Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/153

 CEYLON 101

CEYLON. Constitution and Government, 4c.

Ceylon, the ancient Taprobane (Tamraparnn, the island of " dusky leaves'"), is an island in the Indian Ocean, off the southern extremity of Hindustan, lying between 5° 55' and 9° 504' N. lat., and 79° 42' and 81 rf 53' E. long.; its extreme length from north to south, i.e., from Point Palmyra to Doudra Head, is 271 miles; its greatest width 139 miles, from Colombo on the west coast to Sangemankande on the east. Its area is 25,431 square miles, or about equal to Holland ami Belgium.

The climate ot Ceylon, for a tropical country, is comparatively healthy; the heat in the plains, which is nearly the same throughout the year, is much less oppressive than in Hindustan. Along the coast the annual mean tem- perature is about 81° Fahr., at Kandy, 1.665 feet above sea level, it is 76° Fahr. At Colombo the average monthly temperature varies from a mean minimum of 71* Fahr. in January and February, to a mean maximum of 90° Fahr. in March and April. The highest temperatures are experienced in the district to the north of the hills, and to the north-east, but it is only in a very few days in the year that a temperature of 100° Fahr. or over is experienced. The average annual rainfall varies from 40 to 50 inches in the dry zones to the north-west and south-east of the island, to above 200 inches at certain places on the south-west slopes of the hills. The rainy season extends from April to June and from September to November, but there is hardly a month without some rain, and the result is the luxuriant vegetation for which this island is famous.

The authentic history of Ceylon begins in the fifth century B.C., when an invasion of Hindus from Northern India established the Sinhales dynasty. As a result of many generations of warfare the northern districts were occupied by Tamils from South India, and the population of these districts is almost wholly Tamil, and mainly Hinda in religion. Buddhism was introduced from India in the third century B.C., and is still the religion of the majority of the inhabitants, especially in the southern part of the island.

In 1505 the Portuguese formed settlements on the west and south, which were taken from them about the middle of the next century by the Dutch. In 1795-96 the British Government annexed the foreign settlements to the Presidency of Madras; in 1801 Ceylon was erected into a separate colony. In 1315, the districts of the interior, which had maintained their independence under the Kings of Kandy, were acquired by Great Britain as the result of a rebellion against the king, and the whole island was thus itnited under British rule.

According to the terms of the Constitution established in 1833, modi- fied on various occisions, and now emb<xlied in the Letters Patent of 1910, the administration is in the hands of a Governor, aided by an Executive Council of seven members — viz., the Officer commanding the Troops, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Controller of Revenue, the Colonial Treasurer, the Government Agent of the Western Province, and one member nominated by the Governor, and a Legislative Council of 21 members, including the Executive Council, four other office- holders, and ten unofficial members, six nominated by the Governor and four elected, representing the different races and classes in the community. It is proposed (1920) to raise the number of the Legislative Council to 37 members, exclusive of the Governor, who will preside. There will be 14 official and 23 unofficial members of the latter; 16 at first, and ultimately 19, will be elected