Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/910

Rh SS(&amp;gt; P R O P E O mitted or hoped for means of committing similar offences. Besides the governor, two classes of harpies joined in wringing the utter most farthing from the unhappy provincials. These were the publicans or farmers of the taxes, and the money-lenders (negoti- atores), who supplied a temporary accommodation at ruinous rates of interest. Both these classes were recruited from the ranks of the Roman knights, and, since from the legislation of Caius Gracchus (122 B.C.) the juries were drawn at first exclusively and after Sulla s time (81 B.C.) partially from the knightly order, the provincial governor could not check the excesses of those blood suckers without risking a condemnation at the hands of their brethren. Accordingly he generally made common cause with them, backing their exactions when needful by military force. The Provinces under the Empire. Under the empire the pro vinces fared much better. The monarchy tended to obliterate the distinction between Romans and provincials by reducing both to a common level of subjection to the emperor, who meted out equal justice to all his subjects. The first centuries of our era were pro bably for some of the countries included in the Roman empire the happiest in their history ; Gibbon indeed fixed on the period from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus (96-180 A.D.) as the happiest age of the world. Augustus, in 27 B.C., divided the provinces into imperial and senatorial. Those which, from their proximity to the frontier or the turbulance of their population, required the presence of an army were placed under the direct control of the emperor ; those which needed no troops were left to be administered by the senate. (1) The senatorial provinces were ruled by an annual governor as under the republic. Of these provinces Augustus ordained that Africa and Asia should be consular, the rest praetorian ; but all the governors of the senatorial provinces were now called proconsuls. Their powers and dignities were much the same as they had been under the republic, except that they had now no troops, or only a handful to maintain order. (2) The imperial provinces were governed by imperial lieutenants (legati Csesaris), who were nominated by the emperor and held office at his pleasure ; all of them had the power of the sword (jus gladii). For the administration of the finances these lieu tenants had procurators under them, while the governors of the senatorial provinces continued to have qufestors as under the republic. Another class of imperial provinces consisted of those which from the physical nature of the country (as the Alpine districts) or the backward state of civilization (as Mauretania and Thrace) or- the stubborn character of the people (as Judrea and Egypt) were not adapted to receive a regular provincial constitu tion. These were regarded as domains of the emperor, and were managed by a procurator (in the case of Egypt by a prsefect, see PREFECT) nominated by and responsible to the emperor. Under the empire all provincial governors received a fixed salary. Complaints against them were brought before the senate, and the accusers were allowed a senator to act as their advocate. The lengthened periods during which the governors, at least in the imperial provinces, held office, together with the oversight exer cised by the emperor, alleviated materially the position of the provincials under the empire. In order to keep himself well informed of what was passing in the empire, Augustus established a post whereby official despatches were forwarded by couriers and official persons were conveyed by coaches. The post, however, was only for the use of the Government ; no private person was allowed, unless by an exceptional concession, to avail himself of it. (J. G. FR.) PROVIXS, a town of France, at the head of an arron- dissement of the department of Seinc-et-Marne, at the junction of the Durtain with the Voulzie (an affluent of the Seine), 59 miles south-east of Paris by a branch rail way which rejoins the main line from Paris to Belfort at Longueville (4 miles from Provins). While the town derives a certain reputation from its mineral waters (which contain iron, lime, and carbonic acid, and are used for bathing and drinking), and is also known from its trade in roses (incorrectly called Provence roses) for certain minor industries (such as the making of &quot; conserves &quot; and colouring bonbons), a far higher interest attaches to it as a place which during the Middle Ages enjoyed great pros perity and still preserves, in proof of its former import ance, a number of historical monuments. There still remains a great part of the 13th-century line of fortifica tions, which makes a circuit of about 4 miles, encloses an area of about 300 acres, is strengthened at intervals by towers, generally round, and now, being bordered with fine trees, forms the principal promenade of the town. The large tower, situated within this line and variously known as the king s, Caesar s, or the prisoners tower, is one of the most curious of the 1 2th-century keeps now extant. The base is surrounded by a thick mound of masonry added by the English in the 15th century when they were masters of the town. The tower serves as steeple to the church of St Quiriace, which, dating its foundation from the 12th century, presents some exquisite features and preserves among its treasures the pontifical ornaments of St Edmund of Canterbury. The palace of the counts of Champagne, some fragments of which also belong to the 12th century, is occupied by the communal college. The old tithe-barn is a strange erection of the 13th century with noteworthy fireplaces, windows, and vaulting. Vari ous portions of the church of St Ayoul date from the llth, 13th, 14th, and 16th centuries respectively; but it is in a state of great dilapidation, and part of it is used as a fodder-store. Ste Croix belongs partially to the 13th century. On Mont Ste Catherine opposite Provins the general hospital occupies the site of an old convent of St Clare, of which there remains a cloister of the 13th century. The population of the town in 1881 was 6949. Provins begins to figure in history in the 9th century. Passing from the counts of Vermandois to the counts of Champagne it rapidly attained a high degree of prosperity. Its fairs, attended by traders from all parts of Europe, were of as much account as those of Beaucaire. They were held twice a year, in spring and autumn, find fixed the price of provisions for the intervening months. In the 13th century the population of the town is said to have reached 60,000 ; but the plague of 1348 and the famine of 1349 proved exceedingly disastrous. The War of the Hundred Years, during which Provins was captured and recaptured, completed the ruin of the unfortunate town. During the religious wars it sided with the Catholic party and the League, and Henry IV. obtained possession of it in 1592 only after thirteen days siege. See Felix Bourquelot, Histoire de Provins, 2 vols., 1840. PROVOST. See BOROUGH CATHEDRAL and UNIVERSITIES. PROXY. See PROCTOR. and MUNICIPALITY, also END OF VOLUME NINETEENTH. PRINTED FOR A. 4 C. BLACK BY NEILL & CO. AND R. & R. CLARK, EDINBURGH.