ving taken its share, as tithes are taken among ourselves, in kind, to leave the remainder to the cultivator or proprietor of the field. From this circumstance it was long asserted, that an Indian prince is, in reality, the sole landed proprietor in his principality; and it must be confessed, that the exorbitant amount demanded by the Moguls in later times, gave a great semblance of truth to the notion. When the Dewanny authority over the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, for example, was granted in 1765 to the East India Company, the proportion paid by the Ryots was in no instance short of one half, in some instances it rose as high as two-thirds, of the gross produce; and hence a theory of very old standing a theory to which Strabo and Diodorus have given sanction-and which Bernier, Manouchi, Thevenot, Chardin, and an endless list of travellers, have held-began to be regarded by some of our ablest inquirers as correct. Even now the opinion is maintained-among others, by Mr Mill, the learned, though somewhat fanciful historian of India-that private property in the soil was absolutely unknown in the East till we created it.

The argument of Mr Mill is one, which, when applied to European countries, cannot be disputed. He asserts, and asserts truly, that whoever derives the greatest degree of profit from a piece of land, is entitled, according to every principle of political economy, to the appellation of proprietor; but the governments of India enjoy by far the greater proportion of the produce of the earth, therefore the governments of India are unquestionably the sole landed proprietors. To this a very simple answer is sufficient; it was only in modern times, in times of universal confusion and corruption, that the government-share of the crops in India exceeded, or even equalled, the share enjoyed by the cultivators. During the reign of Akber, the governmentshare was one-third; under Arungzebe, I believe, it hardly amounted even to that; whilst, by the Hindoo Rajahs, no more than one-sixth of the produce was exacted. "In former times," says Abul Tazel, the wellknown compiler of the Ayeen Akberry, "the monarchs of Hindostan ex

acted the sixth of the produce of the soil, whereas Akber, having caused the whole bounds of his empire to be accurately measured, settled it at onethird."* Nor is this all. Lands descended from father to son as regularly in India as they descend in England; lands were sold, mortgaged, and otherwise disposed of, by private persons, in all ages; and what appears, to me at least, perfectly conclusive of the question, they were invariably divided, on the demise of a father, equally among his children. In Mr Halhed's translation of a code of Gentoo laws, the reader will find this matter fully stated. Let him consult the chapter on Property, and he will see, that "When a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, and any relation of this nature, decease, or lose their caste, or renounce the world, or are desirous to give up their property, their sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, and other natural heirs, may divide and assume their glebe-land, orchards, jewels, coral, clothes, furniture, cattle, and birds, and all the estate, real and personal, of which the persons thus circumstanced, stand possessed." But language such as this could not surely be used, were the property vested, not in the subject, but in the government. . Besides the opinion just noticed, another, and a no less groundless theory, has been invented; namely, that the state of society in India, under the native governments, exactly corresponded with the state of society in Europe during the middle ages. This theory, which places the Zemindars, and independent Talookdars, on the footing of feudal barons, may be said to have originated in the short-sightedness of some of the earlier servants of the Company, and to have been brought to maturity by Lord Cornwallis, and his immediate advisers. Into the controversy connected with it I have no intention to enter, at least for the present; but I may here state, in direct terms, that never was a greater blunder committed, than was committed by those who conferred the property of the soil upon the Zemindars, under the idea that they were thereby paying respect to native institutions. Why, the very title of Zemindar is a thing of yesterday. It is not so much as no

ticed in the Ayeen Akberry; and though another personage is there spoken of, in something like the language which our popular writers employ when speaking of a Zemindar, it is perfectly manifest that that personage was a mere officer of state. The Zemindar of the Mahomedans, by whatever title known, appears to have been neither more nor less than an officer of revenue, who collected the taxes from the heads of villages, handed them over to the provincial Dewan, and received, as a compensation for his trouble, a per-centage on the gross amount. And this is the individual on whom Lord Cornwallis bestowed the fee-simple of his district, comprising, in some places, a population of half a million of souls, with twenty, thirty, and even one hundred villages. But of the Zemindar more by and by. Let me return, in the meantime, to the village institutions, the real and genuine growth of Hindoo policy. The term village has been employed by European writers, to denote that particular district or division of an Indian kingdom, which would be better, because more appropriately defined, by the word parish (παροικία). "These communities,' says Mr Elphinstone, "contain in miniature all the materials of a state within themselves, and are almost sufficient to protect their members, if all other governments were withdrawn. Though probably not compatible with a very good form of government, they are an excellent remedy for the imperfections of a bad one; they prevent the bad effects of its negligence and weakness, and even present some barrier against its tyranny and oppres

sion."

Attached to each village was a portion of land, differing in extent according to circumstances, which was kept in cultivation by the inhabitants. It was divided into farms, fields, or glebes, the boundaries of which were accurately marked and jealously guarded; each had a distinct name, and each was the property of a distinct owner. In some instances, indeed, the field of an absentee would be cultivated, at a fixed rent, by a farmer, called in the Mahratta country an Oopree; but by far the greater proportion gave support to their own Meerassees, or owners. Nor was government without its share in the land

of the nation. Over all waste and jungle districts, ghauts, mountains, and uncultivated spots, the native princes appear to have asserted a proprietary right; but even these districts they invariably resigned into private hands, as soon as they were so far reduced to cultivation as to be capable of paying the same amount of tribute which was exacted from other estates.

The mode of effecting this was as follows:-If an individual felt desirous of adding to his patrimonial property, he applied to the proper officer for a grant or pottah of waste. For the first year or two, he was permitted to continue in the occupancy of his new glebe, without any tribute being imposed. By and by a small tax was demanded, which went on increasing, year by year, till it arrived at the ordinary amount, after which the land became the absolute property of the cultivator, and descended, like his more ancient glebe, to his children.

The affairs of the little village community were all regulated by certain officers, having different titles in different parts of India, but all discharging the same duties. Thus, the Mokudchin of Bengal is the Potail of the Carnatic, the Putwarry of the old provinces is the Curnum, or Coolkurnee, of the new; whilst the Mhars of one district are the Talliars of another, and so on. As these officers are now to be met with, in the full vigour of their callings, only in our later acquisitions, I will follow, in my present sketch, the phraseology of Mr Elphinstone, whose description of the village institutions is at once concise and distinct.

"The Potails," says he," are the most important functionaries in the villages, and perhaps the most important class in the country." The Potail is the head man, or hereditary chief, of the community, who acts towards his fellow-villagers in the double capacity of a collector of the dues of government, and a civil magistrate. He is the head of the police, causes criminals and suspected persons to be arrested, listens to the complaints of his neighbours, decides their quarrels, and, with the assistance of a Punchayet, adjusts all disputes concerning the boundaries of fields, or the possession of property. As an officer of revenue, he allots the lands to such Ryots as

either have no land of their own, or are desirous of cultivating the waste; he conducts all arrangements relating to revenue, between the government and the cultivator, fixing the amount which each has to pay, and exerting himself" to promote the cultivation and prosperity of the village." "Though originally the agent of government, he is now (that is in 1818) regarded as equally the representative of the Ryots, and is not less useful in executing the orders of the government, than asserting the rights, or at least, making known the wrongs of the people." The office of Potail is hereditary. He enjoys a per-centage upon the revenue collected, and this, together with his rank, descends to his eldest son, or nearest heir-male. In other respects he is merely, as the rest of the villagers are, a Ryot, owning a patrimonial field, and cultivating it himself; and this field is divided, at his decease, like the fields of other Ryots, in equal proportions among his children. The Coolkurnee, Curnum, or Putwarry, is another functionary, of no mean note. This person is employed in keeping an exact register of the bounds of the village, and of the various fields and glebes into which it is divided, with the name, size, and quality of each, the name of the occupier, the amount due from him to the government, and the highest revenue ever produced by the field which he may cultivate. The Coolkurnee farther keeps a list of all the inhabitants of the village, whether agriculturists or artizans, with a statement of the dues from each to government, and the receipt and balance of each account. Besides these public records, he keeps the accounts of all the cultivators with one another, and with their creditors; he acts as a notary-public in drawing up agreements, and sometimes conducts the private correspondence of those who are not able to conduct it for themselves. He is paid, either by a remission of the revenue due from his own lands, or by a fee upon the revenue paid by his neighbours; and is assisted by a person called the Chaugutta, who, acting when wanted, under the orders of the Potail, takes care, at the same time, of the Coolkurnee's records.

In subserviency to the Potail and Coolkurnee, are the Mhars, or watchmen, whose duty it is to provide that

no violence be done, nor any encroachment made, upon the limits, either of the village, or of the glebes of individuals. In all disputes concerning boundaries, the evidence of these persons is peculiarly esteemed; they,moreover, protect the crops, whether growing or cut down; they are public messengers, and guides, and officers of police. In the latter capacity, they are, in a peculiar manner, under the superintendance of the Potail. Generally speaking, there is, in each village, an allowance for only one watchman, but occupations of all sorts being hereditary, the number soon becomes increased, and then the different members of the family relieve and aid one another in their duties. "The duties are," says Mr Elphinstone," to keep watch at night, to find out all arrivals and departures, to observe all strangers, and report all suspicious persons to the Potail. The watchman is likewise bound to know the character of each man in the village; and, in the event of a theft committed within the village-bounds, it is his business to detect the thief. He is enabled to do this by his early habits of inquisitiveness and observation, as well as by the nature of his allowance, which, being partly a small share of the grain and similar property belonging to each house, he is kept always on the watch to ascertain his fees, and always in motion to collect them. When a theft or robbery happens, the watchman commences his inquiries and researches; it is very common for him to track a thief by his footsteps, and if he does this to another village, so as to satisfy the watchman there; or if he otherwise traces the property to an adjoining village, his responsibility ends, and it is the duty of the watchman of the new village to take up the pursuit. The last village to which the thief has been clearly traced becomes answerable for the property stolen, which would otherwise fall on the village where the robbery was committed.”

Besides these three, there are no less than nine other public functionaries in each village. These are the Potidar, or silver-smith, who assays all money, paid either to government or to individuals; the astrologer, whose business it is to calculate nativities, to declare fortunate and unfortunate days for sowing, reaping, &c. ; the Goorov, or priest, who presides at the pagoda,

and conducts the public worship, the schoolmaster, the washerman, the carpenter, the barber, &c. and, in short, a professor of every useful art, not forgetting the poet, the physician, and the dancer. Each of these classes consists of one or more individuals, according as the original families have branched out; and all are paid by a small percentage on the public revenue, as well as by gifts, at the seasons of new moons and at other sacred periods, of rice, ghu, and sometimes of money, from the rest of the inhabitants. For the payment of the Goorov, indeed, and for the support of the temple, grants of land seem to have been frequently made by the ancient governments, whilst the assignment of a private estate for this sacred purpose, or for the support of a school or college, was invariably sanctioned by law. But where no such grants chanced to be made, a tax was imposed upon the village, which fell chiefly upon the Meerassees or proprietors, and was a source of considerable profit to the Potail. "In general," says Mr Elphinstone," these expenses were in the proportion of one-tenth, or from that to one-fifth to the public revenue."

With respect to the revenue collected, I have already said, that, in the best days of the Hindoo governments, it amounted to one-sixth part of the gross produce of the soil. To ascertain this, various methods appear to have been adopted. Sometimes a rough estimate was made, whilst the crop was yet green,-occasionally, indeed, before it had sprung up,-of its probable amount; and the cultivator undertook to pay, either in money or in grain, the stated proportion of that valuation. At other times, an agreement was entered into with the Potail, and by the Potail with his fellow-villagers, for a certain sum in money, and, thirdly, an annual account was taken of the crop after it had been reaped, and the proportion due to government was taken possession of by the public officers. But as to a proprietary right in the land, such a claim was at no period advanced by a native government." The result of these reports," says the gentleman already referred to (the reports of the collectors relative to the land-tenure in the Mahratta Territories),-" and of my own inquiries, is, that a large portion of the Ryots are the proprietors of their

estates, subject to the payment of a fixed land-tax to the government ;— that their property is hereditary and saleable; and they are never dispossessed while they pay their tax; and even then, they have, for a long period (at least thirty years), the right of reclaiming their estates, on paying the dues of government." It is true, that Mr Elphinstone's report bears date in 1819, and this may account for the increased burdens which he notices as imposed upon the landed proprietors; but if no doubt could exist in 1819 as to the person in whom the right of property was vested, far less can it be doubted in whom that right was vested under the ancient governments.— "An opinion prevails," he continues, "throughout the Mahratta country, that, under the old Hindoo government, all the land was held by Meerassees, and that the Ooprees (or farmers) were introduced as the old proprietors sunk under the tyranny of the Mahomedans. This opinion is supported by the fact, that the greater part of the fields now cultivated by Ooprees are recorded in the village books as belonging to absent proprietors, and affords, when combined with circumstances observed in other parts of the Peninsula, and with the light landtax authorized by Menu, a strong presumption, that the revenue system, under the Hindoos, (if they had a uniform system,) was founded on private property in the soil." I am always happy to avail myself of such authority as that of Mr Elphinstone; and, therefore, I have transcribed the above passage here, though, probably, I may stand more in need of it, when I come to discuss the merits of that settlement which claims Lord Cornwallis as its author.

I have spoken, in a former part of this letter, of the assistance derived by the Potail, in the adjustment of civil disputes, from a punchayet. Of the nature of that body, so important in the administration of justice among the Hindoos, it will be necessary to give some farther account.

When a dispute arose between two individuals on the subject of a debt, or boundaries, or any other such matter, a complaint was lodged by the party considering himself aggrieved, with the Potail, who privately commanded a punchayet to assemble for the purpose of considering the merits of the case. The punchayet consist

ed, like a jury in England, of a certain number of respectable inhabitants, varying,according to circumstances, from five, nine, and eleven, up to fifty."The members of a punchayet were generally selected by the officer of government, by whom it was granted with the approbation of the parties, and often at their suggestion; sometimes the parties chose an equal number each, and the officer named an umpire."-" The members were people in the same situation of life as the parties, or people likely to understand the subject in discussion; the number was required to be odd," and "it generally met at the house of the officer who summoned it.

"In villages, the Potail got some of the most intelligent and impartial Ryots to sit under a tree, or in the temple, or Choultry," (the inn or place of rest for travellers); "nobody attended on the part of government; and, as the submission of the parties was voluntary, their wishes were, of course, more attended to than elsewhere." (Be it observed, that the contrast here drawn is between village punchayets, and punchayets appointed to decide a dispute between two villages,-in other words, district punchayets.) "The consent of the members, however, was everywhere reckoned essential to a punchayet, and the first act of the meeting was to take a ruzeenamah, or acknowledgment of such a consent. Security was also not unfrequently taken for the parties complying with the award of the punchayet. In petty disputes in villages, the parties gave two straws, in token of submission, instead of a written ruzeenamah."

The punchayet being assembled, the disputing parties appeared before it, stating, in as few words as possible, the one his claim, the other his ground of denial. Little or no form was observed; the punchayet conducting its examination, both of the parties themselves and of their witnesses, in the way of conversation; whilst nothing was written down except the decision, and sometimes not even that. If, indeed, the case chanced to be of very great importance, or if the interests of two or more villages were concerned, then the whole of the proceedings were recorded, all the writing being perform ed by the Coolkurnee, to whose care it was afterwards intrusted.

In trials before a punchayet, a decided preference seems to have been given to written, over oral testimony. Documents, deeds of sale, acknowledgments of debt, and so forth, were always, and most justly, accounted better evidence than the mere declaration of a witness. The witnesses were, however, "examined and cross-examined with great care;" but if any part of their evidence was taken down in writing, it was only the substance; and then "generally in their own hand, if they could write." "The natives have not the same deference for testimony that we have; they allow a witness no more credit than his situation, and character, and connexion with the case, entitle him to; they also lay great stress on his manner and appearance, while giving his testimony. Oaths were seldom imposed, unless there was reason to suspect the veracity of the witness, and then great pains were taken to make them solemn."

With respect, again, to the principle by which punchayets were guided, it was founded, no doubt, on the Hindoo law; modified, nevertheless, according to local usage, and the notions of the persons composing it, of equity and justice. Local usage, however, seems to have been the universal law of Hindostan. It was one with which all the villagers were fully acquainted, and against the award of which no man presumed to grumble; the punchayets consulting no book, nor referring to a Shastery, or expounder of the sacred law, for an opinion, unless some point relative to marriage, succession, or other things provided for on a broad basis, was in question. The members of a punchayet received no fee for their attendance; but when much of their time had been taken up, and a great deal of trouble imposed upon them, the successful suitor openly made them a present for their pains.

I have said that suitors attended at the place of meeting in person. This was generally, but not invariably the case. A person, for example, who felt himself prevented from attending, was permitted to send an agent, usually a relative or domestic of his own, to represent himself; but there were no such officers as vakuls, or hired pleaders, in those days-that is a profession which claims Lord Cornwallis for