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security for such payment, received the right to make what profit they could out of the revenues during the five years that should elapse before the next censorship. The See also:

ASSIGNMENT, ASSIGNATION, ASSIGNEE

assignment was made to the highest See also:

BIDDER, GEORGE PARKER (1806-1878)

bidder at a public See also:

AUCTION

auction held by the censor. The same system was applied to the public See also:

WORKS

works, the publicanus (or See also:

COMPANY

company) in this See also:

case being paid a certain sum, in return for which he took entire See also:

charge of a certain See also:

DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department of the public works, and winning his See also:

APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment by making the lowest See also:

TENDER

tender. That this system was well established at the See also:

time of the Second Punic See also:

War is assumed in Livy's See also:

account of the various offers made by the wealthier class of citizens to relieve the exhausted treasury after the See also:

BATTLE

battle of See also:

CANNAE (mod. Canne)

Cannae. On the one See also:

hand we have companies offering a See also:

price for branches of the revenue which was calculated rather to meet the needs of the state than to ensure any profit for themselves (Livy See also:

XXIII

xxiii. 49). On the other hand individuals are represented as undertaking the management of public works on the understanding that they will expect no payment until the conclusion of the war (ibid. See also:

XXIV

xxiv. 18) . In very early times the publican may have been men closely connected with the See also:

government.

But since See also:

WEALTH

wealth was a necessary qualification for the See also:

POST

post, and wealth at Rome became more and more confined to the commercial class, the kublicani became identical with the leading representatives of the class of capitalists and traders. This class was always distinct at Rome from the hereditary nobilty which monopolized the government of the state, and members of the senatorial class were excluded from it by definite enactment (see SENATE). Although See also:

COMMON

common See also:

INTEREST

interest was strong enough to secure for the government in time of See also:

EXTERNAL

external danger the loyal support of the commercial class, yet after the See also:

close of the See also:

GREAT

great See also:

WARS

wars a See also:

MARKET (Lat. mercatus, trade or place of trade)

market hostility See also:

GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew up between it and the government. The See also:

EXTENSION (Lat. ex, out ; tendere, to stretch)

extension of the Roman system of tax-farming to the provinces did not at first increase the importance of the publicani in Italy; for in the earlier provinces, in which the collection of the revenues was put up to auction in the See also:

province itself, the publicani were generally natives. But C. See also:

GRACCHUS

Gracchus, who carried a See also:

law that the taxes of the new province of See also:

ASIA

Asia should be put up to auction by the censor in Rome, gave to the Roman capitalists an opportunity of greatly extending their See also:

FINANCIAL

financial operations and thus in a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short time of securing important See also:

POLITICAL

political See also:

POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers. It was in their capacity of publicani in the wealthiest provinces that the capitalist or equestrian judices (see See also:

EQUITES (" horsemen " or " knights," from eques," horse ")

EQUITES) became a menace to the provincial See also:

GOVERNORS

governors who represented the senatorial See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power. See also:

CICERO

Cicero often applies the name publicani to the whole See also:

order; and on the various occasions when the demands of the equestrian party determined the policy of the state we can clearly trace the interests of the publicani, who were involved in an See also:

INFINITE (from Lat. in, not, finis, end or limit; cf. findere, to deave)

infinite number of commercial and financial transactions in the provinces, as the See also:

MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive of its See also:

ACTION

action. Thus the cruel See also:

FATE

fate of the Roman business men in See also:

CIRTA (mod. Constantine, q.v.)

Cirta led the capitalist class to force the Jugurthine War upon the senate in 112 B.C.; the disorganization of See also:

ASIATIC

Asiatic See also:

commerce by the pirates led the same party to support the proposal to confer extraordinary powers on See also:

POMPEY

Pompey in 67 s.c.; and the rigour of the senate in opposing any relaxation of the burdensome See also:

contract made by the tax-farmers of Asia in 6o B.C. led to that estrangement between the senate and the capitalist class which enabled the democratic party to See also:

WORK

work its will and pave the way for the principate. The companies of publicani continued some of their operations in the provinces under the early principate, but they lost many of their opportunities of oppression and See also:

EMBEZZLEMENT (A.-Fr. embesilement, from beseler or besillier, to destroy)

embezzlement. We hear of a vigorous See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt made by See also:

NERO (37-68)

Nero to suppress their unjust exactions, and they appear to have been kept under much closer supervision. The term pubiicanus was applied at this time, and probably earlier, to the subordinate officials employed by the companies of publicani for the actual collection of the revenue, and thus acquired the See also:

general sense of " tax-See also:

COLLECTOR

collector," even in provinces where the system of tax-farming by contract with See also:

SOCIETIES, LEARNED

societies of publicani was not in existence.

(A. M.

End of Article: PUBLICANI

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