municate to him
the letter sent by his colleague to the senate, and to acquaint him,
that if he did not come to Rome to elect new magistrates, the senate
were resolved, rather than Quintus Minucius should be called away from
a war, in which no progress had been made, to suffer an interregnum to
take place. The deputies sent brought back his answer, that he
would come to Rome, to elect new magistrates. The letter of Lucius
Cornelius, which contained an account of the battle with the
Boians, occasioned a debate in the senate; for Marcus Claudius,
lieutenant-general, in private letters to many of the senators, had
written, "that they might thank the fortune of the Roman people, and
the bravery of the soldiers, that the affair had been successful. That
the conduct of the consul had been the cause of a great many men
being lost, and of the enemy's army, for the annihilation of which an
opportunity had been offered, having made its escape. That what made
the loss of men the greater was, the reinforcements, necessary to
support them when distressed, coming up too late from the reserve;
and that, what enabled the enemy to slip out of their hands was, the
signal being given too tardily to the legionary cavalry, and their
not being allowed to pursue the fugitives." It was agreed, that no
resolution should be hastily passed on the subject; and the discussion
was accordingly adjourned to a fuller meeting.

7. Another concern also pressed upon them, namely, that the public
was heavily distressed by usurious practices; and although avarice had
been restricted by many laws respecting usury, yet a fraudulent course
had been adopted--that of transferring the securities to subjects of
some of the allied states, who were not bound by those laws, by which
means usurers overwhelmed their debtors by unlimited interest. On
considering of the best method for putting a stop to this evil the
senate decreed, that a certain day should be fixed on for it, the
next approaching festival of the infernal deities; and that any of
the allies who should from that day lend money to the Roman citizens,
should register the transaction; and that all proceedings respecting
such money, lent after that day, should be regulated by the laws of
whichever of the two states the debtor should choose. In some time
after, when the great amount of debt, contracted through this kind of
fraud, was discovered by means of the registries, Marcus Sempronius,
plebeian tribune,