282 TlMEHRl. 
In the founding of all new Settlements, colonisation 
must be encouraged ; and in order to make them more per- 
manent, plantations are established— their founders 
generally having a proprietary right, held from the 
Crown, or Government of the Settlement, on certain con- 
ditions, the obje6ls of which are the cultivation of the 
soil, the opening up of the country, and the encourage- 
ment of persons to settle on the newly-acquired lands. 
Such was the case in this colony, and on the Essequebo, 
to which river I particularly confine myself. The con- 
ditions, in general, were that the holders of the land 
should not sell or alienate the same without the consent 
of the Government, and to them in all cases should be 
given the right of preference ; and that the land should 
be put into cultivation and suitable buildings erefted 
thereon. In no single instance have I heard of the land 
being granted for the purpose of woodcutting only. 
The Government also reserved to itself the right of cut- 
ting the timber from the lands at any future time that 
they might require it. 
In most cases the boundaries of the lands so 
granted were very loosely defined. In one case, that 
of Groote creek, the limit inland from the river 
is along the course of the creek as far as the water 
" runs upwards." As the creek is a tidal one, this 
would appear to be to the head of tfye tide, but the point 
has never been settled and has been the cause of innu- 
merable disputes. The facade is entirely undefined. In 
other cases the depth inland is stated as " feet," and 
the facades equally undefined, or the facade may be 
stated as extending from one creek to another*, the 
names of the creeks being given. This seems definite, 
