NATURAL HISTORY, 



.517 



planted, particularly in the Aloet 

 Roer Corle^ near to NegombOj by 

 granting lands to the natives, who 

 bound themselves and their heirs 

 to plant one-third of the lands 

 with cinnamon, and to guard the 

 plants from being overgrown with 

 brushwood, or destroyed by cattle. 

 For every pingo (60 lb.) of good 

 cinnamon produced on these plan- 

 tations the owner was allowed two 

 rix dollars (about 3s. 6(1. sterling ) 

 The shoots were cut^ and the 

 bark prepared, by the government 

 peelers. 



Severe penalties were inflicted 

 upon persons cutting, or other- 

 wise destroying, cinnamon plants. 

 On conviction, the culprit was 

 severely lined, sentenced to hard 

 labour in chains for a j)eriod of 

 years, or banished to the Cape of 

 Good Hope for a term of 25 yeais. 

 These laws are still in force. 



Political altercations between 

 the Colonial Government and the 

 Court of Kandy occurred in 1782, 

 and also in 1792. During these 

 altercations the peeling of cinna- 

 mon in tlie King's territory was 

 greatly interrupted. These inter- 

 ruptions appear to have constantly 

 increased ; for we find that, on 

 March '26, 1/93, a letter was ad- 

 dressed to the King of Kimdy, by 

 order of Governor Vande Graaf, 

 " to inquire if, although no em- 

 bassy was sent, tlie Kii^g would 

 allov/ cinnamon to be peeled in 

 his territories." The King's letter 

 in re])ly stated, " that the peeling 

 of cinnamon in his teriitories was 

 usually allowed when f'ne Com- 

 pany'" ambassadors asked for leave 

 to do it ; and that it was in this, 

 and in no other manner, that it 

 could be done." 



The Governor declined sending 



an ambassador on this occasion, 

 and avows that he entertained 

 fears that leave would not have 

 been granted , and was afraid to 

 risk the chance of a refusal, which 

 might have prejudiced the respec- 

 tability of the Company. It ap- 

 pears, however, to have been cus- 

 tomary to send annually a mes- 

 senger to the King of Kandy to 

 request permission to cut cinna- 

 mon in his territory. To render 

 this petition apjiarently le.'^s sup- 

 plicatory and degrading, they dig- 

 nified the bearer with the title of 

 Ambassador, and used, after the 

 treaty of 17Go, to make a volun- 

 tary offer to the King of Kandyof 

 leave for his subjects to collect 

 salt in the neigiibourhood of Chi- 

 lan and Putlam, as an equivalent 

 for his permission to cut cinna- 

 mon. This proposal was gene- 

 rally received by his Kandian ^la- 

 jesty with strong marks of disdain 

 and indignation : on one occasion 

 his re[)ly was, " My subjects 

 shall C(jntinue to collect salt on 

 the coast as usual ; and you have 

 my permission to cut cinnamon a.s 

 formerly." These embassies were 

 expensive, and the ambassadors 

 necessitated to submit to the most 

 degrading and humiliating for- 

 malities. By the treaty of 1766, 

 the ceremony of kneeling before 

 his Maiesty by the Dutch ambas- 

 sadiu's was to be dispensed witli. 

 Subsequent events rendered it cx« 

 pedient for the Dutch to viehl to 

 the renewed retjuest of the king 

 of Kandy to comply with the an- 

 cient usages of his court. Neither 

 the expense attending the em- 

 bassies, nor the indignities offered 

 to the anib.i-sadors, or even the 

 violation of right, wouhl liave 

 alone or conjointly operated sue- 



cefisfuUv 



