Page:Sources of ancient Siamese law (Masao T, 1905).pdf/4

 (15) those who beg for food by singing and playing; (16) those who have no homes and wander about; (17) those who hold cocoanut shells and go about begging; (18) those who are deaf; (19) those who are blind; (20) prostitutes; (21) lewd women:; [sic] (22) pregnant women; (23) those who are neither male nor female; (24) those who are both male and female; (25) sorcerers and sorceresses; (26) those who are mad; (27) physicians who have not studied medical books; (28) shoemakers; (29) fishermen; (30 those who are confirmed gamblers; (31) thieves and robbers; (32) those who are wrathful; (33) executioners. It will be observed if there is any difference between the text of the Hindu Manu and that of the Siamese Laxana Payan it is that while the Hindu text is more general in some instances the Siamese text is more specific. For instance, while the code of Manu says in a general way that infants and aged men cannot be made witnesses, the Laxana Payan is more specific by limiting the exact ages under and above which they cannot be made witnesses. Again, while the code of Manu excludes in a general way those who follow cruel occupations, those who are deficient in organs of sense, those who are of the lower castes, etc., the Laxana Payan goes into details and specifies what they are. But on the whole it cannot be denied that both the Hindu and Siamese texts are hinting at one and the same thing.

It is a principle of Hindu law that interest ought never to exceed the capital (Manu VIII, 151–153). The Siamese Laxana Ku-ni expresses the same principles as follows: "Where a person contracts a debt and pays interest for one, two or three months, but afterwards fails to do so, and when the creditor presses him, he defers and evades payment, so that the creditor having received neither capital nor interest for so long a time, summons him before the judge. The interest which the debtor has paid for the first, second or third month is profit due to the creditor; the creditor may also claim the amount of interest which remains unpaid, but if the debt be a long standing one, let the interest not exceed the capital, according to law." (Archer's Translation of the Siamese Laws of Debts, page 6).

It is a principle of Hindu law that if a defendant falsely denies a debt he is to be fined double the amount of the debt (Manu VIII, 59). The Siamese Laxana Kuni expresses the same principle as follows: "Where a debtor summoned before the