Translation of a Pootee, or Compilation, of the Ordinations of the Pundits.
CHAP. I. Of Lending and Borrowing.
Men are permitted to lend Money, but they should not lend to Women, Children, or Servants; and whenever they lend, it shall be upon the Credit of a Pledge, a Security, a Bond, or Witnesses, whichever of the Four is most to their Satisfaction, and not otherwise; the Pledge and Security are to answer the Payment of the Debt, the Bond and Witnesses to prove its Validity.
SECT. I. Of Interest.
If a Loan be granted upon a Pledge to a Man of the Bramin Cast, the Monthly Interest shall be One Part in Eighty upon the Principal; at this Rate, if the Principal be Eighty Rupees, the Interest shall be One Rupee per Month.
If a Loan be granted upon Security to a Bramin, First, One Part in Eighty upon the Principal is allowed, that is to say, One Rupee, and also One Eighth of One Eightieth of the Principal, which upon Eighty Rupees amounts to Two Annas; these Two Sums are to be added together for the Monthly Interest, so that, upon a Principal Debt of Eighty Rupees, the whole Interest at this Rate is Two Rupees Two Annas per Month.
If a Loan be granted to a Bramin without Pledge or Security, the Monthly Interest shall be Two per Cent.
If a Loan be granted to a Man of the Chehteree Cast, in that Case, where a Bramin pays Interest One Rupee, the Chehteree shall pay One Rupee Eight Annas; where the Bramin is charged One Rupee Two Annas, his Interest shall be One Rupee Eleven Annas; and in the place of Two Rupees, the Chehteree shall give Three.
If a Loan be granted to a Man of the Bice Cast, he shall be charged double the Interest of a Bramin.
If a Loan be granted to a Man of the Sooder Cast, in that Case, where the Bramin pays Interest One Rupee, the Sooder shall pay Two Rupees Eight Annas; in the place of One Rupee Two Annas, he shall give Two Rupees Thirteen Annas; and instead of Two Rupees, he shall be charged Five.
It is allowed the Tribe of Bice to charge Interest, at the Rates herein already specified, in Times either of publick Calamity, or of publick Prosperity.
Also it is allowed the Bramin, the Chehteree, and the Sooder, in Times of Calamity, to demand the above Interest.
But in Times of Prosperity, it is criminal in the Bramin, the Chehteree, and the Sooder, to charge Interest at these Rates.
Explanation of the various Denominations of Interest which are of Six Sorts.
The First is Kau-ee kau, so called, when Money is lent upon a stipulated Interest, with Agreement to be paid yearly.
The Second is Kan-tee-kau, so called, when, according to the Rate of the Agreement, Interest is to be paid monthly.
The Third is Chickerberdehee, so called, when, upon a Debtor's Inability to pay the Interest upon his original Debt, the Principal and Arrears of Interest are added together, and Interest commences upon the aggregate Sum.
The Fourth is Cortee-au, so called, when, in Times of Calamity, the Borrower voluntarily agrees to advance the Rate of Interest, which he must pay accordingly.
The Fifth is Seekhauberdehee, so called, when, according to the Rate of the Agreement, Interest is to be paid daily.
The Sixth is Bhook Labheh, so called, when a Creditor receives a Profit upon any Thing delivered over to him as a Pledge; as for Instance, when a Man pledges with another any domestick Animals, as Kine, Buffaloes, Goats, Horses, Camels, Elephants, &c. or Fruit Trees, as Mango Trees, Jacks, Cocoa Trees, Beetle, &c. or Houses, or tilled Land, or Women's Ornaments, or Pots, or Cloaths, or Mats, Carpets, &c. if they be applied to Use, and it be agreed, between those Two, that the Produce, or Usufruct of the Pledge, shall appertain to the Creditors, in lieu of Interest.
In Times of publick Calamity, either of the Four Tribes of Bramin, Chehteree, Sooder, or Bice, may receive Interest, at the Rate of One Part in Eighty, being One Rupee (as hath already been herein explained in a separate Article) by either of the Three Modes of Kau-ee kau, Kau-lee-kau, and Chickerberdehee.
Either in prosperous or calamitous Times, it is criminal for either of these Four Casts, except only the Bice, to exact Interest:, by either of the Three Methods of Cortee-au, Seekhauberdehee, or Bhook Labbeh.
It is lawful for the Tribe of Bice to receive Interest by either of the Three Modes of Cortee-au, Seekhauberdehee, and Bhook Labheh, in Times of Calamity, but in a prosperous Season criminal.
If a Creditor hath received no Interest upon his Money for Fifty Months, and if still a longer Time should elapse, yet the Arrears of Interest shall rise no higher than to double the Principal; and the Four Modes of Cortee-au, Kau-ee-kau, Kau-lee-kau, and Chickerberdehee, may be applied to collect the Interest upon this double Principal.
If Interest, by the Two Modes of Seekhauberdehee and Bhook Labheh, hath been paid for a very considerable Time, yet there shall be no Release from it, until the Principal Debt be discharged.
Neither of the Three Tribes, Bramin, Chehteree, or Sooder, but only the Bice, shall receive Interest by these Six Methods in Times of Prosperity.
There is a Tribe, denominated Burrun Sunker, composed of such whose Father and Mother, being of Two different Tribes, have begotten Children; if a Man of this Cast should borrow Money, he shall pay One Part in Sixteen upon the Principal; at this Rate, the Interest upon One Rupee is One Anna.
If a Creditor, by violent Means, causes his Debtor to agree to an increased Rate of Interest, the Agreement shall not be valid.
If a Man borrows Money without a Pledge given, the Son of his Grandson shall not pay the Debt.
If a Man borrows Money upon a deposited Pledge, the Son of his Grandson must discharge the Debt.
If a Man borrows Money without stipulated Interest, and upon the Demand of his Creditor goes abroad, without sufficient Reason, and a Call of Business, or lurks secretly in his own House, fraudulently contriving Means to delay and to refuse Payment, in that Case, after Three Months, Interest upon the Debt shall commence from the Beginning of the Fourth Month; but if the Debtor goes abroad upon real and necessary Occasions, he shall pay Interest, after the Expiration of One Year.
If a Man borrows Jewels, Pearls, Coral, Silver, Gold, Cotton, or Cloaths made of Silk or of Goat's Hair, and any considerable Time elapse without Repayment, yet shall the Interest upon such a Debt arise no higher than to double the Principal.
If a Man, having purchased Goods upon Credit, fraudulently goes abroad without Payment, or conceals himself in his own House, and, by prevaricating Excuses and Delays, continues to withhold the Purchase-Money, in that Case, after Six Months are elapsed, Interest shall be accounted due from the Beginning of the Seventh; if the Purchaser is called abroad by his necessary Business, he Shall pay Interest, after the Expiration of One Year.
If a Man hath committed ought to the Charge of another, who, on Application f or the Return of the Trust, fraudulently absconds on a Journey, or if he leaves not his own House, but by Excuses and Prevarications detains the Charge in his own Possession, in that Case, if Six Months elapse from the Time of such Application, he shall be charged Interest from the Beginning of the Seventh.
Suppose a Man to borrow a Quantity of the Grain, called Shallee (or Paddee) upon this Agreement, that, at the Time of the Paddee Harvest, he will make an equitable and equivalent Return, in that Case, if, at the Time of Payment, Grain be something cheaper than when it was borrowed, he shall pay double the Quantity; if it be much fallen in Price, he shall pay Three Times as much; if it be still cheaper, Four-fold; and if its Value be exceedingly reduced, he shall return Five Times the Quantity lent him, and this Fifth Increase he shall never be obliged to exceed; if the Price, at the Time of Repayment be risen, with respect: to the Time of borrowing, the Bramin shall pay for Interest Two in One Hundred Parts, the Chehteree Three in One Hundred Parts, the Bice double of the Bramin, and the Sooder Five Parts in One Hundred.
If a Man borrows Cocoa-Nut Oil, or any spirituous Liquors, or Ghee, and returns it not in Fifty Months, he shall then repay Eight Times the original Quantity.
If a Man borrows Milk, Woollen Cloth, Perpets, Shawls, or Tapestry, and Carpets made of any Hair but that of Sheep, and returns it not in Fifty Months, he shall then repay Five Times the original Quantity.
If any Man borrows any Kind of Cloths (but those made of Silk) Iron, Copper, Talc, Brass, White Copper, Pewter, Tin, and Metals of this Kind, except Gold and Silver, and returns them not in Fifty Months, he shall then repay Three Times as much.
If a Man borrows any Kind of Grain, except Paddee, as Wheat, Small Gram, Barley, and such Kinds of Grain, or Lentils, Gram, Mustard Seed, or Kunjud, and such other Produce of Tillage, and returns it not in Fifty Months, he shall repay it Four-fold.
If a Man borrows Green Herbs, such as Cabbage, Lettuce, &c. and repays them not in Fifty Months, he shall repay them Five-fold.
If a Man borrows Sugar Canes, and returns them not in Fifty Months, he shall then repay Six Times the Quantity.
If a Man borrows the Juice of the Sugar Cane, the better Sorts of Flowers, or of Fruits, Ginger, Radishes, Potatoes, or Yam, or any other of those Herbs whose Root is in common Use, whatever Quantity he borrowed, he shall return Three Times as much.
If dried Grass, Fuel Wood, Bricks, or Leaves, or Things made of Leather, or Bone, or Scimitars, Spears, Daggers, Muskets, and this Kind of warlike Instruments, or dried Flowers, or Fruits of the worst Species, be borrowed, and not repaid in Fifty Months, yet no Interest is to be given on them; but if it be originally stipulated, it shall be paid.
If a Man sells Goods without receiving immediate Payment, and, upon Demand made for the Money, the Purchaser puts him off with frivolous Delays, either staying at his own House, or going abroad, without sufficient Reason, Interest shall commence upon the Debt from the Beginning of the Fourth Month.
If a hired Servant hath been a long Time without receiving his Wages, yet he shall not demand Interest upon them, unless it be originally so stipulated.
If a Man hath agreed to pay another a certain Fine on any Account, and a long Time elapse without Payment, he shall not give Interest, unless it be Part of the original Agreement.
If a Man hath presented another with any Thing in the way of Friendship, which Present the Accepter neither takes to his own House at the Time it is given, nor doth the Donor send it to him, yet shall no Interest be paid upon the Gift thus with-held, unless by a prior Agreement.
If a Man hath given another any Thing by way of Recompense, which, after being accepted by the Person to whom it is offered, is yet detained at the Donor's House, and not delivered on Demand, Interest shall be paid upon its Value.
If a Man, in a friendly Manner, hath applied to his own Use any Thing of the separate Property of his Wife, on returning it, he shall give an Interest, together with the Principal; and if a Man, by forcible Means, hath taken ought belonging to his Wife, and doth not pay her both Principal and Interest, the Magistrate of the Time shall oblige him to pay Interest and Principal, and shall also fine him.
If a Man hath expended, on friendly Terms, any of his Wife's Property, and dies before he makes it good, his Son shall pay the Principal so borrowed, but without Interest.
If a Man offers to discharge a Debt, and the Creditor will not accept Payment, he shall not pay Interest upon the Debt, after such an Offer, unless it be previously stipulated.
If a Man, who has agreed to disburse a certain Sum for the Expences of a Marriage, or a Marriage Portion, pays it not for a considerable Time, he shall not pay Interest upon that Sum, unless according to previous Agreement.
If a Man hath dcposited a Pledge, and the Creditor possessing such Pledge applies it to his own Uses, or breaks it, or it be stolen from his House, in that Case, he shall not pay Interest upon it, unless by Agreement.
If a Man deposits a Pledge with another, and no Agreement be made that the Creditor shall make Use of the Pledge, in that Case, supposing the Pledgee to apply to Use the Goods so pledged, he shall pay half Interest, according to the Rates herein already specified.
If a Pledge, deposited in a Creditor's Hands, be spoiled, loss, or broken by an unforeseen Accident, in that Case, the Creditor shall still recover both Principal and Interest of his Debt; but the Debtor shall not receive the Value of his Pledge.
A Man may lend Money to another of the same Tribe, to his Relations, or particular Friends, upon a Pledge only, but from all others, he should demand a Bond and Security.
If a Man lends Gold to another, he shall appoint a fixed Day of Payment to his own Satisfaction; if he cannot fix a Day to his Mind, he may omit it.
If a Man borrows Paddee, Wheat, Barley, Gram, Small Gram, Lentils, or Doll, or Mustard-Seed of the Species of Grain and Pulse, or Salt of whatever Sort it may be, or Honey, Sugar, Sugar-Candy of the Species of Sweets, or round Pepper, or Peepul, dried Ginger, Kureelah, or Inderjoh of the Species of Warm Bitters, or Tamarinds, or four ilumbs, or Lemons of the Species of Acids, or Hurreh, Beheerreh, and Qulah of the Species of Affus, he shall surely fix a Day of Payment.
When several Men are Creditors to the same Debtor, they shall make a a Sort of Common Stock of their Debts, and receive their respective Shares of each Payment; if any Creditor refuses to accede to this Agreement, he shall lose his Share of the Interest.
If a Man hath sold Rice or Wheat for sowing of the Species of Grain, or Mustard Seed, or Kunjud of the Species of Seed, or the Seeds of Cotton, or Kureelab, or Pumpkin of the Species of Terkarree, or the Seed of the Water Melon, or Cucumber of this Species, and they do not spring up from the Ground, but the Spot should become waste, the Vender of the Seed shall make good the Crop.
SECT. II. Of Pledges.
If a Man, with whom a Pledge is deposited, should apply to his own Use the Things so pledged, and by that Means spoil it, he shall pay the Value of it to the Depositor, or procure another of the same Kind.
If a Man, who hath pledged ought to another for a Debt, offers to pay the Money, and demands his Pledge, which the Creditor fraudulently with-holds, in that Case, the Magistrate shall exact a Fine from the Creditor, cause the Pledge to be restored to the right Owner, and the Debt to be forthwith discharged.
If a Person mortgages to another such a Quantity of Land as will serve for the Subsistence of One Man, for One Year, and afterwards mortgages the same Land to a Second Mortgagee, he shall be punished with Death; or if his Life be spared, he shall be fined One Hundred Ashrusees; and if the Criminal be a Bramin (which Tribe is exempt from capital Punishment) he shall still pay the Fine of One Hundred Ashrusees.
If a Man mortgages a Quantity of Land less than will suffice to maintain a Man One Year, and afterwards engages the same Ground to a Second Mortgagee, the Magistrate shall fine him Sixteen Ashrusees.
If a Man hath deposited a Pledge with another, and suffers it to lie a considerable Time unredeemed, yet the Creditor shall not apply the Deposit to his own Use, or fell it, or spoil it, or pledge it as his own to another Person; if he acts in contradiction to this, he shall be obliged to make good the Pledge.
If a Man, having pledged any Thing to one Person, fraudulently contrives to engage the same Article as a Pledge: to a Second, the First Engagement shall be considered valid, and not the Second; but yet the Second Creditor shall receive both Principal and Interest of his Money; and he who thus Transgresses the Laws of justice shall be punished as a Robber.
If a Man pledges the same Article with Two Persons, and it be not known which Transaction was prior in Date, then, whichever of the Creditors, without Molestation of the other Pledgee, attaches the Pledge, it shall be accounted valid, with respect to him; if a Dispute arises, the Two Creditors shall have equal Shares in the Deposite.
If any Transaction between Two People pass before Witnesses only, and a Third Person produces a written Instrument of the same Transaction, attested also by Witnesses, the Writing thus witnessed shall be accounted valid.
If a Man pledges ought to another without a written Agreement, and afterwards deposites the same Pledge with a Second Person, adding a regular written Instrument, to testify the Validity of this Second Pledge, in that Case, the Second Engagement shall stand good, and the Borrower shall return back the Money lent him by the First Creditor.
If a Man mortgages to another a certain Quantity of Land, and the Mortgagee, by forcible Means, appropriates to his own Use a larger Space of Ground than is specified in the Agreement, in that Case, the Magistrate, without causing the Debt to be discharged, shall restore the mortgaged Ground to the right Owner, and hold the Mortgagee criminal.
SECT. III. Of Security.
There are Four Sorts of Security.
First, When a Man, desirous to borrow Money, is refused, by the Person whom he addresses, from a Want of Confidence in his Ability to repay it, if in the mean Time a Third Person should advise the refusing Party to lend the Money, and should promise, that, if the Debtor absconds upon the Day of Payment, he will cause him to appear, he, who by such Advice causes the Money to be lent, engages himself in a Kind of Security, and if he cannot produce the Borrower, when Payment becomes due, he must discharge the Debt, both Principal and Interest: If he dies, his Son shall not make good the Loan.
Secondly, When a Man, who is requested to lend Money, doubts the Character of the Borrower, and enquires it of a Third Person, if this Man should answer to the other's Character, and affirm, that to his own Knowledge he is worthy to be trusted, by thus inclining the Party to lend the Money, he is to be considered as a Kind of Security; and whoever, by giving a good Character to a bad Man, enables him to borrow Money, and this Circumstance can be proved, the Recommender shall be obliged to make good both Principal and Interest of the Debt; but if he dies, his Son is not answerable for the Money.
Thirdly, when a Man, desirous to borrow money, is refused, because the Person of whom he requests it has no Opinion of his Credit, if a Third Man should say, "Lend him what he desires, and I will be answerable for it," this also is a Kind of Security; and if the Borrower refuses Payment, the Security must discharge both Principal and Interest of the Debt; also if he dies, his Son shall make good the Principal.
Fourthly, When a Man, desirous to borrow any Thing for a Time, promising to return it as soon as the Business for which it is wanted shall be finished, is refused the Use of it, if another Person should advise the Possessor of the Thing required to lend it, and should promise, that he will take care to see it returned, this also is a Mode of Security; and if the Borrower returns not the Article lent him, the Security shall make it good, with Interest upon its Value: Also if he dies, his Son shall be answerable for the Principal.
If a Debtor, on the Day agreed for discharging of his Debt, should be unable to appear, either from some natural or publick Calamity, or from a necessary Attendance on a Court of justice, it is not to be accounted a Fault in the Man who became Security for him; but when the Debtor's Cause of Delay is removed, the Security must then procure his Appearance, or, upon Failure, must himself be answerable for the Cause in Dispute.
If a Man dies, who, having deposited a Pledge, is become personal Security for another, his Son shall discharge the Principal of the Debt.
If a Man who is Security for another should die, his Grandson and Great-Grandson are not answerable.
If several Men become Securities for a Debtor who fails to discharge his Debts, all the Securities shall pay the Money in equal Shares.
If, at the Time of lending Money, the Lender should say to the Securities, "Here are several of you engaged, but I expect, that any One of you, whom I may happen to find when Payment becomes due, shall discharge the Debt," if also the Securities assent to this Stipulation, then, should the Borrower fail in his Engagements, the Creditor shall exact Payment of any One of the Securities whom he can first find, according to Agreement,
If a Debtor should be Absent, and the Security is desirous to bring him to Appearance, the Creditor shall settle with the Security a Reasonable Time for his Departure and Return, and shall permit him to go in quest of the Debtor.
If a Security has not absolutely the Means to pay a Sum for which he bound himself, and the Creditor commences a Suit against him in a Court of Justice, the Magistrate of the Time shall appoint him to pay the Debt, by Instalments, according to his Ability, and shall not be too harsh and severe upon him; neither shall the Creditor be permitted to treat him with unreasonable Rigour, in the Exaction of his Claim.
If a Creditor of his own Head be extremely hard and severe upon a Security, whatever Money he hath by this Method extorted, after the Space of One Month and an Half, the Judge shall cause him to return double of that Sum to the Security; and if it be within the Space of One Month and an Half, whatever Sum he hath received, the Judge shall cause him to return the like Sum to the Security.
(According to Chendeesur.)
If a Security, unable to answer the harm and importunate Demands of a Creditor, should give him ought, by way of Bribe, to satisfy him for the present, and then complain to a Court of justice, if this Complaint be after One Month and an Half, the Judge shall cause the Creditor to give double of that Bribe to the Complainant; if the Complaint be laid within the Space of One Month and an Half, the Judge shall cause the Creditor to pay him a Sum equal to the Bribe.
(According to Gerheisur.)
A Man, who is unable to pay his Debts, and the Fines of a Court of justice, shall not be taken as a Security.
A Man shall not accept, as Security, a Person totally unknown to him, his own Master, an Enemy, a Prisoner, a very old Man, a Partner living in the same Family, a Friend, or a Pupil.
SECT. IV. Of Discharging Debts to whomsoever due.
If a Man pays his Grandfather's Debts, he shall not be charged Interest upon them.
If a Man lends Money upon a positive Stipulation to be paid on a certain Day, and the Borrower also assents to this restriction, the Money must absolutely be repaid accordingly.
If a Man lends Money with a Stipulation to be paid upon Demand, and the Borrower Consents to take it upon this restriction, he shall accordingly pay it when demanded.
If a Man dies in Debt, his Sons shall contribute their respective Shares to discharge his Obligations.
If a Man dies in Debt, his Grandchildren shall respectively contribute to pay the Money.
If a Man dies in Debt, his Great-Grandchildren shall not pay the Money.
If a Man in Debt renounces the World, and becomes Fakeer, his Sons and Grandchildren shall discharge his Obligations.
A Great-Grandfather's Debts are not obligatory upon the Great-Grandson; but if it be his own Choice, the Great-Grandson may pay them.
If a Man in Debt leaves his own Country, after he hath been Absent Twenty Years, his Son shall pay his Debts; also a Grandson shall discharge the Debts of his Grandfather, after Twenty Years Absence; likewise, within the Space of Twenty Years, the Son and Grandson may discharge the Debts of their Father and Grandfather, if they choose it; but the Creditor shall not, before the Expiration of Twenty Years, have Power to compel them.
If a Man dies, who hath deposited, as Pledges for Money borrowed, Fruit Trees, tilled Land, Houses, Kine, Buffaloes, Goats, Horses, Elephants, and such Kinds of Useful Animals, or Pots, Cloaths, Mats, and such Things as have been already specified, to produce an Interest for a Debt, his Great-Grandson shall discharge that Debt.
If a Man in Debt be Absent from Home, and there be no Expectations that he will ever return, his Son and Grandson shall pay his Debts within Twenty Years.
If a Man in Debt be sick, beyond all Hopes of Recovery, the Son, in that Case, shall pay his Father's Debts.
If a Man be blind from his Cradle, or an Idiot, or be overcome by the Infirmities of Age, or be afflicted with a Consumptive Spitting of Blood and Phlegm, or with a Leprosy, and lives in his Son's Family, that Son shall discharge his Father's Debts; but if he lives apart from his Son, and contracts Debts, he shall himself discharge them; and the Son has no Connexion with them.
If a Man lends Money upon the Security of Two People, with Agreement that either of them whom he may happen to find, when Payment is due, shall be answerable for the Debt, in that Case, if One of the Securities should die, and leave no Children, and the other Security be Absent from Home, the Son of the Absentee shall pay the Money; if both the Securities die, whichever of them leaves Children, the Son shall pay his Father's Share of the Obligation.
Before the Dissolution of a Partnership, if One of the Parties, being in Debt, leaves his Country, or dies, in that Case, whichever of the Partners be found upon the Spot shall discharge the Debt.
Upon the Absence of a Master of a Family from Home, whether Abroad or in his own Country, if his Servant borrows Money for the immediate Support of his Master's Family and Dependants, the Master, on his Return, must be answerable for the Debt.
If a Man dies in Debt, and his Son and Grandson, at the Time of his Death, be very young, and incapable of managing their own Affairs, they shall not pay his Debts, until they arrive at Years of Discretion, and then they shall discharge them, according to their Ability.
A Father shall not be compelled to pay his Son's Debtd, but if he chooses it, from any Impulse of paternal Affection, he is permitted; but if a Father offers to be Security to a Man who has refused to lend Money to the Son, in that Case, the Father is obliged to pay what the Son borrows.
If a Man had been desirous to make a Present to another, without any sufficient Cause, and dies, leaving his Intention unfulfilled, his Son shall not give it.
If a Man had been desirous to make a Present to another, upon a proper and sufficient Cause, and dies in the mean Time, the Son shall fulfil his Father's Intentions.
If a Man dies, having incurred Debts by Gaming, or drinking Spirituous Liquors, his Son shall not discharge them: (This Law is calculated for those Persons in whom Gaming, and the Use of Spirituous Liquors, is not accounted a moral Offence.)
If a Man who owed a Fine to a Court of justice should die, leaving Part of the Fine unpaid, his Son shall not pay that Part; also if no Part of the Fine was paid in the Man's Life-time, his Son shall not be answerable for it in any respect.
If a Man, by the Impulse of Lust, had promised any Present, and should die without fulfilling the Promise, his Son shall not give it.
If a Man, through the Impulse of Enmity, had agreed to give away any Thing, and dies without fulfilling the Agreement, his Son shall not give it.
If a Woman, in Times of Calamity, or for the immediate Support of her Household, Relations, and Servants, should borrow Money, her Husband and Son shall discharge the Debt; but if she contracts Debts on any other Account, her Husband and Son shall not pay them.
If the Wife of a Man of the Cast of Potters, or of Washers, or of Cow-Herds, or Dancers, or Hunters, contracts a Debt, her Husband and Sons are answerable for it; also if a Man, or his Son, among those Tribes, contracts Debts, the Wife must pay them.
If a Woman borrows Money with the Consent of her Husband and Son, the Husband and Son shall repay it.
If a Man, at the Point of Death, desires his Wife to discharge his Debts, then, if she inherits her Husband's Property and Possessions, she shall pay them accordingly.
If a Man dies in Debt, whoever happens to be his Heir shall discharge those Debts, but without Interest.
If a Bramin dies childless, whichever of his Kindred becomes his Heir, he shall discharge his Debts; if he has no Relations, the Bramim of the same Village where the childless Bramin resided shall administer to his Estate, and pay his Debts; if no other Bramins inhabit that Part, the Magistrate shall pay the childless Bramin's Debts from the Amount of his Effects, and shall cast the Overplus into the Water.
If a Chehteree dies childless, and hath no Relations, or Kindred, the Magistrate shall take Administration of his Effects, pay from the Amount the Debts of the Deceased, and keep the Overplus.
SECT. V. Of the Methods of Recovering Debts.
If a Creditor, on the Day appointed for Payment, demands his Money of the Debtor who refuses to discharge the Debt, first, he shall speak to the Friends and Relations of the Debtor, and procure them to demand Payment; next, he shall go in Person, and importune for his Money, and stay some Time at the Debtor's House, but without eating or drinking; if these Means fail, he shall carry the Debtor Home with him, and, having seated him before Men of Character and Reputation, shall there detain him; if even this Method should not succeed, he shall endeavour, by feigned Pretences, to get hold of some of his Goods; or if any Pledge was deposited with him on lending the Money, he shall carry the Goods so pledged to the Magistrate, who shall cause the Deposite to be sold, and pay the Creditor his Debt, with Interest, from the Amount of the Sale; if he cannot, by evasive Means, distrain the Debtor's Goods, and also if no Pledge be in his Possession, he shall then seize and confine the Debtor's Wife, Children, Cattle, Buffaloes, Horses, and such Kind of useful Animals; also his Pots, Cloaths, Mats, and Furniture; and, seating himself at the Debtor's Door, shall there receive his Money; if even these Methods prove unsuccessful, he shall seize and bind the Debtor's Person, and procure, by forcible Means, a Discharge of the Debt.
If Men of very low Casts, Coolies, and handicraft Men, owe Money, they shall be seized, detained, and compelled to pay.
If a Man lends Money to a Magistrate, to his own Master, or to a Bramin, he shall not be rude or uncivil in procuring Payment.
If a Man hath lent Money to One of the same Family, or to a Man of bad Principles, he shall, by evasive Pretences, get hold of some of the Debtor's Goods, and by that Means procure Payment.
If a Man of the Tribe of Arzal be unable to pay his Debts, he shall be obliged to work out Payment by daily Labour.
If a Bramin be unable to pay his Debts, the Magistrate shall appoint him to discharge them by little and little, according to his Means.
If a Debtor and Creditor are both of the Bramin Cast, the One shall not oblige the other to work out a Debt by Day Labour.
If a Man of the Chehteree, Sooder, or Bice Cast, is too poor to pay his Debts, the Creditor may oblige him to work out the Amount, in any Business of which the Debtor is capable; that is to say, the higher Cast may exact this Method of Payment from One inferior to itself, and Casts of equal Rank may thus mutually treat each other; but a low Cast cannot force the superior to compound Debts by Labour, but shall be paid by Instalments, on a Debtor's Inability to discharge the whole Debt at once.
If a Creditor, without previous Demand, seizes his Debtor by Force, and obliges him to work at a Business of which he is not capable, the Magistrate shall fine the Creditor, and dismiss the Debtor with the Debt unpaid.
If a Man discharges not a Debt in Fifty Months from the Time of borrowing, so that the Interest of Chickerberdehee takes place (an Explanation of which hath been already given above) he shall settle the Mode to his own Satisfaction, a and pay the Creditor his Money.
If a Man, who hath long since deposited a Pledge in another's Hands, should abscond, or die, the Creditor, in Presence of the Debtor's Friends, shall produce the Pledge, and ascertain its Value; after that, he shall keep it by him Ten Days; and, if within that Space the Debtor's next Heir does not come in, and satisfy his Claim, he shall sell the Article pledged, and take his own Money, with Interest, from the Amount; if there be any Remainder, the Creditor is not to keep it.
If a Man acknowledges himself indebted to another, and yet refuses to pay, the Creditor shall Use the Means above specified to recover his Money, without Hinderance or Molestation from the Magistrate; if the Debtor should lodge a Complaint, the Judge shall fine him, and cause the Creditor to be paid.
If a Man, owing another any Money, should flatly deny the Debt, when Payment is demanded, the Creditor shall not have Power to take him into his own Custody, but shall cause him to appear before a Magistrate, and there, upon indisputable Proof of the Debt, shall receive his Claim; but if the Creditor be desirous to attach and confine his Debtor, without Knowledge of the Judge, in this Case, he shall be fined.
If a Man hath lent some Ashrusies, and the Borrower acknowledges to have received some Rupees, but a less Sum than the Creditor pretends, also if the Lender demands Interest upon his Loan, and the Borrower asserts, to have discharged the Interest already, or if the Creditor affirms to have lent the Money upon mere good Faith, and the Debtor says, that he deposited a Pledge for the Loan, upon a Dispute of this Kind, the Creditor shall by no Means arrest the Debtor's Body, without Knowledge of the Magistrate; should he offend this Law he shall be fined.
If a very rich Man, of weak Understanding, and of a very mean Tribe, from a Principle of Fraud and Obstinacy, refuses to pay his Debts, the Magistrate shall oblige him to discharge the Money claimed, and fine him double the Sum.
If a Man owes Money to several Creditors, he shall first discharge that Debt which was first contracted, and so in Order.
If a very rich Man, of an excellent Education, and of a superior Cast, from a Principle of Fraud and Obstinacy, refuses to pay his Debts, and the Creditor commences a Suit against him, the Magistrate shall cause the Money in Dispute to be paid, and shall fine the Debtor One Twentieth of the Sum recovered.
If a Debtor and Creditor are of equal Casts, and, on the Debtor's Refusal to pay his Debts, the Creditor should commence a Suit, the Magistrate shall cause the Money in Dispute to be paid, and shall also fine the Debtor One Tenth of the Sum recovered.
If a Man hath borrowed Money of several People in One Day, and the regular Order of borrowing cannot be ascertained, the Creditors shall all be paid in equal Shares.
When a Creditor procures Payment of his Money by Application to a Magistrate, he shall give him One Twentieth of the Sum recovered for his Interposition.
When a Debtor discharges his Debts by Instalments, he shall duly note upon the Back of the Bond the respective Sums so paid off; the Creditor also shall give a separate Receipt for each Payment: If the Debtor omits this Precaution, and the Creditor also has not given a Receipt for any particular Payment, the Sums so omitted shall not enter into the Account.