3:3
44462
No. 68.
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.
(Sent 12.25 p.m., 22nd September. 1916.)
TELEGRAM.
[Answered by No. 74.]
YOUR telegram 4th July. No objection to shares in British companies owned by enemies or enemy subjects being vested in Custodian with a view to sale to British subjects. See my Circular despatch of 15th July.†
Powers under section referred to in your telegram may also be used to secure sale of property owned by enemies or enemy subjects which is derelict and liable to deterioration, also for purpose of providing fund for payment of debts of owners out of proceeds of property belonging to enemies or enemy subjects under sections 10 and 11 of Ordinance 4 of 1915, section 2 of Ordinance 10 of 1915, and section 5 of Ordinance 5 of 1916.
Except as above, private property of enemies or enemy subjects should not be sold unless substantially involved in business of a liquidated firm and saleable in the liquidation or in the absence of special reasons, which should be reported to me.
BONAR LAW.
48680
No. 69. CEYLON:
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(Received 2.35 p.m., 11th October, 1916.)
TELEGRAM.
[Answered by Nos. 71 and 76.]
WITH reference to my despatch 16th September, No. 561, propose further to provide for vesting in liquidator for purpose of liquidation private estate to meet. liabilities.- of partners where partnership property insufficient ANDERSON.
49427
No. 70.
CEYLON.
THE ACTING GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
85
that such influence as he may have will probably not be so enduring as that of a commercial house which continues its existence and maintains its German nationality independently of the partners from time to time composing it, while a German planter may sell his estate or it may descend to children born on British soil who might probably tend to lose German sympathy as well as German nationality.
In my
3. I venture to urge that this distinction should not be maintained. opinion a planter who is in a position of authority over a large labour force, and who must necessarily occupy a place of prominence in the district in which he resides, is likely to be more dangerous as a centre of political influence than a commercial house which is established in Colombo. I would add that the com- mercial connexion of a planter with Germany is likely to be quite as close as that of a commercial firm, as he will send the produce of his estates to Germany and probably invest part of his profits there. There does not appear to be any ground for supposing that German influence was in any way responsible for the distur- bances of 1915, but the fact that stories to that effect were current, and were believed in some quarters, indicates sufficiently that the danger of allowing Germans to hold influential positions in country districts is not purely imaginary. 4. As regards the question of the permanency of such influence, I would observe that there is no certainty that German estates would be sold, or, if sold, that they would pass into the hands of non-Germans. At best, there is only a possibility, and I would urge that this opportunity be taken of converting that possibility into a certainty by selling the estates now. The suggestion that estates may descend to children born on British soil, and therefore, possibly, with British sympathies, is one which might no doubt have some force in a country where the children would grow up and be educated in the place where they were born, but it has no application in the case of a tropical country. The children of a German planter must be sent to Europe for educational purposes at an early age, from five to nine years, according to the locality in which the parents reside. They would, of course, be sent to Germany, and they would certainly not imbibe pro- British sentiments in that country-especially after the present War. The result would probably be that each succeeding generation would be even less attached British rule than its parents, and that, so far from dying out by efflux of time, the German influence would grow progressively stronger.
5. For these reasons I am strongly of opinion that private estate owners should be dealt with as "firms," and, unless I receive telegraphic instructions from you to the contrary, I propose, in the exercise of the discretion allowed to me by paragraph 6 of your despatch under acknowledgment, to liquidate the possessions of all planters of enemy nationality.
I have, &c.,
R. E. STUBBS,
Colonial Secretary, for Governor, &c.
(Received 16th October, 1916.)
PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE
Reference :→→→
TIFICO.
885/25
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
SIR,
(No. 561.)
[Answered by Nos. 71 and 76.]
The Queen's Cottage, Nuwara Eliya,
Ceylon, 16th September, 1916.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 297, of the 15th June, 1916, § on the subject of "The enemy Firms Liquidation Ordinance. No. 20, of 1916."
2. The only point on which any observations are necessary is that contained in paragraph 5 regarding the distinction to be drawn between property substan- tially involved in the business of commercial firms and property not so involved, with a view to avoiding interference with the assets of individual planters. In support of this distinction you state that a planter appears to be in a different position from that of a commercial house; his political influence is likely to be smaller, and his commercial connexion with Germany much less close. You add
§ No. 48.
* No. 53.
+ 29709.
† No. 70.
49427
No. 71.
CEYLON.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.
(Sent 6.50 p.m., 2nd November, 1916.)
TELEGRAM.
No
YOUR despatch 16th September, No. 561,* requires consideration. action should be taken until further instructions are received. Do you consider that reasonable price could be got by sale in the Colony? Would not advertise- ment in newspapers of United Kingdom and public sale here lead to higher price? In that case full report by post, giving full particulars of all properties, would be required.-BONAR LAW.
* No. 70.
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