WM: Minutes of the Merchant Council of Samheen 27th

[Maeve]

Item 1.
Proposal A : Denial of any financial claims by citizens that have vacated their lands.
Point A gave rise to a few quick statements. They were formal and just reflected the main mood of the council. Nobles should get lost. They were in league with the king and their hold on lands of the Mouth was.. debatable at best.
Point A - was voted in favor almost unanimously. While there were no votes against, a few of the lesser known councilors withheld their vote.

Proposal B : Distribution of the Lands that were vacated by councilor Severo Lo Russo, for the good of the citizens of the Mouth. No less than a third to be distributed to the people of the Seams.
This was coupled with please to see to a fair redistribution of such lands and the fine qualities of councilor Severo to over see such a procedure, as covered in point B. While not entirely novel, it had not been done often before and was somewhat of a revolution. Pulling out so many of the poor of the Seams to give them a piece of land, away from the vapors. It was a dramatic reduction of that quarter and no doubt a general improvement of Mouthie health.
Point B - was less favorite. Indigo voted against, Heugotte in favor. Votes nearly split, but there was a small majority in favor of installing Lo Russo as the official distributor of the newly gained lands

Proposal C : Recognition of the ULT as an official guild representing the workers of the Seams."
It was point C that got the hottest debates. The settled institutions such as several guilds, but also the companies of the diverse harbors protested this latest move hotly. They were NOT in agreement, that much was clear. Some of the councilors found themseveles persuaded whereas others... debated the existance of the ULT and the rogue Alvero as if he was Dark Brother come to slay the One.
Point C - amazingly.. the votes tied! The guilds voted against. Magister Otavio and Carloni voted in favor. Severo withheld his vote.

Item 2 had been glossed over in the above.

Item 3 was a report on the tensions of Taquar, and no decisions were taken. It almost sounded like a repeat of the former meeting, suggesting that some more sensitive material might have been part of the briefing of the council that was not deemed appropriate for public consumption.

Item 4 was hotly debated, with each councilor taking the opportunity to preach before his own community without adding too much to the depth of the debate. It was a foregone conclusion. The Mouth rejected the taxes, or rather delayed them, claiming internal problems of rebuilding. Once again the riots served well.

Point of order number 5 regarding the troops met a similar stonewalling tactic as the taxes as was to be expected. They were both part of the same package

Item 6 was in fact a Request of the Purificatio Liasons Office regarding Exemption Licenses. All pagans must leave the Mouth, save for those having economical worth. Anybody non-human (assumed pagan per its birth) or of the pagan faith as proven by the Purificatio would have to buy such a license, which came at the costly sum of 15 crowns. Alternatively the pagans could proof their net worth was in excess of 20 crowns. For this the Liason Office envisaged an auction. In true Mouthie fashion the non-humans were now considered goods, and bonds would be issued so that one or more persons would hold stock in the presumed pagan, raising the necessary 20 crowns to let them stay in the Mouth, and hence forth have a right to the both labor and a rent on the bonds. The bonds could be sold at any time, representing a worth on the Mouthie markets

Item 7 was passed over elegantly, and the floor was opened for smaller requests from the citizens themselves, the final item 8. However the thoughts and minds of the people were so occupied with the momentous decisions of this merchant council session that only the very persistant had logged their minor requests, and none of them were of note. It included the approval of a business charter for a lady Rasine Sabatini of the Citadel, late of the Mouth for a gentlemans club for private entertainment with the flowery title The Order of the Lily.