The Athenian Constitution   

Prytanes;
since a person who carries a motion in the Assembly is liable to an
action for illegal proposal on these grounds.

Part 46

The Council also superintends the triremes that are already in
existence, with their tackle and sheds, and builds new triremes or
quadriremes, whichever the Assembly votes, with tackle and sheds to
match. The Assembly appoints master-builders for the ships by vote;
and if they do not hand them over completed to the next Council, the
old Council cannot receive the customary donation-that being
normally given to it during its successor's term of office. For the
building of the triremes it appoints ten commissioners, chosen from
its own members. The Council also inspects all public buildings, and
if it is of opinion that the state is being defrauded, it reports
the culprit to the Assembly, and on condemnation hands him
over to the
law-courts.

Part 47

The Council also co-operates with other magistrates in
most of their
duties. First there are the treasurers of Athena, ten in number,
elected by lot, one from each tribe. According to the law of
Solon-which is still in force-they must be Pentacosiomedimni, but in
point of fact the person on whom the lot falls holds the office even
though he be quite a poor man. These officers take over charge of
the statue of Athena, the figures of Victory, and all the other
ornaments of the temple, together with the money, in the presence of
the Council. Then there are the Commissioners for Public Contracts
(Poletae), ten in number, one chosen by lot from each tribe, who
farm out the public contracts. They lease the mines and taxes, in
conjunction with the Military Treasurer and the Commissioners of the
Theoric fund, in the presence of the Council, and grant, to the
persons indicated by the vote of the Council, the mines which are
let out by the state, including both the workable ones, which are
let for three years, and those which are let under special
agreements years. They also sell, in the presence of the Council,
the property of those who have gone into exile from the court of the
Areopagus, and of others whose goods have been confiscated, and the
nine Archons ratify the contracts. They also hand over to the
Council lists of the taxes which are farmed out for the
year, entering
on whitened tablets the name of the lessee and the amount paid. They
make separate lists, first of those who have to pay their
instalments in each prytany, on ten several tablets, next of
those who
pay thrice in the year, with a separate tablet for each instalment,
and finally of those who pay in the ninth prytany. They also
draw up a
list of farms and dwellings which have been confiscated and sold by
order of the courts; for these too come within their province. In
the case of dwellings the value must be paid up in five years, and
in that of farms, in ten. The instalments are paid in the ninth
prytany. Further, the King-archon brings before the Council
the leases
of the sacred enclosures, written on whitened tablets. These too are
leased for ten years, and the instalments are paid in the prytany;
consequently it is in this prytany that the greatest amount of money
is collected. The tablets containing the lists of the instalments
are carried into the Council, and the public clerk takes charge of
them. Whenever a payment of instalments is to be made he takes from