CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 65 



"almost time out of mind like many an Eastern 

 " institution which has been discarded was the reverse 

 "of the present detestable system. That system 

 "required the bridegroom to give a dowry to the 

 " parents of the bride, instead of securing a dowry from 

 " them. Traces of this custom are to be found in the 

 " Bible, and in many sacred books of the East But 

 " sad to say old times are changed, old manners gone. 

 " This practice of dowry seeking which is the result of 

 " the lowest forms of selfishness is certainly not a sign 



■ of the advance of civilization, but rather it is just the 

 "reverse. It is an evil which threatens to subvert 

 " Sinhalese Society, and to introduce misery and discon- 

 " tent in place of happiness and contentment. This is 

 " a subject which should be taken up by the press and 

 " the pulpit. The system I have already referred to, 



■ virtually degrades women to a low level y in spite of 

 "the rapid advance which has been made in recent 

 "years in the higher education of females," and so on, 

 and so on. 



To our European minds it is much more 

 degrading to a woman to be bought by her 

 future husband for so much gold, or so many 

 acres of land, or so many head of cattle, than 

 that the father, to whom she owes her existence, 

 should in his lifetime provide for her comfort, 

 and give her for immediate use some of the 

 worldly goods, which with his other children, 

 she has an equitable right to inherit after his 

 death. But as Rudyard Kipling so truly 

 says : — 



