PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
ساسا
Reference:→
C.O. 882
4PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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Some lands must cultivation or failure of crop might be assigned as the third reason. necessarily lie fallow in certain years. Others cannot be cultivated for want of cattle, or there is a flood or a drought, and yet if these lands are once commuted they must
pay, crop or no crop. In the great agricultural districts of Batticaloa there is but little ploughing resorted to. The fields are prepared for sowing by the trampling of cattle. There has been of late a fearful murrain and thousands of cattle have perished. Necessarily a very large acreage of land must go uncultivated. The cultivator, though a loser himself, must yet pay the Government share. (4.) It is also stated that payment in money and not in kind under this scheme is unacceptable to the people, especially in the poorer districts. There is very little specie in their possession, and such as they have they do not wish to part with. (5.) A fifth objection is found in the commutation settlements being only of a short duration, from three to five or seven years. A very moderate assessment fixed for a longer term of years, in Madras it is 30 years, would lead to less worry and trouble, and also conduce to the cultivator taking greater interest in his These are the field and crops. (6.) We have also to contend against vested interests. renters and head men in league with them, whose object is to put all obstacles in the way of commutation spreading amongst the people. (7.) The collection and also the ascertaining of commutation rates is difficult owing to the excessively minute subdivision of property prevailing in this island. Mr. Dyke made a point of this and showed that "the amount of 2077. fixed as commutation had to be recovered from 13,235 parcels of "lands each separately assessed." (8.) Up to 1866 there was also much tediousness and delay connected with the recovery of the commutation money. It was then that the power to distrain for default of payment was given to the Government agents. In 1873 the law was modified, but only to indicate the order in which the property should be sold. This certainly is a change in favour of the cultivator, and yet commutation has made no very great progress since 1873. It will be for the Commission to see whether there be any force in the objections urged, and whether anything could be done to abate them. Before he dismissed this part of the subject, he wished also to bring to the notice of the Council a matter which apparently had not attracted the attention of those who had considered it. The papers produced show that Government in past times had in view not only the mere commutation of the tithes, but also their redemption. He would read from an official document by the Government, signed by no less a dis- tinguished public officer than Mr. Turnour, to show that in 1840 they had deliberately resolved to offer the people the right of redemption. He said :-
It should not be forgotten that all growers of paddy have the means of escaping any harassing provisions that may be rendered necessary for the assessing and collecting in kind the tax on each crop by entering into a commutation to pay a fixed annual sum in money, an option which has already been extensively availed of in many parts of the island, and that the Governor is prepared to accept the aggregate amount of 10 years' tax as a final redemption of that tax."
The proposal met with ready acquiescence from men like Mr. Dyke, who said that commutation had "answered for a time," but "redemption would settle it for ever.' Possibly some light might be thrown on this subject also by the labours of the Com- mission. There remains but to consider whether, if the results of the inquiry should necessitate the abolition of the existing paddy tithes, a land or other tax could be found as a substitute. It would be useless to enter into this question now, except that it formed a prominent part of the inquiry in the modified terms of the motion. On the question of the land tax there was a great diversity of opinion. Whilst some are strongly opposed to it, there are public officers like Sir P. Layard, Colonel Fyers (he hoped he was not revealing any secrets in referring to them), and possibly the Queen's Advocate, in favour of it, though the latter was very cautious in stating that he had no authority from Government to state that the food taxes would be abolished. Further, it had mot only been recommended by Sir E. Tennent, but also by the Committee in England which considered his report. He, Sir Coomara Swamy, himself would act precipitately if he committed either himself or those whom he had the honour of representing to it at He would rather wait and learn what the Commission had to say on this subject. Above all, he would beg that the wishes of the people themselves should be ascertained, before any change of this character was made. Not only should this be done, but careful estimates made to ascertain whether the deficit could by the remission of the food taxes be made good by the new levy. In ascertaining the feeling on this subject, there was a considerable section of the native community to be consulted, the garden- owning people as against the field-owning proprietors. The hon. member who initiated the discussion struck off a certain proportion between these classes, and gave the pre-
once.
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that
ponderance in favour of the former. He should like to see the statistics on which he based his conclusions. For he was disposed to think, though he might be
wrong, at least in the Tamil districts every landed proprietor was also an owner of fields. This appeared to him to be the rule and the reverse the exception. We must also not forget the coffee planters, who have done so much for the advancement of the country. They must have their say also as to whether a land tax would suit them, the import duties being remitted. There certainly are some circumstances in favour of considering this subject at present. These are the cadastral survey now undertaken and the registration of titles as proposed by the new Ordinance. The matter anyhow was worthy of atten- tion, and this was all that the members of the Council could say ut present on this branch of this important subject.
The Hon. Mr. Alwis said he had no remarks to make in reply, except (1.) to express his pleasure at the Commission having been granted; and (2.) to state in reference to one observation of his hon. and learned friend (Sir Coomara Swamy), and that was, every- thing he had said had had reference to the Sinhalese districts, and to the Sinhalese
alone.
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Is
H. E. the Governor: The motion of the hon. and learned member (Mr. Alwis) is a very useful one, and one which the Government is well prepared and glad to accept. He would be a bold man, I think, who would, in this assembly of gentlemen who know the country, venture to say one word in favour of the system of farming paddy taxes. (Hear, hear.) Every one must admit that, theoretically, they are indefensible, and practically they are odious and oppressive. But I should just like to ask who is it that perpetuates this mode of collecting the tax in Ceylon ? Is it the action of the Secretary of State? Certainly not. Is it the desire or wish of the Governor? Certainly not. No one has more strongly deprecated the farming of the tithes than I have done since I have been in Ceylon. I have looked upon the system with disfavour from the first. it, again, the Government agents who perpetuate the system? I am bound to exonerate the Government agents from this charge. Most decidedly the opinion of these gentle- men is in favour of commutation. How comes it, then, that this mode of collection has remained in force so long? I am bound to tell the hon. gentleman that my experience goes with the opinion which has been expressed, that the farming system remains in force in Ceylon owing to the dislike of change, and the clinging to the old stereotyped con- servatism of the East. The natives say, this is our way, we are accustomed to it, and we desire to continue in it. I quite agree with what fell from the hon. member (Mr. Alwis) as to the feeling with which the tax on paddy is regarded by the people. I have made it my constant endeavour to elicit the opinions of the people themselves. I never heard a single opinion from any native adverse to the tax itself, while I have heard many observations against the mode in which it was levied. I have asked, “This being the case, why don't you commute? The answer invariably has been, "It is difficult "for us, for many reasons, to commute. We can't accept the hard-and-fast line of commutation. When we have a large crop we give a large portion to Government, and "when we have a small one Government only takes a proportionate small share." That is the answer I have invariably received, and I have never heard the reason which has been stated by the hon. member, viz., that commutation has been refused because of the high rate asked by the Government agent. The hon. member in advocating commuta- tion recommended reduction in the first instance of the rate now levied, and allowance or remission in case of failure of crops, but in dealing with commutation it must be remembered that its principle is that the people should take the good year with the bad. It is based on that calculation. The hon. gentleman who spoke last, Sir Coomars Swamy, raised some serious and formidable objections to commutation. I hope that these objections may prove to be untenable. The hon. member who introduced this motion made a remark which struck me forcibly, and it was that it might be advisable to make commutation compulsory. That is exactly what the Government has shrunk from doing, and we shall be glad to know what the views of the agricultural community generally are on this subject. Coming from the hon. member who represents the Sinhalese community it is a most valuable suggestion. I think the observations he has made as to a land tax in substitution of the present taxes on food are entirely borne out by inquiries from the people in every part of the island. I have frequently spoken to headmen of intelligence and position, and also to cultivators, and have asked them their views about a general land tax in lieu of food taxes, and am bound to say that I have been very much struck with the unanimity with which they have, one and all, preferred the present system with all its disadvantages. (Hear, hear.) I have never heard one single individual, except Europeans, who have expressed an opinion in favour of a land
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