198 



RESTRICTIONS ON THE ALIENATION OF LANDS. 



and, in the case of other land, the sanction of the Commissioner of the 

 Division. Such sanction is very seldom given ; still, as the allowance 

 or disallowance of sales depends on the individual judgment of the 

 Financial Commissioner or the Divisional Commissioner, as the case 

 may be, an undesirable element of uncertainty is thus introduced 

 which it is advisable to remove. Moreover, under our proposed restric- 

 tions on mortgages, land could in future only be sold in execution of 

 decrees for unsecured debts, and not for debts secured by a usufructu- 

 ary mortgage. We, therefore, consider that sales of agricultural or 

 pastoral land in execution of decrees of the Civil Courts should, in 

 future, be absolutely prohibited in the Punjab. 



As regards amending the law of pre-emption in the Punjab we 

 agree with the Punjab Committee that an amendment of the present 

 law on the lines they mention is desirable, and will be a useful adjunct 

 to our scheme for restricting land alienations. We propose to deal 

 with this matter separately after further consulting the Punjab Gov- 

 ernment either by revising the present pre-emption sections of the 

 Punjab Laws Act, or by cancelling those sections and framing a new 

 enactment. 



On the all-important question whether the proposed Act shall be 

 an enabling Act or a measure of general application, the Government 

 of India adhere most decidedly to the opinion which they expressed, 

 as I have mentioned, in addressing the Punjab Government, in favour 

 of an enactment of general application. It seems to us self-evident 

 that, if any restrictive scheme is to be worked in the partial manner 

 which was so strongly advocated by Sir DENNIS FITZPATEICK, it is in- 

 evitably doomed to failure. In the first place, the remedy would not 

 be tried till the disease was very largely beyond cure ; and in the 

 second place, if the restrictive measures were confined to scattered 

 tracts throughout the Province, the agricultural population in those 

 tracts would be placed at a very serious disadvantage. Their credit 

 would be injuriously impaired, for the money-lenders, while able to 

 look to the land for their security everywhere outside these special 

 areas, would naturally avoid lending to men who were prohibited from 

 giving such security. The agriculturists in these areas would thu 

 stand apart as a proscribed class, and would naturally resent their posi 

 tion. If, on the other hand, the restrictive scheme be made of general 

 application, there is no reason to suppose that the credit of tli 

 general agricultural community will be materially impaired ^ 



