Page:Indian Journal of Economics Volume 2.djvu/123

 REL A TIN The foll6wing table shows among the four classes :, , the TO INDIA distribution of 111 indebtedne PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES INDEBTED Amongsl Cultiwtors :- Hindus ... Mulmmmadan Non-eultiwtors ;- Hindu ... Muimmmsn Amongst families l0 96 80 Amongst in comfort 4 4 Families below comfort 48 4 3B Classified above want 48 8O Living in want 44 8 It will be seen that the indebtedness is distributed fsirly uniformly among all elssses, he cultivators being more indebted hsn he non-eulfivsors, snd he number of indi- gen indebted no gresteF bu below he sversge in oher classes. If he amounts of indebtedness are examined we find ha he indebtedness of he poorer is less hsn h& of he fieher elssses; hose "in eomfor" have incurred nesrly hs]f of the osl debt For he disrie as a whole the debt amounts to about th of the total income, which debt is not heavy were it uniformly dis- tributed. "As 55 % of all cultivators are entirely free from debt and another 20% have borrowed very little, the income available for the reduction of debt is the income of only one quarter of the population, which slrey finds the earnings 'of four months in the year swsllow up in the payment of interest." Mr. Jack advocates the extension of oo-operative credit banks under the supervision of a number of agents of an influential clmm; two hundred, he suggests, where only two or three now exist. "It would be their first duty to arrange the formation of these pioneer societies and to tempt out of the well-to-do eulti- tors their savings to finance them." The last chapter deals with taxation. "In Faridpur it is easy to estimate with consider&his accuracy the burden of taxation.': The landtax, a legacy of the Permsnemt