CO882-10 — Page 14

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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

14

5. Reverting to the question of withdrawing the 200 Punjabis, you are aware, from the cipher telegram which I had the honour to address to you on the 17th instant, that after conferring with the Officer Commanding the Troops (in the presence of the Colonial Secretary and the Attorney-General) I have bowed to the decision of His Majesty's Government to withdraw this draft of 200 men from this island for the paramount object of maintaining British strength in France.

6. The Officer Commanding the Troops (in whom I have entire confidence in the crisis) had given me the assurance that, in his opinion, the remaining Punjabis could be made to suffice both to support the special commissions and to protect Colombo- álthough there were, of course, possible contingencies in which, for a time, outlying points upcountry might be isolated. On his reasoned assurance, and in view of the continuing absence of overt acts of riotous violence in Ceylon, I decided that, great as is the value of these 200 extra regular troops to this little island, my duty as Governor did not require me to press His Majesty's Government through you_to reconsider a decision reached, not only with previous acquaintance with the Ceylon position, but also with a full knowledge of the general situation viewed as a whole. 7. But, in deferring as I have done to this decision at once, I felt bound to urge two things.

Firstly, I asked that the 50 extra Punjabi recruits which are our due from India should be despatched hither forthwith before the draft of 200 men sails on the 29th instant. At the same time, having learned by telegram of the 16th instant from the Commander in Chief in India that he considered it essential the draft should leave on the 29th instant, I informed him by telegram of the 17th instant that, though-in view of His Majesty's Government's decision-I did not press for the retention here of the 200 Punjabis, it was essential that if these were removed the 50 additional recruits not yet despatched from India to make up the authorized establishment should be sent by train via Talaimannar as soon as was possible, so as To this telegram I to arrive before the departure of the draft on the 29th June. have as yet received no reply from the Commander in Chief.

Secondly, to cope with the new situation and to enable me to utilize our reduced strength to the full in dealing with local needs, I added in my telegram to you of the 17th instant that it would greatly ease the situation if the (approximately) 400 German and Austrian prisoners of war now interned at Diyatalawa could forth- with be removed elsewhere for custody (preferably in India-with which railway communication now exists) so as to relieve for general service the military guards now diverted to guarding those interned aliens in the Diyatalawa camp. On this, I have only to add that about six out of eight of these interned enemy subjects have no connexion whatsoever with Ceylon, but have been dumped on Ceylon's shores from vessels reaching here both from north and from south. I shall hope to learn from you in due course that, before the 200 Punjabis leave Ceylon, this alien incubus will be removed and that our authorized strength will be restored by the due despatch

of the 50 recruits.

8. There is one consequence of the forthcoming withdrawal of the draft on the 29th June which I desire here to mention. As I intimated in paragraph 5 of my Confidential despatch of the 15th instant, there are impending difficulties to be surmounted in the shape of forthcoming Buddhist festivals and processions. Two of these take place next week at the full moon, one at Anuradhapura and the other at Alutnuwara, in the Province of Uva. Little or no rioting has taken place so far in either of these two Provinces, but it is imperative that disorder should be pre- vented from spreading thither and extending the already vast area with which this Government has to deal. Looking to the present circumstances and also to the August perahera in Kandy, I have, at the instance of the Officer Commanding the Troops, proclaimed martial law as a precautionary measure in both Provinces, and shall have the honour to enclose a copy of my Proclamation (dated the 17th June) when it is in print; in form it is identical with my earlier Proclamations of 3rd and 4th June.

I have, &c.,

ROBERT CHALMERS,

• 27949, not printed.

! No. 11.

a

Governor.

32463

15

No. 14.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Confidential.)

SIR,

of

(Received 14th July, 1915.)

The Queen's House, Colombo, Ceylon, 24th June, 1915

In continuation of paragraph 8 of my despatch No. 353 of the 1st June, and paragraphs 6 and 1 of my Confidential despatches of the 15th and 16th Junet respectively. I have the honour to enclose the following further reports from riotous areas, viz. ;—

SIR,

1. From the Government Agent, Badulla;

2. From the Assistant Government Agent, Nuwara Eliya; 3. From the District Judge, Nuwara Eliya;

-

4. From Mr. Macan Markar, a leading Mohammedan and late Consul for

Turkey.

I have, &c.,

ROBERT CHALMERS,

Governor, &c.

Enclosure 1 in No. 14.

Badulla Kachcheri, 15/16th June, 1915.

WITH reference to your telegram of the 1st instant, I have the honour to inform you that the mosque at Wewegama in Gampaha has been burnt down by some person as yet unknown, but with this exception there has been no disturbance or damage to property in this Province.

2. I communicated with the Unofficial Police Magistrates or other planters in all centres and also with the Chairman of the Badulla Planters' Association and the Officers Commanding the local Volunteer Corps.

8. I also sent for Mr. Kotalawela and Mr. Don Pablia Appuhamy, represent- ing the Buddhist community. They gave me their emphatic assurance of all possible assistance in preserving order.

4. On the 2nd instant I visited Diyatalawa, where I saw the Officer Com- manding the Troops, who promised to send fifty men in case of need, and I then proceeded to Bandarawela where I met Lieut.-Colonel Dickson with a squadron of Ceylon Mounted Rifles. I found there was no danger of trouble there for a day or two, and informed Colonel Dickson that the Ceylon Mounted Rifles might disperse and reassemble on the 6th, morning, unless summoned previously.

5.

The Dowa perahera was fixed for the 4th, 5th, and 6th instant. After dis- cussing matters with the Ratemahatmaya I decided not to interfere with it on the 4th instant, on which date it would not approach Bandarawela, but to forbid it going through Bandarawela at night on the 5th or 6th instant.

6. On the evening of the 3rd instant, on receipt of a telegram from Moor traders asking for protection at Welimada, I sent Messrs. W. K. H. Campbell and J. A. Maybin, with three constables, and despatched six members of the Ceylon Planters' Rifle Corps from Badulla and five special constables from Bandarawela, telegraphing my action to Mr Nelson. Mr. Nelson at once proceeded to Welimada bazaar, warned a crowd of Sinhalese who had collected that a force was on its way from Badulla, and remained in the bazaar till it arrived, by which time the crowd had dispersed.

7. On the 5th instant with three constables. I proceeded to Bandarawela, where I met Captain Carson and twenty-five men of the Ceylon Light Infantry, having sent three constables to Dows to report if necessary: A detachment of the Ceylon Planters' Rifle Corps remained at Badulla.

8. Mr. Kotalawala proceeded with the Ratamahatmaya, Udukinda, to Dowa, and in the course of the afternoon they arrived at the arrangement that the per- hers should be abandoned that day and the next, as they anticipated an attempt to disobey my order regarding Bandarawela bazaar.

* No. 2 in [Cd. 8187], January, 1918.

+ Nos. 11 and 12.