Lord Blanesburgh.-

In 1919 the Government of India acquired, under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 1 of 1894, for the purposes of the extension of the Hump Yard of the G. I. P. Railway at Nagpur, an area of 258 acres, then under cultivation and within the holdings of 25 different owners. The appellant was one of these owners, claiming in respect of 34 acres of the land so acquired. His holding consisted of a main plot, with two separate patches adjacent thereto, so small, however, that, as has throughout been agreed, these patches can have no effect upon the considerations in accordance with which the value of the appellant's whole area must be determined. The Collector acting under S. 11 of the Act, and treating the land as agricultural land only, awarded compensation to the appellant at a flat rate of Rs. 60 per acre. Indeed, he awarded the same flat rate, in respect of their holdings, to all the 25 owners of the 258 acres. And, although no serious case has been made against it if properly based upon agricultural value, the award of the Collector must have been in the nature of an agreeable surprise to the undertakers. The estimated cost of acquisition had been, as appe