Edible Products. 



28 



t January, 1912. 



at the expense of Government. In 

 Giruwa Pattu I found one division of a 

 well irrigated fertile village (where a 

 former Pattu Mudaliyar had lived and 

 his widow still resided) had been rented 

 at much less rate thau the other divi- 

 sions on each side. On asking explan- 

 ation of this from the Mudaliyar who 

 was in office, he candidly said, "Oh yes, 

 we always allowed the widow to buy it 

 cheap as she was rather badly off." 



But all this took place under the old 

 way of making assessments, which over- 

 worked district officers were expected 

 to carry out with the aid of their head- 

 men. Consequently it had to be left to 

 subordinates, and only the aggregate 

 results checked by the approving author- 

 ity in the interests of Government, 

 while voluntary acceptance was looked 

 on as the safeguard of the contributors. 

 It was to guard against such irregular- 

 ities that when compulsory commutation 

 was determined on, Sir J. Longden 

 promised the duty should be entrusted 

 to officers of high standing, eligible to 

 serve as Agents of Provinces. 



Returning to the new system of com- 

 pulsory commutation, the Ordinance was 

 brought into force in the Western, 

 Southern and Eastern Provinces be- 

 tween 1878 and 1886. Though well in- 

 tended the innovation was decidedly 

 unpopular, especially in the Batticaloa 

 district, where there had been undoubt- 

 edly much evasion under the renting 

 system as worked there. Various alle- 

 gations were made as to the way the 

 new system was carried out between 

 1878 and 1885 ; but the returns show the 

 effect on cultivation was certainly not 

 adverse — indeed quite the contrary — as 

 the area actually cultivated increased 

 in the above named provinces from 

 279,000 acres average of 1873-0 to 320,000 

 acres average of 1878-82 and 335,000 acres 

 average of 1883-87. One complaint was 

 that it was used to increase the revenue 

 and withoixt due regard to the interests 

 of the cultivators, but this is easily dis- 

 proved. There were several points in 

 which the new method differed from 

 the old, viz., all land not cultivated 

 for fourteeu years was excluded, as also 

 was any new land aswedumized within 

 the previous seven years ; while crop 

 commutation only payable when a land 

 is cultivivated was chosen tor a con- 

 siderable area in every district. The 

 only way therefore to compare the two 

 systems is by the actual collections 

 under each for a period cf years. Under 

 the provisions of the Ordinance the Com- 

 missioners all endeavoured to make this 

 ^ss«?sera?ftt work out so as to give a 



various periods 

 after 



000-77-2 



89 



76* 



„ 70 



80 



68 



„ 37-4 



40-2 



30-4 



„ 62 



70 



65f 



80 



88-6 



84J 



„ 28-7 



30-1 



20-6J 



„ 32 



38 



36f 



„ 50-1 



52 



48t 



„ 61-8 



51-4 



63§ 

 8 



„ 7-3. 



7-2. 



future return to Government as near as 

 possible equal to the average of the 

 previous fourteen years. 



Note. — The Committee who reported in 1890 

 gave a return of 36,000 acres of new lands 

 brought into cultivation during the above 

 period. 



The following statement shows that 

 not only was this condition observed, 

 but that the new commutation gave 

 results much below the average of the 

 previous seven years. 



Annual Average Revenue During 

 14 years 7 years 

 before before 



First Commutation under 11 of 1878. 



Colombo Rs. 

 Kalutara ,, 

 Negombo „ 

 Galle ,. 

 Matara 



Hambantota ,, 

 Sabaragamuwa 

 Kegalla 



Batticaloa ,, 

 Trincomalia ,, 

 Total ... Rs. 507,000 546,500 499,000 



The only exception is, and that only to 

 a slight extent, in the Eastern Province, 

 and especially Batticaloa, where the 

 Government had been largely defrauded 

 as already explained, and there was 

 only a considerable addition to the 

 cultivated area of productive new land 

 which took the place of old worn out 

 abandoned fields. On the other hand, 

 districts to which the Ordinance was not 

 extended, as in the Northern Province, 

 where under the voluntary system the 

 amounts recovered by commutation 

 largely increased from Rs. 42,000 in 1877 

 to Rs. 78,000 in 1888, and the total grain 

 revenue of* the second half of this period 

 averaged Rs, 13,000 a year more than 

 during the first half. Again, the North- 

 Central Province, the collections by 

 renting showed an increase of Rs. 9,000 a 

 year during the second half of the same 

 period (1878 88), 



In the Central Province an assessment 

 under the new system was carried out 

 in 1886 and came into force at the 

 beginning of 1888. The price of rice as 

 already stated was somewhat lower in 

 the eighties, and paddy in the Province 

 had fallen in value. There had also 

 been a considerable return of prosperity, 

 but Mr. LeMesurier continued to write 

 strongly against the tax, though, as 

 mentioned by Mr. Sharpe in his annual 



* During 7 years ending J 889. 

 T m 6 ,, 



