Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1896-11-19

followif year. when the demo-.
leader would no longer occupv w."
sition OF tribune, he would be v,o,sM
assailed by the aristocratic party ~
danger appeared 80 real that Grao.,
offered himself for reelection a.
only means of protecting his w w
against the threatened violence n
draw over the great mass of tho ~.
zens, Gracious proposed various MY W"
ures tending to reduce the period :.
military service. to populariza ",
formation Of juries, and to prov,ao Wy
appeal from the law courts to tha
sembly Of the people. These ma
nres, which he did not live to co.,
restored his reputation with the m,...a
but the opposition to his reelection
sumed a very serious form. 1t va.
contended that the same man could ~.
be chosen in two successive years ava
the assembly was adjourned to tho r.,
lowing day, when the matter might J..
more fully debated. The electors re.,.
semblei next morning at the cani.o,
In the midst Of an angry tumul, w.
vius Flaccus came out Of the senate :.
inform the tribune that his death h.a
been resolved upon. The latter a,
horted his friends to help him ,ns
they armed themselves with slaves and
prepared to make a desperate rcs,s,.
ance.
While passionately addressing IN.
people Gracious raised his hand to Nj.
head to indicate that his life was IN
danger. He demands the diademw
was shouted by the senators, who knew
that no better means of exciting Tho
prejudice of large number could ma.
sibly be devised. Scipio Nascia, a prin-
cipal man among the mobiles, IL, ged that
''the tyrant' be destroyed at once. and
the state saved from ruin The consn,
Scaevola, however, refused to act with
hasty violence, while promising to on.
pose, by all legitimate means, the en-.
actment Of unconstitutional measure,
Nascia thereupon exclaimed: 9TH.
consul is betraying the republic! Let
those who would save their country
follow me-" He thereupon rushed to-
ward the capitol. followed by few
mobiles and other partisans who havin,
broken up the benches, were provided
with temporary weapons Gracious
flew to the Temple of Jupiter, hut found
the doors had been closed against him
by the priests. In the agitation Of The
moment he stumbled against lead
body and by a strange coincidence,
certain to be remarked by a people
given to the Interpretation OF oc-
cult signs, fell before the statues
Of the ancient kings. AS he rose,
one of his own colleagues struck him
on the head with club, and another
quickly dispatched him with second
blow, Meanwhile. furious riot was
of the tribune's adherents were slain
upon the spot; some were driven over
the edge of the Tarpeian Rock: alto
gcther more than three hundred Of the
popular side persisted in the conflict,
and were thrown ignominiously into
the Tiber. The body OF Tiherus HIM
self was thus treated. His brother
Caius begged that he might be allowed
to bury the corpse, with all the custom
airy funeral rites; bu. in the savage ex-
ultation of their triumph, the senate
refused his prayer.
The conflict with the senate did rot
end with the death Of Gracious. 1t was
renewed on wider scale and with
more deliberate aim by his brother,
Caius Gracious, who, on his elevation
to the tribunals 12O, at once came for
ward as an avowed enemy Of the SEN
ate. Caius, like his brother, was an
active agrarian reforner and lost his
life in a riot some years later. The
agrarian reforms of the GracChi had
little permanent effect. Even in the
lifetime of Caius, the clause in his
brothers law rendering the new hold
ings inalienable was repealed, and tho
process OF absorption recommended.
In 11S stop was put to further allot-
ment of occupied lands, and finally in
III the whole position of the agrarian
question was altered by law which
converted all land still held in Occupa'
ton into private land.