Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-07-16
TX. The
Man With
the Hoe.
THE EMPIRE
OF INDIA

CALCUTTA, India.--A burning issue in
Indian politics since the first British oc-
cupation OF the coast provinces, and one
that remains a live issue today, is that
of land settlements, corresponding to land
tax in western countries. Nine-tenths or
the population of India is dependent, d.
rectly or indirectly, upon agriculture. 1t
is insisted by Indians that the policy of
the British government in India has tend
ed TO eliminate industries that formerly
gave occupation to large numbers of ma
tives, and that millions now turn to ag-
riculture as a last resource. Census hg-
ures show that, whatever the reason,
there is an increase In the proportion Of
the population engaged in farming pur-
suits.
In India as a whole there are about 200.
100000 farmers and cattle raisers. These,
and natives whose employment depends
upon the oultivator, make up nlne-tenths
of the people residing outside of cities.
An increase Of 100000 in the number
Of landless farm laborers within ten
years is an indication of the tendencies
of the times When American farmers
meet in town and discuss crops the topic
is not so vital as II is In India where a
short crop means famine, and where
enormous numbers of the farming popula-
ton are actually without suficient nour-
ishment even during years OF good yield.
Land tenure in India is based upon a
theory very nearly the opposite of the
theory upon which taxes are fixed in
western countries. For unnumbered CEN
turtles the assumption has Deen that the
Crown owns the land and the people are
granted the products of tillage less the
amount needed by the government In
ancient times the division of profits was
made in the field, the crop being divided
between the farmer and a representative
of the Crown at harvest time, the proper
ton fixed by the government arbitrarily.
Akbar, the great mogul emperor, who
reigned in the last half OF the sixteenth
century, was the first land tax reformer
in Indian history. With his Hindu min
lister, Todar Nal, he instituted a system
of cash payments in lieu of the division
OF grain in the field, fixing the tax for
a period Of years instead of deciding each
year the amount to be demanded of the
farmer The system in vogue at present
Is an evolution of Akbars reform, al
though that reform extended over but a
small part OF the empire, and although
there are still some remote districts in
which payment in kind is exacted.
In the province Of Bengal in 1893, Lord
CORVALLIS, who came to India as gov
ernor-general after Yorktown, and COW
cred himself with glory as an admins
traitor, granted the cultivators what is
known as permanent settlements" That
is to say the land tax was virtually flxed
regardless of the increase in values due
TO improvements or other causes. Pros
perity in Bengal resulted, and Indian
politicians, insisting that nothing more
than Justice was done by CORVALLIS
urge that the same system should OBJ
tain all over India.
upon the other hand II is argued that
the Bengalese have an advantage as Gull
tivators which makes them pensioners
upon the farmers of the rest Of ths
country. Endless discussion of the question
is feature of Indian politics, and thick
books have ben written by politicians fl
ing briefs In support OF their views and
by economists striving to arrive at a So
luton Of the land revenue problem. The
large result is that the tendency is to-
ward reduction OF land taxes. The con-
tention of advocates OF the cause Of the
farmers is that the reforms do not pro,
coed fast enough nor go far enough, and
that the burden Of Great Britain's main
tenance of a large military force on the
frontier for purposes other than keeping
peace in India, is a milestone about the
neck OF the man with the hoe in the
Indian empire.
Whatever the greater OF the combined
causes which have kept him back, the
Indian farmer is in a state of poverty
unknown in even the crowded European
countries. In other countries bad crops
mean financial misfortune, but in India a
failure Of the farms to produce the ex-
pected crops means the death by starva-
ton of hundreds of thousands, and some-
times millions, OF the rural population 1t
is insisted by Indians of the educated
and agitating class that the density of
population by no means accounts for the
degree OF restitution among cultiyators.
The poorer farmers are constantly In the
hands of money lenders, and the money
lender is often a dealer In grain who takes
over a portion of the crop. Out of the
unsold portion the farmer must get seed
for the next crop. Often the unsold por-
ton is inferior. The result is, naturally, |
further Impeachment Of the farmer
The traveller passing through India sees
the OK treading out the corn. The meth |
DDS of threshing are those that were EN-
ployed I'm Biblical times. Grain is piled |
in heaps, raised from the ground in |