278 



reo^isters maintained in registration offices in such a manner 

 as'to allow of the encumbrances existing on the lands being 

 readily ascertained ; and if this scheme be sanctioned, the 

 operations of the banks will be immensely facilitated. The 

 accounts of the bank should be audited every year, and for 

 this purpose the services of District Registrars might be 

 availed of. The success of the banks would, in a great 

 measure, depend upon the promptitude with which applica- 

 tions for loans are disposed of, in order that persons in need 

 of loans might obtain the loans at the time they are in need 

 of f ands ; and it will be seen from the methods of dealing of 

 the Nattukottai Chetties at Kariir that their success is due 

 mainly to the quickness with which they transact their busi- 

 ness. There is, however, no reason why, under proper 

 supervision, the business of the bank should not be done with 

 equal expedition. When the usefulness of the bank develops, 

 it may be possible to have branches at each Sub-Registrar's 

 station within the taluk. The managing committee should 

 have power to grant further time for payment of instalments 

 on due cause shown, and the general council should, likewise, 

 have power to postpone the collection of instalments in very 

 bad seasons by a general order, and also to arrange for sales of 

 properties pledged for the loans in such a manner that they 

 mio-ht not be thrown on the market at one and the same time. 

 The above sketch is intended simply to show the manner in 

 which an institution of this kind can be worked, and there 

 can be no difficulty in modifying the details so as to suit the 

 circumstances of particular localities in which the institutions 

 are established. 



97. The most important question in connection with 



these land credit banks is, of course, the 

 A^S5wtfX^'*°'' question of provision of funds. I have 



made sonie enquiries on the subject, and 

 the results tend to show that abundant funds will be forth- 

 coming if the solvency of the institutions be guaranteed by 

 Government, and the management be such as to inspire confi- 

 dence. It is quite certain, on the other hand, that, without 

 a Government guarantee, the banks cannot be expected to 

 be successful. Centuries of misgovernment have made the 

 people in the rural tracts very suspicious and averse to let- 

 ting their money go out of their sight, and though this f eeHng 

 is wearing away, occasional failures of banking firms, through 

 fraud or mismanagement, have helped to retard the growth 

 of confidence in private banking institutions. Lawyers and 

 Government officials — the latter of whom have been practically 

 debarred from investing their savings in landed properties by 



