146 CEYLON BRANCH— ROY AL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



Respecting JafFnapatnam the following account has been 

 received ; that there are at present two clergymen, Fibran- 

 dus Scoevola and Adolphus Cramer, both aged, and the 

 former (as we are informed from private sources) incapable 

 of performing his work. The Dutch congregation of that 

 place consists of 196 members, and 23 native communicants. 

 Two schools are there in operation, the one in the orphan- 

 house under the charge of school master Philip de Rosairo, 

 and the other a private institution of the prelector Jeroni- 

 mus Rodrigus ; of both a good testimony is given. There 

 is besides a school in the fort vacant for want of an efficient 

 teacher. Manaar Trincomalie and Batticaloe classed under 

 Jaffna, could not be visited this year, consequently nothing 

 has been communicated to us respecting them. We are 

 however able to say, that at those stations divine service is 

 conducted by the visitor of the sick. The brethren of Jaff- 

 na were able to visit the native churches and schools but in 

 part. They state in the mean time that in their district is 

 found the number of 184,744 Christians, or baptized Mala- 

 bars, so that your Lordships can easily judge in what light 

 those nominal Christians are to be viewed, and how little 

 access the doctrine of the grace of Jesus Christ has found 

 among the people ; which is the more evident, from what 

 we hear, that amongst the schoolmasters no communicants 

 are found, and that the two proponents J. Philipsz and J. 

 Ignatius, though they preach and catechise ably, and bear 

 a good testimony as to conduct, yet do not actually contri- 

 bute, much to the desired end. 



At Galle the work has been resting for about two years 

 on the shoulders of Ds. Weyerman alone, but he is released 

 from that post by the Government in order to feed the 

 church of God at Cochin, which is altogether destitute of 

 spiritual teachers, and the Rev. Arnoldus Wilhemius Fa- 

 britius, lately arrived from Batavia, is about to succeed 

 him. The Dutch congregation at Galle consists of 100 and 

 that at Matura of 21 members. At both places the young 

 are taught in reading, writing and the principles of Chris- 

 tianity. Both visitors of the sick and schoolmasters are 

 favourably reported to us ; but as regards native or Singa- 

 Jese Christendom in those parts very little of an encourag- 

 ing nature can be communicated. Ds, Weyerman held his 

 country visitation, and declared having found the heathenish 

 disposed nominal Christians very far from the life which is 

 of God, being in number about Galle and Matura together 



