Unit 07 – Colonial Transformation of Ceylon

• Early period of British colonial transformation.

• 1833 Colebrook reforms
• 1910 Crew McCullum reforms
• 1920 Manning reforms
• 1924 Manning Devonshire reforms
• 1931 Donoughmore reforms
INTRODUCTION

Following the scientific and industrial development European nations started to discover more
geographical territories following the Turkish invasion of Constantinople in 1453 the supply chains of
spices to Europe were blocked this resulted in European nations finding new methods to import spices as
well as focusing on colonizing eastern countries to make profit through spices. Therefore, European nation
nations such as British, Dutch, French, Portuguese, and Spanish etc. started colonizing non-European
territory in a competitive manner the basic intentions of these nations were to maintain colonize as a free
source of supply of spices and other raw materials required for their parent country. In general, the main
motive behind colonization is as follows;

1. Gaining economic benefits

2. Spreading culture and religion
3. Dominance in the international community

In terms of colonization European nations followed by 2 different mechanisms;

1. Discovering a new territory which does not have a developed political population, and the
colonizers settling in that land by establishing political, economic and social systems of the
parent’s country.
2. Concurring an already establish territory with a politically organized population, and through and
agreement.

In terms of Sri Lanka the second mechanism was applied as the colonizers imposed a rule over the existing
rule of Sri Lanka under this method the existing social, economic and political systems faced
transformation.

As we discuss under the 3rd unit the ruling system of colonizers is recognized as the colonial stage is a
highly centralized, militarized and a bureaucratic stated however the colonial rulers did introduce many
democratic features which later became the origin of the democratic systems of these countries therefore
studying the colonial transformation of such a country is important. In this unit we shall look into the
colonial transformation period of Sri Lanka went through under the British rule.

The study will focus on the following elements;

1. Explaining the trends and the outcomes of political economic and social systems of Sri Lanka
during the colonial rule.
2. Examining how the foundation for the modern state was laid during this time.
3. Identifying the origin and the evolution of modern representative of Democracy of Sri Lanka.
4. Analyzing the special features of Donoughmore constitutional reforms.
7.2 COLONIAL TRANSFORMATION AND OUTCOMES

As a country Sri Lanka is no stranger to foreign invasions as throughout the history of Sri Lanka has faced
invasions from India however Sri Lanka was subjected to western colonization starting from the arrival of
Portuguese in 1505 this was followed by the arrival of the Dutch in 1638 and the British in 1798. The
Portuguese and the Dutch only managed to capture the coastal area of Sri Lanka, even the British initially
only managed to concur the coastal area by 1815 British rulers were able to capture the entire country.
This colonial rule existed until 1947. Unlike other European colonizers British colonizers are known to be
extremely social, political and economic areas of the colony and changing all the systems. Similarly, Sri
Lanka also went through a complete transformation process under the British rule in other words the
current social, economic and political system of Sri Lanka where founded by the British rulers.

During the British rule that existed in Ceylon from 1796 to 1948 the British colonies introduced reforms
at various points the reason to introduce the reforms are as follows.

1. In order to minimize the costs of administration and military.

2. In order to conveniently control the colony more directly.
3. Changing the life patterns, attitudes and the behaviors of Sri Lankan’s according to the British rule.
4. Handling Sri Lanka in a way for their parent country to benefit the best.

In order to achieve above goals British rulers introduced several reforms

• 1883 Colebrook Cameron reforms

• 1910 Crew McCollum reforms
• 1920 Manning Reforms
• 1924 Manning Devonshire Reforms
• 1931 Dunmore reforms
• 1947 Soulbury reforms (Soulbury constitution)

Out of the above reforms only 1833 Colebrook reforms introduced reforms in political economic and social
areas following reforms simply focused on political reforms only 1947 Soulbury reforms finally granted
dominion status.1931 Dunmore reforms was basically laying the political foundation for dominion status.
Other reforms from 1910 to 1924 were mostly mild political reforms given at the request of local leaders.
1947 Soulbury reforms was in fact a proper constitution drafted by the British ruler, the Soulbury
constitution functioned in Sri Lanka until 1972.
7.3 THE EARLY PERIOD BRITISH COLONIAL RULE OF SRI LANKA

As we discussed before none of the invading nations managed to capture the entire country of Sri Lanka.
Even the British colonizers only managed to capture the Maritime Provinces in 1796. From 1796 to 1815
the British rulers concurred the coastal area of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1797 locals rebelled against the British
rulers over the excessive taxation. Following this rebel Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was subjected to a system of
dual control as the British crown and the east India trade company both controlled Ceylon (Sri Lanka) After
the failure of this dual control system the East Indian trade company withdrew from controlling Ceylon
(Sri Lanka) and the coastal areas of Ceylon became (Sri Lanka) became a direct colony of the British Crown.

Therefore the British rule of the coastal areas of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) can be divided into 3 stages;

1. Controlled by the East India Trade company from 1796 to 1798.

2. Controlled by the system of Dual Control (British crown and East Indian trade company) 1798 to
1802.
3. Controlled by the British Crown after 1802.

From 1796 to 1815 the Kandian Kingdom existed under a local monarch despite the British rule in coastal
areas. In 1803 the British Governor Fredrick North unsuccessfully attempted to invade the Kandian
Kingdom, following this the British Governor Thomas Maitland maintained a peaceful relationship with
the Kandian Kingdom.

However due to political conflicts and political instability the British Governor Robert Brownrigg managed
to capture the Kandian kingdom. On the 2nd of March 1815 the aristocratic leaders of the Kandian
kingdom signed a Kandian treaty which accepted the British rule over the entire country of Sri Lanka. This
was the first instance where the entire country of Sri Lanka was colonized by an alien nation. After
capturing the up country the British rulers decided to establish a separate administration unit for the up
country areas while the lower country was controlled by the governor this was known as the Dual
Administrative System of Ceylon.

In 1818/19 uprising took place in Uva Wallesa this was led by local aristocratic leaders. However British
rulers managed to successfully establish their rule. The time period following the Uva Walesa uprising did
not have an organized structure of governance as the British rulers handled governance according to the
situation by late 1820’s British rulers started to focus on organizing the colonial rule of Ceylon therefore
in 1829 the Colebrook commission arrived in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to suggest necessary political, economic
and social systems.

7.4 1833 COLEBROOK CAMERON REFORMS

This is considered as the first set of constitutional reforms introduced to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) by the British
rulers. Colebrook reforms can be identified as a complete set of political, economic and social reforms
rather than mere political reforms especially the aristocratic monarchial system of Sri Lanka was
completely transformed into a capitalistic democratic liberal democratic system with the introduction of
Colebrook Cameron reforms in other words the modern political and economic system which currently
exists in Sri Lanka were founded by 1883 Colebrook Cameron reforms.

After capturing the maritime provinces of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1796 and capturing the entire country in
1815 the British rulers did not follow a proper frame work of governance until 1833 during this time many
British officials raised the necessity for reforms in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) however the British rulers started to
focus on granting reforms to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) only by late 1820’s when the expenses of Ceylon became
higher than the income it generated the existing administrative system of Ceylon (Sri Lanka)was highly
criticized on weakness such as;

• Inefficiency in financial management

• Administration and the judiciary being handled by the same institution (Governor and friends)
• In eligible people being recruited for governmental positions etc.

The British colonial rulers appointed the Colebrook Cameron commission to address these weaknesses
and suggest reforms for Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Therefore in 1829 the Colebrook Cameron commission arrived in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). William Colebrook
was in charge of political economic and social reforms while C.H. Cameron was a specialist of judicial
reforms. The Colebrook Cameron commission was highly influenced by the laissez faire (leave alone)
liberal theories in Europe. Therefore reforms suggested by this commission mainly aimed at turning Sri
Lanka into a politically liberal and an economically capitalistic country. Despite the objections by the
British Governor the Colebrook commission took steps to include liberal and capitalistic reforms to Ceylon
(Sri Lanka).

Reforms by the Colebrook Commission

The Colebrook Commission travelled around Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and studied political economic and social
systems before preparing and submitting the commission report. The Commission report suggested the
following reforms for Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

1. Restricting the unreasonable powers of the governor

2. Introducing a Legislative council
3. Introducing an executive council
4. Unifying the administration of upcountry and lower country
5. Abolishing the market monopoly of the government
6. Improving English Education
7. Abolishing the permanent duty system (raja kaari system)
8. Introducing a solitary administrative system and dividing the country into 5 provinces
9. Reforming the judiciary
10. Improving Plantation
11. Reforming the Civil Service
12. Reforming the taxation system
13. The waste land act
14. Allowing Europeans to buy more land in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
15. Transforming the self-sufficient economy into a dependent economy

01. Restricting the unreasonable powers of the governor

The essential stage of colonial rule did not follow a proper governmental structure as a result the powers
of the British Governor did not have any restrictions these autocratic powers were highly criticized by the
Colebrook commission. Therefore the initial step was to restrict unreasonable powers of the governor
since the Colebrook commission was influenced by liberal thinking, they intended to change the autocratic
governance of the Governor therefore following powers of the governor were restricted under the
Colebrook reforms,

• The power of the governor to arrest anyone without a warrant or to deport anyone without a trail
was removed.
• The Governor being judicially immune under the Sri Lankan law was removed.
• Governors powers to get involved with the judiciary as a judge was removed.

Due to the unrestricted power of the Governor the European invested hesitated to come to Ceylon
therefore the Colebrook commission took steps to restrict some of them.

The unreasonable powers of the governor to reduce the autocratic nature of the governor’s rule other
than this the commission took further steps to establish a legislative council and an Executive council to
minimize the power being centralized at the governor.

02. Introducing a Legislative council

This can be identified as the most important suggestion included in Colebrook Cameron reforms the
legislative council which was established in 1833 can be considered as the origin of parliamentary
democracy, representative democracy and Democratic governance of Sri Lanka. This legislative council
was established to approve the decisions of the government according to basic democratic standards
however it should be noted that in terms of powers the legislative council was similar to a board of
consultants.

This council was consisted of 15 members which included of 9 British officials and 6 un officials.

The 6 un-officials included

• 3 European planters
• 3 Locals

The 3 locals were chosen as

• 1 Sinhalese
• 1 Tamil
• 1 Burgher

All 6 un-officials were nominated by the Governor himself. The chair position of the council was handled
by the governor himself.
This legislative council got very limited powers over the powers of the Governor. The majority of the
legislative council was any way consisted of British officials who were in favor of the governor. Even the
unofficial members were nominated by the governor himself which allowed the dominance of the
governor on them. Other than this the fact that the governor himself sharing the legislative council made
the position of the governor more powerful within the legislative council. The Governor was even allowed
to make decisions without the approval of the legislative council, however in such cases the governor was
supposed to notify the reasons behind his actions.

This council allowed representation for 6 unofficial members. The 3 European planters who represented
the legislative council mainly focused on addressing their issues in plantation within this council. The local
representatives however did not represent the desires of their communities as they were from an elite
class which favored the British rulers.

Also, it should be noted that the communal representation which was applied in this legislative council
was a strategy used by the British rulers to divide and rule the Sri Lankan population. The national
movement of Sri Lanka was initiated with protests for more seats in the legislative council. This movement
was initiated by European planters in 1860s.However protests made by European planters did not have a
big impact as the British rulers did not make any reasonable changes to the legislative council except for
including 2 more unofficial members for upcountry Sinhalese and Muslims in 1889. These protests were
later taken forward by the educated middle class locals which resulted in many political reforms in early
20th century. The 1833 legislative council is considered as a landmark in Sri Lankan political history despite
having several weaknesses.

03. Establishing an executive council

The establishment of the executive council can be identified as one of the most important landmarks in
the political history of Sri Lanka before Colebrook reforms all the governmental powers and the authority
to make decisions were centralized by the British governor. Colebrook commission criticized this and
suggested the Governor should make decisions collectively with a group this idea was somewhat similar
to a Prime Minister and a cabinet. However, the executive council established under the Colebrook
reforms functioned as an advisory board after the introduction of this house the governor was supposed
to seek the opinion of this council before making a financial or administrative decision however the
governor was not bound to follow the advice of the executive council although if the governor is going
against the executive council he should notify the reason to the British parliament.

Colebrook executive council was consisted of the governor himself and 5 other members including.

1. The Colonial Secretary

2. The Treasurer
3. The Head of Military
4. The Agent in charge of Up Country
5. Attorney General

Every member of the executive council were British officials while the governor chaired the council
officially. In terms of financial management this council did control the powers of the governor up to a
certain extent therefore the executive council can be identified as an institute of financial management.

04. Unifying the administration of upcountry and lower country

Since the British captured the up country and lower country territories separately the administrative of
up country was established separately in 1815 this separate administrative system was continued until
1833 and was criticized by the Colebrook commission for being too expensive therefore the commission
suggested to unify the administration of Ceylon.

05. Abolishing the market monopoly of the government

Prior to 1833 the economic system of Ceylon was heavily controlled by the government and the
government held a market monopoly this discouraged the European planters who lived in Ceylon as well
as more European planters from coming to Ceylon. The Colebrook commission which was highly
influenced by laissez faire capitalistic liberal ideologies did not agree with this. The commission suggested
to abolish the trade monopoly of the government in order to create the free market this reform allowed
the private sector of Ceylon to evolve much bigger.

06. Improving English Education

This can be identified as one of the reforms which resulted in social transformation which lasted for a long
time. The improving of English education and allowing the locals into English schools, changed the entire
social system of Sri Lanka. The initial decision by the Colebrook commission to allow locals into local
education was applied to minimized the expenses of bringing civil servants from Britain in the initial period
of British colonial era due to the shortage of civil servants British rulers had to bring doctors, engineers,
lawyer and other government servants from Britain since this system was costly the Colebrook
commission suggested English education for locals and recruit locals to above positions therefore English
missionary schools were established and local children were allowed to enter to local missionary schools
alongside European children. Other than the intention of reducing expenses British colonial rulers also
expected to create a social class which would favor the British rule of Ceylon this could be practically be
seen as the elite class of Ceylon was created as a result of this reform. The elite class of Ceylon was
considered as an educated middle class which followed the British culture, traditions and life style the
existence of this class made it convenient for the British rulers to concur Ceylon.
 07. Abolishing the permanent duty system (raja kaari system)

The Raja Kaari system existed in Sri Lanka which imposed permanent duty on the citizens to serve the king
with labor therefore similar to the taxation system every citizen owed a certain amount of their labor the
government. The monarchial system which existed in Sri Lanka before the arrival of the Europeans
maintained the permanent duty system which made the citizens work without a pay. The Portuguese and
the Dutch both used the Raja Kaari system to fulfill their necessities without a cost through our citizens
(Sri Lankan citizens) even the earlier period of the British Colonial rule continued the permanent duty
system. However, the Colebrook Commission did not believe in the permanent duty system as they
believed in concept of free labor as provided by the liberal ideology. The permanent duty system and the
cast system is unethical and does not support the capitalistic economic system the Colebrook commission
stated that every citizen should have the freedom to choose any profession they prefer despite the blood
line every citizen is entitled for a pay to the amount of labor given. Abolishing the permanent duty system
and creating a free labor market also supported the implementation of plantation economy.

08. Introducing a solitary administrative system and dividing

By the time British rulers arrived in Ceylon the administration was divided into 3 units; -

1. Northern maritime areas 2. Low country maritime areas 3. Upcountry areas

Later on, these 3 units were divided 16 provinces for administration. The Colebrook commission criticized
this administrative system due to higher expenses and inefficiency. Therefore, the commission suggested
to apply a uniform administration system and divided the country into 5 provinces instead. Each province
was based on a key city in the area;

1. Western Province- Colombo

2. Eastern Province- Trincomalee
3. Northern Province – Jaffna
4. Southern province – Galle
5. Central province – Kandy

09. Reforming the judiciary

1833 Colebrook Cameron reforms prioritized reforming the judiciary as the commission member C.H.
Cameron was specifically appointed to suggest reforms to the Sri Lankan judiciary. The modern judicial
system of Sri Lanka was introduced to our country by the Dutch, their application of Roman Dutch law
was taken forward by the British rulers. However, prior to 1833 the judicial od Ceylon had several issues
as upcountry and lower country have 2 different court structures, Europeans and locals having 2 different
trial procedures, the influence of the Governor violating the independence of the judiciary etc.

Therefore C. H . Cameron introduced several judicial reforms including;-

1. Unifying the judicial structure for upcountry and lower country.

2. Unifying the trial procedure for locals and Europeans.
3. Declaring the Supreme Court as the highest court house of Ceylon.
4. Establishing district courts.
5. Establishing independence of judiciary and rule of law in Ceylon.
 10. Improving Plantation

One of the main intentions behind the British invasion of Ceylon was to earn profit from plantation.
Therefore, most of the economic reforms suggested by the Colebrook commission had primarily aimed
improving the plantation economy. The cinnamon cultivation which was well established by the
Portuguese and the Dutch was taken forward by British rulers as well in addition British rulers also
introduced tea and coffee to the plantation economy of Ceylon. Economic reforms suggested by the
Colebrook commission such as, Abolishing the market monopoly of the government, abolishing the Raja
Kari System of Sri Lanka etc. directly aimed at improving the plantation economy in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) also
even political and administrative reforms such as;

• Reforming the administrative system

• Restricting the powers of the Governor
• Establishing executive and legislative councils etc.

Aimed at creating political stability in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to encourage more Europeans to arrive in Ceylon
(Sri Lanka). One of the most notable features was the inclusion of three European planters in the
legislative council as unofficial members.

11. Reforming the Civil Service

The Colebrook Cameron commission took steps to reform the civil service of Ceylon this step was mainly
taken since the civil service of Ceylon had turned inefficient and expensive over the years. Therefore,
salaries and retirement of civil servants were reasonably reduced this however in directly helped
plantation economy as many disappointed civil servants quit their civil service job to become planters.

12. Reforming the Taxation process

The Colebrook Cameron commission reformed the taxation system of Ceylon as the commission identified
the current direct taxation system was reasonably inefficient the commission pointed out that direct
taxation system requires more man power and fund therefore it was replaced with an indirect taxation
system.

13. The waste land act/14.

Allowing Europeans to buy more land in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) This can be considered as a negative feature
of Colebrook Cameron reforms. In order to collect sufficient land to implement plantation the waste land
was used and the land which could not be claimed were taken over by the government. Colebrook
Cameron Reforms all together implemented a policy on land which primarily aimed at aiding the
plantation economy the land policy in general encouraged more Europeans to buy land in Ceylon.

14. Transforming the self-sufficient economy into a dependent economy

Before the arrival of the British, Sri Lanka had a self-sufficient economy for centuries even the occupations
by the Portuguese and Dutch did not change this system. The Colebrook Commission however with the
influence of liberal capitalism took steps to change the self-sufficient economy into a dependent economy
This Transformation had its own advantages as well as disadvantages. As a result, Sri Lanka became the
part of the world market this however made Sri Lanka subjected to global economic trends.
1910 Crewe McCollum reforms

Main features of Crew McCallum reforms

1. Increasing the number of members in the legislative council.

2. Introducing limited franchise to Ceylon for the first time.
3. Electing an educated Ceylonese from limited franchise.
4. Continuing with communal representation.

1. Increasing the number of members in the legislative council

The legislative council which was introduced to Ceylon in 1833 was consisted of 15 members. 1910 Crew
McCallum reforms increased this number to 21. These 21 members included 11 officials and 10 unofficial.
The unofficial included 6 nominated members and 4 elected members. The most notable feature of this
reform was the introduction of limited franchise to elect 4 unofficial members. The composition of the
Crew McCallum council is as follows.

The Governor still held the chair of this legislative council meanwhile the majority of the house was still
with the British officials. In addition, out of the un-officials also 6 members were nominated the by the
Governor himself, this made the Governor and British officials even stronger. Therefore, it can be seen
that despite being changed in terms of composition the legislative council was not changed in terms of
the power.

2. Introducing limited franchise to Ceylon for the first time.

The introduction of limited franchise can be considered one of the boldest landmarks of Sri Lankan
democracy. Under limited franchise locals were allowed to vote to choose their representatives. However,
under limited franchise voting was considered a privilege rather than a right. The eligibility to vote was
restricted with many criteria, therefore the eligibility to vote depended on 4 criteria;
• Income: - The annual income should be above Rs.600 with the possession of immovable property worth
more than Rs.1500.

• Education: - Should be literate in English with the ability to speak, write and read. Furthermore, should
have passed the senior college examination.

• Age: - Above the age of 21.

• Gender: - Male.

Therefore, it can be seen that limited franchise has allowed rich and educated adult males to vote.

3. Electing an educated Ceylonese from limited franchise.

Out of the 4 elected members one seat was given to an educated Ceylonese. This can be identified as an
early sign of locals receiving vast political responsibilities Ponnambalam Ramadan and Sir Marcus
Fernando contested for the position of the educated Ceylonese whereas Ponnambalam Ramadan was
elected as the first educated Ceylonese in the legislative council.

4. Continuing with communal representation

The communal representation was applied in Colebrook Cameron reforms as a colonial strategy to divide
and rule the locals. 1910 Crew McCallum reforms also continued communal representation to further
divide the locals. As the composition shows the unofficial members have been divided as Burgher, Tamil,
and Muslim and even as upcountry and lower country Sinhalese. Even one member being named an
educated Ceylonese created a division among the council as educated and uneducated.

All though it is not mentioned in the composition the divide and rule policy were practically extended up
to caste level. In practical application the 2 lower country Sinhalese were chosen as one from Govigama
and the other from Karawa. Even the 2 Tamil representatives were chosen as one from Hindu Welalla and
the other as Tamil Christian. The practical effectiveness of caste division in Ceylon could be seen in the
first election between Ponnambalam Ramadan and Sir Marcus Fernando, for the position of educated
Ceylonese. Ponnambalam Ramadan managed to defeat a Sinhalese candidate for the position as a result
of Govigama caste Sinhalese deciding to vote for a Tamil candidate rather than a Karawa caste Sinhalese.

The British rulers applied communal representation to divide the locals for a majority of their colonial rule
and 1910 Crew McCallum reforms can be identified as the climactic point. The consequences of this was
evident shortly as Ceylon faced ethnic based conflicts for the first time in the country. In 1915 with the
Sinhala-Muslim conflict in Gampola.
1920 Manning Reforms

1833 Colebrook reforms featured communal representation which was a strategical move by British rulers
to create a division among the locals the 1910 Crewe McCullum extended the communal representation
with the intention of further dividing the local population as a result the tension between ethnicities
where further increased as it was seen in 1915 with the Sinhala Muslim conflict in Gampola. Following the
conflict, the British governor Robert Charmers followed extreme measures which included the
imprisonment of many local leaders as well as the execution of Henry Pedris.

Following this the local elite class decided to press the British rulers to win broader political reforms to
prevent such an occurrence again in order to pursue this goal local leaders established the Ceylon reforms
league in 1917 and eventually the Ceylon national congress in 1990 the local leaders requested the British
colonial rulers for a new constitutional reform as they pointed out several weaknesses’ of 1910 reforms;

Local leaders suggested the following features to be included in new reforms;

1. The legislative council should consist of 50 members including 40 un-officials who are elected
2. The chairperson of the legislative council should be an un-official elected member.
3. The governor should be a person with a proper knowledge on British parliamentary traditions.
4. The powers related to the annual budget should be given to the legislative council.
5. The executive council should allow un-official members.

This explains that local leaders intended to gain a reasonably powerful constitutional reform to pave the
way for the dominion status however during this time Great Britain was involved in the First World War.
Therefore, British rulers promised to look into the request of the locals later and 1920 Manning reforms
was introduced until next reforms.

Main features of Manning Reforms

1. The expansion of the number of members and the majority being unofficial
2. Inclusion of regional representation while communal representation was still in practice
3. Allowing 3 unofficial members to the executive council

1. The expansion of the number of members and the majority being unofficial

The legislative council which was established in 1833 was consisted of 9 British officials and 6 un-officials.
In 1910 the number of members were increased to 21 yet a majority of officials were maintained. In 1920
Manning reforms increased the number of total members to 37 and for the first time the un-officials
became the majority with 23 seats out of the 23 officials 7 were nominated by the governor and 16 were
elected. However, despite having a majority of un-official majority had control over the legislative council
as the 7 un-officials nominated by the governor still acted in governor’s favor in addition the governor still
held the chair of the council.
 2. Inclusion of regional representation while communal representation was still in practice

1920 reforms introduced regional representation to elected members to the legislative council however
the harmful communal representation was still continued as five members were elected through
communal representation.

3. Allowing 3 unofficial members to the executive council

The local leaders requested in their suggestions to allow a few unofficial members of the legislative council
to be chosen for the legislative council as well under 1920 reforms 3 members were chosen to the
executive council however only one of those members within the legislative council as the other 2 were
external un-officials.

1924 Manning Devonshire

After many requests by many local leaders, British rulers promised locals advanced political reforms, yet
1920 reforms were given on a temporary basis following that 1924 manning Devonshire reforms were
given by British rulers as promised 1920 reforms did grant many bold features yet did not address the
specific claims requested by the locals mainly the request to make elected un-officials the majority of the
legislative council was not delivered Additionally, in terms of representation certain ethnicities did not
receive a sufficient share most notably Tamil representatives were short of seats which eventually
resulted in a conflict between Sinhala and Tamil leaders. Therefore, by the time Manning Devonshire
reforms the national movement of Sri Lanka has split as Sinhala and Tamil. The establishment of 1924
reforms were mainly influenced by the requests of Ceylon national congress and the Tamil national
congress.
Main Features of 1924 Manning Devonshire reforms

➢ Expanding the number of members in the legislature with elected members being the
majority.
➢ Continuing with the communal representation alongside regional representation.
➢ The legislative council was practically being chaired by a deputy chairman chosen within.
➢ Establishment of the financial committee.
➢ Disconnecting power and responsibility.

1. Expanding the number of members in the legislature with elected members being the majority

Manning Devonshire reforms increased the number of members in the legislature to 49 which included
12 officials and 37 Un-officials out of these un-officials only 8 were nominated by the governor while the
remaining 29 were elected through limited franchise. These elected members were chosen from both
communal and regional representation (regional-23 communal- 6).

Therefore, it can be seen that even when officials and the nominations of the governor are put together
still the number of elected members could not be out numbered. This means that the 1924 legislative
council had a majority of members who were not controlled by the governor. This was the first time in
the history were the elected members outnumbered the members in favor of the governor however this
created a disconnection between power and responsibility which can be identified as a weakness.

2. Continuing with the communal representation alongside regional representation.

1924 reforms also similar to 1920 reforms continued with communal regional representation despite the
local community facing many conflicts, communal representation was continued.
 3. The legislative council was practically being chaired by a deputy chairman chosen within.

Since the establishment of the legislative council in 1833 the council was always chaired by the governor
himself however since the 1924 legislature had a majority of members who were not in favor of the
governor British rulers assumed that the British governor chairing such a council would result in damaging
the reputation of the governor therefore while the governor is the chairmen of the council a deputy
chairmen was chosen within the elected members of the legislature this deputy chairman practically
chaired the legislative council while the governor officially held the chair only took part in meetings on
special occasions.

4. Establishment of the financial committee.

This institute was established to handle financial affairs as well as to provide a training for local
representatives on financial matters this council was consisted of;

o The colonial secretary

o Officer in charge of revenue
o The treasurer
o All unofficial members of the legislature

This institute was in charge of considering the annual budget and annual estimations of government
departments.

This committee had the power to approve or disapprove budgets and additional estimations also
committee could directly question officials in departments. However, in practicality this institute was
quite inefficient and ineffective as the local leaders were overly involved in financial affairs unnecessarily.
As a result, unofficial members in the legislature got into conflicts with public servants.

5. Disconnecting power and responsibility.

Although a presence of the majority of elected members was a positive feature from the perspective of
local politics, in practicality this created a disconnection between power and politics which made the
governance inefficient and messy the British governor was responsible to the British Queen with regard
to the governance of Ceylon while the legislative power was in the hands of local representatives who
were the majority in the council. This disconnection between power and responsibility made governing
Ceylon exhausting and as a result for the first time the British governor himself requested British colonial
rulers to introduce new political reforms.

Also, it should be noted that even under this circumstance governor still held many reserve powers
including the power to veto bills (specifically 10 types of bills were mentioned).

1931 Donoughmore reforms

British colonial reforms were initially introduced in 1833 and several follow ups were added in 1910, 1920,
and 1924. However, by late 1920s British colonial rulers decided that the Ceylonese were ready for
broader political responsibilities. Therefore, Donoughmore reforms were introduced which allowed a
responsible governing system to locals.
Reasons to introduce Donoughmore reforms;

1. Weaknesses of the 1924 Manning Devonshire reforms: - The reforms which were introduced in
1924 was considered as a structurally weak governing system mainly due to the disconnection of
power and responsibility. Therefore, the local leaders as well as the British Governor both
requested for a better governing system.
2. The impact of the Indian freedom fight:- Unlike the Ceylonese freedom fight the Indian National
movement was extremely intense, violent and effective. As a result the British rulers were worried
that the National Movement of Ceylon would also be influenced by the Indian Freedom fight.
Therefore British colonial rulers intended to keep local leaders satisfied with reasonable political
reforms.
3. The labor party government in Britain:- Great Britain has a 2 party system with the conservative
party and the labor party forming governments. Out of these the labor party followed a much
lenient policy over colonies. Therefor when the labor party came to power in late 1920s the new
Government took steps to grant much broader reforms to British colonies.
4. The British rulers being impressed with the Ceylonese: - In comparison with other British colonies
the British rulers were highly impressed with the Ceylonese, as they were fluent in politics.
Therefore, British rulers felt that the locals deserved a reasonable political reform.
5. Decolonization and dominion status: - By 1920s British rulers were beginning to realize that
sustaining colonies was not profitable to Great Britain, as a result Britain decided to follow a
Decolonizing policy and let go of their colonies. The first step of Decolonization was granting
dominion status which stands for a self controlling Governance. The British rulers expected to lay
the foundation to establish dominion status in Ceylon.

The response of the locals to dominion reforms;

Since the Donoughmore reforms featured many bold political features, British rulers expected the
locals to respond positively. However British rulers were surprised to find the locals refusing these
bold political features. In fact the local leaders were not unanimous as different groups had different
requests.

1. Sinhalese leaders:-

Sinhalese leaders mainly requested for dominion status with new reforms, however they refused universal
franchise as they believed that the local population were not politically mature enough to handle such a
responsibility.

2. Minority leaders:-

Tamil, Muslim and other minority leaders in the National Movement refused dominion status as well as
universal franchise. As they pointed out under a dominion system or with universal franchise the
minorities would not receive political rights as the majority Sinhalese would suppress the minorities.

3. Upcountry leaders:-

Upcountry Kandyian leaders in the National movement as they requested for Federal status. These leaders
claimed that the upcountry, lower-country and Northern area have 3 different kinds of people hence Sri
Lanka should be divided into 3 provinces and should be Governed Federally.
Main features of Donoughmore reforms

I. Universal franchise
II. Abolishing communal representation
III. Establishing the state council
IV. The executive committee system
V. The board of ministers
VI. The three (3) state officials
VII. Keeping the Governor away from political institutes and political conflicts.

Universal franchise

Ceylon was introduced limited franchise in 1910 which allowed rich educated adult males to vote the
Donoughmore commission intended to grant universal franchise to Ceylon which would allow every adult
to vote irrespective of education, wealth or gender. This can be considered as such a bold factor given
that even women in Great Britain were granted the right to vote completely by 1928. Also, Ceylon was
the first British colony for universal franchise to be granted.

However the British rulers found that the local leaders were not in favor of universal franchise which was
surprising local leaders believed that the local general public did not have the political maturity to handle
such a political responsibility it was evident that the real reason behind this rejection was there intention
of assuring the political monopoly of the elite class, the Donoughmore commission reported behavior of
local leaders to the British government in response the government notified the government that it is
natural for the politically privileged elite class to oppose such reforms and advise to go ahead with the
introduction of universal franchise.

The Application of Universal Franchise

Unlike limited franchise universal franchise did not have any eligibility criteria as restrictions every male
and female in Ceylon above the age of 21 were allowed to vote as long as they were citizens British Ceylon.
Under universal franchise the very first election was held in 1931 to choose 50 members. These members
were chosen regionally since communal representation was removed by this time. In addition to above
requirements, it was also allowed for foreigners to vote who were permanent residents of Ceylon. In the
first election nearly 54% of Ceylonese casted their votes including areas as Panadura with a 76% turnout.
This was a bold political feature as even in a modern context these percentages are considered as higher
voter turnouts.

Main Reasons Behind Universal Franchise

1. Laying a foundation for dominion status.

By this time British Colonial rulers had deiced to release their colonies by providing dominion status. In
order to grant dominion status, it’s necessary to assure that the country has a politically mature
population therefor providing universal franchise was a necessity.
 2. Abolishing the political monopoly of the elite class.

Following the Colebrook reforms and elite class was created which handled all political privileges of the
country the Donoughmore commission criticized this and pointed that political power of a country should
be collectively owned by the entire populations.

3. Establishing representative democracy.

Although every legislative council since 1833 had local representatives pointed out that these
representatives did not exactly represent the general public as they were not elected by the general public
as their representatives.

4. Balancing the development gap between the cities and villages.

Under the British colonial era saw a rapid development while the villagers hardly received any attention
the Donoughmore commission identified the villagers not having the right to vote was the main reason
for this is the development gap.

5. Empowering welfare services.

During this time European countries had started to transform from classic liberalism to modern liberalism
the state was actively getting involved in welfare activities to help out the lower levels of the society the
Donoughmore commission was pointed out that the local leaders were unenthusiastic in providing
welfare services due to the lack of universal franchise.

Outcomes of universal Franchise

The introduction of universal franchise can be considered as a land mark in Sri Lankan political history.
Comparing to previous constitutional reforms, Donoughmore reforms were more effective and influential
which is mostly due to introduction of universal franchise. This introduction resulted in many outcomes
mostly positive and very few negatives.

1. Improvement of the political maturity of the locals

2. Laying the foundation for dominion status and eventually independence
3. Ending the political monopoly of the elite class
4. Founding a political party system
5. Assuring authentic representative democracy
6. Assuring people sovereignty
7. Balancing out the development gap between cities and villages
8. Establishing welfare services
9. Establishing responsible governments
10. Affecting the labour movement

1. Improvement of the political maturity of locals: -

One of the main intentions of the Donoughmore commission behind the introduction of universal
franchise was to improve the political knowledge and the maturity of locals. Since British rulers had the
intention of granting dominion status to Ceylon as well as to improve the political participation of average
locals, universal franchise was considered an important introduction. As expected locals did receive a vast
political knowledge and the political maturity had a reasonable improvement. This was evident in the very
first election as the voter turnout was a high percentage.

2. Laying the foundation for dominion status and eventually independence:-

With the political knowledge and maturity locals received, the British rulers finally had the political
foundation they expected in order to grant dominion status. As a result, in 1947 dominion status was
granted to Ceylon through the 1947 Soulbury constitutional reforms. Eventually with the first republican
constitution in 1972 Sri Lanka became a fully independent country.

3. Ending the political monopoly of the elite class:-

With the introduction of limited franchise in 1910, voting was considered as a privilege rather than a right
in Sri Lankan politics. Also, the elite class which was created by the British rulers held all political privileges
in the system including voting. As a result, the entire political system was monopolized by the elite class
which restricted the general public from being a part of politics all together. (In 1920’s the membership
fee for the Ceylon National Congress was 20 rupees. At the same time there were many locals serving
prison sentences for not paying the body tax which was around 6 rupees) Therefore, it can clearly be seen
that political activities were only accessible to the upper layer of society. Which motivated the
Donoughmore commission to grant universal franchise to end this monopoly. In fact, this was the very
reason behind the objection of local leaders for the introduction of universal franchise. Following the
Donoughmore reforms, political rights were equally given to all citizens which finally ended the political
monopoly of the elite class.

4. Founding a political party system:-

The political party system of Sri Lanka was founded as a result of universal franchise. Due to the lack of
universal franchise, local leaders never had the motivation to start a political party to be engaged in
politics. The leading political organization at the time was the Ceylon National Congress which was not
structured as a political party. The labor movement of A. E. Gunasinghe had established the labor party,
however this too did not match the definition of a standard of a basic political party.

With universal franchise and island wide elections, local leaders received the motivation to form political
parties for better and organized political campaigns. In 1935 the first standard political party of Sri Lanka
was formed with Lanka Sama Samaja party. Following this many political parties were formed in 1940’s
which created the current 2 party dominant multi-party system of Sri Lanka.

5. Assuring authentic representative democracy: -

Representative democracy was introduced to Ceylon in 1833 with Colebrook reforms which allowed local
representatives to the legislative council. This was continued throughout the British rule as un-officials
were allowed in the legislature through nominations and limited franchise. The Donoughmore
commission believed that these representatives were not authentic, since they were not chosen by the
general public. According to them for representatives to be authentic, they should be elected by the
general public through universal franchise.
 6. Assuring people sovereignty: -

According to democratic principles the sovereignty of the state lies within the people. This concept is
known as people sovereignty or popular sovereignty as expressed by Russo. The Donoughmore
commission believed that people sovereignty can only be effective with universal franchise.

7. Balancing out the development gap between cities and villages: -

Since the political system was monopolized by the elite class. The political privileges were only
experienced by people in cities. As a result, until 1931 local leaders who had political power hardly showed
any interest in developing rural area? The time period before 1931 saw a rapid development in cities while
in comparison rural areas hardly saw any development at all. With universal franchise politicians had to
depend on the votes of the general public. As a result, the development of rural areas finally received
sufficient attention.

8. Establishing welfare services:-

Under universal franchise local leaders had to depend on the votes of the general public to remain in
power. This meant that the politicians had to look in to the shortcomings of basic life standards of the
general public. As a result, for the first time in Ceylon local representatives looked into welfare activities.
Most notably free education, the labor ordinance, the ‘Govijanapada program’ etc. were introduced
following universal franchise.

9. Establishing responsible governance: -

With universal franchise politicians became more accountable and responsible towards people as a result
of elections. This can be identified as the beginning of responsible governance in Sri Lanka.

10. Affecting the labor movement: -

This can be identified as a negative outcome of universal franchise. As discussed above, universal franchise
resulted in many active welfare services which addressed the needs of the lower of levels of society. Hence
the working-class laborers did not show the same motivation and the eagerness to join the movement
anymore. Ironically the labor movement was the only political entity which was in favor of the
introduction of universal franchise.

Abolishing communal representation

Communal representation was one of the features introduced in 1833 Colebrook Cameron reforms. The
unofficial members of the legislative council were chosen on communal basis. This feature was introduced
with the hidden agenda of applying divide and rule in Ceylon. This was a strategic move used by the British
to cause conflicts between different ethnicities of the country to weaken the national movement and to
minimize the resistance against the British rule. Communal representation was continued throughout
later reforms in 1910, 1920 and 1924. Regional representation was introduced although communal
representation was not fully removed. The repercussion of communal representation was clearly visible
by these years as these ethnic communities were openly conflicting with each other. For example, 1915
Sinhala- Muslim conflict, 1920 Colombo seat conflict among Sinhala and Tamil can be pointed out. The
Donoughmore commission believed that the communal representation was one of the biggest obstacles
which prevented the political progress of Ceylon. In their own words “Communal representation is a
cancer on the political body of Ceylon”. Therefore, the commission took steps to completely abolish
communal representation and only use regional representation in elections. The combination of universal
franchise and regional representation can be considered as one of the boldest moves in the political
history of Ceylon. However it should be noted that decades of communal representation had caused very
reasonable damage to the Ceylonese community as the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other minorities
had already developed intense conflicts with each other, this intensity resulted in an ethnic conflict of Sri
Lanka even after independence which eventually led the country to a Civil war.

Establishing the State Council

1931 Donoughmore reforms featured the state council which can be considered as the key institute of
Donoughmore reforms. The state council was basically a combination of the executive and the legislative
councils which existed before. Since 1833 through every reform, the executive and legislative councils
existed separately. The Donoughmore commission believed that the local leaders were receiving a limited
exposure in terms of executive affairs since the locals were mostly given the opportunity in the legislative
council. Since the Donoughmore commission expected to grant dominion status to Ceylon the commission
believed that the local representatives should receive sufficient experience I executive affairs. Therefor
the state council acted as a combined body for executive and legislative affairs.

The state council was consisted of 61 members including 50 members elected from regional
representation and universal franchise with 8 nominated members by the Governor for unrepresented
minorities. The remaining 3 positions were given to the 3 state officials as consultants.

In the first meeting of the newly appointed state council the initial activity is to choose a speaker.
Therefore in 1931 Sir Francis Molamure was chosen as the first speaker of Sri Lanka. The state council was
assembled twice a week, once as a legislature and once as an executive. When acting as legislature all
members (excluding state officials) assembled as a legislature under the speaker, on the other day all
members excluding the speaker and the state officials (57 members) were divided into 7 executive
committees to full fill the tasks of the executive.
Powers and tasks of the state council

The intention behind the establishment of the state council was to allow local representatives to receive
a political exposure by placing them in a reasonably powerful institute it should be noted that the state
council was far behind in terms of powers as a legislature in any legislature there are 4 main tasks given
to the legislature;

1. Passing laws
2. Financial management
3. Controlling the executive
4. Amending the constitution

1. Passing laws

This was the only area where the state council did receive a certain level of power the decisions made by
the executive committee’s and the board of ministers had to be approved by the state council however
the powers of the governor in legislative affairs post a major challenge on the powers of the state council
the governor had the power to,

a. To approve bills
b. To postpone bills
c. To demand a 2/3 majority
d. To amend the bill
e. To send the bill for the approval of the crown
f. To veto bills

2. Financial Management

Training local leaders to handle financial management was one of the main goals behind the introduction
of the state council therefore the state council was allowed to pass the annual budget and other financial
estimations however due to the strong powers of the financial secretary the state council and the locals
only received a limited power in terms of financial affairs.

3. Controlling the executive

The state council had the power to pass a no confidence motion against the executive however a no
confidence motion could only remove the local representatives of the state council and not the 3 British
state officials. Since the executive was consisted of the same members as the legislature a no confidence
motion was an unlikely scenario.

4. Amending the constitution

Since Ceylon was still a full colony Britain the topic of constitutional amendments was a completely
prohibited topic for the state council. Amending the constitution or enacting a new constitution was a
sole power for the British parliament.

Therefore, it can be seen that the state council lacked the basic powers of a legislature in basic standards
however it is still considered as one of the landmarks in Sri Lankan political history.
 i. Local leaders getting exposure on executive affairs.
ii. Local leaders learning financial management up to a reasonable level.
iii. Preparing foundation for dominion status.
iv. Training future leaders and politicians for post independent Ceylon.
v. Beginning of a speaker tradition of the parliament.

The Executive Committee System

Since the Dough more commission intended to train local leaders to handle executive affairs, the
commission wanted to maximize the number of local members in the executive therefore the commission
did not want to introduce a cabinet system as it would restrict the executive to a few members instead
the commission introduced the executive committee system which functioned in British local government
authorities. Under this system all members of the legislature are divided into several committees to
handle different areas of executive affairs instead of appointing a solitary minister this way all members
of the legislature can be granted the opportunity to be a part of the executive. Therefore, members of the
state council (excluding the speaker and 3 officials) are divided into 7 different committees to fulfill the
executive tasks: -

• Executive committee of health

• Executive committee of education
• Executive committee of local government
• Executive committee of local affairs
• Executive committee of land and agriculture o Executive committee of trade and commerce
• Executive committee of roads, postal, communication and common affairs.

The 57 members were divided into these 7 committees based on a draw. It was provided that each
committee should have a minimum of 7 members and a maximum of 9 members. Members were allowed
to friendly trade between committees. On the day of executive activities in the state council the members
gathered in their respective committees separately.

Each executive committee had a chairman chosen within. Ideally the most senior representative was
appointed as the chairman of each committee. That chairman is appointed by the Governor to the board
of ministers as the minister of the relevant area. Eg: the executive committee of education had 7 members
and a chairman for the committee was chosen within. That chairman was appointed to the board of
ministers by the Governor as the minister of education (C.W.W. Kannangara).

Therefore, the 7 executive committees had 7 chairmen who were appointed as ministers by the governor.
These 7 ministers together with the 3 state officials were considered as the board of ministers. Also, it
should be noted that if the Governor refuses to appoint the chairman to the board of ministers he is
disqualified to remain as the chairman.

Each executive committee was in charge of basic executive duties of their respective areas. This included
handling annual estimations, additional estimations and running the administration. The decisions made
in the executive committee were taken to the board of ministers by the chairman of the committee. These
executive committees can be considered as an important feature in the political history of Sri Lanka as for
the first-time locals received an opportunity to actively take part in executive affairs.
Advantages of executive committees

1. Local representatives receiving executive and administrative training:-

Unlike previous constitutional reforms where role of representatives was limited to the legislature, the
executive committee system provided a much-needed training for locals.

2. The value of the state council membership being improved: -

In a general cabinet system, the doors of the executive are only open for a limited number of members.
As a result, a member of the legislature does not receive a proper value unless they are a part of the
cabinet. The executive committee system allowed each member to receive a better value by including
them in the executive as well.

3. Making justice to minority groups: -

In Sri Lankan politics minority groups have always faced challenges of receiving justice as a result of their
limited voter base. Donoughmore reforms allowed 8 members to be nominated by the Governor for
unrepresented minorities. These minority representatives were also given the same opportunity as
elected members to be included in executive committees.

4. Improvement of representative democracy: -

With the executive committee system more public representatives were given the opportunity to be a
part of the executive. This was a bold progress of representative democracy in Ceylon.

Disadvantages of executive committees

1. Lack of coordination between the committees

One of the biggest weaknesses of the executive committee system was the lack of coordination between
the committees, especially due to the lack of communication between the committee’s. Each committee
was not properly aware of the agendas of the other committees. Therefore according to Professor Ivor
Jennings the 7 executive committees were similar to a chariot pulled by 7 horses in 7 different directions.

2. Lack of teamwork within committees

Due to the lack of political parties and common political agendas, members of these committees were not
properly bound together. Therefore these committees lacked teamwork and struggled to make collective
decisions.

3. Lack of experience in executive tasks

From 1833-1931 local representatives were not exposed enough to executive activities. This was evident
under the executive committee system as local leaders struggled to handle executive affairs, most
importantly priority was questionable. Eg: the executive committee of domestic affairs reported to have
concluded their debate on the annual budget in less than 10 minutes while a topic of building a rest house
for pilgrims in Anuradhapura took place for several days.
 4. Independent members being overly powerful

As we discussed before the executive committee system did improve the value of members in the state
council. Although at times it could be seen that the influence of independent members resulted in
unnecessary obstacles. Most importantly due to the lack of political parties, strong and independent
representatives had no control or political discipline, As a result of above weaknesses the executive
committee system in Ceylon became an inefficient, complex and messy method. However, in terms of
political experience and exposure it is still considered as one of the most important land marks in Sri
Lankan political history.

Board of Ministers

The board of ministers which was established under 1931 Donoughmore reforms can be considered as
one of the most important institutions since it laid the foundation for the future cabinet system. This
board was consisted of 10 members including the 7 executive committee Chairmen and the 3 British state
officials. These executive committee chairmen where appointed to the board of Ministers by the
government if any committee chairmen was refused to be appointed to the board of ministers by the
governor the committee chairmen position was also considered as in valid . By combining the British
officials with local ministers, the commission expected locals to co ordinate and learn the functions of a
cabinet the state secretary (the general secretary) was considered as a head of this board the quorum for
a meeting was considered as the 3 British officials and 3 local ministers. Similar to other political institutes
under Donoughmore this too did not have the governor, however the 3 British officials practically acted
as spies for the governor. The main task of the board of ministers was to following the executive activities
of executive committees and implementing proposals and plans passed in the state council and approved
by the governor. Since 7 ministers out of the 10 ministers in the board were locals.

Three State Officials

The 3 British state officials play an important role in Donoughmore since these officials were placed in the
executive as well as the legislature the state council as well as the board of ministers both had permanent
seats for these 3 officials these officials are as follows 1. State Secretary (general Secretary) 2. Finance
Secretary 3. Legal Secretary

The main purpose behind introducing these officials was 2 guide the inexperienced local representatives
in legislative and executive affairs therefore they were mostly consisted as a group of political consultants.

State Secretary

Out of the 3 officials this was the most powerful position in the Donoughmore political system he was
conceded as the head of the board of directors and practically as the acting governor he’s scope included’
1. The public sector 2. Defense and security 3. Police, Law and order 4. Foreign affairs 5. Possession the
nation seal in the absence of the governor.

Finance Secretary

This person was in charge of financial affairs in the Donoughmore system. Additionally, he was a financial
consultant for local’s as well in fact local representatives or any governmental institution could not utilize
any governmental fund without the approval of the financial secretary. Also, the presence of the financial
secretary for the state council to have very limited control over financial management. His scope included,
1. Deciding and collecting taxes

2. Preparing the annual budget

3. Controlling governmental loans

4. Providing financial consultancy to local representatives in the state council

5. Printing issuing Currency

6. Issuing funds to departments

7. Deciding the salaries public servants

8. Being in-charge of the government treasury

9. Being in-charge of the government press

Legal Secretary

This person was in-charge of the judiciary as well as the legal consultant for local representative’s his
scope included,

1. Judiciary administration

2. Civil and Criminal quote presiders

3. Providing legal consultation to the state council and local ministers

4. Being in- charge of state council elections

Above mentioned powers explain that the 3 British rulers held vast powers in the government according
to the Donoughmore commission they were simply consultants although in practicality they acted as
powerful administration offices due to these vast powers the activities of local ministers were often found
with obstacles. The decisions and projects of local ministers required the approval of the 3 state offices
this included legal approval financial approval as well as the approval of the British crown as a result local
ministers had to get into conflicts to implement their decisions for example C.W.W. Kanangara had to
handle a large objection by the finance secretary to pay free education.

The 3 state officers had separate meetings with the governor where important decisions were made and
hence, they were accosted of acting as an internal cabinet. Although these offices did not have the right
to vote in the state council, they were eligible to vote in the board of ministers which had a large impact
on local leaders despite the fact locals had 7/10 had executive powers. These 3 officers held the most
important positions of the government.

Other than this the state officers were accused of acting as police watch dogs in civil attire. Therefore,
some recognized these 3 as protects of the British Empire. In general, the tasks of the state can be divided
into 3

1. Providing guidance and consultation for local representation

2. Maintaing the coordination between the locals and the governor who was kept away from political
institutes

3. Acting as the protectors of the British Empire and acting as the spies of the governor.

Also, it should be noted that despite having conflict in early years following World War 2 local
representatives had a good connection with the state officials in fact in late years locals were appointed
to these positions: • Oliver Goonethilake being appointed as finance secretary.

Governor

Under the 1931 Donoughmore reforms the governor was kept away from all political conflicts and
institutes hes position was similar to a normal head who does not get involved in practical politics however
despite this the governor still had vast powers at hand.

Powers of the governor;

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….