The Dominion of Ceylon

H. A. J. Hulugalle

HE Island of Ceylon, which was century, the Island was in the main gov- T promoted in February, 1948, to full erned by Sinhalese or Tamil kings and haIndia by sive remains of cities, religious monu- thirty-six miles of sea. This nearness to ments, a highly-developed irrigation syst- the Indian continent leads many people em and self-governing village communities who have not visited the East to the be- bear eloquent testimony. "In hardly any lief that Ceylon is part of India in the part of the continent of India," wrote Dr. same way as Vancouver Island, for ex- William Geigher, the German scholar who ample, is. part of Canada. Colour is lent translated the Pali chronicles, "is there to this erroneous impression by the fact such an uninterr'upted historical tradition that there are some 800,000 Indians in- as in the Island of Ceylon.'' cluded among the Island's population of When the maritime settlements of approximately seven million, the largest Ceylon became part of the British Empire group of Indians outside India itself. in 1796, the vitality of the population had Moreover, the majority of the indigenous been sapped by successive foreign in- population are Indian by origin. But vasions, civil strife and malaria These throughout its recorded history of 22 settlements had been annexed by the centuries Ceylon has had an independent Portuguese in the sixteenth century. The existence politically with a few interrup- large Roman Catholic community and the tions. The Sinhalese, who must have common Sinhalese surnames of "de Sil- come originally from northern India, and va" and "Fernando" bear witness to their who constitute two-thirds of the popula- crusading zeal. The Portuguese were ti'on, have had their own language and driven out by the Dutch who gave the literary tradition during this long period country the Roman-Dutch Law as its of history. Important Tamil and Muslim common law. The overrunning of Hol- minorities are descended from communi- land by the French, with whom Great ties who have lived in the Island almost Britain was at war, during the Revolution, _ as long as the Sinhalese themselves. The led the British to invade Ceylon to deny descendants of the Dutch settlers, known to the French navy the fine natural har- as Burghers and numbering about 30,000, bour of Trincomalee. The last kings of play a significant part in the public and Kandy, who ruled the central parts of the professional life of the country. The Island, which were ceded to the British in Europeans, now mainly interested in com- 1815, were princelings brought to the merce and the plantation industries, are throne from south India by the Kandyan not much more than 5,000 in number. chiefs who preferred an outsider to a rival Until the British penetrated the cen- or the relation of a rival. · tral parts of Ceylon early in the nineteenth Ceylon has enjoyed the status of a DOMINION OF CEYLON 41

Dominion in the Commonwealth for a sent "the educated Ceylonese." In 1924 little more than two years but it had moved there was a majority of unofficial mem- slowly towards such a goal for fifteen de- bers, most of them elected to represent cades. National leaders often chafed at territorial constituencies. But this in- the sluggish progress in the direction of novation did not work, as the Governor democratic self-government and, indeed, still carried the responsibility for the ad- early British rule in Ceylon, as elsewhere, ministration although the legislature could was more concerned with maintaining overrule and obstruct him. law and order for the peaceful exploitation Two Commissions, the first in 1928, of the country's economic resources than presided over by the late Lord Donough- with the introduction of western forms more, and the second in 1944, presided of popular government. But even in the over by Lord Soulbury who is now Gover- first years of British rule, administrators nor-General of Ceylon, brought Ceylon imbued with the liberal traditions of Eng- to her present position as a self-governing· land foresaw a politically autonomous member of the Commonwealth. 'l'he future for Ceylon. Sir Alexander John- Donoughmore Commission introduced stone, one of the earliest Chief Justices of adult franchise, abolished communal re- Ceylon, submitted to His Majesty's Gov- presentation and gave a Constitution ernment in 1809 a Memorandum in the modelled on the London County Council course of which he proposed "a Constitu- with the Chairmen of seven Executive tion of Government similar in principle Committees forming a Board of Ministers. to the British Constitution, but so modi- 'The Soulbury Commission gave to Cer fied as to suit the religious and moral Ion a Constitution conforming to the gen- feelings of the natives, and the peculiar eral pattern existing in the Dominions. circumstances of the country, be guaran- A few months after the inauguration of the teed to all the inhabitants of the Island Soulbury Constitution, which had stopped by an Act of Parliament". just short of Dominion status, Ceylon was It is possible today to review one and admitted to full membership of the Com- a half century of British rule in Ceylon monwealth as a Dominion by an Act of with greater detachment than it was when the British Parliament. the nation's leaders were engaged in a The friendly and helpful manner in struggle for political freedom and the which the change was effected by the Colonial Office in London in resisting what British statesmen concerned contributed its advisers regarded as a dangerous agi- in no small way to the excellenu relations tation for premature or inopportune which now obtain between the people changes. This is not the place to make a of the youngest Dominion and the mother careful assessment of that rule but it can country. The initiative was taken by the be asserted with confidence that the period Labour Prime Minister but other parlia- · of tutelage, even though it may have been mentarians like Mr. Oliver Stanley, Lord unduly prolonged, has left no legacy of Harlech, Mr. Arthur Creech-Jones, Lord mutual distrust and bitterness. No per- Hall and Mr. Patrick Gordon-Walker were suasion was required to establish Cey- of great help. Two recent Governors, now lon as a .contented member of the British living in retirement, Sir Andrew Caldecott Commonwealth. Nor is there any reluc- and Sir Henry Moore, also played a con- tance to recognize at its full worth the structive role ip. the negotiations which British contribution to the economic pro- were carried on by Ceylon's great leader gress and pol,itical education of the people. and Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Don The British administrators worked on the Stephen Senanayake. Fabian and British principle of the in- evitability of gradualness. The early Leg- islative Councils were composed of mem- II bers nominated by the Governor. It was REALISATION of the benefits o.f not until 1910 that a constituency was A British rule strengthens the links created to elect a single member to repre- which bind Ceylon to the Commonwealth. 42 PUBLIC AFFAIRS

When Ceylon became a British Colony, from the United Kingdom. In so far as its population had dwindled to less than a it cannot provide for its own defence, it million. The feudal system at the centre may rely on the forces of the United King- and local self-government at the circum- dom, which for this purpose will be pro- ference were crumbling. Education was vided with such bases and facilities as may stagnant and there were no industries be agreed upon. Clause I binds Ceylon producing for export other than the cin- to render assistance only to the extent namon monopoly so recently exploited that is in its own interest to do so. The by the Dutch. The British built roads forces to be stationed will be agreed by the into the interior and introduced new and Ceylon Government and the bases pro- profitable crops. Ceylon's economy to- vided will remain under its control, as has day is founded very largely on its three bf:)en the practice in the other Dominions. export industries: tea, rubber and coco- 1'he provision of bases is a well recognized nuts. The tea industry, which makes a international practice where both parties substantial contribution to. the national gain from the arrangement: e.g. the United income and to Government revenue, is States have bases in British territory." still owned to the extent of about seventy- Ceylon is a convenient spot whence five per cent by British capital. Invest- to reach neighbouring countries in South ors have little reason to complain when East Asia where a clash of ideologies has they get a yield of ten per cent at current produced violent reactions. It is on the share values in one of the most stable agri- ocean highway to Australia and the Far cultural industries to be found in any part East and the number of international air of the world. lines making scheduled stops in the Island Ceylon's place in the Commonwealth 1s mcreasing. These advantages no doubt is determined by the democratic pattern prompted the selection. of Colombo as the of its government, by its participation in a venue of the recent conference of Com- Commonwealth foreign policy, by the in- monwealth Foreign Ministers, the first tegration of its system of commerce and to be held outside the United Kingdom. finance with that of the Colllillonwealth The conference attracted a great deal of as a whole and by strategic considerations. attention in the world's Press, including It is obvious that Ceylon has neither the Soviet newspapers. "Izvestia" pub- the resources nor the trained personnel to lished a cartoon of Mr. Bevin in the temple defend itself against a powerful aggressor. of the Sacred Tooth at Kandy in which Yet, during the last war, the Island played the Foreign Minister was depicted as im- a significant role as a base of operations ploring the Lord Buddha to give the for the South East Asia Command and as British lion a new set of teeth, and the supplier of vital strategic war materials sacred tooth itself was shown hanging such as natural rubber and high-grade at the end of a string. This cartoon has graphite or plumbago. The Kremlin has given deep offence to the millions of blocked Ceylon's membership in the United Buddhists who form the majority of the Nations Organization on the ground that population of Ceylon. its Government has promised naval and The Colombo Conference gave an air bases to the British in the event of war. opportunity to Commonwealth- statesmen Indeed, Ceylon has promised to act with to judge for themselves the part which the Britain in its own interest and there was youngest Dominion will be able to play no compulsion about it. One of the five in the common effort to ensure world documents signed when Ceylon received peace and prosperity. For among those Dominion status referred to defence. The attending were Mr. Bevin, the British Ceylon Prime Minister made the follow- Foreign Secretary, Mr. Lester Pearson, ing statement about this document: the Canadian Minister of External Af- "Ceylon may as a Dominion establish fairs, Mr. Doidge, the New Zealand Min- such defence forces as it pleases and will ister of External Affairs, Pandit Nehru, obtain such assistance as it may require Prime Minister of India, Mr. Ghulam DOMINION OF CEYLON 43

Mohamed, Pakistan Finance Minister, and shown its readiness to be of help to its Mr. Paul Sauer, a member of the South neighbours. Following the Conference of African Cabinet. Commonwealth Foreign Ministers in The Conference did not perhaps Colombo, the. Prime Minister of Burma achieve spectacular results but those chief- visited Ceylon on a goodwill mission. ly concerned were of the view that it was Since then Ceylon has given a loan to the fully worthwhile both as a means of Burmese Government as an advance bringing together the Commonwealth lead- against supplies of rice, the staple food of ers for a free exchange of views and as an the Island's inhabitants. opportunity to direct their minds to speci- fic problems. Viscount Addison, Lord T may seem paradoxical that although Privy Seal in the British Cabinet, was I the main Opposition in the Ceylon doubtless expressing the verdict of the House of Representatives consists of British Government when he stated in the groups which profess some form of Com- House of Lords on March 2, that "the munism, as a political creed Communism Colombo Conference has been one of the has made little headway in the Island. most valuable that our history presented Communism in Ceylon has not been al- for a long time." He added that it was lowed to go underground since the leaders characterised by extraordinary goodwill of the movement were released from de- and was the first of its kind-a united tention after the conclusion of the war. Commonwealth Conference, not deliberat- The peasant population, which is far and ing in general terms but dealing with away the largest section of the public, specific problems such as the peace treaty has shown no interest in it. The stronger with Japan and the problems of Burma wing of the local Communist movement is and South East Asia. Trotskyist, profoundly distrusts the Soviet There is a close and continuous ex- regime, and derives no strength from change of views between the British and powerful allies outside the country. The Ceylon Governments on the foreign af- leading Communists have been elected to fairs, for their mutual advantage. When Parliament on personal rather than party Ceylon was granted the full international grounds. Most of them are intellectuals status of a Dominion in 1948, one of the educated at the Universities of London, agreements provided that "Ceylon will Oxford or Cambridge and are severe, if be able to appoint its own diplomatic re- often irresponsible, critics of Government presentatives or to use those of the United policy. Indeed, they have so far shown Kingdom if it prefers to do so. It will neither the inclination nor the capacity be able to make its own treatiesanJ.agree- for a constructive approach to the prob- ments subject to the rules relating to lems of government. They seem content consultation and cooperation laid down to oppose and obstruct so long as they by the Imperial Conferences, and these cannot get power. rult)s apply equally to the United Kingdom. Political agitators in the country dur- What they mean in practice is that the ing the period of British rule asked for no United Kingdom will keep Ceylon fully more than self-government on the British informed about its actions through the model of parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth Relations Office and that Ceylon House of Representatives- allow- Ceylon may make any representations it ing for local djfferences-is a smaller thinks fit either directly or through the High edition bf the British House of Commons. Commissioners. Similarly, Ceylon will Adult franchise, territorial representation, keep the United Kingdom fully informed Cabinet responsibility, the separation and will, if necessary, receive representa- of the Judiciary from the Executive, all tions through the same channels" (Cey- these features of the British Constitution lon Government Sessional Paper XXII are reproduced in the Ceylon Constitu- of 1947). tion. The procedure of the Senate and Within· the general framework of a House of Representatives follows closely Commonwealth foreign policy Ceylon has the procedure of the two Houses of the 44 PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Mother of Parliaments, and Erskine May CEYLON'S EXTERNAL TRADE, 1948 is the final authority on all disputed points. The British left behind a well- INSIDE THE Imports COMM ONWEALTH (Rs. million) (Rs. million) trained Public Service with sound tradi- tions, but an ever-increasing volume of United Kingdom... 171 301 Canada...... 8 40 work, with the Government extending Australia ...... 125 84 social services and going into many new India...... 125 20 enterprises, is bound to tax its framework Pakistan ...... 11 17 severely. South Africa...... 11 43 • New Zealand ...... 0.2 22 III Mauritius . . '...... 30 0.3 OUTSIDE THE HE problem of the statesman in Cey- COMMO NWEALTH T lon as elsewhere today is that of in- United States ...... 75 165 creasing production and bringing down Burma ...... 171 * 0 .3 Egypt ...... 57 59 the cost of living. In these tasks the Cey- Iran ...... 30 5 -lon Government has worked in concert Iraq ...... 1 17 with the rest of the Commonwealth. Cey- Italy ...... 3 18 lon has also made a notable contribution Belgium ...... 16 6 to the dollar pool of the Sterling Area. Japan ...... 13 1 Russia ...... nil In the ten years from 1939 it had made a 4 net contribution of over £125 millions- *Imports from Burma: mainly rice. a sum approximately equal to the total external assets of the country. Ceylon has also carried out its obligations to limit the reader that Ceylon's existence as an dollar expenditure to the minimum by a independent country is dependent on its rigid system of exchange and import con- membership in the Commonwealth. It trol and • high tariffs although before de- has neither the resources nor the ambition valuation of the rupee a wide range of to match its armed forces against any goods were cheaper in the dollar area than likely aggressor. It has sought and adopt- in soft currency countries. ed the parliamentary system of democracy Even though the great bulk of Cey- which has been evolved by the genius of lon's food imports come from coun.tries the Anglo-Saxon race. Ceylon sees the outside the Commonwealth- local pro- advantages of a Commonwealth foreign duction comprising only a third of the policy in a world menaced by ideological country's total requirements- the major threats to peace and stability. The pat- part of the trade of the Island is with the tern of the Island's trade, despite the Commonwealth, as the figures for 1948 in necessity to buy the larger part of its food the adjoining table indicate. supplies from outside the Commonwealth, Ceylon's trade within the Common- also sh9ws that the youngest Dominion wealth in 1949 was 57 per cent of the total · gains by remaining a member of the family of its overseas trade. The record for the of nations which is today the strongest five preceding years reveals a series of guarantee of the survival of the d~mo- changes: 60 per cent in 1944, a slight drop cratic system. , tCrown Colony to followed by a steady decline to 67 in 1947 graduate to nationhood, and its career and 57 in 1948. The decline in the·Com- is watched by many who hope to reach monwealth share during the past two or that status by the same process. If it three years was due to the increasing price can produce leaders of the calibre of its of rice, imported chiefly from Burma, present Prime Minister, then Ceylon's Siam, Egypt and Brazil. future as a small and self-respecting mem- The foregoing survey will have shown ber of the Commonwealth is bright.