PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
8
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
No.
130
Productive and Unproductive Loans.
Annual Charges.
Total.
Annual Revenue.
Dead Weight.
Re. C.
Rs.
C.
Ra. C.
Ro. C.
1.
RAILWAYS.
Annual charge on account of
debt...
495,346 0
b
Maintenance and working
expenses
1,160,577 0
1,955,923 0 | 1,905,579* 0
530,344 0
2.
MARE-AUX-VACOAS.
a.
Annual charge on account of`
debt...
63,489 60
b.
Maintenance and working
expenses
53,748 88
117,238 48 36,557 33
80,681 15
3.
SUNDRIES.
a.
Annual charge on account of
debt...
51,110 40
Total Annual Dead-weight
51,110 40
182,135 55
LOAN OFFICE.
4.
a.
Annual charge on account of
debt...
b.
Working expenses
240,000 0 14,631 42
254,631 42
Net Annual Dead-weight
300,000 0
45,368 58 Sur. plus. 136,766 97
• Calculated on the Revenue and Expenditure of the last five years.
Treasury, Port Louis,
September 5, 1903.
No. 107.
37905
(No. 354.) SIR,
L. S. R. DU VERGÉ,
Acting Receiver-General. VICTOR SINGERY,
Head Accountant.
GOVERNOR SIR C. BRUCE to MR. CHAMBERLAIN. (Received October 15, 1903.)
[Answered by No. 115.]
Government House, Mauritius, September 12, 1903. By the terms of your despatch, No. 110, of the 12th April, 1901,* you approved the recommendation of the Council of Government as expressed in the report of a Special Committee appointed to consider the questions of reafforesta- tion, drainage, and harbour improvement. Briefly stated the measures approved were: (1) the issue of a loan for the purpose of reafforestation; (2) the limitation of the water drainage and sewerage scheme for Port Louis to the completion, ex- perimentally, of the section already undertaken, provided that, in the area not included in the scheme, an efficient system of night-soil service were substituted; and (3) the adoption of a moderate scheme for dredging the harbour, less ambitious than the scheme of Messrs. Coode, Son, and Matthews, the cost of the modified scheme to be met partly out of current revenue and partly out of an appropriation from the surplus funds in the Treasury.
2. The first and third of these measures are being carried out; an Ordinance has been passed authorising the issue of a loan for the purposes of reafforestation;
131
and arrangements have been made for completing the contemplated harbour im- provements, partly by provision in the annual estimates, and partly by an appro- priation from the Treasury balance.
3. As regards the drainage and sewerage of Port Louis, the result of the experiment carried out in the section originally undertaken has been so successful that the strong opposition offered to the scheme when first proposed has given way to a general, believe I may say, a universal consensus of opinion in favour of extending the scheme to other parts of the town. I must add that apart from all other considerations in favour of the measure, the very serious difficulties which have been caused by the destruction of draught animals by the recent epizooty of surra, and for a time threatened gravely to compromise the health of the town, have proved the urgent necessity of proceeding with the extension of the scheme.
4. In the penultimate paragraph of my despatch, No. 3, of the 7th January last, I informed you that the question of the drainage of Port Louis would be dealt with by the Commission of Enquiry into the Medical and Health Department. They have referred to the matter at pages 39 and 121 of their report, but after obtaining the views of the Drainage Authority, I decided to adopt Mr. Dawson's scheme. I enclose a copy of his report on the subject. The plan suggested by the Commission was moreover drawn up under a misapprehension as explained by Mr. Piggott in his letter of the 10th July last, a copy of which I also forward.
5. I have now the honour to enclose a copy of a Minute I addressed to the Council of Government submitting a report of the Drainage Authority in favour of the extension of the drainage system to District No. 2 of the town of Port Louis at an estimated cost of Rs. 286,506.90. Annexed to Mr. Dawson's report is a plan. District No. 2 is tinted yellow and pink.
6. I also enclose a copy of a further Minute I addressed to the Council re- garding the rate to be imposed to meet the cost of the drainage works. The ques- tions upon which I asked the advice of the Council were the following:-
7.
Ist. The amount of the loan to be raised and of the annual charge for interest
and redemption.
2nd. The annual charge for working expenses and maintenance.
3rd. Is the incidence of the cost of construction of drainage works common
to the whole urban area of Port Louis to be borne by the whole Colony?
4th. Is the incidence of the cost of construction of drainage works, for the
benefit of District No. 3, to be borne by the whole Colony?
5th. In carrying out the extension of the scheme to other districts, is the incidence of the cost of construction to be similarly borne by the whole Colony?
6th. Is the annual charge for working expenses and the maintenance of works for the benefit of each district to be borne by the district, or by the whole urban area of Port Louis, or by the general revenue of the Colony?
These Minutes were referred to the Finance Committee, and I transmit a copy of their report, which was unanimously adoptel by the Council of Govern. ment at a meeting held on the 1st instant.
8. You will notice that the Council not only recommend the drainage of Section 2, but also advise that the drainage system be extended to that part of Section 4 extending outside the Line Barracks from Madame Street branching down to the railway yard and that a loan redeemable in 47 years be raised under the provisions of the General Loan and Inscribed Stock Ordinance, 1887, to meet the expenditure, which is estimated by the Drainage Authority at Rs. 353,806.
In
9. The drainage of the area surrounding the Line Barracks was decided in 1997 and an Ordinance, No. 13 of 1897, was passed to give legal sanction thereto, but owing to funds not being available, the works could not be undertaken.
connection with this matter, I beg to refer you to the despatches noted in the margin. It is now proposed to complete the drainage of the Line Barracks. I annex a plan.§ showing in green the area to be drained.
Governor, No. 274, 28 August, 1897. Secretary of State, No. 207, 13 October, 1807.
}
•
9426/1901 not printed.
• 5245: not printed,
† Not reprinted.
‡ 20025 and draft: not printed.
Not reproduced.
R 2
19234