PURCHASE. 51 



IN CEYLON, 



Those desiring Government land send their appli- 

 cation to the Court of the Agent or chief Revenue 

 official of the province where it lies. The speci- 

 fied block will then be surveyed by an official, 

 and an advertisement inserted in the Government 

 "Gazette," naming a day for the public sale of 

 the tract at the Cutcherry, or Civil Court of the 

 district, and the highest bidder above the reserve 

 or upset price of i per acre becomes its freehold 

 proprietor, without taxes or restrictions of any kind. 

 In many cases, of course, at this nominally public 

 " roup " there is no competition, and the applicant 

 gets his land at a moderate price ; on other occasions 

 the rivalry is keen and speculative. 



THE WYNAAD, 



Possessing even now a bad name for fever and 

 indifferent communication, has complicated land 

 laws. The applicant for waste Crown land has 

 to supply the nearest Collector with details of the 

 hill-side he desires, its boundaries and neighbours 

 in the way of cultivated land or pasture. Into 

 this the Revenue Department will inquire, and if 

 the title of the land is free and good, it is advertised 

 and sold by auction the upset price being the 

 cost of survey. There is also an annual tax of 

 two rupees an acre, compoundable by twenty-five 





