AuxtialSTIIAT e o N . Ceylon has been adminis tered since 1831 by a Governor assisted by an executive council of live member: (all Govern ment appointees) and a legislative council of seventeen members, including the members of the executive column and four other Government officers, while the WA represent t he native he foreign elements of the island. For :idillin istrative purposes Ceylon is divided into nine provitwes. each administered by a Government agent. The code of the colony is a moditieation of the Roman-Duteh law, while the criminal law is loused on the Indian Penal Code. Justice is administered by a supreme court. police. and dis t Het courts. and courts of request. Slinor eases are dealt with by the village councils. The bud get of the island has increased from about Es. 21,000,000 to Its. 26,000,000. The chit(' sources of revenue are customs, licenses, monopo lies, and railways. The chief items of expendi ture are administration, piddle works, service of the debt, military forces. and fortifications and pensions. The foreign piddle debt amounted at the end of 1899 to 13.445.840, and the local silver debt to Rs. 3,253,191. Public instruction is in charge of a special department presided over by a director assisted by a staff of inspectors. The total number of schools in 1899 was 3640, with a total attendance 01 over 19:3,000, or a little less than 6 per cent. of the total population. Of the total number of schools. were maintained by the Govenunent, 1263 received grants in aid, and 18S7 were unaided. Among the educational establishments of the island there are two col leges. one agricnitural sehool, and one school of forestry, and a number of industrial schools.
According to the census of 1901, the total number of inhabitants of Ceylon, including all was 3,576.990. The two principal races are the Singhalese and the Tamil. The singhalese form about two-thirds of the native population and they live in the southern and south central portion of the island. They are the descendants of colonists from the valley of the Ganges who first settled on the island during the ...sixth Century B.C. In their customs, costume, and general appearance, they have re mained unchanged since the days of Ptolemy. The dress of the men, who have delicate featnres and slender limbs, is singularly effeminate, and consists of a •omboy, fastened at the waist and hanging straight to the ankles in a manner very much resembling a white cotton petticoat. while a jacket of white linen or duck covers the upper part of the body. Their long hair. turned hack from the forehead, is confined with combs, and earrings are worn by way of ornament. The women, in addition to the eomboy, cover the upper part of the figure with a white muslin jacket, and adorn themselves with necklaces, bangles, rings, and jewelry. The Singhalese are
Aryans by language. but in blood they are some what mixed, though fundamentally of the white race. The Kandyans, or 'Highlanders, are a sturdy race, and maintained their independence for centuries after the conquest of the low country by European settler-. They keep up more of their ancient customs than the coast Singhalese. Polyandry. which was formerly universal, still lingers among them, and is an ancient usage to which they strongly adhere. 'the ,lalabars, or Tamils, are of Dravidian stock and are sprung trim those early invaders of Ceylon who from time to time swept across from southern Hindu stan. and contended with the Singhalese kings for the sovereignty of the island. The doormen, so called by the Portuguese, are the most ener getic and intelligent of the native communities, and are met with in every province as enter trailers. They are a very distinct race from the Singhalese. but have no tradition of their origin. Europeans generally believe them to be of Arab descent, but Tennent is of the opin i in that "they may be a remnant of the Persians. by whom the island was frequented in the Fourth and Fifth centuries." The Tamils are largely devotees of Ilinduism. while the Singhalese are Buddhists: Ceylonese Buddhism. indeed, is the most vigorous branch of that faith.
The 'burghers' are a people of European de scent, who have become naturalized. Those of Portuguese extraction hold the lowest place, and are mostly tradesmen and but the Dutch burghers frequently fill responsible posts. and are employed in the Government offices.
The aboriginal inhabitants of the country are by the Vedilas. a people oecupying one of the lowest stages in human culture at the present time. They number about 3000. and oc cups a district in the eastern part of the where they have preserved their ancient customs and manner of living for more than 2000 years. They appear to have little religion. although they recognize gods, as Wilhelm Geiger's investi gations have shown. The tribe is divided into the Coast Veildas, Rock Veddas, and Village das. The Coast Vedda, are a little more civilized than the others. The Rock Veddas hide them selves in the jungle, live by the chase, and sleep in trees or caves. They use fire to cook their meat, and their greatest gastronomic treats are the iguana lizard and roasted monkey. The vil lage Veddas locate themselves in the vicinity of European settlements on the eastern coast, living in rude lints of mud and hark, and are hardly more civilized than their brethren of the jungles. The exertions of the Government to reclaim this shy and harmless but degraded people have in some degree succeeded.