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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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from him to make the suggestion to Mr. Ferguson that he would be nominated to a Boat in the Council if he would withdraw his candidature in favour of Messrs.Newton and Guibert; but I am not satisfied that the action of Mr. Ferguson at the election did not materially influence Sir John Pope Hennessy in passing over that gentleman, and not offering him a seat in the new Council. I must add that, in my judgment, the imputation brought against Mr. Ferguson by Sir John Pope Hennessy in his despatch of the 23rd January 1886, was not justified by the evidence given at Couvé's trial or by the summing-up of the Judge, and was disposed of by the evidence of Mr. Ferguson himeelf and of Mr. Wemyss given before the Royal Commission. I think Sir John Pope Hennessy was also to blame for not having called upon Mr. Ferguson to give some explanation before he wrote his confidential despatch, so that the whole case might have been fairly laid before the Secretary of State.

11. Thirdly, as to Mr. Cockburn Stewart's case. I concur generally in the con- olusions arrived at by Sir Hercules Robinson in his report, although I feel bound to say that the papers before me do not establish the conclusion which he formed on the spot, viz., that there are grounds for the opinion of the majority of the English officials in the Colony that, as stated by Mr. Clifford Lloyd, the Governor "showed much malignity "in his persecution of this unfortunate officer." There can be no doubt that Mr. Stewart was guilty of very great carelessness and irregularity in the traneaction of financial business; and though he may be acquitted, in my opinion, of anything criminal or dishonest, his negligence had been so great that Sir John Pope Hennessy cannot be fairly blamed for the exercise of a discretion, undoubtedly vested in him, of acting against the opinion of the majority of his Executive Council.

12. Fourthly, as regards the charges made in the memorial of the five elected members of the Council of Government. These have been very fairly summarized by Sir Hercules Robinson in his report, and may be considered in connexion with the ninth head of that report, as being matters cognate in character and practically inseparable.

13. It is in dealing with these parts of the report that I find most reason to regret that Sir John Pope Hennessy was not forced to attend at the inquiry, by himself or by counsel, and to examine the witnesses. A great deal of the evidence is of hearsay character, or consists of statements of opinion; but if Sir John Pope Hennessy had been present this evidence would have been made more specific, and the charges would not have been left in the somewhat disjointed and incomplete state in which they now come before me.

14. Taking the case, however, as it stands, upon the report of Sir Hercules Robinson, the evidence of the witnesses, and the defence of Sir John Pope Hennessy, it resolves itself into a few leading propositions.

The

15. There can be doubt that Sir John Pope Hennessy proclaimed and acted upon a policy which may shortly be summed up as one of" Maurice aux Mauriciens." principle of employing Natives of the island to a very large extent in the principal offices of the Government, as well as in the minor situations which are for the most part already occupied by them, is one which has during recent years been fully approved by my predecessors, and has my entire concurrence; but there was no sufficient ground for proclaiming a new departure in a manner calculated to arouse, as it undoubtedly did arouse, grave and general apprehensions among the civil officers not connected with the island by family ties, that they would no longer receive fair and impartial treatment. A great deal of the evidence, however, consists of the repetition of a general complaint of the way in which Sir John Pope Hennessy carried out his policy, coupled with specific instances of the avowed application of it, and of resulting discontent.

16. Some of these instances Sir John Pope Hennessy has explained away in his defence, and some are, I think, to be attributed more to his desire to promote men who generally supported him in the unhappy differences which undoubtedly existed in the Colony, than to the special policy under consideration. Upon the whole I am of opinion that by his want of judgment Sir John Pope Hennessy injured the cause which he had at heart, and created a not unnatural discontent and hostility, but that there is not such evidence before me of personal injustice in the distribution of patronage as would justify me in concluding that he cannot retain the office of Governor.

17. Nor, upon the whole, do I think that the charge of "

persecuting" the British officials, as a class, in the offices which they hold has been established; but, as regards the general charge of undue interference brought against him, I cannot shut my eyes to the cases of Bishop Scarisbrick, and of the stipendiary magistrates, where his interference was vexatious and unjustifiable, and called down upon him the well- -deserved censure of two Secretaries of State.

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18. Into those cases, which have been practically decided by my predecessors, I do not propose to enter, except to remark that a repetition of such conduct would render it impossible for Sir John Pope Hennessy to be continued as Governor; but, taken together with others which have been brought under my notice, they show that Sir John Pope Hennessy has in several instances stepped beyond the limits of that legitimate interference and check which are so necessary to keep up the proper tone and work of public offices.

19. I

pass now to the grave charges which are to be found in sub-heads (a), (b), (c), and (d) of paragraph 63 of Sir Hercules Robinson's Report, and which may be shortly stated as follows:--

That the policy and utterances of the Governor have mainly revived race animosities and religous antagonisms in Mauritius; that he has allied himself to a party and showed himself a bitter partizan; and that, owing to his disposition, differences have arisen between him and nearly all the leading English officials.

20. I may observe, in the first place, that, except as to the last charge, Sir Hercules Robinson has very fairly qualified the charges by inserting the words, "in the opinion of many;" because, in justice to Sir John Pope Hennessy, it must be borne in mind that a large portion of the community support his policy, and contend that it is in accord with the feelings and wishes of the population.

21. The conclusion in respect of these charges at which I have arrived, after studying the evidence of which the general character is well described by Sir Hercules Robinson in the 95th and 97th paragraphs of his Report, is that the Governor, in carrying out his policy, which was highly approved of by part of the inhabitants, but viewed with suspicion by another part, including the English and official element, identified himself too much with the party that supported his view, and became a partizan rather than an impartial Governor holding the balance evenly between all parties. This conduct has intensified the opposition, and caused much bitterness of feeling; it has created, as the evidence shows, a general want of confidence in the Governor, and a disbelief in his fairness; and it has placed Sir John Pope Hennessy on a most unfortunate footing with some of the officials with whom he has to work; and thus has materially affected the peace and good government of the Colony.

22. On the other hand, while I find a good deal of exaggeration on the part of his opponents, a great readiness to accept any stories against him, and, as in the case of Mr. Clifford Lloyd, a regrettable want of loyalty to the Governor, I do not find any overt act of misconduct such as would render it necessary to remove him from office.

23. I must, moreover, add that the charges against him in respect of the condition of the finances of the Colony, and the alleged increase of crime owing to his inter- ference, appear to me to have broken down. As regards the latter point, I am disposed to agree with the conclusion arrived at by Sir Hercules Robinson in the 84th paragraph of his Report, namely, that "it is impossible to express any opinion as to whether, in each of the 662 cases remitted by Sir John Pope Hennessy, the prerogative was "exercised in a judicious manner. All that can be said is that the prerogative of pardon

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has, during his administration, been used to a much greater extent than before, but "that no evidence has been brought forward to connect that leniency with the small "increase which has taken place 'in serious offences since the year preceding his

arrival."

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24. Having now briefly dealt with the leading points in this case, I have only to add that, after careful and anxious consideration of the evidence, I have not felt it my duty to advise Her Majesty to remove Sir John Pope Hennessy from his Governorship, and the suspension of his Commission will accordingly cease from the day of the date of this despatch.

25. I do not conceal from myself that much will depend upon the attitude and line of conduct which Sir John Pope Hennessy adopts on his return to the Colony; but trust that this investigation will show him the absolute necessity of maintaining a strict impartiality, and of giving a careful consideration to the claims and interests of all persons, whether opposed to his policy or advocating it. I shall enforce upon him the necessity of working cordially with those who hold office under him, and of subordinating his own personal views, religious or political, to the general good of the Colony; and, on the other hand, I confidently expect that, notwithstanding all that has passed, those who hold office under him will in future give him a loyal and generous support.

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