INTRODUCTION. XXXV 



are abundant in Ceylon ; and from the moment of my 

 arrival, I profited by every occasion afforded to me for 

 observing the elephant in a state of nature, and obtain- 

 ing from hunters and natives correct information as to 

 its (Economy and disposition. Anecdotes in connection 

 with this subject, I received from some of the most 

 experienced^residents in the island ; amongst others, 

 from Major SKINNEE, Captain PHILIP PAYNE GALL WET, 

 Mr. FAIRHOLME, Mr. CRIPPS, and Mr. MORRIS. Nor 

 can I omit to express my acknowledgments to PRO- 

 FESSOR OWEN, of the British Museum, to whom this 

 portion of my manuscript was submitted previous to its 

 committal to the press. 



In the historical sections of the work, I have been 

 reluctantly compelled to devote a considerable space to 

 a narrative deduced from the ancient Singhalese chro- 

 nicles ; into which I found it most difficult to infuse 

 any popular interest. But the toil was not undertaken 

 without a motive. The (economics and hierarchical 

 institutions of Buddhism, as administered through suc- 

 cessive dynasties, have exercised so paramount an influ- 

 ence over the habits and occupations of the Singhalese 

 people, that their impress remains indelible to the 

 present day. The tenure of temple lands, the compul- 

 sory services of tenants, the extension of agriculture, 

 and the whole system of co-operative cultivation, derived 

 from this source organisation and development ; and the 

 origin and objects of each of these are only to be ren- 

 dered intelligible by an inquiry into the events and 

 times in which the system took its rise. In connection 

 with this subject, I am indebted to the representatives 

 of the late Mr. TURNOUR, of the Ceylon Civil Service, 

 for access to his unpublished manuscripts ; and to those 



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