32 CEYLON BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



should displease the Court of Kandy and especially a certain 

 Ganebandaar and thus prevent the establishing of permanent 

 peace with the Singhalese King, or at least weaken their treaty 

 with him which was about to be renewed. 



It was therefore the opinion of the Civil power that natives 

 who professed heathenism should not be forbidden the exercise 

 of their religion, but only the christians prevented taking a part 

 therein, and punished when detected. The contra-arguments of 

 the clergy were ; that if Calany was allowed to be the throne 

 of heathenism the evil would spread, and vain would be all 

 preventive measures, that it was impracticable to discover among 

 the concourse of pilgrims to Calany those who professed Chris- 

 tianity, that it was impossible to prevent it in individual cases, 

 unless it was universally prevented in the Company's territories; 

 that it was to be questioned whether the wish to continue Ca- 

 lany originated in the Eandian Court, and whither its discon- 

 tinuance would destroy the peace or weaken the treaty ; 

 that the whole matter was only the pretence of the Brndaar, 

 and the instigation of the lower-provinces ; and must not these 

 people as the subjects of the Company submit to the laws 

 and commands of their rulers, and have no intercourse with the 

 upper-provinces ? The clergy declared that they would not have 

 troubled the XVII Representatives with this matter were it not 

 for the care and zeal they felt for the cause of Christianity, 

 which perhaps might be a blind zeal, but they were not con- 

 scious of that, they did not wish to be disturbers of social 

 pe&ce, but as Elijah withstood the prophets of Baal, so they 

 wished to oppose heathenism through good and evil report. They 

 would leave the decision with the high authorities, conscious 

 that in thus coming forward they were doing their duty. They 

 were confident that heathenism would diminish if a christian 

 place of worship were erected next to the temple, that God 

 mi&ht speak there as well as the devil ; so would truth begin 

 to triumph, as the presence of the ark in his own temple caused 

 dagon to fall. 



