Note 57 — Memoir (continued 2)

The public works are carried out here without expenditure to the Company by the Oeliaars, because, as stated before, no cooly wages are paid here, payment being made only to the native artisans, such as smiths, carpenters, and masons. The number of men employed is daily entered in a book by one of the Pennisten of the Comptoirs, which he has to hand over in the evening to the person whose turn it will be the next day to do this work. Care must be taken that these assistants personally see and count the men, and the payments must be made according to their list and not according to those of the Dutch foremen or the native Cannecappuls. This is in compliance with the orders from Batavia. The foremen of the carpenters’ yard, the smiths’ shop, the gunpowder mill, and the masonry works must also every evening, at sunset, bring in their reports with regard to the progress of the work. This is to be done by the sergeant Hendrik Rademaker, who, for some years, has been acting as overseer of the Oeliaars. The Oeliaars are changed on Mondays and Thursdays, each of them working only for three days at a time, which suffices for three months, as they owe twelve days of service in the year. Those who have performed their labour receive an ola from the Cannecappul, which is called a Sito, and is marked with a steel stamp thus: , which serves them as a receipt. The names of those who fail to appear are written down by the Cannecappul and by the Majoraal, and they have to pay a fine which is called sicos.57 The stamp is in the custody of the Chief, who also arranges and divides the work among the Oeliaars. He must see that the sergeant does not allow any of the coolies to depart before the three days have expired, and making a profit for himself and causing loss to the Company. Care must also be taken that no more than 18 persons are employed as Pandarepulles or native cooly drivers, who are each in charge of 16 to 30 men, whom they have to keep to their work. These 18 Pandarepulles must be appointed by written documents, otherwise the sergeant appoints such officers on his own authority and thus also makes a profit. Then also it must be seen that the materials, such as timber, bricks, lime, &c., are not taken to other places than they have been ordered for by the person in authority, for all these are tricks to which the Company is subject on the part of the overseers when they see that no regard is taken of their doings. The principal of the public works at present in progress is the building of the church within the fort,58 which has advanced to 8 feet above the ground, and may be completed during the southern season, if there is only a sufficient quantity of bricks. According to my calculation about 1,000,000 more will be required, which is a large quantity, but will not cost more than 3 fannums per thousand, and even this expense does not fall to the Company, but may be found out of the sicos or fines. The Dessave has the best opportunity for seeing that the work at the brickworks at Iroewale is pushed on as quickly as possible, so that there may be no waiting for bricks or tiles, which are also baked there and paid at the rate of 3½ fannums a thousand. I consider it a shame that in a country where the cost of building is so small, and where religion is to be promoted, there should not even be a church in the fort, a state of things that has existed these last four years, during which the warehouses had to be used for this purpose, while many old and infirm people could not attend the services because of the inconvenience of the steps that lead to them. It would have been better if the old Portuguese church had not been broken down before the building of the new church was commenced, because an old proverb says: “That one must not cast away old shoes till one has got new ones.”59 However, for the present we must row with the oars we possess, until the new church is completed, the plan for which is in the hands of the surveyor Martinus Leusekam. The sergeant in the Wanni, Harmen Claasz, had already on my orders felled the necessary beams, and now the rafters must be thought of, which would be best made of palmyra wood, if they could be obtained sufficiently long. The timber for the pulpit I hope to send from Mallabaar, but as ebony is also found in the Wanni, some trees might be felled also there and be brought down here without expenditure to the Company. As may be seen in the answers to the questions from Jaffnapatam of March 12, 1691, and February 17, 1692, authority for the building of this church was obtained long ago. The only other works required within the Castle at present are the barracks for the married soldiers; which may be found indicated in the map, and the rebuilding of the four dwelling houses yet remaining of the Portuguese buildings which are old and decayed. They are no longer worth repairing, and it would be best if they were broken down and new and better houses built on their site. But before this is done it will be necessary to rebuild the Armoury, which fell into ruins last December. This building also remained from the Portuguese. Some new tiles are also required for the Company’s building at Anecatte where the red-dyeing is done, the cross-beams of which building I had renewed. Likewise a number of tiles is required for the new warehouses in the island Leyden, which have been built there in compliance with the orders of His late Excellency van Mydregt. This was when it was intended to provide Ceylon with grain from Tansjouwer,60 which was to be laid up there before the northern season. These warehouses may yet come in useful if the Moorish trade flourishes. (57)