Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1895-07-11
THE UNREGENERATE BACHELOR.
The Unsparing Treatment which He Re
ceived in Ancient Times.

As matters stand at present, the bach
elol-as a householder, at any rate--con-
tributes nothing to the rates and taxes OF
his country whereas the married man
has to pay both for his own privileges and
those of the single man. This, to say the
least. is hardly fair. Why, then, not re-
vert to the ancient usage, and subject the
bachelor to pecuntary penalties for his
self appointed immunity from the cares of
domestic life?
When a proposal was made not 50 long
ago To tax the bachelors OF France, as
they Were taxed in the days of the first
republic, the fact was recalled that repub-
lies generally have been hard upon the cell
ibates. The wise Plato condemned the
single men to a fine. and in Sparta they
were driven at stated times to the Temple
OF Hercules by the women. who there
drilled and castigated them in true mill
tary style.
The ancient Romans, too, We're severe
with their bachelors, who were made to
pay heavy fines; and worse than that. for
after tho siege of Veil. CamilluS is re-
corded to have compelled them to marry
the widows of the soldiers who had fallen
in the war.
Again, in the time of Augustus. the
married men. all other things being equal,
were preferred to the single men for the
public offices Then the Roman who had
three children was exempted from per
sonal taxes, and the bachelor not only
had to pay them, but was prevented from
inherting the property Of any one not a
Roman citizen.
Coming to more recent times, we have
several instances of Il like kind recorded
for us by a recent writer on the subject.
In the French settlement OF Canada, for
example, women We're sent over after the
men, and the single men, that they might
be forced to marry, We're subjected to
hot tn at tn rip n -
trade and movements generally.
Those who married were dealt with, on
/ the other hand, in "A generous spirit. Not
only were they provided with a good wife
ana comfortable home, but they were
rewarded according to the number of
their offspring The father of ten chill
dren, for instance. was pensioned for life
at the rate of 800 liVrcS a year. If he had
- children he had 100 liVreS a year more,
! and the amount ran up to 200 liVres a
year when 10 children blessed the union
About the close of the nth century the
4 local authorities of Eastman, in Massa-
chuSetts. voted that every unmarried
man in the township should kill six black
birds or three crows yearly as long as he
remained single, producing the scalps as
| proof. and as a penalty for not obeying
the order. he was forbidden to marry until
he had made up all arrears!
| The requirements here We're almost
nominal; but it was somewhat different in
Maryland, where half century later the
colonial assembly imposed a tax of five
! shilliugs yearly upon all bachelors over
3O-as well as upon widowers without
children--who We're possessed of $500.
AT home we were not quite so severe
when William III. chose to single out the
bachelors for special enactments. In those
days any commoner who remained single
at 20 had to pay a shilling fine.yearly, and
the amount was increased with rank oil
/ title.-Exchange.