6 



CEYLON BRANCH 



very large, consisting of local correspondence between the 

 churches ol Colombo, Galle, Trincomalie, Jaffna and Manaar ; 

 letters from and to Batavia, Malacca, Negapatam and Cochin ; 

 and the annual official letters to the East India Company, and 

 the four corresponding Classes in Holland, together with the 

 replies and instructions of the latter. But the amount of in- 

 formation that may be interesting at the present day is not so 

 great as would at first appear. A great deal was written back- 

 wards and forwards about individual clergymen, their choice, 

 appointment, qualifications and destiny ; their arrival, adven- 

 tures, location, removal and departure ; their age, sickness, in- 

 firmity or death ; slight misunderstandings about charges in 

 their appointments ; recommendations and testimonials on their 

 arrival and departure either home or to a new station. The 

 classical letters contain lengthy assurances of interest and co- 

 operation, kind and christian encouragement, and detailed 

 accounts of home Churches, of proceedings of the classes, and 

 of the state of the Fatherland, its diplomatic and warlike opera- 

 tions with the Kingdoms of Europe, all which was of course 

 interesting to the colonists to know. Many of the consistory's 

 letters to the high authorities are urgent applications for more 

 clergymen, either to fill up vacancies or to meet the increasing 

 demand. 



The oldest letter with which we begin, is from the Galle 

 to the Colombo Consistory, dated June 1659. Previous to this 

 the Ceylon clergy had not been in the habit of sending to 

 Holland annual Ecclesiastical Reports of their operations. 

 The classis of Amsterdam wished that a direct and regular 

 correspondence be opened and kept up between the Church in 

 Ceylon and themselves, that thereby the Colonial Church may 

 remain in a desired connexion with the Parent Church. The 

 classis wrote to this effect, complaining that all they knew of 



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