PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
ILTIŢI
C.O.
8855 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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of Mauritius of the decision arrived at, by communicating to him the substance of the first paragraph of the letter from the Royal Commission.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
No. 89.
EDWARD WINGFIELD.
Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., to the Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley.—(Received
(No. 446.) My Lord,
November 1.)
Government House, Mauritius, October 6, 1880.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's despatch of the 30th July_ultimo, with copies of correspondence with the War Office, respecting the proposed formation of a company of rifle volunteers at Mauritius.
2. Your Lordship writes as follows:-"I have much pleasure in conveying to you the authority of Her Majesty to accept the services of the gentlemen who have expressed their desire to be formed into a volunteer company, and I have to request that you will take the necessary measures for the organization of the company, on the terms and con- ditions proposed in your despatch of the 19th December, 1879 (No. 431)."+
3. I first suggested the formation of a volunteer rifle company here in a despatch (No. 358 of the 6th November, 1879)‡ addressed to your predecessor nearly a year ago, and in a subsequent despatch (No. 157 of the 31st March ultimo)§ I informed Sir Michael Hicks Beach that it was to be feared that, in consequence of the long delay of any reply to the offer of the gentlemen who had tendered their services, "the applicants might feel discouraged, and the present public-spirited movement might die out."
4. I am now informed that this apprehension has been, in part, realized; and that it will be, at all events, impracticable to form a volunteer company in this island, except on the general conditions and under the regulations which, after consulting with the military authorities, I suggested in my despatch No. 431 of the 19th December, 1879. Those general regulations, with some slight additions and amendments which further inquiry and consideration have proved to be required, stand thus :---
(1.) That the proposed company should consist of not more than 100 effective volunteers, embodied under the provisions of an Ordinance analogous to the Volunteer Acts of the English Parliament.
(2.) That the officers shall be appointed by the Governor, the captain in command being now, or having been, an officer of Her Majesty's regular troops.
(3.) That the members of the company shall be principally, if not entirely, of European birth or descent, and belonging to the Civil Service, and to the professional, mercantile, and planting communities.
(4.) That 100 rifles, with the usual accoutrements, be supplied for the use of the volunteers from the Imperial Military Stores, but that they remain the direct property of the Crown, represented by the War Office, so that they can be resumed at any time if necessary; and that they be kept in a room in the barracks at Port Louis, under the immediate charge of a non-commissioned officer, to be selected by the officer commanding the troops, and who will receive additional pay from the Civil Government for the care of these arms.
(5.) That the Colonial Legislature be not asked to vote any contribution to the volunteer company beyond a capitation of 20 rupees per annum for each effective volunteer, to cover the pay of the above-mentioned non-commissioned officer, and other incidental expenses.
5. The fourth of the above regulations is the only one which seems to require expla- nation, for, from the correspondence forwarded with your Lordship's despatch now under reply, it appears that it has been proposed in England-
(a.) That the rifles and accoutrements shall not be supplied to the volunteers in Mauritius from the Imperial Military Stores, as is the practice in England, but that the Civil Government shall be required to purchase them, and shall be charged with their custody and care.
(b.) That it is proposed that the War Office shall sell to this Colony either 150 Martini- Henry rifles at," say, 6751., plus the usual departmental expenses, or the same number of Snider rifles (part worn) for about 3757., plus the usual departmental expenses."
6. On these tenders I beg permission to submit the following observations :-- (a.) All the military authorities here are agreed--and indeed it is obvious to common
* No. 43.
Inclosure 4 in No. 126 of "Miscellaneous No. 39."
Inclosure in same Paper.
No. 6.
51
sense--that, in a Colony circumstanced as is Mauritius, a corps of volanteers would be worse than useless, unless it be regarded simply as supplementary to the small garrison of some 400 regular troops, and furnished with the same arms and ammunition. It would certainly be unwise and impolitic to expose the Imperial Government to grave animad- version by asking the Colonial Legislature to purchase old and worn rifles of an obsolete pattern, discarded several years ago from the regular army, and for which ammunition could not be procured in this island hereafter in case of need.*
(b.) There can be no reasonable doubt but that any corps of volunteers raised in this Colony should be armed in the same manner as the regular troops. With regard to the supply of the arms, I may observe that it is of course inevitable that, in the great English Colonies of North America and Australasia, the volunteers and other local forces should be practically under the orders of the Colonial Governments, and armed at the cost of the Colonial Parliaments. But I may also remark, in passing, that all persons who, like myself, have filled for a lengthened period the office of Governor of any of the last- mentioned Colonies, will agree that there are many present inconveniences, and probably much future danger, in the system which places the local troops and the local fortresses and arsenals virtually under the command and at the disposal of chance members of successive Colonial Ministries. Anyhow, whatever may be the case in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it is assuredly obvious that, in an Imperial Naval and Military Station and Crown Colony, circumstanced as is Mauritius, where there is only a handful of Englishmen scattered among an overwhelming population of alien race (of which two-thirds are composed of Indian coolies), no volunteer corps should be formed except in immediate connection with the garrison, and under the command of an actual, or retired, Imperial officer. It appears equally obvious, for many reasons which will readily be understood, that the arms of such volunteers should remain the direct property of the Crown, and be kept in the barracks, under military custody and care, so that they can be resumed at any time when necessary. It has been further pointed out here that no Civil Department in this island possesses the means of keeping in proper repair and order valuable fire-arms and ammunition, which require special care in a tropical climate, and that it would be highly imprudent to allow them to be taken home by the volunteers, whose houses are scattered over the country districts; for, in the possible contingency of a sudden rising among the Indians in time of peace, or of a sudden landing of a hostile force in time of war, these arms might be seized by the enemy and used against the Queen's troops.
(c.) It will be recollected that Mauritius already pays the heavy military contribution of 401. per annum for every soldier of the line, and of 701. per annum for every artilleryman and engineer of the Imperial army quartered in this island.
It is believed that this is a larger contribution than any paid by the other Crown Colonies and Imperial Military and Naval Stations of the same nature as Mauritius, viz., Malta, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, and Bermuda. It is certain that there would be strong opposition, both in and outside the Colonial Legislature, to a proposal that, in addition to this contribution, the Civil Govern- ment should purchase arms for a corps of volunteers supplementary to the English garrison.
7. The views shadowed forth above were formed after consultation with the principal civil and military authorities in Mauritius, and from my own thorough personal knowledge of this island and of its inhabitants. I further thought it right to lay the official corre- spondence on this subject before the Executive Council. From the annexed "Extract from the Minutes of Proceedings," it will be seen that—
"The Council, after deliberation, advise that it is desirable, in the peculiar circum- stances of this Colony, that the arms and accoutrements of the proposed volunteer corps should in Mauritius, as in England, remain the direct property of the Crown; that they should be kept in the barracks at Port Louis under the immediate care of the Military Department; and that it would not be advisable to propose to the Council of Government. any increase, direct or indirect, of the military contribution now paid by Mauritius.”
8. In conclusion, looking to the above decision of the Executive Council, and to the facts and arguments stated above, and to others that might be adduced, I submit that no attempt should be made in Mauritius to form a corps of volunteers except on the conditions and under the general regulations proposed in the fourth paragraph of this despatch. If, on some ground with which I am unacquainted, the decision of the Executive Council and these regulations cannot receive the sanction of Her Majesty's Government, it is my duty to recommend that all further action in this matter be dropped.
9. Awaiting further instructions, I have, &c.
G. F. BOWEN.
(Signed)
Sir G. Bowen is mistaken. The ammunition for Martinis and Sniders is the same, and interchangeable.-E. B