Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/128

 114 LAWS. be ten maHy and if poor, five mas.''^ — " If a free- man mutilate a slave, he shall be fined half the price of the slave, and, if poor, ten w?a5." The Javanese law tract called Suryo Aldm states, that, " If a person of high rank screen a delinquent, he shall be fined one hundred thousand j^^chis. If a person of middling rank be guilty of the same of- fence, he shall be fined eighty thousand ; and, if a person of mean condition, forty thousand.'* In rendering an account of the Penal Laws of the Indian islanders, I shall consider the subject very briefly under the heads of — Offences against Pro- perty, — against Person, — against the State or So- vereign, — and against Nature. Of offences against property^ I shall only con- sider theft and robbery naturally the most frequent of all crimes among people where the protection afforded by law or government is so inadequate. The usual copiousness of the Javanese language is exercised upon a subject so familiar, and all the modifications of unlawful appropriation of property are distinguished by specific tenns. The follow- ing list of the names given to delinquents will serve as examples : The Nayah steals by day, and comes insidiously, and by artifice, on the object of his depredation. The Bhirut snatches the ob- ject he steals, and, running off, trusts to his speed for his escape. The Begat is a gang-robber, who.se
 * If a freeman strike a slave, his fine, if rich, shall