189 



Miscellaneous. 



Lands belonging: to 1,170 families have been sold up to 1891. Among 

 these there are 1,431 paddy fields, 131 gardens and 5 houses. 115 of the original 

 owneis of these lands were in 1891 working as coolies under the new proprietors, 

 583 became common coolies and 97 became paupers. I submitted a proposal to 

 the Government Agent, Mr. Fowler, to repurchase these lands and place the 

 original owners on them as Government tenants on the ancient Indian 

 ryot system. I then thought my proposal had his sympathy, but after 

 he left the Province the matter was shelved. I beg to refer in this connection 

 to the information given in the last Census Report. If the national character and 

 conditions of the native peasantry is to be maintained, it is of paramount importance 

 that their paddy fields should be prevented from changing hands. Even special 

 legislation for the purpose will be justifiable. Knowing the great simplicity of the 

 villager, his proneness to get into debt and to be caught in the meshes of designing 

 land-grabbing villains, his incapacity to detect deception, and the ease with which 

 he could be launched into litigation, I can with some authority say that in my 

 opinion State interference to protect his paddy fields will be quite justifiable. 

 Agricultural Banks which I have often advocated would to a certain extent free 

 the " goiya." To stimulate the agricultural progress of a country, societies such as 

 we have now, and experimental gardens here and there, and agricultural shows 

 alone will not do. We must take up every question that has any bearing on 

 agriculture, every question that would even in the least tend to render agricultural 

 pursuits easy and remunerative. We must help the goiya and encourage him 

 just as Government helps and encourages the merchants and the planters. Against 

 this it may be said that the villager is not taxed. I admit he is not directly taxed, 

 and I do, as I always did, deplore the abolition of the paddy tax. The day that step 

 was decided on was the villagers' evil day. Partition of lands held in undivided 

 shares and under the Tattu Maru tenure is also a question touching the agricultural 

 development of the country. This tenure is a great drawback to the improvement 

 of lands. Introduction of live stock, free distribution of seed of praedial products, and 

 their enforced plantation deserves to be considered. There is no reason why people 

 should not plant more coconuts and arecanuts. I think the Gansabhawa could 

 make some arrangement to supply a good number of nuts annually for free distri- 

 bution. There is no excuse why every village garden should not be fully stocked 

 with fruit trees and other economic trees. The price of rubber seeds has gone down 

 so much, and the rubber boom has almost reached its zenith, I do not see why 

 Government with its overflowing coffers should not distribute a few dozen seeds 

 to each villager to plant in his own garden, Unlike tea, rubber would suit the 

 villager very well as coffee did iu the happy past. Whatever may have been said, and 

 whatever may be said about the unremunerativeness of paddy cultivation, paddy 

 cultivation alone would keep up the Kandyan Sinhalese, and nothing else would 

 suit the Kandyan more than this cultivation. Therefore it is to the improvement of 

 paddy cultivation that the Societies should first direct their attention, and next 

 to other cultivations. It should be the aim of the Society to see that every district 

 turns out so much paddy sufficient for the consumption of its resident population. 

 What district can boast of such a thing to-day ? Kadawata and Meda had in 1901 

 a Sinhalese population of 22,149, out of which 7,988 were engaged in agriculture. 

 11,940 acres of paddy land and 3,210 acres of high land were cultivated which brought 

 in 157,839 bushels of paddy and 166,500 bushels of other grain. These when reduced 

 to food stuff would give 288,769 bushels or about 10 bushels per head per annum 

 for a population of 22,149. Another 50,000 bushels per annum would render the 

 supply sufficient for consumption only. But to render the supply sufficient for all 

 the necessaries of life of the people it should at least be 25 bushels per head per 

 annum, which would be 553,725 bushels, and the deficiency after deducting the 

 present yield is 264,956. 



