No. 38.— 1889.] THE DUTCH IN CEYLON, 1602-1757. 131 



But Governor van Imhoff did not put much faith in these 

 outwardly friendly appearances. He had thoroughly grasped 

 the principles of the Court, and the dangerous means 

 they were in the habit of taking to molest the Company in 

 their Ceilon possessions. He considered the late incident 

 of the closing of the ports in 1707 as being the third revolu- 

 tion of importance so far as regards the interests of the 

 Oompany, and from which its then decadence could be 

 inferred ; to it could be ascribed the behaviour of the 

 Candian Court during the rule of Governor van Domburg. 

 This might prove even more disastrous in the future, 

 as the Court, taking advantage of the discontent of the in- 

 habitants at the heavy taxes and extortion of the native chiefs, 

 and being thus ever inclined to revolt, was not only ready 

 to protect them, but also to incite a general insurrection, 

 and thus attain its own object. No matter how well the 

 natives of the lowlands were treated, the Court could 

 always find means to incite them to revolt, considering the 

 great reverence the people naturally felt for the Candian King 

 as their paramount lord, although they were at present sub- 

 jects of the Company. This feeling could easily be worked 

 upon by the courtiers or their subordinates in favour of the 

 King by diverting the people from their duty. Therefore 

 the displeasure of the Court was of the greatest inconvenience, 

 being the principal cause of all disturbances, the source of 

 the people's disobedience, the wheel by which all the chiefs 

 of the Company's Corles could be moved, the support of the 

 evil disposed, and the root of the ill condition of Ceilon, 

 which must be eradicated and done away with. The friendly 

 relations between the Court and the Company must therefore 

 be re-established if they expected to derive any benefit from 

 their presence in these Islands. 



At the commencement of the year 1739 the courtiers com- 

 municated to the Governor and Council the death of the 

 King and the succession of another, without mentioning the 

 name or nationality of the new King. 



It was decided that the Governor and Council should go 



k 2 



