NEOW TO DAWDLE AND LOSE REVENUE.

BY AN EX-OFFICIAL. the ong-expected Commission on Indian Expenditure is about to cornnece its sjttnlgs, would it be too much to ask that the rules of red tape Ihould be for once set aside and the state of revenue matters in the Padras presidency described below be also inquired into by tile. same ccommfi~sion?- h his speech in the debate on the Indian Budget of last year, Sir R. Teflmple called attention to the fact of a large number of evictions of tenants f i laend bavihlg to be resorted to in the Madras Presidency for thefrealzatloi of the current land revenue. The matter does nrot appear to rVe attracted public attention, but the condition of Indian finance is not b01pro\iitgw and as millions of rupees are being"' annually lost in consequenceof the imperfect system of land assessment, of which the fact is" , a sylTIPtoul, it is time that the matter should be thorou'ghly'investited' and our Radical Government, which melts into tears at the woes gedaasonalyourtd f omteir ,an insignlificant number of Irish tenants occasionally ousted from their omdins, should be forced by public opinion to interest itself in those of 11aUY thousands of Indian tenants who are year by year -being similarly, treated by the Government for the realization of its own dues. The printed reports of the Madras Government show that in the ten yearS 1879-80 to 1888-89 829,374 people, holding land directly from the State, vere evicted from 1,931,540 acres of land, 'and their personal' propertY of the value of Rs. 2,782,293 was also sold. Of the 1,931,540 acres, the right of cultivation in which, subject to the payment of land revenue was put up to auction, 1,160,719 acres had to'be bought in on behalf of Government because no one could be found to bid for it, and that of the balance only 'was sold to others. . This proves 'without a doubt that the assessment is too heavy; otherwise, theagricultural population of ,Madras, vhich is dense, would certainly not hesitate to take it up. \vhen it is borne in mind that about 66 per cent. of the holdings average under Rs.10 a year, and 24 per cent. between Rs.10 and Rs.30, leaving a balalce of only about 10 per cent. of the tenants who have holdings of an assessment above Rs.30, the hardships inflicted on the mass of the 'people, Wiho Generally have nothing but agriculture t6 look to for their livelihood, canl haidly be exaggerated. T'aking these 830,000 'men as the. heads of fainilies as they certainly are, in the eleven years over 316 millions of people have been affected by these evictions, or about onle-eighth of the agricultural population of' between 27'and 28 millions. This matter was placed before the Secretary of State for India early 1893. More than two and a quarter years have thus passed, during wvhich no steps have been taken to put afiairs on a...