and which
was altogether for their good? There was a scene of great excitement.
Tiberius called upon Octavius to resign. Octavius refused. Then Tiberius
called for the election of another tribune in Octavius's place. This was
against all rule and order. Nevertheless it was done. Octavius was
removed. A new tribune was elected in his stead. Amid great rejoicing
the Land Bill was passed.

The landlords were full of a deep bitterness against Tiberius and
accused him of all kinds of things. They said that he wanted to upset
the State and tear up the laws because he had passed a Bill taking from
them a portion of their lands which had never really belonged to them.
He, however, went quietly on with his work. A committee was set up, on
which were both Tiberius and his brilliant young brother Caius, to
divide the common land and give it out in lots to the citizens who
needed and could work it. This was a long task. At the end of the year
Gracchus ceased to be tribune. His work was not finished. The Senate had
refused to give the Land Commission any money for their expenses and was
putting every kind of difficulty in the way of their getting on with
their task. Moreover, in view of the hatred of the landlords Gracchus
himself, as a private person, was hardly safe. Therefore, when the
election time came he asked to be chosen as tribune again.

A great many of the citizens who had come in from the country districts
to vote for the Land Bill had gone back again; others had left Rome to
prepare for or take up the new allotments. The charges made against
Gracchus made timid people afraid; they were worried when it was said
that a man could not legally be elected tribune for two years running.
They were still further alarmed by Gracchus's own speeches. Feeling ran
very high on both sides, and it was plain that the election day would
not go off without some disturbance.

Rioting, indeed, broke out in the Capitol almost before the sun rose and
fighting with sticks and stones between those who wanted Tiberius
elected and those who did not. As always happens, many joined in who
neither knew nor cared what the trouble was all about. When Tiberius
himself appeared he raised his hand to summon his friends to gather
round him. This was reported to the Senate by a man who cried, 'Tiberius
Gracchus has raised his hand to his head: he is asking the citizens to
crown him.' On this Nasica, a senator who hated Gracchus, demanded that
he should