Fees in the American Colonies. 
109 
vented by the slippery collectors. 1 In course of time the legis¬ 
lation seems to have accomplished at least one great reform in 
most of the colonies. This reform consisted in securing pub¬ 
licity, as to the amount of fees which each public official could 
legally charge for his services, by making provision to the effect, 
that the fee bill should be posted up in a conspicuous place in the 
office of each fee-taker. 2 Colonial legislation consists largely of a 
series of special laws. G-eneral laws came later on, after the 
efficiency of each special law had been demonstrated. The above 
mentioned reform was thus applied gradually. 3 The offices in 
which the abuses seemed most aggravating, were first brought 
under this provision. In time others followed, until a complete 
reform was accomplished, the importance of which can scarcely 
be grasped by the student, who examines the subject from the 
modern legal point of view. The colonial legislative bodies were 
not the legal sovereigns which our legislatures are to-day. They 
might make their regulations for the public official; but so long 
as the people did not know what these enactments were, the offi¬ 
cials might charge almost what they pleased, under cover of 
law. The reform, therefore, which, though begun in the colon¬ 
ial period, has not been completely carried out in some of the 
states even to this day, really took from the official the arbitrary 
power which he often exercised, and made him directly amen¬ 
able to the will of the people, that is, to the law. 
One of the most important colonial offices, outside of the 
courts, was that of provincial surveyor, or surveyor-general, as 
he was usually termed. Knowing, as we do, that the land 
grants and land patents formed the chief source of the emoluments 
1 Another way of evading the law was to require every fee payer to pay 
heavy extras for copies of documents which he did not want or need. Ibid., 
Ill, 162. 
2 A Virginia law of 1736 provided that a table of fees of each clerk and 
secretary be set up in his office. Ibid., IV, 505; III, 164; IV, 59, 350, 490; 
V, 341; VI, 98, etc. 
3 In Penn’s charter, made in England, 1683, it was provided that all fees 
be moderate and fixed by the provincial council and general assembly; 
a table of fees to be hung up in each respective court. Colonial Charters 
and Constitutions, by B. P. Poore. 
