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into, both as regards Government and the ryots who were 

 placed under them. The Zemindars were, of course, in 

 accordance with the erroneous ideas as to the rights of ryots 

 prevaiUng at the time, declared to be " proprietors of the 

 soil " (section 2 of Regulation 25 of 1 «02). The safe-guards 

 provided for the protection of the ryots were these : f'irst, it 

 was made imperative on the part of the Zemindar to offer 

 puttahs to his ryots (and to exchange muchiJikas with them) 

 clearly specifying the rent demandable from them, within six 

 months from the date of t-he permanent settlement. These 

 puttahs and muchilikas were to be signed and registered, 

 not by the Collector as orignially contemplated, but by the 

 kurnam of the village who, by another regulation passed at 

 this time, was made independent of the Zemindar on the one 

 hand, and the Collector on the other (section 14 of Regula- 

 tion 25 of 1802' and section 3 of Regulation 30 of 1802). 

 The expectation was that by insisting on the terms as regards 

 rent, &c., being reauced to writing with the mutual consent of 

 the parties interested, and registered in the office of a village 

 officer who was, supposed to be placed in a position in which 

 he would not be amenable to the influence of the Zemindar, 

 the rights of the ryot would be secured and the Courts 

 would be furnished with the means of deciding readily dis- 

 putes regarding rates of rent between Zemindars and ryots ; 

 secondly. Zemindars were required to consolidate rents and 

 imposts of all kinds customarily levied from ryots into one 

 specific sum within two years from the date of the permanent 

 settlement and enter it in the puttah ; and if the Zemindars 

 neglected to do so, the rents and cesses were not to be enfor- 

 ceable in a Court of Law (section 6 of Regulation 30 of 1802) ; 

 thirdly, Zemindars were forbidden to impose any new cesses or 

 taxes on the ryots, under any name or pretence, and the levy 

 of any sums other than those mcluded in the consolidated 

 amount entered in the puttah was made punishable with fine 

 equal to three times the amount levied unauthorizedly (sec- 

 tion 7 of Regulation 30 of 1802) ; fourthly, it was laid down 

 that if disputes arose between Zemindars and ryots regarding 

 rates of assessment, in money, or of division in kind, the rates 

 were to be determined according to the rates prevailing in 

 the cultivated lands in the year preceding the permanent 

 settlement of the revenue of the estate ; and where these rates 

 might not be ascertainable, according to the rates established 

 for lands of the same description and quality as those res- 

 pecting, which the dispute arose (section 9 of Regulation 30 

 of 1802). By these provisions it was thought that, though 

 cesses which pYevious to the permanent settlement had beei^ 



