Firstly, with the prospect of Roman citizenship offered as compensation, many Italian communities would be content with the inferior land deals they were currently being offered. Secondly, when a land dispute came before a Roman magistrate, both plaintiffs and defendants would be Roman citizens, and the magistrate – who was also a politician seeking re-election – would make a fairer decision if he alienated one set of voters in the course of appeasing another. At present the magistrate adjudicating a land dispute could appease the Romans and let the Italians go hang, and he generally did just
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