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of the expenses chargeable to the loan under Article 8 of the Ordinance. I have already informed you that the expenses connected with making the proceeds of the loan available in Mauritius will be charged to the borrowers.
The
4. All the loans applied for under this Ordinance, with one exception, are payable in two instalments, in June, 1904, and June, 1905, respectively. exception is an application for an advance or Rs. 37,500, payable in one instalment in June, 1904. This application is liable to reduction, but will be entertained for a round sum calculated on debentures of not less than £100.
•
5. I will inform you by telegram, as soon as possible, of the exact amount to be raised by debentures repayable in 1904 and 1905 respectively.
6.
Under the Mechanical Transport Ordinance, No. 34 of 1902, which autho- rises a loan of £70,000 for the purpose of making advances to planters to assist them in substituting mechanical for animal transport on their estates, the following applications have been received :—
For advances in accordance with-
Schedule Form A.
Schedule Form B.
Rs. 1,555,503
Rs. 842,392
Rs. 2,397,895
7. The applications are, therefore, largely in excess of the amount authorised by the Ordinance, but I anticipate that they will be largely reduced in order to comply with the conditions I have laid down in a Minute of which I annex a copy.
8. As soon as I have received the statement called for in my Minute, I shall be in a position to consider to what extent I may ask you to sanction an increase of the loan under Article 2 (1) of the Ordinance.
11471
SIR,
No. 64.
CROWN AGENTS to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received March 27, 1903.)
Downing Street, London, March 26, 1903. WITH reference to your letter, No. 7293/1903, of the 25th February,* I have the honour to transmit, for the information of the Secretary of State, a copy of the letter which we have addressed to the Government of Mauritius reporting the sale of £200,000 in short-dated debentures on behalf of the Colony.
SIR,
Enclosure in No. 64.
Mauritius.
I have, &c.,
E. E. BLAKE.
March 20, 1903.
Enclosure in No. 63.
MINUTE OF THE GOVERNOR.
I have, &c.,
CHAS. BRUCE,
Governor.
I shall be glad to receive from the Board a preliminary report showing: The amount of advances necessary to meet the applications received, so far as they can be entertained, on the following conditions:-
1st. The estate to give a contract charge in accordance with the terms of the Ordinance, to secure an advance which shall in no case exceed the moiety of the value of the estate when added to any existing charges due to the Government. As regards the valuation I am prepared to accept the report of the Loan Board expert, in the case of estates to which advances have been made under the Hurricane Loan Ordinance. In all other cases, the last purchase price should be taken as the basis of estimates, subject to a report of the expert. If the expert's valuation is in excess of the last purchase price, the reasons must be given in detail.
2nd. That the expenditure for which an advance is required is limited to the market price of the plant delivered in Mauritius, in accordance with the Ordinance-- the estimated price to be established to the satisfaction of the Board.
Until this report is received, I do not see my way to consider the question of increasing the amount authorized to be raised by the loan.
February 3, 1903.
C. B.
CROWN AGENTS to COLONIAL SECRETARY, Mauritius.
(35 D and A. Mauritius 155.)
On the 5th instant we sent to you a telegram in the following words:- "Referring to your telegram, 3rd March, £101,200 issued at per cent. discount, £98,800 at par, carrying interest at 4 per cent. from 6th March. Payment of interest 1st August, 1st February; bonds redeemable 1st August, 1904, 1905, respectively. Estimated cost of issue, brokerage, stamps, loss of capital, and incidental expenses, say, £892; issue, manage- ment and redemption £539; total expenditure £1,430; cost of remitting Rs. 2,454,000 £165,720."
2. I have now the honour to furnish, for the information of the Colonial Govern- ment further particulars of the issue of the loan under Ordinance No. 43, of 1902.
3. The debentures issued are in two series, the first representing £101,200, being repayable on the 1st August, 1904, and the second series, representing £98,800, being payable on the 1st August, 1905.
4. As the debentures were of such short currency we did not think it advisable to issue them publicly. We therefore sold them privately, and the price which we have obtained for the first series is 99 per cent. and for the second series par; both prices comparing not unfavourably with the prices which Australian Govern- ments have recently obtained for issues of four-year Treasury Bills.
5. Both series of bonds carry interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum, payable on the 1st August and 1st February, and the interest will run in the first instance from the 6th March last.
6. The purchase money for the whole of the first series of the bonds, and for £5,000 of the second series was paid to us on the 6th March, and we shall receive payment for the balance of the second series on the 6th April, making the total proceeds of the loan as follows:-
For the first series of bonds £101,200 at 997
For the second series of bonds £98,800 at 100
£101,073 10 98,800 0
0
0
£199,873 10 0
7. As payment for the second series will not be made until 31 days after interest has commenced to accrue on the bonds, it has been arranged that interest at the rate of four per cent. in respect of the period from 6th March to 5th April shall be paid to us with the purchase money on the 6th April.
• No. 57.
TIT
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
8
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH——NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON |
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