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anomalous and one-sided arrangement has already been the subject of comment by other Commissions which have been entrusted with the duty of reporting upon the finances of the Colony. So long ago as 1874 Sir Penrose Julyan in his report on the Civil Establish- ments of Mauritius drew attention to the practice. After remark- ing that the state of the Post Office revenue was not so flourishing as to warrant gratuitous services of this kind, he said that he failed to see any reason why the practice should be allowed to con- tinue, and recommended the imposition of a charge of one half- penny upon every Colonial newspaper carried by inland post. The Royal Commission of 1909 expressed themselves equally strongly on the subject in the following terms :-

"The ostensible reason for the continuance of the system is that the newspapers in return publish Post Office notices without charge. In our opinion this reason is totally inadequate. Postal notices should be sent to all newspapers that wish for them, but in the circumstances of Mauritius we see no reason why the Government should pay for their insertion or forgo reasonable postal charges because such notices are inserted free. If, as seems unlikely, a newspaper declines to insert such notices without payment, it may very well be left to settle the question with its subscribers. So long as copies of the notices are supplied to the newspapers, are published in the Government Gazette, and are also posted up in public places, such as railway stations and post offices, the Government will have done all that can reasonably be demanded of it. Another argument against altering the present system which, we understand, is sometimes put forward is that the imposition of a charge would adversely affect certain of the newspapers as compared with others. We are not in a position to say whether this would actually he the result of the change or not, but in any case we cannot see that it is a matter with which the Colonial Government need concern itself."

We are in complete agreement with the views expressed by our predecessors on the subject, except that, whereas the Royal Com- mission recommended a charge of not less than 2 cents per news- paper, we have suggested the lower charge of 1 cent. As the Mauritian newspapers are much smaller than the ordinary Euro- pean newspaper, the cost incurred by the Post Office for their carriage by rail, which is fixed according to weight, is on that account proportionately less, and we think that this benefit might fairly be passed on to the newspapers.

CHAPTER III.--LAW AND POLICE.

The Supreme Court of Mauritius consists of the Chief Judge and two Puisne Judges. The salary of the Chief Judge is Rs.24,000 and that of each of the Puisne Judges Rs.18,000. One of the Puisne Judgeships has been vacant for two years but the post is held on an acting basis by the Master and Registrar. As a conse- quence the post of Master and Registrar (salary Rs.12,500) is filled

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Besides the

temporarily by the Substitute Procureur General. Master and Registrar the staff of the Court consists of the following officers :-

Salary.

Curator Accountant Librarian

One Class I Clerk Two Class II Clerks Five Class III Clerks Three Class IV Clerks One Class V Clerk

Two Class VI Clerks

Rs.

7,500 1,200-120-1,680

(plus a personal allowance of Rs.500)

6,200-7,200

5,000-6,000

3,800--4,800

2,600-3,600

1,800-2,400

1,200-1,680

The Chief Judge's administrative jurisdiction is confined to the Supreme Court. He has no administrative authority over the local Magistrates who are under the general control of the Procureur General. It is something of an anomaly that the Procureur General, who is the chief Crown Prosecutor, should be the person responsible for making recommendations for the appointment or removal of Magistrates, and should have the right to transfer a Magistrate from one district to another. Like many other anomalies the system works well and we do not think it need be disturbed. We would suggest, however, that some arrangement might be devised by the Chief Judge and Procureur General for enabling Magistrates' decisions in criminal cases to be reviewed by the Supreme Court in order to secure a greater measure of uniformity with regard to sentences, which at present vary widely.

2. The question of abolishing the vacant Puisne Judgeship has been under consideration by the Government but has been held in abeyance until the Chief Judge, who was appointed only a year ago from another Colony, should have had sufficient experience of the work of the Supreme Court to be in a position to advise as to the necessity for retaining the post. We discussed the matter fully with the Chief Judge who expressed himself as definitely of opinion that the post should not be abolished. He gave as his reasons for his opinion that the law of the Colony requires that two Judges shali sit together in all civil cases in which the amount in issue is Rs.3,000 or more, and that all three shall sit together if the amount is over Rs.10,000. A reduction in the number of judges would render this system unworkable, and the tradition of the Colony would be strongly opposed to the hearing of civil cases by a single judge. Local feeling in connexion with civil litigation tends to be strong and a judge sitting alone would be exposed to the imputation of partiality. The danger is greater in the case of Mauritius than in that of larger countries owing to the small number

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Reference -

bmit C.O.882/12

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RUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON