Ceylon in 1899 after three years' administration by Governor H. E. Sir West Ridgeway: and what may...

Ceylon in 1899 after three years' administration by Governor H. E. Sir West Ridgeway: andwhat may be done in 1901-2.Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection, (1899)Published by: The University of Manchester, The John Rylands University LibraryStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/60230234 .

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CEYLON IN .1899:

AFTER THREE YEARS' ADMINISTRATION

BY

GOVERNOR

H.E. SIB WEST KIDGEWAY, k.c.b. ;

AND WHAT MAY BE DONE IN

1901=2.

COLOMBO: PRINTED AT THE " OBSERVES" PRINTING WORKS.

1899.

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CEYLON IN 1899.

SIR WEST RIDGEWAY'S THREE YEARS' ADMINISTRATION-AND

WHAT IS TO FOLLOW.

(Reprinted from the " Ceylon Observer " of March 17, 1899.)

His Excellency Governor Ridgeway has several precedents for the course he is adopting of visiting England for six months in the middle of his administration. Sir Hercules Robinson began the practice in July 1868, after precisely the same period of administration (about 3J years) as our pre¬ sent Governor. Sir Hercules was absent twelve months, but he gave us over 2J years of service after his return and a harder working Governor thanhe, never ruledaOrown Colony. Out of his five years of office, Sir Wm. Gregory was absent from the Colony, in visits to England, India and Axistralia. no less than twenty months. Sir James Longden had leave for a year-and-a-half midway in his term of six years; while Sir Arthur Gordon rivalled Sir Wm. Gregory



in having three periods of absence aggre¬ gating, however, only ten months out of his long and arduous administration of 6J years. Sir Arthur Havelock was absent for ,six months.

Whether these absences be for the benefit of the Colony depends very much on the Go ver nor himself, and the purpose he has in view in going home. The interregnum at this end is almost invariably a period of stag¬ nation. A locum tenens, under such circum¬ stances, can have no policy of his own. Any requests for attention or action in new directions are generally shelved, and all that we can expect from an "Officer Adminis¬ tering the Government" is that he keeps a sharp look-out on the Public Service and especially on the Public Works Department in order that the Colony may get a proper return for the liberal votes made available, and that no officer, however high or low his rank, may get the idea that the absence of the pucka Governor means a period of comparative inertness if not of holiday- making for him. Sir Edward Walker can be trusted to remove any such notion and to keep his subordinates up to the mark, seeing that he has already, on four differ¬ ent previous occasions, administered the Gov¬ ernment.



Meantime, we may turn our attention to what Governor Ridgeway has attempted and accomplished during the past three years. Towards the end of 1895—on the eve of a visit to England—we wrote a series of articles in the Observer on " Ceylon in 1896 with its new Governor Sir West Ridgeway. K.C.B., and with the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain as Secretary of State for the Colonies." It is of interest at this time to recur to the subjects then discussed and the proposals pressed on the notice of the coming Administrator. Among these Railway Extension bore a prominent part, and we \irged a new departure in a metre-gauge line from Colombo due North to serve the North-Central, Northern and Eastern divi¬ sions of the island and eventually to con¬ nect our great Shipping Port with the Railways of Southern India. At the same time a Railway between the Kelani Valley and the Port was pronounced urgent, and we earnestly invoked attention to a system of light feeder lines in the planting dis¬ tricts, including one from Matara to the Morawak Korale. We all know how promptly and zealously Governor Sir West Ridgeway took up this question of Rail¬ way Extension. Although, unfortunately,— acting on the advice of his Commissioners,—



His Excellency did not see his way to make Kurunegala spell "finality" for the broad- gauge, and to begin a new and far cheaper system (in working especially) from his capital; yet the Governor has been person¬ ally sound as to the character of the loco¬ motive line—practically a tramway on ex¬ isting roads—required at this time North of Anuradhapura and he nas moreover never swerved from his belief in the inevitable "locomotive junction" of Southern India with this island, be it accomplished early or later in the approaching century. We recog¬ nise, too, that the fault is not the Governor's, that the actual construction of the much-need- edKelani line has not been begun ; while we trust the last obstacle is now removed in the way of the pioneer light hill railway to run from Nanuoya via Nuwara Eliya in order to serve Kandapola, Udapussellawa and New Matu- rata. The adoption of the 2J-feet gauge for both the Kelani and hill light line convinced us that the " meter" must be abandoned for the North and East; and that the proper course would be to continue the same 2J- feet line along the West Coast to Chilaw, Puttalam and beyond. While we write, there comes the news of the London Deputation having waited on Mr. Chamberlain ; and the Secretary of State replies he will have no break of gauge at Kurunegala. There never

*"



has been the slightest chance of introducing the NaiTow Gauge, save by starting North¬ wards from Colombo, and it does not appear that the Deputation pressed this view on Mr. Chamberlain. At the same time, how is the middle section of the Northern line—all on the broad-gauge—to be financially provided for That will be the nut for Sir West Ridgeway and his Chief to crack. And has there ever been a greater anomaly (and absurdity) in the history of railways, than to have a broad- gauge line between Kurunegala and Jaffna— looking to the country, population and traffic— and a narrow 2J-feet line between Colombo aiTd'the Kelani Valley

A matter closely connected with our Rail¬ ways, and one that gave us great trouble during the term of Sir Arthur Havelock, was the failure of that Governor to complete the system of feeding roads required to bring the traffic of Uva to the locomotive line which had been carried at such great cost to Haputale and Bandarawela. A more short¬ sighted policy than that involved in the delay and grudging of money for such roads, was never heard of. Sir West Ridgeway fully appreciated the situation on his earliest visit to Uva, and openly proclaimed the fact in his first Speech to the Legislature that he had seen a Railway Station—with the



series oipucka buildings and sidings universal in Ceylon—without any road leading to it !' No one can say how many thousands of rupees worth of traffic have been lost to the Uva Railway since its opening, well-nigh six years ago, through the failure to have the various sections of connecting road ready by 1892-3. Unfortunately, bureaucracy and red- tape were strong enough to delay the good work even under Sir West Ridgeway; and although much has been done, for which Uva may well be grateful and which should increase the Railway profits; yet the Governor's, typical station—" Ambawela " — is still without the bit of connecting road. We are aware the Government blame planting obsti¬ nacy for this result; but, on the other hand, it has been impossible to drive it into the heads of our bureaucratic Secretariat, that the entire planting interest in this bit of road, is far less than that of the native traders of Wilson's Bungalow and Weli- mada; and that the latter and the Government itself have suffered from the delay, ten, aye twenty, times more than the New Galway planters. The way in which the Railway accounts were kept up till 1897 showed the " Uva Extension "—whose profitable character we have maintained from 1872 onwards—to be worked at a dead loss or with the merest trifle of profit. We felt very sore person-



ally on this point and ventured to send the iA. Governor direct, a statement of the under¬

standing arrived at as regards profits from new traffic in the time of Mr. Robinson, Traffic Manager. The result was an investi¬ gation which showed on the admission of the Railway authorities, that the Uva Railway was paying to Government at least

t R191,412 per annum of profit,—our own estimate, based on the "understanding" of 1874, being considerably larger. For 1897, this acknowledged profit was considerably over that amount and as the connecting roads, which we owe to Governor Ridgeway, take effect, and young tea comes into bearing, -we may expect a further steady increase on the returns.

There is another matter in this connec¬ tion we would press on the notice of His Excellency at this time, namely, the utilizing in some way likely to bring traffic to the Rail¬ way of a portion at least of the large area of land between Dimbula and Haputale. In consultation with Mr. Chamberlain, we should hope His Excellency might be able to devise a plan by which some of the rich

^ land between Ohiya and Summit-level might \m be leased under strict regulations for the

planting of cinchona, if not tea, and timber trees; and the letting of lots for cottages and vegetable gardens between Summit-level



and Ambawela. That the Railway should pick up no traffic from so many miles of fine country seems a great anomaly.

The " revision of our fiscal system " was included in the programme of 1895-6, and right well has the Governor responded during the past session by promising a Commission of Inquiry into the Incidence of Taxation while another Commission is already at work on the important subject of an Agri¬ cultural Department, or how best to im. prove the Agriculture of the Colony in al its various branches in the hands of Euro¬ peans or Natives. That the Geological Survey of the island, so long desiderated, has not yet come off, is not the fault of Sir West Ridgeway; while nothing could be better than the new life he has thrown into the Survey Department in order to secure a proper topographical and cadastral survey of the island—a want bemoaned by succes¬ sive Governors ever since the days of the Commissioners of 1832. Here we must stop for today in our brief review; but we can¬ not do so without referring to the endea¬ vours of Sir West Ridgeway to do for Ceylon—and especially Nuwara Eliya—what was accomplished in the Isle of Man during his term of Government. In December 1895, just before His Excellency's advent, we wrote as follows and no one can say that we mis-



^

9

calculated the new Governor's sympathy and energy in this direction :—

Finally, we would once more dwell on the claims of Ceylon to the attention of visitors and tourists from all parts of the world. There is no doubt that it is well fitted to become a Show Place for Europeans, Americans and.Australians, with its unequalled scenery, most interesting antiquities and rich natural history and botany. Its claims as a Sanitarium for a large part of India, Burma and the Straits are fast becoming recognised ; and with the multiplication of first- class hotels and travelling facilities, the advant¬ ages of Colombo and of our hill country must be increasingly recognised. We have little doubt that His Excellency Sir West Ridgeway will do all in his power to increase the attractions of an island which has never, hitherto, disappointed the new-comer or the traveller:—

" Confessed the best and brightest gem In Britain's orient diadem."

(From " Ceylon Observer" of March 18, 1899). In resuming our brief review, we have to

express disappointment with what has been accomplished—or [rather not done—under certain promising Commissions of Inquiry granted by Governor Ridgeway during the past three years. In respect of the " Arrack Monopoly" a mass of evidence—much of it of practical value—has been relegated to a



10

limbo of forgetfulness ; while from Mr. Ellis's Report, suggestions whereby the revenue may be increased have alone been dealt with) and not a single experiment has been set agoing in reference to a reformed system of excise. This is the more unfortunate as His Excellency very quickly discovered that crime was particularly rampant in the arrack distilling districts where, however, the con" sumption of duty-paid arrack was compara¬ tively low. These facts, of course, indicate that arrack smuggled from the stills is largely used, and that the gross illegality being winked at, the natural fruit of this and strong drink combined, is a crop of criminal breaches of the law. Nothing has been done to lessen the temptation to indulge in drink, or to place arrack taverns on a proper footing; but instead, the regulations have been relaxed in favour of later hours.

We need say nothing here with respect to the Opium and Salt-as-Manure Inquiries, further than to ask the Governor even now, close on the twelfth hour to leave orders that the recommendations of the former Commission —such as they are—may be enforced by his successor; while we trust an experiment in denaturalising salt for use on coconut plantations is not being lost sight of. On the other hand, Governor Ridgeway deserves



11

thanks for' the readiness with which he .j^j, granted School Managers, the representative

Board so long desired, but refused by more than one of his predecessors. For Education, Hospitals and Dispensaries, a liberal policy has generally been the rule—though in respect of vernacular, industrial and technical instruction, we think certain ruls should

I' be relaxed and votes increased. No Governor since Sir Wm. Gregory's time has given such close attention to "Crime" in all its. phases as Sir West Ridgeway. We only trust His Excellency may add to his legis¬ lation for suppressing the use of the knife, Penal Servitude on the Andamans for very bad or incorrigible Ceylon prisoners. Such a measure, if arranged witb Mr. Chamberlain and Lord George Hamilton in England, could not fail to have a very marked effect on serious crime among the Sinhalese. Indeed the very announcement that " banish¬ ment to the Andamans" was legislated for, would at once have a deterrent effect on would-be criminals. The " codifying of laws " too frequently, is said to have a tendency to arrest progress: to codify we are told is

^^ to crystalize! We have scarcely reached yF that stage in Ceylon "and no one can deny

the usefulness of recent legislation under this head, or in respect of Waste and Chena Lands, Branch Roads, &c. The.



12

Governor has always been a good friend to i the Volunteers and his approval, as that o* a tried soldier, is specially valuable. The Civil and Colonial Service owe a debt of gratitude to Sir West Ridgeway for reorgan¬ isation and improvement of their positions ; but certain branches hitherto overlooked must be dealt with to make the reforms equitable and all-embracing. As regards Public * Health, no previous Governor of Ceylon has had to face so serious a responsibility and certainly for his successful battle with the Plague, so prevalent right through the oppo¬ site continent for the greater part of his rule, His Excellency deserves the greatest possible credit. May the Governor find Ceylon equally free when he returns; and may he also find the Planting Industries more stable and prosperous than, as a whole, they are at present. We cheerfully admit that "tea" is looking up in price and prospects ; but we must always hold that the Governor made a big mistake in relaxing—for the sake of uniformity—railway rates for the benefit of our richer tea districts; while doing noth¬ ing for the older and poorer tea districts below Nawalapitiya. We may well Mf "repeat here our sense of the hand¬ some terms in which His Excellency acknowledged the usefulness and value •of our last statistical and planting compil-



^

13

ation in the " Ceylon Handbook and Direc¬ tory," The great palm-growing industry in coconuts, palmyras, &c, is fairly prosperous and the wide extension in Batticaloa, Put- talam and Trincomalee districts is especi¬ ally satisfactory. In regard to paddy cul¬ ture, save for Mr. Elliott's interesting ex¬ periment at Walawe, there is little progress to record. The giving away of a million of rupees of rent or revenue in 1893 and the consequent "protection" by a Customs duty of 8 to 10 per cent., has had no appre¬ ciable effect in extending this industry locally ; while the needful imports of rice from India and Burma go on increasing, year by year. It is also becoming increasingly evident that expenditure on Irrigation Works has to be very carefully watched to bring it within the range of judicious reproductive outlay of public money. We regret the mistake made in "bungling" over our Forests and Forest Department, through taking the sug¬ gestion of requisite reforms, out of the hands of the responsible and expert head of this branch. On the other hand, the Gov¬ ernor has ever taken a wide, wise, imperial view of the importance of our Harbour Works and his own regime will always be connected with the commencement of the Colombo Graving Dock. Our Postal-Telegraph Department has gained new importance dur-



14

ing the past three years and His Excellency ^V the Governor has generally been ready to improve both services. Nor can we forget Sir West Ridgeway's sympathetic, liberal treatment of the Archaeological Survey, and its extension to Polonaruwa.

Finally we refer to the fact that the Gov¬ ernor has recently completed the longest A jungle tour attempted since the days of of Sir Henry Ward, if even equalled at one stretch by that active ubiquitous ruler. What we regret is that the pressure of public business and approaching departure prevents His Excellency from publishing a Minute on this South-Eastern-Central Tour, while the circumstances are fresh in his mind. Then again it is a matter for regret that the Report of the Commission on an Agricultural Department should not be available for Sir West Ridgeway in order to press the importance of its contents on Mr. Chamberlain. Has the time not come for all CCS. Cadets to spend two years at Cirencester before coming to Ceylon We are interested to learn that in 1893, Mr. F. H. Price, when in charge of a revenue district, expressed a wish to go to the Cirencester Agricultural College and Governor Havelock approved, though the exigencies of the Service could not permit of it at the time. If a fourth (Civil)



15

^ Judge were added to the Supreme Court, Cadets might well get their choice of the Judicial or Revenue branches before coming out—and then, those for the latter should go through an agricultural training, just as Revenue cadets for Java now do in Holland. But to make an Agricultural Department a reality

£ and a power in the land, it ought to have a Director, influential enough to have a seat not only in the Legislative, but Exe¬ cutive, Council. Has the time not come for increasing by one seat the latter body? The Legislature got several additions during Sir Arthur Gordon's time, and we have often thought that the inner body of advisers of the Governor wants strengthening. "Sym¬ pathy is the parent of wise counsel," says an eld philosopher, and there is really a great lack of sympathy with the people in the pre¬ sent Executive Council of Ceylon. What oan possibly be more important to a Colony like Ceylon than the improvement of Agri¬ culture and the very ablest Revenue officer

(with an agricultural training) ought to be made Director of the new and special Department having a seat in the Supreme Councils, to ensure prompt and adequate attention to the reports and suggestions of

his subordinates in the various Gardens, ex-



16

perimental stations, &c. We say so much J^ in the hope that the Governor may endea¬ vour, at an early date, to interest the Secret¬

ary of State in this large and important ques¬ tion. It would be true economy to amalgam¬ ate certain offices in the Service in order to get the right thing done for an "Agri- v cultural Department." And then there is J( the Commission on the Incidence of Taxa¬ tion : we trust its appointment will not be long delayed after His Excellency reaches England, so that the Report and the fruit thereof in actual reform, may take effect before Sir West Ridgeway finally quits the Government of Ceylon. For the present with all good wishes, we say bon voyage, and in¬ voke for His Excellency a safe and pros¬ perous return in order to resume the Gov¬ ernment of Ceylon.

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Ceylon in 1899 after three years' administration by Governor H. E. Sir West Ridgeway: and what may...

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