ACCOUNT OF EHUTi(N. 151 



If a man catch another in adultery with his wife he may kill him without 

 scruple, but if under other circumstances, a man kill another, he must pay 

 126 rupees to theDeb Raja, and something to the other Counsellors and to the 

 heirs of the deceased. If he cannot pay this sum, he is tied to the dead 

 body, and thrown into the river. No distinction is made between what is 

 called murder and manslaughter in English law. v. In cases of robbery and 

 theft, the property of the criminal is seized, and he is confined for six months 

 or a year, after which he is sold as a slave, and all his relations are liable to 

 -the same punishment. There is no burglary or dakoity in houses in Bhu- 

 tan, and robberies take place upon the highway ; the ryots having nothing 

 -in their houses for dakoits to carry away. 



The practice of the courts is that if a man complains, he can never ob- 

 tain justice, but he may be subject to a ftne if he fails to establish his 

 claim. If a merchant has a demand against any one, and can by no means 

 get paid, he can only go to the Deb Raia, or some other judge, and say, 

 " such a man owes me so much; pray collect the amount, and use it as your 

 own," The defendant is then summoned, and if the demand is proved to 

 be just, the money is realized for the use of the judge, who on the other 

 hand, if the claim is not established, takes the amount demanded, from the 

 plaintiff. 



Whenever any ryot, or landholder, or servant, has collected a little mo- 

 ney, the Officer of Government under whose authority they happen to be 

 placed, finds some plea or other for taking the whole. On this account the 

 ryots are afraid to put on good clothes, or to eat and drink according to 

 their inclination, lest they should excite the avarice of their rulers. Not- 

 withstanding this, the latter leave nothing to the ryots, but the Gelums are 

 often possessed of wealth, which they collect as charity, and fees of ofnce, 

 and by trade. Whoever borrows money from a Gelum, considering him 

 as a revered person, pays back more than he borrowed, and if they com- 

 plain to the judge, they get the sum lent with interest, if their claim is proved, 

 and if not, they are not subject to any line ; the servants of Government are 



