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saving in the cost of carriage of produce to market and 

 consequent enhanced value of produce by provision of 

 increased facilities of communication by the construction of 

 railways or canals. The Government is of opinion that it 

 would be best to leave these advantages untaxed with a view 

 to avoid the minute enquiries that would otherwise be neces- 

 sary. The saving in cost of cultivation by labour-saving 

 appliances, such as improved water-lifts, will, of course, in 

 like manner with increase of produce due to the adoption of 

 superior methods of cultivation be left untaxed. The assess- 

 ments once fixed are not to be liable to variation for 20 years. 

 In the case of prices, an initial schedule is to be prepared 

 with reference to which future adjustments of the revenue 

 are to be made. This initial schedule, according to the 

 instructions of the Government of India, is to be based, not 

 on the prices of any one year, but on the average prices of a 

 period of years, say ten, immediately preceding the year 

 which is taken as the commencement of the settlement, 

 excluding years of famine or severe scarcity. The staples 

 which are to be taken into consideration, the markets at 

 which prices are to be registered, the period for which the 

 average is to be calculated and such like matters, are to be 

 decided after full discussion svitli the Local Governments. 

 The Government of India further directs that in those cases in 

 which there are interests subordinate to those of the land- 

 holders to be safe-guarded (e.g., tenants in South Canara and 

 Malabar holding at fixed rates), arrangements should be made 

 for the limitation of future enhancements of assessments 

 according to well-recognized principles easy of application, 

 being accompanied by similar limitation of the rents payable 

 by tenants to land-holders. The principles enunciated by 

 the Government of India have been accepted by the Madras 

 Government with modifications on two points and are to be 

 applied to revisions of assessments in all districts which have 

 been settled by the Settlement department. The modifi- 

 cations are : first, that as regards the calculation of average 

 prices, a period of 10 years being too small to give a fair 

 average, a longer period should be taken, the precise period 

 being left for consideration when the time for a revision of 

 settlement approaches ; secondly, that when a substantial rise 

 in the value of agricultural produce justifies an augmentation 

 of the State demand, a limit to the increase to be made at any 

 one time should be laid down. The second condition added by 

 the Madras Government is most important and is calculated 

 to protect agricultural classes from the hardship of large 

 and sudden en*hancements, to whatever cause they may be due. 



