:

In 1799 the Company exported from Ceylon 5642 bales.

During the same year Mr. Jonville, a French gentleman, who held an appointment in the cinnamon department, addressed a memorial to governor North, wherein he sets forth that he had discovered that a cinnamon plant, when well taken care of, ought to produce 23 oz. of cinnamon every second year; whereas those at present in the Marandhan produce, in the same space of time, no more than four-tenths of an ounce per tree. These comparative calculations appear to have been made in a very unequal manner. The first is most probably the amount of the produce of a choice plant, or bush: the second is admitted to be the average produce of each plant in the plantation. No allowance is made for bad soil, although there are many spots in the Marandhan so steril, or other wise ill adapted for the cultivation of cinnamon, that the plants barely live, become stunted, and never afford cinnamon of a quality fit for the Company's investment.

Governor North, whose desire to promote and to engross the monopoly of the cinnamon trade appears to have been ardent, was evidently much influenced by the misrepresentations and sophistical arguments of M. Jonville. In 1799 he addressed an elaborate memoir respecting the cultivation and trade of Ceylon cinnamon to the Governor-general in council.

had three grand objects in view: first, to obtain a sufficient quantity of cinnamon annually; secondly, at a cheap rate; and, thirdly, to preserve entire the Company's monopoly of this article. The annual consumption of cinnamon throughout the world he estimated at 5200 bales In suggesting the means of obtaining this quantity he enters into an elaborate calculation, founded on the statements of M. Jonville, to ascertain how much cinnamon the Marandhan plantation could be made annually to produce. The conclusion he draws is, that this plantation alone would yield annually 13,618 bales. In prosecuting this subject, he strongly and precipitately recommends the immediate grubbing up of the cinnamon plants in the Kaderane plantation, and in the innumerable small plantations which were found in the private property of individuals, and eventually the plantations of Ekele and Morotto. The enormous, exaggerated estimation of the eventual produce of the Marandhan plantation, consequential to an improved mode of cultivation, led to unfortunate results, and afford a strong instance of the propriety of much caution being used before a mere speculative theory should be adopted.

Among the causes which induced Govornor North to recommend the uprooting of the cinnamon growing in the plantation of Ekele and Morotto, he mentions their proximity to the sea. His imaginary fears respecting smugling contributed greatly to his

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entertaining an opinion that the cinnamon produced in these plantations might be cut, and exported in a contraband manner. In this memoir the annual expense incurred on account of the cinnamon department is estimated at pagodas 30,409 29 52.

It does not appear that Governor North's suggestions were much attended to, or that his recommendations were adopted by the governor in council. The cinnamon was permitted to remain in the plantations which were recommended to be grubbed up, and the Marandhan continued to be cultivated, but with no extraordinary care. The discordant opinions of Governor North and M. Jonville probably contributed to prevent the immediate adoption of any important measure.

In September, 1800, we find M. Jonville, in a memorial addressed to the Governor, strongly recommending the rooting up of all the cinnamon plants, not only in the plantations of Ekele and Morotto, but even in that of the Marandhan, and suggesting the propriety of cultivating the Kaderane plantation alone, which he deems adequate to furnish the usual annual investment.

By the treaty of Amiens, concluded in March, 1802, the Batavian Republic ceded to his Britannic Majesty all their possessions in the island of Ceylon which belonged before the war to the United Provinces. His Majesty's ministers, deeming it prudent to permit the company to continue to enjoy the monopoly of the Ceylon cinnamon trade, entered into an agreement with the directors, which

agreement stipulated that the Ceylon government should furnish to the agent of the company, who was to reside at Colombo, 400,000 lb. of cinnamon, or about 4,324 bales of 924 lb. each; for which they engaged to pay at the rate of 3s. sterling per lb. What cinnamon happened to be collected beyond this quantity was to be burned; and the company agreed that whenever the cinnamon furnished was disposed of at a higher rate than to afford five per cent. profit, after defraying all expenses, the surplus was to be placed to the credit of the Ceylon government. The company was to be allowed five per cent. upon the value of all cinnamon sold by the Ceylon government for the supply of the markets in India, but none was to be disposed of in India at a rate lower than 5s. per lb. This agreement was concluded for the year 1802; and I am not aware that any very material alteration in the terms of the contract has since been adopted.

The dispatch which announced to the Ceylon government the conclusion of this agreement recommended that the cinnamon plantations should be limited, so as not to produce, one year with another, a quantity larger than that contracted for by the committee; and should the island be able to afford a surplus quantity, the minister recommended that a part of the cinnamon plantations should be converted into cocoanut gardens; and where the soil would permit, into rice grounds. This recommendation appears to have been made in consequence of an erroneous opinion respecting

the

the ease with which cinnamon could be collected, and the facility with which it might be cul tivated. It is impossible to say how far governor North's memoir contributed to the minister's mistake.

The contracting parties, cager to retain the monopoly, and apparently ignorant that cinnamon was produced in many other parts of the world, as well as Ceylon, adopted the most effectual means to frustrate their own views, by limiting the cultivation of cinnamon, and by restricting its exportation considerably within the annual consumption of the inhabitants of the whole world. By these restrictive measures, a premium was offered to the rice merchants of other countries to endeavour to procure cinnamon at a cheap rate, and consequently to undersell the Ceylon cinnamon. The Ceylon government appears to have entertained serious alarms that the market would be overstocked with cinnamon the produce of Ceylon; and, anxious to prevent a reduction of the price of the article, adopted a most extraordinary measure, which was to employ workmen to root up the cinnamon in many of the plantations.

On Feb. 19, 1802, the chiefsecretary to government addressed a letter (from which the following is an extract) to the President of the Board of Revenue and Commerce.

"It being the intention of his excellency the governor that all the cinnamon gardens belonging to government, except those of the Marandhan, Kaderane, Mo

rotto, and Ekele, should be disposed of, his excellency requests that you would give directions to the agents of revenue and commerce in whose districts there are any cinnamon gardens, to advertise that they will be sold by public outcry on the first of May next : the purchasers to bind theinselves to root out all the cinnamon trees; and destroy them; and all such trees belonging to private persons must likewise be destroyed."

This measure induced the rooting up the cinnamon in many of the plantations. In all those which were doomed to destruction the plants were entirely neglected, and allowed to be overgrown with creepers and brushwood, or browsed upon by cattle. No unusual activity was exerted to promote the cultivation of the four undestroyed plantations. Fortunately, however, the business of uprooting the plants was a work of great labour; and the purchasers of a number of the plantations failed to perform their agreement to its completion. Notwithstanding the unforeseen aid of these plantations, the usual investments became greatly reduced, and were obtained with infinite labour.

In July, 1805, General Maitland assumed the government of Ceylon. One of the first acts of his government was to arrest the progress of the despoliation of the cinnamon plantations. He readily saw the propriety of encouraging and increasing the cultivation of cinnamon, and adopted means which have been followed with great success. During his government the annual investments continued gradually to increase, and

many

being, on an average of eight years, 318,258 lb. ; and the sale amount 95,8251. per annum, or about 6s. per lb. The small quantity retained for home consumption is not included in this calculation.

This statement, when compared with the account of the cinnamon imported and sold at the Dutch East India Company's sales in the years 1785 to 1791 inclusive, proves that the annual quantity of cinnamon imported from Ceylon was considerably reduced, and that the price was diminished to nearly one-half the sum for which it was sold by the Dutch. The large importations of cinnamon which have, under the denomination of casia, for some time past been exported from Canton into Great Britain, America, as well as the British settlements in India, are the chief apparent causes of the diminished demand for Ceylon

cinnamon, as well as of its reduced price.

I have not been able to discover a good reason for supposing that this traffic is of long standing. The Dutch about the year 1787 began to apprehend a formidable rivalship in the monopoly of the cinnamon trade from the Chinese. As the exportation of cinnamon from Canton has increased, the demand from that produced on Ceylon has been on the decay, and the price reduced. The cinnamon exported from Canton, although in general of an inferior quality, can be purchased at a comparatively low rate, and may be sold, even with a large profit, far under the Ceylon cinnamon.

The following are the quantities of casia imported and sold at the company's sales from 1804 to 1808 inclusive, with the sale amount and average price :

Some part of this casia was exported from Calcutta to London. Bombay supplies the market of Massuah, Judda, Aden, Bushin, &c. and a great part of the consumption of this article in the Arabian Gulph.

In 1810 and 1811 China exported from Canton in country ships to the British settlements casia to the amount of 3019 piquels, or 401,527 lb. in regular ships, 6 peculs 998 lb. In the same season were exported from Canton, in American ships, 1604 peculs, or 199,977 lb.

This quantity of casia is im

19,134 51,190

2,346

ported into Canton from the SooIoo, Archipelago, and other islands in these seas, and the different ports of Cochin China. We have no good authority for believing that any of it is produced in China.

The following is a statement of the quantity of cinnamon prepared in Ceylon, the quantity rejected on inspection, and the number of pounds exported annually on account of the East India Company, from the year 1804 to 1814 inclusive, with the annual expense of the cinnamon department from 1807 to 1814 inclusive :