"Do let me know if I can help in any way," he says.

"Thank you both. I will try to write something tonight, then, to be improved on."

Carlota's pretty sure she ought to give the Count-Regent his space, but she in fact needs him. The problem is which committee to introduce the censorship laws on. Rights is full of radicals, and more importantly chaired by the Archduchess, who will have to oppose them on this lest she infuriate her own radicals back home. Judiciary was previously chaired by Wain. She doesn't want to tip her hand about the fact Forms of the Monarchy is important, though it in fact contains lots of things around sedition and dissemination of censored material. 

So...safe roads and safe villages. It's a stretch, but pamphlets certainly aren't any good for the safety of Cheliax, and the Hellknights are not known to be ardent defenders of the rights of people to spread ridiculous dangerous libels, and she's pretty sure once it's through a committee vote it'll win a floor vote handily. But she shouldn't introduce it herself and chair the committee while they debate it and introduce it on the floor; that's too overt.

So, if the Count-Regent is willing to get tea the following day, she'd really like him to review her draft. As it presently stands:

In recognition of the enormous harm that has been, and is ongoingly, done by the publication of vile slanders, insinuations, radical materials, and advocacy both mistaken and malicious:

It is forbidden to publish or distribute written material in Cheliax unless one of the following is true:

The publication of the material is permitted under the law in those Chelish provinces and allied states where the Rule of Law is strong, that is presently Lastwall, Molthune, and Osirion, and the material is not modified from the version distributed in those countries; 

The material is published by a licit and authorized publishing house, and marked with the Arcane Mark on each page of that publishing house, that it may be attributed to a man who is fully legally liable for any lawless consequences of its distribution;

The material contains no political, social or religious commentary, and would not be identified by any reasoned observer to be attempting to make a political, social or religious argument; for instance it is a book of Accounts, a book of Recipes, a book of Apothecarie, or an announcement of an event (the latter being permitted presuming the event to be itself permitted, and illicit if the event is a lawless gathering).

For a publishing house to obtain authorization to publish in Cheliax, it must have a single, identified proprietor, in whose name the license is issued, and who acknowledges the following:

He is a Subject of Her Majesty and means to abide by Her laws

He has placed a bond of Six Thousand Gold Pieces against the possibility of chaos and destruction brought about by the works he publishes, which will be returned to him thirty days following the closure of his publication house unless damages result, and seized to pay damages should damages result;

He is further liable for damages from the works he publishes if they exceed Six Thousand Gold Pieces, and is liable up to the seizure of all of his properties, and if capital crimes are incited by works he publishes, he is liable for death;

'damages' in this statute refer only to harms monetary and personal that result from the publication being determined slanderous or libelous, or from Lawless acts which the publications advocated, directly or by implication; enabled, by instruction in how to carry out or evade detection for a lawless act, including harms resulting from lawless acts that the publication enabled by making it known that some other individuals had called for violence, or predicted it, or believe the gods to advise it, or believe it would solve Cheliax's ills, or by any other phrasing suggest it to the advantage of another person to commit criminal acts.  Should a publication cause monetary damages by some other mechanism than inspiring, encouraging or enabling criminal acts - for instance by the promotion of a business at the expense of a competitor, the publishing house shall not be liable. 

The distribution or copying of works which are not marked with the Arcane Mark of a licensed publishing house, nor approved by an authorized board of censorship, and which contain political, social, or religious commentary, or would be reasonably understood to be making a political, social or religious point, is henceforth illegal, and punishable with 30 days' imprisonment, a fine of up to 1gp per page of illegal commentary distributed, and liability civil and criminal for all illegal conduct inspired by those works.

The possession of works which are not marked with the Arcane Mark of a licensed publishing house, nor approved by an authorized board of censorship, and which contain political, social, or religious commentary, or would be reasonably understood to be making a political, social or religious point, is legal, if those works were possessed before this decree was promulgated. Possession of such works acquired after the decree was promulgated will be punished as distribution of those works would be. 

He's calmed down. Mostly.

"I am broadly in favor of this. I am concerned about defining publishing and distribution. I don't think we want to outlaw sending personal letters."

"Agreed. I'd really rather people feel free to speak their minds, just not to whole cities overnight with no consequences if this burns the cities down. We could add a clause to the effect that a person can write anything, and make a copy for their records, without being guilty of distribution or of copying or of possession?"