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The Chairman and Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce therefore beg respectfully to lay the following arguments before you for consideration :-

(1) That it has been found in practice impossible for an elected Urban Member to represent the mercantile interests of the island to any appreciable extent. These interests are so large and important, are so vital in their own particular way, to the interests of the Empire that they deserve more adequate recognition and representation.

(2) That Ceylon is in an anomalous position compared with other large trade centres in the East, for example, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Rangoon, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc., where the Chambers of Commerce have not only the privilege, but the right, to direct representation in the respective Legislative Councils.

(3) That since the abolition of the mercantile member in Council the Govern- ment has frequently found it advisable or necessary to ask for advice and action from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and such advice or action has invariably heen freely given. It seems. therefore, that Government could not but feel the benefit of the presence of a mercantile member in Council to augment the value of their deliberations by virtue of his special knowledge of the views and opinions of the mercantile community.

*

(4) That with the inception of war difficulties unforeseen have arisen. and will doubtless continue for many years after, and no possible factor should be omitted in combating and overcoming such difficulties. The relative positions of different countries in the mercantile world will inevitably change, new methods of trading will be adopted, and without direct representation of mercantile interests in Council errors, possibly irreparable, are prone to be made when they might ›e avoided.

(5) That it is felt to be an imperative duty, more especially in view of the abnormal times now existing, to point out any weakness which is deemed to exist in any of the Councils of the Empire, and inversely to secure all protection possible for the interests administered by the mercantile community of the island of Ceylon.

And your memorialists will ever pray, etc.

J. THOMSON BROOM (Chairman),

HERBERT BOIs,

H. S. JEAFFRESON,

E. S. CLARK,

W. PHILPS,

J. LOCHORE,

C. S. BURNS,

R. S. PHILPOTT,

10526

No. 6.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 1st March, 1918.)

[Answered by No. 7.]

(No. 7.) SIR,

I HAVE the honour to transmit a letter, dated 20th December, 1917, which has

Ceylon, 5th January, 1918. been addressed to you by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Kt., and two others, as chairman and secretaries respectively of a conference of various political associa- tions in the Island, held at Colombo, on the 15th December. I also enclose a copy

of the memorial therein referred to, signed by the same gentlemen, suggesting a reform of the Legislative Council of this Colony.

SIR,

2. My observations on the memorial will be communicated to you shortly.

I have, &c.,

Enclosure 1 in No. 6.

JOHN ANDERSON,

Governor, &c.

12, De Soysa Buildings, Slave Island,

Colombo, 20th December, 1917.

We have the honour to inform you that the Ceylon Reform League and the Ceylon National Association convened a conference of the various political associa tions in the Island for the purpose of considering and adopting a public memorial to you on the subject of the reform of the Constitution of Ceylon.

2. This conference was held on Saturday, the 15th instant, at the Victoria Masonic Hall, Colombo, at which the associations were represented by 144 delegates, whose names appear in the annexed list.*

is

3. The conference, after deliberation, adopted the memorial, which forwarded herewith, signed by us as chairman and secretaries of the conference, with two additional copies, for your favourable consideration. The same memorial. signed by the general public, will be submitted to you in due course.

We have, &c.,

P. ARUNACHALAM,

W. A. DE SILVA,

Chairman.

Secretaries.

LII

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :---

C.O. 882/10

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

E. H. LAWRENCE,

M. J. CARY,

W. FRASER,

Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Culombo,

28th August, 1917.

59154

No. 5.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR. t

Downing Street, 31st December, 1917.

(No. 686.) SIR,

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 660, of the 27th October,* transmitting a memorial from the Ceylon Chamber of Com- merce urging the necessity for more adequate recognition and representation of mercantile interests in the Legislative Council

2. I shall be glad if you will be so good as to cause the memorialists to be informed that I am unable to agree to the abandonment of the principle of election of members of the Legislative Council adopted in 1910, and that, while I shall always be ready to give the fullest consideration to the views of the Chamber on mercantile questions, I cannot consent to a reversion to the system of special representation in the Legislative Council.

I have, &c.

* No. 4.

WALTER H. LONG.

The Right Honourable Walter H. Long, M.P.,

His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State

for the Colonies.

Enclosure 2 in No. 6.

To the Right Honourable Walter H. Long, M.P.,

His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State

SIR,

for the Colonies.

D. R. WIJEWARDENE,

Colombo, Ceylon, 15th December, 1917.

THE humble memorial of the undersigned inhabitants of the Island of Ceylon respectfully sheweth :

1. Your memorialists, gratefully acknowledging the blessings of British rule, beg leave to submit that the system of Crown Colony Administration which has prevailed in this Island for over a century, is unsuited to its present conditions and needs and is detrimental to its welfare and progress. The only justification for entrusting officials with autocratic power is efficiency of administration and the contentment of the people. Events-especially those connected with the riots of 1915--have clearly shown that these ends have not been attained, and that for years there has been a lack of touch between the British officials and the people and a disregard by the former of public opinion and sentiment. render it necessary that there should be greater control over the officials than can be These circumstances exercised by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who must largely rely on

* Not printed.

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the