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munal forests, without any compensation to tlie land- 

 holder, unless it appeared that he derived any revenue 

 therefrom, and that in consequence of the action thus 

 taken, his receipts from his estate (technically called 

 the " assets ") were reduced below twice the Grovern- 

 ment rent, or as we call it, revenue. 



In nine cases out of ten no compensation would be 

 required, and certainly at first I would only attempt 

 to deal with the nine cases and leave the tenth, in 

 which compensation would be necessary, to stand over 

 till the people had fully realised the enormous advan- 

 tages of the scheme. 



At the first glance it may be thought that what is 

 proposed would involve a serious and indefensible in- 

 terference with the rights of private property. It 

 may be said : " True, these landholders are not abso- 

 lute proprietors in the sense that we understand the 

 word in England ; their tenures are more like copy- 

 holds, subject to periodical enhancement of rents at 

 the will and pleasure of the real proprietor, the State, 

 but still they have a certain proprietary right, which 

 they can in most places sell and mortgage and be- 

 queath, a right to continue to hold the land undis- 

 turbed, so long as they continue to pay the demand 

 which the State from time to time assesses on it." 



Clearly we could not take any thing that directly 

 helps them to pay this assessment, without a corre- 

 sponding diminution in this latter ; but our primary 

 condition is, that we shall grant this, where this is 

 equitably required, and that we shall at first confine 

 our action to lands which are at present bringing in 

 Qothing. And we are not going to take these lands 



