44 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XII. 



Paper upon this subject. He should like to know who the 

 author of the Paper was, when he flourished, and when he 

 wrote it ? 



Mr. Corbet replied that this was a modern book, but how it 

 came to be written as though it had been written early in the 

 century he did not know. It was published only five or six 

 years ago. The author was Mr. C. A. L. van Troostenburg de 

 Bruyn, but as Mr. de Vos had furnished no information 

 regarding the writer, he did not know anything about him. 



The Chairman said he should be sorry indeed if the sugges- 

 tion he made should in any way reflect upon the merit he 

 attached to the pains that had been taken and the value of 

 the work done by Mr. de Yos. It appeared to him as a 

 listener like themselves that the style of the Paper was not 

 such as to command the entire interest of the Meeting while 

 being read. It was for that reason only that he referred to 

 their choice as to whether the reading of the Paper should be 

 continued. He thought he understood the sense of the 

 Meeting to be that the further reading of the Paper should 

 be deferred. Mr. Ramanathan had been good enough to 

 refer to the remarkable number of conversions that took 

 place in those ancient days, and he thought it had been 

 generally spoken of amongst those who had written on the 

 History of Ceylon and the progress of religion here that the 

 .action of the Government was calculated to cause people to 

 embrace the religion of the ruling power perhaps with less 

 regard to their consciences than would be considered at the 

 present day. 



The Hon. P. Ramanathan suggested that it would be well 

 if they postponed the discussion of the Paper till they had 

 been favoured with printed copies, so that they might be able 

 to compare what Tennent had said about Ceylon with the 

 statements which this author made, and otherwise better 

 prepared to discuss the Paper. He proposed that the reading 

 of the Paper be deferred till it had been printed and copies 

 put into the hands of Members who were desirous of raising 

 a discussion upon it. 



Mr. W. H. G. Duncan seconded, and this was unanimously 

 agreed to. 



6. The Venerable H. Sri Sumangala, High Priest of 

 Adam's Peak, then addressed the Meeting in Sinhalese, 

 Mr. Arthur de Silva acting as Interpreter, He said they 

 had come to understand that Mr. Corbet who had been in 

 charge of the Library was about to proceed home. They 

 wished him a prosperous voyage and hoped he would return 

 to the Island very soon. They felt very sorry for the time 

 he was to be away from them. The Library in this place 

 was of great value to the students of Ceylon, and they 



