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perty in land from time immemorial, while in other places 



the bulk of the land has only recently acquired value. In 

 wealth, intelligence and enterprise these districts stand ahead 

 of all others and the standard of living is much higher there 

 than elsewhere. It is also true that, if the necessities of 

 Government require extraordinary sacrifices to be made in 

 grave emergencies, these districts are in a better position to 

 make them than other parts of the Presidency. But the ques- 

 tion is whether, in ordinary times, it is desirable that the 

 principle of " modeyation," referred to by Mr. Pedder, which 

 has been the guiding principle in all settlements hitherto 

 made, should be laid aside and that Government should 

 impose additional burdens amounting, say, to 50 or 100 per 

 cent, of the present revenue, simply in order to level up tax- 

 ation so as to reach the " half-net," which the Madras Board 

 of Revenue in 1870 pronounced to be " indeterminate," 

 thereby causing depreciation of landed property and disturb- 

 ance of the relations between land-owners and mortgagees 

 and tenants, at the imminent risk of lowering the standard of 

 living, the raising of which within the last 40 years has been 

 the best proof of the undoubted beneficence of British rule 

 in this Presidency. I do not think that the question can 

 admit of any but one answer. Irrespective of all abstract 

 questions of right, it is obvious that the transference to the 

 public exchequer of a moderate percentage of incomes of the 

 agricultural classes, thoagh it may cause temporary incon- 

 venience, is not likely to leave permanently injurious effects ; 

 it may, on the contrary, even call forth energy and fore- 

 thought and engender habits of prudence among these classes. 

 The augmented resources of Government will also enable it 

 to undertake the many reforms in administrative arrange- 

 ments and in other directions which the country stands sorely 

 in need of, and a moderate increase of taxation will doubtless, 

 while leaving the margin available for maintaining undimi- 

 nished, and even increasing the standard of comfort interpose 

 a salutary check to an inordinate increase of population. A 

 sudden and great reduction of incomes must, however, para- 

 lyze energy and bring discontent and despair ; and when a 

 large portion of the population is subjected to this operation, 

 its injurious consequences can be readily conceived. A land- 

 holder's income which has been, say, Rs. 2,000, Rs. 500 or 

 Rs. 100 for 30 years may, without causing permanent hard- 

 ship, be reduced perhaps to Rs. 1,800, Rs. 450, and Rs. 90, 

 respectively, by additional taxation. The deficiency in the 

 income, which is not much in excess of what one must be 

 prepared for in the natural course of things, whether caused 



