What Dominion Status meant

Saturday, 31 January 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

“In 1945 His Majesty’s Government affirmed their willingness to cooperate with the people of Ceylon in their advance to Dominion Status and expressed the hope that within a comparatively short space of time such a status would be evolved.”

This was how the British Government’s announcement about the granting of independence to this country began. The announcement was read out by Governor Monk Mason Moore at a special meeting of the State Council – the legislative body which preceded Parliament. I came across an interesting article on ‘Dominion Status’ by constitutional expert, Dr. Ivor Jennings (later Sir Ivor) who had come as Principal of University College and was soon to become the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon. He was very much involved in the process of paving the way for Sri Lanka to obtain Independence. The article appeared in the ‘Ceylon Daily News’ a few months before the granting of Independence on 4 February 1948.

Sir Ivor Jennings on Dominion Status

Stating that “Dominion Status is a very simple concept”, he quoted the Cabinet Mission’s proposals to India defining it as “independence within the British Commonwealth of Nations.” He then cited New Zealand, the smallest Dominion at the time, as an example. “New Zealand’s internal and external policy is determined by its own government, and the government of the United Kingdom has no control over that policy in law or in fact. Close relations are maintained because both governments with the support of their respective legislatures choose to have it so,” he wrote. Dr. Jennings then shows the other extreme where the next smallest dominion, Eire, “which has not yet overcome the profound suspicion of its neighbour derived from its history and therefore keeps metaphorically a distance which, unlike New Zealand, it cannot attain geographically”. In between these extremes came Australia, Canada and South Africa in that order.

Ceylon’s position

In his lengthy article he comments on Ceylon’s position with regard to a few specific areas. This is what he says on the influence on the country’s economy: “In normal times the greatest advantage that Ceylon obtains from membership in the Commonwealth is imperial preference. The economy of the island is essentially dependent on the export of tea, rubber and coconuts. If it did not sell its plantation products, its governmental structure and urban civilisation would collapse, while many of the villagers would be even more impoverished than they are at present. “Before the war the United Kingdom took over 50% of Ceylon’s exports, while supplying only 20% of its imports. In other words, the sterling obtained by the sale of exports in London was in large measure used to pay for imports from other countries mainly rice, fuel and the cheaper textiles. If owing to the loss of imperial preference other producers of tea, rubber and vegetable oils were able to undercut Ceylon products, the results would be disastrous. “Nor must it be forgotten that there is usually a substantial imperial expenditure on defence in the island. It does not usually reach the high total of Rs. 400 million as it did in 1944, but even a few million pounds a year makes a considerable difference to the island’s sterling position, and without sterling there is no question of getting the machinery needed for industrial development or for providing the fuel and equipment for the development of internal trade.”

More than a balancing of ledgers

Stating that there is much more in Dominion Status than a balancing of ledgers, Dr. Jennings says that it creates what may be called “a psychology of mutual assistance”. What he means here is that the Commonwealth countries have an obligation to help a member state in case of an urgent necessity rather than wait for a procedure where such assistance can be supplied through a UN intervention or the like. Referring to defence, he points out that while a war can be started by any Commonwealth nation, there is no obligation on the others to join in: but unless the nation concerned is clearly in the wrong it would certainly obtain a measure of assistance. The nations also consult each other about their foreign policies. Stating that the establishment of independent nations in Asia is no doubt a step in the direction of a better world order, he commented that however, nobody can guarantee that the new nations of Asia, fired with patriotic zeal, will be less aggressive than those of Europe, while the danger of European nationalist ambitions has not entirely disappeared. He went on to describe how important it would be for Ceylon to be a member of the Commonwealth with regard to defence. Over the years the picture has completely changed and what he had mentioned is not relevant in today’s context. His general comments, however, can still be valid. He stated: “Defence is but an aspect of foreign policy, though an aspect which has profound influence on the rest. Each nation of the Commonwealth has its own foreign policy, but these policies are complementary rather than contradictory. Prior consultation can therefore usually produce agreement. What this means in practice is that the Dominions are able to influence the policy of Great Britain whose interests are worldwide while others are regional.” Here again the situation today has changed. “Dominion Status will not solve any of the island’s essential problems. It will merely place the responsibility for solving them fairly and squarely in Ceylonese hands,” Dr Jennings concluded after a lengthy discourse.