Government, was seized by Wajid Allee, his predecessor, before he
made over charge of the district to him, and made over to a body of
troops, on condition, that she should enter into engagement to pay to
them the ten months' arrears of pay due to them, out of the rents of
the ensuing year; and that they should give him receipts for the full
amount of these arrears of pay at once, to be forwarded to the
Durbar, that he might get credit for the amount in his accounts for
last year--that she has paid them fifteen thousand rupees, but can
collect no more from her tenants, as the crops are all being cut or
destroyed by the troops, and she is in close confinement, and treated
with cruel indignity. The rent-roll of her estate is, it is said,
equal to one hundred thousand rupees a year.

This was a common practice among governors of districts at the close
of last year; and thus they got credit, on account, for large sums,
pretended to have been paid out of the revenues of last year; but, in
reality, to be paid out of the revenues of the ensuing year. But the
collections are left to be made by the troops, for whose arrears of
pay the revenue has been assigned, and they generally destroy or
extort double what they are entitled to from their unhappy debtors.
This practice of assigning revenues due, or to be due, by
landholders, for the arrears of pay due to the troops, is the source
of much evil; and is had recourse to only when contractors and other
collectors of revenue are unable to enforce payment in any other way;
or require to make it appear that they have collected more than they
really have; and to saddle the revenue of the ensuing year with the
burthens properly incident upon those of the past. The commandant of
the troops commonly takes possession of the lands, upon the rents, or
revenues, of which the payments have been assigned, and appropriates
the whole produce to himself and his soldiers, without regard to the
rights of landholders, farmers, cultivators, capitalists, or any
other class of persons, who may have invested their capital and
labour in the lands, or depend upon the crops for their subsistence.
The troops, too, are rendered unfit for service by such arrangements,
since all their time is taken up in the more congenial duty of
looking after the estate, till they have desolated it. The officers
and soldiers are converted into manorial under-stewards of the worst
possible description. They are available for no