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Lanka passed into the hands of the British, as that scriber to the Ceylon Observer suggests, think of the glorious works of a Dutugemunu, the indomitable courage and world-famed conquests of a Parakramabahu the Great, and be one of them.

Search Light, August, 1914.

Our Past, by Nationalist.

The small pieces of land, the humble possession of the villagers, by which they earned their daily bread, have been usurped by the foreigner. The vast stretches of land, the glorious panorama that meets the eye of the traveller as he goes up-country are no more the possessions of the sons of the soil.

Laaka!

"Thy glades forlorn confess the tyrant's power,"

etc.,

etc.,

Let not the alien dictate to you, as he wantonly tries to do now, on questions affecting your nation.

The People, 18th February, 1915. Vol. 1.

NATIONALIST.

Was the Kandyan Convention of 1815 "a Scrap of Paper"? What may be rightly and properly called the charter of Sinhalese liberties, granted to us just a hundred years ago, during the cession of the Kandyan Provinces to the British Throne, is in danger of being violated, as recent developments show, and, what more, it was authoritatively said it could be changed or modified to suit the convenience of every foreigner who has found a habitation in this ancient land of the lion race..

Having achieved by duplicity and cunning what their strongest armies could not achieve, the British now made some reparation to the people. In the Convention signed on the 2nd day of March, 1815, it was stated

that-

"The religion of Buddha professed by the chiefs and inhabitants of these Pro- vinces is declared inviolable, and its rights, ministers, and places of worship are to be maintained and protected."

But we have been told to-day that this charter could be changed or modified by the powers that be. It was shown that this could place no restriction on the acts of Government.

If this is so, what was the charter meant for? Was it a snare cunningly formu- lated to lull the beguiled people into a state of calmness and peace? Was this declaration, made with a display of solemnity and sincerity, to be grossly violated when any attempt at resistance on the part of the injured would be beyond the bounds of possibility?

Our rights and privileges must be guarded peaceably if we can, by more drastic measures if we must.

Translation of extracts from the Sinhala Tarunaya, March, 1915, page 44.

Five hundred years before the Christian era the Sinhalese established in this country democratic government, in which the King is elected by the voice of the people.

The essential connexion of democratic government is that the office of King resides in the whole nation, the King himself being only an instrument chosen by the people to exercise authority for keeping the peace and order among the people.

Out of gratitude for giving them help in the time of need, the Sinhalese nation elected His Majesty the Great King of Britain as their democratic King. Just as at the beginning of the history of the Sinhalese Royal dynasty the 700 warriors who made Ceylon the island of the Sinhalese appointed their chief. Prince Wijayo, to be their King, so in 1815 the thousands and hundreds of thousands of Sinhalese warriors who co-operated with the army of the British King voluntarily offered their choice to the British King, and begged of the British King to accept at their hands the Crown of Ceylon, which is the emblem of their independence, which they had maintained by sacrificing their blood in repelling attacks of foreign foes for the integrity of the Sinhalese nation. Accordingly that King, in conformity with the wishes of the chiefs and the general public, and in accordance of the laws and customs of our country, agreed to protect the crown of the independent Sin- halese nation in an inviolable treaty.

To say that our country was lost to

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us is a cruel treason accursed of God. Why? Because it is accusing the English King of unjustly appropriating what was entrusted to his sacred keeping.

Trust in England, my countrymen, heirs of the Sinhalese kingdom, unconquer- able and unconquered, who have chosen King George V. to be our King.

Sinhala Tarunaya, March, 1915.

The time is now approaching when we should honestly do what is fit to be done, even sacrificing our lives for the sake of our country and our nation. That is a noble work which should therefore be taught to our children.

(Confidential.)

Enclosure 3 in No. 51.

REPORT.

My work as Special Commissioner was confined to the Revenue District of Kegalle. The particulars called for in the first paragraph of the Government circular will presumably find a place in the report of the Assistant Government Agent. I shall not, therefore, detail them here.

2. The first outbreak of rioting in the Kegalle District took place at Rambuk- kana on the night of the 31st May. Here a large crowd of armed Sinhalese, which had been assembling from the morning of the 30th, looted all the Moorish boutiques and burnt the entire bazaar to the ground, causing damage estimated at about two lakhs of rupees. On the same night another crowd, reinforced by a number of the Rambukkana rioters, attacked and looted some Moorish boutiques in Kegalle Town. From 1st to 3rd June rioting was general throughout the district. The principal centres were Dehiowita, Bulatkohupitiya, Yatiyantota, Aranayake, and Ambepussa. Few mosques or boutiques escaped, and considerable damage was done. By the 4th of June the proclamation of martial law had had its effect, and comparative order was restored.

3. Large armed gangs of Sinhalese were collected by the circulation of wild and ridiculous rumours that all Buddhist viharas were to be desecrated, that the Moors were advancing in force to attack the Sinhalese, and that the Governor had ordained the destruction of the Moors. The rioters were mainly composed of villagers resident in the district, though they were supplemented in some cases by rowdies from the Siyane and Hapitigam Korales. Their proceedings afford clear evidence of organization. In no case was a sudden or hasty attack made upon the Moora. On the contrary, the mobs which assembled at various centres in the district waited, often for some considerable time, for the signal to begin. The ringleaders were in almost every instance low-country Sinhalese. Behind them, and directing operations generally, were a few persons of wealth and local influence also for the most part low-country men. These latter, however, were careful not to commit any overt acts of violence, and, indeed, endeavoured (with some measure of success) to hoodwink the authorities into the belief they were actually working on the side of law and order.

4. The ultimate origin of this extraordinary outbreak is, I think, now beyond doubt. It is to be found in the campaign of sedition which has been carried on for the past few years under the name of the "Nationalist movement."

The printed matter and correspondence which have come into my hands during the course of my inquiries make it quite clear that an attack on the Moors was meditated long ago. For the last five or six years a very large number of articles has been printed, both in Sinhalese newspapers and in pamphlet form, in which frequent reference is made to the "downfall à id ruin ” of "the Sinhalese nation." The blame for this state of things is attributed to the commercial activity of (among others) the Moors, and the Sinhalese are urged to unite and expel them from the island, and so "win their freedom." It is to be noted, however, that the Moors are not the only object of abuse, which is levelled indiscriminately against all "foreigners," including the governing race.

5. These articles have been issued under the auspices of the Mahabodhi Society, which has adopted "Nationalism" as its watchword. The members are, with a few exceptions, persons of no particular consequence in the island, who have been induced by disappointed social ambitions or by a love of cheap notoriety to set themselves up against the established order of things. They derive their inspiration from the notorious Dharmapala,” now in India. Their modus operandi has been as

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