ASIA-continued. other valuable minerals, with full liberty to search for and work the same. Compensation to be made for damage caused to the surface-owner; the amount to be determined by the revenue officer.-(Ajmer Land and Revenue, Reg. II. of 1877, sec. 3 (A).) In British Burma.-A landholder shall have a permanent heritable and transferable right of use and occupancy in his land, subject only (a) To payment of revenue taxes, cesses and rates, &c. (b) To the reservation in favour of Government of all mines and mineral products, and of all buried treasure, with full liberty to work and search for the same, paying to the landholder only compensation for surface damage as estimated by the revenue officer.—(British Burma Code, Act No. 2 of 1876, sec. 8.) Rules have been made as to working the tin deposits in the Mergui district (where a great development of such deposits is taking place) which came into force on the 1st of August, 1890, under which prospecting licenses available for 12 months and leases for terms not exceeding 21 years may be granted by the Deputy Commissioner, and no tin deposits are to be worked or tin prepared or made marketable except under such a lease or license. Annual rents of Re. 1 per acre and a royalty of Rs. 3 the pical (133 lbs.) on all tin smelted are to be paid by the lessees, who are also to be subject to the labour and other conditions set out in the form of lease attached to the rules. The Upper Burma Land and Revenue Regulation (No. 111 of 1889) provides (s. 31): 1. Save as otherwise provided by the terms of any grant made or continued by or on behalf of the British Government, the right to all precious stones, mines, minerals, coal and earth-oil shall be deemed to belong to the Government, and the Government shall have all powers necessary for the proper enjoyment of its right thereto. 2. Whenever in the exercise of any such right of the Government, the rights of any person are infringed by the occupation or disturbance of any land, the Government shall pay or cause to be paid to that person compensation for the infringement. 3. The compensation shall be determined as nearly as may be in accordance with the provisions of the Upper Burma Land Acquisition Regulation (IX.) of 1886. Under the last-mentioned Regulation the amount of compensation, in case of dispute, is to be determined by the Deputy Commissioner of the district, after hearing the parties interested.-(Burma Code of 1889, p. 406.) ASIA-continued. "A seven years' lease of the Government monopoly of rubies has been granted. The terms of the lease and the regulations concerning the mines safeguard the rights of the ruby mines' residents to work their claims on the old system, and to have new claims as long as they pay the prescribed royalty on all rubies and sapphires they raise."-(" Progress and Condition of India, 1887-8.") Concessions have been granted to two companies for working coal over six square miles of the Chindwin field in Upper Burma, on condition that the industry makes satisfactory progress during the next eighteen months. The royalty on this coal is to be four annas per ton.-("Moral and Material Progress and Condition of India, 1889-90.") All land in this country is now leased by the Government for 999 years, subject to the reservation of coal and other minerals to the Crown, its grantees, lessees, or licensees.-(Labuan Ordinance No. 2 of 1863.) This Ordinance has been repealed (as regards Labuan) by the Labuan Ordinance No. VIII. of 1891, but similar provisions as regards mines are re-enacted by the last-mentioned Ordinance. The Labuan Coal Company have certain rights to purchase lands in fee-simple which are reserved by the last-mentioned Ordinance. Prior to an Act passed in 1849, the grants of land were made without reservation of minerals or royalties to Government; but in the case of lands held under grants made between 1849 and 1863, the coals and minerals are to be held subject to a royalty to be fixed by the Governor. All grants of Crown for The Straits Settlements Colony is formed of a number of settlements, of which the principal are Singapore, Penang, and Malacca. In order to understand the tenure of land in these settlements the following remarks (taken from the Straits Settlements Blue Book, 1890) may be found useful. SINGAPORE. Land in the hands of private owners in Singapore is held direct from the Crown, either by lease or grant. The terms of the leases vary. A great ASIA-continued. portion of the land on which the town stands is held on building leases for 60 and 99 years. The terms of leases in the country are for the most part 99 and 999 years. The quit-rent reserved in leases for land in the country issued before October 15, 1883, is 30 cents per acre; on land leased since that date it varies according to the advantages of the land as to situation, soil, &c., but is in no case less than 40 cents an acre. In all leases issued since October 15, 1883, a condition under which the quit-rent is re-adjustable every 30 years is inserted. Since the passing of the "Crown Lands Ordinance, 1886," the only instrument of title is a statutory grant in perpetuity, subject to a minimum quit-rent of 50 cents per acre re-adjustable every 30 years. The extent of land alienated in fee simple before 1871, which pays no revenue to the Crown, is considerable. PENANG. Land in Penang and Province Wellesley is held of the Crown as in Singapore, by grant or lease. The conditions of tenure vary according to the policy of the Government at the time the documents were issued respectively (in Singapore 18, in Penang 20 different kinds of title are in the hands of the public). The rates of rent reserved in old leases vary in different districts. Unoccupied Crown land is obtainable on statutory grants in perpetuity, premium and quit-rent being fixed according to the advantage of locality, soil, &c. MALACCA. The tenure of land in the town of Malacca has remained unchanged since the days of Dutch rule. Possession is evidenced in many cases by documents of title in Dutch. Occupied land in the country is in some cases held either under grant or lease from the Crown, but for the most part under customary tenure as defined by the Malacca Lands Ordinance. Land is now obtainable without premium if held under customary tenure, and with premium and a moderate quit-rent if under statutory grants.— The Straits Settlements Blue Book, 1890. Native Settlements of the Malay Peninsula under British influence. Closely connected with the Straits Settlement Colony proper are the following protected Native Settlements of the Malay Peninsula, the laws in which, administered by native sultans or chiefs assisted by British residents, are of importance owing to the extensive development of mining enterprise in these settlements, and having regard to the numerous and special regulations which have been recently adopted in these settlements in connection with such development. SULA STATES:- Pahang Jelebu Negri Sembelan Selangor Sungei Ujong Some gold In Government, See the various regula- PERAK. By the General Land Regulations Amendment 1891 (Perak) the right to all mines and mineral products, coal, petroleum, road materials, and quarries, under or within any land granted or leased, is reserved to Government, with full liberty for the Government and its assigns to search for and work the minerals, &c., on payment of compensation on account of disturbance or surface damage, such compensation to be determined in accordance with the law for the acquisition of land for public purposes. Road materials, &c., may be taken by Government on paying compensation for damage to crops, buildings, &c. This Order was to come into force on October 1st, 1891. (See Order No. 6 of 1891, published in Government Gazette (Perak) of September 30th, 1891.) Mining for tin in Perak has greatly developed within the last 10 years, chiefly through encouraging Chinese immigration. Prospecting licenses are given for $25 for six months over areas not exceeding 320 acres. Permits to mine are given (annual fee $2), to dig for tin over areas of five acres. Mining leases for 21 years, not exceeding 25 acres in one block, or more in special cases. Lessee bound to open and work and employ a certain number of miners without intermission, and to pay export duties; also to pay fees, including an annual quit-rent of $1 per acre. The export duty is equivalent to 10 or 11 per cent. on the value of the metal. (See "Report on Tin Mining in Perak and in Burma," W. T. Hall; and "Preliminary Sketch of Tin Mining in Perak and in Burma," T. W. H. Hughes, Superintendent Government Survey, India, January 1889, and by the latter, August 1889.) |