834 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
[May 2, 1892. 
csn be bought, Sfl per aero, or the equiva’eufc of R9, is 
only ten per cent. less than the apm t price, a^ which 
the Ceylon Government pats up forest land for sale.wiih 
all tho advantftges o: u previous survey, and accesB by 
rail and road alieudy providtd. Whon tho laud Las t een 
oequired, for a 90*cailed premium, it is not he’d ly 
a freehold iitlo bnt is aiill suhji ct to a number of 
land re.gulatiotis which provont a man from saving 
“ May i not do as I will with mine own,” for verily 
it is no‘ hla own but still tho prop* rty ot the State. 
When representation U made that there is uonuaiB 
of access for prospecting the jungle withi ut the Iosa 
of time, and the expense iiicurrv;d I y hiring Malays 
and takiug supplies into the jungle, which is nu- 
turally a diflicnlt prcceedirg for straegets not ood> 
versaut uiih the language of the natives or the 
nature cf the country they wi'ih to explore, we arc 
told that eight or ten years ago a nnmber of 
plaotors aeut through the cunntry and oxamiucHl the 
juDglo from end to eod, and at that time there wero 
few or none of tho presi nt roads which intersect 
the S'ate in every direction, in addition to this, wo 
are reminded that the first planters in Ceylon took 
n]) their lands under similnr oouditions. Very true ! 
and see the result. In Peruk, the examina- 
tiou of tho country, and subsequent eonco'sioue 
of land, in inacceeBihlc regions, wag the sum 
total of what rcrulted f om the visit of mest of the 
planters of that time. The very few who 
did reanvin and open coToe estates either 
abandoned the attempt and wei t away, or el e 
laid their bones in tho country, fo that there can 
hardly be auid lo bo much encouragement held 
out to m' n who aro now told to go aud do likewise. 
As regards the pioiifcis in Ce}lou, whoeommonc d 
opefations before tho era of roads and rails, I appio- 
heud that hardly a sitgle one of Ibcni inadu any- 
thing out of the venture, the general smaBh np of 
1848 being a proof of the as^ertio . If U is a fact 
that thu Govcrijmeiit of rcritk is anxious tin t tenor 
a dez^u men shuuld mako a lot of money by way of 
encouraing others to come it to (ho coniitry, it is cvi. 
dent that it must do rumething morn tlou tell them 
to go and incur tte riek hi d trouble and t xpense 
which resulted in the rniu or death of those who 
have previously msdo a similar vtnturo. There isst 
prcfent bat one valley of bill forest which will be 
served by a cart rosii for a shert distance and then 
by a bridle path, which is iicder construction. And 
when, in acoerdanco with direotioua fiom the Land 
oflicp, and permission grantr'd to take up laud ** any 
where you like,” as long as it bus not been already tak< n 
up aud dtmarcated by some eUe, we proceed (o select in 
this valley* wo find that ether purtitiS have a prior 
rigbtof sdection, nnd Hint until tlioy chouse to come 
to Bume dotornjiuation on the subject, nobody else 
can do an>thiug~-two yeais time being tho Biiort^et 
porio 1 numod for thu pnrp' se. 
Until meusurua aro taken to enable viBitdrs, intlio 
first plnou to inspect the elevated jungle land of tlio 
State, and in the second place to provide for tho 
trAuspuri of supplies and prodnee when tho Kstatos 
ajo opened, there is not much chance nf any lar^e 
extcns'ou of tho oiiltiv.ition of coffco Aiahica. Thote 
remarks do not apply to the sanio extent whor wo 
come to Liheritin cotTee, low lying tracts of country 
suitable for this variety lying adjACciit to many of 
roads already coi striirlcd. In this ccniif'ction I wish 
to point ont an extrnordirary nnd vexHtioua rrgnlaiinn 
sffocting laud already plmjlcd, and more thnt has btrn 
taken up for plnDting, in the iuleriur districts of tho 
State. At Kuala Eangsar, a sort of custom hoc^o 
has been fsiohliebed, and tho coffee grown in the 
district ban to be taken to this euBtoms house 
and weighed before it is allowed to go on 
to Taipiug, and thn priviUge (?) of doing 
this has to be paid for at the rate of 
two and a half cents a pical. Lot ns see how this 
works. At present the only estate giving a crop lying 
on the Ipoh aide of the town, has necessarily to rend 
its produce tbrougb the town, so that there is no oxt'a 
transport incurred; but suppose the estate Isy eight or 
ten miles on the Taiping side, it would, in order to com- 
ply with the present rugulatinns, bo necessary to send 
the coffee 16 or 20 miles out of its w.iy to the port be- 
fore it is allowed to leave tlio di'itriot. Again, thia 
0 - ffoe has to be weiglied at Kuala Kangsar to please 
tho Govcrinuciit, weighed a second timo ai Taiping to 
pkaso tho railway autboritica, and finally weighed a 
third timo at Piwt Wedd to ph ase both the Government 
and the steamer agents. This is, ol course, all by way of 
enconratjemeiit to plaoteist Another difficulty resnlte 
from ihe inability of the Land Office to causo thciinmo- 
diato burvpy of the land taken up. M'o *ro told to go 
and demarcate tho land, aud in dun emirs** tho Lands 
Office will proceed to survey it, the cost cf tho two (-pe- 
rati: us coming to something like one nud a half dollar 
an Bore. Tlie wl o’o auostion of surv^'y in the Stale 
appears to be in a nuiudle — at any rate itappfars to to 
a stmiigrr — and will ptobii'.ly remain ao until the 
whole of the surveys mo pJac -d nuder onw hofd, instead 
of being as at present divided between the Land Office, 
the Survey Office aud private eurvoyorf?, Oich treading 
upon the o^bei’s henlR~ar>d loea ton, if credit in to bo 
given to general report. To facilitate tl.e commence- 
ment of operHlious,ptrnnVaion has been given lo employ 
certain pi ivato survoyorR, who^o woi k, wliou duly c becked 
aud approved, will bo accepted by iho Govoruniciit, and 
IhlH U Ihe only oonccHsion obtainable at present. 
Clause No. 12 of tho General liiu.d Kcgnlations places 
tho planter at a very ^eriouK nisadvantagn iudi od. **Tho 
right to take, and to authorise others to take timber, 
cliarooaJ, gums, and all othu* natural produce from nn- 
hlled forest and uncleared land, ie rreerved by thoGo- 
vernoient.*^ The pluolor is thug unablo to reserve any 
tiiiihor for building purposes, if ho happens to bu iitar 
a mining villagr^, which may spriog up at any moment 
and ho is liablo to have at any timo Cbinebc, and 
natives of all doreriptions, wandering about bis land aud 
destroying his property with<*ut the ubilily to check 
theru in auy way. This is by no meauH an inuigi- 
nary poBsibili'y. I can poii t out a Ihck of 500 acres 
of land sclccttd six mouths ago, wilh abum uuce 
cf fine timbor npou it, which in another bU 
mouths time, at the preernt rato of oxbausli n, will 
not have a stick worth felling loft upon it. At lilauda 
Mabck thiro arehundreos of acres < f laud <ntiroly 
douuded ot forest, which baa bouu u^od for tho mines. 
Tracis of laud taken up for agricultural purposes 
mu-t bo protected from similar loss of limber. Ou 
poiutiog this out to the Stato Commiisiom r of Lauds, 
wo were told that In clearing tho land the planter 
<?.i' t ho timber, for ho burns it all up, and it conies 
to the sime thing if the timber is takoti away by 
miners and oilicrs. This reply is worse than puerile ; 
for, it must bo evident that, as cloHriiig tlio laud 
neccesitalos tho buruiiig of tho timbor upon it, it be- 
comes all the more important for tho planter to pro- 
s«;rvo for eeiato purpo^os alltlie avnilabio timber on 
the uncleared laud. If tho Goverumeut wants to en- 
courage pItinterB to purchaBe laud, it should hold out 
as au iuducemout that the timber, cl arcoa), gums, 
attaps &c , hhcjidd bo at their absolute disposal, to 
yell, or reserve, or Uiiike use ( f AscircumstancLS might 
dictate. Such a couccHtiuit would help the pUnUrs 
and be but little appreciublo loss to tho Goverumeut. 
Another argument Ireely used in thid cuuueetion 
IS tint the mining interest must be nursed, as it 
forms the ruain source of SUio rovci.U's and that 
tho cultivation of Ci-ffee is uii interest of a vtry 
iudvfiuito valnf. Graoted; but Ihe Goverumeut aescr is 
that it is endoavouriog to turtlier the coffee interost 
in every w.»y it cun, and it is very t videul th«t being 
in its infnuoy, it requires miiMi g a great deal moie 
than mining, which is haudrous of years old. 
I have made this letter too long already, and will 
not tieepa^s further on your spuoo. I may never Bot 
foot in Perak ogaio, but ara convinced thet encourage- 
ment to coffee planters must lake a dill'orout foim 
than at proaent obtains, if any iiuportant intorest is 
to bo created within a abort ]ioriod of time. An 
immense deal baa been done for l^ersk in fifteen 
yoarH, but thia is not the timo to halt on tho road 
of progresfl, — asking inon to come to the couutry for 
a particular purpose, aud tluu apparently grudging 
thorn Huy little coeocBBion they may ask for. — Yours 
faithfully, Rdmund Woouiiouhe. 
Penang, March Kffh. 
