134 MALAY LAND TENURE. 



" on behalf of some one else, as a tenant, or in an inferior 

 " position, then the ' superior holder's ' name is entered in 

 fC the register, not his : he becomes the ' inferior holder, ' and 

 " it is the superior who is entered in the register as the l occu- 

 "pant"' responsible for the assessed sum. Any one who is 

 (< recorded as the responsible holder can simply resign ( if he 

 ■* does not like to pay the assessment ) any field in his holding. 

 " The assessment is fixed for a period of thirty years, so that 

 " a man who elects to hold continuously, knows for certain 

 "that during that long period, all the profit he can make will 

 " go to him." 



" At the beginning of each year, he can signify to the 

 " mdmlatddr ( or local revenue officer of a taluk sub-division ) 

 u what fields he wishes to hold, and what he wishes to give up ; 

 " as long as lie does this in proper time, he is free to do as he 

 " pleases. If he relinquishes, the fields are available for any 

 " one else ; if no one applies for them, they are usually auc- 

 " tioned as fallow (for the right of grazing) for the year, and so 

 " on, till some one offers to take them up for cultivation. 

 cc Nothing whatever is said in the Revenue Code about the 

 " person in possession ( on his own account ) being 'owner' 

 " in the western sense. He is simply called the ' occupant/ 

 " and the Code says what he can do and what he cannot. The 

 " occupant may do anything he pleases to improve the land, 

 " but may not, without permission, do anything which diverts 

 " the holding from agricultural purposes. He has no right to 

 " mines or minerals. " 



" These are the facts of the tenure ; you may theorise on 

 " them as you please ; you may say this amounts to proprie- 

 " torship, or this is a dominium minus plenum, or anything 

 " else." 



" The question of tenancy is just as simply dealt with. I 

 " have stated that, if it appears that the occupant is in pos- 

 " session in behalf of some one else, that some one else is 

 " recorded as the c superior holder,' and he becomes the 

 11 ( inferior holder.' " 



" What sort of ' inferior ' — whether a tenant or on some 

 (i other terms — is a simple question of fact and of the agree- 

 " ment or the custom by which he holds." 



