128 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



Appendix V. 



The Archaeological Commissioner wrote to M. R. Ry. H. Krishna 

 Sastri Avargal, the Assistant Archaeological Superintendent for Epi- 

 graphy, Southern India, asking for assistance, and the followign two 

 letters were received : — 



From M. R. Ry. H. Krishna Sastbi Avabgal, B.A., Assistant 



Archaeological Superintendent for Epigraphy, Southern Circle, 



to H. C. P. Bell, Esq., Archaeological Commissioner 



for Ceylon. 



Office of the Assistant Archaeological Superintendent 

 for Epigraphy, Ootacamund, 



Camp Chickbakapur, 



No. 57. February 6, 1911. 



Sib,— With reference to your letter No. 58 dated January 30, 1911, 

 I have the honour to inform you that the impressions of the trilingual 

 inscrijjtion from Galle are not so perfect as I would desire them to be. 



I can only gather from a rough examination that the Tamil record 

 deals with a mercantile transaction. 1 shall, however, find time to study 

 them more closely after I retvirn to headquarters about the middle of 

 March. The results of my study will be comnumicated to you about 

 the end of that month. 



I suggest that the Arabic inscription may be sent for examination to 

 Dr. J. Horovitz, Ph.D., of Aligarh, who is the Editor of Epigraphia 

 Moslemica. 



H. Kbistna Sastbi. 



From M. R. Ry. H. Kbistna Sastri Avabgal, B.A., Assistant 



Archaeological Superintendent for Epigraphy, Southern Circle, 



to H. C. P. Bell, Esq., Archaeological Commissioner 



for Ceylon, Anuradhapura. 



Office of the Assistant Archaeological Superintendent 

 for Epigraphy, Ootacamund. 



No. 146. March 20, 1911. 



Sib, — In continviation of my letter No. 57 of the 6th instant, I have 

 the honour to enclose my very tentative transcript of the Tamil portion 

 of the trilingual record froni Galle. The letters in this are so small and 

 smashed that it is often difficult to distinguish ka and cha, na and la, 

 &c., which look so much alike in Tamil. I have not on this account 

 attempted to send you a practically meaningless translation. It, 

 however, appears to nie from certain phrases underlined on the trans- 

 cript that the inscription deals with a mercantile transaction in which 

 the weavers and other merchants (often bearing the honorifics nayanars 

 and Settis) agreed among themselves, or with the ruling authorities, to 

 levy some specified taxes amounting to about 2,560 (pon ?) on articles 

 such as gold, silver, silk, tulukki, sandal, beeswax, thread, &c. The 

 purpose for which this tax was levied is not clear from the inscription, 

 whether it was for the benefit of a temple, the guild, or the royal treasury. 

 The ink impressions and the photograph of the trilingual record have 

 been forwarded to Dr. Horovitz, Ph.D., the editor of the Epigraphia 

 Moslemica, Aligarh, for decipherment of the Arabic portion thereof and 

 their direct despatch to you after (they are) done with, with his text 

 and translation. 



• H. Kbistna Sastri. 



