On January 13, 1908, Arthur had a happy birthday party at Sydney Palace, and at the same time announced that he was 26 years old.

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

Arthur had no choice but to focus more attention and energy on the development of the country and use his life to create a strong country, at least not in vain.

In the past few days, all the officials have been congratulating in an endless stream, and if it weren't for Arthur's banquet being too high, I'm 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 most powerful, the most noble, and the largest family in Australasia.

On 7 January, Arthur met with Grant Wilson, the head of the Unionist Party, at the Palace of Sydney and asked about the Party's current size and plans.

Grant Wilson is also an acquaintance, a man whom Arthur met when he first travelled to New Zealand for political purposes, and Grant was then head of the New Zealand Coalition Party.

The current political parties in Australasia have been in place for many years and are no longer the seven major parties that Australia used to be.

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

The Australian Labor Party and the New Zealand Labor Party have integrated very smoothly, and they are also the parties that have been the most rapidly integrated and have not had any opposition.

The merged party was called the New Labor Party, and its platform was to unite the unions and unite workers in an effort to build a better Australasia.

Speaking of which, the programme of the Labour Party can be regarded as a twist and turn, the initial programme to promote the establishment of a unified federation in Australia was realized by Arthur, and then the programme to protect the interests of the working class was also realized by Arthur, which is also an important reason for restricting the development of the new Labour Party.

After all, what you want to do has already been achieved by Arthur, doesn't this mean that this party has no practical role in disguise?

Another party that has undergone a great convergence is the newly formed United Party.

The Unionist Party is a fusion of the original Australian Independence Party, Endeavour Party and New Zealand Alliance Party, and it is also the party with the most party integration since the establishment of Australasia.

Because of the combination of three political parties, the Unionist Party is currently the largest political party in Australasia, and Grant Wilson has managed to sit in the position of leader and become a member of the House of Representatives.

The Unity Party's party program, which combines the characteristics of the three parties, appears to be somewhat maverick.

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

Therefore, the Unionist Party can also be seen as a royalist party, and it is also the closest party to the royal family at present.

It was also thanks to this relationship that Grant Wilson was eligible to be received by Arthur, after all, the political parties were all subject to the Royal Parliament and the Election Commission, and there was nothing to make waves in Australasia.

In addition to the New Labor Party and the Unionist Party, there are currently three other parties in Australasia: the two relatively close parties, the National Party and the Democratic Party, and the Rural Party, which is mainly oriented towards rural and low-income people.

There is also basically a survival of the fittest relationship between political parties, after all, Australasia's political arena is so big, and there are only so many parliamentarians and people that can be wooed.

If they do not garner too much support, sooner or later the political party will dissolve due to lack of funds or for various reasons.

At present, among the five political parties in Australasia, they can basically be divided into the New Labor Party, which represents the working class, the Democratic Democratic Party, the Centrist National Party and the Country Party, and the United Party that stands on the royal family.

Although it seems to be four-legged, in fact, the struggle of the political parties is basically under Arthur's control, which is like Arthur drawing a chessboard for them, the size of the chessboard is determined by Arthur, and the party is destined to not jump out.

These parties are also the largest democracy that Arthur has given to Australasia. Without compromising Arthur's interests, the people of Australasia could elect their favorite MPs and then let their favourites elect a new government.

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

After all, for Arthur, even a cabinet minister and prime minister is equivalent to working for himself.

As long as he can complete the plans and tasks he deploys, then the specific position is not important to Arthur.

In a small ballroom at Sydney Palace, Arthur meets Grant Wilson again.

Compared with a few years ago, Grant Wilson was noticeably more mature and humble, and after seeing Arthur, he lowered his attitude very low, his face was full of humility and respect, and greeted: "Your Majesty! ”

At this time, Arthur's identity has also undergone a great change, from a small Duke of Australia to the king of Australasia.

Although it seems to be only a hierarchical gap, 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 nobility. Even King Edward and William II are actually the same as Arthur in terms of identity.

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

If Australasia could one day develop into the current power of the British Empire, Arthur would not be too opposed to having an imperial title.

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

"Long time no see, Councillor 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 head of the United Party, we are very honored." ”

"How is the development of the United Party now? I remember when I was in New Zealand, your League did very well. Arthur asked with interest.

New Zealand's integration into Australasia went so smoothly because the Coalition contributed a lot to the propaganda in New Zealand at that time.

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

Hearing Arthur's inquiry, Grant Wilson hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, since the establishment of the Union, the Union has set its sights on the entire country. After the reorganization and integration of the Independence Party and the Endeavor Party, we have formed the current United Party. ”

"I am well aware that if the country wants to develop steadily and steadily, there can be no surprises in the close union between the various regions of Australasia. I have therefore made the bold decision to set the party programme of the new Unionist Party as the preservation of the unity of Australasia and the status of the Kingdom and Crown of Australasia. Australasia has been able to develop to the point where it is now, and to be able to go abroad to pursue a higher status, as well as a greater sphere of influence and greater power, all of which cannot be achieved without the leadership of Your Majesty. If the kingdom wants to continue to develop and realize the dream of a greater rise, it is absolutely inseparable from the command and leadership of Your Majesty. ”

Back in New Zealand, Grant Wilson was well aware of the political landscape of Australia and New Zealand.

Whether in Australia or New Zealand, Arthur held an absolute position and had enough popular support.

Judging from the previous speed of development in Australia, Arthur is definitely not an incapable monarch.

The status of a capable, popular, and well-supported monarch will only grow higher and more stable, so Grant Wilson has long been determined to stand in line and get himself into the top in another way.

Although Grant Wilson's words were a bit suspicious of sycophancy, Arthur was not too guilty, and instead continued to ask: "Congressman Grant, what do you think about the current political parties and election laws?" ”

The Political Parties Act and the Electoral Act are laws on political parties and elections that have been in place since the time of Australia, and are the fundamental laws under which the current Australasian political party system and election period are based.

These two laws are mentioned because they greatly strengthened Arthur's royal power, and at the same time, they also greatly weakened the rights of political parties, placing them under the rule of the Royal Parliament, and even during the election period, they were subject to the supervision of the royal family and the government.

While political parties in Australasia have gained legal status through the Political Parties Act, they have also managed to lose the opportunity to gain more power.

Although the development so far, the development of Australasia has been very smooth. But Arthur decided to listen to other opinions and see how other parties reacted to the electoral law and the party law.

"Your Majesty, the Political Parties Act and the Electoral Act regulate political parties and the electoral system in Australasia, while at the same time reducing the influence of major political parties on the situation as much as possible. I think that this system, while different from Europe, is very applicable to Australasia today. For Australasia, what is needed most at the moment is to come together to develop the country, not to have a new voice. Grant Wilson pondered for a moment before speaking.

"As for the reaction of other political parties, it is not really important. Your Majesty, as long as the people support it and the government supports it, the reaction of the political parties is nothing. And as far as I know, none of the country's five major political parties have a clear intention of opposing the political party law and the election law, and even the village party and the new labor party are very supportive of the election law. ”

The most important feature of the Political Parties Law and the Election Law is that they put an end to any political donations and pull the income of political parties at almost the same level.

Political parties want to obtain higher incomes not by co-opting the capitalists and the executive aristocracy, but by relying on popular support to win seats in the House of Representatives, and allocate more funds by virtue of the proportion of seats in the House of Representatives.

In 1907, more than $1.2 million in donations of various types were received from the public, of which 30 per cent were divided equally among the five major political parties under the provisions of the Political Parties Act, and each party received an average of 72,000 Australian dollars.

With each of the remaining 70 per cent of seats in the House of Representatives, Grant Wilson's Unionist Party received 30 per cent, or $360,000.

These two revenues together gave the United Party $432,000 in activity funding. The Liberals, the smallest party at present, have received more than $120,000 in funding.

If we look at the European situation, the party that receives the least money for its activities must be the village party.

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

If it continues to develop for a long time, a party like the Village Party, which really cares about rural and low-income people, will surely go bankrupt and even risk disbanding.

But it was Arthur's enactment of the Political Parties Law that allowed the parties to divide all the remaining political funds according to their level of support on the premise of receiving a minimum income.

This is not very friendly to the larger parties, but for the village parties and smaller parties, it is the key to the survival of the parties, and the real reason why the party law has not suffered much opposition.

After all, the largest party at present is the United Party, and the program of the United Party is entirely for the royal family, which can be said to be the royal family's own people.

Arthur nodded, looked at Grant Wilson, and asked seemingly unintentionally, "Councillor Grant, what do you think about the current development of the country?" ”

Grant Wilson was shocked, and hurriedly organized the language frantically in his head, but he didn't dare to drag it out too long, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, I don't dare to make reckless remarks on the development of the national level. But there are some small aspects that may be better seen from the outside. I think there are two problems that have been exposed in the current development, and almost all of them are related to population. ”

Arthur smiled, but with some interest, he continued to ask, "Oh? Questions about the population? If it's the size of the population, the problem is already well known, so there is no need to repeat it. ”

"It's not the size of the population, Your Majesty." Grant: Wilson explained, "Although population size is a big problem for us, through the efforts of Your Majesty and the government, we can also have hundreds of thousands of immigrants every year, and the problem of population size is gradually being solved. What I'm talking about is actually related to these immigrants. With regard to the resettlement of these migrants, I think that the current government is doing something inappropriate. Throughout Australasia, most of our migrants are located in the southeast of Australia and the North Island of New Zealand, and even more than sixty percent of immigrants choose to move to the larger cities in these regions. ”

"There is a bright side to this situation, our capital city of Sydney already has a population of more than 900,000 and is about to become the first city in the Kingdom to surpass a million people. But there is something wrong with this, and the gap between our cities is becoming apparent. Originally, our population is not very large, and if we relocate most of our population in large cities, it will not be a good thing for the development of the country and the development of 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 too well.

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

The choices of immigrants are diverse, but they are generally inseparable from local development, economy, cultural construction, education, medical care, population and other factors.

Compared with several large cities in Australasia, smaller cities are significantly less competitive and can attract fewer immigrants.

To take the simplest example, Perth, the capital of Western Australia, grew from less than 140,000 to just over 230,000 from 1900 to early 1908, with a total population growth of no more than 90,000.

In contrast, Melbourne, Australasia's second-largest city, has seen much faster population development.

Also between 1900 and early 1908, Melbourne's population grew from 440,000 to 710,000, a total population increase of more than 270,000, exactly three times that of Perth.

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

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

Sydney's population was slightly smaller than Melbourne's at the beginning, but now it has a population of more than 970,000 and is already on its way to becoming a million-strong city.

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

How exaggerated is this number? Of the 11 administrative regions in Australasia, only seven have a total population of more than 500,000.

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

But this is not Sydney's problem, after all, there is nothing wrong with developing and building Sydney, which is also the current capital and signboard of Australasia. Sydney has been able to attract so many immigrants.

But after all, it is also necessary to take care of the development of other administrative regions, so 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 1.5 million, while New South Wales still has a population of more than 1.29 million even if it loses the big city of Sydney.

"This is indeed a big development risk. Congressman Grant, do you have any good suggestions? Arthur asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the best thing to do is to make other cities more attractive. Australasia currently lacks an advocacy unit to increase the attractiveness of Australasia's major cities, both nationally and internationally, so that more Australasian cities can be brought into the eyes of Europeans and change the flow of migrants at the source. Grant Wilson seemed to have a draft in mind, and he did not hesitate to answer.

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

Although public opinion in Australasia has been controlled by Arthur, the government departments do not have the means to communicate with it, not even the propaganda management agency.

It may be necessary to set up a propaganda department, but a small propaganda department is not enough to enter the cabinet, and it seems that it needs to be attached to a certain department at present.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is most suitable for the 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, "It's a good plan, Councilor Grant." In addition to this question, what is another question? ”

Having talked about this, Grant Wilson naturally did not flinch, and continued: "Your Majesty, in addition to increasing the attractiveness of other cities, I think it is necessary to divide immigrants more finely, to assign immigrants from the same region to different states and territories, and to eliminate the possibility of these immigrants forming forces at the root. ”

If we had to divide it according to proximity, for Arthur, the closest people were naturally Australasian people, then British immigrants, Russian immigrants, German immigrants, and then immigrants from other European countries.

More than 600,000 immigrants come to Australasia each year, which is good news for Australasia.

But the management of immigrants also needs to be vigilant, after all, these immigrants are not so safe for the stability of the country.

At least not enough time has passed to prove that Arthur will not fully trust these immigrants, which is why the Australasian government election must have a number of years of residence in Australasia.

Australasia's parliamentary system can be divided into representatives, state (territory) councillors, city councillors, and so on.

Members of the House of Representatives may elect Cabinet officials and members of the national government, and members of the State or Territory Council may elect members of the State and Territory governments. The lowest-level city councillors can only be elected by members of the city government and village and town governments.

But even for the lowest-ranking councillors, one of the requirements is to have lived in any part of Australasia for at least three years.

It is five years for state legislators, ten years for deputies and fifteen years for cabinet government members.

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

And those who can live in Australasia for fifteen years will definitely have feelings for Australasia and recognize the country.

The method that Grant is talking about is actually to divide and dismantle all the immigrants, and then divide them into other administrative districts in a family unit.

In this way, the immigrants who are distributed in the same administrative region are basically from various countries, and the number of people who know each other will be greatly reduced, which will greatly reduce the possibility of these immigrants uniting.

After thinking about it for a while, and after determining that this was a good solution, Arthur looked at Grant Wilson again and said with a little seriousness: "Councillor Grant, the two problems you mentioned do exist, and the method you proposed does work. Australasia needs a member like you who can contribute to the country, and I believe that the United Party can also become an important support and pillar of the government's work under your leadership. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! Rest assured, the Unionist Party will always be a supporter of the country and the royal family, and will always be the forerunner of the dream of Australasia's rise. Although the Unionist Party members come from all regions, we are all Australasian people by blood. Grant Wilson hurriedly assured.

At the end of the conversation, before asking the guards to send Grant away, Arthur added to Grant seemingly unintentionally: "Congressman Grant, after a while, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will set up a propaganda department, and then the House of Representatives will discuss the choice of ministers." ”

6,200 words 2-in-1 chapter, ask for support, ask for a monthly pass! (Although it's one chapter, it's more than the normal two chapters), ask for a monthly pass!

(End of chapter)