October 1, 1916.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



Plantation Rubber in Cochin China — II. 



By Lawrence P. Briggs, United States Consul at Saigon, Pre uh Indo-China. 



GETTING POSSESSION OF THE LAND. 



AFTER deciding on a location, the next step is to get posses- 

 sion of the land. Theoretically, the government of Indo- 

 China permits the acquisition of domain lands by gift or 

 by auction sale under certain conditions of cultivation. 



Free concessions apply only to tracts of 50 hectares or les^. 

 Application must be made on stamped paper to the administrator- 

 in-chief of the province in which the land is located, indicating 

 clearly the location of the land, its approximate extent and bound- 

 aries, and enclosing a rough sketch of the tract, [n the case 

 of tracts exceeding 10 hectares, 

 the application must also be 

 • accompanied by the fee for the 

 administrative inquiry, which 

 fee is uniformly 20 cents 

 (about 10 cents United States 

 currency) per hectare. The 

 application is then registered 

 and a receipt signed by the ad- 

 ministrator is returned to the 

 applicant. Then for two months 

 the administration posts notices 

 uf application (1) on the land, 

 whose boundaries should be 

 marked by the applicant; (2) 

 at the town hall of the village 

 where the land is located, and 

 (3) on the door of the office of 

 the administrator of the prov- 

 ince. At the end of the two 

 months the application is de- 

 livered, together with the re- 

 port of the native authorities 

 and the protests of third par- 

 ties, if any, to a special investi- 

 gating committee composed of 

 the following officials : the 

 administrator-in-chief of the 

 province, president ; the chief, 

 or under-chief of the canton, 

 and two notables of the village. 

 If the land is located in a 

 forest region, an agent of the 

 Forestry Service is added to 

 this committee. The applicant, 

 the owners of the adjoining 

 property and the occupants of 

 the tract, if any, are duly sum- 

 moned and sign the official 

 report (process-verbal), formulating in it 

 reservations which they consider necessary. 

 the administrator of the conclusions of 



Bleclcrndeti. 



11 observations and 

 When informed by 

 the committee the 

 applicant, if he accepts, deposits with the administrator a map 

 of the land and an official report of its location and delimitation. 

 These reports and documents are sent to the governor of the 

 colony, who, if he approves, will put the applicant in possession 

 of the land. The applicant must establish his domicile on the 

 plantation, or at the seat of the province, and must put the 

 concession under cultivation, within three years in the case of 

 concession of 10 hectares or less and within five years in the case 

 of 10 to SO hectares, under the penalty of forfeiture of all or 

 part of the land granted. If at the end of this period all tlie 



Kilogram = 2.2 pouiuis. Hectare = 2.47 acres. 



conditions have been cumplied with, the holder of the concession 

 is granted a definite title to his land. 



In actual practice, liowever, no rubber estates of any conse- 

 quence are ever granted gratuitously in French Indo-China. In 

 the case of tracts of more than SO hectares the land is sold at 

 public auction. Application is made in the same way as for a 

 free grant, and the notice is the same, except that it must also be 

 published for two months in the "Bulletin Administratif" of the 

 colony and the "Monitcur des Provinces." A similar committee 

 meets and fixes the price of the land and other costs. The appli- 

 cant may establish his residence 

 at the capital of the protec- 

 torate instead of either of the 

 places mentioned in the pre- 

 ceding paragraph, and the re- 

 ports and specifications (cahiers 

 des charges) must be approved 

 by the governor in council. 

 After approval notice must be 

 given, from 15 days to a month 

 in advance of the sale, by 

 placards printed in French and 

 in the native language of the 

 district, naming the day, hour 

 and place of the sale. These 

 placards must be posted (1) 

 on the door of the office of the 

 administrator of the province, 

 (2) at the town hall of the 

 village, (3) at the town halls 

 of neighboring villages and 

 (4) in the government offices 

 at Saigon. Notice must also 

 be published in the "Bulletin 

 .^dministratif" and the "Moni- 

 teur des Provinces." All per- 

 sons wishing to bid on this 

 land must deposit a sum equal 

 to one-fourth of the minimum 

 price when this amount ex- 

 ceeds 100 piastres, which sum 

 will be returned to all except 

 the successful bidder. All 

 terms, conditions and reserva- 

 tions are fixed by the specifica- 

 tions (cahiers des charges) 

 signed by the investigating com- 

 mittee and by the applicant or 

 someone holding his power 

 of attorney. The piitilia.sc price is paid by the successful bidder 

 in two instalments — imc within 20 days of the sale, the other a 

 year later. Upon the fulfilment of all the conditions of the 

 cahiers des charges a definite title is granted by a special decree 

 of the governor in council. The price paid in the past for rub- 

 ber lands sold at public auction has varied from .50 cents to 5 

 piastres per hectare. 



In the case of rublur lands, all grants, whether by free title or 



A.N- IxDiGKN'ous Rubber Tree in Frenih 

 Chin-.'v Over-Tapped by Natives.* 



Indd- 



*'Ihe Blet'kfOftca Tonbinrnsjs. iiuligenotis to Indo-China. if properly tap- 

 ped, yields a quickly-coagulating latex. The caoutchouc, when separated 

 from imiiurities, is pronounced of excellent quality, and has sold at 70 to 80 

 per cent of current prices for fine Para. The natives hack the trees «o 

 ruthlessly as to prevent proper flow of the latex, and frequently to such ex- 

 tent as to endanger the life of the trees. 



Franc = 23.8 cents. Piastre = about 50 cents. 



