MANUAL or THE NILAGIRl DISTRICT, 341 



the Government and private individuals, those brought under cultl- CHAP. XIII, 

 ration by the Burghers, those which are to be left in the permanent PART I. 

 occupation of the Todas, and those entirely unoccupied, over a portion ^g^ENUE 

 of which the Todas have been accustomed to pasture their herds. History. 

 This work should be immediately commenced ; but in the meantime 

 we do not wish to restrict you from accepting any eligible proposals 

 which may be made to you for bringing waste laud into cultivation, 

 care being taken that the rights of other parties are not infringed, and 

 the general rules which we have laid down observed as far a3 practi- 

 cable. 



" In considering any claims which may be advanced by individuals 

 to hold lands under titles dei'ived by purchase from the Todas, you will 

 bear in mind that they could not transfer any more extensive right 

 than they themselves possessed, viz., the right of occupying the land 

 for purposes of pasturage. Such land must be held liable for the full 

 assessment whenever it shall be brought into cultivation by the actual 

 occupants, or in the event of any other party proposing to reclaim it ; 

 in the latter case the occupant would be entitled to similar compen- 

 sation as would have been assigned to the Todas had the land remained 

 in their occupation." 



The Court in the same despatch ordered compensation to be —payment of 

 paid to the Todas for their exclusion from the lands of the Ootaca- for Ooteca-"" 

 mand cantonment from the 27th December 1837, the date on which mand 

 it was resolved that the compensation should be made to them. °^' ^^'^ 

 The Court also foi'warded a copy of the despatch of February 1842 

 to the Supreme Government regarding the acquisition of lands in 

 Dehra Doon by Europeans, enunciating the policy of the Court of 

 Directors regai-ding the acquisition of waste lands by Europeans, 

 and the security which should be afforded for rights and privileges 

 of the neighbouring native villagers. 



On receipt of these orders the Board of Revenue were called on Manual of 

 to prepare a manual of rules for the approval of Government oi^dere/trbe 

 based thereon, and further to ascertain precisely the lands in the prepared, 

 occupation of Europeans on the Nilagiris, and the circumstances 

 under which such lands had been acquired. 



The manual of instructions, though submitted late in 1843, did -P™\'f •'^^ , 

 ' ° .of the Manual 



not receive sanction until the end of 1849, on the completion relating to 

 of Major Ouchterlony's survey. The map prepared at the time t^^e Todas. 

 exhibited, among other things, the lands in the occupation of the 

 Todas as well as the unoccupied tracts over portions of which these 

 people had been wont to pasture their herds. These instructions, as 

 far as concerned the Todas, laid down that lands which had hitherto 

 been " entirely unoccupied^' or ^'used only as pasture grounds by 

 the Todas " should, on being taken up for agricultural purposes, 

 he assessed "■ according to the rates paid on land of similar 

 quality in the nearest agricultural village, unless where -the land 

 be within a specified distance of Ootacamund/' (when special rates. 



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