The Press.
London, England, 1853-05-07 00:00:00

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genius : we can only assert that, to the best of
our knowledge, it has hitherto defied the
severity of criticism.
lint, on the whole, it is not on any direct
imitation of the old masters that we would ad-
vise the pupil to build his hopes of success.
That they should he carefully studied it is
needless t►► urge, but it k of nature only that
the painter should he an imitator. We depre-
cate the effort to be original : originality is
never acquired by being sought ; and the
artist is perhaps never less original than when
studiously endeavouring to avoid all imita-
tion, and to produce some work entirely
his omi.
Our readers we hope will pardon the length
to which our sul►ject has carried us—a length
which, though it may have taxed their patience.
is wholly inadequate to give the subject even
a superficial consideration, and which has not
permitted Its to notice one of the interesting
works placed at the head of these observations,
and which we desired to introduce to the ac-
quaintance of the public. We trust our readers
1611 be more just: they will tied the subject
handled with the skill and eloquence of a
rn►ll► of taste ; and the well-selected and well-
executed subjects, from the pencil of Mr.
Scharf, which illustrate the views of M.
Ouizot, give a great additional value to the
volume.

77u Land Tax of India. (wording to the
Moohnuoundan Lair. Translated from the
Abanyeeree ; with Koplanatory Notes
and an Introdrwtmw Essay. By Neil B. E.
Baillie. svo. London, WM: Smith and
Elder.
'IIW land tax is one of the most difficult sub-
jects Connected with our empire in the East.
The greatest writers on Indian matters differ
at the very outset as to the actual property
in the soil and the right of the Government
to make land the principal source of re-
venue, although no doubt it always has been
so in principle and practice under the rule of
both Hindus and Muhammadans. The most
conflicting statements have been made as to
this proprietary right: some maintaining that
it is vested in the Sovereign, whilst others
uphold the respective claims of the zemindars,
the village landowners, and the tenants and
actual cultivators. This diversity of opinion
is not, indeed, confined to India alone, since
the most celebrated Oriental scholars have
anived at diametrically opposite conclusions
with regard to IMulianimadan countries in
genend, and the Musulman lawyers themselves
hold different doctrines. Atiquetil I)uperrou
is a zealous advocate for the cultivator (1) ; the
learned De Macy, with reference to the terri-
torial right. in Egypt, maintains the property
of the inhabitants (.21: and the father of living
Orientalists, the illustrious and venerable
Baron Ilammer-Purgstall, leaves the question
still enveloped in doubt and uncertainty (3).
More creepily 111.. Worms has written a series
of able articles in the -Journal Asiiitique,"
rou-
eluding in favour of the proprietary right of
the Sovereign (41. The learned doctor has illus-
trated the subject by numerous quotations
from Arabian authors. and his work leaves
little to be desired so far as regards the
Muhammadan countries in Africa. In that
quarter of the globe, however. the doctrine of
the Imam Nlalik is almost exclusively adhered
to. and that lawyer, together with the Imam
Ash-Shati'l, both maintain the territorial right
of the Sovereign. lint the school of the Imam
AMC Himetith chiefly prevails in India, and he
affirms that in conquered countries the people
paying the legal impost preserved their pro-
prietary rights, though with conshlerable re-
servation in favour of the Sovereign. The
learned labours of Dr. Worms are thus inap-

(I) ii-ri,bikon thirntalr, rnr M. Atapietil Duperroit. 4to.
(.!) ,111 In 1111111 M et Ira ril.oluthaim sin (Irak gle•
itoi Kg pte. par S. tle Savy.
((I) /-111$411i$4•19.11 SlitatsVvriesimg mat St Hata Ver.
\\ Ailing • ‘.,ti .1. v.m. Islll.
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‘-,11 I Inuttner. Burliis,
kI) Itevlorrelto,. sm. 1,1111,1-ikt"
t. rritotial.
MII,IIIIIIIIIN par
NI. Ie 11.wteitr ;June t.•me
(:.) The Preseill TA• iu 111.1 in• By aohii liriizg•••
41. at. IN•to.
(i.) the I.SW il,lll (.011,1.1111fit)11 nud ITV:WiIt
1,M,1111111111 India. By Licuttlault-Cakait'l liallowity.
Lutaltai,

ACE

SATURDAY,

plicable to our Eastern possessions, except,
indeed, us illustrating the question by emu-
pasison. More immediately connected with
India, we find the works of General Briggs (5)
and Galloway (6), who are far from agree-
ing with one another ; but the best ressusi
of the rights of the Sovereign, and, indeed,
of the whole topic of the Indian land tax,
will be found in the first volume of Pro-
fessor Horace Wilson's continuation of Mill.
Our limits necessarily preclude us from en.
tering into controversy, and, indeed, from
touching upon tt subject of such ft complicated
nature. It is sufficient to point out the va-
rious sources front which information can be
gained, and we must leave our readers to con-
sult the works we have enumerated, and to form
their own conclusions. Mr. Willie, who has
already acquired a reputation for profoundkuow -
ledge of the Arabic language, and of the Muham-
madan law, by former publications (K), has in the
volume before us made a most valuable addi-
tion to the stock of materials accessible to the
English reader. The work of Mr. Baillie may
be said to exhaust the subject as regards the
land tax of India, according to the Muhamma-
dan law. Nearly one-half of the volume is oc-
cupied by a very learned introductory essay,
and the remainder comprises translated ex-
tracts from the Fatieva 'Alamgiri. These Fe-
tieva, or decisions, were collected by order of
the Emperor Aumngzeb, in A.ll 1630, and are
to this day of the very highest authority in
India. General Galloway says, with respect to
this work, that, being " the last on the law of
" India promulgated by royal authority, it
" ought, therefore, to be considered as part of
" the written law and constitution of that ens-
" pire." (K) The author, in the introductory
essay, enters fully into the Muhammadan sys-
tem of taxing the land in India, and describes
the complicated land tenures under the Mongol
Emperors. He concludes his essay by saying :
" Enough, it is hoped, has now been said to explain and
exemplify the general principles of the Mooln 1111 l undan law
of Khirnj, and to show how it may be employed to account
for wane of the existing tenures of hind in India. If the
reader is dissatisfied with the view that has been taken
of the suNeet in the preceding pages, he has the materials
in what figlows, of constructing a better theory for him.

self."
This is strictly true, and we take the oppor-
tunity of stating of our certain knowledge omit
the reader may rely implicitly on the accuracy
of Mr. Baillie's translations ; no small merit
when such translations relate to a most intri.
sate subject, and are made from the most diffi-
cult of all languages.
It is necessary to point out to our readers
that Mr. Millie, like Mr. Grant in the eele•
brated fifth report of the House of Commons.
and General Galloway in his " Observations,"
seems to assume that, being the immediate
successors of the Musulmin conquerors, we
are bound to consider the Muhammadan law
of taxation as the law of India. This assump-
tion, us it appears to us, is altogether un•
founded. since many countries have come into
our possession which were not subject to the
Muhammadan law ; and moreover, looking at
the matter in any point of view, it would seem
ujustifiable, if not absolutely impolitic, to ad-
here strictly to the letter of a law which was in
numerous instances allowed to fall into disuse
or be administered with laxity by many of the
Muhammadan rulers of India. The land tax
was no doubt always realised either by the
sovereign or his grantees, but not always ac-
voiding to the strict provisions of the Muham-
madan law, and the amount Of contribution
was very fluctuating. It must be recollected,
also, that a land tax was collected in the
Hindu states, and according to the Hindu law.
from time immemorial ; it was equally variable,
and doubts have prevailed as regards the pro-
prietary right in the soil. We are not the re-
cipients of the land tax merely as the repre-
sentatives of the Mutothnint conquerors, but
as the ruling power; and the Muhatnmadan
law cannot, therefore. be considered as exclu-
sively applicable. Nevertheless, it was and is,
with some moditiesttions, the prevailing law in
this respect in India, and a large majority of
the land tenures are dependent on its pro-
) The Moo) minion I.aw of Inheritance, recouping to Ah4r)
Iltinvern nod hi% Follimer%. ih Neil B. Bane. Calcumn,
The Theilminmodiut I Ave of Side. according W Uhl)
Code. By Neil B. Wile. lotelon, 15:14%
Observittions, ht. Second With" r. 2;:r.

m•

%

itisi..ro•'

MAY 7, 1853.

visions ; so that a work like Mr. Millie's,
affording a complete elucidation of -the sub-
ject, cannot fail at this particular juncture in
vommanding the attention of all who take an
interest in the welfare of our Indian fellow-
subjeet s.

lIURNT.F.Y—OIt the tlth—olt., trio. lady of Joseph Huntley
Esq., of her Majesty'a Legation at Lisbon, of a daughter.
1/'AGl:ll..4.lfr—Ou the lid inst., at Adusiralty -house, Sheentess.
the wife of Captaiu Royal Horse Artillery, of 14

daughter.
VIF.I.U-011 the tlnd brat, at thunagate, the wife of the lle%. S.
H. Field, incumbent of Trinit) Church. of a bon.
JOHNSTONE—On the Iliqinbt., at Fort tieorge. NH., the wife of
Walter H. G. Johnstone. Esq., Ordnance lteput) storekeeper,

of a daughter. _
PARKTSS—On Saturday, the 30th ult., at litahlingion Manor,
Notts, the wife of Sir Thomas Parkyns, Bart., of
and a daughter.
XABILTAGES.
PIIII.T.IPS—.OiMMF.RSCII lIER--Ou the:lllth ult., at lionaluti,,
Thomas Bacon Phillips, Esq., itreatirritiolson of the Inn. Jolt!,
iitteoll, lietliPtar, to Caroline Emma, (laughter of the late
Charles Ammonia:hither, Esq., of 11.1 woutl•lialtte, Surrey.
GEAVES—FARRELL-011 the 214th of Marell last, at the Uri-
Rah Legation in 'Mexico, by Percy NV. Doyle, Emil., H. B. Ma-
jeaty'a Minister Plenipotentiary. Rh:hard Grade, Esq., to
Helen Mackenzie, daughter of John Sydney Farrell, Esq., Cap-
tain, Royal Artillery.
TRUEFITT—MAUQUIS—Int the 3nl inst., at. Mau'gatc. Peter
Lyle, youngest eon of the late Peter Truetitt, to Eliza-
beth Frances, daughter of Thomas Marquis, E 3.1., late of

4 'heltenhain.
BOLT—FOOT—On the 3rd inst., at St. Andrew's Church. Plj•
month, Thomas Francis Bolt, Esq., late of the Coldstream
Guards, son of Major-General Sir Joint Holt, K.C., and K.C.B.
to Mary Charlotte, daughter of Captain George Foot, Royal
Artillery, of Tor-grove, near Plymouth.
BEID--LEMPRIERE--On the 3rd lust., at Ewell,Joseph Reid,
Jun., Esti., late of the Bengal Civil Service, to Elizabeth,
daughter of William Charles Lumpriere,
TAYLOR—WIIALLEY—Ott the 4th lust., at [Walkout, the Itcv.
George J. Taylor, curate of White Color, to christiana Nay.
the, daughter of the late Robert Whalley, Esq.. of !Initiation.
hall, Suffolk.
DEATHS.
BARTON—On the trd inst., Relweea. reliet of the late Captain
Robert t'utts Barton, R.N., of Borough, in the comity of Devon,
and Mater of Sir Italph Impel', Ban.. M.P., aged 64.
FELDWWK-06 the 3rd lust.. Mr. Charles Feldwiek, nerd 73,
late Assistant-Commissary, Hon. CAA'. Service, Ctianpore,

Bengal.
11106 INS—On the 20th ult., Elizabeth, widow of SUMIIIen4 ig.
gins, Esg., M.D., inspeetor-Oetteral of Military
110(11)—Ott the 2nd Inst.. Captain George liod, late of the
Cirdlteglinent Light Infantry, and Paymaster of the Bristol

district.
KEItSTEMAN--tht the 3rd inst., Captain Kerstentan, We of the
Inuiskilling Dretteolim-
LIIMSDAINE—On the 30th ult., Edwin Ettnisdaine Souslyis
Ltunsdaine, Esq.. barrister-at-law, eldest wna of the Der. Ed-
win Sandy* Lunisdititie, of It'interne, Se., N. 13., and rector of
Upper Artlres end Stelling.
NEWLAND—On the Meth alt., Williaut Charles Newland, Esq.,
taggistrato of the city of Chichester, in the 79th year of his

age.
WItiGIN—On the 28th ult., iu the Roe du Cirque, Paris, Char-
lotte. widow of 11. WWII, Egg., formerly of I'ark•u'rew:wt,
Portlawd-plare, and Wawa, United States.

TZSXS OP

FOR

etc Vreos:

Per Annum .. .. • .
lialf•I early .. • •
quarterly .. •• • •
Payable in a‘leanee.

o;
013
11 6 4;

Subarribers are requeeted to w•ud their Orders through their
'Nene Agent; if direct to the 01lire, arv•utuptutied by a Benoit-
twice. Motley Orders to be made iteptble to Mr. ALVRED IYR,
110, Strand, London.

ONE HUNDRED and EIGHTY-ONE CON-
SUM PTIVE PATIENTS are at this moment retelsiensl ou
the books. waiting for ailwiasioie to the wards of I Iw
1108PITAL, which now eontxin, Rlld chit meet% e. only
The new wing, which is inufetl in, will receive 1:10

patients.
All eaillePt Hlll,l urgent appeal is made on behalf of the suf
ferent thus excluded, who are enduring all the miseries of pro-
tract"d illness. of want, of hope deferred. for faudx to enable the
.:snumittee of Management to complete the building.
The Anniversary Festival in aid of this most Isenevolent ob-
ject will be held at Willis's Boon's, on Wednesday, the hat of
.111Ile next,
The Most Noble the Marquis of WESTMINSTER In the elotir.
A donation of 311. 10s. constitutes a Life Govenior, and to,
annual 'subscription of 81. :Is. a Governor.
Subscriptions and donations hi aid of this Charity nrr received
by the following bankers :—ltatelay and Co.; Cocks.
and Co.; Coutts and Co.; Drumm( old and Co.; Glyn,
Mills, and Co.: llankey anal Co.; llerries, Farquhar, and Co. ;
Ransom anal Co.: Williams. Denson, awl Co.; Hull altt• by F. mot
.1. EivingUm, :1, Waterloss.place; Hutchins' and Son, Is,
I'la ea-
; anal Nisbet 11/141 1!0., 21, Bernermsstreet, Oxford•street.
PHILIP HOSE, lion. See.
Brompton, May IBM. OSDORN P. CltOsti, See.

A LLS()PP'S PALE ALE.—I refer the learned
to Baton Liebig, the temperate to Or. Carpenter, itivitil4
to the Medietil Profession, and the robust to the held clubs of
London, for the meriteof uiy atiwk of AI.I.titIPIES ALE. The
,• Tliirrts hod" unil "Conauttit Reader of the 'Tinsel" I vato also
sathit'y with my IMPERIAL. AtEkSl'lt I.: Dialler. QllllllOl,
pints, se. per ilozeu ; kliderkins (la uallook), 30a,
HARRINGTON PARKER.
Beer Men•hant.

FRENCH, No. 9, ROYAL EXCHANGE, Lon
dun.—Mesert FRENCH having, obtained au injunction hi
the High Court of Chancery against WILLIAM EAVES, of
Coventry, to restrain him from selling any Watch stamped or
marked with the mime or mark. FRENCH, ROYAL EX-
CHANGE, LONDON. or FRENCH, I.ON DON. or with any other
mane or mark hi imitation of the said name, beg to caution the
Public against purchasing Watches, Clocks, or Chronometers,
ou
which the name of" French. Royal Exchange. London," or
" French, London," is engraved or marked, Hitless at their well-
known establishment. No. 9, Royal Exchatigelwiiere a moat ex-
truaive assortment of every variety of Watch, Clock, and Chro.
tiolueter, le always kept fur the iaspectivu of the

WEAK LEGS, KNEES. anti ANKLES.—
tiurgwnrw in England. !rebind, awl Scotland, es-ultimo. to
reeastannenal ItA I LEY'S F.I.AsTII: sTilicK ISi ir4,
KNEE iAI'S. and ANKLE SOCKS; they are light. cold, anal
warranted to wash. They give eon-data support in all eases re•
'pairing equable pre!.sure ; the KNEE CAI' will his of great aer•
vier when: the lawe joint requires support, fru►u iteeialent to the
pun or the k 111.4., lor where, from uelikitep4 of the part, 'support
way be required.
WILLIAM MI.N'I'LEY 1t.%11.EV, 41m, lintßord•atreet.