t 138 ) 
themselves for the last 50 years, and more 
especially since 1780, since when the number of 
distilleries of arrack lias increased. These same 
persons wanting notliing from abroad bub tlie coarse 
linen of Taticoiin contribute in hardly any manner 
to the indirect taxes and are thus free from three 
taxes. They possess besides this source of wel- 
fare the advantage of daily supplying the chief 
places which are the most populous, with the 
necessary commodities, and those places contribute 
the most to the indirect taxes. They derive from 
that commerce the money of the country which 
does not again return from them, but is multiplied 
in the person of native chiefs or their families who 
are the greatest proprietors of garden,?. This also 
the case of the five provinces of Jaffna, where 
however the gardens pay land rents, which if pro- 
perly cultivated will be found not to be equal 
to the tenth, lb is not to be concealed that one of 
the greatesb obstacles at present to a general 
reform in the administration of the interior is 
that little local knowledge of the civil servants of 
Government, and ib is certain that the constant 
changes which take place are highly injudicious 
and preventive of that knowledge being acquired. 
The Dutch Government with all its defects and 
the imperfections of the primitive constitution of 
the country, had ab least the advantage of being 
settled in its projects and strict in tlie execution of 
them. The employees remained very long in the 
same appoihtments, had time to obtain information 
on every head, and with knowledge to follow up 
the place of improvement which had received the 
sanction of Government. The author of these notes 
was; as junior merchant, for six years a member of 
the Court of Landraad or Proviccial Court of Ceylon 
at Colombo, and after that long practice he 
obtained an employment in which he remained 
eleven years. We "must not flatter ourselves that 
acy man can obtain in six months or a year exten- 
sive knowledge and still less that tact which i-s 
requisite to govern a country of a certain extent 
-which requires' amelioration, because the changes 
if they be made, should be for the better. If any 
servant of the present Government shews an 
aptitude in acquiring knowledge of the Malay pro- 
vinces, he is, at the end of a year, or at- mosb two 
years, transferred to the Sinhalese piovinces, where 
all his acquired knowledge is useless,;.a!!d where he 
must bef;in the task of studying ngain. This 
constaiib change of chief produces the eiiect of 
destroying the respect of the people for them ; and 
the only example we have of a person whd has 
remained in great knowledge of the provinces 
which he governed. 
It is not sufficient at first for Government to dire3b 
any change to be adopted, its agent must put into 
effect those changes with the skill necessary to 
prevent commotion of disconbenb among the people. 
This requires at least an exact knowledge of all the 
circumstances of place and persons which gives a 
facility of foreseeing the eft'aet of any measure. 
The four following things are also necessary to 
the success of any permanent plan of improvement 
and for the miuitenau,ce of good pr^ler i,a. the 
interior : — . i:..i7 .■• •• v ■ •fj::;u.Or ^Utsi 
1. The establishment Of l^fJiglstrates in the! co'rless, 
:' provinces or subdivisions of the c;juntiy which 
Veem to require them, not only to administer justitee, 
''fi,a is now the case, but also to keep a check 
■■: 9n all the revenues of the province, for the yearly 
use of the Collector, who must fix the period of the 
year when this examination and comparison of 
accounts is to take place with those of the 
Aribades, Kanikb,pu!lies, Cangaaus and Lascoreens 
to whom he may have entrusted the receipt of the 
revenues, and also with those which the native 
chiefs or chiefs of the district will be obliged to 
keep of the same revenues. 
2. The establishment of 8 or 9 Landraads, 
according to the ancient institution, in the circum- 
ference of the island, in the manner and for the 
purposes hereafter narrated. 
3. The establishment of a general roll, which we 
will call the land Thombo, of all lands of value in 
the island of Ceylon, which every Collector will be 
obliged to draw np, and to send the duplicate 
legalized and signed to Colombo, for the purpose 
which- we will mention hereafter. These rolls 
shall point out the names of the owners of land, its 
situation, quality, extent, and the nature of its 
tenure, wnether it be acquired property, or not , 
acquired, parvenies or accomodacens, &c. 
4. Lastly, a roll or general enregistratioii of all 
the inhabitants of the interior of the island, which 
Ave will call the Head Thombo, and which every 
Collector should be obliged to draw up in every 
province, village and hamlet. These rolls drawn up 
according to given place, should'shew the males of 
each caste, their ancient and present services, their 
age as nearly as possible; of this also a duplicate 
should be sent to Colombo for an object hereafter 
specified, 
Ib may be objected that these establishments 
will be very expensive. We reply that those 
expenses nmst be defrayed from I he abolition 
of useless changes or prejudicial one", but even 
without this, it is certain that the Govern- 
ment will be amply indemnified by the results 
in the revenue, and, besides, the changes may be 
gradually introduced as prudence may admit of 
them. 
, If it were possible that the Secretary of State in 
England, who has Cevlon in his department, could 
have a local and profound knowledge of this island, 
and wished to draw up and settle a regular plan 
for the administration of the interior, one which 
based on ancient customs would without fear of 
commotion conduce to the establishment of good 
system of taxation, of good order, improvement in 
agriculture of all kinds, and lastly, the encourage- 
ment of the necessary commerce, we should obtain 
from the requisite authorities positive and general 
orders to serve as a principle, on which the 
Government of thi^ island should regulate its 
measures without being permitted to deviate from 
it in the effecting of the changes ab the due 
times and in the proper places. The Secretary of 
State might [firstly fix, as a general rule, that 
the interior of the country shall be henceforth 
governed after bhe ancient form.S, usages and 
customs, as long as they do nob militate against 
the happiness of the people, the interests of Govern- 
ment, or against the plans adopted of rendering 
the land tax uniform. in the whole island, of portion- 
ing oirt the old services among the inhabitants 
in a more equal manner than hitherto, and finally 
of regulating the indirect taxes in such a manner 
that it shall be alike supported by the people of 
all parts of Ceylon. 
(To be continued-) 
