THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
53 
cocoa-tree. All these places are now in the possession of 
the English, and there is no doubt that this trafficking 
might be carried on to a much greater extent than formerly. 
The shortness of the passage from Ramiseram to Manaar, is 
particularly useful on account of the speedy conveyance it af- 
fords to people on business, and to the communication of in- 
telligence. Small boats continually ply between these two places, 
and passengers may be ferried over for a trifle. Government 
has also boats stationed here for the purpose of conveying the 
tapal, or letter bags, between Ceylon and the continent. By 
means of particular stations appointed for the purpose, letters 
are conveyed here in a manner wonderfully expeditious, when 
we consider that there are no roads fit for posting, and that 
the letter-carriers have to make their way through sands and 
thickets under the burning heat of the tropic suns. The dis- 
tance from Columbo to Madras is upwards of five hundred 
miles, and yet the tapals are conveyed between these places 
in ten days by the peons , a cast of people employed for this 
purpose. Their common rate of travelling is five miles an 
hour, where the country will admit of it ; and they are relieved 
at certain stages by fresh runners. They usually go from Co- 
lumbo to Manaar, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles 
in three days. Here they take boat, and cross over by Adams 
bridge to Ramiseram, and then proceed along the Coromandel 
coast to Madras. When the weather is not so violent as to 
occasion any delay in crossing the ferry, an express will run 
this journey in eight days. 
