184 CEYLON BRANCH — ROYAL ASIATIC "SOCIETY. 



A Capitation Tax appears to have been once levied on all 

 classes of Cinghalese varying in amount according to their caste. 

 This however, gradually fell into disuse, until at length during 

 the period I am alluding to, none but the Moors were sub- 

 ject to the impost. These people were very numerous in the 

 Northern part of the island, as also at Batticaloa, and the amount 

 realized in those districts was evidently of too much value to 

 be readily abandoned, the more especially as it was on strangers. 

 In addition to the Capitation Tax there was a Service or La- 

 bour Tax paid by those who wished to commute the service 

 annually due to the Crown, and which in certain castes was as 

 much as one-fourth of their time. This Labor or as it was 

 termed Oulliame pressed with great severity on the Moors who 

 appear to have been allowed to reside in the island entirely on 

 sufferance. They were in earlier times obliged to appear an- 

 nually at the chief office of the district in which they lived, and 

 take out a fresh license for the privilege of residing there for 

 the ensuing year, and for this permission they had to pay a fee 

 of 2|d. which was divided as perquisites amongst the officials. 

 The Moors who usually commuted their personal service could 

 only do so by a payment annually of 18s. and in some cases 

 even more than this was paid. The collections of this com- 

 mutation was occasionally sold by Auction under the title of 

 the Farm of the absent Oulliame and in 1794 appears to have 

 produced for the Colombo district about £100. In the North- 

 ern Collectorate a much larger sum was produced. 



