248 PROVISION OF BORROWING FACILITIES. 



respect of further limited advances made to these clients, the same 

 priority as an ordinary first mortgagee can acquire by stipulation in 

 accordance with Section 79 of the Transfer of Property Act. 

 Provision would also have to be made for limiting the maximum 

 amount of further advances (which we agree with the Poona 

 Committee should in no case exceed 75 per cent, of the security), 

 and for declaring what should constitute notice to subsequent 

 mortgagees. 



10. A third concession of some importance asked for by the Poona 

 Committee is that, the Government shall engage not to revise during 

 the next 30 years the land assessment of such villages of the taluqa 

 as are still under the original settlement. We agree with the 

 Government of Bombay that no promise to this effect can be given, 

 since such revision operations as are now going on must certainly be 

 completed. It has since been suggested that, should the bank consider 

 this absolutely necessary in order to give security to their operations, 

 it might be possible to postpone for a fixed period the collection of 

 such of the revised assessments as have not been actually introduced 

 when the liquidation scheme is complete ; but we abstain from 

 expressing an opinion on this suggestion, which has not yet been 

 considered by the Government of Bombay ; we apprehend, however, 

 that the recently declared policy of the Government of Bombay, in 

 respect to future revisions of assessment, has now lessened the import- 

 ance of the question, as it practically gives that security to landed 

 property throughout the Presidency which the Committee have asked 

 for in respect of the area selected for the operations of the bank. 



11. We need not trouble your Lordship with the minor details of 

 the scheme, which remain very much as they were stated in our letter 

 of 5th December 1882 to the Government of Bombay. The liquida- 

 tion would be entirely voluntary, and, as suggested by the Poona 

 Committee, might be confined to occupants of land whose assets are 

 at least double the gross amount of the awarded debt. The rate of 

 interest on advances made by the liquidators might be fixed at 9 per 

 cent, with a sinking fund of from 1 to 3 per cent., and it is proposed 

 that the bank should take over the entire amount of the sum 

 advanced by Government on an agreement to repay it within two 

 years, with interest at 4 per cent. The Bank would be at liberty- 

 to make loans for any purposes, or to any persons having a transferable 

 interest in land within the taluqa } but it would engage to limit the 



