LAND REGULATIONS. 103 



suffice^ we had little time to make excursions in the 

 neig-hbourhood. Two parties were made up to shoot 

 rabbits in some larg-e warrens which have long* been 

 established on the shores of Johnson Harbour and 

 at the head of Port Darling-ton^ but they met with 

 very little success. I preferred accompan^dng- Capt. 

 B. J. SuUvan for the purpose of seeing- his g-auchos 

 use the lasso and bolas in catching some cattle re- 

 quired for the ship. This officer^ who formerly 

 commanded H.M.S. Philomel^ employed for several 

 years upon the survey of the Falklands^ has been 

 one of the first to avail himself of the proposals 

 made by Government to develop the resources of 

 these islands by throwing- them open to private 

 enterprise ; in association with several g-entlemen 

 in Eng'land he has set on foot an establishment for 

 the purpose of curing- beef, hides, and tallow, which^ 

 it is expected, will be in full operation in the course 

 of next year. The terms upon which settlers of the 

 better class are invited to East Falkland are, I 

 believe, the following; : — the purchaser of a block 

 of land of a quarter of a square mile at the minimum 

 price of eig-ht shilling-s an acre (£64), is entitled to 

 a lease of 10,000 acres of contig'uous land for the 

 period of twenty years, at the rent of £10 per 

 annum, ^\'ith rig'ht of pre-emption. Also, according- 

 to part of an ag-reement between Government and 

 Mr. Lafone (an Eng-lishman residhig- at Monte 

 Video), by which the latter has acquired a rig-ht 

 to all the wild cattle on the island (estimated at 



