Chapter 256: Checkbook Diplomacy
1831
Manhattan
Though it would take much of 1830 and early 1831, Parliament finally agreed how to fund the Sonoran Purchase (renamed by His Majesty as "Baetica" after yet another Roman Province, this one in contemporary Spain and Portugal). The nation's finances remained fragile but the influx of gold and silver over the past decade had helped stabilize the banking system.
Still, "Smith's Folly", as it was known in some quarters, forced the nation into the unaccustomed practice of debt financing. There were plenty of Americans wiling to invest in government bonds, though.
King Frederick would see the nation's political leaders start to fragment as the "Constitutional Crisis" reached a boiling point. If a vote of No Confidence does not bring down a Ministry....what did?
The King invited the Ministers to form a government...but theoretically were beholden to Parliament. If Parliament could not bring down a Ministry....then the King may keep anyone he likes in control over the government indefinitely without any pretense of democratic sanction. The worst Parliament could do is refuse to fund the government...and there were ways around this. This neither Parliament nor the nation could allow.
Oddly, it was the First Lord which proposed a solution. If the King could give up that authority to select the government in more official terms, then perhaps some sort of compromise could be worked out.
William Steuban Smith recommended an alternative...well, several.
These included:
Giving Parliament authority to vote on the First Lord for a set number of years.
Allowing direct vote by the American people, also for a set number of years.
This second was obviously unacceptable thus Smith proposed an Amendment to the Constitution to reflect an automatic vote among Parliament every three years. Later this was changed to five years to match the automatic Parliamentary election cycle.
The Crown, as always, had the right to call for a new election at any time (though this has rarely ever been utilized in the past). The First Lord, like the rest of Parliament, would only serve until the next automatic Parliamentary cycle in cases of a Royal Call for an Election, not a full five year term reset at that point.
In spring of 1831, the First Lord ushered this through Parliament, perhaps the most profound change to law in the past six decades. At the fall election in Parliament, there were numerous contenders for the First Lordship. While political party and faction had not quite developed despite ardent efforts from some quarters, there were obvious interest groups backing certain candidates.
Among the men rising to threaten Smith were:
Daniel Webster - popular in some quarters of the public for his ingenious, the abrasive Vermonter also managed to alienate a number of people in Parliament.
Henry Clay - perhaps the closest thing to an old-style British Party boss. Clay had a history of making alliances and pushing through legislation applauded by his western constituents in Shawnee.
Martin Van Buren - another skilled political organizer from New York born to a Dutch family who learned English as his second tongue.
John Quincy Adams - the son of the former First Lord, Adams was an intelligent, hard-working and honorable man hindered by his glacial personality. He was also a cousin of the First Lord.
John Sergeant - A Princeton educated Pennsylvanian.
Richard Rush - Pennsylvanian
Philip Hamilton - New Jersey
In the end, Parliament would hem and haw for days, apparently uncertain how to exorcise their new power. Late night bargaining sessions behind closed doors occurred with regularity as men attempted to gain support. Eventually, the King himself had to publicly and politely inquire just when Parliament was planning on making a decision.
The first round of votes occurred in October. Fourteen men received at least one vote. By agreement, every round of voting would see one name be removed. In this case, a full five gentlemen receiving votes requested that their names be taken off the ballots.
One by one, the true contenders weeded out the pack.
By late October, on the 5th Ballot, the man who won 50%+ of the votes in Parliament for the position of First Lord was......the current First Lord William Steuban Smith.
His official term, unless he died, resigned or was dismissed by the King, would carry through 1835.
Manhattan
Though it would take much of 1830 and early 1831, Parliament finally agreed how to fund the Sonoran Purchase (renamed by His Majesty as "Baetica" after yet another Roman Province, this one in contemporary Spain and Portugal). The nation's finances remained fragile but the influx of gold and silver over the past decade had helped stabilize the banking system.
Still, "Smith's Folly", as it was known in some quarters, forced the nation into the unaccustomed practice of debt financing. There were plenty of Americans wiling to invest in government bonds, though.
King Frederick would see the nation's political leaders start to fragment as the "Constitutional Crisis" reached a boiling point. If a vote of No Confidence does not bring down a Ministry....what did?
The King invited the Ministers to form a government...but theoretically were beholden to Parliament. If Parliament could not bring down a Ministry....then the King may keep anyone he likes in control over the government indefinitely without any pretense of democratic sanction. The worst Parliament could do is refuse to fund the government...and there were ways around this. This neither Parliament nor the nation could allow.
Oddly, it was the First Lord which proposed a solution. If the King could give up that authority to select the government in more official terms, then perhaps some sort of compromise could be worked out.
William Steuban Smith recommended an alternative...well, several.
These included:
Giving Parliament authority to vote on the First Lord for a set number of years.
Allowing direct vote by the American people, also for a set number of years.
This second was obviously unacceptable thus Smith proposed an Amendment to the Constitution to reflect an automatic vote among Parliament every three years. Later this was changed to five years to match the automatic Parliamentary election cycle.
The Crown, as always, had the right to call for a new election at any time (though this has rarely ever been utilized in the past). The First Lord, like the rest of Parliament, would only serve until the next automatic Parliamentary cycle in cases of a Royal Call for an Election, not a full five year term reset at that point.
In spring of 1831, the First Lord ushered this through Parliament, perhaps the most profound change to law in the past six decades. At the fall election in Parliament, there were numerous contenders for the First Lordship. While political party and faction had not quite developed despite ardent efforts from some quarters, there were obvious interest groups backing certain candidates.
Among the men rising to threaten Smith were:
Daniel Webster - popular in some quarters of the public for his ingenious, the abrasive Vermonter also managed to alienate a number of people in Parliament.
Henry Clay - perhaps the closest thing to an old-style British Party boss. Clay had a history of making alliances and pushing through legislation applauded by his western constituents in Shawnee.
Martin Van Buren - another skilled political organizer from New York born to a Dutch family who learned English as his second tongue.
John Quincy Adams - the son of the former First Lord, Adams was an intelligent, hard-working and honorable man hindered by his glacial personality. He was also a cousin of the First Lord.
John Sergeant - A Princeton educated Pennsylvanian.
Richard Rush - Pennsylvanian
Philip Hamilton - New Jersey
In the end, Parliament would hem and haw for days, apparently uncertain how to exorcise their new power. Late night bargaining sessions behind closed doors occurred with regularity as men attempted to gain support. Eventually, the King himself had to publicly and politely inquire just when Parliament was planning on making a decision.
The first round of votes occurred in October. Fourteen men received at least one vote. By agreement, every round of voting would see one name be removed. In this case, a full five gentlemen receiving votes requested that their names be taken off the ballots.
One by one, the true contenders weeded out the pack.
By late October, on the 5th Ballot, the man who won 50%+ of the votes in Parliament for the position of First Lord was......the current First Lord William Steuban Smith.
His official term, unless he died, resigned or was dismissed by the King, would carry through 1835.