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It cannot be shown that after the complete subjugation of Italy even a single Italian community exchanged its position as an ally for the Roman franchise; probably none after that date in reality acquired it Even the transition of individual Italians to the Roman franchise was confined almost solely to the case of magistrates of the Latin communities and, by special favour, of individual non-burgesses admitted to share it at the founding of burgess-colonies.
This is indicated by the evidently very old forms -velites-and -arquites-and by the subsequent organization of the legion. I. V. The King I. IV. The Tibur and Its Traffic The Non-Burgesses and the Reformed Constitution Amalgamation of the Palatine and Quirinal Cities The history of every nation, and of Italy more especially, is a synoikismos on a great scale.
The Roman polity especially adhered to this view with its peculiar tenacious consistency; even in the sixth century the dependent communities of Italy were either, in order to their keeping their municipal constitution, constituted as formally sovereign states of non-burgesses, or, if they obtained the Roman franchise, were although not prevented from organizing themselves as collective bodies deprived of properly municipal rights, so that in all burgess-colonies and burgess municipia- even the administration of justice and the charge of buildings devolved on the Roman praetors and censors.
Only the most urgent exigencies were barely met by the division of the judicial functions hitherto discharged by a single praetor between two judges one of whom tried the lawsuits between Roman burgesses, and the other those that arose between non-burgesses or between burgess and non-burgess in 511, and by the nomination of four auxiliary consuls for the four transmarine provinces of Sicily , Sardinia including Corsica , and Hither and Further Spain . The far too summary mode of initialing processes in Rome, as well as the increasing influence of the official staff, are doubtless traceable in great measure to the practically inadequate numbers of the Roman magistracy.
The cases in which Caesar had bestowed burgess-rights and established colonies in Upper Italy were described by them as unconstitutional and null; in further illustration of which Marcellus ordained that a respected senator of the Caesarian colony of Comum, who, even if that place had not burgess but only Latin rights, was entitled to lay claim to Roman citizenship, should receive the punishment of scourging, which was admissible only in the case of non-burgesses.
As the nobility, in relation to the plebeians, returned to the close exclusiveness of the declining patriciate, so did the burgesses in relation to the non-burgesses; the plebeiate, which had become great through the liberality of its institutions, now wrapped itself up in the rigid maxims of patricianism.
Although the numerical proportions of the burgesses and non-burgesses in Italy cannot be properly ascertained, it may be regarded as certain that the number of the burgesses was not very much less than that of the Italian allies; for nearly 400,000 burgesses capable of bearing arms there were at least 500,000, probably 600,000 allies.
The resumption of the portions simply occupied by non-burgesses was no doubt allowable in formal law, and not less presumably the resumption of the domain-land handed over by decrees of the senate or even by resolutions of the burgesses to the Italian communities, since thereby the state by no means renounced its ownership and to all appearance gave its grants to communities, just as to private persons, subject to revocation.
The Roman polity especially adhered to this view with its peculiar tenacious consistency; even in the sixth century the dependent communities of Italy were either, in order to their keeping their municipal constitution, constituted as formally sovereign states of non-burgesses, or, if they obtained the Roman franchise, were although not prevented from organizing themselves as collective bodies deprived of properly municipal rights, so that in all burgess-colonies and burgess municipia- even the administration of justice and the charge of buildings devolved on the Roman praetors and censors.
So long as Rome was still but one among the many urban communities of Italy, although that one might be the first, admission even to the unrestricted Roman franchise was universally regarded as a gain for the admitting community, and the acquisition of that franchise by non-burgesses was facilitated in every way, and was in fact often imposed on them as a punishment.
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