35.7
The
senate agreed that no hasty decision should be come to on this matter and
the debate was adjourned for a fuller meeting of the House. There was
another pressing question to be dealt with. The citizens were suffering from
money-lenders, and though numerous laws had been made in restraint of
avarice they were evaded through the fraudulent transferring of the bills to
subjects of the allied States who were not bound by these laws. In this way
debtors were being overwhelmed by unlimited interest. After a discussion as
to the best method of checking this practice it was decided to fix a date, and
all members of the allied States who had after that date lent money to Roman
citizens were required to make a return of the amounts so lent, and the
debtor was to be at liberty to choose under which laws the creditor might
exercise his rights. The appointed day was that of the Feralia, which had just
been celebrated. From the returns sent in it was found that the debts
contracted under this fraudulent system amounted to a considerable sum,
and M. Sempronius, one of the tribunes of the plebs, was authorised by the
senate to propose a measure, which the plebs adopted, providing that debts
contracted with members of the Latin and allied communities should come
under the same laws as those contracted with Roman citizens. These were
the main military and political events in Italy. In Spain the war was by no
means so serious as rumour represented. C. Flaminius in Hither Spain took
the fortified town of Inlucia in the country of the Oretani. He then with drew
his troops into winter quarters, and during the winter several unimportant
actions were fought to repel raiding parties, who resembled banditti rather
than hostile troops. He was not always successful, however, and sustained
losses. More important operations were carried on by M. Fulvius. He fought
a pitched battle near Toletum with a combined force of Vaccaci, Vettones
and Celtiberians, defeated and routed them and took Hilernus their king
prisoner.
