PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :----
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C.O. 882
72
Agriculture which stated that the nomination of a Commission by Lord Elgin constituted an unjustifiable want of confidence in the Chamber, but that if, in Lord I cannot Elgin's opinion, an enquiry was necessary, the Chamber did not fear it. find that you have furnished me with an account of the proceedings on that occasion, but from the newspaper reports it appears that Mr. H. Leclézio, who moved the 'D'abord, resolution, made the following statements in the course of his speech :- oe ne sera pas une Commission animée de sentiments bienveillants qui nous sera envoyée. Les commissaires ne viendraient pas ici dans un 'but utile; c'est mon impression, je le dis de la façon la plus catégorique. C'est fait de mauvais grâce.
"Le Ministre veut nous envoyer une Commission d'Enquête sur l'administration en vue de diminuer nos dépenses. Savez-vous ce qu'il comprend Vous par là ? C'est de nous rattacher à l'Inde. Voilà ce qu'il nous propose. aurez alors Monsieur Maintel comme juge à la Cour suprême; vous aurez des Magistrats indiens qui viendront ici pour quelques roupies. Vous aurez des pro- fesseurs venant de Ceylan." I need hardly observe that there is not the slightest foundation for these allegations, and if Mr. Leclézio has been correctly reported I am greatly surprised that they should have been made by a gentleman who, as a member of the Executive Council [and] of the Legislature, occupies such a responsible position in the Colony.
6. I note that these statements find no place in the speech which he made in the Council of Government. He argued on that occasion that the appointment of a Commission would be inopportune, and that the Colony could not afford the cost; and he appeared to be of opinion that the information already given to the Secretary of State "by the different people interested, by the Chamber of Agriculture, by the Council of Government, by the Governor himself" should have been sufficient.
7. Those who put forward this last argument do not appear to realise that the information supplied to my predecessor has, in the light of subsequent events, been shown to be inaccurate. It was asserted in November last that the sugar crop would not exceed 130,000 tons, but, as I understand, it proved to be not less than 180,000 tons, and while I have no information as to the average selling price which was realised I imagine that it is considerably above the figure on which the calcu- lations as to the position of the planters were based. At the same time it was asserted that the prospects for the coming year were equally bad; but four months later my predecessor was informed that there would have been every prospect of a It was then record crop but for the cyclone which occurred on the 2nd March. stated that the effect of the cyclone would be to diminish the coming crop by 20 per cent.; but I think it will be hardly denied that this estimate was, to say the least, exaggerated. It was represented that with the assurance of a loan the planters might possibly get through the months of March and April, but that there would be many failures unless it was certain that funds would be forthcoming by means of a loan before the end of the entre coupe. Your own view, as stated in your despatch, No. 85, of the 18th March,* was that there was no longer any possibility of averting a general disaster unless the planters were afforded the assistance for which they had asked.
8. In my opinion those who so publicly foretold the impending ruin of the Colony incurred a heavy responsibility towards their fellow colonists. Such pre- dictions might easily have brought about their own fulfilment, and the fact that they have not been realised suggests that the business community in general did not share the pessimistic views that were put before the Secretary of State.
9. The vote of the Council of Government has, of course, definitively disposed of the question submitted to it; and, as the principal object of the enquiry would have been to investigate the alleged necessity for a Government loan to assist the planters, I do not propose to consider further, at the present time, the question of appointing a Commission. Whether such a step may be advisable hereafter, in connection with the other matters which my predecessor indicated as fitting subjects for investigation, is a matter which may be left for future consideration.
23963
(No. 135.) SIR,
73
No. 66.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THẸ GOVERNOR.
Downing Street, 23 July, 1908. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 168, of the 29 May,* forwarding copies of resolutions passed at public meetings on the subject of the appointment of a Commission of Enquiry.
I take this opportunity of transmitting to you a copy of a telegramt which has been addressed to me by Dr. Laurent. I request that you will cause him to be informed that it has been received, and that I have duly laid it before the King, who was pleased to receive very graciously the assurance which it contained of loyalty and attachment to His Majesty's person and throne.
I have, &c.,
27100
(No. 177.) MY LORD,
No. 67.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received July 25, 1908.)
[Acknowledged August 7, 1908. No. 146.]
CREWE.
Government House, Port Louis, 12 June, 1908. In continuation of my despatch, No. 168, of the 29th of May, I have the honour to transmit herewith a communication presented to me on the 9th current by Mr. Duchenne, which contains a resolution adopted at a public meeting held at Souillac, in the district of Savanne, “insisting" on the concession of a loan after the Commission of Enquiry suggested by your Lordship's predecessor.
2. Mr. Duchenne, who was accompanied by Dr. Laurent, Member for Port Louis, and by Dr. Guibert and Messrs. de Boucherville and Lacaze, asked that the resolution might be transmitted to you as quickly as possible; and having communi- cated it, together with a police report on the meeting, to the Executive Council, I am now able to comply with that request.
3. I have not received any counter resolution as referred to by Captain Ward in his report (copy enclosed), and in the absence of any information other than what is therein given I am not in a position to state how far the views of the electors of the district were voiced at the meeting or to what extent they are represented by the resolution. The member for the district, Mr. C. Dumat, appears to have taken no part in the proceedings, and he has not approached me in the matter.
EXCELLENCE,
I have, &c.,
Enclosure in No. 67.
CAVENDISH BOYLE.
Souillac, 7 Juin, 1908. J'ai l'honneur de vous transmettre la résolution qui a été votée à une grande majorité à un meeting autorisé par vous et tenu à la Magistrature de Souillac par Mr. le Dr. Guibert, propriétaire, comme moi, à la Savanne:
Les habitants de la Savanne et d'autres parties de l'Ile, réunis ce jour en meeting public à Souillac d'accord avec ceux de Port Louis, de Pamplemouses, et des Plaines Wilhems, insistent pour l'octroi de l'emprunt après l'enquête suggérée par le Ministre."
A Son Excellence
J'ai l'honneur, &c.,
D. DUCHENNE,
Président du Meeting.
• No. 51.
I have, &c.,
CREWE.
Sir Cavendish Boyle, K.C.M.G.,
Gouverneur de Maurice et de ses Dépendances,
&c.,
&C..
&c.
No. 63.
↑ No. 62.
+ Not printed.
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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