Edible Products, 



■3 



[January, 1912. 



This enhancement was due not only to 

 a rise in the price of paddy, but partly 

 to the very satisfactory agricultural 

 development consequent on the policy 

 already described, with the result that, 

 during the five years ending in 1878, the 

 production of paddy averaged neat ly 7 

 millions of bushels as against 5 '8 mil- 

 lions in 1862-6, and 3'6 millions in the 

 early fifties. 



The Commission appointed by Sir W. 

 Gregory, which did not report before he 

 ceased to be Governor, after a very 

 thorough enquiry, came to the conclusion 

 that no change was desirable, except 

 that the Government share (of the crops) 

 should be recovered by commutation 

 solely, and that it should be made 

 compulsory on all and not voluntary as 

 heretofore. 



The new Governor (Sir James Longden) 

 had come to the island with the strong 

 wish to abolish the " paddy tax," but 

 after full consideration came to the con- 

 clusion " these taxes did not in Ceylon 

 affect trade or cultivation to any appre- 

 ciable extent." He accordingly adopted 

 the policy recommended by the Commis- 

 sion, and the Legislative Council con- 

 curred by passing the necessary Ordin- 

 ance for making the commutation of 

 the Government dues compulsory in 

 such districts as the Governor chose to 

 bring under the Ordinance by Proclam- 

 ation. 



The recommendation of the Commis- 

 sioners and the policy of Government 

 were undoubtedly largely founded on 

 the generally accepted idea that volun- 

 tary com oiutation had worked so smooth- 

 ly in the Central Province ever since its 

 introduction by Turnour early in the 

 thirties. No doubts as to this were 

 suegested, or at all events made public till 

 1883, when it became known that there 

 had been trouble in enforcing the pay- 

 ments of the enhanced commutation 

 rates, already referred to in Uva, espe- 

 cially after 1878 when (as Ferguson 

 records in his reliable "Enquire within 

 on Everything " regarding Ceylon) " the 

 General Revenue fell in consequence 

 of the short coffee crops and planting 

 depression." 



Foremost amongst the sufferers from 

 this calamity were the rice growers of 

 the Central Province, where, as already 

 recorded, the rates for the commutation 

 of the Government share of their crops 

 had been trebled in 1864. There was 

 another revision in 1871, by which year 

 the price of rice in the Central Province 

 had fallen considerably, but no reduc- 

 tion was made in the assessment. This 

 was succeeded by a dearer period, and by 



1877-8 rice was again as high in price as 

 in 1864-6. Doubtless, it was owing to 

 this no change was made in the commu- 

 tation at the renewal in 1878 ; nor had it 

 been then realised how far the depres- 

 sion would go. 



The extent and effect of the advances 

 made can best be gathered by the 

 following figures of the total liability in 

 each term, taken from the particulars 

 given in the Agent's report in S. P. 

 XVII. of 1890 :- 



In 1000 of Rupees. 



>> 

 a 



c3 



93 > 



03 

 O 



1856 & previously 20 6*5 6-2 2V2 54 

 1857-63 ...22 10'5 12"4 22 67 



1864-70 ...66-6 29-7 24 72 192 



1871-77 ...65 6 26-1 30 73-5 195-3 



1878-87 ... 621 23"4 3ri 76x 191-6 



Note.— This is the average for 1878-84. In 

 1885, when Uva was created a Province, there 

 was a reduction of over Rs. 12,000, why or where- 

 fore is not stated in the papers at my command. 



As a check on these figures I have 

 taken out the actual average collections 

 trom another return in the same official 

 papers as follows : — 



a t> 



58 S3 



Commuted Rs. 000 61 '1 23"9 31-6 73-7 190'3 

 Rented „ 33 23 2 23 8-1 



e3 - 



u 93 



64-4 26-0 31*8 76-6 198-4 



As long as coffee flourished like the 

 Irishman's pig, it helped to meet the 

 rent, and the commutation in Kandy 

 and Matale continued to be paid with 

 fair punctuality. But though the de- 

 pression did not extend to Ova till 1883, 

 as it was the last of the coffee districts 

 to succumb to leaf disease (White's 

 Manual) during 1878-9 and 1880, the aver- 

 age collection in Badulla was only 

 Rs. 44,000 out of a liability of over Rs. 

 75,000, though they were years of good 

 crops both in Uva and the rest of the 

 Central Province. 



As the acceDtance of the commutation 

 fixed for each field was perfectly volunt- 

 ary on the part of the landowners, 

 steps ought to have beeu taken to collect 

 the paid balance within the year, but 

 nothing was done, and as Mr. Sharpe 

 subsequently wrote " the loose system 

 which prevailed allowed arrears to accu- 

 mulate until the tax of two years and 

 even more became due." 



