Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/290

 276 THE RULE OF CAE8AB. of Grades had obtained the full rights of a Boman munici- pality. It was the first foreign provincial town that se- cured Boman citizenship. Others soon followed, and a greater number acquired Latin rights. In Sicily a great number, if not all, of the communities were granted Latin rights. In addition Caesar conferred citizenship on numerous separate individuals, especially Gauls and Spaniards. But he probably selected mainly Greek freedmen for the Boman colonies in the East. He also granted citizenship to all physicians and teachers of the liberal arts at Bome, in order to elevate these professions. The Mnnicipal Law of Caesar. — The Bubrian law of 49 had regulated the cisalpine municipalities, and ordered, for example, that the local magistrates should have the power to decide through jurymen all lawsuits not involving more than $825, and certain others without regard to amount. In other cases they were simply to conclude a preliminary trial, and refer the parties to the Boman praetor. By the municipal law of 45, Caesar to a certain extent re- moved the inequalities in the municipal organization, and placed all Boman municipalities in Italy, Gaul, Spain, and elsewhere on a level. Each city was to have its own popu- lar assembly, senate, and elective magistrates, who were to govern the municipal territory, take the census, and send the lists to Bome. It was also to possess an independent jurisdiction in civil cases not exceeding a certain amount, and in criminal cases against slaves and others, with the exception of such as legally should come before a court at Bome. This municipal ordinance remained the funda- mental law for the imperial times ; and it is a noteworthy fact that the municipal assemblies retained their powers longer than the assemblies at Bome. The Latin and other formally independent communities