198
దంపూరు నరసయ్య
What injustice is this! The Madras Government ought to construct roads in villages. One-fourth of the 'land-cess may be entrusted to the village heads and the village roads constructed with that money. If this be done, every village will improve soon. In this country, proprietors of lands being selfish do not help the ryots. The Government also is acting similarly. Unless the Government construct roads in every village and connect them with the high roads, can it be said that even the Government is doing good to the ryots of its own villages? The Government too is an indifferent landlord in relation to its ryots.
The Salt Tax - The A.G. of the 25th August, 1900 observes that it is wrong to levy tax on food-stuffs and that as salt is the most important of all the food-stuffs, it is most unjust to levy tax on salt. Even poll-tax is preferable to salt-tax. God has created salt in abundance that men and animals may use it to preserve their health. It is not at all just that using such article should be considered a great crime, that laws should be framed concerning it, that a number of persons should be appointed to prevent any loss in the salt revenue, and that the poor should thus be harassed. He who makes any reforms in the laws relating to salt will be extolled everywhere as a great benefactor of the country and a ministering angel to the poor.
Page 258, September 8ih 1900, Supply of water to the villages
A correspondent of the A.G. of the 8th September, observes, that the delta officials do not act impartially. They do not supply names of villages that are not supplied with water. Of the villages that are not supplied with water, Kodur (Nellore dt.) is one. The correspondent therefore requests the government to supply the villages with water and to show them mercy, as without its help it is not possible to live in these famine days.
Page 257, Jamabandi
The A.G. of the 8th September, writes:-Our Madras Government has given vain trouble to the Revenue Officers. The name of that vain trouble itself is Jamabandi. Under the ryotwari system it is arranged to give a patta to each cultivator every year. In that patta the land sist, cesses, etc., which the ryot has to pay for the fasli are entered. Jamabandi is another name for the giving of such pattas. In conducting a jamabandi,
