Chapter 531 Dingoku Tax
In South Africa, there has been a labor crisis since the discovery of gold in large numbers. Many people joined the gold rush in order to get rich overnight.
With the emergence of the first wave of upstarts, the gold rush was ignited. Farms closed, shops closed, and even many employees of the colonial government quit their jobs to pan for gold.
Lack of people has become the biggest problem for the colonial government at the moment. Although the recent sharp increase in the number of migrants has not helped, these people are all gold diggers, and they will not feel at ease working in the local area.
Even the arrival of these foreigners disturbed the order in South Africa. In order to maintain local stability, Governor Fickney tripled the police force in South Africa.
"Your Excellency, last month another 386 government staff members submitted resignation letters, including 136 police officers, and 194 people's resignation applications have been approved in accordance with regulations.
There is no replacement for the remaining short time, so we can only keep people forcibly. According to the regulations, this time should not exceed 3 months, which brought a lot of pressure to our recruitment work.
Affected by the gold rush, the number of applicants for government office has dropped significantly. The Ministry of Personnel has reduced the recruitment standards to a minimum, and still cannot complete the recruitment task.
The Ministry of Personnel suggested to seek domestic help, and the central government would coordinate to transfer some people from other parts of Africa to take over the job, so as to ensure the normal operation of the colonial government. "
Colonial government employees were not able to resign if they wanted to. The government signed a labor contract just like an individual. If they wanted to leave, they had to complete the job handover according to regulations. Generally, this period was one month, and the longest period was three months.
The government can't recruit people, something that hasn't happened in Austria for many years. Since the Vienna government implemented compulsory education, the government has never lacked public officials.
Of course, the colonial situation is special, and some jobs in remote areas are still unpopular. However, as long as the standards are lowered and the treatment improved, these problems will no longer exist.
This time is different. The impact of the gold rush is too great. Young people who want to make a fortune are simply not willing to apply for government office.
It's not that the government can't recruit people, it's mainly that it can't recruit so many qualified public officials. No matter how the standard is lowered, the most basic abilities still need to be guaranteed, and some positions have special skill requirements.
Governor Fickney frowned. This situation has been going on for several months, and he did not expect that there would be an intensifying trend.
"According to your plan, we will report to the country, and we also ask the Central Government Organization Department to recruit 1,000 government employees and 3,800 veteran police officers from the country for us.
For those who are willing to come, the salary is double the average level of the same position in China, and bonuses and benefits are based on the Vienna government employee standards. "
It is difficult to recruit people in the colonies, so recruit them from the country. With the emergence of a large number of gold mines, the colonial government of South Africa has also become a wealthy unit, which can afford money.
Director of Personnel Charlie: "Yes, Your Excellency the Governor!"
After a pause, the Director of Mines, Kaspar Tamso, took out a report: "Your Excellency, this is a recent development report.
Last month, 12 more gold mines were discovered in South Africa, all of which were of relatively high quality. The gold content of the ore exceeded 5 grams of tons, and 2 of them even had reserves of more than 50 tons.
Up to now, 78 large and small gold mines have been discovered in South Africa, and the total gold reserves with mining value have been preliminarily estimated to exceed 3,800 tons.
In addition, 5 diamond mines, 7 coal mines, 2 copper mines, 5 iron mines, 3 manganese mines, 1 chromium mine, 2 phosphate mines were discovered...
What is even more rare is that the quality of these ores is very good. Judging from the current data, South Africa has become the region with the most abundant mineral resources in the empire.
This is South Africa's advantage, but it is very difficult to develop these minerals. The biggest problem is the lack of people, followed by the transportation problem.
To solve the traffic problem, we must first solve the human problem. According to the plan of the railway department, we need to provide at least 200,000 workers if we want to solve the traffic problem within ten years.
To develop these minerals, more labor is needed. Without a labor force of two or three million, it is simply impossible to effectively exploit South Africa's mineral resources.
However, the reality is very bad. Not to mention two or three million laborers, even if it is 200,000 laborers, South Africa cannot make up.
The existing labor resources, even the mining of gold mines are somewhat insufficient. To continue developing, we also need a large population. "
"Lack of people" is a common feature of all Austrian colonies, and it is also a common problem faced by major colonial empires.
No, except for the British. They have India's human resources to supplement, as long as they are willing to invest capital.
Unlike Austria, the population of Africa is not large. In addition to the previous labor export policy, Austrian Africa has sent a total of 4.3 million laborers to the Americas and 1.1 million laborers to the Persian region over the past decade.
The number of indigenous peoples in the area has dwindled sharply, and there are no indigenous tribes in the previously developed West Africa.
At present, there are slightly more indigenous tribes in Austrian East Africa and South Africa, but the total population will definitely not exceed 3 million.
This can be seen during the Anglo-Boer War, the latter stage of the war actually developed to the point where there was a shortage of cannon fodder, and the whole of Austrian Africa, together, was not enough to use human sea tactics to level Cape Town.
It is not only the output of labor that has caused the sharp decrease in the population, but more importantly, the decrease in the birth rate of the population.
Colonize
In order to increase fiscal revenue, the local government levied a tax of 1 SHIELD per person per year from all indigenous tribes, which directly led to a decrease in the local birth rate.
Governor Fickney sneered: "China has promised to solve the problem of shortage of people for us. The agricultural crisis in Europe has broken out, and soon there will be a wave of farmers going bankrupt. The country will give priority to immigration to South Africa.
In addition, the colonial government in the Southeast Asia region also promised to sell us 100,000 labor force in the next five years. There will be a big operation in the Governorate of the Arabian Peninsula in the near future, and they will treat all prisoners of war to us at a low price.
If you want to increase the labor force in the short term, you can only tap the internal potential. That's good, raise the dingkou tax to 1 Aegis per person per month, and all those who can't pay will be sent to me for mining.
The scope of the mouth tax can be expanded, and all non-Austrian citizens are taxed. Immigrants can give a one-year tax period.
If you learn German within one year, you can apply for naturalization. The naturalization assessment period is still three years, and you can also be exempted from tax during this period.
Those who fail the assessment will either get out of the way or stay and pay taxes. If you want to take advantage of us, how can it be so easy! "
In order to increase the labor force, Viscount Fickney is ready to leave no room. The tax of 1 Aegis per person per month is simply forcing the locals to mine and work hard, otherwise they will not be able to collect the tax for the whole family.
Even the foreign gold diggers have not escaped the disaster. If they can't become the nouveau riche within the first year, it is better to learn German early and apply for naturalization, otherwise the tax will hurt their wallets.
Love does not come, anyway, Governor Fickney has never welcomed these unruly gold diggers. As a traditional nobleman, Viscount Fickney hates speculators and upstarts the most.
Although he also made a fortune in gold mines, this does not affect Viscount Fickney's personal views. Perhaps he was ruthless during the colonization, but back in Austria, Viscount Fickney strictly followed the nobility.
This kind of double standard concept is not only owned by Viscount Fickney, but also by many colonists.
...
Vienna, the cabinet has been busy since the Austrian government decided to find a hapless man to deflect the crisis.
War is not a child's play, it is necessary to weigh the pros and cons comprehensively. The European continent finally stabilized, and Franz did not want to cause chaos in the world, so he had to be careful in choosing objects.
Prime Minister Felix: "Your Majesty, the current situation is a bit complicated. The only suitable targets for us are Poland and the Ottoman Empire, neither of which is very ideal.
By taking action against Poland, we can reduce a competitor in the international grain market and ease the world agricultural crisis, but the sequelae are very serious.
First of all, it is possible for the Russians to get involved, and the Kingdom of Prussia will not be idle. The Kingdom of Poland is very poor. If we take military action, it is unlikely that we will get reparations directly. We can only recover the cost of the war by ceding territory.
In this way, there is a 50% chance of a fourth partition of Poland between Prussia and Russia, a 40% chance of a merger of Poland and Poland, and only a 1 in 10 chance of maintaining the status quo.
Also consider the reaction of Britain and France, they will not want to see us continue to grow. Moreover, Poland owes them a lot of money, and if they lose this debt, the financial circles of both countries will cause trouble for us.
The situation facing the Ottoman Empire is also very complicated. The three countries of Britain, France and Russia are still involved. The debt problems of Britain and France are also unavoidable, as well as the strategic conflicts of various countries.
Especially with Britain and Russia, the tsarist government has been waiting for us to act, so as to bring down the Ottoman Empire and retake the Transcaucasus.
If we don't occupy the territory of the Ottoman Empire, it will be fine. If we seize the Middle East and extend the sphere of influence to the Persian region, the sensitive nerves of the British will probably be stimulated again.
They are still brooding over the South African issue. If they provoke the British again, I am afraid that the Anglo-Austrian relationship will be over. "
Franz also has a headache, and the current situation is really not suitable for acting rashly. No matter which hapless one chooses to strike, Austria cannot maximize its benefits.
"If you can't eat mutton, you have to get into a show." No matter how you look at it, Austria is at a disadvantage, which is not in line with Franz's style of conduct.
After wandering for a few steps, Franz turned back suddenly: "If you want to gain benefits, you must pay a price. This agricultural crisis is not only hurting us, but also the Russians and Prussia.
Either we all join forces to face the pressure of Britain and France together; or we all hold back together to see who can withstand the pressure better.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicates with Prussia and Russia, and we will cooperate with whomever bids the highest. If the returns are too low, then abandon the plan.
With our family background, it is not a big problem to last for three or five years, so there is no need to rush it for a while. Prussia and Russia can't last for so long. Whoever can't stand it first will be the one to make the first bird! "
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