rom giving him another clout on
the side of the head. His father was then fined nine rupees for
giving a false alarm, and Girdhari fifteen for so unmercifully
beating the boy; and they were made to pay on the instant, under the
penalty of all being sent off forty miles to the magistrate. Having
thus settled this very important affair, his highness the Thanadar
walked back to the shop, ordered all the shopkeepers to be set at
liberty, smoked his pipe, mounted his horse, and rode home, followed
by all his police officers, and well pleased with his day's work.'

The farmer of the village soon after made his way to the city, and
communicated the circumstances to my old friend, who happened to be
on intimate terms with the magistrate.[23] He wrote a polite note to
the Thanadar to say that he should never get any rents from his
estate if the occupants were liable to such fines as these, and that
he should take the earliest opportunity of mentioning them to his
friend the magistrate. The Thanadar ascertained that he was really in
the habit of visiting the magistrate, and communicating with him
freely; and hushed up the matter by causing all, save the expenses of
the feast, to be paid back. These are things of daily occurrence in
all parts of our dominions, and the Thanadars are not afraid to play
such 'fantastic tricks' because all those under and all those above
them share more or less in the spoil, and are bound in honour to
conceal them from the European magistrate, whom it is the interest of
all to keep in the dark. They know that the people will hardly ever
complain, from the great dislike they all have to appear in our
courts, particularly when it is against any of the officers of those
courts, or their friends and creatures in the district police.[24]

When our operations commenced, in 1830, these assassins [_scil._ the
Thugs] revelled over every road in India in gangs of hundreds,
without the fear of punishment from divine or human laws; but there
is not now, I believe, a road in India infested by them. That our
government has still defects, and great ones, must be obvious to
every one who has travelled much over India with the requisite
qualifications and disposition to observe; but I believe that in
spite of all the defects I have noticed above in our police System,
the life, property, and character of the innocent are now more
secure, and all their advantages more freely enjoyed, than they ever
were under any form