Cotenshire
14-02-2008, 06:38
Seeking to appease the numerous petitioners who have been complaining over the past several months, King William V has decided to call for a new election to his Parliament with most of the seats being up for grabs.
(OOC: There is an explanation for each issue at the bottom of this post.)
Colloquists – Chaired by the Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien:
The Colloquists are the primary right-of-center party of the Dominion. They currently hold a majority in Parliament and have been the dominant party in Parliament since the political parties first came in to existence.
Jews: The issue of the Jews divides this party; some are for expulsion of Jews, some favor only restrictions on Jews, while others do not care
Catholics: Generally against restrictions
Poles: For restrictions
Minimum Wage: Against
Welfare: Against
Regulation of Industry: Against
Labour Unions: Against
Guilds: For
Tariffs: For
Royal Monopolies: For
Forest Laws: For
Seigneurial Duties: For
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For the current system
Penal System: For the current system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: Against
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: For
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: Generally for
Electorate: For current electorate size
Pétis – Chaired by Sir Henri Gespesie:
The Pétis are a left-of-center party that chiefly champions laissez-faire economics. They are also widely known as the “liberals” or collectively as the “Liberal Party.” Pétis, their traditional name, is still most commonly used, though. There is constant struggle between the rural Pétis and the western urban Pétis, with many members of the latter group defecting to the Colloquists in recent years.
Jews: Against restrictions or expulsion
Catholics: For restrictions
Poles: For restrictions
Minimum Wage: Against
Welfare: Against
Regulation of Industry: Against
Labour Unions: Against
Guilds: Against
Tariffs: Against
Royal Monopolies: Against
Forest Laws: Generally against
Seigneurial Duties: For
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For reformation of the system
Penal System: For the current system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: Against
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: Against
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: Generally for
Electorate: For current electorate size
Socialist Party – Chaired by Markward Rundel:
The Socialist Party promotes its own brand of practical socialism. Its members are almost exclusively urban, since the rural peasants and gentry express harsh hostility to their doctrines.
Jews: For expulsion
Catholics: Against restrictions
Poles: Against restrictions
Minimum Wage: Generally for, common figures desired are £2 6s per week.
Welfare: Generally for limited aid given out, as well as benefits for the unemployed and injured workers, all of these only for men
Regulation of Industry: Generally supports minimum safety regulations
Labour Unions: For
Guilds: Against
Tariffs: For
Royal Monopolies: No consensus among party
Forest Laws: Ignores this issue
Seigneurial Duties: Ignores this issue
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For reformation of the system
Penal System: For reformation of the system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: For
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: Ignores this issue
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: Ignores this issue
Electorate: For increasing the size of the electorate to about 10% of the population
Reform Party – Chaired by Sir Folkmar Lubinsen:
The Reform Party is a relatively new party and has only gained seats in Parliament for the first time in 2006. It is made up of those who were dissatisfied with Pétis and the Socialist Party but still held left-of-center beliefs.
Jews: For expulsion
Catholics: Generally for restrictions
Poles: Generally for restrictions
Minimum Wage: For, official minimum wage according to party doctrine should be £4 2s
Welfare: For aid given out, seeks to insure workers in case of injury, unemployment, and pregnancy
Regulation of Industry: For protecting workers against various instances of exploitation by employers, for limiting child and women labour to 10 hours per day, for extensive safety and health regulations
Labour Unions: For
Guilds: Against
Tariffs: Generally against
Royal Monopolies: Against
Forest Laws: Against
Seigneurial Duties: Against
Environment: For environmental protection regulations
Law Enforcement: For complete revamping of system
Penal System: For complete revamping of system
Torture: Against
Legal Reform: For
Freedom of Press: For
Monastic Tenants: Generally against
Mandatory Tithes: Generally against
Absenteeism: Against
Electorate: For increasing the size of the electorate to about 7% of the population
Doncasterians – No chairman:
While technically illegal, the Doncasterian faction still exists due to the refusal of many lords and governors to enforce the ban on this party. This party has no seats in Parliament, as it would be difficult for such a prominent person as a member of Parliament to publicly hold Doncasterian beliefs. The primary aim of this party is to install a member of the Doncaster branch of the Salisbury dynasty on the throne, but it also holds other political beliefs that arise out of grievances against the King’s policies.
Jews: No party consensus
Catholics: Against restrictions
Poles: For restrictions
Minimum Wage: Against
Welfare: Against
Regulation of Industry: Against
Labour Unions: Against
Guilds: For
Tariffs: Against
Royal Monopolies: Against
Forest Laws: Against
Seigneurial Duties: For
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For current system
Penal System: For current system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: For
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: For
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: For
Electorate: For current electorate size
Explanations of Issues:
Jews: There is widespread anti-Semitism in the Dominion, and many beliefs are widely held about Jewish conspiracies to cause subversion in Christian society. Commonly proposed solutions to these problems are the placement of various restrictions upon Jews or complete expulsion of them from the Dominion. On the other hand, many in the Dominion hold the Jews in high regard due to their economic successfulness.
Catholics: Among the Protestants of the Dominion exist beliefs that Catholic influence harms Protestant society and Catholics should have restrictions placed on them lest they harm Protestant culture.
Poles: The large Polish population in the south of the Dominion is in a state of near constant rebellion and has drawn the ire of many in the rest of the Dominion. The most common solution to the Polish problems is to place restrictions upon them.
Minimum Wage: There is currently no minimum wage in the Dominion, and it is rarely even brought up in political discourse.
Welfare: Aiding the poor in the Dominion has traditionally been the realm of the church, although some fringe leftists believe that government should do so as well.
Regulation of Industry: Industry in the Dominion is completely unregulated, and, like minimum wage, there is rarely any discourse about this issue among politicians.
Labour Unions: Labour unions are generally seen as harmful in the Dominion, although some support them.
Guilds: Modern guilds are similar in some ways to labour unions, although they are much older and generally revolve around preventing competition and focus less on aiding members.
Tariffs: The Dominion has very high tariffs since protection of domestic markets is a high priority. Tariffs are despised by rural landowners and agrarians due to the high prices they create.
Royal Monopolies: The King has sole right to many industries of the Dominion, most notably the defense industry. The King also has numerous monopolies over the use of “afforested land,” which has to do with the Forest Laws.
Forest Laws: The issue of the Forest Laws is most controversial in the Dominion. They concern the right of the King to create monopolies on any natural resource he wishes in the specific “afforested” areas, which encompass most of the Dominion. Examples of such laws include the King’s monopoly over all of a certain species of tree, or over all game for hunting.
Seigneurial Duties: Seigneurial Duties refers to the collective rights traditionally held by the rural aristocrats in matters of what the peasants and villagers that live on their land owe in duty. These duties include crops, taxes, and labour. Many aristocrats also hold monopolies over certain economic activities, such as the milling of grain. All of these things are referred to in this post as Seigneurial Duties.
Environment: This issue refers to regulations of industries that prevent harm to the environment.
Law Enforcement: Law enforcement in the Dominion is, for the most part, delegated to the local clergy. The most prolific ecclesiastical “police force” is the Fraternal Order of the Silverhelms, although other police forces exist (these organizations are generally referred to as “silverhelms,” with a lowercase “s”). Problems arise due to the fact that these police forces are extremely difficult to regulate and centralise, and many seek to reform the system to correct the abuses in it.
Penal System: Prisons in the Dominion are unregulated jails that each lord or lord-ecclesiast owns. Prisoners are generally locked up in these cells indefinitely, often without food or without any oversight whatsoever. These conditions naturally lead to extremely high mortality rates within prisons, and some reformers wish for more humane conditions and a centralised, government regulated prison system.
Torture: Torture is commonly practised in the Dominion, and this issue refers to whether or not torture for purposes of state should be universally banned.
Legal Reform: There are generally four punishments given out for crimes in the Dominion: fines, public humiliation, life in prison, or execution. There is no centralised way of conducting justice, and there is no concrete code on which punishments are handed out for certain crimes. A petty theft might result in a fine by one judge or an execution by another. Reformers seek to centralise and standardise the legal system.
Freedom of Press: The press in the Dominion (which refers to newspapers, tabloids, and pamphlets) is currently ambiguously influenced by those in powerful positions, which often means government offices. Many reformers seek to eliminate this practice.
Monastic Tenants: Monastic tenants refers to the ownership of large estates by abbeys or monasteries. There are several different problems people have with this, with the most common being that monastic orders are exempt from taxes, which means that there is a large amount of untaxed land in the Dominion.
Mandatory Tithes: There is no centralised law in the Dominion that states that residents must pay tithes to their local churches. This does not stop local churches from demanding it, however, and the practice is so entrenched by tradition that it is a difficult obstacle that many politicians do not want to face.
Absenteeism: Many tenants, aristocrats, ecclesiasts, and lords of the Dominion own large amounts of land scattered throughout the country. This leads to resentment among villagers and peasants who live on this land due to the fact that the landowner rarely visits all of the land that he owns, which naturally creates management problems.
Electorate: Currently, only about 2% of the men in the Dominion can vote. Voting requirements are based on property ownership that goes down through at least three generations of one's family. Many reformers want to increase the size of the electorate.
(OOC: Feel free to endorse a party or ask about certain issues, as I am sure I forgot some.)
(Edit: I originally forgot the "electorate" issue. It is now added.)
(OOC: There is an explanation for each issue at the bottom of this post.)
Colloquists – Chaired by the Rt Hon. Jan Sebastien:
The Colloquists are the primary right-of-center party of the Dominion. They currently hold a majority in Parliament and have been the dominant party in Parliament since the political parties first came in to existence.
Jews: The issue of the Jews divides this party; some are for expulsion of Jews, some favor only restrictions on Jews, while others do not care
Catholics: Generally against restrictions
Poles: For restrictions
Minimum Wage: Against
Welfare: Against
Regulation of Industry: Against
Labour Unions: Against
Guilds: For
Tariffs: For
Royal Monopolies: For
Forest Laws: For
Seigneurial Duties: For
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For the current system
Penal System: For the current system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: Against
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: For
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: Generally for
Electorate: For current electorate size
Pétis – Chaired by Sir Henri Gespesie:
The Pétis are a left-of-center party that chiefly champions laissez-faire economics. They are also widely known as the “liberals” or collectively as the “Liberal Party.” Pétis, their traditional name, is still most commonly used, though. There is constant struggle between the rural Pétis and the western urban Pétis, with many members of the latter group defecting to the Colloquists in recent years.
Jews: Against restrictions or expulsion
Catholics: For restrictions
Poles: For restrictions
Minimum Wage: Against
Welfare: Against
Regulation of Industry: Against
Labour Unions: Against
Guilds: Against
Tariffs: Against
Royal Monopolies: Against
Forest Laws: Generally against
Seigneurial Duties: For
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For reformation of the system
Penal System: For the current system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: Against
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: Against
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: Generally for
Electorate: For current electorate size
Socialist Party – Chaired by Markward Rundel:
The Socialist Party promotes its own brand of practical socialism. Its members are almost exclusively urban, since the rural peasants and gentry express harsh hostility to their doctrines.
Jews: For expulsion
Catholics: Against restrictions
Poles: Against restrictions
Minimum Wage: Generally for, common figures desired are £2 6s per week.
Welfare: Generally for limited aid given out, as well as benefits for the unemployed and injured workers, all of these only for men
Regulation of Industry: Generally supports minimum safety regulations
Labour Unions: For
Guilds: Against
Tariffs: For
Royal Monopolies: No consensus among party
Forest Laws: Ignores this issue
Seigneurial Duties: Ignores this issue
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For reformation of the system
Penal System: For reformation of the system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: For
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: Ignores this issue
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: Ignores this issue
Electorate: For increasing the size of the electorate to about 10% of the population
Reform Party – Chaired by Sir Folkmar Lubinsen:
The Reform Party is a relatively new party and has only gained seats in Parliament for the first time in 2006. It is made up of those who were dissatisfied with Pétis and the Socialist Party but still held left-of-center beliefs.
Jews: For expulsion
Catholics: Generally for restrictions
Poles: Generally for restrictions
Minimum Wage: For, official minimum wage according to party doctrine should be £4 2s
Welfare: For aid given out, seeks to insure workers in case of injury, unemployment, and pregnancy
Regulation of Industry: For protecting workers against various instances of exploitation by employers, for limiting child and women labour to 10 hours per day, for extensive safety and health regulations
Labour Unions: For
Guilds: Against
Tariffs: Generally against
Royal Monopolies: Against
Forest Laws: Against
Seigneurial Duties: Against
Environment: For environmental protection regulations
Law Enforcement: For complete revamping of system
Penal System: For complete revamping of system
Torture: Against
Legal Reform: For
Freedom of Press: For
Monastic Tenants: Generally against
Mandatory Tithes: Generally against
Absenteeism: Against
Electorate: For increasing the size of the electorate to about 7% of the population
Doncasterians – No chairman:
While technically illegal, the Doncasterian faction still exists due to the refusal of many lords and governors to enforce the ban on this party. This party has no seats in Parliament, as it would be difficult for such a prominent person as a member of Parliament to publicly hold Doncasterian beliefs. The primary aim of this party is to install a member of the Doncaster branch of the Salisbury dynasty on the throne, but it also holds other political beliefs that arise out of grievances against the King’s policies.
Jews: No party consensus
Catholics: Against restrictions
Poles: For restrictions
Minimum Wage: Against
Welfare: Against
Regulation of Industry: Against
Labour Unions: Against
Guilds: For
Tariffs: Against
Royal Monopolies: Against
Forest Laws: Against
Seigneurial Duties: For
Environment: Ignores this issue
Law Enforcement: For current system
Penal System: For current system
Torture: For
Legal Reform: For
Freedom of Press: Ignores this issue
Monastic Tenants: For
Mandatory Tithes: For
Absenteeism: For
Electorate: For current electorate size
Explanations of Issues:
Jews: There is widespread anti-Semitism in the Dominion, and many beliefs are widely held about Jewish conspiracies to cause subversion in Christian society. Commonly proposed solutions to these problems are the placement of various restrictions upon Jews or complete expulsion of them from the Dominion. On the other hand, many in the Dominion hold the Jews in high regard due to their economic successfulness.
Catholics: Among the Protestants of the Dominion exist beliefs that Catholic influence harms Protestant society and Catholics should have restrictions placed on them lest they harm Protestant culture.
Poles: The large Polish population in the south of the Dominion is in a state of near constant rebellion and has drawn the ire of many in the rest of the Dominion. The most common solution to the Polish problems is to place restrictions upon them.
Minimum Wage: There is currently no minimum wage in the Dominion, and it is rarely even brought up in political discourse.
Welfare: Aiding the poor in the Dominion has traditionally been the realm of the church, although some fringe leftists believe that government should do so as well.
Regulation of Industry: Industry in the Dominion is completely unregulated, and, like minimum wage, there is rarely any discourse about this issue among politicians.
Labour Unions: Labour unions are generally seen as harmful in the Dominion, although some support them.
Guilds: Modern guilds are similar in some ways to labour unions, although they are much older and generally revolve around preventing competition and focus less on aiding members.
Tariffs: The Dominion has very high tariffs since protection of domestic markets is a high priority. Tariffs are despised by rural landowners and agrarians due to the high prices they create.
Royal Monopolies: The King has sole right to many industries of the Dominion, most notably the defense industry. The King also has numerous monopolies over the use of “afforested land,” which has to do with the Forest Laws.
Forest Laws: The issue of the Forest Laws is most controversial in the Dominion. They concern the right of the King to create monopolies on any natural resource he wishes in the specific “afforested” areas, which encompass most of the Dominion. Examples of such laws include the King’s monopoly over all of a certain species of tree, or over all game for hunting.
Seigneurial Duties: Seigneurial Duties refers to the collective rights traditionally held by the rural aristocrats in matters of what the peasants and villagers that live on their land owe in duty. These duties include crops, taxes, and labour. Many aristocrats also hold monopolies over certain economic activities, such as the milling of grain. All of these things are referred to in this post as Seigneurial Duties.
Environment: This issue refers to regulations of industries that prevent harm to the environment.
Law Enforcement: Law enforcement in the Dominion is, for the most part, delegated to the local clergy. The most prolific ecclesiastical “police force” is the Fraternal Order of the Silverhelms, although other police forces exist (these organizations are generally referred to as “silverhelms,” with a lowercase “s”). Problems arise due to the fact that these police forces are extremely difficult to regulate and centralise, and many seek to reform the system to correct the abuses in it.
Penal System: Prisons in the Dominion are unregulated jails that each lord or lord-ecclesiast owns. Prisoners are generally locked up in these cells indefinitely, often without food or without any oversight whatsoever. These conditions naturally lead to extremely high mortality rates within prisons, and some reformers wish for more humane conditions and a centralised, government regulated prison system.
Torture: Torture is commonly practised in the Dominion, and this issue refers to whether or not torture for purposes of state should be universally banned.
Legal Reform: There are generally four punishments given out for crimes in the Dominion: fines, public humiliation, life in prison, or execution. There is no centralised way of conducting justice, and there is no concrete code on which punishments are handed out for certain crimes. A petty theft might result in a fine by one judge or an execution by another. Reformers seek to centralise and standardise the legal system.
Freedom of Press: The press in the Dominion (which refers to newspapers, tabloids, and pamphlets) is currently ambiguously influenced by those in powerful positions, which often means government offices. Many reformers seek to eliminate this practice.
Monastic Tenants: Monastic tenants refers to the ownership of large estates by abbeys or monasteries. There are several different problems people have with this, with the most common being that monastic orders are exempt from taxes, which means that there is a large amount of untaxed land in the Dominion.
Mandatory Tithes: There is no centralised law in the Dominion that states that residents must pay tithes to their local churches. This does not stop local churches from demanding it, however, and the practice is so entrenched by tradition that it is a difficult obstacle that many politicians do not want to face.
Absenteeism: Many tenants, aristocrats, ecclesiasts, and lords of the Dominion own large amounts of land scattered throughout the country. This leads to resentment among villagers and peasants who live on this land due to the fact that the landowner rarely visits all of the land that he owns, which naturally creates management problems.
Electorate: Currently, only about 2% of the men in the Dominion can vote. Voting requirements are based on property ownership that goes down through at least three generations of one's family. Many reformers want to increase the size of the electorate.
(OOC: Feel free to endorse a party or ask about certain issues, as I am sure I forgot some.)
(Edit: I originally forgot the "electorate" issue. It is now added.)