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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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CO. 88210

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC.

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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72. One other point may be touched on. The experience of the first few days of June has shown that the city of Colombo when the mob once gets out of hand is an extremely difficult place to control. This is not due merely to its size or to the narrowness and complexity of many of its streets, but also to the fact that it has grown up haphazard by a process of accretion, scarcely anywhere regulated upon any sort of organized plan. Hence there is scarcely any part of Colombo, even the best residential quarter, that is free from the close proximity of slums. Large residential bungalows and public institutions alternate in many places with small houses, boutiques, and gardens which are veritable rabbit warrens of the poorer classes. The result is that at a time of unrest such as we have witnessed the dis- turbances cannot be confined to any one area, but may break out simultanously in a large number of places widely apart from each other. Had the recent riots been directed against other communities as well as the Moors one shudders to contem- plate what might not have happened on the 1st June before the military had had The scenes time to organize a system of pickets all over the wide area of Colombo. of chaos in every direction on that day made one sigh for the cantonment system of Indian cities, where, at the first sign of serious trouble, the approaches to the Euro- pean quarter could be guarded and the more serious possibilities of an outbreak safely averted. Though it may be beyond the bounds of practical suggestion to introduce such a system at this stage into Colombo, it would not appear to be impos- sible to effect considerable improvement in this respect. It may still be practicable to eliminate the slum element entirely from the better residential quarters, and thus confine the possible foci of trouble to certain regions.

73. Upon the other points touched upon, if it is not considered presumption, one would like to throw out a few suggestions for the consideration of Govern-

ment :-

•

(1) Some more efficient organization, whether in the shape of an intelligence department or a secret service, appears to be indicated to keep Govern- ment informed of any unrest or seditious propaganda such as might lead to serious trouble. It is essential for the public safety that timely information of impending trouble should be available so that such out- breaks may not take the authorities entirely by surprise. It has unhap- pily been demonstrated that Government cannot rely for such information upon its ordinary Sinhalese officials or headmen.

(2) Efficient organization of the available forces of law and order to meet any emergency has had the careful consideration of the military authorities and need not here be touched upon.

(8) The almost general failure of Sinhalese police officers in charge of country stations efficiently to use the force at their disposal for the sup- pression of disorder suggests the question whether the substitution for them of officers of a different nationality, preferably Malays, would not, in the interest of law and order, be an improvement. (4) Some system of supervision, and, where necessary, suppression, of societies which have been shown to have been used freely for seditious purposes would appear to be indicated, as also similar action with regard to publications from the vernacular Press. Upon these points I would leave suggestions to those with greater experience of these difficult problems. (5) Taxation, especially of large unearned incomes and also upon larid, would appear to be a natural remedy for the state of affairs referred to in para- graph 70 of this memorandum. Detailed suggestions upon this subject may be left to experts.

(6) The firmest measures would appear to be indicated to cope with the danger referred to in paragraph 68, special power being conferred, if necessary, upon the railway authorities to prevent the organization of strikes. Upon this point, as well as that raised in paragraph 66 above, any suggestion from me would be out of place.

(7) In conclusion, one would urge that something might be done for the improvement of the present state of affairs under which such an unfor- tunate outbreak as we have witnessed has been possible, by the establish- ment of closer touch between the English Government officer and the villager Government authority should not be represented for the latter entirely by the chief headman who inquires into his petition, the native police inspector who deals with his complaint, or the native President or

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Magistrate who tries his case. Government Agents and their assistants should be freer of the burden of paper work to travel constantly through their districts, to see and hear things for themselves, deal as much as possible first hand with complaints made to them, and transact their busi- ness with the villager on the spot, and as much as possible in his own lan- guage. One cannot but think that the Government Agent of a generation ago, with far more time at his disposal and probably a much freer hand, was in closer touch with, and had a considerable better grip upon, the villagers of his district than the overdriven official of to-day.

74. It only remains to make one or two remarks upon the report of the Hon- ourable Mr. Abdul Rahiman. His observations in paragraph 5 are not applicable to the areas in which I have been engaged. Every assessment has been made by me personally, and it has been my endeavour, after hearing the available evidence of both Moors and Sinhalese, to arrive at a fair estimate. My experience has been that the Moors have in practically every case overstated their claims, and it has been very necessary to consult the respectable Sinhalese neighbours as well as the Moors in order to arrive at a satisfactory result. A fair allowance has already been made by me for loss of time and trade, personal ill-treatment, or inconvenience, etc.

75. Special attention is being given to the adequate restoration of the mosques by the Public Works Department, the buildings being re-erected entirely where badly damaged.

78.

With reference to paragraph 10, there are two cases in which such com- pensation for the loss of a murdered relative has been awarded by me, though pay- ments have not yet actually been made, and I hope that the Government will see its In both cases the murders were brutal way eventually to sanction these payments.

and absolutely unprovoked, and the widow and aged father of the two victims respectively are left unprovided for.

77. Other points raised in the Honourable Mr. Abdul Rahiman's memorandum have been already dealt with elsewhere in this report.

C. V. BRAYNE,

Mahara Camp,

3rd September, 1915.

Enclosure 4 in No. 57.

Special Commissioner.

REPORT ON THE Scope and ORIGIN OF THE RIOTS IN SIYANE KORALE WEST,

WESTERN PROVINCE. 1.-Scope.

In this Korale there were riots against the Moors on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of June last. A list of the villages in which damage was done to Moorish property. together with the dates on which rioting took place and the amount at which the damage has been assessed, is annexed.

On 1st June riots broke out over almost the whole Korale, the most serious damage being done at Hiripitiya, where the important and well-stocked boutiques near Veyangoda station were looted; at Yakwala, Kadawatta, Henegama, Wilim- bula, Weboda, and Makola South, where there were large Moorish boutiques; and at Heiyantuduwa, where a coco-nut estate was attacked, all the crop plucked, and the bungalow demolished. In nineteen villages in the Korale Moorish property was attacked on this day, the riots extending from Bollegala in the extreme south of the Korale to Hiripitiya in the north, and from Kendaliyaddapaluwa in the west to Wilimbula in the east.

On the 2nd June there were three principal centres of disturbance :—

Tihariya.

Walgama and the adjoining villages of Boyagama, Kanduboda, and Yatihena.

(3) The villages lying round Hunupitiya.

(1) Tihariya.—This village contains a large Moorish settlement, amounting in 1911 to 740 persons. Here forty-seven houses were looted, three of them being burnt to the ground, and the smaller of the two mosques was destroyed by fire Many of the Moors collected near a large new mosque that is being built, and the rioters did not attack it. The arrival of a force of military on the 3rd put an end to the attack on this village. The damage here amounted to over Rs.20,000.