Provincial Geographies of India/Volume 4/Chapter 12
CHAPTER XII
ADMINISTRATION
The administration of Burma as a Province of the Indian Empire is in a state of transition. The facts as they stand must be recorded. But it should be remembered that, following the new constitution which will be adopted in the near future, some changes will be introduced in the existing system.
Civil. At the head of the administration is the Lieutenant-Governor, directly responsible to the Government of India and exercising all the powers of a Local Government, controlling all departments of the public service except purely imperial branches, military, post and telegraphs. At present there is no Executive Council. The Legislative Council is composed (July 1922) of 29 members, exclusive of the Lieutenant-Governor, of whom 13 are officials. Of the non-official members, two are elected, by the Burma Chamber of Commerce and the Rangoon Trades Association respectively. The rest, official and non-official, are appointed by the Local Government with the approval of the Government of India. Among the non-official members are nine Burmans, one Chinese, one Karen, one Mahomedan, and one Parsi. The Council enacts laws applicable to the whole or any part of the Province, the Shan States included. Members have the right of asking questions, of moving resolutions, and of discussing the budget. Laws passed by the Council require the assent of the Lieutenant-Governor and of the Governor-General.
Under the new constitution about to be established the Lieutenant-Governor will become Governor; the Legislative Council will consist of 92 members of whom 60 per cent. will be elected, and will have wide powers of controlling the administration; the system of dyarchy will be introduced. An Executive Council and responsible Ministers will be appointed ; some branches will be administered by the Governor in Council, the rest by the Governor on the advice of his Ministers.
Upper Burma, exclusive of the Shan States, is a Scheduled District, that is, a territory for which the Governor-General has power to make Regulations without the aid or intervention of a legislative body. In the early years after the annexation, this power was freely exercised; but since the establishment of a local Legislative Council it is seldom needed. The law administered in other parts of India prevails, generally, in Lower Burma. As in other Provinces, there are local systems of land and revenue administration and there is a special Village Law. Upper Burma, less sophisticated, enjoys many modifications and simplifications of the general law applicable to British India. This privilege is unlikely to endure.
The Province is parcelled into eight Divisions, each under a Commissioner; Pegu, Irrawaddy, Arakan, and Tenasserim with headquarters at Rangoon, Bassein, Akyab and Moulmein, respectively; and in Upper Burma, Mandalay, Sagaing, Meiktila and Magwe, each named after its headquarter station[1]. The Commissioner controls all branches of the administration under the Local Government; in Upper Burma and in Arakan, he is also Sessions Judge.
There are 38 districts grouped as shown below:
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Each district is in charge of a Deputy Commissioner, who administers all except the imperial departments. Here again it must be noted that changes are impending which will seriously reduce the powers of the Deputy Commissioner. But in this sketch, the state actually existing must be described. In respect of public works, education, forests and medical affairs, the Deputy Commissioner's control is general and does not involve interference in technical matters of detail. He is Collector and District Magistrate. Except in the Arakan Hill Tracts and Salween, where a police officer holds charge, he is always a member of what is known as the Burma Commission or of the Burma Civil Service. The Commission consists of Indian Civilians, officers of the Indian army in civil employ, and officers belonging to neither of these services but individually appointed with the sanction of the Secretary of State, or selected by the Local Government from the Burma Civil Service. The last-named service was formerly called the Provincial Civil Service. It consists for the most part of Burmese officers. The employment of Burmans in charges of responsibility has been much extended in recent years. In 1908, the first tentative appointment of a Burman (really an Arakanese) to the charge of a light district was hazarded. In July, 1921, four districts were in charge of Burmans, including two important Lower Burma districts[5].
Quite recently (1922) District Councils and Circle Boards
Fig. 45. At the well.
have been established in most districts, for the purpose of educating the mass of the people in self-government. Circle Boards control groups of village tracts; their members are elected by popular vote, women having the franchise. Members of District Councils are elected by Circle Boards. Officials are not eligible for seats in either of these assemblies; and official interference is jealously excluded. These Councils and Boards are to administer vernacular education, vaccination, hospitals, markets, veterinary dispensaries, slaughter-houses, sanitation, roads, and waterways. They will impose taxation for local purposes.
Most districts are partitioned into sub-divisions and these again into townships. Many of the sub-divisional and practically all the township officers (Myo-ôks) are natives of
Fig. 46. A Myo-thugyi.
the country, the great majority of Burmese race. Formerly there was a further territorial division; in Lower Burma, the circle (taik), in Upper Burma, the myo, each an aggregate of village areas under a Taik-thugyi or a Myo-thugyi respectively. These have for the most part disappeared, and the territorial unit is now the village. Consistent efforts have been made to preserve and strengthen the village organization. Every village has its Headman, appointed by the Deputy Commissioner from among the villagers. In the making of this appointment, so far as possible, regard is paid to hereditary claims and also to the wishes of the people. The Headman is the leading villager; the village magistrate and judge, with power to try petty criminal and civil cases, and the local revenue collector. The elders have no legal power or status, but in practice they exercise substantial influence. All villagers are bound by law to assist the headman in the discharge of his public duties; and new comers cannot settle in a village without his permission. On all residents is imposed joint responsibility for peace and order. They are bound to keep the village in a state of defence and to resist armed attack. If an undetected crime is committed, or if stolen property is traced to its borders, the village is held responsible.
The Shan States are administered on special lines[6]. The Shan plateau, occupying an area of over fifty thousand square miles, is distributed into a number of States varying in size from a few acres to thousands of square miles, each under its hereditary Chief. In the later times of Burmese rule, the Chiefs were constantly fighting one another and a country once prosperous was laid waste. Since our coming, peace has been restored and excellent progress has been made. The States are grouped into two main sections, the Southern, with headquarters at Taung-gyi, the Northern, with headquarters at Lashio, each under a Superintendent. These States are an integral part of British India, as they were formerly of the Burmese kingdom, and are not on the footing of native States in other parts of India. The form of administration which prevailed under Burmese rule has been preserved; and each State is governed by its own Chief, entitled Sawbwa, Myosa, or Ngwe-kun-hmu. The Imperial and Provincial[7] Legislatures enact laws applicable to these States; and the enlightened Chief of Yawnghwe was long a member of the Provincial Legislative Council. The internal affairs of each State are administered by the Chief, subject to the supervision and guidance of the Superintendents and their assistants. Gradually the Chiefs have learnt to administer their revenues with care and to take an interest in public works and other measures for the benefit of their people. A good school for the sons of Chiefs and notables flourishes at Taung-gyi. Modified by rules to prohibit cruel and barbarous practices and to prescribe a simple judicial procedure, the customary law remains in force. Government reserves all rights to forests and minerals and regulates the relations between the several States. Order is maintained by comparatively small bodies of military police and there are a few civil police. But the Chiefs are responsible for peace and order in their own territories. The succession to any Chief is subject to the approval of government. Each Chief on his accession receives a Sanad or Order of appointment defining his rights and privileges and prescribing his duties and limitations. The principal States are Kēngtūng, an extensive territory east of the Salween; Yawnghwe, a western State, wherein is situate the headquarters of the southern section; Möngnai, to the east, but cis-Salween; Hsipaw and North and South Hsenwi in the northern group[8].
Outside of the main sections are two other Shan States, sole relics of Shan predominance in Upper Burma; Hsawnghsup (Thaungthut) and Singaling Hkampti, both on the Chindwin subject to the Commissioner of Sagaing. Hkampti Lōng, in the far north, is now practically part of the Putao district. Möngmit, formerly under the Commissioner of Mandalay, has lately been attached to the Northern Shan States. The old States of Kale and Wuntho were absorbed long ago into Upper Chindwin and Katha respectively.
Karenni, which lies to the north-east of Lower Burma, between 18° and 20° N. and 97° and 99° E. with an area of 7200 square miles, intersected by the Salween, consists of a group of feudatory States, not an integral part of the Province. It is administered, much on the lines of the Shan States, by several Chiefs, mutually independent, with the advice of an Assistant Superintendent stationed at Loikaw and subordinate to the Superintendent of the Southern Shan States.
The Chin Hills on the north-west, adjoining Assam, Manipur and Chittagong, are administered as a district of the Sagaing division by a Deputy Commissioner whose headquarters are at Falam, with assistants at Tiddim, Haka and Lotaw. The Chin chiefs, headmen of villages and groups of villages, enjoy a large measure of independence and there is as little interference as possible with local customs. The laws in force are provided by Regulation and other legislative enactment. The Pakôkku Hill Tracts to the south, under the control of a Superintendent with headquarters at Kanpetlet near Mt Victoria, form part of the Magwe division.
The Kachin Hills on the north-east and north are included in the Bhamo, Myitkyina and Putao districts. Here also villages and groups of villages are controlled by headmen (Duwa). As much regard as possible is paid to local customs and the ordinary law is modified by Regulation to adapt it to the backward condition of these tracts.
To return to the settled districts of the Province, justice, civil and criminal, is administered under the control of the Chief Court in Lower Burma and of the Judicial Commissioner in Upper Burma[9]. Till the year 1900, a Judicial Commissioner was the head of the judicial administration in Lower Burma. In that year, the Chief Court was established, consisting of a Chief Judge and Judges of whom one half at least must be barristers; all are appointed by the Governor-General in Council. One of the puisne judges is a Burman. This Court exercises all the powers of a High Court and controls and supervises all branches of the judicial system. It also tries all cases committed for trial by Sessions or High Court in the town of Rangoon and exercises exclusive jurisdiction over European British subjects throughout the province. With this last-mentioned exception, in Upper Burma the Judicial Commissioner exercises all the powers of a High Court. His sway does not extend over the Shan States or the Kachin and Chin Hills, where the highest judicial authorities are the Superintendents and Commissioners respectively. Officers of the Commission in the regular line usually exercise judicial as well as executive powers, as do many members of the Burma and Subordinate Civil Services. But there are separate services, composed of divisional, sessions, district, sub-divisional, and township judges, whose functions are purely judicial. The bulk of the original judicial work is done by Burmese magistrates and judges.
Police. Law and order are maintained by military and civil police under an Inspector-General with several Deputies. The military police were constituted after the annexation of Upper Burma, being enlisted from the martial races of India. Their duties are the maintenance of order, the custody of the frontiers, the domination of turbulent tribes; they have no concern with the detection of crime. Besides Indians, Kachins, Chins, Karens, and more recently Burmans, have been enrolled in the military police. They are officered by Battalion Commandants and Assistant Commandants, temporarily seconded from the Indian army. From time to time, battalions of military police have been converted into regular regiments.
The civil police consists almost entirely of natives of the Province chiefly under European senior officers. Their duties are the prevention and detection of crime and the prosecution of criminals. In recent years, natives of the Province have been placed in charge of the police of several districts.
Education. The important branch of education is administered by a Department under a Director of Public Instruction. As elsewhere indicated, the basis of primary education of boys is the monastic school system. Besides monastic schools, there are many others, some supported from municipal and town funds, others by missions or private teachers, very few directly by Government. Most
Fig. 47. A modern school-boy.
Municipal. Municipal administration was introduced in 1874 and has since, from time to time, been largely extended. At present there are in Lower Burma 35, and in Upper Burma 13, municipal towns. Many members of municipal committees are elected and in some towns there are non-official presidents and vice-presidents. The tendency is to minimize official control and guidance. In 23 smaller towns committees with somewhat less extensive powers manage local affairs.
Revenue System. Commissioners, deputy commissioners, sub-divisional and township officers, and village headmen are concerned in the revenue administration. At the head is the Financial Commissioner. In Lower Burma, the land revenue system is comparatively simple. The State is the ultimate owner of all culturable land and levies revenue upon it. Private persons hold by grant or lease from Government or by occupation. Any person who occupies culturable land, paying revenue in respect of it, for a continuous period of twelve years, acquires a permanent heritable and transferable title called landholder's right. In practice, though not theoretically, this is indistinguishable from freehold tenure. A good deal of land is
Fig. 48. A village school.
cultivated by tenants under landlords, many of whom are not natives of the Province. The number of large grants is comparatively small. Revenue is levied at varying rates on all culturable land which produces a crop. The rates are fixed at intervals generally of fifteen years by settlement officers who, after elaborate enquiries, propose for the sanction of government rates per acre on land under rice and other cultivation. If land is left fallow, a nominal rate of two annas (3d.) an acre is imposed. The State is a liberal landlord. If crops fail, wholly or in part, remission of revenue is freely given after inspection and enquiry.
In Upper Burma the system is more complex. Here, as in Lower Burma, the intention has been to maintain the customs existing under Burmese rule. The two main divisions of land are into State (lèdaw) and hereditary (bobabaing). Lèdaw is the property of the State and is leased to cultivators. Under this head are grouped many tenures of interest, service (ahmudan) and others. In Magwe, Katha and Bhamo, communal tenures still subsist. In these cases, all culturable land in a village tract is held in common and is assigned temporarily to individuals, the distribution being in the hands of the headman. If a man has more land than he can properly cultivate, the headman may resume part and allot it to another. Bobabaing land is theoretically the private property of individual cultivators and formerly was subject to no State dues. It is now liable to revenue assessment, subject to adjustment of thathameda[10].
Land revenue is collected by village headmen who receive a commission on the collections. In 1919—20, the gross land revenue amounted to £3,037,600.
The next great head of revenue in Lower Burma is the capitation tax. This is a poll tax levied at a fixed rate on all adult males. The normal rate is 5s. a year on bachelors and 10s. on married men. Government servants, monks, schoolmasters, and the aged and infirm, are exempt. In poor districts, the rates are reduced. In 1919—20, the receipts were £555,300. In recent years, income tax has been imposed in Lower Burma; payers of income tax do not pay capitation tax. In this way, the obvious inequity of the uniform capitation tax has been remedied.
The corresponding levy in Upper Burma is an impost inherited from native rule called thathameda, a graduated income tax. It is levied at varying rates, the highest being £1 yearly on each household in a town or village. The rate having been fixed, the gross amount due from any unit is the rate multiplied by the number of households. But every household does not pay at the average rate. The distribution of the assessment is made by a committee of elders (thamadi) who apportion payments according to the means of the tax-payers. This is a very fair and simple arrangement which, subject to supervision by district officers to prevent malpractices, works well. In 1919—20, the receipts from thathameda amounted to £400,000.
Opium and Excise. A substantial revenue, in 1921—22 about £1,000,000, is derived from the sale of opium and from excise duties on alcoholic liquor. It has long been recognized that for Burmans opium is exceedingly deleterious and demoralizing. The opinion of the better classes condemns its consumption utterly and without reserve. They regard the use of opium in any form as contrary to the teaching of their religion and as destructive of the body and soul of the consumer. For at least fifty years, the policy of Government has been to discourage the use of opium without any reference to the effect of its disuse on the revenue. But the problem is not so simple as it might appear and cannot be solved by a bare prohibition such as is theoretically in force in China. Many Burmans, many Indians, many Chinese, many Shans and hillmen, have long been habitual consumers; all except Burmans without obviously ill effects. To deprive all these of the drug to which they have become accustomed would be a very drastic measure involving widespread hardship and distress. Moreover, opium is easily concealed and transported and the smuggling of small quantities is a simple process. To enforce absolute prohibition would necessitate the appointment of an army of preventive officers. Faced with these difficulties, from time to time Government has adopted many expedients for limiting facilities for procuring opium, for raising its cost, and for preventing illicit traffic. The number of shops is strictly limited, as well as the quantity allowed to be sold to any individual. In Upper Burma, in accordance with what is believed to have been the rule in the king's time, no Burman is allowed to possess opium. In Lower Burma, only those Burmans may possess it who are registered as consumers. Other races are less severely restricted in all parts of the Province.
The excise administration is based on similar principles. Burmans are discouraged by their religion from drinking intoxicating liquors; but the habit of drinking seems to be increasing. Shops for the sale of liquors are licensed on payment of annual fees. No new shop can be established till the opinion of the people of the locality has been ascertained. As much as is possible in a free country is done to reduce the facilities for obtaining intoxicating drink and to enhance the price.
Customs. As in other Provinces, customs duties for revenue purposes are levied on imports of every description. There is also an export duty on all rice exported elsewhere than to India at the rate of 3d. a maund (about 80 lbs.). Economically, this duty appears to fall on the land and appreciably to raise the incidence of taxation on rice-producing areas. In 1921—22, the net receipts from Customs amounted to £2,870,000.
Fisheries and forests have already been mentioned. In 1919—20, the fishery revenue was £360,000.
Other branches of administration are the Jail Department and the Civil Medical Service. Hospitals and dispensaries are not maintained by private charity but are supported by the State or from municipal and town funds. The first hospital was established in 1826 at Akyab. In 1865, there were 13 hospitals and dispensaries; in 1880, 20; in 1890, 74; in 1900, 113; in 1910, 259; in 1921, 278. In 1865, Government spent on these institutions about £1800. Last year, the expenditure amounted to £260,000, contributed nearly equally by Provincial and by Municipal and other local funds. In 1865, 3000 in and 20,000 out patients were treated. Last year the total number of patients was 1,900,000, of whom 1,200,000 were Burmans and over 57,000 operations were performed. Lately the Department of Public Health, under a Director, has replaced the Sanitary Department. There is a competent Veterinary Department. The Co-operative Credit movement has been brilliantly successful in promoting thrift and economy. In the year 1919—20, there were 4394 societies with 108,868 members.
Among comparatively new appointments may be mentioned the Development Commissioner and the Director of Industries, whose duties are indicated by their titles. The invaluable Agricultural Department has been briefly described in another chapter.
Finance. Revenue and expenditure are distributed between central, provincial, and local funds. In the last-mentioned are included municipal and district funds with others of less note. In 1920—21, the gross revenue of the province was £14,642,300, the expenditure £9,318,300. For the year 1921—22 the income was estimated at £16,039,000, expenditure at £11,886,300. Central receipts were expected to be £5,886,600, outlay £1,020,000. For provincial funds, the budget figures were: income £10,152,400, expenditure £10,866,300. For many years complaints were persistent that the province was badly treated in the financial arrangements imposed by the Government of India. Recently, a new and more liberal settlement has been made, and it is hoped that in future sufficient funds will be available for the proper supply of provincial needs and the due development of provincial resources.
- ↑ Rearrangement of Divisions is in contemplation. See Appendix II.
- ↑ Except where indicated in brackets, each district takes its name from its headquarter station.
- ↑ The Ruby Mines, formerly a separate district with headquarters at Mogôk, has been merged into Katha
- ↑ Named after Mr W. A. Hertz, the first Deputy Commissioner.
- ↑ In July, 1922, there were only two Burmese Deputy Commissioners.
- ↑ See Appendix IV.
- ↑ Apparently the Provincial Legislature will no longer enact laws for the Shan States.
- ↑ For a complete list of the Shan States, see Appendix III.
- ↑ A High Court for the whole Province has recently been established.
- ↑ See below.