Above: Tenure Of Land
The land was held by individuals in five different ways. FIRST: The chief, whether of the tribe or of the sect, had a portion of the land for his support life for as long as he remained chief. SECOND : Another portion was held as private property by persons who had come to own the land in various ways. Most of these were flaiths or nobles of the several ranks; and some were professional men such as physicians, judges, poets, historians, artificers etc., who had got their lands as stipends for their professional services to the chief, and in whose families it often remained for generations.

THIRD : Persons held as tenants portions of the 1ands belonging to those who owned it as private property or portions of the mensal land of the chief; much like tenants of the present day: these paid what was equivalent to rent-always in kind. FOURTH : The rest of the arable land, which was called the tribe land, forming by far the largest part of the territory, belonged to tlie people in general; no part being private property. This was occupied by the free members of the tribe or sept, who were owners for the time being, each of his own farm. Every free man had a right to his share. Those who occupied by the tribe land did not hold for any fixed term, for the land of the sept was liable to Gavelkind or redistribution from time to time-once every three or four years.

Yet they were not tenants at wilt, for they could not be disturbed till the time of redistribution even then each man kept his crops and got compen- sation for unexhausted improvements; and though he gave up one farm he always got another. FIFTH : The non-arable or waste land-mountain forest, bog, etc.-was ” commons ” land. This not appropriated by individuals; but every free man had a right to use it for grazing, for procuring fuel, or for the chase.

The revenue of the chief was derived from main sources. First, his mensal land, some of which he cultivated by Ins own labourers, some he let to tenants: Second: subsidies of venous kinds from the tribesmen: Third: payment for stock as described farther on. But in addition to this he might have land as his own personal property. Everv tribesman had to pay to his chief a certain subsidy according to his means. The usual subsidy for commons pasturage was in-the proportion of one animal yearly for every seven, which was considerably less than a reasonable rent. of the present day. Probably the subsidy for tillage land was in much the same proportion.

A man who takes land must have stock-cows and sheep for the pasture-land, horses or oxen to carry on the work of tillage. A small proportion of the tenants had stock of their own, but the great majority had not. Where the tenant needed stock it was the custom for the chief to give him as much as he wanted at certain rates of payment. This giving or lending of stock was very general, and from it the chiefs derived a large part of their income.