I.4ND SYSTEM AND COLONIZATION 77 



jected to the influence of prejudice and dominated by restrictions from which 

 grave and irre])arable errors may arise. 



As regards methods of alienating land it should be remembered that 

 free grants and sales had equally to be excluded, since the former may bring 

 to the colon}' grantees who have not the means to carry on scientific and 

 intensive colonizing action, as certain incontrovertible data furnished by 

 experience and the history of the chief colonizing nations show, while the 

 latter seems to be equally unsuitable. Even leaving aside the fact that to 

 allow sales may give rise to speculation, there is the probability that ])ur- 

 chasers will spend on their purchases the capital which could ])rofitably be 

 used on the improvement of their property. The only remaining alternative 

 was therefore that of an improving contract, which was considered iv the 

 case of ver>' extensive lots to be a long lease involving no right of purchase ; 

 and in that of small lots to be a long lease of property redeemable in a pe- 

 riod oi from fifteen to twent5^-five years. This form offers, in addition 

 to the advantages always present in an improving contract, the advantage 

 that it allows the action of individuals to be completed by the government; 

 for an obligation is placed on the concessionary to allow the technical 

 ftaff of the Agrarian Ofiice, who are charged to superintend and control his 

 agricultural activity, to have access to his holding. 



When the form of a long lease has thus been chosen for concessions it 

 was thought best to treat individually, this method seeming most advisable 

 among those presenting themselves. It is indeed obvious that during the 

 first year of such ver\' important experiments the method of sales by auc- 

 tion would have incurred the grave risk of bringing to the colony persons 

 most unsuitable to the practice of agriculture, especially since the amount 

 of the annual rent was made as low as possible. 



In choosing concessionaries the criteria followed were neither vague 

 nor arbitrary. The applications received were examined with scrupulous 

 care and preference was given to societies of agriculturists or to single 

 agriculturists who seemed to offer the best guarantees of a serious success. 



In drawing iip the deeds of concession the following principles were 

 adopted : 



(i) For concessions of large lots : 



The piece of land is ceded to be enjoyed for a determined number of 

 years, fifty or seventy-five, without right of purchase on the part of the con- 

 cessionary who must pay- an annual rent, fixed at a very low rate for the 

 first years, and at a liigher rate for subsequent years in which, since he has 

 fulfilled the necessary terms of the contract, he sees his annual income in- 

 crease. 



The concessionary is bound to execute within determined periods, on 

 pain of the revocation of his contract, stipulated works and plantations. He 

 is also obliged to reside in the colony or to cause to reside on the property 

 a technical administrator on manager, placed over it as his special deputy 

 in administrative and judiciary matters. Finally he must allow the tech- 

 nical staff of the Agrarian Office to have access to the property in order 

 to see that the clauses of the contract are exactly executed. 



