The First issue of Paper Money in Ceylon on 1785 May 10th under the Dutch VOC, was based on this resolution of 1785 March 19th.
Om verscheide goede redenen heeft men tot nog toe het gebruik van krediet brieven op Ceilon, niet kunnen in- voeren, wyl de Ceilonse ingezetenen hunne weinige kontanten gedurende den oorlog gestadig nodig had- den, en men deezse brieven dus, om zoo te spreken, alle oogenblikken zoude hebben moeten realiseeren, het geen mits den schralen voorraad van kontant dikwijls niet mogelyk zoude zyn geweest, en zonder het welk nochtans, dezelve ten eersten beneden hunne prys zoude zyn ge- daeld, dan nu in agtinge genoomen zynde, dat alles tans min of meer wederom den voorigen ploy begint te krygen, en dat niet alleen Hunne Hoog Edelheden het invoeren van de Kredit brieven nog onlangs nader hebben gerecommandeert by ge'erde missive van den 19 April 1784, maar dat het ook voor den oorlog hier te Kolombo in gebruik geweest is, dat de Kas- jiers of hunne Kannekappels bewysen verleend hebben van de kontanten die by hem in bewaring gebragt zyn, welke doennmaals zeer gretig in stede van Kon tanten voor betaalingen zyn aangenomen en zelfs ge- strekt hebben tot groot gemak van de gemeente. |
Zoo is na deliberatie goedgevonden en verstaan, voor eerst een somma van vyf en twintig duizend rd's Kre- diet brieven te laten rouleeren van verschillende sommen, die echter aan niemand zullen worden opge- drongen, en maar voor men telkens in's Komp's. kas de kontante betaling kan ontvangen, waar van de gemeente by biljetten zal worden verwittigd. |
English Translation
For several good reasons it has not until now been possible to introduce the use of Kredit Brieven in Ceylon, since the Ceylonese inhabitants, during the course of the war, have been in constant need of their small supply of ready money, and such notes, so to speak, would have had to be realized at every moment - which, given the limited stock of cash, was often impossible. Without such liquidity, moreover, these Kredit Brieven would soon have fallen below their nominal value. However, taking into account that circumstances are now more or less returning to their former condition, and that not only have Their High Mightinesses recently recommended the introduction of Kredit Brieven by their esteemed dispatch of April 19, 1784, but also that before the war in Colombo it had already been the custom for cashiers or their clerks ("kannekappels") to issue receipts for monies deposited with them, which were then eagerly accepted and circulated in place of cash payments - to the great convenience of the public -
It has therefore been resolved, after deliberation, to issue in the first instance a sum of twenty-five thousand Rijksdaalders in Kredit Brieven, in various denominations, which shall not be forced upon anyone, and may only be issued to those who can receive cash payment in the Company's treasury. The public will be duly notified of these notes by printed bills.
Ref: ARA VOC 3692 (1786 Fifteenth book: Ceylon fourth part) Pages
113-114 Scan
digitized and transcribed
Dutch also Published in Codrington, Ceylon Coins and Currency, p. 218.
The text was OCRed using ChatGPT-5 and translated into English