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reside in any part of the island. Indeed, no obliga¬ 
tions exist to confine the inhabitants to any particular 
province, or to exact exclusive fealty to the chief of 
a single district: every man, as an inhabitant of the 
island, has a right to take up his abode, or remove, 
when and where he pleases, provided he submits to 
the general laws of the island. 
Although they have no written code of laws, they 
have a regular system for the administration of 
justice, which is founded upon the principles of 
nature. These are universally known and under¬ 
stood, and the penalties are enforced wdtli prompt¬ 
ness and rigour. They are called Massindili, or 
Law of the Prince —Massinpoh, or Law of Pri¬ 
vate Persons —and Massintani, or Lmw of the 
Country . 
The law of the prince is the prince’s will, as 
founded upon reason, and consists in administering 
justice to every individual, adjusting of differences, 
and of punishing delinquents in their persons or 
property. The particular precepts are as follow — 
1. If one man assault another, maliciously , and 
break a leg or arm, he is fined fifteen head of cattle, 
which accrue to the injured party. 
2. If one man break the head of another, and the 
wounded party have not returned blow for blow, the 
fine is three oxen. 
3. If two men quarrel, and one curse the father 
or mother of the other, (whether they be dead or 
alive,) and his antagonist retort not the curse against 
