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Zemindar's powers to grant them for cultivation must be 

 assimilated to those exercised by Government. It would 

 certainly be difficult to control the Zemindar's discretion in 

 granting waste lands for cultivation or to prevent his making 

 a profit out of them, but the recognition of the principle that 

 the waste lands are not at the Zemindar's unrestricted dis- 

 posal is necessary to prevent the lands being rack-rented and 

 lands resigned being added as a matter of course to " private 

 lands ;" otherwise all peasant lands as they become vacant will 

 be converted into private lands. The ryot should have the 

 right to adopt such modes of cultivation and raise such crops 

 as he finds profitable, and to make improvements to land, 

 provided he pays the customary rent determined with refer- 

 ence to the standard crop of the village. As regards the rents, 

 though these have been pushed up in the Northern districts 

 so as to absorb nearly the whole of the increase in the value 

 of the ryot's share of the produce that has resulted from the 

 general progress of the country in recent years, still a sudden 

 reduction of them would cause hardship to the Zemindars. 

 Existing rents must, therefore, be recognized, and the efforts 

 of legislation directed towards securing to the ryot the enjoy- 

 ment of any increase in the value of his share of the produce 

 which may accrue to him in the future. As regards the 

 detailed provisions to be made for this purpose, the note printed 

 as appendix VI.-B. (6) should be referred to. The most note- 

 worthy point in connection with this question is the rule laid 

 down to the effect that rents shall not be enhanced even with 

 the consent of the ryot to a greater extent than 12^ per cent, 

 at a time, and that rent once enhanced shall not be liable to 

 alteration for 15 years. Zemindari ryots should be conceded 

 the right to transfer their holdings after giving due notice 

 to the Zemindars. This right is possessed by the ryots in the 

 Southern districts, and though it is disputed by the Zemindars 

 of the Northern districts, it should be recognized by legislation 

 as it is the necessary consequence of the limitation of the 

 demand of the Zemindar and the creation of a saleable interest 

 for the ryot in the land. Public interests require that there 

 should be no obstacles interposed to the consolidation of 

 holdings for purposes of profitable cultivation ; and the Zemin- 

 dar himself may have to purchase ryot's holdings for such 

 purposes. He loses nothing by conceding the right, more 

 especially when he is not allowed to annex lands vacated to 

 his " private lands." His interest will be amply protected by 

 making him retain a lien for the rent due on the land in the 

 hands of the purchaser. To prevent the Zemindar from allow- 

 ing rent to accumulate by withholding remissions when due, 



