Occasional Notes, 305 
" years been, in bush ; and we are, therefore of opinion 
" that, the special object for which the land was given 
" not having been carried out, the grant became liable to 
"forfeiture and the crown is at liberty to resume. * * * 
" We see no occasion for entering into an examination 
"of these claims {i.e. those of 1855) as they all rest 
" on the original grant to CORNELIUS BOTER." Who 
the claimants at this present time are seems uncertain ; 
but there is some sort of descendent of one of the claim- 
ing families who resides on Groote Creek and 
claims to exercise all the rights of owner- 
ship. But even supposing that the grant was legi- 
timate, i.e. that it was only post-dated by a clerical 
error, and supposing further that the conditions of cul- 
tivation imposed by the deed of grant had been observed, 
the grant was one which must impose considerable diffi- 
culty in the definition, in these days, of the Crown 
Lands ; for the only limits set by the document to the 
Groote Creek grant were, that it was to extend as far ' as 
the tide runs upward'. The result of all this now is that 
nearly all the timber sent away from the Essequibo is 
taken from Groote Creek ; for the wood-cutters can get 
it from there at a cheaper rate than by taking out a 
wood-cutting licence from the Crown. For instance, at 
the end of 1879 the state of the case was that the wood- 
cutters of the Essequibo had, with two exceptions, given 
up cutting wood elsewhere than in Groote Creek ; and 
even of these two exceptions one was taking timber 
from Groote Creek as well as from his own grant, and 
he intended to abandon the system of taking out 
grants as soon as his licence expired. 
