39
360
42787
No. 35.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Paraphrase.)
(Received 2.12 p.m., 28th August, 1922.)
TELEGRAM.
[Answered by No. 39.]
26TH AUGUST. I am inclined to think, from what I have been able to gather of the proposals by Mr. Wood in regard to an advisory committee of the Legislative Council for the Jamaica constitution, that such a scheme might be useful in Ceylon. Full particulars of the proposals have not been seen by me, but I believe, from what I have seen. that it could be adopted here with advantage.--Manning.
43144
SIR,
(No. 453.)
No. 36.
3
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 30th August, 1922.)
Queen's House, Colombo, Ceylon, 8th August, 1922. I HAVE the honour to transmit a memorial, dated 6th June, 1922, which has been addressed to you by the Jaffna Association, on the subject of constitutional reform.
To
Enclosure in No. 36.
I have, &c.,
W. H. MANNING,
Governor, &c.
THE RIGHT Honourable Winston Spencer Churchill, P.C., M.P.
His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies,
Downing Street, London.
THE HUMBLe Memorial of the Jaffna Association
Most Respectfully Sheweth,
THAT the Jaffna Association is one of oldest public bodies in Ceylon, having been founded about two decades ago, to promote and safeguard the interests of the people of Jaffna, who are mostly Tamils, as well as those connected with this Dis- trict living in other parts of the Island. The Jaffna District being the chief seat of the Tamils of Ceylon and containing more than half the permanent Tamil popula- lation of the Island, the Members of this Association have been almost wholly Tamils, and it has been practically a Tamil Association representing the interests of the Tamils in general, and has been so recognized by the Government and the public. In 1909 and 1910 it was this Association which, on behalf of the Tamils of the whole Island, addressed Memorials to one of your predecessors, Lord Crewe on constitutional reforms. Again, in January, 1918. the Jaffna Association addressed to the Right Honourable Sir Walter (now Lord) Long, another Memorial on the same subject to which reference will be made later în this Memorial, and the Ceylon National Conference of 1918, and the Ceylon National Congress of 1919 and 1920, sought and obtained the co-operation of the Jaffna Association to make those bodies "national" and representative of the interests of the Tamils. It was with thin Association as representing the interests of the Tamils, the Ceylon National Congress till recently, till the split occurred to which reference will be made in this Memorial, corresponded on all matters connected with constitutional reforms in Ceylon. This Association ventures humbly to lay before you the views of the Tamils on the question of constitutional reforms, which at present engages your attention.
2. Of the nine provinces of Ceylon, seven contain a preponderance of Sin- ghalese population and the population of two, the Northern and Eastern Provinces,
is mainly Tamil. The Singhalese population of Ceylon, including the Kandyans, according to the Census of 1911, was 2,715,420, while the Tamils population is 1,059,007, including the Indian Tamils who are not permanent residents. Of these nearly half are Ceylon Tamils. The Northern Province, of which Jaffna is the capital, contains more than half the permanent Tamil population of Ceylon. Although the Northern and the Eastern Provinces contain the bulk of the Ceylon Tamil population, yet a good portion of it is to be found in other Provinces also, especially in the Western, Central, North-Western, and North-Central Provinces.
3. The Ceylon Tamils are descendants of the Tamils who settled in this Island more than twenty-five centuries ago. They had Kingdoms of their own which con- tinued to exist, especially the Kingdom of Jaffna, till the advent of the Portuguese. From the earliest times, Singhalese Kings were allied to Tamil dynasties in South India, until in the early part of the 18th century the ruling dynasty in Kandy became wholly Tamil and lasted until the British occupation in 1815.
4. From early times to the present the Tamils have played an important and prominent part in the history of Ceylon. The part played by them in the develop- ment of the Island's resources under British rule is well known. Under that rule the Ceylon Tamile have maintained their progress in every direction, and in spite of their numerical inferiority they have held and still hold an almost equal position with the Sinhalese in official and unofficial life and intellectual and social advance. ment.
5. In most of the Departments of Government and in the learned professions the number of Singhalese and Ceylon Tamils is almost equal. Graduates and under- graduates of Universities are found among the Tamils in much larger proportion than among any other Ceylonese community. Another test of the high literacy of the indigenous Tamils is to be found in the number of voters for the Ceylonese Seat in the Legislative Council, which was abolished last year when the new con- stitution was introduced, a good knowledge of the English language being required of those voters in addition to other high qualifications. According to a list of those voters published in the Government Gazette about four years ago qualified to vote for the election of the Ceylonese Member, there were 1,748 voters contributed by the Singhalese community, which numbered about 2,800,000, as against 1,346 voters con- tributed by the permanent Tamil population of about 600,000.
6. Again, under the new constitution, the Northern Province, with a popula tion of 375,000, has registered 13,037 territorial voters composed almost entirely of Tamils, while the Western Province, with a population of 1,253,000, including the "City of Colombo, registered 20,822 voters, among whom there is not an insignificant
number of Tamils.
7. The Memorialists beg further to submit that another test of the importance of the Tamil community is afforded by the result of the Civil Service Examination last held in this Colony. Out of 24 candidates who took up that Examination after having been nominated by His Excellency the Governor, 12 were Ceylon Tamils, of whom 11 belonged to Jaffna, the rest being Burghers and Singhalese. Among the successful candidates, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th in the order of merit were Tamils of the Jafna District, and out of the five gentlemen who have been appointed Cadets in the Civil Service as the result of that Examination were those four Tamils and one Singhalese. It may also be mentioned in this connexion that there are now three Tamils of Jaffna in the Indian Civil Service. The 3rd Member who joined that Service a few months ago headed the list of successful candidates in the year 1920. No other Ceylonese community can claim the distinction of having contributed to that Service so many Members. It may also be mentioned that the number of Tamils holding offices of trust and responsibility outside Ceylon in various parts of the British Empire, especially in India, Burma, the Straits Settlement and the Federated Malay States, is much larger than those belonging to other Ceylonese communities similarly employed.
8. The Memorialists beg leave to add that the importance of the Ceylon Tamil community is also shown by the great political eminence attained by some Members of the community under British rule, and the Imperial honours conferred on them in recognition of the distinguished services, rendered by them to the Island. The first Ceylonese knight was a Ceylon Tamil-the late Sir M. Coomaraswamy. Or the five Ceylonese knights now living, three are Tamils. The Ceylonese Member of the Legislative Council who represented all the Ceylonese communities, from the time the seat was created in 1910 up to its abolition in 1921, was a Tamil in the person of the Honourable Sir P. Ramanathan.
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