Sir Hugh Clifford’s Memo on the Land Question in Ceylon, 1927

This rare document, a printed booklet of 32 pages arising in conjunction with the proceedings of the “Land Commission” set up by the Legislative Council of Ceylon,** has been scanned in a  manner which does not permit conversion into a Word-File document. Hence it is tacked on here as a pdf-style attachment.

CLIFFORD Land Q’tion 1927

FOR the context and the previous Memoranda, SEE https://thuppahis.com/2021/06/01/sir-hugh-cliffords-some-reflections-on-the-ceylon-land-question-1927/

** The Legisltative Council set up in 1924 by the British was an intricate set-up designed to give the local political activists some voice, while yet retaining British imperial control  (see KM de Silva’s work in this regard). But the local Ceylonese leaders were a capable and persistent lot and exerted pressures in a manner which demanded responses –one response being the arrival of the Donoughmore Commission (a precursor to more self-rule). The Land Commission was another significant ‘concession.’ DS Senanayake’s voice in the discussions within the sittings of the Commission, and in the Legislative Council thereafter, was of considerable weight …. but one should not forget the influence of other capable politicians in the late 1920s and early 1930s (for example, GKW Perera). 

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One response to “Sir Hugh Clifford’s Memo on the Land Question in Ceylon, 1927

  1. Lakshman Gunasekara

    MANY thanks for post! Many younger researchers will certainly find this helpful.

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