[Extracts from tJie Famine Commission's Report, 1901J] 

 Fart III, Section V, Pages 102-106. 



ADVANCES BY GOVERNMENT. 



310. There is some connection from the historic as well as from 

 the economic stand-point between the establishment of Credit 

 Associations and the encouragement of advances under the Agricultural 

 Loans Acts. The historic connection lies in the fact that it was 

 originally intended to incorporate in the Land Improvement Loans 

 Act a scheme for the creation of Agricultural Banks, although not of 

 the Raiffeisen class. The economic connection lies in the identity 

 of the object, at which both Agricultural Banks and the system of 

 Government advances alike aim. 



311. That object is the promotion of agricultural prosperity and 

 the improvement of the cultivators' condition. " The real justification 

 of the policy (of Government advances to cultivators) lies/' said the 

 Member in charge of the Bill, which became Act 12 of 1884, "in the 

 position of Government as the great landlord of the country, and the 

 direct bearing which the welfare of the cultivator has on its revenues." 

 But a wider view may be taken of the responsibilities of the Govern- 

 ment, and its interest in the cultivator as a citizen no less than as a 

 contributor to its revenues justifies it in promoting his industry. The 

 policy of the Takavi Acts should not be regarded as productive merely, 

 but also as protective ; and it is upon the protective aspects especially 

 that we would insist. We recognise the progress that has been made, 

 since these measures were originally introduced, but we are convinced 

 that there is both scope and need for a further extension of the policy 

 m its protective aspect on lines of greater liberality. It will be 

 convenient to deal separately with the two Acts, although many 

 considerations apply equally to both. 



312. The Land Improvement Loans Act (19 of 1883) in its 

 present form rose out of the recommendations of the Famine Com- 

 mission of 1880. That Commission noticed many defects in the 

 existing law regarding agricultural advances, and their recom- 

 'mendations led to improvements, which, so far as they have gone, 

 have proved beneficial. Still much remains to be done. 



