“The strategus sitting with six commissioners, being councillors of the
nation, are the signory of the commonwealth.”
The censors are magistrates of the ballot, presidents of the Council for
Religion, and chancellors of the universities.
“The second part of the tropic perpetuates the Council of State, by the
election of five knights out of the first region of the Senate, to be
the first region of that council consisting of fifteen knights, five in
every region.
“The like is done by the election of four into the Council of Religion,
and four into the Council of Trade, out of the same region in the
Senate; each of these councils consisting of twelve knights, four in
every region.
“But the Council of War, consisting of nine knights, three in every
region, is elected by and out of the Council of State, as the other
councils are elected by and out of the Senate. And if the Senate add a
juncta of nine knights more, elected out of their own number, for the
term of three months, the Council of War, by virtue of that addition, is
Dictator of Oceana for the said term.
“The signory jointly or severally has right of session and suffrage in
every senatorial council, and to propose either to the Senate, or any of
them. And every region in a council electing one weekly provost, any
two of those provosts have power also to propose to their respective
council, as the proper and peculiar proposers of the same, for which
cause they hold an academy, where any man, either by word of mouth or
writing, may propose to the proposers.
“Next to the elections of the tropic is the biennial election of one
ambassador-in-ordinary, by the ballot of the house, to the residence
of France; at which time the resident of France removes to Spain, he
of Spain to Venice, he of Venice to Constantinople, and he of
Constantinople returns. So the orb of the residents is wheeled about in
eight years, by the biennial election of one ambassador-in-ordinary.
“The last kind of election is emergent. Emergent elections are made by
the scrutiny. Election by scrutiny is when a competitor, being made by
a council, and brought into the Senate, the Senate chooses four more
competitors to him, and putting all five to the ballot, he who has most
above half the suffrages is the magistrate. The polemarchs or
field officers are chosen by the scrutiny of the Council of War; an
ambassador-extraordinary by the scrutiny of the Council of State; the
judges and sergeants-at-law by the scrutiny of the seal; and the barons
and prime officers of the Exchequer, by the scrutiny of the Treasury..
“The opinion or opinions that are legitimately proposed to any council
must be debated by the same, and so many as are resolved upon the debate
are introduced into the Senate, where they are debated and resolved, or
rejected by the whole house; that which is resolved by the Senate is
a decree which is good in matters of state, but no law, except it be
proposed to and resolved by the prerogative.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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