THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY — 9th Day of Felinose
(Published in the Flag of the Republic, 10th of Felinose, Year 20)
Presiding: Citizen Vernas
Today the Judicial Committee of the National Assembly deliberated upon the case of Rupert and Clarence Afsen, former princes, sons of the former tyrant.
The galleries of the Committee Hall were filled to the last seat by patriotic citizens, who, in their natural love of justice, greeted these traitorous scoundrels with cries of anger and disgust.
Opening of Proceedings
The Presiding Citizen.
Citizen Rupert Afsen, you stand accused, among other things, of having borne, before and after the Proclamation of the Republic, the unnatural and unconstitutional title of “prince”;
of having laboured for the destruction of the Republic and of the Guntreland Nation;
of having, both before and after the Proclamation, organized and participated in beatings and murders of patriots and innocent citizens;
of having sold royal warrants of arrest, by which many innocent people spent long years in dungeons without the fair trial which we, in our magnanimity, now grant you;
of having issued such warrants in the name of your father, the tyrant Afsen, against your personal enemies, the enemies of your mistresses, and other victims of your idle intrigues;
of having incited cruelty toward captured Republicans and distinguished yourself therein;
of having taken part in the persecution of werewolf citizens;
of having burned money and slaughtered Republican animals in the hunt—and so forth, and so forth.
How do you plead to these charges?
Rupert Afsen.
Vernas, I thought you had learned in your youth what becomes of plebeians who imagine they may judge their betters. Next time you shall not escape with only a missing leg and an eye. And learn some manners: one addresses a prince as Your Highness.
(Shameful words of the accused Rupert Afsen were met with loud hissing and cries of “Boo!” from the audience.)
The Presiding Citizen. (rings the presidential bell)
Within the hour, citizen, your life shall be forfeit. Your time has tolled.
Show respect when you address the Committee of Justice.
Those who show disrespect to the Sovereign People, embodied in this Committee, shall be declared outlaws.
(Applause from the audience.)
Rupert Afsen.
You would not dare to condemn us. I am the son of your master.
And if you do condemn me, your superiors will order my release—for they fear my father, who shall soon return.
There will be no mercy for those who slay the sons of kings.
The Presiding Citizen. (rings)
Citizen members of the Judicial Committee, do you share my conviction that the accused, in full possession of his faculties, has denied the right of the Sovereign People to judge him, thereby declaring himself a traitor and enemy?
Members of the Committee. (in unison) Yes!
A voice from the audience: “Give the swine to us!”
The Presiding Citizen.
I have the legal authority, in the name of the National Assembly, to declare you outlawed at once.
Yet I wish you to confront at least one of your crimes before punishment is pronounced.
Do you know the citizen David Angber?
Rupert Afsen.
Some wretch without name or crest—like yourself, Vernas, and the rest of this so-called Committee.
The Presiding Citizen.
We are citizens who bear a crest—the crest of the Republic, of which we are sovereign members!
(These noble and patriotic words of Citizen Vernas were met with long and frenzied applause from the audience.)
Guards, bring in the witness.
Entrance of the Witness
The witness entered under escort.
Though recorded as thirty-one years of age, his hair was already gray; he moved slowly and with visible effort.
With a firm gaze he looked first at one, then at the other of the accused.
The Presiding Citizen.
Citizen witness, do you recognize this accused?
Angber.
Yes. That is Prince Rupert—pardon, Citizen Rupert Afsen.
Rupert Afsen. (laughing mockingly, insolently, fixing a scornful gaze on the witness, then upon the presiding citizen)
Even your witness knows that I am a prince. Angber—you have not bowed to your princes!
The Presiding Citizen. (rings)
Citizen accused, be silent!
Citizen witness, turn toward the Tricolour.
Do you swear before the Court to speak the whole truth and to conceal nothing known to you—by your honour as a Republican?
Angber.
I swear!
(Applause from the audience.)
Testimony of the Witness
The Presiding Citizen.
Citizen witness, how do you know the accused?
Angber.
I know him from my home, in Eustata, at No. 14 Citizen Hurel Street—formerly Queen Henrietta Street—where he appeared one night thirteen years ago, four years before the Republic emerged from secrecy into the public sphere, violating the inviolability of the home guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic.
The Presiding Citizen.
The accused Rupert Afsen, the so-called prince, was in your house?
Angber.
Indeed he was—he and his companions, likely after one of their intemperate revels.
They knocked upon our gate, demanding to be received. None other than he himself.
The Presiding Citizen.
From him, little could be less in the eyes of friends of goodness!
(Applause from the audience.)
What occurred on that occasion?
Angber.
My parents, my sister, and I were greatly surprised.
My father at once invited them in and said he would serve them the best wine and food we possessed.
When he brought the wine and cold roast, Prince Rupert—pardon, the accused—began shouting that my father ought to be ashamed to receive princes and nobles in such a miserable dwelling, for we lived then in great poverty, and our home was indeed very humble.
Then he rose, drew his sabre, and began smashing the furniture, while his companions joined him, until all in the house was damaged or destroyed.
Our watchdog, unable to distinguish the so-called prince from an ordinary brigand, tried to defend us, whereupon Rupert cut him down with his sabre, saying that it was the punishment of all who dared attack one of royal blood.
The Presiding Citizen.
Your dog was in the right, for between princes and brigands there is no difference;
and he died as a man of the Republic would die.
But today, my hounds shall have the final word!
(Thunderous applause from the audience, and even from some members of the Committee.)
Continue—what happened then?
Angber.
Then Rupert Afsen told my father that, since he had failed to host them properly, he must make amends by serving them his daughter.
Those were his words.
One of his companions said that he would be content if the father gave him instead his son—that is, me.
Though my father had behaved servilely until then, pride awoke in him at those words.
He declared that we were citizens of the Republic and acknowledged no authority of theirs.
At this the accused grew enraged and ordered his companions to beat my father, whom we tried in vain to protect.
They struck him with whatever came to hand—
(The witness pauses; from the audience comes the cry of an enraged citizen: “Swine! Throw him to the dogs!”)
They beat him to death!
And after they had… violated my sister, they departed, leaving my father’s bloodied body behind.
But scarce five minutes had passed when the king’s gendarmes entered our home with warrants for the imprisonment of my mother, my sister, and me.
We were in the dungeon four years—until the Liberation of Eustata.
The Presiding Citizen.
Citizen, where are your mother and sister now?
Angber.
They did not survive the horrors of the prison.
They died before the Liberation and were buried in a common grave—together with robbers and murderers.
(Loud outcry from the audience; fists raised toward the accused.)
A voice from the gallery: “Sentence him quickly—or we shall!”
The Presiding Citizen.
Was the second accused, Citizen Clarence Afsen, former heir to the throne, also present?
Angber.
He was—but he alone said nothing, nor took part in the violence.
Yet he was heir to the throne; he could have ordered them to stop.
He merely sat in silence—just as he sits now.
Clarence Afsen. (raising his hand)
Citizens, members of the Committee of Justice, I beg permission to address the witness.
The Presiding Citizen. (rings the bell)
Do not interrupt the witness, accused! I shall grant you the floor when I decide, in accordance with the protocol.
Why did you not ask for the floor when your criminal brother and his companions were committing their crimes?
Very well—I now give you the floor; use it wisely.
Clarence Afsen.
I wish to offer my profound apologies to Citizen Angber for not having prevented the grievous crime committed against his family.
A voice from the gallery:
Oh, do you now!
The Presiding Citizen.
Eh? Ah! You should have thought of that then.
The witness has nothing to gain from your apologies.
Citizen witness, in your judgment, what punishment should befall the accused?
Angber.
The President of the Committee of Public Command, Citizen Herman Henscher, has said: “To spare vice is to punish virtue.”
For both accused, I demand death!
(The words of Citizen Angber are met with loud acclamations from the gallery: “Thus it is! Long live Citizen Angber!”)
The Presiding Citizen.
Your judgment is noble and just in the eyes of all good citizens.
Citizen accused Rupert Afsen, what have you to say concerning the testimony of Citizen Angber?
Do you acknowledge it as the truth?
Rupert Afsen.
I still remember his sister—how she screamed.
But I took even greater delight in watching his old father bend beneath the blows of my cane, learning his proper place.
And I declare that the witness still has not learned it; clearly the lesson given him was not sufficient.
These words provoked the strongest signs of indignation in the hall.
From among the audience there flew—symbol of the noble popular hatred of the good People against the unmasked evil of royalism—a log, which fell upon the floor near the accused.
The Presiding Citizen. (rings the bell)
Your words are an insult to all good citizens, who grow impatient to see your sentence fulfilled.
Therefore I withdraw from you the right to speak.
By law, the Committee may render judgment before completion of all formalities if it has attained conviction of the accused’s guilt.
Who votes that the accused, Rupert Afsen, be declared guilty of the crimes charged against him—
since one crime, proven beyond doubt to have been committed by him, suffices for the severest punishment—
and that, having also discerned his character and habits, we conclude without reasonable doubt that he has committed all other crimes enumerated in the indictment,
and that he be declared outlawed as a traitor and enemy of the Republic?
Members of the Committee. (each in turn) For!
(Enthusiastic applause from the audience, and cries of “Honour the Constitution, Citizens!”)
The Presiding Citizen.
Former citizen rupert afsen,
in the name of the People of the Republic of Guntreland,
the Committee of Justice hereby declares you outlawed and deprives you of all rights—beginning with the right to live.
Guards!
Take this enemy and traitor to the courtyard of the Court and set the hungry hounds upon him, that they may tear him apart—as he deserves!
(Triumphant shouts from the people in the galleries; some citizens, rejoicing at the realization of justice, imitate the barking of dogs.)
rupert afsen. (shouting as the guards drag him out)
They will not dare loose the dogs upon me! They know my father shall soon return—and that there shall be no mercy for those who spill dynastic blood!
This rabble will soon bow again to the king—or starve!
And it is you they shall hiss at when you turn upon the wheel for what you now do!
(The guards drag the condemned man out by force, amid the jubilant cheers of the People.)
The Presiding Citizen.
Accused citizen Clarence Afsen,
you stand charged with one hundred and twenty criminal offenses, including the bearing of an unnatural and unconstitutional title — that of “Prince” — and the advocacy of the destruction of the Republic and of the Guntrelandic Nation;
with murder, persecution, and imprisonment of innocent citizens and good Republicans; with the particular persecution of citizens of lycanthropic extraction; with the robbery of the People; with the killing of Republican animals during the practice of royal hunting; and with the burning of paper money — all of which, according to the indictment, you have committed both before and after the Proclamation of the Republic.
Have you read the indictment, and how do you plead to its charges?
Clarence Afsen.
Citizen President of the Committee,
I wish to plead guilty to all the crimes of which I am accused.
I have not personally committed a single one of them, yet I had the means to prevent many — and I did not.
Therefore I accept full responsibility.
Except for the vile accusations that I desired the ruin of the Guntrelandic Nation, or that I took pleasure in witnessing the executions of its citizens — as is claimed in one of the counts of the indictment.
Never have I wished misfortune or suffering upon the people of Guntreland.
The Presiding Citizen.
He who wishes the survival of monarchy, wishes the destruction of the Nation!
(Applause from the audience.)
Have you anything to say in your defense before your sentence is pronounced?
Clarence Afsen.
I confess before the People of Guntreland that I too lightly regarded the elevation of my position—
The Presiding Citizen.
The position of an heir to tyranny is not high, but low!
(Prolonged and frenzied applause from the citizens and members of the Committee.)
Clarence Afsen.
— and that I did not serve the Nation with the dignity it deserves; that I allowed grievous crimes to be committed for which my conscience condemns me more severely than any court or committee could;
and for that, I am ready to accept any punishment.
I express remorse for every injustice that, under the reign of kings, befell any inhabitant of Guntreland.
I express remorse as well for the grievous wrongs that were, criminally and without any justification, inflicted upon you personally, Citizen President of the Committee of Justice.
(Here the record recalls to readers present and future that Citizen Vernas, in the old regime a young royal magistrate, was mutilated and tortured by the tyrant’s men for having rendered justice against a nobleman who had murdered a burgher.)
I beg the Committee to act justly, and worthily of the People in whose name it judges.
Citizeness Buckholz.
You are more honorable than your brother, accused citizen.
Since your crimes were committed by inaction rather than by deed, and since it was your position rather than your will that placed you in rebellion against the Republic,
I believe outlawry would be unfit, and that a civil penalty — life imprisonment — would be sufficient.
(Several voices from the audience: “Boo!”)
Citizen Diefenbach.
The so-called Prince is a capital criminal against the Republic by the very fact that he knowingly and willingly presented himself as a prince!
(Numerous voices from the audience: “True! Hurrah!”)
The Presiding Citizen.
Do any other members of the Committee wish to speak?
A voice from the gallery:
Throw him to the dogs!
(No further members request the floor.)
The Presiding Citizen.
No — but the People have spoken, and it is in their name that we sit here.
Citizen Buckholz has proposed that a civil penalty be pronounced.
I remind you: whoever has even for a moment willingly and consciously borne a title contrary to the Constitution is a rebel and an enemy, and cannot be punished as a citizen.
Who votes that Clarence Afsen receive a civil sentence?
(Six hands are raised.)
Eh? As you wish! But I shall record my dissent.
Now we proceed to vote upon the penalty itself.
Before the vote, I remind you of one thing:
Virtue is indivisible.
Whoever has committed any wrong against the Republic deserves the severest punishment.
Let those members of the Committee of Justice who deem these crimes punishable by exile raise their hands.
(Four members raise their hands.)
Let those who deem these crimes punishable by perpetual imprisonment raise theirs.
(Six members raise their hands — whistling and shouts of “Boo!” from the audience.)
The Presiding Citizen.
Citizen accused, it appears that the majority of this Committee, contrary to my own view, is inclined to condemn you to imprisonment.
Yet before the sentence is pronounced, you must prove your respect for the Constitutional Order of the Republic,
by renouncing in writing all titles contrary to the Constitution.
Clarence Afsen.
As heir to the throne, I allowed dreadful crimes to occur, and I am ready to pay the highest price for them.
But I cannot renounce my title — which I have borne since birth, and which I regard as my duty and obligation toward the Guntrelandic people.
That obligation was entrusted to me by the Elizine Congress for the preservation of world peace and the well-being of all nations, and I am not empowered to abandon it.
The Presiding Citizen.
All titles, rights, and duties not deriving from the sovereign People are nonexistent.
Renounce your title, or you shall condemn yourself to ruin.
Enemies of the Republic are not judged — they are annihilated!
Clarence Afsen.
I was born as the Congress Heir of Guntreland, and it is not within my power to cease to be what—
(From the courtyard are heard the barking of dogs and the screams of rupert afsen, the outlawed brother.
After several moments, the screaming ceases; jubilant cries echo through the corridors and galleries: “Honour the Constitution, Citizens!”
The accused Clarence trembles visibly with fear.)
Clarence Afsen. (stammering at first, then regaining composure)
Citizen President of the Committee, may I beg that you grant me a more honorable death,
since I have confessed to the crimes of which I stand accused?
The Presiding Citizen.
It is all in vain, for the greatest of your crimes continues even now — you have not renounced the title that signifies tyranny.
Who votes, as I do, that the accused Clarence Afsen be declared outlawed?
(All members of the Committee, one by one, cry out: “For!”
From the galleries bursts forth the hymn: “Honour the Constitution, Citizens!”)
The Presiding Citizen.
Former citizen clarence afsen,
in the name of the People of the Republic of Guntreland,
the Judicial Committee of the National Assembly declares you outlawed and deprives you of all rights, beginning with the right to life.
Guards!
Take the outlaw to the courtyard, and let his life be taken without delay.
Final Declaration of the Committee
Citizens, what a lesson for all ages!
A warning to every man who dares to rejoice in the belief that he may, unpunished, commit crimes against Humanity under the shelter of unconstitutional and unnatural hereditary titles!
The destruction of the tyrant’s sons has filled the hearts of Republicans with the joy of righteous vengeance and the solemn threat to all tyrants to come.
Not since the annihilation of ferdinand’s armada have good Republicans so heartily clasped one another by the shoulders and shouted in triumph:
“Down with kings!”
So may it ever befall all who raise their hand against the Sovereignty of the People.
