570
40
shall have the power to elect twenty-one of the twenty-eight members, the other seven members being nominated by us.
BY THE WILL OF GOD.
In like manner at the end of every five years the members of the Legislative Council and the Council of Ministers shall be elected.
O! Noble Ministers and O! Noble Members of the Legislature, we are of opinion that the five years ahead of you will be fraught with many difficulties, which we trust you will overcome with careful deliberation and co-operation among yourselves. The world-wide depression and the financial difficulties now being experienced in the Island of Ceylon have decreased the income of this Kingdom. During the days of prosperity which preceded the present depression people had acquired a taste for high living, and that being so it becomes their duty to satisfy their wants with less expenditure and find ways and means of increasing their income. Those who are administering the Govern- ment should keep its expenditure down by reducing the use of all that is unnecessary and by fostering education, handicrafts, agriculture, the fishing and coconut industries, health, and navigation.
No injustice should be done to any of our subjects or to those foreigners who are in our Kingdom for purpose of trade.
The Ryots must obey the Ruler and the Ruler must regard his subjects as his children.
As an act of grace and for the happiness which is ours to-day we have granted a general amnesty to all our subjects who are serving in the prisons of this Kingdom, except those who have been deported for murder. They and others should not hereafter commit any offence against Islam or the Government. If any such offence is committed the rigors of the law will be justly administered without fear or favour.
The people herein assembled at this great Durbar shall bear witness to the charge we hereby make that each Minister shall administer the Departments entrusted to his care in accordance with the Constitution.
We pray God that He may give us strength to increase the power of this Kingdom, enable this Kingdom to be administered with justice, help us live true to the beautiful religion of Islam and keep us and our motherland in prosperity and safe from all evil influences. Amin.
Thursday, 23rd Shauban (the Blessed). 1351. Corresponding to 22nd December, 1932.
Enclosure 3 in No. 11.
REPLY OF THE RYOTS TO THE ADDRESS OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNEss the Sultan OF THE
MALDIVES.
In the name of God, the Merciful and Benevolent, we raise our hands in prayer and supplication to God almighty the Exalted, so that He may prolong the reign of His Highness Muhammad Shams-ud-deen Iskander, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of St. Michael and St. George, Sultan of the Maldive Islands. May God grant Your Royal Highness long life and strength to the Sultanate. Amin.
Our Gracious Royal Highness with unbounded respect and profound obedience by the kindness of God we your subjects submit that when the history of this great day comes to be recorded it will done in letters of pure gold but the name of Your Royal Highness must be written in purer and bolder letters of gold, the Sultan who is before us and who has promulgated this constitution with justice and generosity. We shall always offer thankful prayers to the Almighty who has sent such constitution-loving
Ruler to our midst.
O! Our great Sahib, it is true that we owe to the merciful goodness of the Almighty that our land has remained true to the Islamic Faith during the past 803 years. We are one with Your Royal Highness in praying for the past Muslim Rulers, especially Sultan Ghazi Muhammad Thakurfanu, the Great of Utimu, also your great ancestor Sultan Ghazi Hassan Izzuddeen. To these two Sultans we must be ever grateful and make it our duty always to praise their names and offer prayers. Yes, there is no religion more generous and equitable than Islam, and that independence too is of no small blessing. But the continuance of that independence depends in our humble opinion on unity and sincerity between ourselves and those in authority-that unity and sincerity will subsist so long as the acts of Government and of our Courts of Law
4!
accord with justice. The power next to God to help us maintain our independence and to remain in the Islamic Faith is Your Royal Highness. We shall undoubtedly be strong in unity and in the Islamic Faith so long as Your Royal Highness remains faithful to Your high pledges, for Ryots always follow the example for their Rulers.
To Your Gracious Royal Highness is due our prayers for the right and power given to us to meet out justice to those officials who become traitors to the Government and to the Islamic Faith.
Great and Noble Maha Radun Your acts of goodness during the past 32 years have been unlimited.. We have no knowledge of any injustice or mistakes committed by Your Royal Highness, and that being so, Your Royal Highness' desire for our pardon for any acts of injustice on Your Royal Highness' part shows your Royal Highness' desire to liberate this kingdom from foreign domination, and Your Royal Highness will be long remembered as the great Reformer who granted to the people of his kingdom for the first time in its history a written constitution based on justice and democracy.
Your Royal Highness we pray that the Almighty may shower! upon Your Royal Highness' family His choicest blessings and peace and happiness. Amin.
Your Royal Highness we pray that the Almighty may grant Your Royal Highness long life, happiness, and prosperity. Amin.
Your Royal Highness we pray that God may preserve this kingdom and its Govern- ment in the Islamic Faith and in independence and that God may protect its people! against all social evils and instill in them the brotherhood of Islam, the spirit of unity, mutual help, sincerity, and love and that God may further the Constitution promulgated this day and free this Kingdom and its people from all evil influence. Amin.
Your Royal Highness by Your Royal Highness' permission we Your Royal Highness' obedient and faithful subjects in reply to Your Royal Highness' address, desire Your Royal Highness to accept our most sincere greetings and salaams. While accepting the pronouncements contained in the address of Your Royal Highness and while imploring Your Royal Highness' forgiveness for any shortcomings in our reply and while continuing to pay allegiance to Your Roval Highness as our Ruler we pledge our loyalty to Your Royal Highness.
This concludes our reply to the address of Your Royal Highness.
LONG MAY YOUR GOVERNMENT RULE.
Thursday, 23rd Shauban, 1351 ■.
AMIN.
We are, Your Royal Highness'. Most obedient and loyal subjects.
Signed by the Representatives of all the Atols.
Corresponding to 22nd December, 1932 a.d.
14275/33 [No. 3].
No. 12.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 29th May, 1933.)
(Confidential.)
SIR,
Ceylon, 5th May, 1933. In reply to your Confidential despatch (2) of 15th March, 1933, in which you ask to be informed of the circumstances in which Amir Muhammad Farid Didi replaced Amir Abdul Majid Didi as Prime Minister of the Maldive Islands, I have the honour to report as follows.
2. Sir Bernard Bourdillon in his Confidential despatch of 14th March, 1931,† expressed the opinion that the Prime Minister would do his best to avoid any change in the Constitution which would result in a transfer of the power then largely con- centrated in his own hands to a Council of Ministers. This anticipation proved correct. Those who supported the change, which was also favoured by the Sultan, were able to secure shortly after the departure of Sir Bernard Bourdillon, the summoning of a Legislative Majliss or Committee of 12 members to frame rules and regulations for the new Constitution. The draft Constitution framed by this Committee was in due course forwarded for my comments which were sent to the Sultan as reported in my Confidential despatch of 11th [? 12th] October, 1931. The objections of the Prime Minister to the proposed change still continued, and the position was unaltered up
* C. 93026/32 [No. 13]: not printed.
† No. 5.
‡ No. 7.
BALK
PECORD OFFICE
Reference
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