The arrangement of this most serious question will stir up a nest of
hornets. The equitable adjustment would demand a minute survey of the
various districts, and a comparison of the holdings with the title
deeds; but what then? It is already known that the holdings are in
excess, and where is the legal remedy that can be practically applied?
If the actual letter of the law shall be enforced, and each proprietor
shall be compelled to disgorge his prey, there will be endless
complications. In England, twenty-one years' uninterrupted possession,
with occupation, constitutes a valid title. In Cyprus the extended
holdings have in many instances been inherited, and have remained
unquestioned as the acknowledged property of individuals, while in other
cases they have been more recently acquired. The question will comprise
every possible difficulty, and can only be determined by a special
commission officially appointed for a local investigation throughout
each separate district.
This will be a labour of years, and the innumerable intricacies and
entanglements will test the patience and HONESTY of interpreters in a
country where bribery has always opened a golden road for an escape from
difficulty, while our own authorities are entirely ignorant of the
native language. It is this lack of natural means of communication viva
voce which increases the already awkward position of high officials: the
power of speech belongs to the dragoman alone, and a great gulf exists
between the English and the Cypriote, who represent the deaf and dumb in
the absence of an interpreter.
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