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C. 83301/31 [No. 9].

No. 168.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE to THE GOVERNOR.

(Sent 5.40 p.m., 12th June, 1931.)

TELEGRAM.

No. 119. HIS MAJESTY has been pleased to direct that the following message should be read at the opening of the State Council:-

Begins-On the occasion of the opening of the State Council, I desire to convey to My people in Ceylon, through their Elected Representatives, an assur- ance of the interest with which I shall watch the inauguration of the Constitution which, on the recommendation of the Commission over which Lord Donoughmore presided, it has been My pleasure to grant to them.

This Constitution, which accords to the Island a large measure of self- government, embodies many novel features, for which there is no exact parallel in any of My Dominions. I am confident that the people of the Island will approach their new duties with a full sense of the grave responsibility which is being laid upon them, and in a spirit of mutual forbearance and of determination to overcome the difficulties inseparable from so great an advance, so that the establishment of the Constitution may conduce to the best interests of the Island and of My people.-Ends.

Following this I shall be glad if you will read to the State following message from myself:—

Council

Begins-It has been a source of gratification to me that it has been possible to inaugurate the new Constitution of Ceylon during my tenure of office. It is of special interest to me that my colleague, Dr. Drummond Shiels, was a Member of the Commission on whose recommendations the principles of the Constitution are based. The form of administration by Committees of the State Council has much in common with systems with which I have long been familiar. The domestic interests of Ceylon will now be for all practical purposes in your keeping. You may be sure of my continued sympathy with your aspirations, and that such assistance as I can afford in your difficulties will be constantly at your disposal. Ends.

The fixing of an appropriate time for delivery of these messages is left to your dis- cretion, but it would seem convenient that it should be immediately after election of Speaker and appointment of Ministers.-PASSFIELD.

C. 83301/31 [No. 13].

No. 169.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 12.35 p.m., 28th June, 1931.) TELEGRAM.

28TH JUNE. No. 145. Confidential. Report required Article XIV (ii) Ceylon (State Council) Order in Council, 1931. I have subject to approval of His Majesty appointed provisionally to be nominated members of State Council the following. No. 1, M. J. Cary, 2, 1. X. Pereira, 3, J. W. Oldfield, 4, M. K. Saldin, 6, Sir Stewart Schneider, 6, V. R. S. Schokman, 7, E. C. Villiers, 8, T. L. Villiers sic. The first, third, seventh, and eighth are Europeans, the second Indian, the fourth Malayan, and fifth and sixth Burghers. The first and second and eighth were Members of the Legis- lative Council last. The third is a Member of the Executive Council, the fourth is President of All Ceylon and Malay Association, fifth retired senior Puisne Judge, sixth is a leading and respected Burgher, and seventh was a former Chairman of Planters' Association. Despatch follows.

C. 83301/31 [No. 19].

No. 170.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Confidential (2).) MY LORD,

(Received 20th July, 1931.)

Queen's House, Colombo, 1st July, 1931. I HAVE the honour to confirm my Confidential telegram dated 28th June, 1931,* of which 1 enclose a copy, regarding the appointment, subject to the approval of His Majesty the King, of the following gentlemen to be nominated members of the State Council:-

2.

Mr. M. J. Cary.

Mr. J. W. Oldfield, M.C., O.B.E..

Mr. I. X. Pereira.

Mr. M. K. Saldin.

Sir Stewart Schneider, K.C.

Dr. V. R. S. Schokman.

Mr. E. C. Villiers.

Mr. T. L. Villiers.

As Your Lordship is aware no nomination papers were handed in for the electoral districts situated in the Jaffna Peninsula. It is an undoubted fact that the boycott movement has not the support of the majority of the Jaffna Tamils. Unfor- tunately, however, as often happens, the sober and moderate-minded majority-has been overwhelmed by a vociferous minority.

At least two of the prospective candidates were strongly opposed to the boycott movement. They were, however, intimidated by the activities of the Jaffna Youth League and had not the moral courage to make a stand which would have inevitably had the effect of wrecking the movement. The Jaffna Youth League is largely in- fluenced by the Indian situation, and is a body of young men whose leaders are for the most part drawn from the ranks of the younger teachers in the secondary schools of the Peninsula. Unfortunately, the members of this League comprise the very class of persons who would be likely to be the most energetic in any election campaign. While, therefore, the Jaffna Tamils as a whole undoubtedly realize that the boycott, unsupported as it was by the members of the Liberal League in other parts of the country, has been a failure and has done Jaffna nothing but harm, I anticipate that it will be some time before the anti-boycott movement gains sufficient strength for me to deem it advisable to fix another nomination day in these four electoral districts or in any one of them.

3. I enclose for Your Lordship's information a list of the members who have been elected for the remaining 40 electoral districts. It will be observed that they comprise twenty-eight Low-country Sinhalese, ten Kandyan Sinhalese, three Ceylon Tamils, two Indian Tamils, two Europeans, and one Muslim. In selecting nominated members I had perforce to take into consideration the extent to which the minority Had that communities had secured representation in the territorial seats.

or had the number of nominated representation been greater than it was members been larger I should have liked to have included among the nominated members persons selected on account of their individual capacity After mature consideration, however, I rather than on a merely communal basis. decided that it would be necessary for me to confine my selection to members of those communities, the European, Burgher, Muslim, and Indian communities, who had not,

in my opinion, secured a sufficient number of territorial seats.

4. In the Legislative Council there were only two Indian members and two Indians were elected to territorial seats in the State Council. Neither of these members, however, can in any sense be taken as representing Indian mercantile interests, and I therefore I considered it advisable that those interests should be represented. decided to appoint Mr. I. X. Pereira, an Indian merchant of standing with a satisfactory record of service in the Legislative Council.

5. As regards the Burgher community no Burghers were elected to territorial seats, and I consider it necessary that they should have at least two nominated seats. They had two members in the Legislative Council. I have to express my great regret in finding myself unable to nominate the Senior Burgher member of the Legislative Council, Mr. G. A. H. Wille. Mr. Wille is a gentleman who displayed marked ability in the Legislative Council and whose outspoken honesty and integrity of purpose had

* No. 169.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TREFFIC.O. 882/11

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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