770 
THE TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [May 1, 1903. 
and found them worthless, and now has to get men 
from the Punjab ab a very large expense to protect 
his Estates. It is true that the Cocoa .stealing cases 
in the Matale Court increased in 1900 iih comijared 
with the two previous years by 50 per ceiit but it is 
nor, correct to say that they decreased in 1901. The 
very revers^e is the e.ise, the figures of 1901 as com- 
pared with 1900 show an iiicrpase of some 25 per 
cent. Mr Duijuwilla is, we believe, a Cocoa planter 
amongst otlier things, and he is singularly ill-in- 
formed as to that branch of his business if he does 
not know that the reason that thefts decreased to- 
wards the end of tlie autumn's Crop of 1901-2 was 
that Cocoa towards the end of that crop become 
practically unsaleable, the native traders were en- 
ormou.sly overstocked and refused to purchase on 
almost any tei ms. Therefore when he says that 
towards the end of crop thieving fell away and gives 
the headmen and the rural police the full credit of 
this decrease in theft, he will get few people who 
know anything of the matter to agree with him; 
further, he writes as if the rur.il police system 
applied to the whole district whereas it only applied 
to some 10 or 12 per cent of it. The chief reason of 
the decrease in theft was the fall in the value of 
Cocoa. And now we have to deal with the state- 
ment made by Mr Dunuwilla against planters that 
thefts are common because planters employ " Dis- 
honest Watchmen." Twice Mr Dunuwilla has 
advanced thfrse very general charges against the 
planters, and each time has only been able to bring 
forward one case io prove what he says, and neither 
of these cases as stated by him will, we submit, 
bear investigiition. That j>lanters whose living 
depends on tlieir crops should deliberately select 
"dishonest watchers " is at variance with cr)mmon 
sense, and with the true facts of the case. Planters 
select the best men they can get, they do not draw 
upon any particular nationality. Sinhalese, Tamils, 
Malays, Moormen, have all been tried, the best 
men of their class are selected, and good wages are 
given. It Mr Dunuwilla would tell us where 
amongst his countrymen or the native races of 
Ceylon we can find passably honest watchmen, he 
would do something towards proving his ease. 
We submit a list of the 
AMOUNTS SPENT ON WATCHMEN AND PREVEN- 
TION OF THEFTS 
by estates in Matale and elsewhere. Taking 
the yield per acre, the value of same, 
the expenditure per acre on estates, and 
the Kailway figures showing what was 
sent away in last year, we are prepared to 
show that Matale proprietors have to spend 10 
per cent of their income in trying to protect the 
rest. We instance a group of five Estates under 
the same management where 22 per cent of the 
profits fiom the cocoa in bearing have been spent 
in protective measures. We instance an Estate 
where about 70 thefts occurred last year. We 
draw attention to cases instanced by Mr. Garrick 
and Mr. Wilkinson. We suggest that the follow- 
ing witnesses be examined : — 
B, W Bollinf?, Longvillo ; Gilbert .Tames, Katngas- 
tota; C M Krickenbeck, Matale North; J A Mao 
Allister, Pansalletenue ; L R Rudd, Marakona ; H 
D Garrick, Uknwela ; W Lyall, Alloowihare ; J 
Anderson, I3i).ncleriipoila ; James R Martin, Yatta- 
watti^ ; J A Burmester, Warriapollii ; Harry Storey, 
Woraknmnra ; the Hon. the Coloninl Secretfuy ; C 
H T Wiikinson, Koiidesaile ; Dan. .Joseph, Matale ; 
A U Don Baatian De Silva, Matale ; the late Araohi 
Pattagedera, Wattagama; Dingeri Bauda Liikam, 
ambawella. 
We suggest that the Commission procure from 
Government the cost of the rural police system 
to Government, including not only rural "police 
but headmen's wages and rewards, amounts paid 
Government watchers and every other expense 
incurved. We finaily submit that cocoa cultiva- 
tion deserves consideration at the hands of Govern- 
ment. Crops are small, prices are bad, and the 
cost of cultivation has been largely increased by 
canker. 
Acres in Cost of 
bearing, watch, etc. 
J B Tennants Groap of Estates. . 347 480 00 
North Matale Estate .. 733 1993 75 
Warriapola .. .. 600 925 10 
Kahawatta . . . . 100 320 00 
Arangalla and Arduthie . . 231 240 00 
Mar»kona Group . . . . 400 879 16 
Yattawatta .. 650 1973 62 
Bo.'?a .. .. 200 500 00 
Hylton ,. ..250 500 00 
Lasahena .. ..100 4ii0 0' 
Dangau .. ..80 350 00 
Hampshire .. ..55 202 01 
Ukuwela .. .. 74 394 50 
Wavena .. ..10 60 00 
The Grove . . . . 2.50 190 00 
Asgeria .. ..153 650 00 
Sudngama .. . . 30O 746 82 
Strathisla .. ..170 184 33 
Keppitigalla .. 600- 1274 89 
Pitakande .. .. 84 120 84 
Bandarapolla .. ..220 446 33 
High Walton .. ..120 
Aloowihare Group .. .. 378 1685 71 
H. Bell's Group . . . . 29i) 292 74 
Pansalatenne .. ..90 240 On 
Kuduwela . . . . 187 402 HQ 
Morankande .. .. 200 760 00 
Pattiagalla .. ..240 600 HO 
Katugastota .. ..500 2927 00 
Kondesalle .. ..500 1700 00 
Pallekelle .. .. 3170 3000 00 
The Matale Police Court figures for Cocoa 
stealing are as follows : — 
1898 .. 37 .. 14 convictions 
1899 ... 37 .. 18 
1900 .. 55 .. 37 
1901 ..- 67 ... 37* 
*Four absconded. 
Figures collected by the Matale Planters' As- 
sociation point to 35 per cent only of Cocoa thefts 
being taken to Court, tlie' uselessness pf prosecu- 
ting under the existing law being the reason that 
so many thefts are allowed to go unnoticed. 
We wish to point out that the legislation we ask 
for is nothing new. In Ceylon at one time 
Cinchona was largely cultivated in the Central 
Province. It was much stolen and it was found 
that the most dangerous receivers were the owners 
of small gardens with a few Cinchona trees grow- 
ing in them, as stolen bark was then openly sold 
as the produce of these gardens and to check this 
the Ordinance No. 9, 1885 was amended as follows 
in 1886 "Whenever the bark whether of the 
branch, root or stem of the Cinchona tree shall 
be found in the possession of any person who is 
unable to give a satisfactory account of his pos- 
session thereof, such person shall be deemed and 
adjudged of an offence and shall on conviction be 
liiible to the punishments under section 368 
C P C." This legislation stopped tLe theft of Cin- 
chona b vi k and never was known to iniure any 
honest man— and this is the species of legislation 
that European and Native Cocoa planters have 
united in deiQandiug. 
