o<l MONTHLY. t>^ 
Vol. XIII.] 
COLOMBO, AUGUST ist, 1893. 
[No. 2. 
H.E, Lieut.-General Sir EDWARD BARNES, G.C.B,, 
Lieut. -Governor of Ceylon from 1st February 1820 to 2nd February 1822, 
and Governor from 18th January 1824 to 12th October 1831.* 
The Founder of European Planting Industry in Ceylon :— by his Road from Colombo 
TO Kandy, and thence through the heart of the Hill-country, and by his example 
in opening " Gangaruwa "— one of the earliest Coffee Plantations. 
X some respects, Sir Edv.'AEU 
Barnes was the greatest 
Governor who has ever 
administered the affairs of 
the Grown Colony of Ceylon. 
He had also the longest 
term of administration: first, 
in 1820-22 for tAvo years as Lieut. -Governor, and 
then from 1824 to 18.31, for seven years and nine 
months continuously as Governor. These facts 
and the great amount of invaluable work per- 
formed during his term of office, make us all the 
more regret that, in the time at our disposal on 
the present occasion, we have been able to get so 
feAV particulars of his early career, distinguished 
as it was in many ways before Sir Edward 
Barnes ever saw Ceylon. Army Lists and other 
works of reference belonging to the early part of 
the century are wanting in our local Liluaries, 
and although we have scanned a good many 
volumes of the " Annual Register," the results 
have been very scanty indeed. It may be 
truly said of Sir Edward Barnes that among 
the considerable list of Military Governors 
— some of them very able and distinguished 
men — who administered Ceylon during ohe first 
thirty years of the century, 
he was the bravest warrior who ever buckled sword. 
To substantiate this it is only needful to 
mention, as an evidence of his distinguished 
military career that Major-General Barnes was 
Adjutant-General to Field-Marsiial the Duke 
of Wellington, K.G. at Waterloo. In the Duke's 
memorable Despatch to the Principal Secretary 
of State for War, dated "Waterloo, .June 19th 
1815," we find the following reference by the 
Chief who was ever so sparing of words and 
praise, — "I had every reason to be satisfied with 
the conduct of the Adjutant-General, Major- 
General Barnes, who was wounded." As a coin- 
cidence, it may be mentioned that six weeks after 
Waterloo, the news reached Downing Street of 
the capture of Kandy and the downfall of the 
Kandyan Kingdom in Ceylon. 
From the statue erected to Sir Edv.'ard Bar- 
nes at the head of Prince Street, we learn that 
he was born in 1776 and so, at Waterloo, Adjutant- 
General Barnes was 39 years of age (seven years 
junior to the Duke), and consequently he was 
in his 44th year when, as Lt. -Governor, he assumed 
charge of Ceylon in 1820. He Avas still, therefore, 
not more than 55 when he left the island for 
India, in 1831 ; but no doubt exposure on many 
a hard-fought field in the Peninsula and elsewhere 
had told on him ; because, after three years' 
service as Commander in- Chief in India, return- 
ing home, he died in England in Oct. 1838, 
when only 62 years of age. The stoiy we have 
heard is that after successfully contesting a seat 
for Parliament, — he was M.P. for Sudbury when 
he died,— he caught cold while attending a Levee 
at the Royal Palace, which developed a fatal 
illness. On his retirement from Ceylon — or rather 
in February 1831 — he was made a Knight Grand 
Cross of the Bath, G.C.B. 
Returning to his career in the East, and es- 
pecially in Ceylon, witli which we have more 
particularly to do, it is singular that so little 
reference is made to his term of office (1822-24) 
as Commander-in-Chief in India. But this is 
probably due to the fact th,at he did not get on 
well with the Civil authorities there, and was only 
too glad to exchange offices in the latter year 
with Sir E. Paget, and to return as full Governor 
to Ceylon. Here, by far the most interesting 
and vivid reminiscences of our great ruler are 
those afforded in his autobiogi'aphy by the late 
Major Skinner, who was deservedly proud of 
having been, as a youngster, a special protege 
and favourite of Governor Barnes. But before 
* To accompany an engraving. We regi-et that this first portrait is such a poor one. due to the fact that 
no photoKraph or proper portrait was available, and the engraving had to be prepared from au ordinary old 
vyood engraving. The second and third Collotype-frontispieces— specimens of which have arrived- ar« very 
^iSerent in their styk ru4 executipn, * r r . «; 
