Colebrooke–Cameron Commission
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The Colebrooke–Cameron Commission was appointed in 1833 as a Royal Commission of Eastern Inquiry by the
British Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...
to assess the administration of the island of
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 ...
and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, economic, and judicial reform. According to Sir Charles Jeffries' book, Ceylon - The Path to Independence, "by the time the Commission got round to Ceylon, in 1829, most of the members had fallen by the wayside, and only one, Major (afterwards Sir William) Colebrooke was left." After the conquest of the
Kandyan kingdom The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom of the Kin ...
by the British in 1815, the entire country had become a colony of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
. By year 1828, the government expenditure of the country had rapidly exceeded government revenue due to several reasons such as carrying out the administration of the country by dividing it into two parts, the upcountry and the low country, and having to incur a huge expenditure on paying salaries to government officers from Britain and also for providing the necessary facilities to them. The government of Britain had to cover up expenses itself. Therefore the Colonial Secretary appointed a special commission to come to Ceylon and examine the situation and to make necessary recommendations. The commission comprised
William MacBean George Colebrooke Sir William MacBean George Colebrooke, (9 November 1787 – 6 February 1870) was an English career soldier and colonial administrator who became lieutenant governor of New Brunswick in 1841. Life The son of Colonel Paulet Welbore Colebrooke, R ...
and Charles Hay Cameron. Cameron was in charge of investigating the judicial system. The legal and economic proposals made by the commission in 1833 were innovative and radical. Many of the proposals were adopted. They signified for Ceylon the first manifestation of
constitutional government A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...
, the first steps toward modernising the traditional economic system, and the beginnings of a uniform system of justice, education, and civil administration.


Recommendations

*Establishment of an Executive Council and Legislative Council * The amalgamation of the Kandyan and Maritime provinces and their administration as a single unit of government by the Governor in Council. * The admission of Ceylonese into the
Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...
. * The abolition of ' Rājākariya' – compulsory personal service in the Kandyan provinces. * A commission to manage education should be appointed * A principal
public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
on the British model should be established for English education and teacher training.Ministry of Education


Outcomes

*The
Executive Council of Ceylon The Executive Council of Ceylon was the Executive Council created in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon in March ...
and 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 ...
was established, later becoming the foundation of representative
legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
in the country. *Form of the modern central government was established for the first time in the island, followed by the gradual decline of local form of feudalism including 'rājākariya', which was abolished soon after. *Modernising the economic system. *Education was taken over by the government from the church. *Establishment of the Colombo Academy as the principal
public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
in the island.


Protests launched by Lankans

After the Colebrooke reforms of 1833 had been implemented, the Europeans who lived in the country launched protests demanding that certain reforms should be made to the Colebrooke constitution. These Europeans were the rich people who had come to Ceylon for planting crops and had engaged in plantation in the upcountry areas. By that time there had arisen the need for them to get the required funds allocated by the Legislative for developing the road system, postal and other services and facilities where their plantations were located. Three unofficial members had been appointed to the council represent these Europeans. However, they launched protests as the number of official members in the council was greater than the unofficial members and the Council had not been granted sufficient powers. In order to carry out these protests, they formed "Planters' Association of Ceylon" in 1856. Two prominent leaders of this association were William Digby and
George Wall George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English footballer. Career Born in Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow before joining Barnsley in 1903. In a ...
. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the middle class launched protests demanding constitutional reforms too. Out of the educated middle class who led the protests at the early stage,
Ponnambalam Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, CMG, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 1930) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Solicitor-General o ...
,
Ponnambalam Arunachalam Ponnambalam Arunachalam ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் அருணாசலம், translit=Poṉṉampalam Aruṇācalam; 14 September 1853 – 9 January 1924) was a Ceylonese civil servant and a member of the Executive Council of Cey ...
, Sir James Peiris and H. G. C. Perera were prominent. Low Country Products Association of Ceylon, Chillaw Association and Jaffna Association were some of the leading associations that were formed by the middle class. It was Sir James Peiris who first submitted a formal memorandum to the Colonial Secretary in 1909 explaining the need for constitutional reforms. After that, several other petitions were submitted by various groups. Some of the reforms proposed are, *increasing the number of unofficial members in the Council *electing representatives to the legislative, and *abolishing the communal representation system (since it led to various controversies between various ethnic groups in the country.)


See also

*
Executive Council of Ceylon The Executive Council of Ceylon was the Executive Council created in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon in March ...
*
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 ...
*
Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...
* Colombo Academy * Charles Jeffries, ''Ceylon - The Path to Independence'', Pall Mall Press, London, 1962, p. 24.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colebrooke-Cameron Commission Sri Lankan commissions and inquiries British Ceylon period British Ceylon Education in Sri Lanka 1829 in Ceylon 1822 establishments in the British Empire