A RECORD OF RIGHTS 29 



legislation until the Government was in possession of 

 detailed information respecting the various forms of 

 tenure actually recognised in the country, it was 

 decided to prepare * a record of rights ' in every 

 village or estate before settling the land revenue 

 which it was to pay. This decision was embodied in 

 Regulation VII. of 1822, which marks the first depar- 

 ture from the English doctrine of landownership. 



The Regulation of 1822 was excellent in principle, 

 and indicates the tendency to recognise what I have 

 called the Indian conception of landed property ; but 

 the Regulation could not be efficiently worked partly 

 by reason of some assessment difficulties and partly 

 because of the deficiency of local establishments and 

 the burden thrown on the settlement officers who had 

 to inquire into and decide rights at the same time that 

 they were assessing the revenue. The progress made 

 under this Regulation was so slow that in the Aligarh 

 district, for example, only 127 villages were resettled 

 in seven years, the average being nineteen per annum. 

 It was evident that at this rate of progress the settle- 

 ment of the province would be indefinitely postponed, 

 and after a special committee had sat to look into the 

 whole matter, an amending law was passed, which is 

 known to history as Regulation IX. of 1833. The 

 principles then laid down have never since been de- 

 parted from, and ever since that date it has ' remained 

 a distinct feature of the system that the settlement 

 involved two branches of work — (i) quasi-judicial, 

 (2) fiscal. The first was concerned with the ascer- 

 tainment and record of rights, and the second with the 

 valuation of land and the assessment of the revenue 

 demand, and the adjustment of rents of tenants.'* 



Under Regulation IX. of 1833 settlements were 

 made for a period of thirty years. The principle of 

 permanent settlement was not officially discarded, but 



* ' Land Revenue and Tenure in British India,' B. H. Baden- 

 Powell. 



