INTRODUCTION. 



iii 



ed with certainty of rainfall.* This consideration is also of assistance in accounting for the increase 

 of population as one goes eastwards, even although concurrently with a diminution in the proportion 

 of that portion of it which seeks its livelihood in trade and manufacture. 



The most important class of the community from an agricultural point of view is of course the 

 tenantry. Without touching on the complicated subject of land tenures, the cultivators of the Pro- 

 vinces may be broadly classified according as they hold their land under a right of occupancy at a 

 fair rent, or are liable to be ejected at the pleasure of their landlord. The percentage of area held 

 in occupancy right ia 29 out of the 30 temporarily settled N.-W. Provinces Districts is shown by 

 Divisions below.f The figures have been calculated from the agricultural returns for 1879-80 : — 





Meerut 

 Division. 



Rohilkhand 

 Division. 



Agra 

 Division. 



Allahabad 

 Division, 

 excluding 

 Banda and 

 Jaunpur. 



Benares 

 Division, 

 including 

 Basti and 

 Goralihpur 

 only. 



Jhansi 

 Division. 



Kumaun 

 Division, 

 including 



Tarai 



only. 



Percentage of area 

 held in occupan- 

 cy right to total 

 cultivated area, 



16 



29 



33 



30 



15 



6 



23 



Another important consideration in estimating the prosperity of the cultivating classes is the 

 average size of holding. To ascertain this is a task of some difficulty, the only reliable source of 

 information being Settlement officer's pargana rent-rate reports, which do not in every case contain 

 the required statistics of the cultivating population. The subjoined table epitomizes the result 

 of compUing all available information on this subject, and the differences which are brought out 

 appear the more striking if the Districts for which figures are procurable are classed according to 

 geographical position. 





Upper Doab 

 Districts of 

 Saharanpur, 

 MuzafiEarnagar 



Meerut, 

 Bulandshahr 

 and Aligarh. 



Middle Doab 

 Districts of 

 Muttra, Agra, 

 Etah and 

 Mainpuri. 



Lower Doab 

 Districts of 

 Farukhabad, 

 Cawnpore and 

 Fatehpur. 



Trans-Ghagra 

 Districts of 

 Basti and 

 Gorakhpur. 



Rohilkhand 

 Districts of 



Bijnor, 

 Moradabad, 

 Bareilly, 

 Pilibhit, 

 Shahjahanpur 

 and Budaun. 



Bundelkhand 

 Districts of 

 Jalaun, 

 Hamirpur and 

 Banda. 



Avei'age nuinler of acres per 

 holding — 















of occupancy tenants, 



8-6 



6-6 



37 



3-9 



5-2 



6-2 



of tenants-at-will, 



7-2 



5-7 



2-6 



3-1 



3-6 



4-9 



The decrease in size of holdings from west to east is very striking, and to indicate how natur- 

 ally the different Districts fall into the classification which has been adopted, I cite below the average 

 area of occupancy holdings in a few of them : — 



In the Upper Dodh. In the Middle Dodh. In the Lower Dodl. 



Muzaffarnagar, 7-4 Etah, ... 6-6 Farukhabad, ... 3-6 



Bulandshahr, ... 9-8 Mainpuri, ... 4 3 Cawnpore, ... 3-7 



Aligarh, ... 9'5 



It is admitted that beyond doubt the cultivating classes of the Meerut Division are the most pros- 



* An abundant demand for labour, and the difficulty of extending cultivation are concurrent causes. — W. C. B. 



t In Oudh occupancy tenants are only 5 per cent., and are drawn exclusively from ex-proprietary classes. — W. C. B. 



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