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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :--

ILIITT

C.O. 882/10

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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The question then arises, whether the Governor should preside at the meetings of the Council. In favour of a continuation of the present system, it may be argued that, although His Excellency represents His Majesty the King, his position as the chief executive officer of the administration in Ceylon, ultimately responsible for the government of the Island, is analogous rather to that of the English Prime Minister, and therefore demands his presence in the Legislative Council. On the other hand, it has been contended that it is more in accordance with the dignity of his office that the Governor should be above and apart from the necessity of keeping order in debate, and, further, that his presence may tend towards a restriction of the freedom of discussion. After a consideration of both these views, we recommend that His Excellency should not preside, but that the president should be an official member nominated by him.

Before leaving the subject of the Legislative Council, we wish to refer to a matter which, at the present time, is a frequent source of public irritation, namely, the sudden launching of Government measures, without any previous warning, and in many cases without any attempt to sound public opinion on the principles of the proposed enactments. We believe that the Government frequently courts opposition by its failure to take the unofficial members into its confidence, when previous dis- cussion and explanation of its views would avoid the indignation which a surprised public sometimes exhibits. We think that this mistaken procedure could be pre- vented by the appointment of standing committees of the Legislative Council, of an advisory nature, to assist the executive on questions relating to various important branches of the administration, and that bills should be discussed in such committees before being submitted to the Council.

(d) The Franchise.

As stated before, we think that the qualifications for electors suggested by the Reform League are, with slight modifications, acceptable. We suggest that the ownership qualification should be Rs. 5,00000 instead of Rs.1,000-00, which latter sum bears no logical relation either to the income qualification of Rs. 600-00 per annum or to the occupation qualification of Rs.200-00 annual value in the country or Rs. 400.00 in a town. We also think that the plural voting provided for in qualification V. of the Reform League's memorandum, should be greatly restricted. While there is good reason in allowing a person who has substantial proprietary interests, in an area other than that in which he resides, to have an extra vote in respect of that property, we cannot accept an interest to the value of Rs.6,000:00 as being sufficiently substantial to justify plurality of voting, which is always recog nized as a somewhat undemocratic institution. With a qualification of only Rs.6,000-00, a moderately wealthy resident of Colombo might obtain a vote in every province, and it is not impossible that, with a restricted electorate, the richer classes in Colombo, or in the Western Province, might, in effect, control the elections throughout the whole Island-a proceeding which would obviously be highly un- desirable. We think, therefore, that the amount should be at the least Rs 30,000.

We recommend, therefore, that every elector for a territorial area should be:

1. A male British subject, not less than 21 old.

years

2. Able to read and write English, Sinhalese, or Tamil.

3. One who has resided in the electoral area for not less than one year, unless he owns property in the electoral area of the value of not less than Rs.30,000, in which case he need not have so resided.

4. (a) In receipt of an annual income, or salary, of not less than Rs.600; or,

(b) In occupation, either as proprietor or tenant, of a house in the electoral

area of the annual value, or rent, of Rs.200, in a rural area, or Rs.400, in an urban area; or,

(c) The owner of landed property in the electoral area, in his own right

or that of his wife, of the value of not less than Rs.5,000.

(0) Qualifications of Candidates.

We recommend that a candidate for election for a territorial area should be:-

(1) A male British subject, not less than 25 old.

years

On the list of voters for the territorial area, to represent which he is nominated as a candidate, provided that he must have resided in such area for not less than three years, whether or not he owns property therein of the value of Rs.30 000.

(8) Able to read, write, and speak English.

(4) Not in the service of the Crown.

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Qualifications numbered (1), (3), and (4) are the same as those suggested in the memorandum to which we have referred. For No. (2), the memorandum pro- poses the following

"On the list of voters in any electoral area in the Island."

We strongly deprecate the adoption of such a proposal, which would render it possible for every seat to be occupied by members of some clique, who would have no special knowledge of the provinces which they were supposed to represent. The authors of the memorandum offer no comment or argument in its favour. If it is intended to reproduce the English system, according to which a Parliamentary candidate can be returned by a constituency with which he has no personal con- nexion, it results from a failure to appreciate the different position of the English elector, who casts his vote for the representative of a party, rather than for a person who is to advocate his local needs. In Ceylon there are at present no parties, other than, perhaps, the officials on the one hand and the unofficial members on the other. The former are sent to the Council without election. The Ceylon elector, therefore, will have a choice only between candidates of the same party, with rival claims to be specially qualified to represent his views on local requirements. If the members returned have no knowledge of the provinces which they represent, territorial repre- sentation is of little value, and is in danger of degenerating into an instrument for furthering the ends of self-seeking demagogues. Those who complain of the present *ystem of nomination, and demand a larger Council, urge as one of their main con- tentions that a member who resides, say, in Colombo cannot be expected to know the desires of the inhabitants of distant provinces. The mere fact that a Colombo man has persuaded the voters of some distant province to elect him will not equip him with any greater knowledge of the conditions of life in that province than he would have if nominated by the Governor.

15. Municipal Councils and Local Boards.-We have hitherto made no mention of local government, inasmuch as it did not directly affect the general reforms which we have been considering. We think that great importance should be placed upon the political education of the people by entrusting them with a large amount of self- government in local areas. We recommend that, subject to such safeguards as the government may think requisite for protecting its financial interests, Municipal Councils should be wholly elected and should elect their own chairman. A Com- mission was appointed in 1916 to consider the question of local government generally, exclusive of the areas dealt with by the Municipal Councils. recommendations made by the Commission in its report (see Sessional Paper No. We support the VII., of 1917), and consider that steps should be taken to give effect to them.

16. General Remarks.—It did not fall within the scope of the matters sub- mitted to us to make suggestions as to the course which the Council or the Associa- tion should take with regard to the expression of views, or the part to be played in the political arena of the present day. We would like to suggest, however, that if the reorganization of the Colonial Office which we have recommended is approved, steps should be taken to communicate with other Crown Colonies with a view to obtaining co-operation in pressing our demand for reform. Should other Colonies be willing to join with us, the advisory board which we wish to see constituted might be enlarged into a general council of members from all the Colonies, with separate committees to deal with the affairs of each several Colony.

We wish to make it clear that in framing a scheme which involves the approval of many of the demands of the Ceylon Reform League, we must not be thought to associate ourselves in any way with the extravagant language in which some of the local reformers indulge from time to time. We have not overlooked the fact that proposals, which in themselves seem acceptable, may be supported by persons who are actuated only by motives of self-interest, or who obtain satisfaction from any opportunity to gird at the British. We have endeavoured not to allow the realiza- tion of that fact to overcloud our outlook. That the mass of the people are yearning for, or have any understanding of self-government we do not for a moment believe. We are firmly convinced that the prosperity of the Island can be maintained only by a preservation of British rule and by the fostering of the notions of integrity and efficiency, which is connoted by the participation of the British in the affairs of the country, and which constitutes a more vital factor in the capacity of a people to rule either itself or others than mere intellectual progress. Where we have advised reforms which do not specifically affect the interests of our own community, we have done so on the assumption that they are desired by loyal subjects genuinely anxious to further the welfare of the Colony. We believe that there are many such men