LYNCH LAW IN CEYLON.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 February 1918, Page 8

LYNCH LAW IN CEYLON.

ECHO OF AN AMAZING EPISODE. THE GOVERNOR'S REPORT It will be remembered (says the Manchester Guardian) that in the spring of 1!!15 religious riots broke out in Ceylon, and that allegations as to the ruthless way in which, days alter the disturbances wore over, Sinhalese were shot and flogged without trial of any sort, led to tiie appointment by the Governor (General Sir .lohn Anderson) of a local commission of inquiry, consisting of Sir Alexander Wood Rentou (Chief Justice) and Mr. G. S- Schneider (advocate). The commission reported on January 18 of last year that ''in each of the cases that have been under investigation the act of shooting cannot De justified on the ground of the existence of martial law—in short, it had no legal justification," In his dispatch to Mr. Walter Long (Colonial Secretary), dated May 26 last, Sir John Anderson makes some outspoken comments on the stale of •'flairs revealed by the commission's report. He says;

The'primary responsibility for Urje deplorable Incidents rests on Mr. ]■' I S. Sudlow, a member of the Colombo Town Guard Artillery, who was selected by the military authorities to command a small body of military to patrol part of the area in which disturbances had taken place, and where there was :.?ason 1o fear that further trouble might occur. Tie received from the inspectorgeneral of police, instructions to deal vigorously with i ctual disturbances, and secmr, to 'hare ;onstrued. them into ,\ commission to administer lynch law throughout the area proscribed for his patrol, and to have considered that tlicir effect was to make him tfie leader of '.'. posse of viligants sent nut to deal with desperadoes iu the manner depicted in kinrroa show.3 "nd dime novels of the Wild West.' ; After .ommunicating wh«l lie conceived to be bis orders to Major Bayly, vho was in command of the whole district, and being /issigned hi'i sphere of operations, Mr. Sudlow began the campaign of illegality by the shooting, at Ampe, on .Tune 8, of Romanis Perera, who was accused of leading the rioters there on .hine ft, and of being in possession of a gun-barrel. On the following day he was responsible for the execution of Juvenilis Fonseka, alias Fernando, and Arnolis, at Bnlatkcliupit.iy.i, following this up by executing, at Aitroda, Telenis Appu, Podi Sinno, and Jami'B Baas.

Maio< Bayly not only accepted Mr. Surllo/w's \ersion of "his instruction*, but immediately proceeded to act upon them liim-eir in the case of Juvean Appu, whom lis hid publicly shot on June !). at Yaliyantota. and communicated them to his patrol officers, Mr Baines and Mr. Sly, foi their guidance. "The most clifflciilt ease of'all is the execution of the 11(1 itwa Arachchi by Mr. Sly on June l'i In ail the other eases (here was evidence before the lynching party that the persons shot had been actively engaged in proesling riots; but in this case though it was suggested to some of (he witnesses by eounsel for M,r. Sly that the Ai'i'bchi had himself been engaged in Ihe rioting at, l);'dngala. no evidence to that effect was forthcoming, and that was no part of the charge upon which lie was shol- As a matter of fact the evidence of ilic Kai-hcTieri Mnhandiram ov K'cgeUa, arid the evidence taken at the trial of Punchirtala Arachchi before the magistrate, Mr. Boone, showed that the noting and looting ut Dedugaia had jbc.e.Ti rather a farce, and that the Moors j-had actually deposited most of their goods for safe custody with the villagers, from whom they were afterwards recovered Mr. Rlv found these goods in the possession of the villagers, and once eunchided their guilt." With regard to Mr. Sly the Governor adds:—''lt. is almost incredible that anyone, unless one who had schooled by the Germans in Belgium, could have honestly acted on Mr. Sly's interpretation of the instructions. I propose that his appointment as justice of the peace and unofficial police magistrate slioiili he cancelled, and I can scarcely co-isidor it desirable that such at man should remain in charge of a large labour fore: in the island. But the power entrusted to me under the Order-in-Coun-eil to deport is scarcely applicable to such a case, and T fear that, much as his conduct deserves the loathing and disgust of every decent Englishman, T can do nothing to give tangible expression' of thai feeling,"