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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
FIT CO. 882/10
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH -NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
SIR,
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Enclosure 5 in No. 31.
Kalutara Kachcheri, 12th July, 1915. WITH reference to your confidential circular No. 11535, of 7th instant, I have the honour to submit the following report :-
2. In this district the riot began at Panadura at about 2.30 p.m. on 1st June, and during the week following rioting and looting went on pretty well throughout the district, spreading eastwards and southwards from Panadura, which was undoubtedly the centre of the trouble. Disturbances occurred in seventy-four vil- lages, where boutiques were looted or Moorish houses were attacked. Some Moorish villages escaped, presumably because there was more loot to be got from the neigh- bouring bazaars. Very few even isolated-Moorish boutiques escaped being
looted.
3. In Kalutara Town, thanks to the prompt arrival of the Volunteers, little damage was done. In a way this was unfortunate, as it has been impossible so far to get evidence against any ringleaders here, and I am convinced that Kalutara Town holds several.
4. The total amount of damage done in the district I have assessed at Rs.757,100-the chief damage done was at Panadura, which I have estimated at Rs.190,000. There has been practically no damage done to Government property; and on the whole the damage to Moorish houses and mosques has not been very great, except in some cases where dynamite was used.
5 The riots started ostensibly with an attack on the Moors. The Sinhalese were inflamed with wild stories, carefully prepared beforehand by the ringleaders and passed on to their subordinates, that the Moors had attacked Sinhalese temples, had ravished Sinhalese women, etc., and that the Sinhalese must arm and protect themselves. From defensive to offensive measures the step was not far, especially as reports (apparently firmly believed by the "ignorant villager ") were circulated that His Excellency the Governor was a Buddhist, and that he would protect all good Buddhista and let them do as they liked; or that, as Great Britain was at war with Turkey, the Sinhalese had been given by Government a six days' holiday to do as they pleased with the Moors.
6. These and similar stories would, of course, be quite sufficient to stir up the local rowdies as a rule; but in the interior parts of the district, where the people are less rowdy they sometimes missed fire, and the local ringleaders were obliged to have recourse to threats to bring the people out, and told them that they them- In some selves would be driven out of their village unless they joined in the riots. cases the responsible ringleaders were obliged to lead the people in person in order to egg them on.
7. It must, I think, be admitted that these ringleaders (e.g., Arthur Dias and Harry Dias), who are presumably men of some understanding, would not have risked organizing these riots, still less giving themselves away by appearing person- ally in public and stirring up the people in the way they did, unless they felt confident that they could overthrow the Government. They must have known that they had everything to lose (and they are men of considerable property) unless they could become masters of the situation. But it was one thing to get the local rowdies out to loot the Moorish shops and quite another to stir them up to destroy Govern- ment property and overthrow the civil authorities., At Nagoda the telephone wire was cut; but beyond this solitary act, so far as I know, no other attempt was made in this direction.
8. There can be no doubt that this outbreak was a thoroughly well-organized affair. The rapidity with which the mischief spread when once the ringleaders at Panadura had started operations is conclusive proof that the people had been well primed beforehand. Moreover, there evidence that meetings have been held in various Buddhist schools in this district during the past year; after these meetings pamphlets were distributed, and though none of those that I have yet seen can be called absolutely treasonable, in view of recent events they were certainly inflammatory.
9. As far as I have learnt, the Roman Catholics had no part in these riots. In fact, in many places they have done a good deal for the Moors. The ringleaders would appear to be Buddhists of the Fisher caste, who, being possessed of too much money and cursed with a smattering of education, have become discontented with their surroundings and accordingly wanted to prove that they themselves were the real leaders in the Island. The ringleaders arrested at Panadura, viz., Arthur Dias, Harry Dias, Charles Dias, and others, are probably representative of the ringleaders elsewhere.
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10. I have few comments to make on the report of the Honourable Mr. Abdul Rahiman, which I consider very fair and wonderfully restrained.
12.
11. As regards the assessments I may say that I have personally visited every looted boutique, damaged house, or property, except some half dozen cases which were brought to my notice after I had visited the villages concerned. In the planting localities I have had the assistance of the local planters, who knew the boutiques and could give me probably a very good idea of the value of their contents. Along the coast it has been more troublesome; but I have generally managed to get hold of some respectable Moor trader whose estimate of the business done by his fellow traders was to be trusted.
With regard to the minor headmen I fear that the majority of them were in it. Even if they did not actually participate in the riots they must have bad knowledge of what was threatened. I have also strong suspicion against one of the chief headmen, though so far I have not got sufficient evidence to act upon.
13. The chief trouble at present is to get at the accused-many of whom have Hed to the jungles. Indeed, many villages, especially in Pasdum Korale East, have been totally deserted by the male inhabitants. These men will be a continuous source of danger until they are rounded up, as they will soon be desperate owing to hunger. In Magalkande, one of the worst villages, there is not a male to be found. Several raids have been made without effect.
14. I will submit a further report giving details of the number of Moors murdered, ringleaders shot and dealt with, rioters condemned, headmen concerned, etc.
SIR,
I am, &c.,
R. A. G. FESTING,
Special Commissioner.
Enclosure 8 in No. 31.
Headquarters, Ceylon Command, Colombo, 15th July, 1915. I HAVE the honour to report, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, that no further disturbances amongst the natives have occurred.
A report was received on 14th July, 1915, that a disturbance had arisen amongst some Pathans who had been imported as coolie labour by a certain contractor. European troops were despatched to the scene at once. A report just to hand states that the situation is quiet.
As I understand that imported Pathans were in Rangoon and joined in the disturbances there, it would appear worthy of consideration as to whether their presence in the Island is undesirable and their deportation advisable.
On 18th July, 1915, 198 German prisoners of war, together with 12 women and 9 children, were removed from Diyatalawa to Colombo, and there embarked on H.M.A.T. "Star of England" for Australia, to be interned there. An escort of one officer and fifty men of the Devonshire Regiment from Madras took charge and accompanied the party. The women and children were accommodated in first class cabins, and all the men were accommodated on the troop deck.
Field General Courts Martial are being held in the various centres, and the proceedings and sentences are being duly publicly promulgated. The effect of such seems to be satisfactory.
The Private Secretary
to His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon.
I have, &c.,
L. A. NORTHCOTE, Captain,
D.A.A.G., Ceylon Command.
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