To understand how, and in what manner, the tributes were paid, and the other taxes were collected, it must be known that in each _huata_,[116] which is the name for a year, certain Orejones were sent as judges, but only with powers to inspect the provinces, and give notice to the inhabitants that if any felt aggrieved he was to state his complaints, in order that the officer who had done him the injury might be punished. Having received the complaints, and also ascertained whether any tribute had not been paid, the judges returned to Cuzco; whence others set out with power to inflict punishment on those who were in fault. Besides this, it was the rule that, from time to time, the principal men of the provinces should be permitted to appear before the lord, and report upon the condition of the provinces, on their needs, and on the incidence of taxation. Their representations then received attention, the Lords Incas being certain that they did not lie, but spoke the truth; for any deceit was severely punished, and in that case the tribute was increased. The women contributed by the provinces were divided between the service of the kings, and that of the temples of the Sun. CHAPTER XIX. _How the Kings of Cuzco ordered that every year an account should be taken of all persons who died and were born throughout their dominions, also how all men worked, and how none could be poor by reason of the storehouses._ The Orejones who gave me information at Cuzco concurred in saying that formerly, in the time of the Kings Incas, orders were given throughout all the towns and provinces of Peru, that the principal lords and their lieutenants should take note, each year, of the men and women who had died, and also of the births. For as well for the assessment of tribute, as for calculating the number of men that could be called upon to serve as soldiers, and for the defence of the villages, such information was needed. This was easily done, because each province, at the end of the year, was ordered to set down in the _quipus_, by means of the knots, all the men who had died in it during the year, as well as all who were born. In the beginning of the following year, the _quipus_ were taken to Cuzco, where an account was made of the births and deaths throughout the empire. These returns were prepared with great care and accuracy, and without any fraud or deceit. When the returns had been made up, the lord and his officers knew what people were poor, the number of widows, whether they were able to pay tribute, how many men could be taken for soldiers, and many other facts which were considered, among these people, to be of great importance.