Security of Property has always been the proud boast of any 

 Administration under British Protection, and whilst we sincerely 

 trust, that that security will always extend to free or lease-hold 

 property m the F. M. S. and that we may not awake one fine day 

 to see an Enactment gazetted, imposing fresh taxation on land 

 already alienated: yet it must be admitted that the law relating to 

 unalienated land has been of an instability well nigh intolerable. 



The Land Enactment of 1891 was succeeded by that of 1892, 

 this by another of 1893, this by another of 1897 and this once 

 more by that of 1903; so that in the short space of 12 years we see 

 that the basical law on the subject has been changed not less than 

 four times. 



The amount of annual quitrent charged per acre was fifteen 

 years ago 25c, a few years later 50c, this in 1903 was raised to 

 and only two years after again to $4/-. 



The whole history of this legislation shows a regrettable lack of 

 strength of purpose, not to say immaturity, which before all others 

 unfavorably distinguishes the F. M. S. from other new countries, 

 where, as in Canada and Australia, the capital and labor, required 

 to develop the untapped resources of the land, are attracted by 

 free grants of land. 



] h^ e ? anger of over-speculation is ever present, but it has been 

 elt t0 the Government of the F. M. S. to set up a policy, not of 

 counteracting such tendencies, but of carefullv fostering them by 

 restricting grants of land and by raising their original price. For, 

 tne consequence of this attitude can only mean one thing, namely 

 to induce every individual owner of land to try to sell out his 

 andvalue mV ^ t< J i rS in Euro P e > while prospects are so promising 



Comparisons are odious, but one cannot help comparing the 

 o nd rules of these States with those of our next door neighbours, 



matra. In Sumatra an agricultural industry has been established 

 or years, paying as much as 150 per cent annual dividends in several 

 cases; but far from trying to restrict the cultivated area, the Dutch 



sC^™ 6 ") haVG ever been most Iiberal in offerin & the virgin 

 *flc -fr land suitabl e for tobacco-cultivation to whomsoever 

 as wiling to develop the dormant wealth of the Colony. That 

 direrf ° y PayS best in the end must be obvious; for even if the 

 thp lncorn e from land sales and land taxes is less in this case, 

 a *e general and indirect revenue obtained through the creation of 

 muJ^ a u d thrivin g industry, employing thousands of laborers, 



1 ,n the end cover a hundredfold the original loss of revenue. 

 Ruhh hen T tl i e framin g of our present Land Rules, as affecting the 

 0ni 3[ In austry cannot be called anything but the absolute 

 annK !!. statesmanlike: what can be said about these Rules, as 

 t to other Agricultural Industries?? If the same $4/. 

 or r « a year has to be paid per acre, whether the crop be rubber 

 natSrT^ Whether the y ield P er acre be £4° or £4: the only 

 31 resuJ t can be to drive everybody to plant up every acre of 



