The committees thus chosen were clothed with authority and felt their responsibility. They acted with such discretion that I never heard a word of dissent against any action of theirs. This may be accounted for that there were no ranting babu pleaders among them and they had not learned the tricks and bribery of civilized people. They were very deliberate and assumed such a magisterial air and dignity, that could not be excelled by the judges of any High Court, and I do not doubt that their rulings were just as equitable. There was no Court of Appeals though the committees often came to me for advice and suggestions, but I never interfered after they had given their decisions, so that it became a saying amongst the people “The Committee has spoken,” as if nothing further was to be said or done. I had formed a set of rules which the committee executed. They settled all disputes, had charge of the tanks and fishing, looked after the drains and saw that the houses and streets were kept clean and in order. The system was one of self-government, and made the people think and act for themselves. I had built only one tank near one of the villages. One day not long after the new houses in the other villages had been completed their committees came to me in a body. Their spokesman said that I had been very kind to them, that they did not wish to make any complaint and hoped I would not be angry with them for making another request, but as I had built a tank for one village from which its people had water for their fields and plenty of fish for food, they hoped that I, as their mabap, would also supply them with tanks. I asked if they would give the land. Certainly they would do this as they would make allotments of other fields to those occupying ground where the tanks would be placed. I gave them a favorable answer and received their hearty thanks. The tanks were soon dug, the people of the different villages, coming with their cattle and carts making gala days in helping each other. After the rains the tanks were stocked with fish which in a few years became very plentiful. The villages were now in a most prosperous condition. I had insisted on their saving all the refuse and the soil became rich. My theory was that the man who impoverishes his land steals from his own pocket. There was an abundance of fuel from the trees that had been planted, so that the manure was not burned as formerly. There was a rotation of crops with different kinds of grain and vegetables. Every third year new seed was imported or got from other parts of India. Grass was grown which with the green stuff was preserved in silos so that there never was any scarcity of fodder. The silos were for the preservation of feed, what the manure pits were for the preservation of manure. The cattle were from imported stock and excellent, quite a contrast with the poor half-starved beasts of the surrounding villages.