That the
said Warren Hastings, in a letter to the Secret Committee of the Court
of Directors, dated 1st September, 1772, declared, "that the lands had
suffered unheard-of depopulation by the famine and mortality of 1769;
that the collections, _violently kept up to their former standard_, had
added to the distress of the country, and threatened a general decay of
the revenue, unless immediate remedies were applied to prevent it." That
the said Warren Hastings has declared, "that, by intrusting the
collections to the hereditary zemindars, the people would be treated
with _more tenderness_, the rents more improved, and cultivation more
likely to be encouraged; that _they_ have a perpetual interest in the
country; that _their_ inheritance cannot be removed; that _they_ are the
proprietors; that the lands are _their_ estates, and _their_
inheritance; that, from a long continuance of the lands in their
families, it is to be concluded they have riveted an authority in the
district, acquired an ascendency over the minds of the ryots, and
_ingratiated their affections_; that, from continuing the lands under
the management of those who have a natural and perpetual interest in
their prosperity, solid advantages might be expected to accrue; that the
zemindar would be less liable to failure or deficiencies than the
farmer, from the perpetual interest which the former hath in the
country, and because his inheritance cannot be removed, and it would be
improbable that he should risk the loss of it by eloping from his
district, which is too frequently practised by a farmer when he is
hard-pressed for the payment of his balances, and as frequently
predetermined when he receives his farm.
Pages:
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93