Further expansion with land ceded from Gradonia

Saturday 1st August saw the Kingdom of Gradonia cede two areas of land to the Empire of Austenasia. Gradonia is ruled by King William I, who serves as Deputy Prime Minister in Austenasia, where he prefers to be known by his title Lord William Wilson, Count of Oribrazos. Austenasia and Gradonia have held strong friendly relations since June last year. The first land claim, Campo de Jonatán, is a house inhabited by Wilson’s father – who has now become an Austenasian subject – and recently moved into by Wilson himself. Campo de Jonatán has been annexed as a March of Wilson’s hometown of Nahona, of which he serves as Representative. The second land claim, Jackson, is composed of uninhabited land situated in front of the home of Wilson’s uncle. The land contains a fallout/tornado shelter, which previously served as the Gradonian military installation Fort McLaughlin. Wilson has been appointed Governor of Jackson and Margrave of Campo de Jonatán.

Imperial Guard established

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I has established the Imperial Guard by recruiting its first two members on Saturday 25th July. The Armed Forces Act 2020, passed last month, enacted radical reform to the Austenasian military, dissolving the standing armed forces and establishing a system primarily based on reserve militias. One exception to this was an Imperial Guard, which the Monarch was authorised to personally recruit as a standing military unit on active service. The Imperial Guard is to serve as an elite bodyguard unit for the Monarch. Out of the two guards recruited on July 25th, one will be stationed in Wrythe and the other in Chester, thereby providing protection for Emperor Jonathan I in whichever of the two cities he most regularly frequents he happens to be in. The guard stationed in Wrythe is none other than HIH Emperor Father Terry, who has been appointed Captain of the new unit. The Emperor Father served as a tribune and as a legate in the Austenasian Army from 2011 and 2017 respectively up until last month’s reforms.

Two new Territories annexed from southern U.S.

An Act of Parliament passed yesterday annexed two new Austenasian Territories after two areas of land were claimed for the Empire by their owners. One, Blue Ridge, is composed of the garden of a residential property whereas the other, Florencium Carolina, is composed of an area of private rural land. Both new territories have been annexed from southern states of the USA, with Blue Ridge from Florida and Florencium Carolina from Texas. The two landowners who claimed the territories have been given noble titles and made governors of their respective claim. Lord Michael Simpson is Governor of Florencium Carolina, and Lord Aydan Dillon is Governor of Blue Ridge.

Incumbents re-elected in local elections for Kingeston and North Nahona

Local elections took place in Kingeston and North Nahona on Monday 13th July, with the Acting Representatives of said Towns elected to the positions proper. In Kingeston, which was transitioned into a Town from a Crown Dependency in May, Lord Austin Jaax was elected Representative with a 100% turnout. In North Nahona, which was founded in June, The Hon. Payton Moore was elected Representative with a 50% turnout. Both had been appointed Acting Representative of their respective Town upon its foundation by order of Parliament. Both ran unopposed, and both gained 100% of the vote, with no voters choosing to abstain.

Expansion in North America as Tricornia is dissolved

An Act of Parliament passed yesterday enacted territorial changes which saw the creation of a new Town, the expansion of another, and the dissolution of a third. Tricornia, a town annexed only in April, has been dissolved after its founder, Nikola Jovanovic, revealed that he had supplied incorrect information to the government while claiming the land and forged the signatures of its alleged residents. When claiming new areas of land, the government must strike a fine line between respecting the privacy of applicants while also being able to verify their claims. It is not believed that any changes to the current system are planned, but this incident has shown that it is not impossible for it to be abused. Tricornia now holds the unfortunate record of being the land claim with the shortest duration as a part of Austenasia. However, alongside the departure of Tricornia, a new Town has joined the Empire. The new Town of North Nahona has been founded with the annexation of two properties from Texas. A third property has been annexed to the already existing Town of Nahona, which the new town is named after. Each property is inhabited by two people, with a total of six people thereby joining Austenasia. This offsets the loss of the (alleged) same number from the dissolution of Tricornia. Both Nahona and North Nahona now consist of two properties, each inhabited by two people, and form a roughly eighteen mile long line stretching approximately north-west to south-east, with the southern two properties in the older town and the northern two in the new one. In other news, the Pontifex Maximus, Pope Queranus I – better known as Sebastian Linden – has been granted non-residential subjectship by Parliament. Linden has served as Governor of Iostan na Beithe and of Glencoe since January 2018, and briefly reigned as German Emperor in mid-2011.

Military reform passed by Parliament

An Act of Parliament was passed yesterday implementing radical changes to the Austenasian Armed Forces (AAF), dissolving the existing units and making provisions for new ones to be formed. The majority of soldiers in the AAF had enlisted for the Austenasian Civil War over a decade ago, with most having since fallen out of contact with the central government and some even assumed to have forgotten that they were considered Austenasian soldiers. The Austenasian Army and Imperial Air Force have therefore been dissolved, with their members receiving honourable discharges. These reforms reflect that fact that Austenasia has little need of a standing army, having last been in an official state of war in December 2010. In the words of Emperor Jonathan I in Parliament, “the days of teenage gangs marauding around Carshalton in support of various claimants to local thrones is long past”. Yesterday’s legislation has created three new branches for the AAF. Local claims may recruit regiments of Limitanei, which will serve as reserve militia to be mobilised for local defence or emergency purposes. During wartime, the Ministry of Defence will recruit units of Comitatenses, which will not be bound to a specific area but serve as active field troops. Finally, the Imperial Guard will be a bodyguard unit recruited specifically by the Monarch for their personal protection, and will be the only ordinarily active unit.

IGS Expedition undertaken to Centennial Park

At the end of last month, Lord William Wilson led an expedition of the Imperial Geographical Society (IGS) to Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The visit to the park itself took place on 30 May, although the expedition began two days earlier, on the 28th, making it the only IGS expedition to date to have spanned more than one day. Lord Wilson and his mother Lady Nicole, who serve as Representative and Baroness of Nahona respectively, set off from Nahona on 28 May, crossing the Mississippi River and visiting the village of Whites Creek. While in Whites Creek, the expedition visited a grocery building where a member of the outlaw Jesse James’ gang was captured in 1881. On 30 May, the expedition arrived at Centennial Park and viewed the Tennessee Women’s Suffrage Monument before heading to the main feature in the park, a lifesized replica of the Athenian Parthenon. Once there, Lord Wilson explored the various art exhibits displayed within the Parthenon, including a large statue of Athena. The expedition ended after walking around Lake Watauga, the reservoir in the park, and naming the northern island Insula Viatorem. A video of the expedition’s exploration of Centennial Park can be seen here.

Imperium Day sees Emperor relinquish emergency powers

Emperor Jonathan I has relinquished his emergency powers nine days early in response to the end of the political strife that beset the nation during the last week of May. In an Imperial Edict issued for 4 June, Imperium Day, the Emperor has officially restored the full authority of the Constitution, noting that it was to be overridden only for the shortest time necessary. The emergency powers he assumed on 25 May were originally to be held until 13 June. In the same Imperial Edict, the referendum scheduled for this month in which proposed constitutional amendments were to be voted on has been postponed indefinitely, until consensus in government is reached about the purpose and scope of any future constitutional reform. Imperium Day is a public holiday annually celebrated each 4 June, celebrating the Roman heritage of Austenasia and its monarchy. It has also been marked today with a donation to the Imperial Numismatic Museum from the Emperor, and Lord William Wilson has announced that a monument is under construction in Nahona.

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

The following statement was released by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Jonathan I at midnight this morning, concerning what seems to be the final stage of the tumultuous week Austenasia has been through: To the Empire and to the world, our greetings. You will be aware of the troubles which have beset our country over the past week. We have been moved by the statements and messages of goodwill and support from our many friends around the world. Differences of opinion in regards to the direction Austenasia should take resulted in bitter arguments and divisions within Parliament, culminating in a proposal by the then Fatherland Party that they and the lands which fell under their administration secede from Austenasia. As the unfortunate depth to which these arguments had sunk became clear, this proposal was withdrawn, and consensus was reached that all Austenasian leaders would work together on reforms to fix the problems with our country, under the provisions of emergency powers which our Imperial Majesty reluctantly assumed for that purpose. The next day, the system of political parties which had been a root cause of so much division was abolished, and Friday 29th saw Lord Edward Gunderson, whose presence was becoming detrimental to the cause of re-establishing order, leave Austenasia with the dissolution of his town of Dragovina. The Prime Minister Prince Dionisiy, his electoral rival and now deputy Lord John Gordon, and former Prime Minister Joseph Nobilissimus Caesar worked with our Imperial Majesty to draw up a new Constitution which would provide thorough and lasting reforms to bring Austenasia into a new age. Today was to be when this new Constitution was to be officially proposed. Unfortunately, we address you today with bad news. After a week of reflection, Prince Dionisiy has resigned as Prime Minister and will be leaving Austenasia, together with his friend Lord Krištof Fondrk. This will mean the dissolution of the Towns of Theodosiopolis and Gebirgspark, Harlemum March, and the Territories of Laranda and Seleucia ad Cilicia. Such was the huge array of lands which Prince Dionisiy brought to Austenasia. These changes have come at a cost. The Austenasian population has fallen by ten people, from 91 to 81. However, we also have some good news. As well as these losses, Austenasia has also made a gain; a net gain, in fact. A huge new territory has been claimed for Austenasia by Prince Dionisiy as a gesture of goodwill, a territory the annexation of which has actually increased the overall land area of Austenasia despite the losses of the previously mentioned claims. This new territory, Chersoneses, will be administered as a Crown Dependency by Mr Oliynyk, a relative of the Prince. We may also note that the Town of Chalcedon and the Crown Dependency of Trebizond are remaining in Austenasia, despite being included in the initial declaration of secession when this crisis began. What could have been a unilateral secession of more than half the country has become the amicable departure of fewer claims and fewer people. This past week has been a very difficult time for our country. There is no way to pretend otherwise. But with a new month comes a new start. Lord John Gordon is now the Prime Minister of Austenasia, appointed directly to the position under our emergency powers. He is the longest continually serving Representative in Parliament, having represented Palasia continuously since July 2013, longer even than our current tenure as Representative of Wrythe. During that time, Lord Gordon has served as Deputy Prime Minister twice, and held office as Home Secretary and as Minister of Defence. We are confident in asserting that there is no more suitable person for the job, and Lord William Wilson has been appointed his Deputy. The referendum which was scheduled to take place this month will be cancelled, until a new consensus is reached concerning what if any changes to the Constitution may be desirable. There remain no obstacles to Austenasia’s stability and prosperity. We have had people and places come and go, but remain a vibrant, diverse nation spanning the continents, a nation of 80 people and more land than we have ever had before. We have every confidence in the new administration of Lord Gordon, and as such we plan to surrender our emergency powers nine days before planned, on June 4th, Imperium Day. On this public holiday, Austenasia celebrates its imperial status and Roman heritage. Let it be a day for us to also celebrate the endurance of this great country, its perseverance, and its bright future. Imperator Caesar Jonathan Augustus1 June 2020

Lord Gordon appointed Deputy Prime Minister as Dragovina dissolved

Yesterday saw Lord Edward Gunderson replaced as Deputy Prime Minister with Lord John Gordon, after Gunderson’s town of Dragovina was dissolved. Using the emergency powers he assumed on Monday 25th to restore order and unity to the country, Emperor Jonathan I yesterday dismissed Lord Gunderson from his Austenasian positions and offices, and appointed Lord Gordon as his successor in the position of Deputy Prime Minister. Shortly afterwards, Parliament was convened and passed an Act dissolving Dragovina. The wording of the legislation alludes to Lord Gunderson causing difficulties in the process of restoring unity to the government. Lord John Gordon is the longest continually serving Representative in Parliament, and previously served as Deputy Prime Minister to Countess Eritoshi between 2013 and 2015. He recently received 40.9% of the vote as opposed to Prince Dionisiy’s 52.3% in February’s general election. As such, being appointed as Prince Dionisiy’s deputy is to be seen in the context of cementing the drive for unity and common ground agreed upon by Parliament earlier this week, with the two rivals now agreeing to work together. Statements by Austenasian officials in Parliament and associated chat groups following yesterday’s events suggest that the current period of crisis is seen to be coming to an end.