152 
Urdahl—Historical Survey of Fee Systems. 
tion to the effect that the judges of the Supreme and Superior 
courts should not be allowed any fees or perquisites of any kind. 
As time went on, judges of other, and lower, courts were placed 
on salaries and forbidden by statute to collect fees; and the con¬ 
stitution makers enacted this provision into permanent law. 
One state adds the judges of probate court to the list of salaried 
magistrates, and another state some other class of judges, until 
the transfer is complete. The later constitutions have a provi¬ 
sion to the effect that all judges shall pay into the treasury the 
fees collected and receive salary as compensation. 1 
This movement which is almost completed as regards judges, 
is only at its beginning with the court officers such as court 
clerks, constables, and the like. But some constitutional con¬ 
ventions have already taken the bold step of providing that no 
public court officer, with the exception of justices of the peace, 
shall receive for his own use any fees or perquisites whatever, 
but shall be paid a salary fixed within certain limits by the leg¬ 
islature. Other states will follow this example, and it is but a 
matter of time until this reform is completed. 
Other provisions in the state constitutions show another 
movement, which is quite as striking as that just mentioned. 
This is the movement which has resulted in placing most of the 
state officers on salaries instead of fees. It originated in some 
of the colonies, by requiring the governor to turn the license 
fees into the treasury, and little by little the’other fees and per¬ 
quisites were taken away from him. This change, however, came 
about a half a century later than that concerning the judges. 
One or two constitutions provide that the governor shall 
receive no fees for his own use, 2 but they say nothing about the 
other state officers. Georgia by a constitutional provision 
placed her attorney-general on a salary in 1782, and in 1798 
added her state-treasurer and surveyor-general to the list. No 
other constitutions had any provisions concerning this subject 
until that of California in 1848, which placed the governor, 
lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, comptroller, attorney- 
1 Kas., 1859, Art. 3, Sec. 15; Md., 1867, 4, 37; Pa., 1873, 5, 13; Col., 1879, 
4 , 19; Ala., 1875, 6, 10. 
2 Md., 1867, Art. 2, Sec. 21; Me., 1863, Art. 5, Sec. 6. 
