THE ferment into which the population of Mauritius has been thrown, by the measures in progress affecting their property, and which burst out on the arrival of Mr Jeremie, cannot be fully understood or appreciated, without a knowledge of the state of the colony previously to that event.

Mauritius, at the time of its occupation by the British, in 1810-11, had no cause for dissatisfaction with its change of government. Its prosperity, though checked by the capture, was augmented by the influx of British capital, and there existed a growing attachment to England and its institutions in preference to France.

On the peace of 1814 the Isle of Bourbon was restored to France, and being its only colony in the East, received favours and indulgences which that power refused to its colonies of the West. The custom duties in France were reduced to such an extent on Bourbon produce, that the value of fixed property in that island rose to three times its average price; and the inhabitants of Mauritius saw their countrymen within the circle of the horizon enriched beyond example by the fiscal measures of their own ancient government, whilst they themselves were not allowed to enjoy the rights and privileges of the other French colonies, which had been added to the British dominions, under the same circumstances, and during the same period of war.

This was a primary source of discontent with British rule. The produce of Mauritius sank below the price of its growth; and that of Bourbon, within sight of its shores, was selling at the same time for thrice that amount.

The next cause that operated towards estranging the minds of the colonists from the new government, and which still continues, arose from the numbers of Frenchmen who were obliged to leave Europe in consequence of the general peace after the battle of Waterloo, and who were not allowed a refuge in the colonies belonging to France. A portion of

those turbulent spirits naturally swarmed to this island, bringing with them their discontents, their humiliation, and their revolutionary leaven; many of these people settled in Mauritius and its dependencies, and becoming connected by the ties of property and marriage in the island, could not legally be removed. It would be superfluous to observe, that by the last revolution of 1830, in France, these principles have been quickened, and have acquired much additional force; but the public expression of them had been kept down until the late crisis, by the legal restrictions on the press.

The moment that the restraint on the promulgation of political opinions was removed, by orders from home, abolishing the censorship, this most powerful instrument for influencing public opinion was transferred from the hands of government to those of the people. The inhabitants are, almost all, of French birth or descent; and those who took upon themselves to direct them, were talented men, who spoke their own language. As the local government possessed no establishment for printing, all the influence of the press was now exercised by the popular party.

tent.

Another element of irritation, which entered largely into the causes of the late ferment, though not ostensibly brought forward, was the state of embarrassment and debt under which all classes laboured, and still labour, to an unprecedented exSuch pecuniary difficulties have proceeded, in some instances, from the imprudent_speculations of adventurers from France, but are mainly attributable to the general wreck and depreciation of colonial property. Few, if any, residents have escaped unharmed; all are debtors or creditors, and the property on which the liquidation of these mutual obligations reposes, has sunk in proportion to the annihilation of confidence in its stability, produced by the attacks upon it at home.

The capitalists and bankers are all bankrupts in reality, though some

ew not yet avowedly. The fire of Port Louis, which, in 1816, destroyed property amounting in value to one third of the loss in the great fire of London, did not so utterly annihilate credit as the present calamities, which the inhabitants ascribe to the system pursued in England, regarding property in slaves. Although it has always been considered as the duty of the local government to view this property as not less entitled to the protection of government than any other estate in the realm; and although it cannot be overturned without previous compensation, agreeably to any principle recognised by law, or upon any other system than that of an openly adopted revolutionary confiscation; yet, it cannot be concealed, that, in the communications constantly received from England, and in the tenor of some parts of the Orders and Instructions relative to the slaves, there appeared too much ground for apprehension, that the misdirection of public opinion in England tended that way, and too much reason to fear, that this species of private property was liable to be taken by the mandate of authority, without the slightest regard to the claims of the dispossessed proprietors for compensation.

The neighbouring island of Bourbon had been suffering under similar alarms, from the measures of their own mother country, and the colonists had united, as one man, to prevent a renewal of those sanguinary scenes which some of them had witnessed at St Domingo, from similar precipitation in carrying into effect the enfranchisement of the negro population. The distresses of Bourbon were not inferior to those which bore upon the inhabitants of Mauritius, but the French Government remitted to its subjects in that colony half a year's taxes, as an alleviation for their sufferings.

In this colony there was no such mode of mitigation in the power of the local government; and the causes already mentioned were such as to be entirely beyond the reach of its control or modification. The courts of law, which had rarely been pressed with business, were now deluged with sheriff's sales and executions, (expropriations forcées) of which there had been few examples in times of confidence. The whole of

the real property of the island was in litigation, and the enormous expenses of such proceedings would have had the effect of transferring the tangible value of the whole mostly into the pockets of the lawyers.

The discontent of the people increased with the increase of their distresses, which they attributed to the anti-colonial party at home. It was impossible to collect the taxes; the sentiments of good faith between man and man became relaxed, particularly in the payment of debts, and generally in those transactions which furnish opportunities for the display of honesty or fraud; and many, under the pressure of their miseries, would have been glad of any event, which should have the effect of relieving them from their engagements to the capitalists of England.

Such was the state of Mauritius, and its inhabitants, when the news ar rived, in the early part of the year, from London, that the Order in Council of November 2d, 1831, was to be enforced in these colonies. The announcement produced feelings of the deepest resentment, and determinations of resistance to the utmost of the power of the inhabitants. Shortly afterwards, Mr Jeremie's Essays reached the colony, and seemed particularly addressed to its proprietors, that they and he might "understand one another."

These two documents were considered by the colonists as not only utterly subversive of their rights as British subjects, but, from the tone of the latter, as indicating a mode of proceeding, calculated to insult and degrade those whom the author had prejudged. Their last hopes of ultimate redress were thus destroyed; they felt that the rules of British justice were reversed for them; they knew that none of his Majesty's subjects, under the more immediate countenance of the sovereign, could be deprived of any right, legally subsisting or acquired, unless forfeited by some offence against laws, known and declared, and not "ezpost facto;" that the regular and constitutional mode of ascertaining whether the forfeiture had been incurred, is by legal process, trial, and conviction; that this supposes prosecution; that the power of embroiling the whole colony, and putting to hazard its existence, as a valuable pos

session of the Crown, was now confided to a public officer, who was only known to the inhabitants, as having denounced the whole of them in the mass; and whose system seemed to be formed on the declared principles of the Anti-Slavery Society.

The arrival of such an officer, armed with such powers, was looked to with dread and exasperation; and there was too much reason to fear that it would be attended with such acts as result from despair; for if he were allowed to exercise the sweeping jurisdiction confided to him, of which there never had been any example in the Island, even the Courts themselves could not have protected the innocent. The projected Order in Council armed the officers to whom its execution was intrusted, with such powers, that even were they cast by the judgments of the Courts, the injury inflicted on the defendant was irreparable. It is impossible for the judges to restore such property uninjured -the process itself annihilating, in a great degree, the value of the slave; and this power was to be placed in the hands of irresponsible persons, the most powerful of whom had already published his conviction of the guilt of a people he had never seen.

The ferment raised in the colony on the subject of the expected Order in Council, and the book, which was considered as Mr Jeremie's manifesto, was farther augmented by tidings of a negro insurrection at Bourbon, where the plot was headed by a Creole slave of Mauritius. There had been likewise much irregularity and insubordination on different plantations at Mauritius; and several cases came within the cognizance of the Courts, which clearly shewed a growing relaxation of the ties that bound the blacks to their legal masters. The interior police of the Island has been a subject of complaint by

every Governor since its occupation by the British; and nothing has yet been done effectually to remedy this evil. The free colonists were always armed and disciplined under the former government; and being all sportsmen from early youth, are remarkably expert in the use of their weapons. They have latterly united in the different quarters to prevent the vagabondage of the slaves, to reduce the consumption of spirituous liquors, and to prevent a system of pillage and "recelage" which had been constantly extending, and which neither our laws nor police had efficiency to prevent.

The patrols of the inhabitants, thus established, have produced a degree of order unknown for many years past; crimes are become more rare; and during an unusual period, none have required capital punishment. These patrols have conducted themselves with quietness and moderation, so that their existence is only observable by the good it has produced. The government has gladly made use of the good-will of the people, in aid of the law, to supply the defects of the police establishment; and has thus prevented those secret associations, which, under the deep apprehensions entertained for the security of life and property, would inevitably have been formed among the inhabitants for mutual protection against insurrectionary movements on the part of the slaves, which our military force was not sufficient to put down, without bloodshed.

Whilst the colony was in this state, the free press, established by orders from home, was not idle. The local government had taken every precaution to keep its power within proper bounds, by exacting certain securities to prevent licentiousness, and by imposing a degree of responsibility on the editors of the daily

papers. These persons, however, being lawyers, managed to elude the spirit, without such infraction of the letter of the law, as should expose them to penalties; and, at the same time, they excited public feeling to the greatest intensity, on the actual state of the colony, and on the general and utter ruin which must be the necessary consequences of the Order in Council, and of the arrival of Mr Jeremie, to put it in execu tion. The daily papers of the free press of Port Louis, are striking examples of the results to be expected from the severing of legislation from the means of local information. There could not have been put into the hands of the people, a more effectual instrument to resist the adoption of any ordinance or measure, hurtful to their apparent interests; and they availed themselves of this potent engine to its fullest extent, as would abundantly appear from a cursory glance at their productions. The local government possessed no legal means for their suppression.

the commissions which he held from his Majesty. The councils of Government were called, and every formality was fulfilled, to assure due respect and honour to his Majesty's commands. But the people out of doors were in a state of the greatest agitation and anxiety; the streets were full of men of all classes, whose demands for relief became constantly more clamorous. The inhabitants of the town were seeking refuge for their wives and children in the country, and those of the country districts flocking to town.

Still no act of violence or insubordination occurred; the most respectable part of the inhabitants were on the alert, to prevent disturbance and riot: but the sense of danger was deep, and widely spread, and its existence was universally ascribed to the presence of Mr Jeremie. His life was considered in imminent danger, and it was indispensable to provide against any sudden movement of the populace that might threaten the Government-House, where he had remained secluded since his landing, protected by an additional guard, and by the presence of the Governor's family.

Under this great excitement of the passions, the voice of reason was powerless; there was no longer calm thought or common understanding in the conduct of the people. They abstained, indeed, as yet, from any overt act that might compromise the public tranquillity, or necessitate recourse being had to the employment of force, or the publication of martial law. But this state of things could not long endure. The ships, with provisions for the supply of the colony, could not land their cargoes; the merchants could not receive them; and they were obliged to look elsewhere for a sale. Mauritius depends on such supplies, for the subsistence of all parties; they are derived chiefly from India; and the agents for Indian houses at Port Louis could not be expected to land for consumption cargoes, for which there seemed no chance of obtaining payment. Famine was therefore to be feared, and that in the lowest and most extensive class; and, consequently, ruin and devastation through every estate in the island.

The arrival of Mr Jeremie in the Ganges, on the 3d of June, was like the opening of Pandora's box; discord, mischief, and confusion, raged over the whole island. The shops and warehouses of Port Louis were closed, from the moment it was known that he was on board. The industry of traders and artisans was paralysed by the universal consternation. The planters ceased from their preparations for the approaching crop, which they no longer regarded as their own property. The produce in some districts was partly destroyed by fires, extinguished only by the efforts of the voluntary patrols. The markets were closed or abandoned; and every operation of commerce was interrupted. The courts of justice could no longer be held, the whole body of the lawyers, without exception, refusing to plead, or appear at them. Justice was thus suspended, and offences and crimes were unpunished, and unpunishable; although the jails were full, as the assizes were to be held at that time.

Mr Jeremie was landed, under precautions, naval and military, to assure his personal safety, in his passage to the Government House, where no time was lost in having him sworn into office, agreeably to

The local government made every effort to prevent these mischiefs; its means were, however, very limited. The port establishment for the landing of all goods, and the government press, had been abolished several years before, from motives of public economy; their duties were performed by contracts with individuals, and those individuals, forming a portion of the general mass of the panic-stricken population, refused to perform their contracts. The boats and lighters were useless and unemployed; and the printing-press for government purposes broken up; whilst the newspapers, established in consequence of the orders from home, became the sole rulers of the opinions of the colonists, and the exclusive possession of the popular party-they were daily published, distributed most industriously, and listened to with avidity and applause.

There were not wanting reasonable persons, able and willing to expose the mischievous consequences of such proceedings; but there was no press to be obtained for the use of the government or its friends, till the torrent of error became irresistible. Exaggerations were fearlessly advanced in print, and, on all occasions, admitted by the inhabitants as truths which it was impossible to contradict.

In a colony so circumscribed in its means, matters of this nature, which might appear ridiculous in large communities, are sources of serious difficulties to the local government; which is thus, virtually, cut off from communication with the people under its authority.

To restore order, it became indispensable that the course of justice should proceed with proper energy, and that the Superior Court, which had been disorganized by the changes made at home, should be reconstituted, agreeably to the new arrangements, of which Mr Jeremie was the bearer.

In order to accomplish this object, and fulfil, to the utmost, the instructions of his Majesty's Government, the Superior Court was assembled by the first president, expressly for the purpose of registering the commissions of the newly created judge, Mr Cooper, and of Mr Jeremie as