CO882-(3-4) — Page 561

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC»|

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

4 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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Enclosure 3 in No. 5.

To the QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

The humble Petition of the undersigned, planters, landholders, members of the learned professions, merchants, and other inhabitants of Mauritius, in public meeting assembled,

Most respectfully sheweth:

That the system of government which exists in this island, and which dates so far back as 1831, though it may have been adapted to the wants and circumstances of the Colony at that time, is no longer in keeping with its material and intellectual condition, nor with the desires and aspirations of its inhabitants.

Your petitioners need scarcely say that they entertain the greatest regard for the members of the Council of Government individually; but, however desirous those gentlemen may be of discharging their important duties properly, they are, from the very nature of things, unable and must ever be unable to do so to the satisfaction of the community.

The official members, being servants of the Crown, are altogether dependent upon As regards the it, and most necessarily vote in its sense on all government measures. unofficial members, they are appointed by the Crown and removable at pleasure, and lack, on that account, that direct public support in the absence of which they can hardly exercise an adequate and efficient control over the acts of the Government. Besides, as they hold no trust from the community itself, which does not nominate them, they do not represent it, and only express their personal opinions on the matters submitted to them.

Whether, therefore, the official element and the unofficial element of the Council of Government should be equally balanced, as they are now, or whether there should be which power a majority of unofficial members, as there was a few years ago, and the now belongs to the Crown of revoking these members, be abolished, the Council of Government will remain open to fundamental and insuperable objections, as long as it is so constituted as to leave the Colony without any influence on the action of its government and without a share in the management of its affairs.

It is almost universally admitted that the only form of government which is legitimate and rational, and which is compatible with freedom, is that in which the people have a voice, through delegates chosen by them, in the making of their own laws and in the imposition of their own taxes, that is to say, the form of government based upon the principle of representation.

No doubt, this principle does not prevail to an equal degree in all civilized countries; there are even some in which it is barely recognized; but it may be looked upon as the very essence and soul of the British constitution, and is so deeply rooted in the breast of the English nation that they have, as it were, implanted it on every soil where they have set their foot.

It is not, therefore, surprising that most of the British possessions should now be endowed with representative institutions more or less akin to those of the mother- country.

With respect to the Colonies acquired by mere occupancy, they had no difficulty in exercising the privilege of self-government, such privilege having always been con- sidered by all Englishmen as part of their inherent birthright.

The Colonies gained by conquest could not, of course, hope to be treated from the first so favourably. However, the generous and liberal policy followed by England towards these Colonies, especially for the last fifty years, has naturally produced the effect which might have been anticipated. By teaching them her language and history, by instilling into them those notions of liberty and progress in which her own greatness consists, by setting herself as an example and as a pattern to them, she has accomplished a work of assimilation which has drawn them nearer and nearer to her, and has communicated to them that love for free institutions which is one of her most prominent characteristics. The seeds thus sown by her have yielded fruit. Had she withheld from her Crown Colonies a boon after which she had herself induced them to aspire, she would have proved both false to them and untrue to herself. She has accordingly not only placed several of her Crown Colonies on nearly the same footing as her other Colonies, but has invariably proclaimed that she is ready to grant representative Legislatures to all Crown Colonies, except such of them as are manifestly incapable of governing themselves.

Your petitioners respectfully maintain that there is no valid reason for including Mauritius in the latter category.

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They believe that they do not claim to anything beyond what is strictly due to this community, when they say that it comprises none but faithful and loyal subjects of Your Majesty; that it is orderly, peaceful, law-abiding and laborious; that, in spite of the difficulties it has so often to cope with, it has, by its energy and activity, developed the resources of the Colony to their fullest extent; that it is intelligent and enlightened-in fine, that it is equal in more than one respect, and even superior in others, to Colonies on which the benefit of free government has been already conferred. On this subject, your petitioners may confidently appeal to the testimony of almost all the Governors who have succeeded each other in this island, and of all the Englishmen who judge it impartially.

It seems, therefore, to your petitioners that they are entitled to contend that, primá facie at least, this Colony is fit for the reception of a more liberal form of Government than the one it possesses.

It may be said that the population of Mauritius contains a large proportion of Indian immigrants, and that it is divided into different races, and that these peculiarities are sufficient per se to disqualify the Colony for any species or any description of free or representative government.

The objection arising from diversity of races is not new; it has already been made in reference to other Colonies, whose population presented the same features as that of Mauritius; and yet, it has not. precluded those Colonies from obtaining and enjoying representative institutions. It appears to your petitioners that such an objection could only have any weight, if it was shown that there was want of harmony among the divers classes of the population of this island, which is far from being the case, and if it was proposed to exclude any one class from the privileges which your petitioners crave for, which would be quite contrary to their wish.

Neither can the presence of a great number of Indian immigrants in this island be urged as a serious ground against the views held by your petitioners. If there ever could be any tendency on the part of the Colonial Legislature to deal otherwise than fairly and impartially by those immigrants, the very large and powerful authority with which the Crown is already vested and with which it will continue to be armed, will be more than adequate to protect and defend their just rights.

The points which your Petitioners have just noticed, as well as all the other points worth considering, have been fully examined in a Report which was prepared by a sub-Committee appointed at a public meeting held in the Town Hall of Port Louis, on the 7th of July last, a translation of which is appended to this Petition, and to which Your Majesty's advisers may refer, if further information be found necessary.

It would be very extraordinary indeed if the change which is advocated by the undersigned had not met with a certain amount of opposition, in some quarters at least. But your petitioners do not hesitate to affirm that their opponents form but an exceedingly small minority; and they firmly believe that the arguments, if any, which may be put forward against their opinions, are most easy of refutation, and only proceed from a mistaken or imperfect view of the present state of this Colony.

Your

Be this as it may, it is really difficult to conceive that the small measure of self- government which the Colony demands can possibly expose it to any danger. Petitioners only ask for a partially elective Legislative Assembly, and they suggest that the franchise should not, for the present, be too low.

They beg that the constitution of the Colony be framed on the following basis:-

1. That the Council of Government should be replaced by a Legislative Council consisting of thirty members, namely, ten official, and ten unofficial members, nominated by the Crown, and ten members elected by the community in the manner hereafter indicated.

2. That the unofficial members chosen by the Crown should not be selected among public functionaries either in office or in receipt of pensions, and that they should be appointed for life and should not be liable to removal.

3. That the elected fraction of the Legislative Council should be renewed every four

years.

4. That every member of the Mauritian Community who is a British subject or naturalized, provided he is capable by law, and in possession of his civil rights, should be an elector, if he has at least one year's residence in the Colony, and if he possesses one or other of the following qualifications:

(a.) If he be the owner of immovable property of an annual value of Rs. 500.

(b.) If he possesses movable property equal to Rs. 5,000 at least ;

(c.) If he pays an annual rent of Rs. 480 at least, or Rs. 40 a month;

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