Charles Hubert Zaleski Fernando (18 November 1892 - 5 July 1973) was a Ceylonese lawyer and colonial era politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the Colombo Municipal Council.

Early life and education

Fernando was born to

Charles Matthew Fernando Charles Matthew Fernando (1866 - 9 June 1909) was a Ceylonese lawyer and scholar. He was the first Ceylonese Crown Counsel. Early life and education Charles Matthew Fernando was born in 1866 in Colombo, the son of Andrew Fernando Jr. and the grand ...

, a Crown Counsel and Jane Maria Caroline, third daughter of Charles Henry de Soysa, Sir Marcus Fernando was his uncle. He was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo and

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

before proceeding to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1907. There, he was drawn to the activities of the Sinn Féin and had met Lenin at party meetings. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1913, with a BA and a LLB, on his return to Ceylon, Fernando became an

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

Business career

He soon took to business with holdings in tea and rubber plantations, plumbago (graphite) mining and shipping, which he consolidated in the holding company C. H. Z. Fernando & Co. In 1928 he became a co-owner of the Mount Lavinia Hotel. He was the Chairmen of the Ceylon Import Merchants Association and a member of the Low-Country Products Association.

Political career

He became a founding member of the radical political association named Young Lanka League in 1915 and together with A. E. Gunasinha, E. A. P. Wijerathne, A. P. Thambayah and Valentine S. Perera, going on to form the Workers’ Welfare League in 1919. In the same year he became a co-founder of the Ceylon National Congress. In the Municipal Council he presented the motion to repeal the

Poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

, which lead to its repeal in 1922.Traversed new paths making History
Ananda E. Goonesinha (The Island) Retrieved 2 November 2015 He was elected to the Legislative Council of Ceylon in 1924 from Chilaw as the member for the Western division of the North-western province defeating Charles Edgar Corea. He was a founder of the Ceylon Labour Party in 1928 and in July 1928 he along with A. E. Gunasinha represented Ceylon at the British Empire Labour Conference in London. Fernando was a strong campaigner for universal suffrage including for the

plantation Tamils Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka are Tamil people of Indian origin in Sri Lanka. They are also known as Malayaga Tamilar, Hill Country Tamils, Up-Country Tamils or simply Indian Tamils. They are partly descended from workers sent from South India to S ...

, which was introduced by the

Donoughmore Constitution The Donoughmore Constitution ( si, ඩොනමෝර් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව, translit=Ḍonamōr Āṇḍukrama Vyavasthāva; ta, டொனமூர் அரசியலமைப்பு, translit=Ṭo ...

in 1931. Between 1920 and 1941, he was elected as a member of the Colombo Municipal Council for

Kotahena Kotahena is a suburb part of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is an area known as ''Colombo 13'' Places of worship Kotahena is the location of some places of worship: *Dipaduttamarama, where in 1885 for the first time the Buddhist flag was shown and where ...

and served as Chairman of the Ceylon Coconut Board, the Rubber Research Board and the Plumbago Trade Wages Board. He was made a Chevalier of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Family

He married Daisy M. Fernando daughter of Hethakandage Bastian Fernando, their son was P. C. S. Fernando.

R. A. de Mel Reginald Abraham de Mel (8 November 1894 – 1961) was a Ceylonese politician. Having served as the Mayor of Colombo, he served as the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees in the first parliament of Ceylon, until he was unseated by an ...

was his brother-in-law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Charles Hubert Zaleski Sri Lankan social workers Sinhalese politicians Sinhalese lawyers Ceylonese advocates Colombo municipal councillors Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon People from Western Province, Sri Lanka Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Cambridge Ceylon Labour Party politicians Knights of the Holy Sepulchre De Soysa family People of British Ceylon