118 REVENUE SURVEYS. 



subject of an important and lengthy correspondence spread over 

 several years between the Government of India and the Secretary 

 of State. The experiment of a cadastral survey and of the esta- 

 blishment of village records in the Patna division of Behar was 

 sanctioned by Lord Hartington in 1882,* but pending the larger 

 question of the amendment of the Bengal Bent Law, nothing was 

 done to give effect to that sanction. In 1884, Mr. Reynolds, one of 

 the members of the Bengal Board of Revenue, submitted a full 

 explanatory memorandum (based largely on a note of Mr. Bernard) 

 describing the proposed survey and record of rights, and also the 

 proposed maintenance of the survey and records by introducing into 

 Behar the North-west Provinces system of patwaris and hanimgos. 

 For this purpose a Patwari Bill was brought into the Bengal 

 Legislative Council, and the survey and record operations were 

 started in the district of MuzafFarpur. But in 1886, Lord Randolph 

 Churchill, who was then Secretary of State, in reviewing the whole 

 situation, expressed his opinionf that the cost of survey and record 

 operations in MuzafFarpur should be borne wholly by the Govern- 

 ment, on the ground that " as the measure at present is purely 

 " experimental it would not be right to lay any part of the expense 

 " on the people." At the same time, Lord Randolph made a reser- 

 vation as regarded the cost of the patwaris, which he had no 

 objection to see defrayed from local funds if there were found any 

 "existing customary source " capable of being made fairly available 

 for the payment of the new class of village accountants. The 

 Government of India, however, in their reply plainly objected to this 

 new idea of defraying the expense from general revenues, so that 

 Lord Kimberley, who had in the meantime taken office, thought 

 that there was no choice left but to abandon the survey, which was 

 accordingly done. J 



The stoppage of the survey gave rise to much general regret. 

 It had been desirable, in the first instance, to test the feelings 

 of the people in Behar with regard both to mapping the holdings 

 and to the concurrent inquiries into occupancy rights, as well as to 

 ascertain the probable cost of the operations with the view of 



* Despatch No. 54 (Revenue), dated 17th August, p. 190 of volume of Selections 

 from Despatches for 1882. 



f In his Despatch No. 1 (Legislative), dated 7th Jauuary 1886. 



J Despatch to Government of India (Legislative), No. 21, dated loth July 1886. 



