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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:-
C.O. 882
5
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
26
Enclosure 4 in No. 12.
The ACTING SECRETART to COUNCIL.
I FORWARD herewith my dissent from the resolution adopted by the majority of the Executive Council respecting the redistribution of the ccclesiastical grant, and request that it be attached to the minutes of the proceedings.
THO. ELLIOTT,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
DISSENT of Mr. ELLIOTT, Acting Colonial Secretary.
I DISSENT from the resolution adopted by the majority of the Executive Council that the Roman Catholic Church should receive 3 of the total amount provided in the Estimates for ecclesiastical purposes, while the Church of England should receive but of the total amount, aud the Church of Scotland.
The Secretary of State in the 5th paragraph of his Despatch, No. 314, of the 20th September 1889, says that there should be a revision of the existing distribution of the ecclesiastical grant which would give a somewhat larger proportion to the Roman Catholic Church, and in paragraph 6 of that Despatch he states that he abstains from offering any opinion as to what form the redistribution should take without further assistance from the Governor and his advisers, but cannot admit mere numbers as the sole basis upon which redistribution should be made.
I ain of opinion that this Council is not yet in a position to give that assistance which the Secretary of State asks for, but I will revert to this later on.
Local distribution of members of the churches is in my opinion the only equitable basis of calculation, and the following statements show where the respective clergy of the two churches are placed, so that they may minister to the wants of the members of their churches.
According to the Blue Book returns of 1888, the distribution of clergymen of the Church of England was as follows:-
Port Louis
Pamplemousses
Grand Port
Savanne
Moka
Curepipe, Beau Bassin
Rose Hill
Vacoa and Black River
5. 3 salaried, 2 grants in aid.
-
1.
1
""
I.
1
**
1.
1
""
3.
2
13
1 grant in aid.
2.
1
1
""
27
voluntary contributions received by the respective churches, and such statements should be furnished, showing the various kinds of voluntary contributions and the amounts.
I repeat that until the information referred to in the last two paragraphs is furnished, this Council cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion upon the question of redistribution. The total amount provided in the Estimates for ecclesiastical purposes is divided into establishment charges, grants in aid of stipends and the building of churches, and moralisation grants.
Redistribution when carried out should be applied only to establishment charges.
In connexion with this, I would observe that, looking at the amount of salaries drawn by the respective clergy, and considering other sources of revenue, it appears to me that the Roman Catholic priests receive larger emoluments than clergymen of the Church of England. Every Roman Catholic priest has a house provided for him, and many of them receive a considerable amount from fees; while only half the clergymen of the Church of England are provided with houses, and none of them receive fees. It should also be borne in mind that as a rule the clergymen of the Church of England are married (there is only one exception to this in Mauritius) and consequently have larger expenses than the Roman Catholic priests.
On looking at the establishment list of the Roman Catholic priests it will be seen that there are 16 each receiving a salary of Rs. 1,500 per annum, and 15 each receiving a salary of Rs. 2,000 per annum; if these latter were paid only Rs. 1,500 each, there would be sutficient funds to pay five more priests, so that by a redistribution of salaries the staff of the Roman Catholic Church would be increased by five priests.
As regards the distribution of the moralisation grants, each church should receive assistance according to the number of missionaries and catechists it employs. Neither church can, as a church, claim a larger amount than the other, for the money is to be applied in mission work among people not belonging to either of them, and all are entitled to work on an equal footing.
As regards grants in aid of stipends and building of churches under Ordinance 54 of 1844, that should depend upon the respective wants of the churches, and when those have been ascertained, a pro rata distribution of the amount voted is, it appears to me, the equitable way of dividing it.
The resolution adopted by the majority of the Executive Council, means, in round num- bers, that Rs. 21,500 will be added to the grant to the Roman Catholic Church. When it is borne in mind that the amount paid to the Church of England in 1888 was Rs. 41,800, and that under the proposed redistribution the grant will be reduced to Rs. 20,500, it will at once be seen that the work it now does cannot be carried on, and that members of the Church of England distant from populous centres will be deprived of spiritual ministra- tions. Under the resolution adopted by the majority of the Council, the Church of Scotland will not suffer to any serious extent; the amount proposed to be given to it being only about Rs. 270 less than the amount received by it in 1888.
THO. ELLIOTT, November 28, 1889.
Acting Colonial Secretary.
Distribution of clergymen of Roman Catholic Church:
·
18. 8 salaried, 5 grants in aid. 5 unpaid.
Port Louis
Pamplemousses -
Riv. du Rempart
Flacq
Grand Port
Moka
Plaines Wilhems
Savanne
Black River
3. 3
""
·
2. 2
"
4. 4
""
4. 3
"
2. }
"
6. 5
""
2. 2
""
2. 2
""
1 1
""
"
It appears from the foregoing statement that there is not much room for diminution of the number of clergymen of the Church of England.
I have not seen any specific statement showing the wants of the Roman Catholic Church, and before any redistribution of existing grant is made, such a statement should be prepared and submitted for consideration.
And information on another side of the question is wanting. Lord Kimberley in his Despatch of the 13th September 1871 to the Governor of the Windward Islands states that Government assistance to churches should be in proportion to the amounts received trom voluntary contributions. I have not seen any statement showing the amount of
SIB,
Enclosure 5 in No. 12.
Respecting the COMPUTATION of the ECCLESIASTICAL GRANTS.
St. James' Vestry, November 26, 1889.
IN reference to letter A. 2286 which I had the honour to receive under date 22nd November instant, conveying certain information on the part of his Excellency the Governor, I beg to observe :
1. That although the proportion of numbers is excluded by Her Majesty's Secretary of State from being the sole factor of computation in respect of any preparatory con- siderations which may be suggested as to some possible modification of future ecclesiastical grants, yet its importance as a (perhaps) subordinate factor in this connexion may be sufficient to make it my duty to comment upon the statistical documents forwarded to me together with the letter under reply.
2. The number of Roman Catholics furnished by the Census Report quoted is 53,895. The hypothetical total arrived at by the addition of other items is conjectural,-to say the least and necessarily too favourable to the Roman Catholic Church, at our expense, viz., at that of non-Roman Catholics generally. I respectfully point out that the Roman Catholic number cannot well rench 108,000.
D 2
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