THF TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [November i, 1888. 
change which followed the-introduction of capital in 
connection with the planting enterprise. In regions 
beyond the reach of capital and its influences stag- 
nation still continues. Under the heading of " In- 
tercourse and Market," Mr. Wall dwelt on the 
beneficial effect of free intercourse and inter- 
change showing how steam navigation, railways, 
and telegraphs had brought the ends of the world 
together. Prohibitive and protective tariffs were 
denounced. The utter absence of roads at the 
beginning of this century and the difficulties of 
intercourse nearly half a century subsequently were 
dwelt on. The great benefits conferrpd by roads 
and railways were described, high railway rates 
deprecated, and the necessity of encouraging rail- 
way construction by private enterprise dwelt on. 
As connected with capital, free intercourse and 
markets, the importance of labour was urged and 
the necessity of sufficient rewards for labour bfing 
given, — adequate inducements for good work held 
out, In Ceylon, as elsewhere, the violation of this 
principle had led to disastrous results. The evil 
effects of caste were forcibly illustrated by the facts 
that supply and demand in different directions of em- 
ployment were hindered by its operation, while cer- 
tain pursuits, such as the preparation of coir, were 
tabooed. In its obligations and its restrictions caste 
was equally an evil, labouring for hire even, being 
considered a degradation. It was shown, however, 
that caste feeling was not entirely confined to 
the natives, Mr. Wall defended the natives from 
the charge of indolence, referring to Governor Sir 
Hercules Eobinson as representing the class who 
prefer such a charge and Sir Henrry Ward as 
conspicuous among those who more generously 
apreciate native character. The names of writers 
on both sides were adduced, and to our great sur- 
prise we found Mr. Wall dealing seriously with the 
insane rhapsodies of Charles Wynn Payne, who 
passed from prose to poetry in describing the 
natural resources of Ceylon, amongst which he 
enumerated gold and silver, copper and tin, 
"Treasures not seen without but hid within." 
Mr. Wynn Payne was never a permanent resident in 
Ceylon. He only, somehow, got amongst a body of 
natives who bestowed on him " a robe of honour," 
and from that hour he bored the Colonial Office and 
the public with wild writings. On the whole Mr. 
Wall's attitude towards the Sinhalese and that 
which he wishes others to adopt may be expressed in 
the ancient rhymed expression of charity : — 
Be to their faults a little bliDd, 
And to their virtues very kind. 
The above gives but the barest idea of the wide 
scope of a long and very able paper, the intellec- 
tual eminence of which we appreciated without 
agreeing with all the propositions advanced. 
DISCUSSION, 
The Chairman : — I am sure we are all very much 
indebted to Mr. George Wall for the paper he has 
just read. I understand from the Secretary that 
the custom on these occasions is to invite discus- 
sion on the paper, and to address questions to 
the lecturer, which doubtless he will be happy to 
answer. A preceding chairman foreshadowed the 
time when a lady might occupy this chair. Per- 
haps I may therefore say now that even the 
ladies are not precluded from taking part in the 
discussion. (Applause.) 
Mr. A. M. Feiiooson, c. m. o., said that ar none 
of the ladies had responded to His Honour's 
invitation to take part in the discussion, he ventured 
to do no. He might be allowed to say that the 
meeting wbh an abnormally large one. He bad 
iio doubt that the anticipated pleasure of seeing 
His Honour for the first time in that chair had 
uttracted a considerable portion- of the audience, 
especially the ladies — (applause) — but he was sure 
His Honour would agree with him that the an- 
ticipated interest of the paper from a gentleman 
of Mr. Wall's long experience and greai ability 
must have drawn the larger number there. They had 
listened, he was sure, with very great pleasure to, 
and they had been very largely informed by a 
paper which had ranged over a very large portion of 
human knowledge, and over a very great number of 
the countries of the globe, from which illustrations 
had been drawn to enforce the leading 
doctrines of political economy which were now 
recognized by a considerable proportion of the Go- 
vernments and nations of the earth. Mr. Wall 
had taken a very generous and a very magnani- 
mous view of the character of the natives of this 
country. They all felt there was much to be 
said for a people who had been ground down by 
ages of despotism and oppression. On the other 
hand when they made the bare statement that 
a large proportion of the natives were indolent 
they were only stating the truth. Some man had 
laid down the axiom that every man living was 
as indolent as I n possibly could be, and when 
they came to analyse the saying they found it 
was true. One man was indolent, because he did 
not like to work, and another man worked, because 
training and conscience compelled him to work, 
and they who had been born in a colder clime than 
tha^ of Cfylon, had much to be thankful for, because 
the very inclemency of their climate had produced 
robustness, activity, and a desire for labour, and 
that labour had led. to the accumulation of capital 
upon which Mr. Wall had so enlarged. As the 
hour was so lat^, he would only just touch upon 
one or two marked topics. Mr. Wall very pro- 
perly alluded to bloated armaments as absorbing 
the capital of individuals and of nations. That 
was a true view, but they must not forget the other 
side of the question. If the Sinhalese were in a poor 
and distressed condition it was largely due to the 
fact that they failed in their duty to themselves in 
not organizing a permanent force sufficient to 
resist the invading Tamils who were the prime agents 
in bringing about the ruin on which Mr. Wali had 
dwelt, by destroying those magnificent irrigation works 
upon which the prosperity and the very life of the 
country depended, for as soon as the tanks and chan- 
nels were destroyed, pestilence set in, famine suc- 
ceeded pestilence, and a large population disappeared 
from off the face of the earth. So that a fair 
proportion of the revenue of any country spent 
in providing an army or a navy to defend the 
nation and its interests was simply a premium of 
insurance. Then, as regarded the operation of 
caste, Mr. Wall had shown how it had operated. 
With reference to the observation that caste 
exists in western communities, they must never 
forget the grand difference. Oriental caste means that 
a man cannot pass from a low position to a high 
one. In Britain matters were so different, that, as 
they all knew, the grandson of a weaver having 
married an Earl's daughter was virtually ruler of 
Britain for very many years— one of its most 
eminent men, Sir Bobert Peel. If caste in Oriental 
countries would only admit of cases of that kind, 
they would have nothing to say against it. Mr. 
Wall had shown how it did operate. When there 
was a demand for labour in one direction they 
could not possibly get the supply to meet the demand, 
because only people of a certain caste would perform 
the labour. Mr. Wall had shown that a very 
largo amount of work had been done by the 
Sinhalese people in furthering the industries of the 
la'id by taking contracts. They hud felled jungle, 
they .had taken contracts to build bunt^lows and 
stores, and a very considerable proportion of 
