73 
District of Jafnapatam. 
of Ceylon. The Dutch took great pains to convert these peo- 
ple to the reformed religion, at least by their own accounts ; 
yet a strong hankering after paganism still remains among those 
tribes. 
Those I first mentioned were induced many years ago, by 
the encouragements held out to them by the Dutch, to pass 
over from the Coromandel coast, and carry on here a variety 
of manufactures, such as coarse cloths, calicoes, handkerchiefs, 
shawls, stockings, &c. These articles were all made from the 
cotton growing on the island ; and to this day the district of 
Jaffna is the only part of Ceylon where manufactures of this 
sort continue to be carried on, with the exception of a very 
few about Columbo. 
At Jaffna there are also a number of handicraftsmen, such 
as goldsmiths, jewellers, joiners, and makers of all different 
parts of household furniture. They are very expert in their 
respective operations; par-ticiilarly that race known in this island 
by the name of Portuguese, who surpass all the rest in the 
beauty and dexterity of their workmanship. 
Dependent upon the district of Jaffna, and at a small dis- 
tance in the sea to the north-west of Point Pedro, are seve- 
ral small islands, which the Dutch named from their own na- 
tive cities, Delft, liaarlem, Leyden, and Amsterdam. These 
islands they "employed in breeding horses and cattle, as from 
their excellent pasturage they are better adapted to this pur- 
pose than any part of Ceylon. The English government con- 
tinues the same system. The horses are bred under the super- 
intendance of officers appointed for the purpose, and, when at 
a proper age, are disposed of on account of government. It 
would be unjust to pass unnoticed the many improvements 
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