I2O
(iii) Pkra : raxn kamnot or Book of royal ordinances.
Dr. Masao (in J. S. S. II) shows striking simi-
larity between the Siamese law and the Hindu law.
In the Code of Manu, the whole civil and criminal
law is divided into 18 parts (Mann, VIII, 4-8).
The Siamese Phra Tamasart mentions all these 18
titles in almost identical words and adds eleven more.
Manu, (VII, 4-15) classifies slaves into seven groups,
the Siamese Laxana Tat also enumerates the same
seven classes of slaves. The well-known principle
of the Hindu law that interest should not exceed
the capital is followed by the Siamese Courts of Law
even at the present day.1
In the history of the codification of the Siamese
laws, there are some landmarks. It is said that the
name of king Phra Buddhayot Fa of Siam is handed
down to posterity more in connection with his famous
recension of Siamese laws than in connection with
any thing else he accomplished, Again, the intro-
duction of the Penal Code by the Siamese King
Chulalongkorn, was an event of no small importance
to kingdom of Siam.*
About the law of inheritence, we know that
on the death of the king, the kingdom passes to the
Prince. The law is, however, different with aris-
tocracy. From the account of Jeremias Van Vliet,
1. J. S. S. II, p. 18. "~
2. T. Masso—The New Penal Code of Siam, J. S. S.
V, II, 1908, p. 86.