General le Duc Alain de Mylcandonai, His Majesty's Minister of War, to
Major le Comte Coward de Custaad, Chancellor of the Exchequer
My Lord,
I am glad that your fears regarding the financial impact of the Military
Justice proposals have finally been laid to rest. Upon receiving a new
appointment it is only natural to wish to demonstrate one's zeal and
diligence in the new post, and I suspect that the actions of us both over
this matter have been prompted by this to some extent.
I agree with you totally that dissent within the government will not be
particularly productive. It is not my intention to generate any. Given the
trials to which I have personally been subject over the question of the
limits of the authority of Senior Ministers prior to Duc von Fersen's
appointment, I trust that my discomfort at your apparently wishing to raise
this spectre once more will be immediately comprehensible. I made my
position regarding the responsibilties of Senior Ministers perfectly plain
to Duc von Fersen over some lengthy correspondence prior to my appointment
as Minister of War. Duc von Fersen nevertheless lent his full support to my
application for the War Office due to the fact that where the most important
issues to the future of France are concerned, the areas of Foreign and
Military Policy, our views coincide perfectly. Nothing would please me more
than to foster a similarly cordial relationship with both yourself and the
Minister of State's other subordinate ministers.
General le Duc Alain de Mylcandonai
His Majesty's Minister of War
> [OOC: I accept the point (the CoE is not the MoE), but I don't see any
> reason/rule/message why the MoW has any authority over CoE or the other
way
> around - this is roleplay isn't it? ;-]
[OOC: The MoW wasn't attempting to _exercise_ any authority over the CoE, it
was the CoE insisting the the MoW submit reports him, not vice versa. The
reaction of a Senior Minister to such demands from a junior minister from a
different ministry was, indeed, an opportunity for some roleplay ;-) ]
> [OOC: I really only wanted to stress the game impact on introducing
changes
> of this nature _prior_ to relevant posts being filled, but wanted to do
> it "In Character" somehow.
As stated in AdM's initial message to HMK on the subject, Banana _had_ a
system of military justice in place prior to Greg's taking over as GM and
Greg has referred to courts martial etc since then. It is an issue which has
raised its head on a number of occasions over the past couple of game years,
but we still have no specific rules regarding it. So, I figured it was an
issue which would be appropriate for the new MoW to address - as you say,
it's more fun to tackle such things IC. I've tried to come up with a system
which needs no new posts being instituted to run - not for financial
reasons, but so that no changes need be made to the existing game code
and/or order generator;-) I've also tried to ensure that it can't be used as
a stick for subordinates to hit their COs with (hence it only being possible
for characters to bring the actions of PCs of lower or equal rank to the
attention of their Army Adjutant). Also, the higher a PC's military rank the
more difficult it will be to have military charges brought against him -
which may make the Colonel's chairs of the more prestigious regiments a
little less attractive.
I fully expected some reaction and am glad that you didn't disappoint me.
> The military justice proposal is a
> controversial issue, it would basically change the rules and the powers of
> many including the MoW and the IG's who will virtually become army
> dictators.
I think your fears are overstated. The MoW / IGs would be powerless to move
without a case being presented by one of the Army Adjutants, who would be
appointed by different characters entirely, thus reducing the possibility of
direct collusion. The most effective means of dictatorship is one that every
EG! game is subject to: the MoS appoints the CoPS and between them they can
stitch up any character they want. Place a parallel system of military
justice alongside the MoS/CoPS anti-treason machinery and I would expect
them to serve as checks against each other, reducing the possibilty of
dictatorship rather than increasing it.
> The knock on effect is the fact that the CoPs would have a
> harder time trying to secure his required convictions
I very much doubt it. All that is needed is the collusion of the MoS who
will, in most cases, be more than happy to secure a conviction in order to
keep an amenable CoPS in post for the full term...
> and the MoS would
> have his authority reduced.
Only insofar as it was actually increased by ditching the previous Military
Justice system. The MoS /CoPS machinery will still be a lot smoother than
that for Military Justice, the only difference being that a little more
thought may be necessary before putting it into operation.
> Personally I would happily support the
> proposal _as of the next appointment of the MoS_ whoever it is, as
> otherwise we may see some very fast changes in game balance that need time
> to be fairly introduced for all to appreciate.
Well, we've already been waiting for it for three game years, so what's the
point of waiting for a fourth? The AA and IG posts are currently all held by
NPCs or vacant at the moment, and it would be difficult to find a _less_
contraversial time to institute a military justice system.
Cheers,
Paul
