Act 2 (Food and Trade)
| Act 2 (Food and Trade) | |
| Proposed | 20 September 2008 |
| Imperial Consent given on | 20 September 2008 |
| Imperial Consent given at | Parliament Hall, Wrythe |
| Imperial Consent given by | HRH Emperor Terry I |
| Amended by | • Act 23 (3rd Revision to Existing Laws) • Act 46 (Weaponry) • Act 114 (14th Revision to Existing Laws) |
Act 2 (Food and Trade) of the Parliament of Austenasia was an Act of Parliament passed on 20 September 2008 and repealed on 22 September 2011. The first piece of actual legislation to be passed in the Empire of Austenasia, it established some basic rules regarding the new nation's economic situation.
Act 2 was passed within several hours of Austenasia declaring independence alongside five other Acts - Act 3 (Subjects), Act 4 (Taxes), Act 5 (Utilities), Act 6 (Honours) and Act 7 (Emergency Services). These were all given Imperial Consent by Emperor Terry I at the same time, but became law over the period of a few hours due to the then requirement of the Emperor reading out new laws to the assembled population of Wrythe; to prevent the Imperial Family from getting bored, the Acts were not read out uninterruptedly but with breaks between each, and so took several hours for all of them to become law.
Residents were informed that they were welcome to buy and sell outside of the Empire, and to bring items bought back across the border, although importation of weapons would require a permit by the respective Town's "Member of Cabinet" (i.e. Representative - before September 2011 the House of Representatives was known as Cabinet (not to be confused with the present body of the same name) and so Representatives are often referred to as Members of Cabinet in early laws). Act 2 established the pound sterling (£) as the official currency of the Empire, a status it still holds.
Law 1 of Act 2 stated that Austenasia was "to start its own farming program", with volunteers "encouraged to grow their own food". This was intended to make the new country as self-sufficient as possible, but other than a small crop of potatoes grown in Wrythe Public Park the following year, nothing came of this farming program due to it being more practical to import food from the United Kingdom.
Act 23 (3rd Revision to Existing Laws) amended a part of Act 2 which required all shops to hold a license from their Town's Representative to all non-residential buildings being required to have their purpose authorised. Law 4 of Act 2, requiring all imported weapons to be registered, was repealed by Act 46 (Weaponry), which regulated the importation and ownership of weaponry in greater detail. Law 1 of Act 114 (14th Revision to Existing Laws) amended Law 3 of Act 2 - stating that residents are welcome to bring items they have bought in the UK back across the border - to clarify that banned items would not be permitted into the Empire under Act 2.
As with all Acts of Parliament passed before the implementation of the Austenasian Constitution of 2011, Act 2 was repealed on 22 September 2011. However, the Second Imperial Decree of HIM Emperor Declan (passed the day before Act 2 was repealed) retained the pound sterling as the official currency of Austenasia, and the Home Office continues to operate border controls in much the same way under the Immigration and Border Control Act 2011.