, meaning temple.) These officers held nearly the same position in reference to the Tribunes that the Quaestors did to the Consuls. They assisted the Tribunes in the p

filled by elections held at first in the Comitia Centuriáta, but later in an assembly ca

eing decided by the majority of its individual voters. (Footnote: These "tribes" were a territorial division, corresponding roughly to "wards" in our citie

plebeians. By it any member could be punished for misconduct, and though at first measures passed in it were not binding on the

influence of the Tribunes. Party spirit ran high; even hand to hand contests occurred in the city. Many families left Rome and sett

distribution of the PUBLIC LANDS. Rome had acquired a large amount of land taken from

e state. The rent paid was a certain per cent (from 10 to 20) of the crops, or so much a head for cattle on pasture land. Although the state had the undoubted right to claim this land at any time, the magistrates allowed the occupants to retain it, and were often lenient about collecting dues. In course of time, this land, which was handed down from father to son, and fr

the AGRARIAN LAWS wa

ands, divide them into small lots, and distribute them among the poor plebeians as homes (homesteads)