229
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
MC.O.882/11
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON'
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rarely be taken. I have under consideration the drafting of a new General Order, for insertion in the Chapter on Discipline, directing attention to the various Circulars on this subject, and quoting relevant portions of the Treasury and Admiralty Minutes, which formed an enclosure to Mr. (afterwards Viscount) I do not anticipate, however, Harcourt's despatch No. 134 of 12th March, 1915.*
any
that this action will be of much effect; and I should be grateful for an expression of your opinion as to the propriety of issuing a further public instruction to fleads of The obvious Departments prohibiting them from discussing the merits and claims of their subordinates with persons unconnected with the Public Service. objection to the adoption of such a course is that Unofficial Members of Council limit maintain that one of their principal raisons d'être is to bring grievances and injustices to the notice of the Government, and it will be pointed out by them that, if be placed upon their ability to do this demi-officially, they will have no alternative but to bring the matter up in open Council whenever an appointment or a promotion be made which does not chance to meet with their approval. The effect of such action upon the discipline of the Departments and upon the authority of the Departmental Heads would, not improbably, be even worse than are those produced by the line of action which Unofficial Members at present adopt.
4. As you are aware, the result of the most recently granted constitutional reforms has been to give to an overwhelming Unofficial Majority in the Legislative Council powers to grant or to withhold supply, which are only limited by the exercise of the extraordinary powers vested in the Governor by Section LIV of the Order in Council in matters which he can certify as being of paramount importance." On the other hand, the reforms have left my Government as fully and as solely responsible for the good administration of the country, and for the efficiency and the discipline of the Public Service, as it has ever been; and so long as this burden is imposed upon it, it appears to me to be essential that it should act upon its own judgment in the selection of officers for promotion, etc., and should refuse to be guided in such matters by political considerations. It has none the less to be recognized that the Unofficial Members, in attempting to interfere in such purely executive questions, are acting in a manner which is perfectly constitutional; that the powers which have been con- ferred upon them enable them, in practice, to intervene effectively in every sort of administrative detail; and that they have of late shown an ever-increasing disposi- tion to make use of them for such purposes. That this would inevitably prove to he the case must, of course, have been clearly foreseen when the reforms in question were granted, and it was only to be expected that questions, such as appointments and promotions, into which personal and communal considerations enter, would sooner or later become a bone of contention between the Unofficial majority and the Executive Government. Yet it was not sought to impose any limit or restriction upon the powers of the Unofficial Members of Council to encroach upon the functions of the Executive Government, save by granting to the Governor the right of veto under Section LIV of the Order in Council in matters which he is prepared to declare It is obvious that that right can only to be questions of "paramount importance."
be exercised very sparingly and in matters of real urgency and importance; and it has to be recognized that, if the action of the Governor in imposing his veto aronses strong opposition from the Unofficial Majority in the Legislative Council, the latter is in a position to produce a deadlock by refusing to vote supply, or alternatively to empel the Governor to carry on the administration of the Colony by means that ⚫ would be tantamount to a practical suspension of the Constitution.
5. On behalf of the Unofficial Members of Council it can be logically argued that. if the reforms which have been granted have any meaning, it was the intention of His Majesty's Government that they should be armed with powers sufficient to enable them to control the Executive, not only in matters of principle, but in detail; that they have received no intimation that the use of these powers is in any way to be restricted, save by the provision of Section II of the Order in Council which forbids the initiation by them of money votes; and that, as in regard to appointments and promotions in the Public Service no such reservation has been made, they will he acting in a perfectly proper and constitutional manner if they decline to vote the salaries of officers of whose selection they disapprove.
6. I have reason to think that the appointment of Dr. Leembruggen to the post of Assistant Director of Medical Services, which I have recommended, is not unlikely
* 10578/15: not printed.
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to be made a test case by the Unofficial Members of Council. There is a very strong feeling among them that, in the Medical Department, members of the Burgher com- munity, to which Dr. Leembruggen belongs, have received specially favourable treat- ment at the expense of their Sinhalese and Tamil colleagues; and though I do not believe that there is any validity in this contention, the fact that a number of Burghers chance to occupy many positions of prominence in the Medical Department lends colour to the suggestion. It will be observed, for instance, that among the ten candidates put forward by Dr. Bridger in paragraph 11 of his letter-which forms an enclosure to my Confidential despatch of even date*-as being eligible for appointment to the office of Assistant Director, two are European specialists who are not really in the running, while of the remaining eight no less than five are members of the Burgher community. In this particular case, a sense of grievance is enhanced by the fact that Dr. Jayetileke, who is a Sinhalese, is the Senior Provincial Surgeon, the position which was occupied by Dr. Cooke at the time of his selection to be Assistant Director; and it is felt that his supersession will be a slur, not only upon him, but upon the race to which he belongs.
7. Dr. Bridger, in recommending the appointment of Dr. Leembruggen, is actuated solely by what he believes to be the best interests of the Medical Department, and I have supported his recommendation because I consider that in this matter he alone is in a position to form a reliable and impartial judgment. The soundness of the choice, however, is necessarily a question of opinion and is not in any sense susceptible of proof; and I regard it as highly probable that his selection will be made the subject of an organized attack upon the Government, and especially upon the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services. This will possibly take the form of a motion to reduce Dr. Bridger's salary, or that of Dr. Leembruggen, if the latter be appointed Assistant Director, either when the next Budget comes up for con- sideration, or at some earlier date; and I should be glad to have an expression of your views concerning the action which it is expedient that I should take if this eventuality arises. To me it seems that a principle of vital moment is at stake, for so long as my Government continues to be responsible for the good administration of the country and for the efficiency and the discipline of the Public Departments it must, I consider, reserve to itself complete freedom of action in the matter of appoint- ments and promotions, and cannot allow them to become questions of political controversy. If you agree with this opinion. I should propose, if the necessity is forced upon me by the Unofficial Majority in the Legislative Council, to have recourse to the powers conferred upon me by Section LIV of the Order in Council and, in issuing my certificate that the matter is one of " paramount importance," publicly to declare that interference by the Legislature in such matters cannot be accepted as it would prevent the Executive Government from discharging the responsibilities which are laid upon it. It is quite likely that this action would precipitate a political deadlock: and it is therefore very important that I should be in possession of your views as to the action which it is expedient that I should take before the time for decision arrives.
I have, &c..
HUGH CLÍFFORD,
C.F. 22066/26 [No. 2]
SIR,
No. 2.
Governor, &c.
THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. (Confidential.)
-
Downing Street, 5th January, 1927.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential despatch (A) of the 6th Novembert regarding the attitude to be adopted by the Ceylon Government towards political pressure in favour of the promotion of indi- vidual members of the Government service.
* File 19458 Eastern.
+ No. 1.