C. H. Z. Fernando

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Hon.
Charles Hubert Zaleski Fernando
Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
In office
1924–1929
Personal details
NationalityCeylonese
Political partyCeylon Labour Party
SpouseDaisy M. née Fernando
RelationsR. A. de Mel
ChildrenP. C. S. Fernando
Residence(s)St Catherine, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
ProfessionAdvocate

Charles Hubert Zaleski Fernando (18 November 1892 - 5 July 1973) was a Ceylonese lawyer and colonial era politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the Colombo Municipal Council.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Fernando was born to Charles Matthew Fernando, a Crown Counsel and Jane Maria Caroline, third daughter of Charles Henry de Soysa, Sir Marcus Fernando was his uncle.[2] He was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo and Royal College, Colombo before proceeding to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1907.[1] There, he was drawn to the activities of the Sinn Féin and had met Lenin at party meetings.[1][3] Having graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1913, with a BA and a LLB, on his return to Ceylon, Fernando became an Advocate.[1][4]

Business career[edit]

He soon took to business with holdings in tea and rubber plantations, plumbago (graphite) mining and shipping, which he consolidated in the holding company C. H. Z. Fernando & Co.[5] In 1928 he became a co-owner of the Mount Lavinia Hotel.[6] He was the Chairmen of the Ceylon Import Merchants Association and a member of the Low-Country Products Association.[7]

Political career[edit]

He became a founding member of the radical political association named Young Lanka League in 1915 and together with A. E. Gunasinha, E. A. P. Wijerathne, A. P. Thambayah and Valentine S. Perera, going on to form the Workers’ Welfare League in 1919.[8] In the same year he became a co-founder of the Ceylon National Congress.[1] In the Municipal Council he presented the motion to repeal the Poll tax, which lead to its repeal in 1922.[9][10] He was elected to the Legislative Council of Ceylon in 1924 from Chilaw as the member for the Western division of the North-western province defeating Charles Edgar Corea.[11] He was a founder of the Ceylon Labour Party in 1928 and in July 1928 he along with A. E. Gunasinha represented Ceylon at the British Empire Labour Conference in London.[12] Fernando was a strong campaigner for universal suffrage including for the plantation Tamils, which was introduced by the Donoughmore Constitution in 1931.[13][14][15] Between 1920 and 1941, he was elected as a member of the Colombo Municipal Council for Kotahena and served as Chairman of the Ceylon Coconut Board, the Rubber Research Board and the Plumbago Trade Wages Board. He was made a Chevalier of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.[1][16][17][18]

Family[edit]

He married Daisy M. Fernando daughter of Hethakandage Bastian Fernando, their sons were P. C. S. Fernando and Chitra Bhanu Fernando R. A. de Mel was their brother-in-law.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Chandrabhanu Samaraweera (2015). Who's who of Sri Lanka. pp. 73–75. ISBN 9789554250109.
  2. ^ Wright, Arnold (1999). Twentieth century impressions of Ceylon: its history, people, commerce ... By Arnold Wright page 548-549. ISBN 9788120613355.
  3. ^ Who’s Who of Sri Lanka: The lives and times of forty eight personalities, Gamini Akmeemana (Daily Mirror) Retrieved 8 January 2016
  4. ^ "Back Matter". The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 31, No. 81, Parts I., II., III., and IV. (81). 1928. JSTOR 43474070.
  5. ^ "United States Customs Court Reports: Cases Adjudged in the United ..., Volume 15". Customs administration. 1945. p. 334. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. ^ “Sons of the Soil and Strangers within the gates”, Joe Simpson (rootsweb) Retrieved 4 November 2015
  7. ^ "1937 Ferguson's Ceylon Directory". historyofceylontea.com. Ferguson's Directory. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  8. ^ Sanmugathasan, N. "A Marxist Looks at the History of Ceylon". www.marxists.org. marxists.org. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  9. ^ Cumaranatunga, PN (2005). Patriots of Lanka. p. 120. ISBN 9559505947.
  10. ^ Traversed new paths making History, Ananda E. Goonesinha (The Island) Retrieved 2 November 2015
  11. ^ Gunawardena, R. H. R. (1995). "The Activities of the Radical Political Associations of Sri Lanka: The Young Lanka League" (PDF). Rohana. 6, 167–81. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  12. ^ CEYLON'S BATTLE, The Straits Times (13 November 1929) Retrieved 2 November 2015
  13. ^ Thirty Years After: Rajini Rajasingham Thiranagama’s Lasting Impact Dr.Rajan Hoole, DBSJeyaraj.com (22 September 2019) Retrieved 20 August 2020
  14. ^ Sullen Hills: The Saga of Up Country Tamils, Special Report No.4 University Teachers for Human Rights (January 1993) Chapter 2.2, Retrieved 20 August 2020
  15. ^ a b "1951 Ferguson's Ceylon Directory". Ferguson's Directory. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  16. ^ U. S. Foreign Agricultural Service (July 1956). Foreign Crops and Markets, Volume 73. Forgotten Books. p. 13. ISBN 1528092341.
  17. ^ "REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE RUBBER RESEARCH BOARD IN 1934-" (PDF). rri.nsf.ac.lk. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  18. ^ "CEYLON GOVERNMENT GAZETTE" (PDF). National Archives of Sri Lanka. National Archives of Sri Lanka.


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