SONTHAL PROBLEM 37 In 1855, after the disturbances were quelled, Act XXXVII of 1855 came into force, excluding the Sonthal territory from the purview of most of the general regulations and laws. With further legislation, the Sonthal Parganas were ruled on the purest Non-regulation System, conferring special protection on its inhabitants.8 A very simple form of administration was introduced, bringing the village headmen, as representatives of the people, to direct contact with the English officer in charge of the district. The British system of justice and government was adopted to the needs of the Sonthals who for some time at least were considered among "the most prosperous of the Indian races."4 The formation of the Non-regulation district was also hailed as a milestone of development, with the name Santa 1 appearing on the map of India.5 Sir John Peter Grant, the second lieutenant-governor of Bengal, was also known for his sympathy for the Sonthal cause.6 Policy in Reversal Years later, when the memory of the insurrection had faded, a question arose whether the Stamp Law could be enforced in the Sonthal Parganas.7 The then lieutenant-governor Cecil Beadon seemed to have taken a view different from that of Sir John. It was decided that the sooner the regular laws were introduced the better, and the decision was promptly put into practice. The Sonthal manjhis (headmen) were declared to have no claim to special privilege and their rents were raised.8 Beadon held that the Sonthal Parganas should be administered in the same way as the rest of the province. These instructions and views held sway for the years that followed: the Sonthal Parganas came to be administered under the Regulation System's rules and procedures like the Rent Law, the Civil Procedure Code, the Stamp Law and other statutes. The district's deputy commissioner was for all practical purposes reduced to a judicial officer.9 Money, the commissioner of Bhagulpore and Sonthal Parganas at the time, stated his views on the manjhi question thus: ^To recognize as inherent to their position a right of occupancy would be not only acting contrary to the provisions of Act X, but would thus perpetuate a mode of tenure which may in time prove unstiited to the improvement and progress of the country." 10 He did not believe that the Sonthal peasants required any special protection against enhancement of their rent: "The main point to be kept in view is that the rights of the zamindars and ryots are the same in the Sonthal P&rganas as they are outside."! l Sir William Grey's Sonthal policy was identical with that of his predecessor. Under Beadon and Grey the administration of the Sonthal Parganas tended to conform to that of the Regulation districts, the more so with the application of Penal Code, Civil Procedure Code, Stamp Law andActXofl85912. During Gampbell's administration the Sonthal country was once again in a state of ferment. In his Memoirs^ Campbell wrote that before he had been long in office the British government was concerned about