Parliamentary meeting a success!

It was this writer's honour to attend a session of Parliament and be a voting member of its body. There were many issues on the docket, unfortunately all but two had to be tabled until the next meeting, simply because there was much lively debate around the table. Their Majesties the King and the Prince were also in attendance last evening and His Majesty the King said it was the best session of Parliament he had ever had the pleasure of attending. It is this writer's pleasure and honour to bring you, the citizens of New Bergen, the highlights of what was discussed last night. To wit:

1) The Lord Justicar, Monsignor Shostakovich has proposed an examination to be given to all those citizens wishing to qualify for government service. It will be developed by the Lord Justicar and His Majesty, King Alexander I to make sure that all citizens of New Bergen serving in His Majesty's government are truly prepared for their individual roles. There were three areas of examination proposed; knowledge of the Hanoverian Constitution, Knowledge of the Kingdom's history, and an ability to write and understand English fully and well. It is planned that classes to prepare for this exam will be offered at Hanover's University. Until such time as those classes can be scheduled, there will be a series of more informal q&a sessions held by older citizens of New Bergen at the Hangover to teach and to socialise with new citizens. This measure passed by a 7-0 referendum.

2) It has come to the attention of the kingdom that the Council Ministers should be paid a nominal sum for their time and devotion to the King, His laws and His works. Until recently, payments have come from His Majesty's own purse. It is the aim of this measure to pay the ministers from the royal coffers. The sum is still a nominal token, none of His Majesty's ministers expect to be rich from serving at the pleasure of the King. There was some debate about this issue. It was decided that a monthly report should be given to the Lord Justicar about the progress made by each individual minister. In such cases when there is little or no progress, a minister might write about goals that he or she wishes to reach and the steps taken to achieve them. These progress reports will be reviewed and kept for posterity. This writer has offered to post some or all of these reports on this blog for public review, in order for the citizens of Hanover to see the goals, plans and ideas of their council. This measure passed by a 7-0 referendum, also.