presented to you when the annual estimates are discussed. In the allocation of financial resources, the development of power, irrigation, agriculture, large-scale and small-scale industries, will receive particular attention. My Government treats as a matter of urgency and priority the need by such projects to increase the national wealth and help in the solution of the problem of unemployment.

My Government also welcomes the investment of foreign capital on suitable conditions.

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives,

The Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the forthcoming financial year will be placed before

you.

Mr. President and Members of the Senate, Mr. Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives,

Steps are being taken to establish a Water Resources Board and to make a comprehensive survey, as fast as possible, of such resources. Provision will be made for the investigation of the basins of the Mahaveli Ganga, the Walawe Ganga and the Kelani Ganga for the purpose of flood-protection, irrigation and the development of hydroelectric power. The construction of the Minipe Extension Scheme in the Mahaveli basin and the Hulanda Oya Reservoir in the Walawe basin is being undertaken. The last drought has shown that certain areas suffer from frequent crop failures. The construction of reservoirs will be undertaken in these areas as an immediate relief measure and in order to alleviate future distress.

My Government is alive to the land-hunger among the peasantry. Steps are being taken to accelerate the alienation of Crown land as well as the acquisition of land for village expansion. The efficient use of the land will be ensured. Wherever possible, it will be co-operatively developed and

an

managed. In the wet zone extent of land is being alienated to peasants for the cultivation of rubber. State-owned tea and sugar-cane plantations will be established. Effective steps for the prevention of fragmentation of estates are under consideration.

You are aware that soon after assuming office My Government reduced the price of rice and sugar. This measure had the result of increasing the consumption of both commodities. By assisting the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment to expand its business in subsidiary foodstuffs, My Government was able to ensure adequate supplies of these foodstuffs at reasonable prices. Factors beyond the control of My Government continue to cause wide fluctuations in the import price of many foodstuffs. These underline, more forcefully than ever, the imperative need to increase the local production of food. Self-sufficiency in food and such other raw materials as can be absorbed in local industries remains the firm policy of My Government. As the control of the supply and distribution of the basic items of food is necessary for planned production, My Government has assumed, on a permanent basis, the sole right of importation of rice, sugar, flour and any other items of food that may be decided upon from time to time.

A comprehensive scheme reorganisation of agricultural and food-production activities was completed during the last Session and it will now be possible to accelerate the pace of such development. My Government places equal emphasis on the maximisation of the production of export crops as on food crops and for this purpose research and extension activities will be intensified.

The assistance which farmers receive in the form of guaranteed prices for their produce produce will be continued. Two important measures which are under consideration and which will enable the

farmer to have a greater stake in his efforts are a complete overhaul of the present system of paddyland tenure and a scheme of cropinsurance for paddy.

Research into veterinary problems and other measures taken to promote animal husbandry will receive greater attention during this Session.

My Government intends to harness the Co-operative Movement in increasing measure as an instrument of social and economic reconstruction. Changes in regard to structure, supervision and functions of the co-operatives will be made towards this end. The structure of co-operative finance will be reorganised in order that the dependence of the co-operative movement on Government finance may be gradually reduced.

My Government considers the industrialisation of the country as an important aspect of the general economic development. In pursuance of the Government's policy to devote more attention to industrial development in the public sector, preliminary investigations and surveys have been undertaken jor the establishment of

new

on a wide scale. The encouragement of industrial activities by means of tariff adjustments, import control, capital-assistance, loans, taxation concessions and technical advice has received, and will continue to receive, careful attention. Several industries have been initiated on the basis of joint enterprises between the State and private capital.

The establishment of industrial standards is being proceeded with. Legislation is being prepared for the general registration and regulation of industries. A systematic investigation of the country's mineral resources will be undertaken. Special emphasis will be given to a detailed study of the iron-ore resources to determine the feasibility of establishing an iron and steel industry.

In the fishing industry, My Government will proceed rapidly with the mechanisation of fishing craft and the the improvement of tackle, the exploitation of sea and fresh-water fish resources, the development of the canning of fish and the manufacture of other by-products. Schemes for the grant of loans to fishermen, the payment of gratuities and compensation to the families of fishermen who suffer death or accident at sea, and the establishment of a Provident Fund for fishermen are under active consideration.

The International trade policy of My Government will be closely related to its Foreign Policy. While developing the volume of trade with our traditional buyers, action will be taken to obtain new markets and to establish increasing trade relations with those countries with whom we do not yet have a significant volume of trade. Action will be taken, through the medium of the Tea Propaganda Board and other agencies to extend our sale of tea on the Continent of Europe.

The Coconut Board Sales Room has been re-opened with the object of obtaining maximum prices for

our coconut produce by promoting more competition amongst buyers. The trade with a larger number of countries will be Ceylonised.

A Crop Mortgage Bill to provide facilities for the raising of loans against standing crops to supplement the all too meagre credit facilities available in Ceylon is under consideration.

A Bureau of Standards for export commodities will be established. A scheme to give greater credit facilities to Ceylonese engaged in business will be put into effect. A proposal for the conversion of Trincomalee into a free industrial port is receiving attention.

My Government will consider the desirability of setting up a State Purchasing Organization for the purchase of goods required for development in the public sector. The establishment of a Tourist Development Board is also under consideration.

My Government proposes to take a number of measures during this Session to improve the public utility services of the country. While maintaining the existing main roads in a reasonably satisfactory condition, greater attention will be paid to the improvement of roads taken over in recent years by the Public Works Department as well as the taking over of a number of new roads. Steps will also be taken to co-ordinate road policy as between the local authorities, the regional councils which are to be established, and the Central Government.

The improvements to the Port of Colombo will be taken a stage further by progressive mechanisation. The development of the Galle harbour will be proceeded with expeditiously. Investigations are being made regarding improvements to the harbours at Kankesanturai and Trincomalee. The decisions to be taken on the Gratiaen Report will be implemented early.

Improvements to the Railway service will include the provision of a more efficient suburban service and better amenities for third-class travel. The preliminary work in connection with the nationalisation of omnibus services has been undertaken and a Bill for the nationalisation of such services will be introduced very early. In the meantime, a Transport Board has been appointed. My Government will consider during this Session such other schemes of nationalisation as may be necessary and desirable.

The improvement and expansion of the postal and telecommunication services will be continued. Improvements to the Broadcasting and Information Services are being effected.

The consolidation and improvement of institutional facilities, the concentration on environmental sanitation, the setting up of an anti-filariasis campaign, the elimination of malaria, and the expansion of facilities for the training of medical and para-medical personnel will be the main objects of My Government's health policy during this Session. The vexed question of private practice of government medical officers has been satisfactorily settled.

It is proposed to establish a separate department for the advancement of Ayurveda. A modern Ayurvedic pharmaceutical laboratory will be opened.

The free mid-day meal, which was restored, will be extended to cover all classes in schools. The change-over to the Swabasha media of instruction will be taken a stage further to the Higher School Certificate first-year classes. Teaching by projects in primary classes and vocational guidance in all schools will be introduced. Special attention will be given to the teaching of science by establishing science laboratories in some of the rural schools. A system of scholarships for science students is being undertaken. University status will be

given to Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara Pirivenas and the conferment of such status on other suitable Pirivenas will receive consideration.

My Government considers it very necessary for technical education to be widespread. Steps will accordingly be taken to open a number of junior technical schools in different parts of the country.

Welfare services, like public assistance and Tuberculosis allowances will be substantially expanded.

My Government will pay special attention to the construction of houses for the working and middleclasses. It is also proposed to assist builders by acquiring land for them in areas where it is not possible for land to be purchased. The granting of loans to housebuilders will be continued.

Trade Unionism has received a new impetus since the assumption of office by My Government. Industrial Courts have become a feature of industrial relations in the country. Further amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act are receiving attention. The Wages Boards Ordinance has been amended so as to give wider powers to the Wages Boards and to the Department of Labour. New Wages Boards have been set up and additional trades brought within the scope of the Ordinance. The Stayin-Strikes Act will be repealed. Steps will be taken to establish a Conciliation Section in the Labour Department for the speedy settlement of labour disputes. The Workmen's Compensation Act will be amended so that benefits to workers may accrue more speedily and equitably. A Bill for the establishment of a National Provident Fund will be placed before

you.

In pursuance of its policy, My Government passed legislation declaring Sinhalese to be the Official Language of the country. An Official Language Department has been set up and is proceeding to implement the Act. În accordance

with the policy of My Government to accord a reasonable place for the use of the Tamil language, My Prime Minister made a statement recently indicating the general lines for such use. Early steps will be taken to work out the details and give concrete shape to these proposals. My Government is firmly convinced that this is the only wise and practicable method by which this vexed question can be solved satisfactorily in the paramount interest of harmony and co-operation so necessary for the effective handling of our urgent and pressing economic problems.

My Government is much concerned at the threat to peace, law and order and communal amity in the country by the activities of the Federal Party and its proposed Satyagraha Movement in August. My Government is convinced that there is no justification whatever for these activities, particularly in view of the assurances given by My Prime Minister before prorogation of Parliament. These problems can and should only be dealt with by friendly discussion. My Government, while being prepared to take all necessary steps to satisfy the reasonable grievances of minorities, is determined in the interest of the community as a whole to take all measures required for the preservation of law and order and the safeguarding of the State.

My Government has set up a Department of Culture. This Department will draw up a programme for safeguarding, reviving and developing the art and culture of the people.

A Commission has been appointed to report on the establishment of a Sasana Mandalaya in pursuance of a recommendation of the Committee on Buddhist Affairs. The other recommendations made by this Committee are receiving active attention. Assistance will be given to institutions such as Sunday schools for religious teaching.

My Government will proceed very early with a Bill to amend the Income Tax Ordinance in order to remove the present complete immunity of religious bodies from liability to taxation.

I commend all these matters to you for your deliberation and I trust they will receive your most careful consideration.

I have obtained translations of His Excellency's Speech both in Sinhalese and in Tamil and they will be reproduced in HANSARD.

[Sinhalese translation of the Govermor-General's Speech] සෙනෙට් සභාවේ සභාපති තුමනි, සෙනෙට් සහික වරුනි, කථානායක තුමනි, මහජන මන්ත්‍රී මණ්ඩලයේ මන්ත්‍රීවරුනි, පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ ගතවුණ සභා වාරය, මගේ ආණ්ඩුවට ඇතුළතින් සහ පිටතින් ද වූ බොහෝ කරදර වලට මුහුණ පෑමට සිදු වූ කාලයකි. රාජ්‍ය භාෂා පනත ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම, කම්කරුවන් අතර කලබල ඇතිවීම, පොදු සේවාවන්හි නියුක්ත සමහර අය විසින් මතු කරණ ලද දුක් ගැනවිලි ආදිය ද නිසා ඇතුළතින් කරදර ඇති විය. පිටස්තර වශයෙන්, සූවස් ඇල සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඇති වූ අර්බුදයන් නිසා දේශපාලනමය වූත් ආර්ථික වූත් කරදර මතු විය. මේ අමාරුකම් ඇතිවූ නමුත් මගේ ආණ්ඩුව විසින් මා ගත වුණු සභාවාරය ආරම්භයේදී කරණලද කථා වේ දැක්වුණු ප්‍රතිපත්ති නොකඩවා අනුගම නය කරණ ලදී.

ස්පාඤ්ඤය සහ යුගෝස්ලේවියාව යන රට වල් සමග වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම් අත්සන් කරණ ලදී. අපේ විදේශික වෙළඳ කටයුතු වල විවිධත්වයක් ඇති කිරීම සඳහා ලංකාණ්ඩුව මේ වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම් අනුව ක්‍රියා කරණු ඇත.

1956යේ නොවැම්බර මාසයේදී මගේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය තුමා ලංකාවේ විදේශ කටයුතු භාර අමාත්‍ය තැන හැටියට එකසත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංගමයේ මහා සභාවට ගිය ලංකා නියෝජිත පිරිසේ මූලිකව කටයුතු කෙළේය. ජාතීන් අතර සාමය සහ මිත්‍රතා වැඩි දියුණු කර ගැනීමටත්, සාකච්ඡා මාර්‍ග යෙන් අර්බුද සංසිඳුවා ගැනීමටත්, යටත් විජිත වාසීන්ට නිදහස ඉල්ලීමටත් මේ නියෝජිත පිරිස, ලංකාව විසින් පිළිගත් විදේශ සම්බන්ධ ප්‍රතිපත්තීන් අනුව, යුහු සුළුව ක්‍රියා කළාය.

පසුගිය මාස කීපය තුළ අප රටට පැමිණී සම්භාවනීය අමුත්තන් අතර චීනයේ මහ ජන රජයේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය තුමාද, ඉන්දියාවේ මහජන රජයේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය තුමාද, ජපානයේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය තුමාද වූහ. ඒ ඒ රටවලට සහ ලංකාවට පොදු ප්‍රශ්න ගැන මේ දේශපාල නඥයින් සමග කථා කර ගැනීමට අවස්ථාව මේ නිසා මගේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය තුමාට ඇතිවිය. එ එක් එක් අගමැති සමග කළ සාකච්ඡාවල අවසානයේදී දෙදෙනාගේම සම්මුතියෙන් ප්‍රකාශන නිකුත් කරණ ලදී. මේ කියන ලද රටවල් සමග ලංකාව ඇතිකරගෙන තිබෙන මිත්‍රකමේ වර්ධනයට ඒ සාකච්ඡාවලදී දැක් වුනු එකමුතු කම ආධාරවනු නිසැකයි. ලෝක සාමයෝත්, ජාත්‍යන්තර සහයෝග යෙත් වැඩීම සඳහා මේ මගින් එලිදරව් වෙන සාමාන්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්තිය මගේ ආණ්ඩුව විසින් ඉතා උනන්දුවෙන් අනුගමනය කරණු ඇත.

ජාත්‍යන්තර කටයුතුවල වඩාත් සාර්ථක අන්දමින් නියැලීමේ පරමාර්ථය ඇතිව විදේශ කටයුතු කාර්යාංශය සහ විදේශ සේවාව නොපමාව ප්‍රතිසංවිධානය කිරීමට මගේ ආණ්ඩුව කටයුතු කරනු ඇත. මෙහි ලං දේශපාලනමය අංශ සහ වෙළඳ අංශ ද එකසේම වටිනා බව සළකණු ලැබේ.

ඒකාබද්ධ රාජ්‍යයේ ආණ්ඩුවෙන් ත්‍රිකුණා ලයේ නාවික බලස්ථානය සහ කටුනායක ගුවන් නැව් බලස්ථානය ද ලංකාණ්ඩුවට පවරා ගැනීම සඳහා කළයුතු දේ සතුටුදායක අන්දමින් නිමකර තිබේ.