IV. taken out of his management; or, if he manage it, and LECTURE engage for the public assessments, he receives whatever part of the rents may remain after paying the assessment and defraying the charges of management. It must, however, be allowed that the peculiar tenure of a zemindar, as it existed under the Mussulman Government of Bengal and the adjacent provinces (especially with regard to the principal zemindars, who held their zemindaries, with certain services attached to them, under a sunnud of grant or confirmation), partook more of the nature of an hereditary office, with certain rights and privileges attached to it, than of a proprietary estate in land; though it is justly observed by Mr. Rouse that if the zemindary be even an office, and such office give possession of land, which has by claim or custom descended from father to son or to collaterals, with other circumstances incident to property such as mortgage, alienation, bequest, or adoption, it is in reality a landed inheritance.' The subjoined definition of a zemindar with a slight alteration formed part of the remarks submitted by me to Lord Cornwallis in March 1789 on Mr. Law's plan of settlement. The zemindar (or zumeendar) appears to be a landholder of a peculiar description, not definable by any single term in our language. A receiver of the territorial revenue of the State from the ryots, and other tenants of land. Allowed to succeed to his zemindary by inheritance; yet in general required to take out a renewal of his title from the sovereign or his representative on payment of a peshkush or fine of investiture to the Emperor, and a nuzranah or present to his provincial delegate the Nazim. Permitted to transfer his zemindary by sale or gift; yet commonly expected to obtain previous special permission. Privileged to be generally the annual contractor for the IV. LECTURE public revenue receivable from his zemindary; yet set aside with a limited provision in land or money whenever it was the pleasure of Government to collect the rents by separate agency, or to assign them temporarily or permanently by the grant of a jageer or ultumgha. Authorized in Bengal since the early part of the present century, to apportion to the pergunnahs, villages, and lesser divisions of land within his zemindary the abwab or cesses imposed by the Soobadar; usually in some proportion to the standard assessment of the zemindary established by Torunmul and others; yet subject to the discretionary interference of public authority, either to equalize the amount assessed on particular divisions, or to abolish what appeared oppressive to the ryot. Entitled to any contingent emoluments proceeding from his contract during the period of his agreement; yet bound by the terms of his tenure to deliver in a faithful account of his receipts. Responsible by the same terms for keeping the peace within his jurisdiction; but apparently allowed to apprehend only and deliver over to a Mussulman magistrate for trial and punishment. This is in abstract, my present idea of a zemindar under the Moghul constitution and practice.' I will now add, in concluding this imperfect statement of the discussions which have taken place relative to the rights of zemindars, that after the elapse of twenty-eight years since the above definition was given I see no reason to alter it, as applicable to the principal zemindars of Bengal and Behar, before the conclusion of a permanent settlement with them for the land of their respective zemindaries." This definition, it will be seen, substantially agrees with the description I have given of the zemindar's position. Harington's Analysis, Vol. III, 398 to 400. In the Fifth Report of the Select Committee' it is said,— The hill zemindars, who were descended from the rajahs of the kingdom of Orissa, and who were entrusted with the protection of a district from the incursions of robbers and wild beasts and with the suppression of internal commotions, were, on account of the difficulty of keeping them in strict subjection, allowed by the Mussulman conquerors to retain their former habits, and to enjoy the Government share of the produce from their mountainous but fertile lands on condition of paying a tribute, and the performance of the duties of protection above-mentioned, which they had been accustomed to discharge. But the zemindars in general, whom it does not appear could be made to submit to the Mahomedan authority, were never acknowledged by their rulers as independent or tributary chiefs, or as even having any property in the land. the contrary it would seem, from the process which the Mussulman Government observed when capable of vigour, in realizing the revenues of the districts, as well as from the constitutional checks established through every part of them (checks similar to those which the Committee have described as having existed in the Bengal territories) that zemindaries were offices of trust, and that the possessors of them were accountable managers and collectors, and not lords and proprietors of the lands; that the money they paid to Government, instead of being in the nature of a tribute, or mere acknowledgment of subjection or fealty, was no other than a jumma or revenue annually calculated upon the produce of the several zemindaries; that, as a check upon the conduct of the zemindars there 1 Fifth Report, Vol. II, 6. On LECTURE LECTURE were officers appointed by the State to keep an account of the cultivation and produce, and whose duty it was to furnish the foujdar, or governor of the country, at the proper season with accounts and statements of the past and present state of its produce; who thereupon formed the jummabundy or revenue settlement of the year, which was variable in its amount and in general proportionate to the estimated value of the harvest. The duty of the zemindar, as declared in his sunnud of appointment, was to superintend that portion of country committed to his charge, to do justice to the ryots or peasants, to furnish them with the necessary advances for cultivation, and to collect the rent of Government; and as a compensation for the discharge of this duty, he enjoyed, as did the zemindars of Bengal, certain allotments of land rent-free termed saverum, which were conveniently dispersed through the district, so as to make his presence necessary everywhere, in order to give the greater effect to his superintendence. He was also entitled to receive certain russooms or fees on the crops, and other perquisites drawn from the sayer or customs, and from the quit rents of houses. These personal or rather official lands and perquisites amounted altogether to about ten per cent. on the collections he made in his district or zemindary. The office itself was to be traced as far back as the Hindoo rajahs. It originally went by the name of chowdrie, which was changed by the Mahomedans for that of crorie, in consequence of an arrangement by which the land was so divided among the collectors that each had the charge of a portion of country yielding about a crore of dams, or two and a half lacs of rupees. It was not until a late period of the Mahomedan Government that the term crorie was superseded by that of zemindar; which literally signifying a possessor of land, gave a colour to that misconstruction of their tenure, which assigned to them an hereditary right to the soil. It accordingly appears that in the year 1769, on the establishment of European agency in the management of the Northern Circars, the zemindaries were described by the presidency of Fort St. George as 'lands held by certain rajahs or chiefs as their hereditary estates, paying a certain tribute to the Government, and being subject to suit and service in a manner very similar to the ancient feudal tenures.' An idea was also entertained in 1771, by the chief and council at Masulipatam that the zemindaries were no other than feudal districts, for which the rajahs who were proprietors of them paid a tribute to Government in proportion to their value, and if called upon ought to attend in time of war with a certain number of troops.' And in subsequent years it would appear that a very close adherence to the tributary system was observed in the conduct of the British Government towards the zemindars; until the general investigations of the Committee of Circuit, and the more particular researches of several enlightened servants of the Company, established the fallacy of the construction which had been at least tacitly admitted with respect to zemindary rights, and set them forth in their true character. While the strength of the Mahomedan Government was entire, and indeed whenever it was afterwards enabled on occasions to exert it, the conduct of the zemindars was subject to a rigid control, and many instances of punishment the most severe are recorded in the annals of the country. It appears that they were in general continued hereditarily in the management of the lands, but not necessarily so; for it was no very uncommon practice to remove them for acts of misconduct and dis LECTURE IV. |