PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference -
MICO. 885
24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE | BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
80
CEYLON.
As the conditions of passage do not allow of a uniformed corps, civilian clothing must be worn on shipboard, except for drill purposes, but it is desired to present as decent and military an appearance as possible on arrival, and to avoid the long wait for uniform which has been the fate of many recruits for Kitchener's new army.
Men are desired to send in their names in pairs for berthing sccommodation, and also for billeting, and to state for which hotel they have a preference. No guarantee is given that these preferences can be met in every instance, but an effort will be made to meet them. A third may also have to be put in some cabina.
It is proposed that the Calombe duty hours should be from 0.80 «.m. to 9.80 a.m., and from 8.80 p.m. to 6.80 p.m., and the hours on board ship will, as far as possible, be the same. A signalling class will be For drill in Colombo, the services of staff instructors are assured. esramensed for all who can assend at the Volunteer Headquarters at 6.80 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily as from Brd November.
On board ship discipline will be enforsed by a committes elected from the party and these will set as offers, under command of the captain of the steamer.
On arrival in London, arrangements will be made for every man belonging to the party to take the military oath before leaving the vessel, and for each man to doslaro to what branch Thereafter, each man will be sent to his depot, and, of the service he wishes to be posted.
it is hoped, will be able to secure from his commanding officer a few days' leave.
The total funds aš present available, including the same contributed by the actual members of the party and all promises, now amount to Rs. 16,000, and if, therefore, the full complement of men desired come forward, a furtuar serious effort will have to be made by the comtaunity. The Committee, however, have the greatest confidence that ample funds will be available for all man who come forward, and are much more anxious regarding the number and quality of the men themselves. Many have failed to pass the medical and others appear to be hanging back because:--
(a) They want a commission.
(b) They want a guarantee that they will be sent into the
firing
line.
(c) They want a guarantee that their own billet, or some other as good, will be found
for them on return.
(d) They don't know how they are going to get back again.
They fear refusal in England and being left there without employment. This is not the spirit in which man at home and in other Colonies are meeting their obligations to the Motherland, nor is it the spirit of the newspaper correspondents who one and all averred that all Ceylon wanted was the money and the lead. Both are now forthcoming and the time has arrived to make the sacrifice which is every man's duty and privilege, provided always that it does not involve leaving employers in the arch.
This is no time for afters of conditional service, nor is it a time for fear in regard to billeta or to being left stranded. At the end of the war it is confidently expected that there will be ample billets for every man, and nothing is more sure than that in every deserving cans those we leave behind will see us back to Ceylon if we desire to corne, and that if we are worth i To show that you are worthy you must be there commission we shall get one from the ranks.
P. H. MILWARD,
"Belister," Colombo,
2nd November, 1914.
48216/S
No. 39.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 4th December, 1914.)
(Confidential.)
Organiser.
The Queen's House, Colombo, Ceylon,
12th November, 1914. SIR,
In continuation of my Confidential despatch of 5th November,* I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of the following telegraphic despatches:-
(a) Your telegrams of 4th November, forwarding the message of His Highness the Aga Khan and a communiqué regarding the safety of the Mohammedan Holy Places.
I have caused the contents of these telegrams to be published widely both in English and in Tamil (the vernacular of the Ceylon Moslems).
(b) Your telegrams of 4th November, giving revised list of contraband of war, and informing me of the terms of the Declaration of London Order in Council No. 2, of 20th October.
I have communicated the contents of these telegrams to the officers concerned. (e) Your cipher telegram of 5th November, informing me of the outbreak of war with Turkey.
This I acknowledged by my cipher telegram of the same date.
* No. 88.
81
CEYLON
I caused the outbreak of war to be duly proclaimed on the following morning
in Gazette Extraordinary No. 6680, of 6th November (copy enclosed).*
(d) Your telegram of 5th November, asking whether there were any military officers in Ceylon who could be spared for service. After consulting the Officer Commanding the Troops, I find that the only names possible are those of Major A. W. de Wilton (Inspector-General of Prisons), Sir Allan Perry (Principal Civil Medical Officer), Dr. E. L. Hunt, C.M.G., of the Civil Medical Department, Major W. H. Robinson, and Mr. A. F. G. Walker (both of the Prisons Department).
Of these, Mr. Walker is returning to England on leave with a view to offering his services to the War Office, and the others (none of whom has expressed the desire to go) would not in any case appear to be of the type of military officer contemplated by the Army Council.
I would point out that Colonel R. B. Fell and Captain G. H. Stevenson, of the Ceylon Volunteer Force, have already returned for active service, while of the regular forces in the Ceylon command, 16 officers and 110 men have been sent to England, and two officers on leave have not been replaced.
(6) Your telegram of 5th November, directing me to notify the issue of a Proclamation applying to Turkey all War Proclamations, etc., with certain exceptions, and asking me to report the seizure of any Turkish vessels and to deal with Turkish reservists like other enemy reservista. The notification was issued in Gazette No. 8879, of 6th November, 1914 (copy enclosed) *
No Turkish vessels have been seized in these waters.
4+
(Your telegram of 5th November, regarding the prize ships Steinturm " and "Moltkefels," and asking if I considered your proposals feasible.
To this I replied by my telegram of 9th November, agreeing to your proposals
as to the "Steinturm" and making certain amended proposals regarding the disposal of the "Moltkefels."
(g) Your telegram of 7th November, to the effect (1) that the Govern- ment of India was arranging for the use of the prize ship "Rappenfels," and (2) that you would send instructions shortly as to the s.8. Australia.
ift
(h) Your telegram of 7th November, informing me that all Ottoman subjects, including Consular officers, are to be detained for the present. Your instructions are being carried out.
There are very few Ottoman subjects in Ceylon-probably not more than ten
or fifteen in all. Several of these (including two lineal descendants of the Prophet) have expressed a desire to become naturalized British subjects; and, with the advice of the Executive Council, I am allowing their naturalization. The Imperial Otto- man Consul was a British subject. Immediately upon the outbreak of war he resigned his consular functions and requested the American Consul to assume the duties connected with the unofficial representation of local Turkish interests. permission the American Consul has consented to take over these duties.
With my
(i) Your cipher telegram of 7th November, directing me to allow the export of not more than 50 tons of rubber monthly to the Dunlop Rubber Company's mills in Japan.
Export is being allowed accordingly.
(7) Your telegram of 10th November, conveying to me His Majesty's appreciation of the loyalty of the Ceylon Moslems.
I have caused His Majesty's gracious message to be widely published.
2. Adverting to paragraph 1 (f) of my despatch of 5th November,t I tele- graphed to you on 7th November, asking you to verify the statement of prisoner of war Adolf Hermann that his Home Office permit had been removed by the Embarkation Officer at Tilbury; I have not yet had a reply to my telegram.
3. On the subject of trading with the enemy, I would invite your attention to my telegram of 25th October, referred to in paragraph 7 of my despatch of 27th October.
I have had many inquiries from the Chamber of Commerce as to whether any reply had been received to that telegram, as it appears that several local firms have
* Not reprinted. + No. 88. * No. 87.
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