SQUATTING. 351 



instruction ; these schools are better attended. I will here 

 remark that the Hindoos seem to be highly indifferent in matters 

 of religion, and, from sheer habit probably, steadily adhere to 

 their pagan tenets and practices. Only an imperceptible minority 

 have become converts, and I say with regret that little reliance 

 can be placed on these converts. 



For too many years the illegal occupation of crown lands, or 

 squatting, had been regarded as an evil which was incurable. It 

 may be considered now, I hope, as effectually suppressed by the 

 enforcement of the wise measures adopted by Governor Gordon ; 

 and there is no fear of its recurrence, if the Government only 

 manifests common vigilance. The opening of the crown lands 

 at an upset price of £1 per acre, in paying the survey fees and 

 grant, was, in my opinion, one of those wise measures. But no 

 method seems to have guided the surveying and laying out of 

 lots. Petitions were sent for the grant of lands in any part of 

 the colony, and were received favourably. The form of the lots 

 was not regulated, so that in certain districts, where good land 

 was to be looked for, along the rivers, a string of lots (if I may 

 use the expression) were surveyed and granted of every shape. 

 It is inutile to point to the great inconveniences of such a prac- 

 tice; they are obvious even to the least observant. I would 

 therefore, presume to suggest a more comprehensive, and, to my 

 view, a more perfect plan. The island has been divided into 

 eight counties, and each county is divisible into wards. The 

 wards as at present formed are, some, very small — too small in 

 fact — such as Mucurapo, Cocorite, and Cimaronero ; others are 

 left undefined, such as, for instance, the wards of Turure and 

 Montserrat. What I propose is this, to have some of the 

 counties — say Caroni, for instance, Victoria, St. George, and St. 

 Andrew — at once surveyed and laid out into wards ; and only part 

 of St. Patrick, of Mayaro and St. David, all along the sea-side, 

 for example. The wards should be of four or six miles square, 

 or less, according to the extent and peculiar configuration of the 

 country. The bounds of the different wards should be marked 

 at the corners, and at every mile with worked stones or small iron 

 pillars. Each ward should be laid out in sections of a square 

 mile, containing 640 acres; and these, when required, into 

 quarters, half-quarters, and even smaller divisions, to suit pur- 

 chasers. As far as feasible, all lines should be run Noith and 



P' 



