Chapter 13: Chapter 13: House of Commons Elections
On the bustling square, a few birds tentatively landed on the branches, ready to search for insects among the leaves, only to be scared off by the cheers of the crowd below them. They left behind some feathers that floated gently down, proving the birds' brief presence.
Atop the high platform, Arthur was very satisfied with the cheering crowd. It seemed that his plan to reduce taxes and win the people's hearts had been very successful. If the Australian people had been eagerly anticipating Arthur's rule based on their desire for unification, then after the tax reduction, they had begun to welcome and appreciate Arthur's arrival.
Since that was the case, Arthur didn't mind adding more fuel to the fire. He signaled for the crowd to quiet down, as he had more important news to announce.
Sure enough, after seeing Arthur's gesture, the boisterous square suddenly went quiet in a lightning fast manner, as if the previous lively atmosphere had never existed.
Satisfied with the effect, Arthur smiled and said, "At the same time, I have another crucial announcement to make. Despite our nation being a monarchy, I am more than happy to grant my citizens their deserved rights. I declare the establishment of the Upper House and the House of Commons. The elections for the House of Commons will take place from May 10th to May 17th, every two years. The18th to 24th of May will be the period for counting the votes, and the elected members of the House of Commons will officially commence their duties on May 25th after the results are announced. Now, every Australian can proudly proclaim that you can fight freely for your own rights!"
"Long live the Your Highness! Long live Australia!"
As Arthur's bombshells kept dropping, all the Australians present were growing more and more satisfied with him. Everyone was thankful that the Federal Committee had been blocked by the United Kingdom during their time, or else the colonial rulers would have continued to govern Australia. Now, Arthur had not only reduced taxes but also granted rights to the Australian people.
"My fellow citizens, everyone in the House of Commons election can participate, and every adult Australian has one vote. During the elections, I will send the royal guards to inspect the polling sites to ensure that our House of Commons elections won't have any fraud. The House of Commons has the power to create and amend ordinary laws and to elect cabinet members. It is one of Australia's most important departments. Now, as the Duke of Australia, I grant this power to all my people. Let all Australians participate and bear witness to the rise of Australia in this beautiful world. Long live Australia!" Arthur became more and more excited as he spoke, eventually raising his voice into a shout.
At this point, no one noticed Arthur's slightly improper behavior, as everyone was immersed in the joy and excitement, shouting along with him.
Cheers and applause accompanied his speech, as Arthur flawlessly concluded his coronation address.
If before, Australians regarded Arthur as a mysterious and highly anticipated figure, now they held him in even higher esteem than Queen Victoria, who had ruled them for tens of years. He was seen in the eyes of the people as an incredibly kind and outstanding monarch.
If Arthur could maintain his popularity and reputation among the Australian people, his position in Australia would be unshakable.
May 9, 1900, Sydney Harbour.
After staying in Australia for more than ten days, Queen Victoria finally had to continue her journey to White Island.
Looking at the boy who had grown taller than herself, Queen Victoria couldn't help but feel moved and said with a smile, "Arthur, your speech was excellent. I believe under your leadership, Australia will become the most dazzling jewel of Oceania."
"Grandmother, you must take care of your health. Arthur is still looking forward to attending your 70th anniversary coronation celebrations!" Arthur didn't respond to Queen Victoria's praise but said with an unwilling expression.
"Hahaha, good child, your grandmother knows. Your mother and two sisters still need your care in Australia. I have already arranged for the best teachers from England to teach you and your sisters. I hope the next time we meet, my Arthur will have grown into an outstanding ruler, and I will be proud of you." Queen Victoria kissed Arthur on the forehead then left with Princess Beatrice and her fleet, without looking back.
If Queen Victoria's trembling shoulders hadn't betrayed her true feelings, perhaps the parting would not have been so poignant.
After bidding farewell to Queen Victoria, Arthur was ready to receive her precious legacy.
A full 2,000 British Royal Guards and their families, nearly 8,000 people in total, along with two British chefs, two maids, six servants, and one personal tailor.
In addition, there were 237 million pounds and 50 million pounds worth of industrial equipment, as well as two armament factories, one steel factory, and one shipbuilding factory in Britain, where important equipment and skilled workers had been all relocated to Australia.
To be honest, Arthur was grateful for being born into the British Royal Family and being the only son of Queen Victoria's favorite son, Duke Arthur.
Even when his land was changed to the industrial and infrastructure free Australia, he still had a start-up capital of over 200 million pounds, 50 million pounds worth of industrial equipment, and several factories.
It was not a question of what a huge sum of money 200 million pounds could do. Even just 50 million pounds worth of industrial equipment, and these factories could enable Australia's industrial sector to expand rapidly and bridge the gap with Western countries.
What was even more important was that Australia had an abundance of mineral resources, including coal, iron, aluminum, petroleum, natural gas, gold, silver, and various other minerals. Each mineral supply was rich and abundant, which could completely build Australia into a powerful industrial nation.
Australia also had incredibly rich natural uranium mines, a key component to produce atomic bombs. Even in later generations, the world's available natural uranium reserves barely reached 5 million tons, with Australia having more than 610,000 tons- more than one-ninth of the total reserves.
With such abundant mineral resources, large start-up capital, and massive industrial equipment, as well as support from the strongest industrial power of the British Empire in the short term, Arthur had full confidence in raising Australia's industrial level to European second-tier status or even challenging the top European countries.
Moreover, Australia held a unique geographical advantage at this time. Competitors in Oceania were nonexistent, and two potential rivals, an island nation and the United States, had their reasons and restrictions that wouldn't pose a threat to Australia in the short term.
Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Election Extravaganza
May 10, 1900, Sydney Street.
As usual, Henry was walking on the streets of Sydney, heading towards the government building where he had worked for half his life. It was now called the New South Wales Parliament.
To make room for the upcoming House of Commons election, many government agencies were relocating these two days, giving up their original locations one after another for the State Parliament.
"Good morning, Mr. Henry. Are you going to participate in the election of the members of parliament?" A middle-aged woman who obviously knew Henry saw him on the street and immediately approached him, speaking excitedly.
"Ah, Miss Katie Taylor, how is your son? Is he feeling better?" Henry quickly recognized the woman greeting him and replied with a smile.
"I really have to thank you for that day. If it wasn't for your lending me 7 Pounds, I'm afraid Lampard's illness wouldn't have been cured." Talking about her son, Katie seemed to have opened her chatterbox, looking at Henry gratefully while speaking with relief.
There is no clear statistic for the average income in Australia, but in the previous year, 1899, the per capita annual income in Britain was about 50 Pounds. The annual income of a skilled worker had already reached 200 to 400 Pounds.
Please do not be misled by this data. The reason for such a large per capita income in Britain is actually due to the extraction of a large amount of wealth from major colonies.
As a senior officer of the Sydney City Council, Henry's annual income was only about 20 Pounds, which showed the gap between the British mainland and the colonies.
Hence, lending a third of his own annual income to a person with no connection to him, shows Henry's courage and compassion.
"It's all trivial. Besides, after His Royal Highness Arthur came to Australia, he directly exempted most of our taxes. Compared to what His Highness has done, what I've done is nothing." Henry promptly waved it off.
"That's true. But anyway, Mr. Henry, just like His Highness, you are a good person. Australia has such a great monarch and an outstanding officer like you, there is no reason our nation won't revive." Katie smiled softly and said.
Since Arthur announced a tax reduction throughout Australia a few days ago, he became a great ruler in the hearts of all Australians.
After all, to ordinary people, those who can provide them with practical benefits are truly great.
"Alright, Mr. Henry. You go on, I will definitely vote for you and wish you a successful election." Looking at the time, Katie hurriedly ended the chat with Henry.
Although Henry's residence was only a little over ten minutes away from the current State Parliament, due to occasionally encountering acquaintances on the way, it took him half an hour to arrive.
Fortunately, Henry had anticipated this situation and had set out half an hour early to catch the opening of the House of Commons election.
In order to allow as many Australians as possible to vote, this House of Commons election was held simultaneously in three cities in each state.
As the capital city and the most populous city in Australia, Sydney had the largest share of seats in the House of Commons, with a total of 198 seats. The most populous state of New South Wales was allocated 71 seats. And as the most populous city in New South Wales, Sydney also got 22 seats.
However, this doesn't mean that participating in the election in Sydney would make it easier. In fact, Sydney is the most populous city in Australia, with a total population of 420,000.
The population eligible to participate in the election reached a terrifying number of over 300,000. Even though most people didn't intend to participate in the election, there were certainly no lack of competitors.
Under such circumstances, Henry was already prepared for the possibility of not being elected to the House of Commons. After all, even if he failed to be elected, as long as his votes were good, he could enter the lower-level New South Wales Parliament.
There were a total of 136 seats in the state parliament. Their number varies according to the state's population. And Henry was quite confident that he could fight for a seat.
Entering the gate of the State Parliament, Henry found that the number of participants in this election far exceeded his expectations.
The seemingly vast state parliament was now filled with a sea of voters. Although the majority of them were not candidates, it was enough to astonish Henry.
According to Henry's estimation, today was the first day of the election. Many people should have been observing and planning. Why was the state parliament so crowded on the first day?
All of this might only be blamed on the appeal that Arthur had in the hearts of all Australians at the moment.
On just the first day of the election, a large number of citizens in Sydney had already participated in the election. Many people were still rushing to the scene, even though there was no place to stand in the State Parliament now.
"Henry, hey! Over here!" Just as Henry was at a loss, a familiar voice caught his attention.
Looking ahead, it was Henry's colleague and good friend Martin.
Henry was delighted and quickly walked across, smiling and saying, "Martin! Are you here to participate in the House of Commons election too?"
"Of course!" Martin nodded as a matter of course, saying, "This is a right we've never had before. Since His Highness has given it to us, why would we give it up?"
"What's the situation now? How many candidates are there today?" Henry looked around at the crowd and asked curiously.
"Haha, do you know what time I came this morning, Henry?" Martin didn't answer directly but smiled mysteriously.
"What time? Did you come at five or six o'clock in the morning?" Henry looked at his friend incredulously, asking with half doubt and half belief.
He knew his friend's character. He could do anything for things he was interested in. But coming to the State Parliament at five or six in the morning was a bit too crazy, right? After all, the election didn't officially start until eight o'clock. Except for facing the very familiar wooden door, what else could Martin do at five or six in the morning?
"Bingo! You're right, buddy. Do you know what I saw this morning? People! These guys are crazy! I thought I would be early enough by coming at five or six in the morning. Who could have thought that by the time I got here, the entrance was already full of people? If it weren't for my familiarity with the place, I wouldn't even have a place to sit and would have to wait until now." Martin gave Henry an "I told you so" face while pouring out his grievances.
Martin had thought that coming early in the morning would give him an advantage, but he was not the only one with this idea. The State Parliament, which didn't start its election until eight o'clock, was already surrounded by people at five in the morning, wasn't it?
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