Changes

Change example
Line 1: Line 1: −
{{/header|hdg=Melbourne|sub=Australia}}
+
{{/header|hdg=Republic|sub=Politics|ref=other uses of the word |ref-link=Republic}}
−
{{/intro|Melbourne is Australia's second largest city and the capital of the state of Victoria. Melbourne is the collective name for the City of Melbourne and greater suburban area and is home to circa 3.7 million people.|The City of Melbourne is located on the banks of the Yarra River and is renowned for its parks and gardens. The Victorian state parliament is located in the inner city. The Greater Melbourne area has an extensive system of street trams and suburban railway lines.}}
+
{{/intro|A Republic is a term used to describe a wide number of different forms of government types. The single common principal, however is that their power structure is, de jure, not the preserve of a royal family or aristocracy.|The body of the state in a republic is derived from the people rather that from a monarch, and thus the law is enacted and enforced in the name of the people or of the state its self rather than in the name of the monarch.}}
   −
== Location ==
+
== Principles ==
   −
The Greater Melbourne area surrounds Port Phillip Bay. Due to a rapid increase in population and a consequent increase in land and house values the metropolitan area now extends almost to the tip of the Mornington Peninsula and the City of [[Geelong]].
+
Most Republics subscribe to one or more of the following principals:
   −
Melbourne is famous for being the home of the Australian Football League and for its large [[Greece|Greek]] community.
+
* Equality before the Law
 +
* Some form of Democracy
 +
* Limited Government
 +
* Freedom of Religion
   −
== Transport ==
+
Many modern [[constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarchies]] resemble republics in all but name.
−
[[Image:Melbourne tram 250.jpg|thumb|A Melbourne tram.]]
  −
Melbourne has a reasonably extensive [[freeway]] network, as well as a large suburban railway system and one of the largest tram systems in the world.
     −
Earlier freeways radiated out from the fringes of the inner city, but in more recent times a freeway has been built connecting three of these radial freeways through the inner city, and a ring road has been constructed around the outer suburbs to the west and north.
+
Several countries which describe themselves as republics, have however, become de facto monarchies such as North Korea and Syria.  
−
A freeway running north-south through the eastern suburbs is currently (2007) under construction.
  −
The inner city connecting freeway and the north-south freeway under construction are both electronically [[toll]]ed.
     −
The railway system is broad gauge (5' 3") and electrified at 1500 volts D.C. on overhead wires.
+
==The United Stated as a Republic==
−
It is a radial system based on the inner city, with [[underground]] lines around the central business district allowing services from most lines to serve all the CBD's five [[station]]s.
+
−
Services operate seven days a week, from around 5 a.m. to midnight on most days, and generally with 15 or 20-minute frequencies in off-peak times, and more frequently in peak times.
+
The Constitution of the United States of America, in Article IV, guarantees ''to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government'', however the courts have generally resisted challenges to state governments based on this guarantee, stating that this is a matter for the congress rather than for the courts.  
   −
Melbourne's tram system is standard gauge (4' 8½") and electrified at 600 volts D.C. on overhead wires.
+
''Under this article of the Constitution it rests with Congress to decide what government is the established one in a State. For as the United States guarantee to each State a republican government, Congress must necessarily decide what government is established in the State before it can determine whether it is republican or not. And when the senators and representatives of a State are admitted into the councils of the Union, the authority of the government under which they are appointed, as well as its republican character, is recognized by the proper constitutional authority. And its decision is binding on every other department of the government, and could not be questioned in a judicial tribunal.'' ... ''Yet the right to decide is placed there, and not in the courts.''<ref>''[[Luther v. Borden]]'', 48 U.S. 1 (1849).</ref>
−
Although it is mostly a radial system, there are several cross-suburban lines.
     −
Melbourne's public transport (suburban railway, tram system, and buses) are privately operated under contract to the State Government and share a common time-based fare and ticketing system.
+
In the federalist papers #10<ref>http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm</ref>, James Madison discusses the concept of a republic as opposed to a [[pure democracy]]. His concept of a republic is a [[representative democracy]] and this meaning has become a very commonly cited definition of the word in the United States, though not internationally. It also should be noted that this definition of republic has not been seen by the US courts as being binding on the states.  The United States is often referred to as a "constitutional republic," in that one written instrument, embodying a compact between the people and the government, is binding on all levels of government.
   −
A feature of Melbourne's tram system is trams converted to operating restaurants that take diners on a tour of the city.
+
Many American popular themes also self-define America as a republic.  The "[[Battle Hymn of the Republic]]" (a popular fight song for the Union during the [[Civil War]])<ref>http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200000003/default.html</ref> describes America, in its title, as a republic.  The song also connects the concept of American republicanism<ref>Note that "republicanism" is referred to here as denuded of any political party context.</ref> to the unique role of [[God]] in directing the Republic,<ref>As the Battle Hymn reads, "as [[Jesus|He]] died to make us holy, let us die to make men free.</ref> a concept affirmed in the more modern [[Pledge of Allegiance]], which also connects republicanism to God in its text.
   −
== Facts about Melbourne ==
+
==References==
−
* Melbourne was the temporary capital of Australia from Federation in 1901 to the transfer of the government to [[Canberra]] in 1927.<ref name="MelbOrg" /><ref>[http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/capital/v.htm Melbourne, Victoria] (Australian Government, Geoscience Australia)</ref>
+
<references/>
−
* Melbourne's Greek community is reputed to be the second largest in the world.<ref name="MelbOrg">[http://www.melbourneaustralia.org/melbourne.html Melbourne, Victoria, Australia], Melbourne Travel Guide.</ref>
  −
* Melbourne's Italian community is reputed to be the largest outside [[Italy]].<ref name="MelbOrg" />
  −
* Melbourne's tram system is the largest in an English-speaking country, the largest in the southern hemisphere, and one of the largest in the world.
  −
* Melbourne was the site of the 1956 [[Olympic Games]].
  −
* Melbourne was portrayed in the 1959 [[Stanley Kramer]] movie ''On the Beach'' (starring [[Ava Gardner]]) as the last pocket of civilisation following a global nuclear war.<ref>[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0053137/ On the Beach] (Internet Movie Database)</ref>
  −
* Melbourne is the most southerly city in the world with a population of over 1,000,000 people.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9108743/Melbourne#361049.hook Melbourne] Encyclopedia Britannica.</ref>
  −
 
  −
==For further reading==
  −
* [http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/ City of Melbourne official site]
  −
 
  −
== References ==
  −
{{reflist|2}}
  −
 
  −
==See Also==
  −
[[Melbourne Australia Temple]]
  −
 
  −
[[Category:Australian cities and towns]]
  −
[[Category:Australia]]
  −
 
  −
[[/intro]]
 
nsTeam2RO, nsTeam2RW, nsTeam2_talkRO, nsTeam2_talkRW
13,254

edits