JUSTICE. 



263 



of Saint John ; and men declare that he began 

 life as a cabin-boy and rose by his unusual astute- 

 ness. When any question of unusual gravity 

 occurs the Sayyid summons the TTleina, the 

 Shaykhs, and especially the two Kazis, Shaykh 

 Muhiyy el Din, a Lamu doctor of the Sunni 

 school, and Shaykh Mohammed, an Abazi. Causes 

 tried by ecclesiastics generally depend upon the 

 extent of bribery; but there is always an appeal 

 to the Prince, or in his absence to the Governor. 

 The Kazis punish by imprisonment more or less 

 severe. The stocks are set up in every planta- 

 tion ; the fetters are heavy, and there is, if 

 wanted, a ponderous iron ring with long spikes, 

 significantly termed in Persian the c Tauk i 

 Ta'at,' collar of obedience. Instant justice is the 

 order of the day, and the crooked stick (bakur) 

 plays a goodly and necessary part ; how neces- 

 sary we see in the present state of Syria, whence 

 the ' Tanzimat ' constitution has banished the 

 only penalty that ruffians fear. Prom ten to 

 fifty blows are usually inflicted : in the Gulf, 

 when the bastinado is to be administered with 

 the Nihayet el Azab (extreme rigour), half-a- 

 dozen men work upon the culprit's back, belly, 

 and sides, and a hundred strokes suffice to kill 

 him. Severe examples are sometimes necessary, 



