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I'm dying to get into this but I'm without my laptop for a bit and there's no way I'm writing this on my phone.
No problem! I'm still working on the simulation, so no pressure.
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- Publius
- Last Seen: 7 yrs ago
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- Publius 9 yrs ago
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8 yrs ago
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I'm back, I guess.
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9 yrs ago
Check-ins, especially on discord, will be turbulent, so please be patient. Thanks in advance.
9 yrs ago
I return on Saturday the eve.
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9 yrs ago
Birthday today :-)
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9 yrs ago
Just launched my first actual roleplay on here! Take a peek: roleplayerguild.com/topics/…
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Bio
I am currently looking for arbiters for a new roleplay I am launching, World in Madness. The basic pitch is as follows:
You are the executive administration of a modern nation emerging from a bitter global cataclysm. It is your task to sway a cynical populace toward your ideals and navigate a world polarized by ideologues and threatened by the specter of the apocalypse. You will guide your the broken remains of a state and reforge the ashes into a bright dawn.
The setting is most aptly described as a roughly dieselpunk-apocalyptic setting heavily augmented by the physics and patterns of our own world. Various superweapons beyond nuclear technology will eventually be available, some of which will not be strictly scientific.
In the initial application phase, interested parties will send in the manifestos of their administration, and then be returned key events in their historical timeline that tie them to the rest of the world. In the final application phase, prospects send in a comprehensive information sheet including their administration's view of their history. After this, a full public and private national information sheet will be assembled with the information the interested has given and a full report of their nations inner workings.
Posts are from the perspective of primary sources in the nation, often state newspapers and required readings, although possibly more independent sources. As such, no post is ever considered actual canon. Two sides can both claim they won a conflict when in reality they tied. Very little minusha-moderation is required, as it is completely possible that multiple primary sources claim different versions of events.
As a note about my personal directing style, I do enforce minimum word counts and a strict style guide. Given such, I have never had to kick anybody for bad writing; only because they broke hard rules. If you are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of word minimums, this may not be the place to inquire. I try to be fair with the actual numbers; they are standards of effort rather than results. Until I see proof that less quantity leads to higher quality, I also won't buy any bit about quality over quantity. If you have further questions on stylistics than what is covered here, feel free to ask.
The roleplay is a competitive one, although not one that will permit blatant rudeness toward any arbitration. High spirits are to be expected but respect is demanded.
In an arbiter, I'm looking for somebody above all committed to creating an immersive and compelling experience. No particular skillset is required, although arbiters will be tasked with interpreting player agendas and formulating results and player information sheets. Some experience with GMing in the past (even if not forum-based or NRPs) is preferred although not required. In addition, one of the chief roles of arbiters is creative development, and in this it should be noted that I am rarely looking for an argument so much as case to be made for a change and/or a diagnosis of an issue. Respecting a design process is key here. Finally, the role of an arbiter also extends into keeping the OOC community active. It is my personal experience that groups of any size live or die based on their OOC activity and bonds with one another, even over the internet.
If you're interested, please say so. I have a fledgling discord set up but if you aren't really sure you want to take the plunge then PMing me or just asking questions is likely the best course of action.
Concept art:
Title:
Discord Icon:
Chalam System:
(Chalam system, from left to right: Shemensh, the star, Nagah, the stellar satellite, Sheol the Red Planet, Kokhav, Homeworld, Levanah her moon, Shamayhim the Blue Planet, Madim the Gas Giant, her moon the silent Shabbatai, and the Kesil Belt.)
Preliminary Physical Map:
You are the executive administration of a modern nation emerging from a bitter global cataclysm. It is your task to sway a cynical populace toward your ideals and navigate a world polarized by ideologues and threatened by the specter of the apocalypse. You will guide your the broken remains of a state and reforge the ashes into a bright dawn.
The setting is most aptly described as a roughly dieselpunk-apocalyptic setting heavily augmented by the physics and patterns of our own world. Various superweapons beyond nuclear technology will eventually be available, some of which will not be strictly scientific.
In the initial application phase, interested parties will send in the manifestos of their administration, and then be returned key events in their historical timeline that tie them to the rest of the world. In the final application phase, prospects send in a comprehensive information sheet including their administration's view of their history. After this, a full public and private national information sheet will be assembled with the information the interested has given and a full report of their nations inner workings.
Posts are from the perspective of primary sources in the nation, often state newspapers and required readings, although possibly more independent sources. As such, no post is ever considered actual canon. Two sides can both claim they won a conflict when in reality they tied. Very little minusha-moderation is required, as it is completely possible that multiple primary sources claim different versions of events.
As a note about my personal directing style, I do enforce minimum word counts and a strict style guide. Given such, I have never had to kick anybody for bad writing; only because they broke hard rules. If you are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of word minimums, this may not be the place to inquire. I try to be fair with the actual numbers; they are standards of effort rather than results. Until I see proof that less quantity leads to higher quality, I also won't buy any bit about quality over quantity. If you have further questions on stylistics than what is covered here, feel free to ask.
The roleplay is a competitive one, although not one that will permit blatant rudeness toward any arbitration. High spirits are to be expected but respect is demanded.
In an arbiter, I'm looking for somebody above all committed to creating an immersive and compelling experience. No particular skillset is required, although arbiters will be tasked with interpreting player agendas and formulating results and player information sheets. Some experience with GMing in the past (even if not forum-based or NRPs) is preferred although not required. In addition, one of the chief roles of arbiters is creative development, and in this it should be noted that I am rarely looking for an argument so much as case to be made for a change and/or a diagnosis of an issue. Respecting a design process is key here. Finally, the role of an arbiter also extends into keeping the OOC community active. It is my personal experience that groups of any size live or die based on their OOC activity and bonds with one another, even over the internet.
If you're interested, please say so. I have a fledgling discord set up but if you aren't really sure you want to take the plunge then PMing me or just asking questions is likely the best course of action.
Concept art:
Title:
Discord Icon:
Chalam System:
(Chalam system, from left to right: Shemensh, the star, Nagah, the stellar satellite, Sheol the Red Planet, Kokhav, Homeworld, Levanah her moon, Shamayhim the Blue Planet, Madim the Gas Giant, her moon the silent Shabbatai, and the Kesil Belt.)
Preliminary Physical Map:
ACCORDING to the formal division of the subject of these papers, announced in my first number, there would appear still to remain for discussion two points: ``the analogy of the proposed government to your own State constitution,'' and ``the additional security which its adoption will afford to republican government, to liberty, and to property.'' But these heads have been so fully anticipated and exhausted in the progress of the work, that it would now scarcely be possible to do any thing more than repeat, in a more dilated form, what has been heretofore said, which the advanced stage of the question, and the time already spent upon it, conspire to forbid.
It is remarkable, that the resemblance of the plan of the convention to the act which organizes the government of this State holds, not less with regard to many of the supposed defects, than to the real excellences of the former. Among the pretended defects are the re-eligibility of the Executive, the want of a council, the omission of a formal bill of rights, the omission of a provision respecting the liberty of the press. These and several others which have been noted in the course of our inquiries are as much chargeable on the existing constitution of this State, as on the one proposed for the Union; and a man must have slender pretensions to consistency, who can rail at the latter for imperfections which he finds no difficulty in excusing in the former. Nor indeed can there be a better proof of the insincerity and affectation of some of the zealous adversaries of the plan of the convention among us, who profess to be the devoted admirers of the government under which they live, than the fury with which they have attacked that plan, for matters in regard to which our own constitution is equally or perhaps more vulnerable.
The additional securities to republican government, to liberty and to property, to be derived from the adoption of the plan under consideration, consist chiefly in the restraints which the preservation of the Union will impose on local factions and insurrections, and on the ambition of powerful individuals in single States, who may acquire credit and influence enough, from leaders and favorites, to become the despots of the people; in the diminution of the opportunities to foreign intrigue, which the dissolution of the Confederacy would invite and facilitate; in the prevention of extensive military establishments, which could not fail to grow out of wars between the States in a disunited situation; in the express guaranty of a republican form of government to each; in the absolute and universal exclusion of titles of nobility; and in the precautions against the repetition of those practices on the part of the State governments which have undermined the foundations of property and credit, have planted mutual distrust in the breasts of all classes of citizens, and have occasioned an almost universal prostration of morals.
Thus have I, fellow-citizens, executed the task I had assigned to myself; with what success, your conduct must determine. I trust at least you will admit that I have not failed in the assurance I gave you respecting the spirit with which my endeavors should be conducted. I have addressed myself purely to your judgments, and have studiously avoided those asperities which are too apt to disgrace political disputants of all parties, and which have been not a little provoked by the language and conduct of the opponents of the Constitution. The charge of a conspiracy against the liberties of the people, which has been indiscriminately brought against the advocates of the plan, has something in it too wanton and too malignant, not to excite the indignation of every man who feels in his own bosom a refutation of the calumny. The perpetual changes which have been rung upon the wealthy, the well-born, and the great, have been such as to inspire the disgust of all sensible men. And the unwarrantable concealments and misrepresentations which have been in various ways practiced to keep the truth from the public eye, have been of a nature to demand the reprobation of all honest men. It is not impossible that these circumstances may have occasionally betrayed me into intemperances of expression which I did not intend; it is certain that I have frequently felt a struggle between sensibility and moderation; and if the former has in some instances prevailed, it must be my excuse that it has been neither often nor much.
Let us now pause and ask ourselves whether, in the course of these papers, the proposed Constitution has not been satisfactorily vindicated from the aspersions thrown upon it; and whether it has not been shown to be worthy of the public approbation, and necessary to the public safety and prosperity. Every man is bound to answer these questions to himself, according to the best of his conscience and understanding, and to act agreeably to the genuine and sober dictates of his judgment. This is a duty from which nothing can give him a dispensation. 'T is one that he is called upon, nay, constrained by all the obligations that form the bands of society, to discharge sincerely and honestly. No partial motive, no particular interest, no pride of opinion, no temporary passion or prejudice, will justify to himself, to his country, or to his posterity, an improper election of the part he is to act. Let him beware of an obstinate adherence to party; let him reflect that the object upon which he is to decide is not a particular interest of the community, but the very existence of the nation; and let him remember that a majority of America has already given its sanction to the plan which he is to approve or reject.
I shall not dissemble that I feel an entire confidence in the arguments which recommend the proposed system to your adoption, and that I am unable to discern any real force in those by which it has been opposed. I am persuaded that it is the best which our political situation, habits, and opinions will admit, and superior to any the revolution has produced.
Concessions on the part of the friends of the plan, that it has not a claim to absolute perfection, have afforded matter of no small triumph to its enemies. ``Why,'' say they, ``should we adopt an imperfect thing? Why not amend it and make it perfect before it is irrevocably established?'' This may be plausible enough, but it is only plausible. In the first place I remark, that the extent of these concessions has been greatly exaggerated. They have been stated as amounting to an admission that the plan is radically defective, and that without material alterations the rights and the interests of the community cannot be safely confided to it. This, as far as I have understood the meaning of those who make the concessions, is an entire perversion of their sense. No advocate of the measure can be found, who will not declare as his sentiment, that the system, though it may not be perfect in every part, is, upon the whole, a good one; is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country will permit; and is such an one as promises every species of security which a reasonable people can desire.
I answer in the next place, that I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the jeopardy of successive experiments, in the chimerical pursuit of a perfect plan. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man. The result of the deliberations of all collective bodies must necessarily be a compound, as well of the errors and prejudices, as of the good sense and wisdom, of the individuals of whom they are composed. The compacts which are to embrace thirteen distinct States in a common bond of amity and union, must as necessarily be a compromise of as many dissimilar interests and inclinations. How can perfection spring from such materials?
The reasons assigned in an excellent little pamphlet lately published in this city, are unanswerable to show the utter improbability of assembling a new convention, under circumstances in any degree so favorable to a happy issue, as those in which the late convention met, deliberated, and concluded. I will not repeat the arguments there used, as I presume the production itself has had an extensive circulation. It is certainly well worthy the perusal of every friend to his country. There is, however, one point of light in which the subject of amendments still remains to be considered, and in which it has not yet been exhibited to public view. I cannot resolve to conclude without first taking a survey of it in this aspect.
It appears to me susceptible of absolute demonstration, that it will be far more easy to obtain subsequent than previous amendments to the Constitution. The moment an alteration is made in the present plan, it becomes, to the purpose of adoption, a new one, and must undergo a new decision of each State. To its complete establishment throughout the Union, it will therefore require the concurrence of thirteen States. If, on the contrary, the Constitution proposed should once be ratified by all the States as it stands, alterations in it may at any time be effected by nine States. Here, then, the chances are as thirteen to ten in favor of subsequent amendment, rather than of the original adoption of an entire system.
This is not all. Every Constitution for the United States must inevitably consist of a great variety of particulars, in which thirteen independent States are to be accommodated in their interests or opinions of interest. We may of course expect to see, in any body of men charged with its original formation, very different combinations of the parts upon different points. Many of those who form a majority on one question, may become the minority on a second, and an association dissimilar to either may constitute the majority on a third. Hence the necessity of moulding and arranging all the particulars which are to compose the whole, in such a manner as to satisfy all the parties to the compact; and hence, also, an immense multiplication of difficulties and casualties in obtaining the collective assent to a final act. The degree of that multiplication must evidently be in a ratio to the number of particulars and the number of parties.
But every amendment to the Constitution, if once established, would be a single proposition, and might be brought forward singly. There would then be no necessity for management or compromise, in relation to any other point no giving nor taking. The will of the requisite number would at once bring the matter to a decisive issue. And consequently, whenever nine, or rather ten States, were united in the desire of a particular amendment, that amendment must infallibly take place. There can, therefore, be no comparison between the facility of affecting an amendment, and that of establishing in the first instance a complete Constitution.
In opposition to the probability of subsequent amendments, it has been urged that the persons delegated to the administration of the national government will always be disinclined to yield up any portion of the authority of which they were once possessed. For my own part I acknowledge a thorough conviction that any amendments which may, upon mature consideration, be thought useful, will be applicable to the organization of the government, not to the mass of its powers; and on this account alone, I think there is no weight in the observation just stated. I also think there is little weight in it on another account. The intrinsic difficulty of governing thirteen States at any rate, independent of calculations upon an ordinary degree of public spirit and integrity, will, in my opinion constantly impose on the national rulers the necessity of a spirit of accommodation to the reasonable expectations of their constituents. But there is yet a further consideration, which proves beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the observation is futile. It is this that the national rulers, whenever nine States concur, will have no option upon the subject. By the fifth article of the plan, the Congress will be obliged ``on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the States which at present amount to nine, to call a convention for proposing amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof.'' The words of this article are peremptory. The Congress ``shall call a convention.'' Nothing in this particular is left to the discretion of that body. And of consequence, all the declamation about the disinclination to a change vanishes in air. Nor however difficult it may be supposed to unite two thirds or three fourths of the State legislatures, in amendments which may affect local interests, can there be any room to apprehend any such difficulty in a union on points which are merely relative to the general liberty or security of the people. We may safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority.
If the foregoing argument is a fallacy, certain it is that I am myself deceived by it, for it is, in my conception, one of those rare instances in which a political truth can be brought to the test of a mathematical demonstration. Those who see the matter in the same light with me, however zealous they may be for amendments, must agree in the propriety of a previous adoption, as the most direct road to their own object.
The zeal for attempts to amend, prior to the establishment of the Constitution, must abate in every man who is ready to accede to the truth of the following observations of a writer equally solid and ingenious: ``To balance a large state or society, says he, whether monarchical or republican, on general laws, is a work of so great difficulty, that no human genius, however comprehensive, is able, by the mere dint of reason and reflection, to effect it. The judgments of many must unite in the work; experience must guide their labor; time must bring it to perfection, and the feeling of inconveniences must correct the mistakes which they inevitably fall into in their first trials and experiments.'(Hume's ``Essays,'' vol. i., page 128: ``The Rise of Arts and Sciences.') These judicious reflections contain a lesson of moderation to all the sincere lovers of the Union, and ought to put them upon their guard against hazarding anarchy, civil war, a perpetual alienation of the States from each other, and perhaps the military despotism of a victorious demagogue, in the pursuit of what they are not likely to obtain, but from time and experience. It may be in me a defect of political fortitude, but I acknowledge that I cannot entertain an equal tranquillity with those who affect to treat the dangers of a longer continuance in our present situation as imaginary. A nation, without a national government, is, in my view, an awful spectacle. The establishment of a Constitution, in time of profound peace, by the voluntary ocnsent of a whole people, is a prodigy, to the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety. I can reconcile it to no rules of prudence to let go the hold we now have, in so arduous an enterprise, upon seven out of the thirteen States, and after having passed over so considerable a part of the ground, to recommence the course. I dread the more the consequences of new attempts, because I know that powerful individuals, in this and in other States, are enemies to a general national government in every possible shape.
It is remarkable, that the resemblance of the plan of the convention to the act which organizes the government of this State holds, not less with regard to many of the supposed defects, than to the real excellences of the former. Among the pretended defects are the re-eligibility of the Executive, the want of a council, the omission of a formal bill of rights, the omission of a provision respecting the liberty of the press. These and several others which have been noted in the course of our inquiries are as much chargeable on the existing constitution of this State, as on the one proposed for the Union; and a man must have slender pretensions to consistency, who can rail at the latter for imperfections which he finds no difficulty in excusing in the former. Nor indeed can there be a better proof of the insincerity and affectation of some of the zealous adversaries of the plan of the convention among us, who profess to be the devoted admirers of the government under which they live, than the fury with which they have attacked that plan, for matters in regard to which our own constitution is equally or perhaps more vulnerable.
The additional securities to republican government, to liberty and to property, to be derived from the adoption of the plan under consideration, consist chiefly in the restraints which the preservation of the Union will impose on local factions and insurrections, and on the ambition of powerful individuals in single States, who may acquire credit and influence enough, from leaders and favorites, to become the despots of the people; in the diminution of the opportunities to foreign intrigue, which the dissolution of the Confederacy would invite and facilitate; in the prevention of extensive military establishments, which could not fail to grow out of wars between the States in a disunited situation; in the express guaranty of a republican form of government to each; in the absolute and universal exclusion of titles of nobility; and in the precautions against the repetition of those practices on the part of the State governments which have undermined the foundations of property and credit, have planted mutual distrust in the breasts of all classes of citizens, and have occasioned an almost universal prostration of morals.
Thus have I, fellow-citizens, executed the task I had assigned to myself; with what success, your conduct must determine. I trust at least you will admit that I have not failed in the assurance I gave you respecting the spirit with which my endeavors should be conducted. I have addressed myself purely to your judgments, and have studiously avoided those asperities which are too apt to disgrace political disputants of all parties, and which have been not a little provoked by the language and conduct of the opponents of the Constitution. The charge of a conspiracy against the liberties of the people, which has been indiscriminately brought against the advocates of the plan, has something in it too wanton and too malignant, not to excite the indignation of every man who feels in his own bosom a refutation of the calumny. The perpetual changes which have been rung upon the wealthy, the well-born, and the great, have been such as to inspire the disgust of all sensible men. And the unwarrantable concealments and misrepresentations which have been in various ways practiced to keep the truth from the public eye, have been of a nature to demand the reprobation of all honest men. It is not impossible that these circumstances may have occasionally betrayed me into intemperances of expression which I did not intend; it is certain that I have frequently felt a struggle between sensibility and moderation; and if the former has in some instances prevailed, it must be my excuse that it has been neither often nor much.
Let us now pause and ask ourselves whether, in the course of these papers, the proposed Constitution has not been satisfactorily vindicated from the aspersions thrown upon it; and whether it has not been shown to be worthy of the public approbation, and necessary to the public safety and prosperity. Every man is bound to answer these questions to himself, according to the best of his conscience and understanding, and to act agreeably to the genuine and sober dictates of his judgment. This is a duty from which nothing can give him a dispensation. 'T is one that he is called upon, nay, constrained by all the obligations that form the bands of society, to discharge sincerely and honestly. No partial motive, no particular interest, no pride of opinion, no temporary passion or prejudice, will justify to himself, to his country, or to his posterity, an improper election of the part he is to act. Let him beware of an obstinate adherence to party; let him reflect that the object upon which he is to decide is not a particular interest of the community, but the very existence of the nation; and let him remember that a majority of America has already given its sanction to the plan which he is to approve or reject.
I shall not dissemble that I feel an entire confidence in the arguments which recommend the proposed system to your adoption, and that I am unable to discern any real force in those by which it has been opposed. I am persuaded that it is the best which our political situation, habits, and opinions will admit, and superior to any the revolution has produced.
Concessions on the part of the friends of the plan, that it has not a claim to absolute perfection, have afforded matter of no small triumph to its enemies. ``Why,'' say they, ``should we adopt an imperfect thing? Why not amend it and make it perfect before it is irrevocably established?'' This may be plausible enough, but it is only plausible. In the first place I remark, that the extent of these concessions has been greatly exaggerated. They have been stated as amounting to an admission that the plan is radically defective, and that without material alterations the rights and the interests of the community cannot be safely confided to it. This, as far as I have understood the meaning of those who make the concessions, is an entire perversion of their sense. No advocate of the measure can be found, who will not declare as his sentiment, that the system, though it may not be perfect in every part, is, upon the whole, a good one; is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country will permit; and is such an one as promises every species of security which a reasonable people can desire.
I answer in the next place, that I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the jeopardy of successive experiments, in the chimerical pursuit of a perfect plan. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man. The result of the deliberations of all collective bodies must necessarily be a compound, as well of the errors and prejudices, as of the good sense and wisdom, of the individuals of whom they are composed. The compacts which are to embrace thirteen distinct States in a common bond of amity and union, must as necessarily be a compromise of as many dissimilar interests and inclinations. How can perfection spring from such materials?
The reasons assigned in an excellent little pamphlet lately published in this city, are unanswerable to show the utter improbability of assembling a new convention, under circumstances in any degree so favorable to a happy issue, as those in which the late convention met, deliberated, and concluded. I will not repeat the arguments there used, as I presume the production itself has had an extensive circulation. It is certainly well worthy the perusal of every friend to his country. There is, however, one point of light in which the subject of amendments still remains to be considered, and in which it has not yet been exhibited to public view. I cannot resolve to conclude without first taking a survey of it in this aspect.
It appears to me susceptible of absolute demonstration, that it will be far more easy to obtain subsequent than previous amendments to the Constitution. The moment an alteration is made in the present plan, it becomes, to the purpose of adoption, a new one, and must undergo a new decision of each State. To its complete establishment throughout the Union, it will therefore require the concurrence of thirteen States. If, on the contrary, the Constitution proposed should once be ratified by all the States as it stands, alterations in it may at any time be effected by nine States. Here, then, the chances are as thirteen to ten in favor of subsequent amendment, rather than of the original adoption of an entire system.
This is not all. Every Constitution for the United States must inevitably consist of a great variety of particulars, in which thirteen independent States are to be accommodated in their interests or opinions of interest. We may of course expect to see, in any body of men charged with its original formation, very different combinations of the parts upon different points. Many of those who form a majority on one question, may become the minority on a second, and an association dissimilar to either may constitute the majority on a third. Hence the necessity of moulding and arranging all the particulars which are to compose the whole, in such a manner as to satisfy all the parties to the compact; and hence, also, an immense multiplication of difficulties and casualties in obtaining the collective assent to a final act. The degree of that multiplication must evidently be in a ratio to the number of particulars and the number of parties.
But every amendment to the Constitution, if once established, would be a single proposition, and might be brought forward singly. There would then be no necessity for management or compromise, in relation to any other point no giving nor taking. The will of the requisite number would at once bring the matter to a decisive issue. And consequently, whenever nine, or rather ten States, were united in the desire of a particular amendment, that amendment must infallibly take place. There can, therefore, be no comparison between the facility of affecting an amendment, and that of establishing in the first instance a complete Constitution.
In opposition to the probability of subsequent amendments, it has been urged that the persons delegated to the administration of the national government will always be disinclined to yield up any portion of the authority of which they were once possessed. For my own part I acknowledge a thorough conviction that any amendments which may, upon mature consideration, be thought useful, will be applicable to the organization of the government, not to the mass of its powers; and on this account alone, I think there is no weight in the observation just stated. I also think there is little weight in it on another account. The intrinsic difficulty of governing thirteen States at any rate, independent of calculations upon an ordinary degree of public spirit and integrity, will, in my opinion constantly impose on the national rulers the necessity of a spirit of accommodation to the reasonable expectations of their constituents. But there is yet a further consideration, which proves beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the observation is futile. It is this that the national rulers, whenever nine States concur, will have no option upon the subject. By the fifth article of the plan, the Congress will be obliged ``on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the States which at present amount to nine, to call a convention for proposing amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof.'' The words of this article are peremptory. The Congress ``shall call a convention.'' Nothing in this particular is left to the discretion of that body. And of consequence, all the declamation about the disinclination to a change vanishes in air. Nor however difficult it may be supposed to unite two thirds or three fourths of the State legislatures, in amendments which may affect local interests, can there be any room to apprehend any such difficulty in a union on points which are merely relative to the general liberty or security of the people. We may safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority.
If the foregoing argument is a fallacy, certain it is that I am myself deceived by it, for it is, in my conception, one of those rare instances in which a political truth can be brought to the test of a mathematical demonstration. Those who see the matter in the same light with me, however zealous they may be for amendments, must agree in the propriety of a previous adoption, as the most direct road to their own object.
The zeal for attempts to amend, prior to the establishment of the Constitution, must abate in every man who is ready to accede to the truth of the following observations of a writer equally solid and ingenious: ``To balance a large state or society, says he, whether monarchical or republican, on general laws, is a work of so great difficulty, that no human genius, however comprehensive, is able, by the mere dint of reason and reflection, to effect it. The judgments of many must unite in the work; experience must guide their labor; time must bring it to perfection, and the feeling of inconveniences must correct the mistakes which they inevitably fall into in their first trials and experiments.'(Hume's ``Essays,'' vol. i., page 128: ``The Rise of Arts and Sciences.') These judicious reflections contain a lesson of moderation to all the sincere lovers of the Union, and ought to put them upon their guard against hazarding anarchy, civil war, a perpetual alienation of the States from each other, and perhaps the military despotism of a victorious demagogue, in the pursuit of what they are not likely to obtain, but from time and experience. It may be in me a defect of political fortitude, but I acknowledge that I cannot entertain an equal tranquillity with those who affect to treat the dangers of a longer continuance in our present situation as imaginary. A nation, without a national government, is, in my view, an awful spectacle. The establishment of a Constitution, in time of profound peace, by the voluntary ocnsent of a whole people, is a prodigy, to the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety. I can reconcile it to no rules of prudence to let go the hold we now have, in so arduous an enterprise, upon seven out of the thirteen States, and after having passed over so considerable a part of the ground, to recommence the course. I dread the more the consequences of new attempts, because I know that powerful individuals, in this and in other States, are enemies to a general national government in every possible shape.
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9 yrs ago
Forum: Nation Roleplay
No problem! I'm still working on the simulation, so no pressure.
Banned for lollygagging and slander.
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9 yrs ago
Forum: Nation Roleplay
Im here, I'm queer (possibly), and I'm ready.
That sig-message combo tho...
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9 yrs ago
Forum: Nation Roleplay
I won't promise active participation in this thread until I've gotten all my other RP stuff under control, but I wanted to drop by and let you know that this thread is fantastic and its quality hasn't gone unnoticed. I particularly love the mechanics you're using to enforce an historical tone within the IC prose.
You've probably alienated a lot of roleplayers by demanding that their writing actually be...you know, good...but I hope this is a huge success nonetheless.
Thank you! Don't worry about us for the time being; you're welcome to drop by whenever. I tried to set the lowest possible bar for activity and highest for depth, since that reflects what I actually care about and should (hopefully) make the writing better given the nonexistent time constraints. Nevertheless, very glad you dropped by :-)
Official Government Name: The Most Holy and Majestic Grand Sultanate of the Rainlands, the Winter Isles, and the Glorious Dygracia [the Dygracian Sultanate, the Grand Sultanate, Dygracia Major]
Head of State: His Holy Majesty, the Grand Sultan Ozkirk the Goldshield, of the Royal House Zajek, the Wise and Fair Lion of Dygracia, He Who Presides from the Gilded Throne, King of Winter, the Blessed Protector of the Snowy Realm, Chief-Major of the Wulumari, God-Incarnate of the Jungle, Lord-Protector of Falderum, Prince of Walladutooga, Inheritor of Her Majesty, Emperor of the Rainlands, Prince-Protector of Oderea, Born to His Divine Grace Jyter the Silverlion Under the Dolphin One-Score-and-Twelve Winters Past, Anointed by the Honorable Electors and Messengers of Heavenly Will Eleven Autumns Past, the Mighty Lord of the Abyss and the Inferno, Father of the Harvest, Divine Protector of Man, Long May His Valor Reign. [His Divine Grace Ozkirk the Goldshield of Zajek, Grand Sultan of Dygracia]
Capital City: Dygracia
National Language: Grand Dygracian
Politics: Flow Chart
Officials:
- Vizier of Blades: His Righteous Highness the Warmaster Vizier Thurdeus the Calmstorm of the Noble House Abubaked, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Thurdeus the Calmstorm of the Noble House Abubaked] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Blades to the Grand Sultan and War/Defense Planning)
- Vizier of Seas: His Righteous Highness the Shipmaster Vizier Merianano the Tempest of the Noble House Jadeguard, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Merianano the Tempest of the Noble House Jadeguard] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Seas to the Grand Sultan and )
- Vizier of Courts: His Righteous Highness the Thronemaster Vizier Agucaldo the Honeylipped of the Noble House Rerasheku, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Agucaldo the Honeylipped of the Noble House Rerasheku] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Courts to the Grand Sultan and Maintaining Diplomatic Envoys)
- Vizier of Commerce: His Righteous Highness the Coinmaster Vizier Galafradel the Goldcounter of the Noble House Jahep, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Galafradel the Goldcounter of the Noble House Jahep] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Commerce to the Grand Sultan and Implementing Trade Policies and Taxes)
- Vizier of Roads: His Righteous Highness the Travelmaster Vizier Oggaluplakard the Steamsmith of the Noble House Querecalamadewerahuse, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Oggaluplakard the Steamsmith of the Noble House Querecalamadewerahuse] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Roads to the Grand Sultan and Administering the Railways and General Interior Travel)
- Vizier of Commons: His Righteous Highness the Buildingmaster Vizier Akturo the Goodhearted of the Noble House Maiusera, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Akturo the Goodhearted of the Noble House Maiusera] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Commons to the Grand Sultan and Large Scale Architecture and Engineering Projects Including Welfare)
- Vizier of Enlightenment: His Righteous Highness the Thoughtmaster Vizier Ayameku the Wise of the Noble House Jureped, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Ayameku the Wise of the Noble House Jureped] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Enlightenment to the Grand Sultan and Public Education and Technological Research)
- Vizier of Heaven: His Righteous Highness the Starmaster Vizier Melereno the Learned of the Noble House Aiusetra, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Melereno the Learned of the Noble House Aiusetra] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Heaven to the Grand Sultan and Overseeing Religious Activities)
- The Guide of Heaven: His Awesome Holiness the Righteous Guide Deremati the Heavenbound, Grace that Rouses Stars [Deremati the Heavenbound] (Oversees all churches throughout the Grand Sultanate and Acts as Personal Spiritual Guide to the Grand Sultan)
- Lord Regent of the State: His Excellency the Highlord and Grand-Sultan-Regent Sazewek the Noble of the Illustrious House Sazeweku, Protector of the Land, Warden of the People, Long May He Serve [Highlord Sazewek the Noble of the Great House Sazeweku] (Acts similarly to a Prime Minister. Takes advice from the council and makes sure the government runs effectively, and is the Regent in the Absence of the Grand Sultan.)
- Abyssal Commander: The Most Honorable and Righteous Supreme Lord Commander of the Abyssal Armadas Eluderek the Ironhull of the Great House Alummanera, the Glorious Protector of His Divine Valor's Will, Long May Heaven Guide Him [Supreme Lord Commander of the Abyssal Armadas Eluderek the Ironhull of the Great House Alumanera] (Charged with commanding the military and naval activities of the Grand Sultan's Navy]
- Infernal Commander: The Most Honorable and Righteous Supreme Lord Commander of the Infernal Legions Barajahetnu the Firestorm of the Great House Galuwensapik, the Glorious Protector of His Divine Valor's Will, Long May Heaven Guide Him [Supreme Lord Commander of the Infernal Legions Barajahetnu the Firestorm of the Great House Galuwensapik] (Commands the military infrastructure of the land and oversees migration. Responsible for raising citizen levies upon requirement. Highest ranking military commander.)
- Expeditionary Commander: His Holy Righteousness the Great and Most Exceptionally Noble Expeditionary Lord Commissar Halumann the Seaswayer of the Illustrious House Jabanaqueru, Commander-General of the Expeditionary Corps, Martial President of the Expeditions, Long May Heaven Guide Him [Expeditionary Lord Commander Halumann the Seaswayer of the Illustrious House Jabanqueru] (Leader of the Expeditionary Corps, Military President of Dygracia's colonies.)
Armaments Industry:
- The Shipwright's Guild of Dygracia
- The Bladesmith's Guild of Dygracia
- The Beach Company
- The Sultan's Heavenly Gunpowder Consortium
Civilian Industry
- The Royal Administration of Luxuries
- The Sabretooth Company
- The Wuluwar Caravan Guild
- The Stoneturner's Trust
- The Zajek Agrarian Corporation
Navy
- 9 Pre-dreadnoughts
- 4 Coastal Defense Ships
- 3 Armoured cruisers
- 6 Light cruisers
- 30 Destroyers
- 6 Submarines
Capital Vessels (HDVS: His Divine Valor's Ship)
- HDVS The Dolphin [Ziggurat Class]
- HDVS Winterwind [Ziggurat Class]
- HDVS The Invincible [Herald Class]
- HDVS The Formidable [Herald Class]
- HDVS The Indomitable [Herald Class]
- HDVS Might of Zajek [Zajek Class]
- HDVS Steelwill [Zajek Class]
- HDVS Chimera [Chimera Class]
- HDVS Tiger [Jungle Class]
Demographics
Dygracians - Majority populace, almost universal church membership.
Winterlanders - Relatively small group native to the winter isles. In distant history, a few conflicts broke out, but the majority are well-assimilated at present and very few would ever agitate for independence. In contrast to the Treeclimbers, these natives have maintained global contacts and technological advancements at the same stage the Sultanate has since the inception of both.
Goldfolk - This encompasses a wide range of ethnicities from across the world that trade in Dygracia. They are paid little attention and tend to agitate for more trading rights.
Wuluwasa - They are a minor immigrant population, generally employed in low-paying jobs.
Treeclimbers - They form a small collection of tribes scattered throughout the islands that are effectively autonomous and can't be easily controlled.
Walladutoogans - Generally friendly descendants of the coastal powers from the mainland. The Sultanate maintains the Walladutooga Colony on the mainland, a gift from an ancient heirless prince of the city, and the population is very much cozy with the Dygracians. They have a long-running feud with the Wuluwasa.
Places
Dygracia - This is the capital city, a thriving ancient metropolis, recently renovated with a cutting edge sewer system. They are currently encroaching on former countryside with industrial developments, angering the farmers who worked the land of their ancestors.
The Winter Isles - A beautiful land of mountains and powdery snow, as well the internationally famous vineyards in the north. The Summer Palace of His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan is located here. The city containing the capital, Aredelia, is located on the Northern Coast.
Mount Kulufadewaba - The highest mountain in Dygracia Major. A major holy site of the Church of Heavenly Majesty.
Walladutooga Colony - A small exclave of Dygracia located further up the coast. Donated to the Grand Dygracian Sultanate by an ancient heiress prince of the region.
Gulf of Zajek - Body of water extending into Dygracia past the 'double arms' of the land.
Aureatalum - Large city located in a massive jungle clearing in the east of the nation. This city serves as the main means of coordinating eastern railroads and central authority to the jungle lands. The surrounding jungle is the home of the Treeclimber natives.
Major Cities:
Hukuhagoga
Popelewugo
Wuluworhem
Mauriatalum
Mainland Provinces:
Gricaec
Fajehota
Nymtur
Serenon
Core Territories:
The Winter Isles
Walladatooga
The Inner Rainlands
Expeditions:
Falderum Inland Expedition
Wulumari Inland Expedition
Outer Rainlands Inland Expedition
Oderean Protectorate
I.Nation
- Population: 6
- Stability: 3
- Landmass: 3
- Demographics: 2
- Civilian Industry: 5
- Armaments Industry: 4
- Infrastructure: 6
- Naval Industry: 5
II. Military:
- Army Size: 1
- Army Training: 1
- Army Technology: 1
- Navy Size: 3
- Navy Training: 4
- Navy Technology: 5
III. Economics:
- Rare Resources: 4
- Common Resources: 2
- Luxury Resources: 2
- Bureaucracy: 6
Head of State: His Holy Majesty, the Grand Sultan Ozkirk the Goldshield, of the Royal House Zajek, the Wise and Fair Lion of Dygracia, He Who Presides from the Gilded Throne, King of Winter, the Blessed Protector of the Snowy Realm, Chief-Major of the Wulumari, God-Incarnate of the Jungle, Lord-Protector of Falderum, Prince of Walladutooga, Inheritor of Her Majesty, Emperor of the Rainlands, Prince-Protector of Oderea, Born to His Divine Grace Jyter the Silverlion Under the Dolphin One-Score-and-Twelve Winters Past, Anointed by the Honorable Electors and Messengers of Heavenly Will Eleven Autumns Past, the Mighty Lord of the Abyss and the Inferno, Father of the Harvest, Divine Protector of Man, Long May His Valor Reign. [His Divine Grace Ozkirk the Goldshield of Zajek, Grand Sultan of Dygracia]
Capital City: Dygracia
National Language: Grand Dygracian
Politics: Flow Chart
Officials:
- Vizier of Blades: His Righteous Highness the Warmaster Vizier Thurdeus the Calmstorm of the Noble House Abubaked, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Thurdeus the Calmstorm of the Noble House Abubaked] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Blades to the Grand Sultan and War/Defense Planning)
- Vizier of Seas: His Righteous Highness the Shipmaster Vizier Merianano the Tempest of the Noble House Jadeguard, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Merianano the Tempest of the Noble House Jadeguard] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Seas to the Grand Sultan and )
- Vizier of Courts: His Righteous Highness the Thronemaster Vizier Agucaldo the Honeylipped of the Noble House Rerasheku, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Agucaldo the Honeylipped of the Noble House Rerasheku] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Courts to the Grand Sultan and Maintaining Diplomatic Envoys)
- Vizier of Commerce: His Righteous Highness the Coinmaster Vizier Galafradel the Goldcounter of the Noble House Jahep, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Galafradel the Goldcounter of the Noble House Jahep] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Commerce to the Grand Sultan and Implementing Trade Policies and Taxes)
- Vizier of Roads: His Righteous Highness the Travelmaster Vizier Oggaluplakard the Steamsmith of the Noble House Querecalamadewerahuse, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Oggaluplakard the Steamsmith of the Noble House Querecalamadewerahuse] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Roads to the Grand Sultan and Administering the Railways and General Interior Travel)
- Vizier of Commons: His Righteous Highness the Buildingmaster Vizier Akturo the Goodhearted of the Noble House Maiusera, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Akturo the Goodhearted of the Noble House Maiusera] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Commons to the Grand Sultan and Large Scale Architecture and Engineering Projects Including Welfare)
- Vizier of Enlightenment: His Righteous Highness the Thoughtmaster Vizier Ayameku the Wise of the Noble House Jureped, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Ayameku the Wise of the Noble House Jureped] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Enlightenment to the Grand Sultan and Public Education and Technological Research)
- Vizier of Heaven: His Righteous Highness the Starmaster Vizier Melereno the Learned of the Noble House Aiusetra, Long May Heaven be Fair Unto His Calling [Melereno the Learned of the Noble House Aiusetra] (Charged with reporting the affairs of the Council of Heaven to the Grand Sultan and Overseeing Religious Activities)
- The Guide of Heaven: His Awesome Holiness the Righteous Guide Deremati the Heavenbound, Grace that Rouses Stars [Deremati the Heavenbound] (Oversees all churches throughout the Grand Sultanate and Acts as Personal Spiritual Guide to the Grand Sultan)
- Lord Regent of the State: His Excellency the Highlord and Grand-Sultan-Regent Sazewek the Noble of the Illustrious House Sazeweku, Protector of the Land, Warden of the People, Long May He Serve [Highlord Sazewek the Noble of the Great House Sazeweku] (Acts similarly to a Prime Minister. Takes advice from the council and makes sure the government runs effectively, and is the Regent in the Absence of the Grand Sultan.)
- Abyssal Commander: The Most Honorable and Righteous Supreme Lord Commander of the Abyssal Armadas Eluderek the Ironhull of the Great House Alummanera, the Glorious Protector of His Divine Valor's Will, Long May Heaven Guide Him [Supreme Lord Commander of the Abyssal Armadas Eluderek the Ironhull of the Great House Alumanera] (Charged with commanding the military and naval activities of the Grand Sultan's Navy]
- Infernal Commander: The Most Honorable and Righteous Supreme Lord Commander of the Infernal Legions Barajahetnu the Firestorm of the Great House Galuwensapik, the Glorious Protector of His Divine Valor's Will, Long May Heaven Guide Him [Supreme Lord Commander of the Infernal Legions Barajahetnu the Firestorm of the Great House Galuwensapik] (Commands the military infrastructure of the land and oversees migration. Responsible for raising citizen levies upon requirement. Highest ranking military commander.)
- Expeditionary Commander: His Holy Righteousness the Great and Most Exceptionally Noble Expeditionary Lord Commissar Halumann the Seaswayer of the Illustrious House Jabanaqueru, Commander-General of the Expeditionary Corps, Martial President of the Expeditions, Long May Heaven Guide Him [Expeditionary Lord Commander Halumann the Seaswayer of the Illustrious House Jabanqueru] (Leader of the Expeditionary Corps, Military President of Dygracia's colonies.)
Armaments Industry:
- The Shipwright's Guild of Dygracia
- The Bladesmith's Guild of Dygracia
- The Beach Company
- The Sultan's Heavenly Gunpowder Consortium
Civilian Industry
- The Royal Administration of Luxuries
- The Sabretooth Company
- The Wuluwar Caravan Guild
- The Stoneturner's Trust
- The Zajek Agrarian Corporation
Navy
- 9 Pre-dreadnoughts
- 4 Coastal Defense Ships
- 3 Armoured cruisers
- 6 Light cruisers
- 30 Destroyers
- 6 Submarines
Capital Vessels (HDVS: His Divine Valor's Ship)
- HDVS The Dolphin [Ziggurat Class]
- HDVS Winterwind [Ziggurat Class]
- HDVS The Invincible [Herald Class]
- HDVS The Formidable [Herald Class]
- HDVS The Indomitable [Herald Class]
- HDVS Might of Zajek [Zajek Class]
- HDVS Steelwill [Zajek Class]
- HDVS Chimera [Chimera Class]
- HDVS Tiger [Jungle Class]
Demographics
Dygracians - Majority populace, almost universal church membership.
Winterlanders - Relatively small group native to the winter isles. In distant history, a few conflicts broke out, but the majority are well-assimilated at present and very few would ever agitate for independence. In contrast to the Treeclimbers, these natives have maintained global contacts and technological advancements at the same stage the Sultanate has since the inception of both.
Goldfolk - This encompasses a wide range of ethnicities from across the world that trade in Dygracia. They are paid little attention and tend to agitate for more trading rights.
Wuluwasa - They are a minor immigrant population, generally employed in low-paying jobs.
Treeclimbers - They form a small collection of tribes scattered throughout the islands that are effectively autonomous and can't be easily controlled.
Walladutoogans - Generally friendly descendants of the coastal powers from the mainland. The Sultanate maintains the Walladutooga Colony on the mainland, a gift from an ancient heirless prince of the city, and the population is very much cozy with the Dygracians. They have a long-running feud with the Wuluwasa.
Places
Dygracia - This is the capital city, a thriving ancient metropolis, recently renovated with a cutting edge sewer system. They are currently encroaching on former countryside with industrial developments, angering the farmers who worked the land of their ancestors.
The Winter Isles - A beautiful land of mountains and powdery snow, as well the internationally famous vineyards in the north. The Summer Palace of His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan is located here. The city containing the capital, Aredelia, is located on the Northern Coast.
Mount Kulufadewaba - The highest mountain in Dygracia Major. A major holy site of the Church of Heavenly Majesty.
Walladutooga Colony - A small exclave of Dygracia located further up the coast. Donated to the Grand Dygracian Sultanate by an ancient heiress prince of the region.
Gulf of Zajek - Body of water extending into Dygracia past the 'double arms' of the land.
Aureatalum - Large city located in a massive jungle clearing in the east of the nation. This city serves as the main means of coordinating eastern railroads and central authority to the jungle lands. The surrounding jungle is the home of the Treeclimber natives.
Major Cities:
Hukuhagoga
Popelewugo
Wuluworhem
Mauriatalum
Mainland Provinces:
Gricaec
Fajehota
Nymtur
Serenon
Core Territories:
The Winter Isles
Walladatooga
The Inner Rainlands
Expeditions:
Falderum Inland Expedition
Wulumari Inland Expedition
Outer Rainlands Inland Expedition
Oderean Protectorate
I.Nation
- Population: 6
- Stability: 3
- Landmass: 3
- Demographics: 2
- Civilian Industry: 5
- Armaments Industry: 4
- Infrastructure: 6
- Naval Industry: 5
II. Military:
- Army Size: 1
- Army Training: 1
- Army Technology: 1
- Navy Size: 3
- Navy Training: 4
- Navy Technology: 5
III. Economics:
- Rare Resources: 4
- Common Resources: 2
- Luxury Resources: 2
- Bureaucracy: 6
Banned for previously insulting my post count, and of course further crimes against grammar and capitalization.
(One might say a case worthy of...capital... punishment...)
(One might say a case worthy of...capital... punishment...)
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The Chronicles of Irenaea [Always Open] [Historiograhy-Based] [Low-Commital]
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9 yrs ago
Forum: Nation Roleplay
I'm trying to get out a simulation soonTM. If you guys have any ideas or things you want to see, absolutely PM them, live chat them, or just post here. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
Enjoy the rainbow OP.
Enjoy the rainbow OP.
Digging the Steindahl. Seems like they'll satisfy many of the traditional viking niches. Let me know when you're wrapped up and you'll be good to go.
I am itching to throw up an introductory IC. Looking for one more completed app or nearly-complete WIP before we begin in earnest. Also going to poke @Publius, @Polybius, and @The Nexerus to see if anyone who expressed interest in the interest check thread would still like to participate.
Hi. Sorry about my initial burst then lack of activity; I had a bunch of things pop up then sizzle out. I'm still interested, and my broad idea stands. I can't quite guarantee a deadline for an app since I have some other projects going on, but *hopefully* it will be done in a week, more hopefully over the weekend when I have more time on my hands.
Addendum: Sorry I didn't respond sooner; I didn't get a ping (which appears to be the reason for your edit). If that sorta thing ever happens, don't be afraid to PM so I see the notification.
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The Chronicles [Low-Commital] [Worldbuilding Exercise] [Historiography Simulator 2017]
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9 yrs ago
Forum: Nation Interest Checks
The Roleplay
It is done. At long last, the deed is done.
@Polybius
@Atroposer
@CaptainBritton
@bluetommy2
@Joegreenbeen
It is done. At long last, the deed is done.
@Polybius
@Atroposer
@CaptainBritton
@bluetommy2
@Joegreenbeen
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9 yrs ago
Forum: Nation Roleplay
[hider=World in Madness: Hunt for an Arbiter]
I am currently looking for arbiters for a new roleplay I am launching, World in Madness. The basic pitch is as follows:
You are the executive administration of a modern nation emerging from a bitter global cataclysm. It is your task to sway a cynical populace toward your ideals and navigate a world polarized by ideologues and threatened by the specter of the apocalypse. You will guide your the broken remains of a state and reforge the ashes into a bright dawn.
The setting is most aptly described as a roughly dieselpunk-apocalyptic setting heavily augmented by the physics and patterns of our own world. Various superweapons beyond nuclear technology will eventually be available, some of which will not be strictly scientific.
In the initial application phase, interested parties will send in the manifestos of their administration, and then be returned key events in their historical timeline that tie them to the rest of the world. In the final application phase, prospects send in a comprehensive information sheet including their administration's view of their history. After this, a full public and private national information sheet will be assembled with the information the interested has given and a full report of their nations inner workings.
Posts are from the perspective of primary sources in the nation, often state newspapers and required readings, although possibly more independent sources. As such, no post is ever considered actual canon. Two sides can both claim they won a conflict when in reality they tied. Very little minusha-moderation is required, as it is completely possible that multiple primary sources claim different versions of events.
As a note about my personal directing style, I do enforce minimum word counts and a strict style guide. Given such, I have never had to kick anybody for bad writing; only because they broke hard rules. If you are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of word minimums, this may not be the place to inquire. I try to be fair with the actual numbers; they are standards of effort rather than results. Until I see proof that less quantity leads to higher quality, I also won't buy any bit about quality over quantity. If you have further questions on stylistics than what is covered here, feel free to ask.
The roleplay is a competitive one, although not one that will permit blatant rudeness toward any arbitration. High spirits are to be expected but respect is demanded.
In an arbiter, I'm looking for somebody above all committed to creating an immersive and compelling experience. No particular skillset is required, although arbiters will be tasked with interpreting player agendas and formulating results and player information sheets. Some experience with GMing in the past (even if not forum-based or NRPs) is preferred although not required. In addition, one of the chief roles of arbiters is creative development, and in this it should be noted that I am rarely looking for an argument so much as case to be made for a change and/or a diagnosis of an issue. Respecting a design process is key here. Finally, the role of an arbiter also extends into keeping the OOC community active. It is my personal experience that groups of any size live or die based on their OOC activity and bonds with one another, even over the internet.
If you're interested, please say so. I have a fledgling discord set up but if you aren't really sure you want to take the plunge then PMing me or just asking questions is likely the best course of action.
Concept art:
Title: [img]http://i.imgur.com/ICan37F.png[/img]
Discord Icon: [img]http://i.imgur.com/GV5YN5C.png[/img]
Chalam System: [img]http://i.imgur.com/NwkiTia.png[/img]
(Chalam system, from left to right: Shemensh, the star, Nagah, the stellar satellite, Sheol the Red Planet, Kokhav, Homeworld, Levanah her moon, Shamayhim the Blue Planet, Madim the Gas Giant, her moon the silent Shabbatai, and the Kesil Belt.)
Preliminary Physical Map: [img]http://i.imgur.com/nn40c6D.png[/img]
[/hider]
[hider=The Last of the Federalist Papers]
ACCORDING to the formal division of the subject of these papers, announced in my first number, there would appear still to remain for discussion two points: ``the analogy of the proposed government to your own State constitution,'' and ``the additional security which its adoption will afford to republican government, to liberty, and to property.'' But these heads have been so fully anticipated and exhausted in the progress of the work, that it would now scarcely be possible to do any thing more than repeat, in a more dilated form, what has been heretofore said, which the advanced stage of the question, and the time already spent upon it, conspire to forbid.
It is remarkable, that the resemblance of the plan of the convention to the act which organizes the government of this State holds, not less with regard to many of the supposed defects, than to the real excellences of the former. Among the pretended defects are the re-eligibility of the Executive, the want of a council, the omission of a formal bill of rights, the omission of a provision respecting the liberty of the press. These and several others which have been noted in the course of our inquiries are as much chargeable on the existing constitution of this State, as on the one proposed for the Union; and a man must have slender pretensions to consistency, who can rail at the latter for imperfections which he finds no difficulty in excusing in the former. Nor indeed can there be a better proof of the insincerity and affectation of some of the zealous adversaries of the plan of the convention among us, who profess to be the devoted admirers of the government under which they live, than the fury with which they have attacked that plan, for matters in regard to which our own constitution is equally or perhaps more vulnerable.
The additional securities to republican government, to liberty and to property, to be derived from the adoption of the plan under consideration, consist chiefly in the restraints which the preservation of the Union will impose on local factions and insurrections, and on the ambition of powerful individuals in single States, who may acquire credit and influence enough, from leaders and favorites, to become the despots of the people; in the diminution of the opportunities to foreign intrigue, which the dissolution of the Confederacy would invite and facilitate; in the prevention of extensive military establishments, which could not fail to grow out of wars between the States in a disunited situation; in the express guaranty of a republican form of government to each; in the absolute and universal exclusion of titles of nobility; and in the precautions against the repetition of those practices on the part of the State governments which have undermined the foundations of property and credit, have planted mutual distrust in the breasts of all classes of citizens, and have occasioned an almost universal prostration of morals.
Thus have I, fellow-citizens, executed the task I had assigned to myself; with what success, your conduct must determine. I trust at least you will admit that I have not failed in the assurance I gave you respecting the spirit with which my endeavors should be conducted. I have addressed myself purely to your judgments, and have studiously avoided those asperities which are too apt to disgrace political disputants of all parties, and which have been not a little provoked by the language and conduct of the opponents of the Constitution. The charge of a conspiracy against the liberties of the people, which has been indiscriminately brought against the advocates of the plan, has something in it too wanton and too malignant, not to excite the indignation of every man who feels in his own bosom a refutation of the calumny. The perpetual changes which have been rung upon the wealthy, the well-born, and the great, have been such as to inspire the disgust of all sensible men. And the unwarrantable concealments and misrepresentations which have been in various ways practiced to keep the truth from the public eye, have been of a nature to demand the reprobation of all honest men. It is not impossible that these circumstances may have occasionally betrayed me into intemperances of expression which I did not intend; it is certain that I have frequently felt a struggle between sensibility and moderation; and if the former has in some instances prevailed, it must be my excuse that it has been neither often nor much.
Let us now pause and ask ourselves whether, in the course of these papers, the proposed Constitution has not been satisfactorily vindicated from the aspersions thrown upon it; and whether it has not been shown to be worthy of the public approbation, and necessary to the public safety and prosperity. Every man is bound to answer these questions to himself, according to the best of his conscience and understanding, and to act agreeably to the genuine and sober dictates of his judgment. This is a duty from which nothing can give him a dispensation. 'T is one that he is called upon, nay, constrained by all the obligations that form the bands of society, to discharge sincerely and honestly. No partial motive, no particular interest, no pride of opinion, no temporary passion or prejudice, will justify to himself, to his country, or to his posterity, an improper election of the part he is to act. Let him beware of an obstinate adherence to party; let him reflect that the object upon which he is to decide is not a particular interest of the community, but the very existence of the nation; and let him remember that a majority of America has already given its sanction to the plan which he is to approve or reject.
I shall not dissemble that I feel an entire confidence in the arguments which recommend the proposed system to your adoption, and that I am unable to discern any real force in those by which it has been opposed. I am persuaded that it is the best which our political situation, habits, and opinions will admit, and superior to any the revolution has produced.
Concessions on the part of the friends of the plan, that it has not a claim to absolute perfection, have afforded matter of no small triumph to its enemies. ``Why,'' say they, ``should we adopt an imperfect thing? Why not amend it and make it perfect before it is irrevocably established?'' This may be plausible enough, but it is only plausible. In the first place I remark, that the extent of these concessions has been greatly exaggerated. They have been stated as amounting to an admission that the plan is radically defective, and that without material alterations the rights and the interests of the community cannot be safely confided to it. This, as far as I have understood the meaning of those who make the concessions, is an entire perversion of their sense. No advocate of the measure can be found, who will not declare as his sentiment, that the system, though it may not be perfect in every part, is, upon the whole, a good one; is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country will permit; and is such an one as promises every species of security which a reasonable people can desire.
I answer in the next place, that I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the jeopardy of successive experiments, in the chimerical pursuit of a perfect plan. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man. The result of the deliberations of all collective bodies must necessarily be a compound, as well of the errors and prejudices, as of the good sense and wisdom, of the individuals of whom they are composed. The compacts which are to embrace thirteen distinct States in a common bond of amity and union, must as necessarily be a compromise of as many dissimilar interests and inclinations. How can perfection spring from such materials?
The reasons assigned in an excellent little pamphlet lately published in this city, are unanswerable to show the utter improbability of assembling a new convention, under circumstances in any degree so favorable to a happy issue, as those in which the late convention met, deliberated, and concluded. I will not repeat the arguments there used, as I presume the production itself has had an extensive circulation. It is certainly well worthy the perusal of every friend to his country. There is, however, one point of light in which the subject of amendments still remains to be considered, and in which it has not yet been exhibited to public view. I cannot resolve to conclude without first taking a survey of it in this aspect.
It appears to me susceptible of absolute demonstration, that it will be far more easy to obtain subsequent than previous amendments to the Constitution. The moment an alteration is made in the present plan, it becomes, to the purpose of adoption, a new one, and must undergo a new decision of each State. To its complete establishment throughout the Union, it will therefore require the concurrence of thirteen States. If, on the contrary, the Constitution proposed should once be ratified by all the States as it stands, alterations in it may at any time be effected by nine States. Here, then, the chances are as thirteen to ten in favor of subsequent amendment, rather than of the original adoption of an entire system.
This is not all. Every Constitution for the United States must inevitably consist of a great variety of particulars, in which thirteen independent States are to be accommodated in their interests or opinions of interest. We may of course expect to see, in any body of men charged with its original formation, very different combinations of the parts upon different points. Many of those who form a majority on one question, may become the minority on a second, and an association dissimilar to either may constitute the majority on a third. Hence the necessity of moulding and arranging all the particulars which are to compose the whole, in such a manner as to satisfy all the parties to the compact; and hence, also, an immense multiplication of difficulties and casualties in obtaining the collective assent to a final act. The degree of that multiplication must evidently be in a ratio to the number of particulars and the number of parties.
But every amendment to the Constitution, if once established, would be a single proposition, and might be brought forward singly. There would then be no necessity for management or compromise, in relation to any other point no giving nor taking. The will of the requisite number would at once bring the matter to a decisive issue. And consequently, whenever nine, or rather ten States, were united in the desire of a particular amendment, that amendment must infallibly take place. There can, therefore, be no comparison between the facility of affecting an amendment, and that of establishing in the first instance a complete Constitution.
In opposition to the probability of subsequent amendments, it has been urged that the persons delegated to the administration of the national government will always be disinclined to yield up any portion of the authority of which they were once possessed. For my own part I acknowledge a thorough conviction that any amendments which may, upon mature consideration, be thought useful, will be applicable to the organization of the government, not to the mass of its powers; and on this account alone, I think there is no weight in the observation just stated. I also think there is little weight in it on another account. The intrinsic difficulty of governing thirteen States at any rate, independent of calculations upon an ordinary degree of public spirit and integrity, will, in my opinion constantly impose on the national rulers the necessity of a spirit of accommodation to the reasonable expectations of their constituents. But there is yet a further consideration, which proves beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the observation is futile. It is this that the national rulers, whenever nine States concur, will have no option upon the subject. By the fifth article of the plan, the Congress will be obliged ``on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the States which at present amount to nine, to call a convention for proposing amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof.'' The words of this article are peremptory. The Congress ``shall call a convention.'' Nothing in this particular is left to the discretion of that body. And of consequence, all the declamation about the disinclination to a change vanishes in air. Nor however difficult it may be supposed to unite two thirds or three fourths of the State legislatures, in amendments which may affect local interests, can there be any room to apprehend any such difficulty in a union on points which are merely relative to the general liberty or security of the people. We may safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority.
If the foregoing argument is a fallacy, certain it is that I am myself deceived by it, for it is, in my conception, one of those rare instances in which a political truth can be brought to the test of a mathematical demonstration. Those who see the matter in the same light with me, however zealous they may be for amendments, must agree in the propriety of a previous adoption, as the most direct road to their own object.
The zeal for attempts to amend, prior to the establishment of the Constitution, must abate in every man who is ready to accede to the truth of the following observations of a writer equally solid and ingenious: ``To balance a large state or society, says he, whether monarchical or republican, on general laws, is a work of so great difficulty, that no human genius, however comprehensive, is able, by the mere dint of reason and reflection, to effect it. The judgments of many must unite in the work; experience must guide their labor; time must bring it to perfection, and the feeling of inconveniences must correct the mistakes which they inevitably fall into in their first trials and experiments.'(Hume's ``Essays,'' vol. i., page 128: ``The Rise of Arts and Sciences.') These judicious reflections contain a lesson of moderation to all the sincere lovers of the Union, and ought to put them upon their guard against hazarding anarchy, civil war, a perpetual alienation of the States from each other, and perhaps the military despotism of a victorious demagogue, in the pursuit of what they are not likely to obtain, but from time and experience. It may be in me a defect of political fortitude, but I acknowledge that I cannot entertain an equal tranquillity with those who affect to treat the dangers of a longer continuance in our present situation as imaginary. A nation, without a national government, is, in my view, an awful spectacle. The establishment of a Constitution, in time of profound peace, by the voluntary ocnsent of a whole people, is a prodigy, to the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety. I can reconcile it to no rules of prudence to let go the hold we now have, in so arduous an enterprise, upon seven out of the thirteen States, and after having passed over so considerable a part of the ground, to recommence the course. I dread the more the consequences of new attempts, because I know that powerful individuals, in this and in other States, are enemies to a general national government in every possible shape.
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<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="hider-panel"><div class="hider-heading"><button type="button" class="btn btn-default btn-xs hider-button" data-name="World in Madness: Hunt for an Arbiter">World in Madness: Hunt for an Arbiter [+]</button></div><div class="hider-body" style="display: none">I am currently looking for arbiters for a new roleplay I am launching, World in Madness. The basic pitch is as follows:<br><br>You are the executive administration of a modern nation emerging from a bitter global cataclysm. It is your task to sway a cynical populace toward your ideals and navigate a world polarized by ideologues and threatened by the specter of the apocalypse. You will guide your the broken remains of a state and reforge the ashes into a bright dawn. <br><br>The setting is most aptly described as a roughly dieselpunk-apocalyptic setting heavily augmented by the physics and patterns of our own world. Various superweapons beyond nuclear technology will eventually be available, some of which will not be strictly scientific.<br><br>In the initial application phase, interested parties will send in the manifestos of their administration, and then be returned key events in their historical timeline that tie them to the rest of the world. In the final application phase, prospects send in a comprehensive information sheet including their administration's view of their history. After this, a full public and private national information sheet will be assembled with the information the interested has given and a full report of their nations inner workings.<br><br>Posts are from the perspective of primary sources in the nation, often state newspapers and required readings, although possibly more independent sources. As such, no post is ever considered actual canon. Two sides can both claim they won a conflict when in reality they tied. Very little minusha-moderation is required, as it is completely possible that multiple primary sources claim different versions of events.<br><br>As a note about my personal directing style, I do enforce minimum word counts and a strict style guide. Given such, I have never had to kick anybody for bad writing; only because they broke hard rules. If you are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of word minimums, this may not be the place to inquire. I try to be fair with the actual numbers; they are standards of effort rather than results. Until I see proof that less quantity leads to higher quality, I also won't buy any bit about quality over quantity. If you have further questions on stylistics than what is covered here, feel free to ask.<br><br>The roleplay is a competitive one, although not one that will permit blatant rudeness toward any arbitration. High spirits are to be expected but respect is demanded.<br><br>In an arbiter, I'm looking for somebody above all committed to creating an immersive and compelling experience. No particular skillset is required, although arbiters will be tasked with interpreting player agendas and formulating results and player information sheets. Some experience with GMing in the past (even if not forum-based or NRPs) is preferred although not required. In addition, one of the chief roles of arbiters is creative development, and in this it should be noted that I am rarely looking for an argument so much as case to be made for a change and/or a diagnosis of an issue. Respecting a design process is key here. Finally, the role of an arbiter also extends into keeping the OOC community active. It is my personal experience that groups of any size live or die based on their OOC activity and bonds with one another, even over the internet.<br><br>If you're interested, please say so. I have a fledgling discord set up but if you aren't really sure you want to take the plunge then PMing me or just asking questions is likely the best course of action.<br><br>Concept art:<br>Title: <img src="http://i.imgur.com/ICan37F.png" /><br>Discord Icon: <img src="http://i.imgur.com/GV5YN5C.png" /><br>Chalam System: <img src="http://i.imgur.com/NwkiTia.png" /><br>(Chalam system, from left to right: Shemensh, the star, Nagah, the stellar satellite, Sheol the Red Planet, Kokhav, Homeworld, Levanah her moon, Shamayhim the Blue Planet, Madim the Gas Giant, her moon the silent Shabbatai, and the Kesil Belt.)<br>Preliminary Physical Map: <img src="http://i.imgur.com/nn40c6D.png" /></div></div><br><br><div class="hider-panel"><div class="hider-heading"><button type="button" class="btn btn-default btn-xs hider-button" data-name="The Last of the Federalist Papers">The Last of the Federalist Papers [+]</button></div><div class="hider-body" style="display: none">ACCORDING to the formal division of the subject of these papers, announced in my first number, there would appear still to remain for discussion two points: ``the analogy of the proposed government to your own State constitution,'' and ``the additional security which its adoption will afford to republican government, to liberty, and to property.'' But these heads have been so fully anticipated and exhausted in the progress of the work, that it would now scarcely be possible to do any thing more than repeat, in a more dilated form, what has been heretofore said, which the advanced stage of the question, and the time already spent upon it, conspire to forbid.<br><br>It is remarkable, that the resemblance of the plan of the convention to the act which organizes the government of this State holds, not less with regard to many of the supposed defects, than to the real excellences of the former. Among the pretended defects are the re-eligibility of the Executive, the want of a council, the omission of a formal bill of rights, the omission of a provision respecting the liberty of the press. These and several others which have been noted in the course of our inquiries are as much chargeable on the existing constitution of this State, as on the one proposed for the Union; and a man must have slender pretensions to consistency, who can rail at the latter for imperfections which he finds no difficulty in excusing in the former. Nor indeed can there be a better proof of the insincerity and affectation of some of the zealous adversaries of the plan of the convention among us, who profess to be the devoted admirers of the government under which they live, than the fury with which they have attacked that plan, for matters in regard to which our own constitution is equally or perhaps more vulnerable.<br><br>The additional securities to republican government, to liberty and to property, to be derived from the adoption of the plan under consideration, consist chiefly in the restraints which the preservation of the Union will impose on local factions and insurrections, and on the ambition of powerful individuals in single States, who may acquire credit and influence enough, from leaders and favorites, to become the despots of the people; in the diminution of the opportunities to foreign intrigue, which the dissolution of the Confederacy would invite and facilitate; in the prevention of extensive military establishments, which could not fail to grow out of wars between the States in a disunited situation; in the express guaranty of a republican form of government to each; in the absolute and universal exclusion of titles of nobility; and in the precautions against the repetition of those practices on the part of the State governments which have undermined the foundations of property and credit, have planted mutual distrust in the breasts of all classes of citizens, and have occasioned an almost universal prostration of morals.<br><br>Thus have I, fellow-citizens, executed the task I had assigned to myself; with what success, your conduct must determine. I trust at least you will admit that I have not failed in the assurance I gave you respecting the spirit with which my endeavors should be conducted. I have addressed myself purely to your judgments, and have studiously avoided those asperities which are too apt to disgrace political disputants of all parties, and which have been not a little provoked by the language and conduct of the opponents of the Constitution. The charge of a conspiracy against the liberties of the people, which has been indiscriminately brought against the advocates of the plan, has something in it too wanton and too malignant, not to excite the indignation of every man who feels in his own bosom a refutation of the calumny. The perpetual changes which have been rung upon the wealthy, the well-born, and the great, have been such as to inspire the disgust of all sensible men. And the unwarrantable concealments and misrepresentations which have been in various ways practiced to keep the truth from the public eye, have been of a nature to demand the reprobation of all honest men. It is not impossible that these circumstances may have occasionally betrayed me into intemperances of expression which I did not intend; it is certain that I have frequently felt a struggle between sensibility and moderation; and if the former has in some instances prevailed, it must be my excuse that it has been neither often nor much.<br><br>Let us now pause and ask ourselves whether, in the course of these papers, the proposed Constitution has not been satisfactorily vindicated from the aspersions thrown upon it; and whether it has not been shown to be worthy of the public approbation, and necessary to the public safety and prosperity. Every man is bound to answer these questions to himself, according to the best of his conscience and understanding, and to act agreeably to the genuine and sober dictates of his judgment. This is a duty from which nothing can give him a dispensation. 'T is one that he is called upon, nay, constrained by all the obligations that form the bands of society, to discharge sincerely and honestly. No partial motive, no particular interest, no pride of opinion, no temporary passion or prejudice, will justify to himself, to his country, or to his posterity, an improper election of the part he is to act. Let him beware of an obstinate adherence to party; let him reflect that the object upon which he is to decide is not a particular interest of the community, but the very existence of the nation; and let him remember that a majority of America has already given its sanction to the plan which he is to approve or reject.<br><br>I shall not dissemble that I feel an entire confidence in the arguments which recommend the proposed system to your adoption, and that I am unable to discern any real force in those by which it has been opposed. I am persuaded that it is the best which our political situation, habits, and opinions will admit, and superior to any the revolution has produced.<br><br>Concessions on the part of the friends of the plan, that it has not a claim to absolute perfection, have afforded matter of no small triumph to its enemies. ``Why,'' say they, ``should we adopt an imperfect thing? Why not amend it and make it perfect before it is irrevocably established?'' This may be plausible enough, but it is only plausible. In the first place I remark, that the extent of these concessions has been greatly exaggerated. They have been stated as amounting to an admission that the plan is radically defective, and that without material alterations the rights and the interests of the community cannot be safely confided to it. This, as far as I have understood the meaning of those who make the concessions, is an entire perversion of their sense. No advocate of the measure can be found, who will not declare as his sentiment, that the system, though it may not be perfect in every part, is, upon the whole, a good one; is the best that the present views and circumstances of the country will permit; and is such an one as promises every species of security which a reasonable people can desire.<br><br>I answer in the next place, that I should esteem it the extreme of imprudence to prolong the precarious state of our national affairs, and to expose the Union to the jeopardy of successive experiments, in the chimerical pursuit of a perfect plan. I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man. The result of the deliberations of all collective bodies must necessarily be a compound, as well of the errors and prejudices, as of the good sense and wisdom, of the individuals of whom they are composed. The compacts which are to embrace thirteen distinct States in a common bond of amity and union, must as necessarily be a compromise of as many dissimilar interests and inclinations. How can perfection spring from such materials?<br><br>The reasons assigned in an excellent little pamphlet lately published in this city, are unanswerable to show the utter improbability of assembling a new convention, under circumstances in any degree so favorable to a happy issue, as those in which the late convention met, deliberated, and concluded. I will not repeat the arguments there used, as I presume the production itself has had an extensive circulation. It is certainly well worthy the perusal of every friend to his country. There is, however, one point of light in which the subject of amendments still remains to be considered, and in which it has not yet been exhibited to public view. I cannot resolve to conclude without first taking a survey of it in this aspect.<br><br>It appears to me susceptible of absolute demonstration, that it will be far more easy to obtain subsequent than previous amendments to the Constitution. The moment an alteration is made in the present plan, it becomes, to the purpose of adoption, a new one, and must undergo a new decision of each State. To its complete establishment throughout the Union, it will therefore require the concurrence of thirteen States. If, on the contrary, the Constitution proposed should once be ratified by all the States as it stands, alterations in it may at any time be effected by nine States. Here, then, the chances are as thirteen to ten in favor of subsequent amendment, rather than of the original adoption of an entire system.<br><br>This is not all. Every Constitution for the United States must inevitably consist of a great variety of particulars, in which thirteen independent States are to be accommodated in their interests or opinions of interest. We may of course expect to see, in any body of men charged with its original formation, very different combinations of the parts upon different points. Many of those who form a majority on one question, may become the minority on a second, and an association dissimilar to either may constitute the majority on a third. Hence the necessity of moulding and arranging all the particulars which are to compose the whole, in such a manner as to satisfy all the parties to the compact; and hence, also, an immense multiplication of difficulties and casualties in obtaining the collective assent to a final act. The degree of that multiplication must evidently be in a ratio to the number of particulars and the number of parties.<br><br>But every amendment to the Constitution, if once established, would be a single proposition, and might be brought forward singly. There would then be no necessity for management or compromise, in relation to any other point no giving nor taking. The will of the requisite number would at once bring the matter to a decisive issue. And consequently, whenever nine, or rather ten States, were united in the desire of a particular amendment, that amendment must infallibly take place. There can, therefore, be no comparison between the facility of affecting an amendment, and that of establishing in the first instance a complete Constitution.<br><br>In opposition to the probability of subsequent amendments, it has been urged that the persons delegated to the administration of the national government will always be disinclined to yield up any portion of the authority of which they were once possessed. For my own part I acknowledge a thorough conviction that any amendments which may, upon mature consideration, be thought useful, will be applicable to the organization of the government, not to the mass of its powers; and on this account alone, I think there is no weight in the observation just stated. I also think there is little weight in it on another account. The intrinsic difficulty of governing thirteen States at any rate, independent of calculations upon an ordinary degree of public spirit and integrity, will, in my opinion constantly impose on the national rulers the necessity of a spirit of accommodation to the reasonable expectations of their constituents. But there is yet a further consideration, which proves beyond the possibility of a doubt, that the observation is futile. It is this that the national rulers, whenever nine States concur, will have no option upon the subject. By the fifth article of the plan, the Congress will be obliged ``on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the States which at present amount to nine, to call a convention for proposing amendments, which shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of the Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof.'' The words of this article are peremptory. The Congress ``shall call a convention.'' Nothing in this particular is left to the discretion of that body. And of consequence, all the declamation about the disinclination to a change vanishes in air. Nor however difficult it may be supposed to unite two thirds or three fourths of the State legislatures, in amendments which may affect local interests, can there be any room to apprehend any such difficulty in a union on points which are merely relative to the general liberty or security of the people. We may safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority.<br><br>If the foregoing argument is a fallacy, certain it is that I am myself deceived by it, for it is, in my conception, one of those rare instances in which a political truth can be brought to the test of a mathematical demonstration. Those who see the matter in the same light with me, however zealous they may be for amendments, must agree in the propriety of a previous adoption, as the most direct road to their own object.<br><br>The zeal for attempts to amend, prior to the establishment of the Constitution, must abate in every man who is ready to accede to the truth of the following observations of a writer equally solid and ingenious: ``To balance a large state or society, says he, whether monarchical or republican, on general laws, is a work of so great difficulty, that no human genius, however comprehensive, is able, by the mere dint of reason and reflection, to effect it. The judgments of many must unite in the work; experience must guide their labor; time must bring it to perfection, and the feeling of inconveniences must correct the mistakes which they inevitably fall into in their first trials and experiments.'(Hume's ``Essays,'' vol. i., page 128: ``The Rise of Arts and Sciences.') These judicious reflections contain a lesson of moderation to all the sincere lovers of the Union, and ought to put them upon their guard against hazarding anarchy, civil war, a perpetual alienation of the States from each other, and perhaps the military despotism of a victorious demagogue, in the pursuit of what they are not likely to obtain, but from time and experience. It may be in me a defect of political fortitude, but I acknowledge that I cannot entertain an equal tranquillity with those who affect to treat the dangers of a longer continuance in our present situation as imaginary. A nation, without a national government, is, in my view, an awful spectacle. The establishment of a Constitution, in time of profound peace, by the voluntary ocnsent of a whole people, is a prodigy, to the completion of which I look forward with trembling anxiety. I can reconcile it to no rules of prudence to let go the hold we now have, in so arduous an enterprise, upon seven out of the thirteen States, and after having passed over so considerable a part of the ground, to recommence the course. I dread the more the consequences of new attempts, because I know that powerful individuals, in this and in other States, are enemies to a general national government in every possible shape.</div></div><br></div>
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