Read Ebook: Memoir of Hendrick Zwaardecroon commandeur of Jaffnapatam (afterwards Governor-General of Nederlands India) 1697. For the guidance of the council of Jaffnapatam during his absence at the coast of Malabar. by Zwaardecroon Hendrick Pieters Sophia Translator

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The debt of Don Philip Nellamapane, which amounts to Fl. 375, arose from the amount being lent to him for the purchase of nely in the latter part of 1694, because there was a complaint that the Wannias, through a failure of the crop, did not have a sufficient quantity of grain for the maintenance of the hunters. This money was handed to Don Gaspar Ilengenarene Mudaliyar, brother-in-law of Don Philip, and at the request of the latter; so that really, not he, but Don Gaspar, owes the money. He must be urged to pay up this amount, which it would be less difficult to do if they were not so much in arrears with their tribute, because in that case the first animals they delivered could be taken in payment. There is no doubt, however, that this debt will be paid if they are urged.

The same is the case with the sum of Fl. 150 which Ambelewanne Wannia owes, but as he has to deliver only a few elephants this small amount can be settled the first time he delivers any elephants above his tribute.

The Pay Accounts must, like the Trade Accounts, be closed on the last day of August every year, in compliance with the orders of the Honourable the Supreme Government of India contained in their letter of August 13, 1695. They must also be audited and examined, according to the Resolution passed in the Council of India on September 6, 1694, so that it may be seen whether all the items entered in the Trade Accounts for payments appear also in the Pay Accounts, while care must be taken that those who are in arrears at the close of the books on account of advance received do not receive such payments too liberally, against which Your Honours will have to guard, so that no difficulties may arise and the displeasure of Their Excellencies may not be incurred. Care must also be taken that the various instructions for the Paybook-keeper are observed, such as those passed by Resolution of Their Excellencies on August 27 and June 29, 1694, with regard to the appraising, selling, and entering in the accounts of estates left by the Company's servants, the rules for the Curators ad lites, those with regard to the seizure of salaries by private debtors passed by Resolution of August 5, 1696, in the Council of India, and the rules passed by Resolution of March 20, with regard to such sums belonging to the Company's servants as may be found outstanding on interest after their death, namely, that these must four or six weeks after be transferred from the Trade Accounts into the Pay Accounts to the credit of the deceased.

The matter of the Secretariate not being conducted as it ought to be, cannot be dealt with in full here. It was said in the letters of November 17 and December 12, 1696, that the new Secretary, Mr. Bout , would see that all documents were properly registered, bound, and preserved, but these are the least important duties of a good Secretary. I cannot omit to recommend here especially that a journal should be kept, in which all details are entered, because there are many occurrences with regard to the inhabitants, the country, the trade, elephants, &c., which it will be impossible to find when necessary unless they appear in the letters sent to Colombo, which, however, do not always deal very circumstancially with these matters. It will be best therefore to keep an accurate journal, which I found has been neglected for the last three years, surely much against the intention of the Company. The Secretary must also see that the Scholarchial resolutions and the notes made on them by the Political Council are copied and preserved at the Secretariate, another duty which has not been done for some years. I know on the other hand that a great deal of the time of the Secretary is taken up with the keeping of the Treasury Accounts, while there is no Chief Clerk here to assist him with the Treasury Accounts, or to assist the Commandeur. This was felt also by Mr. Blom, and he proposed in his letters of February 12 and March 29, 1693, to Colombo that the Treasury Accounts should be kept by the Paybook-keeper, which, in my humble opinion, would be the best course, as none of the four Onderkooplieden here could be better employed for this work than the Paybook-keeper. It must be remembered, however, that Their Excellencies do not wish the Regulation of December 29, 1692, to be altered or transgressed, so that these must be still observed. I would propose a means by which the duties of the Cashier, and consequently of the Secretary, could be much decreased, considering that the Cashier can get no other knowledge of the condition of the general revenue than from the Thombo-keeper who makes up the accounts, namely, that the Thombo-keeper should act as General Accountant, as well of the rent for leases as of the poll tax, land rent, tithes, &c., in which case the native collectors could give their accounts to him. This, I expect, would simplify matters, and enable the Secretary to be of more assistance to the Commandeur. In case such arrangement should be made, the General Accountant could keep the accounts of the revenue specified above, which could afterwards be transferred to the accounts of the Treasury; but Your Honours must wait for the authority to do so, as I do not wish to take this responsibility. I must recommend to Your Honours here to see that in future no petitions with regard to fines are written for the inhabitants except by the Secretaries of the Political Council or the Court of Justice, as those officers in India act as Notaries. This has to be done because the petitions from these rebellious people of Jaffnapatam are so numerous that the late Mr. Blom had to forbid some of them writing such communications, because even Toepasses and Mestices take upon themselves to indite such letters, which pass under the name of petitions, but are often so full of impertinent and seditious expressions that they more resemble libels than petitions. Since neither superior nor inferior persons are spared in these documents, it is often impossible to discover the author. Whenever the inhabitants have any complaint to make, I think it will be sufficient if they ask either of the two Secretaries to draw out a petition for them in which their grievances are stated, which may be sent to Colombo if the case cannot be decided here. In this way it will be possible to see that the petitions are written on stamped paper as ordered by the Company, while they will be written with the moderation and discrimination that is necessary in petitions. There are also brought to the Secretariate every year all sorts of native protocols, such as those kept by the schoolmasters at the respective churches, deeds, contracts, ola deeds of sale, and other instruments as may have been circulated among the natives, which it is not possible to attend to at the Dutch Secretariate. But as I have been informed that the schoolmasters do not always observe the Company's orders, and often issue fraudulent instruments and thus deceive their own countrymen, combining with the Majoraals and the Chiefs of the Aldeas, by whom a great deal of fraud is committed, it will be necessary for the Dessave to hold an inquiry and punish the offenders or deliver them up for punishment. For this purpose he must read and summarize the instructions with regard to this and other matters issued successively by Their Excellencies the Governors of Ceylon and the subaltern Commandeurs of this Commandement, to be found in the placaats and notices published here relating to this Commandement. The most important of these rules must be published in the different churches from time to time, as the people of Jaffnapatam are much inclined to all kinds of evil practices, which has been the reason that so many orders and regulations had to be issued by the placaats, all which laws are the consequence of transgressions committed. Yet it is very difficult to make these people observe the rules so long as they find but the least encouragement given to them by the higher authorities, as stated already. It was decided in the Meeting of Council of October 20, 1696, that a large number of old and useless olas which were kept at the Secretariate and were a great encumbrance should be sorted, and the useless olas burnt in the presence of a committee, while the Mallabaar and Portuguese documents concerning the Thombo or description of lands were to be placed in the custody of the Thombo-keeper. This may be seen in the report of November 8 of the same year. In this way the Secretariate has been cleared, and the documents concerning the Thombo put in their proper place, where they must be kept in future; so that the different departments may be kept separately with a view to avoid confusion. I have also noticed on various occasions that the passports of vessels are lost, either at the Secretariate or elsewhere. Therefore, even so lately as last December, instructions were sent to Kayts and Point Pedro to send all such passports here as soon as possible. These passports, on the departure of the owners, were to be kept at the Secretariate after renovation by endorsement, unless they were more than six months old, in which case a new passport was to be issued. In case Your Honours are not sufficiently acquainted with the form of these passports and how they are to be signed as introduced by His late Excellency Governor van Mydregt, you will find the necessary information in the letters from Negapatam to Jaffnapatam of 1687 and 1688 and another from Colombo to Jaffnapatam bearing date April 11, 1690, in which it is stated to what class of persons passports may be issued. The same rules must be observed in Manaar so far as this district is concerned, in compliance with the orders contained in the letter of November 13, 1696.

The Court of Justice has of late lost much of its prestige among the inhabitants, because, seeing that the Bellale Mudaly Tamby, to whom previous reference has been made, succeeded on a simple petition sent to Colombo to escape the Court of Justice while his case was still undecided , they have an idea that they cannot be punished here. Even people of the lowest caste threaten that they will follow the same course whenever they think they will not gain their object here, especially since they have seen with what honours Mudaly Tamby was sent back and how the Commissioners did all he desired, although his own affairs were not even sufficiently settled yet. A great deal may be stated and proved on this subject, but as this is not the place to do so, I will only recommend Your Honours to uphold the Court of Justice in its dignity as much as possible, and according to the rules and regulations laid down with regard to it in the Statutes of Batavia and other Instructions. The principal rule must be that every person receives speedy and prompt justice, which for various reasons could not be done in the case of Mudaly Tamby, and the opportunity was given for his being summoned to Colombo.

At present the Court of Justice consists of the following persons:--

The Commandeur, President . Dessave de Bitter, Vice-President. Capt. van der Bruggen, Administrateur. Abraham Biermans. Lieut. Claas Isaacsz. The Thombo-keeper, Pieter Chr. Bolscho. The Ensign Arnoud Mom. The Onderkoopman Joan Roos. The Onderkoopman Jan van Groeneveld. The Bookkeeper Jan de Wit, Secretary.

But it must be considered that on my departure to Mallabaar, and in case the Dessave be commissioned to the pearl fishery, this College will be without a President; the Onderkooplieden Bolscho and Roos may also be away in the interior for the renovation of the Head Thombo, and it may also happen that Lieut. Claas Isaacsz will be appointed Lieutenant-Dessave, in which case he also would have to go to the interior; in such case there would be only three members left besides the complainant ex-officio and the Secretary, who would have no power to pronounce sentence. The Lieutenant van Hovingen and the Secretary of the Political Council could be appointed for the time, but in that case the Court would be more a Court Martial than a Court of Justice, consisting of three Military men and two Civil Servants, while there would be neither a President nor a Vice-President. I consider it best, therefore, that the sittings of the Court should be suspended until the return of the Dessave from the pearl fishery, unless His Excellency the Governor and the Council should give other instructions, which Your Honours would be bound to obey.

I also found that no law books are kept at the Court, and it would be well, therefore, if Your Honours applied to His Excellency the Governor and the Council to provide you with such books as they deem most useful, because only a minority of the members possess these books privately, and, as a rule, the Company's servants are poor lawyers. Justice may therefore be either too severely or too leniently administered. There are also many native customs according to which civil matters have to be settled, as the inhabitants would consider themselves wronged if the European laws be applied to them, and it would be the cause of disturbances in the country. As, however, a knowledge of these matters cannot be obtained without careful study and experience, which not every one will take the trouble to acquire, it would be well if a concise digest be compiled according to information supplied by the chiefs and most impartial natives. No one could have a better opportunity to do this than the Dessave, and such a work might serve for the instruction of the members of the Court of Justice as well as for new rulers arriving here, for no one is born with this knowledge. I am surprised that no one has as yet undertaken this work.

The advice of Mr. Laurens Pyl in his Memoir of November 7, 1679, with regard to the Court of Justice, namely, that the greatest precautions must be used in dealing with this false, cunning, and deceitful race, who think little of taking a false oath when they see any advantage for themselves in doing so, must be followed. This is perhaps the reason that the Mudaliyars Don Philip Willewaderayen and Don Anthony Naryna were ordered in a letter from Colombo of March 22, 1696, to take their oath at the request of the said Mudaly Tamby only in the heathen fashion, although this seemed out of keeping with the principles of the Christian religion , as these people are recognized as baptized Christians, and therefore the taking of this oath is not practised here. The natives are also known to be very malicious and contentious among themselves, and do not hesitate to bring false charges against each other, sometimes for the sole purpose of being able to say that they gained a triumph over their opponents before the Court of Justice. They are so obstinate in their pretended rights that they will revive cases which had been decided during the time of the Portuguese, and insist on these being dealt with again. I have been informed that some rules have been laid down with regard to such cases by other Commandeurs some 6, 8, 10, and 20 years previous, which it would be well to look up with a view to restrain these people. They also always revive cases decided by the Commandeurs or Dessaves whenever these are succeeded by others, and for this reason I never consented to alter any decision by a former Commandeur, as the party not satisfied can always appeal to the higher court at Colombo. His Excellency the Governor and the Council desired very properly in their letter of November 15, 1694, that no processes decided civilly by a Commandeur as regent should be brought in appeal before the Court of Justice here, because the same Commandeur acts in that College as President. Such cases must therefore be referred to Colombo, which is the proper course. Care must also be taken that all documents concerning each case are preserved, registered, and submitted by the Secretary. I say this because I found that this was shamefully neglected during my residence here in the years 1691 and 1692, when several cases had been decided and sentences pronounced, of which not a single document was preserved, still less the notes or copies made.

Another matter to be observed is that contained in the Resolutions of the Council of India of June 14, 1694, where the amounts paid to the soldiers and sailors are ordered not to exceed the balance due to them above what is paid for them monthly in the Fatherland. I also noticed that at present 6 Lascoreens and 7 Caffirs are paid as being employed by the Fiscaal, while formerly during the time of the late Fiscaal Joan de Ridder, who was of the rank of Koopman, not more than 5 Lascoreens and 6 Caffirs were ever paid for. I do not know why the number has been increased, and this greater expense is imposed upon the Company. No more than the former number are to be employed in future. This number has sufficed for so many years under the former Fiscaal, and as the Fiscaal has no authority to arrest any natives without the knowledge of the Commandeur or the Dessave, it will still suffice. It was during the time of the late Onderkoopman Lengele, when the word "independent" carried much weight, that the staff of native servants was increased, although for the service of the whole College of the Political Council not more than 4 Lascoreens are employed, although its duties are far more numerous than those of the Fiscaal. I consider that the number of native servants should be limited to that strictly necessary, so that it may not be said that they are kept for show or for private purposes.

With regard to the Seminary or training school for native children founded in the year 1690 by His late Excellency van Mydregt, as another evidence of the anxiety of the Company to propagate the True and Holy Gospel among this blind nation for the salvation of their souls, I will state here chiefly that Your Honours may follow the rules and regulations compiled by His Excellency, as also those sent to Jaffnapatam on the 16th of the same month. Twice a year the pupils must be examined in the presence of the Scholarchen and of the clergy and the rector. In this college the Commandeur is to act as President, but, as I am to depart to Mallabaar, this office must be filled by the Dessave, in compliance with the orders contained in the letters from Colombo of April 4, 1696. The reports of these examinations must be entered in the minute book kept by the Scriba, Jan de Crouse. These minutes must be signed by the President and the other curators, while Your Honours will be able to give further instructions and directions as to how they are to be kept. During my absence the examination must be held in the presence of the Dessave, and the Administrateur Michiels Biermans and the Thombo-keeper Pieter Bolscho as Scholarchen of the Seminary, the Lieutenant Claas Isaacsz and the Onderkoopman Joan Roos as Scholarchen of the native churches, the reverend Adrianus Henricus de Mey, acting Rector, and three other clergymen.

It must be remembered, however, that this is only with regard to examinations and not with regard to the framing of resolutions, which so far has been left to the two Scholarchen and the President of the Seminary. These, as special curators and directors, have received higher authority from His Excellency the Governor and the Council, with the understanding, however, that they observe the rules given by His Excellency and the Council both with regard to the rector and the children, in their letters of April 4 and June 13, 1696, and the Resolutions framed by the curators of June 27 and October 21, 1695, which were approved in Colombo. Whereas the school had been so far maintained out of a fund set apart for this purpose, in compliance with the orders of His Excellency, special accounts being kept of the expenditure, it has now pleased the Council of India to decide by Resolution of October 4, 1694, that only the cost of erection of this magnificent building, which amounted to Rds. 5,274, should be paid out of the said fund. This debt having been paid, orders were received in a letter from Their Excellencies of June 3, 1696, that the institution is to be maintained out of the Company's funds, special accounts of the expenditure being kept and sent yearly, both to the Fatherland and to Batavia. At the closing of the accounts last August the accounts of the Seminary as well as the amount due to it were transferred to the Company's accounts. The capital then was still Rds. 17,141, made up as follows:--

Rds. 10,341 entered at the Chief Counting-house in Colombo. Rds. 1,200 cash paid by the Treasurer of the Seminary into the Company's Treasury, December 1, 1696. Rds. 5,600 on account of church fines.

The latter was on December 1, 1690, on the foundation of the Seminary, granted to that institution, and must now again, as before, be placed by the Cashier on interest and a special account kept thereof; because out of this fund the repairs to the churches and schools and the expenses incurred in the visits of the clergy and the Scholarchen have to be paid. Other items of revenue which had been appropriated for the foundation of the Seminary, such as the farming out of the fishery, &c., must be entered again in the Company's accounts, as well as the revenue derived from the sale of lands, and that of the two elephants allowed yearly to the Seminary. The fines levied occasionally by the Dessave on the natives for offences committed must be entered in the accounts of the Deaconate or of that of the church fines, for whichever purpose they are most required.

The Sicos money must again be expended in the fortifications, as it used to be done before the building of the Training School. The income of the Seminary consisted of these six items, besides the interest paid on the capital. This, I think, is all I need say on the subject for Your Honours' information. I will only add that I hope and pray that the Lord may more and more bless this Christian design and the religious zeal of the Company.

The Scholarchen Commission is a college of civil and ecclesiastical officers, which for good reasons was introduced into this part of the country from the very beginning of our rule. Their meetings are usually held on the first Tuesday of every month, and at these is decided what is necessary to be done for the advantage of the church, such as the discharge and appointment of schoolmasters and merinhos, &c. It is here also that the periodical visits of the brethren of the clergy to the different parishes are arranged. The applications of natives who wish to enter into matrimony are also addressed to this college. All the decisions are entered monthly in the resolutions, which are submitted to the Political Council. This is done as I had an idea that things were not as they ought to be with regard to the visitation of churches and inspection of schools, and that the rules made to that effect had come to be disregarded. This was a bad example, and it may be seen from the Scholarchial Resolution Book of 1695 and of the beginning of 1696, what difficulty I had in reintroducing these rules. I succeeded at last so far in this matter that the visits of the brethren of the clergy were properly divided and the time for them appointed. This may be seen from the replies of the Political Council to the Scholarchial Resolutions of January 14 and February 2, 1696.

On my return from Ceylon I found inserted in the Scholarchial Resolution Book a petition from two of the clergymen which had been clandestinely sent to Colombo, in which they did not hesitate to complain of the orders issued with regard to the visits referred to, and, although these orders had been approved by His Excellency the Governor and the Council, as stated above, the request made in this clandestine petition was granted on March 6, 1696, and the petition returned to Jaffnapatam with a letter signed on behalf of the Company on March 14 following. It is true I also found an order from Colombo, bearing date April 4 following, to the effect that no petitions should be sent in future except through the Government here, which is in accordance with the rules observed all over India, but the letter from Colombo of November 17, received here, and the letter sent from here to Colombo on December 12, prove that the rule was disregarded almost as soon as it was made. On this account I could not reply to the resolutions of the Scholarchen, as the petition, contrary to those rules, was inserted among them. I think that the respect due to a ruler in the service of the Company should not be sacrificed to the private opposition of persons who consider that the orders issued are to their disadvantage, and who rely on the success of private petitions sent clandestinely which are publicly granted. In order not to expose myself to such an indignity for the second time I left the resolutions unanswered, and it will be necessary for Your Honours to call a meeting of the Political Council to consider these resolutions, to prevent the work among the natives being neglected. The College of the Scholarchen consists at present of the following persons:--

The Dessave de Bitter, President. The Lieutenant Claas Isaacsz, Scholarch. The Onderkoopman P. Chr. Bolscho, Scholarch. The Onderkoopman Joan Roos, Scholarch. Adrianus Henricus de Mey, Clergyman. Joannes Roman, Clergyman. Philippus de Vriest, Clergyman. Thomas van Symey, Clergyman. The Assistant Godfried Abraham, Scriba.

I am obliged to mention here also for Your Honours' information that I have noticed that the brethren of the clergy, after having succeeded by means of their petition to get the visits arranged according to their wish, usually apply for assistance, such as attendants, coolies, cayoppen, &c., as soon as the time for their visits arrive, that is to say, when it is their turn to go to such places as have the reputation of furnishing good mutton, fowls, butter, &c.; but when they have to visit the poorer districts, such as Patchelepalle, the boundaries of the Wanny, Trincomalee, and Batticaloa, they seldom give notice of the arrival of the time, and some even go to the length of refusing to go until they are commanded to depart. From this an idea may be formed of the nature of their love for the work of propagating religion. Some also take their wives with them on their visits of inspection to the churches and schools, which is certainly not right as regards the natives, because they have to bear the expense. With regard to the regulations concerning the churches and schools, I think these are so well known to Your Honours that it would be superfluous for me to quote any documents here. I will therefore only recommend the strict observation of all these rules, and also of those made by His Excellency Mr. van Mydregt of November 29, 1690, and those of Mr. Blom of October 20, with regard to the visits of the clergy to the churches and the instructions for the Scholarchen in Ceylon generally by His Excellency the Governor and the Council of December 25, 1663, and approved by the Council of India with a few alterations in March, 1667.

The Consistory consists at present of the four ministers mentioned above, besides:--

Joan Roos, Elder. Hendrik Warnar, Elder. Joan Swinas, Deacon. Jacob Jansz, Deacon. Domenicus Hartkamp, Deacon. Jan de Wit, Deacon.

To these is added as Commissaris Politicus, the Administrateur Abraham Michielsz Biermans, in compliance with the orders of December 27, 1643, issued by His late Excellency the Governor General Antony van Diemen and the Council of India at Batavia. Further information relating to the churches may be found in the resolutions of the Political Council and the College of the Scholarchen of Ceylon from March 13, 1668, to April 3 following. I think that in these documents will be found all measures calculated to advance the prosperity of the church in Jaffnapatam, and to these may be added the instructions for the clergy passed at the meeting of January 11, 1651.

The churches and the buildings attached to the churches are in many places greatly decayed. I found to my regret that some churches look more like stables than buildings where the Word of God is to be propagated among the Mallabaars. It is evident that for some years very little has been done in regard to this matter, and as this is a work particularly within the province of the Dessave, I have no doubt that he will take the necessary measures to remedy the evil; so that the natives may not be led to think that even their rulers do not have much esteem for the True Religion. It would be well for the Dessave to go on circuit and himself inspect all the churches. Until he can do so he may be guided by the reports with regard to these buildings made by Lieutenant Claas Isaacsz on March 19 and April 4, 1696. He must also be aware that the schoolmasters and merinhos have neglected the gardens attached to the houses, which contain many fruit trees and formerly yielded very good fruit, especially grapes, which served for the refreshment of the clergymen and Scholarchen on their visits.

The Civil Court or Land Raad has been instituted on account of the large population, and because of the difficulty of settling their disagreements, which cannot always be done by the Commandeur or the Court of Justice, nor by the Dessave, because his jurisdiction is limited to the amount of 100 Pordaus. The sessions held every Wednesday must not be omitted again, as happened during my absence in Colombo on account of the indisposition of the President. This Court consists at present of the following persons:--

Abraham Michielsz Biermans, Administrateur. President. Jan Fransz, Vryburger, Vice-President. Arnoud Mom, Ensign. Jan Lodewyk Stumphuis, Paymaster. Lucas de Lange, Vryburger. Jan de Wit, Bookkeeper. Louis Verwyk, Vryburger.

J. L. Stumphuis, mentioned above, Secretary.

The native members are Don Louis Poeder and Don Denis Nitsingeraye.

The instructions issued for the guidance of the Land Raad may be found with the documents relating to this college of 1661, in which are also contained the various Ordinances relating to the official Secretaries in this Commandement, all which must be strictly observed. As there is no proper place for the assembly of the Land Raad nor for the meeting of the Scholarchen, and as both have been held so far in the front room of the house of the Dessave, where there is no privacy for either, it will be necessary to make proper provision for this. The best place would be in the town behind the orphanage, where the Company has a large plot of land and could acquire still more if a certain foul pool be filled up as ordered by His Excellency van Mydregt. A building ought to be put up about 80 or 84 feet by 30 feet, with a gallery in the centre of about 10 or 12 feet, so that two large rooms could be obtained, one on either side of the gallery, the one for the assembly of the Land Raad and the other for that of the Scholarchen. It would be best to have the whole of the ground raised about 5 or 6 feet to keep it as dry as possible during the rainy season, while at the entrance, in front of the gallery, a flight of stone steps would be required. In order, however, that it may not seem as if I am unaware of the order contained in the letter from Their Excellencies of November 23, 1695, where the erection of no public building is permitted without authority from Batavia, except at the private cost of the builder, I wish to state here particularly that I have merely stated the above by way of advice, and that Your Honours must wait for orders from Batavia for the erection of such a building. I imagine that Their Excellencies will give their consent when they consider that masonry work costs the Company but very little in Jaffnapatam, as may be seen in the expenditure on the fortifications, which was met entirely by the chicos or fines, imposed on those who failed to attend for the Oely service. Lime, stone, cooly labour, and timber are obtained free, except palmyra rafters, which, however, are not expensive. The chief cost consists in the wages for masonry work and the iron, so that in respect of building Jaffnapatam has an advantage over other places. Further instructions must however be awaited, as none of the Company's servants is authorized to dispense with them.

The Weesmeesteren will find the regulations for their guidance in the Statutes of Batavia, which were published on July 1, 1642, by His Excellency the Governor-General Antonis van Diemen and the Council of India by public placaat. This college consists at present of the following persons:--

Pieter Chr. Bolscho, President. Lucas Langer, Vice-President. Joan Roos, Onderkoopman. Gerrit van Hovingen, Lieutenant. Johannes Huysman, Boekhouder. Jan Baptist Verdonk, Vryburger. Jan de Wit, Secretary.

As the Hon. the Government of India has been pleased to send to Ceylon by letter of May 3, 1695, a special Ordinance for the Orphan Chamber and its officials with regard to their salaries, I consider it necessary to remind you of it here and to recommend its strict observance, as well also of the resolution of March 20, 1696, whereby the Orphan Chamber is instructed that all such money as is placed under their administration which is derived from the estates of deceased persons who had invested money on interest with the Company, and whose heirs were not living in the same place, must be remitted to the Orphan Chamber at Batavia with the interest due within a month or six weeks.

The Commissioners of Marriage Causes will also find their instructions in the Statutes of Batavia, mentioned above, which must be carefully observed. Nothing need be said with regard to this College, but that it consists of the following persons:--

Claas Isaacsz, Lieutenant, President. Lucas Langer, Vryburger, Vice-President. Joan Roos, Onderkoopman. Jan van Bruggen, Secretary.

The officers of the Burgery, the Pennisten, and the Ambachtsgezellen will likewise find their instructions and regulations in the Statutes of Batavia, and apply them as far as applicable.

The Superintendent of the Fire Brigade and the Wardens of the Town have their orders and distribution of work publicly assigned to them by the Regulation of November 8, 1691, upon which I need not remark anything, except that the following persons are the present members of this body:--

Jan van Croenevelt, Fiscaal, President. Jan Baptist Verdonk, Vryburger, Vice-President. Jan van der Bruggen, Assistant. Lucas de Langer, Vryburger. Jacobus Aubert, Schoolmaster. Jan de Wit, Secretary.

The deacons, as caretakers of the poor, have been mentioned already under the heading of the Consistory. During the last five and half years they have spent Rds. 1,145.3.7 more than they received. As I apprehended this would cause inconvenience, I proposed in my letter of December 1, 1696, to Colombo that the Poor House should be endowed with the Sicos money for the year 1695, which otherwise would have been granted to the Seminary, which did not need it then, as it had received more than it required. Meantime orders were received from Batavia that the funds of the said Seminary should be transferred to the Company, so that the Sicos money could not be disposed of in that way. As the deficit is chiefly due to the purchase, alteration, and repairing of an orphanage and the maintenance of the children, as may be seen from the letters to Colombo of December 12 and 17, 1696, to which expenditure the Deaconate had not been subject before the year 1690, other means will have to be considered to increase its funds in order to prevent the Deaconate from getting into further arrears. It would be well therefore if Your Honours would carefully read the Instructions of His late Excellency van Mydregt of November 29, 1690, and ascertain whether alimentation given to the poor by the Deaconate has been well distributed and whether it really was of the nature of alms and alimentation as it should be. A report of the result of your inquiry should be sent to His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo. You might also state therein whether the orphanage has not been sufficiently enlarged yet, for it seems to me that the expenditure is too great for only 14 children, as there are at present. It might also be considered whether the Company could not find some source of income for the Deaconate in case this orphanage is not quite completed without further expenditure, and care must be taken that the deacons strictly observe the rules laid down for them in the Regulation of His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Ceylon of January 2, 1666. The present matron, Catharina Cornelisz, widow of the late Krankbezoeker Dupree, must be directed to follow the rules laid down for her by the Governor here on November 4, 1694, and approved in Colombo. That all the inferior colleges mentioned here successively have to be renewed yearly by the Political Council is such a well-known matter that I do not think it would escape your attention; but, as approbation from Colombo has to be obtained for the changes made they have to be considered early, so that the approbation may be received here in time. The usual date is June 23, the day of the conquest of this territory, but this date has been altered again to June 13, 1696, by His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo.

The assessment of all measures and weights must likewise be renewed every year, in the presence of the Fiscaal and Commissioners; because the deceitful nature of these inhabitants is so great that they seem not to be able to help cheating each other. The proceeds of this marking, which usually amounts to Rds. 70 or 80, are for the largest part given to some deserving person as a subsistence. On my arrival here I found that it had been granted to the Vryburger Jurrian Verwyk, who is an old man and almost unable to serve as an assayer. The post has, however, been left to him, and his son-in-law Jan Fransz, also a Vryburger, has been appointed his assistant. The last time the proceeds amounted to 80 rds. 3 fannums, 8 tammekassen and 2 1/2 duyten, as may be seen from the report of the Commissioners bearing date December 13, 1696. This amount has been disposed of as follows:--

It must be seen to that the Assizer, having been sworn, observes his instructions as extracted from the Statutes of Batavia, as made applicable to the customs of this country by the Government here on March 3, 1666.

In compliance with orders from Batavia contained in the letter of June 24, 1696, sums on interest may not be deposited with the Company here, as may be seen also from a letter sent from here to Batavia on August 18 following, where it is stated that all money deposited thus must be refunded. This order has been carried out, and the only deposits retained are those of the Orphan Chamber, the Deaconate, the Seminary, and the Widows' fund, for which permission had been obtained by letter of December 15 of the same year. As the Seminary no longer possesses any fund of its own, no deposit on that account is now left with the Company. Your Honours must see that no other sums on interest are accepted in deposit, as this Commandement has more money than is necessary for its expenditure and even to assist other stations, such as Trincomalee, &c., for which yearly Rds. 16,000 to 18,000 are required, and this notwithstanding that Coromandel receives the proceeds from the sale of elephants here, while we receive only the money drafts.

No money drafts are to be passed here on behalf of private persons, whether Company's servants or otherwise, in any of the outstations, but in case any person wishes to remit money to Batavia, this may be done only after permission and consent obtained from His Excellency the Governor at Colombo. When this is obtained, the draft is prepared at Colombo and only signed here by the Treasurer on receipt of the amount. This is specially mentioned here in order that Your Honours may also remember in such cases the Instructions sent by the Honourable the Government of India in the letters of May 3, 1695, and June 3, 1696, in the former of which it is stated that no copper coin, and in the latter that Pagodas are to be received here on behalf of the Company for such drafts, each Pagoda being counted at Rds. 2 in Batavia.

The golden Pagoda is a coin which was never or seldom known to be forged, at least so long as the King of Golconda or the King of the Carnatic was sovereign in Coromandel. But the present war, which has raged for the last ten years in that country, seems to have taken away to some extent the fear of evil and the disgrace which follows it, and to have given opportunity to some to employ cunning in the pursuit of gain. It has thus happened that on the coast beyond Porto Novo, in the domain of these lords of the woods or Paligares, Pagodas have been made which, although not forged, are yet inferior in quality; while the King of Sinsi Rama Ragie is so much occupied with the present war against the Mogul, that he has no time to pay attention to the doings of these Paligares. According to a statement made by His Excellency the Governor Laurens Pyl and the Council of Negapatam in their letter of November 4, 1695, five different kinds of such inferior Pagodas have been received, valued at 7 3/8, 7 1/8, 7 5/8, 7 7/8, and 8 3/4 of unwrought gold. A notice was published therefore on November 18, following, to warn the people against the acceptance of such Pagodas, and prohibiting their introduction into this country. When the Company's Treasury was verified by a Committee, 1,042 of these Pagodas were found. Intimation was sent to Colombo on December 31, 1695. The Treasurer informed me when I was in Colombo that he had sent them to Trincomalee, and as no complaints have been received, it seems that the Sinhalese in that quarter did not know how to distinguish them from the current Pagodas. As I heard that the inferior Pagodas had been already introduced here, while it was impossible to get rid of them, as many of the people of Jaffnapatam and the merchants made a profit on them by obtaining them at a lower rate in Coromandel and passing them here to ignorant people at the full value, a banker from Negapatam able to distinguish the good from the inferior coins has been asked to test all Pagodas, so that the Company may not suffer a loss. But in spite of this I receive daily complaints from Company's servants, including soldiers and sailors, that they always have to suffer loss on the Pagodas received from the Company in payment of their wages, when they present them at the bazaar; while the chetties and bankers will never give them 24 fanums for a Pagoda. This matter looks very suspicious, and may have an evil influence on the Company's servants, because it is possible that the chetties have agreed among themselves never to pay the full value for Pagodas, whether they are good or bad. It is also possible that the Company's cashier or banker is in collusion with the chetties, or perhaps there is some reason for this which I am not able to make out. However this may be, Your Honours must try to obtain as much information as possible on this subject and report on it to His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo. All inferior Pagodas found in the Company's Treasury will have to be made good by the cashier at Coromandel, as it was his business to see that none were accepted. With a view to prevent discontent among the Company's servants the tax collectors must be made to pay only in copper and silver coin for the poll tax and land rent, and out of this the soldiers, sailors, and the lower grades of officials must be paid, as I had already arranged before I left. I think that they can easily do this, as they have to collect the amount in small instalments from all classes of persons. The poor people do not pay in Pagodas, and the collectors might make a profit by changing the small coin for Pagodas, and this order will be a safeguard against loss both to the Company and its servants. It would be well if Your Honours could find a means of preventing the Pagodas being introduced and to discard those that are in circulation already, which I have so far not been able to do. Perhaps on some occasion you might find a suitable means.

The demands received here from out-stations in this Commandement must be met as far as possible, because it is a rule with the Company that one district must accommodate another, which, I suppose, will be the practice everywhere. Since His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo have authorized Your Honours in their letter of June 13,1696, to draw directly from Coromandel the goods required from those places for the use of this Commandement, Your Honours must avail yourselves of this kind permission, which is in agreement with the intention of the late Commissioner van Mydregt, who did not wish that the order should pass through various hands. Care must be taken to send the orders in due time, so that the supplies may not run out of stock when required for the garrisons. The articles ordered from Jaffnapatam for Manaar must be sent only in instalments, and no articles must be sent but those that are really required, as instructed; because it has occurred more than once that goods were ordered which remained in the warehouses, because they could not be sold, and which, when going bad, had to be returned here and sold by public auction, to the prejudice of the Company. To give an idea of the small sale in Manaar, I will just state here that last year various provisions and other articles from the Company's warehouses were sent to the amount of Fl. 1,261.16.6--cost price--which were sold there at Fl. 2,037, so that only a profit of Fl. 775.3.10 was made, which did not include any merchandise, but only articles for consumption and use.

The Company's chaloups and other vessels kept here for the service of the Company are the following:--

The chaloup "Kennemerland." Do. "'t Wapen van Friesland." Do. "Jaffnapatam." The small chaloup "Manaar." Do. "Hammenhiel." Do. "Het Vissertje." The ponton "De Hoop." Do. "De Last Drager." Do. "De Os."

Further, 14 tonys and manschouwers, viz.:--

Three manschouwers for the three largest chaloups, one manschouwer for the ponton "De Hoop," one manschouwer for the ferry at Colombogamme, one manschouwer for the ferry between the island Leiden and the fort Kayts or Hammenhiel.

The chaloups "Kennemerland" and "Friesland" are used mostly for the passage between Coromandel and Jaffnapatam, and to and fro between Jaffnapatam and Manaar, because they sink too deep to pass the river of Manaar to be used on the west coast of Ceylon between Colombo and Manaar. They are therefore employed during the northern monsoon to fetch from Manaar such articles as have been brought there from Colombo for this Commandement, and also to transport such things as are to be sent from here to Colombo and Manaar, &c. They also serve during the southern monsoon to bring here from Negapatam nely, cotton goods, coast iron, &c., and they take back palmyra wood, laths, jagerbollen, coral stone, also palmyra wood for Trincomalee, and corsingos, oil, cayro, &c. The sloop "Jaffnapatam" has been built more for convenience, and conveys usually important advices and money, as also the Company's servants. As this vessel can be made to navigate the Manaar river, it is also used as a cruiser at the pearl banks, during the pearl fishery. It is employed between Colombo, Manaar, Jaffnapatam, Negapatam, and Trincomalee, wherever required. The small sloops "Manaar" and "De Visser," which are so small that they might sooner be called boats than sloops, are on account of their small size usually employed between Manaar and Jaffnapatam, and also for inland navigation between the Passes and Kayts for the transport of soldiers, money, dye-roots from The Islands, timber from the borders of the Wanni, horses from The Islands; while they are also useful for the conveyance of urgent advices and may be used also during the pearl fishery. The sloop "Hammenhiel," being still smaller than the two former, is only used for convenience of the garrison at Kayts, the fort being surrounded by water. This and a tony are used to bring the people across, and also to fetch drinking water and fuel from the "Barren Island." The three pontons are very useful here, as they have daily to bring fuel and lime for this Castle, and they are also used for the unloading of the sloops at Kayts, where they bring charcoal and caddegans, and fetch lunt from the Passes, and palmyra wood from the inner harbours for this place as well as for Manaar and Colombo. They also bring coral stone from Kayts, and have to transport the nely and other provisions to the redoubts on the borders of the Wanni, so that they need never be unemployed if there is only a sufficient number of carreas or fishermen for the crew. At present there are 72 carreas who have to perform oely service on board of these vessels or on the four tonies mentioned above.

In order that these vessels may be preserved for many years, it is necessary that they be keelhauled at least twice a year, and rubbed with lime and margosa oil to prevent worms from attacking them, which may be easily done by taking them all in turn. It must also be remembered to apply to His Excellency the Governor and the Council for a sufficient quantity of pitch, tar, sail cloth, paint, and linseed oil, because I have no doubt that it will be an advantage to the Company if the said vessels are kept constantly in repair. As stated under the heading of the felling of timber, no suitable wood is found in the Wanni for the parts of the vessels that remain under water, and therefore no less than 150 or 200 kiate or angely boards of 2 1/2, 2, and 1 1/2 inches thickness are required yearly here for this purpose. His Excellency the Governor and the Council of Colombo have promised to send this yearly, in answer to the request from Jaffnapatam of February 17, 1692, and since this timber has to be obtained from Mallabaar I will see whether I cannot send it directly by a private vessel in case it cannot be obtained from Colombo. Application must be made for Dutch sailors from Colombo to man the said sloops, which are at present partly manned by natives for want of Europeans. According to the latest regulation, 95 sailors are allowed for this Commandement, while at present we have not even half that number, as only 46 are employed, which causes much inconvenience in the service.

The fortifications of the Castle have now for a few years been complete, except the moat, which is being dug and has advanced to the peculiar stratum of rocks which is found only in this country. All matters relating to this subject are to be found in the Compendiums for 1693, 1694, and 1695. Supposing that the moat could be dug to the proper depth without danger to the fort, it could not be done in less than a few years, and it cannot very well be accomplished with the services of the ordinary oeliaars, so that other means will have to be considered. If, on the other hand, the moat cannot be deepened without danger to the foundations of the fort, as stated in the Compendium for 1694, it is apparent that the project ought to be abandoned. In that case the fort must be secured in some other way. The most natural means which suggests itself is to raise the wall on all sides except on the river side by 6 or 8 feet, but this is not quite possible, because the foundation under the curtains of the fortification, the faces of the bastion, and the flanks have been built too narrow, so that only a parapet of about 11 feet is left, which is already too small, while if the parapet were extended inward there would not be sufficient space for the canons and the military. The best plan would therefore be to cut away the hills that are found between the Castle and the town. The earth might be thrown into the tank found eastward of the Castle, while part of it might be utilized to fill up another tank in the town behind the orphanage. This was the plan of His Excellency van Mydregt, although it was never put down in writing. Meantime care must be taken that the slaves and other native servants of persons residing in the Castle do not through laziness throw the dirt which they are supposed to carry away from the fort on the opposite bank of the moat, and thus raise a space which the Company would much rather lower, and gradually and imperceptibly prepare a suitable place for the battery of an enemy. I have had notices put up against this practice, under date July 18, 1695, and these must be maintained and the offenders prosecuted. Considering the situation of the Castle and the present appearance of the moat, I think that the latter is already sufficiently deep if always four or five feet water be kept in it. In order to do this two banks would have to be built, as the moat has communication in two places with the river, while the river also touches the fort at two points. This being done I think the moat could be kept full of water by two or three water mills driven by wind and pumps, especially during the south-west monsoon or the dry season, when an attack would be most likely to occur, and there is always plenty of wind to keep these mills going both by night and day. A sluice would be required in the middle of these banks so that the water may be let out whenever it became offensive by the river running dry, to be filled again when the water rose. It would have to be first ascertained whether the banks could really be built in such a way that they would entirely stop the water in the moat, because they would have to be built on one side against the foundations of the fort, which I have been told consist of large irregular rocks. An experiment could be made with a small mill of the kind used in Holland in the ditches along bleaching fields. They are quite inexpensive and easily erected and not difficult to repair, as they turn on a dovetail. The late Commandeur Anthony Paviljoen also appears to have thought of this plan even before this Castle was built, when the Portuguese fort was occupied by the Company, as may be seen from his instructions of December 19, 1665. This would, in my opinion, be the course to follow during the south-west monsoon, while during the north-east monsoon there is usually so much rain that neither the salt river nor the water mills would be required, while moreover during that time there is little danger of an attack. These three plans being adopted, the banks of the moat could be protected by a wall of coral stone to prevent the earth being washed away by the water, as the present rocky bed of the moat is sufficiently strong to serve as a foundation for it. The moat has already been dug to its proper breadth, which is 10 roods.

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