Replace the mace with the flag
Dear Editor,
Amazing Mace how great thou art;
To you all honour we impart.
Never from your bracket must you be moved.
Only reverence shall be bestowed.
In the interest of good order there are certain symbols to which we are required to show respect. The requirement to do so should not prevent us from examining the appropriateness and relevance of these symbols.
The recent controversy relating to the removal of the mace from its position by a Member of Parliament during a parliamentary session should lead us to consider the appropriateness of the mace as an object which deserves our respect.
The mace represents the monarchical authority, not Jamaica’s sovereignty. It was introduced in the English Parliament in the reign of Charles II, a despotic, cruel, and intolerant monarch who promoted slavery and royal autocracy. This was hundreds of years ago. It is now over six decades since we have been an independent country. We adopted the practice in blind imitation of the imperial practice.
There is absolutely no rational justification for our maintaining the mace in our Parliament. It should be replaced by the Jamaican flag on a pole made of Jamaican mahogany or lignum vitae.
Another archaic practice which we have adopted is on the election of a new Speaker for his/her entry into the House and approach to take the Speaker’s chair, the nominee to pretend to be unwilling and to be forced by members to assume the position.
I have asked several Members of Parliament if they understand the origin of that practice but have never received any positive answer. My understanding is that in the days of the despotic monarchy, the Speaker was responsible for speaking on behalf of the House against the monarch’s actions, and so was at risk of execution or severe punishment. Accordingly, this practice was adopted to pretend that the Speaker was assuming the responsibility not of his free will but by compulsion of the members. This practice is not relevant to our history or constitutional reality and should also be discontinued.
Lloyd G Barnett
Attorney-at-law
Kingston 5
dr.lgbarnett@gmail.com
