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7. LAND TENURE IN THE STRAITS 
SETTLEMENTS. 
By the Hon. Mr. J. Lornie. 
, Singapore. Land in the hands of private owners 
in Singapore is held direct from the 
Crown either by lease or grant. About a hundred 
years ago all land in Singapore was the property of 
the State and the history of the land tenure is, 
therefore, a reflection of the views of successive 
administrations regarding the best means of en- 
couraging the permanent occupation of the land and 
the amount of compensation to be paid to the State 
for the total or partial surrender of its rights. The 
eaHiest of the existing titles are the 999-year leases 
issued for land in the town soon after the founding 
of Singapore. At the beginning of 1888 the first of 
the present 99-year leases for land in the town were 
issued, seventy-one leases bearing the date 1st 
January, 1838, and during the next few years they 
were issued in considerable numbers. The prices 
obtained for the early leases naturally compared 
unfavourably with what had been paid for 999-year 
leases, but there was soon a considerable improve- 
ment and the number of leases issued about the 
year 1842 shows that there must have been con- 
siderable demand for land throughout the town. 
Land in the country was only obtainable on short 
leases but in 1840 agriculture in the Island was in 
a flourishing condition and further demands arose 
for an improvement in the conditions on which land 
could be obtained from the Government. In 1842 
the local Government accordingly proposed the 
alienation in fee simple of all land required for 
agricultural purposes within two miles of the limits 
of the town at a rate of fen rupees an acre, and 
