Chapter 215 Summary of 1906
The Australasian welcoming fleet set out very early and finally arrived at the Sydney Harbour on the day of the wedding.
In addition to the fleets of both sides, the Australasian Guards Infantry Regiment and two Russian divisions also escorted the Grand Duchess Mary.
These two Russian divisions were elite troops drawn from Europe. Although their combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the Australasian Guards, their weapons and equipment were relatively neat and uniform, and they looked very shocking.
Both sides dispatched more than 30,000 troops just to escort a wedding.
This is also a rare thing, and it adds a bit of luxury and dignity to this grand wedding.
For the soldiers of the Guards, this round trip was also a training.
They spent nearly two months on the ship, and they had adapted to the swing of the warship in the ocean.
After arriving at the port, the infantry regiment was finally able to return to the garrison to rest, and the task of escorting Queen Mary was handed over to the Guards Cavalry Regiment who had been waiting at the port for a long time.
At the port, reporters and media from various countries were frantically taking photos of these troops.
The performance of the Australasian Army attracted their attention. Judging from the neat formation and discipline, this is definitely an army with strong combat effectiveness.
Of course, the reason why these foreign reporters and media affirmed it was actually the comparison with the Russian army.
Although the two Russian divisions were also relatively elite troops, the overall training level of the Russian army was rather worrying, and it was naturally incomparable with the Guards that Arthur invested a lot of money and cost to train.
In a word, with the contrast of the Russian army, Arthur's Guards made everyone feel that this was a strong army.
After the cavalry regiment escorted Grand Duchess Mary to Sydney Palace, the wedding was officially held in the church in Sydney Palace.
The wedding was not held by the Archbishop of Canterbury, but by another bishop from the Church of England.
The cumbersome process of inviting bishops from the Church of England for each major event made Arthur decide to promote Australasia to have its own church and archbishop.
The church and bishop in his own hands are also more convenient to use. At least that's what Arthur thought.
After the sacred wedding in the church, Mary officially became the Queen of Australasia and Arthur's legal wife.
This also announced the official end of the grand wedding, and Australasia returned to a relatively peaceful life.
This wedding was very expensive for both Russia and Australasia, and the combined cost of the two countries even exceeded 7 million Australian dollars.
Of course, the benefits brought by the wedding to the two countries were definitely not small. Russia once again showed its strong side, letting all countries in the world understand that it is still a strong country and Russia is still a powerful power.
For Australasia, the benefits obtained are even greater, and some are even countless.
First of all, the dowry brought by Queen Mary was as high as millions of Australian dollars, including a large amount of jewelry and resources, food, and population.
Yes, it's that straightforward. Queen Mary directly brought tens of thousands of Russian peasants, who will also officially become citizens of Australasia.
After this wedding, it also means that the immigration treaty between Australasia and Russia has begun to be vigorously implemented, and the number of Russian immigrants going to Australasia every year will be further advanced.
The most important thing that Queen Mary brought to Arthur was the legitimacy and legality of ruling these Russian civilians.
Arthur can rely on his marriage with the Russian royal family to make these Russian civilians better submit to his rule.
And these immigrants from Russia will become excellent immigrants no less than British immigrants, and their recognition of Arthur's rule and kingdom will be much higher than that of immigrants from other countries.
Arthur had just entered a happy married life a few days after the wedding, and he immediately plunged into busy government affairs.
Because it is close to the end of the year, and because of the establishment of the Kingdom of Australasia, the report meeting at the end of this year must be attended, and it must be held in a very formal manner.
More importantly, next year is 1907, the fourth year of this cabinet government.
This also means that the next cabinet government election will be held next year, because most of these cabinet members have been re-elected for two terms, and perhaps the cabinet government will usher in major changes.
Of course, they still have the opportunity to continue to be re-elected. After all, Australasia has adopted Australia's policy, and cabinet ministers can be re-elected for up to three terms.
But no matter what, this year may be the last annual report meeting they attend, which is of profound significance to many cabinet members and an important way for them to strive for re-election next year.
On December 31, 1906, the last day of 1906, the 1906 annual summary report of the Australasian Kingdom Government was successfully held in the State Council.
In the conference room, all officials were sitting in a dignified manner, waiting for Arthur's arrival.
As Arthur entered the conference room, warm applause and greetings immediately rang out in the conference room: "Your Majesty!"
After nodding lightly and motioning everyone to sit down, Arthur smiled and said: "Everyone, before you know it, the establishment of the Kingdom of Australasia has been nearly a year. Now it's time to test your work, let us listen to the government's achievements together!"
As usual, Prime Minister Evan took the lead in summarizing the Kingdom Government.
"Your Majesty, throughout 1906, the Kingdom's development and construction have reached a new height. We can proudly announce that our infrastructure in education, medical care and other aspects has caught up with the pace of ordinary European countries and is catching up with the great powers. Our industry has also stepped onto a new level and is working towards a stronger industrial power." Prime Minister Evan reported.
"Both the people's income and the country's income have ushered in a relatively obvious growth. Conservatively estimated, the Kingdom Government will completely achieve a balance of payments in the next year and will achieve a profit in the second year. Our agriculture and animal husbandry have also ushered in a considerable growth, and all aspects of the country are growing steadily. I believe that under your wise leadership, the rise of the Kingdom is already visible and not far away."
Prime Minister Evan's flattery won applause from the audience, and Arthur nodded.
After the government's general summary was completed, it was the ministers of each department who reported the details of their departments.
Minister of Industry Pierre stood up and respectfully handed Arthur a report from the Ministry of Industry. Then he spoke to everyone, "Your Majesty, everyone. Our industrial growth has seen significant changes this year. Our industrial investment is not limited to steel and high-end industries, but has also made significant progress in various low-end industries."
"By the end of this year, our total steel output has officially exceeded two million tons, reaching 2,137,600 tons. Among them, our iron output reached 1,332,100 tons, and steel output reached 850,500 tons, which has officially entered the level of an industrial power." Minister Pierre said with a smile.
"At the same time, with the assistance of the Germans, the kingdom's basic industry has also seen a significant increase. Various types of factories have been established in our major industrial zones, filling the gaps in various types of industries in the kingdom. I propose to expand our technical worker schools and open more majors to meet the recruitment needs of these different types of factories." Minister Pierre proposed.
With the development of Australasia's industry, the different demands for workers have become more and more different.
Under such circumstances, expanding the scale of technical worker schools and adding more professional types are better choices.
Arthur nodded and said decisively: "This is natural. The Ministry of Industry can immediately start to expand our technical worker schools. Not only does our industry need to develop, but the supply of various talents also needs to keep up in order to better fit the mainstream of our development."
"At present, we have more than seven industrial zones, with a total of more than 100,000 Australasian workers working here. At the same time, we also have more than 100,000 indigenous people working in industrial zones, which is why our industry is developing so fast." Minister Pierre said with a smile.
Arthur nodded.
For the development of Australasia, the government has invested at least 600,000 indigenous people, and this number is still increasing.
Of course, for the rapid development of Australasia, some casualties are inevitable.
According to incomplete statistics from the government, more than 60,000 indigenous people have been buried in Australasia, but their vacancies will soon be filled by new indigenous people.
Although it seems cruel, this is the mainstream of this era. If Australasia does not make up its mind to develop, it is afraid that the oppressed and enslaved will become the Australasia people.
"Your Majesty, in addition to industrial growth, our reserves of various mineral resources have also ushered in a large-scale growth. We have discovered a large number of coal mines, iron mines, silver mines, aluminum mines, oil and copper mines, as well as various other mineral resources. At present, our mineral resources have been exported to many surrounding countries and regions, which has also provided us with many additional sources of funds."
Australasia is an absolute mineral resource powerhouse, even in the early twentieth century when exploration technology was not mature.
The development of surrounding countries and regions requires a large amount of mineral resources, and Australasia just fills this gap.
In particular, the previous mineral resource trade with the island country can bring Australasia more than 200,000 Australian dollars in profits every year.
Of course, after ending the mineral resource trade with the island country, this income will naturally disappear.
But a mere 200,000 Australian dollars is really not taken seriously by the Australasia government.
After the report of the Ministry of Industry was finished, Minister of Civil Affairs Walter stood up and handed over a document. Then he introduced: "Your Majesty, everyone. By the end of this year, the total population of the kingdom has exceeded 6.55 million. Among them, the total population of Australia is 5.21 million, the total population of New Zealand is 1.3 million, and the total population of the colony of New Guinea is less than 40,000."
"Compared with last year, our population has seen a large increase, and a large part of the credit goes to immigrants from Europe." Minister Walter explained.
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