386, 1 L. Ed. 648. st facto” and “retrospective” are not convertible terms: The latter is a term of wider signification than the former and includes it. All ep post facto laws are necessarily retrospective, but not e conwerso. A curative or confirmatory statute is retrospective, but not e# post facto. Constitutions of nearly all the states contain prohibitions against ew post facto laws, but only a few forbid retrospective legislation in specific terms. Black, Const. Prohib. $§ 170, 17