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CEYLON BRANCH 



record the propositions or approvals of His Excellency the 

 Governor and his Hon'ble Council. ,, 



Respecting the Dutch Congregations in the Colombo 

 district the following statement was given in 1684. — "We 

 three undersigned ministers serve the Churches of Colombo, 

 Negombo, Tutucoreen and Calpentyn. The Dutch congre- 

 gation at Colombo consists of between 140 and 150 members; 

 26 members have either died or left the place during the last 

 year. We have here an Ecclesia Ambulatoria, in which 

 among the Company's servants some depart and others arrive, 

 as the service of the Company requires them, which is the 

 case in all India. The Negombo congregation consists of 20 

 members, Tutucoreen 18, and Calpentyn 8, which latter place 

 was formerly reckoned under Manaar ; but a few months ago 

 Government has placed it under Colombo. There is here 

 (Colombo) preaching thrice a week, and on Thursdays after 

 Divine Service, a catechizing for the young. Two krankbe- 

 zoekers are also employed here, the one to read and conduct 

 singing in the Church, and to offer up the daily evening 

 prayers at the Governor's house, and the other to perform 

 similar duties in the hospital. In the Colombo district we 

 have 25 native schools with 2,508 children ; 9 of these schools 

 belong to Negombo with 517 children. We have lost by death 

 this year 3 ministers ; namely, oneatGalle, the other at Matura, 

 and the third at Jaffna, after a short residence in the Colony. 

 To fill up their vacancies Trincomalie and Batticaloa had to be 

 deprivede" The Colombo district had, native christians 24,753, 

 including 4,033 children ; children baptized from March 1683 

 to May 1684, 1450 ; adults both men and women who had left 

 heathenism and embraced Christianity, 140 ; couples mar- 

 ried 363. In the Jaffna district, exclusive of Manaar, native 

 christians 141,456, Besides these there were said to be many 



