Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/135

 LAWS. 121 however, it is allowable to interfere. These are stated in the following law : " It is lawful to assist one putting to death an adulterer, for in this case meddling; has been lonji' tolerated. It is law- ful to assist a friend acting justly, or suffering in- justice, when unable to make his complaint to the king, or to a (^reat one, — and it is lawful to assist a youth unable to represent his grievance, or to con- tend with his adversary. In these cases, but in no others, is it allowable to meddle in a quarrel, and the person who meddles under any other pretext shall be fined according to the extent of his inter- ference, from five tahils and one paJia, to one tahil and one 'paha.''^ Not only is a large share of the power of aven- ging injuries left in prkate hands, but the princi- ple is pushed further, and this power seems even to have been allowed to be delegated to champions liired for the occasion. It is impossible to read, without disgust, the following laws in which this principle appears to be fully recognized. They are from the code of Malacca. " If a man hire a per- son, without the knowledge of the magistrate, to give another a slap over the face, he shall pay a fine of five tahils. If a man be hired to beat ano- ther, and the person who is beaten die of the blows given, the employer of such person, if the deceased be a slave, shall pay his whole price, or if a free- man, ten tahils." — " If a man hire a person to kill