( 24 ) in any part of His Majesty's Dominions to death or penal servitude, or to imprisonment for an offence punishable with hard labour or rigorous imprisonment for a term exceeding three months; or has been adjudged by a competent court to be of unsound mind; or does not possess one of the following qualifications, viz. :-(i.) A clear annual income of not less than Rs. 600; (ii.) the ownership of immovable property, either in his own right, or in right of his wife (but not as lessee or usufructuary mortgagee), situate within the electoral district to which the register relates, for a period of one year prior to the thirty-first day of July in such year, the value of which, after allowing for any mortgage debts thereon, is not less than Rs. 1,500; (iii.) the occupation as owner or tenant for the period of one year prior to the thirty-first day of July in such year of any house, warehouse, counting-house, shop, or other building, situate within the electoral district to which the register relates, of the annual value of not less than (a) Rs. 400 if situated within the limits of any Municipal, Local Board, or Sanitary Board town, or of any Urban District Council; (b) Rs. 200 if situated elsewhere. The Colonial The Governor's orders to the Heads of Departments are com municated by the Colonial Secretary, who is the permanent head of the whole Public Service, and, particularly, of the Civil Service. The Colonial Secretary has, thus, important and wide powers of administration and control, and his office is the great office of record in the Island. The appointment of Treasurer is the third of the staff appointments, the other two being the Colonial Secretary and the The Treasurer. Controller of Revenue. The Treasurer takes charge of all public moneys, is Accountant-General, superintends the work of the Government Agents as sub-accountants, and deals with questions of finance and other matters affecting the revenue and expenditure of the Colony. The Ceylon Civil Service, recruited partly by examination on the same basis as the Indian Civil Service, and partly by The Ceylon local appointments, furnishes officers for the general Civil Service. administrative, and part of the judicial, work in the Colony. The senior officer of the Civil Service generally holds the office of Controller of Revenue, in which are vested certain general supervisory powers in revenue matters. The important posts of Government Agents-one in each of the nine Provinces-are generally held by the next senior Civil The Servants. To the Government Agents is entrusted Government the general administrative work of their Provinces, Agents. while their Kachcheries, or offices, are the provincial treasuries for the receipt of revenue and the payment of the local expenses of Government. The Government Agents are also ex officio Provincial Registrars; Fiscals; Chairmen of Local Boards, Provincial Road Committees, District Road Committees; in the cases of Kandy and Galle, Chairmen of the Municipal Councils; and in the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Provinces, Collectors of Customs. ( 25 ) For administrative purposes Ceylon is divided into nine Provinces, viz., the Western, the Central, the Southern, the Revenue Northern, the Eastern, the North-Western, the NorthDistricts. Central, Uva, and Sabaragamuwa. These, except the North-Central and Uva, are subdivided into districts, of which there are nineteen, with nine Government Agents and ten Assistant Government Agents. The districts are Colombo, Kalutara ; Kandy, Matale, Nuwara Eliya; Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaittivu; Galle, Matara, Hambantota; Batticaloa, Trincomalee; Kurunegala, Puttalam-Chilaw; Anuradhapura; Badulla; Ratnapura and Kegalla. The officer next subordinate to the Government Agent or Assistant Government Agent is the chief native headman, who is The Headmen. differently styled in different districts: "Mudaliyar" in the maritime Sinhalese districts; "Ratemahatmaya' in the Kandyan Districts; "Maniagar," "Adigar," and "Vanniya" in the Tamil districts. There are about 110 chief headmen in the Island. In some cases the Mudaliyar is assisted by one or more "MuhandiNext to the chief headman ranks the superior headman, called in the maritime Sinhalese districts "Vidane Arachchi," in the Kandyan Sinhalese districts the " Korala," and in the Tamil districts the Udaiyar.' There are about 613 superior headmen in Ceylon. rams." 66 Lastly comes the village headman, who is in charge of one or more villages, and whose jurisdiction is the administrative unit. The number of village headmen is about 4,000. In addition, there are peace officers, irrigation headmen, and others appointed for special purposes. Each of the three principal towns (Colombo, Kandy, and Galle) has been created a Municipality, of which the affairs are Municipalities administered by a body corporate consisting of a and Local Chairman (who, in the case of Colombo, is a member of Boards. the Civil Service and nominated by the Governor, and in the cases of Kandy and Galle, the Government Agent) and a number of elected members and of nominees of the Governor. Every ratepayer who possesses a house of the annual value of Rs. 180, or every tenant who pays a monthly rental of Rs. 15, or is a graduate of a university, is qualified to vote for the election of a Councillor. In twenty-one of the smaller towns the administration has been entrusted to Local Boards of Health and Improvement, composed of the Government Agent or Assistant Government Agent or a person nominated by the Government Agent as Chairman, two other official members, and three unofficial members. The maintenance of roads other than main thoroughfares is the duty of the Provincial and District Road Committees, while the administration of village affairs and the working of rules connected with irrigation are vested in Gansabhawas or Village Councils. Ordinance No. 11 of 1920 provides for the establishment of District Councils throughout the Island to take charge of the Local sanitation, communications, and development of their Government. districts. District Councils are to elect their own Chairman, and are debarred from electing the Government Agent or his Assistant. Rural District Councils are to consist of 4 to 8 members nominated by the Governor, but Urban and General 6 34-20 ( 26 ) District Councils are to be composed of from 6 to 12 members, of whom two-thirds are to be elected by the inhabitants. These local bodies are to be supervised by a Local Government Board. This Board was established in June, 1921, and Urban District Councils have been formed for Negombo and Ratnapura. Steps are being taken to form similar Councils for Chilaw, Panadure, Kalutara, Jaffna, Matale, and Matara as from January 1, 1923. These Councils will not be created in any area unless the people show a desire for them and preliminary notices are first issued to ascertain whether such desire exists. In addition to the Government Agents and Assistant Government Agents, the Civil Service also supplies officers for Government the appointments of Principal Collector of Customs Departments. and Assistants, Postmaster-General, Registrar-General, Land Settlement Officers, Excise Commissioner and Assistants, Inspector-General of Prisons, District Judges, Assistant Colonial Secretaries, Police Magistrates, Office Assistants to the Government Agents, &c. The following are the principal Government Departments and offices:Title of Head of Department. Director of Agriculture Department. Analyst's Department Agricultural Department Archæological Department Audit Office Attorney-General's Department. Government Analyst Archæological Commissioner Colonial Auditor Controller of Revenue, Office of the Controller of Revenue |