68 CEYLON BRANCH 



Liturgy into Tamil, and a catechism of two parts, historical 

 and doctrinal, into Portuguese. No religious books were 

 published at the Government press in Ceylon until examined 

 and ecclesiastically sanctioned, for which purpose the Colombo 

 consistory were a standing commission. Great indignation 

 was excited among the Ceylon clergy by the appearance of a 

 pamphlet published in Holland by a Theological student at 

 Leyden, Sybert Abraham ; he was one of the youths sent 

 thither from the Colombo Seminary. The Rev. Mr. Saaken 

 produced the pamphlet in the consistory, asking his brethren 

 whether any of the charges and statements therein contained 

 respecting the Ceylon clergy were true, for if so, he would 

 resign his office. The reason why Christianity did not nourish 

 in the Colony, the pamphleteer did not attribute to the natural 

 aversion, apathy and stiffneckedness of the inhabitants, he, 

 the writer, being sufficiently acquainted with the religious 

 disposition and teachableness of the people of Ceylon and the 

 Coromandel .Coast. This assertion the meeting denied, having 

 all along complained of religious apathy, so that they prose- 

 cuted their work sighing, and if the love of religious knowledge 

 existed, how was it that public worship was so badly attended? 

 Nor was the religious declension attributable to Government, 

 but, said the pamphlet, to the negligence of ministers, and to 

 their ignorance of the native language owing to their indolence. 

 The meeting repudiated this statement of a thoughtless youth, 

 who, while in Ceylon, had the very clergy he blamed as his 

 teachers, guides and examiners. This charge of ignorance 

 inferred that the clergy were unemployed, while at this time 

 there was a Dutch congregation in Colombo of 1,000 persons, 

 to be attended to by one minister with the help of a proponent, 

 the other ministers being entirely employed in Singhalese 

 preaching, visiting the district and teaching at the seminary 



