FRŪMENTĀRĬAE LEGES

The supply of corn at Rome was considered one of the duties of the government. The superintendence of the corn-market belonged in ordinary times to the aediles, but when great scarcity prevailed, an extraordinary officer was appointed for the purpose under the title of Praefect us Annonae . Even in early times it had been usual for the state on certain occasions, and for wealthy individuals, to make occasional donations of corn to the people ( donatio , largitio , divisio ; subsequently called frumentatio ). But such donations were only casual; and it was not till B.C. 123, that the first legal provision was made for supplying the poor at Rome with corn at a price much below its market value. In that year C. Sempronius Gracchus brought forward the first Lex Frumentaria , by which each citizen was entitled to receive every month a certain quantity of wheat ( triticum ) at the price of 6⅓ a es for the modius, which was equal to 1 gallon and nearly 8 pints English. This was only a trifle more than half the market price. Each person probably received five modii monthly, as in later times. About B.C. 91, the tribune M. Octavius brought forward the Lex Octavia , which modified the law of Gracchus to some extent, so that the public treasury did not suffer so much. Sulla went still further, and by his Lex Cornel i a , B.C. 82, did away altogether with these distributions of corn; but in B.C. 73, the Lex Sempronia was renewed by the Lex Terentia Ca ia , which enacted that each Roman citizen should receive 5 modii a month at the price of 6⅓ a es for each modius. The Leges Frumentariae had sold corn to the people; but by the Lex Clodia of the tribune Clodius, B.C. 58, the corn was distributed without any payment; the abolition of the payment cost the state a fifth part of its revenues. When Caesar became master of the Roman world, he resolved to remedy the evils attending the system, so far as he was able. He did not venture to abolish altogether these distributions of corn, but he did the next best thing in his power, which was reducing the number of the recipients. During the civil wars numbers of persons, who had no claim to the Roman franchise, had settled at Rome in order to obtain a share in the distributions. Caesar excluded from this privilege every person who could not prove that he was a Roman citizen; and thus the 320,000 persons, who had previously received the corn, were at once reduced to 150,000. The useful regulations of Caesar fell into neglect after his death; and in B.C. 5, the number of recipients had amounted to 320,000. But in B.C. 2, August us reduced the number of recipients to 200,000, and renewed many of Caesar’s regulations. The chief of them seem to have been: 1. That every citizen should receive monthly a certain quantity of corn (probably 5 modii) on the payment of a certain small sum. Occasionally, in seasons of scarcity, or in order to confer a particular favour, August us made these distributions quite gratuitous; they then became congiaria . [ Congiarium . ] 2. That those who were completely indigent should receive the corn gratuitously, and should be furnished for the purpose with te erae nummariae or frumentariae , which entitled them to the corn without payment. The system which had been established by August us, was followed by his succe ors; but as it was always one of the first maxims of the state policy of the Roman emperors to prevent any disturbance in the capital, they frequently lowered the price of the public corn, and also distributed it gratuitously as a congiarium . Hence, the cry of the populace panem et cir censes . In course of time, the sale of the corn by the state seems to have ceased altogether, and the distribution became altogether gratuitous. Every corn-receiver was therefore now provided with a te era , and this te era, when once granted to him, became his property. Hence it came to pa , that he was not only allowed to keep the te era for life, but even to dispose of it by sale, and bequeath it by will. Every citizen was competent to hold a te era, with the exception of senators. Further, as the corn had been originally distributed to the people according to the thirty-five tribes into which they were divided, the corn-receivers in each tribe formed a kind of corporation, which came eventually to be looked upon as the tribe, when the tribes had lost all political significance. Hence, the purchase of a te era became equivalent to the purchase of a place in a tribe; and, accordingly, we find in the Digest the expre ions emere tribum and emere te eram used as synonymous. Another change was also introduced at a later period, which rendered the bounty still more acceptable to the people. Instead of distributing the corn every month, wheaten bread, called annona civic a , was given to the people. It is uncertain at what time this change was introduced, but it seems to have been the custom before the reign of Aurelian ( A.D. 270-275).