The ''Ceylon Morning Leader'' was an

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

daily newspaper in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. In 1907 the De Soysa family bought the

proprietary right Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

s of the defunct ''Ceylon Standard'' and started publishing the ''Ceylon Morning Leader''. Ownership of the newspaper later passed to a syndicate comprising

W. A. de Silva 250px, W. A. de Silva's home Sravasti Mandiraya which he presented to the state. Wilmot Arthur de Silva (15 March 1869 - April 1942) was Ceylonese veterinary surgeon, politician and philanthropist. He was the Minister of Health (1936–1942) in ...

, C. E. A. Dias, Charles Peiris and

James Peiris Sir James Peiris (20 December 1856 – 5 May 1930) was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).

. De Silva later became the sole owner. The ''Ceylon Morning Leader'' was edited by

Armand de Souza Armand de Souza (29 October 1874 – 1921) was a Ceylonese newspaper editor and democratic activist. Early life De Souza was born in Assagaum, Goa, to a Roman Catholic family belonging to the Saraswat Brahman community. He was the tenth des ...

until his death in 1921. The paper was then edited by J. L. C. Rodrigo for a short period. The paper campaigned for democratic reforms to the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of British Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first f ...

and supported indigenous arts and culture which were largely ignored by other English language newspapers. In December 1914 the Supreme Court of Ceylon jailed de Souza for a month after he wrote critical

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK) is an article written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper, magazine, or any other written document, often unsigned. Australian and major United States newspapers, suc ...

s but he was released after six days due to protests. The paper was noted for its critical coverage of the 1915 anti-Muslim riots and the declaration of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In 1926

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப� ...

wrote a series of six articles in the paper in which he advocated

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

. Newspaper baron

D. R. Wijewardena Don Richard Wijewardena ( Sinhala:දොන් රිච්ඩ් විජෙවර්ධන) (23 February 1886 – 13 June 1950) was a Sri Lankan press baron who was involved in the Sri Lankan independence movement. A successful entrepreneur ...

bought the ''Ceylon Independent'' and forced the ''Ceylon Morning Leader'' out of business in 1932.The Sara Saga
Manicasothy Saravanamuttu (Areca) pp. 51-3

References

1907 establishments in Ceylon 1932 disestablishments in Ceylon Defunct daily newspapers published in Sri Lanka Defunct English-language newspapers published in Sri Lanka Newspapers established in 1907 Publications disestablished in 1932 {{SriLanka-newspaper-stub