— 80 — The natural limit, with the slight fluctuation that is inevitable from year to year. However, the number of major offenses increased by 2063, especially in the two types of theft (their number increased by 915), while felonies decreased. Here is a statistic for the last three years: Statement of Crimes | Year 1908 | Year 1909 | Year 1910 | |---|---|---| | 12764 | 13642 | 13948 | | 3783 | 3958 | 4567 | | 372 | 430 | 418 | | 517 | 598 | 717 | | 1014 | 1458 | 1693 | | 333 | 305 | 308 | | 3158 | 3172 | 2871 | Theft (Article 274)... (Article 275)... Forgery (Article 183)... Fraud (Article 293)... Embezzlement (Articles 294 to 299) Poisoning livestock (Articles 310 and 312) Destruction of crops (Article 321) It is pleasing to note in conclusion that the cases dismissed by the Public Prosecution for lack of evidence have generally decreased, especially cases of murder and attempted murder.

44 — Civil Legislation A new law was issued establishing the position of "Investigating Judge." Its purpose is to relieve the native courts, composed of three judges, of the burden of the greater part of the preliminary proceedings and related matters, which are tedious, even if simple in themselves compared to others. They found that if one of the judges were assigned to prepare cases, it would be a great economy of the courts' time, and this has now been achieved by the new law. In general, the position of "Investigating Judge" is limited to preparing the case for trial and deciding all matters preceding the examination of the substance. The performance of the Investigating Judge in this role does not harm the party seeking expedition among the litigants, while it can greatly assist in the speed of case resolution and reduce the current backlog. The result of this law has been a significant reduction in the number of pending cases before the High Courts, and if wisdom is exercised in its application, it will further reduce them.