Note 16 — Memoir

The new description of lands had however become so urgently necessary that His Excellency the Commissioner-General left orders that this work should be started afresh, ignoring what had been done already. During the government of Commandeur Blom this work was commenced again, some soldiers who were qualified surveyors being employed in it, as well as such Cannecappuls16 as were required by the Thombo-keeper to do the writing, while one of the surveyors prepared the maps of the fields which had been surveyed. This was done with a view to obtain a plan of each particular field and thus recover the proper rents, and also to fix the boundaries between the different properties. Maps are also being prepared of each Aldea or village and each Province, of which our authorities in the Fatherland desire to receive a copy as stated in their letter to Batavia of August 27, 1694, which copies must be prepared. On my arrival here from Batavia in 1694, the Thombo-keeper, Pieter Bolscho, pointed out to me that this description of land was again unsatisfactory, and that it would not serve its purpose, as stated by me in the Annual Compendiums of November 30, 1694 and 1695. It was therefore necessary to have this work done for the third time, and to measure again all the lands which had been surveyed already. This time a scheme was drawn up with the help of the said Mr. Bolscho, and the work has succeeded so well that the Province of Walligamme, which alone extends over about half of this territory, has been completely surveyed, and will from the last of August yield an increase of revenue of Rds. 1,509.5.23 or Fl. 4,527.3.4 yearly. I have already written and sent out the bills, as a warning to the people to prepare for the payment, and the tax collectors are responsible for the recovery of the amount; so that the small expenditure of this new description will be recouped, and the inhabitants have no cause of complaint, because they are only asked to pay their due to the lord of the land as they ought to have done long ago. There is also to be recovered an amount of Rds. 500.2.5 for some small pieces of land which were sold on behalf of the Company in 1695 in the village of Copay, which no one appears to have demanded, because I was in Colombo and the Dessave in Negapatam at the time. This must be done now, especially as the expenditure of the new description of lands has, by order of Their Honours contained in the general resolutions of October 4, 1694, been written off the general revenue, to which must therefore be now transferred the amount gained thereby, as also the sum of Rds. 288.7 which has been received by the survey of some lands in Sjeroepittie, Wallalay, and Nierwely, which were occupied and cultivated by the inhabitants, but for which they did not pay any rent while we had the old Thombo, and which we left to them for payment as they had cultivated them. This was in compliance with the instructions contained in the reply to our letter to Colombo of August 22, 1695, received December 15 following. If any one among you should not quite understand this new description of lands, he may find it useful to read certain instructions left by Governor Laurens Pyl with regard to this subject on February 1, 1679, for the Committee appointed to do this work, which instructions must be still observed so far as they are applicable to the present circumstances. Your Honours will most likely be aware also of the extensive Memoir compiled on my orders by the said Mr. Bolscho, and submitted to the Council on December 15, 1696, and of the reply thereto, as also of the report by Mr. Blom of August 20, 1692, on the same subject, to which documents I here refer. The surveyors are at present at work in the Province of Waddemoraatsche, where they have with them two Mudaliyars, in order to settle small differences which might arise among the inhabitants when their lands are being surveyed. The Mudaliyars act as arbitrators in the presence of the Majoraals of the villages, but important matters must be brought before the Dessave, to be disposed of by him or by the Court of Justice or the Civil Court according to the importance of the case. The Dessave must see that the Thombo-keeper, Mr. Pieter Bolscho, receives all the assistance he requires, and also that the natives who have to serve him in this work are kept in obedience, in order that he may not be discouraged and lose the zeal he has shown so far in the service of the Company in this difficult work. Once this work is completed it will not be required to be done again, and we will be able then to prepare separate lists not only of each Province, but also of each village; so that at any time the credits or the debits of each tax collector may be seen. (9)