41 



spins so long as his coconut palms, planted probably by 

 his ancestors, continue to produce nuts sufficient to satisfy 

 his daily wants and to provide a surplus which he can 

 exchange for other produce. He does not generally care 

 to work for a daily wage, and dislikes being tied to regu- 

 lar hours and tasks; his wants on this earth are insignifi- 

 cant, and his pleasure and satisfaction in life is derived 

 by squatting and sleeping while others work. Artificial 

 heat and clothing are not much in demand; good plants 

 abound on every side, grow very quickly, and furnish him 

 with essentials. 



Sinhalese and Rubber Estates. 



There are not sufficient rubber, tea, cacao, coconut and 

 other estates in Ceylon to provide daily work for every 

 able-bodied Sinhalese villager; nevertheless, the importa- 

 tion of Indian coolies takes place almost daily, and must 

 be continued if the agricultural industries in that island 

 are to be properly maintained. It is not that the indigen- 

 ous labour is inefficient; it is because so many villagers 

 do not consider it necessary to dio' work on estates other 

 fhan 'their own. The Siinhalese who take a turn at agri- 

 culture are good' workers, especially with rice and such 

 cultivations as their ancestors have engaged in ivom time 

 immemorial. They are excellent at forest work, being 

 very useful for felling trees in rubber clearing work, and 

 also sometimes for the more skilled lajbour involved in 

 tapping. At Heneratgoda, a couple of years ago, I carriedf 

 out a series of experimentis in which all the tapping was 

 done iby Sinhalese ^'illagers with very little supervision ; 

 the sfcill with which they manipulated the tajpping knives 

 drew forth expressions of approbation from F.M.S. plan- 

 ters 'who saw the work done by them on the occasion of 

 the Ceylon Rubber Exhibition. It is a pleasure, after 

 ■having seen congregations of idle, lounging coolies at 

 every village, and at every point wlhere the .motor car 

 ibroke down, to come across a few who toy sheer industry 

 have turned out exquisite brass, silver, woodi, and fibre 

 work. The artistic faculty is sitrongly developed in many 

 families, and some encouragement is given by local offi- 

 cials, who are prepared to buy all finished articles at a 

 fixed rate. 



