1st February 1998

Off to London for talks and more talks

Excerpts from Memoirs and Musings

By Sir Arthur Ranasinghe

A political mission to war-torn London

I was yet in Negombo when one night in mid- June 1945, after I had retired to rest, I heard the telephone bell at my house ringing with insistence. I heard a familiar voice saying "Senanayake speaking". It was characteristic of D.S. that he never said "Minister (or later), "Prime Minister" speaking" but always announced himself by his surname or his first name "Stephen" when he began a telephone conversation. "Senanayake speaking - Can the two of you come over to 'Woodlands' tomorrow evening.?"

The next day, as we drove down to Colombo the tyre of my old Riley car showed a puncture but we got to 'Woodlands about seven o'clock in the evening.

D.S. was so transparently honest that he could never command a poker face, and his inner feelings were betrayed in his countenance. After a few moments he said, 'I am going to England shortly and I would like you to come with me." I replied: "How nice"

My prompt reply pleased the boss, for his face broke out in a happy smile. He then explained the situation in detail. He was going to England on a political mission. He had been invited for personal discussions on the reform of the Constitution by Oliver Stanley, the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

The Royal Air Force had, at the instance of His Majesty's Government placed a York plane at the disposal of the Vice-Chairman of the Ceylon Board of Ministers and it was by this plane that we made our flight to London in July, 1945.

I did not know who else, besides D.S. and myself, were due to travel on the trip, but at the airport, before emplaning I made their acquaintance. Dr.D.M.de Silva, whom I had not known personally before introduced himself as co-Secretary with me to D.S. He was the A.R.P. Controller and I think had been made Assistant Civil Defence Commissioner to O.E.G. at the time.

Besides, he was a doctor by profession. And Annette, I knew felt relieved that he was accompanying us. The others making the trip were two young men - Gamini Corea (now an economist of international repute) whom his father, Sid, (a friend of mine) entrusted anxiously to my care, and Ernie Goonetilleke, the son of O.E.G. The journey by the Air Force plane was of course not as comfortable as plane travel by passenger aeroplanes now is. Indeed, we (that is , all of us except D.S.Senanayake himself) had to make-do with seating accommodation on boxes and bags. But we had compensation at every intermediate airport at which we halted.

The flight itself was pleasantly smooth throughout, and we made a perfect "happy landing" amid the gorgeous green of an English countryside on a fine summer evening - the best summer for years, as I gathered, that the British people had experienced in weather conditions, and the most peaceful since 1939.

We were brought by special coach to London. It was quite a late hour by the clock when we reached the place at which accommodation had been reserved for us by the Colonial Office authorities. This was Grosvenor House in Park Lane.

On the night before D.S's first interview with George Hall, I was working in my room at Grosvenor House on a "brief" which contained a concise statement of points (supported by reference to documents) to be urged by D.S. in the event of the meeting being something more than one for the exchange of courtesies.

About 3 o'clock in the morning, while I was at my desk, I heard a tap at my door. On opening it I found D.S in his dressing-gown. He entered somewhat agitated and said he wanted nothing less than Dominion Status and that we must insist on our affairs being dealt with by the Dominion Office to which Ceylon should be transferred immediately.

At a dinner given by Hall on the night before the date of our departure, D.S. had a private talk with him and emerged with a triumphant look on his face.

He almost whispered to us that the Secretary of State was going to recommend immediate conferment of Dominion Status to Ceylon.

The next morning, however, when I met him he said that George Hall had telephoned to him earlier and stated that Attlee and Bevin were adamant that India and Burma should be considered first, and had agreed only to a declaration of an assurance of Dominion Status, in a comparatively short time.

D.S. was terribly disappointed and he insisted on arrangements being made for his immediate return to Ceylon. His insistence was so great that His Majesty's Government could arrange only for a cargo plane of the Royal Air Force to take us back to Colombo.

Two seats were fixed and we travelled in less comfort than on the outward journey.

With the official publication in Ceylon of the Soulbury Report and the Declaration of the United Kingdom Government in respect of it, I was glad to observe the general recognition that D.S Senanayake's mission to England had been responsible for the notable advance made in constitutional reform. So long as the Soulbury Report alone was available to the Ceylon public, opinion was still divided but when His Majesty's Government issued their Statement of Policy about the beginning of November a marked change of attitude was to be discerned among all sections of the politically interested.

Independence agreement signed on 'Armistice Day'

The acceptance by the State Council of the White Paper on Constitutional Reform was qualified. It was clearly expressed in the resolution that it was for a period described as a "comparatively short space of time" at the end of which Dominion Status was to be attained. The disappointment at the deferment of this status was also explicitly set forth. Indeed,this disappointment was the keener, since it appeared that the bureaucrats of the Colonial Office seemed to have wished to emphasise Ceylon's inferior political status, not only by declining to transfer the handling of her affairs to the Dominion Office, but also by refusing to accept the Soulbury Commissioners' endorsement of the ministers' proposal that the office of "Governor" should be changed to that of "Governor-General".

But the officials at the Colonial office could find no precedent for a Governor-General in a country within the British Empire which was not a Dominion but which must remain in the technical category of a 'Crown Colony" until it evolved in to the full Dominion state.

But as D.S. stated in his November (1945) speech, the term "evolved" that was used in the White Paper was not appropriate, for it was not within the power of the people of the near-Dominion to transfer themselves into a Dominion, but the constitutional processes involved were a matter for the King-in-Parliament or the King-in-Council to arrange.

With that genius for "finding occasions" that I had earlier indicated was a marked characteristic of Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, he suggested to D.S. and the suggestion was immediately and gratefully accepted by him, that Sir Oliver should himself proceed to England and urge on Creech-Jones the desirability prior to the impending general election, of making a pronouncement to the effect that it was the intention of His Majesty's Government to amend the White Paper Constitution so as to confer on Ceylon Dominion Status as soon as an agreement relating to Defence, which D.S. had offered to enter into with George Hall in 1945, had been concluded.

The British Parliament was presented with the Ceylon Independence Bill,- the text of which and the text of the Agreements being issued in Ceylon as Sessional Papers together with a summary of the Order-in-Council dealing with the Constitution of Ceylon ,

A resolution declaring that the House of Representatives "rejoiced" that the struggle of the People of Ceylon for freedom had culminated in the attainment of independence was moved by D.S and carried after debate. And the 'appointed day' for the inauguration of the Ceylon (Independence) Constitution was fixed for the 4th February, 1948.

The Lion Flag was hoisted on that day as a symbol of the transfer of authority, while a Special Committee was appointed to advise on a National Flag for the country.

Thus commenced a new era for Ceylon and thus ended my own personal participation in the activities that led to the attainment of independence.

Exactly thirty years back, I was writing impassioned articles inveigling against the statesmen of the British Empire who, whilst acknowledging that good government was no substitute for self-government, seemed bent on keeping the people of Ceylon in subjucation. I was happy that with time the rulers of the British Empire had seen at last the justice of our claim and in acceding to it, had thought it proper to make our leader, a member of the King's Privy Council.

From the Constitution of Ceylon by Sir Ivor Jennings

The Secretary of State had realized that the antagonism created by the appointment of the Soulbury Commission had somehow to be removed and had invited Mr D.S. Senanayake to London for consultations. Possibly he had intended to put specific proposals but after Mr. Senanayake arrived the General Election brought about a change of Government, and the new Secretary of State left Mr. Senanayake to frame his own proposals. Those proposals naturally ignored the Declaration of 1943 and made a strong case for Dominion Status. But met with the fears which had inspired the limitations of the Declaration by an offer of an agreement about defence and external affairs. The Soulbury report had given considerable strength to the case by adding qualifications and limitations in the Ministers' draft with the result that the Governor's power had become extremely complex. Mr. Senanayake was able to assert that the system would break down in time of emergency which was just the situation which it was intended to meet. Other proposals of the Soulbury Commission were criticized, including the proposal for a Second Chamber. Mr. Senanayake incorporated with his counter proposals a revised form of the Ministers' draft and presented it to the Secretary of State.

The final stage was the formal drafting. None of the previous drafts had been put into strict legal form. Their purpose had been to make the intention of the Ministers, and subsequently of Mr. Senanayake, quite plain so as to avoid the kind of controversy which might have arisen if a looser method of drafting proposals had been adopted. The final draft was the responsibility of the legal advisers to the Secretary of State, who were however assisted by the Legal Secretary (Sir Barclay Nihill, K. C. and the Financial Secretary (Sir Oliver Goonetilleke).

Though the Ministers and the State Council had accepted the Soulbury modification of the Ministers scheme as an interim measure, their policy remained Dominion Status. It was widely thought that the refusal of that status in the White Paper of 1945 was due not to the conditions of Ceylon but to the fact that the problem of India was still unresolved. When it became clear, early in 1947, that the problem was on the way towards a solution, Mr. Senanayake decided to make another attempt to secure Dominion Status on the terms proposed by now in August 1945. In February 1947 he sent a personal letter through the Governor to the Secretary of State.

The Governor visited London in July 1947 for preliminary discussions, with which Sir Oliver Goonetilleke was associated; and on his return he announced that the heads of agreement, which related to defence, external affairs and the position of officers appointed by the Secretary of State, had been agreed for submission to the two Governments in due course.

The Agreements were signed accordingly on November 1947. The Ceylon Independence Bill was introduced into the House of Commons two days later and was published in Ceylon as Sessional Paper XXI of 1947.

What the State Council had asked for in 1942 was Dominion Status and accordingly the case which Mr. Senanayake made in August 1945 and February 1947 was for that Status. It appears however, that in the meantime one, at least, of the ' Dominions' had made representations that the term should not be used because it was liable to be represented as a status inferior to full sovereignty or independence. Later in 1947 the Government of the United Kingdom changed the title of the Secretary of State for the Dominions to that of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations.

While these discussions were proceeding in London, however opinion in Ceylon had changed. The Indian National Congress, which had always differentiated 'independence' from 'Dominion Status' had in fact accepted the latter and steps were being taken to create the two 'Dominions' of India and Pakistan. Accordingly, most of the sections of opinion in Ceylon which had formerly made the differentiation were by June 1947 ready to accept 'Dominion Status'. As soon as Mr. Senanayake saw the draft of the declaration of June 1947, therefore he realised that 'fully self-governing status' would be regarded, or at least represented, as less than 'Dominion Status'. Having ascertained from Sir Oliver Goonetilleke by telephone that Dominion Status was in fact intended, he cabled to the Secretary of State asking that 'independence' or 'Dominion Status' be substituted. The reply was that the status intended was what was usually connoted by Dominion Stauts, and the reasons for the decisions not to use that term were given. It was added that any change would now cause delay and that Mr. Senanayake might use the text of the telegram at his discretion. Mr. Senanayake did in fact use the exact language of the telegram in his reply to the Governor when the declaration was read in the State Council, though he did not indicate its origin and most members thought he was expressing a personal opinion. Both in the United Kingdom and in Ceylon, in fact, 'fully self-governing status' was thought by some to be what a news agency called 'near-Dominion Status. Even statements by the Secretary of State in the House of Commons did not altogether remove this first and misleading impression.

When the legislation designed to create the Dominions India and Pakistan was drafted, it was decided to use the term 'independence' and since Ceylon was obtaining the same status the short titles of the Act and the Order in Council used the same word. None of the Ceylon documents uses the term 'Dominion' though the status which they confer is clearly the same as that of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Union of South Africa. Since 1947, in fact, the word has not been used in a generic sense, though it is correctly used in Canada by reason of the British North acts of New Zealand by reason of a Royal Proclamation, and of Pakistan as long as the Indian Independence Act, 1947, as amended by Pakistan legislation, so requires.

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