DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2374#0416
404
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH
It
h
CHAPTER produce of a tree, he imposed upon each what he considered as a
fair tax. The amount of this on every coco-nut palm was half a
Fanam. Old and young trees were exempted, which has given rise
to immense frauds on government. The young trees, of course,
ought in justice to be exempted, because they do not produce any
fruit; but old trees ought either to be paid for, or to be cut, there
being no possible means of ascertaining what trees are really pro-
ductive enough to afford the tax. If the rate be found too heavy,
it would be much better for government to lower it, and to exact
the tax for every tree above a certain age that a person chose to
have in his plantation. Mr. Smee thinks the tax on coco-nuts,
imposed by Arsliid-Beg-Khan, too high, and has proposed to reduce
it to one third of a Fanam. According to his own estimate, the
average produce of a tree is worth l^Vo Fanam : now above the
Ghats the cultivators of gardens pay one half of the produce, in a
less favourable soil and climate, and yet are reckoned to possess by
far the most valuable property that is in the country, and new plan-
tations are forming in every part that will admit of them. I do not
see, therefore, why the people of Malabar should cry out against
the tax in the manner they do: and I perfectly agree with Mr. Smee
in thinking that the tax proposed by him is extremely moderate.
Say, that a man has a garden containing 40 trees, rateable ac-
cording to Mr. Smee's plan of excluding all those which do not
produce more than ten nuts; the produce of these, at 33 nuts a
tree, will be 1320; which, according to Mr. Smee, are worth at
the rate of 35 Fanams a thousand : the produce is therefore worth
^ Fanams 47 10
Deduct revenue - - 13 13|
8 0
Annual charges
---------21
13f
Clear profit - - -25 36f
Out of which is to be deducted the interest of the money employed
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH
It
h
CHAPTER produce of a tree, he imposed upon each what he considered as a
fair tax. The amount of this on every coco-nut palm was half a
Fanam. Old and young trees were exempted, which has given rise
to immense frauds on government. The young trees, of course,
ought in justice to be exempted, because they do not produce any
fruit; but old trees ought either to be paid for, or to be cut, there
being no possible means of ascertaining what trees are really pro-
ductive enough to afford the tax. If the rate be found too heavy,
it would be much better for government to lower it, and to exact
the tax for every tree above a certain age that a person chose to
have in his plantation. Mr. Smee thinks the tax on coco-nuts,
imposed by Arsliid-Beg-Khan, too high, and has proposed to reduce
it to one third of a Fanam. According to his own estimate, the
average produce of a tree is worth l^Vo Fanam : now above the
Ghats the cultivators of gardens pay one half of the produce, in a
less favourable soil and climate, and yet are reckoned to possess by
far the most valuable property that is in the country, and new plan-
tations are forming in every part that will admit of them. I do not
see, therefore, why the people of Malabar should cry out against
the tax in the manner they do: and I perfectly agree with Mr. Smee
in thinking that the tax proposed by him is extremely moderate.
Say, that a man has a garden containing 40 trees, rateable ac-
cording to Mr. Smee's plan of excluding all those which do not
produce more than ten nuts; the produce of these, at 33 nuts a
tree, will be 1320; which, according to Mr. Smee, are worth at
the rate of 35 Fanams a thousand : the produce is therefore worth
^ Fanams 47 10
Deduct revenue - - 13 13|
8 0
Annual charges
---------21
13f
Clear profit - - -25 36f
Out of which is to be deducted the interest of the money employed