It has pleased His Excellency Mr. Willem van Outhoorn, Governor-General, and the Honourable the Government of India, to appoint me Commissioner for the Coast of Mallabaar, and to require me to compile before my departure from here a Memoir or Instructions for the guidance of the Council, stating therein how the affairs of the Company are to be conducted during my absence, which Memoir is to be handed to the said Council after having been submitted to His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon and the Council of Colombo for revision, amplification, and alteration where necessary, as may be seen from the letter of May 23 last, from Their Excellencies at Batavia, sent here by the ship “De stad Leyden.”In compliance with this esteemed order I compile this Paper, although I am aware that you are all persons who have served the Company for a greater or smaller number of years, and that you must have had ample opportunity to obtain a knowledge of all matters concerning the Company.Moreover, during the last 38 years which the Company has been in the absolute possession of this territory, many papers have been written with regard to Jaffnapatam which are always accessible to the members of the Political Council at the Secretariate, so that I take it for granted that, in addition to your daily experience, you have obtained a sufficient knowledge of these matters from these documents; because among these are to be found descriptions of whatever is necessary to give the reader a clear idea of all that is required in the Company’s service, and they having been written by wise and circumspect men, some more and others less in detail. I am, therefore, sure that everything that is necessary will be found if carefully looked for.I will not, for this reason, enter into detail in respect of the manner the Company took possession of this territory, or of the advantages that may be found here both for the inhabitants and for the Company; nor what compulsory services are demanded from the subjects in Jaffnapatam, and the number of castes into which they are divided and under which they are registered; nor will I specify here the licenses for navigation and trade which have been given to them, nor the changes which have taken place in the course of time with regard to these and many other matters not stated here.Because, if I were to relate all these matters from the very beginning, I would have to write several volumes instead of a few sheets of paper. And this I do not intend to do, as I wish to be as brief as possible.Moreover, sufficient information may be found in the documents preserved at the Secretariate, which it would be well if Your Honours would make yourselves familiar with. We must be always prepared to take upon ourselves higher and more difficult posts whenever called upon, and in so preparing ourselves we avoid confusion, and the Company would never be in want of capable servants.I have no doubt you will all see the truth of what I say, yet, in order the more clearly to convey the force of my suggestion, I will specify here some of the documents which I consider it particularly useful to obtain a general insight of.With regard to Jaffnapatam, I know of no better documents than the Instructions compiled by Admiral Ryclof van Goens, Mr. Anthony Paviljoen, and the Hon. Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India at Batavia, left for this Commandement respectively on September 30, 1658, December 12, 1659, July 26, 1661, December 19, 1665, and October 7, 1679, the latter1having been inserted in the General Instructions left by His Excellency Ryclof van Goens, junior, on his departure on October 3 of the same year, to take up the Governorship of Ceylon. The directions in these Papers must be followed so far as change of time and circumstances will permit. I could not avoid mentioning these before entering into further details.It was the more necessary because so many observances, customs, institutions, and singular methods of action are to be met with in Jaffnapatam which are not found anywhere else or among any other subjects of the Company, and also because they cannot be discovered or understood without careful investigation and only in process of time. Thus, although the most important matters have been successively treated ofin the service of the Company, yet all the necessary information cannot be brought together here, and such a detailed description would be beyond the purpose of ordinary instructions. I will therefore only touch upon such matters as will be unavoidable under the present circumstances.The mode of government during my absence will be the first point to be decided upon; because formerly the Dessave, as second in the Commandement, used to be appointed to preside, as may be seen in the yearly Memoirs of Commandeur Floris Blom, left by him when he had to travel beyond the Commandement; with the only restriction that the Dessave was not to pass any orders for the warehouses, the Treasury, workshops, &c., which were left to the Administrator, although the Dessave was more often present within the Castle. Later on, in the year 1694, on the death of the same Commandeur Blom of blessed memory, the government of the whole of this Commandement was entrusted to the Political Council by order of the Hon. Thomas van Rhee, Councillor of India and Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo. The government was then divided, and the authority limited, and rules were laid down, which may be seen from the letters from Colombo bearing date July 20 and August 23, 1694; but experience has proved that this mode of government was not successful in the best interests of the Company; because the subordinate officers and the subject classes often did not know to whom they had to apply; so that they were sent “from Pontius to Pilatus,” as it is sometimes said; which often caused unnecessary waste of time and delay in the Service. I noticed this to have been the case when I was away from this Commandement from the last of March till about the middle of August this year, on the occasion of my being ordered to Colombo, and the authority distributed according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of March 22. But I noticed later on that the letters from Colombo were addressed to Mr. Rykloff de Bitter as Dessave andSecundeof the Commandement and the other members of the Political Council here; which was done again on October 16, 1696, when it was anticipated that I had already left for Mallabaar by the frigate “De Tamboer.”In the letter from Colombo of April 18 the members of the Council were also recommended to show the said Mr. de Bitter all the respect due to his position as Dessave andSecundein the Commandement; so that it seems His Excellency the Governor and the Council wished to re-introduce the former mode of government during the absence of the Commandeur, seeing that the Company’s affairs cannot be properly conducted by such divided authority. This atleast is my opinion, and I intend to point out that in the absence of the Commandeur the government here ought to be carried on according to the former lines, and consequently the entire administration entrusted to the Dessave, with the assistance of the members of the Political Council; and that he must call the meetings both of the Council and of the Court of Justice, and preside at both; and that he must further sign the orders for the Treasury, the workshop, the arsenal, and even for the warehouses, and in reference to any other of the effects of the Company. This would be in compliance with the Instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of December 5, 1696, where it is said that no orders are to be passed here but by the person in authority. I therefore think that, in the interests of peace and order in this Commandement, the Dessave R. de Bitter should be in authority at such times, especially as I have to be so far away. Besides, he lives just in front of the town, and close by the Castle; so that he is always at hand for those who require his assistance or instruction. But as the Dessave lives outside the fortress, the giving of the watchword, the closing and opening of the gate, and the supervision over the military and their drill, could not very well be delegated to him. This must therefore be left to the Captain as special chief of the Military; unless the Dessave should occasionally remain within the Fort overnight, in which case he will preform those duties. (1)2With a view to prevent the impression being created that I had formally given over this Commandement and entirely transferred the authority, I will leave without making a written transfer of any of the Company’s effects. I merely entrust these to Your Honours’ care and management; but, on the other hand, it must be understood that I do not want to be held responsible for any mistakes you might make during my absence. I therefore, and in order to show that I do not relinquish my authority in the Commandement, but only absent myself during the mission to Mallabaar or until further orders from the Honourable the Government of India are received, Your Honours are recommended to send to me by Manaar and Tutucorin proper advices, and to communicate to me the principal transactions that take place with regard to the Company’s service, in order that I may not be obliged on my return to ask what had transpired or to look up these things in the books. It will be well here to remind Your Honours of the order contained in the Resolution passed bythe Council of India on December 6, 1694, with regard to all Administrators, viz., that they will be held responsible for all cash or articles belonging to the Company which are found missing, and that, if unable to justify themselves, they would have to replace these within two months, or submit to be punished for their offence. (2)Economy is the first matter which I have to recommend to Your Honours, because this is not only constantly urged both from the Fatherland and from Batavia, but also because it is beyond doubt that what is saved in this manner will be pure profit. It must be understood, however, that in using the word economy I mean care in the administration of the Company’s effects, and not a wrong economy. There are officers who take this word in its narrowest sense, and, failing to have the necessary repairs done in proper time in their endeavour to spend as little as possible, create the necessity in the course of time of a complete restoration, while the existing objects might have stood good for a long time with a small timely expenditure. I must therefore recommend Your Honours to read certain letters from the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt,3bearing date July 4, 1690, and addressed to the establishment at Jaffnapatam during his circuit on the coast of Madura. (3)The Wanni is the largest division in this kingdom, and would also be the most profitable to the Company if matters went on as they ought to. It is from there that we have to obtain the elephants which are sold here at considerable profit, as the proceeds of the sale of elephants which are sent here for sale from Galle, Matura, and other places in Ceylon cannot be credited to this Commandement, as the profits are not retained here, but have been so far forwarded to these places. With a view to secure the profits on the elephants which are to be obtained from the Wanni, the Company has divided this large forest and extensive territory into several Provinces, which have been farmed out toMajoraals, known as Wannias, on the condition that they should deliver yearly 42½ alias.4This practice was followed from the time that the Company first established itself here up to the present day, but the results have proved that these Wannias continually fail to deliver the tribute elephants, and it appears in the Instructions of the late Mr. Paviljoen that their arrears in his time were already 74½ alias, when the Company had possessed this territory only 7 or8 years. In the returns for 1680 it will be seen that these arrears had then increased to 313 alias. The whole of this debt was remitted to them, but in 1694 again the arrears went up to 18½ alias, and last year they had come up to 70 animals, namely:Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Konsjeynaar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, for the Provinces of Lanengamo, Paleamblancolam, and Poedicoe 48½ alias; Don Diogo Poevenellemapane Wannia, for the Provinces of Karkattemoele and Meelpattoe 18 alias; Peria Meynaar Oediaar, for the Province of Moeliawalle 3½ alias; total 70 alias.It will therefore be necessary for Your Honours to endeavour to secure as many elephants from these Wannias as possible, both in payment of their arrears and of their present dues. This must be done, with all kindness, and in compliance with the successive orders received from His Excellency van Rhee,5Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo, in order that this profitable trade may be maintained, because there has been no lack of purchasers since the year 1689, as the merchants from Golconda come over every year, and there is a possibility that the Bengal Moors will also come over to purchase elephants now that this passage has been opened. The price to be paid to the Wannias for animals delivered above their tribute has been stated in the letter of the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt of blessed memory, sent here on April 3, 1690, from Tutucorin, while the Honourable the Government of India, in their esteemed letter of December 12, 1691, agreed to pay from 10 to 20 Rds. more for each animal, according to their value. I fear, however, that it will take a long time yet before it will be necessary to make such payment. The Wannia Philip Nellamapane may be allowed to sell every year one elephant on his own account to the Moors, in compliance with the orders of the said Governor and Council at the meeting of May 11, 1696, although Your Honours will find a positive refusal to the request made by him and submitted to His Excellency van Mydregt by Commandeur Floris Blom on October 20. The refusal was made in His Excellency’s answer of November 20. There are two other Wannias to whom the same privilege has been granted, viz., Ambele Wannia and Chedoega Wannia, the former holding the Province of Carnawel pattu, and the latter that of Tinnemerrewaddoe. They obtained this permission because their tribute is of littleimportance compared with that of the other Wannias mentioned above, and because they had paid up their arrears at the closing of the books last August. It seems, however, that they also are not much inclined to deliver any elephants beyond their tribute. Most likely they prefer the tithes which they draw for ruling these Provinces to the payment they would receive from the Company for the delivery of elephants.I will not state here my opinion as to the manner in which people ought to be ruled or as to their behaviour, nor in what way the Company is to expect the largest number of elephants and the greatest profits from the Wanni; because I would then not only have to write too many sheets of paper in doing so, but the subject would be of little use to enlarge upon and only tend to confuse Your Honours in your actions. I could merely advise you to follow the old instructions of being kind and considerate. Meanwhile, however, Your Honours are well aware of my principal views with regard to the Wannias, as expressed in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695, which letter might serve for your guidance; while you might also read the letters exchanged between Colombo and Jaffnapatam during the years 1674 to 1679, as also the resolutions passed with regard to the Wannias during the same period. From the perusal of these documents you will perceive whether or not my opinion of these people is unfounded. Should you require more information with regard to the Wannias and the Majoraals, you will find it in the Journal kept by Commandeur Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India, on his visit to that large forest in 1675 during the months of August to December, and in another Journal written by me in July, 1692, when I accompanied the late Commandeur Floris Blom also on a visit to the Wanni.These Wannias, by birth subjects of the Company and by descent no more than ordinary caste Bellales, have in the course of time become very conceited, and imagine that the title of Wannia is one invested with awe and so important that, although they have received it from the Company, they do not need to respect the Company or those placed in authority here; and they seem to be in doubt whether they ought to show their due obedience by appearing before its officers. It was on this account that His Excellency van Mydregt gave special orders in his reply of November 29, 1690, that one of the Wannias should always stay at the Castle, each taking his turn for three months. Why this order has not been carried out I do not know. Moreover, it appears that Don Philip and his son, the young Don Gaspar, Master of the Hunt in Ponneryn, together with his brother-in-law Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, has gone to Colombo instead of presenting himself here at theCastle, as I had summoned them to do, as may be seen in the ola of January 14, 1696, and in the resolutions of Council of the 16th of the same month. I do not know how they obtained audience, but they were received with even greater honour than they ever received from the Governors or Commandeurs here. This was the first time they ever went to Colombo. Still less am I able to say what transpired between them and the Government of Colombo, because when I was there I was not admitted to the meetings of the Political Council, and was only an eye-witness of the outward show. I do not also know for what reason the said Wannia Majoraals were kept here since their return, and why they were not sent back to their forest for the capture of elephants, unless it was because they acted as adjutants or auxiliaries to theOpperkoopluyden6Jan van Keulen and Pieter Petitfilsz, as I heard that during my absence they acted as Commissioners in this Commandement. Perhaps these matters are better known to Your Honours than to myself, because you were present here at the time. Yet I do not know whether you realize that this action has made these people more conceited than ever, and that they mention it here exultingly. This is proved also by the fact that their arrears have greatly increased since this trip to Colombo, and I have been privately informed that the Master of the Hunt, Don Gaspar Nitcheachaderayen, has, on his own authority and as if he were a sovereign, caused one of the Lascoreens and one of the hunters of his father-in-law, the old Don Gaspar, to be put to death; which has caused great enmity between these two and Don Philip Nellamapane. It is also said that the old Don Gaspar is desirous of revenging himself for this action, so that two people who were such great friends and made such a stir here by going to Colombo have not only become bitter enemies, but by this murder have also given cause for consequences of a serious nature. It will therefore be Your Honours’ duty not only to hold an inquiry with regard to this matter when an opportunity offers, but also to watch the future conduct of these people. In the beginning of 1696 someWaddassen7also entered the lands of the Wannia Don Diogo Poevenellemapane and committed acts of hostility, whereby the brother of Cottapulle Oediaar, cousin of the said Don Diogo, had been killed, because the latter wrote an ola to the Administrator Biermans while I was away at Colombo and the Dessave was commissioned to the pearl fishery. As he complained publicly to both of us in the month of October ofthe same year, saying that this happened for no other reason than because he would not act in collusion with Don Philip Nellamapane or join with the seditious company on their trip to Colombo, knowing that he could find here competent rulers. Chedoegawale Mapane of Tinnemerrewaddoe spoke to the same effect. Amblewanne, whom Your Honours wanted to take his turn of staying here at the Castle, has been prevented from doing so by the severe illness of one of his friends. I am obliged to mention all these particulars here in order that Your Honours may be able to keep an eye on the Wannias and their conduct. I wished to do more in this matter, and would have made an effort to discover and punish the murderers, but I was not in a position to do this because it seems that the Government of Jaffnapatam has no longer any influence in Colombo. This is apparent from the fact that while these Wannias were not only heard, but also treated with great honour, unknown to their ruler, I was even personally insulted by being kept out of the Political Council. I considered it inadvisable on my part to bring any charges against them at that time, and I think it would be for Your Honours to do thus. (4)Mantotte, Moezely, and Pirringaly are just as important to the Company with regard to the capture of elephants as the Wanni; but these Provinces are not under the subaltern rule of any native chief, but are ruled directly by the Company through officers paid by the Company. In Mantotte and Moezely there is an Adigar, paid by the Company, whose work it is to supervise the elephant hunt and the cultivation of the arable fields. For the latter the Company exacts tithes, as from the Wannia Majoraals in the Wanni. The inhabitants of Pirringaly, who were for some time ruled by Wannias, appealed in 1692 to the Commandeur Blom to be relieved of that servitude, and this was granted to them on condition that they yearly delivered to the Wannias 2aliasfor this freedom. Since then they have been ruled by their ownMoete Carresor Masters of the Hunt, which arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory, as may be seen from the Trade Accounts, which show that these people, as well as the hunters of Mantotte, Moezelypattoe, and Setticoulang have delivered a large number of elephants at Manaar, and would have delivered more were it not that a great many animals had died on the way. Further particulars on this subject may be found by Your Honours in a certain report of September 13, 1690, submitted by Commandeur Blom to His Excellency van Mydregt of blessed memory, in the margin of which His Excellency wrote instructions bearing date October 7 of the same year, where you will find the most important particulars as to the troubles on the borders of the Wanni. Your Honoursmay also read a short Memoir by the late Commandeur Anthony Paviljoen, dated July 28, 1662, and addressed to the Adigar of Mantotte. This office is held at present by Dimingo Rodrigues, who was transferred from the same office in Ponneryn by order of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo, as contained in their letter of October 13, 1696. He was sent to Mantotte to take the place of the native Alepander Ananaal, who in the same letter was dismissed from his office, although, as this was done without my knowledge, I am not in a position to state the reason therefor. Some other native officers were likewisedismissedfrom their offices in this Commandement without communication with me, as you may see from my letter to Colombo of October 15, 1696. The hunters in the Provinces of Mantotte, Pirringaly, and Moezely, who, as stated above, have shown great diligence in the capture of elephants and still continue to do so, must be protected from any ill-treatment on the part of the Adigar or any of the officers at Manaar or elsewhere, in order that they may not be discouraged and lose their interest in the work, which would be prejudicial to the Company. The price paid by the Company for each elephant is stated in a document forwarded by His Excellency van Mydregt to Jaffnapatam bearing date April 3, 1690. (5)Ponneryn is the third Province from where elephants should be obtained if all be well, because formerly when this Province was ruled by an Adigar or Lieutenant-Dessave appointed by the Company, like the Provinces Ilipoecarwe, Polweramcattoe, and Mantotte, no less than 25aliason an average were obtained from there yearly, for which purpose two kraals had been made. In 1690 this practice was changed, because His Excellency van Mydregt, by decree of March 2 of the same year, granted the revenue of Ponneryn to the young Don Gaspar, and those of the other two Provinces to the old Don Gaspar, on condition that the former should, as Master of the Hunt, see that all the elephants which were found there were captured and sent down on account of the Company; for which purpose 145 hunters and their Manigares were placed under his command. The project for which this arrangement was made, however, proved to be illusory, for no more than 74 elephants were delivered by the Master of the Hunt in 7 years’ time, while according to the previous account 175 animals ought to have been delivered. This means a loss to the Company of 101 elephants during the same period, besides the tithes of the harvest for these three Provinces, while, moreover, we had to continually hear complaints from the inhabitants of maltreatment on the part of the said Wannias, as happened again lately when the Dessave De Bitter visited Ponneryn.They are not satisfied with the revenues mentioned above, but consider themselves rulers over the inhabitants, which was never meant by His Excellency van Mydregt, and they were always prevented from asserting themselves as such, as may be seen from a report by Commandeur Blom on Jaffnapatam, submitted to His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo on August 28, 1692. About a year after the issue of the deeds of gift of the tithes, His Excellency proposed to change this practice again, and in a document of March 29, 1693, he repeated this proposal, saying that he had already given orders for a general elephant hunt on account of the Company in the said Provinces, in which both the hunters and the inhabitants were to take part. Why this order was not carried out I cannot say; but I know that already, within six months after the issue of the deeds of gift, he noticed that both these Don Gaspars had been favoured too much. This may be seen from a letter from His Excellency dated July 4, 1690, to Jaffnapatam. For these various reasons I have recommended that the form of government in the Wanni should be changed, as would appear in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695. Many more reasons might be brought forward, but it would be trouble in vain. I therefore recommend Your Honours to strictly follow the orders of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo as contained in their letters of October 13 and November 21, 1696, in favour of the said Wannias, because Messrs. van Kuilen and Petitfilz, who were commissioned to investigate this matter, declared that the inhabitants on the borders of the Wanni are quite content and well satisfied. There is no use therefore in our saying anything, although my experience and that of the Dessave have proved quite the contrary. I cannot help for this reason making a speculative calculation of the amount which the Company has lost since the conquest of this territory by the non-payment of tributes and arrears in the Wanni and Ponneryn. If each animal be calculated on an average to be sold at Rds. 350, or 1,050 Florins, as may be considered to be the case, the amount would be:—Fl.For 1680 discharged from the delivery of 313 alias: estimated price328,650For 1694 discharged from the delivery of 18½ alias19,425For present arrears73,500For arrears over 7 years in Ponneryn106,050Total527,625This then is the loss the Company has suffered through the Wannias, besides the many annoyances and indirect losses through the inhabitants and the subjects in Jaffnapatam, which might be pointed out, but which I will not do here for the reasons stated above. (6)The trade here is not very important and does not amount to much, except that in elephants, which was renewed chiefly by His Excellency van Mydregt since 1689; because the merchants from Golconda and Tansjouwer8had neglected this trade for some years, having driven up the prices by bidding against each other at the public auctions. The endeavour to interest them again in this trade has been successful; the more so because the price for tuskers and elephants without tusks, as also for that of infirm animals has been limited and regulated in the letter of April 3, 1690, often previously referred to. The principal people in Golconda address their payment orders to Philip Sangere Pulle or the Brahmin Timmersa, whom they have chosen as their agents, while the Company employs them as brokers in this trade. This is found to save much trouble in the distribution and selling of the animals and in feeding and transporting them when sold, because these brokers procure the provisions and vessels, giving an account to the merchants. This course was followed from the time the Company took possession of this territory up to 1696, but Sangere Pulle died in 1695, and the Brahmin Timmersa has been discharged from his office, because His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo gave instructions, in their letter of August 23 last, that the trade in elephants with the Moors at Golconda should be carried on in future without any agents or brokers. This office was accordingly taken off the trade accounts in compliance with the said order, after the accounts with the merchants and between them and the agents had been settled. This has brought about a great change, as may be seen from the resolutions of December 17 of the same year, where it is stated that these people intended to give up the trade for the reasons just mentioned, as is known to Your Honours; but it is to be hoped that this new Ordinance which was issued without communication with, or advice from, the Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, may not have the serious effects which are feared. Your Honours are also aware with how much bickering, cavilling, dispute, and vexation, the trade in elephants was kept up last year, so that about 161 animals were sold on behalf of the Company for the sumof Rds. 53,357. It is to be hoped that the sale will increase; but I must seriously advise Your Honours to strictly adhere to the above-mentioned rule, although it was made without my advice or opinion being asked; unless their Excellencies at Batavia should not agree with the view of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo and send other orders.Besides the trade in elephants the Company deals here only in pepper, about 40,000 or 50,000 lb. of which is sold yearly; some copper,spiaulter,9a little pewter, a small quantity of powdered sugar, about 300 or 350 ammunams of Ceylon areca-nut, which are sold to the inhabitants, and a few other articles of little importance which are sold to the Company’s Dutch servants, amounting altogether to no more than Rds. 7,000 or 9,000 a year. Several endeavours have been made to extend the trade, and an effort was made to introduce here the linen manufacture from Tutucorin and Coromandel, but so far without success, as may be seen from the minutes of the meeting of the Council of Ceylon of January 22, 1695, where I brought forward several questions with regard to this matter. It was proposed there to allow private persons in Jaffnapatam to carry on a trade in cloth on the payment of 20 per cent. duty, which proposal was approved by Their Excellencies at Batavia by their letter of December 12 of the same year, but this subject will be treated of under the head of Leases. Considering further means of extending the Company’s trade, it struck me that Jaffnapatam was not only better situated than Calpetty for the areca-nut trade with Coromandel, but also that the roads through the Wanni to the Sinhalese areca-nut forests are very good, so that the nuts could be transported from there inBoyados.10In our letter of October 26, 1694, to Colombo, I proposed that this should be done, which proposal was referred by His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo to Their Excellencies at Batavia. In their letter of December 12, 1695, our Supreme Government expressed themselves in favour of this proposal, but in a later letter of July 3, 1696, this was cancelled, although it is beyond doubt that this way of transport of the areca-nut would be more advantageous to the Company. This may be seen from the fact that the Portuguese, when they were here, followed the same practise, and with good success as I was told. I will now leave the subject of areca-nut and revert to that ofelephants. Many of these animals have been left here after the last sale in 1696, because the purchasers were afraid of meeting with a north wind on their voyage. Many vessels will be required to transport not only these animals but also those that will be sold during the next southern season. There being no agent now, the purchasers will have to look out for themselves. And it will be necessary for Your Honours to give them all possible assistance in order that they may not be entirely discouraged and give up this trade. Your Honours must also inquire whether any suitable vessels are to be procured here which could be sent to Colombo or Galle in March or April, for the transport from there of the Company’s elephants fit for sale: in compliance with the proposals contained in the correspondence between Colombo and Jaffnapatam of April 13 and July 11, 1695, and especially with the orders from Their Excellencies at Batavia in their letter of July 3, 1696, wherein this course was highly approved. The fare for these private vessels is far less than the expenditure the Company is put to when its own vessels are used to transport the elephants from Galle round about Ceylon to Cougature. If the latter course has to be followed, care must be taken that the animals are carefully landed at Manaar, in order that they may be fit to be transported further by land to the place of their destination. It will also be necessary to have some more of these animals trained for the hunt; because at present the Company owns only about 6 tame ones, while there should be always about a dozen; not only in order to fetch the elephants from Manaar and to tame the wild animals, but also to assist the Wannias in case they should capture a large number of elephants, when these animals would be useful in the shipping of those sold to the purchasers. This is not a regular practice, but is followed sometimes at their request when any animals are to be shipped which are not sufficiently tamed to be led into the vessels by themselves. Nothing more need be said with regard to the elephants, except that there are about 6 animals in the stables besides the 6 for the hunt mentioned above. It is to be hoped that this number will soon be considerably increased, and the prices must be regulated according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of January 16, 1696, and in compliance with the decision arrived at on certain questions brought forward by the late Commandeur Blom in the Council of Ceylon on February 17, 1692, and agreed upon on February 19 following; while also, and especially, the instructions from Their Excellencies at Batavia contained in their letter of January 4, 1695, must be observed,where they order that no animals are to be sold or sent except for cash payment, so that there may be no difficulty in recovering the amount. (7)The trade with the Moors from Bengal at Jaffnapatam and Galle has been opened by order of the Honourable the Supreme Government of India in terms of their letter of August 20, 1694. It is expected that the trade with the Moors will greatly benefit this country, because the inhabitants here are continually in want of grain and victuals, which are imported by the Moors. Some years ago, when food was very scarce in Coromandel, the English at Madraspatnam stopped the Moorish vessels on their way hither, and bought up all their rice, which was a great loss to Jaffnapatam. If the Moors could be induced to come here in future with their rice, butter, sugar, cadjang,11&c., which are always very much in demand, it must be seen that they are fairly dealt with, and not discouraged from coming to this country. Perhaps they also would buy some elephants if it happened that the Company had too many, or if too few purchasers should arrive here from Golconda. But if the demand for these animals at Golconda continues as it has done for the last few years, we would not need the aid of the Bengal Moors in this matter, although in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia they may be accommodated with a few elephants if they urgently request them. It is the intention besides to sell to them the Ceylon areca-nut; as we cannot as yet transport it through the Wanni, His Excellency the Governor and the Council at Colombo must see that the areca-nut from Calpetty or Trincomalee is sent here, in compliance with the instructions of Their Excellencies at Batavia as contained in their letter of July 3, 1696. Your Honours must therefore send in the orders in due time if the Moors continue to come here, because we cannot sell to them theChiankos,12it being the intention of Their Honours at Batavia, according to their letters of January 4 and February 12, 1695, that this sea-product should be chiefly transported to Bengal on behalf of the Company. On the other hand the diving forChiankosat Manaar is of so little importance that it is hardly worth while mentioning here, and they are also very small, so that it is not likely that the Moors would be willing to pay 12 pagodas aCour, as was ordered in a letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of March 23, 1695. With regard to the further restrictions put upon thetrade with the Moors, Your Honours must observe the instructions contained in the letter of January 4, 1695. (8)The inhabitants of this territory, who are really a perverse race, are far too numerous to be maintained by the produce of this Commandement. This had been expected at the beginning of the Company’s rule, when the late Commandeur, Anthony Paviljoen, stated in his Instructions that there were about 120,000 subjects. How much worse must this be now, when, as shown by the last Census, there were of the people known alone, 169,299 subjects here and in Manaar. I think there would be far more if all those who hide themselves in order to escape from taxes and servitude be included. All these inhabitants are divided into 40 different castes, which are described in the Thombo, so that I will not name them here, as this would involve too much prolixity, especially if I should state what kind of services, impositions, &c., each one is liable to. All this I imagine to be well known to Your Honours; because the late Mr. Blom had given a detailed and accurate account of these matters in his report of August 20, 1692, and I could only re-write what has been already described by others; I therefore refer to the said manuscript, where, besides this subject, much information may be found with regard to other matters concerning Jaffnapatam. In the same document is also found a comparison between the revenue of the Commandement, with the taxes and duty it has to render to the Company, in the payment of which it has been greatly met by the Honourable the Supreme Government of India as will be shown below. In order to prevent any misapprehension during my absence, I will state here the amount of the income of the Company during the last year, viz., from September 1, 1695, to the end of August, 1696, inclusive, viz.:—Rds.Rent from lands, trees, and gardens16,348.3.4¾Tithes8,632.7.3¾Poll tax5,998.1.0Officie865.2.0Adigary1,178.3.0½Total33,020.10.2Revenue of Manaar879.10.233,900.9.013From this amount of Rds. 33,020.10.2 the following expenditure must be deducted, viz.:—Rds.Payment of 216 Majoraals at Rds. 2 each432.0.0Payment of 218 Cayaals at Rd. 1 each218.0.0Payment of 8 tax collectors320.3.7¾Payment of 8Sarraafs14or Accountants32.3.0½For elephants delivered in lieu of poll tax and land rent by the tamekares to the value of373.4.0½Total1,375.8.1¼15So that Jaffnapatam had from this a clear revenue of Rds. 31,645.2.3/9 last year, which is the second in importance of the sources of revenue which the Company derives from this Commandement, besides the profit on the sale of elephants. So far the land rents have only been calculated in the Mallabaar books. We had therefore to depend entirely on the native officers who were employed in this work and had to translate the accounts; but the Hon. the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Mr. Laurens Pyl, when he was Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, very wisely introduced the practice of having all the fields, trees, houses, and gardens of the inhabitants indicated on maps, and of estimating the impositions of the tithes, and thus compiling a Dutch instead of the Mallabaar Thombo. Because, when a description was made in Mallabaar, in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia in 1675 and 1677, the yearly revenue of the Company increased by no less than Rds. 12,204 and 17/40 fanams. But as the natives were not supposed to have done the work satisfactorily, it was again undertaken by a committee of Dutch surveyors, who, however, wrote a great deal but did not start the work in the right way, and it was never properly completed.The new description of lands had however become so urgently necessary that His Excellency the Commissioner-General left orders that this work should be started afresh, ignoring what had been done already. During the government of Commandeur Blom this work was commenced again, some soldiers who were qualified surveyors being employed init, as well as suchCannecappuls16as were required by the Thombo-keeper to do the writing, while one of the surveyors prepared the maps of the fields which had been surveyed. This was done with a view to obtain a plan of each particular field and thus recover the proper rents, and also to fix the boundaries between the different properties. Maps are also being prepared of eachAldeaor village and each Province, of which our authorities in the Fatherland desire to receive a copy as stated in their letter to Batavia of August 27, 1694, which copies must be prepared. On my arrival here from Batavia in 1694, the Thombo-keeper, Pieter Bolscho, pointed out to me that this description of land was again unsatisfactory, and that it would not serve its purpose, as stated by me in the Annual Compendiums of November 30, 1694 and 1695. It was therefore necessary to have this work done for the third time, and to measure again all the lands which had been surveyed already. This time a scheme was drawn up with the help of the said Mr. Bolscho, and the work has succeeded so well that the Province of Walligamme, which alone extends over about half of this territory, has been completely surveyed, and will from the last of August yield an increase of revenue of Rds. 1,509.5.23 or Fl. 4,527.3.4 yearly. I have already written and sent out the bills, as a warning to the people to prepare for the payment, and the tax collectors are responsible for the recovery of the amount; so that the small expenditure of this new description will be recouped, and the inhabitants have no cause of complaint, because they are only asked to pay their due to the lord of the land as they ought to have done long ago. There is also to be recovered an amount of Rds. 500.2.5 for some small pieces of land which were sold on behalf of the Company in 1695 in the village of Copay, which no one appears to have demanded, because I was in Colombo and the Dessave in Negapatam at the time. This must be done now, especially as the expenditure of the new description of lands has, by order of Their Honours contained in the general resolutions of October 4, 1694, been written off the general revenue, to which must therefore be now transferred the amount gained thereby, as also the sum of Rds. 288.7 which has been received by the survey of some lands in Sjeroepittie, Wallalay, and Nierwely, which were occupied and cultivated by the inhabitants, but for which they did not pay any rent while we had the old Thombo, and which we left to them for payment as they had cultivated them. This was in compliance with the instructions contained in the reply to our letter to Colombo ofAugust 22, 1695, received December 15 following. If any one among you should not quite understand this new description of lands, he may find it useful to read certain instructions left by Governor Laurens Pyl with regard to this subject on February 1, 1679, for the Committee appointed to do this work, which instructions must be still observed so far as they are applicable to the present circumstances. Your Honours will most likely be aware also of the extensive Memoir compiled on my orders by the said Mr. Bolscho, and submitted to the Council on December 15, 1696, and of the reply thereto, as also of the report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692, on the same subject, to which documents I here refer. The surveyors are at present at work in the Province of Waddemoraatsche, where they have with them two Mudaliyars, in order to settle small differences which might arise among the inhabitants when their lands are being surveyed. The Mudaliyars act as arbitrators in the presence of the Majoraals of the villages, but important matters must be brought before the Dessave, to be disposed of by him or by the Court of Justice or the Civil Court according to the importance of the case. The Dessave must see that the Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, receives all the assistance he requires, and also that the natives who have to serve him in this work are kept in obedience, in order that he may not be discouraged and lose the zeal he has shown so far in the service of the Company in this difficult work. Once this work is completed it will not be required to be done again, and we will be able then to prepare separate lists not only of each Province, but also of each village; so that at any time the credits or the debits of each tax collector may be seen. (9)The tithes are a tax levied on the harvest, and are paid in money. Last year it amounted to the sum of Rds. 8,632.7.3¾, as shown in the above account, and treated of at length in the report of August 20, 1692. I need not therefore dilate on this subject, and only wish to state that I do not agree with the concluding portion of that report, where it is stated that this tax is too heavy, and might be reduced to half the amount as requested by the inhabitants, for which many reasons are givenproandcon. I think that it can be proved sufficiently that the inhabitants are able to easily pay this imposition of the tithes; not only because they have never complained against it since the year 1690 during the stay of His Excellency van Mydregt, when they knew His Excellency had the power to grant their request without waiting for further instructions. On that occasion the people of Jaffnapatam tried every means of obtaining their wish, but it may be proved that since that time they have become more prosperous—a subject which may be dealt with perhaps later on. That the payment of the saidtithes cannot be very difficult for them is proved by the fact that if half of the amount, viz., Rds. 4,316, be divided over the total number of inhabitants, the rate for each individual amounts to but very little. It is stated as a fact that the rich people possess the largest number of fields, but this shows that they do not need a reduction of the tithes. (10)Besides these tithes, one-tenth is also paid for the forests, mud lands, &c., which have been granted for cultivation by the successive Dessaves to different persons with the promise of exemption from any impositions for a period of 3, 4, 6, or more years; on the expiry of this period taxes must be paid. As I think that the Majoraals do not look after these matters sufficiently well, and do not give notice in time, the Dessave will have to investigate the matter and see that the tenth of the harvest is brought to the Company’s stores, especially because the natives do not hesitate to steal or keep back their dues if they are not kept constantly in fear of punishment.The poll tax, shown above to amount to the sum of Rds. 5,998.1, is of quite a different nature, because the rich and the poor pay exactly the same rate. His Excellency van Mydregt on February 28, 1690, caused a decree to be issued, by which all the inhabitants were exempted from the increase of poll tax which they had had to pay since the year 1675, and which amounted on an average to from Rds. 10 to 110. But this exemption was only for the period of ten years, and would have expired therefore in 1699, if the Honourable the Supreme Government of India had not in a spirit of benevolence decided by their letter to Ceylon of December 12, 1695, to make the reduction a permanent one. This was made known to the inhabitants of this Island on November 8 following. They showed themselves very grateful for this generosity; but this must be considered sufficient for the present, and they have not much reason now to insist upon a decrease of the tithes also. The time for a renovation of the Head Thombo, which has to be done every three years, has again arrived, and theOndercoopmanand Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, and theOndercoopman, Mr. Roos, were sent on circuit on November 19, 1696, in order to carry out this work. The names of the old and infirm people and those who have died must be taken off the list, and the names of the youths who have passed from the schools must be entered, in order that those who oweOelyservice may be known. It would also be useful if the Dessave were occasionally present at this revision when his other duties do not interfere with it, because an acquaintance with this work is very desirable in aland regent. This new Head Thombo must be completed by the end of next August, in order that the poll tax and the fines for failure of performingOely services, calledChicosmoney, may be included in the Trade Accounts for each year, as arranged by me. (11)TheOfficie Geldenhave also been described at length in the often cited report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692. It is stated there how these were first levied, as also how they were raised by the Portuguese, and how they were paid during the rule of the Company. Some of the castes had besides requested to be exempted from the payment of these dues, and it is shown how this had been refused. Last year the aggregate of this tax did not amount to more than Rds. 865.2. It is also spoken of in the Memoir of the Thombo-keeper, Piet Christiaansz Bolscho, which was presented to the Council on October 20, 1696, and the approval of which was conveyed by the letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of November 16 following. The instructions contained in this Memoir with regard to theOfficie Geldenmust still be observed, the chief point being that they must be demanded for each individual and not in the aggregate for the caste as a whole, as it has been done thus far, so that the Majoraals and tax collectors had an opportunity of appropriating a great part of the amount, which could never be exactly calculated. That they could do this easily may be understood when it is considered that most of the castes have increased in number, while the Company has received no more than the lump sum due by each caste. Knowing the covetousness and avarice of the tax collectors and Majoraals, it could hardly be expected that they would excuse any one from the payment; they must, on the contrary, have demanded the money from each person and appropriated the surplus collected by the increase in the number of people in each caste. Your Honours must therefore take note of the matter, and the newly compiled lists must show at a glance how much each aldea or parish owes; and as the payment of this tax will be fairly distributed, no one will be wronged, and the Company will receive its dues. (12)TheAdigaryamounted last year to Rds. 1,178.3½. It is paid, like theOfficie Gelden, by every person without distinction, but the only castes which pay it are the Bellales, the Chandes, and the Tannatare. It dates from the time of the heathen kings, who used to rule the country through Adigars, who were appointed over the different Provinces, and the same method was followed by the Portuguese. These Adigars were not paid by the king, but the inhabitants had to furnish them with victuals. This was changed in the course of time by their having to contribute to the payment of the Adigar, which did not exceed one fanam for each person. Although the Company, which at first followed the same practice, later on abolished this office, except in the districts of Mantotte andPonneryn, yet this imposition of theAdigaryremained in force on the same castes and is still paid by them. No one however complains of it, but on the contrary, they consider themselves to be the three oldest castes, and look upon it as a mark of distinction and honour conferred on them above the other castes, thinking that only they are worthy to contribute to the maintenance of the king’s Adigars. It is looked upon in the same light by some other castes who consider themselves equal to these three, such as the Maddapallys, Agambadys, Paradeesys, &c. I think, therefore, that the Company could put this point of honour to advantage and levy this tax from many other wealthy castes, who would gladly out of jealousy allow the Adigary to be levied on them; but this is mentioned here onlyen passantas a suggestion for the consideration of wiser heads. (13)TheOelyservice has, like theOfficie Gelden, been described in detail by the late Mr. Blom in his report of August 20, 1692, so that I need not expand on this subject here. It may be seen from the document just mentioned what castes up to this time have been obliged to perform this service and how many men have to attend daily, as also how they are classified. The same rules are still observed, but, as I noticed during my residence, these people are very lazy in the performance of their servitudes, although they are only required to attend three days in every three months, or twelve days in a whole year. I think this may be considered as a sign of their increased prosperity; because they seem to find the means for paying their fines for non-attendance without any trouble. This fine is only 2 Dutch stivers for each day, or 1 rix-dollar for the twelve days in a year for each person, and the account for the year 1695 shows that on the 24,021 men Rds. 2,001.9 were paid in fines, and for the year 1696 for eight months (January to August) a sum of Rds. 1,053.9 for 12,640 men; so that the Company during the period of 20 months had to lose the daily labour of 36,661 men. It is therefore to be expected that the works have been considerably delayed at the Castle, in the loading and unloading of the vessels, at the wharf, at the gunpowder mill, at the brick-kiln at Point Pedro, in the burning of lime and the felling of wood on the borders of the Wanni, the digging and breaking of coral stones on the islands, the burning of coals for the smith’s shop, &c. I therefore think that the said Sicos17money ought to be doubled, so that they would have to pay 1 fanam instead of 2 stivers for each day’s absence; because I do not think this must be consideredas a tax levied on the inhabitants, but as a fine and punishment imposed for negligence and as a means to make them perform the necessary labour in order to prevent delay. But, as these my Instructions are to be revised by His Excellency the Governor at Colombo, Your Honours will no doubt receive orders from him, I not being authorized to issue them. The reason why the last account of theSicosruns only over eight months instead of as usual over a year is that I specially ordered this to be done because the account used to run from the beginning to the end of each year, while the Trade Accounts were closed on the last day of August, which formerly closed on the last day of February, which was always a source of confusion. In order to correct this I ordered the account of theSicosto be made up for the last eight months only. Meantime Your Honours must not fail to see that these amounts are collected on behalf of the Company, because out of it only Rds. 180 has been received for Patchelepalle for 1695; so that out of the above-mentioned amount for the last 20 months the sum of Rds. 2,975.1 is still due to the Company. Besides the usualCaltementosreceived by the Collectors as a compensation for the loss they suffer on account of those persons who died or disappeared since the last revision of the Thombo, Your Honour must also keep in mind that a small amount is to be paid yet towards theSicosfor 1693. The whole of the amount was Rds. 993.7, and the greater part was received during my time. I do not know why this was not collected before; perhaps it was due to the departure of the late Mr. Blom to the pearl fishery in 1699, and his death soon thereafter.18Because, when I arrived in December of the same year from Batavia, I found matters in Jaffnapatam very much in the same condition in which they were on my return from Colombo last August, namely, many necessary things had been neglected and there was great confusion. I will not enter into details over the matter here, as I am not writing with direct reference to them. We will return now to the subject of theOelyservice, with regard to which I have merely to add that it must be seen that the old and infirm people, who are exempted from this servitude in the new Thombo, do not fail to deliver such mats andpannegay19kernels for coals for the smith’s shop, as they are bound to according to the customs of the country; because, although this is only a small matter, yet these things come in very handy for the storehouses, vessels, pearl fishery, &c., while otherwise money would haveto be spent on these mats, an expenditure which could be thus avoided. (14)The tax collectors and Majoraals are native officers appointed by the Company to demand and collect the poll tax, land rent, tithes, and theOfficieandAdigaryrates which I have treated of above. They also see that the natives perform such servitudes as they owe to the lord of the land, and collect theSicosmoney to which I have referred, levied for neglect in attending forOelyservice. The expenditure in the appointment of these native officers is very small, as may be seen from the foregoing account, considering that these Collectors and Majoraals have to attend once in three months, or four times a year, at the Castle to hand over one-fourth of the full amount of the taxes for the year; so that the revenue is usually received at the closing of the accounts. As this practice has proved to be successful, the same course must be followed in future. I would wish at the same time to point out here that the facility with which these taxes are collected in Jaffnapatam is another evidence of the improved condition of the inhabitants. In the year 1690 a change was made in the appointment of the Collectors and Majoraals. Up to that time all these and many of the Cannecappuls, Arachchies, &c., belonged to one caste, viz., that of the Bellales, being the farmers or peasants. The principal of these belong to the family of Don Philip Sangerepulle, from Cannengray, a native of evil repute; so much so, that His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Laurens Pyl, who was at the time Governor of Ceylon, issued an order on June 16, 1687, by which Commandeur Cornelis van der Duyn and his Council were instructed to have the said Don Philip and several of his followers and accomplices put in chains and sent to Colombo. He succeeded, however, in concealing himself and eventually fled to Nagapatam, where he managed to influence the merchant Babba Porboe to such an extent that through his aid he obtained during the years 1689 and 1690 all the advantages he desired for his caste and for his followers. This went so far as to the appointment of even schoolboys as Majoraals and Cayaals from the time they left school. His late Excellency van Mydregt, who had great confidence in the said Babba, was somewhat misled by him, but was informed of the fact by certain private letters from the late Commandeur Blom during His Excellency’s residence at Tutucorin. His Excellency then authorized Mr. Blom on July 4, 1690, to at once make such changes as would be necessary, under the pretext that some of the Majoraals were not provided yet with proper acts of appointment issued by His Excellency. This may also be seen in the answer to some points brought before His Excellency by Mr. Blom on October20. These replies bear date November 29 following. Finding, however, on my arrival from Batavia, that these appointments were still reserved for the Bellales, through the influence of a certain Moddely Tamby, who had formerly been a betel carrier to Sangerepulle, later on a private servant of Babba Porboe, and last of all Cannecappul to the Commandeur, and another Cannecappul, also of the Bellale caste and a first cousin of the said Sangerepulle, of the name of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga Mudaliyar, I brought this difficulty before my Governor His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Thomas van Rhee, on my visit to Colombo in the beginning of 1698. He verbally authorized me to make the necessary changes, that so many thousands of people should no longer suffer by the oppression of the Bellales, who are very proud and despise all other castes, and who had become so powerful that they were able not only to worry and harass the poor people, but also to prevent them from submitting their complaints to the authorities. Already in the years 1673 and 1675 orders had been given that the Collectors should be transferred every three years; because by their holding office for many years in the same Province they obtained a certain amount of influence and authority over the inhabitants, which would have enabled them to take advantage of them; and it has always been a rule here not to restrict the appointment to these offices to the Bellales, but to employ the Maddapallys and other castes as well, to serve as a counter-acting influence; because by this means the inhabitants were kept in peace, and through the jealousy of the various castes the ruler was always in a position to know what was going on in the country. All these reasons induced His Excellency Thomas van Rhee to give me leave to bring about the necessary changes, which have now been introduced. I appointed the Collector of Waddemoraatje as my Cannecappul in the place of Moddely Tamby, whose place I filled with the new Collector of the Maddapally caste, while also a new Collector was appointed for Timmoraatsche in the place of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga, whom the late Mr. Blom had discharged from his office as Cannecappul of the Gate; because no two Bellales are allowed to hold office in one place. He agreed with me on this point, as may be seen from his report of August 20, 1692. I have further transferred two Collectors in the large Province of Wallegamo, so as to gradually bring about the desired change in the interest of the Company and that of the other castes; but I heard that this small change created so much disturbance and canvassing that I had to leave the matter alone. The Bellales, seeing that they would be shut out from these profitable offices and that they would lose theinfluence they possessed so far, and being the largest in number and the wealthiest of the people, moved heaven and earth to put a stop to the carrying into effect of this plan so prejudicial to their interests. With this view they also joined the Wannias Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar in their conspiracies. The latter two, also Bellales, well aware that they owed many elephants to the Company, as stated at the beginning of this Memoir, and knowing that their turn would also come, organized the riots in which the said Moddely Tamby was the principal instrument. He was a man who first appeared as a rebel, on the plea that, having been prosecuted by the Fiscaal for many offences, he had been injured by a long imprisonment and that this induced him to take revenge, these same two Wannias having been then the first accusers who came to me complaining against this man in the latter part of 1694. Perhaps later on they considered the great assistance they received from him during the time of Babba Porboe in obtaining the various privileges and favours. They also probably understood that it was my intention to diminish the influence of the Bellale caste, and were thus induced to take this course to promote the welfare of their caste. I think that it was also out of their conspiracies that the riots arose from which this Commandement suffered during my absence in the months of May, June, and July. I cannot account for them in any other way, as I have stated previously when treating of the Wanni. I am obliged to repeat this here, in order that Your Honours may be on your guard and watch the movements, alliances, and associations of these Bellales and the Majoraals of the Wanni; because although I may have persisted in bringing about the desired changes, I preferred to leave the matter alone, seeing how much annoyance this first attempt caused me, and how the obsequious subjects of this Commandement are not only given audience in Colombo, but are also upheld against their local ruler, whose explanation is not only not asked for, but who is even prevented from defending the interests of the Company at the place he had a right to do. I will, however, drop this subject, although a great deal more might be said, because I consider it will be useless to do so. I only advise Your Honours not to make the slightest alteration in the appointment of the native officers during my residence at Mallabaar, but to leave them for the present in the state in which they wish so much to remain, as this is a matter within the province of the Commandeur. Lascoreens and Arachchies with their Canganes may, however, be discharged or appointed according to their merits by the Dessave, in accordance with the instructions of the late Admiral Rycloff van Goens, datedFebruary 26, 1661. In the case, however, of any of the Majoraals,20Cayaals,21Pattangatyns,22Cannecappuls, or Collectors resigning their offices or of being dismissed on account of misconduct, the Dessave will be also authorized to provisionally appoint others in their place without issuing theactens23until my return or until the appointment of another Commandeur in my place, if such be the intention of Their Excellencies at Batavia. Because no provision has been made for such cases, which interrupt the regular course of the administration. (15)It must be also seen that the lower castes observe the rules with regard to their costumes, &c., because I hear that here also corruption has crept in, and that they do not wear their dress in the proper way, do not cut their hair, and do not wear any golden rings in their ears, so that they cannot be distinguished from the caste-people or Gonoradas as they are called, who consider this an insult to them. Aplackaaton this subject was issued by His Excellency Laurens Pyl, Governor of Ceylon, on August 18, 1686. There will be little difficulty in enforcing those rules if the Regent in this Commandement is allowed to assume the authority which is his right, and which he must have if he is to maintain the discipline required to carry on the operations of the Company, for the people of Jaffnapatam are conceited, arrogant, and stubborn. They bring false complaints against their rulers to the higher powers if they find but the least encouragement, while on the other hand they are slavish and cringe under the rod of their rulers so long as they see that their authority is not disputed, but is upheld by the Government. As they were so strictly held down to their duties during the time of the heathen and of the Portuguese, not knowing any other but their own immediate ruler, they often do not understand the position of a subordinate ruler in the service of the Company, and are not able to act with discretion when they find a way from an inferior to a superior. It is not in accordance with the natural government to which their ancestors had been accustomed. It must not, however, be supposed that I ignore the fact that the mild government of the Company always leaves a way of appeal for those of its subjects, whoever they may be, when they consider themselves unjustly treated; but I think that on the other hand the Company should likewise allow their chiefs to punish the delinquents before they are permittedto appeal to the higher powers. This I have found is not always observed as regards Jaffnapatam, although it seems to me necessary that it should be if our officers are not in the course of time to become a laughing stock to the people. It is a well-known fact that the more influential natives always try to oppress the poorer classes, and it will be impossible to prevent their doing this if they are allowed to become stronger than they already are.
It has pleased His Excellency Mr. Willem van Outhoorn, Governor-General, and the Honourable the Government of India, to appoint me Commissioner for the Coast of Mallabaar, and to require me to compile before my departure from here a Memoir or Instructions for the guidance of the Council, stating therein how the affairs of the Company are to be conducted during my absence, which Memoir is to be handed to the said Council after having been submitted to His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon and the Council of Colombo for revision, amplification, and alteration where necessary, as may be seen from the letter of May 23 last, from Their Excellencies at Batavia, sent here by the ship “De stad Leyden.”In compliance with this esteemed order I compile this Paper, although I am aware that you are all persons who have served the Company for a greater or smaller number of years, and that you must have had ample opportunity to obtain a knowledge of all matters concerning the Company.Moreover, during the last 38 years which the Company has been in the absolute possession of this territory, many papers have been written with regard to Jaffnapatam which are always accessible to the members of the Political Council at the Secretariate, so that I take it for granted that, in addition to your daily experience, you have obtained a sufficient knowledge of these matters from these documents; because among these are to be found descriptions of whatever is necessary to give the reader a clear idea of all that is required in the Company’s service, and they having been written by wise and circumspect men, some more and others less in detail. I am, therefore, sure that everything that is necessary will be found if carefully looked for.I will not, for this reason, enter into detail in respect of the manner the Company took possession of this territory, or of the advantages that may be found here both for the inhabitants and for the Company; nor what compulsory services are demanded from the subjects in Jaffnapatam, and the number of castes into which they are divided and under which they are registered; nor will I specify here the licenses for navigation and trade which have been given to them, nor the changes which have taken place in the course of time with regard to these and many other matters not stated here.Because, if I were to relate all these matters from the very beginning, I would have to write several volumes instead of a few sheets of paper. And this I do not intend to do, as I wish to be as brief as possible.Moreover, sufficient information may be found in the documents preserved at the Secretariate, which it would be well if Your Honours would make yourselves familiar with. We must be always prepared to take upon ourselves higher and more difficult posts whenever called upon, and in so preparing ourselves we avoid confusion, and the Company would never be in want of capable servants.I have no doubt you will all see the truth of what I say, yet, in order the more clearly to convey the force of my suggestion, I will specify here some of the documents which I consider it particularly useful to obtain a general insight of.With regard to Jaffnapatam, I know of no better documents than the Instructions compiled by Admiral Ryclof van Goens, Mr. Anthony Paviljoen, and the Hon. Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India at Batavia, left for this Commandement respectively on September 30, 1658, December 12, 1659, July 26, 1661, December 19, 1665, and October 7, 1679, the latter1having been inserted in the General Instructions left by His Excellency Ryclof van Goens, junior, on his departure on October 3 of the same year, to take up the Governorship of Ceylon. The directions in these Papers must be followed so far as change of time and circumstances will permit. I could not avoid mentioning these before entering into further details.It was the more necessary because so many observances, customs, institutions, and singular methods of action are to be met with in Jaffnapatam which are not found anywhere else or among any other subjects of the Company, and also because they cannot be discovered or understood without careful investigation and only in process of time. Thus, although the most important matters have been successively treated ofin the service of the Company, yet all the necessary information cannot be brought together here, and such a detailed description would be beyond the purpose of ordinary instructions. I will therefore only touch upon such matters as will be unavoidable under the present circumstances.The mode of government during my absence will be the first point to be decided upon; because formerly the Dessave, as second in the Commandement, used to be appointed to preside, as may be seen in the yearly Memoirs of Commandeur Floris Blom, left by him when he had to travel beyond the Commandement; with the only restriction that the Dessave was not to pass any orders for the warehouses, the Treasury, workshops, &c., which were left to the Administrator, although the Dessave was more often present within the Castle. Later on, in the year 1694, on the death of the same Commandeur Blom of blessed memory, the government of the whole of this Commandement was entrusted to the Political Council by order of the Hon. Thomas van Rhee, Councillor of India and Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo. The government was then divided, and the authority limited, and rules were laid down, which may be seen from the letters from Colombo bearing date July 20 and August 23, 1694; but experience has proved that this mode of government was not successful in the best interests of the Company; because the subordinate officers and the subject classes often did not know to whom they had to apply; so that they were sent “from Pontius to Pilatus,” as it is sometimes said; which often caused unnecessary waste of time and delay in the Service. I noticed this to have been the case when I was away from this Commandement from the last of March till about the middle of August this year, on the occasion of my being ordered to Colombo, and the authority distributed according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of March 22. But I noticed later on that the letters from Colombo were addressed to Mr. Rykloff de Bitter as Dessave andSecundeof the Commandement and the other members of the Political Council here; which was done again on October 16, 1696, when it was anticipated that I had already left for Mallabaar by the frigate “De Tamboer.”In the letter from Colombo of April 18 the members of the Council were also recommended to show the said Mr. de Bitter all the respect due to his position as Dessave andSecundein the Commandement; so that it seems His Excellency the Governor and the Council wished to re-introduce the former mode of government during the absence of the Commandeur, seeing that the Company’s affairs cannot be properly conducted by such divided authority. This atleast is my opinion, and I intend to point out that in the absence of the Commandeur the government here ought to be carried on according to the former lines, and consequently the entire administration entrusted to the Dessave, with the assistance of the members of the Political Council; and that he must call the meetings both of the Council and of the Court of Justice, and preside at both; and that he must further sign the orders for the Treasury, the workshop, the arsenal, and even for the warehouses, and in reference to any other of the effects of the Company. This would be in compliance with the Instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of December 5, 1696, where it is said that no orders are to be passed here but by the person in authority. I therefore think that, in the interests of peace and order in this Commandement, the Dessave R. de Bitter should be in authority at such times, especially as I have to be so far away. Besides, he lives just in front of the town, and close by the Castle; so that he is always at hand for those who require his assistance or instruction. But as the Dessave lives outside the fortress, the giving of the watchword, the closing and opening of the gate, and the supervision over the military and their drill, could not very well be delegated to him. This must therefore be left to the Captain as special chief of the Military; unless the Dessave should occasionally remain within the Fort overnight, in which case he will preform those duties. (1)2With a view to prevent the impression being created that I had formally given over this Commandement and entirely transferred the authority, I will leave without making a written transfer of any of the Company’s effects. I merely entrust these to Your Honours’ care and management; but, on the other hand, it must be understood that I do not want to be held responsible for any mistakes you might make during my absence. I therefore, and in order to show that I do not relinquish my authority in the Commandement, but only absent myself during the mission to Mallabaar or until further orders from the Honourable the Government of India are received, Your Honours are recommended to send to me by Manaar and Tutucorin proper advices, and to communicate to me the principal transactions that take place with regard to the Company’s service, in order that I may not be obliged on my return to ask what had transpired or to look up these things in the books. It will be well here to remind Your Honours of the order contained in the Resolution passed bythe Council of India on December 6, 1694, with regard to all Administrators, viz., that they will be held responsible for all cash or articles belonging to the Company which are found missing, and that, if unable to justify themselves, they would have to replace these within two months, or submit to be punished for their offence. (2)Economy is the first matter which I have to recommend to Your Honours, because this is not only constantly urged both from the Fatherland and from Batavia, but also because it is beyond doubt that what is saved in this manner will be pure profit. It must be understood, however, that in using the word economy I mean care in the administration of the Company’s effects, and not a wrong economy. There are officers who take this word in its narrowest sense, and, failing to have the necessary repairs done in proper time in their endeavour to spend as little as possible, create the necessity in the course of time of a complete restoration, while the existing objects might have stood good for a long time with a small timely expenditure. I must therefore recommend Your Honours to read certain letters from the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt,3bearing date July 4, 1690, and addressed to the establishment at Jaffnapatam during his circuit on the coast of Madura. (3)The Wanni is the largest division in this kingdom, and would also be the most profitable to the Company if matters went on as they ought to. It is from there that we have to obtain the elephants which are sold here at considerable profit, as the proceeds of the sale of elephants which are sent here for sale from Galle, Matura, and other places in Ceylon cannot be credited to this Commandement, as the profits are not retained here, but have been so far forwarded to these places. With a view to secure the profits on the elephants which are to be obtained from the Wanni, the Company has divided this large forest and extensive territory into several Provinces, which have been farmed out toMajoraals, known as Wannias, on the condition that they should deliver yearly 42½ alias.4This practice was followed from the time that the Company first established itself here up to the present day, but the results have proved that these Wannias continually fail to deliver the tribute elephants, and it appears in the Instructions of the late Mr. Paviljoen that their arrears in his time were already 74½ alias, when the Company had possessed this territory only 7 or8 years. In the returns for 1680 it will be seen that these arrears had then increased to 313 alias. The whole of this debt was remitted to them, but in 1694 again the arrears went up to 18½ alias, and last year they had come up to 70 animals, namely:Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Konsjeynaar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, for the Provinces of Lanengamo, Paleamblancolam, and Poedicoe 48½ alias; Don Diogo Poevenellemapane Wannia, for the Provinces of Karkattemoele and Meelpattoe 18 alias; Peria Meynaar Oediaar, for the Province of Moeliawalle 3½ alias; total 70 alias.It will therefore be necessary for Your Honours to endeavour to secure as many elephants from these Wannias as possible, both in payment of their arrears and of their present dues. This must be done, with all kindness, and in compliance with the successive orders received from His Excellency van Rhee,5Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo, in order that this profitable trade may be maintained, because there has been no lack of purchasers since the year 1689, as the merchants from Golconda come over every year, and there is a possibility that the Bengal Moors will also come over to purchase elephants now that this passage has been opened. The price to be paid to the Wannias for animals delivered above their tribute has been stated in the letter of the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt of blessed memory, sent here on April 3, 1690, from Tutucorin, while the Honourable the Government of India, in their esteemed letter of December 12, 1691, agreed to pay from 10 to 20 Rds. more for each animal, according to their value. I fear, however, that it will take a long time yet before it will be necessary to make such payment. The Wannia Philip Nellamapane may be allowed to sell every year one elephant on his own account to the Moors, in compliance with the orders of the said Governor and Council at the meeting of May 11, 1696, although Your Honours will find a positive refusal to the request made by him and submitted to His Excellency van Mydregt by Commandeur Floris Blom on October 20. The refusal was made in His Excellency’s answer of November 20. There are two other Wannias to whom the same privilege has been granted, viz., Ambele Wannia and Chedoega Wannia, the former holding the Province of Carnawel pattu, and the latter that of Tinnemerrewaddoe. They obtained this permission because their tribute is of littleimportance compared with that of the other Wannias mentioned above, and because they had paid up their arrears at the closing of the books last August. It seems, however, that they also are not much inclined to deliver any elephants beyond their tribute. Most likely they prefer the tithes which they draw for ruling these Provinces to the payment they would receive from the Company for the delivery of elephants.I will not state here my opinion as to the manner in which people ought to be ruled or as to their behaviour, nor in what way the Company is to expect the largest number of elephants and the greatest profits from the Wanni; because I would then not only have to write too many sheets of paper in doing so, but the subject would be of little use to enlarge upon and only tend to confuse Your Honours in your actions. I could merely advise you to follow the old instructions of being kind and considerate. Meanwhile, however, Your Honours are well aware of my principal views with regard to the Wannias, as expressed in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695, which letter might serve for your guidance; while you might also read the letters exchanged between Colombo and Jaffnapatam during the years 1674 to 1679, as also the resolutions passed with regard to the Wannias during the same period. From the perusal of these documents you will perceive whether or not my opinion of these people is unfounded. Should you require more information with regard to the Wannias and the Majoraals, you will find it in the Journal kept by Commandeur Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India, on his visit to that large forest in 1675 during the months of August to December, and in another Journal written by me in July, 1692, when I accompanied the late Commandeur Floris Blom also on a visit to the Wanni.These Wannias, by birth subjects of the Company and by descent no more than ordinary caste Bellales, have in the course of time become very conceited, and imagine that the title of Wannia is one invested with awe and so important that, although they have received it from the Company, they do not need to respect the Company or those placed in authority here; and they seem to be in doubt whether they ought to show their due obedience by appearing before its officers. It was on this account that His Excellency van Mydregt gave special orders in his reply of November 29, 1690, that one of the Wannias should always stay at the Castle, each taking his turn for three months. Why this order has not been carried out I do not know. Moreover, it appears that Don Philip and his son, the young Don Gaspar, Master of the Hunt in Ponneryn, together with his brother-in-law Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, has gone to Colombo instead of presenting himself here at theCastle, as I had summoned them to do, as may be seen in the ola of January 14, 1696, and in the resolutions of Council of the 16th of the same month. I do not know how they obtained audience, but they were received with even greater honour than they ever received from the Governors or Commandeurs here. This was the first time they ever went to Colombo. Still less am I able to say what transpired between them and the Government of Colombo, because when I was there I was not admitted to the meetings of the Political Council, and was only an eye-witness of the outward show. I do not also know for what reason the said Wannia Majoraals were kept here since their return, and why they were not sent back to their forest for the capture of elephants, unless it was because they acted as adjutants or auxiliaries to theOpperkoopluyden6Jan van Keulen and Pieter Petitfilsz, as I heard that during my absence they acted as Commissioners in this Commandement. Perhaps these matters are better known to Your Honours than to myself, because you were present here at the time. Yet I do not know whether you realize that this action has made these people more conceited than ever, and that they mention it here exultingly. This is proved also by the fact that their arrears have greatly increased since this trip to Colombo, and I have been privately informed that the Master of the Hunt, Don Gaspar Nitcheachaderayen, has, on his own authority and as if he were a sovereign, caused one of the Lascoreens and one of the hunters of his father-in-law, the old Don Gaspar, to be put to death; which has caused great enmity between these two and Don Philip Nellamapane. It is also said that the old Don Gaspar is desirous of revenging himself for this action, so that two people who were such great friends and made such a stir here by going to Colombo have not only become bitter enemies, but by this murder have also given cause for consequences of a serious nature. It will therefore be Your Honours’ duty not only to hold an inquiry with regard to this matter when an opportunity offers, but also to watch the future conduct of these people. In the beginning of 1696 someWaddassen7also entered the lands of the Wannia Don Diogo Poevenellemapane and committed acts of hostility, whereby the brother of Cottapulle Oediaar, cousin of the said Don Diogo, had been killed, because the latter wrote an ola to the Administrator Biermans while I was away at Colombo and the Dessave was commissioned to the pearl fishery. As he complained publicly to both of us in the month of October ofthe same year, saying that this happened for no other reason than because he would not act in collusion with Don Philip Nellamapane or join with the seditious company on their trip to Colombo, knowing that he could find here competent rulers. Chedoegawale Mapane of Tinnemerrewaddoe spoke to the same effect. Amblewanne, whom Your Honours wanted to take his turn of staying here at the Castle, has been prevented from doing so by the severe illness of one of his friends. I am obliged to mention all these particulars here in order that Your Honours may be able to keep an eye on the Wannias and their conduct. I wished to do more in this matter, and would have made an effort to discover and punish the murderers, but I was not in a position to do this because it seems that the Government of Jaffnapatam has no longer any influence in Colombo. This is apparent from the fact that while these Wannias were not only heard, but also treated with great honour, unknown to their ruler, I was even personally insulted by being kept out of the Political Council. I considered it inadvisable on my part to bring any charges against them at that time, and I think it would be for Your Honours to do thus. (4)Mantotte, Moezely, and Pirringaly are just as important to the Company with regard to the capture of elephants as the Wanni; but these Provinces are not under the subaltern rule of any native chief, but are ruled directly by the Company through officers paid by the Company. In Mantotte and Moezely there is an Adigar, paid by the Company, whose work it is to supervise the elephant hunt and the cultivation of the arable fields. For the latter the Company exacts tithes, as from the Wannia Majoraals in the Wanni. The inhabitants of Pirringaly, who were for some time ruled by Wannias, appealed in 1692 to the Commandeur Blom to be relieved of that servitude, and this was granted to them on condition that they yearly delivered to the Wannias 2aliasfor this freedom. Since then they have been ruled by their ownMoete Carresor Masters of the Hunt, which arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory, as may be seen from the Trade Accounts, which show that these people, as well as the hunters of Mantotte, Moezelypattoe, and Setticoulang have delivered a large number of elephants at Manaar, and would have delivered more were it not that a great many animals had died on the way. Further particulars on this subject may be found by Your Honours in a certain report of September 13, 1690, submitted by Commandeur Blom to His Excellency van Mydregt of blessed memory, in the margin of which His Excellency wrote instructions bearing date October 7 of the same year, where you will find the most important particulars as to the troubles on the borders of the Wanni. Your Honoursmay also read a short Memoir by the late Commandeur Anthony Paviljoen, dated July 28, 1662, and addressed to the Adigar of Mantotte. This office is held at present by Dimingo Rodrigues, who was transferred from the same office in Ponneryn by order of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo, as contained in their letter of October 13, 1696. He was sent to Mantotte to take the place of the native Alepander Ananaal, who in the same letter was dismissed from his office, although, as this was done without my knowledge, I am not in a position to state the reason therefor. Some other native officers were likewisedismissedfrom their offices in this Commandement without communication with me, as you may see from my letter to Colombo of October 15, 1696. The hunters in the Provinces of Mantotte, Pirringaly, and Moezely, who, as stated above, have shown great diligence in the capture of elephants and still continue to do so, must be protected from any ill-treatment on the part of the Adigar or any of the officers at Manaar or elsewhere, in order that they may not be discouraged and lose their interest in the work, which would be prejudicial to the Company. The price paid by the Company for each elephant is stated in a document forwarded by His Excellency van Mydregt to Jaffnapatam bearing date April 3, 1690. (5)Ponneryn is the third Province from where elephants should be obtained if all be well, because formerly when this Province was ruled by an Adigar or Lieutenant-Dessave appointed by the Company, like the Provinces Ilipoecarwe, Polweramcattoe, and Mantotte, no less than 25aliason an average were obtained from there yearly, for which purpose two kraals had been made. In 1690 this practice was changed, because His Excellency van Mydregt, by decree of March 2 of the same year, granted the revenue of Ponneryn to the young Don Gaspar, and those of the other two Provinces to the old Don Gaspar, on condition that the former should, as Master of the Hunt, see that all the elephants which were found there were captured and sent down on account of the Company; for which purpose 145 hunters and their Manigares were placed under his command. The project for which this arrangement was made, however, proved to be illusory, for no more than 74 elephants were delivered by the Master of the Hunt in 7 years’ time, while according to the previous account 175 animals ought to have been delivered. This means a loss to the Company of 101 elephants during the same period, besides the tithes of the harvest for these three Provinces, while, moreover, we had to continually hear complaints from the inhabitants of maltreatment on the part of the said Wannias, as happened again lately when the Dessave De Bitter visited Ponneryn.They are not satisfied with the revenues mentioned above, but consider themselves rulers over the inhabitants, which was never meant by His Excellency van Mydregt, and they were always prevented from asserting themselves as such, as may be seen from a report by Commandeur Blom on Jaffnapatam, submitted to His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo on August 28, 1692. About a year after the issue of the deeds of gift of the tithes, His Excellency proposed to change this practice again, and in a document of March 29, 1693, he repeated this proposal, saying that he had already given orders for a general elephant hunt on account of the Company in the said Provinces, in which both the hunters and the inhabitants were to take part. Why this order was not carried out I cannot say; but I know that already, within six months after the issue of the deeds of gift, he noticed that both these Don Gaspars had been favoured too much. This may be seen from a letter from His Excellency dated July 4, 1690, to Jaffnapatam. For these various reasons I have recommended that the form of government in the Wanni should be changed, as would appear in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695. Many more reasons might be brought forward, but it would be trouble in vain. I therefore recommend Your Honours to strictly follow the orders of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo as contained in their letters of October 13 and November 21, 1696, in favour of the said Wannias, because Messrs. van Kuilen and Petitfilz, who were commissioned to investigate this matter, declared that the inhabitants on the borders of the Wanni are quite content and well satisfied. There is no use therefore in our saying anything, although my experience and that of the Dessave have proved quite the contrary. I cannot help for this reason making a speculative calculation of the amount which the Company has lost since the conquest of this territory by the non-payment of tributes and arrears in the Wanni and Ponneryn. If each animal be calculated on an average to be sold at Rds. 350, or 1,050 Florins, as may be considered to be the case, the amount would be:—Fl.For 1680 discharged from the delivery of 313 alias: estimated price328,650For 1694 discharged from the delivery of 18½ alias19,425For present arrears73,500For arrears over 7 years in Ponneryn106,050Total527,625This then is the loss the Company has suffered through the Wannias, besides the many annoyances and indirect losses through the inhabitants and the subjects in Jaffnapatam, which might be pointed out, but which I will not do here for the reasons stated above. (6)The trade here is not very important and does not amount to much, except that in elephants, which was renewed chiefly by His Excellency van Mydregt since 1689; because the merchants from Golconda and Tansjouwer8had neglected this trade for some years, having driven up the prices by bidding against each other at the public auctions. The endeavour to interest them again in this trade has been successful; the more so because the price for tuskers and elephants without tusks, as also for that of infirm animals has been limited and regulated in the letter of April 3, 1690, often previously referred to. The principal people in Golconda address their payment orders to Philip Sangere Pulle or the Brahmin Timmersa, whom they have chosen as their agents, while the Company employs them as brokers in this trade. This is found to save much trouble in the distribution and selling of the animals and in feeding and transporting them when sold, because these brokers procure the provisions and vessels, giving an account to the merchants. This course was followed from the time the Company took possession of this territory up to 1696, but Sangere Pulle died in 1695, and the Brahmin Timmersa has been discharged from his office, because His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo gave instructions, in their letter of August 23 last, that the trade in elephants with the Moors at Golconda should be carried on in future without any agents or brokers. This office was accordingly taken off the trade accounts in compliance with the said order, after the accounts with the merchants and between them and the agents had been settled. This has brought about a great change, as may be seen from the resolutions of December 17 of the same year, where it is stated that these people intended to give up the trade for the reasons just mentioned, as is known to Your Honours; but it is to be hoped that this new Ordinance which was issued without communication with, or advice from, the Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, may not have the serious effects which are feared. Your Honours are also aware with how much bickering, cavilling, dispute, and vexation, the trade in elephants was kept up last year, so that about 161 animals were sold on behalf of the Company for the sumof Rds. 53,357. It is to be hoped that the sale will increase; but I must seriously advise Your Honours to strictly adhere to the above-mentioned rule, although it was made without my advice or opinion being asked; unless their Excellencies at Batavia should not agree with the view of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo and send other orders.Besides the trade in elephants the Company deals here only in pepper, about 40,000 or 50,000 lb. of which is sold yearly; some copper,spiaulter,9a little pewter, a small quantity of powdered sugar, about 300 or 350 ammunams of Ceylon areca-nut, which are sold to the inhabitants, and a few other articles of little importance which are sold to the Company’s Dutch servants, amounting altogether to no more than Rds. 7,000 or 9,000 a year. Several endeavours have been made to extend the trade, and an effort was made to introduce here the linen manufacture from Tutucorin and Coromandel, but so far without success, as may be seen from the minutes of the meeting of the Council of Ceylon of January 22, 1695, where I brought forward several questions with regard to this matter. It was proposed there to allow private persons in Jaffnapatam to carry on a trade in cloth on the payment of 20 per cent. duty, which proposal was approved by Their Excellencies at Batavia by their letter of December 12 of the same year, but this subject will be treated of under the head of Leases. Considering further means of extending the Company’s trade, it struck me that Jaffnapatam was not only better situated than Calpetty for the areca-nut trade with Coromandel, but also that the roads through the Wanni to the Sinhalese areca-nut forests are very good, so that the nuts could be transported from there inBoyados.10In our letter of October 26, 1694, to Colombo, I proposed that this should be done, which proposal was referred by His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo to Their Excellencies at Batavia. In their letter of December 12, 1695, our Supreme Government expressed themselves in favour of this proposal, but in a later letter of July 3, 1696, this was cancelled, although it is beyond doubt that this way of transport of the areca-nut would be more advantageous to the Company. This may be seen from the fact that the Portuguese, when they were here, followed the same practise, and with good success as I was told. I will now leave the subject of areca-nut and revert to that ofelephants. Many of these animals have been left here after the last sale in 1696, because the purchasers were afraid of meeting with a north wind on their voyage. Many vessels will be required to transport not only these animals but also those that will be sold during the next southern season. There being no agent now, the purchasers will have to look out for themselves. And it will be necessary for Your Honours to give them all possible assistance in order that they may not be entirely discouraged and give up this trade. Your Honours must also inquire whether any suitable vessels are to be procured here which could be sent to Colombo or Galle in March or April, for the transport from there of the Company’s elephants fit for sale: in compliance with the proposals contained in the correspondence between Colombo and Jaffnapatam of April 13 and July 11, 1695, and especially with the orders from Their Excellencies at Batavia in their letter of July 3, 1696, wherein this course was highly approved. The fare for these private vessels is far less than the expenditure the Company is put to when its own vessels are used to transport the elephants from Galle round about Ceylon to Cougature. If the latter course has to be followed, care must be taken that the animals are carefully landed at Manaar, in order that they may be fit to be transported further by land to the place of their destination. It will also be necessary to have some more of these animals trained for the hunt; because at present the Company owns only about 6 tame ones, while there should be always about a dozen; not only in order to fetch the elephants from Manaar and to tame the wild animals, but also to assist the Wannias in case they should capture a large number of elephants, when these animals would be useful in the shipping of those sold to the purchasers. This is not a regular practice, but is followed sometimes at their request when any animals are to be shipped which are not sufficiently tamed to be led into the vessels by themselves. Nothing more need be said with regard to the elephants, except that there are about 6 animals in the stables besides the 6 for the hunt mentioned above. It is to be hoped that this number will soon be considerably increased, and the prices must be regulated according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of January 16, 1696, and in compliance with the decision arrived at on certain questions brought forward by the late Commandeur Blom in the Council of Ceylon on February 17, 1692, and agreed upon on February 19 following; while also, and especially, the instructions from Their Excellencies at Batavia contained in their letter of January 4, 1695, must be observed,where they order that no animals are to be sold or sent except for cash payment, so that there may be no difficulty in recovering the amount. (7)The trade with the Moors from Bengal at Jaffnapatam and Galle has been opened by order of the Honourable the Supreme Government of India in terms of their letter of August 20, 1694. It is expected that the trade with the Moors will greatly benefit this country, because the inhabitants here are continually in want of grain and victuals, which are imported by the Moors. Some years ago, when food was very scarce in Coromandel, the English at Madraspatnam stopped the Moorish vessels on their way hither, and bought up all their rice, which was a great loss to Jaffnapatam. If the Moors could be induced to come here in future with their rice, butter, sugar, cadjang,11&c., which are always very much in demand, it must be seen that they are fairly dealt with, and not discouraged from coming to this country. Perhaps they also would buy some elephants if it happened that the Company had too many, or if too few purchasers should arrive here from Golconda. But if the demand for these animals at Golconda continues as it has done for the last few years, we would not need the aid of the Bengal Moors in this matter, although in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia they may be accommodated with a few elephants if they urgently request them. It is the intention besides to sell to them the Ceylon areca-nut; as we cannot as yet transport it through the Wanni, His Excellency the Governor and the Council at Colombo must see that the areca-nut from Calpetty or Trincomalee is sent here, in compliance with the instructions of Their Excellencies at Batavia as contained in their letter of July 3, 1696. Your Honours must therefore send in the orders in due time if the Moors continue to come here, because we cannot sell to them theChiankos,12it being the intention of Their Honours at Batavia, according to their letters of January 4 and February 12, 1695, that this sea-product should be chiefly transported to Bengal on behalf of the Company. On the other hand the diving forChiankosat Manaar is of so little importance that it is hardly worth while mentioning here, and they are also very small, so that it is not likely that the Moors would be willing to pay 12 pagodas aCour, as was ordered in a letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of March 23, 1695. With regard to the further restrictions put upon thetrade with the Moors, Your Honours must observe the instructions contained in the letter of January 4, 1695. (8)The inhabitants of this territory, who are really a perverse race, are far too numerous to be maintained by the produce of this Commandement. This had been expected at the beginning of the Company’s rule, when the late Commandeur, Anthony Paviljoen, stated in his Instructions that there were about 120,000 subjects. How much worse must this be now, when, as shown by the last Census, there were of the people known alone, 169,299 subjects here and in Manaar. I think there would be far more if all those who hide themselves in order to escape from taxes and servitude be included. All these inhabitants are divided into 40 different castes, which are described in the Thombo, so that I will not name them here, as this would involve too much prolixity, especially if I should state what kind of services, impositions, &c., each one is liable to. All this I imagine to be well known to Your Honours; because the late Mr. Blom had given a detailed and accurate account of these matters in his report of August 20, 1692, and I could only re-write what has been already described by others; I therefore refer to the said manuscript, where, besides this subject, much information may be found with regard to other matters concerning Jaffnapatam. In the same document is also found a comparison between the revenue of the Commandement, with the taxes and duty it has to render to the Company, in the payment of which it has been greatly met by the Honourable the Supreme Government of India as will be shown below. In order to prevent any misapprehension during my absence, I will state here the amount of the income of the Company during the last year, viz., from September 1, 1695, to the end of August, 1696, inclusive, viz.:—Rds.Rent from lands, trees, and gardens16,348.3.4¾Tithes8,632.7.3¾Poll tax5,998.1.0Officie865.2.0Adigary1,178.3.0½Total33,020.10.2Revenue of Manaar879.10.233,900.9.013From this amount of Rds. 33,020.10.2 the following expenditure must be deducted, viz.:—Rds.Payment of 216 Majoraals at Rds. 2 each432.0.0Payment of 218 Cayaals at Rd. 1 each218.0.0Payment of 8 tax collectors320.3.7¾Payment of 8Sarraafs14or Accountants32.3.0½For elephants delivered in lieu of poll tax and land rent by the tamekares to the value of373.4.0½Total1,375.8.1¼15So that Jaffnapatam had from this a clear revenue of Rds. 31,645.2.3/9 last year, which is the second in importance of the sources of revenue which the Company derives from this Commandement, besides the profit on the sale of elephants. So far the land rents have only been calculated in the Mallabaar books. We had therefore to depend entirely on the native officers who were employed in this work and had to translate the accounts; but the Hon. the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Mr. Laurens Pyl, when he was Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, very wisely introduced the practice of having all the fields, trees, houses, and gardens of the inhabitants indicated on maps, and of estimating the impositions of the tithes, and thus compiling a Dutch instead of the Mallabaar Thombo. Because, when a description was made in Mallabaar, in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia in 1675 and 1677, the yearly revenue of the Company increased by no less than Rds. 12,204 and 17/40 fanams. But as the natives were not supposed to have done the work satisfactorily, it was again undertaken by a committee of Dutch surveyors, who, however, wrote a great deal but did not start the work in the right way, and it was never properly completed.The new description of lands had however become so urgently necessary that His Excellency the Commissioner-General left orders that this work should be started afresh, ignoring what had been done already. During the government of Commandeur Blom this work was commenced again, some soldiers who were qualified surveyors being employed init, as well as suchCannecappuls16as were required by the Thombo-keeper to do the writing, while one of the surveyors prepared the maps of the fields which had been surveyed. This was done with a view to obtain a plan of each particular field and thus recover the proper rents, and also to fix the boundaries between the different properties. Maps are also being prepared of eachAldeaor village and each Province, of which our authorities in the Fatherland desire to receive a copy as stated in their letter to Batavia of August 27, 1694, which copies must be prepared. On my arrival here from Batavia in 1694, the Thombo-keeper, Pieter Bolscho, pointed out to me that this description of land was again unsatisfactory, and that it would not serve its purpose, as stated by me in the Annual Compendiums of November 30, 1694 and 1695. It was therefore necessary to have this work done for the third time, and to measure again all the lands which had been surveyed already. This time a scheme was drawn up with the help of the said Mr. Bolscho, and the work has succeeded so well that the Province of Walligamme, which alone extends over about half of this territory, has been completely surveyed, and will from the last of August yield an increase of revenue of Rds. 1,509.5.23 or Fl. 4,527.3.4 yearly. I have already written and sent out the bills, as a warning to the people to prepare for the payment, and the tax collectors are responsible for the recovery of the amount; so that the small expenditure of this new description will be recouped, and the inhabitants have no cause of complaint, because they are only asked to pay their due to the lord of the land as they ought to have done long ago. There is also to be recovered an amount of Rds. 500.2.5 for some small pieces of land which were sold on behalf of the Company in 1695 in the village of Copay, which no one appears to have demanded, because I was in Colombo and the Dessave in Negapatam at the time. This must be done now, especially as the expenditure of the new description of lands has, by order of Their Honours contained in the general resolutions of October 4, 1694, been written off the general revenue, to which must therefore be now transferred the amount gained thereby, as also the sum of Rds. 288.7 which has been received by the survey of some lands in Sjeroepittie, Wallalay, and Nierwely, which were occupied and cultivated by the inhabitants, but for which they did not pay any rent while we had the old Thombo, and which we left to them for payment as they had cultivated them. This was in compliance with the instructions contained in the reply to our letter to Colombo ofAugust 22, 1695, received December 15 following. If any one among you should not quite understand this new description of lands, he may find it useful to read certain instructions left by Governor Laurens Pyl with regard to this subject on February 1, 1679, for the Committee appointed to do this work, which instructions must be still observed so far as they are applicable to the present circumstances. Your Honours will most likely be aware also of the extensive Memoir compiled on my orders by the said Mr. Bolscho, and submitted to the Council on December 15, 1696, and of the reply thereto, as also of the report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692, on the same subject, to which documents I here refer. The surveyors are at present at work in the Province of Waddemoraatsche, where they have with them two Mudaliyars, in order to settle small differences which might arise among the inhabitants when their lands are being surveyed. The Mudaliyars act as arbitrators in the presence of the Majoraals of the villages, but important matters must be brought before the Dessave, to be disposed of by him or by the Court of Justice or the Civil Court according to the importance of the case. The Dessave must see that the Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, receives all the assistance he requires, and also that the natives who have to serve him in this work are kept in obedience, in order that he may not be discouraged and lose the zeal he has shown so far in the service of the Company in this difficult work. Once this work is completed it will not be required to be done again, and we will be able then to prepare separate lists not only of each Province, but also of each village; so that at any time the credits or the debits of each tax collector may be seen. (9)The tithes are a tax levied on the harvest, and are paid in money. Last year it amounted to the sum of Rds. 8,632.7.3¾, as shown in the above account, and treated of at length in the report of August 20, 1692. I need not therefore dilate on this subject, and only wish to state that I do not agree with the concluding portion of that report, where it is stated that this tax is too heavy, and might be reduced to half the amount as requested by the inhabitants, for which many reasons are givenproandcon. I think that it can be proved sufficiently that the inhabitants are able to easily pay this imposition of the tithes; not only because they have never complained against it since the year 1690 during the stay of His Excellency van Mydregt, when they knew His Excellency had the power to grant their request without waiting for further instructions. On that occasion the people of Jaffnapatam tried every means of obtaining their wish, but it may be proved that since that time they have become more prosperous—a subject which may be dealt with perhaps later on. That the payment of the saidtithes cannot be very difficult for them is proved by the fact that if half of the amount, viz., Rds. 4,316, be divided over the total number of inhabitants, the rate for each individual amounts to but very little. It is stated as a fact that the rich people possess the largest number of fields, but this shows that they do not need a reduction of the tithes. (10)Besides these tithes, one-tenth is also paid for the forests, mud lands, &c., which have been granted for cultivation by the successive Dessaves to different persons with the promise of exemption from any impositions for a period of 3, 4, 6, or more years; on the expiry of this period taxes must be paid. As I think that the Majoraals do not look after these matters sufficiently well, and do not give notice in time, the Dessave will have to investigate the matter and see that the tenth of the harvest is brought to the Company’s stores, especially because the natives do not hesitate to steal or keep back their dues if they are not kept constantly in fear of punishment.The poll tax, shown above to amount to the sum of Rds. 5,998.1, is of quite a different nature, because the rich and the poor pay exactly the same rate. His Excellency van Mydregt on February 28, 1690, caused a decree to be issued, by which all the inhabitants were exempted from the increase of poll tax which they had had to pay since the year 1675, and which amounted on an average to from Rds. 10 to 110. But this exemption was only for the period of ten years, and would have expired therefore in 1699, if the Honourable the Supreme Government of India had not in a spirit of benevolence decided by their letter to Ceylon of December 12, 1695, to make the reduction a permanent one. This was made known to the inhabitants of this Island on November 8 following. They showed themselves very grateful for this generosity; but this must be considered sufficient for the present, and they have not much reason now to insist upon a decrease of the tithes also. The time for a renovation of the Head Thombo, which has to be done every three years, has again arrived, and theOndercoopmanand Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, and theOndercoopman, Mr. Roos, were sent on circuit on November 19, 1696, in order to carry out this work. The names of the old and infirm people and those who have died must be taken off the list, and the names of the youths who have passed from the schools must be entered, in order that those who oweOelyservice may be known. It would also be useful if the Dessave were occasionally present at this revision when his other duties do not interfere with it, because an acquaintance with this work is very desirable in aland regent. This new Head Thombo must be completed by the end of next August, in order that the poll tax and the fines for failure of performingOely services, calledChicosmoney, may be included in the Trade Accounts for each year, as arranged by me. (11)TheOfficie Geldenhave also been described at length in the often cited report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692. It is stated there how these were first levied, as also how they were raised by the Portuguese, and how they were paid during the rule of the Company. Some of the castes had besides requested to be exempted from the payment of these dues, and it is shown how this had been refused. Last year the aggregate of this tax did not amount to more than Rds. 865.2. It is also spoken of in the Memoir of the Thombo-keeper, Piet Christiaansz Bolscho, which was presented to the Council on October 20, 1696, and the approval of which was conveyed by the letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of November 16 following. The instructions contained in this Memoir with regard to theOfficie Geldenmust still be observed, the chief point being that they must be demanded for each individual and not in the aggregate for the caste as a whole, as it has been done thus far, so that the Majoraals and tax collectors had an opportunity of appropriating a great part of the amount, which could never be exactly calculated. That they could do this easily may be understood when it is considered that most of the castes have increased in number, while the Company has received no more than the lump sum due by each caste. Knowing the covetousness and avarice of the tax collectors and Majoraals, it could hardly be expected that they would excuse any one from the payment; they must, on the contrary, have demanded the money from each person and appropriated the surplus collected by the increase in the number of people in each caste. Your Honours must therefore take note of the matter, and the newly compiled lists must show at a glance how much each aldea or parish owes; and as the payment of this tax will be fairly distributed, no one will be wronged, and the Company will receive its dues. (12)TheAdigaryamounted last year to Rds. 1,178.3½. It is paid, like theOfficie Gelden, by every person without distinction, but the only castes which pay it are the Bellales, the Chandes, and the Tannatare. It dates from the time of the heathen kings, who used to rule the country through Adigars, who were appointed over the different Provinces, and the same method was followed by the Portuguese. These Adigars were not paid by the king, but the inhabitants had to furnish them with victuals. This was changed in the course of time by their having to contribute to the payment of the Adigar, which did not exceed one fanam for each person. Although the Company, which at first followed the same practice, later on abolished this office, except in the districts of Mantotte andPonneryn, yet this imposition of theAdigaryremained in force on the same castes and is still paid by them. No one however complains of it, but on the contrary, they consider themselves to be the three oldest castes, and look upon it as a mark of distinction and honour conferred on them above the other castes, thinking that only they are worthy to contribute to the maintenance of the king’s Adigars. It is looked upon in the same light by some other castes who consider themselves equal to these three, such as the Maddapallys, Agambadys, Paradeesys, &c. I think, therefore, that the Company could put this point of honour to advantage and levy this tax from many other wealthy castes, who would gladly out of jealousy allow the Adigary to be levied on them; but this is mentioned here onlyen passantas a suggestion for the consideration of wiser heads. (13)TheOelyservice has, like theOfficie Gelden, been described in detail by the late Mr. Blom in his report of August 20, 1692, so that I need not expand on this subject here. It may be seen from the document just mentioned what castes up to this time have been obliged to perform this service and how many men have to attend daily, as also how they are classified. The same rules are still observed, but, as I noticed during my residence, these people are very lazy in the performance of their servitudes, although they are only required to attend three days in every three months, or twelve days in a whole year. I think this may be considered as a sign of their increased prosperity; because they seem to find the means for paying their fines for non-attendance without any trouble. This fine is only 2 Dutch stivers for each day, or 1 rix-dollar for the twelve days in a year for each person, and the account for the year 1695 shows that on the 24,021 men Rds. 2,001.9 were paid in fines, and for the year 1696 for eight months (January to August) a sum of Rds. 1,053.9 for 12,640 men; so that the Company during the period of 20 months had to lose the daily labour of 36,661 men. It is therefore to be expected that the works have been considerably delayed at the Castle, in the loading and unloading of the vessels, at the wharf, at the gunpowder mill, at the brick-kiln at Point Pedro, in the burning of lime and the felling of wood on the borders of the Wanni, the digging and breaking of coral stones on the islands, the burning of coals for the smith’s shop, &c. I therefore think that the said Sicos17money ought to be doubled, so that they would have to pay 1 fanam instead of 2 stivers for each day’s absence; because I do not think this must be consideredas a tax levied on the inhabitants, but as a fine and punishment imposed for negligence and as a means to make them perform the necessary labour in order to prevent delay. But, as these my Instructions are to be revised by His Excellency the Governor at Colombo, Your Honours will no doubt receive orders from him, I not being authorized to issue them. The reason why the last account of theSicosruns only over eight months instead of as usual over a year is that I specially ordered this to be done because the account used to run from the beginning to the end of each year, while the Trade Accounts were closed on the last day of August, which formerly closed on the last day of February, which was always a source of confusion. In order to correct this I ordered the account of theSicosto be made up for the last eight months only. Meantime Your Honours must not fail to see that these amounts are collected on behalf of the Company, because out of it only Rds. 180 has been received for Patchelepalle for 1695; so that out of the above-mentioned amount for the last 20 months the sum of Rds. 2,975.1 is still due to the Company. Besides the usualCaltementosreceived by the Collectors as a compensation for the loss they suffer on account of those persons who died or disappeared since the last revision of the Thombo, Your Honour must also keep in mind that a small amount is to be paid yet towards theSicosfor 1693. The whole of the amount was Rds. 993.7, and the greater part was received during my time. I do not know why this was not collected before; perhaps it was due to the departure of the late Mr. Blom to the pearl fishery in 1699, and his death soon thereafter.18Because, when I arrived in December of the same year from Batavia, I found matters in Jaffnapatam very much in the same condition in which they were on my return from Colombo last August, namely, many necessary things had been neglected and there was great confusion. I will not enter into details over the matter here, as I am not writing with direct reference to them. We will return now to the subject of theOelyservice, with regard to which I have merely to add that it must be seen that the old and infirm people, who are exempted from this servitude in the new Thombo, do not fail to deliver such mats andpannegay19kernels for coals for the smith’s shop, as they are bound to according to the customs of the country; because, although this is only a small matter, yet these things come in very handy for the storehouses, vessels, pearl fishery, &c., while otherwise money would haveto be spent on these mats, an expenditure which could be thus avoided. (14)The tax collectors and Majoraals are native officers appointed by the Company to demand and collect the poll tax, land rent, tithes, and theOfficieandAdigaryrates which I have treated of above. They also see that the natives perform such servitudes as they owe to the lord of the land, and collect theSicosmoney to which I have referred, levied for neglect in attending forOelyservice. The expenditure in the appointment of these native officers is very small, as may be seen from the foregoing account, considering that these Collectors and Majoraals have to attend once in three months, or four times a year, at the Castle to hand over one-fourth of the full amount of the taxes for the year; so that the revenue is usually received at the closing of the accounts. As this practice has proved to be successful, the same course must be followed in future. I would wish at the same time to point out here that the facility with which these taxes are collected in Jaffnapatam is another evidence of the improved condition of the inhabitants. In the year 1690 a change was made in the appointment of the Collectors and Majoraals. Up to that time all these and many of the Cannecappuls, Arachchies, &c., belonged to one caste, viz., that of the Bellales, being the farmers or peasants. The principal of these belong to the family of Don Philip Sangerepulle, from Cannengray, a native of evil repute; so much so, that His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Laurens Pyl, who was at the time Governor of Ceylon, issued an order on June 16, 1687, by which Commandeur Cornelis van der Duyn and his Council were instructed to have the said Don Philip and several of his followers and accomplices put in chains and sent to Colombo. He succeeded, however, in concealing himself and eventually fled to Nagapatam, where he managed to influence the merchant Babba Porboe to such an extent that through his aid he obtained during the years 1689 and 1690 all the advantages he desired for his caste and for his followers. This went so far as to the appointment of even schoolboys as Majoraals and Cayaals from the time they left school. His late Excellency van Mydregt, who had great confidence in the said Babba, was somewhat misled by him, but was informed of the fact by certain private letters from the late Commandeur Blom during His Excellency’s residence at Tutucorin. His Excellency then authorized Mr. Blom on July 4, 1690, to at once make such changes as would be necessary, under the pretext that some of the Majoraals were not provided yet with proper acts of appointment issued by His Excellency. This may also be seen in the answer to some points brought before His Excellency by Mr. Blom on October20. These replies bear date November 29 following. Finding, however, on my arrival from Batavia, that these appointments were still reserved for the Bellales, through the influence of a certain Moddely Tamby, who had formerly been a betel carrier to Sangerepulle, later on a private servant of Babba Porboe, and last of all Cannecappul to the Commandeur, and another Cannecappul, also of the Bellale caste and a first cousin of the said Sangerepulle, of the name of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga Mudaliyar, I brought this difficulty before my Governor His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Thomas van Rhee, on my visit to Colombo in the beginning of 1698. He verbally authorized me to make the necessary changes, that so many thousands of people should no longer suffer by the oppression of the Bellales, who are very proud and despise all other castes, and who had become so powerful that they were able not only to worry and harass the poor people, but also to prevent them from submitting their complaints to the authorities. Already in the years 1673 and 1675 orders had been given that the Collectors should be transferred every three years; because by their holding office for many years in the same Province they obtained a certain amount of influence and authority over the inhabitants, which would have enabled them to take advantage of them; and it has always been a rule here not to restrict the appointment to these offices to the Bellales, but to employ the Maddapallys and other castes as well, to serve as a counter-acting influence; because by this means the inhabitants were kept in peace, and through the jealousy of the various castes the ruler was always in a position to know what was going on in the country. All these reasons induced His Excellency Thomas van Rhee to give me leave to bring about the necessary changes, which have now been introduced. I appointed the Collector of Waddemoraatje as my Cannecappul in the place of Moddely Tamby, whose place I filled with the new Collector of the Maddapally caste, while also a new Collector was appointed for Timmoraatsche in the place of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga, whom the late Mr. Blom had discharged from his office as Cannecappul of the Gate; because no two Bellales are allowed to hold office in one place. He agreed with me on this point, as may be seen from his report of August 20, 1692. I have further transferred two Collectors in the large Province of Wallegamo, so as to gradually bring about the desired change in the interest of the Company and that of the other castes; but I heard that this small change created so much disturbance and canvassing that I had to leave the matter alone. The Bellales, seeing that they would be shut out from these profitable offices and that they would lose theinfluence they possessed so far, and being the largest in number and the wealthiest of the people, moved heaven and earth to put a stop to the carrying into effect of this plan so prejudicial to their interests. With this view they also joined the Wannias Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar in their conspiracies. The latter two, also Bellales, well aware that they owed many elephants to the Company, as stated at the beginning of this Memoir, and knowing that their turn would also come, organized the riots in which the said Moddely Tamby was the principal instrument. He was a man who first appeared as a rebel, on the plea that, having been prosecuted by the Fiscaal for many offences, he had been injured by a long imprisonment and that this induced him to take revenge, these same two Wannias having been then the first accusers who came to me complaining against this man in the latter part of 1694. Perhaps later on they considered the great assistance they received from him during the time of Babba Porboe in obtaining the various privileges and favours. They also probably understood that it was my intention to diminish the influence of the Bellale caste, and were thus induced to take this course to promote the welfare of their caste. I think that it was also out of their conspiracies that the riots arose from which this Commandement suffered during my absence in the months of May, June, and July. I cannot account for them in any other way, as I have stated previously when treating of the Wanni. I am obliged to repeat this here, in order that Your Honours may be on your guard and watch the movements, alliances, and associations of these Bellales and the Majoraals of the Wanni; because although I may have persisted in bringing about the desired changes, I preferred to leave the matter alone, seeing how much annoyance this first attempt caused me, and how the obsequious subjects of this Commandement are not only given audience in Colombo, but are also upheld against their local ruler, whose explanation is not only not asked for, but who is even prevented from defending the interests of the Company at the place he had a right to do. I will, however, drop this subject, although a great deal more might be said, because I consider it will be useless to do so. I only advise Your Honours not to make the slightest alteration in the appointment of the native officers during my residence at Mallabaar, but to leave them for the present in the state in which they wish so much to remain, as this is a matter within the province of the Commandeur. Lascoreens and Arachchies with their Canganes may, however, be discharged or appointed according to their merits by the Dessave, in accordance with the instructions of the late Admiral Rycloff van Goens, datedFebruary 26, 1661. In the case, however, of any of the Majoraals,20Cayaals,21Pattangatyns,22Cannecappuls, or Collectors resigning their offices or of being dismissed on account of misconduct, the Dessave will be also authorized to provisionally appoint others in their place without issuing theactens23until my return or until the appointment of another Commandeur in my place, if such be the intention of Their Excellencies at Batavia. Because no provision has been made for such cases, which interrupt the regular course of the administration. (15)It must be also seen that the lower castes observe the rules with regard to their costumes, &c., because I hear that here also corruption has crept in, and that they do not wear their dress in the proper way, do not cut their hair, and do not wear any golden rings in their ears, so that they cannot be distinguished from the caste-people or Gonoradas as they are called, who consider this an insult to them. Aplackaaton this subject was issued by His Excellency Laurens Pyl, Governor of Ceylon, on August 18, 1686. There will be little difficulty in enforcing those rules if the Regent in this Commandement is allowed to assume the authority which is his right, and which he must have if he is to maintain the discipline required to carry on the operations of the Company, for the people of Jaffnapatam are conceited, arrogant, and stubborn. They bring false complaints against their rulers to the higher powers if they find but the least encouragement, while on the other hand they are slavish and cringe under the rod of their rulers so long as they see that their authority is not disputed, but is upheld by the Government. As they were so strictly held down to their duties during the time of the heathen and of the Portuguese, not knowing any other but their own immediate ruler, they often do not understand the position of a subordinate ruler in the service of the Company, and are not able to act with discretion when they find a way from an inferior to a superior. It is not in accordance with the natural government to which their ancestors had been accustomed. It must not, however, be supposed that I ignore the fact that the mild government of the Company always leaves a way of appeal for those of its subjects, whoever they may be, when they consider themselves unjustly treated; but I think that on the other hand the Company should likewise allow their chiefs to punish the delinquents before they are permittedto appeal to the higher powers. This I have found is not always observed as regards Jaffnapatam, although it seems to me necessary that it should be if our officers are not in the course of time to become a laughing stock to the people. It is a well-known fact that the more influential natives always try to oppress the poorer classes, and it will be impossible to prevent their doing this if they are allowed to become stronger than they already are.
It has pleased His Excellency Mr. Willem van Outhoorn, Governor-General, and the Honourable the Government of India, to appoint me Commissioner for the Coast of Mallabaar, and to require me to compile before my departure from here a Memoir or Instructions for the guidance of the Council, stating therein how the affairs of the Company are to be conducted during my absence, which Memoir is to be handed to the said Council after having been submitted to His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon and the Council of Colombo for revision, amplification, and alteration where necessary, as may be seen from the letter of May 23 last, from Their Excellencies at Batavia, sent here by the ship “De stad Leyden.”In compliance with this esteemed order I compile this Paper, although I am aware that you are all persons who have served the Company for a greater or smaller number of years, and that you must have had ample opportunity to obtain a knowledge of all matters concerning the Company.Moreover, during the last 38 years which the Company has been in the absolute possession of this territory, many papers have been written with regard to Jaffnapatam which are always accessible to the members of the Political Council at the Secretariate, so that I take it for granted that, in addition to your daily experience, you have obtained a sufficient knowledge of these matters from these documents; because among these are to be found descriptions of whatever is necessary to give the reader a clear idea of all that is required in the Company’s service, and they having been written by wise and circumspect men, some more and others less in detail. I am, therefore, sure that everything that is necessary will be found if carefully looked for.I will not, for this reason, enter into detail in respect of the manner the Company took possession of this territory, or of the advantages that may be found here both for the inhabitants and for the Company; nor what compulsory services are demanded from the subjects in Jaffnapatam, and the number of castes into which they are divided and under which they are registered; nor will I specify here the licenses for navigation and trade which have been given to them, nor the changes which have taken place in the course of time with regard to these and many other matters not stated here.Because, if I were to relate all these matters from the very beginning, I would have to write several volumes instead of a few sheets of paper. And this I do not intend to do, as I wish to be as brief as possible.Moreover, sufficient information may be found in the documents preserved at the Secretariate, which it would be well if Your Honours would make yourselves familiar with. We must be always prepared to take upon ourselves higher and more difficult posts whenever called upon, and in so preparing ourselves we avoid confusion, and the Company would never be in want of capable servants.I have no doubt you will all see the truth of what I say, yet, in order the more clearly to convey the force of my suggestion, I will specify here some of the documents which I consider it particularly useful to obtain a general insight of.With regard to Jaffnapatam, I know of no better documents than the Instructions compiled by Admiral Ryclof van Goens, Mr. Anthony Paviljoen, and the Hon. Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India at Batavia, left for this Commandement respectively on September 30, 1658, December 12, 1659, July 26, 1661, December 19, 1665, and October 7, 1679, the latter1having been inserted in the General Instructions left by His Excellency Ryclof van Goens, junior, on his departure on October 3 of the same year, to take up the Governorship of Ceylon. The directions in these Papers must be followed so far as change of time and circumstances will permit. I could not avoid mentioning these before entering into further details.It was the more necessary because so many observances, customs, institutions, and singular methods of action are to be met with in Jaffnapatam which are not found anywhere else or among any other subjects of the Company, and also because they cannot be discovered or understood without careful investigation and only in process of time. Thus, although the most important matters have been successively treated ofin the service of the Company, yet all the necessary information cannot be brought together here, and such a detailed description would be beyond the purpose of ordinary instructions. I will therefore only touch upon such matters as will be unavoidable under the present circumstances.The mode of government during my absence will be the first point to be decided upon; because formerly the Dessave, as second in the Commandement, used to be appointed to preside, as may be seen in the yearly Memoirs of Commandeur Floris Blom, left by him when he had to travel beyond the Commandement; with the only restriction that the Dessave was not to pass any orders for the warehouses, the Treasury, workshops, &c., which were left to the Administrator, although the Dessave was more often present within the Castle. Later on, in the year 1694, on the death of the same Commandeur Blom of blessed memory, the government of the whole of this Commandement was entrusted to the Political Council by order of the Hon. Thomas van Rhee, Councillor of India and Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo. The government was then divided, and the authority limited, and rules were laid down, which may be seen from the letters from Colombo bearing date July 20 and August 23, 1694; but experience has proved that this mode of government was not successful in the best interests of the Company; because the subordinate officers and the subject classes often did not know to whom they had to apply; so that they were sent “from Pontius to Pilatus,” as it is sometimes said; which often caused unnecessary waste of time and delay in the Service. I noticed this to have been the case when I was away from this Commandement from the last of March till about the middle of August this year, on the occasion of my being ordered to Colombo, and the authority distributed according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of March 22. But I noticed later on that the letters from Colombo were addressed to Mr. Rykloff de Bitter as Dessave andSecundeof the Commandement and the other members of the Political Council here; which was done again on October 16, 1696, when it was anticipated that I had already left for Mallabaar by the frigate “De Tamboer.”In the letter from Colombo of April 18 the members of the Council were also recommended to show the said Mr. de Bitter all the respect due to his position as Dessave andSecundein the Commandement; so that it seems His Excellency the Governor and the Council wished to re-introduce the former mode of government during the absence of the Commandeur, seeing that the Company’s affairs cannot be properly conducted by such divided authority. This atleast is my opinion, and I intend to point out that in the absence of the Commandeur the government here ought to be carried on according to the former lines, and consequently the entire administration entrusted to the Dessave, with the assistance of the members of the Political Council; and that he must call the meetings both of the Council and of the Court of Justice, and preside at both; and that he must further sign the orders for the Treasury, the workshop, the arsenal, and even for the warehouses, and in reference to any other of the effects of the Company. This would be in compliance with the Instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of December 5, 1696, where it is said that no orders are to be passed here but by the person in authority. I therefore think that, in the interests of peace and order in this Commandement, the Dessave R. de Bitter should be in authority at such times, especially as I have to be so far away. Besides, he lives just in front of the town, and close by the Castle; so that he is always at hand for those who require his assistance or instruction. But as the Dessave lives outside the fortress, the giving of the watchword, the closing and opening of the gate, and the supervision over the military and their drill, could not very well be delegated to him. This must therefore be left to the Captain as special chief of the Military; unless the Dessave should occasionally remain within the Fort overnight, in which case he will preform those duties. (1)2With a view to prevent the impression being created that I had formally given over this Commandement and entirely transferred the authority, I will leave without making a written transfer of any of the Company’s effects. I merely entrust these to Your Honours’ care and management; but, on the other hand, it must be understood that I do not want to be held responsible for any mistakes you might make during my absence. I therefore, and in order to show that I do not relinquish my authority in the Commandement, but only absent myself during the mission to Mallabaar or until further orders from the Honourable the Government of India are received, Your Honours are recommended to send to me by Manaar and Tutucorin proper advices, and to communicate to me the principal transactions that take place with regard to the Company’s service, in order that I may not be obliged on my return to ask what had transpired or to look up these things in the books. It will be well here to remind Your Honours of the order contained in the Resolution passed bythe Council of India on December 6, 1694, with regard to all Administrators, viz., that they will be held responsible for all cash or articles belonging to the Company which are found missing, and that, if unable to justify themselves, they would have to replace these within two months, or submit to be punished for their offence. (2)Economy is the first matter which I have to recommend to Your Honours, because this is not only constantly urged both from the Fatherland and from Batavia, but also because it is beyond doubt that what is saved in this manner will be pure profit. It must be understood, however, that in using the word economy I mean care in the administration of the Company’s effects, and not a wrong economy. There are officers who take this word in its narrowest sense, and, failing to have the necessary repairs done in proper time in their endeavour to spend as little as possible, create the necessity in the course of time of a complete restoration, while the existing objects might have stood good for a long time with a small timely expenditure. I must therefore recommend Your Honours to read certain letters from the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt,3bearing date July 4, 1690, and addressed to the establishment at Jaffnapatam during his circuit on the coast of Madura. (3)The Wanni is the largest division in this kingdom, and would also be the most profitable to the Company if matters went on as they ought to. It is from there that we have to obtain the elephants which are sold here at considerable profit, as the proceeds of the sale of elephants which are sent here for sale from Galle, Matura, and other places in Ceylon cannot be credited to this Commandement, as the profits are not retained here, but have been so far forwarded to these places. With a view to secure the profits on the elephants which are to be obtained from the Wanni, the Company has divided this large forest and extensive territory into several Provinces, which have been farmed out toMajoraals, known as Wannias, on the condition that they should deliver yearly 42½ alias.4This practice was followed from the time that the Company first established itself here up to the present day, but the results have proved that these Wannias continually fail to deliver the tribute elephants, and it appears in the Instructions of the late Mr. Paviljoen that their arrears in his time were already 74½ alias, when the Company had possessed this territory only 7 or8 years. In the returns for 1680 it will be seen that these arrears had then increased to 313 alias. The whole of this debt was remitted to them, but in 1694 again the arrears went up to 18½ alias, and last year they had come up to 70 animals, namely:Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Konsjeynaar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, for the Provinces of Lanengamo, Paleamblancolam, and Poedicoe 48½ alias; Don Diogo Poevenellemapane Wannia, for the Provinces of Karkattemoele and Meelpattoe 18 alias; Peria Meynaar Oediaar, for the Province of Moeliawalle 3½ alias; total 70 alias.It will therefore be necessary for Your Honours to endeavour to secure as many elephants from these Wannias as possible, both in payment of their arrears and of their present dues. This must be done, with all kindness, and in compliance with the successive orders received from His Excellency van Rhee,5Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo, in order that this profitable trade may be maintained, because there has been no lack of purchasers since the year 1689, as the merchants from Golconda come over every year, and there is a possibility that the Bengal Moors will also come over to purchase elephants now that this passage has been opened. The price to be paid to the Wannias for animals delivered above their tribute has been stated in the letter of the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt of blessed memory, sent here on April 3, 1690, from Tutucorin, while the Honourable the Government of India, in their esteemed letter of December 12, 1691, agreed to pay from 10 to 20 Rds. more for each animal, according to their value. I fear, however, that it will take a long time yet before it will be necessary to make such payment. The Wannia Philip Nellamapane may be allowed to sell every year one elephant on his own account to the Moors, in compliance with the orders of the said Governor and Council at the meeting of May 11, 1696, although Your Honours will find a positive refusal to the request made by him and submitted to His Excellency van Mydregt by Commandeur Floris Blom on October 20. The refusal was made in His Excellency’s answer of November 20. There are two other Wannias to whom the same privilege has been granted, viz., Ambele Wannia and Chedoega Wannia, the former holding the Province of Carnawel pattu, and the latter that of Tinnemerrewaddoe. They obtained this permission because their tribute is of littleimportance compared with that of the other Wannias mentioned above, and because they had paid up their arrears at the closing of the books last August. It seems, however, that they also are not much inclined to deliver any elephants beyond their tribute. Most likely they prefer the tithes which they draw for ruling these Provinces to the payment they would receive from the Company for the delivery of elephants.I will not state here my opinion as to the manner in which people ought to be ruled or as to their behaviour, nor in what way the Company is to expect the largest number of elephants and the greatest profits from the Wanni; because I would then not only have to write too many sheets of paper in doing so, but the subject would be of little use to enlarge upon and only tend to confuse Your Honours in your actions. I could merely advise you to follow the old instructions of being kind and considerate. Meanwhile, however, Your Honours are well aware of my principal views with regard to the Wannias, as expressed in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695, which letter might serve for your guidance; while you might also read the letters exchanged between Colombo and Jaffnapatam during the years 1674 to 1679, as also the resolutions passed with regard to the Wannias during the same period. From the perusal of these documents you will perceive whether or not my opinion of these people is unfounded. Should you require more information with regard to the Wannias and the Majoraals, you will find it in the Journal kept by Commandeur Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India, on his visit to that large forest in 1675 during the months of August to December, and in another Journal written by me in July, 1692, when I accompanied the late Commandeur Floris Blom also on a visit to the Wanni.These Wannias, by birth subjects of the Company and by descent no more than ordinary caste Bellales, have in the course of time become very conceited, and imagine that the title of Wannia is one invested with awe and so important that, although they have received it from the Company, they do not need to respect the Company or those placed in authority here; and they seem to be in doubt whether they ought to show their due obedience by appearing before its officers. It was on this account that His Excellency van Mydregt gave special orders in his reply of November 29, 1690, that one of the Wannias should always stay at the Castle, each taking his turn for three months. Why this order has not been carried out I do not know. Moreover, it appears that Don Philip and his son, the young Don Gaspar, Master of the Hunt in Ponneryn, together with his brother-in-law Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, has gone to Colombo instead of presenting himself here at theCastle, as I had summoned them to do, as may be seen in the ola of January 14, 1696, and in the resolutions of Council of the 16th of the same month. I do not know how they obtained audience, but they were received with even greater honour than they ever received from the Governors or Commandeurs here. This was the first time they ever went to Colombo. Still less am I able to say what transpired between them and the Government of Colombo, because when I was there I was not admitted to the meetings of the Political Council, and was only an eye-witness of the outward show. I do not also know for what reason the said Wannia Majoraals were kept here since their return, and why they were not sent back to their forest for the capture of elephants, unless it was because they acted as adjutants or auxiliaries to theOpperkoopluyden6Jan van Keulen and Pieter Petitfilsz, as I heard that during my absence they acted as Commissioners in this Commandement. Perhaps these matters are better known to Your Honours than to myself, because you were present here at the time. Yet I do not know whether you realize that this action has made these people more conceited than ever, and that they mention it here exultingly. This is proved also by the fact that their arrears have greatly increased since this trip to Colombo, and I have been privately informed that the Master of the Hunt, Don Gaspar Nitcheachaderayen, has, on his own authority and as if he were a sovereign, caused one of the Lascoreens and one of the hunters of his father-in-law, the old Don Gaspar, to be put to death; which has caused great enmity between these two and Don Philip Nellamapane. It is also said that the old Don Gaspar is desirous of revenging himself for this action, so that two people who were such great friends and made such a stir here by going to Colombo have not only become bitter enemies, but by this murder have also given cause for consequences of a serious nature. It will therefore be Your Honours’ duty not only to hold an inquiry with regard to this matter when an opportunity offers, but also to watch the future conduct of these people. In the beginning of 1696 someWaddassen7also entered the lands of the Wannia Don Diogo Poevenellemapane and committed acts of hostility, whereby the brother of Cottapulle Oediaar, cousin of the said Don Diogo, had been killed, because the latter wrote an ola to the Administrator Biermans while I was away at Colombo and the Dessave was commissioned to the pearl fishery. As he complained publicly to both of us in the month of October ofthe same year, saying that this happened for no other reason than because he would not act in collusion with Don Philip Nellamapane or join with the seditious company on their trip to Colombo, knowing that he could find here competent rulers. Chedoegawale Mapane of Tinnemerrewaddoe spoke to the same effect. Amblewanne, whom Your Honours wanted to take his turn of staying here at the Castle, has been prevented from doing so by the severe illness of one of his friends. I am obliged to mention all these particulars here in order that Your Honours may be able to keep an eye on the Wannias and their conduct. I wished to do more in this matter, and would have made an effort to discover and punish the murderers, but I was not in a position to do this because it seems that the Government of Jaffnapatam has no longer any influence in Colombo. This is apparent from the fact that while these Wannias were not only heard, but also treated with great honour, unknown to their ruler, I was even personally insulted by being kept out of the Political Council. I considered it inadvisable on my part to bring any charges against them at that time, and I think it would be for Your Honours to do thus. (4)Mantotte, Moezely, and Pirringaly are just as important to the Company with regard to the capture of elephants as the Wanni; but these Provinces are not under the subaltern rule of any native chief, but are ruled directly by the Company through officers paid by the Company. In Mantotte and Moezely there is an Adigar, paid by the Company, whose work it is to supervise the elephant hunt and the cultivation of the arable fields. For the latter the Company exacts tithes, as from the Wannia Majoraals in the Wanni. The inhabitants of Pirringaly, who were for some time ruled by Wannias, appealed in 1692 to the Commandeur Blom to be relieved of that servitude, and this was granted to them on condition that they yearly delivered to the Wannias 2aliasfor this freedom. Since then they have been ruled by their ownMoete Carresor Masters of the Hunt, which arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory, as may be seen from the Trade Accounts, which show that these people, as well as the hunters of Mantotte, Moezelypattoe, and Setticoulang have delivered a large number of elephants at Manaar, and would have delivered more were it not that a great many animals had died on the way. Further particulars on this subject may be found by Your Honours in a certain report of September 13, 1690, submitted by Commandeur Blom to His Excellency van Mydregt of blessed memory, in the margin of which His Excellency wrote instructions bearing date October 7 of the same year, where you will find the most important particulars as to the troubles on the borders of the Wanni. Your Honoursmay also read a short Memoir by the late Commandeur Anthony Paviljoen, dated July 28, 1662, and addressed to the Adigar of Mantotte. This office is held at present by Dimingo Rodrigues, who was transferred from the same office in Ponneryn by order of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo, as contained in their letter of October 13, 1696. He was sent to Mantotte to take the place of the native Alepander Ananaal, who in the same letter was dismissed from his office, although, as this was done without my knowledge, I am not in a position to state the reason therefor. Some other native officers were likewisedismissedfrom their offices in this Commandement without communication with me, as you may see from my letter to Colombo of October 15, 1696. The hunters in the Provinces of Mantotte, Pirringaly, and Moezely, who, as stated above, have shown great diligence in the capture of elephants and still continue to do so, must be protected from any ill-treatment on the part of the Adigar or any of the officers at Manaar or elsewhere, in order that they may not be discouraged and lose their interest in the work, which would be prejudicial to the Company. The price paid by the Company for each elephant is stated in a document forwarded by His Excellency van Mydregt to Jaffnapatam bearing date April 3, 1690. (5)Ponneryn is the third Province from where elephants should be obtained if all be well, because formerly when this Province was ruled by an Adigar or Lieutenant-Dessave appointed by the Company, like the Provinces Ilipoecarwe, Polweramcattoe, and Mantotte, no less than 25aliason an average were obtained from there yearly, for which purpose two kraals had been made. In 1690 this practice was changed, because His Excellency van Mydregt, by decree of March 2 of the same year, granted the revenue of Ponneryn to the young Don Gaspar, and those of the other two Provinces to the old Don Gaspar, on condition that the former should, as Master of the Hunt, see that all the elephants which were found there were captured and sent down on account of the Company; for which purpose 145 hunters and their Manigares were placed under his command. The project for which this arrangement was made, however, proved to be illusory, for no more than 74 elephants were delivered by the Master of the Hunt in 7 years’ time, while according to the previous account 175 animals ought to have been delivered. This means a loss to the Company of 101 elephants during the same period, besides the tithes of the harvest for these three Provinces, while, moreover, we had to continually hear complaints from the inhabitants of maltreatment on the part of the said Wannias, as happened again lately when the Dessave De Bitter visited Ponneryn.They are not satisfied with the revenues mentioned above, but consider themselves rulers over the inhabitants, which was never meant by His Excellency van Mydregt, and they were always prevented from asserting themselves as such, as may be seen from a report by Commandeur Blom on Jaffnapatam, submitted to His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo on August 28, 1692. About a year after the issue of the deeds of gift of the tithes, His Excellency proposed to change this practice again, and in a document of March 29, 1693, he repeated this proposal, saying that he had already given orders for a general elephant hunt on account of the Company in the said Provinces, in which both the hunters and the inhabitants were to take part. Why this order was not carried out I cannot say; but I know that already, within six months after the issue of the deeds of gift, he noticed that both these Don Gaspars had been favoured too much. This may be seen from a letter from His Excellency dated July 4, 1690, to Jaffnapatam. For these various reasons I have recommended that the form of government in the Wanni should be changed, as would appear in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695. Many more reasons might be brought forward, but it would be trouble in vain. I therefore recommend Your Honours to strictly follow the orders of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo as contained in their letters of October 13 and November 21, 1696, in favour of the said Wannias, because Messrs. van Kuilen and Petitfilz, who were commissioned to investigate this matter, declared that the inhabitants on the borders of the Wanni are quite content and well satisfied. There is no use therefore in our saying anything, although my experience and that of the Dessave have proved quite the contrary. I cannot help for this reason making a speculative calculation of the amount which the Company has lost since the conquest of this territory by the non-payment of tributes and arrears in the Wanni and Ponneryn. If each animal be calculated on an average to be sold at Rds. 350, or 1,050 Florins, as may be considered to be the case, the amount would be:—Fl.For 1680 discharged from the delivery of 313 alias: estimated price328,650For 1694 discharged from the delivery of 18½ alias19,425For present arrears73,500For arrears over 7 years in Ponneryn106,050Total527,625This then is the loss the Company has suffered through the Wannias, besides the many annoyances and indirect losses through the inhabitants and the subjects in Jaffnapatam, which might be pointed out, but which I will not do here for the reasons stated above. (6)The trade here is not very important and does not amount to much, except that in elephants, which was renewed chiefly by His Excellency van Mydregt since 1689; because the merchants from Golconda and Tansjouwer8had neglected this trade for some years, having driven up the prices by bidding against each other at the public auctions. The endeavour to interest them again in this trade has been successful; the more so because the price for tuskers and elephants without tusks, as also for that of infirm animals has been limited and regulated in the letter of April 3, 1690, often previously referred to. The principal people in Golconda address their payment orders to Philip Sangere Pulle or the Brahmin Timmersa, whom they have chosen as their agents, while the Company employs them as brokers in this trade. This is found to save much trouble in the distribution and selling of the animals and in feeding and transporting them when sold, because these brokers procure the provisions and vessels, giving an account to the merchants. This course was followed from the time the Company took possession of this territory up to 1696, but Sangere Pulle died in 1695, and the Brahmin Timmersa has been discharged from his office, because His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo gave instructions, in their letter of August 23 last, that the trade in elephants with the Moors at Golconda should be carried on in future without any agents or brokers. This office was accordingly taken off the trade accounts in compliance with the said order, after the accounts with the merchants and between them and the agents had been settled. This has brought about a great change, as may be seen from the resolutions of December 17 of the same year, where it is stated that these people intended to give up the trade for the reasons just mentioned, as is known to Your Honours; but it is to be hoped that this new Ordinance which was issued without communication with, or advice from, the Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, may not have the serious effects which are feared. Your Honours are also aware with how much bickering, cavilling, dispute, and vexation, the trade in elephants was kept up last year, so that about 161 animals were sold on behalf of the Company for the sumof Rds. 53,357. It is to be hoped that the sale will increase; but I must seriously advise Your Honours to strictly adhere to the above-mentioned rule, although it was made without my advice or opinion being asked; unless their Excellencies at Batavia should not agree with the view of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo and send other orders.Besides the trade in elephants the Company deals here only in pepper, about 40,000 or 50,000 lb. of which is sold yearly; some copper,spiaulter,9a little pewter, a small quantity of powdered sugar, about 300 or 350 ammunams of Ceylon areca-nut, which are sold to the inhabitants, and a few other articles of little importance which are sold to the Company’s Dutch servants, amounting altogether to no more than Rds. 7,000 or 9,000 a year. Several endeavours have been made to extend the trade, and an effort was made to introduce here the linen manufacture from Tutucorin and Coromandel, but so far without success, as may be seen from the minutes of the meeting of the Council of Ceylon of January 22, 1695, where I brought forward several questions with regard to this matter. It was proposed there to allow private persons in Jaffnapatam to carry on a trade in cloth on the payment of 20 per cent. duty, which proposal was approved by Their Excellencies at Batavia by their letter of December 12 of the same year, but this subject will be treated of under the head of Leases. Considering further means of extending the Company’s trade, it struck me that Jaffnapatam was not only better situated than Calpetty for the areca-nut trade with Coromandel, but also that the roads through the Wanni to the Sinhalese areca-nut forests are very good, so that the nuts could be transported from there inBoyados.10In our letter of October 26, 1694, to Colombo, I proposed that this should be done, which proposal was referred by His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo to Their Excellencies at Batavia. In their letter of December 12, 1695, our Supreme Government expressed themselves in favour of this proposal, but in a later letter of July 3, 1696, this was cancelled, although it is beyond doubt that this way of transport of the areca-nut would be more advantageous to the Company. This may be seen from the fact that the Portuguese, when they were here, followed the same practise, and with good success as I was told. I will now leave the subject of areca-nut and revert to that ofelephants. Many of these animals have been left here after the last sale in 1696, because the purchasers were afraid of meeting with a north wind on their voyage. Many vessels will be required to transport not only these animals but also those that will be sold during the next southern season. There being no agent now, the purchasers will have to look out for themselves. And it will be necessary for Your Honours to give them all possible assistance in order that they may not be entirely discouraged and give up this trade. Your Honours must also inquire whether any suitable vessels are to be procured here which could be sent to Colombo or Galle in March or April, for the transport from there of the Company’s elephants fit for sale: in compliance with the proposals contained in the correspondence between Colombo and Jaffnapatam of April 13 and July 11, 1695, and especially with the orders from Their Excellencies at Batavia in their letter of July 3, 1696, wherein this course was highly approved. The fare for these private vessels is far less than the expenditure the Company is put to when its own vessels are used to transport the elephants from Galle round about Ceylon to Cougature. If the latter course has to be followed, care must be taken that the animals are carefully landed at Manaar, in order that they may be fit to be transported further by land to the place of their destination. It will also be necessary to have some more of these animals trained for the hunt; because at present the Company owns only about 6 tame ones, while there should be always about a dozen; not only in order to fetch the elephants from Manaar and to tame the wild animals, but also to assist the Wannias in case they should capture a large number of elephants, when these animals would be useful in the shipping of those sold to the purchasers. This is not a regular practice, but is followed sometimes at their request when any animals are to be shipped which are not sufficiently tamed to be led into the vessels by themselves. Nothing more need be said with regard to the elephants, except that there are about 6 animals in the stables besides the 6 for the hunt mentioned above. It is to be hoped that this number will soon be considerably increased, and the prices must be regulated according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of January 16, 1696, and in compliance with the decision arrived at on certain questions brought forward by the late Commandeur Blom in the Council of Ceylon on February 17, 1692, and agreed upon on February 19 following; while also, and especially, the instructions from Their Excellencies at Batavia contained in their letter of January 4, 1695, must be observed,where they order that no animals are to be sold or sent except for cash payment, so that there may be no difficulty in recovering the amount. (7)The trade with the Moors from Bengal at Jaffnapatam and Galle has been opened by order of the Honourable the Supreme Government of India in terms of their letter of August 20, 1694. It is expected that the trade with the Moors will greatly benefit this country, because the inhabitants here are continually in want of grain and victuals, which are imported by the Moors. Some years ago, when food was very scarce in Coromandel, the English at Madraspatnam stopped the Moorish vessels on their way hither, and bought up all their rice, which was a great loss to Jaffnapatam. If the Moors could be induced to come here in future with their rice, butter, sugar, cadjang,11&c., which are always very much in demand, it must be seen that they are fairly dealt with, and not discouraged from coming to this country. Perhaps they also would buy some elephants if it happened that the Company had too many, or if too few purchasers should arrive here from Golconda. But if the demand for these animals at Golconda continues as it has done for the last few years, we would not need the aid of the Bengal Moors in this matter, although in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia they may be accommodated with a few elephants if they urgently request them. It is the intention besides to sell to them the Ceylon areca-nut; as we cannot as yet transport it through the Wanni, His Excellency the Governor and the Council at Colombo must see that the areca-nut from Calpetty or Trincomalee is sent here, in compliance with the instructions of Their Excellencies at Batavia as contained in their letter of July 3, 1696. Your Honours must therefore send in the orders in due time if the Moors continue to come here, because we cannot sell to them theChiankos,12it being the intention of Their Honours at Batavia, according to their letters of January 4 and February 12, 1695, that this sea-product should be chiefly transported to Bengal on behalf of the Company. On the other hand the diving forChiankosat Manaar is of so little importance that it is hardly worth while mentioning here, and they are also very small, so that it is not likely that the Moors would be willing to pay 12 pagodas aCour, as was ordered in a letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of March 23, 1695. With regard to the further restrictions put upon thetrade with the Moors, Your Honours must observe the instructions contained in the letter of January 4, 1695. (8)The inhabitants of this territory, who are really a perverse race, are far too numerous to be maintained by the produce of this Commandement. This had been expected at the beginning of the Company’s rule, when the late Commandeur, Anthony Paviljoen, stated in his Instructions that there were about 120,000 subjects. How much worse must this be now, when, as shown by the last Census, there were of the people known alone, 169,299 subjects here and in Manaar. I think there would be far more if all those who hide themselves in order to escape from taxes and servitude be included. All these inhabitants are divided into 40 different castes, which are described in the Thombo, so that I will not name them here, as this would involve too much prolixity, especially if I should state what kind of services, impositions, &c., each one is liable to. All this I imagine to be well known to Your Honours; because the late Mr. Blom had given a detailed and accurate account of these matters in his report of August 20, 1692, and I could only re-write what has been already described by others; I therefore refer to the said manuscript, where, besides this subject, much information may be found with regard to other matters concerning Jaffnapatam. In the same document is also found a comparison between the revenue of the Commandement, with the taxes and duty it has to render to the Company, in the payment of which it has been greatly met by the Honourable the Supreme Government of India as will be shown below. In order to prevent any misapprehension during my absence, I will state here the amount of the income of the Company during the last year, viz., from September 1, 1695, to the end of August, 1696, inclusive, viz.:—Rds.Rent from lands, trees, and gardens16,348.3.4¾Tithes8,632.7.3¾Poll tax5,998.1.0Officie865.2.0Adigary1,178.3.0½Total33,020.10.2Revenue of Manaar879.10.233,900.9.013From this amount of Rds. 33,020.10.2 the following expenditure must be deducted, viz.:—Rds.Payment of 216 Majoraals at Rds. 2 each432.0.0Payment of 218 Cayaals at Rd. 1 each218.0.0Payment of 8 tax collectors320.3.7¾Payment of 8Sarraafs14or Accountants32.3.0½For elephants delivered in lieu of poll tax and land rent by the tamekares to the value of373.4.0½Total1,375.8.1¼15So that Jaffnapatam had from this a clear revenue of Rds. 31,645.2.3/9 last year, which is the second in importance of the sources of revenue which the Company derives from this Commandement, besides the profit on the sale of elephants. So far the land rents have only been calculated in the Mallabaar books. We had therefore to depend entirely on the native officers who were employed in this work and had to translate the accounts; but the Hon. the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Mr. Laurens Pyl, when he was Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, very wisely introduced the practice of having all the fields, trees, houses, and gardens of the inhabitants indicated on maps, and of estimating the impositions of the tithes, and thus compiling a Dutch instead of the Mallabaar Thombo. Because, when a description was made in Mallabaar, in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia in 1675 and 1677, the yearly revenue of the Company increased by no less than Rds. 12,204 and 17/40 fanams. But as the natives were not supposed to have done the work satisfactorily, it was again undertaken by a committee of Dutch surveyors, who, however, wrote a great deal but did not start the work in the right way, and it was never properly completed.The new description of lands had however become so urgently necessary that His Excellency the Commissioner-General left orders that this work should be started afresh, ignoring what had been done already. During the government of Commandeur Blom this work was commenced again, some soldiers who were qualified surveyors being employed init, as well as suchCannecappuls16as were required by the Thombo-keeper to do the writing, while one of the surveyors prepared the maps of the fields which had been surveyed. This was done with a view to obtain a plan of each particular field and thus recover the proper rents, and also to fix the boundaries between the different properties. Maps are also being prepared of eachAldeaor village and each Province, of which our authorities in the Fatherland desire to receive a copy as stated in their letter to Batavia of August 27, 1694, which copies must be prepared. On my arrival here from Batavia in 1694, the Thombo-keeper, Pieter Bolscho, pointed out to me that this description of land was again unsatisfactory, and that it would not serve its purpose, as stated by me in the Annual Compendiums of November 30, 1694 and 1695. It was therefore necessary to have this work done for the third time, and to measure again all the lands which had been surveyed already. This time a scheme was drawn up with the help of the said Mr. Bolscho, and the work has succeeded so well that the Province of Walligamme, which alone extends over about half of this territory, has been completely surveyed, and will from the last of August yield an increase of revenue of Rds. 1,509.5.23 or Fl. 4,527.3.4 yearly. I have already written and sent out the bills, as a warning to the people to prepare for the payment, and the tax collectors are responsible for the recovery of the amount; so that the small expenditure of this new description will be recouped, and the inhabitants have no cause of complaint, because they are only asked to pay their due to the lord of the land as they ought to have done long ago. There is also to be recovered an amount of Rds. 500.2.5 for some small pieces of land which were sold on behalf of the Company in 1695 in the village of Copay, which no one appears to have demanded, because I was in Colombo and the Dessave in Negapatam at the time. This must be done now, especially as the expenditure of the new description of lands has, by order of Their Honours contained in the general resolutions of October 4, 1694, been written off the general revenue, to which must therefore be now transferred the amount gained thereby, as also the sum of Rds. 288.7 which has been received by the survey of some lands in Sjeroepittie, Wallalay, and Nierwely, which were occupied and cultivated by the inhabitants, but for which they did not pay any rent while we had the old Thombo, and which we left to them for payment as they had cultivated them. This was in compliance with the instructions contained in the reply to our letter to Colombo ofAugust 22, 1695, received December 15 following. If any one among you should not quite understand this new description of lands, he may find it useful to read certain instructions left by Governor Laurens Pyl with regard to this subject on February 1, 1679, for the Committee appointed to do this work, which instructions must be still observed so far as they are applicable to the present circumstances. Your Honours will most likely be aware also of the extensive Memoir compiled on my orders by the said Mr. Bolscho, and submitted to the Council on December 15, 1696, and of the reply thereto, as also of the report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692, on the same subject, to which documents I here refer. The surveyors are at present at work in the Province of Waddemoraatsche, where they have with them two Mudaliyars, in order to settle small differences which might arise among the inhabitants when their lands are being surveyed. The Mudaliyars act as arbitrators in the presence of the Majoraals of the villages, but important matters must be brought before the Dessave, to be disposed of by him or by the Court of Justice or the Civil Court according to the importance of the case. The Dessave must see that the Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, receives all the assistance he requires, and also that the natives who have to serve him in this work are kept in obedience, in order that he may not be discouraged and lose the zeal he has shown so far in the service of the Company in this difficult work. Once this work is completed it will not be required to be done again, and we will be able then to prepare separate lists not only of each Province, but also of each village; so that at any time the credits or the debits of each tax collector may be seen. (9)The tithes are a tax levied on the harvest, and are paid in money. Last year it amounted to the sum of Rds. 8,632.7.3¾, as shown in the above account, and treated of at length in the report of August 20, 1692. I need not therefore dilate on this subject, and only wish to state that I do not agree with the concluding portion of that report, where it is stated that this tax is too heavy, and might be reduced to half the amount as requested by the inhabitants, for which many reasons are givenproandcon. I think that it can be proved sufficiently that the inhabitants are able to easily pay this imposition of the tithes; not only because they have never complained against it since the year 1690 during the stay of His Excellency van Mydregt, when they knew His Excellency had the power to grant their request without waiting for further instructions. On that occasion the people of Jaffnapatam tried every means of obtaining their wish, but it may be proved that since that time they have become more prosperous—a subject which may be dealt with perhaps later on. That the payment of the saidtithes cannot be very difficult for them is proved by the fact that if half of the amount, viz., Rds. 4,316, be divided over the total number of inhabitants, the rate for each individual amounts to but very little. It is stated as a fact that the rich people possess the largest number of fields, but this shows that they do not need a reduction of the tithes. (10)Besides these tithes, one-tenth is also paid for the forests, mud lands, &c., which have been granted for cultivation by the successive Dessaves to different persons with the promise of exemption from any impositions for a period of 3, 4, 6, or more years; on the expiry of this period taxes must be paid. As I think that the Majoraals do not look after these matters sufficiently well, and do not give notice in time, the Dessave will have to investigate the matter and see that the tenth of the harvest is brought to the Company’s stores, especially because the natives do not hesitate to steal or keep back their dues if they are not kept constantly in fear of punishment.The poll tax, shown above to amount to the sum of Rds. 5,998.1, is of quite a different nature, because the rich and the poor pay exactly the same rate. His Excellency van Mydregt on February 28, 1690, caused a decree to be issued, by which all the inhabitants were exempted from the increase of poll tax which they had had to pay since the year 1675, and which amounted on an average to from Rds. 10 to 110. But this exemption was only for the period of ten years, and would have expired therefore in 1699, if the Honourable the Supreme Government of India had not in a spirit of benevolence decided by their letter to Ceylon of December 12, 1695, to make the reduction a permanent one. This was made known to the inhabitants of this Island on November 8 following. They showed themselves very grateful for this generosity; but this must be considered sufficient for the present, and they have not much reason now to insist upon a decrease of the tithes also. The time for a renovation of the Head Thombo, which has to be done every three years, has again arrived, and theOndercoopmanand Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, and theOndercoopman, Mr. Roos, were sent on circuit on November 19, 1696, in order to carry out this work. The names of the old and infirm people and those who have died must be taken off the list, and the names of the youths who have passed from the schools must be entered, in order that those who oweOelyservice may be known. It would also be useful if the Dessave were occasionally present at this revision when his other duties do not interfere with it, because an acquaintance with this work is very desirable in aland regent. This new Head Thombo must be completed by the end of next August, in order that the poll tax and the fines for failure of performingOely services, calledChicosmoney, may be included in the Trade Accounts for each year, as arranged by me. (11)TheOfficie Geldenhave also been described at length in the often cited report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692. It is stated there how these were first levied, as also how they were raised by the Portuguese, and how they were paid during the rule of the Company. Some of the castes had besides requested to be exempted from the payment of these dues, and it is shown how this had been refused. Last year the aggregate of this tax did not amount to more than Rds. 865.2. It is also spoken of in the Memoir of the Thombo-keeper, Piet Christiaansz Bolscho, which was presented to the Council on October 20, 1696, and the approval of which was conveyed by the letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of November 16 following. The instructions contained in this Memoir with regard to theOfficie Geldenmust still be observed, the chief point being that they must be demanded for each individual and not in the aggregate for the caste as a whole, as it has been done thus far, so that the Majoraals and tax collectors had an opportunity of appropriating a great part of the amount, which could never be exactly calculated. That they could do this easily may be understood when it is considered that most of the castes have increased in number, while the Company has received no more than the lump sum due by each caste. Knowing the covetousness and avarice of the tax collectors and Majoraals, it could hardly be expected that they would excuse any one from the payment; they must, on the contrary, have demanded the money from each person and appropriated the surplus collected by the increase in the number of people in each caste. Your Honours must therefore take note of the matter, and the newly compiled lists must show at a glance how much each aldea or parish owes; and as the payment of this tax will be fairly distributed, no one will be wronged, and the Company will receive its dues. (12)TheAdigaryamounted last year to Rds. 1,178.3½. It is paid, like theOfficie Gelden, by every person without distinction, but the only castes which pay it are the Bellales, the Chandes, and the Tannatare. It dates from the time of the heathen kings, who used to rule the country through Adigars, who were appointed over the different Provinces, and the same method was followed by the Portuguese. These Adigars were not paid by the king, but the inhabitants had to furnish them with victuals. This was changed in the course of time by their having to contribute to the payment of the Adigar, which did not exceed one fanam for each person. Although the Company, which at first followed the same practice, later on abolished this office, except in the districts of Mantotte andPonneryn, yet this imposition of theAdigaryremained in force on the same castes and is still paid by them. No one however complains of it, but on the contrary, they consider themselves to be the three oldest castes, and look upon it as a mark of distinction and honour conferred on them above the other castes, thinking that only they are worthy to contribute to the maintenance of the king’s Adigars. It is looked upon in the same light by some other castes who consider themselves equal to these three, such as the Maddapallys, Agambadys, Paradeesys, &c. I think, therefore, that the Company could put this point of honour to advantage and levy this tax from many other wealthy castes, who would gladly out of jealousy allow the Adigary to be levied on them; but this is mentioned here onlyen passantas a suggestion for the consideration of wiser heads. (13)TheOelyservice has, like theOfficie Gelden, been described in detail by the late Mr. Blom in his report of August 20, 1692, so that I need not expand on this subject here. It may be seen from the document just mentioned what castes up to this time have been obliged to perform this service and how many men have to attend daily, as also how they are classified. The same rules are still observed, but, as I noticed during my residence, these people are very lazy in the performance of their servitudes, although they are only required to attend three days in every three months, or twelve days in a whole year. I think this may be considered as a sign of their increased prosperity; because they seem to find the means for paying their fines for non-attendance without any trouble. This fine is only 2 Dutch stivers for each day, or 1 rix-dollar for the twelve days in a year for each person, and the account for the year 1695 shows that on the 24,021 men Rds. 2,001.9 were paid in fines, and for the year 1696 for eight months (January to August) a sum of Rds. 1,053.9 for 12,640 men; so that the Company during the period of 20 months had to lose the daily labour of 36,661 men. It is therefore to be expected that the works have been considerably delayed at the Castle, in the loading and unloading of the vessels, at the wharf, at the gunpowder mill, at the brick-kiln at Point Pedro, in the burning of lime and the felling of wood on the borders of the Wanni, the digging and breaking of coral stones on the islands, the burning of coals for the smith’s shop, &c. I therefore think that the said Sicos17money ought to be doubled, so that they would have to pay 1 fanam instead of 2 stivers for each day’s absence; because I do not think this must be consideredas a tax levied on the inhabitants, but as a fine and punishment imposed for negligence and as a means to make them perform the necessary labour in order to prevent delay. But, as these my Instructions are to be revised by His Excellency the Governor at Colombo, Your Honours will no doubt receive orders from him, I not being authorized to issue them. The reason why the last account of theSicosruns only over eight months instead of as usual over a year is that I specially ordered this to be done because the account used to run from the beginning to the end of each year, while the Trade Accounts were closed on the last day of August, which formerly closed on the last day of February, which was always a source of confusion. In order to correct this I ordered the account of theSicosto be made up for the last eight months only. Meantime Your Honours must not fail to see that these amounts are collected on behalf of the Company, because out of it only Rds. 180 has been received for Patchelepalle for 1695; so that out of the above-mentioned amount for the last 20 months the sum of Rds. 2,975.1 is still due to the Company. Besides the usualCaltementosreceived by the Collectors as a compensation for the loss they suffer on account of those persons who died or disappeared since the last revision of the Thombo, Your Honour must also keep in mind that a small amount is to be paid yet towards theSicosfor 1693. The whole of the amount was Rds. 993.7, and the greater part was received during my time. I do not know why this was not collected before; perhaps it was due to the departure of the late Mr. Blom to the pearl fishery in 1699, and his death soon thereafter.18Because, when I arrived in December of the same year from Batavia, I found matters in Jaffnapatam very much in the same condition in which they were on my return from Colombo last August, namely, many necessary things had been neglected and there was great confusion. I will not enter into details over the matter here, as I am not writing with direct reference to them. We will return now to the subject of theOelyservice, with regard to which I have merely to add that it must be seen that the old and infirm people, who are exempted from this servitude in the new Thombo, do not fail to deliver such mats andpannegay19kernels for coals for the smith’s shop, as they are bound to according to the customs of the country; because, although this is only a small matter, yet these things come in very handy for the storehouses, vessels, pearl fishery, &c., while otherwise money would haveto be spent on these mats, an expenditure which could be thus avoided. (14)The tax collectors and Majoraals are native officers appointed by the Company to demand and collect the poll tax, land rent, tithes, and theOfficieandAdigaryrates which I have treated of above. They also see that the natives perform such servitudes as they owe to the lord of the land, and collect theSicosmoney to which I have referred, levied for neglect in attending forOelyservice. The expenditure in the appointment of these native officers is very small, as may be seen from the foregoing account, considering that these Collectors and Majoraals have to attend once in three months, or four times a year, at the Castle to hand over one-fourth of the full amount of the taxes for the year; so that the revenue is usually received at the closing of the accounts. As this practice has proved to be successful, the same course must be followed in future. I would wish at the same time to point out here that the facility with which these taxes are collected in Jaffnapatam is another evidence of the improved condition of the inhabitants. In the year 1690 a change was made in the appointment of the Collectors and Majoraals. Up to that time all these and many of the Cannecappuls, Arachchies, &c., belonged to one caste, viz., that of the Bellales, being the farmers or peasants. The principal of these belong to the family of Don Philip Sangerepulle, from Cannengray, a native of evil repute; so much so, that His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Laurens Pyl, who was at the time Governor of Ceylon, issued an order on June 16, 1687, by which Commandeur Cornelis van der Duyn and his Council were instructed to have the said Don Philip and several of his followers and accomplices put in chains and sent to Colombo. He succeeded, however, in concealing himself and eventually fled to Nagapatam, where he managed to influence the merchant Babba Porboe to such an extent that through his aid he obtained during the years 1689 and 1690 all the advantages he desired for his caste and for his followers. This went so far as to the appointment of even schoolboys as Majoraals and Cayaals from the time they left school. His late Excellency van Mydregt, who had great confidence in the said Babba, was somewhat misled by him, but was informed of the fact by certain private letters from the late Commandeur Blom during His Excellency’s residence at Tutucorin. His Excellency then authorized Mr. Blom on July 4, 1690, to at once make such changes as would be necessary, under the pretext that some of the Majoraals were not provided yet with proper acts of appointment issued by His Excellency. This may also be seen in the answer to some points brought before His Excellency by Mr. Blom on October20. These replies bear date November 29 following. Finding, however, on my arrival from Batavia, that these appointments were still reserved for the Bellales, through the influence of a certain Moddely Tamby, who had formerly been a betel carrier to Sangerepulle, later on a private servant of Babba Porboe, and last of all Cannecappul to the Commandeur, and another Cannecappul, also of the Bellale caste and a first cousin of the said Sangerepulle, of the name of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga Mudaliyar, I brought this difficulty before my Governor His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Thomas van Rhee, on my visit to Colombo in the beginning of 1698. He verbally authorized me to make the necessary changes, that so many thousands of people should no longer suffer by the oppression of the Bellales, who are very proud and despise all other castes, and who had become so powerful that they were able not only to worry and harass the poor people, but also to prevent them from submitting their complaints to the authorities. Already in the years 1673 and 1675 orders had been given that the Collectors should be transferred every three years; because by their holding office for many years in the same Province they obtained a certain amount of influence and authority over the inhabitants, which would have enabled them to take advantage of them; and it has always been a rule here not to restrict the appointment to these offices to the Bellales, but to employ the Maddapallys and other castes as well, to serve as a counter-acting influence; because by this means the inhabitants were kept in peace, and through the jealousy of the various castes the ruler was always in a position to know what was going on in the country. All these reasons induced His Excellency Thomas van Rhee to give me leave to bring about the necessary changes, which have now been introduced. I appointed the Collector of Waddemoraatje as my Cannecappul in the place of Moddely Tamby, whose place I filled with the new Collector of the Maddapally caste, while also a new Collector was appointed for Timmoraatsche in the place of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga, whom the late Mr. Blom had discharged from his office as Cannecappul of the Gate; because no two Bellales are allowed to hold office in one place. He agreed with me on this point, as may be seen from his report of August 20, 1692. I have further transferred two Collectors in the large Province of Wallegamo, so as to gradually bring about the desired change in the interest of the Company and that of the other castes; but I heard that this small change created so much disturbance and canvassing that I had to leave the matter alone. The Bellales, seeing that they would be shut out from these profitable offices and that they would lose theinfluence they possessed so far, and being the largest in number and the wealthiest of the people, moved heaven and earth to put a stop to the carrying into effect of this plan so prejudicial to their interests. With this view they also joined the Wannias Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar in their conspiracies. The latter two, also Bellales, well aware that they owed many elephants to the Company, as stated at the beginning of this Memoir, and knowing that their turn would also come, organized the riots in which the said Moddely Tamby was the principal instrument. He was a man who first appeared as a rebel, on the plea that, having been prosecuted by the Fiscaal for many offences, he had been injured by a long imprisonment and that this induced him to take revenge, these same two Wannias having been then the first accusers who came to me complaining against this man in the latter part of 1694. Perhaps later on they considered the great assistance they received from him during the time of Babba Porboe in obtaining the various privileges and favours. They also probably understood that it was my intention to diminish the influence of the Bellale caste, and were thus induced to take this course to promote the welfare of their caste. I think that it was also out of their conspiracies that the riots arose from which this Commandement suffered during my absence in the months of May, June, and July. I cannot account for them in any other way, as I have stated previously when treating of the Wanni. I am obliged to repeat this here, in order that Your Honours may be on your guard and watch the movements, alliances, and associations of these Bellales and the Majoraals of the Wanni; because although I may have persisted in bringing about the desired changes, I preferred to leave the matter alone, seeing how much annoyance this first attempt caused me, and how the obsequious subjects of this Commandement are not only given audience in Colombo, but are also upheld against their local ruler, whose explanation is not only not asked for, but who is even prevented from defending the interests of the Company at the place he had a right to do. I will, however, drop this subject, although a great deal more might be said, because I consider it will be useless to do so. I only advise Your Honours not to make the slightest alteration in the appointment of the native officers during my residence at Mallabaar, but to leave them for the present in the state in which they wish so much to remain, as this is a matter within the province of the Commandeur. Lascoreens and Arachchies with their Canganes may, however, be discharged or appointed according to their merits by the Dessave, in accordance with the instructions of the late Admiral Rycloff van Goens, datedFebruary 26, 1661. In the case, however, of any of the Majoraals,20Cayaals,21Pattangatyns,22Cannecappuls, or Collectors resigning their offices or of being dismissed on account of misconduct, the Dessave will be also authorized to provisionally appoint others in their place without issuing theactens23until my return or until the appointment of another Commandeur in my place, if such be the intention of Their Excellencies at Batavia. Because no provision has been made for such cases, which interrupt the regular course of the administration. (15)It must be also seen that the lower castes observe the rules with regard to their costumes, &c., because I hear that here also corruption has crept in, and that they do not wear their dress in the proper way, do not cut their hair, and do not wear any golden rings in their ears, so that they cannot be distinguished from the caste-people or Gonoradas as they are called, who consider this an insult to them. Aplackaaton this subject was issued by His Excellency Laurens Pyl, Governor of Ceylon, on August 18, 1686. There will be little difficulty in enforcing those rules if the Regent in this Commandement is allowed to assume the authority which is his right, and which he must have if he is to maintain the discipline required to carry on the operations of the Company, for the people of Jaffnapatam are conceited, arrogant, and stubborn. They bring false complaints against their rulers to the higher powers if they find but the least encouragement, while on the other hand they are slavish and cringe under the rod of their rulers so long as they see that their authority is not disputed, but is upheld by the Government. As they were so strictly held down to their duties during the time of the heathen and of the Portuguese, not knowing any other but their own immediate ruler, they often do not understand the position of a subordinate ruler in the service of the Company, and are not able to act with discretion when they find a way from an inferior to a superior. It is not in accordance with the natural government to which their ancestors had been accustomed. It must not, however, be supposed that I ignore the fact that the mild government of the Company always leaves a way of appeal for those of its subjects, whoever they may be, when they consider themselves unjustly treated; but I think that on the other hand the Company should likewise allow their chiefs to punish the delinquents before they are permittedto appeal to the higher powers. This I have found is not always observed as regards Jaffnapatam, although it seems to me necessary that it should be if our officers are not in the course of time to become a laughing stock to the people. It is a well-known fact that the more influential natives always try to oppress the poorer classes, and it will be impossible to prevent their doing this if they are allowed to become stronger than they already are.
It has pleased His Excellency Mr. Willem van Outhoorn, Governor-General, and the Honourable the Government of India, to appoint me Commissioner for the Coast of Mallabaar, and to require me to compile before my departure from here a Memoir or Instructions for the guidance of the Council, stating therein how the affairs of the Company are to be conducted during my absence, which Memoir is to be handed to the said Council after having been submitted to His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon and the Council of Colombo for revision, amplification, and alteration where necessary, as may be seen from the letter of May 23 last, from Their Excellencies at Batavia, sent here by the ship “De stad Leyden.”
In compliance with this esteemed order I compile this Paper, although I am aware that you are all persons who have served the Company for a greater or smaller number of years, and that you must have had ample opportunity to obtain a knowledge of all matters concerning the Company.
Moreover, during the last 38 years which the Company has been in the absolute possession of this territory, many papers have been written with regard to Jaffnapatam which are always accessible to the members of the Political Council at the Secretariate, so that I take it for granted that, in addition to your daily experience, you have obtained a sufficient knowledge of these matters from these documents; because among these are to be found descriptions of whatever is necessary to give the reader a clear idea of all that is required in the Company’s service, and they having been written by wise and circumspect men, some more and others less in detail. I am, therefore, sure that everything that is necessary will be found if carefully looked for.
I will not, for this reason, enter into detail in respect of the manner the Company took possession of this territory, or of the advantages that may be found here both for the inhabitants and for the Company; nor what compulsory services are demanded from the subjects in Jaffnapatam, and the number of castes into which they are divided and under which they are registered; nor will I specify here the licenses for navigation and trade which have been given to them, nor the changes which have taken place in the course of time with regard to these and many other matters not stated here.
Because, if I were to relate all these matters from the very beginning, I would have to write several volumes instead of a few sheets of paper. And this I do not intend to do, as I wish to be as brief as possible.
Moreover, sufficient information may be found in the documents preserved at the Secretariate, which it would be well if Your Honours would make yourselves familiar with. We must be always prepared to take upon ourselves higher and more difficult posts whenever called upon, and in so preparing ourselves we avoid confusion, and the Company would never be in want of capable servants.
I have no doubt you will all see the truth of what I say, yet, in order the more clearly to convey the force of my suggestion, I will specify here some of the documents which I consider it particularly useful to obtain a general insight of.
With regard to Jaffnapatam, I know of no better documents than the Instructions compiled by Admiral Ryclof van Goens, Mr. Anthony Paviljoen, and the Hon. Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India at Batavia, left for this Commandement respectively on September 30, 1658, December 12, 1659, July 26, 1661, December 19, 1665, and October 7, 1679, the latter1having been inserted in the General Instructions left by His Excellency Ryclof van Goens, junior, on his departure on October 3 of the same year, to take up the Governorship of Ceylon. The directions in these Papers must be followed so far as change of time and circumstances will permit. I could not avoid mentioning these before entering into further details.
It was the more necessary because so many observances, customs, institutions, and singular methods of action are to be met with in Jaffnapatam which are not found anywhere else or among any other subjects of the Company, and also because they cannot be discovered or understood without careful investigation and only in process of time. Thus, although the most important matters have been successively treated ofin the service of the Company, yet all the necessary information cannot be brought together here, and such a detailed description would be beyond the purpose of ordinary instructions. I will therefore only touch upon such matters as will be unavoidable under the present circumstances.
The mode of government during my absence will be the first point to be decided upon; because formerly the Dessave, as second in the Commandement, used to be appointed to preside, as may be seen in the yearly Memoirs of Commandeur Floris Blom, left by him when he had to travel beyond the Commandement; with the only restriction that the Dessave was not to pass any orders for the warehouses, the Treasury, workshops, &c., which were left to the Administrator, although the Dessave was more often present within the Castle. Later on, in the year 1694, on the death of the same Commandeur Blom of blessed memory, the government of the whole of this Commandement was entrusted to the Political Council by order of the Hon. Thomas van Rhee, Councillor of India and Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo. The government was then divided, and the authority limited, and rules were laid down, which may be seen from the letters from Colombo bearing date July 20 and August 23, 1694; but experience has proved that this mode of government was not successful in the best interests of the Company; because the subordinate officers and the subject classes often did not know to whom they had to apply; so that they were sent “from Pontius to Pilatus,” as it is sometimes said; which often caused unnecessary waste of time and delay in the Service. I noticed this to have been the case when I was away from this Commandement from the last of March till about the middle of August this year, on the occasion of my being ordered to Colombo, and the authority distributed according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of March 22. But I noticed later on that the letters from Colombo were addressed to Mr. Rykloff de Bitter as Dessave andSecundeof the Commandement and the other members of the Political Council here; which was done again on October 16, 1696, when it was anticipated that I had already left for Mallabaar by the frigate “De Tamboer.”
In the letter from Colombo of April 18 the members of the Council were also recommended to show the said Mr. de Bitter all the respect due to his position as Dessave andSecundein the Commandement; so that it seems His Excellency the Governor and the Council wished to re-introduce the former mode of government during the absence of the Commandeur, seeing that the Company’s affairs cannot be properly conducted by such divided authority. This atleast is my opinion, and I intend to point out that in the absence of the Commandeur the government here ought to be carried on according to the former lines, and consequently the entire administration entrusted to the Dessave, with the assistance of the members of the Political Council; and that he must call the meetings both of the Council and of the Court of Justice, and preside at both; and that he must further sign the orders for the Treasury, the workshop, the arsenal, and even for the warehouses, and in reference to any other of the effects of the Company. This would be in compliance with the Instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of December 5, 1696, where it is said that no orders are to be passed here but by the person in authority. I therefore think that, in the interests of peace and order in this Commandement, the Dessave R. de Bitter should be in authority at such times, especially as I have to be so far away. Besides, he lives just in front of the town, and close by the Castle; so that he is always at hand for those who require his assistance or instruction. But as the Dessave lives outside the fortress, the giving of the watchword, the closing and opening of the gate, and the supervision over the military and their drill, could not very well be delegated to him. This must therefore be left to the Captain as special chief of the Military; unless the Dessave should occasionally remain within the Fort overnight, in which case he will preform those duties. (1)2
With a view to prevent the impression being created that I had formally given over this Commandement and entirely transferred the authority, I will leave without making a written transfer of any of the Company’s effects. I merely entrust these to Your Honours’ care and management; but, on the other hand, it must be understood that I do not want to be held responsible for any mistakes you might make during my absence. I therefore, and in order to show that I do not relinquish my authority in the Commandement, but only absent myself during the mission to Mallabaar or until further orders from the Honourable the Government of India are received, Your Honours are recommended to send to me by Manaar and Tutucorin proper advices, and to communicate to me the principal transactions that take place with regard to the Company’s service, in order that I may not be obliged on my return to ask what had transpired or to look up these things in the books. It will be well here to remind Your Honours of the order contained in the Resolution passed bythe Council of India on December 6, 1694, with regard to all Administrators, viz., that they will be held responsible for all cash or articles belonging to the Company which are found missing, and that, if unable to justify themselves, they would have to replace these within two months, or submit to be punished for their offence. (2)
Economy is the first matter which I have to recommend to Your Honours, because this is not only constantly urged both from the Fatherland and from Batavia, but also because it is beyond doubt that what is saved in this manner will be pure profit. It must be understood, however, that in using the word economy I mean care in the administration of the Company’s effects, and not a wrong economy. There are officers who take this word in its narrowest sense, and, failing to have the necessary repairs done in proper time in their endeavour to spend as little as possible, create the necessity in the course of time of a complete restoration, while the existing objects might have stood good for a long time with a small timely expenditure. I must therefore recommend Your Honours to read certain letters from the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt,3bearing date July 4, 1690, and addressed to the establishment at Jaffnapatam during his circuit on the coast of Madura. (3)
The Wanni is the largest division in this kingdom, and would also be the most profitable to the Company if matters went on as they ought to. It is from there that we have to obtain the elephants which are sold here at considerable profit, as the proceeds of the sale of elephants which are sent here for sale from Galle, Matura, and other places in Ceylon cannot be credited to this Commandement, as the profits are not retained here, but have been so far forwarded to these places. With a view to secure the profits on the elephants which are to be obtained from the Wanni, the Company has divided this large forest and extensive territory into several Provinces, which have been farmed out toMajoraals, known as Wannias, on the condition that they should deliver yearly 42½ alias.4This practice was followed from the time that the Company first established itself here up to the present day, but the results have proved that these Wannias continually fail to deliver the tribute elephants, and it appears in the Instructions of the late Mr. Paviljoen that their arrears in his time were already 74½ alias, when the Company had possessed this territory only 7 or8 years. In the returns for 1680 it will be seen that these arrears had then increased to 313 alias. The whole of this debt was remitted to them, but in 1694 again the arrears went up to 18½ alias, and last year they had come up to 70 animals, namely:
Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Konsjeynaar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, for the Provinces of Lanengamo, Paleamblancolam, and Poedicoe 48½ alias; Don Diogo Poevenellemapane Wannia, for the Provinces of Karkattemoele and Meelpattoe 18 alias; Peria Meynaar Oediaar, for the Province of Moeliawalle 3½ alias; total 70 alias.
Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Konsjeynaar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, for the Provinces of Lanengamo, Paleamblancolam, and Poedicoe 48½ alias; Don Diogo Poevenellemapane Wannia, for the Provinces of Karkattemoele and Meelpattoe 18 alias; Peria Meynaar Oediaar, for the Province of Moeliawalle 3½ alias; total 70 alias.
It will therefore be necessary for Your Honours to endeavour to secure as many elephants from these Wannias as possible, both in payment of their arrears and of their present dues. This must be done, with all kindness, and in compliance with the successive orders received from His Excellency van Rhee,5Governor of Ceylon, and the Council of Colombo, in order that this profitable trade may be maintained, because there has been no lack of purchasers since the year 1689, as the merchants from Golconda come over every year, and there is a possibility that the Bengal Moors will also come over to purchase elephants now that this passage has been opened. The price to be paid to the Wannias for animals delivered above their tribute has been stated in the letter of the Hon. Mr. van Mydregt of blessed memory, sent here on April 3, 1690, from Tutucorin, while the Honourable the Government of India, in their esteemed letter of December 12, 1691, agreed to pay from 10 to 20 Rds. more for each animal, according to their value. I fear, however, that it will take a long time yet before it will be necessary to make such payment. The Wannia Philip Nellamapane may be allowed to sell every year one elephant on his own account to the Moors, in compliance with the orders of the said Governor and Council at the meeting of May 11, 1696, although Your Honours will find a positive refusal to the request made by him and submitted to His Excellency van Mydregt by Commandeur Floris Blom on October 20. The refusal was made in His Excellency’s answer of November 20. There are two other Wannias to whom the same privilege has been granted, viz., Ambele Wannia and Chedoega Wannia, the former holding the Province of Carnawel pattu, and the latter that of Tinnemerrewaddoe. They obtained this permission because their tribute is of littleimportance compared with that of the other Wannias mentioned above, and because they had paid up their arrears at the closing of the books last August. It seems, however, that they also are not much inclined to deliver any elephants beyond their tribute. Most likely they prefer the tithes which they draw for ruling these Provinces to the payment they would receive from the Company for the delivery of elephants.
I will not state here my opinion as to the manner in which people ought to be ruled or as to their behaviour, nor in what way the Company is to expect the largest number of elephants and the greatest profits from the Wanni; because I would then not only have to write too many sheets of paper in doing so, but the subject would be of little use to enlarge upon and only tend to confuse Your Honours in your actions. I could merely advise you to follow the old instructions of being kind and considerate. Meanwhile, however, Your Honours are well aware of my principal views with regard to the Wannias, as expressed in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695, which letter might serve for your guidance; while you might also read the letters exchanged between Colombo and Jaffnapatam during the years 1674 to 1679, as also the resolutions passed with regard to the Wannias during the same period. From the perusal of these documents you will perceive whether or not my opinion of these people is unfounded. Should you require more information with regard to the Wannias and the Majoraals, you will find it in the Journal kept by Commandeur Laurens Pyl, at present Councillor of India, on his visit to that large forest in 1675 during the months of August to December, and in another Journal written by me in July, 1692, when I accompanied the late Commandeur Floris Blom also on a visit to the Wanni.
These Wannias, by birth subjects of the Company and by descent no more than ordinary caste Bellales, have in the course of time become very conceited, and imagine that the title of Wannia is one invested with awe and so important that, although they have received it from the Company, they do not need to respect the Company or those placed in authority here; and they seem to be in doubt whether they ought to show their due obedience by appearing before its officers. It was on this account that His Excellency van Mydregt gave special orders in his reply of November 29, 1690, that one of the Wannias should always stay at the Castle, each taking his turn for three months. Why this order has not been carried out I do not know. Moreover, it appears that Don Philip and his son, the young Don Gaspar, Master of the Hunt in Ponneryn, together with his brother-in-law Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, has gone to Colombo instead of presenting himself here at theCastle, as I had summoned them to do, as may be seen in the ola of January 14, 1696, and in the resolutions of Council of the 16th of the same month. I do not know how they obtained audience, but they were received with even greater honour than they ever received from the Governors or Commandeurs here. This was the first time they ever went to Colombo. Still less am I able to say what transpired between them and the Government of Colombo, because when I was there I was not admitted to the meetings of the Political Council, and was only an eye-witness of the outward show. I do not also know for what reason the said Wannia Majoraals were kept here since their return, and why they were not sent back to their forest for the capture of elephants, unless it was because they acted as adjutants or auxiliaries to theOpperkoopluyden6Jan van Keulen and Pieter Petitfilsz, as I heard that during my absence they acted as Commissioners in this Commandement. Perhaps these matters are better known to Your Honours than to myself, because you were present here at the time. Yet I do not know whether you realize that this action has made these people more conceited than ever, and that they mention it here exultingly. This is proved also by the fact that their arrears have greatly increased since this trip to Colombo, and I have been privately informed that the Master of the Hunt, Don Gaspar Nitcheachaderayen, has, on his own authority and as if he were a sovereign, caused one of the Lascoreens and one of the hunters of his father-in-law, the old Don Gaspar, to be put to death; which has caused great enmity between these two and Don Philip Nellamapane. It is also said that the old Don Gaspar is desirous of revenging himself for this action, so that two people who were such great friends and made such a stir here by going to Colombo have not only become bitter enemies, but by this murder have also given cause for consequences of a serious nature. It will therefore be Your Honours’ duty not only to hold an inquiry with regard to this matter when an opportunity offers, but also to watch the future conduct of these people. In the beginning of 1696 someWaddassen7also entered the lands of the Wannia Don Diogo Poevenellemapane and committed acts of hostility, whereby the brother of Cottapulle Oediaar, cousin of the said Don Diogo, had been killed, because the latter wrote an ola to the Administrator Biermans while I was away at Colombo and the Dessave was commissioned to the pearl fishery. As he complained publicly to both of us in the month of October ofthe same year, saying that this happened for no other reason than because he would not act in collusion with Don Philip Nellamapane or join with the seditious company on their trip to Colombo, knowing that he could find here competent rulers. Chedoegawale Mapane of Tinnemerrewaddoe spoke to the same effect. Amblewanne, whom Your Honours wanted to take his turn of staying here at the Castle, has been prevented from doing so by the severe illness of one of his friends. I am obliged to mention all these particulars here in order that Your Honours may be able to keep an eye on the Wannias and their conduct. I wished to do more in this matter, and would have made an effort to discover and punish the murderers, but I was not in a position to do this because it seems that the Government of Jaffnapatam has no longer any influence in Colombo. This is apparent from the fact that while these Wannias were not only heard, but also treated with great honour, unknown to their ruler, I was even personally insulted by being kept out of the Political Council. I considered it inadvisable on my part to bring any charges against them at that time, and I think it would be for Your Honours to do thus. (4)
Mantotte, Moezely, and Pirringaly are just as important to the Company with regard to the capture of elephants as the Wanni; but these Provinces are not under the subaltern rule of any native chief, but are ruled directly by the Company through officers paid by the Company. In Mantotte and Moezely there is an Adigar, paid by the Company, whose work it is to supervise the elephant hunt and the cultivation of the arable fields. For the latter the Company exacts tithes, as from the Wannia Majoraals in the Wanni. The inhabitants of Pirringaly, who were for some time ruled by Wannias, appealed in 1692 to the Commandeur Blom to be relieved of that servitude, and this was granted to them on condition that they yearly delivered to the Wannias 2aliasfor this freedom. Since then they have been ruled by their ownMoete Carresor Masters of the Hunt, which arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory, as may be seen from the Trade Accounts, which show that these people, as well as the hunters of Mantotte, Moezelypattoe, and Setticoulang have delivered a large number of elephants at Manaar, and would have delivered more were it not that a great many animals had died on the way. Further particulars on this subject may be found by Your Honours in a certain report of September 13, 1690, submitted by Commandeur Blom to His Excellency van Mydregt of blessed memory, in the margin of which His Excellency wrote instructions bearing date October 7 of the same year, where you will find the most important particulars as to the troubles on the borders of the Wanni. Your Honoursmay also read a short Memoir by the late Commandeur Anthony Paviljoen, dated July 28, 1662, and addressed to the Adigar of Mantotte. This office is held at present by Dimingo Rodrigues, who was transferred from the same office in Ponneryn by order of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo, as contained in their letter of October 13, 1696. He was sent to Mantotte to take the place of the native Alepander Ananaal, who in the same letter was dismissed from his office, although, as this was done without my knowledge, I am not in a position to state the reason therefor. Some other native officers were likewisedismissedfrom their offices in this Commandement without communication with me, as you may see from my letter to Colombo of October 15, 1696. The hunters in the Provinces of Mantotte, Pirringaly, and Moezely, who, as stated above, have shown great diligence in the capture of elephants and still continue to do so, must be protected from any ill-treatment on the part of the Adigar or any of the officers at Manaar or elsewhere, in order that they may not be discouraged and lose their interest in the work, which would be prejudicial to the Company. The price paid by the Company for each elephant is stated in a document forwarded by His Excellency van Mydregt to Jaffnapatam bearing date April 3, 1690. (5)
Ponneryn is the third Province from where elephants should be obtained if all be well, because formerly when this Province was ruled by an Adigar or Lieutenant-Dessave appointed by the Company, like the Provinces Ilipoecarwe, Polweramcattoe, and Mantotte, no less than 25aliason an average were obtained from there yearly, for which purpose two kraals had been made. In 1690 this practice was changed, because His Excellency van Mydregt, by decree of March 2 of the same year, granted the revenue of Ponneryn to the young Don Gaspar, and those of the other two Provinces to the old Don Gaspar, on condition that the former should, as Master of the Hunt, see that all the elephants which were found there were captured and sent down on account of the Company; for which purpose 145 hunters and their Manigares were placed under his command. The project for which this arrangement was made, however, proved to be illusory, for no more than 74 elephants were delivered by the Master of the Hunt in 7 years’ time, while according to the previous account 175 animals ought to have been delivered. This means a loss to the Company of 101 elephants during the same period, besides the tithes of the harvest for these three Provinces, while, moreover, we had to continually hear complaints from the inhabitants of maltreatment on the part of the said Wannias, as happened again lately when the Dessave De Bitter visited Ponneryn.They are not satisfied with the revenues mentioned above, but consider themselves rulers over the inhabitants, which was never meant by His Excellency van Mydregt, and they were always prevented from asserting themselves as such, as may be seen from a report by Commandeur Blom on Jaffnapatam, submitted to His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo on August 28, 1692. About a year after the issue of the deeds of gift of the tithes, His Excellency proposed to change this practice again, and in a document of March 29, 1693, he repeated this proposal, saying that he had already given orders for a general elephant hunt on account of the Company in the said Provinces, in which both the hunters and the inhabitants were to take part. Why this order was not carried out I cannot say; but I know that already, within six months after the issue of the deeds of gift, he noticed that both these Don Gaspars had been favoured too much. This may be seen from a letter from His Excellency dated July 4, 1690, to Jaffnapatam. For these various reasons I have recommended that the form of government in the Wanni should be changed, as would appear in our conjoined letter to Batavia of August 12, 1695. Many more reasons might be brought forward, but it would be trouble in vain. I therefore recommend Your Honours to strictly follow the orders of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo as contained in their letters of October 13 and November 21, 1696, in favour of the said Wannias, because Messrs. van Kuilen and Petitfilz, who were commissioned to investigate this matter, declared that the inhabitants on the borders of the Wanni are quite content and well satisfied. There is no use therefore in our saying anything, although my experience and that of the Dessave have proved quite the contrary. I cannot help for this reason making a speculative calculation of the amount which the Company has lost since the conquest of this territory by the non-payment of tributes and arrears in the Wanni and Ponneryn. If each animal be calculated on an average to be sold at Rds. 350, or 1,050 Florins, as may be considered to be the case, the amount would be:—
Fl.For 1680 discharged from the delivery of 313 alias: estimated price328,650For 1694 discharged from the delivery of 18½ alias19,425For present arrears73,500For arrears over 7 years in Ponneryn106,050Total527,625
This then is the loss the Company has suffered through the Wannias, besides the many annoyances and indirect losses through the inhabitants and the subjects in Jaffnapatam, which might be pointed out, but which I will not do here for the reasons stated above. (6)
The trade here is not very important and does not amount to much, except that in elephants, which was renewed chiefly by His Excellency van Mydregt since 1689; because the merchants from Golconda and Tansjouwer8had neglected this trade for some years, having driven up the prices by bidding against each other at the public auctions. The endeavour to interest them again in this trade has been successful; the more so because the price for tuskers and elephants without tusks, as also for that of infirm animals has been limited and regulated in the letter of April 3, 1690, often previously referred to. The principal people in Golconda address their payment orders to Philip Sangere Pulle or the Brahmin Timmersa, whom they have chosen as their agents, while the Company employs them as brokers in this trade. This is found to save much trouble in the distribution and selling of the animals and in feeding and transporting them when sold, because these brokers procure the provisions and vessels, giving an account to the merchants. This course was followed from the time the Company took possession of this territory up to 1696, but Sangere Pulle died in 1695, and the Brahmin Timmersa has been discharged from his office, because His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo gave instructions, in their letter of August 23 last, that the trade in elephants with the Moors at Golconda should be carried on in future without any agents or brokers. This office was accordingly taken off the trade accounts in compliance with the said order, after the accounts with the merchants and between them and the agents had been settled. This has brought about a great change, as may be seen from the resolutions of December 17 of the same year, where it is stated that these people intended to give up the trade for the reasons just mentioned, as is known to Your Honours; but it is to be hoped that this new Ordinance which was issued without communication with, or advice from, the Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, may not have the serious effects which are feared. Your Honours are also aware with how much bickering, cavilling, dispute, and vexation, the trade in elephants was kept up last year, so that about 161 animals were sold on behalf of the Company for the sumof Rds. 53,357. It is to be hoped that the sale will increase; but I must seriously advise Your Honours to strictly adhere to the above-mentioned rule, although it was made without my advice or opinion being asked; unless their Excellencies at Batavia should not agree with the view of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo and send other orders.
Besides the trade in elephants the Company deals here only in pepper, about 40,000 or 50,000 lb. of which is sold yearly; some copper,spiaulter,9a little pewter, a small quantity of powdered sugar, about 300 or 350 ammunams of Ceylon areca-nut, which are sold to the inhabitants, and a few other articles of little importance which are sold to the Company’s Dutch servants, amounting altogether to no more than Rds. 7,000 or 9,000 a year. Several endeavours have been made to extend the trade, and an effort was made to introduce here the linen manufacture from Tutucorin and Coromandel, but so far without success, as may be seen from the minutes of the meeting of the Council of Ceylon of January 22, 1695, where I brought forward several questions with regard to this matter. It was proposed there to allow private persons in Jaffnapatam to carry on a trade in cloth on the payment of 20 per cent. duty, which proposal was approved by Their Excellencies at Batavia by their letter of December 12 of the same year, but this subject will be treated of under the head of Leases. Considering further means of extending the Company’s trade, it struck me that Jaffnapatam was not only better situated than Calpetty for the areca-nut trade with Coromandel, but also that the roads through the Wanni to the Sinhalese areca-nut forests are very good, so that the nuts could be transported from there inBoyados.10In our letter of October 26, 1694, to Colombo, I proposed that this should be done, which proposal was referred by His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo to Their Excellencies at Batavia. In their letter of December 12, 1695, our Supreme Government expressed themselves in favour of this proposal, but in a later letter of July 3, 1696, this was cancelled, although it is beyond doubt that this way of transport of the areca-nut would be more advantageous to the Company. This may be seen from the fact that the Portuguese, when they were here, followed the same practise, and with good success as I was told. I will now leave the subject of areca-nut and revert to that ofelephants. Many of these animals have been left here after the last sale in 1696, because the purchasers were afraid of meeting with a north wind on their voyage. Many vessels will be required to transport not only these animals but also those that will be sold during the next southern season. There being no agent now, the purchasers will have to look out for themselves. And it will be necessary for Your Honours to give them all possible assistance in order that they may not be entirely discouraged and give up this trade. Your Honours must also inquire whether any suitable vessels are to be procured here which could be sent to Colombo or Galle in March or April, for the transport from there of the Company’s elephants fit for sale: in compliance with the proposals contained in the correspondence between Colombo and Jaffnapatam of April 13 and July 11, 1695, and especially with the orders from Their Excellencies at Batavia in their letter of July 3, 1696, wherein this course was highly approved. The fare for these private vessels is far less than the expenditure the Company is put to when its own vessels are used to transport the elephants from Galle round about Ceylon to Cougature. If the latter course has to be followed, care must be taken that the animals are carefully landed at Manaar, in order that they may be fit to be transported further by land to the place of their destination. It will also be necessary to have some more of these animals trained for the hunt; because at present the Company owns only about 6 tame ones, while there should be always about a dozen; not only in order to fetch the elephants from Manaar and to tame the wild animals, but also to assist the Wannias in case they should capture a large number of elephants, when these animals would be useful in the shipping of those sold to the purchasers. This is not a regular practice, but is followed sometimes at their request when any animals are to be shipped which are not sufficiently tamed to be led into the vessels by themselves. Nothing more need be said with regard to the elephants, except that there are about 6 animals in the stables besides the 6 for the hunt mentioned above. It is to be hoped that this number will soon be considerably increased, and the prices must be regulated according to the instructions contained in the letter from Colombo of January 16, 1696, and in compliance with the decision arrived at on certain questions brought forward by the late Commandeur Blom in the Council of Ceylon on February 17, 1692, and agreed upon on February 19 following; while also, and especially, the instructions from Their Excellencies at Batavia contained in their letter of January 4, 1695, must be observed,where they order that no animals are to be sold or sent except for cash payment, so that there may be no difficulty in recovering the amount. (7)
The trade with the Moors from Bengal at Jaffnapatam and Galle has been opened by order of the Honourable the Supreme Government of India in terms of their letter of August 20, 1694. It is expected that the trade with the Moors will greatly benefit this country, because the inhabitants here are continually in want of grain and victuals, which are imported by the Moors. Some years ago, when food was very scarce in Coromandel, the English at Madraspatnam stopped the Moorish vessels on their way hither, and bought up all their rice, which was a great loss to Jaffnapatam. If the Moors could be induced to come here in future with their rice, butter, sugar, cadjang,11&c., which are always very much in demand, it must be seen that they are fairly dealt with, and not discouraged from coming to this country. Perhaps they also would buy some elephants if it happened that the Company had too many, or if too few purchasers should arrive here from Golconda. But if the demand for these animals at Golconda continues as it has done for the last few years, we would not need the aid of the Bengal Moors in this matter, although in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia they may be accommodated with a few elephants if they urgently request them. It is the intention besides to sell to them the Ceylon areca-nut; as we cannot as yet transport it through the Wanni, His Excellency the Governor and the Council at Colombo must see that the areca-nut from Calpetty or Trincomalee is sent here, in compliance with the instructions of Their Excellencies at Batavia as contained in their letter of July 3, 1696. Your Honours must therefore send in the orders in due time if the Moors continue to come here, because we cannot sell to them theChiankos,12it being the intention of Their Honours at Batavia, according to their letters of January 4 and February 12, 1695, that this sea-product should be chiefly transported to Bengal on behalf of the Company. On the other hand the diving forChiankosat Manaar is of so little importance that it is hardly worth while mentioning here, and they are also very small, so that it is not likely that the Moors would be willing to pay 12 pagodas aCour, as was ordered in a letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of March 23, 1695. With regard to the further restrictions put upon thetrade with the Moors, Your Honours must observe the instructions contained in the letter of January 4, 1695. (8)
The inhabitants of this territory, who are really a perverse race, are far too numerous to be maintained by the produce of this Commandement. This had been expected at the beginning of the Company’s rule, when the late Commandeur, Anthony Paviljoen, stated in his Instructions that there were about 120,000 subjects. How much worse must this be now, when, as shown by the last Census, there were of the people known alone, 169,299 subjects here and in Manaar. I think there would be far more if all those who hide themselves in order to escape from taxes and servitude be included. All these inhabitants are divided into 40 different castes, which are described in the Thombo, so that I will not name them here, as this would involve too much prolixity, especially if I should state what kind of services, impositions, &c., each one is liable to. All this I imagine to be well known to Your Honours; because the late Mr. Blom had given a detailed and accurate account of these matters in his report of August 20, 1692, and I could only re-write what has been already described by others; I therefore refer to the said manuscript, where, besides this subject, much information may be found with regard to other matters concerning Jaffnapatam. In the same document is also found a comparison between the revenue of the Commandement, with the taxes and duty it has to render to the Company, in the payment of which it has been greatly met by the Honourable the Supreme Government of India as will be shown below. In order to prevent any misapprehension during my absence, I will state here the amount of the income of the Company during the last year, viz., from September 1, 1695, to the end of August, 1696, inclusive, viz.:—
Rds.Rent from lands, trees, and gardens16,348.3.4¾Tithes8,632.7.3¾Poll tax5,998.1.0Officie865.2.0Adigary1,178.3.0½Total33,020.10.2Revenue of Manaar879.10.233,900.9.013
From this amount of Rds. 33,020.10.2 the following expenditure must be deducted, viz.:—
Rds.Payment of 216 Majoraals at Rds. 2 each432.0.0Payment of 218 Cayaals at Rd. 1 each218.0.0Payment of 8 tax collectors320.3.7¾Payment of 8Sarraafs14or Accountants32.3.0½For elephants delivered in lieu of poll tax and land rent by the tamekares to the value of373.4.0½Total1,375.8.1¼15
So that Jaffnapatam had from this a clear revenue of Rds. 31,645.2.3/9 last year, which is the second in importance of the sources of revenue which the Company derives from this Commandement, besides the profit on the sale of elephants. So far the land rents have only been calculated in the Mallabaar books. We had therefore to depend entirely on the native officers who were employed in this work and had to translate the accounts; but the Hon. the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Mr. Laurens Pyl, when he was Commandeur of Jaffnapatam, very wisely introduced the practice of having all the fields, trees, houses, and gardens of the inhabitants indicated on maps, and of estimating the impositions of the tithes, and thus compiling a Dutch instead of the Mallabaar Thombo. Because, when a description was made in Mallabaar, in compliance with the orders of Their Excellencies at Batavia in 1675 and 1677, the yearly revenue of the Company increased by no less than Rds. 12,204 and 17/40 fanams. But as the natives were not supposed to have done the work satisfactorily, it was again undertaken by a committee of Dutch surveyors, who, however, wrote a great deal but did not start the work in the right way, and it was never properly completed.
The new description of lands had however become so urgently necessary that His Excellency the Commissioner-General left orders that this work should be started afresh, ignoring what had been done already. During the government of Commandeur Blom this work was commenced again, some soldiers who were qualified surveyors being employed init, as well as suchCannecappuls16as were required by the Thombo-keeper to do the writing, while one of the surveyors prepared the maps of the fields which had been surveyed. This was done with a view to obtain a plan of each particular field and thus recover the proper rents, and also to fix the boundaries between the different properties. Maps are also being prepared of eachAldeaor village and each Province, of which our authorities in the Fatherland desire to receive a copy as stated in their letter to Batavia of August 27, 1694, which copies must be prepared. On my arrival here from Batavia in 1694, the Thombo-keeper, Pieter Bolscho, pointed out to me that this description of land was again unsatisfactory, and that it would not serve its purpose, as stated by me in the Annual Compendiums of November 30, 1694 and 1695. It was therefore necessary to have this work done for the third time, and to measure again all the lands which had been surveyed already. This time a scheme was drawn up with the help of the said Mr. Bolscho, and the work has succeeded so well that the Province of Walligamme, which alone extends over about half of this territory, has been completely surveyed, and will from the last of August yield an increase of revenue of Rds. 1,509.5.23 or Fl. 4,527.3.4 yearly. I have already written and sent out the bills, as a warning to the people to prepare for the payment, and the tax collectors are responsible for the recovery of the amount; so that the small expenditure of this new description will be recouped, and the inhabitants have no cause of complaint, because they are only asked to pay their due to the lord of the land as they ought to have done long ago. There is also to be recovered an amount of Rds. 500.2.5 for some small pieces of land which were sold on behalf of the Company in 1695 in the village of Copay, which no one appears to have demanded, because I was in Colombo and the Dessave in Negapatam at the time. This must be done now, especially as the expenditure of the new description of lands has, by order of Their Honours contained in the general resolutions of October 4, 1694, been written off the general revenue, to which must therefore be now transferred the amount gained thereby, as also the sum of Rds. 288.7 which has been received by the survey of some lands in Sjeroepittie, Wallalay, and Nierwely, which were occupied and cultivated by the inhabitants, but for which they did not pay any rent while we had the old Thombo, and which we left to them for payment as they had cultivated them. This was in compliance with the instructions contained in the reply to our letter to Colombo ofAugust 22, 1695, received December 15 following. If any one among you should not quite understand this new description of lands, he may find it useful to read certain instructions left by Governor Laurens Pyl with regard to this subject on February 1, 1679, for the Committee appointed to do this work, which instructions must be still observed so far as they are applicable to the present circumstances. Your Honours will most likely be aware also of the extensive Memoir compiled on my orders by the said Mr. Bolscho, and submitted to the Council on December 15, 1696, and of the reply thereto, as also of the report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692, on the same subject, to which documents I here refer. The surveyors are at present at work in the Province of Waddemoraatsche, where they have with them two Mudaliyars, in order to settle small differences which might arise among the inhabitants when their lands are being surveyed. The Mudaliyars act as arbitrators in the presence of the Majoraals of the villages, but important matters must be brought before the Dessave, to be disposed of by him or by the Court of Justice or the Civil Court according to the importance of the case. The Dessave must see that the Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, receives all the assistance he requires, and also that the natives who have to serve him in this work are kept in obedience, in order that he may not be discouraged and lose the zeal he has shown so far in the service of the Company in this difficult work. Once this work is completed it will not be required to be done again, and we will be able then to prepare separate lists not only of each Province, but also of each village; so that at any time the credits or the debits of each tax collector may be seen. (9)
The tithes are a tax levied on the harvest, and are paid in money. Last year it amounted to the sum of Rds. 8,632.7.3¾, as shown in the above account, and treated of at length in the report of August 20, 1692. I need not therefore dilate on this subject, and only wish to state that I do not agree with the concluding portion of that report, where it is stated that this tax is too heavy, and might be reduced to half the amount as requested by the inhabitants, for which many reasons are givenproandcon. I think that it can be proved sufficiently that the inhabitants are able to easily pay this imposition of the tithes; not only because they have never complained against it since the year 1690 during the stay of His Excellency van Mydregt, when they knew His Excellency had the power to grant their request without waiting for further instructions. On that occasion the people of Jaffnapatam tried every means of obtaining their wish, but it may be proved that since that time they have become more prosperous—a subject which may be dealt with perhaps later on. That the payment of the saidtithes cannot be very difficult for them is proved by the fact that if half of the amount, viz., Rds. 4,316, be divided over the total number of inhabitants, the rate for each individual amounts to but very little. It is stated as a fact that the rich people possess the largest number of fields, but this shows that they do not need a reduction of the tithes. (10)
Besides these tithes, one-tenth is also paid for the forests, mud lands, &c., which have been granted for cultivation by the successive Dessaves to different persons with the promise of exemption from any impositions for a period of 3, 4, 6, or more years; on the expiry of this period taxes must be paid. As I think that the Majoraals do not look after these matters sufficiently well, and do not give notice in time, the Dessave will have to investigate the matter and see that the tenth of the harvest is brought to the Company’s stores, especially because the natives do not hesitate to steal or keep back their dues if they are not kept constantly in fear of punishment.
The poll tax, shown above to amount to the sum of Rds. 5,998.1, is of quite a different nature, because the rich and the poor pay exactly the same rate. His Excellency van Mydregt on February 28, 1690, caused a decree to be issued, by which all the inhabitants were exempted from the increase of poll tax which they had had to pay since the year 1675, and which amounted on an average to from Rds. 10 to 110. But this exemption was only for the period of ten years, and would have expired therefore in 1699, if the Honourable the Supreme Government of India had not in a spirit of benevolence decided by their letter to Ceylon of December 12, 1695, to make the reduction a permanent one. This was made known to the inhabitants of this Island on November 8 following. They showed themselves very grateful for this generosity; but this must be considered sufficient for the present, and they have not much reason now to insist upon a decrease of the tithes also. The time for a renovation of the Head Thombo, which has to be done every three years, has again arrived, and theOndercoopmanand Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, and theOndercoopman, Mr. Roos, were sent on circuit on November 19, 1696, in order to carry out this work. The names of the old and infirm people and those who have died must be taken off the list, and the names of the youths who have passed from the schools must be entered, in order that those who oweOelyservice may be known. It would also be useful if the Dessave were occasionally present at this revision when his other duties do not interfere with it, because an acquaintance with this work is very desirable in aland regent. This new Head Thombo must be completed by the end of next August, in order that the poll tax and the fines for failure of performingOely services, calledChicosmoney, may be included in the Trade Accounts for each year, as arranged by me. (11)
TheOfficie Geldenhave also been described at length in the often cited report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692. It is stated there how these were first levied, as also how they were raised by the Portuguese, and how they were paid during the rule of the Company. Some of the castes had besides requested to be exempted from the payment of these dues, and it is shown how this had been refused. Last year the aggregate of this tax did not amount to more than Rds. 865.2. It is also spoken of in the Memoir of the Thombo-keeper, Piet Christiaansz Bolscho, which was presented to the Council on October 20, 1696, and the approval of which was conveyed by the letter from Colombo to Jaffnapatam of November 16 following. The instructions contained in this Memoir with regard to theOfficie Geldenmust still be observed, the chief point being that they must be demanded for each individual and not in the aggregate for the caste as a whole, as it has been done thus far, so that the Majoraals and tax collectors had an opportunity of appropriating a great part of the amount, which could never be exactly calculated. That they could do this easily may be understood when it is considered that most of the castes have increased in number, while the Company has received no more than the lump sum due by each caste. Knowing the covetousness and avarice of the tax collectors and Majoraals, it could hardly be expected that they would excuse any one from the payment; they must, on the contrary, have demanded the money from each person and appropriated the surplus collected by the increase in the number of people in each caste. Your Honours must therefore take note of the matter, and the newly compiled lists must show at a glance how much each aldea or parish owes; and as the payment of this tax will be fairly distributed, no one will be wronged, and the Company will receive its dues. (12)
TheAdigaryamounted last year to Rds. 1,178.3½. It is paid, like theOfficie Gelden, by every person without distinction, but the only castes which pay it are the Bellales, the Chandes, and the Tannatare. It dates from the time of the heathen kings, who used to rule the country through Adigars, who were appointed over the different Provinces, and the same method was followed by the Portuguese. These Adigars were not paid by the king, but the inhabitants had to furnish them with victuals. This was changed in the course of time by their having to contribute to the payment of the Adigar, which did not exceed one fanam for each person. Although the Company, which at first followed the same practice, later on abolished this office, except in the districts of Mantotte andPonneryn, yet this imposition of theAdigaryremained in force on the same castes and is still paid by them. No one however complains of it, but on the contrary, they consider themselves to be the three oldest castes, and look upon it as a mark of distinction and honour conferred on them above the other castes, thinking that only they are worthy to contribute to the maintenance of the king’s Adigars. It is looked upon in the same light by some other castes who consider themselves equal to these three, such as the Maddapallys, Agambadys, Paradeesys, &c. I think, therefore, that the Company could put this point of honour to advantage and levy this tax from many other wealthy castes, who would gladly out of jealousy allow the Adigary to be levied on them; but this is mentioned here onlyen passantas a suggestion for the consideration of wiser heads. (13)
TheOelyservice has, like theOfficie Gelden, been described in detail by the late Mr. Blom in his report of August 20, 1692, so that I need not expand on this subject here. It may be seen from the document just mentioned what castes up to this time have been obliged to perform this service and how many men have to attend daily, as also how they are classified. The same rules are still observed, but, as I noticed during my residence, these people are very lazy in the performance of their servitudes, although they are only required to attend three days in every three months, or twelve days in a whole year. I think this may be considered as a sign of their increased prosperity; because they seem to find the means for paying their fines for non-attendance without any trouble. This fine is only 2 Dutch stivers for each day, or 1 rix-dollar for the twelve days in a year for each person, and the account for the year 1695 shows that on the 24,021 men Rds. 2,001.9 were paid in fines, and for the year 1696 for eight months (January to August) a sum of Rds. 1,053.9 for 12,640 men; so that the Company during the period of 20 months had to lose the daily labour of 36,661 men. It is therefore to be expected that the works have been considerably delayed at the Castle, in the loading and unloading of the vessels, at the wharf, at the gunpowder mill, at the brick-kiln at Point Pedro, in the burning of lime and the felling of wood on the borders of the Wanni, the digging and breaking of coral stones on the islands, the burning of coals for the smith’s shop, &c. I therefore think that the said Sicos17money ought to be doubled, so that they would have to pay 1 fanam instead of 2 stivers for each day’s absence; because I do not think this must be consideredas a tax levied on the inhabitants, but as a fine and punishment imposed for negligence and as a means to make them perform the necessary labour in order to prevent delay. But, as these my Instructions are to be revised by His Excellency the Governor at Colombo, Your Honours will no doubt receive orders from him, I not being authorized to issue them. The reason why the last account of theSicosruns only over eight months instead of as usual over a year is that I specially ordered this to be done because the account used to run from the beginning to the end of each year, while the Trade Accounts were closed on the last day of August, which formerly closed on the last day of February, which was always a source of confusion. In order to correct this I ordered the account of theSicosto be made up for the last eight months only. Meantime Your Honours must not fail to see that these amounts are collected on behalf of the Company, because out of it only Rds. 180 has been received for Patchelepalle for 1695; so that out of the above-mentioned amount for the last 20 months the sum of Rds. 2,975.1 is still due to the Company. Besides the usualCaltementosreceived by the Collectors as a compensation for the loss they suffer on account of those persons who died or disappeared since the last revision of the Thombo, Your Honour must also keep in mind that a small amount is to be paid yet towards theSicosfor 1693. The whole of the amount was Rds. 993.7, and the greater part was received during my time. I do not know why this was not collected before; perhaps it was due to the departure of the late Mr. Blom to the pearl fishery in 1699, and his death soon thereafter.18Because, when I arrived in December of the same year from Batavia, I found matters in Jaffnapatam very much in the same condition in which they were on my return from Colombo last August, namely, many necessary things had been neglected and there was great confusion. I will not enter into details over the matter here, as I am not writing with direct reference to them. We will return now to the subject of theOelyservice, with regard to which I have merely to add that it must be seen that the old and infirm people, who are exempted from this servitude in the new Thombo, do not fail to deliver such mats andpannegay19kernels for coals for the smith’s shop, as they are bound to according to the customs of the country; because, although this is only a small matter, yet these things come in very handy for the storehouses, vessels, pearl fishery, &c., while otherwise money would haveto be spent on these mats, an expenditure which could be thus avoided. (14)
The tax collectors and Majoraals are native officers appointed by the Company to demand and collect the poll tax, land rent, tithes, and theOfficieandAdigaryrates which I have treated of above. They also see that the natives perform such servitudes as they owe to the lord of the land, and collect theSicosmoney to which I have referred, levied for neglect in attending forOelyservice. The expenditure in the appointment of these native officers is very small, as may be seen from the foregoing account, considering that these Collectors and Majoraals have to attend once in three months, or four times a year, at the Castle to hand over one-fourth of the full amount of the taxes for the year; so that the revenue is usually received at the closing of the accounts. As this practice has proved to be successful, the same course must be followed in future. I would wish at the same time to point out here that the facility with which these taxes are collected in Jaffnapatam is another evidence of the improved condition of the inhabitants. In the year 1690 a change was made in the appointment of the Collectors and Majoraals. Up to that time all these and many of the Cannecappuls, Arachchies, &c., belonged to one caste, viz., that of the Bellales, being the farmers or peasants. The principal of these belong to the family of Don Philip Sangerepulle, from Cannengray, a native of evil repute; so much so, that His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Laurens Pyl, who was at the time Governor of Ceylon, issued an order on June 16, 1687, by which Commandeur Cornelis van der Duyn and his Council were instructed to have the said Don Philip and several of his followers and accomplices put in chains and sent to Colombo. He succeeded, however, in concealing himself and eventually fled to Nagapatam, where he managed to influence the merchant Babba Porboe to such an extent that through his aid he obtained during the years 1689 and 1690 all the advantages he desired for his caste and for his followers. This went so far as to the appointment of even schoolboys as Majoraals and Cayaals from the time they left school. His late Excellency van Mydregt, who had great confidence in the said Babba, was somewhat misled by him, but was informed of the fact by certain private letters from the late Commandeur Blom during His Excellency’s residence at Tutucorin. His Excellency then authorized Mr. Blom on July 4, 1690, to at once make such changes as would be necessary, under the pretext that some of the Majoraals were not provided yet with proper acts of appointment issued by His Excellency. This may also be seen in the answer to some points brought before His Excellency by Mr. Blom on October20. These replies bear date November 29 following. Finding, however, on my arrival from Batavia, that these appointments were still reserved for the Bellales, through the influence of a certain Moddely Tamby, who had formerly been a betel carrier to Sangerepulle, later on a private servant of Babba Porboe, and last of all Cannecappul to the Commandeur, and another Cannecappul, also of the Bellale caste and a first cousin of the said Sangerepulle, of the name of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga Mudaliyar, I brought this difficulty before my Governor His Excellency the Extraordinary Councillor of India, Thomas van Rhee, on my visit to Colombo in the beginning of 1698. He verbally authorized me to make the necessary changes, that so many thousands of people should no longer suffer by the oppression of the Bellales, who are very proud and despise all other castes, and who had become so powerful that they were able not only to worry and harass the poor people, but also to prevent them from submitting their complaints to the authorities. Already in the years 1673 and 1675 orders had been given that the Collectors should be transferred every three years; because by their holding office for many years in the same Province they obtained a certain amount of influence and authority over the inhabitants, which would have enabled them to take advantage of them; and it has always been a rule here not to restrict the appointment to these offices to the Bellales, but to employ the Maddapallys and other castes as well, to serve as a counter-acting influence; because by this means the inhabitants were kept in peace, and through the jealousy of the various castes the ruler was always in a position to know what was going on in the country. All these reasons induced His Excellency Thomas van Rhee to give me leave to bring about the necessary changes, which have now been introduced. I appointed the Collector of Waddemoraatje as my Cannecappul in the place of Moddely Tamby, whose place I filled with the new Collector of the Maddapally caste, while also a new Collector was appointed for Timmoraatsche in the place of Don Joan Mandala Nayaga, whom the late Mr. Blom had discharged from his office as Cannecappul of the Gate; because no two Bellales are allowed to hold office in one place. He agreed with me on this point, as may be seen from his report of August 20, 1692. I have further transferred two Collectors in the large Province of Wallegamo, so as to gradually bring about the desired change in the interest of the Company and that of the other castes; but I heard that this small change created so much disturbance and canvassing that I had to leave the matter alone. The Bellales, seeing that they would be shut out from these profitable offices and that they would lose theinfluence they possessed so far, and being the largest in number and the wealthiest of the people, moved heaven and earth to put a stop to the carrying into effect of this plan so prejudicial to their interests. With this view they also joined the Wannias Don Philip Nellamapane and Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar in their conspiracies. The latter two, also Bellales, well aware that they owed many elephants to the Company, as stated at the beginning of this Memoir, and knowing that their turn would also come, organized the riots in which the said Moddely Tamby was the principal instrument. He was a man who first appeared as a rebel, on the plea that, having been prosecuted by the Fiscaal for many offences, he had been injured by a long imprisonment and that this induced him to take revenge, these same two Wannias having been then the first accusers who came to me complaining against this man in the latter part of 1694. Perhaps later on they considered the great assistance they received from him during the time of Babba Porboe in obtaining the various privileges and favours. They also probably understood that it was my intention to diminish the influence of the Bellale caste, and were thus induced to take this course to promote the welfare of their caste. I think that it was also out of their conspiracies that the riots arose from which this Commandement suffered during my absence in the months of May, June, and July. I cannot account for them in any other way, as I have stated previously when treating of the Wanni. I am obliged to repeat this here, in order that Your Honours may be on your guard and watch the movements, alliances, and associations of these Bellales and the Majoraals of the Wanni; because although I may have persisted in bringing about the desired changes, I preferred to leave the matter alone, seeing how much annoyance this first attempt caused me, and how the obsequious subjects of this Commandement are not only given audience in Colombo, but are also upheld against their local ruler, whose explanation is not only not asked for, but who is even prevented from defending the interests of the Company at the place he had a right to do. I will, however, drop this subject, although a great deal more might be said, because I consider it will be useless to do so. I only advise Your Honours not to make the slightest alteration in the appointment of the native officers during my residence at Mallabaar, but to leave them for the present in the state in which they wish so much to remain, as this is a matter within the province of the Commandeur. Lascoreens and Arachchies with their Canganes may, however, be discharged or appointed according to their merits by the Dessave, in accordance with the instructions of the late Admiral Rycloff van Goens, datedFebruary 26, 1661. In the case, however, of any of the Majoraals,20Cayaals,21Pattangatyns,22Cannecappuls, or Collectors resigning their offices or of being dismissed on account of misconduct, the Dessave will be also authorized to provisionally appoint others in their place without issuing theactens23until my return or until the appointment of another Commandeur in my place, if such be the intention of Their Excellencies at Batavia. Because no provision has been made for such cases, which interrupt the regular course of the administration. (15)
It must be also seen that the lower castes observe the rules with regard to their costumes, &c., because I hear that here also corruption has crept in, and that they do not wear their dress in the proper way, do not cut their hair, and do not wear any golden rings in their ears, so that they cannot be distinguished from the caste-people or Gonoradas as they are called, who consider this an insult to them. Aplackaaton this subject was issued by His Excellency Laurens Pyl, Governor of Ceylon, on August 18, 1686. There will be little difficulty in enforcing those rules if the Regent in this Commandement is allowed to assume the authority which is his right, and which he must have if he is to maintain the discipline required to carry on the operations of the Company, for the people of Jaffnapatam are conceited, arrogant, and stubborn. They bring false complaints against their rulers to the higher powers if they find but the least encouragement, while on the other hand they are slavish and cringe under the rod of their rulers so long as they see that their authority is not disputed, but is upheld by the Government. As they were so strictly held down to their duties during the time of the heathen and of the Portuguese, not knowing any other but their own immediate ruler, they often do not understand the position of a subordinate ruler in the service of the Company, and are not able to act with discretion when they find a way from an inferior to a superior. It is not in accordance with the natural government to which their ancestors had been accustomed. It must not, however, be supposed that I ignore the fact that the mild government of the Company always leaves a way of appeal for those of its subjects, whoever they may be, when they consider themselves unjustly treated; but I think that on the other hand the Company should likewise allow their chiefs to punish the delinquents before they are permittedto appeal to the higher powers. This I have found is not always observed as regards Jaffnapatam, although it seems to me necessary that it should be if our officers are not in the course of time to become a laughing stock to the people. It is a well-known fact that the more influential natives always try to oppress the poorer classes, and it will be impossible to prevent their doing this if they are allowed to become stronger than they already are.