Monarchy

If the Prime Ministers hadn't known Arthur's intentions before, they certainly knew them now.

In the original plan of the Prime Ministers, they only needed to coax Arthur into agreeing to establish a federal government composed of self-governing states, and they could retain a large portion of their power.

Even if they couldn't enter the national government of Australia, they could still retain their positions as governors and even attempt to sideline Arthur.

But according to Arthur's proposal, both the upper and lower houses would be in Arthur's pocket, and the cabinet elected by the lower house would naturally follow suit.

The states that evolved from the colonies would have no other rights; they would only be governors, waiting for their term to end, to seek re-election or step down.

The Prime Ministers remained silent, their gazes fixed on Prime Minister Evan, who was leading them.

Prime Minister Evan gave a wry smile, but dared not speak out. He understood perfectly what the other Prime Ministers meant, but in reality, they were all colonial Prime Ministers dispatched from the British Empire to Australia. Although they had gained considerable power in Australia, their control was effectively split in two: they held executive power, and the commanders of several armies controlled the rest.

Now that Arthur had arrived in Australia, the Australian army would inevitably hand over control to him.

Furthermore, with Queen Victoria present, who would dare to openly oppose Arthur?

Queen Victoria's destination was White Island in New Zealand, and her stops at the Suez Canal and India were not long.

Yet, in Australia, Queen Victoria had already stayed for three days and showed no signs of leaving. Wasn't this a way of showing support for Arthur?

"Very well, since none of you have any other objections, we can begin preparations for the conversion of colonies into states and the establishment of upper and lower houses. It's nearly May, and I hope the elections for the lower house can officially commence nationwide by mid-May," Arthur said with a smile, seeing no one object.

It seemed these fellows were quite sensible, none of them foolish enough to dare to openly oppose Arthur.

After all, the entire Australian garrison numbered only a little over six thousand men, and they were dispersed across six colonies.

Queen Victoria and Arthur's Guard Army combined numbered 4,000 men, capable of immediate suppression even if someone incited rebellion.

"Yes, Your Highness," the six men replied reluctantly.

"Until the national government is formally established, Prime Minister Evan will temporarily serve as interim Prime Minister, and the other Prime Ministers will be interim cabinet members. The construction of Australia requires everyone's joint effort. Let's strive to be completely transformed and complete the government's establishment by the end of May," Arthur said with a smile.

Arthur understood the principle of "beat them with a stick and then give them a carrot." After stripping the six Prime Ministers of the state autonomy they desired, Arthur promoted them to interim cabinet members. This was to ensure they contributed to the government's formation and expedited the process.

If they were truly capable, Arthur wouldn't mind giving them a push after the government was established, allowing them to genuinely ascend to the throne of the cabinet or even the Prime Minister.

"Yes, Your Highness!" As expected, upon hearing Arthur's arrangements, the Prime Ministers seemed to suddenly gain motivation and responded in unison.

"However, the establishment of the national government requires a charter to guide it. It's time to promulgate our own constitution. Let's call it the Australian Constitution. The content of the constitution will reference the major monarchical countries in Europe, combined with our domestic realities for revision. Does the Federal Council have any proposals for the constitution?" Arthur inquired.

The constitution is the basis for defining the detailed division of powers among the various institutions of the state, and it fully clarifies the rights and obligations of each class.

Both for the ordinary people of Australia and for Arthur, a detailed and clear constitution was needed to define their rights.

"We had considered drafting a constitution, but it clearly doesn't suit our current national conditions," Prime Minister Evan replied.

The previous Federal Council leaned more towards a federal republic, which was entirely different from the current Australian Duchy.

Prime Minister Evan was also sensible enough not to mention their previously conceived constitution, lest he anger Arthur and lose his interim Prime Minister position.

"Then let's have a brief discussion now. Do any of you have any good suggestions for our constitution?" Arthur asked with a knowing smile.

Speaking of constitutions, Britain was a rather unique country. Unlike countries with clear constitutional systems, Britain did not have a written constitution but rather a system composed of statutes, customary law, and conventions.

This led to the British monarch formally possessing extensive powers, including the appointment and dismissal of all officials, colonial governors, bishops, and high-ranking clergy, as well as the power to convene, prorogue, and dissolve Parliament, approve laws, declare war, and make peace.

However, in practice, a large portion of these powers had been transferred to the cabinet, and the British monarch's power was severely restricted.

But it could not be denied that if the British monarch held significant influence, they could indeed easily exercise these formal powers.

Take the current British monarch, Queen Victoria, for example. If Queen Victoria wanted to appoint or dismiss any official of the British Empire, the British political scene would rarely object.

But if Crown Prince Edward were to ascend, and he wanted to quickly appoint or dismiss important officials, he would have to see if Parliament's impeachment was too harsh.

"Your Highness, I believe our first constitution should first clarify the division of powers and responsibilities among departments, as well as define our national system and structure. Out of respect for you, your rights also need to be clearly explained," Prime Minister Evan said with a respectful smile.

Although Prime Minister Evan's words were well-phrased, stating that clarifying Arthur's rights was out of respect, everyone understood that once a monarch's power was clearly defined, it actually meant that the monarch's power was restricted.

After all, only powers explicitly stated in the constitution were legal; powers not in the constitution would become illegal, wouldn't they?

"I think the German system with a clear constitution is very good, and Australia is suitable to be built into a dual monarchy duchy," Arthur said with a smile. "The lower house will be responsible for legislation and elections, and the upper house will be responsible for supervising and dismissing officials, as well as reviewing laws passed by the lower house and election results. The lower house will be accountable to the voters, and the upper house will be accountable to me. At the same time, the ruler of Australia, that is, I, will possess all the powers of both houses and have the right to dissolve the cabinet and both houses at any time."

Second update, please support, please vote!