62 PROPOSED TENANCY REFORMS 



be forced to give up his holding, or the landlord will have 

 to forego the arrears and let him stay on at a lower rent. 



Good landlords who understand their business and con- 

 duct it for the continued prosperity of their estates are un- 

 animous in the opinion that it does not pay to endeavor to 

 raise rents above the economic level or indeed above a figure 

 slightly below the economic rent, If .the landlord willingly 

 foregoes a little even of the economic rent which may arise 

 a few years after the tenant has entered a holding, he there- 

 by gives the tenant encouragement to improve his cultiva- 

 tion. The landlord will get a reputation for being of a fine 

 and liberal disposition, and he will never be in want of good 

 tenants who will cultivate carefully and pay their rent 

 regularly. 



It is obvious, however, that in getting his estate settled 

 with good tenants of the character just described the land- 

 lord must be free from time to time to eject the most un- 

 satisfactory tenants. By a constant process of ejecting the 

 worst tenants, and by the consciousness of liability to ejection 

 which the other tenants will experience, the whole estate 

 may in time be brought to be tenanted by industrious pea- 

 sants who understand and practise good agriculture and are 

 generally well-behaved. 



(4) The form in which yearly agreements between 

 landlord and tenant are to be drawn up ought to receive 

 attention. It is obvious that the agreement must name 

 the fields which are let and state their area and define 

 the rent to be paid. The rent should be payable in two 

 half-yearly instalments in December or January and in May 

 or June, the second instalment being larger than the first 

 in a proportion according with local custom. If the tenant 

 be illiterate, the agreement should be read over to him by 

 the patwari and, when he understands and agrees to it, he 

 should affix his thumb impression. The agreement should 



