Cotta stands, and clears his throat, ready for a lengthy speech.

I agree that Legio III should be used to quell these rebels. My sources tell me they are a band of Samnites that have chosen to bring their well known disagreements with Roma into the military arena. However, there is no doubt in my mind that any Roman force need worry about a few petty mountain boys that don't know when they have been beaten. Though, of course, if the Legate of the Legio III thinks he needs an entire legion to put them in their place, so be it.

Let us move on to future matters of state, gentlemen. The Senate, as always, seems to be split down the middle, the phrase used in it's most lose form anyhow. We still harbour grievances against Pyhross in Epirus, and of course we can all see some benefits from sending good men to their deaths in a foreign land for a simple purpose of revenge. Who couldn't? But there is also the delegation against the maritime empire of Carthage, of which many of the Senate argue that we should declare national war upon for disregarding our treaty made some years ago. This is, of course, where the loose use of the phrase 'Down the middle' derives. It is well known that some Senators who voted for a war with Carthage last congressional session also wanted a war with Epirus. Aside from feelings of inactivity, power lust, or a true patriotic but rather short-sighted view that Roma can afford multiple foreign wars against several existing or potential allies, I can see no good reason why these certain figures expressed their views this way. We must choose one path to follow, regardless of whether it may be the 'right' one; we must strive to better ourselves for the good of the Republic, so that we may strengthen our truest power-belief in Roma and the Republic for which it stands.

And so, this brings us to a renewal of the debate of who to go to war with. I think we can all agree on at least one issue. This is a simple choice; Epirus, or Carthage.

For the moment, I stand as first speaker, thus I will conduct myself in the manner of said position and for now give both sides of each argument, so that every Senator can decide for himself who Roma makes war with next.

First of all, however, let me sum up our militaristic and economic standing. We have at this present moment in time, three active legions in service. Legio I Apulia is stationed in Massilia, and may be required to stay for perhaps the rest of this year, possibly longer. Legio II Latium is stationed in Patavium, and will be ready to deploy anywhere within the Republic within a matter of weeks. Legio III Capua is marching south to dispatch a few farmers of their lives and freedom in Kalabria. It is therefore plain to see our military strength is, for the moment at least, spread out across the Republic.

Our economy is the richest it has been in history, with gold literally flowing into our coffers daily. We do have enough to create a fourth legion should the Senate see fit. However, that is a separate discussion. What is slightly worrying, though, is the amount of wealth Roma gains through trade with Carthage and her territories. It would have a noticeable effect on our economy should we break trade agreements with them and declare war.

This, of course, brings me on to the discussion between Carthage and Epirus. Carthage is a great maritime power, and it is more than foolhardy to disrespect the absolute ability it gives them to supply, transport and raid against us; a luxury we cannot enjoy at this time, gentlemen.
We may be able to enjoy victory on land, should an invasion of Sicily be voted for. However we cannot hope to protect our coastal settlements, or even our legions' backs, to an enemy fleet movement. Our people would suffer beyond measure, completely at the enemy's mercy; as helpless as we are to help them.

But then again, Carthage has completely disregarded our agreement with them. We all know of their movements around Messana, their diplomatic agreements with our one time mutual enemies in Greece, and the complete monopoly in trade they enjoy with our port cities; the tycoon merchants taking full advantage of our lack in even the most basic fleets. We should send a representative to threaten them with war, and not be afraid to carry out our threats should they not heed our warnings.

The alternative is Epirus. For this it is doubtless we may require at the very least to requisition a fleet of merchant ships to be able to deploy our forces across the sea. This would also majorly affect our income, due to the loss in profits the merchants, followed by the state, would receive, and the subsequent insurance we would have to pay to the merchants for the loss of their profits. I also believe that by deploying into Greece at such an early stage in our Republic’s history may bring us into a much wider theatre of war that we cannot yet hope to handle. War with Epirus, supposing we are victorious, will doubtlessly lead us to war with Makedonia and the free Greek city states. We will also most likely attract attention from the semi-civilised barbarians to the north, the Thracians, Dacians and Getai, who may sweep into Greece, decivilising and exhausting its remaining resources, or they may threaten to invade Italia itself, which our armies fight on in a foreign land.

Of course there are good points. Should we be victorious, we will greatly improve Roma’s standing in the world; militarily, economically and politically. It will provide new riches, fighting ground and glory for Roma’s soldiers and plebs alike, and will improve the life of every citizen under our influence. However, I feel invasion of Epirus may be a step too far at this stage. I would prefer to denote their influence in Greece by invading and attacking their supporters and allies in Illyria. We would hit two birds with one stone this way. Attacking Epirus indirectly by removing them of soldiers and funds, along with their influence and strength in Greece, leading to a far less likely future invasion of Italia, and also we would be able to root out bases of the Illyrian pirates that plague our eastern coast.

All in all gentlemen, we must be realistic. Although we have recently reached a boom in our economy, we must face the fact that Roma can no longer hope to exist as a land power only. We must expand our forces and knowledge of battle as well as our territory and influence. Although we may not hope to compete immediately with giants at sea such as Carthage, we can learn, and learn fast, from our mistakes, and will one day be all the better for it.

I thank you for your patience, gentlemen. Let you all now cast out your own opinions.

Cotta sits, drinking a little wine to wet his throat, and waits for the first Senator to reply.