PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:-
TLC.O. 882
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDORS
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PROTOGRAPHICA COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH---NOT TO
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6. No decision is called for until the subject has been under the consideration of the Council of Government; but I conceive it to be my duty to furnish this present report, the more especially as I took the opportunity of mentioning the probability of such proposals being made when I had the honour of seeing your Lordship in London on the 23rd of May last.
7. It is, however, I hope, unnecessary for me to remark that I have consistently abstained from giving colour to any supposition that the scheme would be endorsed by myself or indeed that it could be considered as practical and expedient, until the need for such assistance had been clearly demonstrated, and unless it were shown that the proceeds of any loan which might be authorised could be impartially, economically, and profitably applied to the benefit of the planting industry as a whole, and that the repayment of all sums to be advanced could be fully secured.
8. It remains to be seen whether these conditions can be fulfilled, and until then it would not appear that any useful purpose will be served by a present discus- sion of the soundness or feasibility of the scheme, but I think it necessary to state that the promoter of it, and others who support him therein, are insistent in repre- senting their belief in the necessity for such aid, and the serious results to the principal industry of the Colony, and as a consequence to the Colony generally, which may ensue should it be withheld.
9. I do not now attempt to express an opinion as to the correctness of these views; but the insistence with which they have been put forward cannot, I think, be ignored, whilst indications are not otherwise lacking that, apart from any question of improving the factories, there is a serious stringency in the local money market, resulting in an increase of the already high and almost ruinous rates charged for the loans to which many planters have recourse during the period known as the entre- coupe. I cannot, therefore, hide from your Lordship the fact that the financial condition of the industry gives cause for some anxiety, or that a repetition of the market conditions of the past season may give rise to another of those recurrent crises which have marked the previous agricultural and commercial history of the Colony.
10. As soon as the questions involved have been considered in the Council of Government I propose to address a further communication to your Lordship; and in the meantime I trust that the position which I have so far taken in the matter may meet with your approval.
11. I have not referred to the question of re-afforestation and the loan, as proposed by Mr. Leclézio, of £100,000 for that purpose, as I consider that neither does the financial position of the Colony justify such a step, nor do present require- ments render it necessary.
I have, &c.,
SCHEDULE OF ENCLOSURES.
1. *Mr. Leclézio to Sir C. Boyle. 24 April, 1907.
2. Sir C. Boyle to Mr. Leclézio. 26 April, 1907.
3. Mr. Leciézio to Sir C. Boyle. 28 April, 1907.
4. Sir C. Boyle to Mr. Leclezio. 6 May, 1907.
CAVENDISH BOYLE.
5. Mr. Leclézio (telegraphic) to Sir C. Boyle. 7 May, 1907.
6.
Mr. Leclézio to Sir C. Boyle 7 May, 1907.
*?
7. President of Chamber of Agriculture to Colonial Secretary. Enclosure with
resolutions. 21 May, 1907.
8. Extract from Governor's speech to Council of Government. 21 May, 1907.
9. Report of the proceedings and speeches at the meeting of the Chamber of
Agriculture.
Enclosure 7 in No. 1.
Chamber of Agriculture, Port Louis, 21st May, 1907.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to transmit, for His Excellency's consideration, the annexed resolutions which were moved by the Honourable H. Leclézio, C.M.G., seconded by the Honourable L. Souchon, at a meeting of the Chamber of Agriculture
• Enclosure of resolutions not transmitted: see enclosure in letter of President of Chamber of Agriculture.
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held on the 7th instant, in the Council Room, at Government House, with the kind permission of His Excellency the Governor.
The said resolutions were carried in the Chamber by a large majority, twenty members voting for and two against.
All persons interested directly or indirectly in the sugar industry of the island had been invited by notices in the newspapers to attend the meeting, which was a very large and representative one.
At the end of the proceedings the President invited all those present to give their opinion on the scheme and put it to their votes.
Only four gentlemen disagreed with the motion, not, however, with regard to the principle of the scheme, but to the application of the loan prayed for.
I have, &c.,
The Honourable
The Colonial Secretary.
CHAMBRE D'Agriculture,
E. CARCENAC,
President.
Annexe au Procès-Verbal No. 7 de 1907.
The Honourable H. Lecléxio's Plan.
The following is the text of the resolutions which the Honourable H. Leclézio, C.M.G., moved at the meeting of the Chamber of Agriculture held at Government House, on Tuesday, the 7th May, 1907, and which were adopted at the same meeting :-
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10. The Chamber of Agriculture of Mauritius, at a meeting held on the 18th December, 1897, passed a series of resolutions advocating as a measure of relief to the sugar industry the raising of a loan guaranteed by the Imperial Government, in order that advances might be made to planters to enable them to reduce the oost of production.
20. It was averred:-
I. That with the methods generally in use in Mauritius at least one-third
of the sugar was lost in manufacture, and that if this loss was materially diminished the industry might be carried on at a profit.
II. That a profitable increase of the production of sugar might be obtained, among other means, by extending irrigation works, by increasing transport accommodation, and especially by improving the machinery of sugar factories.
III. That the carrying out of these works required a large outlay, for which
there were no financial facilities in the island.
IV. That the credit of the sugar industry had been so much affected by the long crisis under which it laboured, that it was hardly reasonable to expect private assistance from abroad.
30. On the 21st December, 1897, the Council of Government unanimously voted the following resolution :---
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"The Council of Government join with the Chamber of Agriculture in the resolutions voted at its meeting of the 18th December instant, and beg that His Excellency the Governor be pleased to give them his support and to forward them to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies for his favourable consideration. The imme- diate measure of relief prayed for will largely contribute to keep up the sugar industry of the Colony, which is now threatened with extinction.
"The Council think that the sum of £400,000 will be sufficient to meet the
objects of the Chamber of Agriculture.
"The Council are also of opinion that, with the view of protecting the agricul- ture of the Colony against the effects of the frequently recurring periods of drought which visit it, and with the view of improving the sanitary condition of the island, the re-afforestation thereof be com- pleted, and they recommend, for that purpose, that His Excellency
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