Gentlesophonts:
Wes Esser [email removed] writes:
> Government Structure of the Regency
First, let me say this is a *fantastic* contribution to our TML Regency
sourcebook, *Shall Not Perish*! I've just some minor points.
> The Regent appoints candidates to all executive
> and judical posts on the sector and subsector levels, subject to
> confirmation by the Senate.
> The Moot is the senior chamber of the legislative branch
This above suggests the Senate is the `upper' house rather than the Moot, i.e.
it has more power.
> composed
> of the peers of baronial rank and higher in the realm who serve as
> long as they maintain their title (usually for life, although
> abdications do occur). There is approximately one noble per
> planet in the Regency
If nobles of baronial rank are to be included there will be *several* per
planet. Barons are responsible for planetary regions and cities. Marquises
rule at the planetary level.
> and as such, the Moot tends to favor the
> rights of lower population worlds.
I like this idea but it has to be rectified with the above issue.
> The members of the Moot are
> predominantly human.
A good point but one might hope that by the 57th(?) Century folks might have
come to realize that a person of one ethnic group might still be able to
represent the interests of other groups (as opposed to the unfortunately
commonly held view to the contrary in contemporary America).
> Politically the Moot tends to be dominated by the Aristocratic,
> Imperiallist and Sovreignist blocks.
> the Senate tends to hold Democratic/Interventionist views.
Good, good.
> The judicial branch exists to decide when (or if) Regency law has
> been violated, and consisists of a series of courts at various
This suggests the aristocracy has given up its traditional judicial role
held under the Imperium. This is a major change that represents a major
loss of power for the nobility. Is there a rationale for this loss?
> The executive branch consists of the Subsector Governors appointed
> by the Regent and confirmed by the Senate, and Planetary Governors
This represents another loss of power for the nobility. One wonders just
what the nobility does in the Regency? And more importantly, how they came
to lose such influence?
> Moot, and their different focuses (i.e., the population based
> Senate v. the planet based Moot)
This is a good idea but I'm not sure how to rectify it with the inclusion
of barons in the Moot. (And I don't see how barons could be excluded either.)
Maybe there is a way to deal with this by adjusting the population levels
for the Senate districts. How many Senators are there in the Regency at one
per billion population? Lowering this number to one per half billion (or
less) would increase the number of Senators (and correspondingly the
influence of hi-pop worlds) with repsect to the barons of the Moot.
> This gives a fairly compact
> district of 3,060,900,800 (New Era figures) which is further
> divided into three subdistricts, each of which elect one Senator.
Electing Senators at-large in any of these mulit-billion districts would
further enhance the influence of hi-pop worlds. In your example one might
expect Pixie, Yres and Boughene (and possibly part of Menorb) to be included
as one sub-district (and thereby give the smaller worlds a chance at some
representation). On the other hand, three at-large Senators would all be
likely to come from Menorb.
This is some great work. I might suggest as a modification leaving the
judicial function in the hands of the nobility. (They've already been
weakened by the appearance of the Senate abd it doesn't really affect the
split in the power structure you've outlined.) Furthermore, the Regent's
Governors (subsector and world) are also a big threat to the nobles. They
also seem to be in direct conflict. (What's the relationship between the
Duke of Vincennes and the Subsector Governor or the Marquise of Efate and
the Planetary Governor?) Maybe these Regency executives only exist in fiefs
where the noble patents have been vacated, either through death without
issue or through the dislocations resulting from the Rebellion and the Viral
Assault? Possibly, for example, there is no longer a Marquis of Glisten
but rather an *ihatei* Governor (I'd prefer `Resident' for worlds to
distinguish them from a subsector Governor) who was appointed by the Regent
when Glisten came back `into the fold'.
Again, Wes, great work!
Happy Travelling,
David Johnson
Houston, Texas, USA