II 



they fiercely attacked the Sinhalese, looting their bazaars, and 

 molesting Sinhalese passers-by, including respectable and well- 

 to-do citizens. There were a few deaths of both parties and 

 several injured. 



10. Late on June ist the military (Punjabi soldiers), the 

 European and Ceylonese sections of the Town Guard, and the 

 Ceylon Volunteers were called out in Colombo. The Fort and 

 the Pettah were occupied by the military. Some Sinhalese 

 were shot down dead and several were injured. 



11. It was felt at the end of the day by the Sinhalese that, 

 having had no protection from the Government, the Coast Moor- 

 men would make reprisals on them. The leading Coast Moors 

 employed gangs of men of their own race at the harbour and 

 other places, and they collected in their own quarters of the 

 town. Some Moorish shops retailed gunpowder, shot, and 

 dynamite, etc., firearms were also available to the Coast Moors. 

 The facilities for use of these firearms confirmed the rumours 

 that were spread that the Moors were preparing an armed 

 attack. The Sinhalese firmly believed they were in imminent 

 danger, and the panic rapidly spread. 



Extracts from 

 "The Ceylon Mvrning Leader" Jitne yd, 1915. 



Early yesterday morning the residents of Maradana, Borella, 

 Cotta Road, and Welikada, were greatly excited over a report, 

 subsequently found to be unfounded, that a large party af Moors, 

 on mischief bent, were on their way to this quarter of the town. 

 The thoughtless and excitable section of the Sinhalese population 

 mostly people of the boutique-keeper class, with a fair sprinkling 

 of loafers and habitual street loiterers started making hurried 

 arrangements to meet the attack, the men arming themselves with 

 knives and crowbars, while the women and children went about 

 seeking shelter wherever they could. There was a general panic. 

 Simultaneously a large party of Sinhalese looters made an attack 

 on the house of a Mr. Abubaker, a leading Moor resident in Cotta 

 Road. The residents, anticipating trouble, had closed up and gone 

 away, leaving the premises in charge of a watcher who, alone 

 and unarmed, could do nothing against a large crowd. The 

 looters worked general havoc in the house, throwing out the furni- 

 ture, damaging the fixtures, and breaking everything within reach. 

 A police party then came along, and the mob broke out into the 

 street, but would not disperse. The order was then given to fire, 

 the police using buck shot. Two men in the crowd were shot 

 and were removed to the hospital in a dying state, while a shot 

 fired at this moment hit Mr. R. A. Mirando, who had come to his 

 gate to see what was taking place. Mr. Mirando has been staying 

 with his family at Maxwell House, Cotta Road, for some months. 



