NEW AND OLD CUMBLTES. 
shivering, or pretending to shiver, with cold, slating 
that his cum))ly had been stolen. He had placed it 
on a rock during working hours, in order to have 
more freedom of action to do “hard work for master,” 
and it was gone. If the “master” was so compassionate 
as to hand him over a new cumbly, the cooly would 
accept of it as a just right, or moi e probably grumble 
and say it was too small. But if master “smelt a 
rat,” or more probably ordered him off as an idle 
eareless fellow, ten to one but he would appear in 
his old cumbly next day, which he had discovered 
,as having been purloined by some of his friends, but 
it would last him a good long while after this, until, 
by its tattered appearance, the master saw he was 
actually in need of a new one^ in which case the want 
was promptly supplied. These stocks of cuxnhlies in 
store di<l not pay; the rats got amongst them and cut 
them ail in holes, so that either the coolies would not 
take them, or they had to be issued at a loss. 
'Consequently the system got out of use. The kanganies 
were supplied with money to purchase them for their 
gangs, which were always to be got at the Gampola 
or Kandy baz irs. The people then pleased themselves 
as to the size and quality of the cumbly ; at least, if 
they did not, they could not blame master. Stibsequently 
the trade was taken up by the up-oountry chetties, 
and noAV all grumbling on the matter of cumblies is 
•a thing of the past,- the kangani manages it all, or 
an advance to purchase them is treated as it actually is, 
as part of .ti e advance account. 
These were grand times for cart contractors and 
oartmen, wlien the latter received up loads of rice from 
.the Colombo agents of estates, bound to deliver them 
-at the estate, within fifteen days from the date of the 
•cart note, two shillings to he stopped off* their balance 
hire of every day past due. What cared they for the 
balance hire, or the fine of two shillings! They had 
probably received abtiUt three-quarters of the whole 
hire, in advance. They proceeded to Kandy, sold the 
ric<", and returned to Colombo to load for more, having 
'made a good profit on the transaciion, while the coolies 
on the estate wnre siai ving. Or, having got fairly well' 
up the Kandy road, they would halt at some w^ayside 
cattle-shed, unload, and store up the rice, return to 
Colombo, engage with another agency firm fer an up- 
country trip for the s ike of the ready money advance 
hire. This might probably be done several times, and, 
when it eudted the convenience of the eartmen, all 
ithe consignments would be delivered, weeks or months 
after they were due. There was always some plausible 
17 about sick bullocks, or if a considerable quantity 
