164 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



and, if he does, the chances are against his succeeding in 

 escaping from it, and the crowd of harpies who clog the 

 wheels of justice, without leaving behind him much of his 

 worldly substance. The apparent necessities of a government 

 which impoverishes its treasuries to cover the land with public 

 works have led to an economy in its judicial establishments 

 that inevitably leads to a very superficial investigation of small 

 causes, and to a corrupt execution of the processes of the 

 courts ; so that, notwithstanding much recent improvement in 

 these respects, it is still often fully within the power of a 

 wealthy litigant, who is acquainted with the secret springs of 

 the judicial machinery, to obtain a decree, and take out pro- 

 cesses of duress and distraint, against an alleged debtor, who 

 may never have even been informed of the claim against him. 

 Of course the law provides subsequent remedies for a person 

 who has been so injured, but they are not such as are within 

 the power of a poor aborigine in a remote jungle. The proper 

 remedy obviously is to encourage, or even prescribe, the 

 hearing of claims against the hill people by the superior civil 

 officers during tours in their own country tours which for 

 many reasons should be regularly made, instead of, as now, 

 being rendered almost impracticable owing to constant pressure 

 of other work. 



The aborigine is the most truthful of beings, and rarely 

 denies either a money obligation or a crime really chargeable 

 against him. When brought into court he will stand on one 

 leg, and, holding his ears in his hands in token of submission, 

 freely confess to having battered in a rival's head with his axe. 

 But he has no idea of letters ; and, so long as his admission of 

 having signed a bond is held to prove against him all the 

 obligations that it may contain, he will continue to be cheated 

 by the man of the pen with whom he deals. In addition to an 



