MAURITIUS LOAN (GUARANTEE) BILL. (Hansard, 25 June 1931)

Dr. MORGAN
This is a Bill to provide certain moneys to tide the island of Mauritius over the damage done by the hurricane in March last. In Clause 2 there is a provision that a guarantee shall not be given under the Act until Mauritius has provided, to the satisfaction of the Treasury and the Secretary of State, for raising sufficient money to meet the charges. That enables us to ask the Under-Secretary to see that, if possible, the money is raised in a certain way. It is difficult to get any information about the island from the Colonial Office list and the Annual Report. The financial details given us in the statistics are very meagre. You have difficulty in knowing how the revenue is raised. But we have ascer 760 tained from a question I put a few days ago that the Colony has for many years been giving to Great Britain a sum of nearly £50,000 a year, and I want to ask whether, during the period of this loan, this grant for military purposes may not be remitted and a moratorium granted, having regard to the dire economic state of the island, to the fact that the hurricane has practically ruined every one associated with the one staple industry, having regard to the very low state of health of the workers, and also to the fact that the military occupation is for our benefit as a strategic centre in the Indian Ocean and not so much for the benefit of the Indo-Mauritians. A similar thing happened in 1892 and the Colony is still burdened with the payment of interest and provision for a sinking fund for the repayment of the loan. Since 1892 they have been paying interest and making provision for the sinking fund also for this military grant, and now, in addition, they have to shoulder this big burden.
This is a Crown Colony. It is not allowed to raise money in its own way. There is a majority of official and nominated members against the 10 elected members. I would like to see another way provided for the island to raise the money. Having regard to all the facts, particularly the fact that the public debt of the Colony is over £2,000,000, cannot the Colonial Secretary consider other means? The acreage under sugar cultivation is 157,000 acres. The large estates, individual owners and companies, have under cultivation 83,760 acres, or a little more than half, and the smallholdings cover about 72,240 acres. These smallholdings are in the main owned by descendants of the Indian emigrants brought to Mauritius, who represent nearly 70 per cent. of the population.
In granting loans and making advances for the repair of the damage done by the hurricane to the land under sugar cultivation, I ask that great care should be taken that the advances are not made purely to those with big estates, but that the small men have an equal chance of trying to repair any damage that has been done. I make the plea for this reason: The smallholders, I understand, have workers who work under them, and 761 that it is not only on the large estates that men are employed. I want to see that with the loans and advances that are made proper housing accommodation may be provided, as housing was gravely damaged by the hurricane.
The Bill makes provision for financing certain schemes. There are certain water schemes, for example. The capital of Port Louis is now provided with water from the Grand River. That scheme is not really satisfactory. The supply was damaged by the flood of December, 1928, and the Mansergh scheme, dating as far back as 1921, has not yet been fully carried out. Will that scheme be given particular attention in the finances provided by the Bill? The water supply of Port Louis from the Grand River is bad. Cannot Port Louis be supplied with water from the Mare aux Vacoas scheme which provides water for the garrison in Port Louis and the districts of Moka and Plaines Wilhelm? I do not know whether it is completed yet. If not, that scheme should be carried forward with as much rapidity as possible.

§ Mr. SPEAKER
This Bill only deals with the problem of damage done by the hurricane. It has nothing to do with schemes in operation in 1921.

Dr. MORGAN
I thought that under the schedule public works and any purposes incidentally connected therewith might be included. If you rule that it must be connected with the hurricane——

§ Mr. SPEAKER
It must be in connection with damage done by the hurricane.

Dr. MORGAN
I would ask whether any of the irrigation works of the island La Ferme and La Nicoliere—have been damaged by the hurricane, and, if so, would they be provided for under this Bill? With regard to fair conditions of labour, there is a Clause in the Bill which says that the Secretary of State shall satisfy himself that fair conditions of labour are observed in the execution of all works carried out under this Act. Seeing that there are no workmen's compensation Acts or trade union laws, and no factory Acts in connection with the sugar factory damaged by the hurricane, I ask how is the Under-Secretary going to know or to insist that fair conditions of work are being carried out? I hope that he will see that as soon as possible 762 laws are passed for the protection of workers engaged in any of the works damaged by the hurricane dealt with in this Bill.
Finally, I would refer to the houses of the workers which have been damaged by the hurricane. I want to stress this because there is great economic distress, which existed before the hurricane and which is worse now. I earnestly urge the Under-Secretary to see that in any provisions which are being made under this scheme great care is taken to see that the workers' are properly housed, and that fair conditions of labour are provided. I am sure the Under-Secretary will not mind my raising these points at this late hour.

§ Mr. McSHANE
I am not going to apologise for raising my voice to-night in connection with this Bill. We have been asked to raise a loan of £750,000 to help a Crown Colony about which frankly and truthfully it may be said we do not know enough yet. In saying that, I am not making any allegations against the Under-Secretary, who is always courteous and willing to help, but my complaint against the Bill being passed as it is is that it is on a parallel with a man who is suffering from cancer and falls downstairs, and immediately there rush to his aid half-a-dozen doctors who seek to find, out his bruises and to cover up his abrasions without paying attention to the cancer itself.
In the Schedule to this Bill appear three main purposes for which the loan is to be raised. It is perhaps natural that first things should come first, and so Government property is put down as the first thing to be attended to by the loan—the repair and replacement of Government property. The second item in the purpose of the loan is the making of loans to planters or other persons to defray their expenditure. I said formerly, and I say it to-night—I know I am not allowed to enter into the merits of the question at all—that this sum of money, in the way in which it is being given, will be totally inadequate to meet the necessities of the case. The Island, as I said on a former occasion, is sadly impoverished apart altogether from the hurricane. We could have hoped—though we are not allowed to go into the matter—that a totally different method would 763 have been adopted than the present one. In that sense I regret that a good deal of this money is being wasted because, being inadequate, it will not achieve the expected aims. The Under-Secretary said in introducing the Bill that the Legislative Council had approved the loan. That is quite true, but along with the loan there is to be a financial commission established to inquire into the financial matters of Mauritius. It is significant that all the elected members of the Legislature took exception to the sending of a financial commission of experts. My hon. Friend the Member for North Camberwell (Dr. Morgan) put in a plea for a moratorium. This indeed seems to be a very fitting time in view of the world wide proposals with regard to moratoriums.

§ Mr. SPEAKER
I do not think we can go into that matter. I allowed the hon. Member considerable latitude at a former stage, but on the Third Reading we must confine ourselves more closely to the Bill itself.

§ Mr. McSHANE
I am asking whether, as a matter of fact, this island needs the loan at all? I have said that, generally speaking, the position of a portion of the people, and in particular the working class, shows that it is urgently needed, but I was going on to say that had another method been adopted it would not have been necessary.

§ Mr. SPEAKER
The hon. Member must not discuss other methods on the Third Reading.

§ Mr. McSHANE
I was only going to make reference to it because I know that it is not in order to go into details with regard to it. I want to ask the Under-Secretary of State the following question. This loan is going to be given to an island where there is a vast amount of hardship on account of a hurricane. Is emigration being allowed at the present moment into Mauritius, because if it is, obviously it will mean that the money will be largely dissipated.

§ Mr. SPEAKER
The hon. Member is really taking advantage of this Bill to bring forward all sorts of things which have really nothing to do with it. It has nothing to do with immigration into the country.

§ Mr. McSHANE
I can assure you that I am in no sense attempting to get beyond your Ruling. I was merely making the point that, if further immigration was allowed at the moment, while the island is over-populated, a grant at this moment would be largely dissipated.

§ Mr. SPEAKER
That is going beyond this Bill altogether.

§ Mr. McSHANE
I wish to finish with this. Not only is the loan inadequate, but I think it will be agreed by those who have followed this matter that the information is seriously inadequate. It is exceedingly difficult for us to discuss this Bill to-night because of the lack of a knowledge of the circumstances at the present moment. I shall certainly do what I can in order that we can get much more intimate knowledge of what happens there, and see whether it is not possible to get a much closer system of communication established between this country and that Crown Colony.

§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Dr. Drummond Shiels)
I ask the House to give a Third Reading to this Measure. We have had two fairly prolonged discussions on the Bill, because, it being a Money Bill, there was the additional opportunity of Debate on the Financial Resolution, and I think that most of the points were covered. I take no objection to the intervention of my two hon. Friends who have spoken to-night, because it is an indication of an interest in this particular Colony, and in Colonial matters generally, which I very gladly welcome. I shall be very glad to see a greater interest in the conditions in the Colonies than has prevailed in the past. I think the points which my hon. Friends have made, in so far as they were relevant to the Bill, have been pretty well covered before. In regard to the adequacy of the loan, I would point out that it is what Mauritius has asked for, the sum is that which is estimated to be what is necessary, and the conditions have been accepted by Mauritius as suitable.

Dr. MORGAN
How can Mauritius have asked for this when she has not an unofficial majority?

§ Dr. SHIELS
I would not like it to be thought——

Dr. MORGAN
On a point of Order. I made a very pertinent observation. I asked, how could Mauritius have asked for this when she has not an unofficial majority? The Parliamentary Secretary is not entitled to tell me that I should not make a remark of that kind, when I am exercising my ordinary rights as an elected representative of the people.

§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. T. Kennedy)
I made no observation or suggestion that the hon. Member should not put his question. He is entirely mistaken.

§ Dr. SHIELS
I would not like it to be thought that the Governor and the Legislative Council of Mauritius do not express the will and the desire of Mauritius in this as in other matters. We have responded to the need of Mauritius in a way and to a degree which we believe is sufficient to meet their needs, and we know that this gesture has been very much appreciated by the people of the island. I do not think that it is necessary to cover all the ground that has been covered by my two hon. Friends to-night, but I would say in regard to the question of smallholders that their value to the general population is very well appreciated, and there is no question but that their interest will be very carefully safeguarded in the spending of this money. I am not able to go into the details of the various matters referred to by the hon. Member for North-West Camberwell (Dr. Morgan), because I did not know that he was going to raise them, and I am not aware of the details, but I am confident that the money under the various heads set out in the Schedule will be expended not only in an economic and wise way, but in a way which will be for the general advantage of Mauritius. It is obvious that the object of the Bill has the full sympathy of every section of the House. By this gesture to this part of our Empire, which, we can be sure, will be much appreciated, we shall be helping to cement the good relations which exist between Mauritius and the Mother Country.

Mr. MACLEAN
There is one point on which I would like some information, in view of the Ruling that has been given. I do not question the validity of your Ruling, Mr. Speaker, but I want to find 766 out the actual scope of the Bill. Would the Under-Secretary inform the House of the nature of the public works which are mentioned in the Schedule in order that we may know the manner in which the money will be expended, and realise how wide the scope of the discussion might have been.

§ Dr. SHIELS
These are works of public utility, such as roads and water schemes and other things, which were either in process of construction or have been projected and which cannot be proceeded with without the assistance given by this Bill.

Mr. MACLEAN
That is the point I wish to bring out. Hon. Members who have taken part in the Debate were ruled out of order on the ground that the money was to be devoted solely to the purpose of making good the damage done to the island by the recent hurricane. You, Sir, naturally and quite rightly ruled that out of order because of the actual wording of the Bill. I suggest that the words of the Schedule make it appear that the public works were incidental to or connected with the purpose of repairing the damage to works which were in progress before the hurricane, and that it was necessary to devote some of this money to these public works. The reply of the Under-Secretary now makes it clear that in addition to restoring the damage done by the hurricane we are being asked to guarantee money which is necessary for carrying out public works which were projected or which had been started before the hurricane occurred, and consequently I submit that the two hon. Members who were attempting to deal with matters relating to employment were entitled to develop that argument.

§ Mr. BROCKWAY
I am sure that the Under-Secretary is anxious that any works done under this Bill shall be done under fair labour conditions, and indeed the Bill contains a clause to that, effect. The difficulty, however, is that there are no trade union standards or ordinary standards by which fair conditions can be judged. I think there are precedents to justify the point which I am putting to him, namely, that while these schemes of work are being put through in Mauritius, a representative of the Colonial Office ought to be there with the particu- 767 lar duty of seeing that the conditions of work are fair, according to the standards which the hon. Gentleman himself would desire to see applied. The hon. Gentleman, I suggest, should also see to it that the smallholders and the poorer of the population receive their fair share of any work which is carried out under these schemes. In doing so, he will be rendering a service to the population of Mauritius and I submit it is a proposal which is practicable and worthy of his consideration.