The range of a Demarcator's enquiries is limited by the cadastral map. Any land on a cadastral showing clearly marked boundaries may thus be included in the demarcation register even should n owner be not forthcoming in the first instance. Hills, foreshore areas covered by graves—in fact any land at a distance from the general areas of cultivation-are, however, omitted from the demarcation scheme and provided for separately.
Having regard to the, responsible nature of their duties, Demarcators have been selected where possible from the educated class and they have, on the whole, displayed a high standard of intelligence and honesty. Each man is called upon to give security in a Bond for $100 which sum is forfeited in the event of the person secured being convicted under the Ordinance dealing with the receiving or soliciting of an illegal gratification. The prejudice against out-door labour common to the educated in every Eastern country has, of course, been some hindrance to free enlistment, but the difficulty has been partially obviated by the influence of Mission Schools in which it appears that some 20 per cent. of the Demarcators have received their education. I attach (Appendix A) a copy of Demarcation Rules I have prepared for the guidance of the staff. A practical acquaintance with these Rules is required of every candidate before his period of probation is considered at an end.
4. To keep the Register properly is no sinecure in a country where a minute sub-division of pro- rietary rights is almost universal. Nearly every piece of cultivated land is the subject of a double ownership (a.) that of the customary lessor or rent charge owner who has, moreover, in certain contin- encies, the reversion of the lessee's interest; and (b.) the customary lessee who has practically the whole ownership of the soil for himself and his heirs subject to the punctual payment of the rent charge. Both lessor and lessee may, and they frequently do, mortgage the whole or part of their rights, and these mortgages are again frequently assigned and re-assigned several times over.
There is no doubt that the head and front of all our difficulties in effecting a satisfactory settle- ment of the land question has been the enormous complexity of the rights of ownership and though with riper knowledge our methods of tabulation have improved and the risk of error has greatly decreased, still I think it will be conceded that the Demarcator's task is a formidable one and that if he does his work faithfully he has thoroughly earned his modest salary of $15 by the end of the month. In all perhaps 30 per cent. of the demarcation staff have either been dismissed as unsatisfactory or have resigned through ill-health-two men have actually died in harness during the wet season.
The main obstacles to the quick progress of demarcation are as follows:—
(a.) The Chinese staff of the Land Court has to work hand in hand with Indian surveyors ;
and neither party understands the language of the other.
(b.) The holdings are in many cases very small-in some villages they average more than 100
to the acre.
(c.) Holdings near the boundary of the New Territory often belong to persons resident outside British jurisdiction and the owners occasionally neglect to come forward and furnish particulars of their rights, even after being specially summoned.
(d.) On Chinese holidays and festivals, and during seed time and harvest, information has
been less readily forthcoming than at other times.
(e.) In the case of poor pieces of hill cultivation, that have paid no taxes to the Chinese Government: the squatters are reluctant to lay claims that may be made the basis of taxation later on.
(f.) The divergent interests of local clans and peasant cultivators have given rise to fears on
both sides as to the intentions of Government.
But, on the whole, where large parties of Demarcators have swept over a district taking village by village consecutively-public opinion in each village being prepared by work among its neighbours— Land Court operations have been met in a friendly spirit by the inhabitants.
5. It becoming apparent early in 1901 that the 16" scale was not large enough to enable (1.) village es; (2.) the greater part of the cultivated holdings within the deep narrow valleys among the hills to properly surveyed, in the month of February, His Excellency authorized a scale of 32" being employed whenever the Land Court should agree with the Survey Officer that its adoption was necessary.
In districts in which the survey had been completed before this change of scale had been decided upon, no detailed survey of village sites was available. In such cases all houses (including schools, temples, out-houses and the like) have been numbered village by village, and demarcation registers have been made from this starting point, demarcation tickets being issued, to allow householders to report their interests in the ordinary way.
Claims.
6. As soon as the demarcation of a district is in full swing, claimants are invited to come in, and as soon as it
appears likely that every land owner is provided with Lot number tickets, a final date is announced in the Gazette after which no claims for land within that district will be received.
All claims must be presented on special forms provided by the Court. Local customs give rise to ambiguity which it is the object of the claim form to avoid. The distinctions between the nominal and actual payments made to a tax lord," between the holders of yearly and perpetual leases, and between the