£200,
by the gems discovered. Could these lands be sold or rented, now that
their value is known, the 1-1/2 acres would fetch nearly three times as
much as they originaiiy sold for.
That
stones of very large value are occasionally found is established beyond
doubt. Iddemaigoda Basnayaka Nilame who has given me much information
bn this subject, tells me that in one of his jilts was found a sapphire
that he sold for £8oo, and it was re-sold in India for £2,000.
Another sapphire foiled in the stream near the Assistant Agent's house
was the subject of dispute, and was sold for ,£200 to Iddemaigoda. He
sent it to Colombo and sold it for £365, and it has probably since then fetched three or four times that sum in India or Europe.
Four
months ago the Gem Notary sent to London to be forwarded to the Paris
Exhibition, a sapphire found in the Weralupe pits which, after much
haggling he had bought from his fellow-shareholders for £650. This
stone, which uncut, is said to be the size of a hen's egg, has been
valued in Ceylon at ^2,500, and it is impossible to guess what may be
its value in the capitals bf Europe.
All
these stones were found in the Weralupe pits, whilst the temple
claimed the land and before it was sold, and it shews of what wealth
the Government was defrauded during the temple usurpation, though such
wealth is, Of course, valueless, if left in the bowels of the earth.
I
beg therefore again to urge upon the consideration of Government, how
desirable it is that some system should be adopted for developing the
resources and trade of the district in this particular direction.
Solely
as an experiment, I would ask permission to divide the district into
parcels, and rent the parcels by public auction, the upset prices being
fixed according to estimated value. Should the prices thus realized not
be considered sufficiently good, the rent of the whole might be exposed
in one lot at an upset price to be hereafter determined, and if the
expectations of Government were not then realized, the rents might be
withdrawn and persons most strictly prohibited from gemming on public
lands for the future. My opinion is that leased in parcels the rents
would fetch ,£ 1,000: due notice will be required to be given to the
jewellers of Gille and Colombo.
The
rents should be sold in Novemoer or December to take effect from 1st
January of each year, and the renters should be required to conform to
regulations guarding against destruction of timber _or other Government
property, whilst they are prosecuting their search for gems.
I am sir (Signed) F. E. Saunders, Assistant Government Agent. Note 1881.)—The
value of gems exported from Ratnapura has increased very much since
lS57, and Government now lease lands at profitable rates, though there
is no regular system or law to regulate the digging for gems Bn Crown
lands.
PRECIOUS STONES AND GEMS.
(From " Precious Stones and Gems" hy Edxoin IV. Streeter.)
The
amethysts of the Palatinate fairly rival in beauty those found in
Ceylon or Brazil. It is not the geographical position which determines
the 'difference, although it is acknowledged that India, Brazil and
Ceylon have produced larger precious stones and irt greater' abundance
than other lands. The ancients were wont to ascribe this pre-eminence
to evaporation from the earth where precious stones are found—an
evaporation obviously more intense in tropical countries. It is as if
the sunburnt tropics were more favourable to the blo?soms of the
inorganic, world, than the dark skies of the north.
But although precious stones are not limited to any defined geographical area; their distribution is in a measure circumscribed. They are not met with
