Part 6

The farming out of the various duties in this Commandement may be considered as the third source of revenue to the Company in Jaffnapatam, and next to that of the sale of elephants and the revenue derived from the poll tax, land rents, tithes, Adigary, and Officie Gelden mentioned before. The farming out of the said duties on the last of February, 1696, brought to the Company the sum of Rds. 27,518 for the period of one and a half year. The leases were extended on this occasion with a view to bring them to a close with the close of the Trade Accounts, which, in compliance with the latest instructions from Batavia, must be balanced on August 31. The previous year, from March 1 to February 28, 1695-1696, the lease of the said duties amounted to Rds. 15,641, which for 18 months would have been Rds. 23,461 1/2, so that the Company received this year Rds. 4,056 1/2 more than last time; but I believe that the new duty on the import of foreign cloth has largely contributed to this difference. This was proposed by me on January 22, 1695, and approved by the Hon. the Supreme Government of India in their letter of December 12 of the same year. It yielded the first year Rds. 7,100, including the stamping of native cloth with a seal at 25 per cent., while for the foreign cloth no more than 20 per cent. was paid. As Their Excellencies considered this difference unfair, it has pleased them, at the earnest request of the natives, or rather at the request of the Majoraals on behalf of the natives, in a later letter of July 3, 1696, to consent to the native cloth being taxed at 20 per cent. only, which must be considered in connection with the new lease. Meantime the order from Batavia contained in the Resolutions of the Council of India of October 4, 1694, must be observed, where all farmers are required to pay the monthly terms of their lease at the beginning of each month in advance. This rule has been followed here, and it is expressly stipulated in the rent conditions. Whether the farming out of the duty on native and foreign cloth will amount to as much or more I cannot say; because I fear that the present farmer has not made much profit by it, in consequence of the export having decreased on account of the closing of the free passage to Trincomalee and Batticaloa. The sale of these cloths depends largely on the import of nely from the said places, and this having been prevented the sale necessarily decreased and consequently the farmer made less profit. The passage having been re-opened, however, it may be expected that the sale will increase again. With a view to ascertain the exact value of this lease, I sent orders to all the Passes on February 27, 1696, that a monthly list should be kept of how many stamped cloths are passed through and by whom, so that Your Honours will be able to see next August how much cloth has been exported by examining these lists, while you may also make an estimate of the quantity of cloth sold here without crossing the Passes, as the farmer obtains his duty on these. Your Honours may further read what was reported on this subject from here to Colombo on December 16, 1696, and the reply from Colombo of January 6 of this year.[29]

The Trade Accounts are closed now on August 31, as ordered by the Supreme Government of India in their letter of May 3, 1695. Last year's account shows that in this Commandement the Company made a clear profit of Fl. 121,795.2.9. It might have been greater if more elephants could have been obtained from the Wanni and Ponneryn, or if we were allowed the profits on the elephants from Galle and Colombo sold here on behalf of the Company, which are not accompanied by an invoice, but only by a simple acknowledgment. Another reason that it was not higher is that we had to purchase the very expensive grain from Coromandel. Your Honours must also see that besides observing this rule of closing the accounts in August, they are submitted to the Council for examination, in order that it may be seen whether the discharges are lawful and whether other matters are in agreement with the instructions, and also whether some items could not be reduced in future, in compliance with the order passed by Resolution in the Council of India on September 6, 1694. These and all other orders sent here during the last two years must be strictly observed, such as the sending to Batavia of the old muskets, the river navigation of ships and sloops, the reduction of native weights and measures to Dutch pounds, the carrying over of the old credits and debits into the new accounts, the making and use of casks of a given measure, and the accounting for the new casks of meat, bacon, butter, and all such orders, which cannot be all mentioned here, but which Your Honours must look up now and again so as not to forget any and thus be involved in difficulties. [(30)]

The debts due to the Company at the closing of the accounts must be entered in a separate memorandum, and submitted with the accounts. In this memorandum the amount of the debt must be stated, with the name of the debtor, and whether there is a prospect of the amount being recovered or not. As shown by Their Excellencies, these outstandings amounted at the closing of the accounts at the end of February, 1694, to the sum of Fl. 116,426.11.19. This was reduced on my last departure to Colombo to Fl. 31,948.9.15, as may be seen in the memorandum by the Administrateur of January 31, 1696. I will now proceed to show that on my present departure no more is due than the amount of Fl. 16,137.8, in which, however, the rent of the farmers is not included, as it is only provisional and will be paid up each month, viz.:--

Fl.

The Province of Timmoraten 376. 2.8 [40] The Province of Pathelepally 579.10.0 Panduamoety and Nagachitty 2,448.13.0 Company's weavers 167.15.0 Manuel van Anecotta, Master Dyer 9,823. 6.0 The Caste of the Tannecares 1,650. 0.0 The dyers at Point Pedro and Nalloer 566.14.0 Don Philip Nellamapane 375. 0.0 Ambelawanner Wannia 150. 0.0 =========== Total 16,137. 0.8

With regard to the debt of the weavers, amounting to Fl. 2,616.8, I deem it necessary here to mention that the arrears in Timmoratsche and Patchelepally, spoken of in the memorandum by the Administrateur of January 31, 1696, compiled by Mr. Bierman on my orders of November 30, 1695, after the closing of the accounts at the end of August, of which those of Tandia Moety and Naga Chitty and that of the Company's weavers which refer to the same persons, may, in my opinion, be considered as irrecoverable. It would therefore be best if Their Excellencies at Batavia would exempt them from the payment. This debt dates from the time when it was the intention to induce some weavers from the opposite coast to come here for the weaving of cloth for the Company. This caste, called Sinias, [41] received the said amount in cash, thread, and cotton in advance, and thus were involved in this large debt, which having been reduced to the amount stated above, has remained for some years exactly the same, in spite of all endeavours made to collect it, and notwithstanding that the Paybook-keeper was appointed to see that the materials were not stolen and the money not wasted. It has been, however, all in vain, because these people were so poor that they could not help stealing if they were to live, and it seems impossible to recover the amount, which was due at first from 200 men, out of whom only 15 or 16 are left now. When they do happen occasionally to deliver a few gingams, these are so inferior that the soldiers who receive them at the price of good materials complain a great deal. I think it unfair that the military should be made to pay in this way, as the gingams are charged by the Sinias at Fl. 6 or 6.10 a piece, while the soldiers have to accept the same at Fl. 9 and 9.15. The same is the case with the Moeris and other cloths which are delivered by the Sinias, or rather which are obtained from them with much difficulty; and I have no doubt Your Honours will receive instructions from Batavia with regard to this matter. Meanwhile they must be dealt with in the ordinary way; but in case they are exempted from the payment of their debt I think they ought to be sent out of the country, not only because they are not liable to taxes or services to the Company, but also because of the idolatry and devil-worship which they have to a certain extent been allowed to practise, and which acts as a poison to the other inhabitants, among whom we have so long tried to introduce the Dutch Reformed religion.

The debt of the dyers at Annecatte, entered under the name of Manoel of Annecatte, dyer, which amounted at the end of August to Fl. 9,823.6, has been since reduced by Fl. 707.10, and is still being reduced daily, as there is sufficient work at present to keep them all busy, of which mention has been made under the heading of Dye-roots. This debt amounted at the end of February, 1694, to Fl. 11,920.13.6, so that since that time one-third has been recovered. This is done by retaining half the pay for dyeing; for when they deliver red cloth they only receive half of their pay, and there is thus a prospect of the whole of this debt being recovered. Care must be taken that no one gives them any money on interest, which has been prohibited, because it was found that selfish people, aware of the poverty of these dyers, sometimes gave them money, not only on interest but at a usurious rate, so that they lost also half of the pay they received from the Company on account of those debts, and were kept in continual poverty, which made them either despondent or too lazy to work. For this reason an order was issued during the time of the late Commandeur Blom that such usurers would lose all they had lent to these dyers, as the Company would not interfere on behalf of the creditors as long as the debt to the Company was still due. On this account also their lands have been mortgaged to the Company, and Mr. Blom proposed in his questions of December 22, 1693, that these should be sold. But this will not be necessary now, and it would not be advantageous to the Company if the weavers were thus ruined, while on the other hand this debt may on the whole be recovered. (31)

The Tannekares are people who made a contract with the Company during the time of Mr. Blom by a deed bearing date June 7, 1691, in terms of which they were to deliver two elephants without teeth in lieu of their poll tax amounting to Fl. 269.4.17/60 and for their Oely service. It was found, however, last August that they were in arrears for 11 animals, which, calculated at Rds. 50 or Fl. 150 each, brings their debts to Fl. 1,650, just as I expected. As all contracts of this kind for the delivery of elephants are prejudicial to the Company, I proposed on January 22, 1695, that this contract should be annulled, stating our reasons for doing so. This proposal was submitted to Their Excellencies at Batavia in our letter of August 12 of the same year, and was approved by them by their letter of December 12, 1695, so that these people are again in the same position as the other inhabitants, and will be taxed by the Thombo-keeper for poll tax, land rent, and Oely service from September 1, 1696. These they must be made to pay, and they also must be made to pay up the arrears, which they are quite capable of doing, which matter must be recommended to the attention of the tax collector in Waddamoraatsche.

The debt due by the dyers of Nalloer and Point Pedro, which arose from their receiving half their pay in advance at their request, as they were not able to pay their poll tax and land rent (which amounted to Fl. 566.14), has been paid up since.

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. (32)

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. (33)

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 (who was sent here without any previous intimation to the Commandeur), 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 [42] 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.(34)

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 (as may be seen from a letter from Colombo of January 6, 1696, and the reply thereto of the 26th of this month), 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 (absent). 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.