CHAPTER IV

THE RYOT’S BURDEN

Mr. Junshi on family worship—His passion for statistics—“Statistical abstract”—Finance and population—Expenditure on Army, Education, and official Christianity—The Land Settlement—Its origin and proportion—Is it tax or rent?—Lord Salisbury’s opinion—How the amount is fixed—Mr. Vaughan Nash on the Settlement—The cultivator’s income—How he clings to the land, even without profit—The money-lender and the Government—Collection of assessment—Ryots and zemindars—Permanent Settlement of Bengal—Suburbs of Poona—Character of the Ryot—Government as protector of the poor—Forest Department—Grazing and timber—Arms Act and wild beasts—The tiger as scarecrow—A village petition—A sacrifice to education 78