The Ceylon Journal was first published in Sri Lanka in August 2024 and explores various facets of Sri Lankan culture and history. Each issue contains several well-researched and well-written articles on a variety of subjects including history, archaeology, folklore, literature and natural history. The articles are frequently accompanied by exquisite illustrations.
The journal was inspired by the periodical Young Ceylon which was started by the lawyer and journalist Charles Ambrose Lorentz in 1851 at a time when several movements for national regeneration took this particular generic title. Mazzini had created Young Italy in 1831 and Disraeli was a member of Young England in the early 1840s. Articles in theCeylon Journal have been published so far on subjects including the Early Cartography of Sri Lanka; the Enigmatic Major Raven-Hart, a British soldier, secret agent, translator (and more) who lived in Ceylon after the Second World War; and on the city of Galle – 400 Years Ago.
The Journal covers Sri Lanka’s colonial history – Portuguese, Dutch and British – in an objective and fair-minded manner. Its most recent issue is dedicated to the memory of Sir Alexander Johnston (1775-1849), 3rd Chief Justice of Ceylon, who is described as being an orientalist and humanist. The following account of Johnston’s life is largely based on the article about him in the journal by Avishka Mario Senewiratne.
Alexander Johnston was born in Carnsalloch, Dumfriesshire in 1775 to Samuel Johnston and Hester Napier, daughter of Lord Napier. His father was posted to Madurai in Tamil Nadu in 1781 and at the age of six Alexander came to India. There he became fluent in Tamil, Telugu and Hindustani. In spite of an early inclination to follow a military career, Johnston took his father’s advice, studied law at Göttingen and Lincoln’s Inn and gained the expertise for his future roles in legal reform and colonial administration. After marrying Louisa Campbell, he came to Ceylon as Advocate General in 1799.
At the time of Johnston’s arrival, Britain’s control of the island was precarious. There had been a serious rebellion in 1797 and Ceylon only became a Crown Colony with the appointment of Governor North in 1802. There were disagreements between British officials on the military’s tactics in Colombo and matters came to a head following the failure of North’s military campaign to capture the Kandyan Provinces in 1803. The relationship between Johnston and Major General Douglass Wemyss deteriorated to such an extent that Johnston challenged Wemyss to a duel and Governor North had to intervene to pacify the parties.
Johnston became increasingly influential in the administration of the country and introduced a wide range of reforms aimed at aligning British law with local customs and values. He deputized for Governor Maitland and made a tour of the country in 1806, during which he developed a fascination for all aspects of Ceylon. He collected Sinhala, Tamil and Pali manuscripts, notes on the laws of every community, working models of every instrument, machine and tool used for art, manufacture or agriculture. Johnston also acquired the information needed for reforming the law and governance of Ceylon, which he envisaged would be a test case for the governance of British India.
Sent to Britain in 1810 by Governor Maitland to explain defects in Ceylon’s judicial system, Johnston secured a Charter of Justice for Ceylon. This was the first such grant in Ceylon or in any country in Asia. Soon after he was awarded a knighthood and when Edmund Lushington retired, he was appointed Ceylon’s third Chief Justice in 1811.
Johnston was a passionate advocate for the abolition of slavery in the island. His efforts resulted in the emancipation of the children of slaves in Ceylon in 1816, a proposal he had first made in 1806. Some were held by indigenous owners; some were the children of slaves brought to the country by Arab and also European traders, mainly the Dutch and Portuguese, who had ruled the island for the previous three centuries. By 1833 all the slaves in Ceylon were emancipated and Johnston played a pivotal role in enabling their liberation. Catholics, who had been oppressed by the Dutch, were also emancipated by a law suggested by Johnston and Governor Maitland in 1806.
Johnston conducted a comprehensive survey of the country’s customary laws and documented its findings, as well as producing a digest of Roman-Dutch laws applicable in Ceylon. He emphasized the need to preserve aspects of customary laws from all communities and his judgments took note of Kandyan Law, Mohammedan Law etc. He also codified laws relating to the cultural and religious practices of the various religious and cultural communities in the Island.
He championed the rights of native Sri Lankans by encouraging the employment of locals in government positions. His vision for Ceylon included establishing universal public education and it was his initiatives that laid the basis for the development of the country’s educational system. He took a keen interest in native medicine and appointed Mira Lebbe Mestriar, a distinguished Moor physician, as the Native Superintendent of the Medical Department. He enthusiastically supported the founding of the original Botanical Gardens on Slave Island in 1810.
Johnston was one of the first British officials who became fascinated by Buddhist texts. He had good relations with the Buddhist clergy and was a close friend of Dhammarama Thero. Johnston’s cultural and intellectual contributions are also important. He played a leading role in bringing Sri Lanka’s historical epics Mahawansi, Raja-Ratnacari and Rajavali to European attention by sending them to Europe for translation and publication. TheMahavansi was translated by Johnston’s friend Edward Upham in 1833. In Upham’s dedication of the work to King William IV, he acknowledged that the source of the manuscript was Johnston. Though this version of the text wasn’t fully accurate, it was the first of countless Buddhist texts translated by colonial officials, introducing European audiences to Sri Lanka’s rich history and fostering an appreciation of the island’s culture and traditions. Upham also dedicated his earlier work The Buddhist Doctrine and History (1829) to Johnston.
In addition to his collection of oriental texts and manuscripts, Johnston amassed a wealth of material from the Dutch period which he later entrusted to the Colonial Office. Some of his most prized books on Ceylon, numbering between 500 and 600, were loaded aboard the Lady Jane Dundas in 1809 to be sent to Britain. Unfortunately the ship – and its precious cargo – sank near the Cape of Good Hope.
Upon Johnston’s return to Britain, Lord Grey praised him declaring that ‘his conduct in the island of Ceylon had immortalized his name’. In 1823, Johnston co-founded the Royal Asiatic Society with Henry Colebrook and served as its first Vice-President. He became a Privy Councillor in 1832 and it was largely due to his efforts that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council became the final court of appeal in colonial matters. He died in 1849 leaving in Sri Lanka a lasting legacy of reform, particularly in the abolition of slavery, promotion of religious freedom and protection of cultural rights. The Sri Lankan statesman, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam referred to Johnston as ‘the founder of literary and scientific research in British Ceylon’. His achievements remain integral to Sri Lanka’s colonial history, paving the way for a more equitable and progressive society.
In addition to the biographical tribute to Johnston in the Ceylon Journal, there is another paper on ‘Sir Alexander Johnston’s Census of the Dutch and Burgher Inhabitants of Colombo in 1809’ in the journal. This paper noted that Johnston was an orientalist who was interested in collecting information on all aspects of social life in the island.
The even-handed approach the Ceylon Journal takes when covering the country’s colonial history is not exceptional. Publications by knowledgeable individuals from the local population who lived in colonial times, or who were living in the former colony after independence, tend to show greater awareness of colonial institutions that benefitted Ceylon, and their publications tend to be objective when covering colonial history. These are of considerably greater value than contemporary publications in the UK which are often influenced by the ever-present culture wars here. Every effort should be made to stock TheCeylon Journal in bookshops and to make it more available to readers in the UK.
References
The Ceylon Journal (https://www.theceylonjournal.com/)
Thuppahi’s Blog, Aug 7 2024, The Ceylon Journal is launched,https://thuppahis.com/2024/08/07/the-ceylon-journal-is-launched-seeking-to-elucidate-the-past-the-present/
Dhanuka Bandara, Daily Mirror, 15 Aug 2025, The Ceylon Journal III: A Review,https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/opinion/The-Ceylon-Journal-III-A-Review/231-316807
Hugh Karunanayake, Island Newspaper, 19 May 2024, The Role of Sir Alexander Johnston in abolition of slavery in post-medieval Ceylon https://island.lk/role-of-sir-alexander-johnson-in-abolition-of-slavery-in-post-medieval-ceylon/
Images published with permission of The Ceylon Journal
