Conference at the Gwren Hall Arcade

The Conference at the Gwren Hall Arcade (闤廊之會) was a meeting between Themiclesian military officers that happened between February 1 — 4, 1868, during the six-month Camian blockade of the Bay of Themiclesia following the Battle of Liang-la. The conference is significant in the development and professionalization of the Themiclesian defence forces, being one of the first recorded instances were military officers were tacitly permitted to confer not at the behest of the government, as it was formerly the case that military officers only publicly express an opinion at the request of the government. The place where the conference occurred, that is the arcades around the Gwren Hall, gives its name to the conference.

Context

Camia's paranoia and conquest

In early 1867, a public fear of Themiclesian invasion ripped across Camia, and the Isle of Liang-la, which was under Themiclesian control but only 40 miles off the Camian coast, was suspected to be used by the Themiclesians as a stockpile of troops and weapons for the alleged invasion plan. The fear was actively propagated by Adrian Acker III, who hoped to discredit the incumbent Liberal administration's commitment to defence. Bowing down to public opinion, the government demanded Themiclesia hand over the Isle, explaining that the Themiclesian-controlled island was too close to Camia for comfort. The Envoy Secretary (foreign minister) in Themiclesia rejected the demand but informed the Camian government that Theimclesia's troop position on the island was limited to two battalions of marines―far from that which would support an invasion of Camia.

Despite the miniscule number of troops on the island, the Envoy Secretary's response appears to have only reinforced Acker's message in Camia, which prevented the Liberal government from backing down on its demand to hand over the island. The Themiclesian government, led by the Baron of Mik, refused to hand over the island, finding the island valuable to resist a putative Camian naval invasion and as a bastion against fleets entering the Meh Sea. Mik communicated the second of these reasons to the Camian government, hoping to send overtones of a shared defensive resolve should a common enemy appear; however, once again, the Camian presses controlled by Acker printed the first reason as proof that the Themiclesian government was not only hostile to Camian independence but also actively plotting to undermine Camian power in the Meh.

Under these circumstances, Acker III was voted into office in a landslide. With a strong mandate, Acker commanded the Camian forces to capture the Isle in December 1867 and imprison the Themiclesian troops there, being caught off guard. The commander on the island, the renowned mathematician Lord M'reng, was arrested and brought to Camia. Having captured the island, Acker went on what historians describe as a pure gamble and commanded the fleet to sail further east until they blocked off access to the Bay of Themiclesia, and the president informed the Themiclesians that he would not command his fleet to leave the Bay until Themiclesia delivered reparations in the amount of £20,000,000. In January 1868, the Mik Government held 20 cabinet meetings, and the general feeling was that the Camians would eventually go away, since they are neither prepared to invade continental Themiclesia nor pay for the cost of supplying a fleet at sea doing nothing.

Themiclesian response

By February 1868, growing public panic compelled the Themiclesian government to respond openly to the blockade, and Parliament was recalled in Kien-k'ang to discuss a proper response. The House of Commons passed an Humble Address, requesting Emperor Myen, only in the second year of his reign, quickly to declare war and eject the Camian fleet. The House of Lords wanted the Government to tabulate the exact amount such a military response would cost and compare it to the reparations demanded. Learning of the Lords' response, the Commons criticized the character of the reparations, observing quite accurately that Themiclesia never even attacked the Camian troops on the Isle and should not be beholden to repay any cost the Camians incurred. Lord Gwrang-gwai, being the Goverment Leader and Mik's lieutenant in the Commons, stated that, "We will not pay for their conquest of our island." Mik explained that mounting a defensive campaign would be costly and that the reparation option should be seriously considered.

Select committee hearings

The Lords appointed a select committee of 19 peers to examine the costs and feasibility of the defensive campaign, while directing the Government to present witnesses to the Committee. Under this directive, the Government summoned over 100 naval and military officers (amongst others) to give opinions as to whether a defensive campaign can and should be mounted, and at what cost. The committee sat between February and March 1868 but failed to report exactly on the questions about cost, as the future costs were too uncertain to be calculated reliably; it could only state that a defence is estimated to cost at least ₤15.5 million per year. The committee also reported that a defensive campaign was technically feasible given the geography, the state of the coffers, and the expected commitment of the Camian government (as analyzed by the Envoy Office). While the committee sat, the military officers summoned to give opinions often met at the arcades by Gwren Hall, conferring amongst themselves about the technical questions asked by the committee, even though they were not instructed to do so.

Conference

The select committee decided that it would address the question regarding the feasibility and cost of home defence against a landing Camian force first, as without a plausible and reasonably economical defensive strategy, there was no question of refusing the reparations demanded. If home defence was feasible, the committee would then move onto the question of how much the naval operation to repulse the Camians would also cost. With these two costs discovered, the Committee would be in a position to compare them to the amount of reparations demanded.

Military officers of captain rank or above were summoned to comment on a hypothetical Camian invasion. The committee met in the afternoon, but as the summoned officers lodged in the palace, they often met in the mornings in the corridors adjoining the committee room, in preparation for the day's agenda. A key motivation for the summoned officers to consult each other was the committee's habit of asking questions that are confusing or difficult to answer based on known information. Thus, the officers relied on each other to understand better the peers' questions and to give coherent answers. The number of officers summoned was unprecedented for committee hearings, as the Government hoped that a watertight response could be generated in the committee and shore up Conservative support in the upper house. This was crucial to the government's survival, as the Commons looked increasingly likely to withdraw confidence in the Government as 1868 progressed.

Given the pressure on the Government, it sent several barons- and gentlemen-in-waiting as unofficial representatives to encourage the military officers, then lodged in the palace, to meet frequently and discuss Themiclesia's options thoroughly before the day's committee hearings began.