Treaty of Mutual Friendship (1920)

The Treaty of Mutual Friendship of 1920 is the second in a series of three treaties concluded between the Organized States and Themiclesia. It repealed several provisions that existed in the 1897 treaty and focused more on the economic relationship between the two states, benefiting cross-Halu'an trade. Though still criticized for being lenient on the Organized States, its provisions were worded to imply the treaty was one between two states of equal standing. It was replaced by the Treaty of Mutual Friendship of 1928.

Background

The first treaty of Mutual Friendship was concluded when Themiclesia suffered a major disaster and sought OS assistance; it granted privileges to OS merchants to establish factories in Themiclesia and exemption from certain forms of taxation. Though perceived as an achievement by the Themiclesian court at the time of its ratification, critics of the government's non-confrontational attitude in its negotiation and the sheer number of concessions granted to OS and its merchants often panned the treaty as one that was unfair to Themiclesia. Supporters of the treaty believed that Themiclesia's own circumstances merited the concessions, which in both the short and long terms would be beneficial to Themiclesia itself. At court, Liberals supported the Treaty, proclaiming that the mathematics were in favour to Themiclesia, while the concessions granted, such as permitting OS forces to be stationed in Themiclesia, brought no quantifiable damage.

Liberal Prime Minister Kaw, who was Foreign Secretary when he negotiated the Treaty, accused his detractors for "placing their own notions of petty pride above the great interests of the public and groundlessly suspicious of a well-meaning foreign government" (1900). Nevertheless, the Liberal position weakened afterwards. In 1913, a protest broke out against an OS garrison with a nearby settlement of mostly Themiclesian labourers; the OS garrison resorted to opening fire on the assembly. Prime Minister Kaw ordered Themiclesia's own troops to assist the OS garrison defend itself, possibly adding to the casualties, which numbered in the hundreds. The leader of the protest asserted (with not much proof) that the profits made by the labourers were unfairly divided in favour of the OS enterprise, and his colleagues were being cheated out of their wages by inflated prices at local stores, which apparently colluded with the industrialist that owned the premises. Though Kaw never faced public questioning for this controversial policy (he died at the age of 89 only a year later), the Minister of the Right privately confessed that he did not support Kaw's position but would not resign over it either. When he came to power in 1918, he and the government he led let the OS Department of State know that he wished to re-negotiate the Treaty better to protect the "peaceful interests of the OS" and the public sentiment of Themiclesia.

Provisions

• The provisions that allowed the President of the OS to recommend investments in Themiclesia and required Themiclesia to provide adequate land and infrastructure was left unchanged, and the rights of those that have settled in Themiclesia under the 1897 treaty were also re-affirmed by the 1920 treaty.

• The provisions that allowed the President of the OS to garrison OS forces in Themiclesia, the source of much contention, was substituted with a new provision that recognized largely the same, but required the consent of the Themiclesian government; a subordinate clause permitted the OS to do so without seeking Themiclesia's assent "in the case of an emergency where the OS believes, in good faith, that Themiclesia would have assented to its actions had time been available to request thereof".

• The 1898 provision that permitted Themiclesia to expel misbehaving OS troops was repealed, the OS to enhance discipline amongst its own forces and to hold itself responsible for any damages to Themiclesian property caused.

• A new provision allowed the OS envoy-plenipotentiary to Themiclesia to observe proceedings at the Themiclesian court, on condition that he did not disrupt proceedings and the "accustomed and ancient rituals and usages" and did not violate secrecy of the court; a subordinate clause prevented the OS envoy from suggesting changes to the following:—
  • Polling and elections
  • Appointment of civil servants and central and local officials
  • Universities and the public schools
  • Language
  • Rites, ceremonies, and rituals, including matters of religion
  • Collection of public revenues
  • Civil and criminal law

• Another new provision created the "Liberty of the Legation", a small parcel of land located near Gopphow, which Themiclesia agreed to treat "as Federal Territory of the Organized States, whereupon only the laws of the Organized States shall be in force"; conversely, Themiclesia did not consider itself responsible for the safety of this parcel of land or prevented its subjects from going into it.

• Another new provision granted the Organized States the most-favoured nation status, where privileges given to third-party states will extend to the Organized States if the latter did not already enjoy them, or to the same extent.

• Another new provision obligated Themiclesia's government to purchase at least 100 ships from the OS, each costing no less than £1,000,000— in the money of the Kingdom of Tyran, within the next 30 years.

Reception

The Treaty was welcome by...

The Treaty was panned by...

Revolt of 1922

In Jan. 1922, a minor protest occurred near to the Legation Quarter in Gopphow (rendered in the OS as "Gupple"). While the police were reluctant to do anything, an altercation began between a member of the garrison and the protesters, soon leading to a riot. The main grievance of the protest apparently was the compensation of land value that the OS Federal Government had not yet remitted despite annexing the land earlier in the year. The Themiclesian Army again was directed by the government to suppress the incident by gunfire; casualties amounted to between 20 and 30 dead and around 100 wounded. The Themiclesian government then apologized to the OS for the incident and took financial responsibility for the injuries to OS personnel and property.

When the matter was raised in the Council of Protonotaries later that year, the Prime Minister explained that this was a decision taken with incomplete information and could not possibly happen again; then, he proceeded to imply that the Opposition MP only brought this up because his villa, which directly bordered the Legation Quarter, was damaged in the process of the altercation. The Opposition MP was furious at this insinuation and refused to attend the House's meetings for the rest of the term, publishing in the newspapers that he would not sit in a chamber where "a clown, fool, and licensed idiot dressed like a prime minister" sat. When the Protonotaries was to return to sit in Apr. 1923, the Prime Minister apologized for his libellous remarks and sent circus tickets to the MP to "induce him to resume his seat and discharge his promises to his constituents".

Revolt of 1932

The Revolt of 1922 was cited as a direct cause to the Revolt of 1932 that the Nationalist Party of Themiclesia instigated; they believed that the then-PM in 1922 was under OS incentive to act the way he did and compromised the integrity of the political system. The Progressives initially agreed with this position and suggested an investigation into collaborative malfeasance, while the Liberal Party vehemetly rejected these allegations as "spurious inventions". When the 1932 event turned into a disaster, the Liberal Party blamed the bloodshed on the "malicious machinations" of the Fascists, whom, the Liberal government asserted, were under Menghean influence to undermine the political legitimacy of the government and its stability, a treasonable offence. In a remarkable manoeuvre, the Liberal PM procured relevant documents to show that the Fascists were indeed orchestrated by the Mengheans, which in turn helped to sway public opinion against the protesters in 1922. Larry Bonne, writing in 1977, called this "focus-shifting, mis-comparison, and manipulation of true information leading to false conclusion" the Swindle of the Century. Nevertheless, the opinion of the public firmly against both the 1922 and 1932 bloodbaths, the Liberals implemented universal adult franchise to win a resounding majority of votes and seats, and thereby a much stronger mandate to implement conscription (which they did not announce during the election).