§ *MR. W. H. HOLLAND (York W.R., Rotherham)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can state whether there has been any diminution in the acreage under sugar in the Mauritius during the last five years; and, if so, to what extent.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINIt appears from the Blue Books for the years 1893–1897 (the last Blue Book we have) that the estimated acreage of cultivated lands on sugar estates in Mauritius was, in 1893, 71,000 arpents approximately; 1894, 114,000; 1895, 93,000; 1896, 52,000; 1897, 79,421. An arpent is about 1 1/20 th of an acre. These figures show that there was a great increase in the estimated acreage of cultivated land between the years 1893 and 1894, a rapid decline between the years 1894 and 1896, and a partial recovery in the year 1897 which is the last year for which the figures are available.