MONTSERRAT. 299 



Montserrat made it an easy task to deal with squatting in other 

 parts, as proved by subsequent proceedings against that class of 

 offenders. 



However, to carry out those measures, the Governor required 

 the co-operation of active, intelligent officers ; and such officers, I 

 dare say, he found out in Mr. Robert Mitchell (afterwards immi- 

 gration agent in Calcutta for many years), and in his successor, 

 Mr. St. Luce d'Abadie. They were appointed to act as wardens 

 and commissioners of crown lands in the district. Both these 

 gentlemen had the advantage of understanding and speaking, 

 besides the English idiom, the French and Spanish languages. 

 In addition, Mr. d'Abadie had surveyed most of the lots in 

 Montserrat, and thus was well acquainted with the district; 

 and to the squatters he was not altogether unknown. The 

 matter was thus settled, not only to the satisfaction of the 

 Government, but also to the ultimate advantage of the settlers 

 themselves : their titles to their holdings were legalised, roads 

 were made where none existed previously, and new and exten- 

 sive sales of crown land continued to be effected. Seven coolie 

 settlements have been formed in the district, comprising nearly 

 3,000 acres. The number of grants made in 1879 amounted to 

 63, and the number of acres granted to 1,090. Population in 

 1871, 3,388; in 1881, 7,354— more than double; number of 

 Indians, 1,738. 



The Aragonese Franciscan fathers had selected Montserrat as 

 a proper site for the establishment of an Indian mission. The 

 village of San Jose was accordingly laid out, near the river 

 Mayo, where the present village of Mayo now stands. This 

 mission was broken up about the year 1824, when the Indians 

 dispersed in the neighbouring districts. 



The evils arising from the illegal and indiscriminate occu- 

 pancy of public land are self-evident, especially with a popula- 

 tion as that of this colony. Of those evils, the loss of crown 

 property revenue is the least ; while lawless habits, and the 

 tendency to deviate from the paths of civilisation, are the 

 greatest. By many the suppression of squatting was regarded 

 as almost impossible ; but it always was my opinion that this 

 could be easily effected. Under a system of Laissez faire and 

 Laissez alter, many violate the law who submit when it is 

 firmly and considerately enforced, as proved by the Montserrat 



