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No. 33.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
(No. 581.) MY LORD DUKE,
(Received 17th September, 1923.)
Ceylon, 27th August, 1923. In continuation of my despatch No. 545 of the 8th August, 1923, with which I transmitted a memorial from members of the Indian community in connexion with the two seats recommended for that community in the reformed Legislative Council, I have the honour to forward a copy of a letter from the President of the Ceylon Indian Electorate Association, dated 1st August, together with the enclosures referred to therein.
I have, &c.,
To
Enclosure in No. 33.
W. H. MANNING,
Governor, &c.
THE CEYLON INDIAN ELECTORATE ASSOCIATION.
The Honourable the Colonial Secretary,
Colombo.
SIR,
Ridgway Buildings, Colombo, 1st August, 1923. UNDER directions from the Committee of the above Association, I have the honour to forward herewith a Supplemental Note addressed to His Excellency the Governor and a Statement of Figures of Indian Voters in triplicate and to request that you will be good enough to submit same to His Excellency with the request that he be pleased to forward the copies to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies with favourable recommendations.
In this connexion I beg to state that the Statement represents only the minimum strength of Voters and that if adequate time and facilities are given for enrolment, the number of Voters will exceed very much the figures shown in the Statement.
His Excellency
Sir William Henry Manning,
I am, &c.,
I. X. PEREIRA,
President.
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Island of Ceylon with the Dependencies thereof, President of the Honourable the Legislative Council of Ceylon.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY,
Tax Supplemental Note by the Ceylon Indian Electorate Association to the Memorial submitted by them to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies states as follows:-
(1) The Association considers it its first duty to thank Your Excellency for the assurance "that it is proposed to fill by election the two Seats which have been recommended for the Indian Community" conveyed through the Honourable the Colonial Secretary's letter No. 15822, dated 6th July, 1923.
(2) The demand was made in the Memorial that the two Seats allocated should be constituted Urban and Rural respectively, and the Association now bega leave to place before Your Excellency certain facts and figures in support of such demand.
(3) As is pointed out in the Memorial Indians and Europeans are similarly situated in the Island. Inasmuch as only two Seats have been allocated to Indians,
* No. 80.
their interests, for the purpose of representation, have to resolve into two divisions, and the only natural and equitable divisions will be "Urban and Rural." Where only two Seats have been granted to a Community like the Indian or European any other division will be unnatural and may fail to secure to the Community concerned the utmost benefit of representation by election by restricting the choice of Members and accentuating Sectional differences. The creation of Urban and Rural Elec- torates for Europeans when only two Seats had been allotted to them under the Constitutional Reforms inaugurated in or about the year 1910 bears out this con- tention and demand.
(4) The strength of Indian Voters in the Urban Electorate will be considerable and will bear comparison with the strength of Ceylonese Voters for any Territorial or Communal Seat in Council. According to the decennial Census of 1921 the total Indian Males resident within the Municipal limits of Colombo, Kandy and Galle number about 55,819, of whom 39,300 are proportionately adults. Twenty per cent. of these will be qualified voters, and their strength will therefore be 7,860. In this connexion it may not be out of place to recall what is stated in paragraph 7 of the Memorial, namely, "excluding the working classes of people and ordinary labourers on the estates, the bulk of the Indian population in the Island are business men, will be qualified voters by reason of literacy and income qualification."
and
(5) According to the said Census the total Indian population in Rural areas is 321,845, of whom 196,503 are proportionately adults. The various classes of people which form the Rural Indian population are enumerated in the Statement hereto annexed. It will be seen from the Statement that the qualified voters will number at least 12,135, and that they form not less than 15 per cent, of the total Indian Rural population, excluding the ordinary labourers on the estates.
In estimating the strength of voters on the Estates the ordinary labourers, who number 226,790, have been left out of account, and only the Kankanies, Tea Makers, Conductors, Estate Clerks, Dispensers, etc., and Sub-Kankanies (vide Statement) have been taken into consideration. There are 2,367 "A" Estates in the Island, and it is a matter of common knowledge that in most of the Estates the Kankanies, Tea Makers, Conductors, Estate Clerks, Dispensers, etc., and Sub-Kankanies employed are Indians. They number about 34,000, and except for 90 per cent, of the Sub- Kankanies all are qualified voters. Therefore, the Estate Population will contribute to the total strength of Rural voters, namely, 12,135, not less than 7,000 voters.
(6) The Association feels it encumbent to reiterate and emphasize that the two Seats should be constituted Urban and Rural respectively, and that the constitution of the Seats on any other basis will not be in the interests of unity and solidarity among Indians in the Island and will tend very much to disrupt Indian Community and mar the effect of representation by Elected Members.
In conclusion the Association begs that your Excellency will be pleased to recom- mend to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for the Colonies that the consti- tution of the two Seats as Urban and Rural respectively is practicable and also desirable in the interests of the Indian Community, for which act of justice this Association, as in duty bound,
Colombo, 1st August, 1923.
Will ever pray,
I. X. PEREIRA,
President.
T. G. VIJIANDRA RAU,
Secretary.
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To
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
CITITI
CO. 882/10
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON |
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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