NO. 42. — 1891.] ANCIENT INDUSTRIES. 



49 



few years after Wijayo's accession, sent his own daughter 

 and the daughters of several of his nobles to "renowned 

 Sihala," the former as bride to the new king, and the latter 

 to be married to his ministers ; a proceeding which proved 

 that he at least, the closest neighbour, did not believe the 

 Island to be peopled by savage demons or cannibals. He may 

 be presumed to have known the real state of affairs of that 

 period even better than the critic who speculated twentv-five 

 centuries later on his probable line of conduct. 



The authority on which all the inferences in these Papers 

 rest is that of the Mahdwcmsa, and it is important to show that 

 such is the fact, but in no case is a conclusion drawn from a 

 single casual circumstance, nor is such evidence admitted 

 here unless supported by collateral evidence, and consistent 

 with the general tenour of the history. To generalise on 

 unimportant single facts is neither logical nor just. 



This inquiry is the first attempt to solve the problem of 

 the origin and growth of the wealth necessarily implied in the 

 existence of the courts, institutions, and conditions described 

 or incidentally mentioned in the historic narrative, and it 

 would not have been undertaken but for the strong testi- 

 mony borne by the translator, Mr. Tumour, to the authenticity 

 of the Mahdwansa. The works and proceedings attributed 

 to the kings of the Wijayan dynasty during the brief period 

 of their rule, and the skill and resources their works imply, 

 would have been impossible to any but a settled and partly 

 civilised people, and are wholly incompatible with the con- 

 ditions of a people who had no regular agriculture and lived 

 on fruit, honey, and the produce of the chase, not only when 

 Wijayo landed, but " for several centuries afterwards." 



Considering the novelty of the present inquiry, and that 

 the inferences in the preceding Papers are opposed to those 

 of the high authority above quoted, it seems desirable, before 

 proceeding further, to confirm and establish the groundwork 

 on which all the subsequent chapters must depend. 



With this view, further evidence will be adduced to confirm 

 the conclusions of previous chapters to the effect that the 



98—91 E 



