:hat time : Weread : ' If people of the realm, if hrds or
nobles do wrong, fall out. are at enmity *,v:th each
other, he (the Prince) makes inquisition, gets a: :he
truth, and then decides the case for his subjects
righteously.'2
About the administration of justice in the seven-
teenth century, we read : 'The written laws of the coun-
try prescribe a certain and praiseworthy rule for the
administration of justice, namely, that nobody either
in criminal or in civil cases may be condemned un-
less his case has been examined four times by the
ordinary or by the specially appoiated judges/3
The accused could defend himself by means of
certain ord~alsy namely,-dive under water, dip the hand
into hot oi!5 walk barefooted over red-hot coals or
eat a lump of rice over which a charm has been
pronounced. The.se trails by ordeal were performed
in the presence of the Judge himself, and in case of
failure the accused was punished. In course of
time, however, these trails by ordeals have come
into disuse.
CODES OF LAW.
The laws of Siam owe much to the Indian laws.
The Siamese laws have been codified in the time
of king Phra Naret into three parts: Phra : tamra
or list of duties -and prerogatives of ofBcials, (ii) Phra
: Th&mnun or collection of old Siamese institutions,
1. J. S. S. VI, I (1909) p. 26.
2. Ibid, VII, I (1910) p. 15.