When a man suffers wrong, the wrong-doer is summoned before the elders, or most respectable men of his village or clan; and if he denies the charge and refuses redress, he is told to bathe, put his hand upon the peepul-tree, and declare aloud his innocence.

If he refuses, he is commanded to restore what he has taken, or make suitable reparation for the injury he has done; and if he refuses to do this, he is punished by the odium of all, and his life becomes miserable.

A man dares not, sir, put his hand upon that sacred tree and deny the truth--the gods sit in it and know all things; and the offender dreads their vengeance.

In your adawluts, sir, men do not tell the truth so often as they do among their own tribes, or village communities--they perjure themselves in all manner of ways, without shame or dread; and there are so many men about these Courts, who understand the 'rules and regulations,' and are so much interested in making truth appear to be falsehood, and falsehood truth, that no man feels sure that right will prevail in them in any case.

The guilty think they have just as good a chance of escape as the innocent.