CHAPTER 9. -Tolls, Ferry Fees, and Bridge Fees. In It Are 20 Articles.

1. Concerning the toll houses and ferries in the sovereign's court villages and the rural taxpaying districts; and on the patriarch's, and metropolitans', and archbishops', and bishops', and monasteries' estates; and on the service landholdings and hereditary estates of boyars, and okol'nichie, and counselors, and palace intimates, and stol'niki, and striapchie, and Moscow dvoriane, and state secretaries, and zhil'tsy, and provincial dvoriane and deti boiarskie, and foreigners, and people of various ranks; in the hamlets and villages: at those ferries and toll houses do not collect anywhere tolls, and ferry fees, and bridge fees from [provincial] dvoriane and deti boiarskie, and from foreigners, and from various servicemen, and from their slaves and supplies, and from messengers sent on the sovereign's affairs.

The sovereign has ordered that a categorically strict interdiction be issued on this subject in Moscow province and in the provincial towns, and that his royal official charters be sent out so that no one anywhere will collect tolls, and ferry fees, and bridge fees from servicemen, from dvoriane, and deti boiarskie, and foreigners, and from any [other] servicemen, and from their slaves and supplies, and from messengers.

2. If toll collectors at toll houses, and ferry fee collectors at ferries, and bridge fee collectors at toll bridges proceed to collect tolls and ferry fees and bridge fees from servicemen, and from their slaves and from supplies, and from messengers, in spite of this royal decree and boyar decision: those people shall petition the sovereign against those toll collectors, and ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors.

Interrogate them under the oath of the Sovereign, Tsar, and Grand Prince of all Russia Aleksei Mikhailovich about how much someone collected of toll, and ferry fee, and bridge fee from them; which [explicitly] named toll collectors, ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors exacted from them a toll, and a ferry toll, and a bridge fee, and how much they collected.

Concerning what a petitioner, a dvorianin, or syn boiarskii, or foreigner testifies under the sovereign's oath himself (but not [through] his slaves and peasants): on the basis of those testimonies of theirs, exact from those toll collectors, and ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors the [illegally collected] toll, and ferry fee, and bridge fee three-fold and give it to those from whom it was [illegally] collected. Inflict punishment on those toll collectors, and ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors, beat them with the knout.

3. If servicemen's slaves and peasants transport their supplies in the absence [of their lords] that are not for sale; and the toll collectors, and ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors exact tolls, and ferry fees, and bridge fees from these slaves and peasants of theirs, and those slaves and peasants of theirs testify under the sovereign's oath about this: on the basis of those slave and peasant testimonies similarly exact the [illegally collected] tolls, and ferry fees, and bridge fees from the toll collectors, and ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors three-fold and give it back to those people from whom it was [illegally] collected.

If someone in his petition adds [the accusation] that on the ferry or at the toll house they cursed, and assaulted, and robbed him: adjudicate the matter at trial, and in those cases compile a decree after trial and investigation.

4. If various people of Moscow ranks, and provincial dvoriane, and deti boiarskie, and foreigners proceed to convoy with them merchants of various ranks with their merchandise through the toll houses, and on ferries, and across toll bridges, and that is established: beat those people with the knout. Collect from them the tolls, and bridge fees, and ferry fees [that should have been paid] three-fold, and give them to the toll collectors, and ferry fee collectors, and bridge fee collectors.

5. Concerning merchants of various ranks who at ferries and toll houses fraudulently identify themselves with the names of servicemen, and that is established: inflict punishment on those people for that, beat them with the knout and collect a fine for the sovereign of 5 rubles per person. Collect the fine from such people in Moscow and in the provincial towns, where the complaints against them about that [are made].

6. No one's slaves and peasants, but only townsmen and peasants of court villages shall serve as chiefs and sworn assistants in customs houses, and in taverns, and in toll houses, and on ferries, and on toll bridges, which customs houses, and taverns, and toll houses, and ferries, and toll bridges are in the provincial towns, and in the provinces, in the sovereign's court villages and in rural taxpaying districts in the provinces.

7. In the winter time, no one shall chop away the ice on the rivers from off the shores and around toll bridges in order to collect the bridge tolls [by forcing people to use the bridges rather than crossing the rivers on the ice] in towns, and in the sovereign's court villages, and in the rural taxpaying districts; and on estates belonging to the patriarch, and the metropolitans, and the archbishops, and the bishops, and the monasteries; and on hereditary estates and service landholdings belonging to boyars, and okol'nichie, and counselors, and stol'niki, and striapchie, and Moscow dvoriane, and state secretaries, and zhil'tsy, and provincial dvoriane, and deti boiarskie, and palace officials. Do not cause financial losses to those servicemen, merchants, and people of various ranks. If someone for his own benefit chops away the ice around a bridge, and that is established: inflict punishment on those people, beat [them] with the knout, and collect a fine as decreed by the sovereign.

8. Do not collect a camping fee from servicemen on the roads, in the villages, and in the hamlets. Issue a firm decree on that matter in Moscow. Order the criers to cry it out for many days. Send the sovereign's charters [about it] into the provincial towns. Similarly order a firm decree issued about that in the towns so that no one anywhere will ever collect a camping fee from servicemen.

9. Concerning [places] in villages, and in hamlets, and along the roads at bridges, and at dams, and at rivers, and at ferries, and at markets where from antiquity there was no toll house: no one shall conjure up end establish new toll houses in those places by any means, except in those places in which there have been toll houses and ferries from antiquity, and for which toll houses, and ferries, and toll bridges grant charters were given to someone.

10. If someone sets up a new toll house, or ferry, or toll bridge for his own gain on his own initiative, without a[n authorizing] decree, confiscate all of that from him for the sovereign.

11. Concerning the toll bridges and ferries belonging to someone on an hereditary estate or on a service landholding on the basis of grant charters from antiquity: those people on their own hereditary estates shall keep the corduroy roads, and bridges, and dams along the roads in repair on their own account. These corduroy roads and bridges on their properties shall be kept in solid condition so that various travelers will experience no wasted time, and delay, and financial losses on those bridges and corduroy roads for any reason.

12. If someone, a service landholder or hereditary estate owner, on his service landholdings and hereditary estates proceeds to collect tolls and ferry fees and bridge fees, but does not order the bridges, and corduroy roads, and dams kept in repair; and if traveling servicemen and various [other] people proceed to suffer any financial losses in those places where the bridges, and dams, and corduroy roads are in bad repair; and horses, or supplies, or service and [various] other movables belonging to servicemen, and merchants' wares, or anything else belonging to anyone sinks to the bottom or gets stuck: all those travelers shall collect all those financial losses after trial and investigation from those service landholders and hereditary estate owners who possess those decrepit bridges, and dams, and corduroy roads.

Order those hereditary estate owners and service landholders in those places to construct new bridges, and corduroy roads, and dams so that henceforth on those bridges and corduroy roads of theirs travelers will experience no wasted time and financial losses for any reason.

13. If, where the bridges and ferries belong to the sovereign and there are trusted chiefs and sworn assistants, or revenue farmers, and travelers proceed to experience financial losses and wasted time because their bridges, and flat-bottomed ferries, and rafts are decrepit: travelers shall collect those financial losses from the trusted chiefs and sworn assistants or from the revenue farmers after trial and investigation. Firmly order the trusted chiefs, and sworn assistants, and revenue farmers that they must see to it personally that their bridges, and the flat-bottomed boats, and other boats, and rafts at the ferries are in good condition so that travelers will experience no wasted time and financial losses on those bridges and ferries of theirs for any reason.

14. If service landholders of hereditary estate owners flood old roads with ponds, or plow up the roads along with their own land for their own benefit: those service landholders and hereditary estate owners, in the place of those old roads, shall construct on their own land, close to the old roads, new roads similar to the old roads so that various travelers with heavy wagon loads will be able to pass easily and not far out if the way on those new roads.

15. If service landholders and hereditary estate owners build the new roads worse than the old ones [were], or if the travel distance is significantly farther than it was on the old road: order those hereditary estate owners and service landowners to restore the old roads.

16. If on anyone's service landholding or hereditary estate the passage over the road is difficult, there are no corduroy roads over the mud and no bridges over muddy rivers, and from antiquity there were none; and that service landholder or hereditary estate owner proceeds to petition that he be ordered to build bridges over those muddy places for the transit of various people: for his expenditures he shall collect from the travelers a bridge fee equal to [fees on] other bridges. Issue a decree on those new bridges after a visual inspection [of the locale] and an investigation [of the situation].

17. [Where] boats are navigating rivers, do not build new ponds, and dams, and mills on those rivers so that boat navigation will not be interrupted along those rivers by new ponds and dams.

18. If someone constructs a dam on such a river: he shall build gates in that dam for boat passage so that it will be possible for boats to sail through those gates. Moreover, on certain rivers fish nets have been strung across the rivers from of old, not recently, and occasionally there is boat traffic on that river: make a gate also through those fish nets for boat traffic. Order that those nets not be tightly constructed across such rivers so that boat traffic will not be interrupted. There shall be no toll houses set up at those new nets or on ponds or dams.

19. Concerning people of various ranks who, without petitioning the sovereign, of their own free will set up tolls, and ferry fees, and bridge fees along the roads of hereditary estate and service landholding waterways, and of their own free will they will collect newly established ferry fees and [road] tolls in places where heretofore there were none; and others build new mills, and thereby raise the water, and heretofore in such places there were roads and fords; and with those mill ponds they have obliterated the roads and fords, and are collecting a ferry fee, or a bridge fee, or a toll from people of various ranks: henceforth those ferries, and bridges, and toll houses shall not exist, and those mills, and bridges, and ferries shall be removed.

20. If someone of those people who have newly set up mills proceeds to petition the sovereign that their mills not be torn down: in response to their petition, those mills shall be allowed to stand. But, order them to build good bridges and ferries in those places where the old roads were for the passage of various people. People of various ranks shall ride over those bridges and on the ferries of theirs, regardless of whose they are, without [payment of] a bridge fee and a ferry fee because they built mills along the roads and set up a ferry landing where previously there had been none, on their own free will for their own profit without petitioning the sovereign.

If in the future they proceed to collect a bridge fee, and a ferry fee, or a toll: or in the future there is no bridge or ferry on their property; and there are petitioners against them for that, and that is established conclusively: tear down those mills and mill dams of theirs so that henceforth the road will not be blocked by those mills and mill dams of theirs, and so that servicemen and various people, whoever they may be, will suffer no hindrance and financial losses in [their] travel.