asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what were the reasons for postponing the general municipal elections in Mauritius due to have been held in December last?

Mr. M. MacDonald:

The Municipal Council of Port Louis, which is the only municipality in Mauritius, passed a resolution in October urging that municipal elections should be postponed during the war. The Governor did not feel able to accept this resolution as it stood but he considered it undesirable on general grounds that an election should be held as early in the war as December last. Legislation has therefore been passed under which the election will be postponed until December, 1940.

May I ask whether it is a fact that the reasons obtaining here for postponing elections do not obtain there in any shape or form? Why are they being postponed this year?

Mr. MacDonald:

I think the reason is that there is naturally a good deal of dislocation in the public life of the Colony immediately following war, and the Governor thought it undesirable to add to it.

I would like to know what is the kind of dislocation referred to.

Mr. MacDonald:

A good deal of the economic life of the Colony has to be under war organisation, as well as the administrative side, and I think the officials there are heavily engaged on urgent war work.