§ MR. R. FOWLERsaid, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether Her Majesty's Government are in possession of any recent intelligence concerning the apprehended occurrence of a famine in the Mauritius; and whether he can state what measures have been taken to prevent so great a calamity?
§ MR. MONSELL, in reply, said, he was happy to say, that, from the despatches received yesterday from the Mauritius, there was not the slightest reason to apprehend a famine. The monthly consumption of rice was about 75,000 bags. On the 17th of February there were 292,000 bags of rice in the island, and the cultivation was going on satisfactorily. The Governor stated that the arrears of wages on the 31st of December did not exceed the average, and if the colony was only spared the repetition of last year's calamity, there was every reason to believe that it would rapidly recover from its present state of depression.