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| Sunday, 3 February 2002 |
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Introducing the Free Lanka Bill by Aryadasa Ratnasinghe
The constitutional reforms of 1912, did not, in any appreciable measure, satisfy the political aspirations of the Sinhala and Tamil communities. The agitation for better reforms, therefore, continued unabated and, with the passage of years, along with the hegemonic influence for leadership and preponderant authority of the people, in the social and economic structure of the country, came to acquire a vigour, which compelled further ignoring of the political demands by the British government impossible. The Donoughmore Constitution, which came into operation after 1931, gave Sri Lanka internal self-government with an elected State Council, and to further the advance towards full self-government. In October 1941, His Majesty's Government in England, issued a Declaration, recognising the urgency and importance of constitutional reforms, and suggesting that the matter would be looked into after the World War II which ended in 1945. Sir Andrew Caldecott (1937-1944), who was the colonial governor of Sri Lanka, was sent to the island by Ormsby-Gore, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the purpose of finding out ways and means of putting an end to the Donoughmore Constitution which drew the conclusion that further constitutional developments must be on the road to responsible government, though it did not materialise as expected. In the meantime, the minority communities, led by G. G. Ponnambalam (Member for Point Pedro), an able Tamil lawyer and politician, for their part, insisted on 'balanced representation' and popularly known as the 'fifty-fifty' demand (i.e., 50% seats in the legislature for the majority Sinhalese and 50% seats for the minority communities (Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and others domiciled in Sri Lanka). The governor Caldecott rejected the '50-50' demand, as he was in favour of placing greater and collective responsibility on all the ministers, without discrimination. A series of motions were placed before the State Council by the Legal Secretary, J. C. Howard, to enable the proposals of the governor on constitutional reforms to be discussed in detail. On March 9, 1939, the Legal Secretary moved that the Council do go into Committee to consider the Motions, which collectively included the proposals made by the governor. The demand of the Tamil community was representation on a geographical and territorial basis with the proviso that no one community would be able to outnumber a combination of others. From the very beginning, they insisted on parity of status, and if we were to look into the matter seriously, the present crisis in the North is the culmination of all that leading to the ethnic conflict. Furthermore, the Sinhala Only Bill presented in the Parliament on June 5, 1956, set the stage for the political drama, leading to the demand for a state of Eelam. A Bill instituted 'An Ordinance to provide a new Constitution for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), known as the 'Free Lanka Bill' was introduced in the State Council on January 19, 1945. It was passed without a division on February 16, 1945. The Bill was then referred to a Committee of the Whole House and brought up for Third Reading, when G. A. H. Wille (Nominated Member), moved that "The Bill be read the Third time six months' hence". The amendment was defeated. The Bill, in due form, was sent to the Secretary of State for the Colonies to receive the assent of the King. On July 17, 1945, a message from the governor Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore, was read in the State Council intimating that the Secretary of State felt unable to advise His Majesty the King to assent to the Bill for a new Constitution for Sri Lanka. A motion of protest was moved. It read "This Council protests against the rejection by His Majesty's Government, of the new Constitution Bill, as such rejection is a denial of the rights of the people of Lanka to freedom and to determine their own Constitution for their own good". The Motion was seconded by G. E. de Silva (Minister of Health). W. Dahanayaka (Member for Bibile) moved an amendment to be add at the end of the Motion, with the words "and requests the dissolution of the present Council, to enable the issue to be raised at a General Election". The amendment was defeated. It was pointed out that the disallowance of the Bill, particularly for one reason alleged, that it does not conform to the limitations of the Declaration of 1943, was obviously a denial of human rights of the people of the country to frame a Constitution, which they have put forward with the object of obtaining that degree of freedom which they have considered reasonable, just and fair in all respects. The Minister of Agriculture and Lands and the Leader of the State Council (D. S. Senanayaka), on his return from England, having discussed reforms, moved in the State Council that "The House now expresses its disappointment that His Majesty's Government have deferred the admission of Ceylon to full Dominion Status, but in view of the assurance contained in the White Paper of October 31, 1945, that His Majesty's Government will co-operate with the people of Ceylon, so that such status may be attained by this country in a comparatively short time, this House resolves that the Constitution offered in the said White Paper be accepted during the interim period." Dominion Status, although it is for the first time apparently recognised by the British government, in the White Paper, showed that the country had reached politically much earlier as was expected. It was the Member for Horana (A. P. Jayasuriya), as far back as 1942, asked for Dominion Status which was accepted without dissent or a division. It resulted in the Declaration of 1943. There followed a period of rather uncertain exchange of views between the Lankan leaders and the Colonial authorities, culminating in the appointment of a Commission with Lord Soulbury as its Chairman. Besides Lord Soulbury, its membership included Sir Frederick Rees, Principal of the University College of South Wales, and Sir Frederick Burrows, President of the National Union of Railwaymen, and later Governor of Bengal. As Herwald Ramsbotham, Lord Soulbury had held Cabinet office in conservative administration in the British Parliament. The Commission was advised by the Home Government in England, "to examine the proposals of the Ministers and provide them with full opportunity for consultation to take place with various interests, including minority communities, concerned with the subject of Constitutional reforms and with the proposals which the Ministers had formulated. The Soulbury Commission report was published in September 1945. The final draft of the new Constitution was prepared by the legal advisers to the Secretary of State, of whom Sir Kenneth Roberts Wray was the chief. He was assisted by two officials from Sri Lanka. They were Sir Barclay Nihill (Legal Secretary) and Sir Oliver Goonetilleke (Financial Secretary). The assent to the Constitution was given by King George VI on May 15, 1946. In 1947, an announcement was made in the House of Commons in England that as soon as the Ceylon Government assumed office under the new Constitution (Soulbury Constitution), negotiations could be entered into for the making of agreements by which fully self-governing status could be conferred upon the country. The agreements were signed in Colombo on November 11, 1947, by Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore, on behalf of the United Kingdom and by D. S. Senanayaka, the leader of the House, on behalf of Sri Lanka. The Constitution was embodied in two sets of documents, viz:(a) The Ceylon Independence Act, 1947, and (b) The Orders-in-Council of 1947, known collectively as the Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders-in-Council, 1947. These legal documents contained the legal powers for full Dominion Status. February 4 was declared the Appointment Day, on which day we celebrate our independence annually. The ceremonial opening of the first Parliament of the Dominion of Ceylon on February 10, 1948, was an occasion of great historical significance. The ceremonial opening was performed by H. R. H. the Duke of Gloucester (brother of King George VI) and Douchess of Gloucester. The Duke delivered the speech from the Throne, while Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, Leader of the Senate, and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Leaderof the House of Representatives, spoke on behalf of the respective Houses of Parliament. With the change of government, the Governor took his oaths as the Governor-General. The Duke, conveying the message from the King of England, said "I know that my people in Ceylon are ready to make a full and rich contribution to the association of free peoples, and I am confident that you will carry your responsibilities ably to this end. May good wishes go out to you on this great day, and I pray that Ceylon may enjoy peace and prosperity in full measure. May God bless you all and guide your country through the years that lie ahead". On May 22, 1972, the Soulbury Constitution was abolished and a new Republic of Sri Lanka was established under a new Constitution drafted and passed by a Constituent Assembly, and it was said that "the sovereignty is in the people and is inalienable, under the new National State Assembly", and upheld that the" official language of Sri Lanka shall be Sinhala, as provided by the Official Language Act No. 33 of 1956. The use of Tamil language shall be in accordance with the Tamil language (Special Provisions) Act of 1958." The first Republican Constitution continued from May 22, 1972, to August 31, 1978, when it was replaced by another Republican Constitution (the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka), drafted by the United National Party (UNP), which came into power in July 1977. |
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