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།། ། ། །

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :---

C.O. 882

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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 stated to have been abandoned eight or ten years ago, and to have been bought in by the Crown and restored in 1887.

"

or

I do not find any fields "Katandiys "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.

SIR,

I have, &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 maha harvest and seven bushels for the yala harvest; the tax on the field is Rs. 4-87 per annum, (2) Dimos. thitiya, three pelas, yields for maha 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, 1 pela, yields 4 bushels for maba harvest only; tax, Re. 1.

2. The field I spoke of as having been taken over by the Kórála is called Morahella 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.

The Hon. the Government AgENT, Kandy, to Mr. J. WHITEFOORD. (No. 1,056.) SIR,

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.

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 information.

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.

The ASSISTANT Government Agent, Nuwara Eliys, to the Hon. the Government AGENT, Kandy. (No. 858.)

Nuwara Eliya Kachchéri, August 9, 1889.

SIB,

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 late inquiry, without exception, gave the sales for default as the reasons for the number of deaths from want.

your

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.

I am, &c. (Signed)

C. J. R. LE MESURIER,

Assistant 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.

1882.

1888.

1884. 1885.

Total.

│LIS

*1877 1462 98 14819 70

1878

Ro. c. Rs. c. Rs. 6. Ra. c.

1657 1111451 8

Ha. o. Rs. 6.

Bs. O. Ra. o. Rs. 0.

BI. c.

Ba.

A

16989

68

15118 29

1879

8876 52|20165 34

95542 86

1580

34040 65

1881

38959 24

1883

988 70

29247 68

1888

175 93

987 86

1884

1885

609 11 35 50

1861 28 3306 16 1251 0 *34 0

13379 48

1789 27 46 84

9713 40

†184 90 $240 88|$819 28 108 89

1532 70

3920 47 8618 44 34508 74 1781 59

4896 11 10898 65|29425 89 1780 $ 8795 91 8460 1519999 87

2955 49 4893 51

1814 48 1892 45 9889 14

* Struck off the accounts as par Colonial Secretary's letter, No. 805, of July 27, 1885.

Rs. 31-17 strack of

* Rs 41.88

do.

Ha 91.28

do.

do.

do.

do.

D 4

do.

do.

do.