Farewell to Mr Robert Newton

Mauritius Times – 71 Years

Mr Robert Newton’s departure is widely and unanimously regretted. Those who have come to know him and those who used to rush to him for help and guidance find it difficult to reconcile themselves with the fact that he will no longer be available. Mr Vaghjee was perfectly right to remark that in spite of having to discharge onerous duties, Mr Newton succeeded in winning the respect and sympathy of everyone, and when he leaves today, the country as a whole is sad.

Government House, Port Louis, in the 1960s. Pic – Vintage Mauritius, Courtesy – Keeran Chhaganlall

Mr Newton has been able to achieve all this because he has a very affable personality. And above all, he is a profoundly honest man who always places professional principles above the individuals involved. This is one of the remarkable assets of good British administrators which Mr Newton continuously upheld during his years of service in Mauritius. One cannot but hope that his immediate successor or those Mauritians who in the very near future will be called upon to shoulder similar responsibilities will keep alive the traditions Mr Newton is leaving behind.

Apart from his personal, likeable habits, Mr Newton’s stay in Mauritius has been significant in two aspects.

First, his role as the Head of a civil service, which was expanding and increasingly becoming top-heavy, and gradually evolving within the framework of a new constitution. Our civil service was never used to a ministerial system of government, and in Mauritius, where communal prejudice has made its way into the civil service, it required the abilities of a genius to pave the way for a mental re-adjustment between the civil employees and the political heads. Despite contrary influence and pressure, Mr Newton succeeded in stabilizing the Civil Service in the new set-up. His circular note issued to all Heads of Departments prior to the coming of the Ministerial System will stay as the cornerstone in the delicate fabric within which civil servants and ministers have to manoeuver.

It must also be recognized that although Mr Newton was aware of the difficulties encountered by the civil service, he succeeded in persuading the civil servants that their job consisted of much more than just increases in salaries and promotions. Whenever he was convinced of the justness of their demands, he was always the first to take up the cudgels on their behalf. Therefore, when Mr Newton goes away, he can congratulate himself on having steered the civil service in the right direction.

Secondly, Mr Newton came here when Mauritius was on the eve of embarking upon new constitutional developments. In this connection, he had to steer the immediate constitutional pre-London negotiations and also, he had to watch over the whole transitional stage of our constitutional evolution. Those who were involved in the early constitutional developments after 1953 are unanimous in paying tribute to Mr Newton’s dexterity in handling difficult and delicate situations. And once the ministerial system was introduced under the semi-responsible government, he had to act as a sort of midwife for the final constitutional advancement. People from all political parties must agree that Mr Newton had a difficult role to play and that ultimately, he did help to work out a formula acceptable to all.

Mr Newton was certainly not unaware of the fact that he was one of the last Colonial Secretaries and that consequently it was incumbent upon him to lay solid foundations for the welfare of parliamentary government in Mauritius. For all this great work, done honestly and sincerely outside the glare of publicity, Mauritius feels highly indebted to Mr Newton. We are sure that all Mauritians are one with us when we say a cordial ‘thank you’ to him and wish him a happy and long retirement. Perhaps, the greatest reward this place can offer to Mr Newton is to keep the sound traditions he is leaving alive.

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Immigration and Emigration

In December 1922, a delegation composed of Hons. Walter, Protector of Immigration, Rouillard and Sauzier, Members of the Legislative Council, Messrs Rama, Rajcoomar Gajudhur, Ebbels, and two Sirdars, sailed to India in order to request the Government of India to resume the immigration of Indians to Mauritius.

The feeling among Indo-Mauritians at that time was that Indian immigrants should not be introduced anymore, because their conditions of work and pay were not satisfactory. The same feeling prevailed in India, too. But the government of India acceded to the representations made and decided that emigration should be allowed for another period of one year pending the report of an inquiry on that question. And so, for one more year a few batches of Indians came to Mauritius. That was the last year of Indian immigration.

Thirty-eight years later, instead of requesting other countries to send workers to Mauritius, we have sent a delegation to far-off countries in order to persuade these countries to accept our surplus population. The official statement does not hide anything about the prospects of emigration. That is a wise approach to a very thorny problem. The opposition thinks that there are countries which, once they get the news that Mauritians want to emigrate, will throw their doors wide open and spread a red carpet for them.

Emigration from Mauritius has been rather a white man’s privilege. Scores of white families emigrate every year to South Africa, New Zealand, and to some other countries where they are accepted. But if one’s skin is not white, the doors of even African countries and Madagascar are closed on him. There is also another important factor. All countries have their fill of unskilled workers, and so they would definitely not accept that category of workers. In Mauritius, our crowd of unemployed is mostly composed of unskilled workers and semi-intellectuals. There is also the other side of the medal. Why were Indian immigrants so much in demand in Mauritius? Because they worked hard for a pittance. Will the unskilled workers of today, if they get a chance to emigrate, accept to undergo hardships and privations?

The guiding factor for the authorities, if they embark on an emigration project in case our workers are accepted, should be to send the best men. We must not repeat the mistake we made some years ago by sending unskilled artisans as skilled ones to East Africa. They became a headache to that country and had to be repatriated. While our prestige suffered, the doors of that country were closed to our emigrants.

7th Year – No 316
Friday 16th September, 1960

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 5 September 2025