Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 27.djvu/319

 to give their entire trust only to men whose services have been proved;—thereby to correct all unrighteousness. (He instructs them also) to make enquiries about and punish the oppressive and insolent;—thereby making it clear whom he loves and whom he hates, and giving effect to (the wishes of) the people, even the most distant from court.

12. In this month orders are given to the proper officers to revise the laws and ordinances, to put the prisons in good repair, to provide handcuffs and fetters, to repress and stop villainy, to maintain a watch against crime and wickedness, and to do their endeavour to capture criminals. Orders are (also) given to the managers (of prisons) to look at wounds, examine sores, inspect broken members, and judge particularly of dislocations. The determination of cases, both criminal and civil, must be correct and just. Heaven and earth now begin to be severe;—there should be no excess in copying that severity, or in the opposite indulgence.

13. In this month the husbandmen present their grain. The son of Heaven tastes it, while still new, first offering some in the apartment at the back of the ancestral temple.

14. Orders are given to all the officers to begin their collecting and storing the contributions (from