Chapter 50: Australian New Guinea

Translator: 549690339

After hearing what Arthur said, everyone present fell into a frenzied celebration. Even the cabinet officials who had already entered the upper echelons of the government were all beaming with joy.

The peaceful expansion and development of the country were definitely what everyone wanted to see, not to mention the lands of British New Guinea and New Zealand, which were very close to Australia.

British New Guinea is located not far north of Australia, with a population of about 700,000.

The value of this land is not very high, and the population is not very large, but it can become an important gateway to the north of Australia and a stepping stone for spying on Southeast Asia.

To the west and northwest of British New Guinea lies the Dutch East Indies colony of the Netherlands.

The development potential of the Dutch East Indies should not be underestimated, with a total area of nearly two million square kilometers and a total population of over 20 million.

More importantly, the inhabitants of the Dutch East Indies are so-called indigenous peoples who are not regarded as human beings by Westerners and are slaves.

As long as a piece of the Dutch East Indies can be obtained, a large amount of free labor can be obtained, which can also serve as cannon fodder for the development of Australian industry.

In Arthur’s view, these people who cannot be integrated into Australia’s diverse culture and cannot become true Australians have the greatest use of sacrificing their lives for the development of Australia.

As for New Zealand, it goes without saying that although its various mineral resources are not as prosperous as those of Australia, it is a good country in terms of animal husbandry and can just make up for the shortage of arable land in Australia.

If Australia can fully integrate British New Guinea and New Zealand, it will not be a problem for the merged country to accommodate a population of hundreds of millions.

It must be said that even in the last moments of her life, Queen Victoria fought for a lot of benefits for Arthur and his Australia, giving Australia the capital necessary for its rise and the potential to become a superpower.

However, for the United Kingdom, the departure of Queen Victoria is a pure loss. As a queen who has ruled the country for more than sixty years, Queen Victoria’s prestige in the United Kingdom is unparalleled, and the monarch’s power she has gained cannot be compared with that of the soon-to-be ascended Prince Edward.

It can be said that when Queen Victoria was willful, she could dismiss and appoint prime ministers according to her own wishes without worrying about being criticized by the government and the people.

But if Prince Edward dares to do so, then the next day the streets will be full of news accusing Prince Edward, and protests against tyrants in various parts of the empire.

After all, the United Kingdom is still a constitutional monarchy, with limited power for the monarch.

Even with someone like Queen Victoria, who has accumulated prestige over a long period of time and enjoys the support of the people, it is difficult for her to regain some say in government affairs. But when the throne is passed down, these temporary powers cannot be inherited by the new monarch.

Prince Edward has two things to worry about in the short term: one is to arrange Queen Victoria’s funeral well, to satisfy both the European royal families and the British royal family, and to satisfy the British people who love Queen Victoria.

At the same time, Prince Edward has to communicate well with the government, after all, the government that Queen Victoria can suppress may not necessarily be suppressed by Prince Edward.

However, Arthur was not aware of Prince Edward’s troubles. After settling the guards and attendants presented by Queen Victoria, he called a Cabinet meeting the next day to discuss how to take over British New Guinea and New Zealand.

According to the agreement with Prince Edward, once Australian soldiers arrive, all British soldiers and forces will be withdrawn from British New Guinea, which will then be officially handed over to Australia for management.

As for whether to turn it into a new state of Australia or continue as a colony, that is something Australia needs to worry about.

It was for this reason that Arthur decided to take over British New Guinea as soon as possible.

With the remaining prestige of Queen Victoria, it is still very easy for Australia to completely control and take over British New Guinea.

But if we wait until the end of Queen Victoria’s funeral or even longer, when Queen Victoria’s prestige gradually dissipates, whether British New Guinea is willing to accept Australia’s management is uncertain.

It was still familiar meeting room on the top floor of the administrative building, with the same familiar group of people in the cabinet.

Arthur sat at the head of the table, smiling as he threw out a difficult question to everyone: “According to Her Majesty the Queen’s final will, we will take over British New Guinea, and I will serve as the Governor of New Zealand for twenty years. Now it is time to discuss the issues of British New Guinea and New Zealand. How shall we manage these two areas? Everyone, please share your thoughts.”

British New Guinea is fine as it is already on Australia’s plate, basically unassailable.

But New Zealand is different. Arthur is only the governor of New Zealand for twenty years. If Australia’s policy towards New Zealand is biased, then it is likely that Australia will lose its management rights in New Zealand after twenty years, allowing New Zealand to return to Britain’s arms.

“Your Highness, why not directly rename British New Guinea to the New Guinea State and make it our seventh state in Australia?” Minister of Agriculture Henry suggested: “British New Guinea is very close to Australia and has excellent harbors. Making it a state directly is not a problem, just as smoothly as our previous colony-to-state transitions.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea, any other thoughts?” Arthur nodded expressionlessly, looking at the others.

“Your Highness, I believe that we cannot make New Guinea our new state in the short term, and we should manage it as a colony first.” Prime Minister Evan stood up and offered a different opinion: “British New Guinea is different from our states in Australia. Although it has a population of more than 700,000, there are only more than 30,000 British and European immigrants, and the rest are local natives. If we manage British New Guinea as a new state directly, what will happen to these natives? Wouldn’t it be too unfair to our Australian citizens if we counted them all as our legal citizens?”

Prime Minister Evan’s point is simple: if British New Guinea is directly made a state, then the disposal of these natives becomes a thorny issue.

But if British New Guinea remains a colony, who would care about the life and death of the natives of the colony?

“Your Highness, my suggestion is to continue to manage New Guinea as a colony. What we need now is the Australian New Guinea Colony, not the New Guinea State ‘{@id=my_sdata[‘dataset_id’]}”‘, Prime Minister Evan said solemnly, looking at Arthur..