Letters
View(s):Days of the hangman: What Leonard Woolf had to say
On reading Kumudini Hettiarachchi’s article ‘Storming Bogambara’ I recall prior to the Superintendent of Prisons taking over the task of officiating at the executions, it was left for the Government Agent or his assistant to be present when a man was executed.
Leonard Woolf who was the Assistant Government Agent of Kandy from August 1907 to August 1908, in his auto biography ‘Growing’ gives his experience as the officiating officer, parts of which I reproduce below.
“In Kandy executions took place in the Bogambara Prison, in the early morning before breakfast. To be present at them was a horrible experience and the more I had to witness, the more horrible I found them.”
And then he describes the procedure of execution.
“I first went to the condemned man’s cell, read over to him the warrant of execution and asked him whether he had anything to say. After I read out the warrant, the condemned man was led out of the cell. The man was led up to the scaffold by the warders, his arms were pinioned and hat drawn over his face. I had to stand immediately facing him on a kind of verandah where I could see the actual hanging. On the steps of the gallows the priest stood praying. In two out of the six or seven hangings which I had to certify something went wrong. In one case the man appeared not to die immediately; the body went on twitching violently and the executioner went and pulled on the legs.”
Woolf gives his reaction to what he had witnessed.
“I give these details because those who support capital punishment in the 20th century pretend that it is a necessary, humane, civilized form of punishment. As a form of punishment it is disgusting and as I saw it disgustingly inefficient. From the point of view of society and criminology in my opinion , it is completely useless….All the evidence in all countries and at all times, goes to show that capital punishment is not a deterrent.”
The above comes from a colonial administrator who considered himself as never a lenient judge or magistrate.’ In the early 20th century Woolf considered capital punishment out of step with the times.
Fortunately latter day Government Agents like us were spared of going through this repulsive experience.
(For Woolf’s full description please read ‘Growing’ pages 166,-169)
P.G.Punchihewa
Via email
May Day circuses that conveniently forget the great A.E. Goonesinha
It is disheartening how the present political circuses on May Day, no matter by which party, conveniently leave out the man who mattered most in securing labour rights in this country–A.E. Goonesinha.
He is of little importance for these politicians who use this day to promote their image and act as if workers’ rights were granted only from the time their parties were in power. There is no mention of him in any of the speeches of our present-day politicians.
Keep history intact! Let there be no half truths! It was A.E.Goonesinha, a man of principle, of decency, of conscience who fought for workers’ rights. He did not walk in processions with followers dancing to bands and making speeches on platforms. He fought a British government that ruled Sri Lanka for their profit and benefit only. They ill-treated the workers, made slaves out of them and not even our so-called ‘elite’ came to their rescue. They were too busy socialising and fraternising with the British.
It was A.E.Goonesinha together with other stalwarts like F.R.Senanayake and D.S. Senanayake, who fought dangerous battles, went to prison, risked being shot and overcame with great bravery the resistance by the British rulers to give the worker the right to celebrate May 1, as Workers’ Day. This was the time when the worker was given trade union rights and some respect for his profession.
A.E. Goonesinha’s achievements are easily adopted by other parties that claim they gave workers their rights and so forth. It should be correctly noted that it was A.E. Goonesinha who was the first Labour Leader, Father of the Trade Unions and it was under this great hero that the first May Day celebration was held in 1927 in Sri Lanka.
J.K.Ekanayake
Colombo 3
Senior citizens need to know why interest rates are falling
Hats off to the letter appearing in the Sunday Times of April 13, by a senior citizen of Kohuwela.
There are several senior citizens who quietly bear the burden of managing with reduced interest rates given by banks or financial institutions. These are people for whom these interest rates are their main source of income.
It is surprising that when the cost of living is sky rocketing and wage rates are on the increase, the Central Bank or other appropriate institutes consider it prudent to reduce the interest rates, to the minimum, incommensurate with the family budget.
Elderly people depending on the interest they derive from investments are badly affected by this action especially those elderly people who have unemployed children and grandchildren who need financial assistance.
The banks that were paying 14% p.a interest few years back are now offering only 7.75% p.a or 7% p.a and certain private banks offer 8% p.a.
Will anyone enlighten us about the cause of falling interest rates? It is believed that there is a lot of illegal currencies circulating in our country making the value of money fall.
If inflation is the cause, it is time to take suitable action.
It is time that the Treasury or the Central Bank or other appropriate authority explains to the public the reason for the drastic drop in the interest rates given by banks or other Financial Institutions?
Disgusted citizen
Trincomalee