; as it might, perhaps, afford some
hints for a reform in our own. The only remark I shall have to add is,
that if a man killed another, "malice prepense aforethought," the act,
in nineteen cases out of twenty, would be either a very meritorious
one, or of no consequence whatever; in either of which cases the penal
code had, of course, nothing to do in the matter. If, however, a man
killed another by _accident_, in the majority of cases the consequences
would be most serious; and not only the involuntary homicide, but every
one connected with him, would be plundered of everything they possessed
worth taking.

This, however, to an English lawyer, may require some explanation,
which is as follows:--If a man thought fit to kill his own slave, it
was nobody's affair but his own; the law had nothing to do with it. If
he killed a man of another tribe, he had nothing to do but declare it
was in revenge or retaliation for some aggression, either recent or
traditional, by the other tribe; of which examples were never scarce.
In this case, the action became at once highly meritorious, and his
whole tribe would support and defend him to the last extremity. If he,
however, killed a man by accident, the slain man would be, as a matter
of course, in most instances, one of his ordinary companions--_i.e._,
one of his own tribe. The accidental discharge of a gun often caused
death in this way. Then, indeed, the law of _muru_ had full swing, and
the wholesale plunder of the criminal and family was the penalty.
Murder, as the natives understood it: that is to say, the malicious
destruction of a man of _the same tribe_, did not happen so frequently
as might be expected; and when it did, went in most cases unpunished:
the murderer, in general, managed to escape to some other section of
the tribe where he had relations; who, as he fled to them for
protection, were bound to give it, and always ready to do so; or
otherwise he would stand his ground and defy all comers, by means of
the strength of his own family or section, who all would defend him and
protect him as a mere matter of course: and as the law of _utu_ or _lex
talionis_ was the only one which applied in this case, and as, unlike
the law of _muru_, nothing was to be got by enforcing it but hard
blows, murder in most cases went unpunished.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Muru falling into Disuse.--Why.--Examples of the Tapu.--The
Personal Tapu.--Evading the Tapu.--The Undertaker