THEFT. 
419 
that mark correspond with the thing, or object stolen; should a slave 
have gone away willingly, he will receive thirty lashes.* 
A thief will not be allowed to prosecute the person at whose suit 
he has been convicted. 
A person who without just reason or cause accuses another of 
theft, and who fails to prove his charge will be fined to the amount of 
value of the stolen property ; one half of the fine goes to the king, 
the other half to the injured party; and should the latter have been 
maltreated he receives fds. of it. 
Stolen goods are proclaimed by beat of gong, and by information 
given to persons residing near the plaee where they vvere^stolen ; any 
person who secretes property after such information is of course 
deemed a thief. When a householder misses property he instantly 
attaches criminality to the last person seen in or about the premises; 
hence the Siamese are extremely cautious not to enter a house with¬ 
out giving due notice beforehand. 
The head men of compartments of towns and divisions of districts, 
are held responsible for property stolen within their wards, which is 
a very old regulation also of Indian governments. But in order to 
make the whole community watch in some measure over its interests, 
the inhabitants of the district where the theft was committed are 
linked with the Police in responsibility. 
The head man pays three parts of the stolen property, neighbours 
within 50 yards or thereabout, two parts, and those within 150 yards 
one part. 
The Police establishments of Indian states, and of the organized go¬ 
vernments beyond the Ganges have generally been tolerably efficient. 
Thus it is obvious that freedom, is in many respects incompatible 
with the full exercise of those powers, which alone can make a Po¬ 
lice system formidable and perfectly efficient. 
France in Buonaparte's time furnished a memorable example of 
the improvement of a Police Department in the exact degree in 
which the liberties of the people were encroached upon and military 
despotism prevailed. 
* In the Burman country a thief is branded or tattooed vith red or black 
ink in a particular manner op the face or neck. 
