Page:Ancient India as described by Megasthenês and Arrian.djvu/106

 87 divided into six bodies of five each. The niem- . bers of the. first look after everything relating to the indastrial arts. Those of the second attend to the entertainment of foreigners. To these they assign lodgings, and they keep watch over their modes of life by means of those persons whom they give to them for assistants. They escort them on the way when they leave the country, or, in the event of their dying, forward their pro- perty to their relatives. They take care of them when they are sick, and if they die bury them. •The third body consists of those who inquire when and how births and deaths occur, with the view not only of levying a tax, but also in order that births and deaths among both high and low may not escape the cognizance of Gov- ernment. "The fourth class superintends trade and commerce. Its members have charge of weights and measures, and see that the products in their season are sold by public notice. No one is allowed to deal in more than one kind of commodity unless he pays a double tax. ^The fifth class supervises manufactured articles, which they sell by public notice. What is new is sold separately from what is old, and there is a fine for mixing the two together, ^The sixth and last class consists of those who col- lect the tenths of the prices of the articles sold. Fraud in the payment of this tax is punished with death. Digitized by Google
 * Such are the ftinctions which these bodies