Rise of Australia

Chapter 252 Goodbye Grant Wilson

On January 1908, 1, Arthur had a happy birthday party at Sydney Palace, and at the same time announced that he was 13 years old.

It seemed like it was just yesterday that I came to Australia, and I never thought that eight years had passed in a blink of an eye.

Arthur has nothing to do with the passage of time, he can only focus more attention and energy on the development of the country, and spend his whole life to create a powerful country, at least not for nothing.

Congratulations from all the officials have been pouring in these past few days. If it weren't for the high standard of Arthur's banquet, I am afraid that those who want to participate will have to find a way to join.

At least in Australasia, the royal family is the most dazzling existence, the family with the greatest power, the most distinguished status, and the largest assets in Australasia.

On January 1, Arthur met with the head of the Gaeling Party, Grant Wilson, at the Sydney Palace, and asked about the current scale and plans of the Gaeling Party.

Grant Wilson was also an acquaintance, a person Arthur met when he first went to New Zealand for political purposes, and Grant was the head of the New Zealand Coalition Party at the time.

The current political parties in Australasia have gone through many years and are no longer the seven major parties in Australia.

After the fusion of Australia and New Zealand, the parties between the two regions have also undergone large and small fusion.

The integration of the Australian Labor Party and the New Zealand Labor Party has been very smooth, and it is also the fastest party in the fusion of parties without any opposition.

The merged party is called the New Labor Party, and the party's program is to unite trade unions, unite workers, and strive to build a better Australasia.

Speaking of it, the program of the Labor Party can be regarded as twists and turns. The first program to promote the establishment of a unified federation in Australia was realized by Arthur, and then the program to protect the interests of the working class was also realized by Arthur. This is also an important reason for restricting the development of the New Labor Party.

After all, what you want to do has already been realized by Arthur. Doesn't this mean that this political party has no practical effect in disguise?

Another political party that has undergone great integration is the newly formed Fine Gael Party.

The Gael Party is a fusion of the original Australian Independence Party, the Endeavor Party and the New Zealand Coalition Party. It is also the party with the most fusion of parties after the establishment of Australasia.

It is precisely because of the combination of three political parties that the Gael Party is currently the largest political party in Australasia, and Grant Wilson successfully sat in the position of leader and became a member of the House of Representatives.

The party platform of the Fine Gael Party combines the characteristics of the three political parties, which seems a bit maverick.

The summary of the party program can be summed up in one sentence, that is, to maintain the unity of Australasia, and to maintain the kingdom and royal family of Australasia.

Therefore, the United Party can also be regarded as a royalist party, and it is also the closest party to the royal family.

It was also thanks to this relationship that Grant Wilson was eligible to be interviewed by Arthur. After all, all political parties were subject to the Royal Parliament and the Election Commission, and there were no troubles in Australasia.

In addition to the New Labor Party and the Gael Party, there are currently three political parties in Australasia, the National Party and the Democratic Party, which are relatively evenly matched, and the Country Party, which is mainly inclined to the rural and low-income population.

There is basically a relationship of survival of the fittest among political parties. After all, the political scene in Australasia is only so big, and there are only so many MPs and people that can be attracted.

If the support is not too high, the political party will sooner or later be disbanded due to lack of funds or various reasons.

Among the current five political parties in Australasia, they can basically be divided into the New Labor Party representing the working class, the democratic Democratic Party, the neutralist National Party and the Country Party, and the Royal Gathering Party.

Although it seems that four legs stand on each other, in fact, the struggles of political parties are basically under Arthur's control. It's like Arthur drew a chessboard for them. The size of the chessboard is determined by Arthur, and political parties are destined to jump. Not going out.

These parties were also the largest democracy Arthur gave to Australasia.Under the premise of not harming Arthur's interests, people in Australasia can completely elect their favorite MPs, and then let the MPs they support elect a new government.

This rule applies not only at the national level, but also in the states and territories.

After all, for Arthur, even cabinet ministers and prime ministers are only equivalent to working for himself.

As long as he can complete the plans and tasks he has deployed, the candidate for the specific position is not important to Arthur.

In a small banquet hall in Sydney Palace, Arthur met Mr. Grant Wilson again.

Compared with a few years ago, Grant Wilson was obviously more mature and humble. After seeing Arthur, he lowered his attitude, with a face full of humility and respect, and greeted: "Your Majesty!"

At this time, Arthur's identity has also undergone tremendous changes, from a small Australian duke to the king of Australasia.

Although it seems that there is only a difference in level, in the European aristocratic system, the gap between the duke and the king is very large, and the influence of the European royal family is naturally not the same.

As a king, Arthur can be said to have reached the apex among the nobles.Even King Edward and William II are actually the same as Arthur in terms of identity.

It's just that the strength of the countries where the two are located is very strong, which also makes Edward's title of Emperor of India and William II's title of German Emperor highly recognized.

If Australasia could one day develop to the strength of the British Empire it is now, there would be little objection to Arthur having an imperial title.

After all, in the current international status, fists are far greater than legal principles, and the strength of oneself and the country where it is located is the last word.

"Long time no see, Senator Grant." Arthur nodded and returned with a slight smile.

Grant Wilson hurriedly bowed slightly, and said very sincerely: "Thank you Your Majesty for being able to meet in person. As the person in charge of the Gathering Party, it is a great honor for us."

"How is the development of the Gathering Party now? I remember when you were in New Zealand, your Coalition Party did very well." Arthur asked with interest.

New Zealand was able to integrate into Australasia so smoothly, and the Coalition Party's propaganda in New Zealand at that time made a lot of contribution.

This also gave Grant Wilson a little impression in Arthur's heart, and Arthur still had a little affection for Grant Wilson.

Hearing Arthur's inquiry, Grant Wilson quickly replied, "Your Majesty, since the founding of the Federation, the Coalition Party has targeted the entire country. After reorganization and integration with the Independence Party and the Endeavor Party, we have formed the current Unity Party."

"I know that if the country wants to develop steadily and steadily, there should be no surprises in the close union between the various regions of Australasia. Therefore, I made a bold decision to set the party platform of the new Gael Party as maintaining Australia's The unification of Lasia, and the maintenance of the status of the Kingdom of Australasia and the royal family. Australasia has been able to develop to where it is now, and can go abroad to pursue a higher status, as well as a larger sphere of influence and greater power, All of this is inseparable from your majesty's leadership. If the kingdom wants to continue to develop and realize a greater dream of rising, it is absolutely inseparable from your majesty's command and leadership."

Grant Wilson was well aware of the post-merger political landscape of Australia and New Zealand as early as in New Zealand.

Whether in the previous Australia or in New Zealand, Arthur has an absolute position, and has enough popular support and support.

Judging from Australia's previous development speed, Arthur is definitely not an incompetent monarch.

The status of a capable, popular, and well-supported monarch will only increase and become more stable. Therefore, Grant Wilson has long made up his mind to stand on the team and use another way to get himself into the top ranks .

Although Grant Wilson's words were suspected of flattery, Arthur didn't blame him too much, and continued to ask: "Mr. Grant, what do you think of the current political parties and election laws?"

Political parties law and electoral law are the laws on political parties and elections that were established as early as the Australian period, and are also the fundamental laws that the current Australasian political party system and election period are based on.

The reason why these two laws are mentioned is because these two laws have greatly strengthened Arthur's royal power, and at the same time, they have also greatly weakened the rights of political parties, placing political parties under the rule of the Royal Parliament, even if Even during the election period, it is also subject to the supervision of the royal family and the government.

While political parties in Australasia gained legitimacy through the Political Parties Act, they also successfully forfeited their chances of gaining greater power.

Although the development so far, the development of Australasia is still very smooth.But Arthur still decided to listen to other opinions and see how other political parties responded to the election law and party law.

"Your Majesty, the Political Party Act and the Election Act regulate the political parties and electoral system in Australasia. At the same time, they also weaken the influence of major political parties on the situation as much as possible. I think that although such a system is different from Europe, it is very suitable for The current Australasia. For Australasia, what is most needed at the moment is to unite and develop the country, not to have a new voice." Grant Wilson thought carefully for a while before speaking.

"As for the reaction of other political parties, it is actually not too important. Your Majesty, as long as the people support it and the government supports it, the reaction of the political party is nothing. And as far as I know, none of the five major political parties in the country clearly opposes the Political Party Law and elections. The meaning of the law, even the Country Party and the New Labor Party are very supportive of the electoral law."

The biggest feature of the Political Party Law and the Election Law is that it actually eliminates any political donations and brings the income of political parties to almost the same level.

Political parties want to obtain higher income not by attracting capitalists and high-level executives, but by relying on the support of the people to obtain seats in the House of Representatives, and distributing more funds based on the proportion of seats in the House of Representatives.

In 1907, a total of more than 120 million Australian dollars in various donations was received from the public. According to the Political Party Law, 7% of it was distributed equally by the five major political parties, with an average of [-] Australian dollars for each political party.

The remaining 36% is allocated to each political party according to the proportion of seats in the House of Representatives, and Grant Wilson's Gael Party has won a full [-]% of it, which is [-] Australian dollars.

Together, the two revenues gave the Fine Gael Party $43 in campaign funding.The Liberal Party, currently the smallest, has received more than $12 in funding.

If we look at the situation in Europe, the political party that receives the least funding for activities must be the country party.

Why?Because the main audience of the Country Party is the rural population and low-income people, it is already not easy for these people to take care of themselves and their families, and the funds that can be donated to the Country Party are naturally even less.

If it develops for a long time, a political party like the Country Party that really cares about the countryside and low-income people will surely go bankrupt and even risk disbanding.

But it was also the Political Party Law promulgated by Arthur that allowed political parties to divide all the remaining political funds according to their respective levels of support on the premise of obtaining a minimum income.

This is not very friendly to those relatively large parties, but for rural parties and small parties, it is the key to maintaining the survival of the party, and it is also the real reason why the party law has not encountered much opposition.

After all, the largest party at present is the Gathering Party, and the program of the Gaeling Party is entirely for the royal family, and it can be said that it is the royal family's own people.

Arthur nodded, looked at Grant Wilson, and asked seemingly unintentionally: "Mr. Grant, what do you think of the current development of the country?"

Grant Wilson was startled, and quickly organized words in his mind, but he didn't dare to delay the time for too long. After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, I don't dare to act rashly on the development of the country. Speech. But some small problems may be seen more clearly from outside. I think two problems have been exposed in the current development, and almost both are related to population.”

Arthur smiled, but he became interested, and continued to ask: "Oh? Questions about population? If it's population size, everyone knows this question, so there's no need to repeat it."

"It's not the size of the population, Your Majesty." Grant: Wilson explained: "Although the population size is a big problem for us, after the efforts of your Majesty and the government, we can also have hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year. The problem of scale has been gradually resolved. What I want to say is actually related to these immigrants. Regarding the resettlement of these immigrants, I think the current government is doing something wrong. Looking at the whole of Australasia, most of our immigrants are distributed in In the southeastern part of Australia and the North Island of New Zealand, even more than [-]% of the immigrants chose to move to the large cities in these regions."

"There are positive aspects to this situation. Our capital, Sydney, already has a population of more than 90, and is about to become the first city in the kingdom to break through a million. But there is also something inappropriate about doing this. The gap between our cities It has gradually become obvious. Originally, our population was not too large, and if most of the population were settled in big cities, it would not be a good thing for the development of the country and the region.”

Arthur nodded. This is indeed a relatively obvious problem. Even if the government has introduced certain policies before, it has not been alleviated very well.

Although Australasia has become a popular destination for immigrants, this does not mean that all Australasian regions are popular for immigrants.

The choice of immigration is diverse, but it is generally inseparable from local development, economy, cultural construction, education, medical care, population and other factors.

Compared with several large cities in Australasia, small cities are obviously much less competitive, and naturally they can not attract many immigrants.

To give the simplest example, the population of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, from 1900 to the beginning of 1908 only increased from less than 14 to just over 23, with a total population increase of no more than 9.

In contrast, the population growth of Melbourne, the second largest city in Australasia, appears to be much faster.

同样是1900年到1908年年初，墨尔本的人口从44万发展到71万，人口总增长超过27万，正好是珀斯的3倍。

The reason why Sydney is not mentioned is because the development of Sydney is more exaggerated.As the former Principality of Australia and now the capital of the Kingdom of Australasia, Sydney has always been the government's focus for development.

Coupled with the super factory of Benz Automobile Factory, the popularity of the Capital Territory and Sydney is the highest in Australasia, even ahead of most cities in the United States.

The initial population size of Sydney was slightly smaller than that of Melbourne, but now the population size has reached over 97, and it is already developing towards a city with a population of one million.

This means that in the past eight years, Sydney has absorbed more than 50 immigrants.

How exaggerated is this figure?Looking at all 11 administrative regions in Australasia, there are only seven administrative regions with a total population of more than 50.

The total number of new immigrants in Sydney in the past eight years is fully the current combined population of Tasmania and South New Zealand.

But this is not a problem with Sydney. After all, it is indeed right to develop and build Sydney. This is also the capital and signboard of Australasia.Sydney has also contributed a lot to attracting so many immigrants.

But after all, the development of other administrative regions must also be taken into account. Therefore, it is very necessary to transfer some immigrants to other regions.

In particular, Western Australia and South Australia, which have a lot of mineral resources, have a combined population of only about 150 million, while New South Wales, even if it loses the big city of Sydney, still has a population of more than 129 million. .

"This is indeed a big hidden danger. Senator Grant, do you have any good suggestions?" Arthur asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the best way is to increase the attractiveness of other cities. Australasia currently lacks a publicity department to improve the attractiveness of major cities in Australasia domestically and internationally, so that more Australasian cities Get into the eyes of Europeans and change the flow of immigrants from the source." Grant Wilson seemed to have a plan in mind, and he answered without hesitation.

Arthur nodded again, quite satisfied with Grant's answer.The advocacy department is indeed something that is currently lacking in Australasia.

Although the public opinion in Australasia has been controlled by Arthur, the government department has no corresponding propaganda means, not even a propaganda management agency.

Perhaps it is necessary to set up a propaganda department, but a small propaganda department is not enough to enter the cabinet. At present, it seems that it needs to be hung under the name of a certain department.

The most suitable propaganda department must be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has the ability to act internationally.

Thinking of this, Arthur nodded and said with a smile: "This is a good plan, Mr. Grant. Besides this question, what is another question?"

Having already talked about this point, Grant Wilson naturally would not shrink back, and continued: "Your Majesty, in addition to improving the attractiveness of other cities, I think it is necessary to further divide the immigrants, Immigrants from the same region are allocated to different states and territories, which fundamentally eliminates the possibility of these immigrants forming influence."

If you have to divide them according to relatives, for Arthur, the closest ones are naturally Australasians, then British immigrants, Russian immigrants, German immigrants, and then immigrants from other European countries.

The number of immigrants who come to Australasia every year has exceeded 60, which is good news for Australasia.

However, the management of immigration also requires constant vigilance. After all, these immigrants are not so safe for the stability of the country.

At least not enough time has passed, Arthur will not fully trust these immigrants, which is why Australasia's government elections must have the number of years of residence in Australasia.

The parliamentary system in Australasia can be divided into representatives, state (territory) councilors, city councilors and so on.

Members of Parliament elect cabinet officers and members of the national government, and state or territory MPs elect members of state and territory governments.The lowest-level city councilors can only elect members of the city government and village and town governments.

But even for the lowest rank of councilor, one of the requirements to run is three years of residence in any part of Australasia.

Five years for state legislators, ten years for members of the House of Representatives, and 15 years for cabinet government members.

Generally speaking, under the influence of Arthur's various welfare policies and various propagandas, the foreign immigrants have basically integrated into the environment of Australasia after living in Australasia for five years.

And those who can live in Australasia for 15 years will definitely have feelings for Australasia and recognition of this country.

The method Grant mentioned is actually to divide and disrupt all the immigrants, and then use the family as a unit without fixed distribution to other administrative districts.

In this way, the immigrants allocated in the same administrative region basically come from various countries, and the number of people who are familiar with each other will be greatly reduced, which greatly reduces the possibility of these immigrants uniting together.

After thinking for a while and confirming that this is a good way, Arthur looked at Grant Wilson again, and said with a little seriousness: "Mr. Grant, the two problems you mentioned do exist, and the one you raised The method does make a difference. Australasia needs someone like you who can contribute to the country, and I believe that under your leadership, the Gael Party can also become an important support and pillar of the government's work."

"Yes, Your Majesty! Please rest assured that the Fine Gael Party will always be a supporter of the country and the Crown, and will always be the champion of the dream of Australasia's rise. Although the members of the Fine Gael Party come from all regions, we are all connected by blood Australasian." Grant Wilson hastily assured.

At the end of the conversation, before asking the guards to send Grant away, Arthur seemingly unintentionally added to Grant: "Member Grant, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will set up a propaganda department after a while, and will discuss the candidates for ministers in the House of Representatives at that time."

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(End of this chapter)