*The two assemblies of the people.* Henceforth, the Assembly of the Tribes tended to become more and more the legislative assembly _par excellence_, while the Assembly of the Centuries remained the chief elective assembly. For legislative purposes the Assembly of the Tribes could be convened by a magistrate with _imperium_ or by a tribune; for the election of the plebeian tribunes and aediles it had to be summoned by a tribune; while to elect the quaestors and curule aediles it must be called together by a magistrate. For all purposes the Assembly of the Centuries had to be convened and presided over by a magistrate. It elected the consuls, praetors, censors and, eventually, twenty-four military tribunes for the annual levy. It must be kept in mind that these were both primary assemblies, that each comprised the whole body of Roman citizens, but that they differed essentially in the organization of the voting groups. As we have seen the wealthier classes dominated the Assembly of the Centuries, but in the Assembly of the Tribes, which was the more democratic body, a simple majority determined the vote of each tribe. *The increased importance of the tribunate.* The importance of the tribunes was greatly enhanced by the Hortensian Law, as well as by various privileges which they had already acquired by 287 or gained shortly after that date. The more important of these powers were the right to sit in the Senate, to address, and even to convene that body, and the right to prosecute any magistrate before the _comitia tributa_. The first of these powers was a development of the tribunician veto, whereby this was given to a proposal under discussion in the Senate rather than upon a magistrate’s attempt to execute it after it had taken the form of a law or a senatorial decree. To permit the tribunes to interpose their veto at this stage they had to be allowed to hear the debates in the Senate. At first they did so from their bench which they set at the door of the meeting-place, but finally they were permitted to enter the council hall itself. The power of prosecution made the tribunes the guardians of the interests of the state against any misconduct on the part of a magistrate. From this time on the tribunes have practically the status of magistrates of the Roman people. The struggle of the orders left its mark on the Roman constitution in providing Rome with a double set of organs of government. The tribunate, plebeian aedileship, and _comitia tributa_ arose as purely plebeian institutions, but they came to be incorporated in the governmental organization of the state along with the magistracies and the assemblies that had always been institutions of the whole Roman people. IV. THE ROMAN MILITARY SYSTEM