118 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. [AmiL, 1873. by the Buddhists, and it is a place of great interest, worthy of being maintained as a historical * monu¬ ment, being the only rock-temple of any impor¬ tance in Ceylon, and possessing a painted roof which * is tho best example of Buddhist art in the island. To this wih&ra belong large and valuable forests, which should be preserved for supplying the necessary timber for the maintenance of the buildings belonging to the wih&ra, and also for the benefit of the wih&ra tenants—to whom the wild honey, jungle ropes, and pasturo for cattle, to be found in these forests, are of considerable value. The incumbent of tho wihara, without regard to the interests of which he was the guardian, sold to a low-country carpenter all tho valuable timber in one of the large forests and omitted to pay the money into the wih&ra chest. Complaint was made to the Commissioners, but they had no power to act. They however called the attention of the ecclesiastical authorities to the matter, and the incumbent has been called upon to pay in to the credit of tho wih&ra upwards of £170, probably less than a third of the amount he has received. It is doubtful whether he will pay even this. Certainly he will go unpunished. The people know that their priest has committed the greatest crime a Buddhist can commit, for, in their language, “ he has robbed Buddha.” They know also that he has committed a great offence against our laws, having appropriated to himself the property of which he was the trustee. The Buddhist authorities will not seek to remove him, because they cannot act without the aid of our Courts. Tho tenants will not act, because they are afraid to take steps against a man of influence with money at command. Others will not act, because the expenses would come out of their own pockets. This is only one example out of many; and nothing can be more injurious, nothing more demoralizing, than for the people to see frauds of this kind committed by trustees of temple property go unpunished. It is not easy to suggest a remedy for fear of the outcry, “ The Government is supporting Buddhism, &c. &c.” .. It would be well if this question could be dealt with merely as a matter of good government, untrammelled by the odium theologicum. It is simply the question of preserving for the public those public lands at present set apart for religious purposes, which, unless closely looked after, will gradually become lost to the public altogether. In the course of tho past year there have been two im¬ portant judgments delivered by the Supreme Court, which it may bo useful hereto notice. The first is known as tho Adam’s Peak Case. In 1853 the Crown relinquished the right to appoint to Buddhist offices, but the power of removal was retained. . . If these judgments were publicly known and understood, and if tho powers which they declare to exist were systematically exercised, much, might be done to check peculation and embezzle¬ ment ; but it is doubtful whether any real good can be effected unless some such supervision is exercised over the temple property here as is found necessary in the case of Friendly Societies in England. There can be no security against fraud until the temple lands are placed in charge of a Government officer, at any rate to the extent of no lease or agreement being valid unless it be entered in his office, and until all trustees of tem¬ ple property are required to send in annually, to a Government officer, accounts showing the revenues, whether in kind or in money, and details of the expenditure.f ARCHEOLOGY OF MAISUR. From the Report of the Administration of Mysore for 1871-72. The Province abounds with inscriptions on stone or copper, recording royal benefactions and other public gifts; the historical data derivable from which arc perhaps the most authentic extant, while at the same time they throw much light on the earlier forms of tho language, and furnish other collateral information of considerable in¬ terest. But in tho case of inscriptions of prior date to tho year 1000 of the era of S&livahana, or 800 years ago, a difficulty presents itself in the strange and obsolete characters of the writing. These are found in many cases to resemble the letters of tho Western Cave and old Gujarat in¬
- See Ind. Antiq., vol. I. p. 139 ffg.
scriptions, of which the Begfiru stone, in the Government Museum fit Bengalur, may serve as a specimen. In others of Jain origin, as in the rock inscriptions of Havana Bclagola, they are more like the Lat and old Pali forms. Towards tho east the Grantha character, with some admix¬ ture, is frequently met with, as in the Kolar Amma temple. A number of these sasanas have been de¬ ciphered and translated from photographs. A catalogue is further being prepared of all inscrip¬ tions to be found in the country, with the view of selecting for translation such as appear to be of t From the Report for 1871.
