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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882/10

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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present week, any visible weakening of the military forces here may kindle a new flame of disorder. The most that, in my judgment, can be done without probable peril of undoing the good work done and being done is to withdraw not more than 50 men.

Even this weakening would, in my opinion and that of my advisers, have been reckless two days ago when I arrived here; but the town has been quiet now for three days, and the withdrawal of 50 men may not be so reckless now.

Even. however, with the withdrawal of this reduced number of 50 I cannot contemplate the Central Province being left without martial law being put in force. I am issuing a Proclamation accordingly this morning.

I note that the town of Colombo was reported quiet last night. You will be so good as to communicate a copy of this minute and of its enclosures to the Brigadier-General in writing at once, in order that he may be apprised in advance of my views and my local advisers' views before he assumes the responsi- bility, under this morning's Proclamation, of maintaining law and order in this Province also. The troops will not have started from Kandy till after he has received this communication. Please request him to acknowledge receipt in writing on receipt of the copy hereof, which will have been telephoned to you in extenso for immediate action.

ROBERT CHALMERS.

my

REPORT BY CAPTAIN NUGENT.

In answer to your inquiry, I was informed at 10 p.m. last night that the General wished to speak to me at 12 p.m., when he would be in his house. I got into com- munication with Captain Northcote about 12.30, and was informed that the General was out, and that he would ring me up early in the morning with reference to sending part of detachment to Colombo. I informed Captain Northcote that I did not think I could spare any men. At 7.30 a.m. this morning I received orders from General Malcolm to divide all my pickets by half and to send half the detach- ment, under Lieutenant G. Watson, to Colombo as soon as possible; also, to inform the General what train they were leaving by. To divide the pickets, etc., by half means the withdrawal of about 84 men.

3rd June, 1915.

Your ExcellENCY,

J. F. NUGENT, Captain, Officer Commanding Detachment

28th Punjabis.

(This is addressed to His Excellency.)

REPORT BY THE GOVERNMENT AGENT,

Kandy, 3rd June, 1915. THE total number of Punjabis sent to Kandy was 190. Of these 30 were sent to Rambukkana, in Kegalle district, and have, I believe, been sent on to Polga- hawela. Small detachments have been sent from Kandy to Nawalapitiya, Gampola, Kadugannawa, Matale, and the balance of the Punjabis left in Kandy is, I believe, 122. There are, I understand, 100 regular Police in Kandy, 40 Special Constables, unarmed, 12 Ceylon Planters' Rifle Corps, 1 Ceylon Mounted Rifle. Kandy town has been quiet for the last three nights, but there have been disturbances in out-stations. Last night a constable was killed by a Cingalese in Nuwara Eliya. The There are large armed mobs roving about in various parts of the district. situation in the Central Province is that the riotous element is being held in check, but cannot be regarded as suppressed. They may break out again at any moment. Our efforts at checking disorder having so far met with success, it would be a calamity if the efforts were frustrated by the removal from Kandy to Colombo of any troops or police. Such removal would be at once known, and would in all pro- bability lead to a further outbreak of disorder.

C. S. VAUGHAN, Government Agent, Central Province. P.8.-In particular it is essential to retain our present force of troops in Kandy in the event of the detachment now at Matale being overpowered.

I concur.

3rd June, 1915.

C. 8. V.

C. L. TRANCHELL, Superintendent of Police.

29924

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No. 10.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR (Sent 3.15 p.m., 2nd July, 1915.) TELEGRAM.

(Paraphrase.)

[See No. 28 and No. 15 in [Cd. 8167.]]

PLEASE send as soon as possible account, suitable for publication, of recent disturbances.-BONAR LAW.

31539/S

No. 11.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 9th July, 1915.)

[Published, except portions høre printed, as No. 4 in [Cd. 8167], January, 1916.7

(Confidential.) SIR,

The Queen's House, Colombo, Ceylon, 15th June, 1915. WITI: reference to the last paragraph of my Confidential despatch of the 7th June and to my telegram of the 9th idem,* on the subject of the anti-Mohammedan riots in Ceylon, I have the honour to enclose, for your information, six copies of the printed Order which the Officer Commanding the Troops in Ceylon, under my Martial Proclamations, issued on the 8th June for the immediate appointment of special commissioners promptly and vigorously to track down and punish guilty persons, and of the amendment of paragraph 4 (g) of the foregoing Order, which was issued on the 12th instant, before action had been taken under the original instruc- tion which this amendment supersedes.

*

*

5. The views which I have indicated in the preceding paragraphs of this despatch will serve, I trust, to explain to you the reasons why, in my telegrams to you of the 5th, 9th, and 13th June,t I have urged that, less for the repression of disorder (with which the Officer Commanding the Troops felt himself already com- petent to deal) than for the excision of causes, our military forces should not be weakened before their work was done. I adhere to that judgment to-day. I have in front of me not only the settlement of what has already occurred, but also the necessity for dealing with the undoubted possibilities of later outbreaks in con- nexion with forthcoming Buddhist festivals of the first importance at Anurad- hapura (where riots occurred on the occasion a dozen years ago) at the end of this month, and again at Kandy about the middle of August, when the great perahera normally takes place. Accordingly, as you will have learned from my telegram of the 13th Jure, I have stated to the Commander-in-Chief in India that I do not con- template being able to spare before September the 200 Punjabis who were under orders to leave Ceylon on the 29th instant. I trust that my action and views may meet with your approval.

6. In continuation of paragraph 8 of my despatch No. 353, of 1st June, § I enclose a copy of a letter of the 10th instant from the Government Agent, Central Province, covering a report from the Acting Assistant Government Agent at Matale. giving details regarding the riots there.

(Secret.)

Enclosure 2 in No. 11.

ORDER BY THE Officer Commanding the Troors. Riot.-Collection of payment for damage done.

WITH reference to paragraph 4 (7) of Secret Order of 8th June, 1915, it has been decided to abandon, at any rate for the present, the proposed system of exacting by compulsion the payment of round sums.

* No. 1, and 26689, not printed.

† 26179, 26689, and 27182, not printed. § No. 2 in [CH. 8187], January, 1916.

27182, not printed.

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