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130 suggested above, the skilled labour emigrant will be able to take care of himself, as there is always a good demand for skilled labour.

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The professional classes in Malta are overstocked and outlets should be found. The facility with which Maltese acquire languages, the similarity of our laws with those of Egypt, with the exception of land tenure, would secure suitable employment to our young barristers if the imperial Government could come to an understanding with the Egyptian Government, especially as the services of such lawyers would be found extremely useful to the latter if the Capitulations were to be abolished, and if employments under the Egyptian Government were open only, as they should be, to Egyptian and British subjects, and not to foreigners. This would not be a novelty, as by former Orders in Council legal appointments in the East were open to members of the Bar of England and members of the Bar of Malta: a privilege which appears to have been taken away as regards Malta, but which should be renewed.

44. Our medical degrees are recognized in England, as medical degrees con- This advantage was ferred in the United Kingdom are recognized in Malta. obtained for us by Lord Grenfell, and has been of great help to such medical We understand that it would gentlemen as have established themselves abroad.

be easy to form a reserve medical corps, the senior posts to be permanent and held by officers attached to local corps. The other gentlemen would receive a retain- ing fee and would be liable for service abroad in case of need. It would be advan- tageous if in the first years of such militia the officers were trained in England or in one of the Dominions.

45. We also suggest that benefices in the gift of the Government should be conferred on gentlemen who take the degree of D.D. in our University on their undertaking to be military chaplains to serve anywhere their services may be required.

46. The studies of land surveyors and architects should, if necessary, be altered 80 as to make possible for them to obtain the degree of Civil Engineers. We even suggest that that degree should be conferred in Malta.

Gentlemen holding that degree, or students at the University for that degree, should be selected preferentially to others for commissions in the Malta Militia and for such commissions in the regular Army to which the Militia is entitled. An opportunity would thus be given to them of entering the R.E., a corps for which they would be thoroughly qualified.

47. Land. Owing to the difficulty of ascertaining the title of ownership of immovable property, and owing to the encumbrances and burdens that are con- tinually being imposed thereon, immovable property is not, at present, a value easily realizable, and is not therefore a marketable value in the proper sense of the word. Measures should be taken at once to make immovable property more easily transferable by making it possible to ascertain the title of ownership, by facilitating the redemption of existing burdens, and by preventing the imposition of further burdens.

48. Transfers of Immovable Property--At present it is difficult to establish with certainty whether the person who appears to be the owner is or not the real owner at law; so that an owner of immovable property to dispose of same incurs a heavy expense to establish his title to the land, no matter how many transfers The same expense is of the same property may have previously taken place. incurred if money is borrowed on the property, so that although, up to a few years ago, money used to be lent at a low rate of interest on immovable property, the expense incurred raised such interest, especially for small loans, to a prohibi- tive rate. The difficulty in ascertaining ownership is especially felt when a judicial sale of such property takes place. If the purchaser is not the creditor at whose request the sale is ordered, the price realized cannot be withdrawn from court unless a guarantee is given to re-deposit the money should it subsequently transpire at any time that the debtor was not the owner of the property. The guarantor must be a person owning immovable property in these islands, so that the creditor wishing to have his money is usually obliged to pay a premium to obtain such guarantee. The debtor, if any balance remains for him, is in most cases unable to find a similar guarantee, so that the balance remains deposited in court. We recommend that registration of immovable property be introduced. Registration should be voluntary, as owners of immovable property may not be in a position to incur the necessary expense. However, we feel confident that whenever a loan will be sought for on immovable property, or whenever a sale of immovable property

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is intended, the lender or purchaser will insist upon the property being registered, as the cost of registration will not exceed the expense which is at present incurred in similar transactions, and registration will be insisted upon because the expense once incurred will serve for any future transaction, thus saving the recurrence of the same expense.

In Malta, even having regard to the peculiar conditions of tenureship of land, a system of registration could be easily introduced because in the laws of our code of Organization and Civil Procedure (Book 2, Part 2, Title No. 1), enacted so far back as 1854, we have a special procedure to ascertain burthens or mortgages on immovable property; and the same procedure, with very slight alterations, might be adopted to ascertain titles of ownership.

49.

The property once registered should not be liable to any subsequent general hypothecation but to special hypothecation only. A registration certifi- cate should be delivered showing the registered owner, the extent of the property and the burthens thereon, including any special hypothecation. An intending purchaser or lender would only have to look at the certificate and insist on its being brought up to date.

50. Burthens on Property.-One of the greatest hindrances to the economic development of immovable property is the continual imposition of new burthens. We propose not to interfere with rights already acquired, but to limit for the future the imposition of such burthens, and suggest that Article 459 of Ordinance VII. of 1868 be modified in the sense that no new burthen can be imposed on any such property without the permission of the Second Hall of His Majesty's Civil Court, and that it be not lawful for that court to grant permission unless it is made to appear to its satisfaction that the imposition of the burthen is of utility, and that the total annual import of the burthens on any tenement existing at the time that the permission is asked for does not exceed, together with the proposed burthen, the tenth of the annual rent of such tenement.

51. Redemption of Burthens. By law all burthens may be redeemed, but at present the rate of redemption at three per cent., and in some instances at two per cent., is absurd, having regard to the present market value of money and to the value of money for years to come. We recommend that the redemption be fixed at four per cent. Under the persent law a grave injustice is committed, especially in the case of a forcible sale, as the property is valued at its present value, and the burthen is capitalized in some instances at two per cent. No injustice would accrue by adopting this suggestion, as money can easily fetch four per cent., and the ecclesi- astical authorities have often disposed of these burthens or similar property at four per cent.

52. Our suggestion refers to the redemption of burthens and not of ground rent. It is very desirable that ground rent should be made redeemable by law. A detailed scheme requires the employment of experts. We therefore recommend that a committee of such experts be appointed to report on the subject, and also to report on the necessary modifications in the existing laws on long lease, as at present there are some tenements which, owing to the amount of burthens and ground rent, are more a liability than an asset. This recommendation is inde- pendent of the recommendation contained in paragraph 55, which can be easily, and should be immediately, carried out.

53. Agriculture. The vital importance of agriculture has never been more clearly demonstrated than during the present War, so that the encouragement thereof is necessary, even if it involves increased expenditure. Although our agricultural population is hardy, energetic, and industrious, and obtain from the land good results, it would encourage still further effort if security of tenureship and facilities of credit were granted to them, and if there were an authority to guide them in dealing with diseases of plants, and to help them in the selection of the most suitable crops.

54.

Land Tenureship-Cultivated land is usually given on a lease of eight years, and at the end of such lease improvements made by the tenants are not taken into account except to raise the rents, or at all events not to reduce them if, at the expiration of the lease, owing to the failure of crops or the want of exportation, the demand for land is reduced. Besides this disadvantage, except for Government tenants, it is not unusual that, at the expiration of the tenancy, a new tenant offers better conditions or by other ways obtains the tenancy without any right of the outgoing tenant to have a preference for the new lease. The law on rural tenements should be put on a footing somewhat similar to that on houses and other non-agricultural tenements. A law should be enacted by which any tenant who has been regular in the payments of rent, especially if he has carried