No. 26. — 1909.] dutch embassy. 



201 



In June last year [1731], Rasakini Wanniya of Puttalam, 

 Navaratna* Wanniya, and Rajapaksa Wanniya withKanaka- 

 ratna Mudali and the Kanakkapulle of Puttalam arrived at the 

 Fort of Kalpitiya with twelve boats loaded with eleven or 

 twelve hundred amunas of rotten and evil-smelling arecanuts, 

 which they pretended belonged to the Maha Gabadawa ; but 

 with which as it was ascertained about five hundred amunas 

 of the large arecanuts of the Kalpitiya traders had been dis- 

 honestly mixed. They falsely pretended that they had been 

 sent by the Disava of Puttalam to deliver the arecanuts and 

 receive their value without delay ; and contrary to all previous 

 custom, in place of the amuna of twenty-six thousand, they 

 demanded payment at the rate of four and a half patdgas the 

 twenty-four thousand, falsely and maliciously asserting that 

 that was the manner in which the Company sold to others. 

 With a view to compel the Company to receive the arecanuts 

 they brought them within the fort and returned to Puttalam 

 without informing any one . Again , in August , Rasa Wanniya , 

 Iranasinha Navaratna Wanniya, Kumara Wanniya, and 

 Kumarasinha Wanniya, with a Brahman and three Kanakka- 

 pulles, arrived at Kalpitiya with a boatload of pepper which 

 they stated belonged to the Maha Gabadawa. His Excellency 

 had sent word to Kalpitiya to accept the pepper at the rate of 

 twenty-five patdgas the five hundred pounds, and a clear 

 intimation to that effect had been sent to them from Colombo 

 a few days before their arrival ; in spite of which they mali- 

 ciously stated that they had the Disava of Puttalam' s orders 

 to demand forty-five pagodas for a bar of four hundred and 

 eighty pounds. What increased the wickedness of the Wan- 

 niyas of Puttalam was that they had dared to use the name 

 of His Majesty as a reason for not removing their worthless 

 stuff : their violent language was dishonouring to the Great 

 Company, and hence the articles were rejected. No wrong 

 had thereby been done : their sole desire had been to obtain 

 an advantage for themselves. Moreover, when they were 

 requested by letter to remove their property, as directed by 



* For a sannasa in favour of Navaratna Wanniya, vide Casie Chitty's 

 Gazetteer, Appendix. 



