Salvete sodales omnes
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*Cut back magistracies, but keep the basics : 1 censor, 1 consul, 1 aedilis, 2 rogatores.
Curio asked that we first consider what SVR is. I think it is a sodalitas, not a state, so my thoughts on what it needs as officers is somewhat different in nature.
Two elected officers. That is all we need elect. Call them curiones or whatever, but they would not be consuls. We definitely need webmasters, but I would not make them have to submit to elections. Rather let the curiones appoint qualified people to do the job, as many as would be needed. The other functions could be done in the Comitia, with the curiones needed to direct some things in the Comitia. But if rogatores were needed for a vote, the curiones would just put it to the Comitia and get some volunteers. Rogatores do not need to be elected. The curiones would also handle most of the duties of censors, but could also submit questions to the Comitia if they needed assistance. For example, with a new member selecting a name, sodales in the Comitia could give their advice without having to hold some fancy title of nomenclator or whatever, and the Latin Inquisition will always be around to give its advice. If there would be some question whether an applicant be admitted, the curiones could submit that question to a vote of the Comitia as well. Recording a new member into SVR could be done by the curiones, or they would direct whoever is acting as the webmaster. If there would be a question about taking some action against a person for breaking the decorum of our sodalitas, that too could be submitted to the Comitia by the curiones, who would either seek its advice, or might possibly put it to a vote of the sodales whther to expel one of its members.
Really all we need are two executive officers, with the Comitia taking the role of the Senate to advise the curiones. We could have more than two curiones, but as a minimum we only need two. In fact I would consider that we have 2 to 5 curiones, and if we did not have enough people interested in doing the job, then having however many take the offices would be enough, with two as a minimum. Just like when Rome employed tribunes with consular powers and alternated between those offices and consules.
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*Remove the senate, the praetores, the magister morum and the quaestores.
The Comitia itself, the sodales assembled as a sodalitas, can fulfill the duties of all these offices.
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*Organise elections once every two years.
Very well. I don't think we need annual elections. Make it so that curiones can run as often as they want. If they are not doing the job, then vote them out.
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*The role of the removed instances and the veto-right against the magistratus sine collega to be transfered to the Comitia.
Agreed. This is a sodalitas. Start thinking in terms of SVR acting as a sodalitas of all its members.
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*Remove familiae, gentes and provincia.
Definitely. There has never been any need for these in SVR.
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*Keep the collegia as they are now (four in number), each with 1 rector elected for two years, at the same time as the magistrates. A magistracy and a rectorship can be combined.
Define what are the duties of a rector and make them perform the duties. Let us not have just empty titles here.
Quintus Pomponius Atticus wrote:*Feel free to comment on these few musings !
Tomorrow, I will post a few comments about what I consider the goals and purposes of a future SVR.
We can also have some fun with this. We all joke about having a Latin Inquisition in SVR. That is part of the character of SVR. So why not take advantage of it. Put it on the website, the High Commission of the Latin Inquisition, with those we kid about being the Latin Inquisition recognized as such. And Name Marius our resident storyteller, etc. And do likewise with some of the other characters we have attracted into this place. Display some of the personalities we have. Remember that we are a sodalitas, and have some fun with it.
Valete optime