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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

PLC.O. 882/11

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

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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usually filled two heavy books, the proceedings of the last 10 or 12 years have shrunk to the dimensions of a single thin volume. Members of the Council in these days are usually sparing of their oratory, and, in most cases, the deliberations are conducted in calmness and in a business-like spirit. It is of interest to note that the curtailment of the debates dates from the time when the Colony's fortunes began to improve. With the development of trade and the increase of prosperity, the spirit of criticism seems to have weakened, and the measures proposed by the Government appear to have been generally accepted with a benevolence which was rarely evident when times were hard and discontent was in the air.

S It may be thought strange that, under such harmonious conditions, a change should be desired. But the real situation is not as smooth as it appears on the surface to be. The population of the island is composed of three classes: those who have power and influence; those who have but little power or influence but are resolved to strengthen them; and those who, while having no strong desire for those attributes, are determined not to be deprived of their increasing claims. The first category is creoles or coloured composed of the white inhabitants; the second comprises the classes: nd the third consists of the Indians, who now include more than two-thirds of un population.

9. A sketch of the leading characteristics of those three chief sections of the present inhabitants of Mauritius may perhaps be of interest to you and may indicate, in some measure, the complexity of the question at issue.

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10. In the majority of sub-tropical dependencies of the Empire the population

"white,

mixed" and is classified in the Census reports under three heads : ** black."

For reasons which are not hard to guess, the Census officers in Mauritius have considered it inadvisable to adopt a classification according to complexion, and and General population have preferred to divide the population into classes: "Indians." The number of negroes of pure breed is now very small and there is much mixture of blood. A witty member of Council (a man of colour) once told me that the general population "might be taken to include “those who are white, those who think they are white, and those who hope, some day, to be thought white.”

11. Despite the classification shown in the Census reports the inhabitants of the island are locally always divided into three broad groups: the Whites, the Creoles. and the Indians. Though the Chinese number between three and four thousand they are never taken into consideration in regard to political questions. A small number of them have qualified as voters and their votes are probably always given to white candidates.

12. Up to now the white element has enjoyed an unquestioned predominance in all public affairs. Of the ten Elected Members of Council only one is a man of colour. The two leading newspapers are owned and directed by whites. They are in control of almost all local companies and own the bulk of the shares in all industrial enter- prises. The sugar factories are entirely in their hands and, save for a few exceptions, the capitalists are all whites. Except a few of the highest offices which are held by imported Englishmen the responsible posts in the Civil Service are mostly in their hands. They jealously guard the great influence which they possess and there can certain amount of prejudice the be no doubt that they view with anxiety and a growing influence and status of the Creoles and Indians.

13. The white population can be sub-divided into three groups: the Franco- Mauritians, the Anglo-Mauritians, and the Imperial Garrison. The first-named are in the vast majority. So thoroughly have they maintained the traditions, manners and habits of thought of their ancestors that it is difficult for anyone landing at Port Louis to realise that he is in a British Colony. He will hardly hear a word of English in the streets, the advertisements on the walls are in French, the newspapers are, with one exception, all in that language, and there is an unmistakable French air and atmosphere which permeates not only the whites but also the people of colour. The Franco-Mauritians look to France and to no other country as their Homeland. News of what is going on in the United Kingdom interests them but slightly unless None but French theatrical it should have some bearing on their material concerns. companies visit the island and it is almost impossible to buy an English book or periodical in any of the local shops. While there is an undoubted feeling of gratitude to Great Britain for its liberal treatment of the Mauritians and for the deference that has nearly always been paid to their racial sentiments it cannot be said that there is loyalty" such as would naturally exist in a purely any deep-seated feeling of " British community. Among a small section of the Franco-Mauritians a markedly anti-British sentiment undoubtedly exists and it is possible that in the event of unhappy relations between England and France a difficult situation might arise.

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difficult and

14. The position of the Franco-Mauritians is undoubtedly a anomalous one. One of them recently put the position to me in rather a pathetic We don't know what we are, he said, If we go to France we are

manter.

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told that we are des sacrés Anglais, while if we go to England we are called damned Frenchmen!" Those who are constantly boasting of their French blood and senti- ments were in a particularly unpleasant position, three years ago, during the "retro- cession movement. They knew that their material prosperity is indissolubly bound up with their connection with the Empire while their sentiments and traditions made them deplore their severance from France. To one of them who was somewhat unduly expatiating on his undying preference for the land of his forefathers it was rather appropriately said Though you may say that your heart is in France you know quite well that your pockets are in England!"

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15. As regards the Anglo-Mauritians it must be admitted that, in point of numbers, they form but an insignificant group. It is doubtful if the whole island contains fifty adults of pure British blood born in Mauritius. Apart from those who have temporarily established themselves here in connection with commercial enter- prises or as members of the Civil Service the purely British community does not

Society uniber more than a dozen families of good social position. They, with the English Civil servants, and the officers of the Garrison form the British section of “

They are chiefly congregated in the and have practically no political influence, neighbourhood of the garrison, and, as very few of them have a good knowledge of French, there is little social intercourse between them and the majority of the Franco-Mauritians.

16. The garrison, ever since the war, has been reduced to a mere cadre and its total strength rarely exceeds 120 of all ranks. Between the troops and the general there is it is population there is practically no social connection, and such as

The total white population of Mauritius has frequently of an undesirable nature. been estimated at between 7,000 and 8,000, and it may be calculated that not more than 500 of those, excluding the garrison, are of pure British instincts and descent. 17. The Creoles" are believed to number about 75,000. They are all shades Whereas the correct of complexion, varying from nearly white to pure black. meaning of the term Creole" is a native of Spanish America and the West Indies of unmixed European blood "the name, in Mauritius, is always taken to mean At the head of this a person whose veins contain more or less of negro blood. section of the population stand some 5,000 persons of fair education who, in many cases, are cultured and refined. These people are chiefly to be found in the pro- fessions and most of the medical men, solicitors, surveyors, and journalists belong to that class. Very few of them engage in trade on a large scale.

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18. In addition to this élite of the coloured population there are perhaps 15,000 of darker shade who have a certain amount of education and who often fill responsible positions. Most of them are clerks in the Civil Service and in business houses, junior overseers on estates, school teachers, and railway employees. Many have been educated at the Royal College, and an increasing number of them are winning valuable, scholar- ships. A large number of these have an admixture of Indian blood. The bulk of the dark coloured Creoles" are found among the artizans, dock labourers, and semp- stresses. As any labour which is connected with agriculture is very distasteful to them, comparatively few are found working on the estates. This dislike for the soil is said to be due to the connection between agriculture and the slave-status of most like the Franco- of their ancestors. With very few exceptions the "Creoles, Mauritians, belong to the Roman Catholic Church, and it is regrettable to have to acknowledge that, as regards the lower classes of them, the standard of morality, sobriety, and general good conduct is far below that which characterises the Indian population.

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19. The Creoles may be considered to be the discontented section of the population of Mauritius. They naturally resent the very strong "colour-prejudice which is rampant among the whites, and the relations between those two groups of the inhabitants of the island are marked by considerable ill-feeling and bitterness. The division between the whites and the people of colour in Mauritius is far more marked than it is in any West Indian island with which I am acquainted except Barbados and Antigua. The whites resent and fear the growing wealth and political influence of the coloured people, while the latter view with indignation and a deep sense of injustice the exclusiveness and assumption of superiority affected by many of the upper class. 20. This antagonism has been in existence for many years; sometimes with greater intensity, sometimes with less. The most acute period was in 1910, when serious riots broke out in Port Louis and resulted in some loss of life and considerable damage to property. The whites have never forgotten this episode and, in times of