He has the charge of Government Estates when they are either
farmed, or managed direct, — the tenants paying their rent to
Government When these estates consist of large tracts
(exceeding 5,000 acres) they are technically called ' raiyatwarf
tracts,' the direct holders of land (raiyats) being the tenants of
Government though not necessarily tenants at will. The
Settlement of rents in these tracts, as well as of the Revenue in
temporarily settled estates and districts, is the duty of the
Collector (with the aid, if need be, of Settlement Officers
specially appointed). I have already alluded to the special
procedure of Act VIII of 1885 (Bengal Tenancy) under which
Rent Settlements may have to be made under certain circum-
stances even in Permanently Settled estates. There are also
duties under the general Survey law, including orders regarding
the erection and maintenance of boundary marks (Bengal Act V
of 1875, sec - 2 °)* The Collector is also concerned with the
Registration of landed estates and with ' mutations/ i.e. the record
of changes in the proprietorship by sale, &c. He also has the
duty of registering 'tenures' (p. 130) for the purpose of their
protection from being voided if the estate comes to sale for
arrears of Revenue. When partitions of jointly owned estates
are applied for, the Collector alone has jurisdiction to make the
division and to determine how the Land Revenue liability is to be
distributed over the shares : and even if there is no formal
partition to make, there may be the right of co-sharers to




Ch. IX.] HEADS OF LAND REVENUE BUSINESS. 337

have their Revenue apportioned, and a 'separate account 1
opened with each, so that the default of one may not imperil
the others — except under such circumstances as the law provides
(Act XI of 1859, secs - 10-14). I need hardly say much on the
Collector's duty in respect of Drainage works and Embank-
ments, the maintenance of which may be of first-rate importance
to agriculture in certain districts (Bengal Acts VI of 1880, and
II of 1882). So too I only just allude to the assessment of
estates and tenures to the 'District Cess' (p. 153) (Bengal
Act IX of 1880). Lastly, there are the important duties of
the collection of the Land Revenue, and the realization of
arrears.
