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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

ILLICO. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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that only the President of that Committee, in whose name the memorial was pre- sented, had signed it, and it was not easy to discover why the other members had not affixed their names to it. The only two signatures attached, besides that of Dr. Laurent, were those of Dr. Guibert, as President of the Rose Hill meeting, and of Mr. Duchenne, as President of the Souillac meeting. Of the former, who called himself a Socialist Member of the Town Council, he did not think that his support of the petition was calculated to enhance its value; and as regards the latter, he knew very little of him except that he was an inhabitant of Souillac, and was hardly known beyond the limits of that village.

It turned out, however, that this self-constituted Committee pretended to represent the whole of the Mauritian opinion upon this question, and the memorialists had made this the groundwork of their statements.

Judging from the published correspondence with respect to recent public meet- ings organised by that Committee, the inferences which any impartial reader would draw from the official reports which had been made in reference to those meetings were at variance with such an assertion. He therefore submitted that the memorial could not be received as a faithful expression of the prevailing feeling, especially so far as the planting community, which was directly interested in the matter, was concerned.

The truth is that, when the present situation was dispassionately considered, it was hardly possible to come to any other conclusion than that this movement was all but dead, and this result he attributed to the reassertion of the good sense of the Mauritian people.

He did not think it necessary to examine very closely each paragraph of the memorial, but there were certain sweeping statements contained in it to which he strongly demurred. They were made without any basis of fact, as, for instance, when it was affirmed that the employés of sugar estates and other persons in a dependent position were in favour of the movement started by the Committee and were willing to countenance it openly, but were deterred or actually prevented from doing so by those who hold them under their sway, by capitalists and others.

He would oppose a categorical denial to such an imputation, which was a purely gratuitous one and which was not supported by any evidence.

Lastly, he had only to call attention to the fact that when the question of a Commission of Enquiry was originally started by the Secretary of State, Lord Elgin desired that the unofficial element of the Council of Government should be consulted; and it was at the Governor's request that the matter was submitted to the full Council as an open question. All the Members, except three, pronounced against the appointment for the present of such a Commission. Those three Members had expressed dissent from this decision, and a remarkable feature of the present situa- tion was that two of those members had completely stood aloof from the proceedings of the "Comité d'Action Libérale" and the noisy group of agitators by whom it is backed.

On the whole he thought that the demeanour of the enlightened section of the community showed that, although the movement in question was regarded with curiosity, when it took an orderly form, it found no real support and still less aroused anything approaching enthusiasm. In fact, there was not the slightest reason for believing that the Mauritian community disapproved the attitude which had been taken by the immense majority of the Assembly, whose decision cannot he overridden by the clamours of a few irresponsible agitators. As for the planters, they had made known their views through the Chamber of Agriculture.

Sir W. Newton added that he had confined his attention to those statements in the petition which bore directly upon the question at issue; there is no reason to notice those which are obviously irrelevant. He had no objection to the considera- tions which he had placed before the Council in connexion with the subject of this memorial forming part of the minutes.

His Excellency said that the views with which he had been favoured by the honourable member would afford him much assistance in the consideration of the despatch which it would be his duty to address to the Secretary of State on this important question. There were authentic facts which could not escape his observa- tion, and he was far. also, from giving importance to unsupported statements which were calculated to do injustice to this Colony, and which had been made by the memorialists without satisfying themselves of their correctness.

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Enclosure 2 in No. 79.

COLONIAL SECRETARY to HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR.

In compliance with your instructions I have the honour to report as follows on the memorial handed in by Dr. Laurent on the 21st July.

In paragraph 4 it is implied that there was some sort of understanding or negotiation between Mr. Leclézio and the officials relative to the motion adopted on the 23rd April. This implication is inaccurate. The resolution moved by Mr. Leclézio was practically drafted by me. It was my original intention to move that resolution myself, and it was only-when, about 11 a.m. on the morning of the 23rd April, I learnt from your Excellency that you considered such a course un- I was aware that my desirable that I gave the resolution to Mr. Souchon to move. resolution would be carried, but I did not know that it would be moved or supported by Mr. Leclézio. I had absolutely no understanding or negotiation with him on the subject, and his action in making a most moderate speech in support of my resolu- tion came as a complete surprise to me. So much so that I went into Council having prepared what may be described as a combative or argumentative speech, and I found myself obliged to throw it aside and extemporise a speech in support of my own motion as moved by Mr. Leclézio. This, I think, effectually disposes of the allegation that "every concession had been made on diverse sides with the sole object of avoiding an enquiry "; whatever concessions may or may not have been made none were made by me to any one.

Moreover, my resolution as carried does not declare against an enquiry: the does not feel justiħed in wording is that "the Council of Government inviting the appointment of a Commission at the present time." The plain meaning of these words is that whilst it is not denied that a Commission of Enquiry may become desirable the time has not yet come to invite the appointment of such a Commission.

I do not propose to follow the memorialists. in their account of the public meet- ings. I will merely say that for the first time in my experience an attempt has been made to embroil the Indian population in the internal disputes of the Creole population. I believe that the party represented by the memorialists allege that this was begun by their opponents. It is unprofitable to enquire who began it, but it cannot be denied that to appeal to an illiterate community on the questions under discussion is to make a fresh departure in politics which may, if continued, produce

unforeseen consequences.

I now come to the forces represented by the agitation. Dr. Laurent is Mayor of Port Louis and Senior Elected Member. Mr. Nairac is a barrister of consider- able talent, but the other gentlemen are, so far as I am aware, new comers in the field of politics. I feel sure that they would be the first to admit this themselves. They cannot, therefore, be described as recognised political leaders, at all events just yet. But whilst I cannot say that the various orators who have taken part in these meetings are men of political standing, I must in candour add that there is considerable secret sympathy with the movement in favour of an enquiry, and that this sympathy emanates from men who in some cases occupy good positions.

It is not easy to gauge motives, but I believe that there is amongst many commercial men and planters a feeling of hostility to the Directors of the Com- mercial Bank and to the present political leaders in Mauritius. Those who enter- tain this feeling whilst in favour of the enquiry condemn the agitation, and especially the appeal to the Indians. They are opposed to the policy of the Com- mercial Bank and to that of some of the leaders of opinion here, but their instincts keep them apart from the present movement.

But beyond this feeling-a feeling based on political and commercial differ- ences there is a feeling of race or caste animosity amongst a certain section of what is locally called the democracy. In a newspaper published this morning I Nous en find the following sentence: "Tous nous voulons la fin de l'oligarchie. avons assez de sa domination spoliatrice et infame.” The word oligarchie in this sentence is, I believe, intended to apply to the Directors of the Commercial Bank and to the present political leaders in Mauritius. It is, however, obviously the expression used to describe persons who are cordially hated by the writer, and is evidence that personal feelings and personal rancour must be counted as elements in this dispute. I believe this to be the rule everywhere, and that in few countries do men cherish personal affection for their political opponents-but in Mauritius personal animosity is more easily provoked than in any other country I know of, and

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