C6 



could be more liberal than the spirit of these rules. 

 Land for twenty years for nothing at all, and for 

 seventy-nine more, at an average rate of two-pence 

 an acre per annum, surely leaves little, as regards 

 assessment, to be desired. But light nominal in- 

 deed as these assessments were, except in the tea 

 districts, and to a very limited extent in the Soon- 

 derbuns, they did not serve to attract settlers to the 

 places left vacant for them. The square miles in 

 Pegu, the millions of acres in Arracan and the 

 Teriasserim Provinces, are as barren of European 

 settlers to-day, as if the Government had really 

 placed those obstacles in the way, they are so often, 

 with more rashness than reason, accused of having* 

 ever ready to bar the colonist's ingress. These 

 lands have no market value at present, and are not 

 taken up, for the plain and simple reason that e it 

 will not pay ;' or, what is the same thing, the pro- 

 spect of profit is not sufficiently bright, to induce 

 people to undertake the risk and cost involved in 

 making the experiment, in climates uncong-enial to 

 their constitutions, their tastes, their habits, and 

 their associations. Government then, at present, or 

 until some fortuitous combination of circumstances 

 gives these lands a real value, may offer them for 

 nothing*, with very great safety ; though, if it has 

 any particular desire to plant settlers upon them, it 

 would be perhaps wiser, instead of offering the public 

 a gift of doubtful value to pay people to go there ! 

 And to satisfy ourselves that this view is correct, 



