July 1828. Also the letter is published by Kaye in Life of Metcalfe, pp.170-1 and not in Papers of Metcalfe as
mentioned by Dr. Stokes. See op.cit. , p. 18.
5. (Private letter), Metcalfe to t ? J , 2 Dec. 1828, Kaye, Life of Metcalfe, 2, p.173.
This thesis is a study of his administrative
activities and the ideas behind them between 1806 and 1835* In 1806 he was assigned the responsible job of a revenue
settlement officer, in 1835 he became Governor-General for a brief interlude after the departure of Bentinck. But for his press reform^the period of [^governor-general ship is relatively of less significance than the earlier period since most of his ideas were formed then. For two years from 1836 to 1838 he held the office of Lieutenant-Governor of the North- Western Provinces. A study of those years is excluded from the present treatment.
43
Chapter II
The Delhi [System Land Revenue, 1806-1827
Soon after the fall of Delhi^the Mughul Emperor placed himself under British protection,and the Marathas , having
accepted the terms of the Treaty of Surji Arjangaon of 1805 }
gave away the territory situated on the west of the river Jumna to the British* The lands thus obtained;although osten sibly 1Assigned for the Support of the Royal Eamily at Delhi were taken over by the Bengal Government for direct management* In return for this the Emperor was granted a generous pension. The region comprising % £ the city of Delhi and the surround ing districts though not large was quite sizable and it formed a distinct administrative unit* Until 1806 or so the area remained undefined^and it was not possible to establish what precisely constituted the Delhi territory*^ However, by the time Metcalfe became Resident in 1811^the jurisdiction of the territory was fairly well known. It seems the boundaries of as many as 23 independent and semi-independent native
p
states met with those of the Delhi territory* On the north were the principalities of the protected Bikh and Hill Chiefs apart from the Sikh dominion of the Punjab under Ranjit Singh* 1. W* Spedding, Superintendent of Revenue Delhi to A.Seton,
Resident Delhi, 20 July 1806, Beng. Rev.Cons*, 7 Aug.1806, 34. The parganas or sub-divisions of which the territory was composed, as stated by Spedding were Karnal, Panipat, Gunour, Sonepat, Somulka, Palam, Najafgarh, Pali Paikal, Aliverdi Tehar, Rohtak, Bowana, Mandouti, H a n s i , Maham, Tosham, Jamalpur and Asowda.
2. Metcalfe's Judicial Report, 12 Dec. 1815, paras,28-30, Beng. Civil Jud. Cons. (L.P.), 12 Aug. 1817 5 44.
On the west and the south, the rocky and "barren portions of the territory merged into the deserts of Rajputana touching the borders of Alwar, Bikaner, Bharatpur and other minor Rajput states. The river Jumna separated Delhi from the eastern districts of Merath, Bulandshahr and Seharanpur of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces or the Western Provinces as it was later known. The importance of this acquisition from political and military viewpoints was great. It commanded the route to Rajputana and the Deccan besides occupying a central position in the North-Western India. Furthermore, Delhi had experienced perpetual misrule ever since Nadir Shahis invasion of
1739
, hence especial care was to be taken for its manage ment. That is why Delhi was declared a non-regulation area to be administered by a Resident under direct supervision of theGovernor-General-in-Council•
Sir David Ochterlony was the first Resident of Delhi. His brief period of administration was largely engaged in preventing the raids of Holkar and maintaining peace* Never theless, by 1806 conditions had improved and Archibald Seton succeeded Ochterlony, the veteran soldier. He was expected to lay the foundation of a sound administrative system. Seton was a reputed and experienced administrator. Before joining Delhi he had been a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Ceded and Conquered Provinces, of which Henry Wellesley was President and Lieutenant-Governor. As such he had
acquired intimate knowledge of land tenures and problems of revenue and judicial administration. He was therefore
45
eminently qualified for the duties at D e l h i H e came to Delhi in June 1806 followed by his First Assistant, Metcalfe
in October* In the meantime Seton was assisted by William Spedding and William Fraser* Metcalfe took over from Spedding
as Superintendent of Revenue on 25 October 1806 which post he held until 1808;when he was sent to Ranjit Singh on a diplo matic mission by Minto.
On his arrival Seton found that virtually the whole 9
territory had been parcelled out in rent-free and partially rent-free estates* That was the work of Lord Lake who* with a view, as he himself observed, lto create a permanent inter est in the soil1 and *to reconcile them [the Jagirdars,
p talukdars, istimrardars] to the British Government*.•1 had granted large areas of land to individuals* His motives were the same as had led Cornwallis to introduce the permanent settlement in Bengal* In point of fact, however, it was the most convenient mode from the government's viewpoint of
settling the revenue under the then unsettled conditions of the territory* The lands given away by Lake paid a revenue of more than eleven lakhs of rupees (about £1,10,000) ^ Whereas 1. A.Seton, Resident Delhi 1806, Governor of Prince of Wales
Island 1811, Member G .G . ’s Council 1812, Retired 1818*
2* Lt*Col.Malcolm under instructions from Lord Lake to Bengal Govt* 4 May 1806, Beng* Rev. Cons* 16 Oct*, 1806, 25*
Jagirdar = a holder of an assignment of revenue, given for military service.
Talukdar = a holder of an estate, or tract of land, not necessarily having proprietary right over the whole estate.
1stimrardar = a holder of a perpetual farm or lease*
3* Ochterbury to G . G . , 15 June 1805* Bo.Coll.4432, Vol.196, p.145. For more details of grant also see, Seton to
Gardner, 16 Jan.1809* Beng.Rev.Cons. 11 Feb.1809* 25* Seton to Govt., 21 June 1807* Ibid., 9 July 1807* 39.
46
the jama or revenue demand from the assigned lands in 1806 gave a paltry sum of R s .3,22,117.^ However, this amount
indicated the actual collection made since no regular engage ments for revenue had been made so far. Evidently enough land
still remained unaccounted for and unsettled^which held out a prospect of a steady increase of revenue.
Metcalfe was hardly impressed with this state of
affairs. In fact he entered into the uninspiring business of settlement-making with misgivings. He was disappointed to see the ’ridiculously trifling' collections and to find fthe
districts in a sad and irremediable state of confusion1, and p
exclaimed 'God forbid ... the revenue line.1
Seton clearly saw the need of an early and well- regulated system of revenue administration. But he realized that 'the native system* could not be changed straightway. It was both inexpedient and unpractical to do so* However, he soon gathered that it was difficult to define what the native practice was. There was neither a fixed rule of assessment nor a regular system of collecting the revenue. There was little to guide the revenue officer since authentic village records were not forthcoming. Nor could the information of
3 4 5
patwaris, kanungos and amils^ be relied upon, To ascertain 1. Seton to Beng.Govt., 21 July 1806, Beng. Rev.Cons., 7
Aug.1806, 34. About ten rupees were equal in value to a £ (pound) during those days.
2. Metcalfe to Sherer (Private), 25 Oct.1806, Kaye, Life of Metcalfe, 1, p. 217*
3* Patwari~ = village accountant and record keeper.
4. Kanungo = a village or district revenue officer who kept