3 i 
; ON THE STATISTICS OF DUKHUN. 281 
justly take away a man’s land either for his own purposes or 
to give it to others; although, as a despotic prince, like all 
other princes of India, he had the undoubted adility to do so 
at his pleasure: yet few instances are known of this oppressive 
_ exercise of their power, and there are many instances on 
record of their purchasing land from their subjects. I have 
laid before the public translations of official documents, in 
which the sovereigns have been parties, containing the most 
irresistible proofs of the people having the uncontrolled right 
to dispose of their lands as they pleased, by gift, or sale, or 
devise, or in other ways. These translations are too lengthened 
to be introduced in this report, but they will be met with in 
the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and 
Treland. 
All lands in Dukhun were classed within some village 
boundary or other; and to this day these boundaries are 
guarded with such jealousy by the inhabitants as to be pro- 
ductive of broils and bloodshed on their slightest invasion. 
The village lands were divided into family estates, called 
Thuls, which bore the name of the family, and the estates 
bear the name to this day, although the family be extinct or 
Gutkool, as it is called; and half the estates in Dukhun are 
_ now Gutkool, but preserve their family names. These estates 
__ were hereditary and freehold, burthened only with the sove- 
_ reign’s land-tax, and assessments for village expenses, as a 
_ gentleman’s estate in England is burthened with land-tax and 
_ assessments for highway and poor-rates, &c.; there were not 
any tithes, but in each village there were lands assigned for 
_ religious objects, either to temples or to sacerdotal persons. 
_ Every village had a constitution for its internal government ; 
_ it consisted of the Pateel or chief, assisted by a Chowgulla ; 
_ the Koolkurnee, or village accountant, kept the village records 
and details of assessment and revenue; and there were twelve 
hereditary village officers, the well-known Bara Bullooteh, 
whose numbers were complete or otherwise as the population 
of the«villages was capable of supporting them. All these 
officers and the chief land-owners formed a village council, 
- called Pandreh, which managed the external and internal re- 
lations of the village, whether with respect to raising the 
_ government assessments, managing its police, or in settling 
_ civil disputes, excepting in cases where Panchaeits or juries 
f five persons were specifically appointed to arbitrate by 
mutual consent of the litigating parties. And it is somewhat 
| remarkable that this isolated and internal government has 
withstood the shocks of all the changes of dynasties, invasions, 
~ 
