TAGORE LAW LECTURES-1874-75.

Tagore Law Lectures—1874-75.

THE LAW RELATING TO THE

LAND TENURES OF LOWER BENGAL.

BY

ARTHUR PHILLIPS, M.A.,
LATE FELLOW OF ST. CATHERINE'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; BARRISTER-AT-LAW ; AND

OFFICIATING STANDING COUNSEL TO THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.

CALCUTTA:
THACKER, SPINK AND CO.,

Publishers to the Calcutta University.
BOMBAY: THACKER, VINING & Co. MADRAS: HIGGINBOTHAM & Co.

LONDON : W. THACKER & Co.

CALCUTTA: PRINTED BY THACKER, SPINK & co.

lec Wec 22 1898

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

LECTURE I.

THE HINDOO PERIOD.

Page

Scope of the present subject-Nature of sources of information-Express Hindoo

law as to land-Menu does not show extent of rights in land-Obligation of

cultivator to cultivate-The king's share-The village as referred to in

Menu-The village as inferred from observation and analogy-Lord Met-

calfe's description of the village communities-Such communities found in

all parts of India—The village lands and homesteads—A self-governing cor-

poration-The development from the joint family-The lands at first held

in common but divided at an early period—Immigrants-Servile dependants

-Three classes of cultivators with interests in the land-Khoodkashts-

Their rights regulated by custom-In Southern India—Their right to occupy

80 long as they cultivated and paid the customary revenue–The transfer-

ability of their rights-Rates paid by them-Paid a higher rate than other

cultivators formerly—Their privileges—The second class of cultivators,

Their rights in the land-What occupation sufficient-Less complete rights

than khoodkashts- Assessment upon them—The mere pyekashts-Rates paid

by them-Precarious nature of their rights—The village constitution—The

village officers—Mode of payment—The servile labourers of the village—The

headman-Partly elective and partly hereditary office—The State could dis-

miss-His functions-His emoluments-In Orissa villages-Dismissal-Mode

of assessment of revenue-Mode of payment-When headman refused to

agree to assessment-Headman not a farmer of the revenue-But he and the

village responsible—Headman long recognised–The putwarry and canoongoe

-The zemindar-The chowdhry-The amount of the king's share-Pro-

prietary rights

LECTURE II.

THE MAHOMEDAN PERIOD.

The transition from the Hindoo to the Mahomedan period not a sudden one—The.

Mahomedan invaders of India—Their system non-hereditary-The Hindoo

system hereditary-Struggle between the two systems—The Mahomedan

system a centralised one-The Mahomedan land theory—The Khiraj--The