Publicāni
A name given by the Romans to those who did business with the State, by becoming
contractors for public buildings and for supplies, and to farmers of public lands (see
Ager Publicus), especially those who farmed the public
taxes (
vectigalia) for a certain time on payment of a fixed sum. In Rome,
as indeed throughout the ancient world (see
Telones), the collection of taxes was not made by paid officials, but by farmers of
taxes, who belonged to the equestrian order, as the senators were excluded from such business.
The farmers of taxes, by the immense profits which they made, became a politically powerful
class of capitalists. As the various taxes in the different provinces were let out as a whole
by the censors, jointstock companies were formed,
societates
publicanorum, whose members received a proportionate return for their invested capital.
(See
Provincia.) One member, the
manceps, made a tender at the public auction, concluded the contract with the censors,
and gave the necessary security. The duration of the contract was a
lustrum—i. e. the period between one censorship and another; in imperial
times always five years. It began on the 15th of March.
The general superintendence was given to a
magister societatis in Rome,
who vacated office every year; the management of details was in the hands of numerous
officials. According to the amount of the taxes farmed, the publicani received special names.
The highest class,
decumani, were the farmers of the
decuma, the tenth part of the produce of the agricultural lands which had been taken
from the old possessors. The
pecuarii or
scripturarii were the farmers of the
scriptura, the tax levied for
the use of the State pastures. The
conductorcs portoriorum were the
farmers of the
portoria, the import and export dues, etc. In order to
make the greatest possible gain, the publicani were guilty of the most grievous oppression of
the provincials, whose only hope of relief lay in the governor, who was rarely able to help
them for fear of these influential societies. Under the Empire the position of the provincials
was improved; for the emperor, as the governorin-chief of all the provinces, heard the final
appeal in the case of any grievances. In imperial times the
decumani
ceased to exist, and the letting out of taxes was intrusted to the official boards especially
concerned with them. See
Vectigalia.
