Palestine, he made a law against peculating sailors, which was calculated to dismay them: "Whosoever is convicted of theft shall have his head shaved, melted pitch poured upon it, and the feathers from a pillow shaken over it, that he may be known; and shall be put on shore on the first land which the ship touches." This punishment reminds us of a modern American institution. The law of "Englishry" deserves a passing note. It dates back to the time of Canute, and was continued by the Normans. When Canute sent away the greater portion of his Danish troops, "the Witan pledged themselves that the rest should be safe in life and limb, and that any Englishman who killed any of them should suffer punishment. If the murderer could not be discovered, the township or hundred was fined." The proud and tyrannical Normans used this law to their own advantage. A mere Englishman being a vassal, and of no importance, could be killed with impunity, but it was ordained that when a man was found killed, and evidence was not brought to prove that he was English, he should be held to be a Frenchman, so that a penalty could be imposed upon the township. This law of "Englishry" is often illustrated in old chronicles. Men were found murdered by the roadside, on heaths, and in woods; the chronicles state that "no Englishry was proved," and the towns were accordingly amerced. The "Frankpledge" was not so feudal in character, though it was based upon the principle that "every landless man shall have a lord who shall answer for his appearance in the courts of law." The custom prevailed before the Conquest, ten men forming a "tithing," the members of which were answerable each for others. The present Court Leet is a survival of the system, though in a very modified form.