CO885-(11-12) — Page 327

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DUBLIC

RECORD

OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O.882/12

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO|

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service of the Colony, and 10 elected members. There is also an Executive Council, nominated by the Governor, and consisting entirely of administrative officials.

The practical qualifications for election to the Council of Govern- ment are on a somewhat restricted property basis and the total number of electors is only about 7,000.

The adininistration is largely centralized as is natural having regard to the small total area of the Colony. Port Louis possesses an elected Municipality and its own Mayor, but the local Boards which administer the other townships are entirely nominated by the Governor.

CHAPTER II.-SECRETARIAT AND REVENUE.

Colonial Secretariat.

The staff of the Colonial Secretariat consists of the following officers :-

Colonial Secretary Assistant Secretary 2nd Assistant Secretary Two Class II Clerks Three Class III Clerks

One Class IV Clerk

Three Class V Clerks Three Class VI Clerks Four Typists

Salary.

Rs.

22,500 12,000

8,000 5,000-6,000 5,800-4,800 2,600-3,600 1,800-2,400 1,200-1,680

975-1,500

The Government Printing Office is attached to the Secretariat. 2. The small proportion of administrative to clerical staff suggests that a very considerable part of the work passing through the depart- inent is of a formal or routine nature. This is actually the case. The Secretariat is the channel through which all matters are sub- mitted to the Governor, and through which his decisions and instructions are made known to other departments of Government and to the general public. It is also the department in which the main files relating to all important Government business are registered and kept, and which maintains the complete staff records of all branches of the Mauritian public service. These functions involve an amount of clerical and routine work which, for the most part, can be carried out without the intervention of administrative or executive grades of officers. Of the total staff of 12 clerks, five are employed on the registration and filing of papers, five on the drafting of despatches and general correspondence, and two on staff records and the checking and issue of printed Government docu- ments. One of the Class II clerk is in charge of the Registry and the other is in general control of the correspondence with a special

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responsibility for the custody of confidential documents and the drafting of confidential letters. It is unnecessary to discuss the details of this clerical organization which we do not regard as excessive for the volume of work with which it is called upon to deal.

The

3. The division of work between the Colonial Secretary and his two administrative assistants is somewhat loosely defined. Colonial Secretary himself has certain important duties which are personal to himself and cannot be devolved upon his subordinates. He is a member of the Executive Council of Government and is personally responsible for the preparation and submission to the Governor of the financial estimates of the Colony. The remainder of his work which he shares with his two principal officers consists mainly of the consideration of questions of policy or administration emanating from other departments of Government, and their sub- mission to the Governor for decision. In this connexion it is important to note that all decisions of any importance are given by the Governor himself. The Colonial Secretary although holding first place under the Governor in the official hierarchy is not a Deputy Governor and does not of his own authority give directions to other officers of Government outside his own department. He has the power of criticizing all proposals which are passed through his hands for presentation to the Governor, and by his criticism of the annual departmental estimates is able to exercise an effective influence on all matters of policy involving taxation or expenditure. The real decision, however, on these as on all other matters rests, not with him, but with the Governor, to whom all Heads of Departments are directly responsible, and by whom, therefore, they cannot well be denied the right of personal consultation although their formal communications must go through the appointed channel of the Secretariat. As a separate departmental organization has been provided for every important Government service in Mauritius the Colonial Secretary's own functions are advisory and critical rather than executive.

4. The Assistant Colonial Secretary is responsible for the final form in which all despatches are submitted to the Governor for signature. He edits the annual reports of all Government Depart- ments and other Government publications, and signs all indents upon the Crown Agents for the Colonies and most of the more im- portant correspondence issuing from the Secretariat. Besides these special duties he shares with the Colonial Secretary in the con- sideration and criticism of proposals submitted to the Governor by other departments.

The matters dealt with by the Second Assistant Colonial Secre- tury are similar although in descending order of importance. His special duties consist in giving decisions on minor matters of in- terpretation of Civil Service regulations which are fully covered by

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