Letters from both the consuls arrived at Rome nearly at the same time. That of Lucius Cornelius gave an account of the battle fought with the Boians at Mutina; that of Quintus Minucius, from Pisae, mentioned, that "the holding of the elections had fallen to his lot, but that affairs in Liguria were in so uncertain a position, that he could not depart thence without bringing ruin on the allies, and material injury on the commonwealth. He therefore advised that, if the senate thought proper, they should direct his colleague (as his war was decided) to return to Rome for the elections. He said if Cornelius should object to this, because that employment had not fallen to his lot, he would certainly do whatever the senate should order; but he begged them to consider again and again whether it would not be more to the advantage of the republic, that an interregnum should take place, than that the province should be left by him in such a state." The senate gave directions to Caius Scribonius to send two deputies of senatorian rank to the consul, Lucius Cornelius, to communicate 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, by direction of the senate, proposed to the people, and the people ordered, that the laws relative to money lent between Roman citizens and subjects of any of the allied states, or Latin confederacy, should be the same as those between Roman citizens. Such were the transactions in Italy, civil and military. In Spain the war was far from being so formidable as the exaggerations of report had represented it. In Hither Spain, Caius Flaminius took the town of Ilucia, in the country of the Oretanians, and then marched his army into winter quarters. Several engagements took place during the winter, but none deserving of particular mention, directed against incursions of robbers rather than of the enemy; and yet with various success, and not without the loss of some men. More important services were performed by Marcus Fulvius. He fought a pitched battle near the town of Toletum, against the Vaccaeans, Vectonians, and Celtiberians; routed and dispersed their combined forces, and took prisoner their king, Hilermus.
8
While this passed in Spain, the day of election was drawing near. Lucius Cornelius, therefore, the consul, left Marcus Claudius, lieutenant-general, in command of the army and came to Rome. After representing in the senate the services which he had performed, and the present state of the province, he expostulated with the conscript fathers on their not having ordered a thanksgiving to the immortal gods when so great a war was so happily terminated by one successful battle; and then demanded, that they would at the same time decree a supplication and a triumph. But, before the question was put, Quintus Metellus, who had been consul and dictator, said, that, "letters had been brought at the same time from the consul, Lucius Cornelius, to the senate, and from Marcus Marcellus, to a great part of the senators; which letters contradicted each other, and for that reason the consideration of the business had been adjourned, in order that it might be debated when the writers of those letters should he present. He had expected, therefore, that the consul, who knew that the lieutenant-general had written something to his disadvantage, would, when he himself was obliged to come, have brought him with him to Rome; especially, as the command of the army would, with more propriety, have been committed to Tiberius Sempronius, who already possessed authority, than to the lieutenant-general. As the case stood at present, it appeared as if the latter was kept out of the way designedly, lest he might assert in person the same things which he had written in his letters; and, face to face, either substantiate his charges, or, if he had alleged any thing untrue, be convicted of misrepresentation, until the truth should be clearly discovered. For this reason he was of opinion, that the senate should not, at present, assent to either of the decrees demanded by the consul." When he, however, persisted with undiminished energy in putting the question, that a thanksgiving should be ordered, and himself allowed to ride into the city in triumph; the plebeian tribunes, Marcus and Caius Titinius, declared, that they would enter their protest, if the senate passed any decree on the subject.
9
In the preceding year, Sextus Aelius Paetus and Caius Cornelius Cethegus were created censors. Cornelius now closed the lustrum. The number of citizens rated was a hundred and forty-three thousand seven hundred and four. Extraordinary quantities of rain fell in this year, and the Tiber overflowed the lower parts of the city; and some buildings near the Flumentan gate were even laid in ruins. The Coelimontan gate was struck by lightning, as was the wall on each side of it, in several places. At Aricia, Lanuvium, and on the Aventine, showers of stones fell. From Capua, a report was brought that a very large swarm of wasps flew into the forum, and settled on the temple of Mars; that they had been carefully collected, and burnt. On account of these prodigies, the decemvirs were ordered to consult the books; the nine days' festival was celebrated, a supplication proclaimed, and the city purified. At the same time, Marcus Porcius Cato dedicated a chapel to Maiden Victory, near the temple of Victory, two years after he had vowed it. During this year, a Latin colony was established in the Thurian territory by commissioners appointed for the purpose, Cneius Manlius Vulso, Lucius Apustius Fullo, and Quintus Aelius Tubero, who had proposed the order for its settlement. There went out thither three thousand foot and three hundred horsemen; a very small number in proportion to the extent of the land. Thirty acres might have been given to each footman, and sixty to a horseman, but, by the advice of Apustius, a third part was reserved, that they might afterwards, when they should judge proper, send out thither a new colony. The footmen received twenty acres each, the horsemen forty.