Page:2015.17090.Lucknow-District.djvu/24

 “ one hand, the Settlement Depaidiment endeavoured to enter “ all lands fairly culturable "with ordinary attention as such, “ the tendency of the revenue authorities, on the other hand, “ was to plot out first the fields actually cultivated, thon to “ mark out those obviously cultivated in some not distant “ former year as culturable, and to leave the whole balance “ as waste.”

9. To discriminate between culturable and barren land

requires much care and attention. A pifflcoiues in estimating casual fiflance at an unfavourable time of able. tne year and a slight saline eniorescenco

on the soil may serve to condemn whole tracts, and undoubtedly, numberless plots had been so con- denaned. But white patches of tliis land, timr as it is called, is visible on many a cultivated field, and in good years, that is years of abundant rains, a large extent of this apparently unculturable land can be brought under the plough.

The nature of the culturable land situated in such tracts will undergo further remarks.

10. The district was assessed, for the most part, by

Officerajwho aBsessod. Mr. Maconochio, uow Settlement Officer or (jrondah, though one parganah was assessed by Mr. Capper, at present Commissioner of Hoy Bareilly Division.

11. On the difficulties of assessments I need not dilate.

DifficultieBofaasoBBmoat. SUffi^ciently knOWU tO tllO ini-

tiated ; by others they will bo readily appreciated. Much is left to the Settlement Officer’s own dis- cretion and sagacity, and every Officer has his own motliod of discovering assets, “quot homines tot sententim’' ; but, with all done and tried, he often finds it difficult to satisfy himself, and to feel that he has steered a safe course between the coulliot- iQg interests of Government and the farmer.

12. The interests of both are directly opposed ; and, in

The former and his aesets. farmer is at war with tho Go-

. . . vemment. So long as tho Scttlomont

Officer IS near his village, his assets are at issue. If ho does not falsify, he suppresses. It is the business of tho superior lord of the soil to make out the ■whole account against him, and the less he knows about it the better for him.