ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



183 



The Revenue and Expenditure of the Dutch Government in 

 Ceylon, during the last years of their Administration. — By 

 John Capper, Esq. — {Read 26th February, 1848,) 



The mode in which a Government taxes its subjects is 

 nearly always a fair criterion by which to judge of the amount 

 of civilization existing in any country. Viewed in this light, 

 a brief sketch of the Income and Disbursements of the Dutch 

 in Ceylon during the last years of their rule, may not be con- 

 sidered beyond the scope of our Society's labors. It will, to a 

 certain extent, form a link in the political history of Ceylon, 

 and it is only to be regretted that we do not possess the means 

 of ascertaining with any thing like accuracy, the extent and 

 mode of taxation pursued by the Portuguese. 



Although we do not possess an unbroken series of docu- 

 ments in reference to the Dutch rule in Ceylon, there are yet 

 sufficient matter extant both in the Dutch Records and in the 

 various Fiscal Books or Staat Reekening, in our possession, to 

 enable us to ascertain pretty accurately, the sources from which 

 our predecessors obtained their revenue. 



It is only intended, in the present paper, to offer a sum- 

 mary of the Revenue and Expenditure of the Dutch during 

 the years 1786 to 1793, and as it may fairly be presumed that 

 they had at this late period of their Government made many 

 modifications and improvements in their various fiscal arrange- 

 ments, this statement must be taken as the most favorable 

 picture we could possibly draw of their colonial finances. 



For the purposes of taxation, the Maritime Provinces of 

 the Island which bounded their sway in Ceylon, appear to have 

 been divided into four principal Collectorates or Provinces, 

 much the same as they are at present, viz: Colombo, Jaffna- 



