TO THE COURT OF AVA. 
147 
that the village of Pauk-to was one of thirty 
constituting the district of Tap6; that it 
paid its lord ten thousand ticals yearly,—five 
thousand of this arising from the rent of five 
lakes, of which we saw two, and the remainder 
from the tax on families. From this amount, 
he makes a present to the King amounting to 
a tenth, but sometimes to twice as much ; for 
in this, as in every thing else, there is nothing 
determinate, which is one of the main evils of 
the Burman Government. The peasantry, on 
estates given away, like the present, are some¬ 
times called upon for extraordinary contribu¬ 
tions to the crown, besides the revenue paid to 
the lord. Thus, when the King out of caprice 
changed the seat of government from Amara- 
pura to Ava, each family paid one hundred and 
fifty ticals to assist in constructing the fortifica¬ 
tions and palaces of the new city. By far the 
largest proportion of the land of the kingdom 
is given away in estates to the royal family, 
public officers, and favourites. The rest is a 
royal domain,—the King standing in the same 
relation to it that the lord does in other cases. 
This, 1 believe, may be considered as a fair state¬ 
ment of the condition of the tenure of culti¬ 
vated land, at least in the most populous parts 
of the kingdom. The lord of the domain of 
