1 THE ARMY OF THE PUNJAUB. 73
2 lost to his chief before it is restored to him ; and
3 when the robbery has been committed by a body
4 of accomplices, the one who turns king's evi-
5 dence is allowed to escape with impunity, and to
6 retain -his share of the spoil. In all cases of
7 stolen cattle, the zemindars, when the footsteps
8 are traced to the entrance or into the fields of
9 any village, must either show the track beyond
10 their own boundary and sufier their territory to
11 be searched, or pay the value of the cattle.
12 As letters are not cultivated among the Sikhs,
13 even to the extent of reading and writing, all
14 concerns are transacted by oral testimony, verbal
15 promises and agreements. Questions of right to
16 property coming before the grand arbiters, are
17 determined by the recollection of the oldest wit-
18 nesses ; and though these persons give their testi-
19 mony on oath, money and favours are so un-
20 sparingly distributed to ensure a serviceable
21 statement, that perjury is frequent, and justice
22 a mere mockery. Trial by ordeal is sometimes
23 claimed by an accused party, and its efiiciency
24 being implicitly believed, a courageous rascal will
25 often escape the imputation of guilt by thrusting
26 his hand into boiling oil, or bear a heated plough-
27 share on the soles of his feet.
28 This is but a rough outline of the system of
29 internal government, but it is all that can be said
30 upon the subject at a time when anarchy is so
31 £