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MACMILLAN AND CO.. Limited

LONDON . BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MKLMUKMB

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

NEW TOtK • BOSTON • CHICAGO
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA. Lta

TCmONTO

THE BROAD STONE
OF EMPIRE

PROBLEMS OF
CROWN COLONY ADMINISTRATION

WITH HBCOKDS OP PBHSONAL BXPRglMNCM
BV

SIR CHARLES BRUCE, G.C.M.G.

VOL. II

n is broad in respect to its principles and its Uw. "latum
•^ndatum tuum „.„U" , broad in acknowledging dtaUndly

Bt Kshblm Hinrv DiCBV.

miTH MAPS

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET. LONDON
1910

1017

GLAKSOW : rKlMTBO AT TH« UKIVBUITr MBM
•» aoaciT MACLBHOM AMD CO. tTO.

CONTENTS

VOL. II

CHAPTER XV
EDUCATION IN CROWN COLONIES

R^v^T'T,." ^ '^^ liberty-Mauritius-

Royal College of Mauritius-System of Secondary ««|

Insiruction-AjjricuUural and Industrial Education - pp.T-i6

CHAPTER XVI

EDUCATION-CVwiftwMrf

Ceylon-Races in Ceylon-Organisation of System-Government
Rehg,ous and Nat.ve Agencies- Royal College i ColomboIs^SS
SchT"!?' "'^ P^™^ education-Tmining SchZZ

tiiS^ '^^""'^ education-Educa.

ti<m m the West Indies - -muw«

pp. i7-«4

CHAPTER XVII
RELIGION

A connerting or separating force-Christian religion in India-
a£1 «rT"'""'^ enterprise-in Madagascar-in Ceylon-
the Attitude of the convert-the Catholic Church in Mauritius

pp. 85-113

CHAPTER XVIII
AGRICULTURE

^"'^^'^ « ^^'^^o' °f research and

piBcfcal tnunrng— central depot-a clearing-house-Su^

^ CONTENTS

indu.try-E,ubli.hm«,t of D.p«tn«« cl Africullttr. in We.t

pp. 114-1*1

CHAPTER XIX
FORESTRY

PurpoiM of fcwrtryu-lBftiwico of Kew-Fore»try in Siraiu S«»l.

143-193

CHAPTER XX

COMMERCE

-Rel«tioi» to Uw Colontal Office and to tht Crown colonies

pp. 193-309

CHAPTER XXI
FINANCE

Commercml, Banking and Miscellaneous transactions- Investment
of capital m Crown colonies-Commissions of Inquiry pp^ s

CHAPTER XXn
TRANSPORT

Constraction ro«Is in West Indies-Taxation to cover expendi

ZTZ""' 'm ^Vest African Railwaj^-MeSCi'

transport m Mauntm. ,0 supersede animal d^ .ught - pp!^^

CHAPTER XXIII

METEOROLOGY

" • - - - pp. 263-274

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXIV
IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS

CHAPTER XXV
FISCAL SYSTEM

-'—I«cid«« of Taxation
ruoiic UtM of Crown colonies- 'Jolonial loans .

• PP- 100-311

CHAl'TKR XXVI

EXPANSION

Expansion of area in British r.iiian. aj • •

Establisnment of Governw^t leS^^"^*"'"'''''"''^* methods-

arbitration-Expan.ir2?ndX ''^

^ ' • " • PP 313-J67

CHAPTER XXVIJ
DEFENCE

pp 368-439

CHAPTER XXVIII
THE CROWN

StmXb"e:iQ^^X^^ "^Q-n Victoria, ,887-
Visit of Duke dX, r."* ''97-Death of Queen Victoria-
Coronation J^i Std tentr^" "

" PP 430-436

VIU

CONTENTS

APOLOGIA -

PP- 437-441

AmNDIX

I. General Statistics of the Crown Colonies - pp. 442-4^4

"■ ^^'S^s^ obtaining in the Crown Colonies, by Edward
PP- 445-469

III. Proposals for a scheme of Legislative Reform in the Crown

Colonies, by Sir Francis T. Piggott - - pp. 470-474

IV. British Guiana Immigration Ordinance, 1891 - pp. 475.486

V. Measures for Prevention of Malarial Fever - pp. 487-490

VI. Statment of Loans raised by the Crown Agents for the
Colony of Mauritius, 1892-1902 - . .pp.

VII. Mauritius-Report of Royal Commission, 1909 pp. 494-525
INDEX ....

- - - pp. S26-SSS

MAPS

Cyclone Tkacks in i892-'i - . ^ . .

- - - . /ace Page 269

Mauritius

■ fid of volume

Ckylon

British Guiana

The Windward Islands ....

CHAPTER XV

EDUCATION

The Board of Education in its Special Reports on
Educational Subjects has published detailed accounts
of the educational systems of the Crown colonies,*
but I am not aware that any attempt has been made
to lay down a scheme of principles generally appli-
cable to all. If I venture to undertake so ambitious
a task. I will only plead that my experience is
exceptional, extending over a period of more than
hve and thirty years, and including the organisation
of educational systems in Mauritius, Ceylon, British
Guiana. and the Windward Islands. And I under-
take the task the more readily because the reports
published by the Board seem calculated to confirm
a statement that has been made, that the "Crown
colonies have been left to tumble into any system
which circumstances suggested." That is far from
being the case. Of course, in education as in every
other area of political activity, it is necessary to
distmguish between the excellence of a principle and
the time and method of its application, but unity of

'^BoardoJEducoHon Special Reports, vol* 4. 5, ,2, ,3, ,4.

2 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

ena and uniformity of principle are not necessarily-
inconsistent with variety of means. I propose then
to state briefly the principles that have guided me,
and to illustrate their application in the educational
systems of Mauritius and Ceylon to which many
other colonies have conformed.

Underlying all other considerations has been the
cardinal principle of Queen Victoria's proclamation
to the people of India in 1858, that her subjects — of
whatever race or creed — shall be freely and im-
partially admitted to offices in her service which
they may be qualified by their education, ability, and
integrity to discharge.

As education is the only agency by which prac-
tical effect can be given to such a policy, it seems
to follow that its acceptance renders the organisation
of Public Instruction in the Crown colonies the
highest trust and function of the State. I have in
an earlier chapter called attention to Cobden's
declaration that education is "the sole title to con-
stitutional franchise, the sole guardian of political
liberty, the sole qualification for self-government,"
and have noted that one of the earliest consequences
of the Reform Act of 1832 was a parliamentary
vote of ;^20,ooo as a grant in aid of popular
education. It may be taken as a measure of the
national faith in Cobden's gospel that the modest
grant of ;^2o,ooo in 1834 nas developed into a vote
of over i;" 1 4,000,000 for the Board of Education
for the service of the current year. The period has
seen two great empires established on the basis
of education, in Europe the Empire of Germany, in
Asia the Empire of Japan. Remarkable, if uncon-

EDUCATION 3

scious, testimony to the truth of Cobden's declaration
of faith was borne by Mr. Abe Bailey, a leading
member of the Legislative Assembly of the Trans-
vaal in 1909. At a meeting held at Johannesburg to
celebrate May 24th as Empire Day. he is reported
to have said : " The ideal of making South Africa a
white mans country could only be accomplished by
a general displacement of the natives through a
large employment of whites. The whites must rule
but ,f the natives were educated and enfranchised,'
that would mean the replacement of the whites
by natives."

If we are to be guided by reason, history, and the
signs of our times, we must come to the conclu-
sion that there can in the long run be no permanent
divorce between the masses that produce and the
A J ^rV^ administer the revenue of a country.
And If this proposition is accepted. I submit as a
corollary, that it is the duty of the State to establish
m every Crown colony an educational system
adequate to qualify the community, without distinc-
tion of creed or race, for a full share of work in
the development of the productive powers of the
sou. m the application of science to industrial pro-
cesses ,n the distribution of the colony's produce
as well as of commodities imported from abroad
out of the proceeds of colonial industry; and, above
all, to qualify them for office in departments that
require special technical training, such as the depart-

aTd"'p K w".''^'^' Agriculture and Forestry,
and Public Works, no less than for offices in the
administrative and judicial departments of the civil
government.

4 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

In the organisation of any educational system the
question of appropriate and adequate agencies is
of the first concern. The potential agencies may be
classed as two,— the State and private enterprise ;
and the thing to be achieved being the application
of public funds contributed for the public benefit,
in such a manner as to reach the largest possible
section of the community, the problem to be solved
is how to enlist in the service, in addition to those
who are under immediate engagement to the State,
all who are willing to co-operate for a known object,
on a definite plan, without waste of strength or
resources; how, in short, to induce private enterprise
to act as an auxiliary of the State rather than as
an obstacle in the way of Government. The co-
ordination of these agencies in such a way as to
make public instruction a popular institution working
freely under the positive control of an organised
administration is the educational problem of the day
in the United Kingdom, and certainly of no less
importance in the Crown colonies.

Many years ago Mr. Mill, in discussing the
question, declared: "In education the question of
controlled or free agency is not quite fairly stated
in the disjunctive programme, ' Endowmeni. or
Free-trade.' 'Endowment and Free-trade' is the
thing contended for; that there should be free
competition in education, that law or the State
should fix what knowledge should be required,
but not from whom it should be procured is
essential to civil and political freedom."

Generally speaking in the Crown colonies, the
Christian Churches have been the first and remain

EDUCATION 5

the principal agencies of free enterprise in education.
Some years ago my experience as Director of Public

Instruction in Ceylon enabled me to declare that,
dunng my tenure of the office, there existed between
my department and the Christian Churches a spirit
of mutual confidence and encouragement, and a
mutual recognition of labours accomplished for
the good of the people whose welfare was our
common care. I need not doubt that in other
colonies the Government and the Christian agencies
are and will be associated in the same spirit. I am
certain that it is the only spirit in which the State
and free enterprise can successfully co-operate in
the Imperial duty of educating and elevating the
communities of Crown colonies.

MAURITIUS

I may new consider the application of these
general principles in the educational system of the
Crown colony of Mauritius. The racial distribution
of the population of European, African, and Asiatic
origm has been discussed in an earlier chapter.
The last religious census showed approximately
12(^000 Christians, 210,000 Hindus, and 40,000
Mahommedans. Of the Christians, over 113,000
professed the Roman Catholic religion.

Perhaps in no territory of equal area in the
Empire are differences of race and religion com-
plicated by a greater diversity of tongues. While
English and French are, with some reservations
m favour of English, officially recognised, the use
of the French language predominates in society and
m the press. The Indian community has introduced

6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

a confused variety of languages, chiefly dialects of
Hindu, Tamil, and Telugu. But the language which
serves as a practically universal means of communi-
cation between the heterogeneous groups of the
community is a dialect mainly of French elements,
known as the Patois Criole.

The evolution of the educational syscem of
Mauritius has been a process of slow but continuous
growth, controlled for the last forty years, at least,
by the principles I have indicated. In 1899 the
system was revised, and the laws and regulations
affecting it were codified by an enactment which
co-ordinated education through the agency of a
department under a responsible officer, styled the
Director of Education, assisted by two committees
denominated the Committees of Superior and
Primary Instruction. The powers entrusted to
the department are administered in accordance with
regulations grouped as codes. The codes, collec-
tively known as the Code, include all that is
necessary to form a complete system of educa-
tion, reaching from the elementary schools to
the highest range of the colony's educational
capacity, and linked to the universities and colleges
of professional and technical training in the United
Kingdom.

The system is composed of a number of agencies
which may be considered as members of one family,
bound together by common ties that could not be
ruptured in the case of one member without a
general shock to the others. I can best describe
it, perhaps, as a S3rstem designed on the natural

EDUCATION 7

principle of the solar system with a number of bodies
moving under the influence of a central force.

The sun or central force of the system is an
institution styled the Royal College, equipped with
a staff of professors and teachers of classics, mathe-
matics, natural sciences, and modern languages.
The course and range of study is controlled, or
rather modified, by the Cambridge Local Examina-
tions and by the examinations of the University of
London. Scholarships and exhibitions, with free
tuition at the College, are awarded on the results
of these examinations, and are open to the whole
colony. But what may be called the practical con-
nection of the Royal College with the highest range
of the civic life of the community is to be found in
two scholarships awarded annually to its students.
These scholarships of £200 a year are tenable foi
four years, at one of the Universities of the United
Kingdom or elsewhere, on such conditions as may
be approved by the Secretary cf State to enable
the scholars to qualify for the professions of law or
medicine, or to pursue their studies for purposes
of special training in agriculture or industry in the
United Kingdom or elsewhere. One of these
scholarships is awarded to students of the classical
side, the other to students of the modern side, and
the examiners are appointed by the University of
Cambridge. Candidates on the classical side must
have passed the London Matriculation Examination,
and candidates on the modern side, the Senior
Cambridge Local Examination in certain specified
subjects. The influence of these scholarships is
not limited to the successful candidates; it may

8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE
be said to penetrate and permeate the whole civic

life of the colony.

The higher ranks of the Civil Service, including
the Departments of Public Works, Railways, Agri-
culture and Forestry, the Bench, the Bar, and the
Medical Profession, are occupied almost exclusively
by men who have studied at the Royal College ;
and if the Secretary of State reserves his right to
appoint to high office in Mauritius civil servants
from other parts of the Empire, he has made com-
pensation by appointing Mauritians to high office
in other colonies.

Attached to the Royal College, as satellites, are
two schools under the direct control of the Rector
of the College. The course of instruction in these
schools provides a continuous line of progress from
the earliest rudiments to the standard of admission
to the Royal College, and so to the highest prizes
of colonial life. The schools, like the College, have
two sides. The study of English and French is
common to both sides; the modem side includes
mathematics, modem and contemporary history,
chemistry, with special reference to commerce and
manufactures, book-l.ceping, drawing, and Hindus-
tanee.

The questions of creed and colour, which are at
this moment agitating the Empire from North-
westem Canada to South-eastern Australia, have
been so far solved in the administration of the Royal
College as to present no serious difficulty, end give
rise to no discussion. Religious instruction forms
a special branch of study, and is conducted by
ministers of the Christian churches appointed to the

EDUCATION

duty, in conformity with the rules that regulate
secular instruction, but no student is required to
attend classes of religious instruction if his parents
or guardians object. The Education law recognises
no distinction of colour.

But if a modus vivendi has been formed within the
limited area of the Royal College, creed and race
and the gradations of social rank have to be taken
into account all over the world, and in dealing
with the quefttions to which they give rise, free
enterprise can claim the advantage of superior
elasticity. In the matter of creed, for instance, an
immense majority of the Christian community in
Mauritius are Roman Catholics, and they desire
schools with a Catholic master (a practical, good-
living Catholic), Catholic books for subjects that
touch religion, and a Catholic atmosphere. Creed
and race and social position suggest in every
community similar aspirations. These considera-
tions have led to the establishment in Mauritius of
a group of secondary schools in which Govern-
ment seeks to exercise an adequate inHuence over
the course of secondary instruction, while leaving
different sections of the community to deal with
many de' cate questions in their own way. These
are called Associated schools, and form a not
unimportant group in the planetary system of
colonial education. They submit their students to
an annual examination on the work of the corre-
sponding classes in the College schools. The
examiners are appointed by the Rector of the
Royal College with the approval of the Com-
mittee of Superior Instruction, and a grant-in-aid is

10 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

distributed in accordance with a scheme regulated
by code. The schools are further encouraged by
scholarships and exhibitions, with free tuition at
the Royal College, awarded at each examination.
In addition to the considerations which have been
indicated, these schools have found an area of
activity offered by changes in the distribution of
the population. From causes that have been fully
discussed, the town of Port Louis, where the
Royal College and its schools were originally estab-
lished, has become one of the least healthy districts
of the colony ; while the railways have facilitated
migration into elevated and healthier regions, where
new centres of population have sprung up. It was
anticipated, when the scheme was started, that it
might secure uniformity of method and an equal
standard of instruction in schools likely to be
opened in the new setriements. Time justified this
prevision, with the result that in 1906, twenty-five
schools were associated in the system. From the
reports of the Department it appears that die
As.sociated schools, both as regards the number
of classes and the per- tage of marks, compare
favourably with the College schools.

The considerations which prompted the scheme
of Associated schools for boys apply, with at least
equal force, to the education of girls, and about
twenty years ago an analogous scheme was started
for the higher education of the latter. The course of
study and standards of examination under this scheme
are laid down by the Committee of Superior Instruc-
tion. They include music, drawing, and needle-
v ork. A grant-in-aid, based on results, is paid to

EDUCATION

the managers of schools coming under the scheme,
and prizes are awarded to the ^irls who stand
highest in the several standards. In 1906 twenty-
two schools were working in connection with this
systjm, and presented candidates at the Junior and
Senior Cambridge Local Examinations.

Superior instruction in the Crown colonies, in its
practical connection with professional employment,
is necessarily affected by the fact that admission to
the highest ranks of the learned professions can only
be gained by residence in Europe. It becomes there-
fore the duty of colonial Governments to provide
for that large section of the community which must
find some other avenue to profitable and honourable
employment. Accordingly, the Education Ordin-
ance, 1899, assigned to the Committee of Superior
Instruction the duty of including in the codes a
system of instruction in technical, agricultural, and
commercial education, and several schemes have
been put into operation.

For the training of mechanical engineers in the
theory and practice of their work, scholarships are
annually awarded in connection with the Government
railway workshops. The scholars are apprenticed for
six years, during which they get a progressive rate
of wages and receive theoretical instruction in sub-
jects connected with their work. Civil Engineering
scholarships are also awarded annually in connection
with the Department of the Surveyor-General

For agricultural education a similar scheme pro-
vides for the apprenticeship of candidates, selected
by competitive examination, to the Botanical

13 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Gardens. The apprentices receive wages and free
quarters, and are instructed in the princifdes of

Agriculture, Botany, and Forestry.

Since 1905 arrangements have been made by the
Committee for holding the examinations of the
Commercial Education Department of the London
Chamber of Commerce in the colony.

I now pass on to consider the agencies of primary
instruction in Mauritius, and to show how they are
influenced by the central force of the system of
public instruction.

The principles indicated as underlying the system
of superior instruction have been applied to primary
instruction. Prim ry instruction is carried on by
two classes of schools, — Government schools, estab-
lished and maintained entirely from public funds,
and grant-in-aid schools, mainly supported by public
funds. In all primary scliools instruction is free, but
not compulsory. Cor.ipulsory education requires an
adequate staff of efficient teachers, and there are
very few Crown colonies in which such an equipment
exists. A statutory declaration that education is
compulsory without such an equipment is of no
advantage. In Government schools the teachers
are Government servants subject generally to the
ordinary rules of the Civil Service of the colony.
They are paid partly by fixed salary, according to
the class of their certificate of competency, and
partly by a result grant. They have a free resi-
dence, or allowance in lieu. The school buildings,
apparatus, and all other expenses are provided out
of public funds.

EDUCATION

In grant-in-aid ichools the teachers are appointed
by the Mani^n, but are paid out of public funda
on exactly the same icale and coitditioni as

the teachers of Government schools, except as
regards residence. The school buildings and
apparatus, which must satisfy the requirements of
the code, and other expenses are provided by the
Managers, who receive however, a contribution
in aid equivalent to one-fourth of the rental valua-
tion of the school premises and the hea.' teachers'
quarters.

The primary schools,— Government and grant-in-
aid— are open to all children without distinction
of religion or race; and the law ensures that no

child shall receive any religious instruction to which
his parents or guardians may object, or shall be
present while such instruction is given to other
children. On the other hand, the law provides that
facilities "shall be given to all ministers of a
Christian religion who may desire to afford religious
instruction to children of their own persuasion, being
pupils in the school, either in the school-house or
elsewhere."

In Government schools one hour on a fixed day
in the week may be set apart for the purposes
of religious instruction, either in the school or in
any church or chapel situated within a reasonable
distance ; on other days the first half-hour of the
morning may be devoted to the preparation of
lessons set by the clergy of the various Churches.
In grant-in-aid schools, the managers make their
own arrangements, subject to the provisions of the
law.

14 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

In schools of either class any language most suit-
able for the pupils may be used as the medium of
instruction in the lower classes, English and
French being taught from the beginning. From
the fourth standard English is used as the general
medium of instruction and conversation. For the
benefit of Indian children engaged in manual labour,
half-time schools have been established in which an
Indian dialect is substituted for English or French.
The teachers in these schools, whether Government
or grant-in-aid, are paid by result grants on the same
scale.

The following figures, taken from the Blue Book
for 1908, show the actual working of schools under
the system I have described, and bear testimony to
the spirit in which they are conducted.

The Government schools were attended by 5,191
Roman Catholics, 329 Christians of other denomi-
nations, 905 Mahommedans, and 2,090 Hindus and
others.

The Roman Catholic schools were attended by
6,400 Roman Catholic pupils, 60 Christians of other
denominations, 447 Mahommedans, 1,123 Hindus
and others.

The Protestant schools were attended by 534
Roman Catholics, 308 Christians of other denomi-
nations, 384 Mahommedans, 1,104 Hindus and
others.

The grant-in-aid system is not limited to the
agency of the Christian Churches; but the Indian

community, consisting^ mainly of immigrants intro-
duced to supply labour for the elementary operations
of industry, is not generally qualified to take any

EDUCATION IS

intelligent part in school management. The few
qualified members of the community are generally
content, and, indeed, prefer to leave themselves

in the hands of Government. There is only one
Mahommedan grant-in-aid school, and it shows a
remarkable record. It was attended in 1908 by 11
Roman Catholics, 7 Protestants, 86 Mahommedans,
38 Hindus and others.

In order to secure a practical connection between
the primary schools and industrial employment,
provision is made in the Code to establish at both
Government and grant-in-aid schools classes for
manual training. Such classes may be established in
connection with one or with a group of schools. The
early stages of training in these classes are limited
to elementary principles and the manipulation of
tools. For instance, in carpentry the pupils learn
to saw and plane to a line, and to make simple
joints; in tinsmith's work, to prepare soldering
tools and materials, and to make solder-joints, and
so on. When some progress has been made they
begin to make useful articles of a simple character.

As a link between primary and secondary educa-
tion, twelve scholarships and exhibitions are awarded
annually to boys of the Government and grant-in-
aid schools. They entitle their holders to free
tuition at the College schools and Royal College
until they attain the age of twenty years. Similarly,
to the girls of the Government and grant-in-aid
schools four scholarships are awarded annually.
These scholarships are tenable at any of the schools
connected with the scheme for the higher education
of girls. They include monthly payments to the

i6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Manager of the school at which the scholar studies,
and monthly payments to the i»rent or guardian of
the scholar on her behalf.

Such is a brief account of the system of
education in Mauritius based on principles which
I believe to be generally applicable to the Crown
colonies. Its main object is to secure a practical
connection between education and employment in
every gradation of social life. And there are
probably few administiative units of the Empire
that offer to the children of the community, without
distinction of creed or colour, a higher class of
education on more generous terms. A clever boy
of European, African, or Asiatic descent can receive
a first rate public-school education, proceed to a
university of the United Kingdom, equip himself
for any profession, and rise to any position of trust
and emolument in the colony without costing his
father a rupee.

CHAPTER XVI

EDUCATION

CEYLON

In 1878 I received the appointment of Director of
Public Instruction in Ceylon, and entered on the
duties of my office early in the year 1879. The
task I set myself to accomplish was to adapt the
broad principles I have enunciated to the exigencies
of a colony which bears much the same relation to
india and the Far East that the United Kingdom
does to the Continent of Europe. The consequences
of its geographical position show themselves clearly
in the population of the colony, which is now
estimated at nearly 4,000,000, and includes ov-r
seventy races and nationalities. Of these, not more
than 6,500, exclusive of the military and shipping,
are Europeans. The chief constituent elements of
the population placed in historical sequence are
approximately :

Veddas

Sinhalese

Tamils

2,500,000
1,100,000
350,000

Moormen
Eurasians

Eur(q>eaiu

24.500
6,500

i8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Veddas. Of the origin and sociology of the
Veddas but little is known. Professor Virchow,
who some twenty years ago wrote a valuable paper
on the subject, expressed a hope that before the
utter extinction of this primitive race, their language
and customs, their physical and mental constitution,
might be firmly established. A scientific investiga-
tion of their origin and history has recently been
undertaken.

Sinhalese. The Sinhalese community may be said
perhaps to be the most compact and self-contained
in the world. They occupy only a limited area
confined to the Western and South- Western low-
lands, and a part of the central highlands of Ceylon;
and yet they have not only a language and literature
of their own, but an alphabet peculiarly their own.
The Sinhalese occupation was the result of an Aryan
invasion from Northern India in prehistoric times ;
and the process of centuries has evolved, even within
this very limited area, characteristics that distinguish
the dwellers in the plains from the dwellers in the
highlands analogous to those that distinguish low-
landers from highlanders in Great Britain. Ceylon
contains innumerable monuments of a great political
and religious past, and is still a centre of modern
Buddhism. In Kandy, in the Dalad4 Mdlig4wa, or
Temple of the Sacred Tooth, and on Adam's Peak,
it has shrines visited and venerated by every com-
munity of the Buddhist world.

Tamils. The Tamil population of Ceylon includes
two groups. The peninsula of Jaffna and an adjoin-
ing area of northern and eastern territory are occupied
by invaders or settlers of Dravidian origin, driven

EDUCATIOxN 19

out of the mainland of India by an Aryan invasion
at a period nearly coincident with the earliest records
of history. The economic pressure of a crowded
population has made them the most frugal and
industrious people in Ceylon. The other group of
Tamils is of quite recent origin. They have immi-
grated, and are still immigrating as coolies to under-
take the manual labour of clearing and cultivating the
forest lands occupied by British enterprise. Though
of Dravidian descent and language, the Tamils have
long adopted the religion of Hinduism,

Moormen. The origin of the community called
Moormen is obscure. They are a trading community
of Mahommedans, probably of Arab origin, and
represent the commercial agents of a period long
prior to the earliest European enterprises in the
Indian Ocean. Thus we find in Ceylon the main
elements of the Asiatic population representing the
three great religions of the East, Buddhism,
Hinduism, and Moslem.

Eurasians. The Eurasians of Ceylon are chiefly
of Dutch descent, and are generally known as
Burghers. They include distinguished members
of the legal and medical professions, and form a
large body of the clerks in the principal Govern-
ment Departments; but they take little part in
the development of the material resources of the
colony.

Europeans. As regards the British population
they exercise practically the same functions as in
India; m the control of the administrative and legis-
lative duties of Government, and in the control and
supervision of industry and commerce.

20 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

In Ceylon, as in Mauritius, Government is based
on the cardinal principle of the Proclamation of
Queen Victoria to the people of India in 1858.

My earliest concern was to visit the educational
centres of the colony, and the experience of my first
tour of inspection convinced me that by making
inquiries in situ, coming into contact with district
officers, missionaries, and native officials, 1 could
learn rapidly and with certainty many things that
could not be gathered from official reports. It was
an experience that modified, I hope with advantage,
the conduct of my whole subsequent official career.
I returned from my tour satisfied that my first aim
must be not so much to extend education as to
systematise it by carrying out, with a view to secure
the best possible application of the funds available,
many sound recommendations which had repeatedly
been made by the educational authorities, but never
yet put into practice. There existed no code of
instructions for regulating the duties of inspectors,
teachers, or any of the officials connected with the
department ; no geographical classification of schools,
nor, indeed, any but a purely haphazard list of them ;
no classification of teachers according to seniority,
qualifications, and merit; no codification of the
various changes which had been introduced in r';2
rules and regulations for aided schools. In -c. I
found that I had to work in the dark, or in the
perplexing light of arbitrary and often conflicting
decisions. The first measure, consequendy, sub-
mitted to Government was the organisation of
the inspecting agency based upon a geographical

EDUCATION 21

division of the island according to provinces ; the
western and southern, the northern and eastern,
and the central, north-central and north-western
provinces being grouped into three districts under
inspectors, assisted by a staff of sub-inspectors
selected with special reference to their knowledge of
the local vernaculars, local circumstances, and local
partialities and prejudices. They were instructed
to group the schools in their districts as soon as
possible, in accordance with the KoraUs, Pattuwas,
and other territorial subdivisions recognised in the
census returns. This arrangement was necessary
to facilitate a due relation between the extension of
schools and the population. In a memorandum on
the organisation of the inspecting staff the general
duties were defined as follows :

" The duties of an inspector of schools in Ceylon
are much more comprehensive than those of an
English inspector. He is the actual manager of all
Government schools in his division. He must assure
himself, for the information of the department, that
the right proportion exists between the number of
teachers and the number of pupils to be taught, that
the available teaching power is disposed to the best
advantage ; that there is a proper division of labour
between teachers and pupil teachers; that every
ubject is taught in the most approved methods,
v/ith the help of the best obtainable books and the
most suitable apparatus; and, above all, that the
teachers are efficient in the work of instruction, and
conscientious in the keeping of their records. It
has hitherto been, and until other arrangements are
made it will be, the duty of the inspectors to take

22 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

part in the examinations of the Academy, in local
examinations, and the examination of teachers and
monitors. Should schemes, which I shall shortly
submit for the approval of Government, for the
support of training and industrial establishments,
be accepted, it will be the duty of the inspectors
to watch their operation with peculiar care. In the
proposed geographical division of the island for the
purposes of inspection, it will b^ the duty of each
divisional inspector to act as inspector of returns for
the district under his immediate supervision. This
will relieve the Director of a portion of the routine
work which now presses heavily on the department.

Each divisional inspector will be responsible for
the annual examination for result payments of all
Government and Grant-in-aid schools in his district,
and for the arrangement of incidental visits as fre-
quently and unexpectedly as possible. It will be his
duty to report upon all applications for new schools,
and to provide for the extension of education in
neglected districts and against the needless multipli-
cation of small and feeble schools."

To this memorandum were annexed detailed
instructions as to the methods in which the duties of
the staff were to be carried out.

My experience has given me exceptional oppor-
tunity of appreciating, and I have never ceased to
appreciate the disinterested and self-denying lessons
of Christian missionaries engaged in educational
enterprises; but in Ceylon as elsewhere the in-
spectors were met by formidable difficulties in the
prosecution of their duties among the grant-in-
aid schools. These difficulties arose chiefly from

EDUCATION

two causes, the rivalry between the Christian
Churches, and the tendency of all the Churches to
resent the control of the Department of Public
Instruction. The jealcjs rivalry of the Churches
had led to an almost incredible over-multiplica-
tion of schools in certain populous areas. This
was particularly the case in Jaffna, where the
agencies of the English and Scottish Protestant
Churches and the Roman Catholic Churches were
supplemented by an American Mission. But some
idea of this multiplication of schools in other
parts may be gathered from the following ex-
tract from a Report submitted to Government in
1881 :

"On the Galle road between Wellawatta and
Moratuwa there are about sixty schools of which
twelve are close to the high road within two miles of
Wellawatta, twenty-four are clustered about Galkissa,
and twentv-four others in the immediate neighbour-
hood Moratuwa; the whole distance from
Wella^ to Moratuwa railway station being
about eight miles, and none of the schools lying
more than half a mi'e from the main road. An
analysis of other groups would probably show
similar results."

As an attempt to remedy this state of things
led to serious opposition, I make no apology for
reproducing a circular issued to the managers of
grant-in-aid schools during the first year of my
administration. The causes which had been at
work in Ceylon have been and are producing
similar controversies in many other fields of colonial
missionary enterprise.

34 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

"Office of the Director of PuUic Inttruction.
"Colombo, 25th October, 1879.

"Sir,— The large number of applications for
grants in aid of new schools, which I have recently
found myself unable to recommend to Government,
induces me to invite the attention of Managers to
the following considerations : —

"The almost unlimited readinessof this Department
to open new schools within the last nine years has
led to a multiplication of small and feeble schools,
in districts where the interest of the inhabitantt
would be much better served by a few good schools.
This refers as well to Government as to grant-in-
aid schools, and, so far as the former are concerned,
active measures are being taken to close forthwith
unnecessary schools. I appeal with confidence to
Managers to assist the Department in restricting
the number of schools to the necessities of the
people.

" It is a mistake to suppose that the duty of
Government in regard to grant-in-aid schools is
entirely limited by result payments. It is clearly

to the advantage of the people, whose interests are
the interests of the Government, that in schools
aiaed by public funds instruction should be afforded
in such a way that its acquisition is not rendered
unnecessarily slow or laborious, that a child should
not, owing to the incapacity of the teacher, spend
tedious years in learning what, under a skilled
and efficient teacher, can be acquired in a few
months. The unnecessarily long time spent by
boys in primary village schools, during the whole of
which payments are made on their behalf by Govern-

EDUCATION as

ment, has been frequently and strongly pointed out

by inspectors of schools in Ceylon. In short, if
the quality of the instruction paid for is not as good
as may be fairly and reasonably expected, a proper
value is not received by Government, and the people
are not educated up to their ability to receive in-
struction. If a large school of two hundred children
can be substituted for eight small ones of twenty-five
children, — and this is by no means an exaggerated
illustration— it is clear that a larger salary can be
provided for the head teacher, and greater induce-
ment held out to persons of worth and capacity
to engage in the profession. I need hardly point
the incomparably pjreater facilities afforded by large
schools for grouping children in classes of uniform
acquirements.

" But if the multiplication of small schools is
injurious to the speedy and easy acquisition of
learning, it is still more prejudic to good dis-
cipline. In one of the Administration Reports of the
Department, it was asserted, — and I have no doubt
accurately— that in many grant-in-aid schools it is the
boy who determines the class in which he shall be
placed, and not the teacher ; and more than one
Manager has told me that, in the vicinity of rival
schools, the Manager has almost no control either
over the teacher or the students.

" I am ready to presume that, as a general rule,
the expense of setting up and maintaining schools
which must always be thinly attended, is not without
its effect upon Managers, and I am also ready to
make every possible concession to the spirit of those
who feel that an encroachment on civil and religious

36 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

liberty it involved in compelling children to attend
schools in the religious influence of which the

parents have no confidence, but in the great majority
of applications received by this Department very few,
and in many cases none of the students attending
the school for which aid is asked, belong to the
relijj[ion of the Managers. In such circumstances it
is clear that the question of secular instruction is
the only thing to be considered, and where an effi-
cient school exists, it is surely unreasonable to ask
the Department to support a rival establishment

" In offering this explanation of the reasons which
have prompted me to decline to recommend to
Government a large number of schools, I beg to
assure you of my desire to offer you every facility
in my power in the way of supplying with efficient
schools every district in the Colony in which the
means of education are wanting."

Simultaneously with the reorganisation of the
inspecting agency, it was necessary to draw i\p a
code of departmental rules for the guidance of the
teaching staff of the Government schools whose
work the inspectors were to supervise. It was based
upon a mass of departmental decisions, instructions,
interpretations, and modifications, some of which
had to be ignored in practice, and which, as a
whole, had never been made accessible to the
persons they were intended to guide and control.
In the preparation of this code, it was decided to
adopt the custom of the Department wherever it had
been adhered to with any approach to consistency,
my object being to establish a set of fixed and

EDUCATION

definitt rulei, to serve as a Ptodus vivtndi until a
larger experience might qualify me to deal with

questions of reform. The code at the same time

included a system of classification and payment for
the staff. The reorganisation of the inspecting
agency and thr code for Government schools having
been completed, it remained to draw up a code of
rules and regulations for grant-in-aid schools to teke
the place of the provisional arrangements which had
been in force. In the preparation of this code, too,
the aim of the Department was not so much the
immediate extension of the educational edifice as
the laying of a solid and symmetrical foundation
for the future superstructure.

In the meantime, however, I had to remember
that in all times and in all countries the higher
education of the few has preceded the elementary
education of the many, and that this must be
accepted as the natural order of development. The
present Director of Public Instruction in Ceylon has
very well expressed himself on the subject in an
article in Th$ Federal Magazine fo- April, 1907,
on the education of native races, he says : " In
a country where society has been organised for a
long period there is sure to be an upper class, whom
birth and material well-being have raised above the
necessity of constant manual labour. The new-
comer is apt to underrate the importance of such
distinctions when they do not follow quite the same
Imes as those of his own country, and those engaged
in philanthropic and missionary efforts have some-
times made the mistake of ignoring them altogether.
Before a country is ripe for any general educational

28 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

system the way must be prepared for it by training
a small number of the most influential class. It is
desirable that this training should be accompanied
by personal influence of a marked kind, by the
cultivation of higher enthusiasms, of loyalty to
institutions, and as much as possible of the esprit de
corps which has been the leading feature of the
English public schools. The existence of some-
thing in the nature of an educated class with a
public opinion in favour of education seems to be
a necessary condition to the success of any general
scheme for the elementary education of the main
body of the population."

The educational system of Ceylon may be called
a system of three dimensions, working by three
agencies, Government agency, native agency, and
the agency of the Christian Churches. The three
agencies dovetail into each other, the Government
agency into the native agency by the legitimate
and natural pressure of its position, the native
agency into the agency of the Christian Churches
by consent and persuasion. It will be convenient at
the outset to illustrate the relation of Government
to the native agency by a concrete illustration from
a report of the Inspector of the Central Province :

" Perhaps the most interesting and successful
education experiment of the year in this province
was the simultaneous opening, early in 1880, of six
new vernacular schools in the district of Mitald
North by Mr. Ellis, Assistant Government Agent.
MataM North was never held to be a promising
field for educational operations, and the one or

EDUCATION

two vernacular schools we had in the district pre-
vious to 1880 are even now perishing for want of
scholars. Mr. Ellis invited candidates for the six
new teacherships, and, r« ^ of a jproje number of
applicants who came crward, seit- :»ed twenty-four
as possessing influenc* , eiiher in th jir own persons
or through their near retations, ir their respective
villages. An examination, at ^vnich the Director
of Public Instruction was present, was held of the
twenty-four selected candidates at the Mdtale
Kdchcheri, and eight of them were declared to have
passed satisfactorily. The first six in the order of
merit were at once appointed teachers on probation,
Mr. Ellis taking care to send to each village the
person whom he judged most likely, from local
considerations, to succeed best as schoolmaster in
that village. The bungalows for the new schools
were, as usual, put up by the villagers, the Depart-
ment providing the furniture and apparatus. All
the six schools are under the general supervision
of the Village Gansabhawas, the president of which,
himself an educated gentleman, takes, even quite
apart from his official position, a real interest in
all efforts made for the instruction of the people."

And in the same report, after explaining the
difficulty of extending education in the Province,
he concludes :

" The selection of suitable places for opening new
schools, and the taking of measures to get the
villagers to put up bungalows, and to send their
children to school, must in a great measure be left,
and are best left, to local headmen acting under
the different provincial and district Government

30 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Agents. Judging by the applications for new
schools that are coming in, a very large increase in
the number of Government vernacular schools in the
Central Province may be expected within the next
few years. The task of organising and supervising
these new schools, and of introducing order and
method to existing schools completely demoralised
by long neglect, will provide a sufficiency of useful
and laborious employment for the inspecting officers
working in the province."

The association, on the other hand, of the native
agency with the agency of the Christian Churches
is the result of two inHuences, — the spiritual influence
which is the alpha and omega of their enterprise,
and to a certain extent, it must be admitted, the
influence of the temporal, but perfectly legitimate
interests of the native community. The causes
which had given strength to this agency may be
briefly explained. In the year 1869 the admini-
stration was centralised m a Department of Public
Instruction under an officer, styled the Director,
responsible only to the Governor. One of the
first acts of the new administration was to remove
existing restrictions in regard to religious teaching
and the use of text books in schools. For a system
under which some missionary agencies had found it
impossible to accept aid from Government for their
educational work, diere was substituted a system
of payment by results to be made impartially to
all schools for secular instruction only. With this
concession to the Christian Churches the growth
and development of their agency was rapid. In
one year the number of aided schools rose from

EDUCATION

twenty-one to 229, while the result of the new
system during the decennial period preceding my
appointment as Director is shown in these figures :

i860. 1879.

Government Schools, - - - . 64' 243
Aided Schools 2,

Broadly speaking, it is enough to define Govern-
ment schools as schools controlled entirely by the
Department and maintained entirely out of public
funds; grant-in-aid. or aided schools as schools under
the limited control of the Department and maintained
by limited aid from public funds. The system of
result payments was not limited to the agency of the
Christian Churches, but in 1879 all the aided schools,
with rare exceptions, were under this agency',
although in some of them neither teachers nor
pupils professed the religion of the Christian
denomination which had adopted tl .,m. organised
them, and enabled them to fulfil the conditions
entitling them to r. grant-in-aid. At the time the
native agency had litde direct official recognition.
It was recognised only when under the protection of
the Government agency on the one hand, and of
the Christian agency on the other. But outside the
State system a large number of indigenous schools
^yith little pretension to organisation, and, for the
time, with no desire to organise themselves so as to
enter within the State system, were at work. Large
numbers of these schools existed, attached gener-
ally to the service of the Buddhist, Hindu, and
Mahommedan religions. In many of them instruc-
tion was given in reading from palm-leaf r.ianu-
scripts, and in writing on the surface of the floor

32 11 iE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

strewn with sand. The general policy of the
Government, starting with the introduction of the

result-payment scheme, was to draw this native
agency into the circle of Departmental influence
with a view to its ultimate emancipation as an inde-
pendent partner in the educational system of three
dimensions. This policy was not in any way incon-
sistent with the desire of the Government to
recognise and encourage, in a spirit of mutual confi-
dence, the work of the Christian Churches. The
general opinion of the Missionary Societies hap-
pened, while I was in Ceylon, to be very clearly
expressed by a deputation received by the Marquess
of Ripen in England at the time of his appointment
as Viceroy of India. In the memorial presented to
him, they said :

" Your Memorialists beg it to be distincdy "nder-
stood that they do not ask for any special favour or
support for any Christian institutions, but desire that
native institutions be equally encouraged and aided
by the Government in a liberal spirit. While they
openly proclaim their wish that all India may be
brought under the beneficent influence of Christian
institutions, they would deprecate any attempt by
Government at proselytism or interference with the
religious belief of the people."

The Rev. E. E. Jenkins, of the Methodist
Missionary Society, said :

"We do not, as has been alleged against us,
desire to commit the people of India to the alter-
native of sending their children to mission schools,
or remaining without schools altogether. . . .
What we ask, my Lord, with all respect and sub-

EDUCATIOxN 33

mission is this, that the educational poh'cy of the
State in India should operate in the direction of
drawing out the private resources of the people and
stimulating, by every encouragement, private effort.
That they are able ana willing to justifv the policy
IS evident by the number and character of the
institutions that are now under native management.
... M e do not ask, as Missionary Societies a
monopdy of Government aid ; but in the lan.ruacre
of the Despatch (1859) from the Secretary of Stale
tor ndia. in reply to a memorial from the natives of
Madras, that there may be 'orants available for
schools mamtained by persons of all denominations
indifferently ; provided that the education given be
equal to the prescribed standard." '

Dr Underbill (Baptist Missionary Society) said •
"If a Mahommedan or Hindu gentleman wishes

V^'a"? Vt""""^ '° grant-in-aid
offered by the Despatch (of 1854), we have no wish
to preclude the grant of such assistance. On the
contrary, we desire that favours should be shown to
every party alike . . We only ask that in carrying
out the Despatch, all parties should be impartially
dealt with, and that the Directors of Education in all
the Presidencies should show their interest in all

pt'eed"^ "^"^^"^^ p^'-'y '^^y '"-y

In addressing the deputation, the Marquess of
Kipon expressed himself in these words •

"We must bear in mind the peculiar circum-
stances of our rule in India. It is. if J may use
the expression, one of the fundamental principles
of the constitution of India that the British

34 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Government will in no way, direct or indirect,
interfere with the religion of the native races,
or do anything calculated to arouse the slightest

suspicion of such interfcience in their minds. To
this our faith is pledged, and by this pledge
honour and wisdom alike require us to abide.
There is scarcely any question with respect to
which it is of more importance to keep this
principle steadily in view than that of education,
and I rejoice therefore to observe that you re-
cognise this fact in the memorial which you have
presented to me."

It would be impossible for me to select language
which could express my own views more clearly
than the language of these extracts ; and it was
on this understanding that I felt justified in en-
couraging to the utmost of my power the exertions
of the religious societies in Ceylon.

Of course, such a system depends on an ad-
justment of religious difficulties, and in Ceylon
an adjustment effective for all practical purposes
has been found. No religious instruction is recog-
nised by the Department of Public Instruction. In
Government schools none is permitted ; in aided
schools the Department takes no cognisance of it.
A certain number of hours are required to be
devoted daily to secular instruction exclusively.

In the spirit thus indicated, I sought to make
the Colombo Academy the sun or central force
of an educational system on the principles I have
exhibited in my review of the educational system
of Mauritius. The Colombo Academy had been

EDUCATION 3,
established in ,he year ,836 by Governor Sir

afford Ae .nhabuants of Colombo and the island
A T™, "'"^""8 their children a su^or
and hberal education on a permanent basis." The

;3-n<, ha. .he SeJ^t^r^^^^t
1869, had been do.ng good work on its classical
s.de but on its n^odern side serious workTad
hardly commenced, the first appointment of a science
master havmg not long preceded my arnv" „
he colony. No time was lost in providing on
the Esfmates for a laboratory; the necessary e^uip!

aTapteHolf r ^-"^o's
adapted to local circumstances, for the teaching:

of botany agriculture, and other subjects Tat
pu m hand; and I was able in my first' Ad;niZ
ration Report to express a hope that beforeTn.
scientific education would take a place at the
Academy worthy of the nrem.Vr r
fif c- • , premier Crown colonv

of the Empire, and in accordance with the soirk
of the modern world. P'"'
The laboratory was opened in i«8o In iS«,
by the Queens gracious'permission the L 'a

yLm of h , '° educational
enlarge the sphere of influence of the Academy

36 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

by making it the nucleus of a system of superior
instruction on the lines I laid down in the following
terms:

" The Academy, representing the principle of en-
dowments, as opposed to private enterprise, oujjht
to offer the advantages summed up by those who
support endowed institutions, as superior organisa-
tion, fixed principles, and readjustment from time
to time in accordance with the supreme intelligence
of the community. But the more fully superior
organisation and fixity of principles are secured,
the more certainly will they tend to a rigidity of
method which contrasts unfavourably with the
greater elasticity of private enterprise. Endowed
schools are apt to be like the bed of Procrustes,
which exactly fitted very few of those who had
to lie in it. For strongly marked inclinations,
types of character, and sentiments, they can make
but little allowance, and thus they cramp the
juvenile mind in one case and unduly stretch it
in another. The larger the school the more this
is felt, because the less regard can be had to those
eccentricities of character which remove individual
boys from the hard and fast line of moral and
intellectual development which must be drawn
somewhere. In private schools it is otherwise;
most {jrivate schools appeal to the wishes of in-
dividuals, and these are regulated partly by the
inclination of parents and partly by the tastes and
aptitudes of their children. One school pays parti-
cular and early attention to the rudiments of classical
learning or to modern languages ; another to mathe-
matics or to physical science ; another to moral

EDUCATION 3-

or social discipline. While this partiah'ty. if not
exaggerated, often produces admirable resuhs. it
frequently tends to onesidedness and implants or
confirms prejudices. While one department of
Z L\" ^'""'^'/^'^ ^''^h enthusiam and success,
too I. le regard .s paid to the general adjustment
of mstruction to the wants of the human mind.
If vve could combine the superiority of organisation
and greater fix.ty of principle of endowments with
he elasucuy of private enterprise, we might hope
to provide a system, which, carried on with ordinan^
care and moderate ability, would lead to largely
beneficial results. ^ ^

In brief my purpose was that the Royal College
re^orgamsed under the direct control of L Depa^:
ment of Pubhc Instruction, should serve as a

tTrto'rZ ''''''' 'heir

work ot re-organisation.

Up to this time the encouragement given by
Government to private enterprise in the work of
^penor mstruction was limited to an open com-
pet.t ve exammat.on. styled the Local Examination,
a T\ T «'='^°J-«hips. tenable for three years

awarded. This scheme had started with some
prom.se of a success which was not realised. As
a cnterK,n of the value of the higher instruction
-parted in the high schools and ^colleges of h
olony the evidence of failure was complete. In

rom " '^"^ P^^^''*^"y ^''tWrawn

from cornpet.t.on. while the Academy sent up onlv

ia.Iure of the scheme mainly to three causes.

38 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

(i) The absence of direct inducement at a time
when the bulk of the community was in that

early stage of culture which measures the value
of education by its immediate and ingible result :
(2) The condition which required a successful
candidate for the scholarships to leave his school

and residence, it might be in a remote part of the
Island, and continue his studies in Colombo. This
condition debarred many who had no friends with
whom they could reside in Colombo, and it made
managers unwilling to co-operate in the scheme,
because so far as they were concerned, the only
result of success was to withdraw the very scholars
likely to bring them satisfaction and credit : (3) The
want of recognised and established authority and
prestige in the examining board. In this respect
no casual company of examiners, however eminent
their ind; aal attainments may be, can ever carry
the weignt of a University examination.

The measures which I proposed to substitute for
the existing system may be summarised thus.

To introduce the examinations of the Cambridge
Local Ex? nation Syndicate, with examining
centres in ^olombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, and in
other places if required. To grant result payments
to managers of aided schools whose pupils should
pass under the various heads of examination, and to
give prizes to every candidate for each subject in
which he should pass in honours. To establish
three exhibitions, to be awarded on the result of the
Junior Local Examination, tenable for three years
either at the Royal College or at any registered
High School. To make the Senior Local Examina-

EDUCATION 39

tion the examination for two English University
scholarships, and to throw both open to public

competition.

Unfortunately, for financial reasons, my dfsire
to offer two scholarsliips. one in arts and one in
science, could not at the time be accomplished The
managers of aided schools urged that the standards
of the Cambridge Local Examination were beyond
the reach of their students, and it was decided to
adopt a system of grants for examin ition in specific
subjects of higher secular instruction. I n view of the
cost of this scheme, and in consideration of the para-
mount importance of extending primary instruction,
the Government decided only to throw open to public
competition the University scholarship, till then
hmited to scholars of the Royal College, without
offermg for the time a second scholarship.

My experience has proved the Cambridge Local
Examination to be a potent factor in the encourage-
ment of public instruction in the Crown "olonies.
and I look back with grateful recollection to the
time when it brought me into relationship with the
Rev. G. F. Browne, now Bishop of Bristol, for
many years secretary to the Syndicate for Local
Examinations. Of the steadily expanding influence
of the system in Ceylon. I find evidence in the
annual reports of the Director of Public Instruction.
In i8So there were presented four seniors, students
of the Academy, and fifteen juniors, students of the
Academy and two other colleges. In iS8i forty-
nme presentations included five junior girls, students
m a Government school. In 1907 there were pre-
sented for examination 898 candidates. 325 senior

40 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

and 484 junior boys ; thirty-five senior and 105
junior girls. Of the boys 267 were presented by
thirty-five col]e>jes and high schools, while fifty-eight
had been privately educated ; of the girls 136 were

presented by twenty-seven colleges and high schools
incluiling six convent schools, while four had been
privately educated.

In the mean time, however, the award of the Uni-
versity scholarship was transferred to the Oxford
and Cambrid-c Schools Examination Board, under
whose authority spt-cial examinations were held in
Ceylon, in English, Latin, and Greek, and. in
alternate years, in English, mathematics, and
natural science.

Reverting to the period of my own activity as
Director of Public Instruction; in 1882, arrange-
ments were made to extend the course of studies of
the Royal College so as to include the matriculation
and intermediate (first B.A.) examinations of the
University of London, and the first matriculation
examination was held in January, 1883. The intro-
duction of the London University examinations was
followed by the award of grants to the successful can-
didates, and as the importance of meeting the needs
of students, who wished to obtain locally as many as
possible of the advantages of a university, came to
be appreciated, steps were taken to place the higi.er
education of the island in direct communication with
the London University courses in arts and science.
In 1902 the Senate of the University passed the
following resolutions :

"That the University arrange to conduct the
examination for the English University Scholarship,

EDUCATION ^,

given by the Government of Ceylon, by setting
papers of the matriculation standard; or. if neceJlnf

of a more advanced character.

to 'Dlovwi^'*"'^'^'"" Government will undertake
to provide assistant examiners to supervise the
pracfcal examinations, and report thereon to the

In 1906 my ori^-i.uil intention to estaWish two
Universuy scholarships was fulfilled, one behe
awarded on an examination in En^riish. mathematics
and scence held l.y the Oxford and Cambridge
Board, and another on the results of the London
In^rmed.ate Examination in arts. I„ the follou'n"
year a new system adopted by arrar nt with
he University of London came into op., n. and
wo scholarships were awarded on the r'esults of the
Intermediate Examinations, one for arts and one for
saence. I he holders of these scholarships are a[
liberty to jom any university in the United Kinj^dom
and graduate m arts, science, medicine, or law or

In his report for 1906 the Director of Public
Instruction observed that the new syscem marked

does not he said, "of course, terminate that
question but it puts the «ork of the colleges which

• ^is for the present, and begins what, it is hoped
will be a period of developmenc on new lines t
IS not suggested that the system now introduced is
a final setUement of the question. The final settle!

42 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

ment, when the Colony is ready for it, must take
the form of the provision of adequate University
teaching in Colombo. Government has taken a
step in this direction by providing science teaching
in connection with the new laboratories at the
Technical College. Two Professors were appointed
in 1906 in Chemistry and Physics, who are to be
Professors of the Medical and Technical Colleges.
They will give theoretical and practical instruction
in these subjects to students from the Colombo
schools and colleges who take these subjects in the
London Intermediate Examination in Science."

Before leaving the domain of superior instruction,
I may add that, during my tenure of office, Mr.
Cull, then Principal of the Royal College, afterwards
Director of Public Instruction, energetically asso-
ciated himself with me in the formation of a cadet
corps to be attached to the Ceylon Volunteers. In
my last report, as Director, published in 1882, I was
able to say that this proposal was approved at
Headquarters, and that the nominal strength of the
corps included nearly all the boys of the College of
sufficient age. I added the expression of my hope
that it might serve as a permanent school of physical
training for the students of the Royal College. My
hope was not immediately realised, but that the
spirit that inspired it has lived is shown by the
report of the Director for the year 1907, in which
he states that drill is taught in all Government
schools, and is encouraged in grant-in-aid schools by
a small drill bonus. In 1907 the drill bonus was
earned by ninety schools, as compared with sixty-six

EDUCATION ^3

in 1906 ; and the strength of the eight companies of
the cadet battalion was as follows :

umce

Royal College - . 3

Wesley College - - 3

St. Thomas's College 3

Kingswood College - 2

Trinity College - . 3

Richmond College - 2

Prince ofWales's Col lege 3

St. Joseph's College - 3

Non-Com.

Officers.

Cadets.

Total.

»4

Coincidently with the organisation, on the lines I
have indicated, of superior education, having for its
object the diffusion of European knowledge, and the
use of the English language as a key to the arts
science, philosophy, and literature of Western
civilisation, it was my desire to encourage the study
in special institutions, of the classical languajs
which are a key to the understanding of the
religions, arts, science, philosophy, and literature of
the East. The chief seat of this learning was the
Widyodaya College (Maligakanda). having for its
Principal, Sumangala, the learned high priest of
Adam s Peak. He had recently endowed the College
with a library of Sanskrit. Pali, and Sinhalese manu-
scripts, which was opened soon after my arrival in
Ceylon. In the following year the College. includin<r
forty-one priests and seventeen laymen, was ex*^
amined by competent scholars, who furnished a
detailed and elaborate report. 1 invited the attention
of the learned Principal to the recommendations
made by them with a view to securing an improved
system of organisation and teaching, and was

44 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

encouraged by finding that at the end of the year
the number of students on the roll had risen to
ninety-four, of whom sixty-eight were priests and
twenty-six laymen. From that time my relations
with the Buddhist priests of Ceylon were of the
friendliest nature, as were subsequently my rela-
tions with the priests and pandits of Hinduism
in northern Ceylon. During the whole period of
my service in Ceylon I reaped an abundant harvest
of advantage from the many years of my own life
devoted to the study of Oriental languages, litera-
ture, and religions. There are perhaps few Incidents
of a long and laborious career which my memory
recalls with greater satisfaction than an interview
with the Buddhist priests of Ceylon who assembled
in Colombo (rc-zi many temples and viharas to bid
me farewell before I left the colony. They pre-
sented me with an extremely valuable Pali manu-
script on sheets of ivory, which I received the
special sanction of the Secretary of State to accept
The encouragement given to the Widyodaya
College, subsidised by a small lump-sum grant, was
followed by a revival of the study of Oriental
learning, a movement promoted, before I left
Ceylon, by the missionary enterprise of the Theo-
sophists. In 1902 the Director, with the co-
operation of eminent native scholars, organised a
Committee on Oriental Studies, the object being to
centralise and bring to a system the work of the
mstitutions devoted to the purpose of supplying
them with a common course of studies on which
annual examinations might be held. It was pro-
posed to have three examinations : a preliminary

EDUCATION 45

an intermediate, and a final-the last to be
approximately equal to the degree of B.A. (in
languages) of a university, and entitling a suc-
cessful candidate to the Committee's diploma. The
first preliminary examination was held in ,905, the
subjects including Sanskrit. Pali. Sinhalese and
the history and archaeology of Ceylon. In 1907
Prehmmary and Intermediate examinations were
held m Sanskrit Pali, and Sinhalese. In 1906 a
Branch lamil Committee was formed in Jaffna
The study of Sinhalese has been further encouraged
by a Diamond Jubilee Prize offered annually by
Mudaljyar A. M. Gunasekara for Sinhalese in
English high schools and colleges. In 1907 four
colleges competed for this prize.

I have so far dealt mainly with the organisation of
superior instruction for the male community, but I
have never been blind to the paramount importance
of female education as a means of introducing what
IS best in Western civilisation into the social life of
Eastern peoples. At the same time, however, and for
this very reason. I conceived it to be my duty to exer-
cise the utmost caution in selecting mistresses for the
girls schools of the colony, for all that has been said
of the necessity that the higher education of the few
must precede the elementary education of the many
>s peculiarly applicable to the case of women For-
tunately the agencies of the Christian Churches in
Ceylon had with one consent recognised the value
01 female education as a moral power in the home
and m the principal centres of their relicrious and
educational activity. They had established boarding

46 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

and convent schools, which had become powerful
agencies to raise the tone and manners of the lower
social strata. For their influence was not limited to

the period of their pupils' residence. The career of
the girls in after life was watched with affectionate
interest by the managers, and left no doubt of the
beneficial and civilising inflence they exercised. After
my earliest visits to them I declared my belief that if
the Government wished to pay for permanent and
indelible rather than transitory results, the money
paid for one girl educated in a Mission boarding
school or convent school was worth ten times the
sum paid for a girl taught in a day school. Girls
everywhere, but more especially in the native com-
munities of our Crown colonies, require education
rather than instruction ; and it is only in a boarding
school that a girl can be educated in habits of order
and cleanliness, refinement of thought, delicacy of
feeling, propriety of behaviour, and other qualities
which we believe to be of the essence of female
excellence.

First and last, I thought it the duty of Govern-
ment to extend to the Protestant boarding schools
of the Anglican, Wesleyan. Baptist, and American
Missions as well as to the Roman Catholic convents
generous encouragement and aid. I have given a
few figures to illustrate the success of the schools
to which I refer in the Cambridge University Local
Examination, but it would be a mistake to suppose
that their work can be measured by this or any
other standard of examination in art or science . By
universal testimony they have effected a gradual but
marked improvement in the social life of the com-

EDUCATION ^7

rnunit.es within their sphere of influence, not only
in morality, but in greater devotion to industrial
habits. Household work and needle work, especially
in the making of garments, have always been
subjects of their intelligent attention, while in many
districts they did much to give a high value to
the embroidery and lace of the colony. In the recent
development of the great industries of Ceylon, such
as tea and rubber, the minor industries of lace and
embroidery attract but scanty notice; but there
seems to be no reason why, with encouragement,
they should not occupy as considerable a place in
the future of the Crown colonies as embroidery has
taken m the industrial art of India. At this moment
efforts are being made to restore the fortunes of
bt. Helena by various agencies, among others, the
lace industry. In June. 1907, Lord Crewe, in
opening an exhibition of St. Helena lace, declared
that the industry was worthy of every possible en-
couragement, and expressed the hope that it might
supply a large area of employment for the women
and girls of the colony.

While on ihe subject of female education, I may
mention, incidentally, that in 1879 the Kindergarten
system was introduced into a girls' school, and thus
the first step was taken towards the establishment
01 infants schools in the colony.
^ In Ceylon as in India, it is the area of secondary
instruction that presents the gravest difficulties, the
area that has to be crossed by a road leading from
the primary schools to the high schools and colleges
of superior instruction, and through these to the
service of the State, to the learned professions, to

48 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

profitable and honourable employment w. every

domain of industry and commerct. In this area
the question of language presents thf* ni*.st formid-
able problem. So soon as I had organised the
inspecting agency, I had to classify the schools,
and I followed the general classification adopted in
India of primary, middle, and high schools or
colleges, both for English and vernacular schools.
It was in the middle vernacular schools that the
difficulty arose, the question being whether they
might, at the option of the managers, be made
bilingual from the lowest class, or whether English
should be taught in them as an optional subject, only
as a sequel to a fixed standard of instruction in the
vernacular, and rigorously excluded from schools
which could under no circumstances teach to that
standard. It was the former system that had
been adopted, or rather allowed to exist, and I
was urged by a group of managers to give it the
sanction of the Code. Another group of managers
opposed it, and their objections were concisely stated
by one of their number in the following terms :

"There is such a craving for the acquisition of a
knowledge of a few words of English among the
people, that wherever there is a vernacular middle
school, the master of which knows a little English,
some boys will want to learn that language ; and
the school will be registered as an Anglo-vernacular
school. Consequently, other boys in the neighbour-
hood will, in self-defence, be compelled to learn
English, and the result will be that the country will
be flooded with a lot of young fellows, too conceited
for honest work, and having no desire to acquire a

EDUCATION
Aoro^h knowledge of Engli* i„ , Ugh «hool

tL T ^ ^ ''""^ ^"^ of many "
ubiveiy the justice of these observations and

I was confirmed in my decision by the action of
the Government of Bengal which h.^ .
reconstituted their internfedia" Endlh IT^l'

As the pnncples involved are and must remafn of

separate class T ^ 7*^ ^ abolition, as a
has followed w^^h r. ' J Government
-dard of the University ^T^^'.^^^ZTl

50 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

return to the principles affirmed successively by Sir
John Grant and Sir Cecil Beadon. According to
those principles, the middle vernacular schools
established by Government were to be regarded
as model schools for the advancement of education
among the rural classes, who must always remain
strangers to the English language and literature.
Side by side with, and attached to these vernacular
schools, there sprung up, however, in many places
English classes, whose object was to give those who
read the full vernacular course some additional
instruction in English. In course of time, the Eng-
lish teaching, originally intended to be supplementary
and subordinate to the vernacular course, assumed
an unduly prominent position. History and other
subjects were read in English, and the vernacular
was proportionately neglected. It followed, there-
fore, that all students in such schools, except those
few who were afterwards to proceed to a higher
English school, received from masters, themselves
ill-instructed in English, an education which was
imperfect, and in too many cases worthless, both on
its vernacular and on its English side. The late
orders of Government declare the necessity of re-
adjusting the mutual relations of English and the
vernacular by re-constituting middle English schools
on a true vernacular basis."

The immediate results of the new system were
stated in a subsequent Order.

Order of Government of Bengal, October 22, 1879.

"The policy of placing the course in middle
English schools upon a vernacular basis has been

EDUCATION 5,

discussed at considerable length in the Inspector's
reports and though some officers regard the change
with disfavour, the balance of opinion inclines to the
view adopted by the Director, that the measure was
sound m principle, and that it will be productive of
good results. Mr. Bellett. Inspector of the Rajshaye
circle, wntes thus : ' The measure was by no means
a popular one. and its unpopularity was, I believe
almost without exception, in proportion to the need
which existed for it. The class of teachers which
most hates to be obliged to teach in Bengali is the
class m which the knowledge of English is the
slightest and not only is it the case that the pupils
m middle English schools now learn their other
lessons more satisfactorily by far than they could
formerly when they were taught in a tongue "not
understanded of" either pupil or teacher ; but I have
noticed during the course of my tours this past
year less of that miserable parrot work than there
used to be in the teaching of English itself

" Sir Stewart Bailey has no doubt that the change
of system will be found beneficial to the true interest
of the pupils. It is entirely in accordance with the
recommendation of the Simla Text-Book Committee
hat in the lower stages of instruction substantive
knowledge should, if possible, be imparted in the
vernacular, a recommendation based upon the
rational principle that students, who have had their
nj.nds trained and developed by the acquisition of
deas through their own mother-tongue are more
likely to turn out clever men than those who have
spent the best years of their childhood in the painful

52 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

acquisition of foreign words to which they are unaUe

to attach any ideas."

The views expressed in these Otders were con-
firmed by a resolution of the Government of India
upon the Report of an Indian Education Com-
mission, in the following terms :

Order of Governvient of India, October 23, 1884,
" There is one matter regarding which no specific
recommendation is made, but to which attention is
drawn in the resolution appointing the Commission,
and which is discussed in paragraphs 249-50 of their
report, viz., the place which should be occupied by
English and the vernacular in middle schools. The
Governor-General in Council is disposed to agree
with the Commission that, for boys whose education
terminates with the middle course, instruction
through the vernacular is likely to be the most
effective and satisfactory. The experience of Bengal
goes indeed to show that even for lads pursuing
their studies in High Schools a thorough grounding
conveyed through their own vernacular leads to
satisfactory after-results. It is urged by those who
take this view that many of the complaints of the
unsatisfactory quality of the training given in the
middle and high schools of the country are
accounted for by the attempt to convey instruction
through a foreign tongue. The boys, it is said,
learn a smattering of very indifferent English, while
their minds receive no development by the imparting
to them of useful knowledge in a shape compre-
hensible to their intellect, since they never really
assimilate the instruction imparted to them. It has

EDUCATION 53

been proposed to meet this difficulty by providing
that Enghsh shall only be taught in middle schools
as a language, and even then only as an extra
subject where there is a real demand for it and a
readiness to pay for such instruction. His Excel-
lency in Council commends this matter to the carefui
consideration of Local Governments and Educational
authorities."

I recall these Orders ail the more willingly because
I understand from recent reports that there has
been a tendency to revert to the old system. From
an article in the Federal Magazine for April. 1907,
by the Director of I>ublic Instruction, I gather that
it has been reverted to in Ceylon, although he is
not enthusiastic in favour of the change. 1 1 appears
to have been made before the system it replaced
had had a chance of working, in accordance, as he
says, with the besetting sin of colonial Administra-
tions, a tendency towards sudden and complete
reversal of policy. In the same number of the
same Magazine, the Director of Public Instruction
in Burma disapproved the tendency to revert to
the old system in the following terms :

"The courses and systems respectively of ele-
mentary and secondary education dovetail fairly
satisfactorily, but English is begun too soon in
Anglo- Vernacular Schools. Native pupils who de-
sire to learn English should preferably go through
four vernacular sta'^d, rds before going on to a
school or department m which English is taught."

It was exactly the four-standard test of proficiency
that I adopted in niy Anglo- vernacular system.
If I have given priority to superior and secondar)

54 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

education in my namtive of work in Ceylon, it it
for the reason already indicated that the higher

educHtif n of the few must of necessity precede the
elementary education of the many. When my
Code was prepared and submitted to (jovern-
ment, I took the of^rtunity to declare, in my

Annual Report for the year 1879, that "whil^ other
branches uf t ducatiori had not been lo-'t sigur of.
the fundanuntal idea at the base of its varioii
provisions for standards of xamination, result pay-
ments, pupil-teacher system and training of teachers
had beca tlie extension of efficient primary ver-
nacular schools throughout the Colony.
^ This policy naturall> involved three considera-
tions, — the range of subjects to be taught, the
educational agencies available, and the all-important
question of ways anu mean The range of study
in primary vernacular schools was not difficult to
determine. The Code provided for five years' W( rk,
and it was assumed that within tuat period a child
of average intelligence and regular attendance might
learn to read and write fairly, and know enough of
figures to carry him through the calculations of
ordinary life. In addition to this, he would learn
something in the books he must read for prarti.
and something more from the teacher without ' ks.
Under an efficient teacher, with his heart in bis v -^k
he might hope to leave school not altogethe ui
equipped for the humble career which on'iruinly
lies before him. He would read well enough to
improve his acquaintance with books if ht ch ise;
he would be able to make out a bill, to sign a
receipt, and to write a letter ; he would be fam iar

E DUCAT. ON

enough with figure not i., be cheated in paying an
t' ount : md he vo ild have some general know-

U e of I he i oIon\ ai J of the physical condition!
oi le worl. tb.^ kind of knowledge uhich an
intelligent tccxher giv e in conversational lectures
with the help of )Uckboard, some maps, and dates.
This pretty w Jl expresses the unambitious but
prartical am of thf primary standards of the Ceylon
Co.ie. and i ventuic to hink ''-u it fairly expresses
what uist be the aim oi pri. ^ry schools in Crown
c >k)i. gener lly. So nuch knowledge it was
the desire of t, o De, Tien^ j place within reac'
or ev< , child n the lor In order to re^ch
the nu. Ml, , spa anc' leglected dis-

^""''^ ^1' >al -le-s ot a eral k, 1 were given
for f . . t ainteiw e in them of schools known as
"Z. s,ch is. and these were at the same time
^^^'P t the requirements of the immi-

g*"' ' '^o e dtion of Tamils on the up-country
est. 's. I h development of enterprise in e
I Kiuction t • tea, cocoa and rubber led to
t; TOous r -l of this population, simultaneous

neressity or a revised system. The subject was
for man years under discussion, and at last
r* 'ted in the enactment of the Rural Schools

'(ruinance, 1907, which provide ! ^eparate schemes
or f itc schools and schools for the general
indig us community of the rural districts of the
interior.

As regards estate schools the Ordinance

with a
outlyini

i d ;mand for education in the other
icts of the interior, for whose wants
Js were intended, and enforced the

th. C

56 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

imposed the following duties on the superintendent
of every estate :

(1) To provide for the vernacular education
of the children of the labourers employed
on the estate between the ages of six
and ten, and to set apart and keep in
repair a suitable schoolroom.

(2) To furnish certain returns to the Director

of Public Instruction.

(3) To cause a school teacher to keep a

register showing the names and ages of
children employed on the estate between
the ages of six and ten, and also an attend-
ance register showing the presence or
absence of each child on every day on
which school is held.

The Ordinance also provides for the inspection of
estate schools and for the use of a common school
by two or more estates, and gives powers by which
Government can deal with cases in which no provi-
sion is made by making such provision at the
expense of the estate.

As regards the general rural community, the
Ordmance enacted the following provisions :

School Districts. Every revenue district and
every Province which is not divided into revenue
districts to be a school district.

District Schools Committee. Each school district
to have its Committee, consisting of:

(«) A chairman, who shall be the Government
Agent of the Province, or, in his absence, the
Assistant Government Agent of the district.

EDUCATION 57

The Director of Public Instruction, or, in
his absence, an officer of the Department of Public
instruction appointed by him.

(d) One or more school managers or other
persons interested in education in the district
nommated by the Governor.

ScAemes Each District Committee to prepare
a scheme for the establishment of vernacular schools
for jhe education of all male children, and, if they
think fit, for the education of all female children
resident in the school district for whose education
efficient and suitable provision is not otherwise
made. The Ordinance gives detailed instructions
^hemes^"^ the Committee in making such

By-Laws. The Committee have the power of
making by-laws for the enforcement of regular
attendance at grant-in-aid schools as well m at
Government Schools.

Reverting from this digression to the methods
adopted to carry instruction beyond the elementary
stage of the primary vernacular schools, the Code
provided a scheme of bifurcation. A primary school
might become a middle vernacular school by making
arrangements to provide through a duly qualified
teacher a three years' course of higher instruction in
vernacular literature, and in general knowledge
through the medium of the vernacular, the aim
ot the middle vernacular school being to place a
native boy or girl in a position to master all the
existing resources of their own language Or a

(Mi I

5 r

» I.

''I \

1 .

I I'

■ »

58 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

primary vernacular school might become an Anglo-
vernacular school of the type I have described,
having for its aim to afford to all who possess an
aptitude for superior instruction the means of
acquiring a knowledge of English as a key to the
arts, science, or philosophy of Europe.

An eminent authority England has recently
declared that there is no ion affecting elemen-
tary education in this coun.j^ of greater importance
than the supply and training of properly qualified
teachers. Thirty years ago the truth of this
proposition was not fully recognised in Ceylon,
and my proposals to make the employment of
certificated teachers obligatory, in all vernacular
and Anglo-vernacular schools maintained or aided
by Government, met with some opposition, although
they contemplated only a gradual enforcement of
the rule and allowed a period of ten years before
it should be brought into complete operation.
As regards Government schools, the Department
had not been unmindful of its duty, and a central
training school in Colombo, called the Normal
School, had for some years been maintained at
considerable cost, and with energy and intelli-
gence on the part of the Principal, but the re-
organisation of the whole system of education
made it necessary to re organise the Normal School,
so as to adapt it to the requirements of the new
Code. In the scheme of re-organisation it was
steadily borne in mind that the intention of the
school was to train students to be teachers in the
vernacular and Anglo-vernacular schools of the
Department, and that consequently its chief aim

EDUCATION 59

must be to turn out scholars highly trained in the
art of communicating to others the measure of know-
ledge required in the schools in which they were
to teach. The appointment of a head-master,
qualified to teach science and art, was at once
confronted by practical difficulties in the want of
vernacular text-books. The difficulty had to be
met by the dictation of notes in Sinhalese, and by
the preparation of carefully edited lists of technical
terms in chemistry, botany, and other subjects,
pending the preparation of suitable books.

As the question of vernacular text-books must for
generations remain of importance, I may recall, to
the credit of those concerned, the terms in which
the Principal of the Normal School in 1881 reported
on his work :

" It has been my desire to identify the Normal
School with the publication of reputable Sinhalese
school books, which are urgently required, and I
hope that the Normal Schoolmasters and old Normal
students will devote some part of their spare time
assisting in the matter. My • School Management
for Pupil Teachers,' arranged according to the
requirements of the new Code, is pardy published,
and the remainder nearly ready. The Primer of
Botany has been ready for the press some time, and
I hope that my • Notes of Lessons for Vernacular
Teachers', which is now being printed, will be
found of great service. Mr. Johannes has a Physical
Geography in Sinhalese in hand which he hopes to
offer *o the Department, ard Mr. J. P. P. Samarase-
h:\.. r.is published a usefi 1 httle work on Mental
• .netic. Mr. H. D. Lewis is engaged on a

6o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Geography book, which is urgently needed, and
Mr. A. Senaratna is preparing an advanced Arith-
metic. Mr. D. Gabriel has already prepared First
and Second vernacular reading books, and I hope,
with the assistance of the Normal School Assistants,'
to be able to offer to the Department at no very
distant date, a complete set of good Sinhalese reading
books, consisting of original and interesting matter
prepared on the English plan."

The publication of vernacular school books had
from the first engaged my attention, and was inti-
mately connected with another question having a
direct bearing on the success of the vernacular
and Anglo-vernacular schools,— the question of re-
quirmg the inspectors to possess a competent know-
ledge of at least one vernacular language. While
engaged in re-organising the inspecting agency, I
submitted my views to Government in the foUowinir
terms : **

" There are two other points touching the duties
of Inspectors to which 1 wish to allude. It ought I
think to be a part of those duties to superintend the
preparation of school-books adapted to our needs
In the domain of school publications— reading
books, arithmetic books, maps, grammars, exercise-
books, dictionaries-there is a great and almost
untouched field before us. In view of this pressing
necessity, and none the less that it is felt in the
ordinary duties of school inspection and visitation 1
am of opmion that Inspectors ought to have a sound
knowledge of at least one of the vernacular languages
of Ceylon. *

There is perhaps no educational question of

EDUCATION 6i

greater importance to our tropical empire, alike in
India and in the Crown colonies, than the creation
of a modem vernacular literature. In India the
number of literates in English amounts to only one
per cent of the population, and in Africa the per-
centage is even smaller. It is evident that to many
millions Of the Kings oversea subjects access to
knowledge of the modern world is possible only
through oral communication or vernacular literature
My encouragement of Sinhalese literature was not
therefore, limited to the preparation of school-books.'
It aimed to enrich the existing vernacular literature
by translations of European books, or by the original
compositions of men whose minds were imbued with
the spirit of European advancement, so that Euro-
pean knowledge might gradually be placed through
the vernacular within reach of all classes of the
people. I am glad io learn from the Ceylon
Admmistration Reports that there has never been
any interruption or reversal of my policy in this
direction. In 1907 one of the earlier Sinhalese
books published by the Department had reached
an issue of over 200,000, while upwards of 57,000
copies of a Sanitary Primer had been sold.

This digression has led me away from the main
line of direction in the re-organisation of the Normal
School. Experience had shown that the success of
the schools, which it was the business of the Norn:al
School to supply with teachers depended, especially
in a I the country districts, on the social position and
local influence of the teacher. This will easily be
understood from what has already been said on the
subject of the schools of the Central Province. The

62 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

appointment of a teacher in a Colombo Normal
School, without the necessary local qualification to
complete his educational equipment, was found to be
followed by almost certain failure.

My own observations and the experience of the
Government agents struck me so forcibly that at a
very early period of my administration I suggested
that it might be advisable to convert an Anglo-
vernacular Government School in Kandy into a
Normal School for the training of Kandyan teachers.
In making this suggestion, I assigned my reasons in
terms which I recall with pleasure as an expression
of my desire to engage the interest of what I have
called the native agency in the education of the
community. I said :

"It has been found that low-country Sinhalese
trained at the Colombo Normal School, however
superior their training and capacity, have been
utterly useless in the Kandyan districts; they are
never comfortable, often suffer from the climate, and
with difficulty acquire the personal, or social influence
upon which a good attendance in Kandyan schools
largely depends. Except in the town of Kandy,
missionary enterprise has not been largely successful
in the Central Province, where the most effective
influence is the pressure of the Government Agent
and his Assistants upon the local authorities. To
this pressure, judiciously exercised, the province is
gradually yielding, and the Government schools,
built and supported by the village tribunals and
headmen, are beginning to be really national schools.
There are signs that before many years the pressure
of Government will no longer be necessary, and that

EDUCATION 63

the stability of these schools will be guaranteed by a
spontaneous national interest in the education of the
community, not unaided perhaps by those personal
motives, which may appear selfish, but which history
shows to have exercised an important influence in
the greatest, and even the most beneficent operationf.
of humanity,"

For the time every effort was made to adjust the
conditions of entrance to the Colombo Normal
School with a view to secure the admission of
teachers appropriate to the requirements and en-
vironment of the different provinces, and to adapt
the range of studies to the requirements of the new
Code ; but in 1883 my suggestion was carried out,
and three Government training schools were opened
experimentally in three provinces, at Kandy, at
Bentota, and at Udugampola. This measure was
accompanied by the closing of the English depart-
ment of the Normal School, for reasons which will
be explained.

The circumstances and the consequences of the
new arrangement, which was adopted in 1886, were
in 1898 concisely narrated by the Department, and
form an interesting episode in the history of Public
Instruction in Ceylon.

It was found that provision could not be efficiently
made to meet the peculiar conditions of the high-
land, or, as they are locally termed, up-country
districts of the island, between the inhabitants of
which and those of the lowland districts marked
^fferences in customs and character obtain.
Kandyans. as this highland population is usually
termed, show a marked aversion to residence on the

64 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

sea-board. Similarly, low-country Sinhalese dislike
work in Kandyan districts. As a result of this, the
number of Kandyan recruits that could be beaten
up for the charge of Kandyan schools always fell
considerably below requirements, and the schools
had in consequence to be officered largely by low-
country teachers. Estranged from their country
and their relations, these men failed to interest
themselves permanently in their new sphere of
labour, and failed, therefore, to make themselves
acceptable to the people and to maintain well-
attended schools. Although separated by no
physical barrier and identical in customs and char-
acter with the people of the Western Province,
young men from the Southern Province, too, could
not be induced to join the Normal School at
Colombo. To ensure the first element in a ver-
nacular teacher's success,— local influence — the
Colombo vernacular training school was closed and
three other schools, on a smaller scale, located in
three separate provinces, were started in 1886.
The best of the native teachers turned out of the old
English Normal School were selected and placed
in charge of these new schools. The period of
training was reduced to two years, and the course
of instruction made somewhat more elementary than
before ; admission to them is open to pupil teachers
and students of Government vernacular schools.
These are the arrangements now in force for the
training of teachers for Government ven^cular
schools, with the only difference that the trai ng
school :n the Southern Province has been closed, as
with the rapid extension of aided schools, especially

EDUCATION 65

in the maritime districts, only a small number of
trained teachers for Government vernacular schools
is required in these districts.

In 1903, however, the eariier policy was reverted
to, a Government training school with English,
Anglo-vernacular, and vernacular classes was estab'
lished in Colombo, and has become the centra!
force of a system including the grant-in-aid training
schools, the origin of which I must now explain

I have said that the provisions of the Code which
contemplated the eventual employment of trained
and certificated teachers only was opposed by some
of the Christian agencies. Naturally, they desired
to have the future teachers of their schools educated
m an environment dominated by their own influence,
and I found that a reasonable solution of the diffi-
culty, entirely in accordance with my own views,
had already been suggested by the Roman Catholic
Bishop Bonjean, Vicar-General of the Northern
Vicariate, in the following terms:

"As to the cause of the inefficiency of the teachers
m the employment of the School Commission, I
suppose It must be that they have neither been
systematically taught themselves, nor have had any
preparatory professional training. ... I do not
know to what extent Government wouid be able to
train teachers on principles acceptable to other
denommations. But of this I am quite sure, that they
are not fit to train Catholic teachers. They would
be sure to train them either on the Protestant or
the non-religious principle, and neither can suit us
But if m addition to grants for our Catholic schools
they were to make also adequate provision to en-

66 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

able us to train our own teachers in our own way,

I shall have nothing to say against a Normal School
for the benefit of those whom it suited. We should
in that case get our teachers trained at home or
here, as might seem more convenient to us. In
t' e scheme proposed by me each denomination
would of course train its own teachers."

Accordingly the Code provided for the gradual
introduction of certificated teachers into all schools
aided by Government through two agencies, a pupil-
teacher system and training schools or colleges under
the direct control of the managers. At the same
time provision was made for what are usually called
vested rights, and ten years were allowed for the
full development of the plan. The pupil-teacher
system was based on the arrangements already
carried out in Government schools, and provided
for an annually progressive bonus to be paid to
managers for the training of teachers. The method
of assistance to training schools was an assimilation
to local circumstances of the English system by
means of Queen's scholarships. It provided for
the support of students in training by a payment
for each student who completed a two years' course
with credit, but the number of Queen's scholarships
to be competed for annually was for the time limited
to five per cent, on the number of vernacular and
Anglo- vernacular schools. The same limitation
applied to the number of Queen's scholarships
for girls The system of granting aid to training
schools by the method of these scholarships wa^
suggested to me by the Rev. Mr. Brt)wn. the
head of the Wesleyan Mission in Jaffna, so that

EDUCATION 67

I had the satisfaction of carrying out a scheme
suggested by a Roman Cathohc prelate by method*
suggested by the leader of a great Protestant
agency. At the first examination held under the
new scheme, six training schools conducted by
American. Church of England. Roman Catholic, and
Wesleyan Missions, presented candidates, and I was
able to report that all these schools seemed perfectly
able to meet the requirements of the Department so
far as tb^ standard of attainment demanded was
concerned, although they had not all reached the
same stage of advance. It was nor long before
nearly every missionary body at all largely en-
gaged in educational work was maintaining its
own trammg school. With such modifications and
improvements as experience has suggested, I believe
that this system of aided training schools and
colleges has been of every advantage to the colony •
and I gather from an account of the system of
education m Ceylon, published in 1898, that with
sonie exceptions for cause assigned, my desire that
withm ten years all Government and aided vema-
cular schools should be in charge of certificated
teachers was realised.

I have now indicated the main lines of an educa-
tional scheme desigi d to lead from the villaTc
school to the highest range of study within the
resources of the colony, and linked to the univer-
sities of the United Kingdom. But I have always
held ,t to be a cardinal principle of the requirements
of our Crown colonies that primary education must
be regarded as the instruction of the masses of the

6« THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

people in such lubjectt as will best fit them for their
position in life, and not necessarily as a suge of

instruction leading up to the university. It was
my desire, therefore, to incorporate a scheme of
industrial instruction into the general system of
common school education.

In an agricultural colony agricultural education
naturally suggests itself as of the first importance.
About eighty-eight per cent, of the population of
Ceylon is rural, and the technical and indus-
trial education really required is such as will fit
them for an agricultursd life. I was not un-
mindful of this, as may be seen by many refer-
ences in my Administration Rei)orts, but want of
text-books and want of funds, a subject to which
I shall revert, prevented me from adding to my
educational system a scheme of agricultural educa-
tion. However, the work was taken up by my
successor Mr. H. VV. Green, v/ho himself prepared
a primer on the subject. When Sir Arthur Gordon
(now Lord Stanmore) was Governor, Mr. Green
established a school for instruction in agriculture,
botany, chemistry, veterinary science, and book-
keeping. The scheme worked well for many years,
but in 1898 it was made the subject of inquiry
by Commission as it did not attract a sufficient
number nor the proper class of students. It was
hoped to re-organise it on lines that would give
more scope for developing the practical side of
agricultural education, better means of reaching
the agricultural population and lik - measures, but
I gather that the school has been abandoned, as
no mention is made of it in recent repwts. They

EDUCATION 69

show, however, that the Goveroment has Mugrht
to attain the object of the school by other meai a.
Instruction in theoretical a^jriculture is L;iven fn n
Mr. Green's primer in all Government scho ols
above the fifth standard, and the teachers of th( >e
achoolt are desired to make use of die {riocs
of ground attached to their schools for purposes
of ornamental gardening. The School Gardens
Scheme, as n is called, has three distinct objects :
to give the boys a taste for gardening, and some
knowledge of the proper method of setting to work ;
10 encourage the study of nature as an essential
part of school education; and to familiarise the
rura' wpulation with useful products not grown so
extensively as they should be. Through the agency
of the Botanical Gardens, and from other sources,
the exotic seeds supplied for the use of these
gardens include contributions from India, Australia,
and other parts of the Empire, and are of infinite
variety. In 1907 nr less than 134 gardens were
associated in the sclicme, which seems to be admir-
ably adapted to the leqcirtments of the Crown
colonies generally.

During my tenure of office in Ceylon me qu tio
of industrial education gave me no little anxiety.
Industrial schools supported by Government in the
western, southern, and ce* ;- -.- province.-, did not
work satisfactorily. In ( r v ■ to promote manual
instruction, my code for aided schools included a
scheme of grants, in anticipation <^ a more elaborate
system I had in preparation. T^ese grants were
payable on the condition (i) that the school shall

70 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

teach a trade approved by the Department ; (2) that
the workshops must be sufficiently provided with
appliances for elementary instruction in the trade or
trades to which the school was devoted ; and (3)
that the master of the workshop must be duly
qualified to teach his trai!e.

As in the case of agricultural education, want of
funds before my departure from the colony prevented
me from carrying out a comprehensive scheme I
contemplated, but my temporary scheme served to
assist a number of schools managed by mission
agency for instruction in carpentry, bookbinding,
shoemaking, tailoring, and smith's work in boys'
industrial schools, and in lacemaking, dressmaking,
embroidery, and cookery in girls' schools. The
scheme I contemplated had a different range, and
as after a lapse of thirty years I still think that it
meets requirements in Ceylon and in practically all
our Crown colonies I have no hesitation in repro-
ducing it with the general remarks with which it
was submitted for the consideration of Government.

" In the great educational movement of our time
nothing has appeared so easy and been found so
difficult as the education of manual labour. The
old apprentice system has been generally rejected,
and nothing has been found to take its place. When
an apprentice was bound to a master for a term of
years, it was understood that for the first years of the
term the boy would be boarded, clothed, and taught
at the expense of the master, while during the last
years of the term he was to spend his time in labour
which would remunerate the master. Now in any
kind of voluntary industrial boarding school what

EDUCATION

happens is this : As soon as a boy has picked
up enough knowledge and skill in any trade to
earn a living, he takes himself off to work on his
own account. Consequently, industrial schools are
charged with all the expense of a boy as long as he
is incapable of producing marketable work, but they
get no return when he has acquired sufficient skill
to make his labour remunerative. Elementary
mechanical schools are only possible with very
simple trades, and the articles produced by the boys
who are learning the trades are of insignificant value.
Suppose, for instance, that watchmaking were to be
taught in such a school, the education would be
expensive and the produce unmarketable.

" This is the great difficulty in which we are placed
by what has been aptly described as ' the existing
constitutional aversion of the race to being bound to
anybody to do anything,' while at the same time
there is an ever-growing demand that the elements
of manual instruction should be incorporated into the
system of common school education.

" There exists in Boston, Massachusetts, an indus-
trial school association, which has undertaken a
course of instruction in the use of the common wood-
working hand tools necessary to the trades of the
carpenter, the joiner, the shipbuilder, and the
cabinetmaker. A series of primary lessons has
been drawn up, and they are undergoing a test of
actual use in the school. The school-shop is pro-
vided with work-btnches, allowing to each boy a
space for his work four feet in length and two and
a half in width. Each bench is furnished with a vise

72 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

with common wooden jaws and an iron screw, and
a drawer with lock and key, in which the tools
are kept.

" The first eleven of the primary lessons cover the
following points in the use of elementary tools :

1. Cross-cut saw — sawing to line.

2. Hammer — striking square blows.

3. Splitting saw— sawing to line.

4. Jack plane— smoothing rough surfaces.

5. Hammer — driving nails vertically.

6. Splitting saw— sawing u exact angles to upper

surface.

7. Jack plane— setting the plane-iron.

8. Hammer— driving nails horizontally.

9. Bit and brace— boring in exact positions.

10. Mallet and chisel— mortising.

1 1. Jack plane— producing surfaces which inter-

sect at exact angles.

" Each lesson includes the aaslysis of every move-
ment made in these processes. The first lesson,
for instance, analyses the apparently simple process
of sawing to line into measuring, placing of trestles
and board, lining with try square, holding saw,
placing saw, drawing strokes, pushing strokes!
finishmg, with all auxiliary laMer. such as watch-
ing the saw, pressure, and corrtctton of deviation.

"A very notable part of the system I am describing
IS an ingenious scheme for determining the progress
and success of the pupils. In the analysis of every
description of work, certain points are established
which determine the several qualities of the student's
execution, and these points are posted, that the

EDUCATION 73

schdar may know what excellence he is to work
up to. For example, in iron work the course in-
cludes : (i), vise-work; (2), forging; (3), foundry-
work ; (4), machine-tool -work. In vise- work the
first piece of work given the class is a rectangular
piece of cast iron, which is to be filed into line.
Each scholar has for use a ten-inch bastard file,
a ten-inch hand second-cut file, an eight-inch hand
smooth file, and a four and a half inch try square.
The design of the task is to teach the use of the
three large coarse flat files only ; and at the same
time not only the use of these tools is taught, but
the utmost care and accuracy of finish are required :
the excellence of the work is in its precision.
The inspection of the work is based on this
analysis :

Point No. I. Filed to line on one side- - - 20
„ 2. Filed to line on other side - - jo
., 3. Filed straight lengthwise - - - 20
.1 4. Filed straight crosswise - - - 20
I, 5. No cross marks - - - 30

100

" This is the first step in a series of work-lessons.
When the scholar has had fifteen lessons extending
over five weeks he has passed from filing to line
to templet-work, sawing and filing to free-hand
filing, and has reached the fourth general division,
that of fitting. Here he has a piece given him
which will occupy him a week— three lessons of
four hours each. Finally, the last e.xercise in the
course, requiring five hours, is to make a screw
from steel wire, and the tools given him are a

74 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

hand-vise and calipers and five files. The analysis
IS made up of six points :

Point No. I. Threads equal distance apart -

a- Threads of equal depth -

3- Point in centre

4- Thread not to lean either way -

5- Sides of thread straight levelled
6. No bunches or grooves -

30
30
10
ao
5
5

100

** In the selection of pieces of work regard is paid
to a regular progression in elaborateness, each pro-
cess built upon the previous series, and at the close
the scholar has to show twenty-two pieces of work
He knows the use and power of twenty-nine different
tools of fundamental value, and by these analyses
he has been steadily and scientifically trained in
the perfection of parts and in the relative value of
all the processes of his work. The same principles
of a progressive series and an analytical inspecJion
may be carried out m every description of work
and by this means there is a concentration of
educative force just where it is most required in

fnd 7" r". ""^'"'"^ ^"^ 'he brain

and the hand at one and the same time to patient
intelligent, economical, and skilful labour

"buch is an outline of the system which I hope
to see introduced into Ceylon. I should have be^
glad to include in this report a cut and dried scheme
ready to be put into execution at once, but I have
not had tune nor have I at present sufficient know-
ledge of the details of the system to prepare the
necessary estimate of expenditure. In order to

EDUCATION 75

cany out my proposals, it will, I am sure, be
necessary either to secure for a time at least the
services of a person who has a practical knowledge
of the working of the system, or to send a person
to America to learn it. A very small part of the
money which has been spent in unmethodic, un-
scientific schemes would have sufficed to cover this
expenditure, which I do not think the colony will
grudge."
•

Unfortunately, before my scheme could be carried
out, a decision of the Colonial Office to the effect
that the expenditure on my Department had reached
the limits of finality was fatal to it.

I hardly think that the measures for the promotion
of technical instruction, on a higher plane, brought
into operation by the Government since this plan was
suggested, important as they undoubtedly are, satisfy
the requirements my proposal was intended to meet.
The principal measure adopted by the Government
has been the establishment of an institution styled
the Technical College, the object and working of
which are thus officially described.

" Under the appellation of the 'Ceylon Technical
College,' an institution has been started at the public
expense in the metropolis, and is worked on a
syllabus avowedly designed to substitute for the
more costly agency imported from England for the
Railway, Survey, and the Public Works Department
of the Colony, the less expensive skilled labour of
the country. Classes in telegraphy and telephony
are added to the curriculum to provide for vacancies
in the Telegraph and Telephone Branches of the

76 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Postal Department. The Government Technical
College may therefore fairly be called a Government
Engineering College. And though it may at first
be limited to supplying the needs to which it owes
its establishment, yet it is hoped that as time goes
on it may find a wider sphere of appreciation, and
that those who have shown skill and promise in
local factories and workshops may be attracted to
it for advanced instruction. Obviously, all the
students of this college cannot make sure of employ-
ment under Government on the successful completion
of their course. But for the special kind of instruction
they have come under, the large number of mills
and factories in the Island cannot fail to find
profitable and remunerative scope for its exercise
for at least some time to come. Looked at from
this point of view, a vista of future usefulness opens
up for this newly-created college, which justifies the
foresight that decreed the organisation of the institu-
tion on its present lines. Admitted that the industries
are absent for the development of which technological
instruction of a more comprehensive kind would
have had to be undertaken, the departure that has
been in the meantime decided upon seems for the
present at least to be the most practicable means of
advancing technical instruction in the country."

The Technical College now includes classes in
chemistry for students of the Medical College, and
for the examination in chemistry and physics of the
London University Examination, and in 1907 a new
department in commercial education was opened.
The institution appears in every way to justify the
hopes of future usefulness entertained twelve years

EDUCATION

ago, and may well serve as a model for imitation in
other Crown colonies.

I have referred to the want of funds for carrying
out some plans I contemplated, and this brings me
to the important question of finance. In 1882 a
despatch was received from the Secretary of State
limiting the educational expenditure of Ceylon to a
maximum of 50o,cxx} rupees, an amount which it had
nearly reached. In replying to this despatch, I re-
corded that the policy of the Department had been for
some years based upon the expectation of a moderate
annual increase in the expenditure on education,
until, in the words of Sir William Gregory's address
to the Legislative Council in 1873, "vernacvdar
education should be brought within reach of every
native community large enough to support a school."
I then pointed out that the limitation of expenditure
would require a readjustment of the amounts voted
for English education, and I proposed a scheme for
handing over Government English schools to
Municipalities or local government Boards, in
towns where such institutions existed, on the con-
dition that Government should pay the same grant
to these schools as it would to an ordinary aided
school, while the Municipality or Board should
find the balance of the funds required for their
maintenance. I advised that the funds thus set free
should " be reserved for the extension of vernacular
education in those parts of the island least favoured
by the existing distribution." and I especially urged
that a portion of the available funds should go towards
agricultural and technical training. Unfortunately,
owing to the financial exigencies of the colony at

78 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the time, the proposed mnuure came to be treated

simply as one of retrenchment, without the simul-
taneous extension of vernacular, including agri-
cultural and technical education for which I had
proposed the retrenchment on English expenditure.
This was after my departure from the colony ;
had I remained in my office I should certainly have
offered some resistance.

The result of my proposals was that, in 1884, by
special legislative enactment the Central Govern-
ment was relieved of the responsibility of maintaining
English schools in Municipalities and towns with local
government Boards, on the terms I had proposed.
For this purpose an educational rate in Munici-
palities was included in the enactment This,
however, had to be abandoned, as it did not prove
acceptable, and the schools were ultimately handed
over to the already existing Mission agencies willing
to accept them. The Government, however, did
not relinquish its unsectarian policy, and no grant
was paid except for secular instruction. The
responsibility of the Department for the entire
maintenance of schools was thus narrowed to
those teaching the vernacular of the masses and
to half a dozen Anglo- vernacular or bilingual
schools in the more important villages. The pro-
vision of English education in towns was left to
private enterprise.

My narrative would be seriously defective were
I to omit specific reference to the place of the
native agency which at the outset I described as one
of the three dimensions in the educational system

EDUCATION 79

of Ceylon. I have described generally the influ-
ence of the native headmen in the extension of
schools in the rural districts, and I may add a
few words as to their influence and authority in
enforcing school attendance. Their position in 1898
was thus described by the Department :

" In the various rural subdivisions of the several
revenue districts of the Colony, rules making attend-
ance at school compulsory are in force under the law
which regulates the working of village communities:
but such compulsion in respect of attendance at
schools as these rules enforce affects only the
vernacular schools entirely managed and maintained
by the Department. No aided school, that is, a
voluntary school receiving aid from Government —
can claim the application of this rule in its favour.

" One result of this feature of such local administra-
tion of education as is undertaken by these village
communities is, that departmental schools still
continue to be the means of ensuring the instruction
of the masses in the remoter and more inland
districts in particular.

"Speaking generally, the machinery by which these
village committees enforce their rule of compulsory
attendance is simple. The village schoolmaster sub-
mits his list of absentees, weekly or monthly as the
local rule may require, to the village headman, whose
duty it is, under the rule, to secure the appearance
of the parent? of the defaulting children at the com-
munal court, to be fined or otherwise dealt with
there according to the discretion of the President of
the Village Tribunal."

8o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Their status has since been more precisely regu-
lated bv the Rural Schools O-linance, 1907, the
pnii' ipal provisions of which have been already
indicated.

In the area of free enterprise aided hy Govern-
ment grants, the native agency has not been idle.

In 189S the Dt'partmc t recorded that perhaps the
most encouraging feature in the extension of educa-
tion in the country was the part taken by indigenous
private enterprise in the establishment of schools.

The Theosophist movement, started about 1882,
led to thr formation of a Buddhist society, having
for its object the establishment of Buddhist schools
for Buddhist children, and in ten years' time sixty-
three such schools were registered as grant-in-aid
schools. By 1898 no less than 103 schools were
working, some under the management of priests,
others under the management of wealthy la> n n, all
well attended and many admirably housed. In
1907 the number of English, Anglo- vernacular and
vernacular schools managed by the Buddhist Society
amounted to 178. I may add that a lay inemb^-
representing Buddhist interests has a seat on an
advisory Board of Education formed in 1896 to
advise the Director on questions connected with the
working of voluntary schools receiving aid from
public funds.

On the whole it may justly be said that the
native agency is taking an honourable place in the
Ceylon educational system of three dimensions.

At the close of the year 1882 my tenure of office
as Director of Public Instruction came to an end.

EDUCATION 8,

and with it my direct connection with the educa-
tion department of the colonial service. It was a
period of strenuous work, recognised by a special
mark of the Sovereign's favour, and I hope there

was at least some justice in the words of the
Governor, Sir James Longden, speaking at a
College ceremony, a few days before I left Ceylon :
" I remember that three years ago, ... a native
gentleman, himself of very great attainments, almost
deplored that the education given in Ceylon schools
was not wide enough, that so much of the time
of the pupils was given to classics and so little
to what is called the modern side, or natural science.
I think if Sir Coomara Swamy could have listened to
the report which was read just now by the Principal,
and could have seen the distinctions that have
been won by the students of this College in other
subjects besides classics, he would have been
satisfied. If he could have witnessed the thorough-
ness of instruction given in chemistry, natural
science, and the other sciences, side by side with
classical training, he would have been satisfied.

"In the administration of his department.— a
department which is second to none in real impor-
tance to the Colony— Mr. Bruce has ever shown
that his single desire was to bring the best kind
of education home to the mass of the people-
to all the children of Ceylon. He took equal
interest in the humblesi vernacular school and
in this College, and throughout all his able and
impartial management of the Department entrusted
to him, his single aim was to bring the blessings
of education to every child in the place, and to those

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82 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

who could afford it a higher education to enable
them to make their way in the world,— each accord-
ing to his own mode of life, and according to his
creed, with the advantage which education gives
to every man and boy. That work has been carried
on by Mr. Bruce for nearly four years now, and
I venture to say that the work will not be forgotten,
—like all good work that will endure— and, though
he goes away himself, the Colony will still benefit
by the results of that work."

I may add that in 1908 the educational system
I established in Ceylon showed its results in 2,430
schools with 260,915 scholars. Of these 648 were
Government schools with 80,986 scholars, and
1,782 were aided schools with 179,929 scholars.
About seven per cent of the entire population were
at school.

My transfer from the educational to the execu-
tive branch of the colonial service did not diminish
my interest in the work of public instruction. In
1883, as Acting Governor of Mauritius, I prepared
a Memorandum on the educational system of the
colony, based chiefly on my experience in Ceylon.
I dealt mainly with the extension of the grant-in-aid
system and of vernacular teaching for the children
of Indian immigrants. On both points my views
were approved by the Secretary of State, and con-
tinued, I believe, to influence the local Government
until my return to the colony as Governor in 1897.

THE WEST INDIES

In the meantime, I had ample opportunity in
my offices of Lieutenant-Governor of British Guiana

EDUCATION 83

and Governor of the Windward Islands to promote
the cause of public instruction. When administer-
mg the Government of British Guiana, in 1888
I drafted a revised Code which amounted to a
complete reorganisation of the educational system
It included a scheme for schools in sparsely
populated districts analogous to the scheme I had
mtroduced in Ceylon ; and a scheme for encour-
agmg managers to give instruction in agriculture
and in trades.

In order that the Code might be carried out
m the spirit in which it had been drafted. I advised
and was fortunate enough to secure the appointment'
as head of the Education Department, of Mr!
Wilham Blair, who had been associated with me
in Ceylon as inspector, and who had been appointed
to act as Director of Public Instruction when I left
the colony.

In Grenada I re-organised the Education
Department in 1895 by an Ordinance to consolidate
and amend the law relating to primary education
and m the following year drafted and passed a Code
of regulations for carrying out its provisions. It
was a work that called for much patience and for-
bearance, and I shall ever remember with gratitude
the support I received in this, as indeed in all
other matters affecting the interests of the Wind-
ward Islands from Archbishop Flood of Trinidad
It was the aim of the Code to adapt to the circum-
stances of the little island the principles that had
guided me throughout my colonial career.

In St Lucia and St. Vincent my educational
actmi/ was limited to controlling in the same

84 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

spirit the operation of the laws and regulations
affecting education passed under my predecessor,
Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson. The St Vincent
Ordinance of 1893, drafted by the Attorney-General,
Mr. Oliver Smith, afterwards a Puisne judge of
the Supreme Court in Mauritius, was a valuable
enactment

In 1897 I returned to Mauritius as Governor, and
was able to close my long official career by carrying
to their logical conclusion, a? described in an earlier
chapter, the educational principles I had advocated
at its commencement

CHAPTER XVII

RELIGION

Sir Charles Lucas, in a chapter on the motives
of colonisation in his Historical Geography of the
British Colonies, has illustrated the motive power
of religion in the three principal phases of coloni-
sation,— exploration, conquest, and settlement. To
promote Christianity Prince Henry the Navigator
sent out the fleets which found the way to Asia.
Columbus embarked on the voyage which led to
the discovery of the West Indies and America
and in our own time Livingstone explored new
fields for missionary enterprise in Africa. The
records of Christian crusades and Mahommedan
mvasions have shown that the operations of con-
quest have never been carried out with such terrible
severity as when undertaken in the name of religion
In the matter of settlement religion has been the
most potent of factors in prompting men to leave
their homes, not so much to escape persecution, as
rather to find an environment in which they could
secure the supremacy of their own religious convic-
tions. Looking impartially at the net results of the

86 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

influence of religion in the establishment and main-
tenance of the British Empire, we find that it has
produced two distinct and almost opposite effects ;

it has served both as a separating force and as
a connecting link. And I am led to this conclu-
sion, that when religion has been successful in
dominating, and using to its own ends, the supreme
secular authority, ;t has proved a separating force ;
when it has kept itself aloof from all endeavour to
usurp the functions of secular authority, satisfied with
complete freedom of exercise in the domain of
spiritual influence, it has proved a connecting link
of irresistibi ; strength. I believe that the history of
Canada illustrates the soundness of this conclusion
in America ; I hope it may hereafter be confirmed
in Africa; I know that in Asia and in all the
territories included in our Crown colonies it has
been the faith of the Victorian era. The self-
governing colonies lie outside the scope of my work,
and I confine myself to a few words on our Indian
Empire and to the area of my personal experience
in the Crown colonies. As in them, so in India, the
Christian churches stand to the community in two
relations separated by a broad line of demarcation.
To the Christian community they appeal as an
accepted and acknowledged influence; the non-
Christian community they challenge as a missionary
enterprise opposed to national prejudices deeply
ingrained into religious convictions. I will speak
first of the missionary enterprise of the Christian
churches.

RELIGION

I will not dwell on the period during which the
mission of Christian Europe was held to be to bring
the natives of Africa, Asia, and America within

the pale of the visible Church on any terms; not
to advance him in civilisation but to tame him to
the utmost possible docility. During this period the
Church overleaped the tedious difficulties of con-
version, and received whole tribes as proselytes in a
single day. But in the case of the proselytes, the
Church exhibited a jealous dislike to the enlighten-
ment of the nation by secular instruction or to the
improvement of their physical condition. Obedience
or death was the policy of the peric»d, prosecuted
with such severity that it came to be asserted that
when the Christians were brought into contact with
savages, the Christians became savages instead of
the savages becoming Christians.

I pass on to the time when the policy of conver-
sion by force had yielded to the policy of conversion
by reason, by enlightenment, by instruction in the
arts and sciences of Christian civilisation. In 1836
Lord Macaulay, the great advocate of conversion
by study of the language, laws, and literature of
England, wrote to his father : " The effect of this
education on the Hindus is prodigious. No Hindu
who has received an English education ever remains
sincerely attached to his religion. Some continue
to profess it as a matter of policy, but many
profess themselves pure Deists, and some embrace
Christianity. It is my firm belief that if our plans
of education are followed up. there will not be a

8« THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

single idolater among the respectable classes in
oengal thirty years hence."

In an official Minute written by Macaulay in the
previous year (February 2nd, 1835) and submitted
to the Supreme Council, he had enforced his view
by ridiculmg the history, geography, astronomy, and
science of the sacred books of the Hindus.

It IS curious now to note that at the very time when
Macaulay was advocating the cause of Christianity
by this argument. Darv n was forming an opinion
hostile to It He wrr,. n his autobiography: "I
had gradually come .his time. U 1835 to 1830
-to see that the Old Testament was no more to be
trusted than the sacred books of the Hindus." An
Indian gentleman. P. Vencata Rao, brought up in a
missionary school, long resident in ' iglandl and
acquainted by travel and study with .ne continent
of Europe, has recently, in The Fortnightly Review,
stated the reasons why he is not a Christian, but
remains a Hindu. His reasons may be briefly

"uTfi^^P- "'^ 'he incredibility of

the Old Testament narrative, in respect of which he
has come to the same conclusion as Darwin ; his
second the incredibility of the New Testament in its
narrative ; his third the incredibility of the creed
founded on the Old and New Testament in respect
of its fundamental dogmas and confessions of faith :
his fourth, the incompatability of social customs
dedared to be essentials of Christian civilisation
with the social customs adapted to the nature and
environment of the people of India by the process
of ages. If we add to these reasons the net result
of the profession and doctrine of Christianity for

RELIGIOiN

nearly two thousand years in the national and social
life of Christendom, we shall have no reason to
wonder at the failure of Macaulay's educational
system as an engine for the conversion of the people
of India. While I willingly accept the declaration of
Lord Lawrence, and of other hardly less distinguished
admmistrators. that Christianity has done more for
India than all other agencies combined, it is
impossible to deny that it has been a separating
force as well as a connecting link. The principle
of Macaulays educational system, carried into the
domam of Hindu and Mahommedan law. were a
contributory cause of the Mutiny. And now. after
years of an educational system carried on in strict
observance of the principles of Queen Victoria's Pro-
clamation of 1858, while missionary i iterprise still
declares its belief that in conversion tc Christianity
will be found the ultimate bond of union, recent
statistics published by the Government of India
show that the population includes only 81 per cent
of Christians, with only one per cent of the adult
male population literate in English, the standard of
•teracy bemg ability to read and write it. Sir Harry
Johnston, who may be taken as the representative of
a considerable body of opinion, has recently declared
his conviction that. "The missionaries of the Pro-
testant Churches are at the bottom of the present
'native unrest in India and Africa, just as they were
to a certain extent at the bottom of what was called
'negro unrest' in the West Indies during the begin-
ning and middle of the nineteenth century, an
unrest which it was prophesied (falsely) would lead
to the extirpation of the whites in that part of

90 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

tropical America and to the creaUon of numerous
imitations of Haiti out of the British West Indies."

I will only express a hope that the future will
vindicate missionary enterprise in India, as the
present has vindicated its past activity in the West
Indies.

1 have already dealt pretty fully with the services
rendered by the Christian Churches as agents of
secular instruction, and it is hardly necessary to
point out that the value of their services has been
in exact proportion to the influence they have
acquired by other methods appropriate to their
mission work. Generally speaking, the methods
come under the two heads of preaching and practice.
In the paper of a missionary of long experience read
at a conference in Calcutta in the year 1876, it was
stated that, " In the judgment of the great majority
of Christians, direct preaching to heathen assemblies
is the chief plan by which missions can be carried
out," adding that, while this method of spreading
the truth is almost exclusively employed by some
societies, it receives little or no attention from others,
and by some is even disparaged. Allied to preach-
ing is the generally adopted method of influence by
the publication of vernacular literature. But so far
as my experience goes, if we accept the test that
men believe a thing when they act as if it were true,
permanent influence can only be gained by the
methods that come under the head of practice.
These methods, again, may be classed as two,— »he
practice of a profession or trade, and the habit of
life. Men are not easily content with the prospect

RELIGION 91

of a happiness which they cannot now understand,
and are not sure that they will ever enjoy, even when
it is presented to them with the alternative of eternal
suffering. The Catholic Church of the Middle Ages
comprehended this, and to the motive of future
happiness they added, as we have seen, the incen-
tive of immediate and substantial good, a cradle
for childhood, a career for manhood, an asylum for
infirmity and old age, with the alternative of the
immediate tortures of the criminal law.

It is generally accepted as a truism that super-
stition is the greatest foe of religion, and consequently
of missionary enterprise. Let me, then, explain the
principles by which I conceive that, to overcome
the foe, all missionary enterprise should be guided,
and the logical, because natural, order in which they
should be acted on, following seven stages in the
life of man.

The first requirement of every child that is born
into the world is the care of its physical health ; the
next a material home, be it a hut or a palace;
the next the means of earning a living.

These three stages are stages of individual
development; the next three are stages of social
development In these the man is concerned with
three stages of duty to his neighbour, his duty to
his family, his duty to his country, and his duty to
the constitutional authorities. There remains the
seventh stage, in which man is concerned with the
supreme end to which his life has been a means,—
the mysteries of the relation of the natural to the
supernatural worid ; in brief, his duty to God. In
this order I proceed from the lesser to the greater,

9a THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

from the known to the unknown, from conuderationt
of the positive present to contkierations of the

possible future, from the phenomena of nature to
their cause. By procedure in this order I conceive
that missionary enterprise will best overcome super-
stition by religion.

Missionary enterprise conducted on these lines
must, of course, provide appropriate educational
agencies, which may be grouped as technical,
poh'tical, and religious, appropriately co-ordinated,—
technical education secular, political education
secular but based on religious principles, religious
education— all that the term implies.

Let us, then, see how my theory h-- worked out
in practice in what I conceive to be the most
successful missionary enterprise of the Victorian era,
that of the London Missionary Society and allied
Protestant societies in Madagascar. It was an
enterprise with which I was brought into frequent
and close association during my many years of
residence in Mauritius, during the greater part of
which period there was an intimate connection
between church work in Mauritius and mission
work in Madagascar.

The first promoters of mission work in Madagascar
were treated as visionary counsellors. In a recent
handbook of the London Missionary Society Mr.
Sibree reminds us that ir was said to them : "Teach
the Malagasy! You may as well try to teach the
monkeys in their forests!" The early days of the
Mission were disastrous. The first pioneers, Mr
David Jones and Mr. Bevan, each with a wife and
child, landed in November, 1818, and January. 1819

RELIGION 93

Within a few weeks they were all attacked with
malarial fever, and befor the end of January t ley
were all dead except Mr. Jones. But the experi-
ence had itt use in making medicine the first
auxiliary of religion in the enterprise. The next
auxiliary was found in education, and the first
result of technical training in the schools was the
construction of a printing press. It had always
been che custom of the Society to attach to its
missivns in different parts of the world Christian
workmen to teach uncultured people some of the
arts of civilisation. Three or four of the first
artisans s. nt to Madagascar died of fever, but others
lived to instruct the Malagasy in carpentry, masonry,
brick-making, building, blacksmith's work, tanning,
and leather dressing, as well as in printing and
book-binding. These artisans were the precursors
and teachers in their turn of a large body of native
workmen who were to carry on the arts of civilised
life in the country. But this branch of mission
work was not confined to the train-'-tg of artisans
in skilled labour. Lnder the i irintendenre
of missionaries with a com;»etent i.iowledge of
engineering and chemistry, limestone, slates, and
other minerab were '<iscoverc and a canal, reser-
voirs, and water-millo ' ere buik. The uses ot car-
bonates, nitrates, and sulphates in various industries
and in medicine were taught. Among the earliest
manufactories established was one for the making of
soap from native materials, and the Society attributes
to this manufacture a particular share in enabling
the mission to survive a long period of adversity
that was to follow. For, in the meantime, the work

94 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

had excited suspicion that the ultimate motive

was to destroy the national superstitions inseparably
connected in the minds of the people, and, above all,
in the mind of the reigning sovereign, with national
loyalty. In 1836 there commenced a series of
persecutions that were to extend over a period
of five-and-twenty years, the narrative of which
has become a part of the modern history of
Christianity. What I desire to point out is that
throughout the whole period, and especially towards
the close, when the country seemed likely to
relapse into barbarism, the work of the secular
side of the mission remained a material evidence of
benefits the more gratefully appreciated in propor-
tion as they seemed likely to perish.

At the same time, the education of the native had
given him the intelligence to associate the material
benefits received with the life and motives of the
missionaries who had conferred them.

In 1862 the London Missionary Society was
allowed to resume its work, and among the first
of the group who resumed it was a qualified doctor.
In the following year the building of a hospital was
commenced at the capital. In quick succession,
dispensaries were established at distant places, a
school for training native doctors and nurses was
opened, works in Malagasy on pharmacy, thera-
peutics, and midwifery were published. All this
was the work of Dr. Andrew Davidson, for some
years a medical officer in the service of the
Government of Mauritius, afterwards distinguished
as a pioneer in the study of tropical diseases at
the University of Edinburgh. In later years, a

RELIGION 95

Medical Missionary Academy was established con-
ferring diplomas with standards of examination
that secured an ample guarantee of the qualifications

of those who received them.

Simultaneously, in 1863, the work of the mission
in the departments of architecture, mechanical engin-
eering, and chemistry was resumed. The erection of
stately churches as memorials of the native martyrs,
gave a stimulus to the desire of the people for
superior public buildings and private residences, as
well as for the development of the natural resources
of the country. These desires were satisfied by
an organised system of education, embracing practi-
cally all the subjects of professional and industrial
training included in the curriculum of what we
call the modern side of schools and colleges, and
in the distinctive teaching of modern universities.
There followed a demand for social and political
institutions appropriate to the civilisation accepted,
and a grateful recognition of the agency by which
it had been introduced. The intelligence of the
country placed itself at the head of the movement in
favour of Christianity. In 1869 the first Christian
sovereign of Madagascar, Queen Ranavalona the
Second, was baptised.

The period that followed was, in a sense, unique
in the history of Christianity and civilisation. The
form of government adopted may be described as a
constitutional monarchy under the ascendancy of a
Church having no recognised position as an estab-
lishment of the State, but controlling the State solely
by moral influence.

The Church of Madagascar was in no sense an

96 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

establishment ; it was an eclectic system of societies
held together only by the cohesive force of a common

purpose. In 1864 the Church Missionary Society
and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
began mission work, but the former withdrew
in 1874. In 1867 the Friends' Foreign Missionary
Society, and in 1887 the Norwegian Lutheran
Society joined the system. Under the ascendancy
of the moral influence of this Church system, the
political and social reforms accomplished in Mada-
gascar presented a close analogy with the reforms
that distinguished the Victorian era in the British
Empire, and there can be very little doubt that had
Madagascar remained for a few years longer mistress
of her own destinies, elective affinity would have
added a great nation to the British Empire.

Only a brief outline of the reforms carried out can
be attempted. An appropriate form of constitutional
ministry was adopted ; enlightened governors were
appointed to the outlying provinces fs representatives
of the Sovereign ; local magistracies were set up ;
great reforms were introduced into the civil law and
the administration of justice. The army was reor-
ganised, and an expedition sent to a province in
1873 to enforce obedience to the centra! authority
was conducted with a humanity in marked contrast
to the barbarous methods of former times. In 1873
all the African slaves introduced into the country
were liberated, and this measure was eventually
followed by the total abolition of slavery. The work
of reform in the departments of education and
public health has already been shown.
A sovereign State in which the temporal power is

RELIGION 97

constitutionally supreme but acts under the ascen-
dancy of a voluntary association of Christian
Churches,— voluntary alike in their relation to the
State and to each other— seems to be the ideal of
Christendom. It did not long exist in Madagascar.
In 1885 the country became in name, and in 1895
in fact, a French protectorate. I n the following year
it became a dominion of France. But the story of
the passing of Madagascar lies outside the scope
of my narrative.

Ill

Reduced to its simplest expression, the function of
the Christian religion in Madagascar was to create
and establish a civil government on the virgin soil
of an uncivilised community. The Christian religion
was the source of the civil government. Within
the area of the British Empire the function of the
Christian religion is always modified by the
supremacy of an established civil government. It
is not the source of civil government, but a tributary
stream. I will endeavour to illustrate its function
by some account of its operation in Ceylon ; and the
example of Ceylon is valuable as representing on a
small scale the chief characteristics of British India.
Indeed, Mr. Laing, when Finance Minister for India,
declared it was most valuable to have Ceylon under
a separate form of government, and to have experi-
ments in administrative and legislative reform tried
there, to serve as a warning or example to the
Government of India. In Ceylon the strength of
religion as a connecting link is confirmed by two
apparently conflicting methods.— by the encourage-

98 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

ment of the Christian reh'gion as an agency of
civilisation, and at the same time by giving the
adherents of non-Christian religions equality of
opportunities in every field of human activity. In
a chapter on education, I have given some account
of the many nationalities and religions represented
in Ceylon ; it will now suffice for me to speak of
the three dominant religions, in the order of their
historic origin, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity.
All these religions have one belief in common, — the
belief in a triune God. Trinity in unity is the
fundamental law of existence. Every natural phe-
nomenon has a past, present, and future. To-day
is the consequence of yesterday and the cause of
to-morrow. Hinduism recognises this fact in the
worship of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Pre-
server, and Siva the Destroyer. In its origin
Hinduism was the worship of the forces of nature
grouped under these symbolic designations. In
tl.ne the worship of the spiritual thing signified gave
place to the worship of the outward and visible
symbol, represented in many forms. Imagination
and art, stimulated by religious enthusiasm, com-
bined to make the visible manifestations of Hinduism
in its temples and its ritual as splendid and ornate
as any religion in any age has produced. Coin-
cidently, as the spiritual grandeur of the thing
signified became lost in the material magnificence
of the symbol, so the spiritual force of the priesthood
came to be displaced by the material forces of
temporal power, civil and military. The secularisa-
tion of Hinduism first by alliance with, and in time
by subjugation of the temporal power, produced, as

RELIGION 99

the secularisation of religion has produced in all
ages, the reign of terror of a sacerdotal tyranny.
At the appointed time the law of action and reaction
produced the revolt of the civil community against
this tyranny and brought about the establishment of
Buddhism, a system having for its primary object a
distinct line of demarcation between the spiritual
influence of the priesthood and the temporal power
of the State. But the principles of sacerdotalism
and militarism have in them elements and force,
of cohesion which proved superior to the tendency
of Buddhism towards segregation and individualis « .
Buddhism was even expelled from India, and found
a centre of refuge in Ceylon. In all essentia:*
Buddhism, in its origin, stood to Hinduism in the
same relation as Protestantism, in its origin, to
Roman Catholicism. But its history is unique.
Protestantism has passed through three stages. In
the firs^ it protested against the tyranny of a
particular religion ; in the next it protested against
the tyranny of any religion except its own ; in the
last it protests against interference with the free
liberty of any religion. Buddhism has never passed
through the intermediate stage : it passed logically
from the first to the last.

Buddhism accepts man as a symbol of triune
forces of nature. To the Buddhisc the generations
that are past and the generations that are to come
form, with the generations that are alive, one single
whole. Man emanated from God,— the supreme
creative spirit of nature, perfect in purity— and at
the appointed time the created man will return to
be absorbed in the Creator. His function is to

loo THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

carry out the will of God as revealed in the ordi-
nances of nature. Until he has become absolutely
perfect in the discharge of his function, he must pass
from one form of existence to another. Only when
perfect can he be reabsorbed in thj creator-spirit
from which he emanated. Otherwise the spirit of
creation would be polluted at its source.

In Ceylon, then, these two religions, the dominant
influences of ancient civilisations, are secured full
liberty, and the security and fulness of this liberty
are the measure of their strength as connecting
the colony with the Empire. In Ceylon, as in
India, accordingly, the religious problem has been
and i^ how to encourage Christianity without making
it a separating force rather than a connecting link.
The problem has been solved largely by the methods
described in my chapters on education. But I am
not unmindful, as I have already stated, that the
power of religion as an agency in every department
of secular education depends on influence acquired
by other methods, and above all by the example of
the fruits of Christianity as exhibited in the life and
conduct of its professors. Let me quote an appro-
priate passage from Canon Liddon on The Elements
of Religion : " ' By their fruits ye shall know them,'
said its one great Master, of certain religious
aspirants. ' Pure religion,' according to His Apostle,
'and undefiled before God and the Father, is this,
to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world.' " In
other words, it is active philanthropy and personal
purity. The language used to describe it in the
Bible implies that knowledge of religion and

RELIGION

lOI

religious emotion are, as .ve have seen, worse than
incomplete, if they do not lead to active goodness.
What a man knows or feels is of little import, until
It is ascertained what he does, or rather what he is.

To the Hindu or Buddhist convert the Sermon on
the Mount is the Alpha and Omega of Christianity.
Dr. Duff, many years ago, in his work on /nt^za and
Indian Missions, described the profound impression
produced on a number of inquiring Hindu youths
when he read this passage: "I say unto you, love
your enemies ; bless them that curse you ; do good
to them that hate you ; and pray for them that
despitefully use you and persecute you." So deep
indeed and intense was the impression produced,
that in reference to one individual, at least, from the
simple reading of these verses might be dated his
conversion, his turning from dumb idols to serve
the hvmg and true God. ^here was something in
them of such an overwhelming moral loveliness,
something that contrasted so luminously with all
that he had been previously taught to regard as
revealed by God. that he could not help crying out
m ecstasy, 'Oh; how beautiful-how divine ; surely
this IS the truth, this is the truth, this is the truth i *
It seemed to be a feeling, though of a higher and
hoher nature, something akin to that experienced by
the discoverer of a famous geometrical theorem,
when, in a delirium of joy, he rushed along exclaim-
mg. 'I have found it, I have found it!" and did
not rest satisfied till his thanksgivings went forth in
a hecatomb of burnt victims on the altar of his gods
In the other case, for days and for weeks, the young
Hindu could not cease repeating the expression.

102 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you,'
etc., constantly exclaiming, ' How beautiful ; surely
this is the truth!' Nor was he allowed to rest
satisfied till his gratitude for the discovery ended in
renouncing all his sacrifices, hecatombs, and false
gods, for the one sacrifice by which the true God
for ever perfected them who have come to a know-
ledge of the truth as it is in Jesus."

In my judgment the measure of a Christian
minister's obedience to the commandments of the
Sermon on the Mount is the exact measure of his
personal influence. In other terms, the measure of
his personal influence is the measure of his charity,
chastity, self-abnegation, contempt of the world
and its prizes, and active devotion to an unselfish
philanthropy, while the measure of these things in
the collective body of the Christian Church is the
measure of its influence as a connecting link in
a colony of heterogeneous elements like Ceylon.
Without an abundant measure of these things it
must become a separating force.

Many Protestant missionary enterprises are getting
to realise the necessity of readjusting their methods
so as to bring them more in harmony with the life
signified by the symbol of the Cross. The f .t
question of a non- Christian inquirer must of
necessity be, what does the symbol of the Cross
represent? It can mean nothing if it does not re-
present a life of calculated self-sacrifice. Receiving
this assurance he finds it confirmed by the testimony
of history. " It was," said Macaulay, " before Deity
embodied in a human form, walking among men,
partaking of their infirmities, leaning on their

RELIGION 103

bosoms, weeping over their graves, slumbering in

the manger, bleeding on the Cross, that the pre-
judices of the synagogue, and the doubts of the
academy, and the pride of the portico, and the
fasces of the lictor, and the swords of thirty legions,
were humbled in the dust"

The position of the non-Christian inquirer who
views Christianity from without, from the stand-
point of another faith, is fairly stated by Mr.
Fielding Hall in his work on Buddhism, The Soul
of a People.

" The more he searches the more he will be sure
that there is only one guide to a man's faith, to his
soul, and that it is not any book or system he may
profess to believe, but the real system that he
follows,— that is to say, that a man's beliefs can be
known even to himself from his acts only. For it
is futile to say that a man believes in one thing and
does anotht.'. That is not a belief at all. A man
may cheat himself, and say it is, but in his heart he
knows that it is not. A belief is not a proposition to
be assented to, and then put away and forgotten. It
is always in our minds, and for ever in our thoughts.
It guides our every action, it colours our whole life.
It is not for a day, but for ever. . . . We remember
it always ; we keep it as a guiding principle of our
daily lives."

As a logical consequence, the non- Christian
inquirer looks to find in the lives of profess-
ing Christians the guiding principle of calculated
self-sacrifice. In his immediate environment, in
the lives of the missionaries, he finds abounding
evidence of this guiding principle, but outside

104 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

their direct influence he is confronted by flagrant
inconsistencies between the profession and practice
of Christendom. That may stagger him, but he
recognises in the fundamenul principles of the
policy of British administration a clear line of His-
tinction from the policy of non-Christian empires.
In them he finds the basis of the State to have
been a national sentiment of selfishness. In his
immediate environment he finds the declared and
real basis of the Stale to be a sentiment of
national unselfishness. He yields to the belief
that the imperial policy of the nation is the col-
lective expression of the daily lives of the people
of Christian England, and is converted. The
missionary is triumphant ; but it is when the convert
to Christianity visits England that the real obstacle
to missionary enterprise is revealed in the fact that
he finds the practical daily life of the people to be,
to an extent of which he had formed no conception*
the negation of the letter and spirit of the Sermon
on the Mount. Among the learned Buddhists of
my acquaintance in Ceylon was one whose con-
version to Christianity seemed complete. Visiting
Englan as chaplain to the Bishop of Colombo,
he had exceptional opportunities of seeing what
may be called the Christian life of our country,
and yet his experience shattered his faith and his
health. He returned to Ceylon to die a Buddhist,
and his life and death gave a rude shock to mission-
ary enterprise among his people.

I have spoken of the Christian Church in a
colony in its relations to the non-Christian com-
munity. It remains for me to speak of the Christian

RELIGION ,05

Church as a connecting link, or a separating force
in the relations between the Christian community
of a colony and the Empire. Once in my experi-
ence an unsuccessful endeavour was made to make
it a separating force.

I have, in recounting the story of the reform of
the Constitution of Mauritius, referred to the part

designed by Sir John Pope Hennessy for \he
Roman Catholic Church as an instrument of his
policy I have also described the circumstam es
m which I returned to Mauritius after leave of
absence in December. 1 884. I resume the narrative
of my experience from that date.

While the differences between the head of the
civil government and the naval and military
authorities had become a public scandal, the general
community was divided and subdivided into hostile
groups, the racial cleavage of English and French
white and coloured, being cut across in each case
by a religious cleavage. The Governor's hope of
creating a united party of French Catholics had
been destroyed by the secession of Bishop Scaris-
brick. Of the cause of this secession I was not
long left in doubt. The Governor's country resi-
dence. Le R^duit. had a wing which from the time
of Its erection had been reserved for the Admiral of
the Station, the rooms b-ing generally called the
Admirals rooms. Sir John had fitted up a part
of this wing as a private chapel, and after the
secession of the Admiral the rooms, always at the
disposal of the Bishop, were known as the Bishop's

io6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

nxMiM. On my return from leave, I observed that
the Bishop had ceased to be a guest at Le RMuit,

and a casual expression drew from Sir John a frank
declaration that he had 'found the Bishop out,'
that his sympathies were entirely with the English,
and that he could only look upon him as a traitor.
As such he was treated. In conversation with me
Bishop Scarisbrick was no less explicit. He
declared that the cause of his secession was simply
that he would be no party to making use of
the Catholic religion as an instruw.ciit of separa-
tion, directly between the English and French
sections of the colony, and ultimately between the
colony and the Empire. I am glad to have an
opportunity of bearing my testimony to the loyalty
of the Bishop and the secular clergy in the conflict
that followed. Sir John was at no loss for a policy ;
it was to oppose the Bishop and the secular clergy
by the joint forces of a group of the laity and the
order of the Jesuits. Of the method by which this
policy was to be carried out I was not long left in
doubt In the month of May, 1885, Sir John invited
a leading layman of the French Catholic community,
equally sincere in his attachment to the traditions of
France and his devotion to the Catholic Church, to
spend a few days at Le Reduit. One Sunday even-
ing he unfolded his plan of campaign in frank
terms. He invited his guest to use his influence to
create a Catholic party by the association of ail white
and coloured members of the Church aoainst the
English and a small group of native coloured Pro-
testants. In this way he declared that befor° long
the English would be got rid of, and the Mauritians

RELIGION lo;

of pure French origin would have no difficulty in
asserting their supremacy over the coloured com-
munity of African and Asiatic descent. He illustrated
his policy by abundant reference to the Home Rule
party in Ireland, pointing out that the Catholicn
in Ireland had agreed to accept the Protestant
Farnell as their leader, their 'uncrowned king," in
the jargon of the day, and asserting that when once
Home Rule was established, the Catholics would have
no difticulty in g'-iting rid of Pamell. Sir John can
little have thought at the time that before Home
Rule was established, he was to close his own life in
a political struggle to get rid of Pamell.

The proposal found no encouragement ; neither
the immediate nor the subsequent policy appealed
to the • traditions of old France.' The next day,
the gentleman to whom it was made indignantly
declared to me that the Governor must be mad.
It convinced me that the time had come when
I could no longer hold my office with honour;
but I was unable to leave the colony at once,
because I conceived that vr j honour was equally
involved in another part of ' / John's policy in
which he was engaged in fierce discussion with
the military,— his proposal to get rid of the Eng.
lish garrison by substitution of a local force. I
shall return to that question in dealing with the
subject of Colonial Defence. I need only add here
that so soon as it was settled I returned home, and
satisfied the Secretary of State that I could no
longer hold my appointment In the meantime,
however, Sir John pursued his policy as regards
the Catholic Church. In the community of French

io8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

origin he found a small group of laymen hostile to
British rule who knew nothing of the traditions of
old France. Their maxim was • Le Catholicisme,
c'est la France.' With their support, he continued
to treat Bishop Scarisbrick as a traitor, with the
result that he eventually resigned his high office, and
Sir John's influence then secured the appointment of
a French Jesuit as his successor. It is not necessary
for me to enter into a narrative of the consequences
of this appointment. On his death, another Catholic
Governor used his influence, and the Home Govern-
ment made every exertion to secure the appointment
of a Catholic Bishop whose policy should be to make
religion not a separating force but a bond of union.
The appointment of the Reverend Peter O'Neill, of
the Benedictine College of Douai, to be Bishop of
Port Louis was followed in a few weeks by my
appointment as Governor of Mauritius.

In the period of twelve years that had elapsed
since 1 left Mauritius, I had held the offices of
Lieutenant-Governor of British Guiana and Gover-
nor of the Windward Islands. During that period
I had adhered steadily to the policy the appointment
of Bishop O'Neill was intended to promote. As
regards British Guiana, I shall, I hope, give suffi-
cient evidence of my sincerity in another chapter.
Among many expressions of good- will received
from the Christian Churches when I left the
colony was a presentation copy of Hymns for the
use of the People called Methodists, the gift of the
Wesleyan Churches, inscribed with an assurance of
their grateful remembrance of my sympathy with
them in their work, and accompanied by a letter

RELIGION ,09

expressing their good wishes for me in my adminis-
tration of the Government of the Windward Islands
On leaving the Windward Islands, my efforts to
secure the co-operation of all the Churches as links
of a chain of connecting forces were rewarded in the
terms of a letter addressed to me by Archbishop
Flood :

"6th January, 1897.

Your Excellency,

" I see from the telegrams of this morning
that you have been gazetted to the Governorship of
Mauritius. While expressing my deep regret for
your departure from among us, I beg to congratulate
you on your well-deserved promotion, and to wish
you every happiness and success in your new
appointment.

" I take this opportunity of thanking you for the
extreme courtesy with which you have always
treated me and my letters, and for the fair and
impartial manner vith which you have dealt with
questions touching Catholic interests during your
administration of the Windward Islands. I have to
thank you especially for having recently nominated
another Catholic to the Legislative Council of
Grenada."

I assumed the Government of Mauritius in May,
1897, and within a few weeks, on June 21st, on the
occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria,
I found the opportunity solemnly to associate myself
with Bishop O'Neill in the work it was given us
to do. On that day, before the Mass of Thanks-
giving for the sixty years of Her Majesty's reign,

no THE BROAD STOKJ; OF EMPIRE

the Bishop pronounced an address, from which I give
some extracts :

Before we enter upon these solemn rites, I desire
to express the profound satisfaction of the Cathoh'c
community of Mauritius, in seeing its Thanicsgiving
honoured by the presence of Your Excellency,
Her Gracious Majesty's representative in this
Colony, — of the distinguished gentlemen around
you who represent the various departments of its
Government, the military, judicial, executive, and
legislative— of the Municipality of our Capital, — and
of the Consular representatives of great and friendly
nations.

" \ our Excellency's presence, in particular, is a
visible testimony to the religious liberty which reigns
throughout the British Empire and which is one of
the notable blessings for which we Catholics in a
special manner thank God this day.

" Most heartily do we join our fellow subject.^ -n
offering thanks to the Almighty, for giving to Eng-
land a Sovereign so deserving of our esteem and
our affection, for preserving that Gracious Queen
to reign over us for a length of days unexampled in
our Annals, and for having bestowed on our nation
during that long reign, many great blessings, national
and moral.

" We celebrate this Thanksgiving, my brethren,
in our own fashion. Ours is an ancient Church, and
tenacious of its ancient rites. The language in
which we pray is that of Imperial Rome. The
prayers themselves come down to us from Prophets
and Apostles and Saints of the primitive ages.
The Creed, the symbol of Faith which we recite

RELIGION

before offering the Sacred Elements, was framed in
the great Councils of Nice and Constantinople before
the modem world was bom; and every article,
almost every phrase of it, is hallowed by the blood
of martyrs. The ceremony we use, the sacred vest-
ments, the liturgical chants, the offerings of incense,
the burning lights on the altar, come to us some from
an even more remote and equally sacred source, the
Holy Temple of Jerusalem. Yet, however ancient
they are in fact, however antiquated and mysterious
they may be in appearance, these venerable rites
lend themselves to the desires and need of every
age: and their purport to-day is to carry to the
throne of God our thanksgivings and our prayers for
our Queen and for our country."

In an eloquent passage on the religious factor in
the English national character and life, the bishop
found an appropriate illustration in the presence of a
party of officers and men of the 6oth King's Own
Rifles, who had a short rime before been wrecked
on the transport Warren Hastings on their voyao-e
to Mauritius. " A few months ago," he said, " some
twelve hundred of our gallant soldiers, some of
whom are here present, were wonuerfully saved from
death when shipwrecked on a neighbouring island.
Who have forgotten that one of the first messages
from the Home Government was an or-'er for the
troops to offer public thanks to God for their
preservation?" But of interest above all was the
following passage in which I found an assurance that,
so far as depended on his influence, the Catholic
religion would form a connecting link between the
people of Mauritius and the colonies : " A hundred

112 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

years ago, when France was shaken to its founda-
tions by a tempest of revolution and impiety, a large
number of the French clergy, fleeing before the
storm, found themselves homeless and destitute
upon the shores of England. It was the Protestant
Government of England, my brethren, that gave
those Catholic priests a shelter, and a sufficient
sustenance from the public Treasury. It was the
Protestant University of Oxford that, with most
delicate and religious kindness, printed at its own
expense and distributed to them, for their spiritual
consolation, an edition of the Latin Vulgate of the
New Testament.! Surely such charity will not be
left unrewarded.

" My brethren [he concluded], there , - one happy
change touching things spiritual, more and more
marked as this momentous century grows old. and
even now clearly discernible to thoughtful men,
England is growing weary of theological wrang-
ling, disgusted with religious strife. Englishmen
are beginning to yearn for peace, for unity, or at
least for union. Yesterday in every Church and
Chapel spiritually subject to Her Majesty through-
out the Empire, there was offered up to God an
earnest prayer for this great spiritual blessing of
unity. That prayer is ours also, though made in
other words."

To the work in which we became associated
by a remarkable chain of circumstances. I believe

'Two copies of this work are preserved in the English College
Douai, France. The title-page has these words : In usum cltri
Galhcam exultantis. Sumptidus Uttiverntatis.

RELIGION 1,3

we never ceased to devote ourselves with loyalty.
I have often publicly, and in a series of de-
spatches to the Secretary of State, expressed my
sense of the value of the Bishop s co-operation,
and he has been more than generous in his appre-
ciation of at least the sincerity of my desire that
religion should be a connecting and not a separating
force. *

One of the last privileges of my administration
was to propose, and to see unanimously passed
by the Council of Government, an increase of
the vote for the Roman Catholic Establishment.
Objections were raised at the Colonial Office, but
1 defended it, and it was approved by the Secretary
of State on the ground of the imperial value of
the Catholic Church as a connecting link in the
attachment of the colony to the Crown.

CHAPTER XVIIl

AGRICULTURE

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW

Through the person of the Director, the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew, occupy a place in the
Colonial Office system analogous to that held by
the Medical Department. They constitute de facto
the Botanical Department of the Colonial Office,
although they are de Jure a department of the Board
of Agriculture.

The gardens have, in fact, for 150 years been the
botanical headquarters of the Empire. It is curious
that during this long period they were, with a brief
intermission from 1820 to 1840, under the scientific
direction of four men, — Sir Joseph Banks, from their
creation to 1820; Sir William Hooker, from 1841 to
1865 ; Sir Joseph Hooker from 1865 'S85; and
Sir William Thiselton-Dy^ om date to

1905. It is doubtful whether the ;ctive lives
of any four men covering so long a period have
ever been of greater benefit to the public good.
Towards the clos*^ of the interval 1820 to 1840,
coinctdently with tne general trend of our colonial

AGRICULTURE ,,5

policy the gardens came very near being diverted
from Imperial to domestic uses ; but wiser senti-
ments prevailed. Since then Kew has been recog-
nised by a Treasury Committee appointed in 19^

as tu the first place a.i organisation dealing with
and giving assistance to His Majesty's Government
on questions arising in various parts of the Empire
m which botanic science is involved," and as having
so far "a distinctly Imperial character"; and yel
the relation of Kew to the Colonial Office never
recerved any definite recognition until 1902. when
Sir William Thiselton-Dyer received the appoint-
ment of botanical adviser, being thus placed in
a position somewhat analogous to that of Sir Patrick
Manson the medical officer of the Colonial Office,
bir V\ ilham s successor as Director at Kew Lieut
Colonel David Prain, C.I.E., has not ;eceived
any formal appointment, but continues to act as
botanical adviser.

The work of the gardens may be divided under
three heads. They provide a school of research and
scientific and practical teaching in agriculture and
horticulture; a central depot; and a clearing-house
A principal function of Kew in the department of
research and education is to train young men
»or appointments in colonial botanic gardens and
stations. There are at present about 160 Kew
men serving in Asia, Africa. America, and Australia
o! whom about one hundred are curators and super-
intendents, while the others are serving in Europe
(excluding the British Isles).

As a central depot Kew carries on the very im-
portant work of identifying the species of economic

1 16 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

fdants best adapted to climatic and other conditions
of various parts of the Empire. As a clearing-
house Kew, on its own initiative, or by request,
distributes to botanic gardens and stations through-
out the Empire plants likely tr form the founda-
tion of new cultures. For some years it has
been practically engaged with the African colonies.
Among the larger enterprises undertaken may be
mentioned the introduction into India of cinchona in
1861, and of South American rubber-trees in 1876.
The Para rubber-trees of Burma are descendants of
those originally introduced through Kew. In the
exchange of plants from one part of the Empire
to another, they are received at Kew, nursed to
recovery, repacked and redespatched.

The system of education and training has enabled
the department to stud the whole of Africa with
men who are capable of teaching natives the
rudiments of tropical agriculture ; and it has •'t this
moment a complete chain of men on the li ^ the
Cape to Cairo railway. For many years . has
been in intimate relations with the Crown colonies
through the agency of botanical institutions in
Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Jamaica, Mauritius,
and other colonies ; but in 1898, on the recommen-
dation of the West Indian Royal Commission, the
work of the Royal Botanic G^.dens was brought
into much closer association with the colonies by the
establishment in the West Indies of a department
of agriculture supported by Imperial funds.

Some account of the genesis of this department
will be of interest It had its origin in the threatened
extinction of the cane-sugar industry in the West

AGRICULTURE ,,7

Indies. An account of the economic development
of the Crown colonies would be curiously inadequate
did u fail to recognise the genius of empire in the
spirit with which this calamity was met by the West
Indian propiietors, and the tenacity which enabled
them to assert their capacity of self-support by new
methods of developing their material resources.
The services rendered by Kew in the season of
Uieir adversity were well illustrated by Sir William
Ihiselton-Dyer in a speech at the Royal Colonial
Institute m 1905. in the course of which he said :

" I have been long enough occupied with colonial
affairs to have seen an extraordinary change in the
attitude both of public opinion and of Government
administrators towards this question. At first it
was extremely difficult to -et any one interested at
all m the fortunes of a colony. It has been said
to-night we owe the change to Mr. Chamberlain,
but, great as is my admiration for that distinguished
statesman, and great as I think his services have
been in awakening public opinion to colonial enter-
prise. It is only right to say that there were those
at the Colonial Office before him who had some
grip of the fundamental necessities of this question
cannot forget two distinguished men with whom
I worked for a number of years. Sir Robert Herbert
and Sir Robert Meade, who really dragged me
mto the work by their intense interest in th; material
development of our smaller colonies, and induced
me to study the question, and to place more
mtimately at their disposal the resources of Kew "
I shall have occasion in another chapter to
Illustrate at some length the consequences of the

ii8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

decline of the sugar industry in two administrative
units of the Government of the Windward Islands,

Grenada and St. Lucia, and the methods by which
industries in substitution were established in Grenada.
In St. Lucia, the establishment of an Imperial naval
and military base and a fortified coaling-station had
associated local interests with what promised to be a
permanent source of prosperity in the shipping
interests of one of the most important stations on one
of the most important trade-routes of the world. In
the meantime, the administrative unit of the Wind-
ward Islands, St. Vincent, had been isolated from
these influences and reduced to desperate extremities
by circumstance 'vhich may now be recounted.

I assumed the government of the Windward
Islands towards the close of the year 1893, ^"d,
after informing myself of the general condition of
Grenada, the seat of government, I was anxious
to inform myself of the general condition of the
sister islands. In May, 1894, Vice- Admiral Sir
John Hopkins, commanding thf North American
and West Indian Squadron, was good enough to
place at my disposal H.M.S. Tourmaline, Captain
Sir Richard Poore, to enable me to visit the group
of small islands known as the Grenadines, some
of these islands being annexed to the govern-
ment of Grenada and some to the government of
St. Vincent. Colonel Sandwith, th-: administrator
of St. Vincent, accompanied me.

Carriacou, the principal island visited, I found
provided with departmental machinery under the
administration of Grenada, but the other islands con-
nected with St. Vincent were practically abandoned,

AGRICULTURE ,,9

so far as concerned the exercise of any of the
functions of a civilised government. Nearly the
whole of the male population had left in search of

employment either in the West Indies or on what

was usually spoken of as the Main, the central
States of the American Continent. This, I was
told, was the usual custom at the season. The
female population and the children were in a state
of destitution of which it would be difficult for me
to give any adequate impression were any useful
end to be now gained by my attempting to do so.
1 may mention, however, that perhaps their most
serious want was a supply of pure water. To
honour us. wherever we landed they offered us
what was really the most precious thing they
had.— cups of dirty, brackish water. It was as
touching an expression of loyalty as 1 ever
witnessed, and Sir Richard Poore was able to
make them a much -appreciated acknowledgment
by supp.ying them with as much pure water as
the condensing apparatus of the Toiirmaline could
furnish. No time was lost in bringing the condition
of the Grenadines before the Council of Govern-
ment of St. Vincent, and in undertaking a system
of water supply. The inquiries to which this
condition of affairs led. satisfied me before long
of the very critical condition of the colony, where
the population, possessed of no property in any
form, with no land on which it could labour, with
no factories in which it could find employment, was
threatened with the almost complete loss of the
mtermittent employment on very scanty wages
which it managed with difficulty to secure. Among

tao THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the symptoms of destitutbn was the prevalence of

the loathsome disease known as yaws.

At the close of the year, presiding over a meeting
of the Legislative Council, after referring to the
necessity of vigorous measures to deal with this
disease, I submitted my views on the financial
position of the colony and the system to which I
looked for its economic salvation :

" I have pointed out that our financial position
demands caution and economy, but I see no reason
for discouragement as regards the future prospect*
of the colony. In Sir Robert Hamilton's report
on Dominica there is a passage which seems not
inappropriate to the position of St. Vincent; he
says: 'There is no Royal road to increasing the
wealth and prosperity of the Island. This can only
come from an increased production in it of articles for
which there is a constant demand. A beginning in
this direction is already observable, and when once
the comer has been fairly turned the increase will
go on at an accelerated pace. With an increase of
production the revenue will increase, and means will
become available for improving and extending the
means of communication throughout the island.
The people are not wanting in energy and resource,
and they will have to exercise both, in the present
condition of the island, in getting their produce to
market.'

"And the example of the sister colony of
Grenada seems to me suggestive of encouragement.
There has been quiet but marked progress in the
general prosperity of Grenada during the last few
years, and I attribute this good fortune to two

AGRICULTURE

i2r

principa' causes: to the fact that most of the
culliv^e area of the colony is in the hands of a
large Ixxiy of proprietort who have individually the
strongest possible motives to work their holdings so
as to secure a maximum of profit : and. secondly
to the policy steadily adhered to of providin^r all the
cultivable lands of the colony with facilities of
transit by roads and steamers so that their produce
may be within easy reach of a profitable market.

" If you agree with me in thinking that in St
Vincent the path of progress is to be traced on
similar lines. I do not doubt that, with your advice
and co-operation, measures may be carried out whidi
will place St. Vincent in a position of general
prosperity and well-being equal to that enjoyed by
any of our sister colonies in the West Indies."

But my desire to carry out in St. Vincent the
policy of settling the Creole population of the West
Indies on the land as cultivating proprietors was
to encounter formidable obstacles. At a meeting
of the Legislative Council in September. 1896, I
reviewed the position in these terms :

" In an agricultural community without the alter-
native attractions of commerce and manufacture I
can conceive no inducement likely to be effective so
long as the peasant is dependent for his daily food
on the precarious and Huciuating demand for labour
of the larger estates.

'•So far as my experience enables me to speak
with assurance, the difficulties of the labouring
population of St. Vincent are in the main these :
(i) That practically the whole of the cultivable
area of the colony having easy access to

122 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

profitable markets is in the hands of a few
proprietors who, speaking generally, are
unwilling to sell or lease, with any security
of tenure, small parcels of land on such
terms as will enable them to be worked
with a margin of profit sufficient to ensure
the occupier even in prosperous times
more than a bare subsistence ;
(2) That the nature of the cultivation on the
great estates on which the labourer is
compelled to seek work, and outside of
which it is impossible for him to hope for
employment, is such that for weeks and
months he has often no means of earning
any wages at all.
" In order to meet the difficulties of this situation
the circumstances of the colony seem to require a sys-
tem which will promote the working of large estates
by capitalists concurrently with arrangements under
which the labourer shall cease to be wholly dependent
on a demand for labour fluctuating and precarious
at the best and at times liable to absolute cessation.
This requirement promises to be met by placing
within easy reach of the labourer an allotment of
land the cultivation of which will not withdraw him
from contributing to the field or mill work of neigh-
bouring estates, but will secure him, at the least,
a means of livelihood not absolutely and at all times
dependent on the interest or it may even be the
caprice of others. Under the conditions attached to
the Crown Lands scheme the holder of an allotment
cultivates a portion in plantains and ground provisions
while he is required to cultivate one half of the area

AGRICULTURE ,23

of the land in products of a permanent character
In this way the holder is assured of immediate means
of existence with the prospect of a competency from
the improved value of his holding.

"I ! considering any question affecting the settle-
ment of land k is. to my mind, not only of historical
1 It- r. st but of political importance to remember the
p M noies upon which the early settlement of St
Vincent was made. All the lands acquired under
that scheme of settlement were subject to conditions
reservations, and servitudes from which by a process
of evolution the present proprietors of the lands have
been emancipated.

"Without going into the details of the scheme
of settlement, it is important to remember that it
rigorously prohibited the accumulation of estates in
a single hand ; that by the nature of the then existing
institutions the entire maintenance of the labourer
was a charge on the estates; and that reservations
were made for the support of the poor settlers.

"The process of evolution to which I have
referred has so materially affected the settlement of
the lands of St. Vincent that it is in the power of
a single proprietor to abandon the cultivation of one-
fourth of the occupied area of the colony, and to
deprive probably one-fourth of fhe population of
their means of existence. I cannot believe that any
proprietor of lands in St. Vincent would avail him-
self of the power placed in his hands without some
provision for the labouring population bv whose aid
his estates have been maintained, but in the circum-
stances of the time it seems to me imperative that
the labouring population should be placed in a

124 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

position protected by some legal security of tenure.
In a word it is my deliberate conviction that without

the establishment of a peasant proprietary the lands
of St. Vincent are liable, at very short notice, to fall
into the state of abandonment which has overtaken
the least fortunate of the West Indiai. Islands. But
let me hasten to add that, in my opinion, the estab-
lishment of a peasant proprietary is a task of no
insurmountable difficulty.

" In the first place, we must endeavour to promote
by increased facilities the settlement of the Crown
Lands.

" With this view, we are considering the revision
of the existing Crown Lands Regulations and, with
the advice of the Executive Council, 1 propose to
ask the authority of the Secretary of State to submit
for your consideration the issue of a loan to be ex-
pended in connecting the Crown Lands allotments
by practicable roads with the neighbouring estates
and with the highroads and markets of the colony.
This was the intention of the original scheme and
the good faith of the Government seems to be
pledged to carry it out as a part of the understanding
on which allotments have been accepted and paid
for, as well as a factor in the further development
of the Crown Lands. This expenditure will at the
same time afford a measure of relief to a part of the
labouring population at present unable to obtain
work, many of whom are emigrating from the
Colony leaving behind them groups of women and
children reduced to the narrowest straits of penury

"Apart from the settlement of the Crown Lands
we shall have to consider whether it may be possible

AGRICULTURE laj

to provide by legal enactment against the abandon-
ment of estates with due safeguards for the public
interests both as regards the position of the labouring
population and the loss of general revenue which
must necessarily follow if the resources of the soil,
the )nly source of private and public wealth in the
colony, cease to be exploited.

" I recognise the difficulties of the task before us,
but considering the issue at stake, we must not
allow ourselves to be persuaded that it is impos-
sible."

The measures I had adopted to deal with the
position immediately following my declaration of
policy in December, 1894, may be briefly narrated.
In May, 1895, 1 suggested to the Legislative Council
that it might be necessary to resort to an assessed
land tax, referring to a recommendation made by
Sir Robert Han-ilton in his report on Dominica, in
which he said : "An acreage tax would undoubtedly
hit those persons very hard who will neither sell nor
cultivate their properties; but such persons are a
drag upon the prosperity and advancement of the
country, and anything which would tend as this
would to force lands into cultivation could not
but be productive of substantial good." Six months
later, in November, I introduced and passed with-
out serious opposition an Ordinance to impose a
graduated land tax. By this Ordinance the existing
tax of 6d. an acre on all land was raised to 9d. an
acre on all holdings of twenty acres. The reasons
of this measure I explained as follows .

" The lands of St Vincent cover, according to the
Blue Book, a total area of 85,000 acres. According

i,36o 351
34

126 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

to the land roll, which includes assessments on hold-
ings of one acre and upwards, these lands are held
approximately as follows :

Acrei. No. of Holdings.

Crown Lands 40,000 —

In properties of less than 20

acres - - . .
In properties of over 20 and

less than 50 acres - 1,060
In properties of over 50

acres - - - . 42,000 134

" The area of Crown Lands under cultivation is
insignificant, probably not exceeding 1,200 acres,
but, as you are aware, the Government have been
for some time offering inducements to purchasers in
order to secure the beneficial occupancy of these
lands; and we are now considering a scheme to
offer further mducements and facilitate purchase.
I believe that the holdings under fifty acres are
generally beneficially occupied and contribute in-
directly as well as directly to the general revenue.
I have no means of ascertaining the area of Crown
Lands fit for the cultivation of economic products.
A considerable extent of the Crown Lands should
certainly be preserved in forest, and it is presumed
that they include a large percentage of impracticable
land.

"I am unable to state accurately the area of
cultivated land in the 42,000 acres occupied by large
holders; but from such returns as are available, I
believe that the area beneficially occupied cannot
exceed 8,000, or, at the outside, 10,000 acres. Mak-
ing due allowance for the reservation of forests and
for impracticable land I cannot help thinking that

AGRICULTURE 127

the future prosperity of the colony must greatly
depend on an extension of the area of cultivation
over the larger holdings in private hands. In an
agricultural colony like this, it is not easy to anti-
cipate a considerable increase of public revenue from
any other source than the wealth which may be
expected to follow the beneficial occupancy of fertile
lands now lying unproductive."

In 1896 it became necessary to raise additional
taxation. The poverty of the people was increasing
to an alarming extent, and I had reason to believe
that a considerable area of land held in large pro-
perties was likely to be abandoned. To avaif myself
of an opinion subsequently expressed by the Royal
Commission : " The condition of St. Vincent was
so critical as to justify the adoption of prompt
and drastic measures. A monopoly of the most
fertile and accessible lands by a few persons
who are unable any longer to make a beneficial
use of them cannot in the general interests of
the island be tolerated, and is a source of public
danger."

To avert this danger I resorted to the prompt
and drastic measure of introducing and rapidly
passing through all its stages an Ordinance im-
posing an acreage tax which offered the holders of
a land monopoly the alternatives of beneficial use.
sale, surrender by forfeiture, or such a considerable
contribution to the revenues of the colony as would
materially lighten the burden of taxation on the
general community. This enactment was strongly
opposed in the Legislative Council, and by way of
petition and memorial to the Secretary of State. But

128 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

I did not for a moment doubt of Mr, Chamberlain's
support, and it was accorded.

The critical condition of St. Vincent was a

symptom of the general depression caused by the
ccamopolitan stru^^gle for the control of the sugar
industry, and was contributory to the appointment,
in the course of the year, of the Royal Commission]
already referred to, to inquire into the industrial,
financial, and administrative condition of the West
Indies. It was composed of Sir Henry Norman,
Sir Edward Grey and Sir David Barbour. The
summary conclusion arrived at was that " the causes
of the depression may be considered as permanent,
inasmuch as they are largely due to the policy of
foreign countries, and there is no indication that
that policy is likely to be abandoned in the imme-
diate future."

In this belief the Commission felt it their duty
to anticipate the reduction of sugar cultivation to
such an extent as would make the West Indian
colonies dependent on other means of revenue, and
they accordingly recommended various measures
of relief, and dwelt especially on the importance of
substituting other profitable agricultural industries
for the cultivation of sugar-cane. With this object
they recommended the establishment of a Depart-
ment of Economic Botany in the West Indies at
the expense of the Imperial Excheq uer.

Notwithstanding the apprehensions of the Com-
mission on the subject of the abandonment of the
foreign system in the immediate future, the irresis-
tible argument of the facts established in their
report and the energy of Mr. Chamberlain achieved

AGRICULTURE 129

the impossible, and the Brussels Convention resolved
to restore to the sugar industry all that was ever
claimed.-— free exchange between the producer and
consumer on the basis of the natural cost of pro-
duction, prices and profits being regulated by the
ordinary laws of demand, supply, and competition.
A history of the consequences of the Brussels
Convention is beyond the scope of my present
design, but the capital result has been recently well
summed up by a writer in the West India Committee
Circular (March 29, 1910). The originating fact
of the Convention was the international determina-
tion of the whole of Europe to abolish the bounty
form of protection. The abolition of bounties on
beet-sugar released the cane-sugar production of
the world from the restriction imposed on it by
continental protectionists. They sought by purely
political force to substitute beet-sugar for cane-sugar,
to prevent the sugar consumers of the world from
having both sources of supply thrown open to them.
But the better statesmanship prevailed at last, and
made these two alternative sources of supply cumu-
lative instead of substitutional, and consequently
market prices must follow the natural adjustment
of supply and demand.

Meanwhile the recommendation of the Com-
mission was carried out, and a Department of
Economic Botany was placed in charge of an
officer styled the Imperial Commissioner of Agri-
culture for the West Indies.

The Commissioner acts as adviser to the Govern-
ments of Jamaica, British Guiana, and Trinidad,

and has charge of all the botanic gardens, stations,
'I 1

I30 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

and agricultural schools established in other West
Indian colonies. He corresponds directly with the

Colonial Office upon all matters concerning the
general work of the department, ai d on all such
matters the Colonial Office is aavised by the
Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens. On
matters concerning colonial establishments and
expenditure the Commissioner corresponds with
the several colonial Governments, and his services
are made use of in every possible way with a view
to the development of the colonial resources.

In the organisation of the department the leit-
motif has been a desire to enable our tropical
colonies to compete with the tropical colonies of
France, Germany, and the United States, by
abandoning the crude, empirical methods of culti-
vation those countries have long since discarded,
and adopting methods based on general scientific
knowledge, but specially adapted to the local
environment of the area of production.

The principal local agencies co-ordinated under
the new system are the botanical establishments
of British Guiana, Jamaica, and Trinidad, and
such colonies as afford opportunities for scientific
teaching and research in botany, in addition to
training in the practical work of horticulture and
agriculture. In the smaller colonies there has been
established since 1885 a system of botanic stations;
their business is to devote themselves in a systematic
manner to the work of introducing, propagating, and
distributing all the promising economic plants of the
tropics; to initiate the experimental cultivation of
new or little known plants, and assist in the efforts

AGRICULTURE 13,

made in the large colonies to secure important
varieties; to act as centres for diffusing accurate
information, and as training institutions for the
practical teaching of agriculture. They are at the
same time the headquarters from which agricultural
instructors are sent to give lectures and demonstra-
tions bearing on the selection of land for tropical
economic plants, their suitable cultivation, and the
best methods for curing and packing the produce.
These agricultural instructors constitute an impor-
tant agency in the development of rural industries
by improved methods. They carry the instructions
of the botanic station so far as is possible into *he
rural districts, giving practical demonstrations to
small proprietors on any farm or plantation con-
venient for the purpose. These visits are paid at
different seasons of the year, so that the instruction
may cover the whole process from preparing the soil
to handling and marketing the produce in such a
way as to procure the most remunerative price,— an
important matter hitherto scarcely considered by
small planters.

The work of the department is encouraged by
agricultural exhibitions, and its methods and re-
sults are brought to the knowledge of the most
isolated cultivators of the soil by the distribution
of bulletins, handbooks, and leaflets, the principal
publication being the West Indian Bulletin, appre-
ciated far beyond the limits of the West Indies.
The department promotes agricultural and horti-
cultural teaching and training, not only in special
schools, but in connection with the ordinary routine
of primary schools.

13* THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Mr. Chamberlain, in introducing in the House of

Commons a vote for the support of the department,
stated that the grant-in-aid would have to be con-
tinued, if t! experiment showed a probable success,
until the colonies should be placed in a self-
supporting condition. The cost for ten years
ending in March, 1908, was provided from Imperial
funds. It was then decided that the department
should continue to be maintained for a further
period of five years with gradually reduced grants
from the Imperial Treasury, the several colonies
concerned having agreed to contribute from local
funds. There can be little doubt that on the
termination of the present arrangements the depart-
ment will be placed on a permanent footing, and
that the expenditure will readily be voted by the
colonies. Much of its success has been due to
the exceptional qualifications and the character of
the first Imperial Commissioner. Sir Daniel Morris.
He had held office in the botanical departments
of Ceylon and Jamaica, and had been entrusted
with special missions of inquiry in Trinidad, the
Windward and Leeward Islands, British Honduras,
and St. Helena. He had been for twelve years
assistant director of Kew Gardens, and was "ttached
to the West India Royal Commission of 1896-99
as scientific adviser. He had therefore been for
many years a link between Kew and the botanical
departments of the Crown colonies.

The work which it was given him to do as
Imperial Commissioner in the West Indies was
the organisation on a scientific system of work

AGRICULTURE 133

that had been carried on in the Crown colonics
from very early periods. In Mauritius as eariy
as 1766 the French ^'overnment had recognised the

importance of methodical control over agriculture.
Ni.. Poivre, the Intendant, reported to his govern-
ment that "coffee, cotton, indigo, sugar, pepper,
cmnamon, tea. mulberries, cocoa and annatto had
each had their turn, but that the knowledge and
attention necessary to establish an experiment had
always been wanting." To remedy this want of
knowledge and method he established in 1769
botanic gardens attached to the Governor's country
residence in the district of Pamplemousses. They
soon gained world-wide fame, and became, as they
still are, a stay of the colony's fortunes and an
ornament of wh ch Mauritians are justly proud.
For a time, however, the extraordinary profits of the
sugar industry had concentrated capital and energy
m the cultivation of the sugar-cane to the neglect
of what were called minor industries. Such, indeed,
had been the sue. ;ss of the sugar industry that the

ERRATUM
PaSe 132, line 26, >r 1896 99 W 1890-97

[Broiulstone of Kmpire]

extended from the seaboard to the highest cultivated

13* THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Mr. Chamberlain, in introducing in the Houie of

Commons a vote for the supjwrt of the department,
stated that the fjrrant-in-aid would have to be con-
tinued, if the experiment showed a probable success,
until the colonies should be placed in a self-
supporting condition. The cost for ten years
ending in March. 1908. was provided from Imperial
funds. It was then decided that the department
should continue to be maintained for a further
period of five years with gradually reduced grants
from the Imperial Treasury, the several colonies
concerned having agreed to contribute from local
funds. There can be little doubt that on the
termination of the present arrangements the depart-
ment will be placed on a permanent footing, and
that the expenditure will readily be voted by the
colonies. Much of its success has been due to
the exceptional qualifications and the character of
the first Imperial Commissioner, Sir Daniel Morris.
He had held office in the botanical departments
of Ceylon and Jamaica, and had been entrusted

the organisation on a scientific system of work

AGRICULTURE ,33

that had been carried on in the Crown colonies
from very early period.. In Mauritius as early
as 1766 the French government had recognised the

""PO''^'»"ce of methodical control over a^rriculture.
Mr. Poivre, the Intendant, reported to his ^rovern-
ment that "coffee, cotton, indigo, sugar, pepper,
cinnamon, tea, mulberries, cocoa and annatto had
each had their turn, but that the knowledge and
attention necessary to establish an experiment had
always been wanting." To remedy this want of
knowledge and method he established in 1769
botanic gardens attached to the Governor's country
residence in the district of Pamplemousses. They
soon jrained world-wide fame, and became, as they
still are, a -^-v of the colony's fortunes and an
ornament c' ./ .ch Mauritians are justly proud.
For a time, however, the extraordinary profits of the
sugar industry had concentrated capital and energy
m the cultivation of the sugar-cane to the neglect
of what were called minor industries. Such, indeed,
had been the success of the sugar industry that the
export of sugar rose from 467 tons in 1812, the year
of the British occupation, to 131,000 tons in i860.
At that time the small island was producing about a
tenth of the exported sugar of the whole world.
The threatened extinction of the cane-sugar industry
by the rivalry of beet-sugar was nowhere faced with
greater energy and intelligence than in Mauritius.
Every secret of science was applied to practical uses
m the field and in the factory. At the same time
renewed encouragement was given to subsidiary
industries. As cultivation has gradually been
extended from the seaboard to the highest cultivated

134 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

areas, agronomic and botanic stations have been
established at ahitudes of 1,000 feet and 1,800 feet

for scientific experiment in products appropriate to
the conditions of the higher la.iges, such as tea.
In this enterprise the colony has been materially
assisted by Kew. At Kev has been carried on
the work of collecting, identifying, and classifying
the species of economic plants best adapted to the
climatic and other conditions of all parts of the
Empire, and the results of the vast mass of informa-
tion thus acquired has been placed at the disposal
of the colony. In this way the crowd of introduced
products from all quarters of the globe has been
such that they have replaced the original flora of
Mauritius to an extent probably greater than in any
part of the Empire.

The Imperial Department of Agriculture for the
West Indies had its origin, as we have seen, in the
vicissitudes of fortune arising from the concentration
of capital and energy on a single agricultural industry.
No colony furnishes more striking illustration of this
peril to tropical agriculture, and in no colony has
the influence of Kew through the local botanic
department and gardens been of more imperial
advantage than in Ceylon.

The cultivation of coffee had been introduced into
Ceylon before the English occupation in 1812, but
its development was necessarily limited before the
opening of road communication between the hill
country and the coast. In 1837 the total export
amounted to about 30,000 cwts., of an estimated
value of 20,000. In 1869, two years after the
opening of the railway from Colombo to Kandy, the

AGRICULTURE. 1^5

area of coffee cultivation had reached 176,000
acres, and the value of the crop was estimated at
/4,ooo,ooo sterling. During the next ten years
about 100,000 additional acres were brought into
cultivation. In the meantime, however, the disease
known as hemileia vastatrix had commenced its
ravages, and with such disastrous consequences
that, notwithstanding the energy of the planters,
aided by the most advanced scientific knowledge
of the time, the area of cultivation of coffee under
European management diminished from 275,000
acres to less than 5,000 acres in 1900. It has
practically ceased to be of importance as an export.
However, the planting community was not dis-
heartened. With splendid energy it devoted itself
to the introduction of new products, principally
cinchona, cocoa, tea, and rubber.

In 1883 the area cultivated in cinchona had
reached nearly 60,000 acres. But this state of
things was not destined to last long. The extensive
scale on which this cultivation was undertaken in
South America, the West Indies, India, and Java,
reduced the price of quinine from twelve shillings
to one shilling an ounce within a period of fourteen
years, and the export of bark from Ceylon showed
the following remarkable vicissitudes :

»872, .... , i^j^y lbs

1887, - . - . 15,892,078 „
1892, .... 500,000 „

The present area of cultivation is under 750

acres, and the product has ceased to be of much
importance.

Of the rise and progress of the tea and rubber

136 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

industries I give an account in other chapters of
my work, but it may be appropriate here to insist on
the dangers that attend the cuhivation of economic
plants in the tropics without some controlling agency
possessed of adequate scientific knowledge and
experience, to recognise what products and what
species of such products may with the greatest
economic advantage be cultivated or acclimatised
in this region or that, and possessed of adequate
information as to the world's supply and demand.
The necessity of an accurate identification of the
species of plants to be selected was shown in Java,
where the Dutch cinchona enterprise was hampered
for many years by the cultivation of a species
subsequently discovered to be useless. A kn -wledge
of the world's demand and supply la, of course,
especially necessary in the case of tropical products
for which there is only a limited market. The
risk attending the cultivation of such products came
within my own experience in Seychelles, where the
fortunes of the colony were largely dependent on
vanilla. From 1898 to igcxj prices were very high
(Rs. 30 to Rs. 33 per kilo) owing to an expansion
in demand. In 1903 the price fell to Rs. 8.50,
owing to a reaction when manufacturers found the
price too high and had recourse to a substitute
known as vanillin. Planters had to turn their
attention to other economic plants.

I may add another illustration from my own
experience in Mauritius. In February last a cor-
respondent of The Times called attention to "the
tangled masses of the aloe {/ourcroya gigantea) that
climb up every hillside and adorn all the waste

AGRICULTURE 137

places " of the island. He expressed his confidence
that the future of the colony lies in the cultivation
of this plant. The courtesy of the editor allowed
me to record the historic fact that the aloes
"growing rampant" are the debris of one of the
most unfortunate enterprises that have imperilled
the financial prosperity of the colony. About thirty
years ago, coincidently with the introduction of
changes in the law of limited liability, a great number
of unproductive sugar estates were converted into
companies for the cultivation of the aloe. The
enterprise promised well; it was conducted with
scientific knowledge and intelligence, and samples of
cable were manufactured that obtained high awards
at an international exhibition in Europe; it was
indeed so successful i..at it not only attracted
surplus capital but promoted a general rage for
speculation in shares that resembled the discovery of
a new goldfield. Professional men, ladies of modest
fortunes saved from the wreck of the sugar industry.
Civil Service clerks, pensioners, and adventurers
were touched by the prevailing epidemic. It lasted
some five years, the period assigned for the cultiva-
tion and growth of the aloes, at the end of which
they were to yield a harvest of profit beyond the
dreams of ambition. Then it collapsed. The nature
of the aloe, which produces only a handful of fibre
from a vast mass of huge and wide-spreading leaves,
requires a large area of ground and a small supply
of labour. What Mauritius requires, with its limited
territory and crowded population, is the intensive
cultivation of small areas. The available area was
found totally inadequate for a steady and constant

138 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

supply of fibre and cable equal to the exhibited
san'ples which had secured admiration in Europe
and done much to encourage the industry. The
logical consequence of the failure of the enterprise
was a financial crisis which intensified, in every class
of the community, the suffering caused by the decline
of the sugar industry.

It is not too much to say that the economic
development of the tropics, to the mutual advantage
of the centre of the Empire and its constituent parts,
depends mainly on an intimate association of Kew
and its agencies with the Imperial Institute and its
agencies. The joint aim of all these agencies is
to associate scientific knowledge of economic and
regional geography with commercial knowledge of
the world's supply and demand. The story of the
Imperial Institute will be told in another chapter.

Reverting to Ceylon, it was reserved for Sir
Henry Blake to complete the organisation of an
appropriate agricultural agency by the formation of
the Ceylon Agricultural Society in 1904. In a paper
read before the Royal Colonial Institute in January,
1908, Sir Henry Blake gave an interesting account
of the principles on which the Society was founded
and of its operations.

"Its object was to bring all classes down to the
smallest cultivators into closer touch with the Govern-
ment, with each other, and with the scientific staff
of the Botanic Department, for, if any improvement
was to be hoped for, science must go hand in hand
with labour. The central society was formed of all
the members of the Legislature, some of the principal
inhabitants, European and native, of each province,

AGRICULTURE i,^

and all the members of the staff of the Botanic
Department. Local societies were formed by volun-
tary action in every part of the island, and were
affiliated to the Central Board of Agriculture. They
receive all the publications of the Society, and every
information that can be of use to cultivators is sent
out in thousands of leaflets in Sinhalese and Tamil
to the local societies. Every member pays a sub-
scription, and the feeling of self-respect is preserved
Instructors are appointed by the Central Board,
who, on invitation, are prepared to attend any
meeting of local societies, and give practical instruc-
tion upon any matter under consideration ; and the
staff of the Botanic Department, who from the first
have placed their services unreservedly at the
disposal of the Society, answer readily any questions
submitted to them, and of themselves issue valuable
advice that strikes the director, the chemist, the
mycologist, or the entomologist as being of service
on the general question, or in the event of the
occurrence of a pest or disease. The result has been
quite equal to my expectations. I will not say
beyond them, for my experience has shown me that,
if the people believe that there is a bond-fide anxiety
to assist them, they will respond. In May, 1907
the latest date for which I have statistics, there were
i,20o members of the Central Society, and fifty-two
local branches had been established with an agare-
gate membership of 4,000. Numbers of native
gentlemen came forward, some giving considerable
sums, others sufficient areas of land for experimental
stations, and experiments were in progress that cover
the entire ground of rotation in paddy fields; and on

I40 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

high ground, the intrryluction of new products such
as date palm^. siral hi^mp, salt bush for fodder,
Australian and American maize, etc., and the im-
provement of paddy by the introduction of the best
new varieties, of cotton, of tobacco, of arrowroot,
of cassava, and other numerous products hitherto
neglected. Experiments are also being made in
widely separated districts of the effects of artificial
manures generously supplied free by Messrs. Freu-
denberg & Co., of Colombo. Sericulture and
apiculture are also receiving attention, and results
in all these matters are brought before the people
by agricultural shows organised by the local societies,
with the co-operation of the Central Board, the
judges being supplied generally from the staff of
the Botanic Department, and pains being taken
that prizes are only given to the actual growers of
the exhibits. In these shows the people take a deep
interest, and the competition is very keen. Co-
operation has made considerable strides, and I look
forward to a great extension of the principle."

It is unnecessary for me to give an account of
the development of agriculture in the West Indies,
through the agency of botanical departments and
gardens, prior to the establishment of the Imperial
Department of Agriculture. With the Windward
Islands I have dealt in another chapter. I will add,
however, one word in recognition of the value of the
work done by the botanic gardens of British Guiana.
They are of more recent origin than the gardens of
Mauritius and Ceylon, but Sir Daniel Morris has
borne testimony that they are among the most
attractive and beautiful of any in the tropics.

AGRICULTURE 141

Valuable experiments directed to improve the sugar
industry were carried out on land attached to

the gardens for many years by Mr, Jenir.an, the
Superintendent, and Professor Harrison, the Govern-
ment Analytical Chemist. To Professor Harrison,
jointly with Mr. J. R. Bovell of Barbados and Dr.
Soltivedel in Java, is due the credit of the discovery
that sugar-canes bear seed, — a discovery which has
proved of the greatest practical importance to the
cane-sugar industry by opening a new field for the
improvement of the sugar-cane by the selection
of seminal varieties. His work in association with
Mr. Jenman resulted in valuable reports which
had the effect of increasing and improving the
yield of sugar and at the same time of reducing the
cost of production. Coincidently, the gardens have
rendered valuable assistance in the development of
subsidiary industries, while Professor Harrison's
reports on the resources of the colony have furnished
a scientific basis for the expansion of enterprise in
the interior.

A far-reaching effect of the activity stimulated by
the establishment of the Imperial Department of
Agriculture in the West Indies has been the estab-
lishment of similar systems after the same model in
Africa and the Far East. In the struggle for the
control of the tropics our colonies are thus equipped
to compete on equal terms, so far as the science of
sericulture is concerned, with all rivals

CHAPTER XIX

FORESTRY

In the development of the natural resources of
our Crown colonies no department of industry is
showing greater activity than the department of
forestry, and no department has had more formid-
able difficulties to overcome. Forestry has for its
primary object the cultivation of forest produce for
economic uses, and for its main subsidiary object
the maintenance of forests for protective purposes.
Dr. (now Sir William) Schlich, late Inspector
General of Forests to the Government of India, in
his Manual of Forestry, conveniently distinguishes
all forest produce as timber or minor forest produce.
Wood as timber is used in construction, shipbuilding,
machinery, industrial and agricultural tools, furniture,
and as fuel for domestic or industrial purposes. The
forest produce of the Crown colonies in timber has
a \ ery wide range, from hard woods, such as teak
and greenheart, to woods used in the manufacture of
matches and match-boxes. Alinor forest produce
includes an even wider range of substances not only
of direct use, but as raw material for extensive
industries. In order to illustrate this latter point, Sir

FORESTRY

«43

William Schlich gave in 1906 a statement of the

average annual .mport of minor forest produce into
the United Kingdom, showing an estimated value of
nearly ^12,000.000 a year. It includes rubber,
gutta-percha, dye-stuffs, gums, oils, and fibres.

I need hardly insist on the rapidly increasing
importance of these substances arising out of the
enormous development in the uses of rubber. All
of them can be produced in practically unlimited
supplies in our Crown colonies, and can find a
practically unlimited market in the British Empire.
Apart from the economic uses of forest produce, Sir
William defines the protective purposes for which the
maintenance of forests may be required as :

"(i) Preservation of the soil, especially on hill-
sides and where shifting sands occur, so as to prevent
erosion, denudation, landslips, the formation of
ravines, the silting up of fertile lands at the foot of
hills and of river beds, or the extension of shifting
sands near the sea-shore as well as inland ;

"(2) Preservation and regulation of the water
supply in springs and rivers, so as to secure an even
flow and prevent floods, or, where the water is
required for irrigation, power, or other purposes, to
reduce evaporation in the catchment areas ;

" (3) Protection against injurious air currents, such
as gales, cold or hot winds ;

" (4) For the benefit of the public health ;

" (5) For the prevention of avalanches ;

"(6) For the defence of the country."

Among the problems of Crown colony adminis-
tration there are few of greater importance than
those which fall within the area of forestry. In their

144 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

solution it seems difficult to exaggerate the value of
the work done by the Royal Botanic Gardens, which
for convenience may be designated by the title Kew.
Before giving some account of my own experience
of these problems, I propose to illustrate the general
scope of the operations of Kew by a record of its
influence in the East, and particularly in Ceylon.
During my service in Ceylon I had no direct official
interest in the work, except in so far as the bearing
of forestry on climate and health affected the work
of my department as it affected the work of every
public department. But the period was associated
with vicissitudes of fortune in the industrial enter-
prises of the colony that gave the question of forest
conservancy exceptional importance. The whole
atmosphere of official and social life in Ceylon was
saturated with interest in the perils of the planting
community which threatened the revenue of public
departments and the livelihood of families at their
source.

Sir William Schlich has ai; instructive note on
forestry in Ceylon ; he says : The timber trade
seems to have become a regular business about the
year 1840. Since then, various attempts at forest
conservancy and systematic management of the
forests have been made, but somehow matters did not
run smoothly. The Government of India has lent
one forest officer after another to act as Conservator
of Forests in Ceylon, but they have all given it
up. The fact seems to be that the Ceylon Govern-
ment has, in reality, never been quite in earnest
to carry through an efficient scheme of forest conser-
vancy. ... It is much to be regretted that better

FORESTRY ,45

progress has not been made in the formation of
permanent State forests."

This was pubh'shed in 1906. A brief narrative of
the facts may be of permanent interest.

The necessity for the conservation of the forests
of Ceylon was first broL,/ht to the notice of the
Colonial Office in 1873 by Dr. (afterwards Sir
Joseph) Hooker, who, on a report of Dr. Thwaites,
then Director of the Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya,
addressed the Secretary of State on the subject of
the destruction of forests, and the evil effects re-
sultin^r upon climate and upon the natural resources
of the colony in future generations. Sir Joseph
Hooker's communication was forwarded to the
Governor of Ceylon. Sir William Gregory, and
elicited a despatch dated July 31, 1873, of im-
mediate interest, inasmuch as it clearly defined the
causes that had brought about the destruction of
forests in the island, and of permanent interest,
inasmuch as similar causes have produced similar
results throughout our tropical Crown colonies.

These causes were; first and chiefly, cliena
cultivation ; second, ab.sence of system in cutting
down timber and re-planting; third, the sale of
valuable forests at inadequate prices ; fourth, want
of proper reserves being maintained in the coffee
districts.

Chena cultivation was well defined as a rotation
of soil instead of a rotation of crops. A squatter
clears a block of forest for grain cultivation ; the soil
IS rapidly exhausted, and the squatter then moves
on to another patch to be treated in the same
way. The system had its origm in a want of

146 THE BROAD STONE Of EMPIRE

sufficient water supply, the result of the abandon-
ment of the ancient irrigation works f Ceyl. i.
But it had disastrous effccis 'n replai : forest
by areas of jungle, whivJi become ' reedi _ stations
for malaria; in encouraging indolent at I nomadic
habits ; and in discoura^in};^ the permanent improve-
ment of the soil.

With an ori, iniseU systPir of cuttin«r ami e-phu f-
i -r, c/ietia cultivation u ! have btcii ( v)ntrolled,
V ile the absence uf sucii a systcn. was urther
responsible for licences being too freel)- ^ ■■ n u>
timber traders, lack of supervi lon in cun'nning
licensees to specific areas, destructive letb- of
felling, by which saplin-^s were destrov eu the
gradual exhaustion of timber in a^ce i! " i 'ts
of the colon) and the wastage of v luabi- nn ^er
land.

Practically inseparable from thit. abs
system was the sale of foiest < A at , dcqi itt
value. I he Crown forests had been sc ' not to
cultivators, but to timber dealers, who s; ♦:matit all
plundered them, and, often w h the .nniva
of the native headmen wh'-«se dufv it was to
vise them, gained a rich h \ est hereby appr
ting a revenue V sh H ha • pass d c
colonial exchequ. iid b the ommr aty

at large. The rea vi the ro i ti the w.iole
forestry trouble wa veil s led u is policy of
endeavouring to )btain fo, ■ it th" maxi-

mum amount of revenue Wiii d. mir un of
expenditure, lea in the future ia\ • care '»self.

The year 1 873 wa marked by a very rapid expan-
sion of the coffee int istry and a consequent activity

FORESTRY 147

.n the work of forest destruction, which made ie
inevitable end of such a system clear unless effectual
measures should be uken to arrest it It was
argued, however, that coffee planting could not

be pursued with advantage at an elevation of over
5^ feet ; and that, us vast tracts of forests existed
above this level, no apprehension need be felt as
to climate being affected by clearings for coffee
pi; ng. It was thought sufficient, therefore, to
»ssue mstructions that in the central province,
iJje prmapal area of t'- coffee industry, reserves
of rown land must be naintained. the crests of
th ills p'^rved. and wooded ravines excluded
in futur illotments of Crown lands for sale.

bir Wil. m Gregory's despatch contained a
margmal reference to 'he recent cultivation of tea
in some hitherto uncleared parts of the colony, and
Sir Joseph Hooker was not slow to point out that
the introduction of the tea plant would probably be
carried out in the up: regions of Ceylon to an
immense extent. This M inevitably lead to the
destruction of the forest. 'ovations where it was
admittedly of paramount iit.^ ance that they should
be preserved. It was a wise warning, but unheeded.
Within six years, on March 29th, 1879, Governor Sir
James Longden. referring to Sir William Gregory s
despatch, reported that in the interv I Sir Joseph
Hooker's prediction had been verified ; that tea and
cinchoiic. plants had been introduced largely, and
vast tracts of forest had been felled, no limit being
found to the elevation at which they would flourish.
In consequence, the forests above 5,000 feet were
no longer untouched, large ranges having been

148 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

entirely cleared. The results had already proved
disastrous, the rainfall was no longer retained but
flowed off rapidly, washing away the soil, increasing
the number and volume of floods, and thus causing
widespread destruction in the maritime provinces
through which the overflowing rivers debouched
into the sea. In order to arrest these disasters, Sir
James Longden proposed that no Crown forest land
above 5,000 feet should be sold except for special
purposes. Anticipating strong opposition to th;=
measure, he declared that the public interest must
be considered as of greater importance than the
possible gain of private individuals, adding : " I say
possible gain, for experience has already shown that
most of the mountain land is too stony and too
exposed for cultivation, and in such cases the
destruction of the forests has been absolutely with-
out compensation of any kind."

In an exhaustive memorandum on Sir James
Longden's despatch, Sir Joseph Hooker pointed out
that the evils following wholesale denudation of
forest-covered country are peculiarly matters for the
consideration of Government, inasmuch as the
persons who cause the mischief do not directly suffer
from its effects, and are not, therefore, deterred
by motives of self-interest. He proceeded : " It
appears to Sir Joseph Hooker that although judi-
cious rules have been issued by the Colonial
Secretary for the guidance of Forest Conservators,
it is a question worthy the consideration of the
Ceylon Government whether the forest affairs of
so important a Dependency as Ceylon should not
be placed under the direction of an e.\perienced

FOKnSTRY 149

officer who would watch over the management of
existing State forests and advise the Government in
all matters of general policy affecting a subject with
which the future prosperity of the Colony is so
intimately connected. It would be the duty of such
an officer to put his veto upon the clearing of
mountain slopes and crests upon definite technical
grounds which could be urged more effectually than
by officers of the Surveyor-General's Department.
And furthermore, inasmuch as experience has shown
in India and other countries that the mere reserva-
tion of natural forests is not sufficient without
systematically regulating cutting of timber and
taking proper measures for keeping up a succession
of trees of useful quality, it would be the business
of a chief conservator to see that these matters were
attended to in the way which is now known to be
the most effective,

" Sir Joseph Hooker is, of course, not aware how
far these suggestions have been already anticipated
by the Ceylon Government, but he judges from
the papers that have been submitted to him that
anything of the kind has only been attempted in
a somewhat tentative way. He thinks it would be
very desirable that the Ceylon Government should
have recourse to the well organised and highly
instructed Forest Department of India, and he
would even suggest the advisability of borrowing
from that Department,— as has recently been done
at his instance in the case of Cyprus — an officer
trained in European Schools of Forestry who
would draw up from a technical point of view a
report upon the whole Forest question in Ceylon

150 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

which appears now to have reached a state of things
when some such document is really indispensable as
a gu: '3 to and foundation for future policy."

These observations were referred to the Governor
of Ceylon and elicited an important declaration on
the real state of affairs. Sir James Longden did
not ■ >3rvalue the services of an experienced officer
as Conservator of Forests, but "unhappily

the tir.ivi when such services would have been
effectual had long since goi^e by." Almost all
forest land on slopes and crests of mountains
below 5,000 feet and much above that elevation
had long since been granted or sold by Government.
So unreserved had been the sale of land that in
many districts sites for police stations could only be
obtained by re-purchase : "It might without any
exaggeration be said that there were no forests left
in the mountains of the Central Province of such
value as would require or justify the creation of
an expensive Forest Department." Sir James Long*
den therefore advised that the provincial organisation
of foresters which already existed in Cey'on was
more suitable and more economical than the crea-
tion of a Forest Department, which in the depressed
condition of the colonial finances he was unable
to recommend. Sir Joseph Hooker, on being in-
formed that the Secretary of State concurred in the
views of the Governor, found little roon for further
observations, but having been consulted officially,
he thought it "due to his own sense of responsi-
bility to place on record what in his opinion are
the elements of a sound forest policy." He i
of opinion that the administration of forests sh' >

FORESTRY 151

be under the control of a single supreme Govern-
ment officer in immediate relation with the Governor.

It would be the business of such an officer to
obtain as large an immediate revenue from the
forests under his department as possible. But it
would also be his duty to see that the future returns
were not in any way sacrificed to the temptation to
exhibit an immediate income. The essential point
which he would keep in view would be the present
and future development of the forests without
impoverishment or waste. A system of forests
scientifically managed should, while yielding a con-
tinuous revenue, be in a state of continuous
renewal. Sir Joseph Hooker could not agree that
the small extent of forest land remaining in the
hands of the Crown was an argument against the
establishment of a Forest Department. He regarded
it rather as a reason for retaining existing forests
and for the development of plantations of valuable
timber to provide revenue when that furnished by
sale of Crown lands approached exhaustion.

In forwarding this almost desperate appeal of
Sir Joseph Hooker to the Governor of Ceylon, the
Secretary of State, the Earl of Kimberley, in a
despatch of December 23rd, 1880, stated that after
considering it he was "disposed to think that the
appointment of a special officer could not safely be
avoided." While reluctant in the depressed state of
Ceylon revenue to add to the cost of its already
expensive establishments, he did not " feel justified
in disregarding the strong representations which had
been \ lade by so high an authority as Sir Joseph
Hooker." Lord Kimberley, therefore, advised the

i I

1 1

If.

152 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Governor to communicate with the Government
of India with a view to procuring the services of
an officer, to be engaged temporarily, in the first
instance, until his advice and assistance should
enable a decision to be arrived at as to the per-
manent requirements of the colony.

After further discussion and delay, Mr. F. d'A.
Vincent of the Indian Forest Service was, in 1882,
deputed by the Government of India to report on
the conservation and administration of Ceylon
forests, and his valuable report was published in
the same year. The result was a Forest Ordinance
enacted in 1885. The object of this Ordinance,
and of the rules to be made under it, was : To select
suitable areas of forest lands and to constitute them
reserved forests ; to buy off or to commute by the
grant of lands any rights which the population in
the vicinity might have acquired ; to mark off
on the ground in an unmistakable manner the
boundaries ; to place these areas under efifective
protection, and generally to introduce system where
there had been no system.

But the question of the creation of a Forest
Department was not to be settled by Mr. Vincent's
mission and report, or by the enactment of the result-
ing Ordinance. On February 3rd, 1887, Governor
Sir Arthur Gordon (now Lord Stanmore) addressed
a despatch to the Secretary of State once more
discussing the question of the appointment of a
forest officer to organise and place on a proper foot-
ing the Forest Department of the colony. Once
more he proposed to make a definite proposal to
the Government of India for the selection of a

FORESTRY

153

first-class officer from the Indian service. His ob-
servations on this proposal are of interest. The
Executive Council had unanimously adopted it, but
Sir Arthur Gordon pointed out that while comply-
ing with their views, he was personally of opinion
that efficiency as well as economy would have been
consulted by the selection of a competent German
officer. I believe." he said. " that a perfects-
fresh and unprejudiced eye would have a better
chance of realising the true wants of Ceylon in the
matter of forestry, than an officer who has practised
the art under conditions by no means in truth the
same as those existing in this country, but havincr
sufficient superficial resemblance to them to excusS
their being considered as identical. I crreatly fear
that a forester from India may have more to unlearn
than one from Germany would have to learn, and
that he may be far more unwilling to make any
alteration in his already preconceived opinions "

A few months later Mr. A. Thompson of the
Indian Forest Department, who had acted in a
similar capacity in Mauritius in 1880, was deputed
by the Government of India to advise the Govern-
ment of Ceylon. Unfortunately he speedily lost
his health and resigned his appointment. On his
departure, the Surveyor-General of the colonv was
appointed Acting Conservator of Forests in 'addi-
tion to his own duties. The realisation of Sir
Joseph Hookers policy, the creation of a Forest
Uepartment under supreme authoritv with a trained
btaff, seemed to be now further off than ever. The
Surveyor-General proposed a system of dual control
which he described in the following terms :

154 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

" I submitted to Government that a middle course
was advisable, and that the Forester of a Province
should carry out the various forest works of de-
marcation, conservation, cultural treatment, etc. (as
agreed upon mutually by the Government Agent
and the Conservator of Forests, and approved
by Government), under the authority and protec-
tion of the Government Agent, while in adminis-
trative matters connected with discipline, pay,
promotion, transfer, etc., he should be directly under
the Conservator of Forests. By this dual sub-
ordination, provided the Government Agent and
Conservator of Forests worked harmoniously to-
gether and co-operated toward the common end
both have in view, I conceived that the interest of
both forest conservation and of the people might be
met in that the just demand and requirements of
forest conservancy will be attended to under the full
authority of the head of the Province, while full
control over the Departmental finance, and over
the organisation and technical part of the work,
is reserved to the Conservator of Forests.

"Government was pleased to approve of this
recommendation. "

It would carry me too far to follow in detail the
process of evolution which transformed this hybrid
establishment into an independent forest administra-
tion. In January, 1889, Mr. A. F. Broun, whose
services were placed at the disposal of the Govern-
ment of Ceylon by the Government of India for
a period of three years, was appointed Deputy-
Conservator of Forests, and two years later was
appointed to the permanent post of Conservator of

FORESTRY 155

Forests in Ceylon. In his administration re]X)rt for
1892 he made some interesting observations on the
working of the dual system :

*' All these encroachments have been countenanced
by the Government Agent, who is ex officio the Chief
Forest Officer for the Provinc??! A very bad
example is set to private pej when the very
officers whose duty it is to see .i; ' iw duly carried
out expose it to such ridicule. It is impossible for
officers of the Department to take a real interest in
their work when those who should really help and
advise them do their best to make a farce of the laws
which should enable them to protect their forests.

"The dealings between Assistant Conservators
and Government Agents have been satisfactory in
seven out of the nine Provinces. Of the other two
the less said the better.
•

" I may, however, be allowed to doubt that a
system which necessitates constant appeals to
Government from one side or the other can be

beneficial."

But the organisation of a new department was
not to be completed at once. For seven more years
it was to be a question of much discussion, and
eventually of reference to a Committee of re-
organisation. Finally, in 1899, the Conservator's
Administration Report contained a satisfactory
note.

''Reorganisation of the Department. During the
year under report, the Department has made a new
start and a vigorous one. The proposals of the

156 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Forest Reorganisation Committee having been
approved by Government, no time was lost in
carrying them into effect."

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS

The political and economic development of the
Straits Settlements and the F"ederated Malay States
has been so largely a work of expansion carried on
by officials and pioneers of experience in Ceylon,
that it is not surprising to find a close analogy in
the evolution of their Forest Departments. Sir
William Schlich has apparently overlooked this, for
in his Manual he says : " The Straits Settlements
and the Federated States have set an excellent ex-
ample, by taking forest conservancy in hand before
difificulties had arisen, a wise procedure which has,
unfortunately, been neglected in many of the large
Colonies."

A brief record of facts is iraimctive.

In 1882 Mr. N. Cantley, Superintendent of the
Botanic Garden, Singapore, was instructed by the
Governor of the Straits Settlements, Sir F. A.
Weld, to draw up a report on the Forests and
Forest Lands of the Colony. His repori, published
in July, 1883, stated that "it is apparent that no
sufficient attempts have been made to conserve the
Government forest lands. . . . Our timber supply
has ^vllen short of the demand, and the climate of
the Colony is becoming sensibly affected. The hill
streams run with greater irregularity, and many of
the smaller streams have become entirely dried up.
, . . It is hard to conc.ive a more short-sighted
policy than that which has suffered these Settle-

FORESTRY

157

ments to drift into their (uvsent condition of scarcity
of forest and forest produce." The report reviews
the whole question of forest management, and

makes recommendations for the conservation of
existing forests, the extension of forest areas, and
the improvement of the character of the forests by
planting the most suitable and valuable timber
trees. To effect this, Mr. Candey recommended
"the establishment of a Forest Department to
take charge of all Crown Forests, whether pro-
claimed as reserves or otherwise."

Mr. Cantley's recommendations were strongly
supported by local opinion. Tke Straits Intelli-
gence declared : " The matter is one of vital
importance, and we trust the Government will take
steps to stay and remedy the present evils in accord-
ance with the suggestions of such an experienced
professor of forestry as the gentleman who has
penned this interesting and valuable report." The
Straits Times wrote : " There is perhaps no graver
question which can engage the attention of the
thinking portion of the community than the proper
utilisation of the waste lands of the Setdements and
the prevention of their extension by injudicious
clearing and cultivation."

On April 2nd, 1884, Sir Cecil Smith, then
administering the Government, reported on the
steps being taken for the conservation of existing
forests and the re-afforestation of other parts of the
colony. He urged at the same time the import-
ance of obtaining the services of qualified mc as
forest overseers suitable to the special conditions
of Singapore, Malacca, and Penang. A long

158 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

correspondence shows with what care Sir Joseph

Hooker and Sir Wilh'am Thiselton-Dyer advised
the Colonial Office in the selection of officers. In
1885, the first annual report of the Forest Depart-
ment of the Straits Settlements was published. It
showed that the views of the Government of
the Straits Settlements were in entire accordance
with the views brought by Kew under the con-
sideration of the Colonial Office in respect to other
colonies. It gave an account of the progress made
in organising the department, in demarcation of
forest reserves, and in planting.

In his report for 1886 Mr Cantley reviewed the
progress of the department :

•'All the recommendations contained in my pre-
liminary Forest Report in the beginning of 1883
have now been carried out to a greater or less
extent. During the year the Botanic Garden,
Singapore, was placed in the charge of the Forest
Department. These additions . . . place the De-
partment on a botanical footing and afford a wider
field for investigation and usefulness." The report
contained a list of the principal economic plants in
the experimental nurseries. It enumerated up-
wards of 400 species and varieties. Accompanying
this was a series of notes on the more important
economic plants under the several heads of fibres,
oils, fruits, beverages, spices, roots and culinary
vegetables, dyes, rubbers and gums, drugs and
miscellaneous.

In April, 1888, Sir Cecil Smith, who had been
appointed Governor, after a brief period of service
as Colonial Secretary of Ceylon, reported the death

FORESTRY 159

of Mr. Cantley. and asked that in view of the rapid

development of the colony, Kew might be consulted
in the selection of a successor with the highest
qualifications. On Sir Joseph Hooker's recommenda-
tion, Mr. H. N. Ridley of the British Museum was
appointed, with the title of Director of Botanic
Gardens and Forests.

In his report for 1892. Mr. Ridley observed:
"The work of planting wast^: land with valuable
trees goes on as fast as possible, but it is not easy to
get seeds of the more valuable trees in sufficient
quantity for covering very large tracts. Para rubber
seeds were obtained from Kew and from the trees
in the Experimental Garden and a large number of
plants raised. Eight acres of this valuable India-
rubber tree have been planted this year ... and
the trees are thriving,' remarkably well."

The report of the following year was less satis-
factory : " The great reduction of the Forest vote
for this year has precluded any great progress being
made in forestry and the consequent reduction of
the number of men employed has been followed by
an increase of thefts of Government timber and in
fires. Two small reserves have been practically
abandoned.

"Owing to the working out of the mangrove
swamp districts in the neighbourhood of Singapore,
the applications for fi-ewood licences have very
much increased, and the demand can hardly be
supplied."

In November, 1893. Mr. W. E. Maxwell, the
officer administering the Government, said in the
course of an address :

i6o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

" I have in the present Budget further reduced

the vote for the Forest Department, whkh under-
went considerable modification last year. .\ow that
resident District Officers are in charge of most of
the Districts in which the reserve forests are situiued,
and that the work of land registration and revenue
settlement is well m hand, there would seem to be
less necessity than formerly existed for a separate
Fore-.t establishment, and the time should be iit
hand when it will be possible to dispense with
special expenditure on this Department, most of the
duties of which t.in probably be handed over to the
Land Office and District Officers. "

The consequences )f this abrupt ch.>ii<j^e of pcl-^v
were soon felt, and Mr. Maxwell's declara..jn was
promptly followed by a determination to abolish the
Department of Gardens and Forests as a separate
administrative unit.

In connection with this proposal Mr. (now Sir
William) Thiselton-byer had intervi vs with the
Colonial Office and with the Governor ot the Straits
Settlements. It is of interest to record that at the
same time the Council of the Linnzean Society
petitioned the Colonial (Office in the interests of
science against the abolition oi the Botanical De-
partment, and a deputation from the Leather Trades
Association, introduced by Mr. W. L. Jackson (now
Lord Allerton), waited upon the Secretary of State
to ur<re the necessity of maintaming the Depart-
ment in the interests of the gambier trade. Other
interests co-operated.

The views which Sir William Thiselton Dyer
placed before the authorities, he afterwards put in

FORESTRY ,5.

writing, and as his lette reviews the whole question
or forest policy, it is reproduced at leriKih

Royal Garde ns, Kew,
"Sir, October 10, 1894.

Referring to ihe interview which I had the
honour to have with you at the Colonial Office. I
now beg to place before you in writing the grounds
on which I venture to hope that the Secretary of

State v.ill hesitate to sanction, rxcept as an extnmo
measure of State, the ..reposed abolition of t^e
Forest Department of the Straits Settlements.

" The creation of that Department was soMy the
work of the Government of that Colony. It appears
to have had the full support of local opinion. I may
quote a few sentences from ' The Straits Intelli-
gence for September 15th, 1883:

'The Government of i.jc Straits St elements
iMve i,eglected this matter altogether, and seem
even to h ue jrone f rther and fostered the denuda-
-or, and impoverishment of land uy ^ranin to Chinese
g..mbjer planters and ou.ers. ... The catchment
ar.^l of nearly ever>' stream is being or is nearly
laid bare, and where ih .... >- orations have not dried
them up. pollution \ jiiowed denudation
The system of land leasing has had everything to
do w'th this denu.lation.'

■ > he Straits Government appears j have ad-
iniur u the justice of this point of view, for on May
13th. 1884, Lord Derby on its behalf requested Sir
Joseph Hooker to select an Assistant Superinten-
dent of tiie Forest Department for Pendng. This
was followed on January 27th. 1886, by a further

i62 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

request from Col. Stanley for a similar officer for
Malacca. Mr. Derry, who had already had experi-
ence of the Colonial service in British Guiana, was
selected by Kew for the post.

" In 1888 a fu-ther step was taken. The Super-
intendent of the Botanic Garden at Singapore died
and Sir Frederick Dickson, the Colonial Secretary,
who was in this country, was authorised to communi-
cate with Kew with a view of securing the services
of a man of high scientific qualifications who would
take charge of the entire botanical interests of the
Colony. Our choice fell on Mr. Ridley, who was
in the service of the English Government at the
Natural History Branch of the British Museum at
South Kensington. . . .

" It will be observed that all the officers of the
Department have been appointed through this
establishment. Kew has at any rate the satis-
faction of knowing thai each of them has faithfully
and efficiently performed the duties expected of
them.

" The useful development of such a Department is
not, however, the work of a few years. Its ultimate
value to such a Colony as the Straits Settlements it
cannot be doubted will be incalculable. It was
1 confess with dismay that I heard of its probable
destruction. The first intimation of this purpose
reached me in the following (;xtratt from an addr'iss
by Mr. Maxwell, the officer administering the
Government, taken from the Singapore /"Vee Press
of November 7th, 1893

• • ■ • • •

' Passage quoted above, p. 16a

FORESTRY

^ Now I do not for a moment contend that Kew is
in any way responsible for the acts of the Straits
Government. But I may be permitted to point out
two grounds on which it seemed proper to take some
notice of such an announcement of change of pohcy.
In he first place the services which in technical
matters Kew renders to the Secretary of State in
selectmg candidates for Colonial posts are of p
somewhat delicate nature, and it would be impos-
sible to execute them unle.s there were a fair and
reasonable implied guarantee of stability in the
posts which it was asked to fill. Secondly, the
permanent mterests of the Colony are matters
peculiarly the province of the Home Government,
and in such cases Kew has always been encouraged
to furnish the Secretary of State with such technU:al
advice as might appear deserving of consideration.

1 therefore sought an interview with Sir Robert
Meade on the whole subject, and at his suggestion
obtained an interview with Sir Charles Mitchell
who was on the point of proceeding to Singapore.'
Although the Governor requested me to comiJmni-
cate my views in writing to the Colonial Office his
reception of them was so favourable that I con-

h^hands ^^""^

.J?\7^r\ therefore with extreme surprise

tha Mr. Derry, the Assistant Superintendent at
Malacca, called upon me with a telegram communi-
cated to hin, by the Crown Agents for the Colonies.
August 27th, 1894, in the following words: 'Stop
return of Derry if possible ; propose to abolish
appointment at the end of the year." Whether as

i64 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

to form or matter I can only remark upon this
communication to a deserving Government servant
that in a tolerably long experience of the Civil
Service it is absolutely unique. Mr. DerryV
luggage was actually on ship-board, and under the
circumstances the Secretary of State, I understand,
directed his return to his post.

" It may, I think, then be concluded that the policy
announced by Mr. Maxwell during the time he was
administering the Government has been adopted in
its entirety by the present Straits Government and
that it has determined to reverse the policy upon
which it entered with (iill delibeni^n only ten
years ago.

" You suggested to me that the explanation of this
change of front was to be found in the pressure of
the military contribution upon the revenues the
Colony. I must, however, point out that this is not
the reason given by Mr. Maxwell. On ihc contrary,
he takes the ground that 'a separate Forest De-
partment ' is unnecessary, as ' most of the duties
. . . can probably be handed over to the Land
Office and District Officers.'

" With this view, guided by the past history of
forestry in India and the Colonies, I find myself in
entire disagreement. Every Government official is
familiar with the distinction between a revenue and
a spendii^ department. A land ofike belongs
undoubte(fiy to the former ; a forestry (Apartment
in its most critical and initial stages must un-
doubtedly belong to the latter, though it will
ultimately become a source of revenue. Land
Office and District Officers have to get in revenue ;

FORESTRY ,65

they work at headquarters in their offices, and

cannot possibly know much about the land they
part with or the possible consequences of losing
the control of it. A striking case was afforded in
Ceylon, where the Government had to buy back
for official purposes land which it had without fore-
thought sold to planters. All experience shows that
a Land Office in a Colony is supremely indifferent
to the fate of its forests, while District Officers have
often proved actually hostile to them. The 'duties'
of a Forest Department may undoubtedly, by a
stroke of the pen, be handed over to these gentlemen.
Whether they will be performed is in my judgment
extremely improbable.

" It is necessary to add a few words on the general
question. As far as I am aware the Straits Settle-
ments is the only portion of our Eastern Empire in
which there is any doubt as to the wisdom of forest
conservation. On the whole it may be remarked
that Colonial administration has been more backward
in this branch of State enterprise than India. Yet
it is generally known that in the latter dependency
It was not carried out without a strenuous struggle.
It is, however, now a valuable source of revenue,
amounting to 70,00,000 rupees (in round numbers)
m 1890-91, besides conferring inestimable benefits
on the rural population. The results would be very
different had the forests been left to the District
Officers who were supposed, equally in India as in
the Straits, to be fitted for the task, the fact being
that such men have neither the time, the taste nor
the technical knowledge for the work. In Ceylon,
where the creation of the comparatively recent

i66 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Forest Department was due in the main to the
representations of my predecessor, Sir Joseph
Hooker, I observe that : — ' Taking into account
the outstandings due to the Department ... the
revenue ... for the year 1892 exceeded the
outgoings by 44,549 rupees.'

" It appears to me that in the face of these facts
a long-sighted policy cannot possibly urge the
abolition of a Forest Department on the ground of
economy. It remains, then, briefly to consider what
other arguments can be urged against such a course.
A conspicuous instance of the effects of forest-
neglect is, as is well known, afiforded by Cyprus.
This island, as stated in the Colonial Office List,
• has suffered gready from the extensive destruction
of its forests.' ' The Masaonia plain has become a
swamp while the adjoining hills, denuded of their
vegetation, afforded breeding grounds for swarms of
locusts.' I do not mean to say that precisely the
same evils will follow the same cause everywhere.
But evil there undoubtedly will be.

" I will first take the case of Malacca. Here the
forest reserves amount to about 40,000 acres or
fifteen per cent, of the total area. This is about the
proportion which in scientific treatises is considered
desirable. This has only been under technical
management for about ten years, and it may be
admitted that the revenue of about 1,000 dollars
does not at present cover the working expenses.
It is proposed to abolish the technical management
and to revert to the state of things before 1886.
But it is known that before that date the supervision
of the Land Revenue Department, did not prevent

FORESTRY 167

the waste and destruction of valuable timber. In

Malacca the reserves are the only portion of the
Settlement in which the high jungle has not been
cleared for tapioca cultivation. A more ruinous
industry (except perhaps that of tobacco in Sumatra)
cannot be conceived. Tapioca estates become un-
productive after three crops, and are then abandoned.
During the succeeding ten years the land is over-
grown with a coarse grass called • lalang,' and if the
forest reserves were felled the whole Settlement
would soon become a lalang waste. Lalang is
followed gradually by a scrubby forest of worthless
short-lived and short-wooded trees. This, however,
in some degree restores the fertility of the land.
But instead of returning again to the disastrous
tapioca cultivation more durable industries should
be encouraged:— fibres, Liberian coffee, arrowroot,
indigo, nutmegs, etc. No agricultural enterprise
of the kind could be prosecuted without a supply
of timber from the reserves. The cost of trans-
port from outside to the Setdement is so high
as to be prohibitive, and unless planters can fall
back on supplies from the reserves, their opera-
tions are paralysed. It is evident then in the
case of Malacca that forest conservation cannot be
judged from a merely revenue point of view but
it is a positive necessity to the existence of the
Setdement.

"What will happen when the reserves are handed
over to the Land Office is easy to predict. The
valuable timber will (as before i886) be wastefully
cut, if not thieved; for there will be no proper
supervision to prevent it. Then there will be

168 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

practically irresistible pressure to give out the land
for tapioca cultivation. The ultimate fate of the
Settlement is melancholy to contemplate ; the land
run out and occupied with scrub and lalang ; with
no timber locally available and no facilities therefore
for legitimate planting enterprise, its depopulation
will be the inevitable concomitant of the exhaustion
of its soil.

" In Singapore the same observations apply, though
not perhaps in exactly the same way. Firewood is

obviously a commodity of primary necessity. It is
becoming scarce in the Settlement; its enhanced
cost is a subject of complaint to the native popu-
lation. As a consequence the gambler and pepper
cultivation which were the most important staples of
the island are diminishing and tend to disappear.
The Mangrove swamps were the most important
source of firewood. These were partly managed
by the Land and partly by the Forest Departments.
The result is instructive ; in the former case they
were rapidly and wastefully exhausted ; in the latter
they were carefully husbanded.

" Practically all valuable timber has disappeared.
The local supplies are now mainly derived from
Sumatra, and the price has materially risen. Two
of the most valuable local timbers are practically
unprocurable. Six years ago Chengei {BalanocarpuS)
was often available for boat-buildino ; it is now
unknown. Tempenis {Sloetia) though still adver-
tised is really unprocurable. Twenty years ago the
island possessed a fine forest of this invaluable
wood. It was sold off en bloc to the Chinese for
export to China ; the site is now a worthless lalang

FORESTRY ,69

waste It is probable that in no part of the Empire
IS to be found a more deplorable waste of natural

resources. This, ten years ago. the Government
of the Straits clearly realised and it is the attempt
that was then made to arrest the consequences of
past neglect which it is now proposed to subvert.
Although httle timber now remains available for
commercial purposes, a few of the valuable trees
exist which should be carefully preserved for pur-
poses of restocking and preservation. This is
especially true of that producing gutta-percha, a
substance for which in marine telegraphy no sub-
stitute has yet been found. The date is not distant
when the Straits was perhaps the richest autta-
percha producing ground in the world. I am in-
formed that « five sizable gutta trees could not now
be found in the Colony for a king's ransom.' It is
probable that at the present rate of consumption
gutta-percha which is only produced over a limited
area will be exhausted early in the next century.
Posterity will certainly wonder that a country which
can only carry on its government by means of
telegraphs was so apathetic as to the fate of the
indispensable material for their construction

" I must confess that I have entertained some
disappointment at the result of my personal repre-
sentations on this important matter. I have there
fore been led to review the subject as it appears
m the records preserved in this establishment at
some length. I venture to hope that 1 shall have
succeeded in making the gravity of the situation
apparent to the Secretary of State and that he w.il
be pleased to take such steps as will arrest the

170 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

retrograde policy which ai^>ears to be already in
operation."

(Signed) W. T. Thiselton-Dyer.

On December 17th, the Colonial Office replied,
informing Sir William that it had been decided
to retain Mr. Ridley's services, for the present
at any rate, utilising them for the benefit of
the Protected Native States as well as of the
colony. As regards Mr. Deny, should it be
possible to provide for him elsewhere, his appoint-
ment at Malacca would not be filled up for
the present. Care would, however, be taken that
the public lands should not revert to their former
state, that the area of forests was not unduly
curtailed, and that concessions were not recklessly
granted for tapioca and other mischievous forms
of cultivation. The Government would be enjoined
not to sacrifice the interests of the public to the
immediate interests of the Land Department. Lord
Ripon fully appreciated the interest of Kew in all
that related to the Gardens and Forests Depart-
ment, and crave an assurance that the diminution
of expenditure thereon was only sanctioned owing
to paramount considerations of finance. His Lord-
ship was much interested in Sir W. Thiselton-
Dyer's remarks as to the future of the gutta-percha
supply of the world, and might possibly take an
opportunity of returning to the subject.

I need not trace in detail the further evolution of
the Forest Department of the Straits Setdements
by a process curiously similar to that recorded in
the case of Ceylon. In February, 1900, Sir William

FORESTRY ,7,

Thwclton-Dycr was consulted by Mr. Chamberlain
on the subject of Fo-est Conservation in the Straits

Settlements, and advised him to consult Mr. H. C.
Hill. Conservator of Forests in the Indian Forest
Service. The result was that arrangements were
made for Mr. Hill to proceed to the Malay Peninsula
for the purpose of reporting on the Forest system
of the Straits Settlements, and if thought advisable
of the Federated Malay States.

In December, 1900, Mr. Hill reported on the
system and made suggestions for future adminis-
tration. On the results of the system at the time
he wrote :

" There can be no two opinions as to the sound-
ness of the policy which has secured to the colony
88,336 acres of forest reserves, to be maintained
permanently under forest growth. . . . The pro-
gress made in selecting, suitably demarcating and
protectmg these reserves from encroachment and
theft is highly satisfactory and creditable to the
Government as well as to the Department which
earned out most of the reservations, and to the
Collectors of Land Revenue who have supervised
their protection since 1895."

On the subject of future administration, Mr. Hill
concluded :

"The Department as organised prior to 1895 did
much good work in connection with the selection
and demarcation of the reserves: but once this
work was accomplished and the protection of the
demarcated areas was the chief business, 1 am of
opinion that the Government acted wisely in handino^
over to the Collectors of Land Revenue and District

172 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

OfSceri the charge of die forest reserve*. . . .

But wherever the forest reserves have to be more
than protected ; where works of improvement are
called for or systematic exploitation is required,
then the District Officer requires the assistance of
men with a special knowledge of forest work. . . .

If forest conservancy is to be carried out on a
determined and lasting policy, — and it is only in
this way that any real progress may be looked for —
I am strongly of opinion that the Government must
have the benefit of professional advice on the spot,
and the works must be under professional inspection
and direction. I propose, therefore, that a Forest
Officer, trained in Europe, and with eight or ten
years' experience in Burma, should be appointed,
and his services divided between the Colony and
the Federated Malay States."

Mr. Hill's Report v s communicated to Sir W.
Thiselton-Dyer, who replied that he had read it
with great interest and satisfaction. The question
had been the subject of prolonged correspondence
extending over many years As the Government
of the Straits Settlements had wisely adopted Mr.
Hill's moderate and judicious proposals the subject
might be regarded as having been placed on a clear
administrative basis.

In accordance with Mr. Hill's recommendation,
the Government of the Straits Settlements procured
from India an officer of the Indian Forest Service,
r»Tr. Burn-Murdoch, on deputation for three years,
his services to be divided between the colony and
the Federated Malay States.

In 1904, on the expiration of Mr. Burn-Murdoch's

FORESTRY 173

period of deputation, his services were permanently
transferred from India to the Straits Settlements
and the Federated Malay States.

THE INTRODUCTION OF RUBBSR PLANTS

IN THE EAST

The phenomenal development of the rubber in-
dustry in Ceylon and in the Straits Settlements and
Federated Malay States gives interest to the work
of Kew in the introduction of rubber plants to
India and the East.

In May, 1873, the India Office transmitted to Kew
a report of Mr. James Collins on the caoutchouc
of commerce, and requested Sir Joseph Hooker's
opinion on the question whether it would be ex-
pedient that seeds of Hevea Brasiliemis (Pari
rubber) should be sent from Pari to Kew in the
first instance to be raised there with a view of
afterwards sending the young plants to India. Sir
Joseph Hooker warmly supported the proposal, and
in the course of the year Dr. (afterwards Sir George)
King, Superintendent of the Calcutta Botanic Gar-
den, returned to his duties taking with him living
plants of Hevea, the seeds of which had been
procured fron the Amazon and sent to Kew by
Mr. (afterwards Sir Clements) Markham of the
India Office. In 1875 Mr. H. A. VVickham,
then resident in Brazil, was authorised to send
10.JO0 or more Hevea seeds to be sent to Kew,
—plants to be raised there and transmitted to
India. In 1876 the Government of India reported
that Calcutta did not suit Hevea, and proposed
that the plants should be sent to the Peradeniya

174 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Gardens, Ceylon, to be distributed thence to the
West Coast of India, Burma, and Assam, and
that another rubber plant, Castilloa, should also
be sent to Peradeniya. In reply to this letter Kew
suggested that Castilloa should be sent to Singa-
pore as well as Ceylon.

In July, 1876, Kew reported that 2,700 plants of
Hevea had been raised, and proposed to send them
in Wardian cases to Ceylon without delay. On
August loth, thirty cases of Hevea (1,919 plants)
and one case of Castilloa (thirty-two plants) were
despatched to Ceylon, and two cases of Hevea to
Singapore, to give additional chance of the plant
becoming established in the East. In December,
1876, thirty seeds of Ceara rubber, procured by
Mr. Cross, who had been sent on a mission to the
Amazons to collect rubber plants and seeds, were
sent to Ceylon. In September, 1877, Sir Daniel
Morris, who had recently been appointed Assistant
Superintendent of the Peradeniya Gardens, took
with him to Ceylon ten Wardian cases containing
Hevea, Castilloa. and Ceara rubber plants derived
from Mr. Cross's mission.

In the years 1876 and 1877 rubber plants were
distributed in the East to Calcutta, Burma, Ceylon,
Singapore, Mauritius, Java ; in Australia to Queens-
land ; in Africa to the Cameroon Mountains ; in the
West to Jamaica, Trinidad, Dominica, Montserrat.
The results lie beyond the scope of this brief sketch.
They are to be found in the Kew Bulletin, (Addi-
tional Series, vii, "Rubber in the East," 1906,) and
a voluminous recent literature.

It is not without interest to note the close associa-

FORESTRY 175

tion of rubber, the most important product of tropical

forestry, w h cotton, the most important product of
tropical agriculture in the most promising of modern
manufacturing industries. An estimate published in
The India Rubber World places the annual sale of
cotton duck for use in rubber belting and all kinds of
rubber hose at 50,000.000 yards. It is also estimated
that the annual demand for cotton for use in motor
car construction is 325,000 bales, of which 290,000
are used for making the cotton duck basis for the
tyres, the remainder being chiefly employed in the
manufacture of artificial leather cushions and seats.
Reference is also made to the use of cotton in
manufacturing the material for insulating electric
wires. It should be stated that Sea Island cotton is
especially suited for these purposes, as for all others
where strength of fibre is a particular requirement.

I may now proceed to give some account of my
experience of the problems of forestry in the colonies
in which they have been my direct concern.

THE WEST INDIES

Of forestry in British Guiana I shall speak in
another chapter devoted to the expansion of enter-
prise in that colony, and the importance of facilities
for communication with the interior generally. I shall
indicate the wide range of forest produce available if
an adequate system of transport can be provided.

As Governor of the Windward Islands, the im-
portance of protective forestry was borne in upon me
by the disastrous consequences of torrential rains in
Grenada. In 1887 Mr. E. D. M. Hooper, an ex-
perienced officer of the Indian Forest Department,

176 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

had reported on the forests of Grenada, and advised
the strict preservation under forest of so much of the
central ridges of the island as was included within
the Crown Lands and certain other portions in the
immediate vicinity, of which it would be to the general
interest for the Government to assume the owner-
ship. The uncertainty concerning the limits of the
Crown Lands had been a difficulty in carrying out
Mr. Hooper's proposal, but I took active steps to
remove this difficulty by the determination and
demarcation of the Crown Lands. In the meantime,
however, the consequences of delay had been serious.
It is universally admitted that the clearing of forest
land if undertaken without due precautions is the
fruitful cause of floods and increasing surface drain-
age to the detriment of springs and permanent water
courses. In Grenada, the extension of clearings on
the slopes of the mountain ridges had produced such
results. In 1894 and 1895 rainstorms of great
severity visited the northern districts of the island.
Roads, bridges, and telephone lines were swept away
by floods. Many acres of cultivated land were also
laid waste or swept away. In endeavouring to
carry out Mr. Hooper's proposals for a plan of forest
preservation, I realised the wisdom of the advice
given in the following paragraph of his report :

" The administration of the forests, in whoever's
hands it is placed, to be successful, must command
the cordial co-operation of the estate owners ; and
from short acquaintance with them, I am sure that,
once the matter is understood by them, they will not
withhold their active assistance both in resigning to
the inalienable charge of Government the backlands,

FORESTRY ,7;

which in many instances are a source of expense
rather than of profit (sixpence an acre being the
usual a«5sessment on uncultivated land) to their
present owners, and in paying a careful atten-
tion to the preservation of their forests, in the
management of which they might be assisted by
the forest officer. By so doing they would confer
a benefit on themselves and on the community at
large." '

The co-operation of owners of estates was earn-
estly asked and willingly accorded.

In S.. Lucia the forests are estimated to cover
about one-third of the arf:a of the island. They
yield valuable produce, including balata, oils, gums,
resm, and fibres. Owing to the torrential character
of the streams, denudation is active, and there is an
ample field for the activity of a Department of
I^orestry. While the construction of roads of very
steep gradients was being undertaken for military
purposes, there was constant need for measures of
precaution to prevent the work accomplished from
being carried away by floods.

MAURITIUS

Sir William Schlich, speaking of Mauritius,
observes :

" Forest conservancy has been aimed at for many
years, but somehow matters have not progressed
much. At present the areas under the control of
the Forest Department amount to 137 square miles,
equal to nineteen per cent, of the total. A dis-
tinguished Indian forest officer has lately visited the
island and advised the Government regarding the

178 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

management of the forests. His report appears to
be now under consideration."

The history of forest conservancy in Mauritius
has followed the same lines as in Ceylon and in
the Straits Setdements. The cultivation of sugar
commenced in 1740, and within ten years had sup-
planted nearly all the economic produi s previously
grown. So profitable was it and so rapid its expan-
sion that in 1761 the French East India Company
sent out peremptory instructions to the Governor
to put a stop to the destruction of aboriginal forests ;
but the value of the land had b jome so great that
these instructions were of little avail. The result
was that by i860 the indigenous flora of the island,
with its many valuable timber trees, such as ebony,
had almost disappeared. Remains of the forests,
which in the time of the D itch had covered the
island to the sea-shore, were to be found only in
inaccessible ravines.

The records of forestry present no more striking
illustration of the continuous destruction of forests
in spite of the continuous efforts of Government
after Government to arrest it. Between 181 2,
when the island had passed under British rule,
and 1823 five proclamations for the enforcement
of forest conservancy were issued. In 1826 the
question was referred to a Committee, and by 1867
the legislature had enacted no less than twelve
Ordinances on the subject. In 1867 the disastrous
consequences of an epidemic of malaria, fully dealt
with in another chapter, called renewed attention
to the effects of forest denudation on the health of
the community, and Governor Sir Henry Barkly

FORESTRY ,79

appointed a Commission of Inquiry. This was
followed by four more Ordinances in the next four
years. In 1872 Governor Sir Arthur Gordon
appomted a Committee of the Legislative Council
to consider the subject, and there followed two
more Ordinances in 1874 and 1875. Sir Arthur
Gordon was succeeded by Sir Arthur Phayre.
whose long experience as Chief Commissioner of
Burma led the Government to follow the ex-
ample of other colonies and seek counsel from
India.

In the year 1880 Mr. Thompson, a distinguished
forest officer in the service of the Government of
India, reported on the question of the acquisition
of forest and other private lands in the interests
of forest conservancy and the maintenance of the
water supply of Mauritius.

A few extracts from his report will illustrate
the condition of the island as he found it

The physical condition of the soil of the Island
is such that it requires protection not only from
the sun but likewise from the direct action of the
comparatively dry strong south-easterly winds
which blow over it. The soil, the surface of which
IS thickly strewn with large boulders of rock, parts
easily with its moisture . . . ; but its fertility is
great so long as it is maintained in a comparatively

moist condition Hence the importance of

keeping under forests as large an area of the land,
m the inteiior of the Island, as can be afforded with-
out unduly encroaching on the cultivation of the
sugar cane.

i8o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

" It will be seen from the accompanying map that
the Crown Forests lie chiefly on the slopes of moun-
tains which are very nearly outside the central parts
of the Island and from the tableland of which rise
all the principal rivers of the Colony. With excep-
tion of the BlocRs known as Grand Bassin and
the Piton du Milieu, all the other Crown lands,
covered with trees, cannot afford any protection
to the water supply of the Island. And ' ^e the
present recommendation is offered chie .n the
interests of the maintenance of such wa«.cr supply,
it is evident that unless measures are adopted for
preventing the rapid disappearance of the private
forests, — even such as they are— the perennial
springs which feed the rivers will likewise disappear
or the quantity of water which they now yield
will become much lessened. It is notorious every-
where in the Island that, with the disappearance
of the forests, the perennial springs have either com-
pletely disappeared, or are considerably diminished
in volume ; and rivers and streams which formeriy
never ran dry, are now, during the drier months
of the year, mere stagnant pools, if not altogether
dried up.

•

" From what has been said it must appear that
the first important step required to be taken towards
bringing forest matters in the Colony to a more
satisfactory stage, lies in that important one of
saving from further destruction and consequent
extinction the existing forest growths which at
present are in private hands. Such forests, or the
greater part of them at least, may become, in the

FORESTRY ,8i

hands of Government, valuable State properties,
which will not only yield in the future returns
m direct revenues, but likewise be perpetual sources
from which to draw timber and fuel necessary for
the use. comfort and well-being of the people of
Mauritius. And at the same time these wood-lands
will preserve the moisture they receive in the
shape of rainfall wherewith to feed the springs
and rivers rising within them.

"Forests and forest soil conserve the rainfall
by holding the moisture in mechanical suspension,
preventing loss of it by evaporation, but giving it
off in even quantities to the springs which go to feed
the rivers. This action of forests is, of course,
in proportion to the area covered by them, the
larger that is, the greater will be the quantity of
rain water received, stored and prevented from being
hurried off to the sea, or again given back to the air
by evaporation, after having been precipitated."

Accordingly, Mr. Thompson recommended : that
the lands - - nrchased by Government should be
selected v jject of securing re-wooding when-

ever necesb . a id keeping wooded the main ridges
of the principal mountain ranges of the island so that
the following important results should be derived
therefrom :

1. That the forests so conserved might shelter the
springs and upper parts of the water courses of the
island ;

2. That the shelter so afforded to the water courses
might tend to increase the quantity of water in them
and to ensure its more regular outflow ;

i82 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

3. That the normal moisture of the atmosphere
might be increased as well as the water supply.

To effect these purposes, Mr. Thompson recom>
mended that as much as one-fifth of the total area
of Mauritius be retained pemuuiently under wood,
that is :

Crown lands determined and otherwise • 35,000 acres

Private forest lands purchased in the centre

of the Island • • . . . 35,000 „

Private forest lands purchased in lower

parts of the Island ... 10,000 „

Private forest lands now occupied as moun-
tain and River Reserves esttnuUed at io,aoo „

Total, .... 90,200 acres

equal to 141 square miles, or twenty per cent, of
the area of the island.

These recommendations set the legislative machine
to work with renewed power, and under a series of

enactments, Mr. Thompson's scheme was proceeded
with up to 1886, an expenditure of 2,918,000 rupees
having been authorised from time to time by the
Colonial Office. By that time, the greater part of
this sum had been expended in the purchase of
about 29,000 acres, and whilst negotiations were
proceeding for the purchase of further lands in the
Northern District, General Hawley, whilst admin-
istering the Government, peremptorily ordered that
all purchases of land for afforestation purposes
should be stopped. The scheme then remained
practically in abeyance for over ten years.

I assumed the Government of Mauritius on
May nth, 1897, and it was not long before my

FORESTRY ,83

attention was called to the important question of

afforestation.

On June 24th, I caused a letter to be addressed
to the Woods and Forests Board asking them to
submit to me as soon as possible their recommenda-
tions on the subject of carrying -ut the scheme of
re-afforestation which had then been under the con-
sideration of the Government for seventeen years.
On September 3rd the Board sent in their report,
drawing attention to the serious consequences of
the delay that had occurred :

" Meanwhile owing to the old Indian immigrant
gradually purciiasing small plots of ground in dif-
ferent localities, landowners have already parcelled
out and are parcelling out several important parts of
the land which Government intended to purchase.
The market value of those parcelled lands of other
lands has more or less increased. It has accord-
ingly become very diflScult (owing to the increased
cost) to carry out the whole of the re-afforestation
scheme as originally proposed, and a larger amount
of money is now required to carry out the recom-
mendations contained in this Report.

The Board think it their duty to press upon the
Government the urgent necessity of avoiding further
delays. Some of the lands recommended in this
Report are being, or are on the eve of being,
parcelled out. Redeeming lands parcelled out to
small proprietors is a great inconvenience for them.
The necessity of allowing them a small profit and a
fair compensation for the cost of their dwellings and
for the improvements which they may have made on
the land renders the re-purchase price more or less

i84 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

prohibitory, and Government would lonjj be prac-
tically prevented from carrying out re-afforestation
in some localities where it is indispensable for
sanitary and agricultural reasons, and those localities

would continue to suffer severely whilst having to
bear their share of taxation for the benefit of other
more favoured localities,"

These observations of the Board were illustrated

by instances in which immediate purchase had been
urgently pressed and could have been effected at
reasonable prices. The Board concluded by recom-
mending a loan of ;^ioo,ooo for specific purchases
detailed in their report.

On November i6th, I urged the necessity of
re-afforestation in a Message addressed to the
Council of Government, pointing out that before
any loan rould be raised it was necessary to find
ways and means for providing the annual charge
for interest and sinking funds, and illustrating the
situation of Mauritius by reference to what had
happened in the sister Isle of Reunion.

"The British Consul in Reunion in his annual
report for the years 1895-1896 on the trade and
agriculture of that island, made some observations
on the subject of the destruction of forests which
seem • mutatis mutandis ' to be singularly applicable
to Mauritius. He says :

•••Monsieur Maillard, in his Notes sur rile de
la Rhinion, published at Paris in 1862, writes as
regards the rage for cane planting which was then
even more universal than to-day: "We are con-
vinced that sooner or later the cultivation of cane

FORE-^TRY 185

will disappear; we can even now point to localities,
as for instance, the lands situated between St. ' )eni8
and Possession, which formerly were laid out in
coffee plantations, and that have now been destroyed
to plant cane, and where this cultivation has already
become impossible owing to the denudation by water
of the soil. "

' In this prophesy, pregnant with truth, lif ; the
cause of one of the chief agricultural difficulties of
to-day. The thoughtless grubbing up of cofifee and
clove plantations, and the ruthless cutting down of
the beautiful forests, full of valuable timber, much
of which was cleared by fire. : ns changed the face
of the country. The forests which formerly acted
as sponges sending out fruitful water and humus
over the lower lands, are now more or less clear.
After rain the water rushes from them in a freshet,
carrying all before it, and, sweeping the denuded
sides of the mountain, gradually reduces them to
bare rock or crumbling shale, and washes instead of
fertilising the plateaux.'

" The Governor, believing that the work of re-
afforestation is of no less importance in Mauritius
than in Reunion, conceives it to be necessary thai
the report of the Woods and Forests Bo,.-d, datcu
3rd September last, on the completion c;' the re-
afforestation scheme, should be acted on, in so far
as it may be finally approved, as soon as funds
are available. The recommendations of the Board
are in favour of an expenditure of a sum about
1,700.000 rupees. The interest and sinking fund on
a loan of this amount to be redeemed in about forty-
five years, would impose an annual charge on the

i86 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Colony of about 85,000 rupees, while the additional

charge for the care and superintendence of the ac-
quired land would probably raise the annual charges
necessitated by the scheme to 100,000 rupees."

On December 13th, the Council of Govern-
ment voted a resolution asking that the colony
might be permitted to raise a loan of ^500,000
secured by the guarantee of the Imperial Govern-
ment as a measure of relief to the sugar industry.
The resolution included the following clause :

"The Council think that the sum of ^400,000
will be sufficient to meet the objects of the Chamber
of Agriculture.

"The Council are also of opinion that, with the
view of protecting the agriculture of the Colony
against the effects of the frequently recurring
droughts which visit it, and with the view of im-
proving the sanitary condition of the Island, the
re -afforestation thereof be completed, and they
recommend for that purpose that His Excellency,
the Governor, be pleased to move the Secretary of
State for his sanction to add the sum of ^100,000
to the above loan to be applied to the re-afforestation
scheme of the Colony."

On January 14th, 1898, I addressed a despatch to
the Secretary of State submitting the resolution of
the Council for his favourable consideration. In
Mr. Chamberlain's reply of April 7th, he informed
me that he could not see his way to ask the
Lords of the Treasury to apply to Parliament for
the guarantee of the Imperial Government to the
proposed loan, observing that while the completion

FORESTRY 187

of the work of afforestation in Mauritius was un-
doubtedly a most desirable object, it was not a
matter for which the assistance of the Imperial
Government could properly be given.

On August 24th I again addressed the Secretary
of State, transmitting a resolution of the Council of
Government respectfully requesting him to recon-
sider his decision. In this despatch I observed :

"With reference to the question whether the
Imperial Government has any interest in the re-
afforestation of Mauritius, I may be allowed to point
out that re-afforestation is absolutely inseparable
from the question of the health of the Island, and
consequently has an important bearing on the condi-
tions affecting the health of Her Majesty's Forces
quartered in the Command."

On December 8th, Mr. Chamberlain replied :

" I deal first with the proposed sum of 100,000
for re -afforestation. The Council reiterate their
opinion 'as to the importance of completing the
re-afforestation of the Island both from an agri-
cultural and from a sanitary point of view.' I fully
appreciate the importance of the object in question,
but that is not sufificient reason to my mind for
asking the Imperial Government to guarantee a
loan for the purpose of effecting it. The members
of the Council of Government must be aware that
the liabilities which the tax-payers of the United
Kingdom have to bear are many and heavy, and
though they have shown themselves ready at all
times to give the Colonies ample protection, and,
in case of sudden emergency or acute distress,
to contribute to relief, I do not think that it is

i88 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

justifiable to impose a new liability upon them for
the purpose of enabling a Colony to complete a
desirable public work."

Disappointed, but not discouraged, on June 23rd,
1899, I caused the Board of Woods and Forests to be
informed that I had under consideration a proposal for
a loan of 100, 000 for afforestation purposes with-
out an Imperial guarantee, and invited their renewed
opinion as to the necessity of the measure, and the
best way of providing interest and a sinking fund.
In reply, the Board unanimously recommended :

" I. That it is expedient and urgently necessary to
carry out the long-deferred scheme of re-afforesta-
tion, because some of the properties which it is
contemplated to purchase for the above purpose are
being parcelled out, and the forests still standing on
other properties are being or about to be cut, which
will to a large extent defeat the object of the
scheme, and which will increase the difficulty and
cost of purchase.

" 2. That the re-afforestation being for the general
interest, it is fair that the cost thereof be borne by
the whole community.

" 3. That the tax which will bear least heavily on
the whole community is a small surcharge on the
Import Customs duties.

"4. That the Board accordingly recommend that
a surcharge of four per cent, on the amount of all
Customs Import Duties be raised until full payment
of the principal and interest of the proposed loan,
which is estimated at ^100,000, in order to produce
about 1,700,000 rupees, the amount reported to be
required."

FORESTRY 189

Agreeing with the recommendations of the Board,
I directed the Procureur- General to draft an
Ordinance to give them effect. It was read a first
time on August ist, and passed on October 24th.

On November 25th I transmitted it to the
Secretary of State, who, by a despatch of March
loth, 1900, informed me that it was disallowed.
Mr. Chamberlain's reason was that he did not feel
justified in taking the project into consideration
apart from other schemes involving large expendi-
ture then in contemplation, schemes for the drainage
of Port Louis and the improvement of the harbour
of Port Louis. He wished me to assist him in
considering which of them should have priority, if
it was not practicable to carry them out at once.
Accordingly, on May ist, a special committee of
the Council of Government, consisting of all the
members, was appointed to consider the question of
re-afforestation, drainage, and harbour improve-
ments. On December 20th, the Committee sub-
mitted an exhaustive report, recommending priority
for the scheme of re-afforestation :

"Your Committee are therefore unanimously of
opinion that the completion of the reafforestation
scheme is of paramount importance to the Colony,
and that it should have priority over all others and
be carried out at once. They will not repeat here all
the reasons which militate in favour of that scheme
and which may be summed up thus : Improvement
of the general climatic condition of the Colony which
will bring about (a) a more permanent moisture of
the atmosphere, (b) an increase of the water supply,
(c) an amelioration of the public health.

I90 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

"To carry out that project your Committee
recommend that 100,000 be raised at one time by

means of a loan on the lines of Ordinance No. 30 of
1899. It would not be wise to delay further the
purchase of the required lands, because such of
them as are still wooded will be denuded before
long, and others which are in the catchment area
of rivers and on mountain slopes are now being or
will shortly be parcelled out and planted or built
upon, which will render the purchase thereof later
on almost impossible on account of their enhanced
value. Further it would not be just to the present
generation that they should alone bear the weight of
a work of reconstruction, for which they are not
responsible, and which will benefit chiefly future
generations.

"Your Committee insist on the importance of
preserving and maintaining the Government forests
and on the necessity of an efficient administration

thereof"

Early in 1901 I was in England, and Mr.
Chamberlain consulted me on the report of the
Committee. I need not here refer to the scheme
for the drainage and the improvement of the
harbour of Port Louis, which were considered
concurrently. I strongly advised the carrying out
of the Committee's recommendations in the matter
of re-afforestation. On April ist, Mr. Chamberlain
informed the officer administering the government
in my absence that he concurred generally in my
views, and authorised the raising of a loan. On
August 12th an Ordinance to raise a loan for
re-afforestation purposes, on the lines of the

FORESTRY ,91

Ordinance disallowed, was read a first time, and on
September i6th was passed. Before transmitting
the Ordinance to the Secretary of State, I thought ft
best to consider the machinery for the appropriation
of the proceeds of the Ordinance, with a view to the
selection of the lands to be purchased. I anticipated,
and the result justified my anticipation, that this
would give rise to much difficulty. On March
25th I transmitted the Ordinance to the Secretary
of State, urging at the same time the appointment of
a forest officer of Indian experience to advise the
Government in the matter of the purchase of lands
for afforestation, and, what 1 considered as of not
less importance, in the reorganisation of the Woods
and Forests Department of the colony. On May
23rd, Mr. Chamberlain informed me of his approval
of the Ordinance, having already informed me by
telegram that he approved of the appointment of
a forest officer from India for the purposes I had
proposed.

The officer appointed was Mr. Frank Gleadow,
Conservator of Forests under the Government of
India, and the terms of his appointment were : to
advise on the purchase of lands for afforestment to
the value of 1,500,000 rupees; to bring the forests
under some proper scheme of working, so as to
provide some revenue, if possible; and to re-
organise the Forest Department. Incidentally it
was hoped to reassure those who objected to any
fellings whatever in forests on the ground of
diminishing r?infall and consequent injury to cane
culture. After I had retired from the Government,
in September, 1904, Mr. Gleadow issued an

i9a THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

exhaustive report; but the hopes of those who
had expected to find in it a solution of the diffi-
culties and conflicts of years were disappointed.
On the main question of the purchase of lands
for afforestment. it was decided that no loan
could be raised at the time. And Mr. Gleadows
report, so far from conciliating opposition, proved a
new bone of contention. It contained a history of
aForestation from the earh'est days of settlement
under the French, in which he traced the deforesta-
tion of the colony to disregard of the conditions on
which concessions had been granted, and of the laws
designed to enforce these conditions. The terms of
Mr. Gleadows comments on what he conceived to
be the causes of the difficulties on which he was
called to advise gave great offence. In December,
1905, a resolution was voted in the Council of
Government, declaring that Mr. Gleadow's report
contained unfounded charges against the people of
Mauritius, and refusing to take it into consideration
In the meantime, however, the experience of the
Eastern colonies had repeated itself. It had been
decided by the Secretary of State, in view of the
depressed financial condition of the colony, to post-
pone action on the report.

To revert to Sir William Schlichs comment on
forest conservancy in Mauritius, I have now shown
how It has happened that, though it has been aimed
at for many years, matters have not progressed
much, and I have recorded the fate of the report
of the distinguished Indian officer sent to advise
the Government

CHAPTER XX

COMMERCE
THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE

Prior to the year 1907, the Colonial Office system
included no agency linking it directly with the
manufacturing interests upon which the policy of
development depends, if the Crown colonies are to
be made at once a source of supply in respect of
articles of food and raw materials and a mar. 2t
for the absorption of our manufactures. A few
figures may serve to give some idea of what may
be called the market capacity of the undeveloped
Crown colonies in continental Africa added to the
Empire within the last half century. With an area
of 1,600,000 square miles, and a population of nearly
30,000,000 inhabitants, the volume of their foreign
trade falls short of ^25,000,000. It is interesting,
as an indication of what the market capacity may
become under the influence of civilisation, to
observe that a small group of island colonies,
geographically connected with Africa, with an area
of less than 1,000 square miles, show a volume
of trade of over ^4,500,000. The success of the
imperial enterprise thus indicated depends on our

194 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

national acceptance as articles of faith of these

elementary propositions : that in the forefront of all
considerations that have to be taken into account in
weighing the burden of our responsibih'ties in the
undoubtedly colossal work we have undertaken, there
stands the capacity of the Crown colonies to pro-
vide revenues adequate to the maintenance of a
civilised government ; that such revenues can only
be found in the development of local natural re-
sources in such a way that every administrative unit
shall become at once a market of supply and of
demand ; that such a result can only be obtained by
the collaboration of the capital and commerce of the
United Kingdom with colonial enterprise ; and that
industrial prosperity is inseparable from scientific
knowledge and research.

That the intimate connection between scientific
knowledge and industrial prosperity is now recog-
nised as fully in England as on the Continent of
Europe or in America, we have abundant proof
m the organisation of agencies having for their
aim technological education, scientific research, and
the application of the results of research to local
resources and capaci»^''es.

It must be admitted, however, that we had allowed
foreign countries, and France and Germany in par-
ticular, to outstrip us in making systematic provision
for the application of science to the solution of the
various problems involved in the development of
the commercial resources of tropical countrieo. For
many years the relatively small tropical colonies of
France and Germany were the scene of scientific
activity and the expenditure of large sums of money

COMMERCE 195

in exploring and ascertaining by scientific methods
the value of their resources, while we were content
to make use of the results they had obtained. In

our tropical colonies a few years ago, scientific
departments in connection with agriculture and
economic development were, with one or two
exceptions, either non-existent, or organised in a
primitive fashion, while there was no central depart-
ment at home in connection with the Colonial
Office to f' ,low up the commercial results of the
local agencies, or to provide for the fuller investi-
gation of the materials brought to light in the
tropics. Kew stood alone, as is shown elsewhere, in
providing for the investigation of the origin of useful
plants. In recent years much has been done to
remedy these deficiencies. A;^ ricultural departments
have been organised on new lines in many of the
Crown colonies, and a Central department co-
operating with these exists at the Imperial Institute.
All this has been well explained by Professor Wynd-
ham Dunstan in his Presidential Address to the
Chemical and Agricultural section of the British
Association {Bulletin of the Imperial Institute,
1907). iviuch, however, still remains to be done,
especially in the direction which I have advocated, of
focussing all this work in the system of the Colonial
Office.

Sufficiendy conclusive evidence, that no lack of
sympathy and understanding at present exists as to
the important service science can render to the com-
mercial development of our possessions, is to be
found in the development of the scientific and
technical side of the Imperial Institute. A brief

196 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

narrative of the origin and progrew of this work

may be of interest.

In September. 1886. his late Majesty King Edward
(then Pnnce of Wales) appointed an organisin^j
Committee to determine the character and scope of
operations of an Imperial Institute intended to com-
memorate the fiftieth year of the reign of Queen
Victoria In May. 1888. the comprehensive scheme
submitted by the committee was embodied in a
Royal Charter which at the same time incorporated
an Association by the name of the " Imperial In-
stitute of the United Kingdom, of the Colonies and
India and the Isles of the British Seas." The
three chief purposes of the Imperial Institute were
set out as follows :

1. The formation and exhibition of collections
representing the important raw materials and manu-
factured products of our Empire and of other coun-
tries so maintained as to illustrate the development
of agricultural, commercial, and industrial procuress
m our Empire and the comparative advances made
m other countries.

2. The establishment or pro- )tion of commer-
cial museums, sample rooms and intelligence offices
m London and other parts of the Empire

3. The collection and dissemination of such
information relating to trades and industries, to
emigration, and to the other purposes of this our
Charter as may be of use to the subjects of our
umpire.

The Association incorporated to carry out these
and other purposes was a voluntary society of Fellows
governed under its Charter and under a constitution

COMMERCE ,97

approved by Royal Warrant in 189 1. Its adminis-
trative system was composed of a governing body
of which the Prince of Wales was President, and
an executive council, including representatives of
the Indian Empin and of all the British colonies
and dependencies.

The opening of the Institute in 1893 was followed
by tentative enterprises designed to further the
various purposes contemplated in the Charter. But
the late Sir Frederick Abel, who had been the secre-
tary of the organising committee, and had become
organising director and secretary of the Institute,
kept steadily in view that the general purposes of the
scheme must be kept subsidiary to the main object
of utilising the commercial and industrial resources
of the Empire, by providing comprehensive collec-
tions of its natural products and obtaining full
scientific, practical, and commercial information
relating to them. Recognising the arrangement
and display of products as rather a means than an
end, he attached the first importance to making
them the subject of scientific examination and
mvestigation, with commercial development in view,
and devoted himself to the creation of a department
of scientific and technical research, with special refer-
ence to the needs of the colonies, of which Professor
Wyndham Dunstan was appointed the first Director.
The story of the evolution of this department of
the Institute has been told by Sir Frederick Abel
himself in his preface to a volume of reports and
papers published by the Institute in 1903.1

' Technical Reports and Scientific Papers, edited by Profewor
^vyndham Dunstan, F.R.S., Imperial Institute, 1903.

198 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

In the face of difficulties which would have been

insurmountable but for the interest taken in the
scheme by his late Majesty, then President of
the governing body, the Scientific and Technical
Department got itself established in the autumn
of 1896, and, with the invaluable support of
Mr. Chamberlain, its operations steadily extended,
until it became within a brief period one of the
most important national instruments for promoting
the development of the resources of the colonies
and India, and indirectly the commerce of the
Empire, by bringing to the notice of British mer-
chcints and manufacturers such natural products of
the colonies and India, and also of foreign countries,
as are likely to be set /iceable to British commerce.

In the meantime, however, owing to a variety
of causes, the Institute had been overtaken by
serious financial emuarrassments. It had received
no financial aid from the Government, either for the
erection of the building or for the endovment of the
work 10 be carried on. The endowment fund, com-
posed of voluntary contributions, was small, and
quite inadequate to the accomplishment of the pur-
poses set out in the charter. An attempt to raise
income by the creation of a class of annually sub-
scribing Fellows failed; and the final catastrophe
was hastened by methods of administration which
tended to make the economic purposes of the
Institute subsidiary to its use for social functions.
In consequence, the building became, in the year
1900, the property of the Government, by whom
the western portion and galleries were leased to the
governing body of the Institute, while the greater

COMMERCE 199

part of the eastern and central portions were, subject
to certain rights of usage, aasigned to the use of the

University of London.

In these circumstances the Scientific Department
had to rely on special funds provided mainly by
the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851,
who, in the imminent peril of the Institute, in
May, 1900, resolved to continue an original j,'rant
of ;^"i,ooo per annum for a further period of five
years, and to grant a further sum of £ ,000 per
annum for "a period of three years" upon the
condition " that this money be devoted solely and
alone to the expenses of the Scientific Research
Department and no other objects." This fund was
supplemented by small contributions from some of
the City Guilds, and doles from other sources.

In 1902 the administrative system failed. The
Imperial Institute (Transfer) Act dissolved the Cor-
poration and transferred its property, rights and
obligations to the Government. The property con-
sisted mainly of an endowment fund, established in
accordance with the charter, representing an invested
sum of about 40,000, and this fund, together with
the building, was transferred to and became vested
in the Imperial Institute trustees appointed by the
Act — the First Commissioner of the Treasury, the
Secretaries of State for India and the Colonies, and
the I'resident of the Board of Trade. The income
of the endowment fund and the manao;ement of the
building were transferred to tht: Board of Trade, to
be applied, sc far as practicable, to the purposes
of the Imperial Institute, as set out in the Royal
Charter and recited in a schedule of the Act, subject

2CX5 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

to the proviso of a clause saving the rights of the

University of London to occupy a portion of the
building. The transfer to the Board of Trade
included the management of the special funds contri-
buted solely and alone for the purposes of the
Scientific Department. I have underlined the words
so far as practicable contained in the Act, because in
order to understand the position of the Institute it is
necessary to take into account the limitations of the
area of its activity at the time of the transfer to the
Board of Trade.

The report of the Board of Trade on the work
of the Institute for 1905 was prefaced by a letter of
the Controller-General of the department, showing
that at the time of transfer the only branches of
activity of real importance, apart from subsidiary
work, were the Scientific and Technical Depart-
ment, the Colonial and Indian Collections, and
the Commercial Intelligence Department. ' This
last-mentioned department, so far as it related to
the provision of statistical, tariff, and general trade
information, was subsequently combined with and
absorbed into the Commercial Intelligence Branch of
the Board of Trade, having its headquarters in the
City of London, so that, apart from certain sub-
sidiary uses to which some rooms within the Institute
building were applied, the area of activity in 1906 was
limited to the two branches mentioned. At the same
time the Controller-General's letter made it plain
that financially the administrative system set up
in 1902 had already failed. " It is clear," he wrote,
" to the Board of Trade that the work performed at
whe Imperial Institute, and especially in the Scientific

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20 1

and Technical Department, is of a kind for which
there is a great and increasing demand in the in-
terests of various parts of the Empire. Considerable
anxiety has, therefore, been recently caused by the
cessation at the beginning of 1906 of the grant of
;^2,ooo a year previously made by the Commissioners
of the 1851 Exhibition towards the expenses of this
Department. The loss of this grant has made it
necessary to trench to a considerable extent during
the current year upon the accumulated balance of
funds in order to avoid a serious and immediate
reduction in the efficiency of the Department, while
it has naturally made it impossible to meet the
legitimate demands for expansion. It is obvious
that this state of things could not permanently
continue, and negotiations have accordingly taken
place between the Board of Trade, Colonial Office,
and Treasury, with a view to the adoption of some
scheme for putting the Scientific and Technical
Department on a satisfactory financial footing. I
am glad to be r^ble to report that, while these
negotiations are not yet completed, sufficient pro-
gress has been made to make it practically certain
that the loss caused by the withdrawal of the
Commissioners' grant will at least be made trood
by contributions partly from the Treasury, partly
from the Governments of the Crown Colonies and
Protectorates, which chiefly avail themselves of
the services of the Department, while there is
good reason for hoping that a sufficient fund will
be forthcoming, not only to replace the lost grant,
but to enable the Department to meet the increasing
demands for its services. In view of the fact that

202 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

a large proportion of the funds for the support of
the Scientific and Technical Department will under
this scheme be contribu..'d by the Governments of
the Crown Colonies and Protectorates, it seems
desirable that the management of the funds so
contributed should be largely controlled by the
Colonial Office. Arrangements for this purpose
are now under consideration between the Depart-
ments, having due regard to the provisions of the
Act of 1902, and also to the specja' position occupied
by the Government of India."

The peril of the Imperial Institute suggested
various schemes of reconstruction, among others a
proposal to reconstruct the University of London
as an Imperial University and to incorporate in it
the Imperial Institute. As one who had enjoyed
exceptional facilities for learning the needs of the
Crown colonies, I associated myself at this time with
many who desired to see the Imperial Institute
admitted within the Colonial Office system as a
Department of Technical Intelligence in connec-
tion with existing scientific and technical depart-
ments in the colonies whose operations the central
department woulc' suppiemeni. Looking back with
the wisdom that follows events it was easy to
see that the original scheme of the Institute failed
for want of co-ordination of its principal purposes
under a powerful and responsible central force. An
adequate and appropriate force was to be bund in
the Colonial Office and could be applied by a verbal
amendment of the Act of 1902 to the purposes of
the Institute, Indian interests, which are for these
purposes very similar to those of the Crown colonies.

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203

being duly safeguarded. The Colonial Office
system, as has been shown in an earlier chapter,
included at the time four bodies, each revolving,
in a sense, on its own axis round the central force
of the Secretary of State : a political body, the
Establishment ; a body representing a department
of Finance and Public Works, the Crown Agents'
Office ; a nebulous body of agencies representing a
Medical Department ; and a body representing a
Botanical Department, the Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew. To these bodies it was proposed to add the
Imperial Institute as a Department of Technical
Intelligence and Investigation. I submitted the pro-
position that upon the co-ordination of these bodies
depended the co-ordination of all the agencies of a
civilised Government, — Politics in the most com-
prehensive sense of the term, Finance and Public
Wor^s Sanitation and Health, Agriculture. Com-
mer:e, and Manufacture. I argued that the Colonial
Office system thus constituted, would have an army
of experienced officials scattered over the vast ter-
ritory under its administration girdling the waist
of the earth, while the collective experience of the
whole system would be at the disposal of each
of the combined agencies. I still look forward to
the accomplishment of this Imperial scheme. In
the meantime, however, the Institute was, in 1907,
rescued from its perilous position by a modus
vivendi. It was decided that the Imperial Institute
should be largely controlled by the Colonial Office,
without prejudice to the general control of the
Institute vested by statute in the Board of Trade.
It was a step in the right direction, but it can

204 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

hardly be expected to prove a permanent settle-
ment. It relieved the Institute from the financial
pressure that threatened it, and has been followed
by a period of energy that is yearly confirm-
ing Its importance and influence. It was fortunate
that the year 1905, just before the crisis of
Its fortunes, was marked by a special exhibition
illustrating British cotton cultivation and com-
mercial uses of cotton held at the Institute. The
exhibition was arranged by the staff of the Institute
in conjunction with the British Cotton Growing As-
sociation so as to illustrate every stage of cultivation
and manufacture, from the cotton plant to the most
finished fabric, including processes for the utilisa-
tion of secondary and waste products. A section
contained exhibits of the machinery used in each
of the various processes, and the whole was arranged
to render every operation from start to finish
intelligible to the general public. Another section
was devoted to illustrating the work of the Institute
in gaugmg the value of cotton grown in every part
of the Empire. While the main purpose of the
exhibition was to indicate the importance of extend-
ing the cultivation of cotton in British territory, it
serv» ' as a remarkable object-lesson in illustrating
the uependence of our great manufacturing and a
host of subsidiary industries on the products of our
Crown colonies. The opening of this exhibition
was attended by his Majesty King George, then
Prince of Wales, who has always taken \ keen
interest in the Imperial work of the Institute.

It is now some fourteen years since the Scientific
and Technical department of the Imperial Institute

COMMERCE

205

was established on a definite footing under the charge
of Professor Wyndham Dunstan, now Director of
the Institute. As has been already pointed out,
the main object of the Institute is to promote the
utiHsation of the commercial and industrial resources
of the Empire, especially of India and the colonies,
by the collection, exhibition, and description of the
products of its component parts, and by scientific,
technical, and commercial investigation and trial of
their uses. The Institute has thus two principal
branches or departments, the department of Exhi-
bition for purposes of illustrating the present position
of the colonies and India in every aspect, as well
as for scientific and commercial reference, and the
Scientific and Technical department for the conduct
of investigations and the supply of special information.
The Institute now has a considerable but insufficient
staff of experts at work in these two departments.

In the department of Exhibition new and im-
portant methods of displaying and describing the
permanent Colonial and Indian collections have been
constantly adopted with a view to making them
an adequate and intelligible representation of the
resources of the Empire, of value alike for educa-
tional and commercial purposes.

The methods of the Scientific and Technical
Department of the Institute may be briefly
described. It ascertains, at first through chemical
investigation in its laboratories, the composition of
every natural product of the Empire referred to it.
The results are submitted to some of the principal
manufacturers in this country who assist in
determining the technical value of the materials

2o6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

investigated; and finally, eminent merchants and
brokers report on their commercial value in the
light of the scientific investigation and technical
trials. And .hese methods for determining the
uses and market value of the products are
supplemented by surveys and investigations con-
ducted in the colonies by qualified experts acting
under the supervision of the Director of the Institute
in order to ascertain the capacities of the colonies
or areas of origin. It is, in short, an expert agency
for gauging the value of the raw materials of our
vast possessions and advising on their utilisation.
The staff consists of men who have been scientifi-
cally trained with special reference to the numerous
branches of this work.

The Scientific and Technical Department is now
working in co-operation with the Agricultural and
Mines Departments in the colonies. It supplements
their operations by undertaking such inquiries and
investigations as are of a special scientific and
technical character connected with agricultural or
mineral development Mineral surveys, under the
supervision of the Director, and conducted by
surveyors selected by him, are in progress in
Ceylon, Northern Nigeria, Southern Nigeria, and
Nyassaland, and preliminary arrangements of a
similar nature have been made in connection with
British East Africa, and with the Anglo-Congolese
Boundary Commission in Uganda. All minerals
found which are likely to be of commercial import-
ance are forwarded to the Imperial Institute, where
they are examined and their con- position and jm-
mercial value ascertained.

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207

Of noteworthy importance have been the investi-
gations of the Department in connection with the
sources of thorium.

A mere catalogue of ti.c subjects which have been
investigated by the Institute would almost serve as
an inventory of the natural resources of the Empire,
while the range of the areas of origin would
practically represent its limits.

Records of this work are published as Parlia-
mentary papers by the Colonial Office and in the
quarterly Bulletin of the Institute, which also
includes special articles relating to the progress
which is being made in the various branches of
economic development both in our own and foreign
possessions. The Bnlletin now enjoys a wide cir-
culation. An Annual Report on the work of the
Institute is also now presented to Parliament.

Associated with the three principal departments
of the Institute is a department of tropical ser-
vice training for candidates selected by the Colonial
Office for administrative appointments in East and
West Africa. Courses of instruction, including
accounting, law, tropical hygiene, and a wide range
of subjects connected with tropical cultivation and
tropical products are arranged for.

Auxiliary to all the purposes of the Institute are
• Library and the Reading Rooms containing a
• ' ^ collection of works of reference, official publica-
tions, and periodicals, connected with India and the
colonies; the Colonial Conference Rooms reserved for
use by Societies and representatives of the colonies,
for meetings and receptions ; and the Cowasjee
Jehanghier Hall available for lectures and meetings.

2o8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Appropriately accommodated in the premises of
the Institute are the African Society, for the dis-
cussion and publication of matters connected with
British African possessions ; the British Women's
Emigration Association, for affording information
and advice respecting the prospects for women in
the colonies ; and the Colonial Nursing Association,
a valuable auxiliary of the Colonial Office in con-
nection with Tropical Medicine.

The work of the Imperial Institute in all its
departments has now reached such dimensions that
the space assigned to it ten years ago in the Imperial
Institute building under the arrangement then made
with the Government is inadequate, and further
extensions are urgently needed, as indicated in the
two last Annual Reports presented to Parliament
The University of London, which occupies under a
Treasury Minute a portion of the same building, is
also said to require more accommodation, and various
proposals are being put forward. One is that the
University should be allowed to occupy the entire
building of the Imperial Institute. It is incon-
ceivable to those of us who are or have been closely
connected with the development of the colonies and
India that this proposal should be seriously con-
sidered. The Imperial Institute was erected and
endowed as a memorial of the reign of Queen
Victoria for the performance of specific work on
behalf of India and the colonies, as well as for the
United Kingdom. Since the transfer of the Imperial
Institute to the Government, this work has steadily
grown in amount and importance, and the Institute
is now more largely utilised and appreciated by the

COMMERCE 309

colonies than at any former period of its existence.
It is now in a position to make most efficient use
of the whole of the building, as was intended by

those who contributeu to its foundation. The only
equitable and feasible plan under the present cir-
cumstances is to provide the University of London
with the accommodation it needs elsewhere, and
thus leave the Imperial Institute free to fulfil the
high destiny which was marked out for it and
towards which it has in the last decade made such
remarkable strides.

CHAPTER XXI

FINANCE
THE CROWN AGENTS

Financial administration in the Crown coIon.Vs is
dominated by two essential considerations. The
actual development of their resources depends almost
exclusively on British capital invested in land or in
commercial enterprises ; and the security of capital
depends on the control of the Imperial Government
over the expenditure of the local Government In
the Crown colonies (generally, the only taxable fund
is the wage fund supplied by the annual proceeds
of the cultivation of the land. This fund provides
the local expenditure of capitalists or their repre-
sentatives, salaries, professional emoluments, and
wages for the whole community. It has also to
provide the interest on loans raised by Government
for expenditure on public works. It is hardly
necessary to argue that the security of capital
employed in private enterprise is inseparable from
the security of capital raised by public loans for
the purpose of promoting by expenditure on
^.ublic works private enterprise in agriculture and
commerce.

FINANCE

311

The Duke of Buckingham's despatch of August
i8th, 1868, showed clearly that in the West Indies
it was the desire of all parties to establish a system
of government and legislation by which the

financial condition of the colonies should be im-
proved and their agricultural and commercial
interests promoted. For these ends the Imperial
Government were willing to accept a system in
which they should act as trustees for the colonies,
but declared that they were not willing to accept the
responsibility of the trust unless accompanied by
an adequate measure of power and control. Under
the system established on these conditions a vigor-
ous efifort was made to avert the ruin threatened
by the declining fortunes of the sugar industry,
and to restore the capacity of the colonies for self-
support by encouraging enterprise in other industries.

I have in a previous chapter shown how, in the
imminent peril of the West Indian slands. the
"luthorities at Kew were drawn into a compre-
hensive study of the question of the material
development of the smaller colonies, and brought
to place at the disposal of the Colonial Office the
resources of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

It was reserved for Mr. Chamberlain to recognise
that the policy might be capable of practically
".nlimited extension in enabling us to find within the
territories of a self-contained empire the resources
which the Powers of continental Europe and the
United States of America were seeking in their
struggle for the control of the tropics. There can
be no doubt of Mr. Chamberlain's firm grip of
the fundamental necessities of the question. He

aia THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

appreciated the measure to which the complex life
of the modern world rests upon the productions of
the tr<^cs; and he realised that, to an extent of
which the British worknuin has as yet no clear

intelligence, the employment of the white man in
the United Kingdom depends on the employment
of the coloured man in the tropics. Indeed, it may
be said with truth of some of the most important
industries in the United Kingdom that they have
their roots in the labour of coloured races, while
the trunk, branches, flowers, and fruits represent the
labour and profits of the white man. It is only the
low wage-rate of the tropical area of production of
the raw material that enables the manufactured
article to be turned out at a price that ensures a large
market and yet allows an adequate wage for the
British workman.

When Mr. Chamberlain became Secretary of
State in 1895 a great change had come over the
spirit of the administration. Experience had taught
that to secure a revenue adequate to the maintenance
of a civilised government required the development
of other than political capacities. The business of
tinkering the constitutional apparatus of the Crown
colonies had slackened. Material needs, roads,
railways, harbours, drainage and water supply, and
a policy of expenditure on loan account for re-
productive public works had come to occupy a
prominent place in the area of activity of the
Office.

To meet the requirements of the new policy there
vas wanted an agency which should associate
British capital with colonial needs, — acting on the

FINANCE

one hand as intermediary between the City and the
Cdonial Office in raising the loan, and on the other
as intermediary between the Colonial Office and the
parties locally concerned in the expenditure of the
proceeds. Two things were inseparably necessary :
loans at advanti^^eous rates and the security
necessary to obtain such rates. As a guarantee of
security an indispensable precaution was a measure
of control over the proceeds of the loans adequate
to ensure that they should be strictly devoted to the
proper purposes with fidelity and economy. What
was required was, in short, an agency for promoting
the investment of British capital in Crown colonies.

An adequate agency was found in the office
of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, who became
the advisers and ^ents of both the Secretary
of State and the local governments in respect
of the whole range of transactions connected
with public works and loans. In this ofifice the
commercial and financial demands of the govern-
ments of all the Crown colonies and protectorates
are brought into focus at the centre of supply, just
as their political and administrative exigcicies are
brought into focus at the Colonial Office.

In 1 88 1 a memorandum on the origin and functions
of the office, drawn up by Sir Penrose Julyan, Senior
Crown Agent for many years, was printed in a
Parliamentary paper entitled Papers Explanatory
of the FuHctWHS of the Crown Agents for the
Colonies.

Before the year 1833 the commercial and financial
business of the colonies was conducted by agents
appointed by and responsible to the Governors.

214 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

The creation of a consolidated agency for the
Crown colonies was the result of an inquiry in-
stituted in that year. The agency as then estab-
lished transacted the affairs of most of the present
Crown colonies, and of the following among other
possessions in which representative government has
since been introduced : Cape of Good Hope, New
South Wales, West Australia, South Australia,
Tasmania, and New Zealand, to which Victoria
was subsequently added. It gives a striking proof
of the development of our colonial interests to find
that in the year 1843 the aggregate disbursements
of the agency on account of all the colonies
amounted to little more than ^380,000. Sir Penrose
Julyan's memorandum showed that during the years
1875. 1876, and 1877, the average disbursements
of the Agency amounted to ;^9,48 1,000 per annum,
in the proportion of 1,948,000 for the Crown
colonies, and ^7.533,000 for representative colonies.
Since that time, notwithstanding the transfer to
their own Agents-General of the business of the
representative colonies, the work and responsibility
have increased to such an extent that in 1904-06 the
business of the office represented an annual average
disbursement of ^25,471,414.

The Crown Agents are now commercial and
financial agents for all the colonies except those
possessing responsible government. They are ap-
pointed by the Secretary of State, who fixes their
salaries, the maximum of expenditure in respect to
the number and salaries of their staff, and the
charges they may make for the business transacted
by their department. These charges are paid by

FINANCE

215

the colonial governments for services rendered ;
they have been and may be adjusted from time to
time so as to make the Agency self-supporting ;
and no part of the cost is voted by Parliament.
The present scale of ch^ i ges is as follows :

1. A commission of n\e per cent, on all stores
obtained through the A ,f i t y.

2. A fixed contribution, v.i. /i;-':; in amount, accord-
ing to the volume of transactions, from colonies
whose general financial business exceeds 10,000
a year.

3. A commission of one-half per cent, on the
issue and repayment of loans, and one-quarter per
cent, on the payment of interest.

4. On all overdrawn accounts bank rate of
interest is charged with a minimum of three per
cent The department receives from brokers a
return of half the brokerage on investments made
through them.

The proceeds of these charges form a fund out of
which are defrayed the salaries of the Crown Agents
and their staff and the cost of maintenance of their
office. There is a widespread impression in the
minds of the general public, especially in the colonies,
where it leads to much confusion and misunder-
standing, that the Crown Agents depend for the
amount of their personal incomes on commissions,
percentages, brokerages, and similar transactions,
and that they " make expenditure " to swell these
charges. The fact is that the Crown Agents have
no initiative authority in the matter of expenditure.
They act only on instructions and requisitions for
the issue of which the Governors of Crown

2i6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

colonies and protectorates are responsible. More-
over, they are remunerated by fixed salaries in
exactly the same way as the members of the per-
manent Civil Service of the Crown and their
emoluments no more vary with the revenue of their
office than do the emoluments of the Treasury
officials with the revenue of the United Kingdom.
In fact the revenue and expenditure of the Crown
Agents are dealt with on exactly the same lines as
the public revenue and expenditure. Any excess on
the transactions of a year is carried to a reserve
fund, which serves to cover deficits that have
occasionally occurred. Should it become necessary,
in order to secure a steady equilibrium, the Secretary
of State can from time to time revise the scale of
charges as has been indicated.

A nominal list of the establishment of the Crown
Agents' Office is published annually in the Colonial
Office List. All their accounts are audited either
by the colonial Governments or by the Comptroller
and Auditor-General, and an abstract of their office
accounts is rendered annually to the Secretary of
State.

The transactions of the agency may be grouped
under three heads: (i) Commercial; (2) Banking;
(3) Miscellaneous.

Their commercial business includes the supply
of all stores, which cannot be procured locally,
required by the various governments and protec-
torates for which they act. Their most important
transactions are on behalf of the departments of
public works, railways, and harbours. For the
departments of public works they buy the materials

FINANCE 217

for the construction of buildings, roads, and bridges,
structural ironwork pipes and water fittings, Port-
land cement, machinery and engineering appli-
ances of all kinds, including all requirements for
telegraphs and other uses of electric power. For
the railways they purchase permanent way materials,
locomotives, and rolling stock of every description ;
and steamers, dredgers, boats, and lighthouse appa-
ratus for harbours. Next in importance are the
requirements of the Post Office and the preparation
of stamps, the supply of hospital and laboratory-
stores, and the equipment of the police and local
military forces. It is often urged with impatience
that the harvest of the vast estates we are developing
is falling into the hands of foreign traders and foreign
shipping; but so far as the Colonial Office can
control this tendency the Crown Agents are able to
secure for British firms and British "dipping an
enormous volume of business which would otherwise
be diverted. When important public works, such
as railways, harbour works, drainage and water
schemes, etc., are projected in the Crown colonies,
all business connected with them in the United
Kingdom is entrusted to the Crown Agents. This
includes all correspondence with the consulting
engineers, arrangements for preliminary surveys,
preparation and passing of contracts, and advising
the Secrecary of State and the colonial Governments
on any points of interest or importance which may
arise.

In no department of their activity have the Crown
Agents rendered greater service to the colonies than
in the business of banking.

2i8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

It is impossible for me to give a detailed account
of the transactions of the Crown Agents with the
colony of Mauritius as bankers during a long period
of financial difficulties extending from 1892 to 1903.
Apart from temporary advances, they negotiated
fixed term loans on terms which could not have
been obtained through any other agency.

1 give in an appendix a general statement of
some principal transactions during the period. Only
one short term loan was negotiated and repaid while
1 was in Mauritius. In a despatch to the Secretary
of State, I showed with what advantage to the
colony it had been carried through by the Crown
Agents :

Government House,
Mauritius, 19th May, 1899.

"SiK,

" With reference to my telegram of the 20';h
ultimo and to the despatches noted in the margin, I
have the honour to transmit, herewith, a copy of a
statement showing the transactions of the advances
made to planters under Ordinance No. 2 of 1898.

"It will be seen that a net profit of Rs. 20,969.57
accrues to the Colony.

" The success of this interesting experiment has
depended on :

(a) The facilities obtained through the office of
the Crown Agents for raising money in
England for short terms to be applied to
the advances.

{d) The uninterrupted co.nmuntcation with
London by telegram.

FINANCE

219

" Advances made to planters were to bear interest
only for the precise number of days during which
they remained unpaid to the Treasury, and these
periods could not of course correspond precisely
with the periods for which funds were raised by the
Crown Agents.

*' In accordance with the system adopted advances
were made to the planters at many different times
and for many different periods while the total amount
borrowed by the Crown Agents was borrowed at
three different periods and at different rates, the
average rate being 3.37 per cent. The annexed
return estimates the profit on this basis.

" For the services rendered by the Crown Agents
in the matter of this loan, I have the honour to
request that you may be good enough to convey to
them the thanks of my Government and of the
Colony.

" I have, etc."

1 gladly avail myself of this as of every occasion
to express my sense of the particular services thus
rendered to the colony. Similar service has been
done in British Guiana, and my experience leads
me to believe that the assistance which the local
Governments are placed in a position to affcjrd in
times of crisis through the Crown Agents appre-
ciably fortifies the security of the colonial banks.
In illustration of their services as bankers, 1 may
mention that neighbouring colonies, in remote parts
of the Empire, find it more convenient to adjust
their accounts through the office of the Crown
Agents in London than by direct transactions.

220 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

The miscellaneous business of the Crown Agents
includes the payment of salaries, pensions, widows'
and orphans' funds, transactions connected with bills
of exchange, the management of sinking funds,
deposits, temporary advances, the adjustment of
accounts between colonial Governments and the
General Post Office in respect of postage and
money orders, and many other similar operations.
In 1909 salaries were paid to 2,500 colonial
officials on leave of absence and to 1,600 colonial
pensioners. Most of such payments are made
monthlv.

In 1 90 1 an inquiry into the working of the
Office was instituted by Mr. Chamberlain. In
the course of this inquiry all the Crown colony
Governments as well as the High Commissioners of
protectorates were invited to give the result of their
experience and to offer their opinions and criticisms.
On the evidence thus obtained the Secretary of
State went exhaustively into the general question of
the position and functions of the office and the
details of procedure in the conduct of its business.
He then considered what changes might usefully be
introduced to meet suggestions and criticisms. It
was fortunate that the inquiry was completed before
Mr. Chamberlain's resignation of office, and that he
was able to deal with the points raised in the corre-
spondence and to state the conclusions at which he
arrived. It will be generally allowed that few, if
any, Colonial Secretaries have been, or are likely to
be, so admirably qualified to deal with a business
inquiry of this sort as Mr. Chamberlain. Taking
the whole range of business, commercial, banking,

FINANCE

331

and miscellaneous, into account, Mr. Chamberlain
came to the conclusion that the system had worked
exceptionally well, and that the Crown Agents had
by able, upright, and single-minded service deserved
the confidence of the Crown colonies and of suc-
cessive Secretaries of State. Some changes of
procedure designed to facilitate business between
the colonial Governments and the Crown Agents
were carried into effect.

Meanwhile the business of the Crown Agents has
for many years been steadily increasing, and the
office was in 1903 transferred from the inadequate
accommodation offered by a part of the Colonial
Office into buildings in Whitehall Gardens, specially
reconstructed to meet their requirements. The
entire cost of reconstruction was defrayed out of the
reserve fund of the department. The staff now, in
1 9 10, numbers 236.

The incidence of the burden of Africa has fallen
with exceptional weight on the office of the Crown
Agents, but no department of the State has proved
itself better able to bear the strain. The Parlia-
mentary session of 1904 was marked by much criti-
cism of public departments, arising out of the South
African War, and the criticisms of the Crown Agents'
Office had no doubt their origin mainly in the magni-
tude of their transactions in South Africa. The
complaints were many, but of such a nature that
Mr. Lyttelton was able to declare, that while he had
always been willing to investigate any specific causes
of complaint brought against the Crown Agents, it
was most remarkable, considering the enormous
magnitude of their transactions, that no specific

222 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

instance of the kind complained of had ever been
brought against them.

Nevertheless complaints continued to be the
subjt t of constant interpellations in Parliament,
and in 1908 Lord Crewe appointed a Committee,
of which Colonel Seely, Under-Secretary for the
Colonies, was Chairman, to inquire into and report
on the Crown Agents' Office. The inquiry was, in
the first instance, concerned with the organisation
of the office, but the Committee decided to receive
evidence as to the nature of the work performed,
the system of organisation adopted to carry it out,
and how far it was satisfactorily performed. It
had frequently been urijed tha"; the inquiries held
by Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Lyttelton had been
biassed by official partiality ; and for this reason,
no doubt, the Committee included members who
could by no possibility be suspected of undue
partiality in favour of the office. And the same
may be said of the witnesses called to give
evidence. Apart from the staff of the Colonial
Office, no witnesses were called for the Crown
Agents, who moreover were not allowed to be
present during the inquiry. Among the Governors
and High Commissioners consulted by Mr. Cham-
berlain there were many who could have borne
testimony to the splendid services rendered by the
Crown Agents. But while the three ex-Govemors
called were unanimous in declaring their general
satisfaction with the financial and commercial work
of the office, two of them were apparently called to
allow them to submit more or less specific complaints,
and the other to advocate a system of open local

FINANCE

223

contracts in substitution of the Crown Agents' system.
On the whole, it was to the great advantage of the

Crown Agents that these witnesses were called.
But undoubtedly the evidence most favourable to
them was that of the hostile witness, Mr. (now
Sir) John David Rees. Mr. Rees gave evidence
on the subject of the execution of a contract for the
construction of a railway in Nyassaland.by a company
of which he was a director, and urged that the
Crown Agents had insisted with too great severity
on the terms of the contract. A question addressed
to him by Mr. Harris of the Colonial Office, and his
reply, were very instructive :

" Do you not think that the Governor of the
Colony, who is responsible to the Secretary of State,
and is a man, as you know, of high position and
character, has, speaking generally, a responsibility,
which he is bound to exercise for the future of the
Colony ? "

" Certainly, at the expense of the Cuiony or of the
taxpayer in general, but not at the expense of a
contracting Company."

His complaint was typical of the great body of
complaints that have for years been made against
the Crown Agents, that they exact too high a
standard of quality and efficiency from contractors.
To exact a high standard of quality and efficiency
is the raisoH dHre of the office as a commercial
agency. The records of the Colonial Office could
produce abundant evidence of the peril to which
local Governments have been exposed by the
methods of local contractors when the field of com-
petition is strictly limited. I refer more especially

224 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

to contracts for materials used in works of con-
struction, as, for instance, timber and Portland

cement. Default in such contracts cannot be made

good by penalty, and the delay in repricing con-
demned stores in remote colonies is a source of
danger of which persons living in the United
Kingdom can hardly form an idea. Default in the
case of contracts for the supply of coal for railway
and steamer services has led to even graver con-
sequences. Lord Crewe, in a Circular Despatch
transmitting the report to the Governors of Crown
colonies and others, paid the highest compliment
to the Crown Agents in pointing out that "the
conclusion of the Committee with regard to the
position and functions of the Crown Agents and
their office and of the Crown Agents' Office and
Reserve Fun coincide with the views which have
been held au^ stated in public documents by suc-
cessive Secretaries of State."

The Committee made recommendations for some
improvements in the organisation of the office, which
have been carrit- < out by the Crown Agents. On
these I desire < make no comment. I have only
to add my firm opinion, that in view of the
responsibility of the Imperial Treasury, in the final
resort, for the financial stability of the Crown
colonies, the position of the Crown Agents acquires
really Imperial significance, and it may be said with-
out exaggeration that "their able, upright, and
single-minded service," to use the words of Mr.
Chamberlain, constitutes a national asset.

CHAPTER XXII

TRANSPORT

It has been seen that the services rendered by the
Crown Acrents' Office are mainly connected with
facilities of exchange between the United Kingdom
and the Crown colonies, and facility of exchange
includes, of course, facilities of transport. The Har-
vest of fertile lands cultivated with industry, however
indefatigable, by methods however intelligent and
appropriate, may be rendered worthless by cost of
conveyance to market. In these days of swift t m-
munication by steam and electric power we are apt
to forget how recent has been the transition from
transport by manual labour to transport by animal
portage, from animal portage to animal draught,
from a..imal draught to mechanical draught. In
many of the Crown colonies the earlier methods are
still mainly employed, but progress has been rapid.
And the progress has been made possible only by
the system of expenditure on public works charged
to loan account. The negotiation of loans for this
purpose has been, as we have seen, a principal
business of the Crown Agents. Facilities of trans-
port for the development of our tropical estates will

336 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

be largely dealt with in a chapter treating of expan-
ston in British Guiana ; and in regard to that colony
1 need only here say that the period ( f territorial
expansion was immediately preceded by a period of
activity in the construction ol public roads withm
the small area beneficially occupied on the sea-coast.
This activity was chiefly due to the energy of Sir
Henry Irving during his tenure of the Government
between 1882 and 1887. It was of ^rreat advantage
at the time to tht,- area within which it served to
reduce the cost of production by concentrating the
population.

In the Windward Islands transport was almost

entirely by manual or animal portage prior to 1885,
when Sir Walter Sendall advocated and carried out
in Grenada a vigorous policy of road construction,
in combination with an equally vigorous policy of
developing the resources of the colony by the estab-
lishment of a botanical garden for the promotion ot
improved methods of ag riculture and the introduction
of new plants and products. The policy of road con-
struction was logically extended to the improvement
of the coasting trade by the maintenance of an
efificient service of steamers. The beneficial results
that have followed this policy are an enduring
testimony to Sir Walter Sendall's judgment and
foresight.

The policy of Sir Walter Sendall was continued
by his successor. Sir Walter Hely- Hutchinson. On
the first occasion of his meeting the Legislature, he
declared that he considered the construction of
roads and efificient means of communication to be
the first object of concern to the colony. The main

TRANSPORT

roads in course of construction were completed;

many nejjjlectccl minor roads were reconstructed to
connect the inland area of cultivation with the main
roads ; and new roads were provided in order of
importance as means and opportunity allowed. The
policy was extended to the establishment of direct
steam communication with New York, to develop
thv. cocoa and fruit industry, and the improvement of
the harbours.

In 1S93 I succeeded Sir Walter Hely-llutchinson,
and there was no interruption of policy. But,
coincidently with the main object of improved
means of transport by road and sea, there had been
carried out a very con^^U-te system of communication
by telephone, to which I shall refer again !'!iere
had also been a liberal expenditure on ir . on-
struction of water works and public buildings.
The time had now come when provision had to
be made for a considerable annual charge for interest
and the redemption of the debt accumulated for
these purposes.

My predecessors had advised that, for the part of
the debt incurred in establishing an adequate system
of transport, provision should be made by an export
duty. This advice had been given in view of the
conditions in which agriculture was carried on.
During a period of some fifteen years preceding
January, 1885, changes in the agricultural system
of the island, originally brought about by the
en^-. .cipation of the slaves, had been rapidly pro-
gressing. Sugar having ceased to be a remunerative
article of export under the conditions of labour in
Grenada, numbers of estates had been abandoned.

228 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

and, after an interval, sold out in small lots
to the former labourers, who cultivated them in
cocoa and spices. The change that had gradually
taken place can best be estimated by comparing the
exports of sugar and cocoa in 1846 with those of
1881. In 1846 there were exported 9,196,538 lb.
of sugar and 374,686 lb. of cocoa; in 1881 the ex-
ports included 5,864,090 lb. of cocoa and nearly
100,000 lb. of spices, as against 2,038,712 lb, of
sugar. In 1893 the value of sugar exported was
;^73i ; of cocoa, ;^28 1,004 1 of spices, ^^14,605. In
1894 the value of sugar exported fell to ;^50.

The advice of my predecessors had been over-
ruled by the Colonial Office, and in 1887 an
ordinance for the levy of export duties had been
disallowed. In the interval, however, the charges
on account of public debt had been very largely
increased, and I could see no way to put the
finances of the colony in a sound position except
that advised by my predecessors, and supported by
the almost universal wish of the colony, apart from
a small group of absentee proprietors. Accordingly
an ordinance was passed by the Legislative Council,
but was prompdy disallowed on the ground "of
the well-known strong objection of Her Majesty's
Government to export duties." No other reason
was assigned, except that a similar ordinance had
been previously disallowed.

My position at the time was in accordance with
precedent and the traditions of the Colonial Office.
In the year 1842 a tariff was enacted by the Legis-
lature of Jamaica, which, on being sent home, was
found to violate the economic principles of Free-

TRANSPORT 229

trade recently adopted in the United Kingdom.
An angry despatch informed Lord Elgin, then
Governor, that it was disapproved, and that nothing
but an apprehension of the financial embarrassments
that must ensue prevented it from being disallowed.
In terms almost amounting to a reprimand Lord
Elgin was instructed to exercise the influence of his
office in opposing similar enactments, and it was
added: "If, unfortunately, your efforts should be
unsuccessful, and if any such Bill should be pre-
sented for your acceptance, it is Her Majesty's
pleasure that you withhold your assent from it."
The substance of Lord Elgin's reply is recorded
in his Letters and Journals. He represented that
the duties in question were not found injuriously
to affect trade, while they were needed to meet
the expenditure; that the Legislature was extremely
jealous in the matter of taxation ; and that " while
sensible that the services of a Governor must be
unprofitable if he failed to acquire and exercise a
legitimate moral influence in the general conduct
of affairs, he was at the same time convinced that
a just appreciation of the difficulties with which the
Legislature of the island had yet to contend, and of
the sacrifices and exertions already made under the
pressure of no ordinary embarrassments, was an
indispensable condition of his usefulness." On this
representation the peremptory command above
quoted was withdrawn.

The question of refusing to allow a colony to
raise revenue, by methods appropriate to its circum-
stances and the conditions of its environment, on the
ground of a general objection entertained by the

230 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Home Government is one which strikes at the very
root of Our colonial policy. I need, therefore, make
no apology for reproducing the reasons I urged for
reconsideration in a despatch to the Secretary of
State.

Grenada,
8th February, 1S94.

" The proposal to impose export duties on cocoa
and spices involving questions of great and per-
manent importance, I will ask leave to submit for
your Lordship's consideration the reasons which
seemed to the Government and the Legislature
of the colony to jusuiy the proposal.

" Although I was well aware of the strong objection
of Her Majesty's Government to export duties as
a means of raising revenue for general purposes,
I was not aware that this objection extended to
export duties raised for a specific purpose falling
within the range of a well-defined fixed principle.
This I may state as, the appropriation of the pro-
ceeds of export duties on agricultural products to
purposes intended to reduce the cost of production,
and to enable a colonial producer to compete on
advantageous terms with the producers of other
countries. In proposing a measure based on this
principle, I could not but believe that I was acting
in accordance with the policy of Her Majesty's
Government, inasmuch as in nearly all the colonies
where the fiscal arrangements are under the com-
plete control of Her Majesty's Government the
principle has been admitted in practice. I have

TRANSPORT 231

always conceived that it was in accordance with

the principle 1 have indicated that export duties
have in the West Indies and elsewhere been appro-
priated to Immigration purposes, and I considered
it a logical consequence that where the authorised
appropriation of the duties to Immigration purposes
has ceased to meet the wants and wishes of a colony,
the appropriation to another specific purpose falling
within range of the same principle might reasonably
be approved.

" I was confirmed in this impression by the terms
of the Secretary of State's despatch No. 193, of
December 14th, 1887, to which your Lordship has
alluded. In that despatch Lord Knutsford said,
' I cannot sanction the application of the exoort
duty, which was imposed exclusively for Immigration
purposes, for the general expenditure of the colony.'

" Your Lordship will allow me to point out that,
since the passing of the law authorising the raising
of an export duty on sugar for Immigration pur-
poses, many of the conditions affecting the cultiva-
tion and tenure of land in Grenada have completely
changed :

(1) The export duty on sugar for Immigration
purposes has ceased to have a raison
(CStre, inasmuch as sugar has almost
entirely ceased to be grown for export.
Nearly all the produce of the sugar-cane
grown in the colony is consumed in the
colony, and a large portion of it in the
form of rum.

(2) The introduction of Immigrants under the

Ordinance was a measure directly benefiting

232 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

only the capitalists, who were able to

meet the considerable expenses of intro-
duction, and in whose hands the sugar
industry, — which constituted the chief agri-
cultural interest of the colony — was held.
At present the staple agricultural produce
is cocoa, and this industry is largely in the
hands of peasant proprietors, to whom the
credit for the introduction of cocoa in
substitution of sugar is chiefly due.
(3) But the success of this enterprise has
depended, and is dependent, on the con-
struction and maintenance of roads and
by-ways, to secure the cheap and easy
conveyance of produce to a profitable
market. What Immigration was intended
to be in this colony, and is elsewhere,
as a factor in reducing the cost of produc-
tion of sugar, that, and more than that, the
roads of Grenada are as a factor in
reducing the cost of production of cocoa.
The importance of this question has been
fully recognised by my predecessors, who
have proposed, in accordance with the
general wishes of the community, to
establish a Road Fund, from the

general revenue of the Colony. It was the
intention of this Government, to carry
out this proposal by the establishment of a
Road Fund on exactly the same principles
as the Immigration Fund.
" In these circumstances, after the most careful
consideration, it appeared to me that the terms

TRANSPORT 233

of Lord Knutsford's despatch were perfectly con-
sistent with the approval by your Lordship of

an export duty appropriated for a purpose strictly
limited by the principle on which I understood
the appropriation for Immigration purposes to have
been justified.

" In the construction which I ventured to place

on Lord Knutsford s despatch I felt myself con-
firmed by his Lordship's action in a closely
analogous case. After the passing of the M'Kinley
Tariff and subsequent Treaty arrangements, the
Combined Court of British Guiana appropriated
a part of the acreage tax on sugar estates to
recoup the general revenue for the loss of duty
on imports exempted to meet the requirements
of the Treaty arrangements. This appropriation
was objected to by the West India Committee
who appealed to the Secretary of State to disallow
the tax ordinance, on the ground that the acreage
tax had been imposed exclusively for immigration
purposes. Lord Knutsford was good enough to
refer the correspondence to me, and I defended
the action of the Combined Court on the ground
that the appropriation was made for the specific
purpose of reducing the cost of placing British
Guiana sugar on the American market. The prin-
ciple involved was the transfer of a tax on produce
originally raised for the purpose of reducing the cost
of cultivation to the purpose of making arrange-
ments necessary to reduce the cost of placing sugar
on the market, and closely analogous to the prin-
ciple I am vindicating. Lord Knutsford declined
to disallow the ordinance.

234 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

"In these preliminary remarks I have endeavourec;
only to satisfy your Lordship that in the »u?tter
of the export duties 1 had reasonable ground to
believe that the proposals of my Government would
be found in accordance with the views of her
Majesty's Government and the action of your
Lordship's predecessor.

" I will now briefly indicate the reasons which
led me to believe that the measure proposed, con-
sidered on its merits as affecting the interests of
the colony, was likely to prove beneficial.

" I have already observed that the Road Fund
contemplated by this Government follows the lines
of the Immigration Fund established here and else-
where. This Fund is usually maintained from three
sources :

A general tax on sugar estates (either by way

of land tax or e.xport duty) ;
A contribution by way of indenture fee on each
immigrant allotted to an estate, or, in
other words, a payment proportionate to
the share of advantage directly accruing to
the individual planter ;
A contribution from general revenue.
" The scheme proposed by this Government for
the maintenance of a Road Fund does not differ,
in principle, from these arrangements. It was
proposed to maintain the Road Fund by —
1st. — A house and land tax ;
2nd. — An export duty as an equivalent to a
graduation of the land tax in proportion
to the value of the lands in cultivation ;
3rd. — A contribution from general revenue.

TRANSPORT 235

"As regards the second of these sources of
revenue, your Lordship has urged that 'the objects

may be secured by less objectionable expedients.' I
feel sure that your Lordship will do me the justice
to believe that my aim has been to secure the object
in view by the expedients which seemed to me and
to my advisers the least open to objection from the
point of view of the particular circumstances of the
colony.

" For a just appreciation of the proposed scheme,
it is necessary to take into account some principal
conditions affecting the cultivation and tenure of
the lands of Grenada. The lands of Grenada may
be divided generally into four classes :

Lands in cocoa cultivation.

Lands in nutmeg cultivation.

Lands in sugar cultivation.

Remainder lands in other cultivation, and pasture
lands.

" The problem to be solved is the adjustment of
the incidence of taxation in fair proportion to the
value of these four classes of land. Under the
existing laws all four classes, with the exception of
a part of those I have classed as remainder lands,
are subject to the same acreage tax. The inequality
of incidence under the existing laws is fairly
represented in a petition addressed to my pre-
decessor on February 14th, 1892, and signed by all
the principal representatives of the sugar inters t as
well as by others. I annex a copy of this petition.

" A very low estimate of the average net annual
profit from lands in full bearing cocoa cultivation,
at present prices, would be from ;^i2 to /iis an

236 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

acre; of lands in full bearing nutmeg cultivation
from jCso to ^40 per acre ; as regards lands in
sugar cultivation I cannot do better than refer your
Lordship to the petition I have alluded to; the lands
I have classed as remainder lands are to a very
large extent on the margin of cultivation or benefici^
occupation. It is of the essence of the proposed
scheme that the land tax should be fixed with
particular reference to the lands on the margin of
cultivation, so that they may continue to be bene-
ficially occupied and not thrown out of cultivation
by the burden of a tax beyond their capacity to
bear. As regards the lands under cultivation in
sugar, I have already shown that, with the exception
of a small quantity of sugar consumed in the colony,
and a smaller quantity exported, the product of these
lands is manufactured into rum, and, in determining
the incidence of taxation which they may reasonably
be called upon to bear, it must be remembered that
rum is heavily taxed for the use of the general
revenue. This taxation, of course, indirectly affects
the value of the lands in sugar cultivation. The
produce of lands in cocoa and nutmeg cultivation is,
with the exception of a very small quantity, exported
from the colony, and it is essential to consider that
the conditions of cultivation of these products differ
widely from the conditions attaching to the cultiva-
tion of cereals, sugar, and other agricultural produce
forming a large factor in colonial commerce.

" As regards lands under cultivation in cocoa and
nutmegs; in the case of cocoa four or five years are
necessary before any profit at all,— except such as is
derived from the subsidiary cultivation of bananas

TRANSPORT 237

or other plants among the cocoa — is obtained, and
from ten to fifteen years before a plantation is in full
bearing; in the case of nutmeg, ten years must
elapse before any profit can be expected, and many
more years before the trees are in full bearing. The
effect of the scheme proposed by this Government
would be that land under cultivation in cocoa or
nutmeg would pass from the trifling burden imposed
by the acreage tax on uncultivated land, or land on
the margin of cultivation, under a progressively
increasing burden adjusted automatically to the
measure of the increasing yield. Lands under ex-
perimental cultivation, with a view to testing the
adaptability of the soil and climate to new agri-
cultural industries, would fall under the same
favourable conditions, and it is in every way in the
interest of the colony that this should be the case.
In this way every reasonable inducement would be
offered for the extension of the area of cultivation,
both by capitalists and by peasant proprietors.

"It has been the policy of this Government for
some years to facilitate the tenure of land by peasant
proprietors, and, so far as these are concerned, an
export duty is a burden which can be adjusted to
the back much more easily than a high land tax.
In tropical colonies agriculture is even more subject
than elsewhere to sudden vicissitudes of fortune
from meteorological and other causes. Now a pro-
prietor with little or no capital beyond his land
and his capacity for labour is by the very nature of
an export tax relieved from the burden on his land
in proportion to the comparative failure of his crop.
In the case of a tax assessed on the value of his land

238 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

it is otherwise. Crop or no crop, the tax has to be

paid, and, if he has no means of paying his tax, he
must either apply to the usurer or a;, once forfeit his
land. Long experience proves that the final result
is the same. It may be urged that the expenses of
road maintenance will continue whether the harvest
be good or bad. That is, of course, admitted, but
it does not necessarily follow that the failure of
individual crops must mean a failure of the harvest
throughout the colony. In view, however, of the
possibility of a generally bad harvest, my pre-
decessor proposed that, if the Road Fund can get
itself established, twenty per cent, should be laid
aside to meet the ungenial seasons of adversity
which are almost sure from time to time to occur.
I concur in this prudent proposal.

" In considering the question of an export tax for
the specific purpose in view, I did not omit to consult
a document to which I naturally attach great
importance, the report of the Royal Commissioners
appointed in December, 1882. I felt it my duty
very carefully to consider how far their objections
to export duties for general purposes of expenditure
might be pertinent to the proposal under considera-
tion. It has, of course, to be borne in mind that
the Commissioners, when making recommendations,
in favour of abolishing export duties in the Wind-
ward Islands, were considering fiscal arrangements
intended to be common to the four islands of the
group, which they proposed to unite into one
colony.

"It does not follow that a measure which may be
accepted in making fiscal arrangements for a group

TRANSPORT

239

of islands as being on the whole the best, taking
into account the interests of each, must be con-
sidered as the best when the interests of one only
have to be considered. In matters of taxation
affecting the complex interests of a community there
is nothing more certain than that what may be true
of the whole collectively is not necessarily or even
generally true of the parts individually.

" Taking due account of the circumstances in which
the recommendation I have referred to is made, I
find in part I., paragraph 350, the reasons for
abolishing export duties summarised as follows:
" 350. Export duties are objectionable on prin-
ciple, unless they are levied on articles for
which a country has a practical monopoly
of supply, and this cannot be said of West
Indian produce.
"Many planters, however, prefer these duties
to other modes of raising funds for
immigration purposes, on the plea that
the tax bears a fixed proportion to their
annual receipts. It is, however, necessary
to remember that the expenses for which
these duties are to provide remain the
same whatever the crop may be, and must
be paid by the planter out of th^; iacome
of his business, whether the charge be
levied on his hogsheads and puncheons on
the wharf, or c > 1 is land, his sugar works,
his still, or his siock.
"These duties are costly in collection, and
trade is hampered by strict rules that have
to be laid down as to times and places of

240 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

shipment, and we are decidedly oi opinion

thcii in the interest of the revenue no less
than ol tra'le in j^eneral, and the planting
industry in particular, it is advisable no
longer to levy export duties."
" The principle upon which a j^eneral objection is
based is not st.ued in the first clause of this
paragraph, but tlitt referen ■ to a ' pract' il
monopoly of sujjpl) ' cirariy indica"^s the proposi-
tion that an export duty, except v' sn there is a
practical monopoly of supply, by increasing the cost
of production, - incliklint; in this term the cost of
carryinjj commodities to market -placets the colonial
producer at a disadvanuige in i jreign markets in
competition with producers elsewhere. This objec-
tion might be urged against every form of taxatron
directly or indirectly affecting the agricultural
producer. But admitting the objection in principle,
it must surely lose whatever force it mi\^ht other-
wise possess when the export duty is appropriated
solely to reducing the local cost of production
of a commodity.

" It is on this very ground, as I apprehend, that an
export duty as an expedient for raising money for
Immigration purposes has been generally admitted
h' Her Majesty's Government, and as regards the
second clause of the paragraph I need, therefore,
only refer to what I have said in the 1 5th paragraph
of this despatch as applicable to the point raised.

" The objections stated in the final clause of
the paragraph are certainly not applicable as
objections to the fM-oposal recently made by this
Government.

TRANSPORT 341

"The method of collet ion of the export duty would
htve emailed no additi(M»l cost whatever, and would
have re- ired no restriction as to time aikd place of

shipmt 1' becau th" hole cocoa and nutmeg
crop ifc exported 10 f m 1 markets from ports of
call frequented by two or three lines of steamers,
and is shipped by agents resident at these ports

who are legally responsible to the Government for
the payment of the export Ibty a the departure

of me st< -r. i. fact, n • ncipal argument in
favour of i- expoi dut s the cheapness and
lacility of co lection,

"Such ar . in brie? th- nr ratio- s which
d( ermine ! ni' in . ot the jeme ibmitted
' ' ' '•e il in December iast, and

*P1 ' ^Inr unanimous vote. In the

LegisUtive . nc'' here was at the commence-
ment of th denbe n a strong feeling expressed
1 favour )f ai. as sment graduated on the value
of Ian ' r the jections to this proposal which
' .id Hi ly b ' ' idered by the Government
-eemed msum. ibk. They were, briefly, the
' xtreme diffi obtaining an assessment which

ould be ac as satisfactory and impartial ; the

t ant' tr. ai of assessment, of decisions on
'peal, uid („ oliection; the difficulty which small
rie; rs would have in paying the assessment in
a d reason; and the probable e.vpropriation of
ry c! ss -vhich has, for some years, been the
oje c of Government to settle on the land.
"An equi .ent to a irraduated assessment is only
likely to be found by an assessment on the value of
the crop estimated annually by experts tn situ, or by

II Q ^

242 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

an assessment on the crop gathered and prepared
for market The former method would, I fear, be

open to nearly all the objections of a graduated
valuation, and to others ; as regards the alternative
expedient, it was the intention of the Government
to adopt it in the way which seemed open to least
objection.

In conclusion, I will ask your Lordship to con-
sider the proposal put forward and the grounds upon
which I entertained it, with reference solely to the
present circumstances of the colony of Grenada.
So far as I have made myself acquainted with the
islands of the Windward group, I can easily conceive
that fiscal arrangements applicable to one may be
inappropriate, or even impossible, in others.

" I have, etc."

The reply was short The Colonial Office has
the "tremendous power to decide questions of vital
importance to a colony without appeal to the
tribunal of reason.

Downing Street,
4th May, 1894.

" Sir, — I have given very careful attention to the
representations made in your despatch No. 23 of
8th February last in support of your proposals for
the re-adjustment of taxation in Grenada.

"Although I am unable to concur in your con-
clusions, and must adhere to the decision already
conveyed to you, I appreciate the very great care
and consideration which you have bestowed upon
this question, and I am satisfied that you had no
intention of setting aside the views of Her Majesty's

TRANSPORT 243

Government on the principles of taxation which
should be followed.

"I have, etc.,

" RiPON."

After two years of continuous effort to reduce
expenditure by amalgamation of administrative
offices, and to meet the financial requirements of
the colony without recourse to export duties, I
decided to appeal to Mr. Chamberlain, who had
succeeded Lord Ripon as Secretary of State. In
my appeal I reviewed the principles of taxation
which had guided me in the financial administration
of the colony, and which I believed to be generally
applicable to an agricultural Crown colony :

Grenada,

6th August, 1 896.

•

" In view of the shrinkage of revenue from taxation
already, as you are aware, raised to the straining
point, I am endeavouring to effect every possible
economy consistent with the absolutely necessary
requirements of efficient administration ; and I am
bound at the same time to consider whether the
present incidence of taxation is equitable and
impartial.

The expenditure of the colony may be classed
generally under four heads:

Administration of government.
Administration of justice.
Expenditure for charitable and beneficent pur-
poses.
Public Works.

944 THE BROAD STONB OF EMPIRE

" Deferring for a moment the subject of adminit*
tration of Government, it seems reasonable that, as
regards the administration of justice in civil cases,
the cost should be borne generally by the parties
concerned. On the criminal side, including the
cost of police and prisons, it seen ot less reason*
able that the expenditure should e met by taxes
on intoxicating liquors, and in ^ > respect the
scheme of taxation in Grenada under which a
considerable revenue is raised from this source
seems to be justi6ed.

"As regards charitable and beneficent expendi-
ture, under which head I include the medical
and educational services, I beg leave to refer to
my speech to the Legislative Council of Decem-
ber 30th, 1895, of which for convenient reference
I annex a copy. I have there endeavoured to
justify the taxation of imported articles of general
use and consumption on the ground that the pro-
ceeds of these taxes are to a very large extent
appropriated to services rendered, through the
agencies indicated, for the advantage of the general
community made contributory to the scheme of
taxation by the Customs Tariff.

" Coming now to the consideration of Public
Works I have shown in my speech referred to above
that out of an annual expenditure of approximately
;^6o,0(X) about 10,000 is required to cover the
cost of maintenance of roads, and the charges on
account of the public debt raised for the construction
or reconstruction of the roads.

"In a despatch addressed to the Secretary of
State, No. 33, of February 8th, 1894, I dealt

TRANSPORT 145

with the question of taxation with a view to ad-
justing fairly the incidence of the burden of road

maintenance and proposed an export tax. The
Marquess of Ripon, while unable to concur in my
conclusions, was good enough to express his appre-
ciation of the very great care and consideration
which I had bestowed on the question.

" If I am bold enough to implore you to reconsider
the question of an export tax to be appropriated
in aid of the expenditure on account of the public
roads of Grenada, I can only urge that in the
almost desperate financial position of the colony
it seems absolutely necessary that the profits of
the land should bear their share of the public burden
imposed for the benefit of the land, and that in my
belief the burden can by no other expedient be
made to sit so easily on the shoulders that ought
to bear it.

"In support of my proposal in favour of an
expert tax what litde I have to add to the terms
of my despatch of February 8th, 1894, will fall
mainly under two heads :

(1) The unequal incidence of the existing
system of taxation in the colony ;

(2) The difficulty and cost of an assessment
graduated on the value of the land.

"In my despatch of February 8th, 1894, I
refrained from dealing with the position of the ab-
sentee proprietors and the mortgagees to whom the
produce is assigned as security for loans, and who
are frcQ > ntly to all intents ai d purposes absentee
J»op/.';.<;r„, Both these classes of persons are to
ft \arg^ latent exempted from taxation under a

246 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

system which here as elsewhere in the West Indies
provides the bulk of the public revenue from duties
of Customs on articles of general use and con-
sumption and from taxes on liquor.

" On the subject of the position of the absentee
proprietors, I beg leave to refer you to paragr^hs
4 to 7 of my despatch, No. 157, of December
26th, 1895, in which 1 ventured to invite your
attention to a recommendation made by the Royal
Commission appointed in 1882, to the effect that
*it would be equitable and satisfactory if local
legislation were to provide taxes which would fall
directly upon income and profits which are obtained
in although not spent in the colony.'

" 1 beg leave again to refer to my speech to the
Legislative Council in December last, in which I
pointed out some of the difficulties which lie in the
way of an assessed or graduated land tax.

• • • • • •

*' I have, etc."

I add an extract from my speech on the subject
of direct taxation. Every page of recent history
in equatorial Africa confirms the justice of my
views on the dangers of direct taxation in circum-
stances analogous to those that existed in the West
Indies at the time of the Royal Commission's
inquiry, and Sir Robert Hamilton's report.

' The publication of Sir Robert Hamilton's report
on Dominica has thrown a great deal of light on the
subject, and has clearly shown the difficulty and
danger of imposing on the mass of a West Indian
population a new form or a shifting form of direct

TRANSPORT 247

taxation. It will readily be admitted that the
difficulty must be aggravated if such a measure
is suddenly resorted to in times of agricultural
depression. The more anxiously I have studied the
question the more difficult it seems to me to contend
with the difficulties of assessment and collection.
I have already referred to these difficulties in a
despatch to the Secretary of State which was laid
before you last year. The difficulty of a fair assess-
ment is increased by the fact that the areas of
landed properties here, as generally in the West
Indies, are often of very unequal value, a certain
portion of an estate yielding very high profits while
the remainder may be unproductive waste. The
collection of the tax can hardly fail to be onerous
and expensive where the land is held in thousands
of small holdings by a shifting proprietary. And
above all there is the very strong objection to direct
taxation inherent in the West Indian population as
was pointed out by the Royal Commission of 1883,
and as has been more conclusively shown in Sir
Robert Hamilton's report Even in countries the
most advanced in political progress, it is probable that
there are but few who really appreciate in the person
of the taxgatherer the beneficent agency of a just and
wise statesmanship. There cannot, I think, be any
doubt that to the mass of the population in the
West Indies the collection of direct taxes is not
only directly hateful but has the effect of alienating
the sympathies of the people from the Government
and obscures their recognition of the advantages
which, as I have endeavoured to show, the proceeds
of taxation are devoted to conferring on them.

S48 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

These are among the reasons which have decided
us to prefer in the circumstances the scheme of
taxation we propose ; but the question of a graduated
tax on the land or of a measure in substitution of it
is engaging my constant &*'ention.'

Mr. Chamberlain's answer was prompt. I had
asked for an early reply. It was sent by telegraphic
despatch :

(Telegram)

'•Referring to your Despatch No. 99, Grenada,
consent to export duties."

I closed my despatch to Lord Ripon on the
subject of export duties with the observation that
fiscal arrangements applicable to one of the colonies
in the Windward group might be inappropriate or
even impossiUe in others. The observation was
soon to be justified. Coincidendy with the expendi-
ture on public roads in Grenada there had been in
St. Lucia a very large expenditure of funds raised
by loan for a different purpose. In St. Lucia
the place of the sugar industry as a factor in
the prosperity of the colony had to a large extent
been taken by the shipping industry. The Im-
perial Government, for reasons which will be
fully set out in a chapter of this work dealing
with Colonial Defence, had decided to make St.
Lucia a naval and military base and a fortified
coaling station. To carry out this intention there
had been a large expenditure on harbour improve-
ments to which the Admiralty had contributed
the grotesquely insignificant sum of about /s.ooo.

TRANSPORT 249

Coincidently with the carrying out of the harbour
improvements the colony had incurred a 'arge
expenditure for purposes more or less direcdy con-
nected with the Imperial uses of the island as a
fortified coaling station. Most of this expenditure
had been incurred under instructions from the
Colonial Office before I became Governor of the
Windward Islands, but it fell to me, as in the case
of Grenada, to provide for the payment of interest
and sinking fund. A careful analysis of the ex-
penditure of the colony on the principles explained
in my despatch to Mr. Chamberlain on August
5th, 1896, forced me to the conclusion that while
it was in the interest of the colony in general
that the facilities of the port of Castries should be
adequate to maintain its position as a coaling station
of the first importance on the great ocean highway
between North and South America, it was reasonable
that the shipping to which the port was of such
signal service should contribute to the burden of
public expenditure. I proposed therefore to put a
small import duty, sixpence a ton, on coal. It was not
a new proposition; some years before a much larger
duty had been suggested, but it had been successfully
resisted by influences that had access to the Colonial
Office ; and I was well aware of the nature of the
machinery that would be set in motion to oppose it
again. In the first place, a motion for postponement
was proposed in the Legislative Council. I knew
well what that meant It was to give time for
pressure to be brought to bear on the Colonial
Office. It was not pressed, but the desired delay
was obtained in another way. The ordinance to

250 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

levy the duty was passed in December, 1895, and
it was represented to me that the contracts with the
shipowners for the supply of bunker coal for 1896
had already been signed, and that these contracts did
not (H-ovide for the imposition of the duty. I had to
consent to the insertion of a clause in the ordinance
providing that the duty should not be collected until
the first day of January, 1907. To have refused the
concession would have been to supply the "m-
fluences" with a grievance which might have resulted
in the disallowance of the duty altogether. And the
disallowance of a duty after a commencement of
collection has been made produces serious incon-
venience. This has been illustrated recently in the
United Kingdom by the " disallowance," if I may
so call it, of the Budget of 1909 by the House of
Lords. However, the "influences" did not move
Mr. Chamberlain, and the duty was levied.

My narrative will suffice to show that during the
most trying time of a long season <^ adversity in
the West Indies, the Government of the Windward
Islands recognised the paramount importance of
facilities of transport, not only by inland roads and
coasting steamers, but by means of communication
with ocean highway routes to their markets in tem-
perate regions. Grenada had direct communication
with New York, while St. Lucia was a point of con-
tact with ocean highways to Europe and America. I
have also shown the methods by which it was
found possible to provide these facilities without
assistance from the Imperial Treasury. The Royal
Commission sent to the West Indies in 1897 did not
fail to appreciate the importance of supplying all

TRANSPORT

251

the islands with similar means of communication.
They found that facilities of transport were a
necessary corollary to the establishment of the
Imperial Department of Agriculture for the develop-
ment of West Indian resources, but that they could
not be supplied without aid from the Imperial
Treasury. On their recommendation services sub-
sidised by the Imperial Government were established
to carry on regular inter-insular communication and
connect all the West India colonies with the United
Kingdom, Canada, and America. Of these services
1 need only particularly mention the Imperial West
India Direct Mail Service, aided by a subsidy of
;^40,ooo from the Imperial Government and the
colony, expressly for the conveyance of fruit. A
few figures will show the rapid development of the
fruit industry of the West Indies stimulated by this
encouragement. In 1885 its value amounted to
only ;^253,ooo ; in ten years it had doubled, and in
ten more had reached 1,250,000. The industry
depends entirely on adequate means of transit, and
its success was mainly due to the enterprise of one
man, Sir Alfred Jones, who had a main hand in
opening this new phase of commercial activity. In
illustration of the possibilities of the tropical fruit
industry in our colonies, it must be pointed out that
while there is an enormous consumption of bananas
and citrus fruits in the United Kingdom, a very
small proportion of the import is derived from
British sources. The annual value of citrus fruits
imported into the United Kingdom is not less than
;^2, 500,000, of which only a fraction comes from our
own Empire.

asa THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

I am illustrating the importance of adequate
facilities of transport in the case of a minor industry.
It is when we come to consider that the great staples
of the world really come not from the temperate
r^fioiu at all but from the tropics, that we realise
the tmpori^ce of facilities of transport between our
Crown colonies and the United Kingdom. I have
illustrated at some length the vital importance of the
tropics to civilisation, and the part the Crown colonies
are in consequence likely to play in the future. It
may reasonably be hoped, then, that the question of
adequate transport for our sea-borne commerce may
force itself upon the attention of all concerned in the
produce of the tropics, and that they will not
consider their work done until the means of trans-
port of our insular empire are made as cheap and
convenient as the means of communication between
the territorial stations of a continental empire.

While means of communication were being orga-
nised for the sea-borne trade of the West Indies, a
policy not less wise and energetic was being carried
out in West Africa by railways. The policy which,
a quarter of a century before, had advocated the
abandonment of all commercia] enterprise in tropical
Africa had been followed by a policy which recog-
nised the «iormous possibilities involved in opening
West African territory to commerce and civilisation.
Railway construction was a material guarantee of the
sincerity of the new policy. The initiative was
due to Lord Ripon, who ordered the preliminary
Mirveys. The energy of Mr. Chamberlain, hb
successor, the hearty co-operation of those on
whose technical knowledge the success of the work

TRANSPORT

•53

depended, and the courage and endurance of those
who bore the burden of the dtmate and the labour

of construction, did the rest.

In 1898 there was not a mile of rail open to
traffic. Five years later the Statistical Abstract for
1903 gave the following return :

Miles open.

Receipts.

Working

EspMMSt*

Lagos

Ii4

^48.986

j^44-073

Gold CoMt* •

168

^65,965

;^47.4»5

Sierra Leone -

136

£i6Mo

The following abstract, drawn up in the Crown
Agents' Office, shows the results of the working of
the West African railways for the latest period of
twelve months for which complete figures are at
present available :

Expendi-
ture.

Gold Coast - 31 Dec, 08
Sierra Leone j 31 Dec, '08

214-53 /146,38a

•68 /i 54,024. IIS. 2d.

234* i.i7 1,499
1

.^'03,425

-£7S.>24
;i67,643*

SOUTHERN NIGERIA : '.AGOS RAILWAY

During 1908 and 1909 ; e Lagos Railway has
been extended and opened to Ilorin, a distance of

* The working expenses do not include interest on capital.

•Half year only. The receipts from July i, 1903, to June Jo, 1904,
were .£141.94'. and working e.xpenses ^91,112.
' Mean mileage worked. 247 miles now open.

* Mean mileage worked. The mileage now open is 255.
'Exclusive of extraordinary expenditure, ^14,052.

a54 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

347 miles from Lagos. A further section of sixty-
one miles from Ilorin to Jebba, on the Niger

River, has also Heen built, and is now open for
traffic. A traveller can take train at Laj^os and
travel by rail into the interior, a distance of just
over 300 miles. At Jebba the railway will cross the
Niger by means of a bridge, or rather two bridges,
the river here being divided into two separate
channels by Jebba Island. The bridge over the
northern channel is already in course of construc-
tion. In order to carry the cross-river traffic
pending completion of the bridges, a specially
designed ferry (built by G. Rennie & Co., of
Greenwich), capable of carrying four to six railway
wagons, has been sent out and is already at work.

North of the Niger the construction of a further
section of the railway to Zungeru, the present capital
of Northern Nigeria and 123 miles from Jebba, is
being proceeded with, and some few miles of rails
have already been laid. The upper portion of this
section, which should be completed within the next
two years, is at present being re-surveyed widi the
view to obtaining an improved gradient

BARO-KANO RAILWAY

The Northern Nigeria Government also are
making good progress with the line which they are
building from Baro on the Niger (about one hun-
dred miles below Jebba) to Kano in the north of
the protectorate, a distance of nearly 400 miles.
This railway will be linked up with tiie Lagos
Railway by means of a Inranch line between Minna
and Zungeru.

TRANSPORT

GOLD COAST

The construction of a branch railway from Tarkwa
(on the Sekondi-Kumasi main line) to Prestca, a
distance oi about twenty miles, was commenced in
Sept«nber, 1908, and progress has been generally
satisfactory considering the rough country through
which the line passes and the exceptional difficulties
which have been rr . with at several of the bridge
sites owing to floods. The line will, it is hoped,
be open to traffic during the present year. From
the terminus at Prestea a siding half a mile long
is to be built to the Prestea Block A Company's
mines. A Ij.L.nch two miles long, and taking off
from the main branch at a point near the Ancobra
River, is also being constructed to Broomassie.
It is to be hoped that the whole of these works will
be completed during 1910.

The construction of a railway from Accra to
M. ngoase, forty miles for the purpose of

developing the agricultural v cMth of the colony,
especially the cocoa industry, was begun in January
this year. The country through which this line
passes is much easier than that traversed by the
Tarkwa- Prestea Railway, and the rate of progress
has therefore been better. It is anticipated that the
line will be opened to traffic befor • this record is
issued from the press. A point of j oterest as regards
this railway is the fact that it is ihe first railway in
British West Africa to be placed in the hands of a
public contractor. Five tenders were \:ceived for
the work, and Mr. W. M. Murphy, 01 Dublin,
secured the order. The experiment is being

356 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

watched with interest. An extension of the line
onwards from Mangoase has since been proposed,
and the survey for it is now in progress.

SIERRA LEOME

Since the railway to Baiima (227 miles) was
completed towards the end of 1905, the colonial
Government has directed its attention to the making
of roads and to the construction of two light branch
or feeder lines connecting with the railway to extend
the trading area influenced by the line. Of the two
feeder lines, one runs from Baiima for a distance of
seven miles and thirty chains to Pendembu, a place
within a few miles of the Liberian frontier, and the
other runs in a north-easterly direction from Boia
(sixty-four miles from Freetown on the main line)
to Mafokya, a distance of twenty-one miles and
fifty chains. A proposal to .tend the latter line to
the palm country round Yonnibannah (thirty-eight
miles) and onwards has not yet been sanctioned.

These feeder lines have been built upon the
general standard of the railway, having the same
gradients and curves, and they are now being
worked as part of the open line system. The only
important difterence between them and the main
line is the absence ot telegraphs and stations.

The General Manager's report on the railway for
1908 shows that compared with the previous year
there was an increase in passengers on the Mountain
Section of the railway of twenty-seven per cent.
This section, however, continues to be worked at a
loss.

The African railways have been constructed

TRANSPORT 257

through dense tropical forest, in a deadly climate,
which, in spite of every precaution in accordance
with improved principles of malaria prevention, caused
constant change in the staff of every grade ; amid
difficulties arising from heavy rainfall, from scarcity
and inferiority of labour, from conditions under
which cargo had to be landed, as on the Gold
Coast, by surf boats and lighters on an open road-
stead ; while native revolts and military operations
have interrupted and delayed the work.*

A picturesque narrative of dangers and delays
caused by the wild fauna of Africa is given, in his
popular work The Man-eaters of Tsavo, by Lt-Col.
Patterson, an engineer engaged in the construction
of the Uganda railway.

This chapter on problems of transport in the
administration of our Crown colonies would be
incomplete without some account of my experience
of the extent to which transport by animal draught
is affected by diseases of tropical origin. Allusion
has already been made to an outbreak of the
epizooty, known as surra in Mauritius in the year
1902. In order to preserve in this work a record
of one of the gravest calamities that has ever affected
agriculture in a tropical colony, and the energy by
which it was met, I give extracts from official
documents.

On May 12th, 1903, in opening the annual
session of the Council of Government, I gave an

'A Ulue Book published in 190,, on the construction of African
railways, contains an instructive memorandum on alternative systems
of railway construction in undeveloped countries. It illustrates that
the importance of transport facilities in the development of Crown
cdonies and places is fully recognis<;d by the Colonial Office.
II R

258 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

account of what had been done up to that date,
and what was in contemplation.

"The months that have elapsed since the Pro-
rogation of Council in December last have been
months of labour and anxiety. . . . The work of
transporting the canes and carrying the sugar has
to be undertaken in the face of difficulties unprece-
dented in the history of the colony. Experience
has perfected, on all the greater estates, economical
and well organised arrangements for transport by
animal draught, while the requirements of the small
planters have been met, and the general business of
carters and carriers has been carried on by the
independent but intelligent industry of a laborious
class of men drawn chiefly from the Indian popula-
tion. Within a year the disease known as surrm
everywhere dislocated, and in some districts destroyed
the established system. The consequences have
affected not only the sugar industry and business
more or less directly connected with it, but every
department of public and private activity. In
particular, serious difficulties have obstructed the
work of sanitation both in urban and rural districts.
The imperative task of creating a new system of
transport in substitution for the established methods
was all the more formidable inasmuch as, at the
moment when the disease appeared, the financial
prosperity of the sugar industry had been checked
by other causes. In these circumstances the havoc
caused by the disease produced a twofold difficulty ;
funds were urgently required for the cultivation

the land for the incoming crqp, and not less
urgently required for the establidiment of means

TRANSPORT 359

of transport, without which the crop could not be
realised.

"So far as concerns the cultivation of the land
during the critical period extending from December
I St to March 31st the peril was averted by the
operation of the Sugar Estates (Advances in Aid)
ordinance, which provided for advances to estates
and BailUurs de fonds out of a loan of ;^aoo,ooo
raised in England. There can be no doubt that
the ready sanction given by the Secretary of State
to this measure, and the prompt and indefatigable
energy of the Loan Board Commissioners in respect
of the distribution of the loan, saved the colony
from imminent disaster. Nor was the action of
the Government free from anxiety and difficulty,
for the needs to be met were most pressing, and
at the outset we were faced by the problem of how
•o make the proceeds of the loan raised in London
immediately available in Mauritius. This difficulty
had not presented itself in connection with the ad-
•'ances made to planters in 1898, because at that
time specie payments were suspended and advances
w«re made in currency notes. I was naturally averse
10 resorting to so extreme a measure as the temporary
suspension of specie payments, and fortunately it was
not necesi.ary. The uninterrupted cultivation of the
crop during the critical period of the hurricane season
was thus secured. In the meantime, the substitution
of mechanical for animal transport had been vigor-
ously undertaken, and the amount of advances in
aid of this work authorised by ordinance No. 34,
of 1902, was increased from ^70,000 to ;^"2 2o,cxjo.
The advances approved under this ordinance

a6o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

provide for the purchase of about 450 kilometres of
superficial tramway lines ; about forty kilometres of
aerial wire tramways, and twenty-five automobiles.
In addition the Government has assisted estates by
the construction of seventeen sidings of a total
length of about 14,000 feet in accordance with the
terms of a resolution passed by the Council on
June 17th, 1902. The special expenditure incurred
during the year in order to meet the increased
traffic diverted to the railway has been very large;
it includes :

Four locomotives .... Rs. 186,000.00
Enlargements to goods sheds • • - 13,000.00

Eight miles rails 225,000.00

Fifty open wagons for canes ... 157,500.00
Traffic overtime from September to January,

1903 >6,9>3-39
Locomotive overtime from September to

January, 1903 13,961.08

Crop expenses 14,480.00

" It is hoped that what has been done will go far to
meet the requirements of the larger estates, and will
enable them to assist to a considerable extent the
small planters having contiguous holdings, but in
order to meet the wants of areas occupied by small
planters not in proximity to the mills of the larger
estates it has been decided to proceed at once with
the construction of the projected Long Mountain
Railway at an estimated cost of about 1 10,000 rupees,
as well as with the construction of a light railway
line in the district of Savanne designed to provide
for the needs of a large area of land occupied by
small planters. The estimated approximate cost of
this light line is 60,000 rupees. The cost of these

TRANSPORT

lines it is proposed to charge partly to the revenue

of the current year and partly to the revenue of
1 903- 1 904. I have asked the Secretary of State to
sanction a loan for the construction of the pro-
jected Black River Line, and further schemes of
railway extension will be submitted to you.

" The foreg^oing measures provide chiefly for the
wants of the rural districts. For the transport of
grain and other merchandise from the quays to the
railway station in Port Louis, three sidings are being
constructed. It has been necessary also to make
special provision for additional quay accommodation
for the landing of tramway materials, and this has
been effected by the removal of the workshops and
other buildings at Caudan Basin to Plaine Lauzan,
where all the railway works are now concentrated.
Three additional sidings have also been constructed
for the sanitary requirements of Port Louis, and
another is being constructed for the same purpose."

Four months later, on October 27th, in an ad-
dress taking leave of the Council, I was able to
declare that the plan of campaign thus sketched
had been carried out successfully;

"As regards the estates, their equipment with
the means of mechanical transport has been generally
completed in time for the needs of the current crop
by an energy and industry beyond praise. From
the Railway, Customs, and other Departments con-
cerned, I believe the estates have received every
possible assistance. As regards the extension of
railway facilities, the Long Mountain and Savanne
lines have been opened for traffic, the original trace
of the Savanne project having been supplemented

362 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

so at to furnish tran^rt for a much larger area of
cane cultivation. The Black River line has been
af^roved, and its construction is already far ad-
vanced. A large railway expenditure in excess of
that indicated has been found necessary to meet the
increased and increasing traffic

• • ' • *

" Tne actual amount of the advances to estates
under the Mechanical Transport ordinance has
fallen short of the estimate and of the sum authorised.
The sum required to be raised by loan amounts to
a little over 185,000. But this sum represents
only a fraction of the expenditure borne by the
estates ; the advances having been limited to the
cost of materials landed in Port Louis. The inland
co8t of transport and of construction of the tramways
has been found by the estates from other sources.

" Such, in brief, are the measures undertaken to
meet probably the most serious calamity that has
ever befallen the sugar industry in this colony."

I have only to add that in the result the estimates
of expenditure were in some cases largely exceeded.
In the circumstances that is hardly to be wondered
at, though every endeavour was made to control it by
the publication of fortnightly abstracts of expenditure.
The increased expenditure added pro tanto to the
Inirden of the conseqi»nces of the epizooty.

CHAPTER XXIII

METEOROLOGY

Among the problems of transport in tropical seas
not the least important is the problem of the
security of navigation from cyclonic disturbances.
The position of the island of Mauritius on the track
of navigation between South Africa and Asia has
enforced the importance of the colony as a station
for the study of the law of storms. Telegraphic
cables have made it one of the most important units
of the imperial systems of meteorological, magnetic,
and seismometric observations. Some account of
the Mauritius observatory therefore finds an appro-
priate place in association with the problems of
transport and communication.

The history of the observatory up to the
year 1896 is in reality the history of one man,
Charles Meldrum, with whom the science of
meteorology in Mauritius will ever be associated
as the principal founder of the Meteorological
Society and the Royal Alfred observatory. Occa-
sional efforts had been made previously to establish
a permanent observatory, but w thout success. Mr.
Lislet Geoffroy conducted an important series of

264 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

magnetical and meteorological observations between
the years 1786 and 1792, a r^um^ of which is given
by M. Louis de Fr^cinet in his Voyage autour du
Monde (Paris, 1827), and in 1830 Colonel Lloyd,
then surveyor-general, established the first Govern-
ment observatory. He erected a small building
in Port Louis at the public expense, and fitted
it up with a transit and magnetical and meteoro*
logical instruments. Observations were commenced
on January ist, 1832, and were continued with
occasional breaks until Colonel Lloyd proceeded
to England on leave of absence in October, 1837 ;
on his departure from the colony in 1849 they
ceased altogether.

On August 1st, 1 85 1, the Mtteorological Society
of Mauritius was formed, at a meeting convened
by Dr. Meldrum, then Professor of Mathematics
at the Royal College. The first President was the
Honourable C. J. Bayley, Colonial Secretary, with
Lieut.-Colonel Robe, C.B., and Mr. F. Lienard as
Vice-Presidents, and Messrs. Meldrum and Bousquet,
Secretaries.

It is to this Society that the present Royal Alfred
observatory owes its origin, after a long and

determined fight for twenty-nine years against
difficulties which would have daunted most societies,
or, in this case, secretaries.

The Society's troubles commenced at the very
outset Of the two secretaries, one was a man
possessing not only a concise knowledge of the
science, then in its infancy, and of the means of
filling these requirements, but also an extraordinary
perseverance and tenacity of purpose, and gifted

METEOROLOGY 265

moreover with reasoning and deductive faculties
of a high order. The other was a meteorologist
of unbounded enthusiasm, but unfortunately opposed
to the method of investigation proposed by the
Society, which was to collect and plot on a chart
as many synchronous observations as possible,
spread over the whole of the South Indian
Ocean, and from them to study the circulation
of the atmosphere, the distribution of pressure,
temperature, etc.

On the formation of the Society the first difficulty
that presented itself was in procuring an adequate
equipment of instruments. The Admiralty at this
time had expressed a cordial sympathy with the
objects of the Society, and it was hoped that
this sympathy would materialise in the form of
a grant of the necessary instruments. That hope
having been disappointed, the Society had to
depend on its own resources. The instruments
were ordered and received, but the Society had
no building in which they could be placed. There
followed seven years of controversy between the
Society and the colonial Government before the
instruments could be installed for use. In 1855,
after an appeal by the Society to the Secretary
of State, it was announced that "a despatch had
been received which removed every obstacle and
placed the Society in a far more advantageous
position than it had ever yet enjoyed " ; the Home
Government having been pleased to place buildings
at the entire disposal of the Society rent free, and
the Admiralty having further voted an annual
subsidy of ^50, to enable it to publish the results of

366 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

its labours. It was now generally expected that the
instruments would at length be turned to account,
and the buildings made subservient to the purposes

for which they were granted. In the meantime,
however, Dr. Meldrum h.u\ c .is 1 to have any
official connection with the Society, and it was
not till he was re-elected secretary in September,
1859, that the Society's instruments were properly
installed and systematic observations commenced.

During this time observations were taken in
the town of Port Louis, which is encircled by a
range of mountains, so that the horizon was
limited and the true direction of the wind could
seldom be known. For ten years the question
of a site for a new observatory was discussed,
and eventually referred to a committee. The com-
mittee decided on a site on Crown Lands in the
district of Pamplemousses, as most nearly fulfilling
the necessary conditions for an observatory. It was
on a plain at a considerable distance from any
mountain range, and so presumably free from local
magnetic attraction ; it had a good horizon to north-
ward and a view to within three or four degrees of
the horizon to southward. Moreover at the time the
district was extremely healthy. A site having been
selected and ways and means assured, Dr. Meldrum
was authorised to proceed to England to procure
new instruments and obtain plans for a new observa-
tory. He returned to Mauritius in September,
1869, to find that in the meantime the district of
Pamplemousses had become very unhealthy under
the influences of the terrible epidemic of malarial
fever. It now seemed possible that the object of

METEOROLOGY a67

his life for twenty yean, the erection of a per-
nument nu^etic and meteorological observatory,
might be indefinitely postponed. But the fever did
not deter him from doing all in his power to secure
the erection of the new observatory. Advantage
was taken of the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh to
Mauritius to hasten operations, and on May 30th.
1870, the foundation-stone of the Royal Alfred
observatory was laid by his Royal Highness.
As a member of the Council of the Society I was
present on this occasion, little thmking that thirty
years later I was to have the honour as Governor
of Mauritius to conduct her Majesty Queen Mary
over the observatory. It was not, however, till
November, 1874, that everything was ready for the
installation of the instruments and the commence-
ment of a series of observations which have con-
tinued with gradual amplification to the present
day.

Dr. Meldrum's work in Mauritius had two main
results in determining the law of storms. By study
of the logs of ships traversing the Indian Ocean,
and plotting on a chart the direction and force of
the wind, the barometer reading, the temperature,
the state of the sea-currents experienced by every
vessel, as nearly as possible at Mauritius noon, on
successive days, he obtained a series of weather
charts, showing the horizontal circulation of the
atmosphere with the barometric and temperature
gradients from day to day. From these charts he
discovered, and was one of the first to announce that
the wind in cyclones blows spirally towards the
centre and not in circles round it as was previously

MKROCOrV RESOWTION TEST CHART
(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 3)

J /APPLIED Inc

ili. i

268 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

supposed. The importance to navigation of this
discovery may be illustrated by a single instance.
On February 25th, i860, in anticipation of a cyclone
forty-one vessels left the roadsteads of the island of
Reunion with sailing directions based on the then
accepted theory that the wind within the area of a
cyclone blows in circles round the centre. Of these
vessels ten suffered only slight damage, three dis-
appeared and were never heard of, three were
wrecked on the coast of Madagascar, the remaining
twenty-five sustained damage to the amount of
about 1 50,000.

What Dr. Meldrum discovered by patient col-
lection and discussion of facts has now been
demonstrated theoretically as the only possible solu-
tion of the problem of the direction of the wind
within, the area of the cyclone. The other main
result obtained from his study of the same charts
was to establish the law of direction of cyclones in
their path across the Indian Ocean. It was Dr.
Meldrum's ambition to publish daily synoptic weather
charts of the South Indian Ocean for a whole year,
and the year 1861 was selected as particularly
interesting on account of the frequency of cyclones.
The work, however, proved laborious and costly,
and daily synoptic charts for the first three months
of the year only were published. These charts were
followed by a storm atlas, showing the tr -xks of all
known cyclones in the Indian Ocean from 1848 to
1885, published by the British Meteorological Society
from Dr. Meldrum's studies. These works are still
standard" of reference, and the storm atlas is
brought up to date by the same office on informa-

METEOROLOGY 269

tion supplied by Mr. Claxton, the present Director of

the observatory.

What the law of storms means to mariners in the
Indian Ocean will be easily understoofi ')y reference
to the accompanying chart prepared by Dr. Mel-
drum in 1893 showing the tracks of cyclones during
a period of fifteen months. The curved arrows
indicate the direction of the winds within the area
of the cyclones. In the Southern hemisphere they
whirl in the same direction as the motion of the
hands of a watch, with a constant tendency to curve
inwards towards the centre of lowest atmospheric
pressure. In the Northern hemisphere they curve
in a contrary direction.

On the results of Dr. Meldrum's studies in this
department of work, on his synoptic charts, his
storm atlas, his theory of the law of storms, and
his rules for avoiding the tracks of cyclones are
based the sailing directions issued to all mariners for
the navigation of the Indian Ocean.

Dr. Meldrum next turned his attention to the
subject of rainfall and cyclone periodicity, and was
among the first to establish a connection between
rainfall, cyclones, and solar activity. He subjected
a large mass of observations on the rainfall from all
parts of the world to a critical examination, and came
to the conclusion that, in spite of occasional contradic-
tions, the amount of rainfall varied with the solar
activity, being greatest near the epoch of maximum
sunspots, and least near the epoch of minimum sun-
spots. He found a similar connection between solar
activity and the number and area of cyclones in the
South Indian Ocean.

270 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

His researches on this subject have been used as
a basis for other investigators, and recently Sir
Norman Lockyer and his son, Dr. W. J. S. Lockyer,
have treated the subject in a somewhat different and
more detailed manner by using, instead of the varia-
tion in the number of sunspots, the variation in the
relative quantities of different gases present in the
sun, which shows a very striking agreement with the
variation of rainfall from year to year.

Another branch of Dr. Meldrum's work was a
study of the relation of rainfall to malaria. His
theory that the prevalence of malarial fever varies
with rainfall still holds good, the area of stagnant
water and the multiplication of mosquitoes being
largely affected by the amount of rainfall. His
studies on this subject were followed by an im-
portant wprk on the relation of weather to mortality,
and the climatic effects of forestation. The study
of seasonal forecasts connected with this branch of
the observatory's work has recently led to interest-
ing discussions. From a comparison of the rainfall
at Durban with that at Mauritius it was shown that
well-marked winter droughts at the former station
were followed by summer droughts at the latter, and
that prolonged droughts at Natal were followed or
accompanied by prolonged droughts at Mauritius,
though there appears to be no such relationship
as regards floods. Observations in this branch of
work have now determined all the factors of the
climate and are available for international use.

But valuable as was all this work, ocean tele-
graphy gave it a new significance. Cable communi-
cation with Europe was first established in 1893,

METEOROLOGY 271

vid Seychelles, Zanzibar, and Aden, but it was the
opening of the Mauritius section of the Cape-
Australian cable vid Rodrigues and Cocos in 1902
that made the observatory one of the most impor-
tant units in the imperial system of meteorological,
magnetical, and seismometric observation3. Both
Rodrigues and Cocos are exceptionally situated
for observing the track of cyclones, and the Com-
pany readily consented to transmit ^ree weather
cablegrams to Mauritius, on the understanding that
they should not exceed four words. Both stations
were siipplic^ with the necessary equipment of
barographs, anemometers, hygrometers, thermome-
ters, and rain-gauges. The first telegrams were
sent on January ist, 1902, by means of a code
which in four words gave the atmospheric pres-
sure, the air and evaporation temperatures, the
state of the weather and the amount of cloud
at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. together with the daily run
of the wind, maximum and minimum temperature,
rainfall, and swell of the sea. Since 1905 the
observations at Rodrigues and Cocos have been
supplemented by a station similarly equipped at
Diego Garcia, an island in the Chagos Archipelago
near which many of the cyclones in the Indian Ocean
originate. The system thus established is com-
pleted by observations taken at Seychelles, in the
island of Reunion, and at coast stations in Mada-
gascar. Coincidently with the establishment of this
system, the observatory has been supplied with
perfect equipments for solar, magnetic, and seismo-
metric observations. The present scope of the work
may be summed up as follows.

272 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

The magnetical and meteorological records are
measured at each hour of Mauritius civil time, and
the records of the seismograph at each hour of
Greenwich civil time.

The direction of motion of the various types of
cloud are observed as often as possible, with a
Marvin nephoscope.

The meteorological observations made at Sey-
chelles, Rodrigues, Cocos, and at various stations in
the island, are all systematically reduced.

Observations on the rainfall are received from about
sixty stations in different parts of the island, and the
results tabulated. Storm warnings are issued, when
necessary, in continuous photographic records, show-
ing the variation of magnetic declinatio. horizontal
force and vertical force, barometric pre. lure, tem-
perature of the air, and of evaporation ; also
automatic records of the direction and velocity of
the wind, and of the amount of rain are ob-
tained with instruments of the Kew pattern. Since
November, 1902, automatic records of the pressure
the wind have been obtained with a pressure
I'ibe anemometer.

Meteorological bulletins are prepared daily for
publication in the local press, and abstracts of the
principal results for each month are forwarded to
different parts of the world. From May to Septem-
ber code-telegrams giving a r^sum^ of the weather
during the week are despatched every Saturday
to the Director-General of Indian observatories in
connection with the monsoon predictions. Similar
telegrams are despatched monthly to the Director-
General of the Egyptian Survey Department. It

METEOROLOGY 273

only remains for a system of wireless telegraphy, for
communication with ships at sea, to be established
to complete the value of the observatory for
security of navigation.

Photographs of the sun ar? taken daily and the
duration of bright sunshine registered. A print
from the negatives of all sun photographs taken
is forwarded to London to the secretary of the
Solar Physics Committee. When it was found
that a daily photograph of the sun at Greenwich
was impossible, the observatories at Mauritius and
Dehra Dhun were requested to co-operate by
taking photographs of the sun daily when the
weather permitted, and thus fill up the numerous
gaps on the Greenwich series. This work has
continued without interruption for over thirty
years.

Absolute values of magnetic declination and hori-
zontal force are determined as a rule four times a
month, and of dip eight times a month. The
observatory is at present co-operating with the
International Committee on Magnetic Observations
in the production of a quarterly return showing the
magnetic state of the earth on every day of the
year. It is worth recording that much laborious
service in connection with the magnetic work of
the Discovery on the South Polar Expedition was
undertaken without extra cost to government.

Phot(^raphic records of earth movements are

obtained with a Milne seismograph, and Mauritius

is co-operating with other stations in obtaining

continuous records of the seismic condition of

the earth, and incidentally is collecting valuable
n s

274 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

information concerning the phenomenon of diurnal
and secular changes in the vertical.

In its latest service to commerce the observatory
has entered on an unexpected area of activity in
furnishing the means by which insurance on ??ugar
crops and mills can be effected on a satisfactory
basis. The observatory records have determined the
relative effects of cyclones, rainfall, and temperature
cm the sugar crop, and have g^iven a numerical value
to each. It appears that popular opinion has con-
siderably over-rated the first and under-rated the last
factor. The figures now established furnish the only
proper basis of calculation on which insurance com-
panies can determine their premiums within very
narrow limits.

But in the last resort all the interests illustrated
are subsidiary to the vital interest of defence. The
problem of colonial defence will be dealt with in
another chapter. It must suffice here to point out
that all recent schemes are based on the principle
of concentrating imperial forces at strategic bases.
In the event of a dangerous local disturbance,
or of foreign invasion, it is for the colonies to
apply for aid from the nearest naval or military
station, and to depend on their own police or terri-
torial force during the period that must elapse before
the application can be complied with. The success
of the system obviously depends on adequate means
of communication by ocean telegraphy.

CHAPTER XXIV

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS

The first year of the reign of Queen Victoria
witnessed the commencement of a popular movement
towards a goal which was only reached in the year
of the Diamond Jubilee of her Majesty's reign. In

the year 1837 Sir Rowland Hill, in a pamphlet
entitled Post Office Reforms, advocated a low, uni-
form rate of postage between all places in the British
Isles irrespective of distance, and after a vigorous
contest in Parliament the present uniform penny
postage rate ca into force on January loth, 1840.
In the course of the contest Da ' ' O'Connell,
urgin^ the cla 1 of Ir ind, said tc Lord Melbourne:
" Consider, my Lori chat a letter to Ireland and the
ans-ver back would co« thousands upon thousands of
my poor and affectMHUe cot tr) men more than a
fifth of their week ^ and let any gentleman
here ask himself wi u d be the influence upc
nis correspondence ii, c\ ery letter he wrote, he -
his family had to pay o « fifth of a week's income.'*
The same sentiment nd expression many years
later, when colonisation A associated the homes of
the British Isles with c ^less omes of kindred

276 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

origin in North America, South vfrica, and Australia,
as well as in a multitude of intervening islands and
settlen\ents. Mr. Henniker Heaton has reminded
us that Mn, Chisholm, "the Emigrantt' Friend."
whose name, unfamiliar as it may be to English
readers- is a revered memory in Australia, related
at a public meeting a story illi strating the working
of the oW system, under which part of the postage
on letters from the colonies had to be paid by the
recifHents in this country :

" A clergyman." she said, "once told me th:it the
postage was aoout two shillings ; that he had fre-
quently paid the postage for the poor people, but
that he was really too poor to do so any longer. A
letter came ; it was sent back to the colony. In the
meantime, the poor woman for whom that letter was
sent died in the workhouse ; and in tlie letter was
inclosed £2$ for her support"

In giving some account of the larger policy of
extending the penny postage system of *he British
Isles to the British Empire, I must ai e outset
express my obligations to Mr. Heimiker ijaton for
the assistance he has given me.

It is interesting to n^i^e that "ir Rowland Hill
so early as 1837 did rot overlook the largci
needs of the colonies. In his pamphlet on Pos^
Office Reforms, he wrote : " Let all foreign letters,
on leaving this country, be subjected to a double
rate of English postage, but let foreign letters
received into this country be delivered free ; the
postage claimed by the foreign Government being
in each case paid by the foreign resident. . . .
As this arrangement would be an exception to

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 377

the penny rate it would be well to require that
all letters addressed to foreign countries should
be enclosed In the stamped covers already na id.
• . . If, 34 I would recommeiid, the rates of
postage already proposed for inland letters were
extended to foreign letters, the prices of covers for
foreign letters would be exactly double those for
inland letters. . . . Colonial letters should be
placed under the same regulations as foreign
letters."

Rowland Hill therefore proposea a twopenny
rate for foreign and colonial letters, on the ground
that it would probably be impossible in all cases to
provide for the Englis'- postage on letters received
from foreign countries being paid in advance. In
other words, he was the original author of the
suggestion of a twopenny foreign and colonial rate,
revived, as we shall see, more than fifty years later
by Sir James Fergusson and the Duke of Norfo'k.

In a letter to Sir Rowland Hill written on Junt-
7th, 1847, Elihu Burritt, known as the Learn*. J
Blacksmith, recommended threepenny postage to
thj colonies: " So that an Irish or English emigrant,
li 'ing at the head of navigation on the Missouri
river, might, with three penny stamps, pay his letter
through to his friends in Kilkenny or Bucks ; that
is, one American penny stamp to pay through to
Boston, one English stamp to pay through thence
to Liverpool, and another for the inland postage
in England or Ireland."

In 185 1 an "Association to promote a cheap
and uniform system of Colonial and Internationjil
postage" was formed, including Elihu Burritt,

278 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Mr. C. W. Dilke, Mr. Milner Gibson, Sir John
Lubbock, Sir S. Northcote, Sir J. Pakington,
Dr. Lyon Playfair, and Mr. C. P. Villiers. On
February 8th, 1853, a meeting of the Association
was held at the Society of Arts, when an extension
of the inland penny rate to the colonies was
advocated, but with this material limitation, that
the penny was only to cover delivery of corre-
spondence at the colonial port, leaving each letter
still liable to the colonial rate. At that time
the postage on a letter to the colonies varied from
8d. to IS. lod., the average being about is.

On March 4th, 1853, the Postmaster-General
received a deputation which urged the extension of
the penny rate, as above defined, to the colonies.
It is not a litde remarkable, though quite con-
sonant .with our experience of apparent incon-
sistencies in the lives of many benefactors of the
Empire, that in 1853 Sir Rowland Hill denounced
this proposal, and, in order to defeat it, suggested
and succeeded in securing the adoption of a
sixpenny rate.

In 1864, at the suggestion of the Postmaster-
General, an attempt was made by the Government
to raise the sixpenny rate to one shilling. A one-
shilling rate was imposed in the case of letters for
South Africa and the West Indies, and it was then
instituted for Australian correspondence ; the Aus-
tralian Governments being invited to make a similar
advance in postage to England. The reply of
Australia was a united protest, so energetic and
unanswerable that the proposition was dropped.
Next came a determined effort by Mr. William

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 279

Hastings, of Huddersfield, to take up the work
where it had fallen from the paralysed hand of the
Association, of which he had been an agent. In his
pamphlet, published in 1866, he advocated universal
penny postage. Unfortunately, his arguments were
not always conclusive. For instance, he compared
the cost of conveying and delivering a pound of
cotton and a pound of letters, forgetting that the
former is accomplished in one, and the latter only in
thirty-two transactions. A more serious blemish
was the proposal that to secure the penny rate a
letter should be posted two days earlier than usual.
His suggestions were "read with much interest"
by Mr. Gladstone, and then transmitted to the
Postmaster-General, who made short work of the
hapless pamphleteer.

In the year 1885 an incident occurred that
attracted little notice at the time but was to
exercise a phenomenal influence on the penny
postage scheme. Mr. Henniker Heaton was
elected M.P. for Canterbury.

In 1885 the postage on a letter weighing half-
an-ounce was, from this country to Canada 2jd.,
to the Cape or the West Indies 4d., to India
and the Far East 5d., and to Australasia 6d.
Severely as these rates pressed on the poor by
repressing correspondence, they were even more
objectionable as an incubus on the trade by which
all, rich and poor, live. For at this moment our
European rivals were straining every nerve to
plant commercial agencies and settlements in every
rich and populous, but non-manufacturing country,
to cut off and divert the stream of orders for our

a8o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

goods, and even to oust us from the colonial market

Germany had just seized upon New Guinea and the
"Bismarck" Arciiipelago ; the scramble for Africa
was beginning ; that for China was about to begin
with the definite cession of Tonquin to France.
In these circumstances it still astonishes one to
remember that while our rivals, the Continental
merchants, enjoyed a uniform postal rate of 2^d. to
every part of the British Empire, our merchants
had, except to Canada, to pay 4d., sd., or 6d. The
anomaly was intensified by the fact that the foreign
letters were carried in British mail-steamships,
heavily sudsidised by British taxpayers for the
promotion of British commerce I

On October 15th, 1885, Lord Rosebery, in a
speech at Paisley, referred to the growth of cor-
respondence between England and the colonies :

" Anybody who has to open the letter-bag of an
estate, as I have to do very often, will notice the
enormous number of letters with the colonial stamp
and postmark coming to the families living on the
estate ; and it is perfectly futile for people to believe,
whether Liberals or Conservatives, that with these
letters passing and repassing between members of
the same family in England and the colonies, the
members of the family who live in England could
afford to be indifferent to the colonies."

Mr. Henniker Heaton was not long in opening a
campaign in Parliament in favour of a universal
penny postage system. On March 30th, 1886,
he moved, "That in the opinion of this House,
the time has arrived for the Government of this
country to open negotiations with other Govern-

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 281

ments, with a view to the establishment of a

universal international penny postage system."

A short extract from his speech on that occasion
must suffice :

" Doubtless objections will be raised to the pro-
posal on the score of its boldness, its innovating
nature, its ineptitude, and so on. I make this
appeal, however, not merely to the cold, calculating
economists on the Treasury Bench, but to the reore-
sentatives of the hundreds of millions who own our
gracious Sovereign's sway. I ask them to make
intercourse between their sundered coasts as easy as
speech, as free as air. I entreat them to tolerate no
longer this unworthy profit on the expression of
their fraternal sympathies, and on the natural de-
velopment of their trade. And I foretell that this
reform, when it is ours — as it soon must be — will
confer a widespread benefit on commerce, it will
bring new happiness into myriads of English homes
here, in this country, and scattered over pathless
prairies in America, over trackless plains in Aus-
tralia, and along equatorial streams; and it will
form the last and not the least tenacious of the ties
that bind our colonies to their beloved mother
country."

The House generally was compelled to refuse
support to the proposal, in face of the bold and
ingenious objections raised by the Government,
inspired by the Post Office. The main official
point was stated by Mr. Fowler, Secretary to the
Treasury, namely, that the country was already
losing ;^365,ooo a year in subsidies to the mail-
packet services. This objection was the same as

382 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

that put by the Postmaster-General in 1866 that

*' As the rates are not self-suppc rting in many cases,
they are too low," and it was first raised by Rowland
Hill himself.

From that time, Mr Henniker Heaton, supported
by a unanimous chorus of encouragement from the

Press, devoted his time, energies, and fortune to the
work of securing the boon of penny postage for
the Empire, and eventually for humanity at large.
In a speech delivered at Sydney in August, 1887,
he said :

"We all, who may be regarded as promoters,
claim no credit for originality. . . . We only ask
that an axiom of political economy shall be faith-
fully followed out, and that a principle of that noble
science shall have fair play. ... A principle must
be true or false. If it be true that a reduction of
postage doubled the commerce, multiplied the
wealth, and intensified the happiness of the people
of the United Kingdom, surely it will have a similar
effect with an extended application. Two and two
make four all the world over, scientific laws are the
same in both hem'soheres, and there is no doctrine
of physical or mathematical science which is true in
the temperate zone but false in the tropical. Lati-
tude and longitude have nothing whatever to do
with the question. It seems incredible that the
learned, far-seeing statesmen of Europe should
have to be told these things by a man from the
Antipodes."

A few months later he read a paper before the
Royal Colonial Institute on The Postal ami Tele-
graphic Communication of the Empire, which made

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 283

him known to a larger public in the United King-
dom as the advocate of Imperial penny postage
and cheap cable ;^rams. The determined opposition
offered to the scheme by an official representative of
the Post Office and others was summed up by
Mr. Pearson Hill, a son of Sir Rowland Hill:

" Mr. Henniker Heaton proposes that the postage
should be reduced to a uniform rate of one penny
between this country and the colonies, and tries to
strengthen his argument by instancing the success
which attended the introduction of the uniform
penny postage system into this country forty-eight
years ago. Now I think Mr. Henniker Heaton
fails to understand — probably he has never heard
the reason — why a uniform pen: y postage was
practicaHe in this country, but is impracticable
beyond."

I remember that at this time a mutual friend said:
" Henniker Heaton seems to be running his head
against a stone wall ; but I know him, and if you
multiply his matter by his energy you will find the
result to be a very considera?>le momentum."

In response to popular opinion the Post Office
persuaded the Treasury to modify the sixpenny rate
to Australia, by instituting a fourpenny all-sea post,
avoiding for the letters thus sent the cost of trans-
continental carriage between Calais and Brindisi.
Thi? "sop to Cerberus" had the natural effect of
increasing the general demand for substantial con-
cessions. It was easy to show that our clippers
frequently beat the transit times of the Calais
mails, while the contrast between the fourpence
I»id for a letter and the tiny fraction of a penny

284 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

paid for transporting every half>ounce of valuable
goods to Australia was brought into relief In
1890 Mr. (afterwards Lord) Goschen, after review-
ing what had been said for the penny rate,
proposed in the Budget to institute a uniform
2^. rate to all parts of the Empire. This
measure, it was fondly hoped at the Post Office,
would " choke off" the insatiable member for Canter-
bury. Public opinion, as voiced by the Press, only
halted for a moment's examination of this red herring
rate, and then burst into full cry a^n. It was
stated by the Chancellor that the reduction to 2^.
would involve a loss of ;^io5,ooc a year. As this
amount was less than half the average annual in-
crease of the Post Office surplus, Mr. Henniker
Heaton, with the sanction of some wealthy friends,
proposed to test the willirgness of the Post Office to
give penny postage a fair trial by offering a con-
ditional guarantee to secure it against loss. The
offer was, of course, declined.

To a further reduction of the colonial rate the
Government opposed two objections. First, that
the terms of the Postal Union Convention debarred
a lower rate than 2^d., the ordinary or general rate
of the Union ; and, secondly, that the colonies were
opposed to any further reduction. The first objection
was upheld by the law officers of the Crown to
whom the question was referred in 1890, but it was
disposed of at the Congress of the Postal Union
which assembled in Vienna in July, 1891, in the
terms of Article 1 5 :

" Quant k I'alin^a 2, un d616gu6 a d6sir6 connaltre
I'opinion de la Commission sur la question de savoir

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 285

si, en vertu des dispositions contenues dans cet
alin^ un pays de I'Union ayant des colonies dans
le ressort de I'Union seratt competent pour fixer,
dans les relations directes aver ces colonies, des
taxes inf<6rieures au tarif normal de I'Union, mais
sup^rieures k son tarif int^rieur.

"Avec I'tissentiment de la Commission, on a
r^pondu affirmativeinent k cette question."

The declaration that the colonies were opposed
to any further reduction was only partially true.
None of the colonies had any objection to the
outward rate of postage from the United Kingdom
being reduced, so long as the reduction did not
impose on them the obligation to adopt the same
rate. The only question at issue was whether the
Imperial Government should reduce the rate of
postage to one penny, leaving it the colonies to
fix their own rates. There followed an angry con-
troversy during which Mr. Henniker Heaton carried
on a conflict with the Postal Authorities in defence
of an imperial penny postage system, in the same
spit:t and with not less determination than Sir
Rowland Hill had carried on his memorable struggle
for an inland penny postage system established in
1840.

Throughout this struggle the argument that a
penny rate was opposed by the colonies was worked
for a great deal more than it was worth. Lord
Rosebery, Si** William Harcourt and others, while
consistently advocating the reform, were no less
consistently deterred from giving it a practical
measure of support by the confident statement that
the colonies were opposed to it. In 1891 the

286 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Imperial Federation League undertook to pro-
mote the reform, and advocated it in many ways.
But their propaganda was arrested in February,
1893, when the Postmaster-General, Mr. Arnold
Morley, received a deputation of the League, and
assured them that the colonies were opposed to the
scheme and that we could not force it upon them.

Nevertheless, the movement was gathering
strength, and in March, 1894, Mr. Henniker Heaton
was encouraged by a letter from Lord Knollys,
expressing the interest taken in it by the Prince
of Wales, his late Majesty, King Edward the
Seventh.

" Marlborough House,
Pall Mall, S.W., March 7*, 1894.

" Dear .Mr Henniker Heaton,

" I must begin by asking you to be so
good as to forgive the accidental delay which has
taken place in replying to you.

" I showed your letter to the Prince of Wales,
who desires me to say that he always, and
whenever he has had an opportunity, advocated in
private the adoption of the Imperial Penny Postage
system, and that he certainly shall not discontinue
doing so now.

"The time will perhaps come when he will be
able to take up a more open and decided line on
the subject than he has hitherto felt that it would
be proper for him to adopt.

*' Believe me,

" Yours truly,

" Francis Knollys."

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 287

In 1895 public opinion was ripe for a change.
The hour bad come and the man. In July, 1895,
Lord Salisbury f( rmed his second government,
and the appointment of Mr. Chamberlain as Colonial
Secretary was announced, the Duke of Norfolk
being Postmaster-General. In February, 1896, Mr.
Henniker Heaton laid before Mr. Chamberlain the
case for imperial penny postage. His opening
words were :

"It is already apparent that you have set before
yourself the task of giving effect, so far as may be
practicable, to that feelfng in favour of closer union
between the mother country and the colonies,
which is growing in intensity all over the Empire."

After a minute examination of the merits of
the proposal, the document referred to the impasse
produced by the hostility of the officials, and
continued :

" But how is the assent of the colonies to be
obtained The established practice is for our
Postmaster-General to address his colonial confreres
in such a case, and of course Sir W. Harcourt and
the House expected that this would be done. From
that day to this, however, the Post Office has re-
fused to stir a finger in the matter. No circular
has been issued, no inquiries have been made, no
notice whatever has been taken of the wishes of
Parliament, the undertaking of the Government,
etc. . . .

"... What we want is some cheap and ready means
of bridging over the chasm of distance between our
people and the millions of their colonial kindred,
of restoring the broken arch in their communications

388 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

and the severed link in their sympathies, of weaving
the innumerable delicate threads of private and

family affection into a mighty strand that shall
bind the Empire together, and resist any strain
from our foes or the Fates. We want it now, while
we are threatened; now while crafty rivals would
replace us, and our wares and our rule ; now while
our far-off kinsmen are showing us in touching
and inspiring fashion their loyalty to the Queen
and their love for the Old Country. Such a
measure as we are discussing would be instantly
understood as Britannia's reply to all this love and
loyalty ; not only in colonial exchanges and market-
places, but wherever a British axe rang in a clearing,
or a British hunter stalked the wilds ; aye, nd in
the closets of European statesmen, too. The time
is opportune; all we want is a Minister who will
seize the opportunity from which our Post Office
has turned away."

This appeal was not thrown away. Next year,
on the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee,
the colonial Premiers were assembled in London,
and met Mr. Chamberlain on June 24th, 1897,
when the English Minister made the following
memorable declaration :

" I should also mention the desire which is widely
felt, and which I share, for an improved postal com-
munication with the colonies. I believe that that
matter rests entirely with the colonies themselves,
and that they have revenue difficulties in the matter
which have hitherto prevented us from coming to
any conclusion. But I confess that I think that
one of the very first things to bind t(^ther the

IMPERIAL COMMUNICi^ TIONS 389

sister nations is to have the rea> lest and the
easiest f)ossibIe communication bttween their

several units, and as far as this country is concerned
I believe we should be quite ready tT make any
sacrifice of revenue that may be requi ed in order
to secure a universal penny post throughout the
E.npire."

The Conference of colonial Premiers was followed

rress of

in the same year by a q
the Postal Union at Washii
the foreign delegates, keen
every reduction of postap
commerce, voted against
rate as one man. The IJ
took advantage of the o
suggestion made originaib
in 1837, and renewed by
1 89 1. They proposed t(
the establishment of an ii
rate. The response ot Cana
was the announcement 'h^t fn n
the Canadian domestic . . *"
correspondence -^ery oart ot v -
British Post Offit protested ^
be done without the consent ct
Empire ; and still hoping to forct its : vopenny rate
on the colonies, it proposed a C nference on the
subject.

This Conference met in London, at th West-
minster Palace Hotel, on June ^Sth, and on July
5th and 12th, 1898. The delegates included the
Duke of Norfolk as Postmaster-General (Chairman),
and an imposing array of Postmasters-General and

II T

inial C

At thi:^ ngress
e to the :t that
4 dr-vek)p British
al I nion I 'nny-
i'ost Oftcp at once
rtuni'v to re\ ' a
y Si Rowland Hill
lait i. Fecgussou m
Colonel Poat Offices
•f'fnny postage
to ''foposal
) !M, 1898,
would e tend to
Empire. The
' '^H- ould not
St of the

990 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

repreaentativet from the colonies and India. It
was the only Conference of Postmasters-General of
the Empire that has ever been held in LonHon.
For the following account of the proceedings I am
indebted to Mr. Henniker Heaton.

At the first meeting the Secretary of the Post
Office set forth the familiar objections of the Depart-
ment to the penny rate ; and the inference naturally
drawn by the colonial lelegates was that the Home
Government had receded from Mr. Chamberlain's
offer. The Australian delegates accordingly an-
nounced that they could not accept any reduction
of postage. This roused the delegates of South
Africa, who offered to support a uniform penny rate ;
and Mr. Mulock, for Canada, instantly closed with
their proposal.

The British officials then put up the Duke of
Norfolk to recommend the delegates, in a fatherly
way, to compromise their conflicting views by
accepting the happy medium of the twopenny
rate. Mr. Mulock, however, formally proposed
penny postage for all parts of thu Empire that
might be disposed to accept it.

At the third meeting the attitude of the Home
Delegates to the question of imperial postage had
undergone a transformation. The Duke of Norfolk
finally announced that the Government gave its
unqualified support to the proposal of imperial
penny postage. And so ended the struggle between
Mr. Chamberlain and the Post Office.

An official summary of the results of the Con-
ference was given in the Annual Report of the Post
Office published in 1899 :

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 391

"At an outcome of propotab addrmed by my
Department to the Postal Administrationa 01 the
various British Colonies and Dependencies for a
twopenny rate of letter postage with the Empire,
and of the preference of the Canadian Government
for a three-halfpenny rate, a Conference of repre-
sentatives of the Imperial Government and India
and the Colonies met in London in June and July,
1898, to consider the question. The result was the
establishment (in most cases on Christmas Day,
i8«^ the rest shortly afterwards) of a uniform
> one penny the half ounce on letters passing

-ween the mother country and British India,
V *nada, Natal, Newfoundland, and Crown Colonies,
and British Protectorates, or between those posses-
sions themselves. Australasia and the Cape Colony
are the only important parts of the Empire which
have not yet adhered to the penny postage scheme. "

I will close this narrative of the evolution of the
imperial penny postage system with a brief reference
to my own experience. The first official interview
I ever had with Mr. Chamberiain was on this subject
in 1895, ^ being Governor of the Windward Islands
at the time. My government included the three
administrative units or governments of Grenada,
St Vincent, and St. Lucia, and I had for some
time desired to include them in a single postal
unit with a penny postage rate. Considering their
geographical and administrative interrelations, and
that each of them could send letters to the United
J'irgdom for one penny, a ajd. rate between each
Mras . ol'iing short of grotesque. After a long
trilateral correspondence between my Government,

292 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the Colonial Office and the Post Office, I had an
interview with Mr. Chamberlain, and this question,
with others on which there had been a tedious
correspondence, was settled in less time than it
takes me to relate the incident.

My experience in Mauritius was more complex.
When a penny postage rate between the United
Kingdom and Mauritius was first proposed, the
scheme did not include postal transit through
France, the most rapid and general postal route.
This raised an initial difficulty, and suggested an
international preference that did not appeal to a
section of the community. There was also a
probable loss of revenue anticipated. Accordingly,
when in August, 1898, Mr. Chamberlain com-
municated to me the resolution of the London
Conference, expressing a hearty trust that my
government would see it? way to participate in the
proposed arrangements, the scheme for some time
met with litde encouragement. Fortunately, there
was a sentiment in the colony superior to all other
influences of origin and tradition — the sentiment of
affection for Queen Victoria. Mr. Chamberlain
would have been glad to have the colony associate
itself with the system on Christmas Day, 1898, but
I thought it prudent to wait and avail myself of this
sentiment. On May and, 1899, I submitted the
scheme to the Council of Government :

" A proposal will be submitted to you in favour of
Mauritius joining the Imperial penny-postage scheme
on the eightieth anniversary of the Queen's birthday,
which nearly coincides with the completion of the
sixty-second year of Her Majesty's reign. India and

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 293

all the Eastern colonies except Mauritius, and all
the West Indian colonies except Jamaica, joined the
system on Christmas Day. Jamaica and Malta will,
I believe, join on the Queen's birthday. The im-
mediate adhesion of the Cape, and the early adhesion
of the Australian colonies are expected and will
complete the whole Imperial system."

The prompt reply of the Council was in these
terms : " On sentimental grounds we are willing to
join the Imperial penny postage scheme on the next
anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's birthday,
although it may not be a success in a financial point
of view." Fortunately, the scheme turned out
to be financially successful.

Mr. Henniker Heaton's advocacy of cheap
postage was from the first associated with the
advocacy of cheap teleg ams, but it was not till 1908
that he definitely advocated a system of penny-a-
word telegrams throughout the Empire. I do not
propose to discuss the possibility of an early realisa-
tion of that proposal, but merely to illustrate the
interests of the Crown colonies in ocean telegraphy
and cheaper telegrams. It has been declared that
" submarine lines are the true nerves of the Empire;
they are the nerves by which all the colonies are
brought into simultaneous action with ourselves."
This is exceptionally true of our island Crown
colonies. Their interests are fourfold ; domestic
interests, interests connected with the transactions
of commerce, interests connected with the security
of navigation, and the paramount interest of defence.

It would be absurd to forget that the consti-
tuent parts are mainly held together by material

294 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

interests, but we all cling to the belief that what has
been called the cash-nexus is not the only relation
that links the King's over-sea dominions to each
other and to the United Kingdom. When King
George and Queen Mary returned from their tour
through the colonies in 1901, his Majesty, then
Prince of Wales, spoke earnestly of the need of a
larger sympathy in the relations of the Empire ; and
I do not know if there is any part of the Empire
in which cheap telegrams may serve as an instru-
ment of sympathy more usefully than in the Crown
colonies. The administration and the development
of these territories is in the hands of a mere handful
of our countrymen who have a special claim to
our sympathy. All of them live in an environment
of tropical diseases, many, as in parts of equatorial
Africa, in an environment of pestilence, battle and
murder, and sudden death. If many of them, to
the eternal honour of British womanhood, are accom-
panied by their wives, climatic and other considera-
tions separate them from their children, and from
the social and family pleasures tlia give to home
life all its charm and colour.

It is perhaps only those who have themselves
lived m distant Crown colonies who can realise
the difference between a telegram received from
home at the moment of an incident of domestic
interest, and a letter weeks after the event when the
sympathy of simultaneous emotion is impossible.
The immediate announcement of a birth, a marriage,
an incident of child life, a success at school or
at college is wonderfully appreciated, but there
are graver interests. I remember well the touching

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 295

case of a young lady still a bride who lost her
husband in distressing circumstances in Ceylon.
The cost of the message and address made it neces-
sary to limit the message to three words. The prompt
reply was limited to two words of loving affection.
Two words sufficed for the moment, but then there
followed a month of anxiety and mental torture
until further communications could be exchanj^ed by
letter. Who can estimate the value of a penny-a-
word telegram system in such circumstances.^ A
few years ago when I was in Mauritius, my son was
engaged in two campaigns in India and tv,o cam-
paigns in Africa. In each campaign we were
able, with the assistance of friends, to keep in fairly
frequent communication with him by telegram.
And when his last campaign was ended by a
soldier's death the telegraph placed us in an
environment of sympathy of which only those who
have had a similar experience can estimate the
value. I may be allowed to add that the first
message received was a gracious message from
King George and Queen Mary, then Prince and
Princess of Wales.

In most of the Crown colonies the cost of
telegrams, although it has frequently been reduced,
is still prohibitive for domestic purposes. The
price of a message to British Guiana is still
seven shillings a word ; to Trinidad five shillings
and a penny. Even if an imperial penny-a-
word telegram system is at present impossible, an
appreciable reduction is looked forward to with
constant aspiration. And the experience of the past
justifies the expectation that, in spite of all the

296 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

combinations and methods denounced by Mr. Hen-
niker Heaton as the real obstacles to cheap telegrams,
a very great reduction may be made. My own ex-
perience encourages me. I was residing in the
United States for some time previous to the successful
laying of the Atlantic cable. It is interesting now
to recall the assurance of the professors who first
of all proved that a cable could not be laid. When
it got laid, and communication was arrested after
the transmission of a single message, they proved
that a cable could not be laid "that would stay
laid." When a cable really got into working order,
a new difficulty arose. The promoters of the cable,
and in particular Mr. Cyrus Field, had constantly
insisted that they were influenced rather by large
philanthropic motives than a desire for profit. Sir
J. R. Robinson, of Fleet Street fame, has recorded
how Mr. Cyrus Field used to say : "This is not an
undertaking for mere profit. Of course we shall
have a right to a certain percentage on our outlay,
but the thing is to get rapid and cheap communi-
cation between the two countries. I care for
nothincr else. I want the British merchant to be
able, for a few shillings, to hold daily intercourse
with his American brethren ; I want the newspapers
to get daily intelligence as though they were on the
same continent, and I want to see the poor Irish
emigrant able to satisfy himself of the welfare of those
at home." When the cable got into working order,
I thought it would be pleasant to send a message to
some of my many friends in the United States. At
that time the minimum charge for a telegram was
jCiO for a message not exceeding twelve words, and

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 297

no one argued more confidently than Mr. Cyrus
Field that any reduction of that charge was impos-
sible. However, the impossible happened, and the
charge got itself reduced to one shilling a word. So
I have constantly encouraged my West Indian
friends not to despair of cheaper telegrams and even
of an eventual penny-a-word telegram rate. The
present high charges are much less than the charges
when I was in that part of the Empire.

Of course domestic interests must remain sub-
ordinate to the interests of commerce in any scheme
for the extension of cable systems. And from this
point of view it is hardly necessary to argue that the
isolation of the tropical island colonies gives them
a particular interest in ocean telegraphy. It is the
instrument by which they are kept in touch with
the markets of the whole world. It is curious how
the construction of sea-caiiles has falsified the con-
fident assertions of professional experts. In 1887
Mr. Henniker Heaton, insisting on the reform of
our postal and telegraphic communication at the
Colonial Institute, advocated the construction of
a cable from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia.
Sir James Anderson, who was present, declared :
** There is some talk of taking a cable all the way
from Australia to Mauritius across the route of the
trade winds to the Cape. There is not even a
sandbank on which to catch fish. There is not
a port to which a cruiser or a cable-ship can go
to replenish their supply of coal, which they are
certain to require to do. There are no ships going
there. There is no trade, and nobody wants to go
there."

a98 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Fourteen years later a cable from Durban to
Mauritius, and thence continued by an all- British
route to Australia, was laid by the Eastern Tele-
graph Company, furnishinjr :-n important strategic
route to Britain from the Cape. This cable was
opened to traffic on January ist, 1902, when I
was Governor of Mauritius, and arrangements were
made that enabled me and a chain of Governors to
associate the whole Empire in a message of sympathy
and congratulation. In May. 1902, an important
station of the Eastern Telegraph Company was
opened at Rodriguez, a dependency of Mauritius,
about 500 miles eastward, an island exceptionally
exposed to the influences of cyclonic systems in the
Indian Ocean, and consequently of first-rate im-
portance in assisting meteorological observations.
I have .dealt with this in a previous chapter.

Subsidiary to postal and telegraph systems is the
system of communication by telephone exchanges.
And it must be admitted that in the Crown colonies
this method of communication was appreciated at
a very early date, long before the telephone had
come into general use in the United Kingdom.
In 1 89 1 a telephone exchange was established in
Grenada, mainly owing to the enterprise and energy
of Mr. Edward Drayton, the Colonial Secretary.
Within a few years the island was covered with
a network of telephones, every place of importance
being connected with the system. Before long the
system was extended in the colonies of St. Lucia
and St. Vincent. This enterprise was found of
particular service, as St. Lucia became a great
naval and military base, and coaling station.

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATIONS 299

In 1894 I obtained a loan for the eaublishment

of a telephone system in St Lucia, and before I left

the Windward Islands a man-of war or merchant
vessel could within a few minutes of arrival have
an apparatus placed on board, and be put in com-
munication with every military or police station,
every public and private office, and practically with
every residence of the upper classes in the colony.

CHAPTER XXV

FISCAL SYSTEM

The general fiscal system of the Crown colonies is
based on a recognition of the fact that the capital
and profits of nearly all colonial enterprises are
domiciled in the United Kingdom.

Apart from Hong Kong and Singapore, which
have no domestic exports, and in which Free Trade
exists in the strictest sense of the term, the fiscal
system of the productive Crown colonies is estab-
lished on a basis of Free Trade modified by the
exigencies of revenue.

The policy of Protection, in the accepted sense of
the term, does not enter into the fiscal system of the
Crown colonies, for the best of all reasons: as a rule,
they have nothing to protect. So far from imposing
duties of Customs for the purpose of protecting their
own industry, their Customs revenue is derived
entirely from commodities which it is to their
interest to admit, and on the admission of which
their very existence depends.

With the exception of duties on spirits and tobacco,
countervailed by duties of Excise, there are no
Customs duties which it is to the interest of any

FISCAL SYSTEM

class of the community to maintain. They are
therefore in no sense protective duties. But as

these colonies are generally dependent on foreign
imports, not only for all manufactured goods, but
in many cases for their food supply, it has come
to be recognised that the burden of taxation can
most fairly be distributed among those who partici-
pate in the wage fund, by duties of Customs. The
tariff accordingly is so constituted as to secure a just
incidence of taxation on the various classes of the
community.

In the United Kingdom the people have been
educated to believe that there is a real principle in-
volved in preferring direct to indirect taxation or vice
versa, and in this way they have come to think that
direct taxation falls upon the rich and indirect taxa-
tion on the poor. As a result candidates for Parlia-
ment, in their zeal for the class who have a majority
of votes, desire to abolish indirect taxation altogether.
Curiously enough, in practically every British over-
sea possession in which the Imperial Government
has in the last resort absolute control over financial
legislation, revenue is raised mainly by indirect taxa-
tion with the assent of every class of the community.
It should seem therefore that public opinion in the
United Kingdom must be controlled not by a
question of principle but by questions of fact
arising out of the system of collection. It rests c i
two solid facts, the area of incidence and the method
of appraisement. The area of incidence is limited
to commodities th, enter into the primary and
constant consumption of every household in the
United Kingdom, even the poorest ; and the

3oa THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

method of appraisement is almost exclusively by
specific duties, with the result that the smaller the
intrinsic value of a commodity the greater is the ratio
of Uxation. Take an article of tropical produce,
tea, as an illustration. While the poor man pays a
hundred per cent, on his expenditure on tea. the
rich man pays ten per cent, or less. The hasty
conclusion is reached that all indirect taxation
must fall on the shoulders of every member of
the community in inverse ratio to his ability to
bear it.

In the King's over-sea dominions, alike in the
self-governing and Crown colonies, the area of
incidence of indirect taxation by duties of Customs
is not limited to commodities that enter into the
primary and constant consumption of the poor, but
includes the whole community, the method of
appraisement being chiefly by ad valorem duties, so
determined that the burden of taxation falls on each
member of a community in direct proportion to his
means and his ability to bear it.

I have in a previous chapter explained the
arguments which, in the case of the West Indies,
overcame the objections of the Home Government
to export duties. I showed conclusively,— or at least
to the satisfaction of the Home Government — that
there are circumstances in which export duties
constitute the only machinery by which a tax can
be imposed so that the incidence will fall auto-
matically on the members of a community in
proportion to their ability to bear it. Whatever
objection there may be to export duties on general
principles applicable to the circumstances of the

FISCAL SYSTEM 303

United Kingdom, they form an important factor

in the fiscal system of the Crown o 'onies.

In the financial difficulties in which many of
the Crown colonies so constantly find themselves,
it is natural that the Colonial Office should have
constantly pressed on local administrations the ad*
vantages of direct taxation in the form of an income
tax. In all the Crown colonies dependent for
revenue on the development of their agricultural
resources, an income tax is confronted by formid-
able difficulties. The capital and profits of practically
all Crown colony en ^rprises are domiciled extra-
territorially. They depend on British or foreign
capital invested in land or in financial and commercial
agencies, and consequently the only taxable fund
is that supplied by the annual profits of the culti-
vation of the land. This fund provides the income
of the representatives of capital, the Civil Service,
and the learned professions, together with the
wages of labour. The wages of labour are, of
course, excluded from income tax, and the number of
members of the learned professions and representa-
tives of capital who could be drawn Into the net of
any reasonable scheme of income tax is insignifi-
cant. In the Crown colonies in which an income
tax has been imposed, it has been found to reduce
itself largely to a tax on the Civil Service. I may
instance that when I was Governor of the Wind-
ward Islands, one-seventh of the whole income
tax in St. Vincent was paid by myself, the official
members of the Executive Council, and the magis-
trates. The subject was fully discussed about the
same time by Sir Robert Hamilton in a report

304 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

on an inquiry into the affaire of Dominica. A
principal objection is the cost of collection, which has
been found to leave an insignificant balance of net

revenue. The inquisitorial nature of an assessment
for income tax also raises exceptional ditificulties in
view of the relations that must necessarily exist
between the assessora and the assessed in the
social circumstances of the Crown colonies. In
colonies where trade is largely in the hands of
Asiatics another serious difficulty arises. Some
years ago, at a time when it was contemplated to
raise revenue by income tax in Mauritius, an
ordinance was passed requiring Asiatic merchants
to keep their books in English or French. It is
hopeless to suppose that income tax can be fairly
assessed without such an obligation. But the ordi-
nance was disallowed at the instance of the Indian
Government.

The advantages of the fiscal system of the
Crown colunies in enabling them to negotiate
with foreign po' . ers for reciprocal accommodation by
mutual concessions were strikingly illustrated in the
case of the M'Kinley Tariff Treaty Arrangements
made with the United States in 1892. The
interests of British Guiana in these arrangements
occupied a large share of my attention during the
year 1891. The result was the admission of West
Indian sugar into the American market with the
fullest advantages of the free list.

More than fifty years ago an eminent writer,
gifted with singular powers of foresight, in the
course of a vigorous protest against the fiscal and
colonial policy of the day, anticipated the connecting

FISCAL SYSTEM

and concentrating efficiency of railways, steamers,
and electricity, then in the infancy of their develop*

ment, in the aggregation of communities. " We
already see," wrote Sir John Barnard Byles in
1851,' "the approaching shadows of these gigantic
federations which a coming age will witness.
The two colossal Empires which even now loom
in the distance are the United States and Russia.
Possibly a third may be descried, and a greater
than either of the two, unless it pleases Providence
on* to show us the mighty (xissible future of Great
Britain, and then to dash our incijHent greatness
by allowing us to persevere in a disintegrating policy
in spite of the plainest warninj^s."

For the disintegrating policy ht -oposed to sub-
stitute a policy of aggregation which in fiscal matters
would treat the colonies as English counties ; in
other words, he would establish a Zolhftf ein.

"The true Colonial policy," he says, "would tre:it
the Colonists as if they inhabited an English county,
giving them full liberty to grow and manufacture
what they pleased. It would differ from the system
of the free-traders, for in place of disadvantages
it would give them in common with their fellow-
subjects an advantage in the Imperial markets.
The first markets in the world, instead of being
open, as now, to all without distinction, would give
a preference to British subjects. It requires little
foresight to perceive how powerfully self-interest
would immediately bind the Colonies to the mother
country and the mother country to the Colonies,

^Sophisms of Free Trade and Popular Political Economy Ex-
OHdntd. London, 8th ed. 1851.
II u

3o6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

National pride would join with national interest to
cement the union. England would not be prouder
of her uotniniof s tnan these dominions of the
confed' ration to svn' Ji they belong, and of the royal
and ir p :- ia! head which they are the members.
Full sc^'pc <n ever> quarter of the globe would be
given to Anglo-Saxon energy and enterprise. In
no long time, not only would the Colonial trade of
the British Empire be ten times what the Foreign
trade is now ; but our external trade, instead of
leaning on a sandy and precarious foundation, would
repose on a solid and enduring base."

" Why," he asks, " are we to suppose that com-
mercial legislation, which from the commencement
of our history has been variable and fluctuating,
should all at once become fixed and stereotyped?
No! As it has always changed in time past, so it
surely will change again in time to come. Perhaps
after bitter disappointment. ... It is not a class,
but the Nation that will insist on the change. When
it comes it will come naturally, irresistibly, and
without danger. What dangers may be incurred
in the meantime is another thing."

Though a universal Imperial Zollvei-iin may not
be possible, there seems to be no reason why the
principles of a Zollverein should not be introduced
into the fiscal relations of the United Kingdom with
her Crown colonies.

Enough has, I hope, been said to illustrate the
ever-increasing importance of the interchange of
articles of natural tropical produce with the artificial
products of British industry ; and it is unnecessary
to enter upon a discussion of the question whether

FISCAL SYSTEM

import duties are paid by the producers or con-
sumers, for it is certain that the free admission of
articles of food and raw material would be equally
acceptable to both. I have endeavoured to show
that in the tariff system of the Crown colonies there
is nothing which could be urged as justifying a
retaliatory duty on their exports.

Seeing, then, that the Home Government exer-
cises practically complete control, not only over their
financial affairs but over the different agencies passed
in review, on which the development of the resources
of the Crown colonies depends, I venture to submit
that in fiscal matters they cannot be dealt with as
foreign states or self-governing colonies. I urge,
therefore, that their produce of food and raw
material, other than articles subject in the United
Kingdom to duties of excise or restrictions, such as
spirits and tobacco, should be admitted free of all
duties on Customs, or, if a duty has to be imposed
to meet the exigencies of the Imperial Treasury, at
rates based on the fact that no possible analogy can
be established between their relations to the mother
country and the relation of foreign states and self-
governing colonies.

1 pass on to the subject of the public credit of
Crown colonies.

The result of a policy of liberal expenditure on
productive public works out of borrowed moneys has
been that charges on account of public debt con-
stitute a formidable item in the annual expenditure
of many Crown colonies. The rate of interest is
obviously of importance. Parliament has on two
occasions within the last few years enabled the

3o8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

colonies to reduce the burden of these charges. By
the Mauritius Hurricane Loan Act, 1892, the
Imperial Treasury was authorised to guarantee the
repaymeii- of the principal, and interest at the rate
of three per cent, per annum, of a loan raised by the
Government of Mauritius. By the Colonial Loans
Act, 1899, the Imperial Treasury was authorised to
make advances, amounting in all to ;^3'35i'820,
to a number of colonies (at a rate not less than
two and three quarters per cent.) in accordance
with the terms of the National Debt and Local
Loans Act, 1887. Assuming that, as in the case
of Mauritius, the rate of interest on loans secured
by an express Imperial guarantee was one per
cent, less than the rate of Crown Colony Inscribed
Stock Loans, these Acts obviously furnished a
substantial measure of relief. They were a recog-
nition by Parliament of the fact that the Home
Government is in the last resort responsible for
the financial condition of the Crown colonies, and
that the logical consequence of this responsibility is
the right of the Home Government to control their
expenditure. As, then, no loan can be raised without
the consent of the Home Government, which is in
the last resort responsible for every loan, with or
without a statutc-y guarantee, it seems to follow
that the Home Government could render substantial
aid to the Crown colonies, without incurring the
additional risk of one farthing, by allowing all the
Crown colony authorised loans to be negotiated in
accordance with the provisioiiS of one or other of the
Acts I have referred to.

This is not an original suggestion. On February

FISCAL SYSTEM

24th, 1899, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and
Mr. Chamberlain brought in a Bill to provide for the
advance of colonial loans and the issue of guaranteed
colonial stock or bonds. This Bill authorised the
creation of a Colonial Loans Fund provided by the
issue of guaranteed colonial stock, and was designed
to cover all the King's dominions beyond the seas,
clause 7 running as follows :

(1) This Act shall apply to any Colony the
finances of which are declared by the rules under
this Act to be under the control of a Secretary of
State within the meaning of the Act.

(2) This Act shall also apply to any British
Protectorate or protected State the finances of
which are so declared to be under the control of a
Secretary of State, and to Cyprus, in like manner as
if it were a Colony, and the Queen in Council or
any authority recognised by the rules as a legisla-
tive authority were the Legislature for that Colony.

All I desire to urge is the enactment of a measure
on analogous lines.

The present system has produced a singular
anomaly. While the Imperial Treasury is ad-
mittedly responsible for all Crown colony loans,
there have been brought into existence two classes
of colonial stock. The class of security known as
colonial inscribed stock, issued without an express
Imperial guarantee, provides an investment for trust
funds bearing interest at a rate appreciably higher
than guaranteed loans. The additional rate of
interest is provided out of colonial funds and
constitutes a burden of which they might be
relieved without, as I have said, laying one farthing

510 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

of additional risk or burden on the Imperial
Treasury.

In logical and intimate association with the
system of supplying colonial governments with
cheap money for public purposes, by the security
of an imperial guarantee, stands the question of a
system by which cheap money may be supplied to
the small planters and peasant proprietors, who are
getting to be recognised as an agency of constantly
increasing importance in the development of the
Crown colonies, in the ratio of their increasing
intelligence and capacity under the influence of
education and training in improved agricultural
and industrial methods. Such a system seems a
necessary complement of the departments of eco-
nomic botany represented in the West Indies by
the Imperial Conjmissioner of Agriculture and
by local agencies throughout the Crown colonies
as described in my chapter on Agriculture. As
the Royal Commission pointed out, in 1897, "the
existence of a class of small proprietors among
the population is a source of both economic and
political strength." When Governor of the Wind-
ward Islands I devoted much attention to this
question, and provided the legislative machinery
necessary to establish a system cordially approved
by Mr. Chamberlain.

In 1896 I secured the passing in St. Lucia of an
Ordinance " to encourage the introduction of capital
into the colony for agricultural purposes and with a
view to enable proprietors to develop the resources
of their estates by loans at moderate rates of
interest." In the following year identical Ordinances

FISCAL SYSTEM

were passed in G: enada and St. Vincent. The
effect of this legislation was to authorise the
colonial governments to guarantee loans made, on
certain fixed conditions, to small planters by any
recognised bank or financial agency. It was a very
simple scheme, but no active measures seem to have
been taken to carry it out. It is certain, however,
that th • question of providing small holders with
cheap money by some system of bank credit is a
pressing problem of the day, as well in the United
Kingdom as in the Crown colonies.

CHAPTER XXVI

EXPANSION

, . -1.

I HAVE dealt with the problems of supplying the
Crown colonies with an appropriate form of govern-
ment, appropriate laws, an appropriate population,
and appropriate methods of developing their re-
sources. I shall now consider the problem of
expansion of area. I shall not concern myself with
the acquisition of new territories by conquest or
treaty, using the word, as I do, in the restricted
sense of expansion within the administrative limits
of a colony, by extending the area of beneficial
occupation through the agency of European capital
and supervision into unexplored or unexploited
districts.

The colony of British Guiana offers a vast field
for expansion in this sense, and I propose to illus-
trate the work done under the influence of the
colonial policy of the Victorian era by records of
my own experience.

The imperial adventurers of the sixteenth century
gave the name of Guiana to that part of the con-
tinent of South America which lies between the
Orinoco and the Amazon. The inland limits of the

EXPANSION

3»3

territory thus denominated were never definitely
fixed, but geographers have assigned to it an area
of about 700,000 square miles, almost equal to the
combined area of France, Germany, the Austro-
Hungarian Empire, and Italy. From the earliest
ages the spirit of romance has anticipated, and
the genius of commerce has sought to realise the
discovery of a city of gold in a land of promise,
and the marvellous adventures and narratives of
the first conquerors of America created a robust
faith in the existence within the limits of Guiana of
" that great and golden city which the Spaniards
called El Dorado and the naturals Manoa." In the
year 1498, Columbus reached the mouth of the
Orinoco and landed on the coast of Paria, and
within the next three years the main outline of
the shores of Guiana were traced by Spanish sailors.
It was nearly a hundred years later that the settle-
ment of Guiana, as a commercial and imperial
enterprise, was designed by Sir Walter Raleigh,
and his scheme of colonisation brought before his
countrymen.

On February 6th, 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh,
" having many years since had knowledge by
relation of that mighty, rich and beautiful Elmpire
of Guiana," departed from England, and on his
return in the same year he published his Discovery
of Guiana. A passage in the play of Othello, and
many references in contemporary works, prove that
in an age of great enterprises the discovery of
Guiana was considered a very notable event. It
was but natural that a land thus reputed should
become an apple of discord upon which the great

314 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

maritime Powers of Europe have left the marks of
their teeth.

The vast territory historically included under the
denomination of Guiana is now divided between
the jurisdiction of three European Powers,— Great
Britain, France, and Holland, and two South
American Powers, — Brazil and Venezuela. It would
far exceed the limits of my space to give, even
in oudine, a narrative of the political and commercial
enterprises which have led to the partition of Guiana
between these Powers. Nor would such a narrative
be consistent with my present purpose, which is
merely to render an account of measures taken
to exploit Great Britain's share in this undeveloped
estate, during the period that I held the office
of Lieutenant-Governor and Government Secretary
of the colony, and more particularly to place on
record the part it was my good fortune to take
in the enterprise when administering the Govern-
meni.

In 1835 Robert Hermann Schombergk was sent
by the Royal Geographical Society on a mission
British Guiana. His instructions were, first,
thoroughly to investigate the physical character and
resources of the great central ridge which furnishes
tributaries to the great rivers of the country, and
secondly, to connect the positions thus ascertained
with those determined by Humboldt on the Upper
Orinoco. His mission included three separate ex-
peditions to the interior and was not concluded till
October, 1839, when he returned to England. His
services were acknowledged with distinction by the
scientific world of Europe; what has made them more

EXPANSION

315

popular was the discovery of the water plant known
as Victoria Regia. In 1840 the Secretary of State
proposed to appoint him " Commissary for surveying
the boundaries of British Guiana," the expenses of
the mission to be shared between the Home Govern-
ment and the colony. But at the time the relations
between the colony and the Colonial Office were so
embittered by the consequences of the abolition
of slavery that any proposal emanating from Down-
ing Street was "a red rag to a bull." In 1842,
however, the Colonial Secretary sent a conciliatory
despatch to the Governor, in which he said :

"The item for half the expenses of the Mission
for surveying and marking out the boundaries of the
colony, is an item for a service not imperatively
demanded by an immediate exigency, but the neglect
of which might involve a large expenditure, and evils
of great magnitude at a future time. The case is
therefore one in which a small present sacrifice is
required on grounds of prudence and foresight. The
Combined Court in their eighth resolution have
expressed an opinion that the service is unnecessary,
and have even objected to the payments which they
made towards it out of the Contingent Fund at your
disposal on the Civil List. The planters of British
Guiana do not perhaps consider their own interest
and that of their offspring as permanently identified
with the colony in which they are now following
their fortunes. But it is for the well-being of the
colonists themselves, that the affairs of the colony
should be conducted in a more enlarged and com-
prehensive spirit, with a view of their permanent
interests as component ptcis of the great Colonial

3i6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Empire of Great Britain, and not with ihe short-
sighted view of avoiding, or throwing upon the
resources of the Mother Country, every expense
which is .lot absolutely called for by the immediate
and pressing exigencies of the day. In the present
instance Her Majesty's Government are willing to
charge one moiety of the expense upon the Home
Revenue, asking the colony for the other moiety
only ; although, as I have observed before, if the
boundary expedition has any other aspect than
Colonial, it is only because by neglecting to settle it,
the Mother Country might at some future period
be involved in the expense of a war, in addition to
the continual expense of the ordinary protection of
the colony and the srcrifices submitted to by the
consumers in this country, for the promotion and
encouragement of its staple produce."

The foresight of the Colonial Office on this
occasion was justified, although unfortunately the
boundary known as chombergk's Line became,
half a century later, the subject of a conflict which
threatened to involve Great Britain in a war with
the United States. The controversy was brought
to a crisis by the events which I am about to
describe.

About the year 1885 the attention of the Govern-
ment was drawn to the north-western territory of

the colony by two motives, — first, by numerous
applications for licenses to prospect for gold ; and
secondly, by the financial position of the colony which
made it imperative to seek for fresh areas of revenue.
In 1886 the Colonial Office sanctioned the issue of
licenses, but in the following year gave instructions

EXPANSION

3«7

that all licenses, concessions, or grants applying to
any portion of such disputed territory would be issued,
and must be accepted, subject to the possibility that,

in the event f)f a settlement of the present disputed
line, the land to which such licenses, concessions, or
grants applied might become a part of the Vene-
zuelan territory ; in which case, no claim to compen-
sation from the colony, or from Her Majesty's
Government could be recognised.

It was in 1887 that I became very directly inter-
ested in the developn ent of the north-west territory.
The occasion was the Jubilee of the reign of Queen
Victoria. The official celebration of the Jubilee was
appointed to be held in September, but the desire of
the colony to associate itself with the Empire at the
time of the celebration in England was too strong to
be repressed. The more spontaneous celebrations
of the earlier period even surpassed in enthusiasm
those of the official date. I was administering the
Government at the time, and I thought it appro-
priate, after taking {)art in the Georgetown celebra-
tions, to avail myself of the occasion to make a tour
in outlying districts of the colony which had not been
visited by a representative of the Sovereign for
many years.

On the morning of Saturday, July 23rd, 1SS7,
I left Georgetown and reached the mouth of
the Pomeroon the same evening. I was met by
Mr. Everard im Thurn, magistrate of the Pome-
roon District, who conveyed me in his boat across
the four miles of shallow sea that extend between
the Pomeroon and Moruka rivers. Passing under the
interlaced roof of mangrove branches covering the

3i8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

narrow stream of the Moruka, we arriveu at about
seven o'clock at the Churchof England mission station
of Waramurt. where on a sandy hillside risin)^ from
an environment of foresf^H swamp a benab (an open
cottayfe constructed after t;he model of the houses
of the native Indians) had been prepared for my
reception. It was approached by a [)ath of white
sand winding up the hill, and on each side a crowd
of Indians, Caribs, VVarraus, and Arawaks. held
hlazin;4 lamps or t(jrches in such a way as to form
a very effective illumination. Overhead the leafy
sprays of plumed bamboos lighted by the torches
from below, by the moonlight from above, formed
a vast triumphal i u " black, gold, and silver. As
I passed under it, accompanied by the Reverend
\V. Matthews, the superintendent of the district
mission, a /eu de Joie, after the simple fashion of the
people, "fire as you please," formed an accom-
paniment to God save the Queen, sung by the
assembled multitude. The next morning, Sunday,
I attended prayers in the mission church, and after
service addressed the Indians present from the steps.
At eleven o'clock we left Waramuri for Santa Rosa,
a settlement on the Moruka supported by the Roman
Catholic Church, and under the charge of the
Reverend Father Mesini. The people of this
settlement were mostly Spanish-speaking Arawaks,
descendants of refugee Spaniards from Venezuela
by inter-marriage with natives, of fine features and
noble presence. Headed by Father Mesini, they
received me with demonstrations not less cordial
than had been accorded me at Waramuri. In the
afternoon a solemn service of thanksgiving was held

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3«9

in the church in celebration of the Queen's Jubilee.
After the service, I addressed the people from the
verandah of Father Mesini's residence, and with his
willing consent invited them to meet me on the
following morning at Waramuri, to which station I
returned in the cool of the evening. The next
morning I met the assembled Indians of the Moruka,
who had come in from different parts of the district
to the number of about twelve hundred, on a shell
mound opened by Governor Sir Francis Hincks on
the occasion of his visit in 1 866. I must explain that
the shell mounds of British Guiana are of the nature
of the Danish kitchen middens ■ hich have been
discussed in anthropological literature, containin;^
the bones of wild animals and human beings. It
was with great satisfaction that I addressed the
representative gathering, supported by Mr. im
Thurn, Mr. Matthews, and Father Mesini, rdl of
whom, after a simple explanation of the reason of
my visit, and the nature of the celebration of the
Jubilee year of the Queen's reign, I thanked, as
her Majesty's representative, and on behalf of the
Government of British Guiana, for their devotion to
the welfare and happiness of her Majesty's Indian
subjects in British Guiana. 1 then distributed the
gifts I had brought with me for presentation, — rifles,
axes, cutlasses, cloth, ornaments, etc. The afternoon
of the day was devoted to sports, shooting with
arrows, running, jumping, and native games. In
the course of the day a large number of tribal
captains and heads of families signed the following
address to her Majesty the Queen :

320 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

"To THE Queen's Most Excellent Majesty.

The humble Address of the Indians of the
Pomeroon and Moruka Rivers in your Majesty's
South American Colony of British Guiana:

May it please your Majesty,

We, the native Indians of the Pomeroon and
INIoruka Rivers in the Colony of British Guiana,
faithful subjects of your most gracious Majesty,
wish to send to you, our Queen, our humble, but
loving good wishes at this time when, as we hear,
all your other subjects in whatever part of the world
they may be are sending your Majesty messages of
their loyalty. It is fifteen years since the Governor
of your Colony has come among us, and we are glad
and grateful that His Excellency Charles Bruce,
whom your Majesty has at this time placed over
us. has come among us just now so that we may
ask him to send these our words to your Majesty.
We ask him at the same time to thank you on our
behalf for the peace and quietness which have been
kept about our homes during the whole of the fifty
years during which you have been our Queen.
Some of us have especial reason to be grateful in
that we first came into this, your Majesty's country,
fifty years ago, and here found quiet homes in place
of those on the other side of the Orinoco River from
which we had been driven by the lawlessness there
prevailing. All of us have reason to be grateful
for the care and teaching, which we and all our
people have received from those of your Majesty's
white subjects who were first sent to live among us
soon after your Majesty became our Queen. May

EXPANSION 321

God grant that you may long continue to reign
over us."

A separate address of equally loyal tenor was
signed by the Spanish-speaking Arawaks from the
Santa Rosa district.

Next morning, Tuesday, July 26th, I left
Waramuri, and passing down the Moruka crossed
the narrow bight of sea that separates it from the
Pomeroon. The transit, in a heavily laden canoe
through a white squall, filled me with admiration
for the skill of the boatmen. Of their strength and
endurance I was to have convincing proof during a
struggle of many hours against a furious down-
ward tide in the Pomeroon. Our first halt on the
Pomeroon was at Hackney, a mission setdement
of the English Church remarkable at the time for
the simple beauty of its church and the excellent
organisation of its school. The land in this district
is of extraordinary fertility, but Mr. im Thurn, in a
picturesque account of our tour, has declared that
the greatest curse of these parts is the mosquito.
"Just at this part of the river," he says, "the
mosquitoes are certainly more numerous, larger,
more savage at night, than in any other part of
the colony : so bad are these insects, that every
single labourer employed receives, as a matter of
course, from his employer, besides his wages, a
peculiarly shaped mosquito net of strong calico."
At the time of which I am writing the agency of
the mosquito in the dissemination of tropical disease
was unknown, nor am I aware to what extent the

discoveries of modern research have since affected
" X

322 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the environment of this field of enterprise. Our
next halt on the river was at the Government
station of Marlborough. This station, also within
the mosquito area, had recently been equipped with
a new court house, a residence for the Commissary,
police quarters, and a lock-up by Mr. im Thum,
and was called Marlborough after his old school.
As an old Harrovian it was pl*asant for me to find
two old public school boys associated in pioneer
work in this remote part of the Empire. 1 found
the walls of the lock-up daubed by the fingers of
prisoners with the blood of countless mosquitoes, and
gave orders that in future all lock-ups in the district
were to be provided with nosquito nets. I was
'building better than I knew." After leaving
Marlborough we rowed to the magistrates official
residence at Makasseema, which we reached about
an hour before midnight The day's journey had
been a laborious row of about forty miles, but the
boatmen sang cheerily as they covered the last mile
or two with a vigorous spurt.

Early the next morning we went down the river
to the central mission settlement of the district at
Kabakaburi, associated with the labours of two
eminent missionaries, Mr. Brett and Mr. Heard,
but at that time under the charge of Mr. Matthews,
who had returned with us from Waramuri. I was
received with the same demonstrations as at
Waramuri and Santa Rosa, and passing under a
triumphal arch of tree-ferns, palms, and branches,
entered the church. After a short service of
thanksgiving I addressed the Indians, and Mr. im
Thum invited all present to bring their friends to

EXPANSION 323

meet me the next day at Makasseema. I after-
wards visited the settlement and inspected the
school.

The next morning Indians from Kabakaburi
and many others arrived at Makasseema to the
number of over eight hundred. A grand stand had
been erected, and on this I took my place supported
by Mr. im Thurn and the Commissary, who at that
time constituted the entire official Staff of the vast
area of territory included in the district, by the
missionary, and by Miss im Thurn and Mrs.
Matthews. In a short speech I included a brief
account of the work of the preceding days, and
the captains of tribes and many heads of families
present added their signatures to the address to the
Queen which had been brought from Waramuri.

A regatta and aquatic sports followed, and gave
the liveliest satisfaction not only to the men and
women, girls and boys who took part in them, but
also to the crowd of spectators who lined the banks
of the river or swarmed on its surface in canoes.
An interesting event was a race by boys seated not
in boats, but in the huge, curved spathes or sheaths
which cover and protect the flower of the Cokerite
palm {maxintiliana martiana), the competitors using
their hands only as paddles. At night all gathered
on the illuminated grounds, and the chiefs of the
three tribes, Caribs, Akawaios, and Arawaks, were
presented to me. To each I gave a gun, with
powder, shot, and caps, and then any who wished
to address me were invited to step forward. Among
other requests made to me, the Arawak captain
urged the appointment of a doctor for the Pomeroon

324 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

district, and, more or less consequently, a supply of
boards for coffins. I then distributed, as at Wara-
muri, the presents I had brought for the Indians,
and the proceedings of the day closed with a native
dance. A little before midnight all had departed,
having, as was found next morning, done not one
particle of the damage which had been anticipated
to the shrubs and plants. The next day I left
Makasseema, and returned by way of the Tapakuma
Lake to Georgetown. At the next meeting of the
Court of Policy, after giving an account of my
expedition, 1 informed the members that I had
requested the magistrate of the Pomeroon District
to prepare a report similar in nature to the annual
administration reports of the Goverment Agents of
the Provinces of Ceylon, copies of which were to be
found in the library of the Court. I requested the
magistrate to include in his report :

1, A description of the agricultural and mineral

resources of the district, and of their present
development ;

2. An account of the population, with special

reference to the settlements, conditions,
and needs of the native tribes.
I also gave instructions that the magistrate's
report should be followed by annual reports to
be laid before the Court of Policy together with the
Administration reports of Heads of Departments.
I subsequently issued similar instructions to the
magistrate of the Essequibo River, having already
contemplated the establishment in British Guiana of
Government Agencies similar to those of which I
had had experience in Ceylon.

EXPANSION 325

My visit to the north-west was immediately
followed by a visit to the Indians, ••iver inhabitants,
and missions on the Berbice River up to the limits
of navigation. This district of the county of
Berbice, which forms the eastern division of the
colony, had not been visited by any representative
of the Sovereign for many years, and the people
begged me to forward to her Majesty a loyal
address similar to those presented by the com-
munities of the north-west

The result of these visits was to confi^ my con-
fidence in a policy which I advocated with insistence,
in spite of some discouragement, during the whole
period of my service in the colony. The competition
of the beet-sugar industry supported by the bounty
system had so seriously affected the fortunes of the
proprietors and the population dependent on them,
that the Administration was perplexed to find
revenues adequate for the support of a civilised
government. Two policies were advocated, — a
policy of contraction and a policy of expansion.
Those who advocated a policy of contraction urged
the concentration of the population around the estates
with a view to obtain cheap labour by the pressure
of competition, and strenuously opposed an expan-
sion which would tend to attract migration into
new areas, and thus enhance the cost of production.
They argued, therefore, that the time was not pro-
pitious for new enterprises, and that labourers
imported into the colony at their expense should
not be attracted from the sugar estates. There was
prima facie much in favour of this policy, but on the
other hand there was the example of the West India

326 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

islands, where it had been carried out with the
energy of despair, but proved altogether inadequate
to arrest the consequences of the enormous increase
of bounty-fed beet-sugar. In every West India
island established interests had been destroyed
and public finance crippled ; while by their insular
limitation they were deprived of the alternative of
territorial expansion.

The policy which was adopted in British Guiana,
however, did not lose sight of the requirements of
the sugar industry. It sought to limit the industry
to areas exceptionally adapted to it by conditions
of climate and soil, to reduce the cost of production
by the use of scientific methods alike in the field
and in the factory, and to provide appropriate means
of transport by land and water. At the same
time, it sought to extend the radius of industry
and civilisation by expansion into areas fertile in
resources, and to equip them by immigration with
an adequate and appropriate population.

A few months after my visit to the north-west
territory, the reservation attached to the grant of
concessions and licenses was withdrawn, and the
result was a rush for gold, accompanied by a
general movement into the interior for exploration
and settlement. This movement was met by the
Venezuelan Government by granting concessions
in the disputed territory, and in partic lar for a
railway from Bolivar to Guacipati traversing a part
of the area. In consequence, on December 31st,
1887, when administering the Government, I issued
a proclamation, of which the material part was as
follows :

EXPANSION

327

"Whereas it has come to the knowledge of the
Government of British Guiana that certain con-
cessions have been granted by the President, and
by and with the sanction of the Government of the
United States of Venezuela, purporting to give
and grant certain rights and privileges for con-
structing a railway to Guacipati, and in and over
certain territories and lands within and forming
part of the Colony of British Guiana :

"Now, therefore, I do hereby intimate to all
whom it may concern that no alleged rights pur-
porting to be claimed under any such concession
will be recognised within the said Colony of British
Guiana, and that all persons found trespassing on
or occupying the lands of the Colony without the
authority of the Government of this Colony, will
be dealt with as the law directs."

This proclamation gave rise to considerable
anxiety in the United States, and in the following
February that Government addressed a note of
remonstrance to its Minister in England. I mention
this as it marked a stage in the events which had
their final issue in the constitution of a Tribunal
of Arbitration under a treaty signed at Washington
in February, 1897, between Great Britain and
Venezuela. The award was made in October,
1897, and I have no desire to discuss it.

Early in 1889 Lord Gormanston had assumed
the Government of British Guiana, and a few
months later I went to England on leave of
absence. Unfortunately Lord Gormanston's health
broke down, and in October I was requested to
return at once to the colony. During the next

328 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

six months I energetically resumed the policy of
expansion. In December I paid a visit of inspection
to the north-west territory. In planning this visit
it was my main object to enlist the good-will of the
unofficial members of the Court of Policy and others,
knowing very well that unless I carried them along
with me the policy could never be carried out. I
reported this visit to the Secretary of State, Viscount
Knutsford.

Government House,
Georgetown,
Demerara, 3rd January, 1889.

" My Lord,

I have the honour to inform you that
on December 19th, I left Georgetown on a visit of
inspection to the settlements and recendy established
stations in the north-western district of this colony.

"In the month of May last a proclamation was
published creating a new fiscal district beyond
the northern limits of the North Essequibo Coast
fiscal district, to be called the north-western district,
and at the same time provision was made
by the Combined Court in the supplementary
Estimates for the appointment of a Commissary.
It was the intention of the Government by these
arrangements to enforce their fiscal jurisdiction in
the district.

" The residence of the Commissary was fixed at
Marlborough on the Pomeroon River.

" I may remind your Lordship that at the Session
of Combined Court held in December, 1887,
provision was made for the maintenance of a police

EXPANSION

329

force at several stations in the district, and the
supplementary Estimates voted in the month of
May last, provided a sum of ten thousand dollars
for the erection of new police stations.

" During the present year the attention of the
Government has been drawn by the Crown Sur-
veyor and Mr. im Thurn to the question of dealing
with the farms which have been for some years in
the unauthorised occupation of squatters on the
Waini, Morawhana, Barima, Aruka and Amakuru
rivers, and Mr. im Thurn supf^ied a list of about
fifty farms so occupied.

"Acting on the advice of the Crown Surveyor
and Mr. im Thurn, I decided early in November
to send two of the Assistant Crown Surveyors to
make a preliminary survey of the settlements on
the above mentioned rivers, and so soon as these
surveys shall have been completed, I propose to
consult the Court of Policy as to the conditions
upon which grants on leases of occupancy shall be
given to the squatters. It seems to me desirable
that titles should be given to them upon the easiest
terms possible.

** Such having been the steps taken during the
last year to bring the outlying portions of the
colony in the north-western fiscal district within
the jurisdiction of the Government, I thought it
opportune to visit the principal waterways or
highways of the district, which with the exception
of the Pomeroon have never been visited by any
Governor of the colony. At the same time, I
invited to accompany me the unofficial members
of the Court of Policy, the Chief Commissary, the

330 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Comptroller of Customs, the Head of the Army
Commissariat Department, and Mr. Tinn6, who is
perhaps known to your Lordship as a gentleman
largely interested in the colony.

" Some of the unofficial members were prevented
from joining me, and at the last moment I had to
regret the absence of Mr. Turner from illness.

" I annex for your Lordship's information a small
map of the district I visited shewing the general
position of the settlements and stations. Leaving
Georgetown early on the morning of the 19th. we
reached the Waini in about fifteen hours, and the
next day ascended the river and passed through the
Morawhana or Mora passage, which connects the
Waini with the Barima, on which there are several
settlements. There is deep water in this natural
channel and a large vessel could easily pass through,
were the channel not impeded by the stems of
decayed trees, which could, however, be removed at
a trifling cost A glance at the map shews the ad-
vantage of this passage for communication between
the settlements on the Upper Barima and Aruka
rivers with Georgetown. There is a very strong
tide in the Morawhana which ebbs and flows about
three hours earlier than the tide of the Barima.
producing singular currents at the junction of the
two streams, the site selected for the principal
station of the district called the Morawhana Station.
The site commands the Morawhana and two long
reaches of the Barima. The station includes at
present a police barracks and residence for the
Inspector. These have been erected within the
last few months by Mr. im Thurn, and do credit

EXPANSION

331

to his skill and economy. There are a number of

settlements at this point.

"On the morning of the aist I addressed the
native Indians who had come in to meet me during
the night and told them that the station was built
for their protection. I exhorted them to consider
the Magistrate and Inspector as their friends and
to have recourse to them in all times of sickness and
trouble. I also pointed out to them that a nursery
of trees and plants had already bee .i started at the
station for their future use and profit. I invited
them on their return to their homes to make known
to the tribes and families they represented, the
desire of the Government to protect and aid them.
1 then distributed among them some presents which
had been selected by Mr. im Thurn. At this station
we were joined by the Assistant Crown Surveyors.
My party then embarked on the steamer which had
arrived during the night and steamed up the river
to its junction with the Aruka, on which there are
several settlements, and which we followed, past the
hill station of Kumaka, occupied for some time by
Schombergk's party, to Issororo, a comparatively
high hill from the summit of which there is an
extensive view.

" During the day we visited some of the more
important settlements and were much struck with
the enterprise of the settlers, the fertility of the soil,
and the advantages offered by the water system of
the district

"The next day we steamed down the river past
numerous settlements to the station established at
Barima Point in 1S87. The site of this station was

33a THF BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

formerly cleared and planted by Mr. Wells of the
Manoa Company. The shore at this point has been
a good deal washed av ly lately by the sea which
Hreaiens to encroach on the limits of the station.
i\hcr the inspection we proceeded to the station
and settlements on the right bank of the Amakuru
as indicated on the map.

• Ref'"'^ nightfall we left the river and steamed
dowi th mouth of the Orinoco on our return
jot . Early on the morning of the 23rd v/e
e. tV* Pomeroon.

'n r' Pomeroon are two stations, Marlborough
' igill. The former includes a Court-
House, ^ .iice L rracks, and the residence of the
•"ommissary. At Pickersgill there is a police
station only. Beyond Pickersgill at a disunce of
about forty miles from the mouth of the Pomeroon
is the important mission station of Kabakaburi, and
a little beyond the mission is Makasseema, the
residence of the Magistrate, . im Thum. Of this
part of the district I gave account in my

despatch No. 307 of August 41 887,' and I will
only mention that during the pa^ ar a dispensary
under the charge of Mr. im Thurn has been estab-
lished for the benefit of the native Indians at
Kabakaburi. From Makasseema I returned to Marl-
borough and thence to Georgetown, which I reached
early on D ( . nber 24th.

" The gentlemen who accompanied me on this
expedition were much impressed with the resources
of the districts and the apparently easy development
of which they seem capable.

> In this despatch I reported my visit to the district in July, 1887.

EXPANSION

333

" In addition to what has been lUready done to
conBrna our jurisdiction over the district, I would
Mlvise the esublishment of a port of entry at a suit-
able place. In my despatch No. 3 of the 2nd

instant, I have dealt with this matter. But above
all, I would advise that the rights of the present
squatters should be speedily settled, and that
measures should at once be taken to attract fresh
settlers and capital to this district. On the jjeneral
question of the disposal of the Cro^ n lands in the
colony in such a way as to encourage agricultural
enterprise, I have submitted my views in my des-
patch No. 7 of the 4th instant relative to the
proposals made by the Crown Surveyor in his
report for the year 1887, with an extract from
which I may appropriately close this despatch.

' The lands of the numerous rivers in the colony
being composed of rich alluvial soil offer magnificent
advantages for the cultivation of cocoa, cocoanuts,
valuable fibres, coffee and fruits, and the facilities of
water carriage available will enable planters here to
compete favourably with the producers of the same
commodities in other countries which have not a
water system like that in existence here. In addition
we enjoy an immunity from the strong and cold
winds which sometimes prevail and cause great loss,
as in Trinidad and some of the other Islands, b/
blasting the cocoa blossoms and levelling to the
ground the banana trees.'

"I have, etc"

'icy, I followed up
.t, as I had done

334 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

in 1887, by a visit to the county of Berbice, on the
eastern division of the colony. On February 14th,
1889, I reported to the Secretary of State that I
had invited the elective members of the Court of
Policy to accompany me on my tour, as I wished to
discuss with them important proposals connected
with the county. This tour included a visit to the
highest navigable point of the Corentyne, the
boundary between British and Dutch Guiana.

During this year the proposals set out in my
despatch of January 3rd, 1889, were proceeded with,
and preparations were made for the future adminis-
tration of a part of the territory as a separate district.
Houses were built for the officer in charge, for his
clerk, and for a Commissary (Revenue Officer); also
a cottage hospital. Pending the rebuilding of the
Amakurii station, a police schooner was kept always
stationed in the Amakuru to serve as a police station.
The Barima had been declared a port of entry, with
a Customs-house at Morawhana. The inland com-
munication had been improved by the clearance of
the overhanging trees from the ^abo (water-way)
between the Moruka and the Waini, and by the
establishment of a rest-house on the Barima between
Morawhana and Barima Sands.

The arrangements for carrying out my proposal
to establish a Government Agency on the Ceylon
system required a good deal of time and elaboration.
There were also many influences at work. Expendi-
ture had to be voted, and there was the cloud of the
boundary question on the horizon. To my dismay
when I was at home on leave in April, 1890, I
received from Mr. im Thurn an intimation that at

EXPANSION

335

the next session of Combined Court it would pro-
bably be declared that the time had not come to
make administrative changes. He added that his
connection with the colony would then at once
terminate. This was one of the shocks that colonial
service brings. But the disaster was averted. An
Ordinance giving the Governor, with the advice and
consent of the Court of Policy, power to establish an
Agency was passed, and on November 27th I had
the pleasure of moving in the Court of Policy the
following resolution :

" That the Court hereby advises and consents to
the establishment of a District to embrace the terri-
tory bounded on the North by the Atlantic Ocean
and the mouth of the Orinoco River, on the South
by the ridge of land between the sources of the
Amakuru, Barima, and Waini Rivers and their
tributaries and the sources of the tributaries of the
Cuyuni River, on the east by a line extending
from the Atlantic Ocean in a southerly direction
to the said ridge of land on the south, and on the
west by the Amakuru River and the line known
as Schombergk's boundary line, the limits of the
said district being described and delineated by a
blue line as on extract map of the colony attached
hereto."

The area of territory included in the Agency
was about 9,000 square miles.

The general nature and scope of the system was
sufficiently explained in the instructions I dral . nor
the Government Agent's guidance, defining his
functions and his relation to the heads of the
various departments of government They were

336 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

drafted in the hope that they might serve in the
development of other parts of the interior.

" The Government Agent within his own district
will have complete control, subject only to the
Governor, over all officers and matters belonging to
his district. He will correspond on all administra-
tive matters with the Government Secretary, who
will transmit to him the Governor's instructions.
But in order that he should be able to carry out
his numerous functions in relation to the Revenue,
Police, Postal departments, etc., he will be appointed
a deputy of the head of any department in relation
to which he may have to transact business within
his district. The Government Agent will corre-
spond on any points which concern a particular
department with the head of that department, who
for that purpose will be his superior officer.

The Government Agent while so acting within
his district as deputy will have complete authority
in matters relating to each department, and any
subject upon which he may differ from the head of
the department, except on purely technical grounds,
in the decision of which he must be subordinate to
that head, will have to come before the Governor
for consideration.

" But when any head of a department goes into
the district the functions of the Agent as his deputy
will fall entirely into abeyance, and he will have
no departmental authority in that particular branch,
although a , administrative head of the district he
will be on an equal footing with the head of
department so coming into his district ; and no
head of a department should go into the district

EXPANSION

except in circumstances of urgent necessii/. wit! out
giving due notice to the Agent

"Whenever on the occasion of a visit to the
district by the head of a department, a diiTerence
of opinion arises between him and the Agent,
the latter should at once report it to the Govern-
ment Secretary for the Governor's final decision."

Under this scheme the Government Agent held
appointments as deputy for the following heads
of departments : for the Receiver General, Comp-
troller of Customs, Chief Commissary, Inspector
General of Police, Postmaster-General, Colonial
Civil Engineer, Inspector of Prisons and Crown
Surveyor. He also held a commission as Special
Magistrate, though with the understanding that
he was not to exercise the powers given by this
commission except in cases of sudden emergency
and in the absence of the ordinary Special Magis-
trate assigned for the district. He also held the
power of a Government Officer under the regula-
tions issued in accordance with the Mining Ordin-
ances ; and he was a Commissioner for oaths and
affidavits.

I should add that, while all these duties were

incumbent on the Government Asjent, the organi-
sation of each separate department had been elabor-
ately prepared by the titular heads of departments.
In particular, the fiscal arrangements were organised
by the Chief Commissary (Revenue Officer), Mr.
W. S. Turner, one of the most hard-working and
unselfish public officers I have ever known. His
laborious life was brought to a premature close
by indefatigable labours in which he was constandv

11 V ^

338 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

exposed to malarial influences. Similar good work
was done by the heads of the Survey, Police, and
Medical departments. It is of the essence of this
system that it places at the disposal of a sparsely
populated territory all the experience of administra-
tive experts without the cost of a large staff of
highly paid resident officials.

The immediate working of the system thus care-
fully organised was summarised in the counter-case
presented by the Government to the Tribunal of
Arbitration constituted in 1897 and formed an
important element in the case. In July, 1891, I
paid an official visit to the Agency and reported the
results to Lord Knutsford in a despatch from which
I may conveniently quote :

Government House,
Georgetown,
Demerara, 15th July, 1891.

Mv Lord,

" I have the honour to transmit for your
Lordship's information copies of the Report of the
Government Agent of the North-Westem District
for the year 1890-91.

" It has been a subject of much regret to Mr. im
Thurn, as your Lordship will easily gather from the
tenor of his report, that the ci-cumstances of the
district are but little known in the colony. Towards
the close of the year 1888, 1 paid an official visit to the
district reported by my despatch No. 6 of January
3rd, 1889, and a similar visit was paid last year
by Lord Gormanston and reported by his despatch
No. 87 of March 28th, 1890.

EXPANSION

*' On the ist instant I left Georgetown for a second
official visit to the district and on this occasion I

was accompanied by the Bishop of Guiana, the Chief
Justice, the Honourable C. Ross and Honourable
W. Craigen, Members of the Court of T>olicy,
Financial Representatives R. G. Duncan, _.. Neil
Mackinnon, and D. M. Hutson, the Reverend
Canon Heard and Mr. H. de R. Barclay. I had
also invited the Honourable B. H. Tones, the
Government Botanist, and the Gold Commissioner,
but they were prevented from joining the party, the
Gold Commissioner I regret to add by indisposition.

" I annex a sketch map prepared for me by Mr. im
Thurn which shows the route followed from the
mouth of the Waini,

"We left Georgetown at 5.40 p.m. on the ist
instant and reached the mouth of the Waini at
about r i the next morning. Here we were met by
Mr. im Thurn in the new steam launch, which has
proved a valuable acquisition. It has worked admir-
ably and I shall forward a requisition for another by
the next mail.

" We passed through the Morawhana passage to
Morawhana in the launch in a little over an hour,
and during the afternoon I inspected the Govern-
ment buildings.

"On my last visit the police barracks and the
quarters of the Inspector of Police were the only
buildings erected. To these have since been added
a hospital and dispensary, the Government Agency,
the residences of the Magistrate and Commissary,
and a shed for purposes connected with the gold
industry.

340 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

" The grounds of the Government Agency have
been admirably laid out by Mr. im Thurn, and the
rapidity of the vegetation and the fertility of the soil
at this point delighted and surprised all.

" In the meantime the steamer had • "ceded to
Morawhana by the Orinoco and t* arima, a
distance of 120 miles, and at 10 ocl* on the
morning of Friday, July 3rd, we left Morawhana,
passing down the river Barima to the Amakuru.

" The distance from Morawhana to Barima Point
is nearly fifty miles, and a convenient half-way benab
or rest-house of a very simple construrtion has been
constructed. I propose to arrange as soon as
possible for the construction of similar rest-houses
by Mr. M'Turk on the Essequibo between Bartika
and the Potaro.

We' passed into the Orinoco shortly after 3 p.m.
and reached the Amakuru in about an hour.

" Since my last visit excellent accommodation has
been provided for the police, and a house for the
Inspector is in course of construction. The Vene-
zuelans have established a police station on the left
bank nearly opposite our own. As I passed it the
Venezuelans saluted my flag and immediately on
landing at our station, I received a letter of saluta-
tion from General lustiniano Lugo, describing him-
self as Governor of the Territory of the Delta, to
which I sent a courteous reply. I annex copies of
these documents.

" I learnt with satisfaction that for some time past
a very friendly feeling has existed between our people
on the right bank and the Venezuelan setders on the
left bank.

EXPANSION

341

" On our return from the Amakuru we called at the

police station near Barima Point, known as Barima
Sands, and reached Morawhana shortly before mid-
night We slept on board and at 7 a.m. proceeded
up the Barima to its junction with the Aruka. passing
the grants for mission and school purposes recently
made to the Church of England and to the Roman
Catholic Church. Nearly the whole of the lands on
this part of the river are occupied or granted, and
the progress which has been made in clearing the
settlements during the last few years gives satis-
factory evidence of the intelligence and industry of
the settlers. All the members of my party, and
especially those representing the agricultural interests
of the colony, seemed to be satisfied that the repre-
sentations which have been made of the agrricultural
resources of this part of the district have not been
exaggerated.

" We steamed up the Aruka as far as the Issororo
hills, which I had ascended on my previous expedi-
tion. Some of the party who ascended the hills
were impressed with the advantages which they
seem to offer for a setdement.

"Returning to the junction of the Aruka and
Barima, we steamed up the latter river and landed
at a large setdement recently cleared and cultivated.
This was the first time that a steamer has navigated
the Barima above the Aruka mouth.

" On our return journey we landed to inspect the
mission and school premises of the Roman Catholic
Church.

"In the afternoon the captain of our steamer made
a survey of the Morawhana passage, the result of

342 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

which was that he decided to take the steamer

through the passage. This was afterwards accom-
plished with perfect success, and thus a voyage of
about 1 20 miles was saved. There is ample depth of
water in the passage, but it is obstructed by trees
which appear to have fallen from the banks and
to have taken root in the channel. I alluded to
this in my despatch of January 3rd, 1889. The
passage seemed to me, however, much freer from
obstruction than on the occasion of my former
visit

" On Sunday, the 4th, we stayed at Morawhana,
and in the morning all attended divine service in the
building called the Gold Shed. Bishop Austin,
eighty-four years of age, gave an address and a
brief narrative of missionary work in British Guiana
during his long episcopate of forty-nine years. A
number of aboriginal Indians were present It was
an impressive service.

" Before closing the record of our visit to Mora-
whana, I may mention that Mr. im Thurn reported
to me a very great increase in the operations of the
gold industry on the Barima since his report was
written.

" Gold was first obtained on this river in the month
of September 1890. Since that time royalty has
been paid on over 1 50 pounds of gold, of which no
pounds were reported at Morawhana from May ist
to July nth. A considerable amount is reported to
be now on its way to the Government Station.

"On Monday, the 5th of July at 8 a.m., we left
Morawhana in the launch, and passing through the
passage commenced our visit to the WainL

EXPANSION

343

" The tide was running out of the river with great
rapidity, and the steamer • Horatia,' which had pre-
ctded us, dragged her anchor for nearly a mile. We
weighed anchor at about lo a.m. The water at the
mouth of the Waini, which is not less than two
miles wide, is very shallow, but deepens after a short
distance, and we carried an ample depth to the
furthest point of our voyage,— about ninety miles
from the mouth. The lower part of the river is
swampy and apparently unsuitable for agricultural
purposes. At 4.15 p.m., we reached Baramani
Station at the junction of the Baramani River.

"From this point boats reach the Moruka and
Pomeroon by a series of waterways, as shown on the
sketch map annexed. The River Barama ^ enters
the Waini about thirteen miles higher up. A
glance at the sketch map will show that the
site is admirably chosen for a station, as all traffic
between the Upper Waini and the Barama and
Georgetown must necessarily pass it. All the
Barama gold is reported here. An Office of the
Government Land Department, a rest house,
police station, hospital and dispensary have been
erected. So far as the lands around the public
buildings are cleared and laid out, they show an
amazing richness of soil.

" On Tuesday, the 7th, we left Baramani at 6 a.m.,
and arrived off the mouth of the Barama at about
7. 1 5. We then proceeded to the Quobanna Mission
on the Waini, where a number of Carib and
Akawaio Indians were assembled. I distributed
among them the presents I had brought, and
' This river is not to be confounded with the Barima.

344 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

afterwards addressed them in simile, but, I hope,
sufficiently expressive terms through th ^ native
interpreters. I annex a copy of my address.

"In the evening we returned to Baramani, and on
the following day descended the Waint. We left
the Waini at about noon on the 8th instant, and
reached Georgetown early the next morning.

"The e-xpedition seemed to give much pleasure
to all the members of the party, and I have every
reason to hope that it may prove of some advantage
to the colony.

" Mr. im Thurn has been good enough to prepare
at my request a memorandum showing the chief
incidents in the development of the North-VVestern
district since my previous visit in December 1888.
He has added a note of what he considers to be at
present the chief requirements of the district. These
matters are all engaging my attention.

" I annex a copy of Mr. im Thurn's memorandum.

" I have, etc."

My address may be taken as typical of many I
delivered with appropriate variations. It was as
follows :

" People of the tribes of the Waini and Barama.
your friend the Bishop of Guiana and Mr. Heard

and thers have taught you to pray to God for all
good things that you wish for yourselves and for
your children and for your families, and in the
service of the Church every Sunday you have
learnt to pray God to bless our Gracious Sovereign
Lady, Queen Victoria. Our Queen Victoria is a
great Queen who rules over many peoples and

EXPANSION

tribetb When the sun rises to shine upon us he
comes from lands where he has been shining on her
people, and when hu sets he goes to shine upon
her people. I have come among you as the servant
of our great Queen, being commanded by her to
make your wants and your interests my care, and
these gentlemen, my friends, who are here with me
are all the servants of the Quet^n chosen to do
justice among you, and to make just laws for your
protection and to promote your haf^tness. And the
Queen has af^inted your friend Mr. im Thum to
be her Agent among you to learn your wants and
your wishes and to advise us in order that you may
be wisely governed and may cultivate the soil your
fathers cultivated, and reap the fruit thereof, and
hunt in the great forests in which your fathers
hunted, and fish in the great rivers in which your
fathers fished, in peace and security. And so we
have come among you that we may see and know
you and may see and know the land where you
dwell, and that you may see and know us, who are
the servants of the great Queen Victoria, appointed
to be the guardians of your lives and treasures, and
of your children and your families, so that you may
live in the enjoyment of all things right and good
for you."

The result of this expedition was to satisfy the
members of the Court of Policy and the Financial
Representatives who accompanied me of the wisdom
of the policy of expansion and the administrative
methods designed to control it. In opening a
Session of Combined Court on September 15th

346 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

following, I made bold to appeal to the Court
to supplement what had beer dune by providing
adequate means of communication and transport.
After submitting a proposal i lat the colony should
take part in an International ExhiWtion to be
held at Chicago to celebrate the four hundredth
anniversary of the discovery of America, 1 added :
" Fitly associated with the proposal to make known
our resources and industries to the nations who
will lake part in the World's Columbian Exposition
is the proposal to provide for communication
by steamer with the North-VVesterti District, with
a view to the development of our resources anc
the encouragement of our industries in a part ol
the colony of which the importance is now fully
recognised. In territorial extent, the North-Western
District exceeds the collective area of the Colonies
of Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, and the Wind^ \rd
,;;v1 Leeward Islands all put together. In agricul-
tural . forest and mineral resources, it appears to rival
the most fortunate of British tropical possessions,
b'iiherto it has been litth- known because access to
it has been difificult and .-iily. The proposal to
bring it within easy l each ' v 3 < v. aer communication
is supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the
Institute of Mines and Forests, and by a public peti-
tion bu.risig numero :s and influential signatures."
Contina; 1 asked for a vote to cover the pre-
liminary expenses of a survey to enable the
Government to prepare a definite scheme of
telegraphic communication with the interior.

The votes were sanctioned with enthusiasm, and
I well remember an incident, inagnificant it may

EXPANSION

347

seem, but which caused me much satisfaction.
After the meeting of the Combined Court I
expressed my gratitude to one of the Financial
Representatives for the generosity with which the
necessary ways and means had been granted. He
replied, "If you had asked us for the watches in
our pockets, we should have taken them out and
handed them over. "

It is not necessary to follow the progress of the
Government Agency in detail. In 1893 I was
appointed Governor of the Windward Islands, but
before I left British Guiana I was anxious to
pay a last visit to the district and take a survey of
the work that had been accomplished. An interval
following the departure of Lord Gormanston, who
had been appointed Governor of Tasmania, gave
me a convenient opportunity.

On the occasion of my first visit in December,
1888, the whole administrative apparatus was thus
described by Mr. im Thum in the memorandum i
have alluded to :

" An inspector of police with ten constables under
him were the only Government servants residing in
the district, though the Magistrate of the Pomeroon
District (in which the North Western District was
then included) paid occasional visits.

" The only buildings in existence were the barracks
and Inspector's house at Morawhana ; the barracks
and Public Officers' .ricis at Baramani, a shed
with accommodation for one constable at Ama-
koora, and another with accommodation for four
constables at Barima Sand. There was no regular
meaas uf communication with the district and each

348 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

visitor had to provide his own boat and means of

penetrating the North-Western District. A survey
of the District had just been commenced by the
Crown Lands Department."

In the interval a territory of over 9,ocx) square
miles, equal in area to all the West India islands
put together, had been equipped with the complete
administrative system I have described.

In reporting to the Secretary of State on June
14th, 1893, my tour of inspection, I confined myself
to observing that one of my objects was to give
members of the Combined Court and others who
had not previously visited the district an opportunity
of seeing what had been done. I preferred to leave
a narrative of the expedition to a member of the
Court of Policy, Mr. E. C. Luard, by whose con-
sent I enclosed in my despatch an article he con-
tributed to a local paper, the Argosy. It records
the names of many who were associated in the
development of the territory, but whose share in the
work has never been otherwise recognised. With
some quotations from his article, I close the record
of my work in the expansion of British Guiana in
the north-west.

MR. LUARD'S narrative.

"At 2.20 p.m. on Thursday, ist June, the special
steamer 'Guiana' left Georgetown en route for the
North Western District of the Colony, having on
board His Excellency the Lieut. Governor, Sir
Charles Bruce, K.C.M.G., the Right Rev. W. P.
Swaby, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese, the Honble.
Dr. J. W. Carrington, C.M.G.. the Honble. N.

EXPANSION

349

Darnell Davis, the Honble. Dr. R. Grieve, the

Honble. A. Barr, the Honble. E. C Luard, John
Duke Smith, Esq., F.R., George Garnett, Esq.,
F.R., and B. Howell Jones, Frederick White, and
Douglas \ oung, Esquires. The party was a private
one of the Governor's, by whom the expedition
had been planned with the characteristic energy of
His Excellency, and it will be seen from the above
mentioned names, that not only were the State
and Church represented, but also the Legal and
Medical professions, Literature (N.D.D.), Com-
merce, and the sugar, gold, timber, and steamship
industries, — to say nothing of there being on board
the Chairmen of the Quarantine Board and the
Central Board of Health, a Major of the B.G.
Militia, the Chairman of the Hand-in-Hand and
B.G. Mutual Fire Insurance Companies, and a
Director of the former, the Chairman of the Cham-
ber of Commerce, two directors of the British Guiana
Bank, besides the President of the Royal Agricul-
tural and Commercial Society and the President of
the Institute of Mines and Forests.

"We entered the Waini River at 6.55 a.m., and
going through the Mora Passage, reach Morawhana
at 8 o'clock. Some 01' the party immediately set
off for a swim in the river, facilities for a header
being afforded by the excellent bathing house
erected by the Special Magistrate of the District,
Mr. E. R. Anson, near his house. The whole party
breakfasted sumptuously at the very charming resi-
dence of the Government Agent of the District E. F.
im Thum, Esq., C.M.G. The surroundings of this

350 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

gentleman's house are exceedingly picturesque and
inviting, plants of all kinds growing in much
luxuriance and profusion, while great and artistic
taste is observable everywhere, both in and out-
side the dwelling. The avenues of casuarina trees,
over 40 feet high, planted not yet three years, are a
marked feature of the garden. After breakfast the
various institutions of Morawhana were visited,
the hospital, police barracks, and others, everything
being beautifully clean and tidy. The site of the
Township seems to have been well selected, and
whether in the future another one higher up — if
sufficiendy high land can be found — will not of
necessity spring up, remains to be seen. The
Township is situated at the point at which the
Mora Passage leaves the Barima, and at about
the centre of the waterway which traverses the
northern part of the Colony from the mouth of the
Essequibo to its northern limits on the Orinoco.

" Bathing, and rambles about the place, made the
time pass quickly, until the party, augmented by the
officials of Morawhana, sat down to dinner, again
the guests of the hospitable Government Agent.
The local guests were the Revd. T. E. Quick
and Mrs. Quick, Mr. E. R. Anson, the Special
Magistrate, Mr. W. A. Harrison, Government
Surveyor, Mr. R. Greene, Gold Officer, Mr. N.
Cox, Secretary to Government Agent, and Mr.
G. G. Dixon, partner in the gold syndicate of
Messrs. Garnett, Winter, and Dixon.

" We left Morawhana at 9.30 p.m. on Friday, and
steamed down the Barima, r^hing ' Barima Sand '
at 2.30 a.m. on Saturday and anchored there. We

EXPANSION

35»

weighed anchor at 5 a.m., and passing out of the
river, sighted the Venezuelan Lightship, and
rounding the promontory, entered the Amakuru
River, and anchored. This river divides Venezuela
from British Guiana, and nearly opposite the British
Guiana Station are to be seen some half-dozen
huts ; from a flagstaff fronting them near the river's
edge, the Venezuelan flag was lowered, the courtesy
being acknowledged by the dipping of the Union
Jack on the 'Guiana.' I forgot to mention that
on leaving Morawhana, Mr. im Thum had joined
the party. While we were at 'coffee,' Inspector
Barnes came on board, and soon after Sir Charles
Bruce and some other members of the party went
off in a boat to visit the Station. There is not
much to be seen here yet, ' not even sugar canes,' as
Mr. im Thum said, but a good beginning has
been made. Major Carrington lost no time in
having the few resident Police Officers mustered,
and then proceeded to put them through their
facings. Before we left, the one time notorious
Wells presented himself, and craved an interview
with His Excellency. Returning on board, and to
a certain extent commiserating with Inspector
Barnes on his lonely situation— and very lonely and
isolated he must feel at times, — we left the station
at 8.30 a,m. to return over the same route already
mentioned to Morawhana. We had heavy weather
after leaving, but about noon the sun came out with
a fine cool breeze, which made life very enjoyable.
On the return journey we stopped for an hour at
'Barima Sand' police station, and an inspection
on short was duly made. At the station there were

352 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

several tame parrots at large, and two fine macaws,
one specially fine one from the Orinoco, which,
possibly to discourage offers of purchase, the Ser-
geant Major told us was an especial pet of his
wife's. The Police were duly drilled by the Major,
and a few Bucks, standing at a respectful distance,
seemed much impressed.

" We got back to Morawhana at 5 p.m., and had
dinner at 7.30 on board the 'Guiana,' to which all
the Morawhana officials were bidden, including the
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Quick. After dinner Mr. im
Thurn gave a magic lantern exhibition on board,
which was much appreciated. All the views shown
were photographic ones, taken by the Government
Agent himself, representing picturesque spots of
the territory, Bucks and Buckeens, Indian games,
and so on. Most of the members of the party were
billeted for the night on shore.

" Sunday, 4th June. After a delightful swim, we

prepared for Church at 11 a.m., the whole party

and all the officials ot the Township attending the

service. The Bishop preached.

.....

"At 3 a.m. on Monday, the 5th June, we left
Morawhana and steamed up the Barima, reaching the
Anabisci Creek at 10 a.m. Here we were boarded
by Mr. F. A. Long, Government Officer at Arakaka.
The 'Guiana' anchored here, and the party (with
the exception of Dr. Grieve and Messrs. I 'arnell
Davis and Barr— who had decided to enjoy otiiim
cum (iignitate by themselves on board — ) left in the
steam launches "Lady Gormanston" and "Lady
Bruce " (which had steamed up and were awaiting

EXPANSION

us) en route for the Barima gold-ftelds, via Koriabo
Station. This Station was reached at i p.m. On

the way up we passed several bateaux-loads of grfd

diggers. One bateau coming down contained over
20 lbs. of gold, as the register at KoriAbo duly
recorded. Koriabo Station is a picturesque *ruc-
ture on a high sand reef, formeiV the site of an
Indian Settlement. From the time we left Koriabo
— 1.30 p.m. — the launches steamed steadily forward
the whole afternoon, until 5 p.m. Several crowded
boats of diggers passed, mutual salutations bemg
exchanged. This portion of the Barima is especially
lovely. It winds and twists in the m«et extra-
ordinary way, some of the curves be;ng verv sharp
On either side the trees and verdure tinted by
innumerable shades of light, were enchant*^ The
current was strong against us, increasing m peks>cky
the further we went ; and we psMsed mmr maHr
fallen ' tacoubas ' (trees) some hidden ei«HP«y u..
water. The river was reported to exorytionalh
high, or navigation would have been Tiaprae-i^able.
As it was, the ' Lady Bruce ' got one fKi«ty sMiseen
knock, of which we were to know mom jMon. We
had now reached a spot a little more ih^* taXi W4y
between Koriabo and the Arakaka landiu^ -md -
was determined to encamp ior the night. Tlic
launches were securely fastened to the trees ibc
party jumped on terra firma, suid Mr. im T^uiw's
Bucks started to cut down trees and build a benab,
roofing it with tarpaulins. und» which to han^^r the
hammocks for the night. Dinner vas served in the
launches, the air was deliciousiy cool, and after
dinner we were all ready for turning mu
n z

354 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

" For some of us, however, there was to be little
rest that night The ' Lady Bruce ' was discovered
to be leaking badly, and it was not until after day-
break next morning that the leak— which took a
long time to localise — was patched, and made fairly
tight. This had no doubt been caused by the sunken
tacouba we had passed over and struck the day
before. When the water level is lower than we
were fortunate enough to find it, these tacoubas,
of which there are said to be a great quantity, must
be a source of considerable danger to bateaux traffic,
and the sooner all are cleared away the better for the
gold industry and all persons concerned. The work
should be started with vigour forthwith, and all
money expended by the Government with this
object in view will be money well spent. Messrs.
im Thum and White were indefatigable in their
efforts to get the leak stopped. The intention had
been to leave at daybreak next morning, Tuesday,
for the Arakaka landing, but fire was not put under
the boilers until after 6, and before steam was up at
9, it was announced that the Lt. -Governor had
decided to go no further, partly on account of the
leaky launch, and for other considerations. Of
course this was a very great disappointment, as the
Arakaka gold-fields had held out a most delightful
prospect to all of us.

" However, there was no help for it, and so with
feelings of great regret we left ' Disappointment
Spot,' as the site of our nocturnal encampment was
immediately dubbed, and started on the homeward
journey. Koriabo was reached at 1 1 a.m., and the
•Guiana' at Anabisci at 2.30 p.m., the party being

EXPANSION

greeted by Dr. Grieve and Messrs. Darnell Davis
and Barr, who welcomed us with great enthusiasm,
although they had done their best to finish all the

ice on board during our absence.

" The return journey as far as Koriabo was not
without some excitement owing to the swift current,
the numerous sharp twists and turns of the river,
the sunken and exposed tacoubas, and the speed at
which the launches had to be driven to preserve
steerage way in such a strong current. Numerous
bright coloured King-fishers darted to and fro, an
occasional bush curry-curry showed itself, and large
blue butterflies of great brilliancy flitted up and
down. The natural beauties of this part of the
Barima will well repay a visit.

"Wednesday, 7th June. Left Anabisci at 5.30 a.m.,
and steamed rapidly with the current for Mora-
whana. Arrived at 11 a.m. and left immediately,
entering the VVaini River about 11.45 > having
only just succeeded in scraping over the bar. Bari-
mani Station was reached at 5. 1 5 p.m. This station,
seen from the steamer, made a very pretty picture, and
quite refreshed the eyo after the monotony of the
long stretch of the Waini through which we had
passed. The scenery of the Waini, between its
mouth and Barimani, seemed commonplace com-
pared with that of the Barima. On either side of
the Waini we had seen an endless mass of mangrove
trees, practically unrelieved by foliage of any other
kind.

" Arrived at Bariman', His Excellency and several
of the party went on shore, and inspected the station.
Some <rf us had a swim. Mr. J. O. Love, the Gold

356 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Officer here, informed us that the amount of gold
which passed Barimani lasK month was the la^rest
which had ever passed in one month, and that on
the Upper Waini, seven days' journey by boat from
Barimani, i8 placers were now being located. The
pineapples growing in front of the Station excited
some surprise, on account of their great luxuriance
and fertility. I counted six pines, all nearly ripe,
growing from one stool. A tremendous downpour
of rain now took place, which must have reached
nearly two inches in less than an hour. Many of
the party preferred the site of Barimani, merely
as a spot for a residence, to Morawhana. It was
certainly much cooler, and nearly, if not quite,
as picturesque.

Thursday, 8th June. Left Barimani at 7 a.m. on
the homeward journey, expecting to reach George-
town to-morrow morning about 8.30. Exclusive of
the 300 miles between the Demerara Light Ship
and Waini point, we shall have traversed approxi-
mately 538 miles of some of the principal waterways
of British Guiana, and very wonderful and grand
they are. At each of the Stations we visited, the
Lieut. -Governor wap careful to visit all the buildings,
questioning th^ officers in charge, and inspecting
the bookp and papers. His Excellency seemed to
take a very lively interest in enquiring into, dis-
cussing and considering any matters connected with
the development of the Gold Industry and the
progress of the District generally. It must not be
forgotten that to Sir Charles Bruce's energy much
of that which has been already accomplished is due,
and his name must always remain inseparably

EXPANSION

357

connected, and gratefully remembered, with the
beginning and early progress of the Gold Industry
of British Guiana. It must also be remembered
that to Mr. im Thurn, whose training, aptitude,
skill and knowledge, have peculiarly fitted him for
the important position of Government Agent, much
of the development referred to, so far as relates to
the North West District, belongs.

" Bearing in mind the exceedingly pleasant con*
diUons which prevailed during our tour, it will be
easily understood how much the trip has been
enjoyed and appreciated. It is to be regretted that
these wonderful waterways of the Colony are not
Letter known and understood, as it seems impossible
that anyone can visit them without not only gaining
knowledge, of which he was ignorant bdbre, but
benefiting also materially in other ways."

• •••••

£. C. LUARD.

Waini River, N.W.D., 8th June, 1893.

THE ESSEQUIBO RIVER-SYSTEM

I have hitherto referred to the work of expansion
in the north-west of British Guiana, and in the
south-west territory of the County of Berbice.
But the main highway to the resources of the
interior is the great river Essequibo, with its tribu-
taries the Massaruni and the Cuyuni. All these
rivers ofter formidable difficulties to navigation by
reason of their falls and rapids. Mr. M'Turk,
Magistrate of the Essequibo, one of the pioneers of
inland enterprise, has left on record a graphic

358 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

detcriptton of an experience on the Cuyuni, whidi
may be taken as generally typical of the perils of
navigating these rivers, bearing always in mind
that the danger varies in proportion to a varying
volume of water at different seasons of the year.
Speaking of an expedition connected with a boundary
dispute in 1891, he reported :

" On the 14th the boat went twice on the rocks,
the first time splitting the larboard streak, and the
second time pitching me out, when I got a number
of bruises. This was through no fault of the steers-
man, but because we came so suddenly on the rocks
round points above them. We then had to clear
a road across an island about 400 yards long, lay
rollers, unload, and haul the boat over. This
occupied nearly half a day. At 12.30 p.m. we
started for the other side.

" The appearance of the river from the lower side
of this portage was most appalling ; as far as the view
was clear the river was a seething mass of broken
water, with numerous whirlpools and pointed rocks
showing between the waves. We all viewed them
with dread, knowing we had to pass over them
somehow. Placin^' myself at the highest part of
the lading with the glasses I directed the steersman,
and by alternately running and lowering, at i p.m.
came out into clear water, finishing one of the most
dangerous passages through falls it has been my lot
to experience. On the i6th January we had to
unload and haul over the boat twice owing to the
size of the falls swollen by the rains, and again once
more on the 17th. On thb morning the boat was
flung bodily on to a rock by die bursting up of the

EXPANSION

359

water — the uprising of the accumulated water from
below. One man who was standing up at the time
was thrown several feet clear of the boat, and was
driven down the fall, but clung to wme Inishet
bebw. We jumped on the rock, and at the next
uprising of the water the boat swung round and
floated off ; one man not jumping in in time was
left on the rock. As soon as we acquired control
over the boat, we picked up the man holding on to
the bushes, and went as near as we could to the
other on the rock, about forty yards off, as we could
get no nearer ; he was motioned to swim, and I
stood ready with a rope to throw to his assistance ;
he jumped in and reached the boat safely. We
arrived without further mishap at the penal settle-
ment at ia30 a.m."

At a very early period of the policy of expansion,
it was found that the falls and rapids of the
Lower Essequibo made the direct transport of
timber from the forests o " the upper river
practically impossible. After the discovery of
gold they made the conveyance of miners and
general freight and passengers very costly and
dangerous. A great many plans for rendering the
river navigable by a system of canals and locks have
been and are still being discussed. Quite recently I
was invited to join a syndicate to promote an
enterprise of this kind. In 1888 the importance of
establishing communication by the Essequibo between
the capital city of Georgetown and the interior led
to two definite proposals. One was to connect the
Demerara River with the Upper Essequibo by a

MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART

(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)

^ APPLIED IIVHGE li

36o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

railway, to run from a point below the lower falls
of the Demerara to a point above the lower rapids
of the Essequibo. The other was to construct a
canal contiguous to and parallel with the river
Essequibo from the top of the rapids to the bottom,
a distance of seven or eight miles.

In March, 1889, a survey and report recommend-
ing the Essequibo canal scheme were completed, but
no immediate action was taken. In the following
year, however, the Potaro, a tributary of the Esse-
quibo, became the principal field of the gold industry,
and the necessity for a cheap and safe route from
the Upper Essequibo to navigable waters brought to
the front the question of overcoming the difficulties
and dangers of the Lower Essequibo rapids. In
May, 1890, the Colonial Civil Engineer proposed
an alternative scheme, substituting for a canal an
inclined tramway to carry boats on the bank of
the Essequibo parallel to the rapids, but a few
months later he withdrew this proposal, reverting
to the earlier scheme for connecting the Demerara
and the Essequibo by railway. The publication of
the scheme was followed by offers from private firms
to contract for carrying it out, but it also gave
rise to a perplexing amplitude of other proposals.
Eventually, on March 5th, 1891, it was resolved in
Combined Court that a Committee be appointed
by the Governor to inquire and report on the best
way of opening up the country above the rapids in
the Essequibo river.

The Governor, Lord Gormanston, left the colony
a few days later and it devolved upon me to
give effect to the resolution of the Court. The

EXPANSION

361

Commission proceeded to take the evidence of the
principal representatives of the gold-mining and
timber industries, public officers and others, arriving
at the conclusion that it would be of advantage
to see for themselves and personally survey the
country lying between the Demerara and Essequibo
rivers, and the river Essequibo itself as far as the
Potaro. Accordingly an expedition was arranged
under command of Mr. M'Turk, Special Magistrate
of the Essequibo. 1 decided to take part in it, and
was accompanied by the Commissioners, the Colonial
Civil Engineer, and Dr. F. H. Anderson, of the
Medical Service. A full account of the expedition,
by Sir John Carrington, Chairman of the Com-
mission, was published in the periodical Timehri, the
journal of the Agricultural and Commercial Society
of the colony, from which I summarise what seems
of permanent interest. On May 15th we started
from Georgetown and steamed up the Demerara
River to Manabadeen Creek, the point proposed for
the Demerara terminus of a railway. Our traverse
of the country between the Demerara and the Esse-
quibo, partly by canoe and partly on foot, occupied
the next three days. It was an interesting journey
through much splendour of tropical flora. On May
1 8th we completed our traverse and arrived at
the proposed Essequibo terminus. The Essequibo
at this point is a magnificent stream about a mile
wide ; it was in full volume as we proceeded to the
point where we were to camp for the night. I may
observe here that 1 attribute my good fortune in
enjoying perfect health on this and other expeditions
to the rule I observed, never to make use of a camp

362 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

previously occupied, the disturbance of the ground
by a camping party being peculiarly favourable to
the conditions that produce malaria. And the
operation of pitching a can:p is performed with
wonderful celerity by the boatmen. They go into
the forest with their cutlasses, and soon return
with a sufficient number of poles, of the requisite
size and length, to make the framework of one
or more resting places, as may be necessary. These
poles are tied together with bush rope (/tanas) ;
tarpaulins are then spread over the framework to
form a roof, the hammocks are slung inside, and in
an hour or so the camp is completed.

The experiences of the next day shall be recounted
in Sir John Carrington's own words :

"At 1. 20 p.m., we reached the landing-place of
Jacobs, Carreiro, and Rosa's placers, situated on
the left bank of the River some miles below the mouth
of the Omai Creek. Here we landed, and with
the exception of Mr. Menzies, who remained behind
to superintend his arrangements, we soon set off
on foot to see those placers which are reputed to be
the richest in the Colony. They are situated on
Gilt Creek, a small tributary of Omai Creek, and
the most productive of them, — the one to which
we were bound, — is distant some four miles from
the landing-place. . . . The path, if there can be
said to be a path, lies through the bush over a series
of hills and ravines, and, what with the hard iron-
stone soil, the rough tree-roots, and the mud at
intervals, it was not pleasant going. . . . After
something more than an hour's sharp walking,
we reached the placer, and were very kindly received

EXPANSION

363

by Mr. July and Mr. Forbes in their comfortable
little house on the side of the ravine. Imagine
a narrow valley or ravine, with the sides rising

sharply and clothed at the tops with forest trees,
with the reddish clay and darker gravel of the earth
in the middle and lower parts of it dug up and
thrown about in long ridges and heaps, and with
a party of some dozen men at work on a wooden
'lox or sluice in the upper part — and you have a
rough picture of the famous placer as we saw it.
We went down to the working, and Mr. Forbes
took a bf.Uel of ' pay dirt ' and washed it, showing
us, as the result, a few particles of gold at the
bottom of the vessel. We were also shown the
process of washing for gold in the sluice. This
consists in one or more men taking up the gold-
bearing gravel in a shovel and throwing it into
the sluice or long wooden trough, open at the
top. Through the sluice a small stream of water
runs continually, and at two different points on it
there sit two men who disintegrate and wash the
gravel over little frames in the sluice, which contain
quicksilver. The gold falls to the bottom and
becomes attached to the quicksilver, while the
gravel and dirt are carried away by the water down
the sluice. Mr. Forbes told us that the washing for
that day for that sluice would realise about 5 oz,
of gold. Lower down in the valley, some months
before, the daily yield had been sometimes as much
as 6 lbs.

Before leaving, we were shown some bars of
gold and the crucibles in which they were melted.
We reached our camp at the landing-place in time

364 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

for a bath and a capital dinner, whereat Mr. M'Turk
toasted Sir Charles Bruce in suitable wine, as the
first Governor of British Guiana who had been on a

placer."

I may here conveniently interrupt my narrative of
the expedition to say a word on the development
of the Omai district, as recorded in Professor
Harrison's work on The Geology of the Gold Fields
of British Guiana. Our knowledge of the geo-
logical structure of this district is more complete
than our knowledge of any other part of the colony.
This is due to the operations of a German syndicate
who carried on extensive exploration work under the
charge of Dr. Emil Lungwitz, of New York. He
has described *,he work of development in a mono-
graph, Ueber die regionalen Verdnderungen der
Goldlagerstdtten, and in the Zeitschrift fiir prak-
tische Geologie. During the years 1902-07, the small
area of about forty-five acres which had been
worked produced 58,794 ounces of gold, representing
an approximate value of ;^240,C)00. On the subject
of the future of the gold industry in British Guiana,
I may appropriately add a valuable extract from an
article contributed by Mr. E. G. Braddon to the
Mining Journal in May and June, 1904 :

" The Guiana alluvial gold fields are possibly
the richest existing to-day. . . . These gold fields
are, further, amongst the most extensive of the
world. The payable fields already proved cover
upwards of one thousand square miles, whilst a
great part of the Colony still remains unprospected.
The volume of worked ground, which can all be
profitably re-worked by properly devised hydraulick-

EXPANSION

365

ing, is unimportant in relation to that which remains
untouched, even on the established fields.

"The gold-bearing so-called alluvia of Guiana
have one very important and special characteristic :
they are not confined to the true alluvial drifts of
rivers and creeks, as in most countries, but embrace
a very great extent of enriched surface and payable
decomposed country rock.

"The possibilities of discovering lode forms of
deposits in the process of hydraulicking off the
surface residual matters are very real and attractive.
There are many other special natural advantages for
mining in Guiana against few natural disabilities.
The Colony has the elements for a very large
development of hydraulic mining and dredging,
which should directly lead to the discovery and
be accompanied by the opening of valuable lode,
or lode forms, of deposits. For the successful
prosecution of such operations moderate capitalisa-
tions are wanted, with intelligent, experienced,
honest, and practical direction, towards definite,
clearly perceived, well-chosen, and steadfastly
followed purposes. The circumstances are in every
way favourable for the activities of private enterprise
from outside."

The next day we reached the Potaro. Opposite
the mouth of the Potaro the Essequibo is very wide
and lake-like, and the line of demarcation between
its light-coloured waters and the reddish-brown
peaty waters of the Potaro is dearly traced. Con-
tinuing our journey we arrived at the furthest point
of our expedition, the Tumatumari Falls, and
arranged to pitch our camp a little below them on

366 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the left bank. The Falls, about half a mile in
«vidth, are broken by many islands. It is a fine
sight to see the immense mass of water hurled down
among rocks and hollows, and broken into foam as

it dashes over barriers of granite. We paddled
across the foot of the Falls, skilfully steered by Mr.
M'Turk through the whirling current till we reached
the portage he had constructed a few months before
on the right bank, to facilitate the transport of boats
and stores to the mines above the Falls. On May
2 1 St we commenced our return journey, and the
swift current quickly carried us down to our camp at
the head of the lower Essequibo rapids. In the
course of the day, we passed many gold-mining
expeditions bound for the Pouro. On Friday, May
22nd, we started early on our last and longest
journey through the lower Essequibo rapids. At
U.30 a.m. we landed on Moonerie Island, a rocky
islet at the head of the Falls to make our final
arrangements. Mr. M'Turk acted as captain of
my tent-boat which was steered by an old Indian
who had been many years in his service. The
steering is done by means of a huge paddle, secured
by a rope to the stern of the boat in an upright
position. In the bow stands the " bowman " with a
similar paddle not made fast. The Falls consist of
seven or eight more or less swift and turbulent
rapids occupying the course of the river for as many
miles, with intervals of smooth water between them.
The most difficult and dangerous rapids, called
respectively Maribi and Tabinetta, lie next to one
another above the middle of the series. At times
the boat passes close to huge chasms into which the

EXPANSION

367

water rushes with great force and is curled back in
a great wave. The passage through the rapids
occupied a Vtun more than an hour.

I returned to Georgetown on May 24th, and on
June 1st, started on my final tour through the
north-western district, of which an account has
already been given. This closed the record of my
services in developing the resources of what has
been justly styled the Magnificent Province of
British Guiana. The years that have since elapsed
have brought to light the wealth of its undeveloped
resources, and the time may not be far distant when
the story of the evolution of the Government Agency
of the north-western district may serve as an object-
lessor the establishment of similar agencies.

I may add that the Demerara-Essequibo railway
scheme was carried out in due time, and the line
opened for traffic in 1897.

CHAPTER XXVII
DEFENCE

The struggle for the control of the tropics during
the later years of the Victorian era proved our
tropical colonies to be of political and commercial
necessity to the Empire. At the same time it was
made abundantly clear that naval supremacy is the
condition of our tenure. Taken collectively, it is
probable that no group of communities in the world
has so large a proportion of commerce exposed to so
great an ocean risk ; while in many of them the food
of the population, depends entirely on sea-borne
supply. I do not propose to discuss the principles
of their defence, or any scheme of operations subor-
dinate to those principLs. But the question of the
incidence of the burden of Imperial defence, a
question that more than any other has modified our
colonial policy from the earliest times, has recently
acquired an importance recognised as paramount by
all our self-governing colonies. In the matter of
Imperial protection there is a broad line of demar-
cation between our self-governing and our Crown
colonies. The self-governing colonies have absolute
control over the administration of their internal

DEFENCE 369

policy, while the Imperial Government has hitherto
been bound, as a condition on which alone the self-
governing colonies consent to form constitutional
parts of the Empire, to hold them immune from

the consequences of a policy over which it has
no control. In the Crown colonies the control of
every department of internal affairs and external
relations are, in the last resort, under the control of
the Imperial Government with the logical conse-
quence that the Imperial Government is, in the last
resort, responsible for their protection from disorder
within and aggression from without. From the point
of view of defence, the Crown colonies may be
grouped in two categories, — colonies that are
garrisoned by Imperial troops and colonies that are
not. It has never been a principle of British rule
that Crown colonies not garrisoned by Imperial
troops should provide or contribute for their external
defence; but they have been bound to maintain
some kind of force adequate to put down disorder,
and also to defend the colony against foreign
aggression during the period which must elai)se
before a requisition for assistance to the nearest
naval or military base can be complied with. I
will endeavour to illustrate from my personal
experience the working of the system, first, in a
colony where the Imperial garrison was withdrawn,
and it became necessary to constitute an adequate
force in substitution; secondly, in colonies from
which garrisons had long been withdrawn; and
thirdly, in garrisoned colonies.

Early in the year 1891 the Government of

British Guiana was informed that the colony would
n 2 A

j7o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

immediately cease to be garrisoned by Imperial
troops. This measure had been so long contem-
plated and so long postponed that for years similar
warnings had been treated as cries of Wolf.
Nevertheless, sometime previously the colony had
thought it prudent to protest against the proposal,
and had offered to bear the whole cost of an Iniperial
garrison. At a session of the Combined Court in
February, 1891, the Governor, Lord Gormanston,
called attention to the matter, and intimated that
measures for the maintenance of a suitable md
reliable local force were under consideration. Lord
Gormanston was to leave the colony in a few days,
and hoped to be able to make representations at
home which would induce the Imperial Govern-
ment to reconsider its determination, or at least
to postpone once more the removal of the
garrison. In March he left, but. before he had
time to do an)'thing, I was, on April ist, in-
formed by the officer commanding the troops that
he had received orders from the General Officer
commanding at Barbados for the detachment of the
West India Regiment, quartered at Georgetown,
to move to St Lucia on the 9th of the month. On
the 6th, however, I was informed that this order had
been cancelled pending further instructions. The
delay was not long, and in a few weeks the removal
of the garrison was completed.

In the meantime it became necessary for me
to take immediate steps to provide for the protec-
tion of the colony. In British Guiana, as generally
throughout the West Indies, the apprehension
of internal disorder was a much more powerful

DEFENCE

motive than the fear of external aggression.

There was also, as now, the economic motive of a
desire to retain Imperial garrisons, which more or
less directly contribute to the circulation of money
in a colony. I may add that at the time the garrison
was under orders to move there was a great deal of
anxiety in British Guiana, arising out of the murder
of an Indian coolie by a Portuguese resident, to
which I have referred in a former chapter dealing
with the subject of the exercise of the clemency of
the Crown. On April 6th 1 caused a letter to
be addresserl to the Inspector General, Colonel
the Hon. Kichard Stapleton Cotton, pointing out
that it w;i.s of urgent importance that he should be
prepared to meet the possibility of internal disturb-
ance, and should be ready at any moment to deal
with either of the following contingencies :

(1) A riot in Georgetown ;

(2) A riot in the counties of Demerara, Esse-

quibo, or Berbice ;
bearing in mind that any such disturbance might
be due to the action of the general community
or of the East Indian immigrants resident in the
colony.

In organising a scheme of defence, I assumed that
the protection of the colony against invasion must
mainly depend upon the Imperial naval and military
forces, and that such forces would be available in
the case of serious domestic disturbance. In either
case, however, it was certain that there must be
a period of delay before the arrival of the troops,
during which the burden of protection would have
to be borne by a territorial force.

372 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

The scheme I prepared contemplated a territorial
force of three dimensions : the Police, a body of
Rural Constabulary, and a local military organisation
in substitution of the existing Militia and Volunteer

systems.

The constitution and duties of the Police, to form
the first line of defence, were defined in my scheme
as follows: "There shall be established in and for
this colony a Police Force, which shall be an armed
semi-military force and shall be employed for the
prevention and detection of crime, the repression
of internal disturbance, and the defence of the
colony against external aggression."

The constitution and duties of the Rural Con-
stabulary were thus defined : " There shall be
established in and for this colony a Rural Con-
stabulary, which shall consist of such officers and
non-commissioned officers and constables as may
be appointed as hereinafter mentioned.

" The principal objects for which the Rural
Constabulary are' established are that they may be
capable —

(1) In time of peace, of acting as an efficient

auxiliary to the Police Force in the per-
formance of their ordinary duties, and

(2) In time of external aggression, or of internal

disturbance, of at once assuming, to such
an extent as may be found requisite, the
ordinary duties of the Police Force."
The military organisation to be substituted for the
Militia and Volunteer systems I called a Volunteer-
Militia. It included an active and a reserve force.
The story of the evolution of this territorial force

DEFENCE

can best be told by extracts from the despatches

in which it was reported to the Secretary of State.
For reasons which need not now be discussed
that part of the scheme which included the organisa-
tion of the body called the Volunteer-Militia Force
met with some opposition at the Colonial Office
on the ground that it would have been better to
postpone it. I leave the vindication of my prompt
action to the explanation presented in my despatch
of October 6th, 1891.

I must premise that early in April Colonel
Cotton's health broke down from the strain of
overwork. In reply to my urgent appeal, the Secre-
tary of State immediately appointed, as his suc-
cessor, Lieut.-Colonel E. B. M'Innis, a distinguished
officer, who had served with the 9th Lancers on
Lord Roberts's inarch from Kabul to Kandahar,
at the time Commandant of the local forces in
Trinidad.

On April 8th I addressed the following despatch
to Lord Knutsford.

Government House.
Georgetown, 8th April, 1891,

*'Mv Lord,

" I have the honour to acknowledge the
receipt of your Despatch No. 38 of the 17th of
March respecting the relative advantages of Volun-
teer, Militia, and Police Forces as a means of
defence for the Colony.

" Lord Gormanston before his departure left with
me the rough draft of a scheme for the reorganisa-
tion of the Militia of which he has taken a copy

374 A HE BROAD STONE O^ EMPIRE

to England, with the intention of submitting it to
your Lordship. Lord Gormanston also took w'th
him, and promised to consider, a note of a plan
for the formation of a Volunteer-Militia corps which
I ventured to suggest.

• • • • • •

" In order to secure the adequate organisation of
the Police Force for the duties which will be thrown
upon it by the withdrawal of the troops, I addressed
a letter to the Inspector General of Police, of which
I annex a copy, as well as of the reply which I
received from Colonel Cotton.

" Colonel Cotton's schemes for the reorganisation
of the Police Force and of the Rural Constabulary
have been seen and approved by Lord Gormanston,
and I have therefore no hesitation in proceeding
with them.

" Briefly stated, what seems to be essential in the
reorganisation of the Police Force is, to secure :

(1) The maintenance of a small body of well-
disciplined constables at Georgetown available for
service at a montent's notice in any of the contin-
gencies enumerated in my letter to the Inspector
General. I do not think that this detachment
need consist of more than from eighty to one
hundred men, which would be fully equal to the
averagfe strength of the detachment of the West
India Regiment during the last few years.

(2) The reorganisation of the staff of the Police
Force with a view to a more efficient local control
and superintendence.

(3) The reorganisation of the Rural Constabu-
lary.

DEFENCE

375

" With a reorganised Police Force, I concur with
Colonel Cotton in thinking that the security of
the Colony might be considered sufficiently provided
for without either Militia or Volunteers. I am
nevertheless of opinion that the maintenance of
a force of Militia or Volunteers is of importance
both as an auxiliary to the Police Force, and
because I consider that the habits of discipline
and precision encouraged by a military training are
of incalculable value as an educational agency in
a Colonial community. Nor do I overlook the
advantages of the sentiment of manly loyalty which
the officers of a Militia or Volunteer corps have
many opportunities of promoting.

" While the consideration of a complete and com-
prehensive scheme of Militia or Volunteer organisa-
tion is under consideration, I believe that a useful
auxiliary corps may be mainiained at a trifling
cost by a modification of the existing Militia and
Volunteer ordinances on the following lines :

1 . All persons of due age and qualification to be
liable to service ;

2. All such persons to be registered according to
their electoral districts ;

3. The following companies to form the strength
of the force :

Demerara and Georgetown.
One company artillery ; three companies line.

ESSEQUIBO.

One company line.

Berbice.
One company line.

376 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

4. The full strength of each company to be one
hundred ; the minimum strength sixty ;

5. The minimum strength to be obtained so far
as possible by volunteers ; the deficiency, If any, to
be supplied by ballot from the electoral districts,
each of which will be liable to furnish a contingent :
the ballot will be limited to electoral districts which
have not furnished their full contingent ;

6. Volunteers to be enrolled for three years ;

7. Volunteers after three years' service to have
the option of re-enlisting, or may be transferred to a
reserve force liable to be called upon for actual
service ;

8. The strength of the reserve to be equal to the
difference between the maximum and minimum
strength of the company ;

9. Volunteers to be entitled to certificates of pro-
ficiency with a money value attached to them, and
all who have gained such certificates to be entitled
to payment for attendance when called out.

• •••••

" I did not keep any copy of the note I gave
Lord Gormanston, referred to in the second
paragraph of this despatch, but it was nearly in
the terms I have stated.

*' I have, etc."

On April 22nd I transmitted to the Secretary

of State a copy of a statement in which I had, on
the 14th of che month, explained the scheme of
defence to the Court of Policy.

DEFENCE

" In pursuance of a policy long under preparation
orders were recently received for the immediate
withdrawal of the small force of Imperial troops
hitherto maintained in the colony, and although the
date of withdrawal has been for the moment post-
poned it seems none the less incumbent on me to
lay before you without unnecessary delay the
measures which have for some time been under con-
sideration with a view to adjusting the organisation
of our local forces to the new Imperial policy.
In accordance with the recommendations of the
Royal Commission on the defences of the Empire
appointed 1879, the number of garrisons scattered
throughout the colonies is being reduced and
the Imperial troops are being concentrated in
positions of vital importance. For strategic reasons
in connection with the operations of the Imperial
navy in West Indian waters it has been decided
to concentrate the Imperial troops at Jamaica
and St. Lucia. A memorandum recently issued
by the Colonial Defence Committee shows that
in the adoption of the new system the position
of British Guiana and of the West Indian colonies
has been regarded with equal consideration for our
interests in peace and war. The memorandum
contained the following passages :

' As req;ards protection against internal distur-
bance, the concentration which has been decided
upon will facilitate the rapid despatch of troops to
any point where their services might be required,
while the training and efficiency of the force must
necessarily benefit by the cessation of interference
with its regimental organisation.

! 1

378 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

' There has been no question of abandoning any
of the West India colonies, or of leaving them to
their own unaided resources in the event of war.
The policy adopted by Her Majesty's Government
is based upon the broad principle that the protection
of the West Indies as a v/hole must depend upon the
navy operating in sufficient force, and that the
Imperial defences on shore should be such only as
will facilitate the operations of the navy in keeping
the sea clear of an enemy's vessels.*

" This authoritative statement of the principles
of the policy now being carried out has only to
be understood aid appreciated to remove an im-
pression which seems to exist, that the withdrawal
of a small detachment of the West India Regiment
from Georgetown is tantamount to a withdrawal
from the colony of the protection hitherto
accorded bv the Imperial forces. On the contrary
it is clearly of the essence of the new policy to bring
the colony in the event either of aggression or of
internal disturbance within easy reach of the oper-
ations of naval and military forces absolutely over-
whelming in efficiency as compared with the strength
of the small and isoiatfjd garrison hitherto maintained.

"The Royal Commission of 1879 nevertheless
added to their recommendations in fav«"ur of the
system now being carried out a strong recommend-
ation that the colonies to be affected by the new
policy, ' should take prompt measures to organise
their own police.' This recommendation has not
been lost sight of in British Guiana. Mr. Cox,
the late Inspector General of Po.ice, was ever
urgent in his desire for a reorganisation of the

DEFENCE

379

police, so that on the removal of the imperial

troops from Georgetown an adequate force in
substitution for them should be ready at hand.
And this object has been constantly borne in
mind by Colonel Cotton, whose schemes for the
reorganisation of the police and the auxiliary force
known as Rural Constables it is the desire of
the Government to give effect to by ordinances
which the Attorney-General will introduce to-day.

"As the Attorney-General will explain the pro-
visions of these measures I will confine myself to
a sketch of the outlines of the new system.
As regards the Police Force, it is based on a
reconstruction of the staff in such a way as to
establish a well-defined chain of responsibility in
relation to the territorial divisions of the colony.
For this purpose it is proposed to appoint Super-
intendents of the counties of Demerara, Berbice
and Essequibo, each of whom will be directly
responsible to the Inspector-General for the main-
tenance of order and the carrying out of the duties
of the police in the county assigned to him. The
counties will be divided into inspectoral districts,
in each of which an Inspector will be appointed
directly responsible to the County Superintendent for
the proper conduct of the duties of the police in his
district; and to this Inspector the non-commissioned
officers will be directly responsible. I n order to secure
the efficiency of the force with particular reference to
their employment in substitution of the Imperial
troops it is proposed to appoint an adjutant and
musketry instructor. This officer will be in charge
of a depot, which we propose to establish in the

38o THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

pre- nt military barracks, where a detachment of
the force will pass throujj^h a course of military
training, and will be in readiness to be detailed
at a moment's notice for service in case of dis-
turbance from whatever cause and in any part
of the colony. After a certain period these trained
constables will be redrafted into the ;jeneral force
and their place taken by others, so that in time the
force will consist, at least for the most part, of
men who have gone through a competent military
training

" In the month of September, 1S89. the Inspector
General of Police submitted to the Government
proposals for the reorganisation of the Rural
Constabulary, declaring his belief that out of the
existing disorganised materials a very efficient
body of men could be made available for police
duties at a triding cost. On October 2nd these
proposals were transmitted by circular to the
Stipendiary Magistrates for their opinion and for
any suggestions they might wish to offer as to
carrying them out. The opinions of the Magis-
trates generally confirmed the views expressed by
the ' Inspector General, as to the inefficiency of
the existing system and the urgent necessity for
reorganisation, and their suggestions having been
considered, a further circular was issued in June
of last year requesting the views of the Magistrates
on certain additional and more detailed proposals
submitted by Colonel Cotton. The answer to this
circular having been received. Colonel Cotton in
October last submitted an amended scheme
which would have been proceeded with at once in

DEFENCE

381

connection with his scheme for the reorganisation
of the Police but for the serious indisposition which

compelled Colonel Cotton to leave the colony.
Since his return he has had an opportunity of
finally considerin<r and perfectin;^ his proposals.
Into the details of the scheme as it now stands
I need not enter, as a bill to make provision for
the better reorganisation of the Rural Constabulary
will be introduced to-day by the A '.orney-General.
I will only say that the principal objects of the
measure are to secure at all times an efficient
auxiliary to the Police Force in the performances
of their ordinary duties, and in times of disturbance,
either from without or within, a body of men capable
of at once assuming; to such extent as may be
found requisite the ordinary duties of the Police
Force. In this way the concentration of the Police
Force at any disturbed point will be effected without
risk to the maintenance of order and without inter-
ruption of the ordinary police duties in the districts
from which the regular force may have been
temporarily removed.

*' The reorganisation of the ''olice Force and the
reconstruction of the Rural constabulary represent
the mature result of the experience gained by
Colonel Cotton during his administration. The last
days of his brief, but honourable and useful career in
the service of the colony were devoted to perfecting
,.he details of his schemes and in assisting the
Attorney-General in the preparation of the ordi-
nances to carry them into effect which he will
introduce to-day.

382 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

" I am glad to have been able to lay before you
to-day the Report of the Inspector General for the
year 1890. It furnishes ample evidence of the good
results of his administration on the tone, discipline,

and general efficiency of the force, and can hardly
fail to inspire additional confidence in the soundness
and wisdom of his proposals for the future adminis-
tration of the Police and Constabulary of the colony.

" The Colonial Defence Committee, while advo*
eating the organisation of the Police as a force
readily available in substitution of the local garrisons
withdrawn for the centralisation of the Imperial
naval and military forces, have urged that where
any fighting spirit exists and wherever the manhood
of the colony is actuated by a determined spirit of
self-defence the organisation of auxiliary local forces
should be encouraged by every possible means.
British Guiana may fairly claim to be included in
the category of colonies thus indicated, and the
traditions of the local auxiliary forces justify the belief
that a combination, of the principles upon which our
Militia and Volunteer ordinances are based m^
easily be adapted to the maintenance of an auxiliary
force which will meet all requirements for defensive
purposes, and at the same time serve as a school for
the training of our youths in manly physical pursuits
and in habits of discipline and precision, of priceless
worth in the building up of young communities.

• • • > •

" At the last meeting of Combined Court the

vote of ^ooo dollars for Volunteers was passed on
the unc' .rstandinsf that exoenditure on account of
this vote would not be made without the sanction

DEFENCE

383

of the Court of Policy. Fears were at that time
entertained that the spirit which had once main-
tained and animated our Volunteer Force was dead,
but the last week has sh^wn I think conclusively
that these fears are groundless ; and I ..ope that the
Court will agree to accept a resolution which will be
proposed to sanction such expenditure as may be
found necessary to support the volunteer force, under
the provisions of the existing law, pending the con-
sideration of an ordinance which will be introduced
by the Attorney-General for the establishment of an
auxiliary force on the lines I have laid down. To
complete a scheme of defence appropriate to the
circumstances of British Guiana a proposal was
made several years ago by the then Inspector
General of Police, Mr. Cox, with the view of obtain-
ing the services of an Imperial gun-boat for the
protection of the colony. At that time an accidental
circumstance seemed likely to be followed by the
immediate withdrawal of the troops in garrison, but
the occasion passed and the proposal was not further
urged. In the course of last year, however. Com-
mander Graham, of Her Majesty's ship ' Ready,'
suggested that one or more stern-wheel steamers of
light draft of the type of the steamers 'Herald' and
'Mosquito' employed on the Zambesi River might
with advantage be provided, which would serve
generally for the purpose of police and revenue
cruisers and might be relied on to render important
service for defensive purposes. At our request
estimates have been furnished by the Admiralty
showing the cost of construction, equipment, trans-
port, etc., as well as the cost of annual maintenance

384 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

of steamers of this type. The cost of construction,
equi[)ment, transport, etc.. is estimated at about
;^ii,oco; and the annual maintenance, inclusive of
crew, but exclusive of cost of fuel, at a little over

jCsooo.

"Should the measures which will be introduced
to-day secure the acceptance of the Court of Policy,
I shall be prepared at the proper time to summon a
special session of Combined Court to discuss such
ite- !S of expenditure as may be found necessary."

On the same day on which I transmitted this
statement to the Secretary of State, I reported
progress in another despatch.

Government Hou&.,
Georgetown, sand April, 1891.

" My Lord,

"With reference to my despatch No. 125
of this date, so far as relates to the establishment
of a Militia or Volunteer Force, I have the honour
to acquaint you that I learnt by the last mail that
a Militia ordinance on lines similar to the scheme
proposed by this Government and explained in
the statement made by me in the Court of Policy on
the 14th instant has been passed in Jamaica. The
details of the Jamaica ordinance are in the hands of
the Attorney-General, and will be considered in
drafting a Bill for an Auxiliary Force in this colony.

" In the meantime I transmit a copy of a report
drawn up by Major Turner, commanding the British
Guiana Volunteers, and showing the measures taken

DEFENCE

385

during the last fortnight, since I was notified of
the contemplated immediate removal of the troops,

to ascertain how far the Volunteers can be relied
on as a force immediately available as an auxiliary
to the Police.

" Your Lordship will, I trust, recognise that Major
Turner has acted with energy, and that the Volun-
teers have shown a manly spirit fully justifying
my confidence that they may be relied on as an
available force ptnumg the further consideration
of the measures proposed for the establishment of an
auxiliary force. I observe that the auxiliary force
established under the Jamaica ordinance is called a
Militia. It may be simpler to designate the force
intended to be raised here ' Militia,' instead of
'Volunteer Militia' as has been proposed, but this
is a matter of trifling importance.

1 have, etc."
{Enclosure.)

Major Turner to the Government Secretary.

Head Quarters,

Briti.sh Guiana Volunteers,
2 1 St April, 1 89 1.

'Sir,

' In compli; T-.<;e with the expressed wish

of His Excellency the jMeutenant-Governor, I have

the honour to report as follows on the present state

of the Volunteer Force tmder my command.

' It is unnecessary for me to enter into the causes

which led to the suspension of drills in September
n 2 B

386 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

1889, but I may state that at that time I should
have experienced no difficulty whatever in raising
a force of 400 men in Georgetown alone had I been

called upon to do so.

'On the 7th instant His Excellency was good
enough to consult me with reference to the position
of the Volunteer Force, and whether it could be
relied upon by the Government as a factor of any
importance in any scheme of local defence which
might be devised. I replied to His Excellency,
as I have repeatedly replied both officially and
otherwise to the same question, that I felt
thoroughly satisfied 1000 men could be raised
in Georgetown alone if the Government really
desired to raise and equip that number, and set
about the task in an earnest and business-like way,
and I pledged myself to have between one and
two hundred men on parade within twenty-four
hours if they were required. His Excellency was
pleased to direct that I should order a parade at
once, and I accordingly issued a Corps Order, which
appeared in the Daily Chronicle of the 8th instant,
ordering a parade of A. B. and C. Companies in the
Drill Hall ou the 8th instant at 8 p.m. In obedi-
ence to this order 146 men paraded in the Drill
Hall on the day and at the hcrr above named.
I addressed the men on the subject for which I
had brought them together, and the report of the
proceedings which I take from the Daily Chronicle
gives, but in a very disjointed manner, the substance
of my remarks ; the main point 1 dwelt upon was
that the Government desired to know whether the
Volunteers could be depended upon as a factor in

DEFENCE

387

the calculations about being made respecting the
defence of the colony. I think if any of those
persons had been present who, despite all facts,

decry the Volunteer movement, and deny that any
fighting spirit exists among the youth of the colony,
the bright eyes and eager animated faces of the
1 50 men who stood in front of me as I spoke would
have convinced them of their error.

' Since that evening drill has gone steadily on, and
the uniforms, which have been lying in the Drill
Hall unpacked awaiting the orders of the Govern-
ment for over a year, are being distributed to A.
B. and C. companies, and on Tuesday next I shall
send thirty uniforms to the Berbice company. At
the present moment 123 have been distributed as
under :

A company
B do.
C do.

Total - - - - 123

'We are now drilling five nights each week,
getting from forty to fifty men in attendance from

A. and B. companies, and between sixty and seventy
from C. Last evening C. company mustered eighty-
four men of all ranks.

' On Sunday ne.vt I have ordered a Church Parade
at 4.30 p.m. at the Pro-Cathedral, and I anticipate
parading quite :^oo men.

' The material of the several Georgetown com-
panies requires a word or two of comment. A. and

B. companies are made up of working men, almost
exclusively, and are mainly black. Some difficulty

34
40

388 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

has been experienced in getting these men to after-
noon drill on account of their employers having little
or no sympathy with the Volunteer movement. It
would be a great point gained if under the new law
some means could be devised of reaching these
employers.

•C. company is composed mainly of clerks, and
are nearly all white or slightly coloured. This
company is very popular, and recruits are coming
forward for it very freely. I swore in thirty-one last
V (^ening.

' With regard to the spirit of the men, I cannot
speak too highly of the way they behaved during
the riots of March 1889, and to illustraie this I give,
as an appendix to this report, an extract from my
annual report for last year.

•The state of coma into which the Volunteer
movem'«nt has been for so long allowed to remain
has had an injurious effect on the Berbice Corps,
and Captain Griffin reports that he has at present
only about thirty reliable men in his company. I
am in correspondence with him with reference to
the supply of uniforms for these men.

' The Essequibo company has not assembled for
drill for some months, and I can theiefore form no
idea of the number we could rely upon for immediate
service from that county. I asked Mr. Gilzean, the
manager of Anna Regina estate, some time ago
if he would take command of the Essequibo com-
pany when we began drilling, and he said he would
gladly do so. This will, 1 think, assure the formation
of a strong company in Essequibo, as Mr. Gilzean
is deservedly popular.

DEFENCE

389

' In closing this report, I desire to repeat what I

have so often said, that I believe there is ample
material in the colony to furnish a force sufficient
to protect ourselves from insult from abroad, or to
suppress disturbance from within, if proper measures
be taken to utilize it.

' I have, etc.,

W. S. Turner,

Major,

Commanding B.G. Volunteers.'

The story of the organisation of the Volunteer-
Militia is told in my despatches to the Secretary
of State of September 23rd and October 6th, 1891.

Government House,
Georgetown; 23rd September, 1891.

" Mv Lord,

" With reference to my despatches noted in
the margin relative to the Volunteer-Militia ordi-
nance 1 89 1 and the appointment of officers to the
paid staff, I have the honour to inform you that the
ordinance was brought into force on the ist of
August last, and to transmit a concise report
by the Commandant, Lt. -Colonel Turner, on the
state of the force. The present strength consists
entirely of men who are enrolled for three years.
It is gratifying to find that but a small number of
the Volunteers serving under the Volunteer ordi-
nance 1878 have availed themselves of the power
to resign given them by section 149 (3) of the
Volunteer- Militia ordinance. The time allowed by

I i

390 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the ordinance expired on September ist For this
result I consider that much credit is due to Lt-

Colonel Turner.

"Under the provisions of section 129 of the
ordinance I have placed the Volunteers whenever
performing any parade under the inspection of
Lt-Colonel M'Innis, C.M.G., Inspector General
of Police, an arrangement which will, I believe, be
of great advantage to the Volunteers, and will secure
uniformity of drill and movement in the two branches
of our local forces.

I cannot too highly commend the services which
Lt.-Colonel M'Innis has rendered the Volunteer-
Militia force. In the absence of a paid staff of
qualified officers the very existence of the force
might have been imperilled but for his generous
assistance.

"In the circumstances, I have considered it my
duty to act unreservedly on his advice in all military
matters affecting the force, and at his suggestion I
addressed a letter, of which I annex a copy, to the
Major-General Commanding the Troops, Barbadoes,
asking for the temporary loan of two smart sergeants
as drill instructors.

" I have not yet heard v, ether my request can be
complied with, but in any case the early appoint-
ment of an adjutant and the non-commissioned
officers, referred to in my despatch of July 15th, is
looked forward to with eager anticipation by all
ranks of the Volunteer-Militia force.

" I have, etc."

DEFENCE

391

Government House,
Georgetown, 6th October, 1891.

'* My Lord,

" I have the honour to acknowledge the
receipt of your Lordship's despatch No. 196 of

September 8th, and telegram of the 5th instant,
relative to the Volunteer-Militia ordinance 1891.

" In view of the terms of your Lordship's despatch
and telegram it seems desirable that I should
offer some explanations touching (i) the procedure
followed in the enactment of the ordinance, and
(2) the substance of the ordinance.

" As regards the , procedure, the measures by which
it was proposed to provide local forces in substitution
of the Imperial troops removed from the colony were
shown generally in the statement I made in the
Court of Policy on April 14th, a copy of which was
transmitted to your Lordship by my despatch No.
125 of April 22nd. The removal of the troops
before any system in substitution had been organised
produced, as was anticipated, a temporary sentimf .it
of insecurity in the colony. The Government was
urged, and undoubtedly with reason, to pass im-
mediate measures for the defence of the colony and
the protection of life and property. I should have
considered it a dereliction of duty not to take
advantage of the public opinion of the moment to
proceed as rapidly as possible with the measures
intended to meet the emergency.

"At the moment I was without funds for the
purposes of a local military force. The vote of
6000 dollars annually taken for a Volunteer force

392 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

was in the month of March last passed on a
promise that it would not be used until a new system
was substituted for that established by the Volunteer
ordinance 1878. Taking advantage of the public
opinion of the moment, I obtained an unanimous
vote of the Court of Policy to set free this sum on
the understanding that the enactment of a new
system would be at once proceeded with. The Bills
for the reorganisation of the Police and of the Rural
Constabulary were passed through their various
stages on the foUowi.ig dates : —

" Police Ordinance, — first reading, April 14th ;
second reading :nd in Committee, June 9th ; in
Committee, read a third time and passed, June i6th.

" Rural Constabulary Ordinance — first reading,
April 14th; second reading, April 28th; In Com-
mittee, June 9th ; third reading and passed, June
1 6th.

"The Volunteer- Militia Bill was read a first
time on April 14th, and passed its second reading
on June i6th. At this stage I felt constrained to
pause for two reasons. In the first place, I was
anxious, so far as delay was consistent with the
interests of the colony, to obtain an expression of
^ .r Lordship's opinion on the measures proposed
for the defence of the colony on the departure of the
troops, and of which my despatches noted in the
margin had informed your Lordship. But I was
also controlled by the peculiar constitution of the
colony, which would have made it useless for me to
enact a measure in die Court of Policy requiring a
considerable expenditure of public money without
the consent of the Combined Court. I therefore

DEFENCE

393

followed the course adopted in the case of the Con-
stitution ordinance 1891, with reference to the Civil
List. I left the Volunteer- Militia Bill in Committee
and summoned a meeting of the Combined Court
with a view to ascertaining how far the Court would
sanction the expenditure necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Bill.

" The Combined Court met on June 30th and I
then ascertained the limits of expenditure at the
disposal of the Government in connection with
the Bill. On July 8th I received your Lordship's
despatch No. 128 of June i6th approving, subject
to certain suggestions made by the Colonial Defence
Committee, my proposals for a Volunteer-Militia.

" I then felt justified in proceeding with the Bill,
which was read a third time and passed on July
loth. As reported in my despatch No. 228 of July
14th the suggestions of the Colonial Defence
Committee were included in the ordinance so far as
was deemed practicable.

" During the interval which elapsed between the
removal of the troops and the passing of the
Volunteer-Militia ordinance, I had abundant proof
that the immediate enactment of a measure in
substitution of the Volunteer ordinance of 1878 was
necessar). The ^. it displayed by Major Turner
and the ^' lunte . < n the departure of the troops
was in v, v^ery wr , citable, and has been honoured
by your Lordship's approval. But the force had
not been on parade for a year and a half, it had
no staff of qualified officers or non-commissioned
officers, the Georgetown companies had only four
officers, of whom three were reported as useless ; the

394 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

enthusiasm which called them to the front in April
was exhausting itself for want of legitimate exercise.
It was an essential part of the Volunteer- Militia Bill,
approved by your Lordship, that the Volunteer Force
enrolled under the ordinance of 1878 should form
the nucleus of the new system. Had I allowed time
for the discouragement of the Volunteers to increase
under the circumstances I have indicated, the force
could not have been looked to for this purpose. 1
may here also remark that had I allowed such a
spirit of discouragement to set in, before obtaining
the funds required for the new system, it would have
been difficult, if not impossible, to obtain them.
They would certainly not have been voted with the
readiness with which money was voted by the
Combined Court on June 30th. I will only add,
while dealing with this part of the subject, that
the Combined Court voted the money on the
understanding that the Bill would be proceeded
with at once, and without material alteration. This
was in accoruance with the course followed in the
case of the Constitution ordinance of 1891 and the
Civil List.

" The ordinance having been passed, every con-
sideration of duty and expediency urged me to
bring it into early operation. Particularly, it was
necessary to ascertain to what extent that part of
the ordinance which provided for the old Volunteer
Force beincf taken over as the nucleus of the new
system might prove successful. Your Lordship has
already been informed by my despatch of September
23rd that so far the success of the ordinance is
complete.

DEFENCE

395

"But to continue my narrative, the ordinance
was brought into force on August ist, its opera-
tion being temporarily limited, by orders of which
I annex copies, to Georgetown and New Amster-
dam, where ccuipanies had been enrolled under the
Volunteer ordinance of 1878.

" There has been a great desire shown to join the
battery of artillery contemplated by the ordinance,
but at present it would be useless to raise it, as we
have neither guns nor instructors.

" I have been assured that a company can readily
be raised in Essequibo, but I decided to wait until
the Government is in a position to judge of the
operation of the scheme in Georgetown and New
Amsterdam. It would be useless to raise a com-
pany in Essequibo, where no nucleus of Volunteers
exists, without qualified instructors.

" In my opinion the force enrolled in Georgetown
and New Amsterdam is -fficient for all present
purposes, and it would iiwise to increase the
strength of the force u.i u the efficiency of the
present Volunteers is secured.

" I will now respectfully invite your Lordship's
attention to the few remarks which I desire to
make on the substance of the ordinance, and in
these I shall not think it necessary to adhere to the
order in which its various provisions are dealt with
in the ordinances.

" The esse!;tial aims of the ordinance may be thus
briefly stated:

(1) To take over an existing Volunteer Force
and reorganise it as the nucleus of a new system:

(2) To maintain the Volunteer system so far as it

396 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

can be depended on to supply such a force as may

be considered necessary for the defence of the
colony and the protection of life and property :

(3) To provide for the compulsory maintenance
of a local force, at such strength as may be deter-
mined by ballot, should the Volunteer system prove
insufficient :

(4) To give the Governor almost absolute power
to fix the necessary strength of the force and to
control its discipline, government, and adminis-
tration.

'* I may be permitted to point out that in the

substance of this ordinance an endeavour has
been made to distinguish between the civil and
military functions with which it deals. What part
of the community is to come under the obligation
of military service, and by what methods the
obligation is to be imposed, have been considered
as civil questions; the strength of the force required
for any scheme of defence decided on by the
military authorities, and the discipline, government,
and administration of the force when embodied have
been considered is military questions.

" I have statca above the principal aims of the
ordinance under four heads ; the first three I con-
sider civil questions to be dealt with by the Civil
Government in taking careful account of local
considerations, including the prejudices which may
arise from local circumstances hardly identical in
any two of Her Majesty'': colonies or groups of
colonies. The fourth head includes matters of a
military character, to i^e dealt with by the Governor
as the representative of the military authorities. In

DEFENCE

397

dealing with these matters almost absolute power
is conferred on the Governor by section 132.

" I will now briefly indicate the sections of the
ordinance which were considered of chief importance
in carrying out the principal aims 1 have stated.

" Sections 149 and 1 53 were drafted to provide for
the taking over of the old Volunteer Force as the
nucleus of the new system. My despatch No. 333
of September 23rd showed the success of this part
of the scheme.

" The talcing over of the Volunteer Force having
been provided for, the cardinal principle of the
/dinance is contained in section 132, which gives
the Governor complete control over the adminis-
tr'ition of the force, as regards both civil and
military matters, except where his power is limited by
particular provisions enacted in the ordinance itself.
This is the essence of the ordinance, and a con-
sideration of it from any other point of view must
necessarily be in.ide juate.

"It was thought necessary to fix by enactment
the limits of the burden of military service imposed
on the colonists, the qualifications for service, the
method by which the obligation is to be enforced,
and the procedure to be observed in all cases in
which it may be necessary to put in operation the
compulsory clauses.

" These are purely civil questions and the success of
the scheme must necessarily depend upon their being
decided in a manner generally acceptable to the body
of the colonists. No Government could, I think,
leave these questions to the exercise of the general
power conferred upon the Governor by section 132.

398 THE BROAD STONE OP EMPIRE

They are dealt with in part II. of the ordinance,
and with reference to it, I would particularly call
attention to the fact that, while the procedure to put
in operation the compulsory clauses, from the first
step to the last, that is from the call for volunteers
to fill up deficiencies to the compulsory ballot, is
laid down in detail, a wide discretion is left to *
the Governor to make orders with regard to the
embodiment and organisation of the active force,
so long as the force or any company of it is main-
tained under the voluntary system.

" The objection has been made that the ordinance
is defective inasmuch as it does not provide for
many things connected with the organisation and
administration of the force. My reply is that the
strength of the ordinance lies in the fact that it
places the administration of the force absolutely
in the power of the Governor except when that
power is limited by express enactment. I confess
that it was a matter of congratulation to myself
to be able to carry a measure giving the Governor
large powers in many matters affecting the civil
domain of the ordinance, and almost absolute power
in military matters.

" I venture to express a hope that, before any
amendments of the ordinance are -lecided on, full
consideration may be given to the question whether
it is desirable by further express enactment to
limit the powers secured to the Governor and
through him to Her Majesty's Government by
the terms of the ordinance.

" I have, etc."

DEFENCE

399

The reply to my despatch was not received
until the whole scheme had been fully considered by
the War Office ; and I had ceased to administer the
government of the colony.

Lord Knutsford to Governor Lord

GORMANSTON.

Downing Street,

5th January, 1892.

My Lord,

*' As you are aware I referred to the Colonial
Defence Committee the Ordinance No. 19 of 1891
of the Legislature of British Guiana, entitled, ' An

Ordinance to provide for the establishment and
regulation of a Volunteer Force ; ' and I now have
the honour to transmit to you two copies of the
memorandum, which the Committee have prepared
upon it

" I concur in the appreciation which the Committee
express "^f thf; j.b'lity of the scheme and the patrio-
tism of the Colonial Legislature, and I further iiave
pleasure in commending the zeal and energy which
Sir Charles Bruce exhibited in dealing with this
measure, and with the Police and Rural Constabu-
lary Ordinances ; though I am not convinced of
the sufficiency of the reasons which induced him
to bring the Militia Ordinance into operation, as
explained in his despatch No. 354 of the 6th of
October.

" While Her Majesty will not be advised to
exercise her power of disallowance with respect
to this Ordinance, I agree with the Committee
that it requires amendment as proposed in their

400 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

memorandum, and I shall be glad if you will at an
early date, bring the matter before the Court of

Policy.

" In the meantime, 1 propose to proceed with
the selection of an Adjutant and Bandmaster to
the Force.

I have, etc.,

Knutsford."

In the interval the massed forces under Colonel
M'Innis had been officially inspected on December
23rd, 1891, by Lieut. -General Newdigate, C.B.,
Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda,
who expressed his high appreciation of the steadi-
ness of the force under arms and the smartness
and efficiency of all ranks on parade. In later
years, the force was inspected by Admiral Sir
John Fisher, when Commander-in-Chief on the
Station, and by other distinguished naval and
military commanders, who expressed their complete
satisfaction. In 1897, on the occasion of the
Queen's Diamond Jubilee, a detachment of the
force took part in the celebrations in London,
and Colonel M'Innis was personally complimented
by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught on their fine
appearance.

The organisation of the force has since been
modified to adapt it to changes in the scheme of

defence, which it lies outside of my competence to
deal with. It has been my desire to do justice to
Colonel Richard Stapleton Cotton, who was mainly
responsible for bringing many academic propositions
into form in a definite scheme for the organisation

DEFENCE

401

of the Police and Rural Constabulary as a semi«
military force; to Major W. S. Turner, who was
my chief adviser in organising a local military force
in substitution of the existing Militia and Vol'ii. et r
systems; and to Colonel E. B. M'Innis, wl o, when
placed in command of the whole territori 'I force,
brought it to the state of efficiency to wh ch such
honourable testimony has been borne.

WINDWARD ISLANDS

In 1893 I was appointed Governor of the Wind-
ward Islands, passing from a colony which it had
been my duty to provide with a territorial force in
substitution of an imperial garrison, to a group of
colonies including the island of St. Lucia. The
Colonial Defence Committee's scheme, of which I
have given an outline, contemplated the concen-
tration of troops in St. Lucia and Jamaica, and it
was decided to make St. Lucia a naval base and
fortified coaling station of the first importance.

In 1887 St. Lucia was visited by Mr. Anthony
Froude, who, in his picturesque style, described the
ruins of the old fortress on the Morne Fortune, asso-
ciated with the naval and military achievements of
centuries. He expressed the hope that the fallen
fortunes of the island might revive when the pro-
posed scheme for making it a fortified coaling station
was carried out. He added, " Many thousands of
pounds will have to be spent there before the troops
can return ; but that is our way with the colonies —
to change our minds every ten years, to do and
undo, and do again, according to our parliamentary

humours, while John Bull pays the bill patiently for
n 2c

402 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

his own irresolution." Not only thousands but
millions of pounds were spent, and within ten years
the scheme had been carried to practical completion.
Ten years later, in 1907, St. Lucia was visited by
Sir Frederick Treves, who, in his work The Cradle
of the Deep, described the fulfilment of Mr. Froude's
anticipation.

"The Morne is now very largely occupied by
immense barracks and storehouses of quite recent
construction. They belong to that class of ' Govern-
ment building' in which the st uggle to attain to
primeval plainness and a surpassing monotony has
been crowned with success. Defiant in their un-
blushing ugliness they remain as a monument of the
time when the British Government determined to
establish a naval and military station at St. Lucia.
The huge brick structures which crowd both the
Morne and La Vigie were promptly put in hand and
were erected at a cost stated to be not less than t vo
million pounds sterling. The precious buildings
have never been occupied, nor indeed were they
ever quite completed, for the Government, having
expended the sum above named, changed its mind,
and decided, in its wisdom, that St. Lucia was not
to be a military station at all. So the mighty pieces
of ordnance sent out to further adorn the hill were
at infinite cost and labour carried back again. The
proceeding seems to have been inspired by an
attempt to imitate that Duke of York who is credited
in song with having marched a body of men to the
top of a hill for the simple pleasure of seeing them
march down again."

The period of my tenure of office as Governor of

DEFENCE 403

the Windward Islands was the period of maximum
activity in carrying out the scheme of defence in
which St. Lucia was to be made one of the great
bases of Brif sh naval and mercantile supremacy. I
am not concerned with the strategic reasons . lat led
the Committee of Defence to recommend that St.
Lucia should be made a great naval base nor
with the plans of fortification and armament carried
out by the Admiralty and the War Office. I am
concerned with the establishment of a great naval
base and coaling station at St. Lucia, first in its
consequences on the defence of the other colonies,
and secondly, in its consequences on the population
and civil government of St. Lucia.

In respect of the general defence of the Wind-
ward Islands, there is very little to be said. Their
collective area is so small and they are so easily
accessible that all that was necessary for the
governments of Grenada and St. Vincent was the
organisation of their police, to preserve internal
order and at the same time to bear the burden
of defence during the period which must elapse
before a requisition to St. Lucia for aid could be
complied with. The police of both governments
were in the capable hands of officers, selected with
a special view to the requirements of the scheme
of defence, and need not further be referred to.
But in St. Lucia the scheme of defence profoundly
modified the constituent elements of the population
and necessarily the policy of the civil government
As a great naval and military base, it attracted a
considerable civil community concerned in supplying
the manifold needs of a large garrison ; while, as the

404 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

most important coaling and victualling station on
the great ocean highway between South America
and North America, it attracted a still more con-
siderable community connected with shipping in-
terests. The history of the last half-century has
supplied two great object lessons of the extent to
which the fortunes of an island may be dependent
on its shipping interests. When Mauritius ceased
to be associated with the romance of great naval
achievements in the Indian Ocean, as St. Lucia had
been in the Caribbean Sea, it still continued to be
an ir^portant base of maritime transactions and its
prosperity, during the brightest days of its history
under British administration, was largely due to its
unrivalled position as a coaling, victualling, and
repairing station on a great ocean trade-route
exposed to the turbulent influences of cyclones.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 dealt a
serious blow to all the local interests connected witii
shipping, and, as these were chiefly British, per-
manently displaced the English community. The
consequences materially modified the policy of the
administration, wiiich wisely determined to find new
resources for the maintenance of a civilised govern-
ment in the development of the internal resources
of the colony. In St. Helena the opening of the
Suez Canal had still more serious consequences.
Hardly less intimately associated with the maritime
supremacy of the British Empire in the Atlantic
than St. Lucia in the Caribbean Sea or Mauritius
in the Indian Ocean, the island, abandoned by the
shipping interests which had been the source of its
prosperity, endeavoured in vain to find a substitute in

DEFENCE

405

its internal resources. With the final removal of the
garrison in 1907, St. Helena, which had played as
important a part in the history of the Empire as any
spot of its size, was reduced to the experiment of
finding the revenues of civil government in the sale
of postage stamps and a livelihood for its population
in the proceeds of eleemosynary bazaars for the sale
of needlework.

I am illustrating, and I know no more effective
way of illustrating all that the establishment of a
great military and naval base and a fortified coaling
station means to the civil community and the civil
government than by showing the results of circum-
stances that have terminated the maintenance of
such stations. The policy of my government was
necessarily controlled by the exigencies of a great
maritime station and the subsidiary interests depen-
dent on it. To enable the station to compete
against the rival enterprise of foreign nations,
liberal expenditure was necessary, to provide wharf
accommodation and afford facilities for rapid coaling
and victualling. The time within which a ship
could be laid alongside, discharged, coal, and leave
the wharf was measured by hours and minutes.
At the same time, in order to extend the benefits
of the harbour as a market to every district of
the island, means of communication had to be
provided by road and coast.

Of course, so far as concerned the defence of
the Windward Islands during the period I am
speaking of, their security was complete. I might
be content to leave it at that. But within a few
years the Committee of Defence adopted a new

4o6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

scheme with the results described by Sir Frederick
Treves. The complete reversal of policy may best
be recorded in the words of Mr. Balfour in Parlia-
ment, in Committee of Supply :

" It seems to us, with the changes in naval war-
fare, with the changes in the seat of sea-power
of other nations, a redistribution of both our Fleet
and our Army v/as desirable : and we have gone
upon the broad line that, as the British Fleet and as
the British Army should be available for the defence
of the British Empire in all parts of the world
our force should be as far as possible concentrated
at the centre of the Empire, from which it could
be distributed as each necessity arose to that part of
the Empire which stood most in need of it. I have
to acknowledge that this has rendered unnecessary
expenditure which has been undertaken under a
different view of our military needs. I mention that
because it is a subject which has occupied the
attention of the member for the Forest of Dean.
The most notable case is the case of St. Lucia.
The general problem was considered by a Com-
mission, of which Lord Carnarvon was the head,
and it was in deference to Lord Carnarvon's recom-
mendation that St. Lucia was made a great naval
base. One of the reasons for making it a great
naval base was that it was not further than eighty
miles from the French naval station in those seas.
What was a reason for having such a base at St.
Lucia in Lord Carnarvon's time is a reason for
not having it there at the present time. We have
to take into account the theory of torpedo-boats.
It is a distinct disadvantage for any harbour

DEFENCE

407

required as a place of repair, refitting and refresh-
ment that it should be within easy reach of a hostile
or potentially hostile power. There is more in
the abandonment of St. Lucia than that. The
Defence Committee, who have considered the
matter, with the advice of the Admiralty and War
Office, do not think St. Lucia is likely to be the
scene of any great naval operations. It is not a
place which we think could be with advantage used,
or is likely to be required to be used, for our
purposes; and with the modern battleship there
are strong reasons for thinking that in so far as
we required any place of coaling and refitment
in these seas, both Jamaica and Trinidad would
be better. The harbour at St. Lucia, though
sheltered, is not very convenient, and does not
hold a large fleet. These are the reasons why
St. Lucia ceases to be regarded as a great naval
station."

I do not venture to criticise the reasons that led
to a complete reversal of imperial policy within
twenty years. I assume that the new policy is in
the interest of the Empire. I desire only to give
some idea of what such a reversal of policy means,
in respect of the general question of the defence
of the Windward Islands, and in its conse-
quences on the fortunes of the civil population and
government of St. Lucia. But the subject is of
much wider interest than the limits of the West
Indies. Similar reversals of policy in the Indian
Ocean have affected the fortunes of Mauritius, and
may await any colony selected as a naval and
military base.

4o8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

The serious consequences of such changes of
pcticy in the United Kingdom were illustrated in a
report from the Committee of Public Accounts in

1907 (H.C. 252).

(1) "At East Bulford there has been a loss to
the public of between 140,000 and 150,000 in
erecting a Mounted Infantry School, which was

closed on ist July, 1906.

(2) "At Tidworth nearly a million pounds has
been expended in building barracks for eight infantry
battalions, though only four are needed.

(3) "Near Fermoy, a sum of ;^35,ooo was
expended in 1905-06 for the purchase of Moore
Park (843 acres, with mansion and grounds) as a
site for barracks and for training mounted infantry.
The idea of a Mounted Infantry School in Ireland
has now been dropped ; and, in the words of the
representative of the War Office, 'a change of
policy resulted in money being expended without
the advantage wh'ch was anticipated accruing.'

(4) " At Stobs, the original idea was that it was
going to be a great training ground for troops, but
it has been given up,' the War Office having ' only
spent ;i^56,ooo out of the 2 5,000 which had been
intended ... at a time when it was anticipated to
have six Army Corps.' "

Some idea of the influence of changes of naval
and military policy on the fortunes of the Crown
colonies may be found from what has happened
in St. Lucia. Similar changes have more than
once had a similar influence on the fortunes of
Mauritius.

DEFENCE

409

MAURITIUS

When our prejent King (then Duke of Cornwall
and York) visited Mauritius in the year 1901, he
referred to the just pride of the colony in its
great traditions, and "in its association with naval
achievements that shed equal glory on England
and France." Mauritius for over two centuries,
from September i8th, 1598, to December loth,
1 8 10, was the centre of a struggle between the
nations of Europe for the key of the Indian
Ocean. In 1746 the French Governor, Mahe de
la Bourdonnais, had made it a station from which
foreign trade could be crippled, as well as a strategic
base for the operations of France in India, and in
that year he used it as the base of an operation
seldom, if ever, paralleled in colonial history.
" Without ships," says Colonel Malleson, " without
sailors, without an army, the Indian Ocean covered
by hostile cruisers, with no resources but those he
had made in the colony, he was asked to embark an
army, to traverse the Indian Ocean, to avoid or
encounter the trained fleet of the enemy, and
to relieve the beleaguered capital of French
India."

Rapidly growing in importance as a base of naval
and commercial operations, the island became in
1 789 the seat of government of all the French estab-
lishments east of the Cape. During a period of the
French Revolution the story of the defence of the
island belongs, as the historian Pridham has well
said " rather to the age of romance were romance

4IO THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

not set aside by reality. Seldom perhaps has history
furnished an example on a parallel with this instance,
an instance in which a single and inconsiderable
island, denuded of nearly the whole of its military
force, by the natural strength of its position and the
bravery and patriotism of its inhabitants, singly and
for a long time resisted the hostilities of the mightiest
of nations."

In 1802, by a decree of Bonaparte as First Consul
of the French Republic, the constitutional status of
Mauritius was changed and it became a unit in a
vast military system oi^anised to establish, under the
dictatorship of Napoleon, a universal empire of which
Europe was to be the head, America and Asia the
arms, Africa the shoulders and trunk, the Atlantic
and Indian Oceans the legs and feet. It was the
importance of the unit in this imp*^ri. nterprise that
determined its destiny, an importance recognised by
every nation engaged in the struggle for the wealth of
Asia. In England statesmen, generals, and admirals,
in India governors and councils, had been unani-
mous in declaring that the possession ' the Isle of
France was essential to our commerce, to our repu-
tation and national character, and to the maintenance
of our province of India. It fell to Lord Minto,
Governor-General of India, great-grandfather of the
present Viceroy, to determine the question of
possession by the ultima ratio of a force the most
powerful in strength and equipment that had ever
been afloat in the Indian Ocean.

An account of the operations of war which at the
close of 1 8 10 transferred Mauritius to British rule is
beyond the scope of my work. Among the m<»t

DEFENCE

famous of these achievements was the action of
the He de l;i Passe on August 23rd, 18 10. The
French under Commodore Duperr6 were victorious,
but a naval historian has declared that the noble
behaviour of Captain Willoughby and the officers
and crew of the NMide threw such a halo of glory
round the defeat that the loss of four frigates was
considered scarcely a misfortune." An obelisk has
been erected in honour of all who iell on that
memorable d?y ; and the He de la Passe occupies
in the annals of Mauritius much the same place
as the Plains of Abraham occupy in the annals of
Canada.

Colonel Malleson has eloquently summe<.l up the
record of French occupation : "Thus did the French
lose, after an occupation of nearly a hundred years,
the beautiful island upon which had been bestowed
the name of their own bright land, and which in
climate, in refinement of luxury, in the love of
adventure of its children, had been, in very deed,
the France of the East. In the long struggle with
England which had followed the Revolution, the Isle
of France had inflicted upon the English trade a
'damage which might be computated by millions,'
whilst she herself had remained uninjured, — for
eighteen years indeed — unthreateneJ. She had
proved herself to be that which the Emperor had
declared that Cherbourg should become, 'an eye
to see and an arm to strike.' Protected for long,
partly by the storms of the ocean, partly by the
daring spirit of her children, partly by the timid
counsels of the British Government, she had been,
for the privateers who preyed upon the commercial

413 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

marine of the East India Company, at once a
harbour of refuge and a secure base of (^ration.

She had been the terror of British merchants, the
spectre which haunted the counting-house, the one
black spot in the clear blue of the Indian Ocean.
The relief which was felt by the merchants of
Calcutta was expressed in an address presented by
them to Lord Minto, in which they offered their
* sincere congratulations on the capture of the only
remaining French colony in the East, which has for
so many years past been the source of devastation
to the commerce of India, to a magnitude aUnost
exceeding belief.'"

Although Mauritius, under British rule, has ceased
to be associated with the romance of great naval
achievements, the policy of government has of
necessity continued to exercise itself in two areas of
activity; the administration of a base of maritime
operations, and the development of the resources of
a tropical territory. In the term "maritime opera-
tions," I include the functions of the Royal Navy
and the Merchant Service. The importance of
Mauritius as a unit in any system of imperial defence
constituted on the principle that the maintenance of
peace depends on an adequate preparation for war,
has never failed to be recognised. And the colony,
dependent for its existence on its sea-borne com-
merce, has even in the darkest days of its fortunes
cheerfully borne its share of the burden of defence
at home and protection in transit, as a premium of
insurance. This practical wisdom, associated with
the sentiment of old traditions, has always secured
for the British Navy as OHrdial and enthusiastic a

DEFENCE

413

welcome as it receives in any seaport or city of
the United Kingdom. Nor has the period of British
dominion been without services rendered to the
Empire in war-time of which the colony is proud :
by the prompt despatch of troops to India in 1857
during the Mutiny, to South Africa in 1879 during
the Zulu War, and to South Africa again in 1900
at a critical stage of the last war.

In the year 1857 Lord Elgin, then on his way
to China in charge of a mission, was met by the
news of the Indian Mutiny, and on June 5th he
addressed a note to Lady Elgin from Singapore in
which he says : " I sent my last letter immediately
after landing, and had little time to aa.' a wo;d
from land, as I found a press of business and a
necessity for writing to Clarendon by the mail ;
the fact being that I received letters from Canning,
imploring me to send troops to him from the
number destined for China. As we have no troops
yet, and do not know when we may have any, it
was not exactly an easy matter to comply with
this request However, I did what I could, and
in concert with the General, have sent instructions
far and wide to turn the transports back, and give
Canning the benefit of the troops for the moment."
The iiiiportance of Lord Elgin's action was appre-
ciated, as it merited, by the Queen, the Govern-
ment of India, and the British nation. It was
supplemented by the ^^tion of Lord Elphinstone,
Governor of Bombay, v.io on June 30th despatched
Captain Griffith Jenkins, C.B., I.N., in the Penin-
sular and Oriental steamer Pottinger, especially
chartered for the voyage, to Mauritius and the

414 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Cape, with full powers to solicit aid from the
Governors of those colonies in men, horses, and
money. Sir James Higginson, the Governor of
Mauritius, had not heard of the Mutiny, but within
sixteen hours of his arrival at Port Louis Captain
Jenkins succeeded in actually embarking on board
the Pottinger and Canning the 33rd Regiment
and half a battery of artillery, with guns and stores,
for Bombay.

Sir James Higginson 's action was not without
a cause of grave anxiety as to the internal security
of the colony, with its considerable Indian popula-
tion, while thus denuded of a portion of its large
garrison. An extract from a minute of Sir James
Higginson, dated July 27th, shows his view of the
position : " I am informed that some alarm has been
excited, and that by many persons apprehensions
are entertained, lest our Indian labourers may be
disposed to enter into unlawful combinations, in
order to take advantage of the reduction in our
garrison, consequent on the recent despatch of
troops to Bombay, and may become inoculated with
the mutinous spirit which has broken out in the
Native Army of Bengal. But I confess I am at a
loss to discover on what grounds the apprehension
rests, or what object the Indians here could promise
to themselves from following the example in
question.

■ • • • • *

" Looking to the experience of the past, are
employers warranted in encouraging such imaginary
fears ? Have the coolies, by conduct or demeanour,
ever exhibited symptoms to induce such a belief?

DEFENCE

415

No. On the contrary, they have been throughout
remarkable for submission to the authority of their
masters ar. ' for unhesitating obedience to that of
the civil power, whenever it has been necessary
to exercise it Moreover, the labourers' prospects
were never so good as at the present moment, nor
were planters ever in a better position to pay their
wages with regularity and precision. Upon estates
where this condition of engagements is strictly
conformed to, and where masters take care to satisfy
themselves that Indians are properly treated by
their employers, they will hold the surest guarantee
against disaffection or disorder, and the best security
against any interruption of the very satisfactory
relations that now generally subsist between planters
and labourers.

*' At the same time, it is the duty of all who
are charged with the maintenance of the public
peace and the protection of life and property, to
omit no precautions calculated to conduce to the
furtherance of these important ends ; taking special
care to avoid any measure indicative of suspicion
or distrust of the loyalty and pacific disposition
of the Indian population, but exercising such
vigilance as will enable them to detect and immedi-
ately report to Government any attempt at combina-
tion on their part, or any other proceedings of an
unusual or questionable character."

Sir James Higginson left the colony a few
weeks later, and it is interesting to recall the offer
of assistance made to his successor, Major-General
C. M. Hay, by M. Delisle, French Governor of
Reunion :

4i6 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

"Isle de la Reunion,
Sepiembre 14, 1857,
Cabinet du Gouveraeur.

'* Monsieur le Gouverneur,

• •••••

"You have more than 132,000 Indians in the
island which you govern ; these men, constantly
in communication with Mussulmen of the revolted
countries, have received letters inviting them, it is
reported, to rise. It is to be feared that insurrection-
ary movements will disturb the sister island.

" I know well that with your energy and the
courage of the inhabitants you will promptly subdue
these rebels, but serious troubles might result In
anticipation of this possible crime and the con-
sequence of the large reduction of the English
forces at the island of Mauritius, I am about to
make a communication in all sincerity and feeling.

" The Government of the Emperor has sent me
a garrison, to replace the one which is to return to
France after its term of colonial service is completed.
This places at the present moment rather a large
number of troops at my disposal.

I am about to propose to you that, should you
perceive any symptom of revolt — if the Indian
population of your island should be considered or
should become excited by their co-religionists of
the peninsula, and should raise the standard,
I would propose to you, I say, to place under your
command a part of the garrison of Reunion. You
have only to make a signal and the French troops
shall be under your orders.

DEFENCE 417

" As regards myself, I entertain no apprehension
for Reunion, for I have not a third part of the coolies
that are in the island of Mauritius.

H. Hubert Delisle,
Governor."

Major-General Hay's reply was worthy of the

occasion.

" Sir,

" I beg to assure you that I feel the deepest
gratitude lor the noble offer of assistance you have
made me should the disastrous rebellion of the natives
in India extend to the coolies in this island, and
should I find myself placed in such a position as to
require aid, I shall not hesitate to apply to you in
the same frank and fraternal spirit which has
dictated your generous offer.

" You will be pleased to hear that I have carefully
watched the current of events and feelinirs here, and
that I entertain no apprehension of a rising. I
have, however, taken every precaution, and am
prepared for whatever may occur.

"This colony is in a most prosperous condition,
and I have perfect confidence in the loyalty and
gallant spirit of the inhabitants.

" Yours, etc.,

C. M. Hav."

In 1879, during the Zulu War, a detachment of
troops was sent from Mauritius to South Africa

II 3D

4i8 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

by the Acting Governor, Sir F. Napier Broome,
not without some apprehension of possible internal
difficulties on the part of the officer commanding

the troops and others.

In 1899 the services of every white soldier in the
garrison were placed at the service of the War
Office without any apprehension at all. I avail
myself of the opportunity to place on record a brief
narrative of the circumstances of this incident which
have never hitherto been published. They are
sufficiently shown in the following correspondence,
commencing with a semi-official letter which I
addressed to the Under Secretary of State for
the reason given.

Government House,
Mauritius, October 9, 1 899.

" Mv DEAR WiNGFIELD,

" There is a chance Steamer the Ville de Metz
going direct to France to-day and she may possibly
anticipate the small mail I sent you by the Powerful
on the 5th inst. I therefore write this to let you
know about the Pomrfuts arrival, and despatch with
the K.O. Yorkshire Light Infantry.

" The Powerful arrived on the 3rd instant.
Except by vague information that she might call
to coal here I had no knowledge of her movements.
Captain Lambton's intention was to stay three or
four days to coal and he came at once to spend
the time with me at Reduit. The next afternoon 1
drove him to the camp of the Central Africa Rifles,
and I may mention incidentally that he was struck
by the smartness of the guard as they turned out.

420 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

received their orders with the utmost enthusiasm,
which they expressed to me by telegram and by
repeated cheers as I left the Powerful. It was
certainly very much to their credit and to the credit
of the arrangements made by the General that
the men were embarked within about forty hours
of the first intimation given to Colonel Barter.
" Believe me, dear Wingfield,

Yours, etc."

By the following mail I wrote to Mr. Chamber-
ain ;

Government House,
Mauritius, 14th October, 1899.

" Sir,

"In continuation of my despatch No. 384
of the 5th instant on the subject of the transport
of the and Battalion King's Own Yorkshire Light
Infantry to the Cape, I have the honour to inform
you that H.M.S. Powerful, with 450 officers and
men of the battalion left Port Louis at 2.45 p.m.
on the 6th instant.

" By a telegram dated Point Natal, October loth,
2 p.m., Captain Lambton informed me that he was
proceeding with the battalion to Cape Town, so that
the troops reached Natal well within five days of
my receipt of your acceptance of the offer of their
services.

*' I have, etc."

The terms of Mr. Chamberlain's reply were, as
usual, generous ;

DEFENCE

431

Downing;; Street,

21 November, 1899.

" Sir,

" I have the honour to acknowledge the
receipt of your Despatch No. 384 of the 5th October

last, and No. 411 of the 14th October relative
to the offer of the half battalion of the K.O.
Yorkshire Light Infantry for service in South
Africa.

" I take this opportunity of expressing to you on
behalf of H.M. Government their cordial appre-
ciation of your prompt action in this matter and of
the prompt and soldierly manner in which the officers
and all concerned were ready on so short notice
to sail for South Africa.

" I have, etc."

At a later period I made, through the Secre-
tary of State, a further offer of assistance. This
offer might perhaps have been accepted with
advantage.

Government House,
Mauritius. 8th November, 1899.

" Sir,

" I have the honour to inform you that on the
31st ultimo I sent you a telegram in the following
terms : —

'Raglan Castle sails for South Africa probably
about in a week General Officer commanding and
I propose to send six 9 pr. R.L.M. guns of 6 cwt.
and four maxim guns with 100 garrison artillery

422 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

possibly fifty draught mules might be bought here
tele^j;raph reply.'

" The Raglan Castle has offered the only oppor-
tunity of sending troops to South Africa since the
departure of the Powerful, and the offer seemed
all the more advisable inasmuch as Major General
Talbot Coke received a telegram on October 26th
from the General Officer Commanding in South
Africa informing him that in consequence of casual-
ties Lieutenant Mackenzie, R.A., who was under
orders for Mauritius, had been detained at Natal.

"The order to detain Mr. Mackenzie at Natal
was however received there too late and he arrived
in Mauritius by the Raglan Castle.

" I have however this morning received a telegram
from General Sir Redvers BuUer in the following
terms : —

'Thanks for offer of six 9 pr. R.L.M. guns
of 6 cwt. maxims and garrison artillery, do not
send them as their services not required.'

" In view of the meagre and conflicting telegraphic
information we receive from South Africa we are
much relieved to find that the small reinforcement
we were able to offer is not required.

" I have, etc."

The despatch of the Yorkshire Light Infantry
by the Poiverful on October 6th and my subse-
quent offer of a detachment of artillery and guns
were followed by a resolution of the Council of
Government adopted on November 14th, during
the darkest days of the war :

"That whereas the forces of the Queen's Most

DEFENCE

423

Excellent Majesty are now engaged in protecting
British interests in South Africa ;

" This Council desires to convey to Her Majesty
the Queen, on behalf of all classes of the inhabitants
of Mauritius, the assurance of their unalterable
loyalty and attachment to Her Majesty's person and
Imperial Throne.

" And that whereas many casualties have occurred
among the troops engaged in the Colony of Natal,
this Council hereby sanctions the expenditure of a
sura of ;^2,000 to be offered for the acceptance of the
Government of Natal, and to be placed at their
disposal for the benefit of the wounded and sick of
the Imperial and Colonial forces engaged against the
forces of the South African Republics."

At a still later period, on March ist, 1900, I
made a further offer by telegram.

"If approved the two practice 5 in. B.L. guns
40 cwt. on travelling carriages designed at trifling
cost out of equipment of 9 pr. R.M.L. guns of 8 cwt.
will be sent by next opportunity to South Africa
accompanied by three officers sixty men Garrison
Artillery W. Division no ammunition here."

In reply I received a copy of the following letter
addressed by the War Office to the Colonial Office.

War Office,
London, S.W., lOth March, 1900.

" Sir,

" 1 am directed by the Secretary of State for
War to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 2nd in-
stant, 6791/1900 forwarding a copy of a telegram from
the Governor of Mauritius offering the services of a

434 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

detachment of the Garrison Artillery for service in

South Africa, together with two guns.

" This offer has been considered, but Lord Lans-
downe does not at present propose to avail himself
thereof. He would be glad if Mr. Secretory
Chamberlain, in replying to the Governor of
Mauritius, would add an expression of the thanks
of Her Majesty's Government, and inform him that
the offer will be borne in mind should the necessity
arise later.

" I am, etc,

G. Fleetwood W'lson."

The Under Secretary of State,
Colonial Office,
S.W.

The readiness with which successive Governors
sent troops from Mauritius in grave imperial emer-
gencies must not lead to the conclusion that Mauritius
could have been permanently left to the protection
of a territorial force such as was substituted for an
Imperial garrison in British Guiana. When Sir
John Pope Hennessy was Governor, his Irish Home
Rule sympathies made it a part of his policy to
secure the removal of an English garrison and
organise a local military force in substitution. A
Committee was accordingly appointed and a scheme
prepared in draft and submitted to the Secretary
of State. Naturally, the success of the scheme
depended on it being available in the possible event
of invasion by any Power. At a meeting of the
Committee, the representatives of the two groups

DEFENCE

425

of communities whose influence is paramount, the
communities of pure and mixed French descent,
declared that they wished it to be distinctly under-
stood that the force could not be relied on to oppose
invasion by the French. This declaration led to a
very serious controversy between the Governor and
the naval and military authorities. In the course of
it I was much impressed by the really j^jenuine
loyalty with which the gentlemen I have referred
to adhered to their declaration, fatal as it was bound
to be to the Governor's scheme. I interpreted it
as a declaration that both sections desired to see the
defence of the colony secured by a scheme which
could in no possible contingency be imperilled by
dangers that might arise out of racial partialities
and prejudices in a territorial force. The circum-
stances of the controversy in Committee, together
with other reasons to which reference has already
been made, decided me to leave the colony and
place myself the hands of the Secretary of State.
The naval and military authorities supplied me with
a copy of their report to the War Office on the
subject.

My varied experience of the Crown colonies has
led me to the confident conclusion that they are
prepared to bear their share of the burden of Imperial
defence. What has long been a cause of complaint,
and at times of exasperation, has been the method of
adjustment of the burden.

Hitherto the Crown colonies have never been
asked to contribute towards the expense of the navy,
and it must be admitted that the question of adjusting
the military contribution has often given rise to angry

436 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

controversy, but 1 cannot help thinking that this has
been owing to the absence of any rational or uniform
basis in the demands for colonial coniribations.

In a note to a return j iblished by tht; Colonial
Office in 1829 it is stated that "it has never been
a principle of British rule to require that the
Colonies should provide for their milifciry defence,"
although the return showed that the colonies i.id
practically contribute ^3 3 5.000 aijp:«r**ntly in per-
sonal allowances called colonial allow tuiccs. In
1859 a Departmental Committee n^ported that the
colonies might be said generally to have been
free from almost all obligations of contributing,
either by personal service or money, low.jds theii
own defence ; that the incidence of the small sums
contributed was most unequal and chiefly borne by
three colonies; and they particularly condemned
the system of colonial allowances as most mis-
chievous to our troops. This report was followed
by the appointment in 1861 of .1 Select Committee,
of which Mr. Mills was chairman, to inquire into
the defence of the colonies and the distribution
of the cost between the Imperial Treasury and the
colonial funds. It was found that the distribution
of troops and the allocation of charges were based
on no principle, id had grown up by chance
modified by temporary exigencies. The general
result of the report of the Committee was the
decision of the Government that all colonies must
bear the burden of their military establishments.
It must be remembered that during the 'Sixties
the idea of separation had grown to be a fixed
purpose, and this decision was immediately fdlowed

DEFENCE

427

■et
or

by the gradual withdraw*! .>f all th*' Imper troops
from the self-governing olonics, a proces* pracli
cally completed in 1870. 1 the C >wn oloviies.
where it was foun inv .ible t" with<l w the
Imperial troops, th' milii .> contril utior nxed
on ht basis of a capitation rale for e;..:h man on
the :.trength, varyinjj according to the I mch of
the servir lo whici h<- belongtc', and va.ving
also in Ui' .lifferent coU.ni. Tiii'^ system r.is

constant ciusi; of irr ruti' T a colonies
ciared their read! ss to f..niribute » so
the strength of tne garrison was fi>ed to
local requirements, ! ut n:^is i the i! - an
a contribution tow. '•ds th < : c*"
of which the strengi i ' » ■•^te^ external
imperial exigencies. "he .n of ti colonists

was urged with all the f-r since the

incidence of this burden co lint J '^^ unequal,
and burne entirt; by a ry f w u.nies. It is
of course difficult to a line .ctween local

and imp rial r . iiren s. aid would have
been impossible 10 arrive at ^
ment on my such principl
capitation ae h ^ been ab;
a ! r 1^ tern.

1 Arir ..b.iiiiates ( 19^ lO showed the fol-
low V.C 'buti r b\ Crown colonies to Army
Funas :

aci>ry adjust-
rtunately, the
d in favour of

Straits Settlemei
"eylon -
• 'ong Kong •

auritius
N . iltt -

;{;205,ooo
87.500
100,000
33,000
5,000

428 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

These contributions are no longer based on a
capitation rate. The contribution of Malta is a
lump sum fixed at a time when it would have been
obviously impossible for the colony to pay a capita-
tion rate on the total strength of the garrison. The
contributions of the other colonies represent a
percentage of the gross public revenue, less certain
deductions, as for railway charges and water-works,
so long as the revenue from these sources does not
exceed the expenditure for maintenance and loan
redemption. In the case of the Straits Settlements
and Hong Kong the contribution represents 20 per
cent. ; in Ceylon per cent. ; in Mauritius 5^
per cent. The apparent discrepancy in the rate is
justified by the difference in the scope of the
charges which the public revenue has to cover. For
instance, in Mauritius, the public revenue has to
bear the entire burden of education, sanitation,
hospitals, the harbour department, police, public
roads, and a variety of charges which in England
are defrayed by local rates, private enterprise, and
private benefactors. The public revenue liable to
the contribution has also to cover charges for
immigration, and on account of the public debt. In
Ceylon a system of local administration by native
agencies relieves the general revenue from many
charges which it has to bear in Mauritius and
other Crown colonies. I am not prepared to say
that a percentage of the public revenue is the best
possible mode of fixing colonial contributions to
defence funds ; but it has this eminent advantage,
especially in colonies subject to vicissitudes and
fluctuations of fortune, that the burden adapts

DEFENCE

429

itself automatically to the power of the colony to
bear it.

On the other hand, the adjustment of the rate
of percentage involves considerations of complexity
for the reasons I have indicated and others. For
example, of the colonies now paying a military con-
tribution on the new system, Ceylon, the Straits
Settlements, and Hong Kong have been enormously
enriched by the opening of the Suez Canal, which
has deprived Mauritius of u principal source of her
former wealth, and has beggared St. Helena, which
previously contributed to army funds. Possibly a
contribution calculated on the value of imports and
exports might, in the case of colonies dependent on
the export of their agricultural produce and its
returns, be a more convenient basis of adjustment.
But in any case, I venture to suggesi. that in future
the contributions to army funds be abolished ; that
there be substituted a contribution to the Imperial
Treasury for defence funds, and that all the Crown
colonies be invited to contribute to the funds,
according to the measure of their power, on such a
basis as may be found most convenient.

Before quitting this subject, 1 ought to add that,
in addition to their annual contribution, all the four
colonies of the Straits Setdements, Ceylon, Hong
Kong, and Mauritius, have provided a large capital
sum in aid of fortifications and barracks constructed
by the Imperial authorities.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE CROWN

All problems of empire are subsidiary to the
problem of securing and maintaining the loyalty of
the constituent parts of the Empire to the Crown.
Some years ago Prince Bismarck declared that the
only healthy basis of a great State is national selfish-
ness. The policy of the British Empire professes
to rest on the belief that the only healthy basis of a
great Nation is unselfishness, and that what is true
of a great Nation is tiue of a great Empire. It is a
policy which stands in contrast to the policy of all
Empires in the past. It will be known to all time
as the policy of the Victorian era.

In dealing with the subsidiary problems of
administration in the Crown colonies during a long
official career, I have endeavoured to keep cor.
stantly in view the ultimate problem of reconciling
the diverse interests of race, colour, and creed in
one common sentiment of loyalty to the Crown,
based on a conviction that the policy of the Crown
is what it professes to be, — a policy of unselfishness.
Queen Victoria's Proclamation to the Princes and
Peoples of India in 1858 declared that Her Majesty

THE CROWN

431

sought her strength in the prosperity of her people,
her security in their contentment, her reward in
their gratitude. Fifty years later, His Majesty
King Edward the Seventh in a gracious message
declared that he looked back on the period of
operation of the policy declared in the Proclamation
of 1858 with clear gaze and a good conscience.

In the meantime, it has been thj duty of the
Governors and Administrators of the Crown
colonies to carry out the same policy in the same
spirit, and I believe that if King George is pleased
to survey that group of his over-sea dominions
he will look back on it with equally clear gaze
and good conscience.

It was my good fortune, I believe my unique
privilege, to hold the office of Administrator or
Governor in Crown colonies at three seasons of
imperial interest : the Jubilee of the reign of Queen
Victoria in 1887; the Diamond Jubilee in 1897;
and the Coronation of King Edward the Seventh.

I have, in a chapter on Expansion in British
Guiana, given some account of the demonstrations
of loyalty in that colony at the time of the Jubilee
celebrations in 1887. The Diamond Jubilee was
celebrated in Mauritius with every form of demon-
stration that loyalty could suggest. There followed
Her Majesty's demise, and the colony's recognition,
with sober dignity, of the splendour of the legacy
left to the Empire in her illustrious example
and a name associated with an age of unparalleled
progress in all that contri' es to the welfare o^
communities, and the hea • • appiness, and liberty
of individuals.

432 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

The demise of the Sovereign was followed, in

1 90 1, by the visit to l^Iauntius of King George
and Queen Mary, xs Duke and Duchess of Corn-
wall and York, \\^ithin an hour of their landing
they had transubstantiated into an Imperial ideal
the materia] elements of colonial existence. The
reply of His Royal Highness to the addresses
presented by representatives of every section of
the community animated all with an inspiring
sense of Imperial services rendered and generously
acknowledged. It was in these terms :

"I sincerely thank you and the Members of
those Public Bodies which you represent for the
kindly expressions of welcome and g>}< d wishes to
the Duchess and myself which are contained in the
Addresses which I have had the pleasure to receive.

" It will be a great satisfaction to me to convey
to my dear P'ather the King, your assurances of
loyalty to his Throne and Person, and to make
known to him tl-at spirit of affectionate devotion
to the memory of our late beloved Queen so
strongly evinced in these communications.

" I note with especial satisfaction from the
Addresses of those non- European Communities who
have made their home among you that they are
living in contentment under the rule of their King
Emperor in Mauritius.

" We have looked forward with keen interest to
visiting your beautiful Island, rich in its honourable
traditions, in the history of literature and statesman-
ship : proud of its association with naval achieve-
ments that shed equal glory on England and
France.

THE CROWN

433

"We deeply sympathise with you in that com-
bination of adversities altogether beyond your
control, under which you have suffered during the
past ten years.

" Meanwhile the whole Empire has watched with
sympathetic admiration the constancy and courage
by which you overcame your difficulties and the
spirit that prompted you to contribute generously —
in spite of your own imperilled fortunes — to the
relief of your suffering fellow-subjects in India, the
West Indies, and in South Africa.

" I rejoice to know that a day of brighter promise
has dawned upon you — that the great staple of the
Island continues to enjoy its long established
reputation, and that it is your earnest endeavour to
keep pace with the rest of the Empire in maintaining
its commercial and mercantile pre-eminence.

" I fervently trust that under Divine Providence
the people of Mauritius may ever remain a united,
loyal and prosperous community."

The words of sympathy found an echo in every

heart when the following day brought news of the

death of the Empress Frederick of Germany. And,

if this sad event limited the opportunities for official

ceremonies and popular manifestations of enthusiasm,

every moment of their Royal Highnesses' stay

strengthened a link in the chain of loyalty that

grapples the little island to the Empire. Every

hour gave proof of a kindly consideration for others,

every day revealed an alert grasp of the bearing of

a variety of interests on the general welfare of a

complex community, and an impartial sympathy

with what is best in each,
n 3E

434 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Their Royal Highnesses' visit was the more
opportune by reason of the period of adversity
through which the colony was passing. It served
to unite every section of the population in the
sentiment of a common patriotism, and to con-
firm the courage and constancy of which Their
Royal Highnesses showed a generous appreciation.
Deep in every man's mind in the Crown colonics
there is a sentiment of devotion to the Crown,
rooted in the faith that behind the things that are
seen, heads of departments, judges and governors,
there is an unseen power, the source of security of
life, liberty of person, freedom of conscience, and
absolute equality before the law for rich and poor
of every race and creed. In Mauritius, as elsewhere,
it was long known only by the name of Queen
Victoria. The visit of Their Royal Highnesses was
accepted as a message of assurance that it b 'd
passed to King Edward the Seventh, and the
gracious sympathy with which the message was
delivered will for ever associate it with the lives
of King George and Queen Mary, and with the
annual celebration of Empire Day, and with all
that Empire Day means.

This memorable visit was followed by the corona-
tion of King Edward in circumstances that touched
the heart of the Empire. A French -hilosopher,
Ernest Renan, has declared that the world is not
governed by Reason, with a capital R, but by
something in which every letter is a capital —
EMOTION. History can furnish few examples
of an Empire governed by emotion as the British
Empire was governed during the period of the

THE CROWN

King's illness that postponed the day of his corona*
tion, and has again been governed during the period
that has followed his demise.

A feature of especial interest during the corona-
tion festivities was the unveiling of a statue of
Queen Victoria. With my speech on that occasion
I may appropriately close the record of my long
career in the service of the Crown colonies :

" The erection of this statue of her late Majesty
Queen Victoria has been associated with two events
which will certainly be marked with white in the
annals of the colony. Just a year ago the first
stone of the pedestal on which the statue is placed
was laid by Her Royal Highness the Princess of
Wales, in the presence of Her Majesty's grandson,
and I have now the honour of unveiling it at the
very moment when the imperial succession is, by
the solemn act and ceremony of the coronation,
passing formally to Her Majesty's son. But not
only has the erection of the statue been happy in
point of time ; we shall all I think agree that the
site has been happily chosen. Here at the gate of
Government House, the seat of administration and
place of assembly of the legislative body of the
colony, it will be given to future generations to
recognise an outward and visible sign and symbol
of the principles that underiie the unwritten con-
stitution of the Empire. For however diverse may
be the forms of local government throughout the
Empire, the principles on which they rest are the
same ; in public life the principle of freedom of
person, freedom of speech, freedom of religious
belief and faith;' in the administration of justice

436 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

the principle of absolute equality before the law for
all sorts and conditions of men ; in commerce, in the
largest sense of this term, the policy of the open
door ; and in private and social life the policy of the
open heart and open hand — the heart open to
sympathy alike in joy and sorrow ; the hand open
to welcome, embrace, support and aid."

APOLOGIA

It will be gathered from the records which I have
now brought to a close that my long official career
has been of varied experience in dealing with prob-
lems of Crown colony administration. It has been
often criticised, but the holder of responsible office
who is never worth criticising is probably never
worth anything at all. It has been a career of many
mistakes, but the only men who make no mistakes
are the men who do nothing.

On the other hand, it has been from first to last of
exceptional amplitude of experience in the generosity
with which it has been judged. It closed as every
colonial Governor might well desire his tenure of
office to close. At a time when the fortunes of
the colony of Mauritius were in desperate peril my
Sovereign was pleased to extend my term of office
in gracious assent to a resolution unanimously voted
by the Council of Government And at the hour of
my departure the people among whom I had long
liv^d and laboured presented me with the following
aduiess signed by representatives of every section
of the community without distinction of rank, origin,
creed or colour.

438 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

Port Louis,
Mauritius, 30th October, 1903.

May it Please Your Excellency,

We, the undersign. 1, inhabitants of this
Colony, and members of the different sections of its
population, beg to assure you that we deeply regret
to have to part from you. We have been so accus-
tomed to see you moving among us, and you have
been so long associated with our existence, that we
are grieved to think that you are on the point of
taking leave of us for ever.

" It seems indeed as if your life was intended to
be linked to our destinies ; for your career in the
Colonial Service, which is now a pretty long one,
was begun in Mauritius, and by far the greater part
of it has been spent here. In the various posts you
have occupied in this Island, you have rendered the
most valuable services to us, but in none have these
been more signal than in the high office from which
you are about to retire.

" The period, over which your administration ex-
tends, has been one of constant care and anxiety.
Within the last six years we have had to contend
with numerous and serious difficulties ; and if we
have succeeded in weathering the storms we have
encountered, if brighter days are now dawning upon
us, it is, we gratefully acknowledge, thanks, chiefly,
to the able and fearless pilot we have had at our
head.

" Of course, you have sometimes met with opposi-
tion, and, in that respect, you have not been more
fortunate than any of your predecessors. This was

APOLOGIA

439

unavoidable. Under our Constitution, such as it if,
the Governor is vested with large and extensive
powers, and, unless he makes up his mind to remain
unconcerned with the affairs of the Colony, and casts
off all sense of responsibility, there are circumstances
in which he must exercise these powers. The manner
in which you have yourself, in some cases, used them,
has, naturally enough, given rise to dissatisfaction in
certain quarters, but we are convinced that the dis-
content thus created has only been transient, and
that, whatever criticisms some of your acts may
have called forth, the purity and sincerity of your
intentions, your unfailing desire to do what in your
judgment appeared best for ihe public good, your
single-minded devotion to duty, have never been
questioned.

"On assuming the Government of the Colony, one
of your first public utterances was that you would
devote yourself without partiality or prejudice to the
interests of the people entrusted to your care, and,
with no difference, to all classes of the population
alike. The pledge you then gave, you have re-
deemed, and, of this, there could be no better
proof than the tokens of sympathy, of regard, and
of gratitude which you are receiving from all sides
on the eve of your departure.

"Pray accept our best wishes for yourself an 1 Lady
Bruce. Though far away from us, you will both,
we feel sure, continue to take an interest in the
Colony where you have spent so many years. I he
ties which unite us to you, and which the sorrows we
have shared with you have but more closely knitted,
are too strong to be broken by our separation. As

440 THE BROAD STONE OF EMPIRE

for us. you may be certain that we shall reutn a fond
and undying recollection of yoa"

The colony was true to its word. On Au;j[ust
loth, 1907, I received a telegram signed by the
senior member of the Council of Government in
the following terms : " Elected Members of Council
and people of Mauritius knowing your deep and
sincere sympathy for the Colony beg you may be
good enough to represent and defend them (at the)
Colonial Office." The circumstances which prompted
this telegram need not be discussed. I at once placed
myself at the disposal of the Secretary of State, who
was good enough to refer to me the official papers
on the subject. Some months later, in March, 1908,
I received another telegram, from the President of
the Chamber of Agriculture, requesting me to render
a new service to the colony in supporting a measure
recommended by the Governor. I placed myself
at the disposal of Lord Elgin, who granted me a
personal interview after the circumstances in which
the appeal was made had been explained to me in
the Office.

The position in which I was placed on both
occasions was of extreme delicacy, but I need not
discuss the constitutional questions to which it gives
rise. I may be permitted, however, to suggest that
it may serve as an illustration of the advantages that
might be found to accrue to the Secretary of State
from the creation of an advisory Council such as I
have advocated.

My views have been confirmed and fortified
by events which followed, and resulted in the

APOLOGIA

441

appointment of a Royai Commiition to investigate

and report on the iir tncial and administrative
condition of Mauritius. The report of the Com-
mission was published long after my woik had
been sent to press; but 1 avail myself of the
opportunity to add some observations on the report
and evidence in an Appendix. They are my
response to the address presented tr me by the
people of Mauritius, and to their tele^iams inviting
my sympathy and support.

APPENDIX II

SYSTEMS OF LAW OBTAINING IN THE
CROWN COLONIES!

By EDWAKD MANSON
One of *e Editors of the Journal of the Society of Comparative LeRislation

EUROPE
MEDITERRANEAN COLONIES
GIBRALTAR

The common law of Gibraltar is the common law of
England. It was substituted fw that of Spain, but
the peculiar situation and character of Gibraltar and the
circumstances consequent on its capture make it difficult
to ascertain how and when the alteration of its laws first
took place. By Order in Council of 2nd February, 1 884,
the law of England, as it existed on 31st December,
1883, is brooght into force so far as applicable to the
circumstances of Gibraltar in matters not provided for by
local enactments. The laws were revised and consolidated
in 1890, and since then several Imperial Statutes, the
Partnership Act, 1S90, the Trustee Act, 1893, and the
Sale of Goods Act, 1893, have been adopted by local

' For summaries of the recent legislation in the various colonies, see
Legislcuim of the Empire, published under the auspices of the Society of
Comparative Lecislation. See also Chapter IX. of this work ; and for sug-
gettioa* M to legidativc reform m the Crown Cakmict see Appendix III.

446

APPENDIX II

ordinance. The Supreme Court of Gibraltar is consti-
tuted under the Supreme Court Consolidation Order,
1888. There is no Legislature or Legislative Council.
The Governor has power to legislate by ordinance with
certain restrictions, and subject to a right of disallowance
reserved to His Majesty.

MALTA

Malta, — small as it is, about three-fourths of the Isle of
Wight in area — ^has been one of the battlefields of the

world.

The law now in force is based on the Roman law as
modified by local legislation and usage, on the Coda Rohan
published in 1784 by the authority of Grand Master
Rohan, and on the more modern codes and ordinances.
Ordinances No. 7 of 1868 and No. i of 1873 are a repro-
duction, with modifications, of large portions of the Italian
Civil Code.

The Supreme Council of Justice consists of a Chief
Justice, Judges of the Court of Appeal, and Judges of the
Civil Court (First Hall), Commercial Court (Second Hall),
and Criminal Court.

An appeal lies to the Privy Council from judgments for
sums above 1,000. There are also District M<^strates
with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction.

(See also Colonial OfKce List, 19 10.)

CYPRUS

This island, which is about half the size of Wales, has,
like Malta, passed through many vicissitudes and known
many conquerors.

The law in force in Cyprus is (i) in Ottoman actions
or on the prosecution of Ottoman subjects, the common law
of the Ottoman Empire as altered or modified from time
to time by Cyprus Statute Law : (2) in foreign actions or
the prosecution of persons not Ottoman subjects, English
law in force on December 21, 1878, as altered from time
to time by Cyprus Statute Law. As to Ottoman Land

SYSTEMS OF LAW 447

Law, see an article by Mr. Justice Middleton in Journal
of Comparative Legislation, New Sen, 1900, I., p> I4l-

The constitution of the Courts is now regulated by the
Cyprus Courts of Justice Order, 1882, as amended by
Orders in Council 1883, 1902.

They consist of :

1. A supreme Court consisting of a Chief Justice and
one Puisne Judge.

2. Assize Courts, one for each caza (province)— of
which there are six — held by Supreme and District Court
Judges sitting together.

3. A district Court for each caza with limited criminal
and unlimited civil jurisdiction. Each District Court is
presided over by a president and one Christian and one
Moslem District Judge.

4. Magistrates' Courts for each caza.

5. Village Judges.

The only Ottoman tribunals remaining are those exer-
cising jurisdiction in matters of Moslem faith.

ASIA
CEYLON

In 1795-96 the settlements of the Dutch in Ceylon,
which they had occupied for nearly a century and a half,
capitulated to the British, and were annexed to the
presidency of Madras. In 1801 Ceylon was constituted a
separate colony. By the terms of capitulation the Dutch
were allowed to remain in undisturbed possession of their
property, their institutions were upheld, and the Roman-
Dutch law was adopted as the law of the colony. It still
remains so, subject to terms conceded to the native
government of the interior, subjugated in 181 5, when the
whole island fell under British rule. By virtue of these
terms, the native communities of Kandyans, Mahom-
medans, and Tamils in the Central, Eastern, and Northern
Provinces live under a peculiar system of personal laws.
Many local Ordinances have been grafted on the original

448

APPENDIX II

stock, including portions of English law, mostly maritime
and commercial, and English rules of equity have been
introduced by judicial decisions. In 1 88 3 Ceylon adopted,
with amendments, the Penal and Criminal Procedure
Codes of India.

A levimi edition of the l^islative enactments of the
island by H. White and H. A. Loos was legalised in
1901.

There is a Supreme Court, consisting of a Chief Justice
and three Puisne Judges. It has an original criminal
jurisdiction, and decides appeals from the inferior Courts
both in civil and criminal cases. The Police Courts and
Courts of Requests dispose, respectively, of trivial criminal
at"' civil suits, wnile the District Courts have a criminal
jurisdiction intermediate between the Supreme Court and
the Police Couxts, and an unlimited civil jurisdiction.
An appeal from the Supreme Court lies in case of final
^dgments for sums above 5000 rupees. In 1889, Gan-
atfbhiwas, village councils on the lines of the Indian
poff^kofiet, mtK established with powers to deal with petty
offervces and trifling civil claims. They are empowered
to make rales, subject to the approval of the Governor in
Council, relating to their village economy and local
improvesMMts.

HONG KONG

1 he common law of the Colony is the common law of
England as it existed when the Colony obtained a local
legislature in 1843, except so far as such common law is
" inapplicable to the local circumstances of the Colony
or its inhahitaite." (See Ordinance 12 of 1873, s. 7.)
The statute law consists of Ordinances passed by the
Legislature of the Colony with the assent of the Governor
and Imperial Acts expressly applying to the Colony.
Many Impetial Acts have been adopted by Ordinance.
See Chapter IX.

The constimion of the Colony and the powers of the
Governor are (tefined by a Royal Charter dated January
19, 1888.

SYSTEMS OF LAW

His Majesty has under certain Imperial Acts power to
legislate for the Colony by Order in Council. CerUin
Ordinances apply exclusively to the Chinese. These deal
with a hospital for Chinese, wills made by Chinese, extra-
dition of Chinese subjects, attendance by Chinese at
public meetings, protection of Chinese emigrants and the
immigration of Chinese in case of an infectious disease.

There is a Supreme Court consisting of a Chief Justice
and one Puisne Judge.

The law as to civil procedure in the Colony has been
codified. It is based partly on English and partiy on
Indian practice with some local modifications.

A revised edition of the statute law was published in
1900.

WEIHAI-WEI

The territory of Wei-hai-Wei comprehends the island
of Liu Kung, all the islands in the Bay of Wei-hai-Wei,
and a belt of land ten miles wide along the entire coast
line of that bay, including the territorial waters of the
said islands and coast. It was leased to Great Britain by
China " for so long a period as Port- Arthur remains in the
possession of Russia " by a Convention made on July ist,
1898. An Order in Council (Wei-hai-Wei), 1901,
provides for the High Court of Wei-hai-Wei, and invests
it with jurisdiction, civil and criminal, over all persons,
being and matters arising within the territories. It
may sit at any place within these territories. Pro-
vision is also made for the appointment of Magistrates for
the districts. English law is to be followed generally,
but in civil cases between natives, regard is to be had to
Chinese or other native law and custom. When a native
is a party to any case, civil or criminal, the Court may try
it with two native assessors. The High Court may
award any punishment competent to any Court of criminal
jurisdiction in England. The criminal jurisdiction of the
Magistrate does not extend to treason, murder, rape,
forgery, and perjury. An appeal lies in civil cases to the
Supreme Court of Hong Kong,
n 3F

45°

APPENDIX II

STRAITS SETTLEMENTS

The common law of the Straits Settlements is the law
of England as it stood in 1826. It was introduced by a
charter of that date. But this law is subject, in its
application to alien races established in these Settlements,
to such modifications as are necessary to prevent its
operating unjustly or oppressively. There are special
laws also regulating the marriage of Hindu widows, the
marriage and divorce of Parsees and intestate successors
in the case of Parsees.

The common law is supplemented by the Ordinances
passed by the Legislative Council since April, 1 867, the
date when the Settlements were detached from India and
formed into a separate Colony. These Ordinances adopt
a number of important English Acts, such as the Bills of
Sale Act, 1878, the Bankruptcy Act, 1883, the Mer-
chandise Marks Act, 1887, and the Companies Act, 1862.

The Civil Law Ordinance, 1878, also contains a com-
prehensive provision that " in all questions or issues which
may hereafter arise or which may have to be dedded in
this Colony with respect to the law of partnerships, joint
stock companies, corporations, banks and banking, princi-
pal and agents, carriers by land and sea, marine insurance,
average, life and fire insurance, and with respect to
mercantile law generally, the law to be administered in
England in the like case at the corresponding period, as
if such questions had arisen or had to be decided in
England, unless any other provision is or shall be made by
any Statute now in force in this Colony or hereafter to be
enacted." There is a special proviso excepting all matters
connected with land.

There is a Supreme Court held before the Chief Justice
and three Puisne Judges: also Police Courts presided
over by a single police mi^trate with limited jurisdiction.

LABUAN

The common law of Labuan, ceded to the Crown in
1846,15 the common law of England. It is supplemented

SYSTEMS OF LAW 45,

by Ordinances enacted formerly by the Governor and
Legislative Council, and now by the Gomnor, aubject to
the approval of the Colonial Office.

THE nOERATEO MALAY STATES

The federation known by this name consists of four
native States of the Malay Peninsula— Perak, Selangor
Pahang, and Negri Sembilan. In 1895 these States,
which had some time previously placed themselves under
British protection, entered into a treaty by which they
agreed to form themselves into a federation to be
administered under the British Government's advice.
This arrangement was formally inaugurated on July i,
1 896.

The supreme authority in each of the States is vested

m a State Council composed of the more important Malay
Chiefs and Chinese merchants, presided over by the
Sultan, assisted by the British Resident. There is also a
Resident General to control the Residents in each State
Ihe Governor of the Straits Settlements is also High
Commissioner of the Federated Malay States.

The laws in force in each case consist of local Ordi-
nances borrowed wholesale from the English Statute Book.

In each State there is a Supreme Court, composed of
(i) the Court of a Judicial Commissioner, and (2) a Court
of Appeal. The Court of Appeal 's composed of two or
more Judicial Commissioners, presided over by the Chief
Judicial Commissioner. "The jury system." says Mr
Alexander Pulling, " was found not to work satisfactorily
and was abolished In favour of trial by a Judge with
assessors."

There are also Magistrates' Courts of the first and
second class, the Court of a Kathi and of an assbtant
Kathi, and the Court of a Penghulu.

NORTH BORNEO

The territory of this Protectorate— about 31,000 square
miles— lies to the north of the Island of Borneo. It

452 APPENDIX II

became the property of the British North Borneo
Company in 1 88a. and in 1888 the British Government
assumed a formal protectorate. The Sute is administered
by the Company as an independent Sute under the pro-
tection of Hli Majesty's Gownment, who appoint
consular officers and conduct all foreign .clations "^he
territory itself is administered by a Court of Directors in
London, who appoint a Gomnor and Civil Service. The
appointment of the Goveroor if aabject to the approval of
the Secretary of State.

The law of the country is based on the Indian Penal,
Criminal Procedure, and Civil Procedure Codes, with an
adaptation in special instances of several of the Acts in
force in the British Colonies, and an ImamV Court for the
administration of Mohammedan law, with native courts
for trials by local custom.

SARAWAK

The story of Sarawak, as told by Sir Charles Lucas, is
one of peculiar interest. During a voyage to China, Mr.
James Brooke, the son of an Indian civilian, had been
struck by the beauty and fertility of the territories of the
Malay Seas, and had conceived the idea of rescuing
Borneo from I's then state of barbarism by the esUblish-
ment of British settlements on the mainland and the
gradual expansion of British influence among the native
rulers. On a visit to Sarawak, which lies near the western
extremity of the north coast of Borneo, he found a
rebellion on foot against Rajah Muda Hassim, heir-
apparent of the Sultan of Brunei. By the assistance of
Mr. Brooke and the crew of his yacht, the Rajah was able
to put down the rebellion, and as a mark of gratitude the
Rajah offered to confer upon him the govemmciit of
Sarawak. Mr. Brooke decided to accept the offer with a
view to giving the natives the benefit of a just govern-
ment in place of the systematic oppression to which they
were accustomed, and in September, 181 1, he was pro-
claimed Governor of Sarawak. The grant of the territory

SYSTEMS OF LAW

WM formally approved by the Sultan of Brunei in the
following year. Sarawak was placed under British pro-
tection by agreement with the Rajah of Sarawak in 1 888,
by which His Majesty's Government has the rifht to
c ' ciblish consular officers in Sarawak.

Sarawak is governed by a Rajah, who is absolute,
assisted by a Supreme Council oi seven, thiM of whom
are the chief European residents, and the rest natives
nominated by the Rajah. There is also a General Council
of fifty, which meets every three yean.

There is a Court of Requesta for judicial purposes
presided over by a Magistrate.

AFX/CA
BASUTOLAND

This, which was formerly part of Cape Colony, is now
a separate territory under the legislative authority of the
High Commissioner for South Africa. The law is that
of Cape Colony, and is administered by a Resident
C(Hnmissi<»ier.

BRITISH BECHUAMALAND

This territory was annexed to Cape Colony, November
1 6, 189s Roman Dutch law, which was the law obtain-
ing there at the date of annexation, remains in force, also the
native jurisdiction created by SS. 31, 32, of Schedule to
Proc. 2 B.B. of 1 885. The High Court of Gricqualand and
of Cape Colony have concurrent jurisdiction. The juris-
diction of the Resident Magistrates is incorporated in the
legal system of Cape Colony.

SWAZILAND

This territory is bounded on the north, west, and south
by the Transvaal. It underwent many changes of ad-
ministration during the South African troubles. After
the treaty of Vereeniging the administration was vested in
the Governor of the Transvaal, who, in the exercise of the

454

APPENDIX II

power of legislation so vested in him, issued, in 1904, a
proclamation applying the laws of the Transvaal, mutatis
mutandi, to the territory. Native laws and customs are
retained so far as not repugnant to justice and morality.
In 1906 the control of Swaziland was transferred from
the Governor of the Transvaal to the High Commissioner
of South Africa.

A special Court of Swaziland and a Court of the
Resident Commissioner of Swaziland were constituted
under Orders in Council in 1903 and 1906. An appeal
from these Courts lies to His Majesty in Council.

MAURITIUS

This island, which was formerly a French possession,
was governed by French law as modified or supplemented
by local enactments. By one of the Articles of Capitula-
tion (18 10), subsequently confirmed by proclamation, the
laws in force at the date of the capitulation were preserved.
See Chapter ix. By the Treaty of Paris ( 1 8 1 4), Mauritius
and its dependencies — Rodriguez and Diego Garcia — were
ceded to England " in full right and sovereignty " without
any express reservation as to the laws. The existing
laws were nevertheless preserved, and in course of time
modified on certain points by subsequent legislation
derived from French as well as from English sources.
The common law of England has been made applicable
to trials by jury and in matters of evidence on all points
not provided for by the local law.

llie Statute law consists mainly of the French Civil
Code, the French Code of Civil Procedure, and the French
Code of Commerce, such as they stood in 18 10, together
with the Statutes of the United Kingdom which are
expressly or by necessary intendment made applicable to
the colonies, Orders in Council, and local Ordinances.

A revised edition of the Statute law of the colony was
published in 1902. See as to this and as to the merits
of French law Chapter ix. of this work.

There is a Supreme Court constituted by a Chief

SYSTEMS OF LAW

Justice and two or more Puisne Judges. There are also
District Courts and Stipendiary Courts.

SEYCHELLES

This group of islands was until recently a dependency
of Mauritius. It was made a separate colony by Letters
Patent in 1902. The law consists mainly of the French
Civil Code of 1 8 1 4, the French Code of Civil Procedure
of 18 14, the French Commercial Code of 18 14, the
Mauritius Penal Code Ordinances passed by the Mauritius
Legislature expressly for Seychelles, Ordinances passed
by the local legislative boards, and English Statutes
applicable to all British possessions.

A Supreme Court, consisting of a Chief Justice only,
was constituted by the Seychelles Judicature Order in
Council, August loth, 1903. There is an appeal from
the Court to the Supreme Court of Mauritius in cases
where the amount at stake exceeds Rs.2000. Capital
cases are tried at Victoria in the Island of Mah6, which is
the seat of government, by a Court of Assize, consisting
of the Chief Justice and not less than eight assessors.

ST. HELENA

The law is the law of England, — so far as applicable to
local circumstances, — as varied by local legislation.

The Supreme Court consists of the Governor as Chief
Justice, assisted when necessary by members of the Execu-
tive Council as assessors.

SIERRA LEONE

The common law of England prevails in Sierra Leone.
Having been acquired by occupancy ( x 799), and not by
conquest or cession, it is a plantation in the strict sense of
the term, and the settlers carried with them the law
of England. See Chapter ix. In addition, the Statute
law of England down to 1881 has been applied to the
Colony by local Ordinance. Many subsequent Imperial
Acts have also been adopted by Ordinance, embodying

456

APPENDIX II

the principles of the Acts, with such modifications as
local conditions may require. Ordinances are made by
the Governor in Council, that is, by the Governor sitting
with the following officials: the Officer commanding the
troops, the Colonial Secretary, the Colonial Treasurer,
and the King's Advocate.

GAMBIA

This was from an early date — 1664— a settlement of
British merchants, who took the common law of England
with them. From being a dependency of Sierra Leone, it
was in 1843 constituted a separate Settlement.

On the common law have been engrafted Imperial
Acts expressly made applicable to the Colony, Ordinances
passed by the local Legislature, Orders of the King in
Council and of the Administrator in Council. A large
number of Imperial Acts have al^o been adopted by
Ordinance. There is a Supreme Court held before the
Chief Magistrate — since 1905 — and a Mahommedan
Court under a Code appointed by the Governor. There
are also native tribunals — constituted under the Gambia
Protectorate Ordinance, 1894 — with power to administer
native laws and customs not repugnant to natural justice
or any local Ordinance. This qualification seems very
necessary, having regard to some of the native customs —
their funeral rites more particularly.

GOLD COAST COLONY

The common law in this Colony is the common law of

England on July 24, 1874. This is modified by ss. 7,
12, 13, of the Criminal Code with respect to acts which
are offences under that Code. The statute law consists of
local Ordinances (see Journal of Comp. Legis., O.S., I., p.
147), and the Order in Council regulating appeals to the
Privy Council. In suits between natives, native law and
custom " not being repugnant to natural justice, etc.," is
applicable. Native custom is also to prevail in relation
to marriage, the tenure of real and personal property,

SYSTEMS OF LAW 457

inheritance and testamentary disposition, also in causes
between European and natives where strict adherence to
English law would effect injustice. The Legislative
Council is composed of the Governor, the Chief Justice,
the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney, the Treasurer, the
Inspector-Gereral of Constabulary, and such unofficial
members as His Majesty may be pleased to appoint.

The Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and four
Puisne Judges. There are also District Commissioners'
Courts, with executive as well as judicial powers.

ASHANTI

Courts are provided for by the Ashanti Administration
Ordinance, 1902. They consist of:

1. A chief Commissioner's Court with jurisdiction
throughout Ashanti. Gold Coast law is to be followed
both in civil and criminal cases.

2. A District Commissioner's Court for each District.

3. Native Courts with civil jurisdiction up to £lOO,
and criminal jurisdiction in all but the more serious
offences — murder or attempted murder, rape, robbery with
violence, slave dealing, or grievously wounding. An
appeal lies to the Chief Commissioner or District Com-
missioner, subject to rules.

SOUTHERN NIGERIA

The Island of Lagos was acquired by cession — in
1 86 1 — for the suppre.ssion of the slave trade. With the
Gold Coast it formed at one time (1876) the Gold Coast
Colony. In 1886 Lagos became a separate Colony, and
it has now received a new designation — Southern Nigeria.
The common law of the Colony is the common law of
England (Supreme Court Ordinance, 1876). The statute
law consists of the Statutes of general application in force
in England on the 24th day of July, 1874 — made
applicable by the above - mentioned Supreme Court
Ordinance, 1876, and of Ordinances passed by the Legis-
lative Council of the Colony.

458

APPENDIX II

There is no law applying to particular races or creeds,
but by the same Supreme Court Ordinance, 1876, native
laws and customs " not being repugnant to natural justice,
equity, and good conscience, nor incompatible, either
directly or by necessary implication with any enactment
of the Colonial Legislature," are to be " applicable in
causes and matters where the parties thereto are natives of
the Colony," and also in causes and matters between
natives and Europeans where it may appear to the Court
that substantial injustice would be done to either party by
a strict adherence to the rules of English law.

The laws of Southern Nigeria were collected in two
volumes in 1908.

NORTHERN NIGERIA

The common law is the common law of England,
and was introduced by s. 34 of the Protectorate Courts
Proclamation, 1 900, repealed but afterwards re-enacted as
the Supreme Court Proclamation, 1901, and the Provincial
Courts Proclamation, 1902. This is supplemented by
orders of the Sovereign in Council and by Proclamations
enacted by the High Commissioner under the Northern
Nigeria Order in Council, 1899.

NYASALAND

This territory became a British Protectorate in 1891.
It was formerly known as British Central Africa, but its
name has now been altered to the Nyasaland Protectorate
(Order in Council, July, 1907). It comprises the terri-
tories situated to the west and south of Lake Ilyasa, and
is bounded by North-Eastern Rhodesia, German East
Africa, and the "Portuguese possessions (British Central
Africa Order in Council, 1902, Art. i). By the Nyasa-
land Order in Council of 1907, a Governor and Com-
mander-in-Chief were substituted for a Commissioner.
An Executive Council was appointed, and also a
Legislative Council, to consist of the Governor and such
other persons, not less than two, as His Majesty may

SYSTEMS OF LAW 459

direct. The Governor has a right of veto in the making
and passing of all Ordinances, and the power to legislate

by Order in Council is expressly reserved.

By the Nyasaland Order in Council No. 2, the law to
be administered by the High Court of the Protectorate is
to be that in force in England on August i ith, 1902.

There is a High Court with full civil and criminal
jurisdiction over all persons and all matters in the
Protectorate, and Subordinate District Courts. There
is also a Court of Appeal — created by the East African
Protectorate Order in Council, 1902 — ^to hear appeals
from British Central Africa, East Africa, and Uganda.

EAST AFRICA PROTECTORATE

The law in force in the Protectorate consiits of the law

as laid down in the Indian Criminal and Civil Codes,
supplemented by a number of Ordinances brought into
force under Orders in Council.

There is also the native law and custom as adminis-
tered in the Native Courts in special districts and
Mahommedan law among Mahommedan natives in the
dominions of the Sultan of Zanzibar.

Ex-territorial jurisdiction in the Protectorate is r^ulated
by the East Africa Order in Council, 1902.

There is a High Court sitting at such places as the
Governor appoints.

SOM/XILAND PROTECTORATE

This Protectorate, which lies close to the Gulf of Aden
and the Empire of Ethiopia, came into existence in 1884.
It was taken over by the Colonial Office in 1905. The
Protectorate is administered under a series of Orders in
Council, of which the most important is the Order of
1899. The Consul General mentioned in the Ordinance
of 1 899 is now replaced by a Commissioner who legislates
by Ordinances. The jurisdiction extends to British
subjects, foreigners, property, and all personal proprietary
rights and liabilities in the Protectorate of British subjects

APPENDIX II

and foreigner., including .hip. with their ^^ JJ^^^';,
is in the main the law of British India. A numbe rof
Yndian Acts scheduled to the Order are ^r-'^^ *SPi!fi*
By Order in Council. 1504. in .U ce. cnmmu and
to which native. «e parties, regard *T.rfust°ce and
laws so far a. the.e an! not repugnant to law. justice, ana

"""^^ District Courts established under the piO-
virion, of the Bombay Courts Act. 1869.

JGAMDA

The High Courc of Uganda has full 3"';^
and criminal, over all persons and
torate (Uganda Order in Council. 1902. Art 15). ]
Pi'iiliSi.exerdsedingeneralconformitywU^^^^^^

Civil Procedure. Criminal Procedure and C^*^' ^
sits at such places as the Commts. r appoints. Sub-
ordinate Courts also have been constituted.

A British Native Court with the Collector as J "dge m»y
be established by the Commissioner m any d'^tri*^ °f *^
Protectorate. The Collector may appoint one or more
S assessors, but these are to have a consultative voi^
only. The High Court has power to revise sentences
which appear unjust

ZANZIBAR

The Sultan's enactments constitute the "ajive 'tatute
law of Zanzibar as the Sheria of Islam e^nbodied m a
vSt mass of traditions, commentaries and records of
iudements constitute its common law.
^ Since the establishment of the Protectorate and the
institution of a European administration enactme^^^^^^
having the force of law have been made by the Sultan s
P^Ime Minister in the Sultan's name. Th^ - n^^^^
like the Sultan's own Proclamations called Decrees.

OnJinances or Regulations. When they affect foreign
relations or are made under the general act of the
t^ll Conference, which has become by the «ihe.ion

SYSTEMS OF LAW 461

of the Sultan part both of the internal law ^^idcfj^
?„temational oWigaUon. of Zanzibar, they o«unte^.
«gned by the Britlih Agent under authonty from Hh
SSesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Al a.r» Sul^

jVci of Great Briuin and of certain fort^l^J^;!'V'^l''ZA
Satie. with the Sultenate enjoy ex-territorial rjhts and
aw only be sued or prosecuted in their own Courts The
Z^^on is dealt"^ with by the Z^/^^ O't' J"
(Sindl. May i .. 1906. The Court for Za^b«r condsU
of a Judge, Assistant Judge, and Magistrate.

AMERICA

BERMUDA

The common law of the Islands is that °f E"gUnd
introduced on the original settlement of the Colony In
,6?2 It is supplemented by Acts of the Legislature
fitm. 1690. and Regulations m ie by the Governor m
Council. There is a Supreme Court consohdated In
,905. composed of a Chief Justice and not more than
two Asdstant Justices.

BRITISH GUIANA
Dcmcrara. Essequibo. and Berbice (afterwards consoli-
dated into one colony-British Guiana. 1831) were
captured in the war with Holland by the British fojr« m
,803. and by the articles of capitulation the mhab.tants
were to continue to enjoy the laws by which they had
hitherto been governed. These laws were the Roman-
Dutch law. which still obtains with modifications and
additions. One of the most important of these is the
introduction of English mercantile law.

British Guiana has a Supreme Court, consisting of a
Chief Justice and two Puisne Judges. An appeal lies to
the Privy Council when the interest '"v°lved is of the
value of £500 sterling. There are also Magistrates
Courts, with civil and criminal jurisdiction in every
district

46a

APPENDIX II

I ii

For an account of the consolidation of the laws oi
British Guiana in 1905, see Chapter ix. of this work.

BRITISH HONDURAS

This Colony was acquired in 1870 partly by cession
and partly by settlement By the Consolidated laws of

the Colony, 1888, *' the common law of England and all
statutes of the Imperial Parliament in abrogation or
derogation or in any way declaratory of the common
law " are to be enforced in the Colony ; but certain
Imperial Statutes, e.g. those relating to Bankruptcy,
Customs, and Excise, and to any trade, profession, or
busineis are excluded. The Consolidated Laws have
been greatly added to by recent legislation, and incor-
porate many Imperial Statutes, e^. the Bills of Sale Act,
1878, the Judicature Acts, the Law of Inheritance, the
Statutes of Limitation and Trusts, have been adopted.
Areas of land are reserved for the Indians or Caribs, who
hold their lands under regulations made by the Governor
in Council with the sanction of the Secretary of State.

There is a Supreme Court constituted at present of
the Chief Justice alone, and District Courts with jurisdic-
tion to determine summarily (subject to exceptions
similar to those of our County Courts) all personal
actions where the amount claimed does not exceed $100.

FALKLAND ISLANDS

The British sovereignty over this group of Islands was
first effectually asserted in 1832.

The law is the law in force in England on January i,
1850, at which date it was made applicable to the Colony,
supplemented and amended by local ordinances.

WEST INDIES

BAHAMAS

These islands were acquired by settlement, and the
common law is the common law of England, or so much

SYSTEMS OF LAW 463

thereof as " wu necessary, convenient, and not inapplicable
to the drcumitancei <^ the ■ettlement," sui^lemented
mainly by local Acts and Imperial Acts made applicable
to the Colony. There is a Supreme Court, conc'sting of
the Chief Justice alone, and la letident Justices with
tumnuury criminal and petty civil jurisdiction.

BARBADOS

This island was at one time part of the Windward
group and the seat of government. It was separated
and created an independent colony in 1885.

As a possession acquired by settlement in 1605 and
1625, the settlers took with them the common law of
England and such Acts of Parliament applicable to its
conditions as were paned before the date of settlement.
A charter was granted to the island by Charles I., and
was confirmed and ratified on behalf of the Common-
wealth of England in 1652. By this charter (Art. 3),
" No taxes, customs, loans, or excise shall be laid or levy
made on any of the inhabitants of this island without
their consent in a general assembly." "From that
period," says Sir Conrad Reeves, C.J.,^ "representative
assemblies elected by colonists possessing the right of
suffrage as fixed by law have been annually elected and
called together, who, with the consent of the Legislative
Council, a body nominated by the Crown and consisting
of nine members, have uniformly passed laws for the
good government of the colony."

There is also a County Court and an Assistant Court
of Appeal.

JAMAICA

Jamaica, it has been held, is a settled, not a conquered,

country. The English common law with the English
Statute law up to that date was introduced in 1655. The
Island Statute I., Geo. II. c. i, s. 22, enacts that "all
such laws and statutes of England as have been at any
time esteemed, introduced, accepted, or received as laws in

^Journal of Comparative Legislation, VoL II., pp. 102-3.

464 APPENDIX II

thit I.Und. shall and are hereby declared to be laws of
thit Uland for ever." (For the ffleening of thta «»et«t«t
■M liequet vi. Edwardfin the Supreme Court of Jamaica,
1866). Other laws have since been added by the
LesifUtive Council and several Imperial Acta copied.
There te a Supreme Court. coniUting of a Chief Justice
and two Puisne Judges. There is also in each of the 14
parishes of the island a resident Magistrate and Court
with limited jurisdiction.

THE TURKS AND CAIC08 18LA1ID8

These islands were at one time for admlntotrative
purposes Included In the colony of the Bahamas. Thq^
were, however, in 1873. by an Order in Council made
under an Imperial Act, annexed to the r .ony of Jamaica
The laws of the Legislative Council of Jamaica are
expressly made applicable to the islands, but there is a
Legislative Board which drals with local legislatwn. This
Legislative Board consists of the Commlsrioner and Jud^,
and not less than two or more than four other memben
appointed by the Governor of Jamaica.

The Statute law was consolidated in 1 907.

There Is a Supreme Court, held before a single Judge,
exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction, and AssisUnt
Commissioners who act as Police Magistrates.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

These two islands were under separate Governments
until united by an Order in Council of 17th November.
1888. The common law of England is the common law
of both The Statute law consists mainly of Ordinances
made by the Governor with the advice and o»
the Legislative Council. There have been mtroduced a
number of English Acts, among them the Conveyancmg
and Law of Property Act, 1882, the Married Women s
Property Act. 1882, the Bills of Sale Act, 1878. the Sale
of Goods Act, 1893. The SUtute law waa consolidated
in 1903.

SYSTEMS OF LAW 465

There is a Supreme Court, consisting of a Chief Justice
and two Puisne Judges. Tliefe are also Distiict Petty
Civil Courts and Stipendiary Joeticet appointed by the

Governor.

THE WINDWARD ISLANDS

This group of islands, which lie in the Caribbean Sea,

includes Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and St.
Vincent. The Windward Islands, unlike the Leeward
I'lands, are not a federation. Each of the three colonir*
has its own institutions, but under a common Govrri' ,.
Grenada is the headquarters of tlie Government

GRENADA

Gi ■•n.-.Ha was originally a French possession. After
various vicissitudes in the war between France and Great
Britain, it was finally ceded to Great Britain by the
Treaty of Versailles in 1783. Thj common law of the
island is the English common law. It was introduced by
royal proclamations in December, 1764, and January,
1784. The latter is printed in the 1875 edition of the
Laws of Grenada, pp. 7-1 1. There are also local Ordi-
nances, among the more important of which may be
mentioned the Supreme Court Ordinance — a Code of
Civil Procedure — the Criminal de Ordinance, the
Criminal Procedure Code Ordina. , based on the St.
Lucia Criminal Code, which in its \ na was based on the
Jamaica Criminal Code drafted by Mr. Robert S. Wright,
afterwards Mr. J".'-tice Writ'- 1.

A full account i the consolidation and coJiiication of
the laws, 1 894-98, is given in Chapter IX. of this work.

There is a Supreme Court, consisting of the Chief
Justice and Police Magistrates for the various districts.
An appeal lies from the Supreme Court to the Court of
Appeal for the Windward Islands.

ST. LUCIA

This island, discovered by Columbus in 1502, was in
the course of the 300 years of its subsequent history,
ti so

466

APPENDIX II

taken and retaken by belligerent England and France.
It was finally captured by England In 1803. since when
it has remained a British possession.

Ip this colony the common law prevails when the
Codes are silent. It was introduced by the English
Judges nearly forty years ago. Prior to that time the
French Judges applied the Coutume de Paris.

The Statute law of the Colony consists of Ordinances,
and includes a Civil Code, a Criminal Code, and a Code
of Criminal Procedure. The Statutes of the United
Kingdom do not operate in the Colony, but numerous
Imperial Statutes, such as those dealing with Merchant
Shipping, Bills of Exchange, Police, Customs, and Com-
panies, have been adopted by Ordinance. The Colonial
Extradition Ordinance, 1877 (No. 45 of the La-.vs of St.
Lucia) has been by Order in Council incorporated with
the Imperial Act. A Code of civil law, by Sir George
des Voeux and Mr. James Armstrong, was legalised m
1879. The Statute law of the Colony was consolidated
by Sir J. W. Carrington in 1889.

The Royal Court of St. Lucia is held before the Chief
Justice as sole judge. It has a very wide jurisdiction.
An appeal lies from it to the Court of Appeal for the
Windward Islands, and from that Court— where the sum
involved exceeds ;C300— to the Privy Council.

ST. VINCENT

St Vincent was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty
of Paris in 1763, and by His Majesty's Proclamation on
October 7th of the same year, was with Grenada,
Dominica, Tbbago, and the Grenadines formed into one
Government. By this proclamation the common law of
England and the Statute law, so far as is applicable, have
been generally considered to have been introduced into
the Colony, but whether any particular Statute of the
United Kingdom passed prior to 1763— the date of
cession— is in force in the Colony or not has to be settled
in each case by judicial decision.

SYSTEMS OF LAW 467

The Statute law of the Colony consists of Acts and
Ordinances, and of Regulations or Orders in Council
made thereunder.

By the Windward Islands Act, 1850, a Court of
Appeal for islands forming the group is constituted. It is
composed of the Chief Justices of Barbados, Grenada, St.
Lucia, and St. Vincent. An appeal from this Court lies
to the Privy Council where the sum involved exceeds
;^300.

For an account of the consolidation of these Acts,
Ordinances, and Regulations, see Chapter IX. The work
was completed in 1907.

THE LEEWARD ISLANDS

This group of Islands in the West Indies comprises five
Presidencies — Antigua, Montserrat, St. Christopher and
Nevis, Dominica and the Virgins. It constitutes, as has
been remarked by Sir F. Piggott, the only instance of a
federation of British Colonies under a common legislature.

The Leeward Islands Act, 1 871, established a Governor
with a legislative and executive Council for the Presi-
dencies. This legislative Council — by the Federation Act
of 1899 — is composed of 16 members, 8 official and 8
elected. It meets annually and remains In office three
years.

Each Island Legislature has the Crown Colony form of
constitution.

All the Islands, except Dominica, were acquired by
settlement, and the settlers took with them the common
law of England. The law of England was applied to
Dominica by Proclamation in 1763. On this stock have
been engrafted certain Imperial Acts and Acts of the
Federal Legislature.

There is a Supreme Court, which has its principal seat in
Antigua. It is composed of a Chief Justice and a Puisne
Judge. Circuit Courts are held in the different Island
Presidencies. Each district of the Colony has also Its
Resident Magistrate.

468 APPENDIX II

5ee Bnrge—Coinmentaries, 2nd Ed.; foumal of Com-
farativt UgisUaion, N.S., Vol. II., pp. i lo-i 1 3-

AUSTRALASIA
THE FIJI ISLANDS

These islands were ceded to the Crown by their Chiefs
in 1874. The following year the Colony received a
Charter providing for its government and gwmg it a local

legislature. . ,

The law of the Colony is the law which was in force in
England at the date of the Charter, so far as suu«i to
the ci.cumstances of the Colony, and as en arged by
subsequent local legislation and any Imperial Acts or
Orders applied to the Colony. Many Impenal Acts
adopted by the Colony may be mentioned : The Mamed
Women's Property Act. 1882 ; The Bills of Exchange
Act 1882 ; The Bills of Sale Act, 1878 ; The Bank-
ruptcy Act, 1883: and the Criminal Law Amendment
Act, 1885. The Ofdinances were consolidated m

'^The law is administered by a Supreme Court presided
over by a Chief Justice. The relations of the native
Fijians, inur se, are governed by the Native Regula-
tions made by the Native Regulation Board under
the Native AflTairs Regulation Ordinance (No. 35 of
1876) These Regulations when approved by the Legis-
lative Counc-' have the force of law. They are
administered by two Courts, both of summary junsdtction,
a District Court, presided over by a Native Stipendiary
Magistrate, and a Provincial Court presided over by a
European Stipendiary Magistrate, and one or more Native
Stipendiary Magistrates. An appeal lies from the District
Court to the Provincial Court. The Attorney-General
may refer the decision of a Native Stipendiary Magis-
trate to the Supreme Court See Journal of Comp. Leg.,
O.S., Vol. I., 36 »•

SYSTEMS OF LAW 469

BIBUOGRAPHY

Bui^e, Colonial and Foreign Law.

Tarring, Law relating to the Colonies.

Piggott, Imperial Statutes applicable to the Colonies.

Dicey, Conflict of Laws.

Jenkyns, British Law and Jurisdiction beyond the Seas.
Lucas, Historical Geography of the British Colonies.
Journal of Comparative Legislation, Old Series and New
Series.

The Legislation of the Empire, edited under the direction
of the Society of Comparative Legislation by C. E. A.
Bedwell, 1909.

The Colonial Office List.

The Statesman's Year Book.

The Entyclopadia of the Laws of Et^land.

APPENDIX III

PROPOSALS FOR A SCHEME OF LEGISLATIVE
REFORM IN THE CROWN COLONIES

By SIR FRANCIS T. PIGGOTT

(A) General legislative reform ; first, as to the future.

The basis on which all orderly, and therefore easily
intelligible, legislation must rest is a Common Form and
Interpretation Ordinance.

The importance of " common forms " cannot be too
strongly insisted on, for they not only simplify the work
of the draftsman, and reduce the bulk of the various
ordinances, but they introduce a common standard on
many points of detail, — important detail — which are apt
to be overlooked in the hurry of drafting, or to be treated
differently by different draftsmen. These "common
forms " cover a wide area : from the simple " coming into
effect" clause, to the important provisions as to the
making of . Regulations under an Ordinance. There is
another advantage of a very practical nature from the
Government point of view. The discussion on these
points of detail is had once and for all when the Common
Form Ordinance is passing through the Legislative
Council, and cannot be renewed with each successive
Ordinance of which they would otherwise inevitably form
part To take a concrete example ; few points are more

LEGISLATIVE REFORM 47*

strenuously contested by the unofficial members than the
power of making Regulations by the Head of the
Department, or the Governor in Executive Council. The
discussion is perfectly legitimate, because the effect of this
power is virtually to ^jive the right to legislate to the
Executive, and by so much to diminish the rights of the
Council. But the tendency of modem legislation is to
leave details to regulations, because amendments are more
easily made in them, a fresh Ordinance not being
required. It is obvious therefore that the r'*ention of
such a power by the Executive should be g .verned by
well-de.*ined rules, such as regard the laying of the
regulations when made on the table of th' Council, and
the power of amendment by the Council itself Whatever
principle is adopted it should be clearly def. led, so that
when the power to make regulations under any new
Ordinanc . is taken the Council clearly understands how
it will be exercised.

The importance of " Interpretation " is that it tends to
shorten language, terms are used uniformly i>i all
Ordinances, and by preventintj unnecessary verbiage, it
clarifies the style in which Ordinances are drafted. I
look on drafting as a fine art, not too greatly studied.
And if we remember a well-known dictum, that laws
should be so drafted that a person so minded cannot
deliberately misunderstand them, the importance of style
cannot r.'" overrated.

The duty of preparing an Ordinance of this nature
falls naturally on the colonial La>*- Officer. He will find
of course the English Interpretation Act, 1889, of great
service, and he should coia'orm to it as far as possible.
There are likely to be many sections of local impor*anco
which he will find it necessary to introduce, especi in
a colony where a foreign law is in force. Bi che
Colonial Office should co-operate ; and I conceive that its
duty is to bring about uniformity as far as possible in
these basic Ordinances throughout the Empire.

Secondly, as to the past

APPENDIX III

The Common Form and Interpretation Ordinance
should form the basis of past as well as of future
legislation, and this can be done by an Extension
Ordinance, — that is to say, an Ordinance extending the
principles of common form and interpretation to existing
legislation. No Law Officer will need to be reminded of
the immense advantage of having the wholr of the
Statute Book of which he is in charge governed by the
same principles on these points. But the E tension
Ordinance is exceedingly difficult to draft; and inter-
ference with so much existing legislation can hardly be
attempted without the goodwill and assistance of the
unofficial Members of Council. But it is worth devoting
any amount of labour to it. It must of course be
accompanied by a Revision Ordinance, which must come
into force simultaneously with it. In this Ordinance all
the sections which have been replaced by the standard
ones in the Common Form Ordinance must be eliminated.
When the Extension and Revision Ordinances have been
successfully passed, a very large part of the work of
codification is done. The mass of matter rendered
useless and cut out will be found to be enormous, and
further revision on the lines of the English Statute Law
Revision Acts will be found to be comparatively easy.

The ground is almost prepared now for a new edition
of the Ordinances ; but one more step is necessary,
consolidation ; that is, bringing up all amending Ordi-
nances into the parent Ordinance or. each subject.

Codification is another matter, and I do not think it
should be attempted until the new edition has been issued
and has been tested by experience. But when it is
decided to proceed with it, the mass of legislation will be
found to have been made more malleable by the pre-
liminary excisions.

(B) The revision of the fundamental law. This must
be divided into two branches ; the colonies where foreign
law obtains, and those where old English law is in force.

Colonies where foreign law obtains. — Speaking with my

LEGISLATIVE REFORM 473

experience of Mauritius, I consider this one of the most
important works that a Government can undertake, but it
is almost bej'ond the powers of a Law Officer from home.
He must have the assistance of a local committee on
which the local lawyers, more versed in the foreign law,
should be asked to co-operate. The task is a very lai^e
one, and must occupy several years. In Mauritius it
means editing the French codes as in force in tne colony.
Even though it was practically reduced to the Code Civil
it was found impossible to attempt it Lai^ masses of
the Code have indeed been repealed and replaced by
colonial legislation ; but there is a great deal of it, more
especially those parts whirh lay down general principles,
which requires the most careful consideration. But in
spits of the labour involved it ought to be done.

Colonies where old English law is in /one. — ^The work
here is equally important, but it is free from the difficulties
which foreign law presents. Its necessity is illustrated by
the case which occurred in Hong Kong, referred to in the
ninth chapter of the work to which these proposals form
an appendix. It is 01, en impossible to know where you
are when you come to deal with subjects the law on
which has long been repealed in England, but which is
left as it was in the colonies. This question affects so
many colonies which have -iefinite charters defining the
date at which English law became the law of the colony,
that it is almost an Imperial matter, and much good
work could be done by a Committee in England ; for
what is true of one colony is probably true of many.

(C) This much accomplished, thcic is that mass of
imperial legislation applicable to the colonies which stands
in such urgent need of revision, and this must, of course,
be done by the Colonial Office.

(Z?) The past thus cared for, we turn to the future.
As new legislation is passed applicable to the colonies, it
should be the duty of the Colonial Office to draw the
attention of the colonial Government to it, and explain
the drift and probable effect of it. It may be said this

APPENDIX III

is done now. It is, but intermittently. For insUnce, the
Lunacy Act of 1890 containi a provision to the effect
that the power of the Judge in Lunacy extends to property
within any British possession. And the Trustee Act of
1893 contains a similar extension of the powers of the
High Court to make vesting orders with regard to land
and personal property in the colonies : a power which was
afterwards extended to the High Court in Ireland. Was
the attention of the coloiilal Governments, and, through
them, of the people in the colonies, drawn to these very
wide provisions? It can hardly be expected that the
colonial Law Officers should discover them,— little clauses
of three or four lines in lengthy Acts, not otherwise
applicable to the colonies. And here is another pitfall.
Suppose these laws introduced bodily into the colonies,
it may well happen that these wide powers will be over-
looked and the colonial Supreme Court be inadvertently
vested with them. From all points of view therefore It
is wiser to prevent difficulties and possible litigation by
some such simple system as suggested.

(£) Again, there are the laws not applicable to the
colonies, but which it may be advisable to apply to them.
The attention of the Government of the colonies would
be called to them and the matter promptly dealt with.

(F) Finally, there is the collation and supervision of
colonial laws as passed. This supervision is apt to be
exceedingly annoying to the Law Officer if it is r- .ried
on intermittently. But systematically carried out Jthing
could be of greater service to the colonies. Part of the
system should be the collocation of the laws of different
colonies on the same subject. By this means endless
difficulties would be met and overcome. Tike the case
of laws dealing with sanitation and the public health.
There are many ciauses in such a law which depend on
principles which should be identical in every colony. How
convenient it would have been in the past if Ordinances
passed in other colonies could have been used as models.
It will be equally convenient in the future.

APPENDIX IV

BRITISH GUIANA

THE IMMIGRATION ORDINANCE, 1891*

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
JPnliminary

SiCTinN.

I. Short title.

». Interpretation of terms.

3. Division of the Ordinance.

4. Forms. First Schedule.

5. Naming of places of emigration.

PART I

The Immigration Department

The Immigration Agent-General

6. Appointment and salary of Immigration Agent-General.

7. General duties of the Immigration Agent-General.

8. General powers of the Immigration Agent-General.

TAe Senior Immigration Agent

9. Appointment and salary of Senior Immigration Agent.

10. General duties of the Senior Immigration Agent

Immigration Agents, etc.

1 1. Appointment, duties, and salaries of Immigration Agents, etc.

' See Vo'. I., p. 340.

476

APPENDIX IV

Smtioh.

I a. Power to the Surgeon-General to visit plantation, etc.

13. Appointment and lalary of Medical Inspector.

14. Genernl dudet of the Medical Inapector.

15. Duties of Govenunent Medical-Offioen in imibigntioo

matters.

16. Rcquintion for special visit of Government Medical Officer.

Wtrk ^ Ik* Dtfartmmt

1 7. Powers of tupervision, etc., of the Immigration Agent-General.
t8. Visiting of l^antations by Immigration Agents.

19. Power to tumnion witness on inquiry.

First Schedule : Form Na 1.

30. Administration of oath on inquiry.

First Schedule : Form No. a :
Form No. 3.

31. Taking of evidence on inquiry.

as. Power to require production of labour books.

33. Molesting, etc.. Officer in execution of duty.

34. Travelling expenses.

Emigration Agtntitt

35. Appointment and salary of Emigration Agent.

36. Appointment and salaries of Clerks, etc., to Emigration

Agent.

37. Accounto and expenses of Emigration Agent

PART II

Fiscal Provisions

38. Establishment of Immigration Fund.

20. Formation of and charges upon the Immigration Fund.

30. Indenture Fee.

31. Mode of payment of indenture fee.

33. Subsistence of lien notwithstanding sale, etc., of plantation.

33. Personal responsibility of purchaser to the Immigration Fund.

34. Manner of proof on proceeding on promissory note, etc.

35. Application of payments by employer indebted on promissory

notes.

36. Preferent lien for debu due to the Immigration Fund.

37. Mode of recov«ry of debte due to the Immigration Fund.

BRITISH GUIANA IMMIGRATION 477

PART III
AMIVAI AND AUOTMKMT

38. Making ofappUcation for immigrants.

First Schedule : Form Na 4.

39. Application by lessee.

40. Apidicatkm bf mortgagee.

41. Subsistence of application notwithstanding death, etc.
43. Application by Head of Department.

43. ReiuMl <rf application.

44. Detennination of number of immigianu to be introduced.

.-.'mr'a/

45. Inspection of ship with immigrants on arrival.

46. Disposal of tick immigrant on board ship.

47. Boud and lodging of immigrant on arrii«L

48. Order of allotment

49. Allotment for domestic service.

50. Conditions of allotment.

51. Indenture fee payable in respect of immigrant notable-bodied.

52. Mode of indenture.

First Schedule : Form Na $ :
Form No. 6.

53. Detention of immigrant after allotment at the Dep6t.

54. Annual publication of list of ships and of allotment of

immigrants.

PART IV
Indbnturb

55. Right of imr.igrant to enforce previous contract made with

him.

56. Case of previous contract made with Indian immigrant.

57. Term of indenture.

58. Special provisions respecting previous contracts.

59. Case of previous contract made with minor immigrant, etc.

60. Exemption of infant immigrant from indoiture.

478 APPENDIX IV

MCTMM.

6 1 . Provision as to minor immigrant.

6a. Rights of minor, etc., immigrant residing on plantation.

63. Provision M to ■dtool taMhing of miiwr immignats.

PART V
DWBIXIllOt

64. Informatioa about dwelling* to be Aimished bjr employt:r.

65. Providing of suitable dwelling for indentured immigrant

66. Assignment and superficial capacity of dwellings.

67. Keeping of Register of dwelling!.

First Schedule ; Form So. 7.

68. Making of regulations in respect of dwellings.

69. Deikult of employer in respect of dwelling.

70. Debult of indentured immigrant in respect of dwelling, etc.

PART VI

Rations

71. Providing of rations for three months after allotment

First Schedule : Form No. 8.
73. Keeping of Muster-Roll of newly indentured immigrants.

73. Placing ot other immigrant on rations.

74. Prohibition of sale and purchase of rations.

PART VH
Hospitals

75. Hospital accommodatim to be provided for immigranu on

plantation.

76. Certifying of hospital.

77. Right of lessee in certified hospital.

78. Withdrawal of certificate of hospital

79. Making of hospital regulations and dietary.

80. Furniture, etc., of hospital.

First Schedule : Form No. 9 :
Form No. 10.

81. Employment of dispenser and assistants for hospital.

82. Duties of dispenser or principal sick nurse.

83. Visits of Government Medical Officer.

BRITISH GUIANA IMMIGRATION 479

Sktion.

84. Treatment of pfttienti by Government Medical Officer.
is- RetpoMibiUty of Government Medical Officer for hoepitsl.

86. Removal of patient to Public HotpitaL

87. Requisition by Medical Officer.

tk. Appeel against requisition of Medical Officer.

89. Default of employer in respect of hospital arrangements.

90. Default of employer in respect of treatment of sick

immigrant

91. Misconduct of indentured immigrant in respect of hospital.
9«. Obligation of hospital regulations on patient other than

indenured immigrant

PART VIII

Labour and Waou

Pi fffisions with rti^urj to Indentured Immigromtt

93. Providing of work and payment of wage.

94. Assignment of work.

95. Duration of time work and of task work.

96. Limit of task work per diem.

97. Rate of wages for time work.

First Schedule : Form Na ii : A and B.

98. Rate of wages for task work.

99. Proceedings by immigrant for recovery of wages short-paid.

100. General procedure for recovery of wages.

101. Mode of making estimate of wages, and order thereon.
103. Assault on indentured imm c.ant

103. Unlawful withholding of wages.

104. Prohibition of stoppage of wages and of payment in kind.

105. Refusal or neglect of indentured immigrant to amend work

improperly performed.

106. Making of agreement for extra in field or in buildings.

107. Payment for extra time work.

108. Service as watchman.

First Schedule: Form No. 12.

109. Absence from work, etc.

First Schedule : Form No. 1 3.
no. Excuse of physical incapacity for absence from work, etc.
III. Minor offe.ices by indentured immigrant.

First Schedule: Form No. 14.

48o

APPENDIX IV

Skction.

113. More serious offences by indentured immigrant
First Schedule : Form No. 15.

113. Keeping of Register of Cases before Magistrate.

First Schedule: Form No. 16.

114. Prohibition of keeping of shop on or near plantation by

manager, etc
Provisions with rtgardtt tmmigrants not under Indtnturt

115. Duty of person employing immigrant not under indenture.

116. Duties of manager of planUtion on which are employed

immigrants not under indenture.

117. Other Wrings of free immigrants.

PART IX
Leave and Desertion
Ltave

118. Obligation of residence.

119. Unlawful absence from plantation.

First Schedule : Form No. 17.

120. Right of immigrant to leave of absence after certain amount

of work done.

131. Leaving planUtion for purpose of making complaint.
First Schedule : Form No. 18.

Desertion

122. Desertion.

First Schedule : Form No. 19 :

Form No. so.

123. Default by manager in not preferring charge against deserter.
1 34. Punishment of deserter.

Supplemental Provisions

125. Loss of original charge for desertion.

126. Keeping of Registers of Absences on Leave and Desertions.

First Schedule : Form No. at :
Form No. 22.

127. Apprehension of immigrant suspected, of being absent

without leave.

1 28. Refusal of immigrant apprehended to give information.

129. Absence without leave from the Depot.

BRITISH GUIANA IMMIGRATION 481

Section.

1 30. Employment of indentured immigrant by person not entitled

to his services.

131. Disposal of indentured immigrant on release from custody.

132. Giving of certificate as to indentured immigrant brought in

custody to plantation.

First Schedule : Form No. 23.

133. Reporting of indentured immigrant voluntarily returning to

plantation.

134. Habitual idler.

First Schedule : Form No. 24

135. Reporting of indentured immigrant on release frorr. prison.

136. Keeping of Register of Defaulters.

First Schedule : Form No. 25.

137. Making of entries in the Register of Defaulters

138. Correction of the Register of Defaulters.

I'.AKT X
Marriage, Divorck, etc.

139. Interpretation of term "immigrant" in Part X.

Marriai^e

140. Keeping of Register of Married Immigrants arriving in the

Colony.

First Schedule : Form No. 26.

141. Registration of married immigrants on arrival.

First Schedule : Form No. 27.

142. Exemption from fee for registration.

143. Keeping of Register of Marriages of Immigrants contracted

in the Colony.

First Schedule : Form No. 28.

144. Marriage of Christian immigrants.

145. Prohibition of certain marriages.

146. Notification of intended marriage.

First Schedule : Form No. 29.

147. Grounds of objection to proposed marriage.

1 48. Making and decision of objection to proposed marriage.

149. Marriage after publication of notice.

First Schedule : Form No. 30.
11 2H

APPENDIX IV

Skction.

150. Marriage after publication of banns.

151. Marriage according to religion and personal law.

IS a. Registration of marriage contracted according to reUgion
and personal law.

First Schedule : Form No. 31 :
Form No. 32.

153. Making of enquiry aa to contracting of marriage.

Property of Married Immi^ani;

154. Protection of property of woman deserted by her husband.

155. Protection of property of man deserted by his wife.

156. Division of property of married immigrants.

Proltctim of Wives of Immigrants, etc.

157. Apprehension and punishment of male immigrant threatening

his wife.

158. Transfer of immigrant in case of danger from jealousy.

159. Proceedings where injury to woman is apprehended.

160. Punishment of person enticing away wife of immigrant, t iC.
j6i. Copy of proceedings for the Immigration Agent-General.

Divorce

162. Proceedings for divorce of immigrants.

163. Keeping of Register of Divorces.

First Schedule : Form No. 33.
Offences

164. Punishment of person making false entry in register.

165. Punishment of person signing false declaration or certificate.

166. Punishment of person forging certificate.

Supplemental Prtmsiotis

167. Proof of marriage or divorce.

168. Use as ev'dsnce of entry in register and of certificate.

169. Appeal whert registration is refused.

170. Cancellation of registration.

171. Procedure on application to the Chief Justice.

172. Right of appeal from Magistrate's order.

173. Furnishing of certified copy of entry in roister.

174. Registration of existing marriages contracted according to

religion and personal law.

BRITISH GUIANA IMMIGRATION 483

PART XI

Transfer and Determination of Indentures

SrcTioN.

175. Declaring of indenture void in case of death or disability of

immigrant within six months after allotment.

1 76. Computation of commutation money.

177. Commutation by husband or wife.

178. Commutation by mother of minor.

179. Determination of indenture by the Immigration Agent-

General on payment of commutation money.

180. Transfer of immigrants.

181. Transfer of immigrant on determination of lease.

182. Transfer of services of immigrant on sale, etc., of plantation.

183. Other provisions as to transfer

184. Permissible removal, temporary transfer, and determination.

185. Determination of indenture for ill-treatment.

186. Computation of duration of indenture.

187. Exclusion of certain periods in computation of term of

indenture.

188. Prohibition of other transfers, etc.

189. Recording of transfers and determinations.

I'ART XII

Certificates of Exkmption from Labour

190. Granting of certificate of exer'ipf'on from labour.

First Schedule : Form No. 34.

191. Granting of provisional certificate.

192. Indorsement of provisional certificate by employer.

193. Granting of certificate to disabled immigrant.

PART XIII
Passports and Return Passages

194. Granting of passport to Indian immigrant.

First Schedule : Form No. 35 :
Form No. 36.

195. Quitting the Colony without passport.

196. Limitations of right to passport.

484 APPENDIX IV

iQ^^Receiving on board ship of immigrant without passport, with
intent to carry him out of the Colony.
First Schedule ; Form No. 37.

198. Aiding departure of immigrant without passport.

199. Right of Indian immigrant to return passage.

200. Granting of return passage to disabled Indian immigrant.

201. Inspection, etc., of ship with return immigrants.

202. Transmission of report of inspection to the Governor.

PART XIV

Registers, Returns and Certificates

203. Half-yearly returns of deaths of immigrants in Public

Institutions.

204. Registers to be kept on plantation.

First Schedule : Form No. 6 :
Form No. 7 :
Form No. 21 :
Form No. 22 :
Form Xo. 38 :
Form No. 39.

205. Half-yearly returns by employer.

First Schedule : Form .no. 40.

206. Making of false entry in register, etc., by manager.

207. Medical returns, etc.

308. Loss of certificate of exemption from labour, etc.

209. Use by one immigrant of certificate or pass of another

immigrant.

210. Forgery of certificate of exemption from labour.

211. Forgery of passport or pass.

PART XV
Procedure

2 1 2. Procedure generally.

2 1 3. Power to the Immigration Agent-General to act for immigrant.

214. Appearance of the Immigration Agent-General.

215. Appearance of employer.

216. Admissibility of evidence of defendant.

.1 .

BRITISH GUIANA IMMIGRATION 485

Section.

2 1 7. Statement of ownership of property.
318. Proof of Indenture List, etc.

a 19. Power for Magistrate to order indentured immigrant before

him to be conveyed to hospital.
320. Imprisonment of indentured immigrant.
331. Admission of immigrant sentenced to imprisonment to but

in certain cases.

First Schedule : Form No. 41.
333. Certified copy of proceedings before Magistrate.

223. Copy of warrant of commitment of immigrant.

224. Notification by Magistrate of conviction of indentured

immigrant.

First Schedule : Form No. 42.
325. Notification by Magistrate in case of committal for trial.
First Schedule : Form No. 43.

336. Certificate of conviction before Supreme Criminal Court.

First Schedule : Form No. 44.

P.\RT XVI
Miscellaneous Provisions
Property of Deceased Indentured Immi^^rants

337. Mode of dealing with property of deceased indentured

immigrant.

First Schedule : Form No. 45.
238. Protection of the Immigration Agent-General, etc., in

relation to property.
229. Proceeding by manager on death of indentured immigrant

330. Other provisions relating to property.

Care of Orphans

331. Appointment of guardian of orphan of immigrant.
333. Interference with guardian, etc.

333. Keeping of Register of Orphans.

First Schedule : Form No. 46.

Regtttation of Festivals

234. Making of regulations for government of festivals.

335. Application of regulations.

236. Contravention of regulations.

237. Prosecution of contravention.

i {

s 4 i

4S6

APPENDIX IV

QtuttioMS as to age, tit.

Sfction.

238. Decision of question as to age of immigrant.

239. Penalty for contravention of the Ordinance not provided for.

Temporary Provisknt

240. Completion of existing indentures.

241. Existing Registers, etc.

242. Effect of existing indentures.

243. Case of existing Officers of the Immisration Department.

244. Saving as to existing Medical Districts.

245. Temporary use of existing forms.

246 Continuance of existing regulations, etc.

247. Repeal of enactments.

Second Schedule.

248. Commencement of the Ordinance.

APPENDIX V

MEMORANDUM

MEASURES TO BE CAKKIKD OUT FOR PREVENTION OF
MALARIAL FKVER

It has been proved over and over again that Malarial
Fever is due to a parasite which attacks, and resides in, the
red blood corpuscles of man. This parasite, which assumes
different forms according to the type of fever, is transmitted
from man to man by a mosquito of a certain kind called
Anopheles.

(2) Scientifically, mosquitoes, of which there are now
about 200 known species, belong to the adicidae which are
divided into several genera, and among these the Culex
and Anopheles are the commonest.

Mosquitoes spring from eggs which are laid everywhere;
and anywhere, so to speak, but especially in stagnant
water. These eggs take about seven days to pass to the
chrysalis stage, when it remains as such for about two days
and then develops into the fully formed insect.

(3) The cycle of life is thus complete and is similar to
that of the butterfly with which we are all familiar. The
eggs of the butterfly develop into the well-known cater-
pillar which feeds on leaves, while the eggs of the mosquito
develop into small wriggling worms which are to be found
in any vessel where water is kept for some time.

488

APPENDIX V

(4) As already stated there are about 200 species of
mosquitoes actually known, but the kind to be looked after
in connection with Malarial Fever, and which is known as
the Anopheles, is to be distinguished from the others by the
following characters :

(i) Anopheles have a slim, eiegant body, small head,

long and thick proboscis, wings spotted ; when
seated on a wall the axis of body is almost at
right angles to the wall.

(ii) Culex have a coarser body, thick thorax and thin

proboscis, wings plain ; when seated on a wall
the tail hangs downwards in the direction of the
wall, i.e. parallel to it.
The small worms or larvae are also distinguished from
one another by the following characters :

(i) The Anopheles larvae float flat on the surface of

water like little logs or sticks, when disturbed
they wriggle on the surface with a backward
skating movement.

(ii) The Culex larvae hang by their tail to the surface

of the water with their head downwards ; when
disturbed they wriggle to the b m of the
vessel.

(5) The adult mosquito which may live f^. .iivynths has
also the power of hibernating and its favourite haunts for
this are damp and dark places such as cellars, garrets, and
sheds of all sorts, etc. They feed on fruits, vegetables,
birds, animals and man ; but the female only is a blood
sucker.

The female, distinguished from the male by the absence
of feathery antennae, after a feed, usually rests and sleeps
on walls, in dark corners and rank vegetation round about
the house, returning to its natural breeding places every few
days and flying back again to the house for its food supply.

(6) Hence, therefore, the necessity of having a clean
space all round the house ; of having all superficial drains
daily cleansed ; all water supplies covered up or emptied
at least once a week and the sides and bottom scrubbed ;

MALARIAL FEVER 489

and of doing away with the habit of growing ferns under
verandahs in platefult of water which are seldom or never

emptied.

(7) Just as flies in a room gather round a rope which is
hung up and are attracted by a bowl of soap water, mos-
quitoes are likewise attracted by certain dark colours more
than others. White, light yellow, light green, light red,
light blue, are not so attractive as the dark colours ; hence,
therefore, the advisability of wearing light ojloured cloths,
of having the wall papers, lamp shades, etc., of a light tint.

(8) And, as it is also well known that mosquitoes
congregate in corners where clothes arc hung up, it would
be expedient to have a black or dark coloured garment
placed in such a position as to attract them, and the
powder used for the production of smoke burnt in different
corners at the same time so as to destroy the greatest
possible number of these pests.

And as malarial fevi , as already stated, is a parasitic
disease, persons suffering from fever should be isolated as
far as possible ; they are not inly capable of spreading
the disease not only to others but are liable to be
reinfected themselves.

(9) We are therefore to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes
and to destroy them and their larvae as much as possible.

To attain this end we must carefully search in and
around houses, for flower vases, especially when ferns are
grown under verandahs in receptacles larger than the pots
and full of water, fur vessels of all sorts, broken bottles,
jars, cisterns, old tins, etc., small puddles, especially rain-
water puddles containing green water weeds found along
paths and roads, puddles on the surface of roads, hollows
in rocks, old wells, all drains, etc. AW that is necessary is
to empty all such vessels and receptacles, in and around
houses, once, or better twice, a week, to fill up all crevices
and hollows, and when this is impossible, to keep fishes in
the ornamental ponds, and to pour petroleum oil over
natural or artificial collections of water once or twice a
week ; for we know that the larvae will be destroyed by

APPENDIX V

these means as the eggs are developed in water and take
about a week to become the fully matured insect.

( I o) On the other hand, the mature insect may be looked
for in the stables, byres, sheds and -jo-downs of all sorts,
and among the rank vegetation and grass about out-housei.

Its ingress into houses during the night may be pre-
vented by having the windows provided with wire gauze
netting affixed on frames, or if this expedient cannot be
resorted to, mosquito nets may be used. But the important
point to attend to is to open all doors and windows and
burn either Zanzoline or Keating's powder, coffee, sugar,
etc.. and while this is going on to dust vigorously the room
and shut all openings immediately after and continue 'he
fumigation for a ' w minutes more. During the day the
punkah or the fan is helpful.

April, 1902.

APPENDIX VI

MAURITIUS

HURRlCANi:, 1892

The Crown Agents, in anticipation of the raising of the
3 per cent. Guaranteed Loan for ;^6oo,ooo, made advances
at Bank rate for the financing of the Colonial Government,
including the shipment of a sum of Rs. 1,505,882 to the
Colony which was required immediately — and they con-
tinu d to supply the necessary funds until the raising of the
Loai. in January, 1 893, when it realized an average price of
£105 7s. lod. per cent

Bank rate at which the advances were made by the Crown
Agents avetigtA 2} per cent, in 1892.

FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, 1898

Owing to the short sugar crop 1897-8 and the high
price of Indian Food supplies and the depletion of currency
due to shipments of rupees to India in consequence of the
high rates prevailing for Mercantile drafts on India, the
position of the Banks in Mauritius became critical and it
became necessary for the Colonial Government to come to
their aid with advances.

Advances were made in Mauritius by the Mauritius
Government against various kinds of Security, e.£: Dock
Warrants, Bills, etc. Such advances being made by bills

APPENDIX VI

drawn by the Government of Mauritius on the National
Bank of India, Bombay, which branch wm, at the request
of the Crown Agenti, Instructed by the Head Office to

meet them.

The securities so obtained locally were held for the

Savings Bank, Savings Hanl< securities in the Crown
Agents' hands beiny transferred to the Currency Commis-
sioners' Account and hypothecated for advances at Bank
rate, which were made by the Crown Agents Upon receipt
of tclctjrams from the Colonial Government that bills had
been drawn on the National Bank of India, Bombay, the
Crown Agents remitted the sums obtained by these advances
by Telegraph Transfer to the credit of the Colonial Govern-
ment with the National Bank, Bombay. Drafts to the
extent of Rs. 2,000,000 were drawn and met In this
manner.

On the repayment of the local advances, the Securities
were re-transferred to Savings Bank Account and the
money so repaid was used in Mauritius for making advances
to Planters under Ordinance No. 2 of 1898, which
authorized the raising of a Loan of ;^200,ooo. The Crown
Agents however were able to make arrangements for
financing the C'-'l--,}' at h.uik ri'te until the Planters
repaid the advances and it never became necessary to issue
the Loan — the whole of the expenses connected with such
an issue being saved to the Colony.

For these services the Crown Agents received no re-
muneration.

Bank rate, at which the advances by the Crown Agents
were made, averted 3 i per cent, in 1 898.

FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, 190a

Due to the same causes as in 1898 and met in a
somewhat similar manner — the Crown Agents made
advances at Bank rate on the security of power given by
Loan Ordinances to raise funds. Bills to the extent of
Rs. 1,454,000 were drawn on the National Bank of India.

MAURITIUS LOANS 493

Bombay, and met by remlttancet made to that Bank by

the Crown Agents. The Crown Agents further arranged
foi the shipment of Rs. 1 ,000,000 from Calcutta to
Mauritius and made the necessary advance* to cover these
transactions.

These transactions, amounting to Rs. 2,454,000, were
met by advances at Bank rate against the power to borrow
£200,000 by short dated debentures under Ordinance
43 of 1 902 and the money was eventually used for making
Loans to Planters.

These Debentures, which bore interest at 4 per cent., were
issued by the Crown Agents in 1 903— £101 ,200 being
repayable ist August, 1904, and the balance ^^98,800 on
I St August, 1905, and although the Loans which had been
made to Planters were extended for one \ ear in each case the
Debentures were allowed to mature and the Crown Agents
were able to finance the Colony at Bank rate until the
whole of the Loans were repaid, thus saving the expense
of any future issue of Honds.

The Crown Agents also provided the necessary funds in
order to enable the Colonial Government to carry out the
provisions of the Mechanical Transport Ordinance, 1903.
for the raising of a sum of 10,000 by the issue of 10
year Debentures. The Crown Agents made the necessary
advarces at Bank rate to cover all sums which were
requir>.j. All these amounts have now been repaid and
the Colonial Government was saved not only the expense
of the issue but also being saddled with a debt of £ 1 1 0,000
for ID years.

Bank rate, at which the advances by the Crown Agents
were made, averaged during the period in question 3 J per
cent

APPENDIX VII

MAURITIUS
REPORT OF ROVAL COMMISSION, 1909

The Commission was composed of Sir Frank Swettenhani,
Chairman, Sir Edward O'Malley, and Mr. Drysdale
Woodcock.

The circumstances which led to the appointment of the
Commission are narrated in Part I. of the Report. It
originated in proposals made by the Government of
Mauritius that a loan should be raised for various
purposes, including the improvement of the machinery
of sugar factories, the purchase of land for afforestation,
and to provide a fund out of which advances should be
made, on good security, to owners of sugar estates for
purposes connected with that cultivation. A narrative of
similar applications has been recorded in the body of my
work, as well as of the circumstances in which loans had
been raised to assist the sugar industry in 1898 and
1902. Details of these loans are given in Appendix VI.

On the subject of the proposals made by the Govern-
ment of Mauritius, I had, at Lord Elgin's request, an
official interview with a clerk of the Colonial Office, who
explained to me the position, and informed me that a
principal reason why the Secretary of State could not see
his way to approve them was, that he had been assured
that the loans raised in 1898 and 1903 were not really

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 495

required, as was shown by the fact that the full amounts

authorised were not applied for. This had already been
communicated to the Governor in a despatch dated
Jan.-,3»-y 23rd, 1908. The official added, with appropriate
emphasis and mystery, that they had been informed that
even the applic tions made had only been made at the soli-
civation of a uiember of the Council of Government of the
r^y-rw to please me. I have endeavoured without success
to ascertam the authority for this amazing statement. The
real reasons why the full authorised amount of the loans
was not taken up were fully explained in correspondence
published in the colony. 1 am bound to allude to this
phase of the matter, to call attention to the evidence
of a witness examined by the Commission, who threw a
flood of light on the subject. A condition of all oans to
sugar estates has been that prior encumbrancers must
stand aside, and give the Government a first claim over
the crop and the corpus of the estate. The evidence to
which I refer is contained in Part 1 1. of the Report, pp.
536-542. The witness, a mortgage creditor, thought it
absurd and unjust that mortgagees who were getting a
very high rate of interest, and had a view to the ultimate
acquisition of an estate, by a legal process corresponding
to foreclosure, as a profitable investment, should be asked
to stand aside to enable the estate to obtain the relief of a
loan from Government at a moderate rate of interest.
An excellent homily on patriotism was preached to the
witness by a member of the Commission, who thought
it inconceivable that a good Mauritian's private interest
" would weigh for a moment against the interests of the
colony." " I beg your pardon," replied the witness, and
he declared that he was not speaking only for himself but
on behalf of many other mortgage creditors. Then the
Chairman came to the rescue.

" Q. 17,028. Yes, but leaving out of account the
question of the good Mauritian ; it is not everybody who
can afford to be a philanthropist even for the sake of his
countr>' — I understand that you are not in favour of the

496

APPENDIX VII

Government making any loan to the planters, because
you think if the Government lent money at a low rate of
interest it would be a hardship upon other people who
have already invested their money at a high rate of
interest ? — Yes.

" 17,029. You think so? — Yes, I think so."
After hearing a mass of evidence on the question which
was the immediate reason of the appointment of the
Commission — whether the Government and the public
bodies of Mauritius were justified in their application for
authority to raise a public loan, the Commissioners came
to the conclusion that they were justified. The evidence
knocked the bottom out of the representation made by a
nameless informer who misled the Colonial Office into
believing that the planters of the colony, in the peril of
their fortunes, borrowed money they did not require to
please me. It was, I know, the fact that a member of
the Council of Government and others did urge mortgage
creditors to stand aside and allow the colony to have the
full advantage of the facilities offered by the ^ loans
authorised on my recommendation. To a perversion of
this fact was presumably due the suggestion by which the
Colonial Office was misled.

As regards the loan raised in 1 898 and that authorised
in 1902, the Commissioners report that they have been
redeemed in full. As regards a previous loan raised in
1892, after the disastrous hurricane of that year, out of
which long-term advances were made, they report that it
does not appear likely that there will be any serious loss
on these transactions, and they point out that against the
possible contingency there must be set off that "as a
matter of account the Government have gained a con-
siderable sum by loan transactions," that is, by making
advances out of the loan at a rate slightly higher than the
rate of interest paid on the loan. The details of these
loans are set out in Appendix VI. of this work.

As regards further loans, they recommend the raising
of loans to the amount of about £400,000, of which

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 497

about ;f 2 8 5,000 is to be expended on railways, and

£1 1 s.ooo in making advances to planters for the im-
provement of cultivation. As regards the loan on railway
account, the report states that it is necessary because for
many years everything connected with the railways has
been starved except the personnel. The facts are these.

Towards the close of the year 1899 the Greneral
Manager of Railways called attention to the necessity for
large expenditure on renewal of rolling stock, and in a
minute addressed to the Council of Government, on
November 21st, I recommended that there should be
created a fund to be called the Railway Stock Renewal
Fund. I proposed that a sum of Rs. 100,000 should be
charged to the revenue of the current and following years
and that the fund should be in future fortified by such
annual instalments as might be found necessary for the
renewal of rolling stock. I pointed out, at the same time,
that it was essential that sums voted in the annual
estimate for rolling stock but not expended within the
financial year should be carried to a suspense account and
should not lapse to the Treasury. These proposals were
agreed to by the Finance Committee of the Council, and
submitted for approval to the Secretary of State by my
despatch of December 5th, supported by a telegraphic
despatch on December 27th. Unfortunately, I was
informed by a despatch of the Secretary of State dated
January 23rd, 1900, that my proposals were thought
neither necessary nor desirable. But there was no
starving. In 1902 I sent to the Colonial Office a
statement showing that between 1898 and 1902 a sum
of over two and a quarter millions of rupees had been
spent on rolling stock and plant, permanent way and
rails, and sidings. Had this policy been continued and
my proposals accepted there would have been no need
for the loan now recommended.

The proposed loan to planters stands in the same
position. I have in the body of my work referred to a
despatch of January 14th, 1898, in which I strenuously

.1 i

2 1

498

APPENDIX VII

supported a resolution of the Council of Government
asking that the colony might be permitted to raise a loan
of ;^ 5 00,000, of which ;£^400,ooo was to be appropriated
to the purposes of improving the cultivation and manufac-
ture of sugar by improved machinery and other purposes.
The measure was urged again and again, in a series
of despatches, but without success. One of the witnesses
examined by the Commission drew the reasonable
inference that, if at least the principle of the measure
had been approved and some measure of assistance
afforded, the financial difriculties that led to the appoint-
ment of the Commission would have been averted.

To assist the small planters, the Commission have
further, in recognition of the fact that the economic
salvation of the colony depends on cheap money, recom-
mended the introduction of a system of co-operative
credit banks. Whether such a system can be carried on
without a Government guarantee, which will imply
Government respon ibility and Government control, is
doubtful. But the admission of the principle underlying
the recommendaticn is valuable. I have, in a chapter
of my work on the fiscal systems of the Crown colonies
(vol. ii. p. 310), referred to this subject and to a system
which I endeavoured, with the approval of the Secretary
of State, to establish in the West Indies. It may still
be worth consideration.

On the general question of the policy of loans to
planters, adopted in the specific cases of the loans of 1892,
i8pS and 1902, the Commission report: "It will be
seen from the above that there is much to be said in
favour of lending a limited sum of money, at a moderate
rate of interest, to responsible persons, owners of valuable
estates in Mauritius. The history of the place, over a long
term of years, shows that the sugar planters have recovered
from a succession of severe trials — periodical hurricanes
and droughts, cattle disease, and various epidemics which
have attacked the labour force. Added to these unex-
pected disasters there have been periods of low prices of

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909

sugar and high prices of rice, which have greatly reduced
the planters' profits. In spite of all these things, and the
fact that a number of factories have been closed, the sugar
industry is to-day on a sounder basis, as regards cultivation
and milling, than it has ever been, and the last season's
crop was the best on record."

In dealing with the recommendations of the Report
under other heads, I shall limit my observations to
questions of primary importance. To health I assign the
first place, and with this question I have dealt so largely
in my work that I will confine myself to one or two
general propositions. The evidence suggests that the
Commission estimate the value of life and health by a
very different standard from that adopted by the com-
munity. The following evidence in the examination of
Mr. H. Leclezio, a member of the Executive Council,
by the Chairman is illumining.

" Q. 7305. Will you tell me what is the death-rate in
the whole of Mauritius, and the death-rate in Port Louis?
—I know it is a very large death-rate, more than 30 or 34
per 1,000.

" 7306. Would you be surprised if I were to tell you
that in a much larger place than this it is over 50 ? — It is
a very sad state of things if it is so in larger places.

"7307- But nobody is alarmed by it at all? — That
depends on the idiosyncrasy of the people who live there.

" 7308. I remember living at a place where it was be-
tween 40 and 55, and nobody expressed any alarm at all?
—I am only speaking of Mauritius. I say that from a
humane point of view, if we could save half of those deaths
that would be a great achievement."

A comparison of this evidence with the evidence of the
Chairman when he was himself examined by Lord Sander-
«>n's Committee on Emigration from India throws clearer
light on his views. I have dealt with this in the body of
my work in a chapter on Health (vol. i. p. 507). This
difference of opinion is illustrated in the evidence of the
same witness and others on the subject of the quarantine

500 APPENDIX VII

stations. As I have pointed out in the body of my work,
Mauritius has suffered from the introduction of diseases of
men and animals to a degree which with reason makes the
community extremely sensitive. The reasons of this sensi-
tiveness were insisted on by many witnesses. Sir William
Newton's evidence is instructive.

"3673. ... I am old enough, unfortunately, to remember
two epidemics of cholera, the epidemic of 1854 and the
epidemic of 1856, and it was really frightful. We have
been spared, up to the present moment, since that time.

" 3674. {Chairman) I imagine that the administration
is responsible, is it not, for the affairs of the Colony ? — No
doubt.

" 3675. And it is not, therefore, always on the senti-
ment of the largest number of people that action is taken ?
— Perhaps it should not be so, but, as a fact, it is so; senti-
ment is one of those things that you must take into
account, it seems to me, in the administration of human
affairs."

Further evidence on the subject of the quarantine station
at Flat Island is equally instructive. The Chairman's
eagerness to secure reduction of expenditure by abolish-
ing this station was met by the Acting Director of the
Medical and Health Department in a letter he wrote
to the Commission on the subject of Flat Island.

"In this connection I may draw attention to the fact
that the establishment is not maintained exclusively as a
quarantine station, but that it is also an international
signal station and bears a lighthouse. That it has only
cost the Health Department a little over Rs. 5,000 a year
during the last three years, a small sum compared with the
services it may still render the Colony, and will probably
cost less in the future. That it is the safer of our two
quarantine stations for cholera and yellow fever, especially
in view of the danger to which this Colony will be exposed
should India be invaded by the latter disease after the
opening of the Panama Canal, as apprehended by Sir
Patrick Manson. That Sir Rubert Boyce in his report on

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 501

Yellow Ftver In British Honduras (1906) lecommends
the maintenance of a station of this nature, even if it were
hardly ever to be used, in countries threatened with an
invasion of yellow fever."

This point is of importance because a member of the
Commission, while Sir VViUiam Newton was under examina-
tion (Q. 3668), urged that, if necessary, "it would be a
very short matter and a simple matter at once to reinstate
Flat Island as a quarantine station." If the Commission
had visited the island, or made inquiry, they would have
ascertained that it would not be a short matter. It would
impose a delay on the infected vessel which must in any
case be of serious consequence, and during the hurricane
season might well prove disastrous. The Commissioners
sum up their conclusions by recommending that the Acting
Director, who gave the advice, should be removed from the
colony and his office filled by a medical man from outside.
In view of this condemnation of the medical profession
of Mauritius, I am glad to refer to the services rendered by
them recorded in the thirteenth chapter of my work, and
especially to the testimony borne to their scientific attain-
ments and practical intelligence by Major Ronald Ross.

As will be seen from the whole tenor of my work, I
place the subject of education next in importance to that
of health, and that view has dominated the Government of
Mauritius from the earliest days of British occupation.
The central force of the system has been the Royal
College. A picture, the property of the colony, painted
to commemorate the services of the first Governor, Sir
Robert Farquhar, represents him with a scroll in his hand,
bearing the words " Royal College," and the policy of every
succeeding Governor has been to make it an agency to
promote two purposes ; the conciliation of prejudices of
class and race and creed, and the preparation of a recon-
ciled community to take a share in public affairs in the
widest range of the term. That, in the opinion of Ihose
best qualified to judge, it has served these ends, is abun-
dantly shown In the evidence taken by the Commission.

APPENDIX VII

The evidence of Mr. Sauzier, a representative of one of

the old families who, in the words of King George, " main-
tain the charming characteristics of old France," a member
of the Council of Government and honoured by the
distinction of K.C., is instructive.

" Q. 1 1,3 19- {Chairman) Now, what do you think
about the Royal College? — I am very happy that this
question has been put to me, because I must confe.ss that
I was, as a father of a family, rather astonished at the
recommendations made by the Director of Public Instruc-
tion the other day concerning the abolition of the schools
of the Royal College. I do not hesitate to say that it
would be a very great mistake if these schools were to be
abolished, because I consider that they are the best schools
here, and the only ones where our boys can be properly
educated. There are two points which I beg leave to
submit to your consideration, for I believe they are very
important If you abolish the college schools there will
only remain what we call here the affiliated schools.
Well, I think it is known to all of us that there are many
affiliated schools, and, unfortunately, the best, where boys
of all classes are not admitted, the Indian boys are abso-
lutely excluded, and, I am sorry to say, in many schools,
even boys belonging to the coloured population. Now, I
believe the Royal College is one of the places, perhaps the
only place, where there exists real social equality between
boys. All those boys work side by side ; they become
friends whatever may be the population to which they
belong ; besides, it is the only school where our boys
are really taught to forget and to despise those social
inequalities to which I have just called your attention, and
which for a long time have been the cause of many
troubles. I think, if those schools were suppressed, it
would be a very, very great mistake on the part of the
Government. I therefore say that, speaking from ex-
perience, having three boys at the Royal College, I have
always been extremely satisfied with the education and
with the progress my boys have made at the Royal

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 503

College, I for one, would ask for the maintenance of the
schools."

Not less instructive is the evidence of Mr. H. Leclezio,
C.M.G., also a representative of an old French family, a
member of the Executive Council and of the Council of

Government in speakinjj of the scholarships established to
enable students of the College to prosecute their studies in
England.

"Q. 7267. {Chairman) Are you in favour of the
scholarships— the Royal College scholarships? — They are
most necessary in my opinion. Those scholarships have
prevented, I may say— I will not go to the length of say-
ing bloodshed — but these scholarships have put the two
populations — the coloured population and the white popu-
lation of Mauritius — on the same footing. \ he coloured
population had grievances before that, but they have not
the right to have any since then, because they are placed
on an even footing. Those lads of the coloured population,
who are intelligent, can earn scholarships just like any
of the whites.

"Q. 7268. But are not those scholarships confined to
boys of the Royal College ?— They are. If they were not,
then there would be instantly a division ; there would be
schools — secondary schools — which would be created by
other persons, and the moment those schools could enjoy
the benefit of the scholarships there would be an immediate
division in the population. One part of the population
would go one way, and the other part would go the other
way."

"Q* 7276- I understand you to say that it was the
creation of the scholarships which made the peace? —
Which keep the peace.

"Q- 7277- {Mr. Woodcock) And removed all the
coloured grievances ? Yes, and removed their grievances.

"Q- 7278. {Chairman) But it is such a very long
time ago? — I think, if you tried it now the result would
be the same.

504 APPENDIX VII

" Q. 7279. But suppose you had no scholarshifM, then

there would be no jealousy? — That would not be fair to
the poorer classes of the population. Generally, the white
peopi. can afford to send their boys to Europe, while it is
not the rule with the coloured population ; in fact they are
rather poor.

" Q. 7 2. So. You do not suggest that that is unfair? —
Unfair to whom ?

" Q. 7281. Do you say it is unfair to the coloured
population that they should not be able to send their
children to Europe to be educated ? — Yes.

" Q. 7282. In what sense is it unfair? — In the sense
that they cannot afford to send their boys to Europe to
be educated there to get a profession.

" Q. 7283. But why is that unfair ?— Because they
have enjoyed the privilege up to now. Why should the
privilege be stopped now ? They have enjoyed it for so
long.

"Q. 7284. That is quite a different thing. That
would not make it fair or unfair. The suggestion that it
is unfair that any section of the population should not be
able to send its children to Europe to be educated I do
not follow ? — That is my opinion."

Mr. Sauzier and Mr. Lecl^zio are strongly supported by
corroboratory evidence.

On the question of how far the Royal College, with its
corollary scholarships, has served its purpose as an agency
to prepare the colonists to take a share in public affairs, it
might be sufficient to point out that, with a few exceptions,
the leaders of the community who were called as witnesres,
including the Chief Judge, members of the Executive-
Council and the Council of Government, of the Civil
Service and of the learned professions, had been educated
at the Royal College. I will only supplement this testi-
mony by pointing out that the acting Rector of the
College referred in his evidence (p. 524) to a list of the
laureates, as the scholars are called, published in the Blue
Book, giving their subsequent careers. If the Commission

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 505

had included this list among ihu mass of documentary
evidence attached to their report, it would have shown
that their careers have not been limited to Mauritius, but
that they have been and are represented among holders of
high office in other colonies, and in the civil service of
India.

However, the Commission in their report have con-
demned the system of the Royal College and its
scholarships, root and branch, as productive of "an cxpendi-
ture out of all proportion to the means of the colony."

I pass on to the subject of primary education, with
regard to which the Commission record their conviction
in favour of a return to ' the system of educational
expenditure which was in force during the period ante-
cedent to Sir C. Bruce's new Education Code (1902)."
The Education Code (1902) was part of a system having
for its motive the co ordination of the colony's educational
resources ur.der a responsible authority styled the Director
of Public Instruction. The system was based on the
educational system of Ceylon, to which the Chairman
referred more than once, as appears from the evidence, as
exhibiting ^ striking contrast of superiority when com-
pared with ..le Mauritius system. Mutatis mutandis, they
are identical systems, and as the chapters of my work on
education, composed and printed long before the report of
the Mauritius Commission was published, will show, I am
almost as much respor sible for the establishment of the
system in one colony as in the other. The introduction
of the system into Mauritius was not due to my initiative.
One of the first proposals introduced in the Council of
Government after the reform of its constitution was a
proposal made by an elected member in favour of it.
At a later period it was strongly urged by the Colonial
Office, but rejected by the Council, shortly before my
return to the colony as Governor in 1907. I am glad
of an opportunity to add to what has been said in the
body of my work on the subject a few observations on
the reasons which led to its establishment.

( M

i I

506 APPENDIX VII

Not long after my return, after inquiry and investif^-

tion, in July, 1898, I addressed a minute to the Council of
Government in which I compared the educational position
of Mauritius with that of Ceylon, insisting particularly on
the enormous cost of the Mauritius system in comparison
with that of Ceylon. After waitinjj a year, in order that
the Council and the educational agencies might have time
to review and reconsider the pro^rasal they had rejected, I
introduced the Education Ordinance of 1 899. My reasons
were explained in a speech on the second reading of the
bill, and I quote an extract from the official report, in the
hope that before his Majesty's Government decide to
destroy the system they may at least consider whether it
will be to the interest of the colony to revert to the
system of which the Commission express their approval.
" H.E. the Governor:

" I believe that in the Council of Education or in the
Schools Committee, soon after I came to the colony, a
proposal was made by one of the Inspectors of Schools to
establish a library for school children.— The hon. member
for Plaines VVilhelms will tell me if I am mistaken : but I
understand that the Roman Catholic Inspector of Schools
urged that it was of no use to establish a library for
government or grant-in-aid school children, inasmuch as
there were no school children who could read, or practi-
cally none. Now is that a condition of things that ought
to exist in any part of this colony, or, in fact, in any part
of her Majesty's dominions?

" M. Guibert : That was flatly denied by the Super-
intendent and the other Inspector of Schools.

" H.E. the Governor : I feel sure that if the hon.
member will read the last two re^..- ts of the Roman
Catholic Inspector of Schools he wii; ^ee that the actual
facts appear to bear out his statement. The Roman
Catholic Inspector has pointed out that children actually
waste years in school before they pass the first standard :

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 507

and you can easily see by the figures that many children
of the Government or of the Rrant-in-aid schools do not
go beyond the first standard, while very few get btjyond
the third. Now I maintain that the money that has been
spent on the education of a child who does not reach the
first standard is absolutely wasted, — and I will go further,
and I will say that to all intents and purposes the money
devoted towards the education of a child who leaves
school without havinj; passed the third standard is almost
entirely wasted. Those children are absolutely without
that knowledge which fits them for the ordinary duties
and business of life.

" How do we propose to remedy it ? There is only one
way of remedying it, and that is by placing the schools in
charge of trained teachers as they are all over the civilised
world. Schools are placed in the hands of trained teachers
for thi'- I .-«'on, that in the hands of a trained teacher a
child c« ' ! n in six months what he may not learn in six
years in a school under a teacher who has had no training
at all. That is proved by the facts. — . . . Our object is
that the children should learn what is sufBcient for the
business of life in the shortest possible time. It has been
proved to demonstration all over Europe that children can
learn in a few months under trained teachers what it takes
them years to learn under untrained teachers.

"The hon. member for Plaines VVilhelms said a good
deal about the financial question. He said that different
schemes had been proposed with reference to the education
question and that they had been rejected because there
was no money. But why is there no money ? There is
no money for the reason that you are wasting nearly half-
a-million of rupees a year in a way which produces little
result. I know there is some objection to my referring to
my own experience in Ceylon ; but I may say that shortly
before I went there eciijcational matters were managed
by a Board just as they are here and there were great
complaints ; there were the same complaints made
that are made here ; and the government then decided,

5o8

APPENDIX VII

much against the wish of the board, to have a Director of
Public Instruction, and the result has been that all the
managers who were on the boar-^ '^ecame perfectly satisfied
with the new system, and they now support the Govern-
ment in every possible way in carrying it out.

"The system which we propose here is not a system
which has only been found to work advantageously in
Ceylon. It is a system in work all over India; in every
province of India there is a Director of Public Instruction.
The system has answered and worked admirably there,
and it will work admirably here. — Only, here, in order to
meet the wishes of the Council, we strengthen as I hope
the position of the Director of Public Instruction by an
advisory Board. Otherwise the system is the same as that
which obtains in almost every part of the British Empire.

" In regard to the financial question, the hon. member

has pointed out that it is proposed to raise the pay of the
teachers, and that will require money. But we shall have
that money saved in order to apply it more equitably.
Let me for instance give an illustration, A little time ago,
an application was made to the Government in reference
to the grant to a school which had not the requisite
attendance. The matter came before the Governor in
Executive, and we decided to ask the Superintendent of
Schools whether, if that school were closed, the people in
the neighbourhood would be deprived of the means of
education. We therefore asked him to state how many
schools there were within a radius of looo yards. He
told us there were fourteen. If you have two or three
schools instead of fourteen it is perfectly clear that you can
give the head teacher and the staff a sufficient salary to
secure able and trained teachers. That is how money is
to be saved, and I know it by my own experience. When
I went to Ceylon, the expenditure of the Department of
Public Instruction was about 500,000 rupees. All the
educational advantages explained in my Minute to the
Council are now secured for about 700,000 rupees."

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 509

The system proposed was accepted by both the Roman

Catholic and the Anglican Bishops, and the second read-
ing of the Bill was carried by a majority of 1 7 to 7, the
majority including 6 unofficial members.

I call attention to the fact that the system of which
the Commissioners express their approval included no
provision for the training of school teachers.

The Code of 1902 to which the Commissioners object, is,
as I have said, a corollary of the Ordinance. In accordance
with the method adopted throughout by the Commission
of giving witnesses a friendly lead, this Code was from the
first alluded to as ' Sir Charles Brace's expensive system.'
In justification of the Code, and at the same time in proof
that I actively discouraged excess of expenditure, I submit
the following extract from a despatch to the Secretary
of State and his reply.

17th November, 1902.

"The scope of these Codes is distinctly stated in
Articles 10 and 11 of the Education Ordinance, and you
will see that, collectively, they include all that is necessary
to build up a complete system of education reaching from
the elementary school to the highest range of our educa-
tional possibilities, and linked, through the agency of
the Royal College, to the Universities and Colleges of
professional education in England.

"The Ordinance provides that Code A shall deal with
the following subjects: —

i. The administration and management of the Royal
College.

ii. The association of colleges or schools of secondary
and superior instruction with the Royal College by affili-
ation or otherwise, and the payment of result grants-in-aid
thereto.

iii. A system of instruction in technical, agricultural and
commercial education, and the programme and schedule of
studies therein.

'I'

J '

510

APPENDIX VII

iv. The Higher Education of Girls, and the prc^ramme
and schedule of studies thereof, and the payment of result
grants-in-aid thereof.

V. The award and tenure of scholarships and exhibi-
tions, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance so far
as concerns the English Scholarships.

vi. The said Committee shall fix every year the
curriculum of studies for the Royal College and other
Government educational institutions.

" Although all these subjects have not yet been brought
within the four corners of a single Code, they have all been
dealt with, as I shall -oncisely show.

" As regards the administration and management of the
Royal College, I transmit a copy of the Rules and Regu-
lations for the year 1901. A slight modifica^'on of Article
13 of the Regulations has since been -^ade by an addition
of which I annex a copy. These Regulations deal at the
same time with paragraph ii. of Articles 10, under the head
' Associated Schools,' page 1 3.

" As regards paragraph iii., I annex copies of the
Regulations for Government Training Schools. Similar
Regulations for Grant-in-aid Training Schools have been
drafted and are under consideration. I annex also copies
of Regulations for the establishment of systems of Engin-
eering Apprenticeships and Horticultural Apprenticeships.
Further Regulations for the encouragement of agricultural
studies will be prepared when 1 receive a reply to my
despatch No. 340 of loth September, 190^,, in which I
requested you to be good enough to obtain the services
for the colony of a competent professor of Agricultural
Chemistry.

" As regards paragraph iv., I annex copies of the Regu-
lations and Schedule of studies for the Higher Education
of Girls.

" The award and tenure of the English Scholarships
have been dealt with by Ordinance No. 20 of 1902, copies
of which were transmitted to you by my despatch No. 335

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 511

of 7th September. The Regulations of the Royal College,
Articles 27 and 28, will be amended to meet the provisions
of this Ordinance.

" I annex a copy of the curriculum of studies fixed by
the Committee under Article 10 of the Ordinance.

" It is with much satisfaction that I am at last able to
transmit to you a copy of Code B which deals with all the
subjects included within the powers to draft Relations
granted to the Committee of Primary Instruction by
Article 1 1 of the Education Ordinance.

' • • , , ^

" These Regulations fall under the provisions of Article
29 of the Interpretation and Common Form Ordinance
No. 8 of 1 898, and when they were laid on the table of
the Council of Government notice was given of a great
number of amendments to be proposed by unofficial
members. All the m- -e important amendments involved
an increase of expenditure and these I felt compelled to
rule out of or!er for the reasons stated in a Minute I
addressed to the Council of which I annex a copy, together
with a copy of a report on the proposed amendments
prepared by Mr. Standley, Secretary to the Committee of
Primary Instruction.

" I have etc."

The reply of the Secretary of State was as follows :

8th January, 1903.
"Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt
of your despatch No. 422 of the 17th of November last,
and to request that you will convey to all those concerned
in the work of reorganising the educational system of
Mauritius an expression of my appreciation of the care
and thoroughness with which this important task has
been performed.

" I have etc.,

Onslow."

5»2

APPENDIX VII

I will only add that, in my opinion, the proposal of the
Commission, to combine the offices of Director and Rector
of the Royal College, would be equally fatal to the Royal
College and to the whole range of secondary and primary
education. It would hardly be more absurd to propose
that the principals of colleges and public schools in the
United Kingdom should be appointed Secretaries of the
Board of Education.

Such is in brief the system which the Commission seek
to destroy.

The spirit in which they have dealt with the question
of education, in all its bearings, is perfectly consistent
with the spirit in which they have dealt with the question
of health. This was curiously illustrated during the
examination of Mr. Guibert, K.C. The Commissioners, in
their eagerness to make economy the basal principle of
British administration in the colony, showed a desire to
substitute corporal punishment as an economical admini-
strative agency, and in particular to introduce it at the
Royal College. Mr. Guibert's evidence on this point
may be compared with Sir William Newton's opinion
that sentiment has to be taken into account in the
administration of human affairs.

" Q. 8735. {Chairman) Are you In favour of corporal
punishment for boys? — No, I am not; I am dead
against it.

"Q. 8736. If the masters at the Royal College had

authority to give corporal punishme. do you think they
would exercise it ? — That would not work at all ; it is
very much against the feelings and the ideas of the

community."

In reply to the Chairman's suggestion that the explana-
tion of the opposition to corporal punishment was to be
found in a dishonourable motive, Mr. Guibert declared
that " the thing was so much against the ideas and
feelings of the community that he did not look upon it as
within the range of practical politics," and the Chairman
resumed :

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 513

" Q. 8740. Is it a very peculiar community, then ?—
No, I think the French have the same ideas ; it is the
English, perhaps, who are a little peculiar on that point.

"Q. 8741. But I have suggested to you an explana-
tion why it should not work here ?— I think that is not
the right explanation. The explanation is that nobodv
will have it."

I may here conveniently point out that the views of the

Commission on the use of corporal punishment are in
direct antagonism to the views of the Colonial Office
expressed on many occasions and more particularly to
the instructions conveyed to the colonies in a circular
despatch by Mr. Chamberlain so recently as May 25th
1897. The despatch referred particularly to prison
discipline, but the principles, as indicated in the opening
paragraphs, are of general application :

" The question of flogging, as a punishment for crime
and more especially as a punishment for prison offences
has been a fruitful subject of discussion and correspond-'
ence in this country and in the colonies, but my attention
has been somewhat specially drawn to the matter by
observing that the punishment is much more freely
resorted to in the Crown colonies than in the United
Kingdom, and that there has been in some instances
perhaps a tendency rather to widen than to contract the
scope of its application."

In the fifth paragraph, Mr. Chamberlain pointed out
" that if flogging became the rule and not the exception
there is apt to grow up a perverted public opinion satisfied
with keeping order by the lash, as being apparently an
effective and inexpensive method of enforcing discipline."

I pass from the agencies of British administration in
building a superstructure of civilisation on the foundation
of a healthy and educated community, to the agencies for
the protection of life and liberty. The Commission have
recommended a reduction in the number of judges. I do
not propose to discuss this question. The reasons for the
present number are very fully presented, a main reason

t U

APPENDIX VII

being that, as civil cr'es are not tried before a jury, the
community dc^^rc nt" such cases being disposed of by a
single judge, ..ho, if r.npcii.ted from outside, must, for a
time at least, be a stranger to the laws, languages, and
usages of a most complex society. I merely call atten-
tion to a question that arose in the examination of one
of the witnesses.

A witness had stated that a memorial in favour of the
appointment of a fourth judge was addressed to the
Governor, Sir Arthur Phayre, and by him laid before
the Council.

" 1 1,364. (Sir Edward O M alley) May I ask how did
it come to be laid before the Council? — I cannot say;
I suppose that the petition was addressed to the Governor,
who referred it to a committee which had been appointed
by the Council of Government.

"11,365. What had they got to do with it ?— I cannot
say; it was before my time.

"11,366. How would a committee of Council have
anything to do with it ? — This is all I have been able to
find. I cannot say more.

" 11,367. {Mr. Woodcock) It is from a constitutional
point of view ? — I do not know ; very likely the petition
was sent to the Governor in Council.

"11,368. The Executive Council? — Or perhaps to
the Law Committee which is appointed by the Council of
Government.

" 1 1,369. {Sir Edward O'Malley) But what had they
got to do with it ; they might have referred it to the
Agricultural Chamber?— No doubt, if they had thought
it proper to do so, but, I repeat, I cannot tell you more; I
was not a member of Council at that time."

The only comment I have to make is to ask. In what
colony an office of judge can be created without obtaining
the sanction of the legislature to the necessary expenditure?

I pass to a principal agency in the protection of life
and property — the police. At the time the Commission
was sitting many complaints were being made in the

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 515

United Kingdom and in India against the police force,
and it was natural that the police in Mauritius should be
the subject of complaint. On July 3rd last, Sir John
Rees in a letter published in The Times speaking of
charges recently brought against the Indian police made
some observations which are equally applicable to the
Crown colonies. He said :— " The real fault of the Indian
police in the eyes of this gentleman is that in the proper
performance of their duty they put his friends in prison."
And, after declaring that the Indian police " are a body
of men thoroughly representative of the people of India
and possessed of their faults and of their many and far
greater virtues," he proceeded : " There is no country in
Europe, if the absurd comparison of India with Europe
be, for the moment and to suit the anti-British agitator,
allowed to hold — there is no country in Europe in which
a black pamphlet of police errors might not for a purpose,
and even with many accurate details, be compiled."

In 1897 similar complaints were made and a commis-
sion of inquiry was appointed. It was followed by the
appointment of Captain de Wilton, an officer of the
Indian staff-corps, to be Inspector-General of Police, and
to undertake the reorganisation of the force, having in
view the very lai^e preponderance of the Indian element
in the community, and the fact that English police are
admittedly helpless in dealing with an Inc'm community.
I presume that the system established by Captain de
Wilton was approved by the Colonial Office, as the con-
sequence of his work in Mauritius was his promotion to a
similar office in Ceylon.

The Commission now recommend a return to the
system deliberately abandoned a good many years ago,
and the appointment of an Inspector-G neral and a large
staff of English inspectors and constables. They support
their rccommsndation by the example of the neighbouring
French island of Reunion, where the police force is officered
by 70 to 80 French gendarmes. The analogy is very
misleading. The crtele population in R^nion is entirely

5i6 APPENDIX VII

French-speaking, and the comparatively small Asiatic
community has adopted very largely a French patois. In
Mauritius, the languages of general use are French, French
patois, and a variety of Indian dialects, all equally as
Greek to the English inspector and constable. That is
why the system it is now proposed to reintroduce was
abandoned. It is a proposal of great danger, and, as
seems perfectly clear from the explanations offered by the
Commissioners, is likely to lead to considerable increase
of expenditure.

Another proposal of the Commission is to abolish the
office of Storekeeper-General. In the year 1 874 Sir Penrose
Julyan, Senior Crown Agent for the Colonies, was sent to
Mauritius to inquire into the question of reduction of
expenditure in the establishments of the colony. He
made an exhaustive report, in which he submitted that a
general permanent reduction could only be found by
reducing the scale of salaries and emoluments required
to man the establishments with English officials, and the
corollary proposition that the first concern of Government
must be to educate the community to a capacity to
replace the English officials. Among the measures most
strongly recommended in order to effect saving in the
establishment was the creation of the office of Store-
keeper-General. He showed that the result of leaving
each department to provide its own stores was a reckless
waste, not arising necessarily from the default of indi-
viduals, but because the system had all the inherent
defects, a recognition of which has led to the general
acceptance of the advantages of co-operative supply. Sir
Penrose Julyan's visit was followed by the appointment
of Sir Arthur Phayre to be Governor of Mauritius. He
adopted with enthusiasm the general proposition sub-
mitted by Sir Penrose Julyan, and the specific proposal
to create the office of Storekeeper-General. I may men-
tion incidentally that I was at the time Rector of the
Royal College, and Sir Arthur Phayre found my views
on the general proposition so entirely in accord with his

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 517

own that he oid me the great honour of offering me the
acting appointment of Colonial Secretary when a tem-
porary vacancy in the office was expected. The proposal
fell through, but Sir Arthur Phayre reported it to the
Colonial Office, and to this recc^ition of my services I
owe in a large measure my promotion to the appointment
of Director of Public Instruction in Ceylon.

It was not unnatural that, when after many years I
returned to Mauritius as Governor, I should make it my
concern to carry out the policy in which I had so heartily
concurred with Sir Arthur Phayre. The result was the
educational system I established, absolutely in accordance
with his views, and the reorganisation of the department
of Storekeeper-General. I appointed a Committee of
Inquiry and placed myself in communication with the
Government of Ceylon, who gave me the fullest informa-
tion as to the methods of the Storekeeper-General's
department in that colony. The result was a reoi^anisa-
tion based on the Ceylon system, but adapted to the
circumstances of Mauritius in accordance with the recom-
mendations of the Committee. The Committee, in the
course of their inquiry, met with the same resistance on
the part of some heads of department that had opposed
and even exasperated Sir Arthur Phayre. As the Com-
mittee reported, they irked that control by the Store-
keeper-General's department, which was the reason of its
establishment.

In considering this recommendation a reference to an
episode during the examination of Sir William Newton is
instructive :

" Q- 3679- {Chairmati) Do you know anything about
the establishment of the Storekeeper-General ? — I will tell
you what I know. I am not aware if you have any
knowledge of a report that was made by a special com-
missioner who was sent to Mauritius in order to inquire
into the question whether any savings could be made in
the establishments. It is the report of Sir Penrose
Jul)ran. Have you got it ?

I 518 APPENDIX Vll

^ "Q. 3680. {Mr. Woodcock) It was some few years

ago, was it not? — Yes, in 1874.

"Q. 3681. A lot of water has run under the bridges
f since then ? — A great deal ; and many years have passed

over my head since then, I am sorry to say.

" Q. 3682. {Chairman) I am askinfj you whether,
having regard to the present circumstances of the colony,
do you think it is impossible to make any savings in the
department of the Storekeeper-General ? — Savings in the
department — that is possible, judging, of course, from
1 the general experience that I have of the matter ; but, as

, regards recommending its total suppression, I would not

! go so far as that, especially in view of what was said by

Sir Penrose Julyan in his report.
! " Q. 3683. I am not suggesting the suppression of

I the department, I am asking whether you do not think

it would be possible to make savings ? — Yes, it would be
possible to make some savings."

I Notwithstanding the Chairman's statement, the Com-
mission recommend the abolition of the Storekeeper-

'. ' General's department on the ground that the heads of the

principal departments, such as the Railway Department,
j the Public Works Depa. t'r.ent, the Medical Department

I I and the Harbour Department, " are of opinion that the
j work which the Storekeeper-General at present performs

could be more simply and efficiently performed by their
I own departments" {Report, para. 245, 246). The plea

that the department of the Storekeeper-General must be
" abolished because the public officials whom it was estab-

lished to control find that control irksome and can do
without it is too thin. The recommendation must be
considered in connection with the general spirit and
tenor of their report, which seeks to substitute for the
control of the Storekeeper-General's department the
appointment of non-Mauritians to supersede Mauritian
heads of departments. It is a general condemnation of
the community in the same spirit that dictated the
substitution of a non-Mauritian for a Mauritian as Head

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 519 <

of the Medical and Health Department, a spirit in ,
direct negation of Sir Penrose Julyan's proposition that
the only sure foundation of economy was to be found in
educating the community to a capacity for employment j
in the principal offices of government. In a chapter on
Local Government, I have shown that this principle has
been consistently approved by the Colonial Office, subject
to the reservation that the Secretary of State will give no
undertaking that persons who are not natives of Mauritius
will not be appointed to any post in the colony when 1
after careful consideration he considers that such appoint-
ments are necessary or desirable in the interests of the
public service. At the same time this reservation has
been accompanied by an assurance that " he will, of course,
always be ready to give full consideration to the claims of
local candidates."

The recommendations of the Commission are made
in a very different spirit. They recommend directly or
indirectly the exclusion of Mauritians from nearly all the
highest posts of the civil service and logically enough an
increase in the emoluments of some of these posts. The
present salary of the Chief Judge is Rs. 13,500. They
recommend that the holder of the post, a Mauritian,
should retire on pension, and be succeeded by an officer
chosen from outside Mauritius with a salary of Rs. 1 8,000.
They recommend that the salary of the Colonial Secretary,
a post recently filled from outside Mauritius, should be
raised from Rs. I 3,500 to at least Rs. i 5,000. The offices
of Receiver-General and Auditor-General, the next in
rank h.nd emolument, are <)lready filled from outside
Mauritius. These three officers, with the Officer Com-
manding the troops and the Procureur General, complete
the number of official members of the Executive Council,
and the Commission recommend the exclusion from the
Council of the present Muuritian unofficial members and of
all such members in future. The office next in rank and
emolument is that of Collector of Customs ; the Commission
recommend that the present holder, a Mauritian, be at

Sao APPENDIX Vll

once retired and that the office be amalganii^d witii that

of the Harbour Mister. In view of th positi' of
Mauritius as a storm centre in the Indu? )cean, it is
obvious that the amalgamated offices miut given to n

naval officer, so th 't anoll sr high ofi ce is placed out f
the reach of the Mauritian community. In order to carry
out the views of the Commiuion in respect of the

administration of tl e Health Department and Quarantine
regulations, if is recommended that the present acring
head of the department Ik removed ani ihe appointment
-Iven to an officer from outside, who will not y ive in to
l.ie sentiment )f the community in favf r i gor js
measures of protection from the in' oduction I'l diseases
of men and animals. Nor are the recommendations of
the Commission in tl is respect limited *o hcaris ( pa-t-
ments. In the judicial department they recor im( n.! the
amalgamation of the district and stipendtar m leisti cies.
The question of the control of the In ian r .ent
over such an amalgamation has been rait wit' my
chapter on Local Government, and t is r i ha
probable that the result will be to ntroduce h' ' -rs • i th
amalgamated offices f om outside The p< ce d par
ment has already been dealt with, it is prop, d to retir
the present holder of the office of Inspect- Genera' a'
replace him by an officer ' m . tside, t' ther wi ^
small army of English inspectors ai.d constables.

Coincidently with the e elusion of Mauritiar i
responsible office in the C i Ser\ e, it i pr^ i
abolish the advisory ' xues h h^. been ■■ stao ,i . tc
assist different brar > of th = c.;iment rvice The
Commission declan it " lis p^nc* :e s pccu .r to
Mauritius and seem u be irviva ti when the
Government staff \v<is smai .nd ha " uepend upon
voluntary assistance from the rnemb s . ^he co- mu ity."
They add that i-i their opinion it \w -t r h:y be

expected that go. d a ministration ^.an v\ .1 be pi cd by
s! rh a system. Th( oards are a survival of a principle
which controls the t istitutional, municipal, commercial

MAURITIUS COMMISSION. 1909 521

and industrial policy of Gicat Britain in every br ach of
activity. It is simply the principle that those who are
responsible for 'he consequences of an enterprise in which
they are profiK-ndly interested should have a voice in its
administration. It has been, since the secession of the
North American colonies, the inspiring genius of our
colonial policy, and has found its concentrated expression
in the formula, 'If you want our aid, call us to your
Councils/ It lies at the root of the system of reform at
" is moment being introduced in our Indian Empire,
ihe policy advocated by the Commissi., is based on
a negation of this principle, and may I summed up
' the formula,' We w, t none of your aid, and will have
one of you in our t nincils.' Logically enough, the
•mmis ion having advised the exclusion of the colonial
.mmu! y from the Executive Council, demand the
cxclusioi of the community from a voice in the conduct of
the administrative departments. Accordingly they recom-
mend the immediate abolition of the more important
Boards, notably, the Board of Health and the Quarantine
Committee, naturally enough in view of their declared
opinions on matters alfecting the life and health of the
people.

In view of a policy ^ distinctly indicated, it may be
perfectly consistent to oy a system of education of
which the express purpo is to support a diametrically
opposite policy, and it see. o explain the unwillingness
of the Commission to discuss Sir Penrose Jnlyan's report
on the ground that "a lot of water had run under the
bridges since then."

I will only add a word on the subject of the proposal
to raise additional revenue by taxation. At the outset of
th. 11 eport, they refer to a despatch of Mr. Secretary
Lyttelton of September loth, 1904, recommending the
Governor to " consider the question of imposing tax as was
proposed and pressed upon Sir C. Bruce by Mr. Chamber-
lain in 1898."

What really happened was this. Soon after I had

522

APPENDIX VII

assumed the government, I placed myself in communication
with the Government of India, and obtained a copy of the
Income Tax Act, No. 2 of 1886, which applies to the whole
of British India, and had an Ordinance drafted on the lines
of that Act. This I submitted to Mr. Chamberlain on
June 29th, 1 898, adding " if it is found impossible to avoid
having recourse to a new source of revenue, I believe the
measure to be the best that could be proposed." In my
despatch I called attention to the perilous position of the
colony in the following terms :

" I should be derelict from my duty were I not to repeat
as I have informed you by telegraphic despatch thai the
Colony is in a most painful position. Every class of the
community is reducing its expenditure to the strictest
limits and in consequence great numbers of people are out
of employment and in a state of utter destitution. The
prisons are crowded beyond all record and lai^ely with
men arrested for vagrancy ; that is, for having no visible
means of existence or for violations of the law, the result,
it can hardly be doubted, of the pressure of the direst
want. On this subject I am addressing you in a .separate
despatch. It has to be borne in mind that in this
Colony there is absolutely no source of wealth unconnected
with the interests of the sugar industry, and that conse-
quently there is no class of the community whose ability to
bear taxation is not reduced by the prostration of that
industry. In other countries the burden of taxation can
be shifted from the agricultural interest, or at least largely
shared by the possessors of accumulated fortunes, by those
who are enriching themselves by commerce, banking, by
what I may be allowed to describe as scientific enterprises,
mining, engineering, and generally the application of
science and chemistry to the practical uses of life. None
of these classes exist in Mauritius and, if we except the
members of the Civil Service, there is in fact scarcely an
individual in the Colony whose ability to bear additional
taxation is not at the present moment paralysed by the
prostration of the sugar interest I am of opinion there-

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 523

fore that before new sources of taxation are resorted to the
circumstances of the Colony are such as to justify the most
drastic measures of retrenchment."

Mr. Chamberlain approved the draft with some amend-
ments and pressed on me the necessity of proceeding with
it. In his usual generous terms he recognised the efforts
that were being made, at the close of the despatch referred
to by the Commission, dated September 23rd :

" I have now dealt with the main points in your de-
spatches under review and it only remains for me to express
my appreciation of the efforts which you and your advisers
are making to reduce expenditure and to increase revenue
and my earnest hope that, with the loyal support of the
Council of Government on which I am assured you can
safely rely, these efforts may meet with success."

If I did not proceed with the income tax, it was for two
reasons. First, that during the remainder of my tenure of
office, it was found possible to balance revenue and expen-
diture without it, and secondly, for the reasons assigned in
my chapter on the Fiscal System of the Crown colonies, —
a chapter which was printed before the publication of the
report of the Commission.

There are other matters in the report with which I
would gladly deal, but I prefer to confine myself to the
bearing of the report on the accepted and declared policy
of British administration in the Crown colonies.

On the lOth of October of this year will be com-
memorated the centenary of the occupation of Mauritius
by the British. The century has witnessed the steady
growth of a policy having for its end the discipline of the
community in the virtues that constitute a capacity for
self-government, within limits consistent with the security of
the liberty of every element of a heterogeneous community
in various stages of civilisation. The policy was declared
to be the colonial policy of the Empire in the Proclama-
tion of Queen Victoria to the people of Natal in 1842,
declaring that there shall not in the eye of the law be any

524

APPENDIX VII

distinction of persons founded on mere distinction of colour,
orig'-, language or creed. In 1858 the policy was ex-
tended to India by the Proclamation of Her Majesty to the
princes and peoples of that great dependency. The limit
of the policy in Mauritius as in the Crown colonies gene-
rally ■ : so far as concerns the admission of members of
the <; ^munity to the higher oiHces of administrative
res ;'ility, has never been fixed, but has gradually been
advanced, with the reservation I have stated above, on the
lines laid down by John Stuart Mill in respect of India :
"If any door to the higher appointments, without passing
through the lower, be opened even for occasional use, there
will be such incessant knocking at it by persons of influence
that it will be impossible ever to keep it closed. The only
exceptional appointment should be the highest one of all."
Proof of this is to be found in the fact that the next
highest office to that of Governor, that of Chief Judge, has
for many years been held by a Mauritian.

As has been shown in my work, the principal instrument
of this policy has been found in an educational system, so
oi^anised as to enlist the sympathy and aid of free enter-
prise in support of an administration into every department
of which it was designed that education should open a
door of ingress.

The Commission now advise that, as an appropriate
method of commemorating the centenary of British rule, the
policy of a hundred years should be abandoned in favour of
a policy which is its direct negation. The Mauritian com-
munity are to be excluded from the highest appointments of
trust nnd responsibility; the educational system constructed
to train them to a capacity to hold such appointments
is to be destroyed. The declared opinion of the Chair-
man is in favour of withdrawing support from the religious
agencies which have been the auxiliaries of education.
The Boards, constructed In the spirit of the municip
institutions of the United Kingdom, and which serv ..
schools of training in the arts of administration, are
abolished. The policy of later years, which has recognibcd

MAURITIUS COMMISSION, 1909 525

the health of the people as the foundation of a capable
community, and has made it a matter of the first concern
to reduce the death-rate and to engage the public opinion
of the community as an ally and auxiliary of government
in the exercise of the policy, is to be succeeded by a
policy the avowed purpose of which is to override the
public sentiment.

A study of the report and evidence make it clear that
the principal recommendations of the Commission are in
favour of restoring methods of administration which have
been tried and deliberately abandoned because they have
failed. Certainly not the least extraordinary among these
is the recommendation that in a community from whose
memory the methods of slavery have not yet faded away
— in a community penetrated with a sense of gratitude for
redemption from those methods— the use of corporal
punishment is to be restored as a cheap and drastic agent
and instrument of the new policy.

It may be suggested that I should have communicated
my views on the report to the Colonial Office. It was my
wish to do so. As soon as I had studied it, I asked the
Secretary of State to give me an opportunity to reply to
some parts of the evidence which directly concerned myself,
and to allow me to consult such official documents at the
Colonial Office as I might desire to refer to. The reply
of the Secretary of State was that he could not find in the
report anything of the nature of a personal attack on
myself, and that he did not think it necessary to trouble
me by calling on me for a defence of my policy.

I conclude the long labour of my present work by the
expression of a hope, that the government may pause
before commemorating the centenary of British rule in
the Crown Colony of Mauritius by the adoption of the
policy recommended by the Commission.

■i! '

, r
lit;

1 1.

INDEX

Abel, Sir Frederick, ii. 197.
Aberdeen, study of tropical medi-
cine at University of, i. 435.
Abolition of Slavery, in Crown
Colonies, i. 310.
in British Guiana, i. 328.
in Madagascar, ii. 96.
in Mauritius, i. 352.
in South Africa, i. 115.
in West Africa, i. 139.
Lord Macaulay on, i. 137.
Aborigines Protection Society, i.
501.

Acreage Tax (see Land Tax).
Adam's Peak, ii. 18.
Administration, Sir Charles Bruce
on colonial, i. 183.
lack of continuity in, i. 182, 184,
194.

Administrative Reform in Crown
Colonies, article in Times on,

i. 181.

Advisory Council, i. 185, 193, 196,

199, 201, 202, 212, 223.
Afforestation {see Forestry).
Africa (see also South Africa, West
Africa).
Crown Colonies in, i. 179.
drink traffic in, i. 503.
African colonies, trade of, ii. 193.
African Society, The, ii. 208.
Afro-America., Through, by W.

Archer, i. 39a
Agriculture in Crown Colonies, ii.
1 14-141.
in British Guiana, i. 348.
in Ceyrlon —
Agricultural Society, ii. 138-
140.

cinchona, cultivation of, ii. 135-
136.

Agriculture in Ceylon-
coffee, cultivation of, ii. 134,

135, 146.
teaching of, ii. 68.
in Grenada, ii 226.
in Mauritius, ii. 133.
aloe, cultivation of, ii. 136-138.
sugar-cane, cultivation ot, ii. 1 33.
in St. Vincent, ii. 120-128.
in the Seychelles, cultivation of

vanilla, ii. 136.
in West Indies —

Commissionerof A., ii. 129, 132.
Department of A., ii. 116, 134.
Department of Economic Bo-
tany, ii. 129, 132.
system of A., in Crown Colonies,
ii. 131.

Alcock, Sir Rutherford, on Japan,

i. 382.

Alison's History of Europe, i. 38.

Allerton, Lord, ii. 160.

Aloe cultivation, ii. 136-138.

American colonies, i. 177, i8a

Ampthill, Lord, i. 455.

Anderson, Sir Tames, ii. 297.

Anglo-vernacular schools Edu-
cation).

Ankylostomiasis, i. 450.

Anopheles, ii. 486.

Antdlure, Sir Cdlicourt, i. 24$, 249.

Antigua, system of law in, ii. 467.

Anuradhapura, i. 465.

Apprentice system, ii. 70-71.

Arawaks, jj't S'J-

Arbitration Treaty of Venezuela, ii.
327.

Archer, W., Through Afro-Ameri-
ca, \. 390, 392.
d'Arenberg, Prince, i. 438.
Army, use of lash in, i. 74.

INDEX

Army funds —
capitation rate, ii. 427.
contribution of Crown Colonies

to, ii. 425-429.
Select Committee, 1861, ii. 426.
Ashanti, constitution of, i. 227.

system of law in, ii. 457.
Ashburton, Lord, on relations with

Canada, i. loi.
Asia, contemplative life of, i. 499,
500.

Asiatics in Mauritius {see Indians).
Atoxyl, i. 447.
Attfield, Dr., i. 420.
Australasia, colonisation of, i. 122.
Australia, colonial policy in, i. I2i-
131.

constitution of, i. 69, 23a

Bahamas, constitution of, i. 226.

228.

system of law in, ii. 462.
Bailey, Abe, on natives in South

Africa, ii. 3.
Bailey, Sir Stewart, ii. 51.
Balata. ii. 177.

Balfour, A. J., on naval station at
St. Lucia, ii. 406.

Balfour, Lady, i. 455.

Banks, Sir Joseph, ii. 1 14.

Baptist Missionary Society, depu-
tation to Lord Ripon, ii. 33.

Barbados, constitution of, i. 226,
228.

system of law in, ii. 463.
Barbour, Sir David, ii. 128.
Barima River, ii. 342, 353.
Barkly, Sir Henry, ii. 178.
Baro-kana railway, ii. 254.
Basis of Ascendancy, by Edward

Gardner Murphy, i. 370.
Basutoland, constitution of, i. 227.

system of law in, ii. 453.
Bateson, case of M;-., i. 254.
Baxter, Dudley —

on Corn Laws, i. 50.

on Free Trade, i. 48.

on Protection, i. 50.
Beaconsfield, Lord —

on colonial policy, i. 166-168.

on constitutional changes, i. 168.

on Jewish persecutions, i. 78, 375.

on Newfoundland Fisheries dis-
pute, i. 107.

527

Beaconsfield, Lord —
on sugar, i. 5, 136.
Popanilla, i. 139.
Sybil, or the Two Nations, i. 41.
Bechuanaland Protectorate, consti-
tution of, i. 227.
system of law in, ii. 453.
Beck, Adolf, case of, i. 197.
Bcdwell, C. E. A., Legislation 0/ the

Empire, i. 305.
Benab, ii. 318, 340, 353.
Bengal (Government Education

Orders, ii. 49-SJ.
Berbice, visit of Sir C. Bruce to, ii.

.32s. 334-
Beri-beri, i. 399, 448-449.
Bermudas, constitution of, i. 226,
228.

system of law in, ii. 461.
Bihimbo, i. 449.

Hiiston Colliers' Petition, 1816, i. 47.
lilackwater fever, i. 443.
Blair, Mr. W., ii. 83.
Blake, Sir Henry —

on Ceylon, i. 381.

on Ceylon Agricultural Society,
ii. 138.
Bo tree, i. 465.

Hoers in S. Africa, i. 115, 179.
Bonjean, Bishop, ii. 65.
Borneo, system of law in North,
ii. 451.

Boston Industrial School Associa-
tion, ii. 7 i et seq.
Botanic Gardens —
British Guiana, ii. 140.
Ceylon, ii. 145, 173.
Kew {see Kew).
Mauritius, ii. 133.
Singapore, ii. 1 58.
West Indies, ii. 128, 130.
Botanical Institutions in Crown
Colonies, system of, ii. 1 16, 130,
141.

Botany, Department of, in West

Indies, li. 128.
Bounty system in sugar industry,

ii. 139.

de la Bourdonnais, Mah^, ii. 409.
Bovel, J. R., ii. 141.
Boyce, Sir Hubert, i. 438,439; ii. 501.
Braddon, E. G., on British Guiana

Goldfields, ii. 364.
Brahma, ii. 98.

528

INDEX

British Cotton Growing Association,

i. 17, 18 ; ii. 204.

British Empire, area and popula-
tion, i. I.
British (iiuiana —

area, i. 327 ; ii. 313.

Botanic (iardens, ii. 140.

boundary dispute, ii. 326.

Bruce's, Sir C, tour in, ii. 317 seq^
328, 338, 348.

Chinese in, 1. 328.

Combined Court, i. 228.

communication and transport in,

ii. 346.
constitution of, 1. 228.
defence, Sir C. Bruce's scheme

of, ii. 370 et seq.
development of resources, i. 467.
education in, ii. 83.
Essequibo River system, ii. 357

et seq.

expansion of area in, ii. 312.

forestry in, i. 349.

goldfields of {see Goldfields).

Government Agency, establish-
ment of, ii. 334 348.

health of, i. 462, 467, 496.

Immigration Ordinance, 1891, i.
339-343 : Appendix IV. 475-
486.

Indians in {see Indians).

labour in, i. 327.

land tax in, ii. 233.

law, revision of Statutes, L 279,

280.

law, system of, ii. 461.
mineral resources, i. 24.
North-West Territory —

Sir C. Bruce's tour in, ii. 328,

338-357. ^ ..

Communication, system of, 11.

346.

Development of, ii. 317.
Police Force ( ^.Z'.).
population, i. 327.
PortUjj'uese in, i. 299.
races in, i. 349.

resources of, i. 348, 351 ; ii. 333.
revenue from drink traffic, i. 502.
Rural Constabulary iq.v.).
Schombergk's mission to, ii. 314.
settlement of, ii. 313.
sugar industry in, i. 34S ; ii. 141,
32s, 326.

British Guiana —
tribes, native, of, ii. 323.
Volunteer Militia {q.v.).
withdrawal of troops from, ii. 370,

391- . .

British Honduras, constitution of,
i. 227.

system of law in, ii. 462.
British Party in Canada, i. i ) j.
Brittany, revolt in, i. 374.
Broome, Sir F. Napier, i. 343; ii.
418.

Brown, A. F., ii. 66, 1S4.

Browne, Rev. G. T., Bishop of

Bristol, ii. 39.
Bruce, Sir C. {see Despatches)—
Apologia, ii. 437-
in British Guiana —
Address to Indians, ii. 344.
Berbice, visit to, ii. 325, 334.
defence scheme of, ii. 370 e/ seq.
tour in N.W. Territory, ii. 317

*/f^y., 328, 338,348-357.
tour in Pomeroon district, 11.

321, 324-
in Ceylon —

Director of Public Instruction,

ii. 17, 40, 464, 517.
Industrial education, scheme
of, ii. 54, 70, 81.
inspection of centres, ii. 2a
organisation of department,
li. 81.

on Colonial administration, letter
to Colonial Office, i. 183 et seq.

in Mauritius —

Address to, on leaving, ii. 438-
Colonial Secretary, i. 243.
Education Code of 1902, ii.

505, 509. .
Governor, appomtment as, 11.

109, 182.
Plague Hospitals, visit to, i.

479-

Rector of Royal College, 1.
o 335-

Speech at Coronation cere-
monies, ii. 435-
in Windward Islands —

Governor, appointment as, i.

468 ; ii. 108, 496.
Visit to Carriacou, ii. 1 18.
Bruce, Sir David, i. 446, 449.
on beri-beri, i. 399.

INDEX

Bruce, Sir David—

and Malta fever, i. 402

and sleeping sickness, i. 399, 446.
Brussels Conference, i. 503.
Brussels Convention, ii. 129.
Buckingham, Duke of, despatch on
legislative system of West
„ J 234 241 i ii. 211.
Buddhism, 1. 510; ii. 18,99.100, 103.
Buddhist priests of Ceylon, ii. 44.
Buddhist Society in Ceylon, schools

of, II. 80.

Buller, Charles, on Colonisation, i.
i30-i3r.

Buller, Gen. Sir Redvers, refused
troops from Mauritius, ii. 422.

Hurge s Cnlonial and Foreien Ltrw,
i. 265.

Burghers of Ceylon, i. 381.
Burn-Murdoch, Mr., ii. 172.
Burritt, Elihu, ii. 277.
Byles, Sir J. Barnard, on Colonial
policy, ii. 305.

529

Cable communication, ii. 270.

systems of, ii. 296-298.
Cadet Corps in Ceylon, ii. 42-43.
Caicos Islands, system of law in,
11. 464.

Calcutta, Mission Conference at.

• 879, ii. 90.
Cambridge Local Examinations in

Ceylon, ii. 38.
Cambridge University and tropical

medicine, i. 428, 434.
Campagna, Roman, malaria in, i.

440-441.

Camping party in British Guiana,

II. 316.
Canada-
colonial policy in, i. 97-1 13.

Lord Ashburton on, i. loi.

Mr. Cave on, i. 112.

Cobden on, i. iii.

Lord Elgin on, i. 103.

Vy. E. Gladstone on, i. 97.

Sir John Cornwall Lewis on,
'• 95-

.SirW. Moles worth on, i. 98, 105.
Sir Robert Peel on, i. 101, 102.
Mr. Roebuck on, i. 97.
Lord Russell on, i. 100, 104.
Sir Henry Taylor on, i. 109.
cwmisBtios of, i. 122.

Canada —
French ascendancy in, i. 90, i;a
rebellion in, Lord Durb.rn's
Report on, i. 98.
Canadian postal rate, ii. 289.
Canadian Railway, i. 112.
Cantley, N., ii. 158, 162.
Rep^-ri on Forestry in Straiu
■ • Tients, ii. 156, 158.
Ca,. •* iood Hope, military ex-

1 'are in, i. 121.
Capita: .ritish, in Crown Colonies,

II. 210, 212.
Capital punishment—
in Crown Colonies, i. 295, 297
299.

in England, i. 71, 72.
Caribbean Sea, islands of, i. oj.
Caribs, ii. 323.

Carnarvon, Lord, and defience of

St. Lucia, ii. 406.
Carriacou, condition of, ii. 1 ig.
Carrin^ton, Sir John-
revision of laws in British

Guiana, i. 279.
revision of laws relating to

Asiatic Immigrants, i. 339.
on Essequibo expedition, ii. 362-
^ 365.

Castellani, Dr., i. 446.
Castilloa rubber, ii. 174.
Catholic Church {,see also Religion),
in Ceylon, training of teachers.
. 11.65,67.

in Mauritius, i. 244, 246 ; ii. 1 13.
Sir J. Pope Hennessy ;.r,d, ii.
107.

rites of, .\rchbishop O'Neill

on, ii. 1 10.
work of Sisters nf Mercy i
481.

in Windward Islands, ii. 109.
1 Catholic Emancipation Act, i. 78.
I Catholics, disabilities of, i. 76, 77
Caucasian, the, i. 387.
Cave, Mr., on Canadian relations,
i. 112.

Central Public House Trust Asso-
ciation, i. 503.
Ceylon —
Agricultural Society, ii. 138-140.
Army Funds, contribution to, ii.
428.

Botanic Gardens in, ii. 145, 1 73.

53©

INDEX

Ceylon —
Buddhism in, ii. 99.
Buddhist priests in, ii. 44.
Buddhist Society, ii. 80.
Burghers in, i. 381.
Cadet Corps, ii. 42-43.
cinchona, cultivation 0^ iL 13s-
136.

arffee, cuUivattoD o<; ii. i34« i35>
146.

constitution of, i. 227, 230-234.

depopulation of, i. 465-466.

education in, ii. 17-84 (ste Educa-
tion).

Eurasians in, ii. 19.

Europeans in, ii. 19.

forestry in, ii. I44-I56 {ue also
Forestry).

Government, as type of Crown
Colony legislature, i. 230-234 ;
ii. 97.

law, system of, ii. 447.
mineral resources, i. 2;.
monuments, historical, i. 465.
Moormen in, ii. 19.
mttives in, i. 380 ; ii. 27.
opium traffic in, i. 506, $ia
population ci, ii. 17, 68.
races in, ii. 17-19.
railway, construction of, i. 466 ;
ii. 134.

revenue from drink traffic, 1. 502.

from opium traffic, i. 5 10.
rubber in, i. 21 ; ii. 174.
School Garden scheme, ii. 66.
Sinhalese in, ii. 18.
Tamils in, i. 381 ; ii. 18.
tea industry in, i. 11.
tea plant, intro(?uction of, ii.

147.

Veddas in, ii. 18.
Widyodaya College, ii. 43-44-
Chamberlain, Mr. Joseph {see also

Despatches) —
'ir. colonial loansj ii. 187, ^09.
on corporal punishment i. 288 ;

ii. 513.
on Crown Agents, ii. 221.
on Department of Agricu'*ure in

West Indies, ii. 132.
on forest conservation in St..; is

Settlements, ii. 171.
and health of the Empire, i. 405,

408,425-

Chaniberlain, Mr. Joseph—
on Imperial Penny Postage, ii.
287.

and an Imperial Pharmacopoeia,

i. 420.

on Jamaica, financial condition

of, i. 256, 260.
letter to Lord Lister, i. 412.
on malaria in Mauritius, i. 491.
on native appointments, i. 255,

360, 564.
on plague, 1. 472, 482.
policy, administrative, ii. 3 1 1 , 3 1 2.
and reafforestation of Mauritius,

ii. !90.

and teaching of tropical medi-
cine, i. 408-
references to, i. 178, 184, 199; ii.

Chamierlain, Mrs., and Colonial
Nursing Association, i.434,455.
Cbena cultivation, ii. 145.
Ckenget, it. 168.

Chinese, character of, i. 384, 385.
Chinese in British Guiana, i. 328.

in Mauritius, i. 368.
Chisholm. Mrs., "The Emigrants'

Friend," ii. 276.
Cholera in England, 1831, i. 56.
Christianity {see Religion).
Church, the {see also Catholic
Church)—
influence in colonisation, i. 63.
in Middle Ages, as instnmient of

education, i. 59.
tyranny of, i. 60.
Church Missionary Society in

Madagascar, ii. 96.
Cinchona, introduction into India
of, ii. 116.
cultivation in Ceylon, ii. 135, 136.
cultivation in Java, ii. 1 36.
Civil Service, members of, i. 6.).
Civil status of Indians, i. 325, 359.
Classes in England, constituent

elements of, 1. 62.
Clemency of Crown, . 293 el seg.
Coal tax in St. Lucia, ii. 249.
Cobbett, William, on flogging in

the Army, i. 74-
Cobden, on annexation of territory,
i. 141.

on Canadian relations, i. iii.
on colonial possessions, i. 9&

INDEX

Cobden—
on democracy, i. 67.
on education, i. 79, 82 ; ii. 3.
on Free Schools, i. 81.
on Free Trndt and Fiotectkm, i.
89.

on India, i. 134.

on Manchester, condition of, i. 30.

on relijfious instruction, i. 81.

on sanitary reform, i. 85.
Cocoa, i. 14.

cultivation in Grenada, ii. 2^8,
„ 232, 235, 237.

Cocos, meteoroloijical station at, ii.
271.

Coffee, cultivation in Ceylon, ii
_ . »34, 13s. 146.
Cumage Offences Act, i. 293.
Collier, J., Evolution of a Colonial

Govtrnor, \. 207.
Colliers' Petition, 1816, i. 47

r!l**™'?i^p*^""y'"- 34-35.

colonial Allowances, ii. 426.
Colonial Defence Committee-
scheme of West Indian Defence,

»• 377, 382. 401.
and British Guiana Police Force.
II. 383.

and British Guiana Volunteer
Militia Ordinance, ii. 399.

Colonial expansion of France, Ger-
many and United States, i. 177.

Colonial Governor (ue Governor).

Colonial Loans Act, 1800, i. 2\t

^."•308,309.

Colonial Medical Reports, i. 417,
451.

Colonial Military expenditure, Com-
mittee on, i. 108.
Colonial Nursing Association, i.

r , 4? '-425: 455-459; ii. 3o8.
Colonial Office, the—

agencies of, i. 178.

and Botanic Gardens, Kew,ii. 1 14.

and Colonial Nursing Associa-

^ tion, i. 424.

uefects in system of, i. 181, 183,

200, 222.
organisation of, i 170.
Regulations of, i. 218.
Sir F. Swettenham on, i. 199.
system of, ii. 203.

and Sir W. Thiselton-Dyer, ii.
170.

Colonial Policy,i.3o,92,96, 170, 173.
in Australia, i. 1 21-131.
|n Canada, i. 97-113, 161.
in India, i. 1^3-135.
in S. Africa, 1. w^tt seq.
of United States, i. 148, 154.
in West Africa, i. 139.
of separation, i. 94, 98, 102-104,

»P9, III, III, n4. 142, 143
Lord Beaconsfield, on, i. 166-168
Sir J. Barnard Byles on, ii. 305.
Cobden on, i. 96.
Curzon, Lord, on, i. 194.
Lord Elgin on, i. 104.
Gladstone on, i. 97, 160.
Sir George Cornwall Lewis on, i.
95-

Mill on, i. 95.
Morley on, 1. 96.
Kussell on, i. 101, 104.
Young on, i. 95.
Colonial Premiers, conference of.
ii. 288.

Colonies {see Crown C, Self-govern-
ing C, Proprietary C).
Colonisation, Charles Duller on, i.
130-131.
influence of Church in, i. 63.
proprietary system of, i. 63.
Colonisation Society, i. 123, 130.
Colour bar, i. 378, 3S0, 382, 396.
Combined Court of British Guiana,
i. 228.

Comins, Surg -Major W. D. W., i.
„ 334. 338.

Report of, i. 341, 344, 346.
Commando system, Dutch, i. 115,
116.

Commission, Governor's, i. 220.
Commissioner, Imperial, of De-
partment of Agriculture, ii. 1 29.
Commissions —
on Agriculture in Ceylon, ii. 68.
on Financial Condition of Mau-
ritius, 1909, App. VIL ii. 494.
506 (set Mauritius),
on Forestry in Mauritius, ii. 179.
on Health and Sanitation De-
partment of Mauritius fr »),
I. 494.

on Immigration in British Guiana,

'•331, 335i 337. 345-
on Immigration in Mauritius, i.

3S2 el teg.

ill

■:.f

'i ' !
J

1' li

■! 'i

T ,

INDEX

Commissions—
on Imperial Defence, 1879, ii.

377, 378-
on Malaria, i. 417, 443-
on Sleeping Sickness, i. 446, 45--
on Yellow Fever (United Sutcs),

I. 44$.

West Indian, (i897Xn. 137.
25a

Communication-
cable system, ii. 270, 296-298.
telegraph system, ii. 373, 393.
telephone system, ii. 398.
in British Guiana, ii. 346.
in Mauritius, ii. 292.
in Windward Islands, ii. 291.
Comparative Legislation, Society

of, i. 303.
Condition of the people of England

(18151868), I. l%etseq.
CmdiHoH of England, by C. E. G.

Masterman, 1. 446.
Constitutions of Crown Colonies, i.
172-174, 226-227 {sec aho indi-
vidual colonies).
Convict settlements in colonies, i.
127, 128.

Coolie, position of emigrant, i. 326

et seq., 345, 355-
Corn Laws (1804-1815), i. Jo, 51, 89.
Coronation ceremonies m Mau-
ritius, ii. 435.
Corporal punishment —

Mr. Chamberlain's views on, i.

288; ii. 513, 525.
Cobbett on, i. 74.
proposed introduction of, in
Royal College, ii. 512.
Corporation Act, 1661, i. 76.
Cotton, cultivation in Crown
colonies, i. 17 f/ jcy.
cultivation in tropical Africa, i. 19.
duck, ii. 175.
Sea Island, ii. 17^.
Cotton Exhibition, li. 304.
Cotton Growing Association,

British, i. 17, 18 ; ii. 304.
Cotton, Hon. R. Stepleton—
and reorganisation of Police in
British Guiana, ii. 374, 379i
381, 400.
refertncts to, ii. 371, 373-
Council, Advisory (see Advisory
Council).

:8,

Court of Policy, Br tish Guiana, i.
328.

Craggs, Sir John, i. 413.
Credit Banks system, ii. 498.
Creoles in Mauritius, i. 3$i, 356,
394*

Crewe, Lord, Circular Despatch
relating to Crown Agents, ii.
334.

Crime, in England, 1.

Criminal Codes in Crown colonies,

i. 386, 393.
Criminal Code of England, i. 56, 70,

71.

revision of, by Sir R. Peel, 1. 72.
Crimin.-il Code of Mauritius, re-
vision of, i. 289-291.
of Windward Islanas, revision of,
i. 285,287. .
Cross, Mr., mission to collect

rubber in Amazon, ii. 174.
Crown, clemency of, i. 293.

prerogatives of, i. 236, 275.
Crown Agents, ii. 213-224.
Mr. Chamberlain on, ii. 221.
Lord Crewe's Circular Despatch

on, ii. 224.
disbursements of (!S43-i9o6), ii.

inquiries into working of, 11. 220,
222.

Mr. Lyttelton on, ii. 221.

Sir J. D. Rees' evidence on, ii.

223.

salaries of, ii. 214, 215.
scale of charges of, ii. 215.
services in transport, ii. 223.
transactions of, 216 et seq.

Hanking, ii. 317-319.

Commercial, ii. 3 10, 217.

Contracting, ii. 333-234.

Miscellaneous, ii. 330.

in British Guiana, ii. 319.

in Mauritius, ii. 3i8, 49'-493-

in S. Afirican War, ii. 221.
Crown Colonies —
administrative principles of, i.

34. "84. . , o

advantages accruing from, 1. 25,

34, 142.
area of, i. 180 ; App. I.
classification of, i. 226.
constitutions of, i. 172-174,

227.

Crown Colonies --
contributions to Army Funds,

ii. 4-!5-429-
defence of {see Defence),
electoral system in, i. 333, 339,

243-

finance of {see Finance >.
fiscal system of [see Fiscal),
forest resources, i. 31.
labour in, i. 307.

law of, i. 262, 30$ ; ii. App. II. 445.
lojralty nf, ii. 430.
mmeral resources of, i. 23, 24.
power resources of, i. 26, 351.
responsibilities of, i. 113.
revenue of, i. 137 ; App. I.
statistics of, App. I. it. 443.
systems of law in, App. II. ii.

445. For particulars, see under

Law.

trade of, it. 193, 443.
transport in, li. 335 et seq. {see
Transport).
Crown Lands in St. Vincent, ii.
124.

Crown Revenues (Colonies) Act,

1852. i. 137.
( ub.^ yellow fever in, i. 445.
Cull, Frincip.il, Royal College,

Colombo, ii. 42.
Curzon, Lord, on colonial policy,

i. 194.

on retired (iovernors, i. 312.
Customs Duties, i. 510; 11300,301,

304-307.
Cyclones, Law of, ii. 267.
Cyprus, constitution of, i. 237,

forestry in, ii. 149, 166.

Ottoman Fenal Code of, i. 293.

system of law in, ii. 446.

Dalaii.i Maligawa, or Temple of
the Sacred Tooth, ii. 18.

Daniels, Dr., Director of London
School of Tropical Medicine,

„ 443-

Darwm, Charles, i. 128 ; ii. 88.
Davidson, Dr. Andrew, L 434 ; ii.
T> .94-

Davis, Darnell, i. 331.

Defence of Crown Colonies-
changes in policy, i. 407-408.
Committee of Colonial Defence,
ii. 179. 377, 382-

'^^ 535

Defence of Crown Colonies —
Contribution of colonies to, ii.

Mr. Gl Ntone on, i. 143.
Imperi '"und for, ii. 429.
Lord Norton on, i. 108.
of British (iuiana —

Sir C. Hruce's scheme, ii.

370 et si </.
of Mauritius, ii. 409-423.
of Windward Iriands, ii. 401 tt

seg.

Delisle, E., Governor of Reunion,
letter to General de la Haye,
ii. 415.

Demerara Essequibo railway, ii.
367.

Democracy, Cobden on, i. 67.
Departmental Committee on Army

Funds, ii. 436.
Derby, Earl, i. 343, 349: >!• 161 ■
on enfranchisement of natives,

i. 361.

on Fishery Dispute, i. 107.
Derry, Mr, ii. 162, 163, 17a
Despatches —

Sir C. Hruie to Mr. Chamberlain
re

Artillery for S. African War,
ii. 422.

Export duties, in W. Indies,
ii. 243.

Plague in Mauritius, i. 471,
480.

Planters' Loan, 1898, ii. 218.
Reaffcrestation Loan, ii. 187.
Taxation in Mauritius, ii. 532,

Transport of Yorkshire Light
Infantry to S. Africa, ii.

430.

.S"/> C. Rruce to Lord Knutsfordre
Government Agency of British

Guiana, li. 337.
Reorganisation of Forces in

British Guiana, ii. 373 et

seq.

Tour of inspection in N.W.

Provinces, ii. 328 et seq.
Sir C. Bruce to Lord Ripon re
Export Dutls.. in Grenada,

ii. 230.

Duke of Buckingham's Circular
on Local Government, ii. 211.

534

INDEX

i
I

1.^
t

t ■ c

Despatches -
Mr. JiHtph Clt.iinbtrhtin lo Sir
C. HfUii- n-
Appointment of natives, i. J64.
Kxport Duties in Wiitdwvd

Islands, ii. 348.
f'lague measures in MwiritinSi

i. 472-473. 481.
Tr.insport "f Forces to S.
Africa, ii. 431.
Lord Crewe t Circular on Crown

Agents, ii. 234.
Sir William Gregory rf Foreitry

in Ceylon, ii. 145- ' 47.
Earl of Kimberley re appointment
of Foreit Officer in Ceylon,
ii. 151.

Lord Knutsford to Lord Gor>
m:mston re Sir C. Hruce't
scheme of defence in Britiih

Ciuiana, ii. 399,

Sir James Longden re de? truction
of Forests in Ceylon, ii. 14S.

Lord Onslow to Sir C. Bruce >v
educational system of Mau-
ritius, ii. 51 1.

Lord Kipon to Sir Charles Bruce
re Export Dutiei in Grenada,
ii. 243.

Lord Staninore re apii'>ii)t!nent
of Forest (Jfficer 111 ' eylon,
ii. 153.

War Office to Colonial Office re
offer of artillery in S. African
War, li. 423-
Des Voeux, Sir <'ieor^;c, i. 330-332.
Diamond Jubilee celd' itions in
Mauritius, ii. 431.
Mass of Thanksj^'ivinj; .it, ii. ic ;.
Dii:kson, .Sir Frederick, i. 162.
Diego Garcia, meteorological

station at, ii. 371.
Diseases, tropical {see Health).
Disraeli (uw Lord Beaconsfield).
Dominica —
constitution of, i. 335.
Hamilton, Sir K., Report on,

ii. 120, 125, 246, 303.
system of law in, ii. 467.
Drink bill of United Kingdom, i. i J.
Drink traffic in Crown ctdonies,
i. 500-506.
in Africa, i. 503.

in Federated .Malay States, i. 508.

urink traltn

in Mauritius, 1. $03, S^4'S*'5.
proposed (iovtmnem monopoly

of, 1. 503.
Duff, Dr., /nttia and Imditm Mis-

sions, 11. 101.
Duff, Sir Mountsuiart Cirant, i. 225.
Dunitan, Prof. Wyndh.im, rrjev'

ences lo, ii. 195, 197, 305.
Duperr^, Commander, ii. 411.
burham. Lord, Report on Canada,

i.98.

Dutch in S. Africa, i. 115, 179^

East Africa Protectorate —
constitution of, i. 227.
system of law in, ii, 459.

East iiulford, abandonment of In-
fantry School -<t, ii. 408.

East India Company-
power of, i. 132.

relations with .Mauritius, ii. 41;.
Eastern Teiegraph Cohir • y, 1..
298.

Edinburgh Unive.sity. stmiy ol

tropical ni' ilicine .it, 1. 434.
Edington, Dr., serum against surra,

1. 485-
Education —

aj^encif^ of, ii. _;.

in Bengal, (lovernment Orders,

li. 49-;
in Itritisli ii.ina, ii. 83.
in Ceylon. ' '■'•^A-

agricultural education, ii. 6?.

Sir C. Bruce'i Code, ii. S4t 70^
,s

Cliu h agencies, ii. 32.

ana training of teachers, ii.
6;.

classical languages, study of,
ii. 43.

Code of departmental rules, 11.
26-27.

Colombo Academy, ii. 34-35-
Normal School, ii. 58,61,63.
Royal College, ii, 35-37.
Department of Public Instruc-
tion, ii. 30.
District Schoc Is Committee,

ii. 5'>57.
English, te.i hing of, ii. 49) 53-
examination^ and scholar-
ships, ii. 3ii-39.

INDEX

535

BdOtttion, ia Ceylon—
wptBdttiirc, ii. 77.
fmalt adttcatioii, ii. 45 47.
Four (UUHlard t««t, ii. 53.
r.ovtnimeiit and native t^fm-

ciM, ii. a.

grants for indvntrial Khooi^

ii. 69.

inspecting agency in. ii. 31, ^
Loni^den, Sir James, on, ii. S .
muliiplicatiuii of schools, ii,
ij, as

municrpal rate for, ii. 77, 7«.

native races, education of, ii. 27.

''Mental languages, examina-
tion in, Ii 43, 44.

Oxford and Cambridge Local
Kx.irnn.itions, ii. 40, 41.

i'upil tt. idler system, ii. fi6.

()ueen\ scholarships, 11. (16.

reiiKious instruction in schools,
ii. 30- ?i.

rivalry o( churches in, ii. 23.

SI hoiarships and examinatimu,
li- 37, 39-42-

.Schools —

.\nglo vernacular, ii. 48, 49,
1; I.

liuUdhist, ii. 80
Estate, ii. 55.
(Itant in aid, ii. 30, 31, 65.
Industrial, ii. 60 75.
Kindergarten, ii. 47.
Missionary, ii. 30-33, 46, 66,
67.

Vative, ii. 2' 31, 78-8a
1 rimary, ii. 5^.
Provincial training, it 63.
statistics of, ii. 82.
Vernacular; ii. 38, 31?. ^ ;.
^57-

school districts, ii. ;6.
School (wardens scheme, ii. 69.
secondary education, ii. 48.
T'- .hnical College, ;i. 42, 75
.' sef.

' i.iming of teachers, ii. 62, 05,

Vernacular text-books, ii. 59,

61.

Widyodaya College, ii. 43.
in Englar. . 181 5-1868, i. 79-S4.
agencie. of i. 83.
Free schoo .system, i. 81.

Education, in England-
grants for, i. 82.
sectarian d iculties, i. 83.
Cobden on, 1. 79, bj ; ii. j.
Mill on, ii. 4.
WhitlKead on, i. 83.

in Grenada, ii. S3.

in Mauritius, ii. yi'o.

Spcultural education, ii. 1 1.
irC. Brace's Code (1902X ii.
505. 509^
commercial, ii. 12.
educational system, ii. 6, Is,
506-509.
Onslow, Lord, on, ii. 511.
expenditure on, ii. ^07-5091
female education, ii. 10.
industrial education, ii. 1 5.
Mohammedan schools, 11. ;5.
primary instruction, in Oip.nt-

in-aid schools, li. 12,
religious instruction i. 8.
Royal College of Mauritius, ii.

7. 8, 43. 50'-505
scholarships anil exhibitions,

li. 7, 1 1, 1 5, 503.
schools, i. 9, 10; ii. 8, 12-14.
system of educatkm, ii.

509. 511.
technical, ii. 1 1
vernacular teai ,g in, ii. 82.
in St. Lucia, ii. 83
in St. \'incent, 1 . '.••}.
Eiiu ■ I, llr ' an, Hi'itory of the Bri-

I. / /r, ./ 1 II J it- s, I 144.

Edward the Seven ' , King, ii. 196.
Coronation of, ii. 435,
<y\ Imperial penny pottage, ii.

2? ',

fectoial system in Crown Colonies,

'■ 233. 239. 243-
Elephantiasis, i. 45a
Elgin, Lord, Governor-General of
Canada, on annexation, i. 103.
letters and Journals, ii. 229, 413.
on Lord Russell's Colonial
policy, i 104.
References to, i. 2 1 5, 51a
Elgin, Lord, Colonial Secretary —
Despatch on Ex-Governors, i. 2 1 3.
Despatch on Mauritian loans, ii.
494-

Reforms at Colonial Office, i. 192.
References /t', ii. 413.

536

INDEX

Ellis, Mr., assisunt Government

Agent in Ceylon, ii. 28.
Emancipation Act, i. 328.
Emigrants, Protector of, 1. 322.
Emigration Act, 1883, 1. 3 > 7. .3>».

319, 321 (see a/so Immigration).
Emigration Agent, i. 3if
Emigration from India, 1. 314-327-
England, the condition of people
(181S-1868), i. 3Si fseg.
Common Law in, i. 226.
Criminal Law in, i. 56, 7°- 7i. 72.
Essequibo —
Sir C. Bruce's expedition to, 11.

358, 36'-

canal scheme, 11. 359-

railway scheme, ii. 360.

rapids, passage of, ii. 366.

river system, ii. 357 <"''
Estate schools in Ceylon, 11. 55-50.
Eurasians in Ceylon, ii. 19. .
European protective tariffs, 1. 89, 91
Europeans in Ceylon, ii. I9-
Exe(Utions, public, in England,

'• 73-

Executive Councilof British Guiana,
i. 228.

Executive Councils, development

of, \. 17V
Ex-Governors, i. 211 ef seg.
Exhibition, International, 1851, n.
199.

Expansion, colonial, of France,
Germany, and United States,
i. 177-

Territorial, in British Guiana, u.
312 etseg.
in the East, i. I35-
in South Africa, i. H3-
of United States, i. 149. «5'>

in West Africa, 1. 140.
Expenditure, colonial, i. 119-121,
259.

Military, i. 105, 108.
Sir Henry Taylor on, 1. 109,121.
Export duties in West Indies, 11.
J27-248, 302 (*«
patches).

Factory Acts, 1833, i. 86.
Falkland Islands, constitution of,
i. 327.
law, system of, ii. 46''

Farquhar, Sir Robert, Governor of

Mauritius, ii. 501.
Fawcett, Mrs., Li/c 0/ Sir Wtlham

MoUsworth, cit. i. 120, 126.
Federated Malay States—
beri-beri in, i. 448-
drink traffic in, i. 508.
forestry in, ii. 170- 173-
law, system of, ii. 45'-
opium traffic in, i. 507.
Felkin, Dr., i. 434- . .

Fergusson, Sir James, and two-
penny postage rate, ii. 277, 209.
Kermoy, abandonment of Mounted

Infantry school at, i. 408.
Feudal system in England, i. 59-
Field, Mr. Cyrus, ii. 296.
Fiji, constitution of, i. 227.

system of law in, it. 468.
Finance of Crown colonies-
British capiul invested in, 11. 210,

212.

control of, ii. 309-
colonial loans system, n. 307-3> '•
Colonial Loans Fund, 11. 309- .
expenditure of Crown colonies,

1. 119-121.
Imperial Government's respon-
sibility for, ii. 210-211.
system of Crown colonies, 1. 257
wage fund as basis of capital, n.
2ia ,
Fiscal system of Crown colonies
{see also Taxation), n. 301-31 1.
customs duties, ii. yx>, 3°'. 304-
307.

export duties, ii. 227-248, 302-
income tax, ii. 303, 304, 522.

fublic debt, interest on, 11. 307.
oUverein, proposed, ii. 305

SCO.

Fisher, Admiral, Sir John, 11. 4«>.
Fisheries dispute, i. 106. 107.
Flat Island quarantine station, u-
5cx>-50i.

Flogging in Army, Cobbcit on, i.
74 {see also Corporal punish-
ment).

Flood, Archbishop, 11. 83, 109- .
Forest resources of Crown colonies,

i. 20-23 ; ii. I42-I4.3-.
Forestry in Crown colonies, 11. 142-
192 : —
in British Empire, 1. 20.

INDEX

537

Forestry—
in British Guiana, i. 349-
in Ceylon, ii. 144-156.
chena cultivation, ii. 14^-146.
Conservator-General, ii. 1 $4.
destruction of forests, ii. 145-
15a

Forest Department of, 11. 148-

155, 166.
Forest Officer, appointment

and duties of, ii. 149, 151,

'53-

Longden, Sir James, on, 11. 1 50.
Maxwell, Mr., on, ii. 162.
Reports on, ii. 152, 155, 156.
reorganisation of department,

ii. i55-'56- .
rubber, cultivation of, 1. 21 ; 11.

174-

sale of forest lands, ii. 146.
Surveyor-deneial and dual sys-
tem, ii. 153-154-
in Cyprus, ii. 14<^, 166.
in Federated Malay States, ii. 172.
in Grenada, ii. 175-176.
in Malacca, ii. 166-167.
in Mauritius, ii. 177-192.
area of forest lands, ii. 180, 182.
Board of Woods and Forests,
reconimendations of, ii 188.
destruction of forests in, ii. 178,
•85-

expenditure, proposed, ii. 1S2.
history of, ii. 177 e/ seg.
Loan, Afforestation, ii. 185-188,
190.

Reafforestation Ordinance,

1901, ii. 186, 189, 190.
Reports of Mr. F. Gleadow, ii.

lOI.

Mr. Thompson, ii. 179-182.
Woods and Forest Board, ii.
183.

Schlich, Sir VVm., on, 11. 177.
water supply, effect on, ii. 180.

in Penang and Malacca, appoint-
ment of officers, ii. 161, 162.

in St. Lucia, ii. 177.

in R^ion, M. Maitlard on, ii.
184.

in Singapore, ii. 168-169.
in Straits Settlements, ii. 156-173.
Burn-Murdoch, Mr., appoint-
ment of, ii. 172-

Forestry, in Straits Settlements-
Department of Forestry, ii.

i6o-i6i.
Forest Vote, Mr. Maxwell on

reduction of, ii. 159, 164.
Kew, relations with {see Kew).
Land and Revenue District

Officers, ii. 164, 172.
First Annual Report on, ii. 158.
Report of Mr. Cantley, 1886,
ii. 156, 158.

Mr. H. C. Hill, ii. 171-172-

Mr. Ridley, ii. 159. 162, 170.

Sir Cecil Smith, ii. 157- '5^-.
Ridley, appointment of .Mr. ii.

N., ii. 159, 162.
Rubber plantations, ii. 159.
Schlich, Sir W., on, ii. 156.
Straits Iiitcllii;encc on, ii. 157,

161.

St.-ctits Times on, ii. 157.
Sir W. Thiselton-Dyer on, ii.
1 14, 161-170.
in West Indies, ii. i75-'77-
Foster, Sir Michael, ind Health
Commissions, rt-ferences to, i.

414, 4 5. 443. 452- , .

France, colonial possessions of, 1.

177, 180.

Frecinet, M. Louis de, Voyage

autour du Monde, ii. 264.
Free schools, Cobden on, i. 81.
Free trade, reftrences to, \. 48, 88,
93; ii. 300.
evolution of, i. 48.
Baxter on, i. 48.

Hyles, Sir J. Barnard, on, ii. 305.
Cobden on, i. 89.
Gladstone, W. E., on, i. 89.
Freeman and Chandler, The Worlits
Comtnercial Products, at. i. 6,

lO-II.

French, the, in Canada, i. 99, 179-

French clergy as refugees in Eng-
land, ii. 112.

French Code of Law in Mauritius,
i. 274, 290-291.

French colonies in tropics, i. 177,
180.

French community in Mauritius,

i- 365, 366.
French East India Company, li. 178.
French occupation of Mauritius, ii.

400.

538

INDEX

French war with Madagascar,

i. 244.

Frere, Sir Bartle, on the Bengal

labourer, i. 314-
Froude, Antony, The English in the

West Indies, cit. \. 395 ; 11. 401.
Fruit trade in West Indies, ii. 251.

Gage-Brown, Sir C, Committee on
Colonial Medical Reports, i.

417,451-
Gambia, constitution of, 1. 227.
slave trade companies in, i. 139.
system of law in, ii. 456.
Gambler trade, ii. 160, 168.
(iandhia (J<v Opium).
Gansabhawas, village councils of

Ceylon, ii. 29-
Gaskell, Mrs., Mary Barton, i. 41-
George Fifth, King, and Imperial
Institute, ii. 204.
and Queen Mary, tour in the

colonies, ii. 294-
visit to Mauritius, ii. 432.
Georgetown, riot in, i. 302.
German colonies, statistics of, i. 1 77.
180.

German Gold Syndicates in British

Guiana, ii. 364.
German methotk of adnoimttration,

ii. "94- , , ■ ••

Gibraltar, system of law in, n.

445- . .

Gin trade in S. Nigeria, 1. 501.

(iladsione, W. E.

on Canadkin relations, i. 97-
on colonial policy, i. 97, 160.
on defence of Crown Colonies, i.
143-

on Free Tr.Tie, 1. t>9.

and I'cnny insiaye, ii. 279-

on W ar, i. 53
Cleadow. Mr. Report on i orestry

in M.,uriir,L-.. !i. 191.
< ,old Coa-t. il;C"-

constitutii'n of, i. 227.

settU'incnls in, i. 139.

law, system of, 11. 456.

mortality, I. 403-

railways, II. 255.
(;ol<lrields In British Guiana-
Mr C. liruce s visit to. ii. 362.

I'rofessor Harrison on, i. 350 ; ii
364-

Goldfields in British Guiana—
Ur. E. Longwitz's exploration of,

ii- 364-

prospecting in, ii. 313, 316, 326,
342, 366.

Gonsalves, Manoel, case of, i. 296.
Gordon, Sir Arthur, Governor of
Ceylon, references to, ii. 68, 1 52,

Gormanston, Governor of British
(Guiana, referencet to, 1. 339;
ii. 327, 347, 37^ 399- „

Goschen, Lord, on Twopence- Half-
penny Postal Rate, li. 284.

Government {set Self-Government,
Local Government).

Government Agency, establishment
in British Guiana, ii. 334-348-

Govemment Agent, functions of, 11.

Governor.^t^ Colonial, i. 203-225.
appointment, former methods of,

1. 204.

authority of, military, naval and

civil, i. 20Q, 210, 218.
classes of Governors, i. 216.
of self-soverning colonies, I. 208.
Commission of, 1. 21.S, 220.
company promoting prohibited,

I. 213.

difficulties of, i. 221, 224.
duration of office, i. 217.
duties of, i. 188, 237.
Evolution of Colonial Governor,

Mr. ]. Collier on. I. 207.
renslons A . I. 213, 21
prerogative of pardon, 294.
quaiiticatlons of, 1. 209.
respouMl) '11 es of, l.i'rd Elginon,

1. 2I<).

retirement of, I. 211, 212.
Robinson, Sir Hercules, on, i. 215.
Koy.ll Instructions, i. 297.
Grafton, Duke of, on colonial pdicy
in India, i. 1 33.
' Grant, Sir John, ii. 5a
Granville, Lord, i. 331.
' on clemency, i. 299.
j on colonial policy in Canada, 1.
i 161.

! Greece, n>alaria in, i. 444-
i Greenheart timber, ii. 142- . .
Greg, William R., on ecjualisation
of soci.il conditions, i. 377-

LNDEX

539

Gregory, Sir William, Governor of

Ceylon, i. 466, ii. 77, 145.
Grenada —
agriculture in, ii. 227.
cocoa, ii. 328, 232, 23s, 237.
constitution of, i. 227.
education in, ii. 83.
expenditure in the colony, ii. 243-
244.

export duties in, ii. 227, 230 tt seq.

forestry in, ii. 175-176.

health of, i. 468.

laws, revision of, i. 284.

law, system of, ii. 465.

loans to planters, ii. 311.

nutmeg cultivation in, ii. 235-237.

prosperity of, ii. 12a

quarantine in, i. 497.

roads in, ii. 226, 232, 234, 235.

spices, export of, ii. 228.

sugar, export of, ii. 228.

taxation in, ii. 229-248.

telephone system in, ii. 298.
Grenadines group, ii. 118.
Greville, Charles, on colonial policy

in Indi.i, i. 134, 135.
(irey, Earl, and Central Public
House Trust Association, i. 503.

on colonial policy in S. Africa, i.
119.

on taxation of negroes, i. 311.
(irey. Sir George, Governor of New
Zealand, i. 131.
on colonial policy in S. Africa, i.
117.

Grey, Sir Edward, on West Indian
Royal Commission, ii. 128.

(Irierson, Mr., on Indian emigra-
tion, i. 314. 3'9-

Grondwet, proclamation of S. Afri-
can, i. 114, 394.

Guiana, European powers in, ii. 314.

llutta percha industry, ii. i6y, 170.

Haflfkine's serum for plague, i. 470,
475. 478.

Hall, Fielding, The Soul oj a People,
ii. 103.

Hallam, on disabilities of Catholics,
i. 77.

Hamilton, Sir R., report on Domi-
nica, ii. 120, 125, 246, 303.

Harcourt, Sir W., and Colonial
Penny Postage, ii. 285, 287.

Harrison, Professor —
Discovery of cane sugar seed, ii.
141.

Goldfields of British Guiana, i.
350 ; ii. 364.
Hart, Sir Robert, on Chmese, i. 384.
Hastings, Mr. W., on Colonial

Penny Postage, ii. 279.
Hawley, General, and forestry in

Mauritius, ii. 182.
Hay, Major-General, reply to Gover-
nor Delisle, ii. 417.
Health—
Ankylostomiasis, i. 45a
beri-beri, i. 448-449.
blackwater fever, i. 443.
in Ceylon, i. 465-466.
Chamberlain, Mr. j., and health
of the Empire, i. 405, 408, 425.
Colonial Medical Reports, i. 417,
451-

Colonial Nursing Association, 1.

455- . . „

diseases of civilisation, 1.498-511.

diseases, minor, i. 449.

elephantiasis, i. 450.

Imperial aspects of tropical dis-
ease, i. 397.

malaria ( i/v Malaria).

Malta fever, i. 402, 449.

mortality in Mauritius, ii. 499.

plague in Mauritius, i. 470-483.

Medical Schools of the United
Kingdom, study of tropical dis-
eases at, i. 406-416, 433.

narcotics, use of, in the East, i. 499.

Pharmacopoeia, Imperial, i. 434,
467.

Research Fund, i. 452.

results obtained in prevention of

disease, i. 436.
sanitary reform in England, i. 85.
science in relation to, i. 405.
bleeping sickness, i. 399, 446, 452,

498.

Straits Settlements, abuse of
drink and opium in, i. 50S-509.
surra (y.7'.).

syphilis in Uganda, i. 498.
tropical disease. Sir C. Bruce's

personal experience of, i. 462,

464, 467.
trypanosomiasis, 1. 399, 446. 452,

498.

540

INDEX

Health-
veterinary medicine, study of, 1.

400, 427, 432- . ,
West African colonies, fever in,

yaws, 1. 408.

yellow fever, i. 402, 44$, 468. 49° ;
ii. 501.

Heaton, Mr. Henniker, and Im-
perial Penny Postege, references
to, ii. 276, 379. a8o. 296, 297-

Hely Hutchinson, Sir W., n. 84,
226.

Hemming, Sir Augustus,!. 181,221.
Hennessy, Sir J. Pope-
Home Rule for Mauritius, at-
tempt to establish, ii. 105-108.
policy of separation in Mauritius,

i. 243, 246; ii. 105,424-.
on representation of Indians, i.
360, 362.

Henry, Prince, the Navigator, ii. 85.
Herbert, Sir R., ii. ii7-
Hewitt, Admiral Sir W., i. 245.
Higginson, Sir James, on behaviour

of Indians in Mauritius during

Indian Mutiny, ii. 4'4-
Hill, Mr. H. C, on forestry in

Straits Settlements, ii. 171.
Hill, Mr. Pearson, on Colonial

Postage Rates, ii. 283.
Hill, Sir Rowland, on Post Office

Reforms, ii. 275. 276, 277, 278,

282.

Hindu converts, i. loi.
Hinduism, ii. 98.

Hindus, Lord Macaulay on educa-
tion of, ii. 87-88.

Hobhouse, Lor J, on Emigration, i.
316.

Holland, Bernard, 1. 225.
Holland, Sir Henry (see Lord

Knutsford).
Home Rule, Sir J. Pope Hen-
nessy's policy in Mauritius,
ii. 107.
Hong Kong-
acquisition of, i. 507.
ben-beri in, i. 448.
constitution of, i. 227.
fiscal system of, i. 507.
law, system of, in, i. 274 ; ii. 448.
malaria in, i. 444-
plague in, i. 398-

Hooker, Sir Joseph—
on forestry in Ceylon, 11. I45>

148, i50-i«i.
on introduction of rubber plants

into India, ii. I73-
on tea cultivation in Ceylon, li.

147-

re/ere,ii"t fo, 11. 114. loi-
Hooker. William, ii. 114-
Hooper, Mr. E. 1). M., Report on

Forestry in Grenada, ii. 176.
Hopetown, Chinese settlement, i.

329.

Hopkins, Vice-Admiral Sir John, 11.

118.

Horton, Sir R. W., on Colombo

Academy, ii. 35.
Hospitals for immigrants in British

Guiana, i. 334 ; 478.
Hurricane in Mauritius, i. 468.
Hurricane Loan, Mauritius (1892),

ii. 496.

Hutchinson, Sir Joseph, i. 279, 283.

Immigration in Crown colonies, i.
306-369.
m British duiana —
Commission of Inquiry, i. 331,

335. 337, 345- „
Comins, Major, Report of, i.

34'-347- , . .
condition of immigrants in, 1.

345-

Immigration Ordinance, 1891.

i. 339-343 ; »• App- IV. 475;
Des Voeux, Sir G., charges of,

i- 330-333-
from India-
condition of immigrants, i.

interests of Government, i.

sex ratio, 1. 294.
system of, i. 320-327.
in Grenada, ii. 231, 232.
in Mauritius, i. 352-369-
Chinese in, i. 368.
Commission on, i. 335, 353- .
condition of immigrants in, 1.

336, 355- . ^
Indians in, 1. 307.
Sir Muir Mackenzie's Report,

i-355-359- . _

in Straits Settlements, 1. 508-509.

INDEX

541

Immigration —
Sir Bartle Frere on, i. 314-
Mr. Grierson on, i. 314, 3' 9-
Mr. Alleyne Ireland on, i. 307.
Mr. Benjamin Kidd on, i. 307.
Lord Salisbury on, i. 317.
Lord Sanderson's Commission

on, i. 369, 507.
Sir Philip Wodehouse on, 1.

3'3- ^

Imperial Committee of Pnvy Coun-
cil, 1905, i. 181.

Imperial Defence, Crown Colonies'
contributions to, ii. 425-439-

Imperial Defence Fund, ii. 429.

Imperial Federation League, ii. 286.

Imperial Institute, the, ii. 19S-209..
accommodation of London Uni-
versity, ii. 309.
administrative system of, ii.
199-302.

financial difficulties of, ii. 198.
I^ace in Colonial Office system,

il 303-203.
purposes of, ii. 196.
Report of Board of Trade on,

it. 200.

Scientific and Technical Depart-
ment of, ii. 198, 300, 204-206.
University of London and, ii.

208-209.

Imperial Penny Postage, ii. 275,

285, 287-

Imperial Policy in Crown colonies,

i. 146-168.
Imperialism, Lord Beaconsfield on,

i. 166.

Income tax in Crown colonies, ii.

303, 304, 522.
India-
Christian religion in, ii. 89.
colonial policy in, i. I32-I35-

Cobden on, i. 1 34.

Grafton, Duke of, on, i. 133.

Greville, Charles, on, i. I34-I35'

Malcolm. Sir John, on, 1. 133.

Munro, Sir Thomas, on, i. 134.
emigration from, i. 3t4-327-
Indian missions, Dr. Duff on, ii.

101.

plague in, i. 398, 474-
Indian community in Crown colo-
nies, sex ratio of, i. 294, 301.
Indian Councils, i. 333.

Indian Emigration Act, 1883, i. 317,

318, 3«9. 321.^ .
Indian Mutin)r,behaviour of Indians
in Mauritius during, ii. 413-417-
Lord Elgin on, ii. 4>3-
Indians in British Guiana-
Addresses to Queen Victoria, ii.

318, 322, 323.
Sir C. Bruce's address to, ti. 344.
loyalty of, ii. 322.323. 325-
References to, ii. 327. 33'. 346-.
Indians in Crown colonies, civil
status of, i. 325, 359.
in Mauritius, appointment of, i.

253-258, 360, 363-365. 369 ;

ii. 534.

representation of, 1. 355, 357.
362, 369 ; ii. 414-
in Transvaal, i. 28.
Industrial School Association of

Boston, ii. ^\ et seq.
Inglis, Henry David, on condition

of Ireland, i. 40.
Ireland, Alleyne, 77/^ Far Eastern

Tropics, l it. i. 307.
Ireland, condition of, i. 4°-
and Penny Postage scheme, ii.
275.

Irving, Sir Henry, Governor of
British Guiana, ii. 226.

Ismailia, expedition of Major R.
Ross to, i. 438, 440.
malaria at, i. 438-440.

Jackson, Mr. W. L., see Lord Aller-

lon, ii. 160.
Jaffna, Wesleyan mission in, ii. 66.
Jamaica —
constitution of, i. 227, 242, 256.
Chamberlain, Mr. J., despatch
on financial condition of, i.
256, 260.
earthquake in, 1907, i. 396.
law, system of, ii. 463.
legislature of, i. 235.
loan by Imperial Government

'0''-257-„. . . . .

Jamestown, Virginia, meeting ot

races at, i. 387.
Japan, Sir Rutherford Alcock on,

i. 382.

Imperial Oath of Emperor, 1. 383.
Java, cultivation of cinchona in,

ii. 136.

! .1

[ ? 1 1

INDEX

Jenkins, Rev. £. £., on mission
schools in India, ii. 3?

Jenkyns, Sir Henry, Bri/it/i Rule
tmd Jurisiiiclion beyond the
Seat, i. 220.

Jenman, Mr., and discovery of seed-
bearing sugar cane, ii. 141*

Jews, the —
emancipation of, i. 78.
Beaconsfield on persecution of,

i. 78, 375-
Johnston, Sir Harry-
on Indians in Transvaal, i. 28.
on missionary enterprise, ii. 89.

Jones, Sir Alfred, i. 415. 4«6. 43° ;

ii. 3^1.

Jubilee of Queen Victoria, celebra-
tions in Briiish (Guiana, ii. 317

Julyan, Sir Penrose, Memorandum
on functions of the Crown
Agents, ii. 213, 214.
on office of Storekeeper-General
of Mauritius, ii. 516.

Kaffir w.-irs, i. 116, 119.

Kaieteur Kails, British Guiana, i. 26.

Kandy, Buddhist shrines in, ii. 18.
education in, ii. 62.

Kew, Royal Botanic Gardens-
Directors of, ii. 114-115.
Mauritius, relations with, ii. 34.
Rubber distribution in the East,

ii- i73-<75-
StraitsS2ttlements,relationswttii,

ii. 159, 161, 162, 164, 17a
work of, ii. 11 5-1 16, 144.
Kidd, Benjamin, The Control of the

Tropics, cit. i. 27, 32, 307.
Kimberley, Earl of, on appointment
of forest officer for Ceylon, ii.
'52-

King, Sir George, and introduction
of rubber plants in India, ii.
«73-

Kin^ George, address to Mauritians,

ii. 432.
Klang, malaria at, I. 441.
Knutsford, Lady, and Colonial

Nursing Assoc'ation, i. 442.
Knutsford, Lord {sec also De-
spatches) —
on export duties, ii. 232, 233.
on native appointments, i. 254-

Knutsford, Lord —
on reorganisation of forces in
British (luiana, ii. 399.

Koch, Professor, research in sleep-
ing aickness, i. 447.

Labour (see Emigration and Immi-
gration).
Labuari, system of law in, ii. 450.
Lagos, mortality among whites at,
i. 403.
Railway, ii. 253.
I^ing, Mr., Finance .Minister, on

Government of Ceylon, ii. 97.
Lalang cultivation, ii. 167, 16S.
Lambkin, Colonel, inquiry into

syphilis in Uganda, i. 498.
Land tax in British Guiana, ii. 233.

in St. Vincent, ii. 125-127.
Law in Crown colonies, i. 262-305,
App. II. 445-
in British Guiana, i. 279 ; ii. 461.
Carrington, Sir Jolm, work of, i.

279, 28a
codification of, i. rjo.
Commissioner of, i. 271.
consolidation of, i. 369.
Criminal Code —
of Mauritius, i. 289, 291.
of Windward Islands, i. 283,
285-287.

French Code in Mauritius, i. 276.
Insurance laws, i. 277.
legislative needs, i. 267-279.
Marriage and Divorce laws, i.
277.

in Mauritius, i. 288-293 ; 11. 454-

origins of, i. 265.

Sir Francis Piggott, work of, i.

288, 292 ; App. III. ii. 470.
Systems of, in —

Antigua, ii. 467.

Ashanti, ii. 457

Bahamas, ii. 462.

Barbados, ii. 463.
I Basutoland, ii. 453-
I Bethuanaland Protectorate, 11.

I 453- .. ,

Bermuda, n. 461.

; British Guiana, ii. 461.

i British Honduras, ii. 462.

I Ceylon, ii. 447.

{ Cyprus, ii. 446.

I Dominica, ii. 467.

INDEX

543

Law, Syitems of, in—

East Africa Protectorate, ii.
459-

Falkland Islands, ii. 462.
Federated Malay Sutes,ii.45l.

Fiji Islands, ii. 468.

Gambia, ii. 456.

Gibraltar, ii. 445.

Gold Coast Colony, ii. 456.

Grenada, ii. 465.

Hong Kong, ii. 448.

Jamaica, ii. 463.

Labuan, ii. 4$a

Leeward Isliuids, ii. 4^7-

Malta, ii. 446.

Mauritius, ii. 454.

North Borneo, ii. 451.

Northern Nigeria, ii. 458.

Nyasaland Protectorate, ii. 458.

St. Helena, ii. 453.

St Lucia, ii. 465.

St. Vincent, ii. 466.

Sarawak, ii. 452.

Seychelles, ii. 455.

Sierra Leone, ii. 455.

Somaliland Protectorate, ii. 459.

Southern Nigeria, ii. 457.

Straits Settlements, ii. 450.

Swaziland, ii. 453.

Trinidad and Tobago, ii. 464.

Turks Islands, ii. 464.

Uganda, ii. 460.

VVei-hai-wei, ii. 449.

Windward Islands, ii. 465.

Zanzibar, ii. 460.
Uniformity of, i. 267, 277, 27S.
Lawrence, Lord, on Christianity in

India, ii. 89.
Leather Trades' Association and

gambier tr.ide in Straits Settle-
ments, ii. 160.
Lecl^zio, Mr. H., evidence before

Mauritius Royal Commission,

1909, ii. 503.
Leeward Islands, constitution of,

i. 227.
law, system of, ii. 467.
legislature of, i. 235.
Legislation of the Empire, i. 305.
Legislation, Society of Comparati ve,

i. 303.

Legislative Councils of Crown
Colonies {see Local Govern-
m :nt).

Lewis, Sir G. Cornwall, on colonial
possessions, i. 9$.

Linnsean Society and Botanical
Department of StraiU Settle-
ments, ii. i6a

Liquor trade (,see Drink TraflSc).

Lislet, Mr. Geoffrey, early meteoro-
logical observations in Mauri-
tius, ii. 363.

Lister, Lord, letter from Mr.
Chamberlain to, i. 412.

" Little Englanders,''policy of, i. 94.

Liverpool School of Tropical Medi-
cine, i. 415, 429-433-
expeditions sent out by, i. 43 '>43"-
students at, i. 431.
veterinary medicine, study of, i.

432-

Loans, colonial —
Chamberlain on, ii. 187, 309.
Colonial Loans Act, 1899. -'il ;

ii. 308, 309.
Imperial Government's responsi-
bility for, ii. 211, 308.
interest on, ii. 308.
Jamaica, Government loan to,

'• 257- . . ..

Planters' loans in Mauritius, 11.
218, 308, 490, 492-499-

in St. Vincent, ii. 124, 311.

in St. Lucia, ii. 310.

in West Indies, ii. 310, 311.
Reafforestation loan in .Maiiti-

tius, ii. 186-187.
System of loans, ii. 307-311.
Local Government of Crown

colonies, i. 174, 226-261.
in IJritish (iuiana, i. 228.
in Ceylon, i. 230-234 ; li. 97-
in Jamaica, i. 242, 256-258, 260.
in Mauritius, i. 243, 248, 251-256,

258-261.

in West Indies, Duke of Buck-
ingham on, i. 234-241 ; ii. 211.

London Missionary Society in
Madagascar, ii. 92-95.

London School of Tropical
Medicine, i. 415, 426-429.

Longden, Sir James, ii. 81, 147, 14S,
150.

Lorans, Dr., references to, 1. 47°.

472, 480, 488.
Low, Mr. Sydney, I'ision of Indut,

i. 474-

it'

544

INDEX

Lowe, Mr., on taxation of colonies,

'• '''3- . , ...

Luard Mr., narrative of e.\Dedition

to N.W. District, ii. 348.

Lucas, Sir Charles, HisimUal Geo-

):raphy of tke British Colomes,

ii. 8$.

Lynching in America, i. 376.
Lyttleton, Mr., Secretary of State,

on work of Crown Agents, ii.

221 ; rtfirtnm to, i. 453) 495-

Macaulay, Lord-
on abolition of slavery, i. i37-
on education of Hindus, ii. 87.
on Christ's influen-e, ii. lo.-.
Macuregor, Sir W., expedition with
.Major Ross to Ismailia, i. 438.
Machine breaking, i. 48-
Mackenzie, Sir Muir, Report on
Immigration in Mauritius, 1.
35S<-/jeV.
M'Kinley tariff, 11. 233. 304.
M'lnnis,' Colonel, references :o, i.

390, 400. 401.
M'Turk, Mr., narrative of expedi-
tion on Essequibo River, ii.
358 et si (j.
Madagascar —

abolition of slavery in, ii. 96.
churches, erection of, ii. 95.
constitution of, i. 244.
a P"rench protectorate, ii. 97-
London Missionary Society, work

of, ii. 93-94- . ,

Medical Missionary Acaden^iy,
ii. 95.

Missionary societies in, work of,
ii. 92-95.

plague in, 1. 470.

war with Frar'-e, i. 244-
Madras, excise laws in, i. 508.
Magna Charta, i. 49.
Mahan, Captain, i. 92.
Maillard, M., Notes sur Pile de la

Reunion, ii. 184.
Malacca —

opium traffic in, i. 507.

tapioca cultivation in, ii. 167.
Malaria —

in Ceylon, i. 465-6.

in Cyprus, i. 430-

in Federated Malay States, i. 441.

on Gold Coast, i. 437-

Malaria—
in Greece, i. 444.
in Hon^ Kong, i. 444>
at Itmailia, i. 438-440>
at Klang, i. 441-
at Lagos, i. 437.
at Lake Nyassa, 1. 442-
in Mauritius, 462, 468, 487-495-
Committee on, i. 488.
co-operation with Imperial

agencies, i. 492-
expenditure on, i. 49'. 492.
measures against, i. 489-90;

ii. App. V. 486-90.
Ross, Slajor, report of, i. 487,

mosquitoes, and relation to, i.

443. 437i 438, 44 1 •
and rainfall, ii. 270.
in Roman Campagna, i. 440-441.
at Sierru Leone, i. 437-
in West Indian regimen's, i. 438.
Malaria Commission of Royal
Society and Colonial Office
(i8<)9).'i-4"2, 4'4, 4'7-
work of, i. 443 e' ■''^</-
Malay States {see Federated)—
drink traffic in. i. 508.
forestry in, ii. 170-173.
law, system of, ii. 451.
Malcolm, Sir John, on colonia.

policy in India, i. 133
Malta-
constitution of, i. 227.
contribution to army funds, ii.

428.
law of, n. 440.
Malta fever, i. 403, 449;.
Mangrove cultivation, ii. 168.
" Manifest Destiny," American

policy of, i. 148.
Manson, Edward, on Systems of
Law in Crown colonies, App.
H. ii. 445-
Manson, Sir Patrick-
Address on tropical diseases, 1.
406.

discovery of Filaria nectuma,

i. 450.

on training of medical officers
for tropics, i. 41 1.
Marathon, malaria in plain of, i. 444-
Mare aux Vacoas water works, re-
construction of, i. 493-

INDEX

545

Markhani, Sir Clements, ii. 173.
Marlborou^j'h, ( lovernment station,

British Ciiian.i, ii. 32.'.
Married VVonien''. I'roperty Act,

i. 27 1.

Masaonia HIain, n. 166.
Masterman, C. K. C.., />.,■ Condition ,

of Engiami, i. 446.
Matlieaon, Colonel, on F'rench
occupation of Mauritius, ii. 409,
4'"-4«2. 1
Mauritius —
agriculture in, ii. 133.
Asiatics in, i. 251, 353-254. |
Australian cable via, ii. 29S. I
Botanic Gardens of Pample-

ntousses, ii. 133.
Catholic Church in, i. 244, 246 ;

ii- 113- I
Chinese in, i. 368. {
constitution of, i. 227, 243, 249, '

251256.258-261.
contribution to army funds, ii. 1
,428. j
Council of Government, i. 252.
Creoles in, i. 251, 356, 394.
Criminal Code, revision of. i. !

289-291. i
defence of, ii. 409-425. '
dialects in, ii. 6.

drainage and water supply of,

i. 492.

drink traffic in, i. 502, 504-505.
education in, see Education, ii. I

5- 1 6. {
emigration, Commissions on, i. j

335. 353- '
Committee on (1909), i. 369. |

expenditure of colony, liniita- ^
tions of, i. 259.

financial difficulties of, i. 469;

ii. 4')i. 493-

fire in Port Louis, i. 469.

fixed term loans, ii. 218.

forestry in, ii. 177-191 (.f,v
Forestry).

French in, i. 365, 409-412. \

French Catholics, loyalty of, ii. i
106. j

(Government, system of, i. 260.

Health and Sanitation, Depart-
ment i)f, i. 494.

Hennpssy, Sir j. Pope, schen^e
of, ii. 105-108.

" 2 .\l

Mauritius —
history of, ii. 409
hurricane in, i. 4'.8.
Hurricane Loan Act, 1892, ii. 308,
490.

Immigration in, i. 352 ct scq.
Commission on, i. 335, 353
condition of immigrants in, i

.33^'. 355
Sir Muir Macken/it's reptirt on,
i. 355 ,7 ivv/.
Indians iti, i. 367 (j<v Indians),
law of, i. 274, 2K8-289, 291 ; ii. 454
legislative system of, i. 251-256,

258' 261.
malaria in (sir .Malaria ,
mortality of, ii. 499.
Observatory, ii. 263-274.
plague in, i. 470-483 (sec Plague)
Planters' loan, ii. 218, 492, 493,

494-497, -,38-499.
population of, i. 354.
quarantine legislation {see Quar-
antine),
races in, i. 354, 365.
religious census, ii. 5.
revenue, charges on, ii. 428.

from drink traffic, i. 502.
Royal College of {q.v.).
Royal Commission, 1909, ii. 404,
App. \'I I.
Reconj mendat ions regardi ng —
education, ii. 505, 525.
exclusion of Mauritians, ii.

■ i'*

judges, appomtment of, ii.

5«3-

loans to planters, ii. 496-498.

Medical and Health Depart-
ment, ii. 500.

Police Force, ii. 514, 520.

Railway Account Loans, ii.
497-

Royal Collem-. ii. 512.
Storekeeper-i .eneral'sOffice,

ii. Si'j-Sig.
taxation, ii. 522.
small holdings in, ii. 183.
sugar industry in, ii. 133, 522.
surra in, i. '483, 485, 487; ii
257.

transport in, i. 486 ; ii. ::5(i.
troops for, Indian .Muti:n, 11
4131 4'4-

INDEX

9i\

Maui US- .. _ I

troops foi S. Afncan War, a. 4««-

414- I
/u!m War, n. 4I7'
s.sit .1 KinK c;eorf;e ;incl Queen

Mary. ii. 40* 43-
waler Mipplv of, 11. 180.
Maxwell, Mr. W., on forest policy

n .Straits Settlem«nu, 11. «95-
Mc.ide, Sir Robert, ii. II7. »63-.
Metlp al ser\'ice of Crown cotonies, |

MeUlrJm! lir. Charles, work of, 1

II. J63, 2ft7-26c).
Mercatitile svstem, 1. 63, i44- ,
Mtrivale, Mr. Herman, on Native

races, i. 378'

Meteorology, ii- ^y^7*;,, ...
Meteorological SocietyofMtuntiui,

ii. 264.

Meteorological rtatiom, J/i,
298.

Methodist Missionary Society m

India, ii. 32- , , . ,
Mihintole, Sacred Rotk of, i. 465-
Military contributions of Crown
colonies, ii. 425-
expenditure, i. \o(>. 108, ;
stations, i. 120.
Militia in British C.uiana {sec V olun-

teer Militia).
Mill, John Stuart—
on colonial possessions. I. 95.
on eiUnalion, ii. 4-
on native appointments, 11. 524-
on production, i. 372- |
Mineral resources of Crown

colonies, i. 23, 24.
Minto Lord, ii 410, 4<2- .
Mi>-iioii ^t.iiion^^ in British Guiana,

li.

in Nyasaland, 1. 442-
Mission schools in Ceylon, 11. 30-33.

46,66,67. ■ . . „
?.fissionary enterprise in Crown
colonies, i. 404-
Societies' Memorial to Lord
Kipon, ii. 32-
Molesworth, Sir William
on Canadian relations, 1. 98, 10;.
on colonial policy in S. .\frica,
i. 120.

Life of, by Mrs. Fawcelt, 1. 120,
; ifi <•/■/.

Molesworth, Sir WiUiau.
on miliury expenditure, 1. 106.
on transportation, i. 115, ia9-
Moormen in Ceylon, ii. I «>. ..
Morawhana River, passage ol, n.
34I.

Settlement. 11. 300, 330.
Morley, Mr. Arnold, rostmaster-

("icneral, ii. 286.
Morley, l-ord, on colonial policy,

i. </>.

Life of Gladstone, 1 106.
Morris, Sir Daniel, ii 132.. '40, 174-
Mortgages in Mauritius, ii. 494-
Moruka River, ii. 321 •
.Mosiiuito, in British duiana, pre-
valence of, 320, 467. .
measures for destruction of, in
I Mauritius, i. 489 S App. V.
i 487 sc</-
I species of, ii. 406.
I Mount Elgon, caves of, i. 26.
' Mr. Mothercountry, 1. 113. .
Munro, Sir Thomas, on Colonial

policy in India, i. 134-
Murdoch, Sir Clinton, oti Emi-
gration in British (luiana, 1.

Murphy, W*." E. G., The Basis of
Asceniiancy, i. 370- ,
Mutiny, Indian, consequences of,

beha'viourof Indians in Mauritius

during, ii. 4i3-4<7- .
Mauritian troops in, 11. 4>3;4'^
Myers, IJr., Expedition of, to Cuba,
i. 445-

Napoleon, on England's naval
supremacy, i. 93-

on the army in war, 1. 209.
Narcotics, use of in the East, 1. 498-
National policy, 1815-1868,1. 37-9>-

democratic principles of, 1. 31.

reform of, i. 57. .
Native races in Ceylon, 1. 301

I Natives, .ippointment to (jovem-
meiit offices in Mauritius, 1
253, 254, 255, 360, 364-365, 524
enfr.-tnchisement of, i. 361-
representation of, i. 355. 357, 362
li. 4'4-
Navigation Act, 1. 50.

INDEX

547

Navigation Laws, i. 88.
Navigator, Prince Henry, the. ii.
85.

Negro race, evolution of, i, 350,
386.

Archer, VVni., on, i. 39a

and relations to tht whitt roan,

i. 387-88.
on the Cont,'o, i. 39a
Froudeon, 1. 395.
Government appointmenU held

by, i. 393.
industrial education of, i. 392.
loyalty of, i. 390, 395.
problem of the Southern States,

Prei^Irat Roosevelt on, i. j88.
sentiment towards America, i.
»$.

taxation of, 1. 311.
value of property held by, i. 392.
Washington, Booker, on, i. 387,
388,39a.

New South Wales, constitutimi o^

i. 174. 230-
Newcastle, IJuke of, on Canadian

relations, L 109.
Newfoundlanid Fisheries Dispute,

i. 106, 107.
Newton, Sir William, i. 288 ; it

501.
Nigeria-
constitution of, i. 227.
cotton in, i. 19.
drink traffic in, i. 501,
law, system of, in, :t. 457, 4J8.
railways in, ii. 252.
Nocard, Professor, on teaching of

veterinary medicine, i. 432.
Norfolk, Duke of, il 377, 387, 289-
290.

Norman, Sir Jtenry, Governor of

Jamaica, i. 242 ; ii. 128.
North America, colonial policy in,

i. 97 <•/ sef. {see Canada).
North Borneo, system of law in,

ii. 451.

North West Territory, development
of, ii. 316 cf seq.
Sir Charles Bruce's visit to, ii.
317 ets,-q., 328, 338, 348-357-
Norton, Lord, on advantages of
Crown colonies, i. 142.
on military expenditure, L 108.

Norwegian Lutheran Society,

96.

Nutmeg cultivation in Grwiada, iL

Nyasaland —
constitution of, i. 227.
law, system of, ii. 4^8.
mortality at mission stations,

i. 442.
railways in, ii. 223.

Observatory {see Mauritius Obser-
vatory).

O'Connell, Daniel, on postal com-
munication with Ireland, ii.

Odessa, massacres at, i. 389.
Official majority in legislative

chambers, i. 227, 233.
O'Neill, Bishop, i. 481 ; ii. 108,

109.

Onslow, Lord, on education in

Mauritius, ii. $11.
Opium traffic in Crown colonies—
tn Ceylon, i. 506, 51a
customs duties on, i. 51a
Government monopoly, i, jia
revenue from, i. cia
in Federated Malay States, i.
507.

in Straits Settlements, i. 507.
War with China, i. 506.
Orange River State, annexation of,
i. 118.

Order in Council, legislation of

Crown by, i. 228.
Order of St. Michael and St.

George, i. 162.
Ordinances —

British (luiana Immigration Or-
dinance, 1891, i. 339-343; >'•

App. IV. 475-486.
Militia Ordinance ii. 384.
Police Ordinance, ii. 392.
Volunteer Militia Ordinance,
ii. 389, 391.
in Ceylon-
Forest Ordinance, 1885, ii.
152.

Rural Schools Ordinance,
1907, ii. 55, 80.
in Grenada-
Primary Education Ordinance,
ii. 83.

3M 3

MKROCOrV RESOIUTION TiST CHAIT

(ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)

INDEX

548

Ordinances —
in Mauritius-
Education Ordinance, 1902,

ii. 509; {1889), II.
Forest Ordinance, ii. 178-179-
Quarantine Ordinance, i. 497-
Reafforestation Ordinance,

1900, ii. 189,191.
Sanitation Ordinance, 1. 494-
in St. Vincent-
Acreage Tax Ordinance, 11.

125. '27.
Education Ordinance, 1893, 11.

84- , r ■■

Oriental languages, study of, 11.

43-44- . ^ ^ .
Ottoman Penal Code, 1. 293.
Oxford University and reception of

French clergy, ii. 112.

Page, Nelson, The Negro: The

Soutkemet's Problem, i. 390.
Pali, study of, ii. 43. 45-
Palm produce, i. 22-23.
Pamplemousses, Botanic Gardens

of, ii. 1 33- ,
Panama Canal and distribution of

tropical disease, i. 401, 446.
Para rubber (see Rubber).
Paris Convention, 1 894, i- 497-
Paris, treaty of, 1815, i. 33, 37-
Parliamentary reform, i. 65.
Peace, Retrenchment and Rrform,

policy of, i. 37, 93-
Peel, Sir Robert—
on Canadian relations, i. loi, 102.
Criminal Code, revision of, i.

55.72-
on Free Trade, i. 88.
Metropolitan Police, organisation

of, i. 75-

Peel, Mr., and Swan River Settle-

i. 123 et seg.
Penal Code of Crown colonies,

i. 286 et seg.

of England, i. 55) 72-
Penang, opium traffic in, i. 507.

Forest Offices in, ii. 161, 162.
Pension Act, i. 213, 215.
Pepper cultivation in Singapore,

ii. 168.

Peradeniya Botanic Gardens,

Ceylon, ii. 145. '73-
Perak, morUlity in, i. 509.

Pharmacopoeia, an Imperial, 1. 454-
revision of, i. 418.
Indian and Colonial Addendum,

i. 419-421.
Phayre, Sir Arthur, ii. I79i 5'4.

5«6, 517. , . .

Philippines, development of, 1. 300-
Piggott, Sir Francis, references

to, i. 278, 288, 392; ii. 470.

494-

Scheme of Legislative Reform m
Crown colonies by, App. III.
ii- 470.

Placer, Sir C. Brace's visit to, u.
362.

Plague-
in Hong Kong, i. 398.
in India, i. 398, 474.
in Madagascar, i. 470.
in Mauritius, 470-483.
Bruce, Sir C, visit to hospitals
and cainps, i. 480.
Despatch to and reply from
Mr. Chamberlain, i. 47 >-
473, 480.
Committee on, 1. 47'. 470.
measures against, i. 47o> 474-
483.

Mr. Johnston, death of, i. 481.

Plantations, early colonial settle-
ments, i. 136.

Planters' loans in Grenada, 11.

3" .. „

in Mauritius, 11. 218, 492-499-

in St. Lucia, ii. 310.

in St. Vincent, ii. 124, 311.

in West Indies, ii. 310.

Poivre, M., on agriculture in Mau-
ritius in 1766, ii. 133.

Police Force in British Guiana-
constitution and duties of, ii.

372-374- . , J - ^

Inspector-General duties of,

ii-379- .. „
Report of, 11. 382.

Ordinance, ii. 39 ^
Stations, ii. 328, 329, 347. 334- ^
Police Force, in Windward

Islands, ii. 403-
Police, Metropolitan, organisation

of, by Sir Robert Peel, i. 75-
Policy (see Colonial Policy).
Pollanamtwa, i. 465-
Pomeroon river, ii. 321.

INDEX

549

Pomeroon district, tour in, ii. 331,
324.

Poor Law Act, 1834, i. 86.

Port Louif, death rate of, ii. 499.

fire in, L 469.

malaria in, 1. 462.
Port Swettenham, malaria at, t.
441.

Portuguese in British Guiana, i.

299.

case of Manoel Gonsalves, 1.

296.

Postal system of Crown colonies —
Canadian rate, ii. 289.
Mr. Chamberlain on, ii. 287.
colonial opinion, ii. 284, 28;,
287.

colonial rate, ii. 278, 279, 283.

Government opposition to re-
duced rate, ii. 281, 284

Mr. Henniker Heaton on uni-
versal system, ii. 280, 282,
283.

Hill, Sir R., on Post Office

Reforms, ii. 275-278.
Imperial Penny Postage system,

ii. 275, 285, 287.
King Edward VII. on colonial

Pennjr Postage, ii. 286.
in Mauritius, ii. 2g2.
Postal Union, Congress of, ii.

384, 289.
Postmasters' Conference, ii. 289-

391.

Threepenny Postage rate, ii. 277.
Twopenny Postage scheme, ii.

277, 289.
in Windward Islands, ii. 291.
Power resources of British Guiana,

i- 351-

Prain, Lieut.-Col. David, ii. 115.
Prerogative of Crown, i. 236, 275.
Pridham, on history of Mauritius,
ii. 409.

Primary Schools (see Education).
Prison Act, 1865, i. 74.
Probate Act (Colonial), i. 272.
Proclamation of Queen Victoria,
1858, i. 114, 261, 377, 394 ; ii.

2, 430. 524-
to Volksraad, 1842, i. 115;

ii. 523-

Proprietary Colonies, 1. 63, 204.
Prostitution in Europe, i. 391.

Protection, policy of, i. 88, 177 ; iL

300.

Baxter, Dudley, on, i. 5a

Cobden on, i. 89.
Protective tariffs, European, i. 89,91.
Public debt of Crown colonies,
ii. 307-

Public executions in England, i. 73.
Public House Trust Association,

i- 503-

Puisne judges, ii. 84.

Punishment, mi'.hods of, in Eng-
land, i. 73.

Quarantine —
Sir C. Bruce's experience of

legislation relating to, i. 495.
in British Guiana, i. 496.
legislation, need for, in Tropics,

401.

in Mauritius, i. 497 seq.; ii. 499,

500, 501.
Paris Convention, 1894, i. 401.
Venice Internationa! Sanitary

Conference, 1892, i. 401, 497.
in Windward Islands, i. 495,

497-

Quinine {see Cinchona).

Races, the coloured, i. 371-396 {see
also Negro),
amalgamation with whites, i. 379.
in British Guiana, i. 349 ; ii. 323.
in Ceylon, i. 381 ; ii. 17 et seq.
intermarriage with whites, i. 385.
labour of, i. 308; ii. 212.
in Mauritius, i. 251, 354, 365.
meeting of, at Jamestown, Vir-
ginia, i. 387.
Racial differences, i. 114, 196, 229.
Railways —
in Ceylon, i. 466 ; ii. 134.
in Mauritius, ii. 260.
in Nyasaland, ii. 223.
in West Africa, ii. 252 et seq.
Railway Stock Renewal Fimd,

Mauritius, ii. 497.
Rainfall in Mauritius, Dr. Meldnim's
observations on, ii. 269.
and malaria, ii. 270.
Raleigh, Sir \VaIter, discovery of

Guiana, ii. 313.
Ranavalona, Queen of Madagascar,
ii. 95.

i 1

550

INDEX

Rao, P. Vencato, in Fortnightly

Review, ii. 88.
Rees, Sir J. D., on contract of

Crown Agents, ii. 32^.
on charges against Indian Police,

ii. 515.

Reform, 1815-1868, 1. 57 ei seq.

of criminal law in England i. 71.

Parliamentary, i. 6$.

sanitary, i. 85.

social, 1. 87.
Reform Act, 1832, i. 38, 66.
Reformation, the, i. 60.
Regulations of Colonial Office,

i. 218.

Religion in Crown colonies, ii. 85-
"3-

agency of civilisation, ii. 98.
belief, essentials of, ii. 103.
belief in a Trinity, universal, ii. 98.
Buddhism {q.v.).

Christianity as connecting link
in Crown colonies, ii. 86.

missionary enterprise, ii. 87,
89, 91.

as motive power in colonisation,

ii. 85.

Protestantism, stages of, ii. 99.
secularisation of, i. 69.
self-sacrifice in, ii. 102, 105.
as separating force, ii. 105.
unity in, ii. 112.
in British Guiana, ii. 108.
in Ceylon, ii. 97-100.
in India, ii. 85, 89, 98.
conversion of Hindus, Lord
Macaulay on, ii. 87.
of Hindu youth, ii . loi.
in Madagascar, ii. 92.
in Mauritius (see Catholic

Church),
in Windward Islands, ii. 109.
Rest House {see Benab).
Reunion-
forestry in, ii. 184.
Indian coolies in, i. 353 ; ii. 415-
4«7-

Rice, cultivation of, in Crown

colonies, i. i 5.
in British (juiana, i. 351.
use of, in Japanese war,_i. 16.
Ridley, Mr. H. H., Report on

Forestry in Straits Settlements,

ii. 159, 162, 17a

Ripon, Lord—
and Colonial Pharmacopoeia, i.
42a

on export duties in Crown

colonies, ii. 242.
Memorial of missionary societies

in India, ii. 33.
and railways in West Africa,

ii. 252.

on relations of Kew, ii. 170.
Roads in Grenada, construction fd,

ii. 226, 232, 234, 235.
Robinson, Sir Hercules, on the

Colonial Governor, i. 215.
Rodrigues, meteorological station

at, ii. 271, 298.
Roebuck, Mr., i. 97.
Roman Catholics, disabilities df,

i. 76.

Roman Catholic Church in Maur-
itius, i. 244, 246 ; ii. 1 13.

Roman Empire, policy of, i. 373.

Romilly, Sir Samuel, and repeal of
death penalty, i. 71.

Roosevelt, ex-President, i. 312, 377,
388.

Rosebery, Lord, on Colonial postage,

ii. 280.
Rosmead, Lord, i. 198.
Ross, Major Ronald —

expedition to Ismailia, i. 438,
440.

expedition to West Africa, 1. 437.

Report on Malaria in Mauritius,
i. 487. 49'-

researches in Malaria, i. 43a
Royal Alfred Observatory, Maur-
itius {see Mauritius Obser-
vatory).

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew {see
Kew).

Royal College of Mauritius, it. 7, 8,

43. SO' -50s, 5'2-

Royal Colonial Institute, foundation
and work of, i. 146, 155-156.

Royal Colonial Society, speeches at
inauguration of, 156-165.

Royal Commission, I'W, on Maur-
itius, Appendix \ i I. ii. 494 {see
Mauritius).

Royal Commission, West Indian,
1897, ii. 250, 310.

Royal Society Commissions on —
Blackwater fever, i. 443.

INDEX

551

Royal Society Commissioni on —
Malaria, i. 412, 414, 417, 443. 453-
Sleeping sickness, 1. 414, 417, 446,
4Sa-

Royal Society and Tropical Dis-
eases Research Fund, i. 412,
^414-

Rubber, cultivation in Crown colo-
nies, i. 21 (M«a/r0 Forestry),
industry, development of, i. 21 ;
ii. I75-.

introduction of rubber plants in
East, ii. 173-
in Straits Settlements, ii. 159.
Rural Constabu'ary of British

Guiana, ii. 372, 374, 381, 399.
Russell, Lord John
on Canadian Rebellion, i. 100, 104.
on Catholic Emancipation Act,

i. 76.

on Colonial policy, i. 101, 104.

St. Helena-
consequence of opening of Suez
canal, ii. 404. 429.

constitution of, ii. 227.

lace industry in, ii. 47.

law, system of, ii. 455.
St Lucia —

as coaling station, i. 402.

coal tax in, ii. 249.

constitution of, ii. 227.

defence of, reversal of policy,

ii. 406.
education in, ii. 83.
expenditure in, ii. 248.
forestry in, ii. 177.

as fortified station, i. 403 ; ii. 1 18.
Froude on, ii. 401.
law, Revision of, i. 280.

system of, ii. 465.
loans to planters in, ii. 31a
as naval base, ii. 401 et seq.
quarantine in, i. 497.
telephone system in, ii. 298.
yellow fever in, i. 402, 468.
St. Michael and St George, Order

of, i. 162.
St Vincent-
agriculture in, ii. 120-128.
condition of, ii. 1 19.
constitution of, ii. 466.
Crown lands, ii. 124.
education in, ii. 83.

t Vincent —
income tax in, ii. 303.
land tax, ii. 125-127.
law, system of, ii. 466.
legislature of, i. 235.
loans to planu - in, ii. 134, 311.
quarantine in, 197.
yaws in, i. 451, 468 ; ii. $01.
Salisbury, Lord, on Indian emigra-
tion, i. 317.
Sanderson, Lord, Chairman of
Committee on Emigration in
Mauritius, i. 369, 507.
Sanderson, Sir John liurdon, i. 414.
Sanitary reform, i. 85.
Sanitation Acts, i. 85.
Sanskrit, study of, ii. 43, 45.
Sarawak, system of law in, ii. 452.
Sauzier, M., ii. 502.
Savings banks, Mr. Whitbread on,
i. 84.

Scarisbrick, Rishop, i. 245 ; ii. 105.
Schlich, Sir William —
Forestry in B> itish Empire, cit.
i. 20.

Forestry, Manual of, cit. ii. 142,
156.

on forest produce, ii. 142.
on forestry in Ceylon, ii. 144.
on forestry in Mauritius, ii. 177.
on forestry in Straits Settle-

ments, ii. 156.
on forestry, protective purposes

of, ii. 144.
Schombergk, Robert Hermann,

mission to British Guiana, ii.

3»4.

Schombergk's line, ii. 316.
Schools of Tropical Medicine, i.
410; 4 IS. 426-436.

Schools {sub Education).
Scholarships {sub Education).
Secession, War of, i. 147.
Secretary of State, work of, i. 197.
Self-governing colonies, admini-
strative control of, ii. 369.

area of, i. 2.

conditions of, i. 34, 35.

constitutional development of, i.

i73-'75-
(.overnors of, i. 208.
Self-government, colonial —
Beaconsfield, Lord, on, i. 167.
conditions of, i. 238.

552

fNDEX

Separation, policy of, rtftrencet to,
«• 34. 95. 96. 981 "Oi, 103, 105,
109, III, 113, lai, 134, 140,
142, 168.
S^gn^, Mme. de, i. 374.
Sewwrd, W. H., and American

colonial expansion, i. 149.
Sex ratio of immigrants, i. 394, 301.
Seychelles —
constitution of, i. 227.
law, system of, in, ii. 4^5.
vanilla, cultivation of, li. 136.
Shell mounds of British Guiana, ii.

Sierra Leone —

constitution of, i. 227.

law, systen of, ii. 455.

railways in, ii. 256.
Singapore —

botanic gardens, ii. 158.

forestry in, ii. 168.

opium trafHc in, i. 507.
Single Chamber legislature, i. 256.
Sinhalese in Ceylon, i. 381 ; ii. 18.
Slavery {see Abolition of>
Sleeping sickness-
Sir David Bruce and, i. 399, 446.

Bureau for study of, i. 453.

Commission on, i. 414, 417, 4^
452.

tsetse fly, relation to, 1. 399.
in Uganda, i. 447, 498.
Smith, Adam, on RighttoWork,i.88.
Smith, Mr. Goldwin, on Colonial

policy, i. 96.
Smuggling in England, i. 51.
Social Reform in England, i. 87
et seq.

Society of Comparative Legislation,

i. 303.
Soltivedel, Dr., ii. 141.
Somaliland Protectorate, system of

law in, ii. 459.
South Africa {see also Transvaal) —

colonial policy in, i. 1 13 seg.

Dutch in, i. lis, 179-

racial differences in, i. 1 14.
South African Grondwet, i. 1 14, 394.
South African Union, i. 179.
Souti. African War —

Crown Agents' transactions
during, ii. 221.

troops sent from Mauritius to,

ii. 418, 434-

South African War-
vote for sick and wounded by

Council of Mauritius, ii. 433.
Southern Nigeria, constitution of,

1.337.

Spices, export from Grenada, ii.
338.

Stanmore, Lord, i. 335 ; ii. 68, 1 53,
153. 179-

Stephen, Sir Fitzjames, Criminal

Code of, i. 286.
Stobs, abandonment, as training

ground, ii. 408.
Storekeeper-(>eneral in Mauritius,

ii. 516-519.
Storms, law of, ii. 269.
Straits Settlements —
constitution of, i. 227.
contribution to Army funds, ii.

428.

forestry in {see Forestry),
immigration in, i. 50S-5 ;
law, system of, ii. 450.
mortality of Tamil population, i.
508.

opium traffic in, i. 507.
Struggle for control of Tropics, i.

27, 13s. '77, 3". 3'2, 370.
Suez Canal, effects of opening on

Crown colonies, ii. 404, 429.
Sugar industry-
Lord Beaconsfield on, i. 5, 136.
bounties on beet sugar, abolition

of, ii. 129.
in British Guiana, i. 348 ; ii. 141,

325. 326.
Brussels Convention, conse-
quences of, ii. 129.
Sugar in Crown colonies in

general, i. 7-8.
discovery of seed of cane sugar,

ii. 141.

foreign policy with regard to, ii.
128.

in Grenada, ii. 228.
insurance of sugar crops, ii. 374.
M'Kinley tariff, li. 233, 304.
in Mauritius, ii. 133, 522.
in West Indies, ii. 128, 335,
326.

world's crop, i. 6.
Sumangala, High Priest in Ceylon,

i. 510; ii. 43.
Sumatra, timber in, ii. 168.

INDEX

553

Surra-
expedition to Congo, i. 447.
expedition to Gambia, i. 447.
in Mauritius, i. 483, 485, 487 ;
ii. 357.

Swamy, Sir Coonura, ii. 81.
Swan River Settlement, 1. 123 et sef.
Swaziland, system of law in, li.
453-

Swettrabam, Sir Frank-
on Colonial Office, i. 199.
on mortality among immigrants

in Malay States, i. J09.
and study of tropical diseases in
Federated Malay States, i. 428.
Symonds, O. L., on cocoa, i. 14.
Syphilis, i. 4$i, 498.

Tamils—

in Ceylon, i. 381 ; ii. 18.
in Straits Settlements, i. 508.
T.ipioca cultivation in Malacca, ii.
167.

Tariff system of Crown colonies,

ii. 300, 301, 304-307.
in Europe, i. 89, 91.
Taxation —

Mr. Lowe on colonial taxation,

1867, i. 143.
Coal tax in St. Lucia, ii. 249.
difficulties of, in Crown colonies,

ii. 246, 247.
Export duties in Grenada, ii. i

227-248. j
Export duties, objections of 1

Home Government to, ii. 302. j
Income tax, ii. 303, 304, 522.
Land tax, ii. \2y127, 233.
in Mauritius, ii. 522, 523.
in St. Vincent, ii. 115-127.
Taylor, Sir Henry —
Autobiography of, i. 201, 251.
on Canadian relations, i. 109.
on Colonial Office, i. 182.
on Criminal Code of Sir Fitz-

James Stephens, i. 286.
on military expenditure, i. 109,

121.

Tea, production of, in Crown
colonies, i. la

in Ceylon, i. 11-13.

introduction of tea plant, ii. 147.

taxation on, ii. 302. i
Teak, ii. 142. |

Telegraph -iystem to Crown colo-
nies, ii. 293.
Telephone systems, ii. 298.
Temperance, i. $00-^ 92.

Father Mathew's work for, i. 84.
Temple of the Sacred Tooth,

Ceylon, ii. 18.
Test Acts, 1673-1685, 1. 76.
1 neosophist movement, ii. 8a
Thiselton Uyer, Sir W., ii. iK.
on forest policy in Straits Mttle-

ments, li. 114, 161 -170.
on services of Kew, ii. 117.
Thompson, Mr. A., Re[>ort on
Forestry in Mauritius, ii. 179.
Threepenny postage rate, ii. 277.
im Thurn, Mr. Everard—
appointed Government Agent in

N.VV. Provinces, ii. 345.
Memorandum ii. 347.
References to, pp. 317-331.
Tick fever, i. 449.

Tidworth, expenditure on barracks

at, ii. 408.
Timber (see Forestry).
Timehti, cit. ii. 361.
Tobacco, production of, in Crown

colonies, i. 16.
Tobago, constitution of, i. 280.

law, system of, ii. 464.
de Tocqueville on equality of

opportunity, i. 61.
Tolerati^n Act, i. 76.
Transp: irt —

Crown Agents' services in nego-
tiating loans for, ii. 225.
in Crown colonies, ii. 225-262.
in Grenada, Road Fund for, ii.

232, 234, 238.
in Mauritius, i. 486 ; ii. 259.
railways .w.).

West Indian Mail service, ii. 251.
in Windward Islands, ii. 226.
Transportation —
abolition of, i. 129.
in Australia, i. 126.
Committee of Inquiry, 1837, i,

115, 126.
Uarwin on, i. 1 28.
Sir W. Molesworth on, i. 115,129.
in South Africa, i. 115.
Treasury, Imperial, responsibility
for finance of Crown colonies,
ii. 2IO, 211.

554

INDEX

Treaty of Parit, 1815, i. 33, 37.

Trent affair, i. 108.

Treves, Sir Frederick, on defence

of St. Lucia, ii. 403.
Tribes in British Guiana, ii. 323.
Trinidad, constitution of, ii. 337.

law, system of, ii. 464.

mineral resources of, i. 34.
Trinity, as law of existence, ii. 98.
Tropical Colonies, colonial policy
in, i. 135-145 (Mf C<Nonial
policy).

Tropical diseases in Crown colo-
nies (see Health).

Tropical Medicine, schools of, i.
410, 415, 436-4^6.

Trypanosomiasis, 1. 399^ 446-448,
452-

Tsetse fly, relations to disease,

i. 399.

Tumatumari Falls, ii. 365.

Turks Islands, system of law in,

ii. 464.

Turner, Major, report on Volunteer
Force, British Guiana, ii. 385-

389.

Rtferenctsto, ii. 337, 384, 385, 401.
Tuskegee, University of, i. 393.
Twopenny posUge rate, ii. 377, 389.

Uganda —
constitution of, i. 337.
la M, system of, ii. 46a
sleeping sickness in, i. 447, 498.
phili^ in, i. 498.
u . ' Dr., visit to convict
ent, i. 127.
•r Dr., on grant-in-aid
,.ir .!s in Ceylon, ii. 33.
Unite J States —
colonial expansion of, i. 149, 151,

157, 177-
colonial policy of, i. 148, 154.
labour in, i. 122.
Negro problem in, i. 388.
War of secession, i. 147.
Universal suffrage, i. 36.
University of London and Imperial

Institute, ii. 208, 209.
University schokurships in Ceylon,
ii- 39-42.

Universities of United Kingdom,
Study of tropical diseases at,
L 41a

Vanilla, cultivation in Seychelles,
ii. 136.

Vanillin, ii. 136.

Verldas in CeyUm, ii. 18.

Venezuelan boundary dispute, ii.
326, 327, 351.

Venezuelan settlers, ii. 340

Venice International Sanitary Con-
ference, 1893, i. 401, 497.

Veterinary medicine, teaching of,
i. 400, 437, 43a.

Victoria Queen —
Addresses from Indians of British

Guiana, ii. 318, 322, 323.
death of, ii. 431.

Diamond Jubilee celebrations in

Mauritius, ii. 109.
Jubilee celebrations in British

Guiana, ii. 317.
Proclamation to princes and

peoples of India, 1858, i. 114,

261, 377. 394; ii- 2, 430. 524-
Proclamation to Volksraad of

Natal, 1842, i. 115: ii. 523.
Victoria Rtj^ia, ii. 315.
Virchow, Professor, on irigin of

Veddas, ii. 18.
Vishnu, the Preserver, ii. 98.
Volunteer Militia of British

Guiana (see also Despatches)—
compulsory military service, ii.

396, 397. 398.
constitution of, ii. 386-388.
at Diamond Jubilee celebrations

in London, ii. 400.
establishment of, ii. 372, 374.
Governor's control over, ii. 396,

397,398.
incorporation of old Volunteer

Force, ii. 394, 395, 397.
Lord Knutsford on, ii. 399.
maintenance of, ii. 396.
reorganisation of, ii. 393, 394.
Report of Colonial Defence Com-
mittee on, ii. 399.
reviews of, ii. 400.
vote for, ii. 383, 384, 391.
Volunteer Militia Bil( ii. 393-

394.

Volunteer Militia Ordinance, ii.

389. 39', 395-400.
Volunteers in Ceylon, ii. 42.
Vulgate, printing of, in England, ii.

112.

INDEX

555

Wage rate, in tropical coloniM, i.
>S. 325-

Wakefield, (jibbon, on Art of col-

nnisation, i. 134, 130, loS.
War, Mr. Gladstone on, i. 53.

Waraniuri mission station.!!. 3 1 8,32 1 .
" Warren Hastings, ' wreck of, ii. iii.
Washington, Hooker, !. 3^^7,388,393.
Wci-hai-wei, constitution of, i. 337.

law, by stem of, ii. 449.
Wellington, Duke of, and Catholic

Emancipation liill, i. 77.
Wesleyan Churches in British

Guiana, ii. 108.
Wesleyan Mission in Jaliiu>. ii. 66.
West Africa —
colonial policy in, i. 139,
mortality in, i. 403.
ralKvays of, ii. 2^2.
settlements in, i. 143.
West Indies —

Agriculture, Imperial Commis-
sioner for, ii. 1 29, 13.:.
Imperial Department, genesis
of, ii. 1 16, 134.
Botanic stations in, ii. 128, 130.
constitution of, i. 229, 333.
defence of, ii. 377.
export duties, li. 227-348, 303.
forestry, ii. 175-177.
fruit trade in, li. 251.
Iei;islative system, i. 334-341 ;

ii. 31 1,
loan to planters, ii. 310.
sugar in, ii. 128, 325, 326.
IVe.t/ Indian /iul/etitt, ii. 131.
West Indian mail service, ii. 251.
West Indian Regiment, withdrawal
from British (iuiana, ii. 370,
378, 39'-

West Indian Royal Commission,

1897, ii. 250, 310.
Western Pacific High Commission,

ii. 227.

Whitbread, Mr., on nAtional educa-
tion, i. 83.
on .Savings Hanks, i. 84.
Widyodaya college, Ceylon, ii, 43.
Willis, J. C, Agrkulhtrt im tki

Tyjphs, i. 7.
Windward Islands —
churclfs in, i. 109.
crimin.t. code, rsvision of, i. 383,
285-287.
I defence of, ii. 401-407
j drink traffic in, i. 503.
' export duties, ii. 237, 241.
I law in, i. 2%\ ; ii. 46;.
I legislature . ' i. 21'
quarantine, 1. 495, 497.
transport in, ii. 226 (t sig.
Wingfield, Undersecretary of State,
letter from Sir C. Hruce, ii. 418.
Wireless telegraphy, ii. 27^.
Wodehouse, Sir Philip, on immigra-
tion, i. 313.
Woodcock, Mr., ii. $03.

Vaws, i. 451, 468 ; ii. 120.
i Yellow fever, i. 402, 445 ; ii. 501.
I in Cuba, i. 445.
! in Panama, i. 403.
{ in .St. Lucia, i. 402, 468.
I in West Indies, i. 49i6.
I Yoloff, Plague camp in Mauritius,
! '• 477-

I Yorkshire Light Infantry, de-
spatched to South African
War, ii. 418.
Young, Arthur, on colonial posses-
sions, i. 95.

Zanzibar, system of law in, ii.
460.

Zollverein, proposed for Crown
colonies, ii. 305, 306.

/lulu W.'ir, .Mauritian troops de-
spatched to, ii. 417.

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