PUBLIC
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RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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Church in Mauritius. He has also been informed "that Her Majesty's Government have no intention of removing Bishop Scarisbrick, whom they believe to be an exemplary "and conscientious Bishop, as well as a thoroughly loyal subject." In the soundness of this conclusion I entirely concur.
66. As to (c), I do not think that it can with truth be asserted that the Governor has held the balance evenly between contending parties, as he should have done. He seems to me, on the contrary, to have identified himself thoroughly with one of the sides in local politics, and to have supported that side with all the influence and patronage which his official position commands.
67. With reference to charge (d), the Governor, it is asserted, has been on unfriendly terms, not only, as has been stated, with the Roman Catholic Bishop and his Vicar-General, but also with the late Admiral on the Station, with the Lieutenant- Governor, with the Officer commanding the Troops, with the Anglican Bishop, with the Auditor-General, with the Moderator of the Scotch Church, with the Master of the Supreme Court, with the Rector of the Royal College, and with many other of the leading English officials.
68. As to the charge (e), that the Governor has interfered unwisely and vexatiously in ecclesiastical and magisterial matters, I have already shown under heading (b) that the interference in ecclesiastical matters has been of a character to bring down on him the censure of the Secretary of State. As to the second part of the charge, it appears that in May 1885 the whole of the stipendiary magistrates in Mauritius complained to the Secretary of State of various acts of interference with their duties and decisions on the part of Sir John Pope Hennessy. On the 21st December 1885, the Secretary of Stale communicated his conclusions on the complaint to the Governor. Colonel Stanley considered that, in six out of the nine instances referred to by the Stipendiary Magistrates, the intervention of the Governor was to be regretted. He directed the Magistrates to be informed that, so long as they continued to discharge their duties as they had hitherto done, they need be under no misapprehension that they would be disturbed in their offices, and the Governor was reminded "that the Executive should interfere as little as possible "with the proceedings of the Magistrates, the law having provided a remedy by appeal "to a higher Court.'
69. Notwithstanding this decision, Mr. Hodgson, one of the Stipendiary Magistrates who signed the original memoriul, has sworn before the Commission that he is still constantly being interfered with by the Governor, who, he states, has persistently exercised towards him a hostility which has amounted to persecution.
70. As to charge (ƒ), it has, I think, beeu established by the evidence given before the Royal Commission, that the Governor's despatches to the Secretary of State relating to those to whom he has been opposed, have habitually contained loose and inaccurate
statements.
71. Allusion was made by one of the memorialists in his evidence to the incident in the Council of Government on the opening day, when a discussion arose as to the intro- duction into the Address, in reply to the speech, of a paragraph in praise of the Governor. Upon this subject I will only observe that, in my opinion, it was unwise to make the insertion of the laudatory paragraph a "Government measure," and to publicly order the officials to vote for it. Having done so, however, it was, I think, unfair and misleading to refuse to allow the fact to appear on the minutes. The minutes might have run thus:-The question having been declared a "Government measure,' Council divided “for” and “against "as follows.
the
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5. The alleged Revival of antagonistic Feeling between the different Races of the Inhabitants, and the Causes of such a Condition of Affairs, if it actually exists. 72. As I have already expressed the conclusions at which I have arrived upon this subject, under sub-head (a) of heading (4), it is unnecessary for me to discuss the matter further.
6. The General Condition of the Finances of the Colony.
73. The evidence given by Mr. Elliott, the Auditor-General, and by Mr. Beyta, the Receiver-General, supplies full information under this head. It will be seen that there has been an excess of expenditure over revenue since 1884 as follows :-,
Actual deficit in 1884 1885 Estimated deficit in 1886
Total deficits, 1884-85-86
Estimated deficit in 1887
111
Rupees.
552,815 1,081,826 500,000
2,134,641 620,425
Total actual and estimated deficits, 1884-85-86-87 2,755,066
74. The sources of revenue abolished by legislation since 1883 have been estimated to amount to an annual loss of 325,000 rupees, and the new sources of revenue created by legislation during the same period to amount to about 25,000 rupees per annuin.
75. The annual deficits, beyond this net remission of taxation of about 300,000 rupens, are, it is said, attributable to the depression of trade, the depreciation of the rupe currency, and the low price of the staple product of the island. A Return hanced in by the Auditor-General shows that there has been a filling-off of late years in the value of the imports and exports, but that this is due to the fall in the price of sugar, the quantity exported having increased.
76. It has been stated, also in evidence, that, after liquidating the deficits of the years 1884–85-86, amounting together to 2,134,641 rupees, there will still remain a surplus of assets over liabilities on the 31st December 1886, of 2,500,000 rupees.
77. With reference to the estimated excess of expenditure over revenue of 620,425 rupees for next year, the Finance Committee of the Council of Government conclude their Report on the Estimates for 1887, dated the 8th November 1886, with the following remark :-
"Your Committee leave the Executive to deal with the deficit for 1887, but they wish to place on record that, should the estimates for 1888 show that the revenue will not equal the expenditure, they will ask that measures be taken to meet the deficiency, and they will suggest that one-half of such deficiency should be met by reduction of expenditure, and the other half obtained by increased taxation."
7. The alleged Increase of Crime, and the extent to which the Sentences of the Courts have been varied, or set aside by the exercise of the Prerogative of Pardon.
78. From the evidence which has been given before the Royal Commission, there does not appear to have been any material increase of serious crime in Mauritius during the last few years.
A Return, furnished by the Procureur-Général and attached to his evidence, gives the number of serious offences for each of the last six years as follows:-
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
Cases.
5,298
4,422
-
3,165
4,266
Average, 4,377
·
4,034
-
4,090
From this it will be seen that the serious offences in 1885 were considerably below the number of those in 1880, and also below the average of the previous five years, from 1880 to 1881 inclusive. There is, however, an excess of 225 serious offences in 1885 as compared-with 1882, which, it will be seen on reference to the Return, is mainly due to the increase of larcenies. The Procureur-Général explains this increase as follows:-
"Since 1882 we have had constant depression in the island, which would account for an increase of offences against property, and there must also have been an increase in the population. In 1885 we had reached a period of very acute depression indeed. We first experienced a great fall-in the price of sugar, and then there was the financial crisis, caused by the suspension of the Oriental Bank. Many estates were thrown out of cultivation, and large workshops closed, and a large number of men were without employ. ment, so much so that the Government had to come to their assistance. I remember, on one occasion, seeing the yard of Government House full of men clamouring for work."
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