106 THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — CEYLON
On January 1, 1920, 116 sailing vessels of 9,529 tons, and 7 steamers of 737 tons net, total vessels 123 of 10,266 tons net, were registered as be- longing to Ceylon.
727 miles of railway were open at September 30, 1919, and several ex- tensions are under construction.
In 1919 there were 551 post offices of various classes ; money order offices, 195 ; telegraph offices, 160 ; postal packets or postcards passed through the post office, 44,000,000 (exclusive of parcels). 7,319 miles of telegraph wire ; telegrams despatched, 1,382,833.
Money and Credit.
Six banks have establishments in Ceylon : the Mercantile Bank of India, the Bank of Madras, the National Bank of India, the Bank of Colombo, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. The Ceylon Savings Bank on December 31, 1919, had 39,706 depositors, and deposits amounting to Rs. 4,089,722 ; and the Po3t Office Savings Bank, 114,591 depositors, and deposits, Rs. 2,744,202.
The weights and measures of Ceylon are the same as those of the United Kingdom. The currency consists of : — Copper : Ceylon 1-cent and ^-cent pieces, 6£ cents being equivalent to Id. English. Nickel : Ceylon 5-cent piece. Silver: Indian rupee ( = 100 cents), equivalent (by Ordinance No. 6 of 1903) to Is. Ad, English ; and Ceylon 50-cent, 25-cent, and 10-cent pieces. Gold : British sovereigns, which are legal tender at Rs. 15 to the sovereign (these have, however, now been demonetized). Ceylon Govern- ment currency notes of Rs. 1,000, 100, 50, 10, 5, 2, and 1. On September 30, 1919, the value of currency notes in circulation was Rs. 40,533,042.
Dependency.
The Maldive Islands, 400 miles west of Ceylon, are governed by an elected Sultan, who resides in the island of Male, and pays a yearly tribute to the Ceylon Government. Next to the Sultan is the first Wazir, or Prime Minister, then the Fandiari, the head priest or judge, and besides them 6 Wazirs or Ministers of State. The Maldives are a group of 13 coral islets (atolls), richly clothed with cocoa-nut palms, and yielding millet, fruit, and edible nuts. Population over 70,000 Mohammedans. The people are civilised, and are great navigators and traders.
Statistical and other Books of Reference concerning Ceylon.
Administration Reports of Ceylon. Annual.
Blue Book of Ceylon. Annual Report on Ceylon.
Decennial Census of Ceylon.
C'cylon Sessional Papers. Annual.
Colonial Office List. Annual. London.
Statistics of Ceylon ; in 'Statistical Abstract for the Colonial and other Possessions of the United Kingdom.' Annual. London.
Repo-rt to the Government of Ceylon on the Pearl Ovster Fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. By Professor Herdman. London, 1903-5.— Correspondence relating to Agree- ment for Lease of Pearl Fisheries on the Coast of Ceylon. Cd 2906, 1906. London.— Reports on tli" Results of the Mineral Survey in 1903-4, and 1904-5. Colonial Reports, Lonaon, 1905 and 1906.
Burrows (S. M.), The Buried Cities of Ceylon : a Guido-book to Anuradhapura, *c. London.
Carpenter (E.), From Adam's Peak to Rlephanta. London, 1904. 2nd Edition.
Cave (H. W.), The Ruined Cities of Ceylon. Newel. London, 1900.— Golden Tips Ceylon and its Tea Industry. London, 1900.— The Book of Ceylon. London, 1913.
J?erj/unon( J. ),Thc Ceylon Handbook and Directory. Colombo and Ijondon. Annual.
Qardintr (I. s.), The Fauna and Geography of the Maldive and Laccadire Archipelagoes. 2 toIs. Cambridge, 1901-1905.
Oordon-Cumning (M\at E.), Two ITappy Years in Ceylon. JtoU. Edinburgh 1892.
