We applied the scientific methods of enquiry into the basic ideas of the Burmese polity and scheme of government. This enquiry was not a matter of erasing the old to install a new replacement. 

‘New’ and ‘Old’ do not apply to the Law -- it is right to hold that good that meets your need." And: “People say that if you go to make new rules and regulations when things in the country are working well, you destroy the law of what must not be done, but don't be in a hurry to believe them.” 

In the time after the British had annexed one part and another of the Kingdom of Burma, the population of Upper Burma was much reduced . When we considered this circumstance, even though the English were a different people he had always to keep in mind the Three Rules for dealing with under population in a country that are given in the Tika Nipāta of Anguttara Nikāya scripture. They are:

1. Incestuous lusts for women of one's close kindred and desire for twenty other types of women and such transgressions are called Adhammarāga (wrongful desires).

2. Dishonest gains taken by cunning tricks that are beyond one’s due or taken by oppressive means are called Visamalobha (unfair profit).

3. The master's duty, the servant's duty, the teacher's duty, the pupil's duty, the husband's duty, the wife's duty, all such duties are set out in the Siṅgālovāda Sutta and they are to be followed. The fault that lies in not following them is called Micchādhamma (wrong course of life).

On normal considerations we should only have regard to the fact that the English, after they had taken over Lower Burma, had worked to spread prosperity by governing in accordance with laws and by raising up the people by establishing new lands for them, and in this had outdone the Burmese rule. 

However, as we considered these facts and their basic causes, determined that the system of rule set up by the Kings of Burma was pervaded by lawless passion, corrupt gains and false beliefs. 

The cause of this had to be thought about. Coming to the truth, the fact was that the principles that had been followed for more than 2400 years were principles that only fitted their original time.

In discussing the war of words between King of Devas and the Asuræ Lord Vepacitti, he considered the opinion “fools are checked by violent punishment”. It rejected this view. The governing rule of the Asuræ Vepacitti and his legal principle was that to put an end to criminality, the imposition of severe punishment was needed. 

In the time of the Mindon this would have been the view that was in vogue. King of Devas’s view with which he attacked it was not as yet well-known. It is not possible for ideas that belong to a later time to come to birth. Still, from the point of view of today, it is hard for progressive nations to hold to the opinion of the Asura Vepacitti. 

က်မ္းကုိး ...

အဂၤုတၱရနိကာယပါဠိ၊ ၁။ ျဗဟၼဏဝဂၢ၊ ၆။ ပေလာကသုတ္၊ ႏွာ-၁။ ၁၆၁