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his land with that product, which promises the highest absolute 
profits. We therefore find again, that the Government, instead of 
doing all in their power to attract capital to agricultural industries 
other than rubber and thus ensuring as far as possible stability of 
the future of Agriculture in these States: we find a policy, which 
places a premium on the folly of putting all the country’s “ eggs 
into one basket. ” So incredible does this folly seem, that your 
Committee for a long time believed that these Rules had only by 
inadvertence been made to apply to products other than rubber ; 
and it was only after prolonged correspondence that we realized 
that the present Regulations were framed with the distinct inten- 
tion to cover the cultivation of any agricultural product, from sweet 
potatoes to gutta percha. 
This decision on the part of Government is all the more deplor- 
able, as it has actually stopped several cases, where Rubber 
Estates intended to plant up part of their area with ooconuts as a 
reserve, which although promising perhaps more moderate returns, 
yet lacks the speculative nature of rubber cultivation. 
Having been unable to obtain any redress regarding the charges 
made for land, whether intended for the cultivation of rubber or 
coconuts: your Committee at least endeavored to obtain definite 
information, on exactly what terms and within what time applica- 
tions for land would be entertained. But even on this point, we ' 
have only been able to elicit a repetition of vague generalities, 
which seem to indicate that Government wishes to continue the 
practice of the past, in keeping an applicant waiting for months 
and months and only after endless correspondence promising him 
a title at some indefinite future tifne to perhaps only half the area 
originally applied for. 
It seems obvious from all that has been said, that the present 
attitude of the Government is untenable, and this Association 
should therefore not relax its efforts to bring about a change of 
policy on the following lines : 
1. Increase in the number of Surveyors (by an offer of better 
pay) and consequent quick issue of titles to all 1 and alienated. 
2. Unrestricted issue of land to all applicants without distinc- 
tion, conterbalanced by a summary application of stringent cultiva- 
tion clauses. 
3. Reduction of all quitrents to a nominal sum and abolition of 
premiums. 
4. Taxation by result only; i.e. export duty, calculated on a 
sliding scale according to the Market Rates of the day; similar to 
the one, on which 9/ioths of the actual Revenue of the States 
depends, viz. of Tin; and equally similar to the one on which duty 
was levied on what until quite recently was the principal agricul- 
tural produce, viz. Coffee. 
The diistoms. 
Your Committee are able to record with pleasure a great 
improvement that has been introduced by the Government at the 
