MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 857 



lands sliould invariably be sold by public auction; that in CHAP. Xlll, 

 all cases the boundaries should be marked out before sale; PART^ll. 

 that each Provincial Government should fix the upset price revenue 

 suited to various descriptions of land in each district; that History. 

 in no case should possession be given before survey ; that 

 the time allowed to third parties to object should be fixed by 

 law ; that the price of redemption should vary according to the 

 market value at the time of four per cent, stocks. 



A fresh draft of rules was accordingly called for ; meanwhile, Waste Lands 

 however, the Waste Lands Bill engaged the attention of Govern- 

 ment and finally became law, 10th March 1863, its operation 

 extending to the Nilagiris. 



Shortly after this the Madras Government submitted the The Nilagiri 

 Unassessed Waste Land Eules and also special drafts for the sanctioned. 

 Nilagirisj the Shevaroys, and the Wain ad. These special drafts 

 differed from the general code " in the reservation of assessment 

 and the absence of a minimum upset price." The rules for the 

 Nilagiris were finally approved by the Secretary of State in 

 October 1863, on the ground that the lands on the Nilagiris were 

 subject to an annual general assessment and did not fall within 

 the scope of the rules for the sale of unassessed waste. This 

 distinction is of the highest importance.^ The rules for the sale of 

 waste lands on the Nilagiris will be found in the appendix. It 

 should be here observed that in practice they have been confined 

 to the plateau and slopes, and that the lowlands to the north, 

 between slopes and the Moyar, have heretofore been excluded 

 from their operation, though I am not aware of any special 

 sanction for this procedure. 



The despatch upon which these rules were based raised much Debate in the 

 discussion in England, and came before the House of Commons, on q^^I^^^^^^^^ 

 the motion of Mr. Henry Seymour, for its cancelment in May 

 1863. A full report of the debate, in which several leading states- 

 men took part, will be found in Hansard, Vol. 170, p. 1610-1659. 

 The main points raised were — the redemption of the land-tax ; the 

 declaring auction sales of waste lands compulsory throughout 

 India ; the necessity of a law of limitation connected with the 

 occupation of land. It is unnecessary to detail the discussion, 

 but it is noteworthy that Sir C. Wood, when objecting to the upset 



^ Mr. Breeks writing, in 1869, regarding objections to the Waste Land Rules, 

 Bays : — " There i.s some ground no doubt for these objections, and individual cases 

 of hardship could, I dare say, be adduced ; but the lauds on the Niligheries are 

 not unassessed waste practically unlimited in area. * * * The lands are 

 assessed lands, limited in area and dotted all over with villages of the hill tribes, 

 who, by long use for grazing and cultivation purposes, have acquired a natural 

 right to be consulted before large tracts are alienated." 



