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injustice. A competent expounder of the native 

 feeling in regard to what they consider their bucks, 

 or rights says : 



4 The following is an example of the regard the 

 people have for their rights. In every village there 

 are Mirdhas, who are by profession robbers. Each 

 of these holds 10 to 20 beegahs of land, for which 

 he is expected to prevent others from committing 

 robbery in his village. For the sake of this right 

 to their land, though they are all professional 

 thieves, they sometimas suffer losses; still they 

 make good robberies committed by others, rather 

 than leave their Hucks over the land. Tiiey abstain 

 from committing robberies in each other's village. 

 Here is another remarkable instance, -there is one 

 Chiefdom in Bundlekund called Duttia, where there 

 is no regular Police; yet we hear travellers general- 

 ly experience no sort of inconvenience on the road, 

 for there the village Police system of the sort above 

 alluded to is in force.* This mode is also observed 



* This primitive system of police, or black mail as it may be 

 called, is by no means confined to native states. la the neighbour- 

 hood of Delhi there is a larg-e villag-e inhabited entirely by Goojurs, 

 all professional theives, of whose services the Magistrate makes valuable 

 use. During- the three years my Reg-iment was quartered there, I 

 had one of these g-entlemen constantly in my pay. He stuck his spear 

 in the compound or grounds of my house, and no more. He came on 

 the 15th of every month and took his Rs, 4 (eig*lit shilling's.) For 

 the remainder of the mouth I nevsr saw him; yet I slept more secure 

 than if I had had a sentry at every corner of my house. I speak of 

 the times before tht mutiny of 1857. Whether or not the same 

 system is now in force I cannot say. 



