706 



CEYLON. 



Ceylon. 



Govern- 



SO ul3 of the wicked, particularly of unjust tyrants 

 and impious priest?, are supposed to have passed into 

 wild beasts and reptiles. 'The Ceylonese are very li- 

 beral in the distribution of chanty. It is customary 

 for them even to appropriate a certain portion of their 

 food for distribution among the poor ; and although 

 among the Hindoos, strangers in distress are account- 

 ed objects of very little compassion, yet a Cingalese 

 will not shut his house against a Malabar or Moor who 

 asks him for relief. 



Such is a slight sketch of the system of Paganism 

 professed in Ceylon. Christianity, however, has been 

 established on the island for three centuries past. 

 The Portuguese, when they first settled on the coast, 

 introduced the Catholic religion among the Cingalese, 

 and subjected them to the yoke of the church of 

 Rome. Afterwards, the Dutch introduced the doc- 

 trine of the Reformation, and propagated the pro- 

 fession of them among the natives. Indeed, if the 

 number of converts be any proof of success, in no 

 country has Christianity been so successful, in modern 

 times, as in Ceylon. Both the Catholics and the Pro- 

 testants, boast of hundreds of thousands among the 

 natives whom they called Christians; but we regret 

 to add, that most of them had no claim to the title, 

 for though they had been baptized in the name of 

 Christ, they were still worshippers of the idol Bud- 

 dhu. So late as 1801, we are informed that the 

 number of native Protestant Christians on the island 

 was upwards of 342,000 ; and that it was supposed 

 the Roman Catholics were still more numerous. At 

 the same period, the number of native schools amount- 

 ed to about 170 ; but shortly after, the most of them 

 were suppressed by the ill-judged parsimony of the 

 Court of St James's, though the whole saving to go- 

 vernment scarcely amounted to the paltry sum of 

 18001 



The;government of Candy is an absolute despotism; 

 but notwithstanding this, the natives look upon cer- 

 tain fundamental laws and regulations existing among 

 them from time immemorial, as the real depository of 

 power; and they maintain, that if the king encroach 

 upon these, he is amenable to the justice of his coun- 

 try as well as the meanest subject. It is evident, 

 however, that while there is no power to balance that 

 of the sovereign, it is only a successful rebellion 

 that can bring him to justice. The monarchy of 

 Ceylon is completely elective, according to the fun- 

 damental laws of the kingdom ; and when a deposi- 

 tion takes place, this principle is usually acted upon. 

 It is in the power of the people to put aside the next 

 branch of the royal family, and to elect a distant re- 

 lation, or even a perfect stranger. If the last king 

 has no immediate descendants, and the hereditary 

 right lies equally between males and females, the pre- 

 ference, according to the Candian laws, is given to 

 the female branch of the family. 



The king of Candy yields to no eastern prince in 

 the number and extravagance of his titles, and in the 

 reverence which is shewn him by his subjects. No oue 

 dare approach him without prostrating himself three 

 several times before the throne, and each time repeat- 

 ing a long string of his majesty's titles. No one, 

 even of the highest rank, is allovv'ed to cough or spit 

 in his presence- ; every one is silent before him, nor 

 iocs any one, even in a whisper, venture to address 



o. 



one another. The prime minister is the only person Ceylott. 

 who is allowed to stand in the royal presence, and x " ""Y"" 1 '** 

 even he is obliged to be some steps lower than his 

 majesty, as no one must appear on a level with him 

 who is supposed to be descended from the sun. The 

 business of state is transacted between the king and 

 the prime minister in low whispers ; and any message 

 from his majesty to those present, is conveyed in the 

 same manner by the adigars. 



The highest officers of state are the adigars or 

 prime ministers. They are two in number, and ac- 

 tually share all the power of the court between them. 

 The 'officers next in rank are the dessauvas, who 

 are the governors of the corles, or districts, into 

 which the kingdom is divided, and they are also the 

 principal military commanders. Thewhole plans of 

 government form a regular system of oppression, 

 which fall with peculiar severity on the lower orders 

 of the people. Few have the courage to appeal 

 against the unjust extortions of the higher ranks, and 

 fewer still meet with any redress. They have long 

 since been stript of every thing valuable, and many 

 of them trust for subsistence to the spontaneous pro- 

 ductions of their forests, rather than cultivate fields, 

 whose produce must be shared with their oppressors. Revenues. 



The principal revenues of the king consist of pre- 

 sents or contributions brought him by the people, or 

 rather forced from them by his officers. They con- 

 sist of money, precious stones, ivory, cloth, corn, 

 fruit, honey, wax, arras, and other articles of their 

 own manufacture, such as spears, arrows, pikes, tar- 

 gets, &c. The lower classes, however, an- not the 

 only persons who feel the burden of supplying the 

 royal treasury. On certain festivals, which the king 

 observes in great state, all the nobles and principal 

 people are obliged to appear before him, and none 

 of them must come without a present. It is dan- 

 gerous for them to keep back on these occasions, and 

 a liberal gift is necessary for the preservation both 

 of their persons and their property. But these stated 

 contributions are not the only kind of extortions 

 practised in Candy to fill the royal treasury. The 

 moment that the king's officers understand that any 

 one is possessed of valuable articles, he demands a 

 share of them for the sovereign. Artists are like- 

 wise frequently employed by the prince to make him 

 arms and different works in gold and silver at their 

 own expense. 



As the government of Candy is completely des- 

 potic, every subj ct, without distinction, must be 

 ready at the call of the sovereign. His regular 

 troops, Captain Percival estimates at about 20,000 ; 

 but those, though called regulars, have neither arms 

 nor clothes to entitle them to that appellation. They 

 wear whatever dress they choose, and arm them- 

 selves with any kind of weapons they can procure, as 

 spears, pikes, swords, targets, bows and arrows, mus- 

 kets and bayonets, so that altogether they have a 

 very motley appearance. Besides chose that are con- 

 sidered as regular troops, the king has a numerous 

 militia scattered over the country, and his guard, 

 like that of despots in general, is composed entirely 

 of foreigners. 



A few years before this island fell into the hands 

 of the British, the Dutch introduced new regula- 

 tions in the management of the finances of the settle- 



