THE HISTORY OF COMMERCE
places. Since, however, the efforts of the authorities to preserve order in the capital were not extended with equal energy to country districts, robbery on the highways and piracy on the rivers were events of frequent occurrence, and inter-provincial commerce seems to have been attended by risks almost deterrent. Thus, on the whole, it cannot be said that any special progress was made in the domain of trade as compared with the preceding epoch. All the laws of the eighth century concerning pledges, mortgages, rates of interest, and so forth, remained unaltered, and any other changes made were not sufficiently important to call for special notice. In this epoch, as in the preceding, Buddhist priests were conspicuous for practical benevolence. They planted trees along the highways, dug wells for the use of wayfarers, improved roads, and built bridges. The Government itself evidently recognised the importance of creating facilities of communication, for in the days of the Emperor Nimmyo (834—850) the duty of superintending the establishment of ferries and the marking of fords was entrusted to an Imperial Prince. Shortly afterwards, it is on record that a bridge was built with a roadway five hundred and sixty feet long, thirteen feet wide, and sixteen feet in height,—a work considered sufficiently important to find a place in history. By the beginning of the tenth century the posting system had been extended to eight circuits, comprising sixty-one provinces and
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