TO THE COURT OF AVA. 
157 
tion of justice among any people living under a ci¬ 
vilized government; yet it must be useful in con¬ 
veying such a knowledge of native institutions and 
manners, as cannot but prove extremely useful in 
the process of legislation. 
Before concluding this account of the Burmese 
laws, I may once for all observe, that although the 
Burman Government be arbitrary, and the admi¬ 
nistration of justice expensive and vexatious, it is 
far from being efficient. The police is as bad as 
possible ; and it is notorious that, in all times of 
which we can speak with certainty, the country 
has been overrun with pirates and robbers. Res¬ 
ponsibility is shifted from one person to another, 
and a general ignorance and want of intelligence 
pervades every department. It is a matter well 
known, however contrary to theory, that in conse¬ 
quence of this state of things, even a royal order 
will often fail of commanding respect or attention 
at the distance of five short miles from the seat of 
government. 
Of the military force of the Burmese^ I have 
little to add to what has already been stated in my 
Journal. There cannot be said to exist any dis¬ 
tinction into civil and military classes ; nor is there 
even any distinction between civil and military em¬ 
ployments. A treasurer and a judge are expected 
to perform military as well as civil functions; and 
the Burmese army, in fact, consists of the whole 
male adult population of the country, or as much 
