In the Encyclopædia the reader will find a description of this island and its more remarkable productions; with a short summary of its history, down to the year 1796, when the maritime provinces, then in possession of the Dutch, were conquered by the arms of Britain. We now propose to continue the historical sketch to the present time; and to add such details relative to the population, productions, trade, and commerce of the island, as recent information enables us to supply.

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 Pelené 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 negociations, while 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. Mootto 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security, by the conclusion of a treaty, which was intended only for deception, a great part of the troops were withdrawn from Candy, where they had begun to suffer from the sickliness of the rainy season, and a small garrison was left in the palace, under the command of Major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; 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 were 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 ensued 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.

From monuments still existing in Ceylon, this Population* island evidently appears to have been much more populous, and much better cultivated, in former times, than at present. We have no accurate data, indeed, from which we can form an estimate of the precise amount of the actual population of Ceylon, but it probably does not exceed one million and an half. 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 Hindoos, who possess the north and east coasts, and the peninsula of Jaffnapatam; 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 Vedas or Bedas, who appear to be the only indigenous tribe in the island, 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 Cordner make a distinction between the Ceylonese and the 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.

The principal towns on the island are Candy, Co- Ceylon.

lumbo, Point de Galle, and Trincomalee. Of these, Columbo and Trincomalee, which are situated within the old British territory, have been already described in the body of this work. 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, with 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 Buddhu,—one Hindoo 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 to their summits, formed into ridges, and sown with grain; the valleys are fertilized by assiduous and skillful irrigation, and are clothed with areca, jack, cocoa-nut, and other trees, and with fields of paddy and other grain.

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 mile in circumference, and contains a variety of large and commodious habitations. Europeans are here much less incommodeed 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 79° of Fahrenheit, and never exceeds 86°. 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.

It seems difficult to give a faithful delineation of the character of the Ceylonese. In general, they are mild in their manners, and reserved in their address; not easily roused to resentment and bloodshed, yet proceeding with extraordinary determination in the prosecution of their object, when acting under the impulse of passion. Crimes of the deepest dye have occasionally been perpetrated among the lower castes; but the conduct of the better castes is generally correct and decorous. They are consummate masters of the art of insinuating themselves into the good opinion and favour of their superiors; and they possess a wonderful degree of address in working upon the feelings of others, while they can keep themselves free from every emotion.

The religion of the Ceylonese consists in the worship of Boodh, which is also established in the Birman empire, and in the kingdom of Siam. This religion lays claim to great antiquity, and appears to have existed prior to the Braminical system; although the learned are not agreed concerning the age of Boodh, or Buddhu, 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 Buddhu being superior to all others. Buddhu 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 kalendar 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 Buddhu. 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 Buddhu; 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, so long as they continue to exercise their functions, are doomed to the most rigorous celibacy. But, in the system of Buddhu, 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, so 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 Hindostan. In Ceylon, the rites of the ancient religion are said to be almost totally forgotten; and the inhabitants, more ignorant than bigotted, and more simple than prejudiced, would the more readily admit any religious impressions, which a devout teacher might make upon their minds.

A most excellent institution of the Dutch, and schools, 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 Hon. 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.

The agriculture and manufactures of Ceylon are at present by no means in a flourishing state. This is chiefly owing to a want of capital; yet the obstacles which now exist might be removed, in a great measure, by proper encouragement, and a judicious direction of the industry of the inhabitants. The soil is rich and fertile, but great part of it 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 ascertained to grow with the greatest facility, and to produce abundantly. The Nankein, 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 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.—say 5000 bales, of 80 lbs. each. When the island was transferred from the English East India Company to an immediate administration under the Crown (January 1802), the government entered into a contract with the Company, by which the latter acquired the exclusive privilege of exporting that article from the colony. It was agreed that the Ceylon government should deliver annually 400,000 lbs. of cinnamon, making 4,324\( \frac{1}{2} \) bales, each bale consisting of, within a small fraction, 92\( \frac{1}{2} \) lbs.; for which the Company granted a credit of L.60,000, making the price of the cinnamon 3s. per lb. The Company farther 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. No cinnamon, therefore, can be sold or exported from Ceylon but by the Company, with the exception of what is rejected 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 Sterling annually, instead of L.60,000, for a supply of 400,000 lbs. of that commodity. This contract is understood to have been entered into for seven years. But, in adjusting the accounts, it will appear that a large deduction must be incurred by the colony, in consequence of having very seldom delivered the stipulated quantity.

2. The cocoa-nut tree, which is perhaps the richest known in the world. Besides the nut, with its tree milk, this tree produces mirra,—a mild beverage, without acidity or powers of intoxication; toddy, from which the spirituous liquor called arack is distilled; cocoa-nut oil; the jaggery, 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 from 5s. 6d. to 6s. 6d. per gallon. 3. The palmyra tree, which, after the cocoa-nut tree, is the richest tree plant in the cast. 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 har dens 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 rix-dollars; and the annual revenue drawn by government from the duties on the exportation of palmyra timber amounts to about Arroca Nut. 25,000 rix-dollars. 4. The arroca 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 rix-dollars. 5. Tobacco, which is cultivated in the district of Jaffnapatam, 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 rarest and dearest is the calamander, 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 smaller and more regularly striped. The jackwood 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-wood, used for dyeing cotton cloth of a fine red, or rather very deep orange colour. 7. The pearl-fishery has been particularly described in the Encyclopaedia. 8. Ceylon is rich in precious stones. Of these the most valuable are, the oriental sapphire, topaz, 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 moon-stone, 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 introduced by the Dutch, who also made unsuccessful attempts to rear the silk-worm, and cultivate the mulberry-tree.

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 annually collected by Government. The sums are expressed in rix-dollars.

<table> <tr> <th></th> <th>Exports.</th> <th>Imports.</th> <th>Duties.</th> <th>Ceylon.</th> </tr> <tr> <td>1809</td> <td>2,660,795</td> <td>2,635,285</td> <td>440,827</td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>1810</td> <td>2,777,997</td> <td>3,112,748</td> <td>480,433</td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>1811</td> <td>2,781,633</td> <td>3,574,813</td> <td>461,495</td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>1812</td> <td>2,442,895</td> <td>4,215,399</td> <td>410,185</td> <td></td> </tr> <tr> <td>1813</td> <td>2,443,940</td> <td>6,378,739</td> <td>408,819</td> <td></td> </tr> </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 greater 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.

The relative amount of the revenue and expenditure of the Colonial Government, during the years 1811 and 1812, was as follows:

<table> <tr> <th></th> <th>Revenue.</th> <th>Expenditure.</th> </tr> <tr> <td>1811</td> <td>2,926,228 R.d.s.</td> <td>3,336,038 R.d.s.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1812</td> <td>3,028,446</td> <td>3,809,726</td> </tr> </table>

The balances constituted by the excess of the expenditure beyond the revenue have been covered by the issue of debentures; by the sums paid into the treasury by civil servants, for the civil fund, and borrowed by Government; by some balances that remained in favour of the Ceylon Government, in the hands of its agents at the presidencies of India; and by anticipating some of the public resources, which are understood to have been afterwards made good by the revenue of the pearl-fishery, in 1813. A considerable saving to the revenue might probably be effected by means of an improved method of collection, and by a diminution of the number of civil servants. But the greatest advantage would undoubtedly be derived from a well-directed attention to the improvement of the resources of this important colony, by stimulating the industry of its inhabitants, and encouraging the cultivation of its various articles of produce.—See Lord Valentia's Travels; Asiatic Annual Register; The History of Ceylon, by Philalethes, London, 1817; and particularly the following instructive work: A View of the Agricultural, Commercial, and Financial Interests of Ceylon, by Anthony Bertolacci, Esq. London, 1817.