Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/379

Rh CEYLON 367 Edigions. The census of 1871 gives the figures : following Buddhists 1,520,575 Hindus 465,944 Mahometans 171,542 Christians 240,042 Of the Christians, about 186,000 are Roman Catholics, and 54,000 are Protestants of various denominations ; and it is estimated that about 150,000 of them are Sinhalese, 72,000 Tamils, and 18,000 Europeans and Eurasians. The Mahometans are the descendants of Arabs (locally termed Moormen) and the Malays. The Tamils, both the inhabitants of the island and the immigrants from India, are Hindus, with the exception of the 72,000 Christians. The Sinhalese, numbering 70 per cent, of the whole population, are, with the exception of 150,000 Christians, Buddhists. Ceylon may properly be called a Buddhist country, and it is here that Buddhism is found almost in its pristine purity. Ceylon was converted to Buddhism about 300 years B.C. by the great Augustine of Buddhism, Mahinda, son of the Indian king Dhammasoka ; and the extensive ruins throughout Ceylon, especially in the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. bear witness to the sacrifices which kings and people joined in making to create lasting monuments of their faith. Under European rule royal support is no longer given to it, but its pure and simple doctrines live in the hearts of the people, and are the noblest monument to the memory of its founder Gautama Buddha. The taking of the meanest life is strictly forbidden, and falsehood, intem perance, dishonesty, anger, pride, and covetousness are denounced as incompatible with Buddhism, which enjoins the practice of chastity, gratitude, contentment, modera tion, forgiveness of injuries, patience, and cheerfulness. The Buddhist priests are sworn to celibacy, and are regu larly ordained. They are required to meet at convenient places every fourteen days for mutual confession. The Buddhist Temples in the Kandyan country possess valu able lands, the greater portion of which is held by here ditary tenants on the tenure of service. These lands were given out with much care to provide for all that was necessary to maintain the temple and its connected monastery. Some tenants had to do the blacksmiths work, others the carpenters, while another set of tenants had to cultivate the land reserved for supplying the mon astery; others again had to attend at the festivals, and prepare decorations, and carry lamps and banners. In course of time difficulties arose ; the English courts were averse to a system under which the rent of lands was paid by hereditary service, and a commission was issued by the governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, to deal with the whole question, to define the services and to enable the tenants to commute these for a money payment. The result of the inquiry was to show that the services, except in a few instances, were not onerous, and that almost without an exception the tenants were willing to continue the system. The Government maintains an ecclesiastical estab lishment consisting, for the Church of England, of a bishop, whose see is Colombo, an archdeacon, four principal chap lains, and several junior chaplains ; and, for the Church of Scotland, of four principal chaplains. The total cost of this establishment is about 14,000 a year. Various missionary bodies have established themselves in Ceylon. Caste. Caste exists among the Sinhalese as a conven tional and social, not as a sacred institution. All castes, however low, are eligible to the priesthood, which com mands the homage of the highest. Buddha teaches that &quot;A man does not become low caste by birth, Nor by birth does one become high caste ; High caste is the result of high actions And by actions does a man degrade himself to caste that is low.&quot; Nevertheless, caste was tolerated under the Sinhalese dngs as a social institution, and in the account given in is said that &quot; the sovereign, the lord of chariots, directed that it should be lifted by the four high caste tribes and y eight persons of each of the other castes.&quot; The highest aste among the Sinhalese is the goi-vansa, or tillers of the soil ; there are, besides, fishers, smiths, washers, baggage- arriers, weavers, potters, scavengers, and many others. Every trade is a caste. The castes do not intermarry, and neither wealth nor European influence has had any effect in breaking down caste distinctions. At present the wealthiest native of Ceylon is a fisher by caste, but his wealth cannot gain him admittance to the houses of the native aristocracy, who are all of necessity of the highest caste. The Tamils have the same caste distinctions as their fellows on the mainland. The Mahometans have no caste distinctions. Education. The Ceylon Government maintains a large number of public schools, chiefly of the village class ; and there are throughout the island several schools under the management of the Roman Catholics and other missionary bodies, which receive large grants from Government in the form of payments for results in subjects of secular instruc tion. The education department is under a Director of Public Instruction. The following is an abstract of the school returns for 1874 : Number of Scholars. Male. Female. Total 253 Public Schools, 10,376 331 33,554 8,569 1,343 27 10,825 1,360 11,719 358 44,379 9,929 4 Regimental Schools,... 882 Free Schools, 329 Private Schools, Total, 52,830 13,555 66,385 The annual expenditure by the Government on education is upwards of 30,000 ; of which from 17,000 to 18,000 is expended on general administration and salaries of masters of public schools, and 13,000 on grants in aid and other contingent charges. Crime. The criminal statistics for the year 1874 give the following figures, having reference to a popula tion of upwards of 2,400,000. The justices of the peace made 10,171 preliminary inquiries, of which 2750 related to offences against the person, 2452 to cattle stealing, 370G to offences against property, and 1263 to other offences : 1807 persons were committed for trial in the superior courts, of whom 528 were sent up for offences against the person, 552 for cattle stealing, 452 for offences against property, and 275 for other offences. There were 11,794 summary convictions in the magistrates courts, of which 2568 were for assaults, &c.; 178 malicious injuries; 1678 other offences against property; 5779 offences against Revenue Acts, Highway Acts, Health Acts, and the like; 437 under Masters and Servants Acts; and 1154 other offences. A comparison of the statistics for 1872, 1873, and 1874 shows a slight increase, under almost every head in 1874, as compared with the two previous years. Diseases. Ceylon is reputed to be more healthy than most parts of the adjoining continent of India. It is doubt ful, however, how far this is true. It is a point which it is difficult to bring to the test of statistics. Experience proves that with ordinary care Europeans may pass many years in the island as free from disease as in any part of Europe, but a lengthened residence almost invariably induces a reduced vigour in the whole muscular apparatus. The diseases to which Europeans are most subject are dysentery and hepatic attacks. The returns from the
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