CO885-11 — Page 299

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

ENELEC.O.882/11

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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tension, many of them are inclined to view with anxiety the great reduction that has taken place in the Garrison. Of late years the coloured people have realised that their! growing wealth and influence are certain, sooner or later, to put them on an equality with the class that has hitherto been dominant, and they now understand that it is only by constitutional means that they will gain their object. They have fully realised the power of the Press, and out of the eight daily newspapers, which at presént manage to exist, at least five are ostentatiously the organs of the Creole class.

21. The agitation for a retrocession of Mauritius to France, which caused a considerable stir in 1921, and on which hinged the general elections of that year was in reality nothing but a question of colour. The system of universal suffrage which prevails in the neighbouring French colony of Reunion has given almost all political power to the coloured inhabitants of that island. The whites are in a hopeless minority, and the mulatto leaders practically rule everything, including the French Governor. The two Députés and the Sénateur, who represent the island in Paris, are all men of mixed blood, and the voices of the white inhabitants of Reunion are seldom heard. It is not surprising that they are all quitting the island and selling their properties as quickly as they can. The Creoles in Mauritius have not failed to point out that whereas, in Mauritius, they are British subjects, in Reunion they would be French citizens.

22. As the state of affairs in the French island represents very closely the dream of the Creoles of Mauritius a number of their leaders, in 1920, started an agitation for the return of Mauritius to France. So convinced were they that serious attention would be paid to a strongly evinced desire in that direction that the question of "Retrocession was the platform on which all the elections were fought at the close of 1921. Despite their undying love for France and their frequently expressed sympathies for the home of their ancestors the white Mauritians, imbued with an equally strong sense of the material advantages of their connection with the Empire, voted solidly against a return to France and every candidate who stood for Retro- cession was handsomely beaten. I would not like to say, however, that if a transfer to the French flag did not connote the Republican system of Government, universal suffrage, and the consequent preponderance of coloured influence in the Colony, a movement for a return of the island to France would not be strongly supported by a large number of the Franco-Mauritians.

Indian

23. I now come to that portion of the population which bids fair to become, ere long, the preponderant section of the community. I refer, of course, to the Indians or Indo-Mauritians," as many of them now claim to be termed. immigration was started in 1835 and ceased in 1910. The Indian Government has, recently, sanctioned a resumption of emigration to Mauritius under terms to which even the most advanced Indian "Nationalist" can hardly find objections. During the 75 years during which immigrants were received from India, no less than 451,796 were imported into the island. They and their descendants now number about 265,000 souls and therefore constitute 70 per cent. of the whole population of the Colony. The adaptability of the Indian to the conditions of Mauritius has been remarkable. He has thriven to an extraordinary degree and, in a great number of cases, the humble Coolie who landed from an immigrant ship 30 or 40 years ago with an attentuated loin-cloth as his sole possession, is now the owner of hundreds of acres of rich sugar lands and drives about in a motorcar of high power and class.

24. The bulk of the agricultural Indians is of course, to be found in the country districts and small towns. The estate labourers are entirely of that class and very That kind of business is the few of them embark in trade, even of a petty nature. monopoly of the Chinese whose

are found everywhere, even in the remotest corners of the island.

boutiques

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25. About 20 years ago, during a depression in the sugar industry, a number of Mauritian estate owners began to sell their lands in small lots under a system locally known as "morcellement."' They asked high prices but gave great facilities for payment. The Indians saw their chance and took it. Those who could muster the initial payments eagerly bought every plot that was offered for sale and thus satisfied In spite of that craving for land-ownership which is characteristic of their race. the fact that every transaction, which transformed the Indian from a prædial labourer to a peasant-proprietor, diminished the labour supply on which the sugar planters

morcellement entirely depend, the process of

"has continued from year to year, until at the present day, the Indians own more than 90,000 acres, representing nearly 42 per cent. of the whole of the area that is under cultivation. Many of these people, having benefited by the enormous profits yielded by sugar in the "Boom year," are now possessed of large fortunes. In addition to the acquisition of land they favour investments in houses and it is believed that they now own a large proportion of the most substantial residences in the island.

26.

These are of

In addition to the Indians who are always closely connected with the soil we have the class which solely concerns itself with commerce. different origin from the agricultural Coolies and mostly come from Bombay. The majority of them Madras and other great commercial centres in India. are Mohanimedans and there is a good deal of religious antagonism between These people are of them and their country-cousins who are generally Hindus.

a higher social grade than the agriculturists and many of them are possessed of considerable capital. With the exception of a few important English or Franco Mauritian firms these Indians have a monopoly of the trade in dry-goods and grain. The liquor traffic is entirely in the hands of the Chinese. The Indian merchants live in substantial houses and with a considerable degree of comfort. They own a large proportion of the house property in Port Louis and are keen speculators. The younger generation affect the airs and manners of Turks or Arabs, and during the During th Caliphate crisis took a considerable amount of interest in the question. war their loyalty was not above suspicion. These Mohammedan Indians exercise a notable degree of influence in urban politics and several of them are members of the Municipality of Port Louis. It is believed that some of them are in frequent coin- munication with members of the Nationalist group in India, and that they look forward to the growth of Indian influence in Mauritius.

Indians." it is estimated

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27. Out of the total of 265,000 inhabitants classed as **

A fair that not more than about 17,000 are natives of India. All the remainder are of

Indo-Mauritians." Mauritian birth and are being generally classed as proportion of these have attended the primary schools and a considerable number have attained to a fairly high standard of education through the Royal College. Many have passed the Senior Cambridge Examination and more than one has won the very valuable English Scholarship. Quite a large number of these young men have been admitted into the Public Service where they are steadily rising towards the higher ranks. There can be no doubt. that they are rapidly gaining a preponderance in all branches of clerical work and that the number of such employés is steadily increasing not only in the Government service but also among the commercial houses. The coloured or Creole "Mauritians are fully aware of the growing competition of the Indians, in those walks of life in which they have formerly predominated, and they view with as much alarm as the whites the rapidly increasing influence of the Asiatics.

28. Although there is a distinct antagonism between the Indians and the Creoles, especially among those who possess a certain degree of education, it is a noteworthy fact that the rising generation of the Indo-Mauritians are modelling themselves on the Creole upper classes and are evidently much more attracted by French manners, customs and mentality than by the general characteristics of the British. The French "creole patois

"is rapidly supplanting Hindustani or Tamil among the Indians and is the lingua-franca of the whole community. In quite a number of cases the ambitious young Indo-Mauritian is assuming a French nanie and is trying to separate himself as much as possible from the agricultural class to which he, by birth, belongs. A notable instance in point is that of a very intelligent man, the son of pure-bred Indians of the name of Rambojan who, after obtaining a Medical degree in Paris, He became Mayor of Port returned to Mauritius as "Doctor Edgar Laurent."

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Louis in 1920 and, for reasons best known to himself, has since identified himself as much as possible with the Creole element and party.

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29. Up to very recently the Indian population of Mauritius has taken little or no interest in the politics of the island. Although large numbers of them are qualified to vote for the election of Members of Council only a small proportion of them have taken the trouble to be registered or to vote. They seemed to have been satisfied that the Government would loyally watch over their interests and that there was no became the main necessity for them to take any active part in local polities.

30. But in 1921, when the question of "Retrocession issue of the General elections, the Indians were suddenly instructed, in the large degree of political influence which they might exercise. The Franco-Mauritians, who were anti-retrocessionist, looked about for every vote which might be used against the Creole advocates for a return to France. Knowing that they could count upon the support of the Indians in such a question they urged many who were qualified to be registered as electors to take the necessary steps, and there can be no doubt that in several districts the Indian votes turned the scale. The Indians were thus suddenly made to realise the political power which they have hitherto allowed to lie dormant and a few of the more educated ones among them, doubtless instructed by communications from India, have recently set to work to develop this influence. An Indian newspaper was started in Port Louis last year and although it is edited

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