on and
cocoa-nut oil, which are for the most part cultivated and manufactured
by Europeans.

The chief article of native consumption, "rice," should be an export
from Ceylon; but there has been an unaccountable neglect on the part of
government regarding the production of this important grain, for the
supply of which Ceylon is mainly dependent upon importation. In the
hitherto overrated general resources of Ceylon, the cultivation of rice
has scarcely been deemed worthy of notice; the all-absorbing subject of
coffee cultivation has withdrawn the attention of the government from
that particular article, for the production of which the resources of
Ceylon are both naturally and artificially immense.

This neglect is the more extraordinary as the increase of coffee
cultivation involves a proportionate increase in the consumption of
rice, by the additional influx of coolie labor from the coast of India;
therefore the price and supply of rice in Ceylon become questions of
similar importance to the price of corn in England. This dependence
upon a foreign soil for the supply involves the necessary fluctuations
in price caused by uncertain arrivals and precarious harvests; and the
importance of an unlimited supply at an even rate may be imagined when
it is known that every native consumes a bushel of rice per month, when
he can obtain it.

Nevertheless, the great capabilities of Ceylon for the cultivation of
this all-important "staff of life" are entirely neglected by the
government. The tanks which afforded a supply of water for millions in
former ages now lie idle and out of repair; the pelican sails in
solitude upon their waters, and the crocodile basks upon their shores;
the thousands of acres which formerly produced rice for a dense
population are now matted over by a thorny and impenetrable jungle.
The wild buffalo, descendant from the ancient stock which tilled the
ground of a great nation, now roams through a barren forest, which in
olden times was a soil glistening with fertility. The ruins of the
mighty cities tower high above the trees, sad monuments of desolation,
where all was once flourishing, and where thousands dwelt within their
walls.

All are passed away; and in the wreck of past ages we trace the great
resources of the country, which produced sufficient food to support
millions; while for the present comparatively small population Ceylon
is dependent upon imports.

These lakes, or tanks, were works