Charles Matthew Fernando (18669 June 1909) was a
Ceylonese lawyer and scholar. He was the first Ceylonese
Crown Counsel.
Early life and education
Charles Matthew Fernando was born in 1866 in Colombo, the son of Andrew Fernando Jr. and the grandson of Andrew Fernando Sr., the
Mudaliyer of
Colombo. He was the brother of
Sir Marcus Fernando.
[
Educated at the St Benedicts Academy (later known as St Benedict's College Colombo) and at Royal College, Colombo, where he won the Turnour Prize, Shakespeare Prize and the Junior Cambridge Scholarship. Taking his matriculation, he was the first Ceylonese student to pass the Intermediate in Arts of the University of London. He attended ]St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
where he completed law tripos in 1886 gaining a BA and LLB degrees, he was called to the bar as a barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
from the Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
in 1888.[
]
Legal career
On his return to Ceylon in 1889, he was enrolled as an Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...
and started his legal practice. In 1897, he was appointed acting District Judge of Kurunagala and thereafter moved to Kandy as Crown Advocate. In 1901, he was appointed Acting Crown Counsel, Colombo and was confirmed in 1903. He led the prosecution in many of the major criminal cases including the Attygalle murder case. He served as the Senior Crown Counsel and Assistant Attorney General of Ceylon. He was one of the founders of the Ceylon Law Students Union.[
He was also a member of the Colombo Municipal Council, the Kandy Municipal Council and the Road Committee of the Western province.][
]
Academic career
In 1908 he made English translations of the Rajaveliya and the Nikaya Sangarava.[ C. M. Fernando's writings are some of the oldest written accounts on the subject of Ceylonese dance music forms such as baila.]
Family
Fernando married Jane Maria Caroline, third daughter of Charles Henry de Soysa and Lady de Soysa in 1901. They had a daughter and a son,[ Chevalier C.H.Z. Fernando, the pioneer labour unionist Councillor who was responsible for submitting a motion in the Legislative Council of Ceylon to abolish the Poll Tax in 1922 and co-founded the Young Lanka League (1915) and the Ceylon Labour Party, being the only Ceylonese to have met ]Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
,[
Fernando died on 9 June 1909 in Béziers, ]France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Charles Matthew
1866 births
1909 deaths
Sinhalese people
Sri Lankan judges
Sri Lankan lawyers
Sri Lankan barristers
Alumni of Royal College, Colombo
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Colombo municipal councillors
Kandy municipal councillors
People from British Ceylon
De Soysa family