No. 56. — 1905.] PROCEEDINGS. 
379 
9. Mr. E. B. IJENHAM gave a further account of the discoveries 
at Mannar. He mentioned that among the stones found was one 
with two geese with their necks intertwined. It was a curious instance 
of historical vicissitudes that the Portuguese used the ruins of 
Tiruketisveram for building the floor of the Mannar Fort, wherein 
centuries later was found the tombstones of leading Portuguese, which, 
rescued from their resting place, were set up in the so-called Dutch 
Church in the Fort with the tombstones of the Dutch conquerors of 
the Portuguese. He thought that the " tombstone " (fig. No. 7) might 
be the top of a font erected to the memory of the lady Dona Maria 
Lacerda. He hoped that the Paper might encourage others to search 
for relics of the Portuguese who had exerted a great influence in 
Ceylon in religion, nomenclature, and language. 
10. Dr. Chalmers, in formally proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. 
Lewis for his Paper, said that he had seen the Portuguese inscriptions 
while he was in Jaffna, and that he had been much interested in such 
excellent remains of the Portuguese occupation. Mr. Lewis deserved 
great thanks from the Society for the interest which he had taken in 
bringing this matter forward. 
It was possible that remains of the Portuguese other than inscrip- 
tions might be found, and instanced as well worth study the remains 
of a fort at Kangesanturai which was supposed to be the foundation 
of a proposed Portuguese Fort. 
Mr. Berwick seconded the motion. Contrasting the nature of the 
monuments which different peoples have left of their dominancy, he 
referred to the remarkable survival in Ceylon to-day of the Portugese 
physical type of features (apart from mere colour), language, and 
religion. With respect to the last, he emphasized the fact that the 
introduction, or at all events the great spread of Christianity (with all 
the civilization that follows on that) in the East, was due to the 
Portuguese. 
11. The President (Mr. Ferguson) proposed that a hearty vote of 
thanks be accorded to their Patron, His Excellency the Governor, for 
coming amongst them with Lady Blake and for discharging the duties 
of Chairman in so effective and interesting a way that evening. 
It was always regarded by the Members of this Society as a marked 
honour when the Governor of the Colony consented to fill the Chair 
at any of their Meetings, and this was greatly enhanced in the case 
of Sir Henry Blake from the special interest which he had already 
evinced in work connected with and objects dear to the Society, 
and because of his personal devotion to the revival, improvement, 
and development of agriculture throughout the Island. It might 
be mentioned that in the past records of their Society there was 
quite a number (twenty at least) of Papers dealing with different 
branches of agriculture, and it must be well at this time to recall the 
^' design " of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, which in 
the words placed in the forefront of its Journals is " to institute and 
promote inquiries into the history, religion, literature, arts, and social 
condition of the present and former inhabitants of the island, with its 
geology, mineralogy, its climate and meteorology, its botany and 
zoology." He need not say how glad the Council and Secretaries 
would be to receive suitable Papers bearing on any of the above sub- 
jects, or to aid in investigations, such as were suggested by their 
esteemed former President, the Metropolitan Bishop of Calcutta, who 
