Ancient and Mediaeval Europe. 
75 
police fee, fee for opening shops, honorary fees to the dean and 
wardens, payment of the ushers and clerk of the corporation, 
gratuities to the masters who were called to the ceremony, often 
also fees in the nature of bribes to the judges. 
These guilds, however, were not allowed to exercise this 
power for nothing, but were often compelled to pay huge sums 
to the King for their privileges. In the same way the great 
colonial and commercial corporations of a later period paid large 
amounts to the King for the privilege of governing and often¬ 
times plundering the colonies. 1 The records of colonial misgov- 
ernment show that these opportunities were not neglected. 
The charges which indirectly proved perhaps the most burden¬ 
some of all, were the license fees which were paid for exclusive 
rights of various kinds, usually monopolies. The sovereign, 
always in need of money, would grant for a fixed sum the ex¬ 
clusive privilege to sell or manufacture, or trade in various 
articles. Sometimes these privileges were granted to court 
favorites, who farmed them out to others; and the latter then 
extorted as much as possible from the people for their own bene¬ 
fit. Many of these licenses became of immense importance and 
value. It is reported of Louis XIV that he granted a privil¬ 
ege of this kind to a courtier, supposing that it would amount 
to a few thousand francs at most; which, when investigated, 
was found to yield several hundred thousand francs. Numerous 
mediaeval monopolies were a direct result of the road, bridge, 
and river tolls levied on all goods transported from one locality 
to another. These tolls were often so numerous and large as to 
be prohibitory, and consequently an exemption from their pay¬ 
ment granted by the sovereign would lead to the establishment 
of a burdensome monopoly. 2 
J The “ joyeux avenement” collected at the coronation of each king of 
France were regarded as payments for the continuance of the rights and 
privileges held by the people under the former king. These charges origi¬ 
nated in the presents which in earlier times were given at the coronation 
ceremonies. 
2 The number of toll places on the Rhine increased from nineteen, at the 
end of the 12th century, to sixty-four at the end of the fourteenth; on the 
Elbe there were thirty-five and on the Danube, in Austria, there were 
