suits, whether the parties are
Shans or not. In the Myelat division of the southern Shan States, however,
the criminal law is practically the same as the in force in Upper Burma,
and the ngwegunhmus, or petty chiefs, have been appointed magistrates of
the second class. The chiefs of the Shan States are of three classes:--(1)
sawbwas; (2) myosas; (3) ngwegunhmus. The last are found only in the
_Myelat_, or border country between the southern Shan States and Burma.
There are fifteen sawbwas, sixteen myosas and thirteen ngwegunhmus in the
Shan States proper. Two sawbwas are under the supervision of the
commissioner of the Mandalay division, and two under the commissioner of
the Sagaing division. The states vary enormously in size, from the 12,000
sq. m. of the Trans-Salween State of Keng Tung, to the 3.95 sq. m. of Nam
Hkom in the Myelat. The latter contained only 41 houses with 210
inhabitants in 1897 and has since been merged in the adjoining state. There
are five states, all sawbwaships, under the supervision of the
superintendent of the northern Shan States, besides an indeterminate number
of Wa States and communities of other races beyond the Salween river. The
superintendent of the southern Shan States supervises thirty-nine, of which
ten are sawbwaships. The headquarters of the northern Shan States are at
Lashio, of the southern Shan States at Taung-gyi.

The states included in eastern and western Karen-ni are not part of British
India, and are not subject to any of the laws in force in the Shan States,
but they are under the supervision of the superintendent of the southern
Shan States.

[Illustration]

The northern portion of the Karen hills is at present dealt with on the
principle of political as distinguished from administrative control. The
tribes are not interfered with as long as they keep the peace. What is
specifically known as the Kachin hills, the country taken under
administration in the Bhamo and Myitkyina districts, is divided into forty
tracts. Beyond these tracts there are many Kachins in Katha, Moeng-Mit, and
the northern Shan States, but though they are often the preponderating,
they are not the exclusive population. The country within the forty tracts
may be considered the Kachin hills proper, and it lies between 23 deg. 30' and
26 deg. 30' N. lat. and 96 deg. and 98 deg. E. long. Within this area the petty chiefs
have appointment orders, the people are disarmed, and the rate of tribute
per ho