314 MALAY LAW IN NEGRI SEMBILAN. 
the other Chiefs to do the same. Nearly all the Chiefs left. 
This was a sign that they were going out to try and arrive at 
an agreement to depose the Penghulu, but in this they failed, 
and returned without having been able to be of one mind in 
the matter (kabulatan). ‘Then came the question of the Lem- 
baga claiming a share of the revenue from waste lands. Now, 
according to the custom a Lembaga has no rights in the State 
except in his tribe and over the land which he bought from 
the Waris (tanah bertebus). It was evident that the mere 
fact of purchase gave him no rights to other waste lands, the 
matter was discussed at great length, the Lembagas bringing 
up numbers of sayings and laws that were useless by them- 
selves being all governed by the main laws, viz., “ Gaung, 
Guntong, Bukit, Bukau Herta Warts, Penghulu prentah loa, 
Lembaga prentah suku’’, 2. e., that all waste lands were the 
property of the Waris, that the Penghulu ruled the State and 
the Lembaga ruled his tribe. The case was given entirely 
against the Lembagas. This being done and the disaffected 
Waris and Lembagas having been proved to be wrong, it was 
necessary to consider the crime they had committed against 
the State. They were found guilty of departing from the con- 
stitution and of ignoring the rules of appeal and the ancient 
customs and usages of the State of Rembau. They were all 
dismissed from their posts and the families in each tribe were 
sent for in order that re-elections should be made. This was 
done and this one decision has restored the Penghulu as head 
of the State, the Waris as inheritors of waste lands, and the 
Lembaga as rulers in their tribes. 
This was a very leading case in reference to all the States 
of the Negri Sembilan, and by it every State has been main- 
tained on the same lines. 
In Sri Menanti there were terrible disputes regarding own- 
ership to mines and Waris claims. Because a Waris claimed 
as a Waris he also claimed ownership. This was evidently 
wrong. The Waris’ claim was a State claim, ownership was 
a private claim. Thus by giving a small percentage of tin 
revenues to the heads of the Waris tribe and by registering 
the various mines to the owners and legalizing a royalty to 
