Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/86

72 secured the passage of a law imposing a tax of five per cent of the value of all slaves who were manumitted. This was the first Roman tax laid on the rich, and was a slight but desirable check on the increase of freedmen. The patrician senators sanctioned the law; and the plebeian tribunes contented themselves with the passage of a plebiscite which prohibited any one from convening the people outside the mile limit.

New Distress of Debtors. — While the rich grew richer, the middle and lower classes grew poorer. The Licinian law brought some relief, and grants of public land had increased the number of freeholders, as is indicated by the fact that two new districts (tribus) were formed in 358; but time was required for turning new possessions to account, and the public burdens were heavy. The farmers borrowed to relieve temporary distress; and if they were unable to repay, they were at the mercy of the money lenders, who granted further credit only on the hardest terms. When in this manner large numbers had become unable or unwilling to bear the public burdens, various measures were resorted to, but furnished no permanent or adequate relief. As a consequence the discontent rose in 342 to such a height that the soldiers in Campania were insubordxaate and mutinous, and the distressed debtors in Rome were ready to join them.

The Laws of 342 B.C. — In 342 a number of laws were passed which in a great measure satisfied the discontented and restored order. Most of the demands of the soldiers were conceded. It was enacted that no one who had been enrolled as a soldier should, against his will, be struck from the roll, and that no one who had been a military tribune should afterward serve as a centurion. These two provisions were intended to guarantee to the soldiers the