April  r,  1897.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
663 
large  estate  of  Wiliaregalla*  having,  as  liis  lirst 
manager  and  i)art  proprietor,  Mr.  F.  F.  B. 
Childers  (brother  of  the  well-known  Orientalist) 
since  settled  in  business  at  Mont"*-  Carlo.  After- 
wards, Mr.  Oulf  opened  the  line  estates  of 
Dnnsinane,  Fundaluoya  district  ; West  Holyrood, 
Dimbula  ; and  Culloden  in  Kalutara  district — al( 
since  sold  to  Limited  Companies.  Few  capitalists 
connected  with  Ceylon  sulfered  more  severely 
through  the  cotlee  crisis — the  collapse  of  a great 
industry  owing  to  the  destruction  wrought  by  a 
fungus  enemy  of  the  leaf — than  did  Mr.  Dull'; 
and  that  not  so  much  in  connection  with  his 
own  pro])erties  or  personal  investments,  as 
through  his  good  nature  in  becoming  security 
for  old  friends.  In  one  such  case,  the  loss  at 
a single  stroke,  to  be  made  good,  was  no  less 
than  £50,000  ; but  Mr.  Dull’  bravely  faced  the 
crisis,  sold  oil'  his  property  in  the  Highlands  of 
Scotland,  never  lost  faith  in  Ceylon  and  hopefully 
entered  on  the  new  conditions  which  led  to  tea 
gradually  but  surely  superseding  coffee,  until 
now  he  finds  his  large  group  of  Ceylon  i)lanta- 
tions  more  valuable  than  ever  they  were.  These 
now  compiise  a total  of  8,525  acres,  of  which 
3,500  are  in  tea  ; while  1,500  more  acres  are  in 
coffee  or  other  products. 
It  only  remains  to  be  mentioned  that  in  August 
1805,  during  the  Administration  of  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson,  Mr.  Duff  was  appointed  one  of  the  un- 
official members  of  tlie  Legislative  Council,  a post 
which  he  only  vacated  on  leaving  the  island  in  1871. 
We  have  given  a very  bare  outline  of  a life 
of  great  business  activity  for  27  years  in  Ceylon — 
nor  did  that  activity  end  with  Mr.  Duff’s 
retirement  to  England.  He  still  maintained  his 
interest  in  business,  throngh  connection  with 
“the  City”  Ceylon  Companies — such  as  theUva 
and  Spring  Valley — as  well  as  through  his  own 
extensive  estates  and  ever-developing  work  as 
pioneer.  Mr.  Duff  also  continued  to  be  the  friend 
and  supporter— sometimes,  as  we  have  shown, 
to  his  own  great  loss — of  many  in  or  connected 
with  Ceylon  ; while  as  adviser  his  counsel  was 
sought  in  many  directions.  His  faith  in  the 
Colony  has,  however,  been  amply  rewarded  by 
the  return  of  prosperity  which  tea  has  brought 
to  all  its  planting  country.  From  his  home  in 
Queen’s  Gate,  Kensington,  he  continues,  through 
the  Overland  Observer,  to  watch  all  that  goes  on 
in  his  old  adopted  home  ; while,  until  recent 
* On  one  of  Mr.  Duff’s  risita  to^  Ceylon — in  this 
property  was  privately  declared  for  sale  and  the  late 
Mr.  C.  H.  De  Soysa  offered  £80,000  for  it.  Mr. 
Duff  held  out  for  £85,000 ; but  after  he  left  the 
island,  he  changed  his  mind  and  telegraphed  from 
Aden  to  his  Agents  to  sell  to  Mr.  De  Soysa.  The 
answer  to  his  continental  address  was  “ Too  late  : Mr. 
De  Soysa  has  gone  in  for  something  else.”  No 
los8;.to  Mr.  Duff,  since  Wiharegalla  after  that  year 
yielded  profits  aggregating  fully  the  above  price,  and 
now  in  tea  is  as  valuable  perhaps  as  ever  it  was. 
yetU's,  he  enjoyed  his  sunimcr  residence  and 
shootings  in  the  Highlands,  varied  by  an  occa- 
sional visit  to  the  Continent,  to  Egypt  or  to 
Ceylon.  The  great  shock  of  his  life  came  in 
the  summer  of  1895  in  the  unexpected  and 
terribly  sudden  death  of  his  wife  who  had  always 
enjoj’ed  good  health  ; but  time  has  enabled  Mr. 
Dull'  to  some  degree  to  overcome  the  blosv  and 
the  presence  of  his  ilaughter  and  son-in-law  (Mr.  & 
Mrs.  Oswald)  still  make  his  residence  “home.” 
When  we  called  to  see,  and  say  good-bye  to,  Mr 
Duff,  during  our  recent  visit  to  England,  we  found 
him  in  his  library  finishing  a letter — and  the 
caligraphy  of  the  old  gentleman,  well  on  tow'.ards 
80  years,  is  as  admirably  clear  and  neat  with  its 
plain  but  all-sufficing  signature 
as  was  that  of  the  Co'ombo  Banker  of  the 
“ sixties.”  “ In  a minute  I’ll  be  free,”  was  Mr, 
Duft'’s  remark  as  he  rapidly  completed  his  letter, 
rose  to  a copying  press  in  the  corner  of  the 
room,  secured  the  duplicate,  returned  to  his 
seat  and  laid  aside  the  half-dozen  letters  he 
had  prepared  for  the  post.  “Two  or  three  hours 
of  such  work  in  here  daily,  keep  me  .alive, ’j 
was  his  remark  and  he  then  readily  entered 
into  reminiscences  of  early  days  in  Ceylon, 
imparting  confidences,  in  answer  to  stray  ques- 
tions, to  which  we  liave  scarcely  ventured  to 
refer  in  our  scanty  notice.  For,  to  write  ade» 
quately  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duff’s  life  in  Ceylon 
would  be  to  give  not  only  the  financial,  business 
and  planting,  but  also  tlie  social  history  of  the 
Colony  during  one  of  its  most  interesting  and 
progressive  periods.  There  were  few  love  matches 
or  marriages  of  any  note  among  the  Colonists 
of  the  “ fifties”  or  “ sixties”  in  Ceylon,  in 
tvhich  the  influential  Banker  and  his  hospitable 
warmhe.arted  wife  did  not  bear  <a  generous  part 
and  not  a few  happy  unions,  indeed,  for  which 
they  were  very  much  responsible.  That  is  all  of 
the  past  ; but  it  is  a matter  of  present  and 
continuous  interest  that  the  name  of  “ G.  S.  Duff’” 
should  continue  even  now  as  proprietor  (indivi* 
dually  or  in  partnership)  of  such  important  and 
widely  separated  plantations  in  the  island  as 
the  following  - Area-acres ; 
Name  District  Total — cultivated 
Helbodde  . . Pussellawa  . . 1,778  . . 735 
Rangbodde  ..  Ramboda  ..  2,081  ..  922 
Wiharegalla  ..  Haputale  ..  8,95i  ..  7,99J 
Nayabedde  • • u ••  1,125  ..  867 
Gonakelle  Group  . . Passara  1,752  . , 995 
Gowrakelle  . . Badulla  . , 829  . . 635 
Kitulgala  . . Dolasbage  . . 65  . . 50 
Total..  8,525  5,003 
Long  may  Mr.  George  Smyttan  Duff  be  spared 
as  atypical  successful  Ceylon  Colonist— a model  of 
industry,  uprightness  and  shrewdness  as  Banker  ; 
of  enterprise,  liberality  and  confidence  as  pioneer 
proprietary  planter. 
