The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c11.t11.5

c11.t11.5

The Maurya civil service superintended the rivers, measured the land “as was done in Egypt”, says Megasthenes, and inspected the sluices by which water was let out from the main canals into their branches so that every one might have an equal supply of it. The forest officers among them had charge of the huntsmen with the power of rewarding or punishing them according to their deserts. Taxes were collected by these authorities, and the occupations connected with land, e. g. those of wood-cutters, carpenters, blacksmiths and miners, fell within the scope of their supervision. Construction of roads was one of their important functions, and in this connection it is reported that pillars were set up at every ten *stadia* (i. e. a little over one mile) to indicate the by-roads and the distances.³