TO THE COURT OF AVA. 165 
respect, these grants do not materially differ from 
others. The right of taxing the cultivators on 
them is granted to a public officer or favourite, 
who takes upon himself the custody and repair of 
the temple to which they belong. 
The Burman priesthood receive no portion of the 
produce of the land ; they are entirely supported, 
as is well known, by the voluntary contributions 
of the people, or by gifts and largesses bestowed 
by the King and chiefs. 
The Burman cultivators are commonly op¬ 
pressed and ill-governed, in proportion to the 
rank and influence of the lord or assignee at 
Court, and the consequent difficulty of obtaining 
redress by an appeal against him. The worst- 
managed estates are usually those belonging to 
individuals of the royal family, whose agents may 
commit great oppressions, with little risk of being 
called to account. The only resource which a 
cultivator generally has against oppression, is to 
abandon his lands, and seek shelter in towns or 
villages, where it is less severe; and it is one 
frequently had recourse to. Hence the decay of 
established towns and villages, and the rise of new 
ones, is a thing of yearly occurrence. 
The lords, or 46 eaters,” of the land, make yearly 
offerings to the King, in token of servitude or 
submission. This offering ought, by the custom 
of the country, to be a tenth or tithe of the in¬ 
come derived from the grant. The absence of 
