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Champ-de-Mars, Port Louis, an appeal which we earnestly hope will be favourably considered by you.

We have, &c.

Dr H. D. GUIBERT, D.M.P..

President of the Rose Hill Meeting

D DUCHENNE,

President of the Souillac Meeting.

Honourable Dr. EDW, LAURENT, B.S., M.B., Lond.,

Mayor of Port Louis,

Senior Member of the Council of Government, President of the Comité d'Action Libérale and President of

To the Right Honourable the Earl of Crewe, K.G..

the Pamplemousses and Port Louis Meetings.

His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colouies.

87

possible, and will impress on the Heads of Departments the urgent necessity of exercising the most rigid economy.

4. Subject to the understanding that you will do your best to effect this object by excising or reducing any items of expenditure which on consideration it may be found possible to omit, to postpone or to reduce, I approve the Estimates, and His Majesty the King will not be advised to exercise his power of disallowance with respect to the Appropriation Ordinance, 1908-9, copies of which accompanied your despatch, No. 194, of June the 29th.*

27867

(Secret.)

SIR,

No. 76.

I have, &c.,

CREWE.

། ། ། །

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference:-

C.O. 882

9ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

27867

No. 74.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. (Sent 1.45 p.m., 4 September, 1908.)

(Paraphrase.)

TELEGRAM.

[Answered by No. 86.]

In answer to your telegram of 21 August,* I am not prepared, as at present advised, to recommend to the Treasury an abatement of the military contribution, which would be tantamount to an Imperial subsidy. If circumstances are held to require such a measure, the whole position of the Colony must be revised, probably under the advice of a Royal Commission. The question of the Governor's salary should, in my opinion, be considered on its merits, and not as an isolated item of reduction. I consider that for the time being rigid economy in all items of public expenditure initiated by the Government and approved by the Legislature ought to be sufficient to prevent the accumulation of any very serious deficit.—CREWE

27867

SIR,

(No. 186.)

No. 75.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.

Downing Street, 9 September, 1908.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 193, of the 26th of June,† forwarding the Estimates for the year 1908-9.

2. At the time when these Estimates were drawn up it was believed that the deficit on the working of the year 1907-8 would amount to Rs. 972,270, and that the current financial year would start with a balance in hand of Rs. 355,034. It was, however, soon apparent that the adverse balance for last year had been under- estimated, and you informed me in your despatch, No. 212, of July 18th,‡ that it would probably amount to Rs. 1,114,577. Even before this despatch had reached I had learnt from your telegram of the 21st of August§ that this estimate was too sanguine, and that the actual deficit was about Rs. 1,130,000.

me,

3. The Estimates, as framed, showed a surplus at the end of the year 1908-9 of Rs. 321,480, but in view of figures given above, this estimated balance must be reduced to about Rs. 160,000. This is a very small balance on an estimate of approximately Rs. 10,000,000, and the situation is such as to cause considerable apprehension as to the financial stability of the Colony. I trust, therefore, that you will give your earnest attention to the reduction of expenditure, wherever

• 30594, asking for a reply to No. 58 † No. 69. † 30731 : not printed. § 30894; not printed.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR..

[Answered by No. 86.]

Downing Street, 9 September, 1908. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of the 21st of August, in which you asked for a reply to your Secret despatch of the 27th of April. I have also to acknowledge the receipt of your Secret despatch of the 29th of June, § which was under my consideration when I received your telegram.

2. I despatched to you on the 4th of September the telegram of which a paraphrase is enclosed. You will have learnt from that telegram that I do not, as at present advised, consider that it is desirable to take advantage of your offer to forgo part of your salary. I fully appreciate the spirit in which this generous proposal was made, but I do not think that a reduction of the Governor's salary The present situation gives cause should be made as an isolated item of economy. for considerable anxiety, and in a numbered despatch of even date! I have expressed my desire that you will endeavour to impress upon the Heads of Departments the urgent need of exercising rigid economy.

I hope that in this manner it may be possible to avoid any serious deficit on the working of the current financial year, but, if not, it will be necessary to consider very carefully the situation as a whole, and perhaps to press further the proposal for the appointment of a Royal Commission, to which the Council of Government has not hitherto felt able to agree. In such an event, the matter of the Governor's salary can be considered in connection with some general scheme of reform.

3. You suggested also in your Secret despatch of the 27th of April, that the military contribution at present paid by Mauritius should be suspended for two or three years. I have considered this suggestion, but I do not see my way to put it before the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, having regard especially to the small- ness of the contribution as compared with the cost of the garrison. Moreover, as I suggested in my telegram, the cessation or reduction of the contribution would be tantamount to the grant of an Imperial subsidy to Mauritius, and in that case it would be necessary to consider whether, as in the West Indies, the grant of aid from Imperial sources ought not to be coupled with more complete Imperial control over the finances of the Colony.

This, again, is a question which might, and doubtless would, be considered in a general survey of the affairs of the islami, but which need not be dealt with at present.

34037

No. 77.

I have, &c.,

?

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received September 17, 1908.)

(Confidential.)

MY LORD,

[Answered by No. 83.]

CREWE.

Government House, Le Réduit, 28 July, 1908.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential despatch

i No. 70. * No. 58.

• 27868: not printed. ↑ 18647: not printed.

I No. 74.

¶ No. 75.