216 RESTRICTIONS ON THE ALIENATION OF LANDS. 



Committee contemplated no interference in respect of alienations 

 of laud to agriculturists. The Hon'ble Member in charge of the Bill 

 explained in his speech on the 10th August last why he was unable 

 to accept this view. The reason was because the agriculturist 

 is also in many cases a trader and a money-lender. Accordingly 

 the Bill as introduced in September, 1899, limited the freedom 

 of such transactions to members of the same agricultural tribe 

 residing in the district where the land was situated. The limits 

 of the district for the purposes of this provision might be 

 extended or restricted. The term ' agricultural tribe ' was 

 similarly liable to formal definition. The Punjab opinions 

 recorded on the Bill supported almost unanimously the view of the 

 Punjab Committee, and advocated no restriction on alienations to 

 members of an agricultural tribe. In my opinion of the 15th May 

 I strongly advocated this course, because otherwise matters would 

 be made too hard for the small proprietors of small tribes. I 

 pointed out that the main object of the Bill would not thereby be 

 interfered with, while its principal danger would be averted. 

 With reference to this view the Hon'ble MR. RIVAZ explained that 

 the Select Committee had recognized the force of the objection that, 

 if free transfers were limited too strictly within the same tribe, 

 the market in the case of some small tribes would be undesirably 

 narrowed. Accordingly he announced that the Bill had been amended 

 so as to permit of the grouping together, when thought advisable, 

 of small and what may be called cognate tribes in the same district 

 or in a group of districts, and to allow permanent alienations 

 without restriction within such groups. Now, the Bill itself as 

 amended and as now presented to the Council says nothing about 

 cognate tribes. It merely provides in section 4 that the Local 

 Government, with the previous sanction of the Governor General in 

 Council, may determine what bodies of persons in any district or 

 group of districts are to be deemed to be agricultural tribes or 

 groups of agricultural tribes for the purposes of the Act. I still 

 hold the opinion that the Punjab view is correct, and that the best 

 plan would be not to interfere with permanent alienations by a 

 member of any agricultural tribe to a member of the same or any 

 other agricultural tribe, and that provision in order to meet the 

 Hon'ble Member's objection should, if necessary, have been made in 

 the Bill. But, as this opinion has not been accepted by the Select 

 Committee, I will only record my hope that in working section 4 of 



