CO882-(4-5) — Page 45

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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

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continue to receive my support and protection from the attacks sometimes made upon them by Mr. Antelme and his co-memorialists.

24. Of the memorialists themselves I will only say that your Lordship must not think they constitute a very compact or permanent body. They consist of the ultra- Conservative and chief of the anti-reform party, Mr. Antelme, senior, and of three ultra- Radicals. This combination was formed for electioneering purposes. Mr. Antelme is the chairman of the Credit Foncier. The New Oriental Bank worked with him during the elections. From an electioneering point of view such a combination may be quite fair. Similar arrangements occur in England. Without the combination, two, perhaps three, of the memorialists would not have been returned.

25. Nor must your Lordship imagine that they have all been hitherto waging a vigorous war against me. On the contrary, during the elections not a word was uttered by Mr. Anteline against the Governor, and as regards the other three, they never spoke of me and my policy but with praise, until the elections were over.

26. What, then, is the origin and object of the memorial? After the ten members had been duly elected by the people, Her Majesty's representative in Mauritius had to select on behalf of the Queen five non-official members. I had not, directly or indirectly, engleavoured to influence the vote of a single elector. Nevertheless the four memorialists conveyed to me the intimation that unless I handed over to them the prerogative conferred upon me by the Royal Letters Patent, I would incur their hostility and whatever injury may be inflicted by a memorial to the Secretary of State.

27. The enclosed letter from the delegate of the memorialists, Mr. de Coriolis, gives his own version--not in all respects quite accurate of what passed when he communi- cated their ultimatum to me.

28. Even with the threat of a memorial to the Secretary of State [hanging over] me, I did not feel justified in transferring to Messrs. Beaugeard, de Coriolis, Antelme, and Planel the highest and most responsible function I was bound to exercise as the Queen's representative.

29. The disappointment of the memorialists on learning that I could not comply with their wishes became intensified when it was rumoured that I intended following a Buggestion of Lord Derby's and selecting the Mayor of Port Louis and also a genuine representative of the Asiatic community.

30. For some years past Dr. Beaugeard and Mr. de Coriolis had been in vain opposing the annual election of Mr. Lavoquer as Mayor of Port Louis. The frequent municipal elections (including 1886) in which Mr. Lavoquer had always defeated them, caused these gentlemen some annoyance, which, I fear, prevented them from recognising his just claims to be considered by the Government in a matter of this kind.

31. Mr. Antelme has so often charged me with what he calls a fanaticism for the Asiatics, he has so frequently expressed his horror at seeing an Indian element in the Council Chamber, and some of his co-memorialists have spoken so much against the Indians entering into our political system, that I was not surprised at the chagrin of the memorialists when it became known that Mr. Gnanadicarayen Arlanda, a gentleman of pure Indian blood, was to be appointed.

32. Your Lordship will see a further cause for the memorial in the enclosed cor- respondence addressed to me in February last by Dr. Beaugeard and Mr. de Coriolis objecting to the appointments I made to the Council and committees connected with education. With the exception of one vacancy that had to be filled, those appoint- meats were simply annual re-nominations of 21 of the leading gentlemen of the Island. They had been re-nominated by me last year and the year before without a whisper of pposition. Though notified only in the Gazette of the 23rd of February, the appointments had all been made (with the exception of the appointment to the vacancy) in January.

33. Finally, the adverse action of the memorialists towards me was stimulated, unconsciously I have no doubt, by Mr. Clifford Lloyd.

34. On the day that I received the somewhat intemperate letters of Dr. Beaugeard and Mr. de Coriolis I also received a very courteously worded protest on the same subject in a semi-official letter from Mr. Clifford Lloyd. After objecting to a Despatch of mire which had been written before his arrival, Mr. Lloyd said :—

"You have also within the last few days nominated various gentlemen in the Colony to a council and committees connected with education. In none of these cases have you in any way consulted me. I hope you will on consideration see that it is due to the position I hold that before taking action in such important matters connected with the administration you should consider any views I

may hold upon them."

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I pointed out to Mr. Lloyd that the appointments in question were practically re-nominations of annual boards recommended by his predecessor, Mr. Beyts, and made by me before his arrival; and that next year he would have an opportunity, when submitting the annual boards in January, to suggest any other names that his experience of the Colony would justify. Mr. Lloyd arrived in Mauritius on the 6th of February. His letter to me is dated 26th February.

35. But, unfortunately, the fact that Mr. Clifford Lloyd did not approve of my procedure in this matter was known at once. Other differences also became known, and the chief memorialist has written a letter to the papers praising him as the courageous Lloyd."

36. Such, in my opinion, is the origin of the memorial; intense disappointment of a minority that they cannot have the power and influence of a majority, and that they cannot dictate to the Governor the appointments of members of the Council of Govern- ment and of the Council of Education.

37. As Mr. Antelme showed copies of the memorial to various persons before I saw it, and as some public feeling was thus aroused, a counter address seems to have been got up within the last few days. This address has been presented to me by a deputation.

38. I enclose for your Lordship's information a copy of the address, of the remarks of Sir Virgile Naz, K.C.M.G., in presenting it, and of a more or less correct report of what I said in reply.

39. In addition to Sir Virgile Naz's remark that the address is more numerously signed than the petition to the Queen in favour of reform in 1882, I must confess I was much gratified to learn that leaders of opposite parties, who had fought against each other at the recent elections, had on this occasion united together and signed the address to me. Whilst Mr. Portal, the member for Grand Port, had signed it, so had Mr. Rault, his unsuccessful opponent; and whilst Mr. Geffroy, the member for Rivière Noire, had signed it, so had Mr. Thomy Pitot, his unsuccessful opponent; whilst Mr. Adam, the member for Flacq, had signed it, so had Mr. Jollivet, his unsuccessful opponent.

40. Those are symptoms of good feeling that indicate something far more important than any compliments to me.

41. They show that the bitterness of the recent electoral struggle is passing away. In my reply to the address I endeavoured to encourage this feeling by referring to the minority and their opposition in a not unfriendly manner, and I took the opportunity of paying a tribute to the long public services and estimable personal character of Mr. Antelme, whose sincere anti-reform views had naturally led him to differ with the majority of his countrymen and with me.

42. I trust your Lordship may be able to give an answer to the memorialists that may induce them to turn in this direction, and to recognise the constitutional weight of the majority of the unofficial members, whilst maintaining a watchful criticism of the Governor's conduct.

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The Right Hon. the Earl Granville, K.G.,

p.m.

&c.

&c.

&c.

I have, &c. (Signed)

J. POPE HENNESSY.

Enclosure 1 in No. 8.

Mr. CLIFFORD LLOYD to the GOVERNOR.

TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR,

April 15, 1886. ACCORDING to your request I record what took place with reference to a petition presented on the 12th April 1886 to me, signed by Dr. Beaugeard and others. At about Mr. Hitié brought the petitions with signatures to them. He presented me with an unsigned copy saying the actual petitions would be presented later with more sigas- tures. I looked at the paper and expressed the regret with which I received it. The petition signed was presented to me at about 4, I think, and I at once acknowledged it in my own hand, saying it would be submitted by next mail (as the post closed in 2 hours and the document had to go to you at Réduit). I then sent it to you, without it going though the office.

CLIFFORD LLOID.

(Signed)

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