property is valuable, and protected on behalf of the owner, the de-
ftroyer is therefore refponfible for it,— in the fame manner as where a
perfon places his flave in depolit with an infant, or where a ftranger de-
ftroys property placed in depolit with an infant. The argument of
Haneefa and Mohammed is that as the infant has deftroyed a property
which was not in protection, he therefore is not refponfible, any
more than if he had deftroyed it with confent of the owner;— and the
property is not in protection, in the prefent inftanee ; becaule the protection
of property is eftablilhed on behalf o f the owner of it. As, alfo,
the owner in queftion has placed his property with a perfon incapable
o f protecting it, and we are forbidden, by the l a w , to place our
property in depolit with fuch, he [the depolitor] is not entitled to
look for an attention to his intereft unlefs he depute fome perfon as his
fubftitute to take care of i t ; and in the prefent inftanee he has not done
fo, lince his making the infant his fubftitute is invalid, he having no
authority over the infant, nor the infant over himfelf. It is otherwife
with an adult, or a licenfed Have ; for they have a power over them-
felves. It is alfo otherwife where a Have is placed in depolit with an
infant, and the infant kills fuch Have ; for the protection of a Have is
founded on his natural right, a Have being in his original ftate of freedom
with refpeCt to his blood. It is likewife different where a ftranger
deftroys property placed in depolit with an infant; for here the proprietor
has remitted the protection of the property in reference to the
infant, but not in reference to any other perfon.
If an infant or inhibited flave deftroy the property of any perfon,
the refponlibility refts upon the deftroyer, provided the owner have
not either lent fuch property to them, or depofited it with them in
truft ; becaufe infants and inhibited Haves are liable to perlecution for
their aCts, although their will be of no account,— no regard being
paid to this circumftanee in any matter affeCting the rights of the individual.
An infant or
flave is re-
fponiible for
the deftruc-
tion of any
property not
lent or entrujl-
td to them.
C H A P .
C H A P . VI.
Of Kjfàmity or the Administration of Oaths.
W here a perfon is found flain in any diftriCt'*, and it is not known
who was the murderer, and his heir demands a fatisfaCtion for his
blood from the inhabitants of the diftriCt, or from any number of
them not Ipecifically named, fifty of the inhabitants, feleCted by the
heir, mult be put to their oaths, and depofe to this effeCt,— “ by
“ G od I did not kill him, nor do I know his murderer.”— Shafei
maintains that i f there be any ftain -f upon the place, the heirs o f the
flain mult make fifty depofitions, to this effeCt, that “ the people of
“ fuch a diftriCt have flain fuch an one, their relation,”_after
which a decree is granted againft the defendants, awarding a fine to
the plaintiffs, [the heirs of the flain,] whether they claim for ■ wilful
murder, or for homicide by mifadventure.— (Malik holds that i f the
claim be for wilful murder, retaliation is to be decreed J ; and there
is alfo one opinion recorded from Shafei to the fame effeCt.)_By the
“ ftain [Lawis] upon the place,” as mentioned above, is to be under -
* Arab. M a h la .— I t fignifies, in its general acceptation, any place o f refidence
whatever.— In matters o f law, revenue, & c . it is ufed to exprefs a diftria o f the fmalleft
clafs, fuch as the ward or quarter o f a city, a parifb, & c .
t T h e meaning o f this will be explained a little further on.
t T h is can only m ean where the depofitions o f the heirs point at fome particular perfon,
(fuch as one upon whom any thing is found to induce l'ufpicion,) for it is fcarcely pof-
fihle that he fhould argue for retaliation, either upon- the whole d iftr ia , or upon any individual
unfpecified. T h e arrangement o f this paflage is fomewhat obfeure both in the
Arabic and the Perfian verfion*
I * * 2 flood
Upon a per-
fbn being
found flain,
fifty exculpatory
oaths are
adminiftered
to the people
of thediftrift;