“After the British Protectorate was substituted for the Company, the question of vacant lands was regulated in the following manner, in accordance with the terms of the report of Mr. (now Sir) H. H. Johnston, Her Britannic Majesty’s Special Commissioner, dated 27th April, 1900:
“‘The land question may now be considered as partially solved over the greater part of the Uganda Protectorate. Over all the more thickly-inhabited countries the waste or unoccupied lands belong to Her Majesty the Queen, having been transferred to the Crown, in most cases by agreement with the chiefs, after payment of indemnities; in some other cases, as in Unyoro, as the result of conquest.... By Proclamation it has been forbidden to any foreigner to acquire land from the natives in any part of the Uganda Protectorate without the prior assent of the Uganda Administration.... A large area of the Kingdom of Uganda is guaranteed to the possession of its native occupants. The rest of the land, including the forests, has now been transferred by agreement to the Crown on behalf of, and in trust for, the administration of the Uganda Protectorate.’
“Finally the land régime in the Portuguese Colonies, especially in Angola, is regulated by the decree of 9th May, 1901, the first article of which stipulates:
“‘The State domain in the countries beyond the sea are all lands which at the date of the publication of this law do not constitute a private property, acquired according to the terms of Portuguese legislation.’
“The Congolese law protects the natives in the enjoyment of the lands that they occupy, and in fact not only are they not disturbed in that enjoyment, but it even extends their cultivation and their plantations in proportion with their necessities. Manifold are the measures taken by the Congo State in order to safeguard the natives against all spoliation:
“‘No one has the right to dispossess the natives of the lands which they occupy.’ (Order of 1st July, 1885, Article 2.)
“‘The lands occupied by native populations under the authority of their chiefs shall continue to be governed by local customs and uses.’ (Decree of 14th September, 1886, Article 2.)
“‘All acts or conventions which would tend to expel the natives from the lands that they occupy, or to deprive them, directly or indirectly, of their liberty, or of their means of existence are forbidden.’ (Decree of 14th September, 1886, Article 2.)
“‘When native villages are surrounded by alienated or leased lands, the natives shall be able, as soon as the official measurement has been effected, to extend their cultivation without the consent of the proprietor, or the lessee, over the vacant lands which surround their villages.’ (Decree of 9th April, 1893, Article 6.)
“‘The members of the Commission of Lands will specially examine whether the lands asked for should not be reserved either for requirements of public utility, or in view of permitting the development of native cultivation.’ (Decree of 2nd February, 1898, Article 2.)