Office of Bounties and Factorage
| Office of Bounties and Factorage | |
|
| |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1643 AN - 1678 AN |
| Preceding agency | Ministry of Trade
Succeeded by the Commission for the Fiscus |
| Type | Imperial office |
| Jurisdiction | Imperial Republic of Shireroth |
| Headquarters | Chamber of Guilds and Factorage, Shirekeep |
| Employees | TBA |
| Annual budget | TBA |
| Agency executives | Philemon Lewis, comes sacrarum largitionum and Chief Factor (last) |
| Parent agency | Imperial Government |
| Child agencies |
|
| Functions | Taxation, economic oversight and factorage |
The Office of Bounties and Factorage was an Imperial Office, housed in the Chamber of Guilds and Factorage, under the Ministry of the Interior. It was tasked with overseeing the economy of the Imperial Republic, the collection of taxation, the reward of the Imperial Officers and acts as a mercantile fiducary on behalf of the Kaiser. The Office was presided over by the Comes Sacrarum Largitionum (Count of the Sacred Bounties) who also served as the Chief Factor. The office was for a time administered by the Anzarolexion corporation as a part of its remit to administer the workings of the Ministry of the Interior.
Ministry of Trade
Prior to the creation of the Office of Bounties and Factorage, the office was known as the Ministry of Trade. Probably the least important and least successful of Shirerithian ministries, the Ministry of Trade appeared to be under some sort of curse preventing it from ever developing a successful economy.
Early Function
The first Shirerithian to serve in a Minister of Trade-like capacity was Tony Au, although it is not certain that he actually held the modern-day title. He worked with a straightforward supply-side economic system in which he paid officials' salaries and expected the money to create an economy. Although there were some attempts by people to create companies and buy stocks, the money did not change hands often enough to create a functioning system, and certain loopholes in the plan's design allowed some individuals to accumulate massive hoards of money with little effort. The crown of Au's economic effort was the Intermicronational Currency Exchange Organization, which allowed Shireroth's currency, the Erb, to be easily exchanged with that of other nations. Unpopularity with local merchants, however, prevented the success of this project.
Minister Erik Mortis was the next person to make a significant contribution to the Ministry when he created the Bank of Shireroth. While this made the economy more efficient, it did not change the lack of a functioning system. Kaiser Los II, introduced a gift economy in which citizens were encouraged to give monetary gifts as rewards to citizens who helped the country. This functioned for about half a century. Afterwards, Shireroth's economy returned to a mercantilist system.
It returned to the old methods of salary, taxation, and calculation, and suffered from the same flaw the old methods had revealed in the old days it was regarded as intrusive by the Shirithian population.
Later Function
After a Revival of the Ministry of Trade, Mors V was succeeded by Hasan I. One of the achievements of Hasan's reign was the restoration of the economy and of the Minitrade. Under the guidance of Minister Andreas the Wise and by joining the Small Commonwealth United Economy (SCUE) the economy became more or less stable. However, in the late 5th millenium, the SCUE became unpopular with the Shirithian nobility and population, feeling that it restricted international trade more than it encouraged.
Under Kaiser Verion I, the Ministry of Trade was abolished and the powers of taxation were returned to the Imperial State. Although the financial powers were once again resumed by the Imperial Government in the decades following, the Ministry of Trade was not re-opened.
comes sacrarum largitionum
In 1641 AN, Shireroth withdrew from the moribund SCUE currency union. At the same time, the cost of undertaking the reconstruction of Shirekeep, combined with the burgeoning rearmament programme undertaken by the Imperial Forces began to place a strain on the public finances, to the point that even Malarbor began to take a morbid delight in making loud oracular prognostications of an impending catastrophe to any unfortunate mortals who came within earshot. By 1643 it was apparent to all that the debt burden could no longer be met through the traditional public revenues and Kaiser Dominus instructed the MinInt to bring in the Lord of Blackstone as Count of the Sacred Bounties and Chief Factor in order to save the Imperial Republic from a humiliating default.
As such, the comes sacrarum largitionum became a figure of tremendous influence. He was responsible for all money taxes, examined banks, mints and mines everywhere, watched over all forms of industry, and paid out the budgets of the many departments of the state, the upkeep of imperial palaces and other buildings, supplied the Courts with clothing and other items. To accomplish these many tasks, he was aided by a large central staff and field force.
During the disorders of 1644 the Sacred Treasury was twice looted by conspirators in the plot to assassinate the Kaiser Dominus; on the first occasion by Ludovic Verion, the Count of the Sacred Bounty, after he turned on his co-conspirators, and in the second instance by Tokaray al-Osman after he after he acknowledged the failure of his attempted coup and fled for Mishalan.
In 1646, in a further desperate attempt to rescue the Imperial finances in the wake of the Wars of the Dark Orchid and the ongoing Sxiro-Jingdaoese Confrontation, the Steward, Daniyal Dravot, decreed that any person found conducting trade across state boundaries without having first been registered with the Office of Bounties and Factorage could be garroted and hung from the Gates of the Guttuli[1].
The Salomeid currency reforms of 1678 AN would see the office replaced by the Commission for the Fiscus.
The traditions of the Office of Bounties and Factorage would be revived in the Office of the Sacred Treasury, established in the Benacian Union after 1699 AN.
Office Holders
- 1643–1646: Ludovic Verion
- 1646–1654:
- 1654–1657: Anzarolexion as Minister of the Interior (in commission)
- 1657–1672: Philemon Lewis
- 1672ndash;1678: office in abeyance
- 1678: replaced by the Commission for the Fiscus
Subordinate Offices
Subordinate offices of the Office of the Sacred Bounties:
| Office | Office description | Office holder |
|---|---|---|
| The chief clerk | Chief advisor to the comes sacrarum largitionum | Virginia Delacroix |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of fixed taxes | In charge of setting tax rates on individuals, enterprises and transations | Anton Yastreb |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of records | Scribe and recordkeeper of the Office of the Sacred Bounties | Nathan Dalion |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of accounts | In charge of private and public accounts and overseeing accountholders | Petros Ozymandias |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of gold bullion | In charge of storage of the gold reserve of the Imperial Republic | Kurt Walraf |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of gold for shipment | Overseeing and safeguarding the transport of gold | Howard Alstair |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of the sacred wardrobe | In charge of storing, sorting and safeguarding the Imperial Wardrobe | Nadia Charmaine Magista |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of silver | In charge of storage and transport of the silver reserve of the Imperial Republic | Tiberius Stark |
| The chief clerk of the bureau of coinage | In charge of the Imperial Mint | Robert Goldslayer |
Subordinate offices of the Chief Factorage:
| Office | Office description | Office holder |
|---|---|---|
| The counts of the bounties and the counts of the markets in all the Imperial Dominions | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in the Imperial Dominions | Teodric Ilsidur |
| The counts of metals in Mishalan | Overseeing and regulating the trade in metals in Mishalan | Fjodor Romanovitsj |
| The count and accountant of the general tribute in the Western Territories | Overseeing the annual payment of tribute in Batavia, the Confederacy, Lywall, Siyacha, and Westpoint | Martin van den Hove |
| The accountants of the general tribute | Overseeing the annual payment of tribute in the Imperial Republic | Frederick Young |
| The magisters of the linen vesture | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in the linen trade | Sofia Corby |
| The magisters of the private vesture | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in private vesture | Arik Tuomassen |
| The procurators of the factories | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in the factories | Raynor Brunell |
| The procurators of the weaving-houses | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in the weaving-houses | Oliver Sigourney |
| The procurators of the dye-houses | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in the dye-houses | Salvador Picasso |
| The procurators of the mints | Assisting the Chief Clerk of the Bureau of Coinage | Samwise Polk |
| The provosts of the goods despatch | Overseeing the implementation of regulations in transport of goods | Victor Hubertus |
| The procurators of the Guilds | Overseeing the implementation of regulations among the guilds | Carolus Einhornsson |
| The provost of the posts | Overseeing the Imperial Postal Service (est. 1651 AN) | Titus Alexander Malfredius Splick |
