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91
SIR,
No. 57.
CEYLON.
MAJOR E. H. HILLS to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received June 24, 1907.)
Colombo, Ceylon, June 6, 1907. WITH reference to your letter, No. 47043, of January 4th, 1907,* on the subject of the inspection of the Survey Department in Ceylon, I now have the honour
to forward my report.
2. The reasons which have impelled me to recommend a large and immediate increase in the number of Assistant Superintendents of Survey are set forth in the report. As will be observed this is a point in which I have ventured to dissent from the opinions expressed by Sir Thomas Holdich. I am convinced that the greatly increased responsibilities of the Survey Department, due to land settlement and to the general agricultural development of the country, have so changed the conditions that a reversal of the approved scheme for extinguishing this grade is urgently called for.
3. As I judged this matter to be somewhat pressing, it being of special importance that the running of lines of levels through the island should be pushed on with the utmost practicable speed, I placed my views before His Excellency the Governor, who has, I understand, telegraphed to yout urging the immediate appointment of three men of this rank.
set aside.
4. On other points Sir Thomas Holdich's advice, where acted upon, has proved beneficial to the interests of the Colony, and it cannot be other than a cause for extreme regret that his admirable counsel as to the methods to be used for compassing the vital task of making a general topographical map of the island were so entirely 5. It is a subject for congratulation that, while he predicted that with more systematic work the cost rate per acre of the revenue surveys would be reduced to one-quarter of that previously ruling, the actual average cost is now only one-ninth of the figure at which it stood in the year previous to his inspection.
6. This gratifying result is to be attributed in a large measure to the un- remitting labours of the present Surveyor-General. While much remains to be done, of which no one is more acutely conscious than Mr. Warren himself, the three years of his superintendence have obviously been characterised by a continued and marked improvement in all branches of the survey work.
7. The recommendations in my report of a technical nature have been fully discussed with the Surveyor-General and will be adopted by him so far as lies in his
power.
8.
A copy of the report and of this despatch have been furnished to His Excellency the Governor.
:
Enclosure in No. 57.
REPORT ON THE SURVEY DEPARTMENT OF CEYLON.
Preliminary Remarks.-The early history of survey work in Ceylon bears a close resemblance to that of many other countries and is a record of mistakes and failures due to the all too-common hesitation to start work upon sound lines from the beginning and the not unusual course of attempting an apparent immediate saving at the cost of heavy expenditure in the future. No advantage is to be gained by going over this question now. For the purpose of this report the history of the Department may be considered as opening in 1897, the date of Colonel (now Sir Thomas) Holdich's inspection, when he made various recommendations fully sel forth in "Papers relating to the Reorganization of the Ceylon Survey Department," Colombo, 1897.
• No. 5.
† 20065 not printed.
29431
I have, &c.,
E. H. HILLS.
M 2
PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.88
18 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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