PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-~~-~
C.O. 882
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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the case, that Her Majesty's Government would not await Sir Hercules Robinson's report, but would allow him to remove me at his discretion, even without hearing the defence.
6. On my return from Bourbon I was able to show the members of Council and others who spoke to me on the subject that there could be no foundation for such sinister rumours, and on the receipt of your despatch of the 29th of September, I furthermore pointed out that the opening sentence in paragraph 9 of your instructions to Sir Hercules Robinson contained the necessary safeguard against any arbitrary or unjust action.
7. The demeanour of Sir Hercules Robinson also tended to reassure_the_community. He seemed anxious to hear witnesses, and though he said he wished in the first instance to listen to those who had complaints to make, he frequently repeated that he would give ample time for the evidence on the other side.
8. At our first or second interview he told me he had made up his mind to have the inquiry a secret one.
9. He advised me not to be present, and I accepted his advice. As regards the cross- examination or re-cxamination of the witnesses, I understood that I could have that done thoroughly by the Commissioner himself on my behalf, when the proper time came. 10. When he began, on the 10th of November, be expressed the hope of getting all the witnesses at both sides examined, and the inquiry finished early in December. He said his official engagements at the Cape, and the arrangements he had made with the Admiral respecting H.M.8. "Raleigh" also limited his time.
11. The enclosed correspondencet I had with Sir Hercules Robinson will show how the inquiry proceeded; how the matters concerning Mr. Clifford Lloyd were disposed of, as well as my alleged interference at the general election, the alleged increase of crime, the alleged undue exercise of the clemency of the Crown, and the alleged maladministration of the finances.
12. The correspondence also shows the growing anxiety on Sir Hercules Robinson's part to close the inquiry, and get away to the Cape. The intelligence that reached us from the Cape, whilst he was still examining the witnesses against me, showed that his presence in South Africa was absolutely needed. He also mentioned to me some
matters in connexion with the Premier, which urgently called for his presence in Cape Town.
13. On the other hand I had received day after day, up to the 9th of December, the shorthand-writer's notes of the various witnesses who had been called and examined by Sir Hercules Robinson against me. In some cases he had devoted a whole day to the examination of a single witness against me.
14. As regards the matters relating to Mr. Clifford Lloyd, the rough notes referred to in Sir Hercules Robinson's letter of the 29th of November, concluded thus :-
"There is nothing whatever in the Governor's action in forwarding in his despatch of the 10th of Mayt (1) the authorized speeches of the 19th of April, and (2) the first proof of the minutes of proceedings of the 4th of May, which in any way justifies Mr. Lloyd's accusations against the Governor that in that despatch he had been guilty of serious,' 'deliberate,' ' vindictive,' and ‘malicious insinuations,' misstatements, and misrepresentations.
"28th November 1886.
H. R."
15. Each of the points in my minute of the 3rd of December, relating to Mr. Lloyd's case, was carefully gone into by Sir Hercules Robinson, in viod vece communications with me, when we had Mr. Lloyd's written explanations and all the material papers before us. He unreservedly expressed himself in my favour on each point, and when I asked if there was anything further to do in that matter he said, “No, when a nail is "driven home, any additional taps only loosen it." A few days later he frankly added,
"My conclusions on the whole case as between Mr. Clifford Lloyd and you will be "stated in the following words:-From the beginning to the end Mr. Clifford Lloyd waS "disrespectful, insubordinate, and disloyal."
16. But whilst the supposed origin of the Commission of Inquiry was thus cleared away, a new matter, or rather a mass of old complaints, was pushed forward in place of the original charges that had failed.
17. In support of four charges laid against me by a minority of the English officials, these gentlemen asked Sir Hercules Robinson to go into every case in which they had forwarded complaints to Downing Street which had been decided by Lord Derby, Lord Granville, and the other Secretaries of State during the whole time of
my administration
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They also appealed to the Commissioner on many other points of administration in which for the last three-and-a-half years they did not approve of
18. The moment the Commissioner decided, in his letter to me of the 3rd of December,
my ruling that he could not deal with the charges of the English officials in the same way as he had dealt with the case concerning Mr. Clifford Lloyd, it became manifest that either the interests of Mauritius or the interests of South Africa would suffer, as the memorialists were being re-heard at their own request, and as the evidence of the English officials had not then been concluded; and of course until I saw all this evidence I could not say what amount of re-examination or cross-examination might be necessary nor what amount of rebutting testimony I should ask the Commissioner to take on my behalf.
19. As the position in which affairs now stand was mainly brought about by the limited time at the Commissioner's disposal, venture to refer you to my letter of the 3rd of December as some indication of my oft-repeated desire to facilitate and shorten the Commissioner's labours. In that letter I said:-" Your frank communications about "Mr. Lloyd's case have brought that to an issue. Is it not possible to apply a similar " method to the complaints of the English officials, and to the evidence of the "memorialists ? If you wish I can run through the evidence with you, and put aside "whatever you think needs no explanation.”
20. Sir Hercules Robinson did not feel justified in doing this. In his reply he laid upon me the full responsibility of dealing with that mass of evidence in what he, no doubt, considered the more regular and complete manner.
21. But even at that date (3rd December) the evidence of the English officials against me was going on. On the other hand, the day before the English officials had brought their four charges against me, the 12th of November, the following paragraph had been sent to the newspapers by Mr. Round :—
"The Royal Commission.
"We understand that Sir Hercules Robinson will be obliged to leave for the Cape about the 6th proximo, and he will be glad therefore if any gentlemen who may desire to give evidence before the Royal Commission will lose no time in communicating their desire to Mr. Round, the Secretary, who will arrange with them for a hearing.”
That is on the 12th of November. Sir Hercules Robinson announced that he would be obliged to leave for the Cape about the 6th of December. Nevertheless, the evidence of certain English officials against me was taken up to that date, and the last of those witnesses, Mr. Hodgson, was heard on the 7th of December, and his evidence was sent to me on the 9th of December.
F
22. Meanwhile the memorialists had been reheard at their own request, and on the 4th of December the Commissioner telegraphed to me :--
"You have all the evidence now of the memorialists except that given yesterday by Mr. Planel and the two Antelmes. This, Mr. Bennett (the shorthand writer), has not yet written out, but he has promised it on Monday morning 6th December), when it will be sent to you."
23. I replied that the moment I got the evidence of the memorialists I should be able to decide how to deal with it, and that meanwhile I was working as quickly as I could on the evidence of the English officials. As to the latter, in writing to the Commissioner on the 7th of December, I said :-
“As far as I have gone with the evidence of the English officials, I am sure you will not be sorry to hear that I have been able to dispose of every allegation of fact each witness advanced, in relation to himself, bearing on the four charges. You will be surprised to see how careless, or worse, they have been in dealing with simple matters of fact."
24. On the 9th of December I had an interview with Sir Hercules Robinson, and pointed out to him that the fresh evidence he had taken of the memorialists, and the evidence of some of the English officials, involved points on which I should like him, on my behalf, to cross-examine them or re-examine them. No doubt he also gathered from my remarks that the majority of the English heads of Departments, and of English officials, were ready to testify in my favour, and that the taking of this evidence and the preparation of my defence would occupy some weeks.
25. Whilst he seemed to think the re-examination on my behalf of the hostile witnesses was quite natural, and that it was also fair that I should be allowed to call witnesses to rebut their statements, nevertheless he seemed to be in a position of great difficulty. He said the "Raleigh" was bound to be at the Cape at a certain day as the
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