GRANT OF LOANS AND ADVANCES TO AGRICULTURISTS. 79 



deserves mention : namely, the taking of joint security from several 

 tenants. In Northern India the areas irrigated by wells are often 

 so large that several holders may be interested in the same well. 

 Indeed it seems to be a general practice in . parts of the United 

 Provinces for all the neighbours to use a well which commands their 

 lands, by whomsoever it be made, after the wants of the owner are 

 satisfied. Notwithstanding the frequent difficulty of inducing 



I o 



people to co-operate, it seems not improbable that in order to secure 

 this user as of right, instead of merely by permission as at present, 

 there would be no insuperable difficulty in inducing neighbouring 

 tenants to stand joint security for one another. It mar be observed 

 that the Opium Department generally advances for wells on this 

 system. 



202. Advances on personal security. But even if this measure fails, 

 we think that the experiment ought to be freely tried, of advancing 

 to tenants of solidity and character, upon their individual personal 

 security alone. Their crops and personal property will often suffice 

 to cover any but a very large loan ; and the general integrity of 

 ffifaivi borrowers, as amply evidenced by the insignificant amount of 

 irrecoverable loans,, is an asset which should by no means be 

 overlooked . 



203. Simplification of accounts. We regard simplicity in accounts 

 and procedure as of the greatest importance, with the object of saving as 

 much trouble as possible to the subordinate revenue officials, who have 

 it in their power to discourage applications for takavi. From this 

 point of view we think the separate account of principal and interest 

 a mistake. With an instalment of fixed amount, and with penal or 

 compound interest exacted in only very exceptional cases, nothing 

 more than the simplest record of repayments will be necessary. 



204. It has been suggested to us that, when land revenue is re- 

 covered by rates upon the area cultivated or matured in each harvest, a 

 tabai'i advance might be recovered by a percentage surcharged on the 

 amount of land revenue, so that the recovery would be automati- 

 cally adapted to the means of repayment. The idea seems to us 

 admirable. Under this system, however, annual payments will vnry 

 considerably from year to year. It will accordingly be difficult to 

 settle how much of each such payment should be credited to principal 

 and how much to interest, and, generally, to determine exactly how 

 the account stands, and to enable the borrower to keep a satisfactory j 



