142 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XI. 



Tidings came in the year 1754 that some Candians had 

 been put to death by order of His Majesty, and that some 

 chiefs and their suites had come down to the village of 

 Helele on the frontier for the purpose of execution. 



The Company's officers at Gale and Mature were directed to 

 get some information secretly about this incident, They did 

 so later : it was stated that four Candians, having with them 

 a peeler who had conducted them to Mature, appeared before 

 the Dessawe to claim some of His Majesty's people who had 

 escaped to the Company's lands, and to deal with other 

 matters. 



The aforesaid officers were told that these men, who, 

 without doubt, fled to the Company's territory to save their 

 lives, could not be handed over on the bare statement of four 

 Candians, but that this would readily be done after further 

 investigation by the highest chiefs. The officers were then 

 told to punish the peeler who had shown the way, according 

 to his deserts ; whereupon nothing further took place. 



At the commencement of 1755 Captain Castelijn, who 

 had gone up as Ambassador to the Court, was asked 

 by the Dessawe of the Three and Four Corles whether no 

 answer had as yet been received concerning participation in 

 the elephant trade, He seemed to doubt whether the 

 Governor had referred the matter to Batavia, and tried to 

 convince the Ambassador of the reasonableness of the request, 

 stating that the Company would reap greater benefit if 

 they assented to His Majesty's proposals ; the Ambassador 

 was later admitted to an audience at the Court. 



The Dessawe of the Three and Four Corles wrote an ola 

 a short time afterwards to the Maha Modliaar of the 

 Governor's Gate, that the Interpreter and Mohotiaar Leander 

 de Saram, who had accompanied the Ambassador to Candia 

 as interpreter, had been presented with a gold chain and the 

 title of Moediance bestowed on him on account of his being 

 held to be an honourable man by them. 



He was soon after appointed Maha Modliaar of the 

 Governor's Gate, and furnished with some secret instructions 



