Page:Asoka - the Buddhist Emperor of India.djvu/89

Rh the ordinary Hindu panchâyat. The ﬁrst Board was charged with the superintendence of the industrial arts, and of artisans, who were regarded as servants of the State. The second was entrusted with the duty of supervising foreigners, and attending to their Wants, being responsible for medical aid to the strangers in case of sickness, for their decent burial in case of death, and for the administration of the estates of the deceased. The officials were also required to provide foreign visitors with suitable lodgings and to furnish them with adequate escort when returning home. The duties of this Board closely resembled those imposed upon the proxenoi of Greek cities, but in India the persons performing such duties were officials of the Indian king, whereas in Greece the prowenos, like a modern consul, was appointed by the state Whose subjects he protected.

The third Board was charged with the duty of maintaining a register of births and deaths, which was kept up for the information of the Government as well as for revenue purposes.

The fourth Board may be called the Board of Trade, because it exercised a general superintendence over the trade and commerce of the capital, and regulated weights and measures. The tax on sales being one of the principal sources of the royal revenue, everything for sale had to be marked with