Readers should be thankful to Mr. Walter Wijenayake for the excellent article on the great services to Buddhism and the Sinhala identity by the Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda (The Island 20.09.2008). This is to point out some errors, perhaps, typing mistakes, in that article.

The Editor of the Times of Ceylon (now defunct), who got the text of the Panadura Debate published was Mr. John Capper. The American who got a copy and took it to the US and published it there was Mr. Patrick Peebles. The title of the book he published at Battle Creek, Michigan in 1873 was "Buddhism and Christianity in Discussion Face to Face or An Oral Debate Between Rev. Migettuwatte and Rev. De Silva Held at

Panthura, Ceylon". The demise of Rev. Migettuwatte occurred in 1891.

As for the recommendations of the Colebrooke Commission, it is not correct to say that all vernacular schools (Sinhala and Tamil) were closed in 1832. Their report emphasised the need to spread English education so that natives could be recruited to work in the lower ranks of the administration. Education in English was encouraged in the government schools and no steps were taken to open new "Vernacular" schools. But the missionaries who ran the bulk of the schools continued with both English and "Vernacular" schools.