Colebrooke-Cameron Commission
Encyclopedia
The Colebrooke-Cameron Commission was a Royal Commission
of Eastern Inquiry sent by the British Colonial Office
in 1829 to assess the administration of the island of Ceylon and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, economic, and judicial reform. The official name of the commission was Commission to Examine and Report upon the Present State of the Laws, Regulations and Usages in the Settlements of the Cape of Good Hope and the Island of Mauritius and Ceylon. The commission comprised W. M. G. Colebrooke and C. H. Cameron. The legal and economic proposals made by the commission in 1833 were innovative and radical. Many of the proposals were adopted. They signified for Ceylon the first manifestation of constitutional government
, the first steps toward modernizing the traditional economic system
, and the beginnings of a uniform system of justice, education, and civil administration.
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
of Eastern Inquiry sent by the British Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
in 1829 to assess the administration of the island of Ceylon and to make recommendations for administrative, financial, economic, and judicial reform. The official name of the commission was Commission to Examine and Report upon the Present State of the Laws, Regulations and Usages in the Settlements of the Cape of Good Hope and the Island of Mauritius and Ceylon. The commission comprised W. M. G. Colebrooke and C. H. Cameron. The legal and economic proposals made by the commission in 1833 were innovative and radical. Many of the proposals were adopted. They signified for Ceylon the first manifestation of constitutional government
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, the first steps toward modernizing the traditional economic system
Traditional economy
Traditional economy is a catching-all term normally used to describe economic systems that pertain in societies with extensive subsistence agriculture. The term may also be used for any economy that falls outside of popular notions of market and command economies...
, and the beginnings of a uniform system of justice, education, and civil administration.
Recommendations
- Establishment of an Executive Council and Legislative Council
- The amalgamation of the Kandyan and Maritime provinces and their administration as a single unit of government by the Governor in Council.
- The admission of Ceylonese into the Ceylon Civil ServiceCeylon Civil ServiceThe Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, originated as the elite civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule in 1833 and carried on after independence, until May 1, 1963 when it was abolished and the much larger Ceylon Administrative Service was...
. - The abolition of 'rajakariya' – compulsory personal service in the Kandyan provinces.
- A commission to manage education should be appointed
- A principal public schoolPublic School (UK)A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
on the British model should be established for English education and teacher training.
Outcomes
- The Executive Council of CeylonExecutive Council of CeylonThe Executive Council of Ceylon was the Executive Council created in Ceylon by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon on March 13, 1833....
and the Legislative Council of CeylonLegislative Council of CeylonThe Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of representative government in the island...
was established, later becoming the foundation of representative legislatureLegislatureA legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
in the country. - Form of modern central government of established for the first time in the island, followed by gradual decline of local form of feudalismFeudalismFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
in clouding Rajakariya which was abolished soon after. - Modernizing the economic system.
- Education is taken over by the government from the church.
- Establishment of the Colombo Academy as the principal public schoolPublic School (UK)A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
in the island.
See also
- Executive Council of CeylonExecutive Council of CeylonThe Executive Council of Ceylon was the Executive Council created in Ceylon by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon on March 13, 1833....
- Legislative Council of CeylonLegislative Council of CeylonThe Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of representative government in the island...
- Ceylon Civil ServiceCeylon Civil ServiceThe Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, originated as the elite civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule in 1833 and carried on after independence, until May 1, 1963 when it was abolished and the much larger Ceylon Administrative Service was...
- Colombo Academy
- Rajakariya