PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:
TILLC.O. 882
سان سائنس
9 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
58
us, except in matters of comparative detail; and Mr. Thurley is himself so high in his own Department, and is now ripe for so much better promotion than in the ordinary course we could offer him, that it would be very difficult to fix a salary to induce him Unless we had found that we could to accept the sacrifice of continuing with us.
safely dispense with his services, and that an officer with less experience and less wide knowledge of the principles rather than of details is all that is now required, we should not venture to take the course we are taking. I cannot say too emphati- cally that Mr. Thurley is not being sent away, and that when we part with him, we shall part with the greatest reluctance. Now, Mr. Ramanathan has pointed out many serious difficulties, which, if I may be allowed to say so, show that he has gone into this question very earnestly and very thoroughly, and he has put his finger quite At any time correctly on many points that we shall find most difficult to deal with. now or hereafter I shall be only too happy to give Mr. Ramanathan or any other Honourable Member full information as to the steps we are taking, to place that information before the Council at any moment; and I would ask you to remember always that you have this great power-that money has to be voted before any step can be taken. Yesterday, Sir, all I tried to do was to lay down the general principles of the immediate programme we propose for your consideration and adoption, and I think I gave you all the information which is needed on the second reading; I should have been most happy to supplement it had I thought Honourable Members required it. I regret that I should have had to detain you longer than I should have wished; and I can only express my very great personal gratitude for the earnest way in which Honourable Members have been so good as to consider what I said yesterday.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR: Before putting the motion to the meeting, I hope the Council will forgive me if, in my name, and in the name of the whole Council, official and unofficial, I convey to the Colonial Secretary our very best thanks for the very clear and lucid way in which he has laid this important subject before the I have been associated with him and the other Council yesterday. (Applause.) Official Members of the Government in this important question for some years past. I can assure you it has given us all the greatest trouble to thrash out, even as far as we have got, what will be best conducive to the good of this Colony. The result has been incorporated in the Bill which is before you, and I wish emphatically once more to say that the main purpose which the Government have in bringing this measure forward is eventually to restrict the consumption (applause) of alcohol and improve the general position and well being of its indigenous population. (Applause.)
The motion that the Bill be read a second time was then put to the Council and unanimously agreed to.
The Bill was then read a second time.
The Honourable the COLONIAL SECRETARY: I rise, Sir, to move the Council into Committee for the purpose of appointing a Select Committee to consider this Bill.
The Council then went into Committee.
In Committee,
The Honourable the COLONIAL Secretarysaid: I rise, Sir, to move that the follow- ing members do form the Select Committee to consider the details of this important Bill: The Honourable the Acting Controller of Revenue, the Honourable the Treasurer, the Honourable the Acting Government Agent of the Western Province, the Honourable the Acting Government Agent of the Central Province, the Honour- able the Principal Civil Medical Officer, the Honourable Mr. Alexander Fairlie, the Honourable Mr. Edward Roeling, the Honourable Mr. Hector van Cuylenburg, the Honourable Mr. P. Ramanathan, the Honourable Mr. A. Kanagasabai, and the Honourable Sir Christoffel Obeysekere, with myself as Chairman. In proposing the appointment of that Committee, I should like to be allowed to state that I regret that it will not be possible to meet until after the Select Committee has sat on the Supply Bill, which comes up for second reading on the 22nd instant.
The motion was agreed to, and the Select Committee, composed of the Members mentioned, was appointed to consider the Bill.
The Honourable the COLONIAL SECRETARY: I move that the Council do resume. The Council then resumed.
we
59
Adjournment.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR: At this late hour of the evening I propose that adjourn until 2 o'clock to-morrow, Wednesday, April 17, 1912.
The Council adjourned accordingly.
Enclosure 3 in No. 1.
E
REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE LEgislative Council appoINTED TO CONSIDER AND REPORT UPON AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE for the INTRODUCTION OF AN EXCISE SYSTEM."
The Select Committee appointed by the Legislative Council on April 16, 1912, to consider and report upon An Ordinance to provide for the Introduction of an Excise System" held three meetings, sitting from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, and from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and again from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22
2. The Select Committee has the honour to make the following recommenda- tions for the amendment of the Ordinance, and asks that the attention of the Executive may be drawn to the comments contained in this report on matters relating to the operation and interpretation of the Ordinance.
3. We recommend that the following be substituted for Section 1:-
1-1) This Ordinance may be cited as "The Excise Ordinance, No.
of 1912."
(2) It shall not come into operation until His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies has notified that it is not the intention of His Majesty to exercise his prerogative of disallowance in respect thereof, and thereafter shall come into operation within such areas and upon such dates as the Governor, by Proclamation in the " Govern- ment Gazette," shall appoint.
4. The necessity for this amendment is due to the fact that this Ordinance falls within the category of Ordinances enumerated in the Royal Instructions to which the Governor is precluded from giving his assent pending the receipt of the above intimation, inasmuch as this Ordinance will have the effect of adding
to the establishment of the public service and the charge on the revenues of the Colony on account of personal emoluments to public servants.
We recommend that Section 2 be amended as follows:-
5.
(i.) By inserting the words " within any local area" after the word "force
in line 2. (ii.) By inserting the words "within such area after the word " repealed "
in line 3.
6. We recommend the following amendments and additions to Section 8:-
(i.) Sub-section (9)-Omit the words "by sea" at the end of the sub-section. (ii) Sub-section (14). Substitute for the words "foreign territory" the words "any place beyond the limits of the Island of Ceylon."
(iii.) Sub-section (18).-Omit the word "vessel" in line 2 and substitute the
word "receptacle" therefor.
(iv.) Sub-section (19).—Omit the word “and
place the words "boat or other."
*
in line 1 and substitute in its
(v.) Add Sub-section (20).—"To tap includes every part of any process by which the spathe or flower of any toddy-producing tree is pre- pared for the drawing of toddy."
7. The Select Committee recommend.
to
the following amendments Section 7:-
Sub-section (f).-The insertion of the words in whole or in part" after the word "officer" in line 1, and the omission of all numerals and words after the numerals " 24" in line 8 to the end of the sub-section. 8. With reference to this sub-section, which deals with the delegation of powers by the Governor, the Select Committee, after full discussion, is of opinion that the powers of delegation under Section 7 (d)--which relate to the appoint- ment of excise officers should only be used by the Governor in order to enable the Excise Commissioner, or his subordinates of high standing in the Department,