Introduction. iii. 



we may congratulate ourselves that His Excellency Sir Wilfred Collet, 

 K.C.M.G., immediately on his arrival realised that the cattle route was at 

 least a reasonable experiment in that direction and caused practical shape 

 to be given in the Combined Court to a scheme which had been recom- 

 mended to the Colonial Office by Mr. Clementi during his acting term. It 

 had been advocated by Schomburgh about 184.0. The idea had been played 

 with by Sir Alexander Swettenham. It is due to the present Governor 

 that it is more than half completed after remaining in abeyance for 78 

 years. 



The most important contribution to the solution of the problem of 

 the interior is the confession of faith made by the late Governor of the 

 colony, Sir Walter Egerton, K.C.M.G., at the Society of Arts on the 30th 

 April, 1918. The part of his lecture which relates to the trunk railway is 

 reproduced in Appendix I with an editorial note. The adoption 

 of the programme which the Society and its magazine advanced in 

 anticipation of his arrival in 1912 and re-affirmed in 1913 and 1914 

 is a most satisfactory testimony to the cordial relations which were 

 maintained between the Society and his late Excellency. On the 

 schemes of constitutional change advocated by Sir Walter this purely 

 non-political Society can express no views. It is believed, however, that 

 the colonists will support the progressive programme of any Governor 

 independently of the alleged or real defects or advantages of any par- 

 ticular form of constitution whether the same be a legacy of the Anglo- 

 Dutch pioneers or a reform emanating from later conditions. Many still 

 adhere to the poet's heresy that whate'er is best administered is best. 



The colony agrees with Sir Walter that apart from the question of 

 the interior the chief problems awaiting solution are : — 



(1) Conservation of the present population and increase of its 

 natural growth by improving sanitation especially in the towns, where 

 the death-rate habitually considerably exceeds the birth-rate. 



(2) Provision of good water supplies both in town and country. 



(3) Preservation of Infant life. 



(4) Execution of drainage schemes to increase the area of land on 

 the present occupied coast strip suitable for rice and sugar cultivation. 



(5) Improvement of the existing coast railway. 



(6) Improvement of the Georgetown harbour. 



(7) An Immigration scheme to provide, at the colony's expense in 

 the first instance, immigration of Indians and Chinese of both sexes in 

 equal proportion. 



The last as will be seen in the Appendix was the complementary 

 scheme of the Railway Committee which no doubt must now be re-adjusted 

 to the new conditions. 



To these we should like to add (1) A scheme of colonization 

 similar in character for West Indian negroes ; (2) The adoption of up-to- 



