SOUTHERN AFRICA. 431 
the colony, than a benefit to it. The pooreft peafant in China, 
if a free man, acquires notions of property. After paying a 
certain proportion of his produce to the State, which is limited 
and defined, the reft is entirely his own ; and though the Em- 
peror is confidered as the fole proprietary of the foil, the land 
is never taken from him fo long as he continues to pay his 
proportion of produce to Government. 
I fliould propofe then, that all the pieces of ground inter- 
vening between the large farms and other wafle lands fhould 
be granted to the Chinefe on payment of a moderate rent 
after the firft feven years. The Britifh Government would find 
no difficulty in prevailing upon that, or a greater, number of 
thefe people to leave China ; nor is the Government of that 
country fo very ftri£t or felicitous in preventing its fubjeds 
from leaving their native land as is ufually fuppofed. The 
maxims of the State forbad it at a time when it was more 
politic to prevent emigrations than now, when an abundant 
population, occafionally above the level of the means cf fub- 
fiftence, fubjeds thoufands to periih at home for want of the ne- 
cefTaries of life. Emigrations take place every year to Manilla, 
Batavia, Prince of Wales' Ifland, and to other parts of the 
eaftern world. 
In the diftant parts of the colony, where there is wafte land 
in the greateft abundance, it would be advifeable to hold out 
the fame encouragement to the Hottentots as they have met 
with from the Hernhiiters at Bavian's Kloof, a meafure that 
I v/ould 
