Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-19

! Ia S1NI than it has thrilled the more
zkENss&lI fortunate Asiatic countries
to which nature has been less
bountiful and man more cruel in op-
preston The young Turk overthrew
the supreme power of the Sublime Porte
/ to gain liberty. The constitutionalists
in Persia are shedding their blood in
| the cause of progress. The Hindu Is
demanding a voice in his government
because he is browbeaten and hungry
! The Chinese young men work Tor re-
form that it may eXalt the station Of
| their empire to that of a great power
| The Japanese young reformers nave
already become elder statesmen, and
! they are the pattern for all the others
| The Ceylonese has liberty, he has
plenty to eat. all he wants to wear,
! the blessings of education and almost
unlimited opportunities for personal
advancement. But he shares in the
unrest of his continent, and he Is set
upon reform for the sake of office.
The victory of Japan in the war
with Russia-the defeat of the Occi-
dent by the Orient, the white by the
brown-awoke the embers of a long
smodering fire and klndled the blaze
of Asatic patriotism which is now
sweeping over the Oldest and the
greatest of continents. In Ceylon the
interest in that war was intense A
| considerable portion of the population
| here is descended from the old Dutch
| colonists of more than century ago
When the Boer war was in progress
the "burghers" of Colombo sympa-
thlzed with their kinsmen of the Boer
republics. But the colony was loyal to
! the empire, and sent two contingents
of volunteer soldiers to South Africa
to fight for England. Naturally there
was great interest in that conflict. But
when the Russo-Japanese war came
on, the Ceylonese newspapers found
| that, in comparison, the people had
cared nothing at all about South At
rica. Special editions had to be sup
! piled at smaller cost in order that
the very poorest coolie might have the
news of the war. All over the island
the people joyfully celebrated each
successive Japanese victory.
1t was of no use to explain that the
Russian was half Oriental, that his
nation was only half white, and that 1T
was the Oriental corruption of his
| government which made him so weak
| in battle. 1t was of no use to pro-
| test that the Japanese were Indebted
! to what the west had taught him fof
all his victories. Explanations would
not temper the joy of the Asiatic
smarting under four centuries of Euro
pean domination, when he had come
into possession of knowledge of the in
disputable fact that a people of Asia,
and a small people, had defeated the
most populous nations of Europe in one
of the greatest wars in all history.
Touching Ceylon, another factor con-
tributed to the present unrest and
agitation. The United States had
gained possession of the Philippine
! islands, where Spain had ruled with
medieval harshness for four centuries
! The Americans had promised ultimate
| independence. Finally they granted an
| elective legislative assembly That
gave the Ceylonese his cue.
The issue in Ceylonese politics today
| is clearly drawn. The three and half
millions of natives demand a share in
| the government and ask for the privi-
! lege of eleCting members to the legls-
! lative assembly of the colony. The
six thousand Europeans say mol"
Ceylon Is a crown colony of the
British empire. That means simply
that its government is absolutely in
the hands of the autocrat who, for the
time being, is secretary of state for
| the colonies in the British cabinet.
The secretary of state can do as he
| likes with the crown colonies, although
in practice he delegates much of his
authority and power to the governor,
whom he appoints The governor is
assisted In administration by an exc
cutive council made up of the various
| heads of departments. The statutory
law and the financial affairs of the
colony are partially under the con-
| troll of the legislative council. The
governor and his official family are
voting members by virtue of their sta
tion, and they form a majority Then
there are eight unofficial members of
the council appointed by the COVER
nor. These positions are much sought
after. They are divided among the
principal divisions of the population,
one each to the Lowland Sinhalese
the Kandyan Sinhalese, the Tamils,
the Mohammedans, the Burghers. the
European planters, the European mer-
chants and the Europeans generally.
The Ceylonese party demands that
the unofficial members of The council
shall be chosen by ballot, that the
number of representatives be increased
and more fairly apportioned, and that
the council be made, in fact, a CO.
! lonial parliament. One of the me-
MORALS which has been sent "home"
to England asks why over 100000
! Sinhalese should have only two repre-