PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
mmimuilm
Reference :-
C.O. 882
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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at which the first proclamation was resolved upon,
he says:
9701. As I understand it, the original question, which Evidenes, May 2, 1850. has been followed by a series of others, was, what was the extent of the information that was in the possession of Government on the 29th of July, when martial law was proclaimed, and whether they were in possession of any- thing beyond that report of Mr. Buller's To that my answer is, most distinctly, that they had not only the report of Mr. Buller, but that they had likewise before them the military reports made to the Major-General in command from the officers in the Kandyan provinces, coming through the Commandant of Kandy. The Go- vernment had likewise before them numerous other com- munications from officers in the vicinity, intimating the approach of disturbances there; and amongst the rest, reports of threatened danger to the communication be- tween Colombo and Kandy. The entire of those papers were laid before the Executive Council on that occasion; and the list of them, as I have already stated, will be found minutely recorded upon the minutes of the Execu-
tive Council then and on the subsequent day.
3702. Will you turn to the minutes of the Executive Council, and show what they are ?—I will do so.
If by Government, Sir E. Tennent means Gover- nor, then it will be clear that the Governor received information which was not laid before his Council when martial law was proclaimed; if by Govern- ment he means Council, then his evidence is not borne out by the minutes of Council. According to them, at the meeting on the 29th July, nothing was read or referred to in any way but a letter from Mr. Buller, of the 29th July, to be found in Papers, 1849, page 179, "which having been taken into consideration," the Council are of opinion that a portion of the Kandy district is in a state of rebel- dion, and it is resolved that martial law be pro- claimed. It appears, therefore, that the report of Mr. Buller of the 28th July, referred to by the Committee (3681), and printed in Papers, 1849, page 176, and the private letter, were not laid before the Council.
At the meeting of the Executive Council on the 31st July, the minutes say that the Governor in- forms the Council, that upon his own responsibility, and after consulting Major-General Smelt, he has deemed it necessary to apply to the Government of Madras for troops. The Major-General confirms this, and the Council are of opinion that the Governor was fully justified.
The minutes then go on,—
1
Papers, 1849. Pages 148 and 168.
Minutes of Executive Council.
Papers, 1849. Page 171.
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Read letters from the Assistant Agent of Kornegalle and the Commandant of Kandy, reporting the outbreak at Kornegalle.
Resolved that martial law be proclaimed, &c.
The letter from the Assistant Agent of Kornegalle, Mr. H. Templer, dated 30th July, is set out Papers, 1849, page 183. The letter of the Commandant does not appear, and would probably not contain the latest information about the State of Korne- galle, as the Commandant was not there.
Lord Torrington's despatches of the 9th and 14th August also show that other information, besides Mr. Buller's report of the 28th July and private letter, were in the possession of Lord Torrington before the first proclamation of martial law. It should be mentioned that there was no meeting of Council between the 6th July and the 29th, so that the letters and papers of an intermediate date, and afterwards referred to by Sir E. Tennent, would have been new to the Council of the 29th, if they had been then laid before it.
But even Lord Torrington's despatches cannot be very safely used to clear up any confusion. In his despatch of the 14th August, 1848, referring to the circumstances under which martial law was pro- claimed in Kornegalle, he says, after a narrative of occurrences in the last days of July,—
In spite of this severe lesson, the rebels entered the town again two days afterwards, viz., on the 1st instant, but retired on being attacked by the Rifles (suffering some loss), and a second attempt on the same day was equally unsuccessful. (Colonel Drought's report and inclosures sent herewith.) The small detachment of the Rifles suffered no casualties. On the receipt of this intelligence, I caused martial law to be proclaimed in the district of Seven Korles.
That is, Lord Torrington says, that on the 31st July at Colombo he proclaimed martial law on hearing of events which happened at Kornegalle on the 1st August. This does not seem to be a mis- print. (See the letters of the 1st and 2nd August, Papers, 1849, page 183.) The letter of the Com. mandant containing "this intelligence was written from Kandy, and not until the 2nd August. The Kandy proclamation was inclosed in this despatch, but not the Kornegalle proclamation. This last proclamation is to be found, as extracted from the Government Gazette, in Appendir to Evidence, 1849, p. 428.