Agricultural Bulletin of the Straits and Federated
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No. 5.] MAY, 1909. [VOL. VIII. Agricultural Bulletin OF THE STRAITS AND FEDERATED MALAY STATES. EDITED BY H. N. RIDLEY, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.E.H.S. Director of Botanic Gardens, S. S. CONTENTS. Page. 1. The Land Laws and Administration of the Federated Malay States ... 195 2. Para Kubber Cultivation F. M. S. ... ... .. ... 232 3. Coconut Cultivation F. M. S. ... ... ... ... 237 4. Sugar Cane Cultivation F. M.S. ... ... ... ... 239 5. Planting of Trees ... .... ... ... ... 239 (i. Trang Pepper ... ... ... ... ... 240 J. in the Variation flower of Black 1'epper ... ... ... 244 8. Dyera Costulata ... ... ... ... ... 244 9. A New Tapping Knife ... ... ... .. ... 245 10. Carbon Bisulphide ... ... ... ... ... 245 11. Packing Para Rubber Seeds for Export .. ... ... 245 12. Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... 247 13. John ILaddon Special Produce Letter ... ... ... 249 14. Exports Telegram ... ... ... ... ... 251 15. Weather Reports ... ... ... ... ... 253 10. Market Reports ... ... ... ... ... 259 From the first of January, 1909 The Price of the Bulletin will be as follows: Annual Subscription for Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States .. .. $5.00 Annual Subscription for other places in Malaya .. .. .. .. $5.50 Annual Subscription for India and Ceylon .. .. Rs. 9-8-0 Annual Subscription for Europe (Thirteen Shillings) .. .. .. £0-13-0 Single copy 50 cts. or s.1/2d .. .. .. Whole Volume .. .. .. $5.00 All Subscriptions are payable strictly in advance. To be purchased at the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, from The Methodist Publishing House, Stamford Road, and from Messrs. Keli.y & Walsh Ltd., No. 32 Raffles Place, and 194 Orchard Road. Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries BALDWIN BOYS' HIGH SCHOOI Bangalore A High Class Institution for the Sons of Europeans Resident in the East. Beautifully situated 3,100 ft. above sea level a few hours run from Madras. Highly commended by Sir William Lee-Warner k.c.sJ, Sir James Bourlillon, k.c.s.i. the Hon'ble Mr. Stuart Leaser, i.c.s., the Hon'ble Mr. Williams, i.cs, Terms Moderate. For prospectus, Apply to the Principal Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 195 AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN of the STRAITS and FEDERATED MALAY STATES. No. 5.] MAY, 1909. [Vol. VIII THE LAND LAWS AND LAND ADMINISTRA¬ TION OF THE FEDERATED MALAY STATES. IIv R. G. Watson, Commissioner of Lands and Surveys, F. M. S. GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. The Federated Malay States consists of four Indepen¬ dent Native States—viz., Perak, Selangor and Negri Sem- bilan on the West Coast, and Pahang on the East Coast of the Malay Peninsula. Since 1896 the Administration of these States has been settled in the following form: subject to the directions of His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Governor of the Straits Settle¬ ments is also High Commissioner of the Federated Malay States. The Principal Civil Officer resident in the States is the Resident-General, in whom is invested the control of affairs for the whole Federation. He is assisted by a staff of Federal Officers, to whom is entrusted the supervision of the principal departments of the four States: of these officers it may be sufficient here to mention the Commis¬ sioner of Lands and Surveys, the Senior Warden of Mines, and the Director of Agriculture, whose titles indicate the departments with which they deal. Subject to the direction of the Resident-General, each State of the Federation is separately administered on be¬ half of the Native Ruler by a British Resident, assisted by tie usual staff of Government officers. Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 196 The head-quarters of the Federal Government are at Kuala Lumpur, which is also the capital of the State of Selangor. It is distant from Penang by rail 12 hours, while the sea journey from Singapore or Pahang varies from 15 to 24 hours. SITUATION. The Federated Malay States occupy the central and broadest part of the Malay Peninsula, washed hv the Straits of Malacca on the west and the China Sea on the east, and lying between North Latitude 2.24 and 6.10 and East Longitude 100.23 to 103.60. The area included in the four States is estimated at 26,380 square miles, or 17,000,000 acres, of which a very considerable proportion, especially in Pahang, is still un¬ explored. CLIMATE. The following note is taken from the official "Manual of Statistics relating to the Federated Malay States for 1906:" "The climate of the Federated Malay States is very uniform, and can he described in general terms as hot and moist. The annual rainfall, except in places close to the mountain ranges, is about 90 ins. In towns such as Taiping, Tapali, Selarna, etc., close to high mountains, upwards of 50 per cent, more is registered, the average of ten years at the first-named being 164 ins. There is no well-marked dry season. Generally speaking, July is the driest month, but has seldom anywhere a less rainfall than 31 ins. The wettest season is from October to December, and there is another wet season of slightly less degree during March and April. Rain rarely falls before 11 a.m., so that six hours of out-door work can generally be depended upon all the year round. "The average maximum temperature occurring be¬ tween noon and 3 p.m. is in low country under 90°, and the average minimum occurring just before sunrise is just over 70°. The general noon temperature is just about 80°. There is very little change in the mean monthly temper¬ ature during the year, the average of ten years' reading in Taiping exhibiting a difference of only 3° between the mean of May, the hottest, and December, the coldest month ol the year. The variation of temperature with altitude ma)' be taken roughly as a decrease of 3° for every 1,000 ft. in¬ crease of altitude." Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 197 LANDS AND SURVEYS. The control of the Land and Revenue Survey Depart¬ ments rests with the Resident of each State, who, subject in certain cases to the approval of the Resident-General, directs all business connected with the sale, leasing and dis¬ posal of State lands, and all public surveys undertaken by the Revenue Survey Department. To facilitate administration, each State is divided into districts. In each district there are one or more Land Offices, under the charge of the District Officer; and in most districts a Survey Office, under the management of a Dis¬ trict Surveyor. The business of the Land and Survey Departments is carried on under "The Land Enactment, 1903;" "The Mining Code, 1901;" the "Registration of Titles Regu¬ lation, 1891;" and the "Registration of Titles Enactment, 1897." According to the Malay theory of land tenure, all pro¬ perty in land is vested in the Royal authority; the subjects of the King are permitted to clear and use such portions of waste land as they may require, subject to the payment of a tax more or less regularly collected, and of a somewhat in¬ definite character, and the performance of certain feudal duties. This principle—the State ownership of all lands—has been embodied in the Land Laws of the Federation. There is consequently no such thing as freehold property in land in the Native States: all land belongs to the State, and is granted to individuals for their use for certain purposes and under certain conditions. What these conditions generally are will be set out later in detail; it will be enough to point out here that a breach of any of the con¬ ditions renders the land liable to resumption. Whether land is alienated on payment of premium or by sale at auction, it is so alienated subject to conditions, some of which are implied by the Enactment, and others expressed in the document of title, and it is only subject to the pay¬ ment of dues and compliance with conditions that any land is secured to the use of a grantee in perpetuity. THE LAND LAWS OF THE FEDERATION. ABSTRACT OF "THE LAND ENACTMENT, 1903." State land is defined to mean all lands which have not been or may not hereafter be reserved for a public purpose, Original from and digitized by National University of Singapore Libraries 198 or which are not or may not he leased or granted to any person; and includes land which is or-may he forfeited or surrendered to the State. Rules for carrying out the purposes and provisions of the Enactment may be made by the Resident, with the approval of the Resident-General; such Rules are published in the Gazette, and from the date of such publication have the force of law. CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS (SECTION 3, LAND ENACTMENT, 1903). State land is divided into three classes: (a) Town and village lands; (b) Country lands of 100 acres in area and under; (c) Country lands exceeding 100 acres in area- Lands in class (b) are further sub-divided into 1st, 2nd and 3rd class lands. RESERVES FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES (SECTION 8, LAND ENACTMENT, 1903). The Resident may from time to time reserve, by noti¬ fication in the Gazette, any State lands which in his opinion are required for a residential reserve, or for any of the fol¬ lowing public purposes: (i) Quarries, brickfields, quays, landing places, tramways, railways and railway stations; (ii) Roads, canals, reservoirs, irrigation works, aqueducts or water-courses; (iii) Markets, abattoirs, public baths or wash-houses; (iv) Goverment buildings, schools, gardens, places of public worship or instruction, recreation or convenience; (v) Reformatories, libraries, museums, hospitals and asylums; (vi) Experimental farms, forest reserves, or places for the cremation or interment of the dead; (vii) Any other purpose which the Resident may declare in the Gazette to be a public purpose.