Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-12

lW MkAl the first British occupation,
lA KN and one that remains live
lka. .Sy1Nl issue today, is that of land
lksess1asA1 settlements, corresponding to
land tax in western coun-
tries. Ninetenths of the population of
India is dependent, directly or indi-
rectly, upon agriculture. 1t is insisted
by Indians that the policy of the Brit
/ is government in India has tended to
eliminate industries that formerly gave
| occupation to large numbers of natives,
and that millions now turn to agricul-
/ ture Jas a last resource. Census figures
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
| 200,00O,OOO farmers and cattle raisers.
! These, and natives whose employment
! depends upon the cultivator, make up
| nine-tenths of the people residing out
side of cities. An increase of 10000, 900
/ in the number of landless farm laborers
within ten years is an indication of the
! tendencies of the times. When Ameri-
can 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 population are actually
! 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
| centuries the assumption has been that
| the crown owns the land and the peo-
| pie are granted the products of tillage
less the amount needed by the govern
ment. 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 har-
vest time the proportion 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 In
dian history. With his Hindu minister,
Todar Nal, he instituted n system of
| cash payments in lieu of the division of
grain in the fields, 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 pres
ent is an evolution of Akbar's reform,
| although that reform extended over but
a small portion of the empire, and al
though there are still some remote dis
tricts in which payment in kind is ex-
| acted.
In the province OF Bengal, in 1875,
Lord CORVALLIS. who came to India as
governor general after Yorktown, and
covered himself with glory as an ad-
ministrator granted the cultivators
what is known as permanent settle
ments." That is to say, the land tax
was virtually fixed regardless of the
increase in values due to improvements
or other causes. Prosperity in Bengal
resulted, and Indian politicians, insist
| i,,1 Io+ than iI1ctinp
done by CORVALLIS. urge that the same
system should obtain all over India.
Upon the other hand, it is argued
that the Bengalese have an advantage
as cultlvators which makes them PEN
sioners upon the farmers of the rest of
| the country. Endless discussion OF the
question is a feature of Indian politics,
and thick books have been written by
politicians filing briefs in support of
4 their views and by economists striving
| to arrive at a solution of the land reve-
! nue. problem. The large result is that
| the tendency is toward a reduction OF
land taxes. The contention of advo-
Gates Of the cause of the farmers is that
that reforms do not proceed fast enough
| nor go far enough, and that the burden
! of Great Britains maintenance or a
large military force on the frontiers for
purposes other than keeping peace in
India, is a milestone about the neck or
the man with the hoe in the Indian en-
pire.
Whatever the greater of the COM
bined causes which have kept him
back, the Indian farmer is in state
of poverty unknown in even the crowd
ed European countries. In other coun-
! tries bad crops mean financial misfor-
tune. but in India a failure of the farms
to produce the expected crops means
the death by starvation of hundreds of
| thousands, and sometimes 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
! destitutlon among cultivators. 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 portion is inferior. The result
is, naturally, further impoverishment
of the farmer.
The traveller passing through India
sees the OK treading out the corn. The