THESE Institutes have been highly lauded by the Emperor's admirers. Let us see how far he is entitled to praise, either for their original promulgation or personal observance.

First.

I forbad the levy of any duties under the name of tamghá and mír bahrí, together with the taxes of all descriptions which the jágírdárs of every súba and every sarkár had been in the habit of exacting on their own account.

Commentary.

This casts an ungenerous reflection on the administration of his father, who had been equally stringent in his prohibitions, both with respect to tamghá* and mír bahrí.* Bábar had been equally im­perative with regard to tamghá from Musulmáns—“Orders have been given that in no city, or town, or road, or street, or passage, or port, should the tamghá be levied.”*

“His Majesty Akbar, from the excess of his beneficence, has remitted duties in this department that equalled the revenues of a kingdom. Nothing is now exacted upon exports and imports, except a trifle taken at the ports, which never exceeds two and a half per cent. Merchants account this reduction a pefect remission.”* It will be seen from one of the extracts given above that Jahángír's total reduction also implied a levy of two and a half per cent.*

“Mukrab Khán (Viceroy of Cambaya, who had no command in Surat except what regarded the King's customs), to get possession of my goods, took what he chose, and left what he pleased, giving me such price as his own barbarous conscience dictated; when thirty-five was agreed, giving me only eighteen.”*

“All caravans must remain at Multan ten or twelve days, before leave can be procured from the governor to proceed, on purpose that the city may benefit by their stay. We remained five days, and were then glad to get leave to depart, by means of a present.”*

“I found that the English who were settled at Ahmadábád were injured and oppressed by the governor in their persons and goods, being fined, subjected to arbitrary exactions, and kept as prisoners; while at every town new customs were demanded for their goods on their passage to the port.”*

Second.

I enjoined that on the line of those roads which were infested by highway robbers, a saráí and a masjid should be built on the most deserted spots, and that a well should be sunk in order that the country might be reclaimed, and a few people be induced to reside there. Where these occurred on jágír lands, the jágírdárs were to complete the arrangements at their own expense; but on khálsa land, the Government undertook the work.

Commentary.

This was considerate towards the jágírdárs, and must have con­siderably diminished the value of the tenures which in the tenth Insti­tute he says he confirmed to the holders of his father's time. At a later period, even on the more populous routes, the Government relieved itself of this burden on the khálsa lands, and placed it on the shoulders of the unfortunate landholders.* This erection of saráís must have been proceeded with very generally before his time, for Sher Sháh and Salím Sháh are represented to have done the same at shorter distances than those contemplated by Jahángír.*

“Sir R. Shirley remained at Thatta till a fit opportunity offered of proceeding to Agra, where he went at last, finding the way long and tedious, and much infested by thieves.”*

His father also had directed the same. His orders to the sipah-sálár are: “He must give attention to the digging of reservoirs, wells, and watercourses; to the planting of gardens; to the erecting saráís and other pious and useful foundations; and see that such as have fallen into decay be repaired.”*

“In this kingdom there are no inns or houses of entertainment for travellers and strangers. But in the cities and large towns there are handsome buildings for their reception called saráís.”* These also appear to be the work of private individuals. “Many Hindús devote their fortunes to works of charity, as in building saráís, digging wells, or constructing tanks near highways.”*

The arrangement must have fallen heavily upon the Exchequer if we are to judge of the state of the police as drawn by our travellers. “The country is now so full of thieves and outlaws, that one can hardly stir out of doors in any part of his dominions without a guard, as almost the whole people are in rebellion.”* “I waited during the remainder of that month for the arrival of a caravan, going from Agra to Srat, by which I might transmit my papers in safety.”* Of one of the most frequented roads it is said, “Cambaya is thirty-eight kos from Ahmadábád, by a road through sands and woods much infested by thieves.”* “I was plundered on the way of my clothes, and everything else about me. ^{* *} One may travel as soon from Agra to Scinde as to Surat, but there is more thieving on the Scinde road.”* Even on the famous high road from Agra to Lahore, which was planted on both sides with mulberry trees, Richard Steel and John Crowther observe: “In the night this road is dangerously infested with thieves, but is quite secure in the day.”* In such days as those, therefore, saráís must have been built, or there could have been no travelling or trade.

Third.

No person shall open any package of merchandize on the road, without express permission of the proprietor. Throughout the empire no officer of Government shall claim the property of any deceased Infidel or Musulmán; his whole estate, real and personal, descending to his heirs solely. If there be no heirs, then officers specially appointed for the purpose shall take charge of the effects, and the produce thereof shall be applied to the building of saráís, repairing bridges, and digging tanks and wells.

Commentary.

The descent to heirs is a mere repetition of Tímúr's Institute;* but how little it was acted upon may be seen by reference to the history of Jahángír's grandson, Aurangzeb, who again abolishes the same custom of confiscating the estates of deceased subjects, which he says was constantly practised by his predecessors.*

“Daulat Khán was the chief of the eunuchs of my father's seraglio, and obtained in this employment the title of Náziru-d daula. Of this man I will venture to say, that in the receipt of bribes, and his disregard of every principle of duty, there was not his second in the empire. In specie alone he left at his death no less a sum than ten krors of ashrefies of five methkals, exclusive of jewels, etc., to the value of three krors more (120 millions sterling!), the whole of which became an accession to my father's treasury.”*

His father's order was still more liberal. “Let him look after the effects of deceased persons, and give them up to the relations or heirs of such; but if there be none to claim the property let him place it in security, sending at the same time an account of such to Court, so that, when the true heir appears, he may obtain the same. In fine, let him act conscientiously and virtuously in this matter, lest it should be the same here as in the kingdom of Constantinople.”*

In the towns there appears to have been less scruple about open­ing packages of merchandize. The inhabitants of Lahore were directed to afford every assistance towards rendering the reception of the Prince as magnificent as possible, by decorating the streets and bazars with gold-woven carpets, figured draperies or tapestry, both European and Chinese, and canopies also of cloth-of-gold, both within and without the city, to the distance of nearly four kos. All this the kotwál was to keep in readiness for the space of four or five days.*

“The custom of the Mogul is to take possession of all the treasure belonging to his nobles when they die, giving among the children what he pleases, but he usually treats them kindly. In my time, Rájá Gaginat, a great lord or prince among the idolators, died, when, his effects being seized to the King's use, besides jewels, silver, and other valuables, his treasure in gold only amounted to sixty mans, every man being twenty-five pounds weight.”*