30 



Land has never been saleable. Eyots, formerly substantial and 

 capable of laying out their capital on the lands and liquidating 

 their Sircar demand, reserving their produce until they could 

 get a favorable price, are now sunk in debt bearing heavy 

 interest, entirely subject to their creditors ; and were it not for , 

 the aid of the Collector through his revenue subordinates, one- 

 half, or at least one-third of the highly assessed lands would 

 ere this have been thrown up. Husbandry is not carried on 

 efficiently, and consequently the land seldom returns what it 

 ought and is capable of. The number of puttah holders has 

 increased, but they are a poor class who seek a maintenance 

 only in husbandry with less spirit, and by no means to be com- 

 pared with the substantial farmers who have fallen into diffi- 

 culties and disappeared from the rent roll of the district. With 

 regard to food and raiment the majority of them are poorly 

 clad and ill-fed, and it is impossible to arrive at any other 

 conclusion than that poverty is the cause. It is no new doc- 

 trine ; Sir Thomas Munro declared that the ryots of the Ceded 

 districts were the poorest of the Company's subjects." Writing 

 in 1851, or six years later, Mr. PeUy gives the following 

 account of the Bellary ryots : "I find that out of the whole 

 body of farmers only 17 per cent, are in what may be termed 

 to be good circumstances, substantial ryots who have capital 

 enabling them to discharge their kists without recourse to the 

 money-lender. About 49 per cent, are obliged to borrow money 

 by mortgaging their crops and stock and 34 per cent, are 

 obliged to sell their crops as soon as reaped and even their 

 stock to pay their kists." Eajahmundryj i.e.^ the present 

 Godavari district, which may now be said to be the garden of 

 the Madras Presidency, appears, from the report of Sir Henry 

 Montgomery in 1844, to have been on the verge of ruin. Of 

 the ten years between 1831-1840, 1831 and 1832 were famine 

 years, in 1835, 183d and 1837 the season is described as 

 '' unfavorable," and in 1838, 1839 and 1840 as " calamitous." 

 The population which in 1830 had been 695,016 had decreased 

 in 1840 to 533,836. The closing of the Government weaving 

 factories in consequence of the abrogation of the Company's 

 trading privileges in 1833 had thrown large numbers of 

 weavers out of employment, and money to the extent of 7 lakhs 

 of rupees on an average per annum, which was in circulation 

 in connection with the maintenance of the factories, was with- 

 drawn. The value of exports of piece-goods had decreased 

 from Rs. 9,74,075 to Es. 1,59,312. Notwithstanding a series 

 of bad harvesi^s, prices of grain continuously declined owing to 

 the competition of cheap rice from Arrakan. Of the condition 

 of the ryots under the zemindars Sir Henry Montgomery writes : 



