Page:Montesquieu - The spirit of laws.djvu/305

Rh questions. Different praetors were created, to each of whom some of those questions were assigned. They had a power conferred upon them for the term of a year, of judging such crimes as were any way relative to those questions, and then they were sent to govern their province.

At Carthage the senate of the hundred was composed of judges who enjoyed that dignity for life. But at Rome the prætors were annual, and the judges were not even for so long a term, but were nominated for each cause. We have already shewn in the sixth chapter of this book how favourable this regulation was to liberty in particular governments.

The judges were chosen from the order of senators, till the time of the Gracchi. Tiberius Gracchus caused a law to pass that they should be taken from the Equestrian order; a change so very considerable that the tribune boasted of having cut by one rogation only the sinews of the senatorian dignity.

It is necessary to observe that the three powers may be very well distributed in regard to the liberty of the constitution, though not so well in respect to the liberty of the subject. At Rome the people had the greatest share of the legislative, a part of the executive, and part of the judiciary power; by which means they had so great a weight in the government, as required some other power to balance it. The senate indeed had part of the executive power, and some share of the legislative ; but Rh