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Appendix No. 4.

MAURITIUS.

Sir,

110

No. 35.

Colonial Office to Royal Commission on the Defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad.

Downing Street, March 30, 1880. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of the 3rd March,* I am directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to transmit to you, for the information of the Royal Commission on the Defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad, a copy of a further despatch from the Governor of Mauritius with reference to the suggested extension of the telegraph to that Colony.

I am, &c.

(Signed)

ROBERT G. W. HERBERT.

Inclosure in No. 35.

Sir G. Bowen to Sir M. Hicks Beach.

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1

1

Sir,

Government House, Mauritius, February 24, 1880. IN continuation of my despatches noted in the margin,+ respecting the naval and military defence- of Mauritius, I have the honour to report that Her Majesty's ship "Dragon," Commander Hawkins, R.N., having sustained some damage by touching a recf near the Island of Johanna, in the Mozambique Channel, has been sent by the Admiral commanding on the East India Station to be docked and repaired at Mauritius. The "Dragon" is now in one of the three graving docks at Port Louis.

2. I may take this opportunity of further reporting that, during the last four months, five of Her Majesty's transports, carrying troops from South Africa to India, have stopped at Mauritius to procure coal and fresh provisions.

3. These facts alone go far to support the general opinion of naval and military officers concerning the importance of Mauritius to the Empire even in time of peace; of course that importance would be greatly increased in the event of war with a maritime Power, especially if the electric telegraph is extended to this island, as has been strongly recommended alike on Imperial and on colonial grounds, and for which object the Legislature of this Colony has already voted an annual subsidy.

4. I would suggest, in conclusion, that this despatch, together with those referred to above, might be referred to the Royal Commission on Colonial Defence.

No. 36.

I have, &c. (Signed)

G. F. BOWEN.

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My Lord,

Mr. Broome to the Earl of Carnarvon.

7, Glendower Place, South Kensington, April 2, 1880. YOUR Lordship was good enough to appoint a day on which I could give evidence before the Colonial Defence Commission; but as the adjournment of the Commission, in view of the elections, and my own approaching departure from England prevent my attendance, I take the liberty of leaving on record, for your Lordship's consideration and that of the Commission, the few observations I had hoped to have made.

The point I particularly wished to have an opportunity of speaking to was the defensive value, and, indeed, necessity, of a submarine cable to Mauritius (of which island I am Colonial Secretary), and my object in bringing it to the notice of the Commission was to procure an Imperial subvention, since without this the cable will probably never be constructed.

A cable would, of course, be of great commercial and social importance to the island, and to mercantile and other connected interests in England. But I confine myself to the defensive aspect of the matter, in hope that this alone may be sufficient to induce the Commission to recommend Imperial aid towards the construction of a telegraph connecting Mauritius with London.

Mauritius depends on India for its food supply. This trade would have to be specially guarded in the event of war with a maritime Power, and it would be important to know if it were interrupted; as capture of the Indian grain ships would cause a famine in the island. Men-of-war would have not only to cruize on the trade route, but touch occasionally at Port Louis, with which it would thus be most necessary to be in telegraphic communication.

When, in 1878, there was a threatening of difficulties with Russia, the flagship of the East Indian Station was not allowed to pay its usual winter visit to Port Louis, but was detained at Aden, so as to be within cable call. Thus, in time of war, or threat of war, without a telegraph Mauritius would be more or less cut off from naval presence and aid.

There are good dry docks at Port Louis; but these would be little use to the navy in time of war, when most wanted, unless there was a cable.

The French Government are making Bourbon, 100 miles from Mauritius, a place of importance. Much money of the Republic is being expended there on dock and harbour working. In time of war it would be a French naval rendezvous. and the military strength there is larger than that we maintain in Mauritius.

* No. 33.

+ Governor to Secretary of State, November 6, December 19, and December 28, 1879. (See Inclosures in No. 32.)

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