CO885-(11-12) — Page 400

bmwili muilu

CUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

༅། །ཟ།། རྭ། །

Reference -

C.O.882/12

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BF REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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8. The work of the bulk of the department now concerns poor relief rather than the care of immigrants, while a considerable and not unimportant part of it can hardly be said to fall under either the one or the other of these classifications, but is of the nature of general welfare work on behalf of the whole labouring population. Under the Labour Ordinance of 1922 the Protector is entrusted with the duty of watching over the conditions of labour of all employees on agricultural estates, who are engaged under a contract of service, and he may take legal action to enforce payment of any wages wrongfully withheld. The estates furnish returns showing the number of their employees and the rates of wages paid, and fuller particulars regarding those of their employees who are immigrants, but the latter are now only a very small number, the great majority of the present Indian population being Mauritian born. Another legal responsibility placed upon the Protector is the inspection of machinery in the sugar and aloe factories with a view to ensuring that the employees therein are working under proper conditions of safety. In addition to discharging these Tegal responsi- bilities he fulfils the role of official counsellor and friend of the agricultural labouring classes, more particularly those of Indian immigrant descent, and acts as mediator in any difficulty they may be experiencing either with their employers, or,

as is commonly the case, with their relatives. We saw no reason to think that any unnecessary or unreasonable expenditure was being incurred in the carrying out of these very varied and somewhat undefined duties.

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9. Except in one particular the poor law administration also appears to us to be free from the defect of extravagance and to be conducted on sound and efficient lines. The Protector himself deals.personally with all new applications for relief, and makes periodical test checks of the renewal cases dealt with by his subordinates. The danger of undue bureaucratic control is lessened by the presence of an Advisory Committee composed of two members nominated by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Port Louis, one by the Anglican Bishop of Mauritius, and two representing the Indian community, who consult with the Protector on matters of general policy and advise in individual cases of doubt or difficulty. Relief is given according to the needs and circumstances of the applicant and about 50 per cent. of the cases of outdoor relief are those of widows with young children, the remainder being cases of physical disability usually attested by a medical certificate. "In- patient assistance is only given for reasons of age or ill-health. The institutions used for the purpose are in every case convents belonging to the Sisters of Mercy, which are subsidised on a per capita rate calculated not to exceed the actual costs of the patients' maintenance. The question of adjusting the rate of payment in accordance with the recent decline in the cost of living is at present

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under consideration. No provision is made or found to be necessary for the able-bodied poor, except in the case of women with young children, and many of the latter are given employment in the department's sewing workshop and laundry in Port Louis which supply the requirements of the Government hospitals, suitable arrangements being made for the care of the children while their mothers are at work. So far as the able-bodied labouring classes in the Colony are concerned there is no unemployment problem which calls for State assistance, but with the present greatly reduced rates of wages there is an increasing tendency for the sick and aged poor to apply for some supplement of the scanty contribution which their relatives are able to make for their support. The total number of persons at present receiving outdoor institutional relief is 9,000 or about 2.3 per cent. of the whole population of the Colony.

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10. The particular to which we have referred as forming an excep- tion to the general rule of economical management of the poor law system is the indiscriminate grant of free coffins for funerals of the poor. The outlay under this head amounts to no less than Rs.8,000 a year (item 16 of Head 18 of the estimates) which at the rate of Rs.2 per coffin works out at an issue of more than 300 coffins per month. This rate of issue is greatly in excess of that of the mortality among persons receiving poor law relief, and it is difficult to see why the two rates should not be almost identical. The Poor Law Commissioner admitted that the practice had grown into an abuse, and that it was not uncommon for persons who had sought a free coffin for a relative on the plea of indigence thereafter to incur unnecessary expenditure in the way of funeral display We consider that steps should be taken to stop the abuse by restricting the issue of free coffins to the case of persons in receipt of poor law relief at the time of their death.. The resultant saving, would, we understand, be about Rs.4,000 per annum.

Apart from this single instance of unjustified expenditure the administration of the poor law system of the Colony impressed us as being economically as well as sympathetically and efficiently conducted.

We recommend that the post of Chief Clerk of this department should be a special post on Rs.6,000.

Rodrigues.

11. The Dependency of Rodrigues costs Rs.138,514 while its revenue is only Rs.88,365.

His Excellency the Governor has recently visited the island and informs us that the administration is economical and that in his opinion no reduction is possible. We accept his view. We presume that it will be possible to suspend further expenditure on the con- struction of roads, on which Rs.8,000 was spent last year, and for which Rs.4,000 was provided in the budget for 1931-32. We also

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