Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/29

Rh throne of ivory. When he appeared in public on foot or in a chariot, he was preceded by twelve attendants (lictores) who carried each a bundle of rods with an axe in it (fasces), and walked in single file.

Unlike the republican magistrates, the king had an official income. A part of the public domain was cultivated for his benefit, and the produce was given him.

Powers of the King. — The king was the chief factor in legislation, the high priest, the supreme executive and judge of the state. He was not supposed to have a number of distinct powers, but paramount civil and military authority in general (potestas, imperium). While practically he had absolute power and was irresponsible, he was yet, before gods and men, bound by custom to respect the privileges and rights of the people and the senate; and whatever ordinances he issued arbitrarily must be obeyed during his reign, though they became null and void at his death.

Legislative Powers. — The king had the exclusive right to summon the people or the senate, to lay business before either body, and to require formal action (jus cum populo, cum patribus agendi). He naturally proposed only such measures as he approved, and thus had a power more efficient than an absolute veto, because he could exercise it with less difficulty. In other words, he had the same legislative power in all spheres as the American congress has in the federal sphere, with the exception that the people and the senate both had an absolute veto. In regard to constitutional amendments, he had a power quite similar to that of congress.

Administrative Powers. — In his administrative or executive capacity the king was not entitled to alter the law or to dispense with it in particular cases. But customary and statute law was of very limited extent in early times, and