How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Page)
Quote #7
A gentleman could kill a free commoner, and pay for him—cash or garden-truck. (18.4)
Peasants are equated with property, meaning it's okay to murder them if you can pay the fine. Hank ironically points out a couple of ways to do it… and his fake casualness about it makes it seem all the more horrible.
Quote #8
The king's judgments wrought frequent injustices, but it was merely the fault of his training, his natural and unalterable sympathies. (25.2)
Hank gets to the root of injustice here, marking it as a societal problem, rather than just a kill-the-bad-guy problem. You don't see that very often in stories, and instead they usually focus on getting the villain as a sort of one-stop cure-all. Twain knew better though, and understood that real change takes time and effort.
Quote #9
"If I do a thing which ought to deliver me to the stocks, and you know I did it and yet keep still and don't report me, you will get the stocks if anybody informs on you."
"Ah, but that would serve you but right," said Dowley, "for you must inform. So saith the law." (33.13-14)
Why don't the peasants just gang up on the nobles and demand justice? This exchange gives us the answers.