NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Any nation in Europe 1914 who has a sea province bordering the English Channel, or requires use of it to trade effectively is invited to this conference. This includes myself, Osteia, Exavia, Eastheim, and the Anj Reich. Other nation which believe they require use of the Channel may come to this Conference, but note that your views may not be given all that much credence.

Minister Baley-Finnis smiled. It had been a long day, this one. Trade to administer, merchants to placate.. the Parliament had recently given him permission to conduct negotiations with the various nations around the Channel. Control of the Channel was a vital part of Illar foreign policy - controlling their end of the English Channel, along with Gilbratar was an integral part of their defense, and they most certainly had the ships to do it.

However, it was recognized that other nations had a claim to the Channel as well, and keeping it open to trade would benefit everyone. Furthermore, friendship with such nations could only lead to the greater protection of the Empire.

And thus, a letter went out to various governments. Osteia, Exavia, Eastheim, and the Anj Reich.

To whom it may concern. You are cordially invited to a conference regarding trade and ships within the English Channel, which will be hosted by diplomat Arthur Engis. This conference will be hosted in Ansinia, Brittany, in the Marne Hotel and, of course, accomodation will be provided within the same hotel. Please send a representative of your government to discuss formal trading restrictions and control over this vital length of water.

I look forward to your reply,
Trade Minister James Baley-Finnis

He sat down, and wiped his forehead with a cloth. It was hot in summer. Of course, for Arthur Engis, it was even more hot, for he was shut up in a tiny train carriage, travelling on the stingy travel stipend the government gave to its diplomats. Ah, well. At least they were providing excellent accomodation. The Marne Hotel was five-star, it had luxuries the rest of the Empire almost never saw, and the systems they used to get rid of the heat were, at the very least, ingenious.

He mopped his brow with his soaking hankerchief, and looked down at his notes. He had been given an interesting amount of authority - of course, as a senior diplomat, it was expected that he would know what to do..

His royal highness Antonio Vespillio I strolled through his courtyard gardens looking quite content seeing as how they were comming along on this extremely hot day in the capital of Osteia, Apollo. The king enjoyed the summer weather quite well and it beat being couped up inside all day during the long winter months, he heard foot steps on the gravel behind him and turned to see who it was,

After bowing the man wearing a royal guard officers uniform spoke,

"Your highness! i bear a message from the Illar Empire!"

He lowered his head holding the message towards the king, he remained silent and took the piece of paper opening it up.....it read..



To whom it may concern. You are cordially invited to a conference regarding trade and ships within the English Channel, which will be hosted by diplomat Arthur Engis. This conference will be hosted in Ansinia, Brittany, in the Marne Hotel and, of course, accomodation will be provided within the same hotel. Please send a representative of your government to discuss formal trading restrictions and control over this vital length of water.

I look forward to your reply,
Trade Minister James Baley-Finnis


The king held it back for the officer to take, the man took one step foward, bowed and received it,

"Inform my royal diplomat Mr. George Clancy to see to this at once..along with Grand Admiral Cross, they will be in charge of this matter...give the empire positive reply at once"

"Yes your highness" He man said continuing to look at the ground...

"well then..what do you wait for?"

The officer bowed once again, turned on his heel and rushed off at a quick march,

King Antonio turned and continued his stroll kneeling down to look more closely at some beautiful flowers nearby.....

The officer returned to the communications room within the palace and sent a telegram back stating that a diplomat by the name of Mr. George Clancy and Grand Admiral Cross would be attending the meet, he also included the kings best reguards to prove that the matter had been personally brought to him.

The young officer sat back in his chair taking his cap off tossing it on a nearby table, he ran his fingers through his dark wavy hair and took a breather from his rush....he was in charge of bringing all the kings messages to him personally and was still nervous about it although he had been doing it for several months now, it was just the fact that he was constantly in the eyes of their leader....

Relations with the Illar Empire was a good thing, being in their good graces would be most benifitial.

To whom it may concern. You are cordially invited to a conference regarding trade and ships within the English Channel, which will be hosted by diplomat Arthur Engis. This conference will be hosted in Ansinia, Brittany, in the Marne Hotel and, of course, accomodation will be provided within the same hotel. Please send a representative of your government to discuss formal trading restrictions and control over this vital length of water.

I look forward to your reply,
Trade Minister James Baley-Finnis


Pemji, minister of foreign affairs for the Anj Reich and, Elbajer, assistant minister of trade, along with the various aids, information and luggage it was thought they would need, were headed towards a port in Norcost, there to board the light cruiser Capital and make their way to the specified location. the Anj weren't quite so dependent on the English channel as some. they could, without too great a disruption, divert traffic into the north sea and around that way. this was, however, not ideal.

so, the two of them were off to represent the Riech at this conference, by order of the Reichgone. messages had been sent off ahead of them to inform the Illar of their imminent arrival.

"A Mr. George Clancy from Osteia, and Mr. Pemji and Mr. Elbajer from the Anj Reich are coming. We have prepared individual suites, Mr. Engis. I understand that we are to receive a recommendation for a Noble Commendation for this, are we not?"

A Noble Commendation was a letter indicating the quality of a hotel, to the point where higher-up nobles would stay there. A most prestigious award, the Marne Hotel was pulling every string it could, calling in every bellboy, and preparing the hotel for a conference as quickly as it could - if they did well enough, apparently he was to recommend them for a Noble Commendation.

He inclined his head. "Of course, Mr. Brent. Provided, naturally, that everything goes smoothly with the hotel. We would not wish to offend our guests with poor service, no?"

"Oh, no, no, no, of course not, Mr. Engis! Never. Your room has been prepared.. would you care to look at it?"

"No, not right now. I wish to investigate the conference room."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Engis."

Brent lead Engis into the conference room, a most comfortable room, with ten or twelve chairs, large, expensive, mechanical chairs, one of the newest inventions from somewhere in the north, he had heard. A beautiful wood table stood there, and a huge map of the English Channel, and various areas of influence had been tacked to the wall, and lovingly spread out, as so not to tear.

"Excellent. Are the cordials mixed?"

"Yes, Mr. Engis. We have both those with much, and little rum and brandy mixed in."

"Wonderful. You will serve meals at breakfast-time, in our respective rooms, at which time we will go to the conference room. We may retire for dinner, should we put out a request, however, we will most likely be so deeply concerned with our discussions that we may request a light luncheon instead, in order to eat quickly. A full supper is requested, as we will no doubt be hungry from the day's exertions."

"I understand, Mr. Engis."

"Excellent. I can see your reputation is obviously well-deserved.."

And, with that, he retired to bed. The morrow, or perhaps the next, would bring diplomats from afar. And he intended to be rested, in order to meet them..

A return telegram was sent to the government of Illar.

THE KINGDOM OF EXAVIA THANKS YOU FOR THE INVITATION STOP
WE SHALL BE SENDING SIR ROBERT WALLACE TO THIS CONFERENCE STOP
BEST WISHES FULL STOP

OOC: Sorry for the crappy post, I've got school in a few minutes.

The motorcar stopped in front of the Marne hotel, the chauffeur quickly hopping out and opening the door for the Exavian delegate. Sir Robert Wallace (http://portrait.kaar.at/USA%202/images/william_taft.jpg), Minister of Foreign Affairs for King Alexander XVIII, stepped out, donning his tall top hat and dabbing at his face with a hankerchief. It was balzingly hot in the Illar Empire in the summer, and his fine tweed suit and three hundred-odd pounds didn't help any. A second automobile pulled up behind his to deposit his trusty bodyguard, armed only with a discreet short revolver.

The doorman opened the door for the Exavian delegate, and received a shiny gold half-crown tip. Wallace stepped into the cool building, taking off his hat politely and accepting the offered glass of cordial.

bump

Engis hurried down, and as he approached Sir Wallace, his face broke into a grin. "Ah, Sir Wallace. Glad you could make it. If you'd care to follow me inside, the Marne Hotel has an ingenuous array of cooling systems to keep out this blasted heat."

He extended his hand, shook Sir Wallace's, and turned around to hurry inside. The lobby was still hot, however, once one made it past the lobby, and into the rooms beyond, all manner of means to cool the rooms had been made, from spinning fan-blades which moved the tepid air, to open iceboxes placed conviniently around the rooms..

Engis smiled, and spoke. "The bellboy will lead you up to your room, and, once you've settled in, I'll arrange for someone to take you to the conference room."

Engis hurried down, and as he approached Sir Wallace, his face broke into a grin. "Ah, Sir Wallace. Glad you could make it. If you'd care to follow me inside, the Marne Hotel has an ingenuous array of cooling systems to keep out this blasted heat."

He extended his hand, shook Sir Wallace's, and turned around to hurry inside. The lobby was still hot, however, once one made it past the lobby, and into the rooms beyond, all manner of means to cool the rooms had been made, from spinning fan-blades which moved the tepid air, to open iceboxes placed conviniently around the rooms..

Engis smiled, and spoke. "The bellboy will lead you up to your room, and, once you've settled in, I'll arrange for someone to take you to the conference room."

"Thank you very much, good sir," Wallace beamed at Engis as he shook his hand enthusiastically. It was much nicer in here as he followed the bellboy up to his room. He gave the young man a large tip for his huge trunks and entered the plush suite, his bodyguard standing watch outside.

On the bureau, to Wallace's delight, sat a neat wooden box of cigars, along with several bottles of liquor, fine glasses, and a small bucket of ice cubes. The rotund Exavian ambassador quickly fixed himself a bourbon over ice, relieving the box of one of its cigars and settling himself on the small couch near the window.

the delegation from the Anj Reich arrived not long after, ready for business and curious as to what, exactly, the Illar had in mind here.

Grand Admiral Cross and Mr. Clancy arrived at the Marne hotel in Brittany. A bell hop opened the car door for the gentlemen, the Admiral wore his full military attire while Mr. Clancy wore a black buisness suit.....

"Ahh! Grand Hotel yes Admiral!" Said Clancy looking right up the front of the building...

"Quite Mr. Clancy.." Cross replyed simply...

The two men strolled into the lobby and looked around for anyone who seemed to be waiting for them.....

"Were we not supposed to be met here?" Clancy said glancing at Admiral Cross

"Yes, but..i do not see anyone yet...well, who seems to be looking for us anyways..heh"

Both men waited patiently...

{OOC: What's your nation's name Ostiea?}

OOC: Still Ostiea Buddha.

{OOC: What's your nation's name Ostiea?}

OOC: Osteia...i was using a puppet nation but i got my old 1 back, see i was logging into the forms and not NS...so i got deleted...that got all sorted out though....

OOC: Let us assume that we're all in the conference room, for the sake of simplicity.

IC: "Engis. Arthur Engis. Pleased to meet you."

He shook the hand of the last of the three to arrive.

"My government wishes to discuss a few things with you. I'll be blunt, and to the point. Firstly, trade within the English Channel. I think we can agree that such trade should be free for all nations involved, however, there may be some who disagree. However, the main issue we must discuss is security. The security of the English Channel is vital for the defense of Eastheim, and of the Illar Empire, not to mention Osteia and Exavia. The Anj Reich, in constrast, has less to gain from a secure English Channel - other than the Empire possessing the capability to fulfill her defense pact with the Reich, which in and of itself is much to gain."

He took a breath. "At present, we wish to discuss national waters, and a pact, of sorts, through which we would 'crack down' on hostile shipping through the Channel should it come to war."

Pemji's response was simple enough, in the main.

"our waters don't even reach into the channel, so that issue worries the Reich not at all. and we can, at need, make use of the north sea and pass around Scotland... but it is economically ... preferable... to use the channel, provided there are no significant costs generated by those in control of it.

the Empire's ability to pass through the channel to support us in honor of our pact would be greatly appreciated, however it comes to mind that a pact regarding 'hostile' shipping has interesting implications.

what would happen if one of the signatories were to be the 'hostile' involved? not that the Reich plans any such thing, of course, but information is the key to victory, and victory is vital to defense. unpleasant surprises are best kept as few as possible. "

the minister's accent was so faint as to be completely undetectable to one who had not heard one of the Anj speak other languages before, and even then only if one payed attention.

"I imagine, should two members of this conference go to war, we would not require the other members of the conference to support one or the other, rather, it would be the requirements of their various alliances and whatnot. However, should an outside threat appear - say, one of the Baltic nations, securing this Channel would be of utmost importance to all of the nations here, and would allow us to free up more troops for a war up north."

"humm... i see. so, if two member nations are at war with one another, this proposal, as applied to their relationships with each other only, would be suspended, yes? while they would still be obligated to the others, should those nations remain neutral, and those neutral nations would still be obligated to both of the parties involved in such conflict, and each other, bevel mi pol."

[bevel mi pol: (politly) is (it) not so?]

Sir Wallace twirled a small fountain pen in his beefy fingers. "If two nations of this alliance do go to war with each other, then it should be the responsibility of the remaining nations to use all means necessary to resolve the conflict posthaste."

[For the sake of the RP let us assume that I am completely replacing our former Irish counterpart and therefore any previous encounters are void?]

Seán Patsy had arrived much later then the other diplomats much to his chagrin. He didn’t have much bargaining room compared to others that filled the room in the first place and his tardiness would only lessen his influence. Though his spirits were down it was not his fault in the least. The Irish cruiser Majestic that was to ferry him across the Channel had mechanical failures preventing a hasty departure.

Nevertheless he carried himself well. He was small and thin looking almost half his actual age. His fire red hair fell rather unwieldy upon his thin black glasses. His suit was grey and overly warm for the climate. Regardless, when in meetings as such his mind was usually too hard at work to become annoyed by such petty nuisances.

The idea of a unified Channel was something Ireland was very happy hearing. Anything to secure borders and open new trading ports was something anyone could enjoy. However he felt it necessary to at least play the devil’s advocate.

“To secure the Channel for another nation during their time of war could and most likely would put the securing nation at risk of becoming involved in the conflict.”

"It could bring war, yes, however, we will not be blocking off civilian vessels, for the most part - rather, the passage of military vessels from aggressive nations through the Channel. And, when you consider that the Anj, the Osteians, and yourselves, as well as the Illar stand ready to sign this - there is no greater naval force on the planet. I doubt any would try to break such a force, and, if they did, they would most assuredly pay."

He smiled. "You see, force has a diplomatic quality all of its own. There is no alliance that could make its way through the Channel unstopped by our navies, and, so, it is highly unlikely that any would ever try, especially if it involved risking war with all signatories of a treaty such as this one."

Patsy listened intently. The Illar Empire was by far the most influential in the world and because its relative proximity to the Republic, it was one that needed to be recognized. Nevertheless a good little debate would at least show the Empire that the Republic could hold its own and perhaps gain a friend within the government’s hierarchy.

“I suppose that is the truth. Yet I do fear that such powers are meant to be countered. Europe alone if full of powers that could easily and willing unite to counter such a mighty force. The last thing the Republic wants to see is a coalition of naval forces with their guns aimed at Dublin. Though I digress. Ireland does enjoy the fact of naval protection, especially by a force so large and close as Illar.”

"i think you over-estimate the effects here. alliance or no, most involved in this already have enemies ready to pounce. it would change nothing. also, given that the point in this, if i am understanding correctly, is primarily to keep the channel Open, it strikes me as Highly unlikely that anyone would object specifically to this agreement. "

a pause

"unless i missed something?"

“So it would seem,” referring to the comment about missing something. “Though this is to promote access to the channel, it has the possibility to close it off to countless nations throughout time. What concerns Dublin is the possibility of having the Channel closed to us because another signer is at war with said nation. We also understand that the nations involved are paramount to our safety and sovereignty as a nation, this fact is something we never overlook. Yet it causes great concern which is why I have brought up this small argument. I am looking for a solution.”

"right, right... and the only way it could be closed to you, if this agreement goes through, is if you ended up at war with any of Us. end of the day, the point is that the channel is a safe shipping rout for those nations represented here today. whither that means closing it to others or leaving it open, or whatever is required.

at any rate, all those nations it would affect in any significant way are either here, or have more immediate issues closer to home. the only way this agreement is a threat to you, really, is if you go to war with any other signatory, or do not sign it. "