CO885-(11-12) — Page 440

362

FOBLIC

མ- -

PECORD

OFFICE

Reference -

C.O.882/12

| ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. LONDON:

| COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

BF REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

236

additional employment and in reducing the adverse trade balance in periods of sugar depression. This undertaking is due to local initiative, and local labour is being trained for it. The new factory is a credit to Mauritius; the outlook is promising, and we trust that the enterprise will meet with the success which it deserves.

Tobacco.

14. The tobacco industry of the Colony has made rapid progress in recent years, largely as the result of government protection and assistance. The total area under tobacco cultivation, which, in 1921, was only 58 acres, is now more than 3,000 acres and is still steadily increasing. Although it is hoped to establish an export trade in course of time by improving and standardizing the quality of the leaf, the industry is at present wholly dependent both upon the local manufacture and the local consumption of its produce. Most of the leaf is used for blending purposes with imported tobacco, and, under the protection of the Customs export duties, has no difficulty in finding a purchaser if of good average quality. In our proposals regarding taxation we have suggested that this protection should be still further increased with a view to encourag- ing the production and use of the better quality leaf which competes with imported tobacco in the local manufacture of cigarettes. The largest tobacco factory in the island is that of the British American Tobacco Company (Mauritius). Most of the smaller factories are Chinese and the greater part of the retail sale is also in the hands of Chinese traders. With a view to extending the area of cultiva- tion and controlling the quality of the product the Mauritian Government has decided to establish a Tobacco Board, under the chairmanship of the Director of Agriculture, and consisting of the Commissioner of Excise, the Government Tobacco Officer, and unofficial members representing the growers and manufacturers, respectively By the terms of the Ordinance (No. 38 of 1930) establishing this Board, wide powers are conferred upon it to enforce (a) the registration of all land planted with tobacco, (b) the registration of all dealers, and (c) the sale of all leaf tobacco pro- duced in the Colony either to the Board itself or to registered dealers. A Government tobacco warehouse" has also been estab- lished under the same ordinance, to be under the control of the Board for the handling and sale of all leaf produced. The Board will have power to fix prices and conduct sales of the tobacco, one half of its profits to be distributed annually as a bonus to the growers and dealers from whom the purchases have been made, and the other half carried to a reserve fund to be used for such purposes as the Board

decide. may

The concentration of the sale and handling of all manufactured leaf at the Government warehouse is intended also to safeguard the important revenue interests involved in the conduct of this industry,

237

and we consider that the revenue representation on the Tobacco Board should be strengthened by the addition of a second depart- mental member, and by the requirement that one of the two revenue representatives should be essential for the formation of a quorum. The additional revenue representative might be appointed in substitution for the Tobacco Officer, who, as the Secretary and chief executive officer of the Board, should be in a more definitely subordinate position than he now occupies as a member of the Board. We consider also that the Ordinance should be amended so as to require that all appointments to the staff of the Board and all regulations governing the terms and conditions of the employ- inent of such staff should be subject to the control and supervision of the Establishments Branch of the combined Secretariat and Treasury, in the same way and to the same extent as if the Board were an ordinary government department.

Rum.

15. The rum industry holds an important place in the economic system of the Colony as the most productive single source of public revenue. Its yield of Excise duty for the current year is estimated at Rs.2,250,000 or nearly one-fourth of the total revenue from taxation. The total amount of rum distilled for the year 1930-31 amounted to 618,172 litres, of which 522,181 litres, were issued Among the for home consumption and 45,007 for export. countries taking this export the Seychelles Islands come first with 20,601 litres, the United Kingdom second with 12,611 litres, and The home consumption the Soudan third with 10,248 litres. figures include those of Rodrigues and the other dependencies of Mauritius. Practically the whole of this consumption is on the part of the poorer classes of the population. The figures quoted show a remarkable falling off as compared with previous years, the decrease being partly due to the effects of bad trade and greatly reduced wages, and partly to the extensive growth of illicit dis- tillation. For the year 1927-28 the home consumption amounted to 763,785 litres, for 1928-29, 807,939 litres, and for 1929-30. 733,731 litres.

An internal trade of this magnitude in alcoholic spirits, having regard to the numbers of the population and the low standards of wages and of nutrition among the working classes, is obviously a matter involving serious public issues besides that of revenue. The home consumption figures for 1929-30 at the retail price of Rs.4 per litre work out at a total expenditure of Rs.2,934.924, or Rs.26 per head of the whole adult male population of the working

- ---———

乾

་