Page:Roman Constitutional History, 753-44 B.C..djvu/91

Rh remain personally free on surrendering his property. Only criminals were to be kept in heavy chains or to suffer corporal punishment. The law was considered of such importance to the common people that a second era of liberty was reckoned from its enactment.

Extension of Powers of Assemblies. — Besides this practical increase of individual rights, the people obtained larger powers in their collective capacity — in the popular and plebeian assemblies. The people are said to have granted a triumph to the consuls of 449 against the wishes of the senate, and to have conceded a triumph to the first plebeian dictator in 356. They annulled a decree of the senate about 388 — the first instance on record. They decided the fate of Caere in 353, and afterward that of the inhabitants of Tusculum. In 320 the principle was proclaimed that no treaty was valid unless sanctioned by the people. Finally, in 311, the people began to elect sixteen in place of six military tribunes.