Dulwich Conference

[Great Engellex]

ENGELL-HIMYAR TRADING COMPANY
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

When Sir Alexander van der Alphen landed in the Southern Himyar, it initiated what is regarded generally as to the Republic Imperial era. Initially, conquest of the New South Himyar was dominated by other Continental Powers in a great rush and game; Sir Alexander was born in Gouw Marken, despite being funded and representing the Engellexian Republic. Two of the wealthiest families in the republic, the Duchy of Clarence and Nolland and the Earldom of Burgess, they not only had the ability and influence to raise the funds to sail, fight and settle, but the power to the manipulate the Engellexian Republic to throw its military capabilities to confront and throw off their continental rivals from their newly discovered territories. While the Engellexian Republic was certainly powerful, or at the very least capable, in the late 1500s and 1600s, it did not rival the strength of her imperial neighbours. What is more, Engellex was embroiled in her own conflict of religious revival throughout most of the 16th century, itself the machinations of the Papacy itself. This all changed in 1611, when the First Republic Army massacred the Papal Party at Eltham. The Pope at the time planned to overthrow the State Atheism of the Engellexian Republic, fearing, rightfully or wrongly, the influence of such a position. The Papal Party – essentially a mass of priests, bishops, a minority of aristocrats, but hundreds if not thousands of commoners, was widely considered an armed and violent threat by the republic, and a formidable force of God’s will by the Papists, so when the First Republic Army proved decidedly victorious in their bloody massacre, it was the last and final blow to the hopes of Tibur, and absolute boon to the confidence of the Engellexian Republic. While Parliament held onto its atheism and republic, the symbolism of the massacre emboldened the aristocracy and the landed gentry to entrust further of their finance into colonial enterprises of the Southern Himyar, but also other potentially lucrative sites around Europe.

Thus it was in the air of parliamentary relief, and republican jubilation that the Council of State, with the majority support of the Senate and the Bare Commons, was decided on a proposal to formally adopt the colonial policy as a directive of the Engellexian Republic, and in doing so finance five vessels of the republic to join the Nolland Company – the Lord Chancellor at the time, Lord Edward Mulberry, Earl of Fulham, was himself a cousin of the Duke of Clarence and Nolland. The first expedition including these vessels was successful, in that the ships reached Henrietta and returned to Hammersmith without injury. A subsequent voyage a year later suffered the loss of one vessel, but despite this, the Council of State formed a new charter system for the sole purpose of awarding the Nolland Company and the Burgess Company. Despite these two companies having their own existing structure in place, the charter formalised a uniformed structure in which joint-stock companies in the republic would be formed and governed; they would be governed by a Guarantor, Board of Proprietors, Board of Directors, and a number of committees. This Charter of the Republic gave the founders and the reformed organisation a monopoly on trade and colonialism in the South East and East Himyar and Eastern Reaches (Orient) for twenty-five years; the Burgess Company naturally was granted the South West and West and North Himyar. For the Nolland Company this meant that it was restricted by the western border of the Mary-le-Bone colony, and the southern border of the Pelasgian Empire, everything east and south of those was fair game – all the rest, off limits. Charter of the Republics became increasingly common during the 17th century, as they were mutually beneficial to both the Engellexian Republic and those to whom they were granted. Those holding the charter enjoyed the benefit of a trade monopoly which was protected by the Republic itself, while the Council of State essentially outsourced the risks and burden involved with exploring, settling, and exploiting a new territory, which included at sea disasters like shipwrecks and piracy, and on land obstacles such as disease and uncivilised natives. Therefore, the founders of the Nolland Company – many of which could be found within the Parliament, in one chamber or another, were willing to stake the finances necessary to open exploration and trade with the curious and untamed South Himyar for Engellex, and they would be entitled to whatever riches they could find.

The freshly fashioned Guarantor and Company of Lords and Merchants of Dulwich Trading with the South East and East Himyar and Eastern Reaches (Nolland Company) faced stiff competition, not from foreign competitors, but other chartered companies of the Republic, especially the Guarantor and Company of Lords and Merchants of Dulwich Trading with the South West and West and North Himyar (Burgess Company). Even though the Burgess Company was bound by the freedoms and restrictions of its own Charter of the Republic, the Guarantor – Lord Rupert James Fox, Baron Paddington, had become an increasingly formidable presence within the Senate. Baron Paddington, like the 2nd Duke of Clarence and Nolland in the earlier years, endeavoured and determined within the Senate and the Bare Commons to loosen the legislative grip that formed the limitations and freedoms of monopoly. In the end, his efforts did nothing but entrench competition so terribly that Dulwich law society suffered inquiries, juridical reviews, and parliamentary appeals, without end, by both Guarantors seeking to jealously defend and extend their monopolies.

Spices were the chief reason that trade belonging to the South East and East and East was so valuable. As was obvious knowledge to any of Europe, the spice trade was very old and exactly as the name would suggest – a lucrative trade. Other goods were traded along with the spices, such as opium and silk, but not quite as valuable. For the South West and West and North it was difficult; ivory, precious gems, and other products were highly valuable, but acquiring such goods on a scale that their national rival managed with spices proved impossible, it required a great expense of finance and exploration of the dark wilds of Himyar. Predictably, the two companies that started almost equally soon found themselves at a serious imbalance, with the Nolland Company experiencing an unmatched growth in reach, influence and wealth throughout the 17th century and early 18th century; the Burgess Company, however, was not a failure, or even failing, it was succeeding but could not reaching the position of its rival. As a consequence of the revenue difference, the Burgess Company adopted a reformed policy; while not abandoning the healthy revenue streams from ivory, precious gems and others, it was decided more prudent to invest the companies’ efforts and finance into mass colonialism, settlement and development of the territories under their flag. What emerged in conclusion to the now very different companies was the colonial situation; Mary-le-Bone, under the Nolland Company experienced a steady and gradual progress in settlement, with the colonial capital, Henrietta, becoming a centre of the companies’ European activities rather than a centre of its own agricultural and industrial progress; Camden, however, expanded at an aggressive rate, with thousands of plantation rights being sold each year of the 1720s, as the Burgess Company shifted their colonial focus to guaranteeing security and reaping taxation. Unlike Henrietta, the Camden colonial capital of Elephant and Castle developed consistently at a vast rate, itself becoming a centre of trade, of agriculture, of industry, and of culture for the colony of Camden, rather than an expanded warehouse and office for the colonial company.

In 1757 the infamous Lord Charles James Fox, 4th Baron Paddington, was found caught up in a scandal that put him on trial for the murder of the ladies-maid to the Duchess of Nonsuch; it was soon disclosed to the Law Lords of the Court that the two were having an affair, and Baron Paddington attempted to force the ladies-maid to an abortion, following pregnancy, the terrible circumstance escalated into a calculated murder with a bid to ending the crisis. Lord Charles James Fox was found guilty and became the first minister of the Council of State, he held the Interior portfolio at the time, to receive the Capital Duty Punishment; there was no death sentence in the Engellexian Republic, except for military crimes, rather, the Capital Duty Punishment stripped Baron Paddington of his peerage, his wealth and assets, and most importantly his liberties as a free man – the former peer was thus sold as a Capital Duty (type of slave) to the Duchy of Nonsuch to labour on one of their plantations in Otho-Eam. His Duty was one-hundred years, meaning the former peer would die a slave. What this scandalous event provided was an opportunity, for the former Baron Paddington was the Guarantor of the Burgess Company; his punishment left the Burgess Company in a quiet crisis, as it had no leader. The Duke of Clarence and Nolland at the time, who was the Guarantor of the Nolland Company, saw the opportunity to consolidate the fragmented colonial enterprise of Engellex. By 1760 there were five chartered colonial companies, three with colonies and two with colonial trading activities; the Nolland Company forced through the purchase of a majority stock of the Burgess Company, and in 1761 applied to the Council of State to formally merge the two companies with a new Charter of the Republic. The application was granted, but the Council of State, on appeal from the Hammersmith Company which owned the colony of Otho-Eam, removed the trading monopoly that the former Burgess Company held. In 1762 the Nolland-Burgess Corporation was formally chartered, and in doing so created a truly powerful entity within the Engellexian Republic – one that held monopoly of the South East and East and East, and sovereignty over two colonial territories, including the most expansive, productive colony of Camden.

The next seventy-nine years witnessed stability and prosperity for the Nolland-Burgess Corporation, and the colonies of Camden, Mary-le-Bone, and Somers Islands. Nolland Park in Dulwich, an expansive country pile of the Duchy of Clarence and Nolland, developed into a distinct district of West Dulwich; vast terraces of town mansions, squared around the greenest of public spaces, all surrounding the central, but diminishing estate of Nolland Park. This development was no coincidence, these mansions were the preserve of stock holders, directors, proprietors, and other high ranking officials of the Nolland-Burgess Corporation, all curiously desiring to reside as close to their Lord Guarantor as possible. 1841 arrived with ever increasing escalations of poor management decisions by officials in Mary-le-Bone. The cultivation of lucrative opium and other such produce, over grain and other necessities, provoked a social crisis in the colony, by 1843 it had spread to Camden. In 1846 Dulwich considered the crisis a colonial emergency, electing a Lord Protector to administer effective rule and order on behalf of the Engellexian Republic. The Lord Protector, Lord Robert de Vere, Duke of Primrose, deployed the First Republic Army to Henrietta and Elephant and Castle, restoring order and alleviating the crisis through the distribution of agricultural produce from Angellex. Despite the greatest protests from the Duke of Clarence and Nolland, the Lord Protector dissolved the Nolland-Burgess Corporation in 1847, and transferred all colonial territories of Engell companies to the Engellexian Republic. The Duke of Clarence and Nolland, and other persons of interest of the former company, were duly compensated with the creation of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company that same year. Monopolies of trade over entire regions was discontinued. The new company settled for monopolies on certain industries and economic interests throughout Camden and Mary-le-Bone, many of which persist today.

The chief architect of the Dulwich Conference entered the gargantuan foyer of Himyar House, with its wide, and 100ft tall white marble Tiburan Doric columns supporting the imposing space in two rows: the Lord Guarantor of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company, the Lord Horatio Saville, Duke of Clarence and Nolland, and his bustling entourage of company officials in their black Morning dress and colour-matching top hats. The young duke was a very handsome man, of tall height, with firm, clear-cut features. Everything about him, from his weary, bored expression to his quiet, measured step, offered a most striking contrast to the common bustle and step of his officials that hailed from many levels of society and the company. It was evident that he not only knew every one in the foyer of Himyar House, but had found them to be so tiresome that it wearied him to look at or listen to them. And among all these faces that he found so tedious, none seemed to bore him so much as that of the Chief Director of the Board of Directors, who was tiredly bookish and without ambition. He turned away from him with a grimace that distorted his handsome face, kissed the hand of Lady Georgiana Salwey, Duchess of Hammersmith, and screwing up his eyes scanned the whole company of the foyer. You appear as though you are off to war, Duke? Said the Duchess of Hammersmith; as Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, the Duchess of Hammersmith was on a particular duty to meet and welcome all to the Dulwich Conference. Ambition, spoke the young Duke with an air of entitled, self-assured arrogance, has never been a policy surrendered by my predecessors, Duchess. Lady Georgiana Salwey smiled and overtook Lord Horatio Saville into an ante room. All the charm of interest she had assumed had left her kindly and elderly face and it now only expressed concern. How about your ambition, Duke? Said she, having cornered him into the ante room. I cannot express any more than is to be officially expressed here, today in Dulwich. Tell me what it is that quite evidently occupies your concern, Duchess, responded Lord Horatio Saville. Although the duke listened, initially with reluctance, and not particularly mannered in his expression of such reluctance, his impatience was tempered by the intrigue of the Duchess of Hammersmith. The Lady Chancellor – indeed, quite many of the Council of State, grow weary of communist ambition in Gallia-Germania. It has even been suggested that a revolutionary enterprise lingers in the shadows, awaiting a social crisis in the Republic, answered Lady Georgiana Salwey. That is a terribly delicate state of affairs, Duchess, responded the Duke with narrowing eyes. Quite. The Engellexian Republic appears increasingly isolated, not from policy, but by the ideological agitations of Kadikistan. Our strength lies in the future, we shall undoubtedly find it within your sphere, Duke, and should you wish to take from this Conference, you must be equally readied to give, instructed the Duchess of Hammersmith sternly.

 

[Great Engellex]

ENGELLEXIC THAUMANTIC COMPANY
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

No gentleman alive better personified the Engellexic Thaumantic Company and colonial-corporate system it represented than Count Vasili Andreyevich Vyazmitinov. He had grown up with it and within it. His father, the late Count Andrey Vyazmitinov, took an interest beyond his shares in the company, particularly after 1907; and both parents owed their safe passage from revolutionary Kadikistan, in 1907, to the Engellexian Republic to the global reach of the ETC’s commerce and logistics. While each and everyone of the Company’s Lord Guarantors have been of Engell aristocratic breeding, Count Vasili was not Engell, well not entirely, his mother – Countess Rose Elizabeth Vyazmitinova was Engell but his father was obviously Kadiki; but he was an aristocrat, and quite well connected with the Company, thus, while certainly being so, it wasn’t truly remarkable to see his election to the office of Lord Guarantor. Few who dealt with him in the Company, within Elephant and Castle, Hammersmith, and, more importantly, in Dulwich held his Engell heritage, or lack of, in a low opinion that he himself quietly held. That made him a chippy sort of character at times, not at all often, largely when within the private company of some of the more ancient persons of the Engell Establishment. Born in 1921, his education was served against the background of the glittering spectacle of Dulwich Society with its unbridled ambition of prosperity and unrivalled confidence in the aristocratic Republic. It is one of the paradoxes of Engell-Himyar politics that the man presiding over an era of entrenching pessimism was a man reinforced in his earlier life by expansive optimism. Count Vasili was of a foreboding bent of mind rather lately and it was appropriate, perhaps, that he should be steering the fortunes of the Company as the era of Revolutionary Disaster, as Dulwich prefers, commences, in time to preside over the necessary strengthening and reinforcement of the Republic’s imperial enrichment and determination.

Count Vasili entered the Engellexian Republic Parliament, into the Senate, in 1947 wearing his inherited globber as a Kadiki aristocrat. His heritage, as a son of aristocratic refugees from Kadikistan, accompanied him through his entrance into Republic politics and the ETC, and he exercised his offices with a schizophrenic personality of jaunty authoritarianism battling for dominance against the grace and charm of a high society dandy. He was the first Lord or Lady to enter the Senate on the merit of a foreign aristocratic system, and almost certainly will not be the last; it is even supposed that he won’t be the last Kadiki to enter the Senate, not how matters are sizing up with regard to the Empire of Carinthia-Harkany. However, he holds no peerage of Engell origin and such were the snobberies of the Senate that as a serving Lord Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company, the largest corporation in the Republic, he was regarded by his fellow Senators in much the same way a scullery maid would be regarded by a cook or chef – useful. In 1951 he launched the career aspect of his sitting in the Senate by aligning with the faction belonging to the Duchess of Kew, which was where the interests of the ETC stood and where the power of the Republic lay. He supported Lady Rosamund Cavendish politically but was never a member intellectually or socially of the Kew set. At the last Grand Election in 1952 Count Vasili played third man in the Duchess of Kew’s campaign for the Lord Chancellorship, allowing Lady Rosamund Cavendish to defeat her close rival the Duke of Nonsuch. His intervention is widely recognised as securing the position for Lady Rosamund. At that time Count Vasili had no notable base in the political faction behind the Duchess of Kew, or even a particular locality base in Engellex; his political weight came from his position as the Lord Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company, a powerful and respected corporation that employs hundreds-of-thousands throughout the Republic. It was later, succeeding from the Grand Election of 1952, that Count Vasili built his political career around his alliance with the Lady Chancellor, and ascending to the natural leadership of direct corporate interest within the Senate.

In February 1950 there would have been few takers for Count Vasili as Lord Guarantor of the ETC. Rather, he became Second Lord of the Company – a largely honorary position to reflect personages and respect shareholder investments. He gave more time and thought to the industrial foundations of the Company’s power and, more importantly, profit margins than any gentleman before him in the higher echelons of the ETC for a hundred years, an area of thought widely considered mere gritty detail. Controversies surrounding strikes and rioting in the Engell State of Camden by workers of the ETC provided him with opportunity to establish himself for the leadership. In the summer of 1950 workers of mining and agricultural estates in Camden were strengthening their union organisations through mass strikes across both industries, threatening profits of the Company and the wider industrial peace and productivity elsewhere. The issue was the degradation of wages and working conditions through the use of mixed labour (Capital Duties (slaves) and paid employees). Those in the ETC refused to offer basic wages to those in the agricultural estates due to the less than remarkable profit margins on products and the inclusion of Capital Duties which are almost without upkeep, this had been the situation for a considerable time, and others in the ETC felt a similar approach could be made with the mining estates. By July 1950 the peace and been broken, with the striking workforce – that is those that are paid employment, Capital Duties are legally barred from unionising, threatening to destroy Company property and infrastructure, the Company officials threatening to deploy their private army to restore order. Under pressure of direct appeal from the Governor of Elephant and Castle to the ETC and the Engellexian Republic Parliament to bring resolution peacefully Count Vasili, as Second Lord of the Company, unilaterally acted before receiving instruction from the Lord Guarantor, Board of Proprietors, and Board of Directors. He dismissed the local officials from position, moving them to back office positions within the monstrous bureaucracy of the Company, and summoned representation of the aggrieved to Elephant and Castle, where they were greeted by himself and the Governor of the city. Count Vasili offered reform to the situation :- mixed labour was to be abolished; agricultural estates being composed entirely of Capital Duties, thus making great savings from wages and facility standards necessary for paid employees; mining estates to be composed entirely of paid employees, who would see their previous working conditions restored and their wages raised to a mutually acceptable rate. It was a serious risk that would not have been undertaken by any other within the Company, but Count Vasili possessed a unique perception of responsibility toward the Company and a youthful determination. The savings and increased costs were meticulously calculated to as offset each other, in balance, and restore to the Company the revenue as expected. He was widely acknowledged in Dulwich, Hammersmith, and Elephant and Castle; he was a man who knew and understood the Company.

When, in 1951, he became Lord Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company, at the age of thirty, he reached historical achievement for being the youngest Lord Guarantor of any of the Engell colonial corporations. His position within the Company was not particularly strong. Count Vasili secured a thin majority from the two Boards. He held no noticeable support from any political or Company personages, rather, his mandate to hold the position came from the respect he now commanded from the hundreds of thousands who were employed by the Company, and indeed the respect he now possessed from the political establishment of Elephant and Castle – itself becoming prominently influential on Company policy, rivalling Dulwich, almost. He inherited a worsening industrial and commercial situation, one which was not made known to him prior – or anyone outside the highest circle of authority. Within a year he was reinforcing the shaking confidence of the Company by supporting the Duchess of Kew in the Grand Election of 1952, and making all necessary speeches, addresses, and general posturing in demonstration of the wealth and influence of the Republic’s biggest. It had almost quite descended into a mere theatrical performance, but for all that, it was working. Count Vasili was beginning to be recognised as a good successor. By 1955 he was suitably experienced, and of solid conservative temperament, giving himself to a leaning of the First Republican movement, possessing the sound of someone with populist instinct, but acting within the ideals of Republic progress, his talents were undoubtedly appropriate to a Europe falling apart and a need to protect against that; and it did seem so to a strong number of people and politicians throughout the Engellexian Republic. His predecessor, by the end of his career within the Company, had become a master at avoiding the unpleasant and frustrating problems facing the ETC. Count Vasili preferred to take them head on, and rather bluntly too. He restored the regularity and influence of the Council of the Republic to a considerable degree, even in the conduct of security. The Council of the Republic formed of those belonging to the Council of State from Dulwich, the Governors of the Engell States, and Lord Guarantors of the colonial corporations. When problems made themselves known, as they did with increasing regularity upon his election, he moved the Company to resolve them; when those problems went beyond the Engellexic Thaumantic Company, he dragged those of the Council of the Republic to aid him in the necessary moving.

Not mellowed by power, ambition far from spent, and more confident in himself, without a degree of resignation to the limits of capability of achievement, he took to addressing the politics of the Senate and the Engell States as though he were the captain of the engine room of a wider, European Republic, centred on Engellex, that was soon to be realised by fellow Lords and Ladies of the Senate. Much of what he said politically was at variance with policies of strict corporate interest but in tune with the First Republican movement within the Engellexian Parliament. When he told the Senate that it was no longer feasible that the Engellexic Thaumantic Company and the Engell-Himyar Trading Company shoulder the burden of Engellexian Republic security, at land and sea, alongside the Engellexian Republic in an equal three-way partnership it was not because he believed in the end of private security operations of the two companies, but because he saw the European situation requiring a greater expansion in military capability that would likely be beyond the reach of both the ETC and the EHTC. Naturally this was in complete contradiction to the mutual interest of the two companies, both of which have jealously defended their right of ownership and deployment of private arms; particularly so for the ETC, with its arms industries. He spoke his mind, and restored to the position of Lord Guarantor a degree of respect and dignity that had been lost quite some time. The people of the Republic liked his unique style. To his pleasure he found himself well liked, even fondly regarded – a bit of a Republic character. He enjoyed the sense of leadership that his popularity provided as it was useful, especially in Engell Himyar where Dulwich, and the Council of State with the Lady Chancellor, seemed remote to their issues. But the last three years were taxing upon his optimism and energy. Now he didn’t just mean what he said, in what he advocated, he demanded it, against the Company, the Engellexian Republic Parliament, and the Council of the Republic, for the Europe he knew was stood upon its end. He, alongside many within the Engellexian Republic, was utterly perplexed by the things that were happening throughout Europe, and he feared it would paralyse and render powerless the Republic. Everything he stood for, and everything he was – from the Lord Guarantor of essentially a colonial enterprise, to an aristocrat, and a Senator of a very proud republic – was now in peril. Count Vasili was appalled by the violence and sheer brutality which now seeded and spread throughout the Occident, all of it strung together in naked puppetry by his former motherland, Kadikistan. He was shocked, and deeply resentful at what he took to be the ingratitude of the revolutionaries that held power in Kadikistan; to him, they stole Kadikistan, and now they want more. But as Europe tore itself apart, it was the situation in the Engell States that occupied and worried Count Vasili.

By December 1954 it was becoming apparent that a shortage of labour was growing not just in Engell Himyar, but Engellex too. Agricultural estates throughout the Engell States were expanding rapidly to meet demands of Republic and Europe, especially given the increasing prices of food stuffs and availability of cheap land in Himyar, but labour was drying up. The industrial sectors were similarly experiencing difficulties, themselves expanding under the glow of increasing prices of industrial products that at one time were produced and pouring out of Northern Europe, and now consumed it great quantities either for war or rebuilding. Simply raising wages to reflect value differences was not clever, as nobody could guarantee the continued production levels long term, and the laws of the Republic placed restrictions on the number of Capital Duties (slaves) a company could own. In short, prices on food, clothing and other household products were rising steadily, and wages only very cautiously. The General Struggle took place during the winter of 1955-1956. The Engellexian Republic was brought nowhere near to its knees, and people were not seriously inconvenienced. There were outrageous acts committed, notably in the less productive and affluent cities in Engellex. A threatened power outage against the city of Hammersmith hit only a small suburb of some fifteen-thousand people, rather than millions. It was the spectacle that was presented to the public on television, radio, and newspaper which made the General Struggle such an unmitigated disaster for the political establishment, from Dulwich to Hammersmith, to Elephant and Castle. The Engellexian Republic seemed to be at the mercy of socialists, pickets and strike committees, who officiously decreed who and what should pass. They decided whether of not heating fuels would enter hospitals or whether schools would open their doors to shivering children. The Republic seemed to be caught in the grip of a seemingly militant union psychology, with everything politicised and proletarianised. It all came to an anticlimax when the Lady Chancellor, Lady Rosamund Cavendish, formed an agreement that saw a temporary halt to exports of agricultural products outside of the Engellexian Republic for a year, and the exchange of coupons for clothing and household items in place of wage increases, again, for a year. Count Vasili was less bothered by the agreement to end the General Struggle, the value of coupons wasn’t much when considered against the number of those eligible to receive them, and large profits were still being made on foodstuffs and other agricultural products. What alarmed him was the potential for the crisis to develop into an emergency, and it was that potential emergency – against the backdrop of European violence, that compelled Count Vasili, and the others, to call for a Dulwich Conference.

I see I am not the last to arrive. That is terribly frustrating, as it is necessary that we simply get on with it, remarked Count Vasili Andreyevich Vyazmitinov as he stood in the foyer of Himyar House.

 

[Great Engellex]

GOVERNORS OF ENGELL HIMYAR
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

The Socialist Revolutions of the 1920s, an earthquake across the Engell Republic system, saw a manifestation of the politics of the empowerment of the republics throughout the Engellexian Republic. For the political insecurity that had been permitted since 1907, that had itself allowed the stagnation of ideas, of economic and political progress, had been abruptly cast out as a consequence of the Socialist Revolutions; the 1920s awoke the self-assured optimism. The word ‘empowered’ crept into the political vocabulary some time towards the end of the 1920s, although the actions it demanded had long been called, albeit very quietly, throughout the Engellexian Republic since the rise of communist Kadikistan. The concentration of political will within the hands of a select generation of politicians, of a notably great age, sharing the same political leaning results in the relative decline of political progress, feeding into a relative decline of economic and social progress, and that had been the Engell condition not only immediately succeeding 1905 – acknowledged as the second most progressive year of Engell politics – but throughout the twentieth century immediately following 1905. More insidious are the consequences of persistently lacking legislative progress in any nation: the weakening of confidence in the governing group of men and women and the deterioration of support, even loyalty, to the political system in place. By this means the concentration of political power in the hands of a small group of people, even if democratically elected, endangers the Republic, and its relative decline and can lead to absolute decline. The Establishment was slow to recognise the condition, and slower still to admit it. The political, social and economic emergency of the 1920s Socialist Revolutions had been a thunderous jolt, not to the Engell people, who were quick to forgive and forget the pre-condition of the Republic, but to the governing class throughout the Engellexian Republic – Gallia-Germania and Himyar alike. The Republic had always been a rather inclusive public affair – relative to the time, a point which eluded the many foreign observers who attributed the Republic’s post-1920’s political rhetoric to a shock of losing the six Engell States to the Socialist Revolutions, themselves unifying into the Socialist World Republic. The revolutionary emergency did administer a severe shock to the confidence of the governing class, bringing home some of the reality of their extreme complacency; the average citizen, however, was far more aware and connected to the feeling that underlined the Socialist Revolutions, themselves taking place in varying degrees throughout the Republic, thus the average citizen was far more moved to simply pick-up and progress forward. Yet the Old Guard of the Senate, misled by the success of retaining the Republic’s western Clarencian Sea Engell States and the peaceful end of socialist endeavours and movements in Angellex and Gewissex, continued to suppose that the Engellexian Republic was going to remain relatively unchanged politically. They were a minority, a minority amongst the minority that allowed the pre-condition. In the year following the secession of the six States, the adoption of the full provisions of federal powers constituted by the 1905 reforms by the legislatures of Camden, Mary-le-Bone, Otho-Eam, and Somers Islands, was viewed complacently in Dulwich and almost with indifference by much of the Senate.

When the Socialist Revolutions ended in 1928 nobody predicted any sort of empowerment along the 1905 federal outline, rather, some predicted a move toward confederacy then the departure of the remaining Engell States by one way or another. To be sure, the Republic had been reduced by the socialist movements in Himyar – more than half of her Himyari Engell States had seceded and formed a new sovereign entity opposed to it, a great percentage of resources, and the security of dominating southern Himyar and much of the Implarian, but this was no war of devastation. In the relief of the peace that followed the secession of the six States there were few doubts that the Engellexian Republic would recover and hold her position politically within Himyar and industrially as one of Europe’s top five biggest powers. Policy in Dulwich and elsewhere was based on the assumption that the position of the Republic needed to be reinforced to be maintained, this wasn’t a belief for Camden, or the entirety of Engell Himyar, or even Engellex, but for Angellex, Gewissex, Otho-Eam, Camden, Mary-le-Bone, and Somers Islands. For all and equally. Indeed, given the long years of stagnation which had preceded the 1920s, the recoveries after 1928 was remarkable. In the late 1930s the decline in overall exports, a circumstance created by the departure of the six States, was halted and then reversed, and the balance of payments, with respect to Engell Himyar, balanced for the first time of the twentieth century in 1942, and then exceeded in 1947, more noticeably in Camden. By the Engellexian Republic’s own past sluggish standards the growth of the economies of Angellex and Gewissex was good in the 1940s onwards, but nowhere as good as that of elsewhere in the Republic. Taking advantage of the increased inward investment, reaching record highs, as a result of the elimination of their competition, bringing in greater technological progress than was previously predicted, and of the favourable Keynesian economic environment that was evolving, the damaged economies of Otho-Eam, Camden, and Mary-le-Bone recovered in a remarkable fashion. While Engellex (Angellex and Gewissex) grew at an average of 3.2 per cent annum through the 1940s, growth in the rest of the Republic averaged 5 per cent. Camden was growing at nearly twice the rate of Engellex. In the 1950s Engellex, again by her own modern standards, did better still. That economy grew at an average rate of 4.6 per cent but, again, the rest of the Republic averaged 6 per cent. Over the whole period of the ‘unexpected boom’ between the end of the 1930s to the 1956, Camden averaged 8.1 per cent annual growth, Mary-le-Bone 6 per cent, Otho-Eam 5 per cent, and Engellex only 4 per cent. In terms of wealth per head of population, Engellex grew in that period at half the rate of Camden and Mary-le-Bone. In the 1930s Engellex was the wealthiest constituent republic in the Engellexian Republic. By the beginning of the 1950s Camden was at the point of overtaking. By 1956 the Republic’s share of Europe’s export trade in manufactured goods averaged 19 per cent, an increase from 13 per cent, with the increase attributed to increases from Camden and Mary-le-Bone. By all these measures of actual performance Camden was experiencing a relatively steep ascension within the Engellexian Republic since the 1930s. A modern society cannot easily embrace the idea of decline, it isn’t much easier to embrace the idea of ascension given the circumstance of being surrounded by adversaries dipping their toes into the social cohesion of their neighbours throughout Europe. The citizenry applaud the belief, factual or not, of their society progressing, especially as part of some European race; the politicians cannot but be held back by some apprehension of some concept of new responsibility extending beyond their borders. This was certainly the reality of the Engell States of Himyar, with the Governor of Elephant and Castle, Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, contemplating the impact of Camdenite economic progress internally within the Engellexian Republic and regionally within Himyar.

Lord Henry Swann-Pryce’s turn towards Dulwich in 1956 was born not out of new found enthusiasm to be a tourist in the heart of the Republic, but rather out of growing lack of confidence in the future of the Engellexian Republic; and it was for the future of the whole Republic, for the most widely recognised silver lining of the Socialist Revolutions was the steep drop in secessionist leaning throughout Engell Himyar. In 1931, political anxiety in Henrietta, Mary-le-Bone, forced a belated recognition of the Republic’s strategic over-extension in the Clarencian Sea. It was acknowledged and agreed, in Dulwich that the Engellexian Republic would withdraw from Eastern Clarencian Sea, abandoning an archipelago in south-east of the sea to the Socialist World Republic that year – for the ruling elite, in Dulwich and Elephant and Castle, the event was scarcely less traumatic, security-wise, than the secession of the six States was recognised as a fact and not an idea. Loss of territory in Europe was something often regarded as something which happened at a stroke with the ending of the war and secession of predecessor States of the Socialist World Republic, leaving the Republic thereafter curious and anxious, in equal measure, as to the status of its security. In fact, the retreat of the Engellexian Republic in the south-east of Himyar was a three-step process that ended, or succeeded, in 1931. Strategic over-extension was a cause for political concern in 1931, with loss of territory taking with it the justified economic interest needed for the argument to spend resources defending a curious and perhaps awkward corner of the map. For the people of the Republic the 1950s, at least at the start, were years of material advance, cultural excitement and greater individual liberation, especially in Himyar, but for their politicians it was beginning to be a decade in which it became more and more apparent that the Republic was due to experience an irrelevance, if not an absolute decline beyond expectation should the Republic not respond to the security crisis that was gradually cornering it. The Governor of Elephant and Castle, and the Governor of Henrietta, though primarily concerned with economy and social stability, were only too aware of the intractable and chronic aspects of the Republic’s security situation since 1931, but it was not politic to speak of possibilities of threat, of decline. The Engellexian Republic maintained a unique system of Republic Armed Forces that consisted of the Republic War Council and the Republic Naval Council; these councils were where the political command of the Engellexian Republic’s military lay, each consisting of seats belonging to heads of certain agencies, ministries or departments, and of government – federal and state; the Republic Naval Council was more unique, itself comprising the three admiralties that formed the Republic Navy (Hammersmith Admiralty, Elephant Admiralty, and the Henrietta Admiralty) with the two Himyari admiralties constitutionally belonging to the Engellexic Thaumantic Company and the Engell-Himyar Trading Company, and the three governors of Engell Himyar, as well as the Lady Chancellor and her Angelleaux-at-Arms (War Secretary). In 1955, before the General Struggle truly erupted, the Republic Naval Council was convened on possible deployment of reinforcements to deal with the emerging crisis; the discussion evolved into a two hour debate on the security of the Republic, with the greatest concerns being given to Kadikistan, Pelasgia, and the Socialist World Republic, and how it was presently quite difficult to defend the Republic in Gallia-Germania and Himyar; that was when the Dulwich Conference was agreed for August 1956.

The tasks facing the Governor of Elephant and Castle, particularly given the first-among-governors position of his office, by 1956 were those still left unfinished by his predecessors from 1905, the 1920s, but also the new security threats of the 1950s. Lord Henry Swann-Pryce strongly believed the Engellexian Republic had yet to address the socialist threat across Europe, yet to fully address the underlining demographic and economic factors leading to the General Struggle. To achieve these goals there would need to be, he believed, a profound change in Republic attitudes, some kind of First Republic empowerment which would replace the stagnant locality politics, of Gallia-Germania and Himyar, which has evolved since 1905 with a thrusting spirit of an empowered truly federal Republic of equals standing First in Europe. The Governor had previously insisted that the task of changes within the Engellexian Republic along the lines of the First Republic political movement would take ten to fifteen years – two to three full terms in office. Lord Henry Swann-Pryce was reaching the end of his first term that he commenced in the 1952 Grand Election, and he was hedging his ability to carry through the changes on his effort, his strategy within the Dulwich Conference to bring about the true realisation of the 1905 federal revolution, with a programme that would certainly be enough to keep the Engellexian Republic Parliament busy for the next two terms. The 1952 Manifesto for the Elephant and Castle Governorship prescribed the pioneering spirit and iron determination of the original settlers of Engell Himyar to pacify the threats of ideological savagery and uncivilised tribalism at the frontier, and expand the freedom and prosperity of Camden as an equal within the Engellexian Republic and a leader in waiting in Himyar. It had been launched in the gargantuan womb of New World opulence, the Vanderbent Hall – the vast entrance hall from 3rd Burgess Avenue to Grand Republic Station in Elephant and Castle, to the accompaniment of the unofficial popular anthem of the Engellexian Republic,

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. Planning restrictions will be reduced in Elephant and Castle, business rates will be cut, and public expenditure will be expanded in certain areas. There was a great list of priorities, very ambitious, with focus from industry, to infrastructure, to border review, to research and development. Unions would be given the right to secret ballots, but a new system of councils, committees, and courts to bridge the divide of public, private and union entities in disagreement, with the sole aim of compromise and prevention of strikes. These reforms – which were to occupy an inordinate amount of legislative time – were scarcely the most urgent problems facing Camden, although they were especially relevant to the Governor’s intention of removing the remaining bastions of socialism in the Engell State, and paving a way for neighbouring Otho-Eam and Mary-le-Bone to follow suit.

His first move having been sworn in as Governor of Elephant and Castle in 1952 was to sack the Republic’s Advocate, at the time, Sir Michael Carter. Had Lord Henry Swann-Pryce been confronted with socialist agitation during his term, with Sir Michael Carter staying in office, Swann-Pryce would have faced a socialist sympathizer as a Republic’s Advocate undermining any and all efforts to reinforce security. Now he was out. He had annoyed Swann-Pryce during his election campaign by arguing in favour of sympathies to Kadikistan and even their neighbours across the Clarencian, the Socialist World Republic. But, in any case, the Governor had never liked him, simply couldn’t get on with him – nor the former Republic’s Advocate with him. Sir Michael Carter was a naval officer and a gentleman from Frognal, with his family tracing their heritage to the late 18th century. He had a gloomy disposition, even the way he stood during public events, shoulders hunched in despondency. To the Governor he represented the defeatism which pervaded the old ruling class of Camden, devastated that their lot was still not elevated to the social ranking of their aristocratic counterparts in Engellex. But he was Governor now, the most powerful of governors in the Republic. With two of his protégés, Lord Richard Waldron, Baron Waldron, and Lord Ebenezer Arkwright, Baron of Frognal, elected by the Governor’s Council and the House of Burgesses to Commissioner-at-Arms and Commissioner-at-Sea, and the ever-obedient Sir Nathaniel Lloyd elected to the office of the Republic’s Advocate. It wasn’t just in his own administration that the Governor secured the standard of support he needed from the 1952 Grand Election, in the Governor’s Council sixty-three seats out of one-hundred were taken by Councillors in support of his manifesto, and in the House of Burgesses one-hundred-twenty seats, out of three-hundred, were secured allowing the Governor a feeling a little ease. This strength of support was experienced also in the Senate and the Bare Commons in Dulwich, where the Governor observed forty-seven per cent and fifty-nine per cent, respectively, of seats allocated for Camden being won by those who share his manifesto. One curious achievement from the 1952 election, in Camden, was women filling a majority of seats in the Governor’s Council for the first time, and almost equality of gender in numbers in the House of Burgesses. What any and all of this from the election amounted to was the potent position of Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, with perhaps only the Lady Chancellor herself equalling his political clout and popularity, entering the Dulwich Conference with clear intention, and the determination, will and popular support to demand and carry through what he wants to achieve.

[[OOC: Post includes revised history between Engellex and the SWR]]

 

[Great Engellex]

GLORY, GLORY, GLORIANA
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

The motorcade of five Rolls-Royce Phantom IVs, covered back and front by motorcycle protection units of the Metropolitan Constabulary of Dulwich, pulled swiftly into Nolland Court, a courtyard for the formal West Entrance of Himyar House. One by one, the motorcycles then the first two Phantoms IVs, peeled off allowing the middle vehicle, bearing the standards of the Lady Chancellor, to pass ahead inside the gated entrance of the vast marble and stone West Entrance. Personal security officers belonging to the highest agency of the domestic intelligence service, the Walsingham Departments (WD), swiftly moved forward to provide a secure corridor in which the Duchess of Kew could depart the vehicle and enter the building unhindered. As Lady Rosamund Cavendish straightened herself from exiting the vehicle the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith, descended the grand marble staircase to personally greet the Lady Chancellor. Lady Chancellor, spoke the Duchess of Hammersmith has she and the Lady Chancellor shook hands. I trust I am the last to arrive? Questioned Lady Rosamund Cavendish. Yes, Lady Chancellor. The other parties are awaiting you in their designated drawing-rooms, the Duchess of Hammersmith replied. Marching up the grand staircase to the main hall of Himyar House, the Lady Chancellor stood markedly out for fashion and elegance; her full-length fitted silhouette black velvet, with black fur-trim coat, accompanied by a matching black felt toque hat stylised by three glorious feathers set Lady Rosamund Cavendish apart from the white marble interior with a timeless, yet contemporary elegance. Every certain number of steps an officer of the Plantagenet Guard, in full livery of deep blue tunic and sliver armour pieces, stood rigid with their eyes staring out from the heavy silver and gold helmets adorned with a crimson plume. It was all very significant, but the idea and holding of a Dulwich Conference was not unprecedented, but rather something that was uncommon, to overcome matters of the Republic – such as military and security threats from around Europe, Kadikistan, Pelasgia, and the Socialist World Republic. Francis Godolphin Anguish, the Marquess of Poole, and Principal Private Secretary to the Lady Chancellor, marched behind Lady Rosamund Cavendish to her left. Sir Edward Bartholomew Ede, the Chief of Staff to the Lady Chancellor, was also behind her, to the right. Attending alongside the Lady Chancellor, these senior persons of her office, with senior ministers of the Council of State, and those of the Council of the Republic, were attending to serious matters domestic and foreign of the Engellexian Republic. The will of this Conference shall be fixed, and unshakeable, remarked Lady Rosamund Cavendish as she entered the Continental Hall, her voice echoing throughout the great expanse. Please let us proceed, she commanded, as her Lady to the Chancellor quickly approached to remove her black velvet coat and inspect her clothes to ensure perfection of image and dignity. Just as quickly as the Lady Chancellor gave her command, the staff of the Duchess of Hammersmith scattered hastily toward the numerous doors around the Continental Hall to the drawing-rooms dotted around Himyar House, where everyone else of the Conference was awaiting direction. Despite being a political affair of practicality, as opposed to formal pomp and pageantry of the Republic, there was still ceremony to perform as the Engellexian Republic is still quite often, though derogatorily, referred to as the aristocratic republic.

Sitting within the gaudy extravagance of the Camden drawing-room, named as such after the Engell State of Camden and decorated richly, ostentatiously to the expertly blended tastes of Bourgogne Empire and Republic (Regency) styles, was the Governor of Elephant and Castle, and his wife the Governess. Unlike those of the Engell trading companies, and politicians below the position of Lord Lieutenant (Governor is of equal position to that), the Governors of the Engell States of Himyar are expected to be accompanied by their partners as a matter of protocol; the Lady Chancellor is of course, by protocol expected to attend to such stately affairs with her husband, sadly the Duchess of Kew is a widow. I must say, this metropolis (Dulwich) does render Elephant and Castle rather dull and tame. Are there any plantations that equal the grandeur here? Asked Lady Una Swann-Pryce, the Governess, languidly as she settled her bone china teacup and saucer on the table beside her. I dare say no, but do not let Elephant society hear you say that. Lord Hester Howe believes his plantation is fit for the Pelasgian Emperor, remarked the Governor of Elephant and Castle. Despite the warmth of their mutual company, the expanse of the Camden drawing-room with its finery gave a cool air to their moment of tea and calm; the staff belonging to the Governor, and those of the Governess, were in an adjoining room. It was all a little royalized. Suddenly there was three knocks at the door, followed by the entrance of the First Footman and a functionary of the Foreign Departments; before they both had the opportunity to bow from the neck to the Governor and Governess, Lord and Lady Swann-Pryce stood up and assumed their correct and dignified stature to be addressed. It is time, your Lordship, your Ladyship, spoke the functionary with a neck bow to the Governor, followed by another to his wife, the Governess. Delightful, proclaimed Lady Una Swann-Pryce with the air of tired superiority as she took hold of her husbands hand to be led out. Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, as Governor of Elephant and Castle, was the Republic’s pre-eminent of governors, and his exceptionality was carried through during his time in Dulwich, at the conference, and especially so during this short demonstration of Republic pomp and pageantry in the Continental Hall. As a governor, formality was not a question but an expectation, as such Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, as with the other governors, was adorned with the usual white tie attire of his position :- black tailcoat worn over his white starched shirt and waistcoat, including the obvious white bow tie, but also the silk sash of his rank and position and any insignia belonging to an order he or she may be a member of; for the Governor of Elephant and Castle, this meant a blue silk sash across his front and the rather ornate, diamond encrusted badge of the Order of the Yellow Rose pinned over his left breast. Lady Una Swann-Pryce, advised upon the choice colours of the Duchess of Kew (blue; green; black), opted for the most brilliant of yellow silk evening gowns and dark brown fur stole and the greatest display of diamond jewellery to have adorned anyone from Engell Himar. Entering the hall, the staff and entourage, a meter behind the Governor and Governess, were directed to the far left side where other non-significant persons but those in attendance were standing, conversing and indulging in the light refreshment of champagne. To the far right was the Duchess of Kew the Lady Chancellor, the Duchess of Hammersmith the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments and her husband the Duke of Hammersmith, and the functionaries rolled out to perform such ceremonial duties. His Lordship, Lord Henry Swann-Pryce the Governor of Elephant and Castle. Her Ladyship, the Lady Una Swann-Pryce the Governess of Elephant and Castle, proclaimed stiffly by the Master of Himyar House. They both proceeded forward, the eyes of all within the Continental Hall watching their every step. I anticipate the wisdom and energy, in equal measure, of the Camdenite character as the greatest contribution of this Conference to be observed, Lord Swann-Pryce, complimented the Lady Chancellor to the Governor as she shook hands. You will have to forgive my practical attendance to this Conference, Lady Swann-Pryce, for it is the excuse I shall keep to explain why I am so terribly under dressed against your elegant countenance, she charmed as she and the Governess shook hands. Indeed, despite Lady Rosamund Cavendish intending to change outfits before getting down to business, the Duchess of Kew was much less attired in comparison to the wives of the Governor’s, largely due to her own attendance as the Lady Chancellor and not necessarily as a Duchess; nonetheless, Lady Rosamund Cavendish was finely attired in an elegant silk evening dress of ivory with exquisite copper-green embroidery, and a draping display of beautiful pearls of the finest quality.

Just as the Governor and Governess of Elephant and Castle departed the welcome of the Duke and Duchess of Hammersmith the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, to continue greeting other persons of rank and breeding, the new Governor was announced. Her Ladyship, Lady Hillary Midler, Baroness Midler, the Governess of Henrietta. His Lordship, Lord Guyon Midler, Baron Midler, the First Gentleman of Henrietta, proclaimed the Master of Himyar House. The spouse of the elected Governor of any of the Engell States has the right to choose their designated title from two options, the husband of the Governess of Henrietta evidently opted for use of the First Gentleman title, as opposed to Governor; First Lady is the equalled option available to wives of Governors. No doubt Lord Guyon Midler perceived it to be progressive to not assume the title of Governor, as to not diminish the quality and position of his own wife; Henriettans consider themselves the most forward thinking without equal within the Republic, naturally this is regularly contested. Lady Hillary Midler proceeded toward the Lady Chancellor, the First Gentleman by her side; unlike Lady Rosamund Cavendish, the Governess of Henrietta was of a more advanced age, and so opted for a Kimono-style rose pink silk dress with silver silk embroidery; like Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, she too wore a sash, the crimson sash of Mary-le-Bone, and also the diamond encrusted badge of the Order of the Yellow Rose; but unlike Lady Una Swann-Pryce, and to the frustration of the Governess of Elephant and Castle, Lady Hillary Midler was wearing her dazzling baroness tiara, no doubt asserting herself as socially above the Lord Henry Swann-Pryce despite the pre-eminence of his office over hers. Lord Guyon Midler himself was attired typically in white tie, but also was sporting his baronet’s badge draped around his collar and over his shirt, an orange and black silk neck decoration with a gold badge depicting the arms of his baronetcy. I reserve the highest expectations for you, Baroness. I eagerly await the collaboration of the greatest mind of Mary-le-Bone with this Conference. I believe together much can be achieved, addressed the Lady Chancellor to the Governess of Henrietta. That is my belief too, Duchess, the position of not just Mary-le-Bone, but our shared Republic depend and await on our successes, responded the Governess. Do you consider much on the latest intelligences concerning Kadikistan, Duchess? Questioned the Governess to the Duchess of Hammersmith, having moved from the Lady Chancellor and shaken hands with the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments. Yes, the ever expanding chronicles of Kadiki horrors, quipped the Duchess of Hammersmith. It is no laughing matter, Duchess, I am prepared to consider all options to spare us a retrial of the Socialist Revolutions. What do you yourself propose? replied the Governess. Stand by the freedoms and rights of the Republic, and if Kadikistan – or some other actor of that persuasion – does contest our liberties, they shall surely learn that our patience, unlike the Republic, is not eternal, answered the Duchess of Hammersmith. Nevertheless, I would like to spare the Republic the preparation needed for a violent confrontation, with any Power. I believe much can be achieved by agreement with those nations with likewise anxieties, the Governess concluded, as she and the First Gentleman of Henrietta departed the company of the Hammersmith’s. Just as they did, another entrance was proclaimed. His Lordship, Lord Benedict Arnold, Baron Arnold, the Governor of Babbage. Her Ladyship, Lady Margaret Arnold, Baroness Arnold, the Governess of Babbage, the Master of Himyar House was heard loudly proclaiming. Again, the Governess of Elephant and Castle, Lady Una Swann-Pryce, who performing a rather weak demonstration of interest into the conversation she and her husband were engaged with a circle of persons belonging to the Engellexian Republic Senate, for the sight of Governor and Governess of Babbage caught her sight; alike the Governess of Henrietta, Lady Margaret Arnold was a baroness and opted to wear her baroness tiara, her husband, his baronetcy neck decoration over the golden sash of Otho-Eam. It was not until the entrance of the Governor and Governess of Somers Islands that Lady Swann-Pryce begun to feel a little reassured of her position and ranking, socially that is. The Governor of Somers Islands was a lordship as per the right of his position as a Governor, like his counterpart from Elephant and Castle; the Governor of Somers Islands was at the bottom of the hierarchy in Engell Himyar. Lord Edward Rutledge and Lady Louisa Rutledge are the present Governor and Governess of Somers Islands, respectively.

It was approaching one hour since the last grand attendees of the Conference were announced in, those being :- the Lord Horatio Saville the Duke of Clarence and Nolland, Lord-Guarantor of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company; and Count Vasili Andreyevich, Lord-Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company. Ever determined to keep an efficient schedule, the Lady Chancellor proceeded to move the opening of the Dulwich Conference along. At the far northern end of the Continental Hall a small stage, of slight elevation, had been constructed; it didn’t resemble any particular construction belonging to a gaiety theatre, but rather to provide a formal point of focus, with its sapphire blue carpet covering, and ornate mahogany lectern. The theatrics of this set-up was all especially symbolic; the staging received the backdrop of a huge flag of the Engellexian Republic hanging from the ceiling, and to the left and right of the flag were two exceptionally large paintings hanging on the wall depicting the founding of the Engell States as colonies. Given the brilliance of the natural sunlight that poured through the tall, wide windows on both sides of the Continental Hall, it gave the gravitas of occasion that the Lady Chancellor, and others, needed to carry through the importance of some of the matters they were here to discuss and settle. I stand here, Lady Rosamund Cavendish began to the nearly two-hundred assembled persons, for the purpose of moving for the opening of the Dulwich Conference of which we are here graciously assembled for. I am aware of the importance of many of the topics which, in the documents submitted and received by the attending parties here, are submitted to the consideration of the Conference. But, at the same time, I believe, that there are few points which can disturb the unanimity which ought to prevail at this momentous point of circumstance for our Republic. Our situation requires unanimity, and therefore I trust that none will be disposed to take any unreasonable grounds of objection to the sentiments and gravity in which some, if not all, present stand to demonstrate the cause which has brought them here this day. I am perfectly persuaded, that there are many paragraphs in the many drafted documents that have been informally circulated ahead of today, which must occasion universal joy and satisfaction to all those who have the good of this noble Republic, and the tranquillity of Europe at heart; but I am aware, at the same time, that there are others where the information given may not seem to many ladies and gentlemen so complete as they could have wished. These are points, however, which at present ought not to be rashly and prematurely introduced into discussion, till the desirable information relating to them can be conveniently laid before this Conference. Of these I would particularly advert to the forth paragraph of the document titled the General Peace of the Occident, which refers to the war against the Ivernish Empire. Upon this subject the opinions entertained will probably be very different, according to the particular view in which each individual may be disposed to regard it. But till the papers which the Lord Speaker and Keeper has been graciously pleased to order to be laid before us, for the purpose of bringing the affair completely under our view, shall be produced, the propriety of refraining from any long discussion on this must be obvious to every impartial person. It is impossible that any man and woman can with justice pretend to give any clear and decided opinion on a point, relative to which their information must as yet be considered as extremely defective. Considering the times and the circumstances in which we are placed, every possible regard, it must be obvious, ought to be paid to candour and moderation.

With regard to the warmongering overtures which, we are all very much informed, have been made to the democratic and free societies of Europe, these, I am sure, must have afforded the highest displeasure and dissatisfaction to everyone here; and after the variety of opinions that have been detailed by many ladies and gentlemen in this Conference, through the drafted preliminary documents, on the situation of the Engellexian Republic and Europe, it must indeed be highly frustrating that the present state of affairs afford so little cheer and positive expectation in prospect. All of us must have felt no small degree of delight and satisfaction at receiving proofs off the just sense which the Pelasgian Empire appears to entertain of the aggressions and outrageous conduct of Kadikistan; this is of course in spite of our own just sense of concern respecting the Pelasgian Empire, but the situation of this Republic and Europe is of exceptional nature and delicacy. There are now the best grounds of hope that the Free Powers of Europe will be awakened to a proper sense of what is due to themselves and to the liberties of Europe, in case Kadikistan and her ideological cabal should persist in a line of conduct which may render it impossible to continue under the blessing of peace.

With particular regard to the defence of the Engellexian Republic, the measures that have been preliminarily proposed for the furtherance of that great object, have, as the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments has informed me, been attended with the most considered effect. Much of the merit that belongs to this circumstance, may be justly claimed by the collective wisdom of those here present, of an equal quality, and the zeal and ardour of the elected assemblies belonging to the Engellexian Republic Parliament throughout our Republic. Yet, for the respectability of our defensive situation, much is also due to the exertions of the advices given and received on such state and preparedness from those of military position that possess the soundest of leadership and capability this Republic could ever hope to expect. To their Lordships and Ladyship, the Governors and Governess of the Engell States, we owe the excellent state of defence in which Camden, Mary-le-Bone, Otho-Eam, and the Somers Islands have been placed, a part of the Republic which the enemy may, perhaps, be disposed to consider as the most eligible point of infiltration and attack. The Council of State has directed me to turn our attention to another point, which it justly states as of the utmost importance. The Council of State has requested that we should give to it that political support which alone can enable it to bring the present contest of arms to a great and decisive conclusion in the favour of the Great Power of the Engellexian Republic. The greatest eagerness has been manifested by this Conference, indeed I have personally read the respecting documents, to give the Council of State and the Council of the Republic the most effectual support in its power, and I trust that, at this moment, the exertions of the assemblies of the Engellexian Republic Parliament will not be discontinued. The Council of State has been particularly attended to the support of public credit, and I have no doubt that in this respect the Conference will feel every disposition to concur with the Council of State. That the burdens which the public purse must endure are heavy and without pleasure, it must be confessed; but considering the magnitude of the object for which the Republic is contending, and the great efforts that must necessarily be made, I hope that these burdens will be borne with patience and unanimity.

Much as we lament the necessity of imposing additional burdens on the Engellexian Republic, we are, at the same time, so sensible how much the future security and liberty depend upon the vigour of our joint exertions, that it should be proudly addressed that the free citizens of this Republic may rely upon our granting such supplies as the exigency of the public service may require, preserving, at the same time, an anxious desire effectually to support public credit, and to restrain as much as possible the accumulation of the national debt.

It affords us great consolation and satisfaction to observe, that the proofs of the internal wealth and resources of the Republic appear to support the pace with the efforts and sacrifices which the nature of this contest will require; and the free citizens of the Republic may firmly rely on our zeal to maintain and improve these advantages, and to adopt such measures as, by enabling the Engellexian Republic to prosecute this ideological contest with vigour, may afford the best prospect of bringing the threat of the destruction of our civilisation, and the confiscation of our liberties and rights to a conclusive termination. My Lord, Ladies, Gentleman, and Free Citizens of the Republic, I address to you the opening of the Twenty-Second Dulwich Conference; and just as the Lady Chancellor concluded her last sentence a band belonging to the Plantagenet Guard slowly marched into the Continent Hall beating their drums, followed by their other instruments for the collective demonstration of patriotism to the Engellexian Republic - the singing of the anthem of the Republic, the

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Glory, Glory, Gloriana!

[[OOC: Gloriana is the personification of the Engellexian Republic]]

 

[Great Engellex]

THE ROUND TABLE
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

Whatever evident disadvantages the Engellexian Republic may now have have to endure from the close of the 1920s, the Engellexian Republic Parliament still considered it’s Republic as still very much an envy by her immediate rivals throughout Europe and, while weakened by the surrendering of its former position as the Power of the Implarian, the Engellexian Republic was still potentially a force to be reckoned with, even more so given the unprecedented ambition and drive to become the Power of the Thaumantic. Surrendering of the old crown, and the seizure of the new. In particular the Himyari Engell States of the Republic, and the rich trading opportunities that went with those territories, not to mention the trading network between the Republic and her partner in Toyou, the Huaxian Empire, were prized national interests that certainly would attract the ill-concealed ambitions of rivals but also the political ambition of internal forces. As a consequence, for over thirty years one of the most burning issues that was discussed in the assemblies of the Republic, and her executive councils across the Republic’s entirety had been the matter of the absolute decline of the Engellexian Republic or the manifestation of the First Republic. The potentially delicate questions would have to be answered at this Dulwich Conference, not in the future, but now. There were no immediate and easy answers, for the Republic had to contend with demographic questions to continue its economic growth, a few of which were contentious, and also those concerning security that was evidently necessary to protect every corner of the Republic’s concern and sovereignty; with almost one thousand islands stretching from Gallia-Germania to South Scania, and the possession of the Western Clarencian Sea, it was simply not possible for the issue of security to be not resolved at the immediate session of the Dulwich Conference.

The Governor of Elephant and Castle and the Governess of Henrietta had arguably attended with the greatest, and strongest considerations to be resolved – that was undoubtedly evident from the economic and security position – but there were others, most notably the Lord-Guarantors of the two attending Companies, the Engellexic Thaumantic Company and the Engell-Himyar Trading Company, and then there was the Lady Chancellor herself, as the executive leader of the Engellexian Republic looking to form the strongest economic, constitutional, social and security position achievable from the Conference. The rude awakening of the Socialist Revolutions of the 1920s had sown a fierce ideological harvest for the present day, but each quarter of the Republic sitting at the Conference could hardly expect to make progress unless it was with the connivance and blessing of one or other, or perhaps optimistically with a negotiated common policy with unanimous agreement. Such a prospect was not out of the question, for it would suit everyone to avoid political confrontations over key issues, as the 1920s was a costly affair and those main contenders were know larger than they were. More encouragingly, the main positions on the biggest issues were not polarised, there was quite a bit of common ground. The questions over economic affairs were complex as they principally concerned Capital Duties, and made more so because of the aims and ambitions of all contenders to fully partake in the reaping of high profits as a direct result of the conflicts taking place; but issues such as Capital Duties were hedged about by the needs, aspirations, and politics of the immediate neighbours to those concerned, principally the Engell States. Assurances would also be sought over such matters as the military and its necessary expansion, the security of Mary-le-Bone against any attack by the Socialist World Republic, Otho-Eam against the communist expansions in Loago, and of course Engellex from all possibilities with respect to Kadikistan and Pelasgia; then there was the opportunities for companies in the Republic, north and south, to capitalise on the trade increasingly becoming available from the decline of a few of Europe’s Powers of Yesterday, the Companies will demand that markets be opened to them through guarantees negotiated by the Republic with her foreign neighbours, or else have them opened by force. When matters initially came to a head in the early spring of 1956, at first it seemed that the Council of State could move on issues without need for political clarification or negotiation,; however, largely due to the pressing nature of affairs in Himyar, it proved impossible to avoid a conference.

Once embarked upon, the policy of armed expansion will undoubtedly be unprecedented in Engellexian Republic history; establishing, essentially, the Republic as a fortified entity with spherical supremacy in the Thaumantic and West Clarencian Sea regions, this was the concerned impression of the Lady Chancellor, Lady Rosamund Cavendish, as she pondered the implications of the Conference determining the need and urgency of military expansion to the assemblies of the Engellexian Republic Parliament. There will be no consensus for moderation. The military issues, both real and ideological, were realising higher, and higher stakes, where little disagreement was being found between those at the Conference, instead informal agreements were being heard to support expansion requests in various quarters of the Republic. Those requested armaments would be certainly useful against the belligerent Powers of Europe, from Kadikistan to Pelasgia, to the Socialist World Republic, but the possession and numbers of those armaments will, with no doubts, encourage belligerency towards the Engellexian Republic out of fear or competition.

Himyar House, upon the conclusion of the ceremony and pageantry of its opening in the Continental Hall, was now a great hive of political business belonging to the Republic; in every room, corridor, and balcony, were circles and groups, small and large, of various officials and representatives discussing, backstage negotiating, and doing everything necessary to try and push through the agenda representing the interests of their quarter. It was not unlike a 19th century Gallia-Germanian diplomatic conference of sorts. Lady Rosamund Cavendish, the Lady Chancellor, was descending down the main stair of the East Wing, having changed into more appropriate attire for the political affairs, her immediate aides following her step. The first floor, to which you will find the Continental Hall and the Congressional Drawing Room – where Lady Rosamund is to hold the important talks, was the centre of the Himyar House hive:- white tie and tailcoats, military dress uniforms, and ladies in formal political attire were suffocating the air and personal space available for the opportunity to discuss with and hear from the heavyweights that are making their way to the Congressional Drawing Room. It would appear that the Governess of Henrietta will, at best, abstain from allowing the Companies (Engellexic Thaumantic Company and the Engell-Himyar Trading Company) to have their restrictions of Capital Duties loosened in Camden and Otho-Eam, spoke a senior adviser to the Duke of Clarence and Nolland quietly. But that could still provide for an obstruction to the Capital Duties we need, the assemblies in Henrietta will simply see to that unless the Governess moves in favour, added another. The Lady Chancellor is coming, your Grace, spoke a third, persuading the Duke of Clarence and Nolland, and his circle of senior advisers to turn around to observe Lady Rosamund Cavendish’s approach. As she did, a narrow passage was made by the crowded to allow her freedom to meet the Duke of Clarence and Nolland, and also leave for the Congressional Drawing Room. Duke, she said sternly as she held out her own hand for him to politely kiss in respect of her. Socially speaking they were equals in the peerage system, politically she was above him as the Lady Chancellor. Duchess – Lady Chancellor, spoke the young Lord Horatio Saville, Duke of Clarence and Nolland, with a degree of reserved charm as he obliged a respectful kiss to the top of her hand. May I say, Lady Chancellor, that I hope the expectations of the Dulwich Conference be more than fulfilled, he continued as they were both led away to the Congressional Drawing Room. What is left to be seen for the negotiations is the extent of the loosening of restrictions to Capital Duty quotas, surely? Questioned Lord Horatio Saville as they entered the drawing room. There can be none, spoke suddenly a senior aide to the Governess of Henrietta in response to Lord Saville and the Lady Chancellor, causing them both, and their aides, to turn around. The assemblies of Henrietta would never permit it, not to mention where are the additional Capital Duties going to come from? You cannot be considering the extension of Capital Duty sentencing just to accommodate economic demands? The senior aide continued. The Governess (of Henrietta) would have come here and walked away with nothing, this cannot be, another aide to the Governess added. Oh, that is quite wobbly on the truth, is it not? Questioned Lady Rosamund Cavendish. You see, this Conference is almost unanimous in its pursuit of a security policy for the Republic, and the Governess benefits handsomely from that unanimity, does she not? Are the people of Mary-le-Bone not concerned about the SWR? Approaching her designated seat at the table, and raising her voice, the Lady Chancellor continued to answer to those two aides, but with the added intention of addressing any regressive expectations of some others also in the drawing room. Is that not why we are here – at this Conference? To each concede a little, for the benefit of gaining much in broad agreement? Let us not forget the necessity to give, if we hope to take something from this, she stated, looking around the room. Everyone else proceeded to do likewise and take their seats.

The Congressional Drawing Room was a grand masterpiece, itself the location of many historical feats of political wrangling that shaped and founded the past, present and futures of Engell Himyar, once stretching across the entirety of the Clarencian Sea and the dominant force of the Implarian; now, Engell Himyar is reduced to the Western Clarencian Sea, a serious reduction but only in territory, the political strength and ambition continues to build upon itself. If the Continental Hall could be described as the Engell determination for Himyar, then the Congressional Drawing Room should be described as Engell Himyar’s determination for the Republic. Confusingly, this drawing room should be called a hall, it was two thirds the size of the Continental Hall, which itself was a vast space, and with a drawing room being a somewhat cosy, yet grand room, the Congressional Drawing Room was somewhat different being that it was simply grand. It had been remarked on numerous occasions since 1910, when Himyar House was built, that should Engell Himyar require its own sub-federal council, or legislature, that its building will look to the Congressional Drawing Room as an equal in inspiration but surpass it in execution of design. Throughout the magnificent space were elegant bronze and stone carvings, including decorative flourishes, and sculpted roses and leaves belonging to the symbolic flora of the Engell States. Beneath the feet of the conference members was the pinkish hue of the Otho marble that gleamed their reflections, and about them was the warm tones of Tiburan marble trim for the walls, and yellow-ish Bath stone from Engellex for the walls; the vaulted ceiling was adorned with the simple yet splendid herringbone pattern of decorative tiles of blue, with the ornate flourishes of wide, bronze sculpted ceiling roses from which the grand bronze chandeliers of the drawing room descended. There were no paintings, no decorative gold and silverware, mirrors, or any such things, rather the room was quite austere with its simplicity of furnishing which demonstrated the character of the Engell States so well. What the drawing room did have was a gargantuan round mahogany table with immediate seating for seven, at its centre, surrounded by seating for another one-hundred-forty in rows of two a meter behind the immediate seven. The single, great window of the drawing room, though itself floor to ceiling and made of hundreds of panes of glass, provided the Conference with the most majestic view across the River Fleet, running through Dulwich, and the centre of the capital metropolis. I would like to read for the record of the minutes of this Twenty-Second Dulwich Conference, for the benefit of parliamentary oversight and any and all present, the documents and papers for declarations and policies that have been moved upon with resolve for the assemblies, opened the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, Lady Georgian Salwey. Resolved, she continued firmly as she placed the files containing the concerned documents to one side as she stated them to the conference, Tax Relief and Family Planning Alignment; Federal Council for Northern Refugee Relief; and 1905 First Republic Action. We cannot submit the remainder of the documents and papers, before this Conference, until those seated at this Conference have been moved to resolutions on the questions. Lady Georgiana Salwey looked up from her own documents to those around the table, observing their silent nods in agreement of what she just stated. Then I move that we address the first matter sitting on the agenda of this Conference :- Capital Duties, she declared. The Lady Chancellor looked over, and exchanged glances with the Duchess of Hammersmith, as the drawing room experienced an ever slight eruption of murmuring as many turned to whispering their expectations, hopes, and objections over the Capital Duties.

I, opened the Governess of Henrietta, Lady Hillary Midler Baroness Midler, to which the room drew to a silence in respect of her opening position.. urge you all to remember that we are bound by the laws of the Republic, laws made and passed within the constituent assemblies of the Engellexian Republic Parliament. Whatever the urgencies are for the (agricultural) estates and the industries, one urgency does not warrant the abandonment of progress made by the lawmakers of the Republic. The unfortunate situation faced by the Companies must be met with reason, addressed the Governess of Henrietta, to low declarations of hear, hear by various aides, mostly from Mary-le-Bone, around the room in support. I remind her Ladyship, the Governess of Henrietta, begun the Lord-Guarantor of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company, Lord Horatio Saville the Duke of Clarence and Nolland, that the circumstance faced by the agricultural estates and industries of the Engell States is not one made simply, neither to be met with simplicity of resolution. Matters cannot continue as they are, the economies of Otho-Eam, Camden, and even Mary-le-Bone will grind to a halt if they remain unaddressed. While we debate this, here, in this Conference, the Republic is leaking hard won trade – revenue, profits, taxes! Without workers, without the slightest encouragement from the relaxation of Capital Duty restrictions, the Republic can not progress any further. It will be in economic retreat, urged the Lord-Guarantor of the EHTC. His position garnered the strongest levels of support, from those belonging to both Companies, but also Camden and Otho-Eam; the Lady Chancellor and others of the federal-Engellexic bloc were largely indifferent, they understood economic necessities, but were also sympathetic to the political cause against Capital Duty expansion.

The two Companies cannot be allowed to take the entirety of the Engellexian Republic backwards, a regression from the reforms that had been sorely achieved by the assemblies of the Republic. The Senate and the Bare Commons will be eager to address the urgent need for workers by the Companies, as I am, and everyone else in Henrietta. They (the Senate and Bare Commons) will demand compromise and creativity, and this Conference should expect nothing more if it truly hopes to bring resolution to the difficulties facing the Companies. Repealing restrictions upon Capital Duties is not a way forward, declared the Governess of Henrietta. I move, she continued against a simmering chorus of groans, that this Conference consider that an application be made to the Lord Speaker and Keeper of the Engellexian Republic Parliament which does include the plainest statement that the Republic – in particular the Engell States of Himyar – needs immediate parliamentary accommodation for the consideration of urgent and positive demographic adjustment, with measures that follow the word and tone of the Republic’s laws, through the parliamentary instrument of a Joint Committee; and just as Lady Hillary Midler concluded her proposition, the Lord-Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company, Count Vasili Andreyevich Vyazmitinov, interjected before anyone in the drawing room could voice an approval or disapproval. With the greatest respect, Governess, the time for parliamentary debate on the matter of workers has surely passed, he urged. The ability of the Companies – and indeed independent industrialists and manufacturers of the Republic – to capitalise on trade opportunities that have certainly fallen into our lap, as a result of other’s conflicts and decline, rests upon our ability to address the serious lack of workers. The other matters before this Conference speak plainly enough of the demand that this issue be resolved today: revolutionary threats, imperial objection, you all hold position for the greatest expansion of armaments in generations if only to prevent the Republic from finding itself under the dominion of an alien and aggressive Power, but how do you all contemplate the cost? Count Vasili paused for a moment, allowing the Governess and others to spare a thought for his line of thinking. Should our trade stagnate, perhaps even decline, the economy will lack the power to grow. Without a potent and ever growing economy we have no hope of greater taxation. Do I need to outline the prospects of your military enterprise without taxation? The Lady Chancellor shot a cutting glance at Count Vasili, let us not descend into the deplorable anarchy of a Hammersmith hotel.

Lady Hillary Midler nodded toward Lady Rosamund Cavendish in respect of the timely intervention, the need for additional workers is a crisis, Lord-Guarantor, I do not dispute that. What this Conference needs is to negotiate a strategy to be put forward to the Senate and Bare Commons to receive parliamentary action and bring resolution to this problem. We do not want to go backwards on Capital Duty reforms, Lord-Guarantor, not here in this Conference, and I can assure you that the appetite for it in the Senate and Bare Commons is certainly quite more reduced. No, Lord-Guarantor, the Governess continued as she opened her own file containing the documents on the Capital Duties issue. We must come to terms with that reality, and in doing so I must bring our attention to an earlier resolution of this Conference, the Northern Council for Refugee Relief. Why has no-one in this Conference yet bridged these two issues? Would it not make economical, as well as humanitarian, sense to approach the Senate and Bare Commons for a temporary federal budget allocation for a temporary federal council executive to deliver refugees from the areas of conflict in the North to the Engell States? In fact, she said with evidence of frustration at the Lord-Guarantors. Why are the Companies not capitalising on the conflicts and social instability in the North to encourage, perhaps even subsidise, families desperate to abandon their misery and poverty for new beginnings in Otho-Eam, Camden, or Mary-le-Bone? You would be acquiring for yourselves cheap, experienced, and desperate to work men and women and potential consumers of your travel services – I mean, certainly they would be looking to soon establish regular visitations to family members and friends left behind in Scania and Gallia-Germania, no? We do not need to repeal legislation protecting Capital Duties from abuse, when resolutions to the crisis can be found elsewhere.

The Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, Lady Georgiana Salwey, observed the Governess and then the two Lord-Guarantors before herself proceeding to address the Conference, the Governess of Henrietta’s motion for an application to the Lord Speaker and Keeper for a Joint Committee concerning the labour crisis is in need of a seconder. Suddenly from the silence spoke the Governor of Elephant and Castle, seconded. Lady Georgiana Salwey nodded in acknowledgement, let us proceed to a vote. The Lord-Guarantors of the EHTC and the ETC both voted to reject the motion; the Governor of Otho-Eam abstained; the Governors of Elephant and Castle, and Somers Islands supported the Governess of Henriettaa with all three voting to support; the Lady Chancellor abstained, providing the Governess of Henrietta her victory. A formal letter from the Dulwich Conference will be addressed and delivered to the Lord Speaker and Keeper of the Engellexian Republic Parliament to form a Joint Committee to consider and approve a resolution, within the present framework of the law, to the labour crisis.

 

[Great Engellex]

THE ROUND TABLE II
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright, the First Lord of the Elephant Admiralty, arrived marching into the Continental Hall on that evening of the Dulwich Conference. Several hours had since passed following the discussions on the labour crisis and Capital Duties, and the prevailing theme within the Congressional Drawing Room and elsewhere within Himyar House was defence, the security of the Engellexian Republic against the backdrop of serious aggression from around Europe. The Continental Hall was an organised, elegant flurry of discussion, negotiation and courtly etiquette; you had your circles of politicians, senior functionaries and civil servants, uniformed grandees of the Republic Armed Services, and a host of liveried footmen attending to every instruction and call of those in attendance. The pomposity of the conference was a curiosity for Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright, for despite being an aristocrat, as Baron of Frognal, he was not quite so accustomed to the courtly affair in which Dulwich performed almost all rituals and practices of governing, he was after all from the southern metropolis of Elephant and Castle. He considered the sumptuous affair before him with a rather sober countenance, and in doing so neglected to partake in the voluminous consumption of alcohol, instead he proceeded deeper into the swirl of peoples, and noted that the musical accompaniment by a group of string musicians provided a rather civilising undertone to the bursty hum of the plummy accents. I do not know how the Republic can continue to remain so calm, remarked Lady Una Swann-Pryce, the Governess of Elephant and Castle, to a small circle of political big wigs from the Bare Commons. The revolutionary monstrosity (Kadikistan) has its tentacles in every continent of Europe but Toyou, her puppets are on the doorstep of the Republic. Are we honestly to accept that the Republic will not be in line for a second round? A thoroughly direct second round? She continued. No, no, no, begun Sir Thomas Leveson, a member of the Bare Commons with a constituency in the city of Fulham. The Engellexian Republic Parliament still has everything in hand, I can assure you that the admiralties would be mobilised at the slightest frustration, and the fleets of the Republic Navy will dispense a swift justice before the unwashed plebeians should hope to reach our shores. Just remember, your Ladyship, no foreign soldier has landed upon the Engell soils in a hostile manner since our liberty from Bourgogne; and as for Camden, Mary-le-Bone, and Otho-Eam, there is a reason the revolutionaries did not succeed. The Governess of Elephant and Castle raised her crystal champagne flute to the confident politician in thanks. Quite right, she agreed, before allowing herself, Sir Thomas Leveson, and the three other gentlemen to surrender themselves to a righteous chortle at the comedy value of a revolutionary rattling a rusty sabre at the First Republic.

Who is that gentleman of a fine and distinguished cut, but looking so terribly bored by it all? Questioned Sir Thomas Leveson openly, forcing the Governess and the others to turn in unison upon the sight of Admiral Ebenzer Arkwright. That is the First Lord of the Elephant Admiralty, answered Lady Una Swann-Pryce. He is a fine gentleman with a cunning mastery of our naval matters and concerns, but yes, he does appear quite put out. His presence was a necessity as part of my husband’s determination to secure the much wanted, the much needed naval expansion, the Governess continued. Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright bowed from the neck at the sight of the Governess observing him, but he didn’t continue with an approach. That is truly thankful, she remarked in a muttered tone as the Admiral continued elsewhere, all the while she was smiling warmly at him. The Admiral is barely accustomed to the courtly manner of Camden, much less that here in Dulwich, and I cannot perceive why as he is a baron! I do so wish he possessed the charm of your Admiral Walter Drake (Admiral-General of the Republic, and First Lord of the Hammersmith Admiralty). Across the Continental Hall, Lord William Carteret the Duke of Nonsuch caught sight of the Governess of Elephant and Castle eyeing Admiral Walter Drake, who was amongst the Duke of Nonsuch’s circle. No doubt that Governess of Elephant and Castle is scheming her way to a peerage, observed the Duke of Nonsuch as he raised his glass to Lady Una Swann-Pryce in courtesy. I’d say she’s plotting her entrapment of the Admiral-General here, and to bring him to Elephant, mocked the ancient Admiral Francis Melbourne toward Admiral Walter Drake with a pompous roar of a laughter. Should she, I would expect nothing less than a full-fleet rescue operation, humoured the Admiral-General to the circle. Sorry old boy, I would thank the fortune of my stars and order measurements for new curtains in the Admiralty, continued Admiral Francis Drake, at this point his laughter was causing slight bouts of wheezing. Damn you! You old beast! Condemned the Admiral-General in jest, causing them all to thunder in laughter.

Just as Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright neared his destination, by this time he was decided to attend the Congressional Drawing Room for the Governor of Elephant and Castle, he was hastily set upon by Lord Stephen Harland and Lord Andrew Wolff, those who own and direct Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries in Angellex and Camden, and the pair were rather determined in their pursuit. Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright.. Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright, called Lord Harland as the two of them pursued the heels of the Admiral, who stopped and calmly turned around at the realisation that their speed prevented his continued ignoring of their want of attention. You are of course aware that we do not ordinarily approach on such matters, begun Lord Harland. But these are extra-ordinary times, Admiral. A word of favour from you, to both the Admiral-General and the Lady Chancellor would be, certainly, sufficient to secure contracts of any and all agreed naval procurement. Lord Wolff stepped forward, I, no doubt, do not need to remind you of the importance of Wolff shipyards and factories to the Camdenite industry. Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries, two companies that specialise in shipbuilding, maintenance and naval armament manufacturing agreed a merger in the 1930s; Harland was primarily based in Angellex, and Wolff in Camden. I’ll do what I can, responded the Admiral with a solemn tone of reservation and evident suspicion. What is it that you want me to do precisely? He asked. Recommend Harland and Wolff against any advancement from Hammersmith East (Dockyards Company) and Henrietta Shipbuilders. You know a word from you in the Republic Naval Council carries much, replied Lord Harland. You know my influence is nothing alike your imagination, the Admiral responded bluntly. I am the First Lord of the Elephant Admiralty, not the First of Hammersmith, Lord Harland, but I am due to meet the Republic Naval Council tomorrow morning. Lord Harland and Lord Wolff bowed their heads in thanks and said no more, allowing Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright to depart their company.

Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright, as First Lord of the Elephant Admiralty, had come to Dulwich two days before with others of the Governor of Elephant and Castle’s political operation, and he was not particularly anxious to participate in the political circus of the Dulwich Conference, himself much preferring the inner wrangling of the Elephant Admiralty and the Republic Naval Council. He was so less impressed to be invited to attend, that Lord Henry Swann-Pryce agreed to not compel the Admiral to attend to more than was absolutely necessary. The Admiral, despite his austere disposition, was a Peer of the Republic, himself the Baron of Frognal first class, but his peerage did not move him quite like it did most others, causing his presence to be intentionally neglected within society circles; the Governor of Elephant and Castle, however, hoped that his peerage, alongside his excellence in naval matters, would aid the cause coming from Camden. The Congressional Drawing Room was an elegance that had blossomed from the austerity of contemporary aspirations of less meaning more; but with it being evening, the great bronze chandeliers illuminated the stone and marble chamber with an enchanting and warm glow, and in doing so lifted the severity of the occasion with an atmosphere alike a charming soiree. The Admiral observed the proceedings, having identified his Governor at the table, before he himself decided to join the Camdenite party sitting behind. The Governors, Lady Chancellor, and so on, were less animated than earlier, no doubt due to the tiring nature of the event and the consumption of alcohol; behind them, their respective civil servants, advisers, and other members of their parties sat silently writing, or talking amongst themselves in low tones. Lord Henry Swann-Pryce was all rather serious, and quite domineering in his pursuit on this front. The Lady Chancellor, Lady Rosamund Cavendish, was noticeably reserved. It was apparent to all that some around the table were reluctant to address the Lady Chancellor, feeling that she was in no mood with a tense negotiation or debate on the particulars of security. It was the Governor of Elephant and Castle and the Lord-Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company that maintained the greatest participation in the debate taking place across the table. The Lord-Guarantor of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company and the Governess of Henrietta occasionally took part, mostly as everyone was quite in agreement of the position to do something, just to what extent. Lady Rosamund Cavendish the Duchess of Kew listened as a presiding judge receives a report, only now and then, silently or by a brief word, demonstrating that she took heed of what was being reported; this was to be expected, as a natural order, the Lady Chancellor was the head of the executive within the Engellexian Republic, and much rested on whether she was persuaded. The tone of the debate was such as indicated that no one approved of what was escalating, developing within the affairs of Europe. Incidents were being related, from intelligence documents, that evidently confirmed the opinion that everything was going from bad to worse, with each story and case relating to an opinion or point on the necessity to take action, with respect to the proposed position of whomever was speaking.

The discussions had become centred on Kadikistan, and in particular upon their seizures of territory formerly belonging to Lauenburg and Ivernia, nobody in the Republic believed in the slightest that these were genuine movements for independence but poorly disguised grabs for land. Ivar considers the sovereignty of European nations as a swollen, spoilt child does a sweet shop, to take as much as it possibly can, spoke Count Vasili Andreyevich Vyazmitinov of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company. One can only marvel at the remarkable suffering or denial of those governments in Scania and Germania, how do you resist outright war against a Power that is already destroying the foundations of your society? Now with the former Six States firmly within the matrimony of the revolutionary enterprise of Ivar, there will be no scruple to depose us from Babbage to Henrietta – and not one of our neighbours will mutter a word! Added Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, the Governor of Elephant and Castle. Does the Secretary of State of the Chancellery (Lady Chancellor) even so much as possess the sovereignty necessary to protest against such incursions against the freedom and liberty of our Republic? Questioned Lord Horatio Saville the Duke of Clarence and Nolland, the Lord-Guarantor of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company, pausing almost immediately after despite seemingly wishing to continue, no doubt feeling that he had reached the limit beyond which it would have been impossible not to offer offence to the Office of the Lady Chancellor, if not by actual meaning then certainly by tone. The Constitution stands with excellent clarity on that particular point, Duke, answered Lady Rosamund Cavendish. You are, of course, absolutely right. I have been drawing up documents on the process of which you refer. This Conference should make the consideration for the election of the Lord Protector by the Engellexian Republic Parliament, continued the Lady Chancellor. The manner in which the red monstrosity conducts its affairs around Europe is truly troubling, and I do not accept that we continue to remain unprepared for any hostile eventuality. Those around the table silently nodded in agreement, this was perhaps the most significant consequence of the Dulwich Conference; the Lord Protector was a wartime office, meaning the Engellexian Republic was anticipating a very serious deterioration in Peace. The Secretary of State of the Chancellery bears the misfortunes now facing the Engellexian Republic with admirable strength of person and reserves of wisdom, remarked the Governess of Henrietta respectfully to the Conference. The term of reference to the Lady Chancellor, by her formal position with the implication that she was also absent, was the considered etiquette in the Republic to pay a compliment to another in a professional, official, or formal capacity. I should consider it within the correct interpretation of the 1905 reforms, that the constituent assemblies of the Republic each make their address of protestation at the current state of European affairs, and in doing so find their majorities in support of electing a Lord Protector. This would provide the Senate and Bare Commons with the correct mandate to proceed; I will make my statement of appeal following those addresses, remarked the Lady Chancellor in the casual tone of a person dealing with a grave and familiar subject.

After the Lady Chancellor’s instructions further alcoholic refreshment was served, allowing those around the table a short moment of pause. Just as she and the Governess of Henrietta approached for a minute of private reflection on some matter or another, it was suddenly apparent that the Conference was to abandon its casual pause; the Governor of Elephant and Castle had grew more animated in his bold expressions respecting his belief on the impending wars between the Engellexian Republic and a rather worrying list of adversaries. They all retook their seats. He said that any wars with Kadikistan, the Socialist World Republic, of the Empire of Pelasgia, would be disastrous so long as we neglected the advancement of technologies and the expansion of our possessed armaments, and dismissed any assertion that the Republic should seek alliances, arguing that no other Power in Europe possessed the enlightened grace and progress of civilisation of the First Republic. The Lord-Guarantor of the Engell-Himyar Trading Company was in moderate agreement, we ought not to fight any such so-called Powers. The determined sovereign interests of our illustrious Republic are all in the Thaumantic – from the Engell Archipelago down West Himyar to the Clarencian Sea, the First Republic must seize upon this reality of its destined advancement. Naturally, the Lord-Guarantor of the Engellexian Thaumantic Company concurred with his counterpart in the EHTC, and in respect to the jealousies of our adversaries, the only insurance is to possess the greatest frontier of arms, accompanied with the firmest policy. They will never dare to cross the preserve of the First Republic. Lady Rosamund Cavendish leaned further into the dialogue as though she was in consideration but with scrutiny, what is the proposition for any hostile eventuality with those three, particular, Powers? She asked the table. I am with the impression that documents exist on proposed armament expansions by some of you. I am aware as much, from the Republic Naval Council, but you have remained remarkably resistant to my efforts to gain insight on them. So, please do spare my patience any further. All were silent. The Governor of Elephant and Castle looked at Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright with raised eyebrows and nodded his head from him to address the table. Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright, the First Lord of the Elephant Admiralty, announced Lord Henry Swann-Pryce. The Admiral bowed from the neck in respect to the Governor. The considered opinion of the Elephant Admiralty, considered with the necessary due care and caution, advocates the procurement of the following warships to be commissioned and in service alongside the present surface fleets :- three additional fleet carriers, bringing a total of five for the Republic Navy; and two light-commando carriers. The Lady Chancellor sat back in realisation that this was a serious affair indeed, as she knew the Lord-Guarantors will be appealing for something more. Six guided missile cruisers, and it is the firm and unanimous belief of the Elephant Admiralty that the Republic cannot afford to delay the procurement of such an asset to our surface fleets – we are behind in this progression; the Elephant Admiralty is supportive of the project from the Hammersmith East Dockyards Company in this field. The Admiral continued to read off the shopping listing of wants from the Republic Navy, more destroyers and frigates of new classes, and submarines, arguably this was all necessary. With such a mastery over the affairs in which your position presides, Admiral Ebenezer Arkwright, I find it a disappointment that this mere list does not allow you to voice your obvious passions and expertise on this matter, remarked the Governess of Henrietta. Apologies, Governess. I have no gift, or wanting of oratory gift, replied the Admiral. With no disrespect to the Governor of Elephant and Castle, sincerely no disrespect, begun the Lady Chancellor, am I correct in believing that the Elephant Admiralty is with freedom and independence to make this appeal for further arms? Asked Lady Rosamund Cavendish. Yes, it is, Duchess. The continued preservation of the sovereignty, liberties and prosperity of our Republic has quite convinced the Elephant Admiralty, replied the Admiral. The Pelasgian Empire possesses an extortionate fleet of carriers and no overseas empire, what possible reasoning could there be other than to confront and subdue European competitors? It is no secret that Propontis does not agree with this Republic. The reality with Kadikistan and the Socialist World Republic is much more severe, Duchess, answered the Admiral. If we fail in this ever tense contest of arms, it will be due to the dithering reluctance of any and all who have a seat at this table, responded Lord Henry Swann-Pryce sternly. The Republic Navy needs more warships, establishments, and men, added the Lord-Guarantor of the Engellexic Thaumantic Company.

Almost thirty-minutes had passed with almost complete silence, those around the table were reading the documents detailing the proposals for further arms made by each of those with differing proposals. Lady Rosamund Cavendish put down the last document. Recognising that the Lady Chancellor had evidently finished reading the proposals, the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments interrupted the peace, am I right in perceiving there a resolution to this subject? Naturally, the eyes of the table were upon the Lady Chancellor. Indeed, I have found considered agreement in this necessity, she started. But I shall insist on deferring the detail of the proposal for the consideration of the Republic Naval Council tomorrow. The agreed detail by that council will be submitted to the Engellexian Republic Parliament as a policy of the Council of State and the Council of the Republic. Those round the table nodded in agreement. We are also resolved for the election of the Lord Protector. Our departments shall orchestrate the timing for that process, to be swift and efficient. I should also inform, that the Council of State will be pushing for the election of the Admiral-General of the Republic Walter Drake for the office. It is my absolute belief that remains our only appropriate and cautious candidate for the office and tasks before it, the Lady Chancellor stated.

The Duchess of Kew rose from her seat, you will all excuse me, Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen. I must take a moment of leave. The Lady Chancellor thought it prudent to inform the Viscount Drake that she has informally put him forward to be the next Lord Protector of the Engellexian Republic.

 

[Great Engellex]

THE NAVAL DOMINION
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

From the 22nd August 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

This is new territory, Admiral. How is your constitutional understanding? Queried Francis Godolphin Anguish the Marquess of Poole and the Principal Private Secretary to the Lady Chancellor. Immediately following Lady Rosamund Cavendish’s short departure from the proceedings in the Congressional Drawing Room, her Principal Private Secretary had been instructed to the Admiral-General of the Republic to the Lady Chancellor with haste; the Duchess of Kew awaited their arrival in a undistinguished drawing-room of the floor above, in relative calm and solitude. My personal understanding, I believe, to be comfortable, answered the Admiral-General. As I am sure you have taken notice, you would usually be accompanied by others of the Republic Naval Council when meeting the Lady Chancellor on such a political occasion, but I should inform you that this errand of mine is not typical, Admiral. You see, the Lady Chancellor does not wish to see the agreements, and their implications, of the Conference cause you to lose your personal footing, and thus be any more inclined to a negative response, continued the Marquess of Poole rather cryptically. The Lady Chancellor highly values your experiences and conduct of office and duty, and sees you as indispensable to the enterprise of the Conference, he continued. The Admiral-General continued to walk alongside the Marquess, silently, without indication on motive. They both passed through an arrangement of corridors, some grand, others not so much, and arrived to the drawing-room where the Duchess of Kew was practising patience with the door already open to welcome them. Your Grace, spoke the Marquess as he extended a courtesy of a bow from the neck. The Admiral-General following suit. I trust Francis has not spoiled the occasion, Admiral-General? Asked the Lady Chancellor with an inspection and authority. I have been informed that this meeting is not typical, Lady Chancellor, the Admiral-General replied. Other than that, I remain quite oblivious. Lady Rosamund Cavendish smiled, we are to discuss the continued and secured integrity of the Republic, Admiral-General, and your participation will be exceptional and truly necessary. Admiral-General Walter Drake the Viscount Drake once again bowed from the neck in thanks, but also to confirm his willingness. Wonderful, spoke the Lady Chancellor as she ushered the three of them to some comfortable seating in the centre of the room. This Conference is of questions, quite a number of them, from every quarter of the Republic’s interest, opened the Lady Chancellor as she, and they, sat down opposite each other. It is essential that I now put a question to you, Admiral-General. It is decided by the Conference that political initiative is urgently needed to address the mounting concerns that were expressed today, and have been expressed far too many times before about the Republic. The capability of this initiative, in my opinion, is determined by the will of yourself, Admiral-General. It has been agreed that the Council of the Republic and the Council of State shall approach the Engellexian Republic Parliament procedure for the nomination, and election of our third Lord Protector.

The Lady Chancellor paused for that brief moment, the realisation of the gravity of this meeting no doubt pressing on the Admiral-General to contemplate inwardly as he leaned forward, hands together and eyes peering searchingly at the floor. The Council of the Republic is in knowledge of and approves of your nomination? He asked the Lady Chancellor. I informed them, prior to this meeting, of the choice belonging to the Council of State; but no, they are yet to deliberate themselves on the personal qualifications for the nomination, she replied. Are the Senate and Bare Commons informed? The Admiral-General pressed further as he sat back and resumed his rigidly reserved demeanour. Admiral-General, outside of this room, and the Congressional Drawing Room, nobody else is informed of this particular agreed intention. And so shall it remain, until I have the entire Council of the Republic sharing my nomination, she replied. I share in the general belief of the fear of the external threat to the Republic, Lady Chancellor. But, he continued, standing up before the Lady Chancellor as though to imply somewhat a conditioning of his taking of the nomination. The ability of the Lord Protector, regardless of who shall be elected, stands upon the foundation of a potent military capability. The Republic Navy, the Republic Armies, and the Republic Air Fleets will require the absolute commitment of the Council of State and the Council of the Republic. The imperialist ambitions of the Long Sea States (Pelasgia) and the naked designs of the Revolutionary Powers (Kadikistan, Socialist World Republic) are equally monstrous, equally maniacal, and are equal threats to this Republic. There can be no other direction with respect to our Armed Forces; the mere election of a Lord Protector is a political adjustment to an expected war footing, that is how we see it, that is how they will see it. Therefore, the position on the Armed Forces can only be absolute, unwavering, otherwise I shall humbling implore your Ladyship to retreat from this political initiative. Still, he said, allowing the Lady Chancellor to stand before continuing. If this is the will of my Lady Chancellor, the will of the Council of State, and the will of the Council of the Republic, then I am truly sensible of this high honour that has been bestowed on me. But I shall express my reservation that I am not equal to the task that I have been honoured with. The Admiral-General concluded his acceptance with a military hand salute to the Lady Chancellor. Admiral-General, you are most definitely equal to this task of duty, and I know that the Engellexian Republic Parliament will be moved to agree with me on that. So let us trust in your swift election, so that this Republic may yet be saved from its future defeat.

Whatever doubts he may have entertained hitherto as to what was to be the understanding of the Conference, Admiral-General Walter Drake was now certain that the Council of the Republic did not believe in the continued maintenance of peace in Europe, and that war with one, more, or all of those threatening Powers would be inevitable. He later received a note from the Principal Private Secretary in which he detailed how the whole tone of the Congressional Drawing Room had altered upon the Lady Chancellor’s return. The air of accomplishment, of task yet to be prevailed, which till then was felt by those within, and those outside, had changed for one of anxious caution. It was seen that upon the agreed necessity of the Lord Protector, and that unless some unforeseen circumstance occurred, the Dulwich Conference was entirely despaired to continued peace in Europe. The Marquess of Poole was convinced that at the heart of this melancholy situation was an inward resistance to the naval domination of the Republic that would be achieved by the election of a Lord Protector, and that the naval expansion programme resistance was insuperable. Several members at that table in the Conference vowed they dared not give way to a watering down of those proposals. This wasn’t a change against the idea of the Lord Protector, or indeed the Admiral-General as its nomination, rather the eventual resistance to the reality facing the Republic that a Lord Protector was now found a necessity should they wish to overcome the present difficulty. This note, together with the organisation of the First Republicans, would strengthen the resolve of Admiral-General Walter Drake in his consideration of duty and position.

The Republic Naval Council the following day was a lasting effort upon the sensibilities of a Lady Chancellor that agreed in naval expansions, but resisted its required estimates, and the Admiral-General felt it his new preserve to make that lasting effort within that council alongside others who also expressed expansionist First Republic positions at the Dulwich Conference. The Somerite Commissioner-at-Sea, Admiral Lionel Cranfield Sackville, was as determined to ensure the acceptance by the Council of State of the naval expansion programme that he threatened to break off from the discussions within the council, he refused to discuss the consideration of anything less than what was proposed by the First Lord of the Elephant Admiralty at the Dulwich Conference, arguing that compromise had already been sufficiently reached in its considered composition. With the Admiral-General providing the professional leadership within that Republic Naval Council sitting, the Lady Chancellor was able to make some impression from her position, to the provide that further compromise was within reach. Admiral Lionel Cranfield Sackville and his keenest ally, Admiral Victoria Cobham the Countess Addison, First Lord of the Henrietta Admiralty, were even persuaded from their supposed irreconcilable attitude about the extent of the expansion, so far as to agree to structuring the programme into three phases, with the first as the priority and necessity, and the second and third allowing for further scrutiny when the time arrives; additionally, phasing the construction provides an estimates saving by not requiring an immediate, mass enlargement of shipyards throughout the Republic, which the Lady Chancellor absolutely resisted. Phase one, fleet and light carriers, cruisers and submarines, was suggested; phase two, destroyers; phase three, frigates. So far, but no further, would Admiral Sackville and Admiral Cobham go. They met again on the evening of that day, the Republic Naval Council was an early affair the morning following the Dulwich Conference, to settle the draft of the naval expansion programme for the Council of State and the Council of the Republic. The draft was found, that following evening, to be a little insecure in some areas, and the Lady Chancellor’s most rigid opponents openly criticised its phrasing as objectionable to the spirit of the programme and insincere to the professional leadership of the Republic Navy. Admiral Sackville, having surrendered ground to the phasing was in no mood for any further sense of erosion. To every amendment that was suggested by the Lady Chancellor, Admiral Sackville objected in a most overbearing, and even outrageous, manner. Not a word would be altered from the agreed position that was made that early morning. He protested that as Commissioner-at-Sea for Somers Islands it was his sworn duty to oversee this interest, and would permit no one, fiercely even, to further reduce the earlier efforts, and that evening sitting of the Republic Naval Council ended in heat with a sullen acquiescence that the letter should go as had been agreed that morning. Both of those meetings lasted a few hours, far greater than the Lady Chancellor and the Admiral-General had anticipated. By its conclusion, even Admiral Victoria Cobham had put some distance between her position and that of Admiral Sackville. It would certainly appear that he had his way, a firm victory for the more hard-lining advocates of the First Republic movement, but it had been too fierce a struggle not to leave deep scars. Lady Rosamund Cavendish the Duchess of Kew, announced to the Admiral-General and the Angelleaux-at-Arms that she would not attend another meeting of the Republic Naval Council, instead she would appoint a representative from her senior staff. Admiral Sackville’s imperious manner of discussion was beyond bearing, the Admiral-General said as much to the Lady Chancellor, and even remarked that he found his personal qualities as belonging to a public house in Hammersmith, rather than the Republic Naval Council. No doubt Admiral Sackville’s position will be discussed in his absence.

Lady Rosamund Cavendish telephoned each member of the Council of the Republic, informing them of the letter to be presented at the sitting of the Council of State the following day; she also queried the Lord Governor of Grosveneur on the personal qualities of the senior naval staff at the naval station in Grosveneur, and whether he thought it becoming of the Republic to perhaps consider new blood within the Republic Naval Council. The Lord Governor of Grosveneur was not aware of the implied intentions of the Lady Chancellor’s chosen topics of conversation. That same night the Principal Private Secretary to the Lady Chancellor, the Marquess of Poole, telephoned Admiral Lionel Cranfield Sackville to inform him that the Lady Chancellor was to present the letter from the Republic Naval Council to the Council of State that following morning, and present it as the last word of the Republic Naval Council. If there was presented a majority in opposition to the main points of the letter, those being phased construction programme, specified warships and their numbers, then the Republic Naval Council will not be in a position to await a drafting of a second letter, but that the Council of State will simply present it to the concerned parliamentary committees to oversee and manage. The Marquess of Poole extended guarantees, three times, that the Lady Chancellor will support the letter, and that the Admiral-General, as a member of the Council of State, can provide confirmation on that later tomorrow.

 

[Great Engellex]

THE COUNCIL OF STATE
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

August - November 1956,
Dulwich, Engellexian Republic of Angellex and Gewissex

On 24 August the Council of State met, and the Lady Chancellor laid the naval expansion program letter before it, along with the sentiments and minutes of the Republic Naval Council sitting the day before. About their attitude towards the First Republicans there was little difficulty. Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith, Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, herself was for the dismissal of Admiral Sackville, the Somerite Commissioner-at-Sea, and her influence prevailed. That night the Permanent Secretary to the Council of State wrote to the Lord Governor of Grosveneur that the Council of State is to table the dismissal of his Commissioner-at-Sea to the Senate and the Bare Commons. With the naval expansion program it was different, for the majority of the Duchess of Kew’s administration was even more opposed, not of the necessity of a bigger and more advance navy, but of increasing the public expenditure, and taxes. To rush into a serious escalation of tensions was argued as madness, what was more was that those in opposition had the support of the First Lord of the Aldwych Bank, who was the principal secretary of finance in the Engellexian Republic.

The Council of State met again the following day, the 25th, for a final decision, but so sufficient was the opposition to the letter that it had to be adjourned till the next following week. Then it was the Lady Chancellor who laid before them the minutes of the Dulwich Conference that contained the arguments and positions of the Lord Governors and the Lord-Guarantors, and in vain she urged the points of expansion with all her eloquence and powers of exposition, with many agreeing that her speaking hadn’t before been so reasonable. She began by setting out all the varied, and earlier forwarded, evidence that pointed irresistibly to the threats of the other Powers to the Engellexian Republic. There was danger in this naval program, the Lady Chancellor admitted, but danger also lay in any resolution taken by the Engellexian Republic Parliament or the Council of State toward any future action by those Powers, and delay would most certainly increase it. What were the hazards to our Republic? She asked. The difference between the vigorous action of this naval program and the position of indifference, of acquiescence to the will of these Powers, was nothing. There exists no difference. If there were a hazard now to the Republic by this program, how much greater would it be in coming future, when one or all of those Powers was to declare itself dominion over the sovereign preserve of the Engellexian Republic. I am moved by the Dulwich Conference to recognise how imperative it is that we must action this proposal. There was now but one free, democratic civilisation in Europe, unchained, unconvinced by the monstrous ideologues of those rapid Powers. The Engellexian Republic. But for all her force and eloquence the majority of the lords, ladies, and gentlemen of the Council of State were unshaken. Supported by the Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments and the First Lord of the Aldwych Bank, they urged, with the nicety possessed by the ancient guard of the aristocracy which they were, that the adoption of an armaments race before it could be absolutely justified by the evidence of designs, by foreign Powers, upon the Republic, was too great a danger to the continued peace and prosperity that they all enjoyed. Those Powers, which the Council of the Republic rightfully were concerned with, should have their intentions truly tested diplomatically, and if found to be evil, to be dealt with diplomatically before adopting this naval program. Let the Duchess of Hammersmith, therefore, be instructed to make strong protest, and demand explanations at Propontis, Ivar, and Deliverance, and, at the same time, give offers of non-aggression and continued respect of sovereignty. Let the resolve of the Hammersmith Admiralty be strengthened in the Thaumantic, and Elephant and Henrietta in the Clarencian against any direct escalation by those Powers, through greater war game trials throughout, and increased air and naval surveying of our sovereignty, spoke the First Lord of the Aldwych Bank.

Such talk the Lady Chancellor knew well, it was her own from the Conference, but it drove her to a serious objection. Seeing argument was no further use, she insisted on putting the letter from the Republic Naval Council immediately to a vote. In spite of her convinced necessity to the provisions of the program, no one but the Admiral-General of the Republic supported the letter within the Council of State, and the decision was given against the Lady Chancellor. Quite furious at her check, but not yet defeated, the Duchess of Kew fell back on her threatened device, which tended to serve Lord and Lady Chancellors quite well in the past, of insisting that a minute of the vote should be drawn up and submitted to the Senate and Bare Commons, for account of responsibility, and to permit the Engellexian Republic Parliament its rightful oversight on the matter. Nor was this all, for the Lady Chancellor went so far as to announce to the Council of State her intention of drawing up a protest against the decision of the Council for the submission to the Senate and Bare Commons. The consequent reaction of the Lady Chancellor was being formed less in relation to supporting the letter, and more in respect of her own perceived slight against her authority within the Council of State. Still the rest of the Council stood to their guns, and a minute of the proceedings was drafted. It was to the effect that the Republic Naval Council’s letter, and the proposals it contained, had been rejected by the majority as both inexpedient and unjustified; that the Duchess of Hammersmith was to demand explanations of the intentions of those Powers, and to offer all diplomatic means of continued peace and non-aggression, with mere training exercises as a consideration to recognition of concerns. The Lady Chancellor knew this would rattle the cages of the Senate and Bare Commons. For those of the Council of State in opposition it was a Pyrrhic victory. In the heat of the Council’s debate the Lady Chancellor had hinted plainly at the possibility of resignation. The Duchess of Hammersmith, at least, was seriously alarmed, and the First Lord of the Aldwych Bank, almost subdued. To defeat this letter was one thing, but to force the hand of the Duchess of Kew into resignation would be to unseat the entire Council of State, allowing the Engellexian Republic Parliament to elect a new Lord or Lady Chancellor, to form a new Council of State. Given the state of things with respect to the Foreign Departments in the Grand Committee, the Duchess of Kew was, as said, a little alarmed. The next day the Duke of Hammersmith summoned those of the Kew faction in the Senate, who opposed the naval letter, to meet himself and his wife, the Duchess of Hammersmith, at Hammersmith House in Dulwich. Should the naval program be dismissed by the Senate and Bare Commons, he said, the Duchess of Kew may – with strong possibility – go, or stay. This was a seriously considered matter as I do not believe any here possess the serious possibility of being invited by the Engellexian Republic Parliament to form a Council of State. He urged them, therefore, to accept his invitation for dinner the following evening so that they may discuss in much greater detail a compromise toward the position of the Lady Chancellor. This they did. It was agreed, and only rather little was agreed further, that before the political situation escalates, and before the fears of the other Powers could have the opportunity of being realised, that a Lord Protector should be nominated and elected; they supported the Admiral-General for this position, agreeing that none other person was more suitably qualified within the Republic. The Somerite Commissioner-at-Sea shall be dismissed from his position, and thus from the Republic Naval Council. As one of the most forceful advocates of the naval program, it wasn’t at all difficult for them to agree to Admiral Sackville’s dismissal. The only other concession they could bring themselves to make was that naval exercises and preparations should commence as though war was an eventuality.

On 14 September the Lady Chancellor presented her protest to the Senate. The Senate, to everyone’s surprise, was hesitant to receive it. The Speaker of the Senate concluded the session by addressing that the protest could not be carried having received a very slim majority for it to be deferred until the Grand Committee is resolved on their task in respect of the Foreign Departments and the subsequent investigations, including the state of relations with the Pelasgian Empire. All those of the Council of State, opposed to the Lady Chancellor, held their ground. The Earl of Haslar, the closest ally of the Duke of Nonsuch and much respected within the Senate, was unsteady, but was inclined to side with those who opposed the Duchess of Kew’s protest on the plea that he could not see what preparations could be undertaken by the Republic Navy that would suffer by delay. This provided the Lady Chancellor with her wanted opportunity. At the greatest length, and with studied politeness and candour, she laid before them the whole plan of expanding and modernising the navy which she and others had already elaborated, showing how important was its immediate adoption, and how necessary it was against the unkind efforts of the other, corrupt Powers of Europe. She ended by declaring to the Senate she would not set her hand to any other task than those put before her by the Dulwich Conference, and that was her last word. Her eloquence shook the Earl of Haslar, who declared the statement put things in a very different light, and asked the Senate to consider that his support was certainly for the Duchess of Kew in her protest. The Duke of Nonsuch, the leader of the conservative factions, followed hotly and overbearingly on the same side, but in the end there was nothing but an adjournment. With the Earl of Haslar’s half conversion the situation became a crisis, and a new meeting was held at Hammersmith House. The Lady Chancellor’s protest, which was gaining signatures from those within the Senate and, more so, Bare Commons, was for them the more alarming factor. It was a temperate document and difficult for them to meet, but was gaining support. After reciting every case of direct and indirect aggression undertaken by Kadikistan against those in Scania and Gallia-Germania, the unrestrained imperial ambition of the Pelasgian Empire, and the hostility from the Socialist World Republic, the document proceeded, this unjust and abominable proceeding, and with the full declaration and avowal made of the Conference of the Engellexian Republic and also made in the last union of the Council of State, call indispensably on the Engellexian Republic Parliament to make considerations and conclude in their adoption of such necessary and timely measures as found urgent by the Conference of the Republic and the Republic Naval Council.

Scarcely had there been time since the Lady Chancellor submitted her protest to the Senate that there was a new development. A letter from the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle was received in Dulwich on 19 September for the Council of State. In this letter the Lord Governor implored that the resolutions achieved in the Dulwich Conference must be carried through to the Engellexian Republic Parliament immediately, given the lack of skill to carry them through the Council of State, and that the Council of the Republic was certainly observing the growing crisis with the deepest frustration. Still, despite the letter supporting the cause of the Lady Chancellor, what weakened her position even further was that the Lord Governor, and the Council of the Republic, were plainly ill at ease with the Council of State, in which she provided the leadership of. Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, the Lord Governor, stated that the Council of the Republic believed that the resolutions of the Conference will be successfully carried through by the Bare Commons and the Senate, though the Senate with a slimmer majority, and that if the Conference should be regarded as a failure it would be entirely on the account of those within the Council of State. From this point of view, therefore, the letter was regarded as being in favour of immediately removing from the preserve of the Council of State the task of managing such matters as though belonging to the Conference, which were a great deal many. The Lady Chancellor did demand that a sitting of the Council of State should be made that same day to consider the Lord Governor’s letter, but to no purpose, which was a little remarkable.

On the 11 October the Council of the Republic sat in session in Dulwich, on the insistence of the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle. The proceedings of the Lord Governors, Lord-Guarantors, and others once more aided the opinion of political Dulwich to the Lady Chancellor’s side. Speaking before the Senate on invitation made jointly by the Duchess of Kew and the Duke of Nonsuch, the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle, on being questioned, was found he could not and would not uphold the views expressed by those who oppose the Lady Chancellor within the Council of State. His address to the Senate tended to describe the escalating tensions around Europe, all pointing to war or wars, and how the only Power in Europe to consider the Engellexian Republic in a peaceful and cooperative manner was the Grand Duchy of Bourgogne, presenting the whole situation in a light most favourable to the argument by the Lady Chancellor. Even the Duchess of Hammersmith was a little shaken in the appeal of the Lord Governor’s address. Again it was decided to put the matter before the Council of State one last time. The Lady Chancellor made one last appeal, urging particularly the united position made by the Council of the Republic in Dulwich specifically for this and the address of the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle in the Senate. It was useless, with some exceptions. The exception being the First Lord of the Aldwych Bank, who was persuaded to the policy by the sheer support for it throughout the Republic, but it wasn’t enough as the rest of the opposition all held their old ground. The Duchess of Hammersmith supported them in the strongest manner, no doubt fearing the political fallout upon herself, arguing plausibly enough that this policy meant abandoning the Republic’s low taxation, low public estimates, low national debt that had been the position of every administration since the late nineteenth century, and that the public would prefer to keep taxation low. Others argued over the inability of the Republic to keep pace in the eventual escalation of an armaments race, potentially leading to bankruptcy. There was also the argument that neutral maritime Powers would propose a danger also, given that they may have suspicions on the intentions of the Republic with the expansion of her navy, army, and air fleets. The Lady Chancellor stated once that her opinion was unchanged. The Republic is increasingly encircled by aggressive Powers that would delight in injury being made to our civilisation, and the freedoms and liberties contained within, she said. Doing nothing is an indignity in which this Republic can no longer sustain, and I do announce that I shall not be made responsible for actions, or inactions, that were not and are not of my direction. The Council of State disunited in failure to address this crisis, the Lady Chancellor retreated to trying to manage these affairs through the Council of the Republic with those like minded individuals of her minority. This direction also proved an embarrassing failure given that it wasn’t constitutionally possible for the Lady Chancellor to do that, leading to the Senate and Bare Commons to pass motions calling on the Lord Speaker and Keeper to summon the Duchess of Kew to the Senate to be addressed and questioned on the matter. She was on 26 October, a situation that sent the publications of the Republic into a frenzy. The questions thrown at the Duchess of Kew were without restraint for the Senate, and the Bare Commons, was furious at the subsequent collapse of the Council of State. It was seen as an untimely, and ultimate embarrassment, the kind of which that did not belong to mature civilisation. Still, the Duchess of Kew bore the interrogation well, accepting all responsibility of the disaster in a dutiful and respectful manner. She acknowledged long before this crisis, on the day that she was elected, that as Lady Chancellor the responsibility of the Council of State was with her, and her alone. She also understood that should she resign that that responsibility immediately dissolves. So when the steady stream of questioning came to its end within the Senate, and the Speaker of the Senate ceased to speak, the Duchess of Kew rose once more to the semicircular chamber of senators and announced that on 9 November the Chancellery will be vacated by herself, and her staff, in her last act before the Senate she delivered her resignation.

 

[Great Engellex]

THE HAMMERSMITH ENTERPRISE
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

9th December, 1956,
Wormholt Castle, Hammersmith, Engellexian Republic

Censure of the Republic 02/12 1956​

1. That it appears to this Engellexian Republic Parliament, that on the 13th of November, 1956, the Engellexian Republic Senate in union with the Engellexian Republic Bare Commons as a whole Sovereign Parliament of the Engellexian Republic, came, among others, to the following resolutions:—That it is the opinion of this parliament, that some regulations ought to be adopted, for the purpose of lessening and restricting furthermore the independence of Ministers of the Council of State and senior civil servants of Executive Departments which appear to have usually been in possession of personal freedoms quite perverse to the integrity of their position, and in doing so accorded no beneficial advancement to the Engellexian Republic, her parliament or public, but a regression of diplomatic position and dignity of the Engellexian Republic. That it is the opinion of this parliament, that from hence forward the Secretaries of State and the Ministers of State belonging to the Council of State and the Council of the Republic, and the Permanent Secretaries of the Executive Departments for the time being, shall not apply any property delivered to them, or either of them, to any purpose of advantage or interest to themselves, either directly or indirectly. That it appears to this parliament, that the commissioners appointed to examine, take, and state the public accounts of the Foreign Departments, have, so far as appears from the reports which they have hitherto made, discharged the duty entrusted to them with great diligence, accuracy, and ability; and if parliament shall carry into execution those plans of reform and regulation which are suggested by the matter contained in the reports of the said commissioners, it cannot but be attended with the most beneficial consequences to the future welfare and prosperity of the Engellexian Republic.

2. That in furtherance of the intention of the Engellexian Republic Parliament expressed in such parliamentary resolutions, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Joint Committee, by the Order and on Behalf of such Joint Committee, dated November 14, 1956, directed that the foreign affairs executive, the Foreign Departments, shall be disbanded and its executive functions received by two reconstructed executives possessing competences in two differing geographical areas. The Northern Department, administered in Dulwich, and the Southern Department, administered in Elephant and Castle.

3. That it appears to this parliament, that during the present Lord Speaker and Keepership of his Lordship, Lord Thomas Bartlett the Viscount Bartlett,the conditions of the aforesaid office were strictly complied with; that the whole of the diplomatic directive issued from the office of the former Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments to Lord Thomas Bartlett for officialdom intervention was lodged in proper accordance to the regulations of the office of the Lord Speaker and Keeper; that scandal was never drawn from that office previously or presently or any other such impropriety as to justify condemnation by parliament and public; that during the time Lord Thomas Bartlett has been acting as Lord Speaker and Keeper he had not in his possession or custody any letter from the Foreign Departments concerning Pelasgian diplomatic exchanges in a thorough or factual manner, and that neither he nor his Permanent Secretary did derive any political profit, advantage, or satisfaction from the deception and overreach of the Foreign Departments.

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5. That the said Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith continued in the office of Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments till the 9th of November, 1956: that being asked, whether she derived any advantage or satisfaction from the undertaking of deliberate deception to both parliament and public on said diplomatic proceedings, she, in her examination before the members of the Grand Committee of the Republic, declined answering any question on that head; but that she has, in a letter since written to the said committee members, and dated the 28th of November 1956, declared, that, "she did not derive any advantage or satisfaction from any impropriety on her part, as no such offense had been committed by herself as Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments." But the First Permanent Secretary to the Secretary of State, insisting on no impropriety by the Foreign Departments but an unfortunate point of human error - somewhere, and her ladyship having refused to answer any question on this head as aforesaid and refusing all degrees of responsibility, no account can be heard that is inclusive of all points of fact - a point of serious disturbance to the understood expectations of parliament to heads of the executive departments as has been for hundreds of years.

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8. That in the year 1806, an Act of the Republic was passed, intitled "An Act for better regulating the Diplomatic Directives of the Engellexian Republic;" whereby it is directed that the then Secretaries of State of the then Northern and Southern Departments were permitted to indulge on the authority and dignity of the Lord Speaker and Keeper to release an Address of the Republic to better underline crucial diplomatic endeavour with reinforced authority; but that all diplomatic letters corresponding to the diplomatic directive for the Lord Speaker and Keeper shall be delivered in advance for review and accountability, and no such diplomatic letters are beyond the reach of the Lord Speaker and Keeper and therefore cannot, under any circumstances, be withheld or altered; and in pursuance of Addresses of the Republic signed by the Lord Speaker and Keeper, by the Secretaries of State, the specified diplomatic directive remains the sole responsibility of the sitting Secretary of State, and that the regulations under the said act were sufficiently made know to Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith upon her first application to the Lord Speaker and Keeper for an Address of the Republic to the Pelasgian Empire.

9. That the execution of the said act was not postponed but legislated to continue in effect upon the transition from the Northern and Southern Departments to a unified Foreign Departments, and in continued existence when Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith had taken office of Secretary of State of the Foreign Departments, contrary to the practice established by her predecessors respecting the dignity of office, contrary to the resolutions of the Engellexian Republic to regulate further the provision, in succession since 1806, and in defiance of the provisions of the above mentioned act of 1806, serious and sufficiently damaging diplomatic letters, under the flippancy of bureaucratic error, and by a scandalous evasion of the act, at various times, were withheld from the Lord Speaker and Keeper and the Engellexian Republic Parliament, with various means employed to alter some letters, and used in various ways for the purposes of damaging foreign relations of the Engellexian Republic with a foreign power and greatly discrediting and passing of serious indignity to the Engellexian Republic Parliament to both public and foreign powers.

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11. That Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith having been responsible for and connived at the deliberate deceptions by the Foreign Departments toward the Engellexian Republic Parliament, of which the Lord Speaker and Keeper is head, for purposes initially unknown but subsequently understood to have evolved into an effort to defend oneself from acceptance of responsibility, by the withholding of diplomatic letters, the alteration of proven letters, and absolute refusal to address the diplomatic urgency with the propriety expected of Ministers and Secretaries of State, according to the provisions of the 1806 Act of the Republic, has been guilty of a gross violation of the law, and a high breach of duty.

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13. That Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith, in applying the law in which she is of breach, should stand to face a trial by the Court of Peerage with the sole point of defending the integrity and honour of her family from the absolute dissolution of the Hammersmith Peerage.

This was the fifty-point Censure of the Republic proposed by the Earl of Haslar and finally passed by the Senate and Bare Commons on the 2nd December 1956, providing the necessary mandate for proceedings against the Duchess of Hammersmith with consequences extending toward her entire family. The dissolution of a peerage is not something taken lightly within the Engellexian Republic; Peers of the Republic are everything, but the Dignity of the Engellexian Republic Parliament is absolute. Within their stately pile outside the industrial metropolis of Hammersmith, the Hammersmiths contemplated the brutal demotion of their family from the lofty perch of the highest rank in society to absolutely nothing, simply mere commoners, wiping away just over three hundred years of family history. Wormholt Castle, the seat of the Hammersmiths lying outside the city of which they took their name, was a huge Engell Baroque stately house - though it would certainly be regarded as a palace in a kingdom; the west facade alone is 606 feet (185 m), with over three-hundred rooms spread across its 250,000 square feet of floorspace, and the property itself sits within an estate of 15,200 acres. The sheer quantity of coal discovered on the estate during the industrialising of the Engellexian Republic fuelled the industrial cities across its islands, but none more relied and benefited from its earlthy bounty that Hammersmith itself, and in thanks the great city of industry returned grand fortunes to the Hammersmiths. It is because of this great and proud history that any notion that the Engellexian Republic Parliament should move to dissolve the Hammersmith Peerage would be received with untempered fury, not just within Wormholt Castle, but also within the city of Hammersmith itself. Across the urban scape of this industrial hive copies of the Censure could be found everywhere, in windows, newspapers, pasted to walls, and the majority simply discarded as mere litter in consequence of the local anger. In the Republic the aristocratic dynasties were not mere grandees overindulged on wealth and privilege, they were also, and certainly more importantly, respected patrons of the local areas that they take their names, that their ancestral seats sit within. Hospitals, schools, charities, housing, and for the vastly more successful families, industry, manufacturing and agriculture rely substantially on their patronage. The Hammersmiths, as one of the Republic's greatest ducal families, were no exception, and in the city of Hammersmith just over one-hundred-thousand men and women owe their employment to the family, half a million on housing, and millions on the cities two chief hospitals. To Hammers throughout this corner of the Republic, this political drama was less being seen as a scandal belonging to the Duchess of Hammersmith, but increasingly as an outright attack on everything Hammersmith.

It is very easy to admire the terrain surrounding the city of Hammersmith, with the green hedgerows and rich hay fields all punctured, here and there, with picturesque, prosperous Engell villages. But one should not be assuming with regard to the charm of the rolling hills, and charming domesticated countrylife that adorned the vast estate of Wormholt Castle - romantic and sweet, yes, but Wormholt Castle, with its gloomy grandeur and isolated situation, lowered the highest of spirits even in summer season. Successive generations of Salweys had transofmred the original building, by fashions and ego, until it now remains absolutely unrecognisable. The present house is a novel evocation of the Engell baroque style. Everybody's first glimpse of this vast palace was of a rectangular stone box, some 606 feet long, topped by a cornice and balustrade which bore elaborately decorated figures of Salwey history at regular intervals. The facade was a bold design of double-height windows alternating with fluted pilasters, with the Salwey symbol of the intertwined Angell rose and oak tree carved along the length of the cornice. Inside, many have found it uncomfortable. The heavy use of gilt on every available surface; the combination of unpainted wainscoting and inlaid wood floors made the rooms appear dark even in the middle of the day. Even by Engell standards, for the 1950s Wormholt Castle had an overbearing old-fashioned feel; its layout, which followed the seventeenth-century practice of linking public and private rooms along a single axis, was inconvenient and impractical. But to understand why it remains so, you have to remember that Wormholt was meant to be more than a family home. Its sumptuous rooms, with their classical wall paintings and triumphant public and family figures made into gods staring down from the ceilings, performed a public function. Their purpose was to inspire awe among the lower orders who trooped round on Public and Republic Days, and respect - as well as envy - the aristocracy. Comfort was a secondary consideration. The Stately Dining Room could easily accommodate over three-hundred but as you may come to discover, there certainly was not a good enough number of bathrooms on that floor for such a number of guests for the evening. It is worth noting that aristocratic life in the Republic had little in the way of privacy, almost every activity took place before an audience of servants or the public. Rank determined behaviour, and the social pressures on the aristocracy to remain within their character was intense; the Dukes and Duchesses of the Engellexian Republic sat above all, and the Duchess of Hammersmith had broke from the expected character required of her high rank. Lady Georgiana Salwey the Duchess of Hammersmith was now doing all she could to resist the fierce condemnations. Stepping out of her chauffered vehicle bearing her ducal arms, the Duchess was welcomed home by the staff of Wormholt assembled outside. Her silk finery, adorned with diamonds, fur and fashioned hat bore all the hallmarks of an embattled Queen, rather than a scandalous Duchess.

On the principal floor at the centre of this grand residential piece was the Marble Saloon, dubbed the finest Georgian room in Engellex. A 60ft square hall, 40ft high with unbroken pillared gallery surround and ceiling plasterwork by an Engell master, itself reflected in the design also of the marble floor. Looking out from this magnificence to the wintery acres of the estate beyond was the Duke of Hammersmith, cigar in hand. His principal agent to the city of Hammersmith, the alderman, Sir Rupert Lowery in company. The Estates own intelligence letters indicate that there is growing dissatisfaction within the city (Hammersmith) toward parliament, spoke the Duke of Hammersmith. And that the Lord Mayor is considering a threatening address to end this rubbish by parliament, continued the Duke of Hammersmith as he thrashed a copy of the Censure of the Republic to the floor, not specifying what threat the Lord Mayor conceived to make. I have assured you, your Grace, numerously that should vigorous demonstrations by the city (Hammersmith) and the Estate reach Dulwich, parliament will retreat from this war upon you and your family, advised Sir Rupert Lowery. Quite, answered the Duke as he paced before his designated adviser, cigar in hand. The style.. of demonstration, your Grace, would be requiring the skill and fortitude of professional agitators with the appearance of violent actoring.. advised Sir Rupert with ever narrowing eyes, and the most experienced of all who certainly possess such talent are those by Hammersmith's very Own.. Company, loyal to you, your Grace. The Duke contemplated the thought through a cloud of smoke, of his own making. Soldiers? The very idea was preposterous, no, treasonous, but so was the thought of becoming a commoner. So, the sooner we have them in Dulwich the better, the Duke replied calmly as though he still remained thoughtfully concerned. The only problem is - how, remarked the adviser. It will be exceptionally suspicious to have them march from Hammersmith to Dulwich. Parliament is not likely to allow sorts to travel to the capital, given the political situation, he continued. Then a genuine demonstration of local citizenry must be rallied in which they can infiltrate and be disguised, suggested the Duke. Sir Rupert Lowery smiled as he approached the Duke, it is, unfortunately, the only way, your Grace.

The Duke of Hammersmith turned calmly toward his adviser, but eyes fixated upon the single axis corridor to his right that connected to the Empire Stair. That will itself present a likely problem, the Duke responded, as the growing sound of heels hastily marching across hard wooden floors became increasingly loud. Two liveried footmen in attendeance to the entrance of the Marble Saloon made a bow from the neck in unison, for the cold and rigid person of the Duchess of Hammersmith approached from on the other side. Gee, spoke the Duke affectionately as his ducal wife filled the great hall with her authority and displeasure. I was not expecting your return so - he begun. I know you did not, your Grace, interrupted Lady Georgiana Salwey with a strikingly cool reserve. And who is this? She asked, refusing to address the gentleman or even observe him. The Duchess of Hammersmith rarely attended to local matters, that was the preserve of her husband the Duke. Sir Rupert Lowery, Georgiana, alderman of Hammersmith and my principal contact to the Lord Mayor and Council of Hammersmith. We were discussing - answered the Duke before the Duchess once again interrupted him. I am thoroughly aware of what you were discussing, your Grace. I am not utterly without eyes and ears for sources of information within Our house. The Duke of Hammersmith handed his cigar to a footman and approached his wife. I assure you, Georgiana, there is nothing unkind being formed in this house. We were discussing the matter of.. vigorous demonstrations, by Hammers, against parliament in Dulwich. To end this affair, Georgiana, the Duke informed her. Lady Georgiana calmly approached Sir Rupert, her articulation carrying a distinct undercurrent of fury, do you honestly perceive alderman that we would seriously advocate for a highly spirited confrontation against parliament in Dulwich? Sir Rupert turned from the Duchess, who at this point was terribly close to his face, to the Duke. I - I was allowed to believe, your Grace, he softly replied. We have no intention of undermining the parliament that could escalate against the entirety of the Republic, the Duchess vented. Hammersmith's Own are professional and loyal, your Grace, and they want to see the honour and respect of Hammersmith restored.

The Duchess turned narrow eyes upon her husband, evidently allowing a process of thought for this scenario. And how would they endeavour to restore such things? She asked calmly. That must remain a matter for their professionalism, your Grace, Sir Rupert carefully answered. Georgiana turned against her husband and his agent, scoffing at the idea as she paced the hall. No restoration will be achieved by a simple flurry of banners, that you can be assured. The agent nodded at the Duchess' grasp of the matter, I am confident that they are aware of that, your Grace. Returning her presence to the Duke she informed him that the soldiers would need to drive a very hard argument. Even one that parliament, who have imagined much, would find quite the surprise, she added, joining them at the window to look out to the grounds before them. Our interests in the mines, the manufactories, the fields across this entire region.. those entrenched against us are quite ambitious, she remarked to herself. Without stability, this Republic cannot continue in the face of European revolutionaries. I am quite certain you will find parliament willing to listen, Sir Rupert advised. Hammersmith's Own.. yes, dispatch the lot of them. Are they reliable? Lady Georgiana queried. As far as I am concerned, begun Sir Rupert politely with an almost calculated glint in his black eyes. There is only one thing that matters. Dulwich has been terrified of another revolution from over thirty years; they are bitterly opposed to armed struggles and are able to end this situation with a single, mere vote. They are thoroughly aware of the interests of your Graces, and the loyalties that you possess from those of the army and navy here, in Hammersmith, by way of your historical and proud patronage.

The Duke interrupted his agent, do you think they would consider.. such suggestion? He asked, in surprised confusion. His wife keenly listening for the answer. They are placed in a terribly difficult position, your Grace. Open support for the Hammersmith family could, and likely be seen as extremely treasonous. On the other hand, they are all determined to see this crisis resolved without the persecution of your Graces, Sir Rupert informed. Lady Georgiana Salwey looked out across the wintery mist that smothered the green rolling hills and woodlands of the Estate, concerned. And you, she directed to the agent as she turned away from the window. Sir Rupert Lowery, what is your interest in this - this little enterprise? Sir Rupert bowed at the neck to the Duchess. I am a loyal servant to Hammersmith and the Hammersmiths, your Grace. I consider it my duty to aid in the restoration of calm and dignity of everything Hammersmith, he uttered. If the plight of our dynasty was not so desperate, so serious, Georgiana.. complained the Duke. So do I have your permission to proceed, your Grace? The agent pushed. With the greatest reluctance, snapped the Duchess of Hammersmith before marching out of the Marble Saloon.

 

[Great Engellex]

THE HAMMERSMITH ENTERPRISE II
DULWICH CONFERENCE​

18th December, 1956,
Hammersmith, Engellexian Republic

Greed and ambition has for too long assailed Hammersmith and her Noble Patrons (the Hammersmiths), declared Mr. Andrew Upholland, with his words almost being carried about the draughty Georgian chamber like an echo. This chamber belonged to the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Constituent Assembly of Angellex; the building, Assembly House, like all its fellow constituent sisters in the regional capitals of the Republic, was built in the 1780's to the simple, restraint elegance of the Georgian architectural style. In Hammersmith, Assembly House did not command a silhouette on the skyline, just a simple cobblestone square with a standard iron statue of the first Lord Protector at its center and surrounded by an assortment of similar properties belonging to the professionals of Hammersmith. The Republic, drunk on traditions, maintained a relatively open democracy that was within reach of every class of society and without the typically fortified line of security; but still, even with the freedom to press one's face against the windows to observe the proceedings inside, the dense fog that smothered Hammersmith that day rendered such interests by the public a rather too grand an effort. A shame no doubt, given the magnificent undertaking by Hammersmith Council and her private citizens to decorate the city for the annual Riding of Yule. Inside, Mr. Upholland was a fiery, well known Representative, with his constituency belonging to Hammersmith South. He stood as a towering figure, with the royal blue silk damask Robe of Session and archaic elegance of a white powdered wig that attired them all, above the five semi-circular rows of fifty individual mahogany desks that furnished the interior of the remarkably spacious 18th century legislative chamber, behind each of course sat a fellow Representative, enthroned on their own high-back blue leather chair. Before them sat the Speaker, elevated by chair and a rather grand desk, with attendants either side; unlike the Representatives, the Speaker's Robe of Session was a black silk damask with gold trimming. This was not quite a scene expected of the mid-twentieth century, but the traditions and indulgences of 18th century Engellex were not in want or need of removal, in fact the vast majority preferred they remain. That bright ray of enlightened resolution, that we all clamour for, has not fallen on this city yet. We all here pledged our loyalty, our civic duty, and our lives to this Republic and the Sovereignty of the Engellexian Republic Parliament, but we must stand silently in despair as the respect and stability for our fair metropolis, our people is ruthlessly attacked for political capital - and the people, Hammers everywhere forced into anxious isolation, and bitter resentment as they struggle to consider the economic and social consequences of this gross injustice. Mr. Upholland paused as members, mostly from Hammersmith and Hamshire, muttered their concurrence with Upholland. The present parliament, he declared once again with outright contempt for every member of it, has increasingly displayed its incompetence, its total contempt for the Hammer people, and its inability to effectively govern in this most perilous hour, Mr. Upholland concluded amidst applause from his fellow Hammers. The incompetence that that gentleman refers, and in which received applause, was the position of parliament in respect of foreign affairs - the Kalahari Crisis, the Saaremaa Revolution, the independence of Loago to the name the main; and ineffective government? Well, parliament is struggling, a little, in the face of no council of executive ministers.

I urge you to remember that we remain citizens of this Engellexian Republic, of which the Engellexian Republic Parliament is Sovereign, argued Mrs. Nancy Frampton, a respected Representative for the city of Newgate in northern Angellex. Her position, to be elaborated on, would draw the greatest share of the support from this House of Representatives, which wasn't unusual as Hammersmith, the industrial metropolis of the Republic, was somewhat more unique in its social and political thinking. One severe response by parliament does not merit an equally severe reaction by this House, proclaimed Mrs. Frampton with a firm hand. The Hammersmith Urgency must be met with reason, and not thinned skin! It was at that point that Mr. Andrew Upholland seized the floor, I should not need to remind Mrs. Frampton that the people of Hammersmith are fearful of a frightfully desperate Riding of Yule, and being robbed of their thoroughly well earned Misrule. While we debate, tens of thousands of Hammer families are left without security or even the slightest encouragement that our parliament will not hand them a loss of employ or an eviction - or both! Do not speak of justice and reason! Bellowed Mr. Upholland as his fellow Hammer Representatives applauded him. Mrs. Nancy Frampton, the Representative for Newgate West, spoke the Speaker of the House of Representatives, providing her with the floor. One Senator, as a Secretary of State, cannot be allowed to take the entirety of the Engellexian Republic headlong into the disaster of sabre-rattling with Europe's foremost Power, she said with a calmed clarity that provided that session in the House with a little reality to the political scandal in Dulwich. Much of the House agreed and voiced an obvious majority of aye. Recognising her undoubted support, Mrs. Frampton directed her address almost exclusively at her opposition, led as it was by Mr. Upholland. The Engellexian Republic Parliament would be eager to address these concerns and put an end to the concerns by the people of Hammersmith, as are we. The Hammersmith Representatives, through this House, must join us in conciliation. A letter by the Constituent Assembly of Angellex, made in this House and supported in the (Lord Lieutenant's) Council, must be addressed to parliament informing them of the plight facing too many of the people of Hammersmith. It should include a plain statement, that Angellex desires an immediate negotiation and accommodation of the terribly unfair situations faced here; and that the Constituent Assembly is willing to enter into measures to achieve that reconciliation between the two cities. I call on this to motion, Mrs. Frampton informed the Speaker. The motion was immediately seconded amidst wide applause.

I am astounded! Roared Mr. Alfred Perriam, a sixty-six year old Representative of Hammersmith, and a veteran of the 1920s revolutions in the Republic. At the manner and courtesy Mr. Andrew Upholland addresses these imbeciles! The Speaker immediately drew down his hammer, many times, calling for order, Mr. Perriam, you will refrain from insulting this House, Sir! The other representatives formed a silence, allowing the controversial figure his circus performance. My fellow Representative, Mr. Upholland advocates opposition to the parliament. I say, he continued, gradually becoming more loud and emotional. That this House forms an opposition to the very system, that bloody class that has put people - like those of Hammersmith - into that miserable position of begging for those scraps that they throw to them! Mr. Perriam begun to count on his own support in the House, like Mr. Upholland, from those also representing constituencies in Hammersmith. Where there is hunger, where there is unemployment, where there are evictions, one must always look to the top! Parliament is but their instrument for legitimate rule! And the whole Republic knows who's instrument it is! That class of people whose upper lips curl in disdain at any real democratic system, who absolutely refuse to implement reforms that this Republic is tired of crying out for, and have shown once more how ill suited they are at being addressed as Lords and Ladies of this Republic! His furious, revolutionary opposition drew other Hammer representatives to their feet, in support, applauding. Mr. Perriam, embolden by his fellows from the industrial city, removed his powdered wig and threw it to the floor causing the Speaker to angrily call Mr. Perriam to order. It is not only the Hammersmiths that should go, he shouted intensely, competing to be heard over the Speaker, the applause of his support, and the nays of everyone else. But every Lord and Lady in this Republic, feasting off of the blood, sweat and tears of the worker! Turning to the Speaker, Mr. Perriam raised his silver tipped cane defiantly, and then violently struck his own desk with it. The uproar was not without tension. Newgate will be persuaded to break off from this assembly should we continue to be grossly disrespected, Sir! Mrs. Nancy Frampton informed in frustration as she, and others, stood to depart the chamber that was entering turmoil.

In Dulwich, the revolutionary reach into Hammersmith, did not go unnoticed; nor did the Hammersmiths and their audacious scheme. I cannot understand it, spoke Lady Abigail Trentham, the Director of the Bletchley Intelligence Bureau, to an aide as they passed along a corridor in Himyar House for a Council of the Republic meeting. Himyar House was, relatively speaking, bustling with activity in consequence of the Council of the Republic sitting. It was not a scheduled sitting, and the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle, elected to represent the entirety of Engell Himyar given the short notice, had yet to arrive. Lady Abigail Trentham to see the Council, informed the Director's aide to the Permanent Council Secretary sitting outside. They are expecting you, I shall notify them of your arrival, she answered as she picked up the telephone. The Secretary nodded, and the Director and her aide proceeded to enter the Council Chamber. Director Trentham, spoke Lord George Grey the Lord Lieutenant of Angellex, standing up as to respectfully welcome her to a seat at the round table. Unlike the Congress Drawing Room, the Council Chamber was decorated quite to what was expected of Engell government buildings. The room, much like other State Rooms throughout Dulwich, was hung with silk, and in this particular room it was blue for they matched with the grounds of the Sèvres porcelain that adorned the exquisite Engell and Bourgogne furniture. The gold gilding, however, was restrained to reflect the sober business of governing the Republic. But at the centre of the Council Chamber was a fine round piece of mahogany, ornately fashioned, and sufficiently large enough to sit fifty people for matters of State beneath the brilliance and grandeur of a crystal chandelier masterpiece. This evening's session of the Council of the Republic saw twelve people present. Lord George Grey introduced the Director, bringing the conversations - idle and important - around the room to an end, as to begin proceedings. Your letter to the Permanent Members of the Council of the Republic on the readiness of revolutionary agitation in Hammersmith. You wrote it before the revolutionaries launched their infiltration of the household of the Duke and Duchess of Hammersmith, and the Constituent Assembly of Angellex, of course we have received the latest from Hammersmith today - including the revolution boldly advocated in the House of Representative. Could you not have seen that? Asked Lord George Grey the Lord Lieutenant of Angellex. I stand by my letter, Lord Lieutenant, the Director answered. Then why is it that they feel emboldened in Hammersmith? Questioned Admiral-General Walter Drake. Complacency in the Republic; concentration of engagement to a single city; weakened social and political leadership in Hammersmith; successful leadership abroad in Ivar; plus, a serious degree of interior confusion within the Republic, replied the Director.

The Admiral-General looked to the Lord-Lieutenant of Angellex and nodded, well, put Director. Lady Abigal Trentham looked round the table as she leaned forward slightly, also, if I may be permitted to say. The Engellexian Republic Parliament is simply sitting on its hands rather than engaging with the greatest strategic opportunity that it has had in this century. We will not be able to win this game without taking part - I am reaching beyond my department here, but it is evident across Europe that the Republic is held back by domestic politics. The members of the Council looked among each other with raised 'brows and subtle nodding, confirming to the Director, and everybody else, that the problem is especially obvious but to those within parliament. Do you believe the revolutionary appeal will end at the removal of the Hammersmiths and a greater degree of autonomy given to Hammersmith? Questioned the Lord Lieutenant of Westellex. No, the Director replied flatly. How well does the BIB know the revolutionaries in Hammersmith? Asked the Admiral-General. We have their identities, occupations, addresses, and their movements are followed. Beyond that there is only one thing to know about them, and that is how to defeat them, the Director informed. The Lord Lieutenant of Angellex smiled as looked to the Admiral-General, a warmonger in the BIB. Some members of the Council chuckled at that. Are you suggesting the Republic abandon its traditional neutralities? Asked the Admiral-General. Not at all, Sir. Unless the Republic has to, to preserve her own sovereign interest and integrity, the Director answered with a somewhat less subtle nod to the policy direction she supports.

It was at that moment that the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle, Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, arrived to the Council meeting. Do not resign yourself, Lady Abigail Trentham, equip yourself with fortitude and advise this Council dutifully on how best to proceed, the Lord Governor commanded dismissively as he found his seat. Before the Director had the chance to respond, the Lord Governor thrashed his copy of that day's intelligence on the table, catching the entire Council off guard. Unbelievable, bloody monstrous! He finally fumed. Who is this lunatic.. he continued, looking down at his papers for the name, Rupert Lowery?! The Director, recognising a somewhat degree of seniority within this Lord Governor, given the absence of a Lord or Lady Chancellor and, or a Lord Protector. A revolutionary, Lord Governor. He publicly identifies his loyalties to the Hammersmiths and the Republic, but he is of seniority within the Labour Society in Hammersmith. He is under the greatest degree of surveillance, and has been for some time. The Hammersmiths, well, they were a complete surprise, the Director answered. Vulgar, course old man, the Lord Governor again fumed as he briefly re-read the details following Mr. Perriam's actions within the House of Representatives. These speeches are open treason against the Engellexian Republic and against parliament, he argued. I am astonished Lord George Grey, that as Lord Lieutenant of Angellex you did not have these insurrectionists arrested on the spot! Lord George Grey clasped his hands together to address the Lord Governor calmly, I suspect that you do not appreciate the mood of much of the lower classes of Hammersmith. I should inform you that I have been approached by numerous members of the Constituent Assembly (of Angellex) that they do not feel adequately safe within the city at this present time. The Lord Governor looked up astonished, should these speeches continue unchallenged, I assure you, you too will be fearing your personal security. It is not enough that it has been permitted by parliament that Scania, and Gallia-Germania should be crawling with anarchist revolutionaries, but now we must tolerate it in Hammersmith?! The Admiral-General, who was quite known and close in political opinion to Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, gestured for calm. There is no need to become overly emotional, Lord Governor. I am confident that the Director has the details addressed and in hand, the Admiral-General responded. Being without potent, unified executive authority of a Lord Protector is one thing, but to be without the crucial authority of the Chancellery is a much more serious matter, warned the Lord Governor.

 

[Great Engellex]

THE EFFICIENCY OF BLOOD & TEARS
SECOND GREAT STRUGGLE​

By the middle of December 1956, the population of Dulwich was growing accustomed to the news of a second disagreeable revolutionary winter. Before the end of 1956, the insurrectionist agenda belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Hammersmith and the rebellious elements of the lower classes of Hammersmith would have fought, and lost, against the perceived reach and hard line of Dulwich over their unique and exceptional industrial metropolis. The result was the seceding of Hammersmith from the Republic of Angellex to become the first constituent city-state of the Engellexian Republic; in actual truth, the Constituent Assembly of Angellex forced the departure of Hammersmith from their constituent republic through a vote binding upon the Lord Lieutenant which the Engellexian Republic Parlement, by an emergency session, was constitutionally bound to recognise. Then, on 2 January 1957, after reports of sudden and violent unrest in the new Metropolitan Republic of Hammersmith as circulated in national and European news publications, came the news, confirmed by the Engellexian Republic Parlement, that the Republic Navy had seized the administration of the Metropolitan Republic of Hammersmith. The Wednesday morning of 4 January 1957, the success and permanence of the military seizure of Hammersmith was confirmed when the Republic Naval Council communicated an official Letter of Constitution, formally sponsored by the Council of the Republic, to national publications establishing the fact. It was above all the news from the Republic Naval Council that electrified Dulwich, and the great city of Elephant and Castle in the south. During the first week of the newly constituted Metropolitan Republic of Hammersmith, under the ill influence of the interim Lord Governor of Hammersmith - Mr Alfred Perriam, a prior revolutionary idea exploded into a demonstration, by such low classed undesirables, for the withdrawal of the Republic Navy's Hammersmith Admiralty and Establishment. It culminated into a fierce and bloodied clash between the First Naval Regiment (lobsters), charged with the security of the Hammersmith Admiralty, and demonstrators. On 4 January, an extra and extraordinary edition of the formal Dulwich Gazette featured the delicate and striking reports from Hammersmith, including the removal of the Lord Governor of Hammersmith, by the Republic Naval Council, and the issuing of the Letter of Constitution. In view of the current state of the Republic and of Europe, the Dulwich Gazette declared, this turn of events - so sudden, so violent and so utterly unexpected - appears more extraordinary, perhaps more momentous in its consequences that even the disagreeable winter of previous. As the news from Hammersmith, and the Dulwich Gazette, was absorbed by the capital of the Republic, Dulwichians poured on to the public promenades and common streets in search of more information and discussions - gossip. The weather did not aid the situation, with the striking winter freeze dampening any and all encouraging thoughts on the capital's continued peace. Galleries, museums, tea-rooms, public houses, and other establishments of all kinds were crammed to bursting. The excitement would continue to grow through the week as word and gossip circulated on the realisation of some events within Dulwich itself, notably the sizable demonstration of Hammers before the Engellexian Republic Parlement that curiously remained encamped - curious only to those who continued to be ignorant to the fact that they were paid for by the Duke and Duchess of Hammersmith, and infiltrated by the revolutionary vermin that harass Hammersmith.

One important focal point for the discussions and concerns was the very demonstration taking place by the Hammers, right outside the seat of power within the Republic. The piercingly frozen morning of Thursday 5 January saw the paid and infiltrated mass of Hammers in Dulwich, having laboured under the impression that the emergency session of the Senate and the Bare Commons continued from the day before, force their way through to Scrimgeour Hall within the parliament building. The Senate and Bare Commons had since vacated before that morning, with the necessary chambers, lobbies and offices sufficiently secured as customary. Over the course of that Thursday the demonstrators, now dubbed the Dulwich Insurrectionists, mutated to form a ridiculously confident assembly of riff-raff with terrifyingly revolutionary ambition that sat decidedly opposed to everything that is and was the Engellexian Republic. They were holding political meetings at the Gloriana Gallery, the Fortescue Lobby, and Five Dials, all open thoroughfares within the parliament building for members to reach one area to another. While they did begin as informal meetings to discuss, lecture and plot, the insurrectionists assumed the cautious, if not completely absent hand of the Engellexian Republic Parlement as being evident of their own success, and were decided in taking on the contours of their own improvised parliament of the revolution - some hasty, politically minded and sober gentlemen even constructed voting procedures, resolutions, and proposed electing delegations of the people, all within a matter of hours. It was not long, but by the evening of 5 January, that those who were occupying the parliamentary seat in Dulwich and those that found themselves removed in Hammersmith began to work together; Friday afternoon, 6 January 1957, their assembled leaders and various speakers of influence had drafted a petition that resembled a serious demand upon the Republic all in the name of political, legal, constitutional and social reform. By the evening of 6 January the mass of occupiers begun to hear speeches from workers and artisans from among them, from Hammersmith, whose chief concern was not legal or constitutional, or even to maintain this charade of the Hammersmiths or the momentum for revolution by the others, rather they wanted the economic needs of the working populace be addressed to the fullest. As a gathering of genuine concerned workers emerged in the Five Dials, all discussing and speaking of their own workers assembly, petition for workers rights and protections, and a new joint committee specifically for workers interests within parliament, it was being seen that the mass of Hammersmith demonstrators and insurrectionists was thoroughly divided in intent and loyalty.

Alarmed at the growing determination and insolence of the Hammer insurrectionists that now occupy the parliamentary seat, the Council of the Republic summoned the Lord Mayor of Dulwich, Lady Delores Dimpleby, to coordinate the petitioning for and deployment of troops in to the city on that Friday evening of 6 January. The following morning of 7 January, the citizenry of Dulwich awoke to news of minor clashes around the perimeter of the parliamentary estate where a number of Hammer peoples were killed by soldiers. This escalated in to the insurrectionists and the soldiery becoming collective antagonists in a struggle for control of this legislative space. Over the next few hours, sympathetic and angered revolutionaries from Hammersmith attempted to escape the industrial metropolis for Dulwich. They, like their fellow Hammers in Dulwich, were afraid of the soldiers that maintained the security and peace of their city, but also drawn to them, again, like those in Dulwich. In both cities the riff-raff that formed to confront the Republic and her system cajoled, persuaded and taunted the soldiery. Engell battalions deployed had their own rituals. When confronted by unruly citizens, they were required to read out the terms of the Peace of the Republic, an act that emerged from the 1920's Socialist Revolutions, two times before giving three warning signals with the drums of their regiment, after which the order to advance would be given. Since the last winter also saw similar circumstances against the Republic by those of a politically red persuasion, the signals and rituals belonging to the military in this instance were almost universally recognised and understood. As expected, the reading of the Peace of the Republic was generally greeted with whistling, jeers, and projectiles toward the soldiers. The beating of their drums, which signalled an imminent advance or charge, had a stronger deterrent effect but this was generally temporary. On a number of occasions during the struggles in Dulwich and Hammersmith, the insurrectionists forced troops standing guard to run through their warning routines over and over again by provoking them, melting away when the drum was sounded, then reappearing to start the game again.

The military and political leadership of the Republic did not find it difficult to agree on how to proceed, only the pace - of which the latest made those differences much fewer. The hawkish and widely respected Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle, Lord Henry Swann-Pryce, with a traditional responsibility of leadership amongst those constituent republics of Engell Himyar and now of the Council of the Republic, in respect of the vacancy within the Chancellery, succeeded in uniting Engell Himyar in the advocacy for a Lord Protector of the Republic; and now, in persuasion from the current events, favoured a mix of political and military advancement :- the collective determination of all constituent republics, Gallia-Germania and Himyar, in forcing the Engellexian Republic Parlement to elect a Lord Protector and adopt in full the Dulwich Conference proposals; and with another hand, deploy the hard power of the Republic to permanently remove the revolutionary infiltration of the Republic, with a wide-reaching strategy that would ally the powerful institutions of the Republic, with the military, for an overwhelming and spectacular demonstration against her enemies. By contrast, the mild and concessionary Lord Lieutenant of Angellex, who previously counted Hammersmith under his responsibility but continued so for Dulwich, urged the Council of the Republic to formulate and adopt an all-out attack on the insurgents. The Lady Governor of Henrietta would later recall to the Lady Governor's Council in Henrietta that the atmosphere within the Council of the Republic, far from chaos reigning, was quite calm and united in the approach; the Lady Governor of Henrietta was the lone advocate of moderation where even she conceded that the cause of moderation was weak. The leading members of the Council, she informed the upper house of the Constituent Assembly of Henrietta, was not buffeted about with conflicting positions or advice, rather, it was evident that those leading figures made efficient use of the Council's time to simply corner the three advocates of moderation with potent arguments - herself included. The tipping point came with the news, itself breaking in Dulwich on the evening 9 January, that the Constituent Assembly of Gewissex, absolutely independent of influence from her sister assemblies throughout the Republic, had voted unanimously for the Lord Protector advocacy toward the Engellexian Republic Parlement. Naturally their persuasion and influence was the second winter of revolutionary disagreement. Deferential as ever to the constituent assemblies, of which the Lord Lieutenants and Lord Governors belong, the Council of the Republic and the throng of civil advisers around them perceived this as the general feeling of the Republic and resolved to adopt Lord Henry Swann-Pryce's position. In the early hours of 9 January, the Council of the Republic agreed to dispatch a Letter of Council Standing to the Lord Speaker and Keeper of the Engellexian Republic Parlement with the instruction of the electing of a Lord Protector to be conveyed to the Senate and Bare Commons, along with the official determination of the Council to see the implementation of the Dulwich Conference proposals to the fullest.

By the time the Letter of Council Standing reached the residence of the Lord Speaker and Keeper, on the other side of Dulwich from the parliamentary estate, shenanigans had already been agreed for a day of ever greater offence to the Republic, her institutions and her capital, by the insurrectionists. On that morning of 10 January the Erumpetine Broadcasting Council, the public broadcasting company based in Erumpet, made a broadcast across its radio programs of the news from the Council of the Republic, and the consequent need of the Engellexian Republic Parlement to regain control and authority over their parliamentary estate to administer the business of the Republic as made necessary by that Council. Members of the insurrection from within the parliamentary estate could be seen dancing and cheering at the broadcast, somewhat positively moved by the prospect of an impending confrontation. The Constituent Assembly of Angellex, upon being made aware of the Letter of Council Standing, moved to adopt the same position with regard to the Lord Protector, with an added provision that implored other, undecided sister assemblies to likewise do the same. But the broadcast did nothing to halt the planned escalation of the insurrection; from around noon, streams of people began to converge on the parliamentary estate, new people - likely those who succeeded in leaving Hammersmith. As the news of the Council of the Republic's position circulated to all these new people, the mood became ever more hostile, and desperate. The air inside and out of the estate was filled with the sound of chanting, jeering, and gunfire. The insurrectionists, ever more densely packed in the ravaged public halls and corridors of the parliamentary building, demanded to be seen by the Engellexian Republic Parlement, and became moved to force their way in to the secured areas of the building, including the chambers and offices of the Senate and Bare Commons.

The mood inside Pennelegion House, the official residence of the Lord Speaker and Keeper in Dulwich, was calm. The 17th century symmetrical mansion with its large windows and sober and restrained red-brick palladianism, had become the centre of parliamentary happening since the seizure by the insurrectionists. When the Lord Lieutenant of Angellex arrived at Pennelegion House at around two in the afternoon to rally the political forces that had gathered around the Lord Speaker and Keeper, they needed to support the Council of the Republic he warned, and the Lord Lieutenant was met with the cool reserve of a group of politicians that evidently felt a little removed. The Lord Speaker and Keeper thanked the Lord Lieutenant of Angellex, the sincerity somewhat a little thin but such a thing was forgiven in consideration of the emotional state of those formerly belonging to the Engellexian Republic Parlement. Before the Lord Lieutenant left, a wireless set-up within Pennelegion House was delivering an EBC coverage from the parliamentary estate and permitting all gathered to hear the organised violence of revolutionary jeering and destruction of parliamentary property. Pennelegion House, insecure in crisis, was increasingly unified in outrage. When the Lord Lieutenant of Angellex finally did leave the residence he was greeted by a frantic congregation of Paternoster Lane's finest and starving journalists, and he informed them in passing that Angellex wishes the restoration of the Peace of the Republic to prevail. It wishes that the Engellexian Republic Parlement would be restored to their Sovereign Seat, immediately. That the constitution of our great Republic be respected by all Engells. That the Colour of the Republic (flag) be restored over Dulwich and Hammersmith equally. The Revolutionaries be removed permanently and absolutely. And Angellex wishes that a Lord Protector be elected and empowered to be the head of our Engellexian Republic once again.

There was one incredibly dark cloud forming on the horizon of Dulwich on that same day, 10 January, that had the potential to move the political situation either way:- surrounding the parliamentary estate in the capital, lines and lines of troops, an additional four thousand pulled in by the Republic Naval Council over the day to reinforce the five hundred already there, and they could all be seen by those they were deployed against. At the sight of this familiar and bolstered enemy, the mood began to sour dramatically. There was some panic on the edges, where people feared being trapped about their encampment against advancing soldiers. The chanting began, however, out! Out! The situation on the lawns and the Mall before the estate would grow out of control. At this point - it was around seven in the evening - that the Council of the Republic agreed to the transferring of the parliamentary estate security to the Republic Naval Council, the nearly five thousand troops in Dulwich included, and ordered that the estate be cleared immediately by soldiers, one way or another, and an end be put to the scandalous situation prevailing in the capital. Bloodshed was to be avoided, but not at all costs - do not shoot first. A scene of utter panic and fear followed. Line after line of soldiers pushed slowly forward against the encampment of revolutionaries with only the parliamentary building available for their retreat. The leaders of this second winter of revolutionary Great Struggle discovered how difficult it was attempting to control their own numbers against the advancement of the soldiers, the noise was intense to the point of no orders being heard, and fires erupted and consumed to the point that thick smoke prevented good visuals over the progressing battlefield. Naturally, many, many took fright and began retreating inside the seat of parliament with their leaders. Some fell under the feet of the soldiers, trampled, and then arrested by officers of the Metropolitan Constabulary of Dulwich. Since substantial numbers of people were still concentrated on the lawns and Mall before parliament, two channels were designated, east and west, to allow those fleeing to escape through the lines of soldiers and straight into the reach of the Met. The Met, with their full strength of nearly a thousand uniformed men and women, had amassed behind the advancing troops, with dogs and an untold number of buses to bring the revolutionaries in to the Republic's system of courts. It was during this action that a small number of the crowd, fearing arrest and being sent to Himyar to labour on an agricultural or mining estate for the remainder of their lives, discharged their firearms into soldiers and a number of the Met. Three soldiers fell, and one officer of the Met was pulled away with an injury. The lines of troops closed ranks, preventing anymore people an unharmed exit in to custody; but the crowds, thinking with their ears, were convinced that the troops had started shooting first. Fortunately for the State, the Republic Naval Council learnt a hard lesson the winter a year earlier, and had sufficient civilian observers, protected, but engaged in witnessing the situation unfold. Word of this outrage by the revolutionaries passed swiftly the capital, as intended.

Barricades sprang up immediately around and throughout parliament, improvised from furniture and other vandalised materials from inside, all in anticipation of a bloody swoop. These makeshift barriers became the focal points of most of the violence between revolutionaries and the soldiers which all followed a pattern of the infantry advancing on the barricades, one by one, while under fire from the windows and roof. Tiles and stones rained down from above. The parliamentary building was entered and room by room cleared of those enemies of the Republic by soldiers. Barricades were demolished by those taken alive by the soldiers before being handed to the Met. Despite the soldiers advancing steadily through the parliamentary building, and firing with an efficient rage against the revolutionaries, the soldiers were seriously slowed by men and women storming the stairways and corridors and keeping them under a thick hail of gunfire. It proved much harder to occupy and maintain control of the sprawling building than the leaders of this attempted revolution imagined. At mid-night on 11 January, when Admiral-General of the Republic the Admiral Walter Drake, the commander of the counter-insurrection forces in Dulwich, reported to Pennelegion House, he had to acknowledge that while his troops controlled the grounds of the parliamentary estate, the ground floor and the first floor, a further advance was currently ill-advised, given the need to safely process those alive and arrested, move the dead and injured, all-in-all thousands, tens of thousands of people. It was proposed to the Republic Naval Council, the Council of the Republic, and to Pennelegion House by Admiral Walter Drake that the troops withdraw from the building, hold the perimeter of the parliamentary estate, and, rather directly, burn the building, with its remaining insurrectionists, into submission. The Lord Speaker and Keeper responded to this terribly severe recommendation with an especially cool reserve. Having thanked the Admiral-General, he returned to the State Drawing-Room when a number of the Engellexian Republic Parlement continued to be gathered, sat at a writing-desk to begin writing a letter. The letter was to inform of the situation that escalated in to the deliberate destruction of the Seat of the Engellexian Republic Parlement. The order to withdraw soldiers out of the building, to the perimeter of the estate, was given the next day, 12 January, at three in the morning. The Lord Speaker and Keeper, alongside the Council of the Republic and the Republic Naval Council, had placed himself firmly within the hands of, what would eventually be recognised as, the First Republicans; Admiral Walter Drake will emerge formally as their leader when they, the First Republicans, position themselves officially as the Engellexian Republic's first political party.

This was a momentous decision, and a controversial one to be sure. The withdrawal of the military from completing their engagement against the insurrectionists, and the subsequent State-sponsored arson instead of, was the most vexing challenge the Engellexian Republic had faced since the 1920s Socialist Revolutions. Had the Establishment in Dulwich simply lost their minds? This was certainly the view taken by a solid number of the moderates from the Senate and the Bare Commons, having been made aware of everything. Lady Rosamund Cavendish the Duchess of Kew, whose preferences for middle measures had earned her terms as the Secretary of State of the Chancellery, was the most furious moderate of all. Having read of the news of the withdrawal and the tactic of submission to be deployed, Lady Rosamund Cavendish arrived at Pennelegion House and delivered a scathing, personal attack to the Lord Speaker and Keeper, saying - I have always appreciated the dignity of your Office, but worthy of it - you are not. One can no longer serve without disgracing ones own dignity. Her seat within the Senate was resigned. In all consideration, there is much to be said for the Lord Speaker and Keeper's consent to Admiral Walter Drake's recommendation. The managed retreat of the soldiers to the perimeter of the parliamentary estate, and the deliberate smoking of the seat of parliament, prevented further - unacceptable - bloodshed. This was an important consideration, given the ferocity of the fighting. With a toll of over two thousand dead insurrectionists and around one hundred dead soldiers and officers, Dulwich saw some of the bloodiest urban fighting since the 1920s. The decision by the Lord Speaker and Keeper, in making such a potent and brutal example of the attempted revolution in Dulwich, also preserved Hammersmith from its own bloody episode, a situation that would have had Dulwich seem quite pale in contrast, given the administration over the industrial metropolis by the Republic Naval Council. And it allowed the Engellexian Republic to emerge as a bloodied victim of revolutionary aggression, that survived, stronger, and with her jealously defended public institutions intact, a matter of some weight given the Council of the Republic's intention to seize the opportunity offered by this failed revolution to reassert the Republic's leadership role throughout the Thaumantic.

At five o'clock Thursday morning of 12 January, the Seat of the Engellexian Republic Parlement was set deliberately ablaze by Admiral Walter Drake, with an estimated four thousand men and women of a failed revolution still barricaded inside on various floors.

The impact of the Dulwich events was reinforced by the news, in the early afternoon of 12 January, that each and every constituent assembly of the Republic had formally called for the Engellexian Republic Parlement to elect a Lord Protector. A mere two hours on the back of that news arrived the announcement from the Lord Governor of Elephant and Castle, that the constituent assemblies of Engell Himyar were united in their recommendation and nomination of Admiral Walter Drake.

[THE END.]