Chapter 116 Repairing the North Island Railway (please subscribe!)
"In the next two years, the most important plan of the Coalition is to increase New Zealand's recognition of the Coalition and its recognition of union with Australia. I hope that every once in a while There will be a detailed report on the Alliance Party's actions every time, and I will also strongly support your actions." Arthur glanced at Grant and said with a hint of meaning.
"I understand, Your Highness. The union of Australia and New Zealand has always been the pursuit of the Alliance Party. We will do our best to get more New Zealanders to support the union of New Zealand and Australia. I believe that the country formed by the union of New Zealand and Australia will be stronger. This is a choice that New Zealanders and Australians will not regret." Grant nodded quickly and said in a general tone.
Mayor Grant acted very quickly. On the second day alone, members of the Alliance Party could be seen on the streets of Wellington promoting the ideas of the Alliance Party. There were endless slogans about uniting Australia and jointly building a beautiful Oceania. .
Originally, the New Zealand colonial government still had some suppression of political parties, but under Arthur's instructions, the New Zealand government did not carry out any boycott this time, but chose to let the Alliance Party take action.
However, in the eyes of the people, the government did not oppose it, and in fact it was regarded as tacit approval.
As long as the government did not object, more people joined the Alliance Party. Even some former members of the New Zealand Labor Party, after hesitant thinking, chose to give up their membership of the New Zealand Labor Party and join the Alliance Party instead. .
With Arthur's secret support and the inaction of the colonial government, the Alliance Party's development momentum could no longer be stopped. In just one week, the Alliance Party's membership expanded to more than 200 people, and its power had successfully spread to New Zealand. Major cities in the North Island are developing.
Under conservative estimates, the Alliance Party can attract thousands of members within at least two years, and these people will also play a vital guiding role in New Zealand's major cities.
For Arthur, the current Alliance Party is a boost to the annexation of New Zealand. The larger the Alliance Party is, the faster the annexation of New Zealand will progress.
This is why the Alliance Party was able to gain Arthur's support and why the colonial government did nothing.
Without the involvement of the British Empire, Arthur was the most powerful person in New Zealand, and there was no one else.
Even one of New Zealand's top leaders, General Pierce, commander of the New Zealand Garrison, had no chance of winning when facing Arthur.
Although the Alliance Party is currently developing unstoppably in New Zealand, Arthur cannot always sit in New Zealand.
But Arthur is not worried that the Coalition will grow beyond his control. New Zealand is not one of those free European countries. The only freedoms in New Zealand can only be enjoyed with Arthur's permission.
Not to mention whether the Alliance Party will be beyond Arthur's control within two years. Under the current background of New Zealand, even if the Alliance Party is given ten years, it is absolutely impossible for it to be beyond Arthur's control.
In the context of New Zealand being an autonomous colony, the greatest power currently held by the Alliance Party is only a majority of the seats in the political suffrage.
The rights of the suffragettes were also given by Arthur and could be withdrawn at any time.
It was absolutely impossible for the Unionist Party to escape Arthur's control after losing power, not to mention that Grant Wilson, the leader of the Unionist Party, was even more under Arthur's control.
Letting the Union Party continue to grow freely and wildly, Arthur, accompanied by a group of officials from the colonial government, inspected everywhere in the North Island of New Zealand, including factories, railways, roads, schools, hospitals and various facilities previously established in New Zealand. All kinds of public facilities are within the scope of Arthur's inspection.
Now that I have come to New Zealand, I will definitely have to formulate a series of development plans for the government before leaving. At least during the period when Arthur is not in New Zealand, the New Zealand government must have something to do, so that the New Zealand people can feel Arthur's presence.
It is a good plan to repair the former railways and roads and support the hospitals and schools built before.
New Zealand has already built facilities before these things. Whether it is to repair and renovate them or invest in support, it will only cost a small amount of money to re-use them.
Not only can the people of New Zealand see changes quickly, and New Zealand's economy can recover quickly, but at the same time, it does not need to spend a lot of money. It can be said that it kills multiple birds with one stone.
The first stop Arthur inspected was the railway built in New Zealand. Railways are very important to the development and construction of the country. They are not only one of the main means of transportation, but also an important means of population mobility.
Thanks to New Zealand's previous good development, New Zealand currently has one railway in the North Island and one in the South Island, with a total mileage of approximately 300 kilometers.
The longest railway is located in the North Island, connecting Wellington in the southernmost part of the North Island, the gold mining area in the west and the bay in the north. It almost became the ring-island railway of New Zealand's North Island.
This railway is very important for the economic exchanges of New Zealand's North Island. However, due to New Zealand's previous economic downturn, a long part of this railway is in disrepair, and most of the entire railway is out of service.
For Arthur and the colonial government, the most important thing was to restore the railway's operation.
Most of New Zealand's population lives in the North Island, which is also the economic and political center of New Zealand.
If normal operations of New Zealand's North Island Railway can be restored, then the first step of New Zealand's economic recovery plan will be half successful.
Fortunately, this railway was only built more than thirty years ago. Most of the railways can continue to be put into use with simple repairs. The remaining railways only need to partially replace parts or directly re-lay the rails. .
According to estimates by the colonial government, it would only require less than 200,000 pounds and a thousand laborers to repair all the railways in the North Island.
On the premise that all New Zealanders expect the New Zealand economy to recover, it is not difficult to recruit these 1,000 workers.
Arthur did not hesitate and ignored the distressed looks of colonial government officials and deducted 200,000 pounds from government funds to repair all railways in the North Island of New Zealand.
This fund was actually gifted to the New Zealand government by Arthur as the Duke of Australia, totaling two million pounds.
So far, the total funds owned by the New Zealand government have not exceeded three million pounds. This is why the colonial government officials were so distressed after Arthur spent two hundred thousand pounds.
First update, please support!
(End of chapter)