S74 HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL 



Should the husband wish to separate from his wife, against her will and 

 inclination, he must give up all the property, and take upon hiai all her 

 debts, and quit the house with nothing on but his dhoti, but should the 

 wife wish for a divorce, she has only to summon her husband before the 

 Magistrate, and tender to him twenty -five rupees, which, by their law, he must 

 accept, and the release is effected, by the wife breaking a p6)i leaf in two, 

 eating one half herself, and giving the other to her husband : should they have 

 any children, they are divided according to their sexes, the father obtaining 

 the boys, and the mother the girls : should man and wife separate by mutual 

 consent, the property is equally divided, and both are at liberty to remarry. 



iS'/flt'en/.-— Amongst the Burmese and Mugs, slavery is tolerated in all 

 shapes. Slaves brought from the Khyengs, ot hill people, cannot redeem them- 

 selves by money, without the consent of the owners ; qvqyj other species 

 of slave has the privilege of ransom. 



It is a common custom amongst the lower orders, when a man wants 

 money, to pawn his wife for a certain period, or until the debt be liquidated ; 

 should the woman become pregnant whilst in pawn, the debt is rendered 

 null and void, and the husband can reclaim his wife, and if he choose take 

 the child also, and a fine of sixty rupees from the father : such practices are 

 shocking to the civilized mind, but the barbarous and dissolute habits of 

 these people, reconcile to them all sorts of prostitution and vice : a woman 

 loses nothing of reputation by the frequent change of her husband, and is as 

 much respected by the community generally, as those who continue constant. 



The Burmese and Mug women having equal liberty with the men, 

 are fond of dress, and appearing in public : the dress worn by the wo- 

 men, consists of a red binder, wrapt tightly round the bosom, over which 

 a robe comes down as far as the knee : the lower garment, or what ought to 



