Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/110

 9Q LAWS. let rice grounds, and, receiving the rent in advance, absconds, and the lord, gusti, have not been made acquainted with the transaction, the person hiring the lands shall forfeit the money advanced, and shall not have the use of the lands.'* — " If a man ^ get rice lands from another to work, and neglect them, and the said lands lie over unemployed, the lo7'd shall have a right to the profit of such lands, agreeably to their usual produce." * Loam, as in other rude states of society, where neither law nor morals encourage integrity in com- mercial transactions, are usually made on pledges, gade. These pledges are usually the jewels and personal trinkets of the borrower or his family. Interest paid for the use of money has been known to the Indian islanders from very early times. The following law, from the ancient code of Java, at present in force in Bali, describes particularly the mode of lending money : " Before you lend money, whether gold, silver, or copper, perform ablutions and purify yourself. Neither ought you to lend on a wrong day, on a Thursday or a Sunday. When you are prepared, write down the name of the debtor, the place of his residence, and the cause of lending your money. Let all this be done in presence of the borrower ; let the amount of the sum lent be written down, with the ^e<2?% the sea-
 * Laws of Java and Eali.