changes that had taken place with respect to the destination of the other columns, to the commanders of which the orders had, it seems, been more explicit.

I hope that it may be allowed me to remark, that the General had seen some of them more recently than he had communicated with me; that the territory adjoining their districts was in general better known, and of course susceptible of clearer description than the province of Ouva.

It appeared, however, necessary that an affair attended with such serious consequences should undergo investigation, and 1 was ordered round to Columbo, where at Court of Inquiry was held upon my conduct. The decision of the Court was, that I had not disobeyed my orders in going to Candy.

The success of so small a force in penetrating unsupported to the Candian capital, and afterwards effecting its retreat, created considerable surprise throughout the island.

The capital had never before been attempted> with so inconsiderable a force. The troops under General Macdowal, in 1803, exceeded 3000 men, and those the flower of the Ceylon army.

I have before remarked, that 1000 men were even considered necessary to defend the town during the monsoon, though protected by works; and intervening events had rendered the Candians more formidable.

They had gained to their service 500 welldisciplined Malays and Sepoys, with a number of gun Lascars, and 1000 stand of serviceable English muskets, with a supply of ammunition. The continued skirmishes in which they had been engaged with us since that period, together with their occasional successes, had made them more expert, and given them a greater degree of confidence ́than they had at the commencement of the

war.

A larger force than had been employed under General Macdowal and Lieut. Col.

Barbut was, therefore, prepared for the combined attack. Of the six divisions, mine was not only the smallest in point of numbers, but certainly the worst equipped,

Colonel Maddison, who commanded the Hambingtotte detachment, with which I was to have formed a junction at the entrance of the province of Ouva, I now learnt did not receive my letter till after his return, and his guides led him into a part of the country where there was no water to be procured; consequently he was under the necessity of changing his route; and instead of advancing to the northward and westward and entering Quva, where his presence, though we might not have met, would have embarrassed the enemy, he was forced to keep entirely to the southward, so that I derived no assistance from the co-operation of that officer.

The other four divisions which entered the enemy's country, had they remained long enough, would have caused a powerful diversion in my favour; but, after having carried

into execution their instructions, the completion of which required but a few days, they returned to their respective districts, where the whole of them had arrived some days before I reached the capital. It was on the return of these detachments that the King issued the proclamation, stating, that he had driven five English armies back to the sea.

Thus the Candians were enabled to bring their whole force, which had been completely put in motion for the purpose of opposing all our divisions, against my detachment alone; with which, too, the King had every cause to be exasperated, in consequence of our having burnt his favourite palace of Condesaly, as well as that near Pangaram.

Harassed continually by the enemy, with, latterly, not a round of ammunition to return his fire, (the few cartridges, which were preserved by some of the Europeans as their last hope, being rendered useless by the rain,

and their muskets entirely unserviceable,) it cannot be surprising that our loss should have been great.

In these respects the enemy had the advantage of us, their powder being preserved, from damp in cocoa nut shells, and their arms provided with guards made of skin or waxed cloth, which completely secured the locks from wet.

But the Candians were not our only enemies, we had to contend with hunger, fatigue, extremes of heat and cold, besides all the diseases incidental to so unhealthy a climate.*

* The following instances are convincing proofs of the insalubrity of the interior of Ceylon. On the 13th of March, 1803, the grenadier company of the 65th, under Capt. Bullock, consisting of 3 officers and 75 men, marched from Columbo for Cattadinia, a small post in the interior. At the end of the month, without any loss by the enemy, the whole fell victims to the climate, excepting Lieut. Hutchins and two privates. They were all robust young men, from 18 to 23 years of age, and had only landed from the Cape of Good Hope early in November. On the 11th of April, 400 men of the 51st regiment appeared under