THE ENACTMENTS OF JUSTINIAN.
  
THE NOVELS.
~  XLIII  ~

CONCERNING THE WAREHOUSES OR SHOPS OF THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE, OF WHICH ELEVEN HUNDRED ARE SET APART FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFRAYING THE EXPENSES OF FUNERALS CONDUCTED IN THE PRINCIPAL HOLY CHURCH. ALL THE OTHERS, NO MATTER TO WHOM THEY BELONG, SHALL ONLY BE SUBJECT TO ORDINARY CHARGES.


 
( S. P. Scott, The Civil Law, XVI, Cincinnati, 1932 ).
 
 
  In the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ Our God. The Emperor Caesar, Flavius, Justinian, Alemanicus, Gothicus, Francicus, Germanicus, Anticus, Alanicus, Vandalicus, Africanus, Pious, Fortunate, Glorious, Victor, Triumpher, and Ever to be Honored Augustus, to Longinus, Urban Prefect.
PREFACE.
  Our subjects are Our constant care, whether they are alive or dead; hence We have provided by laws relating to funeral ceremonies that the obsequies of deceased persons shall not be too expensive for their relatives. And as Constantine, of Divine memory, the founder of this Our City, and the Most Pious Prince Anastasius, prescribed the number of pallbearers or deans, and fixed at eleven hundred the number of shops to be set apart to provide for this expense, and forbade this number ever to be increased, We, desiring that the number of pallbearers to be selected from each quarter shall be preserved, according to the regulations of Anastasius, of Divine memory, direct that what has previously been established shall remain in full force. But for the reason that the inhabitants of the said quarters of this city, who, above all others, are the objects of Our solicitude, have applied to Us, stating that they are reduced to extreme necessity; and because the Principal Church is entitled to the income of eleven hundred shops, which has been voluntarily granted to it free of all taxes, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the people of the city, and that, as the result of this transfer to the Holy Church, the said shops have been released from all other impositions; and that, while these shops are not the only ones destined for the sale of different kinds of merchandise which are exempt from public contribution, but there are many others which also enjoy this privilege, for instance, those set apart for other holy churches for the maintenance of places of entertainment for travellers, and for monasteries, and other religious foundations; which, at first taken away from heretics, have subsequently come into the possession of ecclesiastics of the orthodox faith and of royal houses, magistrates, Senators, distinguished men, or officers of the Imperial Bedchamber, are also exempt from taxation ; and that the proprietors of these shops, taking advantage of this privilege, cause loss to the government; and hence there are so many exemptions from taxation that there are very few people who pay any taxes, and the result is that where formerly assessments were increased threefold and fourfold, they are now increased tenfold; although the Divine Prince Anastasius only included in his list of exemptions the eleven hundred shops set apart to defray the funeral expenses incurred by the Holy Church, We have considered it advisable to communicate these complaints to Our nobles, and above all to the Archbishop of this Most Fortunate City, in order that they may assemble for the purpose of ascertaining what property is exempt from taxation, and inform Us on the subject. We have been pleased to address this law, by which We confirm the rules promulgated by the Most Pious Prince, Anastasius, to you.
CHAPTER I.
  Hence We order that the eleven hundred shops charged with defraying the funeral expenses incurred by the Holy Principal Church, as well as to provide it with deans or pallbearers shall, by all means, be maintained intact and free from any other burden; and that no other church but this shall be entitled to demand any deans, whether the said church belongs to heretics or not. What We have already determined shall also be valid, namely, that eight hundred shops shall be set apart to provide pallbearers for the service of the Principal Church, and that three hundred shall pay their share in money, the disposal of which has already been made by Our pragmatic sanction. Any shops which may be destroyed shall be rebuilt in the manner prescribed by the orders of Anastasius of pious memory. The said eleven hundred shops devoted to the service of the Principal Holy Church shall continue to be free and exempt from every species of taxation; nor shall they, or the quarters which furnish them, be compelled to pay tribute, suffer any loss, or recognize any other authority.
  (1) The other shops of the fourteen quarters of this city, whether they belong to some holy church, to houses destined for the entertainment of travellers, to monasteries, orphan-asylums, hospitals, or any other establishments of this kind, such as those of magistrates performing public functions of trifling importance, to Senators, to nobles of high rank, to Imperial Chamberlains, and to officers enrolled in the army; all these shops, We declare, shall, through the prefects of their quarter, pay the taxes imposed upon them, and shall discharge all other duties which it is proper for each one to assume in its own quarter. No one can, in order to be released, plead any privileges or offer any other excuse, for We do not permit charges imposed upon some to be a burden upon others, nor tolerate the harshness of proposing to frequently increase contributions (which We are informed is done) more than fourfold, fivefold, and even tenfold, especially when We are so diligently exerting Ourselves to prevent anyone from being subjected to new impositions. By a new imposition is meant not only one which is created for the first time, but an addition to one that has already been established. All persons should be treated alike; and this Imperial Pragmatic Sanction (which it is permitted to style a law) shall be of general application, so that everyone may know in what way he may be free from annoyance. For each citizen will the more readily bear his burdens, if he perceives that no one else is exempt except the eleven hundred shops set apart for the provision of funeral expenses in the Holy Principal Church, a regulation which is common and advantageous to all men.
  (2) But if anyone should attempt to give an excuse in order to release himself from the payment of contributions, or to prevent them from being collected from his tenants or clients; or to escape liability for the performance of any military, civil, ecclesiastical, or any other contribution, he shall be absolutely deprived of the ownership of his shop, the title to which shall vest in the entire quarter. Under these circumstances, persons will be more careful, and will not attempt to do what is prohibited. Moreover, if the contributions are equally divided, the amount which each one is obliged to furnish will be very small, and its collection will involve but little trouble, and this will be accomplished more easily as it will be paid by several persons. And, indeed, is it not exceedingly absurd for men who labor with their own hands, and women who nurse the children of others in order to obtain the necessaries of life, alone to have been oppressed with high taxes up to the present time, especially when they belong to the poorest class of society? This abuse is of infinite extent, nor can it be limited in any way.
  (3) We prohibit all these things, and promulgate this Imperial Pragmatic Sanction, threatening all of Our subjects with the penalty of losing their property, if, when residing in certain quarters, they interfere with the collection of ordinary taxes which have been established from the beginning, or attempt to convert them into private revenues. Everyone shall have the right to enjoy any income to which he is entitled, but must see that his shops or warehouses pay the ordinary contributions imposed upon them. For as every private individual should have an eye to his own interest, there is much more reason for Us to come to the relief of this Great and Royal City, which is tottering and almost ready to fall, since We can only provide for the public welfare by releasing persons from burdens to which they should not be subjected, and which, up to the present time, they have been compelled to bear.
EPILOGUE.
  Your Excellency, as well as the subordinates attached to Your office, shall, now and hereafter, cause the provisions of this law, which it has pleased Us to enact, to be carried into effect.