CEYLON, a large island in the East Indies, which lies between 6° and 10° north latitude, and between 78° and 82° east longitude. It is situated at the entrance of the Bay of Bengal, by which it is bounded on the north; on the north-west it is separated from the Coromandel coast by the Gulf of Manaar, a narrow strait full of shoals, and impassable by large ships; and it is distant about sixty leagues from Cape Comorin, the southern part of the peninsula of India. Its circumference is computed at about 900 miles, and its length from Point Pedro at the northern extremity to Donderhead at the southern is about 300 miles. Its breadth is very unequal, being in some parts only from forty to fifty miles, whilst in others it extends to sixty, seventy, and even a hundred miles.

The appearance of the eastern coast is bold and rocky, and a few reefs of rocks run out into the sea on the southeast, between Point de Galle and Batacolo. The deep water on the eastern shores admits of the approach of the largest vessels in safety; and if that side of the island be the least fertile, its other defects arc amply compensated by the harbours of Trincomalee and Batacolo. The north and north-west coast, from Point Pedro to Columbo, is flat, and everywhere indented with inlets of the sea. The largest of these extends almost quite across the island, from Mullipatti to Ĵafnapatam on the north-west point, and forms the peninsula of Ĵafnapatam. Several of these inlets form small harbours; but so full is the north-west coast of sand-banks and shallows, that it is impossible for vessels of large size to approach them.

The interior of the island abounds with steep and lofty mountains, covered with thick forests, and full of almost impenetrable jungles. These woods and mountains completely surround the country of Candy. The most lofty range divides the island nearly into two parts, and so completely separates them from each other, that both the climate and seasons on either side are essentially different.

The monsoons in Ceylon are connected with those on the Coromandel and Malabar coasts; but they set in much sooner on the western than on the eastern side of the island. On the western side, where Columbo lies, the rains prevail in the months of May, June, and July, the season when they are felt on the Malabar coast. This monsoon is usually extremely violent, being accompanied with dreadful storms of thunder and lightning, together with vast torrents of rain and violent south-west winds. During its continuance, the northern parts of the island are very little affected, and are even generally dry. In the months of October and November, when the opposite monsoon sets in on the Coromandel coast, it is the north of Ceylon which is affected, and scarcely any impression of it is felt in the southern parts. These monsoons pass slightly over the interior, and seldom occasion any considerable inconvenience. But this part of the island is not altogether free from the dreadful storms which ravage so terribly the tropical climates. During its own periodical season, which happens in March and April, the rain pours down in torrents, and the thunder and lightning are appalling.

From the situation of this island, so near the equator, the days and nights are nearly of equal length, the variation during the two seasons not exceeding fifteen minutes. The seasons are more regulated by the monsoons than the [7:6:299] course of the sun; for although the island lies to the north of the line, the coolest season is during the summer solstice, while the western monsoon prevails. Their spring commences in October, and the hottest season is from January to the beginning of April. The heat, during the day, is nearly the same throughout the whole year; the rainy season, however, renders the nights much cooler, from the dampness of the earth, and the prevalence of winds during the monsoons. The climate, upon the w hole, is much more temperate than on the continent of India. This temperate climate, however, is chiefly confined to the coast, where the sea-breezes have room to circulate. In the interior of the country, owing to the thick and close woods, and the hills which crowd upon each other, the heat is many degrees greater than on the sea-coast, and the climate is often extremely sultry and unhealthy.

The principal harbours in the island for large ships are Trincomalee and Point de Galle; vessels also come to anchor, and at certain seasons of the year moor securely, in the roads of Columbo. There are several other inferior ports round the island, which afford shelter to the smaller coasting vessels. These are Batacolo, Banbareen, Matura, and Caltura, on the south-east; and Negumbo, Chilon, Calpenteen, Manaar, and Point Pedro, on the north-west coast.

The two principal rivers are the Malivagonga and the Mulivaddy. The former takes its rise among the hills to the south-east of Candy, and nearly surrounds that city. After a variety of circuitous windings among the mountains, it at last discharges itself into the sea at Trincomalee. This river is so deep as to be fordable only towards the source; but the rocks, which everywhere break its course, prevent it from being navigated. The Mulivaddy rises from the foot of a very high mountain, known to Europeans by the name of Adam’s Peak, and situated about sixty miles to the north-east of Columbo. This river falls into the sea by several branches, the largest of which empties itself about three miles from the fort of Columbo, after having nearly surrounded a large tract of the level country, of which it forms a peninsula. Besides the rivers with which Ceylon abounds, there are many lakesand canals communicating with them, particularly in the neighbourhood of Columbo and Nigumbo. These are often of considerable extent, and of great utility to the inhabitants in their neighbourhood, who have thus an opportunity of transporting readily their several articles of trade; and it is by this means also that the towns on the coast are supplied with the greatest abundance of fresh-water fish. The internal communications by land through the island have scarcely passed the first stage of improvement. Along the sea-coasts, indeed, there are roads and stations for travellers, but these roads are in many places rugged and steep.

The soil of Ceylon is in many parts sandy, with a small mixture of clay; but in the south-western parts, particularly about Columbo, there is a great deal of marshy ground, which is rich and productive; though, owing to the want of capital, and to the indolence of the native population, the natural advantages of the country are not improved. The agriculture and manufactures are consequently not in a flourishing state. Great part of the soil is left waste, insomuch that the land does not at present produce the first necessaries of life in sufficient quantity to supply the wants of the population. Cotton has been found to grow with the greatest facility, and to produce abundantly. The Nankin, Bourbon, and Brazil cottons have all been found to succeed, yet there has been hardly any cotton reared hitherto; and even the commonest cloths for the use of the natives are imported from the continent of India.

The principal productions of Ceylon are, 1. The cinnamon, for which it has long been famous, and which has attracted the particular attention of the different European governments that have successively taken possession of the island. The cinnamon tree is indigenous to Ceylon, where it grows wild to a considerable size.

The principal woods, or gardens as they are called, where the cinnamon is procured, he in the neighbourhood of Columbo. The grand garden near the town is so extensive as to occupy a tract of country from ten to fifteen miles in length, and stretching along from the north-cast to the south of the district. Nature has here concentrated both the beauty and the riches of the island. Nothing can be more delightful to the eye than the prospect which stretches around Columbo. The low cinnamon trees which cover the plain allow the view to reach the groves of evergreens, interspersed with tall clumps, and bounded everywhere with extensive ranges of cocoa-nut and other large trees. The whole is diversified with small lakes and green marshes, skirted all around with rice and pasture fields. In one part the intertwining cinnamon trees appear completely to clothe the face of the plain; in another the opening made by the intersecting footpaths just serves to show that the thick underwood has been penetrated. The soil best adapted for the growth of the cinnamon is a loose white sand. Such is the soil of the cinnamon gardens around Columbo, as well as in many parts around Nigumbo and Caltura, where this spice is found of the same superior quality. Of late years little is procured from the interior; and what is brought thence is coarser and thicker in appearance, and of a hot pungent taste.

As this spice constitutes the wealth of Ceylon, great pains are taken to ascertain its quality, and to propagate the choicest kinds. The bark of the tree consists of two coats or layers, of which the interior constitutes the true cinnamon. This bark, after being peeled off, is laid in the sun to dry, when it curls up into rolls, as we commonly see it. The finest cinnamon is that which is obtained from the younger and smaller trees; a coarser sort is derived from the trees of larger dimensions and greater age. The cinnamon is collected by a particular caste, called Challias, who on this account enjoy peculiar privileges. When the bundles or sacks of cinnamon are stowed on board the ships, black pepper is strewed over each layer, so as to fill up the interstices; and both commodities are said to be improved by this method of stowing. Formerly the crop of cinnamon was collected in the forests and jungles, the greater part of the trees being within the territories of the king of Candy; but during the latter period of the Dutch government, attempts were made, and ultimately with complete success, to cultivate cinnamon in plantations; and to their exertions we are indebted for the present flourishing state of this article of commerce. According to a calculation made by the Dutch, the annual consumption of cinnamon was estimated at 400,000 lbs. or 5000 bales, of 80 lbs. each. When the island was transferred from the English East India Company to an immediate administration under the crown (in January 1802), the government entered into a contract with the Company, by which the latter acquired the exclusive privilege of exporting cinnamon from the colony. It was agreed that the Ceylon government should deliver annually 400,000 lbs. of cinnamon, making 4324∣ bales, each bale consisting of, within a small fraction, 92į lbs.; for which the Company was to grant a credit of L.60,000, making the price of the cinnamon 3s. per lb. The Company further became bound to give credit to the colony for the amount of all clear profits which it should make on that commodity beyond five per cent. During the period of this agreement, therefore, no cinnamon could be sold or exported from Ceylon but by the Company, with the exception of what is rejected [7:6:300] by their agent there. In the year 1806 the Company proposed that 450,000 lbs. should be delivered annually, at 2s. 6d. per lb. instead of 400,000 at 3s., which the government agreed to; and this agreement remained in force until 1810, when the parties reverted to the former contract. In 1814 the Company agreed to allow to the Ceylon government a sum of L.200,000 sterling for surplus profits on their sales of cinnamon, and to give, in future, L.101,000 sterlingannually, instead of L.60,000, for a supply of400,000 lbs. of that commodity. This contract was entered into for seven years; and it does not appear that during this period the stipulated quantity of cinnamon was ever delivered. In 1821 the exclusive privilege of exporting cinnamon was given up by the Company, and all persons were allowed freely to purchase and to export from the government stores. <

The other productions of Ceylon are, 2. The cocoa-nut tree, which is perhaps the richest known in the world. Besides the nut, with its milk, this tree produces mirra, a mild beverage, without acidity or powers of intoxication; toddy, from which the spirituous liquor called arack is dis-tillccl; cocoa-nut oil; the jagery, a kind of sugar, manufactured from the mirra; and the coir, from which ropes are made. The average quantity of arack exported annually from Ceylon may be stated at 5200 leagers, of 150 gallons each. The great markets for this article have hitherto been Madras and Bombay, with the Malabar and Coromandel coasts. Within the last three years some hundreds of leagers have 'been brought to England, and sold at from 5s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. per gallon. 3. The palmyra tree, which, after the cocoa-nut tree, is the richest plant in the East. It requires ten years before it bears fruit, but, as is asserted, it will continue doing so for 300 years. This tree contributes in many ways to feed the lower class of natives in Ceylon. The fruit, when green, affords a pleasant beverage, and, when ripe, a nourishing and wholesome food. Sometimes the juice of it is expressed, which hardens and is preserved for a long time, and is eaten by the natives in different ways. The shell and the fibres, after the juice is pressed out, form excellent fattening food for cattle; and if the fruit be put under ground for two or three months, it strikes strong roots, which are also good for the food of man. The value of the tree, when cut down, is from four to five rixdollars; and the annual revenue drawn by government from the duties on the exportation . of palmyra timber amounts to about 25,000 rixdollars. 4. The arreca nut is a very important article of Ceylon produce, being the best of the kind in India. The nuts are exported chiefly to the Coromandel and Malabar coasts; and the annual revenue derived by government from the duties on the exportation of this article may be stated at 125,000 rixdollars. 5. Tobacco, which is cultivated in the district of Jafnapatam, of a peculiar quality, and prepared in a particular manner for chewing. 6. Ceylon produces various sorts of wood, of the finest and richest kinds, for cabinet-making. The scarcest and dearest is the cala-mander, of a hard and close grain, beautifully veined with different shades of black and brown. The homander greatly resembles it, but the veins are not so fine. The ream wood has also very beautiful veins of the same colours, but they arc smaller and more regularly striped. The jack-wood very much resembles mahogany, and is used for the same purposes. The ebony and satin woods are well known. The sappan wood is a kind of log-w bod, used for dyeing cotton cloth of a fine red, or rather very deep orange i colour. Ceylon abounds in fruits and plants. Among the fruits are apples, oranges, pomegranates, citrons, lemons, water-melons, pumpkins, melons, squashes, figs, almonds, mulberries, bilberries, mangoes, shaddocks, mangusteens, rose apples, cushoo apples and nuts, custard apples, plantains, jack fruit, a species of bread fruit, cocoa-nuts, and several sorts of pepper, cardamoms, coffee and sugar tree, and a species of palm. The tea-plant has also been discovered in the forests. 7. Ceylon is rich in precious stones. Of these the most valuable are, the oriental sapphire, to-: paz, ruby,amethyst, and blue sapphire; the cat’s-eye, which is the finest known of that kind; the tourmaline, of every shade; the amethyst, which is superior in brilliancy to that of Brazil; the cinnamon stone, the garnet, and the moonstone, which is a species of opal. Ceylon also produces the finest jet and crystal of different tinges. Pepper, coffee, and: cardamom, are likewise cultivated in Ceylon; but these' productions, it is said, are not indigenous, having been in·* troduced by the Dutch, who also made unsuccessful attempts to rear the silk-worm, and cultivate the mulberry-tree.

The pearl-fishery in the bay of Condatchy, during the season, exhibits one of the most interesting scenes in Ceyd lon. The banks where it is carried on extend several miles along the coast from Manaar southward, off Arippo, Condatchy, and Pomparipo. The principal bank is opposite to Condatchy, and lies out at sea about twenty miles. The first step, previously to the commencement of the fishery, is to have the different oyster-banks surveyed, the state of the oysters ascertained, and a report made on the subject to government. If it has been found that the quantity is sufficient, and that they are arrived at a proper degree of maturity, the particular banks to be fished that year are put up for sale to the highest bidder, and are usually purchased by a black merchant. Government sometimes judges it more advantageous to fish the banks on its own account, and to dispose of the pearls afterwards to the merchants. When this plan is adopted, boats are hired for the season on account of government from different quarters; the price varying considerably according to circumstances, but being usually from 500 to 800 pagodas for each boat.

As neither the season nor the convenience of the persons attending would permit the whole of the banks to be fished in one year, they are divided into three or four different portions, which are fished one portion annually in succession. The different portions are completely distinct, and are set up separately to sale, each in the year in which it is to be fished. By this means a sufficient interval is given to the oysters to attain their proper growth; and as the portion first used has generally recovered its maturity by the time the last portion has been fished, the fishery becomes almost regularly annual, and may thus be considered as yielding a yearly revenue. The oysters are supposed to attain their completest state of maturity in seven years; for, if left too long, it is said that the pearl becomes so large and inconvenient to the fish that it throws it out of the shell. The fishing season commences in February, and ends about the beginning of April. The period allowed to the merchant to fish the banks is six weeks, or two months at the utmost; but there are several interruptions, which prevent the fishing days from exceeding more than about thirty. If it happens to be a very bad season, and many stormy days intervene during the period allotted, the purchaser of the fishery is often allowed a few days more as a favour. During the season, all the boats regularly sail and return together. A signal gun is fired at Arippo, about ten o’clock at night, when the whole fleet sets sail with the land breeze. They reach the banks before daybreak, and at sunrise commence fishing. In this they continue busily occupied till the sea breeze, which rises about noon, warns them to return to the bay. As soon as they appear within sight, another gun is fired, and the colours hoisted, to inform the anxious owners of their return. When the boats come to [7:6:301] land, their cargoes are immediately taken out, as it is necessary to have them completely unloaded before night. Whatever may have been the success of their boats, the owners seldom wear the looks of disappointment; for although they may have been unsuccessful one day, they look with the most complete assurance of better fortune to the next, as the Brahmins and conjurors, whom they implicitly trust in defiance of all experience, understand too well the liberality of a man in hopes of good fortune, not to promise them all they can desire. Each of the boats carries twenty men, with a tindal or chief boatman, who acts as pilot. Ten of the men row, and assist the divers in re-ascending. The other ten are divers; they go down into the sea by five at a time; when the first five come up the other five go down; and by this method of alternately diving, they give each other time to recruit themselves for a fresh plunge.

In order to accelerate the descent of the divers, large stones are employed. Five of these are brought in each boat for the purpose. They are of a reddish granite, common in this country, and of a pyramidal shape, round at top and bottom, with a hole perforated through the smaller end sufficient to admit a rope. Some of the divers use a stone shaped like a half-moon, which they fasten round the belly when they mean to descend, and thus keep their feet free.

The people are accustomed to dive from their very infancy, and fearlessly descend to the bottom in from four to ten fathoms water in search of the oysters. The diver, when he is about to plunge, seizes the rope to which one of the stones we have described is attached, with the toes of his right foot, while he takes hold of a bag of net-work with those of his left; it being customary among all the Indians to use their toes in working or holding, as well as their fingers: and such is the power of habit, that they can pick up even the smallest thing from the ground with their toes as nimbly as a European could do with his fingers. The diver, thus prepared, seizes another rope with his right hand, and holding his nostrils shut with the left, plunges into the water, and by the assistance of the stone speedily reaches the bottom. He then hangs the net round his neck, and with much dexterity, and all possible dispatch, collects as many oysters as he can while he is able to remain under water, which is usually about two minutes. He then resumes his former position, makes a signal to those above by pulling the rope in his right hand, and is immediately by this means drawn up and brought into the boat, leaving the stone to be pulled up afterwards by the rope attached to it. The exertion undergone during this process is so violent, that upon being brought into the boat the divers discharge water from their mouth, ears, and nostrils, and frequently even blood. But this does not hinder them from going down again in their turn. They will often make from forty to fifty plunges in one day, and at each plunge bring up about a hundred oysters. Some rub their bodies over with oil, and stuff their ears and noses to prevent the water from entering; while others use no precautions whatever. Although the usual time of remaining under water does not much exceed two minutes, yet there are instances known of divers who could remain four, and even five minutes. The longest instance ever known was that of a diver who came from Anjango in 1797, and who absolutely remained underwater full six minutes.

The boat-owners and merchants are very apt to lose many of the best pearls while the boats are on their return to the bay from the banks; for as the oysters, when alive and left for some time undisturbed, frequently open their shells of their own accord, a pearl may then be easily discovered, and the oyster prevented, by means of a bit of grass or soft wood, from again closing its shell, till an opportunity offers of picking out the pearl. Those fellows who are employed to search among the fish also commit many depredations, and even swallow the pearls to conceal them. When this is suspected, the plan followed by the merchants is to lock them up, and give them strong emetics and purgatives, which have frequently the effect of discovering the stolen property.

As soon as the oysters are taken out of the boats, they are carried by the different people to whom they belong, and placed in holes or pits dug in the ground to the depth of about two feet, or in small square places cleared and fenced round for the purpose, each person having his own separate division. Mats are spread below them to prevent the oysters from touching the earth; and here they are left to dic and rot. As soon as they have passed through a state of putrefaction, and have become dry, they are easily opened without any danger of injuring the pearls, which might be the case if they were opened fresh, as at that time to do so requires great force. On the shell being opened, the oyster is minutely examined for the pearls. It is usual even to boil the oyster, as the pearl, though commonly found in the shell, is not unfrequently contained in the body of the fish itself.

The pearls found at this fishery are of a whiter colour than those got in the Gulf of Ormus on the Arabian coast, but in other respects are not accounted so pure or of such an excellent quality; for though the white pearls are most esteemed in Europe, the natives prefer those of a yellowish or golden cast. Off Tutucoreen, which lies on the Coromandel coast, nearly opposite to Condatchy, there is another fishery; but the pearls found there are much inferior to the two species now mentioned, being tainted with a blue or grayish tinge. In preparing the pearls, particularly in drilling and stringing them, the black people are wonderfully expert. The instrument they employ in drilling is a machine made of wood, and of a shape resembling an obtuse inverted cone, about six inches in length and four in breadth, which is supported upon three feet, each twelve inches long. In the upper flat surface of this machine holes or pits are formed to receive the larger pearls, the smaller ones being beaten in with a little wooden hammer. The drilling instruments are spindles of various sizes, according to that of the pearls; they are turned round in a wooden head, by means of a bow-handle to which they are attached. The pearls being placed in the pits which we have already mentioned, and the point of the spindle adjusted to them, the workman presses on the wooden head of the machine with his left hand, while his right is employed in turning round the bow-handle. During the process of drilling he occasionally moistens the pearl by dipping the little finger of his right hand in a cocoa-nut filled with water, which is placed by him for that purpose. This lie does with a dexterity and quickness which scarcely impedes the operation, and can only be acquired by much practice. They have also a variety of other instruments, both for cutting and drilling the pearls. To clean, round, and polish them to that state in which we see them, a powder made of the pearls themselves is employed. These different operations in preparing the pearls occupy a great number of the black men in various parts of the island. In the black town of Columbo, in particular, many of them may every day be seen at this work.

As there are no manufactures of any consequence, the∣ commerce of the island consists in the exportation of its natural productions, and the importation chiefly of rice and other grain, and cloth. The following table will show the respective value of the whole exports and imports, during a period of five years, with the amount of the duties[7:6:302] annually collected by government. The sums are expressed in rixdollars, the value of the rixdollar being one shilling and tenpénee.
[table]

From this table it will appear that there is a considerable commercial balance against Ceylon. This is occasioned by the great annual importations of rice and cloth; and it might be removed by giving more encouragement to the cultivation of grain, and by the introduction of cotton, and the manufacture of that article into clothing for the natives. For these purposes our new acquisitions are eminently adapted. The Candian territory has always produced more rice than was wanted by its inhabitants; and cotton grows most luxuriantly in the interior of Ceylon. Nothing, in short, is wanted but industry and capital to render Ceylon perfectly independent for food and clothing. An agricultural and literary society has been established by the British residents in Ceylon; and, among other improvements, they have introduced the cultivation of potatoes.

The public revenue of Ceylon arises from the land-tax, from taxes on property, on consumption, from capitation taxes, and from certain productions of the island, which are reserved by government for the purposes of revenue. Of these, cinnamon is the most important; but no official account has been recently published of the profits derived from that article. The pearl fishery, and the fishery for a certain sort of ornamental shells, also yields a revenue; and formerly government profited by the catching of elephants, but these have now so greatly fallen off in price that this source of revenue is lost. Salt also yields a productive revenue. The privilege of digging for precious stones was formerly farmed out, and was a source of revenue; in lieu of which licenses to pursue this trade are now sold. Ceylon was constituted a royal government in 1802, immediately under the direction of the crown, which appoints the public functionaries, and regulates the internal administration of the country; and since this period a more liberal policy has been followed than in the East India Company’s dominions. It is governed by a council, composed of the governor, chief justice, the commander of the forces, and the secretary. Ĵustice is administered by a supreme court, consisting of a chief and a puisne judge, chosen from the civil servants of the Company; a high court of appeal, composed of the chief and puisne judges, of the governor, and the chief secretary of the government; and in 1811 a charter passed the great seal, granting to every native in Ceylon not legally disqualified, the right to sit on juries. This mode of trial was accordingly introduced with great advantage, and has produced the most favourable effect on the character of the inhabitants. As a remarkable proof of this, it may be stated that the slave proprietors in the island passed a resolution, that after the 12th of August 1816 all persons born in slavery should be considered free.^[1. See Report of Select Committee on East India Affairs, 1830. Evidence of Sir A. Johnston. ]

Among the animals of Ceylon, and at the head of the class of quadrupeds, is the elephant, which is considered as superior to those found in any other quarter of the world; not, however, on account of size, for the Ceylon elephants are not in general so tall as those on the continent, but on account of their hardiness and strength, and their great docility and freedom from vice and passion. Ceylon produces but few animals for domestic purposes. The horses which are used are bred in the small islands of the Jafnapatam district. The oxen are of very small size, scarcely exceeding that of calves of a year old. They are of that species which have the hump on the shoulder; but are inferior in quality, as well as in size, to any found on the Indian continent. The beef is sometimes of a good quality, and forms the chief food of the European soldiers. Buffaloes are found in great numbers in the island, both in a wild and tame state. They are wild and untractable, and even when tamed and trained to the draught, for which, being stronger and larger than the oxen, they are well adapted, they retain a good deal of their original manners. Deer and elks, of various species, are found in Ceylon, especially the small gazelle, about the size of a horse, which is caught and brought to market by the natives in cages. Hares abound in every part of the island, also wild hogs, and a small species of tiger. The larger kind, or the royal Asiatic tiger, is not found in Ceylon. But there are tiger-eats, leopards, jackals, porcupines, raeoons, squirrels; and sometimes, though more rarely, the hyena and the bear are found. The monkey tribe is found in infinite variety.

Besides the common domestic poultry of Europe, pheasants, parrots, and parroquets, both wild and tame, are found in Ceylon, also snipes, floricans, storks, cranes, herons, water-fowl of all descriptions, pigeons wild and domesticated, and a few partridges of the red-legged species. Among other remarkable birds is the honey-bird, so called from its pointing out where the bees have deposited their combs. Crows, which are exceedingly abundant, tailorbirds, two species of fly-catchers, wild and tame peacocks, and the common fowl in its wild state, complete this catalogue of the feathered race.

Reptiles abound, and the serpent tribe is exceedingly dangerous. The cobra capella or hooded snake, the cobra manillas, and the whip and grass snakes, which are all of a small size, are poisonous. Water and wood snakes are harmless. The boa constrictor is found in marshy parts; it grows to the length of thirty feet. Alligators of a prodigious size infest the rivers, and some have been killed twenty feet in length, and as thick in the body as a horse. There are guanas, toads, lizards, blood-suckers, cameleons, and leeches; also flying lizards, and every species of vermin and insects which torment the inhabitants of tropical climates. Fish in great variety and abundance are caught in the rivers, and in all the surrounding seas.

The principal towns on the island are Candy, Trinco∙ malee, Columbo, and Point de Galle. The town of Candy was the native capital previous to the entire conquest of the island. It is situated in the province of Tallanour, in the midst of lofty mountains covered with thick jungle; and the passes to it are narrow, and intersected with close hedges of thorn. The town itself is mean, and surrounded by a mud-wall of no strength. Its length is about two miles, and it consists of one broad street, with numerous lanes branching from the principal thoroughfares. The houses are chiefly of mud, thatched with straw and leaves, and small apertures instead of windows. At one end of the great street stands the palace, an immense pile of building, constructed of stone and wood, and covered over with a species of white cement. It comprehends within its walls two temples dedicated to Boodh or Buddha, one Hindu pagoda, the cemetery of the kings of Candy, and a great variety of arsenals and storehouses. The surrounding scenery is rich and beautiful. The land in the neighbourhood is highly cultivated, and interspersed with villages and rivulets. Some of the mountains are cleared [7:6:303]to their summits, formed into ridges, and sown with grain; the valleys are fertilized by assiduous and skilful irrigation, and are clothed with arreca, jack, cocoa-nut, and other trees, and with fields of paddy and other grain.

Trincomalce lies in latitude 8° 80. It runs in a northeast direction along one branch of the bay. The country around it is mountainous and woody, the soil uncultivated and rather barren, and the whole appearance wild. From its situation and construction, it is naturally strong. It occupies more ground than Columbo, but contains a much smaller number of houses, and these inferior in size and appearance to those which are to be met with in several towns on the south-west coast. The circumference of Trincomalee within the walls is about three miles; within this space is also included a hill or rising point, immediately over the sea, and covered with brushwood. The fort is strong, and commands the principal bays, particularly the entrance into the grand harbour, or inner bay, which affords at all seasons, and in every variety of weather, a secure shelter to ships of all descriptions, being land-locked on all sides, and sufficiently deep and capacious to receive any number of the largest vessels. This harbour, from its nature and situation, is that which stamps Ceylon as one of our most valuable acquisitions in the East Indies. As soon as the violent monsoons commence, every vessel which is caught by them in any other part of the Bay of Bengal is obliged immediately to put to sea, to prevent inevitable destruction. At these seasons Trincomalee and Bombay alone, of all the ports on the different coasts on the peninsula of India, are capable of affording a safe retreat. The incalculable advantages to be derived from such a harbour are increased by its proximity and easy access to our settlements in the Bay of Bengal. Columbo is the capital of Ceylon, and the seat of government. Although Trincomalee, on account of its situation and harbour, be of more consequence to this nation to retain, yet Columbo is in every other respect greatly superior. The number of its inhabitants is much greater; its fort and black town are much larger; the country where it is situated is far more fertile; and the rich district depending upon it much wider, being not less than twenty leagues in length and ten in breadth. It is situated in the west, or rather towards the south-west part of the island, in about 7° north latitude and 78° east longitude from London. The plan of Columbo is regular. It is nearly divided into four equal quarters by two principal streets, which cross each other, and extend the whole length of the town. To these smaller ones run parallel, with connecting lanes between them. At the foot of the ramparts on the inside is a broad street or way, which goes round the whole fort, and communicates with the bastions and soldiers’ barracks, and also affords, at the different angles, open spaces for their private parading. Point de Galle, the only other town of which it seems necessary to give a description, is situated at the southern extremity of the island, on a low rocky promontory, backed by several ranges of hills, rising above one another, and covered with wood. The fort, in which most of the Europeans reside, is more than a milc in circumference, and contains a variety of large and commodious habitations. Europeans are here much less incommoded by the heat than in other parts of India; for although the town is situated within less than six degrees of the equator, the temperature is frequently as low as 72° of Fahrenheit, and never exceeds S6°. The disease called elephantiasis is said to prevail a good deal among the poor residents at Point de Galle, and is ascribed to bad water and insufficient nourishment.

The inhabitants are divided into two classes, the Cingalese and the Candians. The Cingalese, who inhabit the low lands and parts contiguous to the coasts, live entirely under the dominion of whatever European nation has been able to acquire possession of that part of the island. The nature of the country they inhabit indeed leaves them hardly any alternative but unconditional submission, unless they could either meet the Europeans in open battle, or consent to quit their plentiful fields for the barren mountains of the interior. They are a quiet, inoffensive people, exceedingly grave, temperate, and frugal. Their bodies partake of the indolence of their minds, and it is with reluctance they are roused to any active exertion. When, however, they are obliged to apply themselves to any work, such as agriculture, they are capable of undergoing a great deal of labour. The milder virtues form the most prominent features of the Cingalese character. They are gentle, charitable, and friendly, and have scarcely any of the false, treacherous, and designing arts which are often found among the Candians. With much less smoothness and courteousness of face and manner than the latter, they have much sincerer hearts. On examining the countenances and carriage of these two classes of Ceylonese, it is easy to perceive the difference arising from the respective circumstances in which they are placed. The countenance of the Candian is erect, his look haughty, his mien lofty, and his whole carriage marked by the pride of independence. The looks of the Cingalese even denote a degree of effeminacy and cowardice which excites the contempt of the Candians; although the latter, with all their boasted spirit, can never venture to attack an European but by the same method as the Cingalese, and are equally cautious in waiting the convenient moment of assaulting him from the bushes in which they have concealed themselves. Crimes of the deepest dye have occasionally been committed by the lower castes, but the conduct of the better castes is generally correct and decorous.

The most singular part of the inhabitants of Ceylon consists of the Bedahs or Vaddahs. The origin of the Bedahs or Vaddahs, who inhabit the deepest recesses of the Ceylonese forests, has never been traced, and no other race can be found in the eastern world which corresponds with them. Conjecture has, indeed, been busy on the occasion, as it usually is where real information is wanting. The Bedahs are generally supposed to have been the aboriginal inhabitants of the island, who, upon being overwhelmed by their Cingalese invaders, preferred the independence of savages to a tame submission. A current tradition, however, assigns them a different origin. It is related that they were cast away on the island, and chose to settle there; but refusing, upon a certain occasion, to assist the king in his wars against some foreign enemies, they were driven out from the society of the natives, and forced to take up their abode in the most unfrequented forests. Some imagine that the Bedahs are merely a part of the native Candians, who chose to retain their ancient savage freedom, when their brethren of the plains and valleys submitted to the cultivation of the earth and the restraints of society. This opinion rests entirely on those Bedahs who are most known speaking a broken dialect of the Cingalese. It is, however, by no means ascertained that this is the universal language of the Bedahs, nor is any account of their origin supported by the slightest shadow of proof.

The Candians are fairer and better made, and less effeminate, than the Cingalese, who are of a middling stature, about five feet eight inches, and fairer than the Moors and the Malabars on the continent, though they are neither so well formed nor so strong. It is the practice among all ranks, both of the Candians and the Cingalese, to chew betel-leaf, with which they mix tobacco, arreca-nut, and the lime of burnt shells, to render it more pungent[7:6:304]. They do not rank higher in the scale of civilization than the other Asiatics. Before the arrival of the Europeans, it does not appear that the Cingalese possessed any sort of dial; they measured time by means of a vessel with a hole in the bottom, which let out the water in one hour according to their division of time; and at present their whole learning consists in some pretended skill in astrology. They have a set of learned men among them called gonies. Their business is to execute all the writings of the state, and those which regard the affairs of religion; on all which occasions they employ the Arabic character. The Cingalese are expert in several ingenious modes of industry, and display particular dexterity in gold, silver, and carpenter’s work.

Besides the native Cingalese and the Candians, the seacoasts are inhabited by Dutch, Portuguese, Malays, and settlers from the different Indian nations. The Dutch have in general adopted the customs and manners of the native Ceylonese, though they still retain their original taste for tobacco and gin. They are of remarkably stiff and ceremonious manners, and live in the most luxurious manner. The Portuguese are spurious descendants of Europeans by native women, along with a number of Moors and settlers from the Malabar coast; a dark colour, with a particular mode of dress, half Indian, half European, being all that is necessary to procure the appellation of a Portuguese. They profess the Roman Catholic religion, with which they mix many Pagan customs. The Malays form a considerable proportion of the inhabitants of Ceylon. They profess the Mahommedan faith.

The religion of the Ceylonese consists in the worship of Buddha, which is also established in the Burman empire, and in the kingdom of Siam. This religion lays claim to great antiquity, and appears to have existed prior to the Brahminical system; although the learned are not agreed concerning the age of Boodh or Buddha, or the country in which his religious doctrines were first promulgated. According to the mythology of the Ceylonese, this personage, whose footstep is still to be seen on the top of Adam’s Peak, is said to have descended upon earth, and, after having performed a vast number of virtuous actions, and been transformed into a great variety of shapes, to have again ascended into heaven, where he acts as a. mediator with the Supreme Being, and procures the pardon of his worshippers. Although the Ceylonese acknowledge the existence of one Supreme Being, yet they dedicate no temples to his worship, those of Buddha being superior to all others. Buddha is said to have always worn a yellow dress, and for this reason his priests still wear a dress of a similar colour; and his images in the temples are invariably yellow from the head to the feet. The religious calendar of the Ceylonese comprehends seven other saints or subordinate deities, to each of whom they erect images, and ascribe peculiar powers and prerogatives; but their worship is inferior to that of Buddha. Some of the Ceylonese temples or pagodas are magnificent structures, indicating a much higher degree of excellence in the arts in some former period than the natives at present possess. Some of these pagodas are endowed with great revenues, and possess high privileges. The priests are divided into three ranks, of whom the highest order is set apart for the worship of Buddha; while the others minister to the worship of the inferior deities. The highest sacerdotal office is not compatible with any species of manual labour; and the priests, as long as they continue to exercise their functions, are doomed to the most rigorous celibacy. But in the system of Buddha the priesthood does not constitute a peculiar caste; nor is the character indelible, as among the Brahmins: on the contrary, they are at liberty to renounce their sacred calling, and to resume their place among the laity.

Christianity was first introduced into Ceylon by the celebrated Francis Xavier in the year 1452; and the Portuguese, as long as they exercised their sway over the maritime parts of the island, continued to prosecute the work of conversion by means of their priests. When the Dutch became masters of the coast, they endeavoured to substitute the reformed faith for that of the church of Rome. In the year 1801 the number of native inhabitants who professed the Protestant faith was calculated to exceed 342,000, while those of the Romish communion were reckoned to be still more numerous. In 1805 some missionaries were sent from England for the purpose of instructing the Ceylonese in the principles of Christianity; and it is thought that the propagation of this doctrine would experience much fewer obstacles in this island than in Hindustan. In Ceylon the rites of the ancient religion are said to be almost totally forgotten; and the inhabitants, more ignorant than bigoted, and more simple than prejudiced, would the more readily admit any religious impressions which a devout teacher might attempt to make upon their minds.

A most excellent institution of the Dutch, and which redounds highly to their honour and liberality, consisted in the establishment of schools for the instruction of the natives in the elements of useful knowledge, and in the principles of Christianity. These schools, of which one is erected in every parish, appear to have been placed under very judicious regulations. They continued to flourish under the Dutch; but when the English obtained possession of the island in 1796, the salaries of the masters had been left unpaid for about three years, and the schools consequently fell into decay. The Honourable Mr North, who became governor of the island towards the end of the year 1798, spared no pains to re-establish them; and, under his auspices, they were increased in number, improved in management, and augmented in usefulness. But the liberal views and salutary arrangements of this enlightened gentleman were unfortunately counteracted, in a great measure, by the ill-judged parsimony of the British government, who, in the year 1803, limited the annual allowance for the schools to the sum of L.1500; although the whole saving was paltry when weighed against the many and important advantages resulting from these beneficial establishments.

From monuments still existing in Ceylon, this island evidently appears to have been much more populous, and much better cultivated, in former times, than at present. According to an estimate given before the select committee of the House of Commons by Sir A. Johnston, who resided long in Ceylon, the population consists of 500,000 persons professing the Hindu religion, 500,000 who profess the religion of Buddha, and 70,000 or 80,000 Mahomme∕lans. The remainder consist of English, Dutch, and Portuguese, or of their descendants.^[2. See Aiinwto of Evidence given before the Select Committee on India Affairs. Sir A. Johnston, 10th March 1830. ] The inhabitants may be divided into four distinct tribes or nations, viz. the Ceylonese proper, who occupy the territories formerly belonging to the king of Candy, and the south and south-west coasts; the Malabars or Hindus, who possess the north and east coasts, and the peninsula of Jafnapatam; the Moors, who are dispersed over every part of the island, and who may be considered as the most industrious portion of the population; and the Bedahs, or Vaddahs, who appear to be the only indigenous tribe in the island, [7:6:305]living in a savage state in the large forest which extends from the south to the east and north, upon the borders of our old limits, and into the Candian territory. Mr Percival and Mr Cordiner make a distinction between the Ceylonese and Candians; but according to the latest and best authorities, referred to at the end of this article, they seem to be one and the same nation, having the same origin, language, religion, and habits. The population has been rapidly increasing for some years, owing principally to the introduction of vaccination, which has been generally practised, and with great success; insomuch that the small-pox, which formerly committed great ravages in Ceylon, has now been wholly expelled from the island. This increasing population, however, is far from being in a prosperous condition, as, for some years past, it has pressed hard upon the means of subsistence. The distress was much aggravated in the years 1812, 1813, and 1814, by repeated droughts, which proved injurious to the cultivation of rice; while, in consequence of the superabundant population, the price of labour, during this great scarcity, continued at the same low rate as formerly. The territory within the old limits of the British government does not produce a sufficient quantity of rice for the maintenance of its own inhabitants; much of that necessary article has been at all times imported from the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, and from Bengal; and a very large supply was derived from the Candian country, which produced a considerable surplus. But as the population of these districts is also upon the increase, the supply derived from that source has necessarily suffered a proportional diminution.

In order to encourage the cultivation of the island, the law prohibiting Europeans from possessing land was repealed in 1809; and in order to induce Europeans to invest their capital in the cultivation of the country, lands have been freely offered to them, without the burden of any tax. The notion so firmly held by the East India Company, that the sovereign is the proprietor of all the lands within his dominions, and the ruinous taxation which is the consequence of this fallacious policy, has never been acted upon to the same rigorous extent in Ceylon, in which the lands are held by three descriptions of tenures: first, there are lands belonging to the sovereign; secondly, lands granted by the sovereign to individuals for a fixed rent; and, thirdly, lands granted for specific services. With respect, however, to that vast portion of land which is lying waste, it is of little moment to whom it belongs; and, according to all the maxims of sound policy, it ought to belong to those who undertake to bring it under cultivation. The effect of heavy taxes, or indeed of any tax, on cultivation, is to maintain the country in its original state of desolation; and this melancholy truth has been too amply verified under the rule of the East India Company.^[3. See Report of Select Committee on East India Affairs, 1830. Evidence of Sir A. Johnston. ]

Ceylon was originally divided into a number of distinct petty kingdoms, separated by the several rivers and mountains which are dispersed over the face of the island, and subject each to its own independent sovereign. In process of time, however, the whole country was reduced under the dominion of the king of Candy, and divided by him into a few great provinces, from which several of the numerous titles he still retains were derived.. These provinces were Candy, Coitu, Matura, Dambadar, and Sitti-vacca, which included the rich districts on the west coast. The chief of these provinces was Candy, situated in the centre of the island, and honoured with the royal residence.

Little was known of the island of Ceylon previously to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505, who were admitted by the king of the country in a friendly manner, and received from him an annual tribute for their protection against external invasion, particularly against the attacks of the Arabs, who had long harassed and oppressed the Ceylonese. The inhabitants at that time, as at present, consisted of two distinct races, the Bedahs, who lived in the forests, particularly in the northern parts, and the Cingalese, who inhabited the sea-coast. Columbo, now the European capital of Ceylon, was at that time the royal residence. Cinnamon was even then the principal product and staple commodity of the country. Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds weight were annually delivered by the king to the Portuguese in name of tribute. The inhabitants suffered great cruelties and oppression under the Portuguese, and were glad of an opportunity of throwing off the yoke, and putting themselves under the protection of the Dutch. In 1632 a strong armament was sent out by the latter to act in concert with the native prince, and, after a bloody struggle, the Portuguese were at last expelled from the island. Columbo surrendered to the Dutch arms in 1656, and this terminated the dominion of the Portuguese in the island. In the year 1795 a body of British troops was sent for the conquest of Ceylon, and after various military operations this valuable possession was added to the British colonies.

The conquered provinces remained for a short time as an appendage to the presidency of Madras, but were afterwards rendered independent of the East India Company', and annexed to the crown of Great Britain. In the year 1798 the king of Candy died, and the crown was transferred, by the intrigues of Pelemé Talavé, the chief adigar, or prime minister, to a young Malabar, without birth, talents, or pretensions of any kind. The policy' of the adigar was decidedly hostile to the British government; and his object was to amuse them with delusive negotiations, whilst he awaited a favourable opportunity for expelling them from the island. After some time spent in secret preparations for war, hostilities were at length provoked by the aggressions of the Candians, in the spring of 1802; and two divisions of the British forces were in consequence moved into the interior, from Columbo and Trincomalee, under Major-general Macdowall and Colonel Barbut. They .experienced very little resistance on their march, and the two divisions formed a junction at Candy. The city, however, was found entirely deserted by' the government and inhabitants, and had been set on fire in several places. The king had removed all his treasure, and the inhabitants had carried away or destroyed everything valuable. Mooto Sawmy, the brother of the late queen, was now removed to Candy, and placed by the British troops upon the throne; but the people of authority in the neighbouring country showed no disposition to submit to his sway. The plan of the chief adigar appears to have been to draw the British troops by detachments farther into the country, and then to cut off their retreat. This design he endeavoured to execute by means of the most profound and systematic dissimulation and treachery. Having lulled the British officers into a delusive security by the conclusion of a treaty, which was intended only for deception, a great part of the troops were withdrawn from Candy, where they' had begun to suffer from the sickliness of the rainy season, and a small garrison was left in the palace, under the command of Major Davie. The Candians, perceiving the success of their treachery, drew their lines nearer to the city, and entrenched themselves in strong positions in the immediate vicinity. In the mean time the garrison daily decreased, in consequence of death and desertion[7:6:306]; and Major Davie at length found himself under the necessity of submitting to a humiliating capitulation, the terms of which were only observed by the Candians until they had got their enemies completely into their power, when the whole detachment was wantonly and perfidiously massacred.

Elated with this success, the king of Candy now began to entertain hopes of the total expulsion of the British from the island; and a war of ravage and spoliation was carried on for some time, which is remarkable only for the barbarity with which it was conducted on both sides. The repeated invasions of the Candians, however, were uniformly repulsed with great loss; and hostilities were at length suspended by a sort of tacit consent, originating, probably, from the weakness of the enemy, and the pacific disposition of the British administration. Meanwhile the many acts of tyranny and arbitrary cruelty which had been exercised by the Candian monarch justly rendered him odious to his own subjects; and a most barbarous outrage, committed upon some unoffending inhabitants of the English settlements, at last called forth the full and final vengeance of the British government. The war, which commenced in 1815, was short, and attended with the most decisive results. The capital was taken; the king made prisoner and deposed; and a grand convention having been held of the British authorities and the Candian chiefs, a treaty was proposed and ratified, by which the dominion of the whole island of Ceylon was vested in the sovereign of Great Britain.