There was an _Octroi_ upon provisions, levied in every city. Posts were established between the capital and the remotest provinces of the empire. Sacrilege, treason, and murder, were punished with death; and Cortez protests that the Mexicans respected the laws of the empire fully as much as the Spaniards did those of Spain. The emperor was served with great magnificence and Asiatic pomp. The attention of the government was principally directed toward the internal commerce, so as to secure an abundant supply to the people. A court of ten magistrates determined the validity of contracts; and officers were constantly employed to examine the measures and the quality of the goods exposed for sale. Under Montezuma, the government was despotic, and, in his turn, he was governed by the high-priest. It will be recollected that at the last siege of the capital, when the emperor and his council had resolved to accept any terms rather than prolong a hopeless contest, the high-priest opposed them and broke off the treaty. Besides the empire of the Mexicans, there were other powerful states, whose form of government was republican; and Cortez compared them to the republics of Pisa, Venice, and Genoa. I must refer the reader to Clavigero and Lorenzano, for the history of Tlascala, the most powerful of those states, the government of which existed some time after the conquest of Mexico. Tlascala was a thickly-settled, fertile, and populous country, divided into several districts, under the authority of a chief. These chiefs administered justice, levied the tribute, and commanded the military forces; but their decrees were not valid, or of force, until confirmed by the senate of Tlascala, which was the true sovereign. A certain number of citizens, chosen from the different districts by popular assemblies, formed this legislative body. The senate elected its own chief. The laws were strictly and impartially executed; and Cortez represents this people as numerous, wealthy, and warlike.