The principal towns, with population according to the census of 1891 are:-Colombo, 127,836; Kandy, 20,558; Galle, 33,590; Trincomalee, 11,948; Jaffna, 43,179.

Religion and Instruction.

The principal religious creeds were returned as follows at the census of 1891 :-Buddhists, 1,877,043; Hindoos, 615,932; Mohammedans, 211,995; Christians, 302,127.

The religion of the great majority of the inhabitants is Buddhism, which was introduced in the third century before Christ by Mahinda, a Buddhist missionary of royal parentage, and soon became the established religion of the Island, replacing the Brahminical religion introduced by earlier streams of Indian colonists. The Buddhism prevalent in Ceylon (unlike the Northern Buddhism of Tibet, China and Japan) is, in its philosophy, materialistic and atheistic, and in popular usage has a large admixture of the doctrines aud practices of popular Hinduism (due no doubt to the influence of the reigning dynasty which for many centuries was South Indian), and of the aboriginal

wild tribes.

Education has made considerable strides in Ceylon since it was or ganised under a separate Government department with a director of public instruction and a staff of inspectors, as will be seen from the following table :

There were thus in 1897, 184,506 scholars receiving regular instruction, or a proportion of a little more than 1 in 16 of the population according to the census of 1891. The Government expenditure is now chiefly devoted towards vernacular education, which is unable to support itself, while English education has obtained such a hold upon the people that it is becoming gradually self-supporting. The only Government high English school is now the Royal College; but other high English schools receive grants in aid. The Government also gives a scholarship of 1507. a year for four years to enable promising students to proceed to an English university. The Cambridge local examinations, and the examinations of the London University are held annually in Ceylon by arrangement. The technical college, established in 1893, was re-organised in 1897, and is prosperous. The branches taught include civil engineering, telegraphy and electrical engineering, surveying and levelling, and mechanical engineering; there are over 100 students. There is an agricultural school, a school of forestry, recently established, and a Government dairy farm, originally intended for the supply of milk to hospitals and prisons, and now (1898) possessing over 160 head of cattle bred from Sindh stock procured through the Bombay Government. There are also twenty-five industrial schools and orphanages.

Justice, Crime, and Pauperism.

The basis of the law is the Roman-Dutch law, modified by colonial ordinances. The criminal law has been codified on the principle of the Indian Penal Code. Justice is administered by the Supreme Court, the police courts and courts of requests, and the district courts, intermediate between the latter and the Supreme Court. There are also village councils which deal with petty offences. The number of summary convictions in 1897 in the Police Courts was 17,025, convictions in the District Courts 866, and in the Supreme Court 494.

The number of paupers is not known, as there is no poor law, though a few old persons receive a charitable allowance from the Government vary. ing from Rs. 1 to Rs. 12.50 each per mensem.

Finance.

The public revenue and expenditure of the colony, in each of the last five years, were as follows:

The principal sources of revenue are (1897); the customs, 5,973,785 Rs. ; land sales, 498,970 Rs.; licences, which in effect means the revenue from spirituous liquor, 2,812,324 Rs.; stamps, 2,075,876 Rs.; the proceeds of the sale of Government timber and Government salt, 1,553,110 Rs. ; and port and harbour dues, 971,429 Rs.; Government railways, 1897, 7,318,683 Rs.

The principal items of expenditure are (1897) establishments, 5,696,234 Rs.; contribution towards military expenditure (including cost of volunteer force) 1,824,602 Rs. (of this 1,702,165 Rs. is paid to the Imperial Government); pensions and retired allowances, 1,013,966 Rs. ; interest on loans, &c., 2,860,295 Rs. ; on public works, 2,872,921 Rs.

On December 31, 1897, the public debt of the colony amounted to 3,494,9057. and 3,278,672 Rs. ; it has been incurred entirely for public works, including 297 miles of railway, the Colombo breakwater, and the Colombo waterworks.

In 1896 the total local revenue amounted to 2,231,274 Rs.

Defence.

The harbour of Trincomalee on the east coast of Ceylon is a naval and victualling yard, and is the headquarters of the British fleet in East Indian waters. It is fortified, and the fortifications have been strengthened, at the cost of the Imperial Government. The harbour of Colombo on the

west coast is also protected, the colony having paid the cost of the erection of earthworks, the Imperial Government supplying the armament. Ceylon has no naval forces of its own.

The British troops in Ceylon are under the command of a major-general, and comprise a regiment of British infantry, artillery, and engineers, the total strength being 1,663; there is a volunteer force numbering 1,074 of all ranks. The colony pays 1,702,165 Rs. per annum to the Imperial Government as the cost of the garrison. The cost of the Local Volunteer Corps was 122,437 Rs. in 1897.

Production and Industry.

The estimated area of the colony is 16,233,000 acres, 2,159,698 acres being under cultivation, and 763,850 acres pasture land. Of this, 728,112 acres were (1897) under rice and other grains, 19,477 under coffee, 404,574 under tea, 891 under cinchona, 878,909 under coco nuts, 42,289 under cinnamon, 10,122 under tobacco, and 32,354 under cocoa. The live stock of the island in 1897 consisted of 4,007 horses, 1,289,536 horned cattle, 86,627 sheep, and 155,495 goats. Plumbago is a valuable mining product, and in 1897 there were 584 plumbago mines. The produce of the pearl fishery in 1890 was valued at 310,000 Rs. ; in 1891 at 960,000 Rs.

Commerce.

None since.

The declared value of the total imports and exports of the colony, including bullion and specie, was as follows in each of the last five years :

The values of imports and exports are declared, and represent the wholesale values at the place of import or export. Declarations are subject to scrutiny and penalty. The Chamber of Commerce, as representing the trade of the island, assists by supplying the value on which a rated duty is levied. Quantities of imports are ascertained from invoices or by actual examination; of exports, from declarations and by examination of the shipping documents, shippers being liable to penalties for misstatement. The origin and destination of goods are also obtained from the shipping documents. In some cases, however, goods intended for transhipment abroad are so entered, e.g. to New York, viâ London. The transit trade includes all goods transhipped direct in port, as well as goods landed into transhipment warehouses. The transit trade of Colombo has largely increased of late years, but, as no bills of entry are required in respect of transhipment goods, the returns as to quantity are only approximately correct, and no returns as to value can be prepared.

Value of dutiable imports (1897), 65,288,950 Rs. ; duty free 32,738,524 Rs.

The principal articles of export from Ceylon in 1897 were-coffee, valued at 1,472,346 Rs. ; cinchona, 32,512 Rs.; tea, 46,931,190 Rs. ; plumbago, 3,670,846 Rs.; cocoa-nut products, 13,142,622 Rs.; areca nuts, 1,316,595 Rs.

The principal articles of import were-cotton goods valued at 7,866,100 Rs. ; salt-fish, 1,512,659 Rs.; rice and other grain, 32,802,996 Rs.; coal and coke ,519,319 Rs.; spirits, &c., 1,144,784 Rs. ; wines, 396,023 Rs.

The

Disease has in recent years greatly reduced the produce of coffee. quantity exported fell from 824,509 cwt. in 1879 to 299,395 cwt. in 1884, to 31,987 cwt. in 1894, to 18,605 cwt. in 1897. The exports of tea, which in 1884 amounted only to 2,392,975 lb., reached 85,376,322 lb. in 1894, 98,581,060 lb. in 1895, 110,095,193 lb. in 1896, and 114,466,318 lb. in 1897.

The export of cacao was, in 1885, 7,466 cwt.; 1894, 22,792 cwt.; in 1895, 27,522 cwt. ; in 1896, 33,890 cwt.; and in 1897, 35,121 cwt.

According to Ceylon returns the total imports from the United Kingdom in 1897 amounted to 25,957,311 Rs. and exports to 51,274,208 Rs.; imports from India 62,473,892 Rs.; exports to India 10,246,716 Rs. trade with the United Kingdom is shown in the following table, according The amount of to the Board of Trade returns in each of the last five years.

The import of coffee from Ceylon into the United Kingdom was of the declared value of 3,001,0757. in 1879, 235, 6847. in 1895, 68,9677. in 1896, 62,780. in 1897. Other imports are -cinchona, 21,9527. in 1896, 12,3807. in 1897; coco-nut oil, 117,5657. in 1896, 105,6227. in 1897; cinnamon, 41,5672. in 1896, 52,8697. in 1897; plumbago, 90,8217. in 1896, 113,5077. in 1897; tea, 1207. in 1878, 1,244,7247. in 1888, 3,404,6967. in 1895, 3,799,713 in 1896, 3,728,1667. in 1897; cordage and twine, 57,3327. in 1896, 54,6507. in 1897. Manufactured cotton goods, of the value of 219,5507.; iron, wrought and unwrought, 92,5277.; coals, 140,3807., machinery, 87,5417., formed the staple articles of British exports to Ceylon in 1897.

Shipping and Communications.

The total tonnage entering and clearing at Ceylon ports in 1897 was 6,704,747. In 1898, 187 sailing vessels of 13,458 tons, and 4 steamers of 629 tons, total 191 vessels of 14,087 tons, were registered as belonging to Ceylon.

Ceylon had 297 miles of railway open for traffic in 1897, and 215 miles have been surveyed and projected.

In 1897 there were 364 offices opened for post and telegraph business. There were 1,733 miles of telegraph wire.

Money and Credit.

The estimated amount of paper money in circulation on the 31st of Dec., 1896, was 11,468,700 Rs. Five banks have establishments in Ceylon : the Mercantile Bank, the Bank of Madras, the National Bank, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and the Chartered Bank of India, London and China. The Ceylon Savings Bank in 1895 had deposits amounting to 3,320,663 Rs.; and the Post Office Savings Bank (1895) to 848,274 Rs.

The weights and measures of Ceylon are the same as those of the United Kingdom. The money of the country is the rupee of British India with cents in place of annas and pice; thus Ceylon has a decimal coinage.

Dependency.

The Maldive Islands, 500 miles west of Ceylon, are governed by an hereditary Sultan, who resides in the island of Mali, and pays a yearly tribute to the Ceylon Government. Next to the Sultan is the Fandiari, the head priest or judge, and besides him 6 Wazirs or Ministers of State. The Maldives are a group of 17 coral islets (atolls), richly clothed with cocoa-nut palms, and yielding millet fruit, and edible nuts.

Population estimated at about 30,000 Mohammedans. The people are civilised, and are great navigators and traders.

Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Ceylon.

Blue Book of Ceylon. Annual Report on Ceylon.

Census of Ceylon, 1891. Colombo, 1892.

Statistics of Ceylon; in 'Statistical Abstract for the Colonial and other Possessions of the United Kingdom.' Annual. London.

Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries and British Possessions. Imp. 4. London.

Baker (Sir S. W.), Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 8. London, 1855.

Carpenter (E.), From Adam's Peak to Elephanta. 8. London, 1892.

Cave (H. W.), The Ruined Cities of Ceylon. London, 1897.

Chalmers (R.), A History of Currency in the British Colonies. London, 1893.

Clutterbuck (W. J.), About Ceylon. London, 1891.

Dechamps (E.), Carnet d'un Voyageur. Paris, 1892.

Delmas (E.), Java, Ceylon, les Indes. Paris, 1897.

Ferguson (J.), The Ceylon Handbook and Directory. 8. Colombo and London, 1893. Ferguson (J.), Ceylon in 1893. Illustrated. 4th Edition. London, 1893.

Geiger (W.), Tagebuchblätter und Reiseerinnerungen. Wiesbaden, 1897.

Gordon-Cumming (Miss E.), Ceylon. London, 1891.-Two Happy Years in Ceylon.

2 vols. Edinburgh, 1892.

Haeckel (E. H. P. A.), A Visit to Ceylon. 8. London, 1883.

Murray's Handbook for India, Ceylon, &c. 2nd edition. London, 1894.

Noblemaire (G.), En Congé. Paris, 1897.

Schmidt (E.), Ceylon. Berlin, 1897.

Tennent (Sir James Emerson), Ceylon: an Account of the Island, Physical, Historical and Topographical. 5th edition. London, 1860.

Christmas Island. See STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.

CYPRUS.

High Commissioner,-Sir William F. Haynes Smith, K. C. M. G., appointed 1898; salary, 3,000l.

The

The island is the third largest in the Mediterranean, 60 miles from the coast of Asia Minor and 41 from the coast of Syria. It is administered by Great Britain, under a convention concluded between the representatives of Her Majesty and the Sultan of Turkey at Constantinople, June 4, 1878. British High Commissioner is vested with the usual powers of a colonial governor. He is assisted by an Executive Council, consisting of the Chief Secretary, the Queen's Advocate, the Receiver-General. The Legislature consists of a Council of eighteen members, six being office holders-the Chief Secretary, the Queen's Advocate, the Receiver-General, the Chief Medical Officer, the Registrar-General and the Director of Agriculture-and twelve elected (for five years), three by Mohammedan and nine by non-Mohammedan The voters are all male Ottomans, or British subjects, or foreigners,

voters.