The amount paid by the Subah forms by no means the whole of the royal revenue. On a great variety of occasions, besides the presents that every one must make on approaching the court, there is levied a Rajangka, which is a kind of income tax that extends to all ranks, and even to such of the sacred order as possess free lands. A Rajangka is levied at no fixed period, but according to the exigencies of the state; and many districts pay more on this account than the regular revenue, which has been often almost entirely alienated, by giving the lands as religious endowments, to various civil officers, and in military tenure for the support of the army. The Subah does not collect the Rajangka; an officer for that purpose is especially sent from the court.
When Colonel Kirkpatrick visited the country, he learned, on what he considered tolerably good authority, that the revenue which reached the treasury at Kathmandu never exceeded 3,000,000 of rupees, and fluctuated between that and 2,500,000. The subsequent addition of territory, although it has increased the means of supporting a large army, has probably sent little money to the capital.
The ordinary public revenue, consisting of land-rents, customs, fines, and mines, in the east, was divided among the chief, and the principal persons and officers of his family, the chief for his own expense receiving about two-thirds of the whole; but, if there was in the family any estate on the plain, the chief reserved the whole of this for himself, although he sometimes bestowed part free of revenue for services. About a third of the revenue that remained, after grants to the civil and military establishments, was divided as follows: the
Chautariya, or chief councillor, always the Raja’s brother in the Indian sense, that is, a near kinsman in the male line, received one fifth. The Karyi, or man of business, who was always a near relation of the chief, had an equal share. The Raja’s eldest son, when married, had as much. The chief’s virgin spouse, when she had children, was allowed as much. The Serdar, or principal officer, who was not of the chief’s family, received one-tenth. The Jethabura, a councillor, had one-twentieth. Finally, the Kaliya, or secretary, obtained as much. All other officers, soldiers, and even most domestics, were paid in lands, held as long as they performed the duty, and called Jaygirs, a Persian term. The occupants either cultivated the lands themselves, or let them as they pleased. There were, besides, lands appropriated to the support of some temples, and two kinds of free estates granted in perpetuity to individuals. The owners of one kind, called Brittiyas, had no jurisdiction over those living on their estates, which was also the case with those holding Jaygirs; the others, called Bitalpas, administered justice to their vassals. They were all Brahmans, and never were numerous; but by far the greater part of the lands of both Bitalpas and Brittiyas have been resumed by the chiefs of Gorkha, in order to increase the military establishment. In other respects they have not much altered the constitution.
In consequence of their extended dominions, the princes of Gorkha have increased the number of the chief officers of state, and have four Chautariyas, four Karyis, and four Serdars.
When Colonel Kirkpatrick visited the country the twelve chief officers, according to his orthography, [107] were reckoned,
one Choutra, four Kajies, four Sirdars, two Khurdars or secretaries, one Kuppardar or storekeeper, and one Khuzanchee or treasurer.
These chief officers now form the Bharadar, or great council of the Raja, which attends him in the Durbar, Rajdani, or palace to transact business, and which frequently acts without his presence. It ought to consist of these twelve members; but some of the places are often vacant, and, at other times, the persons who hold them have so little influence, that they neglect or avoid giving their attendance. At other times, again, on business of the utmost emergency, a kind of assembly of notables is held, in which men who have neither office, nor any considerable influence in the government, are allowed to speak very freely, which seems to be done merely to allow the discontents of the nation to evaporate, as there is not a vestige of liberty in the country, nor does the court seem ever to be controlled by the opinions advanced in these assemblies.
The first rank of councillors is the only one now confined to the prince’s family, and is often given to illegitimate kinsmen. The Chautariya, who is the nearest relation to the reigning prince, is always considered as the prime minister, although he may have little real authority. During our stay in Nepal, the first Chautariya was a boy, brother to the Raja, and never appeared except on occasions of ceremony, where he was exhibited like a puppet, in the same manner as his sovereign.
The office of Karyi should be held by persons only of a few very distinguished families; but many exceptions have been made of late, and especially in the instance of Bhim Sen, the present ruler of the country, who holds no higher office than this, to which even his birth does not entitle him.