Asiatic Quarterly Review (Full Title: The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, and Oriental and Colonial Record): Volume XIII, No. 26 [‎477v] (79/238)

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The Poverty of the Rayat.
a portion of the net produce—some appraisement of the
outturn was necessarily involved. We have seen that the
most humane and able of the Muhamadan rulers adopted as
their standard of assessment a ratio of one in three of this
outturn ; and the sums so realized are recorded to have
been enormous, exceeding all that the present rulers raise
from all sources of income. Now that the money has lost a
full half of its purchasing power, the modern demand, being
limited to 50 per cent, of the net rental, is probably not
much more than a tenth of the gross produce—a rate
which general experience shows to be moderate. If only it
could be paid by the producer in the form most convenient
to himself! On the other hand, the Treasury must evi
dently have cash ; it cannot pay its civil and military estab
lishments in rice or millet. The person who passes the
cash value into the Treasury is known in many parts as the
Malguzar, and it may be convenient to use the word here.
Well, then, the question asked by the British Indian offi
cials after estimating the value of the Mai —the assets—
has always been, Who is to render to Csesar the things that
are Caesar’s ? and it is evident that the duty cannot be
directly discharged by the actual cultivating peasant under
any possible system.
These things appear to have escaped the notice of the
best authorities of modern times. It is a peculiarity to
some extent an advantage—of Indian administration in
modern times that it is in the hands of a class of highly-
trained and industrious specialists. Such men are sure to
be able in detail, but not so sure to be wise and flexible in
thought. Having but little respite from the work of the
hour, they cannot pause to think out things for themselves,
and are obliged to act upon the traditions and principles
that they have received from their predecessors. Now it
is obvious that, as long as such rules are right, the industry
with which they are applied is of great benefit to the people.
If, however, the rules have originated in conditions which
have ceased to exist, the case is evidently altered, and the