QUIT RENTS. 193 



and February 7th, 1833. The subject is one 

 immediately connected with the welfare of the 

 island ; and should the tax be rescinded, 

 which would encourage both emigration and 

 and cultivation, we may expect to see the dense 

 forest give place to houses and plantations, 

 smiling with the animation such scenery would 

 occasion, encouraging industry, and adding to 

 the wealth of the settlement. 



"We have already noticed, on one or two 

 previous occasions, the great prohibitions which 

 exist to the cultivation and consequent improve- 

 ment of this island, in the excessive quit-rents 

 which are required by government on all grants 

 of land, whether within the limits of the town, 

 or beyond it. The terms of this impost we have 

 already noticed, but we think the subject will not 

 suffer by our mentioning them again. 



" Persons desirous of clearing and cultivating 

 waste and forest land, must make application to 

 the superintendent of lands, stating the district 

 and place where the land is situated ; also the 

 description of land, whether hill or level land, 

 and also its extent. After due survey, the super- 

 intendent will report the application to the chief 

 civil authority, who, if no objection exists, will 

 grant a permit to clear the land, which must be 



