When the Dutch took possession of the Island of Ceylon in the seventeenth century. they endeavoured to force the inhabitants to accept Christianity. Churches were built in many districts, and the people were compelled to attend them, and to receive the rite of Baptism, "without which no native possessed a title to land or could obtain Government employment." This system of compulsion not only failed in its object of making the people Christians but also embittered their minds against Christianity. After the British conquest of Ceylon in 1796, there was a period of indifference when Churches were allowed to fall into decay, and no provision was made for the spiritual wants of the people. The result was that most of those who had been professing Christians forsook the new faith they had unwillingly adopted.

It was when Ceylon was in this stage that missionaries of the Church Missionary Society came to evangelise the Island. In Selkirks "Recollections of Ceylon." we read how the pioneer Missionaries of that Society, who left England in December 1817, reached Colombo in June 1818, "after having been detained at both the Island of Teneriffe and at the Cape of Good Hope." Soon after their arrival, one of them, the Rev. Joseph Knight, came over to Jaffna and commenced his work of evangelisation at Nallur, a place of great historical importance and formerly the seat of the ancient Tamil Kings.

The Dutch had built a big Church at Nallur, but it had been allowed to fall into decay ; and it was not till ten years after his arrival that Mr. Knight was able to make use of this building, which had been thoroughly repaired. In the meantime he held services in his bungalow and opened free schools in different parts of the district. He was, however, not satisfied with the meagre education given in these schools, and was anxious to give a more thorough form of education by keeping some of his bright pupils entirely under his influence. But he was faced with a great difficulty. The parents of his boys regarded the missionaries as outcastes. Indeed, we are told that it was usual for the pundit to go to the tank and bathe on his way home after giving his morning lesson to the missionary. Hence the parents were naturally unwidiing to allow their sons to be more than day-scholars. However, in March 1823 Mr. Knight succeeded in bringing seven boys to his bungalow.

It was in 1823, therefore that the foundation of what is to-day St. John's College was laid. It was then called the Nallur English Seminary, and its main design was to bring forward native agents for missionary work. The Bible was made the most prominent subject of study, and along with it a good secular education was also given. Thoroughness and efficiency seem to have been required from pupils and teachers alike from the very beginning. The, following is an extract from a report on the school in 1825 :- "Mr. Knight strictly examines every scholar monthly, and regulates the pay of the teachers according to the actual proficiency of the scholars." In 1824 the seven boys had increased to thirteen, and in 1825 there were thirty boys in the Seminary. To this number the School was for some time limited by the Church Missionary Society.

In 1824 the Rev. William Adley landed in the Island and joined Mr. Knight at Nallur. The next year Mr. Adley took over the School work from Mr. Knight, who was anxious to devote himself to purely evangelistic work. The latter continued to preach the Gospel in the Nallur district till 1838, when he went to England on furlough. After two years there he returned to Ceylon in 1840, but before he reached the scene of his labours he was suddenly taken ill at Cotta, where he died. Speaking of Mr. Knight, the Rev. Dr.Spalding, who was at one time the head of the American Mission, says, "He was a warm friend, a diligent student in Tamil, a faithful missionary, an active labourer and a most devoted servant of the Lord Jesus."

We can very well be proud of the work done in the School even in those early days, when we read of the type of men whom the School turned out at the very start. We read of Nicholas Puvirajasinghe, ,Mudaliyar, who joined the School in 1823, and who, after his course of studies there was strongly recommended by Mr. Adley to Mr. Parsons, who was the Civil Engineer and Commissioner of Roads (now known as the Director of Public Works), as "a young man of parts and promise". Mr. Parsons engaged him in 1833 to serve as Interpreter, Translator and Paymaster in his office. The Rev. Thomas Mortimer, who was the first person from Jaffna to visit England, and Proctor William Marsh were also amongst the first set of pupils of the school.

In 1826 Mr. Adley baptised four of his pupils, and writing about it, he says: ,I baptised the boys in the names of Edward Bickersteth, William Marsh, Josiah Pratt and John Raban ind after.wards described to them the characters of the persons whose names they bore. with a solemn exhortation that they would follow them as they followed Christ."

It will be interesting perhaps to note here that the first convert of Christianity was Mr. Adley's horse-keeper, who had been a leader ol devil-worship among his relatives. He was baptised at the close of tha year 1825 and was named Samuel. About him his father, a heathen, said : "Before, he was a devil, but after he gave himself up to Christ, he put all evils away."'

Most of Mr. Adley's attention was devoted at this timc to the School work. The boys, whose numbers varied between twenty-nine and thirty, were all selected from the day-schools, and were boarded, clothed, and educated free. The standard of education given in the School had risen so high that in 1828 Mr. Adley was able to take three of his pupils, namcly, Nicholas, Mortimer and Marsh, to attend the Annual Conference of the Church Missionary Society in Colmbo. In the same way the standard of discipline was maintained at a high level. Writing about the work of the Seminary in 1829, Mr. Adley says : "Till within a few months the number of boys remained twenty-nine : but repeated disobedience to the regulations in continuing at home longer than allowable led to expulsion of three as an example to others. The effects appear to have been salutary; two have been re-admitted. The boys have made encouraging progress : they have been examined by Major Antill and Sir Richard Ottely." During 13th-18th, April 1831, the Bishop of Calcutta visited Nallur and "examined some of the classes of the Seminary, with which he appeared to be much pleased."

In June 1831 the following interesting report of the work of the School was given : "The youths, thirty in number, are divided into three classes. The first contains seven, the second ten, and the third nine. Of the remaining four boys, three have but lately commenced the study of English and one is not yet able to do so. The week previous to our departure to Colombo, they underwent a first public examination, at which the Commandant of Jafina, Major Smith, and a few other friends were present. The Third Class was examined in Reading, Spelling, Tamil, English phrases and the simple ground rules of Arithmetic; the Second, in Reading, Spelling, Phrases, Murray's Grammar, the Compound Rules of Arithmetic and Marsh's Questions on the Collects, which book forms a part of the Sabbath Exercises : and the first Class, in the exercises of Lennie's Grammar, in Vulgar Fractions, Cumming's First Lessons in Geography, Keeth on the Globes to problem 40, and Woodd's Explanation of the Church Catechism, which forms part of their Sabbath Exercises; four of them, at the close, recited pieces selected for the occasion. It is not too much to add, we think, that they passed their examination with much credit to themselves and satisfcation to those who witnessed it."

The thirst for higher education seems to have been no less among the Tamils of Jaffna in those early days nearly a hundred years ago than it is at the present day. In November 1834, Mr. Adley stated: "A vast change has latelv taken place in the native mind generally on the subject of education: the advantages of which are so evident that establishments, on the principle of the Seminary, might be filled to almost any extent to which our. means may enable us to open them."

It should be considered a great honour for St. John's that the first Tamil Pastor in Jaffna was one of the first pupils of the Seminary. The Rev. John Hensman was admitted as a boarder in the School in 1828, and pursued his studies till 1835, when Mr. Adley, who took a great interest in him, got him admitted into the C. M. S. Seminary at Cotta. When Mr. Hensman had finished his course of studies, the Rev. J. Marsh, who was the Principal of the Colombo Academy (now Royal College), appointed him on the Staff of that Academy. But Mr. Hensman was so keen to devote himself to missionary work that he resigned his post in the Academy after a short time and took to evangelistic work in Jaffna. He was admitted to Holy Orders in September, 1863 by the Bishop of Colombo. Mr. Hensman aiso acted as Head-master of the Chundiculi Seminary for a short period from 1841-42.

Mr. Adley continued his work in the Seminary till 1839, when his wife died and he left for England. He returned to the Island in 1841 but was not attached to the School. He did evangelistic work till 1845, when ill-health compelled him to relinquish his work and he finally returned to England. He became Rector of St. Michael's, Reed Caxton, Pembrokeshire, and died in 1889, aged ninety seven years.

It is difficult to estimate how much the College owes to Mr. Adley for his devoted work during those fourteen years, 1825 - 1839, when he was steadily moulding the future destinies of the School. The actual official reports that have come down to us, and, far more, the later useful lives of the earliest pupils indicate a high state of moral and mental efficiency. The following report of the School, which was submitted to the Mission in 1839, shows how important a factor also for the spread of the Kingdom of God the Church Missionary Society regarded this piece of educational work. The report says : "We direct your attention to the Seminary, which, after many years' experience, we consider to be oneof the most efficient means to establish and continue the Redeemer's Kingdom in India. Since its establishment one hundred youths have been educated in it. It was stat.-d in the last report that about one-third of the number had been hopefully converted to Christianity and admitted to the Church; and few, if any of the others, have left the Station without expressing their firm bclief in Christianity as the true religion, and many expressing the hope that difficulties would be removed and they be enabled to give themselves to it."

In 1839 the School work was handed over to the Rev. F. W. Taylor, who remained in Jaffna only till 1841, when he was transferred to Cotta.