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Cross-examined by the Attorney-General: I am secretary of the Maha Bodi Society. The Sinhala Baudhaya is a paper published by the society. The society is the proprietor and publisher. There is a printer and publisher separately for It is not published by the society. There is a printer and publisher newspaper. separately who does it. I do not know whether it is the organ of the society.
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The Attorney-General: Didn't you say in certain proceedings that this paper is the organ of the society?
Sometimes we say a certain paper is the organ of a certain society, not in any special sense. It does not represent the views of the society. The society is the proprietor, and responsible for its publication.
Witness: It is not the organ of the society in any special sense.
The Attorney-General: And you said you had control of the accounts of the Sinhala Baudhayo.
Witness: No, I should not say that. I am one of the trustees who have control of the trustees' fund. The transactions of the society do not include the publication of the Sinhala Baudhaya. I do not know whether I said that I am secretary of the Maha Bodi Society and control the accounts of the Sinhala Baudhaya. If I said so, it was as part of the general financial organization. My brother and I are not associated in an effort to drive the Moors from the Island. am not aware that articles with that object have been published in the Sinhala Baudhaya,
The Attorney-General here drew the witness's attention to certain passages in the Sinhala Baudhaya.
With reference to one of them, of which the general tone was that people should not buy things from the Moors, the witness said that the article was written by a correspondent to the paper and did not represent the views either of the society or the paper. Witness did not think that the publication of that was calculated to inspire feelings of hostility towards the Moors. He was not aware that in the past and last year there had been a whole series of articles attacking the presence of coast Moormen in Ceylon. He read the papers, but not every article in them. The article in question he had not seen until that day.
The Attorney-General quoted a few more passages.
Witness: This paper has been published for the last eight or nine years. There may be a few passages like that. They do not mean any animosity towards the Moors at all. They simply mean that the Sinhalese should take up trade and become a commercial people.
The Attorney-General: That there should be commercial rivalry and, if possible, that the trade in the hands of the Moors should be in the hands of the Sinhalese !
Witness I should not say that that is the general policy of the paper. It is the policy of a certain writer. I distinguish the policy of the paper from that of the writer. The policy of the paper is purely Buddhism.
The Attorney-General: You say you were in the office the whole morning and that your brother did not leave. It was very easy for him to leave for a quarter of an hour without his absence being noticed?
Witness: I was always about the place, and if he was away I should have noticed it.
(To the Court.) The people who came to the shop that day were Mr. Lambert Pieris at about 10.0; Mr. Theobald Pieris at about 11.30; Mr. Carron at about 10.0 or 11.0: Mr. and Mrs. Maddock at about 11.30 or 12.0. I did not breakfast with my brother that morning. When I went home I had a little breakfast. The entrance to the breakfast room in the office is on my right, and anybody going into the break- fast room has to pass my desk. I think the Maddocks left after my brother had had his breakfast. Our breakfast hour is a variable thing. I should think my brother left for his breakfast a little after 12.0. He was away, for about half or three- quarters of an hour. I only know that he was out of the room between 12.0 and 12.30 in the breakfast room. There is no other way out of the breakfast room.
Arthur Edward Maddock, affd.
(To Mr. Norton.) I am a retired Superintendent of Surveys. I remember the 1st June. On that day I arrived from Galle by train and went to the Bristol Hotel. My wife was with me. The train was rather late that day and arrived at the Fort Station a few minutes before 11.0. I walked to the hotel and had breakfast there. After breakfast I went upstairs and remained there for about half an hour, I should My wife was shopping. On her return we went to Don Carolis's shop, driving, We got there a little before 1.0. We saw Edmund Hewawitarne He came out to the
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road and we three went in. We had a cellaret which we wanted repaired. We took it with us. It was packed in sacking, which had to be undone. instructions and directions as to what should be done with the cellaret.
I gave certain remained there altogether about twenty minutes-not more; then we left. accused was there all the time talking to us. When we arrived at the shop that morning the streets were rather crowded. The riots were on at the time. I saw one or two people running away with things which they had looted apparently. The riots seemed to be going on in that neighbourhood. In going to the shop we followed the tram lines; we did not go by Main Street. We turned to the left near the racquet court.
There was a certain amount of disturbance going on but not in the immediate neighbourhood. The disturbances seemed to be up the north of the street, and I saw people running from that direction.
Cross-examined by Attorney-General: I was in the shop for about twenty minutes. Perhaps I got there a little before 1.0 o'clock. I had no occasion to go by Keyser Street past the Crystal Palace. We simply went to Don Carolis's shop, and I think we returned by the same way. The driver told us he could not go the other way. I did not see a motor-car anywhere there; the street was empty. Sperling Tweedale Wootler, sworn.
I
.") It was about I left
(To Mr. Drieberg.) I am a reporter on the staff of the Ceylon Independent. I am a Burgher. I was out on the morning of the 1st June and wrote an account of the occurrences of that morning which was published in my paper. I produce the paper of the 2nd June. (Shown report.) I identify this as my report. (The report began as follows:-"A mob of about fifty strong attacked the Colombo Crystal Palace at about 10.30 yesterday. The shop was closed at the time, but the rioters forced open the doors and found their way into the building. witnessed the commencement of the attack on the Crystal Palace. 10.30. I wrote that paragraph at about 1.0 o'clock in the office. home as usual at about 10.0 o'clock. the Maradana Junction and took
I live in Darley Road. I got to car there. I generally look at the clock on passing Maradana Station. I went as far as the Pettab Station. There was looting going on in front of the Pettah railway station. waited for some minutes near the station, and as soon as the mob got into Fourth I left the car there, Cross Street I followed them. They got into a little shop there and attacked it. did not wait there. I found my way to the junction of Second Cross Street, and then on to Keyser Street. I was about thirty or forty yards away from the Crystal Palace when I heard ories of "Coming, coming," uttered by Sinhalese in that lan- guage. I moved on briskly past the Crystal Palace and got on to the Anglo-Oriental Furnishing Company's steps. It is about thirty or forty yards away from the Crystal Palace. I could see the front of the Crystal Palace clearly from where I was. A crowd of about fifty came from the direction of Second Cross Street. At that time the Crystal Palace was not broken. The crowd, armed with iron bars and sticks, smashed their way in. I was there for about twenty minutes, and then, being satisfied that the place was actually looted, I left and went to the office in the Fort. and there wrote my report, of which I believe this to be an accurate reproduction. That article was submitted to the Censor. We have to be very careful. I know
the accused, Edmund Hewawitarne, by sight. I have never spoken to him. I have known him by sight for about five or six years. I do not know N. A. Wijesekera. I did not see the accused that day in a motor-car at the time the smashing in com- menced or immediately before it. I saw no car there at all. coming," was uttered by the people on the outer verandahs of the shops on either The cry, Coming, side of Keyser Street. I do not think anyone incited the mob to break the Crystal Palace because they came rushing into the place; there was no halt. Moormen in Keyser Street when
I saw was standing on the verandah of the Anglo- Oriental Furnishing Company's premises. I am quite sure. The mob was terribly excited. It was not possible for a Moorman to have remained there without courting molestation.
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Mr. Drieberg: How did you get back to your office, direct? Witness: I went and had my breakfast at the Lanka Refreshment Rooms at about 11.15 or 11.30, and got back to the office shortly before noon. down to write my report as soon as I got there as I had to attend to some urgent I did not sit work. At about 1.0 o'clock I started to write the paragraph. Sir Hector Van Cuylenberg is the proprietor of the paper. I went and saw him about this matter, as I was told by the sub-editor that one of Don Carolis's men came there and
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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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