The record-union., 1899-10-30

4 +
of the obliteration of the lines between
the two leading classes, as from 2S6
Is. c. to about the time of the Christian.
era.
! The date mentioned as that in which
the two orders were brought into con-
cord, 2S6 b c., can be considered a
proper date to indicate the govern
mental system of the Roman republic.
First, the Consulate composed of two
chief magistrates chosen by the people.
These officers could negotiate foreign
alliances, make peace, had supreme
command Of the army, and control of
the revenue system. They also had
judicial functions and might be said to
be supreme judges with appellate jur-
isdiction. They were elected for a
period of one year, and if reelected
compelled to recognize the tenure Of
office by re-obligation
The legislative branch consisted of
the Senate and lower Assembly. Since
the obliteration or suspension of the
class lines these bodies quite generally
worked in harmony. The lower magis-
trates who were appointed, or ordered
chosen wherever needed, held both
executive and judicial powers, and
could of course be appealed from 10 the
higher officers. There were intermedi-
ate officials that cannot be described in
this paper
Rome had her periods under the re-
public, when the aggregation of wealth
in the hands of the few led to serious
concern. In fact there is every indica-
tion that the republican period of
Roman history presented nearly every
tDhASR nd Ia hoy m
that have presented themselves in the
American republic.
Roman law considered all men nat
urally free, and slavery was consid-
cred an unnatural condition. Agreeable,
however, to the law Of nations at that
time when captive, that is one cap
tured in battle. was given continued
life, his life was considered forfeiture
and he was by law a slave during it's
continuance, unless ransomed, his lib
erty depending entirely upon his abil-
ity to purchase it. There was no limit
to the power Of the master and the
slaves We're dependent simply upon his
will. milder form was where men
sold themselves for a period, either to
cancel an existing debt, or to purchase
future emolument. OF course, the hold
ing of slaves became matter Of barter
and the wealthy were quite generally
the larger slave-owners.
4 Viewing Roman history from any
standpoint we are compelled to credit
] the period of the republic as being the
golden age of Rome. Her greatest in
I dividual types, her most fruitful con-
/ quests, her greatest period of intel
! lectual development We're passed dur
ing the period of the republic 1t will
always be my impression that if she
had taken greater pains to assimilate
the peoples of her added possessions,
and had assisted in bringing them into
! general accord with her political sys-
tenn, that the result would have been
lmuch more salutary. AS it was the
added peoples were never permitted to
throw off the feeling of vassalage, and
were made distinctly tributary Her
standing armies and subaltern officers
held their places in the provinces
simply as tax and tribute-gatherers
1t is true that schemes of public i'm
provement Were prosecuted, but the
surrounding provinces We're compelled
to bear the additional burden, and most
OF these schemes were for the more
easy transportation Of armies and sup
plies. In fact, the pride of being a
| Roman citizen" under the republic had
a narrow horizon, and can hardly be
said to have extended much beyond the
tribal bounds Of the original Roman
Italian union. Popular control, as near
IIy approaching pure democracy as the
age would admit, obtained throughout
her original boundaries, the form of
suffrage being first tabulae for register
ing choice by voice, and afterward by
tickets This was quite generally de-
MED within the limits of the colonies,
the control being largely military or
proconsulato.
Notwithstanding all these apparent
Weaknesses the Roman republic was a
marvel, and largely pattern and in
spiration to the liberty-loving of after
years w. V. Byers, in the Mississippi
| Valley Citizen" says:
| The Romans who made the republic
! the greatest of the earth were wonder
full men, wonderful in their manliness.
| their disinterested love of coun-
! try their sober and self de-
nying lives. their stern resist
ance TO all which offended their sense
of virtue. The republican of early
Rome was capable not merely of dying
nobly for his country. He knew how
! TO live nobly for his country The
men were absteminous in drink and
! diet. The glutton and drunkard were
looked on with equal contempt. The
| women We're reserved, calm, dignifed,
full Of noble modesty Their dress
! was so simple, they wore so few orna-
ments, their tastes were so unostenta-
tlous, that their husbands and fathers
ala not need to sell their names and
influence to crafty their feminine love
OF luxurious display which, whether in
Rome under the Caesars or in France
under the late Bourbons, is always the
surest sign of national decay. the surest
indication of the coming revolution
1t Is safe proposition that history
furnishes no excuse for Caesars. The
time came, it is true when the control
Of the wealthy made the republic a
virtual aristoeracy but even that fur
nishes no excuse. I have omitted
/ names, but from the elder Brutus. who
| expelled the Tarquins, to the later
Brutus, who fell at Phillippi. the pages
Of the Roman republic scintillate with
| the grandest of Names As a nIrelv
| mental force perhaps no one of them
| surpasses Julius Caesar, and sperhans
none of them could have equaled in
executive ability Octavius, the Caesar
Augustus that succeeded him. Yet