CO885-(20-21) — Page 694

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O.885

21 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

Classifica-

tion of Crown

Colonies

and Pro-

tectorates.

Distinction between the two

classes of Colonies and Pro- tectorates.

Disposal of land in settled territories.

(Eastern Colonies and Pro-

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4. Also for concessions purposes the Crown Colonies and Protectorates may be roughly divided into two classes, viz. :-

I.-Those in which development is mainly proceeding on well-established lines, e.g., the Eastern and West Indian Colonies; and

II.-Those in which development is in its early stages, and where new industries are being introduced, e.g., the East and West African Colonies and

Protectorates.

5. In class I the day of concessions, at least in the sense (a) in the 3rd paragraph, is past, and applica tions for land can be dealt with by the Governors without special reference to the Colonial Office; whereas in class II it is inevitable that reference will be made to the Secretary of State in regard to con- cessions presenting special features. In illustration of this it may be pointed out that of the discussions initiated since the formation of the Committee the large majority have related to subjects remitted to it by the West and East African Departments.

6. It is clear that when a Colony has been long settled, so that the capacities of the land for various crops have become fairly well known, it may be possible to lay down general rules for the disposal of such Crown land as may be available-e.g., by selling or leasing it at fixed times, by auction, at an upset price fixed sufficiently high to make it improbable that any large part of the land sold or leased will remain undeveloped. In Ceylon agricultural Crown lands are sold by public auction with minimum tectorate-.) upset price of £1 an acre. The greater part of the land in the Straits Settlements has already been alienated and is in private hands. The Malay theory of land tenure is that all land is vested in the native ruler, and the acquisi- tion of land in the Federated Malay States is regulated by an elaborate land enactment: In some of the older and settled West Indian Colonies there is very little Crown land left-the great majority of the land is in private hands and the position is dominated by that and in other Colonies there are either regulations or an established practice. Reference to the Secretary of State is therefore unnecessary except in special cases. There is, for instance, a considerable amount of Crown land in British Guiana the letting of which is governed by the Crown Lands Regulations.

(West Indies.)

Mines in

proved fields.

Forests in settled territories.

Conces-

territories.

Intro-

fact;

7. So also with mines--where a reef has been proved to exist and profitable mines have been established upon it, it is usual to fix by law the area which may be granted to an applicant, and the price which he shall pay, whether by way of royalty or percentage on profits.

8. Also in a settled country in a high state of develop- ment it is possible for the Government to undertake the protection of the forests and so prevent denudation.

9. On the other hand the situation as regards conces- sions in an sions-whether agricultural, mining, or forestal-is developed different in territories in the early stages of development.

10. Where it is a case of introducing a new agricultural duction of industry, or sinking mines in an unproved field, for agricul- tural or

which large capital is required, it is quite clear that it mining

is impossible to fix by law or general rule the terms industries. on which the concession can be granted. Terms which

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would be quite adequate to attract capital to an estab- lished industry would be quite inadequate to induce it to embark on an untried field, and, conversely, the terms necessary to encourage pioneers would be far too liberal for the less adventurous spirits who are eager to imitate their success without running the same risk of failure. It is on these grounds that grants of areas of exceptional size have been made in the early stages of the development of certain territories. In all such cases a large capital is required. Those who possess or influence capital are in most cases to be found in this country, and it is for that reason, among others, better that the Colonial Office should conduct the preliminary negotia. tions, as the Department can form a better notion of the bona fides of the applicants and of the reasonableness of the terms than can the Governor.

in un-

11. The case of forests is similar. It is now recognized Foreat con- that in most parts of the world it is most important that a cessiona considerable portion of the land should remain covered with forests, and that the natural tendency of a

developed growing territories. population is rapidly to denude the land of forests in a wasteful manner. The ideal system is, doubtless, for the Government to undertake the protection of the forests and either to work the timber and other products itself or to allow the public generally to do so on fixed terms and under supervision. But the policing of a large tract of forest is an expensive matter, and in the early stages of a country's development it is not likely that the Government will find it remunerative; the probability is that the denudation will go on unchecked in spite of forest rules, which there is no one to enforce. It therefore seems advisable to grant rights over large blocks of the forests for considerable periods to persons or companies possessing large capital, who-

(1) will be in a position to test the different kinds of timber and develop a market for those which are unknown;

(2) will have an interest in utilizing the forest in a conservative manner, and in preventing destruction by others;

(3) can be adequately fined if they fail to keep the rules for the conservation of the forest which may be laid down by the Government.

It was for reasons such as these that the Committee recently recommended that an application supported by

the Governor for a large grant of forest rights in Sierra Leone should not be rejected without further considera. tion. It was thought that, though a grant extending over some 100 square miles was far beyond the measure of economic administration in, for example, the Federated Malay States, it was not necessarily so in the widely different conditions of West Africa.

12. Still less can fixed rules be laid down for the grant Conces- of concessions for railways, electric power and lighting, aions for and water supply. The conditions as to expenditure and

railway, probable profits are so infinitely various that a general power and

electric rule for all colonies would mean hopelessly deterrent lighting, conditions for some colonies and extravagantly favourable and water ones in others. It is no use laying down a rule that rail- anpply. ways (or all such monopolies) should be in the hands of the Government. Government funds are limited and it is impossible when a man brings forward a proposal for a railway to say, "I can't make it and you shan't."

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