THE SURVEY QUESTION IN COCHIN CHINA. 277 



of the territory; compulsory declaration on the part of land- 

 holders of the areas of their respective properties. 



These palliatives produced no improvement ; it was neces- 

 sary to fall back upon a general survey of the country, and 

 this was the conclusion arrived at in 1807 by a great com- 

 mittee of enquiry presided over by the celebrated Delambre. 



The regulations having reference to this work are the 

 object of Chapter X of the law of the 15th September, 1807. 



Begun some time afterwards, the survey was only finished 

 in 1850 with the settlement of Cantal. The accomplishment 

 of the survey of France has taken, therefore, more than 40 

 years ; that of the three departments annexed in i860 is not 

 yet completed. 



This work has cost one hundred and sixty million francs — 

 an expenditure justified doubtless by the richness of the 

 country, the importance of the land-tax, and the variety of 

 soil, of products and of classes in which those products may be 

 ranked. 



Decided upon, unfortunately, under pressure brought to 

 bear by the tax-payers with no end in view except the equal 

 adjustment of the tax; inspired with the ideas of G ALBERT, of 

 JURGOT and of NECKER, who themselves sought no result from 

 it but the means of checking arbitrary imposts, the survey of 

 France is a purely administrative measure, of no use in legal 

 transactions, and without effect as regards the registration 

 of ownership. 



Even considered from this limited point of view, can this 

 immense- work be accepted as final ? Has it satisfied the 

 land-owners and the Government ? In no way. Complaints 

 are still heard on all sides ; some departments and some 

 communes are always being favoured at the expense of less 

 fortunate districts; these irregularities are exaggerated at will 

 by the injured tax-payers, and there is no scheme which law- 

 makers have not at some time or other proposed, and keep on 

 proposing daily, in order to attain an even incidence of 

 taxation. 



Cadastral Survey in Cochin-China. — If the authority of 

 the Description de la Basse-Cochin-Chine is to be trusted, 



