Expansion in North America as Tricornia is dissolved

An Act of Parliament passed yesterday enacted territorial changes which saw the creation of a new Town, the expansion of another, and the dissolution of a third.

One of the two properties composing the new Town of North Nahona

Tricornia, a town annexed only in April, has been dissolved after its founder, Nikola Jovanovic, revealed that he had supplied incorrect information to the government while claiming the land and forged the signatures of its alleged residents.

When claiming new areas of land, the government must strike a fine line between respecting the privacy of applicants while also being able to verify their claims. It is not believed that any changes to the current system are planned, but this incident has shown that it is not impossible for it to be abused.

Tricornia now holds the unfortunate record of being the land claim with the shortest duration as a part of Austenasia.

However, alongside the departure of Tricornia, a new Town has joined the Empire.

The new Town of North Nahona has been founded with the annexation of two properties from Texas.

A third property has been annexed to the already existing Town of Nahona, which the new town is named after.

Each property is inhabited by two people, with a total of six people thereby joining Austenasia. This offsets the loss of the (alleged) same number from the dissolution of Tricornia.

Both Nahona and North Nahona now consist of two properties, each inhabited by two people, and form a roughly eighteen mile long line stretching approximately north-west to south-east, with the southern two properties in the older town and the northern two in the new one.

In other news, the Pontifex Maximus, Pope Queranus I – better known as Sebastian Linden – has been granted non-residential subjectship by Parliament. Linden has served as Governor of Iostan na Beithe and of Glencoe since January 2018, and briefly reigned as German Emperor in mid-2011.

Military reform passed by Parliament

An Act of Parliament was passed yesterday implementing radical changes to the Austenasian Armed Forces (AAF), dissolving the existing units and making provisions for new ones to be formed.

The majority of soldiers in the AAF had enlisted for the Austenasian Civil War over a decade ago, with most having since fallen out of contact with the central government and some even assumed to have forgotten that they were considered Austenasian soldiers.

The Austenasian Army and Imperial Air Force have therefore been dissolved, with their members receiving honourable discharges.

These reforms reflect that fact that Austenasia has little need of a standing army, having last been in an official state of war in December 2010. In the words of Emperor Jonathan I in Parliament, “the days of teenage gangs marauding around Carshalton in support of various claimants to local thrones is long past”.

Yesterday’s legislation has created three new branches for the AAF.

Local claims may recruit regiments of Limitanei, which will serve as reserve militia to be mobilised for local defence or emergency purposes.

During wartime, the Ministry of Defence will recruit units of Comitatenses, which will not be bound to a specific area but serve as active field troops.

Finally, the Imperial Guard will be a bodyguard unit recruited specifically by the Monarch for their personal protection, and will be the only ordinarily active unit.

Emperor and Prime Minister issue statement in support of campaigners for racial justice

A joint statement from His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I and Prime Minister Lord John Gordon, Viscount of Thetford on recent events:

“There is only one race, the human race, of which each and every one of us is a member of equal value and worth. Austenasia rejects all efforts to foster division, hatred and discrimination on the basis of skin colour, and condemns all forms of racism in the strongest possible terms. Austenasia stands with those campaigning for racial justice and equality, and condemns those who would taint this movement with violence, or who aim to infiltrate or appropriate it for different political goals. The world has come a long way in the pursuit of racial justice since the evil that was the trans-Atlantic slave trade was abolished. However, despite the progress in the laws of nations, racism still exists, and there is much that still must be done in regards to removing prejudice and hatred from the hearts and minds of people across the world. We must all aim to do our part in the ongoing struggle towards true equality, however small that individual part may be.”

IGS Expedition undertaken to Centennial Park

At the end of last month, Lord William Wilson led an expedition of the Imperial Geographical Society (IGS) to Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee.

Lord Wilson in front of the statue of Athena

The visit to the park itself took place on 30 May, although the expedition began two days earlier, on the 28th, making it the only IGS expedition to date to have spanned more than one day.

Lord Wilson and his mother Lady Nicole, who serve as Representative and Baroness of Nahona respectively, set off from Nahona on 28 May, crossing the Mississippi River and visiting the village of Whites Creek.

While in Whites Creek, the expedition visited a grocery building where a member of the outlaw Jesse James’ gang was captured in 1881.

On 30 May, the expedition arrived at Centennial Park and viewed the Tennessee Women’s Suffrage Monument before heading to the main feature in the park, a lifesized replica of the Athenian Parthenon.

Once there, Lord Wilson explored the various art exhibits displayed within the Parthenon, including a large statue of Athena.

The expedition ended after walking around Lake Watauga, the reservoir in the park, and naming the northern island Insula Viatorem.

A video of the expedition’s exploration of Centennial Park can be seen here.

Imperium Day sees Emperor relinquish emergency powers

Emperor Jonathan I has relinquished his emergency powers nine days early in response to the end of the political strife that beset the nation during the last week of May.

In an Imperial Edict issued for 4 June, Imperium Day, the Emperor has officially restored the full authority of the Constitution, noting that it was to be overridden only for the shortest time necessary.

The emergency powers he assumed on 25 May were originally to be held until 13 June.

In the same Imperial Edict, the referendum scheduled for this month in which proposed constitutional amendments were to be voted on has been postponed indefinitely, until consensus in government is reached about the purpose and scope of any future constitutional reform.

Imperium Day is a public holiday annually celebrated each 4 June, celebrating the Roman heritage of Austenasia and its monarchy.

It has also been marked today with a donation to the Imperial Numismatic Museum from the Emperor, and Lord William Wilson has announced that a monument is under construction in Nahona.

Statement from the Emperor as Prince Dionisiy resigns – Gordon new PM

The following statement was released by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I at midnight this morning, concerning what seems to be the final stage of the tumultuous week Austenasia has been through:

To the Empire and to the world, our greetings.

You will be aware of the troubles which have beset our country over the past week. We have been moved by the statements and messages of goodwill and support from our many friends around the world.

Differences of opinion in regards to the direction Austenasia should take resulted in bitter arguments and divisions within Parliament, culminating in a proposal by the then Fatherland Party that they and the lands which fell under their administration secede from Austenasia. As the unfortunate depth to which these arguments had sunk became clear, this proposal was withdrawn, and consensus was reached that all Austenasian leaders would work together on reforms to fix the problems with our country, under the provisions of emergency powers which our Imperial Majesty reluctantly assumed for that purpose.

The next day, the system of political parties which had been a root cause of so much division was abolished, and Friday 29th saw Lord Edward Gunderson, whose presence was becoming detrimental to the cause of re-establishing order, leave Austenasia with the dissolution of his town of Dragovina.

The Prime Minister Prince Dionisiy, his electoral rival and now deputy Lord John Gordon, and former Prime Minister Joseph Nobilissimus Caesar worked with our Imperial Majesty to draw up a new Constitution which would provide thorough and lasting reforms to bring Austenasia into a new age.

Today was to be when this new Constitution was to be officially proposed. Unfortunately, we address you today with bad news. After a week of reflection, Prince Dionisiy has resigned as Prime Minister and will be leaving Austenasia, together with his friend Lord Krištof Fondrk. This will mean the dissolution of the Towns of Theodosiopolis and Gebirgspark, Harlemum March, and the Territories of Laranda and Seleucia ad Cilicia. Such was the huge array of lands which Prince Dionisiy brought to Austenasia.

These changes have come at a cost. The Austenasian population has fallen by ten people, from 91 to 81. However, we also have some good news. As well as these losses, Austenasia has also made a gain; a net gain, in fact. A huge new territory has been claimed for Austenasia by Prince Dionisiy as a gesture of goodwill, a territory the annexation of which has actually increased the overall land area of Austenasia despite the losses of the previously mentioned claims. This new territory, Chersoneses, will be administered as a Crown Dependency by Mr Oliynyk, a relative of the Prince.

We may also note that the Town of Chalcedon and the Crown Dependency of Trebizond are remaining in Austenasia, despite being included in the initial declaration of secession when this crisis began. What could have been a unilateral secession of more than half the country has become the amicable departure of fewer claims and fewer people.

This past week has been a very difficult time for our country. There is no way to pretend otherwise. But with a new month comes a new start.

Lord John Gordon is now the Prime Minister of Austenasia, appointed directly to the position under our emergency powers. He is the longest continually serving Representative in Parliament, having represented Palasia continuously since July 2013, longer even than our current tenure as Representative of Wrythe. During that time, Lord Gordon has served as Deputy Prime Minister twice, and held office as Home Secretary and as Minister of Defence. We are confident in asserting that there is no more suitable person for the job, and Lord William Wilson has been appointed his Deputy.

The referendum which was scheduled to take place this month will be cancelled, until a new consensus is reached concerning what if any changes to the Constitution may be desirable.

There remain no obstacles to Austenasia’s stability and prosperity. We have had people and places come and go, but remain a vibrant, diverse nation spanning the continents, a nation of 80 people and more land than we have ever had before. We have every confidence in the new administration of Lord Gordon, and as such we plan to surrender our emergency powers nine days before planned, on June 4th, Imperium Day. On this public holiday, Austenasia celebrates its imperial status and Roman heritage. Let it be a day for us to also celebrate the endurance of this great country, its perseverance, and its bright future.

Imperator Caesar Jonathan Augustus
1 June 2020