No. 61. — 1908.] PORTUGUESE IN CEYLON, 



109 



salary, in spite of the emphatic orders of the king on the 

 subject ; at the time he quitted office a sum of fourteen 

 thousand xeraphins was still due to him. Hardly had he 

 left when an urgent request was sent to him by the king to 

 consent to remain in office for a year longer ; but he was too 

 ill to return to the scene of his arduous labours, and with the 

 advice of his council the new viceroy, the Conde de Redondo, 

 who had succeeded Don Hieronymo, appointed Lancarote de 

 Seixas in his place. The new viceroy was specially directed 

 to carry into effect the orders which had been so repeatedly 

 given regarding the fortification of Batticaloa and Trincomalee 

 so as to forestall the Hollanders, the importance of the former 

 arising from the wealth of the surrounding country, as its 

 harbour was of little value, whilst Trincomalee was capacious 

 enough for ships of any draught ; while the exclusion of 

 the Moors from Ceylon had now become an urgent question, 

 as there was no doubt that their presence tended consider- 

 ably to hamper the work of conquest. And once more the 

 king repeated the instructions issued in 1605 : — 



" Ceilao i3 the most important conquest to be achieved 

 in India ; when with the^help of God you arrive at Goa you 

 are strictly enjoined to exert yourself to reduce the whole of 

 it into submission to me ; many years have now elapsed 

 since the task was first taken in hand, and it is well known 

 to you how vast an expenditure my treasury has incurred on 

 this account." 



Supplementary Note. 



The courtesy of the Very Rev. Father J. Cooreman, S.J., 

 vicar-general of Galle, has placed at my disposal the following 

 information regarding the work of the members of the Society of 

 Jesus in Ceylon in 1644, and I have considered it desirable to 

 append it as a supplementary note to this Paper. 



Ceylon was originally attached to the society's province of 

 Goa, but in 1601 the new southern province of Malabar was 

 created, with its headquarters at Cochin. Out of the four Portu 

 guese dissavonies which were administered from Colombo. 



