§ MR. O'GRADYI beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the all-Punjab demonstration held at Lahore to protest against the Punjab Land Alienation Bill, now passed into law; whether, as a principal result of the Act, the powers of the collector as chief executive and revenue officer of the district have been largely extended, placing the summary jurisdiction of such officer above the reach of the civil court; whether he is aware that religious and charitable gifts and alienations come under the veto of such officer, who alone can determine the bona fides of such gifts; and whether, having regard to the effect the Act will have upon that class known as the zemindars, reducing their status to that of moneylender or usurer, steps will be taken to bring the matter before the attention of the Punjab Legislative Council with a view to mitigating grievances arising from the Act.
§ MR. MORLEYThere appears to be some misconception in the matter. The Punjab Land Alienation Act, which placed restrictions on the alienation of land from the agricultural to the non-agricultural classes, and empowered the district revenue officers to veto transfers made in contravention of the law, has been in operation since 1900. It is reported to have worked satisfactorily, and to be popular with the agricultural classes. The Bill to which the hon. Member presumably refers is confined to amending the Act in certain particulars, and does not affect its main principles, though it will deprive the so-called "statutory agriculturist" of the power to purchase land from the agricultural classes. The "statutory agriculturist" 760 is, I understand, an artificial creation of the law, and may be, and often is, a person who does not belong to the agricultural classes. When the proceedings of the Legislative Council come before me, I will carefully consider the memorials which have reached me objecting to its provisions.