9. The year was 1652, not 1648 (Tavernier, _Travels_, transl. Ball,
vol. i, p. 260, note). The passages describing the criminal procedure
of Amir Jumla are not very long, and deserve quotation, as giving an
accurate account of the administration of penal justice by an able
native ruler. 'On the 14th [September] we went to the tent of the
Nawab to take leave of him, and to hear what he had to say regarding
the goods which we had shown him. But we were told that he was
engaged examining a number of criminals, who had been brought to him
for immediate punishment. It is the custom in this country not to
keep a man in prison; but immediately the accused is taken he is
examined and sentence is pronounced on him, which is then executed
without any delay. If the person whom they have seized is found
innocent, he is released at once; and whatever the nature of the case
may be, it is promptly concluded. . . . On the 15th, at seven o'clock
in the morning, we went to the Nawab, and immediately we were
announced he asked us to enter his tent, where he was seated with two
of his secretaries by him. . .
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