1830.
Tenets of the Budhists.
551
Sub-Sect. 47.—If any malicious thief shall steal an image of Budh, whe- ther made of gold, silver, precious stones, pinchbeck, nickel, copper, or lead, or any other material; and go and sell it, or destroy it, or has not yet succeed- ed in selling or destroying it; if he can be apprehended, let him be examined and all his friends and accomplices, and if found guilty, let each be flogged 60 lashes; let the feet and hands of all his accomplices be cut off, and then fined 700,000 cowries out of respect to the image of Buch. As for the thief himself, let him be slain to pay for his wickedness, and thus finish it.
SUB-SECT. 48.-If a thief steal an image of Budh, and use various devices for getting off its ornaments, as washing, smelting, &c., let him be put into a furnace and treated in the same way as he treated the image, and thus pay for his wickedness; and make thorough work of it.
Sub-Sect. 49.-If any thief strip a Budhist image of its gold or gilding, let him be taken to a public square, and a redhot iron rubbed over him till he is stripped of his skin as he stripped the image, and thus pay for his crime. If a thief scrape off the gold, or ornaments of a Budhist image, pagoda, tem- ple, or sacred fig-tree, and on apprehension, it be proved against him, let his fingers be cut off, or at least let him be flogged 60 lashes. If he is not flog- ged, let him be fined double the value of restoring the image, &c. If he de- stroys such things repeatedly, let him he publicly exposed by land and water for three successive days, then let his head be cut off, and his breast cut open that none may follow his example. If those whose business it is to guard the irnages, abet the thief in his depredations, and it can be proved against them, let them be put to death; but if those guardians have been slaves for several generations let them be flogged 60 lashes, fined to the limit of their means, reinoved, and other guardians appointed in their stead.
SUB-SECT. 50.-If any malicious person steal articles belonging to Budh, his law or priesthood, such as jewels, rings, silver, or gold, clothing, or other things which have been dedicated to Budh, his law or priesthood-if he steal them to sell, or steal the sacred books to sell; let him be punished as other thieves, then placed in the pillory and exposed, that his example may not be followed; let him be flogged 60 lashes, his fingers cut off, and he fined four times the value of the stolen articles.
SUB-SECT. 51.-If the relatives or servants of any person who strips off the gold or ornaments of any image of Budh, or any pagoda, or temple, or conse- crated shed, or priest's dwelling, or cut down a sacred banian tree; whether those relatives be rulers, or common people or slaves, if they are aware of his guilt, and do not bring and deliver hin up to the authorities, let thein be brought to the Court that they may be punished as transgressors liable to eight kinds of penalties:-viz 1. to be put to death; 2. to have their mouths cut off; 3. to have all their goods confiscated, and themselves made to cut grass for the elephants; 4. to he flogged from 25 to 50 lashes; 5. to be dis- abled from all civil functions; 6. to be fined fourfold; 7. to be fined two- fold; 8. to be fined one fold. Either of these penalties to be inflicted at the discretion and direction of the sovereign.
SUB-SECT. 52-If any mahcious person stealthily destroy any priest's dwelling, bridge, or consecrated shed, let him be obliged to repair the dam- age; and then flogged from 30 to 60 lashes, and delivered over to his master If he dig into or undermine a Budhist image, a pagoda, or temple, be is liable. to punishment in three ways; 1. to be killed; 2. to have his fingers cut off; 3. to be flogged sixty lashes.❤
J. T. J.
*The above extract is taken from the Siamese Code in 55 Vols, written on the black book and sold for 120 ticals (about $72); the work is now printing at the Mission press at Bangkok at the expense of a Siainese nobleman, and will be furnished in the printed form for about 20 ticals, the whole contained in two volumes.