Arthur and all the officials in Australia fell silent. Unexpectedly, it should be the most controversial topic in the negotiation of the purchase of indigenous people, and the Dutch government actually compromised so simply.

This meant that the Dutch government would bear the burden of the Dutch government for the hardest part of buying the natives, which was the suppression of the natives.

There was even a brief silence until Arthur coughed lightly.

Prime Minister Evan asked in disbelief: "Minister Helbert, are you sure that the Dutch government will take on all the work of capturing and transporting the natives?" ”

An Aboriginal is not worth much, even if it is thousands, it will not be worth more than 100,000 pounds.

What are the benefits for the Dutch of sending troops to capture and transport natives for a small amount of tens of thousands of pounds? Even if each natives could get ten pounds of money, it would not be a loss for the Dutch government, and if they wanted to earn a lot of money by trading in the soil, I am afraid that the cost of sending troops and fleets would not be a small amount.

"Of course, Minister Evan. We are very sincere about Australia and our cooperation. If your government is not reassured, we can also conclude a treaty with clear terms to confirm this cooperation. Minister Helbert nodded as a matter of course and said with a smile.

Seeing Minister Helbert say this, even though everyone still felt a little strange, they were still relieved.

After the signing of the treaty, even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands wants to reverse its words in the future, it will depend on whether the Australian government agrees or not.

Even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands wants to regret it in the future, it will directly give Australia an excuse to take this opportunity to seek more Southeast Asian islands, and even directly intervene in the Dutch East Indies to occupy some areas of great interest.

"Of course, in addition to the treaty for the sale of the natives, the Dutch Government and the Dutch East Indies Government, represented by Governor William, wish to conclude a friendly non-aggression treaty with your Government and the Government of Australia and New Guinea. The East Indies market could also be partially opened to Australia. I don't think there is any conflict between Australia and the Netherlands at the moment, either on home soil or in the colonies. It is also entirely possible to rely on the current good relations to conclude a non-aggression treaty and a mutual trade treaty of representative significance. Minister Helbert changed his words and continued.

Ever since Queen Victoria handed over control of New Guinea and control of New Zealand to Arthur, Australia has been on the verge of uniting Oceania and has posed considerable danger to Southeast Asia to the north.

An Australia, free from any risk of foreign enemies and very close to Southeast Asia, is not good news for all the indigenous and colonial nations of the East Indies.

The British Empire and Germany were not only the first and second great powers in the world, but also had good relations and ties with Australia.

France, which also has its own colonies in Southeast Asia, has colonies in Vietnam and Laos, which are far away from Australia.

In this way, the Netherlands has an extremely important colony, and the colony is relatively close to Australia, and it has nothing to do with Australia.

Although Portugal also owns Portuguese Timor not far from northern Australia, this land is small in population and small in size, and for Portugal, it is not that important.

But the Netherlands is different. Once known as the coachman of the sea, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is now confined to its own homeland.

The once-dominant fleet had long since been defeated by the British, and the current navy could only be regarded as second-rate in Europe, and could only barely defend its colonies, of course, on the premise that the other powers had no idea about the Dutch East Indies.

Although in terms of strength and national strength, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is considered to be a skinny camel larger than a horse, but it is still very strong compared to Australia.

But because the Netherlands is far away in Europe, it takes at least a month to get from the Netherlands to Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies.

On the Australian side, it only takes a week to travel from the capital Sydney to Batavia.

The huge gap in distance represents a huge gap in logistics. If Australia really wants to rob the Dutch East Indies, it is really hard to say whether the Netherlands can hold it without other powers interfering.

The reason the Netherlands had been able to hold on to its colonies was because the British Empire would not allow other powers to occupy such a large area of Southeast Asia.

But Australia is different. First, Australia is not a great power, and even its comprehensive national strength can barely be regarded as a third-rate country in Europe.

Moreover, Australia and the British Empire have a very deep relationship, and the monarch of Australia, Arthur, was favored by Victoria, the former queen of the British Empire.

Australia also had good relations with the German Empire, and there were rumors of a support treaty between the two countries.

Under all these factors, the Dutch government generally felt that it was necessary to take the initiative to sign a non-aggression pact with Australia in order to better ensure the security of the Dutch East Indies.

The position of the Dutch East Indies was able to stand side by side with the status of the real India in the British Empire.

If the British Empire, which lost India, could not retain the throne of the world's first power, then the Netherlands, which lost the Dutch East Indies, would also be completely reduced to a third-rate or even non-mainstream country in Europe.

Hearing Minister Helbert say this, Prime Minister Evan turned his gaze to Arthur.

He knew very well that such a major matter as the signing of treaties between countries was absolutely not something he could decide.

It was only after Arthur nodded his head that he could express his opinion. In other words, to convey Arthur's opinion on his behalf.

Prime Minister Evan looked at Arthur and nodded slightly, then he turned to Chancellor Helbert and Governor William and said: "Australia is an emerging country, and the defense force we have cannot even fully defend the country, but we also maintain good expectations for peaceful development. Australia is willing to enter into a non-aggression pact with the Dutch government, which can also be extended to our respective colonies. We are willing to maintain a state of peaceful development in Southeast Asia, and we will make efforts to maintain the current state of peace. ”

Chancellor Helbert won't take Prime Minister Evan's.

But Australia's willingness to sign a treaty was welcomed by Minister Hailbert.

"That's great news, Prime Minister Evan. If possible, we also invite your Government to send a diplomatic mission to the Netherlands and to exchange ambassadors. At that time, in the presence of our two sovereigns, a non-aggression pact will be signed, which will be of far-reaching significance to both countries. Minister Helbert said with a smile.

The first is to ask for support!

(End of chapter)