JERSEY. Titred'origine d'un hectare. blue. No 217474. Ornate design by David, engraved by A.Gusman, showing priests and nuns converting the natives, coats-of-arms, tropical plants, shipping scenes, etc. This scheme was fraudulent. The 'colonie' was to be established on New Britain, an island off New Guinea, Extremely heavy rainfall, thick jungle, poor soils, with disease and fever, make the area almost unhabited by local people. The promoter, a Marquis de Rays, organised a public meeting in Marseille to publicise the merits of the settlement scheme - to spread the Gospel and to make good profits at the same time. He issued a monthly newspaper, giving good news from the colony - the arrival of missionaries, conversion of the natives, and development of plantations of sugar-cane, cotton andcoffee on the supposedly fertile soil. He printed 'bons' for 1 hectare of land (of which this is one); they sold first for F5, then for F10, F20 and finally F50, in 1881. He opened offices in Marseille, Paris, Havre, Nantes, Jersey, Barcelona and Brussels. Rays stated that no investor need go to live in the colony, but could make a good profit without leaving home. The land would be settled by Indian or Malay families, who would pay with 1/5 of their produce. The colonists who did leave from France arrived on this inhospitable island, without any structure for receiving them, and many soon died from disease. The few survivors were repatriated in 1882, and the Marquis was convicted in 1883. Land grants such as this were totally worthless and investors lost their money. This certificate is worth far more than the hectare of jungle it represents. It is interesting to note that the domicile of the company was moved from Paris to Jersey - one can guess why!