-FERGUSON’S DIRECTOR!. 
if once established, for there was nothing to expose it. 
In those times there were no monthly visitors, and 
few visiting agents. If they did turn up occasionally, 
their visits were passed off as those of friends, and cer- 
tainly, in general, they partook more of and looked more 
like the latter than the former, in fact nothing could be 
more difficult than to ascertain who was the proprietor, 
or were the proprietors, of a great many estates. 
‘‘Ferguson’s Directory” was not then in existence, and 
if it had been would n’t the compiler have had his 
difficulties in filling up the proprietor’s column in his 
list ! This led to many abuses ; those who were con- 
sidered owners, and, as such, had incurred heavy pecu- 
niary responsibilities, suddenly went off we will say. 
“ The proprietor” had been sacked from some unknown 
source, and it was then discovered that he was not 
the proprietor, when bills were presented to his suc- 
cessor, wffio refused to have anything to do with them. 
The successor, in his turn, would perhaps give out 
that he had bought the estate, and would probably 
succeed in the deception, until he himself also got his 
“ walking-stick.” What a different state of matters 
exists in our present times, and how well-known now are 
all partnerships, owners, with their names, absent or resi- 
dent ; and with this knowledge how secure are traders, 
chettiss, &c. , intheir dealings with estates, as compared 
with “the days of old.” This state of matters has 
been mainly brought about by “Ferguson’s Directory,” 
a w’ork which has arrived at a perfection of correct- 
ness, and which must have entailed no ordinary trouble 
on its editors ; not only this, but the constant annual 
revision and correction, induced by the repeated changes 
always going on amongst the planters, must entail a 
work of no small difficulty and trouble, especially when 
we take into consideration that, even when the work 
is in the press, changes are taking place, so that per- 
fect accuracy in this book is simply impossible. 
The nominal proprietor, or rather the actual manag- 
er of this estate, finding the demands for pay be- 
coming excessively troublesome, packed up his boxes 
and went off to Colombo, on the very plausible pre- 
text that he was going to procure funds to pay up 
everything. He went off, and was neither seen nor 
heard of any more. No doubt he managed to arrange 
the little sum due himself, and left all his subordinates 
to manage for themselves. This they did by hanging 
about the estate, in the hope that something or 
somebody would turn up, but nothing or nobody did,, 
until at last they were starved out, and went away, 
leaving the estate desolate. After some time a com- 
mon uneducated man arrived as superintendent, but 
