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payment of revenue, and that they should hold a revenue 

 Court for the investigation and settlement in the first in- 

 stance of such disputes, custom or special agreement and 

 should regulate the demand of the Zemindar against the 

 ryot. The Zemindar should not eject the ryot from his land, 

 unless the ryot should refuse to pay the stipulated rent as 

 soon after the beginning of the season for the settling for the 

 cultivation of the year, as may be reasonable and customary ; 

 nor should the Zemindar demand more than the customary 

 or stipulated waram or rent." 



In accordance with the Board's recommendations. Re- 

 gulation 4 of 1822 was passed which inter alia provided (1) 

 that Collectors should summarily enquire into all disputes 

 between Zemindars and ryots regarding rates of rent; (2) 

 that no property attached for arrears of rent could be sold 

 unless puttahs had been granted, tendered or refused, nor 

 until notice had been given to the Collector and leave ob- 

 tained for the sale ; (3) that no ryot could be ejected from 

 his land without the Collector's permission on the ground that 

 he refused to accept a puttah offered to him ; (4) that if the 

 Collector found on examination that the puttah tendered by 

 the Zemindar was just and correct, the ryot might be ejected, 

 unless he assented to the terms J but if the rate should exceed 

 the just rate prescribed, an order should be issued prohibiting 

 the ejectment and requiring the issue of a proper puttah 

 within one month, under penalty ; (5) that suits preferred in 

 the Zillah Courts for arrears of rent were to be rejected 

 where no puttah had been granted unless it were proved 

 that a puttah had been offered and rejected, or that both 

 parties had agreed to dispense with the use of puttah and 

 muchilika ; and (6j that Collectors might refer disputes relat- 

 ing to rates of rent or to occupancy of land to village or 

 district Punchayets for decision. The designation in the 

 permanent settlement regulations of the right of Zemindars 

 as "proprietary right" being calculated to prejudice the 

 rights of the ryots, it was declared by Regulation 4 of 1822 

 that in passing the former regulations Government had no 

 intention of authorizing any infringement or limitation of any 

 established rights of any classes of its subjects. 



Sir Thomas Munro, in his famous minute on " The condi- 

 tion of the Country " in 1824, has described the condition of 

 the ryots in Zemindaries in the Northern Circars at this 

 time as follows : 



" When these districts came into our possession, one part 

 of them was in the hands of Zemindars and the other and 



