From monuments still existing in Ceylon, this island evidently appears to have been much more populous, and much better cultivated, in former times, than at present. We have no accurate data; indeed, from which we can form an estimate of the precise amount of the actual population of Ceylon, but it probably does not exceed one million and au half. The inhabitants may be divided into four distinct tribes or nations, viz. the Ceylonese proper, who occupy the territories formerly belonging to the King of Candy, and the south and south-west coasts.• the Malabars or Hindoos, who possess the north and east coasts, and the peninsula of Jaffnapatam ; the Moors, who are dispersed over every part of the island, and who may be considered as the most dustrious portion of the population ; and the Vedas or Bedas, who appear to be the only indigenous tribe in the island, living in a savage state in the large forest which extends from the south to the east end north, upon the borders of our old limits, and into the Candian territory. Mr Percival and Mr Cor diner make a distinction between the Ceylonese and the Candians; but according to the latest and best authorities, referred to at the end of this article, they seem to be one and the same nation ; having the same origin, language, religion, and habits. The population has been rapidly increasing for some years, owing principally to the introduction of vac cination, which has been generally practised, and with great success ; insomuch, that the small-pox, which formerly committed great ravages in Ceylon, has now been wholly expelled from the island. This increasing population, however, is far from being in a prosperous condition, as, for some years past, it has pressed hard upon the means of subsistence. The distress was much aggravated in the years 1812, 1813, and 1814, by repeated droughts, which prov ed injurious to the cultivation of rice ; while, in con sequence of the superabundant population, the price of labour, during this great scarcity, continued at the same low rate as formerly. The territory with in the old limits of the British government, does not produce a sufficient quantity of rice for the main tenance of its own inhabitants ; much of that neces sary article has been, at all times, imported from the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, and from Ben gal ; and a very large supply was derived from the Candian country, which produced a considerable surplus. But as the population of these districts is also upon the increase, the supply derived from that source has necessarily suffered a proportional dimi nution.
The principal towns on the island are Candy, Co-, Jumbo, Point de Galle, and Trincomalee. Of these, Columbo and Trincomalee, which are situated with in the old British territory, have been already de scribed in the body of this work. The town of Candy was the native capital, previous to the entire conquest of the island. It is situated in the pro vince of Tallanour, in the midst of lofty mountains covered with thick jungle; and the- passes to it are narrow, and intersected with close hedges of thorn. The town itself is mean, and surrounded by a mud wall of no strength. Its length is about two miles ; and it consists of one broad street, with numerous lanes branching from the principal thoroughfares. The houses are chiefly of mud, thatched with straw and leaves, with small apertures instead of windows. At one end of the great street stands the palace, an immense pile of building, constructed of stone and wood, and covered over with a species of white ce ment. It comprehends within its walls two temples dedicated to Boodh, or Buddhu,—one Hindoo pa goda,—the cemetery of the Kings of Candy,—and a great variety of arsenals and storehouses. The surrounding scenery is rich and beautiful. The land in the neighbourhood is highly cultivated, and interspersed with villages and rivulets. Some of the mountains are cleared to their summits, formed into ridges, and sown with grain ; the valleys are ferti lized by assiduous and skilful irrigation, and are clothed with areca, jack, cocoa-nut, and other trees, and with fields of paddy and other grain.
Point de Galle, the only other town of which it seems necessary to give a description, is situated at the southern extremity of the island, on a low rocky promontory, backed by several ranges of hills, rising above one another, and covered with wood. The fort, in which most of the Europeans reside, is more than a mile in circumference, and contains a variety Of Jorge and commodious habitations. Europeans are here much less incommoded by the heat than in other parts of India ; for although the town is situat ed within less than six degrees of the equator, the temperature is frequently as low as 72° of Fahren heit, and never exceeds 86°. The disease, called Elephantiasis, is said to prevail a good deal among the poor residents at Point de Gale, and is ascribed to bad water and insufficient nourishment.
It seems difficult to give a faithful delineation of the character of the Ceylonese. In general, they are mild in their manners, and reserved in their ad dress , not easily roused to resentment and blood shed, yet proceeding with extraordinary determina tion in the prosecution of their object, when acting under the impulse of passion. Crimes of the deepest dye have occasiunally been perpetrated among the lower castes ; but the conduct of the better castes is generally correct and decorous. They are consum mate masters of the art of insinuating themselves into the good opinion and favour of their superiors; and they possess a wonderful degree of address in work ing upon the feelings of others, while they can keep themselves free from every emotion.
The religion of the Ceylonese consists in the wor ship of Boodh, which is also established in the Birman empire, and in the kingdom of Siam. This religion lays claim to great antiquity, and appears to have existed prior to the Braminical system; although the learned are not agreed concerning the age of Boodh, or Buddhu, or the country in which his religion doctrines were first promulgated. According to the mythology of the Ceylonese, this personage, whose footstep is still to be seen on the top of Adam's Peak, is said to have descended upon earth, and, after having performed a vast number of virtuous actions, and been transformed into a great variety of shapes, to have again ascended into heaven, where he acts as a mediator with the Supreme Being, and procures the pardon or his worshippers. Although the Ceylonese acknowledge the existence of one Su preme Being, yet they dedicate no temples to his worship; those of Buddhu being superior to all others. Buddhu is -said to have ,always worn a yel low dress; and for this reason his priests still wear a dress of a similar colour ; and hisimages, inthe tem pies, are invariably yellow from the head to the feet. The religious kalendar of the Ceylonese comprehends seven other saints or subordinate deities, to each of whom they erect images, and ascribe peculiar powers and prerogatives; but their worship is inferior to that of Buddhu. Some of the Ceylonese temples, or pagodas, are magnificent structures, indicating a much higher degree of excellence in the arts, in some former period, than the natives at present pas seas. Some of these pagodas are endowed with great revenues, and possess high privileges. The priests are dividedi nto three ranks ; of whom the highest order is set apart for the worship of Buddhu; the others minister to the worship of the inferior deities. The highest sacerdotal office is not corn patible with any species of manual labour ; and the priests, so long as they continue to exercise their functions, are doomed to the most rigorous celibacy. But, in the system of Buddhu, the priesthood does not constitute a peculiar caste ; nor is the character indelible, as among the Brahmins ; on the contrary, they are at liberty to renounce their sacred calling, and to resume their' place among the laity.