o<\ MONTHLY. IX> 
Vol. XIII,] 
COLOMBO, DECEMBER ist, 1893. 
No. 6. 
"PIONEERS OF THE PLANTING ENTERPRISE IN CEYLON." 
CHRISTOPHKR BLLIOTT, M.D., 
WHO DIED AS "PRINCIPAL CIVIL MEDICAL OFFICER" OF CEYLON; 
RESIDENT IN THE ISLAND 1834-1859; 
PHYSICIAN, PHILANTHROPIST, PIONEER PLANTER, AND AN ALL-ROUND PUBLIC MAN. 
HRISTOPHEK ELLIOTT was 
born at Clonmore, County 
Kilkenny in Ireland, on the 
7th July 1810, and was the 
youngest of a family of six 
brothers, all of whom took 
to professions, Christopher 
studying medicine 'in Dublin. He arrived 
in Colombo on the 30th July 1834 by the 
ship " Henry Wellesley." Dr. Elliott came out 
in the Government service as one of three 
"Colonial Assistant Surgeons," another being 
Dr. Kelly, father of the present Planting Member 
in the Legislative Council, who arrived in the 
"Louisa Campbell" on 31st July 1834. The 
third was Dr. Grant. The medical arrangements 
of the island were at the time and for many 
years after under the control of the Military 
doctors, and this was an experiment to supple- 
ment the staff.* Dr. Elliott was first stationed 
atBaduUa, having as his neighbour at Aliput 
the late Sir C. P. Layard, at that time (1834) 
returned from England and just married. Dr. 
Elliott proceeded to his station by riding via 
Pussellawa and Nuwara Eliya, and in after years 
he used to recall the dense jungle covering the 
former district, which \\as afterwards well named 
"Black Forest," when opened as a cofi'ee planta- 
tion. He did not long remain in Government 
service ; severing his connection in 1835, and 
• The three gentlemen named wero appointed 
Asaiatanta in the "Vaccine Department," and so 
appearin the"Govorumenl Almanacs" of lti36aud 1836, 
coming to Colombo to practise his profession, 
he early became connected as a contributor with 
the Observer, then a small weekly hroadsheet. 
This he soon after purchased for £120 from the 
Syndicate of Merchants who had established 
it in opposition to another print, the Colombo 
Chronicle, largely conducted by Government 
servants, and to which the then Governor, Sir 
Robert Wilmot Horton, was a regular contributor.* 
Dr. Elliott was married on 18th January 1836 to 
Miss Jessie Selina Clark, sister of Mr. W. Clark, 
a well-known Scotch Colombo merchant, and who 
had come to the Colony very much about the 
* The period of Bir Robert Horton's rule was the 
era of newspapers. The Governor was fond of 
writing, and be had as Private Secretary his son- 
in-law Mr. Tuffnell, aftemards a Lord of the 
Admiralty, who, it is ui derftood, wrote a good deal. 
Then there were Mr. George Lee, Mr. B. R. Power 
and others, while Turnour, Forbes, Fagan, &c., 
contributed notices of antiqui ies. Ihe first paper 
ever printed in Ceylon was the Colombo Joumal, ot 
which two volvmjes were issued from the Government 
Press; but ihen the Home Authorities ordered 
the local Government to ccnfine itself to publishing 
the Government Gaxette, leaving newspapers to private 
enterprise. Accordingly the Observer was started by 
the merchants, the late Mr. E. J. Darley being for 
a time the Editor. Mr. George Winter also edited 
the paper. The title was subsequently changed to 
the Colombo Observer, and Dr. Elliott left the Colonial 
Medical Service to become Editor and Proprietor. 
The subseqnent history of the Colombo Obserrer, now 
the Ceylon Obaerver, we need not verite. Dr. Elliott 
and tbe merchants of that day going i' to strong 
opposition to the Government of B r R. W. H rton, 
"a committee of gentl. men " started t' e Chronicle 
of wliich Mr. George Lee wm understood to b» 
Editor, Sir Robert n rion contributing Ifcxgely to 
its columns. Soon after Mr. 8t«wfcrt M»ok«Diio 
became Governor the ChronicU had Its nam* changed 
to the Herald 
