A History of the Mahrattas v1.c10.34

v1.c10.34

In acting on Todur Mull’s plan, the lands were in the first instance assessed with reference to their fertility, in a proportion varying from one half to one seventh of their gross produce, according to the expense of culture or to the description of the article cultivated. The government share was then commuted for a money payment; and in time, when a measurement, classification, and registry had taken place, the regulated assessment was fixed at a fourth of the whole produce of each field throughout the year,¹ and thus became the permanent rent of the land. Such was the method now introduced by Shah Jehan in the districts north of the Beema, under the superintendence of Moorshed Koolee Khan, an able officer who was employed for nearly twenty years in its completion.