novelAbuy Chapter 109 - One Hundred and Nine: The Current Situation in New Zealand (Subscribe!)
Chapter 109 - One Hundred and Nine: The Current Situation in New Zealand (Subscribe!)
Chapter 109: Chapter One Hundred and Nine: The Current Situation in New Zealand (Subscribe!)
Translator: 549690339 I
Arthur’s words struck the hearts of all New Zealanders like a heavy hammer.
Indeed! As kind as His Royal Highness Arthur may be, he is eventually the monarch of the Australian People. To Arthur, New Zealand is merely a territory under temporary administration for twenty years and he only has administrative power during these years, even being controlled by the officials of the Colonial Government.
Under such circumstances, nobody is foolish enough to exhaust all their resources in developing a land that may not belong to them.
On considering this, New Zealanders were filled with disappointment, but this was soon replaced by a dreadful thought: What if New Zealand were indeed a territory under His Royal Highness Arthur? What if they were subjects of His Royal Highness Arthur?
If New Zealand, like Australia, was a territory under Arthur, wouldn’t His Royal Highness be able to develop New Zealand the same way he did Australia, increasing the income of all New Zealanders?
There were many New Zealanders with such thoughts, after all, several decades ago, New Zealand was also a part of Australia, so wouldn’t unification be a natural course of action?
If Arthur knew the thoughts in the minds of the New Zealanders, he would nod
in satisfaction at the success of his scheme.
As a member of the royal family of the British Empire, Australia is also a Duchy that split from the British Empire.
Under such circumstances, Arthur certainly could not oppose the British
Empire openly.
After all, a significant part of Arthur’s status and prestige is inherited from Queen Victoria, and he certainly would not undermine his own foundation.
So, the only way to covet New Zealand’s land was to encourage the New Zealanders to ask to join Australia themselves.
The speech at the harbor was just the first step in the plan. There will be many more follow-ups, to allow more people and powers to promote New Zealand’s accedence to Australia.
Mountains and hills occupy 75°/<> of New Zealand’s total area, which is why its animal husbandry industry is so developed.
According to intelligence from the New Zealand Colonial Government, the per capita income in New Zealand is about eleven pounds, and there are just under 200,000 people belonging to the extremely low-income population.
In terms of mineral resources, although not as rich as Australia, New Zealand is one of the countries with relatively rich mineral resources.
When it comes to metallic minerals, New Zealand has gold mines, silver mines, and iron mines. The production output of gold and silver mines has been decreasing year by year due to the exhaustion of the ores.
New Zealand also has coal mines. Although the reserves of coal and iron are not as rich as in Australia, it can establish certain industries and can be considered rich in mineral resources.
Due to its previous prosperity, New Zealand has built a certain amount of highways, bridges, railways, telegraph lines, and other public works, and its infrastructure is better than that of Australia.
However, with the decline of the economy, many public works have fallen into disuse, and some roads and railways have become unusable due to lack of maintenance.
More importantly, as a self-governing colony of the British Empire, New Zealand is restricted by the British Empire in all aspects and cannot develop independently.
A large portion of wealth has been absorbed by the British mainland, and the wealth that remains in New Zealand is not much.
Overall, because of its previous successes, New Zealand is temporarily on par with the development level of Australia.
However, it can be foreseen that if New Zealand continues to stagnate, or even if its economy and development deteriorate, it is only a matter of time before Australia will surpass New Zealand.
The economic recession in New Zealand has already incited dissatisfaction amongst New Zealanders, which is why there has been a wave of independence there.
In addition, the rapid development and economic integration brought about by Australia’s independence have gradually made New Zealanders yearn for New Zealand to become an independent and autonomous country.
Currently, New Zealand has two political parties with significant influence, namely the New Zealand Labor Party, composed of many workers, and the Alliance Party composed of many retired soldiers and officials from New Zealand.
The New Zealand Labour Party advocates that New Zealand follow the model of Australia and establish an autonomous territory with autonomy.
On the other hand, the Alliance Party hopes to make New Zealand an independent country, or part of an independent country, by joining Australia.