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2. Article 8 (2) of Ordinance 34 of 1902 gives power to assign out of the moneys raised for the purposes of the Ordinance, such remuneration as the Governor may think fit, to officers employed under the Ordinance, but it is obviously cheaper to pay such remuneration by advances from the Treasury, to be recouped from the profits of the loan rather than to increase the amount to be raised, and pay interest on such increased amount for the term of the loan.

3. This is in accordance with the scheme proposed in my despatch, No. 330, of the 24th August_last.*

4. The difference between the amount required and the amount authorised to be raised by the Mechanical Transport Ordinances 1902 and 1903 is due mainly to the fact that the advances provisionally granted represented a maximum sum subject to reduction, on the production of vouchers, to the amounts payable in strict accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance, and the conditions laid down as reported in my despatch, No. 85, of the 7th March last.† In many cases the amount of the actual cost of the plant was below the estimates, while some of the applica- tions were withdrawn because the conditions could not be complied with, and for other reasons.

I have, &c.,

CHAS. BRUCE,

Governor.

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The Governor avails himself of this opportunity to express his grateful sense of the services rendered the Colony by the Honourable G. A. Ritter, Chairman, and the members of the Railway Board and Light Railway Board who have devoted much time to the consideration of the various measures proposed for extending the means of railway transport in substitution of animal draught. All the expenditure the Council is now asked to sanction is in accordance with their advice.

In the matter of the Long Mountain extension the views of the district proprietors have been studied with infatigable industry by the Honourable E. Sauzier, Chairman, and the members of the Committee associated with him; while the same services have been rendered to the small planters in the Savanne and Grand Port districts by Honourable Dr. Edwards, C.M.G., and the Honourable G. Gébert.

The Surveyor-General's report includes the present state of the works on the Black River Railway.

The Governor cannot close this Minute without expressing his thanks to the Surveyor-General, the General Manager of Railways and the staff associated with them in the very arduous duties they have accomplished in connection with the schemes that form the subject of Mr. de Coriolis' report. The Governor will request the Council by a separate communication to consider the question of adequately remunerating the officers referred to for their quite exceptional services.

CHAS. BRUCE,

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

8 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

42980

(No. 396.) SIR,

No. 117.

GOVERNOR SIR C. BRUCE to MR. LYTTELTON.

(Received November 27, 1903.)

[Answered by No. 119.]

Government House, Mauritius, October 21, 1903. Wrra reference to the concluding paragraph of my despatch, No. 301, of the Sth August last, I have the honour to transmit, herewith, a copy of a Minute I addressed to the Council of Government, requesting the Council to sanction a further expenditure of Rs. 104,800 on account of the Savanne Railway Extension Scheme.

2. Annexed to my Minute is a report by the Surveyor-General on the progress of the works on the Mountain Long and Savanne lines, and a statement showing the expenditure on the Savanne line already authorized by the Council, and the further expenditure which I requested the Council to sanction.

3. My Minute was referred to the Finance Committee, and I enclose a copy of their report recommending the Council to sanct.on the further expenditure, which was adopted at a meeting held on the 13th instant.

4. I beg to submit the vote of the Council for your approval.

I have, &c.,

CHAS. BRUCE,

Governor.

Enclosure 1 in No. 117.

(No. 22 of 1903.)

MINUTE.

Construction of New Railways.

With reference to the sums already voted by the Council of Government for railway extension to be charged to current revenues, the Governor has the honour to lay before the Council a reports by the Surveyor-General on the progress of the works on the Mountain Long and Savanne lines. A statement|| annexed showing the expenditure on the Savanne line already authorized by the Council and the further expenditure which the Governor requests the Council to sanction. The statement shows the additional works which the vote is asked to meet; the excess over the authorized expenditure amounting to Rs. 104,800.

• 35345: not printed. † No. 67.

‡ No. 98. § 1st October, 1903.

16th October, 1903.

Government House,

October 6, 1903.

Ordered to be referred to the Finance Committee.

Governor.

Annexures to His Excellency the Governor's Minute, No. 22 of 1903. (Vide Minutes of Proceedings, page .)

REPORT BY THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW BRANCH RAILWAYS.

As explained to the Secretary of State by His Excellency the Governor, in his despatch, No. 168, of the 25th April, 1903, after having provided for the substitution, on sugar estates, of mechanical for animal transport, in consequence of the mortality caused by surra, "it was necessary to consider the necessities of estates distant from railway stations, and, in particular, of areas cultivated by small proprietors, who have, in many instances, been obliged to abandon the crop on their property, finding it unprofitable or impossible to carry their canes to mills."

received instructions to start the works on the Mountain Long line towards the end of April last, and on the Savanne extension lines on the 11th of May last, after His Excellency the Governor had obtained from me the pledge that those two lines would be opened for cane traffic at the beginning of the crop. The following is a narrative of the facts connected with the construction of those lines:-

MOUNTAIN LONG RAILWAY.

The survey of the line was started on the 20th April. The earthwork began on the 4th of May. The line-standard gauge-has a length of 17,800 feet. The pegging out was a most difficult work. I had to go across small properties on the whole length of the line, except through L'Amitié estate and to lay the line so as to cause as little inconvenience as possible to the proprietors. The gradient being not steeper than 1 in 40, heavy cuttings had to be made, going down to 18 feet, and high earth banks to fill up the gaps were necessary. Two important stone bridges had to be built to cross over ravines. The ironwork of those two bridges consists in old rails. The Labourdonnais River having to be crossed over, advantage was taken of the Victoria bridge on the main road. That was a most delicate piece of work. After a most careful study, I have succeeded in making the line pass over the bridge without impeding the road traffic, and this by means of a vertical curve, with a gradient of one in forty on each side of the bridge, the line being level on a length of

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