Pelimé Talavoé, a man of consummate abilities, and admirably calculated for the purposes of political intrigue. He regulated the whole conduct of the state, but having formed ambitious views, which the critical arrival of the English at Ceylon prevented his accomplishing, he naturally viewed our government with enmity and disgust. Like a true courtier, however, he has always professed the greatest friendship towards us; but as an alliance with the king would totally defeat the future accomplishment of his ambitious designs, it was expected he would, privately, use every effort to prevent the connection and it is to his artifices alone, that the disastrous war, still raging in Ceylon, has been ascribed, by our government, to owe its lamented origin. In the month of June, 1802, intelligence, of a nature calcu lated to excite the suspicion, and awaken the vigilance of our government, was received at Columbo, which accurately described the manœuvres secretly plotting at the court of Candy; where every possible preparation for war, both offensive and defensive, was carrying on, with such a regard to privacy, that every person detected in even speaking on the subject, was to lose his tongue. All the villages were laid under contribution, in proportion as they were populous, and ordered to send their quota of men to certain places of rendezvous, to be put under the command of proper officers, and trained in archery. Each man was ordered to provide himself with six bows, and proportionate number of arrows. The country was divided into eight districts, each distinguished by its numbers; number eight being the central post, from which all orders were issued to the exterior divisions. It shortly after appeared, that the whole of the Candian frontiers were lined with troops, bearing fire-arms and bows and arrows; that from all the high-roads leading into their country, they had made defiles to the right and left, diagonally, so as to flank any troops that might approach them, and had contrived pits covered with blinds; the whole calculated either to annoy an enemy, or cover their own retreat, as circumstances might require; and that they were busily engaged in the manufacture of powder and ball. Having brought all these precautions to a state of maturity, their next step was to commence offensive operations, and before the conclusion conclusion of the month of June, did actually commit hostilities against his Britannic majesty's subjects at Putelano, by seizing certain bullocks and buffaloes, sent by the merchants there, to return with areka nuts, &c.; and to this intelligence was added, that their different divisions consisted of eight or nine thousand men, each ready to assist the other. These depredations having been succeeded by others, to an alarming extent, it became necessary to substantiate the truth of these various details; for which purpose, on the 17th of August following, Mr. Boyd, then vice-president of the board of revenue at Columbo, was deputed by his excellency the governor, to go to Putelang, to verify, upon oath, the several complaints that had been made, and to be very particular in his endeavours to discern, whether the outrages stated were the effect of wantonness on the part of the Candians, or whether the sufferers had not, by carrying on a contraband trade, provoked the seizure of their effects. In obedience to this order, Mr. Boyd went immediately to Putelang, and on the 24th of the same month made the following official report, to be laid before the governor at Columbo. "In the months of March and April last, a number of natives living under the British government in and about Putelang, set out, in two divisions, with a number of cattle, laden with various articles of merchandize, namely, salt, salt-fish, cloth, tobacco, and copper money, intending to dispose of them in the Candian country, in exchange for areka nuts. "The largest division, which I shall call No. 1, consisted of 46 persons, exclusive of coolies, and 272 head. of cattle, laden with articles of traffic; and the smaller division, which may be called No. 2, consisted of 18 persons, and 130 head of cattle, laden in like manner. "No doubt can be entertained, but that the commerce into which the people entered, was universally deemed legal, and that they had long been accustomed to carry it on; and, on that account, the misfortune which they met with, in the prosecution of it, cannot be accounted for on the grounds of contraband. "Whether the Putelanders were guilty of any irregularity in the Candian country, which could serve as a pretext for the usage they met with, I cannot positively assert; -I have certainly not been able to trace any such; and, unfortunately for them, it will appear, by at perusal a4 perusal of the enclosed papers, that after they had completed the object they had in view in the Candian country, and were on their return home, with areka nuts, which they had procured for the articles they had carried from Putelang, they were stopped, harassed by delays, and finally, the whole of the areka nuts confiscated, and taken from them, and which a specific account annexed to the depositions * herewith transmitted, will shew to be 231 ammonams taken from division No. 1, and 63 ammonans from division No. 2. "I dare say, his excellency, on receiving the enclosed papers, will conclude as I do, that the seizing of the areka nuts took place in consequence of the orders of the person called in the depositions Pelagam adigar Déssane, of the four Corles; and I only beg leave to add, on this point, I have no doubt that the person here meant is the first adigar of Candy, well known, personally, to his excellency the governor, as well as to myself. I shall only further state a circumstance, which makes the seizure of the areka nuts in question still more difficult to account for, which is, that the Candians themselves continue, as heretofore, to bring down the produce of their country, namely, areka nuts, jaggher, and rice, to be exchanged here, at Puttelang, for salt, salt-fish, cloth, &c. and that there is now, within my view, a division of about 50 persons from the Candian country, and 250 head of cattle peaceably occupied in this traffic. This circumstance will also tend to shew, how easy it would be to make reprisals, for the injury sustained by the Putlanders, were the British government so disposed; a measure which I do not wish, however, to be understood as giving my opinion upon." The facts being thus established, his excellency the governor sent a mild remonstrance to the king of Candy, on the outrages committed by his subjects, and claimed restitution on behalf of the sufferers. This moderate procedure, however, produced only delays of the most frivolous and evasive nature, while every hostile preparation continued to be indefatigably pursued by the Candian government. Under all these circumstances, and without any prospect of reform, in the Candian politics, his excellency directed the publication of the following proclamation. * The depositions do not appear. PROCLAMATION PROCLAMATION By his excellency the governor in council, Frederick North, &c. Columbo, January 29th, 1803, on the entrance of the British troops into the territory of the King of Candy. "The preservation of amity and concord with the court of Candy has been the unvaried object of our most earnest endeavours, when, by command of our most gracious Master, the king of Great Britain and Ireland, we assumed the government of his possessions in Ceylon. Frequent attempts, however, have been made by the emissaries of that power to create disturbances in these settlements, and to weaken the attachment which the inhabitants bear and owe to our government: but, we have been always sensible of the futility of such attempts, we trusted their repeated failure would induce the court of Candy, without any interference on our part, to relinquish a conduct so directly contrary to good faith and good neighbourhood. We, therefore, took no notice of the many reasons which we had to complain, and uniformly persisted in our kind and friendly behaviour, taking every opportunity of proposing such terms of amity and alliance as might secure to both nations the full advantages which they can respectively derive from the peculiar situation of the countries they inhabit. Every proposition of a similar nature has either been rejected with disdain. by the court of Candy, or answered by counter proposals, so absurd in their pretensions, as clearly proved the intention of that court to avoid any stable or reasonable arguments. Still, however, we continued in the same system of kindness and indulgence towards that power and its subjects; when, in the months of March and April last, an open act of violence committed against the inhabitants of these settlements obliged us to complain, and demand satisfaction. Certain merchants of Putatom, who had, under the faith of treaty, purchased at a fair market in the Candian country, areka and betel nut, to the quantity of 292 ammonans, were deprived of it forcibly by a person in authority under the Candian government, at Cacknackoly. Although so flagrant an outrage entitled us to make reprisals on the property of the subjects of the king of Candy within our government, we abstained abstained from any such measure, and we even delayed making any remonstrances, till, after a serious and minute investigation of the case, we were sure that the fact alleged was true, and that the Putatom merchants had not brought it on by any improper behaviour, or disrespect to the laws of Candy, or persons in authority there. We then, without ordering reprisals, forwarded a remonstrance to the Candian government. To this remonstrance, stating the case as it happened, an answer was returned early in October, acknowledging the truth of our statement, and the justice of our complaint, and promising restoration immediately of the betel nut which had been seized to the persons to whom it belonged. Although we had a clear and positive right to insist on the delivery of the said areka, or betel nut, to the injured parties at Putatom, at the expence of the King of Candy; we, for the sake of peace, waved that right; and the Putatom merchants returned to Cacknackoly. At that place they remained thirtyfive days without satisfaction, and were at length sent away with a declaration, that if the season proved favourable, and they would return in January, they would receive a quantity of areka nut equal to that of which they were deprived. We received, at the same time, a letter from the court, in date 14th November, informing us the areka nut in question had been sold; but that an equal quantity would be given to the merchants in the course of one or two months: to this proposal, however reluctantly, we acquiesced; and, for the more regular performance of the articles agreed upon, we sent a native head-man of rank to Cacknackoly, as our commissioner. On the 14th January, being the expiration of the stipulated time to receive the areka nut from the agents of the court of Candy, it was not, however, delivered to him; and the first adigar informed us, that a sufficient quantity would not be ready for two months. To this we answered, that the time for its delivery had been fixed by themselves, and that we therefore insisted that the value of it should be immediately paid in money, at the moderate rate of ten rix-dollars per ammonan. This conciliatory proposal has, on the 24th January, been refused by the first adigar of Candy, and another attempt made to delay the ne.cessary reparation of the outrage committed on our people, until the term for active preparation in the field shall be passed. In the mean time, preparations and assemblies of a menacing appearance have been formed in various places on the Candian frontiers, and acts of apparent hostility, |