OF MODERN CORPORATIONS. 39 
which had formerly been brought before the 
assembly of the people. Even in the time of 
Augustus, as we find from Suetonius (Aug.c. 46) 
when the cities of Italy were allowed to send writ- 
ten suffrages to the elections at Rome, this pri- 
vilege was confined to the decurions or members 
of the municipal council; and as every popular 
institution was an object of alarm to the em- 
perors, it was natural that they should limit 
power more and more to this oligarchical body. 
The distinction which Gellius makes between 
municipia and colone, of which the former re- 
tained their own laws, the latter obeyed those 
of the Romans, appears to apply to countries in 
which the Romans found flourishing and well 
policed cities at the time of their conquest, not 
to those of western Europe, in which few cities 
existed before that time, and those which did 
exist had probably no organized form of inde- 
pendent government, with the very rare excep- 
tion of those which, like Marseilles, derived 
their origin from a civilized people. The mem- 
bers of the council, which was named ordo or 
curio, usually one hundred in number, were 
originally selected from among the principal 
possessors of land, and im the case of the 
Gallic and probably other cities, the old native | 
aristrocracy were largely incorporated with it. 
