[Extracts from the Proceedings of the Governor General's Council, 

 dated the 26th October, 188,2.] 



AGRICULTURAL LOANS BILL. 

 THE HON'BLE MR. CROSTHWAITE said : 



The Council is aware that an Act was passed in 1871 for the 

 purpose of enabling Government to make advances of money to the 

 owners and tenants of land for the sole purpose of improving that 

 land. After some eleven years' experience, it is universally admitted 

 that the Act is a failure. The total advances under the Act for the 

 whole of India do not come to more than four-and-a-half or five 

 lakhs at the outside during the year, and the Famine Commission, 

 in Chapter 4 of the second part of their Report, have called attention 

 to this subject, and suggested that the Act might be made simpler, 

 and the Local Governments might have more power to make the 

 rules under which the Act is worked elastic and suitable to local 

 peculiarities. On the report of the Famine Commission, the Local 

 Governments were asked to give their opinions on these suggestions. 

 Those opinions have now been received, and are almost unanimous 

 that the Act and the rules framed under it require simplification. 

 The North-West Government are specially anxious that this should 

 be done, and they have pressed it on the notice of the Government 

 of India. In accordance with those opinions the present Bill has 

 been framed, on the principle of leaving everything, that can pos- 

 sibly be thus left, to rules to be framed by the Local Government. 

 In the present case, I think this method of framing the Act is not 

 open to objection, because the only interests concerned are those 

 of the Government which advances the money, and it is presumed 

 that in making the rules it will take precautions against loss. In 

 thus amending the law we have also taken the opportunity of endea- 

 vouring to encourage the application of private capital to the im- 

 provement of land. We propose to follow the method which has 

 been for a long time adopted in the English and the Irish Acts, 

 which have been passed for a similar purpose, the method, namely, 

 of empowering companies whose articles of association, and the 

 method of whose business, approved by the Government, are to make 

 advances to owners of land for the purpose of executing improvements. 



