Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-19
i'm CEYLON'S SPICY ISLE
1.-THE ASHATGC AWAKENING
By Frederic j. HaSkin
hlle 6OOO Europeans have

sentatives, while 5000 Europeans have
three.
The native party does not expect to
gain a control of the colony through
the reforms now demanded. Indeed II
doesn't care for the responsibility OF
a government. But what 1t does ex-
pect is a larger share of the govern
ment offices In the various depart
ments A native who has been edu-
Gated in English from babyhood, VINO
has gone through the Royal college mere,
who has taken his degree at classic
Cambridge in England and who comes
back to his island paradise to lVe'
naturally desires the honorable station
of a government officer. 1t is the only
thing which affords the slightest OPP
portunity for even the outward SEM
blance of that social equality with
Europeans which he learned to love
in his English college experience,
Such men make good officers, 1t is
admitted, and some of them are at
the head of important departments
without English supervision or advice.
The only reason the English are not
willing to distribute more billets among
the natives is that there are SO many
younger sons from "home" who look to
the civil service for support and
career
Against the demands of the natives
for a representative parliament the ar
gument is advanced that it would be
no good, that 1t would simply bring
into existence a class of demagogic
politicians who would spend all the
time talking, and thereby delay the
business of the government and keep
the departmental officials away from
their legitimate duties.
The native press. of course, urges
the reforms In season and out. But it
is temperate in tone. protestant of its
loyalty to the empire, and does not
even consider the possibility of a
severance from England. The Cey-
lonese know, all too well, that their lit
tie island is one of the richest prizes
of the sea, and that If England was
driven away some other nation would
come In and seize 1t. Much as they
glorify in an Asiatic victory they fear
Japanese control beyond anything So
far as the press is concerned there Is
not the slightest protest against Eng
lish domination-it is only against the
method of administration.
But, in private-and this is the rea-
son why the average Englshman is so
eloquent in discussing what he calls
the American failure in the Philippines
in private, many Ceylonese will de-
clare that they would like nothing so
much as to come under the wing of the
<hHiGllCctu EdBlc. 1t is Impossible for
them to understand that all the United
States Is not a unit for imperial ag-
grandizement, and If their flag is
changed at all they would ask for tho
Stars and Stripes. The Philippine ad-
ministration is responsible for this feel
ing, and 1t must be admitted that the
educated Ceylonese knows vastly more
about the American rule in the Philip
pines than does the average educated
American.
Another effect of the Aslatlc awaken
ing in Ceylon Is social rather than po-
litical. Many of the most prominent
men are leading movement for a re-
turn to purely native social customs
and costumes. The teaching of ancient
Ceylonese history in the English
schools-practically every school in tho
island is English--is one of the recent
results of this agitation.
Ceylon is particularly fortunate in
possessing an authentic and uninter-
rupted history from the time of the
foundation of the Sinhalese dynasty,
544 years before Christ. down to the fall
of the last king of Randy. who was
oVerthroWn by the British in 1915
These records were kept by royal his
torians and have been translated into
English. An abridgement of this great
history is being used as a textbook i'm
the schools. The Sinhalese dynasty en-
cured longer than any other race Of
kings of which modern history takes
account, with the single exception of
the present ruling dynasty of Japan.
And no nation on earth has a written
history covering such a long period of
time without a break of even one
month in the record of twenty-four
centuries.
Four hundred years ago the Portu-
guese came and took possession of the
seaports, which were already practical
ly IN the hands of the Arabs. The ma
tive kings established themselves In
the mountains and reigned on. They
invited the Dutch to help them Gust the
Portuguese and found the Dutch were
worse than the Portuguese. Then the
English came, In 1893, and drove out the
Dutch. They were not content with
the maritime provinces, and prosecut-
cd a war into the interior. conquered
Handy and sent the last king to die in
exile in Madras. The awakened Cey-
lonese is proud of his history, but he is
warned by his knowledge. Unless he
knows exactly what is before him he
will content himself with English rule
and permit his racial patriotism to
blow off steam in reform movements
and the everlasting chase for office.
TOmorrOw-In CeylOn's Spicy Isle. II
The Many Gods of Eden