tli e District of Nooicerakalaiviya. 1 7 7 



'prepared, the Assistant Agent proceeds to some appointed vil- 

 lage; the people assemble ; those of a certain village are called 

 forward ; the first name is read, the peasant comes forward, 

 signs the register, and receives the memorandum shewing 

 what he has to pay, and as the matter proceeds, complaints 

 as to over estimation, &c. are frequently heard at once, and 

 the requisite alterations made. After all this is done, another 

 set of receipts, corresponding to the entries in the registers, 

 is filled up; each such receipt is given by the headman to 

 the person whose name is inscribed on it, when he pays the 

 tax due by him. In this way, the peasant knows beforehand 

 what he has to give annually, and he cannot be called on by 

 the Korale to pay twice over, as used formerly to occur not 

 unfrequently. The headmen, when they bring revenue to 

 the Cutcherry, give in lists of those from whom they have 

 received it, and thus, if a headman dies or is dismissed, there 

 is no difficulty in discovering who is and who is not in arreai*. 

 These commutation settlements are made for periods of five 

 years. It was at one time proposed that they should run for 

 twenty years, but fortunately this scheme was abandoned, as 

 also that of allowing the people to redeem their whole grain 

 tax at ten or twenty years' purchase. 



The taxes from chenas, tahwaloos, and lands which are 

 cultivated at uncertain periods, are collected by estimation, 

 that is, the growing crop is estimated, and the villager redeems 

 the tythe at a fixed rate, which is somewhat below the market 

 value of the grain ; at present it is eight pence per parrah, 

 the market value being from nine pence to a shilling. It is 

 desirable to check this system so far as circumstances allow, as 

 it is impossible to prevent deception being carried on to a 

 great extent. 



The execrable system of farming taxes has never been in 

 use here; and except under very peculiar circumstances I 

 should deplore its introduction. 



1858] 2 a 



