Page:Aurangzíb and the Decay of the Mughal Empire.djvu/90

84 the like before him. Aurangzíb was served by a large staff of official reporters, called Wáki' navís, such as his forefathers – and for that matter the Khalifs of Baghdád, to quote high precedent – had also employed. These men, who were locally too well known to merit the opprobrious title of spies, sent regular letters from all the chief places in the provinces to keep the Great Mogul informed of all that went on in the most distant as well as the nearest districts. Their news-letters often brought information of the most important nature to the court; but they also communicated the most trifling events and conversations that came under the writers' notice. These correspondents were of course liable to be bribed by dishonest governors, and doubtless often suppressed what they should have reported; but they acted as a salutary check upon the local officials. They were, in fact, Crown inspectors, and were held in some dread by corrupt administrators and landowners. By their aid Aurangzíb was able to exercise his passion for business, to examine the minute details of administration, and to exercise his patronage down to the appointment of the merest clerk.

There was nothing new in this system of precaution: it was the usual oriental method. But he carried his check upon 'delegated authority' further than his predecessors. He adopted much the same plan as that which prevails in our own police system: he kept moving his officials about, and placed them