placed at a most inconvenient distance from ShoMpur, and does not adjoin any other village of that taluka, while it is within six miles of the Md,mlatd4r’s station at Mohol, and only separated from his district by the river Sina, which at this place is easily ford¬ able almost throughout the year, and is also furnished with means of communication in floods. Narkhed is, consequently, easily acces¬ sible from Mohol at all seasons; and as a further argument in favour of the transfer suggested, I would observe that the Mohol District is small and easily managed, while the charge of the Mamlatdar of ShoMpur is undoubtedly too extensive. 13. It will be observed that there are many other points of interest and importance scattered through the accompanying re¬ ports, which, though well-deserving of attention, I have preferred to leave untouched, in order to keep the question of assessment as free as possible from all extraneous discussion. 14. Should the rates here proposed, viz., an increase of 33 per cent on those of I nddpur, for the M4mlatd4r’s and 20 per cent for the MalMlkari’s division of the taluka, meet the ap¬ proval of Government, I need hardly recommend that they be protected by the lease of 30 years, sanctioned in the case of the Mohol, M&dha, and Ind&pur districts. The intimation of this lease has been received by the cultivators here with unmingled satisfaction, and it will, I feel assured, do as much towards the rapid improvement of the country as the reduction of assessments itself. • 15. Before concluding, I have only* further to request that you will kindly take the earliest practicable opportunity of' sub¬ mitting these proposals for sanction, as the ShoMpur Taluka is large, and the new accounts will take long in preparing. The time when this can most conveniently be done, is during the cessation of field operations in the monsoon months, and, if protracted beyond this period, it can only be effected at additional trouble and expense by the entertainment of extra karkuns, and at a time when the attention of the European officer is necessarily chiefly occupied with his operations in the field. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) G. WINGATE, Superintendent, Revenue Survey. Camp at Bemlla, 29th April 1840. 217- No. 139 or 1840. To J, VIBART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I have the honour to forward an original report from Lieutenant Wingate, proposing new rates of assessment for the ShoUpur Taluka, and as he is anxious that the subject should be laid before* Government with as little delay as possible, 1 take the first oppor¬ tunity of submitting his report without detaining it to offer any remarks on the proposals it contains. 2. Having so slight an acquaintance with the district under con" sideration, it would appear presumptuous iame to offer an opinion* particularly when at variance with that of one of so much experi¬ ence and of such sound judgment as Lieutenant-Wingate. From the observations I have been able to make during the Jamabandi settlement of this taluka, the inferences that I should have drawn would have led to a different conclusion regarding the condition of the ryots than that represented by Lieutenant Wingate, The past- season, though far from a favourable one, has not called for any great sacrifice of revenue. Petitions for remissions have not been so numerous as might have been expected, and the collections have proceeded without any unusual difficulty or pressure on the ryot. 3. The large remissions and outstanding balances of former years which are pointed to, can scarcely be solely attributed to the impoverished state of the cultivators. A lax system of manage¬ ment and the extensive frauds which have been brought to light, are quite sufficient to account for these results ; and so far from the ryots not having the means of payment, we know that, at all events, a large portion of the losses that the revenue has sustained is not at all chargeable to them. . 4. With these observations I will content myself with express¬ ing my opinion that the rates proposed for the Sholdpur Taluka are not too high. 5. Regarding the transfer of the village of Narkhed to the Mohol Taluka, there appears to be no objection to such a measure, as it is a “ Phutgaon ” and will not interfere with the pargana divi¬ sion. I would beg, therefore, to recommend that Mr. Wingate’s suggestions be adopted. I have the honour, &c., (Signed) G. BLANE, Collector's Office, Head Assistant Collector in Charge. Sholdpur, 7th May 1840. B 210—B To L. R. REID, Esquire, Chief Secretary to Government, Bombay. Sir, I have the honour to forward a letter from the Assistant in charge? #of ShoMpur, dated 7th instant, No. 939, submitting reports from Lieutenant Wingate, Captain Bellasis, and Lieutenant Robertson relative to the rates proposed by them for the two divisions of the ShoMpur Taluka in which the survey has been completed. Lieutenant Wingate in paras. 3 and 4 discusses the necessity of intro¬ ducing lower rates in this taluka than are at-present in force, and in my opinion a case for reduction has been made out. It is' . true, from what is shown, that the condition of the ryots of this taluka is not certainly so depressed as in the other parts of the zillah in which the survey has been completed. It must be recol¬ lected, however, that the situation of the ShoMpur Taluka pos¬ sesses numerous advantages in point of climate and the proximi¬ ty of the flourishing market of ShoMpur, where the demand for agricultural produce is greater than when the country came into our possession ; it will be seen, however, that, notwithstanding these advantages, the situation of the ryots has seriously deteriorated under our management, large outstanding balances have accumulat¬ ed, year after year Government have been called on to grant heavy remissions, and we have Lieutenant Wingate’s evidence, based on actual personal investigations, as to the absence of all activity and euterprize amongst the cultivators, and that the villages and hus¬ bandry are generally throughout the taluka in a wretched state. The Assistant Collector of ShoMpur states that his own observations do not lead him to the same conclusion relative to the state of the ryots as upheld by Lieutenant Wingate, and in support of his opinion he states that, though the past year was an unfavourable one, no great sacrifice of revenue has been called for, and that the collections have been made without any unusual difficulty or pressure; and he at¬ tributes the large remissions of former years and the outstanding balances, not so much to the depressed state of the ryots as to the lax system of management, and the extensive frauds that have been discovered. Mr. Blane submits his opinion with some diffidence, opposed as it is to that of Lieutenant Wingate and the other officers of the survey, who, he allows, have had more experience of that part of the country, and are, consequently, better able to form a sound judgment on the subject. Mr. Blane, however, gives a qualified support to the revised rates, which, he states in para. 4, are not, in his opinion, too high. 210 • The inference I draw from the reports before us is, that the state of this taluka is, on the whole, more favourable than the others for which the re-assessing of rates has been sanctioned, and that, taking the situation, climate, &c., into consideration, a consi¬ derably higher rate can be imposed than in the I ndfipur and Mohol Talukas. This, it will be seen, is the opinion also of Lieutenant Wingate and his Assistants, who propose an increase of 33 per cent for Shold- pur, and 20 per cent for Mandrup over the IncLpur rates ; and I am , ' respectfully of opinion, for the reasons adduced by Lieutenant Win¬ gate, that Government should sanction them. It will be seen that the whole rental of the taluka according to the proposed rates Will amount te Rs. 1,22,000 independent of the extra cess on irrigated lands, and some haks not included in the regular assessment, which will amount to about Rs. 5,000 more, giving as the maximum of land rental under the new rates Rs. 1,27,000, being Rs. 11,000 in excess of the collection of the past 17 years, and Rs. 4,000 in excess of the last 4. With reference to the 11th para, of Lieutenant Wingate’s letter, it appears that the present assessment of the Bagayet lands Avas made on a plan of my predecessors as a mere temporary measure until the regular system should be introduced. The assessment is represented as moderate, though in some cases unequal. On this account, as well as to ensure similarity of assessment in the early settled districts, I would beg to support Lieutenant Wingate’s pro¬ position, that the system introduced with regard to these lands in Ind&pur, Madha, and Mohol, and which has been found to Avork well, should be extended to the Sholapur Taluka. I beg also respect¬ fully to record, for the reasons set forth in para. 12, that the proposed rates for Mandrup should be adopted for the two villages of Mangrul and Narkhed. I think also it would be advisable to sanction the transfer of the village of Narkhed to the Mohol Taluka as proposed by Lieutenant Wingate. The Assistant Col¬ lector in charge supports this arrangement. Should Government be pleased to sanction the rates noAV pro¬ posed, I would respectfully suggest that they be declared in force for a period of 30 years as in the districts already settled. The reports of Captain Bellasis and Lieutenant Robertson will, no doubt, be read by Government with great satisfaction ; the manner in Avhich the survey of this taluka has been conducted, reflects the greatest credit, in my opinion, on both those officers. I haATe, &c., J. VI BART, Poona, 30th May 1840. Revenue Commissioner. 220 No. 2587 of 1840. Territorial Department, Revenue. To J. VI BART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I am directed by the Hon’ble the Governor in Council to ac¬ knowledge the receipt of your letter No. 603, dated the 30th May last, and its enclosures, respecting the revised rates of assessment which are to be adopted in the. two divisions (Sholdpur and Man- drup) of the Sholdpur Taluka. 2. ' It is proposed to fix the rates for the different classes of land in Mandrup at 20 per cent, and those of the Sholapur Division at 33 per cent above the Indapur rates. The grounds on which the propositions for the higher rate are based, are, the superiority of the ShoMpur Taluka in market, soil, and climate—■ incidents the value of which it may be difficult exactly to define, but which must operate wTith great weight on the capability of paying an assessment. In climate the two divisions of Sholapur and Mandrup are probably equal. The latter seems, from Lieutenant Wingate’s 9th para., to possess an advantage in soil, while the former is better situated from the immediate vicinity of the large and increasing market of Sholdpur. ' 3. The difficulty, however, of crossing the Sina during the monsoon, though certainly occasioning a difference in the position of the two divisions, is too much dwelt upon, as a disadvantage to Mandrup, in para. 7 of Lieutenant Wingate’s letter; for the transit of grain or other produce is but trifling throughout the wet months, and there is ample time before the rains fall for the conveyance of all produce to the market. • 4. Comparing Mandrup with Indapur and the other dis¬ tricts in which the rates of assessment have been fixed, it does not appear that the advance of 20 per cent on the Inddpur rates is too high. Whether a further advance of 13, making a total of 33, per cent can well be applied to Sholdpur and Ahirwdri, is not, perhaps, quite so clear, but it is recommended by Captain Bellasis, Lieutenant Wingate, and yourself; and this weight of authority is considered by Government sufficient to counterbalance any doubts which the largeness of the increase may create. The proposed rates are, therefore, approved, and the settlement according to them should be made, as in the case of Inddpur, &c., for a term of thirty years 221 5. The assessment of the Bagayet may proceed on the plan sanctioned for InddpmyMohol, and Mddba. The Governor in Council concludes that the Bagayet is all mothusthal, or from wells, as to that alone the Inddpur rates apply. Such, indeed, appears to. be the case, as Captain Bellasis expressly states it as regards ShoKpur in para. 14, and Lieutenant Robertson in para. 6 explains that no advantage is taken of the vicinity of the Bhima and Sina rivers for purposes of irrigation. 6. It must not be overlooked that the system pursued at Ind^pur, of rating each well at a certain number of acres, to be as¬ sessed at the standard of rupees two per acre, was adopted under an intimation that the extent of Bagayet in that taluka was but trifling; and it was, therefore, but of little importance what rate of assessment was fixed, provided it was low. The officers of the survey should be careful, therefore, in recommending the same sys¬ tem in talukas differently situated and possessing greater facility of irrigation. ' 7. The rates of Mandrup may be adopted for the two villages of Mangrul and Narkhed, and the latter village may be transferred from the Sholapur to the Mohol Taluka, as recommended by you in para. 7. From an inspection of Captain Bellasis’ map it seems desirable that an exchange should be effected, with the Nizam’s Government, of Mangrul, which is situated in the midst of his districts, Tor Pople and Sewni, which belong to that State, and are surrounded by our villages; but this, it is apprehended, cannot be effected. The map likewise shows several villages in the centre and extreme confines of the Ahirw^ri Division, which seem to be attached to the Mamlatdar of Sholapur, while they might be much more easily managed by the Mahalkari of Ahirwari. You are requested to consider whether it may not be advisable to transfer them to the charge of the latter officer. 8. The reports of Captain Bellasis and Lieutenant Robertson are deserving of much praise. These officers have devoted them¬ selves zealously to the task they have undertaken, and have shown themselves to be actuated by an earnest desire for the improvement of the country and the promotion of the best interests of the agricultural classes. 9. There are several points of interest touched upon, particu¬ larly in Lieutenant Robertson’s able report, on which no remarks have been made by you or Lieutenant Wingate, with a view of keeping the subject of assessment distinct, and, as Lieutenant Wingate ex¬ presses it, “as free as possible from all extraneous discussion.” The Governor in Council trusts, however, that these important subjects, though for a time passed over, will be duly considered and brought 222 forward by you at a fitting opportunity; and particularly that your attention has been attracted to the remarks made by Lieutenant 'Robertson, on the difficulties which he experienced in the ■ prose¬ cution of the work, from the conduct of the district and village officers; and that.you have issued such instructions as maybe requisite, in order to oblige these servants of the State to facilitate, instead of obstructing, the operations of the survey. I have, &c., (Signed) Bombay Castle, 8th August 1840. L. R. REID, Chief Secretary. No. 436 of 1872. Ratndgiri District, Camp Deola, 30th March 1872. .The Superintendent commences his report with a careful sum¬ mary of the information regarding the first settlement of the dis¬ trict, and its general condition as given in the reports of the for¬ mer Survey Officers, copies of which will be found in the appendices to his own report. The chief point calling for remark is that affecting the difference of opinion between the Survey and Revenue Officers as to the condition of the people at the period referred to. 2. The Survey Assistants (Messrs. Beljasis and Robertson) represent the country generally to have been in an impoverished, state,—villages depopulated, and cultivation declining; this de¬ pressed state of things being attributable, in their opinion, to the oppressively high rates of assessment obtaining at that time. Lieutenant Wingate, the Superintendent of the Survey, seems to taken somewhat the same view of the case, his opinion being thus have summarized by Colonel Waddington in his review of the corre¬ spondence :—“ Captain Wingate, in forwarding the above reports, “ expresses his conviction that the state of the district was not “ one of prosperity—that the condition of the cultivators had de- “ teriorated during the course of our administration—that there “ was an utter absence of activity or enterprize, and that the state “ of villages and husbandry was generally wretched.” He (Lieute¬ nant Wingate) agrees with his Assistants in ascribing this state of things to an excessive land-tax. 3. The Revenue Officer in charge of the Collectorate, Mr. Blanc, dissents from Lieutenant Wingate’s conclusion, stating that, 223 from the observations which he has been able to make during the Jamdbandi settlement of the taluk, “ the inferences he should “ have drawn would have led to a different conclusion regarding “ the condition of the ryots than that represented by Lieutenant “Wingate.” The real state of the case is correctly described, in my opinion, in the following extract from the Revenue Commis¬ sioner’s letter in submitting the reports to Government:—“ The “ inference,” he observes, “ that I draw from the reports before “ us, is that the state of this taluka is, on the whole, more favour- “ able than the others for which the re-assessing of rates has been “sanctioned, and that taking the situation, climate, &c., into con- “ sideration, a considerably higher rate can be imposed than in the “ Indapur and Mohol talukas.” 4. But the Survey Officers, though taking a somewhat exaggerated view of the depressed condition of the district, were nevertheless very decidedly of opinion that it could bear a consider¬ ably higher assessment than had been imposed in Indd.pur, and accordingly fixed their rates for the villages round about the town of Sholapur . 33 per cent, and for those of the Mandrup Division 20 per cent higher than the Indapur scale of rates, 1 rupee being the maximum in the former case, and 14 annas in the latter. The steady extension of cultivation which followed immediately upon the introduction of the settlement and continued throughout the first decade, coupled with the fact of the revenue having been realized with but slight remissions averaging Rs.315 out of a demand of Rs. 1,34,168, shows clearly that the rates were favourable from the first, even with the low prices of the period. 5. After thirty years of low rates, with prices now about 100 per cent higher than when the settlement was first introduced, a railway established, and roads and communications in a perfect state, it is not surprising, indeed it is but natural, to find that the material wealth of the district has been greatly augmented, and the condition of the cultivator much improved in the interval since our first settlement was introduced. Referring to the statis¬ tics given in the report for information bearing on these points, we find:— (a) That the population has increased in the proportion of 26 per cent. (b) Working cattle has in ci-eased in the proportion of 25 per cent. (c) Carts do. do. 433 do. (d) Ploughs do. do. Ill do. The prosperous condition of the cultivators is further shown Para, 22. by the construction of 75 chauries and dharamshalas (chiefly at their own expense) 224 and 537 new wells. The report also shows 75 old wells to have been repaired, there being now 1,514 wells in working order. The value of the property in land—the occupancy right of which the Superintendent reports to be saleable at from 10 to 70 years’ pur¬ chase of the assessment according to situation—is another source of wealth which has been acquired during the lease. 6. It is pleasing also to notice the spread of education which has already taken place. According to the Survey Officers’ reports, there were but 12 schools in the district at the time their operations were carried out. There are now, Colonel Waddington informs us, “ 59 schools attended by 1,986 pupils. Of these, 39 “ are kept by private individuals and 20 supported by Government. “ In the City of Sholapur there are 4 Government schools, in “one of which English alone is taught, the number of boys being “ 100, and one is a girls’ school attended by 40 pupils. There are “ besides in the city 21 private schools, in one of which, containing “15 pupils, English is taught; the rest being vernacular.’’ 7. The Superintendent has given a full account (paras. 31 and 33) of the working of the settlement during the 30 years’ lease. lie has also forwarded a diagram, prepared in the usual manner, and exhibiting in detail the results, of which he has given a summary by decades in the paras, noted above. The only note¬ worthy circumstance in the fiscal history of the settlement is the small increase of revenue, as compared with other Deccan districts, which has taken place during the lease. The revenue in the first two years is stated to have amounted to about Us. 1,31,000. It averaged only Rs. 1,34,168 during the first decade, Rs. 1,39,268 during the second, and Rs. 1,48,887 during the last decade. The difference between the revenue of the first two years and of its annual average during the last ten years being but Rs. 17,887, equivalent to only 13| per cent, whereas in Inddpur the revenue was nearly cent per cent higher at the close of the .30 years than it was prior to the introduction of the settlement. It was, however, foreseen by Lieutenant Wingate, that the settlement would not be a paying one for Government. In referring to this subject he states as follows “ Under the new settlement, then, it is not “ probable that the average collections on account of land will “ exceed what we have hitherto obtained from the district, but “ this affords no ground for concluding that the reduction now “proposed is excessive. The neighbourhood of a large market “ and good and steady prices of grain have kept a large portion of “the ShoMpur District under tillage throughout the period of our “ management, and prevented the excessive fluctuations in cultiva- “ tion and revenue so remarkable in other talukas, but that under “ circumstances so favourable the condition of the cultivators should 225 “ have deteriorated, or at least remained stationary, is a striking proof of the burdensome nature of the present assessment. The “ advantages of a ready market for all kinds of agricultural produce “ are so important, that this district could not have failed to “ prosper under our management had the assessment been at all “ moderate.” In noticing the cultivation of the land the Superintendent states it to be his opinion, that no improvement in this matter has taken place during the lease, “ agricultural operations being,” he observes, “ conducted in the same primitive and inartistic manner noticed in the annexed reports, little or no attention being paid “ to weeding or manuring the land, or to rotation of crops except “ when irrigatedand he quotes the remarks of his Assistant, Mr. Fletcher, in confirmation of this opinion. My own observa¬ tions lead me to dissent from the opinion these officers have come to, for I have noticed a considerable improvement in the character of the cultivation of this part of the Deccan of late years. 9. As regards the implements employed, their remarks may be said to be correct; for the cultivator of to-day uses the same kind of plough and the same implements for cleaning and sowing the land as were in.use thirty years since; but, judging from former reports, I am certain that more care and labour are now bestowed in tillage operations with these Implements than under the system of farming followed at that time. It is still, I may observe, a de- bateable point as to whether the introduction of English ploughs and other farming implements would be of any good in increasing the production of the soil. For my part I think not, for I incline to the opinion that the primitive implements used by the cultivator are well suited to the purpose, as they certainly are to his means and to the working power he can command. 10. In making these remarks I by no means admit that the cultivation of this part of the Deccan may not be improved. The introduction of other products which would afford the means of having a better system of rotation, and a more careful selection of the grain used for seed in the case of the present staple products, are measures which, in my opinion, would effect a considerable im¬ provement. It will be seen, however, that at temps were made thirty years ago to introduce superior products, experiments having been made in the cultivation of the Mauritius sugar-cane and potatoes. Captain Bellasis reports somewhat favourably of the ex¬ periments at the time referred to, but his anticipations were not realized, the culture of both products having long since ceased entirely. The result in this case is certainly somewhat discourag- ing; but the success which has attended more recent experiments, b 210—o 226 in the cultivation of cotton, for instance, gives hopes of something favourable being done for ShoLtpur eventually. 11. At present jow^ri is the staple product, covering 75 per ceift of the total area. It is cultivated almost entirely as a rabi crop, being dependent on the late rains. Cotton, wheat, and linseed are also grown as rabi crops, but to a small extent only, the return being 3 per cent in the case of the first-mention¬ ed product, 2 in that of the second, and 1 only of the last. ' The remaining 19 per cent represents the proportion of the total area cultivated with kharif or monsoon crops—of which Mjri is the chief, showing 7 per cent; It appears from the return that about 2 per cent of the occupied • assessed land is reserved for ' grazing, and the Superintendent shows, by the statement given in para. 28, how valuable land in the vicinity of the town of ShoMpur is for such purposes. It lets commonly for ten and twelve times the survey assessment, and in one case as much as 18 times that demand is shown to have been paid. This is a strong proof of the lightness of the present assessment in the neighbourhood of ShoM- . pur, to which I shall have to refer in the sequel. 12. In his 24th and following para, the Superintendent gives an account of the trade of ShoMpur and of several of the other chief towns of the district at which weekly bazaars are held. The in¬ formation as regards the town of Sholdpur would have been more complete had he obtained from the railway the traffic returns of grain, metals, &c., and goods of every description received at and despatched from the Sholdpur Eailway Station. This would have given us a better idea of the value of the trade of the town than is to be gained from the weekly bazaar sales, which, in fact, repre¬ sent only the busipess done on those particular days. But, accord¬ ing to the information he has given, the cotton and woollen goods annually manufactured in the district are estimated to be worth Es. 6,15,000; copper utensils and iron implements being valued at a further sum of Ks. 55,000, making a. total of nearly six and three-quarter lacs as the value of the return derived from these sources. • 13. Sholdpur has long been an important town and thriving place of business. According to the former Survey Officer’s report it contained at that time a population of 24,000 inhabitants. It . was the chief market of the district and for torv ydera md Tem" the neighbouring Mogalai* villages also ; gin¬ ger, garlic, safflower, betel, and other valuable products of the latter country being brought there for sale in large quantities. It was also said to be a “ dep6t for salt, betel-nut, &c., from Mdlwan and the Coast; and for cotton, coarse cotton cloths, saris, &c., from the surrounding villages.” 227 14. It has risen considerably in importance since this de¬ scription of it was written. It now numbers a population of 31,000 inhabitants, has a .municipality with an income of about Bs. 50,000 per annum, and is the great mart for all the trade of the country. The report unfortunately furnishes no proper statistical returns of what this now amounts to, but the Superintendent has fully recog¬ nized its importance as a market town in the apportionment of his rates. 15. According to the statement given in para. 17, the taluka now consists of 150 villages—three of which are alienated. The present proposals include the whole of the “ Khalsa ” or Govern¬ ment villages, 147 in number, and one of the alienated holdings, or 148 in all. The Superintendent proposes to divide these into four main groups. Taking the town of Sholdpur as his centre or start¬ ing point, he has arranged his groups in circles regulated generally by distance from that town. The first group is confined to Shola- pur, and the last includes the villages on the outer boundary of the taluka adjoining the Mddha District settled last year, the rates for it being identical with those adopted in the lat¬ ter case. 16. The following shows the number of villages allotted to each class, and the maximum rate proposed for each :— Rb. a* 1st Class... 1 village, maximum rate 1 8. _ 2nd do. ... 39 villages do. 1 6. 3rd do. ... 52 do. do. 1 4. 4th do. ... 55 do. do. 1 2. Total... 147 Add..„ 1 alienated village. .148 The rate for the In&m village has not been given, but it comes into the 1-2 group, and will be assessed at that rate. 17. The comparison between present and proposed rates given by the Superintendent in his 42nd para, refers to 135 villages, which, comprise 120 described as originally belonging to the Shol£- pur Taluka and 15 transferred from M£dha. To this I have added the 11 villages received in an exchange of territory with the Nizam in connection with the Ekruk Tank, and the village of Tadwal, also shown separately, because of its not having been settled till recently. The following being the result for the whole of the 14 7 to be brought under settlement:— Exclusive alienated. of one 228 Occupied Land. ' Unoccupied Land. Total. 135 Villages. Percent¬ age Area. Assessment. Area. Assess¬ ment. Area. Assess¬ ment. Increase • Es. Es. Us. Assessment ae- cording to pro¬ posed rates ... Do. present 4,08,551 2,93,472 1,548 680 4,10,099 3,80,949 2,94,152 ... rates ... 3,80,551 1,62,439 398 83 1,62,522 Increase... 28,000 1,31,033 1,150 597 29,150 1,31,630 80 Add— For 11 villages received from Nizam and for 1 (Tadwai) ... Assessment ac¬ cording to pro-, posed rates .. Do. present 23,302 15,843 ... • %• 23,302 15,843 ... rates ... 23,301 11,662 ... ... 23,301 11,662 MS Increase... 1 4,181 ... ... 1 4,181 35 Total for 147 vil¬ lages ... Assessment ac¬ ••• • M ... • •• ... cording to pro¬ posed rate? ... 4,31,853 3,09,315 1,548 680 4,33,401 3,09,995 Do. present 1,74,101 rates 4,03,852 398 83 4,04,250 1,74,184 tM Increase... 28,001 1,35,214 1,150 597 29,151 1,35,811 77 18. The increase in the case of the 135 villages alone, as shown above, is 80 per cent. For the 12 it is 35 per cent, and for the whole combined 77, as given by the Superintendent in his 45th para. But the effect of the rates is better seen by arranging the villages according to the several groups as below :— 229 Assessment. i % . ** rd. Adverting to the question of the disposal of the Moti Bdgh, and alteration of the cantonment limits at Sholdpur, noticed in the reports of the Superintendent, the Commissioner of Survey, and the Collector, further orders are awaited on correspondence submitted from this office with memo. No. 5394, dated 28th October 1872. 4th. The Commissioner of Survey and Settlement (para. 5) ap-' proves the recommendation of the Superintendent to let out certain old building-site land formerly belonging to the cantonment; but he would fix the rate at Rs. 1-8-0 per acre instead of Rs. 2, and would allow of building under the provisions of Section XXXV of Act I of 1865. The Collector seems to favour the higher rate of Rs. 2 per acre proposed by the Superintendent, and would not put the restrictions on building proposed by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner. As far as the Revenue Commissioner is able to judge the merits of this question, Colonel Francis’ proviso would not give Government any special hold on the ground; the land is not of much value for cultivation, so that the conditions of Section XXXV do not very clearly apply to the case; and it would seem generally desirable not to discourage the erection of dwelling- houses in the locality, so that the enforcement of the rule under Section XXXV might, the Revenue Commissioner thinks, be dis- pensed with. 6th. The Superintendent of Survey, and Colonel Francis, and the Collector, all agree that the unoccupied land formerly belonging to the cantonment should bo let out for grazing. The Bevenne Commissioner thinks .that the best plan is to let out ths grazing annually ; and, if Government approve, reference can be made to tbe Conservator of Forests regarding the suggestion of tlie Acting- Collector in his 5th para, to have a portion of the land, which in¬ cludes a very fine growth of babul trees, specially enclosed for forest conservancy. . . 6th The undersigned concurs in the opinion expressed in Colonel Francis’ 6th para., that it is desirable to reserve all the lairans near ShoMpur. It was in this view that, when the Con- servator of Forests made application for (among others) 15 kuran lands in the Sholapur Taluka, 8 kurans .were, as stated in the Collector’s 7th para., reserved by Government. Of the 11 kiirans included in the list now accompanying Colonel Waddington’s report, 7 were included in the Conservator’s application: of these, three, namely, numbers 6, 9, and 10, were retained, and four were conceded. It is suggested that the remaining four be offered to the Conservator in addition to the twelve kui-ans of the ShoMpur Taluka, already, under the Government Resolution No. 6461, of 22nd December 1871, placed at the disposal of the Forest Depart¬ ment. 7 th. Statistical tables prepared by the Superintendent of Survey, Colonel Waddington, in the prescribed form, accompany these papers. They evince a considerable advance in material prosperity, which has been already recognized by Government in reviewing the papers previously submitted. Deducting the popu¬ lation of the city of Sholapur, which is sufficiently large to derange the percentage for a limited area like an agricultural taluka in the Deccan, the population is between 140 and 150 per square mile—• a higher average than that of most of the Deccan districts. 8th. The rates establishing an enhancement on the whole taluka of 77 per cent, have been approved by Government. The former assessment, which would give an average of about six annas and six pies per acre, was evidently much lower than the district could bear in recent years; and all the favourable circum¬ stances adduced, tend to prove that the new average rate of about 11 annas and 6 pies can be paid without difficulty, at least, in a great portion of the villages. . ' Olh. If, as is shown in Colonel Waddington’s previous report, para. 28, the survey occupants of ShoMpur and of the adjoining villages, Degaon and Shelgi, can sub-let their lands for grazing at from 7| to 18 times the former assessment, it is evident that the very great enhancement imposed on those villages can be borne by the lands in question, and probably it can be borne by those adjoining them; but it.should not be forgotten that such a sudden 248 increase of the Government demand, however reasonable it may be shown to be in relation to prevailing prices, must cause, even under the most favourable circumstances, a violent derangement in those very transactions, of sale, mortgage, and sub-lease, which are adduced in support of the measure. 10tk. It may be said that none of the villages now. under revision are very distant from the market of ShoMpur and from the Railway; but there is a limit beyond whicli the demands for the supply of the non-agricultural population do not extend, and the markets seeking conveyance of jow4ri by rail or road, though at times large, are very uncertain. It is, therefore, quite possible that, in the ShoMpur villages, a price for jowari—the staple produce— equal to the average of the last ten or twelve years may not be always obtainable, and the rates apparently, now so moderate, may press heavily on the cultivators, leading to diminution of prosperity, and, ultimately, to possible embarrassment in meeting the Govern¬ ment demand. - 11th. It is for the reasons given in the two preceding paras, that the undersigned considers the great enhancement in several of the out-lying villages, such as Tandulwari, No. 40 in the list; Kitsegaon, No. 41 ; Arjun Sonda, No. 44; Sliirpanhalli, No. 53 ; Dotri, No. 55; Handmgaon, No. 57 ; Dindur, No. 58; Aunj, No. 64; Singadgaon, No. 65 ; Rhjur, No. 69 ; and the two villages following in the list, Jhmgaon, No. 91 ; Kandalgaon, No. 100; and the three following villages and others, should have been avoided, so as to bring the total average enhancement considerably lower than 77 per cent. This would have been even somewhat higher, but for the inclusion of the newly-received Nizam’s villages and Tadwal, which have received an enhancement of only 35 per cent., thus slightly reducing the average of the 147 villages. There is, however, some make-weight in retaining, from what may be termed concealed cultivation now brought under assessment, the percentage of which is shown in the figured statements. These figures are irrespective of the 6|- per cent, additional for local funds, which, if mostly expended in the district, is eminently beneficial, and can hardly be regarded as the same drain on the resources of the people as the Government assessment, which is the subject of the papers now submitted. 12th. The Revenue Commissioner thinks it his duty to lay before Government the doubts which occur to his mind on this important question. It will be an unmixed pleasure to find that the doubts are not verified in the sequel, and that the district will maintain its prosperity and capacity for regular payment of the Government revenue in the manner anticipated by the warmest advocates of the rates as they stand. On one point the undersign- 249 ed quite concurs with the survey officers, namely, the great com¬ parative prosperity which the Sliohlpur villages under revision have attained under the previous lease; and he believes that the taluka is fully as well able to pay its average assessment of-11 annas and 6 pies per acre, as Mddha to pay its average of 9 annas and 4 pies, and Bhimthari revised villages, notorious for the uncertainty of the rainfall, their average of 11 annas. 13th. The Revenue Commissioner concurs in the proposed transfer of Rir Tdldi from.Mddha to Sholapur. * * ■ . $ • . « • W (Signed) W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner's. D. No. 6380. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 24th December 1872. Resolution.—The usual notification guaranteeing the per¬ manence of the revised rates for 30 years having been published in the Government Gazette, these papers may now be recorded. 2 With regard to the Revenue Commissioner’s remarks on the great enhancement the adoption of the new rates has brought about in the assessment of certain villages, His Excellency the Governor in Council would call his attention to the cause of the unequal en¬ hancement mentioned both by the Superintendent and the Com¬ missioner of Survey, noted in the 15th para, of Mr. Oliphant’s memorandum No. 1965, dated 17th April last, viz., the extremely faulty classification of the soil on the first introduction of the survey system. It would be most inequitable to ignore what are now ascertained to be the true relative values of the soil in differ¬ ent localities for the sole object of preventing a sudden increase of assessment in particular cases. 3. The principle to be adopted in determining the expiration of guaranteed periods of assessment in cases in which clearly re- coi’ded notifications may not be forthcoming, has been settled by Government Resolution No. 6347 of the 23rd instant, and should bo adopted in that of the village of Tadwal, mentioned in this correspondence. n 210—v 250 4. The question of the alteration of the limits of the canton¬ ment at Sholdpur has also been settled by Resolutions Nos. 1089 and 5615, dated, respectively, the 8thMarch and 12th November 1872. 5. It is not apparent whether some of the lands thrown out of cantonment limits have, whilst others have not, buildings erected on them, nor whether any portion of them is already in any per¬ son’s occupancy. Government are not yet, therefore, in a position to decide what shall be done with the land in future. A state¬ ment and plan should be submitted, showing the area and posi¬ tions of the land in question, and in the meantime the right of grazing on such portions as may be available should be let out for the current season. * . * * * * 7. The transfer of the Inam village of Pir Tdkli from the Mddha to the Sholdpur Taluka, recommended by the Revenue Commissioner, is sanctioned, provided the Inamdar has no objec¬ tion. If he should have, a further report should be made on the subject. (Signed) E. W. RAVENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. No. 1407 op 1875. Revenue Department. From Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., To W. G. PEDDER, Esquire, Acting Secretary to Government. Poona, 13th September 1875. Sir, I have the honour to forward the accompanying statement,* showing the reduction proposed to be made •■Not printed, ju the revised assessment of the Sholdpur Taluka under the. provisions of the Resolution of October last, No. 5739. 251 o On referring' to tlie correspondence upon the revision settlement, it will be perceived that the villages of this talukii -were divided into four groups and assessed at maximum rates as shown below:— Ks. a. 1st Group comprisin g 1 village at a maximum rate of 1 8 2nd do. 39 do, do. 1 6 3rd do. 52 do. do. 1 4' 4th do. 55 do. do. 1 2 Total 147 ' • I propose to continue this grouping with the exception of j Dodi five villages (marginally noted), si- 2. Borainani. tuated on the outside boundary of the 3. Madra. second group, which I have transferred to 4 Darganliali. the next lowest group (the third), in 5. Banegaon. order to bring down their assessment which would be considerably above the prescribed limit if they were subjected only to the reduction of rates applied to the other villages of the group. This modification of the original proposals will not affect the general principles on. which the grouping was Carried out, as it merely contracts the boundary line of the parti¬ cular class, making it nearer to the town of Sholapur, which is the great market centre of the district. 3. Following the plan generally adopted in other districts, already reported on, I propose to make a reduction of 2 annas per ■group throughout, combined with a reduction of classification values from 10 annas downwards according to the scale sanctioned for other districts. 4. The following statement shows the reduction effected by these measures:— Group. Revision Assess¬ ment. % ProposedReduetion Total reduction Remaining assessment, being difference of columns 2 and 7. Percentage increase on original settlement. « Amount. Percentage in¬ crease. By modification of classifica¬ tion value. By application of lower ma¬ ximum rate. ’ 1st 2nd ... 3rd 4th ... Total... 9,153 82,269 1,24,709 91,841 125 86 78. 65 906 $,324 7,226 6,016 687 7,017 12,952 9,507 1,593 12,341 20,178 15,523 7,560 69,928 1,04,531 76,318 ! - 86 58 49 37 'M 3,07,972 77 19,472 30,163 49,635 2,58,337 48 It ■will bo seen from these figures that-, by the proposals now -submitted, the general increase for the whole taluka will be re¬ duced from 77 to 48 per cent., and the average rate' from 11 annas 4 pies to 9 annas 7 pies per acre. 5. With regard to the rather numerous cases in which the increase in individual villages is above the prescribed limit, not¬ withstanding the reductions now made. As bearing on this subject, I would beg to refer to the following remarks by Colonel Waddington, relative to low standard of valuation adopted for this district at tho first settlement, especially for some of the large villages in the vicinity of Sholapur. Having shown the general increase for the whole district to be 77 percent., he proceeds to observe:—“ But this unusual rise is not Para- 09 of the Superm- g0 clue to the imposition of an dated 15th January 1872. enhanced maximum rate as to the extreme faultiness of the old classifica¬ tion, which, especially in Sholapur itself and some of the large adjoining villages, is so unprecedentedly low as to be scarcely free from suspicion. For instance, there are cases of 15 and 16 anna fields which were classed at from 7 to 5 annas, a discrepancy so great that it can hardly be ascribed to mere ignorance. The following figures show some of tho errors of the old classifica¬ tion :— . Numbers in whicli the difference in classification is above, Nos, tested. G pies. 1 a a, 2 as. 3 as. 4 as. 5 as. 6 as. 7 as. 8 as. 9 as. 10 as. 11 as. 81 4 9 7 18 13 ' 15 5 4 1 1 1 2 1 “ You will see that out of 81 numbers taken at random, in 30 the difference of classification exceeds three annas, whilst in ten numbers the difference exceeds five annas, and there is one in¬ stance in which it is above eleven annas. “40 Under these circumstances,and considering the rates at which lands in the vicinity of Sholapur are sub-let, the saleable value of land, and the exceptionally low assessment on which some of the villages, which-are most advantageously situated, are at present held, there is no fear of my rates being excessive. For instance, in the lands of the flourishing city of Sholfipur itself, Jhe average rental is 4 annas 8 pies per acre. Again, the rich villages of Hegaon and B41a are paying 5 annas and 6 annas 7 pies respectively. I cannot, therefore, but conclude that in those cases in -winch the new rates cause an unusual increase in the assessment, it is to be attributed to the observance of a lower scalo of valuation in the former classification of the, lands ; and feeling confident, as I do, that the rates are not too high, I do not feel justified in recommending the adoption of a lower scale.” 6.Further proof of the very low scale of valuation adopted, is given in the Statement B, appended to my letter No. 1485, dated 19th September 1874, which will be found to contain numerous cases in Kasba Sholfipur and in the villages of Ahirwari and Dahitna, belonging to that taluka, of fields—valued at the first settlement at from 4 to C annas on a rupee scale—of which the present valuation on the same scale ranges from 10 to 15 annas. 7.It is impossible to make out the cause to which these 4. „• r , , , • • ,1 gross mistakes in * Several attempts to tamper with the karkuns m xhe most open manner by the cultivators having been reported, I am happy to say by the karkuns themselves, the Acting Collector was kind enough to circulate a strict proclama¬ tion I drew up, pointing out the evil conseqences of such conduct, which I attribute to custom and ignorance as much as anything else, since wdiich no fresh cases have been detected, and I have every reason to think it has ceased. The fact of the karkuns themselves giving in¬ formation becoming known to the kunbis, put, I hope, an effectual stop to all attempts at bribery.” on the part or the classer, as stated by Colonel Waddington, I would refer to the remarks iu the report of one of the Assistants employed in the original classification, which, it will be seen, contain a direct admis¬ sion of attempts having been made to bribe the kfirkuns to viti¬ ate their work, and it may he inferred that they were not unsuc¬ cessful. the old classifica¬ tion are to be as¬ cribed. As con¬ firmatory, how¬ ever, to a great extent of their being due to dis¬ honest working 8.With this evidence before ns of the former, classification values having been unduly reduced either by fraud or gross error, I am of opinion that nothing further in the way of reduction of assessment should be done in regard to , the villages of this dis¬ trict in which the assessment as now reduced is in excess of the prescribed limit of increase fixed for individual villages. It is doubtful, indeed, whether the rule limiting the increase on in¬ dividual holdings to a hundred per cent, might not be held in abeyance; but as the generation, which is supposed to have been instrumental in bringing about the undue lowering of the former assessment, has passed away, it would perhaps be considered a harsh proceeding to withhold from the present cultivators the benefit of the measure being made generally applicable to the districts in which the revised settlement is now in force. But I beg for the orders of Government in the matter. 254 0. I think it is advisable to make some redaction in the rice assessment of this district, partly with the view of preserving the proportion it bore to the Jerayet rate fixed at the revision, but, more particularly because the cultivation is of the poorest description, and the crop liable to failure in consequence of the un¬ certainty of the rainfall in this locality. The necessary reduction on these accounts will, I consider, be effected by the substitution of a rupees 2|-, maximum for the 3-rupee maximum adopted by Colonel Wadding-ton. Calculated on the former rate, the assessment of the cultivation will amount to about Es. 3,436 in place of Es. 4,110 as now in force. This reduction is not shown separately in the statement, but it is included under the total amount given as the result of the proposed modification of rates and classifi¬ cation values. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, . J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 5874. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 19th October 1875. ’ Resolution.—Colonel Francis now submits proposals for the correction, in accordance with the principles laid down in Govern¬ ment Resolution No. 5739, dated October 29th, 1874, of therevis- ed assessments of the Shohipur Taluka. 2. The following are the leading facts ,of the revenue history of this taluka. 3. The Mahomedan or “ Tankha ” rates of assessment were superseded during the latter years of Maratha rule by what were known as the Kdmdl, rates which included cesses of various kinds. These rates remained in force till about a.d. 1830, 'when the taluka having been steadily deteriorating since their introduction, they were replaced by the assessments fixed by Mr. Pringle. . His settlement, however, from several caases, the chief of which were that his rates were both too heavy and were based on an incorrect principle, entirely broke down, and in 1840 the Survey Settlement was introduced by Captain Wingate. 255 4.The average rates of assessment per cultivated acre under these different settlements appear to have, been nearly as follow: — Nominal Bate. Bate of Realizations. Ks. a. p. Rs. a. p. Tankh£ . 0 9 0 K&m&l , 0 13 3 0 10 7 Pringle’s ...... 0 11 6 0 9 2 Survey 0 6 7 • 0 6 7 Mr. Pringle’s maximum dry-crop rate of assessment was Rs. 2-2-0 per acre, and for it Captain Wingate substituted maxi¬ mum rates of Rs. 1 for the portion of the district most favour¬ ably situated, and of Rs. u-14-0 for the remainder. These rates were, respectively, 33 per cent, and 20 per cent, higher than the maximum rate previously adopted for the Indsipur Taluka, the climate of Sholdpur being far superior to that of Inddpur. 5. This taluka, like others, prospered greatly during the 30 years of the survey settlement. 6. Cultivation increased (inclusive of about 25,000 acres* of land unassessed by the old survey, but encroached on and cultivated by the ryots) about 19 per cent., and only about ?;rd, or 1 per cent, of arable land was found to be left waste in the whole taluka on revi¬ sion ; revenue, from increase of cultivation, rose 14 per cent. There increased during the term of settlement— Population Working bullocks Carts Ploughs ............ Wells in use ...... Land unsaleable before 1840 acquired a considerable value. In the last years of the settlement fields assessed at Rs. 356 sold in 27 public sales for Rs. 8,300, or 23 times the assessment; and lands near ShoMpur were found to be sub-let for grazing at an average of 11 times the assessment. 7. Independently of the settlement, the district was greatly improved during its term. Before 1840 there were no made-roads, and communication with external markets was difficult. The rail¬ way now traverses the taluka, and good roads have been opened in all directions. And a very fine work of irrigation, the Ekruk Lake, has recently been constructed near Sholapur. ' ' 8. Considering these facts and the great rise in prices during the term of the settlement, it appeared that, on its expiry in 1870-71, a considerable increase in assessments was called fox*. The* original maximum rates of Rs. 1 and Rs. 0-14-0 wei*e, therefore, . 25 per cent. . 26 „ .433 •111 ■„ . 33 „ (Government Resolution 2033, dated 27tli April 1872) replaced by maximum rates of Rs. 1-8-0 for the town of Sholdpur itself; Rs. 1-6-0 for 34 villages most favourably situated in point of climate and means of communication ; and Rs. 1-4-0 and Rs. 12-0 for tho remaining villages according to situation. The effect of these rates upon the new classification and measurement was to raise the total assessment from Rs. 1,74,101 to Rs. 3,07,972, or 77 per cent. ; and the average rate per acre from Rs. 0-6-6 to Rs. 0-11-4. In round numbers 40 per cent. ■ of the total increase of 77 per cent, was due to increase of maximum rates, 10 per cent, to assessment of encroachments, and 27 per cent, to difference of classification. 9. , It must, however, be remarked that the old classification of Sholdpur was found to be extremely incorrect, so much so that it appears certain that fraud and corruption, suspected at the time of the introduction of the old survey, were actually practised by the ryots and classers of some villages. The assessment of a few villages was actually reduced by the revised settlement; in one case as much as 29 per cent., while the assessment of many was raised much more than 77 per cent.; in one case as much as 191 per cent. The two villages between which there is so extraordin¬ ary a discrepancy are close together and close to the city of Sho¬ ldpur, and are assessed, by both the original and revision Settle¬ ment, at the same maximum rate. It is, therefore, evident that the oi’iginal valuation of one was too high and of the other much too low. Equally important discrepancies are to be found through¬ out the taluka. 10. Had prices remained as high as when the revised settle¬ ment was introduced, the new rates would not, in tho opinion of the Government, have proved excessive. Such, however, is not the case. During the last 4 years the fall in prices has been marked and considerable, and it is necessary to consider the assessment with reference lo this fact. 11. About 14,000 acres, or 3| per cent, of the total arable area, are under cotton; but the staple product is jowdri, which occupies 75 per cent, of the total ax*ea. The average price of jowdri for the 19 years preceding 1839 (which period included three famine years) was 48 seers the rupee. In the year of the intro¬ duction of the original settlement the price was 47 seers. Tho average price for the seven years preceding tho introduction of the revised settlement was 19 seers, and in the year of its intro- Auction 18J seers. In 1871 the price rose as high as 14 seers, but has since fallen rapidly— 1872... 1873 1874 ... . ... 1875, 8 months Average... 28 „ or about 71\ per cent, higher than the average price before the introduction of the old rates. 12. The price of Cotton has fluctuated even more than that of jowari. The average price of cotton in Bombay for the five years 1855 to 1859 (that is, at the beginning of the second half of the term of the original settlement, when all waste had been brought under the plough, and the taluka was prosperous) was Rs. 132 a candy. Then the great demand for Indian cotton set in, and in the five years, 1863—67, the average price was Rs. 441. But it has sunk rapidly since, and in 1874 was only Rs. 184. 13. In addition to the increase which present prices justify on the old rates, other circumstances, of course, should also be taken into consideration. 14. Colonel Francis’ proposals are:— 1st.—To reduce the maximum rates two annas all round. 2nd.—To reduce the valuation of the middle and poorer soils in the manner already sanctioned for Ind^pur and other talukas. 3rd.—To transfer five villages, which may with equal propriety be placed in either group, from the second to the third group. The result of these proposals would be to reduce the percent¬ age increase from 77 to 48, and the average rate from Rs. 0-11-4 to Rs. 0-9-7. 15. Considering the advantage in climate which Sholapur has over the more westerly districts- of Madha, Ind&pur, and Bhimthari, His Excellency in Council is of opinion that an increase of four annas in the maximum rate over that of Madha is not in any way excessive ; especially as this will affect the town of Shokt- pur alone, and the increase in the second group will be only two annas, whilst the maximum rates of the third and fourth gi’oups will be the same as those of the two M4dha groups. The reduc¬ tion of rates proposed by Colonel Francis is accordingly approved. b 210—# . 17i seers. 28 38 29 >> 258 16.The modification of the grouping by which five villages are transferred from the second to the third class is also approved; but as this, together with the lowering of the classification, of the inferior descriptions of soils which has been carried out, will still leave the percentage increase of several villages high, it will be advisable to lower by a class the following villages lying on the outskirts of the present second and third groups. This will con¬ tract the line up to which the maximum of Rs. 1-4-0 will run to within five or six miles of the market of Sholapur, and give the benefit of the lowest rate of one rupee to all the villages on the outer limit of the original third group which are not within easy reach of a market town or a railway station. Villages of the second to be lowered to the third group :— Hatur, Shamshdpur, Nandur, Talegaon, Pathri. Ivardehah, Togarhali, Yetnil. Ohincholi, Walsang, Sal char. Villages of the third to be lowered to the fourth group :— Kasegaon, T4ndulw£ri, Musti, Sanjwad, R4jur, Aurad, Bddalgi, NAndani, Keshar Jawalga, Ibrdmpur, Mungli. 17.This will reduce the percentage increase on the second group from 58 to 52, on the third from 49 to 45, and on the whole taluka from 77 to 45. 18. The permanent reduction of assessment in consequence of these measures will amount, on the whole, to Rs. 54,993, and the average rate per acre will be annas 9 and pies 5, which would be equivalent, at the average price of 28 seers a rupee in the current year quoted above, to a grain rent of under 16| seers or 33 lbs. of jowdri. The extreme moderation of this rate cannot be questioned, and it should be brought into effect from the current year. Of the total reduction, about ff is general and about ^ on the poorer soils only. 19. These reductions having been made, Government con¬ sider it unnecessary to make a further special reduction in the case of those villages, about 15 out of the 147 of the taluka, in which the increase is still in excess of 75 per cent., as this is due solely 259 vo the faulty classification of the original Burvey, of which they thae so long enjoyed the advantage. In 6 or 7 villages the old assessment will be reduced, in one as much as 47 per cent. In¬ creases on individual holdings of more than 100 per cent, should be specially reported for orders. 20. As proposed by the Survey Commissioner, the maximum water-rate on rice lands should be reduced by 20 per cent. The figures given at paragraph 18, above, include this reduction. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government. To The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N, D., The Revenue Commissioner, S. D., The Collector of Shola'pur, The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D. No, 222 of 1876. From , Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. TAYERNER, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Gamp Ndsik, 23 rd March 1876. Sir, With reference to your letter No. 444, dated 20th instant, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the re¬ sult of the alteration made under Government Resolution No. 5874, dated 19th October 1875, in the revision settlement rates of 147 villages of the Sholapur Taluka of the Sholdpur Collectorate. 2. The estimate entered in para. 18 of the Government Resolution is that the assessment would be reduced from Rs. 3,07,972, by a sum. of Rs. 54,993 or from an increase of 77 per cent, to one of 45 per cent. The actual result is an assess¬ ment of Rs. 2,51,126 against the original assessment of Rs. 1,74,101 or an increase of Rs. 77,025 or 44#2 per cent. I have, &g. (Signed) E. L. TAYERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Poona and Ndsik Survey cJ M & ««-* o © 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 STATEMENT showing the ultimate .Result of the Survey i?< Sholdpur Collectorate as finally adjusted AS PER As per Cultivation Returns for Acres. 1870-71. Name of Village. Jerayet. eS M 'cS a-s if ^ bx) 8 Pathasthal Ba« gayet. Rice. Total. g - © Acres. Assess¬ ment. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rs. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Rs. ShoUpur 12,220 4,073 14,406 300 47- 35 14,788 7,757 Degaon ... 5,809 1,970 6,150 31 « , , 6,181 4,929 B&la 2,238 1,029 2,371 29 2,400 1,861 Khed 870 218 896 33 929 355 Shelgi ' 1,917 626 1,886 73 8 1,967 1,491 Haglur 1,892 548 1,592 53 45 1,690 808 Soregaon . ... 4,145 1,483 4,568 89 4 4,661 2,499 Kondi ... 1,934 531 2,067 134 27 2,228 762 Kautha 1,411 703 “1,495 12 1,507 1,053 fliparga (tarf ShoUpur). 1,092 335 553 *1 554 177 Dongaon... 2,706 1,241 2,798 “26 2,824 1,916 Hiraj 3,260 1,247 4,101 34 4,135 2,152 Bel&ti 2,169 962 2,274 24 2,298 1,708 Tirha 2,389 1,248 2,541 8 11 2,560 2,139 Dahitna ... ... -... 1,950 562 1,930 35 12 1,977 1,247 Kumbh&ri 11,336 '3,274 11,566 352 “5 167 12,090 5,679 Kumta 3,638 1,363 3,925 74 32 4,031 2,345 Mdlegaon ... 1,989 793 1,857 173 45 2,075 1,145 Kegaon ... ... 563 1,457 10 4 1,471 414 Bhogaon... 742 1,431 30 ... 1,461 662 Hiparga (tarf Mardi) ... 1,243 1,585 73 1,658 1,490 GulwaneM 757 1,368 44 *10 1,421 567 Wadji 977 781 134 ”7 25 947 609' Hotgl 8,821 4,848 9,414 165 33 9,612 5,812 Total... 59,566 27,263 68,605 1,636 68 368 70,677 41,820 • Sangdari... 1,057 348 1,044 19 85 1,148 340 Sauleshwar 2,972 1,275 3,113 108 “‘6 7 3,233 1819 Sbirdpur 2,404 1,142 2,963 97 45 3,105 1,743 Arjunsouda 1,947 780 1,985 122 4 2,111 1,244 Pbkni 3,078 1,411 3,322 17 7 . 3,346 2,273 Limboti ... 1,505 727 1,673 7 3 1,683 1,041 Sindkhed .. ‘ ... 2,199 1,117 2,199 27 13 2,239 1,831 Ulha 4,077 1,637 3,852 133 V*7 3,992 2,346 AhirwAri.,.. 6,969 2,587 7,393 180 12 T9 7,594 3,930 Bankalgi... 2,031 931 1,875 153 2,028 1,230 Ingalgi ... 1,744 897 1,878 45 1,923 1,450 Sh irpanbali 1,388 388 1,581 33 "47 1,661 564 Acbegaon 3,681 1,542 3,763 173 *20 6 3,962 2,206 261 Settlement for the undermentioned Villages of the Slvddpur TaluJca of the Government Resolution No. 5874, dated 1st October 1875. Survey. Increase. Maximum Dry-crop Rate per acre. Average Dry-crop Rate per acre exclusive of Rice and Water- cess. . ... _ Remarks. V ment. Numerical. Percentage. P^fchasthal Bagayet. «5 o 2 | Total. Acres. Assessment. I 3 03 . Soil. Assess-' ment. Water- eess. Acres. a 03 GQ 03 0Q 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. 56 137 52 8,275 2,568 4,202 21 103 1 6 0 0 8 9 4,961 372 2,991 6 152 I 4 0 0 13 0 1,900 162 871 7 85 0 12 6 381 . 59 163 7 75 0 6 6 12 1,572 50 946 3 151 0 12 6 63 918 202 370 11 68 0 8 6 ... 6 2,589 516 1,106 12 75 0 9 0 41 885 294 354 15 67 0 6 0 .,, 1,060 96 357 7 51 0 11 0 ... 1 178 538 157 49 47 0 5 0 1,941 118 700 4 56 0 11 0 2,184 875 937 27 75 0 8 6 ... 1,729 129 767 6 80 0 12 0 11 21 2,179 171 931 7 75 0 13 6 17 1,296 27 734 1 131 0 10'6 *** 3 ’ll 213 6,210 754 2,936 7 90 0 8 0 47 2,493 393 1,130 * 11 83 0 9 6 33 *‘*82 ... 1,456 86 663 4 84 0 10 6 ... 5 423 140 25 0 4 6 ... 692 50 7 0 7 6 , ... 1,568 325 26 0 15 0 13 625 132 17 0 7 0 ”* 5 ” 6 35 815 162 17 0 13 6 45 6,030 *791 1,182 9 24 0 10 0 52 120 498 44,085 4,153 16,822 7 62 0 9 11 106 464 91 116 9 33 1 2 0 0 5 6 *** 4 *10 10 1,942 261 667 9 52 0 9 6 ... ... 63 1,916 701 774 29 68 0 9 6 ... ... 5 1,336 164 556 8 71 0 10 0 ... ... 9 2,292 268 881 9 62 0 11 0 ... 5 1,054 178 327 12 45 0 10 0 ... ... 18 1,876 40 759 2 68 0 13 6 5 7 2,458 85 821 2 50 0 10 0 14 12 15 4,181 625 1,594 9 62 0 8 6 ... ... 1,368 3 437 47 0 11 0 ... 1,504 179 607 * *10 68 0 12 6 ... 65 654 273 266 20 69 0 6 0 23 *49 8 2,442 281 900 8 58 0 9 6 I £ o sl 1 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 262 Name of Village. As per Cultivation Returns for 1870-71. As per Revision Acres. Assess Jerayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. ‘cS 4^ XI H . ... ..... - OOtO »— tO k—k— t0 k— <© QO CP 00 o CO rf* CO s cn 05 Ok CO i : : : : : to GO k— Ok 05 4* <1 05 k— 05 10 CO (0 CO tO 00 & CO k— kf» Kice. tO.J-'JOjH* ' JtO H-J20 03 HJ H-t >—H-W H- w O3000c0t0<350005 ^G3Q0‘—05000kCC>03<0»—t0 ©,$>.k—Q0Q0C0 05H-a0tf4.©O05t3C5Q0a0©kk-»00t0C503rfKI00CD<-C5 k— *CO Cm ^(JnOJ-'J-* 03W to 00J-* j--^03 H-* ^ coTo^ o'Vooo co os to ToX-j o5*bk oo h-* 05 00 CO 03 O CO 05 tO *-4 03 tO Ok CD 03 05 , t^OO®CKOOt3— k— w-m-* W>-'i-500W,^MftW.00 »—OkQ0t0 05t—rf*>COCD,OO3tOaO05tO<—'t0*—*—k—0k kf»-03 O3t3O5O5CO©kf*.tO-JltOOka:©^^©OOQO<^O5t0 k— 00 Acres. CD >“* o § Pi t> m W k— 03t0k^.G3£i».>f>.k—00C5CiOlk&*>bOCk03OkOttO WO«O^HWW*4^HOHOi V to o Maximum dry-crop rate per acre. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO w <0' 615 e« a bC a £ PQ !*s to ►* ra « £ g3 P-f Rice. _ 1 Total. 1 o - . 5 1? J fr¬ ig Sf> o i$ gw Acres. Assess¬ ment. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rs. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Rs. Rs. •128 Parmeshwarpimpri ... 1,435 461 1,565 29 6 1,600 616 17 129 Dddpur... 1,851 650 1,992 30 27 2,049 687 23 130 Irvvad Budnik 3,877 1,947 4,005 45 1 4,051 2,946 36 131 Koroli ... 6,462 2,115 6,602 104 73 6,779 2,907 84 132 J&mgaon (tarf Mohol)... 1,204 484 1,247 26 3 1,276 591 18 133 Sohola 3,278 1,040 3,352 91 ... 3,443 1,085 54 134 Wigholi 4,009 1,339 4,578 91 41 4,710 1,617 76 135 Ijgaon ... 2,397 726 2,407 14 74 2,495 877 8 136 Ghodeshwar ... 1,460 572 1,577 16 1,593 802 13 137 Wadadgaon 2,421 841 2,399 42 12 2,453 843 22 138 Kot&Ia ... 2,171 909 2,233 56 16 2,305 1,153 38 139 Shir&pur (t&rf Mohol}... 686 385 748 748 641 ... 140 Yenki 2,933 880 3,102 72 3,174 1,126 67 141 B&ler&s ... 497 733 32 765 488 32 142 Tdkalgaon 196 337 337 259 ... 143 Arli ... 4*476 1,995 4,500 50 101 178 4,829 1,351 28 144 K41egaon 1,440 750 1,379 39 34 40 1,492 533 37 145 Kdkramha 5,448 2,372 ■ 5,180 304 12 14 5,510 2,006 210 146 Hadalgi... 3,114 1,305 3,240 74 10 58 3,382 1,191 76 147 Tadwal 033 489 897 * 36 ... 933 334 13 170,764 73,774 178,317 3,707 424 1,095 183,543 91,021 2,885 Total;.. 381,484 1,74,101 419,719 9,938 848 2,516 433,021 2,36,178 8,849 Asses sment of 398 814 ... - Grand Total... 381,882 1,74,915 419,719 9,938 848 2,516 433,021 2,36,178 8,894 Camp Nasik, 23 rd March 1876 267 Survey. Increase. Maximum dry-crop rate per acre. Average dry-crop rate per acre, exclusive of rice and 00 00 © © © Is £ Remarks. ment. Numerical. Percentage. P&tha Baga Soil Assess¬ ment, sthal yet. Water- Cess. Rice. Total, j Acres, Assessment. m o © Assessment. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Rs. Ks, Ks. Bs. Bs. Bs. Rs. a. pr Rs. a. p. ... 9 642 165 181 11 39 1 0 0 0 6 6 »»» ... 33 743 198 193 11 35 0 5 6 ... 1 2,983 174 1,036 4 53 0 11 6 108 3,099 317 984 5 47 0 7 0 ... ... 4 613 72 129 6 27 0 7 6 . ... 1,139 165 99 5 10 0 5 6 ... ... 59 1,752 701 413 17 31 0 6 0 * 104 989 98 263 4 36 0 6 0 .... 815 133 243 9 42 0 8 0 ►»* ... 17 882 32 41 1 5 0 5 6 22 1,213 134 304 6 33 0 8 6 ... 641 62 256 9 66 0 13 6 ... ... 1,193 241 313 8 36 0 6 0 520 23 5 0 11 0 . «•. 259 63 32 0 12 6 56 521 236 2,192 353 •197 8 10 0 5 0 33 169 57 829 52 79 4 11 0 6 6 6 14 18 2,254 ‘ 62 118 1 5 0 6 6 3 20 84 1,374 268 69 9 5 0 6 0 - ... ... 352 137 28 0 6 0 276 1,064 1,515 96,761 11,677 22,987 7 31 0 8 3 696 1,996 3,407 2,51,126 29,500 77,025 8 44 0 9 2 uncultiv ated lan d. ... • • • ... ... ... ... ... 696 1,996 3,407 2,51,126 29,500 77,025 8 44 ... 0 9 2 (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieutenant-Colonel, Acting Superintendent Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N£sik. 268 No. 1407 of 1876. Revenue Department. Poona, 9th September 1876. Forwarded in continuation of No. 1406 of this day’s date, for the final confirmation of Government to the reduced assessment shown in the Superintendent’s Report. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 5516. * Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 27th September 1875. Resolution.—These reports give the final results of the reduc¬ tions effected in these four talukas in conformity with the prin¬ ciples laid down in Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th' October 1874. 2. The following are the several percentage reductions:— Percentage reductions. * * * * * 2. Shol4pur from 77 to 44"2 * * * and the total amounts contrast as follows:— * * * * * Assessment in Revised Assessment Revised Assessment first Survey. as originally imposed, according to reductions reported. # # # 2. . ShoUpur... 1,74,101 3,07,972 w - * * * 2,51,126 * 3. His Excellency the Governor in Council is pleased to express his approval of the manner in which Colonel Taverner has carried out the instructions of Government. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. PANDHABPUR TALUKA. E 210—H * 269 No. 2226 of 1872. To The SUBVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONEK, N. D. Sholdpur, 12th October 1872. Sib, I have the honour in forwarding a letter with accompaniments from Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington, Superintendent, Be venue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik, to state that I have no remarks to make except to suggest the expediency 1st.—That the new rates be fixed for fifteen years only, so as to be renewable in 1887-88, at the same time when the southern portion of the taluka will be liable to have new rates fixed for it. 2ndly.—That an exchange should be sought with the Patwar- dhan for the four villages of Munghe, Ibrampur, Hudulgi, and Sulgar for some of the Patwardhan villages situated in the Pandharpur and M4dah Taluks. These four villages are outlying villages belonging to the ShoMpur Taluka, many miles away from the chief boundary. The three villages of Munghe, Ibrampur, and Hudulgi adjoin the Patwardhan villages of Maindurgi, Dudhni, Budhewari, and Hullali. Between Maindurgi and Sulgar is one village belonging to His Highness the Nizam. 2. The advantage of such an exchange is too obvious to need explanation. 3. The transfers of villages proposed in the 11th paragraph of Colonel Waddington’s letter appear to be expedient. I have, &c., (Signed) T. BOSANQUET, Collector. 270 No. 621 of 1872. Frok Lieutenant-Colonel W. WADDING-TON, ' Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, To The COLLECTOR of SHOLA PUR. Sir, I have the honour to forward you a statement showing- the effect of the revised rates which I propose to introduce into 33 villages of the Pandharpur Taluka, and a few explanatory remarks thereon. 2. These villages formerly belonged to the Mohol and Madha Talukas, with the exception of three which belonged to Sholtpur, and were transferred to Pandharpur in 1866. The term of their leases expired at the same time as that of M^dha, and I purpose introducing the new rates during the present year. 3. As the Madha Taluka, of which, as above mentioned, these villages were formerly a portion, was very fully reported on last year, there is no occasion for me to go over the same ground again ; I will only premise that these villages lie to the south of the Madha Taluka, and between it and the Sina River, which was formerly the boundary between Mohol and Madha and the Pan¬ dharpur Taluka. 4. You will see from the accompanying diagram that from .the year 1847-48 up to 1870-71 (with the single exception of one year 1853-54, when Rs. 852 were remitted), there were no remissions. In 1871-72 the remissions amounted to Rs. 8,422, or one-fourth of the total land revenue; notwithstanding, however, this large deficit the average collections of the last ten years was a little in excess of those for the preceding ten years; and, throwing out the year 1870-71, the collections for the last 24 years have been steady at from Rs. 31,000 to Rs. 36,000. The waste land during the first 13 years of the settlement averaged 6 *4 per cent., during the next ten years 4-6, and during the last ten is inappreciable. 5. The question of fitting rates may be said to have been already settled, inasmuch as the adjoining villages on the north had new rates introduced only last year, whilst those on the south • were settled in 1857-58 by the Dharwar Survey Department. In the former case the universal maximum dry-crop rate was Rs. 1-2-0, 271 whilst in the latter it varied from Rs. 1-2-0 (only in Pandharpur and Gopalpur) to Rs. 0-14-0. Considering then the rise in prices since these last villages were settled, I think that the maximum of Rs. 1-2-0, which was imposed last year in the adjoining villages of Madha, is a fit rate for those under report; nor do I see any reasons for modifying it, hut would propose to apply it generally. 6. The'effect, as shown below, would be to raise the assess¬ ment on occupied land from Rs. 36,048 to Rs. 62,712, or 74 per cent, on the assessment of last year. You will see, however, that there was a remission, last season, of Rs. 8,422, or 25 per cent, of the revenue from dry-crop land, so that the increase of assessment by the proposed rates will be Rs. 35,086, or 123 per cent, above the collections. When we consider, however, that there have been actually no remissions for the seventeen preceding years, we may conclude that, even granting remission to have been desirable in this instance, the last season was of so exceptional a character that there is no occasion to attach too much importance to its occurrence or to fear that the rates I propose will be too high. STATEMENT showing the effect of the proposed rates contrasted with the assessment for last year. Occupied. Unoccupied, TotaL Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment, Es. Rs. Rs. Assessment according to present rates ... Assessment' according 84,233 36,048 40 14 84,273 36,062 to proposed rates ... 90,222 62,712 57 28 90,279 62,740 Increase 5,989 • 26,664 17 14 6,006 26,678 7. The total increase on the assessment, then, will be Rs. 26,678, inclusive of that on waste lands, or about 74 per cent., though there are individual villages which are raised above 100 per cent., and one over 150 per cent. This occurs in the village of Ardnari, which borders the Shold,pur Taluka, and being on the far side of the Sina, would be more conveniently included in that taluka. The increase in this instance is 173 per cent.; but as the average rate is only Rs. 0-9-4 per acre, and the adjoining village of Sholdpur, with the same maximum and an average rate of 10 annas, is only raised 78 per cent., I do not think there is any occa¬ sion to modify the assessment. The average increase on the rest 272 of tlie Md,dlia Taluka was 77 per cent., and the average rate Es. 0-9-4. In the villages under report the average rate is Es. 0-11-1; but the increase is, as above stated, only 74 per cent., so that there is no reason to fear the result. 8. Lands irrigated from wells will be treated in the same manner as those of the M4dha Taluka. The present Yirhunda, or assessment on well water, amounts to Es. 1,419, which will be foregone, besides that imposable on account of new wells, of which there are 1,923 acres, the probable assessment on which would not have been less than Es. 3,846 on account of the well water. P&thasthal land is only found in four villages, and the quantity is very insignificant. I have placed a maximum rate of Es. 3, descending to Es. 0-8-0 for water derived from Paths. Of “ Gad¬ di ” or “ Eice ” land, there are only four acres, for which I have taken a maximum at the same rate as in ShoMpur, viz., Es. 3. 9. There are kuran lands in three villages only, viz., GUrsula, Babulkowteh, and K&nhdpuri, the grass of which was sold last year for Es. 812. These lands average Es. 251 during the first thirteen years of the lease, Es. 420 during the next ten years, and Es. 1,067 during the last ten years. The survey rates are not applied to them, and they will be annually put up to auction as usual. 10. I have appended the usual forms and a map of the dis¬ trict showing the villages under settlement. 11. In conclusion, I would suggest that the village of Ardn&ri as mentioned above should be transferred to Sholapur, and that of Umbargaon, at present belonging to the Sdagola Taluka, should be taken into Pandharpur. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut-Colonel, Superintendent, Eevenue Survey. Poona, 12th September 1872. 273 Measurement Test Statement. Names of Assistants. No. of Fields tested. Fields in which the percentage of error was within 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Above 10 per cent. Lieutenant C. T. Eehalaz ... Lieutenant W. C. Black ... m | 418 295 100 11 6 1 2 ... 1 2 Classification Test Statement. Name of Assistant. Mr. A Gumming Number of Fields tested. 218 Result, Errors within 21 A. P. 0 6 103 A. P. 1 0 64 A. P. 1 6 17 A. P. 2 0 A. P. 2 6 A. P. 3 0 A. P. 3 6 A. P. 4 0 The following Comparative Statement exhibits the results cfthe new and former Survey 0/33 Villages of the Pandharpur Taluka, shown in detail under the same head;— Government Land. Alienated Land. Grand Total. Oulfcurable Assessed. Uncul- turable Kfiran. Gairan, Roads, &c. Total. Cultnra- ble. tJncnl- turable. Total. According to present Survey .. 90,279 ; 2,080 276 6,919 99,554 4,648 117 4,765 1,04,319 According to former Survey .. 84,273 6,196 238 6,319 97,026 4,445 204 4)649 1,01,675 Increase 8,006 • •• 38 600 6,644 203 •• 203 6,843 Decrease • . *• 4,116 4,116 87 87 4,207 W. WADDINGTON, Lieutenant-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. b 210—i 274 Remarks by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner upon the • Rates proposed for part of th® Pandharpur Taluka. No. 1504 of 1872. Poona, 16th October 1872. The accompanying papers relate to the Revision Settlement proposed for 33 villages which formerly belonged to the Mohol and M&dha Taluks, but are now included under Pandharpur. 2. They comprise a narrow strip of country skirting the banks of the Bhima River, of about 40 miles in length, the town of Pandharpur, which, however, is situated on the opposite side of the river, being in the centre of the group. 3. The Superintendent - proposes to assess them all at a maximum rate of Rs. 1-2-0 as applied to the Madha Taluka, settled in 1870-71. This rate is, in my opinion, generally suitable ; but I think the villages adjoining Pandharpur may, in consideration of proximity to that large and populous town, very well have a some¬ what higher rate than the rest. 4.The Superintendent mentions (para. 5) that for the Pan¬ dharpur Taluka, which was settled by the Dharwar Survey Depart¬ ment under Colonel Anderson in 1857-58, the maximum rates ranged fromRs. 1-2-0 to Rs. 1-4-0,—Pandharpurand Gopalpur adjoining the former being, however, the only villages brought under his highest maximum. The villages of the group now to be settled .are, how¬ ever, under a disadvantage as compared with those to which Colonel Anderson applied his Rs. 1-2-0 rate, as they have the river running between them and the town of Pandharpur; and owing to its not being fordable, are subject to ferry charges upon all produce taken to that market. But taking.this into consideration, I am nevertheless of opinion that an additional two annas may be added to the Superintendent’s rate for the four villages* marginally noted, which are situated in a semicircle of about 4 miles from Pandharpur. • 5.This proposal will effect the following changes in the estimated assessment of these villages :— * No. 1 Adhiv. „ 9 Chinch oli. „ 11 Degaon. „ 14 Gursala. 275 © la CO Total Assessment Percentage Increase. Number in ment. Name of Village. according to Superin- * tendent’s Bates. Increase proposed. Total new Assessment. According to Superintend¬ ent’s Bates. According to proposed Bates. 1 Adhiv ... 1,233 K CO rH 1,370 89 • 110 9 Chincboli 506' ’ 56 562 84 105. 11 Degaoa 3,476 386 3,862 54 71-52 14 Gursala ... 2,278 253 2,531 88 110 The above increase will not affect the general result of the settlement to. any appreciable extent,, as it only adds about 2 per cent, to the average percentage rate, which will be 76 in place of 74 per cent., as given in para. 7. 6. I have consulted, the Superintendent about this modifica¬ tion of his proposals, and he informs me that he contemplated at one time making some increase to the villages bordering on Pandharpur; but refrained from, doing so because of the large increase effected by the ordinary rates of the district. I attach considerable importance to considerations of this kind when the question affects a general increase to the assessment of an entire district—as expediency should, 1 think, have great weight in such cases in fixing the general limit of increase to be imposed. But it would not be right to apply this principle to individual villages, for the purpose of excepting, them from the application of the rate- which their position indicates to be appropriate in order, to place them upon a rateable equality with the rest of the district, as with, the villages concerned* 7. With this exception I consider the Superintendent’s rates to be appropriate, and recommend their being sanctioned. 8. The Collector has suggested that the lease should be granted for the period when the lease of the other villages of the district will terminate, and I beg to record my support of this proposal, which is in accord with the rule obtaining in such cases.- 9. The other matter of effecting an exchange of villages with the Patwardhan, suggested by the Collector, is a desirable arrangement, though, I fear, there is little chance of its being carried through. It has nothing, however,, to- do with the present 276 settlement, and should, I would suggest, be discussed in a separate report, if Government wish the proposal to be entertained. There can be no doubt of the expediency of carrying out the transfer of villages suggested in the Superintendent’s concluding para, and approved of by the Collector. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D. To The Revenue Commissioner, S.D. No.. 6281 of 1872. Revenue Department. Poona, 21st October 1872, MEMORANDUM. The Revenue Commissioner, Southern Division,, has the honour to submit, for the consideration of Government, Memorandum No. 3504, dated 16th instant, from the Survey and Settlement Commis¬ sioner, Northern Division, together with reports from the Collector of ShoMpur and the Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assess¬ ment, relative to the revision of assessment in 33 villages of the Pandharpur Taluka, of which 30 belonged to Mohol and Mddha talukas, and 3 to that of ShoHpur, previous to their transfer to Pandharpur. 2. The Revenue Commissioner begs, to express his concur¬ rence in the opinion of the Collector and the Survey and Settle¬ ment Commissioner, that the new settlement should terminate with that of the remainder of the Pandharpur District, stated to have been effected by the Dharwar Survey Department under Colonel Anderson in 1857-58. With regard to the precise termination of the period of settlement, the undersigned begs, to invite attention to the correspondence, submitted with his Memorandum No. 5035, dated 9th instant. It may be well to ascertain in what precise year the lease for the remainder of the Pandharpur Taluka will expire under the orders which Government may be pleased to pass on the above-mentioned correspondence, so that the notification to be issued may be accurately drawn up. 277 3. The Revenue Commissioner regrets that he is unable to go entirely with the Survey and Settlement Commissioner and the other officers, whose reports are laid before Government, in the advisability of enhancing the assessment at a varying rate in the different villages, the result of which is to. give an aggregate of increase amounting to 74 per cent, on the existing rates, or, if the further increase in four villages advocated in the 5th paragraph of Colonel Francis’ memorandum be sanctioned, 76 per cent., which,- with the proportionate addition for Local Fund Cess, will amount to more than 80 per cent. 4. The Revenue Commissioner has more than once, though unwilling to throw-, without the most urgent cause, doubts on the conclusions drawn by that able and experienced officer, whose special duty it is to make a proper adjustment of the land tax in the Deccan, recommended caution in imposing a general scale of enhancement. He would invite attention to the remarks in his report No. 1441, dated 13th April 1871, on the revision of settle¬ ment in 77 villages of the MAdha Taluka, 5. The very serious drought and failure of crops in parts of Ahmednagar, ShoMpur, and Satara, and in a less degree in KaMdgi and Poona last year, show that the timely collection, in full, of even the old assessment in a really bad year is not practicable ; and it requires no argument to, establish how much more difficult the collection in arrears will become when swelled by such an enhanced demand as that now proposed. *6. The Superintendent of Survey, Lieut.-Colonel Wadding- ton, has drawn attention to the almost entire absence of remissions in the villages under report since 1847-48, and the fact, while fully establishing the extreme lightness of the assessment, affords indis¬ putable ground for the argument for increase of assessment based on the acknowledged rise in prices. 7. The range of prices which might be accepted for previous periods of the 30 years’ lease and the extent to which they might be expected to be maintained in future years, were, the Revenue Commissioner thinks, very fairly discussed in paras. 31 and 32 of Colonel Francis’ report on the settlement of the M4dha Taluka, No. 250, dated 14th March 1871, and about 70 per cent, was the increase on the former assessment which it was considered, under the circumstances then stated, “ may now be imposed.” 8. This enhancement was apparently intended to represent the average of different villages over a district. It obtained 77 per cent, in the actual proposals for Mddha without Local Fund Cess, which received the sanction of Government. It represented 278 • an average assessment per acre, for the whole 77 villages assessed, of 9 annas- and 4 pies. 9. The average enhancement now proposed is 74'76 per cent., according to whether the Survey Commissioner’s proposals for four villages are approved or not, and the figures represent an average rate per acre of 11 annas and 1 pie, or a rate nearly 20 per cent, in excess of that sanctioned for the 77 villages of Midha, but slightly lower than the average of 11 annas 4 pies lately sane* tioned for the Sholapur Taluka. 10. Taking the rates actually fixed by the Superintendent of Survey and Settlement as the result of an elaborate classification based on a maximum rate adopted for each area, the Revenue Commissioner does not find grounds for criticism, of the rates or the average they represent; but it does strike him that it is a violent mode of adjustment of the claims of Government, to impose on many of the villages an assessment more than double that which had been ascertained at the previous settlement, as suitable by a process exactly similar to that followed, at present, though: not so carefully supervised,, and. therefore,, apparently, not so, accurate. - 11. If the village of Ardndri, No. 4in the list, be considered1 it will be found that the total assessment has been raised, includ ing Local Fund Cess, by more than 183 per cent., i.e.., it has been very nearly trebled. 12. The village Ardnari is an extreme case,, because, accord-., ing to present information, the former rates, must have been in¬ ordinately low. Butin Eshwar Watar, No. 13 of the statement, the assessment has been raised, without counting Local Fund Cess 111 per cent., and the average rate per acre is the highest in the list, or 15 annas and 4 pies. The area under cultivation in Arduari has increased by 382 acres, of which, probably, a great portion was of the nature of concealed cultivation, noticed in para, 34 of Colonel; Francis’ Report on Mddlia, No. 250, dated 14th March 1871; but in Eshwar Watar the increase is only 47 acres, a very small, amount, considering the size of the village, 13. Now, laying aside the capabilities of' the soil of Eshwar Watar, regarding which the Settlement Officers of 1839-40 and 1870-71 ought to be the best judges, the Revenue Commissioner cannot help regarding the new assessment in this and other of the villages as injudiciously enhanced. Admitting the exigencies of the State to be pressing, and the prosperity of the- village, due to the previous light taxation, to be capable, under fairly favourable circumstances, of meeting the new demand, does it not appear a 279 terribly crushing weight on the cultivators to find the terms of the. settlement given them in 1839-40 increased as follows :— Percentage. Local Fund on original assessment ... 6-0625 Revised Assessment ... ... ... Ill' Local Fund on above ... ... ... 6'729375 123 791875 or taking the figures roughly, what sort of a prospect must it be to an occupant of Government land in Bshwar Watar to find that he has to pay about Rs. 2-4-0 for every rupee of assessment he paid only a few years ago, when prices were most favourable. This state of things, from the cultivator’s point of view particu¬ larly, if associated with the serious failure in the locality last year, and the future possibility, nay probability ,»of a worse market for pro¬ duce in consequence of falling prices, is certainly most discourag¬ ing ; and, on the other side, the most that can be said is that cir¬ cumstances appear to admit of a considerable increase of the Gov¬ ernment demand, though the measure of that increase is based on theoretical grounds alone. 14. The Revenue Commissioner, like the officers of the Sur- very Department, considers it essential for the success of Revenue Settlements, that remissions should be granted only under circum¬ stances of the most pressing necessity ; and in order to secure, this object, there must be a large margin of profit to the cultivator in favourable years to make up for the difficulties of his position, in years of even partial failure ; and should any marked fall in price of staple produce, or in the wages of labour, dr the carrier profits which the cultivators now get from their carts and bullocks, occur, there is considerable risk that the rates now introduced will not be entirely leviable, and that the cultivators will seek for some abatement of the pressure. If this should be effected by. a reduction of the area under occupancy and a better cultivation of the re¬ mainder, the evil would be, in a measure, working its own cure ; for it is certain the land now under occupancy in the Deccan can¬ not be properly cultivated. But popular tendencies on a large scale seldom proceed in a beneficial direction; and the most probable process will be, the cultivators allowing themselves to be distrain¬ ed for the worst lands in their occupancy, which will go for small sums to others, until, if the pressure increases, they fall in time out of cultivation under a repetition of the same process, when no pur¬ chaser can be found. 15. Holding this view of the case, the Revenue Commissioner would, with deference, suggest that either a general reduction of 280 the proposed assessment should be effected, which would bring the enhancement as low as about 50. percent., or that, allowing whatever rates may be fixed in excess for the new cultivation, represented by the difference between columns 3 and 9 of Colonel Wadding- ton’s statement, the enhancement, irrespective of the above rates for new cultivation, be in no village allowed to exceed 70 per cent. These remarks apply to the first assessment, and the Revenue Commissioner has no desire to interfere with those rates proposed for garden or rice cultivation. The suggestions arfe not supposed to provide for entire revision, but to indicate generally the direc¬ tion in which deduction might practically be made. 16. Apart from the above general considerations, the Reve¬ nue Commissioner has no objection per se to the special enhance¬ ment proposed by Colonel Francis for the four villages near Pandharpur, in paras. 4 and 6 of his memorandum. 17. The undersigned entirely agrees with the opinion stated by Colonel Francis in para. 9 regarding exchange of villages with the Patwardhan Chiefs. 18. In para. 18 of his report, the District Superintendent alludes to water assessment foregone on 1,923 acres of land irrigat¬ ed from new wells, which is in accordance with the instructions, of Government in Resolution No. 4050, dated 22nd August. 1871, Revenue Department; but it does not appear clear why, if the other .water rates, aggregating Rs. 1,419, have been paid on old wells since the time of the former assessment, they should now be re¬ mitted. There may be sufficient reasons, but they ought to have been assigned. 19. These reports do not contain the usual statistics regard¬ ing population, cattle, carts, ploughs, &c., all of which would have been of interest in calculating the incidence of the revised rates on each of the 33 villages under report. 20. All the authorities concur in supporting the recommen¬ dation in para. 11 of Colonel Waddington’s report relative to the transfer of villages, and it appears very desirable. (Signed) W. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S.D. 281 No. 798. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 11 th February 1873. Resolution.'—The Government is quite alive to the necessity for adhering to the principle which has been adopted for the assessment of the land revenue of this Pi’esidency, viz., that the assessment to be demanded shall in all cases be in proportion to the capabilities of the land in the occupation of each tenant, and observes that the adoption of the fixed scales proposed by the Revenue Commissioner would be altogether at variance with that principle. But the Government would impress upon the officers employed in the assessment its desire that the rents should in all cases be fixed at a very moderate and reasonable rate, and that the occupiers of the land should reap their full share of the increased value of the agricultural produce of the country. The papers in this case may be returned to the Survey and Settlement Commis¬ sioner, Northern Division, for reconsideration, with reference to this Resolution. E. W. RAVENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. No. 290 op 1873. Revenue Department. Poona Districts, Camp Supa, 18th February 1873. MEMORANDUM. In forwarding, at his request, the accompanying memoran¬ dum left by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, Northern Division, the undersigned will venture to express his conviction that the rates proposed for the 33 Pandharpur villages are very moderate, and may be safely imposed. 2. The instructions of Government are requested as to the term for which the rates, if approved of, are to be guaranteed. A decision also regarding the transfer and exchange of villages" is solicited. W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, In charge, Office of the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N, D» * 210—1 282 Memorandum upon the question raised by Mr. Havelock as to the expediency \of modifying the rates of individual villages in cases where the increase is unusually large. Colonel Anderson informs me that at the recent discussion of this question it was decided not to adopt Mr. Havelock’s suggestion, but to impose whatever increase might result from the application of the revised rates according to the new classification of the village lands. And that it was further resolved that the report on the Pandharpur villages should be returned to me for report as to whether I considered the rates to be moderate in the sense in which Government wishes the revision settlements to be carried out. Supposing the above to be the purport of the order in the case, I would unhesitatingly state that I consider the rates to be moderate. I do so because they are 28 per cent, lower than the rates imposed by Colonel Anderson in the adjoining villages belonging to the Mirajkar Jaghir in 1866-67. I was fully aware of his rates being so much higher than those adopted generally for the Madha Taluka (to which the- Pandharpur ones have been assimilated), but considered it was advisable to fix a more moderate demand. It must also be borne in mind that these Pandharpur villages have a great advantage over most of the MMha ones, in being near the town of Pandharpur, where fodder is always very dear in conse¬ quence of the great demand for it for the pilgrims’ cattle. As a rule, the kurbeh or jow£iri straw, which is the chief article of fodder, more than pays the rent; and I think an assessment may be cer¬ tainly said to be very moderate when it leaves all the grain pro-,, duce to the cultivator. For the above reasons I consider that no modification is called for in the rates submitted for the villages referred to. I have written this to be used by Colonel Waddington in answering the reference d.uring.my absence, should the purport of it be what I have herein supposed it to be, according to the infor¬ mation given me by Colonel Anderson. (Signed) J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Poona, 13ih February 1873. 283 No. 1355. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 8th March 1873. Resolution.—As Colonel Francis on reconsideration considers the general pitch of assessment appropriate, and adduces, in sup¬ port of his proposals, the remarkable fact that,. as a general rule, the, rent will be paid out of the straw alone, leaving the whole of the grain produced to the cultivator, His Excellency in Council can have no hesitation in sanctioning the proposed revised rates and guaranteeing them for the usual period of thirty years. A draft notification to this effect should be submitted for publica¬ tion in the Government Gazette. . 2. The proposed exchange of villages should form the sub¬ ject of a separate detailed report. E. W. RAYENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. No. 1820 of 1873. Revenue Department. Poona, 26th September 1873. MEMORANDUM. ' The accompanying letter* from the Superintendent of the m No. 87, dated 19th P°ona and N&sik Survey, with statementf September i873. appended, shows the assessment imposed on t Not printed. 33 villages of the late Madha Taluka, but now belonging to Pandharpur, under the sanction given in Government Resolution No. 1355, dated the 8th March last. 2. The draft notification regarding the settlement prepared ’ by the Superintendent, provides for a thirty-years’ lease to these villages in accordance with the orders contained in the sanction- . ing Resolution quoted above; but as they belong to a district (Pandharpur) which was settled in 1857-58, it is advisable that the lease should be limited to the unexpired por- lutioT™^, dated tion f the grantee given in that case in 9th March 1858.' accordance with standing orders. Ihe draft , has, therefore, been amended accordingly. 284 3. Referring to the Superintendent’s 6th para., the Survey and Settlement Commissioner begs to solicit sanction to the transfer of the 2 villages, marginally noted, to ShoM- Ardnan, Umbargaon. pUr an(j Pandharpur, respectively, as su ggested by that officer. The map accompanying the original Settlement Report shows the position of these villages, and a glance at it will show the desirability of the suggested transfers. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 878 of 1873. From . Lieutenant-Colonel W. WADDINGTON, . Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Sib, Poona, 19th September 1873. I have the honour to submit a final report on the rates lately sanctioned for and introduced into 33 villages of the Pandharpur Taluka and which formerly belonged to M4dha. 2. In accordance with your recommendation, the maximum rate of four villages was raised from Rs. 1-2-0 to Rs. 1-4-0, that of the other 29 villages remaining at Rs. 1-2-0. eaon GursalaC ° The assessment thus modified and corrected amounts to Its. 63,441', in place of Rs. 62,712 as originally fixed. This gives an average increase of 76 per cent, on last year’s payments. 3. The number of khatas amounts to 2,166, and the average area per khata is 41 acres 25 guntas, assessed at Rs. 29-4-8. The total number of inhabitants is 19,767, so that there are 4 acres 22 guntas per head of the population, and the incident of the assess¬ ment is Rs. 3-3-4. 4. The rates were explained by my Assistant ’Settlement Officer, Mr. H. M. Grant, who informed me that no complaints were made at the time of settlement excepting regarding the Local Fund Cess. All increase on past payments were remitted, and where past payments were lowered, the new rates alone were collected. 285 5. There is nothing particular to report in connection with this settlement. The rates were sanctioned by Government in their Resolution No. 1855, of 8th March 1873, for thirty years, and a list of the villages is appended for publication in the Govern¬ ment Gazette. 6. As no orders were issued regarding my proposal to trans¬ fer the village of Ardn4ri to Sholapur, and annex that of Umbar- gaon to Pandharpur, I have the honour to request instructions on these points. I have, &c., (Signed) W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Qolonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N&sik Survey. No. 4029 op 1873. Revenue Department. Poona,, 6tk October 1873. ' Submitted to Government for orders, in continuation of the correspondence terminating with Government Resolution No. 1355 dated 8th March 1873. 2. The Revenue Commissioner regrets that, for the reasons assigned at length in his Report No. 5281, dated 21st October 1872, he is unable to express full concurrence in the rates which repre¬ sent an enhancement on the entire area of 77 per cent., irrespect¬ ive of Local Fund Cess. 3. In the hope that the evident reduction of demand on certain villages, and, as a natural sequence, on separated holdings in certain villages, effected by the recommendations of the survey officers in the lately revised talukas of Haveli and P4bal, would secure, to a certain extent, a recognition of the object the Reve- *nue Commissioner has, much at heart, viz., obviating excessive augmentation, without special reasons, on separated holdings on occasion of revision of a former Government settlement,—a memo¬ randum in support of the same views had been drawn up on these papers. The object has been intensified by the apprehension, lest, in some cases, the higher classification of particular fields under the revision may be due to gradual improvement of the land by labour and capital not at once recognisable, though fully entitled by law to exemption; but previous to despatch the Government Resolution 286 No. 5495, dated 3rd instant, had been received, and the Revenue Commissioner conceives it better to suppress that memorandum, and to confine his remarks to those points to which, he understands, it is desired that the discussion should be limited. 4. Leaving aside, then, the consideration of details, the Re*, venue Commissioner sees reason to apprehend that the proposed rates will press heavily, because the price of jowari is falling in the ShoMpur District, and has for some time been as low as 27 and 28 Government seers the rupee; and though there will, of course, be fluctuations, the tendency of the market appears to be to range below the average of those years which Colonel Wad- dington and Colonel Francis have, with good judgment, as the Revenue Commissioner thinks, adopted as the test. 5. Briefly, the Revenue Commissioner believes that a general enhancement of 70 per cent, is the greatest limit to which the rise in prices warrants augmentation of demand ; that the recent turn of the market suggests a probability that the limit should be fixed at a lower, rather than a higher rate, say about 50 per cent., irre¬ spective of Local Funds, and that it would be well for the classifica¬ tion to be reduced through the maximum, or in such manner as the' survey officers may recommend to meet these features in the case. • 6. The Revenue Commissioner begs again to support the recommendation of the Superintendent, the Collector of ShoMpur, and the Commissioner of Survey, that the village of ArduAri should be transferred to the ShoMpur Taluka ; and that of Umbargaon, at present in the Sangola Taluka, should be transferred to Pandharpur. W. H. HAVELOCK, ' Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 5717 of 1873. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 10th October 1873. Returned to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner* Northern Division, for reconsideration with reference to Mr. Havelock’s remarks and the views of Government as contained in Government Resolution No. 5495 of the 5th instant. Colonel Francis’ further remarks should, it is requested, be sub¬ mitted through Colonel Anderson, who settled the adjacent district. (Signed) E. JAMES, Acting Under Secretary to Government. 287 ■ Government Memorandum No. 5717, dated 16th October 1873. No. 2154 of 1873.. Revenue Department. Poona, 17th November 1873. 'X In accordance with the foregoing instructions "I beg to report that, after careful consideration of Mr. Havelock’s remarks and of the question generally of the large increase of assessment effected by the revised rates imposed on these 33 villages, I can see no grounds, for the reasons given below, for making any modifications of the settlement as already introduced. 2. The best possible evidence that the rates are ijy no means high, is afforded by comparison with those now in force in adjacent districts settled by the Survey Department. I will first take the case of the town of Pandharpur, which was settled by the Survey Commissioner, Southern Division, Colonel Anderson, in 1857-58, at a maximum ratd, Rs. 1-2-0, for jerayet, which is the same as has been adopted in this case, with the exception of 4 villages imme¬ diately opposite the former town, for which the rate was raised to Rs. 1-4-0 at my suggestion. Now we find by comparison not only that our maximum in this case agrees with Colonel Ander¬ son’s, but that the average rate agrees also as closely as can be, his for Pandharpur being Rs. 0-10*11, whilst that for the whole 33 villages is Rs. 0-11-3. 3. This shows conclusively, in my opinion, supposing the soils to be generally similar, which is the case, that we are now assessing these villages at only a fractional increase on what would have been imposed upon them in 1857-58, had they been settled at that time according to the rates fixed by Colonel Anderson for Pandharpur. It follows, consequently, that if any reduction were now made in their rates, we should actually be imposing less than the settlement carried out in 1858* when the staple product, jo wari, was above 30 per cent, lower than it is now, taking the present rate to be 27 to 28 seers per rupee as given by Mr. Havelock. 4. But besides Pandharpur we have another case for compa¬ rison in the rates of the villages of the Mor Limba Jaghir ad¬ joining the 33 villages which were also settled by Colonel Ander¬ son 5 or 6 years ago, at a maximum of Rs. 1-8-0 in some cases. * Note.—I have no return of Pandharpur prices in 1857*58; but from 39 to 40 seers is shown to be the price in Indapur at the time, 288 On inquiry I find that the total assessment imposed on these villages amounts to above Rs. 38,000, the whole of which is being now paid, with the exception of Rs. 68, falling to waste-lands. The Kdrbhari informed me, however, that owing to the season of 1871-72 being unfavourable, a balance of from 15 to 20 thousand was left over for future collection, but that it had all been realised during the past season in addition to the proper revenue of the year, with the exception of a small outstanding balance of between Rs. 2 and 300. We have proof, therefore, of rates considerably higher than those for the villages in question being found to work well in an adjoining tract of country, in which, though jaghir, the settlement is administered generally according to the plan in force in our districts. 5. A small part of the increase caused by the new rates falls upon the Malai lands on the banks of the Bhima, which are an¬ nually flooded by the flushes of the river in the monsoon season. Cultivation is most certain where this flooding occurs, and the crop far heavier than in ordinary Jerayet lands. Under pur pre¬ sent classification we' impose an extra rate, varying from 2 to 4 annas per rupee, on these semi-irrigated lands. But, under the former system not only wa3 no extra rate imposed on them, but a low valuation of them adopted, according to the ordinary Jerayet scale. These Malai lands are considered to be very valuable, as a rule; and I find them to be so in this case, as the jamabandi papers show that an area of 127* acres, the occupancy right to which was disposed of at time of settlement, fetched Rs. 1,453, which is a little over eleven years’ purchase of the assessment. 6. The area of this particular land is small certainly, but by far the greater part of the villages contains some small portion of it; for, as will be seen from the map, they all lie in a narrow belt along the border of the river. They also contain a much smaller proportion of poor soil than is ordinarily the case in this part of the Deccan, owing to their comprising the bed of the valley bordering on the river. The classification rate is on this account higher than the general average of the district; but as the increase falls on good soils, as a rule, there is no fear of the rate being found to be high. 7. The Revenue Commissioner suggests that the classifica¬ tion should be reduced, the maximum being retained; but when we find, as has been explained in the first part of this report, that the average rate shows the classification to have been done on the same standard as was adopted in an adjoining district, where the settle- * Assessed at Rs. 131, being land which was let on annual lease before the settlement. 289 ment has been, successfully working for a considerable period. We cannot very well make a reduction in the manner suggested with¬ out also carrying it out in respect to the district settled in 1857-58 as well as to the present case; and this would lead to no end of complications, for where is the line to be drawn ?—in other words, which of our settled districts are we to except from the operation of the special reduction alluded to ? 8. The increase effected by the new rate is large, I admit; but I see no way of remedying this without an entire departure from our long-established system of classification and assessment, which, as explained above, would involve considerable complications, and, moreover, for the reasons herein stated, I cannot see that any modification of the rate is necessary. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner. (Through the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D.) Remarks regarding the introduction of the rates into S3 villages of the Pandharpur TaluJca formerly belonging to Mddha. No. 1912 op 1873. Survey Commissioner’s Office, Poona, 19th November 1873. MEMORANDUM. The following were the maximum rates of assessment im¬ posed in Various settlements made by the Southern Mahratta Country Survey, at different times, in districts in the vicinity of that under discussion. 2. In 1857-58 the old Pandharpur Taluka was settled; Rs. 1-2-0 was taken as the maximum for Pandharpur itself and an adjacent village, Rs. 1 for the villages in the vicinity to that place and bordering on the river, and Rs. 0-15-0 for those at a greater distance inland. 3. In 1867 the settlement of the Modlimb Taluka of the Miraj Jaghir was made; the maximum rate was made atRs. 1-8-0. B 210—K 290 4. In 1869 the settlem ent of the Mangalvera Taluka of S&ngli was made. This taluka is contiguous to the south-eastern corner of the villages now under discussion. Major Prescott was then acting for me ; he adopted a maximum rate of Rs. 1-10-0 for the best situated villages, and Rs. 1-14-0 for the market town of • Mangalvera itself. 5. It may be said that Modlimb and Mangalvera are jaghirs, and assessments there may justly range higher than in British territory. But if maxima of Rs. 1-8-0 and Rs. 1-10-0 and Rs. 1-14-0 could be safely and successfully taken in jaghirs, a maximum of Rs. 1-2-0 in adjacent British territory cannot be called anything but most moderate. ' . „ * 6. The Pandharpur rates imposed in 1857-58 afford an in¬ dubitable criterion on which to judge of the applicability of the rates now proposed. In 1858 the railway was not open, arid prices, were generally much lower than at the present time. Any extra quantity of produce thrown into the market from increased or improved cultivation, or a special good season, would, for want of ready means of transport, have produced a local glut and a cor¬ responding heavy fall of price; from this there is absolute security now. 7. Had these villages been assessed in 1858, they certainly would have been assessed at similar rates to the adjacent part of Pandharpur; that is, at maximum rates varying from Rs. 1-2-0 to Rs. 0-15-0, which, for the time, was a considerably higher rate of assessment than Rs. 1-2-0 is at present. The settlement of Pan¬ dharpur was a complete success ; cultivation and revenue largely increased; and from the year of settlement, 1857-58, up to 1870-71, the last year for which I have complete returns, the total remissions on a gross revenue of Rs. 1,24,000 amount to Rs. 39, and that occurred in one year, 1870-71; 8. I have, therefore, no hesitation in giving my opinion as to the maximum rates adopted being fair and moderate rates. These villages are situated in a tract which has especially benefited by the railway, and these larger increases of revenue are just than can be looked for in remoter districts. (Signed) W. C. ANDERSON, Survey arid Settlement Commissioner, S. D. 291 No. 6643.. Revenue Department.. Bombay Castle, 10th December 1873. Resolution.—Government are satisfied that the rates already sanctioned may safely be continued. 2. The draft notification is to be published in the Government Gazette. - 3. The transfer of the village of Ardan&ri to the Sholapur, and of Umbargaon to the Pandharpur talukas, is sanctioned. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government., No. 1258 of 1875. Revenue Department., From Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D.-, To W. G. PEDDER, Esq;, Acting Secretary to Government. Poona, 21 st August 1875.- SlR, ' In continuation of my letter of the 18th instant, No. 1237,. I have now the honour to forward the accompanying statement, showing the reduction which it is proposed to apply to the revi- sip'l settlement introduced in ’ 33 villages, forming part of the Fandharpur Taluka of the ShoMpur Collectorate. 2. The villages were divided into 2 groups, and assessed at maximum rates of Rs. 1-4 and Rs. 1-2 at the revision settlement. Carrying out the plan adopted in other districts, I have made 292 a reduction of 2 annas per class in these rates, accompanied with the reduction in classification valuation from 10 annas downwards as applied in other cases. / 3. It will be seen from the statement that by these measures the revised assessment will now be in the proportion of an increase on the first settlement of 54 in place of 85 per cent, for the villages of the first group, and of 47 in place of 75 for those of the second—the general average increase being 48 in place of 76. 4. There is one village, Ardnaxi, in which the increase is above the prescribed limit (75) for individual villages, being 79 per cent. But as I have already made' a general reduction of class throughout in the classification valuation of this village in the manner indicated in para. 3 of my letter No. 1257 of to-day’s date, I cannot recommend any further reduction being made in this case; and the fact of the average rate being only annas 6 pies 2 per acre, is good evidence of the assessment as now fixed being exceedingly moderate.. I have the honour to be,. Sir, Your most obedient Servant,. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and- Settlement Commissioner, N. IX. No. 5133. Revenue Depabtment.. Bombay Castle, 9th September 1875. Resolution.—It is not necessary to discuss, at any great length,, the proposals now submitted by the Survey Commissioner, N. D., as the villages of which they treat originally belonged to the Mdaha Taluka ; their revenue history is the same as that of that taluka ; their circumstances in almost all respects are the same; and it is. proposed to deal with the correction of their revised settlement, finally sanctioned after long and careful consideration by Govern¬ ment Resolution No. 6648, dated 10th December 1873, in the same- manner as has been decided upon for M&dha by Government Resolution No. 4515, dated 11th August 1875. 293 2. By the revised settlement introduced in 1872, maximum dry-crop rates of assessment of Bs. 1-4-0 per acre for four villages close to the large market of Pandharpur, and of Bs. 1-2-0 for the rest of the 33 villages comprised in the group under consideration, were imposed. These rates raised the total assessment from Bs. 36,048 to Bs. 63,441, or 76 per cent., and the average rate per acre from annas 6 pies 4 to annas 11 pies 3. 3. In sanctioning these rates Government were guided, as well by the considerations fully stated in the Besolution on the correction of the M4dha rates, viz., the extension of cultivation, the rise of prices, the improvement in communications, and the increase in the value of land which had taken place during the currency of the original settlement, as by a comparison of the rates in force in adjoining and similar tracts of country. The rates introduced in 185.7-58, or before the great rise in prices set in, by the Survey Commissioner, S. D., in the Pandharpur villages on the other side of the Bhima, which have worked well and have never been com¬ plained of, average annas 10 pies 11 per acre, or only 4 pies lower than the rate sanctioned for the villages under consideration ; while the survey rates introduced at the desire of Chiefs in the neigh¬ bouring Jagirs of Miraj, Modlimb, and Mangalvera between 1866 and 1869 average from 28 per cent, to about 50 per cent, higher- than that rate,, and appear to be realized by the Jagird&rs without difficulty. 4.. Government are not, then, of opinion that the revised rates introduced in 1872 were at that time excessive. It is because it appears probable that prices will, during the currency of the revised' settlement, range lower than was anticipated when it was sanction-, ed, that Government consider it desirable to reduce the rates., 5. The Survey Commissioner proposes to effect this reduc-. tion in the same manner as has been approved for M4dha; that is, (1) by lowering the maximum rates 2 annas all. round, (2) by re¬ ducing the valuation of the poorer soils., 6. The effect of these changes will be to reduce the total assessment from Bs. 63,441 to Bs. 53,171, and the average rate from annas 11 pies 3 per acre to annas 9 pies 5. The total in¬ crease upon the original settlement will be lowered from 76 per cent, to 48 per cent., and of the difference 10 per cent', will be a general reduction effected by the lowering of the maximum rates, and 18 per cent, will be a special reduction for the poorer soils, which, there is some reason to believe, were valued too highly in com¬ parison, with the better soils. 294 7. These proposals are approved, and it remains only to con¬ sider the case of one village, Ardndri (No, 5 in the list). This village was originally increased 172 per cent., its average rate by the original settlement having been the absurdly inadequate one of annas 3 pies 4| per acre, As the reduction caused by the mea¬ sures to be generally adopted for the tract under consideration would still leave the increase of assessment of the'village consider¬ ably in excess of 75 per cent., Colonel Francis proposes to lower its valuation one class all round. This, however, in the opinion of Government, is inexpedient, as no reason has been shown for valuing the better soils of this village on a standard lower than that adopted for the rest of the tract to which it belongs. This village is in the extreme south-east of the group under considera¬ tion, and is furthest distant from the mart of Pandharpur. For this reason, its classification being treated in the same manner as that of the other villages, a special maximum rate of 15 annas, the same as that adopted by Colonel Anderson for the outlying villages of Pandharpur in its neighbourhood settled by him in 1857, may be applied. The reduction thus effected will be quite sufficient; and as the next revision of the whole taluka as at present con¬ stituted will be made in a.d. 1888, this village will, then come under the maximum rate then considered appropriate for the group to which it naturally belongs. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government. From- To No. 1020 of 1875. Lieut.-Colonel E. L. TAVERNER, Acting Superintendent, Poona and Ndsik Survey, Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Camp Pimpalwandi, 25th November 1875. Sib, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the result of the alteration made under Government Resolution No. 5133, dated 9th September 1875, in the Revision Settlement rules of 33 villages of the Pandharpur Taluka of the ShoMpur Collectorate. 29.5 2. The estimate entered in para. 6 of the Resolution is that the assessment would be reduced from Rs. 63,441 to Rs. 63,171, or from an original increase of 76 to one of 48 per cent. The actual result, it will be seen, is Rs. 52,636, or 46 per cent., that is, a 2 per cent, difference only on the estimate. 3. A return of fields of which the revised assessment still exceeds that of the first settlement by one hundred pei* cent., is being prepared by' the Mamlatdir, and -will be submitted when received. There will probably, however; be very few cases of this description. I have the honour to be, &c., (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent Revenue Survey, Poona and N4sik. ST. i .O s ft 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 296 ?EMENT showing the ultimate result of the Survey Revision Sholapur Collectorate, as finally adjusted under Government Name of Village. As per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72. As per Revision Acres. Acres. Assessment. © & J-i CO&OtOO5OOCO* otot05 o»h : ohmsj. . . .1 to &» COC0*^rOfc0OrC0050i£~H-‘f~lCi©COQOtOCOCQOtCO tn H M O 05 tO tO CO CO f—4 05 —-J t£»- Or “Of *CrrO)COCDOCO«*-tOjHtO)l-tOH toH K>H tO|f-*0|>- K>H 8 10 ft O O o o “ h-* >-» s> 05 H CO-SJ to h-» Average Dry-crop Rate per acre, exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. I to to Remarks, Settlement for the undermentioned Villages of Talulca Pandharpur, Resolution No. 5133, dated 9th September 1875. 298 u 05 05 : 3 p- 05 05 : 05 05 i—»: * : a*: : : w 02 h-4 to Soil Assessment. W h3 'S ffs- 02 • $ to CD 1 a OQ • : 1 o : a : : : : : W m 1-* M | Rice. / 52,636 : 52,636 896 lo Or 05 .M^M JO^CO o'to OOOlf^M CO Or O CD M 00 M Ot Total. . 6,534 6,534 391 ; 5,115 CO to CO -Sj CO CO CO 00 H1OMM00 M 05 Acres. £ B - 16,588 : 16,588 459 13,728 t0 M CO CO Ot if*. CO CD if* M 05 MOO CO to . 00 M -or Assessment, o’ Increase. 00 : 00 K3 CO M Ot ^ <1 05 00 ’#■ 00 Acres. Percent¬ age. 05 : 05 105 £ CO Ot if* C/r >f* CO CO CO to w. OQ M CO Assessment. g» : z : Q z : : : : : • to o ! Maximum Dry-crop Rate per acre. Or CO co : CO CO O CO ooooo 1-4 1—41 |—I O •‘Jt to o CO to OB P to - M Average Dry-crop Rate per acre, exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. to 1 t • i i o - settlement the assessment on cultivated land 1st Period, 12 years. . . , , „ , , „ „ ,, , would amount to ids. 84,000. But on examin¬ ing the diagram, it appears that the assessment was in reality Rs. 1,06,884 ; the increase being doubtless owing to 25,000 acres of waste having been taken up. Still, however, 50,000 acres, or a ' little more than 4-th of the total culturable area, was waste in this year, and remissions to the extent of Rs. 8,925 were -allowed. In the next year 7,000 acres of the waste were taken up, and. the remissions were only Rs 175 ; but in 1842-43 the waste again rose to 46,986 acres, and in the following year to 55,246. In 1844-45 the waste was slightly less, and in 1845-46 over 11,000 acres were taken up, but the remissions amounted to the large sum of Rs. 40,872. In the next year over 18,000 more acres were taken up, there being -only 24,254 acres of waste, and the remissions were nominal, viz., Rs. 322. From this date cultivation gradually decreased until 1851-52, the 12th year of the settlement/when the waste land amounted to 35,490 acres, or .about yth of the total area. The average collections for the first twelve years were Rs. 1,03,736, the average waste 40,803 acres, and remissions Rs. 4,417. 27. The year 1852-53 showed the waste land to have risen nun • j in „ „ to 41,167 acres, but the remissions were only 2nd Period, 10 ,.»» ^ gL Fron, ^ epoch ^ ^ decreaBeJ by rapid strides, whilst* the collections rose., and remissions dwin¬ dled, until in 1861-62, the 22nd year of the settlement, there were 315 only. 2,633 acres of waste land, the collections were Rs. 1,23,477, and the remissions nil. The average waste was 15,164 acres, collections Rs. 1,18,245, and remissions Rs. 190. 28. During the last ten years the waste land may be said to have been all taken up, the collections have 3rd Period, JO years. averaged Rs. 1,24,588, and there have been no remissions. 29. As shown in a preceding paragraph, Captain Wingate was of opinion that the Barsi Taluka can roposed rates. -well bear rates of assessment equal to those of ShoKpur, and the present maximum rate throughout is the same as that of Sholdpur was, viz., Rs. 1. Conceding, as I most readi¬ ly do, that at the time of the settlement the status of the two districts was so similar as to justify his deduction, it is still very evident to me that that condition no longer exists. The construc¬ tion of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway has conferred such an advantage on Sholapur, that the former parallel no longer holds good ; and on the ground *of the advantages thus enjoyed, Sholdpur should, doubtless, be assessed at a higher rate than Bdrsi, and as my maximum rate for ShoMpur was Rs. 1-8-0, that for Barsi ought apparently, to be somewhat less. But, as was explained in my report on the settlement of the Sholapur Taluka, paragraph 38, my maximum rate which I considered was properly applicable in that district was Rs. 1-12-0, and it was only owing to the very great rise which (owing to the extreme'faultiness of the old classifica¬ tion) the application of that rate would have caused, that, in defer¬ ence to the opinion of the Survey Commissioner, N. D. 1 reduced the maximum to Rs. 1-8-0. In the case of Barsi the scale of classification, as mentioned in a former paragraph, approximates so closely to the standard now in force' in this department (there being only an average difference of 11 pies), that the imposition of the same rate as in Sholapur will not cause nearly so large an increase in the assessment as was the case in that district. I, there¬ fore, propose to take Rs. 1-8-0 as my maximum rate, and to, have in all, four classes of villages coming under the respective rates of Rs. 1-8-0, Rs. 1-6-0, Rs. 1-4-0, and Rs. 1-2-0. 30. As in the case of Sholapur, I will limit the maximum rate . of Rs. 1-8-0 to the principal town of Bdrsi rouping o i ages. j^self. but, in consideration of the greater rainfall near the hills, I propose to extend the second class to all villages between Barsi and the GMts. The third class will embrace all villages further removed from the hills and Barsi and a few rough villages in the north-east corner; and the fourth class is con¬ fined to a few villages which are further removed from anv market or road in the south-east of the district. 316 31. The total number of villages in the taluka is 124, com- Mm- prising: an area of 603 square miles, of which Number of Villages. ^ ^ ^nd of these, however, only 111 Government and 4 Dumala come under immediate settlement, the remaining 5 Government villages having lapsed, three in 1848 and two in 1854, and been brought under settlement in 1856 and 1858, respectively, by the Dharwar Survey Department. The annexed map shows the grouping of the villages and the different rates, and number of villages coming under each class is as follows :— Statement showing the number of Villages coming under each rate. No. of Villages. Maximum Rate. Class I. ... . i 1-8 Class II. 58 1-6 Class III. 47 ] 1-4 Class IV. 5 1-2 111 Class II. 4 1-6 Class III. 5 1-4 120 Remarks. The town of B&rsi. Villages within 5 or 6 miles of Bars* or adjoining the hills, or on road to Vair&g or Barsi Road Station. Villages further from Barsi and the hills to the south of road from Barsi to Vairag, and some villages in north-east corner. A group of villages in south-east corner. Two Dumala villages and two Gov¬ ernment, of which lease has not expired. Two Dumala and three Government of which lease has not expired. 32. You will see that of the 111 villages there is only one in the 1st class, the assessment on which is Effect o ra es. raised 80 per cent, by the new rates. The 2nd class embraces 58 villages, the average increase on which is 66 per cent. ; and the 3rd class 47, which are raised 62 per cent. The 4th class includes only 5 villages, the increment on which, however, is greater than in any of the other classes, being 95 per cent., though the average rate is less, being only-9 annas 1 pie acre ; whilst those of the other three classes are, respectively, 12 annas 1 pie, 12 annas 4 pies, and 11 annas 3 pies. The average increase on the 111 Government villages included in the diagram is 66 per cent., and the average rate per acre on dry-crop land is 11 annas 9 pies—in Sholdpur it was 11 annas and 4 pies. 3-17 33. To compare the proposed assessment with the figures given in Captain Wingate’s return (which Comparison with former re]a^e(j to 112 villages), it will be necessary paymen s. t0 deduct the revenue of oue village, Ddr- phal, which was transferred to Sholapur subsequent to the settle¬ ment. The assessment on this village is Rs. 1,660. The largest collections from 1818-19 to 1839-40, exclusive of Sayer, were in 1826-27, in which year they amounted to Es. .1,89,302. The assessment I propose, then, is Rs.- 17,944 more for 111 villages than the highest revenue realized during the last fifty-three years. As compared with the collections during the course of the present settlement it is Rs. 1,03,510, or 100'percent. more than the average annual revenue during the first 12 years ; Rs. 89,001, or 75 per cent., more than that for the next 10 years; and Rs. 82,658, or 66 per cent, more than that of the last 10 years. 34. Cases of a very great increase in individual villages are _ , , • much less common than in the Sholdpur <.rpan»anCeS ° arge m" Taluka, there being only 11 instances in which the increase exceeds 100 per cent. The greatest rise is,in the village of Gormala, No. 19, which is raised 150 per cent., and the least in Pimpalwandi, No. 45, and Turk Pimpri, No. 103, which are increased only 13 per cent. 35. The-quantity of land actually under cultivation in excess of the recorded area is 30,454, or 12 per cent, of the total cultivation. Of waste assessed land there are only 83 acres. The exhibits the results in the case of the 111 villages included in the diagram. The effect in the case of each village is shown in the figured statement* annexed to the report:—- Lauds held in excess, following statement * Not printed. Statement showing the effect of the Proposed Rates contrasted with last Year's Payments in 111 Villages. - Occupied. Waste. Total. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Assessment according to Es. Rs. Rs. present rates Assessment according to 248,465 1,24,658 59 9 248,525 1,24,667 proposed rates 278,509 2,07,174 83 72 278,592 2,07,246. \ > 30,044 82,516 24 63 30,068 82,579 31-8 36. You will thus see that the increase of assessment on the culturable lands of these 111 villages is Rs. Increase of Revenue. 82,579, of which only Rs. 63 are on account of unoccupied lands. 37. The assessment according to the present settlement on. land irrigated by wells and paths isRs. 8,308, aths1^ uader welIs and but it was imposed in a lump, there being pa no detail of what proportion was on ac¬ count of the- well, and what on account of the* path. The area under wells, according to the new survey, is 14,133 acres, so that by the abandonment of the cess on wells at least Rs. 28,000 will be foregone. The area irrigated by paths is 1,058 acres ; the highest rate imposed by me on account of water is Rs.'4-8 0, decreasing to 8 annas according to circumstances. The total assessment on this account in the 111 villages is Rs. 1,913, or an average of Rs. 1-13-0 per acre, besides the dry-crop rate. 38. The measurement of the district was carried out under the superintendence of Messrs. Harrison and Boundary disputes. Disney, and the classification by Messrs. Cumming and Francis; and I have every reason to suppose that both operations were carefully conducted. The last-mentioned two gentlemen have satisfactorily settled most of the cases of disputed boundary between the British Government and that of His High¬ ness the Nizam in communication with Syad Aminodin, the Man- sabdar deputed by His Highness. There are a few cases in which the arbitratoi'S could not come to an agreement, and regarding further proceedings in which reference has been made to Govern¬ ment, as there is no provision in the Act for cases of this nature. 39. Whilst on this subject I would bring to the notice of •Government the desirability, if possible, of Outlying Villages- . effectjDg an interchange, with His Highness the Nizam, of the many outlying British villages of this and the other taluk as of the Sholdpur Collectorate for others which are simi¬ larly isolated from His Highness’s dominions. Should this be deemed practicable, I would have a list of villages prepared, with the necessary information regarding the relative value of the differ¬ ent villages concerned. 40.In conclusion, I must explain that, in order to save time, I have prepared my report without waiting for the examination of the classification re¬ turns, and consequently some variation must be expected between the returns now submitted and the final corrected, assessment; but Conclusion. 319 such variation will not affect the general results in any very appre¬ ciable degree, probably not more than 3 or 4 per cent. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey. Poona, 14th August 1872. Statistical Table No. Ill:-—Details, of Cultivation. District. 'Surveyed Villages. Crops. Percentage Governm Total. of Total Cu ent and Ini Kharif. Itivation of im lands. Rabi. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Barsi .. 111 Khalsat ... Jowari ... 62'2 62-2 Bajri ... 5*1 51 Cotton ... 2*0 20 ... - Gram 4*5 ... 4*5 Rice 17 17 ... Wheat ... 2-5 «* ♦ 2*5 Bhuimang .... 4*6 4*6 Chillies .... 0*5 0*5 ... Tnr 4*4 4*4 Rlax 1-4 1*4 ... Kahrla ... 2*3 2*3 Kardai ... 0*5 ... 0*5 Halad ... 0*5 0*5 Miscellaneous ... 3*9 13 2‘6 Waste (occupied) 3*9 .• ... 3*9 Total... 100*0 23*3 767 320 Classification Test Statement. Result. Names of Assistants. Number of Fields tested. Errors within A. P. A. P. 0 6 A. P, 1 0 A. P. 1 6 A. P. 2 0 A. P. 2 6 A. P. 3 0 A. P. 3 6 A. P. 4 0 Mr. A. Cumming Mr. E. A. Francis | 1,179 113 552 352 - 100 . 40 10 10 1 1 Measurement Test Statement. Fields in which, the percentage error was within Names of Assistants. Number of Fields tested. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Above 10 per cent. Mr. W. G. Harrison ... Mr. H. K. Disney ...... | 1,133 917 128 36 25 14 5 2 6 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. Statement. CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Number of Bouses, Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, fyc., in the Bdrsi Taluka the Sholapur Oollectorate, according to Census taken, respectively, in 1839-40 and 1870-.71. Inhabitants. Wells. Cattle. m . m Names of Villages. Houses. 4 p< m © > 3 O a a * «3 q O 0 W) O Pi m •+=► O O la a g 3 53 Males. Females. Total 3 V & hb 1 u 0 « o a 3 4-> o ro j m os TJ 3 % O • illocks a: Buffaloes s& 0 ^ .a 43 1 cu 0 0 a c$ eft 0 m u O fi O H s Q O S3 « cc m w 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 Bdrsi t 1839-40 j 1870-71 923 4,308 2,249 8,195 1,868 7,564 4,117 15,759 79 115 ‘”3 39 55 118 173 42 25 37 126 1,066 1,188 1,167 1,269 232 1,142 1,023 1,182 56 269 A Agalg&on j 1839-40 ' 11870-71 372 840 762 1,602 42 8 50 18 10 356 424 177 432 17 z 233 935 932 1,867 61 28 89 39 13 475 562 191 320 17 A Alipur ( 1839-40 22 68 61 129 2 3 5 2 2 52 81 2 122 4 3 } 1870-71 25 69 52 121 9 1 1 11 ^4 30 26 7 97 3 A Ambajowlga ... t 1839-40 230 456 434 890 44 9 53 21 ’*2 390 375 97 66 25 4: | 1870-71 316 655 604 1,259 50 25 75 24 13 376 454 131 514 29 5 Arangaon 1 1839-40 57 127 137 264 12 5 * 17 .8 3 87 140 36 194 10 1 1870-71 83 182 173 355 17 1 8 26 14 24 149 148 44 91 9 a Bablmlgaon l 1839-40 86 210 196 406 15 3 18 10 4 193 166 28 69 6 j 1870-71 116 316 315. 631 44 3 47 27 24 261 292 105 217 13 *7 Bdlewdri ( 1839-40 17 48 40 88 '2 2 4 6 1 40 48 4 15 1 i 11870.71 22 81 - 72 153 6 1 2 9 6 41 49 15 27 4 8 Bdvi (1839-40 257 602 554 1,156 21 3 24 36 “is 420 455 S3 92 21 11870-71 168 799 704 1,503 40 3 43 29 37 349 495 131 490 32 9 Bal^gaon J1839-40 35 76 66 142 10 2 12 8 1 56 63 7 35 1 ! 1870-71 44 138 131 269 11 4 15 12 18 81 123 32 18 6 10 Bhoira (1839-40 36 104 90 194 7 2 9 4 3 79 105 15 66 8 11870-71 46 134 104 238 7 1 6 14 11 14 105 117 29 88 6 11 Ch4fA •« • j1839.40 196 414 377 791 1 1870-71 126 518 470 988 12 Chikharda j 1839-40 226 579 555 1,134 i 1870-71 138 668 725 1,393 13 Devgdon i 1839-40 113 326 296 622 \ 1870-71 60 413 367 780 14 Dhiaora j1839-40 28 66 57 123 \ 1870-71 39 109 • 111 220 15 Dhotra {1839-40 77 198 212 410 \ 1870-71 157 385 377 762 16 Dadsinga 1839-40 58 125 118 243 [ 1870-71 51 191 182 373 17 Gddegion f1839-40 35 79 69 148 11870-71 124 131 118 249 18 GHri 1839-40 107 277 215 492 1 1870-71 164 424 415 839 19 Gormala 1839-40 110 424 368 792 \ 1870-71 242 510 484 994 20 Inddpur ... < (1839-40 78 169 140 309 [1870-71 76 190 157 347 21 JaMnpur ... < | 1839-40 19 j > 1870-71 45 106 87 193 22 J&mg4on (tarf ) 1839-40 99 220 183 403 Agalgaon) 11870-71 109 294 289 583 23 K&ndalgaon 11839-40 71 264 213 477 ] 1870-71 114 326 297 623 24 Kategaon ... j 1839-40 142 355 297 652 KAri ... ' j 1870-71 252 563 537 ' U00 25 11839-40 415 1,026 942 1,968 1870-71 283 956 832 1,788 26 ; KMmgdon 1839-40 94 243 211 454 1870-71 105 425 384 809 27 Kh&ndvi 1839-40 113 749 682 1,431 Khadkalgaoa \, 1870-71 292 975 941 1,916 28 1839-40 15 56 44 100 Korphal ... 1870-71 29 78 65 143 29 1839-40 341 718 649 1,367 i Kuslamb 1870-71 454 942 904 1,846 30 1839-40 65 139 114 253 Kaudg&on ... j 11870-71 106 273 255 528 31 » 1839-40 241 189 .158 347 1 1870-71 260 285 268 553 co-^-*q[>^H-ajCAoaO'305-otH-H-'05«^ 3 42 15 5 . 24 66 26 14 20 61 35 15 25 99 38 54 1 10 15 13 3 4 25 17 14 2 11 4 1 1 4 14 11| 3 11 29 8 i 16 49 33 28 6 15 8 6 1 8 24 17 25 9 14 4 2 1 7 17 42 26 37 17 4 i *5 47 31 28 13 22 11 6 45 42 23 1 3 12 3 1 5 12 6 1 11 1 1 2 19 8 3 .». 12 18 14 1 7 2 12 25 31 12 1 14 15 i l 7 4 21 4 25 18 4 2 16 47 24 13 21 87 40 11 i 30 123 84 6 5 20 12 4 ”7 13 53 29 17 2 19 15 13 i 3 34 105 24 3 6 2 1 4 9 5 5 7 23 13 12 “2 6 39 59 41 4 18 10 7 "1 7 25 13 13 ... 15 52 26 4 3 23 69 7 3 322 101 246 17 349 122 501 27 515 134 234 . 15 666 160 354 25 307 274 445 17 223 89 169 14 65 8 2 1 106 23 14 4 226 54 51 15 311 107 234 21 82 7 50 4 154 48 67 3 79 1 5 5 451 173 166 9 201 50 121 8 322 125 202 23 297 81 314 12 483 139 280 19 163 35 54 12 134 57 63 18 40 12 2 76 44 18 5 235 63 141 5 245 128 365 13 221 163 6 6 101 57 67 5 324 62 67 16 315 113 70 25 852 237 708 46 1,073 186 425 36 204 210 65 4 405 67 87 15 307 274 445 17 662 157 816 15 47 6 370 75 ' 25 292 2 680 146 763 36 733 231 812 39 121 17 4 1 160 • 46 37 3 341 132 270 23 297 168 424 33 294 389 470 319 51 224 63 96 265 225 129 90 81 405 242 253 366 359 172 112 32 80 193 235 30 166 267 323 958 334 65 284 51 556 47 57 642 689 123 186 317 346 323 ^^•^rf^^COCOCOCOCOCOCOCO f ^COtOH-OCOQO’Scs ^jgcotG | f— j Number. +& *t3 oq oq cl, **• 2 5 R f3* ^L SL H H § 3. g £ eg ^ & m H— (-— v( Oi 09 Ot K3 KJ) I-— (-— u • ■ • $,^>1T't^J©tO*^J^CO^COQOOOtC^OOtn—QQCJItOt—COCO*— p-» dX tO ^5|^^'g^)^t$t5CA5oocbcnifcocnotO’Q©oow-3 tGtOcOO3i4^.t£iO5COCOCHtfkCOO5©,OQOO ** Males. 3 p- H— H— K-* H- W to h-00 ^ K> >—COtO H- H— CO tO Oi a Ol Oi fin Ci « M OlQWOH lOC£>GOtO©05^*>-lO5tG®Ot®tO Ot B £» & p* 8* !' ** SO CO 00 JO • t— <=>?£ S' w Sr* to to ft to ^r w co i— co h- ~4 cri ^Qo^HcocxiH^QeHflioi^toosooootWoJO^aiOsow (* a p cc K) W«i^lOt5^WW-JIK)iCO> -4 Agricultural. 10 H— H— tO H— CO H— GO Drinking. & mhh: h- co i—co co to to h— : : tf* V\ 00 Oi to 0^©^COto£t£-tOCo£.H-CDC5COtOCO>—tOn- bG WOOiM!Oi^t5i^a>O^OwOO&(»«iO)OiHCDCO H— o Totab >—COtOM-H-^^PxCH h- w tO tO h— W to to C5l^(»OH^Ol06^^^0)^Cf(iOHaOOHWOC5©Oi I— 1 t— 1 Ploughs* - (—« • tO h— h— CO tO CO CO H H—H- - 09 Ol Cft H- to 05 £* to <0 O ^ ©9 *4 to *— to *4 09 On t— ©* to 09 h- QO J— to Carts* J— ■ H- H- to to H— «— tO t© H— H— H— *— OOtO*— CO CO —' t— «* I— t— to to I— I—* A to to 0»69H-rfi-tO^I^tOrf^4^H--40x009a5--Or to Ot «&£!$$• <&$5 Cn »—

CO to Ot © H- O Ot CO CO CO H- H* O 00 CJt Ol 05 ot 1—1 ot She-Buffaloes and their young ones. J— to to to to h- go tL.o*' ►— ^ *ffc 05 Gt CO -4 CO ^ tf* Ot fcO 3 | Horses and Mares, fZ2 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Pimpalwandi Puri Sakafc Saundara (tarf Shelgdok Bdrsi) Shiral Tdndulwdri Sher- kdni Tdndulwdri Gori. Tddsondana Xdodi Valvand Vanewari Vairdg Velamb Ukadgdon Ambegdon Bhdndgdon Bhdnsal Bhdtumbra Borgdon Chincholi 1839-40 1870-71 ) 1839-40 \ 1870-71 i 1839-40 j 1870-71 j1839-40 \ 1870-71 {1839-40 ) 1870-71 J 1839-40 ( 1870-71 i 1839-40 \ 1870-71 ( 1839-40 ]1870-71 J1839-40 \ 1870-71 \ 1839-40 ( 1870-71 { 1839-40 \ 1870-71 ( 1839-40 \ 1870-71 { 1839-40 j 1870-71 1839-40 1870-71 (1839-40 1 1870-71 f1839-40 } 1870-71 ( 1839-40 ] 1870-71 j 1839-40 11870-71 j1839-40 } 1870-71 \ 1839-40 (1870-71 1839-40 1870-71 74 196 189 385 95 ' 254 218 472 65 177 154 331 114 290 274 564 146 423 396 819 236 541 519 1,060 154 441 386 827 116 646 576 1,222 71 196 248 444 119 248 185 433 84 239 211 450 64 328 293 621 96 289 266 555 82 387 325 712 19 44 40 84 49 130 123 253 43 123 94 217 72 198 221 419 54 172 155 327 88 185 . 193 378 54 136 , 101 237 74 183 156 339 34 77 77 154 56 150 139 289 . 1,663 3,536 3,295 6,831 1,442 3,173 3,015 6,188 57 175 155 330 72 251 252 503 134 448 358 806 146 516 415 931 92 221 205 426 76 303 302 605 1 21 18 39 39 95 77 172 30 56 38 94 29 92 70 162 346 834 789 1,623 211 1,168 1,005 2,173 47 93 85 178 39 107 97 204 61 194 155 349 92 439 381 820 23 29 19 34 5 16 23 34 6 11 36 €0 3 7 2 3- 18 26 5 10 7 22 9 14 40 50 17 27 46 44 10 12 2 2 2 8 56 88 8 14 17 34 ... 23 15 3 241 1 6 36 20 8 219 8 27 6 3 140 12 46 17 10 162 3 8 12 9 299 3 19 11 22 316 22 45 5 14 306 ’ 1 22 57 23 128 322 1 7 4 4 142 ”l 2 14 5 21 143 4 40 9 3 262 *3 19 82 39 7 367 4 7 12 11 203 6 13 28 30 278 1 3 5 1 69 2 5 4 2 47 18 10 2 15 "l .27 16 17 116 6 11 6 111 *1 2 13 6 25 177 1 8 9 3 105 1 2 • 25 14 7 173 1 10 6 2 100 1 4 19 12 22 139 9 49 54 25 1,266 17 67 74 51 921 5 22 15 . 49 156 *2 5 34 13 6 147 1 47 38 8 443 *3 17 64 28 24 475 10 10 7' 191 “■5 17 15 7 126 2 4 3 2 16 3 5 7 2 83 6 8 2 1 77 1 4 13 8 3 80 23 79 37 15 481 27 115 38 15 368 2 10 3 34 3 17 6 2 56 4 21 25 1 371 3 7 44 37 5 434 21 46 42 79 124 16 31 92 ' 7 37 48 3 76 451 18 136 652 20 57 56 10 129 237 14 19 154 4 44 44 10 46 121 16 77 144 10 53 168 8 95 236, 24 111 4 12 ‘*72 6 53 44 1 40 71 10 22 2 13 41 61 2 * 17 421 4 39 329 10 1 20 33 28 755 367 90 521 341 87 22 33 6 37 40 4 71 135 27 82 196 20 61 45 61 46 *18 29 2 *13 58 5 14 40 2 25 75 2 134 309 25 241 207 21 10 100 ... ' 18 46 2 59 11 11 131 133 14 218 197 118 181 256 289 292 461 140 156 206 265 264 344 66 57 74 160 174 195 115 137 87 125 1,874 895 •178 180 452 378 146 167 17 63 56 80 655 690 63 72 250 378 m Number. p* & ow ** o p 3 0Q W I w w 8» gv cS s» « p p- p- 00 o p U er 3 I OQ ? P o tr o r l o *d OOQOGOOOCDCOOOQOOOOOOOOOQdOOOOOOQOOOCXJOOQOCOODOOGOOO ’*'4CO«— © ■ £ 3 I »— 1— 1— J © 05 to to © © »-4 tO 05 QO Ctt OX‘<1 © *—•‘3tOOx©©t0©©H-‘004»»tOl—©0X1—* ©>—C0©0000©©t—©4^'© to HouseB. g .w^eow^MHi Co Cn -4 10 4^ >£- O* *0 Cr 4* M * to H4 co tot— tOHM cot— : Ox 4*. 05 CJT -4 05 i— OxtO©O0*©4»>i— *~4 Ox 4*t—i|3.©00©©©COOx©*— 00 4*>tO©©»—©©©CO«-3©t0Q0COO3Oxt0 © <+• tdH H 4^ CO *0000x00030x0x4*. : : cot— : to : Ox 4* 4* to to -or 00 4“ -- 4* 00 t— ’ to to 4^ to ' »— '4*4‘-QOOlQ©OOCO»— tOCO* t— to Out of Repair. W* tO tO tO — 03 4^ ^ cot— >— )— i— t— to QOH-CObO©CO05 4Hc0fc0©03O— © Total. X— *— H-» tO t—'l— * OO -3 OX CO CO CO tO 09 1— — t— t— tO>—1— *— ‘ tOtOtO*-CROOtO HNco c Ploughs. 1— MMH ' l ♦— CO **3 © © £o to »— 00 * 1—©(—* 5 Carts. to x- to to i—: © © © © Or © 4^ Ox cn 4*> CO «— t— to >— *— to to — >— >— to i— ‘ 4^ © t— CR © © © QO OO OO^-^I t— to CO CO OB ' iOOO©tOOO©CR<— ^0^0^50*4 t— tO t— tO t— •— t— •— *•■3 t— t— tO t— COC9COtO©.©©©tOCO©»-400tO©COt«: ©00COG0^4©©©00©CO4».©COCO©t— 4^ 1 Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle. co co © © © o* ►£> * GO 4^ C3 t— G< >—1 t— t— ! CO Ox CO © to 00 to CO t— © 4>» >— COCO «-3' OX 1— Ox She-Buffaloes and their young ones. to 4^ h-* to : -Ox © GO t— © Ox -3 to CO i—' © to CR 00 •—to to ♦—*—co ox : tot— : »—Or©QO©4i»K^©©tOCO—1 O ~-J to *-l © © © © © © © ©^ 00 to to 4^ c< to t— 03 Sheep and Goats'. 1— CO 4* 00 Ox -4 00 CO t— »— ♦— * to to • « ♦— to-^ioo^icot— H^.©tOi— CO © i— ~4 Horses and Mares, 9S8 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Jowlgaon f1839-40 90 278 241 519 1 1 1870-71 59 406 260 666 15 1 1839-40 136 308 257 565 3 KAjla j 1870-71 157 476 440 916 18 KApsi ( 1839-40 30 116 112 '228 1 1870-71 48 139 144 283 6 Khadkoni 1839-40 72 171 172 343 16 1870-71 .62 293 269 562 19 KoregAon 1839-40 60 487 474 961 7 1870-71 103 558 545 1,103 12 LAdola 1839-40 71 183 145 328 6 1870-71 55 292 249 541 22 MAlegAon 1839-40 52 186 167 353 20 1870-71 151 260 239 499 32 MalegAon 1839-40 145 419 355 774 24 1870-71 206 606 493 1,099 47 MAlvandi } 1839-40 167 522 451 973 27 11870-71 35 514 497 1,011 29 Mungshi ... (1839-40 20 74 53 127 4 ) 1870-71 27 154 137 291 12 NAndni i 1839-40 103 210 226 436 12 \ 1870-71 76 309 300 609 18 Mmblak ... 1 1039-40 56 165 149 314 6 ( 1870-71 101 251 226 477 10 Pimpri ... 1839-40 41 77 71 148 10 j1870-71 67 207 184 391 . 20 Pimpri ... - 1 1839-40 122 310 299 609 3 1 1870-71 69 363 442 805 10 RAlerAa 1839-40 81 216 175 391 8 11870-71 142 346 272 618 16 RastApur 1439-40 1870-71 18 28 69 176 49 142 118 318 7 It R At an j an ... 1839-40 156 455 448 903 20 1870-71 224 609 ; 525 1,134 24 Rui 1839-40 112 284 ; 263 547 9 1870-71 152 475 457 932 28 SarjApur 1839-40 36 84 68 152 1 1870-71 49 122 94 216 6 SAroIA ... ... 1839-40 162 356 339 • 695 3 1870-71 66 439 388 827 13 SAwargAon ... j i 1839-40 36 112 100 212 13 11870-71 96 216 210 426 19 li 12 14 I 8 ii 26 25 2 7 10 28 3 i 2 ' 21 46 8 ... 2 3 7 3 1 2 9 4 5 1 17 16 3 6 25 17* 8 ... 7 16 6 1 4 17 21 10 9- 15 12 3 3 . 4 29 20 9 8 28 5 1 i - 5 38 10 12 36 17 t i 17 65 23 4 5 32 13> 15 ’i 10 40 30 6 5 9 ... l 4 17 23 4 11 23 14 3 i 12 31 16 ... ... 6 6 5 ... 1 * 11 20 8 1 11 4 20 17 20 8 11 22 11 i 9 20 18 4 8 17 5 i 1 18 36 8 2 9 4 2 ... 4 15 35 *•« 12 32 *8 6 11 35 25 16 ... 11 20 14 7 i 11 40 29 15 ... ... 1 6 5 2 **• 8 7 1 3 6 19 13 i 5 19 13 12 2 15 9 1 6 25 12 10 223 63 836 12 385 166 81 11 369 76 40 16 369 153 60 16 91 10 7 5 90 46 36 5 146 .54 27 4 168 80 83 14 216 9 52 36 240 86 35 28 145 50 62 8 166 97 34 35 101 12 29 7 267 81 290 7 396 364 12 100 383 106 147 14 317 106 222 11 335 96 331 10 12 5 2 129 20 41 4 186 26 39 13 227 71 110 8 125 44 384 11 176 68 62 8 28 4 33 ... •367 108 228 19 286 49 99 7 136 29 76 8 188 56 267 15 299 67 363 11 58 17 72 3 161 33 109 6 289 88 366 32 345 94 316 29 248 62 1,047 3 393 198 162 10 94 15 22 1 110 21 42 1 263 74 515 9 316 61 141 10 98 33 40 7 170 42 62 6 271 309 274 281 49 82 245 250 327 278 219 247 111 155 85 319 310 227 16 75 260 213 179 155 65 340 291 96 225 290 88 158 498 465 284 324 96 159 316 282 102 71 Inhabitants. Wells. Cattle. m © .a SO § § O so 43. c5 » I Names of Villages. Houses. & O •n S © £ O O ; Number. Males. Females. Total. d 43 •H jy tub d ft © ft 0 43 d O c3 4* O H X* &Q d. 0 ft ■§ a O *d a «5. m * O. O <0 M & •3« m ■ 1! CO .£« • © rd 43. co a eS • Pi © © XL m d c* ce © 50 1 o' W - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 100 Shelgdon 1839-40 182 196 148 344 3 4 7 26 4 537 351 96 266 24 \ 1870-71 170 427 363 790 24 i 5 30 25 14 468 465 134 307 16 101 Surdi ... J1839-40 115 458 387 845 40 • •» 22 62 20 12 430 302 93 364 17 ) 1870-71 129 • 549 535 1,084 53 1 22 76 28 20 350 399 100 311 20 102 Tadwal ... j1839-40 141 414 368 782 1 3 4 22 10 277 300 87 324 9 ) 1870-71 265 619 596 1,215 12 1 . 13 7 29 367 468 182 402 11 103 TurkPimpri ... j 1839-40 81 204 215* 419 13 13 10 4 187 152 31 1,269 8 1 1870-71 93 207 206 413 16 i *4 21 6 2 84 144 40 210 9 104 Yedshi 1839-40 315 41 16 57 40 8. 687 556; 148 161 23 } 1870-71 277 1,063 992 2,055 61 21 19 101 78 23 803 828 473 1,039 38 105 Undegdon ... « 1839-40 58 128 115 243 1 ... 8 9 5 1 84 74 13 435 6 j 1870-71 97 254 226 480 6 6 12 19 11 133 139 44 342 3 106 tJpla ... j 1839-40 137 453 402 855 50 9 59 21 3 566 380 146 54 19 }1870-71 105 770 758 1,528 72 15 21 108 54 12 634 597 216 124 150 107 Aljdpur 1 1839-40 30 83 68 151 3 2 5 4 3 70 83 26 19 7 11870-71 89 227 209 436 10 i 2 13 14 7 130 183 50 115 14 108 Gondgdon ... 1839-40 119 230 225 455 4 8 12 16 9 229 241 37 62 3 11870-71 53 420 402 822 23 i 7 31 9 5 90 89 32 39 5 109 Kassdri ) 1839-40 63 198 167 .365 5 2 7 21 7 289 168 54 362 3 } 1870-71 139 357 312 669 12 5 17 23 16 279 322 131 33 16 110 Mirjanpur ... • [ 1839-40 32 .95 76 171 5 1 6 7 1 62 80 19 6 1 | 1870-71 40 166 139 305 14 4 18 17 5 124 57 54 46 5 111 Sangdmneir (1839-40 l1870-71 ”'43 136 139 275 *T * 7, i 2 2 9 10 "‘5 '“2 *93 128 46 ”47 ”l2 Total... J 1 1839-40 f 1870-71 13,836 18,621 34,953 52,139 31,292 48,427 66,245 1,00,566 1,776 2,844 136 639 967 2,415 3,947 1,643 2,476 705 1,794 25,984 28,508 26,466 31,469 7,355 11,273 24,130 23,201 1,361 1,923 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. 328 329 Tbe following Comparative Statement exhibits the results of the new and former Survey of 111 Villages of the B4rsi Taluka shown in detail under the same head :— Government Land. Alienated Land. ' 03 w < S ! § and Rs 1-2-0, respectively, there being 4 classes in all. The second group should, I think, be extended a little, so as to include 1. Jamgaon. the four villages marginally noted, and bring 2. Kapsln. down its boundary to the Bhagwati Eiver on the south, and it should also include the three villages of Yedshi, Dudgaon, and Tadwal, situated above the Bhalla GMt. The latter are out of the regular circle to which the group would ordinarily be confined, but they are described to be very fine villages, enjoying a better climate than the rest, which we may consider to be established by the fact of wheat being rather extensively grown there; whereas it is scarcely culti¬ vated at all in any of the other villages of the district. The circumstance, too, of their being directly on the new line of road which passes through the district to B£rsi, is a further reason in favour of their being moved into the higher class of Es. 1-6-0. No. 64 of statement. 18.The village of Chincholi requires also to be in the 2nd class. It is shown under it in the map, but through a mistake. The Superintendent in¬ forms me its rate has been calculated according to the Es. 1-4-0 maximum. 19. I have consulted the Superintendent about these slight changes of his grouping under class 2, and he agrees in the pro¬ priety of their being carried out. With these exceptions I consider his groups to be judiciously arranged, and the rate for each to be appropriate. 20. Well lands, according to the rule adopted under our revision settlements, will be exempted from any special extra rate, and charged only with the full Jerayet rate of the class to which the village belongs. This will be felt to be a great boon in many villages, especially in those of thePangri Mahal, where the garden cultivation is extensive. 21.The Superintendent estimates Es. 28,000 to be the p amount of revenue foregone by abandoning the aragrap . Virhunda cess. His calculation is based upon the former low extra rate of only 2 rupees per acre, which is much less than would now be imposed were the revision to be ex- 350 tended to well-lands according to the former plan of assessment. The soundness, however, of the policy of exempting well-irrigation from any special taxation has been fully admitted, and I need not enlarge upon the subject here, but will merely recommend that this district should be treated in the same liberal spirit in the matter as others already re-assessed. 22. There is a small extent of Pdthasthal irrigation to which the Superintendent proposes to apply a water-rate, varying from a maximum of Its. 4-8-0 to 8 annas per acre, the rate being apportion¬ ed according to the nature of the supply. I consider these pro¬ posals to be appropriate to the particular kind of irrigation, and recommend their adoption. 23. The new rates, as shown in paragraph 35, will raise the revenue demand from Its. 1,24,658 to Its. 2,07,174, the differ¬ ence of Rs. 82,516 being equivalent to an increase of 66 per cent. 24. The past history and general account of the state of the district, which is contained in this correspondence, furnishes satis¬ factory evidence, in my opinion, of its being Well able to bear the proposed increase to its assessment. Captain Wingate represents B&rsi to have been in a very flourishing condition when it came into our possession, nearly the whole of the arable land being under cultivation and every rupee of assess- * Note.—This is scarce- ment* realized during the first two years of ly in keeping with the our administration. In the first of these small remissions during years> the revenue amounted to nearly the second year. Rs. 1,88,000, being only about 10 or 12 per cent, less than the Superintendent’s new Jama. 25. It is noticeable, however, from Captain Wingate’s remarks that the state of prosperity in which Bd,rsi was handed over to us was but temporary, as it soon declined under the fall of prices which set in shortly after. But I think it is clear that it never was in the same impoverished state under our early rule hs many of the other Deccan districts. There is no mention in his report of the inroad of predatory troops, and of the dire calamities of famine by which the resources of Bhimthari and Inddpur were greatly impaired, but it did not escape the dreadful famine of 1832-33. It may be inferred, however, from the general tenor, of his remarks, that, though over-assessed at the time his settlement was introduced, it was, nevertheless, in a better state than the other dis¬ tricts to which his operations had then been extended. 351 26. From Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington’s review of the thirty years’settlement it appears that cultivation increased rapidly at first, but met with a temporary check in 1845-46 from the effects of a bad season. The revenue fluctuated for a year or two after this, but then took a steady turn upwards, and about 1860-61 had reached within an insignificant, sum to. the full revenue demand imposed by the settlement; and for the last ten years the realiza¬ tions have kept steadily at about Its. 1,24,500 without a single remission being made. 27. After passing through this epoch, B4rsi is described (paragraph 23) to be in a flourishing condition. The people are represented to have stores of grain and stacks of karba, notwith¬ standing its being an unfavourable season in which Lieutenant- Colonel Wadding ton inspected the district ; and he sums up his account of them with the very satisfactory statement, that “ there has not been a case of land sold to meet arrears of rent during the last five years.” My own observations and inquiries enable me to* confirm, generally, this account of the present state of the district and condition of the people. 28. The price of grain is, however, the chief thing affecting the incidence of the revised assessment. I have mentioned in a former paragraph that the latter is only 10 or 12 per cent, in ex¬ cess of the revenue realized from the district in the first years of its being under our rule. There is also, I find, a very close agree¬ ment between the prices of that period and of the present day. The information on this head given in the Indapur report shows jowdri to have been selling in 1818-PJ and 1819-20, respectively, at 17 and 19 seers the rupee, whereas, according to the present report, 19’6 seers per rupee is the average price of the past five years. Again in 1839-40, when the settlement was introduced, 44 seers was the ruling bazaar price. No information about prices for the early periods, referred to above, is given in the report; but as there was but little difference, I believe, at the time in question between the prices of Bdrsi and Indtpur, the data obtainable for the latter district may be assumed to be sufficiently accurate for the purpose of comparison in the manner in which they have been used. 29. It will thus be seen, from what has been explained above, that we are now assessing Bsfrsi at a sum but little in excess of what it was paying in 1818-19, when also the price of grain was pretty much the same as it now is. It will be seen, too, that prices now are considerably more than 100 per cent, in excess of what, they were when Captain Wingate’s settlement was introduc¬ ed, 44 seers being then about the ruling rate for jow4ri, It is 352 difficult to say what they will be in future; hut the rates fixed will, I am satisfied, hear a fall to 30 seers the rupee without being felt to be heavy ; and considering the increasing trade of the country, and the yearly increasing demand for this staple food product, I see no likelihood of jowiri falling so low as this in the Bsirsi market. For the Government villages exclusive of those received from His Highness the Nizam in exchange. 30. The general increase of assessment is much more nearly proportionate to the increase in the maximum rate than in other recently settled districts. In Sholapur, for instance, the maximum was increased, as in Bars!, from Rs. 1 to Rs. 1-8-0, being 50 per cent.; but the resulting assessment was above 80 per cent, in excess of the former demand, whereas it is but 66 per cent, in this case. This closer agreement is owing entirely to the more careful and accurate manner in which the first Bd,rsi settlement was carried, out. It was done under Captain Wingate’s personal supervision ; and the Superintendent mentions, as a proof of the general accu¬ racy of the work, that there is a difference of only 11 pies between the average of the two classifications. In Sholapur, on the other hand, the discrepancies between the two valuations, as mentioned in the report, were so marked as to lead us to suspect the original work to have been dishonestly done. 31. But, although there is this general agreement in the classification of the two periods, there are, nevertheless, some few cases in which the increase by present rates is proportionately • XT , much more than it ought to be. In the vil- o. o s a emeu . jage 0f Cor mala/" for instance, the increase amounts to 150 percent. The Superintendent informs me that he has personally tested the classification of this village, and is fully assured of the accuracy of his work, the increase being, in his opinion, clearly ascribable to under-valuation in the original classification. I had also personal experience, during my trip through the district, of the increase in the t No. 29 of statement, village of Korphal,f which amounts to 121 per cent., being due to the same cause ; for the ryots of the adjoining village of KhandviJ drew my attention particularly to the fact of the lands of their t No. 27 of statement, village adjoining those of Korphal being now assessed at 12 to 14 annas per acre, whereas those of the latter, of similar quality, were assessed at only 7 and 8 annas. Our present classification fully bears out the correctness of this opinion, for Khandvi is increased only 47 per cent., while in Korphal the increase amounts to 121 per cent. This is a very satisfactory solution of the discrepancy in the new assessment of . 353 two adjoining villages, and I have no doubt the popular opinion will confirm the correctness of our present valuation in all other cases. It will be well in future to have the old assessment (i.e., that in force prior to first settlement) shown in cases in which unduly large increases occur, and' I shall direct the Superintendent to give such information in future. 32. The report is badly arranged, the statement contrasting present and proposed assessment being put in the early part of the report, where it is not referred to at all; and the Measurement and Classification Test Statements are likewise out of place where they are inserted. Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington brought this, I believe, to the notice of the Superintendent of the Central Print¬ ing Press when the proof sheets of the report were examined, but the latter declined to make the suggested alterations. I consider this to be a mistake on his part; for when the printing of a report is being done for any particular officer, I certainly think the arrangement of the matter should, as a general rule, be left entirely to him. A reprint will be necessary before it can be brought out as a selection, and this might, probably, have been avoided had Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington’s directions been attended to. • 33. In paragraph 39 the Superintendent has bi’ought for¬ ward the question of our effecting a territorial exchange with the Collector also alludes Nizam’s Government by making over to it to tills subject, para- some of our outlying villages interspersed fetter3 ^ aad 4 °f tis amongst his, and receiving some of his inter- 6 er‘ mixed with ours in lieu thereof. The subject has been before discussed, and the proposal negatived on the ground, I believe, that it would not be fair to the people of our villages to transfer them to another Government. This objection has, I think, but little force in the case, for our outlying villages, cut off by a distance of 10 or 12 miles from our own territories, and surrounded entirely by Nizam’s villages, can know or experience but little of the effects of our administration. The associations and business connections of the inhabitants must naturally be with the people amongst whom they are living. Our police arrangements are greatly interrupted by the intervention of these small strips of foreign territory, and I have no doubt the Nizam’s Government find the carrying out of their measures impeded in the same way by the intervention of our outlying villages. If Government will entertain the proposal, a detailed report upon the subject can be submitted. The success with which an exchange of territory was effected with the Nizam, when the land required for the Ekruk tank was resumed by our Government, leads me to press the b 210—s 354 consideration of a measure in the enforcement of which the interests of both Governments, in my opinion, are equally concerned. 34. In conclusion, I would observe that, after giving much careful consideration to the question of the rates proposed for this district, I feel every confidence in recommending them for the approval of Government. Considered with regard to the general principles on which our survey settlements are based, they are, perhaps, somewhat high as compared with the Shol&pur rates; but the superiority of climate which ISarsi enjoys more than compen¬ sates, in my opinion, for its not being so favourably circumstanced in regard to railway and market as Sholdpur. J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 102 op 1873. To • The REVENUE COMMISSIONER, S. D. Tanna, 17th January 1873. Sir, Adverting to my letter of the 18th ultimo, No. 1846, I have the honour to forward the annexed extract of letters received from the Cotton Commissioner, covering a return of the cotton exported from the B4rsi railway station, according to the infor¬ mation obtained by his department. 2. It is satisfactory to find that the return bears out the correctness of the information on this subject given in Lieutenant- Colonel Waddington’s report. The Cotton Commissioner is, how¬ ever, of opinion that 20 rupees per maund, being the rate at which I have estimated the value of the trade, is somewhat too high, and* that 17 rupees would be a fairer rate to take for the calcula¬ tion. The difference is not very considerable in a rough estimate such as mine is, and, as I am not prepared to admit altogether that mine is too high, I think it is not necessary to make any alteration in the report; I will, however, add a footnote, explain¬ ing that the Cotton Commissioner considers 17 rupees to be a fair rate, and showing the total value of the trade calculated at that rate. 3. I take this opportunity of forwarding three printed copies of my report just received from the Central Press. Refer¬ ence has been made to Colonel Waddington for the information 355 applied for in ydur letter of the 4th instant, No. 20, and I hope to have his reply in the course of a day or two. I have, &c., J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Gamp Bulhara, January 14th My dear Francis, Herewith a good letter from Mr. Wilkinson, now District Inspector in Khandesh, and a return. I thought I had forwarded , you a reply ere this, and I have to apologize for delay—hope it has not inconvenienced you. Waddington seems near the mark both as regards export • and value. Mr. Wilkinson, • however, puts the average value at Rs. 17, and, I think, you may accept his opinion in this matter * * * * 4'r * * * . * * Yours sincerely, (Signed) A. G. M. MOORE. Jalgaon, December 12th, 1872. My dear Major Moore, Your letter of 7th reached me yesterday.. I have written for returns of cotton export for previous years, which I am not pos¬ sessed of; but, in the meantime, I quote the amount for 1871 as extracted from the railway returns received in your office. This is 329,992 maunds. Whether this, or the amount given by your correspondent, is correct, I cannot say; any way the discrepancy is a very trifling one. Beyond this,, by calculating the weight of the full-pressed bales and docras exported (as shown in the accompanying statement), the general accuracy of Major Wadding- ton’s statement appears to be borne out. This amount, 334,080 maunds, agrees very nearly with that given, viz., 333,674 maunds. The tare, i.e., bagging, iron hoops, &c., would be about 18,210 maunds, leaving 315,870 maunds net cotton. I should, therefore, unhesitatingly accept the railway return as correct. 356 During the first foUr months of 1872 the export, was 3,754 full-pressed hales, 1,711 half-pressed bales, and 66,037 docras, the total weight of which is given at 132,430 maunds (the -80 lbs. maund). This is a large amount, but it represents probably two- thirds of the crops, accounted for by the unfavourable nature of the last season. There will be a falling off in the current year’s export, but, I think, solely on this account.' With regard to the valuation of a maund of Barsi cotton, I am inclined to think that Rs. 20 was the maximum price. The price per candy in Bombay varied in 1871 between Rs. 150 and Rs. 250. According to this, I think, Rs. 17 would more correctly represent the average value of a maund on the spot. The cotton exported from Bdrsi is, as stated, almost entirely produced in the Nizam’s territory, about Latur, Pathri, Nandiar, Hingoli, &c. The rest from the same district goes up to the Berar markets, Kamgaum, &c. Bdrsi being the largest eotton-exporting station in the Deccan, and one of the main outlets for the Nizam’s cotton, the great increase in the trade, as compared with what existed thirty years ago, will appear less surprising when it is remembered that, at that time, cotton was very little grown, and that what was grown was mostly locally consumed. Towards this large export in 1871 the local districts contri¬ buted little enough. The cotton area in the Bdrsi and MMha talukas in 1870 amounted to only 20,837 acres, which yielded, perhaps, 15,628 maunds at 60* lbs. per acre.* * * * ******* * * * Yours sincerely, (Signed) C. WILKINSON. (True Copies.) J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. * I consider tins to be too high an estimate of the produce of cotton in the Sholapur Districts. (Signed) J. T. FRANCIS- 357 STATEMENT of Cotton exported from Bdrsi Station during the Year 1871. Description of Bales. Number of Bales. Total Weight in maunds. Less Tare. Net Weight of Cotton. Remarks. Full-pressed bales 9,514 46,143 2,854 43,289 Full-pressed bales - 3J Cwt. X 24 lbs. tare = 388 lbs. Doeras 1,53,567 2,87,937 15,356 2,72,581 Doeras = 142 lbs. X 8Tbs. tare — 150 lbs. Total... • 3,34,080 18,210 3,15,870 Jalgaon,12th December 1872. (Signed) C. WILKINSON. (True Copy.) J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 20 of 1873. To The SURVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, N. D. Satara District, Camp Vita, 4th January 1873. Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of correspondence with your communications as per margin, and take the opportunity afforded by the delay the reference you propose to make regarding the cotton trade will cause, to ask for some further information which may, I think, be useful in laying the subject before Government. No. 1816, dated 11th December 1872, and ac¬ companiments. No. 1826, dated 13th December 1872. No. 1846, dated 18th December 1872. 2. Adverting to certain exceptions to the general correspond¬ ence between the classification under Captain (now Sir George) Wingate, at the time of the former assessment, mention is made in paragraph 31 of your memorandum of the deficient assessment of certain lands in Korphal, No. 29 of Colonel Waddington’s list, compared with the assessment of similar lands in Khandvi, No. 27 of the list. 3. I fully agree with you that reasons of this kind will explain exceptional variations in the rates ; but I note that the enhance- • 358 ment of assessment exceeds 100 per cent, in 13 of the 111 villages discussed, and that there is an excess of the general average en¬ hancement of 66 per cent, in 54 of the villages. 4. I take it as a matter of course that if the assessment had not been found excessive in the preceding period of thirty years, the assessment would be increased for the additional cultivation brought to account; the percentage under column 18 of Colonel Waddington’s statement might, therefore, be deducted ; but, as it is included in the average enhancement, there will be no cause for misunderstanding same principle. 5. . It will be, no doubt, fully recognized that the latter classifi¬ cation is the correct one, and that when the former classification is different, it is incorrect, or, judging by fuller experience, less suitable. if the whole of the figures be treated on the 6. But Colonel Waddington mentions the general correspond¬ ence of the average of former and present classifications, and specifies the difference at only 11 pies. Will it, then, be practic¬ able to illustrate somewhat more in - detail how the results appear to differ so much more widely than the average classification, and the different maxima quoted would lead one to expect ? 7. I gather from paragraph 13 of your memorandum, that you consider about from 60 to 70 per cent, as the rise in the price of agricultural produce in the Bdrsi Taluka, and the general en¬ hancement harmonizes with that view. 8. I have selected for your consideration the following ten villages, eight of which show great enhancement, one moderate enhancement, and one very much the reverse :— No, in the List. Names. Former Jerayet Rate. Proposed Rate. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. 9 Belgaon... 0 7 0 0 14 0 19 Gormala.., 0-5 4 0 12 0 27 Kh&ndvi ... ... ... 0 10 10 0 15 9 28 Khadkalgaon ... 0 5 10 0 12 4 29 'Korphal... ... 0 8 5 10 7 51 Tandulw&ri Gori 0 11 1 1 3 1 59 Ukadgaon ... ... ... .. 0 7 8 0, 7 8 61 Bhandgaon 0 8 1. 0 12 6 107 Aljapur... 0 6 8 1 0 0 111 Sangamneir ... ... ... ... 0 4 1 0 8 4 359 9. The average of the proposed assessment does not quite exactly compare with the former average, because the last men¬ tioned relates to the Jerayet only; but the figures show that the difference is slight, and if thought desirable, for the sake of more minute accuracy, a correction might be made. 10. By a reference to Colonel Waddington’s statement you will see that the highest is Gormala, No. 19 of the list, noticed in paragraph 31 of your memorandum, with an enhancement of 150 per cent, and an increase of acreage of only 8 per cent., due to the cultivation brought to account; and that the lowest is Ukadgaon, No. 59 of the list, with an enhancement of only 21 per cent., though the increase of acreage due to cultivation brought to account is as high as 39 per cent. . 11. Colonel Waddington has personally examined the classi¬ fication of Gormala, and, as he and yourself are satisfied of its cor¬ rectness, this leads to a manifest conclusion of the serious incor¬ rectness or unsuitable lowness of the former assessment; because, after deducting for increased cultivation, the rates are enhanced to an extent quite double that which in a general way the rise of prices would suggest. 12. If you refer to Ukadgaon, you will see that the actual new assessment, after allowing for the increase of acreage, gives precisely the same average rate per acre as that of the previous assessment. If, indeed, the Mothasthal assessment were deducted from both sides of the account, the previous one would be the high¬ er ; but it is most probable the new cultivation is of an inferior class, which would modify the figures by lowering the later average. 13. If, however, the present prices warrant the general en¬ hancement which you propose, and which I do not (after reading your opinion and that of Colonel Waddington in the case of the Barsi Taluka) doubt, the manifest conclusion is, that Captain Win¬ gate’s settlement must in the case of Ukadgaon have been seriously incorrect and unsuitably high. Under the former settlement, 2,513 acres of cultivation were assessed, including Mothasthal and Pdthasthal, at Rs. 1,469, or an average of 9 annas and 4 pies per acre; and in the new assessment, 3,505 acres of cultivation, includ¬ ing Mothasthal and P&thasthal, are assessed at Rs. 1,784, or an average of 7 annas and' 8 pies per acre, or an average diminution per acre of 16 per cent. # 14. Neither Gormala nor Ukadgaon has, it appears, received remissions, or suffered from distraint for land revenue during the last twenty years of the guarantee; and whereas the rise in prices would warrant an enhancement of 60 or 70 per cent., Gormala, which is to be raised 150 per cent., has been paying, at the very 360 lowest computation, 60 or 70 per cent, less than it ought to have been paying; and Ukadgaon, at the very lowest computation, 60 or 70 per cent, more than it ought to have been paying, relatively in each case, to the recent and correct classification. 15. Similar discrepancies may be found, though in a less degree, in all the former assessments when judged by the stand¬ ards now applied above; and I am desirous, if you see no objec¬ tion, to apply another test to the former assessments, which Colonel Waddington considers to have been carefully supervised by Captain Wingate himself, and to be more reliable than others ; especially some of those in the ShoMpur Taluka, which have been pronounced to be suspicious. It appears probable that Captain Wingate may have been guided in the assessment he recommended to Govern¬ ment by many circumstances separated from the result of clas¬ sification of the soil only, and that among these, judging from the language of his report, the effects of the previous revenue system may have been not without influence. ' 16. I, therefore, beg the favour of your obtaining, for the sake of comparison, the following information for each of the ten villages mentioned in paragraph 8 of this letter. The Jerayet and water rates will probably not be separate ; but the figures will, I think, be sufficiently accurate to furnish the illustration desired :— No. of List. Names. Ain Jama or Land assessment for 2 years. Average Cultivation in Acres, Remissions, and Actual Collections of Land Revenue for the nine years 1831-32 to 1839-40. 1818-19. 1819-20. 9 19 27 28 29 51 59 61 107 111 Belgaon ... Gormala ... Khandvi ... Khadkalgaon ... Korphal ... Tandulwari Gori... Ukadgaon... Bhandgaon Aljapur Sangamneir i Acres. Assess¬ ment. Remis¬ sions. Actual Collection. 17. Adverting to paragraph 37 of Colonel Waddington’s re¬ port, I trust I am correct in supposing, that none of the former Virhunda, or well assessment of the old system, has been fore¬ gone, and that the 14,133 acres now stated to be the area under wells, include the old acreage under wells, the rate on which is 361 represented by the Rs. 8,308, less Rs. 1,913, for 1,058 acres of Prithasthal at Rs. 1-13-0 per acre. If it be so, there will be a deduction of Rs. 6,395 from the sum of Rs. 28,000 assumed by Colonel "Waddington as foregone at Rs. 2 per acre on the cultivation under wells constructed from private capital, during the period of the guarantee, arid, therefore, exempt from extra assessment on that account. 18. I beg to be informed whether “the full Jerayet rate of the class to which the village belongs,” mentioned in the 20th paragraph of your memorandum, means the “ maximum” rates of the village fixed, because of the special water-bearing quality only . of the soil, or the rate ascertained by the present ordinary system of classification of soil ? 19. Will you have the goodness to state the present capacity of the seer quoted in review of prices by Colonel Waddington ? The seer of the Sholripur and Bdrsi bazaars is much larger than the Poona seer, and though, for comparison of Brirsi prices in different years, the question might not be very material, an adjustment of relative capacity, which I conclude has been made by Colonel Waddington, would be necessary for comparison with prices in the Indipur Taluka. I-have, &c., \ (Signed) W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 148 of 1873. To The REVENUE COMMISSIONER, S. D. Sir, Tanna, 23rd January 1873. I have the honour to submit the accompanying* memorandum from the Superintendent of the Poona and January ,1873.a n Nisik Survey, which'will be found to contain the information called for in your letter of the. 4th instant, No. 20, relative to the proposals submitted for the revision of the settlement of the Birsi Taluka. 2. I gather from the general purport of your remarks, that your inquiries have been made with the view of seeing whether it is not practicable to make some adjustment of the old classifica¬ tion, by which it could be made the basis of the new assessment, B 210—T 362 and the large increase in individual villages, beyond what is due to the imposition of a higher maximum rate, be thus avoided, or considerably reduced in amount. The information given by Colo¬ nel Waddington, especially in regard to the village of Ukadgaon, shows conclusively, I think, that it would be unsafe, and most un¬ fair in individual cases, to attempt to carry out a revision upon the basis of the former classification. 3. It should be borne in mind that the operations of the survey at the time Bdrsi was first settled, were in their infancy, and that no systematic plan of classification had at that time been introduced, the operation being carried out in the roughest man¬ ner. It is not surprising, therefore, to meet with cases of obvious error in the former valuation, the correction of which, though pro¬ ductive of large differences of results in individual villages, as re¬ spects the increase by the new rates, is most essential for the fix¬ ing of an equitable assessment. These differences will disappear as we get into districts settled after an organized system of opera¬ tions had been adopted. 4. I have already forwarded the explanation I had to submit regarding the Cotton Trade Return, the accu- i x02*’ date<* tlie racy of which I was inclined to question, but without reason, as has been shown therein. 5. May I now beg that the report will have your earliest consideration, as the season is already somewhat advanced, and not a single settlement report of the year as yet disposed of. I have, &c., J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 75 op 1873. Poona, 22nd January 1873. The Superintendent, Poona and Ndsik Survey, in reply to the Survey Commissioner’s memorandum No. 43 of the 8th cur¬ rent, has the honour to submit the following explanation. 363 2.Before proceeding further, the Superintendent would point out that, in order to exhibit correctly the difference between the former and present classification of the ten villages selected by the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., it is necessary to reduce the proposed rates, as shown by the Revenue Commissioner, and which have been calculated on the proposed maximiom rates, to the classi¬ fication scale of one rupee. The following exhibits the result:— No. Names of Villages. Former Classi¬ fication. Present Classi¬ fication. Maximum Rate. ProposedAver- age Rate. A. p. A. p. A. p. Rs. a. p. 9 Belgaon 7 0 10 2 1 6 0 14 0 19 Gormala 5 4 7 11 0 10 10 27 Khi-ndvi 10 10 11 5 0 15 9 28 Khadkalgaon 5 10 9 0 0 12 4 29 Korphal 8 5 11 8 10 7 51 T&ndulw&ri Gori 11 1 14 0 1 3 1 59 Ukadgaon ... 7 8 5 7 • 0 7 8 61 Bhandgaon ... ... 8 1 12 10 i 4 1 0 0 107 Alj&pur 6 8 11 1 1 2 0 12 6 111 Sangamner ... 4 1 7 5 0 8 4 3. With regard to the villages of Korphal and Khandvi, the Superintendent finds in Mr. Cumming’s notes (by whom the classi¬ fication was carried out) that the soil in both villages is principally black and dark brown, the proportion of poorer soils being nearly equal. It follows, then, that the average rate of each village with the same maximum should be nearly similar, and we accordingly find it to be in Korphal Rs. 1-0-7 and in Khandvi Rs. 0-15-9. The old average rate in Khandvi (assuming Korphal to have been correct) should, therefore, have been about Rs. 0-8-0 in place of Rs. 0-10-10, and the assessment would then have been only Rs. 2,777 instead of Rs. 3,762, in which case the increase by the proposed rates (allowing in each village for increase in land brought under assessment) would have been 102 per cent, against 103 per cent, in Korphal. It may be added that the average collections in these two villages, during the five years preceding the present set¬ tlement, were nearly the same, being Rs. 3,730 in Khandvi, and Rs. 3,745 in Korphal. 4. In the case of Gormala, the Superintendent was on the point of reporting that, on examination of the rough calculation, an error had been discovered by which the proposed assessment is reduced from Rs 3,161 to Rs. 2,610, and the average rate per 364 acre from Rs. 0-12-9 to Its. 0-10-10 (not 12 as., as shown in the Revenue Commissioner’s letter), the increase on last year’s pay¬ ments being 111 per cent. 5. In Bhdndgaon and Aljdpur the Revenue Commissioner seems to have inverted the rates, inasmuch as he shows Rs. 0-12-6 as the proposed rate of the former village, and Rs. 1-0-0 as that of the latter, whereas the reverse is the case. 6. In Tdndulwdri _Gori, although the increase is only 49 per cent., still an average rate of Rs. 1-3-1 with a maximum of Rs. 1-6-0 shows that the classification standard has been kept up. It may, therefore, be assumed that the old classification was some¬ what higher than the average, as was also the case in Kdndalgaon (No. 23), the former Jerayet rate on which is Rs. 0-13-4, the pro¬ posed rate being Rs. 1-3-3. 7. Ukadgaon is a village among the hills, with the lands of which the Superintendent is well acquainted. They are very rough, stony, and intersected by large ravines. At the former settlement all the uncultivated parts of fields seem to have been deducted as “Kharab,” the cultivated portion (which was naturally the best) being assessed with reference to its value. According to the revision survey, most of this “ Kharab’’ land is cultivated and assessed; but as it is generally of a very inferior quality, the average classification (and with it the assessment per acre) is frequently much lowered, as will be seen from the following example. The old Pratbandi (No. 37) was shown to contain 96 acres 14 gun- tas; of this 34 acres 35 guntas was deducted as “ Kharab,” and the remaining 61 acres 19 guntas were classed at Rs. 0-8-6, which made the total former assessment Rs. 32-10-0 ; the same field was broken up at the Revision Survey into three numbers, the total area of which was 100 acres 12 guntas ; of this 9 acres 9 guntas were deducted as “ Kharab,” and the remaining 91 acres 3 guntas classed at an average of Rs. 0-4-4, which (with a maximum of Rs. 1-6-0) represents an assessment of Rs. 33-12-0. In this case there is an in¬ crease in the area brought under assessment of nearly 50 per cent.; but the increase in the assessment is only 3 per cent., and the proposed average rate per acre only Rs. 0-6-1. It will be seen from the above, and might be proved by many examples, that an increase in the assessed area does not necessarily imply an increase in the average rate, or even in the assessment. 8. As pointed out in the Superintendent’s report (para¬ graph 24) the classification of poor soils is lower than the former standard, which circumstance will further explain the assimilation 365 of old and new rates in this and similar villages. For instance, Chumb (No. 67), in which the increase of area is 32 per cent., has an average classification of Rs. 0-5-6, the former average being Rs. 0-5-8. In Koregaon (No. 83), the increase of area is 44 per cent., and an average classification of Rs. 0-5-10, the old average being Rs. 0-6-3 ; and in DMmangaon (No. 68) the average classification is Rs. 0-6-0, the increase in acres 23 per cent., and the former classification Rs. 0-6-8, 9.With reference to the Revenue Commissioner’s 6th para¬ graph, regarding the general correspondence of the average of former and present classification, the Superintendent begs to annex •an example to show how closely the average of the present and former classification may agree, and yet how different may be the result of the application of new rates :— Surrey Numbers. j Area 1 . a Balance. Rate. ' Assessment at Rs. 1-6*0. o "3 d s c5 Vi 1- Kharab. Balance. s CS PS a so I $ 00 W o * ◄ 146 .. 147 .. .. \ 148 .. *.. ) A. g. A. g. A. g. As. p. Rs. a. A. g. A. g. A. g. As. p. Rs. a. ,100 12 9 9 91 3 4 4 33 12 37 96 14 34 35 61 19 8 6 44 14 122 .. ( 123 ,. .. } 86 39 0 33 86 6 12 6 92 11 103 88 U 2 39 85 25 9 4 68 12 187 11 10 2 177 9 8 4 128 7 .... 184 38 37 34 147 4 9 0 113 10 10. It will be seen that the average classification of the two numbers nearly corresponds, being 8 annas and 4 pies according to the Revision Survey, and 9 annas according to the old classification; but the result of applying the new rates would be that the assess¬ ment of the poorer field, according to the new classification, would be Rs. 33-12-0, whilst according to the old classification it would be Rs. 44-14-0 (or 61-19 only); again in the better field, the assess¬ ment, according to the new classification, would be Rs. 92-11-0, whereas, according to the old classification, it would be only Rs. 68-12-0. Thus, the assessment on the poorer field would, accord¬ ing to the old classification, be raised, and that of the good field (which has been proportionally too low) be lowered, and an error would be perpetuated, which, with a high maximum rate, would be fatal to the success of a settlement. 11. The following statement gives the information called for by the Revenue Commissioner in his 16th paragraph, with the ex- 366 ception of the acres, to obtain which would entail great delay in submitting this explanation :— Number of List. Names. Ain Jama or Land Assessment for 2 years. Average Assessment, Waste, Remis¬ sion, and Actual Collections of Land Revenue for nine years 1831-32 to 1839-40. 1818-19. 1819-20. Assess¬ ment. Waste. Remis¬ sions. Actual Collec¬ tions. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. 9 Belgaon 298 137 901 443 105 353 19 Gormala 1,299 1,483 2,149 1,025 148 976 • 27 Kihndvi 4,050 4,724 6,253 1,764 640 3,849 . 28 Khadkalgaon 343 385 1,301 745 124 432 29 Korphal ... , 2,778 3,270 5,013 1,204 537 3,272 51 Tdndulw&ri Gori 1,427 1,468 2,099 836 156 1,107 59 Ukadgaon 2,307 2,468 1,978 691 67 1,220 61 Bhandgaon 617 673 681 515 40 126 107 Alj&pur ... 654 667 868 551 38 279 111 Sangamneir 693 711 1,030 895 30 105 12. In addition to the statement called for by the Revenue Commissioner, the Superintendent has compiled the following table, showing the waste, remissions, and collections for the year 1839-40 and the excess or deficit of the collections of 1871-72 with regard to them:— Number of List. Names. Ain Jama 1818-19. Ain Jama 1819-20. 1 a 1839-40. Collections, 1871-72. Collections in 1871-72 in excess of 1839-40. Collections in 1871-72 less than 1839-40. Proposed Assessment. Waste. Remissions. Collections. 1 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs, Rs. Rs. 9 Belgaon ... ... 298 137 869 333 264 272 585 313 1,188 19 Gormala 1,299 1,483 2,074 584 115 1,375 1,263 112 2,610 27 Khandvi ... 4,050 4,724 6,035 1,795 1,142 3,098 3,882 784 5,730 28 Khadkalgaon 343 385 1,257 482 410 365 499 134 1,090 29 Korphal 2,778 3,270 4,83f 647 234 3,955 1,469 1486 5,444 51 Tandulw&ri Gori 1,427 1,468 2,02C 236 235 1,549 1,871 322 2,791 59 Ukadgaon 2,307 2,468 1,967 494 174 1,299 1,469 170 ... 1,784 61 Bhandgaon 617 673 656 426 93 137 389 152 742 107 Aljapur 654 667 837 528 28 281 465 184 1,116 111 Sangamneir 693 711 993 835 64 94 416 322 88 4 From this it appears that while Khandvi paid Rs. 784 more, Korphal paid Rs. 1,486 less in 1839-40 than in 1871-72. It will be also observed that the proposed assessment approximates 367 pretty closely to the old kamal in most instances, and that the average payment for 1818-19 and 1819-20 of all the above villages was more or less raised by Mr. Pringle’s kamal, with the single exception of Ukadgaon, which was reduced some Its. 500, thus showing that the old payment was considered too high. Belgaon, on the other hand, had its average payments for 1818-19 and 1819-20 increased four-fold, whilst those of Khadkalgaon were more than trebled by Mr. Pringle’s rates. . 13. With regard to the Revenue Commissioner’s 17th para¬ graph, the Superintendent has the honour to explain that, in accord¬ ance with the course sanctioned by Government in all the Deccan districts that have come under revision, the Virhunda has been remitted on all wells, whether old or new, the only difference between the treatment of lands, under old and new wells, being that the former have been classed at the full Jerayet classification, whilst the latter have been classed as ordinary J erayet land. 14. In preparing the statement of prices, the seer of two pounds has been made use of as usual, the relative capacity of the B£rsi and Poona seers having been adjusted. W. WADDINGTON, Lieutenant-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. No. 429 of 1873. MEMORANDUM. Revenue Department. Ratnagiri Districts, Camp Kharipdtan, 7th February 1873. The Revenue Commissioner, S.D., has the honour to submit correspondence, as per margin, relative to revi¬ sion of Revenue Survey and Settlement of 111 Government villages of the Barsi Taluka in the ShoMpur Collectorate. 1. Memorandum, from tie Survey and Settle" ment Commissioner, N.D., No. 1816, dated 11th December 1872, and accompaniments. 2. Letter from do. do. No. 102, dated 17th January 1873, and accompaniment. 3. Do. do. to do. No. 20, dated 4th Jan¬ uary 1873. 4. Do. from do. do. No. 148, dated 23rd January 1873, and accompaniment. 2, From a perusal of the reports of the Commissioner of burvey, Colonel Francis, and of the Superintendent, Colonel Waddmgton, and the report of 1840 from Captain Wingate, it is 368 apparent that the Bitrsi District has enjoyed an extraordinary prosperity during the period of survey guarantee. Partly from advantages of soil and climate, and partly from the development of a new route for cotton traffic, accompanying the relief afforded by the light assessment introduced in 1840-41, no district of the Deccan entered so rapidly, as that of B^rsi, into the happy com¬ bination of circumstances attending, more or less, the old Revenue Survey assessment wherever introduced. The forms in which those circumstances are most easily recognizable by the officers of Government are extension of cultivation, with capability on the part of the ryots of paying the Government demand in full, and they became earlier and more steadily established in B&rsi than in any other district, as the details furnished by Colonel Waddington show. 3. Freedom from failure of monsoon rain is one of the advantages enjoyed by the area under review; the statement ac¬ companying paragraph 14 of Colonel Waddington’s report, shows that the average of rainfall for nine years is higher than that of four other of the talukas of the ShoMpur Collec- torate, the sixth, Ssingola, having a still more precarious fall. In the last year, 1871-72, extensive failure of crops occurred in all the other talukas; but the rainfall of B^rsi, though much below the average, and only inches in excess of that in the ShoMpur Taluka, fell so suitably for the requirements of agriculture, that there was a fair harvest, and no remissions whatever were found necessary. 4. Other indications of the advance of prosperity of the B£rsi District will be found in the statistics accompanying the Superintendent’s report:— I.Population has increased by 51 per cent. II.There are 126 chauris against 48 in 1840-41. III. The number of carts previously recorded is 784, which was for that period a large number, and it has reached the number of 1,794, or an increase of 154 per cent. IV. The number of ploughs has increased from 1,543 to 2,476, or about 60 per cent., which agrees rather closely with the increase in area of cultivation between 1840-41 and 1871-72. Y. The increase in agricultural stock, on the other hand, is in very inferior proportion, bullocks showing an increase of 18 per cent, only; while the heading for cattle, and sheep, and horses contains an increase of only 10 per cent. It is presumable that restriction of the grazing 369 area by conversion into arable has had the effect of pre¬ venting an increase of agricultural stock in proportion to the population and cultivated area ; and it is hoped both that the new system is permanently suited to- the district, and that the quality of the present race of animals is improved, so as to compensate for deficiency in one of the ordinary essentials of agricultural prosperity. Certainly, from those parts of the taluka actually seen by the Revenue Commissioner, he found no reason to differ from the views expressed by. Colonel Francis and Colonel Waddington of the present exuberance of agri¬ cultural wealth compared with other Deccan' districts, and even those more immediately adjacent. VI. Another evidence of the prosperous position of agricul¬ ture is to be found in the instances of sale and mortgages furnished in the statement at paragraph 21 of Colonel Waddington’s report. At the same time a few instances thus extracted, though they speak so far for themselves, must not be held to represent the ordinary state of the land tennure, but only certain favourable conditions on which probably the outlay of capital has had some influ¬ ence, that is to say, the Revenue Commissioner wishes to guard against any inference being drawn that land in the Bdrsi Taluka is generally disposable by sale or mort¬ gage, at any of the rates which may be found in excep¬ tionally favourable instances. - • 5. A very striking feature in the agricultural economy of the district is the increase in the number of wells. Omitting the 136 wells used solely for drinking purposes, there were 2,844 wells in working order for irrigation in 1871-72 against 1,776 in 1840-41 ; and 967 out of repair, against 639 out of repair in the earlier year. It is probable that as the Mothasthal (or well-irrigated) area has largely increased during the period of guarantee, it has been found better economy to throw up many of the old wells and concentrate the cattle power on the new and improved works. A new well will often drain much of the water from an old one in its vicinity ; the question, however, raised in paragraph 5 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum is one of much interest and importance, and the Revenue Commissioner will endeavour to obtain information which will throw light on the subject, 6. Before entering upon a review of that part of the reports of Colonel Francis and Colonel Waddington which relates to the revised assessment, the Revenue Commissioner begs . to append a comparative statement of Jer^yet maximum, and the average rate 8 210—o 370 ■per acre in each of the talukas of which the assessment has under* gone revision, Bfirsi being the sixth. Th.e statement is in the tabular form adopted by the Acting Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Oliphant, in his report on the revision of the Sholdpur Taluka in April 1872— 7. The great development of traffic belonging to, or passing through, the Barsi Taluka, assisted by the railway and that extra¬ ordinarily good feeder to the railway, the road from B4rsi to. Kur- duwari or Bdrsi Hoad Station, is illustrated in the statement in paragraph 12 of Colonel Waddington’s report, which has received full confirmation by the reference subsequently made by Colonel Francis. This element of profitable activity is augmented by the steady demand for grain at the city and cantonments of ShoBpur, and by the ’further facility for trade with the Nizam’s districts on the north, afforded by the road lately under construction and im¬ provement over the Yedsi Ghat. There thus appears every rea¬ sonable prospect of prices of jowfiri remaining sufficiently high to maintain the standard assumed by the Commissioner of Survey and Superintendent, of from 60 to 70 per cent, above those on which it is presumed the former assessment was based. Colonel Wad- dington has pointed out in his 25th paragraph, that the average prices of jowfiri and bdjri from 1866-67 to 1871-72 are about three times as high as those for the five years from 1856-57 to 1860-61 ; but he gives the prices of only four years of the first period of six years. 8. Jowfiri is taken as the staple grain for the test of prices, because no other grain comes even near jowari in respect to breadth of cultivation (see statement at the end of Colonel Waddington’s report). It is to be regretted that such meagre details only of prices can be furnished, because it is almost impossible to calculate from the figures in the statement what the precise average for the later period was. Colonel Waddington, in his 25th paragraph, 371 refers to the mode of calculation lie advocated for Bhimthari (paragraph 28 of the Superintendent’s report on Bhimthari villages), namely, the averages of the, last five years of the two decades from 1851-52 to-1860-61 and from 1861-62 to 1870-71. 9. The statement in. Colonel Waddington’s 25th paragraph does not contain figures for 1867-68 and 1868-69, but the authori¬ ties will not be much misled, in the absence of more specific infor¬ mation, in taking the prices for ShoMpur, which, were shown in the ShoMpur report as follows Seers.. Wheat,, 11 12 Seers. Bajri. 15, 75. 27 2 Seers. Jowari. 1867-68 ,.,..20 5 1868-69 ,25 The average of the first of these series of five years for jowdri is 57-4 seers; while the average of the second series is 21-8 seers. The averages of b&jri during the same series of years are, respectively 47 seers and 20-6 seers. But it is beyond all doubt that the effect of improved communication, and especially of the rail, has been, to prevent glut of grain at particular periods of the year which formerly prevailed, and to assimilate prices to a great extent in different parts of the country. This assimilation acts on both ends of the balance; and while, certainly, the very low rates of the very earlier average will not recur in future averages there is every probability of the latter high average not being maintained. 10. The Commissioner of Survey and Settlement’s paragraph 29 assumes the price of jowdri at the time of Captain Wingate’s settlement to have been, about 44 seers the rupee, and he is satis¬ fied that the rates now proposed will bear a fall to 30 seers the rupee. The Revenue Commissioner demurs to this opinion if Colonel Francis means an average rate of 30 seers/though not so ' if that represents a minimum price, and of the average not lower than that mentioned in Government Resolution No. 5918, dated 30th November 1872,. if, 25 seers of jowari be, as appears pro¬ bable, generally maintained. The price of jowiri at ShoMpur on 3lst December 1872 is reported in the Gazette at 22:8 seers per rupee, and if the prices at Bdrsi be, as stated in paragraph 12 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum, a seer or two lower, it is evident that they are now near the assumed average of 25 seers, with a very good rabbi crop ready for harvest, which may send prices lower. In treating of seers, the Revenue Commissioner intends those of Act XXXI. of 1871, representing each tolas 85 and 73> or, roughly, tolas 85|. 372 11. In expressing concurrence in an enhancement of assess¬ ment of 60 or 70 per cent, on account of rise of prices, the Revenue Commissioner considers that he has gone as far as a due regard to the interests of the ryots and to the advantage to Government of enduring regularity of collection will permit, even in a taluka relatively so secure from a failure of harvest as Bdrsi is acknow¬ ledged to be. 12. The Revenue Commissioner now begs to submit a few remarks on the subject of his letter No. 20, dated 4th ultimo, 'to, the address of the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement, and to that officer’s reply. 13.. In the first place, the undersigned wishes to explain that the remarks in his 17th paragraph were induced by imperfect information as to. the expressed; views, of Government regarding the remission of Yirhunda on the old wells in existence prior to. the guarantee given at the settlement of 1840r41, and in the belief that exemption was limited to. wells constructed during the Para. 177 of Colonel currency of the guarantee. The undersigned has, since receipt of reply from Colonel Francis, referred to the opinions, recorded as, per margin and though he might, if the question were still an open one,, be disposed to doubt the advisability of remitting a tax which had been hitherto paid, he begs un¬ reservedly to withdraw any advocacy of re-imposition of the tax,, and to express his. cordial concurrence in the course explained in paragraph 13. of Colonel Waddington’s. letter No, 75, dated 22nd January 1873. The amount of Vir hunda, foregone is amply compensated by the total increase of' assessment derivable from the general revision, and too much encouragement can hardly be given by. Government to any mode of application of the capital which will tend- to provide food for the people and their cattle in years of drought. The undersigned also, agrees to the proposals for assessing the cultivation from water-courses, called Pathasfhal, proposed by Colonel Waddington, and approved by Colonel Francis, Francis5'report No-147,, dated 12th February 1867 on Indapur. Paras. 22 to. 24 o£ Ka.dow’s transmit¬ ting- ietter No, 2026, dated 22nd May 1867. Para. 10 of Grovem- ment Resolution No. 1211, dated; 2 7th March 1868, revising, the same. 14. There were two errors in the Revenue Commissioner’s, figures, pointed out in paragraphs 4 and 5 of Colonel Waddington’s reply. They did not form the basis of any immediate issue, but in copying the papers the corrected, figures are entered, supra in red ink. 15. Colonel Waddington has made a similar error of inadver-. fence in, the figures for Korphal in the statement in his 12th 373 paragraph, and a similar correction is made. It is just possible that Colonel Waddington intended 2,469 under collections fox- 1871-72 for Korphal, but the difference between those figures and 2,455 is very small ; and no change of figui-es being mentioned, it is thought best to take those of his former printed statement. 16. It is necessary to point out, in the first place, that the later correspondence arose out of the extreme diversity in the percentage of enhancement in different villages, so that the total -which represents 66 per cent, ranged from 21 in Ukadgaon, No. 59 of the list, to 150 in Gormala, No. 19 of the list. It now appears from, paragraph 4 of Colonel Waddington’s letter No. 75, dated 22nd ultimo, notwithstanding the remarks in paragraph 31 of Colonel Francis’s memorandum No. 1866, dated 11th December 1872, regarding Gormala, that “on examination of the rough calculation, an error had been discovered by which the proposed assessment is reduced from Us. 3,161 to Rs. 2,610 and the average rate per acre from 12 annas 9 pies to 10 annas 10 pies (not 12 annas as shown in the Revenue Commissioner’s letter), the in¬ crease on last year’s payment being 111 per cent.” 17. This reduction in the classification has so much reduced the difference between Gormala and Ukadgaon, that the percentage figures in paragraph 14 of the Revenue Commissioner’s letter No. 20, dated 4th ultimo, should be reduced as regards Gormala proportionally; but the enhancement in the case of Gormala still remains so great, and the omission of enhancement in the case of Ukadgaon so marked, that the Revenue Commissioner still thinks that, if Ukadgaon cannot be raised, Gormala should still be lower¬ ed to about the difference which would be warranted by the rise in prices, and the amount fairly due to the new cultivation brought to account. 18, It was the erroneous increase in Gormala from Rs. 1,263 to Rs. 3,161, or 150 per cent., with only increase of 8 per cent, in acreage, that first induced comparison between that village and Ukadgaon ; but, even with the reduction mentioned above, the Revenue Commissioner thinks that a careful comparison of the rather ample details of past assessment and collections of the two villages furnished in the statement appended to this report, render it extremely improbable that the circumstances of the villages war¬ rant such a violent mode of adjustment as that proposed as the result of the theoretical classification alone. 19, The area for the two years 1818-19 and 1819-20 cannot be furnished, but the Ain Jama of those two years for Gormala and Ukadgaon shows the latter very much in excess. As Gormala exhibits a greatly increased assessment, though still below Ukad- 374 gaon, during the next period of years, it is probable that the mark¬ ed deficiency in the previous two years was owing to exceptional causes. 20. The next period available for comparison is nine years of Mr. Pringle’s settlement, of which. Captain Wingate wrote in. terms of respect, the cause of failure being that prices had fallen so low since the accession of our Government that Mr. Pringle’s assess-, ment was too high to be collected at that period. During the nine years of this settlement, the area again cannot, be furnished ; but the average assessment of Gormala, being somewhat in excess, of Ukadgaon, the average of the waste and of the remissions in the former are so much in excess, that the average actual collections. of Ukadgaon. are found to be very considerably in excess of Gor- mala; but this state of things was slightly modified in 1839-40, the last of the nine years, particulars of which have been furnished by Colonel Waddington, when the collections of Ukadgaon. were, slightly lower than those of Gormala, 21. So much for the relative state of the collection during the earlier periods. It appears probable that Captain Wingate’s survey found something in the previous necessity for large remis¬ sions in Gormala to induce a very light assessment, for at the close- of the period of the thirty years’ guarantee, during the last twenty years of which it is known that neither village required remissions, Gormala is found in 1871-72 with a recorded area of 3,536 acres and; an assessment of Rs. 1,263, which represents only about 5 annas and 8 pies per acre, but is still about 30 per cent, in excess of the- average collections of the nine years of Mr. Pringle’s, survey. In the case of Ukadgaon, we find in the same year, 1871-72, an area of 2,513 acres and an assessment of Rs. 1,469, which represents.about 9 annas and 4 pies per acre!, 22. When the villages come to. be measured up at revision we find that Gormala has 64 more acres to bring to account, or about 2 per cent, increase of area, and that Ukadgaon has 613 more acres to bring to account, or 39 per cent, increase of area. This area, it should be borne in mind, was deducted at the former survey as unarable ; and, though, it is now cultivated and therefore: brought to account, is, of course, inferior land, unless it. has been made good by expenditure of capital, which is in theory exempted from those grounds for enhancement admitted to consideration in a revised assessment. It is presumed that the survey' officers are- thus treating land only which was brought under cultivation prior to notification of the revised survey rules, under Section 28 of Act I. of 1865 j otherwise extra assessment would not be leviable. 375 23. In paragraphs 19 and 20 it has been shown that TTkad- gaon had been from the first period of our management the much more flourishing village of the two, and in the paragraph immedi- ately preceding it has been shown that Gormala being the more lightly assessed at the survey in 1840-41, both villages, had pros¬ pered, that they had required for twenty years no remissions, and that Ukadgaon had been able to bring alarge area of inferior land under cultivation. All the circumstances would have appeared to warrant the villages being charged a fair rent for the additional land, and such an enhancement as a general rise of prices would permit. 24. What, however, is now found to be the result of the recent classification ? The one village Ukadgaon was raised from Rs. 1,469 to Us. 1,784,—a difference of Us. 315 ; and Gormala from Rs. 1,263 to Its. 3,161,—a difference of Us. 1,898. These last figures have now • been reduced, by correction of an error, to Us. 2,610; but they still are more than double the previous assess¬ ment. The sole explanation given is, that this is the result of a new and improved classification. 25- The Revenue Commissioner disclaims any wish to criti¬ cise the method of classification which, it may fairly be presumed, is the best, that the experienced officers engaged in the duty can apply ; but.he thinks it unadvisable that a theoretical classification should be permitted entirely to regulate a revision of assessment, when, as in the present case, it is found not to harmonize with the ample evidence of the assessments over a long series of years of three different systems. This classification, if accepted, utterly vitiates Captain Wingate’s classification, which has been otherwise regarded favourably in these reports; and yet that classification agrees generally with the previous state of the two villages, and has had the greatest success in its practical application. 26. But, though averse from entering upon the discussion of the method of classification now followed, the Revenue Commis¬ sioner has considerable doubts whether the practical result in the instance adduced by Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington, in defence of the relative assessment of Ukadgaon, in paragraph 7 of his letter No. 75, dated 22nd.ultimo, is satisfactory. 27. If 61 acres 19 guntas of old number 37 in Ukadgaon had been cheerfully paying for thirty years, without remissions, Rs. 32-10-0 per annum, or B/’linas 6 pies per acre, it may fairly be inferred that, under a revision, the keynote of which is that rise of prices will warrant an enhancement of 60 or 70 per cent., the same acreage could, at least, continue to pay the same, if not something more. Whereas it is clear that by the method in which the old 376 ' good land is put into classification with the new inferior land, an average is obtained giving a diminished average assessment on the good land. Of course, if the Revenue Survey Officer found, on ma¬ ture consideration, that the good’land had been paying a great deal too much per acre under the former survey, he was competent so to classify as to reduce the assessment per acre instead of raising it on the theory of rise in prices; but if, on the other hand, as appears probable, the reduction was deliberately made on such grounds, but in consequence of the old good land being put into classification with the new bad land, then the arrangement, though it may account for the very low rate of assessment now fixed for Ukadgaon, does not appear satisfactory, and may, the Revenue Commissioner suggests, be revised with advantage. 28. Adverting to KMndvi, No. 27 of the list, and Korphal, No. 29, mentioned in paragraph 31 of Colonel Francis’s memoran¬ dum No. 1816, dated 11th December 1872, the Revenue Commis¬ sioner makes no doubt that some adjustment of the assessment was required; but he has carefully followed the returns of the two vil¬ lages, and, looking at the average of collections over the different series of years, thinks that the revision assessment of Korphal is relatively too high. Captain Wingate’s classification average per acre was for Khandvi 10 annas and 10 pies, Korphal 8 annas and 5 pies. Colonel Waddington and Colonel Francis have found that, as pointed out by the cultivators, some of the lands in Korphal were assessed at a lower rate than lands of a similar quality in Khandvi; and Colonel Waddington, in paragraph 3 of his more recent letter, gives reason why the average of each village should with the same maximum be nearly similar. The average of KMndvi is 15 annas and 9 pies, but that of Korphal 1 rupee and 7 pies : this is a disadvantage to the latter village, which has not been ex¬ plained. The much larger area of admittedly bad land brought under cultivation by Korphal—that is, 588 acres as against 133 in KMndvi-—would, as in the case of Ukadgaon and Gormala, tend to give the former the lower general average ; and the Revenue Commissioner thinks that a classification which would reduce Korphal to about Rs. 4,400, would be much more in harmony with the old assessments, would be a less violent re-adjustment of Cap¬ tain Wingate’s assessment, and would be fairer to all those who have not only been cultivators, but, it is presumed, mortgaging and buying and selling the holdings for the last thirty years, than the assessment proposed. This amount would give an enhancement in Korphal, including the new land, of about 80 per cent. 29. The relative assessment of two villages, KMndvi and Kor¬ phal, has been thus discussed, not because they make an instance of striking comparison, but because' they were selected by the Sur- 3 77 vey authorities as an instance of the necessity of re-adjustment* That neccessity is admitted ; but it is believed that the enhance¬ ment ©f Korphal has been carried too far. 30. In respect of all the nine villages extracted from the Revenue Commissioner’s statement, except KMndvi, Tandulw;fri Gori, and tJkadgaon, the enhancement is, in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioner, somewhat too great; the two first men¬ tioned appear to have been judiciously treated, for there has been higher classification, and the enhancement in neither case exceeds 50 per cent., inclusive of the new cultivation. In the case of Ukad- gaon, the Revenue Commissioner has given reasons why he thinks the classification has been mismanaged and should be revised- In all the other six villages, except Alj&pur, the Revenue Commis¬ sioner is not in a position to dispute the classification; but the past revenue history of those villages gives no valid ground for an 'enhancement so much exceeding the average claimed for the district ; and it is recommended that the enhancement in these villages, and throughout the taluka, be reduced, so as not to exceed the general one claimed for higher prices, in addition to the value of new land brought to account. It may, no doubt, be urged that Government are entitled to the enhancement due to new classification illustrated for one rupee in paragraph 2 of Colo¬ nel Waddington’s letter No. 75, in addition to enhancement due to prices ; but to this the Revenue Commissioner would reply that, if Captain Wingate’s classification requires correction, and even if the cultivators got rather the best of the bargain under the thirty- years’ settlement, yet that an enhancement of from GO to 70 per¬ cent. plus the additional amount for new land, is quite an ample correction, if due regard be given to the social effects of such a measure on landed property and on the future prospects of the districts. The percentage of increase in area ranges from 2 to 57 per cent., and may be estimated to represent about |rd that amount in percentage of assessment, so that this would give from frds to 19 per cent., in addition, or an outside enhancement, from all causes, of from 76 to 89 per cent. If, as, for reasons above mentioned, is recommended in the case of TJkadgaon, the present classification figures could be revised in certain cases, there would probably be some set-off to the reduction, which the above proposal would, no doubt, necessitate. 31; Aljifpur, No. 107 in the list, has been specially excepted as regards classification in the preceding paragraph ; the percent¬ age increase of area is 218 acres, or 23 per cent., and the enhance¬ ment of assessment 140 per cent. The assessment of this village was in 1818-19, Rs. 654 ; 1819-20, Rs. 667. The average assess- b 210—y 378 riient for the nine years of Mr. Pringle’s Survey, 1830-31 to 1839-40, was Rs. 868—■ Waste. ...Rs. 551 Remissions „ 38 Collections.^ „ 279 The falling off in cultivation and revenue was, no doubt, due to the high assessment. Captain Wingate fixed a classification of 6 annas and 8 pies, and the assessment (acreage shown above) stood in 1871-72 at Rs. 465, considerably less than the high assessments of 1818-19 and 1819-20, and considerably more (from extended cultivation) than during the nine years of Mr. Pringle’s high assessment. These figures indicated high prosperity and un¬ doubted capacity to pay more with the good prices of late years obtainable for agricultural produce. But the classifying officer of the Revenue Survey has raised the rupee classification from 6 an¬ nas and 8 pies to 11 annas and 1 pie, and with an adjustment* for maximum of Rs. 1-2-0 ; the result is an average rate of 12 annas , and 6 pies per acre, and an inordinate total enhancement of 140 per cent., the sum being Rs. 1,116, or nearly See para. 28 of Colo- double the high assessment of 1818-19, dum^ofTlth December" 1819-20, when prices were higher than they are now, or are likely to be on an average, in future years. 32. In submitting these suggestions, the Revenue Commis¬ sioner is chiefly guided by the desire of averting, for what may be regarded • social, as separated from strictly economical, reasons, though the latter have not been disregarded, any great individual enhancement which may not be indispensably necessary ; and, in reviewing the papers, he thinks that a modification of the results of the theoretical classification, by a comparison with the previous classification and with the actual results of three different systems of collections, may be shown to be practicable and beneficial.. 33. It is probable that, if these suggestions be approved, some diminution of the total increase of Rs. 82,516, shown in paragraph 23 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum and in paragraph 35 of Colonel Waddington’s report, may be liable to some reduc¬ tion ; but, on the other hand, the Revenue Commissioner thinks it quite probable, as stated in paragraph 30, that some cases similar to that noticed of Ukadgaon, though not so extreme, may be found, which are susceptible of an assessment somewhat in • excess of that proposed. 34. The Revenue Commissioner begs respectfully to ex¬ press his concurrence in the recommendations of the Survey Commissioner, the Superintendent, and the Collector of ShoBpur, 379 relative to the advantage which would accrue in many ways from an exchange of territory with His Highness the Nizam, so as to remove the embarrassment of there being detached villages and groups of villages with, administrations separated from the consoli¬ dated territory to which they belong. The inconvenience exists in a still more- embarrassing degree in the Ahmednagar Colleetorate, and especially in the Jamkheir Taluka ; and if the general ques¬ tion could be taken up cordially on both sides, many of the diffi¬ culties might be removed by mutual concessions and the inter¬ change of guarantees. The principal difficulty, no doubt, is that of the unwillingness of British subjects to be transferred ; and the undersigned is not sure whether, as anticipated by Colonel Francis, the benefits of British rule would be considered as neutralized by their.villages being situated a distance of 10 or 12 miles from our frontier.. , W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. STATEMENT to accompany the Revenue Commissioner 8. D/s Memorandum to Government No. 429, dated 7th February 1873, Percentage In- Present Assess-. Proposed crease in Area and Assess- Ain Jama or Average Assessment, Waste, Remissions and Actual Collections 1839-40. ment cultivation Assessment. merit accord- Land Assessment of Land Revenue for 9 years, Return for 1872. mg to pro* for years 1831-32 to 1839-40. Kamal Ko. Names of Village^ posed Settle¬ ment. Area. or full Assess¬ Remark s. ment of 1839-40. Acres. Assess* went. Acres. Assess¬ ment Acres, Assess¬ ment. 1818-19. 1819-20, Assess-' ment. Waste. Remis¬ sions. Actual Collec¬ tions. Waste. Remis¬ sions. Collec- ; tions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 n 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rs. . Rs. Rs. Rs. 9 Belgaoji 1,264 585 1,303 1,188 8 103 298 137 901 443 105 353 869 833 264 272 Columns 4 and 6 in¬ 115 clude the Mtchas- 19 G-ormala 3,636 1,263 3,604 2,610 8 111 1,299 1,483 2,149 1,095 . 148 976 2,074 584 1,375 thai or well-aasess- ment, but this does 27 Kh4ndvi 5,554 3,88$ 5,687 5,730 5 47 4,050 ' 4,724 6,253 1,764 640 3,839 6,035 8,795 1,143 3,098 not amount, in any case, to a large $8 Khadkalgaon ... 1,326 499 1,390 1,090 7. 118 343 385 1,301 745 124 537 432 1,257 ' 482 410 365 proportion; and, though the discus¬ 29 Eorpbal 4,452 2,455 6,040 5,444 18 121 2,778 3,270 5,013 1,204 8,272 4,836 647 234 3,955 sion being on the subject of Jerayet 156 61 T4ndulw4ri 2,066 1,871 2,324 2,791 12 49 1,427 1,468 2,099 830 1,107 2,020 236 235 1,549 or dry cultivation, ,69 Q-ori. that alone ought, strictly speaking, 1,299 XTkadgaon 2,513 ,1,469 3,131 1,784 39 21 2,307 2,468 1,978 681 6J 1,230 1,967 494 174 to be discussed, yet the figures have 61 Bhindgaon 712 089 721 742 3 91 617 673 681 515 40 126 656 426 93 13f been left unaltered in order to keep up 107 Alj6pur 1,140 465 1,358 1,110 23 140 654 667 868 551 38 279 837 528 28 281 connection with 1,030 « the figures in Col. 111 Sangamneir 3,338 416 1,535 884 18 113 693 711 895 30 105 399 835 64 94 Waddington’s let¬ ter. W. H, HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S, D. 380 381 No. 1031. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 31 si February 1873.. Resolution.—Before proceeding to decide generally on the question of the pitch of assessment to be adopted for the whole tract of country under revision, it will be better to dispose of the Revenue Commissioner’s objections on account of the larger pro¬ portionate increase in the assessment in some than in other vil¬ lages. 2. Mr. Havelock, in the 17th paragraph of his forwarding memorandum, after noting the difference in the cases of the vil¬ lages of Gormala and Ukadgaon, proceeds to. say he thinks that if the latter cannot be raised, the former should be lowered to. about the difference which would be warranted by the rise in prices* and the amount fairly due to the new cultivation brought to account. After going into further details of past and proposed assessments of the two villages, he gives it as his opinion that it would be unadvisable that a theoretical classification of soils (which, being the best the experienced officers in the duty can apply, he does not wish to criticise) should be permitted entirely to regulate a revision of assessment when it is found not to harmonize with the ample evidence of the assessments over a long series of years of three different systems. In paragraph 27 he also says that if the Revenue Survey Officer found, on mature consideration, that goodlancL had been paying a great deal too much per acre under the former survey, he was competent so to classify as to reduce the assessment per acre instead of raising it on the theory of rise in prices. In the 32nd paragraph of his report also he states his opinion, that a modification of the results of the theoretical classifi¬ cation by a comparison with the previous classification and with the actual results of three different systems of collection, may be shown to be practicable and beneficial. 3. Mr. Havelock does not attempt to point out the means by which this could be accomplished j and if he had studied the descrip¬ tion of the System of classification of soils and assessment laid down in the Joint Report, with which every Revenue Officer in this Presidency is presumed to be well acquainted, His Excellency in Council fails to> understand how he could have conceived that such ah adjustment as he proposes could be practicable. He seems not to, have taken into consideration the fact that the classification of soils is carried out by an entirely different agency to that em¬ ployed for calculating the assessment; that the former has to do with the relative value of soils towards each other, and knows no- 382 thing whatever of the assessment, the positive value, that is to he* put upon them, and that, therefore, it could not have been compe¬ tent to the Survey Officer—that is to say, the officer superintending the process of classification—so to classify as to reduce the assess¬ ment per acre without falsifying the object of all classification, viz., the preservation of the relative value of land according to» their natural degrees of fertility.. A modification of the results of the theoretical classification by the comparison proposed by the Revenue Commissioner would,, in short, be impracticable without violation of the fundamental principle of the Bombay Revenue Survey, that the assessment, which is a tax upon the real rent, shall be regulated by the relative values of lands according to their natural fertility, their position with regard to markets, and other considerations that affect, the pitch of rent generally. 4. The experience acquired by working out in practice for over thirty years the theoretical system of classification of soils laid down in the Joint Report has led to the conclusion that it was faulty in too closely assimilating the productive qualities of the best and the worst lands, and this has now been remedied by raising the classification of the former and lowering that of the latter. ' For instance,, a field formerly classed at 14 annas has probably been raised to 16, and one classed at 4 has been lowered to 2 the relative values of 2 to 7 have thus been changed to 1 to 8. Accord¬ ing to the Revenue Commissioner’s views, as expressed in other letters although not distinctly in the present case, no increase be¬ yond 50 per cent, should be made on revision of assessment, and it is presumed he would have no re-classification. Taking the examples given above as occurring in a village of which the maxi¬ mum rate was 12 annas and is now raised to 1 rupee, the bad field paying formerly 3 annas per acre would be raised to 4 annas 6 pies; whereas by the ordinary process it would now pay 2 annas, and the good field formerly paying 5 annas N.B. 5 annas 3 pies WOuld be increased to 7 annas 6 pies ; where¬ comes 5 annas. as by the new classification it would pay a rupee. The Revenue Commissioner can now judge for himself of the equity of the proceeding he advocates, for ■ it is presumed he would not go so far as to propose tfcatthe assess¬ ment of the bad field should be lowered to 2 annas, and that of the good one raised to 7 annas 6 pies, as to do so would only increase the total assessment by 2 annas, which would not equal 50-per cent, on the old total of 8 annas. 5. As laid down, therefore, in Government Resolution No.. 798, of the 11th instant, on the revision of assessment in Pandhar- pur, Government cannot consent to abandon the principle of as¬ sessing according to the relative values of land as now ascertained, B83 but will content themselves with such moderate general increase as may be found suitable under the circumstances of each taluka as it falls in for revision. 6.The general, effect of the revision now proposed at the maximum rates recommended by the Superintendent, and concur¬ red in by the Survey Commissioner, is to raise the assessment on the whole taluka by 66 per cent. In the late revisions only the taluka of Indipur has been increased to a less extent, i.e., 57 per cent.; whereas- in Midha, Bhimthari, Sholipur, and Pan- dharpur, the increases have been severally 77, 73, 77, and 74 per cent. Considering the enormous and rapid development of the trade of Birsi and the condition of agricultural prosperity proved by the statistics given in the Superintendent’s report, together with the fact of the very great rise in the value of agricultural pro¬ duce common to all the talukas mentioned; His Excellency in Council does not in any way fear that the enhanced assessment will bear hardly upon the people, especially when there is taken into account the fact of all the waste land now having been brought under the plough,—a point of which in its bearing on the letting valu'e of land generally neither the Survey Officers nor the Revenue Commissioner have taken any notice. 7.Government concur in the proposal of Colonel Francis -d . . „ ,, o acceded to by the Superintendent, for a slight alteration in the grouping or villages for maximum rates of assessment, which may accordingly be adopted. 8.They are satisfied with the reasons adduced for placing the maximum rate for this taluka at the same level as that sanc¬ tioned for Sholipur. The circumstance of the distance of the 4th group of villages in the south-east corner of the taluka from roads and markets does not, however, appear to have been suffici¬ ently taken into consideration in fixing its maximum rate. This may accordingly be lowered to Rs. 1 instead of being fixed at Rs. 1-2-0. This will bring the general increase in the group probably down from 95 per cent, to about 83, and slightly lower the per¬ centage increase on the whole taluka. 9.The principle of abolishing the Virhunda or well cess on lands under wells and assessed as Bagayet (garden) under the former settlement by an increase in the classification of the land up to the highest dry-crop classification, may be carried into effect in the taluka under report. It will tend to equalize the burden of assessment on old and new garden lands, and encourage the ap¬ plication of capital to' the improvement of the land. It is not stated whether the sum of Rs. 28,000, to the surrender of which 384 it is said the grant of this boon will be equivalent, is that on the old garden lands alone or on the old and new together. In future reports tljis should be clearly shown. 10. The maximum rate of Rs. 4-8-0 proposed for Pdthasthal lands has been passed over by the Superintendent in the 37th para¬ graph of his report, and by Colonel Francis in the 22nd para¬ graph of his forwarding memorandum No. 1816 of the 11th De¬ cember last, in the most cursory manner. Government cannot allow proposals which it is proposed to guarantee for thirty years to be sent up without the fullest explanation, and the rates on this description of land are accordingly sanctioned only for the current year pending detailed report. 11. For the dry-crop rates for a period of thirty years sanc¬ tion is now accorded. Considering that, according to the average prices of the last ten years, they amount, when expressed in grain rents, in the most highly assessed village, K4ri, to 26 T 7 seers, 21‘82 seers, and 14’74 seers per acre on jowari, bajri, and wheat respectively, exclusive of the value of straw, there need be no apprehension that except in famine years, when it is not possible to collect the land revenue at all, they will not be paid with ease, and leave a large surplus in the hands of the cultivators. 12. Government must express their great dissatisfaction that a report dated the 14 th August last should only have reached them in the beginning of February. E. W. RAVENSCROF.T, . Acting Chief Secretary to Government. Continuation of Proceedings for the Reduction of the Revised Settlements of the Poona and Sholdpur Gollectorates. No. 1416 of 1875. Revenue Department. Poona, 16th September 1875. The accompanying statement * shows the reduction which it is proposed should be made in the revised assessment of the B&rsi Taluka under the provisions of the Resolution of October last. 2. As compared with the other districts of the Sholapur Collectorate, the circumstances of this taluka, as affecting rates * Not printed. 385 of assessment, may be said to be exceptional. It has a decided advantage in point of climate; the annual rain-fall as registered at Bdrsi being about 25| inches against from 18 to 23 in the other talukas. The soil is generally better, there being a comparatively small extent of the poor 'barad which is met with so extensively elsewhere in the collectorate; whilst the poorest soils are described by Colonel "Waddington to have “ a sufficient depth of earth to produce good grass during the monsoon.” And if we add to this the fact of the water-level being very favourable for well-irriga¬ tion which covers a large proportion of the area fora Deccan District, we have, on the whole, a combination of natural advan¬ tages not met with elsewhere in the Sholapur District. 3. These circumstances, it will be observed, were duly con¬ sidered in fixing the rates of the district; but my object in now bringing them forward is to show that, with such an exceptional state of things prevailing, it is advisable to make one reduction of assessment in the case on a somewhat different plan to that adopted for the district already reported on. 4. I would also notice, as having an important bearing on this point, that there is a difference, as will be perceived from the. correspondence on this settlement, of only 11 pies in general average rate between the revised and former classification of the district, which indicates rather a close agreement between the two standards of valuation. There are, however, some few villagSb, to be noticed in the sequel, in which the percentage increase on the former assessment is considerably in excess of the prescribed limit for individual villages, owing, to differences in the two stand¬ ards of classification. But, considering the agreement generally between the respective valuations of the soil, I am of opinion that it is not advisable in this case to make the reduction in classifica¬ tion values from 10 annas downwards as carried out in other dis¬ tricts ; and I would accordingly recommend that the classification should be allowed to stand as it is, and our abatement of assess¬ ment be made by a reduction of maximum rates. h. The settlement report shows the villages to have been divided into groups and assessed at maximum rates as under, lsi group- —1 village for which the maximum was Bs. a. p. 18 0 2nd ,, 65 villages ditto . ditto 16 0 3rd „ 40 „ ditto ditto 14 0 4th* „ 5 „ ditto ditto 10 0 * These villages, which were put under a Rs. 1-2-0 maximum at first, were reduced to 1 rupee maximum; see paragraph 8 of Government Resolution Ho. 1031, of 21st February 1875. b 210—w 386 I recommend a reduction of (2) annas per group in the rates of the first three groups. Those of the fourth have already been reduced in this proportion, as shown in the marginal note; and being now under a rupee maximum, nothing further is required in their case. For, as their average rate is only 7 annas 11 pies, I think they may be said to bo favourably treated as they now stand. 6. The subjoined statement exhibits the reduction of assess¬ ment caused by the foregoing modification of rules:— Revision Settlement. Proposed Reduction by lowering of Maximum Rate. Remaining Assessment, being Differ¬ ence of columns 2 and 4. Percentage Group. Amount. Percentage Increase. Increase on Original Assessment. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rs. Rs. Rs. 1st ... , 11,034 71 918 10,116 57 2nd ... 1,27,013 63 11,426 1,15,587 53,494 48 3rd ... 59,404 59 - 5,910 43 4th ... 5,001 63 5,001 63 Total ... 2,02,452 62^ 18,254 1,84,198 48 ; It will thus be seen that the new Jcamal for the 111 villages will now be reduced to Rs. 1,84,198 and the increase on former assessment from 62 to 48 per cent. By reference to the figured statement showing the land and sayer revenue collections appended to Captain Wingate’s report on the first settlement, it will be observed that the collection (exclusive of sayer revenue) for the first* year that the district came into our possession amounted to Rs. 1,87,741; but this includes the revenues of 112 villages, one Land Revenue ...Rs. 1,97,233 °f which (Darphal) has been since Deduct Sayer Revenue „ 9,492 transferred to bholapur. Deducting ■ Rs. 1,660 as given by Colonel Wad- Rs. 1,87,741 dington on account of this village, we have a total of Rs. 1,86,081 as the land revenue at that period of the 111 villages now under the district. It follows consequently that our new revenue demand is about Rs. 2,000 less than was realized from the district more than half a century ago. 7. There are 11 villages in all, the assessment of which, as now reduced, is in excess of the prescribed limit of increase for * Collections were about the same amount in the following year also. 387 individual villages. I find from some correspondence regarding tlie settlement that the Superintendent, Colonel Waddington, made special inquiries as to the cause of increase in some ofi-hese vil¬ lages, and prepared a statement, contrasting their assessment according to his revision rates with Mr. Pringle’s assessment and with that fixed subsequently at the first settlement. The following information is taken from the statement referred to :— Assessment according to Villages. Mr. Pringle’s First Survey Estimate now Rates. Rates. made. « • Es. Es. Es. Belgaon 869 685 1,056 Gormalla 2,074 1,263 2,378 Khadkalgaon 1,267 4,836 499 958 Korpbal 2,455 465 4,597 Aljapur 837 832 Sangamner 993 416 760 On examining this it will be perceived that a very large reduc¬ tion, amounting to 100 per cent, in some instances, was made in the assessment of the villages at the first settlement, and that the reduced assessment now fixed will make their payment in future about equal to what they were under Mr. Pringle’s rates. The Superintendent having fully satisfied himself of the correctness of his classification, there can, in my opinion, be no doubt that the excess over the prescribed limit of increase is due to the erroneously low standard of classification adopted at the first settlement. I would accordingly recommend that the reduced assessment now submitted, should be confirmed, and nothing further be done in such cases. • J. FRANCIS, Colonel, * Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 5875. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 19th October 1875. Resolution.—The leading facts of the revenue history of this taluka are as follow:— 2. At the introduction of British rule in 1818, 221,000 acres were under cultivation, the average rate of assessment was Re. 0-13-6 per acre, and the whole assessment was realized. At this 388 time prices, were high—that of the staple grain, jowdr, being 27 seers the rupee. The old Mahratta rates remained in force till 1831, but prices fell very greatly, and in consequence cultivation diminished, and large remissions were necessary. During the thirteen years, 1818-1831, cultivation averaged 183,000 acres, the average rate of assessment was Rs. 0-15-6 per cultivated acre, and of realizations Rs. 0-T2-3, In 1831 Mr. Pringle’s settlement was introduced, but entirely broke down. During the nine years it remained in force the average cultivation fell to 123,000 acres, the assessment rate was Rs. 1-0-3, and the rate of realizations* Rs. 0-13-9. In 1841 the survey settlement was introduced by Captain Wingate, who fixed a maximum dry-crop rate of Rs. 1 per acre throughout the taluka, giving an average rate of 8 annas. 3. This settlement has had the happiest effects. Cultiva¬ tion has increased during the time from 123,000 to 278,000 acres, and a very small fraction only of arable land remains waste. Land acquired a high saleable value, averaging in the last years of the settlement about thirty times the assessment. There increased— Population ..... 51 per cent. Agricultural cattle .... ..... 18 } i Carts 154 if Ploughs 60 if Wells a It is to be remarked that, if these returns are correct, agricul¬ tural cattle have increased in a much smaller ratio than either cul¬ tivation or population, and that the number of ploughs is still very small, averaging less than 1 to 2 holdings. The disproportion¬ ately small increase of plough cattle may in a great measure be attributed to the small area left of late years for grazing. During the time of the settlement the railway and numerous good roads have been constructed. Prices also rose immensely, and averaged %t Bar si 19| seers of jow4ri the rupee for the last three^ears of the settlement term. 4. On these considerations, when the settlement was revised in 1872, the old maximum rate of Rs. 1 per acre was replaced by rates of Rs. 11-8-0 (for the town of Bdrsi only), Rs, 1-6-0, Rs. 1-4-0, and Rs. 1, according to the situation of the different vil¬ lages. These rates raised the assessment from Rs. 1,24,658 to . Rs. 2,02,452, or 62 per cent., and the average rate from Rs. 0-7-3 per acre (inclusive of encroachments on unassessed waste, which amounted to 30,000 acres) to Rs. 0-11-4. The maximum rate on the lowest group of 5 villages, it will be observed, remained un¬ changed ; but owing to the very faulty original classification of this group, and to the assessment of encroachments, the percentage increase in this group amounted to 63. 389 5. It is unnecessary to repeat here the considerations which have determined Government to reduce the assessments imposed in 1872, as they have been fully discussed in Government Reso¬ lution No. 5739 of 29th October last, and the recent course of prices has been considered in paras. 10 to 13 of Government Reso¬ lution No. 5874, dated 19th instant, on the assessment of the Sho- ktpur Taluka. 6. In submitting his proposals, the Survey and Settlement „ Commissioner, N. D., strongly urges the propriety of not altering the valuation scale for Barsi in the manner which has been adopted for other talukas, the assessments of which have been recently disposed of. His reasons are, briefly, that, although the original classification of Bd,rsi was very incorrectly done, the original and revised standards of valuation differ little (about 6 per cent.) ; that, owing to the superiority in soil and climate generally of Bdrsi, its medium and poorer soils do not require the reduction in valuation which has been found to be desirable in other talukas, the rates of which have been lowered; and that he is satisfied of the accuracy of the present classification. For these reasons he recommends that the present classification shall stand, btfb that the maximum rates of the three first groups of villages shall be reduced 2 annas. This will lower the percentage of increase on the original assess¬ ments from 62 to 48. 7. On the other hand, however, His Excellency in Council would desire to give due consideration to the fact that a large pro¬ portion of the inferior lands of the taluka, which were classed as unarable at the time of the old survey, have now been brought under assessment, and that a proportionately heavier burden has been suddenly laid upon those holding such lands. Circumstances beyond the control of the cultivators—such as the rise of prices owing to the opening up of communications—have rendered that- a valuable property which the circumstances of thirty years ago hardly rendered it worth the while of the people to bring under the plough. It was, of course, right that the State should reap some advantage from this change of circumstances; but the fact of the sudden increase of burden on those holding such lands must also, on equitable grounds, have due weight given to it. The Sur- •vey Commissioner has accordingly drawn out a statement show¬ ing the reduction in assessment that would result from putting a lower classification on the poorest classes of soils, ranging from a valuation of 6 annas downwards, which lowers the percentage in¬ crease on the whole taluka from 62 to 56 per cent. This reduc¬ tion in favour of the inferior classes of soils, Government are pleased to sanction, in addition to that which will be brought about by the reduction of the maximum rates of the first three 390 groups of villages, i.e, from Rs. 1-8-0 to Rs. 1-6-0 (for the town of Bdrsi alone), from Rs. 1-6-0 to Rs. 1-4-0, and from Rs. 1-4-0 to Rs. 1-2-0, leaving the lowest group at 1 rupee, as already sanc¬ tioned. 8. The effect of this double reduction will be to bring down the percentage increase on the whole taluka from 62 to 42 per cent., and the average rate per acre from annas 11 pies 4 to annas 10 pies 3\ The total assessment of the taluka will now be about Rs. 9,000 less than in the last year of Maratha rule, although * 57,000 acres more are in cultivation than at that time. 9. There will now be only 9 villages out of 111 in which the increase will exceed 75 per cent, over the old assessments, and in these Government consider it unnecessary to order a still fur¬ ther reduction. Increases on individual holdings beyond the prescribed limit of 100 per cent, should be specially reported for orders. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government. No. 216 of 1876. From Lieut.-Colonel E. L. TAYERNER, Acting Superintendent, Revenue' Survey and Assessment, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. • Camp Ndsik, 22nd March 1876. Sir, With reference to your letter No. 444, dated 20 instant, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the result of the alteration made under Government Resolution No. 5875, dated 19th October 1875, in the revision settlement rates of 111 villages of the B4rsi Taluka of the ShoMpur Collectorate. 391 2. The estimate entered in paragraph 8 of the Government Resolution, is that the assessment would be reduced from an in¬ crease of 62 per cent, to one of 42 per cent. The actual result is an assessment of Rs. 1,77,135 against the original assessment of Rs. 1,24,658, or an increase of Rs, 52,477 or 42T per cent. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Poona and N&sik Survey. [Statement. £ rO a S3 fei 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 392 Statement showing the ultimate result of the Survey Revision Settlement for finally adjusted under Government Resolution Name of Tillage. As per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72. As per Revision Acres. Asess Acres. Assessment. Jerayet, Mothasthal Bagayet. | Pathasthal Bagayet. 0 s Total. Jerayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. • 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Acres. Rs. Acres. Acres. Acs. Acs. Acres. . Rs. Rs. B4rsi 13,428 6,436 * 14,655 441 12 ... 15,108 9,163 457 Agalgaon 4,065 1,831 4,147 339 32 4,518 2,248 320 AJipur 863 500 850 23 873 747 22 Ambejavalga... 3,162 1,856 3,310 255 40 3,605 2,282 279 Arangaon ... , 1,333 621 1,337 58 18 1,413 564 40 Babhulgaon ... 2,663 1,280 2,608 262 15 2,885 1,396 232 Balewari ,.. 1,184 517 1,370 32 ... 1,402 733 23 Bavi 3,252 1,778 3,452 248 3,700 2,359 313 Bhuiia 1,361 526 1,406 40 1,446 570 30 Ohara 2,172 936 2,338 136 61 2,535 1,013 119 Cbikharda 4,672 2,307 4,489 382 5 4,876 2,530 301 Deogaon 2,469 1,905 2,414 98 50 2,562 .2,482 117 Dhanora 944 386 956 47 1,003 479 46 Dhotra 2,202 990 2,247 141 *4 2,392 1,124 98 Dadsinga 1,174 716 1,138 81 |M 1,219 895 99 Gadegaon 1,263 605 1,328 25 1,353 942 20 Ghari 1,643 897 1,583 242 *6 1,831 871 222 Gormala 3,536 1,263 3,517 167 65 3,749 2,003 141 Indapur 786 435 883 18 901 597 16 Jahanpur 1,277 563 1,185 100 29 1,314 568 86 Jamgaon (Taraf Agal¬ gaon) 2,762 1,089 2,929 58 42 3,029 1,244 57 Kandalgaon ... 1,173 976 1,194 18 1,212 1,286 20 Kategaon 1,858 797 1,968 113 28 2,109 999 102 Kari 8,050 3,734 8,152 512 7 8,671 4,473 560 Khamgaon ... 2,443 1,221 2,414 151 10 2,575 1,634 156 Khandvi 5,554 3,882 5,824 123 5,947 5,070 135 Khadkalgaon... 1,326 499 1,369 25 1,394 892 28 Korphal 4,452 2,455 4,999 207 2 5,208 4,264 242 Kaslamb 1,198 593 1,235 117 ... 1,352 634 98 b 210- *** • • m 0 * m - : - to: co m»: cn t ^ ^co 1 tO MOTO *vl CO O CO CO -si 05 MO to CO 01 '8# Ml to Soil Assessment. Pathasthal Bagayet. ment. Survey. "*• * • * * * • ■ • ►—* * : D--*cotox co: co :: ;■ wmoo*. . : iok>m. ^ co to co co to 05 05 ot -si to to co hM -sj -a mi m 00 . • CO Water Cess. ' : W * 5° Mi Rice. • JDt MiJDtJ-i mij-i ton M jo to M* JO J—1 JO JO -si cjt colo bo o m co'co OiTo'M* co colo ckXi oo co a>'b5-sioi asXi^'bi CO M* to O o Cn 05 O CO O Mi CO O 05 CO CO tO O -a O O -sJ Or 05 CO tO 05 tOHOO'OMOQO -sJ CO O tO tO O co 00 CO CO O M» ^ 00-si Cn-si 00 O co 00 to to CO to-si rfx CO 39 &J tO 02 to M -sJ Assessment, M» m m» M» M» Ml Ml M« Ml M« M-» CO^JCrr-siaTOOtf^COO CO Or 05 M *<| CO 05 ti* -si 05 00 00 05 £* M Mi 13 M CO Acres, Percentage. tOOOOOCOi^COh^COtO to 00 to Or CO to CO ^ to ^ M* Ot ^ CO >£s Or >£* COiM^^OOCnOs^OO 05 M» m* CO CO CO £» 05 tO Ox © fctw © 05 O CO *vi ox ' W CO Ot O 19 Assessments Ml « • • »• ». . O • Rs. a. p. 16 0 to o Maximum Dry-crop rate per acre. OOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOMOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOMIO ooooooooooooooooooo HHHM Ml M Ml Ml M» l-i 00 o ti* M* CO 00 Ml «*•! 00 Ml CO co Ml CO CX) 00 05 CO-si 05 Ml CO CO-si M ^ CO Hjh- *9i>-b®M tcMkSiHfcaM uM W o Ml o p to >p to M* Average Dry-crop rate per acre, exclu¬ sive of rice and water cess. 22 Remarks, the undermentioned Villages of Taluha Bdrsi, Sholdpur Collectorate, as No. 5875, dated 19th October 1875. tZ CD rO S s 1 30 31 32 33 34 35. 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51' 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 394 As per Cultivation Returns for . 1871-72. As per Revision ‘ Acres. Assess Name of Village. Acres. > - i | Assessment. Jerayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. Pathasthal Bagayet. Rice. Total. Jirayet. Mothasthal Bagayet, j 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rs. Acres. Acres. Acs. Acs. Acres, Rs. Rs. Kaudgaon ,,, 2,434 1,379 2,757 226 33 3,016 1,549 231 Kavha 2,456 1,262 2,553 72 2,625 2,009 81 Mahagaon 1,103 692 1,146* 38 ... ‘ 1,184 984 41 Mandegaon ... 1,448 1,034 1,449 148 1,597 1,441 182 Manegaon 2,699 1,480 2,650 131 2,781 1,823 126 Mftmdflpur 1,519 804 1,553 58 1,611 879 46 Nari 4,041 £,145 3,856 378 4,234 2,399 384 Ukadgaon 2,513 1,469 3,485 314 60 . 3,859 1,101 287 Pandri 684 335 810 158 15 983 340 128 Pangaon ... ... 8,201 3,767 9,050 317 22 9,389 5,124 341 Pangri 5,504 3,045 5,587 535 31 6,153 2,616 521 Pathri ... Pimpalgaon (Taraf Pan 1,717 639 1,927 135 7 2,069 859 106 gaon) Pimpalgaon (Taraf Pan 1,296 763 1,424 63 3 1,490 1,186 65 ^ gri) Pimpalgaon (Taraf Agal 993 573 1,071 34 ... 1,105 826 31 gaon) 2,830 1,873 2,841 167 '3,008 2,577 192 Pimpalwandi... 612 386 575 146 24 745 242 98 Puri.,. 1,425 704 1,444 169 10 1,623 884 143 Sakat 2,618 1,587 1,835 2,669 85 16 2,770 2,579 90 Saundara 3,783 3,780 192 11 3,983 2,499 232 Shelgaon (Taraf Bdrsi) 1,892 958 1,928 61 35 2,024 1,324 67 Shiral 2,025 812 2,058 257 ,33 2,348 976 200 TanduUvari Gore 2,666 1,871 2,720 14 • • • 2,734 2,677 14 Tandulwari Sher Khani . 2,063 952 2,332 40 ... 2,372 1,369 37 Tadsavandana 1,213 604 1,126 131 ... 1,257 776 123 Tandi 1,408 656 1,460 49 6 1,515 744 43 Valvand 700 420 714 104 9 827 393 58 Wanewari 838 251 900 62 ... 962 392 44 Vyarag 3,270 1,192 3,325 204 ... 3,529 1,776 184 Elamba ... 92& 548 936 124 ... 1,060 734 112 Balegaon 1,264 585 1,305 55 ... 1,360 982 . 54 Chineholi ... 1,965 914 2,344 172 3 2,519 1,130 145 Dudhgaon 898 508 883 29 ... 912 • 753 24 : I : ; : : : : tocaMH m: : oshh^! : : : : : ca m GO Ci CO CO or or CO fcO 00 M to Soil Assessment. ►d Wg: OQ g •Si S- ^ * *--4 inent. Survey. • * Mr ; ! r * r m td : : ; : : m : . : co 05 m to to to: : cockc^m: :::::. 0 p 00 05 00 CO or 05 M 0 M 00 . -. Crt CO 00 Or CD C5 -3 Ox CO 05 00 or M CO or to 00 CO to to CK M CO 00 CO CO 05 05 O -J CO to OS 00 to to CO CO to M 00 00 or © to O’ MO CO >f- ^ O tO O 05 M CO 00 CO 05 00 05 00 M CO CO CO 00 CO M —4 Assessment. to M HH M M M to M M tOM Mif^Or M tO to 00 OO ^ 00 Ot 00 CO ^ Ot CO 05 *KkO M 00 Acres. | Percentage. W CD OT^^OtOi^MlO^^i^OtOTOTMOt £- C7» C5 Or tfs. 05 05 M 03 Or ^ 05 05 COHMM^MWWOCC^COjOHOWOO O OT CO Ot --S o JO CQ CD M to to Or 05 or W m M CO Assessment. CD C+" OQ CD COOr M tO bO C5^J^ 05 CrrCO 05 M COM tOCO CO bO tO 05 CO M Or 05 HCOODCOMOOMOJHMQCiCOOtOMHCnOtOCtSrO^ CO 05 05 00 *-’MMMMM'-'>—'M M M M M H M COOCiMHOMOtCOOOHOOLOM^RiaaiOOOMMM taH »iH N>|hw1k U)lH MlMtOlH ' W|t-N»li- Ui|H b&HM|K •si o CO CO o o t—"* to to Remarks, 398 Number. j Name of Village. As per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72. As per Revision Acres. Assess Acres. Assessment. Jerayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. , J Patbasthal Bagayet. j Rice. Total. Jerayet. ' Mothasthal Ragayet. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rs. Acres. Acres. Acs. Acs. Acres. Rs. Rs. 91 Nimblak 1,521 588 1,590 54 1,644 877 42 92 Undegaon 2,023 1,127 2,299 32 *2 ... 2,333 1,734 33 93 Up] a IMakad) 3,759 1,987 5,440 453 ... ... 5,893 2,139 419 94 Pimpri (Taraf Ratanjan). 1,154 441 1,203 53 ... ... 1,256 866 46 95 96 Pimpri (Taraf Pangaon). Raleras 2,312 1,740 1,181 1,390 2,445 1,843 97 50 ... ... 2,542 1,859 1,649 1,626 102 58 97 Rastapur * ... 1,038 357 1,189 47 *2 ... 1,238 443 31 98 Ratanjan 2,468 883 2,962 63 ... 1 3,026 1,414 45 99 Rui... -3,045 953 3,334 169 2 2 3,507 1,598 130 100 Sarjapur 1,068 520 1,173 29 ... 1 1,203 747 28 101 Sarola 2,871 1,443 2,970 40 .. • •.. 3,010 1,812 27 102 Shelgaon Ratanjan 3,947 1,726 4,142 106 ... ... 4,248 2,388 103 103 Surdi 4,537 ' 1,812 5,051 326 ... ... 5,377 2,344 333 104 Tadwal 2,770 2,143 2,739 58 ... ... 2,797 2,660 61 105 Tark Pimpri ... 2,339 1,552 2,410 72 ... ... 2,482 1,473 68 106 Bhandgaon ... 712 389 721 8 4 ... 733 618 8 Total ... 74,067 37,287 81,297 3,766 99 40 85,202 48,026 3,405 107 Aljapur ... . 1,140 465 1,142 36 15 1,193 738 29 108 Gandgaon 3,666 940 3,758 112 ... ... 3,870 1,338 64 109 Kasari 2,251 826 2,480 47 ... 2,527 . 1,078 33 110 Mirjalpur 999 411 932 63 ... ... 995 620 48 111 Sangamner ... ... 1,338 416 1,484 26 17 ... 1,527 593 15 Total ... 9,394 3,058 9,796 284 32 ... 10,112 4,367 189 Total ... 248,465 1,24,658 263,154 14,096 883 51 278,184 1,61,369 13,344 - Assessm ent of 59 9 ... ... .. ... •«> «•« Grand Total ... 248,524 1,24,667 263,154 14,096 883 51 278,184 1,61,369 13,344 Camp Ndsile, 22nd March 1876 (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Poona and Ndsik 710 ; 11 § to CO 62 11 *12 :::::: : :::: : tS :::::: : : : ; ; : co ^ H* M tO M cO Soil Assessment. Pathasthal Bagayet. B CD Sf c* Survey. 1,638 | a. 1,638 00 o ox i : \ to -sr co 198 o et cd ex ex M CO Water Ce6s. mi land. mi : : : : : : Ox 00 M CO K * { Rice, 1,77,135 'mi MI !-» CO 4,659 H4^-4 05 0^7-*'^ co MOlHOO -a oo i-4 to h-t Ox mi CD tO tOj-*» ^H4 ►-» jMj-i JsO^H-* p-j 05 ex^ 05^"oo mi'mi'^ ^'os'mt co~bxMi to a to -mi co co -a co 05 oo oo ex h- ex -sj h-* oi-HMHcoaMeo^Htooo^o k-4 ex Total. 29,719 | Z- 29,719 MI 00 1 *-* | h—t ‘ to to H 00 Sioot I CO CO l£s 05 ^ 00 1 Or JO M OOCOt-JM^OxtOMtO h-i't-i 05 v-i to^to^ococooiexoexcoocoH-‘to HCOMOHOOltOOOOCOOtOi^OCO H-• o Acres, Numerical. Increase. 52,477 = 52,477 ! 1,601 to to to CO 05 Or 00 05 CO H4 MI Ox to 05 14,462 £d to ex oo mi co to -or ex i-* to ex £» ex 05 co a> ox m mi 05 05 co ox oo oo to co mi mi mi co HHOOeeQD^QW^OHMMh-1 »—» MJ Assessment. to • M to 00 »—‘: m ^ to 05 On M ex h-4 h-* j—‘ to )—* >—* ex f—< coo5McoooexCDexcocDcoocoMiexQO I-4 00 Acres. Percentage. to : to Ox to 05 05 CO ^ co co ex co to co CD w h-* CO 05 to ^ ^ to rf»* oo 05 co to o to ex ex * Oxl—»Ml0Qif*.MICOt0O5^t-400*^C©Mia5 M co Assessment. : : : : M ; : : : o o : M s° ° *p , to o Maximum Dry-crop Rate per acre. 10 2 10 2 M CO ooooo 050M050 tolftslt-* toH CD CO w QB oooooooooooooooo e> f-, 4 |- * COOOiOOOCOOflOMa^MHMWCO tn Mh> kiM KB- tcB- J3 to Average Dry-crop Rate per acre, exclu¬ sive of Rice and Water Cess. to to Remarks, 399 400 No. 1406 op 1876. Revenue Department. Poona, 9th September 1876. Forwarded for the information of Government. 2. It will be seen from the figures given by the Superintend¬ ent that the estimated and actual result of the reduction for this district agrees as closely as could be expected. 3. The report has been -detained awaiting the result of orders in the cases of above 100 per cent, of increase in individual fields ; but as the reduction has to be shown in the reprint of the reports on the Deccan Revision Settlements now in progress, the report'is submitted for final information of the result. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 5516. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 27th September 1876. Resolution.—These reports give the final results of the reduc¬ tions effected in these four talukas in conformity with the prin¬ ciples laid down in Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th October 1874. 2. The following are the several percentage reductions :■— v Percentage reductions. 1 Barsi From 62 to 42*1 * * * and the total amount contrasts as follows :— Assessment under first Revised Assessment as Survey. originally imposed. 1 Barsi 1,24,658 2,02,547 # & * # * Revised Assessment according to reductions reported. 1,77,135 * 3. His Excellency the Governor in Council is pleased to express his approval of the manner in which Colonel Taverner has carried out the instructions of Government. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. KARMA'LA TALUKA. To 403 No. 2695 of 1873. The SURVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, N. D. * Sholapur Collector's Office, Gamp Sangola, 25th November 1873. Sir, ' I have the honour to annex a letter, with accompaniments, No. 921, dated 3rd ultimo, from; Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington, Superintendent Revenue Survey, Poona and NAsik, containing proposals for revised rates of assessment in 93 villages of the Kar- mala Taluka of this collectorate. 2. Of these 93 villages it appears that 18, belonging to the old M&dha Taluka, were settled in 1839-40 by Sir George Wingate ; 27 belonging to the old Ropla Petha, in 1842-43 by Mr. Price ; and 48, which formed a portion of the old Subha or Chief Division of the Kcirmala Taluka, in 1843-44 by Mr. Price. 3. Of the remaining 30 villages,’ 25 formerly belonged to the Nagar Collectorate, and were transferred to this collectorate in 1859-60 and 1866-67. Of these 25, 15 are Government and 10 alienated villages. • The remaining five were formerly alienated villages. Three of these have lapsed. I annex a statement of the names of these 30 villages, showing when the survey was" intro¬ duced into them. 4. Thejclosing sentence of paragraph 4 of Colonel Wadding- ton’s letter does not appear to be quite correctly worded. 5. It is proposed that the maximum rate of assessment be fixed at Rs. 1-4-0 in the two villages of Kem and Jeur, where there are railway stations ; Rs. 1-2-0 in 21 villages (those within 4 miles of railway stations and on the line, and the village of Ropla) ; and Re. 1 in the remainder. 6. The result of the proposed rates will be to raise the average rate from 6 annas 3 pies to 8 annas, and the whole assess¬ ment Rs. 38-8-0 per cent. 7. This seems a very reasonable enhancement, considering how the value of money has decreased since 1842-43. 8. I would observe, however, that there are two points which have not been noticed as, I think, they should have been. When, two years ago, I received Mr. Grant’s letter regarding the new rates 404 proposed for M4dha, I observed that the total enhancement was Rs. 75 per cent., and, therefore, stated that I considered it to be reasonable. It is only lately that I have become aware, 1st, that, while the rates on the good soils were left very nearly as they were before, the rates on the very inferior soils were much enhanc¬ ed ; and, 2ndly, that, whereas before a certain portion of stony land in different holdings used to* be deducted as “ pot kharab” and thrown in for nothing, under the new rates no such allowance has been made. 9. In MMha the maximum rate of assessment was raised from 13 annas 2-J pies to Rs, 1-4-0, In KarmfUa, with the excep¬ tion of the two villages above-named, it is proposed to raise it from 13 annas 2\ pies to Rs. 1-2-0. Yet, while the total increase of the enhancement in Madha was 75 per cent., that proposed for Karmdla is Rs. 38-8-0 per cent. only. 10. The explanation of this I presume to be that while in MMha the “ pot kharab” was brought in and assessed, it has been left out in Karmala and allowed to remain unassessed. 11. In the reports on the settlement of 1842-43 and 1843-44, no less than nine different rates are shown, viz., three for each of the different kinds of black, red, and a barad ” land. Colonel Waddington has satisfied himself with stating the maximum rates, and left us in the dark in regard to the details. Persons who have spoken to me regarding the new rates in other talukas, have said that no discontent would have arisen had the rates been raised proportionately all round, instead of having been left nearly the same on superior land and raised so heavily on infei’ior land. I/ think that Colonel Waddington might with advantage have ex¬ plained whether, in fixing the new rates, he has, as a general rule, approved of the proportionate values for each class of land as in¬ volved in the rates advocated by Mr. Price; and, if not, what varia¬ tions he has considered it expedient to make in Mr. Price’s method of classification. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, T. BOSANQUET, Collector. Stai No. 1 2 8 4 5 ,6 7 8 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 405 ement about the 30 Villages other than the 93 Villages ofTaluJcci Karmdla proposed to be brought under the revised rates in Colonel Waddington^s letter No. 921, dated 3rd October 1873, prepared from a report from the Mdmlatdar, dated the 23rd November 1873, No. 99. Names of Villages. Whence received. Whether sur¬ veyed or not. Government. Indm. Hingni ... -> Jinti Khotgaon Kokra- Ketur ... % Ka traj Korti From Ah- Surveyed Saodi - ... ... mednagar in 1852- Pondhaudi ... >* Govern¬ 8 53. Diva Go whan ment. Kumbhargaon ... Porpwdi ... ... Rajuri Takli ... ... Delaodi ... ... Pomalwari . •. J Kondhar Chineholi Not surveyed. Sogaon •* * Dahigaon... ... Sarapdoho . Surveyed iD U mbarda... From Ah¬ i y 1853-54. Chikhalthan ... med nasrai j Mangi «.. f Inam. Kumbhe j... - j Kugaon... ... Not surveyed. Bitargaon... - 1 Surveyed in 1851-52. Nimbgaon r From Talu- Sangwi ... y ka Mad ha * Not surveyed. Bhalowni .. \ Govern- Surveyed in V. ment. 1855-56. Kasba Temburni... From Talukii Surveyed inJ Madha oi 1860-61. * Talnka Kar- mala botli Inams. Kandar ... Not surveyed. Remarks. Nos. 16 and 24 are to be brought under survey during the cur¬ rent year. Nos. 26, 27, do. 29, the Inam- dar having ap¬ plied for a revi¬ sion survey, the village, though surveyed in 1860*61, is to be brought under the survey now. Sholdpur Collector's Office, Samjola, 25 ih November 1873. T. BOSANQUET, Collector, 406 No. 921 of 1873. e TO T. BOSANQUET, Esq., Collector of Sholdpur. Poona, 3rd October 1873. Sib, I have the honour to forward my report on the revised rates which I propose for 93 villages of the Karmila Taluka. 2. This district forms the extreme western portion of the . . ShoMpur Zillah, and is divided from the Inda- General description. pUr Taluka of the Poona Collectorate by the Bhima River, which forms its south-western boundary; on the east the Sina River separates it from the territories of His High¬ ness the Nizam; and on the south it is bounded by the M&dha Taluka ; the north-west boundary is formed by the Karjat Taluka of the Ahmednagar Collectorate. The greatest length of the dis¬ trict from north to south is 38 miles, and its breadth from east to west 28 miles. * 3. As will be seen from the above description, this tract of _ . . , country lies between the Bhima and Sina eserrption con mue . rj vergj the watershed dividing the district into two parts, and running in a north-westerly direction from Kem to a little west of the town of Karmala. The face of the country pre¬ sents a succession of rises and valleys, with a good deal of high- lying tableland, which in some places is covered with loose stones and occasionally boulders, but generally is level and composed of soil of good quality, though somewhat short of depth. With the exception of two small hills near Kem, and the dividing ridge above mentioned, the district may be said to be flat, though towards the north and north-west it is rough and broken, and intersected by many large nullas. Trees, except in the valleys and near vil¬ lages, are rare;’nor do they attain the same size as they do in the more favoured climate of B&rsi. 4. At the time of the last settlement the Karmdla Taluka Former and present consisted of two revenue divisions, contain- constitution of the Ta- ing in all 82 Government and 2 alienated luka. villages. Of these divisions, Ropla, the Mahalkari’s charge, comprising 34 Government and 1 alienated villages, was settled in 1842-43, whilst the Subha, or principal divi¬ sion, consisting of 48 Government and 1 alienated villages, had - the rates introduced in the following year. Owing to territorial changes made in 1859-60, 1862-63, and 1866-67, and the addition of 407 3 villages which lapsed to Government in 1869-70 on the death of the life grantee, Bhagwantrao Govind Pingle, the taluka now contains 111 Government and 12 alienated villages, the whole under the charge of a Mdmlatdar stationed at Karmala, whose kutcherry is held in the fort which adjoins the town. This fort is said to have been constructed by the founder of the Nimbalkar Family, and, though small, is well built and in good preservation. Of the 12 alienated villages, 11 are to be continued in perpe¬ tuity, and 1—Temburni—during "the life of the present holder, Krishnabai, \Vidow of Luxumon Rao Sadasew, Mankeshwar. The 'following statement gives details of the changes which have been made up to the present date :— 408 Year. Taluka. Collectorate. Division. Taraf. Government. 1 «*! <-! inber illag< | 2 < of * JS. •+3 Remarks. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • Deduct. Transferred to. 1862-63 ... Mddha... Do. Haveli Paranda.. 7 7 Total.. 93 14 107 Add. Transfe rred from ( Kadevalit 1 1 2 1866-67 ... Srigunda., Nagar i Srigunda 4 4 l Rasin 10 ... 10 Total... 15 1 16 Grand Total... 108 15 123 Changes. -- — Alienated lapsed to Government. 1869-70 ... Village Bhaloni I ( Haveli Paranda.. *1 1 Belonged to ,, Nimbgaon ... Temburni *1 1 Bhagwant- „ Sangvi I ( Do. *1 1 rao Govind — L Piugle. Total... 3 3 ... Grand Total... 111 12 123 Ah tiract. — : — « f Haveli Paranda-. 28 28 g | Kadevalit 29 2 31 ’Xi V Srigunda 13 6 19 1872-73 ... Karm&la... Shol&pur ... 3! l°-i Wangi 11 3 14 s ^ Temburni 19 1 20 Under no Taraf. 1 1 * l. Rasin 10 ... 10 Total... 111 12 123 The whole of the 123 villages iioav forming the taluka have at different times been brought under survey operations. The present proposals, however, will apply only to the 93 villages—which, as shown above, were settled in 1842-43 and 1S43-44—and 3 alienated and 2 lapsed villages. 409 5.The total area of the Karm&la Taluka, as now constituted, is 772 square miles, or 494,063 acres. The Population, &o. 93 Government villages, which presently come under revision, contain an area of 346,603 acres, with a population of 68,971 souls, or 125 to the square mile. The subjoined statement shows the present statistical condition of these villages as com¬ pared with that in 1842-43. The increase in the population during the intervening period has been about 24 per cent., that in carts 184, in ploughs 37, and in bullocks about 6 per cent. Official Year. Houses. Males. Females. Total. Carta. j Ploughs. Bullocks 'and Male Buffaloes. Sheep and Goats. Chauris, Temples, &c. Tiled. Flat-roofed. Thatched. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1842-43 ... 97 31 4,087 6,737 10,952 29,666 26,067 55,733 I 449 1,762 25,907 32,567 1872-73 ... 462 33 5,269 4,210 9,974 35,915 33,056 68,971 1,276 2,421 27,433 34,7S0 Increase ... 365 2 1,182 6,249 6,989 13,238 827 659 1,526 2,213 Decrease ... 2,527 978 , ‘ - 1 6. Karmdla is traversed from west to east by the G. I. P. •r. , Railway, which, after following the course of E.Jw»,e ,»d road.. ^ Bh/ma for about Mf wa* through ^ district, cuts across the watershed near the Kem Station, and thence follows the valley of the Sina, until it crosses that river near Mohol. There are three railway stations within the limits of the taluka, viz., Pomalwari, Jeur, and Kem; and two, Dik- sdl and Bdrsi Road, close to its frontier. With respect to roads, it is but indifferently provided, the only made roads being from the town of Karmala to the railway station at Jeur, a distance of ten miles; and a short piece of the Poona and ShoMpur road, which passes through the southern portion of the taluka. Of fair- weather roads the principal one is that from Ahmednagar to Kar- m&la, and thence to ShoMpur, Pandharpur, and Barsi. A good deal of traffic used formerly to pass to and fro by this route ; but the railway has now almost monopolized the carriage, although many thousands of pilgrims annually travel through the district on their way to Pandharpur. 7. With regard to markets, KarnMla is well provided; for, Markets besides the principal bazaar town of KarnMla itself, weekly markets are held within the district at Temburni, Kem, W4ngi, Kondej, Korti, and Sondri, and those of Inddpur, Kurdu, Narsingpur, Akluj, and Paranda are easily accessible. Ropla, however, which formerly used to be b 210—z 410 a large market, no longer boasts of a bazaar. In addition to its local markets the district enjoys the advantage of the railway, which offers every facility for the transport of surplus produce to Poona, Bombay, ShoKpur, &c. 8. The subjoined statement shows the number of schools in _ , . the district, from which it appears that there 0 00 s' are 17 for boys, attended by 697 pupils, and one girls’ school, in which 35 girls are under instruction. It would thus appear that about one per cent, of the population are being brought under the influence of education :— Paid from the Imperial Revenue. Paid from the Local Fund Revenue. Total. Established For Boys. For Girls. For Boys. For Girls, For Boys. For Girls.* during the O «+-i o © - © «4~t © o Number Schools Pupils, j Number Schools Pupils. Number - Schools | Pupils. Number Schools Pupils. Number Schools Pupils. Number Schools Pupila. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1st Decade 1. 143 1 143 2nd do. 1 65 1 30 2 95 ... 3rd do. • 5 205 1 35 9 254 14 459 1 35 Total... 7 413 1 35 10 " 284 17 697 1 35 9. The manufactures of the district are confined to the ,, , . making of a few coarse cotton and woollen Manufactures. pi* i i v ± t n fabrics, such as lugdis, turbans, khadis and kamblis ; the number of looms for cotton goods being 229 and for woollen 96. The preparation of saltpetre is also carried on to a considerable extent, but in the most rude and primitive manner; the manufacture is conducted only by the lowest castes of the community, the Mangs and Mh&rs. The process consists in sim¬ ply mixing the soil with water in shallow pans built of stone and mortar, allowing evaporation to take place in the same manner as in the salt pans of the Konkan, no artificial heat being employed. This is a simple and inexpensive process ; but, doubtless, by more elaborate means a very large quantity might be obtained. The an¬ nual yield of a pan, as estimated by Mr. "Whitcombe, averages from 4 to 5,000 lbs ; and it is sold to dealers at the rate of 16 pounds 411 per rupee, who retail it at 10 or 12 lbs; and when refined by boil¬ ing at 6 or 7 lbs. The manufacture is carried on, of course, in the fair season, and the out-turn last year is estimated at 250,000 lbs ; the license fees for the privilege of manufacturing it amounting to Ks. 805. The subject may probably be worth the attention of Government in connection with the new powder , works at Kirkee. As the manufacture not being confined to this district alone, but carried on in many of the adjacent talukas, it is to be presumed that almost any quantity of saltpetre might be obtained. The fol¬ lowing statement shows the amount estimated to have been collected on account of fees in this district during the last ten years :— Official Year. Number of Vil¬ lages in which Saltpetre was manufactured. Revenue derived by Government. - Rs. 1862-63 39 267 1863-64 34 312 1864-65 61 608 1865-66 52 623 1866-67 20 355 1867-68 8 146 1868-69 14 121 1869-70 ... ■ ... 23 477 1870-71 24 496 1871-72 31 553 Average... 31 396 10. The proportion of the different soils is estimated by ,, , , ±. Mr. Whitcombe to be 50 per cent, of black of °° and 25 Per cent- each of rod and barad soils. The black soil is usually somewhat short of depth, except along the banks of the nullas and in the valley of the Sina River; it is frequently somewhat stiff and clayey in its nature, and requiring a copious rainfall to ensure a full crop, which, however, in a favourable season is equal or even superior to the best black soils, but in ordinary years yields but an indifferent crop, and in very unfavourable seasons scarcely pays for the seed.. Much care has been bestowed on the classification of this description of soils. There is also a small quantity of allu¬ vial land which is chiefly found along the banks of the Bhima River. 412 11. Mr. Whitcombe contrasts the mode of husbandry pre- valent in this district unfavourably with that Husbandry. in vogue in the Pabal Taluka. This want of care is probably to be attributed to the large amount of land available as compared with the population, and perhaps also to the less certain rainfall which the people of this district experienced. Mr. Whitcombe, however, excepts the village of Jdtegaon, in which he describes the" ryots to be industrious and painstaking, and as ploughing their lands annually, the usual practice being to perform that operation only once in three, four, or even five years, the harrow alone being employed in the intermediate years. More labour is naturally bestowed on the garden lands, which are treated in much the same manner as in other districts. The use of manure is confined almost entirely to these lands, except,, in the immediate vicinity of the town of Karmd,la, where from the denser population more manure is available. 12. The usual crops grown are jow£ri, Mjri, kardaie, a small quantity of wheat, cotton, and gram thSr°rotationOWI1 (chiefly in garden lands) ;. and math tfir, khurasm, hemp, rice, chillies, earthnnts, linseed, castor-oil, tobacco, &c., in minute proportions. The occupied waste land, however, is loss in comparison to the culti¬ vated than in most of the lately settled districts. The rotation of crops is usually as follows :— Kkarif. 1st year.—Bdjri intermixed with tiir, hemp, khurasni, &c. 2nd year.—A late crop. 3rd year.—Same as first year. Mali. 1st year.;—Bajri. 2nd year.—Jowari, with every fifth furrow of kardaie, and two or three furrows of linseed. 3rd year.—The same. Garden Lands. 1st year.—B&jri, with a second crop of wheat, gram, or vege¬ tables. 2nd year.—Indian-corn, rice, urid, or miig. 3rd year.—Same as first year, and sometimes sugar, of which, however, very little is grown. The following statement shows the proportions in which dif¬ ferent crops were grown last season, from which it will be seen 413 that 57‘5 per cent, was jowari, and 15‘4 bajri, leaving only 27 per cent, for other crops :— No. Crop. Percent¬ age. No. 1 Crop. Percent¬ age. i Jow&ri 57-5 14 Chillies ... •3 2 B&jri 15-4 15 Bhuimug •3 3 Kardaie 4-9 16 Indian-eorn •3 4 Cotton 3-1 17 Linseed ... •3 5 Wheat 2-4 18 Castor oil. •3 6 Gram 23 19 Tobacco ... •2 7 Math 1-8 20 Til •2 8 Ttir ... ^ ... 1-4 21 Miscellaneous •2 9 Hulga 1-6 . 22 Sugar •1 10 Khurasni ... •9 23 Rattali •1 11 Amb&ri •7 24 Sathu •1 12 Mtig •5 25 Occupied waste 4-6 13 Rice •3 Total... 100 13. Irrigation is chiefly confined to wells, of which there , - are now 1,730 in working order against mgation. 1,090 at time of former settlement. The present well assessnlent ranges from 4 annas to Es. 27 per well, according to capability, the total well assessment being Es. 4,564. The subjoined statement gives details regarding the number of wells as computed at time of former settlement and ascertained by the recent survey :—- Total number of Wells in 1841-42. As at present. In working order. Out of repair. Details of old Wells. New Wells constructed. 4>369 was abandoaed. The average cultivation has been 271,415 acres, and collections Rs. 1,06,524, the waste land being only 464 acres. 26. It will thus be seen that, with the single exception of _ . , 1871-72, the district (although even yet enera remar s. scarcely as well off as neighbouring dis¬ tricts), as far as can be judged from the steady increase in cultiva¬ tion and revenue, has been progressing in prosperity during the last twenty years ; even the bad season of 1871-72, which necessitat¬ ed the remission of Rs. 4,369, being followed by the relinquish¬ ment of only 257 acres. The following statement shows succinctly the increase in revenue in each succeeding period during the last thirty-five years:— Percentage Increase. Peripd. Average Annual Collections Increase over pre¬ ceding peripd. Increase over five years preceding the Settlement. On preced¬ ing period. On five years preced¬ ing the Settle¬ ment. Five, years from. 1838-39 to 1842-43. Ten years from 1843-44 to 1852-53. Ten years from 1853-54 to 1862-63. Ten years from 1863-64 ta1872-73. 81,983 78,488 99,194 1,06,524 20,706 7,830 17,211 24,541 26-0 7-0 2*io 30*0 27.The solution of the question of fitting rates for this ,T . taluka is greatly facilitated by the fact that revised rates have been introduced with the approval of Government into two districts immediately adjoining KaranUa on the east and south, viz., Madha and Indiipur, and the Korti Taluka on its west was. settled in 1852-53. The climate of the Karmala Taluka is, as mentioned above, somewhat inferior to that of Mddha, and more particularly in the southerriportion, which, however, has the advantage in point of proximity to the railway. There is no doubt that Karnrila, or, at least, that part of it through which the railway runs, benefits more from the construction of that line than Ind^pur, and, so far as the villages so benefited are. concerned, they should have a somewhat higher maximum than that district, which also on account of its better rainfall should; 421 apply to Karmdla itself and a few of the villages between it and the Jeur Station. The villages on the north-east, although they may, perhaps, enjoy a better rainfall, are still very distant from the railway, and have not the advantage of any road. But, whilst I am of opinion that the rates in some parts of Karmila should be higher than those of Inddpur, I do not consider that they should be quite as high as the highest rates of M&dha (except as regards the two villages of Kern and Jeur, at each of which is a railway station) which, whilst equally favoured as far as railway communi¬ cation is concerned, is somewhat more so in point of climate. The highest class of villages in Madha had a maximum of Rs. 1-4-0, whilst in Indapur, excluding the town of Inddpur itself, the maxi¬ mum rate was Re. 1, In the adjoining villages of Korti it was only 12 annas. After mature consideration it appears tome that a maximum rate intermediate between that of Madha and that of Indapur will be fitting for this district, and I would, therefore, pro-, pose Rs. 1-2-0 as that maximum, putting Jeur and Kem under a special rate of Rs. 1-4-0. 28. You wilfr see from the accompanying map the manner in Groaping of Villages. ^ich I purpose to modify my maximum rate as regards villages which have been described by me above as less advantageously circumstanced, whether in point of climate or proximity to railway stations. You will observe that I have placed all the villages in the south-east corner, which are both distant from the railway and have a climate resembling that of Inddpur, in my lowest class—Re. 1 ; as. also those along the north-west border, which are nearly under similar conditions. My next class, with a maximum of Rs. 1-2-0, will be composed of villages lying along the railway, and within four miles of a railway station and on the road from Karmdla to Jeur. I have also included; Ropla in this class as being a flourishing and populous village, although not within the distance above prescribed of a railway station. . The following statement shows the number of villages which will come under each class :— C ass, Number of Yillages, Maximum Rate, Remarks. Rs. a. p, i. 2 14 0 } The villages of Jeur and Kem, at which there ) are railway stations. ' 1 Villages within four miles of a railway station > and along the line ; and also the village of ) Ropla. ii. 21 1 2- 0 m. 70 1 0 0 ) All the remaining villages which are further J removed from the railway. Total 93 422 29.The classification of soils in this taluka was, as a rule, much more carefully and correctly conduct- Old classification. e(j than in the earlier settled districts ; hence, although the better soils have been kept at a somewhat higher standard at the revison settlement than was formerly the case, and the poorer soils have been proportionately lowered, the average classification of each village generally agrees very nearly with the old standard, as may be seen by a reference to the statement. The old average rate with a maximum of 13 annas 2f pies, was 6 annas 3 pies; the mean rate, according to the assessment proposed by me, is 8 annas. The average revised rate in Indapur was 7 annas 6 pies. 30. There is one village, Singew^ri, No. 80, in which the increase by the new assessment exceeds 70 per cent. This is an exceedingly good village, and Mr. Whiteombe assures me that he has no doubt that the old classification was much too low, especial¬ ly that of alluvial soil, of which there are nearly 200 acres in this village, of very fine quality. There are three Nimbhore, 70 per cent., other villages the assessment on which has N JaMe No 47 been raised between 60 and. 70 per cent: Hewre, No. 45, 68 per but you will observe that the average rate cent. ’ per acre in none of them exceeds 8 annas 7 pies; whilst in Nimbhora, whch is most raised, it is only 5 annas 9 pies, and in this village the increase in cultivated area is 21 per cent. ’ # 31. The occupied area, according to the last year’s account, was 271,194 acres, and the collections amounted to Rs. 1,06,897. By the revised survey the occupied area is 293,487 acres, and the proposed assessment thereon is Rs. 1,47,757, which is Rs. 40,860, or 38 per cent, higher than last year’s payments. Besides this there is a small quantity of unoccupied land which has been assess¬ ed at Rs. 639, making a total sum of Rs. 1,48,396. The highest rate on P&thasthal lands is Rs. 3-12-0, and I have personally fixed the assessment on each separate field according to the rules in force in my department. The total assessment on this kind of land is Rs. 981, and the average rate per acre 1-9-0. Of the rice land there are only 34 acres, on which a maximum rate of Rs. 3 has been imposed. 32. The measurement was superintended by Messrs. Scott and Black, and the classification by Messrs. Francis and Whiteombe. The accompanying map has been compiled from traversed maps of individual villages, which have been checked by main circuit tra¬ verses, and these again have been further verified by being closed 423 on triangulated points, the correctness of which has been tested by reference to the stations fixed by the Great Trigonometrical Survey. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and NAsik. 424 No. 226 of 1842. To E. MONTGOMERIE, Esq., Collector of ShoMpur. SlE, I have the honour to forward a report from my Assistant, Mr. Price, proposing rates of assessment for the Ropla Peta, of the K&rmala District, and requesting that an early sanction may be given to them, so as to admit of the new assessment being calculated in time to be introduced at the ensuing Jamabandi. 2. In Mr. Price’s 5th paragraph a description is given of the condition of the district while forming a part of the Nizam’s country. The people are described as feeling terror even at the remembrance of the treatment they then met with, and the reve¬ nue system of those days is represented as one of liberal promises, made with the same ease with which they were to be broken. From knowing what the state is at present of the Moglai Dis¬ tricts adjoining to our own, I feel no doubt with respect to the accuracy of the description. 3. In his 6th paragraph Mr. Price speaks more favourably of the management of the taluka since it became a British posses¬ sion. In comparison with the neighbouring Moglai villages, the country presents a favourable appearance. The people feel secure in the little property they have, the villages are better filled with inhabitants, and the cultivators know that if any alteration in the annual settlement is made, it will be one in their favour, and not to their injury. Thus far all is to the credit of our Government ; but, at the same time, the district has not been exempt from the prevailing error in our administration—over-assessment. In all probability, the country was made over to us with a nominal rent- roll much greater than had ever been realized, and our demands regulated by the .fictitious statements. At all events, such has been the extent of over-assessment in the Karniiila District under our rule, that in the last twenty years, out of an aggregate nominal assessment of 29 lakhs of rupees, 13 lakhs of rupees have been remitted. In the last year, for which I have received returns, Rs. 91,605 were remitted out- of Rs. 1,79,000,—that is to say, considerably more than one-half the assessment. 425 4. To all acquainted with native habits and character, these facts will, of themselves, suggest a highly-coloured picture of intrigue and corruption. Mr. Price has, in his 8th, 9th, and 10th paragraphs, described other ill-effects of a high nominal rent roll and yearly remissions, but he has not noticed its immoral effect under the present system. It may be fairly asserted that the whole district is re-assessed each year by a number of under-paid Brahmins, many receiving not more than 10 or 15 rupees a month, without European check and without any principle of religious education or public opinion to restrain their evil dispositions. Detection by the officer making the annual settlement is all they have to fear, and the interests of all parties, kdrkuns and culti¬ vators, being one and the same, the chance of exposure is very small. Beyond what may be told him, the settling officer has no means of detecting frauds, unless his innumerable occupations may admit of his personally inspecting the crops while still on the ground, nor unless he possess such a practical acquaintance with agriculture as to be able to estimate the extent and value of a crop when he sees it. Such leisure and such knowledge are rare, and I believe I shall not be contradicted in asserting that a prac¬ tical check by the officer in person on the valuation of crops is, if 'not impossible, at any rate so rare as not to deserve considera¬ tion in a view of the merits of the system. The begging, praying, deceiving, and taking, connected with the obtaining Rs. 91,605 in remissions out of B.S..1,79,000, can but be imagined by reflecting on the evils connected with a general election in England. It is to be hoped that the descriptions that sometimes reach us of an election scene at home are exaggerated and overdrawn; but if they are sufficiently true to amuse by their likeness, no surprise should be felt at hearing of the general corruption that exists here.. 5. To remove such temptations to fraud and deceit, and cut off some of the occasions for the growth of corruption, is one of the objects of the new assessment; at the same time also a fixed assessment, that does not require the aid of remissions to correct it, has the effect of securing Government against loss, and the ryot against oppression. As long as the district is kept in pros¬ perity only by the yearly grant of enormous remissions, Govern¬ ment - must' be the loser in. all cases where bribes are successfully given to obtain large remissions that are required; and, on the other hand, the ryots who do not bribe will have their fields rated, in all probability, more highly than circumstances warrant, in order that the gross amount of remissions may not be so much increased as to attract notice, by the favours shown to those who purchase them. b 210—2 426- 6.The preceding paragraphs relate to the pargana gen¬ erally. I shall now proceed to speak, particularly, of that division of the pargana for which a new assessment is proposed in Mr. Price’s report. In Pasli.1250 the extent of land under the Thanna at Ropla was 125,031 acres; of this, 8,446 acres were held free, leaving 116,584 acres subject to land-tax; of these 116,584 acres, 11,666 are not cultivable, leaving 104,917 acres of arable land. It is to this extent of land that all Mr. Price’s calcula¬ tions and arguments refer. Of this at present 74,000 acres are cultivated, and 30,000 acres are waste. . 7.Mr. Price’s first step is to ascertain what is the average sum per acre that has been paid under the head of land-tax and gugri during the past nineteen years. The calculation of this is shown at length in Appendix A to his report, and it appears to be 7 annas 11 pies, or nearly half a rupee per acre; and Mr. Price argues, from the state of the district, the dependence of the ryots on the money-lenders, and their general poverty, that the new assessment should be somewhat lighter than this. I am not quite disposed to agree with him on this point. There is a very great difference between having a fixed and certain assessment to pay of 8 annas per acre, and having escaped paying more by the grant of remissions. I have little doubt that much more has been paid in obtaining the remissions, which has never reached the Govern¬ ment Treasury; and besides this, whenever remissions are given, it is the industrious who are most highly assessed, the idle who escape with paying least; so that, without regarding any sum that may have been paid in bribes, it is very possible that a fixed average assessment of 8 annas may be all the relief that is requir¬ ed to the industrious and diligent, and. that to reduce the assess¬ ment much lower, would be to make a needless abatement in the Government demand for the benefit of the idle and improvident. I need not, however, enlarge on my reasons for thinking such a reduction is not required, because I think that, in reality, even Mr. Price’s proposed assessment, when viewed only with relation to the land now in cultivation, very nearly coincides with the aver¬ age of past collections. 8.Mr. Price’s 13th and 14th paragraphs, and Appendices B and C, are occupied in approximating, from the average rate for the district, as calculated from the Thanna accounts, to the average rate paid under “ Susti” leases only. This is done from calculations in eight villages, selected for their variety in- soil, of the payments on lands that have been held on susti leases, and comparing the average payments so found for the susti lands in .427 the eight villages, with the average payment under all leases generally. It appears to have been his impression that some objection might be made .to the average taken from the general accounts, because they include payments on lands let out on “ Ukti ” and “ Kauli ” leases. As such leases, however, are never granted, except when land cannot be let in any other way, I shall not go through the details of the corroborative proof of the approximate accuracy of the general rate. Kauli and Ukti leases are only another form of remissions. Mr. Price’s calculations, however, are highly satisfactory, and display Paragrap >. very considerable ingenuity : his deduction is that 8j annas may be safely taken as the limit of annual average payment per acre under susti leases. It is safest in general, though not in this case, from the smallness of the difference essen¬ tial, to be guided by the average rate of payment under all varieties of leases combined, since in so many, cases all will be found in operation in the same holding. 9. Mr. Price having fixed this limit, or greatest average „ , .„ annual payment per acre for the last nineteen years, and having previously expressed his opinion that the new assessment should be lighter than this, pro¬ ceeds to consider what the new assessment shall actually be. 10. The new Paragraph 18. assessment of Inddpur having been usually taken as a standard from which, with due allowances for difference of climate, soil, &c., an approximation is to be made to the fair assessment of other districts, Mr. Price follows the same course. In his 18th para¬ graph he states that the productions of the two districts are the same, the soils the same in description, the system of agriculture in them the same; but that' in the “ Iiabi,” or latter sowing season, there is generally .a more certain and plentiful supply of rain in the Ropla Petha than in Indiipur. In all these observa¬ tions my inquires corroborate the statements of Mr. Price. 11. Mr. Price next proceeds to inquire, in his 20th and 21st paragraphs, into the relative prices of grain at Ropla and Indipur. In his 20th paragraph he gives it as his opinion that, from certain circumstances, he thinks no conclusion Can be drawn from past prices in the town of Ropla as to what the price of grain will be there in future years after the cultivators have freed themselves from the shackles of the money-lenders ; this is correct if the price at which grain is bought from the. ryots is alone referred to, but a mistake if the' price at which the grain-merchants sell it for conveyance to Poona or elsewhere is regarded, for the selling-price cannot be in- 428 fluenced by causes of the nature described, and depends entirely on the prices in other markets. Having rejected the prices of the Eopla market, Mr. Price takes the average of the prices in the four contiguous markets of Karmdla, Bdrsi, M&dha, and Indapur, and compares this with the price at Indapur. 12. The table of prices given by Mr. Price extends over twenty years; and Mr. Price comes to the conclusion, with reference to the whole of these years, that Eopla has no advantage in price over Indapur, and in his 22nd paragraph he proposes that, in con¬ sideration of the better seasons enjoyed in Eopla, an increase of 5 per cent, shall be made on the IncMpur rates, giving a total assessment for Eopla of Es. 37,000, and an average rate per acre for the whole district of 5 annas and 8 pies, or for the land in cultivation (allowing the 3,000 waste acres to be of inferior quality) of 7 annas. This rate is slightly higher than that for the last three years (during which there has been a great extension of cul¬ tivation under the remission system), and an anna less than the average of the past nineteen years, during the greater part of which the best lands alone were cultivated. 13. On receiving Mr. Price’s report I immediately turned to see what the difference in the price of grain at Indapur and Karmdla had been since the abolition of the transit duties. The abolition of the transit duties, I know, had caused an entire change in the relative prices of grain throughout the country ; and from qhe returns in my possession it was evident that the exportation of grain from Eopla must be in the direction of Karmdla. I found this difference to be 25 per cent, according to Mr. Price’s table; and from returns that had been furnished to me by the M^mlatdiirs, I found it to be the same. I was very much astonish¬ ed at this, being impressed, from the position of Karmala, with the idea that prices at that place and Indapur should not greatly differ. On communicating with Mr. Price I found him of the same opinion; and it struck me that it was possible that in the returns that had been sent to us there might have been some confusion be¬ tween the buying and selling prices. I, therefore, referred again to the Mdmletddrs, and I found that this had actually been the case. The amended returns show the following rate for Karmala and Indapur Indapur. Kaimala. Lbs. sold for one Eupee... 170 ... 162 14. The advantage, then, in price that Karmdla has ‘ over Indapur may be estimated at 5 per cent., and Eopla itself (which 429 is 12 miles from Karmdla) may be considered to possess an in¬ ferior market to Inddpur. 1 am, therefore, able to arrive at very much the same conclusion as Mr. Price, respecting the assessment as deduced from this line of argument, although on different data. 15. I shall now proceed to examine in detail what the Government'have been receiving from the district since if. came into their possession, and to endeavour to show from this also what assessment should be imposed. This is the line of argument generally followed in the revision of assessment in the North-West Provinces; and it seems to me a very safe one for preserving Government from loss, and the ryot from oppression. 16. From a table attached to this report (which differs from Mr. Price’s table in including the Sayer Jdma and Bdptis) it will be seen that the annual sum collected in the district on ac¬ count of Government,, and village, and district* officers has been Rs. 28,960 on the average of the last nineteen years, Rs. 31,000 on the average of the last three years, and that the sum collected last year was Rs. 34,000. Taking into consideration the artificial system on which the pargana is now managed, and the great loss sustained in its working, both by Government and the ryots, I am inclined to take the last sum of Rs. 34,000 as a better test of what Govern¬ ment may expect than the average of the last three or nineteen years. This Rs. 34,000, however, includes a sum of Rs. 1,738 for Bagayet cultivation, and 1,400 for Sdyer and Bdptis, which will be realized independently of the assessment depending on the rates now proposed; deducting these sums, we have, therefore, a sum of Rs. 31,000 to be provided for by the new assessment. In addition to this sum, Government is fairly entitled to look for some return from the 30,000 acres of waste now in the district. This waste land is undoubtedly of the worst kind, and I should not feel in¬ clined to value it at more than 2J annas an acre. This valuation would give about Rs. 5,000, which, added to the sum that Govern¬ ment may be looked upon as receiving already, makes a total of Rs. 36,000, which agrees quite nearly enough with the assessment calculated by a comparison with Inddpur to justify its adoption. I have, therefore, no hesitation in recommending the rates proposed in Mr. Price’s letter for the sanction of Government. They are as follows:— 1st—Black ...315 2nd.— „ ...252 3 rd.— „ ...180 and they are calcula ls£.—Red 2nd.— ,, 3rd.— ,, ...210 ...13 7 ... 80 lsf.—Barad 2nd.— ,, 3rd.— „ ed to produce an assessment of Rs ...105 ... 63 ... 37 37,335. 430 17. The Bag&yet assessment of the district may, I think, with great safety, be made on exactly the same principles as that of Indipur. The difference of climate gives no advantage to Bagayet cultivators, and in other respects they are in both districts very much on an equality. I, therefore, propose that two rupees an acre should be the highest rate of extra assessment on account of Bagayet cultivation, the details of the assessment being fixed as they were in Indipur. 18. The assessment now proposed is calculated to cover the payments at present made in kind by the ryots to the district and village officers. I have, &c., * (Signed) A. NASH, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment in the Decean. *Superintendent, Revenue Survey Office, Poona, 19th September 1842. No. 3 of 1842. To Lieutenant A. NASH, Superintendent of Revenue Survey in the Deccan. SlE, As the measurement and classification of the lands of the Ropla Division of the Karmila Taluka, preparatory to the introduction of the new assessment, are drawn to a close, I beg leave to address you on the subject of the rates I would propose, with the hope that an early sanction for them being obtained, they may form the basis of the ensuing Jamibandi. 2. As a reason for wishing to propose rates for the Ropla Division before the survey of the whole taluka is completed, I may mention that, however good the season may be, the present 431 heavy assessment rendering it invariably necessary for nearly all the cultivators to petition for remission, the consequent labour of surveying their field is so great, and withal so unsatisfactory, both to the ryots and settling officer—the latter having to trust in a great measure to the native establishment—that nothing, in my opinion, is so desirable as the early .introduction of an assess¬ ment, which will do away with a mode of settlement fraught with labour, irregularity, and disgust. 3. It is true that the completion of the whole taluka will take only another season; bnt then when, in addition to what I have said above, it is considered that even in that short time a low assessment will have the effect of somewhat meliorating the conditions, of the cultivators, and adding to the revenue by an increase of cultivation, and also that, besides there being no valid reason why the'new rates should not be introduced nest season, the cultivators have for the last year been expecting them, I hope my proposal,, so far from seeming premature, will meet with your cordial support. 4. Before entering upon those points, the consideration of which will tend to show what rates it will be most advisable to fix, I beg to speak of the manner in which the work has been conducted:— - 1st.—As regards the Measurements.—As the existing arrange¬ ment of the fields appears in a majority of cases to be at variance with that laid down by Mr. Pringle in his records during his survey, it was deemed necessary to re-measure the whole of' the lands in each village ; and in doing this, the expedient of having the fields laid off in the measurers’ books from properly divided scales was adopted. The fields thus laid off were compiled as the measurements proceeded on separate sheets, so as ultimate¬ ly to form regular plans of the lands of each village. It was, however, found that by reason of the rough materials by which these plans were constructed, that the fields measured last seldom joined on properly to those which were measured first, and that it was, there¬ fore, necessary, by way of remedying this and testing the measurements, to have the lands of each village divided into rectangular sections, protracted in such manner as to show at what places the boundaries of the fields crossed the lines which comprised these sections. The fields were then laid off from the measurers’ field books on these section sheets, and I can say with confidence that 432 the measurements and the plans thus constructed from them are as correct as from the abilities of the individu¬ als employed can reasonably be expected. 2nd.—As regards the Glassification of the Soil.—Of this branch of the work little need be said. The usual method of dividing the soil -into nine classes of different productive qualities was adopted, and the Tarams employed in classifying it were so instructed as to secure a uniform standard in their work. Their classification was ulti¬ mately tested by myself, and either confirmed or done over again, as circumstances required. 5. In entering upon the consideration of those points which constitute the surest data at hand from which to draw a correct conclusion regarding the rates which it is most desirable to fix, I will first speak of the past and present condition of the people. The villages of the petha in question reverted to our Government from His Highness the Nizam in ] 821, at which time the condi¬ tion of the people was such that the elder cultivators' look back to it with a feeling of terror. They describe it as a period of insecu¬ rity and oppression, without regard to the established assessment their fields were almost invariably given to them at low rates; but in case of a tolerably good crop, double or treble the amount was* demanded, and when these exorbitant and unjust demands were not complied with, confiscation of produce and property, and not unfrequently detention and punishment of person, were the consequences ; the natural result was, that most of the cultivators were in a state of misery. A great portion of the village lands were lying waste, and those under cultivation were constantly passing from one hand to another. . 6. It might from this be concluded that, when the petha. reverted to our Government, both an increase' of cultivation and a gradual improvement in the condition of the cultivators began to develop themselves. As regards the former, I have not, from the loose manner in which the village accounts were then kept, been able to arrive at a sure conclusion ; but my opinion is that a want of confidence in their new rulers, together with a heavy assess¬ ment, must at the time have formed a serious obstacle to the cultivators taking up fresh land; and as regards their gradual improvement, I would observe that if a conclusion may be drawn from their present condition, as compared with that of the ryots in the neighbouring villages, which still belong to His Highness the Nizam, I may speak more favourably. The villages alluded to are mostly deserted, their lands are grown over with brush-wood, and with few exceptions those of the remaining inhabitants display poverty and wretchedness in the extreme; whereas those of Ropla 433 are comparatively well inhabited, and that by' persons who had deserted them during the time of the Nizam, their lands have latterly in a great measure been brought under cultivation, and if the people do not possess much property, yet they feel themselves, and what little they have, to be secure under British authority, and bless the day they were placed under it. 7. In fact, the only obstacle to the prosperity of the cultiva¬ tors of Ropla has been the heavy assessment which has hitherto regulated the yearly payments; but, as a further instance, and one duly appreciated by the cultivators, of the .benefit they have derived by falling into the hands of our Government, I may add that even the natural evils arising from it have by the remissions granted yearly been in a great measure obviated, and the compara¬ tive comfort of the cultivators secured. 8. It must not, however, for a moment be imagined that the present assessment, even attended with its concomitant mode of granting remissions, will, because it has somewhat meliorated the condition of the cultivators, eventually raise them to a degree of prosperity. The lateness of the yearly surveys causing a great waste of grain, the fear of being suspected of having acted parti¬ ally, inducing the Karkuns to over-estimate the value of the fields, and the suspicion of the settling officer that the Kdrkuns have really acted unfairly to Government, causing him occasionally to in¬ crease their estimates, are parts of the system by which the culti¬ vator suffers, and therefore, if he prospers under it, it is not in consequence of the system but in spite of it. 9. It is my opinion that the cultivators of Ropla are in as favourable a condition just now as, it is possible they ever can be under the present assessment, and its concomitant system of grant¬ ing remissions, and what that condition is, I will in a few words describe. They live upon grain, &c., borrowed from time to, time from the village Wdnis, to whom, with few exceptions, they are much in debt; they pay their revenue with money borrowed at immense interest from these Wanis, and in return give them all the produce of their fields. They are, in fact, so entirely in the hands of these people, that without it is done clandestinely they cannot dispose of the produce of their fields to that advantage which otherwise they very frequently could; nor are they able, by reason of the combination which exists among the "VVanis, to make them give anything like the price for their grain which could be had for it at bazaars where free competition exists. 10. I may here observe that the evils of this impoverished con¬ dition are not so severely felt by the cultivators as would be imagin¬ ed, and that because of the facility with which they are able, so long as they continue steadfast to any one of these Wanis, to b 210—3 434 obtain a moderate supply of all their wants from them; and while it is just to say that, so long as they do so, they seldom feel much want, it is also just to add that a breach of faith with any one of them may be dated as the downfall of the inconsiderate cultivator "who may allow himself to be guilty of it. 11. Having thus described the past and present conditions of the cultivators of Ropla, and I trust satisfactorily shown that ‘consequent to falling into our hands the heavy assessment has been the only obstacle to their emerging from a state of poverty, I beg, before proceeding to the consideration of other points, to draw your attention to the inference I would draw from these premises. I would from them infer that the average rate of the new assessment must not only be much lower than that of the present one, but lower also than the average rate of payment, after deducting remissions, which the cultivators have made during past years. 12. To ascertain what this average rate per acre on Jerayet land is, I have drawn out the accompanying Appendix, marked A, from which, by comparing the quantity of land under cultivation during each year for the last nineteen years with the payments, as revenue and Grugri, which the cultivators have made during those years, it would appear that 11 annas 7 pies has been the highest, and 8 annas 1 pie the lowest rates per acre paid during the period alluded to, and that the average rate is 7 annas 11 pies per acre. In the Appendix in question, inasmuch as remissions have been granted indiscriminately, without any regard to the tenures on which the fields have, been held, I have been obliged to include the whole cultivation, comprising ukti, kauli, and susti tenures, and it may, therefore, be objected that, by including the fields on ukti and kauli tenures, I have shown a considerably less rate per acre than would actually have been realized had the fields in question been given to the ryots on the susti or assessed rates. 13. To this objection I might in my turn object that, had it been possible to bring the fields under cultivation on any other tenure, the enticing kauli and ukti tenures would not have been resorted to; but, further than this, I am prepared to show that the yearly rates per acre shown in Appendix A are not far from the true ones. Without at all thinking that what I was about would in the end be made subservient to substantiate this f)oint, I commenced in the early part of the season getting statements made, showing what had been paid yearly for as many Jerayet fields in each village as had continued under cultivation for ten successive years, choosing such fields as had been held by the susti tenure. 14. Eight of these statements I forward, marked Appendix B, and beg to refer you to Appendix G, in which I have compared 435 the yearly rates per acre, which these statements show, with the' yearly rates per acre shown in Appendix A, of the whole petha and in observing how closely they agree, I would add that I am • sorry I was not able, from the irregularity in the village accounts,, to ascertain the payments made by the cultivators for these fields for previous years, inasmuch as I feel certain that they would agree* just as closely as those I have procured do. • 15. Perhaps it may be necessary to remark that to compare the average rates per year, which any one of these village statements* shows, with the rates of the corresponding year as shown in. Appendix A, would not be a fair method of testing the modes I have adopted of ascertaining what the rate of payment per acre has been, and that because Appendix A includes all the vil¬ lages in the petha in which a variety of soil is found, whereas any one of the village statements merely shows the rate of payment which has been made for its own soil; and it is for this reason, that, in making the eight statements in question,, it was necessary for me to select villages which, taken as a whole, presented every variety of soil. 16. All that just now appears necessary to be said relative to Appendix A, is that,’ inasmuch as the years included in it are neither a consecutive series of good nor bad ones, it is, I think, fair to infer that it represents a favourable sample of the kind of seasons we may hereafter expect; and if this be allowed, and the means I have adopted of ascertaining what the average rate of past pay¬ ments per acre is, be a correct one, we may, I think, from the inference drawn in paragraph 12, conclude that the new assessment should be regulated by a graduated scale of rates, which, when applied to the whole petha, will not admit of the average rate per* acre for Jerayet land being as high as 8 annas and 6 pies. 17. I shall now proceed to the consideration of what the average rate per acre of the new assessment should actually be p and, truly, were it not for the opportunity we have of comparing the productive capabilities of the petha in question with those of the already assessed Inddpur pargana, and thus drawing analogical inference, this point would have to be established from data of such a speculative nature as to preclude the possibility of arriving at any degree of certainty regarding it. I shall, therefore, not attempt entering on the calculation of the values of the different degrees of labour necessary to insure a good crop from the various qualities of soil, nor upon estimating the quantities of produce likely to be realized in return from a given portion of each of them, and thus forming a conclusion as to what Government might reasonably demand from the cultivator, but commence at once upon a comparison between Inddpur and Ropla; and this I am the 436 more encouraged to do from the personal experience, extending to a period of five years, which I have had of the merits of the Indi- pur assessment. I can confidently say of it that in no one instance in which sufficient labour had been entered upon, did the land pro¬ duce less than enough to enable the cultivator to pay the assess¬ ment, and support himself comfortably afterwards, and I could point out many instances of laborious cultivators having increased in prosperity since the new assessment was fixed at Inddpur. 18. In proceeding, then, to compare Inddpur with Ropla, I beg first to premise that, after a most minute inquiry, I find that the kinds of produce, qualities of soil, and methods, of cultivation are precisely the same in both. Bajri and jowari are the two principal grains; they are cultivated at about the pro¬ portion of one to four, respectively, and to such an extent that the lands left for the minor grains seldom produce anything beyond the quantity requisite for home consumption. The soils in both are black and heavy along the rivers which enclose them, and brown and lighter near the ridgy parts which, as it were, divide each into two equal parts. The heavy plough requiring ten bullocks is common to both, and the periods of sowing and reaping are pre¬ cisely the same. These resemblances may appear striking; but their strangeness will disappear when it is considered that Ropla is situated at only 20 miles to the eastward of Inddpur, and has some of its villages within 10 miles of it. 19. Having premised this, I will now enter upon the com¬ parison of the climate and local advantages as regards the disposal of their produce, of Inddpur and Ropla, these being, I appre¬ hend, the principal points which affect the ability of a district to pay its revenue. As regards the climate, I may confidently say that, from its proximity to the hilly country eastward, the fall of rain which takes place during the rabi crop in the months of September and October, is more certain and generally greater in Ropla than in Indapur; the consequence is, that the rabi crops are invariably better in the former place. 20. In reference to the comparative local advantages they possess for the disposal of their grain, I must say that it is difficult to determine to which to give the preference. In the Ropla Petha there is no market of any note, and if there were, the poverty of the cultivators, as alluded to in paragraph 9, would have precluded the possibility of their taking that advantage of it which they other¬ wise could. To prove this I have prepared the Appendix D, in which the prices at which grain has been sold at Karm&la market are contrasted with the prices at what it., has, I may say, hitherto been taken from the cultivators of Ropla. In drawing your attention to. this appendix I would observe that the difference in 437 the prices is so much in favour of Karmala, that, considering the contiguity of the places and the freeness of the competition which exists among the Wdnis of the Karmffia market, it would be ridiculous to imagine that anything like fair dealing had existed at Ropla, or that a just conclusion can be drawn, from the prices at which, grain has hitherto been sold there, as to what it may sell for hereafter. Notwithstanding this, I am not without hope of being able to contrast Ropla and Inddpur, and that most satis¬ factorily, on this point. Ropla has, as I have just mentioned, the Karmala market about 12 miles to the north ; it has also the splendid Barsi market about 20 miles to the east, and to the south it has the second-rate market of M4dha, while to the west it has the market of Indapur itself. Now, it is my opinion that, as soon as the new assessment is introduced, and the ryots begin to throw off the thraldom which they now suffer from the W&nis, they will resort to each of these markets just according to the contiguity to, or remoteness from, them of their respective villages. I imagine, then, it is fair to conclude that by contrasting the average prices at which grain has hitherto been sold in these markets with the prices at which it has been sold at Indapur, we will be able to form a tolerably correct conclusion as to whether Ropla or Indapur would, if things had been as they ought, have had the advantage in times past. 21. In Appendix E I have made the contrast alluded to, and find that it shows a trifling result in favour of the average prices of the markets, which, according to the above supposition, may be considered as the prices of Ropla. It must, however, be con¬ sidered that the transmittal of grain from Ropla to these markets will be attended with inconvenience and expenses, which will be equally, if not more than, sufficient to contract this advantage in favour of Ropla, and I, therefore, would recommend that no prefer¬ ence be attached either to Ropla or Indapur in regard to the facilities they possess for the disposal of their produce. Before I dismiss this part of my subjejet it is necessary to mention that there are the Temburni, Kurdu, and Parinda markets situated intermediately between those already noted, to which the culti¬ vators of Ropla might carry their grain. Of these, the Parinda and Kurdu markets are too small to admit of the ready dis¬ posal of grain at them; and although the Temburni is a larger, yet it is rather a cloth market, and, at best, will not bring a higher price for grain than the average price of Ind&pur and M£dha, between which it is situated. 22. The only advantage, then, that Ropla appears to have over Indapur, is in the more certain and generally greater quantity of rain by which it is visited during the rabi crop in the months 438 of October and November, and I would, therefore, recommend that the rates per acre for the several soils which form the basis of the Ind^pur assessment be each raised 5 per cent, and applied to Ropla. 23.If this proposal is acceded to, tbe rates of assessment for the Jerayet land of Ropla will be as follow :— Soils. Rate per Acre. Soils. Rate per Acre. Soils. Rate per Acre. 1st. — Black 315 1st.—Red 210 1st.—Brown ... 105 2nd.— ,, 252 2nd.— „ ... 137 2nd-— ,, 63 3rd.— „ 180 3rd.— „ 80 3rd.-- „ 37 These rates are precisely the same as those of the Mddha Taluka, to which Ropla immediately joins on to the north, and will, by applying them to its classification, fix the assessment of Ropla at Rs. 37,335-5-10, which, divided among the extent of arable land in the whole petha, gives the following average rate per acre:— Acres of Arable Land in the- Pargana. Assessment as mentioned above. Average Rate per Acre. Acres. Gts. 104,917 33 Rs. a. p. 37,335 5 10 A. p. 5 8 This rate is 2 annas 3 pies less than the average rate per acre of payments for past years, and 3 pies less than the average rate of the Inddpur assessment. This last is accounted for, however, by the fact that the quantity of superior soils is much greater in Inddpur than in Ropla. 24. To show that by adopting the assessment now proposed, Government will not have to make an unnecessary sacrifice of revenue, I beg to say that it exceeds the average amount of receipts for Jerayet land for the last nineteen j-ears by Rs. 11,280-6-7, and has been exceeded in the year 1236 only. It had been better, how¬ ever, for the interest of Government had less revenue been collected in 1236; for the immediately subsequent decrease of 13,379 acres of cultivation, and the further decrease of 8,013 acres after the inter¬ vention of a year, sufficiently show what a paralyzing effect the heavy taxation made in 1236 had upon the energies of the culti¬ vators. 25. Neither (I am of opinion) will Government, even should no immediate increase of cultivation take place, be called upon to make a present sacrifice of revenue. The sum collected for Jerayet land in 1250 amounts to Rs. 30,735-10-9, which sum, it is true, exceeds the amount derivable by the average new rate for the same extent of cultivation by Rs. 4,210-2-9, but the fact must not be lost 439 sight of that the land now under cultivation comprises the best in the petha, and that the assessment of it, when calculated from , the above scale, will be considerably greater than that which the average rate of good and bad soil taken together, and calculated as above, will produce. 26. All that now appears necessary to be said relative to the above scale of rates is, that it has been framed under the consideration that it is hereafter the intention of Government to compute the value of the gugri due to the Patels and Kulkar- nis, and give the amount to them from the treasury in the same way as their other haks are paid, instead of allowing them to go and take it in kind, as is the case at present, from the cultivators’ fields. Should I, however, have fallen into a mistake on this point, all that will be necessary is to reduce-the scale of rates, so as to cause a reduction of about Rs; 2,599 (the average value of the gugri for the last ten years) in the assessment of the whole petha. 27. The extra tax on account of Bagayet or garden cultiva¬ tion is all that now appears to call for consideration. In regard to it I would observe that the gardens have all been examined as to the depth and usual quantity of water in these wells—their extent, the quality of their soils, and their facilities in points of locality as regards manure. I would, therefore, recommend that they be divided into three separate classes, each garden taking its place according to the degree in which -it possesses .the qualifica¬ tions just enumerated, and that these classes be assessed at 2 rupees, 1 rupee 8 annas, and 1 rupee, respectively. It may be objected that 2 rupees per acre is too low a rate of assessment for first-rate garden land, and I, therefore, feel called upon to add that, from the experience I have had in collecting revenue, I really do not think so. The kinds of garden produce raised in Ropla are never of such a nature as to bring a high return; and although a higher rate might be levied, yet if it did not have the effect of causing the cultivators to reduce the contingent expenses connect¬ ed with garden cultivation, and so endanger the safety of his well and goodness of his crop, it would certainly cramp his abilities to enter upon the additional expenses of raising such valuable produce as would in the end not only ensure his own prosperity, but the interest of Government. Since this is the case, it need hardly be said that gardens of an inferior class should not be assessed at so high a rate as Rs. 2 per acre, and there are certainly others which, from the want of sufficient water in their wells, and being comprised of inferior soil, cannot at most be assessed higher than 1 rupee per acre. 440 28. Before I conclude this report there are two points to which I respectfully beg to draw your attention, as connected so closely • with the interest of the new assessment (as being the means of ameliorating the condition of the cultivators), that on its introduction they should, in my opinion, be most strictly attended to. I have observed, during the last two seasons, that the revenue' for the rabi crop in particular has been demanded of the cultivators in Ropla before the grain was prepared for the market. It is difficult to say how much the condition of the cultivators, in so far as the security of the Government revenue is concerned, has called for the adoption of this measure; but that it must not a little have contributed by, forcing the cultivators into the hands of the Wanis to impoverish them, is a fact which no one will doubt. I am, indeed, so deeply impressed with the ruinous effects of the too early collection of revenue, that I hope to be excused for relating the following circumstances as showing the amount of good to be derived by the ryots, in the abolition of it. Before I-was appointed to the situation of Mdmlatddr of Indapur, the practice I desire to see prevented prevailed there in common 'with other districts; but observing the ruinous effect it had on the cultivators, and finding that the periods laid down for collecting the revenue were earlier than was consistent with the time requisite for preparing the corn for the market, I proposed, when it became due, that a respite of one month should be given for the collection of the first rabi instalment. My proposal was acceded to ; and when it is considered that the instalment in question amounted to Rs.. 20,000, and that in consideration of advancing the revenue, and being paid when the grain should be ready, the Wdnis were demanding it of the cultivators at 16 seers per. rupee cheaper than what it is sold for at the expiration of the respite granted, some idea may be formed as to the amount of good the cultivators derived at the time.* In fact, I am certain that nothing secured my popularity with the cultivators so much as did the yearly observance of this measure; while, on the other hand, the short-sighted W&nis looked upon me as the ruiner of their interests. 29. The other point to which I beg to draw your attention, is the restriction necessary to be placed upon the cultivators, in regard to their taking up more fresh land than they are able to cultivate in a proper manner. This they will be very apt to do as soon as the new assessment is introduced; but if allowed, the consequence will be that, where the implements of husbandry are deficient, both the land they retain and that newly taken up will be so badly cultivated, that either remissions must be granted for both, or the cultivators will sink into a lower state of poverty than that in which they now are. It is my opinion that it is impossi- 441 ble, with, the number of draught cattle the cultivators of Ropla have at present, for them to take up more land with any idea, of cultivating it properly. The extent of land now in cultivation amounts to 74,896 acres, and it is a generally received opinion that every 60 acres of land requires 10 bullocks. The number of bullocks requisite, then, for the cultivation of the land now under the plough is 12,482. I find, however, from returns prepared during the progress of the work, that there are only 10,118 draught cattle in the petha, from, which if we deduct 400, the least number requisite for the extra labour of garden cultivation, we have 9,718 left—-a number quite insufficient for labouring in the Jerayet fields. I would, therefore, recommend that, for the present, the ryots of Ropla itself be prevented from taking up any more land, apd that the privilege of doing so be for a time left open to those only who may come from the neighbouring villages of His Highness the Nizam, where, I need hardly say, their treatment is such as fully convinces me that they are only waiting the reduction of assessment in Ropla to throng to it. I have, &c. (Signed) W. S. PRICE, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey in the Deccan. % . Camp Poona, 25 th July 1842. B 210—4 APPENDIX A Statement showing the Yearly Extent of Cultivation, Remissions, Collections, and Average Rate per Acre of Payments on Jerayet Land, for the last 19 years. ' No. of year3. FasU years. Acres of Land in cultiva¬ tion. Assessment. Amount paid on account of Gugri. Total. Deduct Remissions. Net Payment in Revenue and Gijgri. Deduct Amount for Bagayet culti¬ vation, Amount of Collection for Jerayet. Average Amou nt of Collections for Jerayet for 19 years. Yearly Rate per Acre. Average Rate per acre on Jerayet for 19 years. Bs. a. P Rs. a. P. Rs. a. P* Rs. a. P. Rs. a. P. Rs. a. P- Rs. a. P- Rs. a. p. Rs. a. P- Rs. a. p. 1 1232 58,095 41,418 6 6 1,279 6 5 42,697 12 11 5,612 15 0 37,084 13 11 1,286 0 0 35,798 13 11 0 9 10 N 2 1233 54,897 37,137 2 0 3,081 13 8 40,218 15 8 5,453 12 9 34,765 2 11 1,829 7 0 32,935 11 11 0 9 7 4 3 1234 62,009 40,503 13 6 7,550 4 0 48,054 1 6 31,767 14 1 16,286 3 5 1,955 7 0 14,330 12 5 0 3 6 w 4 1235 63,455 43,532 1 0 3,574 4 7 47,106 5 7 12,655 3 0 34*451 2 7 1,964 9 0 32,486 9 7 0 8 2 'o .o . . 5 1236 63,719 46,080 11 3 2,756 6 9 48,837 1 0 4,070 3 8 44,766 13 4 1,905 7 0 42,861 6 4 0 10 9 1 ! oS Sg 14 1245 42,391 34,091 6 0 1,863 14 11 35,955 4 11 11,489 3 0 24,466 1 11 1,785 9 0 22,680 8 11 0 8 7 15 1246 46,884 43,127 8 4 1,748 12 9 44,876 5 1 9,097 15 11 35,778 5 2 1,798 3 0 33,980 2 2 0 11 7 16 1247 51,830 42,751 14 5 1,478 3 3 44,230 1 3 12,287 11 4 31,942 6 4 1,842 7 0 30,099 15 4 0 9 6 ■of U3 ^ Qi 17 1248 61,717 46,190 1 8 2,276 5 1 48,466 6 9 20,827 2 3 27,639 4 6 1,844 0 0 25,795 4 6 0 6 8 J-t © • 18 1249 65,835 . f .5^8815* 11 3,087 8 9 66,676 8 8 28,646 15 2 28,129 9 6 1,753 10 0 26,375 15 6 0 6 5 a 6-f 19 1250 74,896 62,482 8 0 .-3,252 13 7 65,735 5 7 33,260 13 10 32,474 7 9 1,738 13 0 30,735 10 9 0 6 7 > Note—The amounts on account of Gugri entered in the above are the estimated values of it as calculated from statements of the kind, quantity and extent to which it is taken in eaoh Tillage. 442 443 APPENDIX D, Statement contrasting the Prices at which Grain has been sold per rupee at the undermentioned places for the last twenty years. o ^ Fasli Karmila. Eopla. Ropla- -more. Ropla —loss. OQ •a. tS d SI !§& years. B&jrh Jow&ri. B&jri. Jowdri. Bijri. Jow&ri; Bdjri, Jow&ri. a © P3 1 1231 39 48 64 16 © © u to 2 1232 . 46 54 128 74 (S 3 1233 21 32 44 12 4 1234 12 15 32 20 20 5 ... d © 5 1235 26 32 24 42 10 2 a © 6 1236 33 48 56 8 43 cS ' 7 1237 24 33 V 68 25 4-> OQ 8 1238 48 51 88 80 48 29 ... ao 9 1239 17 32 48 • •• 16 rd 10 1240 35 50 80 30 d „ ll 1241 33 40 64 ... 24 2 12 1242 13 19 ... 20 ... 1 rd © ]3 1243 26 24 48 24 £ -=0 1244 32 39 80 41 43 S l5 1245 23 28 57 ... 29 l6 . 1246 26 44‘ 68 24 ' 2d' *7 1247 23 48 80 32 © 1—4 g © 18‘ i9 1248 24 42 67 ... 25 1249 34 45. 52 7 if* 2° 1250 37 52 57 ... 5 * APPENDIX E. Statement contrasting the Average Price per rupee of Jowari at the undermentioned markets for the last twenty years, with the prices at which it has been sold at Inddpur during the same period. Prices at which it has been sold at Average Prices of Indapur. Fasli Total. Remarks years. Karm&la B&rsi. Mddha. Ind&pur. the four Markets. Less, More. 1231 48 52 32 132. 44 rd ns •+3 O £ o £ a 1232 54 48 80 32 186 . 46 ... 14 1233 32 44 -40 37 153 38 ... 1 Is 1234 15 15 16* 13 60 15 2 to d 1235 32 32 37 44 145 36 8 ijg 1236 '48 56 64 64 232 58 6 g d 1237 33 49 48 32 162 41 ... 9 aj a 1238 51 56 68 80 255 64 16 © rt-> ■g 53 1239 32 44 44 46. # 166 42 4 rtj -r-t *2 •4j» • 1240 50 42 48 40 180 45' ... *5 1241 40 32 44 60 176 44 16 rdrd d *M: r\ M 1242 19 17 18 23 77 19 4 1243 24 40 42 46 152 28 8 * 1244 39 44 56 48 , 187 47 1 O H P* O ° 1245 38 28 40. 38. 134 34 4 O d -goo 1246 44 30 56 66 , 196 49 17 © * © u a ^4 1247 • 48 57 60 72- * 237 59 13 © 1248 42 41 46 68 1 ■197 49 19 mrd o 1249 45 44 48 68 205 51 17 © d rd dH4i 1250 52 52 52 68 224 . 58 12 H © u. rd O 43 «44 Note.—*lt was not possible to ascertain the prices for which b&jri was sold, during the, whole of the above period, at the places mentioned; and it has, therefore, been left out. (True Copies.) G. M. SUART, Acting Collector. 444 No. 367 of 1842. To W. SIMSON, Esq., Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I have the honour to forward correspondence from Lieutenant Nash, proposing new rates of assessment for the Mah£lkari Divi¬ sion of the Karmiia Taluka. Mr. Price’s reason in the second paragraph appears conclusive for their being introduced at once, and has made me carefully avoid any lengthy discussion on the measures proposed which would only be creating unnecessary and injudicious delay, as, with one exception, I fully concur in them. 2. In paragraphs 3 and 4 the measures adopted in the survey and classification are noticed, and from paragraphs 5 to 11 the pre¬ sent and former state of this part of the country, neither of which points require being noticed. . 3. Paragraphs 6 to 9 of Lieutenant Nash’s letter are occupied in balancing the pros and cons of Mr. Price’s reasonings from para¬ graphs 12 to 16 as to the proportion the new rates should bear to the average yearly sum formerly paid per acre and the price of grain, in following up which it appears no advantage is to be gained, as Mr. Price in his 17th paragraph truly remarks that, if it was not for having the Inddpur survey as a basis, it would all be of a too speculative nature to be depended on. - 4. In the 14th paragraph he states that, Karm4Ia has an ad¬ vantage over Indapur in the price of grain by 5 per cent., which, however, is lost to Ropla from its being 12 miles off; this is not conclusive, it not being more than the greater portion of the Ind£- pur villages are distant from Indapur itself; besides the fact is lost sight of, that Bdrsi, Sholdpur, and Purandhar are the great markets and though the two first are distant, yet the excess in price realized will make up for excess of expense in carriage. 5. Taking this into consideration and the other advantages,, set forth in the 19th and 22n'd paragraphs of Mr. Price’s letter, which from some years’ acquaintance with the taluka I know to be the case, it appears to me Ropla can well bear an assessment of 5 per cent, for both Jerayet and Bagayet in excess of that of Inddpur, and which, in whatever way the conclusion is arrived at, is, as far* as relates to Jerayet, that proposed by both Messrs. Nash and Price. As to the Bagayet, I cannot perceive why any distinction should be drawn, its produce being equally affected by the enhanced price. 445 6.' I, therefore, respectfully beg to suggest the sanction of Gov¬ ernment be obtained for new rates to be fixed in the Mahdlkari’s Division of the Karm&la Taluka of the same amount as those of„ M4dha, viz., 5 per cent, above those of Ind4pur. 7. The points noticed in Mr. Price’s 28th and 29th paragraphs had already come to notice; revenue instalments have all been de¬ layed, the first of the kharif crop till 1st January, of the rabi till 1st March, and all power of granting waste land has been taken from the M£mlatd4r and his establishment, and vested in the As¬ sistant Collector in charge, who should be Specially instructed to exercise a strict supervision as to the cultivating means of appli¬ cants, taking 60 acres as the maximum that 8 bullocks can plough. 8. No mention is made of the percentage to be paid to village officers in lieu of their gugri or extra collections in grain from the cultivators. Lieutenant Nash will be requested to supply the omission, and a suggestion ' be made to him that the ready-money -amount they now receive be included in it. 9. I have been thus brief in my notice of the subject under reply, as Mr. Price’s reasons for the rates may be considered as also mine. In the frequent conversations we have held on the subject it was fully determined that, in consideration of an equality of markets, climate, &c., those of M&dha were such as would for the country and Government be advisable to introduce in Ropla. 10. Mr. Price, in addition to the survey, has concluded a. work which he has been too modest to notice, viz., the settlement of the innumerable boundary disputes which existed, for which he deserves great credit, as it will put a stop to the quarrels before constantly occurring and often ending in bloodshed. I have, &c., G. M. SUART, Assistant Collector. Sholapur Collector's Office, 28th September 1842. No. 1565 of 1842. Territorial Department, Revenue. To E. MONTGOMERIE, Esq., Collector, Shol4pur. Sir, With reference to Mr. Suart’s letter of the 28th September last, No. 367, respecting the survey and assessment of the Mah&l- 446 kari’s Division of the Karmffia Taluka, I have the honour to subjoin, for your information and guidance, copies of my communi- jcation to Government on the subject, and of^Mr. Chief Secretary Reid’s reply, transcripts of which you will be pleased to furnish to the Superintendent of the Deccan Survey. 2. The new rates should be introduced at the approaching Jam&bandi, and you will be pleased to direct the attention of Lieutenant Nash to the instructions conveyed in the 6th paragraph of Mr. Reid’s letter, respecting the gugri of the village officers. 3. You will also be pleased to expedite the transmission of your reply to my reference of the 12th ultimo, No. 1462, respect¬ ing Mr. Price’s settlement of boundary disputes, I have, &c., W. SIMS ON, - Revenue Commissioner.. Poona, Revenue Commissioners Office, 8th November 1842. No. 1457 or 1842. To Territorial Department, Revenue. L. R. REID, Esq., Chief Secretary, Bombay. Sir, I have the honour to forward a correspondence between the- Collector of ShoMpur, the Superintendent of Revenue Survey, and his Assistant, Mr. Price, respecting the new assessment to be imposed in the Mahalkari’s Division of the Karm&la Taluka. 2. It appears from Mr. Price’s 4th paragraph, that the whole of the lands have been re-measured, and that maps claiming considerable accuracy [though not such as could be joined to¬ gether to form a map of districts] have been constructed of every village. 3. In Mr. Price’s 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th para¬ graphs, and in the Superintendent’s 2nd, 3rd, and 4th paragraphs, the past and present state of the district is described and contrast¬ ed, and Government will be gratified to learn that the condition of the country and the circumstances of the people have been much improved since they came into our hands. 447 4. It will be observed, however, that this comparative pros¬ perity has been effected under a most artificial system, and that, during the last twenty years, remissions to the enormous amounts of 13 lakhs of rupees have been found necessary out of an aggre¬ gate nominal assessment of 29 lakhs, and that during the last season, for which returns have been furnished to Lieutenant Nash, Rs. 91,000 were remitted out of an assessment of Rs. 1,79,000— more than a half! 5. The evils of such a system are described both by Mr. Price and Lieutenant Nash ; and the latter , observes that, “ to all acquainted with Natiye habits and character, these facts will, of themselves, suggest a highly-coloured picture of intrigue and cor¬ ruption.” There cagioe no doubt that, in the distribution of such enormous remission^,; all the worst propensities, both of the ryots and of our Native"officers, must find ample exercise, and the system tends to keep the q<ivators in a state of continual bondage to the rapacious money-lenders with whom their villages abound, while the State suffers generally from the impossibility of accumu¬ lated capital being employed on the land, and by that absence of demand for manufactures and taxed commodities which always attends upon poverty and helplessness among the farming classes and landed proprietors. i . 6. I need not follow Mr. Price and Lieutenant Nash through their examination of the past fiscal history of the pargand., and the steps by which their deductions as to the proper assessment now to be imposed are brought out. I may remark, however, that the line of reasoning adopted by Lieutenant Nash, paragraph 16, is altogether distinct'from that previously followed by Mr. Price; whilst the conclusions arrived at appear to be nearly the same so; that we have a double ground for confidence in the consenting result of the several processes employed. 7. Some error in the prices of grain given by Mr. Price is rectified by Lieutenant Nash, and there is a difference of opinion between the latter and Mr. Suart as to the effect on the Ropla market of the distance between that town and Karmfila. The direction taken by traffic from Ropla is also canvassed; but as the parties are agreed on the material question to be decided, namely, the rates of Jerayet assessment to be fixed in the Ropla Petha, I think it would be superfluous to go over the discussion particu¬ larly. It may be stated, however, that grain is frequently export¬ ed from Bctrsi to Poona, whence it may be inferred that Karmfila, which lies between these two places, must have an advantage in price over B4rsi. 448 8. Messrs. Suart, Nash, and Price all agree in recommend¬ ing the application of the Indipur rates, raised 5 per cent., to the • Itopla Petha for its Jerdyet assessment, which at these rates will amount to Es. 37,000. Lieutenant Nash and Mr. Price recom¬ mend this increase solely on account of climate. Mr. Suart, under the impression that Eopla has a better market, also recommends an increase of 5 per cent, on the Bagayet rates of Ind4pur for the wet lands of Eopla, while Lieutenant Nash wishes the rates to be precisely the same, stating that superiority of climate is no advan¬ tage to Bagayet cultivators. I believe Lieutenant Nash means by “ superior climate ” a fuller supply of water, and the Bagayet assessment being in the nature of a well tax, the more abundant the water, the greater the quantity of land that will be assessed under it at Bagayet rates. The principle adopted in assessing such “Mothasthal Bagayet” is explained in paragraphs 16,18, and 19 of Lieutenant Wingate’s letter to the Collector of Poona, dated 27th August 1841, on the re-assessment of the Haveli Pargana; and as in this, the highest assessed of all the Poona pargands, the Bagdyet rates recommended by Lieutenant Wingate,and sanctioned by Government, do not exceed those fixed for Inddpur, I see no sufficient reason for allowing them when applied to Eopla. An increase of 5 per cent, on the Inddpur Bagayet rates would give only Es. 2-1-8 per acre instead of Es. 2-0-0, which would amount to but a small sum on the Bagayet revenue of the whole division. I beg, therefore, to recommend that the Bagayet rates be the same as those of Inddpur, and the Jerayet rates increased by 5 per cent. 9. In Mr. Suart’s 8th paragraph he remarks that no men¬ tion is made of the percentage to be paid to village officers in lieu of their “ gugri ”, or extra collections in grain from the cultiva¬ tors. I apprehend that it will be impossible to fix the rate per cent, before the Government sanction is accorded to the rates now proposed, and the assessment of each village definitively fixed. 10. Mr. Suart, in his 10th paragraph, notices that Mr. Price has concluded the settlement of the boundary disputes which be¬ fore existed in the district. This must have proved a very trouble¬ some work, and must have required great skill to accomplish it, and I have requested the Collector of Sholapur to furnish some account of the number of disputes settled, and the principle of the arrangements by which Mr. Price has succeeded so well. 11. Mr. Suart appears very anxious that the sanction of Government should be accorded to the rates in time to admit of 449 ilie new assessment being introduced this year ; and it is certainly desirable that the new rates should be declared as soon as possible. I have, &c., (Signed) W. SIMSON, Revenue Commissioner. Poona, Revenue Commissioner’s Office, October llth, 1842. No. 3134 of 1842. Territorial Department, Revenue. To W. SIMSON, Esq., Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1457, dated the 11th instant, handing up a correspondence between the Collector of Sholdpur, the Superintendent of Revenue Survey, and his Assistant, Sir. Price, respecting the rate of assessment in the Mahalkari’s Division of the Karmala Taluka. 2. In reply, I am directed to acquaint you that the reasons which are assigned for fixing the Jerayet rates of the Ropla Mahal of the Karmffia Taluka at 5 per cent, above those of Indapur, ap¬ pear to the Honourable the Governor in Council to be sufficient, and the proposed rate should, therefore, be adopted. 3. His Honour in Council is also pleased to sanction the rate for Bagayet being fixed at Rs. 2 per acre as in Indapur. 4. These rates should be introduced at the approaching Ja- mabandi. 5. Mr. Price’s report on this survey, I am instructed to observe, does him much credit. But it would have been more complete had it contained the result (in statements annexed to it) of the measurements and classification, and if it had been accom¬ panied by a sketch map, such as that which accompanied Captain Bellasis’s report on the survey of the Sholdpur Taluka. Such maps should form an accompaniment to every report sent up to Government on the completion of a mahal or taluka. 6. The allowances which the ryots have to pay to the village officers as “ gugri in fact, every thing which falls on their land—should form a part of the assessment, so that nothing extra b 210—5 450 may be demanded from them. Now that the proposed rates of assessment are approved of, the settlement of the gugri should be made and the result reported ; at the same time the result of the adoption of the new rates of assessment to the whole land as well as to that in actual cultivation should be fully detailed. The period of the duration of the settlement (as far as the rates are concerned) should then be determined. 7. The success which seems to have attended Mr. Price’s endeavours towards the settlement of boundary disputes is very satisfactory. The more detailed account of this proceeding, alluded to in your 10th paragraph, should, when received, be for¬ warded to Government. I have, &c., (Signed) L. R. REID, Chief Secretary. Bombay Castle, 31s£ October 1842. No. 166 op 1843. To - G. M. SUART, Esq., First Assistant in charge Sholapur Collectorate. Sie, I have the honour to forward proposals drawn up by my Assistant, Mr. Price, for re-assessing the Subha Division of the Karm&la Taluka, and also a map of the Karmala Pargan4 showing the boundaries of all the villages. • 2. Mr. Price was for some years in the Topographical Survey of the Deccan, and acquired there the knowledge and expertness that has! enabled him to prepare this map, without neglecting his other duties. It shows with accuracy the extent and position of each village, and it is, in fact, exactly the kind of plan Government have so often expressed a desire to have. 3. In Mr. Price’s 4th paragraph it will be seen that the result of the survey has been to show that this district contains 196,204 acres, of which 9,680 are held in in£m, and 31,854 more are not culturable, leaving 154,670 acres for assessment. 451 4. In Mr. Price’s 5th and 6th paragraphs will be found a brief history of the district. In his 7th paragraph a comparison will be found between the condition of the country before and after the commencement of our rule. Mr. Price appears to think that the increased cultivation has rendered grain cheap and plentiful, and rendered it a matter of difficulty with the farmers to dispose of it. It would, however, be a great mistake to suppose that the cheapness of grain has been principally caused by the extension of cultivation. On consulting the early reports of the Commissioner in the Deccan, it will be found that, during the first two or three years after the commencement of our rule, cultivation extended to a very great extent, and that from that period until lately cultivation has gradually contracted, prices falling also. It may fairly be concluded that cultivation contracted because prices fell. And we find ample reason for the falling off of prices in the extinction of the Mah- ratta predatory system, which used to send forth thousands of the villagers to ravage India, and bring back its valuable plunder, thereby rendering the precious metals cheap. Our more equitable rule must have tended to equalize the value of the precious metals through the country, and to assimilate prices, reducing them where high and raising them where low,—at any rate, to suffer only that inequality to exist which is the natural result of the distribution of population and commerce. 5. It was fitting to accommodate assessment to the change in prices, and to allow prices so to alter as to allow the grain reaching an extensive market. This has now been obtained, and grain is now exported from the Deccan to Bombay, the place which henceforth from its size and riches must naturally regulate prices. 6. I do not quite agree with Mr. Price in thinking that the fact of grain being stored up in the country secures it against the desolating effects of a year of failure. It is • known that during the last famine in the North-Western Provinces (when half a mil¬ lion of people are said to have perished), there was an ample sup¬ ply of grain in the country. The great cause of distress was the stoppage of occupation.- All agriculturists were thrown out of employ, and, having no means'of obtaining money, they had no means of purchasing what was, perhaps, rotting in the granaries ; still, however, though the existence of grain in a country may not al¬ together save us from the dire effects of a season of failure, it, at all events, mitigates them, and provides a refuge for those who have been prudent enough to consider the future. 7. The observations in Mr. Price’s 9th paragraph are to be understood restrictedly. They are not meant to apply in their full 452 force to any but the district under consideration. It will be seen from his table, Appendix A, that in twenty years the actual pay¬ ments of the people have amounted to Us. 8,23,109, and that if during the whole of that time they had been assessed, as we now propose to assess them, they would not have paid less than its. 8,15,512. It may, therefore, be fairly concluded that in this particular district Government has not demanded in the gross more than the people should have fairly paid. Indeed, considering the former high prices, I may safely say that Government has not obtained a due revenue from the district. The real evils in the district are these, that there is a high nominal assessment which has required in twenty years 8 lakhs of remissions, and that the distribution of these remissions has been in the hands of ill-paid rapacious karkuns. I perfectly agree with Mr. Price in consider¬ ing that a large proportion of the remissions has never reached the ryots, or, which is the same thing, that they have been obliged to pay heavily for them. And you have now in your possession sufficient evidence to prove the existence of an extended system of extortion connected with the grant of remissions. It is my belief that extortion accompanies remission with as much determination as a soldier does his banner. In twenty years 8 lakhs of rupees have been remitted out of 16. The booty of the district karkuns must have been immense ! 8. I quite agree with Mr. Price in thinking that it is useless to argue from past receipts under the above circumstances. It becomes necessary, therefore, to be guided rather by the position and local circumstances of the district. In Mr. Price’s and my own report, last season, regarding the Ropla Division of the Karmila Taluka, much will be found appli¬ cable to the Subha Division. Its advantages over Indipur. as re¬ gards rain are the same, and generally the only difference between Ropla and Karmila is that of prices. It is shown in my report, above alluded to, that Ropla has no advantage in prices over Indi¬ pur, whereas Karmala has one of 5 per cent. It was, however, proposed and sanctioned that, on account of advantage of climate, the Ropla rates should be 5 per cent, higher than those of Indi¬ pur. Mr. Price, therefore, proposes that the 5 per cent, on account of advantage of prices should be added on the 5 per cent, on account of advantage of climate, and that the Karmala rates should be 10 per cent, higher than those of Indipur; and in this recommenda¬ tion I quite agree with him. The rates so raised are to be found in his 15th paragraph. 9. Mr. Price recommends also that on account of the position of eight villages, mentioned in his 15th paragraph, they should be 453 assessed at the Ropla instead of the Karmdla rates-. In this opinion I also concur, and a reference to the map will show the grounds for the measure. I also agree with Mr. Price in thinking that the as¬ sessment of the two villages in the Ropla Petha, which might have been fairly assessed at the Karmdla rates, be left undisturbed. 10. In Mr'. Price’s 16th and 17th paragraphs, and from the Appendix B to his report, it will be seen that the effect on the rates now proposed will be to assess the whole district at Its. 68,844 on account of Jerayet, of which Rs. 3,531 represents the value of the Indtn lands, leaving Rs. 65,313 payable to the State. This latter sum is upwards of Rs. 24,000 in excess of the average receipts from the same source for the last twenty years, upwards of Rs. 2,200 in excess of the average receipts of the last five years, and upwards of Rs. 11,000 in excess of the collections of the last year, for which we have returns. The rates now proposed applied to the land in cultivation in the last year, for which we have returns, give a Jdma of Rs. 60,753—a sum greater by Rs. 3,474 than the actual pay¬ ments in that year. 11. In his last paragraph Mr. Price recommends that the rate of Bagayet assessment should be the same as in Inddpur, Ropla, and, in fact, all the assessed districts ; and in this I concur for the reasons contained in my letter on Ropla rates, No. 226 of 1842. The greater part of Bagayet productions is consum¬ ed on the spot, and prices are not regulated, therefore, in the same way as those of grain in general. 12. * The proposed assessment includes the compensation to be granted in lieu of haks received now in kind Their estimated value for past years is included in Mr. Price’s Appendix A, and in the comparison with past collections this has been allowed for. The details regarding the compensation cannot be proposed till the rates are sanctioned and the assessment on each separate field cal¬ culated. The value of the Indm is one of the points to be con¬ sidered. 13. For the purpose of giving more full information regard¬ ing the resourecs of the Subha Division of Karmala, I subjoin a statement in detail of the jamds, remissions, collections, &c., for nineteen years ending Fasli 1250. The acres in Mr. Price’s State¬ ment A, column 3, are approximated from the difference between columns 14 and 26 in my statement. The rupees in Mr. Price’s column 4 will be found by deducting those in column 27 from those in column 15 jn my statement. The amount of Nakdi Bdbs in Mr. Price’s column 5 is that part of my column 30, which may be considered as coming under the head of land assessment. These bdbs, however, have been abolished some years since. The 454 rupees in Mr. Price's column 8 will be found in my column 16; those in Mr. Price’s column 9 will be found by adding together my columns 34 and 39. Mr. Price’s column 11 will be found by deducting the rupees in his 10th column from those in column 7. It will be observed that the remissions in Mr. Price’s 9th column include all remissions granted under the head of Bag^yet b&bs and s4yer, which would not have been the case had it been possible to obtain a statement of them separately. It will also be observed that in Mr. Price’s statement ho allowance is made for the outstand¬ ing balances, amounting in nineteen years to Its. 3,426-14-0. Prom what I saw while making the Jamhbandi settlement this year, I am able, however, confidently to affirm that, even had we all the details t(T enable us to make allowances on these accounts, the grand total in Mr. Price’s 11th column of Rs. 8,23,109 would not be altered beyond Rs. 5 or 6,000. The amount given in his column is quite accurate enough for all practical purposes. I have, &c., (Signed) A. NASH, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Deccan. Superintendent, Revenue Survey'Office, Poona, 2Uh July 1843. No. 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ration, ision of Assessment, Remissions, Expenses, Collections, Balances, $c., in the Subha the Karmdla District for the within-mentioned years. Bigha». Rupees. Deduct. Indm. Shetsandi Indms. Bighas. Rupees. Bigliaa, Rupees. 4 5 6 7 8 9 166,311 5 0 1,45,462 12 0 8,976 0 0 8,680 2 0 60 0 0 120 0 0 151,779 10 2J 1,54,469 11 0 7,798 0 0 7,860 t2 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 151,637 15 4 1,51,357 *8 9 7,693 0 0 7,750 11 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 151,645 10 4 1,51,476 2 6 7,693 0 0 7,750 11 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,43,935 2 6 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,43,937 2 6 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,42,827 15 0 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,42,827 15 0 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,42,827 15 0 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,42,827 15 0 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 .0 280 0 0 146,845 5 4 1,42,827 15 0 7,445 10 0 7.038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,849 5 4 1,42,835 15 0 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,849 5 4 1,42,835 15 0 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,871 15 4 1,42,862 11 6 7,445 10 0 7,038 7 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 147,018 5 4 1,43,032 3 8 • 7,438 0 0 7,029 12 0 .180 0 0 280 0 0 146,899 5 4 1,35,611 3 0 7,453 0 0 7,145 11 0 180 0 0 280 0 0 146,856 10 4 1,34,913 6 9 8,212 0 H 7,264 14 4 180 0 0 171 9 10 146,041 5 4 1,28,984 3 1 8,212 0 4*' 7,790 9 10 180 0 0 268 8 6 146,956 5 2 1,28,941 15 9 8,212 0 4J 7,790 9 10 180 0 0 268 8 6 2,824,635 10 Si 27,04,795 12 0 146,142 10 2i 139,448 3 0 3,300 0 0 5,028 10 10 455 m o a Deduct— contimied. No. Fasli. £ M-l o u CD Total. Remaining Kh&lsa. Cultivated. a £ Bighas. Rupee 3. Bighas. Rupees. Bighas. 1 2 3 10 11 12 13 14 1 Fasli 1232 46 . 9,036 0 0 8,800 2 0 157,275 5 0 • 1,36,662 10 0 120,391 10 0 2 j > 1233 47 7,978 0 0 8,140 12 0 143,801 10 2J 1,46,328 15 0 94,748 10 0 3 >9 1234 47 7,873 0 0 8,030 11 0 143,764 15 4 1,43,326 13 9 107,350 15 2 4 ff 1235 47 7,873 0 0 8,030 11 0 143,772 5 4 * 1,43,445 7 6 97,761 0 4 i 5 99 1236 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,36,616 11 6 89,091 15 2 6 99 1237 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,36,618 11 6 72,795 5 n 7 99 1238 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,35,509 8 0 69,105 0 2 8 99 1239 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,35,509 8 0 74,910 15 2 9 99 1240 46 7.625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,35,509 8 0 74,788 0 4J 10 99 1241 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,35,509 8 0 79,586 15 0 11 99 1242 ... 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,219 15 4 1,35,509 8 0 80,215 10 34 12 99 1243 46 7,625 10 0 ‘ 7,318 7 0 139,223 15 4 1,35,517 8 0 77,772 5 4 13 99 1244 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 7 0 139,223 15 4 1,35,517 . 8 0 67,755 0 0 14 99 1245 46 7,625 10 0 7,318 ,7 0 139,246 5 4 1,35,544 4 6 65,767 0 2| 15 99 1246 46 7,618 0 0 7,309 12 0 139,400 5 4 1,35,722 7 8 68,045 5 34 16 99 1247 46 7,633 0 0 7,425 11 0 139,266 5 4 1,28,185 8 0 79,130 15 4 17 99 1248 46 8,392 0 4* 7,436 8 2 138,464 5 4f 1,27,476 14 7 96,273 15 3J 18 >9 1249 46 8,392 0 H 8,059 2 4 138,649 0 4f 1,20,925 0 9 103,820 10 4 ' 19 *9 1250 46 8,392 0 44 8,059 2 4 138,564 0 2f 1,20,882 13 5 114,501 10 i Total ... 149,442 10 2| 1,44,476 13 io 2,675,193 0 Of 25,60,318 ' 14 2 1,633,812 15 1 456 w to H-‘ o 1 o No. Fasli. , Number of Villages. Deduct—cone hided. Deduct Tahakub or Suspended, Rupees. Cultivated— -concluded. Rupees. 1 2 3 15 16 1 Fasli 1232 ... 46 1,05,825 13 0 32,673 7 6 2 a 1233 ... 47 99,120 9 9 27,160 5 9 3 it 1234 ... 47 1,06,895 5 3 29,338 5 6 4 a 1235 ... 47 96,612 5 3 23,207 13 6 5 >> 1236 ... 46 88,266 8 9 15,172 6 6 6 a 1237 ... 46 72,574 9 0 8,540 15 0 7 a 1238 ... 46 67,733 0 0 5,220 3 0 8 a 1239 ... *... 46 73,248 15 0 10,929 9 6 9 i> 1240 ... 46 72,919 3 3 17,182 3 3 10 tt 1241 ... 46 77,433 11 3 13,531 3 6 11 t) 1242 ... 46 78,505 11 0 9,671 35 3 12 ti 1243 ... 46 77,404 1 9 6,435 7 9 13 it 1244 ... 46 68,589 5 0 9,034 14 0' 14 a 1245 ... 46 68,404 2 3 12,197 12 0 15 ti 1246 ... 46 69,861 14 8 14,306 1 2 16 a 1247 ... 46 76,022 2 9 18,637 11 0 17 it 1248 ... 46 89,122 2 0 26,810 13 11 18 a 1249 ... 46 91,734 15 1 17,454 8 10 19 ft 1260 ... ... 46 1,00,587 11 4 14,772 5 7 Total ... 15,80,862 2 10 3,12,278 2 3 Remaining to be Collected. Rupees. Susti. Bigbas. Rupees, 17 18 19 73,152 5 6 32,796 0 0| - 28,627 12 9 71,960 4 0 28,446 10 24 28,209 1 6 v 77,557 0 0 26,993 10 14 26,597 7 0 .73,404 2 9 42,552 10 2f 38,808 9 3 73,094 2 3 48,162 5 0 43,580 8 6 64,033 10 0 48,408 0 3 43,999 9 9 62,512 13 0 54,779 0 U 49,207 14 9 62,319 6 0 57,589 15 3! 52,069 4 3 55,737 0 0 55,554 5 If 43,726 2 0 63,902 7 9 59,438 15 4f 46,607 8 0 68,833 11 9 57,030 5 H 44,401 7 3 70,968 10 0 58,713 0 2J 53,630 14 3 59,554 7 0 45,106 15 3f 41,639 8 0 56,206 6 3 44,836 0 4f 43,663 3 6 55,555 13 6 42,647 15 3f 41,329 10 6 57,384 7 9 41,919 10 14 38,394 3 0 62,311 4 1 42.391 5 Of 36,764 9 9 74,280 6 3 53,471 10 1 45,989 8 7 85,815 5 9 69,477 5 3 58,506 13 11 12,68,584 0 7 • 910,215 15 4| 8,05,748 12 6 No. Fasli. Number of Villages. Kowli. . Bighas. .Rupees. Bighas. 1 2 3 20 21 22 1 Fasli 1232 46 86,218 15 4* 40,273 3 9 2 1233 47 64,401 0 If 37,972 6 6 3 a 1234 *47 78,399 0 44 44,770 11 9 4 it 1235 47 53,326 15 Of 28,351 5 0 5 tt 1236 46 39,122 0 04 , 23,386 5 3 6 it 1237 46 22,770 5 24 14,470 15 6 7 it 1238 46 12,764 12 24 7,878 10 9 8 tt 1239 46 15,766 5 0 4,912 6 0 9 tt 1240 46 17,849 10 3} 6,880 9 0 10 a 1241 46 18,535 5 4 11,738 14 ,9 11 a 1242 46 21,567 10 3f 18,812 3 9 12 it 1243 46 17,290 0 3} 11,217 5 3 13 a 1244 46 21,038 5 14 12,352 12 6 TT^t1rir ^ 14 tt 1245 46 19,354 0 24 7,098 3 6 15 it 1246 46 23,695 10 44 8,382 14 3 16 it 1247 46 35,469 0 4f 13,159 4 0 17 it 1248 46 52,172 10 Of 20,069 7 8 18 tt 1249 46 39,327 5 0 18,675 0 1 9,245 10 if 19 it 1250 46 22,349 5 04 12,316 10 4 20,807 5 it Total ... ... 6,61,419 0 pa 3,42,719 5 7 30,052 15 CO Detail. Ukti. Total Jerayet. Rupees. Bighas. Rupees. 23 24 25 119,015 0 0 68,901 0 6 92,847 10 4f 66,181 8 0 105,392 15 1 71.368 2 9 95,879 5 34 667,154 14 3 87,284 5 04 66,966 13 9 71,178 10 04 58,470 9 3 67,543 15 3f 5,786 9 6 ......... 73,356 0 3f 56,981 10 3 73,304 0 04 50,606 11 0 77,974 5 3f 58,346 6 9 78,598 0 Of 63,213 11 0 76,003 5 14 64,848 3 6 66,145 5 Of 53,992 4 6 50,761 7 0 64,190 5 2f 66,343 10 3 77,388 15 6f 49,712 8 9 ......... 51,553 7 0 94,563 15 1 56,834 1 5 4,226 5 6 102,044 5 2f 68,890 14 2 9,508 15 4 112,634 0 Of 80,332 7 7 13,735 4 10 1,601,687 15 3 11,62,203 6 11 . 458 Ox CD No. 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Sayer J&ma. Rupees. Total Ain and Sayer Jam£. Rupees. Deduct. Remaining , Revenue. Remissions granted at the Jamabaridi. Rupees. Village Expenses, &c. Rupees. Total Rupees. 32 33 34 35 36 37 3,709 1 0 78,917 1 3 13,530 7 0 9,515 13 0 23,046 4 0 55,923 13 3 4,344 11 0 79,561 0 0 ' 8,970 3 0 9,967 2 0 18,937 5 0 60,623 11 0 2,403 14 0 80,383 7 0 63,778 10 6 2,156 2 0 65,934 12 6 14,448 10 6 3,66^ 9 0 78,562 8 0 13,679 10 3 9,465 3 0 23,144 13 3 55,417 10 0 3,667 13 0 80,700 14 9 6,768 1 9 10,237 10 9 17,005 12 6 63,695 2 3 2,734 8 10 67,885 8 0 29,312 1 0 5,915 4 0 35,227 5 0 32,658 3 0 3,005 4 0 67,995 9 0 15,196 6 0 7,759 5 0 22,955 11 0 45,039 14 0 2,320 12 0 66,023 2 0 44,888 1 0 3,332 14 0 48,220 15 0 17,802 3 - 0 3,007 4 0 60,860 12 0 13,741 5 0 7,025 4 0 20,766 9 0 40,094 3 0 2,873 8 0 68,959 0 9 14,665 4 3 8,117 0 0 22,782 4 3 46,176 12 6 2,314 10 0 72,502 10 0 54,119 9 3 2,734 2 9 . 5,853 12 0 15,648 14 0 2,904 5 0 76,457 8 0 16,003 9 0 8,966 5 9 24,969 14 9 51,487 9 3 2,902 1 0 64,898 11 0 14,751 7 9 7,458 7 6 22,209 15 3 42,688 11 9 2,976 13 0 61,291 3 9 19,920 12 3 6,202 0 0 26,122 12 3 35,168 7 6 2,167 3 11 61,281 9 6' 11,191 2 2 7,362 13 0 18,533 12 8 42,727 9 10 ,2,492 5 0 61,580 7 5 14,290 8 3 7,179 3 2 21,469 11 5 40,110 12 0 2,892 6 3 65,790 2 0 23,527 9 4 6,593 2 5 30,120 11 9 35,669 6 3 1 2,725 2 1 79,058 8 6 38,530 12 8 6,656 11 3 45,187 7 11 33,871 0 7 2,480 14 2 90,421 6 1 38,647 8 9 9,864 4 11 43,511 13 8 46,909 8. 5 56,588 1 3 13,63,184 1 0 4,50,513 1 2 1,36,508 13 0 5,87,021 14 2 7,76,162 2 10 460 No« 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 n 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Deduct. Collected up to the end of April in respective years, Rupees. Remissions grant¬ ed afterwards, Rupees. Collected up to the end of March 1842, Rupees. 38 39 40 39,810 3 9 56,102 0 6 13,040 8 0 65,359 5 5 57,754 4 9 32,512 15 0 44,837 7 2 10,494 7 3 36,323 12 0 42,865 0 6 7,353 15 3 49,689 7 7 41,974 13 2 33,191 13 10 37,151 5 2 37,390 13 9 35,357 3 9 31,495 7 11 42,685 0 2 2,792 1 10 1,326 6 4 368 12 9 52 ,13 7 1,178 0 2 145 4 0 202 6 10 380 15 8 2,116 15 5 2,781 12 2 633 9 10 1,272 9 6 526 9 2 1*P35 10 10 242 1 11 353 6 8 242 2 9 13,105 10 0 2,955 5 0 1,039 5 9 4,762 13 4 6,770 4 11 1,458 9 8 7,541 12 3 688 6 10 5,237 4 4 2,172 4 5 312 2 6 1,550 3 8 3,649 7 8 Outstanding Balances end of March 1842. Total Rupees. 41 42 55.707 15 7 215 13 8 60,383 11 10 239 15 2 14,448 10 6 55,412 3 0 5 7 9 63,695 2 3 32,658 3 0 45,039 14 0 17,645 11 10 156 7 2 39,899 5 1 194 13 11 45,646 12 8 529 15 10 15,529 5 4 119 8 8 50,962 1 1 525 8 2 42,501 6 4 187 5 5 34,915 15 6 252 8 0 42,630 11 5 96 14 5 39,916 8 10 194 3 2 35,669 6 3 33,737 14 4 133 3 2 46,314 7 10 575 0 7 Remarks. 43 7,05,840 0 11 15,651 11 5 51,243 10 4 7,72,735 6 8 3,426 14 0 461 462 No. 117 op 1843. To Lieutenant A. NASH, Superintendent of Revenue Survey in the Deccan. Sib, Having completed the measurement and classification of the lands of the M4mlatdar’s division of the Karm41a Taluka, I have the honour, in compliance with your letter No. 102, dated 24th April 1843, to submit a report on the subject of the rates which I would propose should form the basis of the new assessment about to be introduced into that division. 2. In doing so, as it is usual on such occasions to state the manner in which the work has been carried on and completed, I beg in the present instance to refer you to my report No. 3 of 1842, dated 20th September, on the Malntlkari’s division of this taluka; precisely the same system having been followed in this, and, I pre¬ sume, with equally as much correctness.. The measurements and classification were each tested to the extent of 10 per cent, of the area of each village, and the result showed that out of 48 villages it was requisite to have the lands of only 2 re-classified and of 2 re-measured—the former from the Tarams having adopted an in¬ correct standard of classification, and the latter from the measur¬ ers having neglected to put down such marks as are necessary to prevent confusion taking place hereafter in the boundaries of the fields. 3. The only addition in the work, as compared with the completion of the Mah&lkari’s division, is the accompanying map on one mile to an inch of the whole taluka. This, so far as fixing the villages and their boundaries is concerned, has been construct¬ ed on scientific principles, the trigonometrical points having been furnished me by Lieutenant Jacob, of the Trigonometrical Survey, and the detail has been filled in by a comparison of my sketches with the village plans, the latter of which for such purposes being, I presume, as good a source as could be resorted to. Besides the boundaries of each village, the boundary disputes are shown; and as the Ropla Division is included, I trust the present will fully make up for the sketch map which was required with my report on that division, and be allowed to form a substitute for that required with this. 463 4. The division on which I now report is bounded on the east by the Sina River, which, with few exceptions, divides it from the territories of His Highness the Nizam ; on the south-west - the Bhima separates it from the pargana of Indapur, in the collectorate of Poona; and to the south and north-west, respect¬ ively, there are the petha of Ropla forming apart of the taluka itself and the taluka of Karjat in the collectorate of Nagar. It comprises an extent of 196,204 acres, 9,680 of which are held free and 31,854 more are unculturable, leaving 154,670 acres open to assessment. The highway by which the traffic between Poona and the Balia gh4t is conveyed, passes through it, as also do the high¬ ways from Nagar to Sholdpur and Pandharpur. There are no hills of any height in it; but its surface is not by any means so re¬ gular as to admit of wheeled conveyances passing through it in every direction, and hence the proportionally large quantity of unculturable land in a taluka comparatively flat. 5. The part in question comprises the whole of the Wangi and portions of the Shrigonda and Kodovalat parganas—divi¬ sions connected with the original management of the country; and of these, until the close of 1818, when the Peshwa’s territory be¬ came *a part of the British possessions, the villages of Wangi had for sixteen years been held by Sadaseo Pant Mdnkeshwar. Those of the other two parganas did not revert to our Govern¬ ment till 1821, and if we except > an interval of one year, during which they had lapsed to His Highness the Nizam, had been held for upwards of 120 years as jaghirs by the family of the Nirnbdl- kars. 6. Considerable difference appears to have existed in the modes of management adopted by Mdnkeshwar and NimMlkar in their respective villages: that of the former being marked by a moderation in reference to the collection of the revenue which the yearly state of the crops would seem to call for, whereas the ex¬ penses of supporting a large train of military followers rendered it necessary for .the NimMlkars to be constantly pressing their ryots beyond the powers of payment.. Little difference, however, appears to have existed in the condition of the ryots of each party when they fell into our hands. The grasping propensity of the \pst Nimbdlkar, even after an interval of 12 years, prevented his ryots from gaining much ground upon the condition they were reduced to by the famine of 1805; and what improvement the management of Mdnkeshwar was likely to effect in his villages, was rendered abortive by the Pindaris, to whose ravages their unpro¬ tected state constantly exposed them. The commencement of our rule, when these evils ceased, must then, so far as they are con¬ cerned, have been extremely propitious to the ryots; and I have no 464 dpubt in saying that, whatever have been the failings of our own management since, their present condition is a somewhat improved c one. 7. The principal features of the two periods appear to be briefly these :—During the time of the Native governments the limited cultivation, compared with the number of consumers, made grain scarce, and hence dear and easy of disposal. At present the increased cultivation has made it plentiful, reduced its price, and rendered a profitable disposal of it a matter of difficulty. It is, indeed, a fact admitted by all, that at present there is sufficient grain in this part of the country to meet the exigencies of, at least, one year’s total failure, whereas during the Native governments such an event invariably had the effect of almost desolating it. Witness the famines of 1793 and 1805. 8. This is undoubtedly a source of gratification. How much more so would it be were I able to say that most of the grain thus laid up, is in the hands of the ryots. This, however, is not the case. With a few exceptions, it is in the hands of the Banians, while our ryots live by a ruinous system of borrowing. 9. With regard to this—the condition of our ryots—I would remark that, although it is usual to trace the cause of their poverty to the existing heavy assessment, and that this in one respect is admissible, inasmuch as it necessitates Government to adopt a mode of settlement which opens a wide field for the grossest cor¬ ruption imaginable, yet to lay the charge exclusively to the heavy assessment is, I think, more than a strict inquiry into the matter will admit. The assessment in question has not, since the taluka fell into our hands, formed the basis of a single jam&bandi. We commenced by resorting to the kowli tenures, and subsequent¬ ly allowed a tahakub in some villages ; and what with these—the ukti tenures—and the remissions, I find at an average that during the last twenty years very nearly one-half of this high, but merely nominal, assessment has been remitted. This, by applying the Itopla rates to the classification now completed, and making a pro¬ portional deduction on account of waste land, I find to be about the sum which would have been allowed had the proposed assess¬ ment been in force during that period ; and may we not, therefore, conclude, and that justly, that the ryots have not had the full benefit of the remissions hitherto granted, for otherwise is it possible they could be so poor as we now find them. 10. In offering an opinion on the subject, I know it is necessary to take into consideration the loss which the ryots have been annually exposed to by having to keep their crops standing an unreasonable period, so as to admit of their being surveyed ; but the most liberal allowance is not by any means sufficient to 465 clear the surveyingkdrkuns and village officers from tlie suspicion, of most gross corruption in this respect. In fact, when it is con¬ sidered that, even at this comparatively honest period, the ryots, during the year just passed by, paid largely to have an under¬ estimate made of their crops, what must have been the state of matters some years ago when it was not considered necessary even to consult them on the matter, but merely to give them as much of the remissions as could not be screwed out of them. 11. It is very evident, then, that, keeping in view what has been- hitherto credited to Government in the name of the ryots, and judging from it and their present condition what may with safety be collected from them hereafter, considerable care must be observed, for otherwise the errors of making the proposed rates too low, and thereby subjecting Government to an unnecessary loss, will undoubtedly be the consequence. It is well, however, in the present case, that we have the pargana of Inddpur in the immediate neighbourhood, inasmuch as, by a comparison of the two, we can arrive at a tolerably correct conclusion as to what rates we should adopt for Karm&la. 12. Before, however, I make the comparison, I beg to allude to a few facts, the result of late inquiry, which tend to strengthen the opinion already formed, that the assessment of Indapur is sufficiently equitable to admit of inference being drawn from it as to wljpt the parganas in the neighbourhood ought to pay when their respective capabilities are taken into consideration. The present increased population and improved state of the market of Inddpur immediately intrude' themselves upon the notice of an observer who has any idea of the state in which these were a few years ago, and in common with Indapur the population of its villages, both as regards their number and apparent comfort, is most striking. The inhabited state of two villages, formerly quite deserted, which I had an opportunity of seeing, speaks volumes in this respect, and, so far as I could ascertain, these gratifying changes, even by the most prejudiced of the people—the Brahmins —are considered as effects of the survey. 18. The opinion of the people in regard to the assess ment itself is, that it is neither fitted for the indolent, nor those who wish to live upon the fruits of the labours of others ; whereas those who, with a competent supply of the implements of husbandry, have the heart to work hard, without fail, become cultivators of substance under it. This opinion—the result of five years’ expe¬ rience—argues that the assessment is calculated, in the absence of ill-timed remissions, to cure the cultivators of the baneful inertness for which the generality of them are noted, and from the examples which have been brought to my notice of industrious ryots, who on b 210 —7 4C6 the introduction of the survey commenced with small beginnings, having greatly improved since, I feel no doubt, on the other hand, that the assessment is not by any means too heavy. 14. In proceeding to compare Karmdla with Indapur, I fin that the soils, implements of husbandry, modes of cultivation periods of sowing and reaping, and the kinds of produce, are pre¬ cisely the same in both. The only points in which they differ are that the fall of rain during the rabi crop is more plentiful in Karm&la than in Indapur, and that its market is a better one. This greater fall of rain is common to Ropla, and for it Govern¬ ment allowed that the rates of Indapur should be increased at 5 per cent, and applied to that division. I therefore propose that a similar measure be adopted for Karmdla, and that, besides this, an additional increase of 5 per cent, be made on account of the market, that being the advantage it has over the Indapur one as stimated in your report on Ropla. 15. Should this meet with your approval,' and the sanction of Government, the rates per acre for each kind of soil will be as follows:— Soils. Reas per Acre. Soils. Reas per Acre* Soils. Reas per Acre. 1st Black 330 1st Red 220 1st Brown*.. •no 2nd „ 265 2nd „ 145 2nd „ ... 65 3rd „ 190 3rd „ 85 3rd „ ... 40 I would not, however, recommend that these rates ’ be applied to all the villages subject to KarmdJa itself. Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of the villages named in the margin, as will be seen by the map, are so much nearer Ropla that I propose they and Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 which, from their comparative locality as regard the markets, appear rather to class with it than Karm^la, be assessed according to the rates fixed for that division. On the other hand, there are two* villages attached to Ropla which ought certainly, from their contiguity to Karmala, to be assessed according to the rates which may be fixed for it; but as the Ropla assessment has been read off to the people, it would likely give them a bad opinion of our adherence to settle¬ ments once made by us to reverse it in these villages—an error above all things to be avoided among characters so suspicious as the kunbis. 1. Kem. 2. Mallowri, 8. NimborL 4. Wangi. 5. Shelgaon, 6. Bittargaon. 7. Dokri. 8. Surli. *1. Margawan* 2. Hewra. 467 16. To show what the assessment will be according to the rates proposed in the last paragraph, I have drawn out the Appen¬ dix B, by which it will be seen that jerayet assessment of the whole division will amount to Rs. 68,844, and that of the inaras to Rs. 3,531, leaving Rs. 65,313, the sum derivable from the Government lands. This sum is about Rs. 10,000 in excess of half the present assessment, Rs. 24,158 in excess of the average collec¬ tion for the last twenty years, and Rs. 22,454 in excess of that for " the last fieve. The two last show that when the whole of the lands come under cultivation, Government will derive much more from this portion of the district than it hitherto has—a very pleas¬ ing circumstance, when it is considered that in the talukas already assessed it has been a point to adjust the rates so as not to allow the assessment on the whole land to fall short of the average amount of past collections made on the cultivated part only. 17. The average rate of the assessment I propose will be 6 annas and 9 pies per acre. This applied to the extent of land in cultivation in 1251 Fasli will amount to Rs. 60,753, a sum— Rs. 3,474—in excess of the jerayet collections, including gugri, for that year. It is, therefore, evident that without allowing any increase for the circumstance of the best kind of land being now in cultivation, or for what additional land it is very probable will be tken up immediately, Government will, on the introduction of this assessment, derive an increase of revenue equal, at leasts to Rs. 3,474. 18. In speaking of the bagayet cultivation, I beg to remark that Rs. 210-0 an acre is about the rate hitherto collected in the taluka. This, I presume, from the 'number of neglected wells,, which in my opinion could be turned to good account,, is too high,, and I would therefore, and from the fact that there is not the slightest reason for making a difference, recommend that Rs. 2 per acre—the Inddpur and Ropla rate—be adopted for Karmala also. This will make the assessment on bagdyet equal to Rs. 2,658, which, added to the jerayet assessment, as exhibited in Appendix B, makes the total assessment of the division Rs. 67,971. I have, &c., (Signed) TV. S. PRICE, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey^ Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey Office y Gamp Poona, 18t-h July 1843. (Signed) W. S. PRICE, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey, to M b-t )-» w X- QD Of zc £ 8 OO s “co 00 Ox Ox to 40 JO '>-* 00 CD 4-* to J3X to *05 05 M 'to JO 03 to 0 4-< CO “co CO 'co s° Vj 05 w 02 03 Extent of Jerayet cultivation with Acres, jn J5 “co © 05 M CD Oi Ss oo J35 CO Ox oo JO '©5 45. OX -o © CO <35 4*. 3 oo 05 JO 'co o« CO w o 00 rfx S 'co CO 05 «~3 'ho 00 05 j-a 00 CD 05 J-I JO 05 JO “co 0 s* 0 to 00 to co CO CD O “co 05 CO 0 p> 0 05 CD po "co 45. to 0 •a 4^ W Oi tfx. On account of Assess¬ ment. ©a crS o* 2 st B ^ && cc p co ©x : Ox CD Itx CO o t-> “o o CO ox OX 3 00 •*■> OX Oi CO 03 OP to co Cx CO {J5 “0 45- 03 CD px 05 to C?x Ox 8 0 QD w p» ©x On account of Nagdi Bad. 1 60,332 to 8 JO 'ox o to JO Ox o JO © o JtO CO 05 45- g o Jfp o h-< to *>. Vj o o JO o o S3 M to 03 O to o '45. —4 to JO CD to JO 'co 00 45. J5 3 03 CO to 45. 4a V O O J35 O O 00 vf* to si s» O On account of Gugri, ai jx> w “o CO o Oi CO CO 05 o ft* 00 oo oo Ox oo J35 V-* 43. Ox •a JO 'os CD 05 Oi "co cc o JJ< 'V>. o CO <35 OO s to • CO . O P* 4^ W •4 Total. B S 2 fix * 0© 3,23,366 o CO o t— *h Vi to (-* j-a Ox ©T to 05 'oo CD “<35 CO i~i 45. CO ©■ 05 JO CO oo JO o CO Ox J35 CO Ox JO “o5 to JO S 'm OO to JD 'cD CO 0 ja “to to 0 00 'em 45- Ox eo to CO “eo 0 00 to JO CO 00 00 to jat 8 CO to '©5 CO s° 00 On account of Isfcawa, &c. b CD fix pi “© <* ©x oc eo ©I OX CO 45. 03 pi "©5 4^ 00 03 J» •a -X CO to JO ox to 00 J5- 05 4>. £► 45. CO CO to JD CD Ox 05 I—* Jn “to 00 Sf to 05 Ox 45. “<» ox 03 tmt pJ 45. 45. • to CD j» CO to CO ■ -SJ CO cp On account of Remis¬ sion, O • S-B ££> 8,25,124 45. sP 05 oo 1 45. 45. 09 '►Pk to o Ox JJ5 lo to 00 OX JD 'co CO CO CO CO to oo to _Cx V-i CO CD $ Ox CO to pa Vj 05 JP». V to OX CO J=> «3 00 CO JO “o 45. 0 $ i to 0 05 CD OS ja *CD CD CD to £ OD 00 05 Id 45. 0 co JO "45. ©X CO J-l “45. OX tp. 00 » t-« ' 0 Total, 8,23,109 • t ^ 3 t CD t CO JO oo -~I CO JOT *oo o 05 09 CD 45. o *>. to CO >«>> CO JO “to ox ox JO 8 Ox JO Ifp. i&. oo 'co % 4v Ox “to o CO J» Ox to 45. CO 'ox Ox to 45. Ox ■8 CO 00 'cD CD 45. 05 45. “to 03 05 ©X 00 8 CD Ox CD 05 . 8 'co CD Ox OX J-I Va t—< 00 B h-» Amount actually paid on account of Jerayet cultivation. oo c* '©x ©1 JO '©3 oo ox 45. JO to co to £ 'os 00 45. 03 1 CO Gi 'co CO Ox CO JO CO o CO JO ox CO Jo 05 05 05 “oo Ox oo CO 05 00 oo CO o o CO ox 8 0 CO ox 45. CO CO Jo %s 03 45. “C5 ©X 10 45 JO Ox O 45. 05 8 4^ ©X. to t-a Ox OO “co 0 Ox JO '©X CO w CQ t~x IS2 What might have been paid at the Ropla rate of Assessment. 1,21,862 'bo CO 45. : • : CO ©> Ox J» o »J5. O CO 05 Ox CO o : CD "o CD Q CO 45. 45 : 4-> JO O OO 05 : to J-< Va to CO ox CD : pi 0 CD px w CO In favour of present Assessment. b 1 ro CD 05 : tf*. CD H4 JO © o j-a 05 CD * CO CO C3 CO ox to to § 05 Oi (X> 'bx to 0 H 45. In favour of the Ropla rate of Assessment. ' i S3 0 » The average difference of collections for 20 years is about Rs, 400 per annum in favour of the old assessment. Remarks. CO ^ § o Cfc IIs- § % * Co *2 ^ ta . ^ 5^ o | ^ 1 £>* ^ >§r!*£ 4 <>♦• . _ . ^ * S 5$ r§ c^, «■• o ^3 5* Co Co Cb Co Co § Cfc 53 a SkS” Co <>1 c>*J t^rrg, 2 o §-£■* 4 55J C& ££ C* 5^' o*. ^ a> £>. ct> _ © ^ “ 2" ^ co <* 5j c^ ©+« ^ O ©5 (b K) C+ *3* **S Ci Cb Q* o -* Cb © 2h *$ Co o> g! §' 5S i \> hj *3 tel t2S U HH > O 00 Statement. s No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 .11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 APPENDIX B. iyet and Bagayet Assessment of the Mdmlatdar's Division of the Karmdla Taluha cording to the Bates proposed in the accompanying Report. * Deduct Uneul- turable. Culturable Land, Acrfts, Assessment. Deduct Indms. Government Land. Jerayet. Bagayet. Total. Acres. Assessment. Assessment. Acres. \ Jerayet. Baga¬ yet. Total. J erayet. Baga¬ yet. Total. 1,557 5,645 2,426 168 2,594 1,068 448 36 484 4,577 1,978 132 2,110 - 903 8,129 3,241 . 177 3,418 1,447 220 12 232 6.682 3,021 165 3,186 2,494 6,8] 9 2,865 162 3,027 320 , 96 96 6,499 2.769 162 2,931 1,461 9,948 4,347 137 4,484 881 399 899 9,067 3,948 137 4,085 138 1,789 728 7 735 117 59 59 1,672 ’ 669 7 *676 28 964 459 56 515 42 19 19 922 440 56 497 223 1,592 736 - 8 744 196 91 91 1,396 645 8 653 2 473 272 272 46 27 27 427 245 245 911 1,953 810 48 818 44 20 20 1,909 790 8 798 346 2,247 1,237 1,279 54 37 37 2,193 1,200 42 1,242 305 4,945 1,661 52 1,715 54 23 23 4,891 1,638 54 L'692 468 3,605 1,605 24 1,628 25 12 12 3,580 1,593 23 l^lG 125 1,895 897 3 897 104 45 45 1,791 852 *852 420 1,689 837 1 3 837 35 20 20 ' 1,654 817 817 220 662 2,186 3,070 887 1,447 900 1,447 48 20 20 8 20 8 2,138 3,050 867 1,439 13 880 1 439 948 697 380 330 842 613 266 2,986 1,510 1,680 3,788 3,782 1,982 1,755 1,219 520 803 1,598 1,712 937 749 37 176 28 3 39 46 1,256 696 831 1,601 1,751 937 795 95 120 23 88 75 51 41 19 13 40 30 27 5 13 46 32 13 40 30 27 2,891 1,390 1,657 3,700 3,707 2.931 1,755 1,178 501 790 1,558 1,682 910 749 32 163 28 3 39 46 1,’210 664 818 1,561 1,721 910 795 470 24 25 26 27 23 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Goyegaon Pophluj Wadgaon Hisra Augundha Jhara Monjaum Yialaal Arjunnagar. Lawha Jatehgaon Warkutna Gulsada Murwad Pothra Malowdi Sowudar Jeur Kem Deol&li Powgoon Poittergoon Pimpulwada Kirkee Shelgaon Total.., 1,543 287 1,256 663 3,312 228 3,084 1,328 49 3,626 615 3,011 1,281 40 4,905 307 4,598 1,954 33 3,863 692 3,171 1,405 . 70 6,896 854 6,042 2,291 135 1,555 464 1,091 404 10 3,254 1,204 2,050 879 7 2,458 123 2,335 939 12 3,023 540 2,483 996 . 65 4,304 433 3,871 1,793 -7 3,645 205 3,440 1,331 65 4,792 ],345 3,447 1,274 53 1,241 336 905 550 62 4,879 698 .. 4,181 2,316 33 4,177 681 3,496 1,006 11 3,289 427 2,862 1,013 24 3,781 369 3,412 1,496 58 12,444 2,193 10,251 3,717 238 6,936 2,647 4,289 1,572 206 10,947 2,034 8,913 3,994 238 4,748 431 4,317 1,762 28 2,367 713 1,654 632 28 3,509 296 3,213 1,518 8 1,939 459 1,480 737 126 ,96,204 32,920 1,63,284 68,844 2,790 663 1,377 1,321 1,987 1,475 2,426 414 886 951 1,061 1,800 1,396 1,327 612 2,349 1,017 1,037 1,554 3,955 1,778 4,232 1,790 660 1,526 863 71,634 22 10 10 1,234 653 653? 54 19 19 3,030 1,309 49 I,358> 137 57 ”*4 61 2,874 1,224 36 1,260 461 198 198 4,13T 1,756 33 1,730 348 120 120 2,823 1,285 70 1,354 123 48 * 5 53 5,919 2,243 130 2,373 12 5 5 1,079 399 10 409 24 11 11 2,026 868 •7 875' 48 26 26 2,287 918: 12 925 11 3 3 2,472 993 65 1,058 76 4] 41 3,795 1,752 7 1,753 121 48 48 3,319 1,283 65 1,348 134 36 36 3,813 1,238 53 1,290 32 15 15 873 535 62 597 607 511 " 6 517 3,574 1,805 27 1,832 22 10 , 10 3,474 996 11 1,007 61 17 17 2,801 996 24 1,020 11 5 5 3,401 1,491 • 58 1,549 360 110 3 113 9,891 3,607 235 3,842 215 79 22 101 4,074 1,493 184 1,677 433 301 14 315 8,480 3,693 224 3,917 143 59 59 4,174 1,703 28 1,731 40 13 13 1,614 619 28 647 39 24 24 3,174 1,494 8 1,502 139 51 12 63 1,341 686 114 800 ,626 3,531 132 3,663 1,54,658 65,313 2,85$ 67,971 (Signed) W. S. PRICE, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey. 472 No. 330 of 1843. * From E. M. SUART, Esq., First Assistant in charge S.S., To D. BLANE, Esq., Revenue Commissioner, S.D. Sir, I have the honour to forward original letter from the Superin¬ tendent of the Revenue Survey, with one from his Assistant, Mr. Price, on the subject of rates to be fixed in the Subha Division of the Karm&la Taluka. 2. Mr. Price in his 14th paragraph recommends the rates should be 5 per cent, above those of the Petha Division, on the grounds of a better market; but it appears altogether to have escaped notice that this is caused by a scanty supply, that it is only beneficial to a few villages, and is most likely of a temporary nature. 3. The first arises from only a few villages to the north bringing their grain to Karmdla for sale, all to the south selling it to travelling merchants, who cart it themselves direct to Poona and Bombay, and of this, fact I am aware from personal observa¬ tion. The second is a sequence of the first, the ryots preferring to sell at a loss at their own doors to seeking a higher remunera¬ tion at a more distant market, and to which if all were to resort prices would at once be reduced. 4. The third will arise the moment the contemplated maca, damized road is made from Poona to Sholapur, as it,will divert th- immense traffic from B&rsi, which now passes through Karmdlae to the coast, and being the last large town for forty miles, all the, cart and bullock-men purchase there their four days’ supply of grain, &c.; but the quantity brought to the market being from the first cause not equal to so large a demand, prices are locally en¬ hanced. The diversion of the traffic may not even be dependent on the new road; causes are working which may at once raise Barsi as an emporium for the produce of the Nizam’s dominions, and to which it does not appear easy to apply any remedy. 5. The traders are chiefly of the Lingdyet caste, and have been in the habit yejarly of making among themselves a large con¬ tribution for their guru or spiritual teacher; this person has lately 473 been very extortionate in his demands, giving great dissatisfac¬ tion, and obliging many to resort with thei* merchandise to the Sholapur market .in order to avoid him. I have myself fancied there was a diminution of the trade of Birsi, and there certainly has been a great increase in that of the former, for which it would otherwise be difficult to account, the latter being much the nearest route to the coast from the larger portion of the Nizam’s domi¬ nions. 6. For the above reasons I am averse to fixing a higher rate than that of Ropla, which is the same as Mddha, or 5 per cent, above that of Inddpur; and that my deductions are not unnatural or far wrong may be concluded from this consideration : how comes it that in Karmala, in which town duties were abolished because its trade did not yield Rs. 1,000 of revenue, which is 90 miles from Poona and 70 from ShoMpur, prices should be higher than in Madha, only 30 miles from ShoMpur ? 7. With reference to paragraphs 9 and 15 of Lieutenant Nash’s and Mr. Price’s respective letters, it appears to me the course therein proposed is inexpedient, as it will be certain to cause discontent in the other villages of the Subha Division paying a higher rate ; it has never been adopted in other talukas, where, as must naturally be the case, some villages are at a greater distance than others, very likely resorting to an inferior market to the one on whose prices all the calculations were based, and is destructive of that uniformity which it is advisable should not be departed from, except on most urgent grounds. If, however, my reasons against an increased assessment are considered valid, and those of the Ropla Division are fixed on, this point will cease to be one for discussion. 8. The subject of Lieutenant Nash's 7th paragraph is now under inquiry, and will be brought to notice in a separate com¬ munication. I had, in a letter of yesterday’s date, the honour of informing you that the Mamlatddr and his whole establishment had been supended. 9. Though I agree with Lieutenant Nash that the bagayet rate of assessment should be the same as that of Inddpur, it is on the grounds that well cultivation requires fostering, not that the produce is of necessity consumed op the spotwhen. the supply is. in excess of the demand the balance must be exported, which will also be the case with the more valuable products. 10. It does not appear there are any other points requiring specially to be noticed. The theory in paragraph 4 et infra, I may not perhaps coincide in, bub the- general question of rates is not affected by it. b 210—8 . 474 11. The compensation to be granted in Hen of haks cannot be determined on tilithe rates are settled, but it should be of . such an amount as -will, in conjunction with the value of the inam land, give remuneration at not less than the scale approved of in Government letter to the Revenue Commissioner, No. 431 of 1839, dated 9 th February. I may here remark that compensation for Mks to the Ropla village and district officers has not yet been determined on; the consequence was that last year they were collected in addition to the full amount of the new assessment; the new bagdyet rate also was not introduced. 12. The map which accompanied Lieutenant Nash’s letter will be forwarded by banghy, and though it is not my province to pass comment on Mr. Price, I cannot help remarking that it, as well as his report, reflects great credit oil that gentleman. I have, &c., E. M. SUART, First Assistant Collector. Sholdpur Collectorals, Camp at Indi, 5th August 1843. v . Extract paragraphs 4,5, 6, and 8 of a letter from the Revenue Com¬ missioner, Southern Division, to Mr. Chief Secretary Reidt dated 30th August, No. 926 of 1843. Para. 4.—Mr. Suart, it will be observed, objects to the pro¬ posed increase, considering that the difference of price “ is caused by a santy supply, ” that it is only beneficial to a few villages, and is most likely of a temporary nature, which he explains more at length in paragraphs 3 and 7. 5. The existence of an advantage in this respect would seem, from paragraphs 13 and 14 of Lieutenant Nash’s report, No-. 226 of 17th September 1842, on the assessment of the Mahdlkari’s division, to have, been ascertained by a careful inquiry. It is attributed by Mr. Suart, paragraph 4, to Karm&la being the last iarge town for 40 miles on the route by which the traffic from Bdrsi passes to the sea-coast, where, in consequence, all the cart and bullock-men purchase their four days’ supply of grain, and the fact is difficult to explain, except on the supposition of some local activity in the retail sale. If arising from this cause, the benefits are chiefly perhaps reaped by the Wanis, or retail dealers, but they may by that means be enabled to afford a somewhat 475 higher price to the producer in their neighbourhood from whom they are in the habit of obtaining their supply, and such, from the inquiries above noticed, would appear to be the case. Circum- « stances might deprive them of this local advantage, though pro¬ bably not within the period of the leases now about to be granted, and I see, therefore, no great objection to the small enhancement of the rates recommended by the Survey Department on the grounds of the actual state of the markets, as a re-adjustment can be made on the renewal of the leases should the advantages in the price of grain have then disappeared. 6. From the enhancement in question eight villages are proposed to be excluded in consequence of their being situated at a distance from Karm^la, which is also objected to by Mr. Suart in paragraph 7. As I Think the increased rate should only be imposed where the Survey Department are quite satisfied that some commensurate advantage does exist, I concur in the proposed exclusion, and am likewise of Lieutenant Nash’s opinion, para¬ graph 9, respecting the two villages in the Ropla Petha, in which the rates have already been declared under the sanction of 3rd December 1841. 8. For the land actually under cultivation, the new jerayet assessment gives an amount of Its. 60,753. Collection for 1841-42 57,279 0 0 Excess in favour of new assessment. 3,474 0 0 The above figures include in both instances the “ gugri ” hak, for which compensation is to be given, and the new rate is stated to average on the whole 6 annas and 9 pies per acre. (True Extract) D. BLANE, Revenue Commissioner, S.D. No. 3302 of 1843. Territorial Department, Revenue. To D. BLANE, Esq., Revenue Commissioner, Southern Division. Sir, I am directed by the Honourable the Governor in Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 926, dated the 30th 47G August last, with its enclosures, being a letter from the Acting Collector of ShoMpur submitting reports by the Superintendent r> of the Deccan Revenue Survey, and his Assistant, Mr. Price, on the new rates of assessment proposed to be introduced into the Subha Division of the Karm&la Taluka. 2. His Honour in Council desires me to observe that the map accompanying your letter, which has been prepared by Mr. Price, does him much credit. It is precisely of the kind by which the Government has long desired that each survey report should be accompanied ; and copies of it will be sent, as soon as they can be prepared by the Chief Engineer, to the Superintendents of the Nasik and Southern Maratha Country Surveys, as showing the description of map which should, if possible, be submitted with the survey report of each district. * 3. On the question of the rates of assessment, whether they should be fixed at the scale adopted for the Ropla Division of this Taluka and for the Taluka of Mddha, i.e., 5 per cent, above those of Ind^pur, or at that adopted in Mohol, i.e., 10 per cent, above those of Indipur, His Honour in Council is rather disposed to side with Mr. Suart, who advocates the lower scale. The higher rates are supported by Mr. Price and Lieutenant Nash, and objected to by Mr. Suart on the grounds that the difference of the price of grain in the Subha Division is not general, and is likely to be tem¬ porary. You have given, the Governor in Council observes, but a cold support to the higher rates, to which you state in paragraph 5 that you see no great objection. 4. Mr. Suart’s arguments seem founded on reasonable grounds; and as the Inddpur Taluka is entirely bounded on the east and north-east by Karmala and M4dha, His Honour in Council considers it expedient that, unless there are very urgent reasons for a contrary measure, the rates along this line of bound¬ ary should be uniform; under this view the rates fixed for the Ropla Division should be extended to the whole taluka of Kar- m£la. 5. Deducting 5.per cent, from the estimate made of the rental of the cultivated jerayet by Mr. Price, Rs. 60,753, the amount will stand at Rs. 57,716. This, I am desired to notice, affords a slight increase ’of Rs. 437 above the collections for the year 1841-42, instead of Rs. 3,474 as calculated by you in the 8th paragraph of your letter under reply. 6. This decision will render unnecessary the consideration of the question treated in your 6th paragraph ; but with reference to the local position of the villages of the Subha Division, which Mr. Price and Lieutenant Nash have recommended to be admitted 477 to the lower rates of the Ropla Mdhal, you are requested to ascer- tain whether a more convenient distribution of the villages between the two divisions might not be made: according to the map it would appear that Kem and Malowri, and probably also Nim- bore, Wangi, Dokri, Bittargaon, and Surli, could be best managed from Ropla, while Mirgaon and Hewra are nearer to Karmtfla. 7. His Honour in Council approves of the bag4yet rate of Rs. 2 per acre, 8. The settlement of the Mks and perquisites of the district and village officers should, I am instructed to state, be made at the time of fixing the • jamdbandi according to new rates; and you are requested to call upon the officer in charge of the collectorate to explain why this process has not been carried on in the Ropla Division, and why also the bagdyet rates sanctioned have not been introduced there. The Governor in Council trusts that during the present jamdbandi settlement the introduction of the new system will be rendered complete in both the Subha and Mahal divisions. 9. I am on this occasion instructed to point out to you that Mr, Price’s report is unaccompanied by any statistical tables of useful information relative to the population, the numbers of cattle, ploughs, &c., &c., and, on this point, to refer you to the corres¬ pondence which took place on the subject on the occasion of your handing up, with your letter of the 31st January last, No. 84, the survey progress report of Lieutenant Davidson for 1841-42. I have, &c., L. R. REID, Chief Secretary. Bombay Castle, 12th October 1843. 478 No. 2297 of 1878. Nasik Districts, Camp Yeola, 13th December 1873. The papers herewith forwarded contain proposals by the Superintendent of the Poona and Ndsik Survey for a revision of the assessment of 93 villages belonging to the Kamilla Taluka of the Sholapur Colleetorate. 2. As shown by the statement in paragraph 4, there are altogether 123 villages in the district as now constituted, which are accounted for as follows :—; • Government villages for settlement as per Report... 93 Do. do. being former alienations which lapsed in 1869-70 ... ... ... ... 3* Do* do. transferred from the Ahmedna- gar Colleetorate in 1862-63, present lease of which has not yet expired ... ... ... 15 Total Government villages.... 108 Add—Alienated villages ... ... ... ... 15 Grand Total... 123 3. The subjoined statement shows the area of the 93 villages to be settled according to the recent and former survey:— Heads of Comparison. Government Land. Alienated Land.] Grand Total. Culturable assessed. ITncul- turable. Kuran. Gairan, Roads, &c, Total. Cultur¬ able. Uncul- turable. Total. Present survey 2,95,662 21,632 237 11,289 3,28,820 16,815 968 17,783 3,46,603 Former survey .. 2,71,892 39,676 304 17,383 3,29,255 15,767 1,497 17,264 3,46,519 Increase . .. 23,770 .... .... .... .... 1,048 .... 519 84 Decrease.. *• *• .. .... 18,044 67 6,094 435 r... 629 .... .... On examining this return! it will be observed that there is a difference of only 84 acres in the total area of the villages concern¬ ed as found by the two surveys. It will be noticed from the report that the former survey of this district was done in a more complete manner than had heretofore been adopted in the case of the earlier settled districts. This will, of course, have had some effect in bring¬ ing about the close agreement noticed above, but the work cannot be credited with the accuracy which the result of the comparison * These are to be settled, but their rates are not shown in the Report* - t Taken from Statement appended to Report* 479 of the two surveys exhibits ; for on examining the statement it will be seen that there are considerable differences of area under §ome heads, though the total of the whole combined agrees so closely. It would have been more satisfactory had the Superintendent re¬ viewed the results of this comparative area statement, and explain¬ ed the causes of the increase and decrease which it shows under particular heads. 4. In paragraph 9 the Superintendent gives an account of the manufacture of saltpetre, which is carried on in a rude and primi¬ tive manner to a limited extent in this district. He seems, how¬ ever, to think that it might be considerably increased and turned to a profitable account in supplying the Powder Works at Kirkee with the saltpetre they require. I should apprehend, however, from the inquiries I have made in the matter, that the works cannot be relied upon as a regular source of supply for the Powder Works. The officer in charge of the latter might, however, be referred to for an'estimate of the quantity annually required by him, and fur¬ nished with a sample of the different kinds manufactured in this district, and we should then be able to judge whether anything can be advantageously done by way of carrying out the Superintend¬ ent’s suggestion in the matter. 5. It may, I think, be said that.the district has been some¬ what neglected during the lease in regard to traffic requirements ; for until the construction of the railway, which passes nearly through the centre of it, not a single rupee had been spent in opening out communications for the export of produce; and now at the present day it has only one made road of about ten miles in length connect¬ ing the town of Karmdla with the railway at the Jeur Station. Karmdla has always been rather an important place of trade, and, as it is situated in the direct line of route from Sholapur to Ahmed- nagar, it seems to me to be a matter of some surprise that no at¬ tempt was made to connect these two stations by a made road dur¬ ing the, early period of the lease when Sholapur and Kagar were important military stations. 6. The railway no doubt now carries most of the produce to Poona and Bombay which used formerly to be exported from Kar¬ mdla to Bdrsi, Sholapur, and Nagar according to the range of prices at the respective markets. But there is still at times a not inconsiderable cart traffic passing through Karmdla from Sholdpur and Bdrsi, to Nagar; and I think the local funds might be advan¬ tageously expended in the construction of a road from Karmala to Bdrsi, whence there is already a made road to Sholdpur. 7. The proposed road would pass by Ropla, and might thence be taken across to the present line of road from the town of Barsi to the railway, and connected with it at a point near the Sina Bridge 4S0 in order to take advantage of that bridge for the river crossing. I commend the project to the district authorities as a desirable mea- c sure for opening out the traffic of this district and giving it easy access to the important markets of Barsi and Sholapur. The ex¬ tension of the road from Karmdla to Nagar might be left for future consideration. ' 8. In summing up the results of the statistical returns and of his information generally regarding the condition of this district, the Superintendent has come to the conclusion that it has not .im¬ proved so much as might have been expected after thirty years of a light assessment, and my own inquiries and observations lead me to think he is correct in the view he takes of the case. It certainly shows somewhat unfavourably as compared with the present state of the adjoining districts of the collectorate of which the settle¬ ment has been recently revised, but still if we examine the returns we find evident signs of improvement since the first settlement was introduced. 9. An increase of 24 per cent, in population, for instance, is para 5 not considerable, though somewhat less than might be looked for, as 1 per cent, per annum is the ordinary rate of increase in districts not afflicted by famine or affected by malarious influences as has been the case with this. 184 per cent, in carts is also a fair show of increase ; but it is in agricultural stock that the proportionate increase is less than was to be expected, being but 6 per cent., which is not at all commensurate with the extension of cultivation that has taken' place during the lease. 10. The Superintendent refers particularly to the deficient number of working cattle as one of the causes of the slovenly cul¬ tivation noticeable generally in the district, and there is no doubt the present stock of cattle is insufficient for the proper tillage of the land. There are, I am informed, many cases of cultivators holding 50 and 60 acres of land without a single work¬ ing bullock in their possession ; the land cannot, of course, be properly worked in cases like this, where a man has to trust to the chance of getting the use of bullocks in the sowing season. The uncertain and scanty rainfall, as mentioned by the Superintendent, is another cause of the bad system of tillage obtaining, but this is not peculiar to Karmdla, but affects almost all the districts of Sholapur, as I have before had occasion to notice. 11. One of the chief points showing the accumulation of capital to have been less than in other recently settled districts, is to be found in the comparatively small value attaching to the occu¬ pancy right of land. According to the information on this head given in paragraph 16, 10 rupees per acre for dry-crop and 46 481 per acre for garden land are the highest rates obtaining, whereas in Inddpur Taluka the value taken from deeds of sale is shown to be on the average about 17 years’ purchase of the assessment, and in Madka it was as high as 20 Rs. for jerayet and 80 for garden land, according to information taken from the same source. 12. It will be observed from his remarks in paragraph 18, the Superintendent attributes the circumstance of improvement not being so marked here as in adjoining districts “ to the uncer¬ tainty of the rainfall,” which he says renders the people “ careless in the preparation of their land and content to trust to the vicissi¬ tudes of the season, and also to the fact that many of the ryots hold more land than their means can enable them to cultivate.” He adds, however, that, “ whatever the cause may be, he has no reason to suppose that the comparative want of progress is in any way due to over-assessment, inasmuch as the average rate per acre has been only 6 pies higher than in the neighbouring taluka of Inddpur, the condition of which was so greatly improved by the introduction of the survey.” My own inquiries on this subject lead me to think that dealings with the sowkar, who seems to have retained more hold on the cultivators than in other districts, has been the retarding influence at work in this case. 13. But, notwithstanding the demands of the sowkar, the „ n. analysis of cultivation and collections during 1 the lease given by the Superintendent shows a steady and progressive increase of revenue from the introduction of the settlement, if we except a slight downward tendency from 1847 to 1850. From that time, however, cultivation rapidly in¬ creased, and at the close of the second decennial period there were only 758 acres of unoccupied waste. It is satisfactory also to find that the bad season of 1871-72, notwithstanding the small remis¬ sions given, amounting to Rs. 4,369, was followed by the relin¬ quishment of only 237 acres of land. 14. The summary of collections during the thirty-years’ lease which is to be found in para. 26 shows that in the first decade they fell short of the average annual payments of the five years Five years’average... 81,983 preceding the first settlement by about Average of 1st decade 78*488 3,495 rupees, but that in the next two decades they were 17,211 and 24,541, 3,495 respectively, in excess of the revenue of that period. In a financial point of view,.therefore, the old settle¬ ment has been quite as successful as it has been shown to be in any of the re-settled districts. 15. With regard to the proposed rates, the Superintendent * Paragraph 27. explains* that as Karmala lies between the Inddpur and M4dha talukas, of which the b 210—9 482 settlement has been revised, it'has, therefore, been merely a question with him as to whether the rates of the former or latter district- should be applied to it. In discussing this point he shows that Karm&la has advantages over Indapur, both in regard to rainfall and communications, but that it is inferior in both respects to MMha ; that it occupies, in fact, an intermediate place between the two; and after a full consideration of all the circumstances of the case he has come to the conclusion that Karmala should have a “maximum rate intermediate between that of M4dha and that of Inddpur and he, therefore, proposes to have a maximum of Es. 1-2-0, putting Jehur and Kem, which are railway station villages, under Es. 1-4-0. 16.I agree with the Superintendent that, for the reasons stated by him, the maximum rate for Karmala should be some¬ what lower than that fixed for M&dha, and am of opinion that his proposals are appropriate. I think, however, the case is not quite correctly stated in showing the Karmdla and Madha maximums to be Es. 1-2-0 and Es. 1-4-0 respectively, for these are both special rates applied to a few villages on account of proximity to railway. The comparison should have been made upon the general rates of the two districts, whieh are Es. 1-2-0 for M&dha and Es. 1 for Kar mala. Instead, therefore, of the maximum for the latter district being an intermediate one between that of M&dha and Indapur, as represented in the report, it is, in fact, the same as was imposed on the latter district. But, taking the case as here stated, I would not advocate any change in the proposals, as I think it is advisable to give a favouring turn in the scale of rates when we are re-settl¬ ing a district in which we find the improvement to be less than was to be expected under its former light assessment. 17.The only change that I would propose in the Superintend- . ht M . . x , ent’s grouping is to add the village of Deo- lan,* situated halt way between Karmala and Jehur and upon the road to the latter station, to Class II., and to t Bhose No. 34 of in°bide also the twof - small villages lying statement, and Pimpal- round the town of Karmdla, and being hamlets wadi, No. 67 of state- of the latter, under the same class. The Su- mont- perintendent approves of these modifications of his- proposals. He informs me, moreover, that it was his inten¬ tion at first to put the villages concerned under the class to which it is proposed they should now be added. 18.It is questionable perhaps whether Eopla, which is beyond the limit of distance fixed for Class II., should have been brought under the class, as it has become a place of no importance since the reduction of the M filial Katcheri which was formerly stationed there; but as I find the rate fixed for it gives 483 only a very moderate increase on former payments, I think it may be left as arranged by the Superintendent. I am also of opinion that Kem and Jehur would have been more appropriately ranged nnder the Rs. 1-2-0 rate with the other villages put under that class, .on account of proximity to railway. But as the increase in their case -under the Rs. 1-4-0 rate is also moderate, there is no occasion to interfere with the arrangement affecting them. 19. For the p^thasthal lands, which are of very limited extent, the statement showing a return of only 628 acres under this head, the Superintendent proposes to have a maximum water-rate of Rs. 3-12-0 per acre. This, however, can have been applied only in a few exceptional cases, as the whole assessment gives an average of but Rs. 1-9-9 per acre. I recommend the adoption of the Superintendent’s proposals for this kind of irrigation, which is confined to cold-weather crops. 20. I consider the rate of Rs. 3 per acre which the Super- ntendent proposes for rice land to be appropriate. The cultivation js poor and insignificant in extent, comprising only 34 acres. 21. The usual plan of imposing only the maximum jerayet rate on lands irrigated by wells will be adopted in this district. 22. The assessment by proposed rates will amount to Rs. 1,47,757 upon the area under cultivation, which, as shown below, is an increase of Rs. 40,860 on the present demand :— Head of Comparison. Assessment. Total. On cultiva¬ tion of 1872-73. On Waste. Proposed settlement 1,47,757 639 1,48,396 Present do. 1,06,897 239 1,07,136 Increase 40,860 400 41,260 Being about 38 per cent. The increase, it will be observed, is considerably less than has resulted from the settlement of the adjoining district of M&dha. This is owing almost entirely to the adoption of a higher standard of classification at the first settlement than was carried out in the former district. The Superintendent notices particularly in para¬ graph 29 the careful manner in which the Karmala classification was done, and its close agreement with our present scale of valuation. The contrasted statement also furnishes evidence on 484 this point; for it will be seen, on examining the percentage in¬ creases shown under column 19, that there are several cases in ■ which the revised settlement is under 20, and a few in which it is under 10 per cent, in excess of the present assessment. The difference between the former and present maximum rates *is 21 percent, in villages where the 1-rupee rate is now fixed, and ~ 36 where the Rs. 1-2 is to be applied. The present and former classification may, therefore, be said to agree in all cases where the increase is not in excess of the percentage difference between the maximum rates adopted at the respective settlements. s 23. It will * Paragraph 8- be seen from the Collector’s remarks* in re¬ viewing the proposals, that he supposes the matter of the percentage increase being con¬ siderably less in Karm41 a than in Madha to be attributable to deductions for pot kharab having been made in Karmala and not made in Mitdha. As a proof, however, that he is entirely wrong in supposing that there was any difference in the practice followed in the classification of the two districts in respect to kharab deduc¬ tions, I would call attention to the following statement, showing the area deducted as unculturable in the two districts, which is as follows:— District. Culturable Area. Area deducted as unculturable. Total Area. Percentage of uneul- turable to total area- Madha... 8,39,967 22,565 3,62,512 Karmala 2,95,662 21,632 3,17,294 6f 24. The close agreement of within one-half per cent, in the proportion of area deducted as unculturable in the respective districts which this statement exhibits, affords conclusive evidence of the Collector being in error in supposing the comparatively smaller rate of increase in Karmdla to be due to the cause indi¬ cated by him. But as it might perhaps be asserted that the agreement affords no proof of the work being correctly done in either case, I would mention that I am informed by the Superin- tendendent that the Classing Assistant was particularly enjoined to be most careful in his kharab deductions in Karmala, and that he has satisfied himself by personal examination of the correctness of this part of the work. But as the question raised by the Collector does not affect the Karmrila settlement, I need not go further into it in this place, nor need I notice the remarks in which he represents the rates on the poor soils of Madha to have been 485 left very nearly as they were before, whilst the rates on the inferior soils were much enhanced; except to mention that the statement is at variance with the facts of the- case, which I shall be able to No. 4804, dated 23rd show in the report about to be submitted August 1873. . regarding certain matters affecting the Madha settlement referred to in the Resolution marginally given. 25. Reverting to the consideration of the proposed settle¬ ment, it is questionable, perhaps, whether a somewhat higher rate of increase ought not to be adopted, especially when we look to the rise in prices, which has been quite as great here as in the other districts already settled. For, according to the information on the subject given in paragraph 19, the average price of jow&ri and bdjri for the first 15 years of the settlement, from 1843 to 1857 inclusive, “was 56 and 45 seers respectively, whilst that for the 10 years comprised between 1858 and 1862 and 1868 to 1872 was 31 and 25, being a percentage increase on price of 80 per cent, on both grains.” 26. But as Karmala, as has been before mentioned, has not improved to the extent expected after the enjoyment of light rates for thirty years, I think it will be admitted that it is not expedient to impose a higher scale of rates than it should bear, according to the general standard adopted at the revision of adjoining districts for the purpose of bringing up the percentage incrase to thee same rate as has been imposed in those cases. We have evidence, moreover, that it is not being assessed relatively lower than other re-settled districts under the proposed settlement, its average rate being 8 annas, whereas the Indapur average is but 7 annas 6 pies. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 149 of 1874. Kaladgi District, Camp Htmgund, 14tk Jamtary 1874. Memorandum. The Revenue Commissioner, S. D., has the honour to submit 1. From the Superintendent, Revenue Survey, No. Correspondence as 921, dated 3rd October 1873, and accompaniments. 2. From the Collector of Sholapur, No. 2695, dated 25tb November 1873, and accompaniment, 8. From the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., No. 2297, dated 13th December 1873. mala Taluka of the ShoMpur Collectorate. per margm, con¬ taining proposals for the revised as¬ sessment of 93 villages in the Kar- 486 2. The report of the Superintendent, Colonel Waddington, and its accompaniments, supply a valuable analysis of the cultivation and collections for some years previous to the introduction of the Sur¬ vey Settlement in 1842-48 and 1843-44, and during the progress of the thirty-years’ lease. An account of the climate and rainfall is also furnished, agreeing, in general features, with the observations recorded by the earlier pioneers -of the - revenue survey system. The return of the rainfall for nine years in Colonel Waddington’s 17th paragraph* shows an average for Karmala very much in ex¬ cess of Indapur, and very little less than the average rainfall for those years of Mddha Taluka in ShoMpur, and Karjat in Ahmed- nagar, the former lying to the south, and the latter to the north, of Karmdla. . 8. The valuable statistical table showing the comparative numbers of the population, houses, wells, cattle, &c., in the Kar- m41a Taluka in 1842-43 and 1872-73, is properly regarded as not indicating so large an increase in general prosperity as has been . observed in other of the revised districts. . • 4. These points have been reviewed by the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement in his paragraphs 9 @14 ; and, in expressing general concurrence in Colonel Francis’ remarks, the Revenue Commissioner does not deem it desirable to make further repetition of details. One of the worst features of the present agricultural position of the district is that specially noticed in Colonel Francis’ 10th para., the small increase of 6 per cent, in the stock of agri¬ cultural cattle. The Revenue Commissioner believes that the pau¬ city of the population, 125 to the square mile, and the other feature of land being held in excess of the means of the cultivators, will be found to tally more nearly with the Nagar Districts since the early survey settlements and the Ind4pur Taluka in Poona than with the more southern talukas of Sholapur, which approach the Carnatic, and the more densely-populated talukas of the Satara Collectorate. The conditions point to a necessity for caution in raising the assessment, and the Revenue Commissioner believes that this has been duly observed in the proposals now submitted. 5. In paragraph 3 of the Survey and Settlement Commis¬ sioner’s Memorandum there is an abstract of the area under dif¬ ferent heads of the whole area of the 93 villages according to the present and former surveys. Notwithstanding the apparent omis¬ sion on the part of the Superintendent, as noticed by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, to review the results of the com¬ parative area statement, and the causes of increase and decrease under different heads, the main facts are simple enough. In an area 487 of nearly 350,000 acres the new measurements give an increase of 84 acres, and there are 519 more acres at present shown as Indm or alienated than at the time of the pervious survey. Without explanation, it is not practicable to state from what causes this in¬ crease of alienation has arisen. But the principal feature is the increase of culturable area of 23,770 acres of Government land due entirely to land formerly deducted as “kharab” or unculturable, being now brought under assessment, these gross figures being again somewhat reduced by the increased area thrown into kurans, gairan or village grazing ground, roads, &c., under the operations of the recent survey. 6; In paragraph 22 of the memorandum of the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement will be found the comparative total as¬ sessment of the 93 villages under the former survey and that which is now submitted for the sanction of Government. The former total, inclusive of a trifling area of waste, assessed at Rs. 239, is Rs. 1,07,133, and the new total, inclusive of Rs. 639, the new as¬ sessment of the waste isRs. 1,48,396, representing an enhancement of Rs. 41,260, or about.38 per cent. 7. In his 25th and 26th paragraphs, Colonel Francis reviews the question of former and present prices, of which very useful de¬ tails are furnished by the Superintendent; and while apparently leaning to a doubt, from the comparison of prices, whether a some¬ what higher rate of increase ought not to be adopted, the. Commis¬ sioner finally recommends for sanction the more moderate rates, which the total above mentioned represents. In this recommend¬ ation, inclusive of the slight modification in Colonel Francis’s 17th paragraph, the Revenue Commissioner entirely concurs, and ob¬ serves that the Collector in his 7th paragraph regards the enhance¬ ment as very reasonable, “ considering how the value of money has decreased since 1842-43.” 8. The Collector appears to have fallen into an error in his 8th and 10th paragraphs regarding a large portion of the former “ kharab ” or unculturable area having been brought to account in Madha, and not in Karmdla, and attributing to this cause the dif¬ ference of the total enhancement, 75 per cent, for M4dha and 38 per cent, for Karm41a. This error has been corrected in Colonel Francis’s 23rd paragraph. It is probable that whereas in both M4dha and Karm&la formerly deducted land has been brought under assessment as follows :— Former area assessed as culturable. Acres 3,04,367 „ 2,77,618 “Kharab"’ or unculture* able brought under assessment. 35,600 18,044 Proportion of newly assessed land to former assessed area. 11*4 6-5 Mddha... Karmala 488 and there is still an area deducted as unculturable in proportion to the new assessed area as shown in Colonel Francis’s 23rd para- graph, Mr. Bosanquet may have been quite in error as to the C precise modus operandi described by him, and yet not been very wide of the mark as to the fact of the proportion of former “ kharab,” or unculturable, now brought under assessment, and to the mode of assessment of the same being potential elements in the relative proportion of increase in the assessments, of the two talukas, Miidha and Karmala. 9. But while recognizing this error, and the correction, the Revenue Commissioner is compelled to call attention to the fact in much the same manner as the Collector, that when in paragraph 9 of his report No. 1441, dated 13th April 1871, the Revenue Commissioner submitted a qualified assent to the revised assessment then proposed for the M4dha Taluka, though fully aware of the large area of land previously held free befog then brought under assessment, he was entirely uninformed regarding the dispropor¬ tionate and extraordinary additions which the revised assessment would impose on separate villages, and the still more extraordinary and, as regards the general rate of enhancement, more dispropor¬ tionate additions which the revised assessment would impose on individual fields. It was not until the revised assessment for 53 villages in Bhimthari in the Poona Collectorate were submitted for the sanction of Government, that the degree of variation of incidence, even on separate villages, became apparent, an explana¬ tion was afforded in paragraphs 25 @ 28 of the report of Colonel Francis, No. 1636, dated 28th November 1871, which traced the cause to the faulty classification of the previous survey, 10. It was not even then known to what an extent the former assessment oq individual survey fields had been multiplied by the revised assessments. It is this feature in the revision, which though susceptible of the explanation furnished by the Survey Department, has caused wide-spread dismay among ryots of all classes, from the merchant who has invested in land as a good speculation and permanently safe security for money, to the poorest cultivator who, with one pair of bullocks, or perhaps not even that amount of agricultural stock, has under the former light assessment been holding an extent of land, the proper cultivation of which is quite beyond his means. Doubtless also it is the same explanation which has induced Government to over-rule the objections from time to time raised by the Revenue Commis¬ sioner to this prominent feature in the revision assessments. 489 11. In connection with this subject, the undersigned begs * Para. 8—‘ ‘ It is only lately that I have become aware that, while the rates on the good soils were left very nearly as they were before, the rates on the very inferior soils were much enhanced.” Para. 11.—“ Persons who have spoken to me re¬ garding the new rates in other talukas have 'said that no discontent would have arisen had the rates been raised proportionately all round, instead'of having been left nearly the same on superior land, and raised so heavily on inferior land.” to invite attention to the following extracts *from paras. 8 and 11 of Mr. Bosanquet’s accompanying report. 12.TheRevenue Commissioner is aware that the theory of the Survey Department is the very reverse of the above, and the Revenue Commissioner has prominently recognized (para. 4 of memorandum 9, dated 3rd January 1872, transmitting the revision report of 53 villages in Bhimthari) with concurrence the desirableness at revision of raising the assessment of the best class land in a higher proportion than that of the lower classes, which has been the expressed object of the Survey Officers. But it is difficult to avoid some degree.of credence to the general opinion of practical cultivators opposed to that of the official theory, which now finds expression in the opinion of the Collector of Sholapur. 13. It is quite comprehensible that, owing to errox'S in the previous classification of the talukas of Mddha, Sholdpur, Pan- dharpur, and Bdrsi in Sholapur, and of Bhimthari in Poona, which did not exist in Karmdla, the proportions of enhancement, which would arrive by the increase of maximum, are more rarely exceed¬ ed in Karm&la than in the other districts mentioned; but the Revenue Commissioner believes, from recent personal inspection, that there have been a great many cases of over-assessment in fields in the Bdrsi Taluka, and from general information that there are many similar instances in the other talukas above named. It should, however, be clearly understood that the enhancements in the cases referred to, as having been necessary in Sholdpur and certain adjoining villages, in para. 19 of Colonel Prancis’s report No. 436, dated 30th March 1872, are recognized as* quite excep¬ tional, and not liable to the general criticism now submitted for consideration of higher authority. 14. As respects Karmdla, the Revenue Commissioner has great pleasure in pointing out that the statement contrasting pre¬ sent and proposed assessment for the different villages of Karmdla, shows few cases of enhancement very much in excess of the general rate of the taluka, and that in certain exceptional cases a satisfactory explanation is furnished in Colonel Waddington’s 30 para. Jakla should apparently be substituted for “ Nimbore ” at the end of para. 30. 15. The^ Revenue Commissioner sees reason to believe, from the remarks in Colonel Waddington’s, 29th paragraph, and in b 210—10 • 490 Colonel Francis’ 19tli and 24tli paragraphs, and the general moderate increase of the rate per acre in individual villages, that when due allowance is made for the increase of maximum and the bringing to account the “ kharab,” formerly deducted as uncultur- able, the settlement, now submitted for approval, will be found to contain few, if any, of the startling enhancements of assessment on inferior soils, which have, it is understood, principally tended to render the other settlements generally unpopular. Assuredly, the general rate of enhancement is the most moderate yet recom¬ mended for the Sholdpur District. The experience of two years can afford no sure criterion for assessment, but -jowdri has remained since last year lower than the rate of 26 seers per rupee, and that grain is now cheaper in Sholdpur than it has been since 1861-62, the year in which the price of cotton during the American War began to tell upon the relative value of money and agricultural produce and labour to the extraordinary extent illustrated in the comparison of averages of the 2nd and 3rd decades of Colonel Waddington’s statement of the priees of grain. . 16. The following is a comparative statement for the different talukas of Sholapur which have undergone revision of the Jerayet maxima, the average rate per acre, and the increase per cent, of total assessment, also the maximum and the average rate per acre as closely as they can be ascertained under the former survey :— MMha. Sholapur. Pandliarpur.* R&rsi. Karm&la, Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Maximum Jerayet rates in classes ... *14 0 11 8 0 1 2 0 {1.8 0 §1 4 0 12 0 16 0 16 0 1 2.0 [14 0 ... 14 0 1 0 0 ... 12 0 — 12 0 ... Average rate per ®ere. 0 9 4 0 11 4 0 11 1 0 11 9 0 8 0 Percentage increase. 77 77 74 .66 38 Maximum Jerayet • rate of former Survey 0 13 2 10 0 ... 10 0 0 12 7i 0 12 71 0 14 0 ... 0 16 2f Average rate per acre of former Survey ... 0 G 1 O o 0 6 6 0 7 6 0 6 0 • 15 villages only. + One village only (Barsi). f Only 1 village (Sholapnr). $ Two villages only (Keim, Jcliur). 491 17. Now, if these figures are correct, or approximately cor¬ rect, they show not only that the enhancement for the whole taluka in each case, except Karmala, is much greater than the percentage increase' of the maximum and somewhat greater than the percent¬ age enhancement per acre, which is capable of simple explanation by the increase of the number of acres due to the land newly brought under assessment ; but they prove also that the new average classification is higher than the old in all except Karm&la, and that this result is not due to former very low classifications, which have a singular uniformity of system, but to new high clas¬ sifications in all except Karmala. I.—Karmala. j Former average classification ... 7 6 Present do. . ... 7 6 II.—M&dha. | Former Present do, do. ... 7 6 ... 8 4 ■ III.—Sholdpur. ^ | Former Present do. do. 7 6 9 1 IV.—Pandharpur. j Former* Present do. do. 7 10 9 10 V.—Barsi. j Former Present do. do. 7t 6 9{ 5 I. Karmala.—The former maximum is taken from the re- ports at an average of 13 annas, which, at an average assessment per acre of 6 annas, gives an average classification of 7 annas 6 pies. The present maximum, leaving out two villages of Kem and Jehur, is taken at a medium rate of 1 rupee and 1 anna, which with an average rate per acre of 8 annas, gives an average classifi¬ cation of 7 annas 6J pies, or much the same as the former average classification. * Estimate. t The classification should he on one rupee maximum with an assessment of 7 annas 6 pies per acre (vide paragraph 16 of Captain Wingate’s report No. 122, dated 16th September 1840) 7 annas 6 pies, but Colonel Wadding ton has taken it at 8 annas. The relative difference of Former. Present. 7 annas 6 pies, 9 annas 5 pies 8 ” . 8 » .U » is very great, hut in classification even the lesser difference is anything but a “ homeopathic’’ one. ° I Colonel Waddington shows the present average in paragraph 24 of his letter No. a-564, dated 14th August 1872, to be 8 annas and 11 pies, but this is believed to be an average of the averages of the different classes under different maxima, and this, is much in excess of Captain Wingate’s average, the former classification being credited with Captain Wingate’s personal supervision. 492 II. Madha.—The former maximum is taken from the reports at an average of 13 annas, which, at an average assessment per acre of 6 annas and 1 pie, gives an average classification of 7 annas and 6 pies. • The present maximum, leaving out 15 special villages, is 1 rupee and 2 annas, which, with an average assessment per acre of 9 annas and 4 pies, gives an average classification of 8 annas and 4 pies, or somewhat in excess of the old classification. III. Sholdpmr.—The former maximum is taken from the reports at an average of 15 annas, which, at an average assessment per acre of 7 annas, gives an average classification 7 annas and 6 • pies. The present maximum, leaving out Sholapur (which has a special rate), is taken at the medium of 1 rupee 4 annas, which, with an average assessment per acre of 11 annas and 4 pies, gives an average classification of 9 annas. IV. Pandharpur.—The former maximum is taken from the records at an average of 13 annas, which, at an average rate per acre of 6 annas and 6 pies, gives an average classification of 7 annas and 10 pies. The present maximum for Pandharpur is Rs. 1-2-0, which, with an average assessment per acre of 11 annas 1 pie, gives an average classification of 9 annas and 10 pies. . Y. Bdrsi.~The former maximum was 1 rupee, which at an average assessment per acre of 7 annas 6 pies, gives an average classification of 7 annas 6 pies. The present maximum of Bfirsi, leaving out the town of Bar si itself, may be taken at the medium rate of 1 rupee 4 annas, which, at an average assessment per acre of 11 annas and 9 pies, gives an average classification of 9 annas and 5 pies. The argument, which as a logical sequence presents itself from these figures, is that the average classification has been in¬ creased in each case, except Karmala. But the total quotient of the new operation ought, from the fact of there being introduced the new element of many thousand acres of the worst soils, for¬ merly deducted as unculturable, to contain a large number of classifications of a very low calibre, and if in the face of this indis¬ putable fact the average classification exhibits an increase, one or other of the following conclusions is inevitable, either the newly- assessed land has not been put into a sufficiently low class, such as from its nature was imperatively demanded, or the rest of the land 493 lias been classified so highly that it would, but for the modifying ele¬ ment of the newly-assessed land, hold even a higher classification than that which has been shown upon the general average to be in excess of the former general classification. There is a qualifying element in the maximum Jerayet rate applied to land formerly assessed for Yirhunda on account of wells, but such land is gene¬ rally of a high class, and the number of acres would not very materially affect the above deduction. 18. Having expressed himself favourably of the proposals for Karmdla, the Revenue Commissioner trusts he will not require any excuse for reverting to his mistrust of some features in the other settlements in connection with the comparison above present¬ ed.; and his belief that if Government are once convinced that there have been, careless assessments in some cases, or misap¬ plication of the system of classification, some method of rectifica¬ tion will still be allowed. The question can only be solved by criticism of th§ details of the classification, which', through its graduated action on the maximum, establishes the rates of assess¬ ment. Mr. Bosanquet has in his 9th para, invited attention to the fact that Mr. Price in 1842-43 reported his rates of assessment on nine different classes of land, whereas the papers now submitted for revision settlements show only the maximum. 19. The scale of classification of the old Nasik Survey is published in Government Selection No. CXXX., supplied to all Gov¬ ernment offices ; the scale of classification of the joint report is published in the volume of “Official correspondence relative to the system of revenue survey and assessmentbut the precise scale of classification adopted in the recent revisions is not published, though frequent allusion to its superiority is found in the corres¬ pondence. 20. In paragraphs 15 and 16 of memorandum No. 311 of 1872 from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., pages 62 and 63 of Selection No! CXXX., it is explained that, owing to a change in the classification, the much lower maximum for Chan- dor and Niphad Talukas in Nasik gave a higher average result than the lower maximum for Chalisgaon in Khandesh. The maximum for the 1st class of the former was Rupees ... 2 4 0 , for Chalisgaon ... ... ... ... ... 2 8 0 yet the average of the 1st class of the former was... 1 11 8 and for Chalisgaon ... _ ... ... ... 1 0 3 or in the inverse direction of the maximum, but much in excess even of the “ inverse ratio.” See also comparison of Chalisgaon and Niphid rates at page 76 of Selection CXXX. 494 This at least proved that the land in the very highest class did not receive that high assessment in Chandor and Niph4d that it did in Chalisgaon, and that the higher average was obtained by raising other classes than the highest class of land, though it may not have been the lowest class which was thus raised. The facts mentioned in Mr. Bosanquet’s present 9th paragraph regarding re¬ lative maximum conjoined with other incidental matters which have come under observation, and with the very general opinion of the cultivators, lead to an impression that the object of the Survey Officers recognized in theory, and authoritatively approved in para¬ graph 4 of Government Resolution No. 1031, dated 21st February 1873, may possibly have been missed in practice. It may be that much of the best land has been assessed at the highest rate, and yet that much which is of a middling quality and dependent on an abundant rainfall, rarely obtained, for its productiveness has, by the revision of classification, or by a relatively high classification on the newly-assessed land, whereas it was before left rent-free as unculturable, or by the joint operation of these causes, been made liable to assessment more than double that of the previous survey, and which in fact on an .average of seasons it cannot well pay. It is to land not of the highest class to which the Revenue Commis¬ sioner believes much of the land formerly deducted as “ kharab,” and now assessed, would, from the nature of the case, be found to be attached. 21. Adverting to the remarks regarding unculturable area of the old survey brought to account at the revision in paragraph 8, it is worthy of note that Mr. Grant, Acting Superintendent of Survey, in paragraph 36 of his report on the M4dha revision, No. 40, dated 12th January 1871, estimated the assessment on the 35,600 acres of former “ kharab,” or unculturable, at 9 annas 4 pies per acre on the average assessment per acre of the whole taluka. It is not intended to be deduced from the above that this new culti¬ vation was, on an average, assessed at the rate mentioned, or any¬ thing very near it ; but the inadvertent remark of the Acting Su¬ perintendent shows the bias of his mind which is further illustrated by the following quotation from page 13 of Selection CXXX :— “ Mr. Grant (under whose superintendence the revision opera¬ tions were effected) writes thus on the subject “ of the old classi- cation as compared with the revised valuation” : “ Soils from the 3rd class downwards were entered fully two classes too low in the former valuation, and the 8th and 9th orders of soil were very commonly entered as kharab.” Add the following quotation from Colonel Francis at page 67 of the same compilation :— 495 “ But as we know from experience that the Khandesh stan¬ dard is from 2 or 3 annas lower in the rupee or datum scale than that now in use and according to which our revision settlements are being fixed, we should be unduly increasing the assessment of Chdndor and Niplhtd, were we to calculate it upon the Chalisgaon maximum rate.” 22. Now what is this revised scale which, though increasing the rate on the higher soils, eschews a maximum which was applied to Chdlisgaon, and which, though perhaps having one class lower than the 2 annas class of the joint report scale, finds “ soils from the 3rd class downwards ”* of the N&sik scale (3rd class 10J . annas) “ fully two classes too low, ” and “ that the Khandesh standard is from 2 or 3 annas lower in the rupee or datum scale than that now in use ?” 23. The question to be solved is, apparently, this :—why, when the survey designed to increase the rate on superior soils and lower it on the lowest, the Collector, his Assistants, and the ryots of ShoMpur say that the rates have been left nearly the same on superior land, and largely raised on inferior lands ? The question is certainly not soluble without a careful examination of the new system of classification, and its practical application to a number of fields compared with the old classification, which has been superseded, and its application to the same fields. The solu¬ tion which is suggested in the absence of a single opportunity as yet obtained for the comparison, is that there has b,een an increase in the highest class, and that there may have been though this is very problematical, a decrease in the lowest, which corresponds with the theory, and that the application of the revised classifica¬ tion at too high a rate on the former unculturable, and, on the lands generally lower than the highest to which the former uncul¬ turable is often attached, has unduly raised the medium and lower lands, and brought about the abnormal state of things, which in the opinion of the Revenue Commissioner demands further in quiry. ' - 24. On account, then, of misgivings regarding the revised assessment in other talukas, which has been painfully brought to the Revenue Commissioner’s personal notice, and not on account of the assessment of Karmala now submitted to Government with very cordial concurrence, the Revenue Commissioner respectfully solicits permission that he be allowed to put himself in communica¬ tion with the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, Northern Division, on the points at issue, and that the head of the Survey Department be requested to place at his disposal for examination any of the details of the system of classification in force which lie may apply for. 496 25. It may be that by this means the Revenue Commissioner may be placed in a position to be not only convinced himself but to , convince others, and especially the Collector and Assistant Col¬ lectors, 'who are daily in communication with the cultivators, that the impression stated in the extract contained in paragraph 11 of this memorandum is a mistaken one, or, he may, if there be truth in the impression, be able on the other hand to convince the Head of the Survey Department that there is a real grievance to be remedied. 26. The Revenue Commissioner begs leave to endeavour to remove an impression which he fears from Government Resolu¬ tion Ho. 1031, dated 21st February 1873, his remarks generally advocating moderation and a limit of enhancement have caused. 27. It had been always the desire of the Revenue Commission¬ er, though he had been early trained to the study of the joint report and the system of classification of soils and assessment laid down therein, whatever opinions he might hold on the precisely best method of classification, to limit his observations, as far as possible, to the general incidence of the assessment with reference to prices, markets, climate, &c., leaving the details of classification on the stated maximum for the different classes of jerayet land entirely to the survey officers. The reasons for over-stepping the bounds of etiquette by which the undersigned is usually guided in survey questions, are the great discontent caused by the revised assessment in many villages, and the belief that in some instances there are just grounds for dissatisfaction and complaint. 28. The Revenue Commissioner believes that his views were very much in subordinate correspondence with those express¬ ed by Government in the earlier part of paragraph 4 of Govern¬ ment Resolution No. 5495, dated 3rd October 1873, and he readily admits that this advocacy of a check on the discretion of the sur¬ vey officers, pointed out in the latter part of paragraph 4, can only be supported after reading that recorded opinion of Government upon the assumption that the survey settlements have, in some cases, failed to introduce the system of classification and assess¬ ment based on that classification, which is known to be generally approved by Government, and is specifically laid down in para¬ graph 4 of Government Resolution No. 1031, dated 21st February- 1873. 29. It is represented that in many instances the old defect of the survey settlements has not been remedied by lowering the classification of the worst soils, though the classification of the superior soils bas been raised, and that, in fact, the assessment of 497 the land formerly classed as “ kharab” or unculturable, added to the enhancement of the rates on soils, not of the lowest, but also not of the highest, and which may be conveniently called the < middling class, has had the effect of raising the rates of the mid¬ dling and bad soils in a greater proportion than the best soils, and that the assessment is, in many cases, oppressive and such as can¬ not be paid on the average of good and bad years without undue pressure. 30. Complaints of this kind have been, for some time, press¬ ed on the notice of the Revenue Commissioner, and he has lately, in a tour through the revised district of B4rsi, come upon several instances of assessment which appear to support the complaints. The Revenue Commissioner is aware how difficult it is to test complaints of this kind, and he would not venture to give them his official support in a representation to Government without first conferring with the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement, were it not that in order to do this effectively the fullest technical information needs to be held available; the Revenue Commissioner therefore begs that the question may as yet be regarded as under consideration, and solicits attention to the application in his 24th paragraph regarding details of assessment including classi¬ fication. 31. The Revenue Commissioner begs, with much deference, to point out that he thinks there must have been some error in printing, or omission in the figures at the latter part of paragraph 4 of Government Resolution No. 1031, dated 21st February 1873. The good field classed under the old system at 14 annas on a maximum of 12 annas would have an assessment of 10 annas 6 pies, and the bad field classed at 4 annas on the same maximum would have an assessment of 3 annas. According to the new sys¬ tem therein mentioned, the classification on a maximum raised to 1 rupee would give, for the good land at a classification of 16 annas, a rate of 1 rupee, and for the bad land, at a classification of 2 annas, a rate of 2 annas. The relative assessments would thus be :— Former, New Good land. Us* a. p. 0 10 6 10 0 Bad land* Total of both lands. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. 0 3 0 0 13 6 0 2 0 1 2 0 and the increase would be 4 annas 6 pies, or about 33 instead of 50 per cent., and would, in the opinion of the Revenue Com¬ missioner, be equitable and otherwise unexceptionable. If it should so happen that a piece of good land is found which, under 8 210—11 498 the old classification, ought to have been assessed at 10 annas 6 pies, but through fraud or error was assessed at 5 annas only, the Revenue Commissioner would see no objection on this account to its being raised by the new classification to one rupee or more than 200 per cent, increase in that case. This is not the kind of enhancement which the Revenue Commissioner, deprecates, but the more general one, which it is believed to be due to careless or ill-adapted classification of middling and bad soils. 32. But the Revenue Commissioner does not desire, and never did desire, absolutely to limit the increase to 50 per cent., but only to make this a guiding rule, requiring good and sufficient reason to be assigned for exceptional cases of which, no doubt, many can be found. 83. The Revenue Commissioner trusts that these recom¬ mendations are in accordance with the principle laid down in the early part of paragraph 4 of Government Resolution No. 5495, dated 3rd October 1873. It must be admitted that, if discretion were altogether refused to the survey officers, there would arise danger of the indisputably proper conditions laid down in the latter part of paragraph 4 of the Government Resolution not being fully attained; but, on the other hand, Colonel Francis has, in paragraphs 24 and 28 of his report No. 1636, dated 28th November 1871, on the Bhimthari villages, shown how this discretion can be regulated in theory, and in his recent proposals for certain villages of Bhim¬ thari and Purandhar, on which Government Resolution No. 6377, dated 22nd November 1873, was passed, and those now submitted for Karmdla, shown how that discretion can be regulated in prac¬ tice. It is thus believed that, with the exercise of more moderation as regards the lands newly brought to assessment, which is essen¬ tially a judicious application of the principle regarding superior and inferior lands laid down in paragraph 4 of Government Resolu¬ tion No. 1031, dated 21st February 1873,the entire objects prescrib¬ ed by Government might be secured, and much of the suffering and discontent with which the district officers actually in contact with the cultivators in the revised districts of Sholdpur, Mddha, and B&rsi are becoming daily more painfully acquainted, might be removed. . 34. It is presumed that the maximum jerayet rate on land irrigated from wells, mentioned in paragraph 22 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum, refers only to wells constructed before the com¬ mencement of the late thirty years’ lease. 35. The Revenue Commissioner respectfully states his con¬ currence in the recommendation in .Colonel Francis’ fifteenth para- 499 graph regarding the Pathasthal rates, and in his 16th paragraph regarding the rate of Rs. 3 per acre for the very small area of rice land. Adverting to paragraph 31 of Colonel Waddington’s letter, the Revenue Commissioner has no doubt that the rates personally fixed by the Superintendent on each separate field -will be suitable rates ; but he would suggest that the rules of the department re¬ ferred to should be made public, so that revenue officers should have an opportunity of following the proceedings of the experts of the Survey Department. 36. There are some details in Colonel Waddington’s para¬ graphs 15 and 16 relative to the method of sub-letting land for cul¬ tivation and the prices for which in Karmala the occupancy of dry- crop and garden lands is sold. There appears to have been less of the investment in land at high prices, of which conspicuous in¬ stances have been adduced in several previous revision repoi’ts. The Revenue Commissioner believes that a wider extension of similar statistics in the other talukas of Sholapur and Poona, un¬ less in the immediate vicinity of the large towns, would collect a much more moderate estimate of the purchase value of land than would be derived from the small range for calculating average previously furnished. 37. It is suggested that the statistics of the saltpetre manu¬ facture in Karmala, furnished in Colonel Waddington’s report, be referred to the Superintendent of the Government Powder Works, as recommended in Colonel Francis’ fourth paragraph. 38. It is feared that there is ground for the complaint in Colonel Francis’ fifth paragraph relative to the want of communica¬ tions for carrying the Karmala surplus produce previous to the con¬ struction of the railway. But there was in earlier times great difficulty in obtaining funds for cross roads. The Local Fund road from Karma, 1a to the station of Jehur on the G. I. P. Rail¬ way is now the real outlet for the taluka. Paragraph 6 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum will be forwarded to the Collector and Presi¬ dent, ShoMpur Local Funds Committee, for consideration of the recommendations therein contained, and the same shall have the attention of the undersigned: but Karmala has its own separate line of trade with one part of the Nizam’s Territory, for another part of which B4rsi is the emporium, and seeks for outlet rather by the railway or the roads through Nagar and Poona to the west than back upon B4rsi and ShoMpur. At present the Karmala Taluka Local Funds can find very full employment on the sec¬ tion between Karm&la and the railway at Jehur, which requires expensive improvements to make it fit for cart traffic in the mon¬ soon, without which it cannot be classed as a satisfactory railway feeder. J 500 39. It is respectfully suggested that if the proposed rates are approved by Government, the Survey and Settlement Com¬ missioner be requested to prepare a notification, as ordered in Government Eesolution No. 4684, dated 22nd September 1871, for publication in the Government Gazette. W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, Southern Division. No. 707. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 7th February 1874. Resolution.—These papers refer to proposals for the revision of the assessment in the ninety-three Government villages com¬ prised in the Karmdla Taluka. 2. Judging from the statistics relating to agricultural stock and to the selling price of occupancies, this taluka has not made, during the period of the past settlement, the progress in the direction of material prosperity that might have been expected, and is represented to have taken place in the adjoining talukas. The increase in the number of stock is shown to be only 6 per cent.; dry-crop land is saleable at from 1 to 10 rupees; garden at from Rs. 15 to Rs. 46 per acre ; and the cultivators are repre- - sented to be heavily in debt and callous and indifferent as to. the results of their labours, feeling assured that a good harvest will only benefit their creditors and not themselves. 3. There is, however, another side to the picture, which is to be found in the steady and progressive increase in the cultiva- tion, and in the amount of revenue realized during the period of the settlement, and in the value of produce. The increase in the revenue in each decade during the last thirty years is thus shown:— Ten years from 1843-44 to 1852-53 Rs. 78,488 Ditto 1853-54 to 1862-63 „ 99,194 Ditto 1863-64 to 1872-73 „ 1,06,524 During these three decades the prices of the two principal staples, jowari and bajri, were respectively (1) 64 and 50, (2) 40 and 33, and (3) 21 and 17 seers. 501 4. Considering the condition o£ the taluka, it is satisfac¬ tory to find that the proposals now submitted will result in a comparatively moderate increase. Under the former assessment, a maximum of 315 reas, or Rs. 0-12-7^, was adopted in the case of certain villages, and of 330 reas, or Rs. 0-13-2f, in the others. It is now proposed to group two villages, exceptionally favourably situated, under a maximum of Rs. 1-4-0 ; twenty-one under Rs. 1-2-0• and the remaining seventy villages under a maximum rate of Re. 1. 5. The occupied area, according to last year’s accounts, was 271,194 acres, and the collections amounted to Rs. 1,06,897. By the revised survey, the occupied area is 293,487 acres, and the proposed assessment thereon is 1,47,757. There is, besides, a small quantity of unoccupied land which has been assessed at Rs. 639, making the total assessment amount to Rs. 1,48,396. The result is a percentage increase on the entire assessment of Rs. 38, and an average assessment per acre of 8 annas, that under the former assessment being 6 annas and. 1 pie. 6. The proposed rate of Rsi 3 per acre on the small area of rice land is approved, as is also that on Pdthasthal land, the high¬ est rate for which has been fixed at Rs. 3-12-0. Government pre¬ sume that the maximum jerayet rates on lands irrigated from wells have only been imposed in cases where the wells were in existence anterior to the period of guarantee. 7. These proposals have the approval of the Collector and Revenue Commissioner, and cannot be considered otherwise than very moderate. His Excellency the Governor in Council is accord¬ ingly pleased to sanction the rates for the usual period, with the slight modifications proposed by the Survey Commissioner, in respect to the grouping of Deolali and the hamlets adjoining Karmala, 8.It is to be noticed that there is an increase in the assessable area of 23,770 acres ; and that, consequently, a good deal of the en¬ hancement of the revenue is due to this cause. At the time of the original survey it was not only the practice to make a liberal allowance on account of what was then considered to be the “ kharab” or unculturable portions included in each separate num¬ ber, but also to leave unmeasured and unassessed large areas of light poor soils on the slopes of hills and elsewhere. It would have been well had the report specified how much of the former and how much of the latter description of land had been included in these 23,770 acres. For the future, this information should be 502 distinctly given. His Excellency in Council cannot doubt that care has been taken to exclude from assessment all land included •in numbers at the former survey as "unarable, but which has since then been reclaimed and brought under the plough at the expense #of the ryots. 9. Mr. Havelock has, in reviewing the proposals in respect to KarnMla, taken the opportunity of stating at great length and with much moderation and care, the grave doubts he entertains regarding the suitability of the rates, especially on the poor soils, which have been imposed in the other talukas of the ShoMpur and Poona Collectorates lately brought under revision. He states his participation in the general belief that whereas the valuation on the better soils has been left very much as it was, that on the poorer has been unduly and disproportionately enhanced. 10. His Excellency the Governor in Council has not failed to be much struck with the marked difference between the results of the last revision proposals and those that were first sent in. The Karmala and Supa revised assessment gave an average in¬ crease of 38 and 42 per cent, respectively, while the prior ones of M&dha and ShoMpur resulted in an increase of 77 per cent. The Commissioner of Survey, Colonel Francis, attributes the com¬ paratively small amount of increase observable in the proposals now submitted to the fact of a higher and more correct system of classification having been adopted at the first settlement of the Supa and KarnMla villages than was observed when the survey operations were first commenced. If this is the correct explana¬ tion, it is somewhat remarkable that so sudden and marked an improvement should have characterized the work of the early survey officers within a period of two years from the-commence¬ ment of the operations. 11. If, on the other hand, the true explanation is, as Mr. Have¬ lock implies, to be found in the valuation scale having been lower¬ ed, in order to comply with the policy- of moderation recently inculcated by Government, then it becomes a serious question how the rates in the other and earlier revised, talukas can best be assimilated and equalized. That this is the case is clearly con¬ tradicted by Colonel Francis in the 24th paragraph of his for¬ warding memorandum, in which also he promises to prove his as¬ sertion in a report about to be submitted with regard to the M&dha settlement; but as an officer occupying the responsible position of a Revenue Commissioner is fully entitled to have his apprehensions in a matter of such importance set at rest, Mr. Havelock is at liberty to call for such information and to take such 503 steps as he may deem necessary to obtain the particulars referred to in paragraph 24 of his report. It will probably be the best and most convenient plan if he can arrange to meet the Survey . Commissioner, and personally satisfy himself as to the principles on which the classification has been arrived at. A copy of the Revenue Commissioner’s report should in the meanwhile be for-* warded to Colonel Francis for any remarks he may have to make on this particular point. 12. Government have again to Superintendent of Survey, 3rd October 1873. Collector of Sholapur, 25tb November 1873. Survey Commissioner, 13th December 1873. fie venue Commissioner, 14tb January 1874. notice with dissatisfaction the delay in the submis¬ sion of this report, the dates of forwarding which by the several officers are noted in the margin. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 792 of 1874. Revenue Department. Poona, 21 st May 1874 Memorandum. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner presents compli- * Not printed. ments, and begs to forward for publication Vide Government Iteaolu- in the Government Gazette draft * noti- tion No. 707, dated 7th Feb- fication of the guarantee given to the ruary 1874. revised settlements introduced into 96 villages of the Karnulla Taluka. (Signed) J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. 504 No. 2781 or 1874. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 3rd June 1874. Tn Government Resolution No. 707, dated 7th February last, revised rates of assessment were sanctioned for 93 villages of the Karmilla Taluka, while in the enclosed draft notification 96 villages are shown, as those in which the revised rates were introduced. The three additional villages are, it is presumed, those which were stated to have recently lapsed to Government in para. 1 of Colonel Francis’, Report No. 2297, dated 13th December last, but no distinct proposals were made for these villages, nor were there any orders given regarding them, and it is not understood why they have been included in this draft notification. The undersigned is, therefore, directed to request the Survey Commissioner will favour Government with explanation on this point. (Signed) J. MONTEITH, • For Chief Secretary to Government. No. 965 op 1874. Revenue Department. Poona, June 19th, 1874. In submitting the accompanying explanation by the Superin¬ tendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nfisik, called for in Mr. Under-Secretary Monteith’s memorandum No. 2781 of the 3rd current, the undersigned has the honour of reporting that the villages of Nimbgaon and Sangwi, Taluka Karmfila, were formerly held as personal Inam by Bhdgwantrao Govind Pingle, and on his death lapsed to Government in a.d. 1869-70. 2. Nimbgaon comes into the 2nd class group of the Karmala villages, the maximum dry-crop rate of which is Rs. 1-2-0 {vide para. 28 of Superintendent’s Report No. 921 of the 3rd of October last), and Sdngwi comes under the 3rd class, the maximum jerayet rate of which is 1 rupee. 3. The highest maximum imposed on p&thasthal land in this taluka is Rs. 3-12, which, as explained in para. 31 of Colonel Waddington’s report, has rarely been reached in any fields, the average for the whole taluka being Rs. 1-9 per acre. 505 4. In Nimbgaon, one of the villages under report, the average pathasthal rate on the 19 aeresof this kind of cultivation is 7 annas and 7 pies only against a jerayet average of 5 annas 9 pies. 5. The result of the survey settlement in these two villages is as follows Names of Villages. Acres* Total Assessment. Mean Average Rate. Assesment of Waste Land Survey Kamal. According to the Old System. According to the Survey. Percentage de¬ crease by the Survey. Old System. Survey System. Acres. Assessment. Average rate. <3 3 Assessment. Average rate, J 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rs. Rs. Rs. a. p. Re. a. p. Rs. a. p- ! 1 Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. Rs. a. p Nimbgaon .. ,4,519 2,432 1,640 67 8 0 0 8 9 0 5 9 604 80 0 .2 1 5,123 1,720 0 5 4 Sangwi 2,308 1,495 1,172 78 4 0 0 10 4 0 8 1 - *• •• 2,308 1,172 0 8 1 All the details of the assessment of these ? villages will be found # -xj , . , in the comparative statement* attached prm e ' to the Superintendent’s report. (Signed) C. J. PRESCOTT, Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. , No. 478 of 1874. Poona, 11.th June 1874. "With reference to No. 2781, dated 3rd June 1874, Revenue Department, from the Chief Secretary to Government (memo¬ randum and accompaniments herewith returned), forwarded for report under Survey Commissioner’s memorandum No. 872, dated 5th instant, the Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, has the honour to state that the three additional villages entered in the notification are those of Nimbgaon and Sfingwi (Government), and Temburni (Inam). 2. The Inam village has now been struck out of the notifica¬ tion, as it sometimes happens that a modification of the settlement is subsequently rendered necessary in Inam villages; it seems therefore advisable that it should not be shackled by a Government guarantee. 3. The two Government villages were omitted by mistake in the original report. They had been formerly In6m; when it was found they had lapsed to Government, Colonel Waddington applied b 210—12 506 to Colonel Francis, who authorized the introduction of the settle¬ ment probably under Section XXV of the Survey Act, intending, no doubt, to mention them in the final report. 4. The usual contrasted statement * of area and revenue to- * iVnf • fpri gether with the census return available prm ' (that of 1856) and the * result of classifi¬ cation test taken (of the measurement nojie was taken) have now been compiled to meet the requisition of the compilation ordered in para. 9 of Government Resolution No. 2446, dated 15th May 1874, and it is hoped that Government will now accord ita sanc¬ tion to the settlement of these two villages and permit their names to remain in the notification under reference. (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Poona and Ndsik Survey. STATEMENT of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, ffc., of the villages of Nimbgaon and Sangwi, of the Karmala Talulca of the Sholapur Collectorate, according to Census taken in 1856. No. Names of Villages. . 9 Houses. Inhabitants. . Wells. Cattle. * Males. Females. Total. Agricultural, Drinking. Out of repair. Total. Ploughs. Carts, Cows and Calves, Bullocks and male Buffaloes. \ She-Buffaloes and their young ones. Sheep and Goats. Horses and Mares. Donkeys. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 Nimbgaon, Tarf Temburni 166 401 354 755 - 1 232 330 93 1,660 21 4 2 S&ngwi... ... ... 1,. 80 156 159 315 •• 6 185 218 27 62 10 2 Total ... 246 557 513 1,070 7 417 548 120 1,722 31 6 (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment. 508 No. 3494. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 8th July 1874. Resolution.—The proposed settlement of these two, villages is sanctioned. 2.The notification may now be published. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 629 op 1874. From The ACTING SUPERINTENDENT, Revenue Survey and Assessment, To The ACTING SURVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, N. D. Poona, 3rd August 1874. Sib, , I have tb" honour to forward the final report of the introduc¬ tion of the revised settlement into 95 Government villages of the Karm4la Taluka of the Sholapur Colleetorate. 2. The revised settlement report for 93 of these villages was sent in to Government in Colonel Waddington’s No. 921 of 3rd October 1873, and sanction to the settlement for a period of thirty years was given in Government Resolution No. 707 of 7th February 1874. For the remaining two villages of Nimbgaon and S4ngwi sanction was given by Government Resolution No. 3494 of 8th July 1874, and notification of the period of the guarantee for the 95 Government villages was published in the Government Gazette at page 575, dated 8th July 1874. The revised rates were introduced by Colonel Waddington in March 1874. 3. As directed in para. 7 of Government Resolution No. 707 of 7th February 1874, the villages of Deolali, Bhosa, and Pimpal- wadi have been transferred to the 2nd class. 4. The actual result of the revised settlement for 93 Govern¬ ment villages (those contained in Colonel Waddington’s original report and exclusive of the villages of Nimbgaon and Sangwi 509 subsequently sanctioned) is, as under, showing a decrease differ¬ ence of 3 per cent, on the former estimate— Number, of Villages. Acreage. Assessment. a ** ® "c 03 03 S3 Contrast. Jerayet. Mothasthal or Ba« gayat. & CS •g *c3 CM [Rice. ' | Waste assessed (not Parit). ! TotaL Jerayet and Jera¬ yet assessment 1 of P&thasthal acres. Mothasthal. Pdthasthal Water-] rate. ' j Rice. •c cS Pm Total • Assess-' ment. ^*.22 §§§ ©*2 o CM a T3 © © v’O d As per Settlement report. 93 2,83,970 8,855 628 34 2,175 2,95,662 1,46,743 j .S © s" 981 33 639 1,48,396 38 Pinal result 93 2,82,984 8,918 609 35 1,321 2,93,867 1,36,344 6,830 878 64 597 1,44,713 35 • Decrease .. - 986 •« 19 854 1,795 3,569 103 42 3,683 3 Increase .. •• •• 63 •• 1 •• .... 31 •• •• •• 5. There still remain 15 Government villages that were transferred from the Karjat Taluka to be revised, after which the usual statistical table for the entire taluka will be prepared. 6. A statement showing the final results of the revision for 95 Government villages is appended, as is also a separate one for the Dumala village of Temburni. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. No. 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 7 the Result of the 'revised Survey Assessment for 95 Government villages of the Karmala Taluka sof the revised under the Superintendent’s Reports No. 921 of 3rd October 1873 and No. 478 of 11th June 1874. Assessment calculated on the area under cultivation in 1873-74.