COPY.
Enclosure 2 to Governor's Despatch No. 338 of the 38th August, 1901.
Extract.
Straits Settlements.
281
64167
(RR60 SEP 01
3.
Paper to be laid before the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Governor.
Survey Administration Report, 1885.
Under this scheme, two extra parties of Surveyors were to work off these arrears in two years in Singapore and Malacca, and in three years in Penang and Province Wellesley. The total cost of this work was estimated to be $55,980. At the time this estimate was made, the Land Office was starved, and ignorant of the condition of the country districts, so that the estimate was founded on very insufficient data. This was found out when the Surveyors got to work, and no time was therefore lost in reporting to Government that the calculations were faulty and that the estimate would be greatly exceeded.
25.
$7.80
As might naturally be expected, it took some time before the party could settle down to the new system of which the trial was to be made. Firstly, there was a good deal of delay in organising demarcation to keep pace with survey. Secondly, several of the men brought over from India knew little of the sort of work which had to be done, and had to be trained, whilst others put in such bad work that it had to be rejected. Thirdly, the men were so disappointed at finding that, owing to high prices, the real value of their salaries was so disproportionate to what they had expected when in India, that they seemed to lose heart. For the purposes of this report, therefore, it will be more convenient if I take the work done and expenses incurred to the close of May of the current year, when the survey was getting more in swing. This is evident when I mention that, whereas to December 31st, 927 allotments only were done amounting to 3,984 acres, the following five months saw 1,192 allotments done with an area of 3,923 acres. The total area done, therefore, amounts to 2,119 allotments, and to 7,907 acres, and this at a cost of $58,075.99.
Deducting from this $702.95 for recruiting and passages, and $4,331.33 for instruments, we have a balance of $53,041.71. This rate is very high, particularly when it is considered that a large portion has been executed on the plains and not on the hills. Mr. Laseron gives his reasons for his heavy expenditure as follows:-
(1). A new survey at starting and till it falls into regular routine and full work must be more expensive. (2). Loss of time by sickness, leave, Government holidays, rain, (3). ...