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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O.

Reference :-

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ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

3.

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I doubt whether there would be any justification for the creation in Ceylon of an Executive Committee intermediate between the Executive Council and the Legislative Council. There is at present no legal obstacle to the addition to the Executive Council of elected members of the Legislative Council, and it is open to the Governor already to seek the advice of the Executive Council on all such matters, financial or other, that he may desire to bring before it Further, as regards financial questions, the existence of the Finance Committee would seem to render the establishment of an Executive Committee, on the lines suggested in Mr. Wood's Report, superfluous.

If, however, you consider that any modification of Mr. Wood's proposal for Jamaica would be of value in Ceylon, you will no doubt submit detailed proposals in due course.

I have, &c.,

44757

SIR,

No. 40.

WINSTON S. CHURCHILL.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.

(Confidential.)

Downing Street, 18th September, 1922.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Confidential despatch of the 14th August,* regarding the proposal concerning the composition of the Executive Council, made in the Joint Memorandumt of the Members of the Legis- lative Council representing the minority communities.

2. As at present advised, I see no reason to suggest to His Majesty that any alteration should be made in the existing provisions of the Royal Instructions in regard to the composition of the Executive Council.

48005

SIR,

(No. 507.)

No. 41.

I have, &c.,

WINSTON S. CHURCHILL.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 27th September, 1922.)

[Answered by Nos. 43 and 44.]

Ceylon, 5th September, 1922.

I HAVE the honour to transmit a letter, dated 31st August, 1922, which has been addressed to you by certain unofficial members of the Legislative Council, on the subject of constitutional reform.

2. I have in previous despatches fully referred to the various points raised in the communication now forwarded.

To

The Right Honourable

SIR,

I have, &c..

W. H. MANNING.

Governor, &c.

Enclosure in No. 41.

Winston Churchill, P.C., M.P.,

His Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Colombo, 31st August, 1922.

1. SINCE we had the honour of forwarding to you our letter dated 7th July last, with reference to the proceedings of Council on the 16th and 22nd June, and the appointment of the Allocation Committee by His Excellency the Governor, circumstances have arisen which make it necessary that we should address you again on the subject of the reform of the Ceylon Legislature.

* No. 87.

+ Enclosure in No. 8.

2.

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The report of the Allocation Committee was laid on the table of the Council on 20th July, and we understand that it has already been forwarded to you by the Government.

3. That report, as we anticipated, did not give any "guidance" with regard to the matter submitted to it, and the conflicting opinions expressed in it (in some cases on questions not referred to the Committee, e.g., whether there should be a territorially elected majority in Council or not) and the numerous riders attached to it, only emphasized the differences of opinion which were manifested in the Reform Debate of December last between the members elected to represent the terri- torial divisions and certain Communal members elected and nominated.

4. It was inevitable that the report would be of this unsatisfactory character, in view of the fact that the Government did not give the Committee any principle to work upon, and had refused the very reasonable request of the Member for the Town of Colombo for certain information which was necessary for the proper discharge of the duties imposed on the Committee.

5. In a rider to that report, signed by four (4) Communal members appointed to serve on that Committee, attention was drawn to them and by the Nominated Tamil Member, Sir P. Ramanathan, the Nominated a memorandum, signed by Burgher Member, the late Mr. Arthur Alvis, and the European Urban and Rural Members, submitted to the Governor previously, "as containing the principles on which proper representation in the Council should be based."

6. In another rider, signed by the member for the Northern Province, a memorial from the Tamil Mahajana Sabhai was referred to, as showing how the adequate representation of the Tamil inhabitants of the Northern and Eastern Provinces could be secured.

7. As by those references, the said documents were practically incorporated into the report, the Member for the City of Colombo, on the 2nd August, asked the following question in Council: "Will the members of this Council be given an opportunity of acquainting themselves with the contents of the memorandum and memorial referred to in the riders Nos. 1 and 3 respectively attached to the Allo- cation Committee's report?" to which the Colonial Secretary replied as follows: Honourable Members who desire to acquaint themselves with the contents of the documents mentioned should apply to the authors; Government has no authority to publish those documents."

་་

8. On the 24th August, the same member of Council, with the view of getting a clear expression of opinion from Government regarding the right of members of Council to have access to documents which are filed of record, and expressly referred to in reports of Committees of the Council, asked the following questions :-

(1) Were the Memorandum and Memorial referred to in the Allocation Committee's report submitted to Government to be forwarded to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and were they submitted in triplicate?

(2) Are copies of these documents filed of record, and, if so, have not the Members of this Council a right to have access to them, as they are expressly referred to in the report of the Select Committee of this Council as containing principles on which proper representation in Council should be based!"

9. The Colonial Secretary's replies were as follows:--

(1) "The Memorandum referred to was submitted in triplicate to be forwarded to the Secretary of State. The Memorial was addressed to the Governor with no such request nor has it been forwarded to the Secretary of State.

(2) A copy of the Memorandum is so filed, but since the Memorandum was forwarded to Government as a confidential document, Members of the Legislative Council cannot have access to it through Government. understood, however, that this Memorandum has since been published in It is the Press.

(3) As regards the Memorial-as far as is known it was not a Confi- dential document, but was addressed to the Governor, but as already stated in reply to a question upon the same subject. Government has no authority to publish this document even though it may have been referred to in a rider to the report of the Select Committee, and it will not be made available to Members of this Council through Government unless the authors so desire." 10. We respectfully submit that these answers are evasive, and that, in the circumstances, Members of the Legislative Council were entitled to have access to