GRANT OF LOANS AND ADVANCES TO AGRICULTURISTS. 65 



323. The Agriculturists' Loans Act (12 of 1884) has been to 

 such extent more successful than the sister Act. But there is one 

 great objection to the present system that the relief does not reach 

 the cultivators, who are most in need of it. The conditions of secu- 

 rity are strict, and the desire of subordinate officials to avoid all risk of 

 loss in collection is strong. The result is that these loans in ordinary 

 times reach only the more substantial and solvent cultivators, who 

 are the least in need of them. The cultivator who is struggling in 

 deep waters cannot hope to profit by a takavi advance. He is in debt 

 because he is poor ; and his poverty prevents him from obtaining 

 the means of escape from debt. We recognise that it is impossible 

 to reach by loans of public money the lowest strata of agricultural 

 society ; some security at least must be required. But we are of 

 opinion that more may be done by a development of joint personal 

 security. One of the three great objects of Act 12 of 1884 was to 

 " provide for loans being made to village communities or other asso- 

 ciated agriculturists," and to the principle of joint responsibility we 

 look for a large extension of these loans. We have already noted 

 that this principle was applied with great success in the Central 

 Provinces during the recent famine, and it is not, we think, too much 

 to hope that a system which was so far successful on one occasion 

 may be generally utilised to extend the beneficent range of these 

 advances to deserving but poverty-stricken cultivators. Before this 

 can be done, ho\vever, there must be a revision of such existing rules, 

 as lay stress on the need for the security of real property and the 

 desirability of limiting the advances, that can be made, to those whose 

 rights in their holdings can be brought to summary sale an instance, 

 surely, of the manner in which the object of the rules is lost sight 

 of in their application. It is scarcely necessary to remark that the 

 reasons for reducing the rate of interest are particularly cogent in the 

 case of loans under this Act. 



324. We believe that, if our recommendations, on both those 

 Acts are adopted, one step will have been taken towards the solution 

 of a great problem. In the debate on Act 19 of 1883 it was remarked 

 that, " the Northern India Takavi Act requires for its application 

 in each case but little preliminary enquiry," and the need for enquiry 

 decreases as the system of records improves. Some help may be 

 obtained from non-official agency, and some of the stiffness and the 

 slowness of the present machinery may be removed. Hard and fast 



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