Treatise on British Government in the West Indies
It is here, in the depths of our depression and anxiety; it is here, when oppression by an enemy begins to take a psychological toll on our people, and the infighting reaches its boiling point; it is here, in our greatest hour of need that the strength of our self-government succeeds or fails.
Our societies universally agree that something is wrong with our current system. We won a great many decisive victories early in our campaign, but in recent weeks the tide of war has been turned completely against us, beginning with the spearhead of the French drive to conquer St. John’s on March 6, 1720. I think, for many of us, that morning was a wake up call: we had though the French surrendered and the seas ours, only to be completely shocked and overwhelmed. Since that time, we have only won four battles against the French, while they have won fourteen. They now control our large shipyard operations, insuring that we cannot produce ships of the line except at a cost perhaps too great to emerge from this slump.
We, as a nation, are in great trouble.
The arguments for why this is occurring are many, but their essence is as follows:
1. We are not organized as a nation.
2. We have too many captains not yet ready for ships of the line that are, regardless, bringing their ships into these ports and attempting to wage war.
3. We lack good leadership.
It is absolutely necessary that we form a plan for addressing these issues. We have been meeting to try to address them, but our meetings have turned into largely a public forum for airing our frustration without anyone stepping forward and devising a plan. This document is intended to be exactly that plan. It provides rules addressing each of these concerns. It is intended to be our constitution for bringing the fleet together as a cohesive whole. Its power rests on the society leaders who sign below, who pledge together to resolve these issues and move forward to victory.
Organization
Each society of at least 10 ((Player)) active members (( - that is to say, there must be separate pllayers in the society, not just separate characters - )) will be eligible to nominate two of its ((player)) members to Parliamentary seats.
Those who do not wish to enter into these larger societies are still eligible to attend the meetings. Any member of the British Empire may address the Parliament when the floor is opened. The floor must be opened at one time during the meetings, and all meetings must be made a matter of public knowledge so that anyone can attend who wishes to. Additionally, any member of the British Empire may serve as Prime Minister, regardless of his or her status as a member of a society. If someone who does not belong to a society is elected as Prime Minister, that person shall still receive the vote accorded to the Prime Minister, as described below. Finally, any member of the British Empire may serve as Admiral of the Fleet during war actions, as elected by Parliament.
For the purposes of this document, “member of the British Empire” refers to anyone who is a member of a society that has ratified this document or to any individual outside of a society who has personally ratified this document to be applied to him.
Currently, Parliamentary laws are as follows:
· Session: The current Parliamentary session is defined as the current month. The term for the Prime Minister is a one-month term, determined at the last meeting of the preceding calendar month. The Admiralty is also determined during this session, for a term of one calendar month. When a society sends members to Parliament, their term is considered to be one month, beginning at the beginning of the month. A society may not change its nominated members during a meeting or within one day before a meeting, but may at any other time.
· Prime Minister: This Parliament shall elect a Prime Minister who will act as the president of the Parliamentary council but will have no powers outside of the Parliamentary council. It is the Prime Minister’s job to bring the meeting to order or adjourn the meeting, maintain order during the meeting, call speakers to the floor, and call a vote after a motion to vote has been made. Whenever a vote occurs, the Prime Minister shall not himself vote unless his vote is needed to break a tie.
· Vice-Minister: A backup Prime Minister shall be elected as well. This Vice-Minister will have no voting power either, except in the case of the Prime Minister not being present at the meeting and only in the same situations where the Prime Minister would have the power to vote
· Secretary: A secretary shall also be appointed to keep the minutes of the meeting and to handle communication of news to the citizens of the British Empire.
· Nominations: Any Parliamentary member, excluding the Prime Minister or the Vice-Minister, may nominate any member of the British Empire to the offices of Prime Minister, Vice-Minister, or Admiralty. Anyone who has been nominated must accept the nomination before a vote can be held to put them in office. Citizens may declare ahead of time their willingness to accept a nomination.
· Exclusion of offices: No officer (defined as Prime Minister, Vice-Minister, Secretary, or member of the Admiralty) may hold another officer post at the same time.
· Voting: Whenever an issue needs to be addressed by a vote of the Parliament, any Member of Parliament may request the vote by making a Motion to Vote. If any other Member of Parliament Seconds the Motion, the Prime Minister must call a vote on the issue. Votes may be called only after Motions have been made and Seconded. In the event that multiple conflicting motions are called at once, it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to place them into an order that best serves the needs of the British people. When voting, each Member of Parliament will receive one vote. Only those present at the current meeting may vote. The Prime Minister will only be eligible to vote in the event of a tie (or, in the case of a 2/3rds majority needed, if his vote would make the difference between one side winning or the other, but only after all other votes are cast). On any issues of legislation or nomination, a simple majority is necessary for the motion to succeed. For censure or removal of a person from office, a 2/3rds majority is required. For removal, at least half of all Parliamentary members must be present. At no time shall the exact same vote be called twice in the same meeting. When a vote is called, the Secretary shall read the names of the Parliamentary members, and when each member’s name is read he or she shall state his or her vote as affirmative, dissenting, or abstaining (through the use of “Aye”, “Nay”, or simple silence when abstaining). Nothing else may be said during the vote. If a member is not present when his or her name is read, his or her vote shall be counted as abstaining. Abstaining, present votes do still count for making the total number of members present when a certain number of members must be present for a vote.
· Vote of Censure: In the event that a Member of Parliament is unruly, the council has the option to censure this member. Any Member of Parliament may make a motion to censure that person. This is carried out as with any other voting, and a 2/3rds majority is required. When the motion of censure passes, the offending member is placed in a muffle to silence him (( Every Member of Parliament must add him to their ignore lists )) for a period of ten minutes.
· Vote of Removal: If a Member of Parliament has been censured, and he is still defiant of the council’s orders, any other Member of Parliament may call for his removal. Members of Parliament who have been removed are ineligible to return to Parliamentary service during the current session. Their vote is taken away. The society of that member may then nominate a new member to fill his place. (( If the removed member will not leave a meeting, however, it is advised that every Member of Parliament add him to their ignore lists for the duration of the meeting )).
· Removal of a society: A society shall only be removed from membership in the British Empire by a 3/4ths majority vote of a Parliament comprising 3/4ths of all Parliamentary members. In the event of the removal of a society, all members of the society shall be censured permanently (( Placed on every member’s ignore list )) and must join a current member society to be removed from censure.
· Addition of a society: Any society may apply to join a session by attending a meeting and stating the name of the society, its members, and its leadership when the Prime Minister opens the floor. It must fulfill all the normal requirements for inclusion into Parliament. No more than one fourth (25%) of the members of that society may be members of a society previously removed from Parliament. Also, if the head of the new society is the same as the head of the removed society, that society shall be considered the same society as the one removed and thus not eligible for addition.
· Scheduling Meetings: At each meeting, the time, date, and location of the next meeting must be determined. At the end of the Parliamentary meeting, the Prime Minister must call for nominations for details for the next meeting, and these details must be announced to all the British Empire both following the current meeting and at intervals of one day and one hour before the next meeting. Additionally, if any publication is possible, which is to be determined later in a Parliamentary meeting, then that publication must also list the time, date, and location of future meetings.
· Admiralty: The Parliament also has the option of nominating any member of the British Empire to serve in the Admiralty. The Admiralty controls the war efforts for the Parliament for the current session. There are to be three Admirals nominated by the council to fill the following positions:
o Admiral of the Fleet– the commander of the fleet, who must determine all fleet movements and lead fleet actions (( such as port battles ))
o Vice Admiral – Second in command of the fleet, who will lead battles and fleet movements that must occur when the Admiral is not present, but who will not have the power to determine where the fleet will attack without prior consent of the Admiral (( In other words: the Vice Admiral may not determine to drive up contention on a French port when the Admiral has not signed off on that port )). During major battles, the Vice Admiral will command a squadron within that battle when not in command of the fleet.
o Rear Admiral – Third in command of the fleet, the Rear Admiral has the same restrictions as the Vice Admiral, and will only command the fleet in the event that the other two Admirals are not available. During major battles, the Rear Admiral will command a squadron within that battle when not in command of the fleet.
o Commodore of Duty – A Duty Officer is responsible for keeping a list of what captains and ships are available for fleet movements. This Duty Officer is to only provide the records; the Admiralty is to determine whom among the available captains to use within the fleet. This position is considered a Commodore, but it does not necessarily correlate to a position leading a squadron in fleet movements. This position is chosen by the Admiralty rather than by election from the Parliament.
o Other positions within the fleet are to be determined by the admiralty,
· The Parliament may also remove or replace members of the Admiralty or the Prime Minister. Removal requires a 2/3rds vote again. If the Prime Minister will not call the vote, the Vice-Minister should call the vote for first the censure and eventual removal of the Prime Minister. In the event of the Prime Minister calling for censure of the Parliamentary member requesting his removal, the vote for the request of removal shall come
· Term limits: No one may serve as either Prime Minister or Vice-Minister for more than three consecutive terms. No one may serve in either role for more collectively, over non-consecutive terms, for more than twelve terms. There is no such term limit for the Admiralty. Societies are encouraged to establish their own rules regarding term limits for those they nominate to Parliament.
· Legislation: The Parliament, through the normal motion and voting process, may introduce and approve legislation. It is up to the individual society leaders to determine how to police their own members. Those who are not members of a member society may be censured permanently through a simple 2/3rds majority vote of the members present at a scheduled meeting. Legislation may not be passed that violates the rights specifically granted by this document.
· Emergency Meetings: The Prime Minister or Vice-Minister may call an emergency meeting at any time. This meeting shall have the power of making temporary appointments only, and may not be called to remove or censure any person or society. In an emergency meeting, the Prime Minister does not have to open the floor.
· Amendments: Changes to this document may be made by a vote of the Parliament requiring at least 2/3rds of all members present with a 2/3rds majority vote. Under no circumstances shall the Prime Minister or Vice-Minister vote on this issue.
There shall also be a judicial branch, with members elected for life. Members are nominated by the Prime Minister only, and approved by a vote of Parliament. At the time of this document, only three judges shall be elected, with Parliament nominating a vote of amendment to the constitution to add additionally judges. The judges are called upon to mediate between people during law violations. They may only become involved in an issue by request of a member of the British Empire. Any citizen of the British Empire may sue for judicial involvement on an issue that personally involves that citizen or the client of that citizen.
Judges shall have the power to determine the meaning of any article in this document, but may only make those determinations when making a judgment regarding the censure or removal of a citizen for a law violation.
Admiralty and British
Captains
All citizens of the British Empire who are willing may join the Fleet. The Fleet is defined as the body that sails under command of the Admiralty for joint missions and exercises. It is comprised of between seven and twenty-five ships, at the discretion of the Admiralty. Groupings of between two and six ships shall constitute squadrons. During regular exercises on the open sea or in British ports, squadrons shall elect one captain in the squadron to serve as leader of the squadron through whatever process they choose.
When a citizen enlists in the Fleet, they enlist as well one or more ships that they promise to keep stocked and ready for battle actions, including a full compliment of outfitting, ammunitions, and repair tools.
During fleet actions, when the Admiral divides the fleet into squadrons for organization, the Admiralty shall choose who is placed in charge of squadrons. During these movements, the admiral in charge of the fleet shall not himself lead a squadron, but may, when the need is present, fill a position within a squadron. Other admirals shall lead squadrons. The admiral in charge of the fleet shall then select other captains to lead individual squadrons, based on their previous performance records.
Admirals shall make all plans for who shall be present in the battle, who shall lead squadrons, and who shall lead the fleet must take place before the time of the actual battle, in a strategy meeting of the Admirals. Admirals are free to conduct this meeting wherever and however they choose, provided they schedule the meeting with the other admirals’ involvement.
During a meeting of the Admiralty for the port battle, the Admiral of the Fleet shall be “in charge” and have the final say in all matters, with the Vice Admiral and Rear Admiral serving advisory roles. When the Admiral of the Fleet will not be available for a battle, the Vice Admiral will assume command and continue with the meeting. When neither the Admiral of the Fleet or the Vice Admiral are available for a battle, the Rear Admiral shall assume command of the fleet.
Meetings shall be conducted as follows:
1. Battle Scheduling – The Admiralty shall hold meetings regularly to determine what ports will be attacked, what captains shall help attack those ports, and thus what captains will attend the battles. Only the Admiralty, the Commodore of Duty, and some other positions created by the Admiralty are eligible for attending this meeting. It is not open to the public.
2. Battle Organization - When the Admiralty decides to attack a port, they should have the Commodore of Duty contact certain captains to determine who is going to be available ((availability required for both contention and port battle stages. As a group, the fleet will then enter an area and drive contention. No other members of the British Empire should work on contention at this location. The fleet will continue driving contention as a fleet (though not all 25 ships of the fleet must be present at particular times, but no fewer than 6 ships of the fleet must work together when they do) until their objectives, as defined by the Admiralty, are met. )). During the Battle Organization meeting, the captains in charge of individual squadrons within the line are invited to attend.
Admirals are encouraged to conduct training exercises in Bey’s Retreat and in other areas and give other captains the chance to lead these training exercises. Admirals must also determine appointments for total fleet movements, such as the command of a squadron. Full line movements may be practiced on the open sea, preferably in an area of strong British control.
It is recommended that large battles not involve any captains who are not capable of fielding ships of the line or ships of a nearly-equivalent nature ((45th level and above)).
Declaration of Rights
Every citizen of the British Empire shall have the following rights:
1. Censure: Rights may only be denied by Censure when that right has expressly denied it and when that Right only deals with the speech used by the Censured party.
2. Removal: Rights may only be denied by Removal when that right has expressly denied it and when that Right only deals with membership in Parliament.
3. Freedom to Petition the Parliament: During any regularly scheduled meeting, when the Prime Minister opens the floor, British citizens shall have the right to address the assembly and request a vote on an issue. The vote will only be called if a member of Parliament motions and another seconds the motion, as per normal voting procedure, OR if said citizen brings a document showing the names and signatures of twenty or more British Citizens who request the particular vote. A censure specifically denies this right.
4. Freedom of Ownership: Any citizen has the right to own any ship or item and use it in his personal defense or the defense of his society. The Parliament shall make no laws stripping a person of their goods.
5. Freedom from Taxation: The Parliament shall impose no taxes in addition to what is already imposed by the Crown.
6. Freedom of Assembly: British Citizens are welcome to assemble anywhere on British soil or in British Waters. This freedom does not extend to the areas near ports belonging to other nations, where British Citizens expressly do not have the right to assemble without the specific approval of the Admiralty.
7. Freedom to form Societies: Any British Citizen may enter into any British Society without interference from Parliament. Any British Society that meets the specific requirements for admission to Parliament, as described above, may send two members to Parliament without interference. Removal may specifically deny this right, as defined by the rules for Removal above.
8. Freedom of speech in Parliament: Any British Citizen may say anything when he or she has the floor. Parliament may only censure that citizen when he or she is speaking and does not currently have the floor. Censure specifically denies the right to speak.
9. Freedom of Use: No British Citizen may be forced into service in the fleet or into economic production. However, when a British Citizen has volunteered for service within the fleet or within an economic production line, he or she may not opt to remove it without consent of the governing body of that fleet or line.
10. Freedom from Censure and Removal: The threat or use of Censure or Removal must be restricted to when a British Citizen is not following the laws as defined above. It may not be used as a form of coercion to make a Citizen perform an act he or she would otherwise be unwilling to take: for instance, it may not be used to force a captain to send his ship into combat when he has not previously volunteered.
11. Freedom of Legal Representation: Any citizen is granted the right to have legal council who will represent the interests of that citizen during judicial reviews.