The French Fee System. 
93 
members of Parliament. 1 Complaints were repeatedly made 
against the numerous exactions practiced as peages. As an ex¬ 
ample it is reported that thirty such tolls were collected on 
thirty-six leagues of road outside of Paris. 2 
The peages were abolished by a law of March 15, 1790, but 
were shortly afterward re-established under the name of “Oc¬ 
troi de Navigation. ” These, like their predecessors, were al¬ 
most all taxes, their original purpose having been entirely lost 
sight of. The old idea still exists in the bridge and ferry tolls 
which are collected throughout Prance. Bridges, ferries, and 
similar means of transportation over navigable waters, were con¬ 
fiscated by the law of November 26, 1798; and fees were, for a 
time, collected for the use of the state. 3 Afterward it was de¬ 
cided to grant ferry privileges for limited terms of years to the 
highest bidder, the fees or tolls having previously been fixed by 
law. The grant was usually made for three, six, or nine years. 
J. PATENT FEES. 
The fees connected with the French Patent Office, are per¬ 
haps as modern as any in the French system. These origi¬ 
nated in a law passed by the National Assembly on January 7, 
1791. The patent rights which have been granted by the last 
kings under the old regime were in the nature of special mo¬ 
nopoly grants, rather than patent rights in the modern sense of 
the word. The law of 1791 fixed the patent fees at 
360 francs for five years, 862 francs for ten years 
and 1,562 francs for fifteen years. An act of 1844 
changed the charges to 500 francs for five years, 1,000 francs 
for ten years, and 1,500 francs for fifteen years. The number 
of patents issued has been growing, resulting in a correspond¬ 
ing increase in the amount collected as fees. In 1885 the re¬ 
ceipts from this source were no less than 2,045,000 francs. The 
comparatively high patent fees of France are justified by French 
1 Vuitry, I, 120. 
2 Chamageran, Histoire de Vimpot en France. 
3 Hock, Finanzverwaltung Frankreichs, pp. 428-432; Say, Fic- 
tionnaire de Finance, p. 466; Block, Fictionnaire; Pariu, III, 400. 
