SALT. 255 



appease his growling stomach, and advises him to spurn dainty viands. 

 The cognomen Salinator, borne by a member of the Livian gens, came 

 into prominence for two reasons. The first who received the appella- 

 tion is said to have imposed a new impost on salt. He is further dis- 

 tinguished for the magnanimity he displayed in laying aside his 

 private grudge against the other consul, Claudius Nero, for the good 

 of the commonwealth. The hearty cooperation of the two commanders- 

 in-chief and their armies led to the death of Hasdrubal and the com- 

 plete destruction of his army. Wherever a system of taxation is 

 framed with a view to raising the largest possible revenue, the heaviest 

 burden falls on the necessaries of life. From almost time immemorial 

 salt has had to bear a disproportionate share of this load. It is prob- 

 able that in ancient times all regularly organized governments derived 

 some revenue from this commodity. In Italy, as we have seen, the 

 beginning was made long ago, though the details are lacking. In that 

 country it is still a government monopoly. The profits realized are 

 about thirteen hundred per cent., and its cost is almost prohibitive to 

 the very poor. Such a delicacy do their children consider it that if 

 they are allowed to choose between sweetmeats and salt they take the 

 latter in preference. That a more liberal use of salt would improve 

 the health and sanitary condition of this class hardly admits of a doubt. 

 It is safe to say that no article of consumption has been so ruth- 

 lessly exploited by governments to the detriment of their subjects as 

 this one. Taking advantage of the fact that it is a necessary concomi- 

 tant of the food of man and beast, they have made it an important 

 source of revenue because its payment could not be evaded. In France 

 under the ancient regime the tax on this article differed a good deal 

 in the different provinces, but its transportation from one into another 

 was prohibited. Its manufacture was also limited, and that which 

 was produced by natural evaporation on the coasts was thrown back 

 into the sea by the fiscal agents. While the price was enormous, the 

 great majority of the citizens were not allowed to buy as small a 

 quantity as they chose; they were compelled to pay for a certain 

 amount conditioned upon the size of the family. On the other hand, 

 certain privileged persons received all the salt they wanted gratis; or, 

 if they preferred, they had the prerogative of receiving money in lieu 

 thereof. The king did not directly control the salt monopoly. He 

 acted through an association of revenue farmers who paid into the 

 fisc a fixed sum, after which they had the legal right to exploit their 

 helpless victims to the utmost. They possessed police powers and used 

 them unmercifully. Evasions of the salt laws were rigorously pun- 

 ished by the judges, who were almost always hand in glove with the 

 salt-farmers. Every year for nearly two centuries there were from 

 two to three thousand arrests. Those who were found guilty were 



