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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
8
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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2. I enclose a copy of a Minute I addressed to the Council of Government explanatory of the main provisions of the Ordinance, together with the usual full report of the Procureur-General:
3. I have only to add that in this Ordinance I have assumed that the Treasury and the War Office will agree that the debt-charges to be reimbursed by the planters should be exempted from military contribution, as in the case of the advances to be made to enable the planters to provide themselves with mechanical transport.
4. This Ordinance has given much satisfaction in the Colony, and I have good reason to believe that the mere enactment of the measure has to an appreciable extent relieved the financial strain of the moment.
I have, &c.,
CHAS. BRUCE.,
Governor.
Enclosure 2 in No. 40.
MINUTE.
The Sugar Estates (Advances-in-aid) Ordinance, 1902.
The Governor has thought it necessary to summon a Special Session of the Council of Government for the consideration of an Ordinance to raise a Loan for the purpose of making temporary advances to Sugar Estates and to “Bailleurs de fonds." Under the provisions of this Ordinance it is proposed to raise a sum not exceeding £200,000 in England through the Crown Agents for the Colonies. Out of this fund it is proposed that the Governor shall have power, after consulting the Loan Board, to make advances to owners of estates, either directly or through bailleurs de fonds for the purpose of assisting them to carry on the cultivation of, and for other purposes connected with, their estates from 1st December, 1902, to 31st March, 1903. Repayment of these advances is to be made, in either case, at the option of the applicant, either on 30th June, 1904, or in two equal instalments on 30th June, 1904, and 30th June, 1905, respectively, together with interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum on the capital due at the time of payment. The security for the advances will be a contract-charge upon an estate or estates and is identical in principle with the security demanded by the provisions of the Mechanical Transport Ordinance recently passed by the Council. The introduction of the bailleur de fonds into the draft Ordinance has been strongly urged on the Government as a means of assisting not only larger estates but small planters; the agency of the bailleur de fonds seeming to constitute a much more convenient machinery for transactions with the small planters than any at the disposal of the Government.
The Ordinance is introduced in order to give effect to a Resolution of the Council of Government accepted by the Governor as the unanimous expression of opinion of the unofficial members, on the 25th November last. The Governor hopes that it may be the means of relieving the community from at least the most pressing strain of the financial difficulties arising from the causes indicated in the preamble of the Ordinance.
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The amount authorised to be raised is £200,000, which will produce about three million rupees. The rate of interest is to be 6 per cent. repayment either on 30th June, 1904, or at the option of the borrower, in two equal instalments on 30th June, 1904, and 30th June, 1905; the security to be a contract charge on the estate in all respects resembling that created by the "Mechanical Transport Loan Ordin- ance." The important feature of this new loan is that advances may be made to the bailleurs de fonds, who are practically the financial agents of the planters; the security in this case is to be a contract charge on an estate belonging to the bailleur de fonds, or one on which he has a mortgage, and on which he will be able, with the consent of the mortgagor, to create the charge.
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The financial machinery for raising the money in England is the same as that provided in Ordinance No. 2 of 1898. In that Ordinance, owing to the absence of silver in the Colony at the time, special and somewhat complicated arrangements were made to enable money to be raised in anticipation for making immediate advances. In this Ordinance, however, it seemed sufficient to take power to raise money wanted immediately by the ordinary means of Treasury Bills. The stress of the case, however, made it necessary to take power to raise the whole amount of £200,000 by this means.
The whole Ordinance is constructed on the lines of the Mechanical Transport Loan Ordinance, and as I have gone fully into the details of that Ordinance in my explanatory report on it, it will not be necessary for me to dwell on them again in this report. Precisely the same privilege rank is given to the two contract charges; as between themselves, therefore, they will rank pari passu, and in case of seizure, under Article 17, after the Hurricane Loan Mortgages.
The following points require special notice:-
A definition of bailleur de fonds is given in Article 1.
The Government was strongly urged to include lessees in the definition of owner," as was done in No. 2 of 1898; I could not, however, advise it, as the whole of the present Ordinance is based on ownership, and a lessee could not give the necessary security-a charge on the land. But as there was no doubt that it was necessary to give the benefit of the Ordinance to lessees, I introduced the second paragraph of Article 10, with which all the Members of Council were satisfied. The object of the advances is to help the estates to carry on their cultivation for the four months, December, 1902, to Marchi, 1903, inclusive. These dates were introduced on the advice of the unofficial members of the Executive Council.
The advances will be made in sterling and will be repaid in sterling; the necessary exchange provisions being made in Article 9 (5) and Article 11 (3). These clauses were taken from No. 2 of 1898, as they had been found to work satisfactorily. A slight variation was made in the definition of "contract charge." It was pointed out that the Civil Code does not recognize donations "mortis causa"; these words were, therefore, omitted, and "will or testament" introduced.
In Form B.-the application by a Bailleur de Fonds-the applicant is required to state the rate of interest at which he proposes to make his advances to the planters. As the Governor has power under Article 7 to determine the conditions of the advance, there will be an efficient control over the rate of interest in order to prevent large profits being made by the bailleur de fonds out of the Government advance.
F. T. PIGGOTT,
CHAS. BRUCE,
Governor.
3400
No. 41.
Procureur-General.
Enclosure 3 in No. 40.
EXPLANATORY REPORT on Ordinance No. 43 of 1902, entitled an Ordinance "To raise money for the purpose of making temporary advances to owners of sugar estates and bailleurs de fonds."
December 26, 1902.
The Secretary of State having approved of further assistance being given to planters to tide over their present difficulties, this Ordinance was introduced and passed at a special session of the Council of Government on December 23rd.
GENTLEMEN,
COLONIAL OFFICE to CROWN AGENTS.
*
Downing Street, January 29, 1903. I AM directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23rd instant," and to transmit to you copy of an Ordinancet now received from the Governor of the Colony, shortly entitled 'the Sugar Estates (Advances-in-Aid) Ordinance, 1902."
I am to express approval of your complying with the wishes of the Governor, referred to in your letter under acknowledgment. In view of the receipt of the
• No. 38.
Enclosure in No. 40: the Ordinance is not reprinted.
Government House,
December 23, 1902.
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