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arrangement for the proper management of the canals as well as the
arrangements for future relief of estates in case of the failure of canal
irrigation were also carried out in the first regular settlement operations. This
settlement was carried out in the three southern tehsils by Mr. O’ Brien in
1870-78 and in Layyah by Mr. Tucker in 1872-78. The method of assessment
was the imposition of fixed demand on all holdings not subject to the riverain
action; and in the riverain estates, through fluctuating assessment by soil
rates. Throughout the riverain circles of all four tehsils, and the canal
irrigated tracts of the southern three, the assessment worked admirably in
the years between 1880 and 1900. In the Thal, however, the system of fixed
assessment by which all owners were jointly and severally responsible for the
revenue of the entire estate, proved unsuitable to the special conditions, and
broke down utterly after a succession of bad season.
Second Regular Settlement
The second regular settlement of 1900 was carried out in the three southern
tehsils by Pandit Hari Kishan Kaul, P.C.S. In Layyah, the work was begun by
Captain Crosthwaite, I.A. who inspected the estates and submitted
proposals, but died before the work was finished; the assessment was
completed by Pandit Hari Kishan Kaul. Three methods of assessment were
adopted to suit different conditions, firstly of Thal; secondly of the canal
irrigated estates which were regarded as secure; and thirdly, of the insecure
canal-irrigated estates and those irrigated by flood from rivers. The method
of assessment in Layyah, which Pandit Hari Kishan Kaul inherited from
Captain Crosthwaite, was rather different from that devised by Pandit Hari
Kishan Kaul himself for the southern tehsils.
The Thal Assessment
In the Thal, the unit of connection was the well, and different wells which
were grouped together to form an estate had no connection with one another:
the system of assessment by estates was therefore abandoned, and a return
was made to that of Diwan Sawan Mal, though with various improvements.
Each holding on a well was separately assessed to a fixed sum, collected
every year, provided that not less than half an acre was cultivated or if, the
holding covered entire well, area on one acre. The waste lands used for
grazing in each estate were assessed, and so were the few palms on the wells
of the Jandi Circle nearest to the riverain area. The land revenue and revenue
on palms was paid in the Rabi and that on the grazing in the Kharif.
Secure Canal Estates
The fixed assessment which Mr. O’ Brien had put on all estates protected
from the action of the rivers was maintained by his successor in the Pacca
and Thal circle of the Muzaffargarh Tehsil, and in the Pacca and Nahri Thal
Circles of the Kot Addu Tehsil; he changed it in Alipur, except in parts of
three estates. The assessment was first calculated for each estate; next the
holdings were graded, the number of grades depending on the circumstances

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