■ decide the dispute,; on punish, the Offence om t f c . spot, nf. hiss
authoEit^i;^I£ the affair appears :.ta he intricate or of sus£-.
ficieat magnitude, he remits ?:it fe the he a d- a f r ^ hl aBr f j o^
with his ownopanionand remarks on. the evidence. This in—
stitutio» saves an infinity of: trouble that would cdhewise; arise'
from the • captious and 'littgteus,. disposition of the natives. I t
also greatly isomefestthe distiahiitiott- of justice, as the president,,,
by taking the. evictenee.on.-tbe spot, has an opportunity of ae-»-
quiring information which the distance might otherwise prevent
from reaching the court a t Columbo. •
* iBgunah0 i® -very advantageon^yLsitnatcdifjr. carrying on: in-
land trade, particularly with. Columbo- and ite< neighbourhood,,
as a hranch.of the . Miuiivaddy ibere runs into «|S© sfia&r;;lht th e
mouth of ; it is a small harbour, where sloops, and- other, smatt
vessels, often put in and land their cargos, .which are. afters
wards conveyed u p the Mulivaddy, and then, by canals wlrick
communicate with- it, to the lake, which the town o f
G'ohimbo. The country through which this communication is-
, carried on is perfectly flat fer a great way in every* direction,,
and abounds with considerable lakes and rivets,; which.give the;
.greatest fecilily to forming canals. The sides, of .the rivers and
canals are skirted with thick woods and jungl#. which afidrd a
most grateful shade to the passengers from the^t scorching, heat
of the sun, and also supply the inhabitants with plenty of fuel,
as th e rivets, do with the greatest abundance of- fish- With
b o th o f th e s e test aitiefes i Ceylon is much better provided
tban any other part- of India which I hade visited.
| ,One of the principal: articles exported from, Nigumbo by th e
inland communications consists of fish.. ‘This trade is considered
as. the . property of government, and is. annually formed out for
several thousand rupees. Ë A :3 feo r Of Malabar man is’ usually
th e former,- an d ^h e‘ alb'ne iVlal’lb#êd^|tb dispose1 of the fish
caught here. He employs all thé’tboite belonging to the plaibe,
paying1 dhe; owners a fceriain. daily ’hirel TKd people he dMgages
ars® compelled by the authority/ofhgovfernmèhtld© fish1 verd
day that the Weather; Will permit, Sundays and patfciciilar fes-
tivals excepted. TheseLfisheiuien a re : obliged ito : purchase fron»
the farmer any fish they may want for i their own usej o.Whethe#
this system be the best; fdr:"govornmerit/; :or fèr. the. fishermen,
mhy 'he disputed; but fit His;,plainly the , worst for thë .pbrcha^érj
as ^ 1 .'eofopitifen iscdesirèyedk -k
Although;Cfohambe; has a vejy ■; extensive fishery of its own,
y e t it is also largely supplied frobi J^gunihol Thfe fish; a^isdoii .
as caught, are put rfltp béats; conveyed by the? rivers* and ealnaM
dhfihg the night, and sold in the bazars next morning.
I y^as SlMck With a curious method fof edtchiug-fi^hi|irEBst^'ed
b y 'thé natives in the lakes and rivers adjoining ■ Ié Nigumbo. -
They gb into the water up to the middle of the thighs; carrying
in thëir' hands a round basket dfva CQodeaf pram something
Assembling ‘our , wire rafi-tr&ps without the bottom L i -.■ This; thdy
Suddenly plunge into tóe wafer quite down to the mud, They
soon ibid whether they have enclosed a fish by its beating
against the sides'of tife -basket: when this is tHdmsCj, they
tfirust dówii their arm thiough th© hole at ibev.töpi ;aaid lay
hold óf ijEd! They stfÉg the fish, as théy cléch* tflemiisifo ,a|dece
of rattan or bamboe; which is fostsbed: round their Waist;; and
I have often s©en them quite loaded with W h a tle y ck r^ it in
this mantter. While the operation Of .plunging the basket is
continued,’ other persons- are employed in slashing: the Water
dll* around, In51 order to make th e fish gb towards, th© bsiskeft