Lord -Donoughmore's Commission now boldly propose that there should be
virtually. universal franchise, and that Ceylon OAR bethine :a self-governing Colony. As, however, there is not the lea:a:hope of the many small political. groups cohering' into two or three large parties the Commission regard ordinary. Parliamentary govern- ment as impossible. They propose, therefore, that every elected member shall belong to one or other of seven small executive committees. These committees will be charged with departmental work, and their Chair- men will, in effect, be Ministers. The work of each Committee will be reported to the Council in executive session for confirmation. This looks at first sight like a non sequitur to the failure of a smaller democratic experi- ment, but it will be admitted, we think, that it would have been dangerous to go back upon popular election. Perhaps the only alternative to marking time was to go forward. Such a scheme, at all events, commands almost as much curiosity and surprise as was excited by Lord Durham's famous Report in its day. • Adsit omen ! *
