. Not doing so, double the amount must be
paid. This system should and can be reformed.

As for inheritances, the legitimate children of a father and mother
inherited equally, except in the case where the father and mother
showed a slight partiality by such gifts as two or three gold taels,
or perhaps a jewel.

When the parents gave a dowry to any son, and, when, in order to
marry him to a chief's daughter, the dowry was greater than the
sum given the other sons, the excess was not counted in the whole
property to be divided. But any other thing that should have been
given to any son, though it might be for some necessity, was taken
into consideration at the time of the partition of the property,
unless the parents should declare that such a bestowal was made
outside of the inheritance. If one had had children by two or more
legitimate wives, each child received the inheritance and dowry of
his mother, with its increase, and that share of his father's estate
which fell to him out of the whole. If a man had a child by one of his
slaves, as well as legitimate children, the former had no share in
the inheritance; but the legitimate children were bound to free the
mother, and to give him something--a tael or a slave, if the father
were a chief; or if, finally, anything else were given it was by the
unanimous consent of all. If besides his legitimate children, he had
also some son by a free unmarried woman, to whom a dowry was given
but who was not considered as a real wife, all these were classed as
natural children, although the child by the unmarried woman should
have been begotten after his marriage. Such children did not inherit
equally with the legitimate children, but only the third part. For
example, if there were two children, the legitimate one had two parts,
and the one of the _inaasava_ one part. When there were no children
by a legitimate wife, but only children by an unmarried woman, or
_inaasava_, the latter inherited all. If he had a child by a slave
woman, that child received his share as above stated. If there were
no legitimate or natural child, or a child by an inaasava, whether
there was a son of a slave woman or not, the inheritance went only
to the father or grandparents, brothers, or nearest relatives of the
deceased, who gave to the slave-child as above stated.

In the case of a child by a free married woman, born while she was
married, if the husband punished the adulterer this was considered
a