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For these reasons the present topographical sheets should be issued in a pro- visional form, leaving them to be corrected in these two respects, addition of native roads and lowering of heights by 10 feet, in a future issue.
The sheets will conform to the standard style in respect of all details, i.e., con- tour intervals, colouring, projection, and scales; in fact, the general form should be identical with those of the East African sheets, in order that the complete series which will eventually meet may thus combine into a uniform map of the whole terri- tory. As to the rate of progress that may be expected, considering the tropical climate, the close and difficult nature of parts of the country, and the frequent inter- ruptions by haze, an output of 500 square miles per man per season would appear to be the maximum that can reasonably be demanded. This gives a total output for a topographical party of three surveyors of 1,500 square miles per annum. area of Uganda proper is 16,300 square miles, so that, taking 3,600 miles as already done, there remain 12,700 miles to complete. Making fair allowance for delays, this means about nine years' work from the date when the full topographical party can be organized and started.
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As already stated, the object of this work is to determine the boundaries of the native estates under the Agreement of 1900, and hence, since the Government takes all other land, the boundaries and area of the Crown Lands.
The progress of the survey has hitherto been very slow, and it becomes of prime importance to examine somewhat closely into the methods employed, to determine in what direction improvements can be effected and what acceleration of output may be fairly expected.
The technical method of survey adopted for this work is as follows:-A ter- tiary triangulation, with sides about 14 miles, is extended over the whole region. The native owner of each estate is in the possession of a certificate showing the area and, very approximately, the position and shape of his piece of land. Upon the approach of the surveyor to make the detailed survey the owner has the boundaries of his land cut through the bush or long elephant grass, a duty often very imper- fectly performed by the smaller owners. The surveyor then makes a closed traverse round the boundary, using chain and plane-table only and starting from and finish- ing upon trigonometrical points. The work on the plane-table is plotted upon a scale of 1/10,000 (6 inches to 1 mile, nearly). The area is then taken out on the plan and compared with that given in the certificate, with the almost invariable result that the area claimed on the ground is found to be larger, often much larger. than that to which the man is entitled. The owner is then asked which part of the plot he wishes to retain and, provided it does not conflict with neighbouring estates, he is allowed free choice within the boundaries already laid out and is He will naturally select given the exact quantity of land to which he is entitled. what he considers the most valuable and fertile part of the plot and the only restric- tion exercised upon him is that the boundaries must be either natural features, such as rivers, or straight lines. The new boundaries are then cut and traversed as before and the estate is plotted on the plane-table in its final form. The corners are indicated by mark stones and the owner is expected to cover them by substantial conical piles of earth with stout stakes at the apex. With the view of obviating the labour of re-surveying estates in cases where the first survey shows the area to be a sufficiently close approximation to the prescribed amount, it is desirable to fix a definite limit for the permissible discrepancy. This may be taken as 2 per cent, on the total area, so that estates which on the first survey fall within this limit need not have their boundaries readjusted.
The delivery of the definitive deed, giving the owner the absolute title to his land, is held over at present, there being a number of legal questions to be settled as to system of land tenure, conditions of sale and transfer, registration of titles, &c., the discussion of which does not fall within the scope of this report. It may, however, be remarked that it is highly desirable that these points should be settled, and that This the deeds of those estates already surveyed should be issued to the owners. step would have a most salutary effect in the country. The native always has at the back of his mind the lurking fear that he is not going to be allowed to possess his land in quiet and that it will sooner or later be torn from him, as has so often before happened in the history of this country. The news of the grant of only a
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