"Senators, I tell you that the Bill as is currently presented makes no sense. Leaders of Italian cities must have been citizens for 10 years. But we do not extend Roman citizenship to Italians! Indeed, it appears that this whole Bill assumes that Roman citizenship has already been extended to the Italian allies when this is absolutely not the case. Yes, there are examples of Roman colonies, coloniae civium Romanorum, such as Ostia and Rimini, but Tiberius Caesar here does not refer to Roman colonies, whose inhabitants have full citizenship, but to Italian municipalities. And even then, in the Latin colonies (coloniae Latinae) such as Brindisi those settlers beginning life there gave up their Roman citizenship.

"Of course, Tiberius Caesar does not mention colonies at all but Italian cities - municipalities. It is within these municipia that our Italian allies - non-citizens by their very nature! - dwell and reside. Perhaps Tiberius Caesar has dreamed that we have in fact granted Roman citizenship to these people, in which case his brain is more addled than I had in fact believed!

"I tell you, Senators, this Bill is built upon a misconception and a miscomprehension of the true situation. If Tiberius Caesar wishes first to confer citizenship on our Italian allies, then by all means let him present the Senatus Consultum Iulium Socii Municipalis to us for us to debate and vote upon. But until then, this Bill has no place even being discussed here."