46 CEYLON 6RANCH- — JtoYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



with certificates ; and that as this was a matter purely Eccle* 

 Siastical there was no necessity of a reference to Government 

 the origin of these inquiries was not so much the novelty of 

 the case^ but an unpleasant dispute in the Church of Galle 

 between certain of the congregation and the members of the 

 consistory themselves, about the admission of a slave girl wLd 

 came with her mistress from Matura. One of the clergymen 

 refused to admit her, though she was furnished with a good 

 testimony from the Matura Church, on the ground of ill-conduct 

 Which he refused to specify or substantiate. The contention was 

 protracted, led to unwarrantable proceedings in the meeting, and 

 terminated in the removal by Government of the ministers to 

 other stations. 



In a letter to the XVII Representatives dated 1697 we have 

 the following account of translations. " Since it has pleased 

 God to bring this Island under your Government we have en^ 

 deavoured with all zeal to apply every possible means to pro- 

 pagate Christianity among the natives, establishing schools in all 

 placed and composing for their instruction questions and answers 

 on the fundamentals of Christianity, translated first into Portu- 

 guese and afterwards into Tamil, for the Jaffna congregations, and 

 subsequently into Singhalese. But as none of the ministers were 

 found with competent knowledge of this language, and the work 

 Was done by certain natives acquainted with the Portuguese and 

 Singhalese languages, it appeared that the version was imperfect, 

 " several passages of which not conveying the meaning properly. 

 We were however obliged to help ourselves with it until the 

 year 1696, when under the supervision of the Rev, Simon Cat 

 a revised version appeared, which is now by order of the Go- 

 vernment introduced into all the schools. We have faithfully 

 Communicated this circumstance that your Lordships may per* 

 ceive whence it is the inhabitants have, generally speaking, made 

 so little progress in Christianity. Indeed all the labour and pains 

 bestowed by constant visitations will produce little fruit so long 



