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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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The Attorney-General: What shop was that opposite the Crystal Palace? Witness: A Moor shop. I did not see them force open the iron safe. I was told so at the office by Mr. de Witt. He is not a member of the staff. He belongs to the firm of van Cuylenberg and de Fry. He was in the office, and told me that the Crystal Palace had been wrecked and that a shop just opposite was broken into and the iron safe looted. I had not seen the shop opposite the Crystal Palace being When I left the crowd was inside broken. I was there for about twenty minutes.

Mr. de Witt mentioned' to me about the the Crystal Palace throwing out things.

I saw the crowd rushing glasses; they were very valuable glasses, he told me.

They had iron bars, and I saw straight into the shop. The shop was not open. them hammering away at the shutters. The message was sent to Sir Hector van Cuylenberg at about 1.0 or 1.30. I was present when the message was sent.

Re-examined by Mr. Norton: (The witness indicated what portion of the para- graph was written from his own knowledge and how much from hearsay.) I cannot say whether the shop was wrecked before the rioters took their departure, as I left before the thing was over. I am paid a fixed monthly salary, irrespective of what

I contribute.

William George Payne, sworn.

I am an assistant at Messrs. Plate's, and am in charge of their studio in Keyser Street. (Indicates studio on plan.) I get to work at 8.0 o'clock in the morhing regu- I went to the larly. I do not live there. I remember the morning of 1st June. shop in the morning at 8.0 o'clock. I went on working from that time until about 10.30. I breakfast at about 11.0 or 11.15 at the Young Men's Christian Association, did not take my which is about one-eighth of a mile distant. On that morning breakfast, because I could not leave the place. When I arrived there I saw a crowd at Keyser Street. They were moving up and down from one end of the street to the other. It was not a very large crowd. It was composed of Sinhalese. I did At about 10.30 my clerk, Fonseka, not see any Moors in the street at that time. came in and told me something, in consequence of which I went out to Keyser Street just to see what was going to take place at the Crystal Palace. That was about 10.30; it may have been 10.35. I am quite certain it was before my usual breakfast hour. As I went up to First Cross Street I saw a Sinhalese taob of about 150, roughly speaking, attacking the Crystal Palace. Practically every one had clubs and irons, the ends of gaspipes. A few put them to use by knocking at the doors of the Crystal Palace. At that time I did not see any Moors about the place. It was an excited crowd. After that I saw them breaking into the place at this end. The planks, being of pinewood, were very easily broken. From where I was I could distinctly see what the crowd was doing. They forced an entrance into the shop and began a general destruction. I saw them throwing stones in. I saw nothing being thrown out. I stood watching for a good hour. The proper destruction did not take more than twenty minutes. They aimed stones at the lamps, and with the iron poles they smashed everything. I was there altogether for about an hour, and during the whole of that time a motor-car did not enter that street. I know the accused by sight, and personally, too. I speak to him on business. Apart from that I have no social relations with him. I did not see the accused all the time in the street, either in a car or on foot. I did not see any man or men speaking to or addressing the crowd before the violence began. I was first asked to give evidence about ten or twelve days after the man was arrested, by Mr. Jayasinghe,, one of the accused's clerks.

Cross-examined by the Attorney-General: I know nothing about the looting of Cassim's shop. I was not apoken to by the police. I saw Sub-Inspector Loos. He spoke to me privately. He wanted me to say that I saw him at the junction on the day of the riots at Keyser Street. He said that Inspector Jackson had asserted that he was not there. I saw Loos at the junction at about ten minutes after the proper destruction of the Crystal Palace. I simply went into the police office in the Fort, and the sergeant asked me if I had seen Sub-Inspector Loos there, and I said: "Yes."

The Attorney-General: I put it to you that you were examined by Sub- Inspector Jackson and Sub-Inspector Loos on the 18th June.

Witness: Maybe; I don't know.

The Attorney-General: As to what you knew of the breaking of the Crystal Palace.

Witness: Yes. I told the European sergeant that I saw the place being broken into, and saw Mr. Loos there. I saw Mr. Loos about ten minutes afterwards, just after the proper destruction. He may have been on the side street somewhere. I said I saw the destruction.

The Attorney-General: I put it to you that what you said was that you could not see very well.

I saw quite easily the place

Witness: The looting I could not very well see. being broken.

The Attorney-General: I put it to you that you were brought in to give an account (?) of the Crystal Palace, and that you could see so little of it from where you were that no statement of yours was taken.

I said I saw the place being

Witness: Nothing was taken down in writing. broken into, but not the loot being carried away, because the people were inside. was asked by the sergeant whether I saw a car, and I said I saw no car. I am sure I did not say that the looting of the Crystal Palace took place at 12.0 noon. quite certain whether they asked me about the time at all.

I am not

The Attorney-General: Did you see more than the doors or farther in? Witness: If I got farther in towards the Anglo-Oriental Furnishing Company's premises I could have seen. I could see the hanging lamps being broken. (To the Court.) The lamps were in the lower story. I was about forty or fifty yards away when I saw the lamps being broken.

Theodore Koertz Carron, sworn.

(To Mr. Norton.) I am Crown Proctor of Negombo, and have acted as District Judge. On the 1st of June last I was in Colombo. I came in the day previous. I know the accused personally by name and have spoken to him. I knew his shop. I went there on the 1st June between 10.0 and 11.0. I had purchased some flooring tiles from that establishment and I wanted a larger number of borders. I spoke to a olerk first, and eventually saw the accused. He attended to me personally. first he called out for a clerk. He took some time to satisfy himself that he had the tiles. As the clerk who attends to that business did not turn up the accused himself went with me along a passage for some distance, and looked up some books and saw what quantity he had. I was there for nearly an hour. I backed my car and went to the Fort. entered First Cross Street, along Main Street, and turned to the right.

At

I had to cross Keyser Street. After I finished my work I backed my car to turn, and went to Main Street again and then went on to the Fort. I left the shop after 11.0- about 11.15. As I backed into Keyser Street I did not take any particular notice. I saw some youngsters rushing about here and there, but I did not know what it was about. About fifteen or twenty passed my car, rushing towards Keyser Street. I cannot say that the condition of the street' was abnormal, except that I saw the people rushing about. I went straight along to the Fort.

Cross-examined by the Attorney-General: There was no riot that I know of going on as I passed Keyser Street. There was nothing to attract my attention as passed Keyser Street except some people rushing there. When I went to the Fort there was a little commotion there, and people said there was a riot going on. did not see any crowd with clubs. But for the fact that there were some young fellows running about, the street was normal; nothing to excite my attention. I was driving the car myself. I should say it was a little after 11.0. I was first spoken to on this subject about four days after. I went to the shop about four days after, as I had not received a reply about the tiles. I went there to inquire, and then I met another gentleman; I believe his name is Moonesinghe. He spoke to me, and told me that they were very busy and could not see to these things, and that he would let me know how many borders he could supply. They wired to me afterwards in Negombo that they could supply 500 of each kind. They told me on that occasion that Mr. Hewawitarne had been implicated in the riots-as far as I remember, that he had been charged with rioting. They said that it was on the day of my first visit, and I remembered the day. They wanted to know the time of my visit, and I just refreshed my memory and found out the time. I came in a car from Negombo the previous day and left in a car. I went to the Fort on leaving the accused's shop. To get there I turned First Cross Street and went along Main Street. Street I noticed two or three crowds of people rushing from the Fort. When I In Main went farther on there were some people rushing on and a commotion. stop. I went to the Fort and waited opposite Walker's

I did not throwing. There were no signs of any collision between two crowds.

I did not notice any stone-