of the tribunes'
prerogative.] The tribunes, being deprived of the power of proposing a
measure at will to the Comitia Tributa, would also lose the power of
prosecuting anyone before it, and probably lost the right of convening
meetings in order to address the people. Sulla, too, provided that
those who had been tribunes should be ineligible to other offices,
and, though the right of veto seems to have been left to them, it is
not clear that it was left without restrictions, while the abuse of it
was made a heavily punishable offence. It is likely also that he made
senators the only persons eligible to the tribunate. Positively,
therefore, by making the Senate's previous consent to a law necessary,
and negatively by these limitations of the prerogative of the
tribunes, legislative power was placed wholly in the Senate's hands.

[Sidenote: Changes in the Comitia.] Thirdly, the balance in the
Comitia themselves was so adjusted that the voting would be mostly in
the Senate's interests. Something has already been said of Sulla's
changes on this head, in reverting to the Servian mode of voting (p.
129). Some explanation of what this means may be given here. Sulla did
not abolish the Comitia Tributa; but the measures just mentioned, as
they left the practical power of legislation with the Senate, left the
formal power with the Comitia Centuriata. [Sidenote: History of the
Comitia Tributa and Centuriata.] We know the origin of the Comitia
Centuriata. We do not know the origin of the Comitia Tributa. But
we do know that by degrees the latter obtained legislative power
co-ordinate with that of the former, and that the Plebiscitum became
as binding on the nation as the Lex. There were in short two parallel
bodies in which the people could make laws--ranged in the one by
tribes, and voting on measures submitted to them by their tribunes;
ranged in the other by centuries, and voting on measures submitted to
them by the consul. But as the State became more and more democratic,
the Comitia Tributa was more used than the Comitia Centuriata, in
which legislation was gradually confined to special matters assigned
to them by law or custom. Besides these functions the Comitia Tributa
decided on war or peace, elected the tribunes, aediles, and lesser
magistrates, and also usurped judicial power, arraigning magistrates
for their conduct in office, &c. The functions of the Comitia
Centuriata were, as we have, seen, also legislative. They ele