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24. In conclusion, I would brielly refer to the practical value of Mr. Prestage's guarantee"; he might, of course, be bound under a penalty to execute his contract (I am not clear whether he proposes to do it under supervision or to be his own engineer), but the infliction of no penalty, however large, could in any way recompense the Government for the cost and delay in providing for the wants of Uvg, which the construction of a railway, inadequate for the traffic and of an unremunerative character would entail, and I would, therefore, strongly recommend that Mr. Prestage be thanked for his offer, and be informed that such a railway as he proposes would not be suitable; or that, at any rate, before accepting it, and thus taking a step of so irrevocable a nature and one fraught, I firmly believe, with the most serious and disastrous conse- quence to the Colony, I earnestly hope the Government will pause and obtain the opinion of the consulting engineer, laying before him all papers bearing on the
I have, &c. (Signed)
matter.
F. J. WARING.
97
memorial. That he has done so is, I believe, true, nor do I know any reason why he should not do so. This title, which is always conferred on a Sinhalese gentleman conspicuous for rank, wealth, and influence, or more rarely, as in the case of the late De Soyza Maha Mudaliyar, on account of literary eminence, has never been supposed, so far as I am aware, to limit his right of speech and action as a member of the Sinhalese community; and had the Maha Mudaliyar's views been in agreement with those enter- tained by Mr. Ráma Náthan instead of opposed to them, I am sure that any attempt to control their expression would have been denounced by Mr. Ráma Náthan, in the press and in the council chamber, as an unwarrantable act of official interference.
8. The Maha Mudaliyar as it happens, however, did not sign the petition, and as I understand, took no part personally in circulating it for signature. To attempt to prevent his numerous relations doing so (the family has branches all over the south of the island) would have been as futile and ridiculous as it would have been odious.
9. It is not surprising that Mr. Ráma Náthan should be mortified by the contrast between this memorial and that of the soi-disant "Agricultural Association," but it is to be regretted that his annoyance on this score should have led him to credit, and repeat as facts, tales which are in reality wholly unfounded. The memorial was not drafted by either of the Messrs. Ferguson, but by a Sinhalese; it was not secretly circulated, nor were the signatures of between 15,000 and 16,000 persons secretly appended to it; and the Maha Mudaliyar neither signed the memorial himself, nor personally canvassed for signatures to it.
། :། ། །
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:
C.O. 882
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO|
4PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
SIR,
No. 9.
GOVERNOR THE HON. SIR A. H. GORDON, G.C.M.G., to the RIGHT HON. EDWARD STANHOPE, M.P. (Received October 19, 1886.)
No. 351.
The Pavilion, Kandy, Ceylon, September 16, 1886.
I HAVE now the honour to transmit the memorial in favour of railway extension to which reference is made in my Despatch, No. 276, of the 16th July.*
2. It has been submitted to a careful scrutiny, from which it appears that 15,379 signatures are attached to it. Of these, 10,218 are those of residents in the Western Province; 2,464 are from the Southern Province; 1,922 from the Central Province; It may, 548 from Uva Province; and 227 from the North-Western Province. therefore, be regarded as essentially a memorial from the landowners of the Western Province, though it has received signatures of persons residing within the borders of the contiguous provinces. It is not unnatural that the memorial should bear this character, as it owes its origin to certain landholders in the Western Province, and was circulated for signature by them. I have no doubt, however, that had a similar move- ment been set on foot in any of the other provinces named, it would have been attended with similar success in that province.
3. Among the signatures are, with few exceptions, those of the principal native pro- prietors of the Western Province. Out of the 15,379 names attached to the memorial about 13,000 are those of bona fide owners of land. Of the remainder, some very pro- bably also are so, but it has not been possible to verify the signatures from the other provinces with the same accuracy as those of the Western Province; while others are those of persons who, though not themselves landowners, are interested in land as holders of mortgages, &c.
4. I may take this opportunity of noticing certain remarks with regard to this memorial made in a letter addressed to the Secretary of State by Mr. Ráma Náthan, and enclosed in Lord Granville's Despatch, No. 207, of the 3rd ultimo.ț
5. In the fifth paragraph of that letter it is asserted that this memorial was drawn hy Mr. Ferguson, the editor of the "Ceylon Observer." This statement is altogether void of foundation. I am assured by Mr. A. M. Ferguson, C.M.G., and Mr. John Ferguson, the joint editors of the "Observer," that far from being drawn by one or both of them, the memorial was never even seen by them until after it had already been very numerously signed. It was drafted by a Sinhalese gentleman, himself much interested in the prosperity of agriculture,
❝ secret one. 6. Mr. Ráma Náthan also thinks proper to describe this memorial as a The idea of a secret common to over 15,000 persons is one to provoke a smile; but I may add that there is not the smallest ground for attributing to the circulation of this inemorial any character of secrecy.
13
7. Mr. Rama Náthan also makes it a matter of complaint that the Maha Mudaliyar, whom he absurdly enough styles my aide-de-camp, has taken considerable interest in the
• No. 7.
+ No. 6.
4
The Right Hon. Edward Stanhope, M.P.,
I have, &c. (Signed) ARTHUR GORDON.
&c
&c.
&c.
SIB,
No. 10.
Governor the HON. SIR A. H. GORDON, G.C.M.G., to the RIGHT HON.
EDWARD STANHOPE, M.P. (Received October 19, 1886.)
No. 363.
Queen's House, Colombo, Ceylon, September 23, 1886.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Lord Granville's Despatch, No. 207, of the 3rd August," forwarding for my consideration a summary of the speeches made by members of a deputation which waited upon his Lordship on the 1st June last, on the subject of a narrow gauge line for the Province of Uva, and also a copy of a letter from Mr. Ráma Náthan on the same subject.
2. In the despatch to which I am now replying Lord Granville acknowledged the receipt of my Despatch, No. 259, of the 23rd June, which I venture to think contains a sufficient answer to the statements contained in the speeches referred to. Nothing that was urged by the members of the deputation has in any way shaken my own opinion, or that of any of the members of my council as to the extreme inadvisability of breaking gauge at Nanu-Oya.
3. It would serve no useful purpose were I to offer any detailed observations upon Mr. Ráma Nathan's letter. There are no points of public importance touched upon in that letter with which I have not already fully dealt, and I am sure that you will not require from me any defence of the wholly independent character of the gentlemen who composed the Commission, or expect me to discuss the justice or injustice of the animad- versions of the "
"Ceylon Observer" upon Mr. Ráma Nathan's conduct. I prefer to leave his remarks on these subjects (as I think I very confidently may do) without further comment.
I have, &c. (Signed)
The Right Hon. Edward Stanhope,
&c.
&c.
M.P.,
&c.
ARTHUR GORDON.
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