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Thursday Sep 19, 2024
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Legislative Council building – later Senate building
When the British troops attacked the last native ruler’s capital, Kandy, the resistance was feeble. His capture marked the end of independence of the Sinhalese after 2,300 years. The Kandyan Convention signed between the British and the Kandyan chieftains on 2 March 1815, stated that Rajasinghe was “deposed from the office of king”, and “the dominion of Kandyan Provinces was vested in the Sovereign of the British Empire.
Earlier, on 16 February 1796, the territories administered by the Dutch were surrendered to the British. Thereafter the maritime provinces of Ceylon, as the country was then known, were administered by the English East India Company forming a part of the Government of Madras. Robert Andrews was appointed the Resident and Superintendent of Revenue.
In 1798, Ceylon, considered as “the most valuable colonial possession of the globe”, was placed under the Crown administered by a Governor, the first of whom was Frederick North. On 1 January 1802, the control of the East India Company was abolished and Ceylon became a Crown Colony under the Colonial Office in London.
In the early years, the construction of roads became a priority issue for easy movement. There were only narrow paths for foot-passengers, pack-cattle, or palanquins. Sir Emerson Tennent wrote: “Travellers were borne along the shore in palanquins by paths under the trees, troops on the march dragged their guns with infinite toil over the sand, and stores, supplies, and ammunition were carried on men’s shoulders through the jungle.”
The fifth Governor, Sir Edward Barnes (1824-31), who had come here earlier in July 1819 as Commander-in-chief of the Forces, after an initial tour of the island commented that what Ceylon wanted was, “first roads; second roads; and third roads.” He believed that roads were more important than forts since without roads “we can never be said to have secure possession of the country nor can it commercially improve.”
He started building a military road to Kandy in 1820 which was completed after he came back as governor. A Bridge of Boats over the Kelani Ganga at Grandpas
s carried the Colombo-Kandy traffic from 1822 until 1895 when the Victoria Bridge was opened. Barnes connected Colombo with every town in the country and linked Kandy with every coastal town.
Meanwhile, seeing the potential of coffee as a plantation crop Governor Barnes himself gave the lead by planting coffee at Gannoruwa in 1825. The Crown Lands Ordinance of 1840 enabled the sale of crown land for the expansion of plantations.
An area of 14,000 hectares was brought under coffee and a migrant labour force of nearly 150,000 persons was got down from South India. Those who bought land included governors, civil servants and soldiers. Seeing the trend, London set rules barring them from trade but not cultivation.
With the collapse of the coffee industry as a result of a leaf disease, tea took its place. By 1887 tea had emerged as the major plantation crop in the country and became its major export product.
As coffee production started to increase, transport became a problem with only a few roads being available for cart traffic. Agitation by the English planting community led to the construction of the railway. The first train from Colombo arrived in Kandy on 26 April 1867. Further extensions were called for and the service was opened first to Gampola and then to Nawalapitiya.
Setting up the Legislative Council
In 1829 a Royal Commission on Inquiry appointed by the British Government comprising Lieut.-Colonel Colebrooke and C H Cameron recommended changes to the civil and judicial administration.
An Executive Council consisting of the Governor (Chairman) and five senior administrators – Colonial Secretary, Officer Commanding the Military Forces, Attorney-General, Auditor-General & Treasurer – was set up in 1833. The Governor was directed to consult the Council on all administrative and financial matters. It was a purely an advisory body and the governor was at liberty to disregard their advice.
The Legislative Council established the same year comprised 15 members – nine officials and six unofficials –all nominated by the government.
The Governor nominated one low-country Sinhalese, one Burgher and one Tamil, and three European planters/businessmen, as the unofficial members. In 1889 two more were added to represent the Kandyans and the Muslims, then called Moors.
In 1910, the Council was enlarged to 21 with 11 officials and 10 unofficial members. Four unofficial members – two to represent Europeans and one each to represent Burghers and educated Ceylonese – were to be elected by a limited electorate comprising ‘educated Ceylonese’ and there was a high educational barrier. The balance six unofficial members continued to be on a racial basis: two low-country Sinhalese, two Tamils, one Kandyan and one Moor.
The Council was further enlarged in 1924 due to agitation by the Ceylon National Congress (CNC), which was founded in 1919. The new Council had 12 official members as against 37 unofficials. Of the latter, 23 were returned from territorial electorates, 11 from communal and three nominated by the Governor. They could elect a vice-president of the Council who to preside over the meetings.
Voting rights by then had been given to those with an income of Rs. 50 a month. Those who qualified accounted for a mere 200,000 of a population of four million people.
State Council – now Presidential Secretariat
State Council is formed
Universal adult suffrage (for those over 21) was granted to Ceylon in 1931 on a recommendation by the Donoughmore Commission appointed by the British Government on constitutional reforms.
The Donoughmore Constitution introduced a legislative chamber comprising entirely of elected members except for a few who were nominated by the Governor. The State Council, as the legislature was called, had 50 members elected from territorial constituencies, three ex-officio members without voting rights and up to eight members nominated by the Governor.
It had both executive and legislative functions, the latter through a committee system where the elected 50 members were divided into seven committees, each in charge of the general direction and control of several government departments. A chairman was elected by each committee who was designated Minister.
The chairmen and the three ex-officio members – Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Legal Secretary – formed the Board of Ministers similar to the present Cabinet of Ministers. Matters discussed and approved by the State Council were submitted to the Governor for approval.
The Governor’s powers were thus gradually been restricted.
The Governor’s status and his powers of interference were further restricted by the Soulbury Constitutions in 1947 when a parliamentary system of government was introduced. It coincided with the granting of Independence in February 1948.
More next week.
