R
3959.
No. 126.
(MAURITICS.)
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
11C.O. 885
15 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
'
LAW OFFICERS to COLONIAL OFFICE.
[Purchase by the Colonial Government of the Estates of Agapit and Rivière du Bois.]
Royal Courts of Justice,
SIR,
January 28, 1902.
We were honoured with your commands signified to us in Mr. Bertram Cox's letter of the 13th instant, stating that he was directed by you to lay before us a confidential despatch dated the 25th of October, 1901, from the Governor of Mauritius, together with the précis correspondence and other enclosures transmitted therewith, and to request the favour of our Report upon the questions raised in those papers as to the purchase of the estates of Agapit and Rivière du Bois for reafforestation purposes by the Government of Mauritius.
That the facts connected with the offer of Messrs. Ulcoq und Merandon to sell the above-mentioned estates to the Government were clearly summarized in the précis which formed the first enclosure to the Governor's confidential despatch, and Mr. Bertram Cox was especially to direct our attention to the Procureur-General's Minutes of the 10th and 13th of April, 1899, and the 23rd of October, 1901, which dealt with the legal position of the Government as regarded the purchase of the above-mentioned estates.
That having regard to the terms of the Assistant Colonial Secretary's letter of the 14th of January, 1897, in which he informed Messrs. Ulcoq and Merandou that the Govern- ment was prepared to recommend the purchase of their land to the Council of Government for the sum of Rs.220,000, Mr. Bertram Cox was to point out that, although this promise was not expressed to be conditional upon a loan being raised by the Government for reafforestation purposes, yet, in fact, the completion of the purchase depended entirely upon the ruising of such a loan, the Woods and Forests fund constituted by section 6 of Ordinance 10 of 1881 being insufficient to bear the proposed expenditure.
That an Ordinance (No. 30, of 1899), was subsequently passed to authorise the mising of a loan of £100,000 for the purpose of reafforestation. That this Ordinance was disallowed, but the Secretary of State having recently approved of the presentation to the Council of an Ordinance authorizing the raising of such a loan, the Governor desired to be advised to what extent the Government were bound by the decision of the Executive Council of the 8th of January, 1897.
That Mr. Bertram Cox was therefore to request us to take the papers into our consideration, and to report :--
(1) Whether the Assistant Colonial Secretary's letter of the 14th January, 1897, was legally such an acceptance of Messrs. Ulcoq and Merandon's offer as to create a binding contract between the latter and the Government, or whether further recourse to the Council of Government being necessary, that letter merely constituted a step in the negotiations falling short of legal acceptance of the offer?
(2) Whether, having regard to the first paragraph of Section 1 of Ordinance 25 of 1884-5, it was within the competence of the Government to buy, or to promise to recommend to the Council of Government the purchase of, land for a higher price than that advised by the Woods and Forests Board?
(3) Whether, in the event of there being no contract between the Government and Messrs. Ulcoq and Merandon, the Government are now bound to recommend the purchase of the land to the Council of Government for the sum of Rs.220,000, or are at liberty to refer the question afresh to the Woods and Forests Board ?
10849-25-1/1902 W 352 D & S 5