Newton belonged to the Mulatto or Gens de couleur community, also known nowadays as Population Générale given that his mother was Indo Mauritian and his father had migrated from Scotland.
[4] Soon after his arrival in Mauritius from Hong Kong in 1883 Governor General John Pope Hennessy launched a new project for the adoption of a revised Constitution which was well supported by the Mauritian barrister William Newton.
John Pope Hennessy received the support of the new movement called Reform Party which had been formed by William Newton and Virgile Naz.
[6][7] Newton argued against Anti-Reformist Antelme’s recurrent argument of "The Asiatic spectre” and "Indian Peril", explaining that the rising influence of the Indo-Mauritian mass would not be curtailed by outdated legislation, and that instead the Constitution had to be modified to suit modern society's needs.
[8] In 1884 William Newton became a Nominated Member of the Council of the Government of Mauritius, which allowed him to play an active role in reforming the political system via a new Constitution.
[17] Sir William Newton was described as the greatest Coloured man in Mauritius thanks to his campaign for representative government and revised Constitution which enabled greater participation of the Gens de Couleur (Creoles) in political life following the 1886 General Elections.