240 



Terms of address in use 



from the Kandians, whom alone they regard as "the Singha- 

 lese, strictly so called." Mr. Stark remarks: — 



" The Kandian or hill country is distinguished from the lower or Mari- 

 time districts, by the same name, Singhalese; and the town of Kandy 

 is Malm Nuwera, the Migalo-polis or great city, the Metropolis. These 

 names are easily accounted for, but they are recorded as given." — p. 76. 



Nov/, the Kandians, like all Highlanders, are certainly 

 distinguishable from the Maritime Natives. From the 

 salubrious air which they inhale amidst their upland hills, 

 the Kandians are braver and more hardy than the people of 

 other provinces. The independence which they enjoyed until 

 comparatively a short time ago, has tended also to elevate 

 their general bearing over that of the people of the Southern 

 and Western Provinces. They have preserved too, their 

 religion and language without suffering much from the 

 various colonial influences to which the low-landers have 

 been subjected for three and a half centuries. The latter, 

 by the change of their religion, occupations, and habits, may 

 have slightly lost the distinct peculiarities which originally 

 characterized the entire Singhalese nation ; yet the differ- 

 ences in these respects no more render necessary a distinction 

 in their nationality, than do the accidents of birth-place, or 

 other circumstances, which enable us to distinguish an En- 

 glishman of Northumberland from another of Middlesex or 

 Yorkshire ; or a native of Galle from one born in Colombo. 

 The difference, however, which has been drawn by Mr. J usticc 

 Stark, has arisen from a misapprehension of a single circum- 

 stance. It is this. When a part of Ceylon fell into the hands 

 of the Portuguese, and the Singhalese Court was removed 

 from Cotta to Kandy, that part of the Singkalddwipa which 

 was retained by the Singhalese, Avas called 63o&D©(5 Singhale 

 (the appellation by which the Kandian Provinces are known 

 to this day,) as contradistinguished from the territory of the 

 Portuguese. The distinction therefore, was one of territory , 

 not of nationality* It was employed to determine the juris- 



