78 



.GRANT O*' LOANS AND ADVANCES TO A&EICULTUEISTS. 



prior encumbrances, however, should not necessarily bar the grant of 

 the loan. The value of the land as security to the encumbrancers 

 will generally increase by the improvement. The encumbrancer may 

 foreclose and get the benefit of it. But its value for protective 

 purposes will remain, and the security of Government in the land 

 for purposes of recovering the advance will not be impaired. 



200. Transfer of occupancy riyhis. There seems to belittle doubt 

 that in zaminclari provinces the fact that the occupier of the soil is 

 generally a tenant without rights of transfer in his holding, throws 

 considerable difficulty in the way of advancing him money for 

 improvements. For the best and most obvious security for the 

 advance, namely, the land benefited is not available unless the 

 land-owner can be induced to stand in ; and this he can seldom be 

 prevailed upon to do. In the Central Provinces an attempt has been 

 made to overcome the difficulty by making tenants' holding sale- 

 able for the recovery of Government loans. 



Tenancy Act, sec- 

 tions 46 (3) and 70 We think the advisability of making similar 



provision in other provinces should be considered ; 



although most officers seem opposed to such a measure, mainly from 

 fear, first of its leading to the acquirement by the occupancy tenant, 

 to his ultimate ruin, of full rights of transfer, and secondly of the 

 extreme opposition of the land-owners. But opposition might be 

 conciliated by giving the landowners rights of pre-emption ; and as 

 regards the risk to the tenants from an undue extension of the right 

 of transfer, it may be observed that where the land-owners have 

 considerable estates, as in many parts of the United Provinces and 

 Bengal, the greater number of wells and other small improvements 

 are made by the tenants ; and the importance of providing the 

 tenantry with the best possible security for advances seems sufficient 

 to justify the running of a risk, which, after all, can be avoided 

 by firmness and foresight on the part of the administration. We 

 understand also that, as a matter of fact, transfers arc even now often 

 effected by tenants in the form of sub-leases. It may, therefore, be 

 that transferable rights for taJuivl purposes will not add much to 

 existing evils, if evils there be. If the sub-leases be valid and legal 

 security for private advances, iakavt might also be advanced on the 

 strength of some similar form of conveyance to a Government officer. 



201. Joint seen rili/. There is, however, away of making ad-, 

 vances to tenants, otherwise than on the security of their land, which 





