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by these enormous increases of cost, and to-day it is my privilege 

 to open a great work, one of the most useful ever undertaken in these 

 progressives States — a work which will some day enable the inhabi- 

 tants to raise a rice crop from about 70,000 acres of land, which will 

 give the people a potable, if not perfect, supply of water which will 

 enable them to make the land of their adoption a permanent home, and 

 which will result in their building for themselves houses of a more 

 durable and comfortable type. With assured crops we may hope for 

 the establishment of rice mills, and the people may anticipate better 

 prices without paying for the maintenance of an army of small middle- 

 men. There are those who will enquire what the interest will be on the 

 Government investment. It may be put at 4% — perhaps not at once 

 but certainly ultimately, and to that is to be added, what cannot be 

 reckoned in dollars, the happiness and well-being of a settled population 

 of busy peasants, of foreign Malays who in their own country will 

 retail the news of how the Perak Government has ameliorated 

 their condition and made of no account the variableness of seasons. 

 1 wish Sir Frank Swettenham could have seen the completion of 

 this work. I wish it had been possible for His Excellency the High 

 Commissioner to be present. He has kindly expressed his regret 

 that urgent public business has taken him back to Singapore. I wish 

 that the Resident-General had found it possible to be present. I have 

 a message of regret at his absence from His Highness the Sultan, 

 who has always been keenly interested in this great scheme. I am 

 sure that Mr. Hale, Raja Chulan and Mr. Shaw, whose interest in the 

 people and whose experience of the cultivation of rice is of the greatest 

 value to Government, will see that their wants are always represented 

 and that their Headmen carefully explain the scheme to them. I have 

 already alluded to Mr. Trump's share in this work. I wish to express 

 my appreciation of the assistance Col. Murray rendered in extending 

 and commending the scheme. I wish to thank Mr. Anderson for his 

 devoted work in carrying it out, for his endurance and fortitude in 

 sickness and in the face of difficulties and disappointments. I wish 

 to thank all the Engineers who from time to time have been engaged 

 on the work, and especially Mr. Wilkinson and the present Staff" who 

 have ably completed it. And I wish to tender my congratulations to 

 Mr. Caulfeild, who has been the Head of the Perak Public Works 

 Department for a quarter of a century, and whose knowledge of the 

 country from end to end of Perak is little short of marvellous. It is 

 no little matter to have conceived, argued and fought for a scheme 

 seventeen years, and to have been present at its fulfilment. His 

 friends and brother officers are glad to see him as well as he looks to- 

 day, and hope that he will still remain some time with them. When 

 he does leave us it will be with well earned satisfaction that he will be 

 able to reflect that something accomplished, something done, have 

 earned a full repose. (Applause.) 



Mr. F. St. G. Caulfeild thanked the Resident for his kindly 

 remarks about him. In a short summary he gave the history of 

 the present great undertaking from its infancy. He eulogised the 

 work done by several engineers in years gone by, particularly Mr. 

 Brown Dickson and the late Mr. de Trafford. He gave full details 

 of the working of the scheme, the lengths of the various canals which 

 extend to upwards of 56 miles, and are expected to irrigate over 140 



