76 



to applicants in this country an amount of informa- 

 tion respecting* the facilities offered to persons pro- 

 posing- to settle in India for agricultural purposes, 

 which they are not now in a condition to furnish. 

 All such applicants will, of course, be required to 

 make their arrangements with regard to the occupa- 

 tion of land with the local authorities.'* 



On receipt of these orders, information was imme- 

 diately called for from the different Governors and 

 Lieuts. of Provinces by the Governor-General. The 

 local Governors, ag"ain, called for reports from all 

 Commissioners of Revenue and other officers of ex- 

 perience under their authority, and a variety of 

 opinions, with details of considerable interest, were 

 collected, and submitted to the Supreme Govern- 

 ment for consideration. In the mean time, a second 

 despatch from the Secretary of State sanctioned 

 the commutation of annual payments by one pay- 

 ment, and the terms were notified in the ( Gazette.'f 

 By this measure, that the Home Authorities had 

 taken up the question, was noised abroad. An 

 extraordinary excitement followed. From the thou- 

 sands of square miles in Pegu and Jubbalpoor 

 from the millions of acres in Arracan, in the Tenas- 

 serim Provinces, in Chittag-ong*, &c., it is true, not 

 a sound was heard ; and the demands of the tea 

 planters of Darjeeling-, and the coffee planters of the 



* Despatch of the Secretary of State, dated 16th March, 

 1859. 



+ See Calcutta Gazette, 17th August, 1859. 



