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by the Amir he issued a decree with the sanction of the 'alien, to the effect that the whole of the soil vested in himself as sole and absolute proprietor ; but that hereditary owners and leaseholders could renew their rights by purchase through the 'alim of the division to which they belonged. This order applied equally to the freehold tenants by purchase, who were mostly Andijin emigrants. The majority of the landholders redeemed their rights by payment to the 'slim, from whom they received a document bearing his seal in testimony of the transaction. The lands which under the Chinese rule were held as crown property, and had been given in fief to the several divisional governors in their time (the Wang, 1shikdghd, Beg, 4.e.,) were exempted from this order, and the Amir reserved them for distribution amongst his adherents and officers. Church lands also were similarly exempted, and their glebe rights were renewed in favour of the original bequests. But all waste land, including the pasture tracts around the settlements were decreed the absolute property of the Amir, and before they could be brought under cultivation it was incumbent on the farmer to purchase or rent it. All land, whether waste or cultivated, other than orchard and vineyard, appears to sell alike at the fixed rate of forty Tanga or ten rupees, for as much as is sown with one chkrak or twenty pounds of wheat.
Generally the landowner or holder does not cultivate his estate himself, but lets it out to tenants, who, after paying the Government demands, render three-fourths of the net prcduce to the landlord, and retain the remaining share for themselves. The Government demands on the land are the 'ushr, or one in ten parts of the gross produce of all cereal crops ; and the tankbi or tax on a measured area of fruit and vegetable gardens, and other crops not cereal. The tankb is a linear measure of nearly 47 yards, and any space on two sides by a line of that length is called a tandb of land. The tax varies from one or two, to eight or ten Langa the tandb, according to the nature and value of the crop. Such are the legal demands, but in practice much more is exacted by the Collectors for their own benefit, and whilst at Yangi Hissar we saw Government orders upon certain settlements for the collection of the 'ushr at the rate of three parts in ten.
The z'Ikdf is a Mahommedan tax like the 'ushr sanctioned by the Shari'at. It is one part in forty of all live-stock, and of merchandise entering the country. In the former case it is levied yearly in kind, but in the latter at an ad valorem rate in cash, at the custom house where the goods are examined. There are no data as to the receipts under these heads, and no accoonts appear to be kept. Seemingly the Amir leaves this to the dûdkkwdh, and makes no enquiry so long as the flow into the imperial treasury does not flag, or does not come short of the roughly estimated capabilities of the division. There are, besides the above, some municipal imposts and taxes on drugs, &c., but their amount is trifling. And there is the produce of the gold mines of Khutan, of which no details are known. Previous to the treaty of trade with Russia, merchants other than Musalmans paid the zakât at the rate of one in twenty ad valorem, as in other Mahommadan States, and Hindus further paid a monthly tax of two tanga per head so long as they resided in the country, and were prohibited from wearing the turban or riding on horseback in the streets. These restrictions have been all rescinded by the terms of the treaty concluded with the British Government, and British subjects, irrespective of creed, are now only subject to the same imposts as the Musalmans.
Police.—The system of police is very intricate, and its ramifications pervade all society, with the effect of creating a profound mistrust of each other amongst the people, without materially improving the state of public morals; for though some vices and abuses are put down with severely repressive measures (as prostitution and spirit or wine drinking), others of a worse nature are taken no notice of (as sodomy and opium or hemp-smoking), whilst others again, as gambling and obscenity, are little interfered with, unless the censor of public morals should come in contact with them in his rounds.
The police may be divided into two classes, viz., the secret and municipal. The first are everywhere, and amongst all classes, and nobody knows who they are, or how they act, but everybody feels their presence and is carefully on his guard.
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