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Prisoners:-

1. Hettihewage Charles de Silva.

2. Hettihewage Sugathapala de Silva.

3. Hettihewage Samuel de Silva.

4. Merennage Bastian Fonseka.

5. Hewadewage James Fernando, alias Jemma.

6.

Benjamin Rodrigo.

7.

Hewawickrama Simon Dissanaika.

8. Kudatelge Richard Peeris Waranakulascoria Gunawardena.

Krisnasingham Rajasingham.

9.

10. Guardige Hewawasan Balage Don Telenis de Silva.

11. Bulatsinhalage James Perera.

12.

Kira.

13.

Rohu Rodrigo Ambalawana.

14. Samarasinghe Munatunga Arachchige Carolis.

15. Illangkoon Mudiyanselage Wilmot Haynes Illangkoon.

Charges:

1. Treason.

2. Riotously destroying a building

3. Shopbreaking.

4. Shopbreaking.

5. Shopbreaking.

6. Shopbreaking.

7. Housebreaking.

8. Housebreaking.

Counsel:-

Mr. W. S. de Saram, Crown Counsel, prosecuted.

Mr. A. P. Van Reyk, for first prisoner.

Mr. Allan Drieberg for second, third, and eighth prisoners.

Mr. G. E. de Silva, for fourth prisoner.

Mr. C. S. Sproule, for fifth, ninth, and thirteenth prisoners.

Mr. C. S. Rajaratnam, for sixth, seventh, tenth, and fifteenth prisoners.

The eleventh, twelfth, and fourteenth prisoners being undefended, Mr. C. S. Sproule agreed to watch their interests.

•

C'asim Bai Bawa Adjie.

The Prosecution.

I am a buggy cart driver plying for hire at Gampola. On the 30th May, about 90 p.m. I drove to Welikande, one-and-a-half miles from Gampola. I had as passengers the first and eighth accused. I stopped at an estate, and the first and eighth accused went into the estate bungalow, in which were one Mendis, the superin- tendent of the estate, and two Sinhalese boutique keepers. They were talking together in English. When they were getting into the cart they said: "You must positively come at 5.0 o'clock; come to the junction at Gampola. The first accused said that. I then drove the first and eighth accused back to Gampola, and left them in the house of the first accused about 2.0 p.m. That evening the riots took place. ('ross-examined: They remained in Mendis's bungalow from 10.0 a.m. to, 2.0 p.m. I went to the road after leaving them at the bungalow, and came back to the bunga- low about 2.0 p.m. Pitiya. my emplovee, is a brother-in-law of Makkati.

Re-examined: They spoke in English to Mendis and in Sinhalese to the boutique keepers. They were talking about half an hour in the verandah while I waited. Sundra Mudiyanselage Mudalihamy, Korale.

I went about 8.0 p.m. on the 29th May to Gampola. I saw crowds of people. There was unrest there. I saw the tenth accused in the crowd. He is an ex- Registrar, is a cultivator, owns lands, and is wealthy and influential. He lives at Sinhapitiya, a suburb of Gampola. He was asking the people to close the shops. That was about 8.0 p.m. Usually the hour for closing is about 10.0 o'clock. He said: "There are rumours that the Moors would break down the Maligawa at Kandy.” He also said: "All the Moors should be destroyed." Sergeant Pakir Ali was there, and said to the tenth accused: "Don't create a disturbance at Gampola." I, too, advised him, and went and complained to the Police Magistrate, and went away. No disturbance took place that day. The next day, the 30th, I was present when

the riots took place. I came to town about 3.0 o'clock. There were crowds of about 400 to 500 in the town, a lot of Sinhalese. They were not armed. I remained in On the 30th I town till 6.45 o'clock. I went to my village just as the riots started. saw none of the accused.

Cross-examined: I had some litigation with tenth accused ten years ago.

H. D. Keppitipola, Ratemahatmaya of Udapalata, Gampola.

I went to Gampola about 3.0 p.m. on the 30th May, having heard that there was I met the sixth accused on the road in the town. I told going to be a disturbance.

He said him there was going to be a disturbance, and asked: "What is this?" Father Gunatilleke was having a meeting in the Roman Catholic Church to try and make peace between the Sinhalese and the Moors. I went with him to the church, getting there about 4.0 p.m. There was a large crowd of Sinhalese, and the first, third, fourth, seventh, and eighth accused. The sixth accused went with me. They I asked were talking with Father Gunatilleke to try and bring about a settlement. some of the people whether they were going to have a pinkama procession along the road. I told them they should not have a disturbance if they passed along quietly after agreeing with the Moors. A licence had been secured for the procession, but it was dropped. I saw some of the leading Moors about 5.30 p.m., and they were agreeable to come to terms with the Sinhalese. After that I came into town and met the sixth accused, and told him: "The Moors are agreeable to come to a settle- ment." He said nothing. I met the ninth accused also, and told him the same thing He, too, said nothing. I then went and saw the Magistrate, and told him of the state of affairs at the time. As I was passing along there was a large crowd There p.m. of Sinhalese at the junction of the four roads. That was a little after 6.0 were about 200 to 300 people. I saw Costa near the junction. He was preaching to the crowd. Costa is the secretary of a Samagama of which the fourth accused is president. I did not listen to the preaching. There was a sense of unrest at the time, and there was no hope of a settlement. I then went to the house of the first accused and spoke to him, and told him that after they came from the meeting I expected the crowd to have dispersed. I saw the people had not gone, and asked him to come and try to send the people away. His manner of talk was not for peace. He said the Moor people had humbugged them several times, and if the "Moor people came to any settlement it must be done at the very moment. I asked him to come out and help to disperse the crowd, but he lagged behind, and I went to the junction and told the crowd to disperse. There were about 400 to 500 people. That was about 6.30 or 6.45 o'clock. From there I went and had the tavern closed, as I feared a disturbance. When I came out of the tavern I heard the noise of banging against doors and the noise of stones being thrown at doors. There were crowds of Sinhalese and Tamils. I did not see any of these accused during the riots. From there I went to the Magistrate, and came with him, and both of us paraded the town till shortly after midnight, and I stayed at the Magistrate's bun- I heard the mosque galow. The crowds were attacking the Moorish quarters. being attacked. I saw bonfires along the roads. The following day I saw that the mosque had been sacked. It had been blown up as if by some explosive. About sixty or seventy Moorish boutiques had been wrecked. While we were in the crowd stones were thrown at us. The first accused lives in the town. He is part owner The second accused is his of Pussetenne Estate, and is wealthy and influential.

The brother, and lives in a property of theirs. He, too, is wealthy and influential. third accused, who is a brother of the others, lives in the town, is a landed proprietor, The fourth accused is the president of the and is also wealthy and influential. Buddha Lankara Samagama, which is in town. He is ordinarily a forwarding agent, is wealthy and influential, and lives in the town. The fifth accused lives at Mahara, a quarter of a mile from the town. He owns land and is fairly wealthy, and could command people. The sixth accused is a Registrar of Births and The Marriages. He owns land, is wealthy and influential, and lives in town. seventh accused is Inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and is also a visitor of a Samagama at Niangampaya and president of the Megam- He is not pola United Trading Company. He also lives in Gampola town.

AR wealthy. He is fairly influential. The Samagama is a Buddhist society. president of it he would have influence with the Buddhists. The eighth accused is brother-in-law of the first three accused. He lives in town. I cannot say whether he is wealthy. He is fairly influential. The ninth accused is a clerk under Proctor

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