Back in January I got wind of a new
study that was being put together on
monarchic vs. republican governance.
When I contacted the author I was
informed that the study was about to
undergo peer review and would be
available around the end of April. The
author was thoughtful enough to
remember my inquiry and send along
a PDF of the now peer reviewed study.
...And I promptly got swamped with political stuff and haven't
​been able to take a look at the study till now.

Symbolic Unity, Dynastic Continuity, and
Countervailing Power: Monarchies, Republics, and
the Economy is the study put together by Mauro Guillén of
the University of Pennsylvania and comes to four conclusions:
1. Compared to republics, monarchies reduce the negative
effect of internal conflict on property rights. 
2. Compared to republics, monarchies reduce the negative
effect of executive tenure on property rights.
3. Compared to republics, monarchies reduce the negative
effect of the discretion of the executive branch on property
rights.
All of which rely on the common economic argument that:
4. A greater degree of protection of property rights results in
better economic outcomes.

The first point should be familiar to any monarchist that has
argued having a non-partisan head of state is a good thing.
This is essentially what was tested. This study is exciting in
how it connects the dots with other studies. For instance the
study "Economic Growth & Institutional Reform in
Monarchies & Republics" came to the conclusion that
monarchies seemed to perform better at times of great
institutional change but couldn't narrow down why. This
paper provides a plausible answer as to why this might be. 

Now, this paper mainly helps constitutional monarchies.
While absolute monarchies did well on point one they were
shown to have the same problems as republics with points
two and three (I'm actually not sure whether absolutists or
republicans would be more upset with that comparison).

The study did provide some good news for republicans;
"The evidence that the effects hold relative to parliamentary
republics and democratic republics separately is consistent
with Weber’s theorizing as well, except that parliamentary
republics seem to be able to handle executive tenure as well
as monarchies, and democratic republics to address
executive discretion as effectively as monarchies."
So while republics can compete with constitutional
monarchies on certain points they can't on all points. This
study provides more backing for the argument that no good
can come from Canada becoming a republic.

As always, the new studies have been added to Useful Links.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

On Wednesday Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau attended a
youth forum in Toronto where
he was asked about the value of
Canada being a monarchy. His
​answer raises some questions.

The recording of the youth forum is available on CPAC with
the relevant section starting at the one hour mark: "What are
your thoughts on monarchy? And also, do you see us freeing
ourselves from paying the English Royal Family taxes in the
future?" Now, this is pedantic but since it comes up so much
I will again note that there is no 'English Royal Family' as
there is no government of England for there to be a royal
family of. It would be more correct to say the 'British Royal
Family', or even the 'Jamaican Royal Family', but in the
Canadian context it is most correct to say the 'Canadian Royal
Family' or simply the 'Royal Family' (since I think most
people will get what you mean). If I were a bit more cynical I
would assume the question is framed this way to deny the
Royal Family's legitimacy as a Canadian institution or to
imply it only matters to one of Canada's ethnic groups. But I
digress.

Trudeau's answer goes off the rails immediately, however.
"Canadians pay minimal amounts to the British Monarchy.
When the Queen is here she becomes the Queen of Canada
and there are costs associated with that." As I was about to
facepalm at the reference to paying taxes to the British
Monarchy Trudeau goes a step further and states that the
Queen somehow only becomes Queen of Canada when she is
here. That is false and Trudeau ought to know it is false. But
I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since its the
last question of an hour-long Q&A session. He does point out
that he doesn't think eliminating the monarchy is an effective
cost saving measure. Ok, that answer was a little rough
around the edges but he might do better as he goes on.

"The question needs to be; do we need to eliminate the
monarchy from Canada in order to succeed more as a
country? Is the monarchy holding us back in things we
would like to do but are unable to do and succeed as a
country?" He then answers that he is a pragmatic in that he
doesn't see what benefits having a Canadian-born head of
state would bring. He then goes into the more standard
argument that having a head of state that does not involve
themselves politically is a good thing. He touches on how the monarchy's setup today is a tradition going back 150 years
and if we started up a new country today called Canada we
might choose to not have a head of state that lives in a
different country (interestingly he doesn't say he believes we
wouldn't choose to have a monarchy again).

"It isn't harming us or preventing our success." If you want to
listen to the full answer Justin Trudeau gave the link is at the
top of the article. Lets be clear, his answer was an argument
for Canada remaining a monarchy and I will give him credit
for that. But as the Monarchist League of Canada has
pointed out Trudeau seemed to rely more on negative
arguments for the monarchy's defence (ie. arguing against
change rather than arguing for monarchy in its own right).

This is unfortunate as there are a lot of positive arguments for
monarchy. People have made those arguments. Prominent Canadians have made those arguments throughout our
history. It shouldn't be too much to expect our prime minister
to be able to make a positive case for not only keeping our
​monarchy but celebrating it.

Perhaps more worrying is his final statements that future
leaders might decide to ending the monarchy is important. If
he made that statement at any other event I wouldn't raise an
eyebrow. But this was a youth forum which presumably has
those future leaders Trudeau was referring to. Was this
statement added in to encourage them to pursue this? I don't
know but the Prime Minister's answers should raise concern. 

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour   

Happy Victoria Day everyone!

This blog is now fours years old. Some goals that this blog set
when it was first started have been reached while others could
use a renewed focus in order to achieve. But overall, it is in
good shape.

There has been a three year gap in these blog updates so it is
perhaps necessary to talk about where this blog is going in the
​near future.

Hiring a summer student
One good thing to come out of the controversy surrounding
the federal government's attestation requirement for summer
job grants is that it got me thinking about the possibility of
hiring a summer writing position for the blog. Initial inquiries
have been promising and we may be able to hire a student for
the 2019 summer season.

A Kisaragi Colour is slacking off
At this point in time some may be noticing a decline in post
frequency. This is due to A Kisaragi Colour (who writes the
vast majority of posts) having thrown his hat into the ring to
win a seat in the upcoming New Brunswick provincial
election. As such there will be fewer posts until September
and potentially after.

Custom Logo
The way Weebly handles thumbnails on Facebook has never
been satisfactory. It essentially gives a choice of the pictures
in the blogs sidebar. This has led to the coat of arms of the
Monarchist League of Canada becoming this blog's de facto 
thumbnail image. While a great organization, this blog would
prefer not to rely on the League for its graphics. As such an
effort will be made this summer to create a unique logo for
​the blog.

Section Redesign
The Discussion Topic section never really worked as intended.
It has been redesigned and renamed the Special Projects
section. This will allow this website to better showcase its
advocacy roles.

Here is to hoping the next four years are even more successful
than the last four.

Loyally Yours,
The Maple Monarchists

It can sometimes be hard to review a book
where you are not the intended audience.
Either it will end up seeming too technical, too simple, or simply full of information
you already know. Battle Royal written by
David Johnson avoids the first two pitfalls
but toes the line on the third one for me.
It is nonetheless an interesting look at the
monarchist vs. republican debate in
Canada and the future of the Canadian
Crown. First, a look at the book's layout.

The third chapter begins looking at what is meant by the
'Crown' and the various offices connected to the monarchy.
Chapters four and five return to recounting history to explain
why the monarch is largely limited to 'soft power' and the
remaining bits of 'hard power' that are still a prerogative of
Crown. This includes an examination of the Prorogation Crisis
of 2008. Throughout the chapters mentioned both republican
and monarchist arguments are given in what I would call an
even-handed manner (although, throughout I think the
author gave the republican arguments too much credit though
republicans would likely say the same for the monarchist
arguments).

Chapter six looks at the alternative to monarchy (republic). It
is a fair overview of the history of republicanism. It includes
a good run-down of the dangers the monarchy faced in the
1970s as well as more indirect challenges in the 80s and 90s.
It also includes a good overview of public opinion polls up to
the present day.

Chapters seven and eight deal with the debate between the
republicans and monarchists with chapter seven dealing with
the monarchy as an institution and chapter eight having
more to do with the Royal Family. This is not a comfortable
read for a monarchist but arguably a necessary one. It is
important to know what your enemy's arguments are after
all. By this point David Johnson has asked open ended
questions in every chapter (not a style choice I really liked but
whatever) and it is here they start to be answered.

Chapter nine is where republics would likely shed salty, salty
tears as it deals with the constitutional hurdles of reforming
the monarchy. Not only does it explain the hurdles it looks at
every argument and plan republicans have made to overcome
or by-pass them and reveals them to be pure folly built on
ignorance and desperation. It is a beautiful chapter.

Chapter ten looks at the beginning of the future King Charles
III's reign. One prediction has already come true: Charles will
be the next Head of the Commonwealth. But while the various
speculations are fun there is a serious question asked (and
one of the few really interesting ones in the book):

This is the chapter where the author earns his self-proclaimed
title as a 'pragmatic monarchist' and dispelled my lingering
suspicion he might be a crypto-republican. The proposals are
ambitious, but doable if there is the political and royal will.

Overall, I found the last few chapters much more useful than
the entire rest of the book. But that is mostly because I was
aware of most of the information up to chapter eight. But it is
still nice to have the full set of facts and arguments in one
place. The book has an extensive bibliography and is scholarly
without being dry. Overall opinion: Its a decent little book.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

On March 28th the Mad Monarchist
announced that he was done with
blogging for the foreseeable future.
I would like to take this chance to
pay homage to this man for his
​tireless advocacy of monarchy.

The Mad Monarchist has been posting since 2009 with a mix
of historical profiles, current events, rants, and observations.
For six years he maintained a punishing schedule of almost
daily posting. In fact, his output from 2009 alone dwarfs my
total output over these last four years. It was tireless and
somewhat thankless work. As a pan-monarchist he was not
interested in the petty disputes that had divided monarchists
of different cultural or religious backgrounds or the
never-ending dispute on what dynasty should rule France.
As such he sometimes got it from all sides. But he persevered
and he built up a respectable following.

​I, myself, have been following his blog for at least the last four
years and it was his blog that inspired me to start my own tiny
blog focused on the Canadian Monarchy. For being that
inspiration I thank you, Mad Monarchist.

This is not the first time the
Mad Monarchist has decided to
stop posting for a while (or had
to for personal reasons) but his
post did have a sense of finality
to it. Then again he did tack a
'for now' onto the title of the
blog post so who knows?

The monarchist blogosphere
has lost a valuable contributor
and it remains to be seen who
would, or could, pick up the
slack. Perhaps we should take
comfort in the sheer volume of
blog posts he has left behind.

Ok, I'm starting to inadvertently make it sound like he's died.
Time to re-orientate. The Mad Monarchist mentioned some
behind the scenes work he wants to pursue. He left it unsaid
whether this was monarchy-related or a different political
project. But what I do know is that if he says people are never
​likely to stumble upon his new project its likely true.

I suppose as a final parting thought I will re-state an opinion
I've held for sometime now (and which I've told the Mad
Monarchist himself). He should collect his blog posts into a
book. Or at least make a collection of 'greatest hits'. If he does
not intend to keep the blog up forever it would be a suitable
end for it to make the jump to the written page.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

While leaving the Riverview Public
Library I happened to notice a pamphlet
with 'Monarchy' in bright red type (ok,
that was a lie. I noticed the Queen's
image first). The pamphlet was put out by
the Monarchist League of Canada and
gives a good, although brief, overview of
Canada's monarchy. As far as I can tell
the League doesn't count this pamphlet
among its publications or resources on
its website. I will come back to this point
later.

The cover image is from the Queen's last
royal tour of Canada in 2010.

The body of the pamphlet is divided into five sections.

The Canadian Monarchy - An overview of the Crown's
history and the benefits of a non-partisan and hereditary head
of state. The image at the top is of the Queen and a Mountie
looking at something out of frame. Both are serious and I find
the image to be an effective one.

The Queen Speaks To Canadians - A selection of four
quotes by Her Majesty intended to illustrate her role as head
of state. The picture at the top is of Prince Charles and a First
Nation's chief. While it doesn't match the text below it the
importance of underlining the Crown's long friendship with
the First Nations makes it a good picture to place there.

Learning About The Canadian Crown - This section
talks about the League website and what resources it has. The
image at the top is of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
with Prince George. Taken together the images running along
the top show the current monarch and three generations of
heirs. 

I am making my way through
David Johnson's new book Battle
Royal when I came across what is
likely the only recorded case of a
royal crowd-surfing. The context
of this event was the 1919 Royal
Tour by Prince Edward (the future
King Edward VIII). The prince was
scheduled to inspect some
veterans of the recently-ended
Great War in Toronto when there
was a slight breakdown in
discipline. It serves as an excellent
example of the fondness our men
and women in uniform continue to
have for their sovereign. Below is
the account Edward recorded  in
his memoirs.

"The moment I appeared the veterans broke ranks and,
cheering and yelling, surged around me. At first my mount
showed commendable control. Then, as the human mass
engulfed us both, I felt its body quiver. Fortunately, even if
its instinct had been to rear up and bolt, the crowd held it as
a vise. The next thing I knew I was being lifted off the horse's
back by strong hands and passed like a football over the
heads of the veterans. Disheveled, shaken and breathless, I
eventually found myself on the platform, clutching the
crumpled notes of my speech. The roar of cheering had
changed to laughter. I wish Papa could have seen this."

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The New Democratic Party of Canada is holding its policy
convention this weekend in Ottawa. The Monarchist
League of Canada was tipped off that a resolution has been
submitted for debate on ending the Canadian monarchy: 

The League has been told that there is a good chance the
resolution will not even be considered (which is standard for
conventions with large numbers of policy suggestions).
However the League has suggested two courses of action to its
members. 1. Contact convention delegates to express concern
about the resolution and 2. Write a polite letter to the NDP's
leader Jagmeet Singh to state support for the crown and
​opposition to the position in the above resolution.

Trouble-making during policy conventions is nothing new
(the Liberal Party had a similar motion come up at their
policy convention years ago which was voted down). However,
after an extremely disappointing result in the last election and
a growing feeling that the NDP has traded its principles for a
shot at power it is not inconceivable that this resolution could
pass as a sort of 'feel good gesture'. That is assuming it comes
up for a vote at all.

This motion comes on the heels of of Jagmeet Singh making
clear he is less than supportive of the monarchy. It is
possible some members proposed this motion in the hope
that Mr. Singh would be more inclined to support it than
​previous leaders. It is a disappointing development which
may yet come to nothing. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Several members of the Monarchist League's
youth wing successfully blocked the resolution at the policy
panel stage. It will not be debated during the plenary sessions.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

While my last search was side-tracked I still wanted to do
a post about the Canadian Crown Jewels. I sent an inquiry in
to the Governor General's office seeking more information. I
quickly found out that no items have ever been designated as
such. Canada does have a Crown Collection which includes
works of art, furniture, rugs, & other items used for furnishing
the various official residences in Canada but that is not quite
the same. This got me thinking about what items might
constitute Canada's Crown Jewels in an unofficial sense.
Which begs the question: What are crown jewels?

Wikipedia has a list of some common attributes of crown
jewels on their site.
1. Objects of metal work and jewelry in the monarch's regalia.
2. Used by the monarch during special occasions.
3. Often depicted in portraits of the monarch.
4. Symbolize the continuity of the monarchy.
5. Conservative in appearance (see #4).
6. Items remain largely unchanged (see #4 & #5).
Ok, with a clearer idea what constitutes a 'crown jewel' we can
begin to examine possible candidates.

The only entry in this list which is
also a part of the British Crown
Jewels. It is notable that since the
Canadian Crown became distinct
from the British Crown in the 1930s
it is the only one that the monarchs
have been crowned with at their
​coronations. The significance to
Canada really only began with the
reign of Queen Elizabeth II though.

Queen Elizabeth preferred St. Edward's Crown be the heradic
representation of the monarchy in her realms. It replaced the
earlier Tudor Crown (which is not a physical crown) in this
​purpose. As such, when you see a crown displayed in an
official capacity in Canada it most likely is St. Edward's Crown
​you are seeing.

The Queen's Maple Leaf Brooch
has an interesting history. King
George VI originally bought it for
his wife, Queen Elizabeth (the
Queen Mother) on the occasion of
their first state visit to Canada in
1939. This was the first royal tour
of Canada by a reigning monarch.
The brooch was worn frequently
throughout the tour.

It has often been loaned out to members of the Royal Family
when they perform roles related to the Canadian Crown. 
Queen Elizabeth II was the first to borrow it when she was
still a princess. She wore it on her first trip to Canada in 1951.
Both Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Kate, Duchess of
Cambridge, have worn the brooch on their respective royal
tours. The brooch was also worn for the Queen's official
portrait in 2017 to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary.

This brooch was presented to Her
Majesty on July 19th, 2017 at Canada
House in London, England. It was
made both to celebrate the Queen's
Sapphire Jubilee and Canada's 150th
anniversary. This brooch is meant
to be a companion to the Maple Leaf
Brooch.

The sapphires were discovered on Baffin Island by two Inuit
brothers, Seemeega and Nowdluk Aqpik in 2002. It remains
​the only deposit of sapphires ever discovered in Canada.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was
completed in 1885. To mark the event
a small ceremony was conducted as
the last ​spike was driven in. Donald
Smith, who provided financial backing
for the railway, drove the last spike
and... quickly bent it. The bent spike
was removed and later presented to
Donald Smith as a memento. He had
several pins made from the spike.

​The pin is conservative in appearance and is in the shape of a
railway spike. It has 13 diamonds along its length with a single
round piece of iron from the last spike itself in the center.
There were an indeterminate number of pins like this made
(partly due to the jealousy they invoked in the leadership of
the railway company) and the last spike itself has evidence of
having been drilled liberally. Four examples of the pin are
known to exist. The one that was presented to the railways'
president, George Stephen, was donated to Canada's Crown
Collection by a descendant. The Governor General or their
consort wear it for special events. It is the singular piece of
jewelry in the Crown Collection and signifies an event that
helped tie the young country together.

Ok, one might get the impression
that if these items can be considered
a part of Canada's Crown Jewels they
are all very transportable. And indeed
the monarch and vice-regal office
holders are often on the move when
carrying out their duties. Like one of
the other examples above this brooch
was a gift for Her Majesty.

​The brooch was presented to Her Majesty in 2013 by the
Lieutenant-Governor ​of Saskatchewan, Vaughn Schofield. It
was created by a jeweler in Regina. The brooch quickly
entered Her Majesty's rotation of brooches. Sadly, we are not
likely to see the Queen wear it on Canadian soil as Her
Majesty does not travel long distances anymore. 

This has been a brief overview of items I feel belong to an
unofficial Crown Jewels of Canada. There could very well be
others with their own stories to tell about the Canadian
Crown. And, who knows, maybe one day someone will
designate these items as being officially Canada's Crown
Jewels.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

A student organization at the University of Liverpool is in a
bit of hot water over a tweet it made on January 29th (since
deleted). The University of Liverpool Labour Students
seemed to advocate in the tweet that Queen Elizabeth II be
beheaded:

They have since apologized and stated the tweet was 'tongue-
in-cheek'. Now, this is not the first time in recent memory that
an organization/person connected to the Labour Party has
said some stupid thing and then justified it by claiming it was
all a joke.

But let us take them at their word that this was a joke rather
than a serious proposal. What kind of people joke about the
execution of another person, let alone their head of state?
Especially, when actual beheadings are becoming much more
common with the rise of ISIS. But civility is declining
everywheres it seems. The president of the Philippines has
joked about rape multiple times and in one notable
instance about eating someone. 

It is concerning when these 'jokes' are made because it shines
a light on what the person thinks are acceptable norms in
society. On the flip side it makes light of a terrible period in
English history. Had there been no outcry that tweet would
still be up ​and they would be fine with it.

To the credit of many Labour Party members on campus they
quickly distanced themselves from the comments made by
their student leadership. For my part I sent a quick email to
the Vice-Chancellor expressing my concerns about this
incident. This is important as the actions of a few students
reflects poorly on the University of Liverpool as a whole.

UPDATE: The Vice-Chancellor has replied to my email. The
full text of this reply is at the bottom of this post. 

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour