Now and
then your line of vision is made doubly sure by a second stone two or
three feet farther on. Then, far away, but exactly in a line with the
stones which indicated your line of vision, you will catch sight of
another boundary stone, and you know that that is the extent of the
plot, or that at any rate there is an angle at that point. Whenever
there is any doubt through a stone getting overgrown with vegetation,
or displaced, the truth is easily got at by going to some other corner
and taking the line from there.

Each field is numbered, and in the books kept by the village clerk, or
accountant, the owner of each plot is recorded, and change of
ownership, or any other matter of importance affecting the property,
is supposed to be noted. The reason why, in spite of this, it is
often difficult to come at the real owner, is that most Indian
landowners are in difficulties through expenses incurred in the
marriage of their children, so that their property more often than not
is encumbered with mortgages. The average Hindu village clerk also is
not to be depended on, and as they are dealing with illiterate people,
they have many opportunities of falsifying village records. Also, the
inveterate habit of procrastination leads to vagueness in the record,
and transactions take place which are never noted. But there never can
be any real doubt as to where each bit of property begins and ends,
and that is a great boon.

Some of the educated lads of the Mission have got employment in the
Survey Department, and find it an interesting sphere. Its only
drawback for Christians is, that they are liable to be out in camp for
months at a time in regions where Christian privileges are not to be
had, or only at a great distance.

Disputes concerning the ownership of property lead to a good deal of
that constant litigation which is such a curse in India, but which
gives employment to innumerable lawyers of various grades. A young
Indian barrister, who was proposing to go to a certain town to
exercise his legal profession, explained to me why it was likely to be
a favourable locality. The people, he said, were for the most part
well-to-do, and that always meant a great deal of quarrelling
concerning money and land. But they were at the same time very
ignorant, and easily duped. He gave the following instance of the sort
of thing which takes place:--A man comes into the "pleader," or
lawyer's office, for a consultation. The pleader s