{"id":46308,"date":"2026-07-06T13:46:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=46308"},"modified":"2026-07-06T13:46:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:46:02","slug":"uk-press-comments-on-meade-and-titmuss-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/uk-press-comments-on-meade-and-titmuss-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Press Comments on Meade and Titmuss Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Our Archives – A Glimpse into 1961<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Times – 24 February 1961<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The conclusions reached in two reports on Mauritius can be summed up in a passage taken from each of them. The first says: “The maintenance, and still more the improvement, of economic standards in Mauritius is dependent on the success of family planning in Mauritius. We do not believe that this conclusion can be substantially altered by taking account of emigration.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>Professor Richard Titmuss: “Family planning could save Mauritius. We would plead that our recommendations should be accepted or rejected as a whole…”<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The second states: “No alternative presents itself but action, immediate and sustained, to develop policies on as broad a scale as possible designed to slow down the rate of population growth. The answers must be found within Mauritius; to hope for emigration as a solution is to invite catastrophe.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Essential Condition<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The first quotation is taken from a report on the economic and social structure of Mauritius by Professor J. E. Meade, of Cambridge University, and others. The second comes from a report on social policies and population growth in Mauritius by Professor R. M. Titmuss, of the University of London, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Titmuss report was commissioned by the Governor of Mauritius in January 1959, and proposes a wide range of social insurance and public assistance schemes. It is based, however, entirely on the primary recommendation that family planning is essential.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the report of the Meade Commission, appointed in November 1959, the emphasis is on the economic development of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Status of Women<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All the recommendations of the Titmuss report are geared to the ideal of the three-child family. As the authors put it: “We therefore want to encourage later marriage, to raise the status of women, to provide incentives for the longer spacing of births, to provide for safer motherhood, and to discourage the birth of more than three children to each couple.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Both reports print tables showing the estimated increase in the island’s population based on three different assumptions. The first — Projection A — is that fertility rates remain the same as now but that mortality rates decline (because of improved standards of health and medical care). Projection B is based on the decline of fertility rates to the lowest level to which they might conceivably fall without the adoption of voluntary methods of family limitation. Projection B assumes that mortality rates remain constant. Projection C is based on the assumption that drastic family planning methods would be accepted, and that mortality rates would continue to decline.<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Guardian – 24 February 1961<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

An authoritative report, prepared by a team from the London School of Economics, says that the 650,000 people of the British colony of Mauritius are “heading for disaster” and that the only thing which can prevent this is a Government-backed campaign for family planning, linked with a Government economic plan to create a higher level of employment.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report, Social Policies and Population Growth in Mauritius<\/em> (Methuen and Co., 15s), is published today and is the work of Professor Richard Titmuss and Dr Brian Abel-Smith, assisted by Mr Tony Lynes.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was commissioned by the Governor of the colony and covers the whole field of social policy, including welfare services. But the main emphasis is on the population problem. If no action of any kind is taken, the authors say, this small island in the Southern Indian Ocean will have three million people in 40 years’ time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team were originally asked to advise on provisions for social security. In their report they say that, though they had not been requested specifically to consider the population problem, they had been forced time and again to take account of it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malaria Beaten<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The rapid increase in population has come since the end of the Second World War with the eradication of malaria. It has risen from 450,000 in 1954 to 650,000 in 1960. If present trends continue it will reach 1,300,000 in 1982.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the three-child family could replace the more usual six- to ten-child family, the population would still be less than a million in 1982. A nation-wide family planning service with free advice on, and assistance with, all modern methods of birth control at dispensaries, maternity centres, clinics and hospitals is recommended.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is pointed out that some people would not wish to use this service because of religious convictions, but it would equally be wrong to stop others with different religious views from having the service.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report suggests that cinemas and newspapers should be compelled to show at least one weekly advertisement to popularise the three-child family. Among the report’s proposals are higher old-age pensions for couples who have had fewer than three children, and a marriage benefit when bride and husband are over 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

School Meals<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Other proposals include improvements to the health service, milk for children under six, school meals, and free or cheap shoes for all schoolchildren.<\/span><\/p>\n

The introduction of social insurance with provisions for sickness and unemployment is put forward as a second stage in the plan, but it is pointed out that the creation of jobs is the only solution to unemployment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simultaneous with the publication of the Titmuss Report comes another survey, also commissioned by the Mauritius Government, and also published in this country by Methuen at 15s. The Meade Report — The Economic and Social Structure of Mauritius<\/em> — brings out uncompromisingly the conclusion that the island colony cannot hope to solve its population problem through emigration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Economic Madness<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Politically there are few countries that are prepared to accept unskilled Mauritian labour (the colony could hardly afford to export its relatively few skilled workers), and it would, in any case, be economic madness. Just to resettle 7,000 Mauritians a year in another British colonial territory would cost an amount equal to half the recurrent expenditure in the colony’s present budget.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team preparing this report was headed by Professor James Meade, who holds the Chair of Political Economy at Cambridge. Its membership was drawn from the World Bank and the Colonial Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Daily Telegraph – 24 February 1961<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Mauritius, the small British colony in the Indian Ocean, 500 miles east of Madagascar, is heading for disaster — economic, social and political. This conclusion has been reached by Prof. Richard Titmuss in a report to the Governor published today.<\/span><\/p>\n

There will soon be far too many people for the island to support, he says. Each year there are 20,000 more. For every person that dies, four children are born.<\/span><\/p>\n

The population at present is 650,000, having risen from 420,000 in 1954. At that rate there will be twice as many people in 20 years’ time, and four times that number 20 years later. Long before the year 2000 the colony’s children would face starvation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prof. Titmuss, Professor of Social Administration, London University, points out that people today are living much longer, malaria has been abolished, and fewer children die. Most parents have at least six children while some have 10 or more, compared with an average of about three in Britain, France and America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thousands Workless<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The colony must have fewer children because already many families live in poverty, there are not enough doctors, hospitals, schools, teachers and nurses. Already thousands are unemployed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Emigration might help a little, he suggests, but other countries would not want thousands of Mauritians. Further, emigration costs money and the Government is already short of money.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report pleads for a three-child family which would reduce the population to fewer than 1 million in 1982. No one would be compelled to limit his family. All that was needed was moral restraint which would not conflict with religious beliefs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Campaign Urged<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Family planning could save Mauritius. “We would plead that our recommendations should be accepted or rejected as a whole,” the professor says. “They stand or fail together.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Public assistance cost about \u00a335,000 in 1946. By 1958 it was nearly \u00a3500,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report makes the following recommendations:<\/span><\/p>\n

* Family planning service;<\/span><\/p>\n

* Campaign to popularise the three-child family;<\/span><\/p>\n

* Benefit of just over \u00a31 a month for all families with three or more children;<\/span><\/p>\n

* Benefits for widows and widowers;<\/span><\/p>\n

* New public assistance scheme;<\/span><\/p>\n

* School meals and free milk for children under school age, and a National Health Service.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report refers to the Mauritian people’s strongly held religious beliefs, their apathetic and fatalistic attitude to life nurtured by custom and a long history of suffering, the low status of women and unpredictable cash earnings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Economic Warning<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In a parallel report on the economy of Mauritius by Prof. James Meade of Cambridge University, it is pointed out that unless action is taken promptly and vigorously “national disaster cannot be long delayed.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The colony was dependent upon the sugar industry, which provided 50 per cent of its employment. Huge increases in production would be necessary to find work for any substantial proportion of the increased population over the next 10 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

An Industrial Development Board should be set up to advise the Government on new industries. The Government must decrease expenditure, increase revenue, reduce waste and “ruthlessly prune” unnecessary staff.<\/span><\/p>\n

8th Year – No 339
\n<\/strong>Friday 3rd<\/sup> March, 1961<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 3 July 2026<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Our Archives – A Glimpse into 1961<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[3439,61957,5215,5650,3447,61958,42117,61964,23125,119,36,51118,61959,61965,15530,1488,13892,61963,61961,30620,61960,335,51189,3004,5652,61962],"class_list":["post-46308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-birth-control","tag-economic-standards","tag-emigration","tag-employment","tag-family-planning","tag-fertility-rates","tag-health-service","tag-industrial-development-board","tag-malaria","tag-mauritius","tag-mauritius-times","tag-meade-commission","tag-mortality-rates","tag-national-disaster","tag-old-age-pensions","tag-population-growth","tag-public-assistance","tag-school-meals","tag-social-insurance","tag-social-security","tag-status-of-women","tag-sugar-industry","tag-three-child-family","tag-titmuss-report","tag-unemployment","tag-welfare-services"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Family-Planning-Ambulance-1950s-Mauritius.jpg?fit=1200%2C733&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8QzSF-c2U","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46309,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46308\/revisions\/46309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}