Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times c51.30

c51.30

§ 366. The great feature of the Magadha imperialism was its centralization. Justice had become royal, even law tended to be royal.² The village came under the royal officer. All ships were owned and let by the state. Virtues alone did not come under the focus of the Crown, also vices were brought under the imperial vigilance. Prostitutes were placed under a royal department, gambling was centralised in government buildings or buildings licensed by government, hotels and wine shops were put under an imperial department. Mines were monopolised or, to quote the old phrase, brought under one outlet (ekamukha). Some of these measures were beneficial, others injurious.