130 MALAY LAND TENURE. 



" grandparents or great- grandparents living, then the portion, 

 " or one-third of the real and personal property which such 

 " persons would have otherwise taken is divided equally and 

 " added to the two remaining portions, the form, of first sepa- 

 " rating the estate into three parts being always adhered to. 

 " The same principle regulates the division where there are no 

 " claimants to either of the other two shares." 



"With this description, and with the customs of the Malays 

 as to succession, it is interesting to compare the laws of another 

 Indo-Chinese kingdom — Cambodia. I take the following 

 account from a recent French work : — * 



" Property in land does not exist in Cambodia, for, as is 

 u well known, the State is the absolute proprietor of the soil. 

 " Nevertheless, the enjoyment of lands is left to those who 

 " clear them and employ them for some specific cultivation, 

 " rice in particular. It happens also, sometimes, that the first 

 " occupiers are dispossessed without a word of warning, with- 

 cc out the excuse of public interest and simply in order that 

 " some one may help himself to a field quite fit for cultiva- 

 tion." 



" The fortune of a Cambodian is composed of moveable and 

 " immoveable property, land excepted. Generally speak - 

 " ing, even the richest have not much money, but they own 

 " boats, elephants, horses, cattle, buffaloes, which they hire 

 " out ; they have sometimes a large number of slaves whom 

 " they employ at home either on the products which they cul- 

 " tivate or in all kinds of commercial and industrial underta- 

 " kings. Money is lent out at high rates of interest, but it is 

 " liable to catastrophes." 



" The goods of a Cambodian who dies a widower and with- 

 " out children, go all to the State, that is to the King. If he 

 " leaves daughters only, the Government takes half of the 

 " property and divides the other half among them. If they 

 " are of tender age, the goods are deposited with their grand- 

 father who becomes their guardian." 



" When the Government is a creditor of the deceased, the 

 " King causes the whole of the debt to be exacted first of all 



* Moura— Z^ Boycmme cle Ccvmlo&ge, I, 347, 



