Why Not to Pay Jovenaars

[Sander 3157]

Why Not to Pay Jovenaars

An open letter to the Royal Treasurer and the rest of the Aulic Council.

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         Karosgrad, Hanseti-Ruska, Msitza & Dargund, 382 E.S.

To the respectable Erich Barclay and whomelse it might concern,

As of lately I have noticed an arising demand from the members of the Aulic Court to extend wages to the Jovenaars of Haense for performing their services. Being a Jovenaar myself, I hereby procure myself the privilege to give my two cents on the matter and to tell you and the greater public of Haense why I think it is of low necessity to provide the aforementioned wages and why I thus think Jovenaars should not be paid.
 

• Firstly, if one considers paying Jovenaars for their services, the question would arise of when to do so. On the one side, the Crown can not pay a Jovenaar per trial he presides over. This would mean a Jovenaar could encourage friends and acquaintances to go to court over the pettiest of disputes in an effort to accrue wealth. This would cost the Royal Treasury a fortune I fear. On the other hand, the Crown can not continuously pay Jovenaars in the form of a yearly wage as that would mean the Crown would be paying all the time for a service that is only performed on occasion.

 

• On this topic, being a Jovenaar is by all means a parttime occupation as it only requires a Jovenaar to work whenever there's an ongoing trial. This means that Jovenaars are not dependent on the Crown extending wages to them to pay the bills. A Jovenaar has plenty of time to accrue minas through other means of labour, trade or providing services. 

 

• Being a Jovenaar should be compared to being an elected member of the Duma; one chooses to take up such a position because of the desire to serve their country. Duma members do not get paid and they, normally at least, perform more work during a term of service than a Jovenaar would in four years. If Jovenaars were to be paid wages, there will be Jovenaars who wish to serve for the fact they will get paid for an unintensive job. Contrary to this motive, the only reason anyone should desire to serve as a Jovenaar is to uphold the laws of Haense and protect our civil liberties out of a sense of patriotic duty.

 

• Now I am sure some or even many of my colleague Jovenaars will not  so easily or willingly agree with the points I have raised above, and they will seek to raise counter-arguments for why Jovenaars should get paid.
          Should anyone raise the argument that on the occasions that Jovenaars do need to perform their service at trials, this often takes a long continuous stretch of their time and for the sake of their long-lived attention and eventual careful deliberation they should be compensated in the form of minas; I say no. Anyone who has thusfar accepted the position of Jovenaar knew, in full conscience, that the position would involve and in fact revolve around moments like these, and they accepted their position with this knowledge in mind and without the prospect of payment in return for it. The Jovenaars knew what they were getting into when they accepted this position.
          Lastly, In case anyone is to raise the argument that not paying Jovenaars makes them vulnerable to corruption; if such worries have reason to exist, we have a much larger issue pertaining to our judiciary at hands than the mere paying of wages. In other words; if we’re worried the people chosen to be Jovenaars are corruptable, we’re simply choosing the wrong people.

That would be what I have to say on the matter. I encourage you to, and hope with sincerity that you do, take these arguments into consideration for when you make your decision on wether or not to pay the Jovenaars of the Aulic Court. 

Your obedient servant,
Associate Jovenaar Feodor May 

 

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