bolii 



sirkar grain from tlie granaries. Simple as it may appear, enormous 

 difficulty is experienced, and we have to face another series of frauds 

 now on the part of the taluk or superior officers. Tenders are invited, 

 but only a few come and bid low. Tenders are again invited but to 

 no better purpose. At last come upon the scene a set of unscrupulous 

 fraudulent tradesmen or relatives or friends of those in authority, or 

 mere speculators professing to give security, which is really worthless. 

 These men bid higher prices and take up the grain in lots they 

 require. They remove the grain, but make no payment down, but 

 enter into promises to pay value in eight instalments and profess to 

 give due security for the fulfilment of the promise. It not unfre- 

 quently happens that the purchaser decamps and his surety is found 

 to have followed suit or found to be hollow. The money due on the 

 sales to the relatives and friends of the officers outstands the longest. 

 If, to avoid these troubles, the grain is taken direct to the nearest 

 market to be there sold outright for cash, few could be induced to 

 pay the market price, the sirkar grain being notoriously bad crop and 

 unscrupulously adulterated. 



'' Such is a brief resume of the beauties of the ^ amani ' system. 

 Complaints against the system on the part of the poorer ryots were 

 rife. The State was ringing with the news of the plunder practised 

 every day. Honest-minded higher officers found themselves helpless 

 to apply a remedy. The evils in all their realities came home to me. 

 To knock the system on the head was the only remedy possible, and 

 to this I had to apply myself as soon as I had ascertained the wishes 

 of the people and had the leisure to begin. A beginning was made to 

 substitute money assessments. It met with success and would have 

 been carried through but for the unfortunate character of the season 

 which deterred the ryots from entering into immediate arrangements. 

 The plan adopted will be described in the next report.'^ 



(6) Suggestions as to amendments to he made in the law of landlord 



and tenant in the Madras Presidency . 



The following are the matters for which provision should be made 

 in a law regulating the relations between Zemindars and ryots. The 

 two main interests in the land are the melvaram and the kudivaram ; 

 and the two classes of land are " ryoti " or aiyan or peasant land, and 

 pannai or kamar or private or domain land. In the former, the 

 Zemindar has the melvaram right alone, and in the latter, he has both 

 the melvaram and the kudivaram right. The distinction is well known 

 throughout the Presidency, and is recognized by the common law of 

 the country. Advantage should be taken of the distinction, and the 

 relative rights of landlords and tenants should be defined on this 

 basis. There would then be 4 classes of persons to be dealt with, 

 viz., Ist, melvaramdar or the superior holder next after Government; 

 2nd, tenure holders or persons who have interests carved out of the 

 melvaram; 3rd, the ryot proper or the possessor of the kudivaram 

 right ; and 4th, sub-ryots or persons holding under ryots interests 

 carved out of the kudivaram. The second and fourth classes do not 

 require any specific protection, and their rights may be left to be 

 defined by contracts and the operation of the general law of prescrip- 



