بليبيا
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
30
There are several parcels of Elawelkumbura included in the list of fields sold, but none of them appear to have been owned by the deceased or by her husband's family. They are also all stated to have been abandoned eight or ten years ago, and to have been bought in by the Crown and restored in 1887.
I do not find any fields "Katandiya" or "Galenuḍapela" in the list.
SIR.
I am, &c. (Signed)
R. W. D. Moir,
Government Agent.
Mr. J. WHITEFOORD to the Hon. the GOVERNMENT AGENT, Kandy.
Maha Uva, Uḍa Pussellawa, July 26, 1889. WITH reference to the distress in Walapane, I have now the honour to enclose for your information the names of 63 persons who have died from want and starvation owing to the sales of their paddy fields. I regret that I have not been able to furnish you with this list earlier; if necessary, I can send you more names of people who have died, the information being obtained from various sources.
SIB,
I bave, &c.
(Signed)
JOHN WHITEFOORD.
Mr. J. WHITEFOORD to the Hon. the GOVERNMENT AGENT, Kandy.
Maha Uva, Uda Pussellawa, July 29, 1889.
I HAVE the honour to inform you that when I was lately giving evidence before you at Nildandahinna with reference to the paddy tax, I mentioned some paddy fields which I thought were over-taxed and out of proportion to their yield. I have now the honour to give you some particulars.
Fields owned by Thoronis Silva, and held by him for eight years, bought at Govern- ment sales (1) Wakatura, I amunam, yields 12 bushels for the maba harvest and seven bushels for the yala harvest; the tax on the field is Rs. 487 per annum. (2) Dimos- thitiya, three pelas, yields for maba harvest only 12 bushels; tax, Rs. 2. (3) Údakum- bura, three pelas, yields for maha harvest only 12 bushels; tax, Rs. 2-624.' (4) 'Tenna, I pela, yields 4 bushels for inaba harvest only; tax, Re, I.
2. The field I spoke of as having been taken over by the Kórála is called Morabella Oalpata, and was formerly owned by an old man, Wandugedara Naide, who is now being supported by his brother.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
JOHN WHITEFOORD.
31
Mr. J. WHITEFOORD to the Hon. the GOVERNMENT AGENT, Kandy.
Maha Uva, Uda Pussellawa, SIB,
August 2, 1889. REPLYING to your letter, No. 1,056, of July 30th, I have the honour to inform you that the information I gave you in my letter of the 29th ultimo was gathered by me from the owner of the paddy fields. I did not actually see or measure the outturn of the crops, but, for the last seven or eight years, I have personally watched the paddy crops gowing in the fields mentioned to you, and seeing that they were giving a very poor yield, I called upon the owner and asked him what his crops really were, without letting him know my reasons for wishing to obtain this inforu.ation.
The crops, of course, have not paid the cultivator, but he has, nevertheless, gone on for a number of years cultivating these fields, apparently taking into no account of the labour in working the fields.
I have, &c. (Signed) JOHN WHITEFOORD,
SIR,
The ASSISTANT Government AGENT, Nuwara Eliya, to the Hon. the GOVERNMENT AGENT, Kandy. (No. 858.)
Nuwara Eliya Kachchéri, August 9, 1889.
WITH reference to my letter, No. 779, of the 22nd ultimo, and to your letter of the 5th instant, on the subject of the Bodi-ela scheme, I beg most respectfully to point out that there was no distress or destitution amongst the people until the sales began. I can state this positively from my own experience of the district from July 1881 to February 1882, that is, from four to five years after the native coffee gardens failed, and from the fact that there are no records in my office of any general distress and destitution at or before that time.
2. The distress of the people began and was coincident with the sales of their property for arrears of commutation tax, as the extracts quoted in my letter, No. 779, will show.
3. I think I am right, too, in saying that every person you examined in your late inquiry, without exception, gave the sales for default as the reasons for the number of deaths from want.
4. The failure of the coffee crops was, undoubtedly, the cause of the non-payment of the tax in the first instance, but it was the subsequent harrying of the people for their arrears of tax that was the cause of their ultimate widespread misery and distress.
5. Had there been no arrears and no sales there would not have been any general distress.
6. I beg that this letter may be considered as a continuation of my letter, No. 779, and forwarded with it.
am, &c. (Signed)
C. J. R. LE MESURIER,
Assistant Government Agent.
do.
do.
do.
• Strack off the accounts as per Colonial Secretary's letter, No. 805, of July 27, 1985.
C.O. 882
5
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
The Hon. the GOVERNMENT AGENT, Kandy, to Mr. J. WHITEFOORD. (No. 1,056.) BIR,
Kandy Kachchéri, July 30, 1889. REFERRING to your letter of the 29th instant, I have the honour to ask whether you are personally aware that the land yielded so much only, or whether this information was given to you by the owner.
2. I would point out that the rate of yield is, in each case, according to your figures, as follows:-(1) Wakatura, 44 fold; (2) Demulhitiya, 4 fold; (3) Udakumbura, 4 fold; (4) Tenne, 4 fold; and ask whether you think the fields could be cultivated at all if they babitually yielded at this rate only.
I am, &c. (Signed) R. W. D. MOIR,
Government Agent.
IV. STATEMENT showing the AMOUNT of ARREARS of PADDY COMMUTATION Tax outstanding for each YEAR from 1877, inclusive, and at the close of each YEAR to DECEMBER 31, 1885.
Balance outstanding
on December 31.
1876. 1877. -1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1889.
1888. 1984.
1883. Total.
5376 62 | 20166 34 2020 47 8613 44| 14506 74) 1731 59 383 70
Ba. c. Bs. α. Rs. c. Ra. c.
Ka. o.
Rs. 0.
Ba. c. Rs. 0.
Re. 4. Ba. c.
1877 1462 9314819 70
1878
16939 63 1318 90
1667 9111451 10
95542 06
1879
56040 65
1880
1881
4896 11 10898 6529425 89
08959 24
1889
1780 5
8795 91
3460 15 19993 67
99247 68
1883
176 93
987 66
1861 23
$800 16 2853 49 4698 51
12879 48
1884
609 11
1895
33 50
1281 0 *84 0
1759 37 48 84
1514 43 1899 45 9889 14 | †184 90 †840 88 $859 98 108 39
9715 40
1552 70
1
↑ Ra 21-17 struck of
↑ Ba 41:88
do.
4 Ra. 91.28
do.
do.
do.
do.
D 4
V.- ABSTRACT OF FIELDS IN THE COMMUTATION REGISTER, AND FIELDS SOLD.
FIELDS IN THE COMMUTATION REGISTER.
Uncultivated Fields
at the time of
Bale.
om yu-ntua2 ག ས
SPIDLY 30 aBrinson30 †
**<***
Number and Extent of
Fields redeemed after Sale.
FIELDA BOLD.
Fields bought in
restored to Owner. for the Crown and Number of Extent of
Number and Extent of Fields Sold to, and now owned by, others than the Original Owners.
acre and
under.
Number.]
Extent.
Number and Extent of Fields
in the Commutation
Number and Extent of
Name of Division.
Register.
Number
Percentage
Fields Sold.
of Fields
of Fields
of half an
of half an
Number Total Extent.
acre and
under.
*
ÜDV
་
P. I.
P. I.
3,044 8 2
1 5
48
Uḍa Hówábata
1,616 19
Walapane
Kotmalé –
1,00 8 2
09
ตร
JÜRIDAY
Number.
Extent.
Number.
Extent.
Number.
ૐ
A
F. E.
P. K.
4622 41 4
1,041❘ 250 1 0
19
898
50 0 1
66
0
Extent.
|Number.
Extent.
14
+9
זי
r. E.
408
P. E.
135 8 9
to o o
19
176
13
t-
to 1 or
99 5
766
706
917
A. P. I.
985 9 91
*
P. X.
M
1693 90 9
41 350 7
164
TE
8
$10
9
32
1.
P. X.
110 0 1
294
66 1 4
47
to 1 8