102 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
That once a grant has been made it should be com¬ 
pletely negotiable, and that as far as Europeans or 
Americans are concerned there should be no restric¬ 
tions either on seller or buyer. 
That there should be a large increase of surveyors, and 
that the system of rapid allotment should be employed 
as far and as fast as possible with a view to settling 
up the whole habitable portion of the Highlands. 
These, as far as one can judge both from hearing 
set speeches and informal conversations, form the basis 
of a system which would be generally acceptable. A 
by no means negligible minority would perhaps be 
opposed to large grants in any shape or form. The 
reason of this opposition I take to be the scant measure 
of progress or development undertaken by two large 
companies already in existence. No one wishes to 
defend the companies in question, and indeed it has 
always been felt to have been a curious if not an extra¬ 
ordinary thing that a Government which always set 
itself against any but the minimum grants and turned 
away many thousands of pounds of capital which 
would have come into the country with a slight 
elasticity of the regulations, should have given away 
1,000 square miles of splendid land with most inade¬ 
quate security for any reasonable development. At the 
same time, I believe that a majority do not wish 
to banish entirely the goose, but rather to make 
certain that she shall lay a satisfactory supply of 
golden eggs. 
I hope that nothing said in this chapter will be 
taken as a reflection on the present land officer or his 
staff". Indeed, I cannot express too highly the 
admiration with which the sincerity, ability, and 
patience exercised by them have always filled me. 
