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is full of generalities and abstract ideas, after the manner of the time, states that the object of the code was to collect the statutes of the Ragusan Republic, “to harmonise the discrepancies, suppress superfluities, supply omissions, explain obscurities, so that nothing superfluous, obscure, or captious should remain in them.” The first book defines the position, rights, and duties of the count and of the other chief functionaries of the Republic, and deals with sundry financial matters. The second book contains the formulæ and oaths of each officer of State; and in cap. xxiv. the salaries of the Ragusan envoys130 to foreign countries were fixed. The third embodies the law of procedure and the judicial system, and sets forth the rules for the stanico, or international court of arbitration, to which we have already alluded. This institution was a peculiarly Serbo-Dalmatian one, and deserves examination. The statute of 1272 describes it as an antica consuetudo. It was of two kinds, the plenarium stanicum, or full court, and the parvum, or minor court. The full stanicum was agreed upon by the Government of Ragusa and that of some other State with whom the former had a dispute. Each side elected an equal number of judges, who met at some place easily accessible to both capitals, and, if possible, on neutral ground, i.e. in the territory of some State not concerned in the dispute. Thus in disputes between Ragusa and Zara the spot chosen was Santa Maria di Lesina, on the island of that name; for those between Ragusa and Sebenico, Traù, Spalato, Almissa, or Lesina, the stanicum met at or near Prevlaka (near Stagno); if the quarrel was with Hlum, at Malfi; if with the Serbs, at Gionchetto or Cresta; if with the Bosnians, at Trebinje, Popovo, or Canali. The dispute was settled by compromise rather than by arbitration, and each party was represented by State officials. The parvum stanicum was convened to settle private disputes between Ragusans and citizens of one of the Slave states (it was not resorted to in the case of disputes with the other Dalmatian towns). The presence of representatives of the two States was not necessary. But often when such disputes arose the parties would agree to defer settling them until the full stanicum met, provided that such a one was to take place shortly. It was not necessary that all private international disputes should be settled in this manner, and the plaintiff was free to summon his adversary before the latter’s own tribunal. He only resorted to it when he feared that he could not obtain justice from the foreign court. In proceedings by stanicum, the old Teutonic and Slavonic system of the conjuratio was applied, by which each party produced a number of relations and friends, who swore to the veracity of their kinsman; if any one was convicted of perjury, the curse fell on the whole clan alike. The institution exists to this day in Montenegro, Albania, and in certain districts of South Dalmatia and the Herzegovina.131

      The fourth book deals with marriage, wills, and family affairs. The fifth deals with municipal regulations, building laws and contracts, land tenure, &c. The sixth is the criminal code, and also contains fiscal enactments and smuggling laws. The seventh regulates shipping, the relations between officers and crew, agreements for voyages, marine insurance, responsibilities and risks. The last book contains enactments on divers matters. It became law on May 9, 1272.

      This code, although it is imperfect and not altogether well constructed, marks a great improvement on previous legislation, and compares favourably with the statutes of many of the more famous Italian Republics. The shipping and commercial enactments are often excellent, and parts of the code, especially those relating to land tenure and certain forms of contract, are still valid at Ragusa.

      

      The Liber Statutorum was afterwards added to and enlarged, and numbers of new laws were enacted. Until 1357 these were incorporated in the Statute-book, but after the last Venetian count had left in that year a new code was begun, called the Liber Viridis or Green Book, which contains all the new laws down to 1460. Then the Liber Croceus or Yellow Book was begun, and continued down to 1791. The last laws of the Republic, from 1791 to its fall in 1808, are preserved in the Parti dei Pregadi. The deliberations and enactments of the various assemblies are contained in the Liber Reformationum, which was begun in 1306. Of all these collections of enactments, only the last has been published, but not in a complete form (see Bibliography). In addition, there are various minor collections containing the edicts of certain special bodies.

      We shall now make a brief examination of the Ragusan constitution, which by this time had assumed the form which, with certain alterations, it preserved down to the fall of the Republic. Even the fact that in 1358 the Venetian counts were superseded by native Rectors did not change the internal constitution of the State to any considerable extent. The constitution since the early days of the city’s existence had undergone much the same transformation as that of Venice, and tended to become even more aristocratic. The laudo populi was still maintained,132 but it was resorted to less and less frequently as years went by; and after having been an empty formality for some time, at the end of the period of Venetian suzerainty it had ceased to exist. The Liber Statutorum was confirmed “per populum Rhacusinum more solito (i.e. to the sound of a bell) congregatum,” but by that time all power was invested in the aristocracy. Only nobles might aspire to any but the humblest offices of the State, and every noble had a voice at least in the Grand Council. As at Venice there was the Golden Book, at Ragusa there was the Specchio, containing the names of all the noble families. These were as a rule the descendants of the original Latin colonists from Epidaurus and Salona, or, in a few cases, of those early Slave refugees who were nobles in their own country. The names themselves have an Italian sound, although most of them are unlike any real Italian names.133 There was a fairly large part of the population of Slavonic origin, but the official, and to a great extent the popular, language was Italian. The laws and deliberations and official documents134 are all either in Latin or Italian, and the general character of the community was prevalently Italian, modified to some extent by Slavonic influences. The latter tended to increase, especially after the end of Venetian suzerainty, and by the middle of the sixteenth century the bulk of the lower classes spoke the Servian language.

      The head of the State, as we have seen, was the Count, who represented Venetian authority, summoned the councils, and signed all public acts. No act was valid without his approval, but, on the other hand, he could not make decrees without the assistance and consent of the councils. Of these there were three—namely, the Consilium Minus, the Consilium Majus, and the Rogati or Pregadi.

      The Minor Council, which had in all probability existed in a rudimentary form from the earliest times, had now developed into an important body. It acted as the Count’s privy council, it arranged all official ceremonies, and gave audience to foreign ambassadors and envoys to Ragusa. It also acted as a sort of Court of Chancery, protected widows and orphans from injury, and watched over the morals of the citizens. It examined the deliberations of the other bodies on taxes, dues, and the rents, income, and real property of the State. On simpler matters it gave decisions, and others it referred to the Senate. It was an intermediary between private individuals and the State, and heard all complaints against the magistrates and other officials. It consisted of the Count and eleven members, of whom five formed the Corte Maggiore, or High Court of Justice, for all important cases.135 The members were all men of mature age, and remained in office for a year only. Six made a quorum.

      The Senate (Rogati) was the most influential of the three Councils, and transacted a great part of the business of the State. It imposed all taxes, tributes, and customs duties, decided how the money of the State should be spent or invested, and dealt with many other financial matters. It conducted the foreign affairs of the Republic, and nominated ambassadors and consuls. It was the Supreme Court of Appeal for criminal cases, and after 1440 for civil cases as well. It appointed a number of State officials, such as the Provveditori of the Arsenal, the financial secretaries, and the functionaries who attended to the supply of provisions. The number of Senators varied considerably. At the date of the Statute Book they were thirty-five;136 later they rose to sixty-one. The body included the Count or Rector, the eleven Minor Councillors, various high functionaries, and a number of unofficial members. They met four times a week, and remained in office for a year, but might be re-elected, “for the Republic desires that her sons should exercise themselves in this kind of council, so that they may become Senators of judgment, and learn by long and continual experience the method and practice of governing excellently.”137 By a decree of 1331138 it was decided

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