SINGULAR MODE OF PUNISHMENT. 47 



subjects. We were not a little amused at the 

 method adopted by this son of Mars in adminis- 

 tering his authority, which extends from Cape 

 Apollonia on the west to Dix Cove on the east. 

 His plan was simply as follows : — On receiving a 

 complaint from any one within his district, he im- 

 mediately sends his stick to the village in which 

 the offender resides. The messenger who is 

 charged with it places it upright in the ground 

 in the centre of the village, and remains close by 

 it. The natives know well the meaning of this, 

 and that the appearance of the governor's stick in 

 this formal manner is nothing more or less than 

 a demand of eight ackeys, or half an ounce of 

 gold, from the offending person. The messenger 

 remains by his charge for twenty-four hours if 

 the offender be obdurate ; at the expiration of 

 which time the governor's hat is despatched after 

 the stick, and is deliberately placed on it as it 

 stands in the ground. This, however, makes the 

 matter more serious, and the demand is increased 

 to an ounce of gold in consequence. Should the 

 hat and the stick be insufficient to move the of- 

 fender to pay the fine, a third messenger appears 

 with the governor's sword, and an additional 

 ounce of gold is required ; and it is a remarkable 



