BE IT RESOLVED by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, as follows:—
1. The constitutional laws and conventions of Hanover should be codified, in the form of a single document ("The Constitution"), which should be held superior to all other enactments.
2. The Constitution should explicitly define the powers of Parliament, and the powers which make up His Majesty's Royal Prerogative.
3. The Constitution should provide for His Majesty's Government to operate independently of Parliament, without any necessity for significant involvement in the Kingdom's legislation.
4. The Constitution should require the Ministers to take full responsibility for all royal actions, and attest to the same by their countersignature.
5. The Constitution should contain provisions for emergency situations, including the sudden death or disappearance of the King, and of any other major officers, so that an extra-legal solution to such problems is never necessary.
My Lords and Gentlemen,
SECTION 1: Some may ask why, not so long after we decided to abandon a codified constitution in favour of a more traditional British form, I am now proposing its replacement. It is not because the uncodified constitution has failed to function; indeed, at least two new constitutional conventions have arisen and taken hold naturally already. However, I have reached the conclusion that the benefits of such a constitution no longer outweigh the disadvantages for modern Hanover.
In large part due to the fact that there is no one document they can read to learn about it, citizens new and old alike have lately exhibited confusion and misunderstanding about the functioning of our government. My friend Ian's immigration has made this particularly clear: I had to explain the government machinery to him myself, since it was not readily apparent from what he could see. This is not a good thing, for it inhibits new citizens from really becoming Hanoverians, and making a serious, positive contribution to the nation. Furthermore, the lack of a clear document has gravely detracted from the authority of the laws; while previously we could say "the law states..." now we often say "I think it is legal to...". To remedy these issues, I am proposing a return to a written single-document constitution. Not a massive constitutional convention lasting months and making huge changes, mind you: just writing down our current customs clearly, for posterity and universal knowledge.
SECTION 2: This proposal is fairly straight-forward. Recently there has been a good deal of confusion in some quarters about which powers properly pertain to the Crown, and which to Parliament or other bodies. Because the goal of this constitution would be to restore clarity and order, defining the relative powers of the King and Parliament should be among our highest concerns.
SECTION 3: This Section proposes the partial restoration of the Trias Politica once mandated under the Gresham Constitution. Since Mr. Thompson's Ministry, we have not had a true parliamentary government, whose primary concern is to enact a promised programme of legislation. I maintain that such a government is the best option, but Hanover does not seem interested in it at this time. Therefore I suggest that the constitution be written to clearly allow a Government independent of Parliament, although subject to its impeachment. The constitution would, however, still allow proper parliamentary government to develop, and if it did we could amend the constitution to make it explicit and permanent.
SECTION 4: Again, I think this is relatively straight-forward. Any constitution must include a provision for strong ministerial responsibility, for unless the Ministers are making the decisions, the King must be legally responsible for his actions. If the King retains decision-making power, but is also above the law, Hanover would be an absolute monarchy; and as all know, this nation was founded to be constitutional. I can only hope that all Members will recognize the necessity of this Section.
SECTION 5: Finally, I strongly maintain that we should never allow the law, especially the constitutional law, to be deficient in any obvious situation. We may trust in His Majesty to loyally remain and rule wisely, but the constitution should not assume virtue on the part of any man or men. To do so is, quite simply, bad law which would come back to haunt us. After all, this nation would likely not have been founded if Morovia had better provisions for the disappearance of her King. I propose that the constitution make provision for the absence of the King, the Government, the Parliament, the Judges, or all of them at once. Whatever happens, it should always be possible to preserve the nation and her stability.
My Lords and Gentlemen, I commend these Resolutions to the House.
Note: These Resolutions will come to a vote on Sunday the 22nd of this present month. I implore at least some Members to comment before that time.
My Lords and Gentlemen,
I would like to commend these resolutions to the House, and do so very highly. We in Hanover have been extremely fortunate to have in our employ, throughout the years, highly skilled and dedicated Lord High Chancellors and subordinate staff. These people have brought our government to the point where it functions at a level that I think far outpaces that of any other non-territorial nation in its sophistication and integrity. The downside of that, though, is that it can be very complicated for, if you will, a layman, to comprehend the workings of government and thus get involved with their nation. I am speaking from two and a half years of experience, during which I have held numerous government positions--among them Clerk of the Crown, a personal assistancy to the Lord High Chancellor. I have yet to fully comprehend the workings of His Majesty's Government.
I also have the experience of coming back to Hanover after a bit of a hiatus. Even in these few months, I find that much has changed, and I honestly feel rather lost, despite the best efforts of many of you to "clue me in." I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a new citizen to navigate the mechanisms of government in this Kingdom. While codification may be a break from tradition, I believe it will also make involvement in government more accessible to all of His Majesty's subjects.
My Lords and Gentlemen, the Question is that it be so resolved. May all that are of that opinion say Content, to the contrary Not Content.
Content.
My Lords and Gentlemen, seeing a majority of the roll call respondents in favour of the resolutions, the Question is resolved in the Affirmative.
On Question, it was so resolved.