Leonard Woolf as a Judge in Ceylon

Prabath de Silva

“I welcome the publication of this second and revised edition of Prabhath de Silva’s book on the judicial work of Leonard Woolf, who tried many civil and criminal court cases when serving as a member of the Ceylon Civil Service at Hambantota from 1908 to 1911.  De Silva has taken pains to collect extensive evidence from many sources, including Woolf’s official diary, his autobiography, manuscripts found in the record room of Hambantota District Court, and his famous novel, The Village in the Jungle.  These sources are woven together to provide a vivid account of Woolf’s approach to law and justice.  In this new edition, de Silva has expanded his use of foreign and local secondary sources in order to place Woolf’s judicial work in a wider context.  De Silva’s analysis shows that Woolf’s distinctive personality affected the way he approached the cases he heard.  At the same time, the book also has wider implications for understanding colonial justice and the ideological foundations of British rule in Ceylon.”  Foreword by Dr.John D. Rogers:

 Woolf with Hambantota kachcheri staff Mudaliyars, Muhandiram and Engelbrecht

Prabhath de Silva: Leonard Woolf as a Judge in Ceylon: A British Civil Servant as a Judge in the Hambantota District of Colonial Sri Lanka (1904-1911) 2016, Neptune  Publications (Pvt) Ltd  Pelawatte, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka …. 170 pp, ..ISBN :978-955-0028-69-6 beinga 2nd edn [First edition 1996 ……….Hard cover with jacket .Price: Sri Lanka (Rs.860), overseas inclusive of postage : US $ 15, GBP 12

TABLE of CONTENTS

I.       Introduction …………………………………………3-14

II.     Nervous Tremor and Justice ……………………15-22

II>    Humour and Severity ……………………………23-32

IV.    Judicial Work in General ……………………….33-51

V.     Engelbrecht: The Boer Prisoner of War…….. 5259

VI.   Among the Case Records of Hambantota ….  60-71

ViI.    Police, Village Headmen and Crime……… . 72-77

VIII.  ‘The Village in the Jungle’…………………….78-126

IX.     Conclusion ……………………………………   127-140

Appendix   …………………………………………. ..  141-150

Notes         ……………………………………………. 151-164

Bibliography ……………………………………….. 165-170

 Woolf in Jaffna in 1906

Leonard and Virginia Woolf in 1912

 Women fetching water from a tank of a village in Hambantota in Woolf’s time

 Hambantota Bay and harbour in Woolf’s time

 Henry Engelbrecht in 1910… Engelbrecht was Boer POW who stayed on

ALSO SEE 

• Jane Russell & Ruth Allaun: “Leonard Woolf: His Political Vision – From Innocent Imperialist to Pragmatic Internationalist,” 28 May 2014,  http://thuppahis.com/2014/05/28/leonard-woolf-his-political-vision-from-innocent-imperialist-to-pragmatic-internationalist-2/
• Benita Stambler:  “Photographs of Colonial Ceylon: A Treasure Trove straddling the Globe,” 10 November 12014, http://thuppahis.com/2014/11/10/photographs-of-colonial-ceylon-a-treasure-trove-straddling-the-globe/#more-14532
•  “Michael Roberts Papers now at Barr Smith Library, Adelaide University,” 4 August 2010, http://thuppahis.com/2010/08/04/michael-roberts-papers-now-at-barr-smith-library-adelaide-university/ AND  http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/special/mss/roberts/
• ROHP = Roberts Oral History Project at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/special/mss/roberts/
• Joe Kovacs:  “Leonard Woolf as an Accidental Civil Servant in Ceylon,” 19 November 2016,  https://thuppahis.com/2016/11/19/leonard-woolf-as-an-accidental-civil-servant-in-ceylon/#more-23392
• Sapumal Foundation 2009 “The Sapumal Foundation Collection : a select catalogue / compiled and edited by Neville Weereratne with photographs by Rohan de Soysa and an introduction to the Sapumal Foundation by L.S.D. Pieris, ….. Sapumal Foundation (Colombo, Sri Lanka) ….http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/37410202?q&versionId=48781754
• Unknown Author: “Mansions of Kollupitiya, Colombo in the early twentieth century,”7 January 2013, https://thuppahis.com/2013/01/07/mansions-of-kolluptitya-colombo-in-the-early-twentieth-centruy/
• Michael Roberts: Potency, Power & People in Groups, Colombo, Marga Institute, 2011, ISBN

SCENES from Woolf’s Time in British ceylon … or Thereabout

 Boer POW at upcountry ‘detention centre’

 Boer POW at cricketBritish  Planting fraternity watching cricket 

 The Colombo Municipal Councillors –-In Wright’s Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon 1907 Some leading members of the Orient Club –– Wright’s Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon 1907 .. Note that this elite Ceylonese institution adhered to a counter colour bar: no “Whites” were admitted as members