The History of Java, v. 1-2

by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

21. The allotments of land shall fall under the collector's superintendance, and he shall set down among the charges of collection, sums of money equal to what would be the monied rent of those lands were they not free. For this purpose, they shall be assessed, and regularly entered among the other lands in the general lease of the village: but the collection of this assessed rent shall not be actually made; it shall only appear in the accounts, as that it had been realized, and paid to the several officers.

22. For the other officers attached to the collector, namely, those in his head office, some it is concluded will be paid by portions of land being made over to them, others by monthly sums of money. The accounts of the former will be settled as already mentioned. The salaries of the latter will be drawn for by bills on the Resident, who will continue to be the sole treasurer of the district.

23. The collector will accordingly forward to him the several sums of money he may receive in his collections, whenever they amount to five hundred rupees.

24. It is trusted that the placing the heads of villages and officers of divisions, in some measure, under two authorities, to whom they must separately report, will not be attended with any eventual evil or confusion. When these arrangements become well matured, and the exact limits of their several duties clearly defined, the subordinate officers will not find any difficulty in their execution. For the attainment of this desirable end, however, much must depend upon the conduct of the Resident and collector. They are placed in these districts, not as persons who are to serve in any way as checks upon each other, but who are required to act together for the general good; mutually to assist each other to the extent of their power, and by preserving between themselves a good understanding, to carry on better their respective duties.

25. Should, in any case, a disagreement of opinion arise on any subject between them, a reference will be immediately made to the Honourable the Lieutenant-Governor, who will without delay pass on it his decision.

26. It need hardly be observed, that the collectors will possess no magisterial authority whatsoever: application will be regularly made by him to the Resident, as judge and magistrate, whenever it becomes necessary to call on that officer for aid in either capacity, whether to punish the misconduct of servants, or to realize by civil suit any part of the dues of government. The process to be observed, in either case, will be precisely similar to what is prescribed where the two parties in the suit are private individuals: government by no means wishing to enjoy themselves any better security of right, than that which they would ensure to the meanest of their subjects, nor to possess a greater facility of redress than is provided by their regulations to be offered to any individual who shall consider himself as aggrieved.

27. As the first step towards the introduction of an adequate system of internal administration, it becomes positively necessary that government should be furnished with the fullest and completest view of the actual resources of the country.

28. The minutest details must be collected, arranged, and considered, before any system can be properly reduced to practice, or any assessment can be justly made.

29. But when once this body of information is obtained, the business of the revenue settlement will become comparatively light, and will be able to be proceeded with on the clearest and most equitable principles. It will serve too, on all future occasions, as a complete collection of the most valuable data to which to refer back for any purpose, or on which to ground any measures that may, in future, be deemed advisable. The obtaining this, government are fully aware, must be a work the most laborious: but placing the fullest reliance on the zeal, industry, and talents of those officers through whom they expect to derive such information, they look forward with confidence to its accomplishment in a manner as complete, and in a period as short as is possible, where inquiries are to be made at once so minute and so extensive.

30. It must be considered too, that however heavy, at first, this compilation may prove, it will ultimately most materially save both the time and trouble of the collectors. Daily occurrences will constantly require that information which it is now desired should be at once obtained; and by possessing such a standard for conducting the business, a simple reference to it will very often be sufficient, when otherwise there would arise a necessity for instituting inquiries of the same nature, numberless and troublesome, on every new, however trivial, occasion. Every collector, in short, who is anxious to perform well the duties entrusted to him, must wish to be in possession of such a mass of information as is now proposed to be collected.