House of Commons (Themiclesia)

Council of Protonotaries 中書省 trjung-st'ja-srêng′
Type
Type	lower house
Term limits	5 years or less
History
Founded	March 22, 265 (265-03-22)
Leadership
Governor (中書監)	囗囗囗, Conservative since Mar. 15, 1968
President (中書令)	囗囗囗, Liberal since Sept. 3, 1984
Libator (祭酒)	囗囗囗, Liberal since May 31, 1997
Minister (僕射)	囗囗囗, Liberal since Feb. 29, 2012
Minister (僕射)	囗囗囗, Liberal since Nov. 14, 2001
Minister (僕射)	囗囗囗, Liberal since Mar. 25, 2009
Structure
Seats	595
File:Protho comp.png
Political groups	In government   Liberals: 302 seats In opposition   Conservatives: 182 seats   Progressives: 54 seats   Independents: 53 seats
Committees	Whole, Appropriations, Foreign & Defence, Industry & Commerce, Transport, Education, Administration & Jurisprudence, Rural & Children's Development, Women's & Minority Rights
Length of term	Up to 5 years
Elections
Voting system	first-past-the-post
Last election	Jan. 25, 2015
Next election	Jan. 25, 2020 latest
Redistricting	itself; super-majority required per convention
Meeting place
File:Protonotaries interior.jpeg
Chamber of the Protonotaries, the Palace
Kien-k'ang, Themiclesia
Website
iiwiki.com/wiki/Council_of_Protonotaries

The Council of Protonotaries (or Prothonotaries in some Tyrannian sources) is the elected chamber of Themiclesia's tricameral legislature. Under constitutional law, it is one of the ten councils of the Inner Court of Themiclesia. This house is the one to which the executive branch is responsible and where most government legislation is tabled; in political practice, it is also the dominant chamber of the three (or four) that together are compared to a parliament of Themiclesia.

Originally a writing office for drafting decrees and proclamations, many new-recruits of the civil service found themselves appointed to this body to garner experience; they often voiced concerns from their origins, which function came to dominate towards the 18th century. It is now the sole elected chamber of the Themiclesian parliament and holds the most sway in the legislative process.

It sits in the Kien-k'ang Palace.

History

Pre-modern Council

The Council of Protonotaries (中書省, trjung-st'ja-srêng′, lit. "palace letters department") originated as a close writing office serving the Menghean Emperor not originally distinguished from the Council of Correspondence; whenver the responsible official was a eunuch, the title "Protonotaries" rather than "Correspondents" was used. By the 3rd century, the Protonotaries had developed into a separate office more proximal to the monarch than the Correspondents, which had evolved to become the de facto government in which all state policies were formulated. The arduous task of addressing all petitions prevented the Correspondents from attending to the monarch as much, hence the appearance of the Protonoaries.

In Themiclesia, the like situation was replicated when the first Menghean-style dynasty was established in the late 200s and early 300s. The Protonoatries drafted the monarch's personal papers that expressed his private views, while the Correspondents attended to all state papers on his behalf. Until the 6th century, the Protonotaries was a relatively unimportant office, as the monarchs rarely had power beyond rubber-stamping the Correspondents' decisions. Most of its drafts did not affect policy, at most making textual revisions of an artistic character according to the Emperor's tastes. A protracted series of reforms starting in 550 concentrated more power in the throne, and the Protonoaries began to draft state policies whenever the Emperor had a strong personal view on a particular area; however, such a paper still required the assent of the Ultraport, Cavaliers, and, ultimately, Correspondents in order to see implementation. Into the 10th century, the Correspondents generally drafted responses to petitions and reports, while the Protonotaries were responsible for drafting new policies and statutes, which was felt to enjoy additional gravitas if enunciated in the Emperor's voice.

Despite being an politically unimportant office, it was a desirable one for young aristocrats who had ambitions in the bureaucracy, giving them the opportunity to view a vast amount of state papers and proximity to the monarch, who, though not powerful compared to his Menghean counterpart, was in a position to grant many favours. In this office, they were at liberty to express their views amongst each other and to the monarch about the decisions undertaken by the Correspondents, without much responsibility. Since this position had a literary component, candidates had to pass rigorous examinations in literary aptitude, and by the time they gained imperial favour, they would have been exposed to public affairs and acquired their own views and connections to more powerful members of the bureaucracy.

Typically, a Protonotary would graduate from the rank of "palace-guardman" (郎中, rang-trjung), through "counsel-guardsman" (議郎, ngrjarh-rang), "attending-guardsman" (侍郎, sgljo'-rang), and "guardsman-major" (中郎, rang-trjung) in three or four years, after which he expects to be appointed to an executive office. Some return later in their careers as administrative officials, taking the titles of "Protonotary-Minister", "Protonotary-Libator", "Protonotary-President", and "Protonotary-Governor". This created a constant flow in its membership, and later it was regarded as proper and natural for non-administrative Protonotaries to voice concerns in their locality.

Westminster interpretation

In imitation of the Westminster system, it was made statute in 1837 that if any member of the Protonotaries wished to stay beyond his "three year term", he had to seek re-election. This change was one of the more controversial reforms in recent Themiclesian history, since it was openly imitative. This rule was extended to administrative Protonotaries in 1853, after the new Protonotaries sought compositional independence from the executive, whereas formerly they were linked by the common identity of civil service and, if only theoretically, could be fluid. Conservatives at court argued that this change was not necessary, since the administrative Protonotaries usually did not participate in legislation, but were unable to prosecute their position, after a Liberal majority, which consisted of Protonotaries who believed their functions to be analogous to that of the House of Commons of the Kingdom of Anglia and Lechernt, emerged in 1851. The Protonotaries introduced voting around this time to replace the legislation by consensus or passing multiple drafts for the selection of the Correspondents (which evolved into the executive) that was traditional in this body for almost more than a millennium.

Historical composition

After the executive-led Radical Reformist movement abated in the late 1840s in widespread criticism, the moderate segment of the party agreed to seek a less intrusive way towards the ideal of civic government, which they found supported by the classics. The Moderates believed that the Westminster system was the method that the sages of antiquity desired but could not produce, which would allow all individuals of merit to participate in government with his own voice.

See also

• National Assembly (Menghe)