VECTĪGĀLĬA

the general term for all the regular revenues of the Roman state. It means anything which is brought ( vehitur ) into the public treasury, like the Greek φόρος . The earliest regular income of the state was in all probability the rent paid for the use of the public land and pastures. This revenue was called pascua , a name which was used as late as the time of Pliny, in the tables or registers of the censors for all the revenues of the state in general. The senate was the supreme authority in all matters of finance, but as the state did not occupy itself with collecting the taxes, duties, and tributes, the censors were entrusted with the actual busine . These officers, who in this respect may not unjustly be compared to modern ministers of finance, used to let the various branches of the revenue to the public an i for a fixed sum, and for a certain number of years. [ Censor ; Public an i .] As most of the branches of the public revenues of Rome are treated of in separate articles, it is only nece ary to give a list of them here, and to explain those which have not been treated of separately. 1. The tithes paid to the state by those who occupied the ager public us. [ Decumae ; Ager Public us .] 2. The sums paid by those who kept their cattle on the public pastures. [ Scriptura . ] 3. The harbour duties raised upon imported and exported commodities. [ Portorium . ] 4. The revenue derived from the salt-works. [ Salinae . ] 5. The revenues derived from the mines ( metalla ). This branch of the public revenue cannot have been very productive until the Romans had become masters of foreign countries. Until that time the mines of Italy appear to have been worked, but this was forbidden by the senate after the conquest of foreign lands. The mines of conquered countries were treated like the salinae. 6. The hundredth part of the value of all things which were sold ( centesima rerum venalium ). This tax was not instituted at Rome until the time of the civil wars; the persons who collected it were called coactores . Tiberius reduced this tax to a two-hundredth ( ducentesima ), and Caligula abolished it for Italy altogether, whence upon several coins of this emperor we read R. C. C. , that is, Remi a Ducentesima . Respecting the tax raised upon the sale of slaves, see Quinquagesima . 7. The vicesima her edit a tum et manumi ionum. [ Vicesima . ] 8. The tribute imposed upon foreign countries was by far the most important branch of the public revenue during the time of Rome’s greatne . It was sometimes raised at once, sometimes paid by instalments, and sometimes changed into a poll-tax, which was in many cases regulated according to the census. In regard to Cilicia and Syria we know that this tax amounted to one per cent. of a person’s census, to which a tax upon houses and slaves was added. In some cases the tribute was not paid according to the census, but consisted in a land-tax. 9. A tax upon bachelors. [ Aes Uxorium . ] 10. A door-tax. [ Ostiarium . ] 11. The octavae . In the time of Caesar all liberti living in Italy, and po e ing property of 200 sestertia, and above it, had to pay a tax consisting of the eighth part of their property.—It would be interesting to ascertain the amount of income which Rome at various periods derived from these and other sources; but our want of information renders it impo ible. We have only the general statement, that previously to the time of Pompey the annual revenue amounted to fifty millions of drachmas, and that it was increased by him to eighty-five millions.