216 BĪKANER STATE
Punjab in 1892-3, and came into force in 1894 for a period of ten years,
recently extended by three years. The principal change made was to
class almost all the villages in the SCiratgarh nizdmat (except in Tibi) as
ryotwdr or hhdtawdr, each cultivator being responsible for payment
of the assessment imposed on the land held by him, whether cultivated
in a particular year or not. The remaining villages are joint; there is
a fixed lump assessment for the payment of which the joint village body
are, as against the State, jointly and severally responsible, while among
themselves each member is responsible for the amount of revenue
entered opposite his name in the settlement record. The average
assessment per acre on `wet' land is about RS. 2-11, and that on
`dry' land varies from 2z to 81, annas. Suspensions and remissions
of revenue are freely granted in times of scarcity. In the Tibi -Pargana
the system of tenure is zamindārz. A twenty years' settlement had
been made in 1856 by the British Government. Five years later the
tract was granted to the State for services rendered during the Mutiny,
and for seven years the Darbār disregarded the settlement; but, on
the villagers complaining to Government, the Maharaja was required to
abstain from interference with their rights, and in 1869 he signified his
intention to continue the settlement for seven years beyond the date on
which it would have expired. A new settlement was accordingly made
in 1883, and is now being revised.
The State maintains an Imperial Service camel corps 500 strong, and
an irregular local force of 38o cavalry, 500 infantry, and 38 artillerymen,
at a cost of about 2.4 lakhs a year. There are altogether 94 guns,
of which 33 are serviceable. The camel corps was raised between 1889
and 1893 as a contribution to the defence of the empire, and is called
the Ganga Risāla after the present chief. It served in China in 1goo-1
as an infantry regiment, and a detachment of about 250 men mounted
on camels did particularly well in Somaliland in 1903-4. The State
now contributes to no local corps or contingent, though formerly
(1836-42) it paid Rs. 22,ooo a year towards the cost of the Shekhawati
Brigade. There are no cantonments in Bikaner territory, but the
43rd (Erinpura) Regiment furnishes a small detachment of cavalry and
infantry (32 of all ranks) for escort and guard duty at the residence
of the Political Agent.
The total strength of the police force is about goo, of whom about
Zoo are mounted, mostly on camels. The whole is under a general
superintendent, and there are separate superintendents for the districts
and the city. The force costs about 1i lakhs a year, and there are
70 police stations. Besides the Central jail at the capital, there are
District jails at Reni and Siijāngarh in which prisoners sentenced to one
year or less are confined. These three jails have accommodation for
742 prisoners; and in 1904-5 the daily average number was 375 and
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
