PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
ILLCO. 882
8 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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SIR,
(No. 460.)
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No. 39.
GOVERNOR SIR C. BRUCE to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.
(Received January 26, 1903.)
[Answerel by Nos. 42 and 46.]
Government House, Mauritius, December 27, 1902. REFERRING to your despatch, No. 283, of 21st November last,* and previous correspondence on the subject of the substitution of mechanical for animal transport on sugar estates, I have the honour to transmit, herewith, for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure, Ordinance No. 34† of 1902, entitled an Ordinance "To raise a Loan for the purpose of making advances to planters to assist them in substituting mechanical for animal transport on their estates."
2. I enclose a copy of the usual explanatory report by the Procureur-General. 3. After my assent had been given to the Ordinance, one or two points were raised which it was deemed expedient to deal with by a short amending Ordinance. 4. I have the honour, therefore, to transmit, for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure, Ordinance No. 44 of 1902,† entitled an Ordinance "To amend Ordinance No. 34 of 1902 (The Mechanical Transport Loan Ordinance)," together with the explanatory report of the Procureur-General.
I have, &c..
CHAS. BRUCE,
Governor.
Enclosure 2 in No. 39.
EXPLANATORY REPORT on Ordinance No. 34 of 1902-"Mechanical Transport Loan Ordinance."
December 22, 1902.
This Ordinance was introduced after an exchange of telegrams with the Secretary of State, in which assistance to the planters was sanctioned to purchase tramways and other means of mechanical transport for their estates, in consequence of the ravages of the surra among their draught animals. The security approved was a contract charge on the estate securing the repayment of the advance by ten annuities, analogous to the rent charges created by the laipiovement of Land Act, 1864.
"
2. A tramway is defined to mean not only a tramway in the ordinary sense of the word but also a monorail, overhead wire system, and to include automobiles, traction engines and any other means of mechanical transport approved by the Governor. The inclusion of automobiles and traction engines was the subject of a special telegram to the Secretary of State. Although automobiles and other mov- uble property are not in their nature the improvements generally made the subject of a rent-charge in England, it seemed possible to include them in the scope of the Ordinance, on account of the principle of the Civil Code Article 524, which establishes the principle of "immobilisation par destination." Things which, though movable, are placed on an estate for the use and working thereof, are "immobilized," and form part of the estate for all purposes. The fact that the automobiles will be used for taking the sugar from the estate to the railway will not demobilize them. In order to make assurance doubly sure a declaration has been inserted in the application form and in the deed stating that all the movable parts of the tramway and the automobiles, &c., are for the use and working of the estate.
3. The amount of the loan so far authorised by the Secretary of State is £70,000, or about one million rupees. Provision is, however, made for borrowing a further amount on a resolution to that effect of the Council of Government approved by the Secretary of State.
4. The financial clauses were drafted in accordance with suggestions made by the Crown Agents. The loan is to be raised under the provisions of General Loan
• No. 20.
† Not reprinted.
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and Inscribed Stock Ordinance, 1887, with the following modifications: (i.) The loan being repayable in 10 years, the half-yearly contributions to sinking fund are to be £49s. instead of 10s.; (ii.) all the provisions of the Ordinance relating to the periodical repayment of debentures are cut out; (iii.) the provisions of the Ordinance for invest- ment of sinking fund for redemption of inscribed stock are applied to the sinking fund for redemption of the debentures issued for the present loan.
5. Further, on the advice of the Crown Agents, the debentures are given a Art. 4. double currency, being made repayable at the end of ten years, or at any period within the next ten years on giving six months' notice. Power is taken to raise half the amount of the loan by Treasury Bills, either in Mauritius or in London, in antici- Arta. 5, 6. pation of the raising of the loan.
Definition.
6. The advances are to be made by the Governor after consulting the Hurricane Art. 7. Loan Board, which may be augmented by the addition of members for the special Art. 1 (1). purpose of this Ordinance. All the business of the loan and advances will be trans- acted by the Loan Office, power being taken to remunerate officers so employed. Art. 8. 7. Advances may be made to planters, who have already purchased tramways Art. 9. since 1st January, 1902, as well as to planters who are desirous of purchasing them.
8. Application for advances are to be accompanied by documents or plans Art. 10, showing the boundaries of the estate, and also with plans and other particulars showing where the tramway is to be laid or relaid. The Board has full power to require any further particulars they may deem necessary. The terms of the article (10) are sufficiently elastic to meet the case of frequent relaying of the "flying sections" of the tramway as often as occasion may require.
9. Notice of the application is to be given to all privileged and mortgage Arts. 11, 12. creditors, who are allowed to object to the advance being made within ten days, the Supreme Court being granted power to determine questions as to the right to object. Where the Government is a mortgage creditor the refusal of the Governor to grant the advance is declared (Art. 7) to be the equivalent of this objection on the part of ordinary mortgage creditors. The ten days, therefore, does not apply to the Government.
In
10. The tramway may be purchased either through the Crown Agents or by the Art. 13. applicant himself by his own agent, or through the agent of the manufacturer. the case of purchase by the Crown Agents all payments will be made by them, a special provision being made for the application of money recovered under the policy of insurance in case of loss. Where the purchase is effected in any other way, payment will be made in the Colony, and provision is made for bills to be drawn on the Government. These clauses (Art. 13, iii.) were drafted in consultation with the Directors of the Bank of Mauritius.
11.
A special clause provides that the contracts are to be made on behalf of the Art. 13, iv. applicant, where the purchase is made by the Crown Agents, and that neither they nor the Government are to be held to have incurred any liability with regard to the execution of the contracts, or in any other respect whatever.
12.
The amount of the advance is to be limited to the actual cost of the tramway Art. 13, v. and of shipping it to the Colony; it is not to include cost of erection or any other costs or charges.
13. In Article 14 the provisions of Article 13 are applied to the cases of tram- Art. 14. ways already purchased, and of tramways already ordered, but not received.
14. The repayment of the advances is to be by ten annuities, payable in two Art. instalments, with interest at 5 per cent. By permission of the Secretary of State all payments in connection with the advances, although brought to general revenue, are not to be included in the calculations for the military contribution.
15,
15. The point to which I have now to draw special attention is the security, the Arts 16, 18. rent charge being unknown in French law, and it was necessary to devote particular care to the drafting of the article which introduces a new form of security into the jurisprudence of the Colony.
The main point to be borne in mind was that it should have all the virtues of a mortgage with none of its inconveniences. The virtue of a mortgage is its privileged position in case of seizure of the estate; the inconvenience of a mortgage is the possibility of having to buy in the estate.
11
The foreclosure procedure in Mauritius is briefly the following:- The property is sold at the Master's bar, but the seizing creditor is obliged to fix an upset price (mise à prix), by which he is bound in the event of there being no other
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