The principal revenues of the king consist of presents or contributions brought him by the people, or rather forced from them by his officers. They consist of money, precious stones, ivory, cloth, corn, fruit, honey, wax, arms, and other articles of their own manufacture, such as spears, arrows, pikes, targets, Szc. The lower clas ses, however, are not the only persons who feel the burden of supplying the royal treasury. On certain festivals, which the king observes in great state, all the nobles and principal people are obliged to appear before him, and none of them must come without a priMent. It is dangerous for them to keep back on these occa sions, and a liberal gift is necessary for the preservation both of their persons and their property. But these stated contributions are not the only kind of extortions practised in Candy to fill the royal treasury. The mo ment that the king's officers understand that any one is possessed of valuable articles, they demand a share of them for the sovereign. Artists are likewise frequently employed by the prince to make him arms and different works in gold and silver at their own expense.
As the governinent of Candy is completely despotic, every subject, without distinction, must be ready at the call of the sovereign. ills regular troops, Captain Percival estimates at about 20,000 ; but these, though called regulars, have neither arms nor clothes to entitle them to that appellation. They wear whatever dress they choose, and arm themselves with any kind of wea pons tilty ran procure, as spears, pikes, swords, targets, bows and arrows, muskets and bayonets, so that altoge ther they have a very motley appearance. Besides those that are considered as regular troops, the king has a 7mmerous militia scattered over the country, and his guard, like that of despots in general, is composed (lithely of foreigners.
A few years lx fore this island fell into the hands of the British, the Uutch introduced new regulations in the management of the finances of the settlement, in con =erluemee of which its income was greatly augmented, while the expellees were diminished, as appears from the following statement :• For some years after the Dutch possessions on this island fell into the hands of the British, they were placed under the management of the East India Company ; but from the beginning of 1802, they became a royal go vernment, and were placed under the immediate direc tion of his majesty's ministers, who now regulate the affairs of the settlement. The Cingalese, who live un der the British government, are now subjected to our laws, and to our form of administering justice, except in a few points in which their ancient customs are retain ed. They are governed by their native magistrates, but the supreme controuling powers always reside in the ser vants of his majesty. According to the report of the
Dutch board of trade, the revenue of Ceylon was for merly able to defray their expenditure on account of the island ; but of late years the expenditure had far exceed ed the produce of the revenue. In 1795 it amounted only to 611,704 Byres, while the charges of the esta blished government were upwards of double that sum, amounting to 1,243,338 livres, or 57,9341. sterling.— Though the revenues of Ceylon are now much greater than under the Dutch administration, yet they are not sufficient to defray the expellee of our various establish ments on the island. Captain Percival, indeed, esti mates them at 1,200,0001.; but Mr Cordiner informs us that this must be a great mistake, and that at present they do not exceed 226,600/., while the ordinary expen diture of the island amounts to 330,0001 , so that the loss to government amounts to no less than 103,4001. In this state of the revenue, he says, every source is included, allowing 60,0001. from the East India Company on ac count of cinnamon, and 40,0001. as the average produce of the pearl fisheries, though we apprehend the estimate of the latter is too low. See Percival. Cordiner. Edin burgh Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. vii. p. 254, Fabricii lux Evangelii per totani orbenz exorcens. Trans actions of the Missionary Society, vol. ii. and iii. Mar tyn's Christian India, a Sermon Preached at Calcutta, January I, 1811. (w.
is a machine for cutting hay and straw into short lengths for cattle.
The machine for cutting chaff, which has been long in use, consists of a plane box or trough, mounted on four legs to support it, and across the end of the box, a large knife or blade is worked by means of a handle fix ed to one end of it. The other end of the knife is jointed to a lever, which moves on a centre at the bottom of one of the legs, so that when the knife is worked, one end describes the arch of a circle, while the other is applied by the handle to the end of the trough or box ; and the straw being placed in it, the end of the straw which pro jects beyond the extremity of the box, is cut off by the knife when worked in an inclined position, and with a drawing or thrusting stroke, which causes it to cut very clean. The workman depresses the knife with his right hand, whilst his left is employed in making the straw advance in the box, every time a cut has been made. This he does by a fork with a wooden handle, and four or fiwe prongs, which are stuck into the straw. At the time when the cut is made, a treadle is pressed down by the foot, which draws a piece of wood down upon the straw in the box, and thus compresses it so closely, that the knife cuts much better than if it had been loose.