CO882-(1-2) — Page 10

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

'ग'य'। 'ग

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C.O. 882

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sent rent; 10 or 15 per cent. on that rent, ac- cording to the rule of Government, will be the tax required. Thus, for land worth 50s. an acre the tax would be one-tenth of one-tenth, or 6d. an acre; for land worth 5s. it would be d. an acre. Something about these rates is understood to be the practice of Canada and Van Diemen's Land. Lower than the latter rate, it would be unnecessary to carry the calculation; perhaps not so low. Waste land newly cleared for permanent cultivation might continue to pay as waste for a certain term of years, though actually cultivated. If an addi- tional premium on cultivation were desired, it might be provided for by the tax being per- mitted on waste land to run two or three years in arrear before being leviable by Government. Or we might resort to the Indian plan of a progressive revenue, as described in Mr. Bird's paper.

The report thinks that its la. an acre tax on waste land will be “a stimulus to cultivation." In what way it is difficult to discover.

4. Next as to Chenas.

This cultivation, being not necessarily in paddy, would appear to be privileged in the Kandyan provinces by the law of 1818, but in practice it appears to be often taxed in those provinces, no less that in the maritime ones, either by a licence or by a division of the crop. All that here appears necessary is to sanction the practice by law, and make it as universal as possible. Compositions for a term of years will naturally follow at the proper opportunity,

Chenas might be subject to tax, both on private and on Crown property. On the latter, this sort of cultivation would be additionally subject to a licence and permission from the Government officer; and conditions would of course be specified, as to leaving such and such timber standing, &c.

From the doubts expressed in some of the letters in the appendix of the report, it would appear that the law of Chenas requires looking

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to, lest permission to cultivate in that form prejudice the proprietary right of the Govern- ment.

The lands occupied by the wild race of people called Veddahs, mostly in a very im- perfect way, do not seem susceptible of regular taxation. The Veddahs appear to pay a rude tribute in beeswax and other things in kind, which cannot well be altered, whatever it is.

Having thus gone through the lands which are now or may be henceforward taxed, we come to those which have been hitherto, and as it would appear must long remain exempt.

3. Exempt lands of three sorts. First. Temple-lands in both the Kandyan and maritime provinces. The objections to taxing

these lands are the following:-

1. That it is the universal practice of the

East to excuse temple-lands from taxation.

2. That it has always been the practice of

our Government in Ceylon.

3. That the proclamation of 1818 gives the

specific sanction of law to that practice.

4. That it is not politic to innovate upon a general and immemorial usage, or to alter lawS possessing much of the force of a treaty.

5. That this is especially the case where religion is concerned.

These objections the report does not con- sider conclusive against the extension of its uniform tax to the temple-lands; and it answere as follows:-

1. That the evils, chiefy low to revenue through frand, arising from the emption of temple-lands from tax, are great.

2. That the rescind their

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Government have a right

twa, and a proviso to

\tion of IKIS.

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