PUBLICA'NI (from list. publicvm, that which is public or belongs to the state), the name given by the Romans to those persons who farmed the public revenues (vectigalia). These revenues were put up to auction by the censors, and were "sold" for a period of 5 years. They were derived chiefly from tolls, tithes, harbor-duties, scripture (the tax paid for the use of public pasture-lands), mining and salt duties. As the state required the publicani to give security for the sum at which they had purchased the collecting of the taxes, and as this sum was usually much greater than the wealth of any single in dividual, companies (societates) were formed, the members of which took each so many shares, and were thus enabled to carry on conjointly undertakings far beyond the capa bilities of the separate shareholders. Their contract with the Roman government was made in the name of a single person, who was called and who was held respon sible for his socii to the state. Every societas had also a head-manager (magister), who
resided at Rome, and transacted all foreign correspondence with the inferior officers who directly superintended the collection of the taxes. In general, a societas farmed only one branch of the revenue, but exceptions occur. Only Roman citizens were eligible as publicani, and, as a matter of course, only the wealthiest among these could become such. After the middle of the 2d C. B.C., the farming of the public revenues fell into the hands chiefly of the Equites (q.v.). By a wise regulation, no governor of a Roman province was allowed, during the period of his governorship, to have anything to do with these tax-gathering companies. The design of this was to place the governor in such a position that he could afford to act justly toward the people, who were often cruelly oppressed by the exactions of the provincial underlings=the "publicans" of the New Testament.