OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

and the scheme of taxation was completed byan artful assessment on the real and personalproperty of the Roman citizens, who had beenexempted from any kind of contribution abovea century and a half.

i. In a great empire like that of Rome , a na-tural balance of money must have gradually es-tablished itself. It has been already observed,that as the wealth of the provinces was attractedto the capital by the strong hand of conquestand power; so a considerable part of it was re-stored to the industrious provinces by the gentleinfluence of commerce and arts. In the reignof Augustus and his successors, duties were im-posed on every kind of merchandise, whichthrough a thousand channels flowed to the greatcentre of opulence and luxury ; and in whatso-ever manner the law was expressed, it was theRoman purchaser, and not the provincial mer-chant, who paid the tax. d The rate of the cus-toms varied from the eighth to the fortieth partof the value of the commodity ; and we have aright to suppose that the variation was directedby the unalterable maxims of policy; that ahigher duty was fixed on the articles of luxurythan on those of necessity, and that the produc-tions raised or manufactured by the labourof thesubjects of the empire, were treated with moreindulgence than was shewn to the pernicious, orat least the unpopular commerce of Arabia and

2d l

CHAP.

VI.

The cus-toms.

a Tac it. Anna), xiii, 31.