Legislative reforms in Ceylon under the British up-to-date

By Nihal Seneviratne

It is widely accepted by all that the early beginnings of legislative reforms in Ceylon started with the arrival of the Colebrook and Cameron Commission in 1833. The commission named after its two prominent members, Johnston Colebrook and Charles Hay Cameron, played a pivotal role in shaping the future of the island.

This commission was established by the British colonial office with the aim of comprehensively studying and reforming various aspects of Ceylon society. One of the key areas of focus for the commission was the legal system of Ceylon. The commission recommended the establishment of a unified legal system based on the English common law which became the foundation for the modern legal system in Ceylon.

It also recommended the establishment of English medium schools which laid the groundwork for the introduction of Western education. In 1835 was established the Colombo Academy which in later years turned out to be Royal College founded by the Governor Horton.

However it is important to acknowledge that the commission recommendations were not without controversy. Some argued that the reforms favoured the interests of the British colonial administration and the emerging local elite while neglecting the rights and aspirations of the major population.

While the commission’s work has been the subject of debate and critique, it serves as a reminder of the complex dynamics between colonial powers and the societies they governed. It was over a long period that the British wanted to gradually handover power to the people. They were entirely conscious of the Sinhala and Tamil elite who did much for British interests and the rulers wanted to adjust the order of things to partly meet their demands.

Thus was established our Executive and Legislative Councils – the two cornerstones along with the Governor and the Colonial Secretary. The Executive Council comprised of six plus the governor and the Legislative Council consisted of all six members of the Executive Council plus four other members (the GA of the Western Province, the Surveyor General, the Principal Collector of Customs and the Attorney General). The unofficial members comprised Sinhalese, Tamils and Burghers. The European community was also represented.

Some of the Sinhalese representatives were Philip Panditaratne, J G Dias, E J Dedigama, James d’ Alwis, J P Obeysekere, William Ellawala and S W Wanninayake. The Tamil representatives were A Coomaraswamy Pulle, Simon Casie Chetty, Muttu Coomaraswamy, Ponnambalam Coomaraswamy, Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Dr W G Rockwood and A Kanagasabey. The Burgher representatives were R J Morgan, C A Lorensz, C A Ferdinando, J Vanculenberg, P D Anthonisz, A L Wendt, and J C Loos.

The functioning of these two councils were found to be ineffectual as there was a need to grant more power to the people. It was then that the Secretary of State for the Colonies appointed the Donoughmore Commission.

Dr Drummond Shields, Francis Butler and Lord Donoughmore arrived in Ceylon in 1927. They recommended universal suffrage for all men and women over 18-yers to be entitled to vote which was indeed a rare move for the countries in South East Asia. They recommended that the two Councils be replaced by a State Council. There were two State Councils elected – one from 1931 to 1936 and the other from 1936 to 1939.

The first State council was composed of 28 low country Sinhalese, 10 Kandyan Sinhalese, three Ceylon Tamils, two Indian Tamils, two Europeans and two Muslims.The second State Council comprised 31 low country Sinhalese, eight Kandyan Sinhalese, eight Ceylon Tamils, two Indian Tamils and one European.

The State Council had increased powers and could make laws on specific subjects – the State Council had a board of ministers which acted as the executive body. The board was responsible for the day-to-day administration of the country and the board had a minister for each subject and was appraised by the Governor.

The functioning of the two State Councils was found to be wavering and mediocre. So the British government appointed the Soulbury Commission to visit Ceylon and grant wider powers.

The Soulbury Commission comprised of (first Baron later Viscount Soulbury, J F Rees and S J Burrows. The British government, just after World War II was not quite ready to prepare a new constitution for Ceylon. The colonial office was not ready at all and they consulted Prime Minister D S Senanayake about drafting new legislation in Ceylon itself. The legal draftsmen at that time were two Britishers, Drayton and Nevill.

So the task of drafting a new constitution was passed on to the draftsmen, like Namasivayam Mahadeva and B P Pieris, who undertook the work. Sir Ivor Jennings was in Ceylon at the time and had prepared a draft – there was also the report of the Soulbury Commission, a whole paper embodying the demands of the UK government.

B P Pieris’ draft was finally approved by Drayton and Nevill and was submitted to D S Senanayake, the PM. It was widely believed that the Prime Minister had told B P Pieris that he would be hanged by his neck if there was any leak of the draft and moreover the CID had been put on the job to have surveillance over the drafts as it was considered a top secret.

The Soulbury Commission recommended a parliament of two houses- a House of Representatives and a Senate. The House of Representatives comprised a total of 101 MPs consisting of 95 elected members and six others nominated by the Governor General, on the advice of the PM. The Senate (ultimately abolished in 1971) was to comprise 30 members, 15 elected by the House and 15 appointed by the Governor General. The Ceylon Constitution Order-in-Council was approved by His Majesty the King and was gazetted.

The Soulbury Commission had two very important sections included in the new constitution- S 29 (2) which prevented any bill, motion or resolution being entertained in parliament which meant that no special advantage be conceded to any racial or religious group. The other section was re the appointment of a Public Service Commission. Under this no minister could appoint any public servant or transfer or take any disciplinary action against a public servant as the sole power was with the Public Service Commission.

Very sadly the PSC did not have these powers in the subsequent 1972 republican constitution. The standing orders of parliament were drafted by B P Pieris together with the help of Sir Edward Fellowes, clerk to the British House of Commons and by Ralph Deraniyagala the clerk of the House of Representatives.

The new government was established with the promulgation of the new constitution. The new Governor General Henry Monk-Mason Moore called on D S Senanayake to form a cabinet. This first cabinet of Ceylon comprised of 14 – namely J R Jayewardene, L A Rajapakse, S W R D Bandaranaike, Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, George E de Silva, Sir John Kotalawela, Dudley Senanayake, R S S Gunawardene, C. Suntheralingam, T B Jayah, E A Nugawela, A Ratnayake and C Sittampalam.

The very first meeting was held on October 8, 1947. Order-in-Council to remove limitations of self-government in the Ceylon constitution was passed. The following motion was passed in Parliament:

“This House rejoices that after many years of subjugation to foreign rule the struggle of the people of Ceylon for freedom has culminated in the attainment of Independence.” The First Parliament was opened by the Duke of Gloucester.

Birth of the 1972 Constitution: Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed Prime Minister in 1972 and appointed Dr Colvin R de Silva as Minister of Constitutional Affairs. Mrs Bandaranaike moved a resolution in the House in July 1970 that all 225 Members of the House be appointed Members of the Constitutional Assembly to draft a new constitution for Sri Lanka replacing the Soulbury Constitution.

Dr Colvin R de Silva was of the opinion that the Soulbury Constitution was established by the British Government and felt that a Sri Lanka-made constitution should replace it, severing all connections with the Soulbury Commission. It was decided that that all 225 MPs be a part of the Constituent Assembly and decided that they should meet at Navarangahala at the Royal Primary School.

This Constituent Assembly sat on 49 occasions from July 19, 1970 to May 22, 1972 at the Navarangahala Hall and deliberated. Dr de Silva chose Walter Jayawardene, a Barrister from the UK and close friend of his to be Secretary to the Constituent Assembly and Mr Sam Wijesinha and myself were appointed as Asst. Secretaries.

The shift towards a republican constitution was driven by the desire to establish a more independent and sovereign nation, free from the vestiges of colonial influence. One of the key features of the republican constitution was changing the name of the country from Ceylon to the Republic of Sri Lanka and making the last serving Governor-General of Ceylon, Mr. William Gopallawa as the first (Non-executive) President of the Republic. The new constitution symbolized the growing determination for the country to assert its own identity and self governance.

The Republican Constitution emphasized the concept of sovereignty and the unity of Sri Lanka as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation. It recognized Sinhalese as the official language promoting the cultural heritage of the majority Sinhala population. However this decision also created tensions and grievances among the Tamil-speaking minority communities leading to political and social unrest in the years to come.

Furthermore the republican constitution introduced a a unicameral legislature called the National State Assembly replaced by the previous bicameral system. The Prime Minister along with the cabinet became the executive body responsible for governing the country and implementing policies.

It is important to write that the 1972 Republican Constitution was not without its controversies and errors. Many argued that it marginalized minority communities and failed to address adequately their concerns. This laid the groundwork for subsequent constitutional reforms. This republican constitution was a significant turning point in the country’s constitutional history.

In 1977 J R Jayewardene came to power with a 5/6 majority. Soon after in October 29,, 1977 the leader of the House moved that a select committee be set up to consider a revision of the constitution.

On November 3, 1977 the Speaker made the announcement that J R Jayewardene be appointed as Chairman of the select committee and that Mr R Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali, Mr Ronnie de Mel, Mr Gamini Disanayake, Mr K W Dewanayagam, Mr M H M Naina Marikkar, Mr S Thondaman, Ms Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Mr Maithripala Senanayake be its members.

The committee sat for 14 days from January to June 1978. On August 10, 1978 the new constitution was adopted in the House. For the very first time we saw the departure from the Westminster system and the introduction of presidential system. Much has been written about its pros and cons and a controversy survives to this day.

A final, personal comment. It was President J R Jayewardene’s last day in parliament (before he became executive president). In the lobby of the parliament I went up to him and said “Sir you have a log history in this House and we are all sorry to not see you here any more.”

He replied: “Nihal, I want to see parliament from a distance and make up my mind. I will be in touch with parliament”, and left for the last time.

The writer is a retired Secretary General of the Sri Lanka Parliament.