582 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of conducting commerce ; imposed for the purpose of revenue 

 only, and without the slightest reference to any contingent in- 

 fluences on trade or industry. In fact, the idea of promoting (pro- 

 tecting) industry through taxes on exchanges appears to have 

 found no place in Roman or any other ancient economic history 

 or experience. 



In accordance with a practice on the part of the ancient Ro- 

 mans of deifying abstractions as war, love, navigation, thievery, 

 and the like we find mention of the Genius of the Custom House, 

 or of Indirect Taxes {genius portorii puhlici), a divinity that 

 seems to have survived to our own times ; inasmuch as many of 

 the curious phenomena that have occurred in connection with 

 modern efforts to prevent free exchanges through the agencies 

 of customs taxation, seem only capable of explanation on the as- 

 sumption that some occult jDower has been more potential in 

 shaping economic events in this department of government than 

 any proper exercise of man's reasoning faculties ; and that it is 

 the part of wisdom that large sacrifices should be made by the 

 people in order to propitiate this deity. 



Throughout the whole course of their history the principal 

 taxes levied by the Romans appear to have been collected through 

 the instrumentality of a class of ofiicials known as " iniblicans,^' 

 who paid the government for the privilege of so doing ; and who, 

 intrusted with extraordinary powers, were allowed, by way of 

 compensation for their services, to collect and retain as much of 

 additional revenue as they could force or extort from the tax- 

 payers for their individual and private benefit. Such an admin- 

 istration of the publicans necessarily involved and required the 

 employment of a large number of subcontractors and deputies, 

 who, stationed at seaports, on public highways, at the gates of 

 cities, and the market places, examined all goods exported, im- 

 ported, or offered for sale, estimated their value, and collected the 

 taxes to which they were legally liable, and as much more as they 

 could extort with impunity, for the benefit of their masters or 

 themselves which last, in disorderly times and under the bad em- 

 perors, had a very wide latitude. This wretched system of " farm- 

 ing " or discounting the revenues of the state, which appears to 

 have been a permanent feature of the government of Rome at all 

 periods under its kings, under the republic, and under the em- 

 pire has, moreover, a feature of general interest, as it clearly 

 illustrates the exceeding limitation and narrowness of the general 

 Roman policy in the sphere of civil administration. 



Another fact pertinent to the general philosophy of taxation, 

 which the historical study of Roman polity has developed, is also 

 especially worthy of notice in this connection. As has been pre- 

 viously stated, the Romans, for a period of at least one hundred 



