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184 king and other high officials, who will hold him to a strict account in the matter of financial returns. They will doubtless not bother about looking into the methods used by him in collecting these same funds. To them the methods count for nothing, as long as the cash is forthcoming. It sometimes happens that the people stand all they can, until the limit of endurance is reached; then, rising in their power, they beat the magistrate and send him forth from the county. In some instances he has been killed outright. When a difficulty arises among neighbors which cannot be settled by the community in an unofficial way, it is reported to the magistrate, and then our village lawsuit is on in good earnest. Those concerned in the matter are called to appear before the magistrate, and it is well understood by all parties that it is not wise to appear in that august presence empty-handed. So here, as in other countries, it is a costly business for those who go to law with their neighbors. The policemen, if such they can be called, who go out and bring the people to trial are a tough lot, and often beat and abuse the accused most unmercifully. When they fail to find the accused, they take some of his relatives instead. I believe the present government claims to have abolished this practice, though I am not sure that it is living up to its claims. I have known of more than one case where a relative has been imprisoned instead of the offender. Some years since one of my colporteurs was arrested and thrown into prison during a spell of bitter cold weather with no charge whatever against him, except the fact that his brother