39. King Theodoric to Ampelius and Liveria .
Sundry abuses in the administration of the Spanish government to be rectified.
'That alone is the true life of men which is controlled by the reign of law.
'We regret to hear that through the capricious extortions of our revenue-officers anarchy is practically prevailing in Spain. The public registers (polyptycha), not the whim of the collector, ought to measure the liability of the Provincial.
'We therefore send your Sublimity to Spain in order to remedy these disorders.
'(1) Murder must be put down with a strong hand; but the sharper the punishment is made the more rigid we ought to be in requiring proof of the crime .
'(2) The collectors of the land-tax (assis publicus) are accused of using false weights [in collecting the quotas of produce from the Provincials]. This must cease, and they must use none but the standard weights kept by our Chamberlain .
'(3) The farmers of our Royal domain must pay the rent imposed on them, otherwise they will get to look on the farms as their own property; but certain salaries may be paid them for their trouble, as you shall think fit . [Dahn suggests that the salary was to reimburse them for their labours as a kind of local police, but is not himself satisfied with this explanation.]
'(4) Import duties are to be regularly collected and honestly paid over.
'(5) The officers of the mint are not to make their private gains out of the coinage.'
(6) An obscure sentence as to the 'Canon telonei' [from the Greek τελωνης, a tax-gatherer. Garet reads 'Tolonei,' which is probably an error].
(7) The same as to the Actus Laeti, whose conscience is assailed by the grossest imputations. [Laetus is perhaps the name of an official.]
'(8) Those concerned in furtivae actiones, and their accomplices, are to disgorge the property thus acquired.
'(9) Those who have received praebendae [apparently official allowances charged on the Province] are, with detestable injustice, claiming them both in money and in kind. This must be put a stop to: of course the one mode of payment is meant to be alternative to the other.
'(10) The Exactores (Collectors) are said to be extorting from the Provincials more than they pay into our chamber (cubiculum). Let this be carefully examined into, and let the payment exacted be the same that was fixed in the times of Alaric and Euric.
'(11) The abuse of claiming extortions (paraveredi) by those who have a right to use the public posts must be repressed.
'(12) The defence of the Provincials by the Villici is so costly, and seems to be so unpopular, that we remove it altogether.' [For this tuitio villici, see Dahn iii. 131; but he is not able to throw much light on the nature of the office of the Villicus.]
'(13) Degrading services (servitia famulatus) are not to be claimed of our free-born Goths, although they may be residents in cities[416].'
[This very long letter is one of great importance, but also of great difficulty.]
