PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TLC.O. 882
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
I may add, the renter of to day and to morrow, kound hand and foot in the grip of those of us who are interested in the product to quote Dr Fernando's own words the nonut palm* it the defination
He adds rather amusingly that they are "naturally interested He wants to exclude by this definition any spirit distilled trono ons product of the palm other than the locally grown coconut palm. Personally. I think that. Sir, must be a mistake, but I find that the Low country Products Associa Trot, of which Dr Fernando is also a member, and a distinguished member, include that definition at the requests which they have sent to me, in other words, he proposes to make at illegal to distil arrack from the kitul palm or from the palmyra, and i have an idea that my honourable friend. Mr kangasabai, who represents the north those of this Island, will probably have some words to say on this subject when it comes
from the point of view of The point really is this to his turn to speak of us who are interested in the product of the coentut pilm." it is extremely and highly desirable that arrack in future should be defined as something that can only be made with their good leave, and also, I may add, ont of stuff which they can fis But this is hardly a business proposition, and is hardly the price of at their pleasure likely to commend itself to Honourable Members of this Council, who abus have the people of the whole Island to consider, and any action taken in the direction urged la Dr Fernando will facilitate a corner in arrack, and will eventually place the general taxpayers in the Colony at the mercy of those "interested in the product of I now turn, Sir, to a memorandum which only reached me onl the coconut pahn
the day before yesterday from the Low country the evening of the 13th instant
Again I find the old contention that the number of taverns Products Association
find illicit consumption totally controls the amount of consumption Again ignored, and otice more I read “ The two great parties in the United Kingdom, recog nising the temptation to drink involved in numerous houses, deliberately set about That is quite true, but Honourable Members hardly need reducing their number me to tell them that the analogy which is here sought to be drawn between the condi tion of things in the United Kingdom where Government happened to be in a posi- tion in which they were enabled to restrict the consumption by simply restricting the The number of number of public houses and the condition of things in this Colony is entirely false. In fireat Britain there is practically no illicit sale or consumption public houses, as everybody' with the least acquaintance with British conditions knows,
-was far greater than could be justified by the legitimate demand- and therefore the existence of three or four, or even five, public houses within a few yards of one another actually did present a very considerable temptation to weak- minded persons, who, having to pass public houses, found it hard to resist the tempta But, Sir, in Ceylon, we are. I would submit, many, many years behind tion to drink
We must begin by regulating and controlling the manufacture that state of affair- and supply of intoxicants before we can hope efficiently to control the consumption. When Government has gained the control of the manufacture and of the supply, earnestly hope that it will then be possible to deal with the consumption. And when it becomes possible to deal with the consumption but not till then--will the reduction of taverns have any practical effect upon the amount of drink consumed in this Colony. The Association wants to put, in my opinion, the cart before the horse. They are asking us to take measures which were only taken in England after a complete control of the supply of intoxicants had long rested in the hands of the administration. When that state of things has been achieved in Ceylon, the action which they propose It seems to me that the will unquestionably be a very useful instrument in further checking the consumption Until then it will have no practical effect whatsoever. Association fails to realise that the ideals which it entertains and those of Government are practically identical, but that a great deal remains to be done before that which we both want to see accomplished can be attended by any practical results in the direction of checking drunkenness. You must begin at the beginning in this matter; you cannot beggin at the end, because in England they had reached à state of things from which we are very far removed, which rendered the reduction of the number It requests us " to embody of puldic houses a measure having practical effect in the direction of checking con- sumption. The Association further makes six requests.
was chorHOUS
in the main Ordinance provisions by which the excise officers will be compelled to consult the residents of a district or organised local opinion before setting up taverns, toddly shops, or shops for the sale of foreign liquor." I have already dealt with this It also asks us to delete altogether the delegation under the head of local option clause, Section 7. Sub section (/), with a radical modification of Section 31." pre- sumably in the direction of giving local option to “organised local opinion," what-
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ever that roay mesit. It you will tura to be tion 31 of the Ordnatice, Sub section (4), you will see that it is there laid down that rules are to be drawn up by the Governor an Lxecutive Council and submitted to the Legislative Council, prescribing the pro- cedure to be tollowed, and the matters to be ascertamed before any hectice for such sale is granted for any locality Now that imports into the law of the Island a provision that has never existed before It gives this Council power to lay down the considerations which are to guide excise officers, including the Government How Agents, with reference to the granting or retusal at the licence of a tavern tar it will be possible to deal with what is here called "organised local opinion I am tod yet very clear, because I do not know how the opinion is to be organised. How are we to be quite certain whether it is opanion that deserves recognition or does not but as there has been so very much talk about taverns, and especially about the tuultiplication of taverns. I think it will interest Honourable Members if I tell them that the revision of taverns throughout the Colony is nearing completion, that I have already in my hands the authorised figures for no less than seven Pro- vinces, and I find that the redistribution resnits in a total decrease of six taverns. | find that in Jaffna there are at presem 35 taverns, that it is proposed to abolish 10 of them, that it is proposed to establish 5 new ones, and that the net result will be In Mannar there are 21 taverns at that the number will be reduced from 35 to 30 present, it is proposed to abolish ~, it is not proposed to establish any new ones; and the net result will be 13. In Mullaittivu there are now 7 taverns, it is proposed to abolish 1, 2 will be established in different parts of the district, and the net result will be, or an increase of 1 I find, therefore, that for the Northern Province, In Batticaloa at the whereas there will be 51 in the future, at present there are 63. present moment there are 34 taverns, there, also, 9 of these will be abolished; no increases are recommended; and the 54 will be reduced to 45, which is very satis- Factory. In Trincomalee there are 18 at the present moment; 6 will be abolished; no new ones are necessary to be established; and they will be reduced from 18 to 12. In Anuradhapura there are 7 at present; and it is found that none can be abolished; 3 will have to be established; and there will therefore be an increase from 7 to 10. I find that in Kandy there are 43 at present; 1 is unnecessary: 10 new ones are con sidered necessary; making a rise to 52. In Matale there are 7; it is proposed to add 3; making a total of 10. In Nuwara Eliya there are 9; 1 will be abolished, but In Badulla there are 16; it is proposed to add 2 more, making a net result of 10.
it is proposed to abolish 2 as unnecessary, but to replace them by 2 others in different parts of the district. At Ratnapura and Kegalla I find it is proposed to make a considerable increase, from 81 at the present moment to 92 in the future. All those in existence are said to be necessary, and I have the details which I shall be happy to There was a sudden and lay before Honourable Members in Select Committee spasmodic abolition of taverns in the Kegalla District some years ago, but the sales, from figures in my possession, show that the consumption was in nowise affected. With regard to Colombo, there are 60 taverns at present, which will remain un- changed. In Negombo there are 76 at the present moment; 1 will be abolished, and 1 re-established in a different part of the district, leaving the total as at present. In Kalutara there are 31 at present; 3 will be abolished, and 1 established; the net result being 29. In Panadure there are 39; 8 will be abolished, and 4 established; the net result will be 33. Siyane and Hewagam with 54 will remain unchanged. The grand total comes to 552 after the redistribution, as against 558 before the redistribution; and one wonders why people have been flogging this dead borse so relentlessly, and why there has been so much talking about the multiplication of It was taverns before they took the trouble to see what was going to be done. impossible to allay public anxiety earlier, because it is only to day that I have obtained these figures. They apply to only seven Provinces. The Southern Pro- vince figures are not yet with me, and I am not yet in a position to say whether there will be a decrease or not; but believe that even there there will be a decrease, though
I am not sure.
The Hon. the GOVERNMENT AGENT OF THE SOUTHERN Province: There will be a decrease of one.
In the The Hon. the COLONIAL SECRETARY: There will be a decrease of one. North-Western Province there will be probably an increase, but I am not yet in a I think, however, Honourable Members position to tell you what the figures will be.
will agree with me that this information will be very satisfying to those of our critics who were sincere, and will allay the apprehensions of those who imagined that taverns would be unduly multiplied throughout the Colony. I think I may also say