114 Report on the District of Azimgurh. [Feb. 



occur, have reference to estates formerly held by large bodies of 

 cultivating proprietors, which are brought to public sale for arrears of 

 Government revenue. In such cases it is only the proprietary 

 right of the defaulters which is extinguished, their rights as culti- 

 vators remain intact. They are still entitled to cultivate their Seer 

 land at a fixed rate, but the rate requires to be defined. Before the 

 present settlement there was the greatest difficulty in deciding cases of 

 this sort. The Putwaree's papers, supposing them perfectly genuine, 

 show only the extent of each Zemindar's Seer and the bach,h he had 

 hitherto paid. But the extent was stated in an arbitrary Beegah, 

 commonly called the Bhaiunsee Beegah, much larger than the ordi- 

 nary standard Beegah, being used only amongst the brotherhood, 

 where relative and not absolute area was the only requisite. In 

 order then fairly to fix rates for the Seer land, it was requisite that 

 the auction purchaser should first measure the land, and then deter- 

 mine the average rates which were paid by other cultivators for 

 similar land. It was seldom, in former times, that auction purchasers 

 were able to accomplish this. Any attempt to measure the lands of a 

 turbulent village community would have inevitably led to a breach of 

 the peace and bloodshed, and the loss to the proprietor would have 

 been immense. The matter used generally to end in a compromise, 

 which of course was more or less favorable to the purchaser according 

 to the strength or influence of the two parties. The rate once fixed, 

 and in general it was a very low one, the efforts of the old proprietors 

 were always directed to including in their Seer the best, and richest 

 Ryottee land. Hence the rental was soon reduced so low as to yield no 

 profit to the Zemindar, and ultimately, in all probability, the estate 

 was returned on the hands of Government as over-assessed. No other 

 purchaser would of course come forward, a Government Suzawul was 

 helpless, and unless some great exertions were made by the officers of 

 Government, the deterioration of the estate was permanent. 



91st. Talookah Oonhaitch, formerly included in Pergunnah Pucho- 

 tur, Zillah Ghazeepoor, illustrates the process. It was permanently 

 settled in 1197 F., but broke down in 1223, and for many years 

 had been held kham by Government at a considerable annual 

 loss. It has now been re-settled with the former village communities 

 at the old Jumma, and arrangements made with the proprietors for 

 the repayment of the balances by instalments within twenty years. 

 The Jumma, and the instalments have now been regularly paid two 

 years, without the smallest default. The estate has since been 

 transferred to Azimgurh, and forms part of Tuppah Purduha, Pergun- 

 nah Mahomcdabad. 



