grades of officials were within their jurisdiction, but most of the cases were against the higher magistrates. The first tribunician case of the kind after the Hortensian legislation, and the first which is absolutely free from historical doubt, is that brought against P. Claudius Pulcher on the ground that as consul, 249, he fought the naval battle off Drepana contrary to auspices, thereby losing his fleet. After the comitia had been interrupted by a storm, the intercession of colleagues against the resumption of the trial saved him from the death penalty. As the result of a new trial before the tribes, however, he was fined 120,000 asses, 1000 for each ship lost.[1504] His colleague, L. Junius, by suicide escaped condemnation on a charge of perduellio.[1505] In 212 two tribunes of the plebs prosecuted M. Postumius Pyrgensis, a publican, before the tribes for fraud, setting the penalty at 200,000 asses; but the accused with his friends violently broke up the assembly, whereupon the tribunes, dropping the original charge, prosecuted him for perduellio,[1506] we should suppose before the centuries.[1507] Among the complaints urged against him by the consuls in the senate were that “he had wrested from the Roman people the right of suffrage, had broken up a concilium plebis, had reduced the tribunes to the rank of private persons, had marshalled an army against the Roman people, seized a position, and cut the tribunes off from the plebs, and had prevented the tribes from being called to vote.” Specifically the crime must have been perduellio.[1508] Before the day of trial he withdrew into exile. In his absence the plebs on the motion of Sp. and L. Carvilius decreed that he was legally in banishment, that his property should be confiscated, and that he should be interdicted from fire and water. In this connection it should be noticed that whereas the banishment of a citizen by lex or iudicium was the exclusive right of the centuries,[1509] the tribes were competent to decree him an exile after his voluntary retirement.[1510] Some of the coadjutors in the violence of the publican above mentioned left their bail and followed him into exile; others were imprisoned to await capital trial, with what result the historian does not inform us.[1511]