agent,
and threatened confiscation of the whole cargo, if not immediately
removed. On receipt of this communication from the police, the agent
immediately prepared four large tin-lined cases, in which were packed a
sample of 10,000 oysters. These were to be shipped at once to England,
in order to ascertain by personal knowledge, the most satisfactory
method of securing the Pearls. It was intended that the washing should
take place at Buxted, on the river Ouse, near the Crowborough Hills, in
Sussex, where plenty of running water could be obtained for the purpose.
In
the meantime the boats had been arriving at Colombo with fresh lots of
oysters, and it became imperatively necessary to provide a suitable
place wherein to warehouse them, especially as they were fast
decomposing. A second place was therefore, engaged, about nine miles
from Colombo, in a very sparsely - populated native village. Here,
whilst erecting temporary huts and buildings for warehousing the
oysters, and making the necessary arrangements for washing them, a
second notice from the police arrived, forbidding any attempt to
commence operations. The inhabitants refused to allow the erection of
buildings to proceed, and after considerable delay, the authorities
suggested a district several miles away from the village, in the
