( 44 ) 
applicant's power to cultivate “ by which means ** 
it was observed, “ no part of the island will in 
time remain uncleared.” Acting on these instruc- 
tions Mr. Light issued a general permission to clear 
and settle on the island but unfortunately no traces 
of the principles which regulated his distribution 
could afterwards be traced in the records of his 
administration. This was no doubt due to the fact 
that during the seven or eight years he was in 
charge of the island Mr. Light’s entire official 
establishment consisted of one Writer. By 1823 
land in the island was held on seven different 
tenures and Mr. W. R. Young, the Commissioner 
sent by the Government of India in 1831 to enquire 
into the land administration of the Colony, contrasts 
the position in Penang with the simple and intelli- 
gib T e tit T es under which land was lawfully occupied 
in Singapore and Malacca. 
Owing to the obscurity surrounding the early 
distribution the introduction of a sound land system 
was both slow and difficult and the policy of the 
Government in meeting these difficulties is reflected 
in the present varying conditions of tenure. There 
are at present in Penang eleven different kinds of 
titles in the hands of the public as compared with 
eighteen in Singapore. 
As in Singapore unoccupied Crown Land is 
obtainable on leases and Statutory, grants which 
are also being substituted for Permits and Expired 
Leases. There is very little unoccupied Crown Land 
in the Settlement except in the Dindings. The rates 
of rent reserved in old leases vary in different 
localities. Alienation of foreshore is subject to 
Ordinance No. 69 (Foreshores). 
