日治時期臺灣的官設埤圳與水利公共化（1899－1934）

臺灣傳統社會中，埤圳是由私人出資開闢，水權亦為少數埤圳主所壟斷。日本領臺後，於1899年著手埤圳公共化，並於1906年起開始全面推動公共埤圳組合，以制度削弱埤圳主勢力。惟公共埤圳組合只是在名義上將埤圳轉型為公法人，實務上仍然由埤圳主和地方菁英世襲控制，並未真正脫離私有財產性質。1910年至1912年間，臺灣總督府藉由出資擴建莿仔埤圳、獅子頭圳和后里圳的機會，順勢徵收三條水圳的埤圳主產權，改由總督府官僚直接管理，稱為官設埤圳水利組合。這三條水圳，可謂臺灣最早完全公共化的水圳。1917年，總督府徵收臺灣所有埤圳主產權後，臺灣所有公共埤圳組合均不再有私有財產性質，官設埤圳因失去特殊性，於1922年廢止。1924年，總督府全面實施水利組合制度，直接控制農田水利組織。至1934年，水利組合在人事上，已經無異於總督府轄下的地方機構，臺灣農村自治組織也隨之終結。儘管臺灣官設埤圳存在的時間不長，但其組織型態，卻是日後水利組合的雛形。本文主以1910年至1922年臺灣既有的官設埤圳水利組合為核心，探討19世紀初期到1934年間，臺灣總督府透過徵收私人埤圳產權，逐步去除埤圳主和地方菁英勢力，全面控制臺灣農田水利組織的歷程，以及官設埤圳水利組合在臺灣埤圳公共化過程中，扮演的承先啟後角色。

關鍵字

官設埤圳；水圳；水利組合；公共埤圳

並列摘要

In Taiwan's traditional society, irrigation canal systems were built with private funds and water rights were monopolized by a few private owners. After Taiwan came under Japanese Rule, the colonial authorities began to push for the nationalization of irrigation canals. In 1906 the authorities promoted associations of public irrigation canals so as to weaken the private owners. However, the associations were still controlled by those private owners and local elites, and the canal systems did not really break away from their nature of private property. During 1910-1912, Taiwan Governor's Office paid for the repairs of the of Tshi-a-pi(莿仔埤) Irrigation Canal，Sii-e-teu(獅子頭)Irrigation Canal and Auli(后里)Irrigation Canal. Furthermore, the Governor's Office expropriated the property rights of those three irrigation canals from their owners and established an ＂Association of State-owned Irrigation Canal Systems.＂ They thus came to be directly managed by bureaucrats at the office and became the earliest ＂state-owned irrigation canal systems＂ in Taiwan. In 1917, the Taiwan Governor's Office appropriated the property rights of all public irrigation canal systems. As a consequence, ＂state-owned irrigation canal systems＂ lost their special status and the title was abolished in 1922. In 1924, the Governor's Office fully implemented the irrigation associations and directly controlled the irrigation canal systems on the island. By 1934, the irrigation associations had become organizations no different from other local branches of the Governor's Office. Hence, a major vehicle of Taiwan's rural self-government was put to an end. Although the ＂state-owned irrigation canal systems＂ did not exist for a long time, they were prototypes of the irrigation associations in later years. This article examines how, from the 1899 to 1934, the Governor's Office gradually reduced the power of private irrigation canal owners and local elites in Taiwan by abolishing private ownership of the canal systems. It also discusses the crucial role the ＂Association of State-Owned Irrigation Canal Systems＂ of 1910-1922 played in the process of nationalization of irrigation canals in Taiwan.