Ceylon 
 
 I N TH E 
 
 JUBILcEE J/Ej qR 
 
 John Ferguson. 
 
 >'ii* 
 
t\« j 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund. 
 
 Division 
 
 Section 
 
 3DSA-89 
 
 .•V55 
 
 
 Number 
 

Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/ceyloninjubileeyOOferg 
 

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SHI WILLIAM H. GREGORY, 
 K.C.M.G., GOVERNOR OF CEYLON: 
 
 ERECTED BY THE INHABITANTS OF THE ISLAND IN COMMEMORATION OF 
 THE MANY BENEFITS CONFERRED BY HIM UPON THE COLONY 
 DURING HIS .ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 from 1872 to 1877. 
 
 ( See page 40(5). 
 
CEYLON 
 
 IN THE 
 
 ( c 
 
 JUBILEE 
 
 TEAR 
 
 5 ? 
 
 IFITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS MALE SINCE 1803, 
 AND OF THE PRESENT CONDITION OF ITS AGRI- 
 CULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES ; 
 
 THE EE SOURCES AWAITING DEVELOPMENT 
 BY CAPITALISTS; 
 
 AND THE UNEQUALLED ATTRACTIONS OFFERED TO VISITORS. 
 
 WITH MUCH USEFUL STATISTICAL INFORMATION, SPECIALLY 
 PREPARED MAPS, AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN 'TERGUSON, 
 
 Co-Editor of" Ceylon Observer,” “ Tropical Agriculturist," “ Ceylon Handbook,” dc. 
 Life Member of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society ; 
 
 Honorary Corresponding Secretary of the Royal Colonial Institute. 
 
 “ Embassies from regions far remote : 
 
 * * * * 
 
 From India and the Golden Chersonese, 
 
 And utmost Indian Isle Taprobane." — Milton. 
 
 THIRD EDITION: REVISED, ENLARGED, AND BROUGHT DOWN TO DATE. 
 
 gonfcon : 
 
 JOHN HADDON AND CO., 3, Bouverie Street. 
 ffioltmtbo : 
 
 A. M. & J. FERGUSON. 
 
 1887. 
 
 | All rights reserved.] 
 
UNWIN BROTHERS, 
 
 TBE GRESHAM PRFSS, 
 
 CHILWORTH AND LONDON. 
 
TO 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 SIR WILLIAM H. GREGORY, K.C.M.G., 
 
 WHO WAS GOVERNOR OF THE ISLAND OF CEYLON AND THE 
 DEPENDENCIES THEREOF FROM 1872 TO 1877 ; 
 
 THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY 
 
 glcbtCrttcir, 
 
 IK THIS HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY’S 
 
 JUBILEE YEAR; 
 
 AS A SLIGIIT TESTIMONY TO THE BENEFICENCE 
 OF HIS ADMINISTRATION IN CONDUCING TO THE 
 ADVANCEMENT OF CEYLON AND 
 
 THE 'WELL-BEING OF THE COMMUNITY, AND MORE ESPECIALLY IN 
 PROMOTING GOOD FEELING AND MUTUAL RESPECT 
 AMONG THE 
 
 DIFFERENT CLASSES AND RACES 
 REPRESENTED IN ITS VARIED POPULATION ; 
 
 BY HIS OBEDIENT AND HUMBLE SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 It is necessary to explain that the basis of the 
 following Volume was an account of Ceylon (with 
 accompanying Map) prepared in April, 1883, as a 
 Paper to be read before the members of the Royal 
 Colonial Institute. It was, however, received too 
 late for the day fixed, and accordingly was pub- 
 lished in book form, under the title of “ Ceylon in 
 1883,” by Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, 
 and Rivington. A second edition, under the auspices 
 of the same firm, was 'issued within a few months 
 of the first, entitled, “ Ceylon in 1884.” 
 
 This latter work has now been out of print for 
 some time, and the author has been frequently urged 
 to arrange for a third issue. 
 
 It is appropriate that this revised and considerably 
 enlarged edition should appear in the year of the 
 “ Queen’s Jubilee,” as giving some account of what 
 is the most important, whether in population or 
 wealth, of Her Majesty’s Crown Colonies, and bring- 
 ing the information, so far as it goes, down to the 
 present date. Besides large additions to nearly all 
 the chapters — more especially to those on Social 
 and Legislative Progress, on Agricultural and Plant- 
 ing Industries, and on the future Government of 
 Ceylon — a new chapter has been introduced dealing 
 with the Life, Customs, Caste, and Occupations of 
 the natives. Additions have also been made to the 
 Appendix, more especially in reference to Missions, 
 Caste, the Tea Industry, Statistical Information, 
 
vi Preface to the Third Edition. 
 
 and the re-publication of recent letters of Mr. A. M. 
 Ferguson, describing the Pearl Fisheries and ancient 
 Euins of Ceylon. This edition also includes a second 
 Map, prepared to show the Railway system of the 
 Island, and it contains over a score of additional 
 Illustrations. 
 
 Apart from this being a Jubilee volume, it affords 
 gratification to the author that he is enabled to 
 dedicate the present edition to one whom he con- 
 siders to have been in many respects a model 
 administrator for a Crown Colony — a gentleman 
 who, as Her Majesty’s representative, did more to 
 smooth away the angularities peculiar to colonial 
 life in the tropics, and to promote good under- 
 standing between the governing and the various 
 ranks, classes, and castes of the governed, than any 
 other living Governor of Ceylon. The author refers 
 to the Eight Honourable Sir William H. Gregory, 
 K.C.M.G., who, when he left its shores, did not, 
 like nearly all previous Governors, remove his in- 
 terests and practically forget the existence of Ceylon, 
 but who, as a private individual, has since devoted 
 capital and time to the development of its resources, 
 while he still retains the deepest personal interest 
 in all that concerns the welfare of the Island and 
 its people. 
 
 A full index, which will be found sufficient for 
 ready reference, has been added to the present 
 edition. 
 
 In conclusion, the author bespeaks the forbearance 
 of Ceylon readers, considering that he has had no 
 opportunity of seeing the main portion of the proof- 
 sheets in the short time available for the printing 
 and publication of the book many thousands of miles 
 away from his adopted home. 
 
 Colombo, Ceylon. 
 June 17 , 1887 . 
 
CORRIGENDA. 
 
 [The fact that the author was unable to see the greater portion of 
 the pages when passing through the press will account for the 
 number of corrections noted here.] 
 
 Page 2, last line but one, for “ C.E.I.” after Mr. Burrows’ name, 
 substitute “ C.C.S.” (Ceylon Civil Service). 
 
 Page 3, sixth line from bottom, for “ all was ” at end of line, substitute 
 “ everything was.” 
 
 Page 4, at end of second paragraph, after “ Tyre,” read “ of Eastern 
 and Southern Asia.” 
 
 Page 5, fourth line from top, for “ Kopok ” read “ Kapok.” 
 
 Page 10, in table, opposite “ Military -Imperial Share," substitute 
 “£160,000” for “£80,000.” The word “nil” should appear 
 under “ 1796-1815,” opposite “ Post Office Savings Banks,” 
 “Exchange and Deposit Bank Offices,” “Volume of business,” 
 “ Government note issue,” “ No. of newspapers despatched.” 
 Page 12, under engraving, for “ Mahavelligange, at Gangaruna,” read 
 “ Mahavelliganga, at Gangaruwa." 
 
 Page 24, under engraving, for “ Topani ” read “ Topari.” 
 
 Page 34, seventh line from top, for “ Stuart ” read “ Steirart ” 
 Mackenzie. 
 
 Page 46, last line after “ 60,000 Sinhalese ” add “ and Tamils.” 
 
 Page 46, eleventh line from top, for “ Zodi-ella ” read “ Fodi-ella.” 
 Page 49, sixteenth line from top, for “ villages ’’ substitute “districts.” 
 Page 51, the paper, referred to in the first note to this page, on the 
 “ coconut ” has not yet been read before the Asiatic Society. 
 
 Page 54, fifth line from top, for “ umbracolifera ” read “ umbracu- 
 lifera.” 
 
 Page 55, first line, for “ papuas ” read “ papaws.” 
 
 Page 59, second paragraph. It has been shown by Dr. Trimen, of the 
 Royal Botanic Garden, since this was written, that there is no 
 reliable evidence of the Arabs having introduced coffee into India 
 and Ceylon, and it is more probable that the seed was first 
 brought to the island by the Dutch towards the end of the 
 seventeenth century. 
 
 Page 68, in sub-heading, read “cacao” for “cocoa.” 
 
 Page 72, ninth line, for “ directed ” read “ diverted.” 
 
 Page 82, fourth line, for “ no attentive aid,” read “ no attention.” 
 Page 94, nineteenth line, for “ forming,” read “ and have formed.” 
 Page 121, last line, for “ Trimer” read “ Trimen.” 
 
 Page 123, first line, delete comma after “ Cycas ” ; delete “a” in 
 “ cocoanut ” in seventh, ninth, and eleventh lines. 
 
 Page 129, note, see Mr. A. M. Ferguson’s “ Letters from Anur&dha- 
 pura ” in appendix. 
 
 Page 130, second note, see Letters by A. M. Ferguson from “Pearl 
 Fishery of 1887 ” in appendix. 
 
 Page 132, eleventh line from bottom, for “ Carropus ” read “ Canopus.” 
 Page 169, last line, for Appendix “ VII.” read “ VIII.” 
 
 Page 257. Add to the List of Benefactors — T. E. B. Skinner, Ceylon 
 Civil Service, for his work in improving the Postal and Tele- 
 graphic Service of the Colony. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAST HISTORY. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Opliir and Tarsliish of Solomon — Northern and 
 Southern Indian dynasties — Chinese invasion and 
 connection with the island in ancient and modern 
 times — Portuguese and Dutch rule— British annex- 
 ation 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ISLAND IN 1790-1815, AND SEVENTY YEARS LATER. 
 
 Extent and topographical features — Condition of the island 
 previous to and after ninety years of British rule con- 
 trasted 8 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOCIAL PROGRESS IN NINETY YEARS. 
 
 Population — Buildings — Postal and Telegraphic services — 
 Savings-bank — Banking and Currency — Police — Mili- 
 tary defence— Medical and Educational achievements 
 — Laws and Crime 23 
 
Contents 
 
 viii 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LEGISLATIVE AND GENERAL IMPROVEMENT UNDER THE RULE 
 OF SUCCESSIVE BRITISH GOVERNORS — THE NEED OF PRO- 
 MOTING CO-OPERATION AND GOOD FEELING BETWEEN 
 THE DIFFERENT CLASSES AND RACES . . . .33 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NATIVE AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. 
 
 Paddy (rice) cultivation — Cinnamon — Coconut, Palmyra, 
 Ivitul, Arecanut, and other Palms — -Essential oils — 
 Tobacco — Cotton— Sugar-cane — Other Fruit-trees and 
 Vegetables — Natural Pasture — Local Manufactures . 42 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND RISE OF THE PLANTING INDUSTRY. 
 
 Coffee introduced by Arabs — First systematically cultivated 
 by the Dutch in 1740 — Extensive development in 1837 
 — Highest level of prosperity reached in 1868-70 — 
 Appearance of Leaf Disease in 1869 — Its disastrous 
 effects .......... 59 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NEW PRODUCTS. 
 
 Tea — Cinchona — Cacao (or Cocoa) — Cardamoms — India- 
 rubber — Liberian Coffee, &c. 69 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRESENT POSITION OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISE, LOCAL 
 INDUSTRIES AND FOREIGN TRADE. 
 
 Exports of last decade — The Plumbago trade — Gold and 
 Iron — Native industries generally flourishing — Tea 
 especially and Cinchona will make up for the deficiency 
 in Coffee ......... 85 
 
Contents. 
 
 IX 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 WHAT THE PLANTING INDUSTRY HAS DONE FOR THE MOTHER- 
 COUNTRY. 
 
 Recent years of depression considered — Planting profits 
 absorbed in the past by Home capitalists — Absence of 
 reserves of local wealth — The accumulated profits of 
 past years estimated 90 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHAT THE PLANTING INDUSTRY HAS DONE FOR CEYLON. 
 
 Population nearly doubled — Revenue quadrupled — Trade 
 expanded sixteen to twenty fold — Employment afforded 
 to natives — An El Dorado for the Indian immigrant — 
 Coffee in the past, as Tea in the future, the mainstay 
 of the island — Material progress in the Planting 
 districts 96 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRESENT PROSPECTS FOR CAPITALISTS IN CEYLON. 
 
 Ceylon still a good field for investment — Its freedom from 
 atmospheric disturbances — Shipping conveniences at 
 the new harbour of Colombo — Low freights — Cheap 
 and unrivalled means of transport — Large tracts 
 available for tea and other tropical culture — Openings 
 for young men with capital — High position taken by 
 the Ceylon Planter — Facilities for personal inspection 
 of investments 105 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ATTRACTIONS FOR THE TRAVELLER AND VISITOR. 
 
 The voyage a pleasure trip — Historical monuments, Vege- 
 tation, &c. — Variety of climate — Colombo, the capital — 
 Kandy, the Highland capital — Nuwara Eliya, the 
 Sanatarium — The Horton Plains — Adam’s Peak — Uva 
 and its long-delayed railway — Ancient cities of Anurad- 
 liapura and Polonnaruwa — Occasional Pearl fisheries — 
 Probable expense of a visit to Ceylon — The alleged 
 inconveniences of tropical life 113 
 

 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF CEYLON. 
 
 Chief sources of Revenue : Grain and Customs dues, sales 
 
 of Crown Land, and Railway profits .... 133 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHAT ITS GOVERNMENT CAN DO FOR CEYLON. 
 
 Active and independent Administrators required — The 
 obstruction to progress offered in Downing Street — 
 Railway extension and Graving Dock at Colombo 
 urgently called for — Law reform needed — Technical, 
 industrial, and agricultural education needs encou- 
 raging — The Buddhist Temporalities question — Fiscal 
 Reform : Road tax, Excise laws, Salt monopoly, Food 
 taxes, Customs duties — The Duke of Buckingham’s 
 Ceylon and Southern India railway project— Ceylon 
 and India — Waste Crown Lands 137 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 Social Life and Customs of the natives of Ceylon — How 
 little colonists may know of village life— Domestic 
 servants — Caste restrictions — Curious occupations 
 among the people — Sinhalese Philanthropists, Messrs. 
 
 De Soysa and Rajapakse 152 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Relation and importance of Ceylon to India — Progress of 
 Christianity and education — Statistics of Population — 
 Need of Reform in the Legislative Council, and sketch 
 of a scheme for the election of unofficial members — 
 Loyalty of People to British Rule, as evinced during 
 Royal visits — The Celebration of the Jubilee of 
 Her Majesty the Queen-Empress .... 1C6 
 
Contents. 
 
 xi 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. — Shooting Trips in Ceylon and a description of the 
 
 Elephant Kraal held at Labugama for the entertain- 
 ment of the Princes Albert Victor and George of 
 Wales in 1882 179 
 
 II. — Extracts from Major Forbes’s “ Eleven Years in 
 
 Ceylon ” : (1) The ancient capital, Anuradhapura ; 
 
 (2) A visit to Kandy — The moral laws of Gautama 
 Buddha ; (3) Kandyan festivals 203 
 
 III. — Progress of Christianity and Illustrations of the 
 Progress of Mission- work in Ceylon : (1) American 
 Mission ; (2) Church Mission ; (3) Baptist Mission ; 
 
 (4) Wesleyan Mission ; (5) A Sketch of Missionary 
 Work 23G 
 
 IV. — Caste in Ceylon 251 
 
 V. — Lists of the British Governors of Ceylon, Chief 
 
 Justices, Commanders of Troops, Executive Council- 
 lors, and prominent non-official Public Benefactors . 252 
 
 VI. — The principal statistical results of the last Census of 
 
 Ceylon, taken in February, 1881 202 
 
 VII. — Table of the staple Imports of Ceylon from 1837 to 
 
 1886 269 
 
 VIII. — Summary of Information regarding Ceylon . . 270 
 
 IX. — Ceylon and its Planting Industries . . . . 318 
 
 X. — The Prospects of England’s chief Tropical Colony . 328 
 
 XI. — Adam’s Peak and its Shadow ...... 337 
 
 XII. — Tea in Ceylon — Planters’ Association Pamphlet . 314 
 
 XIII. — Works of Public Interest executed by the De Soysa 
 family .......... 350 
 
 XIV. — Benefactions of S. D. A. Bajapakse, Esq., Mudaliyar 
 
 of the Governor’s Gate, and J.P. for the Island . . 352 
 
 XV. — Two Genealogical Tables, showing the Descent of 
 S. D. A. Bajapakse, Esq., Mudaliyar of His Excel- 
 lency’s Gale, and J.P. for the Island, through his father 
 and his mother ........ 354 
 
 XVI. — Colombo and the Buddhist Temple at Kelaniya, as 
 described by “ Vagabond ” in the Melbourne Argus . 357 
 
Contents. 
 
 xii 
 
 XVII. — Statistics of Ceylon Railways. (See the Map at end 
 of Volume) 3G6 
 
 XVIII. — Caste in Ceylon 3G7 
 
 XIX. — The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries in 1887 . . . 381 
 
 XX. — -Anuradhapura, the Ancient Capital of Ceylon, and 
 
 adjacent Ruins and Tanks, in 1887 .... 389 
 
 XXI. — Reference to Frontispiece 407 
 
 XXII. — Reference to Map of Ceylon 415 
 
 For General Index See Page 417. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 STATUE OF SIR WILLIAM GREGORY IN FRONT 
 COLOMBO MUSEUM 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 VIGNETTES OF GOVERNORS OF CEYLON 
 THE NEW HARBOUR OF CEYLON 
 
 VIEW ON THE MAHAVELLIGANGA, NEAR KANDY . 
 BRIDGE OF BOATS, COLOMBO .... 
 SCENE AMONG THE RUINS OF POLONARUWA 
 TRINCOMALEE HARBOUR .... 
 
 A COCONUT PLANTATION 
 
 A COCONUT CLIMBER 
 
 TALIPOT PALM IN FLOWER 
 
 VIEW OF A YOUNG TEA, COFFEE, AND CINCHONA 
 
 (ABBOTSFORD) 
 
 LIBERIAN COFFEE 
 
 ASSAM-CHINA HYBRID TEA PLANT . 
 cinchona succirubra ( Genuine Bed ‘Bari) 
 THE ARABIAN COFFEE TREE .... 
 
 THE ASSAM TEA TREE 
 
 PODS OF THE CACAO (CHOCOLATE) TREE 
 THE CACAO (CHOCOLATE) TREE .... 
 THE CEARA RUBBER TREE .... 
 THE BANYAN TREE ( FicUS Illdica) . 
 
 COFFEE, ARABIAN AND LIBERIAN . 
 
 LOW-COUNTRY SINHALESE MAN AND WOMAN 
 
 To face 1 
 8 
 12 
 . 14 
 24 
 . 37 
 43 
 . 52 
 54 
 
 PLANTATION 
 
 . GO 
 G2 
 . 70 
 71 
 . 73 
 75 
 . 79 
 81 
 . 83 
 
 89 
 . 104 
 . 112 
 
XIV 
 
 List of Illustrations. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 KANDY LAKE 120 
 
 GROUP OF PALMS, &C., ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, PERADENIYA 122 
 NUWARA ELIYA, THE MOUNTAIN SANATARIUM . . , 124 
 
 THE FALLS OF RAMBODA 125 
 
 DAGOBA 29 
 
 NAULA FALLS, EASTERN HAPUTALE 131 
 
 KANDYAN HIGHLAND SUBORDINATE CHIEFTAIN . . . 134 
 
 MOORMAN “TAMBY” (PEDLAR) 154 
 
 THE DHOBY 157 
 
 DEVIL DANCER, WITH ATTENDANT TOM-TOM BEATER . . 1G0 
 
 C. H. DE SOYSA, ESQ., J.P. 163 
 
 SAMPSON DE RAJAPAKSE, F.SQ., J.P. 164 
 
 KANDY TEMPLE 167 
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS IN THE ELEPHANT KRAAL .... 178 
 
 ELEPHANT CHARGE IN THE JUNGLE 186 
 
 SCENE AMONG THE RUINS OF POLANNARUA .... 204 
 
 DIAGRAM OF THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ADAM’S PEAK . . 339 
 
 DIAGRAM OF RAINBOW ROUND THE SHADOW OF ADAM’S PEAK . 340 
 
 COOLIE GIRL PICKING TEA-LEAVES 345 
 
 WEIGHING-IN GREEN TEA-LEAF ON A TEA ESTATE . . 347 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 Most of the Ceylon photographs from which the engravings were 
 made for this volume were taken by Messrs. "W. L. H. Skeen and Co., 
 Colombo ; but those of the Ceara rubber-tree (page 83) and of the 
 Liberian eoflee (page 104) were by Mr. C. T. Scowen, photographer, 
 Kandy and Colombo, Ceylon. For the engraving of Cinchona on 
 page 71 the author is indebted to Messrs. Howard and Sons. A few of 
 the engravings added in this edition are from the “ Souvenirs of 
 Ceylon,” by A. M. Ferguson, 1870. Acknowledgment is made on 
 page 62 to the Rev. S. Langdon and his publisher for the use of four 
 engravings. And we have further to express our obligation to Messrs. 
 Taylor and Francis for'the loan of the engravings illustrative of the 
 Paper on the Shadow of Adam’s Peak, page 315. 
 
Hon. F. North, Earl of Guilford. 
 
 Sir Robert Wilmot Horton. 
 
 General Sir Robert Brownrigg. 
 
 Right Hon. J. A. Stewart Mackenzie. 
 
 Lieut.-General Sir Edward Barnes 
 
 Sir James Emerson Tennent. 
 
 Sir Henry George "Ward, 
 
 Major-General Henry Lockyer. 
 
 Sir Charles J. MacCarthy. 
 
 Rt. Hon. Sir W. H. Gregory. 
 
 Sir J. R. Longden. Sir Arthur H. Gordon, 
 
 SOME OF THE BRITISH GOVERNORS OF CEYLON. 
 
 {For complete list see Appendix V., page 252 .) 
 
 Major-General T. O’Brien. 
 
 Sir Hercules G. R. Robinson. 
 
Ceglcm in % fnbike |fear. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAST HISTORY. 
 
 The Ophir and Tarshish of Solomon — Northern and Southern Indian 
 dynasties — Chinese invasion and connection with the Island in 
 ancient and modern times — Portuguese and Dutch rule — British 
 annexation. 
 
 I take it for granted that the readers of this work 
 will have some general acquaintance with the position, 
 history, and condition of Ceylon. It is the largest, 
 most populous, and most important of her Britannic 
 Majesty’s Crown Colonies, which are so called because 
 the administration of their affairs is under the direct 
 control of the Colonial Office. 
 
 Ceylon has long been 
 
 “ Confess’d the best and brightest gem 
 In Britain’s orient diadem.” 
 
 There can be no danger now-a-days of a member 
 of Parliament getting up in his place to protest 
 against British troops being stationed in Ceylon on 
 account of the deadly climate of “this part of West 
 Africa,’’ the “ utmost Indian isle ” being then con- 
 founded with Sierra Leone ! 
 
 2 
 
2 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Known to ancient voyagers as far back as the time 
 of King Solomon (of whose Ophir and Tarshish many 
 believe Ceylon to have formed a part), the story of its 
 beauty, its jewels, and its spices’ was familiar to the 
 Greeks and Romans, who called it Taprobane, and to 
 the Arab traders who first introduced the coffee plant 
 into this island, and who placed in Serendib the scene 
 of many of Sindbad’s adventures. It was also known 
 to the Mohammedan world at large, who to this day 
 regard the island as the elysium provided for Adam 
 and Eve to console them for the loss of Paradise, a 
 tradition used as a solatium by Arabi and his co- 
 Egyptian exiles a few years ago, when deported from 
 their native land. To the people of India, to the 
 Burmese, Siamese, and Chinese, Lanka, “ the re- 
 splendent,” was equally an object of interest and 
 admiration, so that it has been well said that no 
 island in the world, Great Britain itself not excepted, 
 has attracted the attention of authors in so many 
 different countries as has Ceylon. 
 
 There is no land, either, which can tell so much of 
 its past history, not merely in songs and legends, but 
 in records which have been verified by monuments, 
 inscriptions, and coins ; some of the structures in and 
 around the ancient capitals of the Sinhalese are 
 more than 2,000 years old, and only second to those 
 of Egypt in vastness of extent and architectural 
 interest.* Between 543 b.c., when Wijaya, a prince 
 from Northern India, is said to have invaded Ceylon, 
 conquered its native rulers, and made himself king, 
 and the end of the year 1815, when the last king 
 of Kandy, a cruel monster, was deposed and banished 
 
 * See “Buried Cities of Ceylon,’’ by S. M. Burrows, C.E.I., pub- 
 lished by A. M. and J. Ferguson. 
 
Past History. 
 
 3 
 
 by the British, the Sinhalese chronicles present us 
 with a list of well-nigh 170 kings and queens, the 
 histoi-y of whose administrations is of the most varied 
 and interesting character, indicating the attainment 
 of a degree of civilization and material progress very 
 unusual in the East at that remote age. Long, 
 peaceful, and prosperous reigns were interspersed 
 with others chiefly distinguished by civil dissensions 
 and foreign invasions. The kings of Ceylon, how- 
 ever, had given sufficient provocation to foreign 
 rulers when in the zenith of their power. In the 
 twelfth century the celebrated king Prakrama Balm 
 not only defeated the rulers of Southern Indian 
 states, but sent an army against the king of Cam- 
 bodia, which, proving victorious, made that distant 
 land tributary to Ceylon.* On the other hand, in 
 retaliation for the plundering of a Chinese vessel in a 
 Sinhalese port, a Chinese army, early in the fifteenth 
 century, penetrated to the heart of the hill-country, 
 
 * The king of Cambodia (Siam) in these days is a tribute-offerer 
 to Lanka, as the following paragraph from a Sinhalese paper last 
 year will show : — 
 
 “Presents from the King of Cambodia to the Buddhist 
 College, Maligakanda, Colombo. — Several gold images, an excellent 
 umbrella, ornamented with precious stones, and a brush made of the 
 king’s hair, to be kept for use (sweeping) in the place where Buddha’s 
 image is placed, have been sent by the king of Cambodia to the 
 high priest in charge of the college. Two or three priests have also 
 come down to receive instruction in Pali,&c.,<fcc. — Kirana, April 19.’’ 
 
 During a visit to China in 1884 nothing struck the author more 
 than the exact resemblance between a Buddhist temple in Canton 
 and one in Ceylon ; the appearance of the priests, their worship and 
 ceremonies, all were alike. Outside, in that Mongolian world, all was 
 so different ; the country, the towns, the customs, and the people 
 with their pigtails, their oval eyes, and dress, all were strange and 
 novel ; but inside this Canton temple, before the shaven, yellow- 
 robed monks, one felt for a moment carried back to “ Lankii,” and 
 its numerous Buddhist temples. 
 
4 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 and, defeating the Sinhalese forces at the then royal 
 capital, Gampola, captured the king, and took him 
 away to China ; and the island had for some time to 
 pay an annual tribute to that counti-y. At that time 
 the Chinese exported from Ceylon a large quantity of 
 the kaolin for pottery, which still abounds in the 
 island. The close connection in early times between 
 the island and the great Eastern Empire constitutes 
 a very interesting episode. Fa-hien, the Chinese 
 monk-traveller, visited Ceylon in search of Buddhist 
 books about 400 a.d., and abode two 3 T ears in the island. 
 
 Ceylon was, however, exposed chiefly to incursions 
 of Malabar princes and adventurers with their fol- 
 lowers from Southern India, who waged a constant 
 and generally successful contest with the Sinhalese. 
 The northern and eastern portions of the island at 
 length became permanently occupied by the Tamils, 
 who placed a prince of their own on the Kandyan 
 throne, and so far had the ancient power of the king- 
 dom declined, that when the Portuguese first appeared 
 in Ceylon, in 1505, the island was divided under no 
 less than seven separate rulers. Ceylon, in the 
 Middle Ages, was “the Tyre of Asia.” 
 
 For 150 years the Portuguese occupied and con- 
 trolled the maritime districts of Ceylon, but it was 
 more of a military occupation than a regular govern- 
 ment, and mai'tial law chiefly prevailed. The army 
 of Roman Catholic ecclesiastics introduced under 
 Portuguese auspices alone made any permanent im- 
 pression on a people who were only too ready to 
 embrace a religion which gave them high-sounding 
 honorific baptismal names, and interfered seldom, if 
 at all, with their continued observance of Buddhistic 
 feasts and ceremonies. The Portuguese established 
 
Past History. 
 
 5 
 
 royal monopolies in cinnamon, pepper, and musk; 
 exporting besides cardamoms, sapan-wood, areca nuts, 
 ebony, elephants, ivory, gems, pearls, and small 
 quantities of tobacco, silk, and tree cotton (“ kopok ” 
 of modern times). 
 
 The Dutch, who by 165(5 had finally expelled the 
 Portuguese rulers from the island, which the Lisbon 
 authorities had said “ they had rather lose all India 
 than imperil,” pursued a far more progressive ad- 
 ministrative policy ; though, as regards commerce, it 
 was selfish and oppressive. Still confined to the low 
 country (the king of Kandy defying the new as he 
 had done the previous European invaders), the Dutch 
 did much to develop cultivation and to improve the 
 means of communication — more especially by canals 
 in their own maritime territory — while establishing a 
 lucrative trade with the iuterior. The education of 
 the people occupied a good deal of official attention, 
 as also their Christianization through a staff of Dutch 
 chaplains ; but the system of requiring a profession 
 of the Protestant religion before giving employment 
 to any natives speedily confirmed the native love of 
 dissimulation, and created a nation of hypocrites, so 
 that the term “ Government Christian,” or “ Buddhist 
 Christian,” is common in some districts of Ceylon to 
 this day. 
 
 The first care of the Dutch, however, was to estab- 
 lish a lucrative commerce with Holland, and their 
 vessels were sent not only to Europe, but also to 
 Persia, India, and the Far East ports. Cinnamon 
 was the great staple of export,* next came pearls (in 
 
 * The peeling of cinnamon, the selling or exporting of a single 
 stick, save by the appointed officers, or even the wilful injury of a 
 cinnamon plant, were made crimes punishable by death by the 
 Dutch. 
 
6 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the years which gave successful pearl-oyster fisheries 
 in the Gulf of Mannar) ; then followed elephants, 
 pepper, areca or betel nuts, jaggery-sugar, sapan- 
 wood and timber generally, arrack spirit, choya-roots 
 (a substitute for madder), cardamoms, cinnamon oil, 
 &c. The cultivation of coffee, indigo, and even some 
 tea was begun, but not carried on to such an extent 
 as to benefit the exports. 
 
 Agriculture was promoted by the Dutch for an 
 essentially selfish purpose, but nevertheless good re- 
 sulted to the people from the system of forced labour, 
 as in the case of the planting of coco-nut palms along 
 the western coast, from Colombo southwards, which, 
 so late as 1740, was described by Governor Van 
 Imhoff as waste-land to be surveyed and divided 
 among the people, who were bound to plant it up. 
 At the end of last century, when the British super- 
 seded the Dutch in the possession of the maritime 
 provinces of Ceylon, the whole of the south-western 
 shore, for nearly 100 miles, presented the unbroken 
 grove of palms which is seen to this day. 
 
 From 1797 to 1802 Ceylon was placed under the 
 East India Company, who administered it from Fort 
 St. George, Madras ; but in the latter year it was 
 made a Crown colony, and it soon became evident 
 there could be no settled peace until the tyrant king 
 on the Kandyan throne — hated by his own chiefs and 
 people — was deposed, and the whole island brought 
 into subjection to the British Crown. This was 
 accomplished in 1815, when, at the instigation of the 
 Kandyan chiefs and people themselves, Wikkrama 
 Sinha, the last king, was captured, deposed, and exiled 
 by the British to Southern India. 
 
 So great was the value attached to Ceylon as the 
 
Past History. 
 
 “ key of India,” as well as on account of the supposed 
 fabulous wealth, in precious stones and valuable 
 produce, available in the interior, that, at the general 
 peace, Britain chose to give up Java to the Dutch, 
 and retain this little island, so inferior in area, popu- 
 lation, and natural resources. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ISLAND IN 1796, 1815, AND SEVENTY YEARS LATER. 
 
 Extent and topographical features — Condition of the island, previous 
 to, and after seventy years of British rule, contrasted. 
 
 Having now arrived at the British period, it may be 
 well to give some idea of the condition of Ceylon and 
 its people in the early part of this century, and to 
 compare the same with what is realized after British 
 government has been established for seventy - two 
 years throughout the whole island. 
 
 The position of Ceylon as a “ pearl-drop on the 
 brow of India,” with which continent it is almost 
 connected by the island of Ramisseram and the coral 
 reef called Adam’s Bridge, is familiar to all who have 
 ever glanced at a map of Asia. To that great 
 continent it may be said to be related as Great Britain 
 is to Europe, or Madagascar to Africa. In extent it 
 comprises nearly sixteen million acres, or 24,702 
 square miles, apart from certain dependent islands, 
 such as the Maldives. The total area is about five- 
 sixths of that of Ireland, but is equal to nearly 
 thirty^- seven times the superficial extent of the island 
 of Mauritius, which sometimes contests with Ceylon 
 the title of the “Gem of, the Indian Ocean.” One- 
 sixth of this area, or about 4,000 square miles, is 
 comprised in the hilly and mountainous zone which is 
 
\ 
 

The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 9' 
 
 situated about the centre of the south of the island, 
 while the maritime districts are generally level, and 
 the northern end of the island is broken up into a 
 flat, narrow peninsula and small islets. Within the 
 central zone there are 150 mountains or ranges 
 between 3,000 and 7,000 feet in altitude, with ten 
 peaks rising over the latter limit. The highest 
 mountain is Pidurutalagala, 8,296 feet, or nearly 
 1,000 feet higher than Adam’s Peak (7,353 feet), which 
 was long considered the highest, because to voyagers 
 approaching the coast it was always the most con- 
 spicuous, mountain of Ceylon. 
 
 The longest river, the Mahaveliganga (the Ganges 
 of Ptolemy’s maps), has a course of nearly 150 miles, 
 draining about one-sistli of the area of the island 
 before it reaches the sea at Trincomalee on the east 
 coast. There are five other large rivers running to 
 the west and south, besides numerous tributaries and 
 smaller streams. The rivers are not favourable for 
 navigation, save near the sea, where they expand into 
 backwaters, which were taken advantage of by the 
 Dutch for the construction of their system of canals 
 all round the western and southern coasts. 
 
 There are no natural inland lakes, save what 
 remain of magnificent artificial tanks in the north 
 and east of the island, and the backwaters referred 
 to on the coast. The lakes which add to the beauty 
 of Colombo, Kandy, and the Sanatarium, Nuwara 
 Efiya, are artificial or partly so. 
 
 Most of the above description was true of Ceylon 
 at the beginning of the century even as it is now ; but 
 in other respects how altered ! It is impossible 
 to get full and exact information as to the condition 
 in which the British found the island and its people 
 
10 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 in the early years, and up to the subjugation of the 
 Kandyan division in 1815. But from the best author- 
 ities at our command we have compiled the following 
 tabular statement to show at a glance a few of the 
 salient points in which the change is most striking, 
 by far the greater part of the change having taken 
 place within the reign of Queen Victoria : — 
 
 CEYLON. 
 
 
 In 1796—1815. 
 
 In 1887. 
 
 Population .... 
 
 From | to 1 mil- 
 
 2,950,000 
 
 No. of houses . . . 
 
 lion 
 
 20,000 (tiled) 
 
 500,000 
 
 Population of the capi- 
 tal, Colombo 
 
 28,000 
 
 120,000 
 
 Military force . . . 
 
 6,000 
 
 1,150 
 
 Cost of ditto . . . 
 
 £160,000 
 
 £100,000 
 
 Imperial Share . . 
 
 £80,000 
 
 £40,000 
 
 Volunteer Corps 
 
 ml 
 
 680 efficients 
 
 Cost .... 
 
 — 
 
 £4,000 
 
 Police 
 
 nil 
 
 1,650 
 
 Cost 
 
 — 
 
 £60,000 
 
 Revenue 
 
 £226,000 
 
 £1,300,000 
 
 Expenditure .... 
 
 £320,000 
 
 £1,280,000 
 
 Trade : — 
 
 Imports — vabtH 
 
 £266,790 
 
 £4,700,000 
 
 Exports 
 
 £206,583 
 
 £3,700,000 
 
 Roads 
 
 Sand and gravel 
 
 (local Customs’ value, 
 really worth much 
 more) 
 
 Metalled, 1,350 miles 
 
 
 tracks 
 
 Gravelled, 900 miles 
 
 Bridges 
 
 none 
 
 Natural, 700 miles 
 Too numerous to men- 
 
 Railways 
 
 none 
 
 tion 
 
 181 miles 
 
 Canals 
 
 120 miles 
 
 170 miles 
 
 Tonnage of shipping 
 entered and cleared . 
 
 75,000 tons 
 
 4,000,000 tons 
 
 Government Savings 
 Bank : — 
 
 Deposits .... 
 
 nil 
 
 £210,000 
 
 No. of Depositors 
 
 nil 
 
 11,000 
 
 Post Office Savings 
 Banks 
 
 
 73 
 
 
 — 
 
 Depositors 5087 
 
The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 11 
 
 
 In 1796—1815. 
 
 In 1887. 
 
 Exchange and Deposit 
 Bank Offices . 
 
 
 12 
 
 Annual volume of busi- 
 ness in Colombo 
 Banks’ Clearing- 
 house 
 
 
 about R60, 000,000 
 
 Government note issue 
 
 — 
 
 R4750.000 
 
 Educational expendi- 
 
 £3,000 
 
 £70,000 
 
 ture 
 
 (for schools and 
 
 
 No. of schools 
 
 clergy) 
 
 170 
 
 2,200 
 
 No. of scholars . 
 
 2,000 
 
 120,000 
 
 The Press .... 
 
 Govt. Gazette 
 
 35 newspapers and 
 
 Medical expenditure 
 
 only 
 
 periodicals 
 
 £1,000 
 
 £60,000 
 
 No. of civil hospitals 
 and dispensaries 
 
 nil 
 
 120 
 
 1 [Civil servants : 
 g J Revenue officers 
 
 6 
 
 48 
 
 § 1 judges, magis- 
 
 <3 ( trates, &c. . . 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 Charitable allowances 
 
 £3,000 
 
 £8,000 
 
 from general re- 
 venue 
 
 No Poor Law 
 
 Friend in Need Society 
 
 Post offices .... 
 
 4 
 
 for Voluntary Re- 
 lief, £2,000 
 No Poor Law 
 130 
 
 Total No. of letters 
 
 — 
 
 15,000,000 
 
 Money order offices 
 Telegraph wires . . . 
 
 — 
 
 115 
 
 nil 
 
 1,200 miles 
 
 No. of newspapers des- 
 patched .... 
 
 
 70,000 
 
 Area cultivated (ex- 
 clusive of natural 
 pasture) 
 
 400,000 acres 
 
 3,100,000 acres 
 
 Live stock : — 
 
 Horses, 1 cattle, 
 
 sheep, goats, 
 
 swine, &c. 
 
 250,000 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 Carts and carriages 
 
 50 
 
 20,000 
 
 [For a fuller statistical statement, see the “ Summary of Infor- 
 mation respecting Ceylon,” published as Appendix ; and for more 
 detailed information still, seethe latest edition of Ferguson’s “ Ceylon 
 Handbook and Directory. ”] 
 
 * Of 13,000 horses imported between 1862 and 1887, the greater 
 portion have been bought by native gentlemen, traders, coach- 
 owners, &c. 
 
12 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 There is of course an immense amount of improve- 
 ment "which cannot he tabulated, even if we extended 
 our comparison in this form to much greater length. 
 
 The greatest material change from the Ceylon of pre- 
 British days to the Ceylon of the present time is most 
 certainly in respect of means of internal communi- 
 
 yiF.W ON THIS MATIAVEDLIGANOE, AT CANGARUNA, NEAR KANDY. 
 
The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 13 
 
 •cation. If, according to Sir Arthur Gordon (as quoted 
 by Charles Kingsley in “At Last ”), the first and 
 most potent means of extending civilization is found 
 in roads — the second in roads — the third again in 
 roads, Sir Edward Barnes, when Governor of Ceylon 
 {1824 to 1831), was a ruler who well understood his 
 duty to the people, and he was followed at intervals 
 by worthy successors. 
 
 When the English landed in Ceylon in 1796, there 
 was not in the whole island a single practicable road, 
 and troops in their toilsome marches between the 
 fortresses on the coast dragged their cannon through 
 deep sand along the shore. Before Sir Edward 
 Barnes resigned his government in 1831, every town 
 of importance was approached by a carriage-road. 
 He had carried a first-class macadamized road from 
 Colombo to Kandy, throwing a “ bridge of boats,” 
 which exists to this day, over the Kelani river near 
 Colombo, erecting other bridges and culverts too 
 numerous to mention en route, and constructing, 
 through the genius of General Fraser, a beautiful 
 satin-wood bridge of a single span across the Maha- 
 weliganga (the largest river in Ceylon) at Peradeniya, 
 near Kandy. On this road (72 miles in length) on 
 the 1st of February, 1832, the Colombo and Kandy 
 mail-coach — the first mail-coach in Asia — was started; 
 and it continued to run successfully till the road was 
 superseded by the railway in 1867. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the permanent conquest 
 of the Kandyan country and people, which had baffled 
 the Portugese and Butch for 300 years, was effected 
 through Sir Edward Barnes’s military roads. A 
 Kandyan tradition, that their conquerors were to be 
 a people who should make a road through a rocky 
 
14 
 
 spirit of the Highland chiefs of Ceylon, as of Scotland 
 seventy years earlier, was effectually broken by means 
 of military roads into their districts; and although 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee 1 ear. 
 
 hill, was shrewdly turned to account, and tunnels 
 formed features on two of the cart-routes into the 
 previously almost impenetrable hill-country, dhe 
 
 BRIDGE OF BOATS, COLOMBO. 
 
The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 15 
 
 the military garrison of Ceylon has gone down from 
 about 6,000 troops to 1,000, and, indeed, although 
 for months together the island has been left with not 
 more than a couple of hundred of artillerymen, no 
 serious trouble has been given for nearly seventy 
 years by the previously warlike Kandyans or the 
 Ceylonese generally. 
 
 So much for the value of opening up the country 
 from a military point of view. Governor Barnes, 
 however, left an immense deal to do in bridging the 
 rivers in the interior, and in extending district roads, 
 of which not much was attempted until the arrival of 
 his worthiest successor, Sir Henry Ward. This 
 governor, with but limited means, did a great deal to 
 open up remote districts, and to bridge the Maha- 
 veliganga at Gampola and Katugastotte, as well as 
 many other rivers which in the wet season were well- 
 nigh impassable. He thus gave an immense impetus 
 to the planting enterprize, which may be said practi- 
 cally to have taken its rise from the year of the 
 Queen’s accession, 1837. For the restoration and 
 construction of irrigation works to benefit the rice 
 cultivation of the Sinhalese and Tamils, Sir Henry 
 Ward did more than any of his predecessors. He 
 also began the railway to Kandy, which was success- 
 fully completed in the time of his successors, Sir 
 Charles MacCarthy and Sir Hercules Robinson. In 
 the latter, Ceylon was fortunate enough to secure one 
 of the most active and energetic governors that ever 
 ruled a Crown colony. 
 
 Sir Hercules Robinson left his mark in every 
 province and nearly every district of the country, in 
 new roads, bridges, public buildings, and especially 
 in the repair of irrigation tanks and channels, and 
 
16 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the provision of sluices. He extended the railway 
 some seventeen miles, and he laid the foundation of 
 the scheme through which, under his successor, Sir 
 William Gregory, the Colombo Breakwater was 
 begun ; and through the engineering skill of Sir John 
 Goode, and his local representative, Mr. John Kyle, 
 this latter work has ensured for the capital of Ceylon 
 •one of the safest, most convenient, and commodious 
 artificial harbours in the world. 
 
 To Sir William Gregory belongs the distinction of 
 having spent more revenue on reproductive public 
 works than any other governor of Ceylon. The roads 
 in the north and east of the island, which were chiefly 
 gravel and sand tracks, were completed in a per- 
 manent form, and nearly every river was bridged. 
 The North-Central Province, a purely Sinhalese rice- 
 growing division of the country, was called into ex- 
 istence, and large amounts were invested in tanks 
 and roads ; planting roads were extended ; about fifty 
 miles added to the railway system, and preliminary 
 arrangements made for a further extension of some 
 sixty-seven miles, forty-two of which have since been 
 undertaken and completed. When Governor Gregory 
 left in 1877, there were few rivers of any importance 
 left unbridged, a large extent of previously unoccupied 
 country had been opened up for cultivation, and an im- 
 petus given to both natives and the European colonists 
 in the extension of cultivation, especially of new pro- 
 ducts, which alone has saved the island from a serious 
 collapse in the years of commercial depression and 
 blight on coffee which have followed. Since 1877 
 not many miles of new road have been added, 
 although Governor Gordon has improved existing 
 roads, and constructed some important bridges, 
 
The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 17 
 
 especially in the new and rising Ivelani Valley tea 
 district ; but it is something to say that, whereas 
 the Rev. James Cordiner, chaplain to the Governor 
 of Ceylon in 1807, could write, “ Strictly speaking 
 there are no roads in Ceylon,” now, after about 
 ninety years of British rule, some 1,300 miles of first- 
 class metalled roads, equal to any in the world, have 
 been constructed, besides about 900 miles of gravelled 
 roads for light traffic, supplemented by 600 miles of 
 natural tracks available in dry weather to traverse 
 districts where as yet there is little or no traffic. The 
 main roads are those from Colombo to Batticoloa via 
 Ratnapura, Haputale, and Badulla, right across the 
 island ; from Colombo to Trincomalee via Kandy, and 
 another branch via Kurunegala, also right across the 
 breadth of the island, but north instead of south of 
 the Central Province; from Jaffna southwards through 
 the centre of the island to Kandy, and thence to 
 Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, and by a less frequented 
 route to Hambantota on the south coast ; from Kandy 
 to Mannar on the north-west coast — the great immi- 
 gration route ; and the main roads on the coast, 
 Colombo to Galle and Hambantota, and north to 
 Mannar and almost to Jaffna. Subsidiary first-class 
 roads, especially in the Central Province, are too 
 numerous to mention. 
 
 The benefit which this network of roads has con- 
 ferred on the people, it is impossible to over-estimate. 
 Secluded districts have been opened up, and markets 
 afforded for produce which previously was too often 
 left to waste ; settlements, villages, and even large 
 towns, have sprung up within the last fifty years 
 (during our good Queen’s reign) alongside roads where, 
 previously, all was jungle and desolation, and means 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 of employment have been afforded to a people who 
 had scarcely ever seen a coin. 
 
 As in India, so on a smaller scale in Ceylon, it is a 
 recognized fact that there is no more effectual pre- 
 ventive of famine than internal means of communi- 
 cation, whether by road, rail, canal, or navigable 
 river. There has probably never been a year in 
 which India, within its widely- extended borders, did 
 not produce enough food to supply all its population ; 
 but unfortunately there has been no means of getting 
 the superabundance of one district transferred to the 
 famine area in another part of the continent. So in 
 Ceylon, in years gone by, there has been great scarcity 
 and mortality in remote districts without the central 
 Government at Colombo being made properly aware 
 of the fact, or being able to supply prompt relief. 
 The mortality from fever and food scarcity in some 
 parts of the country must thus have been very great 
 before British times. 
 
 Roads, again, are great educators, but in this they 
 are surpassed by railways in an Oriental land. The 
 railways in India and Ceylon are doing more in these 
 modern days to level caste and destroy superstition 
 than all the force of missionaries and schoolmasters, 
 much as these latter aid in this good work. 
 
 The railway between Colombo and Kandy, projected 
 originally about forty years ago, was not seriously 
 taken in hand till the time of Sir Henry Ward. 
 After many mistakes and alterations of plans, it was 
 successfully completed under the skilful engineering 
 guidance of Mr. G. L. Molesworth, C.I.E. (now con- 
 sulting engineer to the Government of India), Mr. 
 W. F. Faviell being the successful contractor. The 
 total length is 74^ miles, and, including a good deal 
 
The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 19 
 
 of money unavoidably wasted in dissolving and pay- 
 ing off a company, it cost the colony, from first to 
 last, as much as £1,738,413 ; but the line (on the 
 broad Indian gauge of 5 ft. 6 in.) is most substantially 
 constructed, including iron-girder bridges, viaducts, 
 a series of tunnels, and an incline rising 1 in 45 
 for 12 miles into the mountain zone, which gives 
 this railway a prominent place among the remarkable 
 lines of the world. 
 
 Since 1867 the railway has been extended by Sir 
 Hercules Robinson, on the same gauge, for 17 miles 
 from Peradeniya to Gampola and Nawalapitiya, rising 
 towns in the Central Province ; and by Sir William 
 Gregory, for 17j miles from Kandy to Matale, a town 
 on the borders of the Central Province : while in the 
 low country the same governor constructed a seaside 
 line from Colombo, through a very populous district, 
 to Ivalutara, 274 miles, and also some 34 miles of 
 Wharf and Breakwater branches. 
 
 To Governor Gregory’s time also belongs the in- 
 ception and practical commencement of the extension 
 from Nawalapitiya to the principality of Uva, 67 
 miles, of which 414 were commenced in 1880, and 
 finished in 1885. This line includes two long inclines, 
 with gradients of 1 in 44, a tunnel 614 yards long, 
 and the present terminus at Nanu-oya is 5,600 feet 
 above sea-level, within four miles of the sanatarium 
 and town of Nuwara Eliya (6,200 feet above sea- 
 level), and on the borders of Uva, which rich country, 
 however, cannot properly be served until a further 
 extension of 254 miles to Haputale is carried out, as 
 it is earnestly hoped that it may be very shortly. 
 Governor Gordon, after some doubt and delay at first, 
 has been thoroughly convinced of the importance of 
 this work. 
 
20 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 In all there are 184 miles of railway open in 
 Ceylon, but only 91 may be said to have been work- 
 ing long enough to afford a fair test of the traffic and 
 the benefit to colonists, natives, and the country gene- 
 rally. The seaside line, however, has a wonderfully 
 large passenger traffic, and if only extended to Ben- 
 tota, and still more to Galle, would also secure profit- 
 able freight. "With the revival of planting prosperity 
 through tea, the Nanu-oya and Matale lines are also 
 certain to be fully employed, although the first-named 
 must be extended into Uva before a full return can be 
 got for the outlay. 
 
 The main line to Kandy has more than repaid ite 
 cost in direct profit, apart from the immense benefits 
 it has conferred. It is sometimes said that this rail- 
 way and other lines in Ceylon, constructed as they 
 were mainly for the planting enterprise and with the 
 planters’ money, confer far more benefit on the Euro- 
 peans than on the native population. An answer to 
 this statement, and an evidence of the immense 
 educating power of our railways, is found in the fact 
 that during the past twenty years well nigh twenty- 
 six millions of passengers have been carried over the 
 lines, of whom all but an infinitesimal proportion 
 were natives (Sinhalese and Tamils chiefly). On the 
 Kandy line alone it would have taken the old coach, 
 travelling both ways twice daily, and filled each time,, 
 several hundred years to carry the passengers who 
 have passed between the ancient capitals and pro- 
 vinces in the past twenty years. There was scarcely 
 a Kandyan chief or priest who had ever seen, or, at 
 any rate, stood by the sea until the railway into the 
 hill country was opened in 1867, whereas, for some 
 time after the opening, the interesting sight was often 
 
The Island in 1796, 1815, and Seventy Years later. 21 
 
 presented to Colombo residents of groups of Kandy- 
 ans standing by the sea-shore in silent awe and 
 admiration of the vast ocean stretched out before 
 them, and the wonderful vessels of all descriptions in 
 Colombo harbour.' 
 
 In pointing out that the Dutch (equally with the 
 Portuguese) constructed no roads, we must not forget 
 that the former, true to their home experience, con- 
 structed and utilized a system of canals through 
 the maritime provinces along the western and south- 
 western coast. In this they were greatly aided by 
 the back-waters, or lagoons, w r hich are a feature 
 on the Ceylon coast, formed through the mouths of 
 the rivers becoming blocked up, and the waters find- 
 ing an outlet to the sea at different points, often miles 
 away from the line of the main stream. The canals 
 handed over by the Dutch at first fell into comparative 
 disuse, but within the last thirty years they have 
 been fully repaired and utilized, and there are now 
 about 170 miles of canal in the island. 
 
 With the construction of roads wheeled traffic 
 became possible, and a large number of the Sinhalese 
 speedily found very profitable employment, in con- 
 nection with the planting industry mainly, as owners 
 and drivers of bullock carts, of which there must be 
 from 15,000 to 20,000 in the island, besides single 
 bullock-hackeries for passenger traffic. In nothing is 
 the increase of wealth among the natives more seen, 
 in the Western, Central, and Southern Provinces, 
 than in the number of horses and carriages now 
 owned by them. Thirty or forty years ago, to see a 
 Ceylonese with a horse and conveyance of his own 
 was rare indeed ; now the number of Burghers, 
 Sinhalese, and Tamils driving their ow r n carriages, in 
 
22 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the towns especially, is very remarkable. The 
 greater number of the horses imported during the 
 past twenty-five years — the imports during that time 
 numbering 13,000 — have certainly passed to the 
 people of the country. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOCIAL PROGRESS IN NINETY YEARS. 
 
 Population — Buildings — Postal and Telegraphic services — Savings- 
 banks — Banking and Currency — Police and Military defence 
 — Medical and Educational achievements — Laws and Crime. 
 
 Having thus described more particularly the vast 
 change effected in British times by the construction 
 of communications all over the island, we must touch 
 briefly on the evidences of social progress given in 
 our table (pages 10, 11). 
 
 The increase in population speaks for itself. It is 
 very difficult, however, to arrive at a correct estimate 
 of what the population was at the beginning of the 
 century, as the Dutch could have no complete returns, 
 not having any control over the Kandyan provinces. 
 The first attempt at accurate numbering was in 1824, 
 by Governor Barnes, and the result was a total of 
 851,440, or, making allowance for omissions due to 
 the hiding of people through fear of taxation, &c., 
 say about a million of both sexes and all ages. As 
 regards the large estimate of the ancient population 
 of Ceylon located in the northern, north-central, and 
 eastern districts, now almost entirely deserted, we are 
 by no means inclined, with the recollection of the 
 
24 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 TOPAVI TANK, NEAR THE RUINS OE POLONARUWA. 
 
Social Progress in Ninety Years. 25 
 
 famous essay on the “ Populousness of Ancient 
 Nations oefore us, to accept the estimates published 
 by Sir Emerson Tennent and other enthusiastic 
 writers. There can be no doubt, however, that a 
 very considerable population found means of existence 
 in and around the ancient capitals of Ceylon, and the 
 great Tank region of the north and east, a region 
 which affords scope for a great, though gradual, ex- 
 tension in the settlement of both Sinhalese and 
 Tamils in the future. At present it must be remem- 
 bered that fully two-thirds of the population are found 
 in the Western, Southern, and Central Provinces, 
 occupying a good deal less than half the area of the 
 island, and that there are large districts, once the 
 best-cultivated with rice, with now perhaps only half 
 a dozen souls to the square mile. 
 
 As regards the number of inhabited houses, in 1824 
 there were not more than 20,000 with tiled roofs in 
 the island ; that number has multiplied manifold, but 
 the half-million now given refer to all descriptions of 
 inhabited houses, most of these being huts roofed 
 with coconut leaves. The improvement in the resi- 
 dences of a large proportion of the people is, however, 
 very marked : among one class the contrast between 
 the old and modern homes has been well described as 
 being as great as that between a begrimed native 
 chatty (clay vessel) and a bright English tea-kettle. 
 
 In the town of Kandy, which has now about 4,000 
 dwelling-houses — the large majority substantially 
 built, many of two stories — eighty years ago no one 
 but the tyrant-king was allowed to have a tiled roof, 
 or any residence better than a hut. In all the towns, 
 and many of the villages of the island, substantial 
 public buildings have been erected : revenue offices, 
 
26 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 court-houses, hospitals and dispensaries, prisons, 
 schools, and post . and telegraph offices. A great 
 change for the better in respect of these institutions 
 -was effected by Governors Eobinson and Gregory. 
 
 Further evidences of the good done through a 
 liberal and enlightened administration we find in an 
 admirable internal postal service, made possible by 
 the roads through which every town and village of 
 any consequence is served, the total number of post- 
 offices being 111, supplemented by 16 telegraph sta- 
 tions, there being 1,100 miles of telegraph wire in 
 the island ; while, in addition, the Postal-Telegraph 
 Department has opened Postal savings-banks in all 
 the towns and important villages. This is apart 
 from a long-existing Government savings-bank, with 
 about 10,000 depositors, owning deposits to the 
 amount of perhaps two million rupees. 
 
 With the rise of local trade and foreign commerce, 
 chiefly through the export of planting products, came 
 the need of banking and exchange facilities, and the 
 call for these led to the establishment of a local Bank 
 over forty years ago. This was superseded, however, 
 soon after by the Oriental Bank Corporation, which 
 gradually controlled by far the larger share of local 
 business, so that the Ceylon branches became among 
 the most important and profitable of this well-known 
 Eastern bank. This gradually tempted its managers 
 to depart from legitimate business by lending its 
 capital too freely on planting, produce, and estates, 
 and when this bank closed its doors in March, 1880, no- 
 where w r as the shock felt more widely or acutely than 
 throughout Ceylon. The effect and distrust among 
 the natives would have been greatly aggravated were 
 it not for the bold step taken by Sir Arthur Gordon 
 
Social Progress in Ninety Years. 27 
 
 in extending an official guarantee to the bank’s note 
 issue, which eventuated in a Government note issue 
 soon after, much to the advantage of the people and 
 the exchequer, as will yet be seen. So far, the circu- 
 lation of Government notes is rapidly approximating 
 to five millions of rupees. Nor is any loss likely to 
 be sustained from taking up the notes of the Oriental 
 Bank, which, in fact, ought never to have closed its 
 doors. The New Oriental Bank Corporation founded 
 upon it, is already prospering, and the plantations 
 have been mainly taken over by a Limited Company, 
 and are likely to be worked at a good profit. Ceylon 
 has suffered a good deal at times from plantation 
 companies, chiefly through the “ Ceylon Company, 
 Limited,” which, though so named, was really 
 founded to take up bad business in Mauritius, where 
 its heaviest losses were sustained. Other banks 
 and agencies prospering in Ceylon are those of the 
 Chartered Mercantile Bank of London, India, and 
 China, the Bank of Madras, and the National Bank 
 of India, besides mercantile agencies of other 
 Eastern banks. It may be mentioned that Sir 
 Hercules Bobinson gave Ceylon the benefit of a 
 decimal currency in rupees and cents of a rupee, thus 
 placing it in advance of India, where the cumbrous 
 subdivisions of the rupee into annas, pice, and pies 
 still prevail ; in this respect Ceylon is indeed in 
 advance of the mother-country. 
 
 We need scarcely say that, at the beginning of 
 British rule, there was no post-office, and for many 
 years after, the service was of the most primitive, 
 although expensive, kind ; nor were there police or 
 volunteer corps in those days ; but there was an army 
 corps (infantry, artillery, and even cavalry, altogether 
 
'28 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 5,000 to 6,000 men) kept up for many years, out of all 
 proportion to the necessities of the case. The Home 
 Government liad the idea seventy years ago that the 
 hidden wealth of Ceylon would enable a handsome 
 annual subsidy to be paid to the treasury of the 
 mother-country after all local expenses of government 
 were defrayed. In place of that, so long as the govern- 
 ment remained a mere military dependency, it was 
 •a dead loss to, and drain on, the imperial treasury. 
 By degrees, however, it was seen that four British 
 and as many native (Malay, Tamil, and Kaffir) regi- 
 ments were not required, and, the force being cut 
 down, it was decided b}' a commission appointed by 
 the Secretary of State in 1865, that Ceylon should 
 bear all the military expenditure within its bounds, 
 the local force being fixed at one regiment of British 
 infantry, one of native (the Ceylon Pdfles), and one 
 brigade of artillery, with a major-general and staff. 
 The Ceylon Bifles again were disbanded a few years 
 later, in 1873. 
 
 The island, therefore, has cost the Home Government 
 nothing for the last twenty years : on the other hand, 
 the force in Ceylon has been utilized very frequently 
 for imperial and inter-colonial purposes. This will be 
 alluded to later on, but we may mention here that 
 Governor Gordon was instrumental, in view of the 
 recent depression of the revenue, in getting the 
 military contribution reduced to 600,000 rupees in 
 place of about a million. The former amount is now 
 counted as a naval, as well as military, contribu- 
 tion, and is a very fair appraisement of the responsi- 
 bility of Ceylon, considering that no internal trouble 
 beyond the capacity of police and volunteers can be 
 feared. 
 
Social Progress in Ninety Years. 2'9> 
 
 In no direction has more satisfactory work been 
 done in Ceylon by the British Government than 
 through its Medical and Educational Departments. 
 Here are branches which give the natives a vivid idea 
 of the superiority of English over Portuguese or 
 Dutch rule, and, to judge by the way in which hos- 
 pitals, dispensaries, and schools are made use of, it 
 is evident that the Sinhalese and Tamils value their 
 privileges. 
 
 Of civil, lying-in, contagious diseases, and other hos- 
 pitals, with lunatic and leper asylums, and out-door 
 dispensaries, there are now 120 in the island, in or at 
 which some 175,000 persons are treated annually,, 
 more than two-thirds being, of course, for trifling ail- 
 ments at the dispensaries. 
 
 In this connection, the Ceylon Medical College,, 
 founded by Sir Hercules Piobinson in 1870, most 
 heartily supported by his successor, Governor Gregory* 
 and liberally endowed and extended by two wealthy 
 Sinhalese gentlemen, Messrs. De Soyza and Rajepakse, 
 is worthy of mention. Out of some 240 Ceylonese 
 students entered, about sixty have qualified and ob- 
 tained licences to practise medicine and surgery 
 about as many more are hospital assistants and dis- . 
 pensers ; some have taken service under the Straits’ 
 Government ; while others have gone home to qualify 
 for degrees at British Universities. The college has 
 a principal and seven lecturers ; and the Ceylonese 
 have already shown a peculiar aptitude for the pro- 
 fession, surgeons of special, even of European emi- 
 nence, having come from their ranks. We should 
 mention here the good work done by Dr. Green, M.D., 
 of the American Mission, in his medical classes for 
 native students long before the Government College 
 
30 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 was founded. (See Appendix for reference to medical 
 benefactors.) 
 
 In education, generally, although there is still an 
 immense deal to do, Ceylon is far in advance as com- 
 pared with India. This has been chiefly through the 
 agency of the several Christian Missions at work in 
 the island, which have done a noble work, more 
 especially in female education ; but Sir Hercules 
 Eobinson gave an immense impetus to education by 
 the establishment of an admirable grant-in-aid system, 
 while Sir W. Gregory extended the work, multiplying 
 especially Government vernacular schools. Latterly, 
 special attention has been given to practical, and even 
 technical, education : an Agricultural Training School 
 has been started, and in connection with Experimen- 
 tal Gardens (under the auspices of the separate 
 Botanic Gardens’ Departments) in different parts of 
 the country, much good is likely to be effected. 
 Industrial schools for other branches are also encour- 
 aged. The great improvements in the educational, as 
 well as in some other special, departments of recent 
 years, is very much owing to the employment, as then’ 
 heads, of public servants with local experience, in place 
 of importing “ fresh blood,” a penchant which cost 
 the colony a great deal previously. Under that system 
 a half-pay naval officer was sent out as Director of 
 Prisons, and an impracticable theorist as Director of 
 Public Instruction, while other departments have simi- 
 larly suffered. At present the proportion in Ceylon 
 is one pupil to every twenty-eight of population ; in 
 India it is about one to every 150, while in Great 
 Britain it is, we suppose, one to every six or seven. 
 In other words, while practically all children of school- 
 going age are being served educationally in Great 
 
Social Progress in Ninety Years. 31 
 
 Britain, only 10 per cent, of those in Ceylon go to 
 school, while not much more than 1 per cent, in 
 India are being instructed. 
 
 Visitors always remark on the large number of the 
 people in Ceylon, the domestic servants especially, 
 who understand and speak English, as compared with 
 servants in India. In ancient times each Buddhist 
 temple had its pansala or school ; but although such 
 pansalas are still kept up in some low-country dis- 
 tricts, in the Kandyan country for many years the 
 priests have neglected their duty in teaching and 
 other respects, being entirely independent of the 
 people through the endowments in land left them by 
 the Kandyan kings, which have in this case proved a 
 curse instead of a blessing to the priests themselves, as 
 well as to the people. These “ Buddhist Temporali- 
 ties,” now being worse than wasted, will, it is hoped, 
 ere long be utilized by express ordinance for the 
 benefit of the mass of the people in promoting ver- 
 nacular and perhaps technical education. In the 
 low-country there are no endowments. 
 
 Educated Ceylonese are now, in many cases, finding 
 it difficult to secure openings in life suited to their 
 taste : the legal profession has hitherto been the most 
 popular, it being occupied almost entirely by them 
 as notaries, attorneys or solicitors, advocates, barris- 
 ters, and even judges. In this way Sir Richard 
 Morgan, born and educated in Ceylon, rose to be 
 attorney-general, chief justice, and knight. At this 
 moment a Sinhalese gentleman is judge of the 
 Supreme Court ; and other Ceylonese fill the impor- 
 tant offices of attorney-general, and solicitor-general, 
 while others are county judges, leading barristers, and 
 solicitors. 
 
32 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 The Sinhalese fondness for litigation is proverbial ; 
 their cases in court abound, even to disputing about 
 the fractional part of a coconut-tree. Crime gene- 
 rally is represented by a daily average of about 2,000 
 convicted prisoners in the gaols of the island, a large 
 number being for petty thefts and assaults. The 
 cost of the administration of justice for the criminal- 
 class — police, courts, gaols, &c. — cannot be less than 
 El, 000, 000, or about T80,000, per annum. A penal 
 code after the fashion of that of India was arranged 
 for by Sir Bruce Burnside, the present Chief Justice 
 of the island, and successfully introduced in 1885 ; 
 and codification of the civil laws — an urgent want — 
 is expected shortly to be brought forward by Govern- 
 ment. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LEGISLATIVE AND GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS UNDER THE 
 RULE OF SUCCESSIVE BRITISH GOVERNORS,* THE 
 NEED OF PROMOTING CO-OPERATION AND GOOD 
 FEELING BETWEEN DIVERSE CLASSES AND RACES. 
 
 Among the political and social reforms introduced into 
 Ceylon by the British during the present century 
 may be mentioned the abolition by the first governor, 
 the Hon. F. North, of torture and other barbarous 
 punishments abhorrent to English feeling, and the 
 relaxation during the time of his successor of the 
 severe laws against Romanists, twenty years before 
 Catholic emancipation was granted in England. Trial 
 by jury was first introduced by a new charter of jus- 
 tice in 1811 ; but it was not till 1844 that all caste 
 and clan distinctions in the jury-box and all slavery 
 were finally abolished. 
 
 A new and much improved charter of justice, the 
 establishment of a Legislative Council with unofficial 
 members, an order in Council abolishing compulsory 
 
 * Lists of the British governors of the island, chief justices, com- 
 manders of the troops, and executive councillors, together with the 
 names of other official and non-official residents, who deserve to he 
 specially mentioned as public benefactors, are given in Appendix IV. 
 
 4 
 
34 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 labour, the establishment of a free press, the relin- 
 quishment of the cinnamon monopoly, the institution 
 of a Government savings-bank and the Colombo 
 Academy, all served to mark the years between 1830 
 and 1840, when such enlightened governors as Sir 
 Robert Wilmot-Horton, and the Right Hon. J. H. 
 Stuart-Mackenzie, administered Ceylon affairs. 
 
 During the next decade a tax on fishermen of one- 
 titbe of all the fish taken was abolished ; the bonds of 
 slavery were finally removed ; great efforts were made 
 to extend education and medical relief to the masses, 
 and the important planting industry took its first 
 start ; a wise and most useful law for the improve- 
 ment of roads, exacting six days’ labour per annum, 
 or its value, from all able-bodied males between 
 eighteen and fifty-five years of age, was passed ; the 
 last national disturbance of the Kandyans was quickly 
 suppressed without the loss of a single life ; the 
 colony passed through a commercial and financial 
 crisis, and on the ruins of the Bank of Ceylon the 
 Oriental Bank Corporation arose. 
 
 In 1850 there was commenced in Ceylon the most 
 successful service with carrier-pigeons ever known in 
 connection with the press. The Ceylon Observer 
 carrier-pigeons travelled regularly between Galle (the 
 mail port) and Colombo with budgets of news, includ- 
 ing Crimean and Indian Mutiny war news, for over 
 seven years, till 1857, when they were superseded by 
 the telegraph. All official connection between the 
 British Government and Buddhism was closed in 
 1855, the year in which Sir Henry Ward commenced 
 to rule, and a new impetus was given to Native and 
 European industry by useful legislation. The resto- 
 ration of irrigation works, the construction of roads. 
 
Legislative and General Improvement. 35 
 
 the commencement of a railway, the reorganization 
 of the public service, the introduction of penny 
 postage (with a halfpenny rate for newspapers), the 
 establishment of steam navigation round the island 
 and of telegraph communication between the principal 
 towns, the reform of the Kandyan marriage laws, and 
 the abolition of polyandry, also marked this period. 
 
 The following decade, 1860-1870, is chiefly dis- 
 tinguished for Governor Sir Hercules Robinson’s 
 energetic and most useful administration, with 
 measures for the civil registration of marriages, 
 births, and deaths, and of titles to land ; the opening 
 of the railway to Kandy ; the publication by the 
 people of Sinhalese and Tamil newspapers ; the for- 
 mation of the towns of Colombo, Kandy, and Galle 
 into municipalities, with Boards composed of elected 
 and official members ; the revival of gansabhuwa, or 
 village councils ; the adoption of a grant-in-aid 
 scheme for promoting the education of the people ; 
 the abolition of export duties ; the founding of the 
 Ceylon Medical School ; and the visit in 1870 of 
 H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. 
 
 The next decade in the history of Ceylon has its 
 interest in the very prosperous, busy, and successful 
 government of Sir William Gregory. The first 
 systematic census of the population was taken in 
 1871. Measures were adopted for the conservation 
 of forests and for preventing the extinction of elk, 
 deer, elephants, &c. ; the registration of titles was 
 provided for ; Colombo, Kandy, and Galle were much 
 improved, arrangements for a good water-supply to 
 each town being made ; while for the sanatarium 
 (Nuwara Eliya) and seven other minor towns a bill 
 was passed establishing Local Boards on the elective 
 
Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 m 
 
 principle ; the gansabhawa, or village councils, were 
 improved and encouraged ; an immense impetus was 
 given to rice cultivation, 100 village tanks being 
 repaired every year, besides larger works ; the North- 
 Central Province, in purely native interests, was 
 formed, and the great lines of communication between 
 the north and east were permanently opened ; Anurad- 
 bapura, the ancient capital, was cleared of jungle, 
 and rendered a healthy revenue station ; gaols, 
 hospitals, and schools were greatly improved, gaol 
 discipline being put on a new footing ; pilgrimages on 
 a large scale injuriously affecting public health were 
 discouraged and practically stopped ; scientific educa- 
 tion was provided for ; temperance was promoted by 
 the reduction of the number of licences granted to 
 grog-shops; gas lighting was introduced into Colombo; 
 the stoppage of all payments from the revenue in aid 
 of religion (“Disestablishment”) was arranged for; 
 the industry in the growth of new products — tea, 
 cinchona, and cacao — took its first systematic start ; 
 an enactment dealing with service tenures in con- 
 nection with temples was passed ; road and railway 
 extension were actively taken in hand ; a public 
 museum was erected and well filled at Colombo ; and 
 in 1875 H.Pu.H. the Prince of Wales visited the 
 island, and laid the first stone of the Colombo Break- 
 water, designed and constructed by Sir John Coode, 
 and since successfully completed (in 1886) by the 
 resident engineer, Mr. Kyle. A Northern Arm and 
 Graving-dock for the Imperial Navy (in supersession 
 partly of Trincomalee), as well as for commercial 
 purposes, though fully supported by the Admiralty, 
 has yet (1887) to be commenced. 
 
 Since 1880 the colony has suffered from financial 
 
Legislative and General Improvement. 
 
 37 
 
 TliINCOJIALEE HAItBOUK. 
 
38 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 depression, due chiefly to the falling off in the coffee 
 crops. A volunteer corps was established under 
 Governor Longden’s patronage ; hut almost the only 
 work of importance during his rule of six years was 
 an extensive lunatic asylum, costing R600,000 (to 
 finish) which is deemed much beyond the wants of 
 the colony, being built on a scale likely rather to 
 astonish than benefit poor rural Sinhalese lunatics, 
 taken from jungle huts to be lodged in brick and 
 mortar jmlaces. An increase to the fixed expenditure 
 of the Colony made in 1878 in Governor Longden’s 
 time, including an addition of BIO, 000 to his own 
 salary,* was to say the least injudicious, although 
 sanctioned by the Legislature, and this was shown by 
 the revenue depression which set in from the follow- 
 ing year onwards. 
 
 Sir Arthur Gordon assumed the Government of 
 Ceylon at the end of 1883, and a period of renewed 
 activity in useful legislation and material improve- 
 ment was eagerly anticipated ; but the result up to 
 date has not quite answered expectations. The im- 
 portant laws dealing with “ Buddhist Temporalities,” 
 a Civil Code, Excise and General Revenue Reform, 
 have yet to appear. The railway extension, opened 
 as far as Nanu-oya in 1885, has not yet been sanctioned 
 into the important division of Uva (Uva was created a 
 new province in February, 1886), notwithstanding the 
 Governor’s urgent and repeated requests, backed by 
 his Executive Council and by reliable public opinion. 
 A step in revision of taxation undertaken in 1885 has 
 
 * Making the salary of the Governor of Ceylon R80, 000 per annum. 
 Bather a contrast to that of the Dutch Governors, which was £30 per 
 month (besides rations and allowances), but then they were expected 
 to make a fortune in other and secret ways. 
 
Legislative and General Improvement. 39 
 
 not been well received or proved successful ; but a 
 reduction in the military contribution, the issue of 
 Government Currency Notes after the Governor’s bold 
 guarantee of the Oriental Bank Notes, and a measure 
 of municipal reform, have naturally found acceptance. 
 
 The great failure of Sir Arthur Gordon has been in 
 not promoting and cementing that good feeling 
 between the governing and governed classes, and 
 especially between the different races and ranks, em- 
 braced in the very varied community of Ceylon, 
 which Sir William Gregory, above all his predecessors, 
 was successful in fostering. In the time of the latter 
 Governor, Europeans, Burghers (European descend- 
 ants), and natives, co-operated more cordially, and 
 supported the Government more trustfully, than at 
 any period before or since. His successor, (Sir James 
 Longden) was too antiquated and sleepy in his ideas 
 to promote this desirable state of feeling, or any 
 other movement beyond the bounds of red-tape official 
 routine ; while Governor Gordon, by arbitrary, in- 
 quisitorial proceedings early in his term of govern- 
 ment, by his favour of ceremonial supported by high- 
 caste natives, and by ill-judged special patronage of 
 Buddhist priests at his levees, &c., has created distrust, 
 and we fear has undone much of the good effected 
 during 1872-1877. A frank, genial, straightforward 
 administrator, free of all official prejudice or pre- 
 dilection for outward (“caste”) show, recognizing 
 merit wherever it is to be found, and good work for 
 the benefit of the body-politic, no matter by whom 
 promoted, has nowhere a more encouraging or fruitful 
 field to work in than Ceylon, and this is why, as has 
 often been said, a governor, straight from “ the free 
 air of the British House of Commons,” has often 
 
40 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 proved a bright success in this first and most im- 
 portant of Crown Colonies. It may not be known to 
 people in England interested in our tropical depen- 
 dencies, bow much evil, cliques — official and otherwise 
 — promoted to some extent by “club” life, are 
 working, and are likely still further to work, in India 
 and Ceylon. The Englishman carries his “ club ” 
 with him — it has been said — wherever he goes, and 
 has the undoubted right to do so ; but it is a question 
 whether in Crown Dependencies “ public servants,” 
 not excluding the Queen’s Representative, drawing 
 their salaries and pensions from taxes paid by the 
 people at large, have the right to patronize clubs 
 which practically exclude all Her Majesty’s native- 
 born subjects, without exception, no matter what 
 their merit or degree ; and still more whether occult 
 influences should dictate (through aide-de-camps and 
 private secretaries), who are to be honoured, if not 
 received, at “ Queen’s House.” It was to the credit 
 of Sir "William Gregory that he never allowed himself 
 to be restricted by the sneers of would-be colonial 
 “ society ” dictators, but sought out and marked 
 by his attentions merit and good work, wherever he 
 found them. In this way Sinhalese, Tamils, and 
 Burghers (and not merely a few “ high caste ” 
 families favoured by narrow-minded officials), found 
 their industry and integrity noticed by the Governor, 
 who again had at his table, as honoured guests, the 
 heads and chief workers in the various Missions and 
 principal Educational Institutions, whether Christian 
 or secular, Hindu or Buddhist, showing his personal 
 interest in every thing or person calculated to 
 advance the colony and people committed to his care 
 by Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen. 
 
Legislative and General Improvement. 41 
 
 In a short time after these pages appear, a new 
 Governor for Ceylon will have to be selected, and it is 
 to be hoped he may he one of the high-minded, liberal, 
 progressive type, we have attempted to indicate. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 NATIVE AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. 
 
 Paddy (rice) cultivation — Cinnamon — Coconut, Palmyra, Kitul, 
 Arecanut, and other Palms — Essential oils — Tobacco — Cotton — 
 Sugar-cane — Other Fruit-trees and Vegetables — Natural pasture 
 — Local Manufactures. 
 
 Whether or not Ceylon was in ancient times the 
 granary of South-Eastern Asia, certain it is that long 
 before the Portuguese or Dutch, not to speak of the 
 British, era, that condition had lapsed, and so far 
 from the island having a surplus of food products, the 
 British, like their European predecessors, had to 
 import a certain quantity of rice from Southern India 
 to feed their troops and the population of the capital 
 and other chief towns.* There can he no doubt as to 
 the large quantity of rice which could be grown around 
 the network of tanks in the north and east, which 
 have been lying for centuries broken and unused in 
 the midst of unoccupied territory. 
 
 Driven from the northern plains by the conquering 
 Tamils, the Sinhalese, taking refuge in the mountain 
 zone more to the south and west, found a country in 
 many respects less suited for rice than for fruit and 
 root culture ; but yet, under British, as under native, 
 
 # Old Sinhalese records show that rice was imported into Ceylon 
 from the Coromandel Coast in the second century before Christ. 
 
44 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 rule, rice or paddy-growing continues to be the one 
 most general and favourite occupation of the Sin- 
 halese people, as indeed it is of the Ceylon Tamils in 
 the north and east of the island. Agriculture, in 
 their opinion, is the most honourable of callings, and 
 although in many districts fruit and root — that is, 
 garden — culture would prove more profitable, yet the 
 paddy field is more generally popular. 
 
 Nowhere in Ceylon are there tracts of alluvial lands 
 so extensive as those which mark the banks and 
 deltas of rivers in India, and the average return of 
 rice per acre in Ceylon, under the most favourable 
 circumstances, is considerably below the Indian 
 average. It was the opinion of one of the most ex- 
 perienced of Ceylon civil servants — Sir Charles P. 
 Layard, who served in the island from 1829 to 1879 — 
 that the “ cultivation of paddy is now the least profit- 
 able pursuit to which a native can apply himself ; it 
 is persevered in from habit, and because the value of 
 time and labour never enters into his calculations.” 
 This view has been contested more recently (in 1885) 
 by an experienced revenue officer, Mr. E. Elliott, who 
 shows that rice cultivation is fairly profitable ; but 
 his calculations refer chiefly to select districts, rather 
 than to the island generally. On the principle of 
 buying in the cheapest and selling in the dearest 
 market, it would certainly appear that the people of 
 Ceylon (with but few exceptions in the Matara, 
 Batticaloa, and Jaffna districts) could more profitably 
 turn their attention to plantation and garden products, 
 such as coconuts, areca or betel nuts, pepper, cinna- 
 mon, nutmeg, cacao, tea, cardamoms, and fruits of all 
 tropical kinds (even putting tea on one side for the pre- 
 sent) ; then selling the produce to advantage, they 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 45 
 
 could buy rice from southern and northern India and 
 Burmah more cheaply than they can produce it. But 
 it is impossible, even if it were politic — which we doubt 
 — to revolutionize flie habits of a very conservative 
 people in this way ; and therefore, so soon as the sale 
 of forest land to planters, and the introduction of 
 capital for the planting enterprise, put the Govern- 
 ment in possession of surplus revenue, Sir Henry 
 Ward acted wisely in turning his attention to the 
 restoration and repair of such irrigation works in the 
 neighbourhood of population, as he felt would at once 
 be utilized for the increased production of grain. In 
 this way he changed a large extent of waste land into 
 an expanse of perennial rice culture, for the benefit of 
 the industrious Mohammedans and Hindus of the 
 Batticaloa district in the Eastern Province. Simi- 
 larly, he spent large sums for the benefit of the Sin- 
 halese rice cultivators in the southern districts. 
 
 Sir Hercules Piobinson conceived a statesmanlike 
 law by which expenditure on irrigation works, chiefly 
 village tanks, on terms far more liberal to the people 
 than any offered in India, formed a part of the annual 
 budget. Most cordially was this policy supported by 
 his successor, Sir William Gregory, who, moreover, 
 entered on an undertaking of greater magnitude than 
 any previously recorded in British times : namely, 
 the formation of a new province around the ancient 
 capital of Ceylon, and the restoration of tanks and 
 completion of roads and bridges within its bounds, 
 sufficient to give the sparse Sinhalese population 
 every advantage in making a start in the race of 
 prosperity. At a considerable expenditure, spread 
 over four or five years, this was accomplished, and a 
 population of some 60,000 Sinhalese were thereby more 
 
46 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 directly benefited than they bad been by any of their 
 rulers, native or European, for several centuries back. 
 Curiously enough not the Sinhalese but the Tamils — 
 who have been called “ the Scotchmen of the East,” 
 from their enterprise in migrating and colonising — 
 are likely to take chief advantage of the expenditure 
 in this north-central region — an expenditure con- 
 tinued by Governor Longden, and to a still more 
 marked degree by Governor Gordon, who has entered 
 on large and important works in restoring theKalawewa 
 and Zodi-ella Irrigation tanks and channels. The 
 formation of a permanent Irrigation Board for the 
 colony, with a settled income in a proportion of the 
 land revenue, is another step of the present governor 
 in the interests of rice culture, more commendable 
 for its motive, perhaps, than for the soundness of the 
 political economy by which the arrangement can be 
 defended. Special encouragement to other branches 
 of agriculture in certain districts would do much 
 good ; but as yet Government and its revenue officers 
 have not even established district Agricultural Shows 
 for products and stock with suitable prizes. 
 
 Governor Gregory also introduced a measure for 
 substituting compulsory commutation for the rent- 
 ing of the grain-tithes on a scale so liberal as to 
 amount to a considerable lessening of taxation on 
 locally-grown grain, which may be said now to be 
 “ protected ” when compared with the tax on the 
 imported article. The effect of the liberal policy to 
 the local farmer, above described, on the part of 
 successive governors, from Sir Henry Ward’s time on 
 to that of Sir Arthur Gordon, has undoubtedly been to 
 bring a far larger area under grain cultivation now 
 than was the case at the beginning of the century - r 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 47 
 
 but it is impossible, in the absence of a cadastral 
 survey, to give the exact extent. 
 
 The accepted estimate is that there are now 
 660,000 acres under rice or paddy, and about 150,000 
 under dry grain, Indian corn, and other cereals. 
 And the striking fact is that, so far from the import 
 of grain decreasing as the local production has ex- 
 tended, the reverse has been the case. In this, how- 
 ever, is seen the influence of the expanding planting 
 enterprise : fifty years ago, when coffee-planting was 
 just beginning in Ceylon, the total quantity of grain 
 required from India was an import of 650,000 
 bushels ; now, it is as high as five and six million 
 bushels. The import in 1877, the year of the 
 
 Madras famine, when Ceylon planters had to provide 
 for 170,000 fugitives from Southern India, besides 
 their usual coolie labour force, amounted to no less 
 than 6,800,000 bushels. 
 
 The disposal of the increasing local production 
 simultaneously with these imports is explained by 
 the rapidly increasing population in the rural dis- 
 tricts, and the much larger quantity of food con- 
 sumed in a time of prosperity. In the early part of 
 the century the average Sinhalese countryman con- 
 sumed, probably, only half the quantity of rice 
 (supplemented by fruit and vegetables) which he is 
 now able to afford. Our calculation is that more 
 than three-fifths of the grain consumed is locally 
 produced against less than two-fifths imported.* 
 
 Turning from the main staple of native agriculture 
 
 * For further information see paper on “ Food Supply of Ceylon,” 
 by the author, in “ Ferguson’s Ceylon Handbook and Directory,” and 
 also papers on “ Grain Taxation in Ceylon,” quoted by Sir William 
 Gregory in despatches to Earl Carnarvon. 
 
48 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 to garden produce, we have to note that, while the 
 Dutch monopolies in cinnamon, pepper, &c., were 
 probably worked at a loss to the Government, even 
 with forced labour at their command, the export of 
 the cinnamon spice was insignificant as compared with 
 what it has become under the free British system. 
 There can be no doubt that Ceylon cinnamon is 
 the finest in the world, celebrated from the middle of 
 the fourteenth century according to authentic re- 
 cords, and one of the few products of importance in- 
 digenous to the island. It was known through Arab 
 caravans to the Romans, who paid in Borne the equiv- 
 alent of £8 sterling per pound for the fragrant spice. 
 Ceylon (called by De Barras the “mother of cinnamon ”) 
 has, therefore, well earned the name “Cinnamon Isle,” 
 whatever maybe said of its “spicy breezes,” a term 
 originally applied by Bishop Heber, in his well-known 
 hymn, to Java rather than to Ceylon. The maxi- 
 mum export attained by the Dutch was in 1738, 
 when 600,000 lb., valued at from 8s. 4d. to 17s. 8d. 
 per lb., was sent to India, Persia, and Europe, from 
 Ceylon. In the commercial season, 1881-82, Ceylon 
 sent into the markets of the world, almost entirely 
 through London, as much as 1,600,000 lb. of cinna- 
 mon quill bark, and nearly 400,000 lb. of chips, the 
 finest bark being purchasable at the London sales for 
 from 2s. 6d. to 3s. per lb. ; while in season 1885-86 
 the export was 1,630,000 quill and 550,000 lb. of 
 chips, and the price has fallen almost 50 per cent, 
 in six years. The above quantity is yielded by 
 an area of about 35,000 acres, cultivated entirely, 
 and almost entirely owned, by the people of Ceylon. 
 
 Of far greater importance now to the people, as 
 well as to the export trade of the island, is its Palm 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 49 
 
 cultivation, which has enormously extended since 
 the time of the Dutch, especially in the maritime 
 districts. European capital has done much in 
 turning waste land into coconut plantations ; but 
 there is, also, no more favourite mode of invest- 
 ment for the native mercantile, trading, and indus- 
 trial classes of the people (Sinhalese and Tamils), 
 who have greatly increased in wealth during the past 
 fifty years, than in gardens and estates of coconuts, 
 arecas, palmyras, and other palms and fruit trees. 
 Within the Dutch and British periods a great portion 
 of the coast-line of Ceylon (on the west, south, and 
 east), for a breadth varying from a quarter of a 
 mile to several miles, and extending to a length of 
 150 miles, has been planted with coconut palms. 
 More recently, inland villages, such as the delta of the 
 Maha-oya (river), have been planted with coconuts 
 as far as thirty miles from the coast. In the Jaffna 
 peninsula, again, the natives have chiefly planted 
 the equally useful palmyra. The palms, together 
 with a little rice and a piece of cotton cloth, are 
 capable of supplying most of the wants of the 
 people. 
 
 It has been commonly remarked that the uses of 
 the coconut palm * are as numerous as the days of 
 the year. Percival, early in this century, relates that 
 a small ship from the Maidive islands arrived at 
 Galle which was entirely built, rigged, provisioned, 
 and laden with the produce of the coco-palm. t Food, 
 
 * See “ All about the Coconut Palm,” published by A. M. and J. 
 Ferguson, Colombo. 
 
 f The food value of the coconut is not generally understood ; a 
 short time ago the crew of a wrecked vessel cast away on a South Sea 
 island subsisted for several months on no other food than coconuts 
 and broiled fish, and added to their weight in that time. 
 
 5 
 
50 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 drink, domestic utensils, materials for building and 
 thatching, wine, sugar, and oil are amongst the many 
 gifts to man of these munificent trees. Unlike the 
 other trade staples, tea, coffee, cinchona bark, and 
 cinnamon, by far the largest proportion of the pro- 
 ducts of the coconut palm — nuts, oil, arrack (intoxi- 
 cating spirit), leaves for thatch, fences, mats and 
 baskets, timber, &c., are locally utilized. 
 
 Arrack (in varying quantities, according to the 
 demand in the Madras Presidency) is exported, but 
 the export is not to be compared with the large local 
 consumption, which unfortunately increases with the 
 increasing wealth of the people. The British are 
 blamed for regulating and protecting the arrack and 
 liquor traffic, but the consumption was pretty general 
 before the British came to Ceylon. It may be a 
 question whether taverns have not been too widel} r 
 multiplied, and whether we should not take a leaf out 
 of the Dutch policy in Java, where the consumption 
 of intoxicating liquors among natives is very rigidly 
 restricted. Our calculation is that seven millions of 
 rupees are spent by the people of Ceylon on intoxi- 
 cants, against not much more than a tenth of this 
 amount devoted to education by the people, missions, 
 and the government. 
 
 A good many millions of coconuts are annually 
 exported, but the chief trade is in coil 1 fibre from the 
 husk, and still more in the oil expressed from the 
 kernel of the nut, used in Europe as a lubricator, for 
 soap-making, and dressing cloths, and (partially) for 
 candle-making and lighting purposes ; African palm 
 oil and petroleum are its great rivals. The average 
 value of the products of the coconut-palm exported 
 may be taken at about the following figures : oil, 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 51 
 
 £400,000; coir, £60,000; arrack, £20,000 ; “koppara” 
 (the dried kernel sent to India for native food, and 
 latterly to France to be expressed), £100,000; “punac” 
 (the refuse of the oil, or oil-cake, used for cattle food), 
 £10,000; nuts, £10,000; miscellaneous products, 
 £5,000; making a total of over £600,000; while the 
 value of the produce locally consumed must be nearly 
 one and a half million sterling per annum, and the 
 market value of the area covered with coconuts rather 
 over than under twelve millions sterling. The local use 
 of coconuts is sure to increase with railway extension 
 and the development of the interior of the island. 
 There are perhaps thirty millions of coconut palms 
 cultivated in Ceylon, covering about 500,000 acres, 
 all but about 30,000 acres being owned by natives 
 themselves. The annual yield of nuts cannot be 
 much under 100 millions. There are nearly 2,000 
 native oil-crushers driven by bullocks, apart from 
 steam establishments in Colombo, Negombo, &c., 
 owned by natives as well as Europeans, while the 
 preparation of the fibre affords occupation to a large 
 number of the people.* 
 
 After the coconut tree, the palmyra has been 
 regarded as the richest plant in the East. Both 
 require from eight to twelve years to come into 
 bearing, but they are supposed to live from 150 to 
 300 years.! By many the palmyra is thought a 
 richer tree than the coconut, and it is especially 
 adapted to the drier regions of the north and east of 
 
 * For an account of the introduction and spread of coconut culti- 
 vation in Ceylon, from the earliest period to the present day, see a 
 Paper read before the Boyal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch, in 1886, 
 by the author, John Ferguson. 
 
 f See William Ferguson’s Monograph on “ The Palmyra Palm.” 
 
52 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the island. It is estimated there are eight millions 
 of palmyras owned by the people in the Jaffna penin- 
 sula, the edible products of which supply one-fourth 
 of the food of 280,000 inhabitants. The Tamil poets 
 describe 800 different purposes to which the palmyra 
 can be applied, and their proverb says “ it lives for a 
 lac of years after planting, and lasts for a lac of years 
 
 when felled.” The timber 
 is prized for house-build- 
 ing purposes, especially 
 for rafters, being hard 
 and durable. Besides 
 there being a large local 
 consumption, as much as 
 £10,000 worth is still 
 annually exported from 
 Ceylon, while of jaggery 
 sugar about 20,000 cwt. 
 are made from this palm, 
 the cultivation of which 
 covers 40,000 acres, yield- 
 ing perhaps seventy mil- 
 lions of nuts annually; 
 this nut is much smaller 
 
 A COCONUT CLIMBER. 
 
 than the coconut. 
 
 The kitul or jaggery palm ( Caryota urens), known 
 also as the bastard sago, is another very valuable 
 tree common in Ceylon. Jaggery sugar and toddy 
 wine are prepared from the sap, the best trees yield- 
 ing 100 pints of sap in twenty-four hours. Sago is 
 manufactured from the pith, and fibre from the leaves 
 for fishing-lines and bowstrings, the fibre from the leaf- 
 stalks being made into rope for tying wild elephants. 
 Of the fibre, from £3,000 to £7,000 value is exported 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 53 
 
 annually ; of the jaggery sugar, ,£2,000 worth. The 
 quantity used in the country is very great. This 
 palm is found round every Kandyan’s hut ; indeed it 
 has been said by Emerson Tennent that a single tree 
 in Ambegamua district afforded the support of a 
 Kandyan, his wife, and children. The area covered 
 is, perhaps, equal to 30,000 acres. The trunk timber 
 is used for rafters, being hard and durable. 
 
 The cultivation of the Areca catechu (which is com- 
 pared to “ an arrow shot from heaven ” by the Hindu 
 poets) was always one of the chief sources of the 
 Ceylon trade in ante-British times. In the Portuguese 
 era great quantities of the nuts were exported, and 
 these formed the chief medium of exchange for the 
 proportion of grain which the natives of Ceylon have 
 for centuries drawn from Southern India. The Dutch 
 esteemed the areca-nut as a very great source of 
 revenue, and they made an exclusive trade of it. 
 They exported yearly about 35,000 cwt. About the 
 same quantity was annually shipped between 1800 
 and 1813. Of recent years as many as 160,000 cwt. 
 of nuts have been shipped in one year. The export 
 is almost entirely to Southern India. An areca-nut 
 tree requires five years to come into bearing. It 
 grows all over the low country and in the hills up to 
 an elevation above sea-level of between 2,000 and 
 3,000 feet. Some coffee estate proprietors around 
 Kandy in the early days planted areca-nuts along 
 their boundaries, thereby forming a capital division 
 line, and the cultivation has anew attracted the 
 attention of colonists in recent years, especially in the 
 Matale and Udagama districts. The chief areca gar- 
 dens owned by natives are, however, to be found in 
 the Kegala district. The home consumption is very 
 
54 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 large, and the area covered by the palm must he 
 equal to 50,000 acres. The annual value of the ex- 
 ports of areca-nut produce is from £60,000 to £100,000. 
 
 There are numerous other palms, more especially 
 the magnificent talipot ( Corypha umbracolifcra ) , which 
 flowers once (a grand crown of cream-coloured blossom 
 twenty feet high) after sixty or eighty years, and then 
 
 TALIPOT PALM IN FLOWER. 
 
 dies, and which is freely used for native huts, um- 
 brellas, books, &c. ; the heart also being, like that of 
 the sago palm, good for human food. 
 
 The bread-fruit tree, the jak, orange, and mango, 
 as well as gardens of plantains and pine-apples, 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 55 
 
 melons, guavas, papuas, &c., might he mentioned 
 among products cultivated and of great use to the 
 people of Ceylon ; in fact, there is scarcely a native 
 land-owner or cultivator in the country who does not 
 possess a garden of palms or other fruit trees, besides 
 paddy fields. The total area cultivated with palms 
 and fruit trees cannot be less than from 700,000 to 
 750,000 acres (in addition to 100,000 acres under 
 garden vegetables, yams, sweet and ordinary potatoes, 
 roots, cassava, &c.) ; and although by far the major 
 portion, perhaps four-fifths, of the produce is con- 
 sumed by the people, yet the annual value of the 
 export trade in its various forms, from this source, 
 approximates to three quarters of a million sterling, 
 ■against less than £90,000 at the beginning of the 
 century. Among food products recently added to the 
 list of easily grown fruits and vegetables (by Mr. 
 Nock of the Hakgalla Gardens) are the tree-tomato, 
 chocho, a parsnip, and a small yam, all introduced 
 from the West Indies, and already very popular with 
 the Sinhalese, especially of the Uva province. 
 
 Besides coconut oil, there is an export of essential 
 oils expressed from citronella and lemon-grass, from 
 cinnamon and cinnamon leaf, which, valued at 
 £25,000 to £30,000, is of some importance to a 
 .section of the community. 
 
 Of more importance to the people is their tobacco, 
 of which about 25,000 acres are cultivated, the 
 greater part of the crop being consumed locally, 
 though as much as 48,000 cwt. of unmanufactured 
 leaf, valued at £100,000, are exported to India. 
 
 The natives have always grown a little cotton in 
 ■certain districts, and at one time a good deal of cotton 
 cloth was manufactured at Batticaloa, but the in- 
 
56 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 dustry lias almost entirely ceased, being driven out 
 by the cheapness of Manchester goods. An industry 
 which hasjsprung up of recent years, however, is the col- 
 lection of the short-stapled cotton from the pods of the 
 silk-cotton tree ( Bombax Malabaricum ), exported under 
 the name of “Kapok” (a Malay term) to Australia 
 and Europe, to stuff chairs, mattresses, Ac. A small 
 quantity of this tree cotton was annually exported 
 from Ceylon so far back as the time of the Portuguese. 
 
 Sugar-cane is largely grown in native gardens for 
 use as a vegetable, the cane being sold in the bazaars, 
 and the pith eaten as the stalk of a cabbage would 
 be. At one time the eastern and southern districts 
 of the island were thought to be admirably adapted 
 for systematic sugar cultivation, but after plantations 
 on an extensive scale had been opened by experienced 
 colonists, and a large amount of capital sunk, it was 
 found that, while the cane grew luxuriantly, the moist 
 climate and soil did not permit of the sap crystallizing 
 or yielding a sufficiency of crystallizable material. 
 There is, however, still one plantation and manu- 
 factory of sugar and molasses in European hands, 
 near Galle. 
 
 Before leaving the branches of agriculture more 
 particularly in native hands, we may refer to the 
 large expanse of patana grass and natural pasturage, 
 especiall} 7 in the Uva and eastern districts, which is 
 utilized by the Sinhalese for their cattle, a certain 
 number of which supply the meat consumed in the 
 Central Province. By far the greater portion, how- 
 ever, of the beef and mutton required in the large 
 towns of the island is (like rice, flour, potatoes, and 
 other food requisites) imported in the shape of cattle 
 and sheep, to the value of £80,000, from India. In 
 
Native Agricultural and Manufacturing Interests. 57 
 
 some years the return has been over £120,000, but 
 that was chiefly through the demand for Indian 
 bullocks for draught purposes. There is no doubt 
 much scope for the people of Ceylon to do more to 
 meet the local demand for such food supplies, 
 although the natural pasturage is, as a rule, rather 
 poor. In Guinea and Mauritius grass (as also, for 
 the high elevations, in the “ prairie grass ” of Aus- 
 tralia), which grow freely with a little attention, some 
 of the best fodder grasses in the world are easily 
 cultivated in Ceylon. 
 
 Native Manufactures. 
 
 Of Manufacturing Industries Ceylon has a very poor 
 show. The Sinhalese are good carpenters, and supply 
 furniture and carved work in abundance ; both they 
 and the Tamils make good artizans ; witness the roll of 
 workmen in the Government factory, Colombo, and 
 the Colombo Ironworks, where ocean-going steamers 
 are repaired, as well as a great variety of machinery 
 is turned out, such as steam-engines, water-motors, and 
 coffee, tea, and oil-preparing machines. The Sinha- 
 lese were distinguished as ironworkers in very ancient 
 days ; they knew nothing about firearms until the 
 Portuguese era, and yet they soon excelled European 
 gunmakers in the beautifully- worked muskets they 
 turned out for their king. They were early workers 
 in brass and glass, as their ancient ruins show, and 
 they must have known a little about electricity, for it 
 is related in the Mahawansa that King Sanghatissa, 
 a.d. 234, placed a glass pinnacle on the Ruanwelli 
 Dagoba, to serve as a protection against lightning. 
 In these days the natives have watched with interest 
 
58 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the introduction of the electric telegraph, telephone, 
 and light, and when a suitable electric motor is made 
 available, the numerous and splendid streams and 
 waterfalls of the hill-country ought to afford ready 
 force for utilization. Native cotton spinners and 
 weavers were at one time common, but the industry 
 is dying out ; very little tobacco is manufactured ; 
 the making of mats, baskets, and coir-rope gives some 
 employment. The masons of the country are now 
 chiefly Moormen ; though the Sinhalese must have 
 done much in the building of tanks and other huge 
 erections in ancient times. Fishing and mining plum- 
 bago and search for precious gems, as well as hunting, 
 afford a good deal of employment. Workers in ebony, 
 tortoise-shell, and porcupine quills, and in primitive 
 pottery, are also numerous among the Sinhalese. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND RISE OF THE PLANTING INDUSTRY. 
 
 Coffee introduced by Arabs — First systematically cultivated by the 
 Dutch in 1740 — Extensive development in 1837— Highest level 
 of prosperity reached in 1868-70 — Appearance of Leaf Disease 
 in 1869 —Its disastrous effects. 
 
 We how turn to the great planting industry in coffee, 
 and the later additions in tea (now the rising and 
 most important staple), cacao, the chocolate or cocoa 
 plant, not to be confounded with the coconut palm : 
 cinchona, rubber trees, cardamoms, &c. ; to these the 
 past rapid development and prosperity of the island 
 are mainly due, and on them its future position as a 
 leading colony must still chiefly depend. 
 
 The Arabs first introduced coffee into India and 
 Ceylon, and the shrub was grown here before the 
 arrival of the Portuguese or Dutch ; but the prepar- 
 ation of a beverage from its berries was totally 
 unknown to the Sinhalese, who only used the young 
 coffee leaves for their curries, and the delicate 
 jasmine-like coffee flowers for ornamenting then- 
 shrines of Buddha. 
 
 The first attempt at systematic cultivation was 
 made by the Dutch in 1740, but, being confined to 
 
60 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the low country, it did not succeed, and they seem 
 never to have exported more than 1,000 cwt. in a 
 
 year. The Moormen (Arab) traders and Sinhalese, 
 having once discovered the use of coffee, kept up the 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF A YOUNG DIMBULA PLANTATION (ABBOTSFORD). 
 
 Tea and Cinchona IfurBorioH in foreground ; rows of Coffee around buildings in centre ; felled and standing Forest beyond. 
 from a Photograph hg Messrs. W. L. II, Sheen <& Co., of Colombo • 
 
The Origin and Rise of the Planting Industry. 61 
 
 cultivation and trade, but when the British took 
 Ceylon and up to 1812, the annual export had never 
 exceeded 3,000 cwt. So it continued until the master- 
 mind of Sir Edward Barnes opened road communi- 
 cation between the hill country and the coast, and 
 began to consider how the planting industry could be 
 extended, and the revenues of the country developed. 
 The Governor himself led the way, in opening a 
 coffee plantation near Kandy, in 1825, just one year 
 after the first systematic coffee estate was formed by 
 Mr. George Bird, near Gampola. These examples 
 were speedily followed, but still the progress was 
 slow, for in 1837, twelve years after, the total export 
 of coffee did not exceed 30,000 cwt. 
 
 It is usual to date the rise of the coffee planting 
 enterprise from this year, which witnessed a great 
 rush of investments, and the introduction of the West 
 India system of cultivation by Robert Boyd Tytler, 
 usually regarded as the “father ” of Ceylon planters. 
 An immense extension of cultivation took place up 
 to 1845, by which time the trade had developed to an 
 export of close on 200,000 cwt. Then came a financial 
 explosion in Great Britain, which speedily extended 
 its destructive influence to Ceylon, and led to a stop- 
 page of the supplies required to plant and cultivate 
 young plantations. Much laud opened was aban- 
 doned, and for three years the enterprise was 
 paralyzed ; but nevertheless the export continued to 
 increase, and by the time Governor Sir Henry Ward 
 appeared, in 1855, confidence had been restored, and 
 all was ready for the great impetus his energetic ad- 
 ministration gave to an enterprise which, in twenty 
 years, had come to be regarded as the backbone of 
 the agricultural industry of the island, and the main- 
 
62 
 
 Ceylon in the ■ Jubilee Year. 
 
 stay of the revenue. The Sinhalese soon followed 
 the example set them by the European planters, and 
 so widely and rapidly developed their coffee gardens 
 throughout the hill-country, that between 1849 and 
 1869, from one-half to one-fourth of the total quantity 
 of coffee shipped year by year was “native coffee.’' 
 
 LIBERIAN COFFEE.* 
 
 The highest level of prosperity was reached in- 
 1868, 1869, and 1870, in each of which years the 
 
 * For the use of this illustration, as also for the plates of the 
 “ Coconut Climber,” the “ Talipot Palm,” and the “ Coffee Tree,” we 
 are indebted to the Key. S. Laugdon, the author of a charming 
 account of the missionary's home and its rich surroundings of animal 
 and vegetable life in a tropical land. This volume, “ My Mission- 
 
The Origin and Rise of the Planting Industry. 63- 
 
 exports slightly exceeded a million cwt., of a value in 
 European markets of not less than four millions 
 sterling, against 34,000 cwt., valued at ,£120,000, ex- 
 ported in 1837 : a marvellous development in thirty 
 years of a tropical industry ! 
 
 In 1869 the total extent cultivated on plantations, 
 (apart from native gardens) was 176,000 acres, and 
 the return from the land in full bearing averaged 
 over 5 cwt. an acre, a return which should, under 
 favourable circumstances, give a profit of from £7 to 
 £10 an acre, or from twenty to twenty-five per cent, on 
 the capital invested. Nothing could be brighter than 
 the prospects of the colony and its main enterprise in 
 1869 : Sir Hercules Eobinson’s administration, then 
 in mid-course, was most beneficial ; the railway 
 between Colombo and Kandy, two years open, was a 
 grand success ; and, wdth an unfailing supply of 
 cheap free labour from Southern India, remarkable 
 facilities for transport, and a splendid climate, the 
 stability of the great coffee enterprise seemed to be 
 assured. 
 
 Its importance was fully realized through the 
 statistics of the actual extent cultivated which were 
 for the first time compiled, in full detail (by the 
 author), and although it began to be felt that the 
 good land at the most suitable altitude had all been 
 taken up, and most of it brought under cultivation, 
 yet no one doubted the comparative permanency of 
 such plantations under a liberal, scientific system of 
 
 Garden,” and another by the same author, “ Punchi Nona, a story of 
 Female Education and Village Life in Ceylon,” both give vivid, enter- 
 taining, and truthful pictures of Ceylon life and mission work, and 
 they show what good is being done to the people of the country by 
 patient teaching. Published by T. Woolmer, 2, Castle Street, City 
 Koad, E.C. ; and at 66, Paternoster Row, E.C. 
 
64 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 cultivation. But in this same year there first ap- 
 peared an enemy, most insignificant in appearance, 
 which in less than a dozen years was fated to bring 
 down the export of the great staple to one-fifth of its 
 then dimensions, and that notwithstanding a wide 
 extension of new cultivation. This enemy was a 
 minute fungus on the leaf, new to science, and named 
 by the greatest fungoid authorities Hemileia vastatrix, 
 from its destructive powers, now popularly known as 
 “ coffee-leaf disease.” 
 
 First appearing in one of the youngest districts, at 
 a remote corner, it rapidly spread all over the coffee 
 zone, being easily distinguished by the appearance of 
 bright orange spots on the leaves, which subsequently 
 wither and drop off. At first it was treated as a 
 matter of little moment by all but the late Dr. 
 Thwaites, F.B.S., the Director of the Ceylon Botanic 
 Gardens, and for several years it apparently did 
 little harm, crops being only slightly affected, and 
 any decrease being attributed to seasonal influences 
 rather than to a minute pest, which, it was supposed, 
 only served to remind the planter of the necessity of 
 more liberal cultivation. Another cause, moreover, 
 served most effectually to blind the eyes of all con- 
 cerned to the insidious progress of the pest, and the 
 gradual hut sure falling-off of crops, namely, a 
 sudden and unprecedented rise in the value of coffee 
 in Europe and America — a rise equivalent, in a few 
 years, to more than fifty per cent. This great access 
 of value to his returns more than sufficed to com- 
 pensate the Ceylon planter for any diminution of crop. 
 It did more : it stimulated a vast extension of culti- 
 vation into the largest remaining reserve, known as 
 the Wilderness of the Peak, extending from Xuwara 
 
The Origin and Rise of the Planting Industry. 65 
 
 Eli}’a through a succession of upland valleys in 
 Dimbula, Dikoya, and Maskeliya, to the Adam’s Peak 
 range, an area of forest covering some 400 square 
 miles, having the most delightful climate in the 
 world, hut until this time (1868-69) regarded as too 
 high and wet for coffee. This region had been pre- 
 viously utilized as a hunting-ground by an occasional 
 party of Europeans or Kandyans, the pilgrims’ paths 
 to Adam’s Peak, winding their way through the 
 dense jungle, and intercepted by a succession of large 
 unbridged rivers, being the only lines of communica- 
 tion. The rush into this El Dorado had begun in the 
 time of Sir Hercules Robinson, who energetically 
 aided the development by extending roads and bridg- 
 ing rivers, thus utilizing some of the large surpluses 
 which the sale of the lauds and the increased customs 
 and railway revenues afforded him. 
 
 A cycle of favourable — that is, comparatively dry — 
 seasons still further contributed to the success of the 
 youDg high districts, so that coffee (which had pre- 
 viously been supposed to find its suitable limit at 
 4,000 or 4,500 feet) was planted and cultivated 
 profitably up to 5,000 and even 5,500 feet. All 
 through Governor Gregory’s administration the high 
 price of coffee and the active extension of the culti- 
 vated area continued, the competition becoming so 
 keen that forest-land, which ten or twenty years 
 before would not fetch as much as £2 an acre, was 
 sold as high as £15, .£20, and even £28 an acre. 
 Even at this price planters calculated on profitable 
 results ; but there can be no doubt that speculation, 
 rather than the teachings of experience, guided their 
 calculations. 
 
 Between 1869 and 1879 over 400,000 acres of 
 6 
 
66 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Crown land were sold by the Ceylon Government, 
 bringing in more than a million sterling to the 
 revenue, and of this 100,000 acres were brought into 
 cultivation with coffee, at an outlay of not less than 
 from two to two and a-half millions sterling, almost 
 entirely in the upland districts referred to. 
 
 Meantime the insidious leaf-fungus pest had been 
 working deadly mischief. High cultivation, with 
 manure of various descriptions, failing to arrest its 
 progress, the aid of science was called in, special in- 
 vestigations took place, its life-history was written ; 
 but the practical result was no more satisfactory to 
 the coffee planter than have similar investigations 
 proved to the potato cultivator, the wheat farmer 
 fighting with rust, or the vine-grower who is baffled 
 by the fatal phylloxera. Less deadly than the 
 phylloxera, the leaf-fungus had nevertheless so affected 
 the Ceylon coffee enterprise that in the ten years 
 during which cultivation had extended more than 
 fifty per cent., the annual export had fallen to three- 
 fourths of the million cwt. The same fungus had 
 extended to the coffee districts of India and Java, with 
 similar results in devastated crops, but in the greatest 
 coffee country of all — Brazil — the impetus to an ex- 
 tension of cultivation which the high prices from 
 1873 onwards had given, was not checked by the 
 presence of this fungoid, or other coffee diseases, and 
 from thence soon began to pour into the markets of 
 the world such crops as speedily brought prices to 
 their old level, reacting disastrously on the Ceylon 
 enterprise, which had at the same time to encounter 
 the monetary depression caused by the collapse of the 
 City of Glasgow Bank and other financial failures in 
 Britain. Misfortunes never come singly, and accord- 
 
The Origin and Rise of the Planting Industry. 67 
 
 ingly a series of wet seasons crowned the evils 
 befalling the planters in the young high districts, 
 while the older coffee lower down began to be 
 neglected, so enfeebled had it become in many places 
 under the repeated visits of the fungus. This so dis- 
 heartened the coffee planter that he turned his 
 attention to new products, more especially cinchona, 
 and, later, tea, planted among and in supercession of 
 the coffee, as well as in new land. Tea especially 
 succeeded so well, as will be fully related further on, 
 that coffee over a large area has been entirely taken 
 out, and the area cultivated has been reduced from 
 the maximum of 275,000 acres in 1878 to not much 
 more than 100,000 acres in 1887. The result is that 
 in the present season (1886-7) in place of the million 
 cwt. exported sixteen years ago, the total shipments 
 of coffee from Ceylon will not exceed one-fifth of that 
 quantity, and although with a more favourable blos- 
 soming time this year it may be increased in the 
 succeeding season, yet there is no escape from the 
 drawbacks which still beset the coffee planter in Ceylon. 
 The leaf-fungus still hovers about, though in a much 
 milder, and, as some think, a diseased form ; but 
 another enemy has appeared in the shape of a coccus 
 (called “green bug”), which has done much harm. 
 Nevertheless, in certain favoured coffee districts, such 
 as the Uva divisions, Bopatalava, Maturatta, Agras 
 division of Dimbula, and Middle and Upper Dikoya, 
 coffee still looks vigorous, and may continue to repay 
 careful cultivation, more especially as prices have 
 again improved, and a scarcity of the product is 
 anticipated. The mitigations of the disaster — the 
 silver lining to the dark cloud which came over the 
 prospects of the majority of Ceylon coffee planters — 
 will be alluded to later on. 
 
68 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 At an early stage in the history of coffee leaf disease 
 in Ceylon one cause, and that perhaps the chief, of 
 the visitation had become apparent in the limitation 
 of cultivation to one plant, and one only, over hun- 
 dreds of square miles of country which had previously 
 been covered with the most varied vegetation. Nature 
 had revenged herself, just as she had done on Ireland 
 when potatoes threatened to become the universal 
 crop, as well as on extensive wheat fields elsewhere, 
 and on the French vineyards. The hemileia vastatrix 
 w r as described by Dr. Thwaites as peculiar to a jungle 
 plant, and finding coffee leaves a suitable food in 
 1869 it multiplied and spread indefinitely. It could 
 not be said that the fungus thus burst out in Ceylon 
 because of coffee being worn out or badly cultivated, 
 for it first appeared in a young district upon vigorous 
 coffee, and it afterwards attacked old and young, 
 vigorous and weak trees, with absolute impartiality. 
 The true remedy, then, for the loss occasioned by 
 this pest — apart from the wisdom of the old adage 
 not to have all one’s eggs in one basket — lay in the 
 introduction of New Products. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NEW PRODUCTS. 
 
 Tea — Cinchona — Cocoa — India-rubber — Cardamoms — Liberian 
 Coffee, &c. 
 
 Tea cultivation was tried in Ceylon in the time of the 
 Dutch, but was not persevered with ; and although 
 there is a wild plant ( cassia ariculata), called the 
 Matara tea plant, from which the Sinhalese in the 
 south of the island are accustomed to make an 
 infusion, yet nothing was done with the true tea 
 plant till long after coffee was established. Forty- 
 five years ago the Messrs. Worms (cousins of the 
 Rothschilds, who did an immense deal in developing 
 Ceylon) introduced the China plant, and, planting up 
 a field on the Rambode Pass, proved that tea would 
 grow well in the island. Mr. Llewellyn about the 
 same time introduced the Assam plant into Dolos- 
 bagie district, but no commercial result came from 
 these ventures. Attention was, however, frequently 
 called to this product, and in 1867 a Ceylon planter 
 was commissioned to report on the tea-planting 
 industry in India. In that same year the attention 
 of planters was also first turned to the cinchona 
 
70 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 plant, which had been introduced six years earlier to 
 India and Ceylon by Mr. Clements Markham. The 
 Director of the Botanic Garden, Dr. Thwaites, how- 
 ever, found great difficulty in getting any planter to 
 care about cultivating a “ medicine plant,” and when 
 the great rise in prices for coffee came, all thought of 
 tea and cinchona was cast to the winds, and the one 
 old profitable product, which everybody — planters and 
 coolies alike — understood, was alone planted. 
 
 Very early in his administration Sir William 
 
 THE TEA PLANT. 
 
 Gregory, to his special credit be it said, saw the 
 necessity for new products, and he used all his 
 personal and official influence to secure their develop- 
 ment, introducing a new feature into the Governor’s 
 annual speech to the Legislative Council in special 
 notices of the progress of tea, cinchona, cacao, Libe- 
 riau coffee, and rubber cultivation. The influence of 
 the principal journal in the colony (the Ceylon 
 Observer) was cast into the same scale, and practical 
 
New Products. 
 
 71 
 
 information to aid the planter of new products was 
 collected for it from all quarters, more especially 
 from the tropical belt of the earth’s surface.* 
 
 When Governor Gregory arrived in 1872 only 500 
 acres of cinchona had been planted, but before he 
 left in 1877 not only had these increased to 6,000 
 acres, but the planters had begun thoroughly to 
 appreciate the value of the new product, its suitable- 
 
 cinchona succiRui'RAf (Genuine Red Bark). 
 
 ness for the hill-country and climate of Ceylon, and 
 the profits to be made from judicious cultivation. 
 The great rush, however, took place on the failure of 
 
 * In June, 1881, the monthly periodical, The Tropical Agricul- 
 turist, was started by the author from the Observer press for the 
 special purpose of meeting the requirements of planters. It circulates 
 all round the tropical world, and has received high encomiums in 
 Britain, United States, and Australia. 
 
 f The original drawing of this illustration has been kiudly supplied 
 by Messrs. Howards and Sons, of Stratford, E. 
 
72 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 coffee in 1879 and the next three years, so that by 
 1883 the area covered by this plant could not be less 
 than 60,000 acres. The enormous bark exports which 
 followed from Ceylon so lowered the price (involving 
 the great blessing of cheap quinine) that it became 
 no longer profitable to cut bark in the native South 
 American cinchona groves, or to plant further in 
 Ceylon, India, or Java. Attention has, therefore, 
 since 1884 been directed from cinchona ; neverthe- 
 less the exports from the existing area continue 
 high, and the area still under cinchona, making 
 allowance for what is planted throughout the tea and 
 coffee plantations, cannot be less than 30,000 acres, 
 with several (perhaps forty) million trees above two 
 or three years, of all descriptions of cinchona growing 
 thereon. The export of bark, which w r as 11,547 lb. 
 in 1872, rose to nearly 14,000,000 lb. the last season 
 (1885-6), and it will not be less during 1886-7, while, 
 with a fair price, it could be maintained at from eight 
 to ten million pounds per annum. Very great mis- 
 takes were made at first in cinchona-planting in the 
 use of immature seed and by the choice of unsuitable 
 species and unsuitable soil, but the Ceylon planters 
 rapidly qualified themselves to be successful cinchona 
 growers, and many still find how much may be done 
 to supplement their staples (tea and coffee) through 
 this product. 
 
 It has long been the conviction of many who have 
 studied the climate and the character of Ceylon soils 
 that the country is far more fitted to become a great 
 tea producer than ever it was to grow coffee. It is 
 now realized, too, that a large proportion of the area 
 opened with the latter product — apart from the 
 appearance of leaf-fungus altogether — would have 
 
New Products. 
 
 73 
 
 done much better under tea. Unlike India, there is 
 never in the low country, western and south-western, 
 
 or in the central (the hilly) portions of Ceylon, a 
 month of the year without rain, the annual fall in 
 
 THE COFFEE TREE. 
 
74 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 this region ranging from 80 to 200 inches, while the 
 alternate tropical sunshine and moisture form the 
 perfection of climate for the leaf-yielding tea-shrub. 
 Untimely downpours, which so often wrecked the 
 blossoms and the hopes of the coffee-planter, do no 
 harm to the leaf crop of the tea-planter. Not only 
 so, but the harvesting of tea-leaf is spread over six, 
 or even nine, months of the year. If a fresh flush of 
 young leaf fails from any cause this month, the 
 planter has generally only a few weeks to wait for 
 another chance, and, save for the “ pruning ” and the 
 very wet season in Ce^ylon, the tea-planter can look 
 for some returns nearly all the year round. Very 
 different was the case with coffee, the crop of which 
 for a whole year was often dependent on the weather 
 during a single month ; or even a week’s (or a day’s) 
 untimely rain or drought might destroy the chance of 
 a return for a whole year’s labour. Even in the 
 favoured Uva districts there were only two periods of 
 harvesting coffee in the year. Again, while the zone 
 suitable for the growth of coffee ranged from 1,500 or 
 2,000 to 4,500 or 5,500 feet above sea-level, tea seems 
 to flourish equally well (the Assam indigenous kind, or 
 good hybrid) at sea-level, and (a hardy hybrid or 
 China kind) at 6,000 and even to close on 7,000 feet 
 above sea-level. The tea shrub is found to be altogether 
 hardier and generally far more suitable to the com- 
 paratively poor soil of Ceylon than ever coffee was. 
 Nevertheless it took many years to convince Ceylon 
 planters of the wisdom of looking to tea ; and for 
 some years even after it was gone into in earnest, 
 much less progress was made than in the case of cin- 
 chona. There were good reasons for this in the 
 greater cost of tea seed, and the much greater 
 
New Products. 
 
 ASSAM TEA TREE, 
 
76 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 trouble entailed in the preparation of the produce for 
 the market. Beginning from 1873 with an extent 
 planted of 250 acres, in ten years this area increased 
 to about 35,000 acres, while in the succeeding year, 
 
 1884, this was doubled, as much being also added in 
 
 1885, and a large extent in 1886, so that before the 
 Jubilee Year of Queen Victoria’s reign is closed, there 
 will not be less than 150,000 acres covered with the 
 tea plant in Ceylon. Tea seed is now cheap enough, 
 and the manufacture of the leaf is no longer a mys- 
 tery, and Ceylon is on the highway to become a rival 
 to the most important of the Indian districts in the 
 production of tea. The tea export from Ceylon of 
 23 lb. in 1876 has risen to 7,849,886 lb. in 1886, and 
 it is expected to go on for some time almost at a 
 geometrical rate of progression, so that, when the 
 150,000 acres are in bearing, the total export will not 
 be less than forty million lb., say in 1890-91. There 
 are large reserves of Crown land suitable for tea, for, 
 as already said, it is found to produce profitable crops 
 on land a few hundred feet above sea-level, as well as 
 at all altitudes up to the neighbourhood of Xuwara 
 Eliya, approximating to 7,000 feet. 
 
 The rapid development of the tea-planting industry 
 in Ceylon during the past four or five years consti- 
 tutes the most interesting and important fact in the 
 recent history of the island. The future of the 
 colony depends upon this staple now far more than 
 on any other branch of agriculture, and so far the 
 promise is that the industry will be a comparatively 
 permanent and steadily profitable one. On favoured 
 plantations, with comparatively flat land and good 
 soil (tea loves a flat as coffee did a sloping hill-side), 
 tea crops have already been gathered in Ceylon for 
 
New Products. 
 
 77 
 
 some years in succession in excess almost of anything 
 known in India. With unequalled means of com- 
 munication by railway and first-class roads — Uva 
 districts still want their railway — with well-trained, 
 easily-managed, and fairly intelligent labourers in 
 the Tamil coolie, with a suitable climate and soil, 
 and, above all, with a planting community of ex- 
 ceptional intelligence and energy in pushing a product 
 that is once shown to be profitable for cultivation, the 
 rapid development of our tea enterprise from the 
 infant of 1876-80 to the giant of 1883-7 may be 
 more easily understood. Ceylon teas have been 
 received with exceptional favour in the London 
 market, and the demand already exceeds the supply. 
 The teas are of a high character and fine flavour, 
 perfectly pure, which is more than can be said of a 
 large proportion of China and Japan teas. It is 
 therefore expected by competent authorities that as 
 the taste for the good teas of Ceylon and India spreads 
 — one never enjoys a common adulterated tea after 
 getting accustomed to one of good flavour — the China 
 teas, to a great extent, may fall out of use. Whether 
 this be the case or not, there is no doubt that the 
 Ceylon tea-planter can hold his own. The consump- 
 tion of his staple is spreading every year, and if the 
 English-speaking people of the United States only 
 did equal justice to the tea with their brethren else- 
 where, the demand would there also exceed the supply. 
 Moreover, tea can be delivered more cheaply from 
 Ceylon, allowing for quality, than from either India 
 or China. As was the case with coffee, the prepara- 
 tion of the new staple in Ceylon is in a fair way to 
 be brought to perfection. Improved machinery has 
 already been invented by local planters and others to 
 
78 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 save labour, counteract the effect of unsuitable 
 weather (for withering the leaf, Ac.), or to turn 
 out teas with better flavour ; ancl yet the industry 
 cannot be said properly to be seven years old in the 
 island ! Already its beneficial influence on local 
 business, export trade, and revenue is widely felt. 
 The Sinhalese, in many districts, are volunteering to 
 work for the tea-planters, and native tea-gardens are 
 also being planted up on many low-country road-sides. 
 This process is bound to go on until there is a wide 
 area covered with tea under native auspices. The 
 cultivators will probably, as a rule, sell their leaf to 
 central factories owned by colonists ; but there is 
 no reason why, as time runs on, they should not 
 manufacture for themselves. The atmosphere of 
 planting, business, and even official circles in Ceylon 
 just now is highly charged with “tea,” and the number 
 of Tea Patents (for preparing machines), of Tea pub- 
 lications,* Tea Brokers, Tea selling and Tea planting 
 companies would greatly astonish a Ceylon coffee 
 planter of the “ fifties,” “sixties,” or even “seventies,” 
 if he “ revisited the glimpses of the moon ” in the 
 Central or Western province of the island. Tea 
 deserves a special chapter in this “ Jubilee ” book on 
 Ceylon, and we could not say less about it. We call 
 attention to our several engravings of the tea tree, 
 and more especially to the pictures at the end of our 
 volume (with letterpress), supplied by the Planters’ 
 Association of Ceylon in connection with the “ Colonial 
 and Indian Exhibition of 1886 ” (Appendix XI.). 
 
 A minor product as compared with tea, but still a very 
 
 * See the “ Ceylon Tea Planters’ Manual.” “ Tea and other New 
 Products,” “ Planters’ Note Book,” “ Tea Tables,” and “ Tropical 
 Agriculturist,” published by A, M. and J. Ferguson, Colombo 
 
New Products. 
 
 79 
 
 promising one in its own place, is Tkeobroma Cacao 
 (“ food for gods ”) of Linnasus, producing the “ cocoa” 
 
 PODS OF THE CACAO TREE, 
 
 Each containing twenty-four seeds in pulp, which, when prepared, give the chocolate 
 of commerce. 
 
 and chocolate of commerce. This plant can never 
 
80 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 be cultivated in Ceylon to the same extent as coffee, 
 tea, or cinchona, for it requires a considerable depth 
 of good soil, in a favourable situation, at a medium 
 elevation, with complete shelter from wind, and these 
 requisites are only to be found in very limited areas 
 in this island. Nevertheless, where these conditions 
 exist, cacao promises to be a most lasting and profit- 
 able cultivation. To the late E. B. Tytler belongs 
 the credit of introducing this cultivation in the 
 Dumbara valley, and in his hands Ceylon cocoa 
 speedily realized the highest price in the London 
 market, experienced brokers remarking that there 
 must be something in the soil and climate of the 
 districts where it is cultivated in Ceylon peculiarly 
 suited to cacao. The Matale, Kurunugala, and Uva 
 districts also show fine cacao <! walks,” and the export 
 of “ cacao ” has risen from 10 cwt. in 1878 to 13,050 
 cwt. in 1886. There are several thousand (14,000) 
 acres now planted, which ought to give an export of 
 
 50.000 cwt. (or 5,600,0001b., as counted in the West 
 Indies) a few years hence. From experience in the 
 West Indies, as well as Ceylon, it is found that up to 
 ten years of age cacao is an uncertain, even delicate, 
 plant, but after that it is credited in British Guiana 
 with going on for 100 years yielding fairly remune- 
 rative crops without much trouble. Ceylon cacao 
 planters have already improved on the means of 
 preparing the bean for the London market, and 
 further improvements are under consideration. It is 
 possible that ultimately an area exceeding 30,000 
 acres under this plant will enable Ceylon to send 
 
 120.000 to 150,000 cwt. of its product into European 
 markets.* 
 
 * See pamphlets on “ Cacao Cultivation,” published by A. M. and 
 J. Ferguson, Colombo. 
 
Neic Products. 
 
 81 
 
 Cardamoms spice (called “grains of paradise”) is 
 another minor product, the cultivation of which has 
 
 THE CACAO TREE. 
 
 benefited a good many Ceylon planters, the export 
 rising from 14,0001b. in 1878 to 239,0001b. in 1886 ; 
 
82 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the latter a quantity sufficient to seriously affect the 
 price in the London market. It is, indeed, a sig- 
 nificant fact that in respect of two products, prac- 
 tically receiving no attentive aid from our planters 
 ten, or, at any rate, fifteen years ago, Ceylon now 
 rules the markets of the world. We refer to cinchona 
 bark and cardamoms, for the supply of which, as of 
 cinnamon, coconut oil, and plumbago, this colony is 
 pre-eminent.* 
 
 The Caoutchouc, or India-rubber trees of commerce, 
 from South America and Eastern Africa, are of recent 
 introduction, but their cultivation and growth in the 
 planting districts of Ceylon have so far not given very 
 satisfactory results. The growth of the trees has 
 been generally satisfactory, indeed wonderful, equal- 
 ling in some cases forty-eight feet in height, and 
 forty-five inches in circumference in five years, and 
 when more is known about the mode of harvesting 
 the rubber the industry may prove very profitable.! 
 
 Among minor new products Liberian coffee was 
 introduced from the West African Republic of that 
 name (in 1875-79 chiefly), in the hope that its large 
 size and strong habit would enable it at the low 
 elevation in which it grows to resist the leaf-fungus ; 
 but this hope has not been realized, and although the 
 acreage planted is giving fair crops, there is no 
 attempt to extend this area for the present, t 
 
 Pepper, African palm-oil nut, nutmegs, croton oil 
 seeds, and annotto dye plant are among the other 
 
 * Pamphlet on “ Cardamoms Cultivation, &c.,” has been published 
 by A. M. and J. Ferguson, Colombo. 
 
 f See “ All about Rubber,” second edition, published by A. M. and 
 J. Ferguson, Colombo. 
 
 J See “ Liberian Coffee,” illustrated, published by A. M. and J. 
 Ferguson, Colombo. 
 
New Products. 
 
 83 
 
 products to which, by reason of the reverse in coffee, 
 planters' in the hill and low country of Ceylon have 
 been turning their attention in isolated cases, with 
 results more or less satisfactory. In the variety of 
 all the industries detailed in the foregoing pages it is 
 
 THE CEARA RUBBER TREE. 
 
 A specimen of rapid growth in Ceylon (Sembawattie Estate); 17 ft. high, 10 in. in 
 circumference, and only nine months old. 
 
 felt there is sufficient guarantee to warrant the belief 
 that the coffee leaf fungus will prove eventually, if it 
 has not already proved, a blessing in disguise to the 
 island, its colonists, and native people. The latter 
 
84 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 suffered with their European brethren, not only 
 through the disease affecting their coffee gardens, but 
 much more through the absence of employment in so 
 many branches which the prosperous coffee enterprise 
 opened out to them. Tea plantations are now rapidly 
 filling up the blank left by coffee, while many of the 
 natives, led by their chiefs and intelligent headmen 
 and villagers, are themselves planting new products 
 — tea, cinchona, and cacao — and so following the 
 example of the European planters. In this way the 
 Planting enterprise in all its ramifications in Ceylon 
 is fraught with the promise of a greater and more 
 reliable prosperity than ever appertained to coffee 
 alone in its palmiest days. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRESENT POSITION OF AGRICULTURAL ENTERPRISE, LOCAL 
 INDUSTRIES, AND FOREIGN TRADE. 
 
 Exports of last decade — The plumbago trade — Gold and Iron — Native 
 industries generally flourishing — Tea especially and Cinchona 
 will make up for the deficiency in Coffee. 
 
 To sum up and show at a glance the present position 
 of the trade arising from our agricultural enterprise 
 and local industry, we here insert a statement of the 
 staple exports for the past fourteen commercial sea- 
 sons. [See Table on next page.j 
 
 These figures differ slightly from those already 
 quoted for the calendar years ; the commercial season 
 closes on 30th September, haying been fixed by the 
 Colombo merchants many years ago, so as to separate 
 as fairly as possible each coffee crop. 
 
 There are a few headings in this table that we 
 have not touched on yet, and the principal one of 
 these is plumbago, or graphite. This is the only 
 mineral of commercial importance exported from 
 Ceylon. The mining industry is entirely in the 
 hands of the Sinhalese ; mines of from 100 to 200 
 and even 300 ft. depth are worked in a primitive 
 fashion, and the finest plumbago in the world for 
 
STAPLE EXPORTS OF CEYLON, 1873-188G. 
 
 Total Quantities of the following Articles exported from Colombo and Galle annually during the past Fourteen Years. 
 
 86 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 N.B.— A Tabic of the Staple Imports for the calendar years 1K(7 to It Mi, inclusive, will be found in Appendix VJ. * No records previous to 1880-81, 
 
Position of Agriculture and Trade. 87 
 
 crucible purposes is obtained. The industry has 
 taken a great start of recent years, the average export 
 increasing about 50 per cent, within the decade ; the 
 value of the trade averages about £350, 000 per an- 
 num, and this mining industry has sprung up entirely 
 within the last forty years. * 
 
 Of other minerals mention may be made of the 
 precious stones found and exported in certain quanti- 
 ties, the chief being rubies and sapphires and cat’s 
 eyes. “ Pearls ” are included in the Customs returns 
 with “ precious stones,” and the total value of all 
 recorded in any one year for exports has never 
 exceeded £9,000; but the large proportion of both 
 pearls and precious stones taken out of the island on 
 the persons of natives or others leaving would not be 
 entered at all in the Customs returns. 
 
 Gold is freely distributed in the primary rocks of 
 Ceylon, but it has not been found in paying quantities. 
 Rich iron ore is very abundant, but there is no coal. 
 
 Of other minor exports affording some trade to 
 native huntsmen are deer-horns, the trade in which 
 indicates a considerable destruction of deer, so that a 
 law has been passed to protect them as well as other 
 game and elephants. The export of “hides and 
 skins ” is considerable, and might be more important 
 were it not for the Sinhalese habits of cutting and 
 marking the hides of their cattle. The local industry 
 in tanning is very limited, though the materials are 
 at hand to extend it considerably. There is also 
 much scope for the export of dyeing (as well as 
 tanning) substances. The export trade in timber — 
 apart from ebony — is considerable, such as satin- 
 
 * See Monograph on “ Plumbago,” by A. M. Ferguson, contributed 
 to the Royal Asiatic Society’s Journal (Ceylon), in 1885. 
 
88 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 ■wood, palmyra, tamarind, &c., to a total average 
 value of ^20,000 per annum. 
 
 It will be observed that the branches of trade more 
 particularly in the hands of the natives — coconut 
 oil, cinnamon, and minor exports — are in a sound, 
 flourishing, and progressive condition. The case is 
 very different with coffee, and the significance of the 
 figures in our table will be understood when it is 
 remembered that between 1865 and 1878 the average 
 export of coffee shipped was equal in value to more 
 than double of all the other exports put together. 
 But instead of four or five millions of pounds’ worth 
 of coffee, we are now reduced to a value of from one 
 to one and a quarter million sterling. Now, however, 
 come in the new headings in our export table of tea, 
 cinchona, and cacao, the latter two of which hence- 
 forth divide attention with coffee, while to tea will 
 belong the honour of representing our planting en- 
 terprise par excellence. 
 
 As to the future of coffee, we think that an average 
 export of a million pounds’ sterling worth (200,000 to 
 250,000 cwt.) may still be counted on; and to make 
 up the deficienc} 7 of three millions we may look to a 
 steady export of cinchona bark, worth from three to five 
 hundred thousand pounds per annum ; while cacao, 
 cardamoms, &c., should make a further considerable 
 addition. But the main dependence must be on tea; 
 and, considering the rapid way in -which this has been 
 planted, we see no reason to doubt that the area culti- 
 vated will suffice a few j'ears hence to produce a quan- 
 tity, of say thirty to forty million pounds’ weight, worth 
 a sum approximating to two million pounds sterling. 
 Some authorities indeed calculate that there is no 
 reason why Ceylon, with 200,000 acres planted with 
 
Position of Agriculture and Trade. 89 
 
 tea, should not by and by supply between sixty and 
 
 seventy million pounds of tea of the best qualities 
 for the markets of the world. 
 
 THE BANYAN TREE [FicUS IlldiCll). 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WHAT THE PLANTING INDUSTRY HAS DONE FOR THE 
 MOTHER-COUNTRY. 
 
 Recent years of depression considered— Planting profits absorbed in 
 the past by Home capitalists — Absence of reserves of local 
 wealth — The accumulated profits of past years estimated. 
 
 The recent financial depression and scarcity of 
 capital in Ceylon can readily be understood when 
 a succession of bad coffee seasons, involving a 
 deficiency in the planters’ harvests of that product 
 equal to many millions of pounds sterling, is taken 
 into consideration. There have been periods of de- 
 pression before in the history of the Ceylon planting 
 enterprise, and these, curiously enough, have been 
 noted to come round in cycles of eleven years. Thus, 
 in 1845, wild speculation in opening plantations, 
 followed by a great fall in the price of coffee and a 
 collapse of credit, arrested progress for a time ; in 
 1856-7, a sharp financial shock affected the course of 
 prosperity which had set in ; and again, in 1866-7, 
 the fortunes of coffee fell to so low an ebb that a 
 London capitalist, who visited the island, said tho 
 most striking picture of woe-begone misery he saw 
 was the typical “ man who owned a coffee estate.”' 
 
The Benefit to the Mother-Country. 91 
 
 Yet this was followed by good seasons and bounteous 
 coffee harvests. 
 
 The depression which set in during 1879, was, 
 however, the most prolonged and trying. True, 
 agriculture nearly all over the world has been suffer- 
 ing from a succession of bad harvests, more particu- 
 larly in the mother-country ; but there are certain 
 grave distinctions between the conditions of a tropical 
 colony and lands in a temperate zoue. In Ceylon a 
 generation among European colonists has usually 
 been considered not to exceed ten years — not at all 
 on account of mortality, for the hills of Ceylon have 
 the perfection of a healthy climate, but from the 
 constant changes in the elements of the European 
 community — the coming and going -which in the past 
 made such a distinct change in the broad elements of 
 society every ten or certainly every fifteen years. 
 
 Those colonists who made fortunes in coffee in the 
 island — only 10 per cent, of the whole body of planters, 
 however — did not think of making it their permanent 
 home. The capitalist who sent out his money for 
 investment got it back as soon as possible. The 
 “accumulated profits” made during the time of 
 prosperity, which at home form a reserve fund of 
 local wealth to enable the sufferer from present 
 adversity to benefit by past earnings, were utterly 
 wanting in Ceylon. We had no reserve fund of past 
 profits to fall back upon, no class of wealthy Euro- 
 peans enriched by former times of prosperity living 
 amongst us and circulating the liquidated products 
 of former industry, when the period of adversity and 
 depression arrived. 
 
 Ceylon, in fact, in the best coffee days, used to be 
 a sort of “incubator ” to which capitalists sent their 
 
92 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 eggs to be batched, and whence they received from 
 time to time an abundant brood, leaving sometimes 
 but the shells for our local portion. Money was sent 
 out to Ceylon to fell its forests and plant them with 
 coffee, and it was returned in the shape of copious 
 harvests to the home capitalist, leaving in some cases 
 the bare hill-sides from whence these rich harvests 
 were drawn. Had the profits from the abundant 
 coffee crops in those past days been located here and 
 invested in the country and its soil, a fund of local 
 wealth might have existed when the lean years came, 
 manufactures might now have been flourishing, a 
 number of wealthy citizens of European origin might 
 have been living in affluence, and w T e should have 
 possessed resources to help us over the time of 
 adversity and depression ! 
 
 The total amount of coffee raised on the planta- 
 tions of Ceylon since 1849 is about 19,000,000 cwt., 
 and there were produced previously (excluding native 
 coffee in both cases) about 1,000,000 cwt. at the least, 
 making a grand total of coffee of 20,000,000 cwt. as 
 the produce of imported capital. Including interest 
 and all items of local cost, we may safely say that 
 this coffee has been produced for £2 2s. per cwt., and 
 has realized at the least £‘8 net on an average ; it 
 has therefore earned a net profit of ±T8,000,000. 
 The coffee so produced has been yielded by planta- 
 tions of not more than 320,000 acres in the aggre- 
 gate, after including a due allowance for lands 
 abandoned ; and the average cost of the estates, 
 including the purchase of the land, has certainly not 
 exceeded £25 per acre, involving a total capital of 
 T8, 000, 000. There should therefore have been a 
 sum of T10,000,000 of liquidated profit returned to 
 
The Benefit to the Mother-Country. 93 
 
 the capitalist, besides the refund of his principal, 
 and there would still remain the existing plant of say 
 200,000 acres of land under cultivation by means of 
 the said capital, worth at least £10 per acre, or 
 altogether .£2, 000, 000 — thus showing a total profit of 
 £12,000,000. Looking at some tracts of land which 
 have been relegated to weeds and waste — tracts 
 which for long years poured forth rich harvests for 
 their owners — the question will force itself upon us : 
 What would now have been the condition of these 
 lands if their owners had been settled on them, and 
 their families, homesteads, and accumulated profits 
 had remained to enrich the island ? 
 
 Possibly the lands now waste would have been 
 flourishing farms, whose natural fertility would have 
 been maintained, or probably increased, by fostering 
 care and scientific treatment, and they might long 
 ago have been covered with other tropical products 
 wherever the old “ King Coffee ” had been dethroned 
 by age or sickness. 
 
 Where, so far as the planters are concerned, is 
 now the fruit of these wasted lands ? Is it not, we 
 may ask, absorbed in the wealth of the mother- 
 country, swelling its plethora of resources and luxury? 
 Hence comes it that, though Ceylon can show man}' 
 outward and visible signs of material wealth since the 
 establishment of the planting enterprise, in a greatly- 
 increased revenue, great public works, railways, roads, 
 harbour works, tanks, irrigation canals, and public 
 buildings, and in a native population greatly raised 
 in the scale of civilization and in personal and home 
 comforts, yet there is scarcely a wealthy European in 
 the island. Riches have been heaped up elsewhere 
 — that is, in the mother-country — out of Ceylon ; 
 
94 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year 
 
 while there are no large local incomes (save among a 
 limited number of natives) to meet the era of short 
 crops and financial disasters which began in 1879. 
 
 Of course, we are now looking at the Ceylon plant- 
 ing enterprise from the colonial point of view. When 
 a financial crisis comes, and home capitalists find 
 they cannot realize and sell their property through 
 the absence of local purchasers, they are apt to speak 
 disparagingly of the colony which has done so much 
 for their brethren, if not for themselves, in years gone 
 by, and which wall yet give a good return on capital 
 invested in the future. 
 
 Fortunately, within the past generation, a consider- 
 able change has taken place in the conditions of 
 planting in Ceylon. An unusually large number of 
 younger sons, and others with a certain amount of 
 capital of their own, have settled in the higher and 
 healthier districts — possessing in fact one of the finest 
 climates in the world — forming comparatively per- 
 manent homes, in the midst of their tea as well as 
 coffee and cinchona fields. The number of resident 
 proprietary and of married planters has largely in- 
 creased within the past twenty years, notwithstanding 
 depression and difficulty, and with the return of pros- 
 perity, further settlement in this way may be antici- 
 pated. 
 
 As regards the native cultivation of exportable 
 articles, the profits from six or seven million cwt. of 
 native-grown coffee shipped, and from cinnamon, coir, 
 coconut oil, plumbago, &c., have of course come hack 
 and enriched the people in a way which is visible on 
 all sides, and is more particularly striking to old 
 nolonists. There is a very large number of wealthy 
 native gentlemen enriched by trade and agriculture 
 
The Benefit to the Mother-Country. 95 
 
 within British times, and nearly all the property in 
 the large towns, as well as extensive planted areas, 
 belong to them ; while, as regards the labouring 
 classes, the artizans and carters, the benefit conferred 
 by planting expenditure will be more particularly 
 referred to in our next chapter. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WHAT THE PLANTING INDUSTRY HAS DONE FOR CEYLON. 
 
 Population nearly doubled — Revenue quadrupled — Trade expanded 
 sixteen to twenty fold — Employment afforded to natives — An El 
 Dorado for the Indian immigrant — Coffee in the past, as tea in the 
 future, the mainstay of the island — The material progress in the 
 Planting districts. 
 
 What British capital and the planting enterprise have 
 done for Ceylon would require an essay in itself to 
 describe adequately. In 1887, when tie pioneer 
 coffee planters began work, Ceylon was a mere military 
 dependency, with a revenue amounting to A‘372,000, 
 or less than the expenditure, costing the mother- 
 country a good round sum every year, the total 
 population not exceeding one and a half million, but 
 requiring well-nigh 6,000 British and native troops to 
 keep the peace. 
 
 Xow we have the population increased to very nearly 
 the three millions, with only about 1,000 troops, 
 largely paid for out of a revenue averaging £ 1 , 300, 000, 
 and a people far better housed, clothed, and fed, 
 * better educated and cared for in every way. The 
 total import and export trade since planting began 
 has expanded from half a million sterling in value tu 
 
The Planting Industry and Ceylon. 97 
 
 from eight to ten millions sterling, according to the 
 harvests. During the forty-five years referred to some 
 thirty to forty millions sterling have been paid away 
 in wages earned in connection with plantations to 
 Kandyan axemen, Tamil coolies, Sinhalese carpenters, 
 domestic servants, and carters. A great proportion 
 of this has gone to benefit Southern India, the home 
 of the Tamil coolies, of whom close on 200,000 over 
 and above the usual labour supply were saved from 
 starvation in Ceylon during the Madras famine of 
 1877-8. In fact, Ceylon at that time, mainly through 
 its planters, contributed nearly as much aid to her 
 big neighbour as the total of the “ Mansion House 
 Fund ” subscribed in the United Kingdom. 
 
 According to official papers there are sixteen millions 
 of people in Southern India whose annual earnings, 
 taking grain, &c., at its full value, do not average per 
 family of five more than £3 12s., or Is. 6d. per month 
 — equal to J d . per head per day. Incredible as this 
 may appear, it is true, although with better times 
 now perhaps Id. would be a safe rate per caput. No 
 wonder that to such a people the planting country of 
 Ceylon, when all was prosperous, was an El Dorado, 
 for each family could therp earn from 9s. to 12s. per 
 week, and save from half to three-quarters the amount. 
 The immigrant coolie labourers have suffered of late 
 years from the short crops and depression like their 
 masters, but now, with the revival of profitable 
 industry through tea, with medical care provided, 
 cheap food, comfortable huts, and vegetable gardens, 
 few labouring classes in the world are better off. Nor 
 ought we to forget the Tamil Coolie Mission which is 
 doing a good work in educating and Christianizing 
 many amongst the Tamil coolies, mainly supported as 
 it is by the planters. 
 
 8 
 
98 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Our calculation is that from each acre of coffee or 
 tea land kept in full cultivation in Ceylon five natives 
 (men, women, and children) directly or indirectly 
 derive their means of subsistence. It is no wonder 
 then that, with a population increased in the planting 
 era by seventy to eighty per cent., four to five times 
 the quantity of cotton cloth is consumed, and ten 
 times the quantity of food-stuffs imported. As a 
 contrast must be mentioned a calculation made re- 
 specting the British pioneers of planting — the men who 
 worked say from 1837 to 1870 — which showed that only 
 one-tenth of these benefited themselves materially by 
 coming to Ceylon. Ninety per cent, lost their money, 
 health, or even life itself. Latterly the experience is 
 not so sad, especially in respect of health. 
 
 The British governors of Ceylon have repeatedly 
 acknowledged that the planting enterprise is the 
 mainstay of the island. None have more forcibly 
 shown this than Governor Sir William Gregory, who, 
 in answer to the remark that the general revenue of 
 the colony was being burdened with charges for 
 railway extension and harbour works, benefiting chiefly 
 the planting industry, said: “What, I would ask, is 
 the basis of the whole prosperity of Ceylon but the 
 planting enterprise ? What gave me the surplus 
 revenues, by which I was able to make roads and 
 bridges all over the island, causeways at Mannar and 
 Jaffna, to make grants for education and to take 
 measures to educate the masses — in short, to promote 
 the general industry and enterprise of the island 
 from Jaffna to Galle — but the results of the capital 
 and energy engaged in the cultivation of coffee ? It 
 follows, therefore, that, in encouraging the great 
 planting enterprise, I shall be furthering the general 
 
The Planting Industry and Ceylon. 99 
 
 interests of the colony.” Sir William Gregory was 
 able to create a new province in Ceylon, entirely 
 occupied by the poorest and previously most neglected 
 class of natives — namely, the North-Central Province 
 — with roads, bridges, buildings, forest clearings, and 
 irrigation works, solely by the surplus revenues 
 obtained from the planting enterprise. 
 
 The pioneer planter introduces into regions all but 
 unknown to man a host of contractors, who in their 
 turn bring in a train of pedlars, tavern-keepers, and 
 others, eager to profit by the expenditure about to 
 take place. To the contractors succeed the Malabar 
 coolies, the working bees of the colony, who plant 
 and cultivate the coffee, and at a subsequent period 
 reap the crop. Each of these coolies consumes 
 monthly a bushel uf rice, a quantity of salt and other 
 condiments, and occasionally cloth, arrack, &c., the 
 import, transport, and purchase of which find em- 
 ployment for the merchant, the retail dealer, the 
 carrier, and their servants ; and, again, the w T ants of 
 these functionaries raise around them a race of shop- 
 keepers, domestics, and others, who, but for the 
 success of coffee planting, would have been unable to 
 find equally profitable employment. 
 
 Nor are the results bounded by the limits of the 
 colony. The import of articles consumed gives em- 
 ployment to hundreds of seamen and to thousands of 
 tons of shipping that, but for this increased trade, 
 would never have been built. The larger demand for 
 rice stimulates and cheers the toil of the Indian ryot ; 
 the extended use of clothing stimulates the Manchester 
 spinners and weavers and all dependent on them ; 
 and the increased demand for the implements of 
 labour tells on Birmingham and Sheffield, which also 
 
100 
 
 Ceylon in the Jiibilee Year. 
 
 benefit, as regards the tea industry, by the demand 
 for varied machinery, for sheet lead, hoop iron, and a 
 host of other requisites. Who shall say where the 
 links of the chain terminate, affecting as they do in- 
 directly all the great branches of the human family ? 
 
 Then again, when the estate becomes productive, 
 how many of the foregoing agencies are again called 
 into operation. On arrival in Colombo the parchment 
 coffee is usually peeled, winnowed, and sized by 
 powerful steam machinery ; cinchona bark is packed 
 by hydraulic machines, while it is often re-bulked and 
 re-fired, agencies which provide employment for 
 engineers, smiths, stokers, wood-cutters, &c. 
 
 Colombo “ stores ” in their best days (mainly through 
 the drying, picking, and sorting of coffee) gave occu- 
 pation to thousands of the industrious poor natives, 
 and enabled them to support an expenditure for food, 
 clothing, and other necessaries, the supply of which 
 further furnished profitable employment to the shop- 
 keeper, merchant, seaman, &c. This is of course 
 still true to a large extent. In fact, it is impossible 
 to pursue in all their ramifications the benefits 
 derived from the cultivation of the fragrant berry 
 which has become the staple product of Ceylon. 
 Other results, too, there are — moral ones — such as 
 must sooner or later arise from the infusion of Anglo- 
 Saxon energy and spirit into an Eastern people, 
 from the spread of the English language, and, what is 
 of more importance still, the extension of civilization 
 and Christianity.- 
 
 The material change in the planting districts and 
 the Central Province of Ceylon within the last fifty 
 years has been marvellous. Villages and towns have 
 appeared where all was barren waste or thick jungle ; 
 
The Planting Industry and Ceylon. 101 
 
 roads have been cut in all directions ; and prosperous 
 villages have sprung up like magic in “ The Wilderness 
 of the Peak.” Gampola, Badulla, and Matale, which 
 each consisted of a rest-house and a few huts, and 
 Nawalapitiya, which had no existence at all in 
 1837, are now populous towns ; while Panwila, Tel- 
 deniya, Madulkelle, Deltota, Haldummulla, Lunu- 
 gulla, Passera, Wellimadde, Balangoda, Batotte, 
 Balrwana, Yatiantotte, &c., are more than villages. 
 
 Some of the planting grant-in-aid roads, carried 
 through what was dense forest or waste land, are 
 lined for miles with native houses and boutiques, as 
 also with native cultivation in gardens or fields. The 
 change cannot be better described than in the words 
 of the Bev. Spence Hardy, of the Wesleyan Mission, 
 who, after spending twenty-two years in Ce3don, 
 between 1825 and 1847, returned to England, and re- 
 visited the island in 1862. Mr. Hardy was accustomed 
 to travel through nearly all the Sinhalese districts. 
 
 Writing in 1864, he says : — “ Were some Sinhalese 
 appuhami to arise, who had gone down to the grave 
 fifty years ago, and from that time remained uncon- 
 scious, he would not know his own land or people ; 
 and when told where he was he would scarcely believe 
 his eyes, and would have some difficulty with his ears; 
 for though there would be the old language, even that 
 would be mixed with many words that to him would 
 be utterly unintelligible. Looking at his own country- 
 men, he would say that in his time both the head and 
 the feet were uncovered, but that now they cover 
 both ; or perhaps he would think that the youths 
 whom he saw with stockings and shoes and caps were 
 of some other nation. He would be shocked at the 
 heedlessness with which appus and naidas and every- 
 
102 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 body else roll along in their bullock-bandies ; passing 
 even the carriage of the white man whenever they are 
 able by dint of tail-pulling or hard blows ; and when 
 he saw the horsekeepers riding by the side of their 
 masters and sitting on the same seat, there would be 
 some expression of strong indignation. He would 
 listen in vain for the ho-lie-voh of the palanquin- 
 bearers and their loud shouts, and would look in vain 
 for the tomjolms and doolies, and for the old lascoreens 
 with their talipots and formal dress. He would be 
 surprised at seeing so many women walking in the 
 road and laughing and talking together like men, but 
 with no burdens on their heads and nothing in their 
 hands, and their clothes not clean enough for them to 
 be going to the temple. He would perhaps complain 
 of the hard road, as we have heard a native gentle- 
 man from Kalpitiya do, and say that soft sand was 
 much better. He would wonder where all the tiles 
 come from for so many houses, and would think that 
 the high-caste families must have multiplied amaz- 
 ingly for them to require so many stately mansions ; 
 and the porticoes, and the round white pillars, and 
 the trees growing in the compound, bearing nothing 
 but long thin thorns, or with pale yellow leaves 
 instead of green ones, would be objects of great 
 attraction. He would fancy that the Moormen must 
 have increased at a great rate, as he would take the 
 tall chimneys of the coffee stores to be the minarets 
 of mosques, until he saw the smoke proceeding from 
 them, and then he would be puzzled to know what 
 they could be. In the bazaar he would stare at the 
 policemen and the potatoes and the loaves of bread, 
 and a hundred other things that no bazaar ever saw 
 in his day. And the talk about planters and bar- 
 
The Planting Industry and Ceylon. 103 
 
 bacues, coolie immigration, and the overland and 
 penny postage, and bishops and agents of Govern- 
 ment, and the legislative council and banks, news- 
 papers and mail-coaches, would confuse him by the 
 strangeness of the terms. He would listen incredu- 
 lously when told that there is no rajakariya, or forced 
 labour, and no fish tax ; and that there are no slaves, 
 and that you can cut down a cinnamon tree in your 
 own garden without having to pay a heavy fine. 
 Remembering that when Governor North made the 
 tour of the island, he was accompanied by 160 
 palanquin-bearers, 400 coolies, 2 elephants, and 50 
 lascoreens, and that when the adigar iEhaslapola 
 visited Colombo he had with him a retinue of a 
 thousand retainers, and several elephants, he would 
 think it impossible that the governor could go on a 
 tour of inspection, or a judge on circuit, without 
 white olas lining the roadside, and triumphal arches, 
 and javelin men, and tomtoms, and a vast array 
 of attendants. He would ask, perhaps, what king 
 now reigns in Kandy, and whether he had mutilated 
 any more of the subjects of Britain. From these 
 supposed surprises, we may learn something of the 
 changes that have taken place in the island, but we 
 cannot tell a tithe of the whole.” 
 
 If this was true when the veteran missionary wrote 
 in 1862, the picture might well be heightened and 
 intensified by the experiences of 1887, for the progress 
 in the second half of our good Queen’s reign among 
 the people of Ceylon is not less remarkable than it 
 was between 1837 and 1862. 
 
 As to the comparative freedom from poverty and 
 suffering which distinguishes the lower classes, the 
 vast masses of the natives of Ceylon, it must be 
 
104 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year, 
 
 remembered that they live as a rule in the most 
 genial of climates, where suffering from cold is im- 
 possible, and the pangs of hunger are almost unknown, 
 little more than a few plantains a day being sufficient 
 to support life in idleness, if so chosen. Sir Edward 
 
 COFFEE. 
 
 a. The Arabian, or East African ; b. The Liberian, or West African; with Coolie 
 attendant employed to shoot squirrels, rats, or hares on plantation. 
 
 Creasy, in his “ History of England,” says : “ I have 
 seen more human misery in a single winter’s day in 
 London than I have seen during my nine years’ stay 
 in Ceylon.” 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRESENT PROSPECTS FOR CAPITALISTS IN CEYLON. 
 
 •Ceylon still a good field for investment — Its freedom from atmos- 
 pheric disturbances — Shipping conveniences at the new harbour 
 of Colombo — Low freights — Cheap and unrivalled means of 
 transport — Large tracts available for Tea and other tropical 
 culture — Openings for young men with capital — High position 
 taken by the Ceylon planter — Facilities for personal inspection 
 of investments. 
 
 What we have said in the previous chapter will show 
 the value of the planting enterprise to the settled 
 inhabitants and to the government of Ceylon. We 
 have also pointed out the immense advantages gained 
 in commerce and profits by the mother-country. Let 
 us endeavour to show the British Capitalist, who, 
 during the period of deficient coffee crops, grievously 
 lost confidence in Ceylon, how many reasons there 
 are for him to forbear condemnation, and to look 
 still on this colony as one of the best of British 
 dependencies for the judicious investment of capital. 
 It may be unnecessary now, in 1887, to do so, because 
 tea has already begun to receive a liberal measure of 
 support ; but still in many home circles Ceylon is 
 decried. 
 
 The situation of Ceylon in the Eastern World is 
 
106 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 peculiarly favoured in certain respects. The atmos- 
 pheric disturbances which periodically agitate the 
 Bay of Bengal, and carry, in hurricanes and cyclones, 
 destruction to the shipping in the exposed Madras 
 roadstead and the devoted Hooghly, seldom or never 
 approach the north-eastern shores of this island. If 
 Java and the rest of the Eastern Archipelago boast 
 of a far richer soil than is to be found in Ceylon, it is 
 owing to the volcanic agency which makes itself known 
 at frequent intervals by eruptions and earthquakes, 
 the utmost verge of whose waves just touches the 
 eastern coast of the island at Batticaloa and Trin- 
 comalee in scarcely perceptible undulations. On the 
 west, again, Ceylon is equally beyond the region of the 
 hurricanes which, extending from the Mozambique 
 Channel, visit so often and so disastrously the coasts 
 of Madagascar, Mauritius, and Zanzibar. The wind 
 and rain-storms which usher in periodically the 
 south-west and north-east monsoons, sometimes in- 
 flict slight damage on the coffee and rice crops, hut 
 there is no comparison between the risks attaching 
 to cultivation in Ceylon and those experienced by 
 planters in Java and Mauritius. 
 
 The same absence of risk holds good with reference 
 to the formerly open roadstead of Colombo, and the 
 island shipping trade, which has for years been nearly 
 all centred there. 
 
 Except for an occasional gale from the south-west, 
 there was no special danger to he guarded against, 
 and the risks to vessels lying at Colombo were much 
 less than to those at Calcutta, Madras, or Bombay. 
 But the delay in the transaction of shipping business, 
 owing to the prevalence of a heavy surf and a stiff 
 breeze during monsoon months, was more than suffi- 
 
Present Prospects for Capitalists in Ceylon. 107 
 
 cient to justify tlie very substantial breakwater and 
 allied harbour works which, under the direction of Sir 
 John Coode and his representative, Mr. Kyle, have 
 just been successfully completed at Colombo. The 
 capital of Ceylon is now the great central mail and 
 commercial steamer port of the East. All the large 
 steamers of the P. and 0. Company, the British 
 India, Star, Ducal, and most of the Messageries, 
 Nord-Deutscher Lloyds, Austro-Hungarian Lloyds, 
 Bubattino, the Clan, Glen, City, Ocean, Anchor, 
 Holts, and other lines for Europe, India, China, the 
 Straits, and Australia, call at Colombo regularly. 
 One consequence of this, valuable to the merchant 
 and planter, is the regular and cheap freight offered 
 to the world’s markets. Freights now do not average 
 one-half of the rates prevalent some years ago. 
 
 There is no tropical land— indeed there are few 
 countries anywhere — so thoroughly served by rail- 
 ways and roads, canals and navigable streams, as are 
 the principal districts of Ceylon at the present day. 
 The means of cheap transport between the interior 
 and the coast (a few remote districts only excepted) 
 are unequalled in the tropics. Indian tea-planters 
 confess that their Ceylon brethren have a great 
 advantage over them in this respect, and still more 
 so in the abundant supply of good, steady, cheap 
 labour, trained by long experience to plantation work. 
 A more forcing climate, too, than that of Ceylon does 
 not exist under the sun ; while now that the country 
 is fully opened, the risks to health are infinitesimal 
 compared with those of pioneers in new countries or 
 of the tea-planters in the Terai of India. Whatever 
 may be said of the inimical effects of bad seasons on 
 coffee — too much rain at blossoming time — there can 
 
108 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 be no doubt of the advantage of abundance of moisture 
 and heat for tea, and it is in respect of the fitness 
 of large tracts of undeveloped country for tea pro- 
 duction that we would especially ask for the attention 
 of British capitalists. 
 
 Indian tea-planters, who have come to see how tea 
 is growing in Ceylon, confess that we are bound to 
 beat Northern India. Tea, of as good quality as that 
 from Assam, can be placed on board ship at Colombo 
 for a good deal less per pound than Indian tea on 
 board ship at Calcutta. This has been proved, 
 although Ceylon planters have not long begun the 
 systematic cultivation and preparation of tea. But 
 tea (although the principal) is only one among a list 
 of valuable tropical products which Ceylon is well 
 fitted to grow. 
 
 As a body, Ceylon planters are among the most in- 
 telligent, gentlemanly, and hospitable of any colonists 
 in British dependencies. The rough work of pioneer- 
 ing in the early days before there were district roads, 
 villages, supplies, doctors, or other comforts of civili- 
 zation, was chiefly done by hard-headed Scots : men 
 bivouacked in the trackless jungle with the scantiest 
 accommodation under tropical rains lasting for weeks 
 together, with rivers swollen to flood-level and im- 
 passable, while food supplies often ran short, as none 
 could be got across the wide torrents. All these and 
 many other similar experiences are of the past in the 
 settled planting districts of Ceylon, although there 
 are outlying parts where pioneers can still rough it to 
 their hearts’ content. In the hill-country the pioneers 
 about twenty years ago began to be succeeded by 
 quite a different class of men. Younger sons with 
 a capital, present or prospective, of a few thousand 
 
Present Prospects for Capitalists in Ceylon. 109 1 
 
 pounds, educated at public schools, and many of them 
 University men, found an opening in life on Ceylon 
 plantations far more congenial than that of the 
 Australian bush or the backwoods of Canada. Of 
 course some of these did not succeed as planters, as 
 they probably would not succeed at anything in the 
 colonies; but for well-inclined young men of the right 
 stamp, not afraid of hard work, Ceylon still presents 
 an opening as planters of tea, cinchona, cacao, &c., 
 provided the indispensable capital is available. 
 
 The usual mode, and the safe one, is to send the 
 young man fresh from home, through the intro- 
 duction of some London or Colombo firm, to study 
 his business as a planter, and to learn the colloquial 
 Tamil spoken by the coolies, under an experienced 
 planter for two or three years. In prosperous times 
 such young assistants were taught and boarded free 
 in return for their help, and began to earn a salary 
 after a year or so. Now, a fee for board and teaching 
 (£50, or at most £100 for a year) may be needful. 
 Nowhere in the whole wide world can young men 
 learn so thoroughly the mysteries of coffee, tea, 
 cinchona planting, &c., or be so well equipped as 
 tropical agriculturists as in Ceylon. Ceylon planters 
 and machinists have taught the rest of the tropics 
 how to grow and prepare coffee properly ; more is 
 known in it about the mysteries of cinchona bark 
 culture than anywhere else ; the Ceylon tea-planter is 
 likely, ere long, to beat both India and China in the 
 race for fine teas. Ceylon cacao beans have already 
 sold highest in the London market, just as she sends 
 thither the finest cinnamon, coconut-oil, coir, &c. 
 It may truly be said that the Press of Ceylon has 
 greatly aided the planters in acquiring this pre- 
 
110 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 eminence. The Ceylon Observer lias sent special 
 correspondents to report on the tea regions of Assam 
 and Darjeeling, on the cinchona gardens of the Nil- 
 geries, and of Java ; to West Africa to learn all about 
 Liberian coffee, and to South and Central America to 
 ascertain the progress of coffee ; while its manuals on 
 coffee, tea, cinchona, cacao, india-rubber, coconut and 
 areca palms, cardamoms and cinnamon planting, on 
 gold and gems, are known throughout the tropics. 
 Of late years, since 1881, a monthly periodical, The 
 Tropical Agriculturist, published at the same office, 
 has been effectually bringing together all the in- 
 formation and experience available in reference to 
 everything that concerns agriculture in tropical and 
 sub-tropical regions. This is merely mentioned, en 
 passant, in part explanation of the high position 
 taken by the Ceylon-trained planter, wherever he 
 goes. 
 
 After the depression of 1879 many Ceylon planta- 
 tion managers and assistant superintendents had to 
 seek their fortunes elsewhere ; and, indeed, the 
 planting districts of Southern India may be said 
 to be offshoot settlements from Ceylon, while in Fiji, 
 Northern Australia, the Straits Settlements, Burrnah, 
 and North Borneo, there are Ceylon planters now 
 pioneering and building up a planting enterprise. 
 
 But with the success of tea, many of our wandering 
 colonists have been returning, and there is still ample 
 scope for the capitalist and for the young man who 
 can, after he has learned planting, command capital 
 in Ceylon. There is a wide extent of forest land 
 well suited for tea, and, when sold by Government, it 
 may be had for £'2 or £3, sometimes for £1 an acre, 
 crown title freehold. Owing to the depression, pro- 
 
Present Prospects for Capitalists in Ceylon. Ill 
 
 perty in plantations already formed fell greatly in 
 value, and, even now, old coffee estates may be bought 
 cheaply, very suitable for tea ; but discrimination 
 should certainly be exercised. One beneficial result 
 of the scarcity of capital has been to secure the 
 utmost economy in doing work, and land is now 
 opened and cultivated for far less than was the case 
 some years ago. 
 
 The convenience afforded by quick passages in large 
 steamers via the Suez Canal, and by railways and 
 roads in Ceylon, is such that capitalists can now 
 inspect their property in Ceylon with as much ease 
 and pleasure as they would have in a two months’ 
 trip to the Highlands of Scotland or to the South of 
 Europe ; and , it is becoming quite a common thing 
 for the retired proprietor or business man to run out 
 to Ceylon for the winter months. How different 
 the case was twenty years ago ! We remember a 
 Glasgow capitalist, owning a property worth £100,000 
 in Ceylon, coming out to see it, and after getting 
 to Nuwara Eliya, within forty miles of the property, 
 refusing to go further, so bad were the roads ; and 
 he, a man of sixty-eight or seventy, returned home 
 without ever having seen the plantation, and ulti- 
 mately sold his interests to a Limited Company at 
 a considerable profit ! 
 
 The carriage of produce from the estates to Colombo, 
 from 100 to 200 miles, used often to take as much time 
 and cost as much as the freight 15,000 miles round 
 the Cape. From the Uva districts to Colombo car- 
 riage still costs in time and money more than freight 
 to London via the Canal ; but, as a whole, Ceylon is 
 magnificently roaded, with an ample supply of cheap 
 labour, and a particularly favourable climate. 
 
reformed. Codes are being framed, and antiquated 
 laws have either been, or are likely soon to be, super- 
 seded. 
 
 112 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Finally, let the capitalist know that obnoxious laics 
 connected with the Eoman-Dutch system are to be 
 
 LOW-COUNTRY SINHALESE MAN AND WOMAN. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 ATTRACTIONS FOR THE TRAVELLER AND VISITOR. 
 
 The voyage a pleasure trip — Historical monuments, vegetation, Arc. — 
 Variety of climate — Colombo, the capital — Kandy, the Highland 
 capital — Nuwara Eliya, the sanitarium — The Horton Plains — 
 Adam’s Peak — Uva and its long-delayed railway — Ancient cities 
 of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa — Occasional Pearl fisheries — 
 Probable expense of a visit to Ceylon — The alleged inconveniences 
 of tropical life. 
 
 To the traveller and visitor Ceylon offers more attrac- 
 tions even than to the capitalist and would-be planter. 
 It is a johe with disappointed men that the stranger 
 can see on the hills of Ceylon the graves of more 
 British sovereigns than of Kandyan kings ! But the 
 latter are not wanting, and no dependency of Britain 
 — India not excepted — presents more attractions than 
 Ceylon to the intelligent traveller, to the botanist, the 
 antiquarian or the man of science, the orientalist, or 
 even to the politician and the sociologist. Visitors 
 from America and North India have said that Ceylon, 
 for natural beauty, historical and social interest, is 
 the “ show-place of the universe,” and that, as such, 
 it might well, in these days of travelling sight-seers, be 
 leased by either a Barnum or Cook ! The voyage of 
 twenty-four to twenty-eight days from London to 
 Colombo (of eighteen to twenty-one from Brindisi or 
 
 9 
 
114 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Marseilles) on a first-class steamer of any of half a 
 dozen lines competing at from £40 to £65 for the 
 single, or less than double for the return passage, is, 
 at the proper season of the year — September to March 
 or April — a pleasure trip of the most enjoyable and 
 instructive kind. The calling by some steamers at 
 Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Suez, and Aden affords 
 instruction and pleasure of a high order ; while the 
 beauty of Ceylon vegetation and scenery, the interest 
 attaching to her people, towns, and ancient cities and 
 monuments, amply reward even the worst sea- 
 traveller for the unpleasantness of a voyage. Tennent 
 well says that Ceylon, from whatever direction it may 
 be approached, unfolds a scene of loveliness and 
 grandeur unsurpassed, if it be rivalled, by any land 
 in the universe. Its names — “ Lanka, the resplend- 
 ent,” of the Brahmins ; the “ pearl-drop on the brow 
 of Ind,” of the Buddhists; “the island of jewels” of 
 the Chinese ; “ the land of the hyacinth and ruby ” of 
 the Greeks ; and “ the home of Adam and Eve after 
 losing Paradise,” according to the Mohammedans — 
 as Arabi and his fellow exiles said soon after their 
 arrival — will show the high esteem in which it has 
 been held both in the East and the West. 
 
 As for its history, as already mentioned, no region 
 between Chaldea and China can tell so much of its 
 past deeds as Ceylon, while the ruins of its ancient 
 capitals in palaces, temples, dagobas, and tanks are 
 only second to those of Egypt. These ruins are all 
 now rendered accessible in a few days’ trip by railway 
 and carriage from Colombo, without risk or incon- 
 venience, and at very little expense to the traveller.* 
 
 * See Burrows’ “ Guide to the Buried Cities of Ceylon,” published 
 by A. M. and J. Ferguson. 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 115 
 
 As to vegetation and natural history generally, 
 Ceylon is one huge tropical garden, presenting objects 
 of intense interest to the botanist and zoologist, from 
 dhe coral reef and pearl oyster banks around its 
 •coasts, and the palms and creepers bending down to 
 meet “ the leaguelong rollers thundering on its 
 shores,” to the grassy pathways running up to hills 
 ■clothed to their summit with the most varied forest 
 drees, or to the plateaux of Nuwara Eliya and the 
 surrounding plains — “the Elysium of Ceylon” — 
 where, at an elevation of over 6,000 feet, in grass, 
 and flowers, and trees, a bit of 
 
 “ Europe amid Asia smiles.” 
 
 There, in snug cottages, wood fires and blankets are 
 often required to keep away the cold. In one day the 
 visitor can pass from Colombo with its average tem- 
 perature of 81° to the sanatarium, with its wintry 
 comforts, and temperature falling to freezing-point 
 occasionally, but averaging 57°. During March, 
 April, and May — “ the season” at the sanatarium — 
 the weather is very equable, comparatively dry, and 
 delightful. September and part of August and 
 October, are very pleasant, and often January and 
 February, as well as December sometimes, though 
 thin ice on the water, and hoar frost on the herbage, 
 are then not uncommon. The very wet months are 
 June, July, and December. Sir Samuel Baker lived 
 eight years continuously at Nuwara Eliya, and speaks 
 very highly of its healthfulness.* Indian civilians 
 and other residents declare that Nuwara Eliya is 
 
 * See Sir Samuel Baker’s “ Eight Years ” and “Rifle and Hound 
 in Ceylon.” 
 
116 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 more pleasantly accessible to them than most of their 
 own sanitaria, the short sea-voyage from Calcutta or 
 Bombay being an additional benefit to many who 
 come from the hot dry plains of Central India. For 
 invalids, the marine boarding-house at Mount 
 Lavinia, as well as the Colombo marine hotels, are- 
 very safe and suitable places of resort. 
 
 The perfection of climate, in an average of 65° all 
 the year round, is found at 5,000 feet, among the 
 bungalows of Dimbula, Dikoya, Maskeliya, or of 
 Uva, with its dryer and at times more pleasant 
 climate. It is no wonder then that parents and 
 others, with their sons, daughters, or other relatives 
 settled in Ceylon, should have begun to visit it in 
 order to escape the trying winter and spring months 
 in England. Not a few who used to winter in Egypt 
 find it nearly as convenient and more interesting to 
 come on to Ceylon. The late Mr. C. A. Cameron and 
 his wife, Mrs. Julia Cameron (the well-known artist 
 and friend of Tennyson), even when in advanced 
 years (approaching to or over fourscore), made the 
 voyage across several times to visit and stay for con- 
 siderable periods with their sons settled in the island. 
 Of late years winter visitors from Europe and hot- 
 weather refugees from India have been numerous, 
 apart from “ globe-trotters ” calling in. 
 
 Colombo, the capital, a city of close on 120,000 
 inhabitants, with its fine artificial harbour (projected 
 by Sir Hercules Robinson), has much to interest the 
 visitor in its beautiful drives over the smoothest of 
 roads through the “ Cinnamon Gardens ; ” its lake, 
 and the Kelani river, with Sir Edward Barnes’s 
 bridge of boats ; its public museum, erected by Sir 
 William Gregory, and containing objects of interest 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 117 
 
 from all parts of the island ; the old Dutch church, 
 containing the tombs and monuments of Dutch 
 governors ; the bungalows and gardens of the Euro- 
 j>eans ; still more unique are the crowded native parts 
 of the town, teeming with every variety of oriental race 
 .and costume — the effeminate light brown Sinhalese, 
 the men as well as women wearing their hair tied 
 behind in knots (the former patronizing combs, the 
 latter elaborate hairpins), the darker and more manly 
 Tamils, Hindus of every caste and dress, Moormen 
 or Arab descendants, Afghan traders, Malay police- 
 men, a few Parsees and Chinese, Kaffir descendants,* 
 besides the Eurasians of Dutch, or Portuguese, or 
 English and native descent. 
 
 Colombo has two first-class, besides minor hotels, 
 and the stranger is soon surrounded by native pedlars, 
 •especially jewellers with their supply of gems, from 
 rare cat’s-eyes, rubies, sapphires, and pearls, to first- 
 class Birmingham imitations. 
 
 The scene to the new-comer is bewilderingly inte- 
 resting, visions of the “ Arabian Nights ” are conjured 
 up, for, as Miss Jewsbury sang after her visit some 
 forty years ago : — 
 
 “ Ceylon ! Ceylon ! ’tis nought to me 
 
 How thou wert known or named of old, 
 
 As Ophir, or Taprobane, 
 
 By Hebrew king, or Grecian bold : — 
 
 To me thy spicy- wooded vales, 
 
 Thy dusky sons, and jewels bright, 
 
 But image forth the far-famed tales — 
 
 But seem a new Arabian night. 
 
 * Kaffirs first arrived in Ceylon as a company of soldiers sent from 
 Goa to help the Portuguese against the Sinhalese in 1636-40. 
 
118 
 
 Ceylon in the Juhilec Year. 
 
 And when engirdled figures crave 
 Heed to thy bosom’s glittering store — 
 
 I see Aladdin in his cave ; 
 
 I follow Sinbad on the shore.” 
 
 Although the mean temperature of Colombo is 
 nearly as high as that of any station in the world as 
 yet recorded, yet the climate is one of the healthiest 
 and safest for Europeans, because of the slight range 
 between night and day, and between the so-called 
 “ seasons,” of which, however, nothing is known 
 there, it being one perpetual summer varied only by 
 the heavy rains of the monsoon months, May, June, 
 October, and November. But in the wettest months 
 it rarely happens that it rains continuously even for 
 two whole days and nights ; as a rule, it clears up for 
 some hours each day. 
 
 Waterworks have been constructed, at a heavy cost, 
 to convey water from mountain streams, distant 
 thirty miles, to serve Colombo, some parts of which 
 are badly off for a good supply. When the works 
 and distribution over the city are completed — the city 
 reservoir, costing R 600,000, has been & fiasco, cracking 
 again and again in 1886-7, through a bad founda- 
 tion — and when the drainage is thus improved, 
 Colombo will more than ever be entitled to its repu- 
 tation of being one of the healthiest (as well as most 
 beautiful) cities in the tropics, or indeed in the world. 
 A convenient system of tramways is also being pro- 
 jected, while at present, besides the railway through 
 one side of the town, there are numerous conveyances 
 of different descriptions for hire, and many “jini- 
 rickshaws ” (man-power carriages), peculiar to Japan 
 and the Far East.* 
 
 * “ Jinirickshaws,” which have become very popular in Ceylon 
 towns, in Colombo, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya especially, were first 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 119 
 
 There are several places of interest in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Colombo that are well worth a visit. 
 
 A seaside railway line runs for twenty-seven miles 
 as far as Kalutara (the Richmond of Ceylon), the 
 border inland being one continuous avenue of coconut 
 trees. The enjoyment of the scene to a lover of 
 natural beauty is indescribable : the cool shade of the 
 palm groves, the fresh verdure of the grass, the 
 bright tints of the flowering trees, with occasional 
 glimpses through openings in the dense wood of the 
 mountains of the interior, the purple zone of hills 
 above which the sacred mountain of Adam’s Peak is 
 sometimes seen, all combine to form a landscape 
 which in novelty and beauty is unsurpassed : 
 
 “ So fair a scene, so green a sod, 
 
 Our English fairies never trod.” 
 
 As Miss Martineau wrote, fifty years ago, in her 
 political romance, “Cinnamon and Pearls” — “The 
 Blue Lake of Colombo, whether gleaming in the sun- 
 rise or darkening in the storms of the monsoon, never 
 loses its charm. The mountain range in the distance 
 is an object for the eye to rest lovingly upon, whether 
 clearly outlined against the glowing sky, or dressed 
 in soft clouds, from which Adam’s Peak alone stands 
 aloft, like a dark island in the waters above the 
 firmament.” 
 
 The mildness of the climate of Colombo, the 
 murmur of cricket and insect life at night, and the bril- 
 liancy of the moonlight, strike the stranger, although 
 the closeness of the atmosphere then is sometimes 
 
 introduced in 1884, on the suggestion of the author, after a visit to 
 China and Japan, where he thought the “ rickshaws ” peculiarly 
 fitted for Colombo roads. 
 
120 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 felt to be oppressive, and the attention of mosquitoes 
 at certain seasons is far from pleasant. But the low 
 country can easily be exchanged for the hills. In 
 four hours one passes from Colombo by a splendid 
 
 railway running through interesting country, sur- 
 mounting an incline which is one of the greatest rail- 
 way ascents in the (at least, tropical) world, 1,600 
 feet above sea-level, to the last capital of the native 
 
 KANDY LAKE. 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 121 
 
 kings of the island — Kandy — a town of 22,000 people. 
 Kandy is uniquely beautiful : the most charming 
 little town in the world, travellers usually describe it. 
 It is situated in a valley surrounded by hills, and 
 boasts an artificial lake, Buddhist and Hindu temples, 
 including the Maligawa, the most sacred Buddhist 
 temple in the world ; this contains the so-called relic of 
 Buddha’s tooth, to which the kings and priests of Bur- 
 mah, Siam, and Cambodia send occasional offerings, 
 and which is had in reverence in portions of India, 
 Thibet, and even China and Japan. “ The Pavilion,” 
 one of the three official residences of the governor in 
 the island, with its gardens and grounds, surmounted 
 by the public “ Lady Horton’s Walk ” on a hill-range 
 overlooking the Dumbara valley, will attract atten- 
 tion. The view of the town from any of the hill- 
 sides surrounding it is surpassingly interesting.* 
 
 The Botanical gardens at Peradeniya, three miles 
 from Kandy, “beautiful for situation exceedingly,” 
 as well as full of interest in the vegetation, are well 
 worth a visit.! 
 
 The group of palms at the entrance has always 
 been an object of admiration to strangers, and it 
 shows how well adapted Ceylon is to be the home 
 of this family. We reprint an engraving of this 
 group, and append here the — 
 
 NAMES OF PALMS, &c., IN GROUP. 
 
 (See Engraving, page 122.) 
 
 1. Corypha umbraculifera (Talipot) — highest plant, in the centre. 
 
 2. Phytelephas macrocarpa (Ivory-nut Palm) — in front of foregoing, 
 
 and behind native servant. 
 
 * See Burrows’ “Guide to Kandy, &c.,” published by A. M. and 
 J. Ferguson. 
 
 t An interesting little guide-book and list of plants, &c.,kave been 
 prepared by the director, Dr. Trimer, and are available. 
 
122 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 123 
 
 3. Cycas, circiaalis (called erroneously “ Sago Palm ”) — immediately 
 
 to the left of preceding, in front. 
 
 4. Areca Catechu— directly behind the Cycas, and with its head of 
 
 leaves amongst those of the Talipot. 
 
 5. Yucca gloriosa — a cluster of shoots of this in front ; to the left of 
 
 the Cycas. 
 
 6. Cocos nucifera (Cocoa-nut) — immediately behind the Yucca. 
 
 7. Oncosperma fasciculata (“ Kattoo Kittool”) — behind, between the 
 
 Talipot and Cocoa-nut. 
 
 8. Acrocomia sclerocarpa — -behind the Yucca, and with its trunk a 
 
 little to the left of that of the Cocoa-nut. 
 
 9. Livistona sp. — at the extreme left of the group. 
 
 10. Livistona Chinensis (“ Mauritius Palm ”) — behind and directly to 
 
 the right of the Talipot. 
 
 11. Livistona sp. — immediately to the right of the coolie, in front. 
 
 12. Oreodoxa regia (Cabbage Palm)— directly behind No. 11 ; trunk 
 
 large, smooth, bulged above the middle. 
 
 13. Sabal Palmetto (“Palmetto” of the Southern States of America) 
 
 — to the right of the group, in front. 
 
 14. Eloesis Guineensis (“Palm Oil Palm ’’ of Africa) — with numerous 
 
 long spreading leaves ; behind and overtopping No. 13, and to 
 the extreme right of the group. 
 
 Between Colombo and Ivandy extensive paddy or 
 rice cultivation can be seen in tlie low country ; while 
 higher up the Kandyans’ terraced rice-fields and 
 fields of tea, w r ith some Liberian coffee and chocolate 
 trees, may be noted. 
 
 From Kandy a visit to the Dumbara valley, five or 
 six miles by road, or to Matale, twenty miles by rail- 
 way, will show some of the finest cacao (chocolate) 
 plantations ; while southward, the railway journey to 
 Gampola and Nawalapitiya, for seventeen miles, and 
 then on for forty-two miles, rising by successive 
 inclines nearly 4,000 feet, to Nanu-oya, near Nuwara 
 Eliya, will carry the visitor through long stretches of 
 tea and cinchona, with some coffee, plantations, 
 amidst enchanting mountain scenery, with rivers, 
 forests, waterfalls, and gorges that nothing can 
 
124 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year 
 
 NUWARA ELI YA, THE MOUNTAIN SANATAlilOM, 
 
 (0200 feet above sea-level, ami within four miles of Naiiu-oya luilway teimiiius), 
 prom a Photograph by Messrs. IT. L. II. Skeen <£ Co., of Colombo. 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 125 
 
 surpass. Altogether, the railway ride from Colombo 
 to Nanu-oya for 130 miles, rising from sea-level to 
 5,300 feet (over one mile up in the air), is one of the 
 most varied and interesting in the world.* The 
 
 FALLS OF RAMBODA. 
 
 journey is made by a first-class broad-gauge railway, 
 
 * See “ Guide to Ceylon Railways and Railway Extensions, with 
 Notice of the Sanitarium,” compiled and published by A. M. and J. 
 Ferguson. 
 
126 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 with a refreshment car attached, for two-thirds of the 
 way, in seven to eight hours, without any change of 
 train or carriage. 
 
 Nanu-oya is only about four miles from Nuwara 
 Eliya, the sanatarium, by a fine road, on which 
 coaches or other conveyances run for the convenience 
 of railway travellers. There is good hotel and board- 
 ing-house accommodation ; the “ Gregory Lake,” due 
 to Sir William Gregory, is a fine feature ; plantations 
 of tea and cinchona, and the finely situated and ad- 
 mirably kept Hakgalla experimental gardens, are in 
 the neighbourhood. The summit of the highest 
 mountain in Ceylon, Pidurutalagala, 8,296 feet, or 
 2,000 feet above the Plains, can be easily attained in 
 a walk before breakfast ; while a trip to the top of 
 ■the far more interesting Adam’s Peak (sacred alike to 
 Buddhists, Hindus, Mohammedans, and even Boman 
 Catholics) can be readily arranged, the railway and a 
 good road running for forty miles to a point on the 
 mountain breast about 3,000 feet from the summit, 
 which is 7,353 feet high. The climb up Adam’s Peak 
 is a stiff one, particularly the last portion, where 
 steps are cut out, and even chains fixed in the rock, 
 to prevent the climber from slipping or being blown 
 down the side of the precipice in stormy seasons. The 
 view from the top in clear weather is ample reward 
 for all trouble, and the projection of the shadow 
 across the low country to the sea as the sun rises is 
 a sight, once seen, never to be forgotten.* 
 
 From Nuwara Eliya a day’s ride suffices to reach 
 the Horton Plains, 1.000 feet higher ; and there, as 
 well as between these two points, is a large extent of 
 
 * See Appendix X. for paper on “The Shadow of the Peak,” by 
 Hon. Ralph Abercromby. 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 127 
 
 upland in a delightful climate, well suited for compara- 
 tive settlement by Europeans. At any rate their chil- 
 dren could be kept here in rude health until twelve to 
 fourteen years of age ; and the soil is well fitted for 
 small farms and vegetable gardens, as well as for 
 growing cinchona and the finer qualities of tea. As 
 a sanatarium for British troops, this site is unequalled, 
 both for climate and accessibility. 
 
 Already the surrounding districts, served by road 
 and railway, and having villages, stores, churches, 
 clergymen, and doctors, are beginning to be regarded 
 as the comparatively permanent homes of many of 
 the planters. Nuwara Eliya and the Horton Plains 
 border on the Uva Principality, with its comparatively 
 dry upland climate, where so deliciously pleasant and 
 health-giving is the air that to breathe it has been 
 compared to a draught of the pure juice of the grape. 
 A waterfall in Eastern Haputale, one of the divisions 
 of Uva, is the highest in Ceylon (page 131), while the 
 Ella Pass and the view of the low country and sea coast 
 from the hill range is very striking.* As we write, the 
 
 * Perhaps there is not a scene in the world which combines 
 sublimity and beauty in a more extraordinary degree than that which 
 is presented at the Pass of Ella, where, through an opening in the 
 chajn of mountains, the road from Badulla descends rapidly to the 
 lowlands, over which it is carried for upwards of seventy miles, to 
 Hambantotte, on the south coast of the island. The ride to Ella 
 passes for ten or twelve miles along the base of hills thickly wooded, 
 except in those spots where the forest has been cleared for planting 
 coffee. The view is therefore obstructed, and at one point appears to 
 terminate in an impassable glen ; but on reaching this the traveller is 
 startled on discovering a ravine through which a torrent has forced its 
 way, disclosing a passage to the plains below, over which, for more 
 than sixty miles, the prospect extends, unbroken by a single eminence, 
 till, far in the distance, the eye discerns a line of light, which marks 
 where the sunbeams are flashing on the waters of the Indian Ocean. 
 — Emerson Tennent. 
 
128 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 whole colony is eagerly awaiting the sanction of the- 
 Secretary of State to another section of Railway 
 extension from Nanu-oya for 25j miles to Haputale. 
 This line will rise to nearly 6,300 feet, summit level, 
 and then descend to 4,400 feet near the Haputale Pass. 
 The journey over the dividing range and the burst into 
 the grand Uva amphitheatre of mountain range, em- 
 bracingrolling pastures (grassy plains), rich, cultivated 
 valleys with sparkling streams and glistening irriga- 
 tion channels, will be full of an interest of its own to 
 travellers. The Uva province too, perhaps more than 
 any other in Ceylon, will offer attractions and oppor- 
 tunities to the planting settler and capitalist for 
 investment, its soil and climate being generally con- 
 sidered the best in the island for the staple products 
 of the colonist as well as for the fruits and vegetables- 
 cultivated by the natives. In the Park country 
 division of the province, there is also rich pasturage 
 for feeding cattle, while opportunities for sport, from 
 snipe to elephants, are presented on all sides. As 
 already stated, civil and military officers, merchants- 
 and others, from India, are now beginning to regard 
 Cej'lon, with its seaside boarding-establishments, and 
 its comfortable accommodation at Nuwara Eliya 
 sanatarium, as more desirable than Indian hill- 
 stations during the hot season. 
 
 From Kandy the trip to the ancient capitals of 
 Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, from ninety to sixty 
 miles to the north and east, can easily be arranged 
 for the visitor ; and from amid the ruins of Anuradha- 
 pura (2,000 years old) one can despatch a telegram to 
 friends at home in England, or post a budget of news.* 
 
 * With the permission of Mr. Biehard Bentley, the publisher, extracts 
 from Major Forbes’s “Eleven Years in Ceylon” (published in 1840), 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 129 
 
 For sportsmen there is elephant shooting in the far 
 outh in the Hambantota district, elk hunting round 
 
 Nuwara Eliya, or wild buffalo, bear, boar, or wild 
 
 bearing on the ruins of Anuradhapura and the Buddhist religion, are 
 given as Appendix II., but for the best modern description we refer to 
 “ The Buried Cities of Ceylon,” by Mr. Burrows, C.C.S., published by 
 A. M. & J. Ferguson, Colombo. 
 
 10 
 
 •vuoova 
 
130 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 hog, and cheetah hunting in the forests of the north 
 and east.* 
 
 In 1888-9, and probably in further successive years, 
 the opportunity may be afforded of being present at a 
 pearl-oyster fishery off the north-west coast, for which 
 Ceylon has been famous from time immemorial. 
 The primitive mode of diving for and gathering the 
 oysters by a particular caste of native divers, their 
 sale by Government auction, and the business in 
 pearls with thousands of dealers and their followers, 
 who collect from all parts of India in the hope of a 
 good fishery taking place, — all this is full of novelty, t 
 
 The cost of living in Ceylon at hotels ranges from 
 10s. per day upwards, board and comfortable accom- 
 modation by the month being available at from £7 to 
 £10 per month for each adult. A lady and gentleman 
 leaving England on the 15th of November, and re- 
 turning by the 15th of May, spending four clear months 
 in a comfortably-furnished bungalow in the liill-coun- 
 try of Ceylon, could do so for a total cost of from 
 £250 to £'300, including cost of trips to the points of 
 interest in the island; the greater portion of this 
 amount being for passage-money to and fro, which 
 now ranges from £70 to £100 for return tickets. 
 With further competition there can be no doubt, as 
 the steamer’s margin of profit allows of a considerable 
 
 # Elephant kraals — a system of capturing elephants peculiar to 
 Ceylon — are now of rare occurrence, being organized only on 
 special occasions. A description by the author of the kraal arranged 
 for the entertainment of the Princes Albert Victor and George of 
 Wales on their visit to the colony, which, though not very successful 
 in its primary object, was characterized by some stirring incidents, 
 will be found in : Appendix I. Herds of as many as 200 elephants and 
 100 wild hogs have been seen at one time in Ceylon. 
 
 f For particulars of the “ Pearl Fisheries ” see Ferguson’s “ Ceylon 
 Handbook and Directory,” for successive years. 
 
Attractions for the Traveller and Visitor. 131 
 
 reduction, that the day is not far distant when £35 
 should secure a first-class passage between Ceylon and 
 
 FALLS ON THE DIYALUMAOYA, NEAR NAULA, EASTERN HAPUTALE, 535 
 FEET HIGH. 
 
 From a Photograph by the late E. F. Grig son. 
 
 England, and £50 a return ticket extending over six 
 months. Before the Suez Canal opened £100 was the 
 single rate for the overland route. 
 
132 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 It may be averred that little has been said about the 
 drawbacks to life in, or even to a visit to, Ceylon. The 
 tropical heat in the low country must be endured ; but, 
 if found trying, a single day’s journey will carry the 
 visitor to a cool region. As to the detestable leeches 
 described by Tennent as infesting every country path- 
 way, and the poisonous snakes, the visitor may be 
 months, or even years, in Ceylon without ever seeing 
 the one or the other, being no more troubled by them 
 than by the enormous crocodiles in the river or the 
 voracious sharks round the coast. Repulsive insects, 
 such as centipedes, scorpions, and large spiders, are 
 also most rare in any well-ordered bungalow ; while 
 mosquitoes are only occasionally troublesome, and that 
 chiefly in the low country. The brilliancy of the light,, 
 under a full moon, in the tropics is generally a great 
 treat to strangers ; so also are the stars and constella- 
 tions of the Southern Hemisphere, including the bright 
 fixed star Carropus and the interesting as well as 
 brilliant constellation of the Southern Cross. The 
 hum of insect life, as soon as day closes, in the moist, 
 warm, low country at once arrests the ears of new 
 comers, though local residents become so accustomed 
 to it as not to hear it until their attention is specially 
 directed. The monotony of perpetual summer, and 
 of days and nights of about the same length all the 
 year round, affords one point of strong contrast to 
 England, but is pleasing, rather than otherwise, to the 
 visitor. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF CEYLON. 
 
 Chief sources of Revenue : — Grain and Customs dues, sales of Crown 
 Land, and Railway profits. 
 
 Until 1828 there was an annual excess of expenditure 
 over revenue in Ceylon ; but between 1829 and 1836 
 the balance was on the right side, owing chiefly to a 
 series of successful pearl fisheries. From 1837 to 
 1842, and again from 1846 to 1849, expenditure once 
 more exceeded revenue ; but from that time there was 
 a surplus, and the amount of revenue quadrupled 
 within twenty-five years, owing to the rapid develop- 
 ment of the planting enterprise — the sale of Crown 
 forest lands largely contributing — until in 1877 it 
 attained a maximum of £1,702,619. Since then, 
 owing to the falling off of the crops, the revenue has 
 gone down, until it now may be said to stand about 
 £1,300,000. 
 
 The main sources of this revenue are found in im- 
 port duties on the rice imported from India for feeding 
 the coolies and others directly or indirectly connected 
 with the great planting enterprise of Ceylon, includ- 
 ing a large proportion of the urban population. The 
 Sinhalese and Tamil rice cultivators barely grow 
 enough grain to support themselves and their depen- 
 
134 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 dents ; on locally-grown grain there is also a Govern- 
 ment levy, the remains of the old tithe or rent paid 
 to the native kings, hut this has been greatly reduced 
 of late years by the application of commutation, so 
 
 that the import duty on grain is now decidedly protec- 
 tive of local industry.* The other most productive 
 import duties are those on wines, spirits, hardware, 
 
 * For a full table of imports, during the last fifty years, of rice, 
 cotton goods, fish, cattle, Ac., see Appendix VI. 
 
The Revenue and Expenditure of Ceylon. 135 
 
 and cotton goods. Altogether the customs bring in 
 between a quarter and a fifth of the entire revenue. 
 The annual income from the railways all held by the 
 Government (and 122 out of 185 miles the free pro- 
 perty of the colony) makes up nearly as much of the 
 general revenue as the Customs duties. Sales of Crown 
 lands chiefly to planters have in some years also been 
 as productive as the customs, but latterly the extent 
 of land offered for sale, and the consequent revenue 
 have greatly fallen off. Among the rules guiding the 
 Forest Department formed of recent years is one prohi- 
 biting the sale of Grown forest above 5000 feet or on the 
 ridges of mountains or banks of rivers below that height. 
 
 It is felt now that a great mistake was made fifty 
 years ago in not keeping the proceeds of land sales in a 
 separate fund as capital to be expended in reproductive 
 public works, apart from the general revenue. The 
 same may be said of the large railway receipts, in some 
 years equal to a fifth of the revenue. Had this been 
 done, the expenditure on fixed establishments would 
 not have been allowed to increase year by year as if 
 the general revenue from land sales and railway profits 
 were a permanent source of income. The railway 
 profits were for many years almost entirely due to the 
 carriage of coffee from the interior to Colombo, and of 
 rice, general goods, and manure for the plantations. 
 Now tea(and tea requisites), with cinchona bark, cocoa, 
 and other new products, take the place of coffee, to a 
 great extent. Apart from the customs, the grain tax, 
 land sales, and railway profits, the excise on the sale 
 of spirits, stamp duties, and the monopoly or tax on 
 salt, are the main sources of revenue, with an occa- 
 sional contribution of from £‘10,000 to £50,000 from a 
 pearl fishery. The latter is one of the most acceptable, 
 but one of the most uncertain, sources of Ceylon wealth. 
 
136 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
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CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHAT ITS GOVERNMENT CAN DO FOR CEYLON. 
 
 Active and independent Administrators required — The obstruction to 
 progress offered in Downing Street — Railway extension, and 
 Graving Dock at Colombo, urgently called for — Law reform 
 needed — Technical, industrial, and agricultural education needs 
 encouraging — The Buddhist Temporalities question — Fiscal re- 
 formof Road, Excise laws, Salt monopoly, Food taxes and Customs 
 duties — The Duke of Buckingham’s Ceylon and Southern India 
 railway project — Ceylon and India — Waste Crown lands. 
 
 As regards the wants of Ceylon, its government is a 
 paternal despotism ; and the Governor and Secretary 
 of State (with his Colonial Office advisers) being 
 to a great extent irresponsible rulers, much depends 
 on their treatment of the island. There can be no 
 doubt that in the past, progress has been made in 
 spite of, rather than with, the prompt, zealous co- 
 operation of Downing Street. In support of this view 
 we would quote from a review in the London Spectator 
 (January 1, 1887) of Mr. Salmon’s “ Crown Colonies 
 of Great Britain ” : — 
 
 “ The system of Crown Colonies is supposed to be 
 that of a benevolent despotism, a paternal autocracy. 
 It is in many cases that of a narrow and selfish olig- 
 archy. It is supposed that the Colonial Office exer- 
 
138 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 cises a beneficial supervision, and is everywhere the 
 guardian angel of the bulk of the population in all 
 the British Colonies. The supposition that a few 
 Civil Servants, most of whom have never lived out of 
 England, or engaged in any trade or business but that 
 of clerks in the Colonial Office, could really exercise 
 any such power, is extravagant on the face of it. 
 There are more than thirty Crown Colonies, as various 
 and widely scattered as Hong Kong, Fiji, Cyprus, 
 Malta, Heligoland, Jamaica, Honduras, Cejdon, and 
 Sierra Leone. How could anj’ body of officials in 
 London, however large, highly educated, and capable, 
 adequately exercise any form of real control or intelli- 
 gent supervision over such a mixed lot of disjecta 
 membra ? As for the Secretary of State, who is 
 changed, on the average, once a year, it is impossible 
 that he can be more than a figure-head, or have any 
 real voice in the determination of anything except 
 large questions of policy when there is Colonial trouble. 
 Parliament is, however, supposed to exercise a control.” 
 But this control is limited, as Mr. Salmon points out. 
 to questions put from time to time in the House of 
 Commons, the answers to which are supplied in the 
 first instance by the same Colonial Office clerks, and 
 in the last resort by the people who are to be con- 
 trolled, the actual administrators of the various 
 Colonies. 
 
 We do not approve of much in Mr. Salmon’s 
 volume, especially in reference to Ceylon, which he 
 has never visited, we believe, and of the circumstances 
 of which he is necessarily to a great extent, ignorant. 
 But we have had sad experience in Ceylon of the 
 terrible loss of time, money and patience (equivalent 
 to loyalty), increased through the obstructions offered 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 139 
 
 to well-considered local schemes of progress, by the per- 
 manent officials of the Colonial Office speaking through 
 the nominal and temporary Secretary of State. 
 
 An active, energetic, independent Governor, how- 
 ever, exercises an immense influence, especially if he 
 is at the same time frank, free from any weakness for 
 inquisitorial, underhand proceedings, and is inflexibly 
 just. Every department of the public service, indeed 
 almost every individual officer, feels the effect of such 
 a ruler’s presence, just as the whole administrative 
 machinery goes to rest and rust in this tropical isle 
 when the fountain-head of authority and honour is 
 found to be somnolent and indifferent himself. 
 
 Statesmen bred in the free air of the House of 
 Commons, as a rule, make the best governors of 
 Crown Colonies ; at least three or four in the Ceylon 
 list — Governors Wilrnot Horton, Stewart Mackenzie, 
 Sir Henry Ward, and Sir William Gregory — had such 
 a training, and stand out pre-eminently as among her 
 best administrators, although equally able and useful 
 were two others — Governors Sir Edward Barnes and 
 Sir Hercules Bobinson — who had not home parlia- 
 mentary experience. 
 
 Ceylon wants a governor like Sir Henry Ward or 
 Sir William Gregory, who has his whole heart in his 
 work, is ready to sympathize with all classes and races, 
 to see provinces, districts, and public works for him- 
 self — by journeys on horseback where necessary — 
 open to receive counsel as to proposed legislation 
 from the most diverse quarters, while deciding for 
 himself after giving it due consideration ; a Governor, 
 moreover, not easily led away in his councils or 
 provinces by officers, it may be of long experience but 
 with special “ hobbies,” nor by oriental gossip and 
 
140 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 suspicion, which if once listened to leads into one 
 ■quagmire after another. He should also apply as far 
 as possible the commercial principle “ Will it pay ? ” 
 to all proposed expenditure of any considerable 
 amount, whether on roads, irrigation works, or rail- 
 ways. Such an administrator will always he the best 
 gift that Britain can offer to the natives and colonists 
 of Ceylon, provided that his hands are not tied by the 
 •Colonial Office in Downing Street. 
 
 The only large public works at present under con- 
 struction in Cejdon may he said to be the restoration 
 of the Kalewewa Irrigation tank and channels in the 
 North-Central province, the Colombo Waterworks 
 being completed all but an abortive Service Reservoir, 
 the bursting of which reflects little credit on the 
 engineers concerned. But the Extension of the 
 Dimbula-Uva railway for twenty-five miles to Hapu- 
 tale, to serve the populous and rich Uva principality, 
 with its numerous native gardens and European 
 plantations, urgently calls for construction ; for, 
 without this Extension, the forty-two miles constructed 
 to Nanu-oya cannot soon be profitable, the additional 
 new traffic of Uva being required to make it so. 
 This is a case in which the Colonial Office has baffled 
 the wishes of the local public for so many years that 
 at last divisions among the natives and colonists 
 themselves arose on the subject, although no im- 
 partial, intelligent person can doubt that much loss 
 to both the districts concerned and the public revenue 
 has resulted from the delay. An ordinance to provide 
 for this Extension passed by the Legislative Council in 
 January, 1886, has not yet been sanctioned by the 
 Secretary of State, and a variety of excuses — chiefly 
 the state of the revenue — being offered for the delay, al- 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 141 
 
 though a sure way to depress the revenue is to deny and 
 delay this all-profitable section of Railway Extension. 
 Sir Arthur Gordon has, as some people think, written 
 almost too strongly on the subject ; but as yet without 
 avail. Such is government from Downing Street. 
 Another very profitable and equally delayed Railway 
 Extension is that from Ivalutara to Galle or even 
 Motara ; and very promising proposals include a 
 branch line from Veyangode towards Ruwanwela; a line 
 from Heneratgoda to Negombo and thence to Chilau, 
 and Extension from Polgahawela to Kurunegala and 
 on via Anuradhapura to Jaffna. A more immediately 
 urgent public work is the construction of a Graving 
 Dock for Colombo Harbour, which has the express 
 favour of the Lords of the Admiralty and of the 
 Colombo Chamber of Commerce, and would be certain 
 to prove a most useful and remunerative work. Nearly 
 all these proposals in fact come under the head of 
 reproductive undertakings. A public loan for the 
 the more pressing of these works — the Uva and Galle 
 Railway Extensions and the Graving Dock — may well 
 be voted urgent, and we trust to see all these under- 
 takings under construction very shortly. 
 
 Remembering that the colony within twenty-five 
 years has paid, almost entirely through its planting 
 enterprise, the whole cost of the grand Colombo and 
 Ivandy railway, with the seaside and Nawalapitiya 
 branches — in all 120 miles, amounting to two and a 
 half millions sterling, now the free property of the 
 Ceylon Government ; also that the harbour and 
 waterworks (costing over a million sterling) are likely 
 to pay their own way ; that the splendid network of 
 roads and series of restored irrigation tanks and public 
 buildings (costing six million pounds sterling) have 
 
142 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 all been paid for from general revenue, there should 
 he little hesitation in adding another three-quarters 
 of, or a million pounds sterling to the debt of Ceylon 
 — the whole debt even then not being much more 
 than two years’ revenue — in order to enable the above 
 undertakings to be carried out. 
 
 We may here call attention to the railway map of 
 the island, illustrating the system existing and pro- 
 jected, with needful statistics.* It shows at a glance 
 the CeyloD Government Railways completed ; the 
 Extensions surveyed, estimated, and, we may add, 
 officially promised ; other Extensions projected but 
 not finally surveyed ; also possible lines which may 
 be made eventually ; together with lines projected but 
 abandoned. Among the lines projected, next to the 
 Haputale and Badulla Extension in importance are 
 the Extension of the seaside line from Kalutara to 
 Bentotta, nine miles ready for construction, and 
 thence a distance of about thirty-four miles to Galle 
 on almost a dead level, for which there can be little 
 doubt of the existence of a profitable passenger and 
 goods traffic ; secondly, the construction of a light line 
 from a point at or near Veyangode towards Ruwan- 
 wela to serve the new and rapidly developing tea 
 districts in that neighbourhood — and a branch 
 which would prove a useful feeder to the main line, 
 while it relieved one of the most expensively kept up 
 roads in the country — namely, that via, Hanwela and 
 Avisawela, of a good deal of heavy traffic ; thirdly, a 
 branch from Heneratgoda to Negombo, and possibly 
 on to Chilau for the salt traffic ; fourthly, a branch 
 from Polagahawela to Kurunegala, the capital of the 
 North-Western province, which was proposed so far 
 * See Appendix XVI. 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 143 
 
 back as the time of Sir Hercules Robinson, and for 
 which we believe there would also be a remunerative 
 traffic ; to be extended eventually rid Dambula and 
 Anuradhapura to Jaffna, Manaar, and perhaps by and 
 by to Trincomalee. 
 
 We would further call attention to the table of 
 railway statistics given with the map, showing that 
 notwithstanding last year being a time of a specially 
 short coffee crop and depression, the total profit from 
 all the Government lines, including that to Matale,was 
 no less than Rl, 139,021 (after covering the year’s 
 working expenses and certain permanent improve- 
 ments to the lines, or the equivalent of nearly 4 per 
 cent, on the capital cost of the 181 miles of railway 
 open ; and this, be it remembered, although the full 
 return on the large cost of the Nanu oya railway can 
 never be obtained until the new Uva traffic is brought 
 into it by the extension to Haputale. 
 
 We would merely add that all but the Matale and 
 Nanu-oya branches, or 121 J miles, are the free property 
 of the colony ; and the fact that the cost of this length 
 has mainly been defrayed through the planting enter- 
 prise is another and forcible argument for urging the 
 extension of relief to one of the most important 
 provinces of the island and by far the richest of the 
 planting districts. Indeed a progressive policy in 
 Railway Extension generally is urgently called for. 
 
 In legislative and social improvements there is 
 much to do : law reform in improved Mortgage, 
 Bankruptcy, and other measures — in fact, the codifi- 
 cation of our Civil Laws — is urgently wanted ; while 
 education, especially in the vernacular, has to be 
 promoted. 
 
 Still more needful is a system of technical, in- 
 
144 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 dustrial, and agricultural education. Something has 
 been done towards a beginning in agricultural teach- 
 ing by the present Director of Public Instruction with 
 the limited means at his disposal ; but we can only 
 speak of this as “ a beginning.” It is felt by many 
 that Ceylon junior civil servants, like those of Java, 
 should pass at an agricultural college and spend one 
 or two years on arrival in the island at Government 
 experimental gardens or plantations. The influence 
 of the personal example and precept of the revenue 
 officers of Government over the head men and people 
 in getting them to try new products or extend culti- 
 vation is immense ; experimental gardens to supply 
 the natives with plants and seeds and to show them 
 how to cultivate the same, ought to be multiplied and 
 bonuses offered for the growth of certain qualities of 
 new products in different districts. Another beneficial 
 reform would be the establishment of an agri-horfci- 
 cultural exhibition, with holidays and sports for the 
 people, in connexion with each Kachcheri (district 
 station) in the island. 
 
 The people of Ceylon are perhaps the least warlike 
 of any nation under British rule : not a soldier has 
 sustained a scratch here since 1817, when the 
 Kandyan kingdom was finally subdued. Street riots 
 in Colombo through religious feuds or dearness of 
 rice, at rare intervals, only require the sight of a 
 red-coat to subside ; a few artillerymen (a picked 
 company of the local volunteers would do) with a 
 light field-gun would be sufficient to cope with the 
 most formidable gathering that could possibly take 
 place as a breach of the peace. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is important to note that for 
 imperial purposes Ceylon is a most central and useful 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 145 
 
 station for even more than one regiment of infantry 
 with a good staff. This will be readily seen from 
 what has happened during the past twenty-five years. 
 Sir Henry Ward sent the 37th Regiment at a day’s 
 notice to Calcutta in 1857 to the aid of Lord Canning 
 against the mutineers, those troops being the first to 
 arrive; in 1863 the troopship Himalaya took the 50th 
 Regiment from Ceylon to New Zealand to aid in 
 suppressing the Maoris ; later on, part of the Ceylon 
 garrison did good service in China, the Straits, and 
 Labuan ; in 1879 the 57th Regiment was despatched 
 at short notice to Natal ; and, with equal expedition, 
 the 102nd was sent thither in 1881, when the colony 
 w r as practically denuded of infantry without the 
 slightest inconvenience. 
 
 Ceylon is by far the most central British military 
 garrison in the East; its first-class port, Colombo, is 
 distant 900 miles from Bombay, 600 from Madras, 
 1,400 from Calcutta, 1,200 from Rangoon (Burmah), 
 1,600 from Singapore, 2,500 from Mauritius, a little 
 more from Madagascar, about 4,000 from Natal, 3,000 
 from Hong-Ivong, 3,000 from Freemantle or Western 
 Australia, and about 2,500 from Aden. Its value, 
 therefore, as a station from whence troops can, at the 
 shortest notice, be transferred to any one of these 
 points, should make it the Malta of the Eastern Seas ; 
 indeed its hill station, served by railway, as already 
 mentioned, might be made the sanatarium for all the 
 troops in Southern India. 
 
 Ceylon tax-payers would also fain see the head- 
 quarters of the East India naval station removed 
 from Trincomalee to Colombo, for the good of the 
 port, now that first-class harbour works have been 
 constructed ; and this would probably be done if only 
 
 11 
 
146 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the construction of a Graving Dock were taken in 
 hand. 
 
 There are legislative reforms urgently needed in 
 connection with the wide area of valuable lands with 
 which the Kandyan Buddhist temples are endowed, 
 and the revenues of which are now utterly wasted 
 by priests and headmen without any benefit to the 
 people, the majority of whom would gladly vote for 
 their appropriation to the promotion of vernacular 
 and technical, especially agricultural, education in 
 each district. It is recorded that King Wijayo Bahu 
 III., who reigned in Ceylon in 1240 a.d., established a 
 school in every village, and charged the priests who 
 superintended them, to take nothing from the pupils, 
 promising that he himself would reward them for 
 their trouble. This was probably done by temple 
 endowments now wasted. In the more distant future 
 the intelligent public of Ceylon hopefully look for- 
 ward to the time when a reconstruction if not miti- 
 gation of taxation may take place, the road tax, some 
 stamp duties, and the salt monopoly being the first to be 
 modified or abolished. The small annual levy under 
 the Boads or Thoroughfares Ordinance on every able- 
 bodied man between eighteen and fifty-five in the 
 island (the Governor, Buddhist priests, and a few 
 more, alone excepted) has been productive of much 
 good — in providing a network of district roads — 
 since it was drafted by the late Sir Philip Wode- 
 house over forty years ago. But in some districts, 
 the tax, small as it is, leads to a good deal of 
 trouble and expense through defaulters ; and its col- 
 lection is everywhere, even in the towns, attended 
 with an immense amount of corruption and oppres- 
 sion. This is the case with all direct taxes in an 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 147 
 
 Oriental land, and therefore an indirect levy in any 
 form would undoubtedly be an unmitigated blessing 
 to the people. Certain Stamp Duties were raised by 
 Sir Arthur Gordon in 1885, and experience has shown 
 that mischief rather than good has resulted. A 
 liberal revision and reform of local Postal and Tele- 
 graphic rates and rules is much required, and a 
 modification, if not abolition, of the Salt tax would 
 be a great boon. This tax, though scarcely felt by 
 the mass, debars agricultural improvement in certain 
 directions, and occasionally affects the health of the 
 people in the remoter districts. 
 
 In the estimation of the reformers of the Cobden 
 Club, as put forth in Mr. Salmon’s book already 
 referred to, there is a financial reform of greater im- 
 portance than any of these, namely, the abolition of 
 the “ Food-taxes of Ceylon,” or the levy made on 
 locally-grown grain crops, and the Customs duty 
 imposed on imported rice. But while the internal 
 tax has been inherited from the Sinhalese rulers as a 
 rent, the only substitute possible for both this and 
 the Customs duty is a general land-tax, and against 
 this the whole body of the natives would cry out. 
 One of the most intelligent Sinhalese, the late Hon. 
 James Alwis, M.L.C., opposing this proposal, said, “it 
 would be equivalent to taxing the curry, as well as 
 the rice of the people.” The lands held by colonists 
 could, of course, be taxed, though, having bought 
 their properties in freehold, their position is rather 
 different from that of planters in India. But the natives 
 would resist any change in every way they possibly 
 could, and even the Dutch, as well as the English, 
 were baffled in trying to make a small levj 7 on the 
 coconut gardens of the Sinhalese, and had to abandon 
 
148 Ceylon in the. Jubilee Year. 
 
 it.* Of late years, the rent or tax on rice lands has 
 been greatly lowered, and opportunities for oppres- 
 sion by headmen removed, by Sir Wm. Gregory’s 
 system of commutation ; and Sir Arthur Gordon has 
 gone to the verge of imprudence by legislating for a 
 certain portion of this rent being annually appro- 
 priated by an Irrigation Board for the special benefit of 
 the grain-growers. The section of the community 
 paj’ing the import duty, as indeed all consumers of 
 taxed grain, may fairly complain and ask that some- 
 thing should be done for them from the import levy, 
 which, as it now stands, is really protective of the 
 local farmers. In principle, the rice taxes are fair — 
 Stuart Mill being witness — and the heaviest por- 
 tion of the tax is borne by the planters and their 
 coolie labourers, who depend almost entirely on im- 
 ported rice, while untaxed fruits, vegetables, and 
 roots, enter largely into the food of the Sinhalese and 
 Ceylon Tamils. 
 
 Fiscal reformers for Ceylon would do well to study 
 the history of the fish -tax established by the Portuguese, 
 continued by the Dutch, superseded by the British 
 by a license for boats, which nearly stopped fishing 
 altogether. The old form had to be resumed, but the 
 tax was reduced again and again, without in the least 
 benefiting the industry, for the fishermen simply 
 caught less, having no longer duty to pay, and when 
 the tax was finally abolished by Government, the 
 Roman Catholic priests stepped in, and continued it 
 
 * “ The most precious inheritance of a Sinhalese is his ancestral 
 garden of coconuts ; the attempt to impose a tax on them in 1797, 
 roused the populace to rebellion, and it is curiously illustrative of 
 that minute subdivision of property, that a case decided in the 
 District Court of Galle, referred to the 2,5'20th part of 10 coconut 
 trees." — Emerson Tennent. 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 149 
 
 ■without demur from the fishermen, who are mostly of 
 that Church. In the same way, grain cultivators who 
 have had their tax or rent remitted, have been known 
 to allow a portion of their fields to go out of cultiva- 
 tion in view of no rent to pay — so much less work 
 to do was their idea of the benefit of remission of 
 taxation. 
 
 Of course the removal of all Customs’ duties and 
 the inauguration of Colombo as a free port would add 
 immensely to the importance of Colombo and the 
 colony. But the time for that is still afar off, even if 
 it were desirable in the interests of the native popu- 
 lation. On the contrary, if all the revenues raised in 
 such dependencies as India and Ceylon could be 
 levied through the customs, the railway, or even 
 stamps — by indirect means — the blessing to the mass 
 •of the people for some generations yet, would be one 
 of the greatest that could be bestowed. When the 
 grand scheme which the Duke of Buckingham, as 
 Governor of Madras, propounded to Sir William 
 Gregory, of connecting the railway systems of Ceylon 
 •and Southern India, is carried out, in order to serve 
 the very large passenger traffic in coolies and traders, 
 as well as to carry the produce of Southern India 
 to the safe and commodious Colombo harbour — the 
 Madras harbour works being, at all events for the 
 present, a great failure; — then may we look for a 
 closer approximation between the fiscal systems of 
 the two countries. At present India has no import 
 tax on cotton goods — a very dubious reform in the 
 interest of her people — but an export tax is levied on 
 the rice shipped from Calcutta and Madras to Ceylon. 
 
 One great difference between the two countries 
 is the much larger Covenanted Civil Service, and 
 
150 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 number of European officials generally, in Ceylon, in 
 proportion to population and area, than in India.* 
 Of course the individual salaries are much lower here, 
 but it is a question whether the island has not too 
 many public servants of the higher ranks, and 
 whether there is not room for reform in the system 
 of administration such as was referred to by Sir 
 Emerson Tennent in his Financial Reports over forty 
 years ago. The pension list of Ceylon is becoming 
 a serious burden to the colony, and some steps 
 are urgently called for to prevent a continuance of 
 growth such as has been experienced of recent years. 
 On the other hand the cry is getting up here, as in 
 India, on behalf of the educated Ceylonese (natives 
 and Burghers), that room should be found for a 
 greater number of them in the public service. 
 Schemes for a subordinate uncovenanted service have 
 been propounded, both in their interest and in that 
 of economy, as saving the need for many principal 
 appointments, and some step in this direction may 
 be necessary before long. At the same time, in a 
 country situated like Ceylon, agriculture in one of its 
 
 * Ceylon for its three millions of people and 24,000 square miles 
 has more than half as many Civil Servants as the Presidency of 
 Madras with six times its area and ten times its population. The 
 following may be of general interest : — 
 
 
 Area : Sq. 
 
 Popula- 
 
 No. of Cove- 
 nanted Civil 
 
 
 miles. 
 
 tion. 
 
 Servants. 
 
 Bengal and Assam 
 
 202,905 . 
 
 . 72,000,000 
 
 .. 266 
 
 N.-W. Province 
 
 106,111 ., 
 
 . 44,107,000 
 
 ‘ - l 348 
 • • ) 
 
 Punjaub 
 
 106,632 . 
 
 . 18,850,000 
 
 Bombay 
 
 124,122 . , 
 
 . 16,500,000 
 
 .. 162 
 
 Madras . . . .. 
 
 139,900 . 
 
 . 31,000,000 
 
 .. 157 
 
 Burmah (Upper and 
 Lower) 
 
 278,000 . , 
 
 6,736,000 
 
 
What its Government can do for Ceylon. 151 
 
 many forms ought to be kept steadily before educated 
 Burghers and natives alike, as the one sure means of 
 affording a livelihood. Tea planting, we are glad to 
 think, is likely to do much for young men of these 
 classes ; in the tea factories there should be room 
 for a large number of intelligent young men of 
 the country, as tea makers, clerks, &c., and very 
 many of the natives ought to cultivate tea-gardens 
 of their own, besides trying other new and profitable 
 products. 
 
 A reform tending to extend local industry would 
 he the throwing open, for a merely nominal price, 
 of Crown waste lands, at present unsaleable (at the 
 upset price of PilO per acre), to cultivators who 
 would spend money and labour on them. This ap- 
 plies to both low and high lands. A “ stock farm ” 
 is a great want in Ceylon, yet an offer made by a 
 responsible colonist to lease waste Crown lands near 
 Nawara Eliya, and introduce good stock in cattle and 
 horses from Australia, was rejected some years ago, 
 because the fiat of the Secretary of State had decided 
 that nothing should be done with Crown lands over 
 5,000 feet altitude. 
 
CHAPTER XY. 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 Social life and customs of the natives of Ceylon — How little colonists 
 may know of village life — Domestic servants — Caste restrictions — 
 Curious occupations among the people — Sinhalese philanthropists, 
 Messrs. De Soyza and Eajapakse. 
 
 The variety of race, colour, physiognomy, and costume 
 among the people in the busy streets of Colombo — 
 especially the Pettali, or native market-place — at once 
 arrests the attention of the stranger. But, save what 
 he sees in the public highways, and may learn from 
 his servants, the ordinary colonist may live many 
 years in the island without learning much of the every- 
 day life and habits of the people of the land, whether 
 Sinhalese or Tamils, in their own villages and homes. 
 There is a beaten track now for the European to 
 follow, be he merchant or planter, and there is so 
 much of western civilization and education on the 
 surface that the new comer is apt to forget very soon 
 that he is in the midst of a people with an ancient 
 civilization and authentic history of their own, extend- 
 ing far beyond that of the majority of European 
 nations ; and with social customs and modes of life, 
 when separate from foreign influences, entirely distinct 
 from anything to which he has been accustomed. The 
 
Social Life and Customs. 
 
 153 
 
 foreigners who see somewhat of this inner life of the 
 people, especially in the rural districts, are the civil 
 servants and other public officers of Government, 
 and the missionaries. Now, as regards the work of 
 the latter, the average European planter or merchant 
 returning home after six, ten, aye, or even twenty years 
 in Ceylon, too often declares that the missionaries are 
 making no way in Ceylon, that they live comfortably in 
 the towns, and content themselves with ordinary pas- 
 toral duties in their immediate neighbourhood, and in 
 fact, that they (the colonists), never saw any evidence 
 of mission work or progress among the natives, unless 
 it were through the catechists and other agents of the 
 Tamil Coolie Mission visiting the plantations. Now, 
 the way to meet such a negative statement would be 
 by an inquiry as to whether the colonist had ever 
 interviewed a missionary to the Tamils or Sinhalese, 
 whether in Colombo, Kandy, or Galle, to go no further, 
 and had asked to accompany him to his stations. 
 Had he done so, he could have been taken to village 
 after village, with its little church and good, if not 
 full, attendance of members, presided over in many 
 cases by pastors of their own people, and in some 
 instances supported by themselves. He would have 
 seen schools of all grades — mission boarding-schools 
 for native girls and lads, and training institutions for 
 the ministry. Now, just as this branch of work in 
 the rural districts of Ceylon is unknown to many 
 scores, if not hundreds, of European colonists who 
 never trouble their heads about anything beyond their 
 own round of immediate duties or pleasures ; so it is, 
 for an even wider circle, in reference to the social life 
 and customs of the natives. 
 
 Education has made such strides that in the towns, 
 
154 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 English is rapidly becoming the predominant language 
 among all classes. In India all foreigners learn a 
 native language, and domestic servants never think of 
 speaking English, even if some few of them under- 
 
 HOOR.UAN “TAMBY” (PEDLAR). 
 
 stand it. Here, in Ceylon, English is almost univer- 
 sally in domestic use, and there is scarcely a roadside 
 village in Ceylon now where the traveller could not 
 find some persons to speak English, or interpret for 
 
Social Life and Customs. 
 
 155 
 
 him. Tlie coolies on the plantations are different ; 
 with few exceptions they only know Tamil, and the 
 planters have to learn that language colloquially. 
 Civil servants pass examinations in the languages. 
 Very amusing are some of the servants, occasionally, 
 who are only beginning to acquire English, or who try 
 to show a command beyond their depth ; like the 
 Sinhalese appoo (butler) 'who, one day, on being 
 remonstrated with by his Christian mistress for 
 attending some tomfooleries of ceremonies at a temple, 
 replied, Yes, he knew better, but he only did it “ to 
 please the womens ” (his wife and daughters !), the 
 hold of superstition and heathenism in Ceylon, as 
 elsewhere, being strongest on the female portion of 
 the household. On another occasion a horsekeeper 
 (Tamil groom), coming to report to his master that his 
 horse had gone lame, expressed himself thus, holding 
 up his fingers in illustration, “ Sar, three legs very 
 good ; one leg very bad ! ” Some of the letters and peti- 
 tions in English of budding clerks, or warehousemen, 
 or other applicants for situations, are often comical in 
 the extreme. Both Sinhalese and Tamils make the 
 most docile and industrious of domestic servants. Of 
 course there are exceptions, but ladies who have been 
 for some years in Ceylon, after visiting “ home ” again, 
 or especially after going to Australasia or America, are 
 usually glad to get back to their native servants. 
 
 Caste in Ceylon has not one tithe the hold on the 
 people that it has in India, and in respect of domestic 
 service, only one-half to one-third the number of men- 
 servants is required here, in consequence of one man 
 making no objection to different kinds of work. Sin- 
 halese “ appoos ” and “ boys,” with their often smooth 
 cheeks, and hair done up in a knot, surmounted by a 
 
156 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 comb, ancl with white jackets and long “comboys” (long 
 petticoats), are frequently taken for female servants, 
 the latter having no comb, but a silver or other pin in 
 their hair, and only taking service as ayah (nurse), or 
 lady’s attendant. In the hotels passengers frequently 
 make the mistake of supposing they are attended by 
 maid, instead of men, servants. The Sinhalese have, 
 indeed, been called the women of the human race, and 
 the story is that in trying to make soldiers of them, 
 the British instructors in the early days never could 
 get them not to fire away their ramrods ! 
 
 Of course there are some bad native servants, but 
 they are the exceptions ; at any rate a good master 
 and mistress generally get good service. But some- 
 times robberies do occur in households, and usually 
 then some one or other of the servants has been con- 
 spiring with outside thieves. A few colonists prefer 
 Malay servants. 
 
 The demand for holidays is often a nuisance, and 
 the saying is that native servants must have half a 
 dozen grandfathers each from the number of funerals 
 ■of grandfathers they have to attend. The fact is that 
 the western habit of constant work does not suit the 
 Oriental taste at all, the proverbial saying of the 
 Buddhist Sinhalese being, “Better to walk than to run, 
 to sit down than walk, and best of all to go to sleep.” 
 
 We have said that caste has not a great hold in 
 Oeylon ; but in one point of social life, it is still 
 almost universally observed, there can be no marriage 
 between persons of different castes. Your servant 
 may be a man of higher caste than your wealthy native 
 neighbour driving his carriage, and yet the appoo 
 would probably never consent to allow his daughter 
 to marry the son of the rich but lower caste man. 
 
Social Life and Customs, 
 
 157 
 
 Christianity is working against caste, and among 
 native Christians there are many cases of caste being 
 disregarded ; but, on the other hand, when the Duke 
 of Edinburgh was entertained by a Sinhalese gentle- 
 man of medium caste, it was stated that Sinhalese 
 
 THE DHOBY. 
 
 officials (including a Christian chaplain) of the Vel- 
 lale (agricultural) caste absented themselves from the 
 entertainment where all were expected to be, because 
 they could not enter the grounds or house of a man 
 of the Fisher caste. The most striking case in recent 
 
158 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 times in Ceylon was that of a young girl of good 
 family in a Kandyan village, who fell in love with the 
 son of a trader in the same village, of greater wealth 
 but lower caste than her father, who was a decayed 
 Chief. The lad and girl had seen each other in 
 school days, and acquaintance had ripened into more 
 than friendship, and they were bent on defying caste, 
 family opposition, and any other obstacle to their 
 marriage. But a young brother of the girl haughtily 
 forbade the courtship, threatening his sister if ever 
 he saw her with the young trader. The lovers 
 planned a clandestine match, so far that (being both 
 Buddhists') they should get married by civil registra- 
 tion before the magistrate. They stole away one 
 morning and were mixing in the crowd usually await- 
 ing the opening of the magistrate’s court in county 
 towns, when the young chief, finding out what had 
 happened, rushed up and peremptorily ordered his 
 sister home. She refused and clung to her lover, 
 when the brother suddenly drew a knife from his 
 girdle and stabbed her to the heart. She fell dead on 
 the spot ; the murderer holding the knife aloft and 
 shouting, in Sinhalese, “Thus I defend the honour of 
 my family,” and going to the scaffold a few weeks 
 after, exulting in his deed. Education and the rail- 
 way are, however, aiding Christianity to weaken the 
 hold of caste, and the people of Ceylon will, before 
 many generations go b}q learn that — 
 
 “ Honour and shame from no condition rise, 
 
 Act well your part, there all the honour lies ” ; 
 
 And that — 
 
 “ From yon blue heavens above us bent, 
 
 The grand old gardener and his wife, 
 
 Smile at the claims of long (or caste) descent.” 
 
Social Life and Customs. 
 
 159 
 
 It is a striking evidence of the slight influence of 
 Buddhism that here, in its sacred or holy land, where 
 it has prevailed for over two thousand years, caste, 
 which is utterly condemned by its founder and its 
 tenets, still exercises a baneful influence over the 
 Sinhalese people. All castes, however low, were de- 
 clared to be eligible to Buddha’s priesthood ; but in 
 Ceylon ordination gradually became the privilege of 
 the Yellale caste alone, until a Sinhalese of a lower 
 caste went to Burmah and got ordained, so making 
 two castes of priests in the island. In other Buddhist 
 countries, Burmah, Siam, and Thibet, caste does not 
 exist in any similar form. A stanza from a Ceylon 
 Buddhist work runs as follows — 
 
 “ A man does not become low caste by birth, 
 
 Nor by birth does one become high caste ; 
 
 High caste is the result of high actions — 
 
 And by actions does a man degrade himself to a caste that is low.”* 
 
 Native weddings, with the peculiarities of each 
 race — Sinhalese, Tamil, or Moormen (Mahomedan) — 
 are sometimes very curious, and, as the parties are 
 generally rather proud than otherwise of Europeans 
 being present, there is no difficulty about getting an 
 invitation. The youthfulness of the bride — perhaps 
 thirteen to fifteen years — and the quantity of jewellery, 
 literally weighing her down (collected and borrowed 
 from all the family circle of relatives for the occasion), 
 are two peculiarities. There are scarcely any un- 
 married native women, and, as is always the case in 
 a naturally ordered community, the males exceed the 
 females in number. The Sinhalese have no army or 
 navy or flow of emigration to supply, and no artificial 
 customs to interfere with or delay the marriage of 
 
 * See Appendix with extracts on “ Caste.” 
 
bidding the taking of life, have developed some of the 
 most cruel and exquisite forms of torture known to his- 
 tory in reference to the lower animals. A law had to be 
 
 160 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 their daughters. Of the influence of the Buddhist and 
 Hindu religions upon the people, enough is said else- 
 where, but we may just refer here to the fact that a 
 people bred under the influence of tenets (Buddhist), for - 
 
 DEVIL DANCER, WITH ATTENDANT TOM-TOM BEATER. 
 
Social Life and Customs. 161 
 
 passed forbidding the roasting of tortoises alive, in 
 order to get the tortoise-shell of a finer lustre than if 
 taken from the dead animal ; and only the other day 
 a military officer discovered in Colombo that native 
 cooks were in the habit of cutting out the tongues of 
 the living turkeys, in order that the flesh, when 
 cooked, might be the more tender. But a long list of 
 such instances might be given, as well as illustrations 
 of the hypocrisy which makes Buddhist fishermen 
 say : “ We do not kill the fish, we take them out of 
 the water and they die of themselves!” Householders 
 put out the old dog or cat on the highway for the 
 wheel of a passing vehicle to go over and kill, so that 
 they may have no sin ; or shut up the deadly snake 
 in wicker-work on the river to be carried to the sea ; 
 while early in the present century it was the custom 
 to expose old and helpless human beings in the jungle, 
 each with a bowl of rice and chatty of water, to die with- 
 out troubling their relatives, or to be devoured, as was 
 often the case, b}^ beasts of prey. And all this in one 
 of the most bigoted of Buddhist districts — Matara — in 
 the south of the island. It was in the same district 
 a veteran missionary demonstrated the hypocrisy of 
 a catechist, of whom he had authentic accounts 
 that, while professing to be doing certain work as a 
 Christian teacher for the sake of a salary, he was in 
 heart a Buddhist, attending all the temple ceremonies. 
 In a remote village there w T as no check, and on being 
 questioned by the missionary, while sitting in a room 
 together, he utterly denied that he had any belief in 
 Buddhism. Taking a small brass image of Buddha 
 from his pocket, the missionary placed it on the table, 
 when immediately (as all Buddhists should do) the 
 would-be catechist sprang to his feet, placed his hands 
 
 12 
 
If 2 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 before bis forehead -with a low obeisance towards the 
 image, and then slunk from the room discomfited ! 
 
 Among the more curious occupations of the people, 
 as related in the census, are such novelties as 1,532 
 devil-dancers (see page 1G0), 36 jugglers and monkey- 
 dancers, 121 snake charmers, 240 astrologers and 
 fortune-tellers, 32 actors and puppet-showmen, 640 
 tom-tom beaters, 160 comedians and nautch dancers, 
 16,357 dhobies or washermen (see page 157), nearly 
 2,000 barbers, 50 elephant-keepers and huntsmen, 
 about 5,000 fakirs and devotee-beggars, 1,500 grave- 
 diggers, 200 lapidaries, 400 workers in ivory and 
 tortoise-shell, and 3,000 in jewellery, &c.* 
 
 European civilization and Christianity are both 
 taking a firm hold of the people. Education is 
 desired by the natives, perhaps not yet for its own 
 sake, but as a means of advancement, as very few 
 good posts are to be obtained in which English is not 
 needed. 
 
 Once in our mission schools (and education, espe- 
 cially in the villages, is mainly in the hands of the 
 missionaries) children acquire new habits of industry 
 and perseverance, and in time come to regard truth- 
 fulness as desirable, and care for others, whether of 
 their own blood or not, as a duty. Though Buddha 
 led a most self-denying life, and taught others to do 
 the same, yet his example had made small impression 
 on his followers, and philanthropy was not regarded 
 as a duty by the Sinhalese or their priests. Now it 
 is different. Each of our missions can quote many 
 instances of noble generosity and hearty zeal for the 
 welfare of the people. 
 
 * The main results of the census will be found tabulated in 
 Appendix VI. 
 
Social Life and Customs. 
 
 163 
 
 The de Soysa family, especially C. H. de Soysa, 
 Esq., J.P., Mudliyar of the Governor’s Gate — whose 
 engraving we give, and who is expected by the people 
 of Ceylon to be knighted by Her Most Gracious 
 Majesty in this Jubilee year — are well known as the 
 
 C. H. DE SOYSA, ESC. , J.P. 
 
 leading native philanthropists in Ceylon. That the 
 present representative of the family has made a good 
 use of his wealth may be seen from the by no means 
 complete list of his benefactions which will be found 
 in Appendix XII. 
 
164 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Xo less worthy of record are the benefactions and 
 good works of Sampson de Eajapakse, Esq., J.P., 
 Mudliyar of the Governor's Gate, of an ancient and 
 honourable family. We give his portrait in full 
 
 SAMPSON DE EAJAPAKSE, ESQ., J.P. 
 
 official dress as Mudliyar, and also his genealogical 
 tree as a curiosity ( see Appendix XIII.). 
 
 Pour encourager les autres. If the notice of two of 
 our philanthropists and the publication of then- bene- 
 factions should prove an incentive to other wealth} 7 
 Oriental British subjects to follow the example of 
 
Social Life and Customs. 
 
 165 
 
 Messrs, de Soysa and Rajapakse, there will be perhaps 
 sufficient excuse for this memorial of their liberality 
 to the Ceylon community. 
 
 We have merely touched the skirts of topics 
 in this chapter, which might well require for their 
 treatment a volume in themselves. Those interested 
 in the subject may be referred to good old Robert 
 Knox’s veracious account of his sojourn, as a prisoner, 
 among the Kandyan people for twenty years — 1659 
 to 1680 — or to more modern books, in Cordiner’s, 
 Percival’s, Davy’s, Forbes’s, Pridham’s, or Emerson 
 Tennent’s histories, with Spence Hardy’s “ Eastern 
 Monachism,” “Jubilee Memorials,” and “Legends 
 of the Buddhists.” 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Relation and importance of Ceylon to India — Progress of Christianity 
 and Education — Statistics of Population — Need of Reform in the 
 Legislative Council, and sketch of a scheme for the Election of 
 Unofficial Members — Loyalty of People to British Rule, as 
 evinced during Royal visits, and in connection with the Jubilee 
 of Her Majesty the Queen-Empress — Jubilee Celebration. 
 
 Ceylon, in a social and political way, bears the same 
 relation to India and the Far East that England has 
 done to the European continent. Mr. Laing, when 
 Finance Minister for India, confessed it was most 
 valuable to law- makers and administrators in the 
 Indian Presidencies, to have Ceylon under a separate 
 form of government, and to have experiments in 
 administrative and legislative reforms tried here, 
 which served as an example or a warning to the big 
 neighbouring continent, the peoples being allied in so 
 many respects. There is, for instance, no distinction 
 made between native and European judges and magis- 
 trates in Ceylon ; and the acting Chief Justice, lately, 
 was a Eurasian, while at present a Sinhalese barrister 
 is Judge of the Supreme Court ; and other Ceylonese 
 fill the responsible offices of Attorney-General and 
 
Local Religions . 
 
 167 
 
 Solicitor-General of the Colony. Again, in Ceylon, 
 ■we have a decimal system of currency, a great step in 
 advance of the cumbrous Indian system, and we have 
 entire freedom of all religions (including Christianity) 
 from State patronage and control. 
 
 The progress of Christianity and education among 
 the people is greater than in any other Eastern State, 
 and should Buddhism, the religion of one and three- 
 
 KANDY MALIGAWA, OB TEMPLE OF THE TOOTH. 
 
 quarters of a million of Sinhalese, fall here, it would 
 have a great effect on the millions of Burmah, Siam, 
 and even China, who look to Ceylon as the sacred 
 home of Buddhism. The kings of Burmah and Siam 
 especially, continue to take an interest in, and make 
 offerings to, the Buddhist “temple of the tooth” at 
 Kandy. Roman Catholicism has been propagated 
 since the arrival of the Portuguese in the sixteenth 
 
168 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 century ; while English Protestant missions have 
 worked in Cejdon since 1811.* The Pioman Catholics 
 number about 220,000, the Protestants 60,000, against 
 1,700,000 Buddhists and demon worshippers, 600,000 
 Hindus, and nearly 200,000 Mohammedans. The 
 population at the census of 1881 included 6,300 Budd- 
 hist, 1,250 Hindu, and 574 Mohammedan priests, 
 465 Christian ministers and missionaries, 2,210 
 schoolmasters, 759 lawyers and notaries public, and 
 3,321 physicians and medical practitioners of all 
 grades. 
 
 Some allusion should be made to more than one 
 local movement in Ceylon for a reform in the 
 system of government, and more especially in the 
 liberalizing of the Legislative Council. Sir Hercules 
 Bobinson, while opposing this claim, originated 
 municipal institutions in the three principal towns, 
 as a means of training the people in the art of 
 self-government. The working of these has, how- 
 ever, unfortunately, not been so successful as was 
 hoped, and one reason is a curiously oriental one, 
 namely, that respectable Ceylonese consider it 
 derogatory to go and ask the people below them — 
 often ignorant and poor franchise-holders — for “the 
 honour of their votes.” “Honour comes from above, 
 not from below,” they say ; and so the better classes 
 of natives abstained from the Municipal Boards, and 
 left many disreputable men to get in. A reformed 
 and restrictive municipal constitution law just passed, 
 may work better. But as regards the Legislature, 
 the occupation of one of three seats allotted to the 
 Ceylonese by nomination of the Governor has always 
 
 * For illustrations of the progress of modern Protestant Christian 
 Missions, see Appendix III. 
 
Legislative Reform. 
 
 169 
 
 been greatly coveted, and an object of ambition to 
 every rising man in the country.* A reform in the 
 present practice of according what are practically life 
 seats, would be to change the unofficial members 
 every three years, so educating and testing an increas- 
 ing number of Ceylonese for public life. There is no 
 reason, however, why a few more unofficial seats should 
 not be added to the Legislative Board. Indeed, the 
 elective principle might, under due safeguards, be 
 applied in the eight provinces of the island, — under 
 a severely restricted franchise to begin with, — so giving 
 eight elected unofficial members, to whom might be 
 added two to four nominees of the Governor, from 
 among the merchants or other classes not adequately 
 served by the elections. Elections and nominations 
 could take place every six years, or on the advent of 
 each new Governor, and a few more privileges might 
 be accorded to the members, such as the right of initia- 
 ting proposals, even where such involved the expendi- 
 ture of public money up to a certain moderate limit. 
 The Governor, for the time being, could always com- 
 mand a majority against any unwise scheme, and his 
 own veto, as well as that of the Secretary of State, 
 would continue operative. Some such improvement 
 of the Legislative Council — which has continued with- 
 out change for over fifty years, or since the days of 
 Governor Sir Robert Wilmot Horton in 1833 — cannot 
 long be delayed, and if asked for on broad grounds by 
 a united community, it might well be granted in honour 
 of the Queen’s Jubilee year. 
 
 Another practical reform of importance would be 
 the ensuring that four out of the six members of the 
 
 * For further information about the government, see Summary of 
 Information concerning Ceylon (Appendix VIII.). 
 
170 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Executive Council — that is, the Colonial Secretary, 
 Attorney-General, Auditor-General, and Treasurer — 
 should always be trained public servants of the 
 colony, with local experience. The farce has been 
 seen even in recent years of a Governor and his 
 five Executive advisers in Ceylon, not counting half a 
 dozen years of local experience between them. 
 
 Ceylon was honoured with a visit from H.E.H. the 
 Duke of Edinburgh in 1870, from H.E.H. the Prince 
 of Wales in 1875, and from the young Princes Albert 
 and George of Wales in 1881. On each occasion the 
 loyalty and devotion of the people to the British 
 Crown, and their warm personal interest in the happi- 
 ness and welfare of their sovereign, were very con- 
 spicuous. This has been still more shown during the 
 present year, in connection with the Jubilee of Her 
 Most Gracious Majesty the Queen-Empress Victoria, 
 when all classes and races have vied with each other 
 in the endeavour to do honour to the occasion. 
 Liberal support has been given to the Imperial Insti- 
 tute, dear to the Queen ; as a local memento of the 
 occasion, a Home for Incurables is to be erected in 
 Colombo, and loyal addresses, as well as a Women’s 
 Offering, have been sent to Windsor. 
 
 The Jubilee was celebrated throughout Ceylon with 
 great enthusiasm. In Colombo was the chief demon- 
 stration, that being the head-quarters of the represen- 
 tative of the Queen ; but the whole of the island towns 
 maybe said to have been decorated and en fete. The 
 Military Eeview on Galle Face Esplanade at 7 a.m., 
 was the event of the morning of the twenty-eighth, in 
 the capital, and the Volunteers shared with the regulars 
 the duties of the occasion. The feu dejoie and three 
 ringing cheers were the soldiers’ expression of loyalty 
 
Jubilee Celebration. 
 
 171 
 
 at its close. This was followed at 10.30 by services 
 in all the places of worship. In the Mission Churches 
 the interesting feature was the union of English, Sin- 
 halese, Tamils, and even Portuguese descendants, at 
 the same service, addresses being given in all four 
 languages in succession. The Queen’s letter, request- 
 ing that prayer and thanksgiving be offered up, had 
 been sent from Queen’s House to the different pastors, 
 and was duly read at the services, while at the close 
 a collection was made in many churches for the 
 <£ Ceylon Victoria Home for Incurables.” 
 
 Then came the feeding of large numbers of the 
 poor in all the towns and chief villages, each applicant 
 getting either a measure of rice and five cents (one 
 penny), or a piece of calico. 
 
 A good dinner -was given by the citizens of Colombo 
 (led by Mr. J. J. Grinlinton) to the soldiers in garrison 
 and their wives and children, numbering 951 persons. 
 
 In the afternoon came the great celebration on Galle 
 Face Esplanade, Colombo, where from fifteen to twenty 
 graceful pandals had been erected for the accommoda- 
 tion of the many who could not stand exposure to a 
 tropical sun. Nothing can exceed the graceful beauty 
 of such erections, -when the Sinhalese and Tamils set 
 themselves to do their best ; loops of plaintain and 
 young coco-nut leaf, green moss and fern, and yellow 
 olas, and clusters of coco-nuts, oranges, or other fruits, 
 offer the best possible material for covering the bamboo 
 framework that may be put together in a night. 
 
 It is computed that about 25,000 human beings of 
 all classes and races, the vast majority clad in bright 
 garments, varying from white to the richest and most 
 brilliant hues, were assembled round the centre where 
 the Governor read the Record of the Chief Events of 
 
172 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the Fifty Years, received the Address from the in- 
 habitants of Ceylon to their Gracious and Beloved 
 Monarch, and made proclamation of the Queen’s 
 desire (in conjunction with her God-fearing subjects 
 everywhere) to return thanks to Almighty God for the 
 blessings of the fifty years ; to see the Boyal Standard 
 hoisted and to hear the salute of fifty guns fired in 
 honour of the Boyal Lady who had reigned so long 
 and so well. High festival as it was, the quiet and 
 orderly conduct of the crowd was the subject of 
 emphatic and approving remark. Amongst the most 
 interesting incidents of the day was the singing of 
 the Boyal Anthem by the Sunday-school children, and 
 the procession of these and other young people, 
 scholars in the various schools and colleges to the 
 number of about 2,000. There were numerous pro- 
 cessions of various races and religionists, including 
 some seventy-seven Buddhist priests in bright yellow 
 robes, men who must be better than their creed, if 
 they sincerely joined in the thanksgiving to Almighty 
 God. Salutes consisting of the cracking of long 
 Kandyan whips were sources of curiosity to new- 
 comers, while the chanting of both Malay and Sin- 
 halese processions to well-known popular tunes 
 produced much amusement. One of the most striking 
 incidents of the day was the appearance of Arabi and 
 three of his fellow-exiles — Mahmood Sarny, Toulba, 
 and Abdulal, at the head of the Muhammadan pro- 
 cession. Their appearance imparted an element of 
 romance to the proceedings, reminding one of those 
 “ Arabian Bights Tales,” in which the isle of Serendib 
 figures so prominently. The most fertile of imagina- 
 tions could not, some years ago, have anticipated that 
 a contingent of Egyptian officers, exiled to Ceylon for 
 
Jubilee Celebration. 
 
 173 
 
 rebellion against their own sovereign, should take a 
 voluntary part in celebrating the Jubilee of a Queen 
 whose army had defeated the forces which they had 
 led in insurrection, and so rendered abortive their 
 ambitious (or patriotic?) designs. 
 
 The other three Egyptian exiles, Ally Felirny, 
 Mahamood Fehmy, and Yacoob Sarny, preferred 
 presenting an address at Queen’s House, which the 
 Governor received and promised to forward to Her 
 Majesty. The following is a literal translation of 
 their address written in Arabic : — 
 
 “ May it please your Excellency, — With heart- 
 felt loyalty, we the undersigned Egyptian exiles in 
 this country, though few our number, have reason to 
 approach your Excellency on this auspicious day set 
 apart by your Excellency for the celebration, by the 
 general public of this island, of the Jubilee of Her 
 Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of England, and 
 Empress of India, whom your Excellency as Euler of 
 this country represents, and we beg to address the 
 following : — 
 
 “No one would deny that for the period of fifty 
 years during which Her Majesty has uninterruptedly 
 occupied the throne, Her Majesty has been just and 
 merciful, and the brightness of her reign has reflected 
 all over the world, and been a source of gratitude 
 which we always feel in our hearts, and of which we 
 are full. 
 
 “We pray for all those gracious and liberal gifts 
 to us that Almighty God may bless Her Majesty and 
 give her grace, prolong her glorious and beneficent 
 reign, and give her health, happiness, and honour. 
 
 “We must confess that, in our position which is 
 
174 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 known to all, tlie pain in the centre of our hearts, as 
 strangers from our country, felt, has been removed 
 since our stay in this country, by the prompt extension 
 to us of relief and justice, by the many acts of kind- 
 ness, humanity, and generosity done to us. All these 
 acted as a remedy which cured the pain which we felt 
 in our hearts, making room for our peace and comfort. 
 
 “ We have indeed, therefore, special reason to be 
 most siueerely loyal and faithful, and to humbly yield 
 to the feelings and inclinations of our hearts. We 
 beg, therefore, to lay at the foot of Her Majesty’s 
 throne our unbounded heartfelt thanks, and to offer 
 the same to your Excellency, as Her Majesty’s great 
 Representative in this country, in which we enjoy 
 favours and overflowing justice. 
 
 “ We feel infinite happiness and pleasure that we 
 are accorded the privilege of taking a part ourselves 
 in the enjoyments of this joyful, happy, and auspicious 
 day, set apart for the honour and praise of Her 
 Majesty the Queen.” 
 
 Other addresses were presented to the Governor for 
 transmission to Her Majesty by the people of Ceylon^ 
 the Legislative Council, the Planters’ Association, 
 which represents the backbone of the prosperity of 
 the island, and the small Malay community. From 
 the latter we quote a part : — 
 
 “We desire to offer your Excellency, as the repre- 
 sentative of her Majesty Queen Victoria, our sincerest 
 and dutiful thanks for the manifold advantages we 
 have received during the beneficent reign of Her 
 Majesty, through her many noble representatives who 
 ruled this island. It is with the proudest satisfaction 
 
Jubilee Celebration. 
 
 175 
 
 we say, and in saying it we are but expressing the 
 feeling of the entire Malay community, that no com- 
 munity has proved more loyal and faithful ; and its 
 loyalty and fidelity have stood the very best tests. 
 Fifty years ago, when Her Majesty ascended the 
 throne, the Malays constituted a Military Corps, they 
 rendered valuable service abroad and in this island, 
 which, although it has been only the land of their 
 adoption, has, in consequence of the disbandment of 
 the corps in 1873, become their home. A mere 
 military corps has during the last fifty years made 
 rapid strides towards material advancement, and 
 what had been a mere corps of a few hundred fighting 
 men has developed into a large, free, and independent 
 community. This happy realization is due to the 
 beneficent rule of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. It 
 nevertheless still retains its martial spirit, and we 
 may assure your Excellency, should there ever be 
 occasion for it, the Malays to a man would joyfully 
 rally round the British Standard and fight to the 
 death like good soldiers.” 
 
 The different colleges of Colombo each had their 
 own pandal, and a visitor would be very much in- 
 terested in the Ceylonese lads trained in the Boyal, St. 
 Thomas’s and Wesley Colleges, in the Medical College ; 
 and also in the pandal headed, “ Widyodaya College,” 
 inside of which were ranged in rows, some seventy-five 
 Buddhist students, clad in their yellow robes, these 
 being with a few exceptions made of silk; while in front, 
 in a sanctum all by himself, sat Sumangala, the high 
 priest of Adam’s Peak, and president of the College. 
 These young celibates, though they had their fans in 
 their hands, did not make much use of them, but stared 
 
176 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 about and enjoyed the fun as much as any one else. 
 What would the Buddha have said if he had seen 
 them thus gathered to do honour to a woman (accord- 
 ing to his dictum woman is — not sinful — but sin 
 itself !) ; and to hear later on, when the school 
 children were singing “God save the Queen,” a young 
 monk chant a number of Pali stanzas, composed by 
 the learned Sumangala himself, in honour of this same 
 woman. In these pandals the official record was read 
 in English, Sinhalese, or Tamil, bj r the leaders of the 
 classes represented. Sir Arthur Gordon also read the 
 Record through, and then proclaimed in Her Majesty’s 
 name that the lands sold for default of payment of 
 commutation rates, since the introduction of the 
 Grain Commutation Ordinance into any province, 
 which shall remain in the hands of the Crown, should 
 be restored to their former possessors. He also an- 
 nounced that the following classes of prisoners — 173 
 in number — had been released on that day as an 
 example of Her Majesty’s mercy and clemency : — 
 (1st) all prisoners in prison for debt due to the Crown ; 
 (2nd) all women not undergoing imprisonment for 
 very serious offences; (3rd) all prisoners whose sen- 
 tences of imprisonment were shortly to expire. 
 
 From the official record of British progress in fifty 
 years, prepared by the Governor, we quote the few 
 items referring to Ceylon : — 
 
 In 1838 the Legislative Council of the Colony, created but not com- 
 pleted in 1833, received its full complement of members. 
 
 In 18-14 the last remains of Slavery were wholly abolished. 
 
 In 1848 a slight insurrectionary movement took place in a part of the 
 Ivandyan districts, which is only worthy of mention in order to contrast 
 it with the loyalty of all classes ten years later, on which the Governor 
 of Ceylon was able safely to rely, when in 1857 he sent all the available 
 troops in this Island to assist in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny. 
 
 Iu 1856 Sir Henry “Ward commenced the restoration of the long- 
 neglected Irrigation System of the Island; and in 1857 the ancient 
 Village Councils were revived, chiefly with a view to the promotion and 
 enforcement of Irrigation Works. 
 
Jubilee Celebration. 
 
 177 
 
 In the same year the first sod was cut of the first Railway in Ceylon. 
 
 In 1858 Ceylon was united with India by the Electric Telegraph. 
 
 In 1865 the Municipalities of Colombo and Kandy were established. 
 
 In 1868 the general scheme of Public Education now in force was 
 adopted by the Legislature. 
 
 In 1870 legislative measures enabling the tenants of Temple Lands to 
 commute their services were adopted, and in the same year the Ceylon 
 Medical School was established. 
 
 In 1871 the powers of Village Councils were largely extended, and 
 Village Tribunals instituted. 
 
 In 1875 the first stone of the Colombo Breakwater was laid by His 
 Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. 
 
 In 1881 an Ordinance, which however did not come fully into effect 
 until 1886, was passed, withdrawing pecuniary aid, saving in the case of 
 vested life-interests, from all Ecclesiastical Bodies. 
 
 In 1883 a Code of Criminal Law and Procedure was passed, which 
 came into operation at the beginning of 1885. 
 
 In 1885 Currency Notes were first issued by the Government. 
 
 In 1886 the Colombo Breakwater was completed. 
 
 The Population of Ceylon, which in 1837 was estimated at 1,243,066, 
 and on the first census taken in 1871 was found to be 2,405,287, now 
 amounts to about 3,000,000. 
 
 The Revenue, which in 1837 was £371,993, amounted in 1867 to 
 £969,936, and in 1886 to R12,682,549. 
 
 The number of miles of Main Roads open in 1837 was about 450 ; in 
 1887 it was 3,343. 
 
 The number of Estates in the hands of European Settlers in 1837 
 probably did not exceed 50 ; in 1887 it was over 1,500. The development 
 of Agricultural Industry which these figures denote is, in itself, the most 
 remarkable feature in the History of Ceylon during Her Majesty’s reign. 
 It is a development which has changed the physical appearance of the 
 country, and profoundly modified its social condition, and which is due 
 to the energy and perseverance of men who have shown that they can 
 bear adversity with fortitude as they sustained prosperity with credit. 
 
 The Boyal Standard was then hoisted, and a royal 
 salute of fifty guns was fired. Next the Volunteer 
 Band, led by Mr. Luschwitz, played “ The National 
 Anthem,” while the children, led by the Bev. S. Coles, 
 C.M.S., sang the same. 
 
 Processions closed the afternoon’s proceedings, and 
 effective displays of fireworks, with less effective illu- 
 minations, entertained a large concourse till miduight. 
 
 The chief permanent Memorial of the Jubilee is to- 
 be the Ceylon “Victoria Home for Incurables.” 
 
 Nowhere in the British Empire are there more loyal 
 or contented subjects of her Most Gracious Majesty 
 than in “ Lanka,” “ the pearl-drop on the brow of 
 India.” 
 
 13 
 
178 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year 
 
 WILD ELEPHANTS IN THE LABIGAMA (YOUNG PRINCES’) KRAAL, OF 1882, MOURNING OVER THEIR DEAD COMPANION, 
 From a rhotogrnjth by Messrs. W. L. H. Skeen (f' Co., of Colombo. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 SHOOTING TRIPS IN CEYLON.* 
 
 GOOD CENTRES FOR SPORT, AND HOW TO REACH THEM FROM COLOMBO. 
 
 No. 1. — The Park Country and Batticaloa Tanks: — 
 Game : elephants, deer, cheetahs, bears, pigs, teal, snipe, 
 peafowl, &c,, &c. To Nanuoya by rail ; to Badulla, hired 
 carriage, 40 miles ; to Bibile, hired carriage, 37 miles ; to 
 Nilgala, good bridle road, 15 miles. This is a good centre 
 for the Park country. To Ambari Tank, 31 miles. 
 
 [Excellent country for all tbe above game, Erikamam, 
 Devilane, and other large tanks in the vicinity.] 
 
 No. 2. — The Horton Plains : — Game : elk, deer, ele- 
 phants, spur fowl, &c., &c. To Nanuoya by rail ; to the 
 Horton Plains, turning off at Blackpool 2 miles from the 
 Nanuoya station on the road to Nuwara Eliya, 18 miles. 
 
 No. 3. — Trincomalee District : — Game : elephants, 
 bears, cheetahs, deer, teal, snipe, &c., &c. To Trincoma- 
 lee, by steamer, or by road through Kandy and Matale, 
 rail to Matale, thence by road to Trincomalee, 97 miles. 
 Trincomalee to Kottiar by boat, Kottiar to Toppur (Allai- 
 Tank), 7 miles. Good centre for sport of all sorts. Kan- 
 thalai Tank, 24 miles from Trincomalee on Kandy road, 
 good centre for sport. 
 
 No. 4. — Puttalam District : — G dine : elephants, bears, 
 cheetahs, deer, partridge, &c., &c. To Puttalam by canal 
 or road, 84 miles. Puttalam to Pomparipo by lake or 
 
 * The best available book on Sport is still Sir Samuel Baker’s 
 “ Rifle and Hound in Ceylon,” though published nearly thirty years 
 ago : a new edition was published a few years ago. 
 
180 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 road, 25 miles. Good centre for sport. Pomparipo to 
 Maricliikaddi, 18 miles bridle road. Excellent country 
 for game of all sorts. 
 
 No. 5. — Hambantota District : — To Kalutara by rail; 
 coacb to Galle and Matara ; thence a hired trap to Ham- 
 bantota. By steamer to Galle and Hambantota and cart 
 to Yale. 
 
 No. 6. — Mineky and Polonaruwa: — To Matale by rail. 
 Matale to Habaranne byroad, 44 miles, good carriage road. 
 Habaranne to Minnery, bridle road, 15 miles; Minnery 
 to Topari (Polonnaruwa) 12 miles. 
 
 THE ELEPHANT KRAAL OF 1882. 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THE ELEPHANT KRAAL HELD AT LXBUGAMA (CEYLON) 
 FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT OF THE PRINCES ALBERT VICTOR AND GEORGE 
 OF WALES IN 1S82. 
 
 (From an account by Mr. J. Ferguson in the Ceylon Observer). 
 
 AT THE KRAAL. 
 
 Kraaltown, Monday Evening, January 80, 1882. 
 arrival of the princes. 
 
 The Princes arrived at the kraal at 5 p.m. Prince 
 George was mounted on a spirited steed and cleared the 
 stream which runs between the official and unofficial 
 portions of Ivraaltown in magnificent style, showing that 
 he knows how to ride. Large crowds of planters and 
 others cheered him vociferously. Prince Albert Victor 
 arrived on foot, walking with his Excellency the Governor 
 alongside of Lady Longden, who was carried in a chair. 
 There are two herds of elephants within a mile of the 
 kraal, seven in one herd and fifteen in the other. A 
 successful drive is expected early to-morrow morning. 
 
 Tuesday Forenoon, January 31, 1882. 
 
 THE ELEPHANTS 1NDISPOSBD TO CARRY OUT THE OFFICIAL 
 PROGRAMME. 
 
 The little programme sketched out by the Government 
 Agent, and which the energetic Dawson hoped to put into 
 execution, ran somewhat as follows : — The driving from 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 181 
 
 the outer into the inner heat to commence last night, to 
 be followed this morning by the drive into the kraal, 
 which, it was hoped, would be effected before noon ; the 
 noosing and tying-up to be at once begun and continued 
 on Wednesday. This would have enabled the princes to 
 see all the operations connected with a kraal and to start 
 back so as to reach Colombo in good time on Wednesday. 
 
 But, so far, we have only an illustration of the well- 
 worn aphorism that — - 
 
 “ The best-laid plans of mice and men 
 Gang aft agley ; ” 
 
 and we all know how often, especially in the case of 
 elephants, are the plans of men at fault. An old chief 
 last evening gave me the opinion, based on his experience 
 of a good many kraals, that while a herd of elephants 
 were difficult to compass and drive from their native 
 jungle in the first instance, once start them and get the 
 beat fairly established, and by the time they come within 
 driving distance of the kraal they are all fairly cowed 
 and very easy of management. No doubt comparatively 
 this is the case ; but in the history of kraals we have too 
 many instances of successful charges and escapes to feel 
 that the final drive is such an easy matter as the old chief 
 would have us believe. Last night’s experience is no 
 exception. The herd that it was proposed first to capture, 
 after being driven into the inner beat, broke through into 
 the wider range, and the evening’s labour went for nothing. 
 No doubt the wet evening — rain extinguishing fire and 
 torches — had a good deal to do with the breach effected. 
 Of nothing is the elephant so much afraid as of fire, and 
 with nothing will a Kandyan approach a wild elephant so 
 readily. You will remember Major Skinner’s experience 
 on the Anuradhapura road as an illustration. How he 
 found the road to his camp wilfully, if not deliberately 
 (and of malice aforethought), blocked up one evening by 
 a herd of elephants which had been prowling in the neigh- 
 bourhood ; how all the efforts of himself and his men to 
 clear the road of the intruders proved unavailing — the 
 leader, an old tusker, charging furiously when any attempt 
 was made at dislodgment ; and how this went on for some 
 hours until finally a Kandyan arrived with a huge torch, 
 xvith which he marched right up to the tusker, who stood 
 
182 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 his ground until the fire almost touched his trunk, and 
 then turned tail and fled with all his belongings. In the 
 hands of a man of Mr. Saunders’s nerve, no doubt an 
 umbrella alternately opened and shut would prove as 
 effectual as a torch, and very probably the Government 
 Agent found occasion to use it last night, for he and Mr. 
 Dawson are reported to have spent most of the night with 
 the beaters. 
 
 Very early astir this morning, probably the first from 
 the official encampment, was Captain Foot (of H.M.S. 
 Ruby), and a long walk round the kraal and on along the 
 line of heaters failed to afford a sight of waving forest 
 tree-tops, or the sound of crashing through “batali” (small 
 bambu), much less the sight of an elephant. The hope 
 now is that one herd may be driven in this afternoon, hut 
 there are doubts about it, and the headmen are more than 
 usually susceptible to the presence of strangers, insisting 
 that then’ beaters should not he visited, and that no bugle 
 should he sounded for the benefit of “ Kraaltown ” until 
 the harrier-gate shall be closed and the herd secured. 
 There is, as usual, too, some little jealousy among the 
 chiefs, the one insisting on his herd being first disposed 
 of and by no means mingled with the others. 
 
 Meantime the princes are enjoying themselves under 
 “ the merrie greenwood.” Their quarters have been most 
 delightfully chosen — for situation beautiful exceedingly — 
 and much care and taste have been displayed in fitting 
 them up. A “ crow’s-nest ” for four has been established 
 at a good point for a sight of the drive-in, while the prin- 
 cipal grand stand is, as usual, erected partly inside the 
 kraal to secure a good sight of the final and really 
 interesting operations. 
 
 Tuesday Evening. 
 
 THE ELEPHANTS STILL OBSTINATE A VISIT TO THE BEATERS* 
 
 LINES A FALSE ALARM THE CHIEF EKNELIGODA. 
 
 This has been a day of disappointment for all concerned. 
 The drive-in, which w’as expected to take place last night 
 was considered certain for this morning, and in hurrying 
 up from a distance of ten miles (where I had taken up my 
 quarters last night) I feared the risk of missing an exciting 
 portion of the proceedings, but was consoled to find 
 everybody still waiting for the elephants. The afternoon 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 183 
 
 •was now considered certain for the drive, and in prepara- 
 tion thousands of natives wended their way kraalwards, 
 from which, however, they were kept off at respectable 
 distance. 
 
 I started off to find the outer line of heaters, and at 
 about two miles from Kraaltown I came upon their small 
 jungle huts, or rather nests and camp-fires. Very pic- 
 turesque was the scene and wonderful the interest of the 
 people in their work, from the old grey-headed Kandyan 
 sire with his flowing white beard, who had probably 
 passed through more kraals than he could recall, to the 
 young stripling by his side who was on the “ corral” beat 
 for the first time. From the far-distant jungle came the 
 signal of their chief, Ekneligoda, or his henchman, and 
 immediately the cry was taken up, 
 
 “ Hari — liari — liari — hari, 
 
 Hari — hari — lio-ho ! ” 
 
 winding up with a prolonged cheer. Passing from the 
 bridle-road, the outer cordon line led through the small 
 bambu jungle up hill and down dale ; camp-fires, huts, and 
 beaters with their long forks were passed, or here and 
 there an old musket, and again at regular intervals a 
 crow’s-nest with an agile, keen-eyed watchman swung up 
 in a tree. Suddenly a wild “ halloo ! ” is raised by the 
 Sinhalese on the river bank ; there is crashing of jungle, 
 firing of guns, and flinging of stones ; two or three 
 indefatigable appuhamis literally throw themselves into 
 the stream across which the cordon line now runs, to pick 
 up rocks and fling them into the jungle. The elephants 
 are surely coming, and right down upon us in the river, is 
 the first thought. Three beaters at our side look out for 
 trees, and the thought of shelter becomes a leading con- 
 sideration. Suddenly the assistant agent, Mr. Dawson, 
 accompanied by the indefatigable Captain Foot and a few 
 other officers, break from the cordon line into the river- 
 bed. Their presence has a wonderful effect ; the heaters 
 redouble their furious attack on the supposed advancing 
 “ aliyas,” shouts and yells, shots and shells in the form of 
 pieces of rock, crashing and trampling, form a proper 
 accompaniment, and it seems more than ever needful to 
 look out for danger. As a Colombo wallah I could not 
 help thinking discretion the better part of valour, and my 
 friends looked, if they did not speak it — 
 
184 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 “ He who ascends into a tree 
 May next day climb again with me ; 
 
 But he by elephant that’s gored 
 May see at once that he is floor'd.” 
 
 But, before we moved a step, the clamour and shindy 
 subsided as suddenly as it was commenced, and it did not 
 require the “ knowing” look of a friend up to “the ways 
 that are dark ” of the beater folk to see that all was got 
 up as a “plant” (excuse slang) in honour of the visitors, 
 to afford them a little sensation for their jungle trip. 
 “ The elephants are upon you,” they said, in fact, in order 
 to see how we should stand the test or show a clean pair 
 of heels. But fortunately we stood it all, while we followed 
 on in search of the elephants. 
 
 I was anxious to see the old chief, Ekneligoda, who at 
 the head of 500 men directed this drive of fifteen ele- 
 phants — his people having been out for nearly a month, 
 while he has been half that period living and lodging as 
 best he can in the jungle. “ Here he comes,” cries my 
 companion, who knows the old man well : a little, dark, 
 skinny old man, bearded like the wandura, with an 
 ordinary comboy which he is holding up as he walks bare- 
 foot through jungle and water — the inevitable dilapidated 
 billy-cock hat setting off a figure wdiicli a stranger would 
 at once say belonged to a poor old Kandyan of no conse- 
 quence. But a glance at his face revealed power and 
 authority, set off by a keen eye and aquiline nose — a man 
 of few words, yet his English is good. We met him 
 later on coming back from one of his beats, when he 
 frankly assured us he did not think we could see the ele- 
 phants, penetrate and push on as we might. He com- 
 plained, not loudly, but expressively, of the difficult task 
 set to him : more troublesome elephants had probably 
 never come under his care. 
 
 Wednesday Evening, Feb. 1st, 1882. 
 
 PARTIAL SUCCESS : SEVEN ELEPHANTS DRIVEN IN, BUT THE 
 
 ATTEMPT TO NOOSE THEM UNSUCCESSFUL ONE SHOT, AND 
 
 THE TAIL PRESENTED TO PRINCE ALBERT VICTOR A 
 
 BEATER KILLED AND OTHERS WOUNDED DEPARTURE OF 
 
 THE GOVERNOR AND THE PRINCES. 
 
 Ekneligoda has his headquarters on the north side of 
 the Peak in the Yatiyantota district, as his relative and 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 185 
 
 superior, Icldamalgoda, holds sway over the richer and 
 more popular south. He is a man of few words, but 
 when I met him the second time in the bed of the expan- 
 sive rocky ela, which feeds the Malia-oya, the chief, who 
 looked disconcerted after his interview with his civilian 
 superior, threw out his hands in the expressive oriental 
 fashion and deprecated this English plan of fighting 
 against time and nature, hurrying up the elephants, nolens 
 volens, whether inclined to go on or not. “ Now,” said 
 the chief, “the Sinhalese way is to wait on the elephants; 
 don’t allow them to go hack ; wait until they go, or only 
 at proper times help them to go forward.” In the light 
 of last night’s and to-day’s experiences, there is much 
 wisdom in the old chief’s remark. 
 
 Tuesday passed, and no elephants approached, but the 
 beaters had begun to work in earnest, the position of the 
 herd had been noted by the waving of the jungle, and the 
 chief was very sanguine of passing into the kraal valley 
 and probably driving his herd in during the night. 
 With this anticipation the princely and viceregal party, 
 as well as Kraaltown, had to he content for Tuesday 
 evening. 
 
 The princes were for part of this day entertained with 
 the performances of the tame elephants, and they had 
 several walks to the “ crow’s-nest ” in front of the kraal. 
 
 Wednesday’s Experiences. 
 
 Day broke, and in the grey morning mist, from 5 to 7 
 a.m. (and a few hours afterwards), the denizens of Kraal- 
 town might be seen climbing the hillside, and passing on 
 to the kraal entrance in the hope of all being ready for 
 business at last, but “ No elephants ; not likely to be any 
 kraal,” was all that one could learn. Later on, however, 
 came better news, and we awaited patiently for hours the 
 approach of elephants which, judging by the nearness 
 and loudness of the cries of the beaters, might be ex- 
 pected at any moment, from 9 a.m. onwards, to burst 
 from their final fastness along the drive into the kraal. 
 
 Wednesday Night. 
 
 CAPTURE OF IDDAJIALGODA’s HERD OF ELEPHANTS. 
 
 About breakfast-time came the news that the two herds 
 ■of from seventeen to twenty elephants were to be kraaled 
 
186 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 simultaneously. This was received as a welcome relief' 
 by the weary bystanders. Very patiently, though with 
 eager expectation, did we all wait for the sudden rustling 
 of the jungle and the burst inwards, which would afford 
 ocular demonstration of a herd being kraaled. But hour 
 after hour sped away, and, though numerous were the 
 alarms, no approach to the entrance followed. It was a, 
 case of 
 
 “ How often we Prince Rupert kill’d, 
 
 And bravely won the day, — 
 
 The wicked Cavaliers do read 
 The clean contrary way.’ 
 
 ELEPHANT CHAKOE : THE FINAL SHOT. 
 
 At one time the tame elephants were ordered down into 
 the jungle to charge the wild herd upwards if possible, 
 but the attempt failed : the work was one in which the 
 tame ones had no practice, and the “ cow ” in the herd,, 
 already nearly driven desperate about her calf, threatened 
 to undo all the labour of many weeks, if any weak point 
 were left exposed. Fiercely, and again and again, did this 
 gallant brute and faithful mother charge the beaters ; she 
 refused to be driven back, and after injuring, directly or 
 indirectly, several of the beaters, she at last killed her 
 man, and it was resolved she must perish. Mr. James 
 Munro was requested to punish the offender, not by 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 187' 
 
 killing but by wounding her, which he did at forty paces 
 by a shot in the forehead. This laid the cow prostrate 
 for from five to ten minutes, during which blood poured 
 out of the wound in a torrent, forming quite a pool ; but 
 after this interval the animal rose, much to the delight of 
 its distracted calf, and trotted after the herd, thoroughly 
 cured of further designs on the beaters, and in a few 
 minutes more — unfortunately in the absence of the crow’s- 
 nest party at luncheon — the whole herd, four large and 
 three small, dashed along the entrance drive into the 
 kraal, trampling down the bambu jungle and passing at 
 lightning speed and with the sound of rumbling thunder 
 into the kraal. 
 
 “ Caught at last ! ” was the cry, and the grand stand 
 was speedily occupied, while the order went forth to old 
 Iddamalgoda, who now appeared on the scene, that an 
 attempt should at once be made to move and tie up one 
 of the herd. 
 
 But, alas, the princes were timed to leave at 1.30 ; they 
 lingered on till about 3 p.m., and so secured a passing 
 sight of the herd in the kraal and were presented with 
 the tail of the elephant shot. Then Prince Albert Victor, 
 His Excellency the Governor, Lady Longden, Sir Edwin 
 Johnson, Lieut. Adair, and Captain Hayne, A.D.C. , 
 started for Colombo ; while Prince George, with his tutor, 
 the Bev. J. Dalton, Captains Lord Charles Scott, Durrant, 
 and Foot — as well as Admiral Gore- Jones — remained 
 some hours longer in the hope of witnessing a noosing 
 and tying up. Beaters were already hard at work with 
 catties, and very soon two or three of the tame elephants 
 lent their effective aid, butting down gently but effectually 
 trees of no mean magnitude : everything in the shape of 
 light jungle speedily disappeared from around the royal 
 stand. The enormous government “ tusker,” fully roped 
 and equipped for the noosing and tying business, now 
 moved down in stately measure among the spectators to 
 the eastern side of the kraal, where, at the word of 
 command, he lightly and readily slipped aside the top 
 beam and dropped the one end from his trunk to the 
 ground. He crossed the lower beam, still over four feet 
 high, without difficulty, and proceeded into the jungle. 
 I passed on to the remoter end of the kraal, where a 
 continuous trumpeting, varied by stentorian but painful 
 
188 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 cries of the bereaved baby-elephant, indicated the pre- 
 sence of the herd hidden in the dense bambu jungle. 
 Nothing could be seen of them here, however — only the 
 occasional waving of the bambus. Turning back, I found 
 that the government tusker had got rid of his keeper 
 inside the kraal for some reason, and was vamly trying by 
 himself to slip back the upper beam again in order to get 
 out of the kraal ! Fortunately for the thousands of 
 natives and some Europeans too (who could not well 
 stampede through the close jungle) the beam had been 
 firmly secured, and very soon the keeper once more 
 resumed his work and authority, and the tusker went to 
 work, although, apparently, he was not to be depended on 
 so much as the remaining tuskers’ trio. After a good 
 view of this end of the kraal from Mr. Charles de Soysa’s 
 stand, I went on to the grand stand, inside the kraal, 
 where Prince George and party were waiting for the 
 exhibition which never came off. Although two or three 
 encounters took place, and although a hand of volunteer 
 European parties undertook to drive from the lower end 
 of the kraal, no favourable opportunity for noosing could 
 be obtained, and the prince had to be contented with the 
 several ineffectual attempts made. 
 
 The fact is that the attempt to noose on the same evening 
 as the capture is unprecedented, and the civil officers 
 scarcely expected success. The usual and proper course 
 is to allow a night to intervene, during which the captives 
 trample down all the “batali” and other jungle stuff, ex- 
 haust themselves in examining their prison, and finally lie 
 ■down in whatever puddle may remain in the hollows. 
 Noosing and tying can then proceed in a business-like way. 
 Clearly, neither chief nor retainers could feel much enthu- 
 siasm in the after-proceedings of this afternoon. That the 
 tame elephants and keepers did their duty well is vouched 
 for by the experience of a planting friend who, occupying 
 a prominent position in a high tree inside the western side 
 of the kraal, witnessed a charge of three tame elephants 
 on to the quartette of big ones in the herd, which fairly 
 astonished him. The trio were arranged in fine, facing 
 the position in the bambu, where the herd gave evidence 
 of then* presence, and all at once in regular and most 
 rapid motion, at the word of command, they charged, 
 butting the herd fairly over or on before them. So rapid 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 189' 
 
 ancl regular was the run, that the three seemed as one, and 
 to run like a racehorse. 
 
 As a finish to my day’s work, I paid a visit to the dead 
 elephant, which lay in the bambu jungle not far from the 
 western entrance. The fatal shots on the forehead were 
 examined, as well as one in the ear ; the ears and feet as 
 trophies or talismans had already been either cut off or 
 hacked about. We were a party of twenty or thirty, in- 
 cluding natives, around the prostrate animal, when sud- 
 denly a crash through the jungle near at hand was followed 
 by the cry of “ Here comes the herd ! ” and, sure enough, 
 the wild elephants, closely followed by two of the tame 
 ones, appeared to be making directly for us. There was 
 screaming and shouting enough in good earnest, and 
 although the only risk lay in a hurried stampede in one 
 direction, the pursuers being behind, clearly discretion was 
 the better part of valour, and a rush was made for the 
 barrier. 
 
 Thursday Evening, February 2nd, 1882. 
 
 A HARD day’s WORK, RESULTING FINALLY IN THE CAPTURE OF 
 TWELVE ELEPHANTS, INCLUDING A SPLENDID TUSKER. 
 
 We were met at an early hour by an official intimation 
 — probably written the night before — to the effect that the 
 public were requested not to approach the stockade and 
 kraal, as Ekneligoda’s herd was within easy distance, and 
 the attempt was to be made to open the barrier gate, drive 
 them in and kraal all together. This was a disappoint- 
 ment, because it added to the risk of there being no noos- 
 ing at all this day ; but before we had fully realized the 
 new “ situation ” created by the official f‘ proclamation,”' 
 came the authentic news, meeting us on the road up to the 
 kraal, that the whole of the six elephants kraaled the 
 night before had escaped during the night, and that the 
 kraal was vacant ! 
 
 This proved to be the fact, and the explanations rendered 
 were most varied. One statement was that part of Ekne- 
 ligoda’s herd had broken in during the night, and the 
 palisade being knocked down, all escaped scot-free again ; 
 another account made it appear that the gate must have 
 been opened preparatory to the further kraaling, and so in 
 being too greedy, crying “ more, more,” those already held 
 
190 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 ■were lost. Tlie official report is that a “ tusker ” from 
 Ekneligoda’s herd — and it is supposed to be the same 
 “ tusker ” as visited the kraal the night before — broke in 
 again so effectually as to release his sisters and brethren, 
 old and young, in distress. But where were the watchmen 
 planted all round the kraal the night before with wands 
 and spears immediately alongside the barricade ? Well, 
 there can be no doubt they were grievously to blame, and 
 as evidence that they have not escaped punishment I may 
 mention that the Government Agent visited them at an 
 early hour this morning to give them “ a bit of his mind,” 
 winding up, I believe, with a smash of “ crockery ” (!) in- 
 including chatties — a great deprivation for Sinhalese 
 “ jungle-wallahs.” 
 
 But, in defence of these poor fellows, let me say that 
 then- story has it that they were beset by wild elephants 
 prowling round the kraal from the outside, and so, between 
 two fires, they could not give their attention to their 
 charge as they would have liked. There are further ex- 
 planations however, namely, that their chief Iddamalgoda 
 had to listen to some sharp words the night before on 
 account of the slowness of his people to effect a noosing, 
 the threat finally being that the Government would not 
 allow them to have a single elephant from the herd, since 
 they allowed Prince George to leave without tying up one. 
 The old chief said nothing, merely shrugging his shoulders ; 
 but it is quite conceivable that his people cared little about 
 keeping strict watch and ward over the herd that was to 
 be taken from them. Another reason for discouragement 
 was the shooting of the big “ cow ” elephant : the beaters 
 did not like it a bit : — “ Here we have been driving in the 
 jungle for weeks, and after we have brought this elephant 
 eighty miles or so to within as many feet of the gate of the 
 kraal, you go and shoot it ! ” This is certainly not the native 
 plan, and it is all attributable to the terrible haste made in 
 the present proceedings in order “ to catch the princes.” 
 Another six hours must undoubtedly have brought in the 
 mother as well as calf in safety. 
 
 From an early hour Mr. Templer (who had so steadily 
 accompanied Iddamalgoda’s herd to the kraal) was out 
 with Ekneligoda and the larger herd, now coming rapidly 
 forward. "Whether this chiefs circle of beaters had inter- 
 > cepted and added to their herd the six escaped elephants 
 
. An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 191 
 
 is a matter of doubt ; but they certainly brought on as 
 many as twelve elephants of their own, and beating up 
 from early morning, the most perfect stillness being main- 
 tained in and around the stockade — due very much to the 
 great number of departures — shortly after noon the herd 
 was reported well on in the kraal drive,* and at one o’clock 
 Mr. Saunders’s report was: “Drive-in probable in a quarter 
 of an hour.” From that time on to five o’clock, most try- 
 ing, vexatious, disappointing, and yet most exciting was 
 the experience. I question if ever before in the history 
 of kraals there has been so strange and mixed an experi- 
 ence. 
 
 The following sketch will give an accurate idea of the 
 
 way in which Ekneligoda’s herd had to approach the 
 kraal. There is a ridge and valley behind the kraal 
 valley. 
 
 The herd, after coming down the drive, had rounded the 
 hill and faced the kraal about 1 p.m., as I have said. 
 The cries of the beaters came steadily onwards so far, and 
 
 * The drive for a couple of miles round the range, down the gorge 
 and on towards the kraal till the stockade was reached, was most 
 finely carried on : the cries of the beaters ever came nearer and nearer; 
 but when the elephants sighted and scented the stockade they stopped 
 short at once. 
 
 ENTRANCE W OR 
 TAME ELEPHANTS 
 
192 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 progress, though a good deal slower, was made for an hour- 
 more. Most exciting was the scene then ; the proximity 
 of the elephants was evident, the tree-tops waved, the 
 bambus cracked, and every now and then uplifted trunks 
 rose over the bambus, and a rumbling of trumpeting — the 
 simmering of baffled rage — swelled the excitement of the 
 few hidden and silent onlookers, as well as that of the 
 beaters. Between 2 and 3 p.m. the drive-in became so 
 certain and imminent that Ekneligoda and his immediate 
 bodyguard or attendants (five stalwart swarthy fellows) 
 left “the beat ” to see if all was right at the Government 
 Agent’s corner, whence the entrance could be commanded. 
 This was below the princes’ “ crow’s nest,” to-day, alas ! 
 deserted. [I wish I had time to give you a proper idea of 
 Ekneligoda, as he came up the path of watchers outside 
 the drive, billycock hat and common cloth as usual, closely 
 followed, however, by his umbrella-bearer in gorgeous cos- 
 tume of flowered comboy, big comb, &c. Evidently the 
 Sinhalese chieftain when on the “corral ’’path likes to 
 look like his work and to leave all outward show to his 
 servants.] Sure enough, Ekneligoda had not been long at 
 our end, when the elephants rushed as if for the entrance ; 
 but they stopped short, irresolute ; then, getting into the 
 open, some of them made a dash at the palisades of the 
 drive facing us, and immediately we all — a dozen Euro- 
 peans, backing the watchers led by Ekneligoda — shouted 
 and screamed and struck trees and fences to our hearts’ 
 content. This drove them in a mob on the other side, 
 where, at the palisade as well as far up the hillside were a 
 number of planters, besides the usual stockade guard. 
 They soon made it plain to the herd they could not break 
 through there ; and then was witnessed a sight probably 
 never before paralleled — seven or eight goodly-sized 
 elephants standing in a semicircle together, heads to the 
 centre, immediately in front of the entrance to the kraal, 
 and yet not making the slightest attempt to enter ! The 
 rest of the herd farther up the drive kept the beaters back 
 by charging now and then ; * but evidently there was now 
 
 * About 1.30 the tusker made a full charge ; there were some 
 visitors at the time with the beaters ; later ou, when a great many 
 European volunteers had joined, a regular charge of the herd took 
 place, and three elephants escaped up a ridge along the centre of 
 the drive, being seen from the stockade to pass through the beaters. 
 Altogether four charges were made on the volunteers. 
 
4 n Elephant Kraal. 
 
 193 
 
 an obstacle in the way, or such demoralization as made it 
 most uncertain what to expect of the elephants. The most 
 likely explanation became evident with the recollection of 
 the “ dead elephant,” shot the night before inside the en- 
 trance, and the track of blood which no doubt ran along 
 from the barrier. On smell elephants chiefly depend to warn 
 them of danger. The scent of danger ahead was only too 
 apparent. “ Better perish where we are ” seemed the 
 thought of the seven companions in danger, as they stood 
 rubbing each other sympathetically, than pass that truly 
 bloody gateway and be shot behind it. 
 
 Baffled again and again, and worn out by their exer- 
 tions, it became clear that Ekneligoda’s men wanted help. 
 This had been suggested to the chief already once or twice, 
 and Mr. C. S. Agar, who had been summoned at an early 
 hour by Mr. Dawson to aid with his trusty rifle, had been 
 eager for some time to join the drive, and by discharging 
 blank shot to inspire the beaters to urge the drive on.* 
 Mr. W. S. Murray at last conveyed the pressing request 
 to Ekneligoda (who had again rejoined his people) for 
 Mr. Agar and twenty or thirty European volunteers to 
 join the ring, and, after an interval, it was granted on 
 condition that no shot should on any account be fired at 
 the elephants. 
 
 Mr. Agar, rifle in hand, quickly followed Mr. Murray to 
 the beat in the valley, and, Mr. Saunders sending the call 
 round, I speedily saw pass on from our side Messrs. 
 Thring, Talbot, and C. B. White, the admiral’s flag- 
 lieutenant (the admiral had all day attended closely on 
 the proceedings with imperturbable good humour and 
 encouragement), and three or four more whom, in their 
 hasty descent through the scrub, I did not recognize. A 
 still larger body, chiefly planters, passed into the drive 
 round the opposite side of the kraal. Most unfortunately, 
 the volunteers had barely reached the circle of advance 
 when the rain, which had been threatening for some time, 
 began to descend in torrents : black and hopeless rolled 
 the clouds over the devoted valley and the apparently ill- 
 fated drive ; the thunder boomed and the rain poured, and 
 
 * Mr. A. J. Campbell had previously pressed to be allowed to lead 
 twenty-five Europeans and fifty native beaters, guaranteeing success 
 with the drive, but, Ekneligoda then protesting, this was considered 
 unadvisable. 
 
 14 
 
194 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 it seemed as if “ hari-hari-hooi-ooi ” was at an end. Tlie 
 cry was raised again and again, but was positively drowned 
 in the greater noise of the elements. From many points 
 of view this ill-timed rain seemed to doom the whole 
 enterprise. It gave the thirsty elephants refreshment, 
 a breathing space, and fresh courage ; night was coming 
 on ; the drivers could not stand their ground so close 
 up to the herd all night ; their camp-fires must prove a 
 failure ; — and hope had sunk to zero ! The dead elephant 
 had, apparently, saved a score of living companions from 
 being kraaled. 
 
 I had taken refuge from the rain in a watcher’s hut ; 
 hut about 4.30, finding the rain soaking through, and no 
 appearance of a clearing up, hopeless of a kraal, and 
 anxious to get on ten miles homewards after my boxes,, 
 which had, alas, gone on before me, I determined to stait 
 off. I made for Kraaltown in a woeful condition ; the 
 pathways were being swept by torrents, the road down 
 the hill at some corners was a perfect rapid, and at its foot 
 the “ ela ” in front of Kraaltown, which had hitherto been 
 crossed at a low ebb, was becoming an impassable river. 
 I arrived early enough, however, to be carried over with 
 the help of two coolies and a Sinhalese servant, who 
 rushed to our assistance when in a hole near the other 
 side. I found Kraaltown pretty well deserted; and, with 
 boxes gone, no “ change ” was available, though I was 
 drenched to the skin. Eventually, however, I secured 
 sufficient for a change by borrowing in four different 
 quarters ! I merely give these trivial personal details to 
 show what kind of an evening had ccrne on, and what the 
 experience of many others was ; and still more what was 
 the state of the men at the post of honour and of danger 
 in the jungle drive. 
 
 About six o’clock grand tidings came down with men 
 who, drenched to the skin already, thought little of wading 
 or swimming the river. Gathering up the reports of half 
 a dozen of the eye-witnesses or partakers in the final 
 charges and drives, I will endeavour hastily to present a 
 consecutive trustworthy account. For the elephants now, 
 it was clearly a case of 
 
 Officers to the right of them, 
 
 Planters on left of them, 
 
 Beaters behind them, 
 
 While all the herd wondered, — 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 195 
 
 or rather felt a much less pleasant sensation. Messrs. 
 Agar, Thring, Talbot, and their party lost little time, rain 
 or no rain, in beating to quarters : they urged the drive in 
 again and again ; shot succeeded shot ; “ hari-hari ” be- 
 came the rule ; and the drive was one scene of excitement. 
 Several minor charges to the line took place ; but the 
 rain and the advent of the Europeans sent the beaters to 
 huddle under trees and clear out. It became evident that 
 the Europeans could not work without a base line being 
 cut out of the jungle, and the natives were brought back 
 to cut down a semicircular path behind the elephants. 
 Torches were also prepared, weapons improvised, and all 
 made ready to force the herd on. 
 
 Mr. Saunders now appears to have, as a last effort, 
 descended into the beat, and, while his volunteers were 
 using every exertion to drive in, he climbed up a tree to 
 catch the exact situation. I am guessing at this intention 
 from what followed. On the stockade near the drive, at 
 the angle joining the kraal, sat four planters watching the 
 struggle, who had not yet joined in it. Mr. Saunders 
 called on them to lend a hand, and they immediately 
 passed in, led by Mr. Sandison. Arrived at the beat, and 
 immediately behind the herd, Mr. Sandison, who carried 
 a short spear, looking round for a torch, the most trust- 
 worthy of all weapons of defence in dealing with wild 
 elephants, spied Mr. Unwin alongside with one, and 
 arranged in a word that they should go on, shoulder to 
 shoulder, together. But Mr. Sandxson’s former com- 
 panions, not understanding the arrangement, pressed on 
 between. Several others from the beating line followed. 
 Sandison advanced right up to the elephant, and with 
 a prod sent it — a huge mother with a little calf — right on 
 the herd with a rush ! Soine of the main body of elephants 
 thus charged sprang over the ravine towards the entrance, 
 pressed on by Messrs. "Wighton, Thring, Talbot, and others. 
 Not so the wild mother and her calf, the tusker, and two 
 or three more : they only rushed forward to wheel round 
 and charge fairly back into the centre of the Europeans, 
 who, much in advance of the natives, were left without 
 any support. The rank broke, and the volunteers tried, 
 but only tried, to get out of the way in all directions ; for 
 there was no room, and a bambu “ batali ” jungle is not 
 the place to escape through. Down went the men as if 
 
196 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 shot ; about twenty were in the scrimmage, and more or 
 less “ down ” — very “ down in their luck,” it must be 
 confessed, did a good many consider themselves to be. 
 The “ Laird of Logie,” who had done yeoman service all 
 along, went down as if felled, and this was by far the 
 narrowest escape, I learn from the others, for the calf fairly 
 vaulted over his prostrate form ! 
 
 Intercepted by the native beaters farther out, it is said 
 that the infuriated female and her calf once again returned 
 in a rush through the adjoining ravine up to the entrance; 
 but it is very doubtful if she went in. 
 
 A few minutes before the gate was closed — on, certainly, 
 a dozen elephants — a part of the barrier near the princes’ 
 crow’s-nest was the object of a fierce charge by a huge 
 brute — perhaps the “ tusker ” which Mr. R. H. Morgan, 
 from one of the stands, rightly declared he saw inside. 
 For a hundred yards the barrier shook as if it were going 
 to fall, and the charger got his forefeet through ; but two 
 or three Europeans, led by Mr. H. Whitham, rushed to the 
 spot and drove him back. 
 
 Friday Morning, February 3rd, 1882. 
 
 COMPENSATION FOR ALL THE DELAY EXCITING DAY IN THE 
 
 KRAAL NOOSING AND TYING SIX OUT OF TWELVE 
 
 ELEPHANTS NOOSED GREAT SPORT. 
 
 Yesterday morning, while waiting for the early drive we 
 then expected, we spent some time with the four tame 
 elephants belonging to Mr. Charles de Soysa, and by him, 
 with commendable public spirit, ordered to the kraal in 
 case their services should be required. One huge tusker, 
 “ Siriwala,” is supposed to be over eighty years of age. 
 and therefore too old to be of much service in “ noosing ” 
 and “ tying up ” wild elephants. But he will be useful in 
 beating up and blocking the way of retreat, since his stately 
 presence is of itself sufficient to inspire a wholesome terror 
 in the minds of his comparatively puny compeers, and as 
 elephants have been described as “half-reasoning animals,” 
 they will no doubt keep at a safe distance from Siriwala’s 
 tusks. Much less attractive, though far more useful to 
 his owner, is the small and tuskless “ Rajah,” for which 
 Mr. de Soysa paid double the price of old Siriwala. 
 Rajah cost £100. He goes through a number of per- 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 197 
 
 formances to perfection. The ’cuteness with which he 
 looks after the equivalent of “threepenny bits” in the 
 mud— blowing away the latter, and at last, when baffled 
 in his attempt to pick up the tiny coin by the edge with 
 his sensitive trunk, drawing it in by suction, was very 
 striking. Once caught, he held it safely until, with up- 
 turned trunk, he delivered it to the keeper on his back. 
 Mr. de Soysa turns his elephants to account in carting, 
 ploughing, road-making, and felling jungle in his Ratna- 
 pura and other extensive properties ; and surely this last- 
 mentioned is an occupation for which they are specially 
 well adapted in the low-country, considering the way in 
 which they knock down with their heads trees which 
 would take some time for a Kandyan to cut through. 
 "Why should not a “ felling ” elephant, more especially for 
 low-country planters, be hired out like a portable steam 
 threshing-mill at home ? 
 
 Many people, in speaking of last night’s work, condemn 
 the native beaters because they refused to do what the 
 Europeans effected ; but this is a very inaccurate and 
 foolish mode of criticism. The natives knew the actual 
 danger of the situation from long experience — the Euro- 
 peans did not. The beaters, knowing that a charge or 
 succession of charges would be the result so soon as the 
 “ durais,” or “ maliatmayas,”* went in with fire and spear, 
 cleared out of the w 7 ay as fast as possible : the more men 
 in the way in such a case, the more havoc. Finally, we 
 would ask how many of the volunteer beaters and of “ the 
 forlorn hope ” would repeat their work under the same 
 circumstances were the opportunity offered to them ? We 
 think the men who came out saying they had been taught 
 a lesson which would last a lifetime, were those who took 
 the right view, and instead of depreciating the work of the 
 beaters, who had been driving for w T eeks together when 
 the elephants were fresh — not half-starved and worn-out — 
 the opinion of the volunteers respecting their endurance 
 and pluck ought to be sustained.! No wonder that Mr. 
 Dawson should say that he wished the visitors who 
 ridiculed the slow work made on Tuesday and Wednesday 
 
 * Durai Tamil, Maliatmaya Sinh., for master or gentleman. 
 
 t There can be little doubt that, if the natives had been left to their 
 own time and ways, the whole twenty-three elephants of the two herds 
 would have been kraaled. 
 
198 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 had come down to see the character of the j ungle through 
 which the work had to be done, or that the princes had 
 been allowed to inspect it. The small cane-like bambu 
 grows so closely together as to be impenetrable ; the only 
 paths are those made by the elephants, or which are cut 
 out by the beaters. The bambu, when levelled by the 
 elephants, is as slippery as ice, and the rain had rendered 
 it, if possible, more so. 
 
 Let me now describe the spot. The last part of “ the 
 drive ” between the stockades is about 150 yards across; 
 it was covered with the densest bambu jungle ; it consisted 
 of two hollows or ravines with a ridge between, and all 
 inclining towards the entrance to the kraal. From the 
 entrance to where the European volunteers took up their 
 position could not be more than 250 yards, the elephants 
 being between. It will be readily seen, therefore, that the 
 ground was as difficult a place to work in as ever an old 
 campaigner or sportsman encountered. 
 
 Returning to the grand stand, now well filled, it was 
 evident that the four safe, working, tame elephants, and 
 the two or three of the reserve force, had commenced 
 active operations. They were mounted by from two to 
 three noosers each, while several assistants with spears 
 and ropes followed behind at the sides of the elephants, 
 under which they occasionally ran when there appeared 
 to be any danger of a charge. The wild elephants were 
 in a state of great perturbation, rushing from one side of 
 the kraal to the other, occasionally resting under the few 
 patches of jungle that still remained, going down into the 
 hollows to throw water and mud over their backs — spurt- 
 ing each other with water seemed to be a favourite 
 occupation. It was a most amusing as well as touching 
 sight to see the little calves do this to the tame elephants 
 when near them once or twice, as if to appease them and 
 make friends. Clear views of all the herds were now had, 
 and the elephants could be counted. The “ tusker ” is a 
 huge fellow in bulk more than in height : he has lost half 
 his tail, as if it had been shot off, and his tusks are most 
 unusually far apart in the way they stick out, and they 
 also seem to have had the points broken off. He never 
 seems to lead the herd, but rather to follow after. Never- 
 theless, Mr. Unwin is sure it is the same animal that 
 came to the kraal at midnight, and was shut in and 
 
An Elephant Kraal . 
 
 199 
 
 afterwards let loose. This was in a manner proved by 
 the frequency with which he made for the western gate 
 to-day in his wanderings, in the hope, no doubt, of getting 
 out once more. Once only did he try to charge the 
 palisade, but, before he could get as far, the pointed sticks 
 and spears of the watchers and the shouts of thousands 
 of spectators drove him back. After the “ tusker ” came 
 one large “ cow” and five more medium-sized elephants ; 
 then three well-grown calves and two puny, diminutive little 
 things whose dusty, tired appearance excited much pity, 
 more especially from the ladies and a few children 
 present. 
 
 The tame elephants and noosers were now at work, 
 trying to break the herd into detachments, to segregate 
 one or more, so as to get a chance of surrounding and 
 noosing. Very troublesome and difficult is this operation : 
 occasionally it is done by good luck in the minimum of 
 time, while again hours may be spent over it. As it was, 
 after what seemed a long time to the onlookers (relieved, 
 however, by some exciting and still more amusing 
 passages), two, or indeed three, got noosed almost instan- 
 taneously. Save with the little ones, there was no at- 
 tempt by the herd at fraternizing with, or even recognizing 
 the tame ones. The sight of men on their backs seemed 
 to put an end to all thought of such a thing, and they 
 steadily avoided a meeting as long as they could, dodging 
 up and down, in and out and round about, until, once too 
 -often, they came across through a hollow, and the Philis- 
 tines — in the shape of Ranhami and Ellawala’s man of 
 “ the breeches” — were among them. A slight attempt at 
 a charge or fight was quickly repressed with a few blows 
 from the spears, and a thump with the head of the tame 
 elephant ; the “ tusker” sheering off, showing no inclina- 
 tion to interfere. But not so with the little calf, who, 
 when two of the larger elephants were jammed up, and a 
 noosed rope, cleverly placed on a leg of each, was tied 
 about them, cried out, and would not be comforted or 
 induced to leave. “ Breeches ” and Ranh&mi were now 
 in for serious work ; their prizes struggled with elephan- 
 tine strength; one especially — the mother of a calf — 
 •could not be moved from the spot, and in rage and 
 despair at last fell prostrate, never to rise again ! The 
 struggle was a short but severe one, and the natives at 
 
200 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 once recognized it as a case of “ broken heart.” The- 
 poor brute lay panting for an hour or so afterwards, then 
 heaved a deep sigh, and at last all was still, save that the 
 little calf would not leave her side for a long time, and 
 that once or twice the rest of the herd in passing the 
 spot, attempted to heave up their companion. Far more 
 touching, however, was the sight witnessed the night 
 before by Mr. D. Mackay, when two elephants made a 
 persistent endeavour to raise their fallen companion, the 
 dead cow, while its little calf tried once more to obtain 
 sustenance from its parent.* 
 
 To return, however, to the second large elephant 
 noosed : he was a plump, vigorous, medium-sized fellow, 
 and resisted most determinedly the moving, pushing, 
 and dragging of him halfway across the kraal, and the 
 final tying to the tree. This, in fact, was only accom- 
 plished when Ranhami and “ Breeches ” jammed him 
 between their elephants, who, evidently fully under- 
 standing what was wanted, pressed so hard and so 
 guarded the ways of exit with their trunks, that their 
 captive had perforce to remain perfectly still. All this 
 was a most interesting, instructive sight, and then, when 
 the tying was done — the hind legs only being securely 
 clasped in several folds of strong rope, which again were 
 drawn several times round a tree immediately alongside 
 the grand stand — how the poor prisoner writhed and 
 twisted, using all his prodigious strength to break away 
 the rope, or pull the tree down, running round and round 
 in despair of an outlet, pawing the earth, stretching him- 
 self with eel-like contortions, and then, in hopelessness of 
 any release, and under the agony of his disgrace, like a 
 true oriental, throwing up clouds of dust over his head 
 and back with his trunk ! Very soon, another of similar 
 size and appearance was noosed and dragged up a long 
 way to a tree facing Byrde’s stand, and one of the active 
 bull-calves being simultaneously caught, very quickly the 
 fun became “ fast and furious.” This little calf gave 
 more trouble than the two big ones ; the noosers left him 
 as soon as one leg was confined to a tree, and to less ex- 
 perienced hands was left the task of tying a rope round 
 his neck and shoulders so as to keep him quiet and secure. 
 
 # Messrs. W. L. H. Skeen and Co.’s photograph of one of these 
 pathetic incidents is reproduced in the illustration facing page 179. 
 
An Elephant Kraal. 
 
 201 
 
 But bow the fellow resisted, struggled, twisted, and threw 
 the rope off ! The noose had to be passed over his head 
 as well as trunk, but the latter was sent out at all impos- 
 sible angles, so that no rope could be placed round it. At 
 last, Messrs. C. Agar and Munro descended to the rescue, 
 but they were baffled again and again ; as soon as the 
 rope was round it slipped off ; they were charged and had 
 to fly back ; the little fellow bellowed like a bull ; he 
 blew at them, he would not be tied, and not until some 
 one seized the trunk and held it, was the rope got 
 round and a secure shoulder-knot made. This done, the 
 calf set up a regular series of bellowings, making more ado 
 than all the others put together. Great was the amuse- 
 ment afforded by this capture, and again and again was 
 the wish expressed throughout the stand that the princes 
 had stayed for this day’s experiences, which well repaid 
 all the trouble and delay. 
 
 But still greater fun was to follow ; another calf, plump 
 and strong, had been noosed, as well as a third big ele- 
 phant, and as these were being pulled towards two suitable 
 trees one of the noosers, getting an ugly shove from the 
 calf, received a wound on liis forehead which drew blood. 
 Almost simultaneously Mr. Saunders sent orders to release 
 these two captives at once, and noose the “ tusker,” as 
 many had to leave and the day was now wearing on. No 
 sooner was the calf released than he charged right and 
 left, with trunk uplifted, bellowing as he went, and 
 carrying all before him among rows of native heaters and 
 a number of planters and others who had now descended 
 into the kraal near the stands. The scene was comical in 
 the extreme ; there was just the least spice of danger to 
 add zest to it, but the little fellow turned at the show of 
 a pointed stick. It seemed as if he said, “You have 
 given me a great fright ; now I’ll do my best to give you 
 a taste of the same.” White clothes especially seemed 
 to provoke his anger ; one or two gentlemen in white 
 coats were followed again and again ; one of them, Mr. E. 
 Smyth, between laughing and dodging and keeping off 
 his mad but ’cute little antagonist, had quite enough to 
 do, and the spectators roared at the fun. Tired out at 
 last, the little fellow with a loud grunt made for the tame 
 elephants, and ranged himself alongside, as if with his 
 friends. He did not seem to care about the wild herd 
 
202 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 now ; lie was a civilized elephant, and followed the tamers 
 wherever they went. At last he found out Soysa’s 
 “ tusker ” standing on one side, and charging under him 
 created a tremendous uproar, for the tusker didn’t like it a 
 bit, and trumpeted out what seemed to be : “ You mind 
 your own business, you young rascal, or I’ll settle you.” 
 Nothing, however, could quiet this “ irrepressible ” alto- 
 gether ; at odd moments he would make a charge on his 
 own account right across the kraal, and there can be no 
 doubt that he greatly disturbed the rest of the noosing, so 
 that it was a pity he was let loose, save for the amuse- 
 ment he gave to the company. The wild “tusker” 
 would not be caught ; he showed no fight, would shirk a 
 broadside, slunk aside and dodged ; and yet it became 
 evident the tame elephants and the noosers did not care 
 to get too near him. The fact is he is too old to be 
 trained, and is of no service at all, save for his ivories, 
 which can be got by shooting. [“ Cared of sores” is the 
 expression used to indicate a tamed elephant.] Enough 
 had, however, been seen to warrant all who waited over 
 Thursday, in pronouncing the kraal a success in showing 
 the various operations connected with one ; a notable 
 success in affording a more than usual amount of sport 
 and comical fun, as also in raising, at moments, feelings 
 of sympathy and pity; an extraordinary success in the 
 unprecedented work done by European volunteers — “ the 
 forlorn hope,” the sudden charge, the marvellous escape, 
 and the crowning victory in the forcing in of a dozen 
 elephants into the kraal on Wednesday night. 
 
 How many more of the six or seven wild elephants I 
 left running about the kraal were noosed to-day (Satur- 
 day), and whether the “ tusker ” was tied, I have yet to 
 learn ; but my part as narrator is over, and I can only 
 say I am not likely ever to forget 
 
 The Labugamkanda Kraal in Honour of Princes 
 Albert Victor and George in 1882. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 The following interesting extracts from the first volume 
 of Major Forbes’s “ Eleven Years in Ceylon ” * are given 
 with the permission of the publisher. The orthography 
 of native names found in the original has been retained. 
 
 [No. 1.— CHAPTER X.] 
 
 THE ANCIENT CAPITAL, ANURADHAPOORA. f 
 
 “ Remnants of things that have pass’d away, 
 
 Fragments of stone rear’d by creatures of clay.” — B yron. 
 
 In ages of impenetrable antiquity, the plain on which 
 Anuradhapoora was afterwards built had acquired a sacred 
 character ; for it is recorded that when the first Buddha 
 of the present era visited this place he found it already 
 hallowed as a scene of the ancient religious rites of pre- 
 ceding generations, and consecrated by Buddhas of a 
 former era. The position of Anuradhapoora has nothing 
 to recommend it for the capital of Ceylon ; and the site, 
 if not chosen from caprice, was probably dictated by 
 superstition. It would not, therefore, be difficult to 
 account for its final desertion, consequent decay, and 
 present desolation, even if history had not preserved a 
 record of the feuds, famines, wars, and pestilence which 
 at various times oppressed the country, and reduced the 
 number of inhabitants, so as to render the remainder 
 
 * “Eleven Years in Ceylon; comprising Sketches of the Field 
 Sports and Natural History of that Colony, and an Account of its 
 History and Antiquities.” By Major Forbes, 78th Highlanders. 
 2 vols. London : Richard Bentley. 
 
 t For the latest account of Anuradhapoora and the ancient ruins, 
 see “ The Buried Cities of Ceylon,” by S. M. Burrows, C.C.S., 
 published by A. M. and J. Ferguson. 
 
204 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year, 
 
 SCENE AMONG THE BUINS OF POLAJSNABUA, ONE OF THE ANCIENT CAPITALS OF CEYLON, See piU)C 200 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anurddhapoora. 205 
 
 incapable of maintaining the great embankments of their 
 artificial lakes. These having burst, their waters spread 
 over the country as their channels were neglected, and 
 this made its unhealthiness permanent by forming noxious 
 swamps and nourishing unwholesome forests. The warm 
 and damp nature of the Ceylon climate excites an activity 
 of vegetation, which the indolence and apathy of the 
 native character are not calculated to struggle against ; 
 and the present population is inadequate either in number 
 or energy to do more than resist the incessant effort of 
 the vegetable kingdom, stimulated by an eternal spring, 
 to extend its beautiful but baneful luxuriance over that 
 portion of the surrounding districts which man still re- 
 tains in precarious subjection.* Anurddhapoora is first 
 mentioned by that name about 500 years before Christ ; 
 it was then a village, and the residence of a prince who 
 took the name of Anuradha on his settling at this place, 
 which the King Panduwasa had assigned to him when 
 he came to visit his sister the Queen Bhadda-kachana. 
 They were grandchildren of Amitodama, the paternal 
 uncle of Gautama Buddha. It was chosen for the capital 
 by the King Padukabliya, b.c. 487 ; and in the reign of 
 Dewenipiatissa, which commenced b.c. 807, it received the 
 collar-bone of Gautama Buddha, his begging-dish filled 
 with relics, and a branch of the bo-tree under which he 
 had reclined. Anuradhapoora had been sanctified by the 
 presence of former Buddhas, and these memorials of 
 Gautama increased its sacred character ; additional relics 
 were subsequently brought, for which temples were reared 
 by successive sovereigns ; and Waliapp, who commenced 
 Iris reign a.d. G2, finished the walls of the city,' which 
 were sixty-four miles in extent, each side being sixteen 
 miles, and thus enclosed a space of 256 square miles. 
 Anuradhapoora is mentioned, or rather is laid down in 
 
 * Six years after the time of which I am now writing, Government 
 formed a road to Aripo, and established a European officer at 
 Anuradhapoora as revenue and judicial agent for the district, in 
 order, if possible, to hasten the development of its resources. When 
 I left the island it was considered an unhealthy station, but, by 
 perseverance, there is little doubt that it will improve. Had this 
 district been formerly unhealthy, Anuradhapoora would not so long 
 have remained the capital of the island. [Anuradhapoora district and 
 town have, we need scarcely say, been greatly improved of recent 
 .years. — J. F.] 
 
206 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the map of Ptolemy in its proper position, and by the 
 name of Anurogrammum.* 
 
 For upwards of 1200 years Anuradhapoora remained as 
 the capital of the island, with the exception of one reign, 
 when a parricide and usurper transferred the insignia of 
 royalty to the impregnable rock-fort of Sigiri. In the 
 eighth century Polannarua was chosen as the capital in 
 preference to Anuradhapoora ; at which place the fame of 
 wealth had survived its possession, and too often attracted 
 the spoiler. The religious edifices were occasionally 
 repaired by pious sovereigns until the time of Magha, a 
 successful invader, who held sway in Ceylon from a.d. 
 1219 until 1240, during which time he completed the 
 destruction of many temples, and endeavoured to destroy 
 the Cingalese records. 
 
 Knox, speaking of Anuradhapoora, which he passed in 
 making his escape from captivity in a.d. 1679, says, “ It 
 is become a place of solemn worship, in consequence of 
 the bo-tree under which Buddha sat.” He adds, “ They 
 report ninety kings f have reigned there successively, 
 where, by the ruins that still remain, it appears they 
 spared not for pains and labour to build temples and high 
 monuments to the honour of this god, as if they had been 
 born only to hew rocks and great stones, and lay them up 
 in heaps : these kings are now happy spirits, having 
 merited it by these their labours.” In making his escape 
 along the bed of the Malwatte-oya,* Knox passed another 
 part of the ruins, but does not seem to have been aware 
 that they were part of Anuradhapoora. He says, “ Here 
 and there, by the side of this river, is a world of hewn 
 stone pillars and other heaps of hewn stones, which I 
 suppose formerly were buildings ; and in three or four 
 places are the ruins of bridges built of stone, some 
 remains of them yet standing upon stone pillars.” 
 
 The above extracts are taken from “An Historical 
 Relation of the Island of Ceylon in the East Indies, by 
 Robert Knox, a captive there for nearly twenty years.” 
 
 ’ Grama, or Gramya, is used for a town ; so also is Pcora, but tlie 
 latter generally means city. 
 
 f It is the general belief of uneducated natives that the name of 
 the city is derived from Anu-Rajah (ninety kings) ; but it was from 
 the name of the constellation Anuradha, under which it was founded. 
 
 * Malwatte-oya, flower-garden river. 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anuradhapoora. 207 
 
 This is a work of great interest, and was originally pub- 
 lished in London in 1681. Nothing can be more admir- 
 able than the extent of memory, acute observation, and 
 inflexible veracity exhibited in his account of the country 
 and people ; nor can anything be more interesting than 
 the simple narrative of his own sufferings. His persever- 
 ance, fortitude, and firm religious belief enabled him to 
 overcome misfortunes, to rescue himself from a tedious 
 captivity, and finally to regain his station as commander 
 of a ship under the East India Company. 
 
 The father of Bobert Knox was also named Bobert : he 
 commanded the Ann frigate in the service of the East 
 India Company, and sailed on the 21st of January, 1657, 
 from the Downs ; the vessel was dismasted in a storm on 
 the Coromandel coast on the 19tli of November, 1659, 
 and proceeded to the bay of Cotiar (opposite to Trinko- 
 malee) to refit, and with permission to trade there. For 
 about twenty days the crew of the ship were allowed to 
 land and return without any interruption ; but after that, 
 a native chief, by order of the Kandian king, contrived 
 by falsehood and treachery to seize the captain and seven 
 of his men; then, by the same devices, he got hold of 
 another boat and her crew of eleven men. He next 
 attempted to gain possession of the ship, by inducing the 
 captain to send an order to the officer on board, directing 
 him to bring the vessel up the river ; the captain sent his 
 own son, but it was to warn the officer, and direct him to 
 proceed without loss of time to Porto Novo. Young 
 Knox, however, returned to share his father’s captivity ; 
 and the whole of those taken prisoners were removed into 
 the interior of the country. The captain and his son 
 (Bobert) were sent to the village of Bandar Koswatte, 
 and there were soon attacked by severe fever and ague, 
 which carried off the father, February the 9th, 1661. 
 Young Knox was then very ill, and it was not without 
 much difficulty that he managed to get his father’s body 
 buried ; and for many months he suffered severely from 
 the effects of the same disease. It was not long after the 
 loss of his father that he accidentally had an opportunity 
 of purchasing an English Bible at a price sufficiently 
 moderate for his means. Never for a moment laying 
 aside his design of escape, yet behaving with such dis- 
 cretion as never to incur suspicion from the jealous tyrant 
 
208 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 who then ruled in Kandy, Knox acquired a character for 
 'prudence, industry, and honesty, which is even yet pre- 
 served by tradition in the neighbourhood of the place 
 where he resided, and where a spot is still known as the 
 white man’s garden.* After a captivity of nearly twenty 
 years’ duration he contrived to accomplish his escape, not 
 without great danger from the numerous wild animals 
 and crocodiles that are to he found near the course of the 
 Malwatte-oya, which flows through a dense forest and a 
 country void of population. Knox reached the Dutch 
 fort of Aripo on the 18th of October, 1G79 ; afterwards, 
 having been sent to Batavia, he from thence returned to 
 England in September, 1680, and was soon after made 
 captain of the Tar quin in the East India Company’s 
 service. 
 
 All the ruins at Anuradhapoora, even the lofty monu- 
 ments wdiich contain the relics of the Buddha, are either 
 entirely covered with jungle, or partly obscured by forests ;t 
 these the imagination of natives has peopled with unholy 
 phantoms, spirits of the unrighteous, doomed to wander 
 near the mouldering walls which were witnesses of their 
 guilt, and are partakers of their desolation. 
 
 Although simplicity is the most distinguishing cha- 
 racteristic of the ancient architectural remains of the 
 Cingalese, yet some of the carving in granite might com- 
 pete with the best modern workmanship of Europe (in 
 the same material) both as to depth and sharpness of 
 cutting ; and the sculptures at Anuradhapoora, and places 
 built in remote ages, are distinguished from any attempts 
 of modern natives, not less by the more animated action 
 of the figures than by greater correctness of proportion. 
 
 The only place clear of jungle was in front of the 
 Maha-wihare (great temple), where a shady tree occupied 
 the centi'e of a square, and a stone pillar, fourteen feet 
 high, stood beside the figure of a bull cut in granite, and 
 revolving on a pivot. In the entrance from this square 
 into the Maha-wihare are a few steps admirably carved 
 with laborious devices, and still in perfect preservation. 
 Ascending these, and passing through a mean building of 
 modern construction, you enter an enclosure 345 feet in 
 length by 216 in breadth, which surrounds the court of 
 the Bo-tree, designated by Buddhists as Jaya-Sri-maha- 
 
 * Between Kandy and Gampola. 
 f Great clearings have taken place of late years. — J. F. 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anurddhapoora. 
 
 209 
 
 Bodinwakawai (the great, famous, and triumphant fig- 
 tree).* Within the walls are perceived the remains of 
 several small temples ; and the centre is occupied by the 
 sacred tree, and the building in which it is contained or 
 supported. This tree is the principal object of veneration 
 to the numerous pilgrims who annually visit Anuradha- 
 poora : they believe what their teachers assert, and their 
 histories record, that it is a branch of the tree under 
 which Gautama sat the day he became a Buddha, and 
 that it was sent from Patalipoora by the King Dkar- 
 masoka, who gave it in charge to his daughter Sangka- 
 mitta ; this priestess had been preceded by her brother, 
 Miliindoo, who, b.c. 307, was successful in re-establishing 
 in Ceylon the purity of the Buddhist religion. 
 
 No one of the several stems or branches of the tree is 
 more than two feet in diameter ; and several of the largest 
 project through the sides of the terraced building in which 
 it is growing. This structure consists of four platforms, 
 decreasing in size as you ascend, and giving room for a 
 broad walk round each of tkein.f From the self-reno- 
 vating properties of the bo-tree, it is not at all impossible 
 that this one might possess the great antiquity claimed 
 for it by the sacred guardians s+ if so, the forbearance of 
 Malabar conquerors must be accounted for by their con- 
 sidering this tree sacred to other gods; the profits derived 
 from pilgrims may also have induced them to give full 
 weight to the alleged partiality of Brahma for this beau- 
 tiful tree. 
 
 One side of the square in front of the Malia-wikare is 
 
 * Ficus religiosa, generally called by natives Bo-gaba, bo-tree, the 
 name generally used by Europeans. 
 
 f The spot on which the tree stands is believed to have at former 
 periods been the position where the emblematic trees of former 
 Buddhas grew, viz. Kakusanda Buddha’s, the mahari tree ; Kona- 
 gamma Buddha’s, the atika tree (ficus glomerata) ; and Kaseyapa’s, 
 the nigrodi (baniayan). 
 
 J Buddhists assert that the sacred tree at Buddha Gya in Bahar 
 “was planted by Dugdha-Kamini, King of Singhal-Dwipa, 414 
 years before the birth of our Saviour.” — ■ Hamilton’s E.I. Gazetteer. 
 Dootoogaimoonoo, King of Ceylon, and a most zealous Buddhist, 
 reigned from b.c. 164 until b.c. 140 ; and if the tree at Gya was 
 planted by him, as above mentioned, not only the original one there, 
 but also one planted by Dharmasoka, King of India, in the fourth 
 century before Christ, at the same city, must have been destroyed 
 T>y the votaries of an adverse faith. 
 
 15 
 
210 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 occupied by the ruins of the Lowa-Maha-Paya, called also 
 (from the materials with which it was covered) the Brazen 
 Palace. The remains of this building consist of 1600 
 stone pillars placed in forty parallel lines, forty pillars in 
 each, and occupying a square space, each side of which is 
 234 feet in length. The pillars in the middle of this 
 ruin are still eleven and a half feet above the ground, and 
 measure two feet in breadth by one foot and a half in 
 thickness ; the middle pillars are slightly ornamented, but 
 those in the outer lines are plain, and only half their 
 thickness, having been split by means of wedges, the 
 marks of which operation they still retain. The Lowa- 
 Maha-Paya was erected by the King Dootoogaimoonoo 
 b.c. 142 : its height was 270 feet ; it contained 1000 
 apartments for priests, and was covered with one sheet of 
 metal. This edifice seems soon to have fallen into decay ; 
 and was rebuilt by Dootoogaimoonoo’s successor, who 
 reduced its height, making it seven instead of nine storeys, 
 which it was at its original formation. It underwent 
 many repairs, and was varied in height by several different 
 kings, until a.d. 286, at which time it was thrown down 
 by Mahasen during the period of his temporary apostacy : 
 so completely did this monarch execute Ins work of 
 destruction on this and several other religious buildings, 
 that then- sites were ploughed up and sown with grain. 
 Having returned to his former faith, Mahasen commenced 
 rebuilding the Maha-Paya, but died before it was finished; 
 and it was completed by his son and successor, Kitsiri 
 Maiwan, soon after his accession in a.d. 302. It was 
 then that the original pillars were split to supply the 
 places of those which had been broken. Amongst the 
 sacred occupants of this building, the priests most 
 eminent for their piety were exalted to the uppermost 
 storey, whilst those who had fewest claims to sanctity were 
 lodged nearest to the earth. As native stairs only differ 
 in name from ladders, the ascent of nine stories must 
 have been a severe trial to the bodily infirmities of the 
 elder priests ; but one of the strongest prejudices of the 
 natives, and about which they continue to be exceedingly 
 jealous, was not allowing an equal or inferior to sit on any 
 seat or remain in any place more elevated than them- 
 selves. From adherence to punctilio on this subject, there 
 was a ludicrous scene at Colombo in 1802, when the 
 
The Ancient Cajntal, Anurddhapoora. 
 
 211 
 
 Kandian ambassadors remonstrated against entering the 
 carriage sent to convey them to an audience with 
 Governor North, because the coachman was placed on a 
 more elevated seat than the one which they were to 
 occupy. This weighty matter was happily adjusted to 
 their satisfaction, and they entered the carriage ; but 
 positively refused to allow the doors to be shut, fearing 
 they should appear as prisoners. 
 
 On the left of the road leading from the Malia-wihare 
 towards the dagoba of Ruwanwelli, and in thick jungle, 
 six carved stones define the limits of a small mound. 
 This is the spot where a grateful people and a zealous 
 priesthood performed the last duties to the remains of 
 Dootoogaimoonoo ; a king whose valour and piety had 
 restored the supremacy of the Cingalese race and Buddhist 
 religion, and who had not only repaired the injuries 
 which the capital had sustained from foreign invaders of 
 an adverse faith, but had ornamented it with many of 
 these buildings which even now attract attention and 
 excite wonder after having endured for 2000 years. 
 
 The quantity of game in the immediate neighbourhood 
 of the ruins was astonishing, and in no part of the island 
 are elephants more numerous ; for within the precincts 
 of this hallowed city, at the time I speak of, 1828, no 
 native would have ventured to transgress the first com- 
 mandment of the Buddha, viz., “ From the meanest insect 
 up to man, thou shalt not kill.” As if aware of their 
 right of sanctuary, whole herds of spotted deer and flocks 
 of pea-fowl allowed us to approach very near to them ; 
 and while employed in examining the ruins, in the pre- 
 sence and with the assistance of the priests, I deemed it 
 advisable to commit no murder on the denizens of the 
 forest ; but on the last day of our stay we left the gen- 
 tlemen of the long yellow robe behind, and proceeded to 
 
 hunt deer with Mr. C ’s dogs in a plain about three 
 
 miles from the place of our temporary residence. 
 
 When not employed in speaking, our followers seemed 
 to be eternally occupied in chewing betel, a custqm almost 
 universal at this time with all ranks of natives ; and 
 although the name of the leaf of a creeping-plant re- 
 sembling pepper is used as a general term, three com- 
 ponent parts are necessary for this masticatory; viz. 
 areka-nut, which is used in very thin slices ; fine pow- 
 
'212 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 dered lime, made into a paste ; and a small portion of 
 these two being rolled up in a betel-leaf, the whole is put 
 in the mouth. This preparation tinges the saliva, the 
 lips, and even the teeth of a dark-red colour ; but I 
 believe it to be perfectly wholesome, and to have some 
 useful properties, such as soothing nervous excitement, 
 and acting as a stimulant, without any of the evil effects 
 produced by the use of spirits, which nevertheless is, I 
 am afraid, too often superseding the use of betel. Those 
 who could afford it mixed up cardamom-seeds and the 
 leaves of various aromatic plants with the areka-nut, and 
 the value of the instruments for preparing the betel gave 
 one a pretty good idea of the wealth and rank of the 
 possessor : a pair of nippers for slicing the areka-nut, a 
 small box for holding the lime, and a straw case to 
 contain betel-leaves, might, I believe, have been found 
 tucked in the waist-cloth of every one of the several 
 hundred natives who accompanied us. Night and day 
 they w 7 ere chewing betel, and when they were awake they 
 seemed to talk of nothing else ; exchanging leaves and 
 the contents of their lime boxes seemed like the old 
 Scotch custom of exchanging snuff-mulls. 
 
 Amongst the ruins of this city, the dagobas,* or monu- 
 mental tombs of the relics of Buddha, the mode in which 
 they are constructed, the object for which they are in- 
 tended — above all, then- magnitude — demand particular- 
 notice. The characteristic form of all monumental Bud- 
 dhistical buildings is that of a bell-shaped tomb sur- 
 mounted by a spire, and is the same in all countries which 
 have had Buddha for their prophet, lawgiver, or god. 
 Whether in the outline of the cumbrous mount, or in 
 miniature within the laboured excavation, this peculiar 
 shape (although variously modified) is general, and 
 enables us to recognize the neglected and unhonoured 
 shrines of Buddha in countries where his religion no 
 longer exists, and his very name is unknown. The gaudy 
 Shoemadoo of Pegu, the elegant Toopharama of Anurad- 
 hapoora, the more modern masonry of Boro Budor in 
 Java, are but varieties of the same general form ; and in 
 the desolate caves of Carli, as in the gaudy excavations 
 and busy scenes of Dambool, there is still extant the sign 
 
 * Dagoba, from Dliatu-garbe (womb, or receptacle of a relic) : see 
 engraving on page 129. 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anurddhapoora. 213 
 
 of Buddha— the tomb of his relics. Dagobas may be 
 referred to the first stage of architectural adventure, 
 although I cannot agree with those writers who assert 
 that the character and form of Buddhist buildings betray 
 evident marks of having been borrowed from the figure 
 of a tent ; for in my opinion their progress may clearly 
 be traced from the humble heap of earth which covers 
 the ashes or urn of the dead up to the stupendous mount 
 of masonry which we see piled above some shrunken 
 atom of mortality. These monuments in Ceylon are 
 built around a small cell, or hollow stone, containing the 
 relic ; along with which a few ornaments and emblems of 
 Buddhist worship were usually deposited, such as pearls, 
 precious stones, and figures of Buddha : the number and 
 value of these depended on the importance attached to 
 the relic, or the wealth of the person who reared the 
 monument. 
 
 The description given in Cingalese histories of the rich 
 offerings and rare gems deposited with some of the relics 
 is very splendid, but the existence of wealth and wonders 
 which cannot be reached may well be doubted; the 
 accounts of the external decorations and ornaments of 
 these dagobas are also magnificent, and probably more 
 correct. In a sohona, or Cingalese cemetery, may be 
 perceived a variety of miniature dagobas : if the little 
 earthen mound raised over the ashes of the dead be 
 encircled with a row of stones, we see the origin of the 
 projecting basement ; if the tomb be that of a headman 
 or high priest, we may find it cased with stone, and per- 
 haps surrounded with a row of pillars : on all these we 
 find an aewaria branch planted ; which, after taking root 
 and shooting out its cluster of leaves, gives the semblance 
 of the spire and its spreading termination.* In short, 
 the monumental tombs of Buddha’s relics only differ in 
 size, and in the durability of their materials, from the 
 humble heap which covers the ashes of an obscure priest 
 or village chief. The tomb of Alyattes, as described by 
 Herodotus, and which he informs us as a monument of 
 art was only second to the remains in Egypt and Babylon, 
 appears to have been of the same form as the sepulchral 
 mounds of the Buddhists. In material and construction 
 
 Called Kot by the Cingalese, and Tee by the Siamese. 
 
214 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 the dagobas of Anuradhapoora far exceed the tomb of 
 Alyattes, and fully equal it in size. All the dagobas at 
 Anuradhapoora were built of brick, and incrusted with a 
 preparation of lime, coco-nut water, and the glutinous 
 juice of a fruit which grows on a tree called by the 
 natives Paragaha. This preparation is of a pure white ; 
 it receives a polish nearly equal to marble, and is ex- 
 tremely durable. The Ruwanwelli-saye, one of these 
 monuments of peculiar sanctity, was built by the King 
 Dootoogaimoonoo ; but the spire being unfinished at the 
 time of his death, b.c. 140, it was completed by his 
 brother and successor, Saidatissa. It stands in the centre 
 of an elevated square platform, which is paved with large 
 stones of dressed granite, each side being about 500 feet 
 in length, and surrounded by a fosse seventy feet in 
 breadth ; the scarp, or sides of the platform, is sculptured 
 to represent the fore-parts and heads of elephants, pro- 
 jecting and appearing to support the massive super- 
 structure to which they form so appropriate an ornament. 
 In the embankment surrounding the fosse, a pillar, deep 
 sunk in the earth, still projects sixteen feet above the 
 surface, and is four feet in diameter; this stone is believed 
 to have been removed from the spot where the dagoba 
 now stands, and that it once bore an inscription and 
 prophecy, which in a superstitious age no doubt caused 
 its own fulfilment. The prediction ran, that at the place 
 where this stone stood, a superb dagoba of 120 cubits* 
 in height would be reared by a fortunate and pious 
 monarch. 
 
 Dootoogaimoonoo, during his last illness, caused him- 
 self to be conveyed near to this monument of his piety ; 
 and when all hopes of completing the spire during his 
 lifetime were at an end, his brother had the model of it 
 made of light timber : this placed on the dome, and 
 covered with cloth, satisfied the anxious wish of the 
 expiring king. The place to which Dootoogaimoonoo 
 was conveyed is a large granite slab surrounded with 
 pillars ; near this a stone, hollowed out in the shape of a 
 man’s body, is shown as the bath which he used when 
 suffering from the bite of a venomous snake. 
 
 On the stone pavement which surrounds the Ruwan- 
 
 Carpenter’s cubit, two feet three inches. 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anurddhapoora. 215 
 
 welli-saye lies the broken statue of the King Batiyatissa, 
 who reigned from b.c. 19 until a.d. 9, and appears to 
 have been one of those persevering zealots who “ hope to 
 merit heaven by making earth a hell : ” the marks of his 
 knees worn in the granite pavement are pointed out as 
 memorials of superior piety, and certainly, if authentic, 
 bear lasting testimony to the importunity of his prayers 
 or the sincerity of his devotions. It is recorded of this 
 king that by supplication he obtained Divine assistance 
 to enable him to open the underground entrance into the 
 interior cell of this temple ; and that he succeeded in 
 entering and worshipping the many relics of Buddha 
 which it contained, in the thirteenth century, Maga, a 
 foreign invader, instead of faith, employed force : he 
 broke into the sanctum, plundered its treasures, pulled 
 down the temples around Ruwanwelli, and ruined its 
 dagoba, which was originally 270 feet in height, but is 
 now a conical mass of bricks overgrown with brushwood, 
 and 189 feet high. Sanghatissa placed a pinnacle of 
 glass on the spire of Ruwanwelli, as the author of the 
 Mahawanso says, “ to serve as a protection against light- 
 ning.” Sanghatissa reigned four years, and was poisoned 
 ■in a.d. 246. The Mahawanso was written between 
 a.d. 459 and 477, and shows that the non-conducting 
 property of glass with regard to the electric fluid had 
 been remarked previous to that period. 
 
 At a considerable distance from the outer enclosure of 
 the dagoba the priest pointed out to me a stone slab 
 twelve and a half feet long by nine and a half feet broad, 
 which is supposed to cover the secret entrance by which 
 the pious king, as well as the ruthless invader, gained 
 admittance to the interior of the Ruwanwelli-saye. A 
 few weeks previously to our visit, the late high-priest, an 
 albino, had died at a very advanced age : he had been 
 long known by the appellation of the White Priest of 
 Anurddhapoora ; and his senior pupil, who accompanied 
 me in exploring the ruins, aspired to succeed his master. 
 I was then along with the agent of the district, through 
 whose recommendation he expected to be appointed; 
 therefore no spot was so sacred, and no secret so precious, 
 but that it might be communicated to me. The aspirant 
 became liigh-priest, and ever after denied to European 
 ■visitors all knowledge of the secret entrance to this monu- 
 
216 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 ment, as well as several other places of peculiar sanctity 
 neither could it be brought to his unwilling remembrance 
 that he had ever known them himself, or pointed them 
 out to any one. The history of this building, its tradi- 
 tions, the list of offerings made to the relics enshrined., 
 within it, and the splendour of its external appearance, 
 are recorded at length; but its chronicle contains so 
 much exaggeration in regard to the number of the offer- 
 ings, and so little variety of events, that the specimen 
 already given may perhaps be considered more than 
 sufficient, and will be my excuse for not dilating on the 
 history of other buildings, of which only similar facts are 
 written, and similar dull details have been preserved. 
 
 Toopharamaya, although inferior to many in size, yet 
 far exceeds any dagoba in Ceylon, both in elegance and 
 unity of design, and in the beauty of the minute sculp- 
 tures on its tall, slender, and graceful columns ; this 
 dagoba is low, broad at the top, and surrounded by four 
 lines of pillars, twenty-seven in each line, fixed in the 
 elevated granite platform so as to form radii of a circle of 
 which the monument is the centre. These pillars are 
 twenty-four feet in height, with square bases, octagonal 
 shafts, and circular capitals ; the base and shafts, fourteen 
 inches in thickness, and twenty-two feet in length, are 
 each of one stone ; the capitals are much broader than 
 the base, and are highly ornamented. Toophaiamaya was 
 built over the collar-bone of Gautama, when it was 
 brought from Maghada in the reign of Dewenepeatissa, 
 b.c. 307 ; and the ruins of a building which adjoins it 
 received the Dalada relic when it arrived in Ceylon, 
 
 a. d. 309. 
 
 Lankaramaya was erected in the reign of Mahasen, 
 between a.d. 276 and a.d. 302 ; it is in better preserva- 
 tion, but much inferior in effect to the Toopharamaya, 
 from which the design of the building is copied. 
 
 The Abhayagiri dagoba, built by the King "Walagam 
 Bahoo, between the period of his restoration to the throne 
 
 b. c. 88, and his death b.c, 76, was the largest ever erected 
 in Ceylon : it was 405 feet* in height ; and the platform 
 on which it stands, as well as the fosse and surrounding 
 wall, are proportionately extensive. The height of this- 
 
 *180 Cingalese carpenter’s cubits. 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anuradhapoora. 217 
 
 ruin is now 230 feet, and the length of the outer wall 
 one mile and three quarters ; the whole of the building, 
 except a few patches near the summit, is covered with 
 thick jungle and high trees, even where the interstices 
 of the pavement, composed of large granite slabs, were 
 all that yielded nourishment to the trees or secured their 
 roots. 
 
 The Jaitawanaramaya was commenced by the King 
 Mahasen, and completed by his successor, Kitsiri Maiwan, 
 a.d. 310 : its height was originally 315 feet,* and its 
 ruins are still 269 feet above the surrounding plain. A 
 gentleman, who visited Anuradhapoora in 1832, calcu- 
 lated the cubic contents of this temple at 456,071 cubic 
 yards; and remarked that a brick wall, twelve feet in 
 height, two feet in breadth, and upwards of ninety-seven 
 miles in length, might be constructed with the still re- 
 maining materials. Even to the highest pinnacle the 
 Jaitawanaramaya is encompassed and overspread by trees 
 and brushwood ; these are the most active agents of ruin 
 to the ancient buildings of Ceylon, as their increasing 
 roots and towering stems, shaken by the wind, overturn 
 and displace what has long resisted, and would have 
 slowly yielded before time and the elements. 
 
 During our stay at Anuradhapoora, a Kandian lady 
 presented a petition to the agent of Government, request- 
 ing his interference on behalf of her son, who was detained 
 as a State prisoner for having been implicated in the re- 
 bellion of 1817-18. She stated that he was her only son, 
 and that the large family estates were now ravaged and 
 laid waste by wild animals ; that in this remote district, 
 for want of his superintendence, the tanks for irrigation 
 were neglected, and cultivation was rapidly decreasing ; 
 moreover, that he was the hereditary guardian of the 
 sacred edifices of this ancient capital, and that in his ab- 
 sence the buildings and temples were neither protected nor 
 repaired, the revenues being either misapplied by the 
 priests, or appropriated to their own use. The old lady 
 also alluded to the antiquity of their family, whose ances- 
 tor, she said, had accompanied the branch of the sacred 
 tree from Patalipoora,+ b.c. 307. On inquiring, I found 
 that the very remote antiquity of this family was acknow- 
 
 * 140 carpenter’s cubits. 
 
 f The modern Patna. 
 
218 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 ledged by the jealous chiefs of the mountain districts; and 
 I could not help feeling an interest in the last scion of a 
 race whose admitted ancestry reached far beyond the line- 
 age of Courtenay, or the descent of Howard. 
 
 This chief soon afterwards obtained permission to visit 
 his estates ; and at a subsequent period, having assisted in 
 securing the pretender to the Kandian throne (who had 
 been secreted since 1818 in this part of the country), he 
 was not only permitted to return to his estate, but was 
 reinstated in office as chief of the district. Although not 
 a clever man, his appearance and manners were dignified 
 and gentlemanlike : he died in 1837, leaving a family to 
 continue the race, and bear the dignified appellation of 
 Surya Ivumara Singha (descended from a prince of the 
 solar and the lion race). 
 
 The system of adoption in the Kandian law, renders the 
 continuation of a particular family much more probable 
 than in any country where such a proceeding is unknown, 
 or unsanctioned by fixed institutions or all-powerful cus- 
 tom. In Kandian law, a child adopted in infancy (and 
 born to parents of equal rank with the person who adopted 
 the infant) has the same right of inheritance both to titles 
 and estates as if the actual child of the person who had 
 become its guardian, and who, after a public adoption, was 
 called and considered the father. In general, the children 
 adopted were selected from the nearest relations of the 
 person, who determined through this means to prevent all 
 risk of being without children to watch his declining years, 
 and inherit his family estates. Several of the highest rank 
 of Kandian chiefs pretend to trace the descent of their 
 families from those natives of Maghada who accompanied 
 Mihindoo and the relics of Buddha from the continent in 
 the fourth century before Christ. Two families claim 
 descent from Upatissa, a minister of state, an interim 
 king for one year, b.c. 505 ; and one of these, who main- 
 tained his right by inheritance to the name wdiich he bore 
 (Upatissa), produced to me a box containing a quantity of 
 dust, and some minute frail shreds of tissue, which, he 
 said, were the remains of a dress worn by his royal and 
 somewhat remote ancestor. I have only seen a few written 
 genealogies of Cingalese chiefs, and, in following them, 
 found wider and more startling gaps than any I had been 
 accustomed to leap over in a backward trace to the pro- 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anurddhapoora. 219 
 
 genitor of some individuals who figure in the modern 
 British peerage. 
 
 Amidst the ruins of the palace stand six square pillars 
 supporting some remains of a cornice ; each of these pillars 
 is formed of a single stone, eighteen feet in length and 
 three in breadth. There also is the stone canoe made by 
 order of King Dootoogaimoonoo in the second century before 
 Christ, to hold the liquid prepared for the refection of the 
 priests ; it measures sixty- three feet in length, three and a 
 half feet in breadth, and two feet ten inches in depth. With- 
 in the precincts of the royal buildings, projecting from the 
 mould, and half-covered by the roots of a tree, a stone 
 trough, from which the State elephants drank, recalled to 
 mind the history of King Elloona, and the busy, turbulent 
 scenes enacted in bygone ages within those walls, where 
 now the growl of the elephant, the startling rush of wild 
 hog and deer, the harsh screams of peacock and toucan, 
 increase the solemn but cheerless feelings inspired by a 
 gloomy forest waving o’er a buried city. 
 
 Elloona having murdered his cousin, the Queen Singha 
 Wallee, became King of Ceylon, a.d. 38, and was soon after 
 imprisoned by his rebellious subjects : the queen, in des- 
 pair, caused her infant son to be dressed in his most costly 
 robes, and ordered the nurse to place him at the feet of 
 the State elephant, that the child might be killed, and 
 escape the indignities inflicted on the monarch. The 
 nurse did as she was commanded ; but the elephant (with- 
 out hurting the young prince) broke his chain, rushed 
 through the guards, threw down the gates, and forced his 
 way to the royal captive, who got on his back, and, rushing 
 through the streets of the capital, escaped in safety to the 
 sea-coast. From thence he embarked for the Malaya 
 country : having raised an army there, he returned to 
 Ceylon, and regained his kingdom after an absence of three 
 years. Elloona recognized with affectionate joy the animal 
 that had been the means of saving his life : and several 
 villages were appointed to furnish food and attendants to 
 the royal elephant during the remainder of his life. 
 
 The Isuramuni Wihare (a temple partly cut in the rock), 
 the Saila Cliytia (a small monument built on a spot where 
 Buddha had rested himself), and the tomb of Elala, are 
 amongst the ruins visited by the pious pilgrims. Elala 
 was a successful invader who conquered Ceylon, b.c. 204, 
 
220 
 
 Ceylon in tlie Jubilee Year. 
 
 by means of an army -which he led from Sellee (Tanjore). 
 The Cingalese princes who possessed the southern and 
 mountainous parts of the island as tributaries becoming 
 powerful, Elala built thirty-two forts to protect the level 
 country on the south against their incursions ; these forts 
 were taken in succession by the Prince Dootoogaimoonoo, 
 who finally encountered his rival in single combat, and 
 slew him with a javelin. They were each mounted on an 
 elephant, and as the battle was preceded by a challenge, 
 both the leaders fought under the insignia of royalty : on 
 the spot where Elala fell, Dootoogaimoonoo erected a 
 monument and pillar, on which there was inscribed a 
 prohibition against any one passing this tomb in any con- 
 veyance, or with beating of drums. Elala is described, 
 even by the Buddhist historians, as being a good ruler and 
 valiant warrior ; he must have been an old man when he 
 encountered Dootoogaimoonoo, having reigned for forty- 
 four years after completing the conquest of Ceylon : his 
 death occurred b.c. 161. Time has hallowed the monu- 
 ment which it has failed to obscure, and the ruined tomb 
 of an infidel is now looked upon by many Buddhist pil- 
 grims as the remnant of a sacred edifice : although twenty 
 centuries have elapsed since the death of Elala, I do not 
 believe that the injunction of his conqueror has ever been 
 disregarded by a native. In 1818, Pilame Talawe, the 
 head of the oldest Kandian family, when attempting to 
 escape after the suppression of the rebellion in which he 
 had been engaged, alighted from his litter, although weary 
 and almost incapable of exertion; and not knowing the 
 precise spot, walked on until assured that he had passed 
 far beyond this ancient memorial. 
 
 Pilame Talawe was apprehended in this district, and 
 transported to the Isle of France ; from whence he was 
 allowed to return in 1880, and soon after died from the 
 effects of intemperance. He had narrowly escaped death 
 in 1812 for Heason to the King of Kandy, as sentence had 
 been passed, and his father and cousin had already suffered, 
 before he was brought prisoner to the city. The commence- 
 ment of a religious festival was the reason assigned at that 
 time for sparing his life ; although his slender abilities and 
 slothful habits are supposed to have been more powerful 
 arguments in favour of the king’s granting mercy than the 
 supplication of friends, or the intercession of the priests* 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anurdclhapoora. 
 
 221 
 
 to whom it was apparently conceded. Pilame Talawe was 
 the last of the direct branch of that family which exercised 
 the privilege of girding on the royal sword at the inaugura- 
 tion of the Kandian monarchs. 
 
 Besides eight large tanks at Anurdclhapoora, there are 
 several of a smaller size built round with hewn stone ; and 
 in the side of one of these a priest pointed out apartments, 
 cells which, he said, had been occupied by priests as places 
 for contemplation when religion flourished and the tanks 
 were full : one of these cells, which we examined, proved 
 to be formed of five slabs, and its dimensions were twelve 
 feet in length, eight feet in breadth, and five feet in height; 
 the lowest stone, or floor of the cell, must have been nearly 
 on a level with the water in the tank. We also saw many 
 wells built round with stone ; one very large one near the 
 Ruwanwelli-saye is circular, and the size diminishes with 
 each course of masonry, so as to form steps for descending 
 to the bottom in any direction. 
 
 Near the footpath leading to the Jaitawanaramaya lies 
 a vessel ornamented with pilasters cut in relievo ; it is 
 formed out of a single granite stone, and is ten feet long, 
 six feet wide, and two feet deep. It was used to contain 
 food for the priests. 
 
 The following is translated from an ancient native 
 account of Anuradhapoora : — 
 
 “ The magnificent city of Anuradhapoora is refulgent 
 from the numerous temples and palaces whose golden 
 pinnacles glitter in the sky. The sides of its streets are 
 strewed with black sand, and the middle is sprinkled with 
 white sand ; they are spanned by arches * bearing flags of 
 gold and silver ; on either side are vessels of the same 
 precious metals, containing flowers ; and in niches are 
 statues holding lamps of great value. In the streets are 
 multitudes of people armed with bows and arrows ; also 
 men powerful as gods, who with their huge swords could 
 cut in sunder a tusk elephant at one blow. Elephants, 
 horses, carts, and myriads of people are constantly passing 
 and repassing : there are jugglers, dancers, and musicians 
 of various nations, whose chanque-shells and other musical 
 
 * Arches formed of areka-trees split and bent, or of some other 
 pliable wood, were always used in decorating entrances and public 
 buildings on days of ceremony or rejoicing ; but I have never seen an 
 arch of masonry in any Cingalese building of great antiquity. 
 
222 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 instruments are ornamented with gold. The distance from 
 the principal gate to the south gate is four gaws (sixteen 
 miles) ; and from the north gate to the south gate four 
 gaws : the principal streets are Cliandrawakka-widiya, * 
 Rajamaha-widiya, f Hinguruwak-widiya, and Mahawelli- 
 widiya. J In Cliandrawakka-widiya are 11,000 houses, 
 many of them being two storeys in height ; the smaller 
 streets are innumerable. The palace has immense ranges 
 of building, some of two, others of three storeys in height ; 
 and its subterranean apartments are of great extent.” 
 
 With the exception of the four principal streets, the 
 others were built of perishable materials, and were named 
 from the separate classes which inhabited them. The 
 Chandalas (scavengers and corpse-bearers) resided beyond 
 the limits of the city ; yet it was a girl of this caste that 
 Prince Sali, only son of Dootoogaimoonoo, married, and 
 chose rather to resign all chance of succession to the throne 
 than to part from his beauteous bride. The detailed 
 account of Prince Sali’s romantic attachment to Asoka 
 Malla is probably less correct than a tradition preserved in 
 Kotmalia, viz., that Sali’s mother was not of the royal 
 race, but a woman of the Goyawanza (cultivator class), 
 with -whom Dootoogaimoonoo formed a connection at the 
 time he was a fugitive in the mountainous district of Kot- 
 malia, to which place he had fled to avoid the effects of his 
 father’s anger, and by which act he acquired the epithet of 
 Dootoo, or the Disobedient, prefixed to his own name of 
 Gaimoonoo. Dootoogaimoonoo forgave his son, and ad- 
 mired the bride ; but appointed his brother, Saida-tissa, 
 as successor to the throne, that the Maliatvanzae (great 
 solar dynasty ) might be preserved in all its purity. 
 
 The great extent of Anuradhapoora, covering within its 
 walls a space of 256 square miles, will not give any just 
 grounds on which to estimate the extent of its population; 
 as tanks, fields, and even forests are mentioned as being 
 within its limits. The number and magnitude of the tanks 
 and temples constructed by the Kings Dootoogaimoonoo, 
 who reigned from b.c. 164 to b.c. 140, Walagam-bahoo, 
 who reigned from b.c. 89 to b.c. 77, and Mahasen, who 
 reigned from a.d. 275 to a.d. 802, are the best vouchers 
 for the numerous population which at these periods existed 
 
 * Moon Street. t Great King Street. 
 
 + Great Sandy Street, or from the River Mahawelli-ganga. 
 
The Ancient Capital, Anuradhapoora , 
 
 223 
 
 in Ceylon ; yet, as the tanks at least were formed by forced 
 labour, we cannot rate the wealth of the nation by the 
 extent of its monuments. The public works of Prakrama- 
 baboo the First, who reigned from a.d. 1153 to 1186, prove 
 that even then Ceylon bad a much more numerous popula- 
 tion than it now possesses ; and Cingalese accounts of 
 that period state the number of males, exclusive of chil- 
 dren, as amounting to 3,420,000. This number may be, 
 and probably is, overrated ; but let those who doubt that 
 an immense population formerly existed in Ceylon com- 
 pare the prodigious bulk of the ancient monuments of 
 Anuradhapoora, Magarn, and Polannarrua, with those 
 erected by later kings of the island ; then let them com- 
 pare singly the remains of the Kalaa tank,* the Kaudela 
 tank,f or many others, with any or all the public works 
 accomplished in Ceylon for the last 500 years. In con- 
 structing the immense embankments of these artificial 
 lakes, labour has been profusely, often, from want of 
 science, uselessly expended; as I believe many of these 
 great tanks, which are now in ruins, would, if repaired, 
 be found inapplicable to the purposes of irrigation for 
 which they were designed : that is, the extent of plain 
 which could be cultivated by means of these reservoirs 
 would be of less value than the sums which it would be 
 requisite to expend in repairing and maintaining the 
 embankments. 
 
 In Anuradhapoora, the only sacred buildings of modern 
 date are a few small temples erected on the foundations 
 and from the materials of former structures ; they are 
 supported by wooden pillars, which, even in the same 
 building, present a great variety of capitals, and perfect 
 defiance of proportion. These mean temples, with their 
 walls of clay and paltry supports, form a striking contrast 
 to the granite columns, massive foundations, and stone 
 pillars which still stand, or lie scattered in endless pro- 
 fusion amidst the ruined heaps and proud remains of 
 former ages. They serve to prove that Buddhism only 
 clings with loosening grasp where it once held sovereign 
 sway over mind and matter. 
 
 In September, 1832, 1 again proceeded to Anuradhapoora, 
 
 * The Kalaa tank was completed before a.d. 477. 
 
 f The Kaudela tank is now an extensive plain between Minirie and 
 Kandely. 
 
■224 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 "through Dambool, Manawewa, Kagamma, near which 
 ai’e the ruins of the Nakha (finger-nail) dagoba, and 
 Tirapan. In several places, when we approached within 
 twenty miles of the city, we perceived great heaps of 
 stones on the road-side : they were intended to com- 
 memorate events which are long since foi’gotten ; but, 
 nevertheless, every pilgrim adds a stone to these nameless 
 cairns. About ten miles from Anuradhapoora, I sat down 
 on the rocky bank of a very small pond in the Colon-oya 
 forest : soon after, a native trader came up, and pointed to 
 a spot near me, from whence, he said, his companion, only 
 a few days before, had been dragged by a crocodile ; the 
 unfortunate man, while resting here during the heat of 
 the day, had fallen asleep close to the water, and in this 
 state was seized by the reptile. My informant, having 
 procured assistance from a village some miles off, had 
 attempted to recover the body of his companion ; but was 
 unsuccessful, as it was found that the pond communicated 
 with an underground cavern. I emerged from this forest 
 upon the plains around the Nuwarawewa (city lake), 
 which at this time contained but a little water in detached 
 pools; these were surrounded, almost covered, by a won- 
 drous assemblage of creatures, from the elephant and 
 buffalo, pelican, flamingo, and peacock, crocodile, and 
 cobragoya, down through innumerable varieties of the 
 animated creation : in the background, the crumbling 
 spires of Anuradhapoora appeared over the wooded em- 
 bankment of this artificial lake. I had supplied myself 
 and my followers with abundance of pea-fowl, which 
 were to be met with in numbers at every open space 
 where water was to be found ; and, on first entering one 
 of these glades, I have seen twenty of them within a 
 space of 100 yards in diameter. Pea-fowl are naturally 
 wary ; and if it is a place where they have been occa- 
 sionally i disturbed, it requires great caution to ensure 
 getting near enough to shoot them. The morning is the 
 best time for pea-fowl shooting, as in the evening they 
 keep near the edge of the jungle, and in the forenoon 
 they retire to some thick dark copse, generally over- 
 hanging water, and there rest during the heat of the day ; 
 it is at this time that the natives, who never throw away 
 a shot, usually kill them at roost. 
 
 Since my former visit in 1828, all the dagobas had 
 
Visit to Kandy. 
 
 225 
 
 suffered some diminution, in consequence of the heavy 
 rains which had fallen in January, 1829 ; and the whole 
 of the Abhayagiri had been cleared from jungle by a 
 priest, whose zeal in the difficult and dangerous task had 
 been nearly recompensed with martyrdom, a fragment of 
 the spire having fallen on and severely injured this pious 
 desecrater of the picturesque. The season had been par- 
 ticularly dry, and the foliage of those trees which grew 
 on rocky ground presented all the variety of an English 
 autumn; however, the change of the monsoon was ap- 
 proaching, and heavy rain fell during the night of my 
 arrival. At daybreak next morning I ascended on the 
 ruins of Mirisiwettiya, and found the forest-plains of this 
 district shrouded by mist and rising clouds ; but, — 
 
 “ Though the loitering vapour braved 
 The gentle breeze, yet oft it waved 
 Its mantle’s dewy fold,” 
 
 and magnified forms of mount -like sepulchres were 
 shadowed on the drear expanse. As the sun arose behind 
 the rock of Mehintalai, the “silver-mist” was dissipated 
 in small clouds, or fell in glittering drops : all was damp, 
 vast, and silent, as if the waves of oblivion had only now 
 rolled back from the tombs of antediluvian giants ; and 
 the half-formed rainbow, which glanced amid these monu- 
 ments, was the first which had brightened the earth, or 
 gladdened the remnants of a perished race. 
 
 [No. II.— CHAPTER XIH.] 
 
 VISIT TO KANDY.* — MORAL LAWS OF 
 GAUTAMA BUDDHA. 
 
 The rifled urn, the violated mound. — Byron. 
 
 Abstain from all sin, acquire all virtue, repress thine own heart ; 
 this is Buddha’s injunction. 
 
 Tenets of Buddhism, by Kitdlgamma Unnanse. 
 
 In the month of May, 1828, I proceeded to Kandy, and 
 witnessed that brilliant Buddhist festival, the exhibition 
 
 * For the latest account of Kandy see Burrows’ “ Guide,” pub- 
 lished by A. M. & J. Ferguson. 
 
 10 
 
226 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 of the Dalada (tooth of Buddha) ; an expiring blaze of 
 the ancient worship of Ceylon, whose beams even then 
 gleamed flickering and unstable, and will suddenly sink 
 in darkness, or surely and gradually fade before a brighter 
 light. From one district, at least, I know the numbers 
 who attended at this Dalada Puja were procured by com- 
 pulsion more than attracted by devotion ; and that it was 
 the dread of present punishment, not the hope of spiritual 
 benefit, by which they were collected. I anticipate that 
 Buddhism, shorn of its splendour, unaided by authority, 
 and torn by internal dissension, will not long have power 
 to retain even its present slight control over the actions 
 of its votaries by the mere excellence of its moral laws, 
 and that it will fall into disuse before Christianity is 
 prepared to step into its place, which for a time will be 
 occupied by those vile superstitions and demon-worship 
 to which the Cingalese are so prone. 
 
 Fifty-three years had elapsed since the King Kirti Sri 
 had openly displayed the relic ; and from the revolutions 
 which had since taken place in the country, but few 
 people remembered the ceremony, and still fewer had 
 seen the Dalada, w T hich they believed to be the most 
 sacred thing on earth, and that only to see it proved their 
 former merits by their present good fortune. 
 
 On the 29th of May, 1 828, the three larger cases having 
 previously been removed, the relic contained in the three 
 inner caskets was placed on the back of an elephant 
 richly caparisoned : over it was the Ransiwige, a small 
 octagonal cupola, the top of which was composed of 
 alternate plain and gilt silver plates, supported by silver 
 pillars. When the elephant appeared coming out of the > 
 temple-gate, two lines of magnificent elephants, forming 
 a double line in front of the entrance, knelt down and 
 thus remained ; while the multitude of people, joining 
 the points of their fingers, raised their arms above their 
 heads, and then bent forward, at the same time uttering 
 in full, deep tones the shout of “ Sadhu : ” this, joined and 
 increased by those at a distance, swelled into a grand and 
 solemn sound of adoration. The elephant bearing the 
 relic, followed by the establishments of the temples with 
 their elephants, also those of the chiefs, after proceeding 
 through the principal streets of the town, returned to the 
 great bungaloe : here the first Adikar removed the relic 
 
Visit to Kandy. 
 
 227 
 
 from the back of the elephant, and conveyed it to the 
 temporary altar on which it was to be exhibited. The 
 rich hangings were now closed around the altar, and the 
 three inner cases opened in presence of Sir Edward 
 Barnes, the Governor. The drapery being again thrown 
 open, disclosed the tooth placed on a gold lotus-flower, 
 which stood on a silver table : this was covered with 
 the different cases of the relic, various gold articles and 
 antique jewellery, the offerings of former devotees. 
 
 Whether prompted by their own feelings, or impelled 
 by more weighty reasons to attend at this exhibition, still 
 the relic was evidently an object of intense veneration to 
 all the assembled Buddhists, and by those of the Kandian 
 provinces it is considered the palladium of their country ; 
 they also believe the sovereign power of the island is 
 attached to its possessors. It is a piece of discoloured 
 ivory, slightly curved, nearly two inches in length, and 
 one inch in diameter at the base ; from thence to the 
 other extremity, which is rounded and blunt, it consider- 
 ably decreases in size. The Dalada, as we find in very 
 ancient details of its adventures, was discoloured when it 
 arrived in Ceylon : that a relic of Gautama should fade 
 or decay was at the time urged as an argument against 
 its authenticity ; but a miracle settled the dispute, and 
 silenced sceptics. 
 
 The sanctuary of this relic is a small chamber in the 
 temple attached to the palace of the Kandian kings ; and 
 there the six cases in which it is enshrined are placed on 
 a silver table hung round with rich brocades. The largest 
 or outside cover of these carandus (caskets) is five feet in 
 height, formed of silver gilt, and shaped in the form of a 
 dagoba : * the same form is preserved in the five inner 
 cases, which are of gold ; two of them, moreover, being 
 inlaid with rubies and other precious stones. The outer 
 case is decorated with many gold ornaments and jewels, 
 which have been offered to the relic, and serve to em- 
 bellish its shrine. In front of the silver altar on which 
 the tooth was exposed a plain table was placed ; to this 
 the people approached one at a time, and having seen the 
 Dalada and deposited their gifts, they prostrated them- 
 selves, then passed on and made room for others. The 
 
 The bell-shaped buildings raised over the relics of Buddha. 
 
228 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 offerings consisted of things the most heterogeneous : 
 gold chains and gold ornaments : gold, silver, and copper 
 coins of all denominations ; cloths, priest’s vestments, 
 flowers, sugar, areka-nuts, betel-leaves. The Dalada was 
 exhibited and the offerings continued for three successive 
 days. On the second day some wretched specimens of 
 the science of defence were exhibited before the Governor, 
 both with fists and also with wooden swords and targets : 
 on the fourth night there was a display of native fire- 
 works, well-made and skilfully managed. Night and day, 
 without intermission, during the continuance of this 
 festival, there was kept up a continual din of tom-toms, 
 and sounding of Kandian pipes and chanque-shells. The 
 Kandian pipe is a musical instrument in power and 
 melody nearly resembling a penny whistle : but the 
 chanque is a shell with a mouth-piece attached, and, 
 under the influence of powerful lungs, is a most efficient 
 instrument for producing a noise which was called music ; 
 its tones varying between the bellowings of a chained 
 bull and the howling of a forsaken dog. I presume the 
 natives consider these sounds peculiarly adapted for their 
 sacred music, as such instruments are to be found in all 
 temples, and may be heard at all hours, to the dire annoy- 
 ance of any European who attempts to sleep in their 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 The principal temporary building was 250 feet in length, 
 of proportionate breadth, and supported by six lines of 
 pillars. It was under this that the tooth was exhibited ; 
 and the whole was ornamented with palm-branches, 
 plantain-trees, fruit, and flowers : so gracefully were these 
 disposed, that the columns in the variety of their decora- 
 tions, and some even in unity of effect, presented combi- 
 nations which, if transferred to stone, would rival any 
 specimen of elaborate Corinthian architecture. In the 
 brilliant pageantry of this festival, the rich altar and 
 resplendent ornaments of the relic, the great size and 
 elegant decorations of the temporary buildings, the pecu- 
 liar and picturesque dresses of the chiefs, the majestic 
 elephants, and dense mass of people, threw an air of 
 imposing grandeur over the spectacle, to which the old 
 temples, sacred trees, and the wild and beautiful scenery 
 around the Kandian capital formed an appropriate land- 
 scape. These combinations were rendered still more 
 
Visit to Kandy. 
 
 229 
 
 impressive by the disturbed state of the elements ; for an 
 extraordinary gloom and tempestuous weather continued 
 during the whole time of the exhibition, and the torrents of 
 rain which fell at that time caused the loss of many lives, 
 and destroyed much property, in various parts of the 
 island. 
 
 * * * * * * 
 
 The town of Kandy is judiciously planned, and the 
 present regular arrangement of the streets was marked 
 out by the Adikars under the direction of the king ; the 
 streets all run in straight lines, but do not cross at right 
 angles. It is situated on an angular piece of ground, 
 with the base resting on two lakes which were formed by 
 the late king. The buildings remaining from the time of 
 the native dynasty are several temples of Buddha and 
 two colleges, at one of which every Kandian priest ought 
 to be ordained : there are also temples to the gods Nata, 
 Vishnu, Katragamma, and the goddess Patine ; but there 
 is nothing worthy of remark either in their architecture or 
 decorations. 
 
 In the audience-hall, now used as a court-house, are 
 some well-carved pillars of lialmila wood : the trees from 
 which they were formed were cut and squared near 
 Nalande ; from thence they were dragged over a hilly 
 country, and up a steep mountain, the whole distance 
 being upwards of thirty miles. The other remains of 
 the palace and buildings inhabited by the royal establish- 
 ment were, without exception, mean, and equally destitute 
 of internal comfort and external beauty ; the most striking 
 object is a low octagonal tower with a peaked roof, from 
 a balcony in which the king exhibited himself on occa- 
 sions of public festivity. 
 
 Wikrama Baboo the Third, who reigned from a.d. 1371 
 to a. d. 1378, was the first monarch who settled himself even 
 temporarily at Kandy, then called, from a large rock 
 which projects from the hill above the old palace, Sen- 
 gadda-galla-nuyara ; but it did not become the permanent 
 capital of the interior until the reign of Wimala Dharma, 
 which commenced a.d. 1592, and it continued the chief 
 city until the native Government fell before the British 
 power in 1815. 
 
 The burial-ground of the Kandian kings cannot be 
 viewed without exciting reflections on the revolutions 
 
230 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 ■which alike occur to man’s estate and the most ancient 
 monarchies. Ere the last of one of the longest lines of 
 kings which authentic history records had so far expiated 
 his crimes, and received his measure of earthly retribution 
 for the cruelties he had inflicted, by suffering a long im- 
 prisonment and an exile’s death, the solid tombs of his 
 predecessors were ransacked by the hands of avarice, or 
 riven in sunder and ruined by the swelling roots of sacred 
 trees. This hallowed spot, where the funeral piles were 
 raised, the last grand solemn rites performed, and the last 
 of earthly pomp and splendour was shown to the remains 
 “ of the race of the sun ” and the rulers of the land, is 
 now a wilderness, where decay revels and rushes rapidly 
 on beneath dank vegetation and a gloomy shade. The 
 tomb of Raja Singha, the tyrant who reigned during 
 Knox’s captivity in the seventeenth century, was nearly 
 perfect, and preserved its shape in May, 1828 ; that of 
 Kirti Sri was then entire. In 1837 the former was a 
 heap of rubbish, from which the stones had been removed ; 
 and the beautiful proportions, even the general form of 
 the latter, could no longer be traced. Hopes of plunder 
 or unmeaning wantonness, at the time when Kandy was 
 entered by the British, precipitated the fate of these 
 monuments : neglected as they now are, there is nothing 
 to retard it ; and a few years will show, mingled in one 
 common mould, the crumbling wreck of the tombs and 
 the dust of their royal tenants. 
 
 During the continuance of the Dalada festival, the 
 priests of Buddha, in different communities, headed by 
 the seniors of their establishments, seemed to think it 
 incumbent upon them to perambulate the town with their 
 begging dishes, and to go through the ceremony of re- 
 ceiving alms. These parties moved on slowly with their 
 fans before their faces, occasionally halting to receive 
 whatever food was offered to them, but not asking for it. 
 It appeared to me that this was evidently more of a tem- 
 porary penance than a regular practice, although to live 
 by alms is enjoined by the rules of their order. Their 
 sleek faces and sly looks also spoke of better fare procured 
 elsewhere with less trouble and more certainty than wan- 
 dering in heavy rain through Kandy, and waiting for 
 supplies from the more devout portion of those professing 
 the Buddhist religion. 
 
Kandian Festivals. 
 
 231 
 
 [No. III.— CHAPTER XIV.] 
 
 KANDIAN FESTIVALS. 
 
 Besides the Dalada Puja, which, as I have already stated, 
 was a rare occurrence, live annual festivals were celebrated 
 by the king and chiefs in Kandy, with all the pomp and 
 splendour that their circumstances could afford, or custom 
 allow them to extort from those under their control. 
 Although ordained for religion, and in honour of the gods, 
 the festivals were also a source of profit to the native 
 kings, and a cherished rule of their policy. As the chiefs 
 were obliged to attend, their periodical visits enabled the 
 king to levy exactions on the estate, or to secure the 
 person of aDy influential or turbulent headman, who in 
 liis own district might have braved the power of the king 
 and defied arrest. These five festivals are still kept up ; 
 and although they are now only tolerated, not encouraged, 
 and without the show of regal state or compulsory attend- 
 ance, still the Peraherra' is an imposing spectacle. 
 
 The festival of the New Year is in April, and at that 
 time the Cingalese indulge in the few amusements which 
 they enjoy, and in such luxuries as they can afford. 
 Before New Year’s Day every individual procures from 
 an astrologer a writing, fixing the fortunate hours of the 
 approaching year on which to commence duties or cere- 
 monies ; and to the most minute points of these instruc- 
 tions he religiously adheres, believing that even an in- 
 voluntary omission of any prescribed act at the appointed 
 moment would render him liable to misfortunes. The 
 following is an abridgment, omitting the astrological lore, 
 of one of the annual documents, prepared for my benefit 
 by the astrologer of Matale, -who also took care to inform 
 me of all eclipses, and to give me special instructions 
 in writing how to avoid those misfortunes which they 
 might occasion. “ The emblem of the approaching year 
 will be a red lion seated erect on a horse, and proceeding 
 from an aperture resembling the mouth of a horse ; this 
 will be at the commencement of the year, nine hours and 
 fifty-four minutes after sunset : at this fortunate moment 
 milk should be boiled at each of the four sides of the 
 house.” Next day I was directed to look to the north 
 while dimbul-leaves were suspended over my head, and 
 
232 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 with kolon-leaves placed under my feet ; then, having 
 anointed myself with different juices and aromatic drugs, 
 I was to dress myself in perfumed clothes of red, white, 
 and blue colours ; then to look to the south, and cause fire 
 to be lighted and cooking to begin. On the second day, 
 at two hours and a half after sunrise, I was to commence 
 eating victuals prepared with pounded salt and curdled 
 milk. At twenty-seven hours,* while looking to the east, 
 I was recommended to begin business by paying or receiving 
 money. The whole concluded with a prediction, that, 
 from the situation of the planets and other cogent reasons, 
 I might expect both good and evil to happen during the 
 year which was about to commence. 
 
 The second festival was held in the month of May, and 
 was principally remarkable as being more essentially 
 Buddhist than any of the others. Duriug this festival 
 such Samanairia priests as passed their examinations re- 
 ceived upasampada (ordination). 
 
 The third festival, called by pre-eminence Peraherra 
 (the procession), commenced with the new moon, and 
 continued until the full moon in July; sometimes longer, 
 if the procession was interrupted by meeting with a dead 
 body of any animal, or any object considered unclean. 
 The procession regularly increased in splendour every 
 night until the last ; at which time it was very imposing, 
 from the multitude of people, rich dresses, brilliant lights, 
 and large elephants. The arms and other relics of the 
 gods were carried either on elephants or in palanquins ; 
 and, on the last night, the casket containg the Dalada, 
 borne by an elephant, accompanied the procession to the 
 limits of the town, and rested at the Gedige wihare, near 
 the tombs of the kings, whilst the remainder of the pro- 
 cession passed on to the Mahawelli-ganga at Ganorooa, 
 three miles from Kandy. There the four Kapuralls of 
 the temples of Vishnu, Nata, Katragamma, and Patine 
 embarked on the river in ornamented canoes, and awaited 
 the first dawn of day ; then, drawing a circle in the water 
 with their golden swords, they filled pitchers of holy 
 water from within the magic ring, and the procession re- 
 turned to the city. The different chiefs of districts and 
 temples, with their elephants and followers, were then 
 
 t The Cingalese divide their day into sixty hours of sixty minutes 
 each. 
 
Kandian Festivals. 
 
 233 
 
 permitted to return to their provinces : and there, at some 
 particular temples, the same procession on a limited scale 
 took place. 
 
 The fourth festival, called the Festival of Lamps, was 
 celebrated on the day before full moon in November: the 
 whole town was illuminated on this occasion ; and the 
 immense number of niches alongside of the canal in front 
 of the palace, as well as in the side of the lake, being filled 
 with lamps, had a brilliant effect from the reflections in 
 the water. 
 
 The fifth festival was called the Festival of New Rice. 
 It was held in January, and appears to have been intended 
 as a propitiatory offering at the commencement of the 
 rnaha (great) harvest; for the Cingalese, judging from 
 their own feelings, consider that an offering at the com- 
 mencement is more likely to secure favour than an ex- 
 pected thanksgiving at the end of an undertaking. 
 
 The gods to whom these processions are principally 
 dedicated are, Saman (Yislmu), Nata, Katragamma, and 
 the goddess Patine. Wibhisana, who is retained as a 
 god at Kellania and in the vicinity of Colombo, is never 
 heard of in Kandy. Vishnu is worshipped in his form 
 of Ramachandra, and his statues are painted blue. Of 
 Nata’s history I could learn nothing with certainty ; his 
 statues are painted white. Katragamma is the same as 
 Kartickya (Mars), and has received the name by which 
 he is now worshipped in Ceylon from the place where his 
 principal temple is situated, which is at the village of 
 Katragamma, at the south-east of the island. He is more 
 feared than the other gods ; and many of his votaries lose 
 their health, and even their lives, in a pilgrimage through 
 the unhealthy country which surrounds his malignant 
 shrine. His priests are Brahmins ; and in the rebellion 
 of 1818 they were the zealous assistants of the pretender 
 who called himself king, and was the puppet of the rebel 
 chief Kaepitapola. 
 
 The goddess Patine is, I believe, the same as Durga, 
 and is invoked to protect her votaries from small-pox. 
 
 Wibhisana was the brother of Rawana; and having 
 assisted Rama in his invasion of the island, was, on the 
 defeat and death of Rawana, placed on the throne of 
 Ceylon, and reigned at Kellania. 
 
 To the list of gods the name of Mahasen (commonly 
 
234 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 called Minneria-deyo) may be added, wbo, in the vicinity 
 of Minneria, and in several parts of Matale, where tem- 
 ples have been reared to him, maintains his reputation as 
 well as Vishnu or any of the more ancient and generally 
 acknowledged deities. As Mahasen is a name of Katra- 
 gamma as well as of the great Cingalese King, it is diffi- 
 cult to say whether these temples were originally dedicated 
 to him ; but I presume they were, and that King Mahasen 
 has no legitimate claim to deification. However, in the 
 temples of Mahasen the same warlike furniture may be 
 found as in those of other gods ; and the gigantic tanks 
 and bridges formed under his superintendence give him a 
 better claim to immortal gratitude than those who are 
 only known by name as kings, heroes and gods, although 
 they may have conferred similar benefits on earlier ages. 
 
 When Gautama Buddha visited Ceylon, Saman ( Vishnu) 
 appears to have been particularly worshipped, also Eiswara 
 and Wibhisana ; and offerings were made to planets, an- 
 cestors, and demons. 
 
 The powers and attributes of the gods and demons of 
 the Cingalese are not well defined ; there are vices and 
 crimes charged in the history of the gods, while the devils 
 seem to respect the virtues which they do not practise, 
 and their forbearance must be purchased by offerings and 
 propitiatory ceremonies. The wiid and wooded nature of 
 the island, and the now thinly- scattered population, natu- 
 rally tend to superstition ; and it may be perceived by the 
 native histories, that when the country was most pros- 
 perous and populous, the Buddhist religion was maintained 
 in the greatest purity. 
 
 In the temples of the gods there is always some relic, 
 generally connected with arms, such as bows, spears, or 
 arrows ; and if any person wished to erect a temple, he, 
 by pretended inspiration, astrology, or other deception, 
 proceeded to discover, with much ceremony and mystery, 
 an arrow of the god, or some such relic, which had been 
 hid in the spot selected for the building. The will of the 
 god having been thus miraculously ascertained, the work 
 was commenced ; and, by permission of the king, land 
 might be dedicated to the establishment, and have the 
 same privileges as a Buddhist temple. The Kapuralls, or 
 priests of a god’s temple, require no other qualification 
 than having sufficient cunning to dupe the superstitious, 
 
Kandian Festivals. 
 
 235 
 
 and bodily strength enough to enable them to go through 
 the violent exertions and vile contortions which they 
 exhibit, and denominate dancing and inspiration. The 
 performance of all these ceremonies is accompanied by 
 tom-toms, pipes, chanque-shells, halamba (hollow metal 
 rings), and other noises, which they denominate musical. 
 Over the principal temples are placed laymen of rank, 
 who have charge of the revenues and are guardians of the 
 relics ; these chiefs do not take any part in the laborious 
 exertions and insane excitement which, in this superstition, 
 are supposed to propitiate the spirit that is invoked. 
 
 I discovered a temple in Matale to the Abudha Deiyo 
 (unknown god), t and found he was patron of secret villainy 
 (Mercury). 
 
 The images of the gods are only formed of plaster and 
 brick, neither is their workmanship or design worthy of 
 better materials ; and if this worship and its idols were to 
 disappear, the arts would have no cause to mourn, and 
 morality might rejoice at the extinction of an impure 
 superstition, which has much to debase and nothing to 
 elevate its votaries. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 f Acts xvii. 23. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 CHRISTIANITY IN CEYLON. 
 
 Tennent says in his “ History of Ceylon ” that “ the 
 fanatical propagandism of the Portuguese reared for 
 itself a monument in the abiding and expanding influence 
 of the Roman Catholic faith. This flourished in every 
 province and hamlet "where it was implanted by the 
 Franciscans, whilst the doctrines of the Reformed Church 
 of Holland, never preached beyond the walls of the 
 fortresses, are now extinct throughout the island, with the 
 exception of an expiring community at Colombo.” This 
 latter statement is exaggerated; the Wolfendahl Dutch 
 Reformed Church in Colombo is a flourishing community, 
 albeit its services are in English, and its chaplain is 
 Irish Presbyterian. The same may be said of the Galle 
 Church, ministered to by a parson of the Church of 
 Scotland, and there are also small bodies of adherents in 
 Jaffna and Matara. What made the Franciscans so suc- 
 cessful was their easy adaptation of the Roman Catholic 
 faith as a companion to, instead of opponent of, Buddhism, 
 and their giving long honorific Portuguese names to the 
 natives in baptism, which the latter gladly added to 
 their Sinhalese names, retaining them for three centuries 
 to this day, though many of them now make no profession 
 of any form of Christianity. When the Dutch seized the 
 maritime provinces, many of the Portuguese with their 
 Roman Catholic priests settled in villages within the 
 territory of the Kandian king. Seven hundred of them in 
 this way at Ruanwela. No doubt much mixture of races 
 took place ; for even Dutch soldiers were permitted to 
 marry Sinhalese women, provided the latter professed 
 
Christianity in Ceylon. 
 
 237 
 
 Christianity. Money was readily paid by the Sinhalese 
 to both the Portuguese and Dutch for the privilege of 
 prefixing Don to their names. 
 
 The Roman Catholic Missions have prospered under the 
 tolerant British rule in Ceylon, and they number by far the 
 largest body of Christians, the old Portuguese Mission 
 being lately transferred from the care of the Archbishop of 
 Goa to that of the newly- appointed Archbishop of Ceylon, 
 who has three bishops under him at Colombo, Kandy, and 
 Jaffna. There is a large number of priests and teachers ; 
 and educational establishments (notably St. Benedict’s) 
 are maintained at Colombo, as well as at Kandy and 
 Jaffna. 
 
 The Anglican Church has had a bishop of Colombo 
 since 1845, who has the oversight of the chaplains and 
 clergymen settled over regular English congregations as 
 well as of the agents of the Society for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel, and in a less degree of the agents of the 
 Church Missionary Society. The latter have a Conference 
 of their own to settle the affairs and arrangements of 
 their Mission. But all branches of the Anglican Church 
 in the island have united through representatives to 
 support a Synod necessitated by the disendowment and 
 disestablishment of both the Episcopal and Presbyterian 
 chaplains in Ceylon which was consummated between 1881 
 and 1886, the life claims of all incumbents in office before 
 the earlier year being reserved. St. Thomas’s College, 
 Colombo, is a very notable and useful educational insti- 
 tution in connection with the Anglican Church. 
 
 Our estimate of the number of Christians in Ceylon is 
 from 9 to 10 per cent of the total population, as follows : 
 
 Total population, viz., 2,900,000. 
 
 Total of Christians, about 290,000, distributed as follows: 
 
 The Romanists with . . . . . . . . 220,000 
 
 The Episcopalians with . . . . . . 25,000 
 
 The Presbyterians and Congregationalists with 14,000 
 The Wesleyans with . . . . . . . . 23,000 
 
 The Baptists with ... .. .. .. 8,000 
 
 The whole Protestant community with ... 70,000 
 
 We are, however, most interested in the history and 
 
238 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 operations of Evangelical Missions at work in Ceylon. 
 The Baptist Mission agents came first, arriving in 1812; 
 tlie Wesleyans in 1814 ; the agents of the American 
 Home and Foreign Mission in 1810 ; and the Church 
 Mission in 1818 ; while a number of agents of General 
 Booth's Salvation Army under “Major” Tucker (formerly 
 Commissioner in the Indian Civil Service) arrived in 
 1885-6. 
 
 PROGRESS OF MISSION WORK IN CEYLON. 
 
 I. — The work of the American Mission has been confined 
 to stations in the densely-populated Jaffna Peninsula, 
 where a succession of godly, devoted men and women have 
 done an immense amount of good ; more of the agents of 
 this society, perhaps, than of any English Society have lived 
 and died among the Tamil people whom they had come 
 from the far West to instruct and evangelize. The work 
 done in female education has been especially valuable ; 
 while Dr. Green’s Medical Class of native students, and 
 his compilations and translations of medical works into 
 Tamil have been productive of great benefit to the whole 
 island. A Christian College, and Industrial Technical 
 Schools for the Jaffnese, are among the fruits of the 
 Mission. Among the honoured names of the agents are 
 Father and Mrs. Spaulding, Dr. Poor, Miss Agnew, 
 Messrs, and Mesdames Saunders, Smith, Howlands, 
 Hastings, &c. An interesting feature of this Mission is 
 the succession of father and son in carrying on the work. 
 
 II. — The history of The Church Mission in Ceylon up to 
 1868 is recorded in a little Jubilee Memorial volume by 
 Rev. J. I. Jones. The principal work of the Society has 
 been in the vicinity of Colombo and Cotta, in Kandy, in 
 the southern province at Baddegama, in Kurunegala, 
 and itinerary work throughout the Central and parts of 
 the North-Western, North-Central, and Western provinces. 
 This refers to the Sinhalese Mission. The Tamil Mission 
 has an agency in the Jaffna Peninsula. Churches and 
 congregations with native pastors, boarding schools for 
 girls as well as boys, vernacular and English schools, a 
 
Progress of Mission Work in Ceylon. 239 
 
 Christian college, and theological and normal classes, all 
 form features of the Sinhalese and Tamil Missions as seen 
 in the present day ; and a large number of staunch Chris- 
 tian families at each station testify to the good work done 
 through the Church Missionary Society. All the native 
 pastors have their salaries provided through native Church 
 Councils, which receive a grant-in-aid from the Home 
 Committee of an annually diminishing amount, the 
 saving being given to evangelistic work. The Rev. 
 William Oakley, of this Mission, lived and worked in 
 the island, without ever returning to England, for fifty- 
 two years, until his death as a retired missionary in 
 Nuwera Eliya in 1886. Much good literary and educa- 
 tional as well as evangelistic work has been done by Church 
 missionaries, especially in connection with the language ; 
 the names of Lambrick, Ward, Selkirk, Trimnell, Marsh, 
 Fenn, Jones, and Coles being familiar in this connec- 
 tion. An interesting branch is the Tamil Coolie Mis- 
 sion, which is under the ministerial charge of Church 
 missionaries, with catechists and schoolmasters, assisted 
 by a lay and undenominational committee from among the 
 planters and merchants, who are responsible for the funds, 
 all save the salaries of the missionaries, which are pro- 
 vided by the home committee. The coolies on the estates 
 scattered all over the hill country are the objects of the 
 Mission’s teaching and care, and on many plantations 
 schools are opened for the instruction of the children. 
 
 Extracts from the Proceedings at the Annual Meetings , held 
 in 1881, of the Baj/tist and Wesleyan Missionary Societies 
 in Ceylon. 
 
 III.— The Baptist Mission. — The Chairman (Mr. J. 
 Ferguson) said they had now received the reports for the 
 three divisions of the Baptist Mission in Ceylon. They 
 were probably familiar with the districts to which those 
 reports referred. Mr. Waldock’s district had its centre in 
 the neighbourhood of the Kelani river, while that of Mr. 
 Carter was situated on the largest river in the island, and 
 Mr. Pigott, apparently following up the inclination of the 
 Baptist Mission to work along great rivers, had gone up 
 to the headwaters of the Kelani and Kalu Gangas. The 
 Sabaragamuwa district, as they knew, was part of the 
 
240 
 
 Ceylon in the Juhilce Year. 
 
 Mission Extension work that some years ago excited so 
 much interest. It was very satisfactory to feel now, that 
 the three Evangelistic missions (the Wesleyan, Church, 
 and Baptist) cover the whole ground, at least in nominal 
 occupation, in South Ceylon, and supplement each other 
 in the districts they occupy. The Baptist Mission in 
 Sabaragamuwa and the Church Mission in Uva adjoin 
 each other, while the Wesleyan Mission, having gone 
 round the coast to Hambantota, has met with the work of 
 its sister mission in Batticaloa, so that there is now no 
 large district without at least being visited by a European 
 missionary, and receiving attention from one or other of 
 the three Evangelistic missions referred to. 
 
 In regard to the small accession of numbers reported, he 
 would call attention to one fact which should he remem- 
 bered, and which was stated on the authority of Sir 
 Emerson Tennent, who was a very close observer. Sir 
 Emerson, in giving evidence at home, stated that there 
 were no missionaries in Ceylon so rigid in making up their 
 returns of members as the Baptist missionaries. There- 
 fore, although the figures were small, they indicated a 
 much larger number of people under the influence of the 
 mission. He had occasion lately, in the course of his 
 daily work elsewhere, to look over some of the returns for 
 forty years back of that and other missions, and he found 
 that in South Ceylon there were probably 11,000 people 
 under the influence of the Church, Wesleyan, and Baptist 
 Missions about the year 1850. In 1860 that number had 
 increased to 14,000 ; and in 1870 to 18,000 ; while now 
 it could not be less than 25,000. About twenty years 
 ago in making up the returns, before the first census was 
 taken, it was estimated that the total Protestant popula- 
 tion of Ceylon numbered 40,000. The census was taken 
 in 1871, and the calculations then made went on to show 
 that there were 54,000 Protestants, and there would be 
 much reason for disappointment if the census that is 
 shortly to be taken does not indicate that that number 
 had increased to 70,000.* No doubt 70,000 Protestant 
 Christians and 200,000 Boman Catholics would seem a 
 small number out of 2,750,000 — only ten per cent., 
 
 * In the census of February, 1881, the Christian population is 
 given at 268,000 ; of whom 200,000 were probably Boman Catholics 
 and 68,000 Protestants. 
 
Progress of Mission Work in Ceylon. 241 
 
 but if we compare this result with what has been done 
 in India— where the Christian population was not even 
 one per cent. — we ought, not only to feel satisfied, 
 but also most thankful for what has been accomplished. 
 The people of this island needed Christianity now as 
 much as in the time of Mr. Daniel, who said that the 
 more he saw of the Sinhalese idolaters, the more he 
 realized how coi’rectly the 1st chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle 
 to the Romans described their condition. He was sure, 
 from the reports that had been read, that the work of the 
 Baptist Mission was one that would commend itself to the 
 sympathies and support of all present. 
 
 IV. — The Wesleyan Mission. — The Chairman (Mr. J. 
 Ferguson) said they had heard a clear and succinct 
 report. For nearly twenty-one years now, he had 
 watched the operations of the Wesleyan Mission in South 
 Ceylon, and he had, during that time, been personally 
 acquainted with all the Society’s local European agents, 
 and with a considerable number of the native agents, 
 including among the former the revered Messrs. Gogerly 
 and Spence Hardy. He had early formed a very high 
 opinion of the admirable system under which this Mission 
 in South Ceylon was organized and worked, and he had 
 noted, year by year, the indefatigable labours of the mis- 
 sionaries for the good of the people and the furtherance of 
 a knowledge of the gospel. 
 
 He would point out that the Mission in South Ceylon is 
 singularly complete in embracing all classes of the popula- 
 tion and every department of labour. The European and 
 Eurasian adherents have the gospel preached to them in 
 English, and those who speak Portuguese are not 
 forgotten ; while the great work is of course that among 
 the Sinhalese and Tamils ; so that the South Ceylon 
 Wesleyan Mission was among the most extensive and 
 complete in the island, or, perhaps, in any country where 
 missions are found. The evangelistic labours of its 
 agents — preaching the gospel direct to the people — had 
 ever been one of the great objects of the Wesleyan Mis- 
 sionary Society, and he (the speaker) would never forget 
 what he heard the Rev. Spence Hardy say on one occasion 
 from that platform, that, in his experience, the most 
 potent means, under God’s guidance, of converting the 
 
 17 
 
242 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Sinhalese Buddhists was for the European missionary, 
 possessed of a thorough command of the vernacular, to go 
 right into the villages and to preach the gospel direct to 
 the people. But the missionaries had not forgotten other 
 departments of great importance — that of training the 
 children, who would otherwise be left to grow up iu 
 ignorance, and be unable to read the gospel in their own 
 language. 
 
 Then again, a distinguishing feature of the work of the 
 agents of the Society had been found in the literature 
 penned for the Sinhalese, and about their country and 
 religions. He had only to mention a few names that 
 would be familiar as the authors of most valuable and 
 learned works, in Clough, Callaway, Gogerly, Spence 
 Hardy, David de Silva, not to mention any of the present 
 day. Hardy's “Jubilee Memorials” was one of the most 
 charming books ever published with the Story of Missions, 
 or, indeed, iu connection with Ceylon. In that book Mr. 
 Hardy gives the statistics of the Mission for the year 
 1863, and they had seen the report for 1881; so that 
 there had elapsed an interval of eighteen years. 
 
 Very recently there appeared in the London Times a 
 letter filling three or four columns in large type, attacking 
 missions and missionaries. The writer made most sweep- 
 ing statements. He seemed to regard it as an admitted 
 fact that there were no conversions. Let us see the 
 advance in eighteen years in South Ceylon in this Wes- 
 leyan Mission, which was as follows : — 
 
 1863. 
 
 
 1881. 
 
 44 
 
 Native Ministers and Catechists 
 
 122 
 
 72 
 
 Churches and other places of -worship 
 
 104 
 
 1,577 
 
 Communicants 
 
 . . 2,609 
 
 3,789 
 
 Adherents 
 
 .. 6,061 
 
 2,141 
 
 Boys in Day Schools 
 
 .. 4,643 
 
 1,037 
 
 Girls in Day Schools 
 
 . . 2,486 
 
 — 
 
 Sunday Scholars 
 
 . . 4,820 
 
 He would like the anti-mission correspondent to consider 
 what these figures for one limited section of the Eastern 
 
 mission-field meant : but there was another rough-and- 
 ready test which men of the world and business men, who 
 believe in the practice of one — 
 
 Who very wiselv would lay forth 
 No more upon it than ’twas worth, — 
 
Progress of Mission Work in Ceylon. 243 
 
 would recognize, namely, the contributions gathered in 
 locally ; and these, chiefly from natives, in 1863 were 
 given by Mr. Hardy at Rs.4,520 ; while the total of local 
 contributions in last year’s report was Rs.39,325. The 
 Sinhalese and Tamils, any more than other people, do 
 not pay for what they do not value. Remembering that 
 we are not yet in the seventieth year of the Mission, it 
 might fairly be anticipated that ere long the people will 
 be won to Christianity, not in an arithmetical, but in a 
 geometrical progression in Ceylon as well as India. A 
 very important step was taken some years ago in con- 
 nexion with the extension of the work of the Wesleyan, 
 the Church, and the Baptist Societies in South Ceylon, 
 in which he (the Chairman) took some part. Nominally, 
 the country was now covered by the three Evangelical 
 bodies, but large districts and numerous villages had yet to 
 have the gospel preached in them. Much remained to be 
 done, and now that the schoolmaster was abroad in the 
 land, it especially devolved on all Christians to follow up 
 secular by moral and religious teaching. The Buddhists 
 of China, Siam, and Burmah looked to Ceylon as the 
 sacred home of their religion. The central position of 
 the island added to its importance as a mission field ; 
 educated Ceylonese young men were going forth as medical 
 assistants, surveyors, and in other capacities, to earn a 
 livelihood in other parts of the world ; -while, again, the 
 masses were about to follow, 500 Sinhalese now waiting 
 to be transferred to Queensland. It behoved them to do 
 all in their power to send forth good men and true, some, 
 if not all, of whom might become teachers of the gospel 
 in their turn. For this reason, among others, this Society 
 deserved the hearty support of all who had the highest 
 interests of the people at heart. 
 
 The following remarks are taken from an address 
 by Mr. John Ferguson, at a Breakfast Meeting of the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Society at Exeter Hall, in May, 1884: 
 
 “ There are no more valuable Christian missions in 
 the world than those which have settled in Ceylon. 
 Geographically, Ceylon is the centre of the Eastern world. 
 With reference to Asia, it has become very much what 
 England has been so long in relation to Europe and the 
 Western world. Christianity and education have made 
 
244 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 great progress in Ceylon, and there can be no question of 
 the important hearing which the advance of Christianity, 
 civilization, and education there will have upon the vast 
 continent of India, upon Burmah, Siam, and Cambodia, 
 and even upon China. In Ceylon ten per cent, of the 
 children of a school-going age are being educated ; in 
 India the proportion is less than one per cent. 
 From our island Sinhalese and Tamils are going out as 
 teachers, also as magistrates and lawyers, to Madras, and 
 some are even finding their way eastward to the Straits 
 and on towards China. Most of these young men have 
 been educated in mission-schools under the influence of 
 Christianity, and wherever they go they carry with them 
 and disseminate a civilizing and, I trust, Christian spirit ; 
 so that when you are working in Ceylon you are benefiting 
 not only the people there, but the inhabitants of Southern 
 India, and, directly or indirectly, the peoples of Indo- 
 China, who, as Buddhists chiefly, are in such close rela- 
 tions to Lanka (Ceylon), the sacred land of Buddhigm. 
 While travelling in steamers and on railways, I have often 
 heard disparaging remarks about mission work in Asia. 
 Merchants and others who have been in the East often say 
 they have never seen much good result from the work of 
 missionaries. I asked them whether they had ever gone 
 into the jungle, the country districts and villages, or even 
 to the native churches in the bigger towns, and seen the 
 missionary at work there. ‘No,’ they reply, ‘they had 
 never seen him at work in the jungle.’ I have ; I have 
 again and again gone with the missionaries to their 
 districts, and have seen for myself the good they are 
 accomplishing. I have heard the testimony of the people 
 themselves to the power of Christianity. I have astonished 
 English and American friends hy telling them of villages 
 and districts in Ceylon, where Tamils and Sinhalese are 
 as earnest and practical Christians as any in England or 
 in America. In these days of scepticism you might fairly 
 challenge men who deny the success of Christian missions 
 and the good they are doing to send out a commission to 
 Ceylon, to visit these Sinhalese and Tamil villages, where 
 the people have their own pastors of their own race and 
 locally supported, their Sunday-schools and day-schools, 
 and where you might imagine yourself to be in the centre 
 of England or in the most Christian part of America. 
 
Progress of Mission Work in Ceylon. 245 
 
 The time is coming when you may fairly look for reaping 
 a great harvest in Ceylon, if you persevere with your 
 missionary work in that island. I believe that the pro- 
 gress of Christianity and education there will be not only 
 in an arithmetical, but a geometrical progression ere long, 
 so that we may see Christianity permeate the whole 
 island. One word with regard to the influence of laymen. 
 I have often felt not only that inadequate support is given 
 to mission work, but that missionaries themselves often 
 meet with opposition from some of their countrymen, who 
 go out into those regions on a mission which (as I heard 
 described by Canon Westcott in Westminster Abbey on 
 Sunday last) is more in the nature of selfishness than of 
 self-sacrifice. I would impress upon the pastors assembled 
 here to-day the great importance of seeing that the young 
 men of their Churches destined for a Colonial or Indian 
 life are true Christian laymen, because the influence of 
 such upon their servants and others who observe their 
 consistent life is immensely in favour of the spread of 
 Christianity. When the natives observe that the civil 
 servant, the layman — say the British merchant with 
 whom they deal in business, is honest, truthful, and up- 
 right — they will say, ‘ He is a specimen of Christianity, 
 we can trust him, and there must be something in 
 his religion.’ ” 
 
 Wesley Christian College, Colombo, is the most notable 
 educational institution in connection with this Mission. 
 The South Ceylon Mission has now been divided into 
 three districts : Colombo and the Western province ; Galle 
 and the Southern province ; Kandy and the Negombo dis- 
 trict, as well as the Central and Uva provinces. 
 
 The work of the North Ceylon Wesleyan Mission, with 
 its important agencies, colleges and schools at Jaffna, 
 Point Pedro, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee, deserves special 
 mention. 
 
 Y. — A Sketch of Missionary Work in Ceylon. 
 
 The following account is from the pen of the late Dr. 
 Macvicar, of Moffat (who was for many years chaplain of 
 St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Colombo), and is given 
 as illustrative of mission work in Ceylon: — 
 
 “ About twelve miles from Colombo, the chief town of 
 
246 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Ceylon, on the high road to Galle, which is the second 
 town, there is a belt or bar of land, lying between the 
 sea on the one side, and an extensive lake, or rather 
 lagoon, on the other. And as the sea in this quarter 
 abounds in fish, and this lagoon has many arms leading 
 from its ample basin into canals stretching along the 
 coast, and into rivers flowing from the mountains, so as 
 to form a great harbour, the surrounding country, which 
 is very fertile, has become very populous. On the bank of 
 land referred to, stands the thriving village of Morotto, re- 
 markable for its fishermen and its carpenters. And here 
 it was that the incident I am going to relate occurred. 
 
 “ But, first, let me tell you of the peculiar beauty and 
 interest which the lake of Morotto possesses. It is itself 
 a very fine sheet of water; but the objects that surround 
 it invest it with its peculiar beauty. Its bosom is every- 
 where fringed by various species of mangroves, their 
 every branch steadied by roots falling right down from 
 them, and dipping into the water, beneath which they fix 
 themselves in the soil. Immediately behind, there is a 
 belt of beautifully verdant copse or jungle, luxuriantly 
 entangled, or hanging in rich festoons around noble trees, 
 adorned now and then with magnificent blossoms. Then 
 come extensive topes of coco-palms everywhere that the 
 population extends ; while beyond them, towards the in- 
 terior, as far as the eye can reach, there is a forest — the 
 trees, in their general appearance, not unlike those in a 
 European forest, but on a grander scale. And all these 
 vegetable riches, which adorn the spacious lake, like the 
 sleeping waters of the lake itself, are seen reposing in a 
 sunshine which for more than half the year never knows 
 any shadow's but those of the evening and morning, which 
 bring such ample dews along w'itli them that there is a 
 perpetual verdure all the year. Add to this, that the 
 horizon-line on the inland side is bounded by a lofty 
 range of mountains, among which Adam’s Peak rears its 
 majestic summit, and it will be seen that the entire 
 scenery is of dream-like beauty. The delight, however, 
 w'ith which the eye gazes is soon lost for feelings of quite 
 another kind, when, ceasing to commune with Nature, we 
 look to those monuments upon the banks of the lake, 
 which claim man for their author. These remind us that, 
 all-beautiful though nature be in this region, w'hen viewed 
 
Progress of Mission Work in Ceylon. 247 
 
 in herself, jet, viewed in reference to man, these are but 
 dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of cruelty. 
 There is one feature in nature, indeed, which seems to 
 invite to the shores of this lake of Morotto as a fit place 
 for the nurture of the darker superstitions. For up its 
 waters, on some lonely and almost inaccessible islands, 
 covered with lofty and seemingly leafless trees, there are 
 seen hanging in the top branches, in ponderous masses, 
 certain large, motionless objects, which remain black and 
 without lustre in the brightest sunshine. They are many 
 hundreds in number. Point to them, and ask the boat- 
 men what they are, you will soon hear on the lips of 
 every native in the boat the unearthly sound of ‘ woulla ! 
 woulla ! ’ But what are they ? Devote a long hour to the 
 oar, in order to get nearer, and say that you are beneath 
 them : they have left the trees, the air over your head is 
 black with them — black with vampires or flying foxes, 
 bats as large as eagles, in many hundreds, flapping 
 their wings most sluggishly, and in most fitful silence, 
 till one after another they have vanished from the air, 
 and are only seen in distant trees, hanging again by their 
 feet till nightfall. Whether it was the contrast between 
 these unearthly creatures and all nature around, I know 
 not ; but I have never seen anything so like what one 
 would fancy round the very mouth of hell, as these clouds 
 of woullas. 
 
 “ Let us turn our back upon them, then, and look down 
 the beautiful sunny lake towards Morotto and the sea, 
 whose distant roar is quite refreshing after the solemn 
 silence of the forest, and the flights of the monster bats. 
 The return to the place from which we set out will not be 
 less agreeable for this, that the delicious sea-breeze will 
 meet us in the face. But what is that dome, with its 
 gilded pinnacle glittering in the sunbeams, on the top of 
 the hill, surrounded by lofty bo-trees ? It is a Buddhist 
 temple, with its accompanying dagoba and pansala, -where 
 learned priests are thronging, each ordained by a chapter 
 organized with profound policy, and venerating legitimacy 
 of succession as much as any ecclesiastics in Rome — 
 priests, but with this reservation, that man is the only 
 god they acknowledge ; while for man, alas ! notwith- 
 standing his possible godhead, when this life is over, they 
 allow no heaven better than annihilation ! The common 
 
248 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 people do perhaps worship Buddha, as if he were a real 
 being, great and powerful, and consciously existing some- 
 where. But the sacred books adore his memory only ; and 
 the priesthood proclaim no god to the people but them- 
 selves. This is had enough. Yes ; what can be worse 
 than atheism ? And yet, let us hear what the boatman 
 says of that headland on the other side of the lake, so 
 remarkable for its hoary trees and dense impenetrable 
 jungle. There is a treasure hidden there, he says. Then 
 why not go and dig it up ? ‘ Ah 1 it is guarded by a 
 
 demon,’ he answers ; and reminds us of a custom practised 
 in Ceylon, I am told, at no very remote period, the very 
 thought of which makes the blood run cold. It was this : 
 The owner of a treasure, when he apprehended from any 
 cause that it was not safe at home, having selected some 
 lonely spot in the jungle, dug two holes there, close beside 
 each other ; the one large enough to hold his treasure, the 
 other much larger. He then returned to his home, and, 
 having taken a large knife, and concealed it in his dress, 
 called a trusty servant, showed him the bag of money, and 
 required him to bear it along with him into the jungle. 
 The faithful servant obeys ; and when they have arrived 
 at the secret spot, the treasure is deposited in its hole, and 
 committed to the keeping of the servant, on which his 
 throat is cut, and the body buried ! And thereafter, he 
 who receives this reward for his fidelity is believed to be a 
 demon, and the treasure is safe in the keeping of the 
 yakka ! Such is a sample of those atrocities to which 
 demon-worship prompts. Barbarities like these were 
 indeed practised only in other times ; but still, demon- 
 worship forms the only positive religion of the heathen in 
 Buddhistic countries. It prevails to a vast extent, not only 
 in Ceylon, but in all Southern India ; and this is truly 
 lamentable, both in a religious point of view, and because 
 it is so gloomy, unsocial, and inhuman. It is to a priest 
 of this religion that the incident relates, to which we now 
 proceed. 
 
 “He was an old man, and the temple where he minis- 
 tered was his own. It presented its dismal front in a 
 shady grove, almost fifty yards off a much-frequented by- 
 road, which led from the highway to a populous village 
 on the banks of the lake. And there had the old demon- 
 priest remained for many a long year by his idols. And 
 
Progress of Mission Work in Ceylon. 249 
 
 many orgies had he celebrated in every hamlet around, 
 wherever there was any one sick who could afford to pay, 
 or anything secret which was wanted to be known, or, 
 haply, a new-married woman anxious about her first child, 
 or a mother to whom child-birth was known to be a 
 dangerous moment. Nay, I have been credibly informed 
 of the daughters of Christian parents, who have stolen 
 away to consult the kapurala. Such is the hold which 
 demon-worship has upon the human mind. Is this much- 
 frequented road, then, in one of the loveliest bypaths of 
 the world, to be left with no retreat for the piously - 
 disposed, but a demon-temple with its priest ? No ; the 
 Wesleyan Missionary Society — that noble institution for 
 the evangelization of the heathen, which secures the very 
 best ministers of that communion for missionaries — has 
 long had a station in Morotto ; and it was resolved that a 
 mission chapel should be erected opposite the demon- 
 temple, on the other side of the road; each erection, how- 
 ever, out of the sight of the other. The chapel was 
 accordingly built ; and at the time to which this narrative 
 refers, the missionary who ministered in it was a pure 
 Sinhalese, Peter de Zylva by name, a man of great kind- 
 ness of heart and energy of character. Mr. de Zylva’s 
 domiciliary visits were reaching every house and hamlet 
 in Morotto, and his voice was ringing with the mysteries 
 of redemption, musically, yet powerfully, from the desk in 
 the Morotto chapel, Sabbath-day and week-day, while the 
 passengers were arrested more and more, until his little 
 flock became a large one, and the communicants numbered 
 nearly a hundred. 
 
 “But how was it going with the old priest in his old 
 demon-temple over the way ? Was he plotting mischief 
 and plying a bad tongue against the missionary who was 
 thus turning the people from his temple into another, 
 where his own religion was denounced as most sinful and 
 unholy, and the cross of Christ proclaimed as the power of 
 God unto salvation unto every one that believetli ? This 
 was nothing less than might have been expected from 
 human nature under the circumstances. But not so here. 
 While the people who used to frequent his temple were 
 turning the opposite way, the old priest, sitting inside, 
 listened day after day to the hymns and the prayers and 
 the preaching of the Christian congregation and the Chris- 
 
250 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 tian minister. This, happily, lie could do witli good effect 
 in the silence which reigned around him, so near were 
 both places of worship to each other ; and such is the 
 power of the Spirit of God, when an earnest Christian 
 minister is His instrument, that, despite the hebetude of 
 old age and the habits of a lifetime, despite the power of 
 an hereditary faith and every suggestion of egotism, the 
 old man felt that he could not help believing, and that he 
 must go and unfold his mind to Peter de Zylva. He did 
 so accordingly. And in answer to the always respectful 
 and friendly question of the missionary — what brought him 
 there ? — he told him what had befallen his heart through 
 listening to the preaching of the gospel ; that he had done 
 with his idols, and locked up his temple. ‘ And here is 
 the key,’ said he, ‘ which you must take, for the temple 
 is my own and I can do with it as I please. For me, 
 henceforth, there remains nothing but to humble myself in 
 penitence, and to believe in Christ.’ ‘ A kapurala ! ’ said 
 Peter de Zylva, suspicious of his countryman ; ‘ what can 
 I do with yourself and your key ? You must not throw 
 yourself on us. We are poor people : we can do nothing 
 for you that way.’ ‘ Do not think so unworthily of me,’ 
 said the old man ; ‘ I shall need but little, and that little 
 not long.’ ‘ And then as to this key,’ rejoined Peter, 
 
 ‘ suppose I take it, do you know what I shall do this very 
 day ? ’ ‘ No,’ said the old man, ‘ nor do I care, if but the 
 
 temple pass from my hands into yours.’ ‘ Very well,’ said 
 the missionary, ‘you see this stick of mine — (Peter usually 
 walks with a heavy staff) — I tell you, I will take and 
 smash every idol in your temple, this very day, and leave 
 you nothing before night but chips and rubbish on the 
 floor.’ ‘Do it,’ said the old man: ‘better you than L’ 
 And it was done. Before acknowledging him as a Chris- 
 tian brother, the earnest but cautious missionary tried 
 him on every point where a mistake or a cheat, on the 
 part of the old man, seemed possible. But there was no 
 mistake, no deceit. The conversion of the old demon- 
 priest was one of those soul-delighting demonstrations of 
 the power of the Spirit, where the best-defended strong- 
 holds of fallen nature are made to surrender uncondi- 
 tionally to the truth as it is in -Jesus.” 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 CASTE IN CEYLON. 
 
 Caste, though disavowed by Buddhism, has still some 
 hold on the Sinhalese, and, as a matter of civil distinction, 
 intermarriages of persons of different castes are almost 
 unknown, except amongst the lowest of the population. 
 The Tamils have all the Hindu castes, as essentials of 
 their religion, from the Brahman downwards to the Koviya 
 and Pariah. There are no Brahmans amongst the Sinha- 
 lese, and the Chaliyas (cinnamon peelers) strongly dispute 
 the pre-eminence of the Vellalas or husbandmen. The 
 fishermen are another great caste, and, curiously enough, 
 they are the best and most enterprizing carpenters ; then 
 follow numerous divisions on to the dhoby (washermen) 
 and jaggery castes, the members of which are employed to 
 collect the juice from the flower sheaths of palms, to be 
 fermented into “ toddy ” and yeast, distilled into arrack, or 
 inspissated into coarse sugar called jaggery. Under the 
 Kandyan dynasty, caste was strictly enforced — the son of 
 a barber being inevitably and for life a barber. There is 
 now no legal restriction, nor any social disability, save 
 what the natives voluntarily choose to retain or submit to, 
 and the anomaly of State-supported churches of Christians 
 in Ceylon has also been removed, but officials, in some 
 cases, foolishly encourage caste pretensions. The worse 
 than waste of the temporalities (land, &c.) attached to 
 Buddhist temples has, however, yet to be dealt with by 
 Government. [See in further illustration the information 
 in a later appendix, received as the sheets were passing 
 through press.] 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 1. — A LIST OF THE BRITISH GOVERNORS OF 
 CEYLON.* 
 
 1. Hon. Frederick North (subsequently Earl of Guil- 
 
 ford), 12th October, 1798. 
 
 2. Lieut. -General the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Maitland, 
 
 G.C.B., 19tli July, 1805. 
 
 Major-General John Wilson, Lieut. -Governor, 
 19 Mi March, 1811. 
 
 8. General Sir Robert Brownrigg, Bart., G.C.B., lltli 
 March, 1812. 
 
 Major-General Sir Edward Barnes, K.C.B., 
 Lieut". -Governor, 1st February, 1820. 
 
 4. Lieut. -General the Hon. Sir Edward Paget, K.C.B., 
 
 2nd February, 1822. 
 
 Major-General Sir James Campbell, K.C.B., 
 Lieut. -Governor, 6th November, 1822. 
 
 5. Lieut.-General Sir Edward Barnes, K.C.B., 18th 
 
 January, 1824. 
 
 Major-General Sir John Wilson, K.C.B., Lieut. - 
 Governor, 13tli October, 1881. 
 
 6. The Right Hon. Sir Robert Wilmot Horton, Bart., 
 
 G.C.B., 23rd October, 1831. 
 
 7. The Right Hon. James Alexander Stewart Mackenzie, 
 
 7th November, 1837. 
 
 8. Lieut.-General Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B., 5th April, 
 
 1841. 
 
 Sir James Emerson Tennent, K.C.S., Lieut. - 
 Governor, 19th April, 1847. 
 
 * From 16th February, 1796, to 12th October, 1798, the colony 
 was attached to the Madras Presidency. 
 
British Governors of Ceylon. 253 
 
 9. The Right Hon. the Viscount Torrington, 29th May, 
 
 1847. 
 
 The Hon. Charles Justin MacCarthy, Lieut- 
 Goveruor, 18th October, 1850. 
 
 10. Sir George William Anderson, K.C.B., 27th Novem- 
 
 ber, 1850. 
 
 The Hon. Charles Justin MacCarthy, Lieut. - 
 Governor, 18th January. 1855. 
 
 11. Sir Henry George Ward, G.C.M.G., 11th May, 1855. 
 
 Major-General Henry Frederick Lockyer, C.B., 
 K.H , Lieut. -Governor, 80th June, 1800. 
 
 Colonel Charles Edmund Wilkinson, R.E., 
 Lieut. -Governor, 80th July, 1800. 
 
 12. Sir Charles Justin MacCarthy, Kt., 22nd October, 1800. 
 
 Major-General Terence O’Brien, Officer Ad- 
 ministering the Government, 1st December, 
 1803. 
 
 13. Sir Hercules George Robert Robinson, Kt., Lieut.- 
 
 Governor, 31st March ; Governor, 10th May, 1865. 
 
 Lieut.-General Studholme John Hodgson, Officer 
 Administering the Government, 2nd July, 
 1808, to 12th Juue, 1809, during Sir H. 
 Robinson’s leave of absence. 
 
 The Hon. Henry Turner Irving, Officer Ad- 
 ministering the Government, 4th January, 
 1872. 
 
 14. The Right Hon. William Henry Gregory (Sir W. H. 
 
 Gregory, K.C.M.G., 1875), 4th March, 1872. 
 
 The Hon. Arthur Norris Bircii (C.M.G., 1875), 
 Administrator of the Government, 17th April 
 to 14th August, 1874, and 20tli December, 
 1875, to 29th January, 1870; Lieut. -Governor, 
 15th January to 10th April, 1877 (during Sir 
 W. H. Gregory’s absences from the colony) ; 
 Lieut.-Governor, 9th May to 3rd September, 
 1877. 
 
 15. Sir James Robert Longdf.n, K.C.M.G. (G.C.M.G., 
 
 1883), 4th September, 1877. 
 
 The Hon. John Douglas, C.M.G., Lieut.-Gover- 
 nor, 28th February to 10th September, 1881 
 (during Sir J. R. Longden’s absence). 
 
 Sir John Douglas, K.C.M.G., Lieut.-Governor, 
 14th July, 1883. 
 
254 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 16. The Hon. Sir Arthur Gordon, G.C.M.G., gazetted 
 Governor, August, 1883 ; assumed the Administra- 
 tion on December 3rd of that year. 
 
 Major-General Sir John Chetham Mcleod, K.C.B., 
 Administered the Government during Sir A. 
 Gordon’s absence, June to November, 1885. 
 
 2.— CHIEF JUSTICES OF CEYLON. 
 
 Sir Edward Codrington Carrington, 1802. 
 
 The Hon. Alexander Johnston (provisional), 1806. 
 
 POglit Hon. E. C. Lushington (provisional), 1807. 
 
 W. Coke, Esq. (provisional), 1809. 
 
 Sir Alexander Johnston (Chief Justice and President of 
 the Council), 6th November, 1811. 
 
 Sir Hardinge Giffard, Ivt. , LL.D., 1820. 
 
 Sir Bichard Ottley, Kt., 1827. 
 
 Sir Charles Marshall, Kt., 1833. 
 
 Sir William Norris, Kt., April, 1836. 
 
 Sergeant Sir W. Bough, Kt., April, 1837 
 Sir Anthony Oliphant, Ivt., 1838. 
 
 Sir William Ogle Carr, Ivt., 1854. 
 
 Sir W. Carpenter Kowe, Ivt., 1856. 
 
 The Hon. P. I. Sterling (acting), 1859. 
 
 Sir Edward Creasy, Kt., 1860. 
 
 Sir B. F. Morgan, Ivt. (acting), 1875. 
 
 The Hon. C. H. Stewart (acting), 1875. 
 
 Sir George Anderson, Kt. (acting), 1876. 
 
 Sir William Hackett, Ivt., 1877. 
 
 Sir John Budd Pliear, Ivt.. 1877. 
 
 Sir Kichard Cayley, Ivt., 1879. 
 
 Hon. L. B. Clarence (acting), 1882. 
 
 Hon. J. P. de Wet, Ivt., and Sir George Anderson (acting), 
 1882-3. 
 
 The Hon. Sir Bruce Lockhart Burnside, 1883 (knighted 
 in 1884). 
 
 Hon. F. Fleming (acting), 1885, during Sir Bruce Burn- 
 side’s absence. 
 
British Major-Generals in Ceylon. 
 
 255 
 
 3.— BRITISH MAJOR-GENERALS COMMANDING 
 THE TROOPS IN CEYLON. 
 
 (Previously to 1819 the Governors were not only officially but actively 
 commanders of the troops.) 
 
 Sir Edward Barnes, Iv.C.B., 1819. — Afterwards Ceylon’s 
 great Governor, a remarkable man. He became 
 Governor in 1824, and held the post until 1831. It 
 was his mind that planned and executed the Kandy 
 Road, and other main lines throughout the island. 
 He likewise erected the Pavilion at Kandy ; Barnes 
 Hall, Nuwara Elliya; and Mount Lavinia House. 
 A bronze statue in honour of him as Governor stands 
 opposite the Queen’s House, Colombo. 
 
 Sir James Campbell, Iv.C.B., 1822. 
 
 Sir Hudson Lowe, 1826. — Previously (1815-1821) 
 Governor of St. Helena, and Custodian of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte. 
 
 Sir John Wilson, Iv.C.B., 1831. 
 
 Sir R. Arbuthnot, K.C.B., 1838-. 
 
 William Smelt, C.B., 1847. — The so-called Kandyan re- 
 bellion of 1848 occurred during Major-General Smelt’s 
 command, and there was an angry correspondence 
 between Lord Torrington, Major-General Smelt, and 
 General F. Braybrooke, relative to the officers of 
 the Ceylon Ride Regiment. 
 
 T. Reed, C.B., 1852. 
 
 P. Bainbrigge, C.B., 1854. 
 
 Henry F. Lockyer, C.B., Iv.H., 1857. — Major-General 
 Lockyer, who had been Lieutenant-Governor after 
 Sir H. Ward was transferred to Madras, left the 
 island in ill-health, and died on board the S.S. Papon, 
 16th October, 1861. 
 
 Terence O’Brien, 1860. — In the time of Major-General 
 O’Brien, his son, Major O'Brien, was tried by court- 
 martial for a letter published in the Mofussilite, 
 reflecting on the civil authorities in Ceylon. The 
 Major-General did not confirm the sentence, and the 
 Horse Guards removed the censure of the local 
 court. 
 
 Studholme John Hodgson, 1865. — It was during Major- 
 General Hodgson’s time that a commission was ap- 
 
256 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 pointed to inquire into the military expenditure of 
 Ceylon. There were food riots in Colombo, and the 
 military were asked to assist the civil authorities in 
 quelling them. 
 
 Henry Renny, C.S.I., 1869. 
 
 John Alfred Street, C.B., 1874. 
 
 William Wilby, C.B., 1879. 
 
 Sir John C. McLeod, Iv.C.B. , 1882. 
 
 Sir Wilbraham Lennox, V.C., R.E., K.C.B., 1887. 
 
 Some of the Governors, such as General Brownrigg 
 (1815) and Lieutenant-General Sir Colin Campbell (1841), 
 held the two offices of Governor and Commander of the 
 Forces. Major-Generals Sir John Wilson, Lockyer, 
 O’Brien, Hodgson, and McLeod, acted respectively as 
 Lieutenant-Governor, &c., during the absence or other- 
 wise of the Governor from the island. 
 
 4. EXECUTIVE COUNCILLORS OF CEYLON. 
 
 Colonial Secretaries . — Hugh Cleghorn, 1799. R. Arbuthnot, 
 1803. Honourable J. Rodney, 1815. P. Anstruther 
 (“the one-armed Rajah’’), 1834. Sir J. Emerson 
 Tennent, K.C.S., 1846. Charles Justin McCarthy, 
 1850. W. Chas. Gibson, 1861. H. T. Irving, 1869. 
 Arthur N. Birch, C.M.G., 1873. John Douglas, 
 C.M.G., 1878. C. C. Smith, 1885. Col. Walker, 1887. 
 Queen's Advocates . — William Coke, 1809. H. Giffard, 
 LL.D., 1811. Henry Matthews, 1817. W. Norris, 
 1832. W. 0. Carr, 1834. James Stark, 1841. 
 Arthur Buller, 1842. H. C. Selby, 1848. H. B. 
 Thomson, 1859. Sir R. F. Morgan, 1863. Richard 
 Cayley, 1876. B. L. Burnside, 1880. C. L. Ferdi- 
 nands (acting), 1882. Francis Fleming (Attorney- 
 General), 1883. Samuel Grenier, 1887. 
 Auditorg-General. — A. Bertolacci. 1809. John D’Oyly, 
 1815. E. Tolfrey, 1816. J. W. Carrington, 1817. 
 H. A. Marshal, 1824. H. Wright, 1842. C. J. 
 MacCarthy, 1848. W. C. Gibson, 1850. R. T. 
 Pennefather, 1862. Robert John Callander, 1866. 
 John Douglas, 1870. W. C. Barclay, 1876. W. H. 
 Ravenscroft, 1877. 
 
 Treasurers . — Robert Boyd, 1809. J. W. Carrington, 1812. 
 
A Few Public Benefactors in British Times. 257 
 
 Thomas Eden, 1816. John Drave, 1822. W. Gran- 
 ville, 1823. J. W. Carrington, 1824. F. J. Templer, 
 1843. J. Caulfeild, 1854. F. Saunders, 1861. G. 
 Vane, C.M.G., 1865. W. D. Wright, 1882. G. T. 
 M. O'Brien, 1886. 
 
 Solicitor- General, (the first). — C. L. Ferdinands, Esq. 
 
 5. — A FEW PUBLIC (NON-OFFICIAL) BENEFAC- 
 TORS IN BRITISH TIMES. 
 
 Geo. Bird, the late, who opened the first regular coffee 
 plantation. 
 
 Robert Boyd Tytler, the late, who introduced the im- 
 proved West Indian system of coffee planting, and 
 also was the first to cultivate cocoa (cacao) in Ceylon. 
 
 David Wilson, the late, for his improvements in the pre- 
 paration of coco-nut oil and coir manufactures ; and 
 the Messrs. Leecliman, who succeeded him in Hults- 
 dorf Mills. 
 
 Gabriel and Maurice Worms, the late, as pioneers who 
 vested a large amount of capital in coffee and tea 
 cultivation. 
 
 Christopher Elliott, M.D., the late, for his philanthropic 
 labours among Burghers and Natives, and his inde- 
 pendent attitude as a Journalist ; also as the first 
 head of the Civil Medical Department of the colony, 
 and the projector of Hospitals, Colleges, &c. 
 
 A. M. Ferguson, C.M.G., M.R.A.S., for his labours in 
 urging cultivation of new products, especially cinchona 
 and tea; also as Journalist ( Ceylon Observer) and Pub- 
 lisher (in conjunction with J. Ferguson) of Tropical 
 Agriculturist, Manuals for Tropical Planters, Ceylon 
 Handbooks and Directories, &c. Resident fifty years. 
 
 C. A. Lorenz, Barrister, the late, for disinterested work 
 as Legislator and Publicist, more especially in aiding 
 the advance of his own people, the Burghers. 
 
 John Capper, M.R.A.S. (Ceylon branch), Merchant and 
 Journalist in Ceylon for over forty years, Author of 
 several works on, or on subjects connected with, 
 the colony. 
 
 The De Soyza Family (especially C. H. De Soyza, Esq., 
 J.P.) and Mudaliyar Sampson Rajapakse, for enter- 
 
 18 
 
258 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 prise in developing planting industry, constructing 
 roads, endowing hospitals and schools, and numerous 
 other public benefactions. 
 
 G. A. Crowell, the late, as a Pioneer Planter who visited 
 and reported, in Ceylon Observer, on Java, Southern 
 and Northern India, West Coast of Africa (Liberia), 
 Brazil, and Central America, for the benefit of his 
 fellow planters in Ceylon ; doing much to intro- 
 duce the Liberian species of coffee and India-rubber 
 trees. 
 
 James Alwis, the late, as Legislator and Author, in 
 writing on the literature and history of his own 
 people, the Sinhalese. 
 
 Sir M. Comaba Swamy, Kt., the late, as Legislator and 
 Author on subjects connected with his own people, 
 the Tamils. 
 
 Hon. James Yan Langenberg, M.L.C., Advocate, the late, 
 for valuable work as legislator and lawyer. 
 
 George Wall, Planter and Merchant, some time Member 
 of the Legislative Council, and Chairman of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, and at present Chairman of 
 the Planters’ Association. Has, since his arrival in 
 1846, taken a leading part in discussing public affairs. 
 Founded a Ceylon League to secure a reform of the 
 Legislative Council. 
 
 Piev. Levi Spaulding, D.D. (“ Father Spaulding”), the late, 
 of the American Mission. He laboured uninterruptedly 
 for over fifty years in the north of the island among the 
 Tamils, educating and Christianizing a large number, 
 aided by earnest, disinterested brethren and sisters, 
 among whom Miss Agxew (who also never took 
 furlough) died on the Mission-field after well-nigh 
 fifty years’ service. 
 
 Also Dr. Green, Medical Missionary of the same Mission, 
 who translated and compiled standard medical works 
 fox - his Tamil students ; the same students proving 
 of the greatest value to the Government and the 
 people before a Colombo Medical College was estab- 
 lished by Government, and Ceylon students were 
 trained there. 
 
 The Bev. John Kilner, of the Wesleyan Mission, de- 
 serves to be remembered among the Jaffna Tamils, 
 among whom he laboured. 
 
A Few Public Benefactors in British Times. 259 
 
 Sir Samuel Baker, for bis experiments (agricultural, &c.) 
 at Nuwara Eliya, extending over seven years, and bis 
 two books on the island : “ Seven Years in Ceylon,” 
 and “ Tlie Rifle and tlie Hound in Ceylon.” 
 
 Reginald John Corbet, tlie late, a leading Ceylon Planter 
 of many years’ standing, a Pioneer in Cinchona cul- 
 tivation, ex-Member of tbe Legislative Council, and 
 Chairman of tbe Planters’ Association. 
 
 John Nietner, the late, Prussian-born, naturalized British 
 subject, for bis contributions to Natural History, es- 
 pecially “ Entomology,” and bis little work, “ Enemies 
 of tbe Coffee-tree in Ceylon.” 
 
 W. W. Mitchell, Esq., H. Bois, Esq., and J. J. Grinlin- 
 ton, Esq., C.E., F.R.G.S., for tlieir active zeal in tbe 
 public interests in a variety of ways. 
 
 G. H. D. Elphinstone, Coffee Planter and Pioneer in tbe 
 Dimbula District from 1868 onward, as well as Pioneer 
 with Tea cultivation in several districts of tbe island; 
 a most industrious, persevering colonist, under many 
 difficulties ; now Sir Graeme H. D. Elphinstone, 
 Bart. 
 
 John Ferguson, M.R.A.S., Corresponding Secretary for 
 Ceylon of tbe Royal Colonial Institute, Journalist 
 and Author, for twenty-seven years a colonist ; ori- 
 ginated (in conjunction with the late R. Y. Dunlop) 
 Mission Extension to tbe Sabaragamuwa,Hambantota, 
 and Uva districts ; started agitation for railway exten- 
 sion beyond Nawalapitya to Uva. 
 
 Among a large body of Christian missionaries, authors, 
 and true philanthropists, mention should be made 
 of Clough, Lambrick, Harvard, Daniel, Gogerly, Spence 
 Hardy, Oakley, Carter, Scott, Ireland Jones, and 
 Coles. 
 
 Among officials whose names are not included in the 
 lists given above, but whose special services to Ceylon 
 deserve notice, are — 
 
 Anthony Bertolacci, who wrote a valuable work on the 
 trade and revenue in Ceylon early in the century. 
 Major Forbes, late of 78tli Regiment, for his interesting 
 work “ Eleven Years in Ceylon.” 
 
 J. W. Bennett, F.L.S., for his work “ Ceylon and its Capa- 
 
260 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 bilities,” and bis contributions to the study of the 
 Natural History of the Island. 
 
 Capt. James Stewart, Master Attendant of Colombo, for 
 liis investigation of the pearl fishery, and useful notes 
 and papers on this and other practical subjects 
 connected with the revenue and progress of the 
 island. 
 
 Percival Acland Dyke, for the long period of forty years 
 Government Agent of the Northern Province of 
 Ceylon, to the development of which, and the welfare 
 of the people, he gave the service of his life. 
 
 Sir Chas. Peter Layard, K.C.M.G., for a nearly equal 
 period Government Agent of the Western Province, 
 where he was in useful “ labours more abundant.” 
 
 Major Skinner, C.M.G., the great roadmaker of Ceylon, 
 who began his work under Sir Edward Barnes, and 
 closed his most useful career forty years later, under 
 Sir Hercules Robinson. 
 
 Sir R. F. Morgan, Kt., included among the Chief Justices, 
 did notable service to the Colony as its lawmaker for 
 many years. 
 
 Guilford Lindsay Molesworth, C.I.E., as the successful 
 Engineer of the Colombo and Kandy Railway, the 
 discoverer of a route which had been overlooked by 
 several predecessors. 
 
 Sir Charles Hutton Gregory, K.C.M.G., as Consulting 
 Engineer for many years in connection with the 
 development of its system of railways. 
 
 Sir John Coode, K.G., as Consulting Engineer, and Mr. 
 John Kyle as Resident Engineer, for the Colombo 
 Breakwater and Harbour Works, which have proved 
 so successful. 
 
 G. H. K. Thwaitf.s, F.R.S!., Ph.D., for many years Direc- 
 tor of the Royal Botanic Garden, and the compiler of 
 the “ Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylaniae.” 
 
 W. Ferguson, F.L.S., author of a “ Monograph on the 
 Palmyra Palm,” pamphlets on “ Ceylon Timber 
 Trees,” “Ferns,” “ Snakes,” &c., and for his contri- 
 butions to the Natural History of the island. 
 
 Henry Trimen, M.B., F.L.S., the gifted successor to Dr. 
 Tliwaites, who, as botanist and practical observer, 
 has already laid the Colony under special obligations. 
 
 Hon. George Turnour, for his translation of the “ Maha- 
 
A Feiv Public Benefactors in British Times. 261 
 
 wanso ’’ and other invaluable work connected with the 
 ancient history of Ceylon. 
 
 Louis Zoyza, Mudliyar, Chief Translator to Government, 
 for his useful work as an Orientalist. 
 
 Simon Casi Chitty, Mudliyar, for his “ Ceylon Gazetteer,’’ 
 and numerous other writings. 
 
 Dr. Barcroft Boake, Principal of the Royal College, 
 Colombo, and for many years Hon. Secretary Friend- 
 in-Need Society, and for his literary and Natural 
 History writings. 
 
 Hon. P. D. Anthonisz, M.D.,M.L.C.,as a Ceylonese surgeon 
 who has risen to the highest eminence in his profes- 
 sion, and in the esteem of his countrymen by his good 
 works, “ The Anthonisz Memorial ” (Hospital Wards), 
 and his nomination to the Legislative Council afford- 
 ing evidence. 
 
 C. L. Ferdinands, Esq., Solicitor-General, as the unofficial 
 leader of the Burghers after Mr. Lorenz’s death, and 
 in office as Legislator and Criminal Prosecutor, re- 
 spected for his conscientious, honourable, zealous 
 pursuit of duty. Mr. Ferdinands incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of Governor Gordon for no fault of his own, 
 and was passed over in 1886 for the Attorney-General- 
 ship in favour of his friend Mr. Grenier, much to the 
 regret of those who knew best his long and useful 
 labours, and his high sense of duty. 
 
 The name of Sir J. Emerson Tennent finds a place in the 
 list of Lieut.-Governors and Colonial Secretaries, but 
 it deserves special mention as that of the author of 
 the most valuable and complete work published on 
 Ceylon up to his day, 1857-61. 
 
APPENDIX VI. 
 
 PRINCIPAL RESULTS OF THE CENSUS 
 
 TAKEN ON 17TH FEBRUARY, 1881.* 
 
 [Compiled from, the Registrar-General’s [Mr. L. F. Lee’s) Report and Statements .] 
 
 AREA— POPULATION. 
 
 GENEBAL STATEMENT OF THE AREA AND POPULATION 
 (Exclusive of the Military and the Shipping). 
 
 
 Area in 
 square 
 miles. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 No. of 
 persons 
 per square 
 mile. 
 
 CEYLON 
 
 25,365 
 
 2,759,738 
 
 1,469,553 
 
 1,290,185 
 
 109 
 
 Western Province 
 
 3,456 
 
 897,329 
 
 475,397 
 
 421,932 
 
 260 
 
 North-Western Province 
 
 3,024 
 
 293,327 
 
 158,026 
 
 135,301 
 
 97 
 
 Central Province 
 
 6,029 
 
 639,361 
 
 361,523 
 
 277,838 
 
 106 
 
 North-Central Province 
 
 4,047 
 
 66,146 
 
 35,580 
 
 30,566 
 
 16 
 
 Northern Province 
 
 3,171 
 
 302,500 
 
 151,565 
 
 150,935 
 
 95 
 
 Eastern Province 
 
 3,657 
 
 127,555 
 
 66,577 
 
 60,978 
 
 35 
 
 Southern Province 
 
 1,980 
 
 433,520 
 
 220,885 
 
 212,635 
 
 219 
 
 Western Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colombo, Municipality of 
 
 
 110,502 
 
 62,225 
 
 48,277 
 
 11,693 
 
 Colombo District (exclusive of the 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Municipality) 
 
 532 
 
 279,286 
 
 143,775 
 
 135,511 
 
 525 
 
 Negombo District 
 
 248 
 
 116,691 
 
 61,360 
 
 55,331 
 
 471 
 
 Kegalla District 
 
 651 
 
 119,955 
 
 64,698 
 
 59,380 
 
 55,257 
 
 184 
 
 Itatnapura District 
 
 1,434 
 
 105,874 
 
 46,494 
 
 74 
 
 Kalutara District 
 
 581 
 
 165,021 
 
 83,959 
 
 81,062 
 
 284 
 
 North-Western Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kurunegala District 
 
 1,840 
 
 215,173 
 
 114,989 
 
 100,184 
 
 117 
 
 Puttalam District 
 
 1,184 
 
 78,154 
 
 43,037 
 
 35,117 
 
 66 
 
 Central Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kandy District 
 
 904 
 
 288,332 
 
 162,277 
 
 126,055 
 
 319 
 
 Matale District 
 
 982 
 
 86,655 
 
 48,470 
 
 38,185 
 
 88 
 
 Badulla District 
 
 3,790 
 
 165,692 
 
 92,627 
 
 73,065 
 
 44 
 
 Nuwara Eliya District 
 
 353 
 
 98,682 
 
 58,149 
 
 40,533 
 
 279 
 
 North-Central Province. 
 Nuwarakalawiya District (including 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tamanhaduwa) 
 
 4,047 
 
 66,146 
 
 85,580 
 
 30,566 
 
 16 
 
 Northern Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jaffna District 
 
 875 
 
 265,583 
 
 131,483 
 
 134,100 
 
 304 
 
 Mannar District 
 
 432 
 
 21,348 
 
 11,320 
 
 10,028 
 
 49 
 
 Mullaittivu District 
 
 927 
 
 7,638 
 
 4,213 
 
 3,425 
 
 8 
 
 Vavuniyan-Vilankulam District .. 
 
 937 
 
 7,931 
 
 4,549 
 
 3,382 
 
 8 
 
 Eastern Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Batticaloa District 
 
 2,595 
 
 105,358 
 
 54,598 
 
 50,760 
 
 41 
 
 Trincomalee District 
 
 1,062 
 
 22,197 
 
 11,979 
 
 10,218 
 
 21 
 
 Southern Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Galle District 
 
 537 
 
 209,680 
 
 105,808 
 
 103,872 
 
 390 
 
 Matara District 
 
 548 
 
 151,923 
 
 77,516 
 
 74,407 
 
 277 
 
 Hambantota District 
 
 895 
 
 71,917 
 
 37,561 
 
 34,356 
 
 80 
 
 * One per cent, per annum can be added to the results to bring the figures up to date.— 
 Auihor. f Exclusive of the area of the Colombo Lake. 
 
STATEMENT SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION BY PRINCIPAL NATIONALITIES. 
 
 NATIONALITIES 
 
 263 
 
 Tamils. 
 
 •sapsuiaj 
 
 306,758 
 
 WCO^CDdHW 
 ^ l- O CO O O CO 
 r-^cq rH t-^GO 05 r-^ 
 
 of Ch CO , -T ■'if X r-T 
 04 05 CO 
 
 Others. 
 
 2,684 
 
 id « O CO t- C5 
 CO X 04 CO t- CO o 
 
 t— rH -q rH 
 
 rH 
 
 •sapJH 
 
 380,490 
 
 37,888 
 
 12,042 
 
 140,788 
 
 2,926 
 
 144,679 
 
 39,447 
 
 2,720 
 
 4,805 
 
 t> 05 co 40 »o 
 04 -H 04 C5 O CO 1- 
 -^04 iq rH H 04 
 rH of 
 
 •saosia^ 
 
 687,248 
 
 CO iO 04 1— 1 GO no 
 
 COhci* a OOOIO 
 
 o 05 cq cq ** -q cq 
 o 05 co~ tjT cT »o co“ 
 
 CO rH CO X L— 
 
 04 04 
 
 7,489 
 
 2,189 
 
 430 
 
 3,918 
 
 157 
 
 179 
 
 202 
 
 384 
 
 Sinhalese. 
 
 •saiutuaj 
 
 CD 
 
 TfT 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 370,745 
 
 116,910 
 
 166,301 
 
 25,353 
 
 460 
 
 2,600 
 
 201,785 
 
 5 
 
 o3 
 
 rO 
 
 r> 
 
 1,051 i 
 
 00 05 04004 
 04 X CO 
 
 • • 04 l-H CO 
 
 •S9fGH 
 
 962,430 
 
 X 05 CO 05 t> CO 
 O t" X liOH-t-J 
 
 © iqcqcqos cqcq 
 os of © x co tn 
 
 05 CO 05 Ol o 
 
 COHH Ol 
 
 1,177 
 
 CO CO rH rH CO 
 IQ CO X 
 
 • . 04 04 X 
 
 •saosiaj 
 
 1,846,614 
 
 05 U5 O CO 05 t> CD 
 f HCiOL't Ol 
 t- iqrH^-q 00 05 
 05 05 CO t-T 40 05 
 
 © -H lO IQ o 
 
 t- 04 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 C4 
 
 of 
 
 484 
 
 425 
 
 8 
 
 1,311 
 
 5 
 
 Eurasians and Burghers. | 
 
 > S9praZ9 l j£ 
 
 8,959 
 
 5,284 
 
 274 
 
 1,365 
 
 14 
 
 470 
 
 542 
 
 1,010 
 
 Malays. 
 
 4,156 
 
 1,617 
 
 876 
 
 1,364 
 
 11 
 
 47 
 
 179 
 
 562 
 
 
 8,927 
 
 5,122 
 
 314 
 
 1,580 
 
 21 
 
 344 
 
 577 
 
 969 
 
 4,739 
 
 OHC5CDU5C5C5 
 154 CO — H -* -H © 
 
 oc rt< iq 04 x 
 
 •SUOSJ8J 
 
 17,886 
 
 CO GO UO 40 C5 05 
 OXiiCOHHt- 
 -f< IQ 05 CO H 05 
 
 O of r-TrH 
 
 8,895 
 
 t-t-nc-'NXH 
 CC W H H C5 51 t- 
 -f X 05 rH_ 
 
 CO of r-T 
 
 Europeans. 
 
 •saiumaj 
 
 1,655 
 
 OC'OClHWi' 
 W CO « H lO CO o 
 iQ CO rH 
 
 Moormen. 
 
 8 
 
 © 
 
 CO 
 
 X X X 05 o X 
 51 H H 00 CO “ 51 
 X C0 04 rH qos C5_ 
 
 ©~ 05 CO CO X o o- . 
 04 rH 04 
 
 •saiuj\[ 
 
 3,181 
 
 COOOCOW'I' CO 
 X 1C C5 H X L— L— 
 05 E* r— 1 
 
 o 
 
 cq 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 rH !>• © CO X C- O 
 U5 CO R5 51 X X 05 
 
 rH coh o^cqo ’■q 
 05 of of o of X 
 
 04 rH 04 04 
 
 •suosjaj 
 
 4, 836 
 
 CD C^CO O CO 05 O 
 CO X 04 CO CO CO X) 
 iq cq rH rH 04 
 
 r-T Of 
 
 184,542 
 
 49,977 j 
 21,955 
 35,633 
 7,412 
 10,416 
 43,001 
 16,418 | 
 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 Western Province 
 
 North-Western Province 
 
 Central Province 
 
 North-Central Province .... 
 
 Northern Province 
 
 Eastern Province 
 
 Southern Province 
 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 Western Province 
 
 North-Western Province .... 
 
 Central Province 
 
 North-Central Province 
 
 Northern Province 
 
 Eastern Province 
 
 Southern Province 
 
265 
 
 ESTATE POPULATION; CHIEFLY TAMIL COOLIE 
 IMMIGRANTS. 
 
 STATEMENT SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ESTATE POPULA- 
 TION, WITH THE NUMBER OF ESTATES IN EACH REVENUE 
 DISTRICT. 
 
 Districts. 
 
 No. of 
 Estates. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 1,758 
 
 206,495 
 
 124,692 
 
 81,803 
 
 Western Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Colombo District 
 
 25 
 
 1,074 
 
 695 
 
 379 
 
 Negombo District 
 
 52 
 
 1,886 
 
 1,372 
 
 514 
 
 Kegalla District 
 
 44 
 
 3,268 
 
 2,051 
 
 1,217 
 
 Ratnapura District 
 
 102 
 
 6,925 
 
 4,248 
 
 2,677 
 
 Kalutara District 
 
 15 
 
 1,002 
 
 655 
 
 347 
 
 North-Western Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Kurunegala District 
 
 27 
 
 2,539 
 
 1,527 
 
 1,012 
 
 Puttalam District 
 
 17 
 
 796 
 
 531 
 
 265 
 
 Central Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ivandy District 
 
 671 
 
 75,229 
 
 44,951 
 
 30,278 
 
 Matale District 
 
 141 
 
 18,182 
 
 10,985 
 
 7,197 
 
 Badulla District 
 
 271 
 
 37,242 
 
 22,310 
 
 14,932 
 
 Nuwara Eliya District 
 
 325 
 
 56,225 
 
 33,954 
 
 22,271 
 
 Northern Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jaffna District 
 
 32 
 
 528 
 
 332 
 
 196 
 
 Eastern Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Batticaloa District 
 
 2 
 
 78 
 
 62 
 
 16 
 
 Triucomalee District 
 
 6 
 
 277 
 
 208 
 
 09 
 
 Southern Province. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Galle District 
 
 17 
 
 595 
 
 414 
 
 181 
 
 Matara District 
 
 11 
 
 649 
 
 397 
 
 252 
 
266 
 
 OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 STATEMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL OCCUPATIONS OF THE POPULATION 
 OF CEYLON. 
 
 Principal Occupations. 
 
 All Races. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Population of Ceylon according to Nationality 
 
 2,759,738 
 
 1,469,553 
 
 1,290,185 
 
 I. — Professional Class. 
 
 
 
 
 In employ of General or Local Government 
 
 12,948 
 
 12.536 
 
 412 
 
 Missionary, Clergyman, Minister 
 
 422 
 
 409 
 
 13 
 
 Church, Chapel — Service 
 
 110 
 
 108 
 
 2 
 
 Buddhist Priest 
 
 6,279 
 
 6,279 
 
 
 Vihara Service 
 
 69 
 
 64 
 
 4 
 
 Hindu Priest 
 
 1,193 
 
 1.193 
 
 
 Temple Service 
 
 134 
 
 111 
 
 23 
 
 Mohammedan Priest 
 
 521 
 
 521 
 
 
 Mosque Service 
 
 95 
 
 95 
 
 
 Barrister, Advocate, Proctor 
 
 280 
 
 280 
 
 
 Law Student 
 
 76 
 
 76 
 
 
 Petition, Pleading — Drawer 
 
 120 
 
 120 
 
 
 Notary Public 
 
 411 
 
 411 
 
 
 Physician, Surgeon, Medical Practitioner 
 
 3,349 
 
 3,321 
 
 28 
 
 Medical Student 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 
 Midwife 
 
 260 
 
 
 260 
 
 Chemist, Druggist 
 
 107 
 
 104 
 
 3 
 
 Music Teacher, Musician 
 
 168 
 
 164 
 
 4 
 
 Drummer 
 
 181 
 
 181 
 
 
 Tom-tom Beater 
 
 1,203 
 
 1.203 
 
 
 Actor, Comedian, Dancer, Nautch Girl 
 
 197 
 
 116 
 
 si 
 
 Snake Charmer 
 
 121 
 
 80 
 
 41 
 
 Devil Dancer 
 
 1,532 
 
 1,528 
 
 4 
 
 Inspector of Schools, Schoolmaster, Teacher, 
 
 
 
 
 Schoolmistress 
 
 2,720 
 
 2.185 
 
 535 
 
 Astrologer 
 
 201 
 
 201 
 
 
 II.— Domestic Class. 
 
 
 
 
 Hotel — Manager, Keeper; Boarding-house, Rest- 
 
 
 
 
 house, Eating-house Keeper 
 
 712 
 
 477 
 
 235 
 
 Domestic Servant (General) 
 
 42.175 
 
 24,255 
 
 17,920 
 
 Groom (Horsekeeper) 
 
 2,' 57 
 
 2,657 
 
 
 Wash-house Service 
 
 87 
 
 62 
 
 25 
 
 Barber 
 
 1,898 
 
 1,851 
 
 47 
 
 HI.— Commercial Class. 
 
 
 
 
 Merchant 
 
 255 
 
 254 
 
 1 
 
 Commission Agent, Broker 
 
 249 
 
 244 
 
 5 
 
 Accountant, Book-keeper 
 
 908 
 
 908 
 
 
 Clerk (so returned) 
 
 2,498 
 
 2,498 
 
 
 Shopkeeper (branch undefined) 
 
 582 
 
 581 
 
 i 
 
 Boutique-keeper 
 
 15,573 
 
 13,101 
 
 2,472 
 
267 
 
 
 All Races. 
 
 Principal Occupations. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 III. — Commercial Class ( continued ). 
 
 
 
 
 General Trader 
 
 19,770 
 
 5,642 
 
 16,676 
 
 3,094 
 
 Petty Trader 
 
 4,984 
 
 658 
 
 Basket Woman 
 
 2,512 
 
 205 
 
 2,512 
 
 Toll Renter, Toll Collector 
 
 205 
 
 
 Carter 
 
 9,031 
 
 9,031 
 
 
 Tavalan Man 
 
 927 
 
 926 
 
 i 
 
 Pingo Bearer 
 
 286 
 
 28 j 
 
 
 Boatman 
 
 2,214 
 
 2,214 
 
 
 Seaman (ashore) 
 
 719 
 
 719 
 
 
 Storekeeper 
 
 271 
 
 271 
 
 
 Messenger, Porter, Errand Boy 
 
 799 
 
 792 
 
 7 
 
 IV. — Agricultural Class. 
 
 
 
 
 Land Proprietor 
 
 1,977 
 
 452 
 
 1,525 
 
 Planter 
 
 1,966 
 
 1,905 
 
 
 Coffee Planter 
 
 174 
 
 174 
 
 
 Coco-nut Planter 
 
 101 
 
 101 
 
 
 Tobacco Gardener 
 
 475 
 
 475 
 
 
 Estate Superintendent 
 
 171 
 
 171 
 
 
 Estate Conductor 
 
 742 
 
 742 
 
 
 Cultivator 
 
 430,189 
 
 430,189 
 
 
 Garden Cultivator 
 
 9,197 
 
 9,197 
 
 
 Coffee Garden Cultivator 
 
 755 
 
 755 
 
 
 Agricultural Labourer 
 
 166,421 
 
 103,674 
 
 62,747 
 
 Climber 
 
 6,872 
 
 6,872 
 
 
 Cowherd, Shepherd 
 
 2,687 
 
 2,459 
 
 228 
 
 Land Surveyor 
 
 118 
 
 118 
 
 352 
 
 Grass — Cutter, Seller 
 
 779 
 
 427 
 
 Hunter 
 
 310 
 
 310 
 
 
 Farrier, Veterinary Surgeon 
 
 199 
 
 199 
 
 
 Horse, Cattle — Trader 
 
 942 
 
 941 
 
 i 
 
 Fisherman 
 
 20,020 
 
 19,930 
 
 90 
 
 V. — Industrial Class. 
 
 
 
 
 Bookbinder 
 
 103 
 
 103 
 
 
 Printer, Compositor 
 
 351 
 
 351 
 
 
 Watch Repairer 
 
 75 
 
 75 
 
 
 Fitter 
 
 202 
 
 202 
 
 
 Saddle, Harness, Whip — Maker 
 
 88 
 
 88 
 
 
 Carpenter 
 
 14,477 
 
 14,475 
 
 2 
 
 Mason 
 
 5,012 
 
 361 
 
 5,012 
 
 
 Painter, Plumber 
 
 361 
 
 
 Dyer 
 
 304 
 
 256 
 
 38 
 
 Dye-root — Digger, Seller 
 
 Cotton Spinner, Thread Manufacturer 
 
 454 
 
 175 
 
 289 
 
 1,588 
 
 22 
 
 1,566 
 
 Cloth Weaver 
 
 1,616 
 
 1,471 
 
 145 
 
 Lace — Manufacturer, Seller 
 
 563 
 
 4 
 
 559 
 
 Weaver (not otherwise described) 
 
 91 
 
 15 
 
 76 
 
 Draper, Cloth Dealer 
 
 3,042 
 
 3,035 
 
 7 
 
 Tailor, Milliner, Seamstress 
 
 5,300 
 
 1,405 
 
 3,695 
 
 Shoe, Sandal — Maker 
 
 544 
 
 644 
 
 Dhoby 
 
 17,297 
 
 10,622 
 
 6,675 
 
 Mat, Basket — Maker, Seller 
 
 14.671 
 
 442 
 
 14,229 
 
 Hemp Manufacturer 
 
 940 
 
 15 
 
 925 
 
 Coir — Manufacturer, Dealer 
 
 15,672 
 
 1,168 
 
 14,504 ; 
 
 Milk, Butter — Seller 
 
 Butcher, Meat Salesman 
 
 359 
 
 255 
 
 104 
 
 667 
 
 665 
 
 2 
 
2G8 
 
 Principal Occupations. 
 
 All Races. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Y. — Industrial Class [continued). 
 
 
 
 
 Poultry, Egg — Seller 
 
 216 
 
 212 
 
 4 
 
 Fishmonger 
 
 3.680 
 
 1,958 
 
 1.722 
 
 Rice, Paddy, Grain — Seller 
 
 4.712 
 
 2,023 
 
 2,689 
 
 Gram Seller 
 
 234 
 
 10 
 
 224 
 
 Baker, Bread Seller, Rice-cake Seller, Coffee- 
 boutique Keeper 
 
 4,566 
 
 1,091 
 
 3,475 
 
 Confectioner 
 
 202 
 
 142 
 
 60 
 
 Vegetable Dealer 
 
 1,035 
 
 587 
 
 448 
 
 Coco-nut, Koppara — Seller 
 
 1,150 
 
 845 
 
 805 
 
 Arrack Distiller 
 
 99 
 
 98 
 
 1 
 
 Liquor — Shopkeeper, Seller 
 
 139 
 
 139 
 
 
 Arrack Renter, Tavern Keeper, Arrack Sell* r . . 
 
 862 
 
 854 
 
 8 
 
 Toddy Drawer 
 
 3,280 
 
 3,280 
 
 
 Jaggery — Manufacturer, Seller 
 
 416 
 
 233 
 
 183 
 
 Coffee Seller 
 
 590 
 
 548 
 
 42 
 
 Coffee Picker 
 
 2,719 
 
 5 
 
 2,714 
 
 Tobacco Seller ; Cigar, Snuff — Manufacturer, 
 Dealer 
 
 3,630 
 
 8.359 
 
 271 
 
 Betel, Areca-nut — Seller 
 
 2,810 
 
 1,530 
 
 1,280 
 
 Cinnamon Seller 
 
 214 
 
 214 
 
 Cinnamon P* eler 
 
 1,857 
 
 1,777 
 
 80 
 
 Tortoise-shell — Worker, Dealer 
 
 836 
 
 334 
 
 2 
 
 Oil — Miller, Monger 
 
 2,305 
 
 1,706 
 
 599 
 
 Timber Dealer 
 
 301 
 
 301 
 
 
 Sawyer 
 
 2,197 
 
 2,197 
 
 
 Cooper 
 
 328 
 
 328 
 
 
 Timber Feller 
 
 561 
 
 561 
 
 
 Firewood — Cutter, Seller 
 
 463 
 
 175 
 
 288 
 
 Cane — Worker, Dealer 
 
 165 
 
 157 
 
 8 
 
 Cadjan — Maker, Seller 
 
 168 
 
 29 
 
 139 
 
 Straw Seller 
 
 153 
 
 149 
 
 4 
 
 Plumbago Dealer 
 
 90 
 
 90 
 
 
 Plumbago — Digger, Picker 
 
 1,419 
 
 1,323 
 
 96 
 
 Charcoal Burner 
 
 102 
 
 81 
 
 21 
 
 Stone — Cutter, Breaker, Seller 
 
 1,034 
 
 909 
 
 125 
 
 Brick, Tile — Maker, Seller 
 
 481 
 
 477 
 
 4 
 
 Lime — Burner, Seller 
 
 944 
 
 677 
 
 267 
 
 Road Labourer 
 
 4,136 
 
 2.886 
 
 1,250 
 
 Railway Labourer 
 
 6,769 
 
 4,599 
 
 2,170 
 
 Potter, Earthenware Dealer 
 
 5,S87 
 
 3,593 
 
 2,294 
 
 Salt Dealer 
 
 419 
 
 385 
 
 34 
 
 Water — Carrier, Dealer 
 
 147 
 
 132 
 
 15 
 
 Goldsmith, Silversmith, Jeweller 
 
 6,273 
 
 6.252 
 
 21 
 
 Gem Digger 
 
 1,135 
 
 1,135 
 
 
 Lapidary 
 
 Tinker 
 
 199 
 
 199 
 
 
 176 
 
 176 
 
 
 Brazier 
 
 745 
 
 745 
 
 
 Blacksmith 
 
 4,302 
 
 4.302 
 
 
 Ironmonger, Hardware Dealer 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 
 Chanks — Fisher, Dealer 
 
 94 
 
 94 
 
 
 VI.— Indefinite and Non-Productive 
 Class. 
 
 General Labourer 
 
 85,138 
 
 64,985 
 
 20,153 
 
 Artizan (branch undefined) 
 
 1,526 
 
 715 
 
 811 
 
 Contractor do. 
 
 565 
 
 565 
 
 
 Renter do. 
 
 272 
 
 272 
 
 
APPENDIX VII. 
 
 STAPLE IMPORTS OF CEYLON FROM 1837 TO 1886. 
 
 Cotton Manufactures; Eice ; Fish (dried and salted) ; Cattle. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Cotton 
 
 Goods. 
 
 Rice. 
 
 
 Fish. 
 
 
 Cattle. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 No. 
 
 Declared 
 
 Value. 
 
 1837 
 
 £ 
 
 220,873 
 
 Bushels. 
 
 (350,042 
 
 £ 
 
 149,503 
 
 Cwts. 
 
 5,980 
 
 Pieces. 
 
 29,523 
 
 £ 
 
 6,719 
 
 Described 
 
 £ 
 
 1,801 
 
 1888 
 
 137,931 
 
 860,012 
 
 884,628 
 
 168,972 
 
 9.527 
 
 227,542 
 
 7,301 
 
 820 
 
 ! 1839 
 
 128,607 
 
 182,300 
 
 8,581 
 
 6,949 
 
 107 
 
 5,674 
 
 as Live 
 .Stock, 
 
 1,150 
 
 1810 
 
 158,326 
 
 1,043,064 
 
 202,333 
 
 72.000 
 
 3,946 
 
 1,270 
 
 1841 
 
 184,691 
 
 1,106,152 
 
 183,483 
 
 9,996 
 
 
 4,709 
 
 6,913 
 
 not spe- 
 
 1,727 
 
 1842 
 
 173,833 
 
 1,102,192 
 
 191,958 
 
 9,050 
 
 
 cified in 
 
 5,131 
 
 1843 
 
 160,365 
 
 1,594,114 
 
 279,123 
 
 7,981 
 
 
 6,179 
 
 Customs 
 
 Returns. 
 
 7,596 
 
 ! 1844 
 
 192,936 
 
 1,700,136 
 
 296,948 
 
 16,950 
 
 
 14,670 
 
 22,885 
 
 1845 
 
 238,554 
 
 2,167,334 
 
 379,835 
 
 23,023 
 
 
 16,297 
 
 
 25,557 
 
 184(1 
 
 185,590 
 
 2,162,206 
 
 372,940 
 
 34,033 
 
 
 17,479 
 
 47,237 
 
 23,745 
 
 1847 
 
 178,064 
 
 2,121,0/2 
 
 372,109 
 
 29,352 
 
 
 16,480 
 
 61,594 
 
 28,914 
 
 j 1848 
 
 182,767 
 
 1,910,585 
 
 329,420 
 
 86,291 
 
 
 36,343 
 
 47,265 
 
 26,425 
 
 1849 
 
 190,911 
 
 1,985,752 
 
 347,502 
 
 24,457 
 
 
 24,457 
 
 8,895 
 
 8,507 
 
 17,884 
 
 1850 
 
 187.567 
 
 2,355,763 
 
 412,261 
 
 35.705 
 
 
 35,705 
 
 17,120 
 
 | 1851 
 
 216,274 
 
 2,221,466 
 
 388,777 
 
 29,026 
 
 
 29,026 
 
 8,994 
 
 17,698 
 
 1852 
 
 189,078 
 
 2,331,796 
 
 408,065 
 
 30,670 
 
 
 30,670 
 
 7,951 
 
 16,363 
 
 1853 
 
 228,226 
 
 2,574,580 
 
 462,870 
 
 31,000 
 
 
 31.000 
 
 9,295 
 
 18,886 
 
 1854 
 
 262,082 
 
 2,161,706 
 
 879,994 
 
 42,118 
 
 
 42,118 
 
 12,524 
 
 25,268 
 
 1855 
 
 28(3.(321 
 
 2,852,178 
 
 499,137 
 
 34,789 
 
 
 34,788 
 
 16,534 
 
 33,280 
 
 1856 
 
 314,596 
 
 3,157 385 
 
 552,543 
 
 56,800 
 
 
 56,800 
 
 11,317 
 
 23,515 
 
 1857 
 
 355,429 
 
 3,254,623 
 
 650,924 
 
 53,296 
 
 
 53,396 
 
 10,575 
 
 21,635 
 
 1858 
 
 466,962 
 
 2,856,124 
 
 571,224 
 
 48,934 
 
 
 48,934 
 
 11,228 
 
 25,119 
 
 1859 
 
 630,936 
 
 3,511,768 
 
 702,354 
 
 58,275 
 
 55,989 
 
 
 58,275 
 
 10,770 
 
 10,514 
 
 26,608 
 
 i 860 
 
 540,284 
 
 3,182,204 
 
 686,423 
 
 
 55,989 
 
 24,471 
 
 1861 
 
 567,464 
 
 4,181,096 
 
 836.219 
 
 61,382 
 
 61,042 
 
 
 61 ,382 
 
 9,753 
 
 23,730 
 
 18(32 
 
 505,844 
 
 4,218,601 
 
 1,265,581 
 
 
 01,042 
 
 4,490 
 
 12,095 
 
 1863 
 
 790,408 
 
 4,415,821 
 
 1,324,745 
 
 60,905 
 
 
 60,905 
 
 14,085 
 
 46,883 
 
 1864 
 
 997,272 
 
 3.943,396 
 
 1,183,019 
 
 75,248 
 
 
 75,248 
 
 7,607 
 
 23,509 
 
 1865 
 
 545,044 
 
 4,851,414 
 
 1,455,424 
 
 66,970 
 
 
 66,970 
 
 8,326 
 
 22,785 
 
 1866 
 
 860,310 
 
 8,777,320 
 
 1,133.196 
 
 70,190 
 
 
 70.190 
 
 9.059 
 
 43,079 
 
 1867 
 
 891,776 
 
 4,543,327 
 
 1.362.998 
 
 71,709 
 
 
 71,709 
 
 8,912 
 
 50,190 
 
 1868 
 
 642,802 
 
 4,455,315 
 
 1,336,594 
 
 73,294 
 
 
 73,294 
 
 7,392 
 
 39,469 
 
 1869 
 
 734,921 
 
 4,406,216 
 
 1,324,418 
 
 75,189 
 
 
 75,189 
 
 6,799 
 
 40,338 
 
 53,018 
 
 1870 
 
 976,937 
 
 4,735,832 
 
 1.539,145 
 
 76,968 
 
 
 76,968 
 
 7,605 
 
 1871 
 
 840,917 
 
 4,278,708 
 
 1,390,580 
 
 78,575 
 
 
 78,575 
 
 10,058 
 
 64,897 
 
 1872 
 
 833,400 
 
 5,367.302 
 
 1,744,373 
 
 88,962 
 
 
 88,962 
 
 14,198 
 
 84,596 
 
 82,550 
 
 1873 
 
 865,060 
 
 5,708,142 
 
 1.855,146 
 
 108,169 
 
 
 108,169 
 
 14,749 
 
 1874 
 
 889,851 
 
 5,717.775 
 
 1,858,277 
 
 98,648 
 
 
 98,643 
 
 12,541 
 
 70,148 
 
 1875 
 
 780,903 
 
 5,527,620 
 
 1,714,762 
 
 86,999 
 
 
 86,999 
 
 15,892 
 
 17,831 
 
 84,628 
 
 1876 
 
 952,510 
 
 5,855,645 
 
 1,903,084 
 
 87,598 
 
 
 87,598 
 
 91,661 
 
 1877 
 
 718,239 
 
 6,938,160 
 
 2,254,902 
 
 93,250 
 
 •• 
 
 93,250 
 
 28,958 
 
 102,522 
 
 1878 
 
 494,210 
 
 6,668,969 
 
 2,167,414 
 
 84, 4 ‘29 
 
 
 84,429 
 
 74,322 
 
 17,492 
 
 55,929 
 
 1879 
 
 561,552 
 
 5,954,934 
 
 1,935,354 
 
 74,322 
 
 
 27,483 
 
 108,796 
 
 1880 
 
 704,839 
 
 6,094,999 
 
 1,980,875 
 
 90,396 
 
 
 90,896 
 
 11,872 
 
 73,943 
 
 1881 
 
 512,«78 
 
 6,030,820 
 
 1,960,017 
 
 91,426 
 
 
 91,426 
 
 8,683 
 
 38,776 
 
 1882 
 
 452,112 
 
 5,757,025 
 
 1,871,033 
 
 92,841 
 
 
 92,841 
 
 9,537 
 
 86,100 
 
 1883 
 
 491,799 
 
 5,746,184 
 
 1,867,510 
 
 120,378 
 
 
 120,378 
 
 11,980 
 
 60,693 
 
 1884 
 
 557,832 
 
 5,490,768 
 
 1,784.500 
 
 101,619 
 
 
 101,619 
 
 13.461 
 
 68,517 
 
 1885 
 
 347,212 
 
 5,734,129 
 
 1,863,592 
 
 127,134 
 
 
 127,134 
 
 10,081 
 
 50,283 
 
 37,796 
 
 1886 
 
 457,292 
 
 5,567,100 
 
 1,809,307 
 
 113,050 
 
 " 
 
 113,050 
 
 47,108 
 
 Cotton Goods . — All from England ; up to the last four yeare, Colombo had a large trade 
 in supplying Southern India with cotton goods, but railway extension from Madras, and, 
 above all, the abolition of customs duties on cotton in India, have taken away all this trade. 
 
 liice. — All from India (mainly to feed immigrant population from India, and popula- 
 tions of large towns). 
 
 Fish.^—All from India, for curries of same population. 
 
 Cattle — All from India, for transport pursuits and food for Europeans and Burghers. 
 
APPENDIX VIII. 
 
 CEYLON : “ THE EDEN OF THE EASTERN 
 
 WAVE.” 
 
 The Land of Cinnamon, Palms, Tea, Coffee, Cinchona, the 
 Chocolate Plant; Pearls, Fatbies, and Sapphires; of 
 ancient ruins second only to those of Egypt ; of Tropical 
 Scenery the finest in the world. 
 
 [Statistics Arranged and Compiled by J. Ferguson, of Ceylon Observer 
 and Tropical Agriculturist, at the request of Sir A. N. Birch, 
 K.C.AI.G., Commissioner for Ceylon to the Indian and Colonial 
 Exhibition of 1886; for exhibition in the Ceylon Court.]* 
 
 Area in square miles ... 25,000 
 
 Population in 1887 ... 2,900,000 
 
 Divided into 8 provinces, administered by Governor and 
 about 80 covenated Civil Servants. 
 
 Places : — Sinhalese, 1,930,000; Tamils, 725,000 ; Moormen 
 (Arab descendants), 200,000 ; Eurasians, 19,000 ; 
 Malays, 9,000; Europeans, 5,500; Veddahs, 2,500; 
 others, 8,000. 
 
 Pieliyions:— Buddhists, 1,760,000; Sivaites (Hindus), 
 
 600.000 ; Mohammedans, 200,000 ; Roman Catholics, 
 210,000; Protestants, 65,000; others, 65,000. 
 
 Longest Paver : — Mahaweliganga — 150 miles (Ganges of 
 Ptolemy). 
 
 Highest Mountains : — Pidurutalagala, 8,296 feet ; Adam’s 
 Peak, 7,353; 150 mountain peaks from 3,000 to 
 
 7.000 feet. 
 
 A few later results have been embodied in this page. — J. F. 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 271 
 
 Towns: — Capital, Colombo, 120,000 people, with splendid 
 Breakwater, great steamer coaling and calling port of 
 the East ; Kandy (ancient capital), 24,000 ; Point-de- 
 Galle, 35,000 ; Trincomalee (with grand harbour), 
 11 , 000 . 
 
 Wild, Animals: — Elephants, Cheetah, Black Bear, Buffaloe, 
 Boar, Elk and Small Deer ; Eagle ; Crocodile ; Shark. 
 
 Revenue ... ... ... ... ... £1,300,000 
 
 Trade: — Total Annual Trade ... ... £8,000,000 
 
 Total Imports from United Kingdom £1,250,000 
 Total Exports to do. ... £2,250,000 
 
 Total of Shipping entered and cleared annually, about 
 4,000,000 tons. 
 
 Roads: — 2,500 miles, metalled and gravelled, among the 
 best in the world. 
 
 Railways : — 185 miles — first class Railway — 54 feet gauge. 
 
 Canals : — 170 miles. 
 
 Education: — Total of Scholars, 120,000, or about 25 per 
 cent, of children of school-going age ; 1,200 miles of 
 Telegraph wire ; 135 Post Offices. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Area Cultivated : — ... ... ... ... 3,130,000 
 
 Probable Extension of Cultivation within 
 
 10 years to ... ... ... ... 4,600,000 
 
 Details of Cultivation : — 
 
 Under Palm trees (Coco, Palmyra, Areka, 
 
 
 
 Kitul, &c.) 
 
 650,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Other Fruit-trees (Orange, Mango, 
 
 
 
 Bread and Jak Fruit, &c.) 
 
 50,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Rice 
 
 660,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Other Grain 
 
 150,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Garden vegetables, (Cassava, 
 
 
 
 Yams, &c. 
 
 100,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Coffee, Arabian and Liberian 
 
 130,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Tea 
 
 150,000 
 
 
 (to rise shortly to 
 
 200,000) 
 
 Do. 
 
 Cinnamon, Cardamom, and other 
 
 
 
 Spices 
 
 60,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Chocolate plants (Cacao) ... 
 
 15,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Cinchona Bark (Quinine) trees ... 
 
 40,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 25,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Rubber and Gum trees ... 
 
 5,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fibre-yielding plants 
 
 10,000 
 
 Do. 
 
 Essential oil-grass (Citronella) ... 
 
 20,000 
 
272 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Exports of Tea have risen from 25,0001b. in 1878 to 
 4, 373,0001b. in 1885, and to 7,850,0001b. in 
 1886; expected to reach 24,000,0001b. in 1888; and 
 40,000,0001b. in 1890. 
 
 Do. of Cinchona Bark have risen from 200,0001b. in 
 1878 to 14,700,0001b. in 1886. 
 
 Do. of Cocoa (from Cacao plant] from 10 cwt. in 1878 
 to 13,056 cwt. in 1886. 
 
 Do. of Cardamoms (Spice) from 14,0001b. in 1878 to 
 239,0001b. in 1886. 
 
 Do. of Cinnamon from 650,0001b. in 1S50 to 2£ mil- 
 lion lb. of late years. 
 
 Do. of Coconut Oil has risen to 400,000 cwt. from 
 35,000 cwt. in 1850. 
 
 Total crop of Coconuts in one year is equal to 700,000,000 
 nuts. 
 
 200,000 Tamil Coolies find work on plantations ; likely to 
 require 300,000 ere long with tea. 
 
 SUMMARY OF INFORMATION REGARDING 
 CEYLON. 
 
 Irs Natural Features, Climate, Progress, Agriculture, 
 Commerce, Industries, Public Works, Religions, 
 Sights, &c. 
 
 [Compiled and corrected up to March, 1887, by A. M. & J. Ferguson.] 
 
 CEYLON [part, as many believe, of the region known 
 to the Hebrews as Ophir and Tarsliish] : — Taprobane of 
 the Greeks and Romans (from Tamraparni, Sanskrit, and 
 Tambapani, Pali ); Serendib of the Arab voyagers ; Lanka 
 of the Continental Hindus and the Sinhalese ; Ilangei of 
 the Tamils ; Lankapura of the Malays ; Tewalanka of the 
 Siamese ; Seho or Teho of the Burmese ; Ceilao of the 
 Portuguese, &c. Pearliform Island (“pearl-drop on the 
 brow of Ind”), bounded by the Indian Ocean, Bay of Ben- 
 gal, and Gulf of Mannar ; greatest length and breadth 
 267 by 140 miles ; circumference, 760 miles. Lat. 5° 53' to 
 9° 51" N. ; Long. 79° 41' 4" to 81° 54' 50" E. Sun rises 
 hours before he shines on Britain. Light from 6 to 6 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 273 
 
 nearly all the year round ; but the sun sets about 42 
 minutes later in July than in November, indeed twilight in 
 June occasionally exists till after 7 p.m. 
 
 AREA. 
 
 About 24,702 square miles; or 15,809,280 acres, of 
 which about one-sixth comprises hilly and mountainous 
 zones, lying in the centre of the southern half of the 
 island. Maritime districts generally level, and northern 
 end of island broken up into flat narrow peninsula and 
 small islets. 
 
 DISTANCES 
 
 (approximate) : from nearest point of Southern India, via 
 “ Adam’s Bridge ” and Ramisseram to Tallaimanaar, 60 
 miles; from Madras to Point Pedro, 250; to Galle, 545. — 
 To Colombo : from Tuticorin, 450 ; Madras, 615 ; Cal- 
 cutta, 1,385; Bombay, 900; Aden, 2,400; Suez, 3,800; 
 Port Said, 3,950 ; Malta, 4,550; Gibraltar, 1,950; Brin- 
 disi, 4,500 ; Marseilles, 5,750 ; Cape, 5,000 ; England by 
 Cape, 15,000 ; by Suez Canal to Southampton, 6,500 ; 
 from Mauritius via Aden, 4,500; direct, about 2,500; 
 Singapore, 1,600 ; Hong Kong, 3,000 ; Yokohama, Japan, 
 4,700; Freemantle, Western Australia, 3,000; King 
 George’s Sound or Albany, 3,400 ; Adelaide, 4,400 ; Mel- 
 bourne, 4,900 ; Sydney, 5,450 (via Torres Straits, 6,500); 
 Brisbane, via Torres Straits, 5,900; New Zealand (Auck- 
 land) 7,000 miles. The distances generally are counted 
 from Colombo. 
 
 HIGHEST MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Pidurutalagala (rising over the Sanatarium of Ceylon, 
 Nuwara Eliya) 8,296 feet, or nearly 1,000 feet higher than 
 Adam’s Peak (7,353), usually described as the highest, be- 
 cause it is to voyagers the most conspicuous mountain in 
 Ceylon. This latter is really the fifth in altitude, being 
 inferior to Kirigalpotta (7,832), Totapola (7,746), and 
 Kuduliugala (7,607), as well as to Pidurutalagala. Fully 
 150 mountains, ranging from 3,000 to 7,000 feet. (245 
 recorded trigonometrical altitudes over 1,000 feet, 145 over 
 
 3.000 feet, 118 over 4,000 feet, 53 over 5,000 feet, 28 over 
 
 6.000 feet, and 10 over 7,000 feet.) Most of the mountain 
 ranges on which tea and cinchona or coffee is cultivated 
 
 19 
 
274 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 are wooded to their summits ; but vast prairie tracts of 
 hill region, chiefly on the eastern side, hear little beyond 
 coarse lemon-grass. Mountain scenery generally rich and 
 grand. 
 
 GREATEST RIVERS AND WATERFALLS. 
 
 The Maliaweliganga (Ganges of Ptolemy), nearly 150 
 miles from its source, in its longest feeder the Agra-oya 
 under Kirigalpotta (the milk-stone-book ” mountain ) 
 close to Horton’s Plains, to its double debouchure near the 
 great harbour of Trincomalee on the east coast. This 
 river drains nearly one-sizth of the area of the island. 
 Pavers not naturally favourable for navigation, except near 
 the sea, where they expand into backwaters. Steam 
 navigation by means of small vessels introduced on 
 Colombo lake, between Colombo and Negombo on canal, 
 and shortly expected on Kaluganga, and on Kelani river 
 to Awisawella. The Kelani entering sea near Colombo ; 
 Kaluganga at Kalutara ; Mahaoya, near Negombo ; the 
 Ginganga, near Galle; Walawe-oya near Matara, are some 
 of the other numerous rivers. Rivers in mountain regions 
 frequently fall over precipices, forming beautiful waterfalls. 
 One in Dimbula and another in lower Maskeliya, both 
 between 200 and 300 feet high ; in Eastern Haputale one 
 said to be 535 feet ; and the foot of Kamboda Pass, cele- 
 brated for a series of beautiful falls. No proper surveys 
 available ; but a series of cascade-falls on Kurunduoya in 
 Maturata measured from top to bottom, when nearly full 
 of water, about 920 feet. In the arid regions of the north 
 of the island some of the river beds which run full of 
 water in the rainy months of the north-east monsoon 
 (middle of October to middle of January) show only ex- 
 panses of sand with a few pools in the dry or south-west 
 monsoon season, during which the north-east of the island 
 is almost rainless, while torrents are deluging the south- 
 west coast. 
 
 LAKES. 
 
 None inland, but ruins of magnificent tanks (Sea of 
 Prakkrama, Minneriya, Kantlialai, Giant’s Tank, &c.) in 
 north and east of island ; and fine, extensive backwaters 
 on the sea-coast, such as the Negombo Lake, the Lakes of 
 Bolgoda, Mullaittivu, Batticaloa, &c. The freshwater 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 275 
 
 lakes, which add so much to the beauty of Colombo, 
 Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya are artificial or partly so. The 
 Labugama Reservoir for the Colombo Water Supply, 
 covering 176 acres, among hills, 30 miles from Colombo, 
 forms a beautiful lake. 
 
 TIDES. 
 
 Generally almost imperceptible (at Colombo the rise and 
 fall never exceed 3 feet, more generally 2 feet to 2 feet 
 6 inches on the springs, and 6 to 9 inches on the neaps), 
 but in the debouchures of some backwaters and rivers the 
 tide is more noticeable : at Panadure the tidal current 
 runs in at the rate of 4 miles an hour. Powerful currents 
 also sweep round the coasts, some of them owing their 
 origin to the Indian Ocean. 
 
 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 
 
 The geological formations met with in Ceylon are of the 
 Palaeozoic, Mezozoic and recent age. The greatest portion 
 of the island consists of ancient sedimentary beds, doubt- 
 ful whether deposited sea or lake, as metamorphoses have 
 obliterated all traces of fossil remains. Mountain ranges 
 formed of primary and metamorphic rock. Principal rock : 
 gneiss, with beds of laterite (locally named “ cabook ”) 
 and dolomite, according to some authorities — described by 
 others as crystalline marble or primary limestone. Plenty 
 of iron, but no trace of coal. Manganese, gold and 
 platinum, but in such small quantities not apparently 
 worth gathering. Molybdenum, cobalt, nickel, tin, copper, 
 and arsenic also occur. Plumbago the only mineral of 
 commercial importance. Cretaceous beds of Jaffna of 
 Mezozoic age. Nitre in caves. Salt forms naturally, and 
 is also manufactured in sufficient quantity at Puttalam, 
 Jaffna, and Hambantota, to supply the consumption of 
 the island. Calcareous tufa met with at Bintenna de- 
 posited from warm springs. Hot springs at Trincomalee 
 and other places, but no direct evidence of present volcanic 
 action (unless in Kelebokka valley ), and earthquakes seldom 
 perceptible, save as the outer verge of disturbances in Java 
 and Eastern Archipelago. Grc enstone, however, underlies 
 gneiss at Kadugannawa, and with vitrefactions is observed 
 in fissures of rocks at Trincomalee. Springs of sulphuretted 
 
276 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 hydrogen similar to Harrogate water occur in Puttalam 
 district. Large tracts of alluvium occur in the Nuwara 
 Eliya and other districts. Process of slow upheaval be- 
 lieved to be in operation on western coast, with compen- 
 sating disintegration of mountain ranges. Recent forma- 
 tion : a breccia formed of particles of disintegrated rock 
 held together by calcareous and ferruginous matter near 
 Negombo and along coast. Gems abundant, especially about 
 Ratnapura (“ city of gems”), but, with exception of blue 
 sapphire and red ruby, of slight value. A flawless sapphire 
 is rare, and good rubies are excessively scarce. Zn-con or 
 “ Matara Diamond,” and amethyst, common. Clirysoberyl 
 (or “ cat’s-eye”) not uncommon, curious, and of late years 
 prized in Britain. Moonstones (very beautiful form of 
 “adularia”) and “cinnamon stones” (brown garnets) 
 common. Spinel and tourmaline very abundant. Many 
 rocks and river beds sparkle with red garnets, beautiful but 
 intrinsically valueless. Ceylon celebrated for fine pearls, 
 chiefly from oyster or mussel banks of north-west coast. 
 Gemming license in Ceylon is BIO per annum, subject to 
 certain published rules. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 Varies in different parts, from hot and arid plains of 
 north and east, to warm and humid south-west coast, and 
 cool and wet mountain regions ; but, for the tropics, 
 generally healthy. Fever zone extends below middle 
 altitudes of mountain ranges, and banks of rivers fre- 
 quently unhealthy. Fever seldom or never occurs above 
 3,000 feet altitude, and is rare within the influence of the 
 sea breezes. The hot months at Colombo are February, 
 March and April, and sometimes (when the monsoon is 
 delayed) May; when all, who can, escape to the hill regions, 
 Nuwara Eliya especially. The heat in Ceylon, however, 
 seldom reaches 90° in the shade : 95^° in April being the 
 maximum in Colombo — 95-8° on 2‘2nd February, 1885, 
 actual highest — where the mean of the year nearly touches 
 81°, sea-breezes tempering the heat for a large portion of 
 the year. At Trincomalee the maximum was 101 - 7° on 
 10th May, 1886. The rate of mortality in Ceylon towns 
 ranges from 1-65 per cent, for Jaffna (Colombo l - 76) to 
 4-06 for Kurunegala. The military death-rate in Ceylon 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 277 
 
 is down to 25 in 1,000; and this rate is capable of still 
 further reduction by sanitary measures. The opening of 
 the Suez Canal and the facilities offered by steam com- 
 munication have led to abandonment of Nuwara Eliya as 
 a military sanatarium, invalid soldiers being sent “home” 
 instead. The perfection of climate in Ceylon is supposed to 
 be found at and around Bandarawela (distant 118 miles 
 from Colombo), on the plateau of the Uva principality, at 
 3,900 feet elevation, the average temperature being 63°, 
 with an average annual rainfall of 78 inches falling on 
 12G days ; but the climate of Lindula, Bogawantalawa, 
 Udapussellawa and Nuwara Eliya is also very good. 
 
 METEOKOLOGY. 
 
 Exposed to both monsoons (S.W. from April to Septem- 
 ber, N.E. from November to February), but storms seldom 
 violent. Ceylon is most fortunate in being outside the 
 region of the cyclones peculiar at certain seasons to the 
 Bay of Bengal ; also the hurricanes of the Mauritius seas, 
 and the volcanic disturbances of Java and the Eastern 
 Archipelago. Rainfall : 35 at Hambantota ; 38 inches at 
 Mannar; 48 inches at Jaffna ; 53 at Anuradhapura; 52^ 
 at Batticaloa ; G14 at Trincomalee ; 78J at Bandarawella 
 in Uva ; 81^ at Kandy ; 854 at Matale ; 87J at Colombo ; 
 93^ at Kurunegala ; 100 inches Nuwara Eliya; 106J at 
 Ivalutara ; 127 Ramboda ; and from 117 to 150 on the 
 Dimbula, Dikoya and Maskeliya ranges, outside the table- 
 lands of Nuwara Eliya at 6,000 feet, and Horton Plains 
 7,000 feet altitude ; 1504 at Ratnapura ; 1524 at Nawala- 
 pitiya ; 159 at Awisawella ; and 200 at Templestowe, 
 Ambagamuwa ; and the maximum 228 at Padupola, north- 
 east of Adam’s Peak. In parts of Yakdessa the annual 
 rainfall is often over 200 inches, as much as 50 inches of 
 which have been known to fall in one month, and a dozen 
 inches in as many hours. Temperature varies from a 
 mean of 58° F. at the mountain sanatarium of Nuwara 
 Eliya ; 65 to GG at Langdale, Dimbula, and at Bogawanta- 
 lawa, Dikoya ; a mean of 72 at Badulla, 75J Kandy, and 
 81 at Colombo, 80 Galle, Ratnapura, Puttalam, Hamban- 
 tota, and Anuradhapura ; about 82 at Batticaloa, Jaffna, 
 Mannar, and a fraction higher at Trincomalee. The ex- 
 tremes in the shade range from below freezing point at 
 
278 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Nuwara Eliya to 95 - 8 at Colombo and 101-7 at Trinco- 
 malee. Except in the north and east, climate moist as 
 well as hot. Fertility due more to this circumstance than 
 to richness of soil generally. Fruits of temperate re- 
 gions fail from continuous warm moisture, but long-con- 
 tinued and extreme heat, acting as a wintering (the roots 
 being laid bare), favours grape cultivation at Jaffna: suc- 
 cessful growth also in Dumbera valley and near Nuwara 
 Eliya. Snow is unknown. Hail not unfrequent in hill dis- 
 tricts in very hot weather. Ice forms occasionally at Nuwara 
 Eliya under clear radiating sky during the rainless months, 
 December to February. Electrical phenomena — thunder, 
 lightning, waterspouts, &c. — frequent and sometimes grand, 
 and lightning occasionally destructive to life, especially to 
 natives who climb trees or take refuge from rain under 
 them. Coconut palms, papaya, plantain, and other pithy 
 or sappy trees and shrubs are peculiarly fitted as lightning 
 conductors. Lightning so frequently seen without thunder 
 being heard, that Arabs compare a liar to Ceylon lightning. 
 Optical phenomena, such as rainbows, Buddha rays, an- 
 thelia, mirage, occasionally very striking. Sunsets fre- 
 quently beautiful, and zodiacal light sometimes seen. 
 Moonlight and starry nights often splendid, and, when 
 perfectly cloudless, peculiarly cool. 
 
 BOTANY. 
 
 Ceylon, while presenting most points of resemblance in 
 its fauna and flora to the neighbouring continent of India, 
 differs in some respects, and assimilates to the Malayan 
 Archipelago. There can be little or no doubt that cinna- 
 mon, for which Ceylon has always been famous, is really 
 indigenous to this island. So doubtless, with rice. On 
 the other hand, its best-known productions, coffee and 
 coconuts, are introductions (the first certainly, the second 
 also in the judgment of botanists), also tea, cacao, and 
 cinchona. Most South American plants readily adapt 
 themselves to the island, as is proved by the recent success 
 of the cinchonas, cacao, and rubber trees. Tea is also 
 growing luxuriantly in a climate peculiarly favourable to 
 leafage. Ceylon is peculiarly noted for ferns and balsams ; 
 while orchids abound. Ebony, satin wood, and other fine 
 cabinet woods, with serviceable timber, are plentiful in the 
 
Ceylon: Summary of Information. 279 
 
 forests. Calamander, the most beautiful of the cabinet 
 woods, is becoming very scarce, only a few trees being 
 reported as left. In the higher mountain regions, familiar 
 European forms mingle with the richest tropical vegetation. 
 Palms and bamboos are specially beautiful and luxuriant : 
 few objects in nature being more magnificent than a talipot 
 palm in flower, and few more elegant than the slender 
 areka palm, or the tall bending green bamboo of the moun- 
 tain forests below Nuwara Eliya. The coconut palm 
 luxuriates along the western and south-western coasts, 
 and indeed far inland up the river valleys, just as the 
 palmyra, with its 500 different uses to the natives, abounds 
 in the Jaffna peninsula. Many of the forest trees, such as 
 the lagerstreemia regina, red rhododendron, and scarlet- 
 blossomed cotton tree, bear beautiful flowers ; while the 
 vari-coloured foliage of the jungle cinnamon, ironwood, &c., 
 relieve the deep green of the forest, looking at a distance 
 like rich floral masses. There are few parts of the world 
 so rich in fungi as Ceylon, and one, new to science, has 
 within the past generation, almost annihilated the great 
 coffee enterprise of the island. Backwaters are rich in 
 mangroves. Some of the seaweeds are also very beautiful. 
 The indigenous species of plants enumerated by Dr. Tri- 
 men, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, include : 
 — Dicotyledons, 2,019 ; Monocotyledons, 710 ; Filices, 
 Lycopodiacete, and Marsileaceae, 260 — total 2,989 : double 
 the flora of Britain, and about one-thirtieth of all species 
 in the world yet described. 
 
 ANIMALS. 
 
 Monkeys are numerous, five species of wanderoo 
 (langurs), of which no less than four are recognized as 
 peculiar to the island. The capped-monkey (macacus) 
 famous for its grimaces, and capacity for learning tricks ; 
 the loris, a queer creature, the eyes much valued as 
 medicine by the natives ! Bats are very numerous in 
 genera and species, flying foxes (pteropus) vampires, leaf- 
 nosed, horse-slioe, and the beautiful painted bat, and 
 others ; musk and other shrews plentiful, a hill species 
 peculiar to the island ; the sloth-bear common in the low 
 country ; jackals everywhere ; otters common in suitable 
 places, from the shores to the highest hills ; no tigers or 
 
280 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 lions (though the native name of the people signifies the 
 “lion descended”); the panther or leopard (erroneously 
 called cheetah locally) is the largest feline, and is common 
 in most places; the tiger and red-spotted cats generally 
 distributed; lesser civet numerous, its presence being often 
 betrayed by its powerful scent ; a paradoxurus, peculiar to 
 the island, and palm cat common ; mongooses numerous 
 of five species, a very distinct one (onychogale Maccartliia 
 of Gray) peculiar to the island ; squirrels abound, two 
 species of the remarkable flying squirrel, several small 
 and pretty ground squirrels (equally at home on trees as 
 well) can be seen and heard on all sides, and are amusing 
 to watch ; rats and mice only too numerous, the jeeboa or 
 jumping rats, bandicoot and bush or coffee rat may be 
 mentioned, a rat and a mouse also peculiar to the island; 
 the porcupine generally found through hill and lowlands, 
 as is also the black-necked hare ; that strange mail- 
 covered but toothless creature, the pangolin, is found up to 
 a considerable elevation, as well as in the low country. 
 Elephants, the lords of the forest, specially famous, are 
 found from the sea-coast to the highest points of the 
 island, are' said to he decreasing in some districts, but 
 still numerous in others. [Large numbers formerly killed 
 by sportsmen; 1,600 (captured by being snared, or enclosed 
 in kraals) exported to India from Northern Province in 
 five years ended 1862. A license now required to shoot 
 elephants, and the number killed or captured has much 
 decreased: only 1,685 exported in eighteen years, from 
 1862 to 1880, valued at E452.000, a royaltyof E200 for 
 every elephant exported having no doubt checked the 
 trade. Eoyalty reduced to E100 in 1882 ; exports in six 
 years, 1880 to 1885, equalled 182 elephants, E96.885.] 
 The wild boar common everywhere ; buffaloes common in 
 the wilder parts still, but their numbers much reduced 
 during the last decade or two from disease and the rifle. 
 Of deer, the fine sambur (locally elk), the spotted, the 
 paddy-field, the red (rumtjae) and little mouse-deer 
 (miminna) still common, and afford good sport to the 
 hunter. Whales, dugongs, porpoises, and dolphins repre- 
 sent the marine carnivora which sport around the coast, 
 where also the screaming cries of sea-eagles and the 
 osprey may be heard, which find their “echo” in the 
 distant hills from the large beautiful crested eagle peculiar 
 
281 
 
 Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 to Ceylon, and others of the family; peregrine falcons have 
 their stations here and there; kestrels, harriers, and many 
 species of hawks numerous ; owls of many species, from 
 the fine forest-eagle owl to the little scops, not forgetting 
 the renowned devil-bird, all fairly numerous; the sports- 
 man is attracted by the numerous pea-fowls, jungle, and 
 spur-fowl (these two peculiar to Ceylon), and quails, which 
 are common in many places. The frog-mouth and several 
 goatsuckers, swifts, including the species remarkable for 
 making edible nests, swallows common, rollers, king- 
 fishers, bee-eaters, the scarlet-breasted trogan, several 
 species of sun bird (called humming birds locally), repre- 
 sent the feathered beauties of the Island; tailor and weaver 
 birds, the wonderful nest builders, wagtails, and warblers 
 in winter only (so they sing not here), but remind 
 Europeans of sweet home ; many varieties of thrushes, 
 bablers, orioles, bulbuls, flycatchers, chats, and drongos 
 everywhere ; the splendid mountain jay and its sober- 
 coloured friend the grey starling are peculiar to the 
 island ; grakles, munias (locally ortolans), larks, and 
 pipits numerous; parakeets, hornbills, barbets, and gaudv 
 woodpeckers, each having representatives peculiar to the 
 island, and many other species so common as to be a 
 marked feature in woodland retreats of hill and dale ; a 
 beautiful woodpigeon, paraquets, peculiar to Ceylon, the 
 rock-pigeon, many species of fruit pigeons and doves, a 
 titmouse, a lovely nuthatch, crows and shrikes, the 
 ubiquitous magpie robin, the long-tailed jungle robin, 
 and blackbird are fine songsters, the jungle robin inferior 
 only to the nightingale itself; many others have songs, 
 like Annie Laurie’s, low and sweet, so are not noticed by 
 casual observers. Not less interesting and extensive is 
 the list of marsh and sea birds : the famous Marabon and 
 other storks, the gigantic and other herons, beautiful 
 egrets and bitterns of several species, the painted and 
 other snipes, sandpipers, plover, dotterel, the cock of the 
 reeds, the purple and other gallimules, and rails numer- 
 ous in suitable places. The singular jacanus or water- 
 pheasant, the scarlet flamingo, ducks of many kinds, the 
 dab-chick, gulls, terns, snake-birds (darter), cormorants, 
 and pelicans common round the coast and tanks; frigate- 
 birds and petrels occasionally, altogether making up a 
 wonderfully diversified list of fur and feathers for so small 
 
282 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 an area, over 360 species of birds having been recognized 
 to date, of which no less than 45 are believed to be peculiar 
 to the island. 
 
 The following reptiles are found in Ceylon : — Land 
 tortoise, one; freshwater, one; freshwater turtle, one; 
 marine turtles, four ; crocodiles, two ; water lizards, two ; 
 skinks, five; acontiads, four; geckos, sixteen; agames (or 
 bloodsuckers), fifteen ; chameleon, one ; snakes of fifteen 
 different groups, about sixty, eight of which are venemous 
 and three deadly, whilst about twenty-three sea snakes are 
 found on the coast, all said to be deadly. Of ground and 
 tree frogs, forty; and one burrowing batrachian. 
 
 River fish, chiefly carp, are few in number and of 
 inferior quality. Better kinds might be introduced : 
 perches introduced Nuwera Eliya lake, and experiment with 
 trout about to be made. There are from 500 to 700 
 different kinds of sea fish, mainly species of mackerel, to 
 which the salmon-like seer-fish belongs, with sharks and 
 rays. No cod, but sword and saw fish, mullet, perches, 
 lobsters, crabs, prawns, “beche de mer,” chanks, edible 
 and pearl oysters. Sea and land shells numerous and 
 beautiful. The floor of the sea in certain parts is studded 
 with richly-coloured corallines and the softer zoophytes, 
 while the waters swarm with star and jelly fish and 
 infusoria, so that frequently the waves, in breaking, dis- 
 play a line of phosphorescence, chiefly caused by the 
 noctiluca miliaris. 
 
 Perhaps there is no sea-coast in the world richer in 
 fishes and shells, and some of the fishes described have a 
 right to the title “ odd.” Mr. Edgar Layard has described 
 perches which “ walk across country ” (allied to those 
 which Dr. John, of Tranquebar, found climbing palmyra 
 trees) ; and the late Rev. B. Boake made acquaintance 
 with air-breathing species which flourish in mud, but 
 drown in pure water, and others which, disdaining the 
 marsupial pouch possessed by the “ sea-horses,” carry 
 their young in their mouths. Fishes actually live in the 
 hot wells near Trincomalee in a temperature of 115°. 
 The natives of Ceylon are great consumers of fish, the 
 Buddhists salving their consciences by the subterfuge that 
 they do not kill the fish, they only take them out of the 
 water. 
 
 Myriads of insects, including butterflies, beetles, bees, 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 283 
 
 wasps, mosquitoes ; white, black and red ants : ticks, 
 scorpions, centipedes, tarantulas, multitudes of curious 
 spiders, &c., are found in Ceylon, and the periodical 
 swarms of butterflies, which proceed in the teeth of the 
 prevailing winds, are peculiarly interesting. Many of the 
 butterflies, moths (including atlas moth, cinnamon moth, 
 and the variety which yields the tusser silk), beetles, and 
 dragon-flies, are exceedingly beautiful. Efforts to domes- 
 ticate bees have not been very successful hitherto : two or 
 three wild varieties. Leaf-insects and “ praying mantis ” 
 curious, and whole regions resound to the incessant noise 
 of the cicada or “ knife-grinder.” Coconut beetles, cock- 
 chafers and their grubs, and coccus, known as coffee bug, 
 very injurious. Grasshoppers and locusts occasionally 
 destructive over limited areas. A species of wasp builds 
 pendant nests (chiefly on coconut trees) six feet long. 
 Spiders’ webs sometimes so numerous, large and strong as 
 almost to check the progress of travellers through forests. 
 Land leeches excessively troublesome in the damp forests 
 of the lower hills ; Indian medicinal leech common. 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES. 
 
 From conquest by Wijaya, Prince from Northern India, 
 about b.c. 543, to deposition of Sri 'Wikrama Raja Sinha, 
 last King of Kandy, in 1815, Sinhalese annals record one 
 hundred and sixty sovereigns. Portuguese first visited 
 Ceylon 1505, erected fort at Colombo 1518. Dutch first 
 visited Ceylon 1602, landed forces in 1640, and ousted the 
 Portuguese in 1658, so that Portuguese occupation lasted 
 140 years. Dating from their landing in 1640 to the 
 capitulation of Colombo in 1796, the Dutch occupation 
 lasted 156 years ; or 138, if the 18 years of warfare with the 
 Portuguese are excluded. Acquired by England : Mari- 
 time Provinces, 1796 (separated from Madras Presidency 
 and made Crown Colony 1798) ; Kandyan Kingdom, 1815. 
 Torture, compulsory labour, and slavery, successively 
 abolished 1803, 1832, and 1844. Trial by jury introduced 
 1811. Kandyan polyandry and polygamy (prematurely) 
 prohibited 1856 ; law relaxed 1869. There was a formid- 
 able rebellion in 1817-18 in the Kandyan Provinces, and 
 again a feeble rising, also of Kandyans, in 1848. The 
 Kandyans, equally with the rest of the population of 
 
284 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Ceylon, are now loyal, contented, and pacific, so that the 
 small military force (about 1,000 infantry and artillery) 
 which the colony supports is scarcely required, since about 
 760 volunteers (Ceylon Light Infantry) and a strong body 
 (1,500) of police are more than sufficient for the repression 
 of any possible internal disturbance (religious or rice riots 
 the only public form experienced), and it is believed for 
 repelling (with the artillery), what we may deem impossible, 
 sudden piratical attack. Ceylon, out of her small force, 
 yielded valuable aid to India in repressing the mutiny of 
 1857, and Colombo has been found a convenient depot 
 for the dispatch of troops with reference to wars in China, 
 New Zealand, Egypt, and South Africa, for which parts 
 regiments have been taken from Ceylon. 
 
 ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 Besides tanks, important and ancient Hindu and Budd- 
 hist temples and other ruins at Dondra, Anuradhapura, 
 Polonnaruwa, Mihintalle, Segiri, &c., the Jetawanarama 
 Dagoba at Anuradhapura, originally 816, is still 269 fret 
 high, or more than half the altitude of the great Egyptian 
 Pyramid, diameter at base 396 feet, side of square 779 
 feet. The sacred bo-tree [ficus religiosa ) at this place is 
 believed to be one of the oldest historical trees in the 
 world, perhaps over 2,100 years. The Maligawa at Kandy 
 is famous as containing the so-called tooth of Buddha — 
 a piece of discoloured ivory. At Dambulla is a vast rock 
 temple; while the small Aluwihara, near Matale, is 
 interesting as the place where the Buddhist doctrines are 
 said to have been reduced to writing about a century b.c. 
 [See Burrow’s “ Buried Cities of Ceylon. - ’] 
 
 POPULATION. 
 
 (Results of Census of 1881 : 1 per cent, can be added for 
 each year since.) 
 
 2,759,738 (over 2,900,000 probably in 1887) : 112 to 
 square mile, ranging from 16 in North-Central Province 
 to 216 in Western. Races (estimated): Sinhalese (Kandyan 
 and maritime), 1,846,000; Tamils, 687,240; Moormen, 
 184,600; Malays, 18,895; Javanese, Kafirs or Negroes, 
 Afghans, Arabs, Persians, Parsees, &c., 7,849 ; Yeddahs, 
 2,228; European descendants, 17,886; Europeans, 4,836. 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 285 
 
 [About 200,000 of the Tamils are immigrants, balance of 
 nearly 3 millions who came from Southern India (chiefly 
 to labour temporarily on coffee estates) in 45 years ending 
 1885, and who have settled down here ; besides which 
 there is a floating Tamil population of nearly 200,000 
 more. Nearly one-fourth of the Europeans are military 
 and families. Effective military number about 1,000. 
 Native soldiery (since the disbandment of the Ceylon 
 Rifle Regiment) consist of 88 Hindu gun lascars. Total 
 Military (volunteers : European and native), with women 
 and children, say 1,800. Constituents of European popula- 
 tion, wives and families included : Military, 1,250; planters, 
 4,000; colonial service (civil servants proper number only 
 75, with 15 writers) 900; merchants and their emploxes, 
 clergymen, physicians, storekeepers, railway employes, 
 &c., 1,200. There are of all classes about 3.400 lawyers, 
 advocates, and proctors in Ceylon, with 600 notaries ; 
 300 clergymen and missionaries (450 in census) ; 155 
 physicians and surgeons (besides 3,000 native vederales) ; 
 200 justices of the peace and unofficial magistrates.] 
 
 POLITICAL DIVISIONS. 
 
 [The latest regular Census was that of 1881.] 
 
 Eight provinces, viz. : Western, 3,456 miles; 897,329 
 population ; 260 to square mile. North-Western, 3,021 
 miles; 293,327 population; 97 to square mile. Southern, 
 1,980 miles; 433,520 population; 219 to square mile. 
 Eastern, 367 miles ; 127,555 population ; 35 to square 
 mile. Northern, 3,171 miles; 302,500 population; 95 to 
 square mile. Central (as reduced), 2,003 miles ; 310,000 
 population. North-Central, 4,067 miles; 66,146 popula- 
 tion ; 16 to square mile. At the beginning of 1886, the 
 U va Principality was separated from the Central Province 
 and made an eighth province, of 165,672 population and 
 4,026 square miles in area. Provinces sub-divided into 
 korales or counties, and minor divisions, such as pattus, 
 &c. [Besides municipalities and local boards in the chief 
 towns, and “ gansabawas ” or rural village councils, there 
 are also judicial divisions and circuits, liable to change, 
 the enumeration of which would convey little definite 
 information.] 
 
286 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 CHIEF TOWNS. 
 
 Colombo, according to census of 1881, with military 
 and shipping added, 111,942 in area of 9J square miles ; 
 Galle, 38,000; Kandy, 22,000; Jaffna, 40,000; Batticaloa, 
 6,700; Kurunegala, 4,222; Anuradhapura, 1,300 ; Badulla, 
 4,746. [The above are the capitals of the provinces. 
 Negombo, Ratnapura, Kalutara, Panadure, and Moratuwa 
 in the Western Province; Gampola, Matale, Nawalapitiya, 
 Nuwara Eliya, and Hatton in the Central ; Kalpitiya, 
 Chilaw, and Puttalam in the North-Western; Point Pedro 
 in the Northern ; Matara, Ambalangoda and Baddegama 
 in the Southern Province ; Haldumulla and Lunugalla in 
 the Uva Province are, some of them, of more importance 
 as regards population than the provincial capitals, while 
 Trincomalee (population 10,180), though no longer the 
 chief seat of civil government in the Eastern Province, 
 continues to be of importance as the naval head-quarters 
 of the East Indian fleet, although now that Colombo, with 
 convenient harbour works, has been made the mail-steamer 
 port, it is expected the naval station will ere long be trans- 
 ferred to it, especially if a graving dock is constructed.] 
 
 RELIGIONS. 
 
 Estimated : Romanists, about 218,000. Protestants : 
 
 Episcopalians, 22,000; Wesleyans, 20,000; Scotch and 
 Dutch Presbyterians, and Congregationalists (latter con- 
 verts of American mission), 13,000; Baptists, 5,000. Total 
 Protestants, 60,000. Total Christians, 278,000. Buddhists 
 and demon-worshippers, 1,700,000 ; Gentoos ("worshippers 
 of Siva, Vishnu, Pulleiyar, and other gods of the Hindu 
 pantheon), 595,000 ; Muhammadans, 198,000. So that 
 we get 278,000 Christians against 198,000 Muhammadens, 
 and no less than 2,300,000 idolators and demon-worship- 
 pers. [We rank as Christians 170,000 Sinhalese, 85,000 
 Tamils, 17,800 European descendants, 4,800 Europeans, 
 and a few Kafirs, Veddas, and Rodiyas.] The proportion 
 of Christians to whole population (nearly 10 per cent.) is 
 far higher in Ceylon than in India, where those professing 
 Christianity do not much exceed half-a-million out of the 
 whole 250 millions or more. Ceylon is the classic land 
 of Buddhism, and its fall here would influence a vast pro- 
 portion of the human race (in Burmah, Siam, and China). 
 
287 
 
 Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 The King of Siam frequently sends offerings to the 
 “ Temple of the Sacred Tooth,” in Kandy ; also the Kings 
 of Burmali, up till Tliebaw’s dethronement, and so 
 interested in Ceylon was a late King of Burmali, that he 
 had copies of the Observer newspaper translated for his 
 benefit into Burmese. There were 6,300 Buddhist, 1,200 
 Hindu, and 521 Muliammedan priests returned in last 
 census; besides 300 of temple servants, 140 tom-tom 
 beaters, 1,532 devil dancers, 200 astrologers, 200 actors 
 and nautch dancers, 120 snake charmers, 168 musicians. 
 The total for church and chapel “service” was 110, 
 besides 422 missionaries, clergymen, and ministers, in- 
 cluding natives. 
 
 LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE. 
 
 Sinhalese, founded on the Sanskrit, with a considerable 
 infusion of Pali, and therefore belonging to the Indo- 
 European family ; but peculiar, except in its Sanskrit 
 roots, to Ceylon. A Dravidian origin has been claimed 
 for the language, but, as Spence Hardy shrewdly pointed 
 out, all the names of places, mountains, and rivers are 
 Sanskrit. Tamil, the leading branch of the Dravidian 
 family, common to about 16 millions of people in Southern 
 India and Ceylon. Spoken by the Moormen as well as the 
 Tamils proper. A Portuguese patois still retains its hold 
 amongst the European descendants, but Dutch has gone 
 entirely out. Knowledge of English rapidly advancing 
 in towns and villages. Historical and Buddhistical litera- 
 ture generally in Pali, with Sinhalese translations, commen- 
 taries, and glosses. Translation of Mahavansa by Tumour 
 (now being continued by Mudaliyar Wijesinghe) throws a 
 flood of light on the history of Ceylon and India, while 
 researches of Gogerly and writings of Spence Hardy and 
 others have done equal service in revealing the true nature 
 of the atheistical system of philosophy called Buddhism. 
 Goldschmidt and Midler have more recently, by examining 
 and interpreting rock inscriptions, illustrated the history 
 of the Sinhalese language, though not much new matter 
 has been added by their researches to the history of 
 the country and people. Works on medicine and science, 
 generally in Sanskrit, and almost wholly derived from 
 India. Three daily English newspapers [the daily and 
 weekly (foreign and locai) Observer having by far the 
 
238 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 largest circulation], with weekly editions, published in 
 Colombo, meet with fair and increasing support ; also a 
 bi-weekly English journal in Colombo, and the weekly 
 Government Gazette; a Jaffna weekly paper; and several 
 periodicals in English, organs of churches, missions, Ac. ; 
 and a native press, Sinhalese and Tamil, with a few repre- 
 sentatives in newspapers and periodicals. Among English 
 periodicals the Tropical Agriculturist (monthly), begun in 
 June, 1881, has an extending circulation throughout the 
 tropics, and is regarded even among London publishers as 
 a credit to Ceylon ; a weekly Ceylon Literary Register was 
 begun as supplement to Observer in August, 1886. An 
 interesting collection of palm-leaf MSS. exists in the 
 library of the Colombo museum. 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 Through the agency of a Government Department of 
 Public Instruction and a grant-in-aid system, chiefly availed 
 of by the various missionary societies, about 120,000 
 children, or 1 in 24 of the population, are receiving in- 
 struction in English and the vernaculars. Private schools 
 not connected with missionaries or religious bodies, are 
 few and ill-supported. A knowledge of vernacular reading 
 and writing, generally very imperfect, is communicated in 
 some of the Buddhist temple “ pansalas ” and private 
 native schools. A large proportion of the population can 
 sign their names who can do little more. Education in 
 missionary schools is, of course, strictly Christian. In 
 Government schools the custom is, where no objection is 
 offered, to read the Bible during the first hour. Attend- 
 ance during that hour not compulsory, but pupils seldom 
 or never absent themselves. Cost of Government Edu- 
 cational Department (educating some 28,000 pupils), 
 PlBOO.OOO per annum (besides grants-in-aid, which amount 
 to Pi200,000 for 60,000 pupils), of which B28,000 is returned 
 in the shape of fees, sales of books, Ac. Total outlay on 
 education, public and private, is about B700,000 (£70,000), 
 against B7, 000, 000 (£700,000) supposed to be spent by the 
 population on intoxicating chinks. Science is now prac- 
 tically taught in the principal educational establishments 
 in the chief towns, and technical training in agriculture 
 and useful trades is gradually being added. Government 
 grants, aggregating R3,000 per annum, are distributed 
 
289 
 
 Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 among eighteen public libraries. The census gives about 
 
 3,000 teachers, &c., male and female, in Ceylon. 
 
 OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 Vast majority of inhabitants engaged in agriculture : 
 
 050.000 in census. Settled inhabitants (Sinhalese and 
 Tamil) cultivate chiefly rice and other grain, with coconuts, 
 palmyras, arecas, other palms, fruit trees and vegetables ; 
 while 250,000 Tamil coolies (native born and immigrants), 
 superintended by Europeans, grow on plantations, chiefly 
 tea, with the old staple coffee, to which have, of late 
 years, been added cinchona, Liberian coffee, cacao, rubber, 
 cardamoms, croton-oil seeds, pepper, and other new pro- 
 ducts. Rice too, and tea, bark, and coffee from plantations, 
 are conveyed mainly by Sinhalese “ bullock bandy men ” 
 or carters, where railway communication does not serve. 
 [There are about 14,000 licensed carts, mainly employed 
 in plantation traffic, against half that number in 1850 ; 
 this is exclusive of unlicensed carts employed not only by 
 natives but by estate owners now in very considerable 
 numbers. Bullocks in size and strength, and carts in 
 capacity, greatly improved.] Fisheries (12,000 boats and 
 canoes) and small class of shipping (vessels belonging to 
 Ceylon, number GOO ; tonnage 25,000) employ a good 
 many; 25,000 fishermen and boatmen in census — below 
 the mark. The timber trade gives employment in 
 felling, sawing, rafting, or carting, to very many. Local 
 manufacturing industry, advancing : carpentry, weaving, 
 coir-matting, oil-making, &c. There were 40,000 boutique- 
 keepers and traders returned in census ; 14,000 carpenters ; 
 
 5.000 masons; 18,000 dhobies ; 1G,000 coir- workers ; 
 
 15.000 mat and basket makers ; G,000 tailors and seam- 
 stresses ; 3,500 cotton and cloth spinners and weavers ; 
 GOO lacemakers ; 500 printers and bookbinders ; 5,000 
 bakers; 3,300 toddy drawers; 2,200 sawyers; 1,500 
 plumbago diggers ; 6,500 jeweller's ; 1,200 gem diggers ; 
 4,500 blacksmiths ; 2,000 barbers ; 3,000 liorsekeepers ; 
 
 43.000 domestic servants. [There are about 1,000 small 
 looms, and 2,000 wooden or stone oil presses, or 
 “ cliekkus,” scattered over Ceylon ; while steam and other 
 machinery is extensively in use for preparing tea, coffee, 
 and coir, expressing oil, sawing timber, &c. ; with perhaps 
 
 20 
 
290 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 200 engines, aggregating fully 3,000 li. p,, and 25,000 em- 
 ployes. About 100,000 coffee, oil, and plumbago casks, 
 and now many thousands of tea boxes made, besides 
 those imported and exported each year ; and many 
 thousands of women and children, chiefly Sinhalese, find 
 remunerative employment in “ coffee picking,” and pre- 
 paring cinnamon and cinchona bark, coir, and coconut 
 oil, and plumbago, and to some extent bulking and packing 
 tea, at Colombo stores.] The planting enterprize gives 
 employment to large numbers of mechanics, native car- 
 penters, and masons, who also find occupation on roads 
 and bridges, water, harbour, irrigation, and railway exten- 
 sion works. Very serviceable bricks and tiles made in the 
 island ; and 5,000 Moormen (Arab descendants off North- 
 west coast) have special aptitude as masons. Potteries 
 for common earthenware utensils, common. Numerous 
 distilleries, with simple apparatus for manufacture of 
 arrack, and a few to obtain essential oils of cinnamon, 
 citronella, and lemon-grass. Plumbago mining is in- 
 creasing, giving employment in digging, carting, prepara- 
 tion and shipment to several thousands; and gem-searching 
 (250 gem and 25 iron mines) employs a number (1,200) of 
 not over-peaceable persons. Pearl fisheries uncertain — 
 foreign divers (from coast off India) chiefly employed : 
 good fisheries expected off North-west coast next few 
 years. Chank fishery steady, but not very profitable. 
 
 CULTIVATION. 
 
 Grain: — Piice, 060,000 acres. Ivurakkan, varieties of 
 millet (known locally as “ dry grain”), Indian corn, &c., 
 with kollu and other legumes, 150,000. Total Grain 
 
 810.000. Palms : — Coconuts : native “topes,” 450,000; 
 European plantations, 50,000 ;=500, 000 total coconuts. 
 Palmyras, arecanuts, kitul, &c., 150,000. Total Palms, 
 
 650.000. Coffee, Tea, Cinchona, Cocoa (properly Cacao ) : — 
 European plantations (2,000 properties with 1,500 separate 
 estates cultivated, or over 1,600, if divisions of large 
 estates counted, cleared and in all stages of cultivation, 
 excluding abandoned fields and making allowance for area 
 covered by new products), coffee, 120,000 acres ; native 
 holdings, 10,000. Total coffee, 130,000. Cinchona, 35,000 
 acres; cocoa or cacao, 12,500 acres; tea, 175,000 acres ; 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 291 
 
 Liberian coffee (European or native), 2,000 acres ; carda- 
 moms (European and native), 7,000 acres; African palm 
 nuts, rubber, &c., 500; grand total of plantation culture, 
 tea, coffee, and new products, 360,000 acres. Tea is 
 cultivated from nearly sea-level to over 6,000 feet. [Coffee 
 (Aribica) was cultivated from elevation of 1,500 to 5,000 
 feet : medium, best. Reserve of forest and cliena in con- 
 nection with plantations, 300,000 ; Government hill forest, 
 suitable for coffee, tea, cinchona, &c., perhaps quarter of a 
 million acres, and at least four times that extent of low 
 lands suited for tea and cacao, and for coconut, grain, 
 and garden cultivation.] Tobacco, 25,000 acres; cotton, 
 400 acres ; sugar, aromatic grasses, aloes, &c., 5,500 ; 
 garden vegetables : onions, chillies, brinjals, potatoes, and 
 yams, cabbages, greens, pineapples, pumpins, cucumbers, 
 &c., 100,000 acres. Plantain, jak, mango, breadfruit, 
 orange, lime, guava, cadju, lovi-lovi, goraka, bilimbi, and 
 other orchard cultivation, 120,000. Cinnamon, 30,000. 
 Other spices — nutmeg, pepper, &c., 10,000 acres. Culti- 
 vated grass land, 15,000. Introduced timber trees, 500. 
 Total cultivation, about 1,900,000 acres; or at most 2 
 millions — or about l-Oth of area. Sugar cultivation a 
 failure, probably from excessive moisture of climate, in 
 western, southern, and central provinces ; a little still 
 grown and manufactured at Baddegama, near Galle. Plan- 
 tain (or banana) cultivation for fibre tried unsuccessfully 
 near Matara. Natural pasturage — including patanas — 
 1,000,000 in and around mountain zone; in island 
 generally, 2 or 3 million acres probably; that on hills 
 coarse and indifferent, and (up to 4,000 feet) infested by 
 land leeches ; in low country better, but great proportion 
 in unhealthy parts. 
 
 [Note. — Arabian coffee used to grow around native huts, 
 and bore scattered berries at the sea-level ; and there were 
 two or three plantations so low down as only 600 feet 
 above the level of the sea, with a good many at an eleva- 
 tion of 1,000. There are also plantations at an altitude 
 of 5,000 feet and higher. These, if situated on detached 
 hills, on sunny slopes, or on ranges, such as the Uva, 
 facing a hot, low country, do well. But the coffee leaf fungus 
 has put a stop to all interest in coffee extension, or even in 
 its cultivation, save in such favourite districts as those of 
 Uva, parts of Dikoya and Dimbula, and detached planta- 
 
292 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 tions in other districts. The coconut flourishes chiefly at 
 the sea-level and on the coast ; also up river valleys with 
 a few gardens in central province. Rice runs up to where 
 Arabian coffee used to begin, at 2,000 feet altitude. We 
 have now tea cultivation from sea-level to over 6,000 feet, 
 so covering all elevations, with cinchonas flourishing from 
 1,700 to over 7,000 feet elevation, and cacao or chocolate 
 plant in sheltered rich valleys and districts up to about 
 2,000 feet] 
 
 VALUE OF PLANTATION PROPERTY, AND EFFECTS OF EUROPEAN 
 CAPITAL AND ENTERPRIZE. 
 
 The value of cultivated coffee (£2,000,000), tea 
 (£4,250,000), cinchona (£1,400.000), cacao (£300,000), 
 cardamoms, other products (£600,000), &c., grass land on 
 plantations all round, may be taken at about 10 millions 
 sterling. Add £500,000 for 100,000 acres reserve forest 
 at £5 an acre, and 200,000 acres more of reserve belong- 
 ing to plantations in private hands, in grass (natural), 
 chena, or abandoned land, part of which may be utilized 
 for new products by degrees, worth £1 per acre ; and we 
 get about 11 millions for old and new products plantation- 
 land, chiefly in the hands of Europeans. Including build- 
 ings, machinery, carts, cattle, &c., the value is certainly 
 not under the 12 millions. The value of coconut palm 
 cultivation in the island we put at about the same sum, or 
 12J millions sterling. Of other palms and fruit trees, at 
 nearly 6 millions. Of cinnamon, £760,000. Other spices, 
 £500,000. Cotton, tobacco, vegetables, and other garden 
 produce, at 1£ million. Of rice and other grain nearly 6 
 millions. Making a total value of cultivated land of about 
 35 million pounds sterling. 
 
 The value of forest- land, chena, and pasturage, in the 
 hands of low-couutry natives, will make a considerable 
 addition. The amount of British capital diffused by the 
 planting enterprize since 1837 has been enormous, and the 
 Sinhalese carpenters and other artizans, cart contractors, 
 and cattle owners, with the Tamil rice dealers and coolie 
 labourers, have profited largely by it — a profit in which 
 the European capitalists and planters have only in a 
 scanty measure participated. It is calculated that, reckon- 
 ing the pioneers, not more than 10 per cent, of the Euro- 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 293 
 
 pean planters during tbe fifty years can be said to have 
 bettered themselves in Ceylon. 43,000 deeds were regis- 
 tered and 27 million rupees secured on mortgages in 
 1878, at tbe beigbt of coffee planting prosperity. Splen- 
 did roads have been opened and fine bridges erected over 
 impassable rivers, and populous and thriving towns and 
 villages have sprung up in the planting districts, where 40 
 to 50 years ago all was interminable jungle. The natives 
 in tbe towns are rapidly adopting European habits, and 
 many send their children to England for education or to 
 take rank as barristers, physicians, and clergymen. Tbe 
 improvement has spread to tbe urban masses too : witness 
 tbe declaration of tbe Rev. R. S. Hardy, a missionary of 
 40 years’ experience : — “ Tbe contrast between one of 
 their homes now and in tbe times I can remember is 
 nearly as great as between a grimed native chatty (earthern 
 pot) and a bright English tea kettle.” Crime has, how- 
 ever, kept pace with the spread of wealth, and what is 
 usually termed “civilization.” Although tbe Sinhalese, 
 on the authority of one of their owu number (the late Mr. 
 James Alwis), possess “not even a tincture of soldiership,” 
 they are prone to crimes of revenge and violence. In this 
 respect the “low country Sinhalese,” although most of them 
 profess a religion which absolutely forbids the taking of life, 
 hold a “ bad pre-eminence ; ” the Tamils ranking second, 
 and the Kandyan Sinhalese third. 
 
 RETURNS OF CROP, 
 
 from rice and grain lands, generally range from 5 to 30 
 bushels per acre, the average for rice being about 20 
 bushels in the husks, or 10 bushels clean. [The Govern- 
 ment returns give averages of under 10 bushels for rice, 
 and a fraction over 7 bushels for “ dry grain ; ” in both 
 cases unhusked grain. But these low averages arise from 
 the defective mode in which the accounts are made up. 
 An acre is about “ 2 £ bushels sowing extent” — the average 
 return 20 bushels ; in favourable positions twice that 
 quantity.] Coconuts, 1,500 to 3,200 nuts per acre, per 
 annum, at 80 trees to acre. Tea in Ceylon has yielded on 
 Mariawatte and one or two other favoured plantations 
 over l,000lh. made tea per acre for several years; on 
 some more favoured plots over 8001b ; the average so far 
 
294 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 is about 4001b. ; on old poor land not more than 3001b. 
 can be expected. Cinchona trees have given as much as 
 121b. marketable bark at six years old in Ceylon, an acre 
 of red bark trees (1573) gave 12,0001b. after five years. 
 Coffee on plantations ranges from 1 cwt. to 3 cwt. ; the 
 average (previous to the appearance of a coffee leaf 
 fungus, Hemileia vastatrix, in 1869) a little over 6 cwt. ; 
 for native gardens, 5 : in both cases clean coffee. Of 
 recent years, the average has been reduced to less than 2 
 or 3 cwt. Cinnamon gives on an average about 801b. per 
 acre. Lands fully planted and cultivated yield up to 125 
 and 1501b. ; neglected and swampy lands not more than 40. 
 A good deal of “jungle spice,” cut from the forests, enters 
 into the exports. Coffee ( cojfea aribica ) until the last few 
 years was regarded as almost the only really paying culti- 
 vation in which Europeans could engage, but the persistent 
 attacks of leaf fungus forced attention to other articles, 
 and the prospects of “ new products,” chiefly of tea (now 
 regarded as the planter’s staple), cinchona, and cacao now 
 seem good. There are a few remunerative coconut estates 
 belonging to Europeans, but Europeans cannot success- 
 fully compete with natives in this pursuit. The tree is 
 said to love the sound of the human voice, the obvious 
 meaning of which is that it flourishes best where best 
 supplied with fertilizing matter and otherwise tended ; 
 this cultivation has vastly extended through the wealth 
 acquired by natives from introduced European capital 
 during the last twenty to thirty years. The once famous 
 cinnamon of Ceylon, though still the finest grown, seldom 
 yields more than a minimum of profit to the cultivator. 
 Grain cultivation cannot, even at the occasional high 
 prices which prevail, offer any inducement to European 
 enterprize, and the natives persevere in the pursuit mainly 
 for the reasons thus stated by the experienced and intelli- 
 gent servant of Government who so long administered 
 the Western Province, Sir C. P. Layard : — “You are 
 right in your conclusion that the cultivation of paddy 
 is the least profitable pursuit to which a native can apply 
 himself. It is persevered in from habit, and because the 
 value of time and labour never enters into his calculation. 
 Besides this, agriculture is, in the opinion of a Sinhalese, 
 the most honourable of callings. I do not think that the 
 average yield of our fields is as low as 5£ bushels to the 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 295 
 
 acre — twenty is nearer the mark ; but all arable lands are 
 not cultivated at once, or even in the same year, and the 
 estimates of a season’s sowing often include crops aban- 
 doned immediately after the seed has been sown, either on 
 account of drought or flood. The uncertain climate of 
 the maritime districts and a poor soil are both causes of 
 the comparative smallness of our returns. In India, i.e., 
 both in Bengal and the grain-producing districts of the 
 Madras Presidency, they have extensive tracts of alluvial 
 lands on the banks of their rivers, the like of which, even 
 on a small scale, cannot be found here.” This has lately 
 been disputed by Mr. Elliot, C.C.S., but he has only 
 proved that rice growingislargelyprofitable in such favoured 
 districts as Matara, Batticaloa, and some parts of the 
 other provinces with good soil and special irrigational 
 advantages ; there are large areas where fruit, leaf, and 
 bark-growing is and will be much more profitable than 
 rice to the natives. Of course all the grain grown in the 
 island is consumed within its limits, besides very large 
 imports for the urban and coolie population. Of the pro- 
 duce of the coconut tree, by far the larger proportion is 
 also consumed in the island. Taking the annual value of 
 the oil, nuts, arrack, toddy, coir, &c., at 2i millions 
 sterling, nearly one-tldrd is exported ; the people con- 
 suming the remaining two-thirds , chiefly in the shape of 
 nuts for food, with a good deal of arrack, toddy, oil, coir, 
 &c. Of the produce of other palms the exports amount 
 to about £120,000. Practically, the whole of the cinna- 
 mon grown is exported. Of the tea and coffee produced, 
 the local consumption may be taken at 2J per cent., or 
 about 300,0001b. and 5,000 cwt., representing a value 
 of about half a million of rupees against 20 to 30 millions 
 of rupees’ worth exported. Of the produce of the areca 
 and palmyra palms (arecanuts, used for the almost uni- 
 versal Indian and Ceylon masticatory, with palmyra 
 timber and coarse sugar), while much is consumed in the 
 island, a good proportion is exported. But for the one 
 important mineral plumbago (of which 212,000 cwt. were 
 sent away in 1884, valued at over a million of rupees) the 
 whole export trade of Ceylon might still be described as 
 the produce mainly of the tea and coffee and cinchona 
 shrubs, with the products of three palms, and in a sub- 
 sidiary degree of the cinnamon, and now of cacao and a 
 
296 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 little Liberian coffee. The statement that Ceylon at one 
 time grew grain enough to feed a population of 5 (much 
 more 12) millions is very doubtful. Some of the great tanks 
 appear never to have been completed, having been com- 
 menced by particular monarchs chiefly for their own 
 glorification. Much more is to be hoped for from the 
 irrigation works recently constructed or restored by the 
 Ceylon Government. At present Ceylon grows tea and 
 coconuts mainly (with coffee, cinchonas, cacao, cardamoms, 
 and other secondary products, besides its grain and fruit 
 culture), and gets much grain, cattle, cloth, specie, and 
 nearly all she wants in exchange. 
 
 CROWN LAND GRANTED AND SOLD, 
 
 since 1833, about 1,300,000 acres, yielding a revenue of 
 about £2,100,000. Average price, 1833 to 1844, 10s. 8d. ; 
 1844 to 1883, 37s. 9d Upset price, now £1; highest 
 price realized nearly 250 rupees (£25) for hill forest land, — 
 generally ranges £1 to £5 for forest land, and £400 per 
 acre occasionally for building lots near Colombo. Half of 
 lands sold, hill forest suited for coffee, cinchona, tea, &c. ; 
 half for grain, coconuts, Liberian coffee, cacao, tea, plan- 
 tains, &c. Full title — no land-tax (only 5 per cent, on 
 lands and houses within limits of towns for police purposes ; 
 in Colombo 3 per cent, for lighting and 2 per cent, just 
 being levied for water); tithes (rent), levied on grain only, 
 10 per cent, of produce (a few cases of 20 to 25) against 
 50 per cent, tax often in India. There are insuperable 
 objections, on the part of the natives mainly, to a land- 
 tax, which would fall on coconut, fruit, and root culture, 
 now free, but a liberal commutation system is being applied 
 to the grain tithes, which were exacted by the native rulers 
 in addition to other taxes, all of which, except the rice- 
 tax, the British Government abandoned. Those who cry 
 out against food and salt taxes in oriental countries may 
 as well be reminded that, except through grain, salt, and 
 cotton cloth, the vast majority of the natives of Ceylon 
 would almost entirely escape contributing to the expendi- 
 ture necessary for the support of civil government, 
 military and police protection, and means of communica- 
 tion. 
 
 STOCK. 
 
 Returns very defective. Perhaps there are 6,000 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 297 
 
 horses, 1,100,000 cattle (including buffaloes), 70,000 sheep, 
 
 100,000 goats, and 50,000 swine in Ceylon, with 1,000 
 asses and 200 mules. Ceylon imports (chiefly from India, 
 with some from Australia) nearly all its horses, most of 
 its draught cattle, and much cattle, sheep, goats, and 
 poultry for food, to a total value of over a million rupees 
 per annum. Two-fifths of the grain consumed (about 13 
 millions of bushels in all) is also imported. Prices, always 
 high in Ceylon, have risen steadily, and the tendency is 
 upwards, though a little checked by the planting depres- 
 sion in 1880-G. So with the wages of servants and 
 labourers. Butcher-meat, especially up country, is likely 
 to become scarcer and dearer in consequence of cattle 
 establishments having been abolished on a large propor- 
 tion of estates as not profitable. Artificial manures are 
 found to cost less, generally, than the dung of cattle fed 
 on cultivated grasses and expensive grain and oil-cakes. 
 
 COMMEKCE. 
 
 Imports, 50 millions of rupees. Exports, 40 millions : 
 total value of commerce, 90 millions, nominally 9 million 
 pounds sterling ; or, excluding specie, 80 millions. [The 
 coasting trade is also considerable.] Staple imports : — 
 Rice, &c., 5^ million bushels, 1^ million sterling; cotton 
 goods, about £600,000; live stock, £100,000; salt fish, 
 100,000 ; other food requisites, £200,000 ; wearing ap- 
 parel, &c., £110,000; machinery, £80.000; liquors, 
 £120,000 ; manures, £50,000 ; coal, 200,000 tons, btaple 
 exports: — Coffee, 200,000 to 250,000 cwt. ; 1 to 14 
 million sterling; tea, 10 million lb., £600,000 (likely to 
 rise rapidly); cacao, 20,000 cwt., £80,000 ; cardamoms, 
 
 250.000 lb., £30,000 ; coconut oil, million gallons, 
 £450,000; cinnamon, 2^ million lb., £120,000; coir, 
 
 100.000 cwts., £60,000; plumbago, 250,000 cwt., £260,000; 
 ebony, 10,000 cwt, £7,000; other kinds of timber, £20,000; 
 cinchona bark, 15 million lb., £500,000. Total exports 
 from tea, coffee, cinchona, and cacao plantations, £3,000,000; 
 from coconut palm, £800,000 ; other palms, £100,000 ; 
 cinnamon and all spices, £200,000 ; tobacco, £100,000 ; 
 timber, £25,000; plumbago, £100,000. In 1837 Ceylon 
 exported only 34,000 cwt. of coffee, valued at £106,000 ; 
 total value of trade, including the then valuable article of 
 
298 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 cinnamon, only £900,000 against 9 millions now. In 
 1833 the value of Ceylon exports was only £130,000 ; 
 imports, £320,000 ; total £450,000. So that the increase 
 of trade in little more than fifty years has been nearly 20- 
 fold. Tonnage outwards and inwards nearly 4 millions 
 now, against less than 100,000 tons in 1825. 
 
 REVENUE. 
 
 Average, R13,000,000 per annum (R8, 000, 000 from 
 taxes and R5, 000, 000 land sales, railway, and other 
 receipts). This includes Rl. 000, 000 direct taxation on 
 all males (save Governor, military, and Buddhist priest) 
 between 18 and 55, for thoroughfares ; persons paying 
 direct taxes number 515,000. Add Rl, 500,000 raised by 
 road committees, municipalities, local boards, and village 
 councils, and R100,000 under coolie medical ordinance 
 from planters, making the total of about R15,000,000. 
 Customs and railways yield nearly one-half of the regular 
 revenue ; excise on toddy (fermented juice of coconut 
 tree) and arrack (spirit distilled from it) one-eighth. 
 Grain tithes, land sales, salt monopoly, tolls, and stamps 
 are the other great sources of revenue. Pearl fishery 
 occasionally productive, but very uncertain ; yielded alto- 
 gether over 1 million sterling to British; greatest amount, 
 £140,000 in 1798. Taxation not heavy — less than R3 
 (6s.) per head ; but mass of people poor, and, under 
 ancient village regulations, bestow labour on upkeep of 
 irrigation tanks and channels. The revenue has doubled 
 in 25 years, trebled in 30 years, and nearly quadrupled in 
 40 years, although cinnamon monopoly, fisli-tax, &c., 
 abandoned, and customs duties equalized and moderated. 
 The maximum of revenue owing to heavy land sales and 
 planting prosperity was attained in 1877, at £1,700,000; 
 it fell in 1882 with planting depression to £1,206,000 ; but 
 has since risen steadily, and is expected ere long to 
 average £1,400,000. 
 
 EXPENDITURE. 
 
 Civil, judicial, public instruction, medical, police, prisons 
 establishments, and services, R6, 600, 000 ; pensions, 
 R650,000 ; military contribution, R600,000 ; roads and 
 buildings, R2, 000, 000. Railway services, with interest on 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 299 
 
 loans (against large income), E2, 100,000. Interest on 
 breakwater and waterworks loans, R600,000. Irrigation 
 works, R400,000, besides special advances. Minor items, 
 such as conveyance of mails, immigration, &c. What 
 the colony mainly requires is a liberal and judicious 
 expenditure on 
 
 MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. 
 
 A line of railway 74£ miles long between Colombo 
 (chief shipping port) and Kandy (capital of the central or 
 planting province) was opened in August, 1867 ; an exten- 
 sion to Nawalapitiya from Peradeniya, 17 miles, in 
 December, 1874 : an extension from Kandy to Matale, 17^ 
 miles, opened on 4th October, 1880. Besides the above, 
 a seaside line has been constructed from Colombo to 
 Kalutara, 27^ miles, opened in September, 1879 ; and a 
 few miles of line to serve the breakwater. And on 3rd 
 August, 1880, the first sod was turned of an extension 
 from Nawalapitiya for 41^ miles to Nanuoya, within 4 
 miles of the Sanatarium, Nuwara Eliya, and opened on 
 20th May, 1885. [From Nanuoya the line is intended to 
 be carried 25£ miles farther to Haputale, and thence to 
 Badulla.] Altogether, about 183 miles of railway, all on 
 the 5f feet gauge, have now been opened. The railway at 
 Kadugannawa reaches 1,700 feet sea-level; at Kandy, 
 1,600 feet; Peradeniya, 1,512; Matale, 1,200 feet; 
 Nawalapitiya, 1,913; Hatton, 4,168; Nanuoya, 5,292 
 feet ; the Moragalla tunnel at Kadugannawa is 365 yards 
 long ; the Poolbank tunnel, 614 yards ; Talawakelle tunnel 
 is 265 yards ; sharpest curve 5 chains ; ruling gradient, 
 Kadugannawa incline, 1 to 45 (12 miles long), on Nanuoya 
 extension, heaviest gradient 1 to 44. Other lines are 
 contemplated to connect the main line with Kurunegala 
 and Negombo and even Cliilaw, and to extend from 
 Kalutara to Galle ; from Kalutara to Rakawana ; and 
 from Kurunegala or Matale with Jaffna ; from Colombo to 
 Kotte ; and a city line in Colombo for the northern suburb of 
 Mattakuliya, unless city tramways are adopted. A line 
 taking in Kotte and other suburbs of Colombo would, it 
 is believed, pay well. At present, two coaches run daily 
 from Kalutara to Galle, and vice versa ; a coach runs tri- 
 weekly (shortly to become daily) between Colombo and 
 
300 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Ratnapura, also from Colombo to Yatiyantota, and from 
 Ratnapura to Pelmadulla; and mail-carts or coaches 
 exist between Colombo and Negombo ; Galle and Matara; 
 also a coach or mail-cart from Nanuoya to Nuwara Eliya ; 
 from Matale to Dambula, and thence a bullock coach to 
 Jaffna. In three days, a visitor to Colombo might easily 
 run up via Kandy to Nuwara Eliya, passing through the 
 finest of mountain scenery, and return ; two days would 
 suffice to pay a visit from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya and 
 the middle planting region ; while a run to Kandy and 
 back, with a sight of the beautiful and grand scenery in 
 view on and from the railway incline, can be accomplished 
 in one day. Roads: — Metalled, 1,350 miles; gravelled, 
 790 ; ungravelled, 740 = total miles of road, 2,900, or one 
 mile of road for every nine square miles of extent in the 
 island ; upkeep of roads, canals, public buildings, and 
 irrigation works, total expenditure of Public Works De- 
 partment, £200,000 ; road pioneer corps number 500, with 
 several trained working elephants. Canals navigable for 
 boats, 180 miles, besides portions of rivers and back- 
 waters. [In addition to expenditure from general revenue, 
 roads and canals are made and kept up by thoroughfares’ 
 tax, equivalent of six days’ labour per annum from each 
 adult male. Groups of estates not intersected by thorough- 
 fares can get cart-roads on paying half the cost, Govern- 
 ment giving other moiety. In 1807 there were no carriage 
 roads beyond the limits of the principal town in the 
 maritime provinces ; and none in the Kandyan country 
 until 1820, the era in which Sir Edward Barnes’ great 
 road-making operations commenced, opening up the paci- 
 fied Kandyan country to enterprize, and so rendering 
 railways necessary and possible.] Besides the P. & 0. 
 Company’s and Messageries steamers connecting Colombo, 
 the mail-port, with India, China, Australia, &c., there are 
 the Austro-Hungarian Lloyds and the Norddeutscher 
 Lloyds steamers ; also the British India Steam Navigation 
 Company maintain a regular communication (weekly) be- 
 tween Colombo, Bombay, Calcutta, and intermediate 
 ports. This company has also a fortnightly line between 
 London, Colombo, Madras, and Calcutta, via the Suez 
 Canal ; and other similar lines, via the Suez Canal, are 
 worked by the Star, the Clan, Holt’s, the Glen, Anchor, 
 the Ducal, the City, Bird, and other steam companies. 
 
Ceylon: Summary of Information. 
 
 301 
 
 PUBLIC DEBT OF CEYLON. 
 
 The cost of the Colombo and Kandy Railway (£1,740,000) 
 was provided for by a special tax on coffee, and partly out 
 of general revenue, and afterwards out of the receipts and 
 profits of the line, amounting to from 8 to 10 per cent, on 
 capital. The Kandy, Nawalapitiya and Seaside railways 
 are now the free property of the colony. It may be said 
 that, besides the network of splendid roads, “ coffee” has 
 given the colony 118 miles of first-class railway, worth 24- 
 millions sterling, and yielding about £120,000 per annum 
 clear income. For the Matale railway a debt of £275,000 
 has been increased, and another of one million sterling in 
 debentures for the first 414 miles of the Dimbula-Uva rail- 
 way extension, and another half million will be required 
 to complete to Haputale. For the Colombo Harbour 
 Works about £600,000 in all have been expended, of which 
 £226,000 are to be given by the Public Loan Commis- 
 sioners at 3| per cent, for 35 years, and the balance, 
 £350.000, at 4 or 5 per cent, for interest and sinking fund. 
 £350,000 is also now estimated for the Colombo Water- 
 works. So that, when the works in hand are complete, 
 the debt of the colony for general and municipal purposes 
 will be about 2£ million pounds sterling, with an annual 
 charge for interest and sinking fund of about £135,000. 
 The annual railway, harbour, and water supply receipts 
 will then, however, not be less than £360,000 per annum, 
 and, deducting working expenses, should yield sufficient 
 profit to cover more than the annual claims, only the 
 Dimbula Railway extensions will not pay properly until 
 the new Uva traffic is brought on the existing lines. 
 
 FOKM OF ADMINISTRATION ! CENTRAL AND MUNICIPAL. 
 
 Governor, aided by Executive and Legislative Councils; 
 the power of making laws being vested in the latter con- 
 currently (as is the case with Crown Colonies generally) 
 with the legislative power of the Crown, which exercises 
 that power by Orders in Council. Executive Council con- 
 sists of five of the principal officers <of Government, pre- 
 sided over by the Governor, who being personally respon- 
 sible to the Home Government, can consult, but is not 
 bound to follow the advice of, the Executive Councillors. 
 All appointments to, or promotions in, the Civil Service 
 
302 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 with salaries over R2, 000 per annum, vest in the Secretary 
 of State, but practically all appointments, except to the 
 higher offices, are left to the Governor. For writersliips 
 in the Civil Service four gentlemen are named for each 
 vacancy by the Secretary of State or the Governor, and 
 the candidate who receives the greatest number of marks 
 is appointed. With salaries much more moderate in 
 Ceylou than in India, we have a covenanted Civil Service 
 numbering about 80 members for about three millions of 
 inhabitants, instead of less than a dozen civilians with 
 native assistants for a similar population in India. The 
 Legislative Council is composed of the members of the 
 Executive, four other principal officers of the Government, 
 and six unofficial members selected by the Governor with 
 reference to as fair a representation as possible of the 
 various classes and interests — (at present representatives 
 include Sinhalese, Tamil, and Burgher members ; one 
 European for planters, one for merchants, and one for 
 general European interests) — sixteen in all, six, however, 
 forming a quorum : and an Order of the Queen in Council 
 declared the proceedings of the Legislature valid, though 
 all unofficial seats be vacant. The Governor can com- 
 mand the votes of all official members except on points 
 where religious principles are affected. Governor presides, 
 with casting vote and ultimate power of veto. All ordi- 
 nances are sent for the final approval of her Majesty, but 
 only in rare cases is the operation of a law suspended 
 pending that approval. Unofficial members can, after 
 permission obtained, introduce drafts of ordinances where 
 votes of money are not concerned. Eight Provinces, ad- 
 ministered by Government Agents and their Assistants 
 (with native revenue and police headmen, such as Rate- 
 mahatmayas, Mudaliyars, Muhandirams, Ivoralas,Vidanas, 
 &c.), all under strict supervision of Government ; central- 
 ization being the ruling principle, perhaps to an injurious 
 extent. By means of Native Village Councils, Munici- 
 palities in the three chief towns (Colombo, Galle, and 
 Kandy), and Local Boards in nine towns of secondary im- 
 portance (ranging from 1,800 to 10,000 in population), 
 the principles of self-government are being of recent years 
 to a considerable extent diffused. As yet, however, the 
 bulk of the natives appreciate the incidence of municipal 
 taxation more than the benefits conferred by sanitary and 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 303 
 
 other improvements. The Colombo Municipality has 
 introduced gas, and (by order of Government) are spend- 
 ing over R3, 500, 000 on a water supply, the works for 
 which are almost completed ; Kandy and Galle have 
 already made provision for water supply. 
 
 LAWS. 
 
 The Roman-Dutch law is the common law of the land, 
 and applicable in all cases not otherwise specially provided 
 for by local enactments.* It obtains in cases of marriage, 
 inheritance, succession, or contracts. The law as to 
 matrimonial rights has been modified by Ordinance 15 of 
 187G, by abolishing community of goods as a consequence 
 of marriage, and by prescribing the order of succession in 
 cases of intestacy. The law of England, however, is of 
 force (by virtue of the Ordinance No. 5 of 1852) in all 
 maritime matters, and in respect of bills of exchange, 
 promissory notes, and cheques. The law of England was 
 further introduced by Ordinance 22 of 1866, in respect of 
 Partnerships, Joint Stock Companies, Corporations, Banks 
 and Banking, Principals and Agents, Carriers by Land, 
 and Life and Fire Insurances. Roman-Dutch law, how- 
 ever, absurdly enough, prevails as to Contracts and Torts 
 (damages). Property can be willed away, but intestate 
 estates are divided according to the principles of Roman- 
 Dutch law, controlled by Ordinance 15 of 1876. Local 
 ordinances are subject to approval of sovereign, but may 
 be brought into force at once. They cease to be operative, 
 however, if not confirmed within three years. The 
 Kandyans are subject to their own laws, and when these 
 are silent the Roman-Dutcli law governs them. In 1859 
 their marriage laws were greatly altered, and polyandry 
 and polygamy, formerly sanctioned, were then expressly 
 prohibited ; but this salutary prohibition had afterwards 
 to be in some degree relaxed, the legislation being in ad- 
 vance of the intelligence and condition of the people. 
 Europeans and European descendants are now exempted 
 from the operation of the Kandyan law as respects inheri- 
 tance, and made subject to the Roman-Dutch law, by 
 which a widow gets a just moiety of her husband’s estate 
 (excepting when a different provision is made by ante- 
 
 * A Civil Code is in course of preparation. 
 
304 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 nuptial contract or by joint will, and the children the 
 other moiety in equal shares. The Muhammadans have 
 a code of their own in matters of marriage and inheri- 
 tance. The Tamils of the north and east have their code 
 also— the Tesavallami. The criminal law of the island, 
 known as the Roman-Dutch law, was repealed by a Penal 
 Code, which came into operation on 1st January, 1885, 
 whereby the punitive jurisdiction of District Courts as 
 regards imprisonment was raised to two years, and of 
 Police Courts to six months. This has relieved the 
 Supreme Court of a number of cases that used to be sent 
 there for trial. The number of jurymen has been reduced 
 to nine, and is to be further reduced to seven. The pro- 
 cedure in the courts is regulated by the Criminal Procedure 
 Code, which came into operation at the same time as the 
 Penal Code. These codes are largely transcripts and 
 adaptations of the Indian Penal and Procedure Codes. 
 The English law of evidence prevails in all the courts ; 
 and a special ordinance provides that substantial justice 
 shall not fail through want of adherence to legal techni- 
 calities. Further codification of laws, so as to secure 
 settlement of principles and avoidance of conflict and 
 occasional uncertainty, desiderated (and is likely ere long 
 to be carried), as w'ell as a law of libel, which would 
 recognize the functions and privileges of a free press 
 better than do the antiquated provisions of Roman-Dutch 
 laws. It is now proposed to substitute the English law of 
 contracts and torts, and a civil code is in course of pre- 
 paration, a criminal code having already been introduced. 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE : CRIME. 
 
 The ordinary courts are Supreme Court (Chief Justice 
 and two Puisne Judges), District Courts, Courts of 
 Requests, and Police Courts. The last have jurisdiction 
 in all minor cases not punishable with more than £o fine, 
 six months’ imprisonment, and twenty lashes. Courts of 
 Requests have jurisdiction in all eivil suits where the 
 matter in dispute — land or money — does not exceed £10 
 in value. District Courts have unlimited civil jurisdic- 
 tion in civil, matrimonial, testamentary, and insolvent 
 cases (about 10,000 suits decided annually), and criminal 
 jurisdiction in all cases not punishable with more than 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 305 
 
 £20 fine, two years’ imprisonment, and twenty-five lashes. 
 The Supreme Court has only an appellate jurisdiction in 
 civil cases and over the criminal decisions of the District 
 and Police Courts, and an unlimited jurisdiction in 
 criminal cases. The latter is exercised by a judge and 
 nine jurymen, the verdict of the majority prevailing, 
 except in murder cases, when two-thirds are necessary. 
 The appointment, temporarily, of a Commissioner of 
 Assize, to assist the Supreme Court judges in criminal 
 sessions work, has been sanctioned. The Supreme Court 
 and the District Courts of Colombo and Kandy are gene- 
 rally filled by professional men. Occasionally these and 
 all the other judicial offices are open to members of the 
 civil service, or others appointed by the Governor or 
 Secretary of State. There is no grand jury, its powers 
 being exercised by the Attorney-General — assisted by the 
 Solicitor-General (both being the recognized law officers of 
 the Crown — who has a seat in the Executive Council, and 
 is a member of the Government. All local ordinances 
 are prepared by him — he advises the Government in all 
 legal matters, and has the charge of Crown suits through- 
 out the island, being assisted in his work by the Solicitor- 
 General and local deputies (“Crown Counsel”) for each 
 circuit. An appeal lies of right to the Privy Council 
 from all decisions of the Supreme Court in cases above 
 £500 : it may be allowed by grace in other cases. There 
 are only two classes of lawyers in Ceylon — advocates and 
 proctors admitted on examination. English and Irish 
 barristers and Scotch advocates are entitled to plead as 
 advocates. Notaries, who draw deeds but do not practise 
 in the courts, are numerous (about GOO), being appointed 
 by the Governor with reference to the wants of districts. 
 Many proctors hold warrants and act as notaries. The 
 proportion of lawyers (about 340 advocates and proctors) 
 to population is high, the people of Ceylon being exces- 
 sively litigious, fractions of fruit-trees being sometimes the 
 subjects of action. In crime, about 60,000 offences re- 
 ported, and 90,000 persons apprehended annually ; two- 
 thirds usually acquitted : great proportion false cases. 
 Summary convictions, 13,000 ; committals to gaol about 
 20,000, but one-third tax defaulters. About 2,500 con- 
 victs. About 100 murders and manslaughters reported 
 annually. Total cost of crime to colony estimated at 
 
 21 
 
306 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 R800.000 per annum. A Penal Code was (1883) passed 
 embodying all the criminal law. 
 
 POLICE. 
 
 Whether regularly organized and paid, as in towns, or 
 rural system of unpaid headman called Yidanas, by no 
 means perfect, the material to work on being far from 
 good. Reforms in the regular police have, however, been 
 carried out, the total number under an Inspector- General, 
 with five Provincial Superintendents, being now over 
 1.500, costing R600,000 per annum for the department 
 altogether. Some fifty of the constables are Europeans, 
 besides all the superintending officers. The regular 
 police is taught rifle drill, and in furnishing guards for 
 prisons, escorts for treasure, &c., largely performs duties 
 which previously fell to the military, mainly to the late 
 Ceylon Rifles Corps. 
 
 CURRENCY AND FINANCE. 
 
 Rupees and cents of a rupee ; the copper or bronze 
 subsidiary coinage, including a five cent piece, cents, half 
 cents, and quarter cents. The latter have now superseded 
 the old Dutch coins — fanams, pice, cliallies, &c. — as well 
 as English pence and their parts. The silver half rupee 
 is taken at 50 cents, the quarter at 25 cents, and the 
 eighth (two anna piece of India) at 124 cents. The rupee 
 for some time has averaged Is. 6d. sterling in value ; but 
 during 1886 fell temporarily to Is. 4d. Gold coins are 
 sold by the banks at about current rates of exchange. 
 The note issue in Ceylon is now, since 1st January, 1886, 
 a Government issue, and paper money to an average value 
 of 4-J- millions of rupees is in circulation. There are in 
 the island agencies of the New Oriental Bank Corporation ; 
 Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London, and China ; 
 the Bank of Madras ; of the Chartered Bank of India, 
 Australia, and China ; of the National Bank of India ; of 
 the Comptoir d'Escompte de Paris, and through mercantile 
 houses of others. The clearing-house returns for Colombo 
 show about R55,000,000 of cheques per annum. Besides 
 these private banking institutions, and some agencies of 
 loan companies, there are the Government Savings Bank 
 (with deposits equal to about Rl, 750, 000, lodged by over 
 
307 
 
 Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 13,000 depositors) and the Loan Board, each of which 
 lends money on good house security at comparatively 
 moderate interest. 
 
 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 British standard, to which local candies, leaguers, &c., 
 are reduced. Coffee, our old staple produce, is usually 
 sold locally by the bushel, from to 5 bushels “parch- 
 ment ” going to 1 cwt. clean coffee. Tea and bark by lb. ; 
 coconut oil by gallon or cwt., 12£ gallons going to cwt. 
 For freight purposes, 10 chests tea usual size make 50 
 cubic feet, which go to ton ; 16 cwt. coffee in casks, 18 in 
 bags, go to a ton ; 17 cwt. coconut oil, 12 cwt. coir and 
 cardamoms, 14 cwt. hides, 16 cwt. horns and pepper, 17 
 poonac or oil cakes, 800 lbs. cinnamon or cinchona ; 
 measurement goods, 50 cubic feet to the ton. A maund of 
 tea seed or leaf about 84 lbs. ; bushel of rice, 63 lbs. ; 
 candy of copperali, 5001b. 
 
 CUSTOMS DUTIES, 
 
 port dues, pilotage, &c., are moderate, the leading prin- 
 ciple in the customs tariff being 5 to 6-J- per cent, on the 
 value of imports, and the only export duties being B100 
 for every elephant, and R5 per ton on plumbago in lieu of 
 Government royalty ; with moderate charges on tonnage, 
 which now has the benefit of safe and commodious harbour 
 accommodation at Colombo, by means of the fine break- 
 water. Export levies of a fractional amount are also 
 imposed on certain plantation products, for coolie medical 
 aid purposes, 10 cents per cwt. on tea, coffee, and cocoa; 
 20 cents on cinchona bark ; with 6 cents per chest of tea 
 for harbour dues. 
 
 COLOMBO HARBOUR WORKS. 
 
 Begun in 1875 ; foundation laid by H.R.H. the Prince 
 of Wales, 8th Dec. ; Sir John Coode, Kt., Consulting 
 Engineer ; John Kyle, M.I.C.E., Resident Executive Engi- 
 neer : over £700,000 expended in all, and 4,211 feet of 
 breakwater arm completed from starting point at shore 
 end to pier-head with lighthouse, besides extensive recla- 
 mation work, forming safe, commodious harbour (with 
 jetties), covering 250 acres, with from 26 to 40 feet of 
 
308 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 water. An expenditure of £400,000 more would provide 
 a northern arm, jetties, and harbour reclamation, at Mutwal. 
 The harbour revenue already exceeds R450,000 per annum, 
 and it could be made R600,000 for the complete works. 
 A graving dock for imperial-naval as well as commercial 
 purposes is the first great necessity. 
 
 TRAMWAYS IN COLOMBO 
 
 are an anticipated city improvement, several lines being 
 projected and tendered for to the municipality by a respon- 
 sible agency. 
 
 COLOMBO WATERWORKS 
 
 were commenced in 1881-2, to supply the city (covering 
 9^ square miles) with two million gallons of water daily, 
 from a reservoir in the Labugama hills, thirty miles away. 
 The contract for the hill and city (Maligahakanda) reser- 
 voirs, and for laying pipes, was given in from 1882 for 
 El, 415, 500), the work to be done in three years by Messrs. 
 Mitchell and Izard ; the consulting engineer being Mr. 
 Bateman, of "Westminster ; Mr. A. W. Burnett being chief 
 resident engineer. The Labugama reservoir (of 176 
 acres, 59 feet maximum depth of water, to contain 
 1,373,000,000 gallons, 360 feet top water above sea level), 
 and pipes thence, have been laid ; also about 144,000 
 yards of pipes in the city ; but the Muligahakanda reser- 
 voir (to hold 9 million gallons) 100 feet top water above 
 sea, proved a failure at its first and second triads. [Third 
 and, doubtless, final trial.] The water supply is, however, 
 being utilized independently from Labugama. 
 
 POSTAGE. 
 
 Ceylon enjoys rather better than the boon of a “ penny 
 postage” for letters, the rate being 5 cents of a rupee, 
 equal, at present, to about -|d., on each half ounce; two 
 cents postage for newspapers, besides post-cards ; but a 
 fairly moderate rate for book, commercial packets, and 
 parcel postage is a desideratum. External postage to 
 many parts of the world moderate, although uniformity is 
 much required, the letter rate being 80 cents to the 
 Australian colonies, and 28 cents to the United Kingdom, 
 while only 25 cents to the Continent of Europe. To India 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 309 
 
 by Dak or B.I. steamers same as local rates. 123 post 
 offices in Ceylon. Total of letters through Ceylon post 
 offices, over 15 millions per annum, or between five and 
 six per head. Postal revenue, R265,000 ; Telegraph, 
 R65,000 ; total, R330,000. Total expenditure, R445,000, for 
 which the large correspondence, including heavy parcels, 
 of the Government Departments is carried, and official 
 telegrams delivered free. If all officials paid postage and 
 telegrams, the Postal- Telegraph Department would show 
 a clear profit. 
 
 TELEGRAPH RATES. 
 
 The telegraph stations now open in Ceylon (24 in all) 
 are : — Anuradhapura, 3rd class ; Badulla, 3rd ; Batticaloa, 
 3rd; Colombo, 1st; Dikoya, 3rd; Galle, 2nd; Gampola, 
 3rd ; Hatton, 3rd ; Jaffna, 2nd ; Kalutara, 3rd ; Kandy, 
 2nd ; Kurunegala, 3rd ; Lunugala, 3rd ; Mannar, 3rd ; 
 Matale, 3rd; Nawalapitiya, 3rd; Nuwara Eliya, 2nd 
 (during season, January to June) and 3rd ; Polgahawela, 
 3rd ; Trincomalee, 3rd ; Talawakele, 3rd ; Mount Lavinia, 
 3rd ; Moratuwa, 3rd ; Nanuoya, 3rd. 
 
 On and from the 1st February, 1887, the following new 
 scale of charges was levied on inland telegrams : — 
 
 1. — There are three classes of telegrams — Urgent, Ordi- 
 nary, and Deferred, and the following are the rates of 
 charge for State and private telegrams between any two 
 offices in Ceylon : — 
 
 Class. 
 
 Deferred 
 
 Ordinary 
 
 Urgent 
 
 First eight words 
 
 Each additional 
 
 or groups of three 
 
 word or group 
 
 figures. 
 
 of three figures. 
 
 It. Cts. 
 
 B. Cts. 
 
 .... 0 40 
 
 0 5 
 
 0 80 
 
 0 10 
 
 .... 1 60 
 
 0 20 
 
 EVERY-DAY TABLE OF TELEGRAPH RATES FOR ORDINARY 
 FOREIGN MESSAGES. 
 
 From any Ceylon Station. 
 
 To all countries in Europe, including Great Britain, r.c. 
 
 except those named below, via Suez 2-94 
 
 ,, ,, ,, ,, Teheran 2-94 
 
 ,, „ ,, „ Turkey 2-69 
 
310 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 R.C. 
 
 To Russia, via Suez 2 94 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Teheran 2-69 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Turkey and Odessa 2 69 
 
 „ Turkey „ Suez 2*94 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Turkey or Fao 212J 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Teheran-Batoum 2 -94 
 
 ,, Aden and Perim, via Bombay 2-06 
 
 ,, Zanzibar, via Bombay-Aden* 4 - 87£ 
 
 ,, Durban (Natal), via Bombay-Aden 5 - 56 
 
 ,, C. Colony, all places, via Bombay-Aden 5 ‘69 
 
 ,, Suez, via Suez 2 - 56 
 
 ,, Hongkong, via Madras 4 00 
 
 ,, Japan, via Madras! 675 
 
 ,, Amoy, Saddle Island, Shanghai, and Foochow, 
 
 via Madras 5-12J 
 
 ,, Penang, via Madras 2 - 00 
 
 ,, Malacca ,, 2-44 
 
 ,, Singapore ,, 256 
 
 „ Java „ 2-87^ 
 
 ,, Port Darwin, S. and W. Australia, and Victoria, 
 
 via Madras 5 44 
 
 „ New South Wales, via Madras 5 50 
 
 ,, Queensland „ 5 - 94 
 
 „ New Zealand ,, 6 25 
 
 „ Tasmania „ 5'81 
 
 „ New York, via Suez 3 50 
 
 „ Canada „ 3 50 
 
 „ Cuba (Cienferegos and Havana) via Suez 5'31 
 
 „ Jamaica, via Suez 7 '56 
 
 ,, Rio de Janeiro, via Suez-Lisbon 8 - 12J 
 
 Code words of more than ten letters are absolutely in- 
 admissible in private foreign messages. A foreign message 
 may consist of only two chargeable words, viz., office of 
 destination and addressee’s name. 
 
 Ceylon Post Office Telegraphs — consist of 677 miles 
 of line and 1,178 miles of wire. Manaar Gulf Cable 30 
 miles. Telephone lines, for departmental use only, 7'45 
 miles. Total number of messages despatched in 1885 — 
 65,227, and total receipts for messages for the same 
 period was R221,822. 
 
 * In the case of State messages the charge is R3'50 per word, via 
 Bombay. 
 
 f Special rate to Tsushima, via Madras, K7‘87£ per word. 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information . 
 
 311 
 
 DISEASES. 
 
 The most formidable diseases of Ceylon are malarious 
 fevers, malignant dysentery, and wasting diarrhoea, with 
 “ sore mouth.” These are varied forms of “fever ” which 
 occupies here the place of lung disease in England. Ele- 
 phantiasis or “ Cochin leg ” is fever caused by inflamma- 
 tion of the absorbent vessels and glands ; the remote cause 
 of the inflammation is supposed to be a blood worm in the 
 circulation. “ Parangi,” a loathsome congenital disease, 
 aggravated by scarcity of nutritious food, prevails in some 
 of the more remote portions of the island. It is said to 
 resemble the “yaws” of the West Indies. Ceylon boils, 
 signs (generally) of debility, are sometimes very trying, 
 but rapidly disappear on a “ change” to the cool mountain 
 regions, or vice versa to seaside. Liver disease is often 
 troublesome, but is far less prevalent than on the continent 
 of India, and sunstroke exceedingly rare. Cholera and 
 smallpox become occasionally epidemic, but Europeans 
 very seldom fall victims to either. With facilities for 
 occasional change, and the exercise of care and temperance, 
 the chances for European life here are scarcely, if at all, 
 inferior to what they are in England. The large majority 
 of the planters enjoy robust health. Surveyors, road 
 officers, and railway engineers, when compelled to traverse 
 feverish regions and endure exposure to sun and ram, 
 incur much greater risk, as also planting pioneers in new 
 districts. With all its moisture, the climate is favourable 
 to the extension of consumptive lives. Here, as elsewhere 
 in the tropics, life is practically passed in the open air, so 
 that vitiated air in dwellings is seldom a source of disease. 
 Children of European parents can generally remain in 
 Ceylon till eight or nine years, and in the hill-country 
 even longer, especially at Nuwera Eliya, with its average 
 temperature of 58 degrees. Colombo is a specially healthy 
 town, and its sanitation will be still more improved when 
 the hill Water Supply is fully provided. Government 
 Civil Medical Department and Hospitals cost over 
 R700,000 per annum : about 200,000 cases treated in 
 hospitals and dispensaries annually ; in hospitals alone, 
 
 24.000 cases with 3,000 deaths, rest cured or relieved ; 
 there are 350 lunatics and 200 lepers in asylums. About 
 
 2.000 paupers noted by Government ; no Poor Laws ; 
 
312 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 relief expended in town by Friend-iu-need Societies 
 voluntarily managed and supported, with some aid from 
 General Eevenue. 
 
 OBJECTS OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO 
 STRANGERS IN CEYLON. 
 
 Colombo and "Western Province. — The Fort, Govern- 
 ment offices, Sir Edward Barnes’s statue, The Grand 
 Oriental Hotel. The Military Buildings, Galle Face 
 Esplanade and drive. The Lake ; the Law Courts at 
 Hulftsdorp, with busts of the late C. A. Lorenz and Sir 
 R. F. Morgan, Ivt., (by a Ceylonese, R. G. Andriesz). 
 Town Hall, with pictures of H.R.H. the Duke of Edin- 
 burgh, Sir Hercules Robinson, Sir William Gregory, the 
 late C. A. Lorenz, m.l.c., and Sir C. P. Layard, k.c.h.g. 
 Cinnamon Gardens ; Circular Walk Gardens, near which 
 is situated the Colombo Museum, with statue of Sir 
 William Gregory, k.c.m.g. Hulftsdorp Mills, and other 
 establishments for preparing coffee, cinchona bark, coconut 
 oil, and coir. Cinnamon culture, peeling and baling at 
 Maradana, or at Ekela and Ivadirana, near Negombo. 
 Plumbago stores in Brownrigg street, Cinnamon Gardens. 
 Welikada Jail, Lunatic and Leper Asylums. Koch 
 Memorial Tower, Government Civil Hospital. Banyan 
 tree, Hunupitiya. Railway and Breakwater Works. Gov- 
 ernment Factory and Elephant Shed. Colombo Ironworks. 
 Gasworks. Malikaganda Waterworks Reservoir. Alfred 
 Model Farm towards Kotte. General Cemetery and Galle 
 Face Cemetery, for memorial stones. Wolvendal Dutch 
 Church, with memorials of Dutch Governors on walls and 
 floors. St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, -with some interesting 
 monuments on the walls. Roman Catholic Cathedral at 
 Kotahena. Colombo Royal College. St. Thomas’ and 
 Wesley College and other schools. Moor (Muhammadan) 
 boys’ school ; Mission Schools, Borella and Kollupitiya. 
 Ancient tortoise at Tanque Salgado, and large kumbuk tree 
 near mouth of river, at Mutwal. Crow Island in mouth of 
 river. Quasi peat and breccia formations north side of 
 mouth of river and canals. Bridge of Boats and Railway 
 Bridge across Kelaui river. View of Adam’s Peak from 
 Colombo in early morning during N.E. monsoon. Boat 
 trip on river to Kelani Buddhist Temple. Buddhist 
 
Ceylon: Summary of Information. 
 
 313 
 
 Temples at Ivelani and Ivotte. Rich palm, bambu and 
 general vegetation on banks of river. Mission station 
 and schools at Ivotte, Gonawala, or Moratuwa. Tea, 
 Liberian coffee, and cacao cultivation, at Ivalutara, Han- 
 wella or Polgaliawela. Henaratgoda Government Ex- 
 perimental Gardens. Trip to Ratnapura and scenes of 
 Gem digging via side of Kelani river. 
 
 Galle and Colombo Road. — Groves of coconut palms, 
 with jak, breadfruit, and other trees along the whole 
 route. Bentota resthouse with river and oyster fishing 
 and sea-bathing. View of interior with mountain range 
 from the road at Beruwala near the 32nd milestone. 
 Ivalutara river (Ivaluganga or black river), bridge, and 
 town. Railway along seashore from Ivalutara to Colombo. 
 Panadure outlet for extensive backwaters. Moratuwa, a 
 prosperous village of carpenters. Mount Lavima Board- 
 ing House. 
 
 Galle and Southern Province. — All Saints’ Church, 
 Galle. Native bazaars and shops of jewellers and dealers 
 in tortoiseshell and carved work ; Wakwella and Cinnamon 
 Gardens near Galle ; drives and view alongside Ginganga 
 of the Haycock and Adam’s Peak mountains ; Baddegama 
 Mission Station ; Richmond Hill Mission Station, and 
 view. Cultivation of sugar and lemon grass, by Messrs. 
 Winter & Sons, and others. View from Buona Vista, near 
 Galle, and Mission Station. Tanks in Matara district. 
 Temple ruins and salt formations, Hambantota. Temple 
 ruins at Dewundara (“ Dondra Head”) near Matara. 
 Weligama Bay. Urubokka dam, Weligama, and rock 
 figure of Ivusta Raja or the leper king. View of the Fort 
 and Harbour of Galle from the site of the Roman Catholic 
 Chapel at Ivaluwella. 
 
 Colombo to Ivandy, Gampola, Nawalapitiya, Hatton, and 
 Nanuoya ; also to Matale. — Ricefields at Mahara and 
 along line. Mahaoya (river) and vegetation. Kadugan- 
 nawa pass, Dekanda valley, Allagala mountain and 
 railway incline with Miyangala gallery, “ Sensation Rock ” 
 and tunnels. View of Dekanda valley from Incline. 
 View looking back from Sensation Rock. Dawson’s 
 Monument at Ivadugannawa. Peradeniva satinwood 
 bridge, and railway iron lattice bridge. View from rail- 
 way of the Mahaweliganga and of Pussellawa mountains, 
 beyond Gampola. View of Mahaweliganga and Kotmale 
 
314 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 on railway and at Pasbage, and of Adam’s Peak, Dolos- 
 bage, and Ambagamuwa onwards to Nawalapitiya. View 
 towards sea over Yakdesse and low country from Ambaga- 
 muwa ; waterfalls and rocky glen before Hogs’ back 
 tunnels ; the Wattawella valley ; Dikoya valley and 
 Adam’s Peak ; Great Western mountain from Kottagalla 
 valley ; view over Pussellawa and distant mountains from 
 St. Andrews ; St. Cla.ir falls ; Devon falls ; the coup d’oeil 
 of upland and mountain forest and river scenery from 
 side of Great Western and Nanuoya. The Matale railway 
 bridge over the Maliaweliganga, view of Hunasgirikanda 
 and Etapola, views of the Matale valley, Aluwibara, Bala- 
 kaduwa pass. Tea on Mariawatte ; coffee in Dikoya or 
 Agrapatana : cinchona in Dimbula ; cacao cultivation on 
 Palakele and Wariyapola. 
 
 Kandy, Central Province, Uva, &c. — Sir Henry Ward’s 
 statue in Kandy. Dalada temple at Kandy. Audience 
 Hall and Octagon. Prince of Wales’ Fountain. New 
 Jail Police Station and Kaclicberi. Messrs. Walker & 
 Co.’s factory for coffee and tea-preparing machinery, &c. 
 Matale railway. Hantane Peak or Matana Patana for 
 view, Gregory road, and Lady Horton’s Walk. The 
 Pavilion. Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, Gampola Bridge. 
 Uva, Dimbula and Matale, for coffee, tea, cacao and 
 cinchona cultivation. Ramboda falls and pass. Kadi- 
 yanlena, Kotmale ; and Devon and St. Clair falls, 
 Dimbula. Huluganga falls in the Knuckles. View of 
 Adam’s Peak from Ambagamuwa road. Waterfalls in the 
 Horseshoe Valley, Maskeliya, and at the Balangoda end. 
 Adam’s Peak, the climb up and view from. Trip to 
 Anuradbapura, via Matale and Dumbulla (where rock 
 temple) ; ruins at Polonnaruwa ; the great tank region, 
 &c. Elk bunting, elephant shooting, gemming, &c. The 
 trip to Badulla and Haputale. Ella pass and the highest 
 waterfall in Ceylon. Badulla temple and fort, and hot 
 springs. 
 
 Nuwara Eliya. — T he drive from the Nanuoya station 
 upwards ; the Blackpool and variegated forest tints. The 
 “ Longden Road” along the side of the Nanuoya; the 
 drive round the Lake and Moon Plains ; on the new 
 Udapussellawa road, with beautiful alternation of forest 
 and grass land (“patanas”), magnificent gorges, fern- 
 covered gullies and waterfalls ; the waterfall and “ grotto ” 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 315 
 
 on Portswood estate ; the view of the lake, bund and river 
 from Lady Horton’s Walk above the bund ; “ The Lady’s 
 Waterfall ” below the patanas leading from the bund 
 (Elliewatte Gorge), and Lady Horton’s Walk ; the view of 
 Adam’s Peak, Dimbula, &c., from One Tree Hill ; also of 
 the whole circle of mountains, Adam’s Peak, Kirigalpotta, 
 Kuduhugala, Totapola, Hakgala, Haputale, Namunaku- 
 lakanda, Udapussellawa, Lover’s Leap, Pidurutalagala, 
 Kiklimana, and of the town, plains and lakes, from Naseby 
 Hill, 6,400 feet ; of Uva from Hakgala Gardens, with the 
 gardens themselves, fernery, &c., and the delightful drive 
 down. The climb to Pidurutalagala summit. The old 
 graveyard. 
 
 Jaffna. — The Fort and Batteries, the Dutch Church, 
 the Batticotta Seminary, “ the bottomless well,” the F. N. 
 Society’s Hospital, the market, salt lewayas, and pearl 
 banks off Arippu. Tobacco cultivation and the coral wells 
 at Jaffna, &c. Giant’s Tank ruins in Mannar district. 
 
 Batticaloa. — Fort and Batteries, beautiful Bay of 
 Yendeloos. Extensive rice and coconut cultivation. 
 
 Trincomalee. — One of the finest harbours in the world. 
 Fort Ostenburg, Fort Frederick. Nillavelli salt pans. 
 Hot springs at Kanniya. 
 
 Dambulla, Anuradhapura, Pollonaruwa, &c. — See for 
 full particulars of sights and way to make journey:— 
 “ Buried Cities of Ceylon.” 
 
 Shooting Trips. — For snipe, hares, and small deer in 
 Western, Southern, and other provinces. For Elephant, 
 to Hambantota and Bintenne. For elk, cheetah, &c., in 
 higher hill regions. For crocodiles, bears, &c., in Northern 
 Tank regions. 
 
 WRITERS ON CEYLON. AND AUTHORITIES TO 
 BE CONSULTED FOR MORE DETAILED 
 INFORMATION. 
 
 De Barros, De Couto, Ribeiro (Lee’s translation, with 
 valuable appendices), Valentyn, Baldaeus, Knox (edited by 
 Pliilalethes), Percival, Cordiner, Lord Valentia, Bertolacci, 
 Marshall, Davy, Forbes, Bennett, Knighton, Pridham, 
 Emerson Tenuent ; Fergusons. Casie Chitty’s Gazetteer; 
 Parliamentary papers ; Ceylon Blue Books ; Governors’ 
 Speeches ; Sir H. Ward’s collected Minutes and Speeches ; 
 
316 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Ceylon Almanacks, Civil Lists, Manuals, Directories, &c. 
 For Natural History : — Moon, Gardner, Thwaites, Kelaart, 
 Hooker and Thomson, Templeton, Nietner, E. A. Layard, 
 W. Ferguson, Boake, Steuart, Tennent (monograph on 
 Elephant and on Pearl Oysters, Natural History of Ceylon), 
 Legge, Moore, &c. On Oriental and Buddhistical Literature : 
 — Tumour, Casie Chitty, Gogerly, Hardy, James Alwis, 
 Fox, Callaway, Tolfrey, Upham, Childers, Rhys Davids ; 
 with transactions of Asiatic Societies of Britain, Bengal, 
 Bombay, Ceylon, and Paris, American and German 
 Oriental Societies, “ Indian Antiquary,” “ Orientalist,” 
 “ Literary Register,” &c. On Antiquities , — besides above, 
 Burrows’ “ Buried Cities of Ceylon.” On Elephant and 
 Elk Shooting : — Baker. For Lairs and Principles of Justice, 
 see “Thomson’s Institutes,” collected volumes of procla- 
 mations, ordinances, &c., with index, and reports of cases 
 by Marshall, Murray, Morgan, Lorenz, Beling and Van- 
 derstraaten, Beven and Mills, &c., and Supreme Court 
 Circular volumes. On Kandyan Law : — Sawers, Armour, 
 &c. Tamil and Muhammadan Law : — Muttukistna. On 
 Coffee Planting : — Sabonadiere’s Coffee Planter of Ceylon ; 
 A. Brown’s Manual ; R. E. Lewis, Aliquis (description of 
 coffee planting in rhyme, by the late Captain Jolly), 
 pamphlets by Dr. Elliott, George Wall, P. Moir, Ballardie, 
 Cross, Owen, &c. New Products : — On Tea, Liberian 
 Coffee, Cinchona, Cacao, Cardamoms, Coconut and Cinna- 
 mon planting, see Manuals published at Ceylon Observer 
 Office. Poetry : — Captain Anderson’s “ Ceylon ” and other 
 poems. On Missionary Operations : — Harvard, Selkirk, 
 Emerson’s Tennent’s “ Christianity in Ceylon,” Life of the 
 “ Apostolic ” Daniel, Hardy’s Jubilee Memorials of 
 Wesleyan Mission, Jones’s Jubilee Memorials of Church 
 Mission, Memoir of Mrs. Winslow and other American 
 works, with reports of Baptist, American, Wesleyan, 
 Church, and Romish Missions. On Sinhalese Language : — - 
 Clough, Lambrick, Chater, Carter, James Alwis, Jones, 
 Nicholson, C. Alwis, &c. On Tamil Language : — Winslow, 
 Percival, Rev. W. Clark, A. Joseph, A. M. Ferguson, jun., 
 &c. For the most complete repertory of General and 
 Statistical Information affecting the Colony, more especially 
 of its Planting Enterprise, see successive editions of the 
 “ Ceylon Directory and Handbook of Information,” by A. 
 M. & J. Ferguson. For local Guides : — See Ferguson’s 
 
Ceylon : Summary of Information. 
 
 317 
 
 “ Ceylon Railway and Sanitarium ” ; Burrows’ “ Kandy 
 and Central Province”; Skeen’s “Colombo and Environs”; 
 Maitland’s “ Colombo and the Railway Service.” For in- 
 formation bearing on every branch of Tropical Agriculture, 
 see the Tropical Agriculturist published monthly at the 
 Ceylon Observer Office. 
 
APPENDIX IX. 
 
 CEYLON AND ITS PLANTING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 [From the London “ Times,'' August 24, 1884.) 
 
 TO THE EDITOR OF “ THE TUXES.” 
 
 Royal Colonial Institute, 15, Strand, 
 
 August 23, 1884. 
 
 Sir, — Ceylon and its planters have been several times 
 referred to in the discussion in The Times on the prospects 
 of sugar cultivation in the West Indies, and perhaps a 
 brief resume of the experience gained in the Eastern colony 
 during a series of trying years may be of some interest 
 and of service to planters elsewhere. 
 
 It is pretty well known how in the course of forty years, 
 from 1837 onwards, Ceylon rose from being a mere mili- 
 tary dependency (involving a considerable annual burden 
 to the mother country) to the position of the first and 
 wealthiest of British Crown Colonies. During that period 
 its population, revenue, and trade so steadily advanced 
 that they well-nigh excelled those of all the West Indian 
 colonies put together. The change was due almost en- 
 tirely to the development of coffee-planting, which sent in 
 the heyday of prosperity in Ceylon as much in one year as 
 £5,000,000 sterling worth of the fragrant bean into the 
 markets of the world, chiefly through London. Other 
 branches of agriculture prospered and advanced during 
 those forty years, such as palm tree, cinnamon, and rice 
 
Ceylon ancl its Planting Industries. 
 
 319 
 
 cultivation in the low country — coffee being grown on the 
 hills — in the hands of the Sinhalese and Tamils. But it 
 was through the capital introduced and the revenue 
 created by coffee that the natives were enabled to extend 
 their groves of coconut and palmyra palms, and that the 
 Government could devote large sums to the restoration 
 and construction of irrigation works, more particularly in 
 supplying village sluices and tanks where the people were 
 ready to make use of them. 
 
 So far as European colonists were concerned, coffee- 
 planting almost exclusively claimed their attention, and 
 many of the Sinhalese also embarked in this enterprize. 
 While coffee continued profitable, the counsels of those 
 who advocated the cultivation of other products was 
 treated as so much idle breath. Theoretically it was 
 shown many years ago that the climate and much of the 
 soil of Ceylon were better suited for tea than coffee ; but 
 still the felling and clearing of the most beautiful and 
 varied tropical forests in the world went on, until from 40<> 
 to 500 square miles of country were covered with the one 
 shrub, t'otfea Arabica, carefully planted, and scientifically 
 pruned — topped at the height of an average gooseberry 
 bush. Nature was, however, preparing the punishment 
 of a gross violation of her laws — a violation paralleled hy 
 the would-be dependence of the Irish forty years ago on 
 potatoes, or by the cultivation in other countries of too 
 wide and unbroken an area of wheat, or of the vine. The 
 penalty in Ceylon was first manifested in 1869, through a 
 minute fungus on the leaf, very similar to the oidium in 
 the vine, rust in wheat, and the potato disease. For some 
 seven or eight years not much was thought of it, save as 
 an inducement to more liberal, careful cultivation ; but 
 the scientists called in to investigate, showed that little or 
 no practical check could be offered, and within fifteen 
 years, — to make a long story short — the minute, despised 
 fungus had swept 100,000 acres of coffee cultivation out 
 of existence — the poorly cultivated native gardens and 
 neglected plantations being naturally the first to be aban- 
 doned. At the same time the export of the coffee bean 
 fell last year to one-fourth the maximum of 1,000,000 cwt. 
 
 Here was certainly a grave misfortune overtaking a 
 body of industrious men who had been the mainstay of a 
 country’s prosperity, and, moreover, their difficulties were 
 
320 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 aggravated by an extraordinary development of coffee 
 production in Brazil. This was due to the interior of 
 that South American Empire being rapidly opened up by 
 railways made out of borrowed money ; the labour, at the 
 same time, used in cultivating fresh coffee plantations 
 being slave. Such competition might be deemed unfair — 
 more particularly as it has taken ten years’ agitation in 
 Ceylon to secure an extension of less than 70 miles of 
 railway from the Colonial Office ; but, in place of looking 
 to the Government for factitious aid, the Ceylon planters 
 ten years ago turned their attention to new products with 
 all the energy and intelligence for which they are famous 
 beyond any other tropical cultivators. 
 
 In many cases, of course, the new products, such as 
 cinchona, tea, cacao (chocolate), and rubber, were experi- 
 mented with as supplementary to the 175,000 acres of 
 select coffee still maintained in cultivation ; and let it be 
 noted that in interspersing his coffee fields with cinchona 
 and rubber trees, in planting belts or boundaries of such 
 or areas of reserve in tea, the Ceylon planter was using 
 one of the best means of checking the free dissemination 
 of the fungus ( hemileia vastatrix). As a consequence, 
 possibly, or perhaps because the virulence of this pest is 
 abating, during the current season Ceylon is giving an 
 improved crop of coffee, and the export will be in excess 
 of last year’s.* 
 
 At the same time, the plantings of tea and cinchona 
 bark have become established and important industries. 
 The export of the latter this year will probably be equal 
 to 10,000,000 lb.* against a beginning in 1809 with only 
 28 oz. Nor is it expected that South America can ever 
 again compete with the East — Ceylon, India, and Java — in 
 the production of the invaluable febrifuge. 
 
 Again, it is acknowledged on all hands now that Ceylon 
 is better adapted to become a great tea-producing coun- 
 try than ever it was to lead with coffee. Situated in the 
 pathway of the two monsoons, with an ample and well- 
 distributed rainfall, in a most forcing climate, Ceylon is a 
 perfect paradise for leaf crops. Fruit is more uncertain, 
 and even in the best days of coffee great uncertainty often 
 prevailed during the six weeks or two months of blossom- 
 
 * It was 324,000 cwt. against 260,000 cwt. the previous year. 
 
 f It was 11,492,000 lb. 
 
Ceylon and its Planting Industries. 321 
 
 ing season, when too much or too little rain often 
 destroyed the chance of a due return for a whole year’s 
 labour. Coffee, too, could only be cultivated within a 
 certain limited belt, from 2,500 up to 5,000 feet above sea 
 level, whereas tea flourishes almost from sea-level to 
 0,000 feet and over. The tea shrub, in fact, is one 
 of the hardiest of plants, growing in the open-air at 
 Washington, United States, in New Zealand, &c. But 
 the great advantage possessed by Ceylon and India for 
 tea planting, is in cheap, suitable labour for the work of 
 cultivation, leaf plucking, and preparing. The little 
 island of Ceylon, as now opened up by railways and 
 splendid roads, offers great advantages over most Indian 
 districts for tea production. From both countries the 
 tea supplied is of a pure, high quality. China teas 
 have, in many cases, deteriorated of recent years, while 
 the Japanese “ greens,” chiefly sent to America, are 
 nearly all adulterated. I may, in passing, say that should 
 the war now begun between France and China interrupt 
 the tea trade or production in the Far East, there is no 
 place whence a return can be so expeditiously got for the. 
 investment of capital in tea as from Ceylon. There is a 
 wide extent of land available for tea, at an upset price of 
 10 rupees (16s.) per acre freehold, and a good crop of leaf 
 can be had within three years of the planting. Assam 
 planters who visit Ceylon are loud in their praise of what 
 they see in the growth of our tea, our fine climate, 
 unequalled roads, good supply of labour, &c. The pro- 
 gress already made in the tea industry may be seen from 
 the figures appended. 
 
 The cacao, or chocolate-yielding fruit tree, is another 
 new article of cultivation which has been successfully 
 established in several districts in the island ; the Ceylon 
 product from this plant being pronounced in Mincing-lane 
 to be equal to the very finest received from Trinidad or 
 South America. 
 
 Indiarubber-yielding trees of various descriptions have, 
 during the past few years, been extensively planted in 
 Ceylon ; but the industry is still purely experimental 
 although good samples have been seen in the London 
 market. 
 
 In fibres there ought, by and by, to be a great develop- 
 ment of industry and trade in Ceylon, and, indeed, 
 
 22 
 
322 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 “capital” is the only element wanted to secure rapid 
 progress in all the branches referred to. The fall of 
 the Oriental Bank has reacted disastrously, rendering 
 money very scarce for the poor hut industrious planter, 
 while, again, the credit of the colony has been damaged 
 in many places through the non-success for many years 
 and the final collapse of the Ceylon (but more properly 
 Mauritius) Company, Limited. It is at this time, and in 
 view of the absolute scarcity of capital and depression 
 of credit, that many planters in Ceylon think their 
 industries in “ new products” should receive some official 
 support ; but they have no idea of interfering with the 
 great principles of free trade or of making a grievance 
 out of the advantage possessed by the slave-owning 
 planters of Brazil. 
 
 It is a matter for congratulation that from the very 
 beginning, the Ceylon planting enterprize has been based 
 on a system of free labour, and that its products are 
 so universally appreciated and beneficial as coffee, tea, 
 quinine, chocolate, cinnamon, palm oils, &c. There is 
 every reason to feel assured of a profitable return for 
 money judiciously invested in these “new products” in 
 Ceylon, and the much-tried sugar-planters of the West 
 Indies cannot do better than make experiments in the 
 same direction, although I am free to admit that the 
 comparative scarcity and dearness of their labour places 
 them at a heavy disadvantage. 
 
 J. FEEGUSON, 
 
 Of the Ceylon Observer and Tropical Ayrieulturist. 
 
 The following are Statistics of some of the Planting 
 Industries in Ceylon : — 
 
 Coffee. — 1837 : — 2,500 acres cultivated ; exported about 
 
 10.000 cwt. 1847 : — 45,000 acres cultivated ; exported 
 about 200,000 cwt. 1857 : — 85,000 acres cultivated ; ex- 
 ported about 450,000 cwt. 1867 : — 168,000 acres culti- 
 vated : exported about 868,000 cwt. 1877 : — 272,000 
 acres cultivated; exported about 976,000 cwt. 1883: — 
 
 174.000 acres cultivated ; exported about 265,000 cwt., 
 while 1884 is expected to show an export of over 350,000 
 cwt. of coffee — a welcome revival.* 
 
 * The actual export of coffee for season 1883-4 was 324,000. cwt. 
 
Ceylon and its Planting Industries. 323 
 
 Tea . — The export began with 482 lb. in season 1875-6 : 
 the export rose to 81,595 lb. in season 1878-9; and the 
 export rose to 1,522,882 lb. in season 1882-3. The cur- 
 rent season will probably show an export in excess of 
 two million pounds,* and when the 35,000 acres of tea 
 planted are in full bearing, in 1887-8, the season’s ship- 
 ments ought to be equal to 10 million pounds. Eventually 
 it is estimated Ceylon should have 200,000 acres under 
 tea, and an annual export of 60 million pounds and 
 upwards. It depends on home capitalists very much how 
 soon this result may be realized. 
 
 Cacao . — The export of cacao (or cocoa, as it is called in 
 the market] began with 10 cwt. in 1878, and last year it 
 was 4,000 cwt., while for the current year it is likely 
 to reach 10,000 cwt.t 
 
 Cinchona bark began with an export of 28 ounces in 
 1869 ; rose to 507,000 lb. in 1879 ; and was last season 
 equal to seven million pounds ; while for 1883-4 the 
 return will exceed 10 millions.;}: 
 
 Palm Trees and Cinnamon . — Of the products of palm 
 trees and cinnamon bushes, cultivated chiefly by native 
 owners, Ceylon now sends an annual value of from 
 £800,000 to a million sterling into the markets of the 
 world, against less than one-fifth of this value thirty years 
 ago. 
 
 [For later statistics of exports see table on page 272.] 
 
 CEYLON AND ITS PLANTING INDUSTRIES. 
 
 The Editor of The Economist. 
 
 Colombo, October 26, 1886. 
 
 Sir,- — The Ceylon commercial season closes on the 
 30th September each year, and the Colombo Chamber of 
 Commerce Tables are made up as soon after as possible. 
 
 The actual results arrived at for our staple export trade 
 cannot fail to be of much interest to those who have 
 watched the gradual development of other planting 
 
 * The actual export of tea for season 1883-4 was 2,263,000 lbs* 
 
 f The actual export of cocoa was 9,863 cwt. 
 
 } The export of bark equalled 11J million lb. 
 
324 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 industries since tlie appearance of the leaf fungus which 
 so woefully affected our coffee. Having drawn the 
 attention of West Indian planters through the columns 
 of the London press in August, 1884, to the way in which 
 Ceylon planters had developed “ new products” to make 
 up for the failure in coffee, I would again put forward a 
 few figures in support and illustration of the position I 
 then took up. 
 
 Tea is rapidly becoming the main staple of the planters 
 of Ceylon, and everything points to our export of this 
 important new product rivalling that of India in about 
 ten years’ time. So far, it is comparatively the day of 
 small things, but the following figures show the beginning 
 of an important enterprise. It will be observed that the 
 export progresses more nearly in a geometrical than 
 an arithmetical ratio. The Ceylon exports of Tea have 
 developed as follows : — 
 
 
 Tea. 
 
 lb. 
 
 Total Exports from 
 
 1st Oct. 
 
 1885 to 
 
 30th Sept. 
 
 1886 
 
 7,170,329 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 do. 
 
 1885 
 
 3,796,684 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 2,262,539 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 1,522,882 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 623,292 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 277,590 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 103,624 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1878 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 81,595 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1877 
 
 do. 
 
 1878 
 
 3.515 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1876 
 
 do. 
 
 1877 
 
 1,775 
 
 Cinchona Bark shows the next chief development 
 among new products, as the following figures will show : — 
 
 
 Cinchona. 
 
 Branch & 
 Trunk, 
 lb. 
 
 Total Exports 
 
 from 1st Oct. 
 
 1885 
 
 to 30th Sept. 
 
 1886 
 
 15,364,912 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 do. 
 
 1885 
 
 11,678,360 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 11,492,947 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 6,925,595 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 3,099,895 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 1,207,720 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 1,208,518 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1878 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 373,511 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1877 
 
 do. 
 
 1878 
 
 173,497 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1876 
 
 do. 
 
 1877 
 
 56,589 
 
Ceylon and its Planting Industries. 325 
 
 For a medicinal bark, and the preparations therefrom, 
 there is no such scope for demand and consumption as in 
 the case of tea. But to a fairly remunerative market, it 
 is believed that Ceylon can supply 7 to 10 million lb. of 
 cinchona bark annually 'without any difficulty ; while if 
 there were only the market, the export of the past season 
 could probably be maintained for some years to come. 
 
 Cacao, or the cocoa or chocolate yielding plant, has not 
 succeeded quite so widely as was expected in Ceylon, but 
 there are certain districts in which the cultivation has 
 now proved very successful. Some mistakes were made 
 at first in the mode of planting, but these are now gene- 
 rally rectified, and there is the fair promise of increasing 
 returns. This is especially the case during the present 
 year, the weather having been very favourable to cacao. 
 The annual exports have been as follows : — 
 
 
 Cocoa. 
 
 cwt. 
 
 Total Exports from 
 
 1st Oct. 
 
 1885 to 
 
 30th Sept. 
 
 18-6 
 
 13,347 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 do. 
 
 1885 
 
 6,758 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 9,863 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 3,588 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 1,018 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 479 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 122 
 
 Cabdamoms have been, for many years, quite a minor 
 article among our products, but since the European 
 planter has given his attention to this spice, the colony 
 lias taken the foremost rank for its exports, Ceylon, in 
 fact, now ruling the European market for cardamoms as 
 well as for cinchona bark. The exports of this spice have 
 
 risen 
 
 as follows : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Car- 
 
 damoms. 
 
 lb. 
 
 Total 
 
 Exports from 
 
 1st Oct. 
 
 1885 
 
 to 30th Sept. 
 
 1886 
 
 236,056 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 do. 
 
 1885 
 
 152.405 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 66,319 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 21,655 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 23,127 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 16,069 
 
 In contrast with these instances of steady, continuous 
 progress with what may be called “ new products,” I have 
 to place the return for our staple coffee, showing an 
 equally steady decline, consequent on the weakening 
 
326 Ceylon in the Juhilee Year. 
 
 effects of the fatal leaf fungus. The export figures are as 
 follows : — 
 
 Coffee, cwt. 
 
 
 Plant- 
 
 ation. 
 
 Native. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Total Exports from 1st Oct. 
 
 1885 
 
 to 30th Sept. 
 
 1886 
 
 215,576 
 
 8,117 
 
 223,693 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 do. 
 
 1885 
 
 294,506 
 
 20,305 
 
 314,811 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 do. 
 
 1884 
 
 312.458 
 
 11,483 
 
 323.941 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 do. 
 
 1883 
 
 245.631 
 
 14.422 
 
 260.053 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 do. 
 
 1882 
 
 522.949 
 
 41,897 
 
 564,846 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 do. 
 
 1881 
 
 415,456 
 
 38,302 
 
 453,758 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 do. 
 
 1880 
 
 622.306 
 
 47.308 
 
 669,614 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1878 
 
 do. 
 
 1879 
 
 767.293 
 
 57,216 
 
 824.509 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1877 
 
 do. 
 
 1878 
 
 551,046 
 
 69,246 
 
 620,292 
 
 Do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1876 
 
 do. 
 
 1877 
 
 851,201 
 
 91,846 
 
 943,047 
 
 It is satisfactory to know that Tea is so fully taking the 
 place of coffee, over 130,000 * acre8 being now planted with 
 this product, which grows well, not only within the limits 
 of climate suited to coffee — namely, from 1,500 to 5,000 
 feet above sea-level — but from a few score of feet above, 
 or almost sea-level, to nearly 7,000 feet altitude. The 
 tea-plant is, in fact, one of the hardiest on the long list of 
 the tropical planter, and nowhere has it found a more 
 congenial home than in moist, hot Ceylon. The cry of over- 
 production has, indeed, of late, been raised in reference 
 to tea ; but if English-speaking folks in America take to 
 drinking tea in place of their favourite coffee, now 
 likely, year by year, to decrease in supply, there will be 
 a wide demand added to the present one. Moreover, so 
 far as Ceylon is concerned, it has been shown that, through 
 the great advantages possessed by the colony, that of a 
 superior quality can be produced more cheaply here than 
 in its great rival India, so that the remoter districts of the 
 latter country must first suffer. The exports in which 
 the Ceylonese people are chiefly interested, i.e., cinnamon, 
 plumbago (our only commercial mineral), essential gress 
 oils, and the products of the coconut palm, i.e., oil, 
 copra, and coir fibres, keep well up, although the crop of 
 coconuts is liable to alternate, according to the season. 
 In a favourable season, the number of nuts gathered in 
 
 * Over 150,000 acres now, in 1887. 
 
Ceylon and its Planting Industries. 
 
 327 
 
 Ceylon is now estimated at a thousand millions — the 
 greater portion, however being utilized locally for the 
 food of the people. 
 
 Briefly, the total value of our staple exports for the past 
 season may be put at £2,400,000 sterling ; while for the 
 current commercial year, October, 1886, to September, 
 1887, the following estimates prepared for the Ceylon 
 Observer from district returns, indicate a very considera- 
 ble advance : — 
 
 Season 1886-7 . — Probable Shipment of Staple Exports. 
 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Coffee 
 
 185,000 cwt. at 75/ 
 
 £693,750 
 
 Tea 
 
 14,000,000 lb. at 1/1 j 
 
 787,500 
 
 Cinchona bark 
 
 12,000,000 lb. at 8d. 
 
 400,000 
 
 Cocoa 
 
 22,000 cwt. at 80/ 
 
 88,000 
 
 Cardamoms 
 
 300,000 lb. at 2/ 
 
 30,000 
 
 Coconut oil 
 
 280,000 cwt. at 27/6 
 
 385,000 
 
 Copra 
 
 150,000 cwt. at 14/0 
 
 105,000 
 
 Coconut Poonac ... 
 
 50,000 cwt. at 7/ 
 
 17,500 
 
 Cinnamon 
 
 1,500,000 lb. at 1/3 
 
 93,750 
 
 Do. chips ... 
 
 500,000 lb. at 5d. 
 
 10,416 
 
 Plumbago 
 
 200,000 cwt. at 8/ 
 
 80,000 
 
 Coir of all kinds ... 
 
 110,000 cwt. at 15/0 
 
 84,000 
 
 Ebony 
 
 7,500 tons at 100/ 
 
 37,500 
 
 Deer Horns 
 
 2,000 cwt. at 50/ 
 
 5,000 
 
 Sapan Wood 
 
 2,500 cwt. at 40/ 
 
 5,000 
 
 Kitul Fibre 
 
 1,800 cwt. at 50/ 
 
 4,500 
 
 Essential Oils 
 
 6,500,000 oz. at Id 
 
 27,000 
 
 
 Total.. 
 
 £2,853,916 
 
 J. FEBGUSON, 
 
 Of the Ceylon Observer and Tropical Agriculturist . 
 
APPENDIX X. 
 
 THE PROSPECTS OF ENGLAND'S CHIEF 
 TROPICAL COLONY. 
 
 AN INTERVIEW WITH A CEYLON JOURNALIST (MR. JOHN 
 
 ferguson). 
 
 (From “ The Pall Mall Gazette ,” August 29th ; and “ Budget," 
 Sept. 5, 1881.) 
 
 “ We have not now ‘ all our eggs in one basket.’ At 
 present the city will not look at Ceylon as a field for 
 investment. Money is scarce owing to the fall of the 
 Oriental Bank, and our credit has been greatly damaged 
 by the collapse of the Ceylon (more properly the Mauri- 
 tius) Company. It should be known, however, that in 
 our climate, roads, railways, cheap free labour, we have 
 every encouragement for tropical agriculture in Ceylon. 
 Our natives are being so rapidly educated that by 1900 
 a.d. English will practically be the language of the 
 majority of the people. Colombo is the shipping centre 
 of the Eastern world, thanks to Sir John Coode’s new 
 harbour ; and capital judiciously invested in tea and 
 cacao culture especially, is as likely to bring a good return 
 as any agricultural enterprize I know of anywhere.” 
 Such is Mr. Ferguson’s summing-up of England’s prin- 
 cipal tropical colony. He is inclined, it will be seen, to 
 take an optimistic view of Ceylon and its future, but he 
 speaks with the accumulated experiences of twenty-three 
 years’ residence in the colony. Then he has the numerous 
 correspondents of his papers, the Ceylon Observer and the 
 Tropical Agriculturist, scattered all over the tropical world 
 where English planters are at work ; some reporting on 
 
England's Chief Tropical Colony. 329 
 
 tea in Assam; on planting prospects in Java and Fiji; 
 on the Liberian coffee in West Africa ; and on planting 
 in Brazil ; while he himself has just been making the all- 
 round-tlie-world trip, visiting California and Florida en 
 route. “ Nowhere is tropical agriculture so thoroughly 
 studied and experimented on as in Ceylon.” 
 
 Young Men Wanted. — “ We now ask for young fellows 
 of the right sort — even public schoolmen, university men 
 —any one with pluck and energy who comes determined 
 to fight his way against all odds. Do not mistake me. 
 We do not want to be flooded out by thriftless never-do- 
 weels, who have failed at everything they have turned 
 their hands to, but resolute chaps with a little capital to 
 invest, though they must first serve an arduous apprentice- 
 ship, for there is no royal road to tea-planting. No young 
 fellow should come out without some money and letters of 
 introduction to planters or merchants. A tropical country 
 is very different in its conditions from Australia and New 
 Zealand, where a man can turn to at once. Let us sup- 
 pose our model young man landed at Colombo and dis- 
 patched to a station to serve his novitiate. In some cases 
 he might have to pay from £50 to £100 a year for his 
 board and training, but if he shows any aptitude for his 
 work and is a willing horse, he would well repay his cost 
 for food and shelter.” 
 
 The Fungus Scourge. — “ The story of the coffee blight 
 is soon told. A few years ago, coffee alone was seen over 
 hundreds of square miles of hillside and valley, eastward, 
 south, and north of Adam’s Peak. Then in 18G9 the fun- 
 gus appeared, and year after year it did its deadly work, 
 and half ruined us. Here are some figures which put the 
 matter in a nutshell. Take the coffee production from 
 1847 to 1883 now. You have in 1847 an acreage of 45,000, 
 with an export of 200,000 hundredweight ; in 1857- — 85,000 
 acres, and 450,000 hundredweight ; in 1867 — 168,000 acres 
 and 868,000 hundredweight ; in 1877 — 272,000 acres, and 
 
 926.000 hundredweight ; in 1883 — 174,000 acres, and 
 
 265.000 hundredweight ; whilst 1884 is expected to give 
 from 300,000 to 350,000 hundredweight. I think we may 
 fairly say that the point of depression has been turned, if 
 the estimate proves anything like correct.” 
 
 Tea will Save us. — “ What happened after the coffee 
 blight became serious ? ” “ Why, naturally enough, many 
 
330 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 of the plantations were deserted, the capitalists took fright, 
 superintendents were thrown out of employment, and set 
 off to other countries. There was a regular migration to 
 Northern Australia, Fiji, Borneo, the Straits, California, 
 Florida, Burmah, and elsewhere. I should say that out of 
 our 1,700 planters we lost at least 400 in this way. In 
 Northern Australia, at Port Darwin, three or four of our 
 Ceylon planters have planted coffee and cinchona ; in 
 California some are busy with vines and oranges. Some 
 have gone to Florida among the orange groves ; but a 
 Florida orange grove requires twenty years to come to full 
 maturity, though the trees begin to bear long before that, 
 say in six years. There is a ready market in America for 
 the fruit, but a man requires to work hard there and to 
 know his business before his speculation is likely to prove 
 l’emunerative. But in Ceylon our indomitable planters, 
 who stuck to their posts, began to turn their attention to 
 other products — tea, cinchona, rubber, cacao ; some 175,000 
 acres of coffee being still under cultivation. Many of the 
 coffee planters ran belts of rubber trees and cinchona 
 between his coffee bushes, thus helping to check the spread 
 of the dread coffee fungus. I think the statistics show 
 that the scourge is abating; but whatever comes of coffee, 
 Ceylon will become a great tea-growing country within the 
 next few years. When the 85,000 acres of land now under 
 tea come into full bearing, in three or four years we expect 
 to export ten million pounds. Some day Ceylon will have 
 
 150.000 acres under tea, and an annual export of sixty 
 million pounds and upwards. Home capitalists have only 
 to say the word. From 482 pounds of tea exported in 
 1875-6, the amount in 1882-3 reached a million and a half 
 pounds. The yield of cacao for this year is likely to reach 
 
 10.000 cwt. Last season we exported 7,000,000 pounds of 
 cinchona bark, this year it will be 11,000,000; while of 
 cinnamon and palm tree products (grown chiefly by 
 natives) we ship nearly a million sterling’s worth. The 
 Sinhalese and Tamils are quite ready to follow the Euro- 
 pean planters in reference to the new products of late years 
 being introduced into Ceylon. They have planted the 
 cinchona, cacao, and rubber trees ; but specially are the 
 Sinhalese likely to become extensive growers of the tea 
 plant.” 
 
 The Land and the Climate. — “ Now is the time to buy 
 
331 
 
 England's Cldcf Tropical Colony. 
 
 land, for we are on tlie turn after years of depression, and 
 such land as you can now buy for 16s. an acre, may in a 
 year or two he doubled or trebled in price. Just as was 
 the case in the years between 1868 and 1875, when every 
 one was ‘ going into coffee,’ and forest land sold for £20 
 an acre in some disti'icts. Since 1833 some 1,300,000 
 acres of Crown lands have been sold (to Europeans and 
 natives), at an average price from 1833 to 1844 of 10s. 
 8d. ; from 1844 to 1883 the average has been 35s. ; and the 
 upset price now is 16s. There is no land tax, except 
 within the areas of the towns.” “And what about the 
 climate ?” “ Delightful — for the tropics most healthy, and 
 not much hotter than it has been in London during the 
 past few weeks, even at our hottest on the hills. Most of 
 the planters and their assistants enjoy the best of health, 
 though of course pioneers and those who have to work 
 through new forest and in the low country, often suffer 
 from malarious fevers. But then have you not the cool 
 mountain station to fly to as a restorer ? There is Nuwara 
 Eliya and Bandarawela, on the plateau of Uva Principality, 
 where you get coolness, with health-laden breezes — and I 
 have even broken the ice in my water jug, in a Nuwara 
 Eliya cottage. Given a change now and then, good food, 
 care, and temperance — a European is as well off as regards 
 climate (some might say better) than at home here.” 
 
 Free Labour.- — “ One of our greatest advantages is 
 ‘Free labour.’ Close at our shores are the twelve million 
 coolies of Southern India, whose average earnings are be- 
 tween £3 and £4 a year each. Yes, and he is able to live 
 on it, too, and to support a wife and family. From this 
 vast source we draw our supply of labourers, and fine w 7 ell- 
 trained, diligent fellows they become. They come over 
 with perhaps a wufe and three or four children ; they are 
 engaged for a period, a month’s notice sufficing to terminate 
 the contract on either side. There is a hut ready for them, 
 with a bit of ground for a garden, in which they grow 
 vegetables and so on ; the planter gives them a blanket 
 and food until they are able to repay him out of their earn- 
 ings. Their wages average from ninepence to a shilling a 
 day for a man ; a woman can make about 7d., and a 
 child 5d., so they are well off ; they save money, and vdien 
 they go back to their own village in a year or two’s time, 
 they have probably some five or six pounds in their pouch. 
 
3B2 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 This the careful coolie invests in a piece of land, which, 
 on his return to the Ceylon plantations, he leaves in charge 
 of a relative or a friend until he goes home again. Our 
 Kandyans, or highlanders, are splendid axemen, and it is 
 they who do the felling of our forests and the clearing of 
 the land ready for planting. Then the South Indian 
 coolies do the digging and planting. The land, by the way, 
 lies generally on timbered slopes. The axemen begin at 
 the bottom, cut each tree half through, and work up to 
 the top. The highest fringe is cut clean through, and 
 with its weight brings down the rest of the slope in the fall. 
 The Sinhalese themselves refuse to do any agricultural 
 work for Europeans. It is beneath them. They are our 
 carters, employed in taking the tea and coffee, and so on, 
 from the stations to the coast. If I remember rightly 
 there were some 13,000 licensed carts a year or two ago. 
 The Sinhalese are also our boatmen and artisans and 
 domestic servants. Now many of our Sinhalese and Tamils 
 are wealthy. One, indeed, is the richest man on the island, 
 with an income of some £20,000 a year or more. Some 
 of the coolies, I must confess, are sad thieves. You may 
 of a Sunday meet a man and his wife on the road, one of 
 them carrying a cock, the other a hen. The birds are 
 all their portable property, which they are compelled to 
 take with them while visiting some friends, lest they should 
 be stolen.” 
 
 Ceylon Railways. — “ The cost of the Colombo and 
 Kandy Railway, of 74 miles, was £1,740,000. Then an 
 extension to Nawalapitiya from Peradeniya, 17 miles, was 
 opened in 1874 ; and an extension from Kandy to Matale, 
 174 miles, in 1880. Besides these, a seaside line has been 
 constructed from Colombo to Kalutara, 274 miles. In 
 August, 1880, the first sod was turned of an extension 
 from Nawalapitiya for 42 miles to Upper Dimbula, whence 
 it was intended to be carried 25 miles farther to Haputale. 
 Altogether about 180 miles of railway, all on the 54 ft. 
 gauge, have been opened, or are under construction. But 
 there is one grievance which I should like to point out 
 concerning these railways. The length of forty-two miles 
 from Nawalapitiya to Upper Dimbula will probably be 
 opened in May, having cost £900,000 of money. But then 
 they are going to stop short instead of pushing on as was 
 proposed to Haputale, the real terminus, with new traffic, 
 
England's Chief Tropical Colony. 
 
 333 
 
 which is only 24 miles farther, and would cost £400,000, 
 and open up a vast amount of splendid country, which at 
 present is compelled to send its produce round by road, a 
 distance of 200 miles — a road which is subjected to floods, 
 too, to say nothing of the delay and cost.” 
 
 The Tea Planter at Work. — “ Let us suppose that a 
 young man has learned his business, and has a thousand 
 or two of capital. He buys 200 acres at lGs. an acre. He 
 would begin by opening up, say, twenty-five acres his 
 first year, clearing, draining, and planting. Then, in 
 his second year, he would prepare another twenty-five 
 acres. Up to and including the third year his outlay 
 would be about £20 to £25 an acre. In his third year 
 there would be a crop of tea-leaf — a small one. In the 
 fourth and fifth year he might expect, supposing that he is 
 lucky, to have a crop of tea of 400 lb., to the acre, which 
 he would lay down in England at 9d. a pound., which 
 would produce in the market from Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. a lb., 
 thus leaving a margin of 6d. profit. Then he would ad- 
 vance, not laying out too much capital to start with, but 
 gradually feeling his way. All the year round tea requires 
 one man per acre, in crop time a fuller force. It is hard 
 physical work, though there may be no absolute manual 
 labour. At five in the morning the bugle sounds for all 
 hands, the planter comes down to the muster, the coolies 
 go off to their work, the master has his coffee and follows 
 them, going on foot of course, from point to point, super- 
 vising and directing, and at 11 a.m. he returns to his 
 breakfast. Until 3 p.m. he remains indoors, attending to 
 business matters, then going out again for another spell of 
 work and inspection. And so the days pass.” “Snakes?” 
 “ Boots and clothing are a great protection against snakes, 
 and during the last sixty years I don’t think there has 
 been one case of death among the whites. The natives, of 
 course, have no protection from clothing, and are more 
 careless. In Ceylon our coffee machinery for pulping, for 
 skinning, for drying, has been brought to a state of per- 
 fection, and the machines manufactured at Colombo are 
 known throughout the tropics. It is this attention to im- 
 provements that has helped us so materially. Our planters 
 are men with ideas, which they are quick to put into force. 
 So it is with the new industries — tea, cinchona, cacao — 
 the machinery for their preparation is being improved every 
 
334 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 day. You see Ceylon is a comparatively small country, 
 and the planters are able to compare notes. A hears how 
 B is doing this, he tells it to C, they have a talk about it, 
 and so the matter grows. Each district has its little 
 centre (not to mention the health resorts on the hills), 
 where there is a club and other facilities for the intercom- 
 munication of ideas.” 
 
 The Ways of the Heathen Chinee. — “ On my way 
 from Singapore to China I fell in with a Sumatran to- 
 bacco planter who had imported Chinese coolies at a cost 
 of £7 to £10 a head, on an engagement of a nnmber of 
 years. Smallpox broke out among them. Now a China- 
 man prefers death to disfigurement ; he has no notion of 
 revolving through endless cycles with a pitted face, so they 
 took to suicide, and every morning the overseer came in 
 with his report : — ‘ Another ten to thirty pounds gone, sir. 
 One to three more of ’em found hanging to a tree just now.’ 
 This was a serious difficulty. So at last the planter issued 
 a proclamation to the effect that the body of the next hung 
 Chinaman, instead of being carefully coffined, would be 
 cut into pieces. This device stopped suicide. Another 
 curious fact respecting the peculiarities of the Chinese is 
 worth mentioning. When a Chinaman signs articles on 
 board ship one of them is that if he dies on the passage his 
 body shall be embalmed and sent back to China. In the 
 steamer between Yokohama and San Francisco, one of our 
 stokers met with an accident. The doctor said the only 
 chance for him was to cut off his leg. ‘ No, no,’ said the 
 stoker, and ‘ No, no,’ chorused his comrades. But in a 
 day or two mortification set in, and the leg was sacrificed. 
 The man died, and his friends ivere horribly savage at the 
 desecration wrought by the doctor’s knife and saw. But 
 they made the best of it and embalmed the mortified leg 
 with the dead body of poor John. The Chinese in the 
 Straits earn, if they are good workmen, about 4s. a day. 
 Perhaps, we have three Chinamen all told in Ceylon, but 
 it is curious to notice that after four days’ steaming from 
 Colombo to Singapore you are virtually in China, for the 
 Chinamen are gradually filling the Straits up. Of course 
 there is much to be said on both sides — but the Californians, 
 so far as I saw, miss their Chinese servants sadly — in fact, 
 a Chinaman is at a premium. In my opinion the time had 
 not come in Western America to stop Chinese immigra- 
 
England's Chief Tropical Colony. 335 
 
 tion. At present only traders are allowed to enter the 
 country, though for every Chinese coolie who dies one is 
 allowed to take his place. A big business is done in cer- 
 tificates from all I can hear. Why, I heard that one of 
 the most violent of the anti-Chinese agitators still kept to 
 his Chinese servants. He is not a true patriot, like the 
 Englishman who refused to eat slave-grown sugar. Some 
 two or three years ago a Queensland planter engaged 500 of 
 our Sinhalese to go to his sugar plantations. They went, 
 much to our surprise, for such a thing as Sinhalese emigra- 
 tion was unknown. They proved a bad bargain, for tbey 
 were nearly all selected from gaol-birds of the worst type. 
 Few of them ever found their way to the plantations, many 
 were absorbed in the towns, whilst a few found their way 
 back home.” 
 
 An Opening for English Girls. — “ There is just one 
 word of advice I should like to give to fathers and brothers. 
 To the latter, if you go to Ceylon or India — or to any other 
 colony, for the matter of that— arrange after you have a 
 house of your own to get your sister out with you. 
 England is overstocked with women, who are clamouring 
 for work and votes and husbands, too. Now England is 
 sending out some of her best blood to its distant posses- 
 sions. Why should the young men go and not the young 
 women ? I am convinced that the presence of his sister 
 would have saved many a young fellow, in the pioneering 
 days in the tropics, from drink and ruin, if she had been 
 there to look after his bungalow and minister to his wants. 
 Fellows used to come in from a hard day’s work on the 
 mountain slopes, fagged and weary, to their bungalow. 
 There was food for them prepared by native servants, but 
 it was often not fit to eat. So some went to the beer or 
 brandy for consolation. Things are better now, and ladies 
 more numerous ; but still, in colonizing, whether to 
 tropical or temperate climes, sister and brother may well 
 go out together. But there is no need for me to expatiate 
 on the advantages of my proposal.” 
 
 “ What do you think of the prospects of the North 
 Borneo Company ? ” I asked Mr. Ferguson, as he rose to 
 go. “ I cannot say from actual experience, but we have 
 one or two correspondents there from whom we hear now 
 and then. It took Ceylon seventeen hard years of pioneer- 
 ing before we began to think that success would be perma- 
 
336 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 nent, and North Borneo is yet a very young country. There 
 are at present a few plantations of tea, coffee, and cinchona 
 scattered along the coast, while collectors are at work in 
 the interior gathering ivory and minerals. It is like other 
 new colonies — it needs capital and men.” 
 
 Kew Gardens. — “ I cannot, by the way, over-estimate 
 the value of the work which Sir Joseph Hooker and Kew 
 Gardens do for us, not only for Ceylon, but for all the 
 tropical countries wherein fresh products are being tried. 
 The Kew authorities have correspondents and collectors in 
 all parts, and if any one wishes to try experiments he has 
 only to write to Kew for advice and specimens, which are 
 forwarded to him from the gardens. You might think that 
 it would be easier for us to send to the country where the 
 plant or fruit was indigenous rather than to England, but 
 the difficulties would often prove too great. Kew is of 
 vast service to the planters in many respects.” “ The 
 military force,” said Mr. Ferguson, in conclusion, “situated 
 in Ceylon, costs us £120,000 a year, or 10 per cent, of our 
 revenue.* Now why should we be compelled to expend 
 this sum on British troops we don’t want. It is a serious 
 grievance, l’ou use Ceylon as a convenient centre, from 
 which you may draw in case of any little war in India, in 
 China, in New Zealand, in South Africa, or Egypt. I do 
 not think it fair to impose this burden upon us.” 
 
 * This burden has since been greatly reduced, very much through 
 the influence of Governor Sir Arthur Gordon. In some other parts of 
 The Pall Mall report of this interview I have made corrections where 
 my remarks were slightly misunderstood.— J. F. 
 
APPENDIX X. 
 
 “THE SHADOW OF THE PEAK.” 
 
 ( Inserted by permission from “ The Philosophical Magazine ” 
 for January, 1887). 
 
 THE PECULIAR SUNRISE-SHADOWS OF ADAM’S PEAK IN CEYLON. 
 
 BY THE HON. RALPH ABERCROMBY, F.R. MET. SOC.* 
 
 There are certain peculiarities about the shadows of 
 Adam’s Peak which have long attracted the attention of 
 travellers ; a good deal has been written about them, and 
 several theories have been proposed to explain the observed 
 phenomena. In the course of a meteorological tour round 
 the world the author stopped in Ceylon for the express 
 purpose of visiting the Peak, and was fortunate enough to 
 see the shadow under circumstances which could leave no 
 doubt as to the true explanation, and which also entirely 
 disproved certain theories which have been propounded on 
 the subject. 
 
 The following account is taken from a paper by the 
 Rev. R. Abbay, many years resident in the island, entitled, 
 “ Remarkable Atmospheric Phenomena in Ceylon,” which 
 was read before the Physical Society of London, May 27th, 
 1876, and published in The Philosophical Magazine for 
 July, 1876. Writing from descriptions, for he himself 
 had never witnessed the appearance, Mr. Abbay says : — 
 “At sunrise apparently an enormous elongated shadow of 
 the mountain is projected to the westward, not only over 
 the land but over the sea, to a distance of seventy or eighty 
 miles. As the sun rises higher, the shadow rapidly ap- 
 
 * Read before the Physical Society on November 13th, 1836. 
 
 23 
 
3B8 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 proaclies the mountain, and appears at the same time to 
 rise before the spectator in the form of a gigantic pyramid. 
 Distant objects — a hill or a river (or even Colombo itself, 
 at a distance of forty-five miles) — may be distinctly seen 
 through it ; so that the shadow is not really a shadow on 
 the land, but a veil of darkness suspended between the 
 observer and the low coimtry. All this time it is rapidly 
 rising and approaching, and each instant becoming more 
 distinct, until suddenly it seems to fall back on the spec- 
 tator, like a ladder that has been reared beyond the 
 vertical ; and the next instant the appearance is gone. 
 For this the following explanation is proposed : — The 
 average temperature at night in the low coimtry during 
 the dry season is between 70° and 80° F., whilst that on 
 the summit of the Peak is from 80° to 40°. Consequently 
 the lower strata of air are much less dense than the 
 upper ; and an almost horizontal ray of light passing over 
 the summit must of necessity be refracted upwards and 
 suffer total internal reflection as in the case of an ordinary 
 mirage.” 
 
 It will be remarked that Mr. Abbay does not allow for 
 the difference of elevation, and the sequel will show that 
 this theory cannot be maintained. 
 
 Adam’s Peak is a mountain that rises in an abrupt cone, 
 more than 1,000 feet above the irregular chain to which 
 it belongs ; the summit reaches to 7,352 feet above the 
 sea. On the south side the mountain falls suddenly down 
 to Piatnapura, very little above the sea-level ; while on the 
 north it slopes irregularly to the high valley of the Maske- 
 liya district. The peak also lies near an elbow in the 
 main chain of mountains, as shown in the diagram of the 
 topography of the Peak (fig. 1), while a gorge runs up 
 from the north-east just to the west of the mountain. 
 When, then, the north-east monsoon blows morning mist 
 up the valley, light wreaths of condensed vapour will pass 
 to the west of the Peak and catch the shadow at sunrise 
 only, if other things are suitable. The importance of this 
 will appear later on. 
 
 The only difficulty in getting to Adam’s Peak is the 
 want of a rest-house within reasonable distance of the 
 summit. Fortunately the kindness and hospitality of T. 
 N. Christie, Esq., of St. Andrew's plantation, Maskeliya, 
 enabled the author, in company with Mr. G. Christie and 
 
“ The Shadow of the Peak.” 
 
 339 
 
 Professor Bower, of the University of Glasgow, to make 
 the ascent with great comfort and with a few necessary 
 instruments. Our party reached the summit on the night 
 of the ‘21st February, 1886, amid rain, mist, and wind. 
 Towards morning the latter subsided, but at 5 '30 a.m. the 
 sky was covered with a confused mass of nearly every 
 variety of cloud. Below and around us cumulus and 
 mist ; at a higher level, pure stratus ; above that, wild 
 cirro-stratus and fleecy cirro-cumulus. 
 
 Soon the foreglow began to brighten the under surface 
 of the stratus-cloud with orange ; lightning flickered to 
 the right of the 
 
 Ion, the hills and 
 
 valleys presenting FIG ' ^ DIAGBAM °, F THB topogkap hy ° F 
 
 . , J ADAM S PEAK. 
 
 the appearance ot 
 
 a raised relief-map ; patches of white mist fill the hollows ; 
 true cloud drove at intervals across the country, and some- 
 times masses of mist coming up from the valley enveloped 
 us with condensed vapour. 
 
 At 6 a.m. the thermometer marked 52° F. ; we had been 
 told that the phenomenon of the shadow depended on the 
 temperature at the summit falling to 30° or 40° F. ; and 
 when, shortly after, the sun rose behind a cloud, we had 
 almost lost all hope of seeing anything ; but suddenly at 
 6.30 a.m. the sun peeped through a chink in the clouds, 
 and we saw the pointed shadow of the peak lying on the 
 misty land. Driving condensed vapour was floating about, 
 
 regular layer of 
 condensed vapour; 
 while above, a pale 
 moon, with a large 
 ill-defined corona 
 round her, strug- 
 gled to break 
 through a sottish 
 mass of fleecy 
 cloud. Below lay 
 the island of Cey- 
 
 nsing sun over a 
 dense mass of 
 
 Adam’s 
 
340 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 and a fragment of rainbow-tinted mist appeared near the 
 top of the shadow. Soon this fragment grew into a com- 
 plete prismatic circle of about 8° diameter by estimation, 
 with the red outside formed round the summit of the Peak 
 as a centre. The author instantly saw that with this bow 
 there ought to be spectral figures, so he waved his arms 
 about and immediately found shadowy arms moving in 
 the centre of the rainbow. Two dark rays shot upwards 
 and outwards on either side of the centre, as shown in the 
 Diagram, fig. 2, and appeared to be nearly in a prolongation 
 
 of the lines of the slope of 
 the Peak below. The centre 
 of the bow appeared to be 
 just below the point of the 
 shadow, not on it ; because 
 we were standing on a plat- 
 form below a pointed shrine, 
 and the subjective bow 
 centred from our own eyes. 
 If we did not stand fairly out 
 in the sun, only a portion of 
 the bow could be seen. 
 Three times, within a quar- 
 ter of an hour, this appear- 
 ance w r as repeated as mist 
 drove up in proper quantities, 
 and fitful glimpses of the 
 sun gave a sufficient light 
 to throw a shadow and form 
 a bow. In every case the 
 shadow and bow were seen 
 in front of land and never 
 bound the shadow. against the sky. The last 
 
 time, when the sun was pretty high, we saw the charac- 
 teristic peculiarity of the shadow. As a thin wreath of 
 condensed vapour came up from the valley at a proper 
 height a bow formed round the shadow, while both 
 seemed to stand up in front of us, and then the shadow 
 fell down on to the land, and the bow vanished as the 
 mist passed on. 
 
 Here, then, was an unequivocal explanation of the whole 
 phenomenon. The apparent upstanding of the shadow 
 was simply the effect of passing mist which caught the 
 
“ The Shadow of the Peak .” 
 
 341 
 
 darkness of the Peak at a higher level than the earth, for 
 when the condensed vapour moved on the characteristic 
 bow disappeared, and the shadow fell to its natural plane 
 on the ground. When the mist was low, as on the two 
 first occasions, the shadow fell on the top as it were, and 
 there was no appearance of lifting, only the formation of a 
 bow. 
 
 The well-known theory of the how is that light diffracted 
 in its passage between small water-globules forms a series 
 of hows according to the size of the globules, their close- 
 ness, and the intensity of the illumination. Had the mist 
 been so fine and thin as merely to catch and raise the 
 shadow, hut not to form a bow, there might have been 
 some doubt as to the origin of the appearance. Our for- 
 tune was in the unsettled weather which made the mist 
 so coarse and close that the unequivocal bow left no doubt 
 as to the true nature of the cause. 
 
 About an hour later the sun again shone out, hut much 
 higher and stronger than before, and then we saw a 
 brighter and sharper shadow of the Peak, this time en- 
 circled by a double bow. Our own spectral arms were 
 again visible, but the shadow was now so much nearer 
 the base of the Peak, and we had to look so much down 
 on it that there was no illusion of standing up, and there 
 were no dark diverging rays. The inner bow was the one 
 we had seen before ; the outer and fainter one was due to 
 stronger light. 
 
 The hows were all so feeble and the time so short that 
 the author did not succeed in obtaining any sextant 
 measurements of the diameters of the bows ; but his 
 thermometric observations conclusively disprove any idea 
 of mirage. At 6 a.m. the thermometer on the Peak 
 marked 52° F., while at Colombo the temperature stood 
 at 74°-85. The difference of 22°-85 is just about the 
 normal difference in temperature due to a height of 7,852 
 feet. 
 
 The Colombo figures were procured through the courtesy 
 of the Surveyor-General for Ceylon. They are got as 
 follows : — Colombo observations only give the minimum 
 that morning as 73°-6 F. and the 7 a.m. reading as 75° - 5. 
 The mean curve of diurnal temperature for the month of 
 February, as determined by the Office, gives a difference 
 of 0 o- 65 between the 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. observations; and 
 
342 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 by subtracting that correction from 75°-5 we get 74°-85 as 
 the 6 a.m. reading. 
 
 The questions have been frequently asked — Why this 
 lifted shadow should be peculiar to Adam’s Peak ? why a 
 similar appearance is not observed from any other moun- 
 tain top ? and why the shadow is rarely seen at sunset ? 
 There are not many mountains which are habitually 
 visited that are either over 7,000 feet, or that rise in an 
 isolated, well-defined pyramid. Still fewer can there be 
 where a steady wind, for months together, blows up a 
 valley so as to project the rising morning mist at a suit- 
 able height and distance on the western side to catch the 
 shadow of the peak at sunrise. The shadow is not seen 
 during the south-west monsoon, for then the mountain is 
 covered with cloud and deserted. Nowhere either do we 
 find at sunset those light mists lying near the ground 
 which are so characteristic of sunrise, and whose presence 
 is necessary to lift the shadow. 
 
 The combination of a high isolated pyramid, a prevailing 
 wind, and a valley to direct suitable mist at a proper 
 height on the western side of the mountain, is probably 
 only rarely met with ; and at present nothing yet has been 
 described that exactly resembles this sunrise shadow of 
 Adam’s Peak in the green island of Ceylon. 
 
 But there is another totally different shadow which is 
 sometimes seen from Adam’s Peak, just before and at the 
 moment of sunrise, that has been mixed up in some 
 accounts with the shadow we have just described. The 
 shadow of the base of the Peak stretches along the land 
 to the horizon, and then the shadow of the summit appears 
 to rise up and stand against the distant sky. The first 
 part seems to be the natural shadow lying on the ground ; 
 and the sky part to be simply the ordinary earth shadow 
 of twilight projected so clearly against the sky as to show 
 mountainous irregularities of the earth’s surface. As the 
 sun rises the shadow of the summit against the sky gradu- 
 ally sinks to the horizon, and then the ordinary shadow 
 grows steadily shorter as the sun gets higher in the usual 
 manner. This can only be seen at sunrise from Adam’s 
 Peak, because the ground to the east is too high and 
 mountainous to allow the shadow of the summit to fall on 
 the sky before the sun is too far down. 
 
 The author found a similar effect, only at sunset, on 
 
The Shadow of the Peak.” 
 
 343 
 
 il 
 
 Pike’s Peak, Colorado, 14,147 feet above the sea, and 
 nearly double the height of Adam’s Peak. There, towards 
 sunset, the shadow of the mountain creeps along the level 
 prairie to the horizon, and there begins to rise up in the 
 sky till the sun has just gone down, and the anticrepus- 
 cular shadow rises too high to catch the outline of the 
 Peak. The author only witnessed a portion of this 
 sequence, for just about the time that the shadow 
 stretched to the horizon clouds obscured the sun, and the 
 rise of the shadow could not be observed ; but from all the 
 descriptions he heard there can be no doubt that the 
 character of the shadow is identical with that of Adam’s 
 Peak, only that, as the order of sequence is reversed, it is 
 more easy to follow the origin of the shadows. 
 
 Since the above was written the author’s attention has 
 been called to the sketch of the shadow exhibited by the 
 well-known traveller, Miss C. F. Gordon Cumming, in the 
 Colonial Exhibition. This picture represents the shadow 
 lying down, but not raised, on an irregular surface of 
 white mist and mountain tops. The most interesting 
 thing is a prismatic fringe of colour along the straight 
 outside edges of the shadow ; but there is no trace of a 
 bow round its point. 
 
 When we consider how much the appearance of the 
 shadow depends on the height, size, and aggregation of 
 the mist we need not be surprised at the numerous phases 
 of reflection and refraction that have been described by 
 travellers ; but the general principles which have been 
 laid down in this paper appear to govern all. 
 
 [Since the above was written, the Rev. R. Abbay has 
 come forward to dispute some of the conclusions arrived 
 at by Mr. Abercrombv, and, indeed, to controvert his 
 main contention. — J. F.] 
 
APPENDIX XII. 
 
 TEA IN CEYLON. 
 
 The following useful infoinnation u-as prepared hy The 
 Planters’ Association of Ceylon, and circulated at 
 the late Indian and Colonial Exhibition at South Ken- 
 sington in 1886. 
 
 In the minds of the British public the name of Ceylon 
 has been chiefly associated with the production of coffee 
 and spices : the latter in poetry, but in poetry only, im- 
 parting their fragrance to the very air. 
 
 While Ceylon coffee and Ceylon spices are of superior 
 quality and remain most important articles of trade, it is 
 Ceylon tea that is rapidly becoming the staple product, 
 and the one for which the island will soon he most cele- 
 brated. 
 
 Seldom or never has an industry made such progress, or 
 a new article of consumption overcome by its intrinsic 
 merit the opposition of vested trade interests as has 
 Ceylon tea. 
 
 In 1873 the exports of tea from Ceylon were 231bs. ; in 
 1885, they have been 44 million lbs. ; in 1886 they will 
 be about 10 million lbs.; and in the near future 40 million 
 lbs. will be exported. 
 
 The area under tea in the island is rapidly extending, 
 and already about 120,000 acres have been planted. Over 
 700 European planters and 150,000 Indian and Sinhalese 
 labourers are engaged in the cultivation. Some of the 
 plantations are but little above sea level, while others run 
 up to an elevation of 6,000 feet. The average altitude 
 of the larger districts is about 4,000 feet above sea level, 
 
Tea in Ceylon. 
 
 345 
 
 an elevation at which the climate is pleasant and most 
 healthy. A railway runs up into the hills and a good 
 system of cart roads exists, so that most of the estates are 
 already within a day’s journey from Colombo — the capital 
 and shipping port. 
 
 At a time when dietetics has almost become a science, 
 when purity and cleanliness in food and beverages are so 
 
 COOLIE GIRL PICKING TEA-LEAVES. 
 
 strongly insisted on, it is strange that greater attention 
 has not been called to the more than doubtful nature 
 of much of that which is consumed as tea. 
 
 It has been said that, if to be an Englishman is to eat 
 beef, to be an Englishwoman is to drink tea. True it is 
 that the article which in the sixteenth century was a 
 luxury, costing ten guineas a pound and consumed by 
 
346 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 a hundred people, has in the nineteenth century become a 
 necessity, costing two shillings a pound and consumed by 
 millions. 
 
 Did the people of Britain thoroughly understand the 
 difference between British -grown tea — such as Ceylon’s — 
 and that of China or Japan, it is certain that those who 
 could get the pure, clean, machine-prepared leaf which is 
 turned out from the planter’s factory, would never touch 
 the far from pure article prepared by the hands and feet 
 of the unwashed Mongolian. 
 
 In China and Japan tea is mostly cultivated in small 
 patches by the peasantry, who gather the leaves and pre- 
 pare the tea in their huts in a very unfastidious manner. 
 The tea, either in a half-manufactured or finished state, is 
 sold to petty dealers, who in turn sell to larger dealers. 
 
 The large dealer mixes and manipulates teas, packs and 
 sells them to the European merchants for shipment to 
 England, Australia, or America. The manipulation of tea 
 is an art in which the Chinaman excels, and in many of the 
 inferior kinds the quality is infinitely deteriorated — thus, 
 “ the dust of the leaf is mixed with clay and manipulated 
 into the form of the ordinary leaf ” — this is with appro- 
 priate philological coincidence termed “ lie ” tea. “ Tea 
 leaves which have been already used are again manipulated 
 and rolled into shape and sold as genuine tea.” 
 
 The teas of Japan, which are almost entirely consumed 
 by our American cousins, are frequently and admittedly 
 “ faced ” with a mixture of Prussian blue and soapstone. 
 
 The Ceylon estate cultivation and manufacture is very 
 different, and it may not be uninteresting to give a brief 
 account of how pure tea is made. Visitors to the Ceylon 
 Court in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition will find an 
 interesting series of photographs from life, attached to the 
 exhibits of tea, illustrating the various operations. 
 
 The tea bushes are planted in lines at regular distances 
 over hundreds of acres of carefully roaded and drained 
 land, which is regularly weeded every month. Once a year 
 the bushes are pruned down to a height of about two feet ; 
 and eight weeks after the pruning the first “flush” of 
 young shoots is ready to be plucked, and during the height 
 of the season the flushes re-occur every ten days. Coolies, 
 having a small basket attached to their girdle, then go 
 round and pluck the bud and a couple of the tender half- 
 
Tea in Ceylon. 
 
 347 
 
 developed leaves. At mid-day, and again in tlie evening, 
 
 tlie leaf is weighed and taken into the factory. The leaf 
 
 WEIGHING-IN GREEN TEA-LEAF ON A TEA ESTATE. 
 
348 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 is at once spread very thinly on trays or shelves to wither. 
 The time which the leaf takes to wither — to become soft 
 and pliable without drying up — varies with the weather, 
 hut as a rule the leaf gathered one day will be sufficiently 
 withered the following day. 
 
 The withered leaf is then placed in the rolling-machine, 
 an ingenious and effective machine which is driven by 
 water or steam power. The rolling lasts for nearly half- 
 an-hour, at the end of that time the leaf has become a 
 moist mass of twisted and bruised leaves, out of which 
 the expressed juice freely comes, technically called “the 
 roll.” The roll is then placed in trays to ferment or 
 oxidise ; during this process it changes from a green to 
 a copper colour. The subsequent strength and flavour of 
 the tea depend, to a great extent, upon the fermentation — 
 a chemical process, the success of which is not entirely 
 within the control of the planter, but depends greatly 
 on the weather, and takes a time varying from two to six 
 hours. 
 
 The next process is that of firing. The roll is thinly 
 spread on trays, and placed either over charcoal stoves or 
 in large iron drying-machines, and at the end of half-an- 
 hour it is thoroughly crisp and dried, and has become tea. 
 The tea is then sorted or sized, by being passed through 
 sieves of different meshes (see working model of a tea-sifter 
 in the Ceylon Court) giving the varieties of broken-pekoe, 
 pekoe, souchong, congou, and dust. The broken-pekoe, 
 which consists chiefly of the opening bud of the leaf, gives 
 the strongest tea, perhaps too strong a tea to be infused 
 by itself ; and a mixture of pekoe and souchong makes the 
 most pleasant drinking tea. 
 
 The final process is that of weighing and packing. 
 When a sufficient quantity has been manfactured the 
 tea is again slightly fired, to drive off any suspicion of 
 moisture, and packed while warm in lead-lined boxes 
 carefully soldered down to exclude air. 
 
 Such is the mode of careful, cleanly preparation in the 
 specially erected factory of the Ceylon planter ; and every 
 drinker of genuine Ceylon tea may be certain that it is 
 absolutely pure. 
 
 Ceylon tea stands unrivalled for its combination of 
 strength and flavour ; and the pure tea gives a beverage 
 pleasant and beneficial to those who drink it. One 
 
Tea in Ceylon. 
 
 349 
 
 cannot doubt that, were the well-meaning evangelists in 
 the cause of temperance to realize the difference between 
 pleasantly-strong well-flavoured stimulating tea and the 
 “ wishy - washy ” decoction infused from the cheaper 
 China teas, their efforts to substitute “ the cup which 
 does not inebriate ” for that which does might be made 
 much more successful. 
 
 In addition to the other good qualities, Ceylon tea 
 possesses that of being economical ; for it is generally 
 admitted that two pounds of Ceylon will go as far as three 
 pounds of China. 
 
 The tea you drink should be — 
 
 1. — Pure. 
 
 2. — Wholesome. 
 
 3. — Pleasant. 
 
 4. - — Economical. 
 
 And Ceylon tea justly claims pre-eminence on these 
 grounds. 
 
 Would-be purchasers of Ceylon tea must be warned 
 that there is danger (just as there is with everything 
 which has earned a good name and become popular) of a 
 spurious or admixed article being sold instead of what is 
 genuine. 
 
APPENDIX XIII. 
 
 WORKS OF PUBLIC INTEREST EXECUTED, AND 
 ENDOWMENTS MADE, BY THE DE SOYS A 
 FAMILY, AND CHIEFLY BY C. H. DE SOYSA, 
 Esq. 
 
 Roads. — Cart road from Haragama to Len Oya. Good 
 cart road at a point near eleventh mile post on Galle road. 
 Good cart road farther north on same road. Good cart 
 road tenth mile post at village Angulana. Several roads 
 in the Cliilaw district. Good cart road in populous villages 
 terminating at Mampe. Excellent cart road from Polgas 
 0 witte in Salpity Korale crossing village Mattegodde, 
 terminating at Delgaha Manatte. The -widening and re- 
 pairing of many roads in and about Moratuwa. 
 
 Fields and Taxes. — The building of the Malluwawawe 
 at Gonagama. Irrigating a large held at Kandevalle, with 
 a view to giving employment to the neighbouring destitute 
 villagers. 
 
 Aubalams, &c. — A comfortable rest-house for the use of 
 the foot passengers at Haragama. An extensive and well- 
 kept cemetery at Moratuwa for both strangers and members 
 of the congregation. Rest-house at Moratuwa with sepa- 
 rate compartments for both sexes. 
 
 Churches. — The church at Hanguranketta. A fine 
 church at Maravilla. St. John’s, Panadura. Holy 
 Emmanuel’s, Moratuwa. Contributions towards building 
 the churches at Negombo and Kurunegala. The Pana- 
 dura burial ground, which was liable to inundations, was 
 raised at a large cost. 
 
 Hospitals. — Building of the Hospital at Maravilla. 
 
Works of Public Interest Executed. 
 
 351 
 
 The De Soysa Museum and the Lying-in Home at Colombo. 
 Panadura Hospital. 
 
 Schools. — Schools at Koralawelle ; Prince and Princess 
 of Wales’ Colleges, costing Es. 150,000. Donation, 
 Es.30,000 to St. Thomas’ College ; donation to the Jaffna 
 College. 
 
 Public Eeceptions. — Reception to the Duke of Edin- 
 burgh, costing £10,000. Establishment of “ Alfred Model 
 Farm,” £10,000. 
 
 Societies. — The establishment of the Moratuwa Co- 
 operative Society for the improvement of people. Estab- 
 lishment by Jeronis De Soysa, Mudaliyar, of the Society 
 called Satarana Sarana Samagama — the Gansabawa being 
 the outcome. 
 
 Improvements to Town. — By building Fort Offices, 
 Cottages, Slave Island Buildings. 
 
 Relief Funds. — Subscription to Relief Funds. 
 
 Translation of Books. — Undertook cost of translating 
 Hitliopadesa into Sinhalese. 
 
 Houses. — Building two cottages at Mount Lavinia, the 
 income of which goes towards the expenses of Emmanuel 
 Church. 
 
 Libraries. — Establishment of Library at Moratuwa. 
 Besides various other acts in Ceylon, too numerous to 
 mention. 
 
 Add to these the £1,000 which Mr. de Soysa handed to 
 Sir Arthur Birch, Commissioner for Ceylon at the Indian 
 and Colonial Exhibition in September, 1886, for the pur- 
 chase of the fittings of the Ceylon Court as a contribution 
 to the Imperial Institute, and £500 in cash for these Insti- 
 tutions ; and £1,000 given to the London Hospitals as a 
 memento of his first visit to England, in November, 1886. 
 
APPENDIX XIV. 
 
 BENEFACTIONS BY S. D. A. EAJEPAKSE, Esq. 
 
 Entertainment. — To the sailors of the men-of-war which 
 brought His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to Ceylon : 
 R3.000. 
 
 Contribution to the Colombo “ Friend-in-Need Society.” 
 — In commemoration of the visit to Ceylon of their Royal 
 Highnesses, Albert Victor and George, the sons of the 
 Prince of Wales : R1,000. 
 
 Contribution to the Colombo “ Friend-in-Need Society.” 
 — To help the Society when it was in want of funds : 
 R1.000. 
 
 Rajepakse Prize. — Annual value, R100. In connection 
 with the Royal College, Colombo. 
 
 Rajepakse Prize. — For midwifery, in connection with 
 the Medical College, Colombo. Annual value, R100. 
 
 Weeresinghe Prize. — To perpetuate the memory of A. 
 W. M. Weeresinghe, in connection with St. Thomas’s 
 College, Colombo. Annual value, R100. 
 
 Endowed “ Duke of Edinburgh’s Scholarship.” — In 
 commemoration of the visits of His Royal Highness the 
 Duke of Edinburgh to Ceylon ; Principal R8,000 ; in con- 
 nection with St. Thomas’s College, Colombo. 
 
 Endowed “ Gregory Scholarship.” — In commemoration 
 of the eminent services of Sir W. H. Gregory, K.C.M.G., 
 as Governor of Ceylon ; Principal, RS,000 ; in connection 
 with St. Thomas’s College, Colombo. 
 
 Endowed “ Prince of Wales’ Exhibitions.” — In com- 
 memoration of the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince 
 of Wales ; Principal, R1 0,000 ; in connection with St. 
 Thomas’s College, Colombo. 
 
Benefactions by S. D. A. Rajepakse, Esq. 353 
 
 Contribution to the “ Gregory Statue.” — In com- 
 memoration of the administration of the Government in 
 Ceylon by Sir W. H. Gregory, Iv.C.M.G. : R5,000. 
 
 Contribution to the “ Galue Clock Tower.” — Erected 
 in commemoration of the eminent services of P. E. 
 Anthonisz, Esq., M.D. : Pi3,500. 
 
 Contribution. — To the relief of the villagers distressed 
 by the flood of 1872 : R2,000. 
 
 24 
 
APPENDIX XV. 
 
 [As a curiosity and of special interest to English readers, 
 we give the following “ Genealogical Tree” of one of Cey- 
 lon’s worthiest sons and most generous philanthropists.] 
 
 GENEALOGICAL TABLE, 
 
 SHOWING THE DESCENT OF S. D. A. RAJEPAKSE, MUDALIYAR OF 
 his excellency’s GATE, AND J.P. FOR THE ISLAND. 
 
 B. D. A. Rajepakse, + 
 
 Mudaliyar of the 
 Grand Ronda. 
 
 A. D. A. Rajepakse,: 
 MahaVidane, Mu- 
 daliyar ofWelitara 
 District. 
 
 Daughter of Lewis Mendis 
 Wickremanaike, Atta- 
 patoo Mudaliyar of Maha 
 Badda. 
 
 Caroline de Soyza Wijey- 
 sirriwardena. 
 
 A. D. A. Rajepakse, Mudliyar 
 of Mutwal and Welisara 
 Districts. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse, 
 
 Mudaliyar of His Excellency’s Gate, and J.P. 
 for the Island. 
 
 FURTHER PARTICULARS. 
 
 Carlo de Miranda, First Inter- 
 preter and Chief Mudaliyar of 
 the Maha Badda. 
 
 Solomon de Miranda, First In- 
 terpreter and Chief Mudaliyar 
 of the Maha Badda. 
 
 R. de Zoysa Rajepakse, Maha 
 Yidane Mudaliyar of Maha 
 Badda. 
 
 S. de Zoysa Rajepakse, Cappina 
 Mudaliyar, and Mudaliyar of 
 Calna Modera District. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s 
 
 Maternal Grandmother’s 
 Grandfather. 
 
 Maternal Grandmother’s 
 Father. 
 
 Maternal Great-grand- 
 father. 
 
 Maternal Grandfather. 
 
Genealogical Table. 
 
 355 
 
 GENEALOGICAL TABLE, 
 
 TRACING THE DESCENT OF S. D. A. RAJEPAKSE (THROUGH HIS 
 MOTHER) TO CARLO DE MIRANDA, FIRST INTERPRETER AND 
 CHIEF MUDALIYAR OF THE MAHA BADDA. 
 
 Carlo de Miranda, First Interpreter + 
 and Chief Mudaliyar of the Malia I 
 Badda. 
 
 Solomon de Miranda — First Interpreter and=p 
 Chief Mudaliyar of the Maha Badda. | 
 
 Susana de Miranda Solomon de Sosa Rajepakse, 
 | Kappina Mudaliyar. 
 
 Caroline + A. D. A. Rajepakse, Mudaliyar of 
 Mutwal and Welisara Districts. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse, Mudaliyar of His Excellency’s 
 Gate, and J.P. for the Island. 
 
 FURTHER PARTICULARS. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s (Mudaliyar) Mother’s Father. — S. 
 de Zoysa Rajepakse, Kappina Mudaliyar and Mudaliyar 
 of Ivalna Modera District. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajapakse’s Mother’s Grandfather (father’s 
 father). — R. de Zoysa Rajepakse, Maha Yidane Mudaliyar 
 of Maha Badda. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Father. — A. D. A. Rajepakse, 
 Mudaliyar of Mutwal and Welisara Districts. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Grandfather. — A. D. A. Rajepakse, 
 Maha Yidane Mudaliyar of Welitara District. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Great-grandfather. — B. D. A. Raje- 
 pakse, Mudaliyar of Grand Ronda. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Paternal Grandmother. — The 
 daughter of Lewis Mendis Wickremanaike, Attapatoo 
 Mudaliyar of Maha Badda. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Maternal Great-grandfather. — 
 R. de Zoysa Rajepakse, Maha Yidane Mudaliyar of Maha 
 Badda. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Maternal Grandfather.- — S. de 
 Zoysa Rajepakse, Cappina Mudaliyar, and Mudaliyar of 
 Calna Modera Districts. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Maternal Grandmother’s Father. — 
 
356 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Solomon de Miranda, First Interpreter and Chief Muda- 
 liyer of the Maha Badda. 
 
 S. D. A. Rajepakse’s Maternal Grandmother’s Grand- 
 father. — Carlo de Miranda, First Interpreter and Chief 
 Mudaliyar of the Maha Badda. 
 
APPENDIX XVI. 
 
 COLOMBO AND THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE AT 
 KELANIYA. 
 
 The following lively description by Julian Thomas (“ The 
 Vagabond ” of the Melbourne Argus), of bis two days’ visit 
 to Colombo, will be read with interest : — 
 
 “ The eleventh morning out from Albany, at daylight, 
 Point de Galle or Matara is visible. Low shores, then 
 rolling foothills, then a high mountain chain towering 
 into the clouds ; over all, the peculiar soft olive-blue haze 
 which denotes the presence of dense tropical vegetation. 
 White mist lies in the valleys, giving the appearance of 
 lakes overshadowed by the mountains. I am reminded of 
 the Gulf of Darien as I first saw it twenty years ago at 
 early morn. Tennent well says that this island, from 
 whatever direction it may be approached, ‘ unfolds a 
 scene of loveliness and grandeur unsurpassed, if it be 
 rivalled, by any land in the universe.’ 
 
 “From the sea, Ceylon appears like the mountain region 
 of Otago, New Zealand, planted in the midst of a tropical 
 garden. Verily ‘every prospect pleases’ here. Now and 
 then in the dense coconut grove one sees glimpses of 
 colour in a red-tiled roof or brown thatch. There is a 
 heavy population — nearly three millions — in a country 
 one-sixth less than the area of Ireland, and a large portion 
 of which is covered by mountain ranges. A large number 
 live, if not entirely on the water, at least by the products 
 of the sea. Fishing catamarans are sailing up and down 
 the coast, and we pass many of them lying-to and drawing 
 in their nets. The style of boat is known to every school- 
 boy. It is nearly the same as the wotja canoe of the South 
 
358 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Seas. The sixty miles coasting voyage between Galle and 
 Colombo is altogether one of the most beautiful in the 
 world. We see Kalutara at the mouth of a large river. 
 A charming settlement this, twenty-seven miles south of 
 Colombo, with which it is connected by railway, being 
 known as the Richmond of Ceylon. Twenty miles farther 
 on is Mount Lavinia, another popular seaside resort, where 
 a monster hotel bids for custom. And now the shore 
 becomes dotted with bungalows, there is a break in the 
 palm grove, and Colombo is ahead. A city of high 
 buildings, towers, cupolas, red-tiled roofs, open spaces, 
 flowering trees, green lawns — a magnificent capital of 
 120,000 inhabitants, a mixture of Shanghai and Old 
 Panama and Honolulu. Verdure everywhere, colour 
 everywhere, life everywhere. We round Sir John Coode’s 
 Breakwater, and in the harbour are ships of many nations 
 — British, French, Italian, and German steamers, an 
 English gunboat, and native sailing craft of an infinite 
 variety. A brigantine well-sailed passes us. She is of 
 English build, but is manned entirely by blacks. Bound 
 this to the Eastern Maldives or the coast of India. But 
 it is strange to see the children of Ham ‘ running ’ a vessel 
 of their own. The Australian is here brought face to face 
 with the fact that there is a civilization other and older 
 than his own. Catamarans of all sorts and sizes crowd 
 around the vessel. Every variety of Oriental race and 
 costume is represented. The light-brown native Sinhalese, 
 with then - long black hair secured by huge tortoiseshell 
 combs, have an effeminate appearance which makes new 
 chums mistake all the males for women. The conquering 
 Tamils, from Southern India, are darker and more manly. 
 There are Hindus of every cast and style of undress — 
 ‘ Moormen,’ tumbles, tall muscular Afghans, Parsees and 
 Chinese, swarthy Malays, and Eurasians (fat and oily) of 
 Dutch and Portuguese descent. All from the magnifi- 
 cently attired dealer in the precious stones of Birmingham 
 to the scantily-clad boatmen, appear to have been waiting 
 from their creation for the arrival of the Borne to screech 
 at us in a babel of tongues ; to rush up the gangway and 
 storm us with applications to buy ; to be filled with an 
 overpowering desire to take away our washing, or to cairy 
 us off to the Grand Oriental Hotel or the Galle Face Hotel. 
 And as they fight and yell on one side of the ship, there 
 
Colombo and the Buddhist Temple at Kelaniya. 359 
 
 comes a chorus from the other, ‘ Habbadibe ! Habbadibe ! ’ 
 which, being interpreted, means, ‘ Have a dive,’ signifying 
 that the hundreds of little rascals, nearly naked, who are 
 floating about on pieces of wood, or paddling frog-like in 
 the water, are willing to dive for our amusement and their 
 own profit after any silver coins we may throw overboard. 
 
 * Good-day, Sahib ; Habbadibe ! Habbadibe ! ’ they shout, 
 keeping a sing-song time. A sixpence or a shilling 
 dropped into the water sends fifty pairs of legs into the 
 air ; for a second the white soles of their feet are seen, 
 another second, and arms and heads flash up again, and 
 one of the lads shows the coin before pouching it like a 
 monkey. Sometimes a fight takes place, but it is of a 
 bloodless character. 
 
 “ Colour is the prevailing feature ; a red waist cloth or a 
 rag bound round the head, contrasting with the dusky 
 skins, has an effect which, en masse, pleases the eye. 
 Nothing can make our Australian larrikins beautiful, but 
 the meanest Oriental here is picturesque. To our colonial- 
 born youth these natives suggest so much. Visions of 
 the Arabian Nights are conjured up. Those of us who 
 have read the Thousand and One Tales, think of AladdiD 
 and Sinbad, of the Old Man of the Sea, and the Hunch 
 back of Bagdad, as celebrated in literature as he of Notre 
 Dame. Many of us make up our minds to do the Haroun 
 al Raschid’s trick here, and see what adventure may 
 happen to the adventurous. But first to get ashore. I 
 let a Moorman, ‘ Abdallah ’ by name, a runner for the 
 Grand Oriental Hotel, take possession of me, and form 
 one of a party in a steam launch which for sixpence a head 
 lands us on the quay. Two minutes’ walk to the hotel. 
 I engage a room, and then a carriage, and with Abdallah, 
 who professes he knows all the city, I drive around 
 Colombo. I have first three well-known men to see and 
 interview — Arabi Pasha, Mr. John Ferguson, and Colonel 
 Olcott. Ahmad Arabi, Egyptian exile, lives at Elizabeth 
 House, Mackenzie Place, in the Cinnamon Gardens. The 
 residence is an ordinary bungalow, with no particular 
 style about it. The Malay policeman who receives my 
 card expresses his doubts as to whether the ‘ Badger,’ as 
 he pronounces ‘ Pasha,’ will see me. But Arabi and 
 myself have mutual friends, and I soon have the pleasure 
 of shaking hands with him and Yacoob Sarny, another 
 
3G0 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 exile. "We liave cigarettes and coffee, and Arabi, who 
 now speaks English fairly well, expresses his pleasure at 
 hearing that Colonel J. M. Morgan is United States 
 Consul at Melbourne. We do not talk politics, and in 
 truth our conversation is limited. It is very strange to 
 think that this quiet-looking gentleman in the fez was five 
 years ago master of Egypt. A son of the soil, a fellah, 
 whose kindred are bare-footed tillers of earth, Ahmad 
 Arabi is the most remarkable man in his country since the 
 days of Mahomet Ali. ‘ The Wallace of Egypt,’ I once 
 styled him to an enthusiastic Scotchman in the ‘Far 
 North ’ of South Australia. 
 
 “I do not think there is a city in the world so beautiful 
 in the luxuriant verdure which clothes it as this. As one 
 drives about Colombo the botanist has great pleasure in 
 noting the trees, the flowers, and the shrubs. One ad- 
 mires the graceful waving coconut palms ( cocas nucifera), 
 the plumes of the betel palm ( areca catechu), of which Dr. 
 Hooker wrote — ‘ The cultivated areca raises its graceful 
 head and feathery crown like an arrow shot from heaven 
 m luxuriance and beauty above the verdant slopes ; ’ and 
 the fan beauty of the Travellers’ tree {reeven el a Madagas- 
 carensis). You pass along avenues where Suriya trees 
 (■ thespesia populnea ) cast their shade, with their poplar- 
 like foliage and large yellow flowers ; you notice the heart- 
 shaped leaves and yellow-pink flowers of the tulip tree, 
 often used to line a garden wall or rail. Great specimens 
 of the pterocarpus indicus spread their shady boughs over- 
 head. Now you see your familiar friend, the silky oak 
 ( Grevillea robusta ) lining the roadway with yellow flower- 
 heads hiding among the fringe-like leaves. Beside the 
 bungalows are Australian slie-oaks [casuarina equisilifolia), 
 their height and vigour of growth here being remarkable. 
 Banyans with hanging aerial roots stand beside that 
 beautiful sight, the Flamboyante, or flame tree (poinciana 
 regia), with its large feathery, twice-pinnate leaves and 
 bunches of scarlet flowers. There, too, is the sacred Bo 
 tree [ficus religiosa) of the Buddhists, whose aspen leaves 
 have the midribs prolonged into a tail-like extremity. As 
 you listen to the rattling, rustling noise of the leaves 
 shaken by the wind, you think of the superstition of the 
 Hindus that connects this with the spirits of their departed 
 Brahmins. The green foliage is exquisite, and the shade 
 
Colombo and the Buddhist Temple at Kelaniya. 361 
 
 most inviting. Here is the coral tree (erythrina inclica), 
 bearing triangular leaves and curled combs of scarlet 
 flowers on the topmost boughs. You notice the palmate 
 foliage and warty bark of the eriodendron anfructuosum. 
 The bauhinia purpurea and variegata add their share of 
 shade and colour. Among the leaves, shaped into two 
 rounded halves, long pods hang at this season. There is 
 an airiness and lightness about the great tamarinds 
 ( tamarindus indicus ) ; from the at present bare boughs of 
 the silk cotton tree ( bonibax malabaricum ) hang round 
 pointed pods just bursting to shower flakes of white down 
 over their neighbours. This cotton is used for stuffing 
 pillows and mattresses here. A grand tree is the Ceylon 
 oak ( scherchera trijuga), so like in general appearance to 
 the British oak. Beside it grows the large-leaved carrega 
 arborea, and overspreading the roadway is the rain tree or 
 iuga saman ( calliandra fuaman), having foliage somewhat 
 like the false acacia, and crown-shaped flower heads of 
 pink colour. The air is perfumed with the fragrance 
 emitted from the white flowers of the frangipanni, that 
 with long leaves cluster at the end of the thick naked 
 shoots. 
 
 “ Besides all these, cultivated for their beauty and their 
 shade, one sees great groves of fruit trees, the jak trees 
 (■ artocarpus integrifolia), so much grown by the natives, 
 whose huge fruit, hanging from the boughs and trunk, 
 varies in weight when ripe between 301b and 501b. The 
 pulp containing the albuminous seeds tastes very like a 
 banana. Bread-fruit trees ( artocarpus incisa), closely allied 
 to the above, you notice in the groves, also the plan- 
 tain and bananas raise their broad light-green leaves 
 among them with clusters of fruit. Many are the mango 
 trees ( mauganifera indica ) planted about. A noble tree is 
 the wild bread-fruit ( artocarpus nobilis), its large vein-fur- 
 rowed leaves casting a delightful shade. Most beautiful 
 are the gardens — a wealth of colouring, a luxuriance of 
 vegetation. There are hedges of aclypha tricolor, whose 
 leaves are variegated, yellow, red and brown ; and also 
 of aclypha bicolor, tinted green and yellow, with the pea- 
 cock flower ( poinciana pidcherrma), and borderings to the 
 pathways of feathery aralia Guilfoylii, called after our 
 own botanist. In the shade of the great trees and palms 
 around the bungalows grow innumerable species of crotons, 
 
862 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 mingling their many-tinted leaves, showing all shades 
 between brown, purple, yellow, red and green. There, too, 
 flourishes the hibiscus, whose bright, scarlet flowers catch 
 your eye. One variety is called the “ slioe-flower,” 
 because you can blacken and polish your boots with its 
 crushed petals. You see these plants in the hedge-rows 
 mingling with an arborescent sunflower ( stifflia crysantha). 
 Here, again, are the pninsettia pulcherrima, with its bright 
 scarlet, calycine leaf-like bracts, and the ever-flowering 
 oleander ( nerium oleander). A curious specimen is the 
 potatoe tree ( solatium macrantlia ), resembling a great over- 
 grown potatoe plant. The exquisite purple of the bougain- 
 villea spectabilis overspreads verandahs and arbours, and 
 alamandas add their yellow blossoms. Now and then 
 you see a spathodea — large-leaved, and bearing great red 
 flowers. Often you notice the orange vermilion blossoms 
 of the West Indian coast bramble ( lantava mixta), intro- 
 duced by Lady Ward from Australia, and now fast over- 
 spreading the waste land of the island. At intervals, 
 great clumps of bamboo add their feathery beauty, and 
 you even see the castor oil tree ( ricinus communis) grown 
 in gardens, w r ith occasionally the nutmeg ( myristica 
 officinalis). Add to these the cinnamon, and there is such a 
 wealth of botany and floral beauty in Colombo as you will 
 find nowhere else in the world ; and the most extraordi- 
 nary thing is, that all this beautiful and useful vegetation 
 has been imported, none of the trees and plants I have 
 mentioned being indigenous to Ceylon. But Ceylon is still 
 essentially a Buddhist country, the nominal followers of 
 this form of faith forming nearly 62 per cent, of the popu- 
 lation. The Buddhists are divided into two sections, the 
 Siamese and Burmese, and I believe they quarrel as much 
 as the High and Low Church factions in England. It is 
 the former who have possession of Vidyalankara College 
 and Temple at Peliyagoda, near Kelani, whither I am 
 driving to-day. There are two very eminent Buddhist 
 priests here, a printing press is in operation, and an 
 Oriental library is being built. But it is to see the people 
 at their festival that I drive out to Kelani. Certainly I 
 am satisfied, for I never expect again to witness such a 
 picturesque throng. All Ceylon and Colombo seem to be 
 en route to Grand Pass, three miles from the city, where 
 Governor Sir Edward Barnes, in 1825, built a bridge of 
 
Colombo and the Buddhist Temple at Kelaniya. 363 
 
 boats across tbe Kelani river. Young and old, male and 
 female, singly or in families, on foot or in bullock 
 ‘ hackeries,’ the natives — Sinhalese and Tamils — are 
 trooping into the country, all clad in new and striking 
 coloured garments, all bearing flowers, all picturesque, 
 making up en masse a picture of laughing life seldom to be 
 met with. Men and women wear two garments, the skirt, 
 sulu or kilt, and the upper jacket or scarf. The brighest hues 
 of Manchester are displayed in the prints. The men sport 
 great tortoise-shell combs in the hair, whilst the women 
 adorn theirs with pins. Sometimes the hair hangs straight 
 and sleek down the back. All have umbrellas to protect 
 themselves from the sun, and all are alike in the outward 
 resemblance of the sexes. The dress and combs and 
 hair confuse a stranger, and he knows not Eve from Adam. 
 
 “ A bullock ‘ hackery ’ is a vehicle only known in the 
 East. Small, humped cattle, the size of Shetland ponies, 
 are harnessed roughly to carts without springs, which, 
 covered with thatch, often contain two floors, on which the 
 passengers, however, have to lie down. Sometimes one 
 comes across a bullock drawing a light buggy, and 
 trotting along briskly. By Brahmin and Buddhist alike 
 the cow is held to be a sacred animal. They must not 
 eat its flesh. But they ill-treat these poor little bullocks 
 in a manner which arouses my indignation. The patient 
 beasts are especially suffering on this day when the faith- 
 ful are hurrying to the shrine of him, who, of all men, 
 most enjoined humanity to the brute creation. Two little 
 animals are drawing, perhaps, a family of a dozen. Blows 
 and oaths are showered on them without ceasing, and my 
 soul is wroth within me ; otherwise this is a perfect after- 
 noon. After crossing the bridge of boats at Grand Pass 
 you drive along a narrow road bordered by coco-palms 
 and bananas and tamarinds. But there is never any 
 distance without habitations. Some of mud, red tiled, are 
 permanent abodes ; others of thatch, seem erected by the 
 roadside just for these days of festival. Food and flowers 
 are for sale everywhere. Never save in the city of Mexico 
 have I seen so many flowers as here. The whole country 
 seems full of them. There is an overpowering fecundity 
 of nature in Ceylon — all around, in still life, in the animals, 
 in the human race, you see it — everything is increased and 
 multiplied abnormally. This might well be the birthplace 
 
364 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 of our race ; a man need not be a patriarch here to be 
 surrounded by troops of grandchildren. And so laughingly 
 exchanging greetings with the pilgrims, whom my Muham- 
 madan driver, I daresay, curses a good deal, the time 
 passes till, two miles from Kelani railway station, we 
 enter Petiyagoda. The throng by this time is immense. 
 There have been special trains from Colombo in the after- 
 noon, and thousands are trudging along the road, on 
 foot or riding in hackeries. Unhappily for them the rain 
 has commenced to fall heavily. 
 
 “ There is a regular bazaar around the entrance to the 
 temple. Everything, it seems, can be bought here. This 
 is the great harvest of the stall-holders. On this, their 
 New Year’s Day, the Sinhalese ‘indulge in the few amuse- 
 ments they enjoy, and in such luxuries as they can 
 afford.’ One of these luxuries consists in having their 
 fortunes told by astrologers, who predict the propitious 
 hours in the approaching year on which to commence 
 duties, pleasures or journeys. I wonder if the astrologers 
 foresaw or fortold the abominable weather on this/cfe day. 
 However, I am here, and must see it through. At the 
 bottom of the steps I am taken possession of by an 
 emasculate-looking individual, who informs me that he is 
 the temple guide. He is a full-blooded Sinhalese and 
 acknowledges to the name of Perera. This, with Fernando 
 and De Silva, is as common in Ceylon as Smith, Jones and 
 Brown are in England. There are no end of ‘ Des’ and 
 ‘ Dons,’ too, in the Directory. This is the remnant of 
 the Portuguese occupation. Many of these high-sounding 
 names belong to full-blooded ‘ niggers,’ whose ancestors 
 were baptized by the Boman Catholic missionaries, but 
 who relapsed into Buddhism on the first chance. I tell 
 Perera I shall call him ‘ Peter,’ to which he cheerfully 
 assents. And I inform Peter that I am a Buddhist, 
 ‘ higher up ’ than his priests, as he can plainly see. He 
 treats me with an accession of respect, whether real or 
 fictitious I know not, and we walk off to see the relics. 
 There are a number of curious, silver statuettes, which 
 may be idols dug up on this spot where, before the advent 
 of Buddhism, Yishnu and other male and female deities 
 were worshipped. One god, Wibhisana, is still held in 
 repute here, having a local reputation among the ignorant, 
 although the educated Buddhist despises such supersti- 
 
Colombo and the Buddhist Temple at Kclaniya. 3G5 
 
 tions. Then I am taken to the great show. In a pavilion 
 there is a placard in English. ‘ The hones of Buddha 
 may now he seen.’ ‘ The hones of Buddha ’ at this 
 temple on a silver dish under a glass case are not much of 
 a show. They appear like a very decayed tooth smashed 
 up, and do not impress me, although, naturally, I give my 
 contribution towards building the library for which the 
 plate is held out here. My rupee inspires more respect 
 and faith in my Buddhism. 
 
 “ Architecturally, all Buddhist temples are alike. The 
 Dagoba is the principal feature in all. Derived from 
 dhatu-garba, the matrix or receptacle of a relic, a dagoba is 
 a mere bell-shaped tomb of brick or stone, covered often 
 with a preparation of lime, forming a sort of chunam, which 
 receives a high polish. The Dagoba is surmounted by a 
 spire and enclosed by a row of pillars. The Dagoba — the 
 imitation of the tomb of Buddha — is a useless piece of 
 work, as for that matter church spires are, unless when 
 used as landmarks. The shrines around, where the 
 praying takes place, are ordinary buildings. Peter leads me 
 through the crowd to the sacred altar, behind which is a 
 gigantic painted wooden figure of Buddha, and of several 
 gods or saints. Peter is anxious to explain to me that 
 the Great God Almighty is not here, but that He will 
 come some day, incarnated in a new Buddha. I marvel 
 that all over the world there should be the same belief in 
 an earth god— that we should ever make Him in our own 
 image. Buddha’s injunction was, ‘Abstain from all sin, 
 acquire all virtue, repress thine own heart.’” 
 
APPENDIX XVII 
 
 STATISTICS OF CEYLON RAILWAYS. 
 
 (PREPARED BY J. FERGUSON.) 
 
 See The Eailu-ay Map inserted at end of the Volume. 
 
 Gauge, 5 feet 6 inches, same as Indian Lines. 
 
 Lines. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Total Cost. 
 Rs. 
 
 Per Mile. 
 Rs. 
 
 Speed Traffic 
 Miles Receipts in 
 
 
 
 Per hr 
 
 1885. Rs. 
 
 Colombo and Kandy 
 
 744 
 
 17,384,830* 
 
 233,353* 
 
 25 
 
 1,648,940 
 
 249.869 
 
 Peradeniya and Nawalapitiya . . 
 
 17 
 
 2,674,627 
 
 157,331 
 
 20 
 
 Colombo and Kalutara 
 
 Branch line Mahara Junction 
 
 271 
 
 2,192,214 
 
 84,323 
 
 25 
 
 248,673 
 
 and Maliara Quarry 
 
 2i 
 
 220,790 
 
 88,336 
 
 15 
 
 19,867 
 
 Free property of the Colony . . 
 
 121f 
 
 22,472,461 
 
 184,000 
 
 22 
 
 2,167,349 
 
 (Average) 
 
 (Av.) 
 
 Kandy and Matale (with debt of 
 
 £275,000 
 
 Nawalapitiya and Nanuoya (with 
 
 174 
 
 8,391,952 
 
 193,966 
 
 20 
 
 73,044 
 
 debt of £900,00(1) 
 
 411 
 
 10,773,000 
 
 256,500 
 
 12 
 
 366,927 
 
 Railways complete and working 
 
 181 
 
 36,637,413 
 
 202,417 
 
 18 
 
 2,607,320 
 
 
 
 (Average) 
 
 (Av.) 
 
 
 
 Already Surveyed and Estimated. 
 
 
 Dimbula-Uva (Haputale Section) 
 
 254 
 
 6,500,0004 
 
 254,902 
 
 12 
 
 
 Kalutara and Bentota Section 
 
 9 
 
 550,000 
 
 61,000 
 
 25 
 
 
 Total Miles 215J. 
 
 Traffic Receipts in 1885 as above Rs. 2,607,320 
 
 Working Expenses and Improvements to Lines 1,467,699 
 
 Profit Rs. 1,139,621 
 
 Or nearly four per cent, on total capital cost, although the full benefit 
 of the expeuditure on Nanuoya Line can onlj T be realized when the ex- 
 tension reaches Haputale, where the new Uva traffic is tapped. 
 
 * This includes large amount wasted by Limited Company, afterwards 
 paid off. 
 
 f This is the Consulting Engineer’s estimate, but with the experience 
 of rock and earth work gained on the Isanuoya Section, it is believed 
 that Rs. 5,000,000 or Rs. 200,000 per mile will suffice for the Haputale 
 Section if constructed by the P. W. Department. 
 
RAILWAY MAP OF CEYLON 
 
APPENDIX XVIII. 
 
 CASTE IN CEYLON. 
 
 In illustration of the remarks on pages 30-40, and 251, 
 we may refer here to evidences of a very unfortunate 
 revival of caste feeling in the rural districts of Ceylon. 
 This is attributable, in the opinion of many observers — 
 among the natives more particularly — to an influence 
 emanating from the present Governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, 
 who has, most unfortunately, in public utterances, official 
 documents, and ceremonies, made much of “ natives of 
 birth,” and led the agents of Government and native 
 headmen, and through them, minor officials, to believe 
 that caste distinctions may well be revived. As a conse- 
 quence, there have been many quarrels, assaults, and even 
 minor riots in native villages owing to caste animosities 
 and jealousies which were supposed so have died out. 
 The people who consider themselves of the higher castes 
 are now on the qui vive in many places to resent those of 
 alleged lower castes dressing themselves above the waist, 
 or on more than one shoulder, using jackets or combs for 
 their hair, which, under the benign and civilizing influence 
 of past Governments, had become an almost universal 
 practice among the people. Governor Sir William 
 Gregory in his tours through the island, especially the 
 remoter parts where caste distinctions lingered longest, 
 specially discouraged any caste or dress distinctions, and 
 even censured Government officers for allowing people of 
 so-called “ lower castes ” to appear with their bodies 
 (women as well as men) not properly covered from the 
 waist upwards. This did much to encourage dressing, 
 self-respect, and even a mild ambition among the indus- 
 
368 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 trious classes, aud provoked no jealousy, because even a 
 Governor’s word, or even nod, is law to the Sinhalese of 
 all ranks. About 1880, however, in a translation of 
 Kandyan laws made in manual form, partly under official 
 auspices, entitled “ Niti-Niganduwa,” an attempt was 
 made to classify different castes, and within the past three 
 years, it is said, rightly or wrongly, this classification — 
 (effected so as to exalt one caste) — has been as good as 
 recognized at all Government offices. This has provoked 
 much angry feeling, and amidst a great deal of discussion 
 in the native press and much pamphleteering, two pro- 
 ductions especially have come under our notice. The 
 writer of these in a private note thus expresses himself in 
 answer to our inquiries as to the reasons which led him to 
 publish : — 
 
 “ June 9, 1887. 
 
 “ Sib, — Though I cannot say that I wrote the review of ‘ Niti-Nigan- 
 duwa ’ with an unruffled mind, yet I can assure you that I wrote 
 the ‘ Chaturvarnaya ’ with the best of feelings. I have been a con- 
 stant reader of the Observer for the last thirty or forty years, and I 
 have the happiness of being personally known to you, therefore I say 
 it with all sincerity that it is neither from the Government nor from 
 our countrymen that we can expect to get some relief from the griev- 
 ances under which we now labour, but from you. 
 
 Ten or twelve years ago there was a Muliandiram of the tom-tom 
 beater caste. He was not only using his crooked comb and the high 
 comb, but on State occasions he was using his sword and belt, and 
 nobody ever thought of molesting him ; but now there is a feeling abroad 
 that Government now recognizes caste — hence the late tragedy at 
 Attidiya. A registrar of marriages in the Southern Province lately 
 objected to a marriage party coming to his premises in carriages, and 
 did not give a chair even for the bride or bridegroom, though they 
 were a respectable class of people. — Yours obediently, — 
 
 From tlie pamphlets themselves we quote as follows : — 
 
 From “ A Review of Niti-Niganduwa and the Caste-System in 
 Ceylon.” By W. W. Colombo, 1885. — “While wealth, science, and 
 general knowledge have been advancing with astonishing rapidity, 
 bigotry, pride, and prejudice in a section of our community have 
 made still more gigantic strides, and threaten to outrun all the efforts 
 hitherto made to arrest their progress. Without in the least degree 
 trying to help their countrymen in their onward course, they are 
 always trying to aggrandize themselves and to secure a monopoly of 
 Government high posts and ranks showing that they are entitled to 
 them by birth. . . . 
 
 “ It might, perhaps, he asked, was not the late Louis De Zoysa 
 Maha-Mudaliya,r, that well-known oriental scholar, a man of the 
 Salagama caste, aud yet was he not promoted to the highest rank 
 
Caste in Ceylon. 369 
 
 which a native can aspire to ? Yes : every man is in some degree the 
 mirror of his age. . . , 
 
 “ Mr. De Zoysa’s age was an age attempting, with a strong, unre- 
 laxed, endeavour to be earnest, persevering, and ambitious. Com- 
 pulsory labour having been abolished, and amalgamation of classes- 
 having taken place, the peasant had been shown how he might rise to 
 be noble ; the horny-handed craftsman how he could tread the 
 paths which lead to the highest places of national distinction ; and 
 the humble scholar how he could advance into the saloons of great- 
 ness. . . . 
 
 “ Mr. De Zoysa was allowed to climb up to the summit of the hill 
 of official promotion ; but his followers, like the Jews of old, are 
 obliged to wander about in the wilderness. The Government since 
 then, forsaking the liberal and enlightened policy of the former 
 Governors, and instead of making an outward progress in the right 
 direction, is now pursuing a downward course. . . . 
 
 “ A paragraph in the issue of the Ceylon Observer of the 27th July, 
 1885,* having given us occasion for alarm we traced out its origin to 
 the existence of a book printed at the Government Press so far back 
 as the year 1880 ; since then it has been in circulation through the 
 hands of Government officials. That work, though entitled ‘ Niti- 
 Niganduwa, or the Vocabulary of Law,’ has in it, headed ‘ Historical,’ 
 a chapter embodying a distinctive classification of castes with the 
 assertion that the 1 Gowiya is considered the chief caste in this king- 
 dom.’ What induced the compiler in getting up a Vocabulary of 
 Law to insert therein a classification of castes, and to state the 
 superiority of the caste to which he belongs, is a problem which has 
 to be solved. A man of ordinary intellect and common sense will 
 easily divine the mystery and the object of the compiler to be to 
 secure for himself as an author a prominent post under Government, 
 whilst his showing will induce the Government to hold such others of 
 his community in such estimation as to obtain for them a monopoly 
 of the most honourable and lucrative offices to which natives are 
 eligible. That book, though printed in the year 1880, it is strange 
 
 “ * The paragraph referred to is as follows : — ‘ Caste Rs-established 
 in Ceylon. — This may be news to some readers of the Observer. 
 Others have already known and felt this. The Portuguese and Dutch 
 with all their old-world ideas and crude notion of things never stooped 
 to the meanness of upholding the senseless, absurd system of caste. 
 But it has been left to the British Government and to enlightened 
 statesmen of the Liberal school to re-establish caste in Ceylon. It is 
 said that a brochure on caste, as it existed amongst the Sinhalese, was 
 got up under well-known local auspices, printed in England, and dis- 
 tributed amongst influential members of the Civil Service. But the 
 absurd part of the story is that Sir Arthur Gordon regards it in the 
 light of the Englishman’s Bible, an authority beyond question like 
 Dod or Debrett. According to this authority appointments, as well as 
 preferments to honorary rank and title, are to be confined to a few 
 families ; the rest are to be discarded. The Clerical Examination 
 Scheme is to be done away with. Go on, brave Sir Arthur I Go on 
 in the same style, and we shall have cause to thank you as one of 
 Ceylon's benefactors ! — Com.’ 
 
 26 
 
370 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 to observe, made its way through Government Departments in such a 
 manner that either none (excepting those of the community who ex- 
 pected to be benefited) or very few of the other classes were aware of 
 its existence and the havoc it was playing, till the appearance of the 
 paragraph referred to. . . . 
 
 “ The reason why most of the Gowiyas have succeeded so far in 
 securing to themselves lucrative and responsible offices under the 
 Government is attributable to the fact (which is now evinced) that it 
 has been for a series of years past their object, if not the motto, to im- 
 press upon new officials and heads of Departments, as far as possible, 
 that they are the leading members of the native community and that 
 to them exclusively belonged posts of responsibility and honour under 
 the Government. . . . 
 
 “But justice compels us to say that caste has no claim on any 
 right-thinking mind ; for, as a system, ‘ it is founded on a lie,’ 1 it 
 puffs up certain classes with pride,’ ‘ it keeps many of our people in 
 social degradation,’ ‘it divides man from man,’ it concentrates all 
 religion in outward ceremony,’ and ‘it is a great obstacle to pro- 
 gress.’ . . . 
 
 “What is the object of introducing a list of castes into the Niti- 
 Niganduwa ? Are we to understand from it that caste is to be An- 
 glicized, and receive the sanction of the Legislature, that different 
 occupations, professions, and trades may be made hereditary and 
 preserved in an unbroken line ? If Tikiri Appu, the son of an ordinary 
 peasant whose father, grandfather, or great-grandfather had never 
 held any office under the late Kandyan Government or under the 
 present British rule, has pushed his way into a prominent situation, 
 and into power and influence, we ask, what evil has he done ? Whom 
 has he injured ? Has Tikiri Appu by his success robbed another of 
 industry, talent, application, or energy? Does not Tikiri Appu 
 deserve the signal honour and emolument won by hard study and 
 patient perseverance ? Has Loku Appuhami, the grandson of Unam- 
 buwe Dissawa, a reckless young man who has squandered away his 
 patrimonial estate in profligacy, a just ground of complaint against 
 the success of Tikiri Appu ? Are we to understand that every native 
 is to toddle, in unbroken generations, in the foot-prints of his father 
 and grandfather ? Why ? that would hurt the feelings of most of the 
 up-country Ratemahatmeyas and low-country Mudaliyars and reduce 
 them from their hard-won eminence into the degradation of sluggish 
 cultivators and drowsy cow-herds. If such be the views of Messrs. Pana- 
 bokke and Co. , one thing is pretty certain, viz : — others will not gratify 
 them by thinking as they think. ‘ No, no,’ says honest, true humanity, 
 ‘ Let those who have won a position by fair means enjoy it.’ ‘ Yes,’ 
 murmur the objectors, ‘ let the past be past, but keep down others.’ 
 Why ? Where is the reason of this, or the justice ? If some might 
 struggle honourably for eminence, why not others also ? If some 
 have attained eminence, and hold it as legitimate standing ground, 
 why wonder at, much less complain of, aspirants for like success by 
 similar means ? . . . 
 
 “ The great difficulty of arriving at a fan- aud reasonable conclusion 
 as to the number and order of castes in Ceylon, arises from the sup- 
 pression of truth, suggestion of falsehood, and the alteration of his- 
 torical records. So that no two natives will give the same order and 
 classification to all the castes. Such being the case, all the prominent 
 
Caste in Ceylon. 
 
 371 
 
 classes of natives have a hobby of their own. The Gowiya caste 
 assert now for the first time, as we learn from Niti-Niganduwa, that 
 they are a mixed race of Kshestriyas, Brahmins, and Yaisyas ; the 
 people called Karawe, that they are of a Kshestriya descent ; and the 
 people called Salagama, that they are Brahmins. I shall not enter 
 into a disquisition of that subject now. There are no Kshestriyas, 
 Brahmins, or Yaisyas, properly so called, amongst us, at present ; for 
 all the Sinhalese people are now either Buddhists or Christians. And 
 no sooner had we forsaken the Vedas and the Shastras, than, according 
 to the law of caste, we had become Chandala3 or out-castes. Chris- 
 tianity asserts that God made all mankind of one blood, which is a 
 physical fact as easy of demonstration as any truth in natural science; 
 whilst Buddhism repudiates caste, Buddha declares that ‘ a man be- 
 comes a Brahmin by what he does, and a Wasalaya (an outcast) by 
 what he does.’ . . . 
 
 “It is very much to be regretted that the Government now 
 appears to be under the delusion that the aristocratic class among 
 the Sinhalese is the higher grade of the Gowiya caste, which is indeed 
 a very great mistake ; for there is no aristocratic class among the 
 Sinhalese ; whilst descendents of high Government officials and 
 others to whom various accidents have contributed to give an 
 importance among all castes, consider themselves as entitled to 
 lead in their respective spheres. Nor does the Government seem 
 to know that landed proprietors and professional gentry are to be 
 found among all the prominent castes as well as among the Gowiya 
 caste. There is, therefore, a wide-spread effort among some of the 
 most bigoted of the Gowiya caste, to make the most of the present 
 opportunity ; and hence the work in question is a genuine production 
 of by-gone days, though it existed only in the imagination of those 
 who desired it, realizing the words of Sir Walter Scott ; — 
 
 “ ‘ Oh what a tangled web we weave 
 When first we practise to deceive ! ’ 
 
 “ True it is that the claims of caste are ignored in the administration 
 of the law ; but yet in certain departments they are now guarded 
 with some anxiety, which seems both inconsistent and unnecessary, 
 as it is sometimes construed by the caste men as an authoritative 
 recognition of caste. There is no necessity at all to interfere with 
 any lawful usage. The Government need not insist on a renunciation 
 of caste as the condition of public employ ; nor should the feelings 
 of any public servants be wounded by an unnecessary intrusion on 
 their prejudices. The question is one of private opinion and feeling, 
 on which every man may be left to his own judgment, provided that 
 Government extend no advantage to one w'hich is unfair to another. 
 Natives can observe what rules they choose among themselves; but 
 the public service ought to be ordered exclusively on public considera- 
 tions. I know a Mudaliyar of a certain Kachcheri, an illegitimate 
 son of a very low grade of Gowiya, who puts the question, 1 What is 
 your caste ? ’ to evfery native candidate for any post in that Kachcheri ; 
 and if the man is not one of the Gowiya caste, throws every obstacle 
 in his way, as if being born in that caste were a sure passport for 
 public service in Ceylon. In the public service, it requires clerks, 
 
372 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 aceonntants, interpreters, and Mudaliyars of Korales ; and not 
 Ksliestriyas, Brahmins, Yaisyas, and Gowiyas who are the servants 
 of the above three castes. Candidates, therefore, have a right to 
 encouragement according to official qualifications alone, without 
 inquiries made regarding their parentage or connections. All castes 
 should be equally and impartially admitted, and the most qualified 
 will always receive the preference. What is needed, therefore, is to 
 place the test of superiority in the better discharge of duties, and not 
 in the curiosities of a pedigree. Then no distinction shall be known 
 among individuals but those which arise from talent, ability, and 
 mtegrity of conduct. 
 
 “ A community can make progress only when every member of it has 
 the reward of merit laid open to him ; and capacity and talent for the 
 discharge of duties required in the social state are diffused pretty 
 equally among the different orders of the community. It is, therefore, 
 a very bad policy, if the officials of a country, instead of encouraging 
 mutual good will and reciprocal kind attentions, say to the great bulk 
 of the people : ‘ Neither talents nor exertions shall avail you : you are 
 bom in a degraded caste : you cannot therefore be eligible for Govern- 
 ment posts ! ’ A large part of this evil is to be laid to the account 
 of some of the high officials, who, though not openly, yet tacitly, 
 encourage caste distinctions in the distribution of prizes left at their 
 disposal, according to tbeir own whims and caprices, irrespectively of 
 claims and qualifications. It is, therefore, the duty of a paternal 
 Government to arrest this evil alone by disowning all respect for a 
 folly which is so detrimental to the well-being of a large community 
 such as the Sinhalese, as those in authority in former days did, who 
 are still remembered with the deepest gratitude, as the greatest bene- 
 factors of our country. . . . 
 
 “ According to the present state of our country the union of all 
 classes in one corporate body is what is most desirable. But can we 
 realize such a consummation so long as there is no peace among all 
 classes ? There is in our community a section that has always some 
 complaint, some cause to grumble, something to be dissatisfied with. 
 They complain that in public schools their children are obliged to sit 
 on the same form with the children of other castes. They grumble 
 that in the railway carriages they have to sit side by side with other 
 castes of people enjoying the comforts and conveniences of the 
 new mode of travelling, like themselves. They are dissatisfied that 
 the Christian women of Talanpitiya, a village of the Paduwas, who, 
 having acquired habits of decency, had left off their old fashion of 
 going half-naked, as if the privilege of covering the bosom were their 
 own peculiar prerogative. . . . 
 
 “ The Oriental mind regards the State as pre-eminently the fountain 
 of honour; and its service is the most coveted, as well as the most 
 profitable profession. The ambition to enter it has, therefore, in this 
 country, always outweighed every objection of caste, rank, and 
 religion itself. . . . 
 
 “ The Portuguese Government freely employed all castes of men in 
 their service, so that one Don Cosmo, a man of the Salagama caste, 
 became a general. And the Dutch Government never refused the 
 services of men of any caste for posts of honour. Under the British 
 Government also the same indiscriminate admission to offices, as of 
 old, has been tolerated. . . . 
 
Caste in Ceylon. 
 
 373 
 
 “ A great number of men are now employed in the public service. 
 The introduction of railways and the electric telegraph has provided 
 places for many more. But though the passion for public employ 
 continues unabated and insatiable, yet is there a single man of the 
 so-called higher order of the Gowiya caste men in the Railway, Postal, 
 or Telegraph Department ? . . . 
 
 “ We believe it, therefore, to be the paramount duty of a parental 
 Government towards those whom it has taken under its care and 
 control, not to be predisposed towards one class to the disadvantage 
 of another. 
 
 “•Since of late natives have been admitted to high offices of trust 
 with greatly augmented salaries in the Revenue Department. But 
 was there a single Burgher or a native of another caste chosen for any 
 of those places other than the Gowiyas, although there are natives of 
 other castes, as well educated, if not better, who possess so much 
 influence in their respective communities, as those that have been 
 already selected possess in their own community. 
 
 “ We trust therefore, that the present Government will continue to 
 bear in mind that Magna Charta of the great body of the Sinhalese 
 declaring that it be ‘ fully understood that it is the principle of this 
 Government to recognize no distinction of caste or colour, the only 
 ground of promotion being talents and qualifications ’ penned on the 
 3rd April, 1841, by no less a personage than the Right Honourable 
 J. A. Stewart-Mackenzie, one of the most distinguished and en- 
 lightened British rulers that ever administered the affairs of this 
 island. 
 
 ‘ ‘ After all this controversy, one thing remains now indisputably 
 clear — that there are in the world only two castes — the ‘ good ’ and 
 the ‘ bad.’ ” 
 
 “ A Few Thoughts on Chaturvarnaya, or the Four-fold Social 
 System of Castes.” By W. W. Colombo, 1836. — “ We sincerely 
 hoped that under the pressure of steam, electricity, European influence, 
 diffusion of knowledge and extension of Christianity, the pernicious 
 caste system in Ceylon would have been, before long, entirely done 
 away with. But we were sadly disappointed in our hopes ; for, whilst 
 these powerful influences are in full operation, a reaction in favour of 
 caste has taken place of late ; and those who are benefited thereby 
 have taken advantage of this reaction. . . . 
 
 “ The compilers of ‘ Niti-Niganduwa’ endeavour to show that there 
 are four principal and eighteen inferior castes, whereas there are only 
 four great castes, some mixed castes and out-castes. . . . 
 
 “ According to the strict rules of the caste system no sooner a man 
 has forsaken Brahminism, than he is an out-caste ; and loss of caste 
 is equivalent to civil death. The out-caste is denied admission to his 
 father’s house ; the nearest relations refuse to eat with him or speak 
 with him. He is excluded from religious ceremonies and social meet- 
 ings. His wife is released from the conjugal rights ; his children 
 belong to him no longer ; his property is forfeited. Therefore, as we 
 are no longer Brahmins in religion, we are no longer Brahmins, 
 Kshestriyas, Yaisyas or Sudras. Christianity declares that God has 
 made all men of one blood ; and that God has no respect of persons. 
 Buddhism repudiates caste. Buddha is representedby European writers 
 
374 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 as a philosophical opponent of popular superstition and Brahminical 
 caste. This sage having enumerated the qualities he would require 
 in the woman who aspired to be his wife, the king Suddhodana, his 
 father, directed his minister to go into the great city, Kapilawastu, 
 and to enquire there in every house after a girl possessed of these good 
 qualities, showing at the same time the prince’s enumeration, and utter- 
 ing two stanzas of the following meaning. ‘ Bring hither that maiden 
 who has the required qualities, whether she be of the royal tribe or 
 of the Brahmin caste ; of the gentry or of the plebeian class ; my son 
 regardeth not tribe or family extraction ; his delight is in good quali- 
 ties, truth, and virtue alone. ’ In Nepaul, where Buddhism is professed, 
 the original inhabitants were all of one caste, or had no caste ; but 
 their descendants, in the course of time, became divided into many 
 castes according to the trades or professions which they followed ; 
 though even now we are told that in Nepaul caste is merely a popular 
 usage, without the sanction of religion, and altogether a very different 
 thing from caste properly so called. In Tibet and Burma, both 
 Buddhistical countries, caste is unknown. In China there are clans, 
 resembling those of the Scotch Highlanders, but this institution 
 differs from caste, and is peculiar to this singular country. But in 
 Ceylon there appears to have been a greater leaning toward caste than 
 among any other Buddhistical people, which had arisen from their 
 connection with the Tamils. 
 
 “ Some writers assert that the people of this country are of Aryan 
 descent. Yes; so they are to some extent. As Wijaya and his 
 followers came from Wango (Bengal) they may he called Indo- Aryans. 
 But as we learn from ‘ Maha Wanso ’ that he sent for wives for him- 
 self and his associates from amongst the Tamils of Southern India 
 (Madura) in the Pandian kingdom, and that they were accompanied 
 here by eighteen officers of state, together with seventy-five menial 
 servants, we see that at the very outset of the Wijayan dynasty 
 in Ceylon, there was a commingling of Aryan and Dravidian races. 
 
 ‘ ‘ From that time Tamils from Southern India coming over to 
 Ceylon, and joining themselves with those who arrived at first, a 
 hybrid race called Goviyas arose, half Aryans and half Dravidians ; 
 whilst some of the aboriginal tribes kept themselves aloof from these 
 adventurers. However, in course of time, all were incorporated in 
 one common name, the Sinhalese ; although some of the aboriginal 
 races are no more Sinhalese because they had adopted the Sinhalese 
 language, than the Cornish people are English because they speak the 
 English language. . . . 
 
 “ The Tamil word Vellala also, which the Goviyas have adopted by 
 way of distinction as their caste name, as the word Goviya, means a 
 cultivator. 
 
 “ Mr. Panabokke being fully conscious, with these strong and 
 incontrovertible evidence before us to the contrary, that he could not 
 maintain the theory of some of his low-country brethren that the 
 Goviyas are Vaisyas — that is, of the Welanda caste — started a new 
 theory, by which as if trying to avoid Scylla, he struck on Charybdis, 
 and made the Goviyas sink still deeper in the mire, in reducing them to 
 a lower position instead of raising them to a higher one, and in making 
 them a mixed caste. We see, therefore, that the pride of caste is a 
 mere bosh. It is indeed a pity that as a Buddhist he did not take 
 heed of Buddha’s words : — 
 
Caste in Ceylon. 
 
 375 
 
 “ 1 A man does not become low-caste by birth. 
 
 Nor by birth does one become high-caste, 
 
 High-caste is the result of high actions, 
 
 And by actions does a man degrade himself to caste that is low.’ 
 
 “ ‘ Is there no caste feeling amongst the English ? ’ is a question 
 very often put to us by some of our countrymen ; and our answer had 
 been always ‘ certainly not.’ On the contrary their religion teaches 
 them the ‘ Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man,’ that 
 caste and class feelings ought to be laid aside, and that there is no 
 respect of person with God. The social institutions of England 
 neither prevent social union and interchange of ideas between the 
 various classes of society, as those of Ceylon, nor operate to set class 
 against class, to bar the lower rising to the upper, and to make the 
 national union impossible. On the contrary, in England all ranks 
 and orders so run into each other and blend imperceptibly together, 
 that it becomes impossible to separate them into sharply defined 
 strata, or to say where the upper end and the middle or the lower 
 begin. 
 
 “ My dear countrymen, we are either Buddhists or Christians. 
 Therefore, those who now attempt to maintain unhallowed distinctions 
 must be told that all such distinctions have been lost with the Vedas 
 and the sacrifices. 
 
 Caste, in fact, originated like slavery, in a war of races, and breathes 
 still the true spirit of slavery. It is true that during centuries of 
 this slavery, the iron has entered the soul, that the hereditary bonds- 
 man now hugs his fetters. Popular prejudices will no doubt long 
 resist the light of truth on this as on other subjects of education. 
 The attempt to point out to the sticklers of caste that the distinctions 
 which they consider inviolable have no sanction in their religious 
 books, may be as useless as to argue with the devil-dancers that their 
 ceremonies are unauthorized in the Bana-books. But what was the 
 cause of the decline and fall of the Kandian kingdom ? It is this 
 pernicious system of castes. It had become one of the greatest clogs 
 on the advancement of our people, thoroughly preventing improve- 
 ment in our social and political status beyond a certain point. Such 
 a system, elevating one class and depriving another, kept the ideas of 
 the latter for ever subdued, and entirely snipped from them the 
 aspiration after superiority and influence, which form the greatest 
 incentive to active exertion. . . . 
 
 “Is caste, on the whole, advancing or retrograding in Ceylon? is a 
 question which cannot but be highly interesting to every lover of his 
 country and every admirer of the present Government. It must, 
 however, be confessed that, considering all in all, it seems to be now 
 putting on new life and vigour. Therefore, its votaries are now show- 
 ing themselves more openly ; its claims are now more broadly pro- 
 claimed ; and every engine, likely and unlikely, is now being brought 
 to action to maintain its sinking credit. But we sincerely hope that 
 like the giant struggling to retain the breath which is fast leaving his 
 body, its downfall would be equally rapid. For the precedent laid 
 down by the ltight Honourable J. A. Stewart Mackenzie, one of the 
 ablest of our Governors by his Minute of April 3rd, 1811, the Magna 
 Charta of the Sinhalese, declaring that it be 1 fully understood that 
 it is the principle of tltis Government to recognize no distinction of 
 
376 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 caste or colour, the only ground of promotion being talents and qualifi- 
 cations,’ should not be set at nought by his successors. 
 
 “ To those who are at all acquainted with the natural workings of 
 the human mind in general, and the tendency of the caste-system in 
 particular, it can occasion no surprise that caste and irreligiousness 
 should co-exist to a great extent in the same state of society. This 
 is the case in Ceylon at this moment. 
 
 “ It is a melancholy consideration that of these two mighty delu- 
 sions, a certain portion of our countrymen are the willing subjects who 
 profess to he Christians for public show, hut from whose back doors 
 would be seen men of yellow robes wend their way to their houses 
 on poya and other Buddhistical days ; and that to their influence a 
 great part of the miseries of our country is owing. 
 
 “ And it is a fact too palpable to escape observation, and too certain 
 to admit of denial, that those who have no fixed religious principles 
 amongst the better educated classes of our people are the greatest 
 sticklers of caste. 
 
 “ The purest portion of all moral theories and the highest ideas of 
 all patriots have been gathered from, or will be found concentrated 
 within, the Christian system. Its universal and living acceptance 
 implies the prevalence in every mind of peace, and goodwill, and 
 generosity. If the most accomplished 1 thinker ’ in society set him- 
 self to frame rules for its reconstruction and transformation into a 
 state of happiness, he would find all his labours concentrated within 
 the short sentence, ‘ Whatever ye would that others do to you, do ye 
 also to them.’ If the most benevolent theorist commenced to form 
 rules for the advancement of individual comfort, and of the comfort 
 of all individuals, he would find his labour useless, because it would 
 issue in the commandment given with greater power and in more 
 solemnity than when the rocks were shaken, that ‘ ye love one 
 another.’ There are no more powerful injunctions of universal 
 justice and goodness than these two gentle commandments ; and if 
 all who profess to obey them even understood what they profess, we 
 should have no more grievances to make, while by-and-by caste with 
 all its concomitant evils would be things unknown. They would 
 destroy themselves by transmutation. . . . 
 
 “ One of the greatest dangers to which Missionary schools in 
 this country is now liable, is that of being secularized through 
 Government influence, whereby the whole tenor of some schools, 
 their masters, and their pupils, are brought down to the level of non- 
 Curistian schools. Is it then surprising that education given in such 
 schools is more secular than religious? How can it be otherwise 
 when the whole object of the masters and mistresses of such schools 
 is to realize as large a grant as possible from Government? What 
 plan can be more directly calculated to arouse religious hatred, and to 
 give a sectarian direction to education, than to announce to religious 
 bodies that the public purse is open to as many of them as choose to 
 embark in the cause of public instruction, and that the grants to each 
 will be proportioned to the amount of secular instruction they impart ? 
 By this scheme the Government, literally enounces the idea that 
 education is a matter of common and civil concern, resigns the func- 
 tions of the state into the hands of the people, and gives full rein to 
 the development of religious rivalries. The result is exactly what 
 might be expected. A nondescript sort of education is imparted in 
 
Caste in Ceylon. 377 
 
 such schools — neither a sound religious education, nor a substantial 
 secular education. . 
 
 “ Christianity is the basis of all modern civilization. It is from it 
 that we take our respect for morality, for chastity, for the ties of 
 family ; it is from it that we learn not to covet- that which is not our 
 own, and to respect the rights of others ; from it we learn to love even 
 our enemies. Christianity, setting aside its Divine origin, is the 
 foundation-stone of all that is great, and good, and sublime in human 
 society ; all evils in civilization are departures from the noble tenets 
 of this pure faith ; every form of tyranny and oppression is anti- 
 Christian, and hateful to God. Therefore, Christianity, education, 
 and civilization should go hand in hand. 
 
 “ Christianity, education, and civilization have within the last fifty 
 years made a rapid progress in this country. Still they have much 
 yet to do. They must penetrate not only into our institutions and 
 theories, but they must become the guide and lamp of our actions. 
 
 “ It is, therefore, a sound religious education that would enable our 
 countrymen to strangle the Hydra with its four heads,* which coils 
 around their necks. . . . 
 
 “ On a calm and comprehensive review of the state of our country 
 from the commencement of the British rule here, it is impossible to 
 resist the conviction that, in spite of the best intentions and efforts of 
 Government, in spite of railways and electric telegraphs, and in spite 
 too of growing trade and extending commerce, caste feeling amongst 
 the different sections of the community still threatens to be one of the 
 most prolific sources of evils in our country, preventing as it does all 
 mutual good understanding between each other, and making national 
 union impossible. But so long as Government seems to permit one 
 section of the community to say to the other, with respect to political 
 privileges, 'Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further ,’ this evil shall 
 not cease. Therefore, whether it will increase or diminish will entirely 
 depend upon the action of Government, which alone can with a firm 
 hand, as in the renowned days of Governor Sir Colin Campbell, make 
 each other shake hands and confess 
 
 “ ‘ I have sinn’d ; oh, grievously and often ; 
 
 Exaggerated ill, and good denied.’ 
 
 And advise each — 
 
 “ ‘ Be wiser, kindlier, better than thou art.' . . . 
 
 “ Progress, we are told, characterizes the age. Progress has charac- 
 terized every age. With us, however, progress doivnicard is going on 
 step by step with time. Progress upwards of which the age makes its 
 boast, lags lazily. A large body of men are allowed to grow up with- 
 out any kind of intercourse with those who are placed above them in 
 point of wealth, perhaps intellect, and probably in worth. There 
 are few ties binding together the various sections of the community. 
 The circles of this great trunk scarcely touch. A hard rind of pride 
 divides them. All are men with many common sorrows and many 
 
 “* Called Ivshestriya, Brahmana, Yaisya, and Sudra; or, rmia, 
 Bamuna, Welanda, Govi. 
 
378 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 common objects, but they help not each other. What has been done 
 to their less fortunate countrymen by those who are placed above them 
 in point of wealth, intellect, and worth ? How many of them have 
 gone down amongst them with kindness in their manner and in their 
 hearts, to help them onwards and upwards ? 
 
 “ It is, however, an encouraging feature of the times that notwith- 
 standing all these discouragements there are such men amongst us 
 as Messrs. Eajapakse and Soysa who do so much for the advance- 
 ment of their countrymen. And if there are some more men like 
 them, then can certainly progress characterize the age. . . . 
 
 “ We know that within the last fifty years, Ceylon, from being an 
 obscure country, has risen to the importance of a rising British Colony, 
 and one of the greatest emporiums in the East, whose exports and 
 imports are not much less in amount than in any other country in 
 Asia. This is, therefore, no time to clog its advancement by caste 
 and class agitations, legislative enactments, or internal commotions. 
 We know also that the so-called Sinhalese aristocracy is not an 
 aristocracy of birth. Under the Portuguese and the Dutch Govern- 
 ments, all public functions, civil and military, among the Sinhalese, 
 were hereditary, and gave nobility to the second generation. Hence 
 the son of a Mudaliyar or Munhandiram was called an Appuhami, 
 and the son of an Aratchy or Kankany, an Appu. They were exempt 
 from direct taxation and compulsory labour. And there were Appu- 
 hamies and Appus amongst all the prominent castes of the Sinhalese. 
 Therefore, we see that there is no aristocracy among the Sinhalese 
 resembling the English aristocracy. In England the aristocracy con- 
 sists of men of birth, wealth, and distinction, who have attained to 
 eminence in honourable professions ; but in Ceylon there were Gatteru, 
 Sattambiyo, and Rateberawayo, as Ratemahatmayas and Koralas ; 
 and men of questionable origin, as Mudaliyars and Muhandirams 
 whose descendants now make the greatest noise about birth more 
 than education. In making these remarks our object is to point out 
 the danger into which our country is exposed by these designing men. 
 Its peril does not arise from foreign enemies, but from a dozen 
 crotchety men amongst us, who, adroitly seizing the present favourable 
 opportunity, raise a ‘ hue and cry,’ regarding ‘ birth and independent 
 means,’ as if they were the only men entitled to offices of trust and 
 emoluments among the Sinhalese. 
 
 “His Excellency the Governor, in his opening address to the Legis- 
 lative Council, was pleased to remark that ‘ the time has arrived when 
 greater facilities for the attainment of responsible posts in the Govern- 
 ment service should be afforded to natives of birth and education.’ 
 We hail the introduction of such a scheme as a great boon to our 
 country ; but the term 1 natives of birth,’ is a vague and indefinite 
 term * capable of different constructions. Therefore, nothing is more 
 hkely to frustrate the good intentions of Government than the be- 
 stowal of such preferments to a single section of the native community, 
 as there are, according to the general acceptation of the phrase, men 
 of ‘ birth and education ’ among all the prominent castes of people- 
 in Ceylon. However, 
 
 * It is a very wrong term, for which “ worth ” should be sub- 
 stituted. — J. F. 
 
Caste in Ceylon. 
 
 379 
 
 “ ‘ If past experience may attain 
 
 To something like prophetic strain,’ 
 
 we are afraid that an attempt would be made by a certain section of 
 our community to make this a prerogative of theirs, and to give no 
 small irritation and alarm to others. In that case it would only be 
 a means of creating strife and contention among the natives. We 
 hope, therefore, that the scheme in contemplation would be a compre- 
 hensive and liberal one suited to the present advanced state of our 
 country. 
 
 “ A community can make progress only when every member of it 
 has the rewards of merit laid open to him, and when capacity and 
 talents for the discharge of the duties required by the State are pretty 
 equally diffused among the different classes of the community. Be- 
 sides it would be a most ungenerous principle of legislation if the 
 Government of a country, instead of encouraging mutual good-will 
 and reciprocal kind attentions, should create dissensions and commo- 
 tions in a community, in bestowing preferments on one section of it, 
 which are denied to another section of the same community who have 
 equal claims for such preferments. Such a course would, moreover, 
 not only wage war against every principle of our nature, but paralyze 
 all social, moral, and intellectual improvement in that community. 
 That such was the actual state of Ceylon when the English first 
 landed in this country is well known to all who possess any informa- 
 tion on the subject. All the good which the English Government has 
 been hitherto endeavouring to do to the Sinhalese community, there- 
 fore, cannot be fully realized until the principles of eternal justice 
 (the first principles of all rule and legislation) be applied to remove 
 such unnatural distinctions among our people. 
 
 “ The British Government has given the people of Ceylon a degree 
 and kind of liberty which most of our countrymen had never enjoyed 
 either under the despotic heathen Kandyan kings, or under the benign 
 Christian Government of the Portuguese and the Dutch. We, there- 
 fore, only seek for the continuance of that liberty and the enjoyment 
 of the essential rights of human nature ; and it is in this that the 
 glory and prosperity of a nation properly consist. This we can secure 
 only by the union in all the parts of the State, harmony in them all, 
 and authority over them all. 
 
 “But these are matters which some of the members of our Legislative 
 Council think beneath then- notice. It is enough for them if they can 
 annoy or embarrass the Government, and obtain the reputation among 
 the unreflecting of being active patriots. We have little taste for such 
 patriotism, and little respect for those who profess it. We desire to 
 see in Council men whose minds are large enough to comprehend all 
 the interests of the country, and who will not suffer themselves to bo 
 turned aside by petty motives from doing justice to all classes alike. 
 
 “ Ceylon has never before enjoyed such liberty as she does since the 
 past few years. All classes have liberty to act and speak in accordance 
 with their convictions. No man is, by reason of his wealth or of his 
 rank, so high as to be above the reach of the law, and none, on the 
 other hand, so poor and insignificant as to be beyond its protection. 
 There is no longer any power in the State, under the influence of a 
 gust of passion, to order a man to be trampled to death by elephants. 
 
 ‘ ‘ Therefore, as the British Government has so well earned the 
 
380 
 
 Ceylon in the, Jubilee Year. 
 
 gratitude and good wishes of all classes of our countrymen, by the 
 unselfish and sincere desire which animates it to promote the welfare 
 of the people committed to its charge, by the solicitude which it mani- 
 fests to study the feelings and sentiments of the people in all impor- 
 tant matters, and by the spirit of benevolence which underlies its 
 actions, it is with great pain and remorse we say with respect to the 
 present reaction in favour of caste, which some of its officials seem 
 to foster, that they 
 
 “ ‘ See the right, approve it, too ; 
 
 Condemn the wrong, and yet the wrong pursue.’ 
 
 “ British equity has clearly seen that no ideas of religion or honour 
 can be permitted to violate the rights of life, freedom, or property. 
 It remains to give the full and legitimate effect to this principle, by 
 protecting human nature at large against the injurious and irrational 
 distinctions of caste. Public schools are not afraid of contradicting 
 the native sciences of astronomy, astrology, geography and medicine, 
 without hurting the feelings of the people. Why should caste be then 
 entitled to greater tenderness, when it is attended by so much injury 
 to the moral and social improvement of the country ? On this account, 
 caste is considered by missionaries a deadlier foe to the moral and 
 religious progress of this country than idolatry itself. Besting as it 
 does wholly upon opinion, repudiation of caste would be welcomed 
 by thousands who have not the courage to effect such an emancipa- 
 tion. . . . 
 
 “ If the strongest argument against slavery be, not the cruelties 
 that are its common adjunct, but its essential injustice, its absolute 
 infraction of a Divine ordinance, its contrariety to the whole provi- 
 dential economy ; then are we led to conclude that there is needed 
 only a candid examination of this kindred evil by the Christian 
 public, and the abolition of caste will be decreed by a power which 
 has already worked marvels that will excite the attention and admira- 
 tion and gratitude of all future generations ; for, w’herever the love 
 of Christ is felt in its power and purity, there will be an effort to 
 raise every individual within the sphere of its influence to the highest 
 pinnacle of moral and social dignity he can possibly attain.” 
 
APPENDIX XIX. 
 
 THE CEYLON PEAEL FISHEEIES IN 1887. 
 
 ( From Letters to the “ Ceylon Observer," by A. M. Ferguson, 
 C.M.G.) 
 
 Mannar, 4 th April, 1887. 
 
 The change of scene yesterday on the Pearl banks was 
 from almost dead silence and solitude before dawn to 
 the existence of active operations. Two thousand five 
 hundred persons were on the shore, or in boats and trading 
 vessels. Last evening this number was quadrupled. It is 
 likely to be largely increased, as but short notice could be 
 given of the fishery. 
 
 The sight of boats starting shorewards at one o’clock 
 yesterday would have delighted an artist’s eye. The com- 
 parison suggested was that of doves flocking to their 
 windows. Eeaching the shore about four o’clock, the 
 oysters had to be carried to the Government enclosures, 
 counted, apportioned, and a third, belonging to the boat- 
 men and divers, sold. The retail trade is going on down 
 to single oysters. 
 
 Officers of the Highlanders seem determined to add 
 pearl mussels to the enemies whose defences they have 
 successfully carried — for their representative here was 
 determined not to return empty-handed ; but all were 
 surpassed, however, by a great Madras native merchant, 
 who last evening, at an auction held in the lamp-light in 
 the timber and palm-leaf shed, purchased half a million 
 oysters from the eight hundred and forty-two thousand of 
 Government share. His first bid was E35 for a quarter 
 of a million, but prices went ultimately down to E15. 
 Several chetties complained of a breach of understanding 
 that only E9 be bid. The auction scene was most amus- 
 
382 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 ing, the purchasers showing much human nature. Mr. 
 Twynam showed admirable patience and tact. 
 
 We timed the so-called Arab diver, and got eighty-three 
 seconds, or one over Sir Henry Ward’s maximum; but Mr. 
 Twynam once got ninety-three, or over one and a half 
 minute. Mr. Twynam has seen two men perish from 
 staying under too long. They gasped before reaching the 
 surface, then sunk like lead. Death was caused by 
 asphyxia, or paralysis of the nerves. The lives of the 
 divers are generally good : the vast majority are meat- 
 eating Muhammadans, closely related to the people of this 
 place, who are really South India settlers. The heat, 
 scenery and race are all Indian. Whether the Sinhalese, 
 pure Aryan, or mixed, no trace of them at Silavaturai 
 pearl fishery or port. The general portly, well-fed appear- 
 ance of the Ceylon Indian Tamils is striking. 
 
 Masses of extraneous matter are taken up with the 
 shells, but thrown away, which would be prized as precious 
 by European naturalists. Fine corals, brilliant scarlet- 
 striped star fishes, pearl shells, and covered growths, 
 generally red coloured. 
 
 Concrete kottos, or auction booths, are abandoned for 
 mats on ground, the allotted land being defined by 
 coir strings. After the fisheries, the floor was sold and 
 resold at good prices. Purchasers now take oysters to 
 private kottos allotted them at safe distance from inhabited 
 portion. This and other strict sanitary measures, and 
 digging of wells for good water near the beach, make 
 a vast improvement, and cholera has been practically 
 banished. Much credit is due to Mr. Twynam, who is 
 only happy when at work. He seems impervious to sun 
 heat, which is awful. This, with the stench of the putrify- 
 ing, is the reason why Europeans cannot flock to this 
 wonderful romantic sight as to elephant kraals ; it was 
 perfectly sufficient to have one whiff last evening from the 
 kotto where samples were washed. 
 
 Shells are rapidly opening to skates and old womanfish, 
 but more destructive are small whelks, which, if they once 
 effect an entrance, rapidly destroy. Over one hundred 
 boats went off at ten last night. People sleep at the 
 bank, and work from dawn to one o’clock. 
 
 The pearl fishery divers find it to be so cold at six to 
 eight fathoms (thirty-six to forty-eight feet)— the depth at 
 
The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries in 1887. 883 
 
 •which the oysters are generally found to exist in greatest 
 abundance and healthiness — that they (the divers) are 
 glad to warm themselves in the sun for a while after 
 coming up from the performance of their task. In my 
 telegrams I have mentioned the cases of two divers whom 
 Mr. Twynam saw die from remaining too long under 
 water, and I have suggested as the cause the non-seration 
 of the blood, or what has lately been noticed as a cause 
 of drowning, the sudden collapse or paralysis of certain 
 muscles and nerves. The so-called “Arab diver” who 
 was timed by us to eighty-three seconds, differed from 
 others in putting a compressor on his nose, and he was 
 noticed to open his mouth widely and inhale air in large 
 volume before going down with his stone and basket. 
 He brought up — or rather, he collected in the rimmed net 
 bag which he had round his neck until he filled it, and 
 which, like the stone, was hauled up separately — forty-two 
 oysters, which was considered a very good haul. All the 
 divers when they come up seem glad to inhale a good gulp 
 of air, but they do not, or only very rarely and temporarily, 
 show signs of distress. Of the two fatal cases noticed by 
 Mr. Twynam, one was a novice who, no doubt, miscalcu- 
 lated what he could bear, from want of experience. The 
 other was a practised diver, hut he may have had organic 
 disease. Captain Donnan states that he has never known 
 the divers take anything to help them except snuff! Mr. 
 Twynam once induced a diver to go to the bottom in fifteen 
 fathoms (twice the average depth on the pearl banks), but 
 he was so alarmed at the prolonged period from the man’s 
 diving to his reappearance, that he has not and never will 
 repeat the experiment. The great difficulty in artificially 
 propagating the pearl-bearing mussels, and the reason why 
 all experiments here and in Southern India have failed, 
 is the depth, six to eight fathoms, at which alone this 
 species of shell-fish flourish. 
 
 There are two divers to each stone, who are alternately 
 up and down. We saw on board the guardship (one of the 
 immigration vessels, a fine two hundred and fifty ton ship 
 with three tall masts) a stone made of our common gneiss 
 rock, and a specimen of some substitutes made of concrete 
 at the breakwater. The weight seemed to he from thirty 
 to forty pounds. The weight of the stone helps to carry 
 the diver rapidly down, and as I have said, he has the net 
 
384 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 bag for the shells slung round his neck. On touching 
 ground the diver detaches himself from the stone, which 
 the force of hauling coolies on each fishing boat proceed 
 at once to pull up. Others haul up the basket when the 
 diver casts it off and gives the signal of a jerk to the rope. 
 The diver himself has only to give play to his buoyancy 
 to rise, but he is careful to avoid contact with the boat, 
 and will often dash off horizontally outwards in coming to 
 the surface, which he does almost simultaneously with the 
 bag of oysters he has gathered. While he holds on by 
 the side of the boat, the contents of his net bag are 
 emptied into large ola baskets, foreign substances being 
 thrown back into the sea, the net being soon again ready 
 for use. In each boat we found a belted native “counter,” 
 who responded to the question “ etena chippee ? ” but I 
 noticed that Mr. Twynam always added a percentage to 
 the number given. It seems as if the exact truth could 
 not be stated : indeed, I fancy that a good deal of fairly 
 correct estimation goes for counting in the division of the 
 spoil finally. The people, however, divide the oysters into 
 fairly equal heaps, because they know not which heap 
 may be allotted as the boat’s share. The boat now gets a 
 third instead of the ancient fourth, which latterly was 
 found not to be a sufficient inducement, and Mr. Twynam’s 
 calculation is that each man of some 2,300 employed in 
 the boats yesterday made about R3 wages. 
 
 The boatmen and divers’ share of oysters can at once, 
 on division, be sold, so that the people employed have 
 whatever advantage may accrue from being first in the 
 market. At the Government auction last evening it was 
 amusing to hear one man allege that he did not purchase, 
 as Saturday was an unlucky day ! Another said people 
 would blame him if he bid ; a man in the background 
 said he did not want people to know what he was bidding; 
 while a bidder up to R25 said emphatically, “ I’ll not bid 
 higher.” Some were at work all night carrying away 
 their lots of oysters, but a walk I took early this morning 
 over shells and fragments of shells everywhere, showed 
 that the work of washing, except in the case of a few 
 small retail purchasers, had not yet commenced. The 
 demand here for ola mats and baskets, and for cadjans 
 and palmyra leaves, is very large, hundreds of temporary 
 abodes going up in all directions. 
 
The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries in 1887. 385 
 
 Climate and soil are against vegetation here ; but tlie 
 bay, bounded on one side by Kuclramalle (well known to 
 the Greek and Boman voyagers as Hippouros), is very 
 spacious and pretty. But there are a good many rocks 
 scattered about. The fleet of graceful-sailed boats sweep- 
 ing along the horizon and making for the banks reminded 
 me somewhat of the sardine fishing vessels I saw in the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 As to attaining anything like certainty or steadiness, or 
 being able artificially to propagate the oysters, we seem 
 as much in the dark as ever. On board the guard ship 
 yesterday (whence I saw another exciting scene of 114 
 boats crowding round the ship to announce their loads 
 and to skim shorewards, the noise and confusion being 
 wonderful) I had the advantage of going over the charts 
 of the pearl banks with Mr. Twynam and Capt. Donnan, 
 who readily answered all my questions. The general 
 results were that an extensive area of bank, with from six 
 to eight fathoms of water on it, extends from near Mannar 
 to Chilaw. The apparent conditions of bottom coral 
 existing nearly everywhere seems to be generally very 
 similar : spat and young oysters appear periodically on 
 all. But it is only on the limited spaces called the 
 Modaragam and Cheval-pars that really good fisheries are 
 ever realized ; and even in regard to them, too often when 
 all is most promising, millions and millions of oysters 
 will suddenly disappear. If it can be any comfort to us 
 our Indian neighbours have been much more unfortunate, 
 a minute parasitic shell killing off holocausts of the 
 oysters. And this reminds me of the theory which Capt. 
 Phipps originated, which Mr. Thomas of the Madras Civil 
 Service (the great fisherman) took up, and which the 
 naturalists of the British Museum supported, that what 
 had hitherto from all time been known as the spat of the 
 pearl oyster, is the spat of quite a different shell ! All 
 that Mr. Twynam, Capt. Donnan, and other experienced 
 persons, natives as well as European, can say is, “ Then 
 we should like to see the real spat of the pearl oyster. 
 Destructive criticism is ingenious, but where is the sub- 
 stitute ? ” The disputed spat has always preceded oysters 
 on the banks. Messrs. Twynam and Donnan have seen 
 the spat changing into oysters on long tall sea-weeds, and 
 as those long weeds have died down, the spat has gone 
 
 26 
 
386 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 down, adhered to the coral, and become growing oysters. 
 If experience is to be set aside, a more than Darwinian 
 evolution must be substituted, and at present the opinion in 
 Ceylon is that all the old authorities were right, and that 
 Capt. Phipps, Mr. Thomas, and even a British Museum 
 naturalist, are mistaken. Shellfish which grow in millions 
 of millions must have spat in proportion, and in that 
 ease it must he apparent. But where is it apart from the 
 old spat ? 
 
 I must acknowledge a most interesting communication 
 which has reached me from Capt. Donnan. It is to the 
 following effect, the date being the 13th April : — 
 
 “ We are now working on the Cheval, having left the 
 Matarakam on Saturday last, and if the weather keeps 
 fine, of which there is every appearance at present, we 
 shall do much better in the way of revenue than I ex- 
 pected when I recommended the fishery. I have been 
 ashore only once since you left. You will remember that 
 ‘Arab’ diver with the nose nipper. Well, I had him 
 alongside this morning, and told him to let me see how 
 long he could remain under water, and I carefully timed 
 him, one minute and forty-nine seconds, which is the 
 longest dive on record on these banks or beds. The other 
 ‘ Arab,’ with air-pump and dress, only worked one day 
 with it, when he only sent up 1,500 oysters, and now, 
 without the dress, he is sending up from 2,500 to 3,000 
 oysters per day ; so that the helmet, dress, and air-pump 
 are not calculated to succeed at pearl-diving. I found 
 also in 1881, off Cliilaw, with four of Mr. Kyle’s divers, 
 that the natives sent up more oysters per day, man for 
 man, than they did; a result which very much surprised 
 me at the time, and now it has been confirmed again.” 
 
 It will he observed that the so-called “Arab” diver, 
 really a Hindu, from the Bombay Presidency, remained 
 under water for a period extending to 109 seconds. I 
 suspect that if sceptical criticism were brought to hear on 
 the stories which allege subaqueous existence by divers 
 for periods up to six minutes, this latest feat would he 
 found to take rank amongst the most remarkable in the 
 annals of diving where the diver has not been artificially 
 supplied with air. No doubt the organs of the human 
 
The Ceylon Pearl Fisheries in 1887. 387 
 
 body are capable of being edxrcated by continued practice 
 to endurance of abnormal conditions and of adaptation to 
 such conditions : to those of extreme heat for instance, if 
 gradually applied. I could, therefore, understand a man 
 who commenced a diver’s life, “ sound in wind and limb,” 
 obtaining gradually the power of remaining under water 
 and repressing inspiration and respiration for two minutes, 
 or at the very utmost two and a half. But those who know 
 that the blood is the life, and that it must, as it circulates, 
 be aerated, or lungs and heart will cease to act, will be 
 slow to believe in a staying power under water of three 
 minutes, far less of six. The other “Arab” alluded to 
 by Capt. Donnan had an imperfect diving dress which, it 
 will be observed, was rather an encumbrance than a help 
 to him as a regular diver, in which capacity he was only 
 thoroughly successful when lie abandoned the adventitious 
 aid. Much service to the pearl fisheries of Ceylon was 
 naturally expected from the class of European divers who, 
 by means of external air supplied to them, can remain 
 not minutes but hours under water. But the hopes 
 entertained have not been realized. For the ordinary 
 operations of rapidly collecting and bringing shells to the 
 surface, a regular diving dress is as much of an impedi- 
 ment as was Saul’s armour to the shepherd lad who slew 
 the giant with the simple weapons of a pehble from the 
 brook projected by a sling. For exploring the banks and 
 reporting on their condition, more might have reasonably 
 been expected. But a thickly mailed and lieavy-booted 
 European diver, with seven to nine fathoms of water 
 pressing on him, is no light entity to walk over and 
 inevitably crush the colonies of molluscs. 
 
 The stay under water in the case recorded by Capt. 
 Donnan was twenty-seven seconds in advance of Sir 
 Henry Ward’s timing, twenty-six beyond our own, and 
 sixteen in excess of the longest dive ever observed by Mr. 
 Twynam. I have Captain Donnan’s authority for saying 
 that the period under water now observed by him is the 
 longest on record in the annals of the Ceylon Pearl Fishery. 
 Captain James Steuart, so long the Inspector of the Pearl 
 Banks, and who collected so much information regarding 
 them, never knew a diver to remain at the bottom longer 
 than eighty-seven seconds, or to attain a greater depth than 
 thirteen fathoms. Six minutes is the period mentioned 
 
38S 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 in the “ Encyclopedia Britannica,” latest edition, hut as 
 no authority is given I must remain sceptical. In the 
 same article it is stated that, as the result of their trying 
 vocation, the divers are short-lived. Here, also, I prefer 
 the testimony of such largely-experienced and careful 
 observers as Mr. Twynam and Capt. Donnau. The men, 
 generally, make good earnings, live well, being nearly all 
 meat-eaters, look well and have as good chances of pro- 
 longed life as those who follow less hazardous occupations. 
 One reason, no doubt, is that instead of any attempt to 
 remain under water for prolonged periods, their average 
 stay below is somewhat under rather than over one 
 minute. With prolonged intervals to recover breath, to 
 rest and to sun themselves by the sides of the boats, 
 (working as they do by relays) their labour hours, as far 
 as diving is concerned, extend only to the seven or six 
 and a half hours from daylight to one p.m. 
 
APPENDIX XX. 
 
 ANURADHAPUEA, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF 
 CEYLON, AND ADJACENT RUINS AND TANKS, 
 IN 1887. 
 
 ( From Letters to the “ Ceylon Observer,” by A. if. Ferguson, 
 
 C.M.Gr.) 
 
 Anuradhapura, April 11 th, 1887. 
 Here I am at length, in the greatest and most ancient of 
 “ the buried cities of Ceylon,” which and the surrounding 
 countries, away to the mountains of Matale and “the 
 Knuckles,” I have looked over from the summit of the 
 Miriswatte Dagoba ; the streets of which, including the 
 “via sacra,” 1 have traversed, and the temples, palaces 
 and baths of which I have examined, with intense interest, 
 feeling as I looked on 
 
 “ Those temples, monuments, and piles stupendous, 
 
 Of which the very ruins are tremendous,” 
 
 that the half had not been told me. Yesterday I stood on 
 the mound which tradition indicates as the site where one 
 of the “decisive battles of the world” was fought; 
 where the Tamil invader, Elala, fell to the sword of the 
 Sinhalese monarch, Dutugemunu, and the tide of Damilo 
 progress southwards was arrested — at least temporarily. 
 For what power short cf the ruin of European enterprise 
 in Ceylon, can arrest the soutlrward flow, peaceful, but 
 determined and constant, of the successors of the old South 
 of India invaders ? The present Government of Ceylon, 
 instead of resisting, has done and is doing all it can to 
 welcome and encourage the influx of the Tamils who come 
 
390 
 
 Ceylon in ihe Jubilee Year. 
 
 to exchange their labour for silver coin. Who can calcu- 
 late the final results of this ebb and flow, but more flow 
 than ebb ? Even now the strength of the Tamil element 
 in Ceylon, including, as essentially Tamils, the industrious 
 and enterprising Moormen, is exceedingly strong, and it is 
 daily growing. 
 
 I have been six miles away to Mihintale, a dagoba- 
 crowned rock, which we ascended by about two thousand 
 steps, most of them separate blocks of stone, some cut in 
 the rock. The ruins here are most interesting, and the 
 views from the summit were beautiful. This was the 
 favourite residence of Maliindo, who, about three centuries 
 before Christ, introduced Buddhism to Ceylon. I lay on 
 the stone bed on which he was wont to meditate and so 
 secured great merit ! Over Mahindo’s pokuna or bath 
 there is sculptured a very curious five-headed cobra. But 
 see Burrow’s book.* 
 
 Ixalawewa, April 15 th. 
 
 This wonderful tank will be completed in October, 
 and then send irrigation water down to Anuradhapura, 
 fifty-four miles by the Yodiela (the giant’s canal), and into 
 the Kurunegala district. Mr. Wriglitson walked with me 
 this morning to see the enormous statue of Buddha, cut 
 out of the solid rock, one of the largest things of its kind 
 in the world. There is quite a town here, the people 
 employed on the restoration being about six hundred, 
 families and bazaars making up fully one thousand. 
 The tank will be seven miles square, with twenty feet of 
 water. 
 
 Entering Anuradhapura on a dark night, after rain, all 
 I was able to notice was the rush of the classical Malwatte, 
 with myriads of bright-glancing fireflies on the forest trees. 
 Next morning, when I looked out as daylight brightened 
 the scene, I had for the chief object in my view the grand 
 mass of the Jetawanarama dagoba. In the foreground, 
 close to a raised bund, was a strip of water. This was all 
 the Basawakulam (curious interjection of a Tamil termi- 
 nation into a city so essentially Sinhalese) had to show 
 as a tank, and most of it was the result of the exception- 
 ally heavy showers which had fallen in the first week of 
 
 * “Tlie Buried Cities of Ceylon,” by S. M. Burrows, C.C.S. Pub- 
 lished by A. M. & J. Ferguson, Colombo, 188G. 
 
Anuradliapura in 1887. 
 
 391 
 
 April. When the waters of the Yodiela reach Anurad- 
 liapura, as they will do within the next few days, I pre- 
 sume Basawakulam will receive the benefit of the supply, 
 to the increased beauty and salubrity of the city, I should 
 think. It is no use suggesting that the Tamil termination 
 “ kulam ” should be changed to the Sinhalese equivalent 
 “ wewa,” for, however much it may be regretted, the 
 ancient capital of the Sinhalese monarchy in Ceylon is 
 likely as development goes on to become more Tamil than 
 Sinhalese. 
 
 When Ivalawewa is completed and a lake of seven square 
 miles stands above the forests and fields which stretch 
 away to Anuradliapura, some readers may be surprised to 
 learn that it will not only be the largest restored tank in 
 Ceylon, but that it will rank with the largest in the world. 
 Mr. Henry Parker in his elaborate Report on the Giant’s 
 Tank, written so far back as November, 1881, instituted a 
 comparison which is now unjust to Ivalawewa, inasmuch 
 as its probable area was then taken at only 2,300 acres, or 
 littlo more than half the real area of the tank as restored, 
 which is 4,425 acres. Mr. Parker then under-estimated 
 also the area of Padawiya, the largest tank in Ceylon, 
 larger even than the Giant’s Tank. If his revised esti- 
 mate, after examination of the locality, could be accepted, 
 this Padawiya tank witli 20,000 acres area would closely 
 approach in extent the great Madras tank of Viranam, with 
 its 22,000 acres extent. But, taking Mr. Parker’s more 
 moderate estimate of 10,000 acres for Padawiya, then 
 Kalawewa in October next will rival this, and, perhaps, 
 equal it, if the spill is ultimately raised five feet. Mean- 
 time, the corrected comparison of areas alone (capacity in 
 millions of cubic feet being in a good many cases doubtful 
 or unascer tamable), is as follows : — 
 
 
 % 
 
 Area in 
 
 
 Country. 
 
 Reservoir. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Madras 
 
 Viranam 
 
 22,000 
 
 Ancient. 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 Padawiya 
 
 10,000 
 
 Estimated. 
 
 Do 
 
 Giant’s Tank 
 
 6,380 
 
 As proposed. 
 
 Madras 
 
 Semprampakam. . . 
 
 6,000 
 
 Estimated. 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 Ivalawewa 
 
 4,425 
 
 Ascertained. 
 
 Do 
 
 Kanthalai 
 
 3,584 
 
 As restored. 
 
 Do 
 
 Allai 
 
 3,000 
 
 do. 
 
 Do 
 
 Rugam 
 
 3,000 
 
 Original tank. 
 
 Bombay .... 
 
 Sliolapur 
 
 3,000 
 
 As enlarged. 
 
 Madras 
 
 Red Hill 
 
 1,600 
 
 do. 
 
 Bombay .... 
 
 Vehar 
 
 1,394 
 
 As constructed 
 
392 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 Of tlie above tanks, Yeliar, in the Bombay Presidency, 
 and tbe Bed Hill reservoir above Madras (the bursting of 
 wlricli latter some years ago produced so much alarm, 
 some loss of life, and great inconvenience), are intended 
 solely for the supply of water to the Presidency towns ; 
 Madras 400,000 population and Bombay twice that num- 
 ber. The reservoir at Labugama, a sub range of the 
 Adam’s Peak system, whence our chief city, with its 
 120,000 inhabitants, is now supplied with water, covers 
 17G acres. 
 
 It is very curious to see how, in the course of ages, the 
 south-west monsoon winds and rains have worn away the 
 ends of the pinnacle platforms of the great Anuradhapura 
 dagobas on which they have impinged, so that in some 
 cases there is scarcely any projection on the western sides 
 of the dagobas, the pinnacle appearing to rise from the 
 western edge of a platform. The intention of Government 
 at first, I believe, was merely to strengthen the top plat- 
 form of the Abhayagiria dagoba so as to render it secure, 
 but finally reconstruction, -which is now considerably 
 advanced, was resolved on, and but for the objection of the 
 appearance of pandering to Buddhism, and the other that 
 Ceylon has no money at present to spare on merely archaeo- 
 logical purposes, no doubt the resolution would be com- 
 mendable. For by means of a winding stone staircase 
 which runs up through the interior of the platform, the 
 summit can be attained, commanding a grand and varied 
 view of the ruins of the ancient city, its tanks, its rice- 
 fields, its forest surroundings, with many mountain ranges 
 as backgrounds to the scenery. It was up this winding 
 path, through the monkey-haunted jungle which now 
 covers the ancient structure, that the prisoners employed 
 had originally to carry the stone, lime, sand, and broken 
 brick : all the materials and tools used in the restoration. 
 It must have been hard work with a vengeance, as we can 
 testify from merely walking up the steep path when the 
 sun was shining hotly. 
 
 The extensiveness of the road system and its ramifica- 
 tions through the tank regions, involves a limit to the 
 extent to which water can now be impounded and its level 
 raised in such great tanks for instance as Ivalawewa. An 
 average of ten feet of water does not seem in proportion 
 to a bund of sixty feet in height. But even so, an area of 
 
Anuradhapura in 1887 . 
 
 398 
 
 seven square miles will be permanently covered, and if the 
 spills were raised much beyond the five feet additional for 
 which provision has been made, the damage of submerging 
 many miles of useful road would be real and great. Such 
 considerations did not trouble Maha Sen, Waligambahu, 
 Dhatu Sena, Prakramabalm and other great tank-builders, 
 far less did they think of providing for the possibility of a 
 railway line to connect the shipping port on the west of 
 the island with the tank region of the north, its capital 
 city. With reference to contingencies in the distant future 
 our Government ought to get Mr. Wrightson to place on 
 record his scheme of a railway line which would not bo a 
 continuation of the line that has already reached Matale 
 in its northern course ; but which, springing from Veyan- 
 goda or Polgahawella, would reach Anuradhapura by a far 
 easier and less costly course. A railway terminus in the 
 shadow of our Ceylon pyramids, and in close contiguity to 
 Elala’s tomb and the thousand pillars of “Brazen Palaces,” 
 “Halls of Audience,” “Baths” and “Pavilions,” may 
 seem wildly visionary ; but so at one time did the idea of 
 a railway from the sea into the centre of the mountain 
 region of Ceylon. So also was the restoration of Kalawewa 
 once regarded ; but that is now, practically, an accom- 
 plished fact, and thus the visionary “castles in the air” 
 of one generation become the substantial realities of suc- 
 ceeding periods. For the present, however, what Anurad- 
 hapura and the region around it want are irrigation water 
 to facilitate — (to render possible, indeed) — the cultivation 
 of rice, and good roads for the transport of surplus crops 
 and the commodities received in exchange. 
 
 Of the thousands of buildings which once existed, at 
 Anuradhapura, at least, nearly all are prone with the 
 earth, or hopelessly ruined, except the grand dagobas and 
 the splendid baths, to which latter is unhappily attached 
 the very uneuplionious name of polcuna. Next to the 
 pyramid-dagobas in interest, and far more perfect in 
 structure (except in the case of the repaired, we may say 
 reconstructed, Tliuparama), are the numerous and really 
 beautiful baths of Anuradhapura, one of which, or rather 
 two-in-one, a twin-bath or pokuna, is certainly amongst 
 the most striking sights, and makes one of the finest pic- 
 tures, in the ancient capital. It is exceedingly picturesque 
 in its semi-ruinous condition, the steps being displaced as 
 
394 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 by an earthquake shake, and lying in admired confusion, 
 though none are broken, and few even chipped. This 
 beautiful work could at slight expense be restored, and by 
 means of Yodiela water from Tissawewa, be converted into 
 ■what we suspect the Buddhist priest-worshipping kings 
 never could or would have contemplated, a public swim- 
 ming bath, to which others than members of the royal 
 family and of the priesthood would be admitted. In the 
 prominence of its baths, ancient Anuradhapura reminded 
 me of ancient Borne, where the finest maidenhair ferns 
 flourish in the Baths of Nero and Caracalla. But there is 
 one great difference, and it scores in favour of the Budd- 
 hist kings. The insane and wicked ambition of the 
 Caesars was for each to use the bath or palace of his 
 predecessor merely as the foundation on which to erect a 
 structure after his own fancy and in honour of himself. 
 In the Italian city, therefore, we have the superimposed 
 remains of baths, doubly ruined ; by the instincts of insen- 
 sate ambition, originally, and then by the hands of time 
 and vandalism. But no similar idea seems ever to have 
 crossed the mind of Sinhalese monarchs. There was 
 plenty of space, and each king in choosing a new site and 
 constructing a new ablution-tank (we hope the word 
 pokuna will be outlawed and driven to take refuge in the 
 rock fastnesses of Sigiri), merely strove to excel in elegance 
 of structure and capacity the bath of his predecessor. He 
 who constructed the twin-bath ought to have his name, if 
 it could be ascertained, associated with one of the finest 
 remains in the ancient capital of Ceylon, and one of the 
 most beautiful things of its kind in the world. Photo- 
 graphs give a fair idea of the twin-tanks of stone, their 
 exquisitely-carved balustrades and their flights of steps, 
 but it is worth taking a journey to Anuradhapura to see 
 and stand in admiration beside the “ Kuttam pokuna,” the 
 largest division of which is 132 feet long by 50 feet wide, 
 the descent being, we should say, at least 30 feet. It is a 
 truly noble and elegant structure, every stone of which is 
 almost as perfect as the day it was hewn. The qualifying 
 question arises, for whose use was this magnificent bath 
 provided? It lies in suspicious proximity to the Jetawa- 
 narama dagoba, which is said to have been built by Maha 
 Sen, about the close of the third century of our era, to 
 commemorate his reconversion to orthodox Buddhism 
 
Anuradhapura in 1887 . 
 
 395 
 
 (whatever that was) from the Wytuliam heresy (whatever 
 that may have been). Having built a shrine so enormous, 
 it was only befitting that the repentant monarch should 
 provide for the hordes of priests attached to it baths of pro- 
 portionate size. We could scarcely restrain our burning 
 indignation as we found that object after object of archaeo- 
 logical interest resolved itself, on inquiry, into something 
 for the honour, convenience, and pampering of one of the 
 most utterly useless systems of priestcraft that ever cursed 
 humanity. Amongst the wonders of Anuradhapura are 
 some large stone canoes, and it is believed that even these 
 were constructed to hold food for the priests. Similar care 
 was taken to provide monolithic vessels for the dyeing of 
 the priestly robes, and to quote Burrows : — “ Wide dis- 
 tricts, fertilized, perhaps, by the interception of a river and 
 the formation of suitable canals, were appropriated to the 
 use of the local priesthood ; a tank, with the thousands of 
 acres it watered, was sometimes assigned for the perpetual 
 repairs of a dagoba.” The depth of subserviency was 
 reached when a monarch devoted himself and his family 
 as slaves to the priesthood ; but this was too much even 
 for Sinhalese public opinion, Buddhists as the people 
 were. To look for remains of residences of the common 
 people amidst the ruins of Anuradhapura seems hopeless : 
 they built with mud, and roofed with leaves. But surely 
 the monarchs and nobles had their palaces and their 
 baths? We certainly do hear of “ the queen’s palace,” 
 and “ the king’s palace,” and of ‘pavilions,” but even 
 regarding these, the qualifying remark has to be made that 
 the buildings were probably “ shrines ; ” and what is cer- 
 tain is that nine-tenths at least of the existing ruins of 
 Anuradhapura, once a great city covering an area of 25G 
 square miles (Colombo is spread over only 11), are identi- 
 fied as the remains of buildings devoted to the custody of 
 doubtful relics of an arch-atheist and pessimist, and to the 
 delectation of holy beggars who taught that there is no 
 God, no soul, no immortality ; only extinction of sentient 
 existence by the practice of unnatural and impossible 
 austerities, and by honouring a non-existent being called 
 Buddha, and bestowing bounty on his very exigent “men- 
 dicant ” priests. 
 
 The calculation which Tennent makes regarding the 
 mass of materials in the Jetawanarama dagoba shows 
 
39G 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 what might have been clone for the people, or what the 
 people might have been led to do for themselves, had fair 
 play been extended to them by the kings and nobles and 
 priests who lived only or mainly for their own aggrandize- 
 ment. The Jetawanarama dagoba, built by Malia Sen 
 about 275 a.d., was originally S1G, and is still 249, feet 
 high, so that the summit is nearly 600 feet above sea-leveL 
 Neither the priests nor the Government entertain any de- 
 sign of “restoring ” this vast mass, but no doubt an easy 
 path to the top will be added to the many fine drives and 
 walks for which Anuradhapura is now distinguished, and 
 which renders it so different a place to that into which 
 Skinner and MacCaskill cut their way through dense 
 jungle somewhat more than half a century ago. The 
 diameter of the great Jetawanarama dagoha is 360 feet, 
 and Tennent estimated the contents of the whole at 20 
 millions of cubic feet. He added: “Even with the facili- 
 ties which modern invention supplies for economizing 
 labour, the building of such a mass would at present 
 occupy 500 bricklayers from 6 to 7 years, and would in- 
 volve an expenditure of at least a million sterling. The 
 materials are sufficient to raise 8,000 houses, each with 20 
 feet frontage, and these would form thirty streets half a 
 mile in length. They would construct a town the size of 
 Ipswich or Coventry ; they would line an ordinary railway 
 tunnel 20 miles long, or form a wall 1 foot thick and 10 
 feet high reaching from London to Edinburgh.” When it 
 is remembered that, apart from purely stone ruins, some 
 five times the mass of materials (chiefly fine large flat 
 bricks, tens of thousands of which have resisted outrage 
 and time), when it is considered that materials multiplied 
 at least by five times enter into similar structures at 
 Anuradhapura, some idea can be formed of the fearful 
 misapplication of materials and labour which took place 
 in honour of a false faith and a parasite priesthood at the 
 ancient city. As in the case of the Medici and St. Peter’s 
 at Rome (a grand building, but more a shrine of idolatry 
 than Christianity), love of art, devotedness to aesthetic 
 beauty, will be pleaded, and no doubt the ancient monarchs 
 of Anuradhapura were some of them men of as good taste 
 as Sir William Gregory described the last bloody and 
 murderous tyrant of Kandy to be. He compelled Ehela- 
 pola’s wife to pound the head of her own child in a mortar, 
 
A nuradhapura in 18S7. 
 
 397 
 
 but, as a set-off, be formed the beautiful Kandy lake and 
 built its fine bund- wall. If the dates usually given can be 
 accepted, it is curious that Thuparama dagoba (moderate 
 in size when compared with the pyramids of Jetawana- 
 rama, Ruanwelli, Abhayagiria, and Mirisiawatte) is not 
 only one of the most ancient buildings in India, but one 
 of the most elegant in design. Ruskin may rant and rave 
 against stucco and whitewash, but there can be no ques- 
 tion that the restored Thuparama, with its snow-white, 
 bell-shaped, pointed form, contrasted w T ith the ancient 
 monoliths and ruins, and the umbrageous trees and green- 
 sward amidst which it rises, is “ a thing of beauty.” In 
 shape it is now a perfect contrast to the top-heavy mass 
 shown in the works of Forbes and Fergusson ; and the 
 appearance of Thuparama as merely whitewashed, helps 
 to a vivid realization of how beautiful the great pyramid 
 dagobas must have looked when, covered with fine polished 
 chunam, their vast masses gleamed white against the sky. 
 But the glories and the gems of Thuparama and of Anurad- 
 hapura (although we do not forget our admiration of the 
 baths) are the monolithic, capital-crowned pillars which 
 stand upright or at various angles of inclination around. 
 The Thuparama dagoba, built originally, so the Maha- 
 wanso asserts, in 307 b.c. (and if so, it is certainly the 
 oldest building in all India), was damaged by the Mala- 
 bars, and has been several times repaired, and lately 
 restored. But the exquisitely proportioned monoliths are 
 here intact, and if they were hewn and the capitals sculp- 
 tured, as seems certain, neax-ly twenty-two centuries ago, 
 then certainly the ancient founders of Anuradhapura had 
 the principles of true art and the sense of true beauty 
 developed in a remarkable degree. Nothing strikes a 
 visitor to the quadrangle in which stands the sacred bo 
 tree more than the complete but most pleasing contrast 
 between the umbrageous expanses of the Indian figs and 
 the tall, rounded, perfectly straight, cylindrical stems of 
 the palmyra palms, each crowned with its capital of clus- 
 tered leaves. As I looked on these classically beautiful 
 trees I could not help the reflection that here were the 
 natural models on which the long slender pillars around 
 Thuparama were formed. The palm, so prevalent now, 
 must have existed in those early ages ; and even if artists 
 from India formed the transcendency elegant pillars, we 
 
398 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 must remember that over large portions of India the pal- 
 myra palm ( borassus flabelliformis) is a familiar object. 
 The beauty and utility of the palmyra palm is scarcely 
 appreciated as it ought to be. Those who have seen only 
 dense groves of stiff-looking trees in the peninsula of Jaffna 
 can scarcely imagine the tall growth and noble proportions 
 of the single specimens in the rich soil of the bo tree 
 quadrangle at Anuradliapura. As a timber tree for roof- 
 ing purposes the palmyra is well known and valued for its 
 extreme lasting powers. For cabinet-making purposes it 
 is not much used, because, probably, of the difficulty of 
 working it. But old wood rightly treated is scarcely, if at 
 all, inferior to ebony. Mr. Alexander, the forester of the 
 North Central Province, took a polished stem to the Edin- 
 burgh Forestry Exhibition, which was universally admired 
 as “ black marble.” The pillars at Thuparama, as well as 
 the thousands of others scattered, erect or prone, around 
 the many and in some cases vast dagobas of Anuradliapura 
 had for object the defining of processional circuits, round 
 and round which hundreds of thousands of successive 
 bands of pilgrims paced, all down the centuries, in order 
 to obtain “ merit,” and of this surely the poor simple 
 people, with their devout instincts, ought to have obtained 
 a large store, seeing that Thuparama enclosed the veritable 
 collarbone of Buddha, while close by, in another shrine, 
 was the still more sacred canine tooth of the Bliodisat, the 
 sage, in Gaelic Bodach, an old man, as Caielacli (Tamil, 
 Kalevi ) means an old woman. 
 
 From the calculation that ancient Anuradliapura, with 
 its area of 256 square miles (including gardens, tanks, and 
 cultivated fields), had a population of a quarter of a million, 
 the descent is extreme to Fergusson’s statement, in the 1876 
 edition of his work, that the site of the city was then 
 entirely deserted and its vicinity closed in -with almost 
 impenetrable jungle. Even -when that sentence was 
 written, the clearing, road-formation, tank and canal re- 
 storation, and general revival, which have now made such 
 extensive progress, had been commenced, and were well 
 forward. We have noticed that Anuradliapura is a perfect 
 centre of highways, radiating away to the Northern, 
 Eastern, North-Western, and Central Provinces, and so 
 to the west and south of the island, while there are few 
 out-station towns in Ceylon better supplied with local 
 
Anuradhapura in 1887. 
 
 399 
 
 driving roads and paths. This advantage is, of course, 
 largely due to the desire of the authorities to render access 
 to the antiquities of the place facile to travellers and 
 visitors. We believe we mentioned in a previous letter 
 that, besides the Government principal and minor roads, 
 a large mileage of what are called “ green roads ” has 
 been cleared by the natives. These roads have to wait for 
 bridges, culverts, and gravelling, but meantime they are 
 traversable by carriages and carts in the dry season (seven 
 or eight months out of the twelve), and by foot-passengers 
 all the year round. 
 
 From houses in the town we heard as we entered after 
 dark and on subsequent days, the notes of music and the 
 sounds of song and hymn, such as are common to the 
 civilization of a century later by 2,000 years than that in 
 which the town named after the constellation Anuradha 
 was founded, while rays of light from lamps filled with 
 kerosene, imported from a western world then undreamt 
 of, vied in brightness with the phosphorescence of myriads 
 of fireflies hovering over the vegetation which clothes the 
 sides of the Malwatte oya. The present population of 
 revived Anuradhapura, including, it must be admitted, 
 large proportions of active Tamils and enterprising Moor- 
 men, must be fully 2,000, the promising nucleus of an 
 aggregation of humanity which in the ages to come may 
 equal, and even surpass, the hundreds of thousands who 
 lived and loved and fought the battle of life and died on 
 its fields in the ages that have gone into the eternity of 
 the past. If after October next, when the scheme of tanks, 
 canals, sluices, and spills between the grand tank of Kala- 
 wewa and the town reservoirs of Tissa, Abhaya, and the 
 supply channels which lead from them to houses and 
 fields, are all complete and fully at work, then if the 
 population of what is now' Anuradhapura, and of the area 
 over which it once extended, does not increase in almost 
 geometrical ratio, all ordinary human calculations must 
 be deemed valueless. 
 
 There is, I believe, some evidence amongst the ruins of 
 Anuradhapura of colours having been used in designs and 
 ornamentation, and it seems quite probable that the fine 
 white lime stucco which at one time covered not only the 
 brickwork of the dagobas, but rough stone-work, such as 
 the pillars of the Brazen Temple, may have been elabo- 
 
400 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 rately frescoed In sucli frescoes, had any survived the 
 ravages of time and of ruthless human destructiveness, 
 the author of tree and serpent worship might have hoped 
 to find the tree which, in support of his theory, ought to 
 have accompanied the serpents on the sculptures. Or he 
 probably thought the nagas and trees, in due proximity, 
 were painted on the “ curtains,” which he conjectures 
 were hung between the processional pillars, successive 
 circles of which surrounded Thuparama and the other 
 dagobas. But if that was the case, it is surely curious 
 that the conjunction was not perpetuated in the Bock 
 Temple and ordinary wihara frescoes. As far as my 
 observation has gone, representations of trees are not 
 common on the walls of Ceylon wiharas, and I can 
 recollect no case of tree and serpent, together or separ- 
 ately, represented as objects of worship. Amidst the 
 elaborate frescoes of the rock cave temple of Dambulla 
 I do not remember any picture of a tree, although the 
 artist, in reproducing the marine landscape connected 
 with a ship conveying the branch of the sacred bo to 
 Ceylon, shows his sense of proportion by representing 
 the fishes in the sea as considerably excelling in size the 
 ships ! But I must leave this question of the presence or 
 absence of evidence in Ceylon of the former prevalence of 
 tree and serpent worship to professed oriental scholars 
 who have made the subject a special study. I am merely 
 an outsider, scarcely entitled to “benefit of clergy,” re- 
 lating the impressions made on my mind by what I have 
 seen and read. According to Fergusson, the beautifully 
 sculptured moonstones, the design of which — elephant, 
 lion, horse, bull, lianza, lotus, and frieze — remained un- 
 changed for fifteen centuries, are peculiar to Ceylon ! 
 This certainly looks like indigenous art. "What are called 
 “ pavilions ” at Anuradhapura, a name given, I believe, 
 by Mr. Dickson, Fergusson supposes were “ preaching 
 halls” connected with dagobas; so that the more w r e 
 investigate, the more it becomes evident that all or nearly 
 all the grand litliic remains of buildings at the ancient 
 city, as well as the mainly brick pagodas, were devoted to 
 the glorification of Buddhism and the convenience of its 
 so-called “priests,” who were bound by the laws of their 
 order to spend their lives in meditation and self-denial. 
 But we know how mediaeval Christian monks interpreted 
 
Anuradhapura in 1887. 
 
 401 
 
 their “ vows of poverty.” The Buddhist mendicants of 
 our day who hold and misuse such large “ temporalities ” 
 have certainly the merit of being true to the traditions of 
 twenty centuries. The dagobas contained “ bushels ” of 
 relics, but it is singular that the only relic ever publicly 
 exhibited in the past or now is the so-called tooth. The 
 saintly Tissa (“ a sair saint to the croon ”) is said to have 
 been privileged above all laymen by being admitted to see the 
 relics contained in the inner sanctum of the holiest of the 
 great dagobas, and he was doubtless correspondingly edified. 
 We do not read that he worshipped the relics, however ; 
 for Buddhist idolatry was evidently long posterior to the 
 early age in which he flourished. It was, however, in 
 full force when the second ancient capital of Ceylon 
 was founded. Fergusson, indeed, regards Polonaruwa as 
 specially interesting from this fact, that it is full of the 
 idolatry of Buddhism, having been founded after Buddhism 
 had become extinct in India. Interest of another kind 
 attaches to this city of Prakrama (which I was very sorry 
 not to be able to visit), from the fact that the Sat Mahal 
 Prasada, so conspicuous amongst its wonderfully perfect 
 buildings, is the lineal descendant of Birs Nimroud of 
 Assyria. There is indeed nothing more curious and in- 
 teresting in the great work on Indian Architecture than 
 the mode in which the influence, first of Babylonia and 
 Nineveh, and then of Greece and Rome, is traced by the 
 erudite author in much of the architecture of India and 
 Ceylon ; while at the same time there is a great deal that 
 is quite original and indigenous. To Fergusson we are 
 also indebted for the calculation that the Brazen Palace 
 at Anuradhapura, when complete (according to the plan 
 of gradually diminishing stories, which alone he believed 
 to be possible), vied with the simple but majestic Anurad- 
 hapura dagobas in height, and was equal to the most 
 elevated of the great English cathedrals. In noticing the 
 surpassingly elegant pillars of Thuparama I ought to have 
 mentioned their resemblance to the “ lats ” of India, on 
 which the edict of Asoka and other monarchs are inscribed, 
 and which again seem to have influenced the form of the 
 minarets in Saracenic architecture. But I must no longer 
 linger amidst the ruins of Anuradhapura further than to 
 express my agreement with the conviction that the choice 
 of the place as the capital of the Wijayan conquerors was 
 
 27 
 
402 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 largely influenced by tlie fact that Mihintale, with its 
 rock caves and boulder plateaux, was already a scene of 
 religious worship before the immigrants from northern 
 India conquered the indigenous Yakho race, and before 
 the apostles of the new philosophy of negation bound con- 
 querors and conquered in the chains of their godless and 
 cheerless, if plausible, creed. The same fact, probably, of 
 the rock caves being sacred to demon or naga worship 
 influenced Mahindo, son of the great Asoka, in choosing 
 Mihintale as his residence when he came to introduce 
 Buddhism in the second century b.c., his sister soon fol- 
 lowing with the branch of the sacred Bo. 
 
 I now proceed to notice some other rock temples beyond 
 the precincts of Anuradhapura. Within those precincts 
 are a good many curious examples, the most striking being 
 that close to Tissawewa, Isurumaniya, to w T it, which, ex- 
 isting as a shrine from 300 b.c., if we can accept the native 
 dates, presents now a most incongruous combination of 
 natural magnitude of rock, ancient sculpture, and exqui- 
 site stone carving, and the most tawdry modern ornamen- 
 tation of glaring paint and toy-like shrines and begging 
 boxes. As a whole, Isurumaniya, with its combination of 
 Buddhism, Hinduism, and (there can be little doubt, of a 
 cult which preceded both) demon-worship with the physi- 
 cal symbol of the serpent, presents one of the most curious 
 problems of the mysterious ancient city of the “ dead 
 past.” 
 
 From Kalawewa I was able to visit a rock temple, the 
 Aukuna wihara, which, though not very ancient when 
 compared with some of the monuments of Anuradhapura, 
 is certainly very interesting. The sight of the solemn, 
 colossal figure of Buddha carved from the solid rock, one 
 of a series of huge vertical strata, was well worth the 
 journey. Although the protecting porch which once 
 covered the figure no longer exists, every well-executed 
 detail is in as perfect preservation as when the statue was 
 sculptured by order of Parakrama Baku nearly 700 years 
 ago. Purposely, no doubt, the figure — which is in good 
 proportion and good taste, 40 feet high, with feet 72- 
 inches in length — faces the great tank. Without a par- 
 ticle of sympathy with Buddhist idolatry, we can distin- 
 guish between that foul sin and the true art thrown into 
 the pose and repose of this grand figure. When I said 
 
Anuradhapura in 1887. 
 
 403 
 
 that every detail was complete, I ought to have added that 
 the flame ornament ( answering to the nimbus of Christian 
 art *) which ought to he on the head of the figure, lies 
 beside it. There is also the inevitable cobra carved on a 
 slab, but no representation of a tree or any approach to it. 
 It was the solitary priest of the wihara connected with the 
 rock statue who insisted that the English engineer engaged 
 in the restoration of Kalawewa was an incarnation of one 
 of the ancient tank-building giants. Mr. Wrightson adds 
 to his other accomplishments that of photographer, and 
 amongst his collection was the likeness of another similar 
 colossal rock statue of Buddha, but, he believes, of more 
 ancient date. It stands 41 feet high, at Seperawa. Fer- 
 gusson, however, in noticing photographs taken by Captain 
 Hogg, R.E., remarks that these statues are extremely 
 similar to one another, and, except in dimensions, to that 
 at the Gal wihara in Polonaruwa. The few figures of 
 Buddha unearthed at Anuradhapura looked poor and 
 dilapidated when compared with the fresh-looking “ruins” 
 of stone monuments, older than the statues by many cen- 
 turies. The statues of monarchs there, at the Dambulla 
 Bock Temple, and elsewhere, are, I suppose, as authentic 
 likenesses as are the pictures at Holyrood of the long line 
 of mythical or doubtful Scottish kings, from “Fergus the 
 First” onwards. 
 
 On my way back from Kalawewa to the central road, 
 Mr. Wrightson’s kindness enabled me to visit the specially 
 interesting ruins of Vigittapura, a city said to have been 
 founded at an earlier date even than Anuradhapura by 
 one of the six brothers of Wijayo’s Indian Queen. There 
 is the inevitable dagoba, which we ascended, admiring, as 
 a bright contrast to the surrounding ruins of long past 
 ages, the pretty wild flowers which brightened its sides. 
 From the top we had a good view of the ruins of wiharas 
 and fortress defences, which we could not, for want of time, 
 examine in detail. It was certainly interesting to look on 
 pillars and slabs hewn probably over twenty-three centuries 
 ago ; for the Mahawanso, quoted by Burrows, states that 
 the settlement of Prince Yigitta was a city and fortress 
 
 * So close is the analogy between the architecture, images, and 
 ritual of Buddhism with those of the Komish Church, that the Abbe 
 Hue expressed the conviction that the devil had used Buddhism to 
 cast discredit on “ the Church.” 
 
404 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 “ surrounded by a triple battlement and entered by a gate 
 of iron ! ” when Anuradhapura was but a village. There 
 are inscriptions here in the Nagara character, and besides 
 the remains in the cleared space, the jungle around 
 (specially pestiferous) is said to be “ strewn with ruins.” 
 Somewhere near one of the four “ altars” of the dagoba 
 on which we stood and looked over the site of one of 
 earth’s most ancient cities and fortresses, Buddha’s jaw- 
 bone is said to be hidden. In hearing of such “ bushels 
 of relics ” one is inclined to be irreverent enough to ask 
 how many jawbones the sage ascetic was possessed of. 
 Yigittapura is famous for the incidents of its siege more 
 than 2,000 years ago. The city, founded by Gautama 
 Buddha’s cousin, b.c. 500, had, in u.c. 1G3, fallen into the 
 possession of Mysorean invaders, and was held by a captain 
 of Elala, the Damilo monarch or usurper. 
 
 Dhutugamunu conquered this fortress with others before 
 his final and decisively successful battle and single combat 
 with Ellala at Anuradhapura. Forbes, quoting from the 
 Mahawanso, gives the following animated account of the 
 siege : 
 
 “ The assault having been determined on, Kadol, the 
 famed war elephant of the Singalese prince, was directed 
 against the eastern gate, up to which he rushed through a 
 shower of weapons and weighty stones that were hurled at 
 him on his near approach to the walls. On reaching the 
 entrance, a party of the besieged who were stationed over 
 the gate commenced pouring down molten lead, which, 
 falling on the elephant, he became ungovernable, and fled 
 to shelter himself in a small tank near the walls. Kadol’s 
 wounds having been dressed, and his body fortified against 
 similar attacks by cloths thickly folded and shielded over 
 with plates of copper, he was again brought to the assault, 
 and succeeded in forcing the gate, at the same time that 
 others of the assailants entered by a breach in the walls 
 of the fortress.” 
 
 On the morning after I had visited the romantic ruins 
 of Yigittapura, apparently the most ancient in Ceylon, 
 apart from the rock caves, I stood on the great gneiss 
 rock of Dambulla, and enjoyed the extensive and varied 
 view of successive mountain and vast forested plains, 
 
Anuradhapura in 1887. 405 
 
 brightened by glimpses of streams and tanks and rice 
 fields. 
 
 I do not wonder that Mr. Campbell, of Islay, was 
 struck with tlia appearance of the gneiss of which the 
 great rock of Dambulla is formed ; for the crystallized 
 strata, worn away and polished on the rounded sides of 
 the rock, look as if Nature had tried her artist hand in 
 adorning the mass with engraved serpentine designs and 
 striations, beautiful in themselves and bearing the most 
 curious resemblance to hieroglyphic inscriptions. "Would 
 that this natural alphabet could tell us somewhat of the 
 date, or rather successive dates, of the metamorphic rock, 
 and the mode of formation of its vast caverns. But while, 
 with the utter absence of marine remains, we have in exis- 
 tence, potent as ever, agencies which sufficiently account 
 for the production of the phenomena we are examining, I 
 see no reason to suppose that these are ocean-caves formed 
 by the beating of billows against the sides of the rock and 
 eroding its softer portions away through countless geolo- 
 gical ages. All through those ages, doubtless, existed and 
 operated the same air-ocean of moisture waves driven by 
 wind currents which exists and operates in our day. 
 Apart from any tilting and dividing processes to which 
 the strata may have been subjected, and which may have 
 separated them widely, the effects of millions of monsoon 
 storms on decomposing rock, aided finally by the agency 
 of man with his splitting wedges and hewing hammers 
 and chisels, sufficiently account for the series of yawning 
 caves which have rendered the rock of Dambulla famous. 
 
 The stratified and contorted character of the rock ac- 
 counts for the water which percolates down from the 
 summit into one of the caves, to which, as of mysterious 
 origin, the priests draw the attention of visitors, and which 
 is treasured and considered as sacred as Gauges water is in 
 India. I did not taste the heaven-born fluid, any more 
 than I did the contents of a lakelet in a depression of the 
 vast rock, a rock stated by Tennent to be 500 feet in 
 height and about 2,000 feet in length. 
 
 As was natural to an accomplished enthusiast like Islay 
 Campbell, it was not for his geological theories alone he 
 sought support amidst the cave recesses in the great gneiss 
 rock of Dambulla. In the elaborate aud richly- coloured 
 frescoes by which the stone roofs of the caves are covered 
 
406 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 and adorned lie sought evidences of identity with the 
 northern folklore which he had studied so deeply and 
 illustrated so happily. He had heard of the giants as 
 well as the demons of Sinhalese folklore, and, considering 
 how many theories have been founded on the supposed 
 identity in Indian literature of the Yavans with the 
 Ionian s, we cannot wonder that the accomplished savant 
 of Islay saw more than a verbal similarity between the 
 Yotli of the Sinhalese and the Odin of the Scandinavian 
 pantheon of deified heroes. 
 
APPENDIX XXL 
 
 REFERENCE TO FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 The inscription on the statue to Governor Sir William 
 Gregory tells its own story to some extent, but it may be 
 added that a sum of about R25,000 was subscribed by all 
 classes — chiefly by Ceylonese, and especially the Sinhalese 
 section — for the erection of the statue. It was executed 
 by F. Boehm, A.R.A. It is erected in the Cinnamon 
 Gardens, in front of the Colombo Museum — the most 
 interesting and most generally useful, as well as hand- 
 somest, public building erected in Ceylon during British 
 times. The conception, arrangments, and carrying out of 
 this museum were entirely due to Governor Gregory. 
 He had for his architect Mr. J. G. Smither, F.R.I.B.A. 
 The structure, laying out of grounds, and surrounding 
 wall, cost about £12,000. The museum is occupied 
 entirely with Ceylon exhibits, and presents a very adequate 
 display in all departments, and especially interesting 
 archa3ological exhibits refering to the early days of the 
 Kandyan Kingdom. An oriental library occupies one 
 part of the building, and the Ceylon branch of the Royal 
 Asiatic Society holds its meetings in an adjoining room. 
 The natives of all classes and races visit the museum in 
 great numbers, and it is a centre of attraction to visitors 
 — passengers landing at Colombo — from all quarters. 
 
 THE COLOMBO MUSEUM. 
 
 (By a Ceylon writer in 1882.) 
 
 “If want of interest in local exhibitions was not so commonly 
 observable amongst the residents of almost all the principal towns 
 
403 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 and cities of the civilized world, it might, perhaps, be considered 
 remarkable that so few of the European residents of Colombo take any 
 interest in the beautiful museum which stands so prominently amongst 
 the buildings in the Cinnamon Gardens. It is merely another phase 
 of the principle involved in the assertion that a prophet is not without 
 honour, save in his own country and his own father’s house. Our 
 museum is by far the most beautiful building in Colombo : it is 
 pleasantly situated, and surrounded by prettily cultivated grounds ; 
 it is, moreover, replete with objects of local interest, and entrance is 
 free to all. And yet, with all these attractions, there is scarcely one 
 in a hundred of us who has done himself the pleasure of paying a 
 visit to the building, or, if he has, it was, in all probability, several 
 years ago, or when the collection of specimens was of such a meagre 
 and rudimentary nature as to scarcely merit the name of collection 
 at all. In those days, possibly, visitors may have been justified in 
 making use of such expressions as ‘ really, there is nothing worth 
 seeing or worth the trouble of a visit ’ ; but at the present day the 
 visitor would indeed be hard to please who could not find many objects 
 in which he takes an interest, or which are calculated to attract his 
 attention. In spite of many difficulties, the lukewarmness of the 
 authorities, the inefficiency, if not worse, of the assistants, the 
 active opposition of the few, and the discouraging callousness of the 
 many, and in spite of the disappointment which must necessarily 
 arise from want of intelligent interest in the work by the greater 
 number of the European community, the curator, with the aid of 
 great industry and an affectionate interest in his work, has succeeded 
 in getting together a very goodly show wherewith to minister to the 
 amusement and instruction of those who make the museum a pleasur- 
 able resort. 
 
 “Thecollection — entirely of an insular character — already comprises 
 such a number of interesting specimens, that the scanty half -hour 
 of an afternoon, which is generally all that most residents can afford 
 for the purpose before the doors are closed at six p.m., is all too 
 short for even a casual glance at one-half of them, much less a care- 
 ful examination ; and we would advise any one who really wishes to 
 see the museum thoroughly, and acquire a knowledge of what it con- 
 tains, to take it in instalments at their leisure, as opportunity offers. 
 Inspection of the contents of the lower room might well occupy the 
 whole of the first visit, whilst there need be no waste of time if the 
 gallery is to be got through in an hour and a half. In writing this 
 we must not be understood to be addressing the passengers from the 
 steamers in the harbour who want to see all Colombo in the after- 
 noon, travel to Eandy during the night, drive round the town before 
 the seven o’clock train leaves, and be on board ship again by noon, 
 having learnt all about Ceylon, and a great deal more besides, in less 
 than twenty-four hours ; and yet we are assured that out of the 
 9,062 Europeans who during the past year have visited the museum, the 
 greater number are visitors from the shipping. There can be but 
 little doubt that the exhibition has been subjected to one very serious 
 drawback during past years, and that is the constant state of change 
 in detail and arrangement which have occupied the officials so 
 incessantly. 
 
 “ Complaints were rife of empty cases, and lack of specimens, and 
 the justness of such complaints could not well be gainsaid ; hut it 
 
Reference to Frontispiece. 
 
 409 
 
 was an unfortunate state of affairs which has absolutely necessitated, 
 as experience proved, the utility of change of position, or as the 
 growth of the collection called for more accommodation. The extra- 
 ordinary dilatoriness of the Public Works Department has, without 
 doubt, done much to injure the good fame of the museum, and even 
 now there are a very great number of specimens which are lying idle 
 in the store-rooms for want of cases in which they could be exhibited ; 
 and with the transport vote cut down as it is to half the usual 
 amount, and altogether inadequate to the necessities of the case, 
 there seems to be little hope of progress in the immediate future. 
 This transport vote, we may explain, provides for all the cost of 
 collection by the curator and his assistants, taxidermists and peons, 
 cart and coolie hire, tolls and canoes, and travelling expenses, pur- 
 chase of specimens, &c., &e., and, when it is reduced as it has been 
 to such an insignificant amount, the resources of the collector’s 
 establishment are entirely crippled, and progress most effectually 
 stayed. There have been many critics from time to time who have 
 not been backward in attributing blame to the curator, when, had 
 they only been aware of the true state of the case, they would, without 
 doubt, have been astonished that so much has been done with so little 
 in the way of support. Lately, however, very considerable changes 
 have taken place in the arrangement of the collection, many of 
 them most advantageous, whilst some, we think, will have again to be 
 altered. The entrance hall, once crowded with gigantic fishes, 
 requires something to do away with the idea of emptiness which 
 cannot fail to strike a visitor, whilst the two bare benches which are 
 placed in it are by no means aesthetic in appearance. The west room 
 on the ground floor, known as the Ceylon Products’ room, has much 
 that is new, and more is promised. Zoology has been relegated 
 entirely to the upper story, save the new fish room, to which we shall 
 further allude presently, and the minerals have been brought down- 
 stairs. These have been very cleverly placed in cases against the 
 wall, and make a very interesting show, though necessarily there 
 must in time be many more specimens collected, until eventually 
 they will require a room entirely devoted to mineralogy. Perhaps 
 the most interesting exhibit in this section is the series of fossil 
 deposits showing the formation of the west coast of the island, from 
 Dondra-Head on the south, to Karativo on the north-west coast. 
 There are also many specimens of sea shells taken from the forests 
 of the Northern Province, and a piece of fossil coral (if we may be 
 allowed to make use of such an expression) from the summit of 
 Tangala Hill, say, 150 feet above the sea level. This room, having 
 now been rendered secure with iron bars, the gold Buddhas and 
 jewellery, which had been placed in safety after the disappearance of 
 a portion of them, as well as the collection of coins, are now ex- 
 hibited again in central cases. The new arrangment of the coins is 
 especially happy, and this part of the collection looks peculiarly neat 
 and appropriate. The exhibition of Ceylon products is at present in- 
 significant and altogether unworthy of the institution, but this want 
 will happily be very shortly amended on the arrival of the two hundred 
 samples which are to come from the Indian and Colonial Exhibition 
 in London. These will all be shown in goblet-shaped bottles, and 
 will, without doubt, look very well. They will be supplemented, it is 
 hoped, by contributions supplied by the principal producers in the 
 
410 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 island. Perhaps the most interesting specimen at pre : ent on view 
 is a sample of clean coffee, exhibited by the Messrs. G. & M. Worms 
 at the London Exhibition of 1851. This miy be regarded as a curious 
 relic rather than an object of any special value. The Exhibition 
 itself is seldom alluded to in the present day, except as the father of 
 all the exhibitions which have been so numerous in all parts of the 
 world of late years, and the memory of the Messrs. Worms is fast 
 fading away, except in the recollections of a few of our older 
 colonists. 
 
 “ We must not omit to make mention of another innovation in the 
 conduct of the museum, which has its first results in the Ceylon 
 Products’ Eoom. This is the admission of loan collections, which it 
 has at length been decided to accept for exhibition when opportunity 
 offers. The first to avail himself of the permission has been Mr. D. 
 W. DeAbrew Bajapakse, who has sent a tortoise-shell box and 
 Sinhalese gentleman’s comb, several ancient native swords, and two 
 Mudaliyar's caps of the Dutch period, say, about 1790. It is to be 
 hoped that other disinterested individuals will follow suit, and let the 
 public of Ceylon have a sight of the treasures of many kinds which 
 are at present hidden away in ancient almirahs in the recesses of the 
 native walawas. Before we pay a visit to the galleries, we must not 
 forget to mention the newly-fitted room at the back of the museum, 
 which has been opened to the public as a fish room, in which are 
 shown nearly all the great stuffed fishes which at one time or other 
 have been seen in the hall or the gallery. In fact, they are all here 
 except the gigantic shark, which still remains in the east gallery, and of 
 which we shall have more to say by and by. The fish room is the 
 first practical illustration of the necessity which is beginning to be 
 felt for more accommodation, and it will not be very long before an 
 additional building on a considerable scale will be urgently called for. 
 In the meantime, visitors wishing to see the fish room, should ask 
 one of the attendants to show them the way, and they cannot fail to 
 gain some knowledge of the monsters which people the Eastern 
 waters. The smaller fishes and the crustaceans and other marine 
 wonders will be met with upstairs.” — Communicated to Ceylon Times. 
 
 THE COLOMBO MUSEUM. 
 
 ( From the “ Ceylon Directory and Hand-Book ’’ for 1876-78.) 
 
 This institution was founded by the late Governor, the Bight Hon’ble 
 Sir 'William H. Gregory, k.c.m.g., and the building has been erected 
 at a cost of B120,500, from the designs of the Government Architect, 
 Mr. James G. Smither, f.k.i.b.a. 
 
 The Museum grounds, which are about seven acres in extent, are 
 bounded on the south and east by the public road, and on the 
 remaining sides by cinnamon plantations. An ornamental balustrade 
 runs along the roadside, and two pairs of iron gates, with massive 
 piers surmounted by handsome gas lamps, give access to the carriage 
 drives by which the building is approached. 
 
 The Museum occupies a central position on the ground at a distance 
 of 70 yards from the high road, the principal front facing the south. 
 The building is designed in the Italian style of architecture, and is 
 
Reference to Frontispiece. 
 
 411 
 
 two storeys in height, with a frontage of 1714 feet, and a total depth, 
 including the offices and outbuildings in the rear, of 232£ feet. The 
 principal facade consists of a wide central projection and side wings 
 connected by arcades, behind which broad verandas form external 
 means of communication between the several galleries, at the same 
 time affording shade from the sun and shelter from the rain, as well 
 as additional floor space for exhi'oitive purposes. The arches of these 
 arcades (which are continued along the sides of the wings), are 
 supported on square piers on the ground floor, and spring from 
 light coupled columns with foliated capitals on the upper storey, the 
 intervals between the piers and columns being tilled in with open 
 balustrades. 
 
 In the middle of the principal front is a commodious Carriage 
 Portico, from which seven stone steps ascend to the ground floor 
 level. At the head of the steps is a Loggia which is separated from 
 the portico by three semicircular arches springing from coupled 
 columns with polished shafts and enriched capitals, thus dividing the 
 steps into three distinct flights. At either end of the Loggia is an 
 open archway communicating with the arcades, and facing the steps 
 are three large entrance doorways which give access to the interior of 
 the building. 
 
 The Central Hall, which is first entered, is 29J feet by24| feet, and 
 19 feet high, the latter being the height of the lower storey throughout. 
 Beyond the hall, and opposite the principal entrance, is the Grand 
 Staircase, which is separated from the hall by a transverse open 
 corridor communicating with the arcades on either side. The corridor 
 is formed by a set of three semicircular arches, upon panelled square 
 piers next the hall, and a parallel set of arches towards the staircase 
 springing from round columns, the piers and columns being highly 
 polished and embellished with ornamental capitals. The enclosure 
 containing the staircase is carried up to the full height of both storeys, 
 and is lighted by three large windows in the north wall. The Staircase 
 is constructed of polished teak, with ornamental balustrades of metal, 
 and rises, first in a single flight 9 feet broad up to a wide intermediate 
 landing, and continues in two return flights, each 8 feet broad, to the 
 level of the upper floor. At the head of the staircase is a wide open 
 corridor similar to that below, communicating with the upper arcades 
 right and left, and composed of semicircular arches in two rows 
 springing from polished columns enriched with ornamental capitals. 
 
 .Returning to the ground floor : to the right of the Central Hall is 
 the Library (29J feet by 24J feet), which is lighted by six wide and 
 lofty doorways opening into the arcades in front and rear. This 
 room is fitted up with handsome bookcases of polished teak placed 
 against the end walls, and projecting from the spaces between the 
 doorways on the buttress plan ; and in the middle of the room is a 
 large table press, including a desk for the Librarian. Beyond the 
 Library is the Beading and Lecture Boom (49 feet by 24f feet), to 
 which light is admitted by a recessed window at either end, and five 
 doorways opening into the east veranda. Against the west side are 
 placed two ornamental cases for ancient MSS., and the remaining wall 
 spaces are hung with framed portraits of literary and scientific 
 celebrities. The room is comfortably furnished and fitted up with 
 seven starlight gas chandeliers. The front verandas, portico and 
 hall are also lighted with gas. 
 
412 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 To the left of the Central Hall is a gallery, the same size as the 
 Library, and lighted in a similar manner by large doorways opening 
 into the arcades. This room is intended for the exhibition of Ceylon 
 products, and is fitted up with polished teak wall and buttress cases 
 glazed with plate glass. Beyond the “ Ceylon products ” room is a 
 large gallery for Antiquities, which corresponds in size with the 
 reading room, and is lighted in the same manner with a window at 
 either end, and large doorways opening into the west veranda. Ad- 
 joining the “ Antiquities Gallery ” is the Director’s office, with private 
 entrance, strong-room, and other accommodation, including the 
 Director’s private staircase of communication with the upper galleries. 
 The whole of the rooms on the ground floor communicate with one 
 another by means of large and lofty central doorways. The floors 
 throughout are laid with Portland cement, and the ceilings are of 
 teak. 
 
 In the rear of the Grand Staircase the necessary accommodation is 
 provided for the public, and an open arched corridor leads to the 
 Taxidermist’s and “ setting up ” rooms, an extensive unpacking and 
 store room, stabling, Ac. 
 
 The upper storey of the building is occupied entirely by the 
 “ Natural History” Galleries, which consist of three large rooms 20 
 feet high, lighted as below with wide and lofty doorways in the side 
 walls, opening into broad open verandas, and with recessed windows, 
 in addition, in the end galleries. The Central Gallery runs east and 
 west, and is 93 feet in length by 254 feet in breadth, with an extra 
 space or alcove on the south side opposite the Grand Staircase, 30 feet 
 by 10£ feet. The end galleries, which are placed north and south, are 
 each 49 feet long by 25J feet wide, and are connected at either end 
 with the Central Gallery by an open screen extending completely 
 across the room, and consisting of three semicircular arches springing 
 from single columns, with highly polished shafts and ornamental 
 capitals. A similar triple arrangement of polished columns and arches 
 connects the side walls of the Central Gallery across the opening 
 leading to the Grand Staircase, and this is again repeated across the 
 opposite alcove, the arrangement producing altogether an exceedingly 
 light and elegant effect. The alcove is lighted by three large door- 
 ways, which also give access to the flat over the carriage portico. The 
 internal walls on this, as well as the ground floor, are architecturally 
 plastered, and embellished with ornamental strings, cornices, &c. The 
 plain surfaces of the walls are painted the very palest green, all 
 mouldings and ornaments being finished deadwhite or polished. The 
 doors and windows throughout the building are of polished teak, with 
 semicircular arched heads filled in with scrolls, of wrought iron on 
 the lower floor, and of wood above. The floors of the upper galleries 
 are laid with polished teak, and the ceilings are of the same material. 
 The latter are flat, and are divided into panels which are diagonally 
 boarded and ornamentally moulded. 
 
 The Central Gallery is entirely fitted up with handsome Spanish 
 mahogany wall and table specimen cases glazed with plate glass and 
 French polished. These cases are all dust-proof, and were manu- 
 factured in England especially for the Museum. The wall cases 
 occupy the spaces between the doorways, and project into the room on 
 the buttress system, which has been found to answer perfectly, all the 
 specimens being lighted in the most satisfactory manner. The table 
 
Reference to Frontispiece. 
 
 413 
 
 cases are placed opposite the intervals between the above, and in a 
 line down the middle of the gallery. All have plate glass sloping 
 tops, and are successfully lighted from the doorways on either side, 
 ample space being left between the cases for an inspection of their 
 contents. Two of them have super-cases (in addition to the slopes) 
 entirely of plate glass, and are fitted up below with drawers enclosed 
 within plate glass doors. The other cases are open beneath, and are 
 each furnished with a shelf at top on brass supports for specimens in 
 bottles. In the alcove are two wall cases with plate glass fronts. 
 
 The East and West Galleries are fitted up with wall cases at either 
 end, and in the East Gallery is a middle row of table cases in addition. 
 The latter are open below and fitted with top shelves corresponding 
 with those in the Central Gallery. The fittings in the two end 
 galleries are all of polished teak glazed with plate glass. 
 
 Descending the Grand Staircase, a slab of white polished marble 
 will be observed, inserted in the wall facing the piincipal entrance, 
 bearing the following inscription in gold letters : — 
 
 “ This Museum, completed a.d. 1876, was opened to the public, 
 January 1, 1877. H.E. the Eight Hon’ble Sir William H. Gregory, 
 k.c.m.g., Governor; A. Haly, Esq., Director; J. G. Smither, Esq. 
 f.r.i.b.a., Architect ; E. Vine, Esq., m.s.e., Superintendent of Works; 
 A. M. W. Marikar and S. Perera, Contractors.” 
 
 A fine life-size portrait bust of H.E.H. the Prince of Wales adorns 
 the Grand Staircase. This is the work of the eminent sculptor, Mr. 
 Marshall Wood, who has presented the bust to the Museum. 
 
 Considering that the Museum has been open but a short time, a very 
 satisfactory collection of objects has been brought together. The 
 book shelves in the Library are filling rapidly ; and the two cases in 
 the Beading Room contain a most valuable collection of Buddhist 
 manuscripts, many of them presented to the Ceylon Government by 
 the King of Buima. A descriptive catalogue of these, prepared by 
 Mr. L. de Zoyza, the learned Sinhalese Translator to Government, 
 shows that the collection of MSS. consists of 188 volumes, in 209 
 distinct works, and are classified as follows : A. — Consists of texts of the 
 Canonical Scriptures of Buddhism. Of these there are twenty-seven 
 volumes in Burmese characters, presented by the King of Burma ; 
 and fourteen in Sinhalese characters, copied at the expense of Govern- 
 ment, or presented by private individuals. B. — Consists of miscel- 
 laneous religious works. Of these there are seventy-one volumes. C. — - 
 Consists of historical works, legendary tales, &c., and contains twenty- 
 five volumes. D. — Philological works. Under this head there are 
 twenty-nine volumes. E. — Poetry, &c., sixteen volumes. F. — Miscel- 
 laneous works, scientific, medical, &c. Of these there are six volumes. 
 The Library proper contains about 450 volumes, comprising : Works 
 relating to Ceylon, publication of learned societies, natural history, 
 languages, Oriental literature, periodical publications, archaeology, 
 history, chronology and ethnology, astronomy, geography and mis- 
 cellaneous. In the “ Ceylon products ” room there is a fine collection 
 of modern pottery, also a selection of the curious masks used in plays 
 and devil dances. The collection of raw materials is as yet far from 
 complete, and at present some of the cases contain fragments of 
 statuary from Polonnaruwa, portions of bronze lamps from Kurune- 
 gala, and a few other antiquities ; but this is a temporary arrange- 
 ment. In the North Veranda are some fine specimens of bamboo, 
 
414 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Tear. 
 
 rattan, and Ehetu creeper. In the “ Antiquities ” room the most 
 striking object is the great stone lion from Polonnaruwa, and facing 
 it is the perforated stone window from the Palace at Yapahu. Pound 
 the room are sculptures from Anuradhapura, Tissamaharama and 
 elsewhere, and in the west veranda are several inscribed monoliths 
 from various parts of the Island : the oldest of these records the 
 construction of Wiharas by King Gajabahu, a.d. 125-131, and is in 
 a remarkably perfect state of preservation. 
 
APPENDIX XXII. 
 
 REFERENCE TO MAP OF CEYLON. 
 
 (In pocket of Cover.) 
 
 While this Map affords a fairly approximate idea of the 
 location of the chief agricultural industries of the island, 
 and of the land suitable for extension, it must not be sup- 
 posed that the areas are accurately laid down. Cacao, for 
 instance, although confined to a few limited localities at 
 present, will very likely be found to succeed in several 
 additional districts. It is hard to say again where tea 
 will not groAV in Ceylon, at any rate in the moist zone — so 
 that 250,000 acres may be a moderate estimate of the area 
 when cultivation is fully extended. Where coffee is super- 
 seded in the central province, tea may be counted to take 
 its place along with cinchona in nearly every district. So 
 with palms ; it is well-nigh impossible to show the precise 
 areas covered with palm cultivation — especially with the 
 areca and kitul, which extend far into the interior — while 
 even coco-nut palms, mainly confined though they are to 
 the sea-coast, form flourishing plantations up the banks of 
 the Mahaoya, some forty miles inland, while at Matale 
 1,400 feet above the sea level, there are two or three 
 considerable areas of very fine coco-palms. But the chief 
 purpose of the map is to give a popular idea of the 
 different planting industries of the island, and we feel sure 
 it will be found to answer this end. 
 
 Corrections of the Map to September, 1S87. 
 
 Total population of the island . . 2,900,000 inhabitants. 
 
 Length of railways . . . . . . 181 miles. 
 
 Length of roads . . . . . . . . 2,500 „ 
 
 Total area cultivated . . . . . . 3,130,000 acres. 
 
 Land of all kinds in private hands, about 4,000,000 ,, 
 
41G 
 
 Ceylon in the Jubilee Year. 
 
 The present cultivated area comprises : 
 
 Cardamoms, about 15,000, with a probable extension to 30,000, acres, 
 Jak and other fruits, about 150,000 acres. 
 
 Coffee, from 130,000 to 150,000 acres. 
 
 Tea, from 160,000, with a possible extension to 250,000, acres. 
 
 Cacao, 15,000 acres. 
 
 Cinchona, from 40,000 to 60,000 acres. 
 
 Ehea, &c., 5,000 acres. 
 
 Kubber trees, aloes, gums, &c., from 5,000, with a possible extension 
 to 50,000, acres. 
 
 In the Map the figures for population should be altered 
 as follows : — 
 
 Northern province to 
 North-Central province to 
 Eastern ,, ,, 
 
 North-Western ,, ,, 
 
 Central ,, ,, 
 
 Uva ,, ,, 
 
 Western ,, ,, 
 
 Southern ,, ,, 
 
 302,500 inhabitants. 
 
 66,146 
 
 127,555 
 
 293,327 
 
 310,000 
 
 165,672 
 
 897,329 
 
 433,520 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Abbotsford, Tea and Cinchona 
 Plantation, 60 
 Abhiiyagiri dagoba, 216, 225 
 Acreage under coffee, 60-7 
 
 ,, ,, cinchona, 71, 72 
 
 ,, ,, tea, 72-6, 88 
 
 ,, ,, new products, 69-74 
 
 Adam’s Bridge, 8 
 
 „ Peak, 9, 119, 126 
 
 ,, ,, shadow of, 337-48 
 
 Administration of Ceylon, 137-51, 
 301 
 
 Administration of Justice, cost of, 
 32, 304 
 
 Adoption among Kandians, 218 
 Adulteration of Tea, 346 
 African palm-oil nuts, 82 
 Agricultural and manufacturing 
 interests, Native, 42-58,84-9,150 
 Agricultural College, 144 
 
 ,, Education, 30, 144 
 Agriculture under the Dutch, 6, 
 44, 147 
 
 Agriculture, manuals on tropical, 
 110 
 
 Agriculturist, Tropical, 71 
 Altitudes of mountains, 9, 273, 338 
 ,, suited to coffee and tea, 
 65, 74-6, 326, 344 
 American Mission in Ceylon, 238 
 Ancient capitals described, 203-25, 
 389^06 
 
 Ancient Sinhalese family, 217 
 Animals, wild, 129, 179, 211, 219, 
 224, 247, 279 
 
 Annotto dye plant, 82 
 Anuradhapura, 36, 128, 203-25, 
 389-406 
 
 Antiquities, 203-25, 284, 389-406 
 Apprentices to tea-planters, 109 
 Arabi and the Egyptian exiles, 2, 
 173 
 
 Arabs, coffee introduced by, 59, 
 corrigenda. 
 
 Arabs, cinnamon known to, 48 
 Architecture, Buddhist, 203-25, 
 389-406 
 
 Area of Ceylon, 8, 262, 273 
 Areas of irrigation tanks, 391 
 Areca palm, 53, 211 
 Army. See Military. 
 
 Arrack, 50 
 
 Assam tea-tree ( Illustration ), 75 
 Astrology, native, 231, 364 
 Asylums in Ceylon, 29, 38, 170 
 Atmospheric disturbances, 106 
 Australia to Ceylon, 145, 357 
 
 Backwaters, 9, 21 
 Baker, Sir Samuel, 115 
 Bank notes, 11, 27, 39 
 
 ,, Oriental Corporation, 26 
 Banks in Ceylon, 11, 27, 306 
 ,, Savings, 10, 26, 34 
 Banyan tree ( Illustration ), 89 
 Baptist Mission in Ceylon, 239 
 Bark, cinnamon, 48 
 
 ,, cinchona. See Cinchona. 
 Barnes, Governor Sir Edward, 
 13-15, 23, 61 
 
 28 
 
418 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Baths, ancient, in Ceylon, 393 
 Batticaloa, 44, 45, 55, 315 
 Beef, supply of, in Ceylon, 56, 128 
 Benefactors of Ceylon (non-official) 
 257 
 
 Benefactions by S. D. A. Baje- 
 pakse, Esq., 352 
 
 Benefactions by C. H. de Soysa, 
 Esq., 350 
 
 Benefits from roads, 18 
 
 ,, planting enterprise, 96-104 
 Betel chewing, 211 
 Birds in Ceylon, 281 
 Boats, Bridge of, 13, 14 
 Bo-tree, sacred, 209, 284, 360 
 Books on Ceylon, 165, 242, 315 
 Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, 
 121, 314 
 
 Botanical Gardens, experimental, 
 144 
 
 Botanical Gardens, Hakgalla, 55, 
 126, 315 
 
 Botanical Gardens, Kew, 336 
 Botany of Ceylon, 121, 278, 360 
 Brazen Palace, 210, 401 
 Brazil, Coffee production in, 320 
 Breakwater, Colombo, 16, 36, 107, 
 307 
 
 Breakwater railway, 19 
 Bread-fruit tree, 54, 361 
 Brides, native, 159 
 Bridges and Bridge of Boats, 13, 14, 
 15, 362 
 
 British Governors of Ceylon 252 
 ,, ,, n ( Illus- 
 
 tration), xvi 
 
 British rule in Ceylon, 8-20 
 
 ,, benefits to natives, 10-22, 
 36, 94-104 
 
 Buddha, moral laws of Gautama, 
 225-30 
 
 Buddhism, 146, 159, 167, 247, 286 
 , , in Cambodia and China, 
 
 3, 167 
 
 Buddhism in Burmah and Siam, 167 
 Buddhism and caste, 159, 251, 
 367-80 
 
 Buddhism and its tenets, 160, 211 
 Buddhist festivals and worship, 
 225-35, 364 
 
 Buddhist temporalities, 31, 38, 
 146, 401 
 
 Buddhist motto, 156 
 
 ,, ruins, 21, 203-25, 389-406 
 
 Buddhist schools, 31, 146 
 Bullocks imported, 57 
 Bullock carts, 22 
 Burial-grounds, 229 
 Burghers, status of, 39, 40, 263 
 Burnside, Sir Bruce, Chief Justice, 
 32 
 
 Cacao cultivation, 78-81, 321 
 ,, exports, 80, 86, 323, 325 
 ,, prices, 109 
 
 ,, tree and pods {Illustration), 
 79, 81 
 
 Cambodia, presents from king of, 3 
 Canals made by Dutch, 5, 9, 21 
 „ mileage of, 10 
 Caoutchouc. See India-bubbeb. 
 Capital and returns, 91—4, 292 
 ,, ancient, 203-25 
 Capitalists, prospects for, 105-12, 
 328-36 
 
 Cardamoms, 81-2, 212, 389 
 ,, exports, 86, 325 
 Carriage of produce, 111 
 Carrier-pigeons, 34 
 Carts and carriages, 11, 22, 332,363 
 Cart-roads, 10 
 Carpenters, Sinhalese, 57 
 Caste, 19, 33, 40,155-9, 251, 367-80 
 Cattle, number of in Ceylon, 11, 
 269, 297 
 
 Cattle, rearing and marking, 56, 
 87, 128 
 
 Ceara rubber-tree ( Illustration ), 83 
 Census of Ceylon, 23, 35, 262 
 Central Province, 314 
 Cevlon and its planting industries, 
 318-27 
 
 ,, antiquities, 114, 203-25, 389 
 
 „ ancient history and names, 
 
 2, 114, 272 
 
 ,, attractions for the traveller, 
 
 113- 32, 312 
 
 ,, books on, 315 
 
 ,, Chinese invasion of, 3 
 
 ,, letter to London Times on, 
 
 318-27 
 
 ,, Medical College, 29 
 
 „ natural features of, 8, 106, 
 
 114- 32, 272-9 
 
 ,, Observer, 70, 110, 287 
 
 „ Pall Mall Gazette’s inter- 
 
 viewer, 328 
 
 ,, progress in, 10, 96-104, 242 
 
General Index. 
 
 419 
 
 Ceylon revenue and expenditure, 
 133-6 
 ,, Rifles, 28 
 
 ,, summary of information, 
 272-317 
 
 ,, value of trade, 96, 297 
 Charitable allowances, 11 
 Changes in European element, 91 
 Chief Justices of Ceylon, 253 
 „ towns, 286 
 China, Buddhism in, 3, 286 
 „ tea, 69, 74, 77 
 Chinese in Ceylon, 3, 4, 334 
 Christianity and Education, 288 
 „ in Ceylon, 236-50 
 
 Church Mission in Ceylon, 238 
 Cinchona, area planted, 69-72 
 ,, branch ( Illustration ), 71 
 
 „ export, 86, 88, 320-4 
 
 Cinnamon export, 5, 48, 86 
 ,, monopoly, 5, 34 
 
 ,, production of, 44, 48, 
 
 69 
 
 Citronella oil, 55, 86 
 Civil Service, Ceylon and India, 
 149-50, 302 
 
 Civilization in Ceylon, 3 
 ,, and roads, 18 
 Clubs, 40 
 
 Climate of Ceylon, 104, 106, 107, 
 115-20, 127, 205, 276, 331 
 Clothing of natives, 101, 117, 363 
 Coaches and Ceylon, 299 
 Coal, imports into Ceylon, 87 
 Coast, belt of palms, 49 
 Cocoa. See Cacao. 
 
 Coconut cultivation, 6, 44, 48-55, 
 293 
 
 Coconut climber, 52 
 
 „ exports, 86, 272, 327 
 „ fibre. See Coir. 
 
 „ oil, 327 
 
 „ products of the, 49-51 
 
 „ plantation (Illustration), 
 
 43, 122 
 
 ,, plantation, tax on, 147 
 Code, Penal and Civil, 32, 112, 
 143, 304 
 
 Coffee, altitude suitable, 65, 74 
 ,, bush (Illustration), 62, 73 
 
 ,, capital and profits, 92-4 
 
 „ crops, total, 92 
 „ cultivation, 6, 60-8, 318-27 
 „ disease, 64-8, 294, 319, 329 
 
 Coffee exports, 60-7, 86, 88, 322,326 
 ,, future of, 88 
 ,, Gardens, Sinhalese, 62 
 ,, introduced, 59, corrigenda. 
 ,, Liberian (Illustration), 104 
 ,, native, 94 
 
 ,, plantation (Illustration), 60 
 ,, ,, profits from, 63, 
 
 91-3, 97-101 
 
 „ prices, 90 
 Coir export, 86 
 ,, fibre, 50 
 
 College, Ceylon Medical, 29, 35 
 ,, Agricultural, 144 
 Colleges, 175, 237 
 Colombo Breakwater, 16, 36, 107, 
 301 
 
 Colombo described, 116, 312 
 
 ,, „ by “Vagabond,” 
 
 357-65 
 
 Colombo Graving-dock, 36, 141, 146 
 
 ,, Harbour, 307 
 
 ,, Museum, 361, 407-14 
 
 ,, population, 10, 116 
 
 ,, railway route described, 
 
 313 
 
 „ shipping advantages, 107, 
 
 111, 145 
 
 ,, waterworks, 35, 118, 140, 
 
 308 
 
 ,, versus Trincomalee, 36, 
 
 145 
 
 Colonial Office, 137, 140 
 Commerce of Ceylon, 5, 297 
 Communication, means of, 5, 13-22, 
 36, 107, 299 
 
 Commutation, rice, 134, 148, 176 
 Compulsory labour, 33 
 Company, Ceylon, Limited, 27 
 Companies, Steamer, 107 
 Conditions of Ceylon under British 
 rule, 9-13 
 
 Configuration of Ceylon, 8 
 Conservation of forests, 35 
 Contribution, Military, 28 
 Coode, Sir John, and Columbo 
 Harbour Works, 16 
 Coolies, Tamil, 265 
 
 „ (Illustrations), 345, 347 
 
 „ their language, 155 
 
 Copra, 86 
 Coral reefs, 115 
 Cordiner, Rev. James, 17 
 Cost of Administration of Justice, 32 
 
420 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Cost of living in Ceylon, 130 
 Cotton cultivation, 5, 55 
 ,, spinners, 58 
 ,, imports, tax on, 149 
 Council reform, 33, 168 
 Courts of Law, 304 
 Crime in Ceylon, 32, 304 
 Crises, Financial, 61, 90-4 
 Crocodiles, 132 
 Croton-oil seeds, 82 
 Crown Colonies, 1, 137 
 
 ,, land sold, 65, 135, 296 
 Crucibles, plumbago for, 86 
 Cruelty to animals, 160 
 Cultivated areas, JL1, 42-58, 290 
 Cultivation of new products, 36, 
 69-84 
 
 Currency, Decimal, 27, 306 
 „ notes, 11, 27, 39 
 Customs, 135, 307 
 Cycles of depression, 90 
 
 Dagobas in Ceylon, 129, 212-25, 
 390-406 
 
 Dalada Festival, 225-30 
 Dambulla, 404 
 Debt of Ceylon, 142, 301 
 Decimal currency, 27, 167 
 Deer-horns exported, 86, 87 
 Defences. See Military. 
 
 Deities honoured, 233 
 Demon- or devil-worship, 234, 248, 
 406 
 
 Demon-priest of Morotto, 248. 
 Depression, Financial, 61, 90, 110, 
 319, 329 
 
 Descent of Kandyan Chiefs, 218 
 De Soyza, Mr. C. H., 29, 162, 257, 
 350 
 
 Devil-dancer ( Illustration ), 160 
 De Zylwa, Rev. Peter, of Moratuwa, 
 235, 249 
 
 Dhoby washerman (Illustration), 
 157 
 
 Dikoya, climate, etc., 65, 116 
 Dimbula plantation ( Illustration ), 
 60 
 
 Dimbula, climate, etc., 65, 116 
 Diseases in Ceylon, 311 
 Disease, coffee, 47, 64-8, 294, 319, 
 329 
 
 Disestablishment in Ceylon, 36, 
 167 
 
 Divers for pearl oysters, 383 
 
 Dock, Graving, 36, 141, 146 
 Dolosbage, Tea in, 69 
 Domestic servants in Ceylon, 154-5, 
 266 
 
 Dress of natives, 101, 117, 363 
 Dumbara valley, cacao plantations, 
 123 
 
 Dutch rule in Ceylon, 5 
 Duties and taxes, 146-50, 307 
 Dyeing substances, 82, 87 
 
 Earthquakes, 106 
 Ebony, 86, 87 
 
 Edinburgh, The Duke of, 35, 170 
 Education, 11, 18, 30, 143, 146, 
 153, 162, 167, 288, 351-2 
 Education and missions, 236-50 
 Egyptian exiles, 173 
 Ekneligoda, Kandian chief, 184 
 Electricity, 57, 215 
 Elephant kraal or hunting, 130, 
 180-202 
 
 Elephants, wild (Illustration), 178, 
 186 
 
 Elephants, preservation of, 87, 280, 
 404 
 
 Elevation suited for planting, 65, 74 
 “ Eleven Years in Ceylon,” by 
 Forbes, 203-25 
 Elk hunting, 129 
 Ella Pass, 127 
 
 Elliott, Mr. E., on rice culture, 44 
 Endowments, Buddhist, 31, 38, 
 146 
 
 English language spoken, 31, 154 
 Essential oils, 55 
 Estate population, 265 
 
 ,, property, value of, 63-7, 
 292 
 
 Executive Councillors, list of, 255 
 Europeans shifting, and number 
 in Ceylon, 91, 263-4 
 Executive Council, 169, 301 
 Expenditure of Ceylon, 10, 133-6, 
 298 
 
 Export of coffee, 60-7, 88, 326 
 „ ,, cinnamon, 48 
 
 ,, ,, coconut, 50 
 
 ,, duties, 35 
 „ table (1873-86), 86, 327 
 ,, of tea, 324 
 
 Exports under the Dutch, 6, 60 
 Extension of Railway, 16, 20, 38, 
 128, 140, 142 
 
General Index. 
 
 421 
 
 Facilities for travel, 111 
 Factory, Government, 57 
 Fa-hien, Chinese traveller, in Cey- 
 lon, 4 
 
 Famine and roads, 18 
 Farm, Stock, 151 
 
 Faviell, Mr. W. F., first railway 
 contractor in Ceylon, 18 
 Female education, 30, 63 
 Festivals, Kaudian, 225-35 
 Fibre, Coir, etc., 50, 52, 86, 321 
 „ Kitul, 86 
 
 Financial depression, 61, 90, 319, 
 329 
 
 Fishery, Pearl-oyster, 130, 135, 381 
 Fish tax, 34, 103, 148 
 ,, imports, 269 
 Flying-foxes, 247 
 Fodder-grass, 57 
 Food consumption, 47, 99 
 ,, supplies, 42, 47, 49, 56 
 ,, taxes, 147, 296 
 Forbes, Major, extracts from his 
 book, 203-35 
 
 Forced labour in Ceylon, 6, 33, 48 
 Foreign invasions of Ceylon, 3 
 Forest conservation, 35, 135 
 ,, land, price of, 65, 291 
 Freights in Ceylon, 107, 111 
 Friend-in-Need Societies in Ceylon, 
 11 
 
 Fruit-trees, etc., 55, 278, 291, 361 
 Fungus, Coffee-leaf. See Disease. 
 
 Galle, 141, 142, 313 
 
 Game in Ceylon, 35, 179, 211, 224 
 
 Gampola, 4, 123 
 
 Gangaruwa, viow of, 12 
 
 Gansabawa (Village Council) 35-6 
 
 Gaols in Ceylon, 32, 36 
 
 Garden cultivation, 44, 47, 62 
 
 Gas in Colombo, 36 
 
 Gems, 87, 117, 276 
 
 Genealogies, 218, 354 
 
 Geography of Ceylon, 9, 272-86 
 
 Geology of Ceylon, 275, 405, 409 
 
 Gneiss rocks, 405 
 
 Gods honoured by Sinhalese, 233 
 
 Gold, 87 
 
 Government can do for Ceylon, 
 what its, 137-51 
 
 Government note issue, 11, 27, 306 
 ,, reforms in the, 168 
 Governor, an ideal, 39, 139 
 
 Governor’s salary, 38 
 Governors, British, in Ceylon, 
 Frontispiece. 
 
 Governors, a list of, 252 
 Grain. See Rice. 
 
 Grant-in-aid System of Education, 
 30, 35 
 Grass, 57 
 
 Gravelled roads, 17 
 Graving-dock, 36, 141, 146 
 Gregory, Sir William, 16, 35, 40, 
 70, 98, 126, 139 
 
 Green, Dr., American Missionary, 
 29 
 
 Green bug, 47 
 Gunmakers, Sinhalese, 57 
 Guests at the Governor’s, 40 
 
 Hakgalla Botanic Gardens, 55, 126, 
 315 
 
 Hambantota, 180 
 Haputahi extension, 20, 128, 140-3 
 ,, waterfalls, 127, 131 
 Harbour, Colombo, 16, 107, 141, 
 145, 301 
 
 ,, ,, ( Illustration ), 8 
 
 Hardy on Ceylon, Spence, 101, 242 
 Harvesting tea and coffee, 74, 346 
 Headmen in Ceylon, 144-8 
 Health in Ceylon, 98, 311, 331 
 Healthiness of Colombo, 118 
 „ of Uva, 127 
 Heber’s hymn, 48 
 Heights of mountains, 9, 273, 338 
 Hemileia Vastatrix, 64-8, 294, 319, 
 329 
 
 Hides and skins, export of, 87 
 Hill Station. See Nuwara Eliya. 
 Historical monuments in Ceylon, 
 Sec Monuments. 
 
 Historical notes, 283 
 Holidays and natives, 156 
 Horses, number of, in Ceylon, 11, 
 22 
 
 Horton Plains, 126, 127, 179 
 Hospitals in Ceylon, 11, 29, 311, 
 350 
 
 Hotels in Colombo, 116, 117, 130 
 ,, ,, Nuwara Eliya, 126, 130 
 
 Houses, inhabited, in Ceylon, 10, 
 25, 222 
 
 Hurricanes in Ceylon, 106 
 Iddamalgoda, Kandian Chief, 185 
 
422 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Images and image-worship in Cey- 
 lon, 235 
 
 Immigration route, 17 
 Import duties, 134, 147-9 
 Imports of Ceylon, staple, for 45 
 years, 269, 297 
 Imports, value of, 10 
 
 ,, of grain. See Rice. 
 Improvements, legislative and 
 social, 33-41 
 
 Improvements in Ceylon, 98-103 
 Income from railways, 20, 135, 366 
 India and Ceylon tea compared, 77, 
 107 
 
 India-rubber, 82, 321 
 
 „ ( Illustration ), 83 
 
 Indirect taxes, 147, 149 
 Industries. See Natives. 
 
 Insects, 132, 282 
 Inspection of investments, 111 
 Interview with Ceylon journalist, 
 328-36 
 
 Intoxicants, 50 
 Invalids visiting Ceylon, 116 
 Invasions of Ceylon, 3, 283 
 Investment, good field for, 105-8 
 Irrigation Board, 46, 148 
 
 ,, works. See Tanks. 
 Ironworks, Colombo, 57 
 
 Jaffna, 44, 49, 315 
 Jaggery palm, 52 
 Jails in Ceylon, 32, 36 
 Jak-tree, 54, 361 
 Java and liquor, 50 
 ,, and Ceylon compared, 106 
 Jinirickshas in Ceylon, 118 
 Jubilee Celebration, 170-7 
 Juries and caste in Ceylon, 33 
 Justice, administration of, 32, 304 
 ,, charter of, 33 
 
 Kalawewa tank, 140, 390 
 Kalutara, the “ Richmond of Cey- 
 lon,” 119 
 
 Kalutara, railway to, 19-20 
 Kandy, 21, 25, 121, 225-35, 314 
 „ Lake (Illustration), 120 
 
 „ railway line, 19-21 
 
 „ temple ( Illustration ), 167 
 Kandyan chiefs, descent of, 218 
 ,, chieftain (Illustration), 
 
 134 
 
 „ festivals, 231-5 
 
 Kandyan law, 218, 303-6 
 ,, mythology, 233 
 Kanthalai tank, 179 
 Kaolin for pottery, 4 
 Kelani River bridged, 13 
 
 ,, Temple, etc., described, 357- 
 65 
 
 Kew Gardens, 336 
 Kings of Ceylon, ancient, 3, 146, 
 206, 229, 283 
 Kitul or Jaggery palm, 52 
 ,, fibre, 86 
 
 Knox, Robert, in Ceylon, 165, 206 
 Kraal, Elephant, 130, 180-202 
 Kurunegala, Cacao in, 80 
 Kyle, Mr. John, and Colombo Har- 
 bour Works, 16 
 
 Labour, compulsory, abolished, 6, 
 33, 48 
 
 Labour on roads, 34 
 
 ,, supply (Tamil Coolies), 63, 
 331 
 
 Labour, Chinese, 334 
 Labugama Kraal, 180-202 
 ,, Reservoir, 392 
 Lakes and lagoons in Ceylon, 9, 21, 
 246, 274 
 
 Lamps, festival of the, 233 
 Land sales and price of, 65, 110, 
 135, 296, 321, 331 
 Land Laws, 112 
 „ Tax, 134, 147, 296 
 Langdon, Rev. S., and Mission 
 work, 62 
 
 Languages spoken in Ceylon, 31, 
 154, 287 
 
 Law, Kandvan and Roman-Dutch, 
 218, 303-6 
 
 Law Reform, 112, 143, 146-50 
 Layard, Sir Charles P., on rice 
 cultivation, 44 
 
 Leaf Disease, Coffee, 64-8, 294- 
 319, 329 
 
 Leeches in Ceylon, 132 
 Legislation, Ceylon and India, 166 
 Legislative Council, 33, 168 
 
 „ improvements, 33-41, 
 112, 143, 146-50, 168 
 Lemon-grass oil, 55 
 Liberian coffee. See Coffee. 
 
 ,, „ (Illustration), 62 
 
 Licenses, Liquor, 36, 50 
 Lightning-conductors, 57, 278 
 
General Index. 
 
 423 
 
 Liquor traffic, 36, 50 
 Literature, Ceylon, 242, 287-315 
 Litigation, fondness for, 31 
 Local Boards, 35 
 
 Longden, Governor Sir James, 38, 
 39 
 
 Lunatic Asylum in Ceylon, 38 
 
 MacVicar’s Mission work Dr., 
 sketch of, 245 
 
 MacCarthy, Governor Sir Chas., 16 
 Mahawanso Ancient History of 
 Ceylon, 215 
 
 Mahaveliganga river, 9, 12, 13, 
 274 
 
 Major-Generals in Ceylon, 254 
 Malays, 28, 156, 175, 219, 263, 264 
 Maidive Islands, 49 
 Manchester goods, 56 
 Manuals on planting, etc., 110 
 Manufacture of tea, 347 
 Manufactures, native, 57 
 Map showing products of Ceylon, 
 415, and in pocket. 
 
 Map of Ceylon, Railway, etc., 142, 
 313, 366, 415 
 Marble, imitation of, 214 
 Markham, Mr. Clements, 70 
 Marriage and Caste, 156-9 
 Marriage Laws, 35, 304 
 Masons in Ceylon, 58, 267, 290 
 Maskeliya planting district, 65, 116 
 Matale, 19, 80, 123, 143 
 Matara, 44, 161 
 Mauritius and Ceylon, 8, 106 
 Measures, Weights and, 307 
 Medical College and Schools, 29, 35 
 Medical expenditure and hospitals, 
 11,29 
 
 Meteorology, 277 
 Military roads, 15 
 
 ,, contribution, 11, 28, 39 
 ,, Ceylon a central station, 
 145 
 
 ,, force, 10, 28, 96, 336 
 Mineralogy of Ceylon, 275 
 Mines, Plumbago, 85 
 Missions in Ceylon, 62, 97, 153, 
 168, 236-50 
 
 Molesworth, Mr. G. L., and the 
 Ceylon railway, 19 
 Monoliths, 397 
 
 Monopoly, cinnamon, and others, 
 5, 34, 48, 146 
 
 Monsoons, 106, 115, 118 
 Monuments, Historical, 36, 128, 
 203 
 
 Moorman “Tamby” ( Illustration ), 
 154 
 
 Monuments, Number of, 263, 
 264 
 
 Moonstones in Ceylon, 400 
 Moratuwa and Mission work, 246 
 Morgan, Sir Richard, 31 
 Mountains reached by train, 120 
 ,, of Ceylon, 8, 273 
 Municipalities in Ceylon, 35, 168- 
 302 
 
 Museum, Colombo, 36, 407-14 
 Mythology, Kandyan, 233 
 
 Nanu-oya, 19, 123-6, 143 
 Nationalities in Ceylon, 263, 284 
 Native agricultural interest, 42-58 
 „ character and dress, 117, 
 144, 156, 162-4, 243, 363 
 „ food, 42-56, 99 
 ,, industries, 42-58 
 ,, judges, 166 
 ,, manufactures, 57 
 ,, occupations, 57, 78, 84, 88, 
 99,144,150, 162,223-232, 
 264 
 
 ,, owners of plumbago mines, 
 85 
 
 ,, trade and profits, 88, 94 
 ,, weddings, 159 
 Natives benefited by our rule, 10- 
 22, 36, 96-104, 292, 293 
 ,, benefited by new province, 
 
 45,99 
 
 ,, employment for, 36, 99, 
 
 162, 289 
 
 ,, and Government employ, 
 
 150, 242 
 
 „ and caste, 19, 33, 40, 155- 
 
 9, 251, 367-80 
 ,, as lawyers, 31 
 
 ,, and taxation, 147 
 
 „ and tea, 78, 84, 150 
 
 ,, treatment of, 39-40 
 
 ,, and wages, 96, 331 
 
 ,, social life and customs, 
 
 152-65, 363 
 
 Naula Falls ( Illustration ), 131 
 Naval station at Trincomalee, 145 
 Nawalapitya railway to Uva, 19, 
 123 
 
424 
 
 General Index. 
 
 New products cultivated, 36, 69-84, 
 99, 320 
 
 New vegetables introduced, 55 
 ,, Tear festival, 231, 364 
 Newspapers, Native, 35, 288 
 North Central Province, 16, 45, 99, 
 140 
 
 North, Hon. F., 33, 103 
 Northern Arm to Breakwater, 36 
 Note issue, Government, 11, 27, 
 306 
 
 Notes, Oriental Bank, 27 
 Nutmegs, 82 
 
 Nuwara Eliya, 19, 20, 24, 76, 111, 
 115, 123, 311, 314 
 Nuwara Eliya (Illustration), 124 
 
 Observer, Ceylon. See Ceylon Ob- 
 server. 
 
 Occupation of natives, 264-8, 289, 
 See Natives. 
 
 Oils, essential, 55 
 Oil-cake or poonac, 51, 86 
 Oil, coconut, 50, 86 
 Oil-crushing mills, 51 
 Openings for men with capital, 108, 
 
 321 
 
 Opening for English girls, 335 
 Ophir of Solomon, 2, 272 
 Orchella weed, 86 
 Oriental Bank Corporation, 26, 39, 
 
 322 
 
 Oysters, Pearl, 384-8 
 
 Paddy. See Bice. 
 
 Pall Alall Gazette on Ceylon, 328- 
 36 
 
 Palm oil, 50, 123 
 
 Palm, palmvra, 49, 51, 88, 123, 
 279, 398 
 
 Palms, coconut, etc., 43, 49-55, 323 
 ,, group of (Illustration), 122 
 ,, planted by forced labour, 6 
 ,, talipot (Illustration), 54 
 Pansalas or Buddhist schools, 31 
 Papaws, 55 
 Passage, cost of, 130 
 Pasturage, 56, 128, 291 
 Patana grass land, 56 
 Pearls, export of, 5, 87, 130, 133 
 Pearl fisheries, 115, 135, 381-8 
 Penal Code, 32 
 
 Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, 121 
 
 Peradeniya group of palms ( Illus- 
 tration), 122 
 
 Perahera Festival, Kandy, 232 
 Pidurutalagala, highest mountain, 
 9, 126, 273 
 
 Pigeon Service, Carrier-, 34 
 Pilgrimages in Ceylon, 36 
 Pine-apples in Ceylon, 54 
 Plantation, Coconut, 43, 49-55 
 ,, Companies, 27 
 Planters of Ceylon, 93^, 108, 110, 
 330 
 
 Planters’ Association report on tea, 
 with Illustrations, 344—9 
 Planting districts, material progress 
 in the, 59-84 
 Planting statistics, 322 
 Planting industry, 318 ; origin and 
 rise of, 59-84 
 
 Planting industry, Tea-, 76 
 
 ,, „ what it has done 
 
 for Ceylon, 96-104 
 Planting profits, 90-4, 292 
 Plumbago, 85, 86, 290 
 Police in Ceylon, 10, 306 
 Polonaruwa, 128, 180 
 
 ,, ruins (Illustration), 
 24, 204 
 
 Polyandry in Ceylon, 35 
 Poonac, 86 
 
 Population, 10, 23, 96, 168, 223, 
 237, 262, 284 
 
 Population in tank region, 25, 
 223, 398 
 
 Portuguese Kule in Ceylon, 4 
 Postal Savings Banks, 10 
 ,, Service, 11, 26, 35, 308 
 Pottery, kaolin for, 4 
 Poverty in Ceylon, 103 
 Precious Stones, 87, 117 
 Press, the, in Ceylon, 11, 34, 109 
 Price of land, 65, 110, 321, 331 
 ,, coffee, 64, 67, 70 
 Priests and education, 146, 247 
 Products of Ceylon, 6, 42-57 
 
 ,, map illustrating, 411, and 
 in pocket. 
 
 Products, new, 69-84, 99, 320 
 Profits of railway, 20, 135, 143 
 ,, from planting tea, 88, 293 
 ,, „ ,, coffee, 91-3, 
 
 97-101 
 
 Progress of Ceylon in ninety years, 
 8-32 
 
General Index. 
 
 425 
 
 Progress of Ceylon in fifty years, 177 
 Property of natives, 22, 94 
 
 ,, value of coffee, 63-7, 292 
 Prospects for capitalists, 105-12, 
 328-33 
 
 Prosperity of Ceylon, 62, 97-104 
 Province, North Central, 16, 45 
 Provinces of Ceylon, 262, 285, 302, 
 312 
 
 Public Debt of Ceylon, 301 
 Puttalam, 179 
 
 Queen’s Advocates, 255 
 Queen’s Jubilee, celebration of the, 
 170-7 
 
 Quinine. See Cinchona. 
 
 Kaces in Ceylon, variety of, 117, 152 
 Railway between Ceylon and India, 
 149 
 
 Railway branch lines needed, 142 
 ,, Colombo and Kandy, 18, 
 20, 141 
 
 ,, extension to Haputale, 19, 
 38, 125, 128 
 
 ,, extension to Aliuradha- 
 pura, 393 
 
 ,, income from the, 20, 135, 
 143 
 
 ,, map and description, 142, 
 313-66, 415 
 
 „ seaside, 19, 20, 119, 141-2 
 „ statistics, 143, 332, 366 
 Rain in Ceylon, 73, 277 
 Rajapakse, Mr. Sampson, 29, 164, 
 352, 355 
 
 Ramboda Falls (Illustration), 125 
 Ramisseram Island, 8 
 Reform of laws and taxes, 112, 146 
 Reforms, political and social, 33-41, 
 168 
 
 Regiments in Ceylon, 28, 145 
 Registration of marriages and titles, 
 etc., 35 
 
 Reptiles in Ceylon, 282 
 Relics in Ceylon, 205, 213, 225-35, 
 401, 404 
 
 Religion and State aid, 34, 36, 167 
 ,, ,, employment, 5 
 
 Religions and population, 168, 264, 
 286 
 
 Rents or land tax, 134, 147-8 
 Reservoirs or tanks, 391 
 
 Residence in Ceylon of Europeans, 
 91—4 
 
 Restoration of tanks. See Tanks. 
 Returns. See Profits. 
 
 Revenue of Ceylon, 10, 96, 98, 298 
 ,, and expenditure, 10, 133-6 
 Rice cultivation, 36, 42-7, 133, 
 290-294 
 
 Rice country, 16, 42, 123 
 ,, duty on, 133, 148 
 ,, Festival of the New, 233 
 ,, imports, 42-7, 133, 269 
 Rifles, the Ceylon, 28 
 Rise of the planting industry, 59-84 
 Rivers in Ceylon, 9, 274 
 
 ,, scenery, view of (Illustra- 
 tion), 12 
 
 ,, and lagoons, 21 
 Roads, 10, 13-19, 98, 101, 111, 300 
 ,, and famine, 18 
 „ tax, 34, 146 
 
 Robinson, Governor Sir Hercules, 
 16, 35, 63, 65 
 
 Roman Catholics, 4, 33, 168 
 
 ,, ,, and fishermen, 148 
 
 Romans and cinnamon, 48 
 Royal visits to Ceylon, 170 
 Rubber cultivation, 82, 83 
 
 ,, variety of, in Ceylon, 117 
 Rubies, 87 
 Ruins, 203-225 
 Rupee currency, 27 
 Ruwanwela, 142, 211, 214 
 Ruwanweliseya dagoba, 57 
 
 Sago, 52, 54 
 
 Salmon on Crown Colonies, 137-9 
 Salt monopoly and duties, 135,146-7 
 Sanatarium. See Nuwara Eliya. 
 Sapan-wood, 86 
 Sapphires, 87 
 Satinwood, 87 
 
 Savings Banks, 10, 26, 34, 306 
 Scenery of Ceylon, 113-32 
 Schools in Ceylon. See Education. 
 
 ,, mission, 153, 242 
 Scotch , the pioneers of planting, 108 
 Seaside line. See Railway. 
 Seasons, dry and wet, 65 
 Secretary of State, 138, 140 
 Self-government, 168 
 Serendib, term for Ceylon, 2 
 Serpent-worship, 400 
 Servants, domestic, 154, 266 
 
426 
 
 General Index. 
 
 Service tenures, and temples, 36 
 Shadow of the Peak, 337-43 
 Sharks, 132 
 Sheep imported, 56 
 Shipping conveniences, 107, 111 
 ,, entered and cleared, 10 
 Shooting in Ceylon, 128, 179 
 Sindbad’s adventures, 2, 118 
 Sinhalese and caste, 19, 40, 155-9, 
 251, 367 
 
 Sinhalese, number of, 263 
 
 ,, improvements among, 
 
 101-3 
 
 ,, man and woman ( Illus- 
 
 tration ), 112 
 
 ,, occupations of, 57, 99- 
 
 103, 144, 332 
 ,, servants, 155 
 
 ,, plumbago miners, 85 
 
 ,, as tea-planters, etc., 78, 
 
 330, 335 
 
 Skinner, Major, 181 
 Skins, export of, 87 
 Slavery, abolition of, 33 
 Snakes, 132, 333, 403 
 Snipe, 128 
 
 Social life and custom, 33, 39, 40, 
 152-65 
 
 Soils, 72, 106, 128 
 Southern India, exports to, 48, 50, 
 51, 53, 55 
 
 ,, ,, imports from, 42, 
 
 45, 56, 149 
 
 ,, ,, labour from, 63,97 
 
 ,, ,, railway from Cey- 
 
 lon to, 149 
 
 Soyza, C. H. de, 29, 163, 257, 
 
 350 
 
 Speculation in Coffee, 90 
 Spence Hardy on Ceylon, 101, 242 
 Sport in Ceylon, 128, 179-202, 211, 
 224, 280 
 
 Sports for the people, 144 
 Stamp duties, 147 
 Statistics of Ceylon, 10, 133-6, 270, 
 272, 317, 329 
 
 Statistics of Railways, 366 
 Steamers calling at Colombo, 107, 
 300 
 
 Steamer rates, 130 
 Stock, 151, 269, 296 
 Storms. See Monsoon. 
 Sugar-cane, 56, 291 
 Sugar, jaggery, 52 
 
 Summary of information on Cey- 
 lon, 272, 317 
 
 Superstition, 208, 231, 248 
 
 Table showing progress in Ceylon, 
 10 
 
 „ of exports, 1883-86, 86 
 Tabrobane of Greeks andRomans, 2 
 Talipot-palm (Illustration), 54 
 Tamarind-wood, 88 
 Tamby, Moorman (Illustration), 154 
 Tamils in Ceylon, 4, 46, 263, 389 
 Tamil Coolies, 77, 97, 265, 331, 345 
 ,, Coolie Mission, 97, 153, 239 
 Tank region, populousness of, 25, 
 223 398 
 
 Tanks in Ceylon, 9, 15, 16, 34, 36, 
 42, 45, 141, 179, 221-3, 389, 406 
 Tanks in Ceylon ( Illustration ), 24, 
 204 
 
 Taxation in Ceylon, food, fish, salt, 
 etc., 34, 38, 103, 146-50, 298 
 Tea acreage, 72, 76, 88 
 ,, adulteration, 321, 346 
 ,, altitudes, suitable, 74, 76, 321, 
 326, 344 
 ,, Assam, 74 
 
 ,, ,, (Illustration), 75 
 
 ,, bush ( Illustration ), 345 
 ,, China and Hybrid, 74 
 ,, cultivation, 36, 69-78, 107, 
 293, 320-6 
 
 ,, estimated production, 88, 323 
 ,, exports, 76, 86, 88, 323-4, 344 
 ,, grown by natives, 84, 150 
 ,, harvesting, 74, 150, 345 
 „ „ (Ulus.), 345, 347 
 
 , , in India and Ceylon compared, 
 77, 107 
 
 „ Ceylon Planters’ Association 
 Report, 344-9 
 ,, in London market, 77 
 ,, introduced, 69 
 ,, labour for, 77-8, 150 
 ,, manufacture, 346 
 ,, machinery, 77-8 
 ,, plant (Illustration), 70, 75, 345 
 ,, planting taught, 109 
 ,, planter at work, 333 
 Technical education, 30 
 Telegraphic service, 11, 26, 309 
 Temperance in Ceylon, 36, 50 
 Temperature (mean) of Colombo, 
 etc., 115, 118, 277 
 
General Index. 
 
 427 
 
 Temple endowments, 31, 38, 146, 
 401 
 
 Temple, Buddhist, 208-25, 364, 
 389-406 
 
 Temporalities, Buddhist, 31, 38, 
 146, 401 
 
 Theobroma Cacao ( Illustration ), 
 71, 81 
 
 Thwaites, G. H. K., F.R.S., 64, 70 
 Tides in Ceylon, 275 
 Timber, 49, 52, 87, 289 
 Tobacco in Ceylon, 55 
 Tombs and d&gobas, 212-25, 230, 
 389-406 
 
 Tom-tom beater ( Illustration ), 160 
 Tonnage of shipping entered, etc. , 
 10 
 
 Topari tank (Illustration), 24, 180 
 Topographical features, 8, 272-5 
 Tortoises in Ceylon, 161 
 Torture, abolition of, 33 
 Towns in Ceylon, 101, 286 
 Trade and Population, statistics, 
 264-8 
 
 Trade benefited by planting enter- 
 prise, 99 
 
 Trade of Ceylon, value of, 10, 96 
 ,, with Holland, 5 
 Traffic, wheeled, 21 
 Tramways, 308 
 Transport facilities, 107, 111 
 Travellers, attractions for, 111, 113, 
 132, 312 
 
 Travellers, routes for, 179 
 Tree, sacred, 209, 284, 360 
 ,, tomato introduced, 55 
 Trees, fruit, etc., 55, 278, 291, 361, 
 Trincomalee, 36, 179, 315 
 
 ,, Harbour (Illustra- 
 tion), 37 
 
 Trips in Ceylon, shooting, 179 
 ,, to Ceylon, 111, 113-32 
 ,, from Colombo, 119 
 Troops, number of, 96 
 Tropical Agriculturist, 71, 110, 
 288 
 
 Tunnels, 299 
 
 Tytler, Mr. Robert Boyd, 61, 80 
 
 Uva, 38, 111, 116, 127-8, 140, 
 143, 314 
 
 Uva, cacao in, 80 
 „ coffee in, 74 
 
 Value of Coffee Property, 62-7, 292 
 ,, ,, ,, exported, 88 
 
 ,, ,, tea and cinchona, 88 
 
 ,, ,, Ceylon trade, 96 
 
 Vampires, 247 
 
 Van Imhoff, Dutch Governor, 6 
 Veddahs, 263, 264 
 Vegetables introduced, 55 
 Vegetation in Ceylon, 113-16, 121, 
 278, 360 
 
 Vernacular schools, 30, 146 
 Veyangode, railway from, 141, 142 
 Views to be noticed by visitors, 
 312 
 
 Village Councils, 35, 36, 302 
 ,, Tanks, 36, 46 
 Vishnu, 233 
 
 Visitors, routes for, 179, 313 
 Visitor, attractions for the, 113-32 
 Volunteers in Ceylon, 10, 38 
 
 Wages of Natives, 97, 331, 334 
 Ward, Governor Sir Henry, 19, 
 61, 139 
 
 Washerman or Dhoby (Illustra- 
 tion), 157 
 
 Waste-land used by Dutch, 6 
 Water Supply of Colombo, 35, 118, 
 140, 303 
 
 Waterfalls (Illustration), 125, 131, 
 274 
 
 Wealth of Ceylon, 5, 7, 28, 93 
 ,, ,, natives, 22, 49, 96-104, 
 
 332 
 
 Weddings, native, 159 
 Weights and Measures, 307 
 Wesleyan Mission in Ceylon, 241 
 Wilderness of the Peak cultivated, 
 64, 101 
 
 Works on Ceylon, 165,242,287, 315 
 Worms, Messrs., of Rothschild, 69 
 Worship, Buddhist, and festivals, 
 225-35 
 
 Writers on Ceylon, list of, 315 
 Yantiantota, 184 
 
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% ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date Due 
 
rn i 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 1111 
 l*i iii 
 
 
 M 
 
 MAP OF THE 
 
 ©IF ®I1« 
 
 Shelving the 
 
 PROVINCES, TOWNS, 
 
 PRINCIPAL and MINOR ROADS, 
 
 Railway Lines & Localities of tke principal Agricultural Industries, 
 ALSO THE POPULATION OF THE PROVINCES. 
 
 .Principal Roads =«===*. 
 
 Minor do 
 
 Railways 
 
 Soale of 12 Miles to an Inch. 
 
 ""■ E8 | _ t« Sf W'LEJ 
 
 Neg'oinbo 
 
 The Eight ft evinces of Ceylon ore coloured,™* population of each gtvun in brockets 
 Total population of Island 2,850,000 
 
 length of Railways 178 miles 
 
 » . Roads 2200 „ 
 
 AGRICULTURAL OIVISIONS. 
 
 Total area, of Island. 15,809.280 acres 
 
 Total area cultivated. 2,997,100 „ 
 
 (Lauda of all hinds in private hands e<pial about 3J million, acres or tth.the remaining 
 i*s belong chiefly to the Crown ) ° 
 
 The portions of map uncolourod or left hlanlc are ohiefly covered with low 
 jungle or open posture land. There are also extensive pasture lands, a largo 
 extent of untouched forest, and a good deal of nco and. fruit tree cultivation in the 
 hill country, over which “ooffee and cinchona” are mnrlcod and. coloured. 
 
 CULTIVATED AREA 
 
 Rice (paddy cultivation) 
 
 Other Grain ( Kurakhnn. Indian Com, Wees & Cereals ) 
 
 Coconuts (European, and Native) 
 
 Arecanutfl, Palmira , and Kitul Palms 
 Cin namo n ....... ^ 
 
 Other Spices, Nutmeg. Clovo, ftppor, Vanilla, Ginger, &o 
 Other Palms and Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, 
 Jalx, Breadfruit, Plantains, Pines, Oranges, 
 Mangoes , Sugarcones , &c . 
 
 Cordon Vegetables, Roots , Yams, Cassava, Manioc, 
 Potatoes, Cabbages, Onions, Chillies, Cucuinbors &c 
 Coffee (Arobica) European and Native 
 
 Cotton 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 CitroneRa Grass and other Essential Oil Grasses 
 Rhea, Aloes, & other Fibros 
 Rubber trees , Afncanlolm Oil, & other new products 
 
 Cultivated Grass Land 
 
 Pa t ana , Natural fhatnrago, Sx. 
 
 Total acres 2,997,100 1,377, 50 0 
 
 The estimated total extent of the 
 Colony(including lakes, lagoons, bur kwnlors 
 &c.) is 15,809.280 acres It will thus 
 be seen that at present less than three 
 millions out of say twelve millions 
 of available land in the island aro culti- 
 vated or utilised for pasture, or about 
 
 agricultural, being now nearly three 
 millions . It is evident .therefore , that 
 there is plenty of room for extension, 
 and much need for progress and improve- 
 ment; and the estimate of 4,400,000 
 acres as a prohablo aro a to which 
 oUlivutian will ho extended is in need 
 of being realised. 
 
 
 from. Statistics furnished, by 
 
 J. FERGUSON 
 
 of the 
 
 “Ceylon Observe rr 
 Compiled- by 
 
 Ass * to the Surveyor -General, 
 
 Colombo, February 1884.