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 192 THE BRITISH EMPIRE : — MAURITIUS

MAURITIUS

Constitution and Government.

Mauritius, acquired by conquest in 1810, was formally ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of* Paris of 1814. Under Letters Patent of 1885, 1901, 1904, and 1912, partially representative institutions have been estab- lished. The government of the Colony, with its dependencies, Rodrigues, Diego Garcia, &c, is vested in a Governor, aided by an Executive Council, consisting of the officer in command of His Majesty's troops, the Colonial Secretary, the Procuretir-General, the Receiver-General, and of such other persons holding office in the service of the Government of the Colony as the Governor, through instructions from the Secretary of State, may from time to time appoint. There is also a Council of Government, consisting of the Governor and twenty-seven members, ten being elected under a moderate franchise, eight ex-officio, and nine nominated by the Governor. The official councillors comprise the four Executive members, the Collector of Customs, the Protector of Immigrants, the Director of Public Works and Surveys, and the Director of the Medical and Health Department.

Governor of Mauritius. — Sir H. Hesketh Bell, K.C.M.G. ; salary, Rs. 60,000.

Area, Population, &c.

Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, 500 miles east of Madagascar, has an area of about 720 square miles. According to the census of 1911, the population of the island, including Dependencies (6,690), Military (1,602), was 377,083, consisting of general population, 115,146, Indian population, 258,251, Chinese population, 3,686.

Estimated population (Dec. 31, 1919) 364,493 (inclusive of military). Birth-rate (exclusive of Indians) in 1919, 33 '2, Indian birth-rate, 35 '6 per thousand; death-rate (exclusive of Indians) in 1919, 64 7 (there was an influenza epidemic in 1919), Indian death-rate, 64*9 per thousand. Immi- grants in 1917 (Indian), nil ; emigrants, 301. Population of Port Louis, the capital, 40,106 (1919) with its suburbs.

In 1911 there were 122,424 Roman Catholics, 6,946 Protestants. State aid is granted to both Churches, amounting in 1918-19 to Rs. 152,636 ; the Indians are mostly Hindus.

The greater part of Port Louis has in recent years passed from European to Indian or Chinese hands.

Primary education is gratuitous but not compulsory. At the end of 1919, there were 51 Government and 91 aided schools. Average at- tendance at Government schools, 1919, 6,198 (9,700 on roll) ; at State-aided schools, 8,884 (13,925 on roll, of whom more than three- fourths in Roman Catholic schools). For secondary education there is a Royal College (with many scholarships and exhibitions) with (1919) 321 pupils, and 18 aided secondary schools (or boys and girls, 1919. The total Government ex- penditure in 1918-19 on education was Rs. 679,649.

The total number of convictions at the inferior courts in 1919 was 17,323, and at the Supreme Court 12.