As regards weeding, wherever an estate is liable to rot, all the places that are most liable to it should be weeded first, as it is very important to keep the ground quite clean, so that there may be a complete circulation of air across it. Should it be found that any part of an estate is more liable to leaf disease than other parts, then the weeding should be carried out first on the portion of the estate most liable to the disease.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE MANAGEMENT OF ABSENTEE ESTATES.
As many of my readers are no doubt aware, elephants are employed to pile timber in the Government yards, in other words, to arrange the logs one above another, and at equal distances from each other. This they are soon trained to carry out with mathematical accuracy, and all that the mahout requires to do is to rest himself comfortably on some adjacent log and look on, cheering the elephant with his presence, and perhaps throwing in an occasional remark. But sometimes the mahout goes to his dinner, or absents himself for some other reason, and, before he leaves, addresses a few parting injunctions to the elephant to continue his exertions. And at first the animal does so, but not for long does he proceed with his work at the same pace as he did when the mahout was present. He soon begins sensibly to relax. Presently, finding or imagining that there is no prospect of the mahout returning, he stops altogether, and stands for a moment in doubt. Then all doubts seem to vanish, and finally he takes a bunch of foliage and begins to fan himself. Such is the nature of the elephant, and the human animal does not greatly differ from him. Exceptional men there may be, and no doubt also exceptional elephants, but, as the late Sir Charles Trevelyan good-naturedly said to an official in the Madras Presidency, "The fact is, we all require a little looking after." And hence it is that, when the proprietor cannot look after his own property, he finds it always advisable to give the manager an interest in the concern, or some interest which will induce the manager to fan himself in moderation. In the case of tea plantations in India, sometimes a share is sold to the manager, and then he is given time to pay for this out of the profits of the concern. In coffee, sometimes, a salary is given, and a bonus of one rupee a hundredweight on the coffee produced. Then on some estates belonging to a firm, as it was found that this worked unevenly, a bonus of a rupee a head was given on each coolie, which was done to encourage managers to make their estate as attractive to coolies as possible. In one case I know of, the manager is allowed to invest capital of his own in the concern to even as small an amount as 1,000 rupees, and for the sum invested he receives a share in the profits of the estate. The 1,000 rupees are treated as part of the capital of the estate, and whatever the profits may be, the owner of the capital gets his share. If he leaves, his capital is returned to him, or, in the event of death, paid to his heirs. Another plan, and I think the best, is to give a share of the profits in lieu of salary; or, should the manager not like the risk, a salary enough for the manager to live on and a share of the profits besides. But I do not think it wise ever to part with a share in the ownership of the land, as, in the event of the death of a manager, who has been turned into a working partner, a very unsatisfactory state of things is liable to arise. And the original proprietor might, and probably would, have trouble as to the management of the estate, as he would then have to deal with the heirs of the deceased.
It seems hardly necessary to say that a proprietor should exercise great care in the selection of a manager, but the circumstances of the estates in Mysore, which are always surrounded by a native population, and sometimes a very considerable population, are such that unusual care is required when appointing a manager. For in dealing with the people around him, he requires to exercise much tact, and careful circumspection, and great control over his temper, which is often sorely tried. And he needs it all the more for the first few years, because anything new is sure to be attacked and worried. When alluding to the fact that the new comer is exposed to many annoyances, while the old planter seldom is, a native official once said to me, "The new man must submit to being worried and annoyed, and," he added with a laugh, "even to be kicked for four years, and then he may do anything." Any planter, then, settling in a new district requires to act with great care and tact till he passes the four years period, when he may do anything in reason. But unless he has a full control of himself, he will be sure to be involved in squabbles and disputes of a more or less troublesome character, which are injurious to the interests of the estate. And hence there is the greater need for the proprietor being careful in his selection of a manager.
It is very important that, at the outset, a clear understanding should be come to between the absentee proprietor and his manager, so as to prevent disputes and confusion. To avoid these it should be laid down either that the manager is to have full power to act on his responsibility, or that he is to act entirely under the instructions of the proprietor. When the latter understanding is come to, the manager must adhere strictly to the orders of the proprietor, even though the agent may think that he would serve the proprietor's interests better by neglecting the orders, and because, obviously, the proprietor may have reasons for his orders which are not apparent, or only partially apparent, to the manager. In the event of a manager not being disposed to carry out orders to the letter, he should at once resign his situation, as he has no right to receive his pay on the understanding that he is to carry out his employer's wishes, and then fail to do so.
Powers of attorney to managers should be carefully and fully drawn, as it is often of great importance that a manager should have full power to act in the courts as to buying and selling land, and other matters. If the full power of acting on his own responsibility is to rest with the manager, it should be distinctly so stated in the power of attorney. If the power of direction lies with the principal solely, it should be remembered (a fact that is not always remembered, by the way, as I know from my own experience) that, though the manager has the power of acting for the proprietor, he cannot do so in any degree at variance with the instructions received. If, for instance, the proprietor orders that, in the case of a dispute between him and another party, the manager is to call in arbitrators to decide on certain points in a dispute, the manager would have no right to put other points connected with the dispute to the decision of the arbitrators, because he, the manager, might think it would be of advantage to his principal to do so, or for any other reason whatsoever.
The proprietor of an absentee estate is necessarily entirely in the power of his manager; and whatever the number of accounts, reports, and returns may be is of little consequence, as the proprietor cannot get behind them, i.e., he cannot count the coolies that enter the estate in the morning, and that being the case, he is wholly dependent on the honesty of the manager. But the proprietor, it might be urged, can call for the check-roll of people. So he can, but there is nothing to prevent the manager keeping two check-rolls, one to pay the people with and the other to send to the proprietor, and I have heard of this being done. Nor is there anything to prevent a manager representing himself to be present on the estate and attending to his duties, while in reality he may be amusing himself fifty miles away. It is, if a little amusing, certainly very instructive to read in "Balfour's Cyclopædia"[[59]] that "coffee is liable to fail from leaf disease, Bug, Borer, and the absence of the eye of the owner," and the statement would have been quite complete had the writer added that it is the absence of the eye of the owner which, in Mysore at least, I may certainly say, is responsible for much of the leaf disease and nearly all the Borer. But the reader will readily understand that money is very easily frittered away in employing large bodies of labourers unless an active personal interest is taken in seeing that full value is obtained from them, and that their efforts are rightly directed. It is no wonder, then, that Dr. Balfour treats the absence of the eye of the owner as an equivalent for the presence of Borer or leaf disease. I know of two estates in Mysore, of about similar size, one of which gave a clear profit of over £5,000 one year, while a neighbouring estate as well situated, and with better soil, yielded a small loss. Both estates were started in the same year. But in the case of the first, the eye of the owner was always present, while in the case of the second, the owner was totally absent for many years, and afterwards only visited his property at long intervals, sufficiently long to enable him NOT to estimate its steady decadence.
Every estate should have an information book,[[60]] so complete that, in the event of a new manager being appointed, he should hardly have to ask the proprietor a single question. The book should either be type written, or written in a hand as clear as type, should of course be paged, and have a well drawn up table of contents, and a blank page opposite every written page, for the insertion of notes and observations. The book should give, firstly, a history of the estate, then a list of the various fields, the dates on which they were planted, a description of the soil of each field, and an account of the manures put down in it, with notes on the results observed from the various manures applied. A list should be given of the native staff, and of the character and capabilities of the individuals comprising it, their pay and length of service, and also of those amongst the work people who would be likely to make good duffadars. The experience of the estate as to the order and way in which the various works should be done should be carefully recorded. A section should be devoted to observations made when visiting neighbouring estates, as it is of the greatest importance to record all the local experience and opinions. Remarks should be made as to the best means of obtaining transport either for the estate or carrying coffee to the coast, and as to how and where anything and everything the estate may require can be procured. The dates of feasts and holidays should be entered, and a section should be devoted to financing the estate, accounts and rates of pay, and the advances given by the estate to coolies, or maistries. Another section should be devoted to giving a complete inventory of all the tools, sawn timber, machines, carts, cattle, bungalow furniture, in short, everything on the property. And a section should be devoted to lines, or coolie houses, and sanitary precautions regarding them. Careful record should also be entered of all the coffee sold, and the prices obtained for it, and remarks as to the changes, if any, in the quality of the produce, as such changes would perhaps throw light on the treatment of the property, and the manurial system most advisable.