[G].—In the letter of the 9th instant we received various and important instructions which must be carried out. An answer to this letter was sent by us on the 22nd of the same month. One of these instructions is to the effect that a new road should be cut for the elephants which are to be sent from Colombo. Another requires the compilation of various lists, one of which is to be a list of all lands belonging to the Company or given away on behalf of it, with a statement showing by whom, to whom, when, and why they were granted. I do not think this order refers to Jaffnapatam, because all fields were sold during the time of Commandeur Vosch and others. Only a few small pieces of land were discovered during the compilation of the new Land Thombo, which some of the natives had been cultivating. A few wild palmyra trees have been found in the Province of Patchelepalle, but these and the lands have been entered in the new Thombo. We cannot therefore very well furnish such a list of lands as regards Jaffnapatam, because the Company does not possess any, but if desired a copy of the new Land Thombo (which will consist of several reams of imperial paper) could be sent. I do not, however, think this is meant, since there is not a single piece of land in Jaffnapatam for which no taxes are paid, and it is for the purpose of finding this out that the new Thombo is being compiled.

[H].—The account between the Moorish elephant purchasers and the Company through the Brahmin Timmerza as its agent, about which so much has been written, was settled on August 31 last, and so also was the account of the said Timmerza himself and the Company. A difficulty arises now as to how the business with these people is to be transacted; because three of the principal merchants from Galconda arrived here the other day with three cheques to the amount of 7,145 Pagodas in the name of the said Timmerza. According to the orders by His Excellency Thomas van Rhee the latter is no longer to be employed as the Company’s agent, so there is some irregularity in the issue of these cheques and this order, in which it is stated that the cheques must bear the names of the purchasers themselves, while on the other hand the purchasers made a special request that the amount due to them might be paid to their attorneys in cash or elephants through the said Timmerza. However this may be, I do not wish to enter into details, as these matters, like many others, had been arranged by His Excellency the Governor and the Council without my knowledge or advice. Your Honours must await an answer from His Excellency the Governor Gerrit de Heere and the Council of Colombo, and follow the instructions they will send with regard to the said cheques; and the same course may be followed as regards the cheques of two other merchants who may arrive here just about the time of my departure. I cannot specify the amount here, as I did not see these people for want of time. The merchants of Golconda have also requested that, as they have no broker to deal with, they may be allowed an advance by the Company in case they run short of cash, which request has been communicated in our letter to Colombo of the 4th instant.

[I].—As we had only provision of rice for this Commandement for about nine months, application has been made to Negapatam for 20,000 paras of rice, but a vessel has since arrived at Kayts from Bengal, belonging to the Nabob of Kateck, by name Kaimgaarehen, and loaded as I am informed with very good rice. If this be so, the grain might be purchased on behalf of the Company, and in that case the order for nely from Negapatam could be countermanded. It must be remembered, however, that the rice from Bengal cannot be stored away, but must be consumed as soon as possible, which is not the case with that of Negapatam. The people from Bengal must be well treated and assisted wherever possible without prejudice to the Company; so that they may be encouraged to come here more often and thus help us to make provision for the need of grain, which is always a matter of great concern here. I have already treated of the Moorish trade and also of the trade in grain between Trincomalee and Batticaloa, and will only add here that since the arrival of the said vessel the price has been reduced from 6 to 5 and 4 fannums the para.

[K].—On my return from Colombo last year the bargemen of the Company’s pontons submitted a petition in which they complained that they had been obliged to make good the value of all the rice that had been lost above 1 per cent. from the cargoes that had been transported from Kayts to the Company’s stores. They complained that the measuring had not been done fairly, and that a great deal had been blown away by the strong south-west winds; also that there had been much dust in the nely, and that besides this it was impossible for them to prevent the native crew who had been assigned to them from stealing the grain both by day and night, especially since rice had become so expensive on account of the scarcity. I appointed a Committee to investigate this matter, but as it has been postponed through my illness, Your Honours must now take the matter in hand and have it decided by the Council. In future such matters must always be brought before the Council, as no one has the right to condemn others on his own authority. The excuse of the said bargemen does not seem to carry much weight, but they are people who have served the Company for 30 or 40 years and have never been known to commit fraud. It must also be made a practice in future that these people are held responsible for their cargo only till they reach the harbour where it is unloaded, as they can only guard it on board of their vessels.

[L].—I have spoken before of the suspicion I had with regard to the changing of golden Pagodas, and with a view to have more security in future I have ordered the cashier Bout to accept no Pagodas except directly from the Accountant at Negapatam, who is responsible for the value of the Pagodas. He must send them to the cashier in packets of 100 at a time, which must be sealed.

[M].—The administration of the entire Commandement having been left by me to the Opperkoopman and Dessave Mr. Ryklof de Bitter and the other members of the Council, this does not agree with the orders from the Supreme Government of India contained in their letter of October 19 last year, but since the Dessave de Bitter has since been appointed as the chief of the Committee for the pearl fishery and has left already, it will be for His Excellency the Governor and the Council to decide whether the Lieutenant Claas Isaacsz is to be entrusted with the administration, as was done last year.

Wishing Your Honours for the second time God’s blessing,

I remain,
Yours faithfully,
(Signed) H. Zwaardecroon.

On board the yacht “Bekenstyn,” in the harbour of Manaar, March 29, 1697.