THE PI.ANT WORIvD 193 



offered to pay off* the proprietors of these small farms, and some of them, 

 thinking he had the law on his side, agreed to his terms. The same 

 thing had happened in the southern portion of the island, where his claim 

 included the beautiful farm on the Talofofo River which I visited last 

 November. Evidently it was not right that these titles should be granted. 

 At this rate the entire island would be monopolized by a few men, who 

 would exact rent from the actual tillers of the soil. 



I decided that either Don Vicente should sell his land to the man who 

 cleared the forest and planted the coconuts, or that this man should be paid 

 for his labor, the price to be paid in each case to be decided by a board of 

 appraisers appointed for the purpose. Don Vicente said he would not sell 

 the land, and the owner of the coconuts said he would not sell the result 

 of his labor. Finally I decided that as the principals could come to no 

 understanding that the man who had done the work had a better right 

 to its fruits than the man whose father happened to get a grant for land 

 which he had taken no steps to improve nor to utilize in any way. Don 

 Vicente said that he was not willing to " conform" to my decision, but 

 the Governor upheld me. It was then that I proposed the tax on all land 

 irrespective of improvements, so that the few who had come into the pos- 

 session of titles for large tracts which were not utilized would find it to 

 their interest either to sell land to those wishing to cultivate it, or would be 

 obliged to turn it in to the Government rather than pay taxes on property 

 that would yield them no income.* 



In early days many of the English villages had lands adjacent to them 

 which were dedicated to the uses of the inhabitants ; where they might 

 gather turf or let their geese and cattle graze. In time, however, most of 

 these commons were appropriated by rich men for their own use or con- 

 verted into parks, for the alleged purpose of " refining and humanizing" 

 the common people. lyittle by little the land was enclosed with fences and 

 the paths which the people had freely trod were blocked by barriers. The 

 real effect of this was to benefit the rich and to make the poor more numerous. 

 Sometimes a compensation was promised to those deprived of the privileges 

 of the land thus enclosed; but this was for the most part miserably inade- 

 quate and was often left unpaid. Mill describes the proceedings as ' ' legal- 

 ized spoliation . " t I can not help thinking of the fate of the masses of Eng- 

 lish poor when I see the tendency of a few people here to gain possession of 

 large tracts of land. It seems to me mistaken kindness to try to thrust 

 civilization ' ' upon these simple people, who are a thousand times happier 

 and freer than the masses of poor in any large city of the world. Those 



* The object for which this order was formed was soon afterwards realized. Don Vicente Herrero 

 turned over to the Government all of the land in the southern part of the island claimed by him, except 

 a narrow strip along the shore. 



t Mill, J. S., " Dissertations and Discussions," Vol. 2, p. 213. 



