highway robbery to be a right. In the large tribes persons of known dishonesty are not tolerated.1 In Africa honesty between members of the same tribe is no uncommon characteristic of the native races, and some of them have displayed the same quality in their dealings with European travellers.2 Andersson, for instance, tells us that the Ovambo, so far as they came under his observation, were strictly honest and appeared to entertain great horror of theft. "Without permission," he says, "the natives would not even touch anything; and we could leave our camp free from the least apprehension of being plundered. As a proof of their honesty, I may mention, that, when we left the Ovambo country, the servants forgot some trifles; and such was the integrity of the people, that messengers actually came after us a very considerable distance to restore the articles left behind."3 A few African peoples are said to look upon petty larceny almost with indifference. Among others thieves are only compelled to restore stolen property, or to return an equivalent for it, but at the same time they are disgraced or laughed at. In Africa, as elsewhere, theft is frequently punished with a fine.' Thus 1 Blunt, Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates, ii. 204, 225. St. John, Village Life in Egypt, ii. 198. Tristram, The Great Sahara, p. 193 sq. (Beni Mzab). Nachtigal, Sahara und Sudan, i. 188 (inhabitants of Fezzân). Dyveyrier, Exploration du Sahara, p. 385 (Touareg); cf. Chavanne, Die Sahara, p. 188. Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, P. 531 sq. (Barea and Kunáma). Scaramucci and Giglioli, 'Notizie sui Danakil,' in Archivio per l'antropologia e la etnologia xiv. 25. Baumann, Durch Massailand zur Nilquelle, pp. 165(Masai), 179(Wafiomi). Thomson, Through Masai Land, p. 64(Wakwafi of the Taveta). Baker, Ismailia, p. 56; Petherick, Travels in Central Africa, ii. 3 (Shilluk). Macdonald, Africana, i. 182 (Eastern Central Africans). Mungo Park, Travels in the Interior of Africa, p. 239; Caillié, Travels through Central Africa to Timbuctoo,i. 353 (Mandingoes). Ward, Five Years with the Congo Cannibals, P. 93; Tuckey, Expedition to explore the River Zaire, p. 374. Johnston, Uganda Protectorate, ii. 590 (Wanyoro). Kolben, Present State of the Cape of Good Hope, i. 326; Hahn, The Supreme Being of the Khoi-Khoi, p. 32 (Hottentots); cf. Fritsch, Die Andersson, Lake Ngami, p. 197. Monrad, Skildring af GuineaKysten, p. 6, n.*; Reade, Savage Africa, p. 580 (West African Negroes). Ellis, History of Madagascar, i. 144. Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, pp. 389 (inhabitants of Saraë), 494 (Barea and Kunáma). Arbousset and Daumas, op. cit. p. 66 (Mantetis). Cunningham, Uganda, p. 293 (Baziba). Rautanen, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 343 (Ondonga). Warner, in Maclean, Compendium of Kafir Laws and Customs, pp. 65, 67. Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz,ii.84. Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, pp. 386 (inhabitants of Saraë), 531 (Barea and Kunáma). Arbousset and Daumas, op. cit. p. 66 (Mantetis). 7 Scaramucci and Giglioli, in Archivio per l'antropologia e la etnologia, xiv. 39 (Danakil). Nachtigal, op. cit. i. 449 (Tedâ). Bosman, Description of the Coast of Guinea, p. 142 (Negroes of Axim, on the Gold Coast). Ellis, 6 4 among the Bahima,1 Wadshagga,2 and Tanala of Madagascar,3 thieves are made to pay twice the value of the stolen goods; among the Takue, Rendile,5 and Herero, three times their value; among the Bechuanas double or fourfold. Among the Taveta, if a man commits a theft, he has to refund what he has robbed, and five times the value of the stolen property can be claimed by the person who has suffered the loss. Among the Kafirs, "in cases of cattle stealing, the law allows a fine of ten head, though but one may have been stolen, provided the animal has been slaughtered, or cannot be restored."9 Among the Masai, according to Herr Merker, the fine for stealing cattle is likewise a tenfold one; 10 whilst, according to another authority, "if a man steals one cow, or more than one cow, all his property is given to the man from whom he has stolen." 11 Among the Basukuma all thieves, it seems, are punished with the confiscation of everything they possess.12 Other punishments for theft are imprisonment,13 banishment,14 slavery, 15 flogging, 16 mutilation,17 and, especially under aggravating circumstances, death.18 Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast, p. 303. Idem, Ewe-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast, p. 225. Emin Pasha in Central Africa, p. 86 (Wanyoro). Cunningham, Uganda,p. 322 (Manyema). Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 52 (Banaka and Bapuku). Beverley, ibid. p. 215 (Wagogo). Lang, ibid. p. 259 (Washambala). Wandrer, ibid. p. 325 (Hottentots). Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, ii. 85 sq. 1 Cunningham, Uganda, p. 20. 2 Volkens, Der Kilimandscharo, p. 250. 3 Richardson, 'Tanala Customs,' in Antananarivo Annual, ii. 95 sq. 4 Munzinger, Ostafrikanische Studien, p. 208. 5 Chanler, Through Jungle and Desert, p. 317. • François, Nama und Damara, p. 174. 7 Holub, Seven Years in South Africa, i. 395. Casalis, Basutos, p. 228. Hollis, in Jour. African Soc. i. 123. Dugmore, in Maclean, Compendium of Kafir Laws and Customs, p. 36. Cf. ibid. pp. 112, 143. 10 Merker, Die Masai, p. 208. 11 Hinde, The Last of the Masai, p. 107. 12 Cunningham, Uganda, p. 304. 13 Mademba, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 90 (inhabitants of the Sansanding States). 14 Chavanne, Die Sahara, p. 315 (Beni Mzab). 15 Bowdich, Mission to Ashantee, p. 258, n.* (Fantis). Petherick, op. cit. ii. 3 (Shilluk of the White Nile). Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, ii. 87. 16 Reade, Savage Africa, p. 261 (West Equatorial Africans). Ellis, Yoruba-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast, p. 191. Volkens, op. cit. p. 250 (Wadshagga). Velten, Sitten und Gebräuche der Suaheli, p. 363. Campbell, Travels in South Africa, p. 519. Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, ii. 88. 17 de Abreu, Discovery and Conquest of the Canary Islands, p. 27 (aborigines of Ferro). Ellis, Yoruba-speaking Peoples, p. 191. Beltrame, Il Fiume Bianco, p. 280 (Dinka). Casati, Ten Years in Equatoria, i. 163 (Mambettu and Wanyoro). Wilson and Felkin, Uganda and the Egyptian Soudan, i. 201 (Waganda). Holub, op. cit. i. 395 sq. (Bechuanas). Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, ii. 87 sq. 18 Ellis, Yoruba-speaking Peoples, p. 191; Burton, Abeokuta, i. 304 (Yoruba). Ellis, Tshi-speaking Peoples, p. 303. Bosman, op. cit. p. 143 In some African countries a thief caught in the act may be killed with impunity.1 The condemnation of theft, in one and the same people, varies in degree according to a variety of circumstances. It is influenced by the value of the goods stolen, as appears from the different punishments inflicted in cases where the value differs. Thus, when the penalty consists of a fine, its amount is often strictly proportioned to the loss suffered by the owner, the thief being compelled to pay twice, or three, or four, or five, or ten times the worth of the appropriated article.3 Among the Aztecs a petty thief became the slave of the person from whom he had stolen, whilst theft of a large amount was almost invariably punished with death. According to the Koran, theft is to be punished by cutting off the offender's right hand for the first offence; but a Sunneh law ordains that this punishment shall not be inflicted if the value of the stolen property is less than a quarter of a deenár.5 Ancient Scotch law proportioned the punishment of theft to the value of the goods stolen, heightening it gradually from a slight corporal to a capital punishment, if the value (Negroes of Axim). Cunningham, Uganda, pp. 69 (Banabuddu), 102 (Bakoki), 346 (Karamojo). François, op. cit. p. 175 (Herero). Andersson, Lake Ngami, p. 197 (Ovambo). Casalis, op. cit. p. 228 (Basutos). Shooter, Kafirs of Natal, p. 155. Tyler, op. cit. p. 192 (Zulus). Kolben, op. cit. i. 158 (Hottentots). Post, Afrikanische Jurisprudenz, ii. 88 sq. í Hübbe-Schleiden, Ethiopien, p. 143 (Mpongwe). Cunningham, Uganda, p. 333 (Lendu). Burton, Zanzibar, ii. 94 (Wanika). Macdonald, Africana, i. 162, 183 (Eastern Central Africans). Macdonald, 'East Central African Customs,' in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xxii. 109. Supra, i. 289. 2 Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 52 (Banaka and Bapuku). Nicole, ibid. p. 133 (Diakité-Sarracolese). Beverley, ibid. p. 215 (Wagogo). Bosman, op. cit. p. 142 (Negroes of Axim). Hinde, op. cit. p. 107 (Masai). Post, Afrikanische Juris prudenz, ii. 91. Idem, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, ii. 420. Ta Tsing Leu Lee, sec. cclxix. sqq. p. 284 sqq. (Chinese). Keil, Manual of Biblical Archæology, ii. 366. Law's of Manu, viii. 320 sqq. Wilda, Das Strafrecht der Germanen, p. 870 sqq.; Nordström, Bidrag till den svenska samhälls-författningens historia, ii. 296 sqq.; Stemann, Den danske Retshistorie indtil Christian V.'s Lov, pp. 621, 677 sq.; Brunner, Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, ii. 639 sqq. (ancient Teutons). Du Boys, Histoire du droit criminel de l'Espagne, p. 721. 3 Supra, ii. 4, 6–8, 12. Bancroft, Native Races of the Pacific States, ii. 456. ↳ Koran, v. 42. Lane, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, p. 120 sq. Idem, Arabian Society in the Middle Ages, p.20. Sachau, Muhammedanisches Recht, pp. 810, 811, 825 sqq. amounted to thirty-two pennies Scots, which in the reign of David I. was the price of two sheep.1 In England a distinction was made between "grand" and " petty larceny," the line between them being drawn at twelve pence, and grand larceny was capital at least as early as the time of Edward I.2 Among various peoples custom or law punishes with particular severity the stealing of objects of a certain kind, such as cattle, horses, agricultural implements, corn, precious metals, or arms.3 The Negroes of Axim, says Bosman, "will rather put a man to death for stealing a sheep, than killing a man."4 The Kalmucks regard horse-stealing as the greatest of all crimes.5 The ancient Teutons held cattle-lifting and robbery of crops to be particularly disgraceful. According to Roman law, people who stole an ox or horse from the pastures or from a stable, or ten sheep, or four or five swine, might be punished even with death. The natives of Danger Island, in the South Seas, punished with drowning anyone who was caught stealing food, "the most valuable property they knew of." In Tahiti, on the other hand, those who stole clothes or arms were commonly put to death, whereas those who stole provisions were bastinadoed. Among other peoples the appropriation of a small quantity of food belonging to somebody else is not punished at all.10 The Masai do not punish a person for stealing milk or meat." Among the Bakoki " it was not a crime to steal bananas.”12 In ancient Mexico" every poor traveller was permitted to Erskine, Principles of the Law of Scotland, p. 568. Innes, Scotland in the Middle Ages, p. 190. Mackintosh, History of Civilisation in Scotland, i. 231. 2 Pollock and Maitland, History of English Law before the Time of Edward I. ii. 495 sq. Brunner, Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, ii. 640. Stephen, History of the Criminal Law of England, iii. 129. Post, Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz, ii. 421 sqq. Bosman, op. cit. p. 143. 5 Bergmann, Nomadische Strei fereien unter den Kalmüken, ii. 297. Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer, p. 636 sq. Wilda, op. cit. p. 875 sq.Nordström, op.cit.ii.307. Brunner, Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, ii. 645 sq. "Digesta, xlvii. 14. I. pr., 1, 3: xlvii. 14. 3. 8 Gill, Life in the Southern Isles, p. 47. Cook, Journal of a Voyage round the World, p. 41 sq. 10 Supra, i. 286 sq. Post, Grundriss der ethnol. Jurisprudenz, ii. 426. Ellis, History of Madagascar, i. 385. "Hollis, Masai, p. 310. 12 Cunningham, Úganda, p. 102 sq. take of the maize, or the fruit-bearing trees, which were planted by the side of the highway, as much as was sufficient to satisfy immediate hunger." Among the Hebrews a person was allowed to go into his neighbour's vineyard and eat grapes at his own pleasure, or to pluck ears in his field, but the visitor was forbidden to put any grapes in his vessel or to move a sickle into the standing corn.2 It is said in the Laws of Manu that " a twice-born man, who is travelling and whose provisions are exhausted, shall not be fined, if he takes two stalks of sugar-cane or two esculent roots from the field of another man." 3 According to ancient Swedish laws, a passer-by could take a handful of peas, beans, turnips, and so forth, from another person's field, and a traveller could give to his fatigued horse some hay from any barn he found in the wood. However, whilst the punishment of theft is commonly, to some extent, influenced by the worth or nature of the appropriated property, there are peoples who punish thieves with the same severity whether they have stolen little or much. Among the North American Indians described by Colonel Dodge "the value of the article stolen is not considered. The crime is the theft." 5 Among the Yleou, a Manchurian tribe mentioned by ancient Chinese chroniclers, theft of any kind was punished with death. The Beni Mzab in the Sahara sentence a thief to two years' banishment and the payment of fifty francs, independently of the value of the thing he has stolen.? The degree of criminality attached to theft also depends on the place where it is committed. To steal from a house, especially after breaking the door, is frequently regarded as an aggravated form of theft.8 According to Muham 1 Clavigero, History of Mexico, i. 358. Deuteronomy, xxiii. 24 sq. Laws of Manu, viii. 341. Cf. ibid. viii. 339. Nordström, op. cit. ii. 297. Dodge, op. cit. p. 64. 6 Castrén, op. cit. iv. 27. Chavanne, Die Sahara, p. 315. 8 Post, Grundriss der ethnol. Jurisprudenz, ii. 423 sq. von Rosenberg, Der malayische Archipel, p. 166 (Niase). Riedel, De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua, p. 103 (Serangese). Lang, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 259 |