OATHS — CLASSES OF PEOPLE. -7$ 



4th. Armenians, who form a very orderly and 



respectable, although «»aB p otion of the fccietj . 



5tb, A few converts to Roman Catholicism from 



amongst the Chinese and Siamese settlers. 



6th. — Jews. 



7th. People of every nation professing maho- 



melanism, which extends its trade to the Straits; em- 

 bracing Arabs, Persians, and Turks ; Africans, In- 

 dians, Chinese, natives of the numerous isles of the 

 Malayan Archipelago, Achiuese, and other people 

 irom Sumatra; and Javanese. 



8th. Hindoos, from the lowest grade tip to theBrah- 



min, classed here under the common tilles of Benga- 

 lee, and Kling or Chuliahs, although the term Klin*; 

 embraces mussulmans also. 



9th.— ttmddhists from Siam, Ava, Tenasserim and 

 Ceylon ; Chinese and Clk liiu-chinese ; Peguers, 



The classes enumerated fifem 1 to 6 inclusive, with 

 the exception perhaps of the third, must rank fore- 

 most in the scale of veracity— an assertion which, all 

 regards Christians here at least — does not per- 

 haps rest so much on the superior moral tenets 

 and influential nature of the Christian religion, as on 

 tiie facts that most of the individuals composing 

 these* several classes in the Straits, are men to whose 

 worldly prosperity, character is nearly indispensable 

 and the greatest number of whom are far removed 

 from the temptations which accompany absolute 

 poverty. Amount the mussnlmans, the Chulialis 

 are perhaps the most given to lying. But Cliitta* 

 gong men and Bengalese do not rise much above 

 them. 



In the Keddah State, nhile under the Malayan and 

 niahnuKlau law, a false witness was punished by 

 having his face blackened. He was then gonged, 

 and at the bam- time flagged* through the streets, 



