.RELATING TO THE REVISION OF THE RATES OF ASSESSMENT ON THE EXPIRATION OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE OLD INDA'PUU, BHiMTHARI, PA’BAL, AATD HAVBL1 TALDKAS OE THE POONA COLLECTOEATE. CONTENTS. REVISION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE INDA'PUR TALUKA OF THE POONA COLLECTORATE. Page. * H Letter from Revenue Commissioner, S. D., to Chief Secretary to Govern¬ ment, Revenue Department, No. 2026, dated 22nd May\L867 3 Report by Colonel Francis, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No. 147, dated 12th February 1867, to the address of the Collector of Poona, on the Revision Settlement of the Indapur Taluka ... ... 7 Accompaniments to Report. (1). Statement contrasting number of Houses, Inhabitants, Cattle, &e., in the Indapur Taluka, according to the census taken respect¬ ively in 1836-37 and 1865-66 ... (2). Letter from Lieutenant Nash, to the Assistant Collector in charge Indapur Taluka, reporting on the Survey and Assessment of the Indapur Taluka ... ... ... ... i.. ... ... (3). Table of Price of Grain during the years 1809 to 1838 in Kasha Indapur (4). Statement of Cultivation-in the Indapur Pargana from 1819 to 1837 ... (5). Statement of Assessment in do. from do. to do. ... (6). Table of Averages compiled from the three foregoing statements. (7).. Table of Rates of Assessment per Acre (8). . Comparative Statement of the Tanka, Kamal, Paimash, and Pratbandi Assessments of a few of the principal villages in the Indapur Pargana, and of the Pargana itself • ... . (9). Letter No. 139, dated 4th August 1838, from Lieutenant G. Win¬ gate, Superintendent, Revenue Survey, to the Principal Collector, Poona, handing up Lieutenant Nash’s Report, &c. (10). Letter from the Principal Collector of Poona, No. 2683, dated 20th September 1838, to the Revenue Commissioner, handing up the foregoing letter from Lieutenant Wingate with its accompani¬ ments ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ' ••• 74 86 96 98 99 too ic? 102 116 (11). Letter from Revenue Commissioner, No. 2297, dated 12th Octo¬ ber 1838, to the Acting Chief Secretary to Government, submitring , Principal Collector’s letter and accompaniments ... ... 121; (12). Letter No. 4739, dated 31st December 1838, from Acting Chief ’ Secretary to Government, to the Revenue Commissioner, communi- ] eating the orders of Government on the proposed/ Survey a: ><* ^ J Settlement of the Indapur Pargana ... Letter from Colonel Francis, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., to K t the Chief Secretary to Government, jNo. 298, dated^XBth April 1867, sug- * t . gesting that he may be permitted, during his visi^io England, to lay be- J â–  b 209-1 â–  ' / 11 CONTENTS. Page, fore Sir George Wingate all the papers connected with the Revision Settlement of the Indapur Taluka, in view to obtaining his opinion thereon ... ... ... ... ... ... • ... ... ... 135 •Government Resolution thereon, No. 1550, dated 20th April 1867 ... 136 Government Resolution, No. 2107, dated 4th June 1867, directing that the disposal of the correspondence on the Revision Settlement of the Indapur Taluka may await the receipt of Sir George Wingate’s opinion ... ... 136 Despatch No. 20, dated 24th June 1867, of the Bombay Government, for¬ warding to.the Principal Secretary of State for India, the above-mentioned jpapers ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 137 Despatch No. 59, dated 14th September 1867, from the Principal Secretary of State for India, acknowledging receipt of foregoing ... 138 Government Resolution, No. 3725, dated 31st October 1867 ... ... 138 Letter from Colonel Francis, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No. 828, dated 7th October 1867, to the Acting Chief Secretary to Govern¬ ment, submitting (2) Memoranda by Sir George Wingate ... ... 139 Memorandum by- Sir George Wingate upon Colone’ Francis’ Report, No. 147 of 12th February 1867 ... ... ... ... ... ••• * ... 141 Memoranda by Sir George Wingate regarding proposals by. the Govern- Tnent of India for the sale of waste lands and redemption of the Land Revenue ... —. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 152 .Government Resolution, No. 1211, dated 27th March 1868, on foregoing correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 168 Despatch No. 5 of 4th April 1868, from the Bombay Government, to the Principal Secretary of State for India, forwarding Colonel Francis’ letter, No. 828 of 7th October 1867, and subsequent correspondence ... ... 172 Government Resolution, No. 3257, dated 27th August 1868, communicating Despatch No. 47, dated 25th June 1868, from the Principal Secretary of State for India ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 172 CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THE REDUCTION ORDERED TO BE MADE IN 1874 IN THE REVISION SETTLEMENTS INTRODUCED INTO THE POONA AND SHOLA'PUR COL- LECTORATES. - Government Resolution, No. 5739, dated the 29th October 1874 ”... ... 174 Government Resolution, No. 4506, dated 10th August 1875, cancelling para. 7, as- also Rule I, para. 12 of Government Resolution No. 5739 of the 29th October 1874 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 179 Letter No'. 1302 of 27th August 1875, from Colonel Francis, Survey and Set¬ tlement Commissioner, N. D., to the Acting Secretary to Government, 1 showing reduction proposed to be made in the Revised Assessment of the Indapur Taluka, in accordance with Government Resolution, No. 5739, ' .ted 29th October 1874 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 179 ""Government Resolution thereon, No. 5200, dated the 11th September, 1875. 181 ^Letter No. 215, dated 22nd March 1876, from the Acting Superintendent, ; Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, j N- D., reporting result of the alteration made in the Revision Settlement i rates of the Indapur Taluka, in accordance with Government Resolution \ No. 5200 of the 11th September 1875 183 • CONTENTS. m Page. Survey and Settlement Commissioner's Endorsement on above, No. 758, dated 18th May 1876... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 184 Government Resolution thereon, No. 3157, dated the 29th May 1876 ... 184 Statement showing Assessment of the Indapur Taluka after adjustment, under Government Resolution, No. 5200, dated 11th September 1875 ... 186 REVISION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF FIFTY-THREE VILLAGES- OF THE BHIMTHARI TALUKA. Letter from Collector of Poona, No. 2353, dated the 27th October 1871, to the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., forwarding Report of Superintendent of Survey ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 193' Report No. 440 A, dated 12th July 1871, by the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, on the Revision Settlement of 53 villages of the Bhim¬ thari Taluka ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 195-- Accompaniments to Superintendent's Report. (1). Statement of Prices of Grain from 1841-42 to 1870-71 ... ... 211 (2). Do. Rain-fall from 1863 to 1870 ... ... ... ... 212 (3). Do. Average Collections of Land Revenue, &c. ... ... 213 (4). Statement contrasting Number of Houses, Inhabitants, Cattle, &c. 214 (5). Do. exhibiting Results of the new and former Assessment 226 (6). Statements of measurement and classification test ... ... 227 (7). Letter No. 166, dated 17th November 1838, from Captain Win¬ gate to the Collector of Poona, regarding Survey Settlement of the Kurkumb Petha of the Bhimthari Taluka .... ... ... 228 (8). Letter, dated 2nd November 1838, from Lieutenant Nash, Assist¬ ant Superintendent, Revenue Survey, to the Superintendent Revenue Survey and Assessment, proposing rates of assessment for the Kurkumb Petha of the Bhimthari Taluka ... ... ,., 232'. (9). Letter No. 3338, dated 28th November 1838, from the Collector, * Poona, to the Revenue Commissioner, handing up the foregoing letters from Captain Wingate and Lieutenant Nash ... ... 237 (10). Letter No. 4619, dated 24th December 1838, from the Acting Chief Secretary to Government, to the Revenue Commissioner ... 238. (11). Letter, dated 30th November 1839, from Lieutenant Nash, Assistant Superintendent of Survey, to Captain Wingate, Superin¬ tendent of Survey, proposing rates of Assessment for the Pimpal- gaon Division of Bhimthari Pargana ... ... ... ... 239‘ (12). Statements of Prices of Grain ... ... 246 and 247 (13). Letter from Captain Wingate, No.. 185, dated 11th December 1839, to Collector; Poona, handing up Lieutenant Nash’s letter of x 30th November 1839... ... ... ... • ... 248 (14). Letter No. 2378, of 27th December 1839, from the Collector, Poona, to the Secretary to Government, handing up Captain Win¬ gate’s Report, &c. ... ... ... 252 (15). Letter from Chief Secretary to Govermment, No. 130, dated 10th January 1840, sanctioning proposed rates ... ... ... 253 Memorandum No. 1636, dated 28th November 1871, by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., reviewing proposals for the Revision Settlement of 53 villages of the Bhimthari Taluka ... ... ... 254 IV CONTENTS. Memorandum No. 9, dated 3rd January 1872, by the Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S. D., submitting the foregoing correspondence, for orders of Government ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 385, dated 26th January 1872 Letter No. 598, dated 2nd September 1872, from the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Survey Commissioner, N. D., forwarding final Report on the Revision Settlement introduced into 53 villages of Bhimthari Taluka Memorandum by Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No. 1380 of 27th September 1876, submitting the above letter... Government Resolution thereon, No. 5918, dated 30th November 1872 •... Letter No. 1237, dated 18th August 1875, from Survey Commissioner, N. D., to Acting Secretary to Government, showing reduction to be made in the Revised Assessment of 53 villages of Bhimthari Taluka, in accordance with Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th October 1874 Government Resolution thereon, No. 4980, dated 30th August 1875 Letter from Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, No, 1021, dated 25th November 1875, and accompanying statement, showing result of alteration made in the Revision Settlement of 53 villages of the Bhimthari Taluka, in accordance with Government Resolution No. 4980, dated 30th August 1875 ... Endorsement on foregoing, by Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., No. 1845, dated 29th November 1875 Government Resolution thereon, No. 6934, dated 10th December 1875 ... REVISION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE VILLAGES COMPRISING THE OLD PA'BAL TALUKA. Letter from Collector of Poona, to Revenue Commissioner, S.D., No. 152, ' dated 22nd January 1873 ... ... ... Report by the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, No. 689, dated 10th October 1872, on the Revision Settlement of 56 villages of the old Pabal Taluka, and on the new rates to be introduced into 3 villages re¬ ceived from H. H. Holkar Accompaniments, Superintendent’s Report. (V- Contrasted Statement of No. of Houses, Inhabitants, Cattle, &c. (2). Measurement and Classification Test Statements - (3), Comparative Statement of new and former Survey (4). Letter from Lieutenant Robertson, Assistant Superintendent of Survey, to the address of the Superintendent of Survey, No. 37, dated 29th September 1840, on Survey operations carried out in the Pabal Taluka ... ... ... ' (5). Letter, dated 25th August 1840, from Captain Landon, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey, to the Superintendent of Survey, proposing rates of Assessment for the villages of the Pabal Taluka... (6). Letter from Captain Wingate, Superintendent, Revenue Survey, No. 149, dated 7th September 1841, to the address of the Collec¬ tor, handing on, with his remarks thereon,pthe above-mentioned letters from Lieutenant Robertson and Captain Landon ... Pag*. 265 271 272 275 277 278 280 285 292 292 295 297 316 326 326 327 331 336 CONTENTS. V Page. (7). Letter from Collector of Poona, No. 1611, dated 21st September 1841, to the Revenue Commissioner, submitting Captain Wingate’s Report (No. 149) and accompaniments ... ... ... 343 (8). Letter from Revenue Commissioner, No. 1699, dated 6th Decem¬ ber 1841, to the Collector of Poona ... ... ... ... ... 344 (9). Letter from Revenue Commissioner, No. 1444, dated 16th Octo¬ ber 1841, to the Secretary to Government, submitting for orders the above-mentioned letter (No. 1611) from the Collector of Poona, with its accompaniments ... ... ... ... ... ... 345 (10). Reply of the Secretary to Government, No. 3679, dated 3rd December 1841 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 348 Memorandum by the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.p., No. 273, dated 13bh February 1873,. reviewing the proposals submitted for the Revision of the Settlement introduced into the Pabal Taluka ... ... 349 Memorandum by Revenue Commissioner, S.D., No. 758, dated 27th Feb¬ ruary 1873, submitting for the orders of Government the above cor¬ respondence ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 356 Resolution of Government thereon, No. 2158, dated 16th .April 1873 ... 361 Letter No. 393, dated 28th April 1873, from the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the address of the Survey Commissioner, N.D., sub¬ mitting explanation called for in paras. 8 and 10 of the above Government Resolution regarding assessment of Patasthal and Rice lands ... ... 364 Memorandum No. 813, dated 8th May 1873, by Survey and Settlement Commissioner, handing on to the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., the Super¬ intendent’s letter (No. 393) ... ... ... ... ... 368 Memorandum No. 1821, dated 9th May 1873, by Revenue. Commissioner, S. D., submitting the above to Government ... ... ... ... 369 Resolution of Government thereon, No. 2921, dated 22nd May 1873 ... 370 Letter No. 498, dated 27th March 1873, from the Collector of Poona, to the Superintendent of Survey, inquiring when the new rates will be 'intro¬ duced into the villages of the old Pabal and Haveli Talukas ... ... 370 Reply of the Superintendent of Survey, No. 283, dated 31st March 1873... 371 Further letter from the Collector of Poona, to the Superintendent of Survey, No. 608, dated 17th April 1873 371 Memorandum from Superintendent of Survey, to Survey Commissioner, N. D., No. 366, dated 19th April 1873, submitting for orders the above- mentioned correspondence between himself and the Collector of Poona... 372 Survey Commissioner’s Memorandum, No. 1020, dated 4th June 1873, sub¬ mitting, through the Revenue Commissioner, the Superintendent’s Memo¬ randum and accompanying correspondence for the orders of Government. 373 Memorandum by Revenue Commissioner, S. D., No. 2245, dated 9th June 1873, transmitting the Survey Commissioner’s Memorandum (No. 1020) to Government ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 374 Government Resolution thereon, No. 3531, dated the 20th June 1873 ... 375 Letter No. 314, dated 18th April 1874, from the Superintendent of Survey, to the Survey Commissioner, N.D.. reporting final results of the revised rates introduced into the villages of the old Pabal Taluka ... ... 375 Memorandum by Survey Commissioner, N.D., No. 716, dated 8th May 1874, submitting to Government the Superintendent’s Final Report ... 377 Government Resolution thereon, No. 2852, dated the 5th June 1874 ... 378 VI CONTENTS. Government Resolution, No. 4107, dated 4th August 1874, communicating to the Revenue and Survey Commissioners a Despatch from H. M.’s Principal Secretary of State for India on the subject of the Revision Settlement of the villages of the old Pabal Taluka Report No. 1454, dated 25th September 1875, by the Survey Commissioner, N.D., addressed to the Secretary to Government regarding reduction to be made in the Revised Assessment of 56 villages of the old Pabal Taluka, in accordance with Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th October 1874 ' • Government Resolution thereon, No. 6516, dated the 22nd November 1875. Letter from Superintendent of Survey, No. 244, dated the 31st March 1876, to the Survey Commissioner, N.D., and accompanying statement show¬ ing the result of the alteration made in the Revision Settlement of the villages of the old Pabal Taluka, in accordance with Government Reso¬ lution No. 6516, dated 22nd November 1875 Memorandum by Survey Commissioner, N.D., No. 1408, dated 9th Septem¬ ber 1876, submitting the Superintendent’s letter (No. 244) for the in¬ formation of Government Government Resolution thereon, No. 5516, dated 27th September 1876 ... REVISION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE VILLAGES COMPRISING THE HAVELI TALUKA. Letter from Collector of Poona, No. 363, dated 3rd March 1873, to the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., forwarding a Report by the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, for the revision settlement of the Haveli Taluka ... ... ... Letter No. 840, dated 30th November 1872, from the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Collector of Poona, submitting proposals for the Revision Settlement of the villages comprising the Haveli Taluka Accompaniments to Superintendent's Report, (!)• Statement comparing results of new and former survey... ... (2). Statements of measurement and classification Test (3). Contrasted statement of houses, inhabitants, wells, &c. ... (4). Letter from Captain Wingate, Superintendent of Survey, No. 136, dated 27th August 1841, totKe Collector of Poona, submitting Report by his Assistant, Lieutenant Nash, for the assessment of the Haveli Taluka ... ... (5). Letter fromLieutenant Nash, Assistant Superintendent of Survey, to the Superintendent of Survey, dated 1st August 1841, submit¬ ting proposals for the assessment of the Haveli Taluka ... (6). Letter from the Revenue Commissioner, S. D-, to the Collector of Poona, No. 1344, dated 25th September 1841, calling for informa¬ tion on certain points connected.with the proposals for the Survey Settlement of the Haveli Taluka (7). Letter from Captain Wingate, Superintendent of Survey, dated 4th October 1841, forwarding a report by Lieutenant Nash, sup¬ plying the information called for by the Revenue Commissioner... (8). Letter from Lieutenant Nash, Assistant Superintendent of Survey, to the Superintendent of Survey, dated 30th September 1841, sub¬ mitting information regarding rates of assessment proposed for the Haveli Taluka, called for by the Revenue Commissioner ... Page. 378 380 *384 386 394 394 397 400 415 415 416 428 434 442 443 443 CONTEXTS. Vll (9). Letter No. 1718, dated 8th December 1841, from the Revenue Commissioner to the Collector of Poona (10). Letter from Revenue Commissioner, to the Secretary to Govern¬ ment No. 1473, dated 21st October 1841, submitting correspond¬ ence regarding Survey Settlement of the Haveli Taluka ... (11). Reply of the Secretary to Government No. 3682, dated 3rd December 1841 ... ... ... ... ... ... . ... Letter No. 203, dated 7th March 1873, from the Superintendent, Poona and N%ik Survey, to the Survey Commissioner, N.D., submitting an amended scale of rates for the Haveli Taluka, to be substituted for that originally proposed by him Memorandum by Survey, and Settlement Commissioner, N..D., No. 497, dated 24th March 1873, reviewing the proposals submitted for the revision settlement of the villages of the Haveli Taluka ... Memorandum No. 1335, dated 7th April 1873, by Revenue Commissioner, S. D., submitting for the orders of Government the above-mentioned papers... ... ... ... .... ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 3516, dated 20th June 1873... Government Resolution, No. 4667, dated 15th August 1873, communicating opinion of Legal Remembrancer on the subject of the legality of imposing a building rate on the lands in the immediate vicinity of Poona ... Letter No. 824, dated 27th August .1873, from the Superintendent, Poona andNasik Survey, to the Survey Commissioner, N. D., suggesting that the rates of certain villages of the Haveli Taluka, as sanctioned by Govern¬ ment, should be slightly modified ... ... ... ... ... ... Memorandum No. 1652, dated 2nd September 1873, by the Survey Commis¬ sioner, N. D., submitting to Government, thryugh the Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S. D., the above-mentioned letter from the Superintendent of Survey.v Memorandum No. 3606, dated 6th September 1873, by Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S. D., submitting the foregoing to Government ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 5495, dated 3rd October 1873 ... Government Resolution, Public Works Department—Irrigation, No. 249, W. 1.—576, dated 20th September 1876, on the subject of enhancing the assessment of lands enjoying the advantages of proximity to the Ekruk Tank Canal ... ... ... ... • ... Government Resolution, Public Works Department—Irrigation, No. 305, W. I.—696, dated 28th October 1876, directing that the fact that no increase of assessment for indirect advantages from the proximity of the â–  lands to the canal was made at the last revision, be distinctly recorded in the present printed selection Government Resolution, Revenue Department, No. 6870,dated 23rd Decem¬ ber 1873, communicating despatch from the Secretary of State on the subject of the revision of assessment in Haveli Taluka Government Resolution No, 4107, dated 4th August 1874, communicating further despatch from the Secretary of State for India on the same sub¬ ject Letter No. 314, dated 18th April 1874, from the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the address of the Survey Commissioner, N*. D., reporting final results of the revised settlement introduced into the Haveli Taluka. Survey Commissioner’s Memorandum No. 716, dated 8th May 1874, hand¬ ing on the Superintendent’s letter to Government Page. 445 446 449 451 453 462 465, 470 471 473 476 479 481 482 482 483 485 486 Vlll CONTEXTS. Page. Government Resolution thereon, No. 2852, dated 5th June 1874 ... ... 486 Letter from Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., to the Acting Secretary to Government, No. 1638, dated 21st October 1875, regarding the reduction to be made in the revised assessment of the Haveli Taluka in accordance with Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th October 1874 487 Government Resolution thereon, No. 6517, dated 22nd November 1875 ... 490 Letter No. 297, dated 24th April 1876, from the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Survey Commissioner, N. D., forwarding a state- ^ ment showing result of the reductions made in the revised assessment of the Haveli Taluka in accordance with Government Resolution No. 6517 of 22nd November 1875 ... ... ... ... ... ... 493 Survey and Settlement Commissioner’s Memorandum No. 1409, dated 9th September 1876, handing on the Superintendent’s letter to Government... 504 Government Resolution thereon, No. 5516, dated 27th idem ... ... 504 REVISION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE VILLAGES COMPRISING THE OLD SUPA PETHA. Letter No. 1673, dated 16th September 1873, from the Collector, Poona, to the Revenue Commissioner, S. D,, forwarding Report (No. 846) of the Superintendent of Survey ... ... ... ... ... 506 Report No, 846, dated 5th September 1873, by the Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, proposing revised rates for 39 villages belonging for¬ merly to the Supa Division of the Purandhar Taluka, but now situated in the Bhimthari (30 villages) and Purandhar (9 villages) Talukas ... 507 Accompaniments to Superintendent's Report. (1). . Letter No. 173, dated 3rd August 1843, from Lieutenant Nash, Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Deccan, to the Collector of Poona, proposing rates of assessment for the Supa Petha ... ... 521 (2). Statement showing area of villages ... ... ... ... 572 (3). Do. . do. assessment of villages... ... ... * ... 523 (4). Letter No. 33, dated 8th July 1843, from Lieutenant Evans, Assistant Superintendent of Survey, to Lieutenant Nash, Superin¬ tendent of Survey, proposing rates of assessment for villages of the Supa Petha ... ... ... ... ... ... 529 (5). Statement showing prices of grain' ... . ... ... ... 539 (6). Do, do. collections, remissions, &c. ... ... ... 540 (7). Letter No. 1208, dated 23rd August 1843, from the First Assistant Collector in charge, Poona, to the Revenue Commissioner, submit¬ ting the above letters from Lieutenants Nash and Evans... ... 542 (8). Extract from a letter No. 964 of 8th September, 1843, from the Revenue Commissioner to Government ... ... ... ... 543 (9). Letter No. 311, dated 13th October 1843, from the Chief Secretary to Government, to the Revenue Commissioner... ... 543 Memorandum No. 1953, dated 17th October 1873, by the Survey and Set¬ tlement Commissioner, N. D., reviewing the proposals submitted for the revision of the assessment of 39 villages of the old Supa Petha ... ... 545 Memorandum No. 4346, dated 31st October 1*873, by the Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S. D., handing up the above Papers to Government ... ... £49 CONTEXTS. IX Government Resolution thereon, No. 6377, dated 22nd November 1873 ... Letter No. 535, dated 30th June 1874, from the Acting Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey, to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., submitting statements giving final results of the revised settlement introduced into the villages of the old Supa Petha... Memorandum No. 1040, dated 2nd July 1874, by the Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., submitting the above letter and accom¬ panying statements for the information of Government ... Government Memorandum No. 4382, dated 15th August 1874 Memorandum No. 1332, dated 19th August 1874, by the Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 4697, dated 1st September 1874 Letter No. 1853, dated 29th November 1875, from the Survey and Settle¬ ment Commissioner, N. D., to the Acting Secretary to Government, proposing reduction to be made in the revised assessment of the old Supa Petha in accordance with Government Resolution No, 5739, dated 29th October 1874 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Government Memorandum thereon, No. 6979, dated 13th December 1875... Survey Commissioner’s reply No. 1952, dated 15th idem ... Government Resolution thereon, No. 7300, dated 28th idem Page. 552 554 561 563 563 564 565 566 566 567 INDATUR TALUKA. No. 2026 of 1867. Revenue Department. To the CHIEF SECRETARY to GOVERNMENT. Sir,—I have the honour to submit, for the consideration and orders of Government, a report by Lieutenant-Colonel Francis, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, upon the revision of the settlement of the Inddpur Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. 2.The report was received in this office direct from Lieu¬ tenant-Colonel Francis on the 18th March, and the Collector of Poona, with reference to it, wrote on the 2nd ultimo (letter No. 960) as follows:— “ I have the honour to forward to you the accompanying . report* of Colonel Francis on the revision 12th February 1867. settlement of the Inddpur Taluka, without presuming to make any remarks of my own, my experience of the taluka of Ind&pur being so limited, while that of Colonel Francis has extended over many . years.” 3. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner in reporting (No. 1033, dated 4th December 1866) to Government that the lease of the Kalas Division of the Indd,pur Taluka expired with the year 1865-66, and that under ordinary circumstances the re¬ vised rates would be introduced in the current year,(1866-67), asked, for reasons which he fully explained (the chief reason being “ to admit of the whole taluka being brought under the measure at th Survey Rates, &c, Proposed Rates, &c. 55 per Cent of Net Produce, or Rate of Assessment per Acre. Amount of , Assessment on the Number of Acres in Col. No. 1. Balance of Net Produce, being the Profit of Cultivation. Proposed Rates of Assessment per Acre. Amount of Assessment on the Num¬ ber of Acres in Col. No. 1. Balance of Net Produce, being the Profit of Cultivation. • No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Acres. Guntas Annas. Rs. a. P- Rs. a. P* Bs. a. P- Bs. a. P- Bs. a. p. Bs. a. P- Bs. a. p. 1 1st black 28 36 2 8 0 1 6 0 39 11 9 32 8 3 1 12 1 50 11 1 21 8 11 2 2nd do 29 15 ... 1 15 3 1 1 3 31 10 9 25 11 2 13 6 35 13 0 21 8 11 3 3rd do 34 33 ... 1 7 9 0 13 0 28 4 9 23 6 4 0 13 10 30 2 2 21 8 11 4 1st red •29 13 ... 2 0 6 1 1 9 32 8 6 27 0 7. 14 9 88 0 2 21 8 11 5 2nd do 35 1 I., 1 5 3 0 11 9 25 11 6 20 12 9 0 11 5 24 15 4 21 8 11 6 3rd do • ,40 29 ... 0 14 4 0 7 9 19 11 3 16 12 5 0 5 10 14 14 9 21 8 11 7 1st gravelly 40 14 ... 1 2 1 0 10 0 25 3 6 20 6 1 0 9 7 24 0 8 21 8 11 8 2nd do 40 34 ... 0 13 2 0 7 3 ' 18 8 2 15 1 7 0 4 9 12 0 10 21 8 11 9 3rd do. 43 33 ... 0 10 0 0 5 6 15 1 .0 12 5 3 0 2 2 5 13 4 21 8 11 Total... ... ... — 236 7 2 194 0 5 236 7 4 194 0 3 13 “ There are, however, other sources of error in the survey assessment to which, with that already mentioned, must be attributed its failure, more than, to any defects of execution. The chief of these consists in it being founded on an average of the prices of grain and the amount of collections during pre¬ vious years, without a due consideration being given to the actual condition of the people, and to an investigation of the causes which during the years of the average had made these prices and collections stationary or fluctuating, advancing or declining. To adopt as a basis of assessment an average of past collections,-was to admit, that the previous settlement was not heavy as a whole, but merely required being properly apportioned, which the yearly-increasing poverty and wretch¬ edness of the people, a declining cultivation, and a pro¬ gressive fall in the price of grain, notwithstanding a diminished supply, all tended to disprove. The calculations, too, for fix¬ ing the survey assessment were made upon the supposition of the land being properly tilled, whereas there is, perhaps, not one field in ten in this collectorate that is so, or that com¬ monly yields the quantity of produce estimated in the survey returns. These circumstances contributed to make the sur¬ vey assessment high, while fixing it at a percentage of the net produce made it unequal; and to them may be attributed its - failure rather than to the venality of the native establish¬ ment employed in carrying it into execution. These may have been bribed in numerous instances to effect a reduction of the rates, but this would have tended to secure the success, rather than involve the failure, of an assessment, and that they should systematically over-assess inferior and uncultivated lands without the prospect of gain, and at the risk of detec¬ tion, appears to me very improbable. I have dwelt at this length upon the Survey assessment at the risk of being thought tedious on a question not immediately bearing upon my subject, that by exposing the sources of error which, in my opinion, occasioned its failure, my superiors may be better able to form a correct estimate of the principles on which the present revision has been conducted.’* • 15. According to the opinions of the officers here quoted, the failure of the settlement is attributable more to the faulty princi¬ ple by which 55 per cent of the net produce was set apart as the basis of the assessment than to the malpractices of Mr. Pringle’s native establishment. Both causes combined, no doubt, operated in bringing about the result, and for our present purposes it is immaterial which had the greater influence. 16. The defects of the settlement were early foreseen by the rovcnuo officers. In the first year of its introduction the 14 Collector expressed great fears of its success. He reported that the Jam&bandi, according to the rates, amounted to Rs. 91,589, of which only Rs. 42,299, or less than one-half, could be real¬ ized. In the following year the. ryots refused to cultivate their fields according to the survey rates, and after local inquiry the Collector directed that no increases exceeding 25 per cent on the former assessment should be demanded. Afterwards it seems to have been ordered that for the year the new rates should be collected only in cases where they were lower than the old. This arrangement failed, and remissions had to be granted. 17. It was next sought to remedy the defects of the settle¬ ment by the adoption of a scale which provided that only a regu¬ lated portion of the increases due to that measure should be collected. It was also arranged that half the new assessment should be remitted in respect of lands which had been waste five years anterior to its introduction; and further, in cases where lands had been longer out of cultivation, that only a fourth of the assessment should be levied. 18. In summing up the result of these measures the Revenue Commissioner observes as follows:— " The prescribed assessment has thus fluctuated between the former rates and the new. It may be supposed that the former rates referred to some well-known standard of taxation. But this is not the case. They would be better described as the result of accident or temporary circumstances ; for what was adopted as the basis was really the Ukti and Kauli rates (which are liable to fluctuate annually accord¬ ing to the state of the village, the means of ryots, and the vicissitudes of seasons) on which the lands happened to be let out in the year preceding the survey. In short, the rates have become so numerous and diversified, and the modifica¬ tions applied to them so frequent, that I am satisfied the people have a very imperfect knowledge of the nature or amount of the rents they are called upon to pay.” 19. The native officials were not slow in taking advantage of this confused state of the revenue management. Great part of the remissions allowed for failure of crops was systematically appropriated to their own use, whilst by their agency a system of unauthorized collections was generally introduced throughout the district. This latter practice is said to have been carried to such an extent that in many cases the unauthorized exceeded the authorized collections of the village. 15 20. The Revenue Commissioner quotes a case in which the unauthorized collections amounted to Rs. 357 against the Govern¬ ment demand of Rs. 137, and another of Rs. 789 against Rs. 255. Speaking generally of the state of things in respect to remissions and unauthorized collections, that officer says :—“ I firmly believe not one-half (the remission) has reached the ryots, and probably the portion of the actual collections that has been paid into the Treasury has not been much greater.” 21. About this time also a grievous system of torture for the realization of revenue was being secretly carried out. Rumours of its existence had reached the revenue officers of the collectorate, and, consequent on the receipt of petitions charging the native officials of the district with inflicting personal violence upon certain individuals in extorting revenue, Mr. Elphinston, the First Assist¬ ant, was deputed by the Collector to make a formal inquiry into the matter. 22. Owing, however, to the suppression of evidence by the district officials, and, perhaps, to some extent to want of tact on the part of Mr. Elphinston, the inquiry resulted only in two Mahasuli peons employed in the collection of revenue being criminally con¬ victed of certain acts of *torture, and sentenced to a fine of 25 rupees each, or, in default, to suffer a month’s imprisonment. The M^mlatdd-r was declared to be honourably acquitted of the charge of extortion, whilst four individuals were committed for trial at the sessions for giving false evidence against him. 23. Shortly after this, Mr. Goldsmid was appointed to the charge of Indapur for revenue as well as for other duties. On complaints of this system of torture being brought to his notice, a searching inquiry was instituted, which resulted in his bringing to light the system of disgraceful and cruel torture that was being practised upon the people of the district chiefly at the instigation of the M£mlatd&r, 24. The record of these proceedings shows that twenty individuals, including the Md,mlatdd,r and several district and village officials, were convicted of charges of torture, or of aiding and abetting the same, and sentenced to imprisonment for periods varying from one to seven years. The Mamlatdar’s sentence was for nine years in the first instance, but it was afterwards commuted to seven. 25.Some of the acts of torture practised, are reported to be too disgusting to record. But the following, extracted from the Judge’s proceedings in the trial of thecas^, are instances of brutal 16 cruelty, such as it would scarcely be believed had been inflicted on human beings. In one instance a prisoner is charged with “ forcing a man to stoop and hold his toes with pebbles under his feet, placing at the same time two stones, one on his neck and one on his loins, and compelling him to remain in the above position from morning until about midday.” In another case the charge was “ for compelling a man to stoop and hold his toes,” and fastening him (spread eagle-fashion) with a cord to pegs. And in another “ for pulling down Mankajee by the tuft of his hair from the raised ridge of earth near the Chowree of Bouree, beating him on the face, tearing his turban, and placing a stone on his head, and making him bear a stone on his head from daylight until 9 o’clock.” 26. The following extract of*the Judge’s finding gives a full account of the circumstances of the case :— “ The eight cases of revenue abuses having been this day completed, the Assistant Judge proceeds to record the view he has taken of them severally. As, however, they were all caused by the same cause, they may be considered merely different parts of the same subject. A few general remarks, therefore, embracing the whole case, will prevent the necessity of the same remarks upon each individual#charge. “Upon June 14th, 1834, Mr. Baber, who was then Col¬ lector of Poona, wrote to the Acting Mamlatddr. of Inda- pur, viz., prisoner Trimbuck Gungadhur, and told him that there were outstanding balances in the district of Inddpur amounting to Ks. 23,870-15-1, which, upon the receipt of the order, he was immediately to recover; that he was now only acting Mdmlatdar, but if he did so he should be confirmed in the situation; and that if he made any report that the people under him did not give him every assistance they should be dismissed.. “ The M4mlatd4r very properly wrote back to say that the royts had had a hard year of it before, and Mr. John Burnett had accordingly allowed these balances to Stand over, that the month of June was the worst month to come upon the ryots for payments. In fact, the reply was in every respect most proper; it is dated (the Assistant Judge thinks) June 18th, 1834. “ This very proper remonstrance was never answered, and the M4mlatddr, actuated either by hope or fear, commenced the system of abuses which forms the subject of these trials.” 17 27. It appears from these proceedings that*the Judge con¬ sidered the blame of these acts to be attributable in a great measure to the issue of the Collector’s injudicious order, to the Mamlatd^r, making his promotion dependent on his success in collecting the outstanding balances^ This opinion seems to have been fully concurred in by Government, and thereupon instruc* tions were issued to all Collectors, enjoining them to take precau¬ tions to prevent the occurrence of such acts of cruelty. 28. But not content with the punishment of the perpetra¬ tors of these cruelties, Mr. Goldsm'id made immediate inquiry as to the amount of revenue that had been extorted from the ryots by these proceedings, which resulted in his showing the sum of Rs. 8,863 to have been improperly levied, and he was. at once per¬ mitted to refund it to the cultivators. The whole proceedings in the case will appear in the present day more like the incidents in a story from the Arabian Nights, than a chapter of events taken from the history of the revenue administration of a district. 29* There are still some Civilians in the country who took part in these proceedings. The present Commissioner in Sind, Mr. Mansfield, was employed in Inddpur at the time, and the records show that he rendered good service in reforming the revenue administration of the district. There is also another dis¬ tinguished officer who, in his early service, was associated with Mr. Goldsmid in his reformatory career in Inddpur, and who, after filling the highest position in the Civil Service,* now presides over the Government of this Presidency. 30. The corrupt and demoralized state of the officials gen¬ erally, combined with the confusion introduced into the accounts by the changes made in Mr. Pringle’s assessment, told seriously upon the revenue of the district. Cultivation decreased, and, notwithstanding remissions, the outstanding balances were an¬ nually being augmented. These facts will be made apparent by an examination of the following statement, which exhibits the Jami- bandi, remissions, collections, and outstanding balances for the ten years preceding the advent of the settlement:— * Sir Bartle Frere, K.G.B., G-C-S-I. b 209—c 18 Year. Jam&bandi. Remissions. Revenue collected. Balance outstanding. 1826-27 1827-28 1828-29 1829-30 1830-31 1831-32 ... 1832-33 1833-34 1834-35 1835-36 • 79,197 68,334 74,688 1,05,705 64,130 73,200 75,502 83,079 . 70,932 74,550 12,810 41,947 232 48,550 52,124 57,969 . **6,207 12,162 63,212 22,015 60,843 21,297 12,887 20,803 17,162 61,080 61,082 62,187 3,175 4,372 13,613 84,408 2,693 273 371 21,989 3,643 201 Total... 7,69,307 2,32,001 4,02,568 1,34,738* Ten years’ average ... 76,930 23,200 40,256 •••••• â– 31. On analyzing this return we find that, during the period referred to, the' revenue of the district had in one year fallen to the small sum of Rs. 12,887, and in another (1832-33) it amounted to only a little above Rs. 17,000 For the ten years the average collections are Rs. 40,256, and the average annual remission amounts to Rs. 23,200, whilst the outstanding balance at the close of the period was Rs. 1,34,738. 32. It was at this crisis, with the district half depopulated by the effects of mismanagement and the unscrupulous rapacity of native officials—-with a falling revenue and annually-decreasing cultivation—with heavy outstanding balances betokening the pov¬ erty of the people and the low state of its agricultural resources —that the late Mr. Goldsmid proceeded to inaugurate that system of survey settlement which has since formed the groundwork of the revenue administration of the entire Presidency. 33. It is interesting at the present time to notice the differ¬ ent schemes proposed. The first which assumed a definite shape was to take the old “ Ch&hur ” as the-standard for fixing the rates of assessment. This proposal emanated from Lieutenant Short- rede, who was employed at the time upon the duty of specially reporting upon Mr. Pringle’s survey of the collectorate. “ The kind of settlement,” he explains, “ which I would propose for the first year would be to let the best land at 60 rupees per CMhur and the inferior at 50 or 40.” This proposal was approved by the Revenue Commissioner, who, in submitting it to Government, * Of this outstanding balance only Rs. 34,867 was collected, the remaining sum of Rs. 90,871 being entirely remitted in 1838. 19 observed as follows:—u By assessing tbe Ch&hur the advantage of a ryotwar settlement would be secured to the people freed from the confusion in the accounts and facilities for abuse which apper¬ tain to the present system.” The measure proposed may appear in the present day to have been somewhat crude; but, considering the state of the district at that period, it was clearly an improve¬ ment on the existing system of management, and in that light, therefore, the Revenue Commissioner’s support of such a measure is accounted for. It afterwards received the sanction of Govern¬ ment, and orders were issued to carry out the plan as an experi¬ mental settlement for one year. • - . , 34. It is fortunate for Ind&pur, and perhaps for the Pre¬ sidency generally, that Mr. Goldsmid was entrusted with the duty of carrying out this measure. He foresaw at once the defects of such a plan of settlement, and lost no time in reporting against its adoption. The promptness, indeed, with which he addressed himself to the cancelment of the orders, and the substitution of a different system, is characteristic of that energy of purpose which he displayed throughout his official career. “ Last night,” he says, “ I had the honour of receiving your letter * * * directing me to take immediate steps for assessing the lands of Ind^pur in the manner recommended by the Revenue Commissioner and sanctioned by Governmentand he then proceeds to explain his views upon the subject. 35. The chief defect of the proposed system, is ascribed by Mr. Goldsmid to the circumstance of the “ Chahur” not being a definite measure of quantity. He also expresses some doubts “ whether it was originally one of quality;” or, admitting that it were so, the integrity of the original divisions, he contends, was vitiated by the frauds practised in subdividing them into bigas. He then furnishes some practical illustrations of how unequal the assessment woukLbe were it put upon the CMhur. 36. Mr. Goldsmid next proceeds to explain that as the sur¬ vey measurements of Inddpur Taluka have been found to be cor¬ rect, they should form the basis of the new assessment. Being strongly impressed, however, with the desirability of retaining old names and denominations familiar to the cultivating classes (which, indeed, was one of the chief reasons given by the Reve¬ nue Commissioner for the adoption of the CMhur) he consider¬ ed.it would be objectionable to adopt the acres, guntas, and. annas of Mr. Pringle’s measurement, and proposed, therefore, to convert them into bigas of the area of the Konkan standard biga. This plan was approved of by Lieutenant Shortrede, and at his suggestion it 20 was arranged that the new biga should be called the Pakd or Poona Biga. 37.The Collector and Revenue Commissioner approved of the abandonment of the Chdhur and the adoption of the acre as the basis of the new settlement. They disapproved, however, of the transmutation of the acre into biga as being no advantage, whilst it might have the effect of leading the cultivators to sup¬ pose that a new standard was about to be adopted. Government, concurring with the opinions of the two revenue officers, directed Mr. Pringle’s measurements to be adopted, and they were accord¬ ingly utilized as the basis of the Ind^pur settlement. 38.With regard to the assessment, Mr. Goldsmid proposed that in the first place every field should be gone over and its soil and situation carefully examined. With this and other statis¬ tical information before him he then proceeds to say :—“ I would arrange the Jerayet, or unirrigated, land in three classes—Utam, Madhiam, and Kanist—and should thus be only following the course pursued with so much advantage by native governments in other zillahs. The land might, with reference to its class, be assess¬ ed according to either of the two scales noted in the margin, I should myself prefer the lower, as, with the higher, remissions, X am convinced, would be often necessary in this taluka, where rain is so scarce.” He proposed to try his plan experimentally in ten villages, and report the results to Government for confirmation, before informing the ryots of the rates. He also strongly urged that the settlement should be confirmed-for ten years in place of one, as in the proposals regarding the adoption of the Ch£hur. Scale 1st. Utam at 2 acres per rupee. Madhiam at 3 do. do. Kanist at 4 do. do. Scale 2nd. Utam at 3 acres per rupee. Madhiam at 4 do. - do. Kanist at 5 do. do. 39.These modifications of the original proposals submitted by Mr. Goldsmid were generally approved of by*the Collector and Revenue Commissioner, both officers advocating the adoption of the lower of the two scales of rates proposed. The Collector also recorded his opinion, that the maximum rate should be fixed by Government, the apportionment of the remaining classes of rates being left to the settlement officer. This discussion regarding the rates of assessment is fully reviewed in the following extract of the Government letter on the subject:—. “ On this head the Governor in Council accedes to the general opinion, that their determination must rest with the settling officer, and has no difficulty in confiding it to Mr. Goldsmid. The general principles by which he should be 21 governed in fixing the amount to be levied, may very satis¬ factorily be collected from the correspondence under consi¬ deration * * * ’ The suggestion of Mr. Mills, that a maximum should be fixed by Government on the first soil of land, is the only one of that gentleman’s valuable observa¬ tions on this branch. The Governor in Council is inclined to dissent; there is no reason why Government should in any instance fetter the discretion of Mr. Goldsmid, whose means of judgment far exceed those of any other person, and who is perfectly able to avail himself of these means.” 40. The imposition of an extra rate upon well garden lands formed part of Mr. Goldsmid’s scheme. A lengthened corres¬ pondence occurred regarding the policy of this measure, the Revenue Commissioner supporting Mr. Goldsmid’s view, and the Collector opposing it. Government, in passing their decision upon the question, observed thus :—“ The arguments on which he (Mr. Goldsmid) grounds this proposal are, as you justly observe, very sensible, and they are further enforced by your authority; but it seems to have escaped your notice that Mr. Mills distinct¬ ly disapproves of the increase, and his reasoning in opposition to it is, in the Governor in Council’s opinion, conclusive.” 41. Gn receipt of these instructions Mr. Goldsmid was di¬ rected by the Revenue Commissioner to submit a further report upon the question of imposing an additional rate on garden land, and the inquiry resulted in his being permitted by Government to carry out his original plan. The taxation of well lands was not, however, first introduced by Mr. Goldsmid. It formed part of the old Mahrdtta system of assessment and of Mr. Pringle’s also. I shall have occasion hereafter to remark at length upon this sub¬ ject, but it seems expedient to record in this place that the plan of assessing well garden lands had not its origin with the Dec- can Survey Settlement. 42. There was an entire accord amongst the several officers concerned as to the advisability of adopting a decennial instead of an annual settlement, and Government in sanctioning the measure expressed their approval of it in the following terms:— “ On reconsidering this subject it occurs to the Governor in Council that the notion of an experimental settlement for a year involves a fallacy. The object of the experiment must be to ascertain, first, what is the average produce of the lands in cultivation; and,, next, how far the ryots may by liberal terms be induced to cultivate more extensively. But these objects no twelve-months’ experiment could possibly accom¬ plish. With respect to the first, it is manifest that no single 22 year can be relied on as a test of the average annual product of lands. With respect to the other, it is equally plain that no terms, however liberal, can lead to extended cultivation under a lease of a single year. In short, the benefits to be expected from a decennial settlement depend precisely on. the length of the term, and, therefore, no shorter term can afford any sample or specimens of them. The decennial term will itself be the best and the only experiment. “ To agree with the ryot for a low rent and then to grant him only a.year’s holding, is, as Mr. Goldsmid justly observes, to sacrifice revenue without attaining the object of encourag¬ ing cultivation.” 43. It will probably be thought that I have been somewhat prolix in my explanations and quotations bearing upon the ques¬ tion of the form of settlement proposed for adoption in Inddpur. But it has appeared to me that it would be impossible fully to appreciate the difficulties which the survey officers had to con: tend with in arriving at a judgment upon the point, unless all the circumstances that transpired were fully recapitulated. It has seemed equally desirable, too, that the views of the- Government of the day upon the several proposals should be fully stated. * 44. It will be seen from the foregoing remarks that the in¬ structions committed to Mr. Goldsmid to carry oufy comprised the following points:— ls£.—That the measurements of Mr. Pringle’s survey were to form the basis of the assessment. 2nd.—That a minute classification of all the lands of each village was to be made. 3rd.—That he was empowered to fix the assessment rates of the district. 4th.—That the settlement was to be considered decennial. 45. Great latitude was allowed Mr. Goldsmid in carrying out these instructions, and the sequel will show that, in the exer¬ cise of the discretionary power confided to him, considerable mo¬ difications were subsequently made in the plan originally pro.- posed. PART II.—The Introduction of the Settlement, and its Results. 46. As Mr. Goldsmid was about to enter upen the duties of carrying out the foregoing intructions, he was joined by Lieu- 23 tenant Wingate, who had been appointed specially to aid in the proposed settlement. Lieutenant Wingate soon displayed that ability and those peculiar qualifications for revenue and survey duties which marked his subsequent career. His first report on Ind^pur contains several suggestions for revenue reforms, many of which have subsequently been engrafted into our revenue ad¬ ministration system. His clear intellect and sound judgment, associated with Mr. Goldsmid’s strong reformatory talents and en¬ ergetic character, formed a combined measure of qualifications peculiarly well fitted for the important work entrusted to them. 47. They soon set themselves to work. What portion of the survey and assessment work was more particularly undertaken by each, does not appear from the records of their proceedings; but it is evident that both worked well and cordially together, and the success of their operations may, doubtless, in a great measure be attributed to this. 48. I think it better to allow Messrs. Goldsmid and Wingate to give an account of their own proceedings, and have, therefore, extracted the following paragraphs from Lieutenant Wingate’s report, on the Inddpur settlement bearing upon this subject:— “ The accuracy of the measurement was tested by having a certain number of the fields of every village (marked off from the papers, by the European officers) re-measured by the karkuns of the establishment, whose work was subse¬ quently tested by the surveying officer, and accuracy ensured by the prompt infliction of punishment upon occasion of error or negligence on their parts being brought to light. On the result of this investigation, should the survey measurements ,n have been executed with a tolerable degree cent of the truth. 0± accuracy, * they were retained and correct¬ ed when necessary, but when it appeared that the errors were beyond reasonable limits, and likely to viti¬ ate the assessment, the village was wholly re-measured. The necessity of making an entirely new classification of the soil, without reference to that executed at the time of the survey, was owing to the latter being made after no general standard ; .the particular classes of soil in one village (as described in the 77th paragraph of Lieutenant Shortrede’s report) not corresponding with those bearing the same denomination in another, which must have increased greatly the difficulty of forming an effective check, if it did not render this altoge¬ ther impracticable. 24 “ In consequence of this defect in the survey classifi- . cation Mr. Goldsmid determined to reject it altogether and re-classify the whole pergunna upon one general system, having reference solely to the natural productive qualities of the soil, and leaving wholly out of consideration extrinsic circumstances, such as vicinity to the village, command of water, &c., which, although carefully noted with the view of finally assisting in fixing the assessment, were not permitted, to affect the classification. By this means the elements of the classification were reduced to a consideration of the natural fertility of the soil alone, which rendered the work compara¬ tively simple, and enabled the European officer,. after acquir¬ ing some practical knowledge of the different descriptions of soil usually met with, to become an effective check upon the kdrkuns engaged in classifying the land.” 49. The villages of the Kalas Division were first brought under settlement in 1836, and. the remaining part of the district the following year. There is still, therefore, another year of the thirty-years’ lease to run out in the latter case. It seems to be ad¬ visable to have the whole taluka brought under the revised rates at the same time." On this account, as well as for the other reasons which have been given in an official communication, I have deemed it expedient to defer the re-settlement of the Kalas Division till next year, when the whole district will be brought under the revised rates at the same time. * 50. The taluka comprised 76 Government villages in 1836. * Half of one village But two villages belonging to it, which were was, however, held in held in In am at that time as belonging to the . Inam. Deshmukhi of the Satara Raja, have sub¬ sequently come under Government ’ management, consequent on an exchange of lands made with the Raja, and were assessed in 1845. The half Inam village, which also formed part of the same Inam holding, has likewise been ceded, and was assessed also at the same time. In the early period, therefore, of the settlement lease and up to 1845 our revenue accounts will be for 74J villages only. ' ' 51. But, although the settlement was partially introduced in 1836, no report upon it was submitted to Government till 1838, or till after a lapse of two years. During this interval the other part of the district had been also brought under the operation of the measure, and the result for the whole taluka was embodied in one report. 52. The original report was prepared by Lieutenant Nash, who was appointed to the survey in 1836, and had taken part in the operations carried out in the principal, or M^mlatdar’s, divi- 25 sion of the taluka. His report is reviewed by Lieutenant Wingate and then forwarded to the Collector, who submits the correspond¬ ence to the Revenue Commissioner with his opinion ; and the latter transmits it to Government with his own remarks upon the whole question. Final orders upon the papers were eventually issued at the end of 1838, the letter being dated the 31st of De¬ cember. All the correspondence referred to above is annexed, and will, doubtless, be read with interest, as showing the opinions of the day upon a measure which has since worked such great results. • . . â–  . • m 53. According to Mr. Goldsmid’s original proposals, the clas¬ sification of soil was to be carried out upon the rough plan of hav¬ ing three or four classes, as followed in the old native plan of classifying land. It was found, however, on attempting to apply such a system, that it would be far too rough to effect an equable distribution of assessment. Upon this, therefore, Messrs. Gold- smid and Wingate devised the plan of arranging the soils under three main divisions according to colour, each division being sub¬ divided into three different grades- or classes, thus making nine classes in all. A scale of values was assigned to the several classes thus formed, 12 annas being the highest and 2 the lowest rate. 54 The Collector and Revenue Commissioner, concurring in. the reasons given by the survey officers, for this modification of the proposals originally made, expressed their approval of the system of classification adopted; but Government, in reviewing this part of the operations, observe as follows :—“ The rates of these nine classes are said to have been derived from local inquiry and the experience of qualified persons, without any very minute investigation into • actual produce or actual expenditure. The ap¬ plicability of such rates must entirely depend on the degrees in which the framers of them were qualified for the difficult and deli¬ cate task of preparing them. There is no test to which they can be subjected, except that of experiment for a fair series of years.” But, though, considering the information on this point defective, Government nevertheless, with a generous confidence in the officers employed, did not hesitate in according their sanction to this part of the plan of operations. 55. It appears from the remarks upon this subject that Government did not .exactly understand how the classification of the soil had been applied to the assessment of the land. They seemed^ to think that extrinsic circumstances affecting the value of land, such as roads, markets, &c., should have been combined with the classification valuations, and imagined that Messrs. Wingate and Nash had overlooked these considerations. b 209—d 26 56. It is not surprising that there should at first have .been spme misunderstanding of the principles on which the survey offi¬ cers had proceeded; but as regards the point under discussion, Lieutenant Wingate had been careful in' explaining , that these extrinsic circumstances, though disregarded in the classification, “ have been carefully noted with the view of finally assisting in fixing the assessment.” . -The misconception of the Survey officers’ proceedings seems, however, .to be attributable to the circumstance of Government not understanding that the-value of these, extrin¬ sic circumstances was, considered and adjusted by a subsequent process, viz., in the fixing of the rates, which was then, and is still, an operation apart from the classification of the soil. 57.. The Collector, Mr. Mills, considered both the maximum and minimum rates to be extremely low compared with the Mdmul rates, but at the same time expressed his opinion that they were as high as they ought to be, considering the depressed condition of the ryots. He then proceeds to argue that the present state of Ind&pur is fictitious to a certain extent, as the low assessment had attracted ryots from neighbouring states and from our highly- assessed districts. He contends, therefore, that as the same low rates of assessment become extended throughout the collectorate generally, the fugitive ryots will return to their paternal fields; consequently that the increase of cultivation which had taken place during the two years since the settlement was introduced is tem¬ porary only. 58. These objections were answered in part by the Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Williamson : “As to the state of the district being fictitious,” he observes, “ this is true in part, if Mr. Mills meant that it is flourishing in comparison with other districts.” A complete expose, however, of the incorrectness of the Collectors statements is to be found in a report from Lieutenant Wingate written subsequently to the issue of the orders on the settlement. 59. Referring to the extension of cultivation .being said to be due to the influx of ryots from other districts, Lieutenant Wingate observes: “Were the greater part of the newly-taken up land in Ind^pur actually found to be the consequence of emigration, this would form no valid objection to the new settlements, but it would materially weaken our anticipation of like immediate benefits resulting from the extension of similar settlements to other districts, and on this account the determination of the facts of the case becomes a question of importance. The information contained in the returns before me fortunately admits of this being done in the most conclusive manner, and it will prove a source of satisfaction to the Honourable the Governor to know that the now apparently flourishing condition of Ind&pur is due to no adventitious circum- 27 stances peculiar to that taluka, but simply to the reduction and equalization of assessment effected by the new settlement, and, therefore, that there is the fairest promise of like extensive benefits attending the introduction of similar, settlements throughout the Deccan.” 60. Lieutenant Wingate then submits certain returns re¬ ceived from the Kumavisdar of the district, showing the number of jiew settlers or families who had emigrated to Ind^pur since the commencement of the settlement. He afterwards sums up the result detailed in these statements in the following terms :—“ It appears, then, that of the vast extension of cultivation that has taken place in Ind&pur subsequent to the commencement of the operations for the revision of its assessment, 3,308 acres 16gun- tas only are to be ascribed to new settlers and foreign sources of every description, whilst the whole of the balance, amounting, to no less than 67,853 acres 18 guntas, has been effected by the exer¬ tions of its old inhabitants.” The Collector’s statement as to the causes to which the spread of cultivation was ascribable, was thus shown to be incorrect, whilst subsequent events have abundantly proved the correctness of Lieutenant Wingate’s views, thus early expressed, upon the general effect of the settlement. « 61. In reviewing the remarks upon the assessment, Govern¬ ment observe :—“ The question is not whether it is low enough, but whether it is not too low.” The results of the measure, as shown in the increased revenue collections in 1836-37 and 1837-38, are admitted to be satisfactory, but Government seemed disposed to think, with Mr. Mills, that the increase in cultivation was attri¬ butable to some extent to ryots being drawn to Ind^pur from our neighbouring districts by the lowness of the new assessment. Subsequently, however, on receipt of Lieutenant Wingate’s letter, alluded to above, the results of the settlement were pronounced to be * highly satisfactory. 62. In disposing of the question affecting the manner adopt¬ ed for assessing well Bagayet lands, Government agree with the Revenue Commissioner that Mr. Mills had misunderstood the orders of the Honourable the Court of Directors, directing that “ land should be assessed according to its capability, and not ac¬ cording to its produce,” in quoting them as prohibitory of an assess¬ ment being placed upon Bagayet land. They then observed :—“ The capability of the land depends as much on the facility of irriga¬ tion and local peculiarities as it does on the colour and depth and other qualities of the soil. The principle, therefore, on which Ba. gayet is assessed at higher rates than Jerayet, is one which must- be admitted generally.” They next proceed to consider whether 28 it would not be expedient to suspend the operation of the prin¬ ciple in a district where water is deficient like Ind&pur, and, finally, dispose of the whole question in the following terms :—. “ Your predecessor has stated his opinion that the rates fixed are low, and that the country is well able to bear them. The Engineer officers seem of the same opinion, and the Honourable the Governor in Council, therefore, considers it unnecessary to direct any change to be introduced.” 63. The last, but perhaps the most important, point of the report upon which a decision had to be passed, was in respect to the duration of the settlement lease, whether it should be for ten years, as originally sanctioned and strongly recommended by the Collector, or whether it should be for thirty years, as proposed by Lieutenant Wingate and advocated by the Revenue Commissioner. The decision was in favour of the ten-years’ lease, and I think it right to quote, in extenso, the arguments advanced by Government in arriving at this decision :— “ The period during which the present survey and assess¬ ment is to be secured without enhancement to the ryots, is next to be considered. Lieutenant Wingate is disposed (para. 17) to a permanent settlement, or, at least, to one of thirty-years’ duration, instead of the term, at present fixed, of ten years. This reasoning is of a general nature applicable to the general question, whether a permanent is not, cceteris paribus, prefer¬ able to a temporary settlement. Your predecessor, I am in¬ structed to state, is a strong advocate for permanency, while Mr. Mills argues on the other side, and it must be admitted that his arguments are weighty and deserving of serious consideration. “ It must not be forgotten that the very causes which have been cited as the grounds for the present measure are still in full operation. The price of grain is still falling, and it is impossible to say whether Yhe average of the next ten years may not be as much below that of the last, as that was of the ten#years preceding. Where there is but one staple pro¬ duce in the country, as is unfortunately the case in these dis¬ tricts, and that staple grain, there is far more probability of such a result than in a country producing articles of export or for manufacture within it, even though the value of the precious metals should remain stationary. On the other hand it is impossible to foretell what may be the result of the con¬ tinuance of our rule and of those measures for the improve¬ ment of the country and of the condition of the people which we are gradually introducing. 29 “ Added to this is the consideration that the present is but an isolated experiment. The extension to the whole of the Deccan of the same measures and the same rates of assess¬ ment as those introduced into Inddpur may, the Governor in Council conceives, be productive of results which will materi¬ ally affect the now apparently flourishing condition of that taluka. Enjoying now advantages which are confined to it alone, it is not to be expected that the elevation of all the sur¬ rounding districts towards its level will not be attended with some corresponding depression of Indapur. The height to which it has been raised, may prove rather relative than positive, and, if so, an adherence to the present measure as a permanent settlement may produce the very evils which it is so desirable to avoid. Numerous failures ought, moreover, to lead us to hesitate before placing ourselveS in a position from which we cannot retrace our steps. It is very true, as Mr. Williamson argues, that by fixing the present as maximum rates we can always step forward to relieve the agricultural classes by further reductions; but the present rates have not, it must be confessed, been fixed on so perfect and decisive a principle as would justify Government in'limiting its demand on the land to them under every change of circumstance to which the country can by any possibility be liable. . The return comprises sales effected in 22 villages scat¬ tered over different parts of the taluka, and may, therefore, be said to be a fair estimate of the average value of land;.and', according to the data therein given, the right of occupancy in 44 land held under the settlement is now worth seventeen years* pur- * chase of the assessment. We may, conse- 81175 x 17=13I791975 ffuently, assume that the private property pertaining to the occupancy of land now vest¬ ed in the inhabitants of the district represents a capital of pp wards of thirteen and half lakhs. 100. Combining our several estimates of the value of the permanent works and property in land created by the improve¬ ments effected during the currency of the lease, I find that they amount to the large sum of above seventeen lakhs, as shown below Rs. Estimated value of new wells (para. 96) 2,50,000 Do. do. of old ones repaired (para. 96) 50,000 Do. do. of chauris and dharamsdlas (para. 97) 21,752 Do, do. of occupancy of land (para. 99) 13,79,975 Total... Rs. 17,01,727 101. For information as to the extent to which the floating capital of the agricultural class has been augmented by the measure, I would refer to the statement appended, exhibiting for each village of the district the result of two different census of the inhabitants, cattle, agricultural implements, carts, &c., taken, respectively, in 1835-36 and 1865-66. The following is a summary of the results therein detailed;— Pescription, Numerical Return according to Census taken in Increase in favour of 1865-66, 1835-36, 1865-66. Numerical. Percentage. Inhabitants... ... 40,179 52,830 12,651 31 Bullocks employed in farm¬ ing operations 17,673 20,976 3,303 18 Cattle of other descriptions... 27,002 24,565 2,437 9 decrease. Carts ... ... ... 291 1,165 00 -vT 300 Ploughs 1,454 1,820. 366 25 102, Referring first to the population, which is the real mo¬ tive power by which all improvements are effected, I find that the numerical difference between the two returns given is 12,752, be¬ ing equivalent to an increase of 31 per cent; or, speaking in round 45 numbers, we may say the population is one-third more than it was thirty years ago. As compared with other countries the ratio of increase is small. In England the population is said to double itself in rural districts in fifty years, and market-towns and large cities show a much larger increase. 103. But, even with the increase noted, the present population of the district is very sparse, as it bears the low proportion of only 101 souls to the square mile. There is certainly rather an un¬ usually large proportion of unculturable land in Indapur; but de¬ ducting this, and making our estimate on the culturable area alone, the average number of inhabitants is still only in the ratio of 119 to the mile. This shows a marked contrast to some of the Guzer&t districts, where, according to returns given in one of the recent settlement reports, there are 522 souls to the same given area; and this, I may observe, combined with fertility of soil, serves to explain the reason why a Guzer4t district can pay so much more revenue than a poor and thinly-populated Deccan district. 104. The census shows an addition, during the thirty years, of about 18 per cent to the number of cattle used for agricultural purposes. Considering, the large expansion of cultivation during the above-mentioned period, the increase is less than might have been expected. The season, however, in which the enumeration was made, was very unfavourable in the Kalas division of the taluka, and a good many cattle had been sent away to other districts for grazing, and a good many also sold for want of fodder. The num¬ ber returned is, therefere, somewhat less than the cultivators’ ordi¬ nary stock. But we must expect this source of,floating capital to be fluctuating in a district with such an uncertain climate—to decrease, in short, in seasons of scarcity, and increase again in seasons of plenty. 105. Carts show most favourably in our return. They haye increased three hundred per cent; that is to say, there were only 221 in the district in 1835-36, and there are now 1,615. I have already given an account of Lieutenant Gaisford’s proceedings in constructing a new model of a light country cart. The perfect success which has attended his exertions is shown by the remark¬ able fact that the old lumbering machine with stone-disc wheels has disappeared from the face of the land, the present stock of 1,165 being all made after the pattern originally introduced by him. 106. ‘These carts are not kept for agricultural purposes only, but they serve a most important end in effecting a distribution of produce, being extensively employed in the transport of grain. During great part of last season they were transporting grain from the Nagar Districts, where it was comparatively cheap and plen- 46 tiful, to the drought-stricken district of Athni, in the Belgaum Collectorate. This year their services will, I fear, be required in supplying their own districts, where, unfortunately, the season has been very unfavourable. This transport of grain furnishes a pro¬ fitable source of employment to the cultivators, and at the time, too, when their services are not required for field work. 107.I trust the remarks in this chapter, though imperfect in many respects, will nevertheless have so far served the object in view as to indicate generally the effects of the settlement upon the condition of the people and the resources of the district. I shall now, therefore, turn to the consideration of the more im¬ mediate subject of my report, viz., the revision of the present settlement, or, in other words, the new rates of assessment to be imposed upon the district. PART III.—Revision Operations and proposed Rates of Assessment. 108. The execution of an entirely new survey of the district has been the first step taken in connection with the revision. The present settlement, as has been already explained, was based upon Mr. Pringle’s survey, which, though considered a good sur¬ vey at the time Messrs. Goldsmid’s and Wingate’s settlement opera¬ tions were carried out, would be thought a very imperfect measure in the present day ; and no Superintendent of Survey would ven¬ ture to impose an assessment based upon such imperfect measure¬ ments. 109. To show the degree of accuracy considered sufficient in those days, I need only refer to Messrs. Goldsmid’s and Wingate’s memorandum explaining their operations. Speaking of the test or partial measurement of villages undertaken with the view of ascertaining the general correctness of the survey, they state as follows :—“ If the result of this investigation tended to prove that the contents of the fields thus visited had been estimated with tolerable correctness at the time of the survey ( say within ten per cent of the truth), it was for the time assumed that the whole lands of the village had been in the first instance correctly surveyed. 110. In the present day measurements are considered faulty, in an open country like Ind&pur, if errors of three per cent are met with; and the average difference between test and original measurement is generally, as a rule, not above one per cent in our surveys. 111. But, independently of faulty measurement, the former survey was defective in other important respects. What these defects are, has been already explained in a report to Government 47 recommending an entire re-survey of the district preliminary to the revision of rates. The following are the remarks here alluded to:— “ But, independently of a want of accuracy in the actual measurement of the land, Mr. Pringle’s survey was in other respects a most imperfect measure. It was confined, for the most part, to culturable lands, and did not generally include within its operations gairan and hill tracts. The survey officers did not consider it necessary to remedy this defect at the partial revision of the work alluded to above, and, conse¬ quently, there is in many cases no record in the present settle¬ ment paper of the area of the above kinds of land. The opera¬ tions, too, were imperfect in another important respect, in that they were not executed on a plan admitting of the preparation -of a village map.” 112. The following statement, exhibiting the results of the measurements of part of a village according to Mr. Pringle’s and according to the present suryey, may be taken as a fair specimen of the errors to be met with in the former work :— Survey Number. Area according to Difference, Mr. Pringle’s Survey. Present Survey. In Area. Per Cent. - Acres. Guntas. Acres. Guntas. • Acres. Guntas. 1 9 22 8 11 1 11 13 2 25 0 35 4 10 4 40 3 16 33 18 7 1 14 8 4 13 8 16 30 3 22 27 5 20 34 24 18 3 24 17 6 1 38 2 11 0 13 16 7 2 36 2 38 0 2 2 8 3 37 4 6 0 9 6 9 2 30 3 24 0 34 31 10 13 14 14 0 0 26 5 11 17 3 16 38 0 5 1 12 9 12 10 6 0 24 6 13 13 17 9 6 4 11 32 14 17 20 18 â–  39 1 19 8 15 22 2 16 12 5 30 24 16 16 8 30 25 14 17 89 17 29 26 36 17 6 31 23 18 35 19 44 39 9 20 27 19 9 5 17 27 8 22 94 20 35 10 30 0 5 10 15 48 113.It is due, however, to Messrs. Goldsmid and "Wingate to explain that the large errors in their survey now brought to light are not so much attributable to actual faulty measurements of individual fields, as to the circumstance of the field boundary- marks (which were not erected till the lapse of ten or twelve years after the settlement had been introduced) not having been erected according to the actual limits to which their survey was confined. There being no maps whereby the boundaries of fields could be identified, the erection of the boundary-marks had, con¬ sequently, to be left almost entirely to the cultivators. The result was that, as a rule, wherever gairan land adjoined a cultivated field, a portion of it was included in the boundaries of the latter. 114. This practice was carried to such an extent that hun¬ dreds of acres of gairan have been thus ab¬ sorbed in many villages. A few instances of the kind are given in the margin. Where boundaries have been changed in this man¬ ner in the interval between the two sur¬ veys, there can, of course, be no area agree¬ ment between the two operations; so that what appears now as a serious error in the former survey is in reality in many cases the result of the plan on which the bound¬ ary-marks were erected. The existence, however, . of such encroachments is, of course, one of the best reasons for a re-survey. 115. In dismissing this question of the incompleteness of the former survey I desire to explain particularly that my remarks have been made entirely with the view of justifying the re-survey of the district, and I should be sorry, indeed, were they to be read as reflecting on the operations of my predecessors, in the survey. 116. The question as to the plan on which the re-survey should be conducted, formed the subject of considerable discussion. Captain Nasmyth, the officer in charge of the Trigonometrical Survey party in Bombay, was consulted, specially upon the point as to how the work should be executed so as to be useful hereafter for the operations of his department. Colonel Rivers, who has had considerable experience in the Trigonometrical Survey, was also consulted on this point. The result of these deliberations is set forth in the following extracts of my letter upon the subject:— Village. Gairan Acres included in cultivated Field. Baura 2,093 Kalas 1,863 Shetplial ... 1,668 Nirguda ... # 1,456 49 “6. With regard to the plan upon which the new survey should be carried out, it has been felt that our present system of operations, though well adapted to' ensure an ac¬ curate record of the extent of the subdivisions of land com¬ prised in our field survey, would be improved were our work incorporated with the Topographical Survey, so as to produce a map of the country based upon points fixed by the latter Department. I have been directed to confer with Captain Nasmyth, of the Trigonometrical Survey, and Colonel Divers (who served for some time in the same department), as to the system by which the operations of the two branches of the survey could be amalgamated so as to effect the end in view. Both these officers have kindly drawn up a memorandum on the subject, which I subjoin :— Captain Nasmyth’s Memorandum. “ * To make the revenue survey measurements useful to the topographical surveyor, it would be necessary that the former should commence from, and close upon fixed and easily-recognizable points, “ ‘ 2. Detailed instructions are given in Colonel Thuil- lier’s Manual of Surveying; but generally it may be remarked that the revenue surveyor ought to connect his measurements with all stations of the Trigonometrical Survey, or points fixed by it within his reach. The position of these—their latitude, longitude, and azimuth —can always be got by appli¬ cation to the Surveyor-General. Failing trigonometrical points in the district under survey, the revenue surveyor should con¬ nect his work with any. temples, remarkable trees, or other easily-recognizable points. “ ‘ 3. The field-books should be kept with scrupulous regularity, and should record the comparisons of the chain. Copies of each successive day’s work should be forwarded to the Superintendent’s office, where it would be examined and plotted, so that there could be no tampering with the books. “ ‘ 4. Where angles are measured with the theodolite, a similar system shall be pursued, and all observations should be taken at opposite faces of the instrument as a check upon gross errors, and to show always the state of the callimation of the instrument. “ ‘ 5. The greasy pencils that are now manufactured, if used with carbonic-acid paper, would admit of the regis¬ tries being recorded in duplicate by one operation, and the plotting of the work from carefully kept field-books might be effected at any subsequent time with as much ease as at the time of the measurements being made. B 209—g 50 “ ‘ 6. There must ever be intermediate processes in the preparation of a map of the country between the trigonome- rical and’ revenue surveys, those, viz:., by which the large triangles of the former are broken up into smaller ones, the roads and rivers traversed, and the features of the country contoured; but the boundary measurements of the revenue survey might very well be turned to account, and the cost of repeating them saved.’ Colonel Rivers1 Memorandum. “ ‘ I have read Captain Nasmyth’s Memorandum on the subject of incorporating the work done by the revenue survey into a topographical survey, so as to produce a map of the country. “ ‘ 2. The connecting link should, in my opinion, be tra¬ verses taken with theodolites of roads and circuit bounda¬ ries either of villages or groups of villages. These traverses should be taken by the revenue surveyors, as they will know the boundaries, but they should be checked by trigonometrical points. . “ * 3. These points should be fixed by the trigonometri¬ cal or topographical party ; there should not be fewer than one in every four square miles. Every conspicuous temple, tree, or other object should.be fixed, and if no conspicuous objects exist to that amount, artificial marks should be erected. They should be entirely dependent on the principal triangles of the trigonometrical survey, and the revenue surveyors should make no attempt to lay down trigonometrical' points from their chain- measured bases. “ * 4. Sheets with these points being supplied by the trigonometrical party to the revenue surveyors, the field work will proceed; but the field-books should be sent to a mapping office, where these circuit boundaries and high roads shall be laid down by the aid of the trigonometrical points. “‘ 5. These traverses may, therefore, be considered ri¬ gidly correct, and the adjoining circuits cannot fail to fit accur¬ ately, which they never would if dependent on chain-measured traverses alone. “ ‘ 6. Within these boundaries the field maps of the revenue survey will now be laid down. Errors in the latter will, doubtless, become apparent, but the traverses will show in what direction the errors lie, and they will be reduced to an amount quite inappreciable in the mapping office. “ * 7. In the ordinary open country of the Deccan hav¬ ing the roads, the village boundaries, and the field maps, 51 nothing else seems required ; but, of course, in many places sketching parties will also be required to delineate the topo¬ graphical featured of the country, and this should be done in sheets in which the traverses and the trigonometrical points have been laid down.’ “ 9. To carry out this plan of combining the “operations of the two surveys, it will be necessary for me to furnish the topographical branch with an outline map, showing the cir¬ cuits of villages and the points fixed. It will then remain with them to take up as many of these points as may be suitable to their work, but sufficient to ensure the preparation of a district map. In Sind the settlement and the topographical survey are carried on upon this plan. The objection to the plan in this case is, that the corrected copy of the district map cannot be prepared till the country has been topographically surveyed.” 117. The traverse survey system proposed in the correspond¬ ence quoted above, has been carried out throughout the district. One of the chief results of the measure is the preparation of a dis¬ trict map more accurate than any map of the kind hitherto pre¬ pared by the Revenue Survey Department. The more accurate construction of the village map has also been ensured by the mea¬ sure,, whilst at the same time it forms a check upon the general ‘ correctness of the detailed field measurements of the village, as any considerable difference between the total area of the village by our Revenue Survey and its total area computed from the traverse survey would indicate faulty measurement which might not other¬ wise be brought to light. 118. The following comparative statement exhibits the re¬ sults of the new and former survey shown in detail under the same heads :— Government Land. Alienated Land. Roads, Tanks, &c. Grand Total. Culturable. Unculturable. Gairan and unassessed. Total. Culturable. Unculturable. Total. Present survey. 270,076 18,095 18,679 306,850 13,854 1,163 15,017 13,805 335,672 Mr. Pringle’s survey... 238,135 17,912 43,653 299,700 13,884 765 14,649 272 314,621 Increase 31,941 183 ... 7,1 • 398 368 13,533 21,051 Decrease ... ... 24,974 30 52 On examining this statement it will be seen that the difference in total area between the two surveys is not so much as might be expected from the faulty nature of the detailed field measure¬ ments explained in paragraph 112, being only about 6} per cent. There is, however, the large difference of 31,941 acres between the two returns of culturable area. This is of great importance as regards our re-assessment operations, for it shows that this large area has hitherto been held rent-free as rt were, being in excess of the former assessed area. 119. The accuracy of the detailed field survey measure¬ ments has been ensured by a careful test taken by the European assistant. In this operation, however, there is nothing to record as differing in any respect from the practice now generally followed in our surveys. 120. I was hopeful at first that Messrs. Goldsmid and Win¬ gate’s classification would serve as the basis of the new assess¬ ment. A careful examination, however, of the work has elicited considerable discrepancies in valuation. These discrepancies are attributable in many cases to the difference in area between the measurement of fields as now made and as originally recorded, adverted to in a previous paragraph. To remedy this defect I tried the plan of re-classifying all fields where the difference in area between the two surveys exceeded a given percentage. But it was found that this plan would not ensure a complete correction of the errors ascribable to- this cause, and, moreover, it involved the rather difficult operation of adjusting the present valua¬ tion to the former standard adopted by Messrs. Goldsmid and Wingate. 121. What is here stated will, perhaps, be better understood if we take as an example the case of a field of which the area has been found on re-survey to be 40 instead of 30 acres, as per former survey; We may suppose the increase to be the result of a change of boundaries. It follows, therefore, that there are 10 acres of which no valuation was made in the former classification, but which have now to be classified, as forming an integral part of the field. Now if these 10 acres are poor soil, and the rest of the field middling good, the former valuation would be incorrect, as we put a fixed average rate on each field based on an estimate of all the different varieties of soil it contains. Suppose, for in¬ stance,’ that the average rate of the 30 acres is 8 annas worked out by 15 shares of 2 acres each, and that 2 annas per acre is the value of the 10 additional acres. Now, to arrive at an average'value of 53 the whole field, we require to add the corresponding number of shares which these lO^acres represent, which is 5, to the aggregate value of the former shares. The following will be the result thus worked out — Annas. 15 shares at an average of 8 annas = 120 Add— 5 do. at do. 2 do. 10 20 130 6-6 pies. 122. If, therefore, the, former rate of 8 annas per acre were applied to the 40 acres, which is the assessable area of the field according to re-survey, it would be over-assessed to the extent of 1^ annas per acre, which would be equal to an addition of Rs. 3-12-0 to the assessment of the whole field. Greater discrepancies than this might occur, for I have taken the case of an 8-anna field, where¬ as a 12-anna one might be subject to the same error in valuation from difference in area. The above, however, shows sufficiently the importance of having the classification based upon all the varieties of soil comprised within a field. 123. But, besides this, Indapur is the first district in which a regular classification of soils was attempted by the Survey De¬ partment, and the plan of operations, as may be readily supposed, was rough at first starting. We have been unable to make out, with the accuracy desirable in such matters, the precise standard of valuation adopted. . It seems to have been different in the Kalas (where operations were commenced) to that of the Indi¬ pur Division, subsequently classified. There would have been dif7 ficulty, therefore, attended with the risk of inequality of assess¬ ment, if we had kept the old classification, and endeavoured to adjust our valuation of fields re-classified to the same standard. 124. All. things considered, it has seemed to me to be safer and more expedient in several respects to make an entirely new classification of the district based upon the improved system of operations which, with the experience of the past thirty years, has been introduced into the Survey Department since Indapur was first classified. 125. The work has been carefully tested by an assistant, and both.the Superintendent, Major Waddington, and myself have subsequently personally examined it in several villages. 54 126. Having explained the preliminary measures of the re¬ vision operations, I shall next proceed to show how I propose to fix the new rates, their amount, and their effect upon the revenue of the district. 127. The revision of the first of a series of revenue settlements, dating back thirty years from the present time, must naturally include not merely an adjustment of rates, but a consideration of the general principles upon which they were fixed. Our plan of settlement operations, though rough originally—and it may be said perhaps experimental only in Inddpur—has now been fully established; and experience, whilst giving confidence gained from successful results, has enlightened us on many points which seemed to the first projectors of the measure to be beset with difficulties. But, apart from this, the principles to be made specially applicable to the revision operations now yearly to be carried out throughout the Presidency have to be defined. 128. In the first place I think it should be understood that at a revision settlement a new grouping of villages should be made, should circumstances seem to call for such a measure; and the cases will be rare, I think, where the circumstances of the district have not undergone such marked changes during -the currency of the thirty-years’ lease as have materially altered the condition and rateable position of particular villages. 129. The chief points for consideration in the re-grouping of villages will be—the state of present communications as compared with those existing at the time of the original settlement, and the establishment of new markets, or the decline of those which were the principal ones when the first grouping took place. Many changes will be required on these accounts. The railway in some districts has not only opened out new communications, but been the means of establishing new markets; and, on the other hand, it has changed first-class markets into second-rate ones, as with Panwel and Bhiwandi, in the Tanna Districts, by the diversion of the traffic and trade to which they were indebted for their prosperity as market-towns. 130. Ho change will probably be required on account of plimatic influences, though this point should be fully considered on re-assessing a district; for in the earlier-fixed settlements attention was not directed to this important subject to the extent it has been latterly, and to the extent, too, that is essentially peces- sary for an equable distribution of rates of assessment. 55 131. This re-grouping should, in my opinion, be carried out generally according to the rules prescribed under this head in the following paragraph of the joint report:— “ Para. 67. In determining then upon the extent of the country to be assessed at uniform rates, we are of opinion that the more permanent distinctions of climate, markets, and husbandry should receive our chief attention. We should not think of imposing different rates of assessment on a tract of country similarly situated in respect to these three points, in consequence of the actual condition of the cultivators vary¬ ing in different parts of it. Were we to do so, we should depart from the principle laid down by the Honourable Court of Directors, of assessing land according to its capabilities, and adopt the objectionable one of doing so with reference to the means of the person holding it. The effect of such a system, by creating different rates of profits upon capital employed in agriculture, would interfere with its natural and most advan¬ tageous distribution by diverting it from land actually in cultivation to the lowly-assessed waste of those villages of which the cultivators happen to be poor. By enabling the latter to meet the Government demand without the applica¬ tion of the same degree of capital and skill required in the case of better-cultivated villages, it would foster in the former a slovenly and unremunerative mode of husbandry. By taking into account an element so uncertain and liable to change as the condition of the cultivators in particular villages, the assessment would become less and less suitable with every im¬ provement in their condition. On the other hand, by basing the assessment on considerations of a durable character, we have the promise of its remaining suitable for a lengthened period, and at the expiration of the term for which it is con¬ firmed require no further alteration than a simple increase or decrease of its amount as the^ exigencies of the country and Government might demand.” 132. But in applying these general principles I am of opinion that we should make some special reduction to meet the circumstances of the case, when inquiry shows that a village in a certain group has jiot prospered to the same extent as adjoining villages of the same group, though enjoying like advantages from the ad-interim improvements made during the lease. This should not be done, however, until a searching inquiry has been made, and it' has been clearly ascertained that the original classifica¬ tion is correct, and upon the standard adopted in the adjoining villages. 56 133. If the depressed state of the village is due to the ryots being bad cultivators, and not so careful of their resources as their neighbours, no reduction should be made. But if it should appear that some natural causes have operated in bringing about the re¬ sult—such, for instance, as occasional flooding from the inunda¬ tion of a river—I think it would be impolitic, to ignore the result of thirty-years’ experience, and keep such a village in the class to which it would belong by the application of the rule for the sake of preserving a general uniformity of rating. 134. In the Deccan districts cases of the kind will be rare probably, but in the Konkan there will, I think, be occasion for the exercise of the exceptional treatment here advocated. 135. Great care will be required of the revising officer in respect to the treatment of improvements made with the culti¬ vator’s capital. The survey rules preclude the levy of any extra assessment during the currency of a settlement lease on account of the, enhanced value of land resulting from such improvements ; and the same ruling has been embodied in the part of the Sur¬ vey Act relating to revision operations, the • following being the provision inserted in the concluding part of Section 30 :—“ Such revised assessment shall be fixed, not with reference to improve¬ ments made by the owners or occupants from private capital and resources during the currency of any settlement under this Act, but with reference to general considerations of the value of land, whether as to soil or situation, prices of produce, or facilities of communication.” 136. There may, perhaps, be some difficulty in determining precisely the kind of improvement which is to be exempted from assessment at the revision. There are some improvements which obviously come under the rule : the construction of a new well, and the conversion thereby of dry-crop into garden land, and, in the same way, the repair of an'old one during the currency of the settlement. These are both cases to which the rule is clearly applicable. 137. The planting of trees, which in some districts wquld give an increased value to land, is another proper exemption from enhanced assessment. And, except in cases where rules have been made specially providing for the re-survey *of rice lands at the expiration of the lease, or where rice land is held under special conditions, I should consider that new rice land—made out of Jerayet or dry-crop cultivation land at the ryots’ expense—is not assessable otherwise than at Jerayet rates, provided the land was so assessed under the original settlement. 57 138. These are clear and obvious cases, I think, in which the enhancement of assessment on account of improvements is special¬ ly barred. The class of improvements about which some doubt may, perhaps, exist, is that affecting lands, which, originally assess¬ ed at the ordinary dry-crop rates of the district, have become val¬ uable during the lease as building sites, owing to the increased accommodation required for an enlarged station, or other similar causes. Such is the case with the lands in the vicinity of Poona. This special value being, however, attributable to extraneous cir¬ cumstances, and to improvements which have been brought about mainly at the expense of the State, I am of opinion that enhance¬ ment of rates is perfectly justifiable in such cases. 139. The enhancement should, however, be regulated by a general rate applicable to building ground, and *iot by a special one for each case. If the latter course were adopted, nnd a higher rate imposed with reference to the character of the buildijtg and it3 rateable value, we should then be departing from the leading prin¬ ciple of the rule, and taxing individual improvements. 140. This question of charging an increased rate for land when appropriated to building purposes, or utilized for quarrying, is treated of under Section 35 of the Survey Act. The rules formed under the provisions of this section provide for the levy of a cer¬ tain charge, regulated by the character of the district, when land is appropriated to either of the above purposes. These rules will have effect during the currency of present leases, but at their expiration I think a building rate is to be preferred to an upset payment. Under the section referred to the assessment of land appropriated to the purposes indicated above, is declared to be “ liable to revision at any future settlement of the district.’* This, I think, renders legal the imposition hereafter of a building rate separate from the land assessment, as advocated above. 141. The foregoing suggestions appear to me to embrace the main principles by which our revision operations should be guided, and I shall now endeavour to show how they should be combined in the revision of the Indapur ratps with the other circumstance affecting the question. 142. I shall take up the general question of communications first. A marked change in this respect has taken place during the thirty years. When the settlement was introduced, there was not a mile of made road in the district. The construction of the pre¬ sent imperial line of road from Poona to Sholapur was the first great improvement. It runs through the centre of the district b 209—h 58 passing by the town of Inddpur. From its construction till the opening of the railway (to be alluded to in the sequel) this road has been an immense advantage to the district, and is so still indeed, though its importance has been materially diminished by the latter more civilized means of communication. 143. The road has served not merely as the means of bring¬ ing Poona, which is the great grain market of this part of the Deccan and to which all the other markets are more or less subsi¬ diary, within easy means of transport for grain, but it has brought great part of -the villages of the district in direct communication with their own great local market. It has also been the means of establishing a regular cart traffic between Poona and ShoMpur, which has enabled the ryots to take advantage of any rise in either of these markets when their own has been glutted or unduly- depressed. 144. „ The opening, however, of the railway line from Poona to ShoMpur in 1863 has had a great effect, not merely on the Poona road, but upon markets and prices also. The railway, as Was to be expected, has driven the cartman off the road, and mono¬ polized his perquisites; and so long as its rates are fairly regulat¬ ed with reference to the value of produce, as well as its transport cost by road, the Company will remain the great market-carriers of the produce of this district. 145. The diminution of traffic upon this line of road has considerably affected the importance of Indajanr as a market- town generally. Situated midway between ShoMpur and Poona, dealers exporting produce to either station would naturally try tHe half-way market. Many a maund of grain and many a cart-load of merchandize, intended for one or other of the above markets, has been disposed of in transit at Indapur, and the return carts laden with some articles of produce which would command a bet¬ ter price in the respective markets. The general business of the place has certainly suffered from the causes here alluded to, though as a local market it ,is still almost as important as ever, com¬ manding the produce of the district generally. I should consider, therefore, that, as regards our new rates, the market may be said to be as important as it was thirty years since, though it has somewhat declined since the railway was opened. 146. A great revolution has taken place in the price of grain during the currency of the lease. We learn from the reports of the survey officers that jow^ri, the staple product of the district, was selling at 66 seers the rupee in the year in which their rates were introduced; the average price of the five years preceding is said to have been 53 seers per rupee. The following table exhibits the 59 average yearly price in the Ind£pur market during the currency of the lease :— Year. JowAri, Number of Seers per Rupee, Bdjri, Number of Seers per Rupee. Year. Jowdri, Number of i Seers per Rupee,' • • B&jri, Number of Seers per Rupee, Year. Jowari, Number of Seers per Rupee. Bajri, Number of Seers per Rupee. 1836-37 43 34 1846-47 15 13 1856-57 32 28 1837-38 36 44 1847-48 48 32 1857-58 39 37 1838-39 67 30 1848-49 72 56 1858-59 32 18 1839-40 44 30 1849-50 72 56j 1859-60 39 31 1840-41 64 44 1850-51 38 34 1860-61 33 23 1841-42 56 40 1851-52 40 32 1861-62 27 19 1842-43 ' 68 42 1852-53 56 40 • 1862-63 16 16 1843-44 72 44 1853-54 56 36 1863-64 13 12 • 1844-45 60 36 1854-55 29 26 1864-65 16 14 1845-46 36 25 1855-56 32 29 1865-66 18 15 Ten years’ average. 56| 37 Ten years’ average. 45f 35| Ten years’ average. 26| 22 147. During the first ten years of the lease but little change took place. Prices ranged from 72 seers in 1843-44 to 36 in 1845-46, whilst the average for this decennial period is 56J. The first year in the next decennial series was a most unfavourable season, and grain rose to the rate of 15 seers the rupee. It speedily fell again, and had gone down to 72 in 1849 and 1850. A steady increase set in from this date, and it was selling at 32 in 1855*56. The average for this period is 45J. 148. Beginning with 32 seers in the last decennial period of the lease, but little fluctuation occurred during the earlier years, and down to so late as 1861-62 27 seers was the ruling rate. The general rise of prices which has spread throughout the Presidency dates from this period. Its effect was felt here, 16 seers being the rate in 1862-63, and there has been but little change since. The average price for this period is 26J seers. 149. We must consider present prices to be exceptional—to be the effect, in fact, of that commercial prosperity which has resulted from the American War. The export of cotton from that country being suspended by the war, India was called upon to furnish the supply required for the English market, and she set herself vigorously to the cultivation of that product. Ind^pur is naturally not a cotton-growing district; but as reports of the large profits realized from its cultivation reached the ryots, they 60 naturally turned their attention to its growth ; and from returns obtained from the Mdmlatd&r I find the large area of 30,049 acres is under cotton cultivation this year. A considerable area has thus been diverted from the growth of grain during the last few years. With a diminished supply there has been increased con¬ sumption, consequent on the spread of that wealth which has been poured into the country by the large profits realized from cotton. These causes operating together have been mainly instrumental in bringing about the present high prices, which, therefore, I think it safe to consider exceptional. 150. To sum up the results of the changes affecting the new rates which have taken place during the lease. Grain has risen from 66 to 55 seers the rupee; or, taking the average of the last ten years, the rise will be from 66 to 26, which is equivalent to above 150 per cent. It is difficult to put a special value upon the in¬ creased facilities of transport resulting from the ad-interim improve¬ ments. There is no doubt they have aided materially in bring¬ ing about the rise in the price of grain, and may, therefore, be included generally under the advantages which are ascribable to that measure. 151. But the climate of Indapur has unfortunately pre¬ vented the cultivators from realizing that material wealth which is indicated by the immense rise in price, of grain referred to above. The rainfall is most precarious. For two and three consecutive years it is either insufficient, or the falls so untimely, and at such long intervals apart, that no crop is brought to maturity. . Such has been the case with part of the Kalas division this year. A good average crop every other year is too liberal an allowance as an average of the general run of seasons. From the Jamdbandi reports it would appear that the cultivators get a good crop about once in three years ; that of the other two, one is a year of almost com¬ plete failure, and one of middling crops only. 152. It is only within the last few years that pluviometers for gauging the rainfall have been introduced into inland districts. I have been able to get but four years’ returns.for Indapur, which give the following result:— In. cts. Year of 1863-64, total fall gauged ... 3 18 Do. 1864-65, do. ... 11 40 Do. 1865-66, do. ... 6 95 Do. 1866-67, do. ... 5 24 26 77 Average fall for the four years... 6 69 61 This speaks volumes regarding the climate ; for what can be said of a district which has an average rainfall of somewhat less than 7 inches per annum ! 153. But it will be said that the climate is no worse now than it was thirty years ago, and, consequently, that this point does not affect the question of what the present rates should be. I admit this, but at the same time think it is necessary for me to explain to how great an extent its uncertainty. has affected the condition of the people by operating against the benefits which would otherwise have accrued to them from the rise in prices. The problem, then, which we have to solve, is this—when, or at what period during the currency of the lease, had the cultivators acquired that amount of capital which is essentially necessary for the proper cultivation of the land and their own well-being, and what was the price of grain at that time ? 154. I think it has been fully established in the review of the settlement that at the end of the first decennial period the cul¬ tivators were not in the position to pay a higher assessment had a revision taken place at that time. The average price of grain for the ten years is 56 seers per rupee; consequently we may conclude’ that the assessment was not light when gauged by the prices of that period. 155. In our remarks upon Mr. Green’s review, which took, place six years after in 1852-53, we have come to the conclusion that, though a decided improvement in the condition of the people was noticeable at that period, no considerable accumulation of capi¬ tal had taken place. The turning point had been past, and the steady rise in prices which set in from that date soon made a mark¬ ed change in the state of the district. The revenue was being regularly paid without remissions, and as indifferent seasons occurred at that time, its payment show? that the cultivators had some funds to fall back upon, and were not entirely dependent on the crop of the year. 156. I think, therefore, we may fairly assume that towards* the latter end of the second decennial period the cultivators had acquired that amount of capital and that well-to-do position which we would assign to them as the measure of profit to be left after payment of the Government assessment. I am consequently of opin¬ ion that we may take the average price of grain during the latter half of the second decennial series as the index by which we may estimate from prices what our present assessment ought to be. In other words, the percentage increase which has taken place during the last ten years will represent generally the percentage addition to the present assessment which may now be made. 62 157.Applying this rule to the case, I find the average price of grain, for the two periods indicated, stood as follows, viz.:— Average for the last five years of the second decennial series, viz., from 1851-52 (dating from the period of Mr. Green’s review) to 1855-66 42 Ditto for the ten years, from 1855-56 to 1865-66 ... 26 Difference 16 We may assume approximately, therefore, that between 56 and 60 per cent is the addition (considered solely with reference to the price of grain) which may now be made to the present assessment. 158. I find that a maximum rate of one rupee per acre, with a reduction of 2 annas for some villages and a special increase of 2 annas for Indd.pur itself (details to be explained in the sequel), will give about the required amount of assessment. .Twelve annas is the maximum on which the present assessment is based. An increase to a rupee is equivalent to an addition of 33 per cent only. But it has been shown that, according to the new survey, a considerable extent of land has hitherto been held in excess of the assessed area. The assessment now placed upon this, and the assessment resulting from the adoption of a comparatively higher standard of valuation for the best soils, form a special fund of increase to our new settlement. And these sources, swelling the general amount, raise the percentage increase higher than is indi¬ cated by the difference between a twelve-anna and a rupee maximum rate. That is to say, by the application of the latter rate to new measurements and new classification the assessment will be raised to 53 instead of 33 per oent, which is the actual difference between the two given rates. 159. I have satisfied myself by inquiries, as well as by re¬ turns of the state of the crops, that the rainfall is not equable throughout. It is evidently somewhat larger and more certain in the south-east corner of the taluk a, extending beyond Inddpur, and embracing the country along the banks of the Bhima, than in the western part of the district, extending from beyond Kalas, to the B^ramati villages. ' The three last seasons furnish striking examples ’of this. Bound about Inddpur, and in the tract of country first indicated, the rainfall, though small, has been timely and sufficient to ensure an average good crop, whilst for the same period there has been almost an entire failure in the villages round about Kalas. 63 160. It seems to mo that the more certain rainfall in the part of the district referred to, is ascribable to its position with reference to the Mhadeo Hills in the Satara Collectorate. The rain-clouds, gathering round their summit in the monsoon, pass off into the plain in a south-westerly direction, which brings them over this corner, of the Indapur district; whilst, on the other hand, the Kalas part of it lies too far west to come within the bearing of the south-west wind blowing over these hills. This, doubtless, is one of the reasons to which this change may be ascribed; but the whole valley bordering on the BKima River seems to get more late as well as more early rain than the villages near Kalas, alluded to above. I may not have indicated the real cause of this difference in the rainfall; but that a difference does exist, is beyond doubt, and I consider that it forms good grounds fpr fixing a lower rate for this part of the district. 161. There are 13 villages thus circumstanced for which I propose a maximum rate of 14 annas only, whilst for the rest of the district my rate is a rupee. Owing, however, .to the advan¬ tage which the cultivators of Indapur derive from their own mar¬ ket-town, I propose an, addition of 2 annas to the rate of that village, which, consequently, will be Rs. 1-2-0. 162. But, besides the regular Jerayet or dry-crop cultivation for which the above-mentioned rates have been fixed, there is a small extent of. land immediately on the banks of the Bhima River Which is annually flooded by flushes of the river during the monsoon season. This flooding has a very fertilizing effect, and, moreover, renders the cultivation of this tract certain and independ¬ ent of the regular rainfall. Hitherto in the Deccan districts we have made the rates of this land 4 annas in the rupee, or 25 per cent higher than the Jerayet rate of the village. Experience has satisfied me that this is, relatively, a much lower rate than it should bear. I propose, therefore, to make an addition of 50 per cent to my Jerayet rate in the present case ; that is to say, to make Rs. 1-8-0 the maximum for this flooded land. Even this is below the mark ; but I think it politic to let the cultivators have this land at favour¬ able rates, for it forms a small reserve which helps to feed their resources when the crops upon the ordinary Jerayet land fail. 163. I am unable to show the exact amount of the new assessment according to my proposed rates, as, owing to the. classi¬ fication of the district having only just been Completed, there has not been time to calculate the assessment for each village in the regular way. But the following statement, compiled from the 64 detailed returns, gives an abstract of tlie approximate result which has been worked out from the rough classification papers :— Cultivated Waste Land. Land. Total. Rs. Assessment according to proposed rates 124,506 Do. present do. .* 81,184 Rs, Rs. 194 124,700 207 81,391. # 43,322 13 43,309 According to this statement the new rates will make an addi¬ tion of 57 per cent to the present assessment of the district. But with this addition the average rate upon the whole culturable area will still be only 7 annas 8 pies per acre. 164.The rate of increase varies considerably in individual villages. In one case it amounts to 150, in several it is about 100, and in some it is only 17 and 18 per cent. Amongst the rupee class villages it ranges generally from 50 to 100 per cent. The 118 per cent village of Nimbgaon Ketki, near Ind&pur, shows one of the smallest increases. This is owing to its having a considerable extent of well-garden land, bearing a special rate for which there is no corresponding entry in the new assessment, as no special rate (as will be shown presently) will be placed upon wells in future. 165.In the 14-anna rate villages the increase varies gene¬ rally from 25 to 50 per cent. There are one or two places where it is less, and one or two cases where it is more than the above-men¬ tioned rate. This variation in individual villages is attributable to the difference between the new and the former survey, and to the difference, also,'between the two standards of classification. There can be no doubt of the*fairness of charging for land when proved by actual survey to be either in excess of former recorded area, or to have been undervalued originally. 166.With regard to the recent classification, I should here explain that great care has been taken to keep down the valuation of the lower orders of soil. A lower scale of values has been adopt¬ ed specially for them, and this will have the effect of making them lower upon the rupee than under the former 12-anna scale. During the course of my inquiries about the present rates on different soils, I was frequently asked what I intended to do with the poor barads ; for, although the cultivators about Indapur seem to be * The colleetion last year amounted to Rs. 83,502, but this includes Rs. 2,318 realized from sundry sources, independent of the regular assessment, and our com¬ parative statement is confined to the latter account. 65 prepared to expect a general increase of about 50 per cent, tlie prevailing opinion appeared to be that none of this increase should fall upon the poor soils; and such will be 'the effect of our recent classification operations; , .167; There has for some time keen h general • impreSsioh abroad that our survey rates in many of the early settled districts have been pitched proportionately higher on the poor than on the good soils j and experience has led me to think that there are grounds for Supposing this to have been the case to some exteiit; I have borne this in .mind in revising the rates of the district, and ani satisfied that no complaints of the kind will be tenable against the classification operations as carried out in Ind^pur. 168; Butj besides prices* we have^ other collateral evidence which tends materially to confirm my opinion of the suitability of the rates of assessment now proposed. The evidence here alluded to* is that which is supplied from Reports on rates introduced in ad- joining districts subsequent to the date of the Ind^pur settlement. 169; The first case I would cite* is that of the Korti Taluka, belonging to the Ahmednagar Collectorate, which was settled by Captain (now Colonel) George Anderson in 1853. His maximum rate for the villages bordering on Ind^pur was only 12 annas* One rupee was the highest rate imposed in the taluka, but owing to the bad climate of the villages, referred to above, their raj;e was reduced to 12 annas* 170. The settlement of Inddpur is alluded to in the follow¬ ing remarks “ So far as I could ascertain from inquiries made during the settlement, the ryots of the survey districts on the other side of the Bhima appear to have derived much benefit from the revised assessment, and I am inclined to hope that the new rates will prove equally beneficial in Korti. In Ind^pur especially the ryots, so far as I could learn, are thriving and . contented. In Hingni—one of the Korti villages settled by me—a ryot of Inddpur was found to be cultivating 82 acres of land. He told me that all the land in his own village had been taken up for cultivation ; he could only, on becom¬ ing more prosperous, enlarge his farming operations by cross¬ ing the river and taking up land in Korti. He now travels on horseback from one village to the other, and, I daresay, considers himself quite a* gentleman farmer.’’ 171. Captain Anderson had access to the records of the Indapur settlement. His proceedings in Korti may, therefore, be taken as evidence that up to the period referred to (1853) b 209—i 66 Inddpur did not show such marked improvement in its condition us to render it advisable to impose a higher rate in an adjoining district of similar climate and capabilities. 172. Ind&pur is bounded on the north by the Satara Dis¬ tricts, which have been comparatively recently surveyed and as¬ sessed by the Survey. Department under Colonel W. C. Anderson, the present Survey Commissioner of that collectorate. Refer¬ ring to his operations I find that the Natiputi Division of the Khatao Taluka, which adjoins the Bhima on the borders of the Ind&pur Taluka, was assessed in 1858-59 at a maximum rate of a rupee; and the same maximum was applied in the following year to the tract of country, belonging to the same taluka, lying between the Mhadeo Gh4ts and the Nira River, and extending to the Phaltan Desh on the west. I should be inclined to think that the circumstance of part of this last-mentioned district being nearer to the Mhadeo Hills may possibly give it some little superiority in point of climate over the western part of Inddpur,' which it adjoins. Both are poverbially drought-stricken, districts, and this is especially the case with the country near Phaltan. It is an old saying in the country that rain never falls in the Phaltan Desh. This, of course, is metaphorical, though it is wonderful how little does fall in that ill-favoured country. 173. Prices, it is true, have gone up a little since these dis-. tricts were assessed; but, as already explained, they have been in an exceptional state lately, and it would.be unsafe to take the three or four last years’ returns as the basis for a settlement to be fixed for thirty years. The prices of 1857-58 and 1858-59 are the average upon which my rates have been fixed ; and as Colonel Anderson’s settlements, made • at that time upon a rupee maximum, are work¬ ing well, there is every reason to suppose that Indd-pur, with its more favourable position in regard tp markets and communications, can bear the same rate. 174. With regard to the assessment of well-garden land, it has been already shown by extracts from the correspondence upon the present assessment that there was at that time (1836-37) a diversity of opinion upon this subject; Government apparently re¬ taining their objections to the measure, but giving their consent to it on the understanding that the rate was fixed so low that the cultivators would readily pay it. The plan of fixing a low rate has been carefully observed throughout our well-assessment operations, and this course has, no doubt, prevented any opposition to the measure. * 175. The cultivators seem to have been impressed with the belief that the guarantee given in the joint report rules, exempting 67 new wells from assessment, would, extend only to tlie end of the present lease. Considering, therefore, the large number of new wells which have been constructed—as shown in a preceding paragraph—under such a conditional arrangement, I think the time has come for us to declare that henoeforth no extra assessment will be placed on well-garden cultivation ; and such an assurance would greatly stimulate a further outlay of capital in the construction of this class of permanent and useful works.. 176. It is almost impossible to overrate the importance of well-cultivation in a .drought-stricken district like Ind&pur. When the country is parched and unproductive from failure of the monsoon rainfall, little spots of cultivation may be seen here and there dotted about the low-lying lands of the village. This culti¬ vation, which is the product of the small supply of water stored in the wells, is often the only return from the land in such seasons. - 177. There may be financial difficulties in disposing of the existing assessment on well-garden cultivation in some districts, and I would not, therefore, ask for any general ruling applicable to all cases. But as it is not the case with Inddpur, and as Govern¬ ment'have recently expressed their wish to have present practice in assessing well-cultivation modified, I feel no hesitation in pro¬ posing the entire abolition of the special cess in this Case. â–º 178. The course adopted by me is to put the first-class Jerayet rate upon all land capable of being irrigated from existing wells, irrespective of the value assigned to it by the Jerayet classification. But when the land has been classed at the full Jerayet rate, no addi¬ tion has been made in consideration of its being irrigated by a well. Government wish a general addition to be made to the Jerayet rates of all lands possessing a water-bearing stratum; but it is almost impossible, I think, to work out this plan in the ever-vary¬ ing 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. 179. The assessment given in a former para, represents the amount of imperial land revenue imposed'upon the district; but in addition to, and independent of this, a separate.cess of one anna per rupee’will be levied for local improvements. Section 29 of the Survey Act provides that the guarantee given to a settlement shall be limited to the imperial land revenue, the Governor in Council being empowered to impose any cess that may be deemed requisite for local improvements. I cannot help thinking that this power of increasing the demand upon the land by the imposition, at any time, of a special cess will have an injurious ’ effect, for it 68 is entirely subversive of that-guarantee which has been one of the main sources of the popularity and success of our present settlements, I refer to the guarantee of no addition being made to the assessment during the currency of a settlement lease, I fear our agricultural classes will not understand the distinction be¬ tween imperial and local land revenue, as laid down in the Act j and any addition made to the latter by the imposition of a special cess after the introduction of a settlement would assuredly create a feeling of general distrust, 180, It appears to me that the provision for increasing the revenue for local purposes, contemplated in the Act, is a condition which might fairly be reserved to the State were a permanent set-* tlement to be introduced. But in a thirty-years’ lease I think it is a matter of the greatest importance that the full demand to be realized, imperial as well as local revenue, should be declared; and the pro-? vision referred to does not appear to me to preclude the adoption of this course, for the Governor in Council, in the exercise of the right reserved, may, in my opinion, declare that, for a stipulated period at least, no addition shall be made to. the local, in the same way as with the imperial, land revenue. I would urge the adop¬ tion of this course for Indapur, one anna being declared to be the maximum amount leviable during the new lease, . 181. At the time the present assessment was introduced the* question was warmly discussed, as to whether the settlement lease should be given for ten or for thirty years, and, as has been already explained, the decision was eventually in favour of the lattenperiod. If there be any question in the, matter now, it would be whether we should renew our agreements with the cultivators for thirty years, or adopt a permanent settlement, 182. The question of a permanent settlement has been a fruitful topic of discussion of late years, especially since the advo-? cacy of the measure by the late Colonel Baird Smith in his able report on the Famine of 1860-61 in the Bengal districts. The Sacrifice of public revenue which is involved in debarring the State from any share of the increase in the rentable value of land resulting from a rise in the price of agricultural produce, is the great.objection urged against the measure ; and in the districts in this Presidency, where an extremely light assessment, has been fixed, it would apply with great force. It would appear, however, from Colonel Baird Smith’s remarks, that .the state of things is altogether different in the provinces of Bengal, for the assessment seems to have been already fixed there at the full measure of the State’s demand, 69 183, Referring to this point, Colonel Baird Smith observes— “It may he supposed that a great sacrifice of public revenue is involved int the concession of a perpetually fixed demand on the part of Government. It is to be observed, however, that (with a single exception to be noticed separate¬ ly) the recent tendency of the measures of Government has shown a different conviction, and indicated a belief that its interests are best secured, not by general enhancement, but by general lightening on its demand on the land.. The latest order under which settlements now in progress are conducted, prescribe a reduction of the proportion of the rent or net produce hitherto appropriated as Government revenue from 66 to 50 per cent; and I have no doubt that this is' a wise and prudent step, sure to justify itself before many years pass away, It is scarcely possible, indeed, that a tax on rent which, even at its minimum, absorbs half that product, and â–  presses exclusively on a single section of the community, can be permitted to increase. The tendency will, I believe, be quite in the opposite direction, and instead of desiring to raise the moderately-assessed districts to the level of the highest, the best revenue authorities will probably seek to lighten the pressure on the latter, and in this manner, rather than by the converse process, to equalize the burden generally.’* 184, There is a marked difference, then, between the Bengal districts, for which the permanent settlement was^ proposed, and our Presidency generally as regards the pitch of assessment origin¬ ally imposed. Inddpur, which we are now revising, is naturally one of our least-favoured districts. Its average rainfall is so short and uncertain that I have now been obliged to discount liberally on this account; but still circumstances, in my opinion, have fully justified the imposition of an increase of above 50. per cent in that case even. In other districts (where the assessment will soon come round for revision) enjoying a certain and fair average rain¬ fall, as the province of the Southern Mahrdtta Country for in¬ stance, the future increase to the public revenue is probably not overstated in being estimated at 1Q0 per cent, and the rates which will give this increase will still leave the cultivators a full and ample margin of profit for the acquisition of capital. 185, But after making this increase, are there not good grounds for supposing that, on the return of another revision at the expiration of thirty years, we may again legitimately increase our demand upon the land ? Ho one, I should think, would ven¬ ture to state that a maximum rate of one rupee per acre represents, notwithstanding its precarious climate, the full assessment which 70 IncUpur can bear. I cannot see that the State is called upon to forego these prospective advantages. The public expenditure connected with the government of the country is annually in¬ creasing, but our annual revenue has not of late kept pace with the demands upon it. It seems to me, in short, that it would be almost as unreasonable to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to fix the excise taxes in perpetuity, as to require the'Bombay Gov¬ ernment to introduce a perpetually-fixed demand upon the land ! 186. I would, therefore, recommend that the proposed assess¬ ment of Ind&pur be declared permanent and unalterable for the term of thirty years. 187. I have now explained all my proposals affecting the revision of the present assessment; but before closing this report I would offer a few remarks on questions affecting the success of the settlement and the well-being of the people. ' • . General Remarks. 188. It will, I trust, have been made evident, from the gen¬ eral tenor of my remarks, that a remarkably short and capricious rainfall has had a very material effect in retarding the prosperity of the Inddpur District. In short, that, unless we can cure this last¬ ing defect, it can never attain to a permanent state of prosperity. Capital will accumulate in cycles of good seasons, to disappear again, however, to a considerable extent as each unfavourable cycle comes round. 189. • Irrigation is the only means of remedying this defect; * See Government and I would here draw attention to the im- Selections, Irrigation portance to this district of a project* recently Senes Ho, II, brought forward by Colonel Fife for damming up the Muta River in a locality about 12 miles west of Poona, It is calculated that the head of water that will be raised by this work will furnish a supply for irrigating the country from Poona to a distance of nearly 100 miles eastward, extending throughout a considerable tract of Inddpur. To a drought-stricken district, irrigation, which will afford a supply to compensate only for the regular rainfall, will be inordinately valuable. But how much greater will be the value of a supply which can be obtained after the season for the monsoon falls is past; and Colonel Fife’s pro¬ ject would do this. It would supply water sufficient for a rabi crop; and instead of Inddpur being at this season a parched and barren-looking country, with scarcely a trace of vegetation, we should see it covered with a considerable extent of valuable irri¬ gated cultivation. 71 190. I have estimated that 2 rupees per acre might be levied as an average rate for all lands for which water would be available for a rabi crop. The estimated supply would raise the average out-turn fully tenfold in excess of the ordinary monsoon crop pro¬ duced. Instead of having to fight against seasons, pledging his land to the money-lender in bad, and paying off the debt in good, the cultivator could calculate on his regular annual return of produce, and would soon become independent of such pernicious assistance. 191. But, besides the actual supply of water obtainable from the canal, an increased supply would be afforded to the wells of the district by percolation from the canal. A striking example of this, connected with the new J4md£ Canal in the Khandesh Col- lectorate, has recently come under notice. Wells that were dry before the canal was opened, have now a good supply; nallas which had ordinarily little or no water at this season have a good running stream in them ; and thus not only directly, by means of its canal, but indirectly also has this work been the means of spreading a supply of water throughout the country ; and equally important results may be expected to follow upon the extension of Colonel Fife’s project to the Indapur District. 192. . Supplemented by a work of this kind, the district would rapidly attain to a state of prosperity under the assessment now proposed. The horrors of famine would for,ever be averted ; and the people, whilst accumulating wealth, would become large growers of articles of export produce, and consumers in an equal degree of the manufactured imports—the cotton and the woollen goods, and the hardware articles which form the staple wealth of the British manufacturer. 193. I cannot conclude without expressing my apprehen¬ sions that in this review of theIndapur settlement I have not done justice to the services of Messrs. Goldsmid and Wingate,—the great pioneers of that system of survey and settlement, which, originating in Ind&pur, has now been extended with most beneficial results throughout the length and breadth of the Presidency. The former officer died at Cairo in 1855 when on his way to England on sick certificate. But he has left behind him a name that will long be remembered by the cultivators of Inddpur- with feelings of the deepest veneration and respect as the great reformer of the abuses of a corrupt revenue system, and the originator of the “ Paimash ” Settlement. , 194. Lieutenant Wingate, speaking of him as in the time of the Indapur settlement, after serving with marked distinction for n some years in the Purvey Department, maturing its operations, and inaugurating many useful reforms in the revenue system of the’ Presidency, eventually retired from the service in 1853. Living in retirement from public life, his valuable services in this country had long remained unacknowledged by the State : but on the re¬ cent creation of additional classes of the Exalted Order of the Star of India, it was pleasing to his many friends in this country to find his name amongst the list of the distinguished servants of the State whom Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to appoint to be Knights Commanders of the Exalted Order of the Star of India. I have the honotir to he,- Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. FRANCIS, Lieut.-Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner. Statement. b 209—; Number. 1 74 CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Number of Houses, according to two Census taken respectively Names of Villages. 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Indapur Shaha ... Kandalgaon Taratgaon Hingangaon Babulgaon Bbatnimgaon Bedsinga Aosari ... Bhandgaon Baura ... Wojra ... Godi ... Houses. Inhabit Description. Males. 2 ro W *-» c3 c3 (D ^ Tiled; Flat-roofec Thatched. Total, Below 15 y >> lO (D > <1 Total; • 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1836-37... 7 449 440 896 1,088 1,992 3,080 1865-66... 4 478 745 1,227 1,574 2,256 3,830 1836-37... ... 26 1 27 29 49 78 1865-66... . •. 5 20 25 56 89 145 1836-37... ... 76 33 109 108 203 311 1865-66... ... 71 48 119 110 205 315 1836-37... ... 10 4 14 4 31 35 1865-66... ... 8 9 17 34 31 65 1836-37... .0. 42 13 55 66 92 158 1865-66... 2 36 27 65 83 141 224 1836-37... ... 24 27 51 47 105 152 1865-66... 1 20 35 56 69 159 228 1836-37... ... 39 5 44 52 75 127 1865-66... ... 27 13 40 43 57 100 1836-37... • . • 7 4 11 10 19 29 1865-66... 15 4 19 20 35 55 1836-37... ... 26 11 37 52 94 146 1865-66... ... 20 16 36 61 108 169 1836-37... .•0 61 • 51 112 114 181 295 1865-66... 1 35 61 97 132 199 331 1836-37... 5 263 149 417 426 853 1,279 1865-66... 182 214 243 639 769 1,369 2,138 1836-37... 10 • •• 10 9 17 26 1865-66... 16 5 21 24 25 49 | 3836-37... • • • 18 4 22 21 44 65 1865-66... ... 28 3 31 39 43 82 â–  03 to to to • 4 a 445 ts © to CO to CO CO CO C5 Ot M to CO to 05 to to 05 o CO CO 05 CO CO CO tO M CD <35 O V7 C5 fe M o 969 © o« to H-5 © Below 15 years old. 1 H 03 V. V l—l 00 CO Ci CO v* r 5h* a CH5 c*-> „ Or if* if* 03 to 5-* VI i—i “to to oo CD O to to t—* H-* CO o h-4 I—4 Crc CO o to 05 H-5 00 05 If* vr if* l—l Ox o W5 o It* 1—5 t<* 03 CD Ci if* co to 00 to to VI to to 03 H-5 o to Cjt JO “to Ox to to “l—> to C3 h-4 I—4 Married. CD 0 EL XD Ui a V© S> Co 00 05 05 O-t If* If* to CO I—4 CO 1—* © o H* CO © cd to VI CO h-* Or to H-* If* Cn CO oo to vr CO o CO Ci to l—l CO l—l CO VI to H- to I-* £ 03 If* CO VI .to 00 -I to CD CD I-* If* Or 05 Vt 03 to LO H-5 JO VJ VJ Ol >—4 to Total. g At Ui p J—* 05 00 H-l oo o Cnr C* M CO Total Columns 9 and 12. UU Ci Cri Cl r4 rt5 05 00 VI o CO o H-5 00 JO © I—1 If* TT “to 1—1 CO to to Or g CO H—4 £jT â– vj ►—* 8 If* to H-» CO 00 o H-* 1-5 Crt to 05 o I-* ©T CO Hr* CD l—i H-5 to 03 05 If* Or OO CO o 05 to C.x CD M VI CO H-5 “oo Ox co 05 CO 03 >—4 Kept for agricultu. ral purposes. CC HH ® s> tdg cvi . o* 00 : to : CO H-4 : CO : 05 4 3 4 • • : Or : : : 00 : if* : 03 00 : H-5 Ox Kept for other pur poses. 0? n> p in o g CD g cn P-i a 05 o H-* H-4 o Or 05 CO If* H-l V to vr *03 Co to CO 03 to If* VI H-4 tO to l—l Ct If* to CO VI 1-5 CO 1-1 to o 00 to Or l—l to o 00 to 'CO If* H-* 05 VI â– vT h-4 Cr? h-» CO o CD CO CD Ci M Or If* H-5 CO If* JO “co to If* • i, - 'co oo o H5 © Cows and Calves. ‘■l" a h-» 1-* If* i to CO vr if* CO VI VI H-4 CO If* CO vr to 05 6 vi l—l Or to to to CO co 05 If* Ox k—1 00 (-• C5 05 If* CO tf* If* H-5 05 05 CO Ci Ci —I GO h-4 "VJ She Buffaloes and their young ones. O â–º t-i 05 © H-4 h-4 s 1-* t—1 If* M to Or 00 H* »-* 05 H-5 o l—l If* to 1—* 4 to : h-4 -vj H-5 on CO to w Cb â– V-J to o , CO 1—* 00 Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels. W 05 o o 05 Or to 05 CO 05 H-l o to >—4 h-4 J-5 'll* 05 00 05 00 CO CO CO VI CO CD i—i 1-5 00 to to o to 1-5 CO to o to Ci to 1—1 l—l CO CO CO h-» o vT CD to v» o Or Ox 03 1—* vr H-5 If* Or to co CO CD CD Ct to CD JO vr CO Ox to "ox o vr H—4 CD Sheep and Goats, &c. a 9 CVj to t—• oo to CO 00 t—1 to if* I—* Or VI JCx “C3 VT if* Jf* 00 CO 00 1—1 “to to o CO co â– vl h—i â– vj if* to VI CO H—4 Ol 00 Or Or Or to 05 1-5 VI 05 00 If* If* CD C31 I—* "or Or 05 Ci o VI to o 00 H-» Ctt »-* J—4 V H—4 00 H-» “to CO to VI 05 to VI fc vl “vr Ox CO VI “if* Ox 05 to © Toljal. o>‘ <35 C3H o a ov. h-4 if* 2 co oc CO o h-4 to vj 05 CO h-4 to 05 * h-4 o j VI H-5 : H-5 1—1 H-l to to H-5 if* co M 05 to 00 CO I—4 H-* Cl h-4 CO CD h-4 I-4 05 to, © to to h—* to 00 H-5 o CD H-5 Ox © to to Ploughs. 76 CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Number. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabit Description. Males. Tiled. Flat-roofed. Thatched. Total. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 14 Lumewari ... 1836-37... 46 3 49 36 73 109 1865-66... 2 43 8 53 78 93 171 15 Sarati ... 1836-37... 62 17 79 74 121 195 1865-66... 5 49 30 84 123 145 268 16 Nirnibmgaon ... 1836-37... ... 38 3 41 40 62 102 1865-66... 56 13 69 83 100 183 17 Chakati 1836-37... . « , 11 * 11 14 15 29 V 1865-66... • • • 17 ‘ 8 25 45 46 91 18 Redni ... 1830-37... 2 08 14 84 85 148 233 1865-66... 11 31 28 70 85 213 298 19 Reda ... 1836-37... ... 84 8 92 91 149 240 1865-66 .. 1 79 22 102 111 176 287 20 Setphal Haveli 1836-37... ... 83 43 126 139 234 373 1865-66... 2 76 56 134 140 229 369 21 Kati 1836-37... ... 103 18 121 120 218 338 1865-66... 16 81 97 159 274 433 22 Pitkeshwar ... 1836-37... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1865-66... ... 13 • •. 13 16 19 35 23 Nimbgaon Ketki 1836-37... 210 85 295 365 593 958 1865-66... 213 120 333 558 768 1,326 24 Gokbli ... ... 1836-37... ... ... ... ... ... 49 1865-66... 32 6 38 41 52 93 25 Wangali 1836-37... ... 2 ... 2 3 6 9 1865-66... 16 7 23 21 36 57 26 Rajebwari 1836-37... 12 6 16 22 1865-66... 18 1 19 13 24 37 t—> to i-* to to i-* 00 0 382 to vr Cn to 0 : 103 00 05 O O vr 05 05 Or Ot Ol VI l-J CO CO Cn h-4 1—> CO VJ CO Cn IO Ol 00 if* M I—4 O Below 15 years old. Females, ANTS. to 05 1—* CO *0 Or O * VI 00 00 C5 O Ot t—1 : 230 225 to to 231 183 157 181 145 Ot 0 00 1—* 0 0 05 160 126 00 CO VJ h-4 t—< Married. ro â– VI VI 00 141 <—1 M1 LO Total. C5 **- H* 103 l-J 00 161 109 2,496 1,838 05 co • • vr 05 05 649 710 678 536 Ot CO 554 to Ot 154 Cn O 343 vr co Ot 0 i—* 373 312 to to CO f—‘ CO Total Columns 9 and 12. co to to £>â–  00 303 • 00 to 802 743 to 00 : 249 272 294 CO 1—L Or 242 139 237 135 vr 0 to 60 131 H-> I—* VI 237 vr O I—* 00 05 CO ' If* I—1 rf* Keptfor agricultur¬ al purposes. S£w Kf : 03 ; to VT : : to 0 HJ I—4 to • • - 00 03 : : : t-1 Ot Kept for other pur¬ poses. 0 P O ^ a> P CQ pj to VT *0 CO t£» Or 1—* VJ 258 558 828 to 05 : 194 301 287 OO 05 GO 1—4 00 CO 291 196 H* to vr 05 GO 05 60 M >—» CO co 60 173 290 128 103 »—* o> Cows and Calves. I—4 Cn !**• h-4 VJ so CO 0 229 189 : Cn CO 05 60 05 to CO 03 Or O Or SO Ot CO CO VI to 00 h-* to Ot 05 60 VS 05 vr 05 CO CO h-1 CO 0 I—1 VI She Buffaloes and young ones. their Cattle. to 00 l VF h-4 â–ºp* 00 t-> l h-> CO 60 60 to f-J CO ►—4 o> >—4 00 to >-* M- 05 VI 1—* tf* CO h-4 K-4 CO h-4 1—4 CO I—1 00 Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones Elephants and Camels 326 145 275 328 1,173 1,242 1,027 . to i-* : 648 CO CO 282 j 177 325 VI VI VI 329 CO O CO 05 Ot If* • to If* 00 154 382 VI 05 05 CO 05 to ap I—1 co Sheep and Goats, &c. & <0 CO 00 Ot 359 I Vt vi Or 228 2,929 JO GO 03 Ot 00 0 : h-4 T—* VJ VT 1,591 968 co vr VI 828 J-» “to vr VI 845 340 to 0 GO h- Cn VI Ot vr 05 668 873 1,298 402 to 5? 0 to 0 Total. h-4 r Ot : 05 t-» O ; to f—4 H-4 Or cn CO : 03 i-» : 1-* CO CO H-4 so to M Carts. 03 00 >-* co Ot : GO 05 12 • Crr to 60 to to to £ to 05 CO Cn M O 05 to H-* CO h“* O ►—» Ot 6-* t-1 00 CO to ro Ploughs. VI •Vj Number of Houses, Sfc.—continued. 78 CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Jm* CO VI 03 co Or © CO CO w 03 1—* tO C3 00 CO 00 |-U O 22S vr CO If* k-J CO CO If* © CO M-* CO VI *-» to Co t** 00 l£* to 00 Ot H-* o Beloit 15 years old. ANTS. 106 CO k-1 152 106 100 i VI 00 227 to o k—> 156 136 CO to If* CO 237 222 1—l to 1—1 00 k-> vr CO 03 to 03 03 ot to Or 00 CO Ot ot CO i—* CO h-‘ ►—* Married. Females. M o> to 118 221 156 133 I—1 kf* 355 270 234 201 If* to Ot CO 338 309 265 112 k—1 o VI to to CO CO 03 to CO 00 »—* k—‘ *vj If* to 00 VI k—1 CO k—‘ ID Total. 00 to Or 250 413 CO to kf* 299 249 720 591 506 03 101 126 711 655 584 222 242 213 201 132 •vT 00 CO 254 105 203 kf* k—* b—t CO Total Columns 9 and 12. H-» Or VT 12G 187 132 130 121 271 327 242 226 CO 00 03 o 325 325 277 125 105 114 VI 00 03 o If* ot <53 108 vr 03 VI If* to oo k—» Kept for agricultur¬ al purposes. W wf 0 O' mo O 'g Cl ® cn Pj GO fcy- to : to : : i—* : Or : : ; : : if* to : Ot : : CO • Or : k—t Ot Kept for other pur¬ poses. 115 115 206 1 to GO kf* 155 187 270 Or CO 03 246 283 If* 00 Ot C3 307 522 265 k-» vr if* 00 o 158 VI 03 CO 00 Ot to k-* C3 134 100 VI CO k—» 03 k— o Cows and Calves. >f* to to k—* kf* if* Ot «^r if* vr Ot to 103 •vr If* to 03 if* 03 (-> CO l-J © VI CO VI If* CO 00 M to 03 to to CO CO 03 • CO h-» 00 J—» k—» kf* M —T She-Buffaloes and their young ones. Cattle. M 03 CO ►—1 00 k-* k-l to to M b-r : kf* to to M i : : Ot it* to • i-* to t-4 CO : to I-1 Carts. b-> vr t—• k-4 t—4 M kf* o 1—> kf* i—* k-* cots to CO 03 to k-* If* I-* k—* Ot CO o to to O) I-* M co o 03 Ot if* k-» CO Cl 00 co to to Ploughs. \ '7 c£> Number of Houses, Sfc.—continued, 80 CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Number. I Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabit Description. Males. Tiled. Flat-roofed. Thatched. Total. Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. Total. i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 Sugaon 1836-37... ... 60 10 70 60 107 167 1865-66... 31 43 74 76 122 198 41 Pimpri (Kkurd) 1836-37... ... 5 «•« 5 5 11 16 1865-66... • • • 11 7 18 30 33 63 42 Kalas ... ... 1836-37... 3 189 71 263 249 488 737 1865-66... 2 245 158 405 438 623 1,061 43 Rui 1836-37... eeo 73 21 94 73 162 235 1865-66... • • • 61 62 123 147 227 374 44 Vehali ... ... 1836-37... 59 14 73 56 134 190 1865-66... 63 9 72 89 151 240 45 Gotundi 1836-37... 6 72 5 83 70 158 228 1865-66... 5 89 22 116 100 172 272 46 Shelgaon 1836-37... 4 207 • 84 295 â– 306 504 810 1865-66... 1 249 153 403 468 610 1,078 47 Haturna 1836-37... CO© 69 41 110 110 216 326 1865-66... 1 71 51 123 205 266 471 48 Lasurna 1836-37... 3 185 59 247 263 460 723 1865-66... 36 187 131 354 335 621 956 49 Kalamb 1836-37... ... 153 68 221 209 396 605 1865-66... 6 95 112 213 219 353 572 50 Chikli ... ... 1836-37... JO© 6 8 14 16 28 44 1865-66... • • • 2 13 15 18 48 66 51 Kurowli 1836-37... ... 36 7 43 60 103 163 1865-66... 5 17 15 37 69 109 178 52 Jamb ... 1836-37... ... 16 1 17 22 24 46 1865-65... 6 14 3 23 23 30 53 53 Udhat... ... .., 1836-37... ... 58 13 71 98 110 208 1865-66... 16 46 9 71 97 160 257 b 209 â– VJ O' CO i-j co >-* to C5 to It* to to o Ck M If* sr 8 194 203 155 9 285 217 sr C5 OX to 05 00 £ 00 CO s 241 681 61 sr to 1—* O Below 15 years old. IsJ A NTS. i—1 co r—1 104 to 00 to **• 110 o If* "vT OS *-» CO *i 05 411 607 486 to sr to to o If* 662 492 147 *"• ox ca 159 »-* CO o 230 164 620 499 10 34 124 I—1 I-* oo h-4 M1 Married. CD B p CD W I-1 SJ 00 163 CO G* 172 136 05 sr CO â– vj 523 Ol Ot *** 00 o I—1 a CO 427 276 CO If* sr 709 223 208 227 180 319 214 861 889 14 53 h-4 h-4 Ot OX 1—‘ to Total. I—4 M 1—1 to M h-* â–º>* If* CO Ox os t-* 100 CD to 350 to 8 133 CD © CO Ox â–º-» Ox C5 Vi Ox sr if* 1—1 to 898 602 © to Ox O' â–º-» CO 495 436 467 370 693 & CO CO to to 'if* to ox 30 116 369 322 1—1 CO Total Columns 9 and 12. 1 991 O* Ox o cn 121 157 if* oo & 455 O' Ox if* 505 609 263 317 900 732 182 to 8 193 181 256 J2 CO 821 630 14 60 141 CO CO l-l If* Kept for agricul¬ tural purposes. w trig5 || : * l M 3 : : CO Ox 3 CO • to rt* CO : : to b 05 : 1 • si : I-I Ox Kept for other pur¬ poses. 1—r* P CD p » p_, CO P" t—* CO CO i-» if* •*^ If* Or Ox to to OS *-* CO o» CO s 332 O' 'S 05 486 663 to CO Ox 328 789 721 166 *-* CO to 169 191 t to 00 CO CO o Ox 00 00 ,co CD 1 Ox *-* o w 146 248 I-1 05 Cows and Calves. if* to CD 1—* 1-* O CO CO CO § i—* to *-• SJ 05 co >-* CO ct* 134 181 to tvO SI 140 203 to If* 50 if* 05 ex O 05 to ot o 00 Ox 106 ! 10 CO CO ox to I—* sj She-BufFaloes and young ones. their Cattle. - Horses andPonies, Mares t—* CO H-» Sf tf* M 05 to o o Ci to 05 (o to to 8 to 00 to to if* Ox 8 00 *-• o* I—1 o i— CO I-1 1—I If* o to 00 CO h-1 ST 8 o* 722 494 Vt •vr si o Ox “if* CO 05 1—* to o 27 ! 271 874 Ot £ to o Total. h—1 to 0* o to h-4 cd • : CO Ox M CD Ox Ox *-* to I-* 05 tf* CO CO H-* h—* CO 00 »f* •SI 03 CO h-» H O CO *-* rf* to I—1 Carts. , 00 h-* if* to 1—• Ox H CJ if* to h-» »—» 47 CO to 22 to o to Ci 05 Ox H o to LO â–º-* co 1—I Ox Ci CO LO to LO 05 si Ox CO 01 8 i-i CO LO to LO Ploughs. Number of Houses, fyc.—continued. 82 CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Number. Names of Villages - Houses. Inhabit Description. Males. O H Below 15 years old. Above 15 years old. O H 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 54 Tausi ... 1836-37... 4 • * 41 22 63 46 100 146 1865-66... 12 31 13 56 64 89 153 55 Sansar... ... ' 1836-37... ... 50 56 106 107 186 293 1865-66... ... 58 99 157 187 271 458 5G Kajhad... 1836-37... ... 73 41 114 115 199 314 1865-66... 50 89 139 245 322 567 57 Nimbori 1836-37... ... 21 7 28 42 52 94 1865-66... 3 15 36 54 54 114 168 58 Lakri ... ... 1836-37... ... 50 39 89 67 88 155 1865-66... 2 43 54 99 120‘ 196 316 59 Nirgudeh. ... 1836-87... ... ... ... ... ... ... 287 1865-66... 9 75 43 127 226 329 555 60 Sketplial Gada 1836-37... ... 87 30 117 121 194 .315 1865-66... 15 47 52 114 187 311 498 <31 Pimpla 1836-37... ... 9 19 28 36 53 89 1865-66... .. . 14 28 42 44 73 117 62 Madanwari 1836-37... 40 29 69 82 111 193 1865-66... 2 25 39 66 86 150 236 63 Akola ... 1836-37... 20. 29 49 62 98 160 1865-66... 1 38 53 91 225 130 355 64 Bliadalwari 1836-37... • • • 16 17 33 39 63 102 1865-66... 33 31 64 72 87 159 65 Holgudwari ... 1836-37... • 09 11 .... 11 8 15 23 1865-66... . • . 6 6 11 9 20 66 Bkigwan 1836-37... ••• 12 52 64 . 78 119 197 1865-66... 3 84 99 186 167 306 473 67 Decksal inr)/* r>*7 - * * * 9 41 50 32 77 109 1865-66... 1 17 22 40 25 91 116 to o 1—‘ co eo CO Ctt CO CO VI CO CO cc Ox 221 £ >u o if* to I—* o 120 00 00 115 l 115 CO CD CO CS to CO 131 CD CO cs VI CO Ox If* £ © Below 15 year sold. ANTS. vr oo VT CO 285 124 CO 00 Or Ox CO CO 00 CO to 121 120 OS OS C71 —» CD fc—» £ 366 249 133 198 CO GO I—* vl 354 425 if* vr CO to' if* vr to If* 1—1 1—l1 1—1 CO 171 353 305 255 203 1—* h-4 h—‘ »— if* QD 1—1 CS Cows and Calves. co to os C7T 00 • to VT £ Ox OS to »f* I—* if* to 00 Or I—1 CO vr CO Ot CO If* to o to CO 00 $ CO Or VI *-* CO 1—1 Ci Cn i—i co CO CS 1-1 vr She-Buffaloes and young ones. their â–º H H F W if* 00 to I—' : : l—i to if* I—* OS to to o CO 1-1 vr >—• CO CO 1—1 to to CO • 1-1 CO >—■ 1—1 CS CO to l-» cs to to CS VI CO â–º-> 1—1 00 Horses andPouies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels. : 251 722 532 to CO os GO VT 544 654 if* o 00 764 oo OS I— 364 146 1,107 1,032 1,386 : to CO 1—1 399 155 to Ox Or CO If* Cl Ox co 375 111 143 CO CO 1—1 CO Sheep and Goats, &c.. >—• 00 to 476 1,276 1,025 to to CO CO 970 783 1,423 832 1,119 1,281 567 CO 00 *—1 2,057 668*1 2,403 Vi CS *-• VI If* Ox 814 381 334 J—1 *00 o Q •-* ~i-l CO VI 894 cs CD VI 381 CO to co to o Total. 1—1 os • Or CO to to • os : it* CO to i—i o s 00 : os 1—1 C3 CO to 1-1 1—1 I—* CO CO GO If* to 00 CS : to to 1—X Carts. H-* Ox h-» O eg CO o H-* • 00 OS £ I—< OS i—i CO I—1 OS vr o OS 00 CO cc eg Or • VI to to 1-1 If* >-• CO If* NT CO as to Ox to co 00 CO CO to Ploughs. Number of Houses, fyc.—continued. 84 CONTRASTED STATEMENT of the Number. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabit Description. Males. Hi 19i 20, 21 as inserted in the commence¬ ment of the table—a forcible example of the change in the relative value of money and produce which had occurred in the intervening twenty years. The extraordinary and sudden fluctuations in the price of corn are also remarkable in 1227; we find it twice as dear as in the preceding year 1226, and in 1228 it is nearly three times as dear as in 1226. In the year of famine (1234) we find it seven times dearer than in the plentiful year 1238, and in Fasli 1242 the price of grain is three times higher than in the preceding year 1241. The Inddpur measured ser is larger than the Poona; the latter is, I believe, more than double the size of that of Bombay. N.B.—But little b&jri is generally grown in the pergunna. Jow4ri is the principal food of the inhabitants; its price, there¬ fore, has alone been considered in making use of this table. b 209—m 98 TABLE No. IX. STATEMENT of CULTIVATION in the Inddpur Pergunna from -Fasti 1228 to Fasti 1246. Years. Bigas. Acres. Total of both. Remarks. 1819 1228 215,911 1820 1229 210,532 10 210,532 1821 . o u 1230 203,446 203,446 1822 o o 1231 210,968 210,968 1823 CO 1232 177,197 177,197 1824 d 1233 173,896 cr1 0> 173,896 1825 & 1234 148,562 c5 148,562 1826 0 1235 126,544 ©r 126,544 1827 - be 1236 200,905 la 200,905 1828 o 2 1237 159,273 \ 168,258 acres J 1,49,122 26,001 0 0 87,550 0 0 A year of famine •f 131,400 acres ... 80,365 m 16,950 1 7 29,323 0 0 A year of famine • f » a • • ... 136,207 acres 81,477 24,154 0 0 40,921 O' 0 162,019 do. ... 80,289 23,533 0 0 50,198 0 0 ... • •• 32,820 0 0 101 Dheli land, or land on which a sediment is left by the over¬ flowing waters of the rivers, has been assessed somewhat more highly than any description of land mentioned in the table, but there is very little land of this description in the pergunna;and land merely wetted in the rains by the overflowing of rivers, called by the natives Mallai, has been also rather more highly assessed than it would have been by the accompanying rates. Of this description also there is very little land in the pergunna. TABLE No. V; TABLE of RATES of ASSESSMENT per Acre on the within-mentioned hinds of Soil. 1st Black. 2nd Black. 3rd Black. 1st Red. 2nd Red. 3rd Red. 1st Barad. 2nd Barad. 3rd Barad. In Beas ...... 300 240 170 200 130 75 100 60 35 In Annas 12 9 7 6 10 8 5 2 3 4 2 5 1 5 It was first intended to have entered in this table the vari¬ ous assessments of all the Government villages in the pergunna, of which there are 76. Doing so would, however, have much in¬ creased the bulk of a report which already exceeds the size to which I could wish to restrict it, and would not, I think, enable any person to form a better judgment of the merits of the present system than can be made from what has already been stated on the subject, {.Table 102 TABLE No. VI, COMPARATIVE STATEMENT of the Tanka,, Kamdl, Paimash, awe? Pratbandi Assessments of a few of the principal Villages in the Inddpur Pergunna and of the Pergunna itself Villages, &c. Tankd Assessment, Kamdl Assessment. Survey or Paimash Assessment. The recent or, as called by the Natives, the Pratbandi Assessment, Remarks, Us. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a, p« Rs. a, p. rtj GO Kasbd Inddpur ... 7,494 4 0 14,558 14 0 13,460 7 0 6,190 15 6 Ken .3 m O M C> Do. Baura 7,645 11 0 16,934 9 0 15,149 3 2 7,055 9 6 +3 -g n B ®,3 Do. Kalas ... 5,496 10 0 8,443 6 0 6,880.4 2 2,787 12 11 cs W â–º § S 9 £ ” =* bD ® Mauja Palasdeo ... 2,856 8 0 6,978 15 0 ' 6,020 10 8 2,662 13 4 Do. Lasurna 2,844 10 0 5,989 8 0 7,153 11 7 2,514 12 3 2 It- The whole pergunna 1,02,548 0 0 2,28,560 13 6 2,02,674 6 0 83,818 8 10 •P d « — CLi w ^ . £ ^ Tt o q> As the settlement of the Bagayet in Kasha Indapur is not quite completed, 200 rupees has in this statement been taken as the approximate Bagayet assessment on the gardens there. Appendix No. II. No. 139 of 1838. To R. MILLS, Esq., Principal Collector, Poona. Sir,—In transmitting the accompanying copies of corre¬ spondence from Lieutenant Nash upon the completion of the revision of assessment of the Indapur District, I beg to apologise 103 for the length of time suffered to elapse before doing so, which has been partly occasioned by the little leisure left me during the fair season, and also by my wish to learn the results of the past year’s settlement before closing the present report. 2. Lieutenant Nash designedly omits giving any details con¬ nected with the plans pursued for revising and correcting the sur¬ vey measurements, classifying the lands, and superintending the native establishment, in consequence of memoranda upon these points having previously been furnished you by Mr. Goldsmid and myself, and confine himself to, an investigation of the principles on which the revision has been conducted, its results as compared with Mr. Pringles, and the Mamul settlements of the district, and its effects on the condition of the people and the revenues of Government. Mr. Goldsmid was vested with most ample discretionary power * regarding the conduct of the revision of assessment, and the plan he adopted for procuring the requisite data was to revise and correct the survey measurements, and to make an entirely new classification of the soil. 3. * G. L. to R. C. No. 2056 of 1835, dated 7th. September.. 4. The accuracy of the measurement was tested by having a certain number of the fields of every village (marked off from the papers, by the European officers) re-measured by the k&rkuns of the establishment, whose work was subsequently tested by the surveying officer, and accuracy ensured by the prompt infliction of punishment upon occasion of error or negligence on their part being brought to light. If the result of this investigation showed the survey measurements to have been executed with a tolerable degree of accuracy, f they were retained and corrected when ne- . ttt*. 11 • ,A , ,cessary; but when it appeared that the t Within 10 per cent of the « v j . , ,. ., truth. errors were beyond reasonable limits, and likely to vitiate the assessment, the village was wholly, re-measured. The necessity of making an en¬ tirely new classification of the soil, without reference to that exe¬ cuted at the time of the survey, was owing to the latter being made after no general standard, the particular classes of soil in one village (as described in the 77th paragraph of Lieutenant Short- rede’s report) not corresponding with those bearing the same de¬ nomination in another, which must have increased greatly the diffi¬ culty of forming an effective check, if it did not render this alto¬ gether impracticable. 5. In consequence of this defect in the survey classification Mr. Goldsmid determined to reject it altogether and re-classify the whole pergunna upon one general system, having reference solely 104 to the natural productive qualities of the soil, and leaving wholly out of consideration extrinsic circumstances, such as vicinity to' the village, command of water, &c. &c., which, although carefully .noted, with the view of finally assisting in fixing the assessment, were not permitted to affect the classification. By this means the elements of the classification were reduced to a consideration of the natural fertility of the soil alone, which rendered the Work comparatively simple, and enabled the European officer, after ac¬ quiring some practical knowledge of the different descriptions of soil usually met with, to become an effective check upon the k4r- kuns engaged in classifying the land. Such is a brief sketch of the preliminary measures pursued in Inddpur with the view of obtaining data for the assessment, for more detailed information regarding which than could conveniently be embodied in the pre¬ sent letter, I beg to refer you to my memorandum on the subject, dated 15th April 1837. I now resume the consideration of Mr< Nash’s report. 6. In his 3rd paragraph he mentions that of 86 villages com¬ prising the pergunna, 17 have required to be wholly re-measured. In 9 of these 17 villages he attributes the errors of the survey measurements to design, while in the remaining 8 he thinks the discrepancy between them and the present measurement of boundaries due to the fancy of the cultivator. However this may be, the fact of the survey measurements having been found so ge¬ nerally correct, is extrefnely satisfactory, and my own experience would lead me to infer that they were in general executed with much greater fidelity than is usually considered to have been the case. 7. After briefly noticing the different instructions issued by Government respecting the revision of assessment, Mr. Nash in the 5th and 6th paragraphs of his report proceeds to consider the rea¬ sons which induced Mr. G-oldsmid to adopt a greater number of rates than had originally been contemplated as necessary. lt On the substitution of the invariable acre,” he observes, “for this pliable and accommodating measure ” (the Chahur, which com¬ monly varies in size according to the quality of the land),“ a close examination into the nature of the soils in the pergunna and their comparative productive powers showed that minuteness of valua¬ tion could now only be obtained by the introduction of a greater number of rates.” The objects, indeed, of accurate measurement and minute classification, which are to ascertain the relative values of different fields, would be lost sight of by any considerable limit¬ ation of rates; on which account it was determined that in Indd- pur they should be limited only by the extreme of assessment 105 fixed for the worst and best description of land, or range, accord¬ ing to the quality of the soil, from 2 annas up to 12 annas per acre of Jerayet land* 8. The 7th and 8tli paragraphs of Mr. Nash’s report will be perused with interest, as containing a clear and satisfactory expo- sition of the main causes of inferior land being relatively higher- assessed at the survey than that of better quality. He shows this to have been the inevitable result of the principle adopted at the survey, of assessing the land at a percentage of the net produce. ’“This,” he justly observes, “Was, in fact, remunerating the culti¬ vator, not according to his labour, but in proportion to the value of the field on which he laboured.” From a calculation made from the survey papers of 15 villages he shows, in a tabular form, the amount of profit which, according to Mr. Pringle’s assessment, would be received from cultivating a portion of the various classes of soils requiring each an annual outlay of 5 rupees. This, it will be seen from his table, diminishes gradually as the quality of the soil becomes inferior, till at length it is nearly absorbed in the Government assessment, which then renders cultivation next to impossible. When the cultivation of 1st Black soil, as will appear from an inspection of Lieutenant Nash’s table, receives a return of upwards of' 50 per cent upon his outlay, and that of 3rd Ba- rad only about 8J, we need search no further for a satisfactory rea¬ son for the survey assessment pressing heavily upon inferior lands. If a kunbi, at an expense of 50 rupees, can obtain from good land 100 rupees’ worth of produce, and from inferior land at the same expense can only obtain 80 rupees’ worth, the net produce in one case is worth 50 rupees and in the other 30; and if a half of this were the proportion to be taken for the Government assess¬ ment, there would remain to the cultivator a profit of 25 rupees in the one case and 15 rupees in the other; but, surely, where the labour, the stock, and the outlay required are equal, so ought also* to be the profit.- 9. To afford a further illustration of the effect of these prin¬ ciples upon the survey assessment, I have compiled the following table from the papers of the village of TJpla Budruk in the M&dha Taluka, in which the assessment was fixed at 55 per cent of the net produce, as estimated by Mr. Pringle’s assessors. Co¬ lumn No. 1 of the table gives the number of acres of each descrip¬ tion of soil, which, according to their calculations, can be cultivat¬ ed at an annual expense of 100 rupees; column No. 2, the net produce per acre ; and No 3, 55 per cent of this, or the rate of assessment; No. 4, the amount, of assessment upon the number of acres entered in column No. 1; and No. 5, the balance of net produce, or profits, remaining to the cultivator. By inspecting b 209— 106 the last-mentioned column it will be found that from 1st Black to 3rd Barad the profits of cultivation vary from Rs. 32-8-3 to Rs„ 12-5-3, the expenses in every case being 100 rupees. The total amount of assessment upon the number of acres entered in column No. 1 of the table is Rs. 236-7-3, and the three last columns are entered to show how, under the supposition of this remaining the same, the rates should, in my opinion, have been adjusted, to leave the profits of cultivation in all cases exactly equal. [Statement STATEMENT illustrative of the inequality of the Survey Rates in consequence of being a percentage of the Net Produce, and showing how they might have been fixed so as to render the profit of cultivating every description of Land exactly equal. No. Names of Soil. Number of Acres capable of being cultivated at an annual expense of 100 Rupees, Value of Net Produce or Rates of As¬ sessment per Acre. Survey Rates, &c. Proposed Rates, &c. 65 per Cent of Net Pro¬ duce,or Rate of Assess¬ ment per Acre. Amount of Assessment on the Num¬ ber of acres in Col. No.l. Balance of NetProduce, being the Profit of Cultivation. Proposed Rates of Assess¬ ment per Acre. Amount of Assessment on the Num¬ ber of acres in Col. No.l. Balance of Net Produce, being the Profit of Cultivation. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3- No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Acres. Guntas. Annas. Rs. a. P* Rs. a. P- Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. P- Rs. a p. 1 1st Black ... ... 28 36 ... 2 8 0 1 6 0 39 11 9 32 8 3 1 12 1 50 11 1 21 8 11 2 2nd do. ... 29 15 ... 1 15 3 1 1 3 31 10 9 25 11 2 13 6 35 13 0 21 8 11 3 3rd do. ... 34 33 1 7 9 0 13 0 28 4 9 23 6 4 0 13 10 30 2 2 21 8 11 4 1st Red ... >* « •«. 29 13 ... 2 0 6 1 1 9 32 8 ~6 27 0 7 14 9 38 0 2 21 8 11 5 2nd do. ... • •• Mi 35 1 ... 1 5 3 0 11 9 25 11 6 20 12 9 0 11 5 24 15 4 21 8 11 6 3rd do. ... • • • mi 40 29 ... 0 14 4 0 7 9 19 11 3 16 12 5 0 5 10 14 14 9 21 8 11 7 1st Gravelly ... Mt 40 14 ... 1 2 1 0 10 0 25 3 6 20 6 1 0 9 7 24 0 8 21 8 11 8 2nd do. ... «M mi 40 34 ... 0 13 2 0 7 3 18 8 2 15 1 7 0 4 9 12 0 10 21 8 11 9 3rd do. ... ... »•« 43 33 ... 0 10 0 0 5 6 15 1 0 12 5 3 0 2 2 5 13 4 21 8 11 Total... ...... ... 236 . 7 2 194 0 5 236 7 4 194 0 3 108 10. There are, however, other sources of error in the survey assessment to which, with that already mentioned, must be attri¬ buted its failure more than to any defects of execution. The chief of these consists in its being founded on an average of the prices of grain, and the amount of collections during previous years, without a due consideration being given to the actual condition of the peo¬ ple, and to an investigation of the causes which during the years of the average had made these prices and collections stationary or fluctuating, advancing or declining. To adopt as a basis of assess¬ ment an average of past collections, was to admit that the previ¬ ous settlement was not heavy as a whole, but merely required being properly apportioned, which the yearly-increasing poverty and wretchedness of the people, a declining cultivation, and a progres¬ sive fall in the price of grain, notwithstanding a diminished sup¬ ply, all tended to disprove. The calculations, too, for fixing the survey assessment were made upon the supposition of the land being properly tilled; whereas there is, perhaps, not one held in ten in this eollectorate that is so, or that commonly yields the quan¬ tity of produce estimated in the survey returns. These circum¬ stances contributed to make the survey assessment high, while fixing it at a percentage of the net produce made it unequal; and to them may be attributed its failure, rather than to the venality of the na¬ tive establishments employed in carrying it into execution. These may have been bribed in numerous instances to effect a reduction of the rates, but this would have tended to secure the success, rather than involve the failure, of an assessment; and that they should systematically over-assess inferior and uncultivated lands without the prospect of gain, and at the risk of detection,- appears to me very improbable, X have dwelt at this length upon the sur¬ vey assessment, at the risk of being thought tedious, on a question not immediately bearing upon my subject, that by exposing the sources of error which, in my opinion, occasioned its failure, my superiors may be better able to form a correct estimate of the principles on which the present revision has been conducted. 11, In his 9th, 10th, and 11th paragraphs Lieutenant Nash gives an account of the manner in which the revised rates were obtained, after whioh he proceeds to consider the new assess¬ ment with reference to the Survey, Kam&l, and Tank£ settle¬ ments, The Tanka assessment of the pergunna, as it appears from his 12th paragraph, amounted in round numbers to Rs, 1,22,000, the Kamdl to Rs, 2,28,000, the survey to Rs, 2,03,000, and the present revised assessment to Rs. 84,000, The last will, doubtless, appear a startling reduction, but it will afterwards be shown that it is so upon paper merely; and it must be recollected that the district never prospered but under the Tanka settlement 109" that the Kamdl could not be realized during even the height of the Mahratta prosperity, and that the collection of the survey assess¬ ment was obliged to be suspended almost immediately subsequent to its introduction. The continued fall in the prices of corn which has taken place of late years, and the little prospect of any improve¬ ment in this respect, imperatively calls for a great reduction of former rates: and Lieutenant Nash shows clearly that the present assessment, low as it is, yet, considered as a commutation for a corn rent, is but inferior to the Kam&l itself. “ The Kamal as¬ sessment of 2,28,000 rupees is a commutation,*’ he says, “ for 5,472,000 seers of grain, at 24 seers per rupee, and this rate is not a high one for that time, as Tables Nos. 1 and 4 will prove; ” while the present assessment of 84,000 rupees is a commutation for 452,000 seers at the rate of the average price of corn here for the last five years, viz., 53 seers for one.rupee. 12. Lieutenant Nash then proceeds to show that, notwith¬ standing the apparent lightness of the present assessment, Govern¬ ment has already been a gainer thereby to a very considerable ex¬ tent. From his 17th paragraph, and table therein referred to, it appears that from Fasli 1235 to 1245, excluding 1242, a year of scarcity, the average collections on account of current year’s reve¬ nue amounted to Rs. 32,802, and that Rs. 48,020 is the largest sum collected on account of current revenue in any of the fourteen years preceding Fasli 1246, when the revised assessment was partially introduced, the remissions on account of failure of crops were Rs. 4,378-14-6, the net revenue Rs. 51,389-1-0, of which Rs. 50,198 were collected during the official year; and in Fasli 1247, when the revised assessment was first brought into general opera¬ tion, and notwithstanding a rather unfavourable season, the remis¬ sions on account of failure of crops fell to Rs. 2,401-2-2, the net revenue was Rs. 52,391-0-4, of which Rs. 52,234-5-2 were collected before the termination of the official year. Such are the imme¬ diate results of the present settlement, and they must be admitted to be most satisfactory as far as the interests of Government are concerned, and to afford a cheering proof that these are inseparably connected with, and dependent upon, those of the people. 13. Although the preceding observations, with numerous other arguments adduced in Lieutenant Nash’s report, may be deemed to afford sufficiently convincing proofs that the present settlement is not too light, yet believing in the paramount import¬ ance, the absolute necessity of imposing, in the present depressed and impoverished state of the Deccan, the most moderate.assess¬ ment at all consistent with the conservation of the finances of the State, I trust to be excused in devoting a few additional observa¬ tions to this part of my subject. • ’ 110 14. When the Deccan fell into the hands of the British Government its condition was comparatively flourishing, and its present lamentable state of poverty I ascribe chiefly to the circum¬ stance of an onerous land-tax having been retained after the pre¬ cious metals had greatly increased in value, owing, as happily de¬ scribed by Lieutenant Nash, to “ the ebb, from Maharashtra, of the wealth and riches which the tide of fortunate plunder had brought in.” Had this inevitable consequence been foreseen, and the land- tax timely reduced to meet the altered circumstances of the coun¬ try, twenty years of peace and security could not have resulted in general poverty and wretchedness, but, on the contrary, would have found the now half-deserted villages of the Deccan filled with a thriving and contented peasantry amid a constant fluctuation in the value of the precious metals. 15. The value of corn necessarily renders a fixed money assessment one of a most variable nature. In a very few years subsequent to its imposition an increase in the value of money may make that onerous which was originally light, and, therefore, in making a settlement intended to be permanent, this imposes the necessity of doing so with reference to the price corn may fall to, rather than to an average price, or that to which it may probably rise to. The data, too, procurable for fixing an assessment must be considered only as rough approximations to the truth, instead of being absolutely correct, and we must not, therefore, be implicitly guided by them; but, making every allowance for errors,, fix our assessment sufficiently low to secure its remaining unaffected by their occurrence. Such are a few of the considerations urging the policy of a low assessment ; there are others connected with the improvement of the land and the condition of the agricultural po¬ pulation which I shall now proceed to touch upon in treating of the term for which the present settlement should be declared permanent, 16. Government has already determined that the present settlement should last for ten years ; but I would respectfully sub¬ mit that this is much too limited a term to admit of the resources of the people being greatly increased, or to hold out much induce¬ ment to undertake permanent improvements involving any consider¬ able outlay of capital. It would tend, indeed, to retard rather than advance such objects, by creating a distrust of our intentions at fhe expiration of the term, an apprehension of the assessment being then raised in proportion as the land had increased in value, which would effectually prevent any expensive improvements. Besides a better system of tillage, which may be hoped for from a moderate assessment, the most general improvements likely to be undertaken are the construction of wells and bunds, with the view of convert- Ill ing jerayet into Bagayet land, both o£ which, however, require in general an expenditure of capital which it would require many years to repay. 17. The most certain way of giving an impulse to agricultural industry, and attracting capital to the improvement of land, would be to create a private property in the latter by declaring the present settlement to be permanent; but should Government be averse to compromising its claims to such an extent, I would strongly advo¬ cate the policy of extending the present term to a period of at least thirty years, which would afford time for the renovation of the dilapidated resources of the country, and hold out to the cultivator a fair prospect of obtaining an adequate remuneration for any outlay he may feel inclined to make in the improvement of his estate. Such a term would secure many of the advantages of a permanent settlement, and by rendering land saleable tend to bring it into the possession of people of capital, and thus check, in some measure, the’continued sub-division of property arisingjfromjthe laws of inher¬ itance, which threaten to retain for ever the cultivating classes in the condition of mere labourers, and to prevent the accumulation of wealth, with its attendant advantages of an extension of commerce and manufactures. 18. The 23rd and following paragraphs of Lieutenant Nash’s report contain an account of his proceedings in carrying into effect the instructions of Government to impose an additional tax upon all Bagayet lands watered from wells. There is very little “Kadim” Bagayet (irrigated land which paid an additional tax under the Mamul settlement) in the Inddpur Pergunna, and the imposition of the present rates may on this account be viewed with some little dissatisfaction at the outset; but they are so low that I think it impossible they can interfere with the extension of Bagayet culti¬ vation, or afford any real ground of discontent. From the circum¬ stance of their not having yet been brought into full operation, however, we do not possess the requisite experience to enable us to pronounce with certainty upon their merits. 19. Before concluding this report I shall venture to add a few observations regarding revenue management, upon which must in a great degree depend the successful introduction and stability of any assessment. The moderation of the present rates has hitherto greatly encouraged, and, it is hoped, will not hereafter present any obstacle to, an extension of cultivation; upon this ac¬ count^ I conceive no kd.uls should be given for the purpose of breaking up waste lands, except in very particular instances, where the outlay required is unusually great. The quantity of land now under cultivation in Ind^pur is much too great for the 112 means of the cultivators, and this circumstance must tend to I'd* tard their advancement. For the same reasons I am of opinion that no efforts are required on the part of the Collector’s establish¬ ment to induce the ryots to extend their cultivation or to deter them from relinquishing what they now hold, A cultivator must be much better able to judge than the Government authorities of the proper time to extend or contract his agricultural operations, and the slightest interference with his freedom of choice in this respect will be injurious to his interests. Such a system oE inter¬ ference in the Sub-Collectorate of Sholapur, and, I fear, through¬ out the Deccan, has been productive of incalculable evils, and per¬ haps as much as the weight of assessment itself has contributed to reduce the cultivators to their present state of poverty and wretched¬ ness, and to occasion the slovenly inefficient system of tillage now prevailing. 20. I am not here bringing forward a theory, but simply stating facts coming under my own observation, and which are the necessary consequences of the system pursued for forcing cul¬ tivation. The district and village authorities, with the view of obtaining a character for diligence and efficiency, and exhibiting a nominally large rent-roll, have been accustomed to use every ex¬ pedient, whether of persuasion or intimidation, to prevent land being thrown out of cultivation, and this with little or no regard being had to the means of the cultivator, who upon sustaining any reverse, such as a mortality among his cattle, instead of being per¬ mitted to contract his concerns to meet his diminished resources, has been obliged to retain the same quantity of land under culti¬ vation, and continue to pay the same revenue when no longer able to raise the same quantity of produce. These measures, which were followed, of course, by a call for large annual remissions, ob¬ liged those subjected to their operation to resort to a wretched system of cultivation, and generally ended in ruining them alto¬ gether. 21. I wish I could persuade myself that the representation here given is at all overdrawn; but I am unable, and would, there¬ fore, beg to press upon your consideration that in such a state of things no assessment, however moderate and just, can have a fair trial. To cultivate properly any quantity of land requires a cer¬ tain number of cattle, agricultural implements, &e., and any at¬ tempt to increase the former without adding to the latter must necessarily fail; and the undertaker would find that while obliged to pay an additional assessment on account of his new land, the . produce of that and his old taken together would not amount to what he had been in the habit of receiving from the latter alone. Any interference, then, on the part of Government officers, which 113 induces a ryot to take up more land than lie has the means of pro¬ perly cultivating, operates exactly in the same way as if the assess¬ ment of his original holding had been increased by the -whole amount of revenue receivable from the land so taken up. 22. There is another point of importance to the stability of the present settlement, and that is the preservation of the bounda¬ ries of fields as now laid down. The necessity of such care was strongly urged by Mr. Pringle upon the completion ef the survey of this collectorate; but the measures adopted in consequence have failed in effecting the. ends in view, and it has been found that, after the lapse of ten years only, a very large proportion of the boundaries of fields laid down at the survey has been changed or wholly obliterated. ‘ Your late orders respecting the annual inspec¬ tion of every field in the pergunna, and the preparation of “ num- berwar kirds” for each village, if rigidly acted upon, will do much to effect a remedy; but in addition to this I would suggest that the Kumavisdar and his kdrkuns be directed to take particular notice of every infringement of a boundary for which the owner of the field should be summarily punished. The imposition of a slight fine would probably be found sufficient, and a little vigilance on the part of the district establishments during the ploughing sea¬ sons, when such encroachments are usually effected, would do much to put a stop to the practice. 23. The adoption of the foregoing suggestions would, in my humble opinion, be of great service towards ensuring the success of the present settlement, which even now, it is pleasing to state, has been productive of the happiest results. As observed by Lieutenant Nash in his 22nd paragraph, “ the cheerful and con¬ tented looks of the peasantry, and the marked improvement in their dress, bear witness to this; ” while the return of many of the old Mirdsddrs, the eagerness displayed in contesting the posses¬ sion of land, and the rapidity with which every description is being brought under cultivation, afford satisfactory evidence upon the same point. If Providence favour us for a few years with a succes¬ sion of tolerable seasons, a marked change for the better in the condition of the people, the agriculture, trade, and manufactures of the districts may confidently be anticipated, 24. Instead of confining my observations to the pergunna of Inddpur alone, you will have observed that they are frequently applicable to the general question of a revision of assessment throughout this collectorate, which has been done through my anxiety, on the eve of enlarging the sphere of our present opera¬ tions, to place before Government the fullest means of judging of the value of the principles by which our measures are to be con- b 209—o 114 ducted, to afford opportunity for receiving further information regarding points left unexplained or obscure, and time to point out and correct whatever in the system is erroneous in principle and defective in operation. I have the honour to be, &c. G. WINGATE, Superintendent Revenue Survey. Poona, 31 st July 1839. P.8.—While penning the preceding report my acquaintance with the principles upon which the survey assessment was con¬ ducted, was confuted to the information contained in the Mahr&tta records of the undertaking, and the incidental notices regarding it scattered through the different correspondence connected with the revision of that assessment. Subsequently, however, I have been furnished by Mr. Secretary Reid with Mr. Pringle’s able and perspicuous report of the 6th September 1828, addressed to Mr. Chief Secretary Bax, and which contains a full exposition of the principles by which Mr. Pringle’s assessment was conducted, and displays the deep research and minute investigation which were devoted to the consideration of all the grounds on which such principles can alone be securely based. 2. I cannot here refrain from expressing my regret that I was not earlier placed in possession of documents displaying so fully the enlightened and scientific basis of the assessment upon which it was become my duty to comment, and that the anxiety of Government to obtain Mr. Nash’s and my own reports upou the completion of the -settlement of the Inddpur Pergunna will preclude the possibility of our availing ourselves of the knowledge we now possess, by adding to our observations, so as to remove from them any appearance of a want of consideration in our remarks upon past operations, and of inattention to the principles by which they were conducted. 3. Mr. Nash and myself attribute in our reports the failure of the survey assessment to the circumstance of its having been fixed with reference to the “ net produce ” instead of the “ rent of land.” In reading with attention Mr. Pringle’s report it is impos¬ sible to resist the impression, that these two terms have been con¬ sidered synonymous, and that while he calculated his assessment on what is strictly the “ net produce,” that what is left to a tenant after defraying all expenses of cultivation, he spoke of its opera¬ tion as though it had in reality been based upon the “ rent,” or what that tenant could afford, suitably providing for himself, to pay from that sum to his landlord. 115 4. “ Net produce,” says Mr. Pringle in the 11th paragraph of his report already quoted, “ is that portion of the whole money value of the average gross produce estimated at an average price which remains after, deducting all outgoings on account of labour and capital, each item of these being calculated at its ordinary and average rate.” And strictly in conformity with this sketch, of which the details are given in his 19th paragraph, were the ex¬ penses of cultivation of every description of soil calculated by the survey assessment; and it may here be remarked as an important fact, which I shall presently allude to, that their calculations ex¬ hibit in all instances, and for every variety of soil, a considerable portion of the gross produce remaining after all expenses of cul¬ tivation have been deducted, which is termed, and termed justly, “ net produce.” 5. That Mr. Pringle, however, conceived this to be “ rent ” appears clearly from his 39th and 40th paragraphs, wherein he states it to be “ the general tendency of his assessment to place all lands exactly.in the same relative position which they would natu¬ rally hold if no assessment existed at all; that is, to enable them to yield a rent to the owner, progressively increasing in amount from the worst to the best soils according to their quality.” Again, “ if the whole of the net produce were exacted, the productive energies of the country would be greater than they could be under any mode of raising the same amount of taxation, but property in the soil would be annihilated.” Such observations, however, can only possibly be true of “rent,” which, as stated by the Right Honourable the Governor in Council in a letter to the Revenue Commissioner dated 4th May 1838, No. 1698, is “greatest on the * Including the farm- mos^ futile land, and decreases on worse soils, er’s profit. until we come to the very worst, where the cost* of cultivation absorbs the whole surplus]" t e pro ace. and no rent is paid at all;” while “ net pro¬ duce,” as defined and practically estimated by Mr. Pringle, and in the common acceptation of political economists, is the surplus remaining after all outgoings on account of labour and capital have been paid, the fund from which the tenant must be supported and the landlord receive his rent. It is greatest on the best, and decreases in amount from that to the worst description of soil in cultivation, where it still exists, although merely sufficient to induce the farmer to cultivate such land, and being merely so, can afford no rent to the landlord. And, therefore, the part alluded to in the 4th paragraph of this P.8. of Mr. Pringle’s cultivation, giving a considerable surplus produce for the very worst descrip¬ tion of soils, shows that his assessment was founded on a percentage of the “ net produce,” and not of the “ rent.” 116 6. Any assessment, therefore, forming so large a percentage (55mannds) of the net produce as Mr. Pringle’s must, by absorb¬ ing the whole of the rent of inferior soils and retrenching upon the farmer’s profits, throw such soils out of cultivation, until the price of grain is so raised by the demand as to permit them to be cultivated with advantage; and in this case the Government as¬ sessment, by raising the price of grain generally, would take much more from the pockets of the people than it would bring into the coffers of the State. G. WINGATE, Superintendent Revenue Survey. Poona, 4th August 1838. Appendix No. III. No. 2683 op 1838. Territorial Department, Revenues To the REVENUE COMMISSIONER. Sir,—I have the honour to hand up an original letter, No, 139, dated 4th ultimo, from Lieutenant Wingate, and of its enclosure from Lieutenant Nash, being that officer’s report on the survey and assessment of the Inddpur Pergunna. 2. I shall merely trouble you and the Government with a few general observations on the measures which have been adopted, and on the suggestions which have been offered by Messrs. Wingate and Nash, those officers in their respective reports having fully ex¬ plained every particular connected with the operations they have been conducting. 3. The Government letter of the 7th September 1835, No. 2056, discussed the several points on which the survey and assess¬ ment of this pergunna was to be based, and conveyed certain instructions for the guidance of the surveying officer. The Gov¬ ernment will observe that neither Lieutenant Wingate nor Lieut¬ enant Nash gives any details connected with the plans pursued for correcting the measurement, classifying the land, &e., in conse¬ quence of a memorandum furnished to me privately at my request, and I consider it a private document. Yet, as Lieutenant Wingate alludes to it, I presume he considers it official (5th paragraph) ; and as it may be serviceable to Government in elucidating many 117 points noticed in this correspondence, I have deemed it my duty to submit a copy of it with this report. 4.The measurement of the different fields in a village seems to have been carried on in a manner likely to ensure accuracy. It appears, however, that the survey measurements were executed with much greater fidelity than was usually considered to be the case,* and, therefore, there was much less labour Lieutwm^sEeport t0 be performed than might from previous reports have been anticipated. 5.With respect to the classification of the Soils, one uniform standard was adopted, having reference solely- 8th para, of Memo. natural fertility of the soil, leaving wholly out of consideration extrinsic circumstances, such as vici¬ nity to the village, command of water, &c. ant Re'ptt The adoption of one general standard, under • all the circumstances stated, seems a judi¬ cious measure, particularly as no practical bad effects appear to have resulted from it, whilst it must greatly have tended to sim¬ plify the subsequent arrangements. 6. As Government (17th para.) left it to the discretion of the settling officers to fix the number of rates, Mr. Goldsmid, for’ reasons recorded, determined to have nine rates—the highest 12 annas per acre, and the lowest 2 annas per acre. Both the maxi¬ mum and minimum rates of assessment are extremely low when compared with the Mamul and survey rates previously in opera¬ tion ; but as they have been fixed after minute inquiries, and in consideration of local peculiarities and the depressed condition of the ryots, it is possible they are as high as they ought to be under existing circumstances ; for, as I stated in my report (18th para.) the rent to be paid per acre can be alone determined by the judg¬ ment and experience of the settling officer, and the best means with the data at command for ascertaining the proper assessment the land should pay seems to have been adopted. 7. It must be recollected that the present state of the Indsipur Pergunna is to a certain extent fictitious. Advantageous leases and a low assessment have attracted a number of ryots from neighbouring states and from our own highly-assessed districts. It remains to be seen at a future period, when the assessment in the districts bordering on Indapur has been modified and reduced, whether the fugitive ryots will return to their paternal fields, and leave the district singularly unfortunate as regards the periodical rains, and to which they have been attracted by low rates and other advantages which they do not possess by cultivating their hereditary fields. 118 8. I have attentively considered the interesting remarks and observations in Lieutenants Wingate’s and Nash’s reports on the mode adopted, by Mr. Pringle, of assessing the land according to a percentage of the net produce. 9. Lieutenant Nash appears (7th and 8th paras.) to have clearly shown that the principle adopted of taking 55 per cent of the net produce was erroneous, and was the chief cause of the inferior soils being more highly assessed than the better description of land. In the present assessment this error has been, corrected, and each description of land is now assessed according to its re¬ lative value with respect to the value fixed for the first description of land, and the principle appears to*be just. . 10. In the 33rd paragraph of Lieutenant Nash’s and 18th of Lieutenant Wingate’s reports they allude to the assessment on Bagayet land. On this subject I beg leave to refer Government No. 898 dated 18th to the observations contained in mydetters to July 1835, para. 24; No. your address, as per margin. To tax Bagayet 79, dated 26th January land is, in my humble judgment, impolitic, 1836, and seems to be directly at variance with the Honourable Court’s orders, that land should be assessed according . to its produce ; but as the assessment has been fixed in obedience to orders, it only now remains that the error be corrected as soon as possible before its evil consequences will be felt in checking Bagayet cultivation and throwing wells out of use. 11. The only remaining subject I shall now treat upon is the extension of the period for which the present assessment is to continue from ten to thirty years. Lieutenants Wingate and Nash have offered some sensible observations on this subject; but the very arguments which those officers use in favour of the extension are, in my judgment, conclusive of the policy of limiting the period to ten years, for which Government have already engaged that the present lease shall continue. 12. Lieutenants Wingate and Nash both allude to the fluc¬ tuation in the price of the precious metalsas one of the principal causes which must always affect in money assessment the vast increase of cultivation; and the prospective increase which may be anticipated in a few years, when the whole Deccan is more accurately surveyed and more equally assessed, must contribute so to raise the price of money by augmenting the quantity of produce greatly beyond the demand for it, that even the assessment, of Inddpur, low as it is, may in a few years be considered too high for the cultivators to pay. Lieutenant Nash observes (22nd para.), “ the price of grain is constantly fluctuating, and with it the value of the crops and the money rent of the land,” and under 119 such circumstances “ a money assessment which is one year paid with ease will, if exacted from the people in the next, take from them a part of their fair portion of the produce of the earth ” (22nd para.). And Lieutenant Wingate, in speaking of money assess¬ ment, observes (15th para.), “ an increase in the value of the pre¬ cious metals may make that onerous which was originally light.” Now, as the rent to Government is paid in money, it seems for these very reasons impolitic that Government should, as far as its own interests are concerned, as well as for the interests of the ryots, pledge itself to any longer term of years for the continua¬ tion of the present settlement. It must always be borne in mind that Government must always be losers, and can never be gainers. If the value of money diminishes, or, in other words, the produce of the soil, from whatever cause, is dear, Government cannot raise the assessment to meet the loss they will sustain; whereas if money rises in value,, or, in other words, the produce of the soil is very cheap, good policy and humanity necessarily oblige it to reduce the assessment, or the land will be thrown out of cultivation, and the ryot’s circumstances so much altered that if he continue to. pay the assessment he must be ruined. Though in all probability for the next ten yeans there will be no alteration in the state of the country of such importance as materially to affect the present settlement, which is only to last for ten years, yet every thinking man is fully aware that within thirty years—the period during which Lieutenant Wingate wishes the assessment to last—a great alteration will take place in the moral condition of the people and the political state of the country, and I can see no good or sub¬ stantial reasons for Government pledging themselves for so long a period. 13. It must be borne in mind, as I before observed (7th para.), that the present prosperous state of the Indapur District is the result of low rates of assessment and advantageous leases, and not of an increased demand for the produce of soil. It may, therefore, justly be considered fictitious, and its continued pros¬ perity and flourishing state to rest in a great degree on the continu¬ ance of the present state of the districts which surround or are con¬ tiguous to it. The moment the assessment in those districts is reduced, so that a fair profit will be left to the cultivator, we shall in all probability find that the cultivation in Indapur will decline. Lieutenant Wingate even now observes (19th para.) “that the quantity of land now under cultivation in Indipur is much too great for the means of the cultivators, and retards their advance¬ ment.” It must also be recollected, as well observed by the Revenue Commissioner, that the supply of rain is singularly pre¬ carious in the districts ; and, should any season of drought occur, 120 it is fair to presume that the ryots, who are not permanent occu¬ pants of the soil, or Mirisddrs, will return to their paternal fields, which they may only have left in consequence of over-assessment, and which may he situated in districts where the periodical rains are less precarious, and where a reduction in the rates of assess¬ ment may offer them exactly the same. advantages they enjoy by cultivating land in the Inddpur District. . 14. From the remission of the transit duties and other numerous taxes which have hitherto fettered the energies of the people, and from the progressive improvement of the country by he construction of roads, and, above all, the moral improvement of the people by education, &c., Government have every reason to an- icipate that the utmost activity, both in agriculture and commerce, will in the course of a few years prevail. How far and to what extent these consequences may affect the land assessment, it is im¬ possible to say; but that they must affect it there can be no doubt, and Government should, therefore, in no degree pledge themselves to any system or measure so liable to fluctuate as the land assess¬ ment beyond that period necessary to give encouragement to agri¬ culture in a district like that of Indapur. 15. For all these reasons I strongly dissent from the propo¬ sition to extend the present lease to thirty years. 16. I quite concur in the observations in Lieutenant Win¬ gate’s 19th para, if, as I understand them to apply to the Indapur District in its present state, no kaul under such a low assessment as has been fixed should be granted, except, in very extraordinary cases, when a large capital is embarked in any scheme or improve¬ ment. When the other districts of the collectorate have had their land assessment modified, a similar course should be adopted. 17. The subdivision of property alluded to by Lieutenants Wingate and Hash, and the practice of marrying early, are, no doubt, evils of great magnitude, and have in all probability tended to retard, as they must tend to retard, the advancement of tho natives to opulence. The tendency of these religious or civil insti¬ tutions is to prevent the rise of a class of wealthy individuals whose capital might be advantageously disposed of in improving their agriculture or in increasing their merchandize. The immediate descendants of the fortunate possessors of wealth dwindle down to that scale from which their ancestor may have emerged by his industry or ability, and the wealth which he acquired becomes so subdivided amongst his descendants that it enables the possessor to do little good with it, and adds but little. As these evils are they cannot be, and must not be, interfered with. It must be left to education to improve the moral condition of the people, and m they will themselves then see the good and sound policy of not marrying their children at so early an age as they now do, and of deviating from the principle they now observe of subdividing their property amongst their children; for* as justly observed by Lieu¬ tenant Nash, “ education appears to me to be as much the means of giving security .and increase to the Government revenue as of improving the moral and mental condition of its unenlightened and Unfortunate but teachable subjects*” 18. I beg to forward a statement of all expenses incurred in surveying and assessing the Indipur Taluka, as called for in the 2nd para, of a letter from Government to my address, No. 3309, dated the 3rd instant* 1‘have the honour to be, &c., R. MILLS, Principal Collector. Principal Collector's Office, Poona, 20th September 1838. Appendix No. IV. No. 2297 of 1838. Territorial Division, Revenue, To L. R. REID, Esq., Acting Chief Secretary, Bombay. Sir,—-In reference to the latter part of the 21st para, of your letter (No. 1489), dated 19th April last, I have the honour to submit a report from Lieutenant Nash on the mode in which the survey and revision of the assessment has been conducted in the Indipur Taluka, the only district of the Deccan in which those operations have been completed. 2. The new settlement has been the basis of the revenue settlement for the last two years; and what makes this report particularly interesting, and, I may add, satisfactory, is the evi¬ dence it contains of the success of the important settlement which is the subject of it. 3. The survey and assessment as regards Indipur may be briefly described as follows ;— b 209—p 122 1st.—The survey measurements in acres have been carefully tested, or, where any considerable error has been discovered, the land has been re-measured. 2nd.—A new classification has been made of the land accord¬ ing to its soil, situation, and other capabilities for cultivation, and every field has been entered under one or other of the nine classes. 3rd—The boundaries of those fields where they had pre¬ viously been lost have been ascertained and marked afresh. 4th.—A complete land register has been framed in which the name, number, position, boundaries, tenure, extent, class, distance from the village, and all other particulars relating to the fields have been carefully entered. bth.—An assessment has been fixed on the land according to its class and capabilities. 6th.—The land has been let out on ten years’ lease at the assessment so fixed, each man’s holding and the assessment he has to pay being so described in the lease as to leave little room for defrauding either him or Government. 7th.—The whole work has been conducted on a system of such strict checks and supervision as to guard, as far as possible, against errors arising either from carelessness or fraud. 4. It now remains to be seen what effects have been produced by these improvements, as they must be acknowledged to be, when it is considered that, previous to the commencement of this work, neither the measurements, boundaries, nor classifications, as enter¬ ed in the records, could be depended on as correct; that the assess¬ ment was so heavy that little more than one-third of the arable iand had been cultivated for the last ten years ; and that, though in that period remissions were given in all but one season, and they four times in twelve years exceeded the amount left to be collected as Government revenue, yet the latter was collected with so much difficulty that heavy balances were left unrealized at the end of the year, and the district generally was reduced to the extreme of poverty; and that the effect of the heavy assessment and all this uncertainty regarding it, was to give rise to a system of oppression and fraud to which the records of Government afford few parallels. 5. It'should be premised that the nominal rental or assess¬ ment of the whole pergunna was by the— Tankd, Rs, 1,02,548 Kamal „ 2,28,560 Survey „ 2,02,674 Present assessment a 83,818 - ' 123 6. The effects of the revision of the assessment as seen in the last year (which was, be it remembered, not better than an aver¬ age one) were— \st.—Since the revision commenced, cultivation has increased to an extent very far beyond what it has been for the last twelve years; and though it is difficult to compare the present acres with the vague bigas in- which the land was registered previous to 1238 (1827-28), yet the quantity of land now under cultivation is as much, if not more, than when we first got possession of the per- gunna, which was then more prosperous and cultivation more extensive than it has been before or since. 2nd.—-As the nominal rental has been so much reduced, it is to be expected that the gross Jamabandi would be so also; nevertheless it was higher than in seven of the nineteen year* preceding. 3rd.—After deducting haks and remissions, the net revenue to be collected on account of Government is higher than it was in nine, and lower than it was in ten of the preceding years. 4th.—The sum actually collected and paid into the Government Treasury in the course of the year—the chief point to look to in the question of mere pecuniary profit and loss to Government—has never been so great except during the first four years of our occupa¬ tion, when it is generally acknowledged our demands were much too high. 5th.—The outstanding balances have never yet been so low at the end of the official year as they were last year. 7. In short,- at an expense (every item included) of Rs. 12,165-14-1, or about one-third less than the average of the balances outstanding at the end of the year during the first seventeen years of our possessing the country, a light and equitable assessment, paid punctually and without difficulty by-a contented and grateful body of ryots, has been substituted for a heavy nominal paper assessment, never realized to its full amount, and yielding less actual cash to the Government coffers, and even that exacted from a population which was yearly sinking towards ruin. 8. That neither this picture, nor the description' given by Messrs.. Wingate and Nash in the present reports, or by Messrs. Goldsmid and Mansfield in their two last annual reports, on the state of the district are overcharged, can hardly be asserted when it is considered that they rest, not on opinions or theories, but on facts which admit of no doubt. The money collected is in the Treasury, the Government accounts are clear of balances, and the improvements in the condition and spirit of the inhabitants are 124 matters of notoriety throughout the zillah. The improved state of Inddpur was noticed in my letter (No. 216) dated the 26th January last, and in replying to that letter Government observed (vide your letter No. 1489, dated the 19th April), “ The improved state of the Inddpur Pergunna, once the very centre of mismanagement on the part of our subordinate officers and oppressors of peasantry, is a source of high satisfaction to the Governor in Council. It affords an instance of successful results to which, however liberal and benevolent our measures may be, we are not always accustomed.’* 9. We are apt to speak and think of the effects as if they resulted from some new principle in revenue management, or some system which had been tried in Inddpur for the first time. Nothing, however, can be further from the fact. There was little in the principle of the present revision, or in its mode of execution, for which an example might not be found either in a good native assessment of the Deccan. The chief features which distinguish it from its predecessors are the oare and attention with which all the details have been executed, and the sound good sense and the strict adherence, where practicable, to former usage. Its leading prin¬ ciple has been to fix an assessment so moderate and so simple as to be easily and readily paid by a poor and simple population. 10. The reports of Lieutenants Nash and Wingate are so full, clear, and satisfactory that they require little comment. There are, however, a few points in the letter from the Prin* cipal Collector which seem to call for some-remarks. 11.The remarks Mr. Mills makes in his 4th para, regarding Paragraph 4 the correctness of the survey measurements g may lead to some misapprehension, unless it be borne in mind that they, as well as the rest of the work, are generally supposed to be less vitiated by willful errors in the IndL pur Pergunna than any where, else, * 12.Mr, Mills remarks (para. 6) that the new rates are ex¬ tremely low when compared with the Mamul and survey rates, though he subsequently allows that they are probably as high as they should be. It would, however, have been but fair to have pointed out that, with anything like the prices of the last ten years, the Mamul and survey rates were merely nominal, and never were, nor ever could be, fully realized; and it would not have been out of place had Mr. Mills alluded to that part of Lieutenant Nash’s report in which he shows that, considering the prices of produce, the present assessment is very nearly the same as the Kamal and Tankd were at that time in the periods during which they were respectively in force when agriculture was most flourishing. 125 13. The observation made in this paragraph (para. 7) by Mr. Mills, that “ the present state of the Inddpur Pergunna is to a certain extent fictitious,” is in part true if he meant that it is called flourishing by comparison relatively with the. surrounding districts, and that it would not be so called in a rich and well- managed province. There can be little doubt but that if the measures which have been pursued in Inddpur are steadily fol¬ lowed up in the surrounding districts, Inddpur itself will become one of the poorest from being, as it is now, one of the most (perhaps the very most) flourishing districts in this zilla. But there can be equally little doubt that the alteration will be comparative, not real. Of all the districts in the Deccan it is, perhaps, the least favoured by nature; and as those .which enjoy greater natural advantages participate in the benefit of measures which have done so much for Inddpur, they will rise in the scale, and from their superiority in other respects rise higher than Indapur. But it by no means follows, nor does there appear any reason to appre¬ hend, that when this very desirable consummation approaches, Inddpur will in any degree sink below its present standard. Least of all do I apprehend that the effect anticipated by the Principal Col¬ lector in the latter part of the paragraph will ever take place to any extent, simply because amongst those who have of late years flock¬ ed to Inddpur the proportion of those who are Watanddrs of our own districts is believed to be small compared to those who belonged originally to Inddpur, which they left, some as long ago as the famine of 1803-4, when they fled to the Mogldi or other foreign districts, where there is little chance of their being again driven by the advancing prosperity of the pergunnas around Inddpur. 14. I confess I do not agree with the Principal Collector and Lieutenant Nash in finding fault (para. 9) with the principle adopted in the late survey* of taking 55 per cent of the net produce. Lieutenant Nash argues as though Government were the universal landlord and the cultivators its servants, and if that were the case it would undoubtedly be unjust to leave one man a greater propor¬ tionate share of the fruits of his labour than another, and impolitic to take less than what each man should receive for his subsistence. But if the object of an assessment be to impose a land-taxy the plan of taking a .certain share of the net produce is the only one by which that tax can be fairly ‘fixed, and it is the only means by which any interest can be created in the land stronger than that local attachment which the kunbi has for his fields ; nor is the com¬ paratively higher assessment of inferior soils (in the sense in which the expression is used by Lieutenant Nash and the Principal Col¬ lector) which is caused by such a system to be deprecated. It is perfectly natural and most profitable for the cultivator that the 126 best soils should be the first cultivated as those which, in propor¬ tion to the capital and labour employed on them, yield the best return, and when our fiscal arrangements invert this natural order of things it is a clear proof that there is something radically wrong in our system. Except to guard against future error, however, there seems little use in arguing the point, which, as far as the present assessment is concerned, appears to be purely speculative. 15. The Principal Collector appears to forget (para. 10) that the power of affording’water for irrigation is one of the most valu¬ able of the capabilities of land, and that to bear*it in mind in fixing an assessment is, therefore, strictly consonant to the orders of the Honourable Court. This is a question quite distinct from that as to whether it is worth while to levy a separate assessment when the quantity of the irrigated land is so small, and where its extension is so desirable as in Indapur ; but for my own part I see no objection whatever, as regards Indapur, to levy a higher assess¬ ment on Bagayet than on Jerayet lands, provided that assessment is in reference to the capabilities of the land. That the new rate fixed at Indapur is moderate there can be no doubt. 16. In this and the following para. (para. 10) the Principal Collector gives his reasons for dissenting from the proposition of Lieutenants Wingate and Nash, that the present settlement should be extended for a period of thirty years if not rendered permanent. Mr. Mills first argues that, by the great increase in the quantity of the grain produced beyond the demand for it, the price of the precious metals (as compared with grain) will rise so high as to render the present low assessment too heavy. To this I would answer—-first, that, even if the land were given rent free, the quantity • of grain produced could never for any considerable period be augmented beyond the demands for it; and, secondly, that, even if the objec¬ tion were a valid one to saying that Government will always take the present assessment at neither more nor less, it could be no obstacle to Government declaring that for thirty years or for ever it would limit its demand to the present assessment, and it is this, and not a declaration of the immutability of an assessment, which is re¬ quired to give anything like permanent prosperity to the country. 17. Of the two contingencies apprehended by the Principal Collector, let it be. supposed that one, viz., “an increase in the value of the precious metals making that” (assessment) “onerous which was originally light,” were to happen subsequent to Gov¬ ernment having given its ryots an assurance similar to that recommended by Lieutenant Wingate—the Principal Collector justly remarks that good policy and humanity necessarily oblige 127 Government to reduce the assessment; and how, it may fairly be asked, would the difficulty of doing this be increased by such an assurance being given. The change in the value of the precious metals can never be caused or prevented by the term for which the assessment is fixed being longer or shorter, except that the longer the term the less will be the liability of change in prices of produce and everything connected with agriculture; and should that change take place so as to render the present assessment too heavy, it must be reduced, or the country will be ruined, whether the term be one year or a hundred. • 18. But from what the Principal Collector says in his 12th para., “that Government must always be losers and can never be gainers,” and from his reflections on the impossibility of Govera- ment raising the assessment, and, indeed, the whole tenor of his argument, it is pretty clear that it is the other contingency, viz., that by money becoming more plentiful the prices of produce will rise, which he has chiefly in view in objecting to extend the term of the assessment beyond ten years. He appears to have hopes that the circumstances of the country may so alter after the expiration of the ten years as to enable us to raise our demand. It is the continued pursuit of some phantom advantage of this kind which has hitherto prevented most of our districts from improving to the degree which we might fairly expect from so many years of British government, and which, if we persist in following, will alike effectually bar any decided amelioration in the circumstances of our subjects and in our own revenue. Even admitting that such hopes of being hereafter able to increase our demands were justifi¬ able in most cases, what can be the advantages which the Principal Collector expects beyond the very solid ones which the present revision, has secured. As regards the ryots, the assessment is lighter and more easily paid, agriculture is more extended, and the people are more contented and more rapidly improving in circumstances than at any period since we had the country.' As regards Government, the district is managed without trouble; the sum which the pergunna now actually yields (and which is annu¬ ally increasing) to the Treasury is. more than the average since we have had the country. It is realized without difficulty or com¬ plaint, whilst little room is left for peculation or oppression, set¬ ting aside the benefit which may be expected from a measure which will create a permanent interest in the land, and induce the holders to lay out capital on it. Why should we leave the only course which can secure and increase these great solid advantages for the sake of some vague and very uncertain hopes that we may hereafter be able to raise annually a few thousand rupees more from the pergunna ? 128 19. This Government is, I believe, restricted from granting leases of land for more than thirty years ; but it is to be hoped that* for the very sufficient reasons given by Messrs. Wingate and Nash, and for the very obvious one of continuing to the district the only system under which it has ever prospered under oiir rule, Govern¬ ment may see fit to declare that for thirty years no increase will be made in the present rates, and to request the sanction of., the Honourable Court to a pledge being given, that if the opinion of the people at the end of that period be in favour of a continuance of the leases at the present rate they shall be declared permanent* • • I have the honour to be, &c* T. WILLIAMSON* Revenue Commissioner* Poona, Revenue Commissioner's Office* 12th October 1838. Appendix No. V. No. 4739 op 1838. To JOHN VIBART, Esq., Revenue Commissioner. Territorial Department, Revenue. Sir,—I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your pre¬ decessor’s letter (No. 2297), dated the 12th October last, submit¬ ting a report from Lieutenant Nash on the mode in which the survey and revision of the assessment in the Inddpur District have been conducted, and, in reply, to communicate to you the following observations and instructions which have occurred to the Right Honourable the Governor in Council on the various points treated of in those letters. 2. The minute details, not only of the principles on which the whole scheme was conducted, but even of that part of the execution of the survey which refers to the conduct of the mea¬ surements and classifications by the subordinate agents, the re¬ gulations under which they proceeded, and the means adopted for testing their work and checking fraud, would, I am directed to remark, have been acceptable to the Government, and equally so, 120 fro doubt, to the Honourable Court. These details have not been touched upon, nor are many points connected with them to be dis¬ covered in the “ sketch ” or memorandum which forms an accom¬ paniment to Mr. Mills’ letter. 3. The first process in a work of the nature now reported on, is the measurement of the land. In by far the largest portion of the pergunna the measurements made by Mr. Pringle’s survey¬ ors were found free from great inaccuracies. The villages in which great discrepancies were discovered, were remeasured, and this preliminary part of the process was thus placed on a satisfactory footing. After the tests to which it has been subjected, the correct¬ ness of the mere measurement must be held to be established. 4. The next process is the classification of the soils. That of Mr. Pringle is denounced as worthless, and his process had, therefore, to be commenced anew. The system adopted, of divid¬ ing all the lands into three grades, is described by Lieutenants Nash and Wingate, as also the establishing a relative proportion between each different class. 5. The next and final measure of the settlement is the deter¬ mination of the rate of assessmentand, in respect to this process, Government considers the information which the present papers afford as somewhat defective. The classification only goes so far as to determine the relative productive powers of soil; all consider¬ ations of the extrinsic qualities which different fields may possess, such as the facility of irrigation and of procuring manure, the vicinity of the village, the neighbourhood of good roads or markets, &c., has been studiously excluded. 6. Lieutenant Wingate in para. 5, I am instructed to state, observes that these points, though disregarded in the classification, have been carefully noted with the view of finally assisting in fix¬ ing “ the assessmentand from this it might naturally have been supposed that, by some process subsequent to the mere classifi¬ cation of the soil, due weight would be allowed to these qualities, which in truth affect the capability of the cultivator to pay his revenue equally as much as the possession of different classes of land. 7. Neither Lieutenant Wingate nor Lieutenant Nash, how¬ ever, show in what manner the information gathered by the Tarams on theso points has been mado to bear upon the rates of assessment. Mr. Mills in his para. 5 implies (notwithstanding tho passago of Lieutenant Wingate’s letter above quoted) that theso points have been entirely left out of the calculation. Had such been tho case, executive officers ought surely to have noticed it, and to have shown the grounds on which such omission was to be defended. b 209— thinks, however, that a drought-stricken district like Ind&pur may be specially treated as proposed by me.- If thought advisable, therefore, my proposal might he held to be applicable only to Indapur. 6.It will be satisfactory to Government to find that Sir Paras 10 and 11. George Wingate, though adopting a differ¬ ent plan of estimating the amount of the increase which may be imposed upon Inddpur at the revision assessment, has arrived at almost precisely the same result as I had worked out; that is to say, according to his estimate the increase should be 54 per cent upon the present assessment, and my own estimate makes it 53. So near an agreement as this, upon the 141 complicated question of the re-assessment of a drought-stricken district like Inddpur is very remarkable, and at the same time inspires confidence in the original proposals. 7. Sir George Wingate agrees with me in the expediency of fixing the amount of local tax to be levied during the lease simul¬ taneously with the Imperial Land Revenue, and I would particu¬ larly refer to his observations upon this subject. 8. Sir George concludes his Memorandum with remarks upon the great advantages to the State, and to the people generally, of a settlement fixed for thirty years, and liable to revision at the expiration of that period, over a settlement fixed in perpetuity. He refers particularly to a paper* upon the permanent settlement cfuestion which he submitted privately some years ago for the con¬ sideration of the then Secretary of State for India. I made inquiry at the India Office for this paper; but as it was not forthcoming there, Sir George has promised to send me a copy of it, which I shall submit hereafter on its receipt. 9. In conclusion, I would solicit early orders upon the report, for I purpose, with the approval of Government, to intro¬ duce the new assessment during the early part of the coming season. I have the honour to be, Your most obedient Servant, J. FRANCIS, Lieut.-Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner. NOTES UPON COLONEL FRANCIS' REPORT No. 147, DATED 12th FEBRUARY 1867, ON THE RE-SET¬ TLEMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF INDA'PUR. 1. The first 65 paragraphs of the report are occupied with a very interesting history of .the occurrences connected with the revision of the district thirty years before, and upon this portion I shall make no remark. 2. The comparison given in the 66th paragraph of the first year of the new settlement with the last of the old is defective, inasmuch as in that year the new settlement was, I think, intro¬ duced in the Kalas division. The preceding year, 1885-36, might have been compared with, the year 1837-38, after allowing for the * Printed at page 152 of this Selection. 142 extension of cultivation in the interim caused by the revision.. In the extract of Sir Bartle Frere’s speech given in the 78th para¬ graph there is a mistake relative to the cart manufactory set up at Temburni in the ShoMpur Districts. This establishment was instituted by Lieutenant Wingate, and hundreds of carts were sup¬ plied from it to the ryots of the neighbouring districts of ShoMpur, Poona, and Ahmednagar. Lieutenant G-aisford subsequently in¬ troduced an improved model of a cart which was found more suit¬ able to the Deccan, and gradually superseded all others. One great difficulty connected with the introduction of carts was the inability of the ordinary district artificers to construct or even repair them, and it would be interesting to learn to what extent this obstacle has since been removed by the greater skill of the local artificers. Are the Inddpur carts now constructed in the district, or are they purchased elsewhere ; and in this case can repairs be effected in the district without difficulty ? Satisfactory replies to these queries would indicate a marked improvement in the condition of the dis¬ trict, brought about by the revised settlement. 3. The review of the benefits resulting from the new settle¬ ment contained in the 77th and following paragraphs up to the 107th paragraph of the report is cautious and discriminative, and calculated to give confidence in the perfect safety of the proposals for an increase of the assessment, which Colonel Francis proceeds to found upon a consideration of these benefits. It would, how¬ ever, have added to the interest of his report, and to our confi¬ dence in his conclusions, had the statistical information regarding the present condition of the district been more ample. It would be interesting, for instance, to know what proportion of the popu¬ lation is dependent upon agriculture, and what upon trade and manufactures; what is the average size of the holdings of the cul¬ tivators ? What are their modes of husbandary ? and is the land generally well cultivated ? What proportion of the land nominally in cultivation is kept untilled for the purpose of affording grazing for the cattle, though subject to the full assessment ? What are the ordinary corn and money rents received by non-cultivating occupiers from their sub-tenants ? How does the ryot dispose of his produce ? Does he sell it chiefly at the local or distant markets, or is it handed over to the village banker in satisfaction of previous advances ? What are the castes and religions of the people, and what the numbers of each denomination ? What is the state of education, and the number and castes of the scholars ? What is the state of crime and civil, litigation in the district ? What is the condition of the cross-roads of the district, and are they generally available for cart traffic, or otherwise? A statistical report for each district brought under re-settlement comprising these and 143 any other interesting items* of information, accompanied with a map indicating the positions and grouping of the general villages of the district for purposes of re-assessment, and showing the course of the nearest great highways and railways, would be an invaluable aid in forming a judgment as to the proper rates of assessment, and form a most important record by which the furture progress of the district could be correctly estimated. The information re¬ quired might be. obtained from the Revenue, Judicial, and Educa¬ tional Departments, when not capable of collection by the survey establishments, and for this the assembly of the various survey and other departments at Poona during the monsoon months, affords facilities which did not exist when the head-quarters of the survey departments were scattered over the country. 4. Besides the cMuris and dharamsdlas entered in the table in the 97th paragraph of the report as new buildings erected within the last thirty years, dwelling-houses, schools, and temples or mosques might have been enumerated. The statistical table appended to the report gives no information regarding the three last; but it appears from it that, exclusive of the villages of Nhavi and Bori, 460 additional tiled or flat-roofed houses, 2,122 thatched, have been constructed under the new settlement, and if we adopt the very moderate estimate of 100 rupees as the value of each of the former and 50 rupees of the latter, this would represent a capital of 1,52,100 rupees invested in dwelling-houses during the last thirty years, independent of old houses added to or entirely re-built; an addition also of the personal property of the in¬ habitants should be made, on account of an increase to the extent of 9,000 sheep and goats, to the items of the table given in the 101st paragraph. Considering the imperfect nature of the ex¬ perimental operations connected with the measurement and class¬ ification of the lands. of the Inddpur District, Colonel Francis was, I think, right in deciding upon an entirely new classification and survey, as described in the 108th to the 125th paragraphs of the report; but this course, it is probable, will only be found neces¬ sary in districts where the original operations were of a like in¬ complete character, and carried out before the system of laying down permanent field boundary marks in the course of the survey operations had been matured and practically carried out. 5. The principles on which the revision of assessment should be based, as described in the 128th and 134th paragraphs, appear to be quite sound so far as they go, but they should not be con- — - - - -• - * Note.—Amended returns exhibiting the information here alluded to are being prepared. See Survey Commissioner’s letter No. 828, dated 7th October 1867, containing explanation on this point, and also regarding the causes of their not having been submitted with original report. 144 sidered to embrace every case, as it is possible that occasions may arise for raising tbe assessment upon grounds not specified in any of these paragraphs. 6. The question of excepting improvements made with the cultivator’s capital, considered in the 135th and following para¬ graphs, is an important one, but demands very careful considera¬ tion in its practical application. The Survey Act limits the dis¬ cretion of the revising officer more than is perhaps desirable by the enactment in the concluding part of Section 30, that “ such revis¬ ed assessment shall be fixed, not with reference to improvements made by the owners or occupants from private capital or resources during the currency of any settlement under this Act, but with reference to general considerations of the value of land, whether as to soil or situation, prices of produce, or facilities of commu¬ nication.” Colonel Francis considers that this provision clearly exempts land brought under irrigation by the construction of a new well, or the repair of an old one, from the imposition of additional assessment on that account. I am not satisfied of the correctness of this view; and although a decision may not be of much import¬ ance in the case of Inddpur, it may be, and probably would be so in other districts where well irrigation is extensively carried on, and admits of great development. The application of the cul¬ tivator’s capital to the construction of a new well or the repair of an old one does not create water for irrigation, but simply provides means for raising the water, stored in the subsoil, to the surface and applying it to the land. The well is the production of the cul¬ tivator’s capital, but the water is not. The ‘ operation is exactly analogous to the opening of a new mine, until which time the subterranean mineral lies useless to man, and yields nothing to the proprietor of the land in which it exists. But when once capital has supplied the means of bringing the* mineral to the surface in. a form suitable to man’s wants, it immediately acquires value, and yields a rent or royalty to the proprietor of the land from which it is extracted. Water, like minerals, is a subterranean' product, of great value in tropical climates, and, .therefore, capable of legiti¬ mately yielding a rent to the lord of the soil, who is the Govern¬ ment in the present case. Colonel Francis estimates the average cost of the new wells constructed in.Ind&pur at 400 rupees each, 5 per cent on this capital, i.e., 20 rupees, with an addition for the replacement of the capital in 50 years, which may be consider¬ ed as the duration of an ordinary well, together with an allowance for annual repairs, say 10 rupees, thus making 30 rupees in all, would be an adequate return to the cultivator for the ex¬ penditure of his capital; and if the additional value conferred upon the net returns from the land irrigated from the well over and 145 above those obtained from it when cultivated as dry-crop should exceed 30 rupees, then this surplus forms the value of the water which was previously an undeveloped capability of the land, and may most legitimately be made the subject of additional assessment. 7. I am unable, therefore, to agree with Colonel Francis in considering the conversion of dry-crop into garden land, by the construction of a new well or the repair of an old one, to be in all cases excluded from increase of assessment by Section 30 of the Survey Act. I would not, however, propose to apply to such land any higher rate of assessment than the maximum dry-crop rate which Colonel Francis has recommended, though I think it might be desirable to record all land irrigated from wells separately from the ordinary dry-crop, with the view of presenting accurate sta¬ tistics of the settlement, and of facilitating the imposition of spe¬ cial rates of assessment on garden land at a future settlement, should that course be then deemed desirable. It may be further mentioned, in support of this suggestion, that, should the district ever be brought under irrigation by means of a canal from the Muta or other river, which is referred to in the 189th paragraph of the report, the saturation of the soil by this means would pro¬ bably give a great extension to well irrigation, so that the question of an additional assessment for that description of cultivation might rise into importance. 8. New rice-land made out of dry-crop land at the ryot’s expense, Colonel Francis also considers to fall under the exemption contemplated in Section 30. This view does not seem to be so open to question, though a good deal might be said on the subject of the situation of the land and the additional value of the produce resulting from its conversion into rice-lands. Where the situation is favourable, so that the return is large compared with the expense of conversion, this higher value is due as much to the inherent advantages of the locality as to the application of the cultivator’s capital, and a higher rate of assessment might on that account without unfairness be imposed; and as the question is not a practical one in the case of Ind£pur, which is not a rice-growing district, I think it would be impolitic for the Government to fore¬ close it before the revision of the settlement of a rice district comes on for consideration, and, however it may be settled, the converted land should, I think-, be recorded in the survey registers as rice-land, in order to preserve correct statistics of the cultiva¬ tion at the time of settlement. 9. I agree with Colonel Francis in the propriety of imposing hereafter a building rate instead of a lump sum on land appro- prieted to building purposes; but I do not consider that the u 209—s 146 amount of such a rate -would in all ‘cases be satisfactorily deter¬ mined beforehand at the revision of a survey settlement. Such land in certain cases, owing to the rapid increase of towns, might become of very great value, so as to render inapplicable any rate deduced from a consideration of these towns at the time of the survey settlement. SuGh cases would appear to be best provided for by special decisions as they arise, and in the case of towns having municipal revenues, the building rents being due to build¬ ing speculations by the towns-people might, I think, justly be.con- sidered as belonging to the municipal rather than to the general revenue. 10. Colonel Francis explains in the 141st and following paragraphs of his report his recommendations for the revision of the Ind&pur rates of assessment, which he chiefly, and very, pro¬ perly, in my opinion, bases upon the alterations that have taken place in the prices of agricultural produce during the last thirty years. He gives a table of these prices in the 146th paragraph of his report, which he divides into three equal decennial periods, showing the average price of jowdri, the staple product of the district, to have been 56| seers per rupee for the first, 45J for the second, and 26\ for the third, and he concludes that the assessment at the close of the first decennial period was not light when gauged by the prices of that period, and that the cultivators were not in a position to pay a higher assessment. He infers, therefore, that it was not till “ towards the end of the second decennial period the cultivators had acquired that amount of capital and that well-to-do position which we would,assign to them as the increase of profit to be left after payment of the Government assessment.” And he concludes that this average of 42 seers per rupee should be taken as the index or starting-point for estimating the increase which may be made to the present assessment in consequence of the further rise of prices which took place in the last ten years of the settlement, and which he shows in the 156th paragraph to have been between 50 and 60 per cent, for which he proposes to provide bv fixing the future maximum rate at 1 rupee per acre, which will raise by 53 per cent the present assessment of the district. The increase here proposed seems to me to represent very accurately what is due to the altered circumstances of the district, without taking into account the extraordinary rise in prices during the last five years, due to the American War, and which Colonel Francis in the 149th paragraph himself considers to be exceptional. But while agreeing in the accuracy of his general conclusion, I am unable to assent to the theoretical reasoning by which he supports it, for this requires us to admit that the rates of assessment during the first period of ten years were too high, which is contradicted by the marked extension of cultivation and amelioration in the 147 condition of the cultivator tvbich took place during that period. There can be no doubt whatever that during that period the dis¬ trict made considerable progress; but as prices did not rise, there was nothing to call for an increase of assessment, though there was sufficient improvement in the condition of the district to show that the original survey assessment had not been pitched too high. During the latter half of the second decennial period and during the whole of the third the wealth of the cultivators increased, of course, more and more rapidly under the influence of the ever- rising prices, and this affords valid reasons for increasing the rates of assessment. The true inference appears to be that the original rates were suitable, and we should regard the prices of the time when they were settled as the index or point of departure by which to regulate the increase to be now made, instead of the latter years of the second period, as assumed in the argument of Colonel Francis. If the table of prices be attentively examined without reference to equal decennial periods, it will be found capable of subdivision into three well-marked periods. The first is a period of low stationary prices without any more marked oscillations than may be fairly ascribable to seasons of comparative abundance or scarcity. This period embraces the fourteen years from 1836-37 to 1849-50, when the average price of jow4ri was 54 seers per rupee, or almost the same that was obtained at the introduction of the settlement, the average price for the five years preceding that event having been 53 J seers. The second period is of eleven years, from 1850-51 to 1860-61, and is one of advancing prices, due pro¬ bably to the. increasing wealth of India arising from the introduc¬ tion of English capital for the construction of the railways and for suppression of the mutinies, as well as from improvements effected in the internal communications of the country. The average price of jowdri during the whole eleven years of this period was 39 seers, and for the last five years of it 35 seers per rupee. The third period extends over the last five years of Colonel Francis’ table from 1861-62 to 1865-66, during which prices received another extra¬ ordinary advance, due to the increased demand for cotton arising out of the circumstances connected with the American War. The average price of jowari for these five years was 18 seers per rupee. 11. The last period is of so entirely exceptional a character, and the prices then obtaining are -so clearly due to temporary causes, that it would be most unsafe to take them into account in .the formation of a basis for a revision of the rates of assessment intended to last for another term of thirty years. The price of cotton, upon which the price of jowari and other agricultural products in a great degree depend, has already fallen considerably since Colonel Francis’ report was written, and is likely to fall 148 much further. This has already affected the exchanges, and will materially diminish the amount of bullion to be received by India in the present year. This effect, it may be anticipated, will be experienced to a greater extent in future years until prices recover their normal condition, which it would not, I think, be safe to estimate at a higher figure than those obtained during the last five years of the second of the above periods, when jow&ri was sold at 35 seers per rupee. 12. The average price of the preceding period being 54 seers, the former indicates a rise of price equivalent to 54 per cent, which is the amount of increase upon the present rates of assess¬ ment that may fairly be imposed on taking into account the rise that has taken place in prices since the former settlement was made. This is as nearly as possible the amount of increase which the rates proposed by Colonel Francis will effect, as he states in his 158th paragraph that the increase will be 53 per cent. If there were a prospect amounting to anything like a certainty of the high prices of the American War period continuing, then a very much greater increase than this would be justifiable. The prices of the last five years are 200 per cent above those that obtained when the original rates of assessment for Inddpur were intro¬ duced, so that these might be trebled without danger to the pros¬ perity of the district if the American War prices were to continue through the next thirty years; but, as I have said, we have no warrant for concluding that this will be the case, or that prices will certainly range above those immediately preceding the out¬ break of the war. It may be that the developing trade and improv¬ ing condition of the communications of the country will cause prices to rise still further; but, on the other hand, we have to take into account the lowering influence of the heavy tribute India will have to pay to England for the future in the shape of Home Government charges, and interest of capital provided for her rail¬ ways and other public works. A very large export trade will be necessary to provide this, and if at any time the demand for Indian commodities should fall off to an extent that would make it needful to transmit bullion to England to meet these charges, prices in India would rapidly fall. Prices in India may then be said to be dependent on the capability of its export trade to pay for, not its imports alone, but also the Home charges and the interest of bor¬ rowed capital, in addition to the annual supply of the precious metals consumed by India in manufactures and coinage. This is a critical state of affairs, and is likely to render prices of agricultural produce unstable. It would not then be safe to adopt a high stand¬ ard of prices in revising the survey settlements, and be every way better to make the new settlements as liberal as the exigencies of the State will permit. Colonel Francis’ proposals fully meet these 149 conditions, and though it might be urged that they are needlessly liberal, as, independently of the American War, prices would, have gone on advancing, still we cannot be certain of this, and an error on the side of liberality is a safe one, as it must be promotive of the prosperity of the district. 13. Colonel Francis proposes to assess all the villages of the district at one uniform rate, with the exception of the chief market town of Inddpur, for which, in consequence of its advantages, he suggests a higher rate in consequence' of the rainfall there being somewhat less certain than in the rest of the district. No further modification of the general rate is made in consideration of greater facilities of transport possessed by some parts of the district as compared with others. Colonel Francis states in his 105th para¬ graph that it is difficult to put a special value upon the increased facilities of transport that have been created since the former settlement was made. These increased facilities must, be mainly dependent on the high-road and rail-road from* Poona to Shol4- pur, both of which have been opened within the last few years. Both, I think, enter the district at its north-western corner, and the road passes on through the town of Indapur, keeping chiefly to the northern side of the district, while the railway keeps still further north, and only lies for a few miles within the limits of the district. The benefits arising from both constructions must, there¬ fore, I think, be more largely enjoyed by the villages whose lands slope towards the Bhima River, which forms the northern and eastern boundary of the district, than by the villages on the other side of the district, sloping towards- the Nira River, which forms the southern boundary. These differences of advantage I should imagine to be sufficiently great to warrant a difference being made in the rates of assessment on that account. These differences would be indicated by the prices of grain obtained in the several villages were there markets there ; but as Colonel Francis has viewed the prices of grain for the chief market town of Indapur as applicable to the whole district, it is probable that he has not deemed the variation in prices due to distance from the great means of communication as of sufficient magnitude to call for any corresponding modification in the rates of assessment. 14. Colonel Francis intimates in the 179th paragraph of his report that in addition to, and independent of the assessment imposed on the district on account of Imperial land revenue, a further separate cess of one anna per rupee will be levied for local improvements; and he recommends that, although Section 29 of the Survey Act provides that the thirty-years’ guarantee shall be limited to the Imperial land revenue, it should be extended also to the cess for local improvements. Section 29 just quoted 150 includes tlie imposition of a cess for tlie use of water for irriga¬ tion provided at the expense of Government, but I presume that Colonel Francis does not mean to include this cess under that for local improvement, to which he proposes to extend the guarantee so as to prevent anything more than one anna per rupee being levied on that account during the next thirty years. On this under¬ standing I entirely concur in the arguments used by him in the 179th and 180th paragraphs in support of his proposal, for I fully share his codViction, that the imposition of cesses on the land revenue for any purpose whatever in excess of the amount fixed for collection at the introduction of the settlement, would be viewed by the landholders as a breach of the thirty-years’ guarantee, and tend to weaken their confidence in the stability of the settlement which it is of so much importance in every way to strengthen. The limitation of the cess of one anna per rupee for so long a period as thirty years may be viewed as interposing a serious bar in the way of future undertakings for the improvement of the dis¬ trict ; but should t*his be experienced, the Government would still be free to raise the requisite funds for local improvements, by means of local taxes independent of the land revenue, and it would be far better to do so rather than weaken the landholder’s confidence in the value of the Government guarantee, upon which the success of the survey settlements and the future investment of capital in agricultural improvements mainly depend. 15. Colonel Francis in the following paragraphs to the 186th recommends that the revised rates of assessment he has proposed should be declared incapable of- increase for another term of thirty years, instead of the adoption of a permanent settlement by which the State would be for ever debarred from any prospect of further increase from the land revenue. This is a very important and large subject, requiring for its adequate discussion the considera¬ tion of many questions, which I think it unnecessary to enter upon here, ‘as I had an opportunity some years ago of submitting privately for the consideration of the then Secretary of State for India my views upon it in a memorandum* which I have not at present by me, but of which I hope to obtain a copy for Colonel Francis, to be appended to the present paper. The views taken in this memorandum entirely support the recommendations made by Colonel Francis, limiting the guarantee to thirty years, and thereby enabling the land revenue to participate, at the expira¬ tion of that period, in any improvement in^the condition of the district. It could only be on consideration of the clearest neces¬ sity that the Government of India could be justified in debarring * Vide para. 8 of Survey and Settlement Commissioner’s letter No. 828, dated 7tli October 1867, to tlie address of the Acting Chief Secretary to Government in the Revenue Department. 151 its successor from obtaining any accession to tbeir resources to meet the ever-increasing wants of an advancing civilization, from the land revenue which hitherto has been the mainstay of Indian finance. In order to justify the adoption of so extraordinary a course, the clearest proof of the baneful effects of the present land ' revenue, and the superiority of some other mode of raising an equi¬ valent amount, by taxation, would require to be brought forward. . The land assessment, be it observed, is not a tax at all, but a share of the rent which the land yields to is possessors. This share of the land rent has from the dawn of history formed the great fund from which the expenses of Government in India have been defrayed, and in an agricultural country the land must ever remain the great source of production from which the necessities of-Government will have to be supplied. The Government right to increase the land assessment is the property of the public, and forms a sacred trust, which, in my humble-opinion, the Govern¬ ment for the time being is bound to transmit, unimpaired, to its successors; and I can hardly imagine any accumulation of evi¬ dence of the baneful effects of such a possession that would justify the Government in giving it up. . So far, however, from such evidence being incontestable, Indian revenue authorities are nearly unanimous in admitting that of all modes of raising a revenue yet tried in India, the land assessment is most popular, and that it would be utterly destructive of the welfare of the country, and, indeed, absolutely impossible to raise the same amount of revenue by other means. It has been proved incontestably, besides, in the case of the Bombay districts, that agriculture has improved, and the general prosperity of the country has been developed with as great rapidity as in any other part of India where permanent settlements have been tried, and it follows, therefore, that no injurious influence whatever can be fairly attri¬ buted to the limitation of the duration of the survey settlements to terms of thirty years. This term is long enough to give the landholders confidence in the stability of the settlement, and yet not too long to render valueless the right of the State to share in the advancing prosperity of the country. In Inddpur we have a case in point. This district may be viewed as an epitome of India at large, which in its length and breadth is an almost purely agri¬ cultural community. In Inddpur, at the expiration of the thirty- years’ settlement, the Government is about to increase its resources by an addition of upwards of 50 per cent to the land revenue, and with every prospect of this large increase bemg readily acquiesced in by the landholders, who will not abate by one jot the confidence previously entertained in the stability of their land settlement, or view the increase as in any way intrenching upon their pro¬ prietary rights. The advocates, then, of the permanent settle- 152 ments are bound to show that this large additional revenue could be raised from this district by means of taxes which would weigh less heavily upon industry, and be at the same time more accept¬ able to the people at large. Until this is done, it would, in my humble opinion, be idle to consider the alternative of a permanent settlement. (Signed) G. WINGATE. (True copy) J. FRANCIS, Lieut.-Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner. MEMORANDUM REGARDING PROPOSALS BY THE GOV¬ ERNMENT OF INDIA FOR THE SALE OF WASTE LANDS AND REDEMPTION OF THE LAND REVE¬ NUE. In considering the policy adopted by the Government of India for promoting “ the sale of waste lands in fee simple and the redemption of existing land revenue,5' it will be convenient to treat of the latter branch of the subject in the first instance as that of most importance to the future revenue of India, and as requiring for its elucidation a line of argument that also has an important bearing on the question of selling waste land in fee simple. 2. In the permanently settled districts the redemption of the land assessment at a proper valuation, and the application- of the proceeds to the extinction of a portion of the public debt of India, would leave the financial position of the Government unaltered. And in this point of view the terms upon which the proposed redemption in such districts should be permitted, alone require consideration; but those proposed by the Government of India, for fixing the price at twenty-years’ purchase of the existing assessment, could not fail to operate disadvantageously for the future revenue, as the process of redemption would in all pro¬ bability be confined to times when the real value of the equivalent of the annual assessment exceeded twenty-years’ purchase. This objection would be met by provisions for regulating the capital sum to be paid according to the market price at the time of the Indian Government'4 per cent rupee paper, on the principles adopt¬ ed for the conversion of the land-tax in England. 3. The general question of encouraging the redemption of the land assessment of India at the present time, eyen in districts 153 where it is permanently settled, is, however, much more open to criticism. The measure is only- suitable for a country in which capital is so abundant that the landholders are unable to devote profitably the whole of their accumulations to the development of the productive capabilities of their land, and are, therefore in a position to' apply the surplus advantageously in the redemption of the Government or other liens upon it as opportunities may occur. But it is to be feared that this is very far from the condition of India generally, or even of the most flourishing parts of Bengal. The greatest want of India is agricultural capital, and it would be a positive calamity if by any inducements the landholders there could be tempted to withdraw any portion of their inadequate capital from agriculture to be swept into the public treasuries, when, as is admitted, it would not be productive of even financial benefit to the Government. It is not likely that this result will be realized, and more probable that the imagined boon of permitting the redemption of the land assessment will not be appreciated by the land-holding class; for it is difficult to understand, when the ordinary rate of interest on agricultural loans varies from 10 to 25 per cent, how it could ever serve the purpose of a landholder to invest his money at 5 per cent in the redemption of his land assessment. There might be instances of wealthy landholders in Bengal and elsewhere, who have money invested in the public funds, who would be tempted to sell out for the purpose of redeem¬ ing their land assessment, but this proceeding would have no effect either in advancing or retarding agricultural improvement. In all cases, however, of landholders applying their accumulations to the cultivation or improvement of their properties, it would be a positive mischief for them to cut off this fertilizing stream from the land, and-to turn it into the unproductive waste of the public treasuries. It is little likely that this class of landholders will do so extensively; but, in so far as the redemption may be carried out, it may safely.be'said that its action will either be valueless or hurtful. 4. The foregoing observations apply equally to districts in which the land assessment is not permanently fixed; but as regards these, other most important considerations, affecting the develop¬ ment of the public revenues and the general productive resources of the country, require examination. For a permission to redeem the land assessment in those parts of India is equivalent to fixing the existing assessment in perpetuity, as it could not be just to place one landholder in a worse * position than another, or after having allowed the redemption of the land assessment in cases too numerous to be deemed exceptional, to declare that landholders who had not been able to redeem should continue liable to have b 209—t 154 tlieir assessment increased. This would be doubly unjust, for the onerous character of their existing assessment might put it out of their power to redeem it, and this original hardship would thus be the occasion of placing them in a position of permanent inferiority. In order to be just to the whole class of landholders, it would be necessary to fix the existing assessment in perpetuity in all parts of India to which the plan of permitting its redemption is extended, and this consideration gives great importance to the proposals of the Government of India. 5. The late lamented Colonel Baird Smith argued in favour of a permanent settlement of the land assessment in the North- West Provinces, that it would confirm and accelerate the improve¬ ment that had resulted from fixing the assessment for terms of thirty years. That may be admitted, and yet the measure might entail disadvantages which would more than counterbalance these antici¬ pated benefits. It should be shown further that an equivalent prospective revenue to that sacrificed by fixing the present land assessment in perpetuity could be more advantageously obtained in some other form, for it is indisputable that the cost of governing India will be enhanced as the country advances in wealth and civilization, and that a larger and a larger revenue will be needed, as time moves on, to meet the requirements of a more advanced and complicated state of society. It has to be shown that it would be for the general welfare to give up to the land-holding class, without equivalent, the public right to share in any improvement of the land rent that may and must result from the progress of India in wealth and population. A permanent settlement favours the landholder at the expense of the community at large, and the loss to the future revenue that it involves would, have to be met by taxation. All. arguments in favour of the measure must rest, then, upon the assumption that a revenue raised from the rent of land presses more heavily upon the industry of a country than an equivalent revenue raised in other ways. And reasons that would suffice to establish the advantage of a permanent, settlement of the land assessment would also suffice to establish the advantage of abolishing it altogether. . But how stands the case between rent and taxation? Would India really be benefited if the whole or any portion of the public revenue now derived from the rent of land were to be relinquished, and the amount so given up to be raised by taxation instead? This is the real issue, and a most important one it is. 6. In order to arrive at a clear understanding of this import¬ ant question, the essential distinctions between rent and taxation must be kept in view. Bent, in the estimation of modern econo¬ mists, results from land varying in fertility and in advantages of 155 situation, which makes it to be of more value in one place than in another. On the more valuable land a greater amount of produce can be raised for the same outlay than on the less valuable land ; but as the latter must suffice to remunerate the occupier, the excess of produce yielded by all kinds of land above that of the worst in cultivation constitutes a rent, which can have no influence in enhancing the cost of cultivation, as this is determined by the cost of cultivating the least favourably situated land, which yields no rent. Rent may, therefore, be received entirely by a landlord, or be shared between him and other parties in many different ways, without affecting the cost of agricultural production in the slightest degree. For example, in England the rent of land is burdened with payments of various kinds for local rates, interest of mortgages, and private settlements, which diminish the share left for the landlord; but these burdens do not affect the cost of production at all, which remains exactly what it would have been had the entire rent been received by the landlord. 7. The land assessment of India, when of moderate amount, as in the surveyed districts of the Bombay Presidency, is merely a share of the natural rent that the land must yield when in cultivation, and has, therefore, no prejudicial influence upon* pro¬ duction. And herein consists its distinction from taxation in any form. The latter raises the price of the commodity taxed, and so interferes with its consumption. Taxes upon imports are usually paid by the consumers, and check trade. Taxes upon exports are usually paid by the producers, and also check trade. Taxes upon income, necessaries, or .personal expenditure, all tend to diminish consumption and check trade. But a public revenue derived from rent neither enhances prices nor diminishes consumption. The whole result is, that the rent is shared between the Government and the ostensible landlord; but the rent itself is neither greater nor less than it would have been had this division not existed, so that the productive power of the country remains unaffected. And as the amount of rent constantly increases with the progress of society, without any effort on the part of the landholder, it may justly be looked upon as the natural inheritance of the public, and forms beyond all question a most legitimate fund for contri¬ buting to the expenses of Government. Mr. J. S. Mill* observes most justly: “ The ordinary progress of a society which increases in wealth is at all times tending to augment the incomes of land¬ holders,‘to give them both a greater amount and a greater propor¬ tion of the wealth of the community, independently of any trouble or outlay incurred by themselves.” In India this continually augmenting income has been at all times prescriptively subject to * “Principles of Political Economy,” Yol. II., p. 360. Edition of 1848. 156 a deduction for public purposes, or, in other words, a share of the property in the soil has been reserved by the State. And this state of things being universally recognized, the land assess¬ ment is the most popular of all imposts, and may from time to time be increased, as the country advances in wealth,. without risk of giving rise to serious discontent. A landholder in India might complain of his assessment being heavier than he could pay, but he never would dream of contesting the right of the Government to increase it within moderate limits. The land assessment is not only the most productive, but also the most popular, of all the modes of raising revenue in India, and it Would be a great mistake to imagine that any scheme of general taxation could be devised as a substitute which would be equally acceptable to the people. 8. It has been argued that, however indisputable the theo¬ retical correctness of the foregoing account of the land assessment, of India, the practice of the civilized nations of Europe is against it, and that, as these have advanced in wealth and civilization, they have gradually given up the practice of raising any considerable portion of their revenue from land, and have substituted taxation for the right of the State to a share of the land rent. It would suffi¬ ciently account for this, if true, that the governments of Europe have been for the most part in the hands of the landlords; but the assumption that the land of European countries no\y contributes little to the public revenue, will not bear examination. In most of these countries the land-tax still forms an important item of the public resources, and is liable to increase without reference to other taxes; and even in England, where the land-tax has not varied for upwards of a century, and may be redeemed at an equit¬ able valuation, the land still furnishes the chief resource of local taxation. Tithes and country rates are still in great part paid by the land, and form virtually a charge upon the rent. It appears that the assessment on land levied by county rates in England and Wales in the year 1832-33 amounted to 5,434,890L,* from which it is evident that even here land still contributes largely towards the expenses of administration, and the position that the land assessment has been given up is seen to be untenable. 9. There is nothing, then, m the practice of the civilized nations of Europe that is condemnatory of the land assessment of India, or militates against the conclusions to be drawn from a scientific comparison of it with other modes of raising an equivalent revenue. It should be compared with the lately introduced income tax and. licences on the exercise of trades and professions. Both * Papers published by the Board of Trade, Yol. III., p. 34, quoted in Macul- loch’s “ Statistical Account of the British Empire, Yol. II. p. 421. 157 of these, in the Bombay Presidency at all events, are most un¬ popular, and have quite failed to answer the expectations at first formed of their productiveness. It was anticipated that they would add half a million sterling to the revenues of the Bombay Pre¬ sidency, but the actual yield up to the present time is understood to be less than a fourth of that amount. They are, besides, liable to the objections of being inquisitorial in their operation, and most demoralizing in their influence upon the revenue establishment and the people at large. It is hardly to be expected that either of these taxes, or both of them combined, would yield in the Bombay Presidency as much as may be expected from the increase of the land revenue that might legitimately be made on the expiration of the thirty-years’ term for which the existing assessment has been fixed at the survey settlements. The superiority of the land assess¬ ment to either of the above sources of revenue can hardly be questioned, and under such circumstances can it be wise or expe¬ dient to relinquish for ever the right of the State to participate in a general rise of the land rent, and so to compel a resort to modes of taxation which are hateful to the people and injuriously affect industry, as well as retard the development of the resources of the country ? 10. It is further worthy of consideration, that future Indian financiers are likely to experience peculiar difficulties in finding substitutes for the gradual increase of the land assessment that is proposed to be given up,' through the necessity of their conciliating the public opinion of this country in all their financial arrange¬ ments. In this respect the finance of India stands at a great disadvantage as compared with that of any of the larger colonies of Great Britain. The Finance Minister- of an Australian colony or of Canada has only to consider the wishes and interests of his fellow-colonists, and feels himself to be at liberty to tax, and does freely tax, imports from the mother-country, to any extent he may think fit; but the Finance Minister of India must be prepared to encounter a storm of indignation from the manufacturers of this country in attempting to impose import duties upon British manu¬ factures, however much he may deem the measure to be called for with a view only to the interests of India. - He will practically be excluded from all sources of income that would injuriously affect the interests of England. At this very time pressure from this country seems about to force the Indian Chancellor of the Exchequer to reduce the duties upon imports by one-half, and an influential party in this country is already agitating for the import and export trade of India being made entirely free. The opium revenue of India is also of doubtful stability, and already opium taxation has been carried to an extreme that leaves little, 158 if any, chance of future increase of revenue from this source. If, then, the future Indian financier is to be shut out from the prolific resources of the land, customs, and opium, he could only fall back upon direct taxation, with its train of corrupting and demoralizing influences. And it may well be asked, Would a permanent income- tax, ever increasing in proportion to the enlarging expenses of administration, be more desirable than periodical enhancements of the land assessment ? And if not, how can it be expedient or justifiable, in the peculiar financial relations subsisting between this country and India, to cut’ away the land from the limited field of taxation open to the financiers of the latter country. 11. There yet .remains for consideration the argument that the impetus that would be given to agriculture by the permanent limitation of the land assessment would be so marvellously great that it would more than compensate the Government and the people for the future loss of revenue which the measure would* entail. It may be at once conceded that the establishment of the land assessment in perpetuity would, in some degree, enchance the value of land, and stimulate correspondingly the energies of the landholder. But its effect in this direction would hardly be per¬ ceptible in the surveyed districts of the Bombay Presidency, where the assessment has been fixed at a moderate amount for terms of thirty years, accompanied with arrangements for duly recording all changes in the occupation of land, which have made its possession so secure and its transfer so simple that the energies of the agri¬ culturists have already been stimulated to a most remarkable extent; and it is probable that more has been done for the develop¬ ment of agricultural production than would have been brought about by an entire remission of the land assessment, unaccompanied by a field survey, to define the limits of properties, and to parcel out the waste into fields of a size convenient for tillage, and each bearing a distinct assessment. The area and assessment of any field, waste or cultivated, in any surveyed portion of the Bombay Presidency, is at once obtainable by application to the village accountant, and any one wishing to occupy waste land can thus readily obtain every needful information regarding the portion he is desirous of occupying, and is at once placed in possession, upon engaging to pay regularly the assessment placed upon it. This at once enables a cultivator, who has the means of extending his operations, to suit himself with land, and, combined with the privilege of relinquishing at any time any survey field which he may find it inconvenient to continue to cultivate, places him in a position of freedom and security, in regard to the occupation of land, such as is probably enjoyed by no other agriculturist in the world. And the result has been an extension of cultivation in districts where 159 there was a large extent of waste previous to the survey, which is perhaps unexampled, 12. The late Colonel Baird Smith, in his Famine Report, ob¬ serves that, in the surveyed districts of the North-West Provinces, “ the latest returns accessible to him show that there is a breadth of culturable and uncultivated land of nearly 8,000,000 acres, being equal to one-third part of its whole present cultivation, and to about one-sixth part of its total area. Since the existing set¬ tlements began, a new domain of upwards of 1,000,000 acres has been added to the area of cultivation, and under the additional stimulus of a demand limited for ever, it may fairly be expected that the growth of this domain will be sensibly increased.” It thus appears Jhat about one-eighth part of the culturable waste of the surveyed districts of the North-West Provinces has been brought under tillage since the present revenue assessment was introduced. This is considered to be satisfactory proof of the success of the settlement, but it is very far short of what has been accomplished in the surveyed districts of the Bombay Presidency under the operation of a field assessment. In the collectorates of the Deccan and Southern Mahrdtta Country, where the propor¬ tion of culturable waste to cultivated land, at the introduction of the survey settlements, was about the same as in the North-West Provinces, and where the existing settlements have not upon an average been in operation more than ten years, the cultivation returns would show that a new domain of from two to three millions of acres has been added to the cultivated area under the operation of the field assessment, and that in most of these dis¬ tricts the whole of the waste, excepting soils of very inferior quality, has already been brought under tillage. Instead of one-ninth of the waste as in the North-West Provinces, at least five-sixths of the waste of those parts of the Bombay territory in which the survey settlements have been in operation ten years and upwards, have been added to the cultivated domain. And in the province of Khandesh, where the extent of culturable waste, generally covered with jungle, was six times greater than the cultivated area at the commencement of the survey operations ten years ago, about half a million of acres has been brought into cultivation. A far greater extension of cultivation than the late Colonel Baird Smith ventured to anticipate, as the result of a 'permanent settle¬ ment of the land assessment of the North-West Provinces, has been already accomplished, under the operation of the field assessment of the Bombay territories, fixed for terms of thirty years. So remarkable and rapid a development of agricultural industry is almost unexampled in any part of the world, without aid from immigration; and it cannot in fairness be argued that 160 any further stimulus is needed to extend cultivation over the unappropriated waste. And it is nearly certain that no sensible effect in accelerating the cultivation of waste, or the development of the resources of the soil in other ways, would be produced by fixing the present assessment of the settled parts of the Bombay territories in perpetuity. And in all parts suitable for the pro¬ duction of exportable products, such as the Southern Mahr^tta Country and Khandesh, these are promptly raised, to meet the wants of the market, as shown by the rapid growth of the export trade of Bombay. The peasantry are becoming comparatively wealthy, independent, and enterprising, as evidenced by their con¬ ducting the greater part of the carrying trade of the country in addition to their agricultural operations, and by their raising the New Orleans variety of cotton in localities suited for it, and purchasing costly machinery for cleansing it from the seed. It has been, without due consideration, remarked of other parts of the country, and more especially of the collectorates of Poona, •Ahmednagar, Sholapur, and Satara, that the cultivators there con¬ tinue the old round of grain crops, and do not turn their attention to the raising of valuable products suited for export. The obser¬ vation, however, is most unjust to them; for, with the great popu¬ lations of Bombay and Poona to feed within easy distance, it so happens that grain crops in the arid climates of those collector¬ ates pay better than cotton or other exportable products, and this is the reason why they are so extensively grown. There, as else¬ where, the ryots raise the crops which they think will pay them best, and they are seldom mistaken in their choice. 13. Property in the soil is just taking root in the surveyed districts of the Bombay Presidency, and the feeling of proprietary right is as surely being fostered and developed under the thirty- years’ settlements as it would be under a permanent settlement. All that is wanted for this is, security of tenure, moderation in the Government demand, and facilities for transfer, all of which advantages are secured to the occupants of land under the Bom¬ bay settlements. The" landholders value their possessions more highly than before; but for this very reason, in these purely agricultural districts, they can rarely be induced to part with them, and in consequence transfers of land are not common. And in parts of the country like Khandesh, where unappropriated waste is readily obtainable on application, it is not to be expected that any considerable price should be given for land already occupied. Owing to these causes, sales of land are comparatively few, and it is probable that many, years will yet elapse before any generally recognized understanding as to the saleable value of land becomes current. Sales have been and are being effected for 161 sums varying from one to many years* purcliase of the assessment, but they are too few and isolated to be used as data for estimating the saleable value of land in the settled districts. The desire, however, of retaining exclusive possession of land is universally strong, and is fast consolidating into a proprietary right, which will be fully perfected in the course of time if the present reve¬ nue arrangements be upheld. The example of Tanjore, where a moderate assessment, subjected to little change for many years, has so developed private property in the soil that land sells for twenty-years’ purchase of the assessment, is also proof that a per¬ manent limitation of the Government demand is nowise essential to the growth of proprietary rights. 14. There still remains for consideration the possibility of a fall taking place in the value of money, which is perhaps the most important circumstance that bears upon the question of fixing the land assessment in perpetuity. A fall in the value of money is equi¬ valent to a corresponding reduction of the existing assessment, and any considerable fall, say to the extent of 25 per cent, would seriously cripple the resources of the Indian Government. It is true that financial pressure from this cause would be in some degree alleviated through certain of the public charges, such as interest of debt, pensions, railway guarantees, &c., being of a fixed character and not liable to increase in proportion to a fall in the value of money; but if it be supposed that the Government would only suffer to the extent of one-half of the diminution in the value of the land assessment caused by such a fall, the conse¬ quences might be very serious. The loss could not be met by raising the land assessment, for that is to be fixed for ever, and the consequence would be that taxation in some form would have to be resorted to for making it good. 15. And this consideration is of especial moment at the present time, when such a fall in the value of money is probably going on throughout the world, owing to the vastly greater quan¬ tities of. the precious metals that have been produced of late years, and is entirely removed from the region of speculation as regards India, where it has been in sure, rapid, and visible opera¬ tion for a considerable period. The Indian newspapers and periodicals for years past have teemed with complaints of the increased' cost of living. Labourers and servants require more wages; house-rent is everywhere higher; horses cost more to keep; and in all departments of private expenditure money no longer goes so'far as it did. The same is the case with the great staple of agricultural industry. Grain in Bombay and Poona is much dearer than it was ten to fifteen years ago ; cotton is at least b 209— u 162 100 per cent higher (accounted for in part by the stoppage of the American supply) ; oil-seeds and other staples are much enhanced in price. It would ,be quite within the mark to estimate that prices of. agricultural produce are, upon an average, 25 per cent higher at the present time than they were fifteen years ago ; and the assessment of the early-settled districts is certainly to that extent lighter than when it was first imposed. This would justify a cor¬ responding increase being made when the current terms of thirty years, for which the settlement has been made, expire. It is, there¬ fore, no trifling revenue which the Government of India is now think¬ ing of sacrificing for ever, but an expected increase of 25 per cent on the land assessment of the Bombay Presidency in the course of the next thirty years. The first of the districts settled was that of Indapur, which will have been thirty years in operation in four or five years more, and from that time • forward one district after another would have to be resettled, and the anticipated improve¬ ment in the ]and revenue would, begin to be felt. 16. The . remarkable fall taking place in the value of money in India is not wholly due to an increased production of the precious metals throughout the world of late years, but is also ascribable to an increased demand for Indian staples by foreign countries within the same period, which have been purchased to a large extent with silver. The demand of foreign countries for Indian staples has greatly exceeded the demand of India for foreign productions, and the excess of the former over the latter has necessarily been made up by imports of silver, by which the coinage of India has been largely augmented and also lowered in value. There is no indication as yet of any alteration being likely to take place soon in this peculiar condition of the export and import trade of India, so that the depreciation in the value of money, traceable to it, seems likely to continue for some consider¬ able period. 17. The improvement effected of late years in the internal communications of India has also had no inconsiderable influence in lowering the value of money in the interior. Districts which had no easy communication with the coast had, of course, little foreign trade. Only valuable commodities, capable of ready trans¬ portation, could be exported, and consequently their means of supplying themselves with foreign commodities, and. specially with silver, were extremely limited. Owing to this cause the value of money in such remote localities was always high. Prices of agricultural produce were, therefore, low, and reductions of the land assessment, by inducing extension of cultivation and in¬ creased production, made them still lower, and^rendered it more and more difficult for the agriculturist to convert his produce 163 into money. - This state of things has been a marked result of the land-revenue settlements of the Punjab. But open up such an inland district to foreign commerce by means of railways, roads, or navigable canals or rivers, and silver immediately flows in to purchase the productions which foreigners covet. A greater and greater breadth of the cultivated land, which previously, from the absence of a foreign demand, had been unavoidably devoted to the production of food and other articles suited for internal consumption, is yearly appropriated to the growth of exportable produce, and thus prices rise from two causes—firstly, from a fall in the value of money caused by increased importations of it; and, secondly, from a diminished production of grain and other crops suitable for internal consumption. It may now be readily seen how great must be the effect of improved communications in raising prices of agricultural produce in inland districts, and so enabling the landholders to pay without difficulty an increased assessment. The enhanced value given to land by improved means of transport would be a most important subject for inves¬ tigation when the existing land-revenue settlements expire,and the increased assessment that might then be imposed, in consideration of such improvements, would be a certain and most legitimate return to the State for the public money expended upon, or other aid afforded to, such undertakings. 18. It is also to be borne in mind that a first settlement of the land assessment for a term of years can only be justly viewed as experimental, and experience of its working for a series of years is required to ascertain whether it is suitable or not. This remark applies to most of the existing settlements throughout India, exclusive of Bengal, and certainly to all the Revenue Survey Settlements of the Bombay Presidency, none of which have yet run through the thirty years of its first or experimental term: so that, even if the principle of fixing the assessment in perpetuity were sound, it would nevertheless be most inexpedient and unwise to give it practical application in the Bombay Presidency until the present settlements have run their course of thirty years and fur- ' nished trustworthy data, as well as a fitting opportunity for deter-; mining what the permanent assessment should be. 19. The foregoing arguments may serve to show the danger of precipitate action in a matter so important as the land revenue of India, even if they should not be deemed conclusive as to the impolicy of fixing the land assessment in perpetuity. * They may be shortly recapitulated as follows :— 1. That the great want of Indian agriculture is capital, and it would, therefore, be most inexpedient to tempt the 164 landholders to withdraw any portion of their inadequate capital from the land in order to redeem its assessment. 2. That the land assessment of India, when of moderate amount, is a rent-charge, not a. tax, and, therefore, might be increased when the existing settlements expire, in proportion to any rise that may have taken place in the value of land from .natural causes, without adding to the cost of agricultural production, or burdening the general industry of the country in any way. This could not be said of taxation in any form, and India, therefore, could not benefit, but must suffer by every substitution of taxation for the existing or prospective land assessment. 3. That among the civilized nations of Europe the land rent still ranks among the most important sources of the public revenue, and the practice of those nations, there¬ fore, furnishes no justification for cutting off this resource from the future Governments of India. 4. That it is inexpedient, in the peculiar financial relations of India with England which allow little freedom of action to the India Governments in dealing with import and export duties, to fetter them still further by depriv¬ ing them of the power to make the land revenue bear a share of the increased expense of administration that must result from the future progress of India in wealth and population. 5. That the impetus likely to be given to agriculture through fixing the land assessment in perpetuity, beyond what is being given by assessments fixed for terms of thirty years, accompanied by provisions for giving security of tenure and facilities of transfer to the landholder, would be too insignificant to form any sufficient compensation to the Government or to the public for drying up a most ancient, popular, and productive source of revenue, and compelling a. resort to taxation to make good the loss. 6. That the future capability of the land of India to bear assessment must steadily increase as the value of money diminishes, under the combined influence of an increas¬ ing supply of silver, the progress of population and wealth and improved means of communication; and in proportion to this capability would be the loss to be incurred by fixing the assessment permanently at its present standard. 165 7. That the existing settlements of the land assessments—in the Bombay Presidency at all events—are merely experi¬ mental, and are, therefore, unsuited for being made the basis of a permanent settlement of tbe land revenue. 20. The proposed regulations for the sale of unappropriated uncleared waste land at a price not exceeding 2^ rupees per acre, and of waste unencumbered with jungle at a price not exceeding 5 rupees, an acre, might in certain localities be taken advantage of by Europeans for the formation of tea and coffee plantations ; and it is unquestionably most desirable to encourage the formation of such plantations in all suitable localities. And if this important object would be better promoted by the absolute sale of the unappropriated waste, than by its grant at an annual quit-rent for a series of years, the former course should be preferred. But the operation of the plan should be carefully confined to localities suited for the settlement of Europeans and for the formation, under their superintendence, of valuable plantations, by which the export trade and wealth of the country would be augmented, in order that the undeveloped public property in the waste, which must some day become of great value, may not be sacrificed with¬ out an adequate object. 21. The value of waste land for plantation purposes must, even in suitable climates, vary greatly according to the nature of the soil, command of labour and of markets, and facilities of com¬ munication, and it would often happen that the rates at which the waste is proposed to be sold would be far short of a fair equivalent for the public property in the soil to be transferred to the pur¬ chaser. In fact, the limitation of rates laid down in the 29th para¬ graph of the Resolution of the Government of India would afford no protection to the public whatever, as it would not prevent a local officer from assigning away the land for ever for a merely nominal price. The limitation could only operate against the public, never for it.s protection; and as it would invest the local authorities with great discretionary power which could hardly be used in the interests of the public, it seems most desirable that any limitation should declare the minimum, not the maximum, price at which the unappropriated waste may be sold. A better test of the value of the public property which is proposed to be sold, would be to put it up to auction at a minimum price, though this plan also is liable to objection as being likely to discourage settlement; for it would be a great disappointment to any intending planter, after having discovered, by laborious and possibly expensive investigation, a suitable locality for his plantation, to lose it, after all, by some one bidding over his head. This difficulty would be obviated by allowing the planter to obtain his land without resorting to an 166 auction sale, on condition of his paying an annual quit-rent to Government, amounting to 5 per cent of the minimum price at which it would be put up to auction, for thirty years, when the quit-rent should be subject to revision and increased, as in the case of the survey settlements of the North-Western Provinces and Bombay. It would probably be found that most planters would prefer to hold at an annual quit-rent, so as to be able to re¬ serve all their capital for the cultivation of their estates, while by this plan the public property in the prospective land rent would be preserved intact, and, at all events, no harm could be done by giving the planters the option of resorting to either of the two modes suggested for obtaining the land they may require. 22. It would be most undesirable, how ever, to extend the rules for the purchase of waste lands to localities unsuited for European planters, as this would, as already explained, be equi¬ valent to fixing the land assessment in perpetuity, and so- deprive tbe Government and the public of a most promising source of future revenue. The whole Presidency of Bombay (exclusive of Sind) does not, perhaps, contain a single tract of waste land from which a European could make a living as an agriculturist. Its principal wastes are in the province of Khandesh, and they are for most part of the year pestilential jungles in which a European could not live. There is no public advantage to be gained in the Bombay Presidency by the introduction of rules framed to meet the requirements of European planters, and it is most certain that these would not avail themselves of them; whereas the existing system is found to be quite suitable for natives, and is ensuring a more rapid cultivation of the waste than the most successful of British colonies can parallel, while it secures to the public their unquestioned right to share in the future increased value that cannot fail to be given to the lands in question, through the operation of the natural causes which have been, already fully described in discussing the policy of fixing the land assessment in perpetuity. The value of the public property in the wastes of Khandesh is enormous. This province, before it was wasted and its population almost exterminated by repeated inroads of Mah- r&tta and Pindari hordes of plunderers, yielded a public revenues of three-fourths of a million sterling, and so rapid is likely to be its progress under the survey settlement, now that it is brought into direct railway communication with Bombay, that its land revenue may well be doubled in the course of the next thirty years by the cultivation of waste, when that doubled revenue would admit of being further increased on the renewal of the survey settlements. There are extensive tracts of waste in Khan¬ desh which, from the absence of population, are not yet in a 167 condition for detailed survey and assessment, but it would be a monstrous sacrifice of public property to declare these wastes to be saleable for any sums not exceeding 2^ rupees per acre. The Khandesh husbandmen have ^dded half a million of acres to their cultivated domain in the course of the last ten years, and are steadily advancing upon the jungles around them at a continually accelerating pace. The next ten years may possibly add a million more of acres to their conquest from the jungle, and, as population and wealth increase, their encroachment upon the waste will con¬ tinue until the whole five millions of acres, at which its extent may be roughly estimated, are brought under their dominion. This is now going on under the operation of field settlements fixed for thirty years, and it maybe asked*—what more remarkable or satis¬ factory progress could be desired ? The future public property in course of development in the province of Khandesh is enor¬ mous, and it would be a grievous error and public misfortune were it to be sacrificed, either by fixing the present land assessment in perpetuity, or by selling the unappropriated waste upon the terms proposed. 23. â–  The proposals of the Government of India for the sale of waste lands in perpetuity, discharged from all prospective de¬ mand on account of land revenue, may then be pronounced to be quite unsuitable for the Presidency of Bombay, which never has offered, and never will offer, a field for European planters. Europeans may, and it is to be hoped will, locate themselves in the interior,.to purchase and prepare cotton and other agricultural products for foreign markets, and their presence there would in all probability be of great advantage to the landholders and to the foreign trade of the Presidency. But as 'mere agriculturists there is positively no opening for them at all, and the object of encouraging their settlement as planters is too visionary to furnish a shadow of an argument for disturbing a successful land settle¬ ment which is securing a rapid extension of cultivation over the waste, while preserving intact the public rights over the unde¬ veloped capabilities of the soil, as the patrimony of future gene¬ rations. Crofton House, Hants, 2nd May 1862. G. WINGATE. 1G8 Revenue Survey and Assessment. No. 1211. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 2 7th March 1868. Memorandum from tlie Survey and Settlement Commissioner N.D., ' No. 832h, dated 30th. October 1867—Forwarding 16 printed copies of Sir George Wingate’s Notes upon his (Colonel Francis’) Report No. 147, dated 12th February 1867, on the re-settlement of the Ind^pur Taluka and of his letter No. 828, dated 7th October 1867, handing up the same to Government; as also ten copies, with maps, of the Report above referred to. Resolution.— The original report of Colonel Francis con¬ taining his proposals for the revision of the settlement of Indapur was submitted by the Revenue Commissioner S. D. with a memo¬ randum dated 22nd May 1867. This report gives a very clear account of the circumstances of the taluka before it was surveyed and settled by the late Mr. Goldsmid and Sir George Wingate, and also of the results of the settlement, which are shown to have been most satisfactory. A copy-was at once forwarded to Her Majesty’s Secretary of State; but as this is the first of the series now commencing of the revised settlements in the Deccan and Southern Mahrdtta Country, the subject is of unusual im¬ portance, and final instructions on the report were deferred until Colonel Francis should have had an opportunity of consulting Sir George Wingate in England. 2. This has been done, and Colonel Francis has forwarded a memorandum which Sir George Wingate has drawn up. It is most satisfactory to find that the conclusions arrived at in this memorandum correspond so very closely with the proposals which' Colonel Francis submitted to Government. 3. Sir George Wingate’s suggestions in regard to the more accurate and uniform record of survey statistics should be attend¬ ed to. The proposals in Colonel Francis’ 4th paragraph, founded thereon, should be adopted, with the modification that the Survey Commissioners should consult the Revenue Commissioners before finally submitting the forms for the approval of Government, and should either obtain their consent or explain the reasons of their dissent in any particulars. 169 4. There can be no doubt but that the local cess should be fixed for the period of settlement, as stated in paragraph 7 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum, and the rate of one anna may be adopted as proposed. It will, of course, be made clear that the right of Government is reserved to impose water rates in the event of irrigational works being constructed. 5. Ordinarily it will not be needful to re-measure and re¬ classify whole districts as they come under re-settlement; but in districts surveyed during the early years of a newly-organized survey these operations must be repeated; and the wisdom of the course adopted by Government and the Legislature in reserving the right has been already proved by the admitted necessity for a new measurement and classification of the district of Inddpur. 6. There is a great deal of force in what Sir George Wingate urges in his 6th to 9th paragraphs about the taxation of improve¬ ments. But Government cannot fully coincide in all his conclu¬ sions. 7. In regard to special taxation of wells, it is said with truth that water is, like mineral wealth, fairly taxable by the landlord when used by the tenant. His Excellency in Council, however, considers that the first principle of its taxation should be that which governs our taxation of the land itself; that is, the capabi¬ lity of being used rather than the use itself. If water of good quality be easily available near the surface, it is more reasonable to tax such land by a light additional rate, whether the water be used or not, than to lay an oppressively heavy tax on those who expend capital and labour in bringing the water into use. There is, however, a point at which this principle must be modified, for when the land is such that when water is not brought to it it will bear nothing, and when water is used it will yield a fine crop, then even a light tax in the former case is impossible. Of this class are the sandy tracts in the Konkan which under the influence of water become cocoanut gardens. It must be held that the right of Government to levy a rate by virtue of the water below the surface is in abeyance, or dormant, till the water is produced ; but it is doubted greatly, even in this extreme case, whether it is politic, though it may be asserted to be just, to levy more than would be leviable from first-class rice ground, which enjoys also the benefits of water,—not created, it is true, by the tenant, but utilized by means of his preparation of the ground. 8. The question of rice fields as compared with dry-crop land, next naturally arises. The Governor in Council is not pre¬ pared at present to concur wholly with Sir George Wingate ; for it may be asked whether the adaptability of the soil to nee crops b 209—t; 170 is not sufficiently taken into account if tlie land when so adapted is treated as first-class dry-crop land, without adding a special rate because the tenant has expended capital in developing its qualities. 9. But, as stated by Sir George Wingate, this question does not arise here, and it may be reserved for future discussion. 10. And in respect to garden lands, it is true that in some districts the difficulty of ascertaining what lands have water capa¬ bilities may prevent the adoption of a system that, in lieu of taxing wells specially, taxes all lands capable of producing water with a reasonable amount of trouble. Still Government would advocate the propriety of restricting the demand of Government on well lands to the maximum rate on first-class dry-crop soils. An extra.rate for water capabilities in all districts in which such capa¬ bilities may be easily ascertained and recorded, might properly be added to the classification, just as a double crop, or other special fertility, is dealt with. But this may not be practicable or expe¬ dient everywhere, and in all districts, such as that of Inddpur, in which the garden cultivation is scanty—and it is a great object to encourage it—the best policy is that which Colonel Francis has adopted. It may be difficult to ascertain what lands are capable of producing water, but it is easy to make the maximum for dry-crop lands the maximum for well lands also. This course, which His Excellency the Governor in Council sanctions in the district now under review, will certainly lead to the great increase of well culti¬ vation during the currency of the settlement now about to be made. 11. In regard to Sir George Wingate’s remarks in para¬ graph 9 about a building rate, it may be observed that the Survey Act hardly provides in sufficient detail for the contingency of the increased value of property for building purposes; and it is pro¬ bable that special legislation will have, before long, to be resorted to in order to obtain proper sanction for the rules under which the settlement of such lands is now progressing in the larger towns. 12. Sir George Wingate has in his memorandum referred briefly to his views of a permanent settlement. Government consider that his arguments against permanent settlements are thoroughly conclusive, and the present settlement of Ind^pur may be taken as an example, on the one hand, of the prosperity attainable under a thiry-years’ settlement, and on the other of the wasteful sacrifice of revenue involved in a permanent settlement; for had the former settlement been permanent, Government would now have been deprived of an additional revenue of 53 per cent, which the people are ready to pay without the slightest dissatis¬ faction. If it be alleged that the memorandum written on this 171 subject by Sir George Wingate, some years ago, is out of date, his remarks in the present memorandum are, at any rate, fresh and well timed, and they give Government the most recent views of one who has greater experience in the revenue system of this Presidency than any one alive. 13. The very elaborate details by which Colonel Francis has supported his propositions for the revision of the rates, leave no doubt but that he has exercised a very wise discretion in not increasing the assessment further, as he might have done had he been guided solely by the recent prices of produce. 14. An increase of upwards of 50 per cent is not slight; but. it is fully justified by the difference in the circumstances of the district, the increased facilities of communication, and the rise in prices, even taking the average prices much lower than those ruling in the last five years. 15. The Governor in Council, therefore, confirms the pro¬ posed rates for thirty years, and approves, subject to the above remarks, all Colonel Francis5 proposals now submitted in these reports. 16. The acknowledgments of Government are due to Colonel Francis for his very clear and elaborate report. 17. A copy should be sent to Her Majesty’s Secretary of State. To the Revenue Commissioner N.D., \ With copy of Revenue Commissioner S.D.. I tte papers Survey and Settlement Commissioner S.D., j ifes^utiL^ Survey and Settlement Commissioner N.D., ) passed. 172 No/ 5 op 1868. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 4th April 1868. To Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for India in Council, London. Right Honourable Sir, With reference to your despatch No. 69, dated the 14th Letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Francis, Survey Septemberlast, we have and Settlement Commissioner, No. 828, dated 7th October 1867. Memorandum by Sir George Wingate, referred to in paragraph 1 of the above. Memorandum referred to in Colonel Francis’ para¬ graph 8, and Sir George Wingate’s paragraph 15. Government Resolution No. 1211, dated 27th March 1868. the honour to for ward to you the accompanying copy of the papers, as per margin, relative to the revision of the as¬ sessment of the Indd- pur Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. We have the honour to he, Right Honourable Sir, Your most obedient, humble Servants, W. R. SEYMOUR Y. FITZGERALD. B. H. ELLIS. S. MANSFIELD. No. 3257. EXTRACT from the Proceedings of the Government of Bombay in the Revenue Department, dated 27th August 1868. Read the following Despatch from Sir Stafford H. Northcote, Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for India, to His Ex¬ cellency the Right Honourable the Governor in Council, Bom¬ bay, No. 47, dated 25th June 1868. 1. I have considered in Council the despatches from your Excellency in Council numbered 5 and 10, and dated respectively the 4th and 25th of April, the former forwarding the papers on 173 the revision of the assessment of the IncUpur Taluka of the Poona Collectorate, and the latter requesting me to transmit to Sir George Wingate a copy of the Resolution of your Excellency in Council on the subject, together with an expression of your thanks for the valuable assistance rendered by him in regard to it. 2. These papers are highly gratifying as establishing very clearly the great success that has resulted from the .thirty-years* settlement which has just expired. 3. The careful consideration which has been given by Sir George Wingate and by your Government to the elaborate and well-prepared proposals of Colonel Francis for the new rates o£ assessment leave no room to doubt that they have been fixed at an amount fully justified by the improved circumstances of the district, and even below that which the average prices of the last few years might have seemed to require. 4. I entirely approve, therefore, of your having confirmed the proposed rates for thirty years, and concur with you in acknowledging the services which Colonel Francis has rendered on this occasion. 5. I had also much pleasure in communicating to Sir George Wingate the Resolution of your Government of the 27th of March, and in expressing to him your thanks, together with my own, for the valuable assistance which he has afforded on this occasion. Resolution.—Copies to be forwarded for the information of the Commissioner in Sind, and the Revenue and Survey Commis¬ sioners. Ordered that copies of the above be forwarded to— The Commissioner in Sind, The Revenue Commissioner, N. D., The Revenue Commissioner, S. D., The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D. F. R. S. WYLLIE, For Acting Chief Secretary to Government. 174 CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THE REDUCTION OR¬ DERED 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 Sholapur 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 :â– *— 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 Percent¬ age in¬ crease on the whole. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. p. Ind&pur 2,38,135 2,70,076 81,391 1,24,700 0 5 5 0 7 4 53 Sholapur ... 3,81,882 4,33,572 1,74,915 3,09,630 0 7 4 0 11 4 77 M&dha 1,00,580 1,78,050 0 9 4 77 Bhimthari ... 1,90,410 2,i2,703 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 B&rsi 2,48,465 2,78,509 1,24,658 2,07,174 0 8 0 0 11 11 66 HAveli 1,27,610 1,46,745 80,965 1,34,768 0 10 2 0 14 7 66 P&bal 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 Karm&la 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 modera¬ tion. 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. 175 4. Before proceeding to determine tlie limits of the increases to be henceforth imposed in Deccan collectorates, 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 neces¬ sary 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 - 1st.—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 66 per cent should be imposed 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- 176 ments out of the question, these excessive increases in individual cases will be found to be due to one of three causes:— Is*.—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 ftian 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 177 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, however, be clearly given in future, and also for each future revi¬ sion 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 varia¬ tion 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 per cent 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 Shol&pur 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 :— / b 209—w 178 1st.—Portions of cultivated numbers Hitherto unassess¬ ed, 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 recom¬ mendations from the Survey Officers whether further altera¬ tions 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 Commissionee, S. H. The Revenue Commissionee, N. D. The Suevet and Settlement Commissionee, N. D. The Suevet and Settlement Commissionee, S. H. All Collectoes, including the Extea Fiest Assistant Col- leotoe in charge Panch Ma'ha’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;— 179 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 I., 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. 1302 of 1876. From Colonel J. FRANCIS, Revenue Department. Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D.> To W. G. PEDDER, Esq., Acting Secretary to Government. Poona, 27th August 1875. Sir, With reference to the instructions in Government Resolution of the 29th October last, No. 5739,1 have now the honour to submit a statement* showing the reduction 0 Prm e • which it is proposed to make in the re¬ vised assessment of the Indapur Taluka. 2. It will be perceived from the Revision Report that, with the exception of the town of Indapur for which (for special reasons) a 1 rupee 2 annas maximum was adopted, the remaining villages were divided into two groups, and assessed at rates of 1 rupee and 14 annas repectively. 180 3. There is no occasion, in my opinion, to make any modifica¬ tion in the standard of rates adopted in this case, and I propose, therefore, merely to apply to the revised assessment the reduced scale* of classification values from 10 annas downwards as carried out in the districts already reported on. ' 4. On referring to the statements it will be observed that, by the modification of the classification values alluded to above, the total revised assessment will be reduced from Rs. 1,22,890 to Rs. 1,10,573 ; and the increase on former settlement from 56 to 40 per cent, whilst the average rate will be 6 annas 9 pies in place of 7 annas 6 pies per acre. 5; The are 3 villages, marginally noted, in which the increase, . notwithstanding the application of a special 5n ^anjawalan. reduction made in the manner explained in ” 59 Takrarwari. para. 3 of my letter No. 1257 of the 2l3t instant, is in excess of the prescribed limit; but, as I can personally answer for the correctness of the classifica¬ tion, I recommend that the assessment as now fixed should be confirmed. 6. The results given in para. 4 refer to the 76 villages to which the revision settlement was in the first instance applied. But there are also 2 villages,t shown at the foot of the statement, which have subsequently been brought under the revised rates, as the lease on which they were held had not expired at the time the other part of the district was settled. The classification scale reduction has been applied to them in the same way as to the other villages. The result, it will be seen, is not appreciably affect¬ ed by these villages being included in the general statements for the whole district. I have the honour to be . Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. f Nbavi. Bori. Tlie average rate per acre is the same, hut the percentage increase is lowered from 40 to 39 per cent. * Classification Scale annas. a. p 10 - reduced by 1 0 181 Revenue Survey und Assessment. No. 5200. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 11th September 1875. Letter from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner N.D.,No. 1302, dated 27th August 1875—Submitting a statement showing the reductions which it is proposed to make in the revised assessment of the Indapur Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. Resolution.—These papers contain the proposals of the Sur¬ vey Commissioner, N. D., for the correction of the revised assess¬ ment of the, Indapur Taluka in accordance with the principles laid down in Government Resolution No. 5739, of 29th October 1874. 2. Indapur was the first taluka to come under the revision settlement, and all points connected with the past revenue history, past and present condition, and revenue-paying capacities of the taluka were fully and exhaustively discussed in the correspondence ending with Government Resolution No. 1211, of 27th March 1868, which sanctioned finally the revised assessments. It is not, there¬ fore, needful to recapitulate the considerations which led the then Government to decide on the rates of assessment now in force. Suffice it to say that the Secretary of State (paragraph 3 of his despatch No. 47, of 25th J/une 1868,) approved of them in the fol¬ lowing terms :— “No room is left to doubt that the new rates have been fixed at an amount fully justified by the improved circum¬ stances of the district, and even below that which the average prices of the last few years may have seemed to require.” 3. Since the revised settlement was introduced and the above- cited despatch was received, prices have fallen greatly, and it is the strong probability that they will during the term of the settle¬ ment range lower than was anticipated when the rates were fixed, that has induced His Excellency the Governor in Council to deter¬ mine on a reduction of assessment originally by no means exces¬ sive. 4.During the long discussion which ended with the Resolu¬ tion of October last, it appeared to be the general opinion of the Revenue Officers most competent to form a judgment, that the maximum rates imposed in Ind4pur are not too high even with the 182 lower prices now prevailing, but that the medium and poorer soils have been valued too high in comparison with the best lands. Colonel Francis, in his present proposals, has adopted this view. The maximum rates sanctioned for Indapur were, for the Kasba town itself, Rs. 1-2-0 per acre, and for the rest of the taluka Rs. 1 or Rs. 0-14-0 according to the climate or situation of each village. These rates are 2 annas lower than the corrected maximum rates lately sanctioned for the Mddha Taluka of Sho- ld,pur, which in climate has a slight advantage over Inddpur, and than those recently adopted for that portion of the Bhimthari Taluka of Poona the average rainfall of which is little better than that of Indapur, and they may stand. And to these maximum rates the reduced scale of valuation for the lower and medium soils already approved for M4dha and Bhimthari may be applied. 5. The result will be as follows:— The original survey assessment of the 78 villages now included in the taluka was Rs. 81,184, and the average rate per acre annas 4 pies 10. The assessment was raised by the revision to Rs. 1,25,845, and the average rate to annas 7 pies 7, an increase of 55 per cent. By the modification now sanctioned, the total assessment is reduced to Rs. 1,13,142, and the average rate per acre to annas 6 pies 9, the increase over the original assessment being reduced to 39 per cent. 6. Colonel Francis, however, explains that for three villages, Nos. 34, 40 and 59, he has lowered the valuation scale one class all round instead of reducing the classification of the medium and lower soils only. Unless the Survey Commissioner had reason to believe that the standard of classification generally in these villages was high, Government do not approve of this, as it clearly amounts to valuing them unduly low as compared with • other villages of the taluka. But Colonel Francis states that he can personally answer for the correctness of the classification of these villages ; and this being the case, Government see no reason for assessing them lower than the rest of the taluka. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government. To The Revenue Commissioner, S. D. The Collector of Poona. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D. 183 No. 215 op 1876. From The ACTING SUPERINTENDENT, POONA and NA'SIK SURVEY, To The SURVEY and SETTLEMENT COMMISSIONER, N.D. Camp Nasih, 22nd March 1876. Sir, With reference to your letter No. 444, dated 20th instant, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the result of the alteration made under Government Resolution No. 5200, of 11th September 1875, in the revision settlement rates of 78 villages of the Ind^pur Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. 2, The estimate entered in para. 5 of the Government Resolu¬ tion is that the assessment would be reduced from Rs. 1,25,845 to Rs. 1,13,142, or from an increase of 55 to 39 per cent. The actual result is an assessment of Rs. 1,11,886 against the original assess¬ ment of Rs. 81,184, or an increase of Rs. 30,682, or 37*8 per cent. 3. The usual notification in the Government Gazette of the duration of the lease of the revised settlement has not hitherto been published for this taluka. Now that the alterations in the revised assessment have been carried out, the present appears a fitting opportunity for the publication of this notification, which is here¬ with appended for the 76 villages into which the revision settlement was introduced in 1867-68. The introduction of the revised settle¬ ment into the two remaining villages of Bori and Nh£vi is only being carried out this season, and when it has been completed, a separate notification will be forwarded for them in due course. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L, TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N£sik. 184 No. 758 op 1876. Revenue Department. Camp Mahableshwar, 18th May 1876. Submitted for tbe information of Government with reference to Resolution No. 5200, dated 11th September last. 2. It will be seen by tbe Report that, with tbe reductions now made, tbe revised assessment of tbe district amounts to Rs. 1,13,142, being 37 per cent in excess of tbe assessment imposed at tbe first settlement. 3. Tbe usual notification regarding tbe duration of tbe settlement lease is forwarded for publication in tbe Government Gazette9 in accordance with tbe provisions of Section 28 of Act I. of 1865. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Revenue Survey and Assessment. No. 3157. Revenue Department. ! Bombay Castle9 29th May 1876. Resolution.—Tbe notification may be published. E. W. RAYENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. Statement* • B 299—x w to o d is 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 â–  28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 61 52 53 54 65 56 67 186 ATEMENT showing the ultimate result of the Survey Revision Settlement finally adjusted under Government Resolu Name of Village. As per cultiva¬ tion returns for 1865-66. As per Revision Acres. Assess O % c 1 <8 <1 i u HO 1» & to « P XX CO c3 O a I C3 P 13 p c§ p © 2 *3 0 Eh •P a* £ u 15 >> to <3 P IS XX § ■© 2 3 4 5 6 . 7 8 9 10 11 nd&pur 16,028 Rs. 4,981 19,017 429 17 19,463 Rs. 6,640 Rs. 300 ShA ... ... KAndalgaon Taratgaon Hingangaon BAbhulgaon Bhatnimgaon Bedsinga... AosAri > ... BhAndgaon BAura , Ozar Gopi LumewAdi SarAti Nirnimgaon ChAkAti ... Redni Reda Shetfal Haveli XAti Pitkeshwar Nimbgaon Ketki Gokhli Wangali RAjewadi Gagargaon Bijowri Balpuri BhAvdi Chandgaon Warkuta Budruk Agoti Ganjawalan ... KalAsi KAltan Sirsodi Padasthal Ajoa ;; Sugaon Pimpri Khurd Kalas Rui VyAhAlf Gotodi Bhelgaon ". Shetfal Gada Pimpla ... ' MadanwAdi ... Akola BhAdhalwAdi ... HalgudwAdi BIST::: ::: ~ ~ ::: KumbhArgaon usij Palasdeo 1,440 2,638 653 1,589 2,244 1,470 902 1,928 2,888 17,348 625 948 1,340 1,668 1,357 1,650 3,746 1,909 3.510 3,947 I,962 7,574 1.511 811 309 733 1,961 966 1,286 1,025 4,322 1,853 1,251 2,002 3,386 1,824 1,557 1,438 1,288 945 9,665 4,301 2,193 3,248 II,032 3,595 1,560 3,858 3,582 1,636 806 2,344 1,625 1,474 3,688 6,385 400 928 249 553 741 415 292 653 1,242 6,787 258 426 726 905 601 684 1,451 589 1,394 1,121 585 2,212 272 182 63 180 360 213 469 416 1,194 715 488 726 1,254 604 578 559 533 217 2,744 1,058 608 836 3,384 1,131 545 1,431 1,173 584 129 863 840 600 1,326 2,578 1,831 2,844 630 1,774 2,447 1,730 979 2,177 2,990 18,211 682 1,025 1,402 1,715 I,409 1.807 4,175 1,861 3,509 3,906 2,089 7,668 2,002 1,245 393 1,012 3,070 1,521 1.428 1.147 4,901 1,903 1,454 2,181 3,729 2,187 1,847 1,564 1,395 1,105 II,967 4,479 2,387 3,486 12,029 4.428 1,745 4,198 3,935 2.147 416 2,393 1,749 1,960 3.807 7,212 35 18 16 14 2 9 23 9 278 "'2 8 ' 17 7 17 56 133 97 2ll 114 652 33 45 18 35 39 12 17 "54 56 "‘2 54 "4 1 42 33 321 108 14 8 73 526 138 18 75 136 70 "47 15 51 77 220 •v "i 1,866 2,862 630 1,790 2,461 1,732 988 2,201 2,999 18,489 682 1,027 1,410 1,732 1,416 1,824 4,231 1,994 3,606 4,117 2,203 8,320 2,035 1,290 411 1,047 3,109 1,533 1,445 1,147 4,955 1,959 1,454 2,183 3,783 2,187 1,851 1.565 1,437 1,138 12,288 4,587 2,535 3,559 12,555 4.566 1,763 4,273 4,071 2,217 416 2,440 1,734 2,011 3,884 7,432 678 1,306 361 897 1,200 729 475 1,007 1,731 9,556 327 444 842 1,217 863 877 1,967 723 1,870 1,278 614 1,553 393 . 286 • 98 286 473 196 686 726 1,973 1,135 932 1,075 1,822 1.012 966 971 897 273 2,761 1,333 543 1,240 4,208 1,298 669 1,942 1,414 741 154 1,446 1,456 942 1,942 3,316 22 9 8 7 1 6 17 • 8 172 " 1 3 12 3 13 26 81 68 120 61 499 11 20 13 20 25 6 17 "28 40 1 38 *" 2 1 33 20 163 46 125 40 375 74 10 52 . 68 42 "'35 8 38 45 167 187 for the undermentioned Villages of Talufta Indapur, Poona Gollectorate, as tion No. 5200, dated 11th September 1875. Survey. Increase. Maximum dry-crop rate per Acre. Average dry-crop rate per Acre exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. Remarks. ment. Numerical. Percentage. Patasthal Bagayat. Rice. Total. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Soil Assess¬ ment. Water Cess.| 12 13 14 IS 16 17- 18 19 20 21 22 Rs. Rs. |Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. a. p Rs. a. P- 28 6,968 3,435 1,987 21 40 1 2 0 0 5 9 700 426 300 30 75 1 0 0 0 6 0 1,315 224 387 8 42 0 74 0 361 77 112 14 45 0 9 0 907 201 354 13 64 0 8 0 1,207 217 466 10 63 0 8 0 730 262 315 18 76 0 64 0 481 86 189 10 65 0 74 0 1 1,025 273 372 14 57 0 74 0 1,739 111 497 4 40 0 9 0 9,728 1,141 2,941 7 43 0 84 0 327 57 69 9 27 0 74 0 445 79 19 8 4 0 7 0 845 70 119 5 16 0 94 0 1,229 64 324 4 36 0 114 0 866 59 265 4 44 0 94 0 890 174 206 11 30 0 8 0 1,993 485 542. 13 37 0 74 0 804 85 215 4 37 0 64 0 1,938 96 644 3 39 1 0 0 0 84 0 1,398 170 277 4 25 0 sf 0 675 241 90 12 15 0 5 0 2,052 746 160 10 7 A 4 0 404 524 132 35 49 0 3 0 306 479 124 59 68 0 4 0 111 102 48 33 76 0 0 306 314 126 43 70 0 4 0 498 1,148 138 59 38 0 24 0 202 667 11 59 5 0 2 0 703 159 234 12 50 0 74 0 726 122 310 12 75 0 10 0 2,001 633 807 15 68 0 64 0 1,176 106 460 6 64 0 94 0 932 203 444 16 91 0 10 0 1,076 181 350 9 48 0 8 0 1,860 39* 606 12 48 0 8 0 1,012 363 408 20 68 0 74 0 968 294 390 19 67 0 84 0 972 127 413 9 74 0 10 0 930 149 397 12 •74 1 0 0 0 104 0 293 193 76 20 35 0 4 0 2,924 2,633 180 27 7 0 4 0 1,379 286 321 7 30 0 5 0 Ml 668 342 60 16 10 0 4 0 1,280 3H 444 10 63 0 54 0 4,583 1,523 1,199 14 35 0 6 0 ttl 1,372 971 241 27 21 0 6 0 679 203 134 13 25 0 6 0 1,994 4l5 563 11 39 0 74 0 til 1,482 489 309 14 26 0 6a 0 783 681 199 36 34 0 54 6 154 110 25 36 19 0 6 0 1,481 96 618 4 72 0 94 0 1,464 109 624 7 74 0 134 0 980 637 380 36 63 ,...t 0 8 0 1,987 196 661 I 5 50 0 8 0 ... 3,482 1,047 904 16 35 0 74 0 188 ST A TEMENT showing the ultimate result of the Survey Revision Settlement finally adjusted under Government Resolu | No. of Tillage. Name of Village. As per cultiva¬ tion returns for 1865-66. Acres As per Revision Assess ! Assessment. Jirayet. Motasthal Bagayet. "S §■ to 83 P •a a OB 2 c3 P cS o s Total. Jirayet. Motasthal Bagayet. 1 2 s 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Rs. Rs. Bs. 68 Pondhewdri 2,221 718 2,568 72 2,640 987 51 69 Takrdrwddi 547 233 540 44 584 412 38 60 Loni 3,249 1,261 3,319 110 3,429 1,597 77 61 Kowtdli ... 2,143 463 2,603 117 2,720 516 58 62 Nirwdngi 5,644 2,620 5,854 190 6,044 3,650 128 S3 Kharochi 3,615 1,752 3,593 23 8,616 2,152 13 Total .. 1,69,605 69,112 1,87,730 4,742 1 1,92,473 79,435 3,065 64 Hdturna... 4,956 1,266 5,382 196 5,678 1,734 106 65 Ldsurna ... 8,153 2,396 8,265 349 8,614 $3,278 236 66 Kalamb ... 6,539 2,400 5,861 69 5,930 3,416 62 67 Chiahli ... 669 298 679 33 712 898 18 68 Kurowli ... 1,517 716 1,528 37 1,565 976 28 69 Jdmb 1,171 393 1,207 21 1,228 633 13 70 TJdhat ... 1,390 685 1,319 119 1,438 772 85 71 Tdvsi 1,295 672 1,333 22 1,355 893 16 72 Sansar 4,716 1,549 5,052 2i4 5,266 1,945 137 73 Kojad 4,745 1,538 5,284 286 5,570 1,426 lei 74 Nimbodi ... 1,504 417 1,726 108 1,834 629 50 76 L&kdi ... 2,102 593 2,521 69 2,590 628 3C ?« Nirguda ... 6,678 1,753 7,744 157 7,901 2,252 67 Total ... 44,435 14,676 47,901 1,680 49,581 18,879 989 Total ... 2,30,068 78,769 2,54,648 6,851 18 2,61,617 1,04,954 4,354 ?7 Nhdvi ... 3,628 1,133 4,072 77 4,149 1,198 52 p Bori 3,648 1,282 3,611 237 • 3,8481 1,114 165 Total ... 7,276 2,415 . 7,683 314 ... 7,997 2,312 217 Total ... 2,37,344 81,184 2,62,331 7,165 18 2,69,514 1,07,266 4,571 - Asset sment of 791 207 ... ... ... ... ... Grand Total... 2,38,135 81,391 2,62,331 7,165 18 2,69,514 1,07,266 4,571 %%yid March 1876, 189 for the undermentioned Villages of Taluka Indapur, Poona Collectorate, as tion No. 5200, dated 11th September 1875. Survey. Increase. Maximum dry-crop rate per Acre Average dry-crop rate per Acre exclusive of Rice andWaterCess. Remarks. ment. Numerical. Percentage, Pata Bag 1 CO 03 • s CQ sthal ayet. 1 o U $ * <3 £ Bice. Total. Acres. i . . Assessment. | Acres. • 1 CD ' â– Si 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Es. Es. Es. Es* Es. Es. Rs. a. P* Es. a. P. 1,038 419 320 19 ' 45 0 6 0 450 37 217 7 93 1 0 0 0 12J 0 1,674 180 413 6 33 ,0 8 0 574 577 111 27 24 0 31 0 3,778 400 1,158 7 44 0 10 0 2,165 1 413 ... 24 0 Si 0 ... 1 82,501 22,868 23,389 13 40 0 6 10 1,840 622 674 13 45 0 14 0 0 6 0 8,514 461 1,118 6 47 0 61 0 ... 3,467 891 1,067 7 44 0 si 0 ... 416 43 118 6 40 0 si 0 ... 1,004 48 288 3 40 0 10 0 ... 646 57 253 5 . 64 0 81 0 857 48 172 3 25 0 91 0 909 60 237 5 36 0 Id 0 ... 2,082 650 633 12 34 0 51 0 ... 1,587 825 49 17 3 0 41 0 579 330 162 22 39 0 6 0 ... 658 488 65 23 11 0 4 0 2,309 1,223 556 18 32 0 14 0 0 41 0 19,868 5,146 6,192 12 35 - 0 6 6 ... 29 1,09,337 31,449 30,568 13 39 0 6 8 1,250 521 117 14 10 1 0 0 0 6 0 1,279 200 3 5 0 61 0 ... ... 2,529 721 114 10 5 0 6 1 ... 29 1,11,866 32,170 30,682 14 38 0 6 8 'iineult ivated Land. ... ... ... ... 29 1,11,866 32,170 30,682 14 38 0 6 8 !E, li. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N6sik. BHIMTHARI TALUKA- 193 No. 2353 of 1871. To The REVENUE COMMISSIONER, Southern Division. Poona Collector's Office, 27th October 1871. Sir, I have the honour to forward, for the consideration and orders of Government, the accompanying Report, with accompaniments, received from Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington, Superintendent of Revenue Survey, submitting proposals for the re-settlement of certain villages in the Bhimthari Taluka, the leases of which have expired. 2. The Bhimthari Taluka comprises 130 villages. Of these the Survey Superintendent proposes (vide para. 1 of his report) to re-settle 54 during the current revenue year. I find, however, that one of these villages, viz., Dhond, was settled 51 years ago, in 1856-57, and will not be liable to reset¬ tlement till the expiration of thirty years, in 1885-86. There are also five villages, marginally noted, which, having lapsed to Government, were settled by the Reve¬ nue Survey Department within the last ten years. . It must be clearly shown that the rates then intro¬ duced into these villages were declared only temporary, and subject to revision at the general re-settlement of the other villages of the taluka; otherwise they cannot now be subjected to enhanced rates. It is to be regretted that the Superintendent of Survey has not furnished in his report information regarding the terms of the leases given in each of these six exceptional villages. Such infor¬ mation, and also the reasons for revising the assessment before the expiration of thirty years from the year of settlement, should surely find a place in a report on the re-settlement of a district. 3. The physical character of the district is accurately de¬ scribed in para. 2 of the report. The country is an open plain. The soil is productive, while the rainfall is capricious, unequal, and too often scanty. The Bhima River forms the northern boundary of the taluka. Its banks are fringed here and there with extensive babul kurans, which have lately been demarcated as forest re¬ serves. The district, the staple products of which are b£jri and b 209—y S ettled in 1. Sonowdi ...1864-65 2. Patas 1864-65 3. Gar 1864-65 4. Bori Badhak 1862-63 5. Girim 1862-63 194 jow&ri, is agricultural, and is now in a decidedly prosperous state. It is well provided witli markets, and is traversed by the railway. The satistical statement embodied in paragraph 6 of the report testifies to the successful results of the former settlement. The remarkable increase in the number of carts, in cattle, and agricultural implements, is indicative of the improved condition of the cultivating classes. 4. From paragraph 37 of the report it appears that the instructions of Government regarding the non-imposition of extra assessment on lands irrigated from wells have been observed. It would not have been out of place had the Superintendent stated the amount of extra assessment foregone. 5. Paras. 12 to 18 of the report describe the changes in property during the currency of the present settlement, and the condition of the district before and after the introduction of the revenue survey. While discussing the amount of collections and the extent of cultivation during the three decades of the present settlement (vide paras. 18 to 22), the Superintendent, referring to the amount of remissions (viz., Rs. 20,728) given in 1866-67, re¬ marks that the grant was unnecessary, and that such general re¬ missions should not be given under any circumstances short of an actual famine. I am not prepared to agree with Colonel Wadding- ton in this extreme opinion, nor to hold that there was no necessity for the remissions of 1866-67, which were sanctioned by Govern¬ ment after full consideration. But, at the same time, I think that the fact of their having been allowed once in ten years, under ex¬ ceptional circumstances, need not be taken into consideration in fixing the new rates of assessment. 6. The proposed rates of assessment, according to the four groups into which the villages to be re-settled are divided, are stated in paragraph 31 of the report: the maximum rate per acre being Rs. 1-12-0, and the minimum Rs. 1-2-0. I do not consider that these rates are too high. I am decidedly of opinion that the assessment should be fixed sufficiently high to make the cultivator exert himself to obtain from his land all that it. may reasonably be expected to produce. 7. The comparative statement embodied in paragraph 32 ex¬ hibits the financial result of the proposed rates, which on an average are 53 per cent higher than the present assessment. The increased revenue (Rs. 54,976) in the 48 villages is not entirely the result of the revision of assessment, a considerable portion of it being due to the area of the district having on re-measurement been found to be in excess of the area recorded by the former survey. 195 8. An explanation of the manner in which the former mea¬ surement has been tested, and in what respect it has been found faulty, should have been stated in the report under notice. The dates on which the re-measurement and re-classification were com¬ menced and completed, should also have been given. 9. Referring to paragraph 36, I agree with Colonel Wadding- ton in his proposal that the payment of the irrigation cess should be made compulsory. In the case of defaulters the levy should be enforced in the same manner as the payment of assessment on land. 10. Finally, I have to recommend that the rates proposed be sanctioned for the usual period of thirty years. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most" obedient Servant, J. E. OLIPHANT, Collector. No. 440 a of 1871. To The COLLECTOR of POONA. Poona, 12th July 1871. Sir, 1. The proposals that I have now the honour to submit, are regarding the rates to be fixed for certain villages of the Bhim- thari Taluka, the leases of which have expired. These villao-es are 54 in number, of which 23 formerly belonged to the Pimpal- gaon and 31 to the Kurkumb division; they now, with other villages transferred from Purandhar and Bdramati, form the pre¬ sent taluka of Bhimthari. 2. The district under report is a long, narrow strip of country, Situation and Climate. Vhich extends from the western boun¬ dary of Inddpur to within 20 miles of Poona, being bounded on the north by the Bhima River, and on 196 the south by a range of hills which divides it from the Purandhar Taluka and villages formerly belonging to Supa. Lieutenant Nash, who introduced the last settlement, writes thus of the climate:— “ The climate and products of the two divisions of the Bhimthari Pergunna are essentially different. The Pimpalgaon division of this long, narrow district lies in the vicinity of Poona, enjoys in general a considerable fall of rain, produces bajri, and is in the very neighbourhood of the greatest grain mart in the country. The climate and products of the Kurkumb Petha seem in all things to resemble those of Ind,4pur. Scanty, uncertain rain is the character of the climate, and jowdri is the grain principally grown ; such being the case, it is obviously impossible to assess the two divisions fairly by the same rates.” This is a very correct account of the difference of climate generally in the two divisions ; but I think that this difference commences rather from the range of hills to the east of Patas (as seen in the map), and applies rather to all the villages to the east of that range, than to those within the limits of the old divisions of Pimpalgaon and Kur¬ kumb, shown in the map by a blue line. , 3. The south-eastern portion of the district is rough and hilly, Character as a^so are ^e villages bordering on the range of hills- mentioned in paragraph 2. The northern part along the Bhima is generally level, and with a good deal of fine black soil. The whole district is very destitute of timber, although many inducements have, from time to time, been held out by Government, such as granting land rent-free on leases, to encourage the planting of trees. Mr. Hart, in 1840-41, proposed to grant remission according to the number of healthy trees reared by a cultivator on the boundaries of his fields ; but Mr. Stewart, the Collector,-says the ryots will not do this on account of the shade being injurious to the crops, and the trees attracting birds. There are several Government “ kurans ” in the district, but nothing appears to have been done of late by individuals in ^the way of planting trees. 4. The chief grain products of the district are b4jri, jowari, Products, math, gram, wheat, and kulti, besides a little sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, linseed and vegetables; but the staple crops are jowari and bajri, which form |ths of the total produce. With regard to the proportion of bajri to jowdri cultivated in the villages of the two divisions, I find that in those of Pimpalgaon it is as 2 to 1, or double, and in those of Kurkumb 37 to 44, or about Jth less. The revenue is collected in two equal instalments, which fall due on the 10th January and 10th March in the kharif villages, and on the 10th February and 10th May in those in which rabi is chiefly grown. 197 Statement showing the proportions of the various Crops groim in 48 Villages of Bhimthari.S Jowari . •. ... 35*6 Bajri • •• 43*4 Math ... 2-0 Kulti ... • . *8 Wheat ... M, 1-0 Gram ... 1*0 Sugarcane •1 Tobacco ... •1 Cotton ... . t •4 Miscellaneous • »• 5*1 Waste (occupied)... ... 10*5 Total... 100*0 5. Before proceeding further it is necessary that I should explain that of the 54 villages mentioned in my 1st paragraph, 48 only came under the settlement introduced by Lieutenant Nash, and consequently the following remarks and returns apply chiefly to those villages. 5. The area of these 48 villages, including all lands, is 244,623 . , acres, or 382 square miles. The popula- Area and Popnlatron. tion ha3 rigen f m 20,401 in 1840.41 to 28,467 in 1870-71, or 39J per cent. This gives a little more than 74 inhabitants to the square mile, so that there are 8J acres per head of the population. 6. The increase in the number of carts is remarkable, there gtocb> being now 1,011 against273 in 1840-41, a result doubtless owing to the openingup of roads described below. The increase in ploughs, bullocks, and live¬ stock has not kept pace with that of the people; still there is a rise of 22 J per cent in the number of ploughs, and 19 per cent in that of farm bullocks, as will be seen from the following statement:— Description. Numerical Return according to Census taken in Increase in favour of 1870-71. 1840-41. - 1870-71. Numerical. Percentage. Inhabitants ' ... Bullocks employed 20,401 28,467 8,066 S9i in farming Cattle of other de- 11,568 13,792 2,224 19 scriptions 36,931 39,050 2,119 5| Carts 273 1,011 738 270 Ploughs 1,115 1,365 250 221 198 7.At the time of settlement there were 770 wells, of which "Wells 243 were out of repair and unworkable. Of these, 59 have been repaired, and 141 new wells constructed, so that there are now 727 wells in work against 527 in 1840-41, as will be seen from the following .state¬ ment :— Statement showing the Number of Wells in 48 Villages. Total Wells in 1840-41. Out of repair. Number of Wells in working order. Wells repaired. New Wells constructed. Total Number of Wells in working order. 770 243 527 59 141 727 Of the new wells, 8 were made in the first series of ten years after the settlement, 41 in the second, and 92 in the third. The number of new wells is small compared with those constructed in Ind^pur; but I do not attribute this to want of means, but partly to the more plentiful rainfall in the districts along the Bhima (which renders artificial irrigation less necessary), and partly to the great depth at which the water-bearing stratum lies as you ap¬ proach the’ river—a fact noticed by Colonel G. S. Anderson in his report on the Korti Taluka. I have myself observed that in many of the villages along the bank of the river there are no wells, and never have been any, probably for the above reason. You will see, however, that 92 wells have been constructed during the last ten years, during which advances from Government have been almost entirely suspended. It is to be hoped that the liberal measure of removing the extra assessment on land watered from wells will have a beneficial effect in increasing their number. 8. There are three bazaar towns, viz., Patas (the Mamlat- m , _ dd.r’s station), Kurkumb, and Yewat, all Towns and xpor s. 0f which are situated on the high road from Poona to ShoMpur. The people are almost entirely occu¬ pied in agriculture, and grain and other products are exported to Poona and Bombay, but chiefly to the former place. 9. There are few districts in which so great changes have -n , o been wrought as regards means of com- oa s’ c’ munication within the last twenty-five years, or which have been so much benefited thereby, as that now under report; for not only has the high road from Poona to ShoMpur been constructed throughout its length during that period, but the 199 G. I. P. Railway now traverses it in the same direction, tlie two roads running parallel to, and at a very short distance from, each other through the western half of the district; whilst the eastern part is opened up by the G. I. P. Railway in its northern, and the Poona high road in its. southern portion. There are three rail¬ way stations—Dhond, P£tas, and Kedgaon—within the limits of the district; and two—Deksal and Uruli—close to its border. Besides these main lines there are good roads from the station at Kedgaon to Sirur vi& Pargaon, and to Supa and Jejuri via Padwi. General Remarks* 10. I have been long familiar with these districts, having had charge of the Sholdpur road as far as to Ind^pur seventeen or eighteen years ago, and have also been a good deal in them on survey duties. I have often been struck by the great quantities of “ karbi ” and grass (chiefly “ Haridli” dug up in the fields) which are brought to all the villages along the Sholapur road for sale to the cartmen. The profits of this retail trade mast be very great, and help the people materially in a bad season. The number of carts . making use of the road has, of course, diminished somewhat since the opening of the railway, but those that have been driven off the . line are probably such as came from long distances ; and the local traffic by the road is still considerable, as is proved by the sum for which the farm of the toll at Hadapsarwas sold last year, viz., Rs. 9,010, The highest sum realized was Rs. 17,600 in 1859-60 ; but Rs. 16,000 was paid for it as lately as 1866-67. 11. Lieutenant Nash, writing in 1888-39, thus describes the condition of the people:—I am at a loss to convey the idea of poverty and ruin which I have received during my few The effects of pillage, plague, and famine out of cultivation of more than half the pergunna, in the ruin of the villages, in the accumulation of balances, and in the constant necessity for remissions.” The al¬ most total absence of remissions for the last sixteen years (one year being excepted, regarding which I shall remark presently), the fact of there being no outstanding balances, that there is scarcely an acre of land that has not been taken up, the saleable value of land—all these form a contrast so striking to the picture drawn by Lieutenant Nash, that it is difficult to realize that such a state of affairs ac¬ tually did exist! By reference, however, to the diagram we shall see that the change has been brought about by degrees, though, as far as can be judged by the increase in cultivation and return of revenue, the culminating point of prosperity was almost reached as far back as 1860-61, when the collections were Rs. 74,084, there being a remission of Re. 1 only! Lieutenant Nash’s descrip¬ tion of the district. months’ residence here, are visible in the falling 200 12. The following statement, giving a few instances of the prices at which land has been sold and mortgaged within the last five years, will prove the value in which the right of occupancy of land is held, and the general prosperity. I may add, that of the L3 instances of sale of land quoted by me, in 10 cases the buyers were patels or ryots. In one instance (Mirodi) 33'5 acres of dry-crop land were mortgaged at 75 years' purchase of the assess¬ ment, occupation of the land being held to cover the interest:— Extract from Register of Sales and Mortgages of Lands in the last five years, Tears of Sale. Names of Villages. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Sum realized. Remarks. 1867 Kurkumb 24-34 18-8 799 43 years’ purchase. Pimpalgaon ... 48-6 31-0 326 10 do. 1868 Rawangaon 15-32 4 125 31 do. Bharatgaon ... 29 13-8 700 52 do. Yewat 14-1 19 200 10 do. 1869 Kamgaon 43-30 36 606 16 do. Kurkumb 55-5 23 800 34| do. Sonodi... 23 18-8 375 23 do. Kurkumb 47 30 1,297 43 do. Kasurdi 13-33 16 360 22| do. Warwand 47 29 725 25 do. 1870 Dabitnaj 20-34 28 630 23 do. Kasurdi 17-18 16 600 37 do. 1866 Girim... 13-4 26-8 500 This is mortgaged for 5 years; half produce in place of in¬ terest. 1867 Kasurdi 19-31 23 300 Mortgaged for year ; Jrd of pro- « duce in place of interest. Bharatgaon ... 2-5 3-6 175 Mortgaged for 3 years ; whole of the produce in place of interest Bori Aindi ... 40-17 19 450 Mortgaged for 8 years; whole of the prodnce in place of interest. Kedgaon 5-10 6-4 350 If not paid in 3 years, khdta to be transferred. 1867 Rajegaon 164 104 1,999 If not paid in 2 years, to be con- sidered as sold. 1868 Dahitna 19-32 16-8 500 Mortgaged for 10 years, whole profit in place of interest. 1869 Rawangaon ... 15-13 26 300 Mortgaged for one year. Deulgaon 7-10 3 499 Land made over until repayment. No interest. 1870 Mirodi... 33-5 19 1,441 Mortgaged for T5 years. Land made over. No interest. Pargaon and Kangaon, 160 107 4,000 Motgaged for 40 years. Lind made over to mortgagee. No interest. 201 13. It is to be regretted (for the purpose of settlement) that, ,, m . . in consequence of the late redistribution ew au s' of villages, the present taluk of Bhim- thari (on part only of which I am now reporting) does not cor¬ respond with the taluka to which the old revenue reports refer; and, consequently, but little use can be made of them. I have, however, made a few extracts from them, which may be of interest as applying generally to this and the neighbouring dis¬ tricts. 14. The first Jam^bandi Report on the Bhimthari Ta¬ rn^ t ~ tj l luka which I have been able to obtain, is for the year 1832-33. It seems to have been a bad season; and at the inspection of crops the Assistant Collector, Mr. Townsend, writes as follows:—“ As the crops were all brought in before my arrival in the taluka, I had no opportu¬ nity of ascertaining how far the very large remissions given by the Kum&visddr and Shebdars were requisite. No complaints having been made, I should suppose the remissions were sufficient. No examination of the surveys of the inferior kdrkuns and Shek- dd,rs was made by the Mamlatddr ; the Shekdars surveyed in their own villages. The wide door to abuse which this system lays open, scarce needs to be alluded to.” Of the 67 Government villages contained in this taluka, 7 were surveyed by the Kum£visd 1 2 0 54 32.The accompanying map will show the grouping of these villages, and the distribution of the pro- Effect of proposed Rates. pr0sed rates. You will see from the following statement the effect of these rates as compared with pre¬ sent payments in the 48 villages to w;hich the diagram relates. * -vr . • . d The effect of the survey rates on the remain- ° prm 6 ’ ing villages will be seen from the contrasted* statement appended to this report:— Statement showing the effect of the proposed rates contrasted ivith the last year’s payments in 48 Villages of the Bhimthari Talulca. Cultivated Land. Waste Land. Total. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Acres, Assessment. Rs. Rs. Rs. Assessment according to proposed rates ... 180,776 1,28,971 2,019 871 188,795 1,29,842 Assessment according to present rates ... 164,618 74,222 1,884 7644 166,502 74,S66 Increase... 22,158 54,749 135 227 22,293 54,976 Lands held in excess of re corded area. 33.This shows an increase of Rs. 54,976, which is equivalent to 73 per cent on the last year’s pay¬ ments ; but it must be recollected that a considerable portion of this increase is on account of land hitherto held in excess of former recorded area, which amounts to 22,293 acres. The average rate per acre by the proposed rate is 11 annas, at which rates the land found to have f This does not include the amount realized on account of kurans, which are sold yearly by auction. 208 been held in excess will represent rRs. 15,326, so that the actual increase due to the imposition of a higher rate may be said to be Rs. 39,650, which will give an. increase of 53 per cent over present assessment. 34.As usual the increase varies considerably: in one case, _ , . No. 27, being as high as 120 per cent, Jne^uahtyof present assess- and in another) No. 19) as low as 16 per cent. Now the latter village, Khutbhd- wa, is one of the poorest villages in the district; it is at present recorded as containing 2,246 acres, assessed at Rs. 867, or 6 annas 3 pies per acre; by the new survey its area is 2,409 acres, which are assessed at Rs. 1,012, or 6 annas 8 pies per acre. Deulgaon, No. 27, on the other hand, is at present recorded as containing 3,138 acres, assessed at only Rs. 758, or 3 annas 10 pies per acre; by the new survey the acres are found to be 4,297 on which the assessment is Rs. 1,470, or 5 annas 5 pies per acre. 35.That the rates I now propose are moderate is, I think, Kuran Lands evident from the fact that the average realizations on account of kuran lands for the last ten years has been Rs. 2,947 per annum, or 15 annas per acre. Now it must be borne in mind that no deduction is allowed on the area of kuran for unculturable land, so that the above rate is per acre of the entire area. As mentioned above, the average rate per acre of culturable land that I propose, will be only 11 annas. You will also observe that the value of the kuran has increased from Rs.'245 in the first decade to Rs. 2,947 in the last. A statement is appended showing the average decennial realization on account of land revenue, kuran lands, and miscellaneous in¬ come for the last thirty years, the revenue shown in the diagram and statement being confined to the actual assessment of the land. 36.There is one village—Kdsurdi, No. 6—in which there m . . •jt’ / is a tank which was formed in 1838 un- lank: at Kasurdi. ,1 • £ r» der the auspices of the then Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Williamson. It cost Rs. 11,824, “the expen¬ diture being incurred seemingly in reliance on the promises of the villagers as to the extent of land they would irrigate—promises which they had not the means of fulfilling, for their utmost endea¬ vours have only enabled them to irrigate an extent of land from which an extra assessment or water rate of Rs. 76-12-10 per annum has been derived.” In 1843 the whole of the earthen embankment had been washed away. The masonry was still standing, and in excellent order. This work has been lately thoroughly repaired at the cost of the State, and Lieutenant Buckle reports that the water- 209 supply will be sufficient to irrigate 250 acres of land. Under Sec¬ tion 29, Clause I. of tlie Survey Act, Government have doubtless the right to levy an extra cess on account of the water to be sup¬ plied by it, and I think that the payment of such cess, or, in case of refusal, the relinquishment of the land, should be made compul¬ sory on the introduction of the new settlement. This remark will apply equally to land to which water will hereafter be brought from the Kharakwdsla reservoir, and I await the orders of Gov¬ ernment- as to the course I am to pursue in both cases. 3 7. In accordance with the principle approved by Government in their resolution on the settlement of Lands watered from we Is. M&dha Taluka, no extra rate will be placed on lands irrigated from wells beyond the highest jerayet rate. On lands watered by “ paths ” (the total assessment on which is only Rs. 1,187) the water rate varied from Rs. 6 to Re. 1 per acre in addi- 38. Pathasthal Lands. tion to the jerayet rate. 39. In addition to the 48 villages to which my report has chiefly related, there are 6 villages which pse i ages. have lapsed to Government since the in¬ troduction of the present settlement. These have from time to time been brought under the survey rates; but, in accordance with the direction of Government, their leases will expire contemporaneously with those of the rest of the taluka. Their total assessment is shown in the following statement:— Cultivated Land. Acres. Assessment. Assessment according to pro¬ posed rates 23,908 Rs. 16,754 Last year’s payment 23,908 11,598 Increase... • ... 5,156 40. These villages, having been surveyed and classed in ac- Increase in the same. . eordance with the rules now in force in tins department, there was no occasion to re-measure or re-class them, and, consequently, their area is un¬ changed ; but, inasmuch as their maximum rates, were fixed in b 209—a 210 accordance with the old rates of the adjoining villages, the appli¬ cation of the new rates will, of course, cause an increase in the assessment, which, as shown above, is Rs. 5,156, or 44 per cent. 41. The total area of the cultivable land in the 54 villages Total Area and Assessment. â„¢by ^ new . sraTey “ • 2,12,706 acres, being an increase of 22,293 acres, or 11 percent. The assessment (including that on the Pathasthal lands) is Rs. 1,46,596 against Rs. 86,464, being an increase of Rs. 60,132, which is equivalent to 69 per cent, including the assessment on lands held in excess of recorded area. 24. The reports of Messrs. Wingate and Nash on the intro- duction of the present rates into the Kur- f®st Statements an e" kumb and Pimpalgaon tarafs are append¬ ed. Also statements showing the number of fields which have been submitted to test by the measuring and classing Assistants; the results appear satisfactory. 43. In conclusion, I must again express my regret that, in , .. _ . consequence of the breaking up of the one u mg emar s. taluka, I have been unable to avail myself, • as much as I could have wished, of the old Collector’s reports and records, or to submit as complete a report as I might otherwise have been able to do. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent Revenue Survey. c STATEMENT shotting the Average Prices of Jotvdri and Bdjri in Poona (City) and Yewat from 1841-42 to 1870-71., Years. Yew at. Poona. Years. Yewat. .POONA. Years. ‘ Yewat. Poona. Jowdri.i Bdjri. J owdri. Bdjri. Jowdri. B'jri. J owdri. Bdjri. Jowdri. Bdjri, Jowdri. Bdjri. 1841-42 47* 36 30 24 1851-52 36 25* 33. 25 1861-62 30 23* 26 19 1842-43 55 34* 32 28 1852-53 37 29 37 29 1862-63 21 18 20 15 1843-44 64 48 30 . 30 1853-54 57 44* 42 36 1863-64 15* 10 11 9 1844-45 50 - 38 27 23 1854-55 27* 23 25 22 1864-65 11 10* 12 10 1845-46 25 . 23 21 18 1855-56 40 31 28 25 1865-66 16 12 13 11 • 1846-47 15* 15 16 14 1856-57 26 24 25 21 • 1866-67 22 ‘19* 18 16 1847-48 37 30 31 - 27 1857-58 33 26 26 23 1867-68 14 12 13 11 1848-49 rfcl CO 162 1—> oo 05 115 oc CO 142 — 108 05 Ci 672 Ol c; to o "VJ i—» o CO •VJ 342 587 . to >—» ►—» Kept for agri¬ cultural pur¬ poses. 2td P £ o ES W O. = •: i : • * : : ; • - i : : i—* to Kept for other purposes. n? “ P $3 o » <5 0* SO | 106 ki o <** 122 H* to o CO 1—> oe Cn 1—1 co ** 125 ro o â– VI 105 CO CO CO 00 o 540 144 to to 256 378 403 Or M â– vj CO Cows and Calves. o >-* o 03 05 CC : cc to or* CO CO co 00 0—i o h-* o H 00 o t—* *—* to to to Ci to 00 if- *»• *vT 00 *—* Ox Cn Horses and Ponies. Mares and their young one^, Elephants and Camels, &c. cO to 05 to <£j £v Ct 200 283 »—• 05 (£*• »—i CO to 200 174 962 471 2,405 JSJ o H-* o 230 262 862 1,018 1,250 928 »—* o> Sheep and Goats, &c. 641 690 1,113 770 483 689 333 411 00 00 524 1,188 Cl co CO V C5I JA) 'Vo 00 612 C5 -VI (—1 1 1,550 1,822 2,350 Ct Total. to t-* to : Ot : • 11 CO iA >—» o {— CO 05 o ►—» C£> Cn to CO Of co o to *e». h-* oc Carts. to Ifr- M CO to to to to to OO *VI *-» CO to CO C5 â– v! to o> oc to 05 h- 00 to VJ Crt C/T *- co Ploughs. W CD B & â–ºf DT w C5 ft 05 <55 Oi ft 00 rf^ O i ri^ •S a ?r* ft ha o o ft ft C> o to Ox 21 to 0 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 Number. Delowdi Khopodi a n ct- o' P' 33 p Nangaon Pargaon Kedgaon 1 Undaudi i Panowli Kasurdi ... Takli Bori Aindi to Names of Villages. , Aw , JL JL ^ L ” â–  11 - â–  â– _ â–  r*-* ^ < \ r A C«r 05 00 I-* ■‘si 00 <55 to § S 150 164 155 221 Cn » I—1 25 45 82 46 20 36 i—* Or C» 05 CO Houses. 110 82 to 84 82 £ qo CO to CO J2 H-* 149 211 32 50 28 33 47 21 24 36 I—1 •vj 05 05 »0 Below 15 years old. >_a t— . £ .â–º O O' 20 35 1-* ^ 5 10 128 213 kU CO C5 -If* 280 396 s CO 2 % h-» Ox CO 05 63 89 to i-k> Oc >—* CD CO Ox Above 15 old. years Males to tc to to ^ 32 59 226 222 co to 8 z 05 07 ^ On C.7 429 607 1—• Or CO CO 1—* 77 93 178 1 *—* 03 87 125 188 435 05 Total hH V, 05 *7* kt^ rf“ co to *sT Or co Co 86 1—1 I-1 00 H-k â– vj "M 1—• to ~ J 05 CO 40 22 37 98 20 22 26 40 124 Below 15 old. years > w M H > % ^ t-1 Or Crt to CO to co co 158 142 145 218 CO 03 •sj 05 ^ to 308 398 16 98 Zjx ^ 1—* h-» ^ £ 02 97 to ^ k-* 00 Married. FemlaeB yj to to (X) t— a. -25 42 to to t—• I—1 Or *— 03 tO i—1 C5 CO Cn 05 st 1—■ CO Or CO to co 1—1 36 131 t-i 0 .7 1- CO 115 269 84 123 CO j? tt Ot to Total. »—> lb* 5! to i—• O Cn H-* *M rf*- ' CO CO -si 05 tfs- CO to 0 1,034 1,208 810 1,131 to k-> 00 v-> ^ 't 150 194 ~st 258 171 248 339 830 10 Total of and 9. Columns 6 21G 061 fO *- o< CO CO »—* 207 205 400 163 609 er- Cn 382 320 M -vj oo o CO 00 CO 2 267 9-+ CD > Cl t-> 434 H-* Cl M h-» Kept for agri¬ cultural pur¬ poses. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle. : • » 2 * : i : : : • : : : i i i : • • t—* to Kept for other purposes. H-* 358 to Or to to I-* o to 318 262 306 Cl -Vi CO «*â–  o 235 283 123 s i£- O to i—* i—* oo t— to â– M 103 CO Cl 316 >-* QO GO I—4 CO Cows and Calves. *—» 20 ►—» s : CO CO Or CO H-* Cn Cl Ci Ci CO o 42 to t—• CD O 00 Cl CE £>• CO to CO 00 14 She-Buffaloes and their young ones. JO CO *- IO to h-4 Or â–  to â– NJ CO o 00 I—* o -4 Ox CO t—* Cl CO i—* o Cl CO k-3 â– S »-* Cn Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. 220 I—* to Ol VI • 160 347 197 270 381 ‘ CO CO *-« 154 VJ Ox Or O 1,045 ©7 k-i CO 220 268 423 80 1,290 I it- t-> Cl Sheep and Goats, &c. 1—• rO h-* to Ox o co «<* *» 00 CO 03 ^or *—• 00 CO to 00 CO o >5- --* h-> 00 Carts. *• CO t-* CD O o W Ifk. 03 o *-* Or *0 cn >-» Cl CO to * ' H—* to ♦—* to 00 Cn to lr-» I—* I—1 >-• CO (-* CO »—* tt*- to t-* CO Ploughs. CO ►—1 o» o O o CO 03 *> CO 00 nj o vt*» 07 Cl OO 00 to w a> 3 to o 05 to CKJ p o 0 SJ p 03 o to to 0 3. 0 K P H o to CO 27 26 td tzj a o P' P' 0 "0 t? Oi 85' O CL, 0-> CD 3 • l to Or to t£- to 05 to to p CD VI a; *—• Or to to I—1 00 If* VI to 215 *—« t-* CO 47 VI o CO CO to 00 256 203 if* Below 15 years old. 220 ISO Ox vr Or o 1—‘ vr cn ►—* VI Oi to o ro 154 116 Or to It* Oi 121 114 291 207 94 106 Oi CO If* Oi 459 J* to •—* Cn Above 15 years old. Males. 03 00 267 00 to VI CO 312 283 1—» Ot vr h-* to VJ 221 w VI VI 104 VI 205 to Oo 506 320 141 VI Oi to Ci 715 624 Oi Total. hH n to cr> 00 to 00 â–º-* a> 111 Oi C* Oi H-* CO 05 Oi to If* If* to H—1 >—• to to w 00 171 Oi ao Cn i—1 05 -4 If* If* to Or 199 *—* t—‘ C* VI Below 15 years old. t a M i H 220 1 180 Oi o 03 to ►—1 to o 169 101 CO If* 178 101 Oi to If* If* 156 t—* to 1—* CO o CO 211 to Cn 106 Ci vr Or O 456 384 00 Mamed. B EL © GO 241 1 to IP CO 00 00 Or Or 05 o t—1 234 162 127 to tf* vr Or 00 05 Or 00 248 Or CD 474 to vr . to 146 r—< if* CO »—* H—4 -V? Ot 655 500 to Total. 628 1 Or w Crt M vr VI 128 613 Or â–º-* vj 05 >—• to to Cn 498 322 187 t4> Oi 453 352 980 Cn to to 287 319 to o vr ►— 1,370 »—* to kfr- 1—* o Total of Columns 6 and 9. 218 CO â– VI tfv CO do 104 Or 260 to 06 03 162 151 172 t—> CD 00 H* *Vf H-* 185 157 508 308 109 N-> 00 to 120 *Vf *s7 599 c. CO Cn h-‘ H-4 Kept for agri¬ cultural pur¬ poses. p w CD ^ HH O S3 «L i : i « : : i ; • : • : : i-1 to Kept for other purposes. g, PV PS co O 3 O Qj CD 1 163 CO VJ no 100 O Or 234 274 911 184 130 oo â– vj ct Or "VI â– V5 127 216 315 412 104 255 001 00 tfv 390 770 CO Cows and Calves. CO 00 vr 00 â– VJ CO to CO to i—1 00 i—* Or to CO 03 i—* H-* >-* Ox O C3 H-* CO -^r Or <0 03 to 00 Ci l-t if- She-BufEaloes and their young ones. O â–º H V to c> h-t ►—* Or Or I—1 00 1—• to 1—* 1—* to CD ce CO CD to K** Or Cn 03 â–º-* CD QC Cl 00 03 CD 1—» Cn Horses and Ponies, Mares andtheiryouug ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. 950 405 250 337 250 Ot CO o o CO VJ CD 1,200 ** 03 Cn 300 CO Cn 300 CO 00 1,500 03 CD 500 952 • to 03 Ct Cn CD 738 l-» 03 Sheep and Goats, &c. V—i Or CO to V| to ST Ox 523 827 689 009 781 1,528 842 £ 00 205 665 503 2,428 ^ 906 741 1,482 to to 00 432 1,658 2,347 Total. K> H— 00 l-J 03 h-J CD at, CD h—* rfv CO to i co o to (—* i-* to 00 to 00 03 to 03 t—‘ 00 Carts. to Cl 03 *» CD 00 to Or CO to h-> J-4 Crc to t— H-* 03 00 o •vj â–º-* oo to CD to 03 i—* o M O CD â– M 157 03 *s>» h-* CO Ploughs. to o Remarks. t—l Cx CO 148 242 270 200 4IT I—4 *vj 03 C4 CO 535 & o to 00 03 to 00 Ox to 03 1—‘ 174 VT 00 00 to Ox 268 1,346 03 Ox CO VJ 00 g o M H—4 Kept for agri¬ cultural pur¬ poses. ^W SL a n e: Wo â–  : : : : • i • ; : : * * : l—4 to Kept for other purposes. (3 tr* tS “ P p 0» tt> Pj 09 1 219 202 180 o* 189 142 208 Zr* 681 628 220 402 CO o to G"» ** 03 O 116 159 03 03 VJ 00 to Ox 839 04 Ox to >—* vt h-4 CO Cows and Calves. Q 4* CO NO o I-* CO OD to VI 00 os Cx h-4 Ox CO VJ 1—* 03 00 Ox •o >â– * C3 Ox £ o h-4 123 Ox 04 I—4 She-Buffaloes and their young ones. HJ H IT H h—1 to »—• M I—* vr co o* h-< I-* os H-4 C* Ctt to o CD I—4 h-4 a ©» I—1 CO to u Ox t3 to C3 8 00 to 130 If* to to U-l Ox Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. (—1 Or Ox o o •vi 175 s. 360 CO 04 932 602 f—1 O* CO 820 ay C4 0D 500 s C4 i—* to o 00 240 VJ ©» 1,125 1,218 h-4 Cr 642 i—* C4 Sheep and Goats, &c. Crx tfv vj 1,33*5 G4 03 Ifx- 781 772 781 1,622 1,514 1,258 t—• Ci t-fx- 00 1,349 J—> 03 Ox VJ 853 875 238 807 VJ t—1 1—* VJ Ox 00 3,439 8,169 t-1 04 VI \‘3 Pa P' s crt- £T p e—i. to 3 P B 0 GO O < p" CKJ a> CO to P p '» co Or 00 P to CO oo —* 00 05 05 OO p GO P s~a 00 03 00 cn >—* w p rfk. CO CO O Ok 9! —* to P Or Cn CO I—1 t—1 CO CO to CO 00 _V 00 05 H-> >_> 00 to to 00 p p p 00 j-* 0 p Below 15 old. years §3 • !—A 00 00 to K> Cn Cr* Or DO CO P - P C* P cc to CO 00 CO 00 p 00 o* K) Ci § Or Above 15 old. years g £- CD CO vr 2i co l_i to to V* i—i Cn CO CD to vr P CD P >-* LO '7 CO P P CO 00 CO 05 GO p to • 05 CO cc p p VT to 0 cc p C5 05 » w â–  jV © 00 t—» -VI P Or Ct CO p p VI CD 00 VS to t© 00 c> 0 c. to P P -vj 05 O CO 03 CO 03 05 p CO C5 0 to p 0 0 00 Married. â–º a H CO —. Or GO _ to S § 00 o° 05 p p to op 0 00 p 9i CO co p cc 03 tO 05 03 I—* p P 05 O 03 1—* P 00 P CO p P 0 CO P co Total. 1—* “ CO P to P to P “oo 9> 0 p *-*• to 03 kP ►—1 0 to CO 00 to O P •sj c.-y CO O O 03 CO CO CO 03 O VI 03 P I—1 OO O O CO I-* P P CO CO p 0 Total of and 9. Columns 6 222 o ^ -5 CO © t£v 135 to •VI tfk- 909 727 210 163 572 to © -VI 395 245 262 o* »—* Ox >—* © © vj t—1 H-l vj © © © h-* Kept for agri¬ cultural pur poses. a p ^ e ® *- wg : : J : : : : : • : 1—‘ to Kept for other purposes. & ^ R5 od SIsp O B CD Q, 00 ^ CO Or Or 05 o to â– VJ h-* 406 vj CO to o VJ t—» Or O 392 *398 263 213 t—* Or vj Or , © to 199 © to 1—‘ to © co © k-J CO Cows and Calves. a > CO o CO J—* CO tfk- CK l—» to 00 h-» 1—* to © 1—' vT to tfv VI CO 1—‘ © CO Ox © to to h-» She-Bulfaloes and their young ones. » : to 1—* o CO CO o Or 1—* o © to h-* to H—* © © to Ctt to *»- CO to © © i—* (fv © CO ti- 1—* . Or Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. , iO GO CO 1—* o o 300 388 : 1,250 C5 o to t—< 00 3,125 © © © 1,319 co i—> Or 270 664 Or © © © 203 CO h~* h—J © Sheep and Goats, &c. 393 230 508 to vj to 1,152 JO ~© Or O 399 572 4,301 1,569 2,033 00 CO VI vj Or © 1,995 567 249 534 ‘ro I—* VJ Total. to o 116 05 00 to o CO • © CO to to CO â–º-* Or t—* © to © © (—> (—* VJ : ' © © Carts. â– VI to i—* vj *—* o CO o CO o h-» 05 O’! © © to CO h-» Ox »—* to 1—* £ i—* CO h-1 o (-1 © © t-* © Ploughs. to © Remarks. 223 N.B. —The red-ink figures show the 224 b 209- W. W ADDINGTON, Lieufc.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. ox y“ *0,0)61^19 S OO CO CO o ik o h tn ►—» r—1 Kept for agri¬ cultural pur¬ poses. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle. t i—* to Kept for other purposes. 362 124 360 335 15,676 10,770 I—1 CO Cows and Calves. 27 6 21 19 1,716 1,159 1-* £*â–  She-Buffaloes and their young ones. 61 23 28 126 1,900 1,427 1—‘ Or Horses and Ponies, Mares and their young ones, Elephants and Camels, &c. V £ a> co ® g w § o g l-> Oi Sheep'and Goats. 7,124 58,318 h-1 Total. 8 21 52 79 410 1,263 h—1 00 Carts. 21 18 27 22 1,233 1,485 1-* CO Ploughs. to o Remarks. The following comparative Statement exhibits the results of the new and former Survey of 48 villages of Bhimthari Taluka shown in detail under the same heads ;— Government Land. Alienated Land. Roads, Tanks, &c. Grand Total. Culturable assessed. Uncultur- able. Gairan Kuran. Total. Cultur- able. Uncultur¬ able. Total, According to present Survey. 1,88,795 16,886 ( Gairan \ \ .11,885 j 2,20,712 13,835 909 14,834 9,077 2,44,623 According to former Survey 1,66,502 28,022 ( 3,146 ) Kuran 2,867 1,97,391 •' 12,623 1,859 14,472 ... 2,11,863 Increase... 22,293 ... 12,164 33,321 1,212 • •• 362 9,077 32,760 Decrease... ... 11,136 ... ... ... 860 • •• ... Note.—The great decrease in unculturable area is due to much that was formerly deducted as “ Kharab” having since been brought under cultivation, and the large increase in “ Gairan and unassessed” and in “roads, tanks, &c,” is owing to the Gairan, and roads, tanks, &c., not having been measured or brought to account in the former Survey, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment. 226 MEASUREMENT TEST STATEMENT. Names of Assistants. ♦ No. of Fields tested. Fields .in which the percentage error was within Above 10 per cent. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Captain R. Wallace ... ... ... Lieutenant T. M. Ward ... Mr. J, R. Gibson ... ... ... ... , j 745 52a 144 39 16 7 : 3 3 .2 1 2 2 W. WADBINGTON, Lieut,-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment' CLASSIFICATION TEST STATEMENT. to to -4 * Result. Names of Assistants. No. of Fields Errors within tested. 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. W. M. Fletcher Mr. J. W. Young j 705 118 1 223 192 40 ' 25 4 2 1 ... W. WABBINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment. 228 No. 166. To E. MILLS, Esquire, Collector of Poona. Sir, I have the honour to transmit with this letter a report by Lieutenant Nash, proposing rates of assessment for the Kurkumb Petha of the Bhimthari District, and to request the favour of your laying the correspondence before Government with all possible despatch, in order that the new settlement may be introduced at the ensuing Jam&bandi, a measure called for as well by the depressed circumstances of the cultivators, as to fulfil a promise made to them by the Assistant Collector in charge, Mr. Mansfield, and repeated upon various occasions by Lieutenant Nash. 2. The latter officer’s report is so full and explicit as to call for few observations from me, and I shall, therefore, confine my attention as much as possible to the few points oh which we differ in opinion. 3. The taluka of Bhimthari, as you are well aware, is a long and narrow belt of country, lying principally along the left bank of the Bhima Eiver, and stretching from the neighbourhood of Poona to the confines of the Indapur District. It is at present, as described in the 2nd para, of Lieutenant Nash’s report, com¬ prised under two divisions, which differ greatly in regard to climate; that of Pimpalgaon, under the Komavisdar, and forming the western portion of the district, enjoying a much more certain and abundant supply of rain than the Eastern Division, under the Mahalkari of Kurkumb. The climate, soils, and productions of the latter are in every respect similar to those of Inddpur, and the -settlement of it alone forms the subject of the present correspond¬ ence. 4. The deplorable state of this portion of the pergunna is strikingly described by Lieutenant Nash, who yet feels himself at a loss to convey an adequate idea of the poverty and desolation which appear to be the prevailing characteristics of every village. You have visited this district, and from your own observation will be able to state that his description is in no degree overcharged. My limited acquaintance with it has impressed me with a belief that no part of the Poona Zillah has suffered so severely from the accumulated horrors of pillage, famine, and disease. 5.Under our management it appears to have recovered little, if at all, from the effect of these calamities; and even now, little 229 more than a third of the arable land is cultivated, while the net receipts of Government have not in any one of the two last years, as appears from Lieutenant Nash’s 16th paragraph, exceeded 16,000 rupees : all this betokens a state of abject poverty; and with the view of fostering and developing the resources of a country so situated, the demands of (government cannot be too much reduced. 6. In proposing a settlement Lieutenant Nash has, in my opinion, *very judiciously adopted the Inddpur rates for its basis, “ as these have received the sanction of success, and their fairness is no longer matter of conjecture. ” The climate, soils, productions, and practice of agriculture are exactly alike in both districts, and the only advantage enjoyed by Kurkumb consists in its greater proximity to Poona, which affords it some superior facilities for the disposal of its surplus produce. These, however, have hitherto been so limited as to have caused little or no difference in the prices of corn, which for the last twenty years have averaged much the same in both districts ; a fact at first sight difficult to be accounted for, but of which a correct explanation is, I believe, afforded by Lieutenant Nash in his 11th paragraph where he refers it “ to the tortuousness of the channels of traffic, caused by the old transit duties, and the tendency they had to create minor markets in the districts where grain was first carried before being despatched to the place of its eventual consumption. ” 7. This impediment to the natural course of traffic having now been removed, I see no reason to doubt that: the price of grain will average higher in Kurkumb than in Indapur, Mr. Nash cal¬ culates, on the supposition of this being regulated by the Poona market alone, that grain would fetch about one-sixth more in the former than in the latter place; but is of opinion that the real increase would not amount to more than a ninth or tenth, owing to the outlet afforded by inferior and neighbouring markets, such as Bardmati and Phaltan, with respect to which Indapur is equally well situated with Kurkumb. 8. These markets certainly tend to equalize the price of pro¬ duce in both districts, and probably do so to the extent described; but Lieutenant Nash is further of opinion, in which I am unable to coincide, that the advantage gained by Indapur upon occasion of a demand created by a scarcity in any of our eastern districts in conjunction with those already alluded to, would equalize prices so far as to make any possible increase of the rates on their account too minute to be worthy of regard. I believe that scarcities rarely, if ever, occur in our eastern districts, in which Indapur itself does not participate; but, even in such an event, there is every probability that the requisite supply would be obtained from some of the Nizam’s districts over the Balaghdt, where rain is 230 usually plentiful and grain cheap; any advantage, however, which Ind&pur may have in this respect is, I think, more than counter¬ balanced by the greater proximity of Kurkumb to Poona, which will always secure for its produce a greater effective demand in that .market: in other words, a larger proportion of the surplus produce of Kurkumb, than of Indap ur,, will annually find its way to Poona. 9. Upon a consideration of the small, if any, difference of price between the produce of Inddpur and Kurkumb, andf the necessity in making some limit to change, Lieutenant Nash, in his 15th paragraph, proposes that the, rates of the former district bo also made those of the latter. He argues further that there would be an appearance of inconsistency (vide the same paragraph) in in¬ creasing the rates by any percentage less than the average difference of value of the several varieties of soil used in our system of classifi¬ cation, inasmuch as the difference of rate caused by referring a doubt¬ ful soil to one or other of two adjoining classes would affect the rent more than the proposed increase. He, therefore, suggests a rule, “ that where a possible increase in the rates will not affect any of them by the average of their differences among themselves such increase should not take- place.” 10. I feel myself unable to acquiesce in the force of this reasoning, or to. recommend the adoption of the foregoing rule, as it appears to me that the propriety of making a proportional increase of the rates rests upon entirely distinct grounds from any consider-, ations connected with the classification. As the question is some¬ what technical, I shall endeavour to illustrate my meaning. For purposes of convenience, and believing greater accuracy to be unattainable, we refer every discription of soil to. one of nine classes, which, according to the Indipur rates, differ in value among them¬ selves by an average of 33 reas : this, then, may be considered the average allowable error in our system of classification, or the differ¬ ence of assessment that would be caused by referring a particular soil to one or other of two adjoining classes, and is the amount by which the value of some soil must be affected before any increase can take place according to Lieutenant Nash’s rule. To fulfil this condition would require an increase of 11 per cent in the Indapur rates. But the question of an increase or diminution of the rates ought to depend ceteris paribus on the average price of grain; and assuming Inddpur as a standard, if we ascertain that in a neigh¬ bouring district this price differs, and is likely to continue to do so from permanent causes, it would appear desirable, to ensure equality of assessment, to make a corresponding difference in the rates, even if it fall far short of the above-mentioned limit of 11 per cent. Such an increase or decrease, being proportional, could not affect the 231 relative values .of tlie different classes of soils among themselves, or any way increase or diminish, the chances of error inseparable from our system of classification. 11. Without some limit to a change of rates, this, as Lieute¬ nant Nash observes, would be required for every village between Poona and Inddpur; but even in this case the objection does not apply to the change itself, but to the difficulty, or rather impossibility, of discovering what it ought to bo without incurring more expense and trouble in the inquiry than the object when gained would repay. I think that the most natural, as well as consistent, rule' would be to make a change in the rates upon passing from one taluka or one division of a taluka into another, when the average price of produce in the districts in question is ascertained to differ. 12. From the river Bhima, where it bounds Indapur on the east, to. the western extremity of Kurkumb, in the direction of Poona, is a distance of 50 miles, and as the price of produce along the whole of this line is chiefly regulated by the latter market, there must be greater difference at the two extremities than would make it desirable to comprehend both under the same rates. Another objection to making the Kurkumb rates the same as those of Indapur, is the more marked inequality of assessment that would be experienced in the border villages of the two divisions of the Bhimthari Taluka on. the introduction of increased rates into Pimpalgaon. 13. Taking these objections into consideration, and believing that the price of produce will always average at least one-tenth higher in Kurkumb than in Indapur, I am induced to recom¬ mend an increase of 10 per cent upon the rates proposed by Lieute¬ nant Nash. I do so with some hesitation, as being in some degree at variance with his and Mr. Mansfield’s opinion ; but it appears to me that such a difference would only be just to the ryots of Indapur, while it would secure equal advantages to those of Kurkumb, and form one step in a regular gradation of assessment for the several talukas of the collectorate according to their respective advantages. 14. I defer the consideration of the period of the present settlement until my report upon the completion of the Pimpalgaon Division; but, before closing this letter, would beg to direct your attention to Lieutenant Nash’s concluding paragraph, wherein he states his anxiety for an early sanction of the rates, to enable him to complete the tedious calculations of the assessment yet to be made, 232 so as to. be prepared for the introduction of the settlement at the next Jam&bandi. I have the honour, &c., (Signed) G. WINGATE, Superintendent of Revenue Survey, Camp Wairag, 17th November 1838. P.S.—Since writing the above I have received a private com¬ munication from Lieutenant Nash, mentioning that he has no objec¬ tion to such an increase of rates as I have proposed, and that he does not conceive Mr. Mansfield will either; under which circum¬ stances I trust the delay of any further reference will be avoided, and that the settlement proposed will in like manner meet with your support. (Signed) ’ G. WINGATE. To GEORGE WINGATE, Esquire, Superintendent of Revenue Survey, Bembla. Sir, Having every hope of completing its survey and classification in the course of two months, I take this early opportunity of addressing you on the subject of the rates to be introduced in the Kurkumb Petha of the Bhimthari Pergunna, in the hope that their early determination and sanction will permit them to be made the basis of the Jamdbandi of the petha for the present year. This measure was promised to the ryots of the district many months ago, and they were thus induced to bring a large quantity of waste land into cultivation. I, therefore, trust that, notwithstand¬ ing the more important considerations at present occupying the attention of Government, a speedy decision on this subject will secure the ryots from disappointment, and Mr. Mansfield and myself from the pain of having excited hopes we cannot fulfil. 2. The climate and products of the two divisions of the Bhimthari Pergunna are essentially different. The Pimpalgaon division of this long, narrow district lies in the vicinity of Poona, enjoys in general a considerable fall of rain, produces bajri, and is in the very neighbourhood of the greatest grain mart in the country. The climate and products of the Kurkumb Petha seem in all things to resemble those of Inddpur; scanty, uncertain rain is the character of climate; and jow&ri is the grain principally « 41 233 cultivated. Such being the case, it is obviously impossible to assess the two divisions fairly by the same rates. 3. I shall address you on some future occasion regarding the rates I propose for the Pimpalgaon division, confining my remarks for the present to the assessment of the Kurkumb Petha. 4. I am at a loss how to convey the idea of poverty and ruin which I have perceived during my few months’ residence here. A passing traveller observes little of it, and even a resident, unless he be fond of inquiring into the history of past times, will not under¬ stand it in its fullest extent. The plundering march of Holkar’s army through this part of the Deccan in the beginning of the present century, and the dreadful famine which was its follower and consequence, are the earliest calamities to which the people refer. The desolation produced by these two events is looked back upon with horror. The country had scarcely time to recover in some measure its former prosperity, when it passed into our hands, and suffered another severe misfortune in the alteration of the price of produce caused by the destruction or despersion of the Mahrdtta cavalry. 5. Following our seizure of the country, and connected in the superstitious opinions of the natives with it, came the cholera, a dreadful and active assistant to the other causes of depopulation and ruin. The deaths from this cause in the village where I am now pitched, in the three years following the exile of the Peishwa, were 460. The village may in those days have contained 1,000 inhabit¬ ants, though their number is now much less. To the above I may add the two or three minor famines which have occurred within the last twenty years, and especially that of (Fasli) 1234, as fruitful causes of misery and poverty. 6. These are the principal causes of the present deplorable condition of the pergunna. I will now endeavour to describe a few of the most obvious of their effects. The Government arable lands in the pergunna measure 1,91,000 acres; of these 1,06,000, or consi¬ derably more than one-half, lie uncultivated, and a portion of this is covered with thick thorny bushes, which it will be difficult to era¬ dicate. The village walls are crumbling and falling, and, within them, for one inhabited house two may be found in the last state of desolate decay ; of many the very ruins have disappeared, and vacant yards alone remind one of their former existence. 7. For the last eight years the aggregate nominal rent of the small portion of land under cultivation has been much within seven lakhs of rupees ; the balances recorded in this period amount to more than half a lakh, and the remissions to very nearly two. B 209—d 8. These are facts which admit of no doubt: the testimony of the pergunna records, and the observations of all those who have ever had the curiosity to enter and examine the villages, may be appealed to in their proof. My intercourse with the people has only produced deeper convictions of their misery and poverty ; but as opinions thus formed do not admit of immediate proof, I forbear to press them. 9. If I have succeeded in describing the present state of the pergunna, no one can avoid feeling the anxiety I do myself, that the most prompt and effectual remedies should be applied to its present miserable condition. I am aware that there is much that does hot admit of immediate alteration, and that it is only in part that a low and equitable assessment effects the end. But it is one of the means, and the one which is peculiarly our'province ; and I trust that, in considering the proposed rates, their ultimate object will not be forgotten. 10. The Indipur rates have received the sanction of success, and their fairness is no longer a matter of conjecture ; that, wherever practicable, they should be made the-basis of other set¬ tlements, would seem more wise and prudent than building upon fresh foundations. The soil, the climate, the methods of agricul¬ ture, all correspond in the Kurkumb Petha with those in Ind&pur. The price of grain during the last eighteen years seems to have been affected by the same causes, and to have been very nearly the same in amount. The same famines have occurred here and there, and the same seasons of plenty. 11. The Kurkumb Petha is situated on the Poona side of the Indipur Pergunna. But yet, as I before observed, for the last eighteen years the Indipur prices have differed very little from those here. This is a fact somewhat difficult to be accounted for, and can, I think, only be referred to the tortuousness of the chan¬ nels of traffic, caused by the old transit duties, and the tendency they had to create minor markets in the districts where grain was first carried before being despatched to the place of its eventual consumption. 12. Besides Poona there are many other places in the neigh¬ bourhood where much grain is consumed ; some are equally distant from the Indapur Pergunna and the Kurkumb Petha, such as Phaltan ; and with - regard to some, Indipur is more favourably situated, for instance Birimati. These circumstances must tend to lessen the fixed difference in price, which it is to be expected will result, now the transit duties are taken off from the difference in the distances at which Indipur and Kurkumb are situated from the capital. 235 13. Supposing the price of grain to be regulated by the Poona market alone, I have calculated that it will fetch here about one- sixth more than it will in Ind^pur. It is difficult to say how much this portion should be lessened for the same reasons I have above noticed, but it would probably reduce the sixth to a ninth, or a tenth. 14. In fixing the Kurkumb rates with reference to those of Ind&pur, there is still another contingency to be taken into consideration. Every' now and then it will occur that the great demand for the grain will be in some other than in the Poona direction. A failure of the crops about Shol&pur, Bdrsi, or any of our more eastern districts will give Indapur the advantage in point of prices. For this reason a still further reduction must be made in the proportion I have above mentioned. 15. This will, reduce any possible increase to the rates so much as to make such increase too minute to be regarded, and I, therefore, propose that the Indapur rates be those of the Kurkumb Petha also. To increase the rate on 2nd black by 20 reas, or 10 pies, when at the very time land is classified under the color, there is a doubt whether it should not be entered as 1st black, which is assessed at 60 reas, or 30 pies more highly, or as 3rd black which is assessed at 70 reas, or 35 pies more highly, would surely have an appearance of inconsistency. There must be a limit to changes in the rates, or they would have to be changed for every village on the road from Poona to Inddpur. And as we have a known limit of difference in one department of our operations, it would perhaps be not unadvisable to fix the other with reference to it. It might, perhaps, be laid down as a rule that, where a possible increase in rates will not affect any of them by the average of their differences among themselves, such increase should not take place. 16. I have endeavoured, in the foregoing part of this letter, to show how urgently the condition of the people require some change in the assessment of this district, and in doing so I have referred to facts, which will make it obvious 'to all that the interest of Government also makes such an alteration necessary. I shall now state my reasons for believing that the introduction of the Inddpur rates in the Kurkumb Petha will increase and not dimmish the Government revenue. After introducing the new assessment in Inddpur, but one-seventh of the pergunna was allowed to be unploughed, the rest being cultivated at an average rate of rather more than 5 annas per acre. There is no reason why cultivation should not, in the course of two or three years, extend in the same manner here ; and since the nature of the soil is the very same, the average rate per acre, from the same rates, must be the same 236 also. The Kurkumb Petha contains 81,861 acres ; 70,000 of these, at 5 annas per acre, will produce a revenue of upwards of 21,000 rupees per annum. For the last two years (the only two for which I have any returns showing the accounts of the petha separately from those of the subha) the Government receipts were in the one 16,000, in the other only 15,000 rupees. 17. Before concluding, I must mention one more fact which has engaged my attention in coming to a decision as to the rates I should propose. In the two years’ accounts of the Kurkumb Petha which are forthcoming,* I find that in the average 31,339 acres were cultivated out of 81,461 : this quantity, of course, con¬ tained all the best and but little indifferent land. For the same two years, in the Indapur Suba (the new rates had been introdu¬ ced into the petha, which I, therefore, exclude from the comparison), 72,400 acres were cultivated out of about 1,20,000 : this portion contained all the good lands, but must, of course, have contained a considerable quantity of inferior land to that cultivated at the same time in the Kurkumb Petha, as the relative proportions of the cultivated and waste lands render evident. The Kurkumb land paid on an average 8 annas per acre, the Indapur 5^. Now, tak¬ ing into consideration that I found much of the good land very fairly assessed in the Indapur Subha by Mr. Giberne’s scale, by which a portion (in many instances a half) of the survey assess¬ ment was put in “ Takub,” or suspension of payment, and that at the same time every farthing that was obtainable was exacted from the people here, and considering -also the relative propor¬ tions of the cultivated and waste lands as above noticed, I think the small difference in the average payment per acre indicates a great similarity in the capabilities of the two districts between which I have made the comparison. 18. I trust my explanation of the grounds on which I pro¬ pose introducing the Indapur rates in the Kurkumb Petha may prove satisfactory. Mr. Mansfield and myself in concert last year, relying on the tone of the instructions given by Government, and anxious to anticipate the benefits about to be conferred by an im¬ mediate impulse to the extension of cultivation, promised the as¬ sembled ryots of many of the villages that a reduction of assess¬ ment similar to the one that had been made in Indapur, should be made here, and should be carried into effect before the ensuing Jamdbandi. These promises I have repeated in every village I have visited, and the increase of cultivation has been considerable. * The Kurkumb Petha was separated from the Subha 1245 Fasli; the ac¬ counts before that time were not kept separate. 237 I trust, that an early sanction of the rates will enable me to com¬ plete the tedious calculations of the assessment which have yet to be made, so as to enable us to carry, our promises into effect. I have the honour, &c., (Signed) A. NASH, Assistant Superintendent Revenue Survey. Camp Kurhumb, 2nd November 1838. No. 3338 op 1838. To The REVENUE COMMISSIONER. Sib, I have the honour to hand up an original letter. No, 166, dated 17th instant, from Lieutenant Wingate, Superintendent of the Revenue Survey in the Deccan, and of its accompaniment from Lieutenant Nash, respecting the assessment of the Kurkumb division of the Bhimthari Taluka. I concur with the opinion expressed in the 2nd paragraph of Lieutenant Wingate’s report, respecting the soil and climate of the Kurkumb division resembling the district of Indapur. I have been frequently in the taluka, and am sensible of the truth and justness of the general observations made by Lieutenant Nash, of the misery and wretchedness which is apparent in almost every village which I have visited in the division. It is not necessary that I should follow Lieutenants Wingate and Nash through all the arguments they have used in favour of the rates they have respectively proposed. I have always consi¬ dered the rates established in Ind&pur very low, and, concurring generally in the observations made and the arguments brought forward by Lieutenant Wingate, I would recommend the adoption of his suggestion, that there should be an increase of 10 per cent on the rates proposed by Lieutenant Nash, who himself also concurs in Lieutenant Wingate’s opinion. May I request to be favoured with the early decision of Govern¬ ment. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, (Signed) RICHARD MILLS, • * Collector. Poona, 2&ih November 1838. 238 No. 4619 of 1838. T. D. Revenue. To J. VIBART, Esq., Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 2677, dated the 29th ultimo, with reports from the Superintendent Revenue Survey in the Deccan, and Lieutenant Nash, on the pro¬ posed assessment of the Kurkumb division of the Bhimthari Taluka. 2. In reply, I am directed by the Honourable the Governor in Council to observe that the only grounds apparent for making any distinction between the rates of Indapur and those of the Kur¬ kumb division, are the manner in which the price of produce is likely to be affected by the comparative position of these two tracts of country in reference to a market. In other respects, in the nature of the soil, the uncertainty of the monsoon, and the poverty of the ryots, no difference is discernible ; and it is admitted that hitherto, whatever may have been the cause, the prices of grain have been the same in both. 3. Lieutenant Wingate argues that the proximity of Kur¬ kumb to Poona will, now that all restrictions in the free transit of grain are removed, give that division an advantage over Ind&pur; and on this he founds his reasons for recommending that the rates be raised 10 per cent above those assessed on lands of similar fertility in the latter taluka. Another argument seems to be, that, as the rates of the western or Pimpalgaon division of Bhimthari must be increased above those of Indapur, this increase would be too abrupt were Ind&pur and Kurkumb assessed alike ; Kurkumb he would have as a step between the low rates of Indapur and higher rates of Pimpalgaon. 4. From the postcript to Lieutenant Wingate’s letter of the 17th ultimo, the Governor in Council observes that Lieutenant Nash, though he first proposed the introduction of the Indapur rates, does not object to the increase suggested by Lieutenant Wingate. This circumstance is not adverted to by you, though the Collector alludes to it, and supports the proposition for increase. 5. It would have been satisfactory to Government to know the difference between the expense of transport from Indapur and from Kurkumb to Poona both before and since the abolition of transit duties, and it might, perhaps, explain the admitted equality 239 of prices. As, however, the locality of the district forms the basis of the proposition for increase, the Governor in Council concludes that point has been considered. 6. Under all the circumstances the Honourable the Governor in Council has determined in acceding to Lieutenant Wingate’s recommendation. It must be remembered that all our procedings in revising the assessment in the Deccan are but experimental; and that, while it will be easy to reduce rates if found on trial to be too high, it is a difficult and always an unpopular measure to increase them if found to secure to Government less than its fair dues from the land; such a proceeding would naturally lead to discontent, and a want of confidence in the permanency of the measures of Government. I have, &c., (Signed) L. R. REID, Acting Chief Secretary. Bombay Castle, 24th December 1838. To GEORGE WINGATE, Esq., Superintendent of the Revenue Survey. Sir, In proposing rates of assessment for the Pimpalgaon division of the Bhimthari Pergunna, and requesting that they may be for¬ warded with a recommendation for the early sanction of Govern¬ ment, I must make use of the same arguments for a prompt deci¬ sion on the subject as were adduced last year in addressing you on the subject of the Kurkumb rates. The ryots in the district, on the understanding that the new rates would be introduced at the ensuing Jamabandi, have, re¬ tained lands under cultivation which they would otherwise have abandoned, and have also brought large quantities of waste land under the plough. The postponement of the promised relief would retard the progress of the reviving cultivation of a district in which upwards of one-half of the land was out of cultivation when the survey operations were commenced last year, and. I should find myself in the painful condition of having excited hopes that are not fulfilled. 2. In my letter of the 3rd November 1838 I stated that “ the climate and products of the two divisions of the Bhimthari Pergunna are essentially different; that the Pimpalgaon division of this long,- narrow district lies in the vicinity of Poona, enjoys in 240 general a considerable fall of rain, produces bdjri, and is in the very neighbourhood of the greatest grain mart in the country whilst the climate and products of the Kurkumb Petha seem in all things to resemble those of Indapur—scanty, uncertain rains being the character of the climate, and jowdri the grain principally culti¬ vated ; and in accordance, with this difference in climate and pro¬ ducts it was proposed to consider in separate reports the rates which should be imposed in the two divisions, Pimpalgaon and Kurkumb. 3. In the same letter, rates were proposed for the Kurkumb Petha, which were recommended to Government with some modi¬ fications by yourself and the Revenue Commissioner, and met with their sanction. Of their effect in giving satisfaction and increasing cultivation I shall report on the completion of the sur¬ vey and assessment of the district. At present I shall confine myself to completing the duty of proposing rates for the pergunna by recommending such as seem to me equitable for its remaining or Pimpalgaon Division. 4. With regard to the necessity of reduction in the assess¬ ment, I need only refer to . my before quoted report of the 2nd November 1838. What is stated there of the Kurkumb, is equally true of the Pimpalgaon division of the pergunna. The plundering of Holkar’s army, the famine which ensued, the alteration in the value of money and the ravages of cholera, have all combined for the injury of the district. Their effects are visible in the falling out of cultivation of more than one-half the pergunna, in the ruin of the villages, in the accumulation of balances, and in the constant necessity for remissions. I need only repeat what I wrote last year; for it was equally true of the pergunna in all its parts. In the report above mentioned fuller information will be found on the points I have here recapitulated. . 5. In the Kurkumb Petha, where the climate was the same as that of Indapur, the grain cultivated the same, it was merely necessary to compare the prices in the two districts of the grain common to both, and to increase the assessment in proportion; under the same circumstances the same system, I believe, has been fallowed in Mohol and M4dha. It has now to be considered what rates are to be imposed in a district differing from Indapur in climate and products, an inquiry which is involved in some little obscurity. 6. It may be necessary to state that in this part of the Bhimthari District, and hence westward, the rains in the early part of the monsoon and during the four monsoon months are more plentiful, certain, and regular than those in Kurkumb, Indapur, 241 and thence eastward towards the Bdleghdt; but that, as if to coun¬ terbalance these advantages, the districts towards Poona share but slightly and uncertainly in an after rain, which generally'falls in October and November in Indapur and its neighbouring districts, and which coming from the eastward appears to be connected with the Madras monsoon. This difference in climate produces a differ¬ ence in the nature of the cultivation. The early rains favour the cultivation of bdjri, while the latter rains are favourable for jowari; and it often happens that, after witnessing the harvest in the neigh¬ bourhood of Poona, a traveller finds the young green crops just covering the ground in the direction of Indapur. 7. The cultivation of bdjri requires more ploughing and weeding than that of jow&rL and involves the expense of manure, which is almost unknown with its rival grain. It depends for its perfection less on the soil and more on the rain than jowd-ri, and it always produces a lesser crop. And whenever the climate admits of the cultivation of both, bdjri is the rejected grain. To make up for these disadvantages, and, as I believe, on their very account, it bears a higher price in the market; and though, as far as I can learn, not a favourite with the working-classes, in the districts all the better classes, and especially the inhabitants of Poona, show a preference for bajri. 8. The preference undoubtedly enables bajri to hold its place in the market against the cheaper grain jowdri; but that it enables it to bear a price unwarranted by the comparative expenses of its production, can scarcely be asserted in the face of the wilder¬ ness round Poona which such an enhanced price would soon bring under cultivation; on the average of twenty years bajri has been 20 per cent dearer in the town of Yewat than jowari; at the present moment it is 17 per cent dearer in Poona; and for .the last eight years it has been 17 per cent dearer in Inddpur. 9. The town of Yewat is the only considerable place of traffic belonging to the Pimpalgaon District; strictly speaking it is some¬ what further from Poona than, the central point of the pergunna ; however, as the difference is trifling, it will be considered as the sample town for the district. 10. From returns obtained from the Kumdvisddr of Inddpur the Mahdlkari of Kurkumb, the Foujddr of Poona, and a trader in the town of Yewat, the annexed tables, Nos. 1 and 2, have been constructed. They show in Poona seers the quantities of jowari and bdjri .selling at each of those four towns for one rupee dur¬ ing a part o'f February and the whole of March last. At that time the demand for coin *in Bombay caused by the “ Kattywar Famine” had produced a current in the exportation of grain which b 209—e 242 flowed towards Panwel from places as distant as Bdrsi. From the same sources also Tables 3 and 4 have been constructed; they are similar to the preceding ones, with the exception of being for the month of September last. Table No. 5 is inserted to show the comparative prices of Mjri and jowari at Ind^pur and Yewat for the seven years ending with 1886-37. 11. From these tables three comparisons may be made 1st.—The price of b4jri in Ind4pur with the price of bdjri in Yewat. 2nd.—The price of jow&ri in Ind&pur with the price of jowdri in Yewat. 3rd.—The price of jow&ri in Inddpur with the price of Mjri in Yewat. On either of these three comparisons I believe some idea might be formed of the amount of assessment which would be equitable for the Pimpalgaon division. 12. The adoption of the first would be attended with consi¬ derable difficulties; Inddpur being distant from any large market a valuable product possesses a double advantage there. It is not only more valuable in itself, but its price also is less enhanced by transport than that of a less valuable commodity; and it can, there¬ fore, be carried to a more distant market, and can enter into com¬ petition with the products of more distant places. These advan¬ tages encourage the growth of bajri, and it is difficult to say to what extent they counterbalance the disadvantages of climate and soil. The climate of Indapur is unfavourable to bdjri to a degree which requires all these counterbalancing advantages; and were rates to be fixed on the comparative prices of Mjri, it would be necessary to estimate the disadvantages of the Indapur climate as compared with the advantages of this—a comparison not easy to be made, and involving this process of calculation in difficulties which do not appear to attend on the other two modes. 12. The second comparison gives the following result:— Is*.—During February and March last, when so much grain was being taken to Bombay, the price of jow4ri was 32 per cent higher at Yewat than at Inddpur. 2nd.—During September last it was 45 per cent higher. 3rd.—During the seven years preceding 1836-37, on the average, it was 27 per cent higher. Now, on .the supposition that the increased price of Mjri is adjusted to its lesser productiveness and the greater expenses of 243 its cultivation, it does not appear to mo tliat there would be muc error in looking on these percentages as good guides for an equit¬ able increase to the rates. 14. The third comparison gives the following results 1st,—During February and March last, when so much grain was being carried to Bombay, the price^ of bajri in Yewat was 52 per cent higher than the price of jow&ri • in Inddpur. 2nd.—In September last it was 58 per cent higher. 3rd.—On the average of the seven years ending-with 1836-37 it was 44 per cent higher. Deducting from the above 18 per cent in para. 8, or about the value of the lesser productiveness of bajri, the three percentages become:— 1st 34 per cent. 2nd 40 per cent. 3rd 26 per cent. 15. Little dependence can be placed on the percentage mark¬ ed the second in the two preceding paragraphs. They are deduced from returns for one month only, and that also a month in which there is little or no traffic. For my own part I incline to take the average of seven years as my guide, and to consider 26 or 27 per cent, with a slight increase on account of the greater certainty of rain, as the maximum which can in fairness be added to the Indi¬ pur scale of taxation in applying it to the Pimpalgaon District. 16. The greater certainty of the rain, however,Joined perhaps to some property of the bajri plant, causes the soils in this dis¬ trict to approximate to each other in value, as compared with those of Indipur. There certainly is not the same difference in appearance between crops of bajri in bad and good soils as there is in those of jowirij and I am told that there is not the same difference in value: 1st Barad in Indipur is assessed at exactly one-third of 1st Black. On the average of twenty-one villages here, it appears to be assessed at the present moment in the proportion of 12 to 26, or at a little less than one-half. Yet, generally speaking^ the better land in the districts is lying waste, while the worse is in cultiva¬ tion. This is to be attributed in some measure to the poverty of the people, good land requiring greater capital to work it than bad ; but it would hardly be so general as it is if taxation were not in fault. It is, of course, undesirable that so unnatural a state of things should exist, and it would almost be better to err on the 244 other side, and assess the better soils at a lighter proportional rate than the worse. It, therefore, becomes necessary to recommend rates differing in their proportions among themselves from those of Indapur. 17. It would not be difficult to prove that, whatever may have been the after-process of calculation adopted, the fixing of the date on which to found an assessment has always depended on the judgment and knowledge of individuals : and it would be difficult to disprove the position, that the cultivators in this country* and any set of kdrkuns that can be selected, are more likely to be correct in the single estimate of what a field can pay, than in the multitudinous estimates of how many acres of each kind of soil canbe ploughed in any given time; what expense there will be in weeding each kind of soil; what crops are produced on each kind ®f soil; and all the other various facts which it has been attempted to unite by calculation so as to arrive at the required result of one equitable assessment. In England even, where many farmers keep accounts, and where the observations of many past years might be brought to the calculation, it is never attempted to fix the rent by calcula¬ tions so entangled; and in Ireland, in the valuation of estates accompanying the survey of town lands, the opinion of a com¬ mittee is the only test proposed. This system, too, of estimating at once the rent of each field, which is common over the whole globe, has produced in Ind&pur a set of rates which experience has just¬ ified, and it is on the same system that the modifications must rest which I shall propose in the proportions of the Ind&pur rates. 18. The Indapur rates and those I have now the honour to propose are as follows:— Indapur Mates, 1st Black. 2nd da- 300 240 • 3rd do. 1st Red. 2nd do. 3rd da. 175 200 130 90 1st 100 2nd 60 3rd 35 Proposed Pimpalgaon Bates. 360' * 290 220 250 175 140 160 * 100 60 In the aggregate these rates are 32 per cent higher than those of Indapur. But I think I can show that they will not in reality increase the assessment of the districts, as compared with that of Inddpur, to this extent; an example, perhaps, will render* the matter clearer than anything I could write. Let a pergunna be supposed to be divided into two unequal portions: one representing 245 its good and Middling, and the other its inferior land, and let it be assessed as below:— 20,000 acres, 1st portion @ 1 Re., or 400 Reas per acre. 20,000 10,000 „ 2nd do. @ \ Re., or 100 do. do.... 2,500 Total Rupees 22,500 Now let the assessment on the good be increased by 25 per cent; that on the bad by 100 ; the assessment will then stand:— 20,000 acres @ lj Rupee, or 500 Reas 25,000 10,000 „ @ § Rupee, or 200 „ 5,000 Total Assessment...Rs. 30,000 The aggregate of the rates (500 reas) has been here increas¬ ed by *40 per cent, whilst the assessment of 22,500 rupees has been increased by 33 per cent only ; so it is also in the present case. I propose increasing the assessment on the greater part of the land; that is, on all the land contained under the blacks and reds, by a less percentage than that on the browns; and the consequence is, that the percentage of increase on the aggregate rates is greater than there will be in the assessment itself. • 19. I shall conclude my letter by an endeavour to show what influence these proposed rates may be expected to have on the assessment and cultivation of the district, and on the revenue Government derives from it. Indapur contains 220,000 acres of land; its old assessment 2,03,000 rupees; and the Government revenue for many years had been on the average only 32,000 rupees. The average of the rates imposed by Mr. Goldsmid was 5 annas and 11 pies per acre: this reduced the assessment to 84,000 rupees; while an extension of cultivation, consequent on the reduction of assessment, increased the revenue to about 5,000* rupees, only about l-7th of the land remaining out of cultivation. In the Kurkumb Petha there are 98,764 acres of land; the old assessment on them was 70,549 rupees; the new rates averaged 6 annas 6 pies per acre, and produced an assessment of 37,004 rupees. In the Pimpalgaon division there are 123,000 acres; the new rates I have proposed average 7 annas 10 pies per acre; calcu¬ lating on the precedent of Ind4pur and Kurkumb, the assessment may be expected to vary from 57,000 to 63,000 rupees. Its old assessment is 1,16,000 rupees; the Government receipts for the two years before the revision of the survey commenced were 33,000* and 29,000* rupees; and for many previous years—for * In speaking of Government revenue, all that is paid to Hakdars, me, a consideration quite distinct from the uniform increase of assessment to be imposed on all descriptions of soil on account of better prices.. 12. To modify the Indapur rates for the district of Pimpal¬ gaon, it would be necessary, in my opinion, to increase them in the first instance by the percentage due to difference of price, and then to make a farther addition to the rates of particular soils for that due to difference of fertility; and to fulfil these conditions, on the supposition of prices averaging 25 percent higher in Pimpalgaon—- which, in a previous para., I have given my reasons for believing to be very near the truth—the rates proposed by Lieutenant Nash would require to be increased between 4 and 5 per cent,, and would be as follows, on discarding fractions under 5 reas:— 1st Black. 2nd Do. 3rd Do. 1st Red. 2nd Do*. 3rd Do. 1st Brown. 2nd Do.*3rd Do * Reas 375. 300. 230. 260. 180. 145. 165. 100. 60. If the foregoing observations are just, the slight degree in which these rates exceed those proposed by Lieutenant Nash is required to secure, as far as ascertainable, an equality of advantages to the ' cultivators of Inddpur and Pimpalgaon, and with this view I beg to recommend them for adoption. 252 13. Lieutenant Nash, in the concluding para, of his report, considers the effect of the new rates of assessment on the Govern¬ ment revenue, in which he anticipates they will shortly cause an increase of not less than ten thousand rupees per annum; while our experience of the districts already settled gives us. assurance of their exerting a yet more beneficial influence on the condition of the cultivator. 14. Following the example of Lieutenant Nash I have in this letter confined myself to the question of the rates exclusively, that nothing may intervene to prevent their early sanction, and because my opinions upon other important points connected with the assess¬ ment are already before Government, to which I think it preferable to await a reply before proposing the adoption of the measures they embrace in the case of the Bhimthari District, 15. It will be observed that nothing is mentioned by Lieute¬ nant Nash of.Bagayet- assessment, the levy of which has been suspended in the Bhimthari District for several years pdtet. The quantity of watered land being very limited in this taluka, it is most desirable to afford every encouragement to the sinking of wells, while the amount of extra taxation capable of being imposed on those now in existence would be a mere trifle, and its levy can only be recommended with the view of ensuring uniformity of system throughout the collectorate. I’shall be happy, however, to be favoured with the wishes of Government upon this point, request¬ ing only that, if made the subject of reference, it may not be allow¬ ed to delay the consideration of the present Jerayet rates, which are quite distinct, and will require sanction at an early date to admit of being introduced at the ensuing Jamabandi settlement. I have the honour, &c., (Signed) G. WINGATE, Superintendent of Revenue Survey. Camp at Kurul, 11th December 1839. No. 2378 or 1839. To The SECBETARY to GOVERNMENT, Bombay. Sir, I have the honour to forward an original letter from Lieute¬ nant Wingate, handing up the report of Lieutenant Nash, propos¬ ing rates for the assessment of the Pimpalgaon division of the Bhimthari Pergunna. 253 2. I beg to recommend the adoption of the rates proposed by Lieutenant Wingate, in the 12th para, of his letter, in preference to those proposed by Lieutenant Nash, for the reasons stated by the former. 3. Should Government be pleased to sanction the adoption of the rates proposed by Lieutenant Wingate, I beg respectfully to request that it may be communicated to me at the earliest possible period, to enable the revenue settlement of the present year'to be made accordingly, under the expectation of which Lieutenant Nash states many ryots have retained lands they would otherwise have thrown up, while others have been induced to bring waste land into cultivation. I have, &c., (Signed) P. STEWART, Acting Collector. Circuit Kutcherry, Camp at Lohogaon, 2 7th December 1839. No. 130 or 1840. To T. D. Revenue, P, STEWART, Esq., Acting Collector of Poona. Sir, I am directed to acknowledge the.receipt of your letter No. 2378, dated the 27th ultimo, handing up one from Lieutenant Wingate, Superintendent of the Revenue Survey, together with a report from Lieutenant Nash, regarding the rates of assessment to be fixed for the Pimpalgaon division of the Bhimthari Per- guna; and to inform you that the Honourable the Governor in Council concurs in those suggested by Lieutenant Wingate and the Revenue Commissioner for that division, and considers the reasons assigned by the former to be satisfactory. I have the honour, &c., (Signed) Bombay Castle, 10th January 1840. L. R. REID, Chief Secretary. 254 . No. 1636 op 1871. Camp Hyderabad, ‘28th November 1871. The accompanying correspondence relates to the proposals submitted by the Superintendent of the Poona and Nasik Survey for the re-assessment of the part of the present Bhimthari Taluka, which at the time of the first settlement was included under what were then known as the Kurkumb and Pimpalgaon divisions of the district. A separate report on the rates of each of these divi¬ sions was submitted by the former Survey Officers—Lieutenants Wingate and Nash—copies of which, together with the other cor¬ respondence on the subject, will be found appended to the present report. These papers are both interesting and valuable also for our present purpose, as furnishing an account of the state of the district at the. period referred to, 2. The Superintendent, Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington, seems to think (para. 13) that but little use can be made of them, because they do not refer entirely to the villages to which his proposals do. I cannot, however, agree with him in this; on the contrary, I consider that the information recorded as to the condition of the people and general state of the district may be taken to, be appli¬ cable alike to his villages as well as to the whole to which the former reports refer, 3. The district is represented to have been in a deplorable state at the time the first settlement operations were carried out. Lieutenant Nash represents the poverty and desolation of the country to be chiefly attributable to “the plundering march of Holkar’s army through this part of the Deccan in the beginning of the pre¬ sent century,” combined with the dreadful famine, which was the natural consequence of the pillage and ruin effected by the maraud¬ ing troops. 4. The country was still suffering from the effects of these calamities when it passed into our hands. Our rule was unfor¬ tunately inaugurated by a dreadful outbreak of cholera, which is reported to have carried off 460 people in one village out of a po¬ pulation of about 1,000 inhabitants ; and following upon this, the interval preceding the introduction of the settlement was marked with periodical famines, which by their effects materially augment¬ ed the already depressed condition of the district, 5. These, Lieutenant Nash proceeds to observe, “ are the u principal causes of the present deplorable condition of the per- “ gunna. I will now endeavour to describe a few of the most ob- vious of their effects. The Government arable lands in the per- 255 u gunna measure 1,91,000 acres ; of these 1,06,000, or considerably “ more than one-half, lie uncultivated, and a portion of this is “ covered with thick thorny bushes, which it will be difficult to “ eradicate. The village walls are crumbling and falling, and “ within them for one inhabited house two may be found in the “ last state of desolate, decay. Of many the very ruins have dis¬ appeared, and vacant yards alone remind one of their former “ existence.” 6. The Collector of the day and Lieutenant Wingate both bear testimony to the correctness of Lieutenant Nash’s account of the distressed state of the country. Misery and wretchedness are apparent, the Collector remarks, in almost every village which he had visited in the division, and Lieutenant Wingate states it to be his opinion, “ that no part of the Poona Zillah has suffered so severe¬ ly from the accumulated horrors of pillage, famine, and disease.” 7. This state of things, as shown by the Superintendent’s report, is entirely changed now: there are no waste tracts over¬ grown with low jungle, no ruined and deserted villages, and no longer misery and wretchedness amongst the cultivating classes, the great majority of whom may be said to be comfortably off. In short, it would be impossible for any one now visiting the district to realize the fact of its having, thirty years since, been in the deplorable state it is represented to be in the former Survey Offi¬ cers’ reports. 8. This improvement may be ascribed to several causes. To the establishment of a better system of revenue management lead¬ ing to the investment of capital in land; to improved communica¬ tions by the construction of roads, and,finally, of the railway; to a considerable rise in the value of all agricultural produce, and to a light assessment, the latter having perhaps been the most active agent in effecting the renovation of the district. 9. According to the information given in the 18th and 19th paras, of the report, the annual revenue of the 48 villages, calcu¬ lated on an average of the ten years preceding the introduction of the settlement, amounted to Rs. 26,661. Remissions averaged yearly Rs, 13,567, whilst the outstanding balances for the period of six years are set down at above a lakh of rupees. 10. During the first decade of the lease the collections amounted on the average to Us. 43,407, in the second they rose to Rs. 57,850, and in the third—notwithstanding a remission of Rs. 20,728 given in 1866-67—to Rs. 72,588. Comparing the results of the several periods referred to above, we find that the average collections of the last decade were:— 256 An increase of 25 per cent on those of the second decade. Ditto 67 ditto first do. Ditto 172 ditto decade preceding the introduction of the settlement. These results fully prove the financial success of the settlement, and we have next to consider its effect on the condition of the district and general re¬ sources of the agricultural classes,—in other words, to consider what increase may be made to the assessment in consideration of the improvements in these respects which have been effected during the interval of the lease. 11. Referring to the report for information on these heads we find it set forth in the statement given in para. 6, that the Population has increased at the rate of 39J per cent. Agricultural stock at the rate of ... 19 do. Cattle of other descriptions... ... 5f do. Ploughs ‘ 22-J do. Carts ... ' 270 do. ^ . In regard to other material improvements, we notice that 141 new' wells have been constructed and 59 old ones put into working order. And in para. 12 the Superintendent has furnished a state¬ ment showing the value of the occupancy right of land for sale as well as for purposes of mortgage; and we observe from this that in one case land has been mortgaged at 75 years’purchase of the assessment. Taking the whole of the given cases of sales, the average indicates a property value of 27 years’ purchase of the survey assessment; and if we apply this valuation to the whole district, the occupancy right of the land belonging to it will repre¬ sent a capital of Rs. 20,03,994, which is entirely an addition to the material wealth of the people brought about during the lease, as land had no saleable value when the settlement was first in¬ troduced. 12. But, although the resources of the people have improved to the extent indicated above, the district is nevertheless naturally poor. The soil in the lower part of it, comprising the valley of the Bhima, is certainly fertile and productive; but the upper part of it, lyipg to the south of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which runs nearly through the centre of the district, Contains a considerable extent of poor soil, a great deal of which is unfitted for cultivation, and of little value for grazing purposes either, a scanty crop of spear grass being the only herbage it pro¬ duces. 31. The country is very bare of trees. The kurans along the banks of the Bhima, as mentioned by the Superintendent, 257 contain some good babul, and some are also to be seen fringing the sides of nallabs in the black soil. They are generally to be seen too near wells* where also the nimb and pipal are occasionally met with. But there is scarcely a mangoe tope in the country. Dhe hills on the south are also very bare* the aspect of the coun¬ try being altogether exceedingly bleak. 14 Jow£ri and Mjri are the staple products, covering 35 and 43 per cent, respectively* of the whole area. Wheat and gram show only 1 per cent each, and the more valuable export products of sugar, tobacco, and cotton are represented by low decimal points in the general proportional statement of crops given in para. 4. About a tenth is also shown under the head of “ Oc¬ cupied Waste.” This includes the poor tracts alluded to in a former paragraph as unfitted for cultivation, and yielding only a slender crop of spear grass. It also includes portions of good land, reserved for grazing purposes. 15. The Superintendent alludes (para. 10) to the large pro¬ fits formerly realized by the cultivators of this district from the sale of grass to cartmen at the halting places on the ShoHpur and Poona road, and he mentions the fact of the . farm of the toll at Harapsar being now sold for Rs. 9,000 as indicating that a consi¬ derable sale of the kind still exists. He is not quite correct, however, in taking the toll at Harapsar as a gauge of the traffic through the Bhimthari District, for it also catches all the traffic along the Sassur and Diva G-hdt road, which joins the Poona and Sholapur road near that toll station. According to a return of the farm sale of the P£tas toll which I have obtained from the Collector, I find that it realiz¬ ed only Rs. 1,565 last year. P&tas being in the centre of the district, the return may be taken as fairly representing the cart traffic now passing through it along the Sholdpur road. It may be said, therefore, to be inconsiderable, and certainly much less than the Superintendent has described it to be in taking it to be indicated by the Rs. 9,000 realized by the farm sale of the Plarapsar toll. 16. In fixing his revised rates the Superintendent explains (para. 29) that the villages to the east of P£tas, extending to the borders of the Inddpur Taluk, resemble the villages of that district in regard to products and climate. They were originally assessed Indapur rate was As. 12, ^ 10 per cent in excess of the Indapur and the Kurkumb rate As. rate, and he considers that about the 13-3. The rates at that time same difference should now be maintain- Tarseb“adl LYZJ5 * »respectiverevised settlements; that is to say, 1 rupee being the maxi¬ mum rate for Ind&pur, he proposes to make Rs. 1-2-0 (equivalent b 209—g 258 to an increase of 12 per cent) his maximum for the extreme east¬ erly group bordering on the latter district. The next group of Rs. 1-4-0 comprises the other villages of that tract east of Pitas. 17.With regard to the remainder of the villages situated on Should be 25 per cent, *35 the Western side of the district, the Super- annas being the Pimpalgaon intendent states that he is of opinion and 12 the Indapur rate. that the increase of 30 per cent on the Indipur scale adopted for these villages at the former settlement is insufficient, and does not fairly represent the difference between ' f villages* distant 70 miles from Poona, r with a scanty and precarious rainfall, and villages from 20 to 30 miles from that great market, and in which the rainfall is generally sufficient to ensure a fair crop. The difference, in his opinion, should be from 50 to 75 per cent, and accordingly, keeping the Indipur revised rate of 1 rupee as his basis, he ha3 fixed Rs. 3-8-0 and Rs. 1-12-0, respectively, as his rates for the two westerly groups. 18. I consider that the Superintendent has displayed good judgment both in the manner in which he has grouped the villages, as well as in the fixing of the rates for each class. I agree also generally with him in the reasons he has given for having made his scale of rates for the westerly villages comparatively higher than that adopted by the former Survey Officers, though at the same time I am inclined to think his remarks about the rainfall are cal¬ culated to lead to the impression that they are somewhat better off in this respect than they really are. 19. In connection with this point, I would refer to the statement appended to the Superintendent’s report giving the annual registered rainfall at Poona, P4tas, and Indapur, which, on the average of the last eight years, is as follows, viz. :— At Poona 27 inches. AtP&tas 13*25 „ At Inddpur 10*4 „ This shows that at Pdtas, which is in the centre of the district, the fall is about 33 per cent more than at Indapur. . The villages, however, to which I am referring, lie to the west of Pitas in the direction of Poona, and there is no doubt they get some little of the increased fall of the former station. But it is notorious that the 27-inch fall does not extend far east * of Poona. There is a perceptible difference in 10 miles in that direction; and at 20, which takes us to the borders of Bhimthari, the change is most marked. We have no statistics for determining what the actual difference is, and what I have stated is the result of a long personal 259 experience of tliis part of the Deccan. These remarks are made for the purpose of showing that the rainfall is not certain, but on the contrary frequently insufficient to ensure a kharif crop, which, for instance, has been a complete failure in the present year. 20. The statement given in para. 32 shows the result of the proposed rates, which is as follows :—, Assessment according to proposed rates.......... Es.. 1,29,842 Ditto existing rates ... ...... 74,866* Increase, being equivalent to 73 per cent.,......,. r," 54,976 The Superintendent shows, however, that about' 20 per cent of this is due to “‘land hitherto held in excess of former recorded area ” owing to the errors of the former imperfect; survey. Allow¬ ing for this, he puts down the actual increase at 53 per cent; the rise in the price of grain and the improvement in communica¬ tions which has taken place during the interval of the lease, being the grounds on which this, addition to the former assessment is based.. 21.. In regard to the price of grain,. Statement C appended to the report gives a return of the price of jowdri and bdjri at Yewat and Poona respectively for thirty years. This statement is reviewed in full in paras. 25, 26, and 27 ; the result compiled by decades being as shown below t— (a).. For the first decade the average was 45\ and 36J seers per rupee for jowdri and bdjri respectively ; (5).. For the second it was 36 and 29 ditto (c). For the third 19 and 15 ditto ;• the prices of the last decade being an increase of. 133 and 143 per cent on those of the first decade, and of 85" and 93 per cent on those of the second decade., 22. In discussing the question as to what standard of prices should be taken as the basis of the new assessment, the Superintend¬ ent refers to the remarks of Government upon the revision set¬ tlement of the Mddha Taluka, stating that he is of opinion that the average deduced from the prices of five years from 1856-57 to 1860-61,. which Government consider should be adopted as the standard in the case of that district, is not applicable to Bhimthari, because “ the effect of the extension of the railway through the district had not been developed, the knowledge of which is so essential to- 260 guide us in forming an opinion as to probable prices in future,** He proposes, therefore, instead of the five years indicated, to take an average of ten years from 1856^57 to 1860-61 and from 1866-67 to 1870-71 as his standard of prices on which the new assessment should be based. And he then shows, taking jow&ri at 26 and, Mjri at 20 seers the rupee, that this scale of prices gives an in¬ crease of 68 and 72 per cent, respectively, on the average price of the first fifteen years of the lease, 23. I agree with the Superintendent that we ought to consi¬ der the effect that the railway has had upon prices of late years, and X certainly think that he is quite safe in taking 26, for jow£ri and 20 seers for bajri as the standard for his assessment. It will probably be some years before we shall see bajri and jow^ri selling at these rates in a district extending to within 20 miles of Poona. The stocks of grain are everywhere low, The present has un¬ fortunately been a bad season in many parts of the Deccan, and grain will have to be imported into some districts to furnish the ordinary food supply. A succession of several good seasons, will be required to. replace the stock ordinarily kept in the country ; and when we consider that the population is steadily increasing in the Deccan— 39 per cent having been added to it in this district in thirty years-—, and that there can be no corresponding increase of produce by the spread of cultivation, as every acre of arable land has for some years. been under tillage, we may safely calculate on the continu¬ ance of a high range of prices, 24. The amount of increase to be imposed is, after all, a mat¬ ter to. be regulated, not by actual calculation of results only, but by considerations of State policy. Supposing, for instance, that our deductions from the data taken for estimating the range of future prices had shown an increase of 130 to 14Q per cent, to be the difference resulting from this mode of calculation,—and such, would be the case were the comparison made on the difference between, the prices of the first and last' decade to be taken,-—I certainly should not have thought of proposing an assessment- equivalent to this scale of increase. It would be far too great a strain upon the resources of any of our districts to levy at once an increased demand of 130 per cent upon the former revenue, There will be cases of individual villages in which the assessment may be raised to. this extent under the scale of rates that we propose to adopt, but this, is the result of the low valuation adopted at the first settlement, and the increase is only what is required to place su,ch villages on a par with the other villages of the district, 25. There are remarkable instances.of this kind of inequality in the cases cited by the Superintendent in para. 34. In. o#e yil- 261 lage the assessment will be raised 120 per cent, and in another only 16. It so happened that I was out with the late Acting Su¬ perintendent (Mr. Grant) in the field, when examining the classifi¬ cation of the village of Khutbh&o, in which this 16 per cent increase occurs, and I was forcibly struck with the comparatively high standard of rates adopted at the first settlement, which was from 30 to 40 per cent in excess of that obtaining generally in the district. This great difference led to a reference to the former classification, papers, and we there found a remark in English by Lieutenant Nash to the effect that the work was not correctly done, but that he thought it better to leave it, as the upsetting of it would tend to disturb confidence in the survey operations. The result is, that for thirty years this village has been paying an assess¬ ment of above 30 per cent in excess of the ordinary rate for similar soils in adjoining villages, 26. And this disparity of rating is not confined to .villages, but will be found to extend to whole districts, owing to a want of uniformity of system in the original classification. I may mention here that the reason for the increase (78 per cent) in the M4dha Taluka, being greater than that adopted in Inddpur (58 per cent), is due entirely to the observance of a lower scale of valuation in the classification of the lands of the former district as compared with that followed in Inddpur. This circumstance was not men¬ tioned by the Acting Superintendent in his report, which is to be regretted, as it would have served to remove the misgivings felt by Government and the Revenue Commissioners as to the expediency of applying an increase to the district in question apparently so much in excess of the scale sanctioned for Indapur, 27. I may here explain that this disparity in the classifica¬ tion of different districts in the early settled collectorates is due chiefly to the plan then in force of entrusting both the measure¬ ment and classification to the same Assistant, instead of having, as in the present organization, a separate department for each branch of the survey operations, which ensures a general uniformity. Whatever increase is due to this irregularity, forms a separate item of addition as it were, being extra to the general scale of in¬ crease adopted for the district; and for the same reason, where over-valuation is met with, as in Kh'utbhdo, the village or dis^ trict, as it may be, must have the benefit of it in the general adjustment of rates at the revision settlement, 28. • What I am anxious to explain by the foregoing remarks is, that instead of endeavouring to work out in each district the precise amount of increase which should be made in consideration of the rise in prices, it will, I think, be better, considering the difficulty of procuring accurate data of the kind, to take from 5Q 262 to 60 per cent as the general scale of increase for the Deccan districts on this account, subject to such special increase or de¬ crease as may be found necessary in consequence of a high or low scale of classification having been originally adopted. It must not be understood from this that I recommend the discontinuance of the plan of giving returns of prices and showing their effect, but that I advocate a limit of 50 to 60 per cent as the extent to which we should be guided by considerations of‘the kind. If a rise to that extent has not taken place, a scale of increase below the limit would, of course, be imposed, 29, Irrigated cultivation under wells is to be left untaxed, the land being subject only to, the payment of the highest Jerayet rate. But in cases of wells constructed #or repaired during the currency of the lease, the ordinary Jerayet rate according to the quality of the soil, and not the maximum as in the former case, will alone be imposed. This is in accordance with the principle approved of and sanctioned for the Midha Taluka. The Superin* tendent. has been called upon to submit a return showing the area and assessment of well cultivation under the existing settlement, as also of the area found to be under this irrigation at the recent survey. This return will be forwarded hereafter, JO, In pathasthal lands the proposed water-rate is to range Para 38 from 6 to 1 rupee per acre ; the extent is inconsiderable, the total amount imposed under this head being only 1,187 rupees. 31, In para, 36 the Superintendent discusses the question of how the land irrigable by theKasurdi Tank should be assessed* He proposes to make the payment of water-rates compulsory, and is of opinion that this may be done by imposing them as an extra cess leviable under Section 29 of the Survey Act. The work has been constructed entirely at Government expense, and it appears to me that there is no doubt of our being authorized by law to impose a special water-rate at a general revision of assessment such as is now being extended to this village. I am aware that the Irrigation Department is opposed to the compulsory levy of water- rates, and prefers the plan of leaving the cultivators to utilize the water as they please, paying for it only in seasons when it has been used. But as this system has hitherto been a failure on all the new irrigation works of the Deccan, I think it is high time to try some other. 32. The plan that I would propose for adoption in this case, is the old native system of marking off certain lands to which the water is alone to be applied, assigning to each field or division a certain defined share of the supply. The share was usually fixed 263 by a time division under which each, field or division was allotted the use of the water for a certain number of hours at regular in¬ tervals, say of a week or ten days. The cultivator was held to be entitled to this defined supply, and if not requiring it for his own use had the right of selling or otherwise disposing of it, being liable at the same time for the payment of the water-rate assessed upon his land. The late Acting Superintendent and myself proposed to adopt this system of assessment for the Kasurdi Tank. The people approved of it. The necessary data for its introduction have been prepared, and I would beg to be allowed to give the plan a trial on this particular work. 33. My inquiries lead me to think that the system of canal management for our new irrigation works, adopted by the Irriga¬ tion Departmnt, has a good deal to do with the present reluctance of the cultivators to make use of the water. A man does not like the trouble of applying to the canal officer at a fixed date for water for a 'certain area for kharif and rabi crops respectively; and, besides, it may be said to be practically impossible for individual ryots to irrigate their land, except it happens to be on the imme¬ diate boundary of one of the main distribution channels. But if, as will ordinarily be the case, the water has to pass by subsidiary water-courses through the fields held by other cultivators before it can reach the lands of the applicants, he must either get them to join in doing the clearance of the water-courses through their re¬ spective fields, or undertake the work himself, which he cannot be expected to do. If, on the other hand, certain tracts of land are regularly set apart for irrigation, it will be the interest of the whole body to combine and keep the subsidiary water-courses in order. This plan, too, provides for a more economical use of the water than that of letting it off only to those who may happen to apply for it, as in the latter case we have a field here and there irrigated, and the water running between these detached fields subjected to con¬ siderable loss by leakage and evaporation. . 34. The people are also deterred by the fear of having even¬ tually to pay very high rates. They have heard that it is in con¬ templation in some cases to levy rates of Rs. 25 and 30 per acre for sugar-cane, and naturally they do not like to in cur the expense of preparing land for irrigation with the prospect of being even¬ tually taxed to this extent. I think it is high time for the Irriga¬ tion Department bo abandon the idea of being able to levy any such rates. All estimates based on such data are, in my opinion, utterly fallacious, and I must confess I was surprised to see the returns from the Bhokar Tank based on data of the kind. 35. My proposal is, that certain lands should be allotted for irrigation under our new canals, that a light fixed rate per acre to 264 be annually levied should be imposed on this area, and that the cultivator charged with the water-rate should have the option of using the water allotted to his field, or of disposing of it to another Cultivator; that he should thus have a right to the Water* subject to the condition of not being able to alienate it from the land to which it is allotted. Such is the system of management under* which our old irrigation works have been so successful, and I can¬ not help thinking that $ if we wish our new'works to become popu- lar and financially successful, we must abandon the system of canal management now being inaugurated; • 36. In his review of the report tbe Collector asks (para. 2) for certain information regarding duration of the iease of (6) six particular villages which the Superintendent proposes to settle ill addition to the (48) forty-eight of which the regular lease has ex¬ pired. This information will be found in the Superintendent’s ex* planatory letter appended, and it Will be seen that the introduction of the settlement is hatred in one case (village of Dhond), but that the lease in the others has properiy terminated, and that the villages can consequently be now re-assessed. Other information regarding the incorectness of the former survey has also been sup* plied in compliance with the Collector’s suggestion. 37* I am glad to find that the Collector* Mr. Oliphant, who has now had considerable experience in the Deccan, does not con¬ sider the proposed rates to be too high; There is no fear of this in my opinion; on the contrary, I feel assured that they leave a liberal profit to the cultivator* and that land will soon command as high a saleable value under the new settlement as it has done under the old. Such is already the effect of the revised settlement of Ind4pur; and, considering its position with reference to the Poona market and its superiority in point of climate, Bhimthari has, I think, been re-assessed on a more liberal scale perhaps than Indipur. 38. The report, which is dated the 12th of July, reached me through the Collector on the 31st of last month. J. T. FRANCIS, Lieut.-Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner N. D. and Sind. 265 No. 9 OF 1S72. MEMO. Camp Rahuri, 3rd January 1872. In submitting, for the consideration and orders of Government, correspondence received from Colonel Francis, Survey and Settle¬ ment Commissioner, N. D., rela- * Less one, named Dhond, not to be £jve revision of assessment in now re-assesse . 54* villages of tbe Bhimthari Taluka in the Poona Colleetorate, the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., has the honour to state his concurrence in the rates of re-assessment which commend themselves to the Superintendent of Survey, the Collector of Poona, and the Commissioner of Survey. 2. The remarks in Colonel Francis’ memorandum evince the caution with which he has considered the question of enhancement. The test for comparison of prices adopted by Colonel Waddington (vide para. 25 and his Statement C, and approved by Colonel Francis in his paras. 22 to 28) appears judiciously chosen, amd results in an increase of prices warranting the enhancement proposed to be adopted. 3. The views expressed in Colonel Francis’ 24th para, the undersigned considers particularly deserving of attention. It would be a most unsafe doctrine to announce and apply in practice that, because the staple agricultural produce had increased by a cer¬ tain percentage, the assessment would bear an increase by the same percentage. That an increase is thereby rendered admissible and desirable is doubtless established, but the measure of increase should be regulated by a number of considerations to which the experienced Survey Officers address themselves. At the same time Colonel Francis (para. 8) fully recognizes the necessity of furnishing ample information regarding prices in districts under re-assessment, which is one of the most effectual guides, though not the only one, for test¬ ing the capacity of a district for taxation for land revenue. Gov¬ ernment may, therefore, look to the subject always receiving the due attention enjoined by Government orders in the settlement proceedings in progress and shortly to be undertaken. 4. In para. 25 Colonel Francis adverts to cases of inequality in the enhancement, for which reasons are assigned, illustrating the unfair incidence of the former assessment in, at least, one ex¬ ceptional case. This evinces the great attention now required to prevent the recurrence of similar objectionable disparities, though the organization for this purpose has been improved by a separate department being employed for the different duties of classification b 209—h 266 and assessment. In the 34th para, of the Superintendent’s re¬ port will be seen some illustrations of the varying proportion of the increase. Another instance might be furnished by comparing KhutbMo, No. 19, noticed by him with Khopodi, No. 20, which immediately follows in the list, though the latter village does not give, by any means, the largest instance of percentage increase. While the average rate of Khutbhao is raised from 6 annas 3 pies to 6 annas and 8 pies, that of Khopodi; which ad¬ joins Khutbhao, is raised from about 9 annas per acre to about 1 rupee 2 annas and 8 pies. Colonel Waddington has mentioned the extreme poorness of the village Khutbhdo ; but as the two villages have the same maximum, namely, Rs. 1-8-0, it is presumed that that evenness of the quality of the land in Khopodi enables it to bear an average assessment within about one-fifth of the maximum, while Khutbhdo can only bear an average of about one- fourth of that maximum. If this be an indication of sparing the lighter lands and enhancing the assessment on those of superior quality, it will be considered by many experienced persons, especially Native Officers, an improvement in the system of apportioning the assessment, which was not sufficiently recognized by our earlier Settlement Officers. 5. Adverting to para. 20 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum, and para. 33 of the report of the Superintendent, the undersigned cannot altogether endorse the reduction of percentage enhance¬ ment claimed on account of the 22,293 acres held in excess of recorded area. Confined to the question of survey nominal rates, the conclusion is, of course, correct; but, in an extended view of the operation of the re-assessment on the whole area concerned, it would appear that the resources of the district in currency and capital receive no augmentation from the new cultivation being brought to account, and that, as regards this part of the question, the same resources only which were available to meet the 100 rupees per cent .of the thirtieth year of the guaranteed period will be available to meet the 173 per cent of subsequent years. The general capital of the district may, indeed, have benefited by the proportion' of under-assessment intermediately enjoyed, but this has been separately taken into consideration in the statistical records furnished. It should also be noted that a further enhance¬ ment of about ten per cent on the former assessment is derived from the local cess of 6’25 per centum and the proportionate per¬ centage on the increment of taxation imposed. That proportionate percentage will add 4 per cent to the figures already quoted. 6. The undersigned would also deprecate too wide an appli¬ cation of the results of purchases and mortgages of land adduced in Colonel Waddington’s 12th para. They afford a most gratify- 267 ing evidence of the value acquired by land under survey tenure in a number of cases, and of the complete success of the measures of our Government in creating rights in land which are, in their extended influence, valuable to the State as well as to the indi¬ viduals concerned; but it would be very unsafe to assume that land of all quality, and in every locality of the area under review, would command a sale value of anything like 27 times the old assessment. The subject is one of great interest and importance, and will, no doubt, receive the attentive consideration of Revenue and Survey Officers during the operation of the new leases. It appears probable that, in exceptionally favourable positions, where the profits are, from various causes, inordinately large, the enhance¬ ment of assessment will not very materially affect the profits on the transactions entered into under the former assessment, and it is possible that Colonel Francis’ anticipations regarding the pur¬ chase value of land in Ind4pur and Bhimthari may be fulfilled; but there is yet one contingency in connection with the proposed re-assessment for which the peculiar climate of that part of the Deccan demands careful consideration. 7. The comparative statements furnished by the Survey Officers show that, at least during the later years of the period of thirty years’ guarantee, notwithstanding the scarcity of the rainfall in Bhimthari, the district was so prosperous that hardly any remis¬ sions were required, except in the very bad season of 1866-67, when upwards of 25 per cent of the revenue of the 48 villages included in the diagram and statements was remitted. Colonel Waddington raises doubts whether it would not have been better to allow the revenue to stand over as a balance, to be recovered in the succeeding year. The undersigned had no personal connection with the dis¬ trict at the time ; but he shares the conviction expressed by the Collector of Poona, and “is not prepared to hold that there was no necessity for the remissions of 1866-67, which were sanctioned by Government after full consideration.’’ The season was an ex¬ traordinarily unfavourable one, and the exceptional circumstances doubtless required exceptional treatment. 8. But it would be probably admitted, even by an officer who, seeing the very light incidence of the rates generally, advocates an outstanding balance of one year being levied in the next, that this operation is, even with a very light assessment, only practicable when the nexj; season shall be a good one, and that the measure of indenting on the harvest of next season would be one of very doubtful humanity and justice after the assessment, under which the district has advanced from the lowest state of poverty and agricultural depression to the solid prosperity established in these papers, has been raised about 75 per cent. 268 9. From the above remarks it will be perceived that the undersigned is by no means convinced the new assessment, giving an average of 11 annas per acre, can be regarded as a light one in the point of view from which survey settlements have been hitherto regarded in Bombay. It is not intended to dispute the conclusion in para. 37 of Colonel Francis’ memorandum, that the rates will generally, in a district so near the Poona market and the railways as Bhimthari, leave a liberal profit to the cultivators in ordinary years, or that there will be any want of keenness 'to obtain pos¬ session of land offering special advantages; but the undersigned thinks all the authorities concerned in advocating the new rates must be prepared to anticipate difficulty about collection in a sea¬ son of failure, and to find the occupancy of the land not always the ample security it has proved of late years under the low rates in force for recovery of an instalment in arrears. These remarks in no way impugn the justness of the assessment. As will be seen from para. 20 of Colonel Waddington’s report, even with the former low assessment large remissions were necessitated in the first few years of the thirty-years’ period when the seasons were bad. The extreme severity of the drought in years of scanty rainfall will always necessitate concession of this Kind in the Deccan in a really bad ye&r; and the recent general prosperity of the district, though it may fully justify the enhancement of the assessment now proposed, should be forbearingly treated, and should.be carefully protected against such a violent strain on its progressive vitality as the retention of a last year’s balance of irrecoverable revenue on a large scale would assuredly impose. 10. There is no point of more essential importance in our revenue system, as established under the survey, than to withhold so severe a pressure as should compel even a small number of occupants to relinquish their holdings without other persons coming forward to pay more than the Government balance due. The readiness with which anything like default has been compensated by the biddings of outside purchasers of late years has been remark¬ able. If once the popular sentiment, which has in this manner sprung up, received a check by forced sales for arrears without pur¬ chasers, a reaction and depression would certainly follow, the mischievous effects of which it would be difficult to calculate. The Revenue Commissioner would, therefore, emphatically lay before Government his objection to the notion which appeals to be grow¬ ing in favour of the survey officers, that when a Deccan district has been re-assessed with considerable enhancement of rates, the revenue found irrecoverable in a year so bad as to necessitate re¬ missions should be held as an outstanding balance to be recovered hereafter. lie would strongly urge that, as sanctioned in Inddpur 269 in 1868-69, the remission should,, at least, until some experience has been gained of the effect of the revision, be absolute and final. 11. Passing to the 29th para, of Colonel Francis’ report, the Revenue Commissioner finds great pleasure in inviting attention to the application in the villages under report of the rules for assess¬ ing only at the Jerayet rate, calculated according to the quality of the soil, the area under all wells which have been constructed or restored during the currency of the lease. If any new illustration were required of the enormous benefit to the Deccan villages deriv¬ able from the encouragement of sinking wells, it would be seen at every mile of the Revenue Commissioner’s tour through the drought-stricken talukas of Ahmednagar during the past few weeks. It has often happened that the only vestige of crops over miles of good soil, ordinarily at this season covered with a fine growth of jowdri, wheat, and gram, is derived from well cultivation, the re¬ maining lands not being even sown. Where also a scanty growth is visible in better localities, the stunted stalk and withering ear are here and there, to a few acres in extent, turned into a growth which will enrich the Patel or fortunate cultivator who can com¬ mand a few floodings of water from his well. Unfortunately in the Deccan the benefits of well cultivation will always be limited because of the uncertainty of finding water, and because in years of deficient rainfall, when the well is often liable to partial failure, the irrigation so desperately needed can only be at that time im¬ perfectly supplied; but still, as an inexpensive mode of securing to a certain extent the population and the cattle from starvation in a bad season, encouragement to well sinking by the beneficent orders recently issued by Government in Resolution No. 4050, dated 22nd August 1871, which appear to have been cordially carried out by Colonel Francis in the area under review, will be regarded with hopeful gratitude by the people. 12. The return promised by the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement at the conclusion of his 29th para, will be submitted to Government on receipt. 13. The rates proposed in para. 30 of Colonel Francis’ memo¬ randum for Pathasthal -lands appear judicious, and require no remarks from the undersigned, upon the presumption that the water-supply is not under the supervision of the Irrigation Depart¬ ment. 14. In paras. 31 to 35 the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement discusses the question of compulsory assessment to the water-rate in works under the Department of Irrigation, and makes specific proposals regarding irrigation from the tank at Kasurdi 270 which, constructed in 1838, has been lately repaired by Lieutenant Buckle, R.E. 15. The Revenue Commissioner concurs with Colonel Francis, - the Collector of Poona, and the Superintendent, Colonel Wadding- ton, that, under Section XXIX. of Act I. of 1865, an extra rate on account of the water can be made compulsory on occasion of re¬ assessment at the termination of the guaranteed period, and he will not dissent from the opinion of the officers named, who all agree that the payment in the case of Kasurdi should be made compul¬ sory ; provided that precautions are taken to prevent the water rate being otherwise than fair and proportionate in its incidence. 16. But from the language of Colonel Francis’ 32nd para, it would appear that the villagers approve of the arrangement he and the late Acting Superintendent proposed to introduce into Kasurdi; and in this case, though the rate might, as a legal pre¬ caution, be rendered compulsory, there would be no reason to apprehend any unfairness in the tax. 17. The Revenue Commissioner believes that the reasons mentioned in Colonel Francis’ 33rd and 34th paras, are among those which go to make up the apparent reluctance of villagers to take the irrigation available from many of the large works lately con¬ structed ; but the objections, as well as those arising from the inher¬ ent local hostility to anything like a new practice in agriculture, are not insuperable. It has been most gratifying to observe be¬ tween 700 and 800 acres in this season of excessive drought under irrigation by the channels* from the Lakh Dam, which the people had hitherto taken in very small quantities. The cultivation being at the time only that of rabi, which does -not require any very frequent supply of water, the question of distributing and sub-dis¬ tributing channels and of distribution appeared to be amicably set¬ tled, though the other difficulty, of a man not taking the water for more than a portion of a field which might have been wholly irri¬ gated, remained to a certain extent. 18. Seeing that the survey officers have already taken the people of Kasurdi a great way with them, the Revenue Commis¬ sioner would respectfully recommend that sanction be accorded to Colonel Francis’ proposals ; that an intimation be made to the vil¬ lagers of the intention of Government to impose a suitable water- rate on the land capable of irrigation; and that the Survey Com¬ missioner be invited to submit a report in detail of the area to which the water-rate is proposed to be applied—the amount of the rate per acre, and the financial result, The report should be accompa¬ nied by a map of the village, showing the area of each field to which the irrigation will extend, and the portion irrigable in each field, 271 so that the effect of the experimental operation and the incidence of the water rate may be clearly understood and discussed. 19. It is certain that several expensive irrigational works in this Presidency, which have been most successfully constructed, remain painfully conspicuous failures in a financial point of view; and what is of even more importance, in respect to the security against drought they were intended to provide, improvements under the method of regulating the water rate adopted by the Irrigational Department of Government are being effected in some cases, but this does not appear to be the case at Kasurdi; and if, at the sacri¬ fice of opinion or theory, this particular work can be made to ac¬ complish in a greater degree the objects desired, the Irrigational Department will, no doubt, cordially welcome the change. At least, Government have an opportunity in the case of Kasurdi, on assured grounds of recommendation by a most experienced officer, of trying an experiment which, if cautiously conducted, can scarcely do any harm, and may be productive of very great good. The water rate will, of course, in whatever way imposed, be credited to the Depart¬ ment of Irrigation. 20. It will be seen from para. 36, and the papers therein cited, that the new settlement cannot be introduced into Dhond, but that the other five villages lately settled can be re-assessed with the 48 villages of which the regular lease has expired, there being a distinct entry in the survey papers of each of those five villages that the lease would terminate at the same time as the rest of the taluka. , 21. In order to legalize the introduction of the settlement in the 53 villages of Bhimthari in the current year, it is understood that notice will have to be given to the occupants before 31st March. 22. It is suggested, if the rates are sanctioned by Government, that the Survey and Settlement Commissioner be requested to pre¬ pare a Notification as ordered in Government Resolution No. 4684, dated 22nd September 1871, for publication in the Gazette. W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 385. Revenue Department. Bombay'Castle, 26th January 1872. Resolution.—These papers show that the revision of the as- • Less one, namod Dhond. ^ssment in the fifty-four villages * of the Bhimthari Taluka, of the Poona 272 Collectorate, has been very carefully conducted; and the subject has •been very fully discussed in the report submitted to Government. 2. His Excellency in Council quite agrees in the views ex¬ pressed in paragraphs 29, &c., of Colonel Francis’ report relative to irrigated cultivation and to Pathasthal lands. But he cannot, with¬ out further consideration, sanction permanently the introduction of compulsory rates on lands irrigated by the KaSurdi Tank. As an experiment, however, he is willing to sanction it for one year, when a full report should be made by Colonel Francis, through the Re¬ venue Commissioner, S. D. With this exception Government are pleased to sanction the introduction of the rates proposed for the usual period of thirty years. 3. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., should lose no time in preparing, for publication in the Government Gazette, a Notification as ordered in Government Resolution No. 4684, dated 22nd September 1871. E. W. RAYENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. No. 598 or1 1872. From Lieutenant-Colonel W. WADDINGTON, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Poona, 2nd September 1872. Sir, In accordance with your letter No. 270, of 21st February last, I have the honour to forward my final report on the settlement introduced by me into 53 Government villages of the Bhimthari Taluka. My original proposals were for’ 54 villages ; but it was subsequently found that the new rates could not be immediately applied in the case of Dhond, the guaranteed lease of which will not expire until 1885-86. I also introduced new rates into 4 Dum&la villages at the request of the holders. 273 2. The total approximate assessment in the 54 villages, as submitted by me in my former report, was Rs. 1,46,596 : deduct¬ ing that of Dhond, Rs. 6,191, the total approximate assessment in the 53 Government villages wasRs. 1,40,405. The actual assess¬ ment, after corrections and alterations, is found to be Rs. 1,34,474; that is, Rs. 5,931, or about 4 per cent less than was estimated. The deficiency comes under the following heads :— (1-) Reduction on account of distance from village, and ad¬ justment of scale value for poor soils, Rs. 5,255-8-0. (2.) Reduction on account of new wells, Rs. 74. (3.) Reduction- on P£thasthal assessment at time of settle¬ ment, Rs. 468. (4) Reduction by remission of assessment on village gair£n lands, Rs. 33-8-0. (5.) Reduction due to clerical errors, Rs.100. I may explain that in consequence of the press of settlement work I was obliged to send in this report before the papers had been examined, and there is, therefore, somewhat larger differ¬ ence than usual between estimated and actual revenue. 3. The total area of the 57 villages is 2,87,976 acres, or 450 square miles. The culturable area is 2,36,776 acres, of which 33,958, or 14*3 per cent is Inam. There are in all 3,769 khatas in the 53 -villages,—the average size of the holdings being 53 acres 32 guntas, and the arable area per head of population is 6 acres 16 guntas, whilst the payments are Rs. 4-3. 4. With respect to the question of the Kdsurdi Tank, I have the honour to report that, in pursuance of the directions contained in para. 3 of Government Resolution No. 385 of 26th January last, I informed the people that a compulsory rate will be tempor¬ arily imposed on lands watered from the tank. They un¬ animously declined to take the water on these or any other terms, and I consequently deferred any ulterior action in the matter until a reference should have been made to Government. In the meantime any further proceedings on my part were rendered unnecessary by the instructions contained in Government Resolution No. 902 of 28th February last. 5. On my questioning the people as to the cause of their now declining to take the water after having agreed to do so, they said in consequence of the failure of rain last monsoon the tank had run dry by the middle of February, and that some of them who had plant- b 209—i 274 ed sugar-cane had in consequence sustained severe loss. There is no doubt that such was the case, as I personally visited the spot and saw the sugar-cane withering for want of water. The people further expressed their strong conviction that in the course of a very few years the tank will be silted up, and it certainly appears probable that, unless remedial measures are adopted, such will be the case. 6. The gathering ground of the K&surdi Tank is very limit¬ ed, and it will probably only be filled after an unusually good monsoon such as was experienced in 1870-71. Last season, as above mentioned, the tank was dry by the middle of February. With such a precarious supply of water it would be useless to attempt to define certain lands to be irrigated, and without such definition it is impossible to impose a uniform compulsory rate. The only course for the present will be to have an annual measurement of the land irrigated, and to levy a water-rate according to the nature of the supply, whether kharif, rabi, or perennial. I think it is, however, very doubtful whether the people will again venture on the experi¬ ment of growing sugar-cane. 7. There are 542 acres of “ Malai ” land the occupancy of which it has been hitherto the custom to put up to auction an¬ nually. There is generally but little competition for it, and it is very usually bought by the occupant of the adjacent land. The assessment on this land amounts to Rs. 622, and the sum realized by its sale, last year, was Rs. 807. In Ind^pur and Madha the occupancy right of these lands was sold, once for all, at five years’ purchase of the assessment, and I would recommend' a similar course in the present case—ten years’ purchase being substituted for five, and the option of purchase being first offered to the occupants of adjoining lands. 8. The question of remuneration of village officers is one that requires consideration, and on which I purpose to report separately. 9. There are some waste lands in Sir£pur, amounting in all to 177 acres, which I have recommended the Conservator of Forests to apply for, as being suitable for planting as forest reserves. With this exception there was no other land available. 10. I have been unable to obtain information as.to the pro¬ portion of the agricultural and non-agricultural population, as also of the different castes. This information will probably be forth¬ coming from the recent census returns when the remainder of the taluka comes under settlement. 275 11. There were no complaints at the time of settlement, and I have had no petitions against the assessment. . We may, therefore, conclude that the people are not dissatisfied with the rates imposed. ****** I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, (Signed) W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. No, 1380 of 1876. Revenue Depaetment. Poona, 27th September 1876. The foregoing report gives the final figures of the settle¬ ment sanctioned for part of the Bhirn- x- * 5-ee thari Taluka,* supplying at the same time of January certain mtormation on other points con¬ nected with the introduction of the rates. 2. Fifty-four Government villages were included under the original proposals; but, as explained in para. 2, the introduction of rates had to be withheld in one case (village of Dhond) owing to the guaranteed lease not having expired. The result which has consequently been given for 53 villages, shows a decrease of Rs. 5,931 upon the estimate given in the report, the new Jama being Rs. 1,34,474 instead of Rs. 1,40,405. The causes of this decrease have been explained in detail (para. 2). 3. The Superintendent has explained in his 4th para, that no steps had been taken to carry out the orders in the Resolu¬ tion upon the settlement sanctioning the imposition, by the Survey Department, of a fixed water-rate for lands irrigable from the Ea- surdi Tank prior to the receipt of the second Resolution cancelling these instructions. Independently of this, it would have been im¬ possible for the survey, as he has shown, to carry out the plan, owing to there being no proper data for ascertaining the water 276 supply, winch, when the proposal for assessing the lands was submitted, was supposed to be perennial to a limited extent, but in the past season had failed entirely in February. The people (para. 5) are reported to have sustained serious losses in several cases where sugur-cane had been planted owing to this unexpected failure. They have lost confidence in the work, and, it is to be feared, will refrain from the use of the water for some time, even for rabi crops. 4. Colonel Waddington gives an unfavourable report of the state of this tank, which, it is feared, will be silted up and render¬ ed almost useless for irrigation in the course of a few years, unless the Irrigation Engineer can devise some plan for getting rid of the accumulation of silt which, there seems reason to apprehend, will be annually increased if the work is left in its present state. 5. For the future management of the work the Superintend¬ ent suggests the plan of an annual measurement of the irrigated area with fixed water-rates, according to the nature of the irriga¬ tion, should be resorted to, and it appears to me to be the best system to adopt for the present; but it should be regarded as a temporary measure, and no guarantee for its continuance be given. 6. The “ Malai ” or river land, referred to in the Superin¬ tendent’s 7th para., comprise for the most part a narrow belt lying between the regular cultivated land and the bed of the river; the land is not generally of any particular value as shown by the auc- Ra tion price, which is not much in excess The auction price ...807 of the survey assessment. It has ordi- Survey assessment... 662 narily been bought by the occupant of “ the adjoining land, and as he would be put to considerable inconvenenice if it were sold to a third party, and be thereby cut off from access to the river, I would accordingly recommend that the proposal to offer each strip to the occupants of the adjoining land, at an upset price of ten years’ purchase of the assessment, should be adopted, auction sale being resorted to in cases where the offer is refused. 7. I have much pleasure in drawing attention to the Superin¬ tendent’s remarks in para. 11, reporting the circumstance of his having had no petitions against the new rates, which, in my opinion, evinces a very satisfactory state of feeling in the district in regard to the settlement, though it has effected a general increase of above 60 per cent, and doubled individual payments in many cases. # * * * * * J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. 277 Revenue Survey and Assessment. No. 5918. Revenue Department. Bombay Castlet 30th November 1872. Memorandum from the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., No. 5405, ,, , « iqQn dated 29th October 1872—Submitting, dated 27th September 1872, for orders, correspondence noted m the from the Survey and Settle* margin relative to the final introduction ment Commissioner, N. D., 0f revised rates into fifty-three villages anMemo0randuSleNo 4847 of the Bhimthari Taluka, with an expres- dated 28th September 1872,’ sion of his concurrence in the opinion of to the Collector of Poona. the Survey and Settlement Commission- Memorandum No. 2242, er, the Superintendent, and the Collector, tcoSt0o“o8I2’fr0la. «to the satisfactory result of the set- tlement. Further memorandum from the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., No. 5406, dated 29th October 1872. Resolution.—The manner in which these revised rates, in¬ volving, as they do, an enhancement of some 60 per cent on the former revenue demands, have been generally accepted is highly satisfactory. 2. The modifications of assessment reported are, with some trifling exceptions, due to the ordinary survey rule of reduction of scale value on account of distance of lands from villages and water. That there would be such reduction should have been anticipated and noticed in the original report, as its percentage can from ex¬ perience be very closely estimated, as it is in the Guzerat Survey reports. With regard to reduction of assessment to meet the cases of individual villages apparently regarded with favour by the Revenue Commissioner, the instructions of Government will be communicated hereafter. 3. The assessment, as now finally fixed, gives an increase, exclusive of Local Funds, of rather less than 64 per cent. His Excellency in Council has every confidence that the new rates, which are mainly based on the assumption that the two staple grains jow^ri and Mjri will not, respectively, fall in value below 26 and 20 seers per rupee, will prove moderate. 4. The manner in which it is proposed to dispose of the t( MaMi ” land is approved, provided the occupants enter into an agreement to pay the full survey assessment, whether the land here¬ after should be diminished in area or not. 278 5. The papers necessary for calculating the remuneration to hereditary village officers are to be prepared and submitted with¬ out further delay. 6. A transfer of this correspondence is to be made to the Irrigation Branch of the Public Works Department, in order that the questions affecting the Kasurdi Tank may be considered in that Department in the first instance. In the meantime the water- rates must be collected according to annual measurement and assessment. ***** E. W. RAVENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government. To The Revenue Commissioner, S. D., The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., The Public Works Department (Irrigation Branch) with the correspondence. Correspondence regarding the reduction made in the revised settle¬ ment of this District under the orders of Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th October 1874 {see page 174 of this Selection). No. 1237 op 1875. Revenue Department. From Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., To W. G. PEDDER, Esquire, Acting Secretary to Government. Sir, Poona, 1 Sth August 1875. Adverting to Resolution No. 4515 of the 11th instant, sanction¬ ing a reduction of the revised assessment of the Madha Talnka, I have the honour to submit the accom- Not printed, panying statement,* showing the reduc- 279 tion proposed for certain villages of the Bhimthari Taluka, which has been worked out in the manner explained below. 2. The classification valuation scale has first been reduced from 10 annas downwards according to the plan adopted for the M£dha Taluka, and a lower maximum has then been applied to all the villages of the district. 3. On referring to the correspondence upon the revision settlement, it will be seen that the villages of this district were divided into four groups, with the following maximum rate for each, viz. For 1st group a „ 2nd do. „ 3rd do. „ 4th do. Ks. a. . 1 12 maximum. . 1 8 do. . 1 4 do. .12 do. No change in the-grouping is required, but I propose to reduce the rates 2 annas throughout; and this, combined with the reduction in classification valuation adverted to above,, will reduce the present assessment from Ks. 1,33,131 to Ks. 1,11,468, the revised Jama being equivalent to an increase of 37 percent on last payments, against 63 per cent on the settlement as first fixed. The average rate is 8 annas 11 pies per acre. 4. It will be perceived that the increase under the assess¬ ment now. proposed is smaller in the two last groups, being only 24 and 26 per cent respectively. These groups, comprising the easterly portion of the district, contain the tract in which the rainfall is most uncertain. The other two groups, which extend from the centre to the western border of the district, are certainly better circumstanced in the latter respect, for as you go westward the rainfall is greater and more certain, and they have the advan¬ tage also of being somewhat nearer to the Poona market. The increase in them is, however, moderate, being 44 and 46 per cent on past payments. There are five villages in which it is above 60, in one of which it is 69, which is the highest rate of increase. On the other hand there is one village (Khutbao*) in which the new assessment as now fixed will be a reduction of 28 per cent on the original settlement by Lieutenant Nash. 5. The reduction proposed is most liberal, and goes beyond what is contemplated in the order of October last; but as the dis- * The high standard of the former classification of this village was noted in the settlement papers.—See para. 25 of my memo. No. 1636, dated 28th November 1871. 280 trict is notorious for its uncertain rainfall, I have thought it advisable to treat it as liberally as possible with due regard to the interests of the State. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Revenue Survey and Assessment. No. 4980. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 30th August 1875. Letter from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No, 1237 dated 18th August 1875—Submitting a statement showing the reduc¬ tion proposed for certain villages (53) of the Bhimthari Taluka of the Poona Collectorate, in which revised rates were introduced in 1872. Resolution.—The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., now submits proposals regarding the reduction of the revised assessments of taluka Bhimthari of the Poona Collectorate, sanctioned by Government Resolution No. 5918, of 30th November 1872, in accordance with the principles laid down by Government Resolution No. 5739 of 2.9th October 1874. 2. It will be well, before considering the proposals of the Sur¬ vey Commissioner, to recapitulate briefly the facts connected with the revenue history of this taluka, which guided Government in deciding on the revised rates of assessment sanctioned in 1872. 3. The original survey settlement was introduced in 1839 and 1840. At that time the condition of the taluka was represented as most deplorable. “ I am at a loss,” says Lieutenant Nash, the Settlement Officer, writing in 1838, “ to convey the idea of po¬ verty and ruin which I have received during my residence here. ” Several causes—the ravages of Holkar’s army in the beginning of the century, the dreadful famine which followed that campaign, and was repeated two or three times in the next twenty years, the violent epidemic of cholera which raged about 1820, the heavy fall of prices after the.introduction of British rule, and the consequent 281 oppressive weight of the old Mahr ... 875 Warwand 7,580 4,750 7,583 578 5 ... 8,166 Padvi ... 2,943 959 3,575 178 99 ... 3,852 Walki ... 2,393 1,545 2,541 19 ... 2,560 Koregaon Bbivar 1,491 735 1,599 • • • ... 1,599 Undowri ... 1,893 1,032 1,932 16 ... 1,948 Nangaon... ... 4,222 2,776 4,331 29 ... 4,360 Delowdi... 2,829 1,919 2,864 48 ... 2,912 Bori Pardi 2,371 1,051 2,647 63 •.« ... 2,710 Deulgaon Gada... 3,138 758 4,208 48 40 ... 4,296 Total... 72,920 30,798 79,292 1,968 144 ... 81,404 Or 00 00 to t-*b3iKMMW OS Ci CO bO to W <3* 00C7c00lfi«.tP't-*l^CS0000O3C000^lOS|£>.OS©*>$»-^CO©Sl£*©lf*-OStOC©OOtOOOCO*toooiococio[o?oooaoo to ^ to t—1 r i-i t-i i—* s 00 Cn ^ CO O Or to CO Ot 00 I—* to ; os co to £•. os OS 09 to to -3 li» to to to 03 © to 03 it- 00 to ; to, 00 lf>- CO *^r: o: to co ot. to to CO to os J-> tOj£*J-» Mjo M o> co'bs'co'tn'rf^T-i'rfx co^ oo“os co oo oo â– Ki'cjt vr to vr'oo'oo COMHOCitl^CnOOMOOOOStOOsOOi^tOOVOtO OOk^tOI-‘OSOOI-‘OTCO^JOOOcOStOI-‘(f>.COCOOOCOtO © 'oo o 00 os o: co oo i—1 to to CO OS Or to OS to os 00 OS o Ed t-J tOtOtOtO&r)^ it- ^3 OS I—1 03 —7 w CO >*». 03 )-» ; it- lM.7 07 to os it- oo co to os w J—• J—1J—‘J10 J—» 'rf^'oo'h-â– 'co'to'to OS O OO co o OS Co "Sj to CO CO VI Jiraet. Mothasthal Bagayet. Soil As¬ sessment. Water Cess. •rJ Wp p OQ P ^ £ Rice. Total. co P â–º-•to t—• MH*CO Crt hN to co to OS Crt l—• to to OS Or CO 00 03 Or O OS O 00 tO^COCOOtMMC7|^^CO OOCOCOOO(OcOO,v|COOStO to to J-* J-» JS3 to or co * o co O •© ©O ©©©©©©©©OOOO©©©©© _ MMH MHH (-1 *-< M •-* COcp©ObOi-,CnCOl£ktf^»*ikCNCStO|i^|MM]H»w|i-ielM m|m © ►—i © © © © © © © ^MQO N)03 H M|— M|MU| — Ed CQ P â–ºd to to Average do., exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. Remarks. Settlement for the undermentioned villages of Taluka BMmthari, jResolution iVo. 4980, daed 30th August 18y5. 288 No. of Village. Name of Village. • As # per cultivation returns for 1869-70. Acres. As per Rervi Acres. Assessment. Jirayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. Pathastthal Bagayet. • o o s Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Es. 28 Roti ... ... 1,440 490 1,676 26 1,702 29 Khorowdi 2,579 1,083 3,332 • • • ... 3,332 30 Boribial 5,148 1,496 5,770 84 • • • • 5,854 31 Jiregaon 3,100 727 4,176 117 4,293 32 Kurkumb 3,766 1,144 4,787 151 44 4,982 33 Nandadevi 1,898 771 2,366 44 • • • 2,410 34 Wasunda . 2,604 676 2,860 91 m mm 2,951 35 Sirsuphal 11,990 2,665 14,886 334 • • • 15,220 36 Nanviz ... 1,853 1,073 1,958 • • . «• • 1,958 37 Hingni Gada ... 2,899 693 3,304 42 33 3,379 38 Rawangaon 2,319 1,119 2,506 145 • •• 2,651 39 Kangaon 6,724 4,170 7,169 77 ... ... 7.246 Total... 46,329 16,107 54,790 1,111 77 ... -55,978 40 Pedgaon... 2,440 1,180 2,565 2,565 41 Naigaon... 856 394 885 io • • • 895 42 Maltan ... 7,335 2,539 8,641 76 • • • 8,717 43 Deulgaon Raja 2,569 1,016 2,695 17 • • • â–  • • * 2,712 44 Sirapur ... 2,927 1,917 3,217 • «« ... 3,217 45 Wadgaon Darekar 1,024 628 1,080 ... • • • 1,080 46 Khadki ... 5,113 2,330 6,267 232 • • • 6,499 47 Wathmj... 1,921 784 2,032 • •• 2,032 48 Rajegaon 5,849 2,869 6,111 108 6,219 Total... 30,034 13,657 33,493 443 ... 33,936 Total... 1,64,618 74,222 1,84,376 3,834 396 1,88,606 i Assessment of * 1,884 644 ... ... ... ... ... j Total... 1,66,502 74,866 1,84,376 3,834 j 396 -... 1,88,606 99,769 s s Ci : - ^ & 99,769 16,932 â–  05 i—‘JS0 to 1—1 to i-* to'bt'Vo'to cn'oo Cn 00 M M 00 O ^ H tO l^OJMOtOOWOOOi 19,981 jjsj-1 j—‘1© j-1 j~i t—> t-JH-i os bs oo- 1—‘ o Jiraet. > 03 W

» Ox OS l—1 OS to 673 m : to K © If*- tO OS kt*- • k—1 co to 00 k^ NT OsiOOHOS o I-1 k—k Mothasthal Bagayet, 354 CO Or •* fc£^ :::::: i : i k^> b-> :: E: $ »—1 to Soil As¬ sessment, Pathasthal Bagayet. 435 • 534 t—‘ CO 00 : ; co; ; ; ©; ; ; : . b-> CO Water Cess. • • : ::::::::: : .GO t—» Bice. 1,03,982 : 1,03,982 17,239 jW^-J^tO JO J-1 JO J-1 *Cn't-*'cO to'or'to'tO Or'bo tOOOkf^^IOO1—‘ODtOtO © 03 03 O O H to NfOr 20,833 J3SJ-* J-* CO J-1 M lolo -o'bs'o co to or Vi tfs. m 0r03OM00H|^t0O0 co m co to >-i'co i—1 ^jMOOOrtOk^OOCOtO O I—1 OS OS O CO tO CO Or 9,649 CO J-* J-* Or CO ^ k—‘1© CO ©t'to"’*-* tO tOCOOOOtOl^M‘-OOtfCS [OtOOWH'NTtOCSWOSCOtO t— OS Acres. Numerical. Increased. to JO Vr OS © • ; 29,760 3,582 OS k£»- W CS H hfk H M OSOMkt-NTOOlMH OtOOSbOtOOtOCOCn 4,726 Ok-1 OS hN k—1 CO k—1 OS’ to OOOkOSOtOifv«it.MO.OOkf>. ^ kS|Hle|l-lt9lH »3|HtB|MtB|HW|W tS|H V to Average do., exclusive of Bice and Water Cess, to to Bemarks. 290 No.of Village. j Name of Village. As per cultivation returns for 1869-70. Acres. As per Revi Acres. Assessment* Jirayet. Mothasthal Bagayet. s’ +» c? c8 bO M eS eS" 6 o s Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rs. 49 Bori Bhadak 1,134 602 3,094 41 1,135 50 Patas ... ... 5,391 2,527 5,178 193 ii 5,383 51 Gar 2,783 1,592 2,719 59 ... 2,778 52 Girim 3,734 1,486 3,518 159 50 3,727 53 Sonowdi 1,463 1,046 1,427 34 ... ••• 1,461 Total... 14,505 7,253 13,936 486 62 ... 14,484 Grand Total.» 1,81,007 82,119 1,98,312 4,320 458 ... 2,03,090 Camp Pimpalwandi, 25th November 1875 291 sion Survey. Increase. i Maximum Dry-Crop Bate per 1 Acre, Average do. exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. 00 M cS a <3> PS Assessment. Numerical. Percentage. Jirayet. *3 . a £ £ SP â– s3n Pathasthal Bagayet. 6 o 3 *3 •4A o . Eh 00 O fe o â—„ a 09 09 Q 09 09 O < 0 0) § 09 O- 0Q 09 < A ei ^1 f—j 09 00 S m h , O CO «4» 09 eg 10 n 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Rs. 709 2,796 ‘ 1,740 1,052 1,251 . Rs. 46 220 49 127 36 Rs. 14 50 Rs. 35 114 Rs. Rs. 755 3,065 1,789 1,343 1,287 1 8 5 7 2 Rs. 153 538 197 143 241 ... Rs. 25 21 12 9 23 1 10 1 6 1 2 Rs. a. p. 0 10 8 0 9 2 0 10 4 0 5 3 0 14 l 7,548 478 64 149 ... 8,239 21 986 ... 14 ... 0 8 11 1,07,317 3,803 418 683 ... 1,12,221 23,967 30,746 13 87 ... 0 8 9 E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, • Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment. 292 No. 1845 of 1875. Revenue Department. Poona, 29th November 1875. Submitted for tlie information of Government* 2. The result is very satisfactory,the difference* between * A little over i per cent. ?stimate and actual being less than was to be expected. 3. The Acting Superintendent has been requested not to sub¬ mit . statements showing the result of the reduction for other dis¬ tricts separately, but accompanied with the return of fields, for which the revision increase is above 100 per cent, in order that the whole t Resolution No. 5739. subjeet to be reported on under the orders f ot October 1874 may be disposed of in a single reference for each district. J., FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 6934. Revenue Survey and Assessment» Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 10^ December 1875. Resolution.—The difference—Rs. 753—between the estimated and actual figures calls for no particular remark. 2. The list of fields in which the increase is still over 100 per cent may be awaited. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government. PA'BAL TALUKA. 295 To No. 152 op 1873. The REVENUE COMMISSIONER, Southern Division. Poona Collector $ Office, 22nd January 1873. Sir, I have the honour to forward the accompanying report from Colonel Waddington, Superintendent Revenue Survey, Poona and Ndsik, containing his proposals for the revision of rates of assess¬ ment in 56 villages of the old Pdbal Taluka, and the new rates to be introduced in three villages of the Wahgaum group lately received in exchange from His Highness Holkar. 2. In the year 1866-67, when a revision of the limits of ^ col- lectorates and their talukas took place, the villages comprising the old Pdbal Taluka were absorbed in the adjoining talukas of Sirur, Khed, Junnar in the Poona Collectorate, and P4rner in Ahmednagar. 3. The geographical features of the portion of the district under revision have been accurately and well described by Colonel Waddington, so that further remarks are not required. 4. This portion of the district is, as has been shown in para¬ graphs 9 to 11, well off as regards communications and markets for agricultural produce. The falling off in the toll collections on the main roads is attributable solely to the diversion of the traffic to the railway brother routes. 5. The resources of the district are entirely agricultural. The cultivation of the soil and development of its capabilities are here conducted with greater care and industry than in many other parts of the collectorate. 6. The good results which have accrued from the fact of a district like this, favourable to agriculture and tenanted by careful and industrious cultivators, having enjoyed low rates of assess¬ ment for upwards of a quarter of a century, during which prices have risen, as shown in paragraph 24, are exhibited in paragraph 22, and further illustrated by the cultivation and revenue statistics given in paragraphs 26 to 30 ; e.g., during the five years, from 1836-37 to 1840-41, preceding the introduction of the survey rates the assessment on unoccupied land amounted to Rs. 42,000 in round numbers, or-33 per cent of the total assessment; whereas in 1871-72 the waste land was represented by acres 548 only, bearing an assessment of Rs. 230, and by the revised measure¬ ments and rates 567 acres assessed at Rs. 360. 296 7. In paragraphs 31 to 33 the proposed rates are discussed; and in the last of them (33) a table is given showing the six classes into which the 56 villages have been divided, and the maximum rate of assessment in each class, which ranges from Rs. 1} in the sixth class to Rs. 3 in the first class. 8. The rates on rice lands and lands irrigated from paths are treated in paragraphs 34 and 35, and call for no remark. Accord¬ ing to recent Government orders, lands under well irrigation have no extra assessment imposed on them. 9. Considering the improved condition of the district and people, I am of opinion that the revised rates proposed to be intro¬ duced in the 56 villages of the old Pabal Taluka are not too high. 10. The three villages, marginally named, became British territory in 1868-69, and have now for the 1. Manchar. first time undergone accurate survey and ?°/fgaum‘ assessment. I am somewhat startled to find a angaum. that the proposed assessment is very consi¬ derably in excess of the old Kamal rates, which in Manchar and Lakhangaum were not realized even under native rule, and since their annexation only about the same proportion of the old assess¬ ment has been realized as formerly. Thus, in Manchar, the total assessment, according to Kamal rates, amounted to Us. 4,847, but only Rs. 3,310 were realized. The proposed new assessment in Rs. 2,580, or 77 per cent in excess of former collections. 11. The percentage increase under proposed assessment in Koregaum and Lakhangaum is, respectively, 108 .and 77. There may be good and sufficient reasons for the great increase which are not apparent in the report. Thus, for instance,*the area of fields and holdings may have been found on accurate measurement to be much greater than supposed to be, or than as entered in the old records. 12. I think, however, that, considering these villages are now for the first time assessed according to survey, and that they have not enjoyed a long period of low rates of assessment as have the other 56 villages under revision, the final sanction of the pro¬ posed new rates should not be given until, by two or three years’ experience, it has been proved beyond a doubt that they are not in excess of a fair and reasonable demand. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. E. OLIPHANT, Collector. 297 No. 689 op 1872. To The COLLECTOR of POONA. Poona, 10th October 1872. Sir, I have the honour to forward a report showing the effect of the revised rates which I propose for 56 villages of the old Pabal Taluka, and of the new rates which I purpose to introduce into 3 villages which have been since received-from His Highness Holkar. 2. The Pabal Taluka, as you are aware, was situated to the north and east of Poona, and extended in the Captain Wingate’s former direction as far as to Junnar, and in escnption. the latter nearly to the Gor River. It is described by Captain Wingate as follows :—“ The P&bal Taluka consists of a slip of land lying nearly due north and south—the northern portion, Peta Arsari, forming the MaMlkari’s charge, and the southern, Taraf P&bal, that of the MamHtd^r ; all parts of the district, therefore, being nearly equidistant from the Ghats, it possesses little variety of climate. In the north-western corner, howeyer, there are a few villages hemmed in by hills of consider¬ able elevation, which occasion a greater fall of rain here than in other parts; and, on the other hand, there are some villages along the eastern boundary and away from the hills where the rain is more scanty than in the district generally.” 3. Lieutenant Robertson, by whom the survey and classi¬ fication of the P&bal Taraf was conducted, Lieutenant Robert- reported that the total area of the taraf sons epor . was 113,054 British acres, and the number of villages 28. He considered that, with the exception, perhaps, of a few villages forming a strip of land on the eastern portion, the climate of the taraf was much the same throughout. With re¬ gard to the excepted villages, he infers the absence of heavy rain in their case from the paucity of tiled houses which was found in them. He describes the people as by no means so impoverished as those in the ShoMpur Collectorate ; still the peasantry were wretched, the villages often very dilapidated, and their walls crumbling to the ground : out of 33 chauris 19 only were in¬ habitable. Manufactures could not be said to flourish; of schools there were only 11, and of shops 188. 4. Captain Landon had charge of the Ausari Peth, which he „ A . _ . , „ describes as consisting of 3 Dumala and 31 Captem Landon sEe- villages. The climate wag ^ favoured with respect to rain than the dis¬ trict situated further to the eastward, and was much the same throughout with the exception of a few villages to the north-west-, B 209—l 298 surrounded by bills, which attracted tbe clouds, rendering tbe supply of moisture more abundant and certain. There were 82 chauris, of which 15 only were good and 7 in ruins. He puts down the number of ploughs as 1,433, carts 368, bullocks 9,436, and cultivators 3,202, of whom the large proportion of 2,719 were Mirasdlrs. There were 925 wells, of which 806 were in good re¬ pair, and 64 burkis ; the chief produce under them being sweet potatoes, chillies, onions, carrots, brinjals, &c. Of schools there were 10, attended by 244 boys. 5. I purpose making further reference to the reports' of these officers when I come to the question of rates. Meantime I will give a brief description of the district as it was at the time of settlement, and the changes which have taken place in its terri¬ torial distribution. 6. In 1865-66 Pabal formed one of the 13 taluks of the . Poona Collectorate, and comprised 60 Grovern- Pabaf Taluka ^ men^ an(^ 9 alienated villages, being divided into seven tarafs, under the charge of a Mlmlatdlr, who was stationed at Pd-bal. The greatest length of the district was 36 miles from north to south, and the* greatest breadth 16, bounded to the west by the Haveli and Kher taluks, to the east by the Sirur Taluka of the Ahmednagar Collectorate, to the south by the Bhima Elver, and the north by the Junnar Taluka. On the general revision of talukas, in 1866-67, the dis¬ trict was broken up, and the villages transferred to the adjoining taluks of Khed, Junnar, Parner, and Sirur. The following state¬ ment shows the changes which have taken place since the last settlement up to the present time :— ' 299 • Number of Villages. Year. Taluk. Division. Taraf. e$ CO 1 0 o rc5 Remarks. M H CHANGES IN ALIENATED AND KHALSA ' VILLAGES SINCE SETTLEMENT. Alienated lapsed to Government. 1843-44. 1845-46. 1847-48. Do. Singwa DhAmAri PArgaon RAnjangaon Ganpatti... Ausari PAbal Ausari PAbal + 1 -4- 1 + 1 + 1 — 1 — 1 - 1 — 1 ... Belonged to Man- singrao PAtankar. Belonged to Ramrao Purandharay. Belonged to Gun- putrao Narayen Ranjehkur. Belonged to Annin aba Deo. Khalsa made Alienated. Total... + 4 — 4 1845-46. Kendur ... Pabal ... 1 • •• 1 Granted to Deorao Jadhow, uncle of Jayajee RaoScindia. Total... + 3 — 3 ... Add— Total... 59 11 70 1862-63. Received from Sewner ... j Alla Kharda ... 8 1 ... 8 1 Total... 9 -• 9 Deduct— Total... ' 68 11 79 1862-63. 1862-63. Transferred to— Sewner Khed Narayengaon ... Mahalunga 2 6 "*2 2 8 Total... 8 2 10 1865-66. Total Villages... 60 9 69 Year. Number of Villages. Remarks. Khalsa, Alienated. Total. 1866-67. Distribution to Taluks. Sirur Khed Junnar PArner Total... 26 15 16 3 6 2 1 32 17 17 3 •Exclusive of Sewtakrar MahAlunga, a Mazra, since constituted a separate village of the Sirur District. *60 9 69 300 7.The tract of country under report is traversed from west Features of Country. *° east by » r?nSe of bills which separates it into two distinct parts. The southern por¬ tion comprises a larger valley lying between the range of hills mentioned above and another range to the south of it, and running from GruMni to Kendur, where it subsides into the plain, and drained by the river Vel, The country along the eastern border from Nimgaon to Chincholi is broken and hilly, but the rest of the valley is undulating, and there is a good deal of fine land and many paths. The northern portion consists of two extensive. Valleys through which the rivers Gor and Mina flow, the villages lying chiefly on the banks of these streams. The western side of this is better wooded, and from the vicinity of the hills, and its being situated nearer to the Western Gh^ts, a more certain and copious rainfall is insured. 8. The district is drained by four rivers—the Bhima, Mina, Rivers Gor an(^ ^ these, the three former have their source in the Syh&dri range of mountains, whilst the Vel rises in a small range of hills about 9 miles north-west of Khed. The three former rivers afford a perennial supply of water, which, however, is not applied to irriga¬ tion ; but the Vel,.though it occasionally partially fails during the hot weather in some places, is more beneficial to the farmers, as, owing to its low banks, its water is easily utilized by means of temporary dams, which abound along the streams. 9. This district, although not benefited by the railway to Roads &c the same extent as those through which the ’ line passes, enjoys notwithstanding great advantages from the proximity of the G. I. P. Railway, which *>y its stations at Uruli and Talegaon (Dh&bareh) affords easy access to the Bombay market. The district is also traversed from south to north and west to east by the high roads from Poona to Ndsik and Ahmednagar, and there are several good fair-weather roads, and two metalled high roads, the one branching off from Shikrapur and forming a direct line to Talegaon on-the G. I. P. Railway,,and the other connecting the town of Pabal with Poona; a fair-weather road also from P£bal to Sirur vid Malthan is nearly completed. The Bhima at Koregaon and the Gor River at Kalamb are crossed by ferries during the monsoon, whilst the Yel. is spanned by a substantial bridge at Shikrapur. You will thus see that the district enjoys great facili¬ ties of road communication, and, indeed, were the road from Sirur to Narayengaon constructed, nothing further would appear to be required. 301 10.From the following statement it will be seen that there has been a large and steady decrease in the To s* amount for which the tolls have been farmed during the last eight years, it having gone down from Rs. 22,500 in 1865 to Rs. 5,200 in the present year. This falling off is. attri¬ butable doubtless to the diversion of the traffic from Ahmednagar and the Nizam’s dominions (which formerly nearly all was sent by this route) to the railway stations at Dhond, Pitas, &c. The local traffic, however, has probably increased since the construc¬ tion of the railway :— < Statement showing the Sums, for which Tolls have been farmed since 1865-66. Farmed in w >» S Fanned in 1865-66. 1866-67. 1867-68. 1868-69. 1869-70. 1870-71. bO OO c3 ^ fl M 2 rt >-» 1872-73 Kb. Rs. Ks. Rs. Rs. . Ks. Rs. Ks. 22,500 19,500 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,500 6,295 5,200 Markets and Towns, 11.There are no considerable towns in the district, the principal ones being Pdbal, Talegaon (a municipality with Munsif’s Court and Post Office), Manchar, and Kauta, at all of which there are weekly markets, as also at Wapgaon. Narayengaon and Khed also afford convenient markets to those parts of this district which are contiguous to them. On the whole, the people have great facilities for the disposal of their produce, no part of it being more than 5 or 6 miles distant from a market town. 12.The manufactures are very limited, and confined to the weaving of coarse kamlis and lugdis; but the M f , whole number of looms is only 217, and the anu ac ures. great bulk of the population follow agricul¬ ture as a profession. 13.In 1842 there was only one Government school, attended « , , by 60 boys, and 14 private schools with 296 ° 00 s' pupils, making a‘ total of 15 schools and 356 pupils. There are now 18 Government and 3 private schools, the for¬ mer numbering 763 and the latter 57 boys, besides which there is 302 a private school for females at Talegaon, attended by 25 girls. The number of children under instruction is more than double what it was in 1842 ; but, as a rule, children seldom attain to more than the mere rudiments of reading and writing before they are taken away for field labour. 14. The land is more regularly and carefully tilled in these tt , A n districts than in the more eastern parts of the Husbandry and Crops, both ]ight and‘heavy Boils being ploughed annually : a six or eight-bullock plough is used for the latter, and one with four bullocks for the former. Ploughing in January or February is considered to be more advantageous than later in the season. Besides ploughing it is customary to harrow all kinds of soil before sowing, and to weed with the hoe once or twice after the crops have sprung up. Garden lands, as a rule, are ploughed twice length and crossways before each crop'; manure is always applied to garden lands from 25 to 30 cart-loads per acre; the price varies, from As. 8 to Rs. 2, or even some¬ times Rs. 3 per cart-load. Dry-crop lands are occasionally manured, the quantity of manure required being from 10 to 15 cart-loads. I think the use of manure on dry-crop lands is much more general than it was some years ago. 15. In the dry-crop soils it is customary to grow either late Rotation Of Crops. or early crops. Of the " Kharif,” or early crops, it is usual, m the lighter soils, to grow every year in the same lands bajri (holcus spieatus) mixed with hulga, matt, jow4ri, dmbari, and mung. In the better soils are grown— ls£.—B4jri, with every 4th furrow bdjri and tur. 2nd.—B&jri only, followed in good seasons by a late crop of gram. 3rd.—Urid. 4 th.—Mung. ( Grown separately, followed in good seasons < by wheat or gram after No. 3, and kardai ( or jowiri after No. 4. 5th.—Potatoes, when raised as an early crop, are succeeded in good seasons by gram, wheat, or jow&ri. The rabi, or late crops, are grown, as a rule, only on the best soils, and consist of either— ls£.—Jow£ri, generally having “ kardai” intermixed. 2nd.—Wheat and “ kardai.” 3rd.—Gram, followed the fourth year by b£jri, and in a good 303 season a second crop. The above are the only rotations practised. ~ _ 16. In garden lands the usual rotation Garden Crops. « . ° oi crops is— 1st year.—B4jri or potatoes, with a late crop of wheat, gram, or vegetables. 2nd year.—Earthnut or chillies. 3rd year.—Sugar, or bajri with a late crop. 17. It was to the late Dr. Gibson that the district is mainly n u indebted for the introduction of the potato, o a o u ure. jje distributed seed of the Neilgherry potato in 1838, and in 1845 he obtained a supply of a good sort of the Irish variety. In the last few years cultivation has extended rapidly, and there are now some 1,700 acres of garden land under that crop, and probably as much more in dry-crop land, vast quantities also being grown in the neighbouring talukas of Khed and Junnar, which are on the western border; it is not, however, grown anywhere to. the east of a line drawn from Shikr£pur to Wadgaon Pir. This esculent is now a favourite food with the Brahmins, and the Kun- bis also eat the smaller and less marketable roots. There are two varieties, of which one with a smooth light-brown peel is the best, being mealy when cooked, and fetching a higher price. The other kind has a rough, dark skin, and is inferior in both size and quality. There are two seasons during which it'is grown—the first being the monsoon, when it is sown in dry-crop lands in July, and gathered at the end of September; and the latter the cold weather, the planting being made in December, and the potatoes gathered in February : this last crop requires to be watered once a week.. 18. Messrs. Wingate, Landon, and "Robertson were unani- Rainfall mous in considering that the villages along the western and northern borders of the district enjoyed a greater rainfall than those towards the east; and their opinion is verified by the observations taken at Khed, Ghoreh, and Junnar, which bound the district on the west and north, and Sirur, which lies on the east, during the last nine years, from which you will see that the average rainfall at the three first-named places was 19*86, 20*1, and 21*07 inches -respectively, whilst at Sirur it was only 13*81. At Pabal, midway between Ghoreh and Sirur, the fall for the only four years which were registered up to the end of September, was 14*91 inches against 8*93 at Sirur during the same period, thus showing that the rainfall increases as we go further 304 west. Colonel G. S. Anderson also, in his report on the settlement of Kharda, says that “ the fall of rain from Pdrner, northward, is generally good and certain.-”' Return of Rainfall in Khed, Ghoreh, Junnar9 Sirur, and Rabat, talcen from the “ Government Gazette Year. Khed. Ghoreh. Junnar. Sirur, P&bal. Remarts. 1863 14-62 13-38 13-56 7-86 11-38 Up to 30th September. 1864 10-63 14-30 14-78 5 33 17-68 Do. do. 1865 4... 13 77 17-75. 13-18 14-61 1691 Do. do. 1866 16-75 22-27 21-33 7-93 13-67 Do. do. 1867 11-55 12-90 No return No return Transferred to Sirur. Do. 4th November. 1868 26-38 23 -34 * 25-31 13-88 Do. 30th do. 1869 28-05 26 0 23-92 17-60 Do. do. 1870 ... 3305 28-67 29-62“ 25-95 Do. do. 1871 23 93 22-29 26-75 17-47 Do. do. Average... 19-86 20-1 21-07 1381 14-91 19. Sheep are reared in most of the villages in large numbers, gli and the district being so easily accessible from Poona, that city affords a ready market for as many as it can provide. The wool is sold to the weavers, and the droppings form one of the best manures, and are carefully col¬ lected in the pens in which the sheep are folded at night. 20. In this district the sub-divisions of land, especially in Value of Land garden lands, are very minute, and the right of occupancy jealously reserved. It, there¬ fore, bears a high saleable value, as may be seen from the subjoined statement, in which there are instances of dry-crop land being sold and mortgaged for as much as from 116 to 160 years’ purchase of the assessment (vide Nos. 1, 2, and 3). 305 Villages. Acres. Assessment. Sum Remarks* Jeraet. Bagayet. realized. Chinchodi 5 30 Rs 5 a. p. 8 0 Rs. a. 200 Mortgaged. No interest. Do. 2115 10 0 0 705 Sold. No well. Do. 2-37 2 8 0 400 Mortgaged. No interest. No well. Chds 0-34 0 12 0 100 Do. Interest at Rs. 1-8 per cent Do. 10 7 9 8 0 697 per mensem. Do. No well Rs. 300, bear no Narodi 4-9 3 0 0 350 interest. On the balance, , Rs. 397, interest at Rs. 1-4 per cent per mensem. Do. No interest. No well. Koregaon 3-30 2 7 0 143 Do. for one year. Interest at Rs. Do. 20-0 13 0 0 399 2 per cent per mensem. Sold. No well. Do. 40 0 26 0 0 525 Do. do. Do. 10*0 6 8 0 345 Do. do. Talegaon 24-15 24 0 0 499 Mortgaged for 3 years. No interest. Do. 29-22 23 0 0 565 Sold. No well. Do. 36-22 16 0 0 300 Mortgaged for 10 . years. Mortgagee to Mahalunga ... 4-7 24 0 0 1 0 350 receive a third of the produce. Sold. There is a well in this number PAbal 17-28 6 0 0 397 Do. No well. Do. 4-31 2 10 6 300 Do. do. Do. 2-13 2 0 0 150 Do. do.' Takli Bhima..; 12-30 11 8 0 200 Mortgaged for 5 years. Interest at Rs. 1-8 Chandoli Bk ... 719 6 3 0 1 3 300 per cent, per mensem. Do. No interest. There are two Loni 12-27 8 0 0 5 0 450 wells in this number Do. No interest. Do, 13-8 9 0 0 200 Do, do. Ausari Kd. ... 2-19 1 12 0 3 0 400 Do. do. There is a well in Do. 210 6 0 0 300 this number Sold. No well. 21. The condition of the people shows a marked improve- ment on that described by Lieut. Robertson pie on 110n 0 i 6 peo' in his 8th paragraph ; and were it not for the lavish expenditure on marriage and other ceremonies, they would doubtless have long ago been independent of the money-lenders. They may, however, on the whole, be said to be in prosperous circumstances—a condition due chiefly to the following causes:— 1st.—A long duration of undisturbed peace. 2nd.—The enjoyment of low rates of assessment. 3rd.—The extension of the culture of the potato. Aith.—The construction of the G. I. P. Railway and exten¬ sion of internal communication.. 5th.—The prevalence of higher and steadier prices. 22. The total area of the 56 villages is 225,613 square acres, Area and Ponniation or square miles. From the statement P 0n‘ given below it appears, that the population b 209—m * 306 has increased from 48,102 in 1841-42 to 63,525 at the present time, or 11 ‘39 per cent. The number of carts has risen from 754 to 1,304, but that of ploughs only from 2,715 to 3,052. There are 151 inhabitants to the square mile, so that there are 4*2 acres per head of the population. In ShoMpur there are 172 souls per square mile, and in Bhimthari only 74. Description. Numerical Return in Increase in favour of 1871-72. 1840-41. 1871-72. Numerical. Per Cent. Increase. Inhabitants... 48,102 53,525 5,423 11*39 Bullocks 18,131 18,634 • 503 27 Cattle of other descriptions 49,656 53,393 3,737 7-5 Carts 754 1,304 550 73-0 Ploughs ... ... ... 2,715 3,052 337 12-4 Wells in working order... 1,493 1,977 484 32-4 23. The te Virhunda,” or cess on wells imposed at the last Wellg settlement, was most unpopular, and it was rendered more so, as Lieutenant Nash wrote, by imperfection in its distribution. In 1843 it was revised, but complaints still continued : many wells in good repair fell into disuse, the ryots in some cases actually preferring to build new wells (which would be exempt from the cess) to making use of their old ones on which a tax was imposed. In 1853-54 the sum of Rs. 1,875 was remitted on account of cess on wells and p4ths which were not in use, they, however, being still held liable to its payment if made use of. The total number of wells in 1840-41 was 1,818, of which 1,493 were in good repair; there are now 1,977 wells in working order, of which 386 have been constructed during the last ten years. STATEMENT showing the Average Prices of Chief Products in Manchar and Talegaon Bazaar Towns of the late Pdbal Talvika from 1841-42 to 1870-71. Years. Manchar. Talegaon. Years. Manchar. Talegaon. Years. Manchar. Talegaon. Seers per Rupee. Potatoes per Paid. Seers per Rupee. Seers per Rupee. Potatoes per Paid. Seers per Rupee. Seers per Rupee. Potatoes per Paid. Seers per Rupee. *C o b U P Wheat. 1 Gram. 'flS £ o p Wheat. s a O Jowdri.l *c *C? P I Wheat. Gram. S3 * o Bajri. Wheat. Gram. 5S o 'u P Wheat. Gram. | S3 * O â–ºb ;s p Wheat. Gram. Bs. a. Rs. a. Rs. a. 1841-42 46 42 30 23 .... 44 35 26 24 1851-52 ,. 34 30 28 28 2 0 40 34 27 26 1861-62 .. 29 23 19 14 2 8 28 23 19 13 1842-43 48 34 26 34 .... 53 38 26 23 1852-53 .. 44 42 30 26 3” 4 52 39 30 20 1862-63 .. 17 15 15 17 3 0 15 13 12 13 1843-44 _ .. 60 43 34 38 .... 67 39 30 34 1853-54 .. 30 27 .27 27 2 8 35 26 26 22 1863-64 .. 16 14 14 14 4 0 15 13 11 11 1844-45 46 42 21 22 .... 34 30 27 28 1854-55 .. 26 23 21 23 2 12 23 22 17 18 1864-65 .. 13 10 8 10 7 0 12 10 9 10 1845-46 28 23 20 22 .... 27 23 20 15 1855-56 .. 24 22 20 26 4 0 39 35 22 26 1865-66 .. 23 17 10 12 5 8 27 20 8 10 1846-47 28 26 17 17 .... 24 23 13 15 1856-67 .. 34 30 22 24 4 4 31 26 19 24 1866-67 .. 24 19 10 9 5 0 16 15 10 10 1847-48 55 44 26 29 .... 67 55 17 16 1857-58 .. 30 26 22 19 2 2 31 27 19 20 1867-68 .. 19 12 10 9 4 0 20 16 9 10 1848-49 72 58 38 41 3 4 93 66 31 34 1858-59 .. 35 31 26 25 4 8 37 29 22 19 1868-69 .. 34 21 16 20 2 8 20 22 13 15 1849-50 58 42 33 35 2 8 53 38 31 28 1859-60 •.. 44 34 23 24 3 8 57 40 22 23 1869-70 .. 19 14 9 9 2 0 22 17 9 11 1850-51 34 28 25 30 3 8 34 27 23 26 1860-61 .. 34 27 18 18 4 0 43 26 17 16 1870-71 .. 21 16 9 9 2 0 19 15 12 13 10 years’ 10 years’ 10 years’ average. 47 38 27 29 3 1 60 37 24 24 average. 33 29 24 24 3 5 39 30 22 21 average. 21 16 12 12 3 10 19 16 11 12 Average of the past 15 years from 1841-42 to 1855-56 .. 42 35 26 28 * 2 15 46 35 24 24 Do. of 10 years from 1856-57 to 1860-61 and 1866-67 to 1870-71 .. 29 23 16 17 3 6 30 23 15 16 * Average of 8 years instead of 15. 308 24. The foregoing statement gives the prices of the chief P • q r . products of the district at the bazaar towns of Talegaon and Man char, the former being in the south-east and the latter in the north-west corner of the dis¬ trict. From this you will see that the average rate per rupee of bajri, the staple grain, during the last ten years, was 16 seers at Talegaon, as compared with 37 seers during the first ten years, which is equivalent to a rise in price of 131 per cenf.; and at Manchar as 16 seers to 38, or a rise in price of 137'5 per cent. If, however, we take the average rates for the ten years, from 1856-57 to 1860-61 and from 1866-67 to 1870-71, and compare them with those of the first fifteen years, the result will be as follows:— Talegaon. Manchar. Average of Average of Per Cent. Average of Average of Per Cent. 15 yeara. 10 years. Increase. 15 years. 10 years. Increase. Seers. Seers. Seers. Seers. Jow!m ... 46 30 53-3 42 29 44-8 Bajri 35 23 521 35 23 521- Wheat ... ... 24 15 60 26 16 62-5 Gram 24 16 50 38 17 647 Potatoes... • • » Rs. 2-15 Rs. 3-6 159 per Pala. per Pala. 25. Fifty-six Government and one attached village of the old _T P^bal Taluka came under the operation of the to be settled? present settlement, of which one, Kendur, was made over to Deorao Jadow, uncle of His Highness Jyajee Bao Scindia in 1845-46, and another, Narayen- gaon, transferred to Junnar in 1862-63. Of the remaining fifty-five, twenty-four were settled in 1842-43, twenty-five in 1842-43, five in 1843-44, and one in 1844-45. There would, therefore, be forty-nine of the original villages in which revised rates are immediately due ; but as some disputed land has since been formed into a separate village under the name of Sewtakrar Mahalunga, there are in reality fifty. In five out of the remaining six the guarantee expires in 1872-73, but new rates will not come into force until 1873-74, and in one the guarantee does not expire until 1873-74, and the new rates will not apply until 1874-75 ; but the papers have been prepared, and the new rates will be explained at the same time as' in the other villages. In addition to these, the villages of Lakan- gaon, Koregaon, and Manchar, received from His Highness Hoi* 309 kar, will have survey rates introduced into them for the first time, making a total of fifty-nine villages to which my rates will apply. 26. There being no lists of what villages are included in the old diagram which accompanied Captain Lan- Present Settlement. report, it is useless to institute a com¬ parison between the effect of the rates proposed by me and the statistics supplied by that officer : one village, N4rdyengaon, at least, which was probably included in his diagram, not having been settled until 1853-54.' I append, however, a statement showing the annual collections, remissions, &e., for the 56 villages which are embraced by my diagram for the five years preceding the intro¬ duction of the present settlement:— Years. No. of Villages.' Total Assessment â–ºexcluding Inam. Deduct Assessment on unoccu¬ pied land. Assessment on occupied land. Remissions. Collections. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. 1836-37 56 1,33,878 46,318 87,560 18,764 68,796 1837-38 56 1,30,901 44,480 86,421 15,591 70,830 1838-39 56 1,31,069 45,162 85,907 26,443 59,464 1839-40 56 1,32,791 43,234 89,557 16,9S0 72,577 1840-41 56 1,30,101 33,185 96,916 36,043 60,873 Average of 5 years. 56 1,31,748 42,476 89,272 22,764 66,508 From the above you will see that unoccupied land during the first four years represented an assessment varying from Rs. 43,234 to Rs. 46,318, or about -Jrd of the total assessment. In the fifth year, owing probably to the anticipated introduction of new rates, 10,000 acres of waste land were taken up, although the remissions were more than double- those of the preceding year. The average collections during these five years were Rs. 66,508, and remissions Rs. 22,764. 27. As explained in a preceding para., the introduction of w , p . , the rates was not finally completed until irs eno . 1844-45, and also a considerable quantity of land was set aside in 1845-46 for free grazing ; it will be better, then, in comparing the result of the past settlement, to exclude the first five years from the account. Commencing with the year 1846-47, the cultivated acres were in round numbers 142,000, and the waste 21,600, or about l/7th, the assessment on occupied land being Rs. 81,213 and the remissions only Rs. 56. The two fol¬ lowing years show a slight increase in cultivation and collections, the latter of which in 1848-49 amounted to Rs. 84,133 ; but during the succeeding three years both cultivation and collections 310 decreased, the latter amounting in 1851-52 to only Rs. 80,380. The average annual cultivation for the six years from 1846-47 to 1851-52 was 144,742 acres, and collections Rs. 81,784. 28. During the next ten years the cultivation and collections steadily increased each year from acres Second ten years. 137^73 and Rs. 80,835 in 1852-53 to 158,556 acres of cultivation and Rs. 91,294 collections in 1861-62, there being only a remission of Rs. 539 in one year, 1853-54. A part, however, of the increase is due to the bringing to account of assessment of Iham lands, which attended the introduction of Captain Wingate’s scale of remuneration of village officers in 1853- 54. The average cultivation for this period was 145,251 acres, and collection Rs. 85,487. - 29. During the last ten years the cultivation and collections have remained nearly steady, the average area ast en years. under cultivation being 161,336 acres, and collections Rs. 92,296 ; there was only a remission of Rs. 36 during this period in 1871-72. The waste land last year was only Rs. 50S, or *003 of the total area. 30. The following statement shows the increase, numerically â–  m , and per cent., in the -average annual collec- Comparative Statement. ^for ^ periods treate(fof above . Average Annual Collections. Increase Increase over Per cent. Increase. Period. over pre¬ ceding period. five years pre¬ ceding the Settlement. On preceding period. On five years preceding the Settlement. • Five years from 1836-37 to 1840-41 ... ... Rs. 66,508 Rs. Rs. Six years from 1846-47 to 1851-52 81,784 15,276 230 Ten years from 1852-53 to 1861-62 85,487 3,703 18,979 4-5 28-5 Ten years from 1862-63 to 1871-72 92,297 6,810 25,789 8-0 38-8 31. Mr. Robertson recommended the same rates for the p Suba Division of P4bal as had been adopted ormer a cs. jn Pimpalgaon, viz., 33 per cent higher than in Indapur; and he based his recommend ation on the grounds 311 that thp climate and productions were much alike, and the proxi¬ mity to Poona and means of transport of produce. to its markets corresponded. Captain Landon thought that the district of Pcibal could easily bear an increase of 35 per cent on the rates fixed for ShoMpur (that is, 68*3 higher than those of Indapur), and 10 per cent additional on the inferior soils on account of their greater fertility. . He also suggested that a few villages on the north-west might bear an additional 20 per cent on account of a more certain supply of rain, and a few on the eastern border be lowered 20 per cent on account of less "certain rainfall. Captain Wingate consi¬ dered the rates proposed by Captain Landon as too highland recommended that they should be reduced by 10 per cent, which course was sanctioned by Government. 32. Rut a preferable guide to aid in determining what rates are fitting at the present time will be afforded by those which have been more recently sanctioned in adjoining districts. Thus the former taluka of Kharda, of the Nagar Collectorate, which is con¬ tiguous on the east to the old P4bal Taluka, was settled in 1851-52 by Colonel G. S. Anderson; his rates varied from 14 annas in the villages adjoining Bhimthari to Rs. 1-8 in a few north of P4rner. Again, on the west and north, Khed, GhorehPetha, and Junnar were settled by Colonel Francis from 1851 to 1854; his rates vary from Rs. 1-8 in the adjoining villages of Khed to Rs. 1-12 in those of Junnar. There is still a further datum supplied by some contiguous villages of the Bhimthari Taluka, the rates of which have been introduced as lately as the present year, and in which .the maximum rate was Rs. 1-8. 33. These last-mentioned villages being the most recently Proposed Rates. revised, their maximum rate would be appli- cable to such villages as, being contiguous to them, may also be similarly circumstanced as regards climate, distance from market, &c. The two villages of Takrdr Mahalunga and Takli are, however, the only two that adjoin them ;*but as they have the advantage of being nearer to the high road from Nagar to Poona, and the large bazaar town of Talegaon, they should have a somewhat higher maximum rate, which I would fix at Rs. 1-12, which rate I would also extend to all the villages on the eastern border of the district (in which a less favourable climate has been shown to exist) as far north as to Singwa. The fifth class, Rs. 2, would comprise all the villages immediately adjoining and to the west of those of Class VI. The fourth class, Rs. 2-4, in like man¬ ner, would be to the west of those of Class V., and those of the third class to the west of Class IV., whilst the first and second classes, Rs. 3 and Rs. 2-12 respectively, would apply to the villages 312 in the north-west of the district, and situated on, or adjoining the high road from Poona to Junnar. You will thus see that tlie rates I propose are raised gradually from east to west, in accordance with the increasing climatic superiority of the district in the latter direction. I propose, then, to have six classes, the grouping of the villages coming under each of them being shown on the annexed map, and the number in the following statement:— Class. No. of Villages. Maximum Kate. Remarks. I. 1 3 0 II. 16 2 12 III. 13 2 8 IV. 12 2 4 Y. 8 2 0 VI. 6 1 12 56 I. 1 ’3 0 | III. 1 2 8 > Three villages received from His Highness V. 1 2 0 j Holkar. Total... 59 34. There are no masonry dams in the district, but the people T . ,. construct temporary embankments in several villages, especially in those along the banks of the Yel River. The chief crops grown under the paths are sugar-cane, potatoes, earth-nut, chillies, vegetables, and, in a few villages, garlic. The highest rate I purpose to impose for path water is Rs. 6 per acre, and the minimum Re. 1. The assessment on this account amounts to Rs. 5,629, or an average of Rs. 2-10 per acre. The total former assessment on wells and pdths together (there is nO separation under the two heads) was Rs. 13,433, of which, however, only 12,029 was collected last year, the remainder being remitted on wells not in use. The well lands have no extra assessment plaqed on them on account of water; and as there are 10,047 acres of such lands, the sum foregone by Government on this account would not be less than from Rs. 20,000 to 25,000 probably. 35. Of rice land there are only 92 acres ; but as it is of a Rice land very superior description to that in ShoMpur, I have put a maximum rate of Rs. 5 on it; the average rate is Rs. 3-1-7. 313 * 36.The,effect of my rates is to increase the assessment on Effect Of rate* Ausari, the only one of the 56 villages coming under the first-class rate, by 70 per cent. The villages of the second class are raised on an average of 74 per cent; those of Class III.. 94 of Class IV. 90, of Class V. 95, and Class VI. 103 per cent. The average increase on all the 56 villages is 88 per cent over last year’s payments. The following statement shows the general effect of the new rates,, as compared with the old, in the 56 villages included in the diagram :— . According to revised rates... According to present assess- Occupied. Unoccupied. Total. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assess¬ ment. 181,076 160,692 Rs. 1,73,898 92,359 '567 548 Rs, 360 230 181,643 161,240 Rs. 1,74,258 92,589 20,384 81,539 19 130 20,403 81,669 Effect of new rates. 37.You will see from the above that the total#assessment on the occupied lands of 56 villages is Rs. 1,73,898, being Rs. 81,539, or 88 per cent, higher than last year’s collections. It is Rs. 81,601, or 88 per cent, more than the average collections from 1862 to 1871; Rs. 88,411, or 103 per cent, more than the average from 1852 to 1861; and Rs. 1,07,390, or 161 percent, higher than the average collections from 1836 to 1840. The assessment onithe three villages formerly belonging to Holkar, as realized by the Durbar at the time of trans¬ fer and collected up to the present time, was Rs. 9,869; this is raised by my rates to Rs. 13,806 or 60 per cent,—a significant fact, and one which appears to me conclusive as to the adequacy of the revised rates now being introduced in the Deccan. 38.The greatest individual increase is in the case of the vil- lage of Eklahara, being 159 percent. The &c.nS anCeS ° mcrease’ group in which the largest general increase occurs is that in whi^h the maximum rate is lowest, and the average dry-crop rate in this group is only Rs. 0-10-1. The highest average dry-crop rate is Rs. 1-15-2, and occurs in the village of Pimpalgaon, the assessment of which notwithstanding is only raised 57 per cent. The average dry-crop rate in the 56 villages is Rs. 0-14-10. b 209—N * 314 Measurement classification. and 39. The measurement was effected under the supervision of Messrs. Ward and E. A. Francis,and the clas¬ sification under that of Mr. J. C. Whitcombe, who has submitted to me a careful report on the district. The test returns are appended, and I have every reason to believe that the work has been satisfactorily executed. 40. Some slight modifications may be expected when the rates p . have been finally corrected and examined; one usion. but I will not defer the submission of this report until the examination shall have been completed, as it is very desirable that it should be forwarded as early as possible for the consideration of Government. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Supdt., Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N£sik. Statement. 316 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants, of the Poona Collectorate, according to No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. W ells. Males. Females. Total. Agricul¬ tural. Drink¬ ing. Out of repair. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ( 357 1,043 944 1,987 90 10 1 AuSari Khurd ... < I # 326 1,219 1,171 2,390 143 17 8 ( 276 1,079 1,033 2,112 87 17 2 Ausari Budruk ... { l 405 1,219 1,171 2,390 122 2 23 ( 182 561 495 1,056 37 9 3 Ohandoli Budrnk ... < l 150 508 464 972 47 4 10 ( 23 464 453 917 10 2 4 Chandoli Khurd ... 1 l 15 66 55 121 13 ... 4 ( 203 740 703 1,443 23 5 Ckas \ l 146 611 574 1,185 22 5 ( 175 561 538 1,099 21 6 Chinchodi ... ... < ( 187 581 593 1,174 31 6 2 ( 339 697 664 1,861 54 13 7 Dhamni ... ... 1 t 172 883 862 1,745 56 20 17 ( 41 108 106 214 12 8 Bklahara ... ... ^ ( 45 157 140 297 13 — 5 ( 144 595 583 1,178 45 4 9 Kalamb ... ... J. 1 175 617 616 1,233 57 5 9 ( 79 171 180 351 10 10 Lauki ... ... 1 ( 58 164 178 342 14 1 ... ( 40 39 79 1 11 Mahalunga ... ... < ( 13 35 32 67 1 ... | 1 317 Cattle, Wells, fyc., in 56 Villages of the old Pdhal Taluka Census talcen in 1840-41 and 1871-72. Carts and Ploughs. Cattle. Total. Carts. Ploughs. Horses, and Mares. She-Buffa- loes and their young ones Cows and Calves. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Sheep anc Goats. Remarks. 10 11 12 13 ‘ 14 15 16 17 18 100 ' 12 85 37 128 481 685 236 168 44 124 24 247 358 837 703 104 35 155 . 28 213 646 765 1,373 147 30 159 6 174 453 759 1,819 46 72 26 17 45 105 262 500 61 20 56 15 49 138 237 856 12 1 16 • •• 3 53 74 124 17 1 15 ... 2 27 53 223 23 18 ; . 39 56 106 273 332 591 27 16 41 27 116 316 374 460 21 10 44 27 145 873 342 233 39 19 58 8 155 251 318 546 67 25 103 31 205 713 523 383 93 63 104 27 126 780 550 1,344 12 2 20 2 f 86 118 14 18 11 30 24 11 68 99 129 40 9 62 18 41 296 351 502 71 9 72 12 53 217 269 903 10 7 21 1 .28 122 131 699 15 13 31 6 22 60 95 795 1 ... 2 1 6 3 7 40 42 5 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabit Inhabitants. Wells. No. Names of Villages. Houses. Males. Females. Total. Agricul- Drink- Out of tural. ing. repair. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 Nandur < 395 330 725 28 . ,« i t 130 397 378 775 46 1 4 13 Narodi ... ... < 186 592 563 1,155 23 ... .6 t 208 678 679 1,357 29 ... 10 14 Pargaon ... ... < 156 465 434 899 10 ... 8 ( 86 525 504 1,029 9 1 11 15 Pimpalgaon ... ... < 200 579 554 1,133 62 ... 4 c 314 809 647 1,456 80 1 12 16 Sakora ... ... < ' 37 130. H5 245 11 ... ... l 60 153 144 297 20 ... ... Wadgaon ... ... < 175 591 573 1,164 27 17 • • a L 182 687 640 1,327 46 1 1 18 Bharadi ... ... < 40 185 180 365 9 ... 1 c 67 182 113 295 10 ... 1 19 Giroli ... ... ) 113 270 237 507 5 8 ( 64 320 327 647 9 ... 6 20 Gulani ... ... < 105 288 619 10 ,1. 2 ( 68 268 253 521 14 1 3 21 Hewra ... ... < ... 307 295 602 23 ... 5 l 80 323 184 507 26 1 9 22 Jaula... ... ... < 40 89 93 182 IQ M. 2 l 42 123 114 237 12 ... 2 23 Khadki ... ... < 71 271 251 522 25 â– 2 •: • c 66 177 202 379 19 ... 10 319 ants, Cattle, Wells, §c., in 56 Villages—continued. | Carts and Ploughs. Cattle. Total. Carts. Ploughs. Horses and Mares. She Buffa¬ loes and their young ones. Cows and Calves. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Sheep and Goats. [Remarks, 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 29 14 o-l 39 â–  270 235 ' 51G 51 34 58 11 / 85 231 270 807 29 10 31 23 141 235 386 586 39 14 80 16 135 277 350 354 18 20 46 16 140 , 428 424 . 27 21 49 99 16 201 487 496 73 ,66 20 88 8 49 ’ 203 364 G88 93 19 115 6 57 112 393 693 11 4 22 9 17 68 119 107 20 9 20 2 29 57 112 271 27 7 38 20 92 229 345 365 # 48 26 38 24 - 77 249 332 358 10 9 28 7 01 182 122 47 11 7 23 14 15 110 76 304 13 12 55 15 99 202 204 361 15 26 49 7 92 221 240 52 12 10 45 7 137 236 278 43 18 22 45 14 98 271 245 65 28 ... » .. • •• 0 » 1 • •» 36 26 36 15 31 235 258 229 12 1 16 7 12 95 84 130 14 3 24 5 8 118 112 109 27 0 32 8 18 142 166 128 29 5 25 7 24 89 116, 520 320 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabit Inhabitants. Wells • No. Names of Villages. Houses. Males. E emales. Total. Agricul- Drink- Out of tural. mg. repair. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ( 305 817 i 08 1,575 05 03 24 Loni ... ... ... < 245 883 820 1,703 68 15 28 ( 157 562 523 1,‘085 9 4 25 Nirgiidsar ... ... < 111 566 502 1,068 30 2 4 ( 581 1,592 1*441 3,033 S r i O • 16 26 Pabal ... ... •< l 505 2,217 913 3,130 98 78 20 ( 35 90 77 167 9 i 1 27 Thorandla ... ... ^ 64 123 125 248 18 1 .2 ( 39 34 80 164 28 Wakalwari ... ... < 48 88 80 168 • • • • ( 168 465 417 882 32 8 29 Wadu Budruk ... < 110 542 - 542 1,084 27 • • • 1G ( 184 m 317 712 20 4 80 Waruda ... ... < l 138 553 519 1,072 44 • • • 11 ( 71 234 197 431 ' 4. ... 3 31 Apti ... ... ... 1 42 205 209 414 5 • • • 3 ( 87 255 220 475 21 G 32 Hewra ... ... < 55 265 274 539 26 1 5 r 82 235 216 451 9 3 33 Jategaon Budruk ... ^ 70 309 291 600 14 3 ( 51 235 216 451 6 3 34 Jategaon Khurd ... ^ 65 188 188 376 8 3 ( 200 733 064 1,397 43 12 35 Kanhur ... ... < • c 169 802 726 1,528 46 2 24 1 321 ants, Cattle, Wells, fyc., in 56 Villages—continued. Carts and Ploughs. Cattle. Total. Carts. Ploughs. Horses, and Mares She Buffa loes and . their youngones Cows and Calves. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Sheep and Goats. Remarks. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 38 19 79 27 114 550 495 * 1,584 111 39 90 33 33 512 418 1,133 29 14 55 35 149 292 397 1,222 36 6 40 22 76 344 347 1,057 91 35 148 • €0 328 933 1>053 1,770 196 107 164 59 294 1,075 1,006 1,572 10 1 19 6 23 45 79 49 21 9 22 1 14 51 110 434 ... 6 13 2 35 .68 100 30 ... 9 13 2 26 54 89 23 40 24 50 22 48 361 421 194 • 43 56 27 11 40 413 472 192 24 14 74 11 91 332 430 84 55 56 78 10 177 562 493 453 7 20 ' 27 8 32 201 203 189 8 18 22 8 37 172 220 185 • 27 8 22 1 17 139 156 389 32 17 62 13 22 172 185 285 12 14 39 8 76 273 226 169 17. 35 35 9 45 238 263 376 9 11 13 22 . 42 223 202 26 11 6 18 12 33 201 180 32 55 26 95 46 135 814 681 1,663 72 b 209 40 —0 105 23 82 756 755 '. 797 • 322 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabit No. Names of Villages. Houses. Inhabitants. Wells. Males. Females. Total. , Agricul¬ tural. Drink¬ ing. Out of repairs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 36 Khodad ... ... < 157 715 648 1,363 56 8 ( 204 630 628 1,258 63 2 17 37 < Pimpla ... ... < 65 196 185 381 17 3 ( 82 248 238 486 19 1 8 38 Shikrapur ... ... < 192 662 623 1,285 41 M| 17 ( 173 592 651 1,243 49 47 15 39 Ranjani ... ... ) 123 419 398 817 32 6 ( 139 477 517 994 46 3 6 40 Walti \ 93 261 266 527 29 5 l 79 328 321 649 43 7 41 Wadgaon Pir ... ) 87 . 225 233 458 11 7 -â–  ( 70 348 335 683 17 3 9 42 Waruda ... ... ) 72 292 276 568 17 3 l 76 274 260 534 17 3 6 43 Chincholi ... ... ) 93 219 184 403 16 17 • ( 74 268 236 504 22 1 12 44 Deogaon ... ... \ 20 36 48 84 -2 l 24 70 56 126 6 ... ... 45 Katapur Budruk ... \ 46 203 170 373 15 2 l 59 239 244 483 15 4 46 Kondapuri ... ... ) 86 266 223 489 20 «»• ( ( 61 253 246 499 19 ... 4 47 Nimgaon Mahalungi. \ 181 513 476 989 30 3 l 128 589 579 1,168 30 1 8 323 ants, Cattle, Wells, &e., in 56 Villages—continued. Carts and Ploughs. Cattle. Total. Carts. Ploughs. Horses and Mares. She Buffa¬ loes and their young ones Cows and Calves. Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Sheep and Goats. Remarks. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 G4 18 98 12 . 29 155 452 1,000 .82 20 64 16 39 284 398 1,716 20 18 4 to •SI * 10 39 259 2S3 102 28 33 45 9 22 225 280 112 53 . n 42 34 79 547 419 228 111 24 20 23 85 389 414 202 38 14 75 20 Q7 256 299 1,346 55 15 73 18 44 177 318 1,047 84 10 29 10 35 194 235 857 50 8 58 10 32 201 251 885 18 7 44 4 71 262 237 238 29 13 47 7 52 381 260 788 20 9 36 17 47 439 277 106 26 7 23 10 21 402 248 1,045 38 7 26 14 41 270 155 213 35 15 33 6 27 216 196 300 2 S 6 ... 13 53 51 ... 6 2 13 ... 4 45 62 121 17 9 35 17 166 99 736 19 2 41 6 28 141 169 1,002 20 17 37 20 , 20 304 252 90 23 9 49 16 7 207 204 291 33 24 65 32. 73 707 519 421 89 59 75 18 25 614 509 754 324 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabit . Inhabitants. Wells. No. Names of Villages. Houses. Males. Females. Total. Agricul- Drink- Out of tural. mg. repair. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ( 90 319 277 596 16 4 48 Singwa ... ... < 103 409 404 813 28 • •• . 8 ( 699. 2,403 2,239 4,942 113 ... ; 42 49 Talegaon < l 747 3,144 2,966 6,110 173 37 31 ( 52 115 104 219 13 5 50 Waghala ... ... < 46 176 171 347 15 • •• 4 ( 27 124 93 216 . 5 6 51 Chandoho ... ... < 30 167 141 308 12 • •• 5 ( 7 36 85 71 3 8 52 Katapur Khurd ... •< 7 51 45 96 7 • •. 1 r 264 > n CO 737 1,592 55 10 53 Kauta •< 348 1,035 704 1,739 86 13 17 ( 236. 747 676 1,423 52 4 54 Mahal linga ... ... < l 191 950 856 1,806 66 4 12 ( GO 191 1C5 356 4 â–  3 55 Phakta ... ... < 44 211 216 427 13 ... 1 . r 77 257 ’ 255 512 4 ... 1 56 Takli Bhima... ... < 75 296 283 579 8 ... 2 ( 7,791 25,015 • 23,087 48,102 1,493 325 Total... < ( 7,441 28,198 25,327 53,525 1,977 275 449 ' 325 ants, Cattle, Wells, &c., in 56 Villages—concluded. Carts and Ploughs. Cattle. Total. Carts. Ploughs. Horses and Mares. She Buffa¬ loes and their young ones. Cows and Calves. Bullocks and Male- Buffaloes. Sheep and Goats. Remarks. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 5 35 17 .52 • 226 225 647 36 10 66 18 28 206 269 680 155 71 197 158 225 1,949 1,945 1,173 • 241 151 227 99 210 1,426 1,891 1,142 18 9 17 10 - 25 156 120 431 19 4 24 8 10 132 161 150 11 4 23 3 3 198 139 56 17 9 30 12 20 228 192 454 5 3 8 3 16 54 51 193 8 1 10 3 5 54 42 51 65 21 . 82 83 85 758 660 3,152 116 34 91 55 53 505 603 2,835 56 39 80 19 141 434 553 260 82 16 19 16 117 541 520 190 7 10 32 11 21 239 190 610 14 ... 25 5 16 171 165 378 5 6 41 13 24 339 266 38 10 7 35 14 13 317 311 144 1,818 754 2,715 1,124 3,914 17,634 18,131 26,984 2,701 1,304 3,052 861 3,551 16,577 18,634 32,404 W. W ADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. 326 Measurement Test Statement. Names of Assistants. Number of Fields tested. Fields in which the Percentage Error was within 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Above 10 per cent. ’ Lieut. T.M. Ward ......) Mr. E. A. Francis ) 1,630 999 295 148 61 36 26 17 14 3 4 27 Classification Test Statement. Names of Assistants. Number of of Fields tested. • Result." 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. W. M. Fletcher ... ) Mr. j. C. Whitcombe ... ) 2,124 419 769 535 201 122 36 22 6 14 The following comparative statement exhibits the results of the new and former survey of 56 villages, of the old Pabal Taluka, shown in detail under the same head:— Government Land. Alienated Land. Cultur- able assessed. Uncul- turable. Kuran Gairan, Roads, &c. Total. Cultur- able. Uncul- turable. Total. Grand Total. According to present Sur¬ vey 181,643 9,298 2,939 27,653 221,533 11,334 488 11,822 233,355 According to former Sur¬ vey 161,240 18,970 2,529 22,401 205,140 10,789 1,224 12,013 217,153 Increase... 20,403 410 5,252 26,065 545 545 26,610 Decrease... 9,672 9,672 736 _ 736 10,408 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. 327 No. *3 7 of 1840. To GEORGE WINGATE, Esquire, Superintendent of Revenue Survey, Bembla. • Sir, The unexpectedness of the circumstances which have led me to request my services might be placed at the disposal of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief will, I trust, be admitted as my apology for the very meagre report I am now about to make on the survey operations I have had the happiness of conducting in the P&bal Taluka during the past fair season. I did not intend drawing your attention to my proceedings until the work was fur¬ ther advanced; but now that my connection with the Survey is about to cease for a time, I am unwilling to leave unrecorded a few ideas obtained from actual observation. The suddenness of my departure, with its contingent preparations, compels me to be brief. 2. At the end of October 1839 the classification of the soil and the testing of the old survey measurements of that portion of the P&bal District under the M^mlatd&r, denominated the Taraf of P&bal, were taken in hand, and proceeded most satisfactorily, both as to the quantity of work done and the excellent way in which it was accomplished, until the middle of last June, when the monsoon caused the suspension of all field work. 3. The total area of the taraf according to the late survey is 1,13,054 British acres, and the number of Classification of the soil, villages 28 : of these the’ classification of 24 villages, comprising 72,210 acres, has been completed, leaving 4 villages not yet finished, but of which 3 have been commenced and 4,896 acres out of 21,631 classified. The remaining village, Talegaon (Dhamdhera), of the 28 is of large extent, 19,213 acres, and has not yet been touched. The total amount of acres remaining to be classified is 35,947, or about a third. 4. The progress of the measurement has been as follows:—22 Measurement. villages, containing 65,472 acres, have been completed, and 6 villages (47,583 acres) are in progress, and probably will be finished in about 2 months. The measurements of the former survey have generally proved correct, and in such cases they have been retained. 328 Accuracy of present work. 5. The kdrkuns of my establishment have, upon .the whole, performed their duty extremely well. The difference between my classification and that of the Tarams has most frequently been merely a few pies out of several hundred. On testing the perform¬ ances of the measurers, the average of difference between them and me has been found to be only 21 guntas 9 annas—a fraction above half an acre per cent! That all ranks of k&rkuns have diligently and faithfully performed their various tasks I have every reason to believe. Mistakes may have occurred, but intentional fraud has been almost impossible, for every individual has been made to feel himself and his proceedings narrowly watched by me. 6. I have been able to procure from 2 villages only a list of _ , the prices of grain for twenty years, but I can BeaStforPlace ?° dependence upon them. It was my intention to have pointed out such agreement between them and similar lists of the Bhimthari District, as circum- stances'had led me to expect to find ; but since I can trace no re¬ semblance between those two lists, it would be idle to endeavour, to discover any between either of these and those of Bhimthari. I shall, therefore, in suggesting that the Pimpalgaon sanctioned rates of assessment be adopted for the taraf. of Pdbal, confine myself to the remarks that the climate and productions are so much alike, the proximity to Poona and means of transport of pro¬ duce to its markets so corresponding, that I am inclined to believe similar rates would be suitable. I should much wish to enter into more lengthened explanations of my reasons for proposing the same rates, but time will not permit. As the survey of the dis¬ trict will now be conducted under the superintendence of another officer, it becomes less necessary for me to dwell on the subject; his further inquiries regarding it will enable him to form more conclusive opinions than mine. 7. I am inclined to think the climate of this taraf is much Climate the same throughout, with, perhaps, the ex¬ ception of a few villages forming a strip of land on the eastern portion. This difference is imagined for this reason. In the whole taraf there are 4,462 houses; of these detailed returns of 24 villages have been received, showing houses. with tiled roofs 254, with flat mud-roofs 1,972, with thatched 259 ; total 2,755 : the balance of 1,707 belong to the 4 villages whose returns have not yet come in. Now so great a proportion of mud- roofs would lead one to infer the absence of heavy rain where they abounded, and some idea may be formed as to which part of the taraf enjoyed least rain, by observing the distribution of the tiled houses. Out of 254 only 8 are on the eastern portion of the 329 taraf, on which side also are 9 out of the 10 villages altogether without tiled roofsj while the 10th is about the centre. I do not lay any undue stress under the above circumstances; they are merely mentioned as a curious test-to ascertain the prevalence or otherwise of the rain, and thus to assist in drawing conclusions as to the climate and capabilities of a district or its parts. In the present instance this taraf is composed of so narrow a strip of land that it may be viewed as being in climate much the same throughout. 8. The condition of the people of this taraf is by no means so impoverished as of those who fell under r.i,P0n^ltl0-n °f " my notice farther eastward in the Sholdpur Taraf. Collectorate, and the existing assessment, although unquestionably too heavy, is not so intolerable as elsewhere. Wretched though the peasantry be, yet they are some shades better circumstanced in their houses, cloth¬ ing, and personal necessaries, and also in their stock and agricul¬ tural essentials. The villages are in many places very dilapidated, and their walls crumbling to the ground. There are 33 chauris, of which 19 are inhabitable, and the remainder in a miserable plight. Manufactures cannot be said to flourish, though they pay taxes to the amount of Rs. 593-15-11; of schools there are 11, and of shops 188. 9. The number of cultivators is 2,442 ; of these 1,850 are Cultivation. Mirasddrs, 492 Upria, and ]00 Wowand- kurns. There are 1,225 ploughs, 7,o21 bullocks, and 430 carts. The amount of land cultivation has re¬ mained very steady; since the introduction of the late survey in Fasli 1239 (a.d. 1829) there has been very little fluctuation. The average of the last three years shows an increase over the first three years of about 4,000 acres in the whole district. It is difficult to ascertain the state of cultivation under the Mamul system which existed before the survey, because the denominations of the land were so various (viz., Paka Biga, Kacha Biga, Chahur, Rukha, and Khandi) that it is impossible to know what quantity of land they represent in British acres. 10. There is a great quantity of garden cultivation in the Bagayet cultivation, taraf, and the same system of assessing it should be adopted as in Inddpur. There are 739 wells and 69 burlcis ; of the former 208 are out of repair, of the latter, 44. Irrigation is also extensively carried on by means of numerous paths. 11. When the district of Pdbal came under our manage¬ ment in Fasli 1230 (A.D. 1820), the reve¬ nue from the land was Rs. 83,317, from taxes Rs. 4,183 ; total Rs. 87,500. The year before Revenue collections and taxes of the district. B 209—P 330 the introduction of the late survey, Fasli 1233 (a.d. 1828), the land revenue was Rs. 47,958, or nearly one-half what it was nine years previous, and the taxes Rs. 3,281, one-third less. On the introduc¬ tion of the survey the revenue was Rs. 53,980, or about Rs. 6,000 more, but the following year it sunk to about what it had been the previous year. Since Fasli 1245 (a.d. 1835) it had been gradually diminishing at the rate of Rs. 1,000 per annum, and in Fasli 1248 (a.d. 1838) was Rs. 51,505, or Rs. 31,752 less than when the country came into the hands of the British, while the taxes are Rs. 1,897, or Rs. 2,296 less. During the first nine years, while the Mamul system prevailed,remissions to the amount of Rs. 67,645-15-1 were given, and during the last ten years, under the survey, the sum of Rs. 76,289-15-5 was remitted, so that in the space of nineteen years the remissions have amounted to the enormous sum of Rs. 1,43,935-14-6, nearly three years’ revenue. Surely the assessment cannot be called a light one where such sacrifices have been demanded. 12. In concluding this hasty and most imperfect report I Conclusion venture to express the earnest hope that no¬ thing may be permitted to impede the Revenue Survey’s onward march through the length and breadth of the Deccan. I am fully persuaded that its beneficial effects in keeping the peace of the country will, on the withdrawal of troops, be equi¬ valent to those of two or three regiments, with this advantage in favour of the present survey, that its career is calculated to bring blessings in its train; and although such happy results may not immediately be apparent or even produced, yet, in due time, mise¬ ries will be alleviated, present difficulties will be overcome, and, with life and possessions rendered more secure than they now are, the calm of peace will be enjoyed. Certain principles are, I think, at work, surely though slowly. Even amidst the gloom of existing realities, the heart may beat high with the hope of the approach of that period when the moral chaos will be reduced to order, and the now inert natives of India, no longer wholly engrossed with the tormenting embarrassment of mere food and raiment, will be seek¬ ing the conveniences and enjoyments and elegances of this life; when ignorance will be felt irksome, and the pursuit of wisdom be¬ come the highest gratification of the mind; when knowledge will increase, and India will rise in the scale of nations. I have, &c., GEO. HENRY ROBERTSON, Lieut., Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey, in P£bal. Camp near Poona, 29th September 1840. 331 To G. WINGATE, Esquire, Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Poona. Sir, - The survey of the P4bal Pergunna being finished, I have the honour to submit some remarks on the district relative to the settlement of the new rates. 2. The M£mlatd£r’s division of the pergunna, with the exception of 4 villages, was surveyed under the superintendence of Lieutenant Robertson, who having sent you a report on this part of the district, my observations will have reference chiefly to the Mahdlkari’s division. 3. The P&bal Pergunna consists of a slip of land nearly from north to south, the northern half of which sari^etK^1011 °f the MaMlkanes* division, called Ausari Peth ; this was surveyed during the past fair season under my superintendence. There are two rivers running through the peth, which unite at the south-east angle near P4r- gaon ; on the banks of these rivers nearly all the villages are situat¬ ed. The soil of that part through which the Mina flows, from Heura to K&tapur, is of an inferior description, being chiefly Tam- bad and Bardi, with very few trees, and great part is uncultivated. The other stream, the Gor,.from.as far as Pimpalgaon, runs through land of a better description and tolerably well supplied with trees, chiefly mango, and nearly all the land is. cultivated; on the other river is the village of Wargaon, where Mr. Mutti has established his silk manufactory. 4. In Ausari Measurement. Peth there are 3 Dumala and 31 Khalsat villages; in the latter the test of the measure¬ ment has been completed with the exception of a few fields. The measurement of the former survey proving very incorrect in 16 villages, I ordered them to be remeasured throughout, and found the amount of error on the arable land in one village as high as 52 acres per cent; in the other 15 villages from 17 to 30 acres per cent, the error being almost entirely in favour of Government; in the remaining 15 villages the test of error be¬ ing within 10 per c.ent, the former measurement has been retained, 5. During the past fair season the tarams under my charge Classification. lia.v® classifie(^ the whole of Ausari Peth con¬ taining 74,662 acres, besides 4 large villages, in the P4bal Taraf containing 21,631 acres. 332 6. The work of the kirkuns, both measurers and classifiers, - - , . appears to have been very satisfactorily per- kunVsvork688 ° **" f<>rmed, since in the fields tested by me the difference between their work and mine I found to be very trifling. 7. Prior to the late survey the records of the measurement _ of the land in this district was kept in so twoffiagramtT gmng many different kinds of measurements, and these again in their relative quantities differed in every village (see statement of the yearly cultivated land), that it is almost impossible to estimate in acres the land under cultiva¬ tion or waste with any degree of correctness ; I have, therefore, in framing the accompanying diagrams, commenced from the year 1829, when the whole district was measured in acres, and at the back of each diagram I have shown by the upper zigzag line the yearly amount of assessment on the cultivated land, by the lower zigzag line the amount actually collected yearly since the year 1820. 8. When Ausari Peth came into our possession in 1820 a.d. (1230 Fasli), the amount of assessment on Dccraise on the qnan- the land under cultivation (Ain Jama) was vaLt Bs. 80,258, the year before the last survey it had fallen to Rs. 56,534, and on the intro¬ duction of the survey in 1829 it fell to Rs. 46,618. Sinee then to the present time the quantity of land under cultivation has under¬ gone but little fluctuation, but the amount of remissions and ba¬ lances have been much larger since the survey than they were be¬ fore. From the year 1820 to 1829, the year the survey was intro¬ duced, a period o{ nine years, the amount of remissions and balan- Remissions granted. ces wa3 Rs- 43,319, and since 1829 until the year 1839, being eleven years, it amounted to Rs. 92,601, making a total of Rs. 1,35,920. 9. When the peth came into the British possession in 1820 _ . . A.n. (1230 Fasli), the amount collected from land10113 the land was Rs. 80,258, being the full as- sessment without any remission; the year be¬ fore the survey it had fallen toRs. 44,874, and on introduction of the survey in 1829 it fell to Rs. 32,539; in 1831 it fell to Rs. 25,531; the following year it was more favourable ; and in 1833 and the two following years nearly the whole assessment was collected; in 1836 it again fell to Rs. 35,268, and since then it has fluctuated be¬ tween Rs. 35 and 40,000, which is less than half the amount collect¬ ed when we first took possession in 1820. These remarks will be more readily understood by referring to annexed diagrams Nos. 1 and 2. 333 10. This pergunna being situated near the Gh£ts, is more Clim te favoured with respect to rain than the a * district situated further to the eastward, and consequently I think the difference in the fertility between the superior and inferior soils not so great. The climate I think much the same throughout, with the exception of a few villages to the north-west surrounded with hills, which attract the. clouds, rendering the supply of moisture more abundant and certain. 11. There is a weekly market in several villages at which vegetables and small quantities of grain and coarse cloth are expos¬ ed for sale; there is no traffic of any consideration carried on in the district, the surplus gram, tobacco, chillies, &c., being carried either to Poona, Panwel, or Bhiwandi. Large droves of bullocks, loaded with cotton from Oomrawutti, pass through Koroti and P&bal on their way to Bombay. 12. The chief grains grown on Jerayet land for kharif crop Produce are bdjri and jow&ri; there are also small quantities of other grains. The rabi crop is wheat, gram, and kardi. 13. There are 806 wells in good repair, and 119 out of repair; 64 burkis in good repair. The wells are chiefly used to produce vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, chillies, onions, carrots, brinjals, earth-nut, bendi; also wheat and gram, and in a few villages small quantities of sugarcane, plantains, and mulberry trees. 14. The bund across the Mina River waters 362 acres of By Path land at Narayengaon when in thorough re¬ pair ; there were several leaks when I saw it in May last, and as much water passed through them as flowed along the path; the kulkarni said that it had been leaky for the last three years, so that some fields of about 40 acres at the greatest distance from the bund received water only till December, and if in proper repair they would be watered until the end of April; each field receives a supply of water once in eight days. At the eastern extremity to which the path at present runs is a deep nulla; over this in former days there was an aqueduct, by means of which the path watered other 80 acres of land until the month of December. To rebuild this aqueduct would cost a large sum. After the month of February the water is thrown from the bund into the path by men with scoops. 15. According to the last survey there are in Ausari Peth Present state of cnl- 75,177 °f. Ianf ; of these 55,970 tivation. acres are cultivated, and 19,206 acres are waste. From returns lately received from the villages, there appear to be 1,433 ploughs, 368 carts 9,436, 334 bullocks, and the total number of cultivators 3,292; of these 2,719 are Mirasd4rs, 426 Upris, and 117 Wowandkaris. 16.There are only coarse cloths and kamblis made in small Manufacture. quantities not sufficient for their own use. 17.In 15 villages there are good chauris, in 10 villages Chauries they are sadly out of repair, and in 7 villages the chauris are in ruins. The village author¬ ities were urgent to have their chauris repaired, as they are obliged to cary .on their duties in their own houses. The chauris are also useful and convenient for native travellers to put up in. 18. In 10 villages there are Marathi schools giving in- Schools struction to 244 boys in all. At Narayen- gaon the master is paid by the Government; in the other villages the pay of the master varies according to the number of boys who attend the school, and ranges from 3 to 6 rupees a month, each boy paying from 2 to 4 annas a month, accord¬ ing to the progress he has made; the boys are all every young, as the parents do not like paying for them, and they soon withdraw them. When the scholars are reduced to a small number, the master, not deriving sufficient to support himself, leaves the village in hope of a better situation in another. A few Mah'r&tta spelling books (Lipiddra) and reading books for beginners would be found very useful if distributed amongst the village schools. 19. Lieutenant Eobertson having reported on the Pdbal Ta- raf, my remarks have hitherto had reference chiefly to the Ausari Feth. The following remarks have reference to the district in general. 20. The advantages enjoyed by this district over Sholdpur This district comnar. are considerable from vicinity to the Ghats, ed with Sholapur. the more certain supply of ram and cooler climate, also better markets, as Poona and Bombay; the difference in the price of grain I am not able to point out, the returns furnished by the villages being very unsatisfactory. From the annexed diagram of the district it will be observed that the amount realized from the lands is now far below the as¬ sessment fixed by Mr. Pringle, which has now become merely nomi¬ nal, and clearly pointing out the necessity for a reduction. 21.The district of Pdbal can, I think, easily bear an increase „ , , , of 35 per cent on the rates fixed for Shola- Jr roposed rates for A ~ Jerayet. pur, and 10 per cent additional on the inferi¬ or soils on account of their greater fertility- S35 There are a few villages on the north-west of the district which might bear an additional 20 per cent from their being in the midst of hills and the supply of rain more certain. On the eastern part of the district the rain is less certain, being distant from the hills ^ here a few villages might be lowered 20 per cent less than the rate for the district. Having calculated the above rates on several villages, I esti¬ mate that they will give an average of 9 annas per acre, and this will make a maximum Jerayet assessment on the arable land of the whole district, exclusive of Inams, of Its. 92,812 ; to this may be added Its. 15,494 for Bagayet, giving a Kamal assessment of Its. 1,08,306, that is when the whole land is under cultivation. This will give an increase on the average of the revenue received for the last ten years of Its. 26,306. The immediate sacrifice on the part of Government I calculate will not be more than Its. 525 less than the average for the last ten years of the collections from the land under cultivation. Rate for garden land by wells. 22. In fixing the rate on the garden land I would recommend the same plan as that adopted for ShoUpur, at 2 rupees per acre ; but in this district there is a considerable quantity of land watered by paths, and as this kind of irrigation is less expensive to the ryots Bv nath than well irrigation (the expense of a man and bullocks to draw the water not being incurred), I would recommend 3 rupees per acre for paths. There Dehli soil. is a^so a small quantity of that very rich soil, ♦ called Dehli, deposited by the river. Some of this land put up to auction last year was rented for 8 rupees per acre. I think since this kind of land is liable to increase or di¬ minish from the force of the river, that the present system of dis¬ posing of it by yearly sale had better be continued. The garden Narayengaon Bagayet! }fnd, at Narayengaon being watered from a bund across the Mina River, which costs Government a large sum to keep in repairs (rebuilding about one- third part of it about six years ago amounted to about 37,000 rupees), and the rates having been reduced only a few years ago (in 1838) by the Revenue Commissioner, I should not, therefore, think it requisite to make much reduction in the present rate; and from the accompanying table, showing the remissions granted for the last eleven years, it does not appear to have been so highly assessed as the Jerayet land; but since in some years they meet with diffi¬ culty in paying the full amount, I think a further reduction of 1 rupee on the 1st class sufficient. 336 The former rates of the different classes were as follows Awul, or Doom, or Sheem, or Sheem, or 1st class 2nd class 3rd class 4th class. Rs. 17 12-8 6 3 Reduced by the Revenue Commissioner in 1838 to— 14 9 4 3 Proposed present rates— 13 8-8 3-8 2-8 23. Whether the above rates be approved of, or others adopted, I trust you will be able to give me intimation of the decision of Government in time to enable me to finish off the papers of the P&bal Taraf in time for the next Jamdbandi. Conclusion. Poona, 25th August 1840. I have, &c., L. LANDON, Captain, Asst. Supdt. Revenue Survey. No. 149 of 1841. To P. STEWART, Esquiee, Collector, Poona. Sib, The accompanying reports by Lieutenant Robertson and Cap¬ tain Landon give some accounts of their proceedings in revising the survey of the P4bal Taluka of this Collectorate, and contain an exposition of their views regarding the imposition of new rates of assessment, upon which subjects I shall now do myself the honour to submit a few observations. 2. The field operations connected with the revision of the settlement of this taluka are now completed, and have occupied exactly two seasons, in one of which they were conducted by Lieu¬ tenant Robertson, and in the other by Captain Landon. The for¬ mer officer was suddenly called away from his charge about this time last year to join his regiment on field service; his report was prepared amid the hurry and bustle attendant on his departure, which compelled him to take a briefer view of the important subject under discussion than he had wished and intended to do. The sub¬ ject, however, is well continued by Captain Landon, and in the data and arguments contained in the two reports we have ample means of arriving at sound conclusions as to the proper amount of assessment to be fixed for the taluka. The descriptive portion of Lieutenant Robertson’s report is confined to the pergunna of 337 p£bal, under the immediate charge of the M^mlatdir, and on thi3 account that of Captain London’s treats more particularly of Peth Ausari, the remaining division of the district which is managed by a Mahdlkari. 3. The reports of both officers Contain a short sketch of their proceedings connected with the measurement and classifica¬ tion of the district, and mention in very satisfactory terms the pro¬ ficiency attained by their native establishments. 4. The taluka of Pdbal is described, and will be seen from the map appended to Captain Landon’s report, to be a narrow slip of land lying nearly due north and south, the northern portion, Peth Ausari, forming the MaMlkari’s charge, and the southern, Tar- af P£bal, that of the M&mlatd4r. All parts of the district, therefore, being nearly equidistant from the GMts, it possesses little variety of climate. In the north-western corner, however, there are a few villages hemmed in by hills of considerable eleva¬ tion, which occasion a greater fall of rain here than in other parts ; and, on the other hand, there are some villages along the eastern boundary, and away from the hills, where the rain is more scanty than in the district generally. These particulars will be found more particularly noticed in the 7 th paragraph of Lieutenant Robert¬ son’s report, and in the 3rd and 21st of that by Captain Landon. 5. The statistical information contained in both reports will be found of an interesting nature, and to bear out both officers, in their opinion, that the condition of the cultivators, though depressed, is considerably better than that of the ryots of the Sholapur Dis¬ tricts in which they had previously been employed. The large proportion of Mirdsdars, stated by Lieutenant Robertson in his 9th paragraph at 1,850 out of a total of 2,442 cultivators, in the Taraf of Pabal, and by Captain Landon in his 15th paragraph at 2,719 out of 3,262 cultivators in Peth Ausari, shows clearly that this district has never suffered to the same extent from the devastating effects of famine and rapine which have swept away most of the Mir4s families from the eastern parts of the Deccan. 6. That the district, however, is by no means flourishing, but, on the contrary, suffers from over-assessment, is equally appar¬ ent from the dilapidated state of many villages, and the fact that cultivation has remained nearly stationary at 105,000* acres throughout the term which the.late survey settlements have been in operation, while more than 50,000 acres, or about a third of the Khalsa arable land of the taluka, has for the same time been lying waste. Of a Kamal Jerayet assessment, too, fixed at the last * Cultivation in the past season had risen to 120,000 acres, but without being- followed by any increase of collections, which were below the average, ® b 209—q 338 survey for the whole arable land, exclusive of Inams, at Rs. 1,55,000, in round numbers an average amount of Rs. 72,000 only, or less than one-half, has been realized, as will be shown in a succeeding paragraph. In Diagram No. 5, appended to Captain Landon’s report, the horizontal red line represents the average collections of the eleven years preceding 1840-41 to have been Rs. 82,000, but in this are included the collections oh all the items of the Ain Jama, or 10,000 rupees in excess of the receipts on account of the Jerayet assessment. 7. The subjoined statement exhibits the financial results of. our management of the taluka, which for the first nine years of our rule was settled on the native or Mamul system, and for the last twelve on that introduced by Mr. Pringle Statement showing the average results of the Jamabandi Settlements of Taluka Pdbal since it came under British management. Specification. Ain Jami or Land Revenue. Sayer Jama or Taxes. Total Jam ci, Amount collected inclu¬ sive of full allowances to Hakdars and village char¬ ges up to 31st July 1841. Remissions given and Balances uncollected up to 31st July 1841. Rs. Rs, Rs. Rs. ( 11,800 remit* Average of 9 years under Mamul ) ted. settlement. 1,29,043 8,783 1,37,826 1,25,183 1 843 outstand- ( “g- (17,141 remit- Average of 12 years under Survey J ted. Settlement 1,01,350 6,339 1,07,689 87,849 [ 2699 out- l standing. 8. The large average amount of the Jama and collections under the Mamul shown by this statement is accounted for, as in the case of every district upon which I have yet reported, by the comparatively enormous revenue drawn from the land in the first few years of our rule. For the first three years the actual receipts on account of land revenue, as will be seen from Diagram 6 of Captain Landon’s report, averaged upwards of 1,60,000 rupees per annum; in the fourth year they had fallen to 1,08,000 rupees; and in every succeeding year they were less than even this last. There can be little doubt that the over-estimate of the capabilities of the Deccan formed, and acted upon by our early Collectors, drained the country of its agricultural capital, and 339 accounts in great measure for the poverty and distress in which its cultivating population has ever since been plunged. 9. For the last twelve years, when the Jam&bandi was nominally made according to the assessment fixed at the last survey, the average receipts on account of land revenue will be found, on deducting the Sayer Jamd, from the collections entered in the preceding table, to have been, as already stated, about 82,000 rupees. Under the head of land revenue, however, are included various Babtis to the amount of nearly 6,000 rupees per annum, and which may be safely estimated to yield 5,000 rupees under the settlement about to be proposed. This amount must, therefore, be deducted from the preceding sum of 82,000 rupees to find the actual average realizations of the last twelve years from the arable land, which is, therefore, 77,000 rupees. And, again, from this last amount a sum of, at least, 5,000 rupees must be deducted on ac¬ count of the extra assessment bn Pathasthul Bagayet, which is considerable in this district, in order to ascertain the average col¬ lections on account of the Jerayet assessment, which, therefore, have certainly not exceeded 72,000 rupees per annum, or less then one-h^lf of the survey rental. This affords a notable instance of the effect of our assessment; that now existing in this district being little less disproportioned to the actual collections than in other parts of the country to which my inquiries have yet extended. 10. If, therefore, we can secure an annual revenue of 77,000 rupees from the Jerayet and Bagayet assessments about to be sub¬ mitted for your approval, the State will be secured from loss ; but I trust to be able to show that not this alone, but a very consider¬ able sum in addition, may be realized with ease, and the prosperity of the district advanced at the same time. 11. Lieutenant Robertson, in the 6th paragraph of his report, recommends for the Pabal Taraf the rates of assessment already sanctioned by Government for the Pimpalgaon division of Bhim- thari, stating, as his reasons, that the climate and productions of the two districts are so much alike, their proximity to Poona and means of transport of produce to its markets so corresponding, as to make him believe that similar rates would be suitable to both. Captain Landon proposes rates 35 per cent higher than those adopted in the Shol&pur Taluka (vide his 2.1st paragraph), which is considerably higher than Lieutenant Robertson’s proposal. 12. Part of the Pdbal District is similarly situated to the Pimpalgaon division of Bhimthari, but the greater portion of it is considerably nearer to the Ghdts ; while the high lands between the Bhima and Gor rivers run out from the latter range through 340 the heart of the district, and must occasion a considerably greater fall of rain there in the monsoon months than takes place in the open plain of Bhimthari, This is also established by the almost entire .absence of the Shalu or cold-weather jowdri, the staple of the Eastern Deccan, as a rabi crop in Pdbal, while it is cultivated to a considerable extent in Pimpalgaon. The climate of the former district more nearly resembles that of Haveli, in my opinion, than of .Pimpalgaon, In respect of markets it may be considered on a par with the latter, 13. The rates of P&bal, then, judging from a combined con- * sideration of climate and markets, ought, in my opinion, to hold a middle place between those of Pimpalgaon and Haveli; but those proposed by Captain Landon approach very nearly in amount to those recommended in my report for the latter district, and do not appear to me, judging from what we have hitherto been able to realize from the district, calculated to afford sufficient relief to the cultivators. In comparing also, in his 21 st paragraph, the future rental of the district at the rates he has proposed with the amount of past collections during the last ten years, it has escaped his notice that the latter include from 5,000 to 6,000 rupees On account of Babtis, independent of the land assessment; and that his assess¬ ment would be, therefore, 31,000 instead of 26,000 rupees in excess of the average revenue of past years as he has supposed. This would be an increase of 38 per cent; and I am not lea to believe that so considerable an assessment could safely be imposed in the present circumstances of the district, but am of opinion that some abatement is required to meet the latter, as well as to place the district on the same favourable position with others already settled, 14 These objects will, in my opinion, be sufficiently attained by reducing the rates proposed by Captain Landon 10 per cent., which, with this modification, I beg to recommend for adoption. The increase and diminution of the rates for the taluka in general, in. the case of particular villages proposed by Captain Landon in his 21st paragraph, appears to be very judicious, and from personal observation and inquiry I am convinced that the distinction he has made is not more than sufficient to compensate for the variety of climate exhibited in the instances under consideration, 15, The quantity of irrigated land in this distriot is very con¬ siderable, amounting in all to about 6,000 acres, of which 3,900 are watered from wells alone, 950 from paths, and 1,150 from wells and paths combined. That from wells, or the Mothasthal Bagayet, has not hitherto been subjected to any extra taxation, but is now recommended by both Lieutenant Robertson and Captain Landon to be assessed on the plan adopted for the eastern districts. I have already suggested this course in the case of the Haveli Taluka, 341 and the Bagayet cultivation of both districts being exactly similar, I would recommend it for adoption here. I would also recommend that the Pathasthal Bagayet be assessed, as in Haveli, by a tax of 3 rupees per acre in excess of the Jerayet rate for the best kinds, and varying from this down to 1 rupee per acre for inferior descriptions. Land watered from both paths and wells would be assessed by a combination of the two plans. 16. To these suggestions an exception requires, however, to be made in the • case of the Pathasthal watered by means of the bandhara thrown across the river Mina near the village of JSTarayen- gaon. In consequence of the supply of water here lasting nearly throughout the year, and the Bagayet cultivators being put to no expense for the repair of the bandhara, they can well afford to pay a greatly higher rate than would be possible in other situations. The former Bagayet rates were reduced considerably by Mr. Wil¬ liamson, the late Revenue Commissioner; and Captain Landon is of opinion that they are now paid without, much difficulty. The re¬ duction, as will be seen from the statement appended to Captain Landon’s report, has had the effect of bringing an additional quan¬ tity of land under irrigation, but that officer is apprehensive of the rates being still a little too high, which was also the impression left on my mind on inquiring into the subject when at the villages last year; and I would, therefore, recommend the adoption of the slightly . reduced rates proposed by Captain Landon, the latter being under¬ stood to include the Jerayet assessment, as in the case of those fixed by Mr. Williamson. 17. The revenue likely to be yielded by the Bagayet taxation here proposed is estimated by Captain Landon in his 21st paragraph at Rs, 15,494 in excess of the Jerayet assessment; but this is certainly the limit, and I do not myself think it likely to exceed Rs, 13,500. # 18. Among the Babtis of the Ain Jama there is a Miras- pati, amounting- to about Rs. 300, levied every third year from the Mirasdar cultivators of a few villages which is intended to be absorbed in and abolished by the new settlement, the latter being considered to include every cess upon the land. The sanction of Government to carry this suggestion into effect is, therefore, requested. 19; I take this opportunity also to bring to -your notice that there is another pati of the same name, but much larger in amount, (being in some years nearly 2,000 rupees) entered in the Sayer Jamd, and levied every third year from Balotidars. It can hardly be doubted that this tax would be much more readily and easily paid if a third of its present amount were levied annually in¬ stead of the whole at the end of every third year, as it is now done; 342 and I trust to be excused tbe freedom of suggesting this alteration, though the tax in question is unconnected with this land assess¬ ment. 20. I now proceed to show the effect of the new settlement modified as above proposed. The arable land of the district, ex¬ clusive of Inams, contains 165,000 acres, of which the Jerayet as¬ sessment, at an average of 9 annas per acre, as estimated by Captain Landon, would amount to 92,812 rupees : this rental reduced 10 per cent, as I have recommended, would be 83.531 rupees; and the latter increased by 13,500 rupees, the sum estimated to be yielded by the extra cess on irrigated lands, gives a Kdmal of 97,031 rupees for the Jerayet and Bagayet assessments of the Khalsa arable land under the new settlement, which is 26 per cent in excess of the average collections of the last 12 years, shown in my 9th paragraph to have been 77,000 rupees. The Babtis of the Ain Jamd, in¬ dependent of the regular assessment, and consisting of Amals in alienated village, cesses and Inams, proceeds of kurans, &c., to¬ gether with the Sayer Jama, may be estimated to yield 10,000 rupees per annum, which added to the Kam4l of 97,000 rupees above noticed, gives a sum of 1,07,000 rupees as the limit capable of realization under the new settlement on the supposition of the whole land being brought under cultivation, or nearly 20,000 rupees in excess of the realizations from all sources during the last twelve years, shown in the statement appended to my 7th paragraph to have been 87,800 rupees. 21.* It would be too much, however, to look for the whole arable land being appropriated; but the experience of the effects of the settlement of Qther districts warrants us in anticipating that it will be so very nearly, and that the assessment on the portion un¬ appropriated will be quite inconsiderable, as the land so left will be of very inferior quality. I do not doubt, therefore, that the col¬ lections generally under the new settlement will average from teg. to fifteen thousand rupees more than those of the last twelve years, which I trust will appear sufficiently satisfactory in a financial view, independent of the indirect advantages that will accrue to the reve¬ nue by an increased consumption of taxed commodities in the dis¬ trict as the latter advances in wealth and population. Nor will any immediate sacrifice of revenue be necessary, as I estimate that even in the first year of the new settlement any deficiency in the Jerayet assessment will be almost, if not quite, made up by the extra cess on irrigated lands. 22. I would beg, however, to propose, as in the case of the Haveli District, with the view of removing all obstacles to the appropriation of waste, that no portion of this should be hereafter given free for pasturage of the village cattle, but that every waste 343 field be sold by auction annually to the highest bidder, on the plan suggested in my letter of the 27th August last, handing on Lieute¬ nant Nash’s report on the Haveli District. 23. I shall now conclude, with a request that you will do me the favour to lay these reports before the Revenue Commissioner at an early opportunity, as the season is already far advanced, and it is of great importance to obtain the sanction of Government to the new settlements in time to admit of their being brought into operation during the ensuing season. I am, &c., GEORGE WINGATE, Superintendent, Revenue Survey. Poona, 7th September 1841, No. 1611 or 1841. To JOHN VIBART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I have the honour to forward an original letter from Lieute¬ nant Wingate, handing the report of his Assistants, Lieutenants Robertson and Landon, containing an account of their proceedings in revising the survey of the Pdbal Pergunna of this collectorate, and proposing new rates of assessment. 2. Lieutenant Wingate has entered so fully into the subject treated of by his Assistants that I have very little more to observe than that I concur with him in the view he has taken of the subject, and beg to recommend that the rates proposed by him be adopted for the reasons stated by him. 3. Lieutenant Wingate has shown that, if an annual revenue of 77,000 rupees can be secured from the pergunna from the Jerayet and Bagayet assessment, the State will be secured from loss; and, further, that the pergunna is capable of yielding a considerable sum in addition to that amount without affecting the prosperity of the district, which will rather be advanced. 4. I beg to recommend that the rates proposed by Lieutenant Wingate in his 16th paragraph for Pathasthal watered by means of the bandhara thrown across the river Mina near the village of Narayengaon be adopted, the supply of water lasting nearly throughout the year; and the Bagayet cultivators being put to no 344 expense for the repair of the bandhara, are consequently able to pay a much higher rate than others not similarly situated. • 5. With reference to the proposition contained in the 18th •paragraph, I beg to recommend that the Miras-pati be abolished* and its amount considered as included in the rate proposed for the land; and request you will have the goodness to procure the sane* tion of Government to this measure being carried into effect* 6. I think the change proposed by Lieutenant Wingate in the 20th paragraph of his letter in the mode of collecting the Miras- pati, might be adopted with advantage* and beg to fecommend it for the sanction of Government* 7* I beg to recommend the proposal contained in the 22nd paragraph for adoption on the same terms as recommended by me in the 4th paragraph of my letter to your address, No. 1703, dated 13th instant, forwarding the reports of Lieutenants Wingate and Nash on the M4mlatdd,r’s division of Haveli Pergunna. 8. May I request the favour of your forwarding these reports at an early period to Government for sanction, in order that the rates may be introduced during the ensuing season. 9. I think the rapidity with which the survey of the P4bal Pergunna and that of the M4mlatdd>r’s division of the Haveli Pergunna has been completed will afford great satisfaction to Gov¬ ernment, particularly when the disadvantages Lieutenant Wingate experienced, from the constant removal of his Assistants on field service, is recollected; and it is probable that hereafter under more favourable circumstances, when both officers and the native estab¬ lishment become more familiar with their work, even greater pro¬ gress may be made in the same period. I have, &c., P. STEWART,' Collector. CollectorOffice, Poona, 2lst September 1841. No. 1699 op 1841. To P. STEWART, Esquibe, . Collector, Poona. Sib, I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter, dated 21st September last, No. 1761, with accompaniments, being reports 345 by the Superintendent of the Deccan Survey, and his Assistants, Lieutenants Robertson and Landon, on the revision of assessment in the P&bal Taluka; and in reply beg to annex copy of my letter to Government, and their reply, dated 3rd instant, No. 3679. 2. You will observe that the new rates proposed both for Jerayet and Bagayet land are approved; and you will be pleased to lose no time in introducing them. 3. The Miras-pati, referred to in paragraph 10 of my letter to Government, is to be abolished, whilst that mentioned in paragraph 11 is to be converted into an annual instead of trien¬ nial payment. 4. The plan of selling by auction the waste lands is approved; the limitation suggested by me in paragraph 13 of my letter is not deemed necessary. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, j. VIBART, Revenue Commissioner. ' Poona, Revenue Commissioner's Office, 6th December 1841. No. 1444 of 1841. To : V Dv S. BLANE, Esquire, Acting Secretary to Government, Bombay. Sir, I have the honour to hand up an" original letter from .the Col¬ lector of Poona, dated the 21st ultimo, No. 1761, with accompani¬ ments, being reports from the Superintendent of the Deccan Sur¬ vey, and his Assistants, Lieutenants Robertson hnd Landon, detail¬ ing their proceedings in revising the survey of the Pabal T^luka, Poona Collectorate, and proposing the new rates which they'con- ' ceive should be introduced. 2. The first four paragraphs of the Superintendent’s letter require no observation. 3. It appears from the concurrent testimony of the survey officers who have been employed in the P4bal Taluka, that the situation of the cultivating classes is much better than in most b 209—r 346 other parts of the Deccan. The large number of Mir4sdars still in possession of their land shows, I think, very clearly that the district has suffered less than others from famine and plunder. Lieutenant Wingate states, however, that though the district is less impoverished than other parts, still its state is altogether far from flourishing; that the great bane of prosperity—over-assessment—is but too apparent, both from the neglected and ruinous state of the villages and the fact that cultivation has remained stationary dur¬ ing the whole term the late survey rates have. been in operation, whilst about one-third of the Khalsa arable land has remained uncultivated. It will be seen that out of a Kamd.1 Jerayet assess¬ ment, fixed at the late survey, of Rs. 1,65,000 only 72,000 rupees have been on an average actually realized as land revenue. In the amount given by Captain Landon, viz.* Rs. 82,000, about Rs. 10,000 are included on account of items of Ain Jam£ which do not come under the head of Jerayet assessment. 4. In paragraph 9, Lieutenant Wingate assumes the average rental of the last twelve years at Rs. 82,000 ; of this sum Rs. 10,000 are to be deducted on account of Bdbtis and Pathasthal assess¬ ment, leaving the general assessment at 72,000 rupees. 5. The realization, then, of Rs. 77,000 for both Bagayet and Jerayet assessment would secure the State from loss on the intro¬ duction of the new rates (as the B£btis, amounting to Rs. 5,000, are not affected by this measure); and this, I am happy to say, will be obtained by the proposed rates, and in addition thereto a con¬ siderable sum may be realized without prejudice to the prosperity of the district. 6. By reference to paragraph 11 of Lieutenant Wingate’s report it will be seen that the two surveying officers recommend¬ ed somewhat different rates: Lieutenant Wingate thinks that the rates proposed by Lieutenant Robertson are too low; whilst, on the other hand, those of Captain Landon are too high to afford a suffi¬ cient relief to the cultivators, and proposes a medium rate between the two. A reduction of 10 per cent in Captain Landon’s rates will, he supposes, be well adapted to the capabilities of the district; and I would recommend that his standard should be adopted. 7. Perhaps, for the reasons assigned in the 21st paragraph of Captain Landon’s report, and which are judged by the Superin¬ tendent to be sound and valid, the increase and diminution of the above rates in certain villages may be allowed. It is proposed to levy 20 per cent more • in some villages which are situated in the midst of the hills, where the supply of rain is tolerably certain, and to reduce the rates 35 per cent in some situated at a great dis¬ tance from the hills, where the average fall of rain is much less. 347 8. I beg to support Lieutenant Wingate’s proposition for the assessment of the irrigated land, which, it appears, amounts to about 6,000 acres, and has hitherto paid only Jerayet rates. The plan followed and sanctioned, for the eastern districts may be in¬ troduced'here. I would also recommend the rates mentioned in the concluding part of paragraph 15 being sanctioned for the Pa- thasthal JBagayet, varying from Rs. 1 to 3 according to the capabi¬ lities of the land. 9. For the reasons stated in paragraph 16, I would recom¬ mend the slightly reduced rates for the irrigated lands of Nara- yengaon being sanctioned. 10. I shall feel obliged by your procuring the sanction of Government to the abolition of the Miras-pati, which is still col¬ lected in a few villages, and amounts to Rs. 300, as it is intended that the rates now proposed should include every demand on the land. 11. With reference to paragraph 19, I have great doubts whether the proposition of levying the Miras-pati (now collect¬ ed triennially) yearly would be acceptable to the individuals by whom it is paid. I should remark that this pati, though of the same name as the one recommended to be abolished in the former para¬ graph, is a Mohtarfa tax. Should, however, the payers of the tax in question agree to Lieutenant Wingate’s proposition, it might be introduced. 12. In paragraph 20 the result of the new assessment is given, provided the rates proposed are sanctioned. It is briefly as follows: the Khalsa land amount to 165,000 acres ; this will give Rs. 97,031 for the Jerayet and Bagayet assessment, being about 20 per cent in advance of the average collections of the last twelve years; to this must be added Rs.' 10,000 on account of extra assessment, making the whole amount of revenue that can be realized on the whole of the land being under cultivation Rs. 1,07,000, being nearly 20,000 in excess of the ayerage collec¬ tions for the last twelve years. . I think the result, as shown above, will be deemed satisfactory by Government. 13. I have no objection to the waste land being hereafter let as proposed by Lieutenant Wingate, but I consider the amount taken should not be higher per acre than the rates now fixed by the survey. I have the honour, &c., J. YIB ART, Revenue Commissioner. Poona, Revenue Commissioner's Office, \§th October 1840. 348 To No. 3679 of 1841. JOHN VIBART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, * I am directed by tbe Honourable the Governor in Council' to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated the- 16th October last, No. 1444, submitting one from the Collector of Poona, accompani¬ ed with reports by the Superintendent of the Deccan Survey, and his Assistants, Lieutenants Robertson and Landon, detailing their proceedings in revising the survey of the Pabal Taluka, and pro¬ posing new rates of assessment to be introduced in that district. 2.The taluka in question, according to Mr. Pringle’s survey, Rs 1 55 000 would appear to have been assessed at rupees ’ ’ ’ one lakh and fifty-five thousand, the average Jamabandi settlement for the last twelve years having been rupees one lakh, one thousand, three hundred and fifty, of which the realiza- Rs. 82,000. tions average rupees eighty-two thousand, in- Rs. 72,000. elusive of all items, or rupees seventy-two thou¬ sand on account of land revenue. Under the previous Mamul assess¬ ment the Government demands amounted to the enormous sum of rupees one lakh and seventy thousand, the ’whole of which was actually collected for the first year the district came into the British possession. Since then, however, a great and rapid deterioration has taken place; and it is a melancholy reflection that there should be so much thith in the remark of Lieutenant Wingate in paragraph 8, that “there can be little doubt that the over-estimate of the capabilities of the Deccan * formed and acted upon by our early Collectors, drained the country of its agricultural capital, and accounts in great measure for the poverty and distress in which its cultivating population has ever since been plunged.” Rs. 1,70,000. 3.The gross Jam£ of a district, I am desired to observe, might bear a very wide proportion to the actual realizations with¬ out proving over-assessment, as much might be the effect of a want of population; but the above facts too clearly show this not to be the case in the present instance. 4.It is now proposed that a gross Jam4 of rupees ninety- seven thousand and thirty-one, composed of 97,031. eighty-three thousand five hundred and thirty- one on the Jerayet and thirteen thousand five hundred on the Bagayet land, be assessed on the whole of the Khalsat lands, which gives an average of rather Rs. Rs. 83,531. Rs. 13,500. 349 less than nine annas per acre; to this is to be added the Sayer collections, which amount to about rupees ten RS 107 ooa ' th°usand) making a total revenue of about one Rs! 20 000. * lakh and seven thousand, or about rupees twenty thousand in excess of the average realizations of the last twelve years. 5.In consequence of the increased revenue to be derived from the Bagayet lands, it is calculated that the immediate re¬ ceipts will be but little short of the average for. the last ten years ; and Lieutenant "Wingate, in paragraph 21, anticipates, “from the experience of the effects of the settlement in other districts,” that a greater portion of the unappropriated land will be shortly brought under cultivation. 6. The increase and diminution of the rates in certain villages recommended by you in paragraph 7, in reliance on the validity of the reasons assigned by Captain Landon, are concurred in by the Honourable the Governor in Council; who likewise sanctions the rates of Bagayet assessment approved by you in paragraphs 8 and 9, in accordance with Lieutenant Wingate’s proposition. 7. The “Miras-pati ” alluded to in paragraph 10 may be abolished,and that referred in paragraph 11 converted into an annual instead of a triennial payment, as being in principle a much prefer¬ able rule for the collection of such a tax. ' 8. The Governor in Council also authorizes the adoption of the plan of disposing of the waste lands by a yearly auction in the pergunna under review as well as that of Haveli. The limitation suggested by you in your concluding paragraph would seem to be unnecessary, as it is always optional to the cultivators to take up the waste land at the assessment rate if willing to pay a rent for them according to that scale. I have, &c., D. BLANE, Acting Secretary to Government. Bombay Castle, 3rd December 1841. Ho. 273 op 1873. Revenue Department. Poona, \3th February 1873. This report contains proposals for a revision of the assessment of 56 villages forming what was known as the Pdbal Taluka at * 350 the period at which the first survey settlement was introduced, and for the introduction of survey rates into three villages subsequent¬ ly ceded to the British Government by Holkar. 2. The villages now belong to the several talukas marginally _ T _. noted, the manner in which they are distribut- Parner ’ UnDar’ Sirur’ ed being explained in the statement given in paragraph 6. But as the settlement lease of these several talukas has still from ten to twelve years to run, the proposed revision of assessment of these old Pabal villages should, primarily, be held to remain in force only for the unexpired por¬ tion of the original settlement lease of the respective districts to which the villages have been transferred. Their rates, in all proba¬ bility, will not require any alteration at the general revision of the settlement of these districts ; but, nevertheless, it will be as well to have them so fixed as to admit of a re-adjustment, should it be thought to be necessary or expedient at the time. If this arrange¬ ment is approved of, the Superintendent should be requested to report the special term of the lease to be given in each case. 3. The first part of the Superintendent’s report contains a short precis of the information regarding the district recorded at the former settlement, and to be found in the reports of the Assistants (Messrs. Robertson and Landon, by whom the survey was carried out), and of the Superintendent of the day, Captain Wingate. From the account which these officers give, the district was evidently not in a flourishing condition at the time their rates were introduced : cultivation was declining, being estimated to amount to about 105,000 acres, whilst more than 50,000 acres, being about a third of the arable land of the taluka, was lying waste. 4.Captain Wingate represents the low state of cultivation and depressed condition of the district to be ascribable to the enormous revenue drawn from the land in the early period of our rule ,* and, as illustrative of the correctness of this view, he men¬ tions that our collections,, which during the first three years had averaged upwards of Rs. 160,000 per annum, haTi fallen to Rs. , 1,08,000 in the succeeding year, and that ♦Time of Settlements. ^ wer0 th(aJ. otJy agotft Rs. 72)000. These facts are indicative of the unsatisfactory state of our revenue management prior to the first settlement. The improvement in the State revenue effected by that measure can be read in the account which the Superintendent gives (paragraphs 27 to 30) of the work¬ ing of the settlement during the thirty years’ lease. 5.The results, briefly summarized, show':— (a.) That the revenue which on the average of the five years preceding Captain Wingate’s settlement amounted 351 to Rs. 66,508, had at the close of the first decennial period (1851-52) risen to Rs. 81,784; (6.) At the close of the second to Rs. 85,487; (c.) And at the close of the third to Rs. 92,296, the waste or uncultivated land being shown in last year’s revenue accounts to be only Rs. 230. 6. The figures in the statistical return. given in paragraph 22, if we except carts, do not indicate so much increase in the ordinary agricultural resources as might have been expected; and an addition of only about 11’39 percent in the population of a healthy and well-cultivated district is rather remarkable. In the other districts of the Poona Collectorate, of which the settlement has been revised, and in those of the ShoMpur Collectorate also, the increase in population', which is shown to have taken place during the thirty years, has ranged from about 26 to 39 per cent. This leads me to question the correctness of the returns for this district, which, on the whole, is more favourably cirrcumstanced than any other we have yet settled. 7. The returns prepared thirty years ago, which form the basis of the comparison from which the increase is deduced, are notori¬ ously very imperfect, and the numbers of the inhabitants at that period have probably been overstated, whilst those of the census taken by the present survey may err in the opposite direction.. That some error of the kind has occurred, I have little doubt, as the population of a fertile and healthy tract of country, and in which, moreover,' a large increase of cultivation has taken place, would, under ordinary circumstances, have certainly increased more than 11 \ per cent during an interval of thirty years. 8. The immense value attaching to land as an investment for capital may, I think, be taken to be a certain indication of the district being in a very prosperous state. Referring to the inform¬ ation on this head, given in paragraph 20, it will be seen that, as a mortgage security, it commands advances amounting from 100 to 150 times the present annual assessment. It is not surprising, therefore, considering the value of the property they hold, that the cultivators of this district, as mentioned by the Superintendent, should be somewhat given to lavish expenditure on marriage and caste ceremonies. Notwithstanding this, he represents them to be “ in prosperous circumstances,” ascribing this condition to be due to several causes, specified under five separate heads in paragraph2l. 9. There is tto doubt that the causes set forth therein have been mainly instrumental in bringing about the present prosperous State of the people; but the certain rainfall, which a great part of this 352 district enjoys, has enabled it to profit more fully from the rise in prices and improved communications than the eastern districts of the collectorate have done, owing to their rainfall being so pre¬ carious. 10. Admitting that the district has benefited greatly,, and to* the full extent indicated by the Superintendent, by the light rates- of the first settlement, I am nevertheless of opinion that he has gone a little too far in the increased assessment which he now proposes to impose upon it. He has divided the villages, as shown in paragraph 33, into six groups, fixing a maximum rate of Rs. 3 for his first, and he then makes a reduction of 4 annas per group, his lowest maximum for the sixth class being thus brought down to Rs. 1-12-0. 11. The first class comprises only the one village of Ausari Khurd, which, with the exception of its- nir Tl* i, laP®ed village of being near the small market town of Man char,, ed under it. has no advantage m point ot climate or com¬ munication over the adjoining villages, and its proximity to that small local bazaar is not a matter of sufficient importance to require the application of an additional rate. 1 pro¬ pose, therefore, to do away with the 3-rupee rate altogether, bring¬ ing this village of Ausari under the Rs. 2-12-0 maximum. 12. I propose, in the next place, to put two of the villages, now included in group 2, under the next low- NaVudi (13) est rate of Rs. 2-8-0. As will be seen from the map, they are on the extreme western border of the district, and, by virtue of their distance from the road to Poona, require to be put under a lower rate. 13. Consequent on the foregoing alteration, the village of Girowli (19) on the extreme north-western corner requires to be put a class lower. Wadu Budruk (29) and its adjoining recent lapse, Koregaon (58), are also out of place in being in this class, and have been put under the next lowest. I have also reduced two* villages from the Rs. 2-4-0 to the Hs. 2 maximum, and threef also from the latter to the Rs. 1-12-0 maxi¬ mum. These are all situated on the north¬ eastern side of the district upon the border of the Sirur valley, where the rainfall is notoriously uncertain; they are also somewhat distant from market and without a made road near them. • # 14. These several changes in the Superintendent’s proposals will make a reduction of Rs. 2,847 in the total assessment of the * Walti (40). Ranjni (39). f Singwa (48). Katapur B (45). Deogaon (44). The lapsed village of Lakhangaon is also to corae under this class. 353 56 old Pdbal villages, and a reduction also of Rs. 1*547 in tlio assessment of the three villages received from Holkar, The per¬ centage increase by the new rates, as thus modified, will be reduced to about 85 per cent in the case of the old P4bal villages, and to about 45 in the three ceded ones, 15. These changes do not affect the general plan upon which the grouping has been arranged. Climate is the chief considera¬ tion by which the Superintendent has been influenced in forming his several classes, which are more numerous perhaps than would ordinarily be adopted in the settlement of such a small tract of country. But considering that the rainfall, which is very certain on the western, is most uncertain On the eastern side of the district, and that throughout the intermediate tract it diminishes gradually as you approach the eastern boundary, it was very necessary, in my opinion, to have the fall in rates adjusted, as far as practicable, to the different variations of climate, the latter being by far the most important element in the settlement of a Deccan district, 16. Speaking from my own personal knowledge of the dis- trict, I think the Superintendent is generally correct in the manner in which he has fixed his climatic lines: The first division,* which extends from the western boundary to a short distance east of the Poona and Junnar road* no doubt includes the best villages of the district; and it is equally certain, in my opinion, that the extreme eastern villages, adjoining the dry plains of Bhimthari, which are included under the last division (his sixth class), are the poorest by reason of their uncertain rainfall. I recommend, therefore, that his grouping should be accepted, with the small modifications suggested herein, and which, I may add, he has agreed to adopt. 17.' It was my intention to have submitted the rates for the sanction of Government, with the above-mentioned modifications of the Superintendent’s proposals; but as I am aware, from the recent discussion regarding the increase imposed under revision settle¬ ments, that Government is desirous that our future demands should be made as moderate as they can be consistently with the carry¬ ing out of the system of operations already adopted in other districts, I am, consequently, disposed to advocate the adoption of a lower scale of rates for this district, with the object of making the general increase somewhat less than it would be were the Superintendent’s proposals carried out. 18. Considering the low standard of rates adopted at the first settlement, the great rise in prices which has since taken place, the marked improvement in the condition of the people, and in the communications for the carriage of produce, I am fully pre¬ pared to admit that we might fairly now impose the increased 9 b 209—s 354 assessment proposed by tbe Superintendent; but, for the reasons given in the preceding paragraph, I think we may afford to leave a larger share of the produce in the hands of the cultivators. I would, accordingly, propose to make a reduction of four annas per class for the four first groups, and of two annas in the fifth or last: the maximum for the first group will thus be Rs. 2-8, and for the fifth Rs. 1-10. 19. The Superintendent has fixed six classes of rates; but as the first has been struck out by me, as explained above, there will be but five under the new arrangement now proposed. The trans¬ fer of individual villages to different classes, as recommended in •the former part of this report, should, in my opinion, be adopted as a necessary alteration, and the reduction made upon the amended ^classification. 20. In making a rough calculation of the result of the pro¬ posed reduction in the rates of the several classes of villages, I find that the general in crease,'which for the 56 old Pd-bal villages amounted to 88 per cent according to the Superintendent’s proposals, will now be reduced to about 65 or 66 per cent; and I hope to show by the following explanation that the adoption of this lower scale of increase is not inconsistent with the plan of operations carried out in the adjoining districts. 2L Referring, in the first place, to the villages put under my fifth class, it will be seen from the Superintendent’s 32nd and 33rd paragraphs that they adjoin villages of the Bhimthari Taluka .assessed by him last year at Rs. 1-8 ; two immediately adjoining (Takrar Mahalunga and Takli) are said to have an advantage over the villages of the former district in being near to the high road from Nagar to Poona, and to the market town of Talegaon. Admitting this statement of the case to be correct, I consider the •advantages set forth to be inconsiderable, and that an increase of two annas on the Bhimthari rate of Rs. 1-8-0, which I propose to make, will be sufficient to maintain the relative proportion between the rates of the two districts. 22. The rate of the two districts being relatively adjusted in this manner, the further increase in the remaining classes for climatic influence is a matter of special valuation, not affecting the general principle upon which the revision of the districts have been carried out, and it is open to us, therefore, to adopt the lower scale of increase on that account, as advocated by me. And in regard to the maximum rate of Rs. 2-8-0 for the first-class villages, I do not think it will appear to be unduly low, if we consider that the adjoining district of Khed was assessed twenty years ago at a maximum of Rs. 1-8. The assessment, too, in that case was not 355 based upon a low classification like that adopted for the old Pabal villages, but upon an accurate valuation made according to the joint report scale, and upon the same standard, moreover, as has been adopted in the revision assessment now to be introduced. I admit that the rates of that day were, perhaps, rather liberal, but the 2| rupee maximum that I propose to adopt, is an increase of about 66 per cent on the rates of that period. 23.I am not taking this line of argument for the purpose of showing that the rates are as high as they should be,—for I have admitted that they might very well be as high as the Superintend¬ ent proposes to adopt,—but in order that it may be seen that they are not unduly low when considered with reference to former set¬ tlement proceedings in the-adjoining district. • 24.A large revenue, estimated to amount to from Ks. 20 ter r> ni Es. 25,000, will be foregone by the abolition of aragrap . special rate on wells. The old rates were,, however, unduly high, in this district, so much so as to have at one time had a serious effect in diminishing the extent of cultivation v. wells being- abandoned to avoid the payment of the special cess.- This defect was remedied to some extent by a partial revision of the Yirhunda Settlement made in 1853-54; but it will be -a great boon to the industrious garden cultivator to find himself freed from the payment of a cess which at one time was very unpopular in the district.. For the above reasons I fully support the plan of~ having no special rate on wells, as proposed by the Superintendent. His rates for PatMsthal irrigation appear to be appropriate,- and may be adopted. 25.It will be seen from the Collector’s remarks that he appre¬ hends the new rates would have been found to be too high in Man- char and the other-villages received from Holkar. There appears to be a mistake in the Superintendent’s statement of the revenue shown, against Manchar, which, as pointed out by the former officer, is not the amount collected, as is purported to be, but the full Kamal assessment which we have never attempted to levy. The reduction which I propose to apply to the rates of these villages will meet the Collector’s views in the matter; 26.There are several cases of disproportionately large in* ,, on £ cu x i. crease in the rates of individual villages. I would particularly notice the village of Apti, in which it is shown to be 151 per. cent. It has long been known to me, from personal inspection of the lands of this village, that the original classification was very faulty: black soils of the first and second order being put into the third in many cases, and the general valuation thereby reduced fully 50 per cent below what it 356 should have been. The defective nature of the former valuation was notorious in the district, it being commonly said that the village had been given in Inam by the Survey Department. It was reduced about one-half below what it formerly paid by the first settlement, and is now raised to about the same amount as Mr. Pringle’s Kama! assessment. There are, I have little doubt, equally good reasons for the other large increases; but I have per¬ sonally no knowledge of the fact^.of any other case. 27* In conclusion, I would observe that it will be good policy, in my opinion, to adopt the moderate demand of 65 per cent in¬ crease advocated by me. We shall thus avoid any great disturb¬ ance of the large mortgage transactions based upon the former light rates ; for with a moderate assessment, such as will thus be imposed, we may expect to see land soon become as valuable as heretofore. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No.758 oe 1873. Revenue Depaetmeni1. Camp Ratndgiri, 27 th February 1873* MEMORANDUM* The Revenue Commissioner has tbe honour to submit cor¬ respondence, as per margin, relative to the revised survey and assessment of a group of 56 Khalsa villages of the old Pdbal Taluka* of which 53 are now divided between Sirur, Khed, and Junnar in the Poona Collectorate, and other 3 villages belonging to Pdrner Taluka in Ahmednagar; also three villages of the Wapgaum group, received in exchange from His Highness Holkar. 2. The proposal in paragraph 2 of the Survey Commissioners Memorandum, to allow the revised settlement to remain in force only for the unexpired portion of the original settlement lease of the respective districts to which the villages have been transferred, appears a good one. This arrangement would be in harmony with the practice introduced under Government Resolutions No. 842, dated 9th March 1858, and No. 5029, dated 19th October 1870, regarding villages in the Ilavcli and other talukas. 1* Prom tlie Collector of Poona, No* 152, dated 22nd January 1873, and aCCompani- ments. 2. Prom the Survey and â–  Settlement Com- missioner N.D ,Ko. 273, dated 13th February 1873. 357 3. The careful review of the fiscal history of the villages furnished in these papers renders it necessary for the Revenue Commissioner to .follow in detail the officers who have preceded him in the discussion. There is no dobut of the villages having passed, under the favourable conditions of a low assessment, ready communication with large markets for labour and produce, and a .marked rise in the wages of labour and the prices pf agricultural products, from a very deplorable state of destitution into . one of evident prosperity. 4. In paragraph 6 of his memorandum on the subject, Colonel Francis notices the rather moderate increase of the ordinary signs of agricultural prosperity, except in the large addition to the number of carts, which has increased from 754 to 1,304. This is undoubtedly a great source of profit to the cultivators in the fair season, both as regards the wages gained as carriers, and the means of conveying potatoes and other produce to the larger markets. The population shows so small an increase of 11*39 per cent that Colonel Francis doubts' the correctness of the figures. Even if this doubt should not be verified so as to add much to the population, it is still a large one for the Deccan, representing 150 to the square mile over an area of 353 square miles, with only one town exceeding 3,000 inhabitants. A comparison is made in Colonel Waddington’s 20th paragraph with Sholapur,—172 souls per square mile, and a section of the Bhimthari Taluka,— 74 per square mile. As shown in paragraph 7 of the Revenue Commissioner’s report on the Sholapur Taluka, No. 5650, dated 12th November 1872, if deduction be made for the large city of Sholapur, the population of that taluka averages only between 140 and 150 per square mile, and the district under review, even without the anticipated increase, has a larger population than most of the Deccan talukas. It is remarkable that the return of houses shows a somewhat diminished number : the average per house is a little in excess of seven inhabitants—a large average for this part of India. 5. In paragraphs 14 and 17 of his memorandum, the Superin¬ tendent, Colonel Waddington, reviews the system of husbandry and the products of the district. There is farming of a high kind, as compared with many parts of the Deccan, as regards judicious rotation and mixture of crops and the application of manure: the latter operation being not unusually extended to dry-crop land an improvement which indicates the effect of high prices as a stimulant to expenditure in production. 6. Such being the flourishing condition of the district, there is evidently a margin for enhancement of assessment at revision, 358 and, with the object of furnishing one of the most obvious means of estimating such enhancement, a return of prices of staple grains for the bazaars of Talegaon and Manchar is furnished in the> Superintendent’s report. The prices of bdjri, the chief food of the people, are analysed in Colonel Waddington’s 24th paragraph. He selects two modes of comparison—one of which, for the Talegaon bazaar, shows a rise of 131 per cent between the average of the first ten years from 1841-42 to 1850-51, and the average of the last ten years from 1861-62 to 1870-71. -The Superintendent, however, as the Kevenue Commissioner thinks, judiciously, without putting this extreme difference out of consideration, selects, as in other cases of settlement by him, five, years—from 1856-57 to 1860-61, and five years from 1866-67 to 1870-71—to obtain the later ten years’ average; thus combining a series of years,^during which the prices were rather low, but fluctuating towards the great rise attendant on the War in America, with the latest series of steady high prices. This later average of ten years gives an' increase of 53‘3 per cent over the average of the first fifteen years of the thirty; and the Superintendent’s proposals give an average enhancement of 88 per cent, which is not far from a mean between the 131 per cent and 53 per cent. The Local Fund addition would bring it-up to the mean of 92 per cent., which, however, becomes liable’to reduction, as follows in another part of the correspondence under review. 7. In paragraphs 11 to 14 of the Survey a.nd Settlement Com¬ missioner’s memorandum, certain modifications of the grouping for maximum of certain of the villages will, if adopted, reduce the assessment on the 56 old Pdbal villages by Rs, 2,847, and bring down the total enhancement from 88 to 85 per cent. This re¬ duction is not only advocated by the Commissioner of Survey, but the Superintendent has agreed to adopt it, and the Revenue Commissioner begs respectfully to support these recommenda¬ tions. 8. The next modification proposed by the Survey and Set¬ tlement Commissioner in his paragraphs 17 to 22 is to reduce the maximum of the 2nd to 5th groups of Colonel Waddington’s list of villages by 4 annas each, a»d the sixth group by 2 annas. This reduction of maximum will, it is estimated by Colonel Francis, bring the total enhancement for the 56 villages down to 66 per cent. It is not stated that the Collector of Poona, or the Superin¬ tendent of Survey, who advocate in these papers the higher maxima, are in accord in this mode of reduction, but the Revenue Commissioner would be quite contented to be guided in the matter of classification by the judgment of the Commis¬ sioner of Survey and Settlement : and, with these remarks, he 359 submits the proposal for the favourable consideration of Gov¬ ernment. 9. A reference to the table, contrasting present and proposed assessment in all the villages, will show Government that there are no less than 18 villages of which the assessment is raised more than 100 per cent. The proposed reduction will probably bring some of them within that mark; but there will still be a large number above it, and a much larger number in excess of the revised general average of -66 per cent. 10. Reference is made, in paragraph 26 of Colonel Francis* memorandum, to the disproportionately large increase in the rates of individual villages : and special explanation is afforded regarding Apti, which had come under the Survey Commissioners personal examination. 11. It must be admitted that the explanation is, on the facts, quite logically deduced. Taking the previous thirty-years’ settle¬ ment of Apti as the unit, each rupee would, if the assessment was 50 per cent under what it ought to have been at the time of settlement (and Colonel Francis guarantees that it was so), re¬ present one and a half rupee as the assessment with which the revising officers have to deal; and an enhancement of only 66 per cent, or two-thirds for increase of prices, will' bring the rate up to Rs. 2-8-0, or 150 per cent above the unit assumed of one rupee. Colonel Francis adds that “ he has little doubt there are equally good reasons for the other large increases but that he has “ per¬ sonally no knowledge of the facts of any other cases.” 12. The Revenue Commissioner has lately received Gov¬ ernment. Resolution No. 798, dated 11th instant, and, therefore, entirely abstains from urging any limit of enhancement; but it will be evident to Government that an enhancement of anything like 150 per cent on the total assessment of a village previously classified by the Revenue Survey Officers should demand the most critical test of the capabilities of the land. Just as the average enhancement in the Superintendent’s contrasted statement of villages of 88 per cent shows a range from 40 per cent in the lowest—Dhamni, No. 7—to 159 per cent in the highest—Eklahara, No. 8,—there may be in said Eklahara a range of enhancement on separate numbers far .below, and far in excess of, the total result of 159 per cent, and so on, for the other villages. 13. What the precise effect of the classification on individual fields or numbers is, the Settlement Officers, of course, know; and if they are at all strongly impressed with the desirability of avoiding the disturbance of transactions connected with sale of 360 land, mortgage, and tenancy, frequently urged by the Revenue Commissioner, and, he is now glad to perceive, noticed in the last paragraph of the Survey Commissioner’s memorandum, then, perhaps, great extremes are avoided, and there need he no addi¬ tional reasons for urging caution in this part of the question. In other respects, the total enhancement—especially if it undergoes the modifications proposed by Colonel Francis—appears such as the prosperous community described can perfectly well pay. 14 The proposals for Pathasthal assessment and for relin¬ quishment of Yirhunda or well assessment, advocated by the Super¬ intendent and the Commissioner of Survey, have the entire concur¬ rence of the Revenue Commissioner, 15. Attention is respectfully solicited to the remarks in paragraphs 10 to 12 of the Poona Collector’s letter No. 152, dated 22nd ultimo. Taking Rs. 3,310 as the correct former assessment of Manchar,—-one of the three villages received from Holkar,—the proposed increase of assessment is Rs, 2,586, or 78 per cent. The necessity of, this correction is recognized by Colonel Francis, 16. Mr. Oliphant,- who has had the administration of these villages since their transfer from His Highness Holkar in 1868-69, expresses himself as “ somewhat startled ” at the enhancement; and, for reasons assigned by him, recommends that the final sanc¬ tion of the proposed new rates, in these three villages only, “ should not be given until, by two or three years’ experience, it has been proved beyond a doubt that they are not in excess of a fair and reasonable demand,” 17. On this subject the Survey and Settlement Commis¬ sioner states, at the conclusion of his 25th paragraph, as follows: li The reduction which I propose to apply to these villages will meet the Collector’s views in the matter.” It is not known precisely what the extent of this reduction will be, and whether there will be any addition to the Rs. 1,547 mentioned in paragraph 14 for Manchar and Lakhangaum; but as the Collector has, no doubt, in personal communication with Colonel Francis, withdrawn his objection, it is assumed that the rates may be deemed fair and reasonable, and may be sanctioned on the conditions of duration proposed for the other villages in paragraph 2 of the memorandum from the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement, W. H, HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S.H. 361 No. 2158. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, \§th April 1873. Resolution.—These proposals reached the Secretariat on the 8th March, far too late to be duly considered and sanction to be accorded for the introduction of the rates before the 31st. The delay appears to have occurred in the Collector’s Office, as the Superintendent’s report is dated 10th October 1872, and Mr. Oliphant’s forwarding letter the 22nd January 1873. Mr. Oliphant should be called on to account for this apparently most unreasonable delay. 2. The opinions of the present Survey Officers concur generally with those of Captain Wingate and others, by whom the first revision of assessment was carried out, as regards the climate of this tract of country. The rainfall of the north-western villages is shown to be most abundant and certain, and that of the easterly villages the least to be depended on. The latter officers, in their groups for maximum rates of assessment, reckoned as capable of bearing the highest the villages noted in the margin. These are now included in the Superintendent’s 2nd class, with the exception of Giroli, which for no sufficient reason is placed in the 3rd, whilst Manchar and Ausari Khurd are consti¬ tuted the 1st, with a maximum rate of Rs. 3 an acre. Of the villages considered by the old Survey Officers as the least favour¬ ably situated with regard to climate, those in the margin are not in the Superintendent’s lowest group, and the last is even two classes higher, with a difference in maximum rate of half a rupee an acre. The whole of the rest of the Pd,bal Taluka appears to have been formerly kept at one maximum rate. The Superintendent’s six have been reduced by the Survey Commissioner to five groups, but even now it appears to His Excellency in Council that they are mixed together in a way not justified by their relative positions with regard to the great change that has taken place within the last thirty years in the matter of markets. 3. When the revision took place the railway was not thought of; and although Poona was the chief market, it had not then the great superiority which its having the G. I. P. Railway running through it now gives it over the local market towns. To carry out an equitable revision in the present day, therefore, requires b 209—t Beogaom. Katapur Budnik. Singwa. Walti. Giroli. Mahalunga. Chas. Narodi. Chinchodi. Wadgaon, Sakora. 362 that the question of proximity to market should be taken into much greater consideration than was necessary thirty years ago; but that it has received such consideration there are no traces in these reports.. 4. Admitting that the group of villages in the north-western' corner are the most fertile and most certain of their crops, they are still at two or three times the distance from the chief market that the villages in the four lowest classes in the south of the tract of the country under assessment are. The latter, according to the map, are from 15 to 20 miles, and the former from 40 to 45 or more, making a difference of one or two whole -days in the time in which agricultural produce can reach the market. Speaking roughly, land in the north-western villages is on this account less in market value than that of the same quality in the south by from 4 to 6 annas an acre, however superior it may be in fertility and certainty of return, 5. Taking all this into calculation, it appears to Government that the most equitable method of grouping for maximum rates of _ _ ’ assessment will be to place the villages taken ee a ove, paragrap . as fogg^ by Captain Wingat6, with the addition of Manchar and Ausari Kh-urd, in a 1st class, and to place in a 2nd class those to the east and south of the 1st class, with the exception of those on the eastern frontier of the district named below:— Khodad. Rdnjni. Walti. Singwa. K£t4pur Khurd. K&tdpur Budrug. Warodi. Kond&puri. Nimgaon Mah&lunga. Shivtakrar Mahdlungd. Takli. Deogaon, Lakhadgaon. Chandoho. Phakta. Kowta. Waghala. These villages would then form the 3rd and lowest group, 6.Government are also of opinion that it would be better to lower the maximum rates of assessment on account of inferiority of climate more rapidly than by four annas in each class, and would, therefore, purpose, adopting the Survey Commissioner’s maximum of Bs. 2-8-0 for the 1st class, to put the 2nd at Us. 2-&-0, a reduction of 6 annas, and the 3rd at Bs. 1-10-0, a further reduction of 8 annas. The rapid deterioration of the average fertility of land as its position recedes from the rainy region of the Sahy&dri range renders this necessary, if the fair relative values of different villages are to be maintained. Bearing in mind also the greater distance from market of the more northerly villages in the 2nd group, a reduction of 2 annas may be made in the maximum rate for all villages in it to the north of Hewra, com¬ mencing from Kanhur and Pdba. 363 7.There 'will thus be 9 villages in the first group, 9 in the higher, and 24 in the lower division of the 2nd, and 17 in the 3rd group. It is estimated Villages.. No. _ Bate. that with these rates, which * 1st group 9 Rs. 2 8 0 will now stand as in the mar- 2nd 11st divisioix .. 9 „ 2 2 0 • *. ^e increase on the 3rd group ...” ” 1 10 a whole 59 villages will amount to about 75 per cent beyond the old assessment, in place of the 88 per cent, which would be the effect of the adoption of those proposed by the Superintend¬ ent. 8.With regard to Pathasthal* assessment, the Superin¬ tendent, in the 34th paragraph of his report, * Irrigated from dams. propoges a maximum 0f Rs. 6 and a minimum of one rupee an acre, and explains that the total assessment amounts to Rs. 5,629, or an average of Rs. 2-10-0 an acre (it is properly Rs. 2-9-10 and a fraction). The proposal meets with the entire concurrence of the Revenue Commissioner, but it has been passed over by the Survey Commissioner entirely without notice. Government would be glad to know if the gradations of rates from the maximum downwards are regulated entirely by the supply of and the method ef raising the water, or whether any consideration has been given to the group of villages in which the land may be situated and its distance from market. Pending further report the rates may be sanctioned for the current year. 9. The remission of assessment on Mothasthal* has been . carried into effect in accordance with the wells' imga 6 rom general orders of Government on the subject, and may be sanctioned. This, it appears, will afford relief to the amount of about 20,000, or 25,000 rupees. 10. Neither the Revenue nor the Survey Commissioner gives any opinion on the subject of the proposed assessment on rice lands (entered without explanation as Gaddi in the statement). There are only 92 acres, it appears, in the whole 59 villages; but the sole reason assigned for fixing on it a maximum of Rs. 5 per acre is that it is of a very superior description to that in ShoMpur. What the maximum rate is in ShoMpur is not stated. This may also be sanctioned for the current year, pending further report. 11. The usual guarantee for the permanency .of these rates for thirty years should not be given until explanation is received on the points with regard to which further information has now been called for; but the calculation of assessment for the current 364 year (to be remitted according to usage when in excess of the old realizable revenue) may be proceeded with according to the rates now ordered. F. S. CHAPMAN, , Chief Secretary to Government. No. 393 of 1873. To Colonel J. FRANCIS, * Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Lonauli, 28tk April 1873. Sir, With reference to Government Resolution No. 2158, of the 16th current, I have the honour to forward the explanation called for in paragraphs 8 and 10 of the above-quoted Resolution. 2. In fixing the rates on “ Pathasthal” lands, the gradation is regulated chiefly by the supply of water and the crops that can be raised; but other considerations are also taken into account, such as proximity, or otherwise, to source of supply, quality of land irrigated, &c., with the aid of tables showing the allowance to be made on these accounts. The case of every individual field is settled on its own merits by the Superintendent himself after care¬ ful review of the circumstances, of which a detailed statement has been prepared in the field. Every gradation of rate, from the highest to the lowest, may, and does frequently, occur in a single village, and more than one rate sometimes in the same survey number. Under these circumstances (except in very special cases, such as the immediate vicinity of a large city, &c.,) distance from market is not taken into account, nor the group to which the village belongs. In the present case the highest Pathasthal rates occur in the villages of Shikrapur and Talegaon, which are the nearest to their chief market, but on account of climate are not ncluded in the 1st group. 3. With regard to the rates on ‘‘ Gaddi’* or rice land, I have the honour to explain that the maximum adopted GulaniBudruk’ in ShoMpur was Rs. 3. In the villages under report only five' have lands of this de¬ scription, and in three of these the amount is insignificant. In the remaining two—Pargaon and Hewra—there 365 are 78 acres. You will observe that these villages are on the western border of the district, where the rainfall (so indispensable to the growth of rice) is certain. In ShoMpur, on the contrary, the climate is precarious, and, as described in my report on the rates, only coarse rice is grown in hollows where water lodges. In the P&bal villages, now under notice, the lands are regular rice fields, more approaching in character to the rice lands of the McLwal villages, in which a maximum rate of Rs. 4-8 was imposed by you as long back as 1854. A maximum of Rs, 5 appeared, therefore, to me to be appropriate in the present instance, and I trust may be approved. 4. Having thus (I hope satisfactorily) afforded the explana¬ tion called for by His Excellency the Governor in Council, I would request permission respectfully to bring to notice the cases of certain villages which, in my humble opinion, require re-considera- tion. They are situated in the north-east corner of the district, and are notoriously among the most fertile villages of the district. I allude to those of Ausari Budruk, Pimpalgaon, Chandoli Khurd, and N4ndur, and I would respectfully ask permission to include them in the 1st class of Rs. 2-8-0 in place, of Rs. 2. Four other villages to the north of these, and immediately adjoining the high road to Poona, viz., Eklahara, Kalamb, Lowki, and Chandoli Budruk, are also within the range of hills to which Captain Wingate attributes the greater fall of rain, and might fairly be left in the higher division of the 2nd class at Rs. 2. With respect to Giroli, I beg to explain (which I omitted to do in my report) that my reason'for reducing it a class, was that it is 9 or 10 miles of very rough country from the high road, and also that it is on the border of the Mdwal villages, in which the rainfall, while too great for the continuous culture of jowari and bajri, is still not sufficient to ensure a superior crop of rice. For these reasons I would recommend that it be placed in the higher division of the 2nd class at Rs. 2-2-0. There is one more instance to which I would respectfully draw attention, namely, the village of Chincholi, which has been left in the lower division of the 2nd class at Rs. 2, although from its position it should be, at least, under as low a maximum as Waroda, which has been reduced to the 3rd class. I would, therefore, request sanction to include Chincholi in the 3rd class also. A statement is appended showing the effect of the modifications which I have ventured to suggest. 5. The increase on the present Jerayet payments by the imposition of the sanctioned rates will be about 75 per cent, but the increase on the' total present payments will, including the assessment on Pathasthal and rice lands, be only 60 per cent in place of 88, as originally proposed. 36$ 6, In conclusion, I have the honour to request that, should you agrSe with me in the advisability of the modifications propos¬ ed by me, you will submit the same at an early date, with all deference to Government, as it is most desirable that at the time of settlement I may be able to give the people the usual guarantee of the duration of the lease. Meantime the instructions of Gov¬ ernment regarding the calculation of the rates are being duly carried out. I have the honour to bey Sir, Your most obedient Servant, V, WADDING TON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Roona and Ndsik. 6 Names of Villages. Sanctioned Maximum., Collections for 1871-72 ! Assessment according to sanctioned Bates. Total Assessment. Increase. Proposed Bates.. Assessment according to Bates recommended. Total Assessment. Increase. * ss* u & Is 1 C3 cm Gaddi. Bupees. Per Cent. â–  | Jerayet. Pathasthal. Gaddi. Rupees. Per Cent. Bs; a. Bis. a. 1 Ausari Budnik 2 0 3,182 3,572 152 25 3,749 567 18 2 8 4,465 152 25 4,642 1,460 4(» 2 Chandoli Khiitd 589 836 ... 836 247 42 1,045 1,045 456 77 3 Nandur... . 1,081 1,340 1,340 259 24 1,675 • •• 1,675 §94 55 4 Pimpalgaoii ... * ... 1,722 1,964 ... 1,964 242 14 2,455 • ... 2,455 733 42 Total... 6,574 7,712 152 25 7,889 1,315 20 9,640 152 25 9,8i7 3,243 49 1 Eklahara 2 0 490 922 922 432 88 2 2 980 980 490 100 2 Kalamb 1,550 2,332 75 is. 2,407 857 55 2,478 75 2,553 1,003 64 3 Chandoli Budruk ... 1,368 1,870 7 • •• 1,877 509 37 1,987 7 1,994 626 46 4 Lowki 407 538 ... 538 131 32 572 ... 572 165 40 Total.,. 3,815 5,662 82 5,744 1,929 50 6,017 82 ... 6,099 2,284 60 1 Giroli 2 8 793 1,550 15 1,565 772 97 2 2 1,317 ... 15 1,332 539 68 1 Chincholi 2 0 807 1,592 ... 1,592 785 97 1 10 1,293 ... ... 1,293 486 60 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Lonauli, 28th April 1873. Poona and N£sik* Ci 368 No. 813 of 1873. Mahableshwar, 8th May 1873. Submitted to Government, with reference to the instructions^ in the Resolution upon the P^bal Settlement (No. 2158, dated 16th ultimo). 2. The Superintendent’s explanation regarding the manner in which his Pathasthal rates are fixed may be accepted as a generally correct statement of the case in respect to this particular district; but I must take exception to that part of his remarks in which he leads it to be supposed that vicinity to market has no influence with us, as a rule, in fixing Pathasthal rates, for this is certainly opposed to the practice in force which recognises the importance of markets in determining the amount of the fixed rate. The classification of the water-supply is, of course, independent of such considerations. 3. Referring to his remarks about rice-land rates, I would observe that I cannot see any good reason in the ShoUpur rates for similar lands being brought forward; for the rice cultivation of that district, which is very poor, differs altogether from that obtaining in these P4bal villages. He explains, however, in the concluding part of the paragraph, that theP&bal rice lands are similar in character to those of the Mawal District, for which a Rs. 4-8-0 maximum was imposed by me so far back as 1854; but I think, nevertheless, the Superintendent’s rate of Rs. 5 is quite high enough for this district. AusarjJBudruk. Pimpalgaon, Chandoli Khurd. Nandur. 4. I agree with him that it is advisable to make some slight modifications of the grouping of villages as prescribed in the Resolution, and would sup¬ port his recommendation for the four villages, marginally noted to be put into the 1st class group. They are very favourably circum¬ stanced, both in regard to climate and communications, and will fairly bear the highest class rate of the district. 5. I would also recommend, for the reasons stated by the Superintendent, that Giroli should be reduced to the Rs. 2-2-0 rate, and Chincholi be put into the 3rd class, to which the Rs. 1-10-0 maximum is to be applied. 6. It seems to me, however, that there is no occasion to carry out his further suggestion for having the four villages marginally noted, transferred from the 2nd to the 1st division of the 2nd class. There is a difference of only 2 annas between the maximum rates of the two divisions, and this is inappreciable. Eklahara. Kalamb. Lowki, Chandoli Budnik. 369 7. In his concluding paragraph the Superintendent requests an early decision in regard to the modifications of the grouping advocated by him, and at the same time expresses a hope that the decision therein will be accompanied with orders for him to give the usual guarantee of the duration of the lease. I am, however, of opinion that it is not advisable to guarantee this settlement till we have before us a complete statement of the result of the rates which are to be introduced; for the original proposals have been subject to so many modifications without any proper estimate of the effect in the general settlement being prepared, that it is difficult at present to say what the actual percentage increase will amount to under the rates to be applied. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No, 1821 of 1873. Revenue Department. Camp Mahableshwar, 9th May 1873. Submitted to Government, with concurrence in the recommen¬ dations of the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., subject to the reservation stated in paragraph 13 of his Report No. 758, dated 27th February 1873. 2. Referring to the remarks in paragraph 8 of Go^rnment Resolution No. 2158, dated 16th ultimo, the Revenue Commissioner has no doubt that'the Superintendent of Survey should have taken more fully into consideration the relative facility of markets in respect to his pathasthal assessment, as well as in that of the Jerayet. In the arid Deccan the quantity and certainty of the water supplied by irrigation is that condition which so completely overrules all others, that there is little fear of the classification, fixed in the manner described by Colonel Waddington, being excessive, or, in the main, ill-apportioned. Still, as pointed out by Colonel Francis, the vicinity .of markets should not be omitted; and the Superintendent will no doubt be more strictly guided in fixing pathasthal rates in future by considerations connected therewith. W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. b 209—u 370 No. 2921. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 22nd May 1873. Resolution.—The modifications approved by the Survey and Revenue Commissioners are sanctioned. 2. The result of the^entire rates will be awaited before a final guarantee is given for the full period of thirty years. 3. Government concur in the remarks of the Survey and Revenue Commissioners relative to the necessity of taking into consideration relative proximity to markets as one criterion in the determination of pathasthal as well as other rates. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 498 op 1873. To The SUPERINTENDENT, Revenue Survey and Settlement, Poona and N^sik. Poona Collector's Office, 27th March 1873. Sir, With reference to your letters marginally noted, I have the honour to inquire whether the revised rates No- 871 of 10'fckDe* of assessment proposed to be introduced in eember^s ^ janu- U^bal and Haveli talukas will be in¬ ary 1873. timated to the ryots this year and before the commencement of the season for the prepara¬ tion of fields for ensuing year. 2. This information is required to enable me to issue, if ne¬ cessary, orders to my Assistants to complete the Jamdbandi of any villages in which it may not be practicable to declare the new rates in the current year. 3. I have been given to understand that you have intimated to the Assistant Collector in charge Haveli, that in four villages of that taluka the new rates will not immediately be declared, and that, therefore, the Jamdbandi of those villages should be settled 371 this year, as usual, according to existing rates. I beg that you will have the goodness, in future, to transmit such intimations through my office. I haVe the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. E. OLIPHANT, . Collector. No. 283 op 1873. To Tee COLLECTOR op POONA. Camp Karmala, 31$£ March 1873. • Sie, In reply to your letter No. 498 of 27th current, I shall feel much obliged by your informing me what date I am to understand you to mean as corresponding with “ the commencement of the season for the preparation of fields for the ensuing year.” 2. With reference to para. 3, your wishes shall be attended to in future. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Superintendent, Poona and Nasik Survey. No. 608 op 1873. To The SUPERINTENDENT, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. Lonaulij 17th April 1873. Sir, In reply to paragraph 1 of your letter No. 283, dated the 31st March 1873, I have the honour to state that the season for the 372 preparation of fields for tlie ensuing year may be said to commence in this district in the month of April, certainly not later than the 1st of May. 2. The Act and the Rules regarding survey assessment are silent as to the period of the current revenue year within which in¬ creased assessment should be declared to the ryots, so as to render payments obligatory in the ensuing revenue year (commencing 1st August), but the High Court has ruled in the case of Govind Vinayak Gadre vs. The Collector of Ratndgiri (pages 101—107, Reports of 1869, Yol. VI.,) that notice of increased assessment should be given a ryot within a reasonable time prior to the latest date on which he cotild exercise his right of relinquishing his lands; that date is, as you are aware, fixed for the 31st March by Section 42, Act I. of 1865. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. E. OLIPHANT, Collector. No. 366 op 1873. Gamp Lonauli, 19^ April 1873. MEMORANDUM. In forwarding the accompanying correspondence with the Collector of Poona, the Superintendent, Poona and Ndsik Survey, has the honour to request instructions from the Survey Com¬ missioner as to what reply he is to make to paras. 1 and 2 of the Collector’s letter No. 498 of 27th ultimo. 2. The 31st March is laid down in the Act as the latest day on which an occupant can exercise his right of relinquishing his lands, and the High Court ruled (on March 2nd, 1869) that notice of increased assessment should be given to a ryot within a reason¬ able time prior to that date. But it is not laid down in the Act that Government have not the power to extend that date if they deem fit; and, indeed, in a foot-note to Form B. (notice of re¬ linquishment of occupancy), which forms a portion of the rules drawn up under the provisions of Section XXVIII. of the Survey 373 Act, and sanctioned in Government Resolution No. 496 of 5tli Feb¬ ruary 1869, it is expressly laid down that “ wben a survey settle¬ ment is newly introduced into a district, the Settlement Officer will receive Razinamas up to the 5th of June of the year of settle¬ ment;” and, again, Government appear to uphold the same principle in the rules sanctioned in Government Resolution No. 6162 of 30th July 1869 (nearly four months subsequent to the decision of the High Court), by which it is provided that “the assessment may be explained at any time during the revenue year (which ends 31st July), provided that, on whatever date such explanation may be made, the occupant shall then be permitted to relinquish for the ensuing year any such numbers, &c.thus implying that, if occu¬ pancy is not relinquished, the occupant will be liable for the enhanced assessment for the ensuing year. 3. Early instructions are, therefore, requested as to whether, in explaining the new rates to the villages of the Haveli and Pdbal talukas, they are to be considered as leviable for the ensuing revenue year 1873-74, or not until 1874-75. W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. No. 1020 of 1873. Mahableshwar, 4th June 1873. MEMORANDUM. The Superintendent solicits the orders of Government upon the question as to whether the revised rates of assessment sanc¬ tioned for the Pdbal and Haveli taluks, but which have not been, or will not have been,* introduced till after the 31st of March, are to be levied in the ensuing revenue year. The doubt on this point arises out of the ruling of the High Court in the case marginally noted, in which it has been held that the ryot is not liable to the payment of any increase on his former assessment for the ensuing year, unless the survey rates under which it is payable have been introduced before the 31st of March, and this rule, it is pre¬ sumed; will have to be made applicable to the case under reference. * Those for Haveli have yet to be intro¬ duced. Regular Appeal Ho. 11 of 1868: Govind Vinayak Gadre verms the Collector of Ratna-. giri. 374 4. The Survey Commissioner begs to refer to the discussion See correspondence on this subject wbicb took place in 1870, ending wtth Govern! when it was decided to amend the law by ment Resolution No. fixing a later date than the 31st of March 6296 of 22nd Decem- as the period of the year in which survey ber 1870. settlements should be held to be legally introduced. Nothing, it is believed, has been done to carry out the measure, and the present case shows the necessity for early action being taken in the matter. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 2245 of 1873. Revenue Department. Camp Mahableshwar, 9th June 1873. MEMORANDUM. Submitted to Government. . 2. The undersigned has the honour to refer to his memo¬ randum No. 6284, dated 24th December 1872, in which the ques¬ tion as it is affected by the existing law and orders of Government is fully discussed. 3. It will be perceived from Government Resolution No. 5404, dated 30th October 1872, that in the case of the Hubli villages, therein referred to, it has already been ruled by Government that the “ new rates should be sanctioned and given out by the end of March 1873, so as to take effect from 1873-74.” The alteration of the year, from 1873-74 to 1874-75, by Government Resolution No. 6396 of 26th December 1872, does not affect the principle of this decision, which is in conformity with the ruling of the High Court quoted in the present correspondence. W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. 375 No. 3531. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 20th June 1873. . Resolution.^—The rates are to be explained early in the revenue year commencing from the 1st August 1873, and the assessment according to the new rates is to be levied during the ensuing year, i.e., during that commencing from the 1st August 1874. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Goyernment. No. 314 op 1876. From Lieut.-Colonel W. WADDINGTON, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Poona, 18th April 1874. Sir, I have the honour to submit my final report on the rates lately introduced into 59 villages of the old P&bal Taluka. * * * * 2. The rates were explained by me (assisted by Mr. H. M. Grant) in May last in the villages of the Pabal Taluka, and the people informed that the settlement would have effect from the year 1872-73 ; but afterwards, in accordance with Government Resolution No. 3531, dated 20th June 1873, the levy of the rates 376 • was deferred, and the year 187.3-74 was fixed as the first year of the settlement, the usual remissions being made in cases of increased assessment. 3. The grouping of the villages, as originally proposed, was, for the most part, re-arranged in Government Resolution No. 2158 of 1873, and still further alterations were subsequently made in accordance with suggestions submitted by me, and approved of by Government. In consequence of these modifications the total dry-crop assessment as finally settled is Rs. 1,46,413 in place of Rs. 1,83,640, as originally contemplated. There is also a decrease in the pathasthal assessment of Rs. 72, which is due to reduction sanctioned by you on a representation made by me on the occasion of my visit to Shikrdpur in January last, when, to my surprise, I found the p&ths already dry which irrigate the lands of Shikrdpur and Talegaon, and which, from an experience of many years, I had assumed would usually run until, at least, the end of February or middle of March. I consequently obtained your sanction to modify the maximum rates of the pathasthal lands of those villages and some others in that portion of the district, the result being the decrease shown above. The total assessment on occupied lands is Rq 189 702 Original Rs- or Rs. 38,191 less than that ’ ’ Report, originally proposed by me, and Rs. 49,283, or „ 1,51,511 Amended 48 per cent more than the former assessment. —Report. The average dry-crop rate is 12 annas 3 pies, Es* ' that for pith water Rs. 2-5-1, and for rice land Rs. 3-5-4. 4. The total occupied area is 2,01,986 acres, of which 10,663 acres, or Jth, is deducted as kharab. It is divided into 9,547 survey numbers and 6,370 khdtas, the average size of each kh&ta being 30 acres 1 guntha, and assessment Rs. 23-12-6. There are 3 acres 19 gunthas of culturable land per head of the population, and the incidence of assessment Rs. 2-11-8. There are 20,912 acres of gairan, 3,153 of kuran, and 733 set apart for forest reserves. The area absorbed by village sites, rivers, roads, &c., is 10,808 acres. The total area, including inam land, is 2,51,971 acres. * ' * # * I have the honour, &c., W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nd-sik. 377 Revised Set¬ tlement... Rs. 1,51,511 Former^ Set¬ tlement... Rs. 1,02,228 Rs. 49,283 No. 716 OB 1876. ’ Revenue Department, Camp Harnai, 8th May 1876. MEMORANDUM. The accompanying letter from the Superintendent of the Poona and N£sik Survey gives the fifial result of the revised settle¬ ment introduced into 59 villages of the Pabal Taluka, after making the modifications in the original proposals sanctioned by subse¬ quent orders. 2. It will be observed from the Superintendent’s explanations that the settlement Jama fixed for this Para. 3. district, after making. the reductions alluded to above, amounts altogether to Rs. 1,51,511, being, as shown by marginal statement, Rs. 49,283, or 48 per cent in excess of the former settlement. It will be seen also, from the statements given in the same para., that this revised Jama is Rs. 88,191 less than that originally proposed by the Superintendent. 3. There is no doubt the rates first submitted by the Super¬ intendent were somewhat too high, and it is a question, perhaps, whether we have not gone too far in the reductions subsequently made. It may, at any rate, be safely asserted that they have brought down the revised settlement fully to the limit of the moder¬ ate increased demand that Government is desirous of imposing^ 4. It will be perceived ’that some reduction in the pathasthal Para 3 rates of certain villages were authorized by r ’ ' me, consequent on the Superintendent having reported the water-supply to be somewhat less than it had been estimated to be when his original rates were fixed. The order for this reduction was given without reference to Government, as it was obviously necessary to correct a mistake in the valuation of the* water-supply, and I trust, therefore, that my proceedings in the matter will be approved of. 5. Under the revised settlement, as now fixed, the average dry-crop rate is 12 annas 3 pies per acre, the water rate Rs. 2-5-1, and the rice-land rate Rs. 3-5-4. 6. A brief analysis of the statistical returns will be found in para. 4. * * * * # J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. B 209—V 378 No. 2852. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 5th June 1874. Resolution.—The modification of the p&thasthal rates sanc¬ tioned by the Commissioner i^ confirmed. 2. In the case of the P£bal villages, now absorbed in other talukas * * * . * the guarantee to be given is to be for the unexpired period of the leases of the talukas to which these villages now belong. ****** 3. The attention of the Survey Commissioner is requested to the recent orders* of Government, desiring that these reports be re-arranged with a view to the final results being embodied in a revenue atlas. (Signed) F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. * Government Reso¬ lution No. 2446, dated 15th May 1874. No. 4107. EXTRACT from, the proceedings of the Government of Bombay in Revenue Department, dated 4th August 1874, Read the following despatch from Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for India, to His Excellency the Honourable the Governor in Council, Bombay, No. 21, dated 2nd July 1874 :— The despatch of your Excellency in Council, dated 13th April, No. 6 of 1874, relative to the revision of assessment in the Pdbal and Haveli Talukas of the Poona Colleetorate, has been considered by me in Council. 2. Four subjects are discussed in the papers now forwarded— I. Some legal questions relative to the construction of the 35th Section of Act I. of 1865 (Bombay Code). II. The revision of assessment in 59 villages of the Pdbal Taluka of the Poona Colleetorate. III. The propriety of introducing an Act to empower the Government to fix a later date for the relinquishment of occupancies. IV. The reduction of the assessment in 84 villages of the Haveli Taluka. 379 3. Of these subjects three may be briefly disposed of. The Legal Remembrancer has submitted his opinion on the questions connected with the 35th Section of Act I. of 1865, and your Excel¬ lency in Council has circulated it for the guidance of the Revenue and Survey authorities. 4. The third question, as to altering by legislation the. date fixed for the relinquishment of occupancies, is still under considera- â–  tion, and does not, therefore, at present demand any expression of opinion from me. 5. The fourth question relates to the reduction of the rate fixed by the revised settlement in 84 villages of the Haveli Taluka. The revised settlement was fixed at Rs. 1,43,544, or 75 per cent in excess of the former assessment. It has now, chiefly on the strong representation of the Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Havelock, been reduced to Rs. 1,34,180, or 66 per cent in excess of the old settle¬ ment. I fully approve of this reduction. 6. The revision of assessment in 59 villages of the P£bal Taluka of the Poona Collectorate remains for consideration. 7. The first proposition with reference to this revision was to increase the assessment to an amount exceeding the previous settlement by 88 per cent. Further inquiries have led to reduc¬ tions which have left the revised assessment at only 50 per cent in excess of the former settlement. This is an increase which in all probability may be fully justified by the high rate of prices for agricultural produce, by the construction of new roads, and espe¬ cially of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and by the very profitable culture of potatoes, for which an extensive market is found in the large town and cantonment of Poona. Your Excel¬ lency in Council has, however, very properly directed that the results of the settlement be for some years carefully watched in order that reductions may be made if suggested by experience. Resolution.—To be communicated to the Revenue and the Survey Commissioners, with reference to Government Resolution No. 6870, dated 23rd December 1873. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. 380 REPORT regarding application of the Orders of Government Reso¬ lution No. 5739, of October last, to the Villages of the old Pabal Talulca. No. 1454 or 1875. Revenue Department. Poona, 25th September 1875. * For the reasons stated herein, I am of opinion that it is not expedient to make any reduction in the rates finally sanctioned for this district. 2. It will be observed, from a perusal of. the correspondence upon this settlement, that the Superintendent (Colonel Waddington) submitted, in the first instance, proposals for assessing the district at maximum rates, varying from Rs. 3 down to Re..l annas 12, the villages being apportioned into six different classes of rates. These proposals, it was estimated, would raise the assessment* of the 56 t villages to which the first settlement was applied, from Rs. 92,359 to Rs. 1,73,898, the difference of Rs. 81,539 in the two demands being equivalent to an increase of 88 per cent. 3. In reviewing these proposals I first recommended a few changes in the grouping of individual villages, as also that the first class of 3 Rupees, which comprised one village only, should be struck out altogether; and I then suggested a reduction of 4 annas per class for the first 4 groups, and of 2 for the fifth, to be applied to the villages according to the modification in grouping alluded to above. These modifications of the original proposals would, it was roughly estimated, reduce the increase on the first settlement from 88 to about 65 per cent. 4. It will- be perceived from the general tenor of my remarks that these reductions in the Superintendent’s rates were suggested mainly in consequence of Government having expressed their de¬ sire for a more moderate scale of increase in revision settlements. And it may, therefore, be said that what may be termed the more liberal policy of the State in respect to revision settlements was initiated in this case. 5. Moreover, on the correspondence coming before Govern¬ ment, certain modifications were made in the grouping of villages, which led to a further reduction beyond that suggested by me. * On cultivated lands. t There are 59 included under the settlement, but 3, which are recent ac¬ quisitions of territory, are shown separately. 381 Some discussion ensued respecting these modifications; but the following classification of villages, which was eventually adopted, forms the basis of the assessment now in force, viz. : 1st class rate Rs. 2 8, comprising 11 villages. 2nd 5J .. 2 2 99 3rd 5J » 2 0 99 -m 19 4th 99 ,, 1 12 99 8 )» 5th 99 „ 1 10 99 13 6th *99 .. 1 8 99 Total 4 „ .56 villages. Add villages received from His Highness Holkar :— Manchar ...Rs. 2 8 Koregaon „ 1 12 Sakhangaon ... „ 1 10 Grand Total ... 59 villages. 6. It was estimated (para. 7 of Resolution) that the new assessment, calculated according to the foregoing rates, would be about 75 per cent in excess of that fixed at the first settlement. The reduction was, however, greatly in excess of what it was sup¬ posed to amount to ; the revised assessment, * Not printed. as shown in the statements* appended, being an increase of only 51 per cent on the former demand. 7. It will thus be seen that the modification of the original proposals made by me, and subsequent remodification by Govern¬ ment, effected a much larger reduction of assessment than was con¬ templated by Government at the time. And as remarked by me when submitting the final report, it is questionable whether the reduction had not been carried too far, considering the favourable circumstances of this district. 8. With regard, however, to the immediate question of the application of the Resolution of October last to the district, it is clear from the correspondence on which it is based, that it was intended specially for the poor and arid districts of the Poona and ShoUpur Collectorates, which, besides uncertainty of rainfall, are at a great disadvantage in having so large a proportion of their total area devoted to the cultivation of a staple crop like jow£ri, the marketable value of which is so much affected by local circum¬ stances. The P£bal villages are, however, very differently circum¬ stanced. Distant about 30 or 40 miles from the Western Ghats, they are situated in the belt of country lying, as regards the Poona 382 Collectorate, between Junnar in the north and the Nira River to the south, which enjoys a certain rainfall, and is one of the most favour¬ able tracts for the cultivation of jerayet crops in the Deccan. The Superintendent’s report contains a description of the cultivation, but does not give any statistical data as to the proportion of the different crops grown. Writing, however, from my own know¬ ledge of the district, I should estimate that fully 75 per cent of the total area is regularly under kharif cultivation. Bajri is the staple crop, but in good soils it is followed by gram, and wheat and jow&ri with kardai are also grown as second crops after mug, urid, &c. Potatoe may also be reckoned amongst the regular products of the district, being cultivated as a kharif crop unirrigated, and as an irrigated crop in the dry season. 9. The circumstances of the district indicated above are so totally different from those of the Bhimthari, Ind&pur, and. adjoin¬ ing districts of the ShoMpur Collectorate, which are specially re¬ ferred to in the correspondence connected‘ with the October Reso¬ lution, that 1 consider it would be a mistake to make the same reduction of assessment in this as in those cases, especially as the new rates have already been revised and put upon a much lower scale than at first proposed. 10. I am, however, of opinion that it is advisable to make some reduction in the assessment of the lower orders of soil. The classification was done by an Assistant of great experience (Mr. Whitcombe), and I have every confidence in the general accuracy of the work. But as we have been making a general reduction in the classificatidn values of certain orders.of soil, I think it is advis¬ able to carry out the same plan in this case, but to limit its opera¬ tion entirely to the lower orders. There is no doubt of the good and middling soils being well able to bear our rates in districts like this, where we have a plentiful and certain rainfall, and the cultivation of the lower orders is also comparatively more remuner¬ ative in the same localities. But as • it is well to be assured of their being low enough I propose to make a reduction in our classi¬ fication values .from 4 annas downwards, according to the scale adopted in other districts. 11. The following statement shows the assessment by groups as it will stand after making the reduction in classification values alluded to above :— 383 • Revision Assessment. Reduction by lowering Classi¬ fication Value of lower orders of Soils. Remaining Assessment. Percentage Group. Amount. Percentage Increase. Increase on Original Assessment. Rs. Rs. Rs. 1 ... ... 27,241 49 1,289 25,952 41 2 1,151 45 72 1,079 36 3 ... ... 44,065 53 2,399 41,666- 45 4 35,330 51 1,050 34,280 47 5 23,308 54 1,987 21,321 41 6 8,220 36 244 7,976 33* Total... 1,39,315 51 7,041 m 1,32,274 43 Add villages (3) received from Holkar. 12,196 23 491 11,705 19 Grand Total... 1,51,511 48 7,532 1,43,979 41 It will thus be seen that the revised assessment as modified by these proposals will be an enhancement of 41 per cent on the former assessment of the district, which, in my opinion, may be regarded as a moderate rate of increase for a district so favourably circumstanced. 12. There are a few individual villages in which the assessment is above the prescribed limit of increase. In one case (village of Apti) I know the former classification to be most unduly low as I personally tested it several years ago when fixing the rates for some adjoining isolated villages. So large, indeed, was the reduc¬ tion made in this village at the first settlement that it was common¬ ly known as “ Inam, Apti” in the district on this account And __ ' , I have no doubt the other cases of increase classification Adopted at are due to the same cause.* I have, at any the first settlement. rate> every confidence m the correctness of the revised classification which, as before 384 mentioned, was done by a very experienced Assistant,*, and care- fully tested by the Superintendent. Irecom- r. i com e. mend, consequently, that the rates of the vil¬ lages alluded to should stand as they are. 13. All increases in individual holdings of above 100 per cent should, I recommend, be treated specially in the manner contem¬ plated in the Resolution and as may be settled for other districts. 14. A map showing the different groups by colours, as finally settled, is appended. J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 6516. • , * Revenue Department. Bombay'Castle, 22nd November 1875. • Resolution.—In the 56 villages which formed the old Pabal Taluka of Poona the original Mahratta rates of assessment aver¬ aged rather over Re. 1 per acre. The nominal average rate of Mr. Pringle’s settlement, which succeeded them, was about Rs. 0-15-0, but the realizations averaged only about Rs. 0-10-9. The sur¬ vey settlement was introduced in 1841-45, and the average rate under it on land then cultivated was about Rs. 0-9-3. During the time of the settlement the whole of the assessed land, one-third of which was waste before its introduction, and about 21,000 acres of the unassessed waste, were brought into cultivation ; the value of land increased greatly, means of communications were improved, and a considerable increase took place in population and agri¬ cultural stock. Prices also rose as elsewhere in the Deccan. 2. On the revision the villages under consideration were arranged under 6 groups, with reference to their climate and proximity to markets, at maximum dry-crop rates varying from Rs. 1-8 to Rs. 2-8, and the total assessment was thus raised from Rs. 92,359 to Rs. 1,39,315, or 51 per cent. 3. Colonel Francis points out that the rates sanctioned by Government were lower than those originally proposed, and that the more liberal assessment policy determined on by Government Resolution No, 5739 of 29th October 1874, has, therefore, been al¬ ready applied to this district. He proposes, however, to reduce the assessment already sanctioned about Rs. 7,000 by a reduction of the classification values of the poorest soils. 385 4. Government cannot agree to tliis suggestion. Colonel Francis states that the classification of this district, made under the superintendence of one of the best classing Assistants in the service, Mr. Whitcombe, is as good as it can be, and if so, it cer¬ tainly ought not to be altered, It is true that, although the classi¬ fication may be entirely correct according to the valuation scale adopted, that scale may itself give too high a proportionate value to the poorer soils. This is not the'case in Pdbal, The great superiority of this district in quantity and certainty of rainfall over the eastern talukas of Poona has been dwelt on in all the settle¬ ment reports, and this advantage particularly benefits the poorer soils which suffer most from defect of rain. 5. Government consider, however, that it will be well to make some reduction in the assessment of these villages, in order to place them on the same footing as regards the pitch of assessment as other parts of the Deccan. They are, therefore, pleased to direct that the maximum rate of the third group of 19 villages shall be lowered 4 annas, and those of the remaining groups 2 annas. 6. The effect of this change will be to lower the total assess¬ ment from Rs. 1,39,315 to Rs. 1,27,354; the average rate from Rs. 0-12*6 to Rs. 0-11-5, and the increase on the old assessment from 51 per cent to 38 per cent. - 7. The rates of the 3 villages received from His Highness Holkar should be modified in the same way, according to the groups to which they belong. 8. There will be a decrease upon the original rates in 3 of the villages under consideration, while in 6 the increase will be a little over 75 per cent. Government do not, however, think it necessary to adopt special measures for these villages. Indivi¬ dual cases of increase above the permissible limit are to be re¬ ported as usual. W. G. PEDDER, Acting Secretary to Government.' * 209—w 386 No. 244 of 1876. From Lieetneant-Colonel E. L. TAVERNER, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey, To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Ndsih, 31 st March 1876. Sir, With, reference to your letter No. 444, dated 20th instant, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the result of the alteration made under Government Resolution No. 6516, dated 22nd November 1875, in the revision settlement rates of 56 villages of the old P4bal Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. 2. The estimate entered in para. 6 of the Government Reso¬ lution is that the assessment would be reduced from Rs. 1,39,315 to Rs. 1,27,354, or from an increase of 51 to one of 38 per cent. The actual result is an assessment of Rs. 1,28,034 .against the original assessment of Rs. 92,359, or an increase of Rs. 35,675, or 38*6 per cent. 3. The reduction in the rates of 3 villages received from His Highness Holkar are also given in the statement with reference to para. 7 of the Government Resolution. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Poona and N£sik. Statement. Number of Villages. 388 STATEMENT showing the ultimate Result of the Survey Revision Settle as finally adjusted under Government Resolution As per Revi As’per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72. 1 Acres. 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 Names of Villages. Acres. Assessment. Jerayet. Motasthal Bagayet. PAtasthal Bagayet. | Rice. ce O EH 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rs. MAhAlunga 5,088 2,714 4,566 312 47 4,925 Pimpalgaon 1,320 1,722 988 406 1,394 Chinchodi 1,773 1,190 1,955 72 80 2,107 NArodi 1,705 1,496 1,659 135 166 1,960 ChAs 2,369 1,605 2,344 • 162 62 2,568 Ausari (Bk.) 4,326 3,182 3,854 697 96 2 4,649 Chandoli (Khd) ... 689 589 - 578 135 * 713 Wadgaon ... 1,768 1,258 1,656 233 22 1,911 SAkora 728 696 620 104 1 725 Nandur ... ... ... ... 1,614 1,081 1,436 215 1,651 Ausari (Khd) 3,672 2,809 3,281 714 105 4,100 Total... 25,052 18,342 22,937 3,185 579 2 26,703 Giroli 1,503 793 1,802 58 6 1,866 WadgAon Pir 1,999 1,211 3,174 61 55 3,290 Waruda 2,571 1,246 3,654 145 171 3,970 DhAmni ... 4,485 2,272 4,057 173 118 4,348 Loni 3,182 2,261 3,491 264 144 3,899 GulAni ] 1,744 1,036 2,051 56 11 20 2,138 WAkalwAri ... 980 510 1,207 1,207 Eklabara ... 1,000 490 1,067 65 1,132 Nirgudsar 2,737 1,749 2,767 246 4 3,017 PArgaon 3,939 2,244 4,031 22 91 38 4,182 Chandoli (Bk.) 2,002 1,368 2,041 256 7 2,304 Khadki 1,461 657 1,659 56 1,715 Kalamb 3,136 1,550 2,890 327 50 3,267 Thorandla 1,330 616 1,337 62 • 4 1,403 Jaula 1,258 764 1,288 83 2 1,373 Hewra ... 3,263 1,594 3,624 107 10 3,741 BharAdi ... 1,429 705 1,528 51 1 1,580 Lauki 826 407 887 78 965 KAnhur 7,790 4,177 8,249 131 30 8,410 PAbal 6,007 3,842 6,289 356 108 6J753 Total . 51,139 28,699 55,291 ,2,539 806 58 •58,694 32,586 *.© to "colo W 00 "i— -J~4© 00 to © ©~J-4 © ©V © h-1 © *-©©©©©rfb.©oo©ooif^ â–º--»*»•>&.©©©©© O^WU'O9iO-l« 18,560 tO i—* x-x OS tO J-1 J-*JO "to to ©V -4^ © © to V© '©03CCt0>^->—‘,003 ©©©©I—'©©W-^QQtO w 00 b* O Jerayet. CO M o % 03 CJ so 3,092 © <-x 1—^ t—• © © © ! 03 )—' )-< to 00 tfk CT i-* <» © © to to © OO -4 to © >-> bfb © rf^tOGO^J©OtOOOl—ht^O3O0O3 WOlSJOl^Oi 5,103 t-x J- ©©(-■©toototo ©I*. © tO © *4 © i—i1 © tO © -4 © ©©©H-*©W©©l-‘©t-‘ w 00 h* Motastha] Bagayet. e3 >< 934 h-» • * * M M M ^co‘ • )-* o*i oo : . Hootoiw; CD OiH- C*CJI COOatf^ H • • HHM I-* ©: ©: h-> to i— ©. © © t-< tO -4©©© tfb w 00 h-• to Soil As¬ sessment. jfl OR P >> 09 09 CD CD 03 B CD P et* 1,775 os : ; to : : os to os i— • â–º-©: (-â–  -4: h-> . â–  to'-i© h- ©: . I-* © tO © -4 © © to 1,369 * 112 164 408 144 147 * 67 1 326 w 00 H- CD Water- cess. © ft © : : : : : t : ; ! : ^: : : • m © fej 00 ►—» Rice. 38,581 © © JO to J-1 03 JO J-1 to to to J-I l-J 'to'rfi. p* © w © Ob'© © ox ©'Ifk. oo -4--J ^.'©'I-j os'!-- 00-4©i-'i^©t000©©w©©>t».t0©-4(jb.wt0 ^^©©©WOOH.tOi——4Q0tO-~4H-Q0l— 26,019 ^ WJ--‘“4W©©tf^OOWt0©l-‘W©©© © © © >—c© © © >-* ,j*. to w © to-4 ,^*4-4 © © 1,651 rfb I-. M I-1 to M x-x tOM rfb tO to © © © -4© ©U i—< o Acres. SzS | 3. !2i 9,882 J-^tO rf^To to *4 x~x to Ox to to -4 © 03 to © to © © l-x OS Db©#LOOtWHMvIKI©CjiHMOOWOOtJta WM©OOW«OtOHOiWW©t-*-4©©©tOt^© w m H-* Assessment. p O » H > m H CJi b~t J-» h-» h-» h- h* b* tO tO tO Ox a to 1 woovjH^towi^-ioiasowwwwwi^ci^ -* b^ tDbO* 00 CO *f».©-4WWtO »|bO>JkMM©©MH|fkH w 02 h-» CD Assessment: p ® g. :::::::::::: : : : : : h- to w cq to o Maximum Dry-crop Rate per Acre. 5 to o © P 0 10 ooooo©ooooooooo©©ooo l-«1 H 1-- h-1 H-1 |_l |—1 |_I h-i h-â–  1—l .tr-t*^,'®00!0©a>H-otob-©to©©«^i©© Nt- tW-MH MH Mt- 0 14 ©©l-,©h-l©©»— ©MO ©©©©©©©to©©© I0l<-)0H UH w CO p to H-* Average ditto, exclusive of Rice and Water-cess. © • © to W « B K V? a ment for the undermentioned Villages of TaluTca Pdbal, Poona Collector ate, No. 6516, dated 22nd November 1875. w a > o u & I 1 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 390 Names of Villages. 2 Hewr» Talegaon ... WAdu (Bk.) ... Pimpla Apti JAtegaon (Bk.) Do. (Khd) ShikrApur Total... Deogaon KAtApur (Bk.) Singwa ... ... Khodad Walti _ RAnjAni ChAndoho WAghAla ... Chincholi ... PhAkta KAuta Waruda ... KAtApur (Khd) Total... KondApuri Shivtakr Ar Mahalunga ... Nimbgaon do. TAkli BhimA Total... Total... Total... As per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72 As per Revi Acres. Area, 4* 0 2 09 03 09 GQ <1 4» O 5* in 45. © cn CO <35 CO w-1 jw â– i- od’co'co'co'© *Jrood^CJt05>—'tf^ oia>©tsifkO'OQoo)H cjccjj I—‘COCO*-4-4COH*.—'-4 to l-> CO to CO to t-1 oociSMtoowM^acow^oi C£H-dlOOl^CJlOMOitOOlMO i_i : : co" >—* *—* - OOlU to I-1 05 co b* to : • cji • â–  to co â–  05 —4 00 co >45 I—1 to O ^CO*4 © -4 >(^ CO CO CO <35-4 *4hh Ot <| H b£k OO co O 8o to OO© o bb bb b-1 WMilkO to *5- ft-1 tOHt5HI-l -4©CCtOi-‘00 00©-4COeOtOd w^oaoiHUi^tcoiwtoo >^.C?l>f5C0l—‘COCO—4O5COCOQ0—4 to I-1 CO Jfbbbbb COplh-l *4 C“►-'to co 00'*^‘^4*. g? O I '-ItOOlCDHOCOOO . -4 W^H^OUUf^O CO HtOCOM >—'ODODCOtOOCOtO COW00>f5O500CO00 w « <»: -4 j bb eo; _ to Ot >45 to co to co 05 : bb • oo. ©: ^ O w to Jerayet. Motasthal Bagayet. Soil As¬ sessment. bb oscotoi—totococototo tO>£.i-iW>COh-tO>t5i->CO-4Cn>£5 tOCOl—'tO—4>-'>^-OStOOoao>—•© to oo oc oo m itk ot oo co itk m ooto©wrf5©cooc©©co>—‘>45 hOi^wScOOiOhOOQO® COt-‘>45COCO-4tO©COCO«OCO—4 ©OOOOOOOOl-'OOO w Water- cess. p g: OQ a £5 g 3- 45. © CO^©© cnoioto45.>|i.^cn ho^oooh>C5Ui W Total. >-< I— H-i tO CO >-> tO 05 05 05 05 tO >^ tO coocotocococnto >--coco>(5.tocntoto 0005O£tG0G0C0Ul CD O 05 Ot OO 05 Ol 05 W Acres. Assessment. tOCtCOCOODOOOOO Acres. SO Assessment. hj p ® ®g a ? CD P to OOOOOi—‘©O to " p no Maximum Dry-crop Rate per Acre, Average ditto, exclusive of Rice and Water-cess. 03 o 392 Number of Villages. J Names of Villages. As per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72. As PER REVI Acres. Acres. ^ Assessment. 1 Jerayet. Motasthal Bagayet. | Pdtasthal Bagayet. o © 8 <* © H 1 2 3 4 5 6 • 7 8 9 57 58 59 Manchar ... Koregaon Lakhangaon Total... • Grand Total.. Rs. 4,847 3,327 1,695 3,773 3,815 5,197 816 114 73 58 ... 4,647 3,929 5,270 9,869 12,785 1,003 58 ... 13,846 ... . As sessment of 161,240 102,584 179,343 11,080 2,060 66 192,549 NasiJc, 31 st March 1876.' 393 sion Survey. [ncrbase. MaximumDry-crop Rate per Acre. Average ditto, exclusive of Rice and Water-cess. Assessment. Numerical. Percent¬ age. Jerayet. Motasthal Bagayet. Pitasthal Bagayet. 6 o s Total. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Soil As¬ sessments Water- cess. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Rs. Rs. Bs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. a. Rs. a. p. 3,247 1,446 106 123 4,922 75 2 2 6 10 6 4,208 145 4,353 1,026 ... 31 - 1 10 119 2,119 51 ... ... 2,170 ... 475 28 1 8 0 6 7 9,574 1,642 106 123 11,445 1,576 16 0 13 1 Uncultivi ited Lane L. ... ... ... 17,060 14,544 2,792 4,867 216 1,39,479 18,011 37,251 11 36 0 11 2 (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, i Superintendent Revenue Survey, Poona and Nasik. b 209—x 394 » No. 1408 of 1876. Revenue Department, Poona, 9tk September 1876. Forwarded in continuation of this Office No. 1407 of yester¬ day’s date for the confirmation of Government to the reduced assessment of the district shown in the Superintendent’s report. 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 principles laid down in Government Resolution No. 5739, dated 29th October 1874. 2. The following are the several percentage reductions :— Percentage Reductions. • * * * * , 3. Pabal ... ...from 51 to 38*6. * * * * * And the total amounts contrast as follows:— Assessment under first Survey. Revised assess- Revised assessment ment as originally according to reduc- imposed. tions reported. * * 3. P4bal 92,359 * * * * 1,39,315 * * * 1,28,034 * 3. His Excellency the Governor in Council is pleased to ex¬ press his approval of the manner in which Colonel Taverner has carried out the instructions of Government. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. \ HAVELI TALUKA 397 No. 363 of 1873. From The COLLECTOR of POONA, To' The REVENUE COMMISSIONER, S. D. Camp IOiedy 3rd March 1873. Sib, I have the honour to forward the accompanying Report from Colonel Waddington, containing proposals Received with his let- regarding the revision of assessment of 84 uarv 1873 & 6 an* villages in Taluka Haveli of this collector- ate. 2. The description of the district and the natural features of the country have been accurately detailed in paras. 3 to 6 of the Report. 3. The complaint of the western villages, brought to notice in para. 8, will be communicated to the forest officer. The Forest Department ought to be able to meet the wants of these villages by setting apart certain tracts where brushwood may be cut for burning on land, and charging a small fee for the privilege of cut¬ ting. If the ryots have to pay a trifle, they will not be so waste¬ ful of this means of fertilizing the land as they have been hitherto when getting brushwood for nothing. 4. In para. 11 the Superintendent remarks that the holdings in the western portion of the taluka are smaller than those in the eastern part, and that a few of the border villages have no access to Poona for carts, except by circuitous routes. The reason for the smaller holdings is, that the western portion of the taluka being hilly the cultivation of rice and nagli is more common than that of other crops, and these crops being dependent on the fall of rain and requiring more attention, the ryot prefers a smaller hold¬ ing. The hilly and rugged face of the country on the western por¬ tion is a bar to direct cart communication with Poona from some of the villages. But a new road, now under construction from Poona to Powar, in the Mulsi Petha, will go far to mitigate the evil. 5. The information supplied in para. 12 is, important, but I am of opinion that it is not a true index to the agricultural value of the land. ‘ The ryots invariably set a higher price upon their 398 lands than they are really worth, and will not, as a rule, part with them for their actual value. The village money-lender is glad to get a mortgage of the land as security for payment of debts pre¬ viously incurred, which, by usurious interest, may have amounted to much more thah the land is worth, because the land is the only security the ryot has to give ; and the usurer, if he eventually be¬ come the owner of the land by foreclosing the mortgage, or sell- ing up the debtor, acquires it by an actual expenditure of cash rarely in excess of its real value. The amount entered in a land mortgage bond between a Marwari and a ryot is no index what¬ ever to the amount actually paid on account of the land, or of its market value. 6. Para. 19 gives a comparative return of the prices of staple grains at three different marts for thirty years, viz., from 1841-42 to 1870-71. From this it is observable that in 1870-71 the prices of bdjri and jowari were 41 to 43 per cent higher than ini 841-42; that during the first ten years the difference between prices at Poona and in the adjoining Bhimthari District was 30 to 35 per cent in favour of Poona ; and during the last ten years 11 to 13, while last year it was only 6 to 7. 7. Paras. 21 to 23 show the favourable results of the assess¬ ment introduced in 1841-42. In that year the waste lands were 16,000 acres, or of the whole assessed area. At the end of the first ten years they fell to 10,000 acres, during the second period of ten years to 1,922 acres, and at the end of the third period the unoccupied assessed area was only 634 acres. During the last ten years the average annual collections were 20 per cent more than the average annual revenue of the five years preceding the settle¬ ment. 8. The proposed revised rates are discussed in paras. 25 to 28, inclusive- The villages are grouped in eight classes, the maxi¬ mum Jerayet assessment ranging from Rs. 1-12-0 to Rs. 4. The effect of the revised rates on the total Jerayet assessment will be to double it, and the increase over last year’s collections will be 98 per cent. The total assessment will be Rs. 25,500 ( or 20 per cent) more than the average ** Kamal ” or total assessment ( para. 20) on the 81 villages for the five years preceding the introduction of the present rates, and 137 per cent higher than the average collections for the same five years. 9. The table below shows the proposed Haveli rates compared with those lately fixed for 48 villages of Bhimthari and 56 villages of the old Pabal Taluka:— r:;j 399 Class. 48 Tillages of Bhimthari. 66 Villages of the Old P&bal Taluka. - 81 Villages of Haveli. Number Percent- Number Percent- N umber Percent- in each Bate*. age in each Bates. age in each Rates. age Class. Increase Class. Increase Class. Increase Bs. as. RSv as. Rs. as. ' t 6 1 12 91 1 3 70 3 4 ... 120 11. 21 1 8 80 16 2 12 74 6 3 8 101 III. 12 1 4 66 13 2 8 94 26 3 90 tv. 9 1 2 55 12 2 4 90 13 2 12 89 v. 8 2 96 16 2 8 lot VI. z ’ 6, 1 12 103 2 4 114 vn. ... 9 2 116 VIII, ... ... ... 3 1 12 9« The total percentage increase over the previous year’s revenue in each case is as below :— Bhimthari... ... 73 per cent. Pabal ... ... 87 „ Haveli ... ... 100 „ ♦ 10. I have no remarks to offer on the proposed rates for lands irrigated from p£ths and rice lands. 11. But I would draw attention to the cent per cent in¬ crease of the Jerayet assessment involved by the new rates; not¬ withstanding the great rise in prices of late years, and the advan¬ tages enjoyed by villages in the vicinity of the Poona market, I am of opinion that the revised rates of assessment have been pushed almost to an extreme. It must not be forgotten that these villages will have to pay nearly 10,000 rupees more on accouut of local anna cess. 12. I should have been more satisfied than I am with this revised settlement, had the Jerayet assessment been fixed at 2 annas in the rupee lower, which would have brought the percentage in¬ crease down to 87 or 88,—an enhancement more in accordance with the revision hitherto effected in the Deccan than this will be if carried out as proposed. I have the honour to be, . Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. E. OLIPHANT, Collector. 400 No. 840 OF 1872. To J. E. OLIPHANT, Esquire, Collector of Poona. Sir, I have now the honour to lay before you my views as to the rates which appear to me to be suitable for certain villages of the Haveli Taluka of your collectorate, in which revision of assessment is due. 2. The assessment for these villages was fixed, and the set¬ tlement introduced by Lieutenant Nash, whose report, as well as that of Captain Wingate’s, is annexed. As, however, neither of those officers gives any description of the natural features, &c., of the district, I will do so before proceeding to the question of new rates. 3. The Subha of Haveli, as now constituted, is bounded on the north by the Bhima and Indrayani tricteSCriptl°n °f dlS" r^vers» on south by the Bhuleshwar range of hills, of which Singarh forms a conspicu¬ ous feature ; on the west by the Naneh Mdwal, Mulsi Petha, and country belonging to the Pant Sachew; and on the east by Bhim- thari. Nearly in the centre is situated the populous city of Poona, from which no part of the Subha is distant more than about eighteen miles, and which affords the district, as Captain Wingate says, “ a ready and convenient market for all kinds of produce.” 4. This taluka is more varied in its features than any of the Deccan districts that have yet been re-settled ; Description continued, for, whilst to the east of Poona it is flat, open, and almost devoid of trees, to the west it is rugged and hilly, and much of it well wooded, especially along the south side of the Mutha River, where there are large numbers of very fine mangoe trees and a sprinkling of jack trees is also found, which are unknown to the east of Poona. The teak tree, too, makes its appearance on the sides of the hills, but never attains any. con¬ siderable size. The climate varies much, the rainfall increasing as you go westward, until, in the border villages, rice and ndgli tosp2 tlie place of jowari and bajri. The district to the east of the city is divided into two nearly equal portions by tlie Mutha Mula, and the tract lying between this river and the Bhima, and which comprises some of the poorest villages, is chiefly stony, sterile, high-lying land, better fitted for sheep-grazing than agriculture; the people, however, make the most of their barren inheritance, every available gorge of the ravines being blocked up with embankments of rough stones, which are everywhere only too plentiful, so as to collect and retain the scanty soil which is washed down from the higher lying grounds. The district to the south, between the Mutha and the hills, is much more level, and contains a large pro¬ portion of rich soil, and even the villages under the hills are not unfertile, the more plentiful rainfall which they enjoy making up for their somewhat poorer soil. 5. The country is well watered; for, besides minor streams, it is traversed by not less than five consider- ivers. able rivers, including the Bhima and Indrd- yani, which form its northern boundary. The Fauna, rising in the Naneh Mawal, falls into the Mula near Dapuri, and the latter river (which, as well as the Mutha, has its sources in the Western Ghats) is joined by the Mutha below the city of Poona, from which point to its junction with the Bhima it is known as the Mutha Mula. The Indrayani, which also has its rise in the Ghats, after traversing the Mawal Taluka flows into the Bhima at Tola- pur, from which place the last-named river forms the boundary of the Subha for a short distance. 6. With regard to means of communication (with the excep- « , â–  tion of some of the villages to the north-west oa s’ c' of Poona), Haveli is abundantly provided. The G. I. P. Railway runs through its centre, having five stations within its limits, and one, Talegaon, just beyond the border. The high roads are numerous and good, the principal being those to Bombay, Nagar, Shotepur, and Satara, to which latter place there are three routes—by the Kdtraj, Bdbdeo, and Diva Ghits—all works constructed with great skill and in the most substantial manner, the summit of the K^traj' Ghd,t being also pierced by a tunnel of considerable length ; many miles of excellent made-road traverse the cantonment of Poona, and connect it with Kirkee and the city. There is also a second-class road via Nardyengaon to Junnar and N&sik. All these roads converge at the city, and-afford easy access from all parts of the district to the vast quantity of supplies required by so large a city. 7. The * unirrigated crops are either “ Kharif ” or “ Rabi ” according as the season is an early or late one. They con- b 209—r 402 sist of bajvi, jowari, gram, tur, wheat, kurasnij \lrid, mwng, &c. In the vicinity of Poona those crops are naturally grown which are calculated to meet the daily demands of a large city : thus, green fodder, in a great measure, supersedes grain, and is supplied by early jow&ri and maize. In garden lands, more especially for some miles around Poona, fruits—such as oranges, limes, pomaloes, guavas, plantains, figs, pomegranates, grapes, and mangoes—and vegetables of all'kinds—both indigenous and exotic—are grown to a large extent. Lucerne, too, is extensively cultivated, and is a profitable crop. It requires watering once in twelve or fifteen days, and continues to yield for three years. The guava - also gives a good return : it prefers a light soil, and requires to be irri¬ gated only during the bearing seasons, viz., October, December, April, and May, and, being very hardy, the crop may generally be reckoned a certainty. It is very usual for the cultivators to sell the crop of oranges, limes, and mangoes on the tree as soon as the young fruit is fairly set; figs are so precarious that pur¬ chasers can seldom be found to take them on the above terms ; “pan mallas” or “betel vine” gardens are numerous, especially in the villages of Kondwe Budk, Kondwekhurd, Undri, Ma- hamadwdri, and Phursangi. These gardens require a large outlay at starting, and constant attendance for weeding, watering, killing insects, and gathering the leaves-throughout the year, but pay well, a characteristic being that the returns are constant, as the rows of vines are so arranged as to come into bearing in regular rotation. A “ pd.n malla” remains productive from ten to fifteen years. I am not aware that potatoes are grown in any part of the Haveli Taluka, the reason probably being that the villages to the east of Poona have too small a rainfall, and those to the west too much moisture to suit this plant. Villages west of Poona. 8. In the villages to the west of Poona “ Kharif crops ” predominate, the principal being early jo wa¬ ll and bdjri, supplemented by tur, til, n^chni, and wheat. Rice also is grown to some extent in a few of the border villages, uotably Rdhdtauda, Arvi, M^runji, Kasdrsai, Mul- khed, and Bhukum. The villagers complain that, owing to the transfer lately of large tracts of hill land to the Forest Depart¬ ment, they have not sufficient brushwood to burn on their rice lands ; this will be a serious drawback to the extension of this cul¬ tivation, as cow-dung, to which they are reduced as a substitute, is too expensive on account of the large demand for cow-dung-cakes in the city for fuel. These western villages have but little garden land, owing probably to the rainfall being so unvarying as to ensure a regular return from their dry-crop lands. They also leave-much land under grass, which, from the plentiful rainfall, -grows most luxuriantly, and finds a ready sale. Long strings of men and women may be daily met bringing in bundles of grass, firewood, cowdung-cakes, and milk to tbe camp and city. 9. Tbe kharif crops, last year were in tbe proportion nearly of 5 to 3, as will be seen from tbe following statements. You will observe, also, that the amount of occupied land reserved for private grazing, as ‘might be expected in tbe vicinity of a populous city, is large, being no less than 13*45 of tbe total occupied area/ Wdgholi, Kharddi, Wadgdon Sheri, Kesnand, and Lohogdon, from their proximity to Poona, have considerable tracts under grass, which probably pay better than they would if cultivated. Details of Cultivation. Percentage of Total Cultivation of Government and Inam Lands. District. Surveyed Villages. Crops. • Total. Kharif. Eabi. 1 2 A o • 4 5 G r Bajri ... 34o 34-5 Til and Kale ... 0'5 0-5 ... Tur 0-3 0-3 Bhuimug 0-2 0-2 Chillies 0-3 0-3 Rice ... 1-8 1-8 Nagli ... 0-9 0-9 Ilaveli... 81 Khalsat ... - Hulga,.,' 0-3 0-3 Wheat 3-2 32 Gram ... 1*3 • • • "I I O Jowari... 40-4 13-5 2G-9 Castor seed ... •OG 0G Sugarcane 0‘G ... 0'G Miscellaneous 1-6 ... TG l Waste (occupied) 13-5 ... 135 Total... 100 52-3 477 * 10. The system of agriculture pursuedIs that usually follow- TT ed in the Deccan, but characterized by an ^Husbandry, anure, energy not found in the districts, which lack the stimulus of proximity to a great market like Poona. The prejudice which formerly forbade the transport of the village manure beyond’the precincts of its own boundary is here a dead letter, and manure is eagerly sought for, and frequently 404 brought from iong distances. The city and cantonment of Poona furnish a large supply of manure in the shape of sewage, which, after being buried in trenches for three or four months, is bought up by the ryots of the surrounding villages. It is a significant fact that it has now become a recognized and allowed practice for Kunbis to cart and handle this manure, which, not many years ago, would have been held an abomination in their caste. The manure is sold in the trench, and the price averages about three carts for the rupee on the spot. 11. Mr. Fletcher (under whose superintendence the district . . was classed, and to whom I am indebted for • Condition o peop e. muc]1 0f afiove information) is of opinion that tbe people west of Poona are poorer and less thriving than those in the eastern, part of the district. He assigns as his reasons —1st, that the holdings are smaller; 2nd, want of roads ; 3rd, that the land is less fertile. There is no doubt that the holdings are smaller, and a few of the border villages have no access to Poona for carts except by circuitous routes, but all those among the Mutlia valley have a good road from the foot of Singarli; and the construc¬ tion of a new road to Bhor has connected Bhukum, Bdvdhan, &c., with the city, whilst most of the villages along the Mula and Prawara rivers are no great distance from the old Bombay road. That the land, at least in the villages now under report, is less fertile, I have no reason to suppose; on the contrary I consider that, whilst it is of equally good quality, the crops, on account of the better rainfall, are more certain. That many of the smaller i- occupants eke out their livelihood, as Mr. Fletcher says, by carrying fuel,-grass,. &c., to market for sale is no doubt true, but the prac¬ tice is by no means confined to these villages, but is common to all that are within ten or twelve miles of the city; and I am not aware that these ryots are any worse off than their class-fellows in the rest of the district. Indeed, the advantages for the disposal of their produce, grass, firewood, &c., and the high prices which the proximity of a large city and cantonment secure to all the villages now under report, must tend to place them in a better position than districts that do not enjoy similar facilities and profits ; and I am of opinion that the ryots of Haveli are, as a whole, in more pros¬ perous circumstances than those of any other part of the collect- orate. 12. As connected with the subject discussed in the last para¬ graph, I will now bring forward a few instances of the marketable value of land in and around Poona. It is true that the fabulous prices that were realized for land in the immediate vicinity of Poona at the time of the Share Mania in 1863-64 are things of the past; still as much as one hundred times the amount of the assessment 405 was obtainable in 1871, as may be seen by reference to Nos. 13 and 18 in the following statement:— No. Village. . Acres. Assessment. Sum Remarks. Jerayet. Bagayet. realized. Rs. a. p. • Rs. a. p. 1 MandviBk. 1-8 1 0 0 75 Sold. No well. 2 Bhukum 23-17 16 O O 0 700 Mortgaged. Interest at Rs. 1-4 per mensem. Principal and in¬ terest to be paid by yearly instal¬ ment of Rs. 100. 3 Lohogaon 37-21 14 0 0 406 Sold. No well. Do. 19-38 8 .8 0 ... 400 Do. do. 4 Burkeg&on 6-23 4 0 0 125 Do. do. 5 Harapsar 21-24 27 0 0 2,000 Mortgaged for 32 years. No inter¬ est. There are two wells in this number. Do. 11-28 12 6 0 399 Sold. No well. 6 Phursangi 7 3 5 10 0 500 Mortgaged for 5 years; interest at Rs. 1-8 per cent per mensem. Do. . 2-32 6 12 0 100 Mortgaged for 3 years; interest at 2 per cent. 7 Balewari 9-23 8 0 0 600 Mortgaged for 5’ years ; interest at 1 per cent per mensem. Do. 9-24 8 0 0 4 368 Mortgaged for 7 years ; interest, on Rs 168 only at 2 per cent per mensem. 8 Do. 50-8 44 8 0 1,000 Mortgaged for 6 years ; interest at 1| per cent per mensem. 9 M&ndvi 5-9 6 2 2 400 Mortgagedfor 15 years; no interest. Do. 1*11 1 11 7 200 Mortgaged for 2 years ; interest at Rs. 1-8 per cent per mensem. Use of 4th part of a well 10 Wdd4 Bolai 22-12 9 8 0 300 Mortgaged for 3 years. Interest on Rs. 100 only at 1-8 per cent per mensem. 11 Bhivdi 1019 3 9 0 251 Sold. No well. 12 Do. 28-24 8 4 0 199 Mortgaged for 7 years; no interest. M&njri, Bk. 11-6 12 8 0 1,000 Sold. No well. 13 Bhambewari ... 1-23 2 0 0 200 Do. do. 14 Wdgholi 13*28 6 0 0 200 Do. do. Do. 6-34 4 0 0 250 Do. do. 15 Lohogdon 29-24 14 0 0 550 Do. do. Do. 65 12 22 0 0 3,500 Mortgaged for 10 years ; interest at 12 annas per cent per mensem. There is a well in this number. 16 Alandi 10 22 6 6 0 600 Mortgaged for 6 years; interest at Rs. 1-12 per cent. There is also a half share in a well, and 225 fig and 250 pomegranate trees in this number. 17 Kondvekhurd ... 12-6 11 0 0 495 Sold. No well. 18 Ashtipur 27*30 13 0 0 1,500 Do. do. 19 Kdsdrsai 21-4 14 0 0 200 Mortgaged for 7 years ; interest at Rs. P8 per mensem. 13. As noticed in a former para., the rainfall increases as y°u 8° Westward. I subjoin a statement - ’ showing the rainfall in Poona, Patas, and Mulsi Petha, the former of the last-mentioned two places being to 406 the east and the latter to jhe west of Poona. Prom this you will see that the fall at Poona is nearly double^ that of P&tas ; whilst in Mulsi, on the other hand, it is nearly 47 inches against 27 in Poona, or 0*74 greater. Statement showing Rainfall in Poona, Pcttas, and Mulsi Petha, from 1863 to 1871. Year. Poona. Patas. Mulsi Petha. Remarks. 1863 22-55 9-52 54-20 ) . 1864 16-55 â–  7-83 45-34 > Up to 30th September. 1865 31-28 11-69 43-96 1866 1867 18*9 27-29 6*57 10-88 54-70’ 26-69 | Up to 4th November. 1868 30-91 10-32 51*48 \ 1869 1870 28-16 40-60 22*76 26-31 39-28 61-50 > Up to 30th November. 1871 27-38 21-75 ' 45-80 ) 27-07 14-18 46-99 14. I had intended, in reporting on the Haveli District, to have entered somewhat into detail in describing the present condi¬ tion of the city of Poona, and had hoped that statistical data would have been available from the recent census. These statements, however, have not as yet been compiled; and as I find that the pre¬ paration of any reliable returns would be a work requiring con¬ siderable time and labour, I have thought it best not to defer the submission of my report, the more especially since the question of rates would not be affected by any information J might obtain. I will, therefore, content myself with saying that the city of Poona is situated on the river Mutha, immediately above its confluence with the Mula. Its estimated population is 78,000 inhabitants; and it has a rich municipality, through the agency of which the streets and thoroughfares have been cleaned and widened, and the city greatly improved during the last few years. There are many old palaces, formerly belonging to the Peishwa and powerful Mahratta chieftains, most of which, however, are now in a state of decay. Although, however, Poona has declined in importance since it ceased to be the Peishwa’s capital, it still is a rich and flourishing city, and the neigh¬ bouring military cantonment is the largest in the Bombay Presi¬ dency. The manufactures of Poona embrace almost every branch of industry, and its artizans aro skilled and ingenious. There is a daily market in front of tlie old &hanwdr Palace, which -is well supplied with, all kinds of grain, vegetables, fruit, &c. Besides the Deccan and Engineering Colleges it possesses 32 Government schools and training colleges attended by 2,617 pupils: of these one is a high school with 388 boys, 3 are Anglo-Vernacular, and 6 girls’ schools—the female pupils, however, being only 232. There are, besides, many schools kept by private individuals. Number of Villages coming under rates. 15. The number of Government villages to which my rate s are applicable, and in which the survey settle¬ ment is due, is 84, of which 21 formerly belonged to Bhimthari, and 7 have been trans¬ ferred to the Mdwal Taluka. Of the 84 villages, however, 3—viz., Mahamadwdri, Wadki, and Bhdve—had survey rates introduced in them within the last fifteen years, and are, therefore, omitted from the diagram, which applies only to 81 villages. There is also one village, Uruli, belonging to His Highness Scindia, which will come under the survey settlement at the request of His Highness. 16. The total area of the 81 villages, including Inam land, * - was 176,104 acres according to the old survey ant present surrey.0 re00rds» of which _23,428 acres, or 14‘5 per cent, was deducted as unarable included m numbers, and 17,496 (exclusive of unarable), or 9*9 per cent, as alienated. By the recent survey the area is found to be 204,135 acres (319 square miles), or 28,031 acres in excess of the former recorded area. This large discrepancy, however, is mainly to be attributed to the fact that at. the time of Lieutenant Nash’s survey the area of free grazing lands was not measured at all. Of the present area, 10,198 acres, or 4*8 per cent, is deducted as unarable land included in numbers, and 18,346, or 8*8 per cent (excluding unarable), as alienated. There are also 6,673 acres of kuran land, which is chiefly situated in the villages to the west of Poona and in the vicinity of the ghdts. 17.The population of the 81 villages in 1840-41 amounted Population. to 37,695, of which the proportion of males and females was nearly equal. It is now shown to be 53,829, or nearly 43 per cent in excess of the former return, the same proportion being maintained between the sexes. The number of houses has remained nearly stationary. The increase in carts is very great, being from 1,146 to 2,655, or 132 per cent ; that in ploughs is not striking, being only 19*8 per cent. Draught and plough bullocks have increased from 15,899 to 17,811: allowing two bullocks for each Cart, the proportion of bullocks per plough was in 1841 a little over 7; the proportion now is a 408 little under 6 to each plough. The number of cattle and sheep has risen from 22,827 to 30,007. The following statement gives the numerical and percentage increase:— Description. According to Census in Increase in favour of 1871-72. 1840-41. 1871-72. Numerical. Per cent. Inhabitants 37,695 53,829 16,134 42*8 Houses 6,598 7,079 481 7*2 Carts 1,146 2,655 1,509 131*6 Ploughs ... ... 1,907 2,284 373 19*8 Bullocks 15,899 17,811 . 1,912 12 Cattle, sheep, and horses 26,890 34,845 7,955 29*5 Wells in working order 799 1,091 292 36*5 18. The number of wells at the time of the present settle- WellSt ment was 1,124, of which 325 were out of repair, and 799 in good order. There are now 1,542, of which 451 are out of repair, and 1,091 in working condition. 176 wells that were formerly in work have fallen into disrepair, and only 50 old ones have been repaired and 418 new ones built, of which 276 have been constructed during th,elast ten years. The liberal remission, on the part of Government, of the cess on wells is already beginning to have the most beneficial effects. Numbers of ryots asked me if it was really true that the wells were not to be taxed, and on my assuring them that such was the case, and that Government were prepared to assist them with advances, signified their intention of immediately sinking a well: indeed, I saw many new ones commenced ; and there is also much being done, especially in the villages in the north-east part of the district, in the way of erecting dams to accumulate fresh soil and prevent their fields being damaged by floods. 19. With regard to prices in the city of Poona, I have already Prices of Grain. submitted a return with my Bhimthari Report; but, for convenience of reference and compa¬ rison, I annex a statement showing the average prices of jowtfri 409 and bdjri in Poona* Yewat, and Tdlegaon, during tlie last thirty years :— ~ - Year. Poona. Yewat. T41e- gaon. Year. Poona. Yewat, Tale- gaon. Poona. Yewat. Tile* g&eu* 1 HS ;s u? m •d se 1 CQ 1 ;s -S? M *S 1 £ [C M d S3 £ o Ha 'S? M '2 g H* Year. *2 kS * © Ha *C © ‘2 'C? * © Ha 'u •S* « i H» a u ? (4 1841-42 .. 30 24 47} 36 44 35 1851-52.. 33 25 36 25} 40 34 1861-62 26 19 30 23} 28 23 1842-48 .. 32 28 55 34} 53 38 1852-53.. 37 29 37 29 53 39 1862 63 .. 20 15 21 18 15 13 1848-44 .. 30 30 64 48 67 39 1853-54.. 42 36 57 44} 85 24 1863-64 â–  11 9 15} lu 15 13 1844-45 .. 27 23 50 38 34 30 1854-55.. 25 22 27} 23 23 22 1864-65 .. 12 10 11 10} 1® 1845-46 .. 21 18 25 23 27 23 1855-56.. 28 25 40 31 39 35 1865-66 .. 1.3 11 16 12 27 20 1846-47 .. 16 14 15} 15 24 23 1856-57.. 25 21 26 24 31 26 1866-67 .. 18 16 22 19} 16 15 1847-48 ,. 31 27 37 30 67 55 1857-58.. 26 23 33 26 31 27 1867-68 ,. 13 11 14 12 20 16 1848-49 .. 55 41 63} 52} 93 66 1858-59.. 27 23 26 21 37 29 1868-69 .. 23 16 32} 19} 20 22 1849-50 .. 47 37 64 52 53 38 1859-60.. 34 25 40 32} 57 40 1869-70 .. 16 13 15 13} 22 17 1850-51 .. 30 25 36 37} 34 27 1860-61.. 26 21 36} 28 43 26 1870-71 .. 17 14 18 15 19 15 32| 26} 45} 36} 50 37 30 25 35f 28* 39 30 17 13} 19} 15 19 16 Captain Wingate and Lieutenant Nash estimated that the price of grain ranged about 25 per .cent higher in Poona than in the adjoining district of Bhimthari. You will see from the state¬ ment that from 1841 to 1850 the average price of jowdri was 30 and of bdjri 35 per cent higher in Poona than in Yewat; from 1851 to 1860 the price of jowdri was 19 and that of bdjri 15 per cent higher; but during the last ten years, owing to the levelling influence of railways, the difference has fallen to 13 and 11 per cent, respect¬ ively, whilst last year it was only 5#9 on jowdri and 7 on bdjri. 20. The average “Kamdl,” or total assessment, on the 81 vil- Fonner assessment. k&es f or tlie five years preceding the introduc¬ tion of the present rates was Rs. 1,28,034, of which, however, Rs. 38,239 was on account of unoccupied land, and Rs. 4,954 on account of assessment permanently remitted. In addition to this, the average remissions were Rs. 20,389, so that the average collections for these five years were only Rs. 64,452, or Rs. 8,077 less than the collections during the first year of Captain Wingate’s settlement. The following statement shows in detail the collections, remissions, &c;, from 1886-37 to 1840-41:— Year. Number of villages. Kamil or Total-As¬ sessment. Assess¬ ment on Unoccu¬ pied Land. Assess¬ ment on Occupied Land, Remissions Collections 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 J 1836-37 1837-38 ’ 1838-39 1839*40 1840-41 81 81 81 81 81 ‘ Rs. 1,35,066 1,26,993 1,25,563 1,26,447 1,26,102 Rs. 44,948 38,017 36,060 35,904 36,268 Rs. 90,118 88,976 89,503 90,543 89,834 Rs. 19,089 26,567 35,097 27,677 18,281 Rs. 71,029 62,409 54,406 62,866 71,553 Average of five years... ... 1,28,034 38,239 89,795 25,342 64,452 b 209—z 410 21.In 1841-42 the total area of Government assessed land was, in round numbers, 124,500 acres, and 184^1851. fr°m the assessment Rs. 74,500; of this, 16,000 acres, or nearly -Jth, was waste. In 1843-44, in consequence of the imposition of the “ Virhunda, ** the assess¬ ment went up to Rs. 77,081; but, the same year, Rs. 1,000 of the newly-imposed cess were remitted, and the succeeding year Rs. 1,995, but after 1849-50 it was collected, with the exception of about Rs. 400 annually. In 1851-52 the waste land was re¬ duced to 10,000 acres, or p^-th of the whole area. The average collections during these eleven years were Rs. 69,744, and remis¬ sion Rs. 419. Revenue, &c., from 1852 to 1861. 22.During the next ten years the unoccupied land decreased from 9,777 acres to 1,922, and the average remission on account of well cess was Rs. 180. The largest remission during the past thir¬ ty-one years was in 1853-54, and amounted to Rs. 6,788. The average collections during these ten years, notwithstanding this large reduction, were Rs. 76,262, orRs. 6,518 (or 9 per cent) more annually than during the preceding eleven years, and Rs. 11,810 (or 10*8 per cent) more than those of the five years preceding the settlement. The average remissions were Rs. 729. 23.Since 1862 the waste land has been gradually absorbed, until last year shows only 634 acres of un- fr°m occupied assessed land. There may be said to have been no remissions since 1856, and the average-collections for the last ten years have been Rs. 78,152. They would, however, have been greater had not a considerable quantity of land been taken up for forest and other Government purposes, such as the powder works at Kirkee, the Kharakwdsla Tank, &c. Statement showing increase in the average annual collections for the periods given below :— Period. Average Annual Collections Increase over pre¬ ceding period. Increase over 5 years pre¬ ceding tlie Settlement Percentage Increase. On preced¬ ing period. On 5 years preceding the Settle¬ ment. Rs. Rs. Rs. Five years from 1836 to 1840 ... 64,452 Eleven years from 1841 to 1851. 69,744 5,292 5,292 8-2 8’2 Ten years from 1852 to 1861 ... 76,262 6,518 11,810 9-3 18-3 Ten years from 1862 to 1871 ... 78,152 1,890 13,700 2-4 20-1 411 24. The data contained in Lieutenant Nash’s Report regard- â„¢ D in? the results of the revenue management Former Reports. of ^ districts prior to the introduction of the present settlement, relate, as Captain Wingate says, to the whole district; and as they are consequently of no use for comparison with the rates which I am now proposing, and which apply (as far as the old Haveli Taluka is concerned) only to the villages of the Subha or Mdmlatddr’s division (although they also include those of villages which have been transferred from Bhimthari), I have not printed the detailed statement referred to in Captain Wingate’s 3rd para. Indeed, Lieutenant Nash’s proposals are, on the whole, so vague that I have been unable to make any use of them ; nor, in fact, do the rates he proposes appear to have been carried out, as I find that, although' he proposes to make the maximum rate in certain villages, Hingni, Bh4mburda, &c., Rs. 1-8 instead of Rs. 1-6, and in others, such as W4gholi, Manjri Khurd, &c., less than Rs. 1-6, all these villages were brought under one maximum rate of Rs. 1-6. 25. The adjoining district of Bhimthari (from which, indeed, Proposed Rates. many of the villages under report were transferred) was settled last year, and we may, therefore, take the maximum rate of the contiguous villages, modified by considerations of greater proximity to Poona, and, perhaps, a slightly better climate, as applicable to the villages immediately to the west of them; the rate of these villages, modified as above, would' apply to those still further to the west, and so on, until we arrive at the villages which are in contact with the camp and city. Thus the Bhimthari villages of Bori and D&limb have a maximum dry-crop rate of Rs. 1-12. Assuming, then, that Rs. 2 are imposed upon the approximate group in the vicinity of the Sholdpur road, consisting of Khamgaon, Bhfiur4pur, Koregifon-Mod Walti, and Sindauna, I would make that for Naigdon, Terda, and A'landi, Rs. 2-4 ; for Loni Kalbhar, Rs. 2-8; for Phursangi, Manjri-Budruk, Wadki, and IJndri, Rs. 2-12; for Harapsar, Pisoli, and Mahmadwdri, Rs. 3; and for Ghorpari and Wanowri, Rs. 4. The three villages of Pimpri, S4ngwi, and Hingang^on, on account of their being beyond the river and further away from Poona and the railway, I would leave in Rs. 1-12 ; but would extend the Rs. 2 maximum northwards to A'shtapur* Bivri, Sirsodi, and Burkegaon, and the Rs. 2-4 rate to Wade- Bolai and Dongargaon.' Kesnand, Kolew4ri, and Manjri- Budruk would come under Rs. 2-8, and Wadgjfon, Khar£di, Wagholi, Lohog&on, and Dighi under Rs. 3. On the west of the city, but divided from it by the river, are Kothrud, Hingni-Bud- ruk, and Bhimburda. I propose to give these a maYi'mr^ Gf Rs. 3-8, reducing it in the next group to Rs. 3, and in villages 412 still more to the west to Rs. 2-12 and Rs. 2-8, the latter rate including in that direction the villages of Bhara, Mulkhed, K&sdrsai, S^lumbra, Somthan, G&unja, Dh4mna, Sirgaon, and Sangauda. The last-named seven villages having been transferred to the Mawal Taluka are not shown in the map, but are situated close together, and to the west of Kivla. I may add that the maximum dry-crop rate imposed on the villages of the M£wal Taluka, immediately adjoining those by Colonel (then Captain) Francis in 1854, was Rs. 1-6, which he gradually reduced to Re. 1 as he approached the Western Ghats. 26. You will see from the above that I propose eight differ- Number of Claeses. ent classes of rates, increasing from Rs. 1-12 to Rs. 4, the intermediate maximum rates being Rs. 2-0, Rs. 2-4, Rs. 2-8, Rs. 2-12, Rs. 3, and Rs. 3-8. The following statement shows the number of villages coming under each class, and the annexed map will exhibit clearly the grouping of the different villages :— Class. No. of Villages, Maximum Bate. Remarks. I II. III. iy. Y. VI. VII. VIII. 3 6 26 13 9 5 9 3 Rs. a. 4 0 3 8 3 0 2 12 2 8 2 4 2 0 1 12 Wanowri, Ghorpuri, and Kirkee adjoining cantonment. A few villages on the outskirts of the city and across the Mutha River. Villages adjoining those of Classes I. and II. Villages adjoining those of Class III. Villages adjoining those of Class IV. Villages adjoining those of Class V. Villages adjoining those of Class VI. Three villages across the Mutha Mula in the north¬ east corner of the district. Villages transferred to Mawal Taluka. / The three villages of which settlement was carried ( out subsequent to that of rest of taluka. Y. III. IY. V. 74 7 1 1 1 2 8 3 0 2 12 2 8 10 84 27. Of the land irrigated from p4ths there is but little in Haveli, and in none of which the water-supply “ ”irn^a—* Ploughs. CO t—« to Or V—1 »—* 00 Or t—• to to V-* vj Crt if* to 03 O CO Or tO 03 |f*- if*- Cn CO I vj to l-i i-i VJ VI * 1-* I-i if- WJ CD Cn H-i to Carta. 284 I 328 00 CO 00 I-* VI if*- CO l-* M CO vj 00 Ox I-1 l-J t-i CO VJ Ox 104 123 CO Or I—* 03 VJ VJ Cn 03 Cn tO to !-* 244 82 00 vj CO 03 if* OO vj cn M O Cn tO vj UJ 00 Cows and Calves. to co to if* 03 O 00 03 Cn if* t—1 1-4 n*- to ti*- 00 t—i M vi O 1—* o« CO CO CO o !-* M M I—* vj O 03 CO M tO Cn CO Ol vj 00 vj CO CO l—i 00 l—i to 03 274 249 to to 03 00 03 I—* l-i VJ 03 00 03 179 203 l-J If*. • Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. I-* 03 CO to o to 1—1 VI CO M CO ox CO M to Ox vj Cn Or 03 if* K 03 if*. Cn Ol . 00 CO h-* 00 to >—1 213 97 vj Cn If*- CO l-J !-• CO If* if* to CO VJ 15 She-Buffaloes and their young ones. l-J 03 00 if* 00 39 00 u*- l-J o CO Or 00 249 82 CO CO 00 to vj If*. 03 I-* 1-11-1 to CD to to to i-i cn o if*- if*- CO vj O M Cn 1-1 l-J to to 1—1 to CD to i 16 Sheep and Goats. M t— Ol Or • • • • • • M O 03 if* 00 M 03 03 vj to (—• 03 Cn M CO • to oo to I-* vj O to VJ UJ to t-i VJ Horses and Mares. 3 O ca *Q p c+* p Cattle, Sfc., in the Haveli TaluTca of the Poona Collectorate, accord- in 1840-41 and 1871-72. 418 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, inhabitants. No. Names of Villages. Houses. 03 03 a 93 03 "oS S ® +3 * o H 1 2 3 4 5 6 14 Dhanori ... ( 1840-41 \ 1871-72 46 46 113 185 104 174 217 359 15 Dighi / 1840-41 \ 1871-72 . 57 70 117 222 105 184 222 406 16 Dudulgaon f 1840-41 ( 1871-72 36 30 75 93 74 86 149 179 17 Gorhe-Budruk ... (1840-41 (1871-72 51 67 288 321 248 275 536 596 18 Gorhe-Khurd f 1840-41 [ 1871-72 54 50 168 280 145 228 313 508 19 Harapsar f1840-41 (1871-72 317 147 817 1,115 770 1,114 1,587 2,229 20 Kharakwasla ( 1840-41 \ 1871-72 126 198 301 463 283 467 584 930 21 Kharadi ... f1840-41 (1871-72 40 28 101 147 88 141 189 . 288 22 Kondwe-Budruk... • ( 1840-41 (1871-72 104 102 332 587 287 510 619 1,097 23 Lohogaon (1840-41 (1871-72 168 166 535 639 496 652 1,031 1,291 24 Murid wa (1840-41 (1871-72 94 102 264 • 379 262 386 526 765 25 Musi ( 1840-41 (1871-72 128 103 369 592 321 543 690 1,135 26 Nandeda ... (1840-41 (1871-72 151 101 414 433 427 432 841 865 27 Nandosi ... ••• (1840-41 (1871-72 44 55 129 213 118 200 247 413 : : 1-1 1-1 to H-* 03 tO l—i to to 1-1 to CD I-* l-i —3 tO 03 tO M tO if*- if l-i I-* I-* © VI 03 03 03 : • : : VI On l—i : : VI Agricultural. I-4 : : I-* l-i : : : : to M k— : : 00 Drinking. â–  03 03 03 tO O (LO CD 03 l-i I-* 03 f J—J to to if*- 03 co vr 1—1 VI 03 : : to to l—i M to to © Out of Eepair. O if- 03 l—i l—i Or 03 if- 03 tO H-i 03 fcO l—i Or 03 tO f 03 if to If*- If*. 00 VI to I-* © VI CD v* On tO i-i ’ f-> ’ © to ©’to tov to 10 Total. 03 1—* 00 VI if- to 00 03 if if On 03 03 I-* 03 00 Ox Ci 1-1 to to 00 l-i M I—* 03 If*- to 03 Ox CD H* On 00 l-i to © if. to to 1-1 © — I-* I-* © oo i-i i-i I—* 1-11-1 00 03 i-i i-i Ploughs. 03 03 00 — Ox 00 CO 1-1 On if On I—* 03 I—* if: © lf>- © 00 © On © i—i © © 1-11-1 VI 1-1 12 Carts. 1—* t 03 03 O 03 l-i l—i 03 K3 03 O to l—» VI CD to if 181 260 if Or I-* to i-i vr to 1—1 Cn tO VI Ox I-* i-i Or tO vr vr 891 111 249 817 100 143 102 66 © if I—* if- i—i i—i CD I-* © © 1 128 1 183 . 13 Cows and Calves. t-> t-» 00 t—1 CD tO M 03 o to vi os if to 1—1 00 Or 00 189 281 574 455 03 tO © to Ox Ox VT CD â– vi Or 214 254 VI On © 00 00 © 134 169 l-i to 00 © 00 © 00 © © © 106 203 i-i i-i if- ©, I-* I-* 14 Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle. vr if- ro vi 03 «D 00 03 91 104 if 03 Or Or 153 81 if 03 • LO to 1—* 03 On © 45 146 00 VI to © © On © © 03 On to if*- i-i 1-* On l—i to 1-1' © 03 to 1-1 VI © 15 She-Buffaloes and their ^oung ones. CD if. CO 82 114 t-i to -J if 00 Cn vt © o 03 f* 03 00 If*- to VI 03 o « o 03 03 03 CO 133 59 I-i © On l—i 1-1 00 12 if ro © 1—» 00 CO 16 Sheep and Goats. . I—* C* h-> h-* »—* Q> Or I—* i—i li* f 1-1 O CD to 1—1 1-1 «M I-* I—* if*- Or 03 tO CD If* to 1-1 © f* 09 1-1 © On : to to ro 00 03 17 Horses and Mares. Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, &c.—continued. 420 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses, Inhabitants. No. Names of Villages. Houses. 99 O a 09 o ' r3 s <0 PH c3 O H 1 2 3 4 5 6 28 Narha ( 1840-41 [1871-72 56 25 153 209 135 184 288 393 29 Pashan ... C1840-41 [ 1871-72 111 126 393 505 373 493 766 998 30 Pimpla-Nilak ... ... ( 1840-41 t1871-72 42 36 160 203 140 181 300 384 31 Pisoli ... ( 1840-41 [ 1871-72 35 23 83 no 83 124 166 234 32 Sivhna ( 1840-41 [1871-72 56 32 167 224 146 194 313 418 33 Thergaon... (1840-41 [1871-72 17 30 60 97 54 80 114 177 34 Wagholi ... f 1840-41 [1871-72 207 283 - 732 1,041 643 1,001 1,375 2,042 35 Wadgaon-Sheri ... ... (1840-41 [ 1871-72 54 50 152 219 138 200 290 419 36 Bhavdi ... ... ( 1840-41 [1871-72 46 58 120 140 150 159 270 299 37 Bhukum (1840-41 [1871-72 ‘ 69 83 295 391 256 349 551 740 38 Kivla ... f 1840-41 [ 1871-72 78 59 290 298 266 278 556 576 39 Mahal unga ... ... (1840-41 [1871-72 61 110 202 . 239 150 223 352 462 40 Mamurdi... ... f1840-41 [ 1871-72 5 18 34 49 27- 42 61 91 41 Mand wi-Budruk... ... (1840-41 [ 1871-72 40 48 104 189 77 168 181 357 : : HJ ’ CO HJ HJ HJ 00 i • Ot I-j I-j to fc£n to to o HJ HJ : : HJ co © HJ HJ lH- HJ 00 © VI Agricultural. : : : ; HJ ’ t l I-* •: i i i HJ " : : i • • j : : HJ ’ 00 Drinking. Cfi : ; : : os co hj i—> CO to to I-J to to to ot CO 09 CO CO Ot HJ tfn ' tO HJ Ot CO © Out of Repair. : i-* * in- t-> 11 17 tO H-* oo co CO CO OS Ot Ot if1- rf1- co co HJ H-f If- HJ if1- if1 HJ HJ © to 1—* HJ £>• to 10 Total. t-> to if- I—> 00 in- to VI o HJ to to rfn lf». CO to Ot I-J I-J OS If- to to I-J I-J • CD HJ Ifn HJ to If1- Ot CO : • CO CO Ot Ot • M VI to © to: 17 Horses and Mares. Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, Sfc.—continued. Contrasted Statement of the Number of Bouses Inhabitants. No. Names of Villages. Houses. CD 'cS a m PH *c3 O H 1 2 3 4 5 6 42 Mandvi-Khurd f1840-41 [ 1871-72 7 42 17 145 15 155 32 300 43 Manjri-Budruk • (1840-41 [1871-72 140 111 402 517 355 476 ' 757 993 44 Marunji (1840-41 [1871-72 55 159 227 319 219 318 446 637 45 Nanda (1840-41 [ 1871-72 17 53 178 171 156 179 334 350 46 Undri f1840-41 [ 1871-72 85 59 218 276 210 248 428 524 47 Phursangi ... ( 1840-41 [1871-71 181 220 568 840 530 755 1,098 1,595 48 Punaula C1840-41 [1871-72 77 56 202 230 201 220' 403 450 49 Arvi (1840-41 (1871-72 73 79 240 311 215 292 455 603 50 Kasarsai ... (1840-41 ( 1871-72 • 82 149 299 405 271 386 570 791 51 Kesnand ... C1840-41 \ 1871-72 86 142 271 388 234 388- 505 776 52 Koletvari ... ' C1840-41 [1871-72 81 90 309 432 305 415 614 847 53 Loni-Kalbhar ... (1840-41 [ 1871-72 286 260 805 . 1,174 809 1,145 1,614 2,319 54 Manjri-Kliurd C1840-41 [1871-72 53 72 157 256 132 235 289 491 55 Mulkbeda ... • ... f1840-41 [1871-72 37 47 122 128 116 134 238 262 i i OS CO Ox Ox if* CO H-i 1—* l^- cs to *-* Ox Ox : : : • CO SI SI os 00 o . 00 'I M h-» l—l to O SI : i SI Agricultural. : : : i i to i-i 1—1 : ; • : H* i : • : : *: i co Drinking. . U1 CO CO to if* I—* 00 if*. 1—1 CO 00 CO to • • ^ OS OS to to if* co to o If* Ox 1-1 ’ M tO i-i i- CO • = CO Out of Repair. CO CO Co si •sT Ox tO s] to to —1 If* CO 1—1 O -si Ox if* •Si OS I—* M CO 90 120 I—i I-* os co to 1-1 to to CO l—l 1-1 OS 10 Total. I-I I-I co si to I-* CO I-i -T 00 to *1 If* if* If* to if* CO Ox oo OS CO o to CO to —I 00 to to to OS •SI OS 1-1 SI to to oo o to l—l SI sr if* to CO Ox Ox If* CO OS to: CO 11 Eloughs. i—> 00 Ox CO I—* Ox Ox i—i •si O CO to oo to If* 1-1 O 1—1 00 to 00 OS to M to 1-1 OS 00 CO 1-1 OS 00 1-1 co if* CO l—l 1-1 o CO Ox to CO If* 1-1 Si 00 l—l t CO 12 Carts. H-* (-* o t—‘ Ox LO 1—> to to OS (-* â– si Ox CO o os to If* CO OS -ST CO 00 196 354 i ' l—l 1-J •ST -ST Ox -SI 214 249 146 118 281 252 133 130 1 1-11-1 Ox l—l If* 00 I—i CO o If* CS 251 302 CS Ol l—l 13 Cows and Calves. 120 122 1-1 >-> si OS oe to •si ST o o OS ox • 283 403 j co ro 00 CO f* co to to OS CO •ST "si • 190 223 l—l h-* â– sj 00 Ox si Ox Ox O to 1-1 00 i-i I—* CO SI 03 tO l—l l—l CO l—l l—l CO 230 242 CO CO SI Ox to to CO 00 cs 14 Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle. CO Ox CO if* -1 i-j CO OS 91 102- j OS If* O OS CO 03 os o to CO 1—> 00 i—i I—* Ox O h-1 OS If* 00 CO to 1-1 If* SI oo to I—* OS Cn 00 CO o OS SI If* to CO 1-1 If*' CO o CO LO 1-1 15 She Buffaloes and their young ones. M if* l—l OX i/T Or 05 M 1,308 650 I 163; 263 081 19Z 217 147 00 CO CO OS If* Ox O ro I—* OS Ox O' 00 ro I-* Ox o SI 00 If* to CO l—l to to o o l—l Ox 1-1 03 O if*: to 16 Sheep and Goats. if* 00 t-i O M if* if* LO If* ro m If* CO I—* 1—» O M OS O I—i M OS , 1—« • 28 22 SJ 00 l—l to to £* tO p—» (—* Ci CO 1-1 • M si Horses and Mares. Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, fyc.—continued. 424 Comparative Statement of the- Number of Houses, Inhabitants. No. Names of Villages. Houses. * CD O 'cS £ m •a s to (£>• to © © 05 to to to I—* © © 05 to © H-* !-• H-* *o O -a Agricultural. â– t-1" i â–  ; ; • • i : 1—* i—*" 1—1" • to ’ »-* * ' 00 Drinking, â– 3 -» 05 O to to -• tO i£. © © to © 00 © if*- os to 05 © 05 © © 05 05 00 tO 05 © * t-* H-* 1—1 05 i—> Ploughs. 1—i • to 1—l o to 1 21 v-* © vr © ’ to 05 © to -v[ 05 © © 05 CO © © to to © •-* to to H-* " to t-» t-> ©/ 12 Carts. - © H-* to 05 180 214 00 ^ I— © 1-* t-* 05 IO © h-> 256 340 05 OS to t-* © © 340 487 1 214 | 218 344 448 164 j 194 *—* i-i © 05 to © i-* Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle % 00 O h-» CO <0T »— )-» if* to 05 05 © © © * rf*- to © 00 to © to to © l—» * tO £>â–  OS. 05 O0 i—* i— H-* I—1 © © to to 00 l—1 © She-Buffaloes and their young ones. 422 662 i i—* -I 00 t—> CO 521 852 403 435 1 356 290 612 756 519 1,072 00 M © t—> co 151 116 642 956 290 * 00 to t—1 f~< 00 © CD to to 00 if* 1—* *0 VI to to to © © 05 l—i 1—1 o c* ^ ‘ © © h* 00 to to t-t © 00 17 Horses and Mares. Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, fyc.—continued. 426 Contrasted Statement of the Number of Houses> • Inhabitants. No. Names of Villages. Houses. zn IS g ob O a C* +3 o 1 2 3 4 5 6 fro Sindauna ... C1840-41 (1871-72 56 69 . 159 358 129 277 288 €35 11 Walti ... (1840-41 (1871-72 72 61 218 279 196 278 414 557 72 Hingangaon (1840*41 (1871-72 26 91 129 240 125 209 254 449 73 Pimpri ... (1840-41 (1871-72 • 105 128 327 482 306 517 633 999 74 Sangwi ... (1840-41 (1871-72 -36 38 96 195 88 167 184 362 75 Dhamna ... ... (1840-41 (1871-72 71 48 193 208 146 185 339 393 76 Darumbra... (1840-41 (1871-72 70 36 205 226 200 226 405* 452 77 Gaunja (1840-41 (1871-72 70 63 185 193 168 156 353 349 78 Salumbra ... ... (1840-41 (1871-72 46 48 130 135 122 132 252 267 79 • Sangauda ... f1840-41 \ 1871-72 83 56 152 127 139 134 291 261 80 Somtban ... f1840-41 (1871-72 42 26 75 76 69 65 144 141 81 Sirgaon C1840-41 (1871-72 54 27 112 79 109 76 221 155 Total.. \ 1840-41 \ 1871-72 6,598 7,079 19,567 27,584 18,128 26,245 37,695 53,829 W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-C'olonel, Superintendent, Poona and Kasik Surrey. J-l O vr CO 50 1—1 50 h-* • • *—l 5-* H-* : i if* • « If* 1-5 to 05 tO VI 05 H-> H-5 CO to CO I—* vj 05 vj Agricultural. I ... 34 : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : 00 Drinking. 325 451 w to K> fcO tO H-* : : 05 05 vj 05 • 1-5 I-1 O O CD O to to 1—1 CD H-4 to 05 co Out of Repair. Cfi* h-< t—* *Or l—1 , VI tO 05 if* 00 00 to JO 05 tO M l-r* 05 05 00 vj : • H-* l-l If* I-1 05 H-5 Ck tO CO CK to to 00 05 if* to to to 1—1 o Total. 1,907 2,284 I— I—* O 05 H-4 H-* O 05 hn* to 05 H-4 1—> H-> H-* 05 I-4 to if* vj to 05 VI Or H-> to 05 O Hr* VI 00 if* Ck H-* If* tO l-» 05 CK to 05 co co to I—4 â– f* o 1—1 Ploughs. JO H- 05 H O H-4 50 O ifH Ot CK 50 O 05 M M O 05 tT.lf* 1 205 178 I 132 84 H-5 H-* vj O Ck rf* 359 425 117 205 to to if* 05 vj O 132 234 1—1 Bullocks and Male Buffaloes. Cattle. 3,286 3,824 h-* h-> O 05 to 50 05 to 05 05 to to 00 05 Ok 05 O P< oo if* 05 Ck 05 if*- 05 • 05 H-* CO If* 05 to 00 cp to 05 00 05 tO h-* Oo O Or H-» Or She-Buffaloes and their young ones. 10,780 14,806 to co o 05 0k 05 05 O : to to Ck O to o to if* Ok H-5 CO 00 O CK CO to to CO 496 976 if* to O 05 Ck O If* to 00 CO CO o 16 Sheep and Goats. 777 1,014 M : : •r1 >-4 05 vj o to l* 19 H-i tO CO Ck 00 QO 05 H-1 05 H-* to to H-* VJ Horses and Mares. Inhabitants, Wells, Cattle, Sfc.•—concluded. 428 No. 136 of 1841. To P. STEWART, Esquire, Collector of Poona. Sir, I do myself the honour to submit, for the consideration of Government, the accompanying report, by Lieutenant Nash, contain¬ ing proposals for the re-assessment of the Haveli Taluka of your colleetorate. The data upon which he founds his proposals are applicable to the whole district, but he confines himself at present to requesting the sanction of Government to the introduction of the new rates in the Subhd. or Mdmlatd&r’s division, in which his personal inquiries have been chiefly conducted, in order to reserve to himself.the choice of suggesting any modifications of the rates now proposed in particular villages of the MaMJkari’s division of the taluka, should his future inquiries, there appear to render such a course expedient. Such alterations, however, would be too inconsiderable to affect the general argument for the pew rates, which may, therefore, be considered applicable to the whole district. 2. In the 2nd, 3rd and 4th paras, of Lieutenant Nash’s report will be. found a succinct statement of the results of our revenue management of the district during the last twenty-two years, upon which and a comparison of its capabilities with those of districts already successfully assessed, he has been chiefly guided in forming »the estimate of the proper amount of the new rates. In the propriety of this course I fully coincide, as affording the surest, if not the only safe, basis of assessment. 3. The Haveli Taluka contains, exclusive of inams, 96,388 arable acres, assessed by Mr. Pringle at 1,19,203 rupees. The Jam&bandi settlements of the last twenty-two years are shown in detail in the statement appended to Lieutenant Nash’s report, from which may be found the average of the last twenty years; also of the first twelve of these years under the Mamul, and of the last ten under Mr. Pringle’s settlement, exhibited in the fol¬ lowing statement :—■ 429 STATEMENT showing the average results of the Jamdhandi Settlement of the Haveli Taluka since it came under British management. Specification., ' Ain JainA. Sayer Total of Ain and Collected up to the pre¬ sent time in¬ clusive of full Balance still out¬ standing, and Remissions. Land As¬ sessment. Babtis, Jama. Sayer Jama. allowance to the Hakdars and Village charges. Average of 22 years from A.D. 1818-19 to Us. Es. Rs. Rs. Rs. ( Rs. 19,034 remitted. 1839-40 . ... Average of 12 years under Mamul Settle¬ ment from A.D. 1818- 79,042 27,765 7,681 1,14,488 91,183 j ( „ 4,272 outstand¬ ing. Rs 21,444 remitted. 19 to 1829-30 Average of 10 years under Mr. Pringle’s Settlement, from A. D. 80,631 33,672 8,379 1,22,682 98,454 j ( ,, 2,783 outstand¬ ing. Rs.16,139 remitted 1829-30to 1839-40 ... 77,136 20,676 6,842 1,04,654 83,037 j ,, 5,477 outstand¬ ing. 4. The first column of this statement contains the assessment on the land in cultivation, the following column of Babtis being distinct, and made up in great part of cesses on Inam land and Government “ Amals ” in alienated villages. The remissions given would chiefly be on account of failure of crops, and, making due allowance for them and the balances still outstanding, the amounts entered in the first column would require to be reduced by about 20,000 rupees to ascertain the actual revenue collected on account of the Kh&lsa arable land of the district, which in all the periods assumed by me has averaged about 60,000 rupees. This, then, is all we have been enabled to realize from the arable lapd even pre¬ vious to the last survey, by which the assessment on it was fixed at the enormous sum of 3,90,000 rupees, or nearly double the average amount of past collections. Nothing more need, I appre¬ hend, be urged in favour of a revision and large reduction of the present rental. 5. The average realizations of the last ten years from al sources appear, from the preceding statement, to have been 83,037 rupees, of which not more than 57,000 rupees are due to the land assessment. Lieutenant Nash states them in round numbers in his 9th paragraph at 82,000 rupees made up of the land-tax, the Babtis, and the Sayer Jamii; and, after showing how the 430 Bibtis would be affected by the new settlement, and the amount likely to be yielded by them and the Sayer Jama for the future, he made it appear that a sum of Bs. 63,000 would require to be assessed on the arable land to make the entire rental of the taluka equal to the average realizations of the last ten years. This assess-* ment would give an average rate of 10 J annas per acre. 6. Quitting for a time the subject of past assessment, he compares the capabilities of Haveli with those of taluks already settled, and shows very clearly in his 12th para, the superior advantages enjoyed by the former both in respect of climate and markets. 7. Located immediately around Poona the cultivators of Haveli possess a ready and convenient market for all descriptions of produce, and where the prices of grain range about 25 per cent higher than in the adjoining district of Bhimthari. The rates sanctioned for the Pimpalgaon division of the latter district increased by 25 per cent would average about 10 annas per acre, or nearly equal to the 10| annas deduced from a consideration of past collections in Haveli—a coincidence justly looked upon by Lieutenant Nash as affording evidence of the latter being an ap¬ proximation to a fair assessment. There can be no question, how¬ ever, that the greater certainty and abundance of rain in Haveli must add to the fertility of its soil, and enable it to pay a relatively higher assessment than deducible from a mere comparison of the prices of grain here and in Bhimthari. Lieutenant Nash, in his 13th para., is of opinion that the Jama may be safely increased by a sum of 10,000 rupees on this account, adding “ that this por¬ tion of the assessment will not be demanded until the ryots choose to bring the waste under cultivation :” and his reasons in support of this amount of assessment appear to me so forcible that I have no hesitation in yielding them my entire concurrence. 8. Having disposed of the question as to what amount of assessment should be placed upon the whole district, he proceeds to state his views with respect to its distribution. His experience of the effect of a moister climate in altering the value of particular soils in the Pimpalgaon division of Bhimthari led him to con¬ clude that the varieties of soils usually .classed as reds in. the eastern districts approach here more nearly in value to blacks, and become at the same time well adapted for the culture of wheat and gram crops. 9. On this account, and in order to render less frequent the necessity of classing reds as blacks and vice versa, he thought it better, in commencing the classification of the Haveli District, to increase the range of the former descriptions, by making each to 431 contain four classes instead of three; even with this alteration, however, it is impossible to obviate the necessity of entering parti¬ cular soils, in consequence of diminished depth or other causes, in classes to which, judging by their colour and texture, they do not belong. . I have consulted Lieutenant Nash on this point, and we have come to the conclusion that the distinctive names of blacks, reds, and barads prove an incumbrance rather than being of any real utility ; and that it would be an improvement to do away with them altogether, and distinguish the different classes by Nos. 1 to 9, as has been done by Messrs. Goldsmid and Davidson in their classification of the N£sik Districts. I propose, therefore, to introduce this change of terms in the ensuing season. 10. The rates proposed by Lieutenant Nash have been ad¬ justed so as to meet the alteration in the number of classes intro¬ duced by him, and also to make up, when applied to the classifica¬ tion of each field, as nearly as possible the Jam& of 72,000 rupees for the whole arable land estimated for in the 19th para, of his report. I see no reason to doubt of their effect being such as he anticipates, and beg, therefore, to recommend them for adoption. 11. I beg also to recommend that the permission solicited by Lieutenant Nash, ’ in his 21st para., of using his discretion in im¬ posing a slightly increased rate on particular villages in the imme¬ diate vicinity of Poona and on the lands of the city itself, which possess peculiar advantages of situation over the pargana in general, be accorded, and also that he may use a similar discretion in making some abatement in a few villages disadvantageously situated on the outskirts of the district. 12. Lieutenant Nash further requests in his 22nd para, to be allowed to fix such slight extra assessment on rice-land as would not operate to discourage the extension of this description of culti¬ vation. The quantity of these lands is very limited, perhaps not exceeding two or three hundred acres in the whole district, and being variously situated I think the most judicious plan is to leave the amount of the extra assessment on each field to be determined by the settling officer, as suggested by him. 13. The accompanying report is confined to a consideration of the proper assessment for the Jerayet land of the taluk; but I think it desirable that the extra cess to be imposed upon the Bagayet should be settled at the same time, in order that the two may be introduced simultaneously. I have communicated with Lieutenant Nash on this point, and as he agrees with me in opinion, I request to be allowed to furnish him with instructions for the set¬ tlement of both. 432 14. The Bagayet or watered lands in this district are of two kinds—pathasthal and mothasthal, as the expense of damming up the small streams and repairing the Water-courses into which their water is diverted is generally much less than that of keeping up bullocks to draw the moth. It is seldom, however, that the streams in this district supply by p4th throughout the year, and the lands thus watered are, consequently, not adapted to the culture of sugar-cane, or the more valuable garden products, and are, there¬ fore, usually employed in raising such products as can be cleared from the ground by the approach of the hot weather. 15. I am of opinion that an extra cess of 3 rupees per acre in additon to the Jerayet would be sufficient for the best descrip¬ tions of p&thasthal, and that the rates for inferior descriptions should vary from this down to one rupee per acre as the supply of water becomes more scanty and the soil indifferent; where the supply of water is uncertain, so as not to admit of the land being irrigated from year to year but only in favourable seasons, I think it preferable not to impose an extra rate at all, in order to obviate the necessity of granting remissions which might be called for in such cases, and as the sacrifice of revenue occasioned by the exemp¬ tion is too trifling to require consideration. 16. The mothasthal Bagayet having hitherto paid nothing beyond the Jerayet rate, it will be desirable that the new cess be of moderate amount, in order to prevent it operating as any dis¬ couragement to the extension of Bagayet cultivation, which is an object of such importance in the Deccan. 17. The whole number of assessable wells in good repair in the Haveli District is very limited, being, according to an estimate received from the Mamlatdar, 334, calculated to water about a thousand acres. There are, however, in addition, 198 wells out of repair or in ruins in the khalsa, and probably as many as 200 in good repair in inam lands. The 334 wells first noticed are all that can now be made subject to assessment. The Bagayet crops here are very frequently maize, chillies, bajri, and jow4ri for the monsoon; and wheat, gram, &c., for the cold weather; and I think there is less proportion of sugar-cane grown here than in the eastern districts. There are also many gardens, chiefly inam however, cultivated with fruit, vegetables, and flowers, immediately around Poona, for the market of which their produce is intended. 18. The plan hitherto followed in assessing mothasthal Bagayet has been virtually that of a well-tax ; on a consideration of the supply of water, the nature of the soil, and the situation of the land capable of irrigation, with reference to facilities for pro¬ curing a supply of manure, &ca certain number of rupees, never 433 exceeding 10, for each moth the well is capable of supplying, is assessed upon the garden in addition to the Jerayet rate. I have now had considerable experience of this system, having settled by it the Bagayet rates of four districts in the ShoMpur Collectorate, and am convinced that the tax is as high as could be with safety imposed in that part of the Deccan; and my inquiries have not led me to suppose that Bagayet land is much more valuable here than there. The tax being new also to this district, and, therefore, not likely to be popular, it is desirable to use greater caution than would, perhaps, be necessary in districts where we have the amount of previous payments to guide us. 19. I have to recommend, therefore, that the amount of extra Bagayet assessment for the Haveli Taluka be determined as in other districts of which the settlement has been completed. 20. Having now stated my proposal connected with the re- - vised rates, I shall shortly notice whahTVfuir effect may bo anti¬ cipated to be on the general revenues ofxthe district. The Jerayet rates have been already estimated to giveV or gross rental of 72;000 rupees ; and the extra cess on the rice land, the pdthasthal and mothasthal Bagayet, will probably yield 5,000 rupees more, thus making up the new assessment on the Khalsa arable land to 77,000 rupees. In addition to this the Babtis niay be estimated . at 15,000 rupees, and the Saye'r Jatnd at 4,000 rupees, making up a gross total of 90,000 rupees, or 13,000 rupees more than the average realizations of the last ten years, as will ]be seen on refer¬ ence to the statement appended to my 3rd paragraph. Experience of the effects of the revised settlements in other districts warrants me in anticipating that the average realizations under that now proposed will reach 90,000 rupees, or 7,000 rupees mor,e than those of the last ten years, and this, be it recollected, with a Sayer Jama reduced, at least, 3,000. rupees by the abolition of various taxes within the last few years. 21. There is one point, however, in the present system of management occurring to me as capable of retarding these results by opposing a bar to the extension of cultivation. I allude to the practice of giving out a portion of the waste land to each village rent-free.. Owing to the considerable fall of rain in this taluka and the vicinity of Poona, pasture lands are of much greater value here than in the districts to the eastward, and, in consequence, the privilege in question becomes of no little value. The influential men in each village are thus interested in preventing the whole of their lands being appropriated, and I have heard of individuals being in this way deterred from taking up waste. b 209—3 . ' 434 22. Under the new settlement I have little doubt but that the rent of the worst description of soil might be paid from the pastur- sage alone, and this might, indeed, be found more profitable than their tillage. There can, therefore, be no reason for granting them rent-free; and I would suggest for adoption a plan I have found attended with good results in the districts* of ShoMpur under my charge, which is to depute karkuns at the commencement of the monsoons into all villages having waste lands, who sell by public auction each waste number separately to the highest bidder, the buyer having the option of adding it to his holding next season if so nclined. Should the bidding come up to the regular assessment, the latter only should be taken, and the field entered as cultivated in the name of the highest bidder. This plan would effectually do away with the evil above noticed, and does not appear to me in other respects objectionable. 23. I have only to request, further, that you will take an early opportunity of layings these reports before the Revenue Com¬ missioner to admit of the sanction of Government to the new rates being obtained in timp to introduce them at the next Jamdbandi. T I have the honour to be, &c., GEORGE WINGATE, Superintendent, Revenue Survey. / Superintendent'Revenue Survey Office, Poona, 27th ffiiigust 1841. (s^/ : To GEORGE WINGATE, Esquire, Superintendent of Revenue Survey* Sir, The revised survey and classification of the Haveli Pergunna is now well advanced, aud I have seen sufficient of its condition to enable me to lay before you proposals for the re-assessment of the Subha division of it. My estimate of the appropriate amount of assessment has been formed, partly on a comparison of its capabi¬ lities with those of the parganas which have already been suc¬ cessfully assessed, and partly on a view of the assessment, cultiva¬ tion, remissions, realizations, and balances of the last twenty-two years. I shall commence by laying before you the results of this inquiry. I must premise that, in preparing the figured state¬ ments, no regard has been had to fractions of rupees or acres, and * In these districts a small portion of the waste land has been reserved for the village cattle rent-free, and the remaining fields only sold by auction in the manner described. * 435 that from this cause slight errors of a few rupees or acres will bo found throughout them. 2. It appears that of 119,720* acres in the pargana assessed at 1,52,554 rupees, 23,335 are held in inarm After de¬ ducting these, there remain 96,383 acres assessed at 1,19,203 upees. Had the whole of this land been cultivated for the last twenty-two years, the land assessment alone for that period would have amounted to 26,22,466 rupees. After adding to this sum 20,000 rupees a year for B&btis and S&yer Jamd (which by re¬ ference to the accounts appeared to be a low estimate) a total famount of 30,62,466 rupees is obtained,, which the Collector might, perhaps, have stated twenty-two years ago would be the probable amount of receipts for'the next twenty-two years. Of this sum of 30 lakhs about 20 lakhs only have been realized, so that a sum of 10 lakhs of rupees, or Jrd of the nominal assessment, has to be ac¬ counted for by non-cultivation, remissions, and balances. Of the 16 lakhs, 4,85,000 rupees may be assigned to loss on account of remissions and 93,000 rupees to outstanding balances. 3. Of the 30 lakhs of rupees, however, some part has been lost by non-cultivation, and, according to the present system, this does not appear as a loss in the revenue accounts. The Jam£ of the years fixed by the Collector relates exclusively to the land under cultivation. On examining statements prepared by the Mamlatdiir of the district I find that the total Jamd, of the first twelve years of the twenty-two years amounted to 15,05,937 rupees ; of this sum 2,81,255 rupees were realized for village expenses and payments to hereditary officers, and were probably assigned for collection to the parties who were to receive the money; 6,95,540 rupees were collected within the years in which payments should have been made ; 1,86*028 rupees were remitted before payment became due ; and 3,43,112 rupees were entered on the books as outstanding balances. Of these balances 1,06,554 rupees appears to have been afterwards remitted, 2,03,159 rupees to have been collected, and 33,399 rupees appear to remain outstanding at the present day. Thus during the first period of twelve years, including what was assigned for village expenses and payment to hereditary officers, only 9| lakhs of rupees were collected within the regulated time of payment out of 15 lakhs ; and adding the 2 lakhs afterwards col¬ lected out of the balances, there is still a deficiency on account of remissions of Jth of the total Jamd. Were the nominal assessment on the uncultivated land during this period added to the sum, it would swell the amount considerably. * The 1,19,720 acres do not comprise the lands of any of the inam villages these are very numerous, and I fancy that, taking them also into consideration, half of the pergunna would be found to be held in inam. ’ 436 4. Proceeding to the last ten of the twenty-two years, which are the. ten immediately preceding the present season, I find the united Jamd,'amounts to 10,77,603 rupees. Of this sum 2,41,595 rupees were assigned for village expenses and payments to Hak- dars, 4,89,347 rupees were collected within the appointed periods, 1,92,445 rupees were remitted at the time of the Collector’s annual settlement, and 1,54,191 rupees were entered as outstanding bal¬ ances. Of these balances 93,624 rupees were afterwards collect¬ ed, and 60,561 rupees still remain outstanding. During this period, then, 8 J lakhs of revenue have been realized, and the remissions and outstanding balances have amounted to 2J lakhs, or nearly Jth of the total Jama. For this period also it must J)e remembered, as for the last, tha/t, were the nominal assessment on uncultivated lands added to the amount of remissions and balances, it would give a much greater portion of the rental than one-fourth as actually lost to Government. 5. In comparing these two periods with one another I would . observe that the remissions and balances appear to have slightly in¬ creased in the last ten years, and that the Jam& has considerably diminished. In the first twelve years the average Jamdbandi is 1,25,000 rupees ; in the last ten it is only 1,07,760. The collections have also fallen off considerably. In the first twelve years the Government receipts averaged 74,000 rupees a year ; in the last ten they averaged only 58,000. 6. In connection with the falling off in the Jam£ and collec- tions, I ought to state that, some years back, when the cultivation was evidently diminishing and the villagers became clamorous for re¬ ductions, many villages were given out on the assessment they bore previous to Mr. Pringle’s survey, and that in other instances Istawa kauls were resorted to, to give temporary relief. As far as I can learn, these measures gave great satisfaction, and there can be no doubt that, had they not been resorted to, a much greater amount of falling off in cultivation would have occurred. . 7. The preceding paragraphs contain facts that will justify my asserting that this district, like those I have already been employ¬ ed in, is suffering from the evils that a high nominal assessment, with constant remissions and balances, is certain to produce. I have visited nearly 50 villages already, and I have found in all di¬ rections the absence of energy and enterprize, and the slovenly cul¬ tivation that are the sure fruits of uncertainty and variableness in a heavy rent. 8. Remissions have generally been granted most liberally, and, as I before observed, much has been done for the benefit of the pergunna by a return to Mamul rates and by the granting of 437 kauls. To these causes and the great advantage of contiguity to Poona I attribute all that can be said on the superiority of Poona Haveli to Inddpur, or Bhimthari. I have . never seen here large tracts of black soil lying waste as I have so often done to the east¬ ward, nor have I met with villages in the same degree of dilapida¬ tion. In fact, almost all the good soil is under cultivation. In the immediate neighbourhood of Poona it is eagerly sought for, and throughout the villages I have visited there is a greater air of comfort than I have observed elsewhere. This district has not suffered so severely from war or famine ‘as those towards the east. The country has never been depopulated in the same manner ; there is more Miras land, and there are more 'Mirasdars ; the people are more attached to their villages, less ready to change their abode, and are more ready to suffer a'little distress. I have been told by natives that I am wrong in supposing the people to be better off here than towards the east, and that the greater air of comfort I have spoken of is produced chiefly by the tiled houses, which look handsome when compared with the flat-roofed’ hovels used in Bhimthari and Inddpur; and I have been told that the people here put up with inferior food. I have not, however, been able to satisfy myself that such is the case. 9. Be’fore proceeding to state my views of the capability of theJ~~x~ict as compared by observation with Bhimthari, I shall here show what rates should be imposed to produce a Jam4 equal to the average realizations of the last ten years. I have already mentioned the average Government collection to have been 58,000 rupees; adding to this the- average village expenses and payments to Hakdars, 24,000 rupees, makes the average total of realizations 82,000 rupees. This sum would have to be made up by the land-tax; the revenue derivable from Bdbtis and Sdyer Jam£ must be deducted from 82,000 rupees. The S4yer Jam4 appears at one time to have been considerable, but for the last three years it has not yielded more than 4,000 rupees. The revenue entered under the head of B4btis consists of fixed rents on certain inam villages and fields; money paid for the farm of Government grass land, fruit trees, &c. ; and a statement of the different items for Fasli 1247 will be found annexed. The total for that year is 22,000 rupees, which is 2 or 3,000 rupees more than has usually been collected. Of the sources of revenue entered in that statement, one of 1,300 rupees will be done away with by the new assessment, and others to the amount of 5 or 6,000 rupees will be affected, perhaps, to as great an extent as one-half. I think,- however, that 15 or 16,000 rupees may be relied on from the Bilbtis. Deducting, then, 15,000 rupees on account of Babtis and 4,000 rupees for Sdyer Jam4 from the 82,000 rupees, there remain 63,000 rupees to be made up by the land-tax. 438 10. This sum of 63,000 rupees has to be assessed on 96,383 acres of Government land, and an average rate of 10^ annas an acre will make up something more than that sum. 11. Quitting for the present the subject of the last assess¬ ment and collections, I will endeavour to state my opinion of the capability of the pergunna as compared with that in which I was last employed, 12. The Haveli Pergunna lies west of the Bhimthari in the direction of the ghats, and, in consequence, is subject to a greater fall of rain. Bd,jri is the grain most commonly cultivated ; but in the good soils this alternates with crops of monsoon jowari, wheat, and gram. In some parts near the hills rice is cultivated. There are, however, but a few patches of it in any of the villages I have hitherto visited. Wheat is not commonly cultivated in Bhimthari, and rice I never saw. In the vicinity of Poona grazing land is very valuable. In one village the assessment of upwards of 100 fields is paid, and the fields are kept in grass ; and though this is partly accounted for by the field in question con¬ taining a great deal of land deemed unfit for cultivation,u,nd, there¬ fore, exempted from assessment,* yet land is never taken up for graz¬ ing in Bhimthari under the same-circumstances. In'the villages miles around Poona, all the cow-dung is carefully stored up, and huge cart-loads may be constantly seen arriving in the city. The cow-dung cakes ‘meet with a ready sale for the purposes. of burn¬ ing the dead and cooking. The better class of cultivators reserve this produce of their herds for manure; and I consider it a very bad symptom of the condition of agriculture that this is not more general. But the value of the manure for any purpose betokens a better state of things than were it deemed comparatively valueless. The price of grain, from inquiries. I made when proposing the new rates for Bhimthari, appears to be from 20 to 25 per cent higher in Poona than in that pergunna, and a more constant and close market is always open for grain, grass, vegetables, and fruits. 13. The average of the rates sanctioned for the Pimpalgaort division of the Bhimthari Pergunna was 8 annas ; an increase on this of 25 per cent, corresponding to the superior value of grain, would give 10 annas for the average rate here, which does not much differ from the 10J annas deduced from the inquiry into past collections. I, therefore, look upon this average rate, and the sum it is calculated to produce (Rs. 63,000), as an approximation of a fair assessment. The present nominal assessment of the pergunna is 1,19,000 rupees, and a reduction of 56,000rupees would bring it down This will not be the case under the new assessment. 439 to 63,000 rupees. I am, however, of opinion that so great a reduction is not called for, and that, in fixing the new assessment, something more than the average of past collections may be fixed upon as the fair assessment of the pergunna. It must be remembered that there is at present a considerable quantity of waste land on which a part of the assessment will fall, and that this portion of the assess¬ ment will not be demanded till the ryots choose to bring the waste land under cultivation. I think that 10,000 rupees may with safety be added to the 63,000 which have previously been shown to be an approximation to a fair assessment. I would justify the increase, as connected with my arguments from past collections, on the ground already mentioned, of the waste lands, and, as connected with my arguments from a comparison of the district with Bhim- thari, by what has been said on its advantages of climate, soil, and situation, over and above the higher price of grain. 14. Having thus explained my views regarding the amount of assessment, I now come to proposing what the various rates shall be which are to raise it. As the rates I propose are not exactly the same in number or proportion as those previously em¬ ployed, I must first state the principal reasons for the alterations I have made in their proportions and numbers, and then, after stating the rates used in Indd,pur and Bhimthari, in order that they may be used in comparison, I shall state those I would propose for-this district. 15. On entering the district I made a great many inquiries regarding the comparative value of the soils, and 1 satisfied myself that, owing to the wheat and gram cultivation, the value of the red soil approximated more closely to that of the black than it did in the district I had just left. I had just become aware of this effect of wheat cultivation in completing the assessment of Bhimthari, where I found that in one’ single village, famous for its red soil and its wheat cultivation, the new rates produced a reduction of assessment that did not seem called for by the condition of the village, and that was very much disapproved of by the M£mlatd4r of the district and by the Assistant Collector in charge. I, perhaps, express myself wrongly in saying that, owing to the wheat cultivation, the value of the red soil approximates more closely to that of the black. It might be more correct to say that, owing to an alteration in climate and, perhaps, in the soil itself, it becomes in this part of the country fit for the cutivation of more valuable products. It certainly is not the crop that makes the soil, but the soil the crop. The wheat cultivation is rather the index of the increased value of the red soil than its cause. 16. On commencing the classification of this district also I divided the black and red soils into four classes. instead of into 440 three, as had hitherto been, the case. I was anxious to have the classification of each colour made as much as possible under its proper head, and to prevent as much as possible the entering of the inferior black under red soils. At the time also I hoped, by this arrangement, to have lessened the intervals of value between each class and the one succeeding it, but I have only partially succeeded in doing this. 17. The proportions of the rates introduced in Ind^pur/ Kurkumb, and Pimpalgaon, have been found by experience to have been good. The Ind&pur rates were as follows :— Blacks. Reds. Barads. 300-240-170 200-130-90 130-60-35. In the Kurkumb Petha the same proportions were kept, the climate and soil being considered as exactly the same. The rates mposed were :— Blacks. Reds. Barads. '330-265-185 220-145-100 100-65-40. In Pimpalgaon Division of the Bhimthari Pergunna the climate was found to be so different, and the relative productive power. of the various soils to be so much affected by the climate, that the proportions of the rates required alteration ; this was done with the sanction of Government, and the rates introduced there were as follows :— Blacks. Reds. Barads, 375-300-233 260-180-130 165-100-60. 18. With the above to show what has already been found successful, and by bearing in mind what I have already said' regarding the approximation in the pergunna of the red soil in value to the black, I hope that what has guided me in proposing the following as fair rates will be understood :— rilonlrQ « k^tIq - n^rnnci 550-450-350-250 475-375-275-175 240-140-60. It will be seen that, with the exception of the 3rd Barad, the rates in each colour have been made to descend by very nearly equal steps. This I understood to be thought desirable; and as the division of the blacks or reds into 3 or 4 classes was a pure¬ ly artificial one, I desired the classification should be made in that way. The relative value of the black, red, and Barad soils appearing to me to rest entirely on natural and unalterable causes, I have not attempted to preserve a successive gradation of value throughout the whole of the eleven classes. 19. In taking the average of the above, I have counted 2nd Barad twice over, in order that the Barads may have their due weight; calculating in this way it will be found to be nearly. 12 annas. The experience of two pergunaas has sanctioned taking 441 the average of the rates themselves as about the average of the assessment. On this supposition the rates I have proposed will give a total assessment of the pergunna of 72,000 rupees. 20. There is every reason to hope that very nearly the whole of the waste land in the pergunna will be taken up at the new rates. Even the worst description of land is valuable here for grazing, and under a light assessment I do not doubt that the land, which in other places would be entirely abandoned on account of its comparative sterility, will here be taken up for grass. 21. There are several villages in the immediate neighbour¬ hood of Poona which, on account of their advantage of situation, can bear to pay a higher assessment. I request to be permitted to use my discretion in slightly raising the rates, according to circum¬ stances, in these villages, and also in the land belonging to the city of Poona. There are also certain villages on the outskirts of the pergunna, which, being removed from the vicinity of the city, do not enjoy the same advantages as the pergunna generally. I would solicit the same discretion with regard to reducing the assessment here as I have with regard to increasing it under opposite circumstances. 22. I would also solicit permission to place such slight extra assessment on the few patches of rice cultivation to be met within the Subha division of the pergunna as may seem warranted by custom and not calculated to discourage the erection of the expen¬ sive banks necessary to form rice-fields in this part of the country. 22. I have not yet visited any part of the petha division of the pergunna. Prom the accounts, and from all I can learn, it seems to be in very much the same condition as the Subha divi¬ sion. I have not, therefore, thought it necessary to restrict myself to the accounts of the few years for which they have been kept distinct by the Mahilk^ri and Mdmlatdar, and I have preferred taking the accounts of the whole pergunna together. I have every reason to suppose that the rates I have now proposed will be equally applicable to the jtetha. I shall, however, in the present instance, only request you to obtain the sanction of Government to them as far as regards the Subha division ; and, after visiting the petha, I shall be able next year, if I meet with no reasons for changing my opinion, to request Government’s sanction to intro¬ ducing the same rates there also ; were I to delay proposing rates till I visited the petha, another season would pass by without the introduction of the new assessment. I have, &c., A. NASH, Assistant Superintendent, Kevenue Survey. Camp Poona, 1st August 1841. b 209—4 442 No. 1344 op 1841. To P. STEWART., Esquire, Collector, Poona. Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1692, of the 11th instant, forwarding the report of Lieute¬ nants Wingate and Nash on the survey and assessment of the Haveli Taluka, and beg to state that, before I can request Govern¬ ment's sanction to the propositions contained in those documents, it will be necessary that more full information should be furnished on the following points :—■ Lieutenant Wingate’s 1st.—The villages, as near as can at pre¬ para,. 11. sent be defined, in which it is proposed to para.e2inan aS 8 ra^se or lower the general rate of the district. 2nd.—The extent (i.e., the highest and the lowest amount) to Lieutenant Wingate’s which it is considered probable such increase para. 11. or decrease of the general rates may be found Lieutenant .Nash s n J para. 21. necessary. Lieutenant Wingate’s 12th para. Lieutenant Nash’s 22nd para. 3rd.—The probable extreme limit of the extra assessment which it is proposed to im¬ pose on rice land. 4th.—The amount of the proposed general rates per acre should also be explicitly stated in rupees. At present a calcula¬ tion from the data given in Lieutenant Nash’s 17th and 18th para¬ graphs is necessary to ascertain this point. 2. In calling for this information I do not doubt that the discretionary powers applied for would be judiciously exercised; but I believe I merely anticipate Government’s wishes in requiring that the limits within which it is proposed to exercise the power sought for, should be somewhat more clearly defined. g 3. The information now called for should be supplied with as little delay as possible. I have, &c., J. YlBART, Revenue Commissioner. Revenue Commissioner's Office, Poona, 25th September 1841. 443 To P. STEWART, Esquire, Collector, Poona. Sir, I have the honour to forward a letter from Lieutenant Nash, dated 30th ultimo, in which he supplies the information called for by the Revenue Commissioner on the several points noticed in the letter to your address dated 25th ultimo. 2. He proposes to make an increase of about 9 per cent on 8 villages and the lands* of the city, all in the immediate vicinity of Poona, and to reduce the general rates 5 per cent in 5 of the most distant villages of the MdmMtdar’s Division ; and these modi¬ fications appear to me sufficiently great. 3. I quite agree with Lieutenant Nash as to the propriety of reserving the detailed discussion of the question of classifying and assessing rice land in general till a more favourable opportunity. The quantity of this land for which he now proposes 3 rupees per acre as the highest assessment is very small, and the amount of the rate is, therefore, of little importance further than as an ex¬ periment, from the success or otherwise of which some useful aid may be derived in assessing the rice land$ of other districts. I have, &c. GEORGE WINGATE, Superintendent, Revenue Survey. Superintendent Revenue Survey Office, Poona, 4:th October 1841. To GEORGE WINGATE, Esquire, Superintendent, Revenue Survey. Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated 28th instant, with a copy of one from the Revenue Commis¬ sioner to the Collector of Poona, calling for certain information re¬ garding the proposals lately sent in for the assessment of the Haveli Taluka. There appear to be four points on which information is re¬ quired, of which the two first relate to my proposal to increase the general rates of assessment in some villages and to decrease them 444 in others. In reply to the questions proposed, I beg to state that I think an advance in the rate on first black from 550 to 600 reas, —that is to say, from Rs. 1-6-0 to Rs. 1-8-0,—and a proportionate increase on the other rates can be fairly made in certain of the villages around Poona. The increase, which is nearly 9 per cent, may, therefore, be looked upon as the outside of any alteration I should think of making in the rates. The following are the vil¬ lages in which I think an increase will be necessary :—‘ Hineni, Bhamburda, Kirkee, Yerauda, W4nowri, Gorpurh Kotrud, and the lands of the city. The following are the villages in which I think some reduction will be necessary Wdrgholi, Manjri Khurd and Budruk, Loni and Kharddi. The third question in the Revenue Commissioner’s letter re¬ gards the assessment of these lands. In reply, I beg to state that my present impression is that the assessment of such rice land as is to be found in the Subha division of the Poona Haveli Dis¬ trict should not exceed Rs. 3 per acre. I fancy it will be found inconvenient to impose an extra assessment of the rice land; but the extreme limit of the assessment which it is proposed to impose on rice land, may be taken at 3 rupees. By using the term extra assessment it appears IJhave misled the Revenue Commissioner as to the way in which I proposed assessing the rice lands. It would be difficult to fix the Jerayet assessment first and the rice assess¬ ment in addition to that, since the qualities of rice land and their distinctive marks differ entirely from those of Jerayet land. The fourth point noticed by the Revenue Commissioner is that the amount of the rates proposed for Haveli is not expli¬ citly stated in rupees, and that at present it is necessary to make a calculation from the data given in paragraphs 17 and 18 of my report. I imagine there must be some mistake in this remark. I believe on reference to my report it will be found that the follow¬ ing rates are expressly proposed :— Blacks. Reds. Barads. 550-450-350-250 475-375-275-175 240-140-60 These figures represent reas; in rupees, annas and pies the rates are as follows :— 1st black ...1 6 0 2nd do. ...1 2 0 3rd do. ...0 14 0 4th do. ...0 10 0 •1st red ...1 3 0 2nd do. *...0 15 0 3rd do. ...0 11 0 4th do. ...0 7 0 1st Barad...O 9 6 2nd do. ...0 5 6 3rd do. ...0 2 4 In conclusion, I have the honour to explain that I was unwilling to enter into extreme detail on the subjects on which the Revenue 445 Commissioner has now called for information, from a fear of make ing them appear of too much importance. The alterations I wish to make in the rates will not in the total affect the assessment of the district more than a few hundred rupees, and the whole value of the rice assessment, as at present levied, is only about4six hun¬ dred. It would have been difficult for me to have entered on the subject of rice assessment at all in detail without increasing my report to at least twice its present size, and it appears to me that it would be injudicious to give the subject so much prominence in treating of the settlement of part of a pergunna where they are so trifling in extent. It was also natural to be unwilling to sketch out my plan for their classification or assessment after so very slight an experience in the matter ; any plan I might have described would have been looked on as that I should propos- following for the future, and I myself having once proposed plans might have felt insensibly a prejudice in their favour. If my du¬ ties carry me into rice districts I shall have opportunities of mak¬ ing myself thoroughly acquainted with the subject, and then, if I find I have considerably erred in fixing the assessment on the few rice lands here, it will be easy to propose an alteration. I have, &c. A. NASH, Assistant Superintendent, Eevenue Survey. Poona, 30th September 1841. No. 1718 of 1841. To P. STEWART, Esquire, Collector, Poona. Sir, I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated 11th September last, No. 1692,. transmitting reports from Lieutenants Wingate and Nash on the survey and assessment of the Haveli Taluka, and in reply beg to forward copy of my letter to Govern¬ ment and Mr. Acting Secretary BJane’s reply, dated 3rd instant. No. 3682. 2. Government has been pleased to approve and confirm the proposed assessment, and you will consequently take immediate steps for its introduction. 446 8. The plan for putting up the waste lands to auction for pasturage is also approved, and it is to be followed in all the sur¬ veyed districts. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. VIBART, Revenue Commissioner. Revenue Commissioner's Office, Poona, 8th December 1841. No. 1473 of 1841. To D. A. BLANE, Esquire, Acting Secretary to Government, Bombay. Sir, I have the honour to forward an original letter from the Col¬ lector of Poona, transmitting original reports from the Superintend¬ ent of the Survey and his Assistant, Lieutenant Nash, on the survey and assessment of the Haveli Taluka, together with original and copies of a subsequent correspondence between the above-named officers and this department. 2. The past history of the assessment and realizations is given Lieutenant Wingate’s at considerablelength by Lieutenant Wingate, paras. 1 to 7. . and it is not necessary that I should go in Lieutenant Nash’s detail over the reasons they give for the con- paras. 1 to 13. elusions at which they arrive—that about Rs. 72,000 or Rs. 73,000 will be a fair sum to assess on the Govern¬ ment lands of the whole pergunna. They show, I think, that such a sum might be levied without danger of over-assessment, and, on the other Land, that Government would not be losers, as the average of their actual realizations has fallen considerably short of that sum. 3. It will be in Government’s recollection that in the division of the Bhimthari Taluka adjoining Haveli it was found necessary, in consequence of the alteration of climate caused by nearer ap¬ proach to the gh£ts, to alter the relative proportion of the rate fix¬ ed on the nine classes of soil from what it had been in the pergunnas previously surveyed; and the same cause being found to operate still more strongly in the Haveli Pergunna itself, which lies still 447 further to the west, it was necessary to make a still further altera¬ tion, and Lieutenant Nash determined to effect this by dividing the red and black soils into 4 classes each, instead of 3 as heretofore. It had attracted my notice some time ago that some alteration would be necessary, as the divisions of the classes adopted for the open country to the eastward would not suit that near the gh<£ts, where the climate, and consequently the relative productiveness of the same sorts of soil, was so different; and, as Lieutenant Wingate agrees with Lieutenant Nash in thinking the alteration proposed well fitted to effect the object in view, I would beg Government’s sanction to it and to the rates suggested in Lieutenant Nash’s 18th paragraph, viz. :— Blacks. Reds. Barads. Es. a. P- Rs; a. P- Rs. a. P 1st . .. 1 ' 6 0 1 3 0 0 9 0 2nd . .. 1 2 0 0 13 0 0 5 - 6 3rd . .. 0 14 0 0 11 0 0 2 4 4th . .. 0 10 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 4. No doubt can exist as to the propriety of the alteration in the manner of naming the classes as proposed in paragraph 9, the present names being calculated to mislead those who have only a superficial acquaintance with the system followed, and to induce such persons to suspect error when none really exists. 5. The above rates would require to be slightly raised in the immediate neighbourhood of the city itself, and slightly lowered in a few villages on the skirts of the districts. The Collector and Lieu¬ tenants Wingate and Nash proposed that it should be left to the dis¬ cretion of the Superintendent of the Survey to settle in what villages and to what extent the rates should be modified. I considered, however, that Government w;ould require some further information as to the probable extent of the proposed modification, and accord¬ ingly requested that it might be furnished. This is done in the accompaniments to Mr. Stewart’s letter of the 5th October ; and I would solicit Government’s sanction to the Superintendent being allowed a discretionary power to modify the general rates to the extent suggested in paragraph 2nd of Lieutenant Nash’s letter of the 30th September, viz., an advance not exceeding 9 per cent on the lands of the city and 8 villages in the immediate neighbour¬ hood, and a reduction not exceeding 5 per cent on the 5 villages specified as least favourably situated for the Poona market. 6. There is also a very small quantity of rice land in the dis¬ trict, the assessment of which the Collector and Lieutenants Win¬ gate and Nash proposed should be left to the discretion of the set¬ tling officer. In reply to my question on the subject it will be 448 seen that Lieutenant Nash proposes that assessment of this land in _ the Mamlatddr’s division should not exceed nuf cSLionertfetl Rs- 3 per acre, and within that limit I would ter of September 25th, recommend, for the reasons he gives, that the No. 1344; Lieutenant assessment of the few patches of such land as Nash’s reply dated Sep- are me£ with in the division referred to be em er ' left to his discretion. The quantity is small, and my chief reason for making a further reference regarding it was to have it clearly understood that any rates which might be fixed now were in a manner experimental, and not to be adopted implicitly as a guide when the survey was extended to districts where rice is an important article of cultivation. 7. I agree with Lieutenant Wingate in his views regarding •p i q + iq the assessment of the Bagayet land, and aragrap s o . therefore, beg Government’s sanction to the rates he proposed, viz., Rs. 3 per acre in addition to the Jerayet assessment as the maximum, and 1 rupee per acre as the minimum on the p&thasthal, and that the same system and rates which have been introduced in the talukas already settled be sanctioned for the mothasthal. 8. Lieutenant Wingate concludes with a proposal for modi¬ fying the present system of disposing of the waste lands of the village. The evil which he notices has been more than once pointed, out by Messrs. Frere and Mansfield (late Assistants in the eolleet- orate) in their Jamabandi reports, and the plan suggested by Lieutenant Wingate has had a trial of several seasons in the dis¬ tricts under his charge, where it has been found to succeed perfect¬ ly. I have, therefore, no hesitation in recommending its adoption, not only in Haveli, but in all the re-surveyed districts. The land so let should not, however, as proposed by Lieutenant Wingate, be entered in the account as cultivated, but be put down as “ Land let by auction,” (when at less than the full rate,) or by some such dis¬ tinctive appellation. 9. To prevent the land being bought up and sublet again by sowkars, &c., it would, I think, be well to make it a rule, that when the full rate is bid, a preference should always be shown to a resi¬ dent or ryot cultivating in the village to which the land belongs. 10. For the reasons given*by Lieutenant Wingate I would beg the favour of an early reply. I have, &c. J. YIBART, Revenue Commissioner. Revenue Commissioner's Office, Poona, 21 st October 1841. 449 No. 3682 of 1841. To JOHN VIBART, Esquire, Revenue Commissioner. Sir, I am directed by the Honourable the Governor in Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1473, dated 2lst Octo¬ ber last, transmitting an original letter from the Collector of Poona, with accompaniments, being reports by Lieutenant Wingate, late Superintendent of the Deccan Survey, and Lieutenant Nash, then his Assistant, on the survey and assessment of the Haveli Ta- luka, together with original and copies of a subsequent correspond¬ ence between you and the above-named officers ; and to communi¬ cate to you the following instructions and observations of Govern¬ ment in respect to the several proposals therein submitted for adoption. 2. The reduction proposed in the gross assessment, viz., from Rs. 1,19,000 to Rs. 96,000, is represented to be based on the aver¬ age of former years’ collections, which for the last ten years are stated in round numbers at 82,000 rupees from all sources, including B4btis ‘and Sdyer Jamd., Rs. 7,000 being the portion on account of land assessment. The new amount of Rs. 96,000 is to be made up of the following items, viz. :— Rs. Jerayet assessment 72,000 Bagayet do 5,000 ^ B&btis ... 15,000 S&yer Jamil 4,000 96,000 3. The above estimate of the appropriate amount of assess¬ ment for this pergunna, in the words of Lieutenant Nash, “ has been founded partly on a comparison of its capabilities with those of the pergunnas which have already been successfully. assessed, and partly on a review of the assessment, cultivation, remissions, realizations, and balances, for the last twenty-two years.” As a guide on the first head, Lieutenant Nash refers to the Bhimtharx Pergunna, and calculates that the pergunna under review will bear a higher assessment of 25 per cent on account of more constant and closer markets, by which the price of produce is enhanced, and he adds a further sum of Rs. 10,000 on account of its superior advan¬ tages with respect to climate, soil, and situation. This raises the b 209—5 450 general average per bigha to nearly 12 annas, tliat in Bhim- thari being about *8 annas. The proposed rates comprise 11 classes, varying from Re. 1 as. 6 to as. 2 pies 4, some modifica¬ tion having been made in this respect with reference to the rates adopted in other pergunnas for which the reasons are assigned. 4. All this is concurred in and recommended by Lieutenant Wingate and -yourself. The total assessment appears to be as large as can reasonably be expected to be realized, and the details would seem to have been regulated with great care and discern¬ ment. A nominal high rent, though met by remissions, is admitted to have the most injurious effect in depressing the energies of the cultivator and rendering him careless and improvident; and the introduction of a fair and moderate assessment, by which the frauds and misappropriations attendant on remissions and balances are to a great extent avoided, while the Government receives its average revenue, is, therefore, an object of which the benefit will be readily acknowledged. 5. Adverting to' the slight modifications'proposed in raising the assessment of the villages' near Poona, and reducing that of the more remote ones, I am desired to observe that the difficulty of graduating this, item in the calculation of rates is so great as to render its introduction of questionable advantage; but, as the measure is to be limited to the city and 8 villages in its immediate neighbourhood and 5 of those most distant and least favourably situated, the Governor in Council sanctions, as an experiment, an advance in the former not exceeding 9 per cent, and reduction in the latter of not more than 5 per cent as proposed. 6. The designation of the classes of land by numbers from 1 to 9, as adopted' in the N£sik Survey and proposed by Captain Wingate in the 9th para., instead of naming them according to th© colour of the soil, appears to be in many respects the preferable method; and as the details of the soils are duly recorded in the field-books, the Governor in Council sees no objection to its introduction, - 7. An extra assessment, not exceeding Rs. 3 per acre, is proposed for rice land, to be imposed discretionally by the settling officer within the above limit. The small quantity of such land, and the imperfect information as to the comparative value of this cultivation, are the reasons assigned for a discretionary power being allowed in this instance; and being recommended by you, are concurred in by the Honourable the Governor in Council. 8. As regards the Bagayet assessment of Rs. 3 per acre as a maximum and of Re. 1 as a minimum proposed to be intro¬ duced in addition to the Jerayet assessment, it would appear that pathasthal lands irrigated by water-courses have hitherto paid 451 an extra rate of assessment, of which the amount is not mentioned £ but land watered by wells have only been liable to the rate on Jerayet cultivation, and even under these favourable terms numer¬ ous wells have been allowed to fall into disrepair. Nevertheless,, as the principle of imposing an extra assessment on Bagayet cultivation has been considered sound and equitable,- His Honour in Council approves of the introduction of the rate adopted in the other districts, the settlement of which has been completed, the- remarks with which this proposal is recommended affording due assurance that the details will be carried out with requisite caution. 9. The advantages which are calculated to result from the adoption of the system of putting up the waste lands to auction as pasturage, proposed in paras, 21 and 22 of Lieutenant Wingate’s report, are, I am directed to observe, unquestionable where the waste lands bear a value to obtain applicants for them on such, terms. Any cultivator, willing to pay the full rate, should be entitled to preference in the selection, likewise to retain the land as a portion of his khata, which, however, he might do at present. The appropriation of the waste lands in this manner may, the Governor in Council conceives, be safely put to the test of experi¬ ment throughout the surveyed districts as proposed, as they will only be taken when a rent is fairly derivable from them. 10. In conclusion, I am desired to inform you that,, as no alterations suggest themselves in the assessment as above describ¬ ed, the Honourable the Governor in Council authorizes its imme¬ diate introduction. I have, &c. * D. BLANE, Acting Secretary to Government. Bombay Castle, 3rd December 1841. To No. 203 of 187&. Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. I>. Camp Barsi, 7th March 1878. Sir, Having regard to the instructions contained in Government Resolution No. 798, of the 11th ultimo, wherein Government ex¬ press their desire that the increase caused by the revision of assess- 452 ment may be fixed at a very moderate and reasonable rate, and being aware that yon have recommended a reduction in tbe rates proposed by me for the P4bal Taluka, I deem it expedient, in order to save time, to forward an amended scale of rates for the Haveli Taluka, to be substituted for those previously submitted by me in case Government should consider the latter too high. 2.With one or two exceptions, the changes I have made are confined to the reducing the maximum of the 1st and 2nd class villages from Rs. 4 and Rs. 3-8 to Rs. 3-8 and Rs. 3-0, respectively, and the remaining classes by 4 annas each. The exceptions are BMmburda ( No. 4), which from its advantageous position I have retained in the Rs. 3-8 rate, and Bhavdi and Phulgaon (Nos. 49 and 60), which I have reduced from Rs. 2-12 and Rs. 2-8 to Rs. 2-4 and Rs. 2-0. 3.The effect of the above changes will be to bring down the proposed assessment on Jerayet land from Rs. 1,52,086 to Rs. 1,36,794, and the total assessment from Rs. 1,58,836 to Rs. 1,43,544. The latter amount represents an increase of 79 per cent on last year’s collections on the 81 villages; but of this 16 per cent is due to the greater area brought under assessment, leaving 63 per cent as the increment caused by the new rates. 4.I append a statement* showing the “ Kamal,” Mr. Pringle’s ’ ted assessment, and the proposed survey pnn * assessment for 28 of the villages which are chiefly affected by my proposals. From this you will see that the Kamil of these villages was Rs. 42,881, Mr. Pringle’s assess¬ ment was Rs. 40,229, and that proposed by me is Rs. 49,605, or an increase of only 15 per cent over the Kamal, and 22 per cent over Mr. Pringle’s valuation.- 5.In submitting, therefore, these reduced rates I must beg to record that I do so entirely in deference to the desire of Govern¬ ment, as expressed in their resolution quoted in my first paragraph, and not from any doubt on my part as to the fitness of the terms first proposed by me, or the ability of the district to meet those terms. I have the honour to be,. Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N4sik. 453 No. 497 of 1873. Ratnagiri Districts, Camp Khed, 24th March 1873. MEMORANDUM. The accompanying printed papers contain the proposals ori¬ ginally drawn np by the- Superintendent of the Poona and Ndsik Survey for a revision of the assessment of 81 villages belonging to the Haveli Taluka of the Poona Collectorate, being the part of that district lying in a circle of about 18 miles round the city and military station of Poona. 2.The report reached me through the Collector on the 5th of this month. But, before taking it up, it seemed to me to be desirable to request the Superintendent to reconsider and modify his proposals in conformity with the spirit Feb^ai* ^ 1873ated llth an^ intention of Government Resolution* y * * enjoining »the adoption of a moderate in¬ crease of rates at our revision of settlements : and he has accord¬ ingly, in appended letter (No. 203 of the 7th instant), submitted a reduced scale of rates. It will be seen, however, from the remarks in his concluding para., that, though complying with my request, he nevertheless states that he has no doubt “of the fit¬ ness of the terms first proposed, or of the ability of the district to meet them.” 3. It is important to have on record this decided opinion of the settlement officer in favour of his first comparatively high scale of rates ; but, at the same time, there can be no doubt of the expediency of our being most moderate in our future revenue de¬ mand ; and as I regard the Superintendent’s modified scale of rates as being in accordance with this policy, I intend, therefore, to refer to it throughout my remarks as the proposal before Government in substitution of that originally submitted in the printed report. 4. The city of Poona, forming the centre of our group of villages, is situated, as is well known, on the western border of the great Deccan plain, extending, as far as our districts are concerned, to the boundary of the Sholdpur Collectorate on the east. It may also be taken, in regard to situation, to be the turning point from which the uncertain rainfall, for which this tract is notorious, commences. In Poona itself, and for a few miles east of it, the 454 fall may be said to be certain and sufficient for the cultivation of tbe ordinary dry-crop products of tbe district—an entire failure of crops being a thing almost unknown. .But it is remarkable how quickly the fall diminishes as you proceed eastwards, and its in¬ crease is equally remarkable in respect to the country directly West of Poona. 5. This account is fully borne out by the statement given in paragraph 13, showing the rainfall in Poona contrasted with that of P jit as and Mulsi. Looking to the returns, it will be seen that at the former of these two stations, which is about 40 miles east of Poona, the fall averages a little over 14 inches, and that in Mulsi, which is a few miles west of the Haveli villages to be settled, it averages about 47, whereas in Poona it is just 27 inches. As regards our proposed rates, therefore, Poona is not only the centre from which they must be regulated on account of market advan¬ tages, but it is likewise the central point from which our climatic lines should diverge, reduction being necessary on account of decrease of rainfall on the east, and on account of excess toward the western boundary of the district. 6. This, as will be seen by reference to the remarks in para¬ graph 25 and statement in following paragraph, is the plan on which the grouping has been effected by the Superintendent. His first class comprises the four villages immediately around the town and station of Poona. Three only had been'at first included under this group; but in his subsequent letter he has added Bhamburda, which should most certainly be under it on account of its position. The other villages round the town and station, which should also .be under the same class, viz., Parwatti, M&lli, and Munjeri, do not come under revision yet, as they were settled subsequently to the date of the general settlement of the district. I mention this merely as explaining why some spaces round the town have been left blank on the map. 7. The Superintendent has also explained that he has reduced the two villages of BMvdi and Phulgaon a ubsequent et er. ciass respectively from the position assigned to them at first. The statement accompanying his letter alluded to shows the whole of the villages arranged by classes under their respective revised rates. The grouping, however, as shown by colours on the map, is according to the original proposals, and is, therefore, incorrect in respect to the three * *, ’ villages specially alluded to in this and the gaon (56). preceding paragraph. It will be noticed, too, that the maximum rates entered in the map are those originally proposed. 455 8. There are a few further changes that I think it is advis¬ able to make in the grouping. The villages of Dudulgaon * and Musi t, which are in the outer boundary of the district, and separated from the rest of Class 3, should, I think, be lowest class. Musi is the village which is about to be transferred to Sir Dinkar Rao in an exchange of terri¬ tory ; and as he has expressed his wish that its assessment should not be greatly increased, the proposed reduction will be acceptable to his views. The villages of Thergaon* and Balewari + will also be more appropriately ranged on account of position as well as gene¬ ral character under the next lower group. I would also put Ashtapur $ into the last group of Rs. 1-8-0 with the other villages, formerly belonging to the Bhimthari Taluka, ranged under that group. 9. With these exceptions, which from my local knowledge of the circumstances of the villages, as well as from their position, I think it advisable to make, I would recommend the Superintendent’s arrangement by classes to be carried out. * No. 16 of written Statement. t No. 25 ditto. put under the next *No. 33 of Statement fNo 11 ditto. + No. 63 ditto. 10. With regard to the maximum rate, it is somewhat diffi cult to say what it should be for the villages immediately around Poona. The large sums derived from fodder and garden produce, and, indeed, from every kind of produce, and the large subletting rents obtained, make land more than ordinarily valuable there, and* there is also its general value as building ground in the vicinity of a large town and station. 11. Four rupees was the maximum originally fixed, and I think it may be inferred that it was reasonable from the fact of two or three independent authorities well calculated to form an opinion of the subject, whom I consulted, having pronounced it to be so. As, however, it gives such a very large increase on former payments, it is expedient to take the more moderate rate of Rs. 3-8-0 submitted in Colonel Waddingon’s subsequent letter. For his second group he has made a reduction of 8 annas, and for the remaining five of 4 annas per class—the rates for Jerayet or dry-crop land for several classes being as under :— 1st class maximum rate of Rs. 3 8 0 2nd do. a 0 0 3rd do. „ 2 12 0 4th do. „ 2 8 0 5th do. „ 2 4 0 6th do. „ 2 0 0 7th do. „ 1 12 0 8th do. „ 1 8 0 456' The lowest rate of Rs. 1-8-0 is the same as has been already imposed in the adjoining Tillages of the Bhimthari District. 12. The Superintendent mentions in paragraph 28 that he proposes to adopt a maximum rate of Rs. 6 per acre for rice land. There is but a limited extent of this cultivation which is to be found in the extreme western villages of the district; but as the rainfall there is scarcely heavy enough, as a rule, to ensure a crop regularly, I am inclined to think it will be better to have a rate of Rs. 5 only. A maximum of Rs. 4-8-0, as mentioned by the Superintendent, was fixed by myself for the contiguous villages of the Mawal Taluka, settled in 1852-53 ; but the cultivation in that case is very much superior to what it is in the Haveli villages, which, I think, will be fairly assessed, even at present prices, upon a 5-rupee maximum. 13. There are several small p^thasthal works in the district; but, with the exception of the Pashan Lake, they are none of them perennial, their supply, as a rule, being sufficient only for rabi crops. Sugarcane is grown to a small extent, but it is generally in cases where the pathasthal supply is supplemented by well irri¬ gation. The orange, grape and fruit-tree gardens, and lucerne and vegetable crops near Poona, alluded to by the Superintendent in his account of the garden cultivation of the district, are almost all the product of well irrigation, which it is proposed should be exempt from any special taxation, according to the plan followed in other ^revised settlements. 14. The proposed rates for this pathasthal irrigation will vary, as explained by the Superintendent, from a maximum of Rs. 8 per acre, to be applied to the.lands under the Pashan Lake, down to as low as a rupee, the rate in each case being fixed with reference to the period for which irrigation is available. It is to be hoped that a considerable extension of this description of irri¬ gation will follow on the opening but of the canal from the Kharakw&sla Dam. We have now, however, to deal only with existing works, the rates for which will, I consider, be suffi¬ ciently liberal under the plan of settlement proposed by the Superintendent. 15. The total assessment for the 81 villages, as shown in paragraph 3 of the letter, will amount toRs. 1,43,544 under all heads. There will - be a slight reduction in this, consequent on the few modifications of the proposals suggested by me, but not enough to affect the general percentage increase (which is shown to be 79 per cent on last year’s collections) to any appreciable extent. They may make a difference of one or two per cent, but there will also be some little reduction by the application of the scale of reduction for distance from village. Taking this into 457 Account, we may assume 75 per cent to be the general increase frhich will be effected under the revised scale of rates submitted by the Superintendent. 16. There is no district that we have yet re-assessed in which the former survey was so imperfect as it has been found to be here. This is owing chiefly to the general adoption of Mr. Pringle’s measurements at the first settlement in place of a fresh survey. The largest differences of area, as compared with the present survey, have been met with in hilly lands, which in See .paragraph 16 of some cases seem to have been left unmea - Sortrmten eUtS G" sured, and in others shown as unarable, though producing grass, and most valuable for graz¬ ing on account of proximity to Poona. In one* case the arable area, according to new survey, is shown to be No. 69 of printed more than double what was charged for under Statement. the original settlement; in anotherf it is 90 t Bhiwri, No. 64 of Cent, and there are many cases where it is dltto* between 20 and 30 per cent in excess. 17. It has for some years been known to me that the former survey was most imperfect in the villages west of Poona, but I was not prepared to expect such large discrepancies, as have been brought to light by the recent survey. 'There can be no question of the justice of charging for this extra area, especially as in not a few instances it has been surreptitiously acquired from kuran and gairan lands, owing to the want of a proper demarcation of fields at the first survey. We may, therefore, fairly deduct the as¬ sessment due to this eause (16 per cent) from the general increase Which will thus be reduced to about 60 per cent. 18. Every one, I think, Will agree that a considerable increase may most appropriately be made to the existing assessment of this district, which appears to me to have been fixed undilly and disproportionately low in comparison with that imposed in other districts of the PoOna Collectorate. According to the explanation given by Colonel Waddington in his 24th paragraph, Rs. 1-6-0 was the maximum rate imposed in the villages near Poona. It seems to have been intended to have a Rs. 1-8-0 maximum ; but for some reasons, apparently not on record, only the Rs. 1-6-0 was applied. The rates of the Bhimthari District were taken as the basis of the assessment, an increase of 25 per cent being made as representing the difference in the price of grain between the Poona and Bhim¬ thari markets. A further sum of Rs, 10,000 was roughly added on account of the assessment of waste lands, and in consideration also, it is said, of Haveli being superior in point of climate, soil, and situation to Bhimthari. 8 209—6 458 19. It is difficult to say from tliis whether any special increase was really made on account of superiority of climate* The fact is acknowledged, but that is about all that we can make out from the former proceedings. The returns, however, which are now submitted, show, as has been before mentioned, a marked difference between the rainfall of the two districts, Bhimthari represented by P4tas having a fall of 14 inches against a fall of 27 inches in Poona. These two figures represent, On the one hand (Poona), a fall sufficient for either a monsoon or rabi Crop, as well as for the cultivation of superior Jerayet products, such as wheat and gram; whilst in the other case the fall can never be fully depended on even for rabi crops, and is too uncertain to be trusted, except to a Very limited extent, for kharif or. monsoon. Now this difference in the natural capabilities of two districts, which is estimated to represent in the present day an increase of fully 50 per cent, was entirely Overlooked or recognized to the most limited extent, even supposing the whole (Rs. 10,000) had been added on that account—which, as shown above, is not the case. A considerable part, therefore, of the increase by the Haveli revision assessment is ascribable to the adoption of an unduly low standard of rates at the first settlement of the district. 20. The large prices paid for land near Poona during the period of the share speculation mania cannot, of course, be taken as fair evidence of the real value of land; but nevertheless it may not be out of place to mention here that the sum of Rs. 300 per acre was paid by me on the part of Government for the land of the village of Kirkee taken up for the Powder Works. I also offered the cultivators of Ghorpari, about the same time, Rs. 400 per acre for a certain portion of the land of their village which it was proposed to take up for a parade ground for the cavalry. The offer was refused, and other ground eventually taken Up. As much as from Rs. 2,000 to 2,500 per acre was given for land in the vicinity of the railway station at that time, and not long since I heard of from Rs. 800. to 1,000 being paid for some small lot in that locality. The land round the station is not, however, included under our proposals, being situated in the village of Munjeri, the lease of which, as before mentioned, has not yet expired. 21. The rates at which the above-mentioned purchases were effected by me, though greatly in excess of the real value of land, were very much less than was paid by outside buyers at the time. There has been a considerabie fall in the price of land since these transactions took place, but still good arable land near Poona would now sell for from Rs. 150 to 200 per acre. 459 22. In connection with this question- of the value of land' near Poona, we have to settle the terms on;, which it should in. future be let for building purposes; that is to> say, whether a special rate, separate from, or in addition to, the ordinary survey assessment should be levied in cases where land is appropriated to. building purposes, or whether we should continue the present plan of levying a fee for the privilege of building with the condition of the payment of the fixed assessment being continued. And there is also the further question as to what rate should now be charged for land built upon prior to the introduction of the rule providing for the levy of the building fee, and for which the fee consequently was not charged. 23. With regard to the first class of cases referred to. It is not very clear, from Section 30 of the Act under which revision settlements are effected, whether we have the power of levying a, building rate in addition to, or separate from, the ordinary survey assessment imposed at a revision settlement. The section enjoins that the “ revised assessment shall be fixed, not with reference to improvements made by the owners or occupants from private capi¬ tal and resources during the currency of any settlement under this Act, but with reference to general considerations of the value of land, whether as to, soil or situation, prices of produce or facilities of communication.” This question of imposing a building rate was, I find, discussed in my proposals for the revision of the- Indapur Taluka, and, in alluding to the foregoing extract, I made the fol¬ lowing remarks as to the kind of improvement which was to be considered exempted from any special increase :— There may, perhaps, be some difficulty in determining pre¬ cisely the kind of improvement which is to be exempted from assessment at the revision. There are some improve- ments^which obviously come under the rule: the construc¬ tion of a new well, and the conversion thereby of dry-crop into garden land, and in the same way the repair of an old one during the currency of the settlement. These are both cases to which the rule is clearly applicable. “ The planting of trees, which in some districts would give an increased value to land, is another proper exemption from enhanced assessment. And, except in cases where rules have been made specially providing for the re-survey of rice lands at the expiration of the lease, or where rice land is held under special conditions, I should consider that new rice land made out of Jerayet or dry-crop culti¬ vation land at the ryot’s expense, is not assessable other 460 wise than at Jerayat rates, provided the land was so, assessed under the original settlement. “ These are clear and obvious cases, I think, in which the â–  enhancement of assessment on account of improvements is specially barred. The class improvements about which some doubt may, perhaps, exist, is that affecting lands which, originally assessed at the ordinary dry-crop, rates of the district, have become valuable during the lease as building sites, owing to the increased accommodation required for an enlarged station or other similar causes,, Such is the case with the lands in the vicinity of Poona., This special value being, however, attributable to extra¬ neous circumstances, and to, improvements-which, have been brought about mainly at the expense of the State, I am of opinion that enhancement of rates is. perfectly jus¬ tifiable in such cases.. The enhancement should, however, be regulated by a gene-, ral rate applicable to building ground, and n., No. 1335* of 1873; ® Revenue Department. Matndgiri Districts, Camp Harnay, 7th April 1873. MEMO. The Revenue Commissioner, S. Di,..has the honour to submit memo. No. 497, dated 24th March 1873Kwith accompaniments,, from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N.D., relative to. the revised assessment of 81 villages of the Haveli Taluka of the Poona Colleetorate, which, include, towards the east,, a. section, of villages transferred from the old Bhimthari Taluka. 2.. The circumstances arising from the locality of these vih lages, and their connection with the great market of the city and cantonment of Poona, have been reviewed in the communications, from the Superintendent of Survey, the Collector o.f Poona, and the Commissioner of Survey.. The Collector in his 4th para... reports, the progress of construction of a new road from Poona to Pand, the Mahalkari’s station of the Muisi Petha: this will afford to certain of the Mdwal villages, included in the revision, facilities for carriage of produce by carts, which will conduce to their general prosperity and capacity to cope with an enhancement of the land- tax. 3. Paras. 2 to 7 of Colonel Francis* memo.' relate to a re¬ duction of dry-crop maximum of the 1st class of villages from 463 Us. 4 to Us. 31-8, and to reduction of class in several other of the villages : this will effect a modification of the figures in “ the statement contrasting present and proposed assessment” accom¬ panying the Superintendent’s report* and a reduction in the total of the proposed assessment from Rs. 1,58,836 to Rs. 1,43,544. Certain changes in the grouping, recommended in the Survey- Commissioner’s 8th paragraph, will further slightly reduce the assessment. The revised maximum rates for dry-crop land are shown in 8 classes, in paragraph 11 of the same memo., ranging from Rs. 8-8-0 to Rs. 1-8-0. 4. In paragraph 12 Colonel Francis advocates a reduction of the maximum rice-crop rate proposed by Colonel Waddington from Rs. 6 to Rs. 5, in which view, .derived from the experience of the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement in classing rice lands in the adjoining M4wal villages* the Revenue Commissioner concurs. 5. The Revenue Commissioner also begs to state his con¬ currence in the rates proposed for p4thasthal lands ranging from Rs. 8 to Rs. 1, calculated according to the water-supply. Refer¬ ence is made by Colonel Francis’in paragraph 14 ho future exten¬ sion of irrigation from the Karakwasla Dam $ ^nd for these, it is presumed, a separate water-rate, will be fixed hereafter, regarding Which it might be well to give some notice at the time of revised settlement, so that the occupants of land within reach of the irri¬ gation may make their arrangements accordingly. 6. After calculating the adjustments, which the reductions he advocates will necessitate, Colonel Francis considers the revised assessment will represent a general increase on present payments of about 75 .per cent. 7. The Collector has furnished a comparative statement of the general enhancement in the three revised settlements for 48 Villages of Bhimthari Taluka, 56‘villages of the old Pabal Taluka, and the 81 villages of Haveli now under consideration. The pre¬ cise effect of the recommendations submitted regarding Pabal in the papers transmitted with memo, from the Revenue Commis¬ sioner, No. 758, dated 27th February, or of such portions thereof as may meet the approval of Government, has not yet been ascer¬ tained, but it is probable that the general percentage increase for the three districts will not be dissimilar. It appears to the Reve¬ nue Commissioner that their relative capacity to bear such an increase is, firstly, Haveli; secondly, P4bal; and, lastly, Bhimthari, regarding which district he has all along expressed doubts : the modifications proposed by Colonel Francis will more than meet the suggestion in para. 12 of the Collector’s letter regarding the vil¬ lages under report. 4G4 8. It is, at the same time, desirable to recognize the circum* stance stated in para, 19 of Colonel Waddington’s. report, that the prices of grain in Poona, which formerly ruled as high as 25 per cent over those of Bhimthari District, have, by the improvement in communications, and especially by the railway* been brought within 5'9 per cent of the rate for jowdri, and 7 per cent of the rate for b4jri, compared with the prices of Yewat,—a well-known market of Bhimthari Taluka,—so that some of the special advan¬ tages which might formerly haye been claimed for the Haveli vil¬ lages have been reduced. But there is another source- of pros¬ perity derived* in a measure, from the comparatively copious rain¬ fall, which largely compensates for the deduction above made, namely, the very high price of karbi, the stalk of the jow&ri plant, and green grass of any kind common in Poona, as forage. There is also the peculiarity, noted in para. 9 of the Superintend¬ ent’s Report of 30th November 1872, that land in certain villages is kept in pasture, as being more profitable than tillage i 9. It appears from Colonel Waddington’s more recent letter. No. 203 of 7th ultimo, that he would still advocate the original settlement proposed, the general increase derivable from which, compared with the five years previous to the present settlement, and with the periods from 1841 to 1852, from 1852 to 1861, and with the last ten years of the settlement respectively, is analyzed in para. 30 of his earlier reports The Revenue Commissioner con¬ siders that the more moderate suggestions of the Collector and the Commissioner of Survey are far preferable, and that the revised rates now recommended are quite as high as, even making allow¬ ance for all local advantages, can be demanded by Government with due regard to moderation and regular collection of the revenue. 10. These Remarks apply to the general incidence of the percentage increase : but with regard to some of the villages,—as, for instance, Bhamburda, No. 4 of the list; Mundwa, No. 24; Wagholi, No; 34 ; Wargaon Sheri, No. 35; and Kolewari, No. 52,— the Revenue Commissioner is constrained to regard the new assessment as a high one, notwithstanding the merits claimed for the new classification. Those • villages—as, in fact, most of the Haveli villages—contain a great deal of very bad land; the high subletting rates recognized by Colonel Francis, and which no doubt prevailed around Poona, apply to the better lands only; and the Revenue Commissioner cannot but recognize it a matter of con¬ gratulation that the more recent proposals will reduce the average rate per acre advocated in Colonel Wadding ton *s reports. 11. The Revenue Commissioner adverts with much plea¬ sure to the description, in Colonel Waddingtons 18th para., of 465 the beneficial results already produced, and in a higher degree to be anticipated, from the liberal terms sanctioned by Government regarding well assessment in the districts which have come under revision. It is a point regarding which the fullest unanimity pre*j vails on the part of the Revenue Commissioner and the present head of the Survey Department; and there can be little doubt that the considerate forbearance of Government will, in the end, become a great benefit to the State and to its subjects. 12. The question discussed in paras. 22 to 26 of the memo, from the Commissioner of Survey and Settlement, regarding a building rate or some alternative method of securing for the State a fair share* of the increased value of land adjoining Poona and other towns and localities near a line of railway, is one of consider¬ able importance. Colonel Francis would appear to be in favour of legislation for the purpose. Certainly, the rules under Sec. XXXV. of the Survey Act might be made applicable to all cases of building begun subsequent to the passing of the Act in 1865 ; but if it be desired to apply either a building rate, or levy in the fcrm of fine to antecedent constructions, legislation in some form will apparently become needful. It is suggested that if the Draft Municipal Bill of the Poona Committee of 1870 be turned into law, the sites in the neighbourhood of Poona might be brought under the Munici¬ pality, and thus become liable to the provisions of Section VI. of Act IV. of 1868, or similar provisions to be added to the Munici¬ pal Bill. 13. These papers have been forwarded, under considerable press of business, with as little delay as possiole. It was obvious* from the date of receipt by the Revenue Commissioner, that Gov¬ ernment instructions could not reach the Survey Superintendent in time for the introduction of the rates before the 31st March then current; but it is understood that the department desire to receive instructions, so as to be able to act on them at an early date. W. H. HAVELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 3516. Revenue Department* Bombay Castle, 20th June 1873. Resolution.—These papers contain proposals for the revision of the assessment of the 84 villages comprised in the Haveli Taluka of the Pooha. Collectorate. b 209—r 466 2, In respect to facility of communication and command of market, they possess advantages superior probably to any in other parts of the Presidency. As regards rainfall they are also favour¬ ably circumstanced. 3. In accordance with the recent instructions of Government enjoining moderation in these revision settle- Government Resol a- ments the original proposals of the Superin- 11th February 1873. tendent have, to some extent, been moainea, and the result of the amended grouping of villages for dry-crop assessment is as follows :— 1st class, maximum rate of.... 3 8. 0 2nd do. do 3 0 0 3rd do. do 2 12 0 4th do. do 2 8 0 5th do. do 2 4 0 6th do. . do. 2 0 0 7th do. do 1 12 0 8th do. do 1 8 0 4. His Excellency in Council will proceed briefly to record his reasons for assenting to the proposed rates of assessment, which, exclusive of the one-anna cess, will result in an increase of about 75 per cent over the present revenue. A separate minute by the Honourable Mr. Rogers is appended, in which he points out certain alterations which might, in his opinion, be made with advantage in the grouping of some of the villages. These are matters of detail which His Excellency in Council is not disposed to interfere with by an authoritative order. The Survey Commis¬ sioner will, however, attend to these suggestions, and give effect to them as far as may be expedient. 5. The following are the average annual past collections during the five years antecedent to the first survey. and during each of the three last decades :— Period. Average animal collections. Percentage increase on the average of the five years preceding the settlement. Five years from 1836 to 1840...Rs. 64,452 Eleven years from 1841 to 1851 „ 69,744 8*2 Ten years from 1852 to 1861... „ 76,262 183 Ten years from 1862 to 1871... „ 78,152 20*1 6.It is admitted, in the first place, that the original classifi¬ cation was extremely faulty, and that the great climatic advantages of these villages, especially the western ones, as compared with those situated in Bhimtbari, were not sufficiently considered. 467 7. The original measurements were also very imperfect.' According to the old survey there were in all only 1,76,104 acres, of which 23,428, or 14*5 per cent, were deducted as unarable. The area of these villages is now shown to consist of not less than 2,04,135 acres, of which only 10,198, or 4*8 per cent., are deducted as unarable. This great discrepancy is accounted for by the fact that the free grazing lands, large portions of which have subse¬ quently been brought under cultivation, were not measured at all. It is calculated that out of the total increase of 75 per cent, which the adoption of Colonel Francis’s proposals would result in, 16- per cent may be attributed to the assessment for the first time of these- excess lands. 8. As regards rise in prices, it is to be noticed, in the first place, that the results of improved communications are shown in a very remarkable manner. Poona prices> which formerly ruled as high as 25 per cent over those of the Bhimthari District,, have, mainly no doubt through. the influence of the railway, been brought, in the case of jowari within 5*9 per cent, and in that of bdjri within 7 per cent, of those obtaining in the latter district. 9. The following are the average prices of the staple grains per seer per rupee of the district in the Poona nsarket during each of the past three decades :— Jowari. Bajri. From 1841-42 to 1850-51 32f 26f From 1851-52 to 1869-64 ...... 30 ...... 25 From 1861-62- to 1870-71 ...... 17 ...... 13J Excluding, as years of exceptional dearness, the three years from 1863-64 to 1865-69, the average price given by the last seven years is 19 seers for jowdri and 15 for bdjri. The tendency probably will be towards a still further decline in prices owing; to the opening out by the railway of the grain-producing districts of Central India; and were the present settlement based . solely on- prices, His Excellency in Council would not consider it prudent to adopt a lower standard than 25 seers for jowdri and 20 for bajri. 10. Another important element for consideration in estimat¬ ing these rates is the selling price of land. Government agree with the Collector that the figures given by the Superintendent, as the result of foreclosures of mortagages, do not afford reliable- data. But there is no reason to question the accuracy of the con¬ clusions arrived at by Colonel Francis, when he states that good arable land near Poona will now sell for from Rs. 159 to Rs. 209 per acre. 11. Looking, then, to the exceptionally advantageous posiT tion of these villages in respect to markets, communications, and 468 dlimate; to tlie extremely low rates at which they were assessed at the time of the first settlement; to the large quantity of land which, owing to the imperfect nature of the first survey and other causes, escaped payment altogether ; and to the remarkable gene¬ ral prosperity of the country, as evidenced by the rise in prices and the extraordinary increase in the value of land,—His Excellency in Council sanctions the adoption of the modified maximum rate of Rs. 3-8-0 now proposed for the taluka, as well as those for the lower groups. The general result will be, after the minor modifications of the Commissioner have been carried into effect, to give an increase of some 75 per cent on the past collections, which amounted in 1871-72 to Rs. 80,965. • 12. The proposed rate of 8 rupees per acre on land irrigated from the P4sh£n Lake is approved. The water-assessment from the Karakwdsla works will be made hereafter in communication with the Irrigation Department; but notice should be now given, to those who own land within reach of this source of supply, of their future liability in the event of their availing themselves of the water. # i 13. The very important question of subjecting the land in the immediate vicinity of Poona to a building rate is discussed at some length by Colonel Francis. In the opinion of Govern¬ ment, Section XXX. of the Survey Act has reference exclusively to the assessment of land applied to agricultural purposes; and, therefore, its present value for building purposes cannot be taken into consideration in fixing the revised land assessment .under the Act. Such land can only be dealt with under Section XXXV., which authorizes the imposition of a fine in cases where the land has been appropriated to purposes unconnected with agriculture. But there are two points in connection with this section sufficiently doubtful to render it advisable to take the opinion of the Legal Remembrancer:— 1st.—Can a fine be now imposed in cases where the land has been built on prior to the promulgation of the rules under Section XXXV. ? 2nd.—Is the fine that has once been imposed under Section XXXV. final, or can it be re-imposed or enhanced on the occasion of a revision ? 14.It will probably be found necessary either to include the lands in the immediate environs of Poona within municipal limits, or to authorize by legislation the imposition of special building rates. In the meantime care is to be taken to explain to all occupants of land of every description in the villages of Kirkee and Bhamburda 469 that the rates now sanctioned are only of a temporary character, and will be liable to revision hereafter. 15. A copy of these papers is to be sent to the Government of India, with reference to the recent communication from, this Government relative to the insufficiency of the Provincial allot¬ ment, and to the withholding of the contribution from Sayer Revenue, with a re-iteration of the opinion that the people of the Presidency are in equity entitled to have a substantial part of the enhanced revenue for their immediate benefit.. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. Minute by the Honourable A. Rogers, referred to in paragraph 4 of the above Resolution. In the 25th paragraph of his report the Superintendent gives the maximum rate of the villages of the Bhimthari Taluka, adjoin¬ ing the most easterly of those under settlement, as Rs. 1-12-0. This is correct, and the Survey Commissioner appears to have grounded his proposal, that the maximum of the latter should be reduced to Rs. 1-8-0, under the wrong impression that that was also the maxi¬ mum of the former. As there is no reason why villages nearer the Poona market and, at the same time, more westerly, and therefore more certain of their rainfall than those of Bhimthari, should have a lower maximum rate, the original proposal of the Superintendent with regard to his lowest group might hold good, and that and the next higher group, might all bear the same maximum rate of Rs. 1-12-0. 2. The gradation into groups of villages proceeding west¬ wards towards Poona from this point appears needlessly minute, and I should have preferred the simpler plan of having fewer groups and greater rises in the rates, so as to make an appreciable difference in assessments;but as there is nothing theoretically wrong in the system adopted, there is no occasion to interfere with the proposals. As it is evident, however, that there is too sudden a rise from the maximum rate of the 3rd group bordering on the villages of W&nori and Ghorpari, within the limits of which the cantonment is situated, and those villages—one of 12 annas per acre, i.e„ from Rs. 2-12-0 to Rs. 3-8-0 at Colonel Francis’s pro¬ posed rates,—there should be no lowering for distance from village sites to the westward in the villages of Harapsar, Mahmadw4ri. and Mundwa. * 470 3. I do not approve of the reduction of the maximum rates of Bh£vdi and Phulgaon, respectively, from Rs. 2-4-0 to Rs. 2-0-0 and from Rs. 2-8-0 to Rs. 2-4-0, and they should be retained at Rs. 2-4-0 and Rs. 2-8-0. 4. It is to be noted that the rates of the two most easterly groups, as now arranged, will be lower than those of the adjoining villages of the P4bal Taluka, on the north bank of the Bhima, lately sanctioned, but they may be allowed to remain, because it is believed that the rainfall in the latter is more certain. 5. Colonel Francis’s proposal with regard to Ashtdpur is disposed of by Colonel Waddington’s two last groups having been thrown into one. With this exception I approve of his other changes in grouping relating to Musi, Dudulgaon Thergaon, and Bdlewari. 6. The reduction of the maximum rate for rice from Rs. 6 to Rs. 5, as proposed in paragraph 12 of Colonel Francis’s letter, may be sanctioned for the reason assigned by him, viz., that the ainfall is scarcely heavy enough to ensure a regular crop. A. ROGERS. No. 4667. Extract from the Proceedings of the Government of Bombay in the Revenue Department, dated 15th August 1873. Read the following opinion by C. J. May hew, Esq., Remem¬ brancer of Legal Affairs, No. 80, dated 5th August 1873 :— • With reference to Government Resolution No. 3516, in the Revenue Department, dated 20th June 1873, I have the honour to state that on the first question submitted for my opinion on Act I. of 1865—viz., Can* a fine be now imposed in cases where the land has been built on prior to the promulgation of the rules under Section 35 ?.—I am of opinion that the Act is not retrospective, and that, until the rules were promulgated, the section did not become applicable to any occupant, and consequently no fine accrued to Government for any appropriation of land to purposes un¬ connected with agriculture made before the promulgation of such rules. 2. As to the 2nd question—viz., Is the fine that has once been imposed under Section 35 final, or can it be re-imposed or enhanced on the occasion of a revision ?—I am of opinion that it is final and cannot be re-imposed or enhanced* I think the word “ fine” as used in this section is not used in its penal sense, but is meant to express the “ consideration” payable by the occupant for thtf 471 change of his land from agriculture to other purposes. On pay¬ ment of this “ fine ” or consideration the Collector is bound to give the required permission for the appropriation of the land to other than agricultural purposes. The payment of the fine, there¬ fore, is equivalent tg the purchase of the right to make the proposed new appropriation, and there are no words in the section which contemplate such right being paid for more than once or by more than one fine. 3. Moreover, the latter part of the. section, which makes the assessment liable to revision, raises an insuperable presumption that the fine being once paid cannot be again demanded, or, in other words, re-imposed or enhanced. The assessment, however, may be enhanced, but in this respect the section is very faulty. As it stands it is difficult to see that the assessment may be enhanced on the basis that the land is used as building land. The words used are “ shall remain liable to revision at any future settlement of the district.” Prima facie, the future settlement of any district will always be on an agricultural basis according to the provisions of Section 30. In making this observation I assume that it was the intention of the Act to give the Government an increased annual revenue out of the land which had been appropriated to other than agricultural purposes, and that such increased annual revenue would be imposed when the time came round for the revision of the settlement. 4. If such was the intention, I doubt if the revision contem¬ plated by Section 35 would authorize an increase of the assess¬ ment on any other basis than that provided by Section 30. Resolution.—The opinion of the Remembrancer for Legal Affairs is to be communicated to the Commissioner in Sind and the Revenue and Survey Commissioners for their information and guidance. (Signed) F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 824 of 1873. To Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Poona, 27th August 1873. Sir, The Government of India in their Resolution No. 653, of 8th current, having intimated their satisfaction at the rates originally proposed by me for the Haveli Taluka having been some- 472 what modified, and expressed their readiness to make further reduction should it appear necessary, I venture, with reference to your memorandum No. 1175, of 25th June (forwarding copy of Government Resolution No. 3516, of 20th June, and a minute by the Honourable Mr. Rogers), to offer the following suggestions. 2. In the proposals submitted by me I placed three villages,— Hingangaon, Pimpri, and Sangwi,—on account of their being be¬ yond the river and further from the railway and Poona, in the lowest class, which had originally a maximum rate of Bs. 1-12-0, but was subsequently reduced by me to Rs. 1-8-0. The Honour¬ able Mr. Rogers considered that as the adjoining villages of Bhim- thari had a Rs. 1-12-0 rate, these villages also should remain under that rate. But the Bhimthari villages are on this side of the river, and close to the Uruli Railway Station and the high road from Shol&pur to Poona, whereas the Haveli villages are, as before ex¬ plained, beyond the river and distant from both railway and road.. That part of the district also is notorious for its precarious rainfall, and the experience of the present season has gone far to convince me that it will be safer to keep down the rates in this corner. I would, therefore, respectfully urge that I may be permitted, not only to keep the three above-named villages in a Rs. 1-8-0 maximum, but that I may add to them Shirsodi, Bhewri, Ashtapur, and Burke- gaon. I would further advocate that Dongargaon and Wade Bolai should be reduced from Rs. 2 to Rs. 1-12-0, and Kolewari and Kesnand from Rs. 2-4-0 to Rs. 2, as also Kasarsai, which (although being in the north-west corner it has a better climate) is difficult of access. I would also respectfully request that Phulgaon and Bhavdi may be allowed to remain under the rates suggested by me in my amended return. 3. The rates of the two most easterly groups, as observed by Mr.‘Rogers, are lower than those of the adjoining villages of PAbal, but he considered that the rates of the latter might be allowed to remain in consequence of its being believed that their rainfall is more sure. I am doubtful whether such is the case : indeed, in the whole of this part of the district the climate is so uncertain that I much fear the assessment lately introduced will press too heavily in some instances. I would, therefore, request permission to modify it in the following villages as follows, viz., Nimgaon Mahalunge, Shivtakrar Mahalunge, Takli Bhima, and Kondapuri, which I would place under a Rs. 1-8-0 maximum, and Talegaon, Shikr^pur, Kore- gaon, Wadhu Budruk, Apti, Jategaon Budruk,' Jategaon Khurd, Pimple, and Hewre, which I would reduce to Rs. 1-12-0. The two accompanying statements* show the result * Not printed, of the application of the rates now proposed by me. . ' 473 4. The total assessment on tlie cultivated lands of tlie 84 ffaveli villages is Rs. 1,34,189, or 67 per cent increase on last year’s payments. You will observe that in many'villages the assessment, as finally corrected, is less than originally estimated by me. This is owing partly to the modification of rates directed in Government Resolution No. 3516 of 1873, partly to reduction on account of distance from village, and partly to my having restricted the application of the maximum rates to poor soils in the case of villages whose maximum rate exceeded Rs, 1-8-0, as explained in my late report on the completion of the Niphar settlement. 5. - The effect of the reduction of rates in the villages of the late P£bal Taluka which I have above advocated will, if sanctioned, be to reduce the assessment on these villages from Rs. 58,280 to Rs. 49,199, and the average increase, according to the modified rates, will be 50 per cent on these villages. 6. I have the honour to request that you will be good enougli to forward this letter at your earliest convenience, as it- is most desirable that these modifications, if sanctioned, should be carried out at once. I have, &c., W. WADDINGTON, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. No. 1652 of 1873. MEMO. Revenue Depaetment. Poona, 2nd September 1873, In submitting this letter I. beg to record my opinion most strongly in favour of the proposed reduction in the rates of certain of the Iiaveli villages as recommended by the Superintendent. The villages concerned are situated for the most 'part on the eastern boundary of the district bordering on the Bhimthari Taluka, and partake generally of that uncertainty of rainfall for which the latter district is notorious, i? 209— 8 474 2.There can be no question, in my opinion, of the expediency, in cases of this hind, in making the assessment as moderate as it can be, consistently with the observance of the general principles on which our revision settlements are being carried out; and this will be duly effected by the Superintendent’s proposals, which provide for the rates of the villages concerned being assimilated to those of the adjoining villages of the Bhimthari District. 3.The following statement shows the several reductions proposed by the Superintendent, viz., villages to be reduced from the Rs. 1-12 to the Rs. 1-8 maximum :— 1. Hingangaon. 2. Pimpri. 3. Sangwi. 4. Sirsadi. 5. Bhiwri. 6. Ashtapur. 7. Bhurkegaon. Villages to be reduced from the Rs. 2 to the Rs. 1-12 maximum- 1. Dongargaon. | 2. Wadi Bolai. Villages to be reduced from the Rs. 2-4 to the Rs. 2 maximum- 1. Kolevvari. I 2. Kesnand. 4. Besides the above the Superintendent also recommends that the rates of Rs. 2 and Rs. 2-4, IlsF2-4 toRs2 2°8RS’ " ’ wllicl1 were originally proposed for Phul- s< * “ ’ gaon and Bhauri respectively, should bo adopted in place of the increase of a class in each- case advocated by the Honourable Mr. Rogers. The village of Kasarsai, on the western borders, is also selected for reduction from Rs. 2-4 to Rs. 2. 5. These several reductions make no material difference in the general result, but they are nevertheless of considerable import¬ ance to the respective villages concerned, being calculated to effect that reduction of assessment which the somewhat uncertain climate of the eastern part of the district renders it advisable to make. 6. Government, I am sure, will be glad to perceive, from the statement made in para. 4, that, with these special and other reductions alluded to therein, the total assessment of the Haveli District under the new settlement shows an increase of 67 per cent on the revenue under the former settlement. It was estimated to amount to 7£> per cent in the papers on which the Resolution was passed, and, in my opinion, there is no room to suppose the dis¬ trict is not well able to bear that increase ; but nevertheless I 475 strongly advocate the adoption of the reduced demand, which the modification of the original proposals herein submitted will effect, as being more in accordance with that policy of moderation which it is the wish of the Supreme Government should be observed in our revision settlements. 7. Consequent on this reduction of the Ilaveli rates the Superintendent considers it to be necessary to make a correspond¬ ing reduction in those of the adjoining villages of the P4bal Taluka, and he proposes accordingly to make the following alter¬ ations in the grouping of the villages of that district as sanctioned in the Resolution, viz. :— Names of Villages. Maximum Rate as per Resolution. Rate now proposed. Rs. a. P* Rs. a. P- Nimgaon Mahalunga ... ... ^ ... 1 10 0 1 8 0 Takli Bhima ...* ... ... ... 1 10 0 1 8 0 Shivtakrar Mahalunga ... 1 10 0 1 8 0 Kondapuri 1 10 0. 1 8 0 Talegaon... 2 2 0 1 12 0 Shikr&pur 2 2 0 1 12 0 Koregaon 2 2 0 1 12 0 Wadhu Budruk .... 2 2 0 l 12 0 Apti ... w. 2 2 0 1 12 0 Jategaon Khurd... 2 2 0 1 12 0 Jategaon Budruk 2 2 0 1 12 0 Pimpla ... 2 2 0 1 12 0 Hewra 2 2 0 1 12 0 tendent of the rate fixed m the Resolution being found to be too high in these eastern villages of the .Pabal Taluka, and recommend his reductions should be carried out. Petitions have been made against the rates of nearly all this particular group of villages, whilst scarcely a complaint has come before us from any in the westerly part of the district. The new. assessment for these par¬ ticular villages, as shown in paragraph 5, will be brought down to a general increase of 50 per cent on the former settlement on these reductions being carried out. 9. A report showing the effect of the new settlement for all the villages of this district (P&bal) will be sent in hereafter on. receipt' of orders upon the modification now submitted. J* FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. 476 No. 3606 of 1873. . Revenue Department. Poona, 6th September 1873. MEMORANDUM. In handing up to Government the communication noted in the margin, the Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S. D., has the honour to express his entire concurrence in the proposed reduction-of assess¬ ment in the tract comprising 84 Memorandum from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No. 3652, dated 2nd September 1873, cov¬ ering letter from Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington, No. 824, dated 27th August 1873, with accompaniments. villages of the Haveli Taluka in the Poona Collectorate, which was the subject of Government Resolution (Revenue Department) No. 3516, dated 20th June 1873. 2. It is in the hope that Government will be pleased to ap¬ prove of the reduction now advocated, and will continue to enjoin on the survey settlement officers greater moderation in the revi¬ sion of assessments in the Deccan, than some, at least, of the settlements display; that the Revenue Commissioner invites at¬ tention to the following figures for the 84 Haveli villages, which represent, firstly, the settlement originally proposed by the Super¬ intendent ; secondly, the revised settlement advocated in the transmitting report of the' Survey and Settlement Commissioner ; and, thirdly, the settlement now proposed Old Settlement Returns for 1871-72. Proposed Settlement. Percentage Increase. Acres. Assessment. Rss. Rs. Rs. Rs. 1 80,965 1,58,836 16 96 2 80,965 1,43,544 16 75 3 80,965 1,34,189 16 66 3. A reference to the detailed statement accompanying Colonel "VVaddington’s present letter will show that a reduction has by the new classification been effected in all the highest instances of village enhancement. Even Bhauri, mentioned in paragraph 2 of Colonel Waddington’s letter No. 203, dated 7th March 1873, has been reduced from the original assessment, Rs. 935 which represented an enhancement of 228 per cent, down to Rs. 617, 477 representing an enhancement of 116 per cent; but as this parti¬ cular village has an increase of 90 per cent of acreage cultur- able, the figures are thereby immensely modified in favour of the cultivators. 4 Government are aware that‘the Revenue Commissioner has from time to time, as the different revised assessments came before him, advocated forbearance in the matter of enhancement; and although, because his views have been held to be not entirely in accord with the system of classification which regulates the assessment, they have not yet received formal approval, he trusts that the future results may be so regulated as to avoid, as far as practicable, extreme enhancements of talukas, groups of villages, villages, or even holdings. 5. In discussing the questions transmitted by the survey officers the Revenue Commissioner has avoided generally entering into details, because he considered that they could be more satis¬ factorily disposed of by the survey officers themselves. It is, there¬ fore, with the design rather of reiterating the hope that, with regard to some villages which had before attracted his attention, the assessment may not be found to press too severely, than of seeking to overrule the existing system of classification, that the following figures are entered for consideration regarding the five villages mentioned in paragraph 10 of the Revenue Commissioner’s memo¬ randum No. 1385, dated 7th April 1873, as in his opinion some¬ what highly assessed, even for the favourable situation in which they are. placed with regard to markets :— Name of Villages, Old Assess¬ ment accord- ingto Returns for 1871-72. Assessment according to the proposals on which Government Resolution No. 3516, dated 20th June 1873, was passed. Assessment now proposed. Total Assessment. Percentage Increase. Total Assess¬ ment. Percentage Increase. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assessment. Es. Es. Es. Es. Es. 1 Bhamburda 1,094 2,520 130 2,494 128 2 Mundwa 1,053 2,153 17 105 2,078 17 97 3 Wagholi 3,222 6,473 20 100 5,900 20 83 4 Wargaon Sheri ... 475 1,215 24 156 931 24 96 5 Kolewari 1,912 4,327 17 126 3,687 17 93 6. There is now a marked reduction of the enhancement in Nos. 3, 4, and 5, especially No. 4 ; but Bhamburda still shows an enhancement of 128 per cent in the assessment without any 478 _ _ . . appreciable addition to the culturable area.* per cent* The tillage is close to Poona, and includes some capital land, well capable of paying the maximum of Rs. 3-8 per acre ; but there is also a good deal of light land which in a dry season gives a poor yield. Absence of the necessary details prevents the Revenue Commissioner from judging what the enhancement in separate holdings may be; but it may be fairly assumed that a total enhancement of 128 per cent may, in the re-classification, represent trebling or quadrupling the assessment in many instances. 7. The effect of such a multiplication of the Government* demand on ordinary cultivators could hardly fail to diminish their small resources to a dangerous extent, and thus render them, more than ever, liable to being deprived of their holdings for debts in¬ curred : and if, as appears probable, a great portion is in the hands of merchants and purchasers for the sake of investment, it is easy to perceive that, if their investments represent many years’ esti¬ mated income, the large reduction from profits, which trebling or quadrupling the Government assessment must enforce, will have, in the face of a present fallen market for produce, a very depressing effect on those who are the sufferers, and will tend to discourage similar investments in the future. Enhancement there undoubt¬ edly must be ; but the gist of the Revenue Commissioner’s repre¬ sentations is, that the enhancement should be as moderate as the revised classification will allow. The State is dealing with survey settlements which have been highly lauded, and deservedly so, fdr the confidence and hope they have engendered among actual culti¬ vators and investors, and it is a great object that these elements of prosperity should not receive violent shocks which can be avoid¬ ed. 'The position is a different one from that where revision is introduced into districts, such as Kanara, which have never been brought under correct measurement, and an assessment based on scientific classification, where the rectification of abuses, arising from fraud or neglect, unavoidably leads to extreme results. 8. With respect to the proposed reduction in certain villages of the P4bal Taluka, also in the Poona Collectorate, the support which the Revenue Commissioner is glad to accord to the recom¬ mendation of the Superintendent and Commissioner of Survey is necessarily, for want of the details in this office of the former pro¬ posals, based chiefly on general grounds. The single village of Apti, however, had attracted special attention, and led to the remarks which will be found in paragraphs 10 to 13 of the Revenue Commis¬ sioner’s memorandum No. 758, dated 27th February 1873. Notwith¬ standing the ample reliance which, as expressed in those remarks, the Revenue Commissioner placed on the judgment of the survey ofli- 479 cars* there was always that apprehension that a multiplicand of 2 J on the total assessment of the village of Apti might necessitate even greater augmentations of demand on individual holdings; and it is with unmixed pleasure that the present" recommendation of the survey officers is submitted to Government, to diminish, by re¬ duction of the maximum from Rs. 2-2-0 to Rs. 1-12-0, the enhance¬ ment in Apti from 150 per cent to 90 per cent, and m the other villages in the Superintendent’s list proportionately. The total proposed reduction in thirteen villages is Rs. 9,081, or more than 15 per cent; and it leaves the average augmentation on the group of villages about 50 per cent,instead of nearly 78, which the previous figures represent. 9. This modification of the scale, if approved by Government, cannot fail to be beneficial to each village of the group and to every holding affected, by the maximum, and to be thus gratefully received by the cultivators. The Revenue Commissioner trusts it may not be deemed out of place, when these results show how much may be effected by the Survey Department owing to a few words of encouragement from Government and the Government of India, to express a hope that great caution in the matter of augmentation in the assessment of individual holdings may be en¬ joined on the survey. The remarks in Colonel Francis’ memoran¬ dum No. 273, dated 13th February 1873, regarding Apti, show that a rectification of the former survey classification is often essen¬ tial ; but it may, perhaps, be possible so to adjust the revised classi¬ fication that trebling and quadrupling of the former assessment, or the imposition of enhancement much in excess of the general increase due to general reasons, such as improved communication and prices, may be avoided, except when a clear case of under- measurement or grossly erroneous classification under the previous survey is apparent. 10. The request to avoid delay, in paragraph 6 of Colonel Waddington’s letter, deters the Revenue Commissioner from re¬ ferring these papers for the report of the Collector; but he will send a copy to that officer, and any remarks he may desire to make shall be separately submitted to Government. W. H. HAVELOCK,. Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 5495. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 3rd October 1873. Resolution.—His Excellency the Governor in Council can have no hesitation in acceding to these proposals for reducing the 4S0 revised rates in certain villages in the Saveli and P4bal talukas, which have originated with the Superintendent, and which meet with the cordial support of both the Survey and Revenue Commis¬ sioners. ' 2. It will be very necessary to watch most carefully the working of the revised rates for some years after their introduction; and the survey officers may rest assured of the readipess of Gov*. ernment to authorize whatever reduction experience may show to be advisable. 3. All cases' in which it has been found necessary to resort to distraint of property for the realization of the Government de¬ mand mfould be reported to. the Survey Commissioners. There may, and probably will, be instances where the cultivators have purposely combined to resist the payment of the revised assessment; but, considering the tenacity with which, as a class, they cling to the possession of their ancestral lands, bond fide sales of occupancies for arrears to any general extent in any particular groups of villages afford sufficient grounds for searching inquiry whether the neces¬ sity for this extreme measure having been had recourse to may not be partly accounted for by the undue pressure of the Government demands. In the majority of such cases the impoverishment of the ryots, and their consequent inability to meet their liabilities, will be traceable wholly to other causes, but the Government can¬ not too carefully guard itself against aggravating their distress by any excess in its demands. 4. The Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Havelock, has forcibly deprecated extreme enhancement in the case of particular villages and holdings. On this point His Excellency the Governor in Council has to remark, that it is the duty of Government to indicate to the Survey Department the extent to which, in their judgment, the aggregate enhancement of the assessment of a large area like a collectorate or taluka should be carried ; but that it would defeat the very object for which these operations are being carried on, namely, the correct measurement of the land and the introduction of a uniform system of classification, were they to attempt to fet¬ ter the discretion of the department in dealing with particular villages, much less with particular holdings. 5. Any over-estimate of the value of agricultural produce should be carefully avoided. 6. Copies of these papers are to be forwarded to the Govern¬ ment of India with reference to their letter Ho.- 653, dated the 8th August last. F. S. CHAPMAH, Chief Secretary to Government. 481 The following correspondence regarding increase of assess¬ ment for indirect irrigational advantages, which took place subse¬ quently to the Revision Settlement of the Haveli Taluka, being held to be applicable to the lands under the Mutha Canal, is here inserted for future guidance:— No. 249 W. I.—576 of 1876. Public Works Department, Irrigation. Bombay Castle, 2Oth September 1876. Memorandum from the Chief Engineer for Irrigation, No. 3368, dated 8th September 1876. Forwards copy of correspondence with the Survey and Settlement Commis¬ sioner, N. D., on the subject of enhancing assessment on the lands - enjoying the advantages of proximity to the Ekruk Tank Canals. Draws prominent attention to the circumstance that, on the revision of the settlement of the land in question in October last, the indirect benefits derived from the proximity of the lake and canals have been, as previ¬ ously, overlooked, as also the notice ordered in Government Resolution No. 5474 of 1874,, Revenue Department, regarding the rates being, on future settlement, liable to enhancement on account of indirect as well as direct advantages accruing from the construction of irrigation works. States that revenue from this source has been lost, to Government in this case, and in that of the Mutha Canal too, and that steps appear desirable to remedy this state of things affecting the financial prospects of new irrigation works ; moreover, this Government is pledged to the Govern- ' ment of India to the course, and that as in two important cases the opportunity has been lost, the passing of an Act making it lawful for Government to enhance the assessment on such lands during the cur¬ rency of the settlement appears necessary. Minute by the Under Secretary to Government, Irrigation Department, dated 15th September 1876. If special legislation cannot be recommended to cover these omissions, I would suggest that, under Section XXX. of the Survey Act, a re-classi¬ fication of the lands under the Ekruk Tank and Mutha Canals be ordered, although the additional assessment could not be imposed till the expiration of the period of previous guarantee. Such a measure would ensure the subject not being lost sight of, as it pro¬ bably will be 25 or 30 years hence, when the canals will be regarded as old works. It will likewise enable us to show the Government of India that the works have a certain value which ‘will not be disregarded at the next revision, though unfortunately it has been overlooked on the present occasion. Resolution—Tbe papers should be forwarded to Colonel Francis for opinion on this subject. C. J. MERRIMAN, Colonel, R.E., Acting Under Secretary to Government. b 209—9 482 No. 305 W. I—696 of 1876. Public Works Department, Irrigation. . Bombay Castle, 28th October 1876. Letter from Colonel Francis, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No. 1622, dated 19th October 1876. With reference to Government Resolution No. 249 W. I.—576, dated 20th. September 1876, submits with his own observations copy of a memo¬ randum from the Superintendent of the Poona and Ndsik Survey, reporting on the proposed re-classification of the lands under the Ekruk Tank and Mutha Canals for the purpose of ascertaining what increase of assessment might be imposed for indirect advantages derived from these works. Records his general concurrence in the views expressed by Colonel Taverner. Resolution.—The course recommended by Colonel Francis should be adopted, viz., that the fact that no increase of assess¬ ment for indirect advantages was made at the last revision, be dis¬ tinctly recorded for guidance at the next recurring revision in the printed selections on the settlements now being published. C. J. MERRIMAN, Colonel, R.E., Acting Under Secretary to Government. No.. 6870. Extract from the Proceedings of the Government of Bombay in the Revenue Department, dated 23rd December 1873. Read the following Despatch from H. M.’s Principal Secretary of State for India, to His Excellency the Honourable the Governor in Council, Bombay, No. 24, dated 30th October 1873 :— The correspondence relative to the revision of assessment in 84 villages of the Haveli Taluka of the Poona Collectorate, for¬ warded with your Chief Secretary’s letter of the 15th August, No. 32 of 1873, has been considered by me in Council. 2. The correspondence illustrates the minute care with which this revision has been made. It would appear that the Superin¬ tendent of the Survey contemplated a higher scale of rates, and that those now sanctioned were substituted in consequence of a very proper Resolution of your Excellency’s Government, in which the expediency of making only moderate and reasonable demands was carefully recommended. Notwithstanding all these precau¬ tions, the revised settlement is 75 per cent, in excess of the pre¬ vious collections. This result, must, under all the circumstances, be regarded as very satisfactory. 483 3. I desire hereafter to be furnished with the opinion of the Remembrancer for Legal Affairs on the two questions set forth in paragraph 13 of the Resolution of your Excellency’s Government. 4. I must express my approbation of the judicious modera¬ tion with which this revision has been effected by the Departmental Officers, the local authorities, and your Excellency in Council. Resolution.—Copies of the Despatch should be sent to the Survey Commissioners, the Revenue Commissioners, and the Com¬ missioner in Sind. • 2. A copy of the Legal Remembrancer’s opinion should be sent to the Secretary of State, as well as copies of Government Resolution No. 5495, dated the 3rd October last, and accompanying papers, reducing the assessment in some of the villages. E. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 4107. Extract from the Proceedings of the Government of Bombay in the Revenue Department, dated 4th August 1874. Read the following Despatch from Her Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for India, to His Excellency the Governor in Council, Bombay, No. 21, dated 2nd July 1874:— The Despatch of your Excellency in Council, dated 13th April, No. 6 of 1874, relative to the revision of assessment in the Pabal and Haveli Talukas of the Poona Collectorate, has been considered by me in Council. 2. Four subjects are discussed in the papers now forwarded— I.—Some legal questions relative to the construction of the 35th Section of Act I. of 1865 (Bombay Code). II.—The revision of assessment in 59 villages of the P4bal ' Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. III.—The propriety of introducing an Act to empower the Government to fix a Jater date for the relinquishment of occupancies. IV.—The.reduction of the assessment in 84 villages of the . Haveli Taluka. 484 • 3. Of these subjects three may be briefly disposed of. The Legal Remembrancer has submitted his opinion on the questions connected with the 35th Section of Act I. of 1865, and your Excellency in Council has circulated it • for the guidance of the Revenue and Survey authorities. 4. The third question, as to altering by legislation the date fixed for the relinquishment of occupancies, is still under consi¬ deration, and does not, therefore, at present demand any expression of opinion from me. 5. The fourth question relates to the reduction of the rates fixed'by the revised settlemen t in 84 villages of the Haveli Taluka. The revised settlement was fixed at Rs. 1,43,544, or 75 per cent, in .excess of the former, assessment. It has now, chiefly on the strong representation of the Revenue Commissioner, Mr. Havelock, been reduced to Rs. 1,34,180, or 66 per cent, in excess of the old settlement. I fully approve of this reduction. 6. The revision of assessment in 59 villages of the old P4bal Taluka of the Poona Colleetorate remains for consideration. 7. The first proposition with reference to this revision was to increase the assessment to an amount exceeding the previous settlement by 88 per cent. Further inquiries have led to re¬ ductions which have left the revised assessment at only 50 per cent, in excess of the former settlement. This is an increase which, in all probability, may be fully justified by the high rate of prices for agricultural produce, by the construction of new roads, and especially of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and by the very profitable culture of potatoes, for which an extensive market is found in the large town and cantonment of Poona. Your Excellency in Council has, however, very properly directed that the results of the settlement be for some years care Fully watched, in order that reductions may be made if suggested by experience. Resolution.—To be communicated to the Revenue and Survey Commissioners, with reference to Government Resolution No. 6370, dated 23rd December 1873. Ordered that copies of the above be forwarded to— The Revenue Commissioner, S. D. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner* N. D. The Revenue Commissioner, N D. The Survey and Settlement Commissioner, S. D. F. S. GHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. 485 No. 814 of 1874. From Lieutenant-Colonel W. wJiDDINGTON, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, _rr0 Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. ‘ Poona, 18th April 1874. Sir, I have the honour to submit my final report on the rates lately introduced into 84 villages of the Haveli and M&wal Talukas of the Poona Collectorate. * _ # # * % * * 5. The proposals submitted by me for the Haveli Taluka were subsequently remodelled and considerably reduced, but I have seen no reason for altering the original Pathasthal rates, as the villages affected by them enjoy a rainfall sufficient to ensure a good supply of water. The total assessment on the occupied rs lands of the 84 villages is Rs. 1,33,794 in Original report. 1,58,43 7 place of Rs. 1,58,437, which is Rs. 24,643 Amended do. 1,33,794 less than the assessment at first submitted ~~~ for sanction, and the increase on the former . —:— assessment will b© Rs. 53,319, which is equivalent to 66 per cent. The average dry-crop rate is Rs. 0-14-2 per acre, that of path water Rs. 2-3-5, and of rice lands Rs. 2-15-9 6. The total area of the 84 villages is '2,13,963 acres, of which 21,214 acres are Inam. Of the Government land 1,55,179 acres are occupied, the amount deducted as Kharab being 9,261 acres, or about ^th. It is divided into 7,726 survey numbers and 5,218 khatas, the average size of each khata being 27 acres 28 guntas, and the assessment Rs. 25-10-3. There are 2 acres 26 guntas per head of the population, and the incidence of the assessment Rs. 2-6-10. There are 15,768 acres of Gairan, 4,079 of Kuran, and 5,616 reserved as forests. The area taken up by village sites, roads, &c., is 11,280 acres. * * * * * * * I have the honour, &c., (Signed) W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, «• Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N4sik. 486 â–  No. 716 of 1874. . Revenue Department, Camp Bar nay. 8th May 1874* MEMO. - The accompanying letter from the Superintendent of the Poona and N&sik Survey gives the final result of the revised settle¬ ment introduced into 84 villages of the Haveli Taluka after making the modifications in the original proposals sanctioned by subsequent orders. * * * * * * * 7. The proposals originally submitted for the taluka have been considerably modified, the modifications, as explained by the Superintendent, having resulted in a total assessment of Rs. 1,33,794 being fixed as the future revenue demand of the district. The increase 'over the former assessment amounts to Rs. 53,319, which is represented to be equivalent to 66 per cent. The average dry-crop rate for the district is Rs. 0-14-2 ; the water rate Rs. 2-3-5 ; and the rice land rate Rs. 2-15-9 per acre. * * * â–  * * * * J. FRANCIS, Colonel,' Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 2852. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, hth June 1874. Resolution.— * . * * * 2. * * * * # * In the case of the Haveli villages transferred to Mawal, the guarantee to be given is to be for the unexpired period of the leases of the talukas to which these villages now belong. The guarantee for the villages now forming part of the Haveli Taluka is to be for thirty years. 3. The attention of the Survey Commissioner is requested to the recent orders* of Government, desir- * Government Reso- ing that these reports be re-arranged, with a view to the final results being embodied in a Revenue Atlas. lution No. 2446, dated 15th May 1874. F. S. CHAPMAN, . Chief Secretary to Government. 487 No. 1638 op 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 October 1875. Sir, \ I have the honour to submit the following report upon the application of the orders in the Resolution* * No' of October last, to the settlement introduced in the Haveli Taluka. 2. After much discussion, accompanied with considerable mddifications of the proposals submitted by the Superintendent of Survey for the revision of the settlement of this district, the fol¬ lowing grouping of villages and scale of rates was eventually sanctioned as the basis of the revised assessment now in force :—- Rs. a. 1st Group, maximum rate 3 8, comprising .3 villages. 2nd do. do. 3 0 do. 5 do. 3rd do. do. 2 12 do. 23 do. 4th do. do. - 2 8 ' do. 17 do. 5th do. do. 2 4 do. 14 do. 6th do. do. 2 0 do. 7 do. 7th do. do. 1 12 do. 7 do. 8th do. do. 1 8 do. 7 do. Total ...83 3. The revised assessment, calculated on the foregoing scale of rates, amounts to Rs. 1,33,174 against the former demand of Rs. 80,475, the difference being equivalent to an increase of 65 per cent. And it will be seen that there was a general consensus of opinion at the time, that it was moderate, considering the favourable circumstances of the district. 488 percentage increase (65) is above tbe pre-. scribed limit fixed in tbe Resolution, I propose to make a reduction of 4 annas in tbe maxi¬ mum rate of tbe first six groups, and of 2 annas in tbat of tbe 7tb and 8tb groups. Tbe rates modified in tbis manner will stand as noted in tbe margin. But besides tbis I propose, for reasons to be explained in tbe sequel, to make a reduction in tbe classifica- lower orders of soil according to tbe scale adopted in other districts, but only from 4 annas downwards of" that scale. 5. Tbe following statement shows tbe result of these pro¬ posed reductions:— 4. But as tbe RS. a. 1st Class 3 4 2nd do. 2 12 3rd do. - 2 8 4th "do. 2 4 5th do. 2 0 6th do. 1 12 7th do. • •• 1 10 8th do. ... 1 6 tion valuation of the Group. First Assess¬ ment. Revision Assessment. Proposed Reduction, Remain¬ ing Assess¬ ment. Percent age Increase on first Survey Assess¬ ment. Amount. Percent¬ age Increase. By low¬ ering of maxi¬ mum Rate. By reduc¬ tion of Classifica¬ tion Values. Total Re¬ duction. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. 1st 2,959 6,629 87 382 122 504 5,025 70 - 2nd 4,016 6,614 62 676 187 763 5,751 43 3rd ... 24,669 40,455 65 3,383 2,357 5,740 34,715 41 4th ... 16,631 26,250 59 2,164 770 2,934 23,316 41 6th ... 12,116 20,350 68 2,086 654 2,740 17,610 45 6th ... 8,163 14,645 79 1,734 422 2,156 12,489 53 7th ... 6,662 9,443 67 635 436 1,071 8,372 48 8th ... 6,360 9,988 67 805 328 1,133 8,855 39 80,476 1,33,174 65 11,765 5,276 17,041 1,16,133 44 Tbe revised assessment will, thus be reduced from Rs. 1,33,174 to Rs. 1,16,129, and tbe increase on tbe first settlement from 65 to 44 per cent., which, in my opinion, is a very moderate enhancement for" a district having tbe Poona market in its centre, and a climate with a certain rainfall, with tbe exception, perhaps, of a few villages on tbe eastern border, where tbe increase, it will be seen, is proportionately less, being 39 per cent.: 6. It appeared to me, when examining tbe classification of tbe villages in tbe neighbourhood of Poona, tbat tbe rates for rice land were high, considering tbe poor state of tbe cultivation generally. I have accordingly reduced tbe rate from Rs. 5 to 4 for tbe villages round Poona, leaving tbe rate for those on tbe 489 western border of the district, wliere the rainfall is heavier and cultivation better, at Rs. 5, as originally fixed. The reduction re¬ sulting from this modification of the rice land rates is included under the general reduction for lowering of rates given in column 7 of the statement in the foregoing paragraph. I should also add here that I have transferred the villages of Dhankauri from the 2nd to the next lowest group. It is situated on the outer border of the group, and as its assessment showed a great increase on former payments, it appeared to me to be advisable to bring it down in the manner adopted. 7. With regard to the question of confining the reduction in classification values to the lower orders of soil from 4 annas downwards, adverted to in a preceding paragraph, G overnment are aware that, consequent on the discovery of mistakes in the classi¬ fication of the village of Bhamburda in this district, it was ar¬ ranged that I should examine the classification* of the villages in the neighbourhood of Poona. In carrying * See Government out this duty I was accompanied by the Assist- Resolution STo. 1109, an^ Superintendent, Mr. Fletcher, by whom ary last. tne classification was done. Besides testing a few numbers in the usual way, we made a general examination of the work of the village, selecting here and there fields in which the revised assessment showed an unusually large increase on former payments, as being cases in which mis¬ takes might probably have occurred. 8 The result, I am glad to be able to state, has satisfied me that the work is correct, and in accordance with the approved standards of classification in the case of the good and middling, but a little high in the lower orders of soil. This defect had, however, been remedied by the Superintendent, in fixing-the assess¬ ment; for, instead of increasing the classification rate of these orders of soil in proportion to the maximum rate of the village, he adopted a lower maximum specially for them. Thus, for in¬ stance, in villages in which the maximum was Rs. 3 he calculated the rate of the lower orders of soil at a 2J Rs. maximum, the fixed rate of a number classed at 4 annas being by this means 10 instead of'12 annas, as would have been the case had the proper maximum of the village been applied to the classification rate. But al¬ though the rate of the lower orders of soil was brought down in this way, I think it is nevertheless advisable to make a further reduction according to the scale adopted in other districts, apply- ing it, however, only from 4 annas downwards, as suggested in a former paragraph. b 209—10 490 9. It will be seen from the statement* that there are 3 * AT , . . , villages in which the percentage increase Not printed. .g ^ ^ ^ p^escribe| for indi. vidual villages (75 per cent.). One (No. 1 of the statement) is the village of Ghorpari,+ the lands of t 97 per cent. which adjoin the Poona Camp on its north and east sides. The second, Dhan- kauri (No. 5 of the statement), is the village adverted to in para. 6, which has been reduced a class in the general grouping. And in the case of the third, Bhaur4pur (7 6 of statement), the in¬ crease is due chiefly to the large proportion of the former Kharab, amounting to 95 acres out of 110 acres, which has now been "brought under assessment as culturable land. There is no occasion, therefore, to take any special measures in respect to any of these villages. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 6517. „ Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 22nd November 1875. Resolution.—In these papers the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., submits proposals for the correction of the revised settlement of Taluka Haveli in the Poona Col- lectorate, in accordance with the principles laid down in Gov¬ ernment Resolution No. 5739 of 29th October 1874. 2. Under Mr. Pringle’s settlement of this taluka, the nomi nal average rate per cultivated acre was about Rs. 1-4-0, beside- cesses. Large remissions were, however, constantly given, and in the year before the original survey settlement the realizations averaged only Rs. 0-10-6 per cultivated acre. 3. Mr. Pringle’s settlement was revised by Captain Wingate in 1841. He appears to have fixed throughout the taluka an uniform maximum dry-crop rate of Rs. 1-6-0, which gave, on the area then cultivated, an average rate of about Rs. 0-10-1. 4. During the term of the settlement the whole of the assessed culturable waste, which in 1841 amounted to about 15,000 acres, was brought under cultivation, and the unassessed 491 waste was encroached on to the extent of nearly 20,000 acres. In consequence of the greater demand for land, its selling value rose very greatly, the average price during the last years of the settlement being 62 times the assessment. There increased Population Working cattle Carts Ploughs... Wells in use 42 per cent. 12 131 19 36 a a A large irrigation work, the Kharakw4sla Lake, has recently been constructed. The taluka is now traversed by the railway and by many good roads, and increased facilities of communication have had, it will be seen, a marked effect in equalizing prices. 5. The staple products of the taluka are bdjri and jowd-ri, which crops occupy 75 per cent, of the cultivated area. The prices of these grains have varied as below :— Poona. Talegaon. Jowari, Bajri. Jowari. Bajri. Average price in seers the Rupee for 1st decade of Settlement, 1841-1850 32f 26* 50 37 Do. 2nd decade, 1851-1860 30 25 39 30 Do. 3rd decade, 1861-1870 17 13* 19 16 Since 1872 prices have declined, having averaged at Poona A.D. 1871 Jowari, ... 15-36 Bajri 11-64 1872 • •• ... 13*77 • • • 10-64 1873 # • • ... 23-52 • »-, 17-36 1874 • . • ... 30-40 • • • 22-40 6. On these considerations the settlement had to be revised on its expiry in 1872. And it was apparent, not only that a con¬ siderable general increase of assessment was called for, but also that weight should be given to certain considerations overlooked at the original settlement, which had imposed one uniform maxi¬ mum rate throughout the taluka, without reference to the factors, important in determining assessment, of differences of climate and of proximity to markets. Climatic considerations are of special consequence in Haveli, which includes three quite different tracts, the rainfall in the west of the district averaging 47 inches against 27 inches at Poona in the centre and under 15 inches in the east. 492 7. It is true that under the not fully-matured survey system in force prior to 1848, some allowance for these considerations was generally made in the classification of different villages. But this practice was entirely abandoned under the joint report rules, and it is clear that on a revision of classification under those rules the requisite variations in assessment must be effected by adjust¬ ment of the maximum rates. 8. On the revision, therefore, the original maximum rate of Bs. 1-6 was replaced by rates varying from Bs. 1-8 to Bs. 8-8. And the result was that the total assessment was raised from Bs. 80,475 to Bs. 1,88,174, or 65 per cent., and the average rate from Bs. 0-8-10 per acre (inclusive of unassessed lands unauthorizedly cultivated) to Bs. 0-14-7 per acre. 9. To correct this settlement on the principles laid down in the Besolution of 29th October 1874, Colonel Francis proposes— (1.) As he considers the valuation of the poorer soils in. Haveli to be generally somewhat too high as compared with the medium and better soils, to lower the valuation scale for lands now classed at 4 annas and under. This effects a reduction of Bs. 5,276 on the poorer soils only. (2.) To lower the maximum dry-crop rates of the different groups by 4 or 2 annas. This will reduce the assessment generally by about Bs. 11,765. (3.) It is also proposed to lower the rice rates in certain villages 20 per cent., and to make one or two minor modi¬ fications in grouping. 10. The general effect of these proposals would be to lower the percentage increase on the old assessment from 65 to 44 per cent., and the average rate per acre from Bs. 0-14-7 to Bs. 0-12-9. 11. With one exception these proposals are approved, and should be carried out at once. But Government consider that the reduction in valuation should extend to soils somewhat better than those classed at 4 annas and under, and are therefore pleased to direct that the same modification, affecting soils classed at 6 annas and under, shall be made in Haveli, as has been adopted for Barsi by para. 7 of Government Besolution Ho. 5875, dated 19th October 1875. 12. This further alteration will reduce the percentage increase on the original assessment to 40 or 41 per cent., and the average rate per acre to about annas 12^, which, representing at the Poona prices of 1874 a grain rent of about 17 seers of bajri, Government consider to be an extremely moderate one. 493 13. In four villages a decrease on tlie original assessment will be caused by tbe present arrangements. In three only is there an increase of over 75 per cent., and no special reduction appears to be necessary for these villages. Increases of more than 100 per cent, on individual holdings should, as usual, be spe¬ cially reported. 14. With reference to Colonel Francis’ 7th and 8th paras., the expedient adopted for the correction of mistakes in the classification of Bhamburda appears to Government a somewhat clumsy one, but as it has effected the result desired, it may be approved. W. G. PEEDER, Acting Secretary to Government. No. 297 of 1876. Fbom To Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. TAVERNER, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Camp Lahmapur, 24th April 1876. Sir, With reference to your letter No. 444, dated 20th March 1876, I have the honour herewith to forward a statement showing the result of the alterations made under Government Resolution No. 6517,. dated 22nd November 1875, in the revision settlement rates of 83 villages of the Haveli Taluka of the Poona Collectorate. 2. The estimate entered in paras. 8 and 12 of the Govern¬ ment Resolution is, that the assessment would be reduced from Rs. 1,33,174 or from an increase of 65 per cent, to one of 40 or 41 per cent. The actual result is an assessment of Rs. 1,13,773 against the original assessment of Rs. 80,965, or an increase of Rs. 32,808, or 40*41 per cent. 494 3. A statement is also subjoined of four additional villages into which the revised assessment has been introduced from 1875-76, under Government Resolution No. 2984, dated 25th May 1875, after making the corrections in the rates, in accordance with Gov¬ ernment Resolution No. 6517, dated 22nd November 1875. 4. The final reports consequent on the reduction of the re¬ vised rates in the Poona and ShoMpur Collectorates are completed with this report, and I now await the orders of Government on my report No. 270, dated 10th April 1876, before sending in fur¬ ther statements of the survey numbers of which the assessment is still in excess of 100 per cent. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, ' Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Ndsik. Statement. 496 STATEMENT showing the Ultimate Result of the Survey Revision Settlement finally adjusted under Government Resolution 1 £5 Name op Village. Ghorpari ... W&nori Bh&mburda Total 4 5 6 7 Bopori Kothrud ... Hingni Budruk Kondw6 Khed Total 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Dhankauri Wadgaon Sheri .. DMnori Kondw6 Budruk.. Mundwa Harapsar .. Dighi Lohogaon ... Pimpla Nilak KharMi Pisoli Pashan Wdgholi Gorha Budruk .. N&ndeda ... Narha Shivna Kharakwdsla Dh&iri Ambegam Budruk Gorha Khurd N&ndosi Bavdhan Khurd .. Musi Total As per Revi As per Cultivation Returns for 1871-72 A-Nf-n Acres. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Jerayet, Mohasthal Bagayet. P&hasthal Bagayet. 1 j Total. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 764 890 700 119 819 819 975 695 144 25 864 1,633 1,094 1,384 , 127 ... 1,511 3,216 2,959 2,779 390 25 3,194 383 361 494 31 525 1,641 1,985 1,613 188 119 7 1,927 559 668 531 24 28 583 748 657 911 19 930 3,331 3,671 3,549 262 147 7 3,965 502 344 638 638 1,027 475 1,178 5 30 1,213 1,323 764 1,817 3 1,820 1,738 1,244 2,086 55 ii 2,158 1,336 1,053 1,456 80 1,536 3,676 3,288 3,496 301 12 3,809 1,222 613 1,502 17 16 1,535 6,188 2,604 7,064 86 3 9 7,162 821 615 882 882 1,116 439 1,278 10 ... 1,288 709 384 868 33 901 2,314 1,558 2.243 42 51 29 2,365 5,951 3,222 6,904 221 6 7,131 951 627 804 15 819 915 1,041 825 29 46 900 787 590 762 14 20 5 801 1,380 810 1,624 14 1,638 1,192 843 1,269 35 13 1,317 2,088 1,541 2,027 77 88 4 2,196 829 623 880 7 4 1 892 92 90 26 6 32 969 680 1,042 21 1,063 776 530 795 6 2 18 821 1,771 1,505 1,605 142 76 1,823 39,673 25,483 43,071 1,160 319 199 44,740 b 209—11 for the undermentioned Villages of Saveli Taluha, Poona Collectorate, as No. 6517, dated 22nd November 1875. 498 Number of Village. Name of Village. As pee Cultivation Returns for 1871-72 iwn i na Acres. As per Revi m u o < m -P S 1 4 a -P S3 j Motasthal Bagayet > to ca M 75 •p G0 €6 S3 P4 Rice, I Total. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 32 Mdnjri Budruk ... 2,951 2,241 2,885 89 2,974 33 Undri 1,212 736 1,610 63 5 1,678 34 Punavala 987 686 965 30 13 1,008 35 Bdlewari ... 784 633 812 812 33 Kivla ... ... 1,462 993 1,474 37 1,511 37 Thergaon 766 435 818 ,,, 1 819 38 Dudulgaon 545 411 483 15 498 39 Phursangi 3,613 3,153 3,506 284 26 3,816 40 Mdndvi Budruk 910 346 800 65 865 41 Mdndvi Khurd 351 276 191 26 217 42 Mdmurdi 471 220 493 4 6 503 43 Mdrunji ... ... 1,172 718 1,171 4 4 68 1,247 44 Ndnda 1,011 638 960 5 6 57 1,028 45 Bhukum 1,896 1,187 1,892 57 173 2,122 46 Mdhdlunga 767 656 710 6 22 17 755 Total ... 18,898 13,329 18,770 537 120 426 19,853 47 Mdnjri Khurd 1,914 1,154 2,083 49 2,132 48 Rahdtauda 1,251 646 1,226 1 79 1,306 49 Mulbheda 740 669 700 115 815 50 Lonikdlbhar 5.872 4,156 6,028 374 8 6,410 51 Arvi 1,545 805 1,573 41 75 1,689 52 Bhdvdi 782 285 1,459 22 4.. 1,481 Total ... 12,104 7,715 13,069 446 49 269 13,833 53 Kdsdrsai ... 1,418 905 1,636 77 1,713 54 Phulgaon ... 823 479 843 79 922 55 Terda 1,432 598 1,933 37 1,970 56 Naigdon ... 3,330 1,693 3,710 149 21 3,880 57 Kesnand ... 2,741 1,258 3,014 134 2 3,150 58 Alandi Chordclii ... 2,865 1,315 3,114 275 25 3,414 59 Kolewdri 3,123 1,912 3,550 94 7 3,651 Total ... 15,732 8,163 17,800 768 53 79 18,700 C^tBOO'JlK 03 ~a 00 W 03 tO H- H»H(3 I—' â–  HOMOl^OJ. t— C* to --4 Ot Ot Si . Oi os ®i 03 ot _J 03 co oo t—* C< CO If* tP- ^ 03 Jpk M l-» 03 00p.t0®0C>b000 >f».OOrf3-Oii&.t—•'4©CO>(3.C3". to h- ; : ; ; •• d -4 oo 03 i—< 05 05. . . : 03: : tfr. Q3 O tfr. 00 00 05 03 os â–º-* ^ J|3> 03 CO 03 000031—>0305050103 © © I—i^O COWODMtOWMOHifkoDOOH^ O3 t(3- © ©t 03 CO CD 00 co cd © 00 co 01 05 t—1 ©t to CO rf*. 03 -4 ©l I—‘ CD if>- 00 Ot Oi 00 bO 03 O to 03 03 bo to Or On 43. to CO 03 I—' Ot I-* © CO rf* to to Ot 03 to ilk. o 1— vr h* 05 o Ot 03 & to ^ 03 Acres. 03 t-t to 03 *-â–  l-> Ot to t-1 03 03.05 03 K-I M^J45.OO“t3OOM®^(»00O b3bCb3©">4aOOl©CO-403tfP.tOQOI-' Acres. Assessment. p "t 30 O © c& • B to Maximum Dry-crop Rate per Acre 0000000 1—1 )—■ 1—■)—« OJ *-~t CD H-1 —3 tf*. © 05 95 95 O O O O O O l-j o O o I—* t-J ©t **4 I-- CO H-* 95 O O C3 O 95 h- O OOOO O h- H- O O M H- O pi bO©H-© ©^4©S©S03©£©3©©t0 J5 95 95 C5050C500959505050C30 Average ditto, exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. W O o Number of Village. 500 1 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 '76 77 78 79 80 Name of Village. 2 Walti Wdd5 Bolai ... Sindauna K«regaon Mul Khdmgaon Tek ... Dongargaon ... ... Bhdur&pur . Total Hingangam Sdngvi Pimpri Shirsodi ... Bivri Burkegaon ... Ashtdpur Total Total Total Sdngauda ... Dh&mna ,.. Ddrumbra... Sirgam Somthdn ... Sdlumbra ... Gdunja Total Total Total As per Cultivation Rbturns for 1871-72 and 1875-76. As PER Revi Acres. Acres. Assess¬ ment. & o 13 •<3 cS «■ Is 4-3 3 4P» o a •§ â– 4? ’73 A â– s aj A PM * -6 O s. n "o H 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1,185 2,282 3,084 1,731 1,813 1,215 643 B.s. 490 1,027 1,451 754 946 , 679 315 1,293 * 3,892 3,410 1,951 2,242 1,347 766 63 178 197 70 66 152 33 36 "78 ”*7 1 "l 1,392 4,071 3,685 2,021 2,315 1,500 799 11,953 5,662 14,901 759 122 1 15,783 2,458 1,506 2,834 1,123 805 1,387 2,218 1,196 707 1,689 433 385 883 1,067 2,678 1,914 2,780 2,290 1,562 1,415 2,747 66 16 106 75 14 84 131 2,744 1,930 2,886 2,365 1,576 1,499 2,878 12,331 6,360 15,386 492 15,878 1,17,238 73,342 1,29,325 4,814 835 • 972 1,35,946 629 489 As sessment of 1,17,869 73,831 1,29,325 4,814 835 972 1,35,946 612 1,108 1,011 537 689 496 619 578 729 598 313 390 445 467 616 1,217 1,059 617 731 513 762 5 8 "*7 3 32 52 9 35 4 3 621 1,249 1,118 629 766 525 765 5,102 3,520 5,515 13 10 135 5,673 1,22,969 77,351 1,34,840 4,827 845 1,107 1,41,619 5 1 ... ( ... As sessment of 1,22,974 77,352 1,34,840 4,827 845 1,107 1,41,619 | 95,353 c tJ o : 83 95,353 4,455 O Ol W tO CT 03 00 rf3. -4 >tn QOlUO>HOi(k 90,898 1 £ B o : £i ct- 5’ p 60 o co 50 CO 8,507 MW J0J—1 M< Ow CT CO tP MJ tO CT ©5 OS rfn H-1 O CT 00 00 to i— CO 7,206 CT 43. HH 00 50 43. GQ Ml CT tO CT 03 CT —J CT 00 CO wj 03 03 H- H-* o Jerayet. Assessment. sioir Survey. 7,634 p- ►—» P B P- 7,634 to C5 05 9 7,608 ct* CD &â–  p* 7,608 ; 470 O CO 0>HH»5 CO H- >fn 00 03 "MI 03 -4 CO fed to HH «B tO O CT 05 00 tO CT * to 50 00 CO CT Ml h-< Motasthal Bagayet. 1,505 1,505 to to' 1,491 1,491 108 : : : aj : . ct : eo Sa M* CO OO 03 • »—» to Soil As¬ sessment. 1 Pdtasthal Bagayet. 1,965 1,965 CD •4 : : : cd: : rft CD 1,928 1,928 : : : M ; ; H- to CD : • : : fed • • <1. ca HO o CD * H-< CD Water Cess. CD to )—1 o 3,210 357 H-* | tO h-« oo to ^ cd : 1 oo M005t^00‘ 1 ox 1 CD 2853 ! to : : : : : : fee h-* rf* Eice. JD 'bi 1,09,667 4,889 OiBlWA 50'o 00 W 00 HI w n 03 5JI CO CT 50 OS 05 © o 1,04,778 1,04,778 8,977 MIJ-I JOJM M» i-io ct ct rfn to^-a tO CO GO CO rfn CT CO 00 05 to 05 00 00 50 00 h-> Ox -4 h-< H- tO H- £} OX Co'V'Vo'h-i O C5 &Q CD 05 CD tO CO CO O ^ CD CD O CD Ol ^ 1—1 Ox Total. H-1 >5° 'tO -4 CD 19,279 Ox « mi tO rfH to 03 w —J hf*. CT to 00 O tO H- to to 03 3,830 b-> H-i to Ox to ©^4 to OI 00 o co o oo o pci H-* Cd Acres. Numerical. Increase. 32,805 32,805 ^ | CD | h-* hx *-» CD CD tO 05 Oii^tOOtOCD^I CD 05 O CD CD GO tO 31,436 CD V CD C5 2,617 CD H-I H-» «*4 Vx Ol C5 ct CD O Ox Oi CD H* CD "*4 CD CD I- CD K> V CD Ox fcd to ^<1 H- &D 00 ^ ^ 05 CD Ox H- • tO © **4 05 CO OD 1—* M Assessment. o i | S 1—i H-â–  H-* l—i t—( 1—« 1—i 1 1—i 00OH Cfi H a W H M 45 45 45 5,101 274 • *—1 © <1 "-4 ^4 05 Motasthal Bagdyet. : : : : : 968 123 1—1 • 1— o • co oi *-4 Pdtasthal Bagayet. to -4 © l> 270 4 11 255 1,174 © *4 ©: : m 00 Bice. 5,237 m QQ CO : B . CD {3 rt- O 5,237 2,598 344 434 1,861 H V © W> 4- © 4,721 *0*1* © 00 h-L Ol © -4 © © © © Total. (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey, Poona and Nasik. , 01 eo *-s 05 00 05 ^ Jerayet. 1 ^ o to O O Motasthal. Soil As¬ sessment Water Cess. WS CR {s- P'S* tO h-> tO GO 05 Ot GO O tO Or O â– <105 03 Rice. Total. Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. P a m S Or O 03 W to to to 5» 0^00 ? Maximum Dry-crop rate per Acre, <100 05 05 HOH to o o O 05 O w Average ditto, exclusive of Rice and Water Cess. CP £ fgiS' a o {2. r 504 No. 1409 of 1876. Revenue Department. Poona, 9th September 1876. The accompanying completes the series of final reports, show¬ ing the reduction made in the several districts of the Poona and Shol&pur Collectorates, under the Resolution511 of October 1874. * No 5739 The confirmation of Government to the re¬ duced assessment fixed for the district in question, is required. 2. The Superintendent has also given the result of revision settlement, calculated according to the reduced scale of rates adopted for the district generally, for four villages into which the rates were introduced in 1875-76. J. T. 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 :— Percentage Reductions. 4. Haveli ... ... from 65 to 40*41, and the total amounts contrast as follows :— Assessment under Revised Assessment first Survey. as originally imposed. # # # # Revised Assessment according to reduc¬ tions reported, * # 4. Haveli ... 80,965 ... 1,33,174 ... 1,13,773 3. His Excellency the Governor in Council is pleased to ex¬ press his approval of the manner in which Colonel Taverner has carried out the instructions of Government. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. SCJPA' PETHA 506 No. 1673 op 1873. To The REVENUE COMMISSIONER, Southern Division. Poona, 16th September 1873. Sir, I have the honour to forward the accompanying report from the Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N&sik, containing proposals for the introduction of revised rates of assessment in 39 villages of the old Supa Petha of this col- lectorate. In the territorial revision in 1866-67, the above group of villages was divided, and 30 villages were transferred to taluka Bhimthari and 9 to taluka Purandhar. 2. The geographical and physical descriptions given, are correct, and call for no remark. 3. The want of care and attention on the part of ryots gene - rally towards the improvement of their holdings, noticed in para¬ graph 4, is but too true; but I believe that the revival of the system of granting takavi to poor ryots will prove a remedial measure. 4. The condition of the people, means of communications, and the statistical information set forth in paragraphs 5 to 8 are. satisfactory. 5. The ryots in this part of the collectorate have, in com¬ mon with the other portion of the district, enjoyed low rates for a long period. The result has been (vide paragraph 18) a gradual Increase in the cultivated area. During the first decade of the ormer survey assessment, the unoccupied area amounted to acres f5,190, assessed at Rs. 6,100, or rather more than 10 per cent, of the total area and assessment; whereas in the third decade, the waste land was represented by 1,843 acres, assessed at Rs. 612, and by the revised assessment 1,558 acres, only, assessed at Rs. 230. 6. A reference to paragraph 19 will show the much higher prices obtainable for the staple grains—b£jri andjowdri—in the last ten years than in the first decade of the thirty-years’ tenure just expired. 507 7 In paragraphs 21 to 27 the grouping of villages under each class and the rates proposed are discussed. The maximum rate of assessment ranging from Rupee 1 in the 4th class to Rupee 1-6 in the 1st class. 8. Considering the improved condition of the people and the district, I am of opinion that the revised rates proposed to be in¬ troduced in these 39 villages are not, on the whole, too high; the average increase being Rs. 24,000 in round numbers, or 42 per cent. 9. Before concluding, however, I beg to invite your atten¬ tion specially to the table below paragraph 9, from which it will be seen that the yield in fields lowly assessed is greater than in fields the assessment on which has been increased nearly cent, per cent. : e. g., the assessment on a field in Mudal6, No. 1, has been increased by about 60 per cent, where the “ Khoti ” yielded about 31 times the revised assessment, and the assessment on the field No. 13 in Hoi has been increased nearly cent, per cent.; whereas its yield by “ Khoti ” sale is set down at only one and half of the revised assessment. The Survey Department should have given an expla¬ nation as to the reason of the striking difference observable. I have the honour to be, &c., (Signed) J. E. OLIPHANT, Collector. No. 846 of 1873. To J. E. OLIPHANT, Esq., Collector of Poona. # Poona, 5th September 1873. Sib, In submitting proposals for revised rates for 39 villages, which formerly belonged to the Supa Division of the Purandhar Par- gana, but of which 30 have been transferred to Bhimthari and 9 to the Purandhar Taluka, I will commence with a brief analysis of the reports of Lieutenant Nash, the Superintendent, and his Assistant Lieutenant Evans, copies of which are annexed. * 508 2. Lieutenant Evans, by whom the measurement and classifi¬ cation were carried out, describes the Analysis of former reports, district as having Bhimthari on its north, from which it is separated by the Bhuleshwar range of hills; the Kira River on the south, dividing it from the Satara territory; Ind^pur on the east; and Sassur on the west. The general appear¬ ance of the country upon the banks of the Kurra and Nira rivers he describes as flat, but intersected by stony nullas, and the northern villages and one or two near the western boundary and in the centre as hilly. He estimates that two parts were flat, one part- undulating, and one hilly. The division contained 39\ Government vilages, and 15 held in Inam and Jaghir. He considers that the district, in common with Inddpur and Karkam, notwithstanding that a part of it is nearer the GMts, labours under the disadvan¬ tage of a precarious supply of rain, which he attributes to the influence of the Purandhar and Mahdeo range of hills, which draw off the clouds. With regard to means of communication with Poona—the great market for grain-—he compares Karkam favour¬ ably with Supa, inasmuch as the only road then passable by laden carts was by way of the Khor Khind to Yewat; whereas Karkam was traversed by the great road from the east. It had, however, the advantage over Karkam in the matter of local markets ; for Sassur, Wai, Bhore, and Satara were all within reach. More b&jri was grown in Supa than in Indapur ; still the rabi crop of jow&ri predominated. 3. Lieutenant Nash, after reviewing Lieutenant Evans’ re¬ port, expresses his assent to the suitability of the rates proposed by that officer. The statistics in both these reports will be further noticed hereafter. ~ “ 4. Mr. Fletcher reports that in capabilities, climate, &c., General description. thfse villa&es differ but little from each other ; those lying along the Nira having a larger proportion of deep black soil, but no other distinc¬ tive peculiarity. There are no hills, properly so called ; but the country slopes away southwards in an undulating plain watered by the Kurra and other lesser nullas, none of which, however, flow throughout the hot weather. The khferif crops are b&jri, muth, mung, &c. ; the only rabi crop being jowari, among which a good deal of kurdaee is sown broadcast. In the northern aind eastern villages the late crops, and in those to the west and south the earl}7' crops, predominate. Cultivation is very carelessly con¬ ducted, except in a few villages (of which Mr. Fletcher mentions Pandari as a notable example), and the crops overrun with weeds. Land is not ploughed more than once in three or four years; and the use of manure on dry-crop lands, except to a limited extent 509 by the folding of sheep, of which groat numbers are reared, is appa¬ rently unknown. The garden lands, which are almost exclusively under well-irrigation, are by no means of a high class. Sugar is grown where the water-supply is perennial, which is not common , but the usual garden crops are wheat, gram, vegetables, and jow^ri, the last-named especially being a favourite crop under inferior wells. 5.Mr. Fletcher describes the condition of the people as, on ~ .... , . the whole, good, few of them being Condition of people. hopelessly itfvoived, and there being in every village some who owe no man anything. In Pandara, Mr. Fletcher saw many stacks of karba, two years old, still undisposed of, though the third year’s crop was in the ground and ready to cut. 'He says that many of the villages, especially the larger ones, show signs of having, at some time, been more populous than at present; but he found that, in numerous instances, this apparent failling off in the population and ruined appearance of the larger villages was owing to the fact that ryots whose fields lie far from the village site build themselves huts and live there permanently, allowing their houses in the village to go to ruin. Thus the appa¬ rent desolation is, in many cases, merely a sign of the increased security to life and property resulting from our rule. 6. With regard to means of communication and facilities Roads &e for disposing °f surplus produce, consider- ’ ’ able changes have taken place since' the last settlement. Of the four markets which Lieutenant Evans describes as giving Supa an advantage over Ind&pur and Karkam, three—Wai, Bhor, and Satara—were 30 miles across country from the nearest part of-the district, and more than twice as far from the most distant; whilst the fourth, Saswad, was not less than 20 miles from the nearest point. By means of the new roads from Nira bridge to the railway station at Khergaon, from Bclr&mati to P&tas, and from Satara to Poona via the Diva and K&traj Ghats, many of these villages have been brought within a day’s march of the railway; and Poona, which is still, as formerly, the great market for produce, is more accessible than from Inddpur, and not much less so than from TCarkam, the town of Supa itself being only ten miles from the railway station at Khergaon. The local markets are Bdrdmati, Sup4, P&tas, and Jijuri, of which Bdrd- mati is the most important, especially as a cattle market. 7. The population has increased from 22,795 in 1843 to Pomilation 32,722, or 43*5 per cent. Of this num¬ ber 1,473 males, or 8 per cent., are able to read, and one female. The proportion of men to women is as 17 to 16 nearly. 510 8. The following statement supplies statistical information af_f-,• regarding the progress of the district during the last thirty years. The greatest increase is in carts, and is more than 200 per cent. The progress in the construction of new and repair of old wells is also satisfac¬ tory. Ninety drinking wells and 419 wells for irrigation have been constructed, and 81 repaired. Of the new irrigating wells 44 were built in the first ten years, 148 in the second, and 225 in the last decade. The number of horses shows a small falling off, as was also the case in Niph&d; but all other kinds of live stock have increased considerably, there being now 52,222 head of cattle and sheep, against 43,039 in 1843 :— Description. Numerical return according to Census taken in Increase during period of lease. 1843. 1873. Numerical. Per cent. Inhabitants 22,795 32,722 9,927 43-5 Houses ... 3,804 4,304 500 13 Wells 1,003 1,720 717 71 Carts 191 578 387 20-2 Ploughs ... 1,110 1,457 347 31*2 Horses ... 1,150 844 306 26-6 Buffaloes... 1,252 1,654 402 32 Cows 9,946 11,649 1,703 17 Bullocks, draft and plough 12,907 14,256 1,349 10-4 Sheep and goats 18,934 24,663 5,729 30-3 9. It is a common practice in this, as well as in other dis¬ tricts, for the cultivators to sell their crops whilst still on the ground and in an unripe state. I would call your attention to the sub¬ joined ^statement, showing sales of Khoti or standing crops during the last season. It was prepared by Mr. Fletcher, after careful personal inquiry, who assures me that he considers it reliable, and I have no reason to doubt its correctness :— * Note.—The figures in the first line of the statement are not those given in the ori¬ ginal report submitted to Government, as an error was detected ; the area and assessment of a wrong number having been entered by an oversight, which, was commented on by Government in their Resolution No. 1492 of the 21st March 1874. The figures now shown are the correct ones. Similarly under Nepat Valan (No. 17) the assessment, according to revised rates, is shown in the original report submitted to Government as Rs, 9-3-0, and the sale proceeds as 18 times the assessment, whereas the assessment should have been shown as Rs. 19-9-0 and the sale proceeds as 9 times the assessment. The figures are therefore corrected in this statement. C. J. P. Village. No. Old Abea and Assessment. Abea and Assessment accobding to Revision Rates. Crop. Amount for â– which sold. REUARK8. Area. Kharab. Cultur- able. Assess¬ ment. Area. Kharab. Cultura- able. Assess¬ ment. Mudtta Hoi Pandara 1 2 3 4 5 6 43 38 22 22 17 14 5 38 1 10 39 (19 6 9 24 8 4 1 37 0 18 0 1 0 23 2 20 1 11 40 34 20 25 16 36 5 37 10 11 16 26 8 13 11 0 6 0 3 0. 5 8 4 0 4 11 2 5 46 4 24 26 18 6 6 29 j 12 5 31 25 . 5 4 1 26 0 6 0 9 1 35 5 25 41 0 23 0 18 0 6 20 10 10 26 0 18 0 9 11 5 0 5 4 5 0 11 0 B&jri, Muth, Hooiga .... Do. .... Do. Do. Bdjri, Bale .... Bdjri 110 50 20 30 150 25 6 times assessment. _ Little more than 5 times. 4 times. 5} do. Bagayet 30 times. 2£ times. 3 times. Not quite double. Do. 4 times. Do. 1£ times. 5J times. Double. 1£ times. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 10 36 1 22 8 16 18 32 36 10 0 45 25- 21 15 9 25 0 5 OM 0 0 6”*6 26 16 22 3 16 18 32 20 9 34 45 25 21 9 17 0 18 0 10 0 23 0 6 4 24 0 11 0 26 16 22 9 16 17 33 35 10 2 46 6 22 15 0 16 0 9 0 7 0 15 0 2 0 26 0 15 26 0 22 0 16 10 33 20 10 0 45 20 22 0 25 0 23 0 10 0 33 0 9 0 30 3 21 8 Jowdri Do. Do. Do. Do. Onions, Chillies, Jowdri Do. do. ,.... 75 40 40 47 49 60 32 (29 28 (21 22 24 26 ( 18 14 1 9 12 0 5 1 11 1 25 29 23 20 11 23 1 18 14 9 12 20 0 10 0 14 0 14 8 5 0 (31 4 <12 21 (10 0 24 14 17 14 19 1 0 4 0 11 0 2 0 14 0 14 0 21 31 0 12 10 10 4 24 0 17 0 18 20 36 0 11 8 10 7 17 4 16 0 12 11 Jowdri Bagayei Do. .... Sugar, Jerayet • .... Jowdri .... Pepper, Onions .... Jowdri | 600 3 150 | 225 103 do. ,8 7 do. 7'5 do. NepatValan 17 19 39 19 39 20 10 20 13 0 13 20 0 19 6 Jow&ri .... 175 9 do. 18 46 2 3 38 42 4 22 0 25 23 0 23 • 25 0 22 14 Do. .... 100 4*4 do. Jalgaon (Supa) 19 30 13 1 2 29 11 13 0 20 17 0 17 26 0 25 7 Jowdri .... 125 4-9 do. Supa 20 35 13 0 28 84 25 13 0 35 4 0 4 85 0 10 0 Jowdri, Bdjri ... 75 4-7 do. 512 You will see that the prices realized vary from 31 times (No. 1) to a little less than 1 j times the new assessment (No. 8). It is impossible to account for the wide divergence of these rates of profit without a more intimate knowledge of the actual circumstances under which the bargains were struck than is forthcoming or usu¬ ally to be obtained; but it may be remarked, that the highest sum realized is from the poorest field, the classification of which is only 1 anna 6 pies (vide No. 1). The total realizations on these 20 cases of khoti sales are Rs. 2,178, on which an assessment of Us. 370 is proposed to be placed, which is equivalent to ^th of the amount realized. But it is quite evident that this does not by any means represent the gross produce of the land, since the middle¬ man must reasonably calculate that the return he may fairly expect will not only cover the expenses of watching, reaping, and har¬ vesting, but will justify his running the risk of a bad crop, and probably yield him a fair profit on his investment. 10. With respect to climate, I consider that there is but little difference between that of the tract under report and that of Inda- pur, though it certainly enjoys a slight superiority, especially in the case of the villages on the west and south-west and nearer to the Purandhar range of hills. The following statement shows the rainfall during the last seven years in B^r^mati, Saswad, Pd,tas, and Inddpur, from which it will be seen that the average registered fall is one inch more at Bdx&mati and three inches more at Saswad than at Inddpur, increasing as we go further west:— Statement of ’Rainfall in Bdrdmati, Sdswad, Patas, and Inddjpur, from 1866 to 1872. Year. Bdramati. Sdswad. Pdtas. Inddpur. Remarks. 1866 * 4-08 11-57 6-57 4-06 * N.B.—The return for 1866 1867 No return. 7-94 10-88 10-74 was taken at Supa in 1867. 1868 13-62 16-83 10-32 8-43 The district was incorpo- 1869 26-22 32-08 22-76 24-47 rated with Bhimthari. 1870 22-19 30-39 26-31 25-77 1871 17-32 20-78 21-75 14-60 1872 21-61 15-63 19-96 28-12 Average... 17-51 19-31 16-93 16-59 11. The villages to which my remarks apply being few in number, and belonging to two different talukas, 'I do not propose to submit a detailed report in this communication, but purpose to supply the usual statistical returns for the whole of the Bhimthari Taluka after the introduction of these rates, which will complete the revision settlement of that taluka. 513 12. The district at the time of the present settlement, accord- Review of former Settle- ing to the report of the Survey Officers, ment. was in course of transition from a state of great depression to one of comparative prosperity. This they at¬ tributed to the revision of assessment, carried out some years pre¬ viously by Lieutenant Shortrede, and by which the assessment, which had been fixed by the former survey at Es. 1,22,703 on 37 villages, was reduced to Rs. 1,01,402, including Indrn on 39J villages. The last-mentioned sum appears (according to Lieutenant Nash’s 12th paragraph) to have been considerably less than the old or mdimil assessment. Notwithstanding, however, this reduction, the average annual collections during the seven years after the in¬ troduction of Lieutenant Shortrede’s modified rates—i.e., from 1836 to 1842;—were only Es. 34,981 (including hakdars) out of a total assessment on Government lands of Es. 88,503, or less than 40 per cent.; and although, as observed by Lieutenant Nash, the improvement in cultivation was very striking, it having risen from 40,696 acres in 1836 to 111,768 acres in 1842, still there was a progressive increase in remissions, since no less than Rs. 50,000 of the total remissions, viz., Es. 74,000, were allowed during the last two years of the settlement. 13. Lieutenant Evans,after comparing the Supa Petha with Lieutenant Evans’ rates. Inddpur and Karkam as regards cli- mate, products, and markets, came to the ‘ conclusion that an increase of 15 per cent, on the Ind&pur rates, or 5 per cent, on the Karkam Pettah, was as much as Sup£ could bear. In this opinion Lieutenant Nash coincided ; but the Revenue Commissioner, Mr. D. Blane, hesitated to recommend the increase, and, eventually, Government sanctioned the introduction of the same rates as those of Karkam, viz., 10 per cent, above Ind4pur. Lieutenant Evans calculated that, were all the land in the district cultivated, the rates proposed by him would yield somewhere about Es. 58,203, and Lieutenant Nash (paragraph 18) shows that of this sum about Company’s Es. 47,000 would be on account of land under cultivation. He also estimates that there would be an ad¬ dition of about Es. 3,000 on account of Bagayet assessment, thus making a total of Es. 61,203 on the entire culturable land of the district. 14. Lieutenant Evans, in his statement of past collections, Number of Tillages settled .sho'â„¢ Jthe â„¢mber of Tillages includ- by Lieutenant Evans. in it during the first three years after the re-introduction of the m^mul rates by Lieutenant Shortrede as 38^, and during the next four years as 39J. Among these, as would appear from the list of villages appended to Lieutenant Nash’s report, Khor was included, b 209—13 514 but for some cause or other the survey rates were not introduced in it until 1848 ; and it, therefore, does not form one of the vil¬ lages now under report, the diagram having reference only to 39 villages. 15.During the first year of the settlement, out of a total t» • »*, j assessed area of 141,310 acres 26,302 Review o± 1st Decade. , . ,, , ,i acres were waste ; m the next year the waste land was reduced to 17,191 acres, the succeeding year to 14,146, and in 1847 it had fallen to 8,690 acres. From this time until 1852 the quantity of waste land gradually increased, until, in that year, it amounted to nearly 15,000 acres. The collections varied from Its. 42,065 in 1844-45 to Rs. 53,105 in 1847-48 and Rs. 51,941 in 1852-53. There were large remissions in two of the first ten years, viz., Rs. 4,168 in 1844-45, and Rs. 8,280 in 1850-51. The average collections were Rs. 48,856, and remissions Rs. 1,707, the area cultivated being 126,604 acres. 2nd Decade. 16.Between 1853 and 1858 the amount of waste land was reduced to 1,000 acres, but in 1862 had risen slightly, being then 1,787 acres. The collections in the latter year were Rs. 57,277, and the average area under cultivation was 139,966 acres. 17.During the last ten years the waste land has averaged 3rd Decade 1,843 acres, and the occupied area 142,225, the collections having been Rs. 55,500, or Rs. 1,777 less than the average of the preceding ten years. This falling off is due to the very large remission allow¬ ed in 1866-67, which amounted to Rs. 18,587, or ^ of the entire assessment. With this exception the remissions since 1854 have been merely nominal. 18.The average cultivation, collections, &c., of each of the three decades included in the diagram are shown in the following statement:— 1st Decade.. 2nd „ 3rd „ Average of 30 years .. Total Assessed Area. Unoccupied. Occupied. Remis¬ sions. Collec. tions. Increased Decrease. Area. Assess¬ ment. Area. Assess¬ ment. Area. Assess¬ ment. Area. Assess¬ ment. Bs. 7,226 «8 2 < Assess¬ ment. b7~ "582 141,794 142,791 144,063 Bs. 66,727 57,711 58,002 15,190 2,825 1,843 Bs. 6,162 1,212 612 126,604 139,966 142,225 Bs. 50,564 56,498 57,390 Bs. 1,707 416 1,889 1,337 Bs. 48,856 56,082 55,500 13,362 2,259 142,884 57,480 6,619 2,662 136,265 54,817 53,313 .... .... 515 19. I give below prices of jowdri and bdjri in Poona, Yewat, .p , . and Supa from 1844 to 1873. There is e urn o pnces. but little difference between the average decennial prices of Yewat and Supa; and the increase in both cases is nearly alike, having risen in Yewat from 42 T seers of jow4ri—the average of the first ten years—to 18*25 as that of the last ten years, or 130 per cent., and of bdjri from 34*7 seers to 14*8, or 134 per cent. ; whilst in Supa the rise has been from 40*69 seers of jowdri to 17*55, or 131 per cent., and in bdjri from 34-4 seers to 14*48, or 135 per cent. The increase in assessment, then, which was deemed suitable for the Bhimthari villages on consi¬ deration of the enhanced price of agricultural produce alone, would also be fitting for the villages under report. [Statement. * 915 517 20. But although prices in the local markets of the two dis- „ . . tricts have risen in a similar degree, the enera remar s. cost of transporting their grain to Poona (which is still, as formerly, the great emporium for surplus produce) is somewhat greater, in consequence of the longer distance in the Supa districts than in Bhimthari. But in point of fact little or no grain is exported, the people preferring to store up their grain and fodder against bad seasons. Indeed, as Mr. Fletcher says, this group of villages, from-whatever point of view we regard it, is decidedly commonplace. Neither in climate, soil, water, nor situa¬ tion, is it specially favoured or otherwise; nor is one part of it more advantageously circumstanced than another, except that the vil¬ lages towards the west and south-west enjoy a better rainfall than those to the north and east. With regard to local markets, all are pretty much on an equality. 21. Under the circumstances above described, the chief points _ . . ... to be considered, as affecting the group- roupmg o v ages. fog of the villages, are climate and the proximity to made roads. I purpose, then, to place in my first class two villages, in the south-west corner, which are on the road from Satara to Poona, and being close to the Mahadeo range of hills have a more certain rainfall. My second class would embrace 4he vil¬ lages along the western border of the district and near the Bhulesh- war range of hills, and my third class those to the east of Class II. My 4th and last class comprises a. few villages on the extreme east and south-east of the district and bordering on Baramati. # 22. The present maximum rate on dry-crop lands is 345 reas, _ or 13 annas 9f pies ; and this rate was resen ra es. applied to 37 out of the 39 villages, the remaining two (of which, strange to say, Supa, then the M&mlat- ddr’s station, was one, the other being Jalgaon No. 30), had a maximum of only 330 reas, or 13 annas 2 J pies. The former rate was 15 per cent., and the latter 10 per cent, higher than the old Inddpur maximum of 300 reas, or 12 annas. 23. The adjoining portion of the Bhimthari Taluka, which , came under revision last year, has rates J varying from Rs. 1-2-0, in the more easterly villages, to Rs. 1-8-0 in those nearer Poona—Karkam, which is shown above to be nearly similarly circumstanced as Supa, coming under Rs. 1-4-0. Again, the district of Nataputa, of the Satara Collectorate, on the south of the river Nira, was assessed in 1858 at a maximum rate of Re, 1, and the part of Khanddla, adjoining the Nira bridge, settled in 1861, had a maximum dry-crop rate of Its. 1-6-0. 518 24. To the two villages mentioned above, as forming my first ,. , group, I purpose to apply the same maxi- villages, mum rate as that ol the adjoining district ° ’ of Khanddla, viz., Es. 1-6-0. The vil¬ lages of the 2nd class w^ould then come under Es. 1-4-0, those of the 3rd under Es. 1-2-0, and the remainder under Es. 1-0-0. The grouping of the different classes will he as shown below and illus¬ trated in the accompanying map :— Class. Number of Villages. Maximum Rate. Rs. a. I. 2 1 6 Two villages close to the road from Satara via Nira Bridge to Poona, II. 12 1 4 Villages along the western boundary and on road to Khergaon station, III. 12 1 2 Twelve villages to the east and south of the preceding group. iv. 13 1 0 Thirteen villages in the south-east of the district. Total#.. 39 • [Statement- 519 The old classification of this cluster of villages was much more carefully and correctly executed than in any of the districts which have lately come under revision, as will be een from the following statement :— s 25. Comparision of old and new classification. No. Names of Villages. Lieutenant Shortrede’s Assess¬ ment. Lieutenant Nash’s Assess¬ ment. Proposed Assess¬ ment. Old Classifi¬ cation- Revised Classifi¬ cation. Revised Rates less than Lieutenant Shortrede’s Revised Rates more than' Lieutenant Shortrede’a 1 Gulaucha 1,882 1,624 2,182 5—4 6—1 300 2 Seotakrar 262 342 434 6-5 6—4 172 3 Ambi Khurd .. 874 476 719 4—4 5—4 155 4 Jawal Arjun ... 1,717 1,334 1,510 9—10 9—3 207 5 Mduri 1,985 1,184 1,636 6—10 8—5 349 6 Pdndeshwar 2,097 882 1,275 4—10 6—1 822 7 Pisa 598 280 364 4-1 4—7 234 8 Ponda 958 201 335 2—9 2—7 623 9 Risa 1,305 697 1,051 5-3 6—3 254 10 Rdjuri 2,729 1,354 1,832 5—4 5—5 897 • • • 11 Waddna 1,416 581 810 3—4 3—5 606 12 Bdburdi 1,554 1,524 1,903 7—6 8—4 ... 349 13 Chopdaj 1,583 865 1,284 5-4 7-2 299 • •• 14 Deulgaon 1,398 970 1,343 4-3 5—8 55 15 Hoi 1,836 1,932 2,953 8—4 10—7 ... • i,U7 16 Jalgaon (Kare- • pathar) 2,866 1,770 2,702 6—10 10—5 164 17 Jalgaon (Supa)... 2,770 1,620 2,123 6—0 8—9 647 18 J ogauri 1,342 714 1,200 5—3 7-1 142 19 Korhdla( Budruk). 2,988 2,009 2,870 7-5 9—2 118 20 Korhdia Khurd . 1,172 1,040 1,459 9—0 10-5 • • • 297 21 Karanja 2,964 2,479 3,236 5—8 6-7 272 22 Kololi 799 648 829 4-7 5—0 30 23 Loni 6,950 6,390 9,645 6—3 7—11 2,695 24 Mudala 2,797 1,320 2,062 4—5 4—11 735 25 Mondwa 1,205 956 1,295 4—7 5—2 • • • 90 26 Murti 1,591 1,345 2,018 4—2 5—0 427 27 Murum 4,197 2,130 3,379 7-6 9-7 818 28 Supa 6,802 6,202 9,009 5—5 7—5 2,207 29 Tardoli 1,405 1,130 1,501 5—7 6—6 96 30 Undauri (Supa)... 1,318 602 860 4—11 6—11 458 31 Undauri (Kare- pathar) 3,349 1,416 1,728 5—1 6-2 1,621 32 Waki 938 669 791 4-11 6—2 147 33 Barhdnpur 1,097 909 1,164 7-1 8—6 67 34 Kuta 1,962 1,571 2,094 11—1 13—8 132 35 Mepat Valan .. 940 673 916 10—1 13—0 24 36 Pandara 7,342 4,112 5,981 6—7 9—6 1,361 37 Sonori 1,852 969 1,499 5—3 8-0 353 38 Anjangaon 3,030 1,173 1,819 6—2 8—11 1,211 39 Wdgaz 1,814 1,368 1,892 6—1 8—1 78 Total ... 85,684 57,461 81,713 6—0 7-6 12,300 8,329 You will observe that, allowing for the difference of the standard of classification with very few exceptions, the average rates, accord¬ ing to the old and new valuation, harmonize in a .remarkable manner. It is noticeable also that in many cases, especially in the 520 poorer villages (Ponda No. 8, for instance), the new classification is lower than the old, although the former is calculated on a. 16-anna maximum scale, while the latter was on a maximum of 13* annas . 9f pies, as shown in a preceding paragraph. 26. The result of this near agreement between the old and , , , new classification is, that although the maxi- mum rates proposed by me are iully up to the standard which its situation and circumstances, as compared with those of neighbouring districts, would warrant, the increase occasioned by the new rates, inclusive of the assessment on 14,593 acres of culturable land not hitherto assessed, is only Us. 24,132, or 42 per cent, over last year’s collections. You will see from the preceding statement that the assessment proposed by me is Rs. 3,741 less than that imposed by Lieutenant Shortrede, and the increase on the present payments of individual villages in no instance exceeds 68 per cent, (vide No. 14). I consider this result satisfactory, and the proposed assessment to be moderate and, at the same time, fit¬ ting. 27. There is no rice grown in any of the villages under re¬ port, and the irrigation from p&ths is of a very inferior description. Each field has been settled on its merits, but in no case has the water-rate exceeded 2 rupees an acre. On lands irrigated from wells the usual course has been pursued, and no water-cess im¬ posed. Contrast between pre¬ sent and proposed as¬ sessment. 28. The following statement shows the new assessment contrasted with last year’s collections:— Occupied. Unoccupied. Total. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Acres. Assess¬ ment. Rs. Rs. Rs. According to proposed rates ... 156,828 81,713 1,558 230 158,386 81,943 According to last year’s collec¬ tions. 142,235 67,461 1,830 443 144,065 57,904 Increase... 14,593 24,252 14,321 24,039 Decrease... - 272 213 You will see that the total culturable land, exclusive of Inam, is 158,386 acres, which are assessed at Rs. 81,943, which is equiva¬ lent to an average rate of 8 annas 3 pies per acre. 521 29. Besides the 39 villages included in the diagram, there are two-villages, Umbra and Shewra, which formerly belonged to Havefi, but have been transferred to Purandhar, and of which the leases have expired. They are situated close to the hills, and enjoy a good rainfall, and are also near the high road from Poona via Shirwal to Satara. Their former maximum rate was 550 reas = Us. 1-6-0. I now propose a maximum rate for dry-crop land of Rs. 2, and for rice of Us. 5. The effect of these rates will be to raise the total assessment on occupied land in Umbra from Rs. 6*81 to Rs. 934, or 37.per cent., and in Shewra from Rs. 860 to Rs. 1,007, or 17 per cent. Government have a fourth share in the village of Malad, the revision of assessment in which is now due ; and I propose to apply the same maximum rate as to the adjoining villages of Karkam, viz., Rs. 1-4-0, the effect of which will be to raise the assessment from Rs. 481 to Rs. 682, or 42 per cent. It is necessary also to assimilate the maximum rates of some Dumala villages of the district, the revision of which is due to the rates of adjoining Government villages; but as their settlement is of recent date, the revised rates will not cause any great increase on their payments. A statement will be submitted hereafter. 30. The measurement was carried out under Messrs. Scott, r . . Francis, and Adams, and the classification one usion. under Messrs. Fletcher and Francis. The test returns are appended, and are satisfactory. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, W. WADDINGTON, Lieut.-Colonel, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nisik. To No. 173 of 1843. The COLLECTOR of POONA. Sir, I have the honour to forward a report by my Assistant, Mr. Evans, regarding the rate and amount of assessment he thinks should be introduced in the Supa division ot the Purandhar Par- gana. b 209—14 522 2. Ia his first paragraph it will be observed he follows the same system of judging of the rates of assessment to be introduced that has already met with the approbation of Government in pre¬ viously settled parganas. 3. Having been employed several years in the Ind&pur Par- gana and Karkam Petha, I am able to confirm what is said by Lieutenant Evans in his 2nd paragraph of the produce and climate. * 4. In Lieutenant Evans’s 3rd paragraph he states that Govern¬ ment manage the land of 39J villages, containing 137,962 acres of khalsa arable land : of the above number of villages, 25 have been entirely re-measured in consequence of the first survey being found very incorrect, 3 have been now. measured for the first time, and 12 villages have been allowed to retain the measurement made under Mr. Pringle’s superintendence. In Lieutenant Evans’s 4th paragraph he states that of all the villages 2 only remain to be classified* 5. In Lieutenant Evans’s 5th paragraph a general description of the pargana will be found, and in his 6th paragraph he states the Supa District to suffer from a precarious supply of rain—what¬ ever may be the causes of the uncertainty of the supply of rain, the fact itself cannot be questioned,—and in this the Supa District differs very much from that of S&swad, though both are parts of the same pargana. 6. In Lieutenant Evans’s 7th paragraph he notices the diffi¬ culties attending the communication between Poona and the Supa District by the B&bdeo Gh&t. It is generally allowed that the point for passing the range of hills over which it leads has been very injudiciously selected, and that the road up the hill has been very badly laid down. The gh&t is exceedingly steep, and twice as high as it would have been in other places. * There are certainly difficulties attending the conveyance of the produce of the Supa District to the Poona market. 7. In his 8th paragraph Lieutenant Evans adverts to the advantage possessed by the Supa District in having the markets of S&swad, Wai, and Bhor in its neighbourhood, and he states that jow£ri always meets with a ready sale at these places. In his 9th paragraph he remarks that more b&jri is grown in Supa than in Indapur. This is owing to its being further west. In the western districts the early rains are the heaviest, and kharif crops abound. In the eastern one the latter rains are the more plentiful, and rabi crops are generally grown. 523 8. Having thus described the advantages and disadvantages of the.Supa Division, Lieutenant Evans proceeds, in his 10th para¬ graph, to consider the average prices of produce, and in the latter end of the paragraph he states that he shall take the average prices since the abolition of the transit duties as a criterion to judge of the advantages of the districts; and in this determination I think he is correct. He expresses in his 11th paragraph some hesitation at trusting to the returns furnished by our native authorities. I quite agree with him in thinking that numerous errors exist in the returns we obtain. These arise, however, from a variety of causes, mostly out of the control of our Mimlatdirs; and I think the returns are sufficiently near the truth for practical purposes. It must be remembered, we do not implicitly build our assessments on them; and that a difference between the results that should arise from position, &c., and those shown in the price of grain would immediately lead to a scrutiny into the causes of such difference. 9. It will be seen in his 12th paragraph that during the few years since the abolition of the transit duties, the comparison of prices between Supa in the Purandhar Taluka, Indapur in the taluka of that name, and Pitas in the Bhimthari Taluka, has been as follows :— 1$£.—That the price of jowiri at Supa has averaged 25 per cent, higher than that of the same grain at Indipur. 2nd.—That the’price of bijri at Supa has averaged 12 per cent, higher than that of bijri at Indipur. 3rd.—That the price of jowiri at Supa has averaged 2 per cent, higher than the price at Patas. 42/t,—That the price of bijri at Supa has, on the average, been the same as the price at Pitas. 10. Lieutenant Evans, in the same paragraph, offers an opinion that an increase of 15 percent, on the Indipur rates, or, which is the same thing, of 5 per cent, on the Karkam rates (in which district is Pitas) is as much as the Supa Disirict can be fairly assessed at ; and from this opinion, after considering the whole of his report, including the statement of past collections and his calculation of the future assessment by those rates, I see no reason to dissent. 11. In Lieutenant Evans’s 13th paragraph will be found some additional reasons against a greater increase than 15 per cent, on the Indipur rates. In his 14th are the reasons for his confining 524 the returns of prices to certain towns, and in the same paragraph will be found further information regarding the disadvantages of the B&bdeo Ghdt. 12. Lieutenant Evans, in his 15th paragraph, represents the district as in a state of transition from a state of great depression to one of comparative prosperity, and he rightly attributes this to the revision of the assessment of the district made under Lieute¬ nant Shortrede. I believe his operations were by no means con¬ fined to the restoration of the old or inamul assessment, but that large reductions were made in its amount. Lieutenant Evans shows that the inequality of assessment is very great. This was, of course, to be expected, and the surveys were originally projected on this very account. What is mentioned with regard to what are called the phut or broken numbers or fields,—i. e., those formed out of a formerly integral estate,—is exceedingly true, and doubtless many people have managed to profit by the opportunities described by Lieutenant Evans. I also agree with Lieutenant Evans in thinking there will be a considerable number of complaints when these people are brought under the new assessment. It is obvi¬ ously, however, quite as necessary to increase a low assessment obtained by an ingenious use of revenue oversights 3s to reduce high assessment. 13. In Lieutenant Evans’s 16 th paragraph the area of the dis¬ trict is estimated at 154,970 acres, assessed at 101,402 Ankusi rupees, of which 17,008 acres, assessed at Rs.'12,418, are held in inam, leaving as khalsa 137,962 acres, assessed at Its. 88,984. I subjoin explanatory statement. The above assessment is the modified assessment introduced by Mr. Shortrede. The asses- ment of the district by the first survey, when it comprised only 37 instead of 39^ villages, was Its. 1,22,703. 14. Appended to Lieutenant Evans’s report will be found a statement of jama, remissions, collections, &c., for the last 23 years, and also a diagram illustrative of the contents of the state¬ ment. The improvement in cultivation, &c., since Mr. Shortrede’s settlement, is strikingly visible from the diagram. In the first year of his settlement, only 40,696 acres were in cultivation out of 134,528; in the last year, for which we have returns (Fasli 1,251), 111,768 acres were in cultivation out of 137,962. It will, however, be observed that it has been found necessary to grant leases on lower rents than those fixed by Lieutenant Shortrede. In the year last mentioned, the jama on account of land was Its. 60,457, out of which Us. 7,884 were derivable from reduced rates, not admitting increase; or, to use the ordinary revenue terms, Rs. 7,884 were on account of kowli, and Rs. 2,946 on account of ukti. One of 525 the great advantages of the present revision of assessment will be the doing away of the necessity for giving out lands on kowli and ukti leases. The objections to these leases are too well known to require explanation. 15. In Lieutenant Evans’s 18th paragraph he proceeds to show what have been the Jam4s, remissions, collections, &c., during the seven years from the introduction of Mr. Shortrede’s settlement up to the end of Fasli 1251. The aggregate jamd for these years (including every source of revenue) was Rs. 3,42,698, of which Rs. 2,95,704 was on account of land-tax. The remissions granted during these years amounted to Rs. 74,425, leaving Rs. 2,68,273 to be paid by the people, of which Rs. 71,026 were pay¬ able to Hakdars and village expenses, and Rs. 1,97,247 towards the general revenue : of this sum of Rs. 1,97,247, Rs. 23,400 were outstanding in the end of Fasli 1251, but the sum of Rs. 12,535 outstanding for that year has, probably, since been collected, leaving Rs. 10,865 outstanding for previous years. Deducting the Rs. 23,400 balances from the Rs. 2,68,273 payable by the people, it will be seen that they have paid in the seven years Rs. 2,44,873, which is at the rate of Rs. 34,983 per annum. 16. Thus it appears that, since Lieutenant Shortrede’s revi¬ sion of the assessment, kowli and ukti leases have been con¬ siderably in use, and that further Rs. 74,000 have been remitted out of a total jamd of Rs. 3,42,000, or, excluding other sources of revenue than land-tax, out of Rs. 2,95,000. That the remissions were generally on account of land-tax is certain. It is worthy of observation that although the statements exhibit a gradual improve¬ ment in cultivation, they show also a progressive increase in remis¬ sions : Rs. 50,000 of the Rs. 74,000 remissions have been granted in the last two years. 17. From the revenue history of this district it may very fairly be inferred that the m4mul assessment does not offer any basis on which to build up an equitable system of taxation. The revision of the Purandhar assessment was made by an officer cele¬ brated for his talents and his perseverance in examining into detail. But it is evident that, although it relieved the people from the pressure of heavy taxation, it did not do away with the various evils of unequal assessment—kowli and ukti leases, &c.: remis¬ sions, with all their objectionable accompaniments and effects, have been still found necessary, and they can only be rendered unnecessary by a proper classification of the lands. The re¬ marks in Lieutenant Evans’s 20th paragraph are well worthy of attention. 526 18. The proposed jerayet assessment, calculating on the average of the rates which, from the experience of the other dis¬ tricts, we are justified in doing, will amount to about Company’s Us. 58,000. This sum is equal to about Ankusi Rs. 60,000. The present nominal assessment has been shown to be Rs. 1,01,402. The proposed rates will produce a jamd on the land in cultivation (111,768 acres) of about Company’s Rs. 47,000, equal to about Ankusi Rs. 49,000. The. average collections under all heads for the last seven years have been shown to be Rs. 34,983. In the most favourable year (1251), the jamd on account of land reve¬ nue was about Rs. 60,500, but there were Rs. 22,000 remitted,* bringing down the sum to be collected for land-tax to Rs. 48,500, and there were considerable balances at the end of the official year. 19. In accordance with the orders of Government, the ba- gayet assessment will be introduced into the district. I propose that it shall be assessed in the same manner and at the same rates as it has been in Inddpur, Bhimthari, Haveli, and Pdbal. I should think this tax could not yield less than Rs. 3,000. 20. The subject of boundaries has been noticed in my annual report. . I have, &c., A. NASH, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Deccan. Superintendent, Revenue Survey Office, Gamp Poona, 3rd August 1843. * The remissions under all heads are Kb. 22,884 j the remissions for land-tax may be safely taken at Ks. 22,000. STATEMENT of the Extent of the various Villages in the Supa Petha of the Purandhar Pargana, according to the Paimash. No. Names of Villages. Acres. GrtS. Deduct Inams. Balance Out¬ standing. 1 ~T . 2 3 4 5 1 Kasba Supa 19,515 00*23$ 3,796 20-05$ 15,719 0212$ 2 Moazeh Kololi 2,544 27-03$ 3,061 00-17j 2,183 1003$ 3 99 Deulgaon 3,955 28*13$ 512 14-01 f 2,443 2412 4 Sonori 2,843 34-15$ 205 36-12| 2,637 38-03 5 » Undauri, Par¬ gana Supa... 1,793 30-14 60 15-05f 1,733 1508$ 6 99 Undauri 4,006 20-10 253 1308$ 3,753 07 01$ 7 99 Burhanpur 2,127 16-03 138 3604$ 1,988 1914$ 8 99 Nepat Valan ... 1,309 0004 ,,, 1,309 00-04 9 99 Jalgaon (P. Supa) 3,971 33*06$ 218 29-01$ 3,753 04-04$ 10 »> J algaon (Tarif Karepathar) . 4,193 24-10| 311 13-07 3,882 1103$ 11 99 Wagaz 3,606 36-06 133 0314$ 3,473 3207$ 12 99 Anjangaon ... - 9,980 04-11$ 158 00-15$ 2,822 03-ll| 13 99 Murti 4,492 3210$ 435 20-11$ 4,057 11-15$ 14 Mondwa 3,194 38-12 494 08-11 2,700 3001 15 99 Jogauri 2,072 18-15$ 287 27-10$ 1,784 31-05$ 16 99 Mauri 2,505 07-14$ 168 1112 2,336 3602$ 17 99 Karan ia 6,882 12-15 1,098 3403$ 5,783 1811$ 18 99 Hoi 4,042 30-06$ 597 19-10$ 3,445 10-12$ 19 99 Murum 5,200 08-02$ 614 04-10 4,586 0308$ 20 99 Korhala Khurd. 1,519 32-07f 45 11-15$ 1,474 20-03 21 99 Korbala Budruk 4,676 1213 776 3815$ 3,899 33-13$ 22 » Nimbat (disput¬ ed land) 727 26-02$ ... ... 727 2602$ 23 99 Waki 1,956 10-00 349 25-06 1,606 24-10 24 99 Chopdaj 2,182 13-10$ 304 33-09$ 1,877 2001 25 99 Pandara 9,228 3602$ 536 04*07$ 8,692 3110$ 26 99 Ponda 1,166 20-15$ 80' 25-04 1,085 3511$ 27 99 Rajuri 4,432 38-081 474 26-10$ 3,958 1114$ 28 99 Risa 2,054 02-05 211 05-12 1,842 36-09 29 99 Ambi Khurd ... 1,712 32-06f 151 01-01$ 1,561 3105$ 30 99 Pandesb war ... 2,778 32-07 473 32-02$ 2,305 00-04$ 31 99 Jawal Urjun ... 2,205 1711 30 31-10$ 1,902 00*26$ 32 99 Wadana 3,061 12-05$ 327 1811$ 2,733 3310 33 99 Loni 15,434 00-34$ 430 1010 15,004 23-06$ 34 it Baburdi 3,267 31-08$ 342 09-05 2,925 22-03$ 1707$ 08-15$ 35 99 Tardoli 3,254 36-01 501 18-09$ 2,753 36 99 Mudaia 4,141 0615 472 37-15$ 3,668 37 38 99 Pisa 1,077 22-13$ 112 17-02$ 965 0510$ 99 Kuta 2,511 33-08$ 222 12-00| 2,289 .21-07$ 0415$ 39 99 Gulancha ... 4,324 3709f 890 3210 3,434 40 99 Khor 2,014 155 ... 1,859 • Total ... 1,54,970 I <-4* OC © 17,008 02-02 137,962 09 06$ 528 STATEMENT of the Assessment of the Supa District as it now stands. No. Names of Villages. Amount. 1 2 3 * Rs. a. p. 1 Kasha Supa ... ... ... 9,042 5 1 2 Mouzeh Jalgaon 3,105 0 o 3 ,, Burhanpur 1,246 3 3 4 „ Waki 1,210 0 o 5 „ Chopdaj... , ... .., 1,962 3 o 6 „ Ambi Khurd 1,021 10 4 * 7 „ Nepat Valan 997 8 o 8 „ Murti 1,877 3 0 9 „ Korhala Budruk ... 3,685 6 6 10 „ Pandara ... ... ... ... ... 8,297 10 3 11 „ Deulgaon ... 1,696 10 lo 12 „ Turduli 1,762 15 ll 13 ,, Sonori ... ... * ... ... ... 2,120 11 3 14 „ Undauri ... 1,452 6 3 15 „ .Risa 1,548 12 1 16 „ Korhala Khurd ... 1,286 3 8 17 „ Mudala 3,330 0 0 18 „ Rajuri 3,266 4 0 19 „ Mauri 2,264 1 3 20 • „ Jogauri 1,663 11 2 21 „ Jalgaon 2,933 6 H 22 „ Jawal Arjun 1,851 10 7 23 ,, Wagaz 2,002 8 0 24 „ Pisa ... ... 713 1 11 25 ,, Wadana ... 1,693 U ll 26 „ Pandeshwar 2,675 7 3 27 ,, Anjangaon 3,273 11 11 28 Ponda 1,095 9 9 39 „ Undauri ... ... ... ... ... . ... “ 3,812 9 7 30 ,, Khora ... 636 6 8 31 „ Karanja, Tarif Narturi ... 3,783 11 9 32 „ Murum ... 5,002 13 10 33 „ Hoi 2,197 8 0 34 „ Kololi ... ... * 971 5 3 35 „ Mond^va ... ... ... ... 1,439 14 8 36 „ Baburdi 1,860 3 0 37 „ Kutai, Pargana Phaltan ... 2,291 1 3 38 „ Seotakrar ... 277 0 0 39 ,, Gulaucha, Pargana Shirwal ... 2,487 3 1 Total... 93,748 15 2 40 Mouzeh Loni ... ... ... 7,605 4 8 Grand Total... 1,01,354 3 10 Amount entered in Lieutenant Evans’ Report... 1,01,402 0 0 529 No. 33 of 1843. To Lieutenant A. NASH, Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona. Sir, I have the honour to propose rates of assessment for the Supa Petha, and to state the data from which I have drawn my conclu¬ sions. I derive them partly from a comparison between Supa and the recently settled talukas of Bhimthari and ImMpur, and partly from an inquiry into the past and present condition of .the district. 2. In drawing this comparison, although I labour under the difficulties incidental to a want of personal experience as to the climate and general characteristics of Inddpur and Karkam Petha, never having visited the former, and my acquaintance with the latter being limited, yet I recur to the recorded opinions of others with confidence, when I state that these two. districts are marked by scanty and uncertain rains, and that jowdri is the grain principally cultivated. 3. The measurement of the Supa Petha was commenced to¬ wards the latter end of November 1841, under the superintendence of Captain F. C. Wells ; but that officer being almost immediately afterwards ordered to join his regiment upon field service in Sind, I took charge of his establishment in the beginning of the ensuing January. The total area of the Government land in the district at pre¬ sent consists of 137,962 acres—the ground occupied by barren hills, mountains, nullas, the sites of villages, &c., being deducted —divided into 39\ Government villages ; of this number25 were wholly re-measured, 12 were tested, and the amount of error being within 10 per cent., they were passed, and 3 were measured for the first time, having but lately lapsed to Government. 4. Of the classification the whole is completed, with the exception of two villages. Much delay has unavoidably occurred in this part of the work, owing to our having been obliged to reject the whole of the classifier’s work in several villages,—an amount of 31,907 acres,—and they had necessarily to be done over again. 5. The district has Bhimthari to its north (see the sketch map given in Appendix), from which it is separated by the range of hills immediately to the southward of Poona ; the river Nira divides it on the south from the territories of His Highness the Raja of Satara; it has Indapur on the east, and the Saswad divi- b 209—15 530 ision of the Purandhar Taluka on the west. As I have already observed, it contains 39j Government villages, also 15 held in inam and jaghir. The general appearance of the country upon the banks of the rivers Kurra and Nira is flat, but intersected by strong nullahs ; the northern villages are hilly, as are two or three near the western boundary and in the centre ; perhaps two parts of the whole may be termed flat, one part undulating, and one hilly.. 6. My impression from a residence of two seasons in it, and from a diligent inquiry, is that this district, in common with Indd,- pur, and more particularly Karkam Petha, labours under the disadvantage of a precarious supply of rain, and its attendant deteriorating effects upon the crops. It would seem, upon a refer¬ ence to the map, that lying (as a part of it does) nearer the gMts than Karkam, Supa should enjoy a more certain supply of rain ; 3^et such would not appear to be the case, and perhaps one cause may be found in the greater proximity of the Purandhar Hills, and these holding .the rain which would otherwise descend ; in the same manner, although in a less degree, the Mahadeo Hills to the north of Satara, which run parallel to and within 12 miles of the river Nira, may, exercising a similar influence upon the atmos¬ phere, account for the proverbial want of rain in Phaltan Hesh and that part of Supa on the north bank of the Nira. The natives have frequently told me that the rain from the Konkan, collected upon the Purandhar range, and running down the chain of hills dividing the talukas of Bhimthari and Purandhar, descends upon the former,—perhaps because the descent is more abrupt,—and there are fewer intervening hills than in the south or Supa side. Whatever, however, may be the cause, the effect is undeniable when the growth of bajri, which requires so much more rain than jowari, in the two districts is compared. There is a tradition amongst the people,—the country between Jejuri and Bdrdmati was formerly cursed, the ill-effects of which remain to this day in the failure of the periodical rains. 7. The hills which separate Supa from Bhimthari consti¬ tute a drawback from which Karkam is exempt—that district being traversed by the great road from the eastward towards Poona, which is daily crowded with carts conveying the produce of our own and the neighbouring districts to “ the greatest grain mart in the country.” The Bdbdeo Ghat is, I believe, almost impracticable for loaded carts-—at least I have never known grain sent to Poona by means of carts by this gh£t; all that is conveyed there being by pack bullocks, a far inferior mode of transport to that of the large carts of Indapur and Karkam, with which the people here acknowledge their pack bullocks cannot successfully compete. It is much to be regretted that the ascent of the B&bdeo 531 Ghat should still continue so steep ; and nothing has hitherto been done towards improving the Rajawari Ghat, one that is much used, more so indeed than the other. Holkar brought his plunder¬ ing bands up this ghat in 1803, when he ravaged the country as far as the Nira, and our own force under the late General Sir Lionel Smith pursued the flying Peshwa in 1818 by this route. The only road for loaded carts, then, from Supa to Poona is by Kher; but the Kher Khind is by no means free from obstructions ; from Supa to Yewat it is 14 miles ; the great road from the east¬ ward, already alluded to, passes through Yewat. 8. Although more unfavourably situated than Karkam, and, in a measure, Indapur, with respect to a good cart-road to Poona, Supa enjoys an advantage over the latter districts in having the minor markets of S4swad, W4i, Bhor, and Satara within reach. Jow4ri, I have been told, does not meet with a ready sale at S4t4ra, being inferior in quality to the same grain grown towards Madha and Yesgaon, and even nearer Satara; b4jri, however, finds a market, and jow4ri will always sell at a profit at Wai, Bhor, and. S4swad. From these places it finds its way to Mahdd in the Konkan. Carts can reach Bhor, but, unfortunately, there are but very few in the district, except some with solid stone wheels, ill-suited for purppses of traffic. 9. From all I can learn, considerably more bdjri is grown in Supa than in Indapur ; still the rabi crop of jow4ri predominates —another proof that the fall of rain is more scanty than in the Pimpalgaon division of Bhimthari, where the contrary is the case. A good deal of bajri may be grown in those villages where the soil is light, more from necessity than choice : much of the land here is unsuited to produce a kharif crop, being deep and heavy. 10. Having compared the several districts already named as regards climate, products, and situation with respect to markets,, it rehaains to conclude this part of the subject by a reference to the average prices of produce which, it will l^e seen, are how chiefly regulated by proximity or otherwise to Poona, and the facility, or the contrary, of the means of transport by good* roads and carts, or by pack bullocks and steep ghats. The transit duties, whilst they existed, tended much, as remarked by you, to create minor markets in the district and cause a kind of monopoly. 1 have, there¬ fore, rejected, as influenced by these trammels of free trade, the returns of the prices of grain previous to their abolition, and should prefer taking the average prices of the last five years as a criterion whereby to judge of the relative value of his produce to the ryot in each district, and his consequent ability to pay a greater or less amount of rent. 532 11. It is, I confess, with considerable hesitation that I attempt to draw conclusions from the returns which were furnished me of the prices at Pdtas, Supa, and Indapur, &c., by the respective native revenue officers at those places ; but as elaborate calculations to ascertain the gross produce, however carefully framed, have been found perfectly useless for all practical purposes, perhaps having once fixed a set of rates for a district as Indapur, which have stood the test of time, and are found to ensure the objects in view, viz., a light assessment that can be collected in all ordinary seasons, withouthaving recourse to that bane of all exertions—annual remissions, no better means of introducing the same system into an adjoining district could be adopted than the one I have attempt¬ ed to pursue, both in the inquiries I have instituted as to climate, &c., and now to be made as to the relative prices of produce. 12. From the table marked A it will be seen— 1st.—That jowdri at Supa averages during the last five years 25 per cent, higher than jow&ri at Indapur. 2nd.—B&jri at Supa averages during the same period about 12 per cent, higher than Mjri at Inddpur. 3rd.—Jow&ri at Supa averages during the last five years 2 per cent, higher than jowari at Pdtas. 4th.—B4jri averages the same at Supa as at Patas. By means of Table B, we are enabled to compare the average prices of grain at Indapur, Supa, and Patas for the last 25 years, and the result is as follows :— ls£.—Jowari at Supa averages about 14 per cent, higher than jow&ri at Indapur. 2nd.—Bijri at Supa Averages about 8 per cent, higher than bajri at Ind&pur. 3rd.—Jowdxi at Supa averages about 5 per cent, higher than . jow&ri at Patas. • 4th.—Bajri at Supa averages about 6 per cent, higher than b&jri at Pdtas. The Table B has been given rather to show the gradual declension in the value of produce from the year we got the country to the present, than as valuable data to go upon, and, as I have before observed, the average prices since the abolition of the transit duties rather seem to offer the kind of information most required. From an attentive examination of the table, I should think that an increase of 15 per cent, upon the Ind&pur rates, or that, which is the same thing, 5 per cent, upon those of Karkam Petha, is as much as Supa can bear : the rate can hardly be made higher, for the difference of 25 per cent, between jowari at Indapur and Supa, ‘533 in favour of the latter place, coulcj. not fairly be taken as the increase to be imposed upon Supa, when we find that bajri there barely fetches 12 per cent, higher than at Inddpur. The disparty observable at different places between the relative value of the grain with respect to jow£ri is singular and difficult to account for. From a comparison I have made from the appended tables I find— 1st.—B5jri at Inddpur averages 32 per cent, higher than jow^ri at Indd,pur. 2nd.—B4jri at Saswad averages 34 per cent, higher than jow&ri at Saswad. 3rd.—B&jri at Supa averages 26 per cent, higher than jowari at Supa. Mh.—Bdjri at P&tas averages 25 per cent, higher than jowari at P4tas. 13. You have remarked in another place that b&jri will always fetch an enhanced price at Ind&pur, from that place being distant from any large market; and it may be that, as there is so little of it cultivated, and all produce travels eastward towards the ghats, that the circumstance may exercise an influence in causing the grain to bear so high a price at Inddpur— at least, I hardly know how to account for it in any other way. In addition to what I have already stated, there is another reason against raising the rates for Supa more than 15 per cent, higher than those of Indd- pur, because, in the event of doing so, Karkam would secure a superiority unwarranted, as it appears to me, by its situation with respect to markets, and its advantages with regard to climate. I, therefore, look upon 15 per cent, as the maximum of any rates to be imposed upon Supa. 14. It may possibly be objected that Supa being situated in a corner of the district to which it gives its name, the prices of grain at a distance may differ, and such'may possibly at times be the case ; but I doubt the difference being more than 1 per cent., now 4hat the transit duties are no longer in existence. I did, however, try to get returns from Wargaon, a flourishing inam village, where there is a small bazaar and several w£ris, but I was unsuccessful in framing any correct tables. 1 thought it useless to send for inform¬ ation as to their prices at Phaltan and Baramati, as the flow of traffic is in the other direction. I have very correct returns from Saswad, but I do not know that my furnishing them in this place would be of any assistance in determining rates of assessment for Supa : they can, however, be forwarded in detail, if necessary. Bajri and jowdri atPoona averages between20 and22per cent, higher than at Sdswad; this is owing to the range of ghdts which intervene. In my 7 th paragraph I have adverted to the steepness of the ascent of the • 534 Bdbdeo Ghat precluding any traffic by means of loaded carts; nor do I think, Venturing an unprofessional opinion, that it would cost less to level this ghat than it would to abandon the line altogether, and open the Rajawari Ghdt for carts. So little traffic is there at pre¬ sent along the made road from Poona to the Nira Bridge, that I have seen the road itself after the rains almost green ; were the R&ji- wari line adopted, it would branch off from Loni (on the Shola- pur road) and join the old road somewhere near Jejuri; its advan¬ tages would operate in the most beneficial manner, and we might then have a chance of seeing Lieutenant Wingate’s cart introduced into Purandhar, and the miserable mode of transport, now the only one, by pack bullocks abandoned ; the revenue, too, would be more certain. Supa, had the means of communication with Poona been otherwise than they are, might have borne with ease a higher assess¬ ment than it appears can now be imposed. 15. The district is now in course of transition from a state of great depression to one of comparative prosperity. The mdmul rates were re-introduced in Fasli 1245, and since that year the im¬ provement in the condition of the people has been annual. These rates enjoy the privilege of age, and as coming after the high set¬ tlement of the survey, meet with more favour than any intrinsic merits they possess, should cause them to deserve. What strikes one most,is their extreme inequality in adjacent villages: land ofthesame quality pays double in one village to land in the other; still no ryot ever thought of finding fault with the inconsistency, though the same person would be the very first to complain against a tithe of a like difference of assessment imposed by the present survey: such, how¬ ever, is the veneration for established custom, if it be good or bad* in all countries. The inequality alluded to, is owing partly to that fluctuating measure, the bigah being used to designate land of exactly the same quality, but of a greater or less extent ; and when such is the case, it is owing, I have been told, to the circumstance of certain villages not having been measured by the last survey under the Peshwas (that by Naro Appaji), as they were alienated* at the time in inam or jaghir : this is one reason. Another must be referred to Captain Shortrede’s mode of apportioning the mdmul assessment to the survey fields, which were retained when the m4mul was re-introduced; for instance, a dagh, or small holding, may have been rated by the m4mul at 60 bigahs, but being found at Mr. Pringle’s survey to contain a greater num¬ ber of acres than were deemed convenient to retain as one field, it was divided into two or more separate fields called phut numbers, and in *proportion to the number of acres in each, and often with¬ out reference to the soil, the field was said to contain so many of the bigahs of the whole dagh or holding; this was in effect making; 535 the measure one of quantity, not of quality, which it really is. Upon Captain Shortrede’s making the settlement according to the mdmul, it is evident that if A got No. 1 field, containing certainly one-half the acres of the dagh, and, therefore, by the mode of computation observed, half the mdmul bigahs, but of all the inferior soil, he was unfairly assessed, because B, of No. 2, had all the good land, although not a greater number of acres, and both parties paid the same rent. This has, I am persuaded, pressed very hardly upon individuals ; and the only way in which it could have been avoided, would have been by placing the assessment, not upon the survey phut numbers, but upon the daghs themselves ; the jphut numbers must, however, in that case have been sacrificed. I mention this, because as the present survey will raise the rents in some entire villages, and individuals will have to pay higher than formerly, so numerous complaints may be looked for, whatever the rates may be, even should they be those oflnddpur, which, of course, will not be the case. It could hardly have been expected that the bigahs placed opposite the phut numbers in the Thalwdrs would ever have been required as data in giving an assessment, because no one could have supposed at the time that the mdmul just superseded by the survey would in return supersede the latter. 16. The Supa Petha contains 154,970 acrfes,. assessed at Ankusi Rs. 1,01,402 ; but from this number 17,008 acres held in inam, and as*sessed at Ankusi Rs. 12,418, must be deducted. There will then remain 137,962 acres at present assessed at Ankusi Rs. 88,984; but that this amount, although so much less than the survey assessment, has never been realized, will appear upon an examination of the accompanying diagram and statement of the jamdbandi, collections, remissions for the last 23 years (see Ap¬ pendix, Table D). 17. I have thought it needless to go into much detail with regard to the revenue of the district, either before or after the former survey, until the re-introduction of the mdmul under Cap¬ tain Shortrede’s superintendence, because the circumstance of that officer’s having been appointed to this duty is sufficient evidence to prove that the Paimdsh settlement was too high, and because it was found expedient to return to that system which the survey, at much expense, had superseded. I shall, therefore, when refer¬ ring to the figured statement, confine myself to the system of reve¬ nue management now in force, which appears to have been made the basis of the jamdbandi of Fasli 1245, although not entirely introduced until the following year. In 1245, out of 132,669 acres the district then contained, only 40,696 were in cultivation; and of this the whole, with the exception of 1,428 acres, was held upon susti rates. Since that year kowli and ukti rates have been in 536 numerous instances resorted to, until we find that in Fasli 1251, Ankusi Rs. 7,884 were settled to be paid for land taken upon kowl, and Ankusi Rs. 2,946 for land let out upon ukti rates, making a total of Ankusi Rs. 10,830 out of an assessment of Ankusi Rs. 60,457, or less than one-sixth of the whole revenue of the land in cultivation. I think, from what I have seen, that the prosperity of a district let out at these rates can never be depended upon ; persons are attracted by the low rates, and they generally manage to leave when the inducements which brought them no longer exist; it is likewise unfair towards our own industrious watandars to allow these interlopers an advantage over them. The new sur¬ vey will, however, if the assessment imposed by it takes no more in proportion from the ryot of Sup£ than him of Inddpur, alter all this, and the necessity of resorting to kowli and ukti rates will, it is to be hoped, disappear, except in a few instances. • 18. Including the amount for Bdbits and Sayer Jama, the revenues collected from 1245 to 1251 Fasli (seven years) appears to have been Ankusi Rs. 3,42,69,8 ; out of this, Rs. 74,425 were granted as remission for failure of crops at the annual jama- bandi, Rs. 71,026 were paid to hakdars and for village expenses, leaving Ankusi. Rs. 1,97,248 to be collected on account of Govern¬ ment. 19. I regret to state that, notwithstanding all ifiy endeavours to obtain it, a return for Fasli 1252 and a statement of the actual collections for the preceding years up to the 30th April 1843 have not yet reached me from the district officer, owing, I imagine, to the very large amount of work required from the Mahdlkari of Supa ; but this circumstance will not, I think, cause any difference in your opinion as to the working of the mdmu, system up to the 30th April 1842, to which date the figured statement is made up (Appendix D). In my last paragraph we have seen that Ankusi Rs. 1,97,248 remained to be collected after the remission for failure of crops, payments to hakdars, and village expenses had been deducted. Of this sum, Rs. 1,61,725 were collected within the years it became due; Rs. 12,123 were afterwards realized, making a total of Ankusi Rs. 1,73,848 ; and Rs. 23,400 remain outstanding; but of this amount Ankusi Rs. 12,535 are for Fusli 1251; still, after deducting that sum, the balances are considerable, being Ankusi Rs. 10,865 ; and it is to be remembered.that no less a sum than Rs. 74,425 had already been remitted by the Collector when he made his annual settlement. 20. The effect of such a system as that which carries with it an almost absolute necessity for constant remissions, is evident throughout the whole of the Supa District by its having induced a 537 careless mode of cultivation, and a listlessness and apathy quite melancholy to behold ; nearly every man now, as a matter of course, makes a petition for a remission on account of failure of crops, arguing, that if he gets it—well, and if not-^-why he will be no worse off than before, I have ridden through fields of jowari nearly as high as my horse’s head, and have been told upon inquiry that a remission has been asked for. The idle Kunbi would, I have no doubt, prefer the continuance of the present system, because it is immaterial whether he works hard or not : if he does, and his crop be a good one, he pays his full rent; if he has been idle, and his crop be bad, he gets a remission ; this really seems to be offering a direct premium upon idleness. 21. Adding to the Ankusi Rs. 1,73,848, mentioned in para¬ graph 19 as having been actually collected, the amount paid to hakdars and for village expenses, viz., Ankusi Its. 71,026, we should find that in seven years Ankusi Us. 2,44,874 were collect¬ ed from the district, which sum gives upon an average Its. 34,982 for each year,—a very small sum certainly when we see that in 1232 Fasli the district, which only contained 122,348 acres, yielded Its. 72,556, and that now, with 137,962 acres, it produces little more than half that sum : the three last seasons, however, have been unusually bad, owing to a want of rain. 22. The proposed rates would, were all the land in the dis¬ trict cultivated, yield somewhere about Company’s Rs. 58,203, that is, assuming the average rate per acre to be six annas and nine pies (see Appendix F) ;from this amount, however, a small sum would require deduction on account of Kurans, Seotakr^r, Sheri- makta, &c., now brought to account amongst the B^btis, but al¬ ready included in my estimate of the sum which the whole of the land capable of cultivation contained in the district is likely to pro¬ duce ; or that, which is the same thing, if the sum they yielded in Fasli 1251 be deducted from the'average of the Babtis for the last seven years, we shall have as follows : Land-tax, Company’s Rs. 5,820 ; Bdbtf, Ankusi Rs. 3,598 ; and S&yer Jamd, Ankusi Rs. 1,713 : total Rs. 63,514. To this add the exchange in favour of the Company’s Rs. about 2,328, and we have a grand total of Ankusi .Rs. 65,842. I have kept to this rupee for the sake of uniformity, although the accounts have for some years past been kept in Company's Rupees : the difference is about 4 per cent, in favour of the latter. 23. To this total must be added, when imposed, the revenue on the bagayet land of this district, which will, I presume, be as¬ similated in that respect to those already settled. I hardly like" to venture a surmise as to the probable amount of this item but I b 209—16 * 538 do not imagine it will exceed a few thousand rupees. The propriety of the tax is no longer an open question, so I do not discuss the subject, nor have I proposed any rates for bagayet. I am, however, if you wish it, ready to do so ; but I should prefer postponing their consideration until I again visit the district after the rains, and when all the bagayet will be measured. 24. As I have already expressed my sentiments to you with regard to boundaries, I do not again recur to the subject, for I have nothing further to say in addition to that which I had the honour to state in my letter of the 20th ultimo. I have only to add that I trust a speedy decision may be passed upon the import¬ ant point which forms the subject of this letter, in order that the pratbandi assessment may be introduced at the ensuing jam&bandi. I have, &c., E. EVANS, Assistant Superintendent, Revenue Survey. Poona, 8th July 1843. * Statement 539 A. Trices of Grain during the undermentioned Years in Inddpur, Patas, and Sujpa. 9 Years, Fasli. Ind&pur. Fdtas. Supa. JowAri. Bdjri. Jow&ri. B&jri. Jow&ri. B&jri. 1228 11 6| 17 12 19 18 1229 15 17 184 22 19 11 1230 31 27 22 26 22 20 1231 50 38 52 64 44 20 1232 60 28 112 28 76 46 1233 27 29 26 124 24 40 1234 134 15s 20| 12 17 14 12 1235 35 33 36 37 16 1236 52 52 46 33 46 35 1237 52 42 29 34 27 32 1238 60 53 66 44 56 31 1239 44 . 32 40 38 32 384 1240 40 39 40 33 38 464 1241 60 36 52 32 42 35 1242 20 34 22 24 35 31 1243 4C 22 44 52 404 20 1244 60 28 50 40 46 314 1245 36 32 34 34 37 46 1246 '50 32 44 44 50 35 1247 64 42 56 32 50 31 1248 38 40 34 34 32 44 1249 56 36 48 38 44 31 1250 52 32 48 38 46 34 1251 60 46 56 36 46 35 1252 80 48 64 46 64 40 25 1,0964 8274 1,0654 849| 9864 77!>i Add—Difference 137^ 103f 49H 39H 9244 76x4 Poona Seers Average Seers for one 1,234 931 1,115 889 1,079 856 Rupee 49 37 45 36 43 34 540 Statement of the Jamabandi Collections, Remissions, Balances, fyc., of Number. j 00 I o u J8 8 £ Tears (Pasli). Ain Jama. S4yer JamA •5 § 8 S' *3 1 —w— CQ - 02 Land fie Q W Assessm 2 P 3nt. <0 & ? ffl f 1 Total. I Bdbtis. | 1 _ 1 8 c3 â–º"8 P £ â– 3 1 4? CQ Alaida Nazur beit. 1 85' 1229 22,277 17,289 3,789 165 43,519 3,913 47,432 4,042 16 51,490 2 85 1230 , 30,531 12,431 4,001 . 390 47,352 7,293 54,645 5,236 33 59,914 S 35 1231 32,846 17,739 1,200 430 52,216 10,909 63,125 5,000 34 68,159 4 35 1232 48,507 16,738 1,503 390 57,139 11,148 68,287 5,035 34 73,356 8 35 1233 40.552 12,756 1,521 390 55,188 11,684 66,872 4,961 33 71,806 6 . 35 1234 33,119 7,198 1,782 385 42,483 10,275 52,758 4,540 34 57,332 7 35 1235 22,881 1,888 8,586 387 43,743 9,156 42,899 4,093 34 47,026 8 37 1236 41,530 2,421 862 396 45,210 9,236 54,446 4,545 36 69,027 9 37 1237 26,520 3,902 608 414 31,449 7,544 38,992 3,252 35 42,280 10 37 1238 23,135 3,520 3,772 361 30,789 7,209 37,998 4,020 36 | 41,051 11 37 1239 51,190 •• 51,190 4,757 55,953 3,160 37 59,151 12 38 1240 17,051 16,945 64 34,060 3,198 37,258 . 2,859 38 40,155 13 38 1211 20,456 2,070 69 •• 40,601 2,580 43,180 3,125 38 t 46,343 14 38 1242 22,417 16,757 67 •• 39,240 2,031 41,271 3,054 39 44,306 15 38 1243 30,999 17,669 113 48,781 3,251 52,032 3,362 39 55,433 15 38 1244 39,067 334 414 435 40,269 1,978 42,247 3,204 39 45,490 17 33 1245 20,796 154 389 210 27,549 4,183 31,732 1,768 33,500 18 88$ 1246 32,279 690 646 181 33,696 4,492 38,188 2,075 38 40,301 19 38$ 1247 32,864 2,095 600 180 35,740 5,135 40,875 1,288 39 42,203 20 38$ 1248 83,394 . 4,853 390 268 38,891 4,024 42,916 1,405 39 44,359 21 39$ 1249 37,579 6,284 2,775 177 46,816 4,672 61,488 1,630 41 53,158 22 89$ 1250 42,010 6,619 3,149 177 62,66f 3,749 56,304 1,731 41 58,076 23 39$ 1251 49,450 7,884 2,946 177 00,457 8,749 69,205 1,867 29 71,101 Total for 7 years.. 2,54952 28,479 10,901 1,370 2,95,704 35,004 3,30,708 11,764 227 3,43,698J CO H- Remissions at the JamA- bandi. Hakdars and GAon Kharch, Total. •— CO cn *-» CO f— to K-« To be collected. 40,505 45,459 48,697 27,576 1,817 8,405 26,631 10,986 10,971 20,899 1,427 4,901 21,764 4,801 38,827 22,129 17,239 23,951 27,596 25,276 29,174 19,311 19,178 1,61,725 Collected within the year up to 30th April. to *-* to o . * • tc. 'ca © 'to oo oo co • • • HJC5C*.®^©© d © © © «-4 CD t—‘ Afterwards remitted. 1 12,123 4.375 4,710 28,668 6,217 5,041 2,524 18,663 • $ 7,222 45,108 3,247 8,030 1,234 1,484 9,826 1,798 2,082 3,452 2,260 2.375 156 Afterwards collected up to 30th April 1842. 1,73,848 44,881 45,459 53,407 56,244 8,034 8,446 20,155 29,649 10,971 28,121 46,535 8,148 24,794 6,035 40,312 31,955 19,036 26,033 31,048 27,537 31,549 19,311 19,334 Total collected. 1 23,400 b* M a- W ** , , ... ^ <1 • •• • • • Balance. 2,44,874 51,490 59,914 68,129 72,556 24,505 22,327 40,631 42,216 21,182 38,489 55,501 11,776 34,796 11,472 54,386 44,239 26,113 85,197 39,891 35,760 43,727 28,503 85,683 Actually collected, including GAon Kharch and payments to Hakdars. V 5* s 2 43,619 47,352 52,216 57,139 55,188 42,483 43,743 45,210 31,449 30,789 • 61,196 84,060 40,601 39,240 48,781 40,269 27,549 33,696 35,740 38,891 46,816 52,555 60,457 Land Assessment, deducting BAbti and 8Ayer Jama. 1,97,880 8,.S5!SS£g3£, <»:8o.5!3SS3m-«S$££ 2 ft g fe ft % S 2 3 if 2 2 2 S &? § 2 5 £8 8 5 g g Sk3enwQowM~4i£c»^OM««»*«paaaa»5o»io'B Actual Collections on aocount of Land Assessment. Pethafrom Fasli 1229 fo.IM 1251, both years inclusive. 542 No. 1208 of 1848. To The REVENUE COMMISSIONER. Sir, In transmitting reports from Messrs. Nash and Evans, of the Revenue Survey, relative to the rates of assessment on jerayet lands which they propose to introduce into the Supa sub-division of the Purandhar Pargana, I have the honour to request the sanction of yourself and Government to the introduction of the rates proposed. 2. The reports of these officers show the inequality of assess¬ ment, resulting from the modification of the md-mul rates intro¬ duced by Lieutenant Shortrede, and the existence of a high taxa¬ tion as exemplified by the fact that lands to the extent of one- sixth of the whole cultivation were granted on kowli and ukti rates of assessment. 3. The principles on which the proposed rates of assessment have been fixed, are those which have guided the survey officers in previously settled districts, namely, the prices of grain, climate, position with reference to markets, &c.; and the conclusion arrived at is, that the Supa Petha should be assessed at an increase of 15 per cent, on the lnddpur rates, or 5 per cent, on those of Karkam. The proposed rates are given in detail in Appendix F, attached- to Mr. Evans’s report. 4. The Supa sub-division of 39j villages comprises an area of 137,962 acres, liable to pay rent to Government, and assessed under Lieutenant Shortrede’s modification of the m&mul rates at Ankusi Rs. 88,984, equal to Company’s Rs. 85,353. 5. The proposed rates of assessment on the jerayet lands will yield a kamal rent of Rs. 58,203, and the jam4 from lands now under cultivation will amount to Rs. 47,000—a larger sum than is at present collected. 6. Mr. Nash estimates that the bagayet lands will yield a rent of not less than Rs. 3,000. The rate and mode of assessment he proposes are the same as those carried into effect in the dis¬ tricts already settled, namely, the sum of 2 rupees per acre in excess of the jerayet rate to be assessed on the number of acres which may be fixed for each well by the surveying officer. I have, &c., (Signed) J. D. INVERARITY, First Assistant Collector in charge. Poona, 23rd Auglisl 1843. 543 Extract, Taras. 3 and 4, of a Letter from the Revenue Commissioner' to Government, No. 964, of 8th September last. “ Para. 3.—This advance is stated by Lieutenant Evans, in paragraph 12, to be, in his opinion, ‘ as much as Supa can bear’; and from this opinion Lieutenant Nash, in paragraph 10, observes that he sees no reason to dissent. It is not, however, clear how they make out sufficient grounds for the proposed advance in the Karkam rates. I can trace in their reports no superiority on the part of 1 Supa/ except in the price of grain ; and although, on the average of 25 years, * jow£ri ’ is stated by Lieutenant Evans, in paragraph 12, to have been 5 per cent, and bdjri 6 per cent, higher in Supa than in * Pitas/ yet this average is argued to be of less value than that of the years since the abolition of the transit duties, according to which there is only a difference in the price of * jowiri ’ of 2 per cent,, and none in that ofbijri (Lieutenant Nash’s paragraph 9) ; and on referring to the table, this difference even had vanished during the last year for which the prices are given. “ Para. 4.—The locality of * Karkam/ with respect to the Poona market, was admitted as a ground of distinction between it and 1 Ind£pur/ and a difference of price would now seem to exist. ‘ Supa/ owing to the want of a cart-road, does not benefit so much as Karkam by the Poona market; but the markets of Sd,swad, W4i, and Bhor are supposed to compensate for the disadvantage in this respect, which may bring them to an equality; but, as above ob¬ served, I do not see how any superiority is established, and I hesi¬ tate, therefore, to recommend any advance in the rates fixed for the Karkam Petha on this account.” (True Extracts.) (Signed) D. BLANE, Revenue Commissioner, Southern Division. No. 311 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. 964, dated the 8th ultimo, with its enclosures, being a letter from the Assistant Col¬ lector in charge of Poona, and reports by Lieutfenant Nash, Super- 544 intendeiit of the Revenue Survey in the Deccan, and his Assistant, Lieutenant Evans, on the raised rates of assessment proposed for the Supa division of the Purandhar Pargana, in the Poona Col- lectorate. 2. In reply, I am desired to observe that the adoption, for the Supa division of Purandhar, of the rates of the Karkam division of Bhimthari, increased by 5 per cent.—these latter being already 10 per cent, above those of Ind&pur^-does not seem to be advis¬ able, and His Honour in Council agrees with you in preferring the Karkam rates as they stand. The result on the revenue of Supa will still be to bring the amount in excess of what has of late years been realized. These rates should, I am instructed to remark, be introduced during the present season. 3. The Governor in Council desires that the bagayet rate be fixed, as in Inddpur, at Rs. 2 per acre. 4. That portion of the present correspondence which relates to the state of the Bdbdeo Ghit, and to the improvement of the means of communication, has, I am directed to state, been transfer¬ red to the General Department, in order that the Superintendent of Roads and Tanks may thence be consulted on the points brought forward by Lieutenant Evans. 5. The report by Lieutenant Evans now submitted by you, which is the first from him since he joined the survey, I am desired by the Honourable the Governor in Council to observe, does that gentleman much credit, and exhibits intelligence, activity, and a perfect acquaintance with the duty on which he is engaged. (Signed) Bombay Castle, 13£7& October 1843. I have, &c., . L. R. REID, Chief Secretary. 545 No. 1953 of 1873. Poona, 17th October 1873. MEMORANDUM. The accompanying papers contain proposals by the Superin¬ tendent, Poona and Ndsik Survey, for the application of a revised assessment to 39 villages comprising the former Mah&lkari’s divi¬ sion of Supa as it existed at the time it was brought under settle¬ ment. 2.The first settlement reports represent the district to have been at that time in the course of transition from a state of great depression to one of comparative prosperity, consequent on the re¬ duction of assessment which had then been recently effected by Captain Shortrede’s revision of Mr. Pringle’s rates. From the general account given of the result of this measure, it appears that the Jamd, which, under Mr. Pringle’s assessment, amounted to Rs. 1,22,703, was reduced to Rs. 88,984* But, owing to the de¬ fective manner in which the revision was effected, the levy of Captain Shortrede’s modified assessment was found to be impracti¬ cable, and - resort was had to reduced ukti and kowli rates. But these expedients failed to stop the decline in the revenue, which, in the two last years preceding the introduction of the sur¬ vey settlement, had fallen to 23 and 25,000 rupees, respectively. 3.The survey officers, however, were evidently of opinion that the collections at this period did not represent the revenue which might fairly be levied from this district under a properly , adjusted settlement, and they accordingly fix- * Estimated to amount Vm â–  -j m ^ to about Rs. 59,000. â„¢eiT assessment* considerably m excess of what was then being realized. The result shows that the capabilities of the district were by no means over¬ estimated, for the settlement seems from the first to have worked favourably ; and at the termination of the lease we find that the resources of the district have been considerably augmented, whilst the increase in agricultural stock and implements speaks favour¬ ably for the present condition of the people. 4.For evidence as to the existence of the state of things described above, I would refer to the statistical and other general information given in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Superintendent’s Revision Report. On examining the comparative returns referred to, it will be perceived that during the thirty-years’ interval the population has increased about 40 per cent.; buffaloes, cows, and draft bullocks from 10 to 30 ; and carts 200 percent.; whilst 71 per cent, has been added to the number of irrigation and drinking wells b 209—17 .* ° 546 Mr. Fletcher, the Assistant, by whom the classification of the dis- . trict was effected, in reporting on the condition of the people, states that in every village some men are to be found entirely out of debt, and that there are but few deeply involved. 5. The settlement, too, whilst productive of these beneficial results to the people and district generally, has, at the same time, been most successful in a financial point of view. It was inaugur¬ ated, as before mentioned,. with a revenue amounting in round numbers to Rs. 25,000. In the first decade our collections had nearly doubled, the average annual revenue being shown to be Rs. 48,856 ; in the next decade it had run up to Rs. 56,082 ; and for the last it amounted to Rs. 55,500. The collections for the past year were Rs. 57,461 ; and the papers show a return of 1,830, acres of waste, bearing an assessment of Rs. 443. 6. These results need no comment, and we may, therefore proceed to the discussion of the question of what increase of assess¬ ment it will be fair and expedient now to make in consideration of the improved state of things brought about mainly by the light rates of the present settlement. 7. It will be observed that the Superintendent attaches con¬ siderable importance to climate. This, however, does not directly affect the question of increase, for it may be safely assumed that there has been no change in this respect during the lease, and that the rainfall is just as uncertain now as it was thirty jmars ago. That the officers by whom the first settlement was effected were fully aware of its precarious and uncertain nature, is evident from their remarks upon this subject. Lieutenant Evans speaks of the proverbial want of rain in the Phaltan* ♦Independent State of J)es}j and the part Gf SUpa 0n the north bank fhe^uth nDS 0n of Nira. And again, in allusion to the subject, he states as follows :— “ There is a tradition amongst the people that the country between Jejuri and B&ramatif was formerly tThis includes the the ill effects of which remain to this upa a day tn the failure of the periodical rains.” 8. The Superintendent is of opinion that there is but little difference between the rainfall of Indapur and Supa, and he would put the two upon a par in this respect, which the exception of a few villages on the western border of Supa, which he considers to have some little advantage over the rest, owing to their being more within the influence of the Purandhar range of hills. There is no doubt, in my opinion, of the superiority in regard to climate which the Superintendent assigns to this part of the district; and I con¬ sider he is right in proposing to make his rates on this account somewhat higher here than in the rest of the district. 547 9.But, besides their more certain rainfall, the villages on the western side of the district are also more favourably circum¬ stanced in regard to markets and communications. They are nearer the great Poona market, to which they have easy access, either by the road passing by Supa to the Khergaon Railway station, and .which joins the ShoMpur trunk road near that station, or direct by the fine road over the Diva Ghdt. Climate and market alike, therefore, indicate the western part of the district to be the most favourably circumstanced ; and I consider the Super¬ intendent has displayed good judgment in proposing to put his highest rate on this part of it. 10.The Superintendent explains in paragraph 24 that he proposes to have altogether four classes of rates. The first, which comprises only two villages with a maximum of Rs. 1-6-0, I am in¬ clined to think is unnecessary. There can hardly be any appreciable difference in climate in favour of these villages ; and as they are at a considerable distance from Poona, being on the extreme south¬ western boundary of the district, I would, therefore, do away with this class, and merge them in the next highest rate of Rs. 1-4-0. The villages put under the Superintendent’s other classes are gene¬ rally well assorted ; but I think the grouping will be improved by transferring a few villages from the second to the third, and a few also from the latter to the fourth division, for which he has fixed a rupee maximum in assimilation to the rates imposed generally in the Inddpur District. 11.In accordance with the foregoing suggestions, I propose that the four villages marginally noted should be transferred from the Rs. 1-4-0 to the Rs. 1-2-0 class of rates. The change is de¬ sirable in order to place these villages in the same class as Supa, with which they are closely allied in point of climate and market advantages. The other modification in the grouping advocated by me is to transfer the five Mudala, No. 22 of villaSes Siven in margin from the Rs. 1-2-0 to the Re. 1 rate. This change is also desir¬ able chiefly on climatic grounds, for the vil¬ lages can scarcely be said to be without the range of that uncertain climate which is char¬ acteristic of the part of the district bordering on the Phaltan State. These changes make but little difference in the general result, but will provide for a reduction in a few villao-es in which it is advisable to have our rates as moderate as can be consistently with the application of the general principles on which our grouping is effected. Mondwa, No. 7 of State¬ ment. Murti, No. 8 do. Jogauri, No. 5 do. Ambi, No. 3 do. Statement. Murum, No. 23 of Statement. Korhala Khurd, No. . 19 of Statement. Korhala Budnik, No. 20 of Statement. Hoi, No. 17 of State¬ ment. 548 12.Taking the results as given by the Superintendent in his 28th paragraph, it will be perceived that his proposed rates will raise the assessment on the present occupied lands from Rs. 57,461 to Rs. 81,713—the difference of Rs. 24,252 being equivalent to an increase of 42 per cent. The increase is considerably less than has recently been made in some of the adjoining districts; but this, as explained by the Superintendent, is not the result of a change of system in our revision operations, or of any departure from the standard upon which the re-settlement of other districts has been effected, but is attributable almost entirely to the circumstance of the original classification of this district having been better done, and more in accordance with the established system now in force in the department than we have found to be the case with other previously settled districts. 13.In proof of the correctness of this opinion, I would refer to the statement given in para. 25, which shows how closely the average rate of the old and new classification agrees in most cases. It is to be regretted that the district was not surveyed de novo at the first settlement in place of adopting the measurements of Mr. Pringle’s former survey, which, when com¬ pared with those of our recent survey, show a decrease of 14,598 acres in the total area of the culturable land of the district. But, The increase will pro¬ bably be under 40 per cent, when the reduc¬ tions herein advocated are made, and the re¬ duction for distance from village is also ac¬ counted for. notwithstanding the assessment of this addi¬ tional area, the increase, as before mentioned, is but 42 per cent, for the whole district. 14.This rate of increase appears unduly small when com¬ pared with the rise in prices, which, according to the statement given in para. T9, is shown to be 130 to 134 per cent, for jow4ri, and from 131 to 135 for bTjri. It should be noted, however, that these results are obtained by taking the difference in the averages of the prices of the first and last decades of the settlement period. But as the latter decade includes the exceptionally high prices of the last few years, it would be unsafe to accept the results obtained from it as a correct statement of the actual increase in the value of agricultural produce since the first settlement was introduced. We shall, however, obtain a fair estimate of what it amounts to, by taking the average range of prices for a series of years prior to the introduction of the settlement, and comparing it with the average of a given subsequent period when prices were not influ¬ enced by any unusual occurrence. 15.The periods I would select for this comparison are the 25 years before, and the second decade under the settlement. The 549 average for tlie former period in tlie two local markets is 44 seers, according to the returns appended to Lieute- * Taking Supa only. nant Evans>s xep0rt, and for the latter 26* seers, as shown in statement given in para. 19—the difference, being equivalent to a rise of 69 per cent. I think we may anticipate that jow4ri will rarely, if ever, be below 26 seers per rupee, if we take the range of prices for the whole year throughout; and as this rate gives us an increase of 69 per cent, on the prices adopted at the past settlement, it is evident that our new assessment in being fixed at 40 per cent, increase is a most moderate demand. 16. With this expression of my opinion upon the question discussed in these papers, I beg to recommend the Superintendent’s proposals for the re-settlement of the district for the sanction of Government, subject to the slight modifications herein suggested. J. T. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. No. 4346 op 1873. MEMORANDUM. Revenue Department. Camp Kcmvar, 31s£ October 1873. The Revenue Commissioner, S. D., has the honour to submit Letter from the Collector of Poona, No. 1673, dat^d, 16th September 1873, with accompaniments. •Memorandum from the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., No. 1953, dated 17th October 1873, with accompaniments. correspondence, as per margin, on the revision settlement of 39 villages, of which 30 belong, in virtue of former transfers, to the Bhimthari Taluka and 9 to the S4swad Taluka of the Poona Col- lectorate. 2. The proposals of the Superintendent of Survey, Colonel Waddington, have been so carefully discussed in detail by the Collector of Poona and the Commissioner of Survey and Settle¬ ment, N. D., that the Revenue Commissioner does not think it necessary to go over the same ground in detail again, and will content himself with the expression of concurrence in the Collector’s remarks, reserving his last paragraph for notice further on. 3. Both the Survey Commissioner and the Collector notice favourably the improved economic condition of the district since the introduction of the Survey. During the thirty years’ lease there 550 has been a large increase in population, houses, wells, cattle, and stock, especially in carts, the number of which has risen 200 per cent., or from 191 in 1843 to 578 in 1873. 4. As in all recent cases of revision of the old survey leases* an increase of the Government demand, based principally on the permanent rise in the price of agricultural produce, is proposed by the Superintendent of Survey, and is supported by the Collector, and with slight modifications by Colonel Francis. 5. Colonel Waddington’s original proposals provide for 4 classes of maximum at Rs. 1-6-0, Rs. 1-4-0, Rs. 1-2-0 and Re. 1-0-0 : the modifications advocated by Colonel Francis leave out the highest class, and bring all the villages under the three lower classes. The reasons for such modifications are furnished in detail; and the Revenue Commissioner begs to recommend them to the favourable notice of Government. The effect would be to reduce the total Jamibandi to a small amount: the scheme as first submitted would raise the figures for 1872-73, which stand at Rs. 57,461, to Rs. 81,713, or an increase of Rs. 42 percent. The enhancement may be regarded as far the most moderate that has yet been submitted to Government; and the Revenue Commissioner has great pleasure in expressing his concurrence in the general scope of the proposals. 6. Attention is respectfully invited to the comparison of prices furnished in Colonel Francis’s 14th and 15th paragraphs. It is impossible to predicate precisely what may be the range of prices in future years, but it is certain that during a part of the thirty years’ lease prices have been inordinately high, and it is probable that the average of the second decade of Colonel Waddington’s table may be fairly compared with the average of the twety-five years preceding the survey as the basis of legitimate increase. Colonel Francis takes the two averages for the staple grain—jowdri—as 26 seers and 44 seers, which figures represent a rise of 69 per cent. It has never been clearly asserted that Government would desire to exact the whole of the increase in rent derivable from rise in prices, and moderation has been enjoined in general terms : the recent fall in the grain markets renders it extremely improbable that 26 seers of jow£ri for the rupee will be the lowest price at the time of harvest in future years, though it may often be expected to rule higher. Government will, it is believed, be willing that the land¬ holder and cultivator as well should, in order to meet some rise in the rate of living and of agricultural labour, take shares with Gov¬ ernment to a moderate extent in the financial prosperity which higher money prices of agricultural produce indicate and maintain; and the Revenue Commissioner trusts that the increase of about 551 40 per cent., which in this settlement Colonel Francis has deemed a suitable addition to the former demand on the district, may be regarded by Government also as suitable and sufficient. 7. The Revenue Commissioner is glad to be able to draw attention to the fact recorded both by the Superintendent of the Survey and Colonel Francis, the Commissioner of Survey, that the classification of the previous settlement has been found to be care¬ fully and satisfactorily performed, and that there is a general agreement, or, at least, no very marked disagreement between the present and former classification ; the enhancement, where it ha3 occurred, being generally attributable to the higher maximum which the change of prices justifies. 8. The Collector of Poona, in the 9th paragraph of his let¬ ter No. 1673, dated 16th'ultimo, invites attention to certain results derived from the statement entered at paragraph 9 of Colonel 'Waddington’s report. Explanation does certainly appear desirable regarding the anomalous facts pointed out by Mr. Oliphant. It was at the time found by the Superintendent of Survey impos- * sible to account for the wide divergence of these rates of profit. The total realizations on the 20 sales represent about six times the assessment, and in estimating the probable gross produce the Superintendent of Survey invites attention to the various addi¬ tions to #meet unavoidable expenditure which the middle-men or purchasers would require in order to calculate for their reim¬ bursement. These items are very properly brought to notice ; but it should be equally kept in recollection when estimating gross pro¬ duce for survey and settlement, that similar charges have to be defrayed by the landholder or cultivator before he can take proper stock of his net profits. • 9. Looking at the nature of the soil in No. 1 of the State¬ ment field of 32 acres in Mudala, the Revenue Commissioner thinks, from the assessment at both surveys, that the area must be poor land well cultivated ; but it would appear desirable that an inspec¬ tion of the same field be made this year in order to see whether the produce confirms the estimate of the previous year’s purchases The Collector will be immediately addressed on the subject. 10. The item No. 6 in Mudala, which shows an enhance¬ ment at the revision of. nearly 400 per cent., and items Nos. 8, 12, and 13 in Hoi, demand the serious consideration of the Department of Survey; but as the small sale value of the produce may be attri¬ butable to failure of harvest in the particular season, the Revenue Commissioner will not raise discussion upon these numbers. 552 11. The items No. 5 in Muddla, of which the purchase price represents 30 times the assessment, and No. 14 in Pandara, of which the purchase price represents 10*3 times the assessment, being bag4yet cultivation, are no doubt reconcileable with a return for expenditure. 12. But a case which appears inexplicable, unless on the supposition that there has been a mistake in the figures, is item No. 17 in Nepat Yalan. The area, according to the old and new surveys, is almost identical, i.e., about 20 acres, and the Survey Officers agree in recommending a general enhancement based on rise in prices of about 40 per cent. The inference would be that, subject to the operation of other causes and subject to the modi¬ fication derived from a certain change introduced into the method of classification (the average classification in Nepat Yalan is raised from 10-1 annas to 15 annas), the assessment would be raised from the old assessment of Rs. 20-10-0 to a figure about Rs. 30, where¬ as it has been reduced to less than a third of that sum, or Its. 9-3-0. The produce of the field is stated to have been sold for Us. 175, which would have been rather more than 8 times the old assess¬ ment, or about 6 times that suggested as suitable according to the premises, and is nearly 19 times the actual new assessment as entered. A reference will be made to the Survey and Settle¬ ment Commissioner to ascertain whether there is not an error in the entry of the figures as regards this item, and the result will be duly communicated to Government. W. H. HAYELOCK, Revenue Commissioner, S. D. No. 6377. Revenue Department. « Bombay Castle, 22nd November 1873. Resolution.—The villages to which it is proposed to apply these revised rates are shown to have made marked progress in material prosperity during the preceding period of settlement. 2. In the first year of that settlement, out of a total assessed area of 1,41,310 acres, 26,302 acres were waste, and the revenue realized amounted to Rs. 42,065. During the last ten years the waste land has averaged only 1,843 acres, and the collections have amounted to Rs. 55,500. Since 1854 remissions have, except in the year 1866-67, been merely nominal. 3. The statistical information that has been compiled shows that in respect to increase of population and of agricultural stock the progress has been satisfactory. The increase in the number 553 of wells is specially striking, having amounted to 71 per cent. Considering the improvements that have been effected in the way of opening out communications, the increase (200 per cent.) in the number of carts is not more than might have been expected. 4. As regards prices, Colonel Francis considers that the fairest standard of comparison will be to take the periods of twenty- five years antecedent to the settlement and the second decade under the settlement. The average price of the staple grain, jow4ri, given for the former period is 44 seers, and 26 seers for the latter. This gives an increase of 69 percent., and it may be fairly assumed that prices will not fall below 26 seers. 5. The Superintendent proposed to group the villages under four classes with maximum rates of Rs. 1-6-0, 1-4-0, 1-2-0 and Rs. 1, respectively. The maximum rate under the old settlement was Rs. 0-13-9f, and in the neighbouring districts of KhamMla and N4taputa, in the Satara Collectorate, the existing maximum rates are Rs. 1-6-0 and Rs. 1, respectively. 6. The results of these proposals will be to give an increase of 42 per cent., and to raise the assessment from Rs. 57,904 to Rs. 81,943. The average rate per acre will be Rs. 0-8-3. 7. Colonel Francis proposes a few slight modifications by doing away altogether with the first class in which only two villages are entered, and by transferring a few from the 2nd to the 3rd, and from the 3rd to the 4th classes. 8. The Revenue Commissioner expresses his entire approval of the proposed settlement as submitted by Colonel Francis. His Excellency the Governor in Council,. believing the increase to be very moderate, is pleased to sanction the settlement for the usual period of thirty years. 9. It is to be noticed that the increase is considerably less than that which has been imposed under late revision operations in the adjoining district. It has been explained that this result is not owing to any departure from the standard upon which the re-settlement has been made elsewhere, but is attributable to the original classification in these villages having been done more carefully and more in accordance with the established system now in force. Owing to the villages not having been re-measured at the time of the first settlement, and to the area given by Mr. Pringle’s first survey having been accepted, an increase in the culturable area of no less than 14,593 acres has now been discovered. b 209—18 554 10. The results of the sales of certain standing crops given in paragraph 9 of the Superintendent’s report, are curious, but it is clear they cannot be accepted as affording a reliable criterion.of the suitability of the assessment. It will be interesting to obtain the value of the crops on the same land this year if they are again sold standing. As pointed out by the Revenue Commissioner, there is probably a clerical error in the figures relating to the instance referred to (No. 17) in the village of Nepat Valan. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. No. 535 of 1874. From Lieutenant-Colonel E. L. TAVERNER, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik, To Lieutenant-Colonel C. J. PRESCOTT, Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. Poona, 30th June 1874. Sir, I have the honour to report the completion of the introduction of the revised settlement rates into 39 Government villages of the Supa Petha of the Poona Collectorate, reported on by Lieutenant- Colonel Waddington in his letter No. 846, dated 5th September 1873, and sanctioned by Goternment Resolution No. 6377, dated 22nd November 1873. 2. The revised settlement was introduced by Lieutenant- Colonel Waddington in January 1874, without opposition (Tam informed) on the part of the ryots. 3. Referring to Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington’s report, para. 29, it will be seen that, besides the 39 villages above mentioned, there are two other Government villages, viz., Umbra and Shewra, Taluka Purandhar, and one quarter of the village of M4Md, Taluka Bhimthari, which belongs to Government, into which the revised settlement rates have been introduced. The statements regarding these latter villages, alluded to at the conclusion of the paragraph, are herewith submitted, and I have to solicit the sanction 555 of Government for the revised rates that have been introduced into the two first villages for a period of thirty years, and into the last (portion of Md.l4d) for twenty-eight years, as they do not appear to have been included in the sanction under Government Resolution No. 6377, above mentioned.. From the report it would appear that Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington at first intended to apply a maxi¬ mum Jerayet rate of Rs. 2 to the two villages of Umbra and Shewra]; but this appears to have been afterwards altered to a rate of Rs. 1-8-0, at which rate I find the village rates were calculated. 4. In accordance with the proposals contained in the Sur¬ vey and Settlement Commissioner’s letter No. 1953, dated 17th October 1873, paras. 10 and 11, the maximum rates of the villages of Gulancha and Seotakrdr have been reduced from Rs. 1-6-0 to Rs. 1-4-0; the villages of Mondwa, Murti, Jogaur, and Ambi from Rs. 1-4-0 to Rs. 1-2-0; and the villages of Muddla, Murum, Korh41a Khurd, Korhdla Budruk, and Hoi, from Rs. 1-2-0 to Rs. 1-0-0. 5. The actual results of the revised settlement (for the 39 Government villages only), contrasted with the estimate formed on the settlement report, is shown in the subjoined statement - Acreage. Assessment. Percentage Increase on former settlement (on occupied lands only). Contrast. Number of Villages. Jerayet. Motasthal or Baga- yet. Patasthal. Rice. Waste assessed Nos. (Parit). Total. Jerayet and Jerayet Assessment of Pa- tasthal Acres. *3 .d 1 o a Patasthal Water- rate. Rice. Parit. Total Assessment. J As per Settle¬ ment Report. 39 149,707 7,068 53 1,558 158,386 81,651 Included In Jerayet. 62 230 81,943 42-3 Final Result.. 39 148,467 7,063 52 •• 276 155,858 70,502 6,041 60 •• 78 76,681 33*3 Deorease .. •• 1,240 5 1 1,282 2,528 5,108 2 •• 152 5.262 8*9 6.In the Survey and Settlement Commissioner’s letter, para. 12, it was shown that the proposed rates would raise the assessment on the occupied lands from Rs. 57,461 (the amount of the former assessment) to Rs. 81,713 (viz., Rs 81,943—Rs. 200 for Parit lands) whereas the assessment is now shown to be raised to Rs. 76,603 only,—(viz., Rs. 76,681—Rs. 78 for Parit lands), a difference of nearly 9 per cent.) which is chiefly owing to the reductions made in the maximum rates of the villages mentioned in para. 4 of this report. 556 7. A statement, showing the final results of the revised settlement for each village is appended. 8. In paragraph 11 of his original report Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington proposes to supply the usual statistical returns for the whole of the Bhimthari Taluka; after the introduction of these rates, which, he goes on to state, “ complete the revision settle¬ ment of the taluka; ” but there is an error here, as I find there are still five or six and twenty Government villages transferred to this taluka into which the revision settlement will presently have to be introduced. 9. Again, Government Resolution No. 6377, para. 8, sanctions the introduction of the settlement for a period of thirty year3 for all these 39 villages. For the 9 of these villages, which now belong to Taluka Purandhar, their period will be correct, as this is the first revised settlement that has taken place in that taluka; but for the thirty that belong to Bhimthari, the ' sanction should have been solicited for twenty-eight years only, as the revised settlement was introduced for 58 Government and 3 Dumala villages belonging to this taluka in 1871-72. 10. In forwarding the accompanying notifications for publi¬ cation in the Government Gazette, I have made up the lists as they should be, and have included the three extra villages mentioned in tlje latter portion of para. 3, which will be correct, if Government think fit to alter para. 8 of the Resolution above referred to, and to sanction the .settlement of the three villages last named. I have, &c., (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieut.-Colonel, Acting Superintendent of Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and N6sik. STATEMENT showing the final Result]of the revised Settlement of the Villages of the Supa Petha of the Poona Collectorate. No. Names of Villages. Assessment calculated on the area under cultivation in 1873-74. Maximum Rate. Percentage Increase. Remarks. Acres. Assessment. Jerayet. Motasthal. Patasthal. Gaddi. Total. Jerayet, Bagayet. Water Cess. Gaddi. Total. 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. a P- 1 Gulancha ... 3,727 435 • •• 4,162 1,398 468 1,866 1 4 0 15 2 Seotakr&r ... 742 56 • •• • • 4 798 317 65 382 12 3 Javalarjun... 1,930 154 2,084 1,355 124 1,479 11 4 Mauri 2,269 194 ,,, 2,463 1,385 206 1,601 35 5 Pandeshwar 2,448 89 24 • « 2,561 1,117 55 34 1,206 37 6 Pisa 944 68 **• • • 1,012 307 38 345 23 7 Ponda 1,652 5 1,657 272 1 273 36 8 Risa ... 2,095 39 t • 2,134 996 31 1,027 47 9 R&juri ... 4,216 77 • • • 4,293 1,684 49 1,733 28 10 Waddna ... 2,956 30 ... • •• ‘ 2,986 716 17 733 26 Total... 22,979 1,147 24 M* 24,150 9,557 1,054 34 10,645 ... 26 11 Ambi Khurd • • • «i< 1,659 55 1,714 546 55 601 1 2 0 26 12 Mondwa ... IM • « 4 2,866 291 1 4 4 4 3;i58 840 261 1 1,102 15 13 Murti ... ••• 4,647 407 8 e;o62 1,359 305 6 1,670 24 14 Jogauri « ♦ • Mi 2,076 56 • •• 2;i32 '987 45 1,032 45 15 BAburdi ... ••• • «• 2,998 183 6 • •• 3,187 1,690 163 6 1^859 22 16 Chopdaj ... • M Ml 2,331 172 ... • * • 2,603 1,051 180 1,231 42 n Details of Survey Area and Assessment. No. Name of Villages. eo ns § a 2* Dry-crop. Bagayet. Gaddi. Total of Cultivation. Waste Land. Survey Kamil. c* Motasthal. Fatasthal. Average Rate. Acres. 1 oT a o H *5 0> pa Approximate Rate. Acres. ! Assessment. 1 | Average Rat 1 Acres. Assessment. Average Rate. j Acres. Assessment. 1 Average 1 Rate. Acres. Assessment. Average Rati Acres. Assessment. 1 Average Rat | Acres. Assessment. Acres. Assessment. Average Rate 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 Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. Rs, a. p. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. Rs. Rs. a. p. 1 Shewra 1,070 681 0 10 2 1,059 663 0 10 0 7 -8 12 3 •• •• •• 1 4 4 0 0 1,067 675 0 10 1 1,067 676 0 10 1 2 Umbra 792 860 114 781 731 0 15 0 •• •• 10 8 0 12 9 13 42 3 3 8 804 781 0 15 6 804 781 0 15 6 3 -Mfilad, one-fourth of the village only. 1,317 481 0 5 10 1,449 619 0 6 10 49 32 0 10 5 •• •• •• •• 1,498 651 0 6 11 •• •• •• 1,498 661 0 6 11 Total 3,179 2,022 0 10 2 3,289 2,013 0 9 9 66 40 0 11 5 10 8 0 12 9 14 46 3 4 7 3,369 2,107 0 10 0 *• •• 3,369 2,107 0 10 0 ci O Noth.—The maximum rate per acre for these villages is as under Jerayet. Rice. Shewra .. .. 1 8 0 5 0 0 Umbra .. 180 500 M41Ad.. .. 14 0 Poona, SOth June 1874. (Signed) E. L. TAVERNER, Lieutenant-Colonel, Acting Superintendent, Revenue Survey and Assessment, Poona and Nasik. 561 No. 1040 of 1874. Poona, July 2nd, 1874. Submitted to Government, through tbe Revenue Commis¬ sioner, S. D. 2. The .preliminary report of Lieutenant-Colonel Waddington was submitted to Government with the Sur- a®!ofSep' vey and Settlement Commissioner’s memo- tember 1876. ra£dum No. 1953, of the 17th October 1873, and the Revenue Commissioner, S. D., having expressed his entire approval of the settlements therein proposed, Government confirmed the same (with the slight modifications recommended by Colonel Francis) in Resolution No. 6377 of the 22nd November 1874. 3. The Acting Superintendent, in his letter, gives in detail e . , , , t» the effect of the modifications referred to; and venue esuryey!n Poona the following short statement shows, in juxta- and Nasik’s Report No. position, the figures of the preliminary report 535, of 30th June 1874, an(j final result of the alterations which have para' 6* been made in obedience to the above-quoted Resolution:— According to the Settlement Report. Final Result. Decrease in the Assessment by the alterations now under report. Assessment. Percentage Increase on Old Rates. Assessment. Percentage Increase on Old Rates. Now reduced per cent. Rs. Rs. Rs. 81,943 42-2 76,681 333 5,262 9 Name of Village. From To Gulancha... 1 6 1 4 Seotakrar... 1 6 1 4 Murti 2 4 1 2 Jogauri ... 1 4 1 2 Ambi (Khurd) ... 1 4 1 2 Mudala ... 1 2 1 0 Murum ... 1 2 1 0 Korh&la (Khurd) 1 2 1 0 Korh&ia (Budruk) 1 2 1 0 Hoi 1 2 1 0 4.This decrease has been caused chiefly by the reduction of the maximum rates of the villages marginally noted. b 209—*19 562 5.In addition to tlie 39 villages herein reported on, two, Umbra and Shewra (in Purandhar), and Jth of the village of M&Ud (in Bhimthari), belonging to Government, have been brought under settlement, and this was noticed incidentally only by Colonel Waddington in para. 29 of his report. A statement of the details of the revenue survey assessment of these villages will be found attached to the Acting Superintendent’s report, of which the follow¬ ing is an abstract. These rates require the sanction of Government, as no reference to them appears in the Resolution above noted :— Name of Village. Area. Old System. Survey System. Assess¬ ment on cultivat¬ ed Area. Old average Rate, ap¬ proximate. Maximum Dry-crop Rate. Assess¬ ment on cultivat¬ ed Area. Mean Average Rate. Acres. Rs. Rs. a. p. Rs. a. Rs. A. p. Shewra... 1,070 681 0 10 2 1 8 675 10 1 Umbra ... 792 860 114 1 8 781 15 6 |th Malad ... ... 1,317 481 0 5 10 1 4 651 6 11 Total ... 3,179 2,022 0 10 2 ... 2,107 10 0 6. By this it will be seen that Shewra and Umbra are both lowered, and the Government portion of Md,Md slightly raised, by the survey rates. It will also be seen by reference to the figured statement that there is no assessed waste land in any of these villages; and also (looking at the totals of the three) that, although the population has increased very little over 4 per cent, in thirty years, ploughs have increased in number in the same period by nearly 20 per cent. 7. In para. 8 of his letter under review the Superintendent points out that Colonel Waddington was in error in stating that the settlement of these 39 villages completes the revision of Bhim¬ thari, and reports that there are still 25 or 26 Government vil¬ lages of this taluka remaining for revision. 8. He also brings to notice (para. 9) that Government in para. 8 of their Resolution No. 6377, of 22nd the GoZnmentG^ November 1874, directed the guarantee to be given* to the whole of the 39 villages tor the usual term of thirty years under a misapprehension. This sanction is correct so far as 30\ villages of Bhimthari are concerned; but 9 villages (of the 39) now belong to the Purandhar Taluka, the lease of which has twenty-eight years only to run. 56& 9. Separate notifications of the guarantee are accordingly forwarded herewith.for tlie 39 villages -f 2J villages now reported no for the periods noted below :— Name of Taluka. No. of Villages. Period of the Guarantee. Bhimtliari 30i 28 years. Purandhar 9 30 years. Do 2'' 30 years (Umbra and Sliewra). Total villages ... 411 (Signed) C. J. PRESCOTT, Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D_ No'. 4382 op 1874. Revenue Department: Bombay Castle, 15th August 1874. Returned to the Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. On looking over the contrasted statement given in para. 5 'of Colonel Taverner’s report, His Excellency in Council observes that there is a difference in the areas of the Jerayet and assessed wastelands as per Colonel Waddington’s settlement report and as ascertained at the final introduction of the revised rates into these villages. He, therefore, desires Colonel Prescott will be so good as to explain the cause of this difference, amounting in the ease of the Jerayet lands to 1,24Q and in that of waste lands to 1,282 acres. (Signed) E. JAMES, Acting Under Secretary to Government. No. 1332 op 1874. Revenue Department. Poona, August 19th. 1874. MEMORANDUM. The undersigned has the honour of reporting, with reference to the above, that the figures shown in Colonel Taverner’s final report (Comparative Statement, para. 5) represent the corrected area after final examination. 564 2. There will always be a certain difference between the figures given in the preliminary report and those of the completion report; because the former are taken from the “ Kacha ” State¬ ments (prepared in the Classing Assistants’ Offices, either in the districts or on just coming into Poona) before the tap&sni, or examination, in detail of all the calculations has been made. 3. Were this plan not adopted, the Superintendent’s preli¬ minary report, submitting the proposed rates for sanction, could not be prepared before November, instead of, as it now is, during the recess in the monsoon, and the probable consequence would be considerable delay in receiving the orders of Government in time to introduce the rates early in the season; for it must be remembered that, until this sanction is received, many of the numerous papers required at the introduction of the rates cannot be got ready. 4. A reason for the difference in the area of the waste assessed acreage is that certain numbers, given for “Gurcharan,” or common grazing, and other public purposes under Section XXXII. of Act I. of 1865, are taken out of the waste assessed area shown in the preliminary reports. 5. The above remarks apply to revised settlements only, which follow the field work very rapidly. In original settlements the time intervening between the field work and introduction of the rates, is ample to admit of a thorough (“ tapd-sni ”) examination . of all the calculations of area long before the preliminary report is submitted. (Signed) C. J. PRESCOTT, Acting Survey and Settlement Commissioner N. D. No. 4697. Revenue Department. Bombay Qastle> ls£ September 1874. Resolution*—The notifications may now be published. 2. The proposed rates for the villages of Umbra and Shewra, and for the quarter of the village of MAIM, are sanctioned. 3. The Survey Commissioner is requested to see that the scales of remuneration to which the village officers are entitled under the new assessment, are prepared with as little delay as possible. F. S. CHAPMAN, Chief Secretary to Government. From 565 No. 1853 of 1875. Revenue Department. Colonel J. FRANCIS, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., To The ACTING SECRETARY to GOVERNMENT. Poona, 29th November 1875. Sir, I liave the honour to report upon the application of the orders of the Resolution of October 1874 to the Supa Division of the Bhimthari Taluka, being the last district of the Poona and ShoUpur Collectorates to which the order has to be extended. 2. The rates introduced into this district ranged from Rs. 1-4-0 to Re. 1, there being three groups in all. The following statement shows the manner in which the villages were put under the different groups, viz.:— Under 1st Group ... ... ... 10 villages. Do. 2nd do. ... ... ... 11 do. Do. 3rd do. ... ... ... 18 do. The revised assessment, calculated at these rates, amounted to Rs. 76,603 against Rs. 57,463 of the former settlement, the increase being 33 per cent. 3. Considering the moderate scale of increase, I think no modification of maximum rates is required; but[I propose to reduce the classification rate from 6 annas downwards according to the plan sanctioned for the Bar si and subsequently for the Haveli Taluka. 4. The reduction effected by the foregoing proposal amounts to Rs. 4,300, and brings down the revised assessment to Rs. 72,303, making the increase 26 in place of 33 per cent. The average rate will be 7 annas 5 pies per acre. 5. On looking through the statement it will be seen that the increase in no case amounts to 50 per cent., and £hat there are two villages in which the reduced assessment is less than the present scale of payment. 6. The result of the reduction is shown separately for three villages to which revised rates were applied subsequent to the general settlement of the district. I have, &c., (Signed) J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. 566 No. 6979 of ‘1875. Revenue Department. Bombay Castle, 13th December 1875. Returned to tlie Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D., with a request that he will be good enough to state distinctly for the information of Government, whether the general classification of the lower classes of soils was disproportionately high when compared with that of the higher classes. (Signed) T. D. MACKENZIE, Acting Under Secretary to Government. No. 1952 of 1875. Revenue Department.. Broach Districts, Camp Jambusar, 15th December 1875. In reply to this reference the Survey and Settlement Com¬ missioner begs to refer to the statement See para. 25 of prepared by the Superintendent, showing the Superintendent s report resuit,g Gf the former and .revision classifi- ment of Supa. cation of this district, and to that officer s remarks on this subject. Commenting on the results exhibited in the statement alluded to, Colonel Waddington observes as follows :— “ You will observe that, allowing for the difference of the standard of classification, with very few exceptions the average- rates, according to the old and new valuation, harmonise in a* remarkable manner. It is noticeable also that in many* cases,, especially in the poorer villages (PondaNo. 8, for instance), the new classification is lower than the old, although the former is calculated on a 16-anna maximum, scale, .while the latter was on a maximum of 13 annas 9f pies, as shown in a preceding- paragraph.” 2. From what is here stated, as also from an examination of the comparative statement alluded to, the Survey and Settlement Commissioner is decidedly of opinion that there are no grounds for supposing the poor soils of this district to have been classed disproportionately high in comparison with the valuation assigned to the good soils. The results of the comparative statement tend, moreover, to show that the poor soils have been classed upon a lower standard of valuation than was adopted for them at the first settlement. (Signed) J. FRANCIS, Colonel, Survey and Settlement Commissioner, N. D. 567 * No. 7300. Revenue Department. Bombay Gastle, 28th December 1875. Resolution.—His Excellency in Council is of opinion that as the general increase of assessment in the villages in question is within the limit laid down by Government in their Resolution No. 5739, of the 29th October 1874, and as the classification is admitted to be satisfactory, no alteration in the rates already sanctioned is required. E. W. RAVENSCROFT, Acting Chief Secretary to Government.