THE HISTORY OF COMMERCE
and rigidly enforced system of government. Police functions were entrusted to one class of officials, municipal duties to another. Street repairing and drainage were duly provided for. Limitations were imposed on the method of building houses so as to prevent any obstruction to traffic. Walking abroad after nightfall, except under imperative circumstances, was forbidden; and in the early part of the thirteenth century the number of tradesmen residing within the town was definitely limited. This last measure is specially noteworthy, for it gave rise to the formation of companies with representatives stationed in the feudal capital and share-holding members in the provinces. Official stations were established to control transactions in the principal staples, as rice, charcoal, silk, timber, horses, and so on, and merchants were required to exhibit samples of their commodities in their stores, so that "shopping" began to be preferred to purchasing in the market. It was in this epoch also that commission agents and shipping agents[1] came into existence, and bills of exchange[2] began to be used in connection with inter-provincial and foreign commerce. This last innovation is attributed to Chinese example, but it was quickly appreciated by the Japanese, who had otherwise no medium but gold dust for making large payments. Naturally the prices charged for monetary accommodation in these disturbed times were
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