1851.] 



Statistics of the Sircar Yelgunthul. 



31 



account of the general community, entailed upon them by a system 

 which has existed for ages ; sacrifices however they can scarcely be 

 called, for some of the payments they are obliged to make in grain, 

 are remuneration for labour as necessary to them as food, and con- 

 sequently a money transaction would be required, instead of a mu- 

 tual exchange of food for labour, and labour for food. 



Thus, according to the sheiree hissa, eleven maunds are given 

 from every candy to the zemindar : after he is satisfied, the putwar- 

 ree receives 3 consoos ; and the patail 3 more ; then follow the 

 village carpenter, and blacksmith, who receive one consoo each ; 

 the dhers get four, the dhobee, barber, soonkaree koomar, tha- 

 laree, mudam and brahmin proith four amongst them. The two 

 first are village authorities and receive in consideration, the former 

 for maintaining order, and the latter for keeping the general ac- 

 counts. The carpenter and blacksmith, do all that is required as 

 repairs to his agricultural implements ; the dhobee and barber for 

 administering to his personal comfort ; the dhers for labour in his 

 field ; the koomar for supplying him with pots ; the soonkaree 

 measures his grain, and that of the zemindar. The thalaree and 

 mudam, the former the watchman outside the village, the latter 

 within, receive theirs as a subscription for the general good, while 

 the brahmin proith keeps him in mind of the days of the week, 

 feast days, and foretells the coming and cessation rain. 



There seems nothing oppressive in this village system as it is 

 called ; its fault is that it prevents improvement ; there is no in- 

 ducement for a potter to turn out with additional labour, a more 

 elegant water vessel than the one in present use, because were he 

 to do so, it would not increase his claim upon the ryot, the carpen- 

 ter and blacksmith for the same reason keep agricultural instru- 

 ments in repair at the lowest rate possible, and fashion them origin- 

 ally in the roughest manner. 



In money cowls the patail and putwarree receive one anna per 

 rupee from the value of the produce. 



The agricultural labourers are chiefly Hindoos, it 



Labour employed 



and its remune- being but seldom that a Musselman considers him- 

 self .called upon to exercise his powers in the field, 



