Progress In the Republic! (Bramblebury Gazette, Volume III)

[HalflingPrincess 411]

[!] A halfling newspaper is found in your mailbox!
 

The Bramblebury Gazette
(Vol III, 1805)

~Knowledge leads to freedom; freedom to happiness~

 

Contents:

~A Second Revolution?~

~The Three Elder System - My Opinion~

 

~A Second Revolution?~

~The Mayoral Debate of 1805~

 

Last month it was my great pleasure to serve as the moderator for the debates for the Mayoral Election of 1805. Though I briefly considered running in that election, I decided against it for two reasons; the first being that I was apprehensive about putting myself in front of everyone after having created the largely unpopular constitution we currently use and the second being that I had pledged not to run for office in the letter I wrote when I conceded the Mayoral Election of 1797. Though I can’t say I remain committed to that decision entirely, the prospect of being the sole carrier of the reigns of government never interested me, so when my wife decided to run, I gave her what support I could.

 

Over the course of the debate, I was just as impressed as the audience was that none of the candidates were in particular disagreement about anything. Throughout the evening many in the audience remarked that they didn’t want to have to choose between the three of them. At some point, someone merely suggested that all three serve simultaneously as Elders, and soon the crowd began chanting in demand of such a system. For whatever reason, many seemed to think that I or our Thain Isalie were against it, but my argument was only that we could not make snap decisions without writing down a plan for what such a government would look like.

All the same, it fell upon Isalie to decide whether to hold the Mayoral election or postpone it and instead work on creating a new constitution. I do not know for certain how much my words factored into Isalie’s decision, but I advised her to postpone, seeing as the vast majority of the village wished that of her. Ultimately, Isalie decided to go along with the people’s demands in an orderly manner; we would postpone the election and discuss the trappings of a new government at a later date. Though Isalie seemed quite flustered by the whole thing, it was clear to me that she was prepared to accept the will of her people.

 

Though this was not the expected outcome of that debate, I will say that I was not entirely surprised by it. I am aware that the constitution I wrote was flawed, and I am aware that most people disagree with the way it was written. What I was not so sure of until that evening, however, was that the people were committed to maintaining and improving our republic rather than reverting to the Bernardist dictatorship of Rollo Applefoot’s time. Some may call what has occurred a second revolution but I disagree. I believe it is merely the one I started coming to its full maturity. It is not at all uncommon for revolutionary governments to go through provisional, transitional stages; democracy is, after all, a great experiment, and while I hoped to build a system that would last, I am not blind to the fact that we have discovered a number of problems with our current system. The time has come to correct them, and I offer not only my moral support but also my ideas, which you, dear reader, shall find in the next article.

 

~The Three Elder System - My Opinion~

~Greta Goodbarrel presents her plan of government to Bloomerville back in 1793 ~

 

When in the course of history, it becomes necessary for a people to change their current government and replace it with a new one two goals must always be kept in mind; a peaceful transition of power and an organized plan for the future. Unfortunately, bigguns have shown time and time again an inability to achieve the former of those two goals, and often end in an endless cycle of bloodshed, death, and vengeance. We halflings, however, remain committed to peace, as is our tradition, and so the main focus of this article will be the latter goal: a plan for the future.

 

I understand that some may be apprehensive about allowing me to have any hand in crafting our next government. After all, I was the same lady who crafted the government we’re trying to fix. What must be understood, however, is that I, like others, have learned things that I didn’t know back when I wrote our constitution in 1794, and feel quite confident in my ability to at least provide an outline of what can be changed:

 

The elephant in the room is, of course, the adoption of a three elder system. Some may be unaware of this, but I have always been in favor of a ruling council. (Though my views on how such a council should function differ now.) One might question, then, why I moved to abolish the position of Elder and replace the two Elders with a Mayor.

 

In order to understand this, we have to look back at how the village was when I first arrived: an absolute Thainship, ruled by Isalie and two elders which she had appointed herself, one of whom was her own daughter. By this point, the village had gotten quite used to the government not being a public matter, so it was no easy task for me to gather support for a change. Those who remembered and revered the old elder system and democracies of past halfling villages were either dead or rarely present, and democracy itself was a shunned concept associated with bigguns.

 

Whatever I might have said about Isalie prior to befriending her, my intention was always to keep her as a part of the halfling government. I wanted a peaceful revolution and the Sohaer-Maheral model provided by Haelun’or’s 1774 constitution seemed to be a good basis for a head of state who isn’t elected. This was an era where, admittedly, properness was in decline. It was a time before the Peregrins, the Overhills, the Shortoaks had returned to the village, a time where the only political forces were the Gardners and to a much lesser degree the Applefoots. It was a difficult place to start, and I certainly went about it the wrong way, as those who remember the deadly Applefoot Wedding of 1797, where a poorly timed speech I made almost led to my assassination.

 

Following that incident, I dropped the democratic cause for a while, choosing to leave that decision to Isalie while I raised Eliza. Not only was Isalie open to the idea, but she also came to recognize my interest in public service, and appointed me Elder. As an Elder, I never hesitated to make my voice heard and to give Isalie my honest opinions.

 

In 1793, after years of only small and inconsequential discussions regarding the future of halfling politics, Isalie decided to hold a meeting about the future of our people and offered me the opportunity to present an idea for our new government. Even then, some people suggested an Elder system and the removal of the position of Thain, but I ignored them. I worried at the time that Isalie would be reluctant to approve a constitution that stripped her of all her authority, and since we were not yet a democracy, it seemed necessary to prioritize writing a constitution Isalie would agree to over writing a constitution the people would like, though I intended to do both.

 

For that reason, I once again looked to the Sohaer-Maheral model of Haelun’or and implemented it as in the form of the Mayor-Thain-Sheriff system, in which powers would be separated between the three positions. Checks and balances seemed necessary because each position held so many specific powers, I worried that one would try to usurp the others. The need for checks and balances only became more apparent as Haelun’or’s republic went into decline. Though my model was similar, it was far more restrictive of each position than theirs was, and though this made for an admittedly bloated document, I felt secure in having created an airtight system, even if I knew, deep down, that it was only temporary.

 

Over a decade later, the cracks have shown themselves. From the moment the constitution was ratified, people have complained about it being too biggun like and complicated. I will readily admit that those are justified notions; the document was written with paranoia about the possibility of another dictatorship, it was written at a time where there were few I trusted to responsibly take the reigns of government, and where Haelun’or’s government seemed flawless. Now it has become abundantly clear that biggun governments are flawed even when they have checks and balances; loopholes are found and the people’s wishes are often ignored. The collapse of the Silver State’s Republic last year proved to be a wake-up call to me; the halfling government needed to be different, and better.

 

Now that I have made clear the flaws in the old constitution, and have properly divorced myself from any notion that biggun government is a good idea, I will state, in simple terms, how I would write the new constitution differently, should I be given the great honor of doing so:

 

Article I. Concerning the Council of Elders

 

Section I. Duties and Privileges of the Elders

 

The positions of Mayor and Thain would be abolished. Instead, there would be three Elders who are to serve as the joint leaders of the village and have equal power. Their responsibilities would be about the same as those of the current Thain and Mayor: they would be responsible for dealing with bigguns, managing village land, planning building, planning public events, granting permission to build, officiating and annulling marriages, and running elections. Also:
 

I. Laws could be written by any member of the council and pass if two out of three Elders agree

II. If all three Elders agree, they could remove the Sheriff from office provided they would also be able to nominate a successor. If this were to happen, the people would vote between the nominated successor and the sitting official.

III. For major decisions, all three Elders could agree to hold a public vote on the matter 

IV. If all three Elders agree, a biggun could be declared an honorary halfling

V. If all three Elders agree, a criminal could be banished from the village

 

Section II. Elder Succession

 

Elders would be elected every eight years, just like the Mayor is currently. In Elder elections, any number of people would be allowed to run, and each voter would receive three votes which they could choose to distribute to three people or to one or two (there would always need to be three Elders in office, though) The three candidates with the highest votes would become Elders.

If an Elder were to die or resign, an emergency election would be held to vote for a replacement. In order to keep the election cycle consistent, the replacement would only serve until the end of the original Elder’s turn, and would then have to be reelected alongside the other Elders. Note that the number of votes a single voter receives in any election would be dependent on the number of vacant positions.

Section III. Removing an Elder

 

If two of the three Elders were to agree that one of them is a criminal or otherwise unfit to serve and are able to nominate a successor, they would be able to call for a vote in which the people would choose between the accused sitting official and the nominated successor.

 

Article II. Concerning the Office of the Sheriff

 

Section I. Duties and Privileges of the Sheriff

 

The Sheriff’s job would be to defend the village, keep the peace, and punish criminals when necessary.

 

Section II. Duties and Privileges of the Deputy Sheriff 

 

The Sheriff would be allowed to appoint a deputy to assist in enforcing the law.

 

Section III. Succession of the Sheriff

 

As is the law currently, the Sheriff would be elected by a simple majority of the people for a period of good behavior and would be able to be challenged after having served eight years in office.

 

Article III. Concerning Elections

 

At the beginning of an election cycle, the candidates would have two elven days to announce their candidacy. Once all candidates are announced, a debate would be scheduled at the earliest opportunity. After the debate, polls would open for two elven days.

Anyone above thirty-three who has been living in the village for at least four years can run for office. Lovers and multiple members of the same immediate family would be prohibited from serving on the Council of Elders simultaneously. (Though this rule would no longer apply to the Sheriff.)

 

Public votes would function similarly to elections; the poll would be open for two eleven days.

If a vote were to be tied in any way, breaking the tie falls would fall upon the sitting Elders, who would each cast an additional tie-breaking vote.

Article IV. Concerning Amendments to the Constitution

 

If all three Elders agree, they could hold a public vote to amend the constitution. Two-thirds of voters must vote in favor of the changes for them to pass.

Article V. Concerning the Protections and Rights of Halflings

 

The bill of rights, found in Article VI of our current constitution, would be kept mostly the same, and in summary, would have the following provisions:

 

I. All halflings are born free and equal and have the right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, shelter, and food

II. Halflings can say or write whatever they want as long as it’s true and can worship whatever gods they please
III. The Sheriff needs to be fair; they can’t imprison someone for no reason, take people’s things for no reason, or arrest someone for something that wasn’t illegal when they did it. You cannot be arrested without being told why

IV. You can’t be tortured or executed

V. You can’t be enslaved if you’re a halfling

VI. If you are a halfling, live in the village, and are above thirty-three years of age, you can vote no matter what

VII. Just because a right isn’t written here doesn’t mean you don’t have it

 

What I have written here is is merely an outline, and is not in any way official; I am after all, merely a citizen, but I hope that my ideas provide the people with guidance as we move forward in repairing our republic, and nothing would bring me greater joy than having the opportunity to once again put to paper the framework of our republic.

 

Long live the halflings!

Greta Goodbarrel,

Citizen of Bramblebury

[Notic 953]