23. Pugalenti, another contemporary of Kamban, who excelled in that kind of poetry designated l'enba, which is the most difficult of all. He left a poem, called Nala Venba, in which he has successfully attempted to abridge the 1171 stanzas (in Tirutam metre) of the Nahishadam of Adivira Pandiyan in 418 stanzas (in Venba metre), This work has acquired for him a lasting fame and is by any esteemed the most beautiful composition in the Tamil language, 24. Mandala Purusha. Very little is known concerning him, except that he was a Jaina prince, "the possessor of the white elephant," and the author of a Tamil dictionary entitled Súlámani Nigandu, which is written on a dif ferent principle from that of Sainden and serves to supply its defects. 25. Paranchodi, a Saiva priest and poet, who flourished towards the middle of the eleventh century, when Vira Pandiyan was reigning at Madura. He wrote a poem called Tiruvilayadel Puranam, containing an account of the sixty-four miracles of Sundareswara, the tutelary deity of Madura, as originally related in the Sanskrit legend, denominated Hálásya, Besides this work, there is also another under the title of Pottikali Venba, treating on the same subject, but on a more contracted scale and in the form of hymns addressed directly to the god himself, 26 Siva Vakkiyar, a most eminent philosopher, known as the author of a treatise called after his own name. It remains uncertain who he was, or where he lived; but the following extracts from his work explain the tenets which he held. Speaking of the nature and attributes of the supreme Being, he says, "It is not Ari, it is not Aren, it is not Ayen; Far beyond the black (the colour of Vishnu) the white (the colour of Siva) or the red (the colour of Brahma) soars the everlasting cause; It is not great, it is not small, neither is it male, nor female: Beyond every state of corporeal being it is farther, farther, and farther still."--Ellis, While yet in the prime of my life, how much water have I poured out? And moreover, how often have I encompassed the holy places of Siva. This I have left off, for the wise who know the true God, the Lord of heavenly beings, Believe not the Idol of the temples apparent to the eyes to be God, nor lift up to it their hands."-Eltis. Speaking of the Vedas, he says: "Though you read the Vedas without any inaccuracy. Though you daub yourself all over with holy ashes, God will not appear "As milk once drawn cannot again enter the udder, nor butter churned be recombined with milk; As sound cannot be produced from a broken chank, nor the life be restored to its body; As a decayed leaf and a fallen flower cannot be re-united to the parent tree; So a man once dead is subject to no future birth."-Ellis. Speaking of the distinction of caste, he says; “What, O wretch, is caste? is not water an accumulation of fluid particles ? Are not the five elements and five senses one? Are not the several ornaments for the neck, the breast, and the feet equally gold? What then is the peculiar quality supposed to result from difference of caste ?"-Ellis. The era of Siva Vakkiyar's existence is variously stated; but it cannot, powever, be traced earlier than the Mahommedan invasion, as he has alluded to their religion in the treatise he wrote. (To be Continued.) STATISTICS OF PUTLAM. ·000-s THIS district extends along the N. W. Coast of Ceylon, bound ed on the east by Demelepatto and a part of Nuwerekallawiye, on the west by the Gulph of Manar, on the south by Chilaw, and on the north by the river Modergam, which separates it from Manar. It is about 60 miles long, but no where more than 16 wide, and its superficies have been estimated at 357,180 acres. Anciently it constituted the Province of a Dessave, and under the sway of the Dutch was governed by an Opperhoofd, who re sided at Calpentyn, but since the year 1806, it has been annexed to the Collectorate of Chilaw, and now forms one of the sub-divisions of the Western Province. The District is divided into six pattoes, or divisions, the names of which, and the population ineach as ascertained by census, are as follows: The Births in 1839, were 205, the Marriages 137, and the Deaths 193. The greater part of lands in this district, if we except the Peninsula of Calpentyn, is covered with forest. The soil, how, ever, is not ui adapted for cultivation, and might be rendered very productive, but for the want of inhabitants as well as capital. The principal produce of the district consists of Cocoanuts, which form the greatest item of its exports. According calculation the number of Cocoanut Trees amounts to a rough ... .... ... ... ... 12,000 200,000 ... ... 400,000 5,000 300 50 Pomparippo Pattoo, do... Kumarewanniyen Pattoo do... ... Rajewanniyea Pattoo, do......... Palmiras also abound; but the inhabitants do not derive much profit from them. Tobacco and cotton are cultivated, and choya root and Indigo grow wild in many parts of the district. Of fruit trees, there is neither jack nor orange, but their want is supplied by mango, breadfruit, grapes, plantains, &c. There are also sweet potatoes and yams and a great variety of other vegetables, useful both for culinary purposes and medicine. Some Cinnamon bushes are found to flourish in the forest of Manjadicholly in the Akkara Pattoo, but the barks peeled from them are however of a very inferior quality. The cultivation of paddy is chiefly confined to the north and north-eastern parts of the district, and the quantity raised seldom exceeds 30,000 bushels The live stock consists of 51 horses, 10,389, horned cattle, 2,225 goats and sheep and 123 asses. Salt is both manufactured and formed spontaneously, and the yearly produce of this article may be computed at 250,000 bushels, but it could be extended to a very large amount if the demand for it were greater, Calpentyn is the only port in the district, and the value of goods which are annually imported is about £5,000 and the exports to about half ibat sum, independent of the coasting. trade with Colombo, Jaffna, Trincomalie, &c. &c., which is also very extensive. The imports consist principally of Rice, Paddy, Cotton cloth, Curry and Medicinal stuff: and the exports Cocoanuts, Copperahs, Chova Root and Chanks. The Gulph of Calpentyn is rich in chanks of a very superior description and also in Bicbo-de-mar and sea moss. The quantity of dried Fish annually exported from Calpentyn is about 600,000fbs. and that of chanks 130,000. There are several Roman Catholic, Mahommedan and Hindoo places of worship in the district, besides a neat Protestant Epis copal Church in the town of Calpentyn. The latter, however, has no resident or visiting minister appointed to officiate in it and its congregation is therefore literally left as "sheep without a shepherd. The famous Roman Catholic chapel called St. Anne, to which thousands of pilgrims resort annually from the different parts of the Island, and the Coromandal coast is situated at Palakudah about 10 miles from Calpentyn in a south-west direction. With regard to education the youth of this district are not satisfactorily provided for, as there is only one English School at Calpentyn, and a few native ones in the country. The inhabitants of this district consist of Burghers, Tamils, Malays, Moors and Singhalese; the principal place of residence of the three former classes is the Town and Peninsula of Calpentyn, where they are engaged either in the cultivation of land, or in trade. The houses are generally low built and thatched, with the exception of the few public buildings at Putlam and Calpentyn and some private houses in the latter place, which are large, commodious, and tiled. The Fort of Putlam which is built of mud, is garrisoned by a detachment of the Ceylon Rifles, and the Fort of Calpentyn built of coral stones in 1646, as appears by the inscription on the gate, has been converted into a salt depôt. There was before and after the British conquest of the Island, a Land-raad Court at Calpentyn, which was succeeded by a Magistrate's Court, and then by a Provincial Court, but in 1818 the Provincial Court was removed to Putlam, and the Magistrate's Court re-established at Calpentyn. From Putlam the Provincial Court were to perform circuits to Chilaw, Calpentyn and Manar, but since 1820, when the office of Provincial Judge was united to the Collectorship the Court was removed to Chilaw where the Collector held his Cutcherry. In 1833 when the judicial system of the Island was re-modeled, the Magistrate's Court of Calpentyn was abolished to the great detriment and inconvenience of the merchants and inhabitants there. The present District Court is held for six months in the year at Putlam, and the other six months at Chilaw, and its jurisdiction extends over the whole tract of country from Kaymel river on the south, to Modergam river on the north, and from the Gulph of Manar on the west, to the seven Korles on the east including Demelpatto, being more than 90 miles in length and about 30 or 35 miles in breadth. The Commissioner of enquiry, who advised the abolition of the Magistrate's Court of Calpentyn never visited the place, or I am sure he would not have thought of recommending a measure which has proved so injurious to its interest. F. POETICAL SKETCHES OF THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLAND OF CEYLON, BY THE REV. B. BAILEY.-(Continued.) XVII. MOUNTAINS AND PLAINS. The scene is changed. The lofty 'mountains rise, And Novelty for fancy forges chains. All is delightful: and the glistening eyes Until the excited spirit scarce sustains What fills the mind with thought, and what remains To muse on beauties which this Island shows. XVIII. JUNGLE. And is this Jungle? More majestic trees' Tall and erect up to the sky they look; |