The Arizona champion., 1890-10-11
CUTTING DOWN THE COST.
Laws to Limit Wedding Expenses in In-
 dia-A Novel Reform.

Laws to Limit Wedding Expenses in In-
 dia-A Novel Reform.
 A novel sort of reform in the matter of marriage has been instituted by the gov ernment in the states of Rajputana, in India, the object being as stated by Col. c. M. K Walter, agent to the governor general, in a recent report to the Eng fish authorities, the suppression of in- fanticide among Rajputs." The most immediate inference is that parents hesi- tate to raise children on account of the trouble of getting them married off, but it may be that Col. Walker intends to in- timate that the existing marriage GUS toms lead to an infrequency of matri- mony and to other events conducive to the violent putting away of infants. At any rate, the fact seems to have been that marriage among Rajputs of any social standing has heretofore been very serious financial question, both for the would be bridegroom and for the pa rents of the prospective bride, and the reforms arc in the direction of fixing an arbitrary limit beyond which the ex- penditure at wedding shall not go.
 The first of these new rules, under which hereafter two Rajput hearts will be made to beat as one, fixes the maxi mum amount to he expended at mar riages at one-qual4er of the annual in- come of a Thakur, or nobleman, whose income is 20, 900 rupees or over; one third of incomes between 10000 and 10000 rupees; one-half of incomes between 10000 and 1000 rupees, and two-thirds of all incomes below 1000 rupees. Rajputs with no regular income at all are not to Do allowed to spend over 100 rupees at a wedding. Itis explained that the percentage of expenditure is allowed to increase as the total income decreases because smaller sums could not secure the proper performance of the marriage ceremonies.
 The second rule does away with all ex- penditure on occasions of betrothal, and provides that at such times the parties or their representatives shall simply drink a decoction of opium water together and present betel leaves, and the written re- cord of the engagement of marriage shall then be signed. This tomfoolery does away with the previously necessary pre- 6Suldl1Ol IO IIlC ldlLSI Ol lIC bridegroom by the father of the bride expectant of an elephant, horses, camels, jewelry, and other little trifles to value rarely less, among well-to-do Thakurs, than 10, ,000 rupees.
 The third rule is for the benefit of the family of the bride also, and limits the amount to be expended as "Tvag," largesse to the Charuns, Bhats, Dholis, and others, at 9per cent. of the whole income where that exceeds 1000 rupees, 4 1-2 per cent. where the income is be- tween 1000 and 800 rupees, and nothing at all for Thakurs with less than 500 rupees income. It is also provided that this expenditure for "Tyag'' must be in- cluded in the amount fixed under the first rule as the limit of expenditure upon the wedding. This does away with what has heretofore been frequently the most expensive thing about Rajput marriage. Numerous cases are cited where the ''Tyag' alone on the occasion of the marriage of a daughter or sister has been very much more than the whole income of the Thakur for the year. An other important change made by the new rules prONlueS IlldI Ollly NhdI uuS' Bhats and similar personages from the state in which the marriage is celebrated shall be allowed to be present at the cere- mony, and of these the number shall be regulated by the standing committee in each state, whose duty it is oversee the enforcement of the new regulations.
 At the end comes rule, which prob ably affects or begins to affect more important reform than all the rest put together. It prohibits the marriage of a man under IS or a girl under IA, and is the first attempt made in the Rajputana to stop the custom of early marriages, by which a young maid is often doomed to be widow all her life ere yet she has ever been a wife. The rule is said to have been proposed by the chief of Bundi, who has been a great upholder of the ancient customs, and is regarded as an important evidence of the growth of ! modern ideas in India.
 Another innovation, incorporated as an after thought into the new rules, limits the expenditure at funeral feasts, and, it is said, will be an immense relief to the Rajputs.-New York Sun.