Page:Adam's reports on vernacular education in Bengal and Behar, submitted to Government in 1835, 1836 and 1838.djvu/351

Rh dependent and independent talookdars, i. e., small landed proprietors who pay the revenue due from them to Government dependently or through a large proprietor, and those who pay it independently or direct to the officers of Government without the intervention of any other party. Most of these small proprietors are probably unable without inconvenience to endow a school-master in each village at their own sole expense, but they would, in a majority of instances, be found both able and willing to contribute their aid towards such an object, and some means must be devised for drawing it forth, some channel formed through which it may flow. What is wanting on their part must be supplied by Government, and therefore some limit must be fixed to ascertain those who will be entitled to the assistance which it is proposed that Government should bestow. For the sake of illustration, without pretending to be able to judge what the precise limit ought to be, I will suppose that those only who pay less than Rupees 1,000 per annum of land revenue to Government will receive the advantage, while all above that standard will be held competent to provide for the instruction of their ryots from their own unaided resources. Having fixed this, or any other standard, it is proposed that any one talookdar, dependent or independent, paying revenue under the standard, or any number of talookdars, putneedars, &c., in Bengal, or of village zemindars, maliks, &c., in Behar, who shall establish a village-school endowment with the prescribed guarantees, shall be entitled to claim from Government a remission of one-half of the annual revenue due on account of the land so endowed, it being always understood that the net produce of the total quantity of land endowed shall be equivalent to one-half only of the average income of village-school-masters in the district in which the village is situated. Thus, if rupees 60 per annum is the average income, one-half of that sum will continue to be provided by fees and perquisites, and one-half will be provided by endowment. Of the latter, one moiety will consist of revenue remitted by Government to the extent of rupees 15 per annum, and the other moiety only will be contributed by the small proprietors. I am assured by intelligent natives that this remission of revenue would prove a powerful stimulus to the small proprietors, and would inspire them with confidence in the good intentions of the Government and affection from those who administer it. There are various modifications under which this arrangement may take effect, but it is not necessary to my present purpose to do more than indicate the general principle.

All these resources, even if they succeed to a great extent, may also fail in numerous instances from the apathy, the ignorance, and the poverty of those most interested; but there will still remain means at the command of Government which cannot be applied to a more legitimate purpose.