May 8, 1900, Sydney.
Today was Queen Victoria's last day staying in Australia. Early tomorrow morning, the fleet would set off once more toward its true destination, the Isle of Wight in New Zealand.
In recent days, accompanied by Arthur and Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria's complexion had indeed looked much better. Yet, visibly enough, after suffering such severe blows, the Queen's health was already far worse than before, to the point that she even needed someone to steady her when she walked.
Watching the day of the fleet's departure draw closer and closer, Arthur also gradually felt a sense of reluctance and heartache.
Ever since ascending the throne in her youth, Queen Victoria had been bound to a seemingly free crown. She had successively experienced the departure of multiple close relatives, and even unto death would pine for her family.
After this journey to the Isle of Wight to fulfill her wish, the reason that had kept supporting Queen Victoria would likely vanish into thin air. Perhaps the next time he saw Queen Victoria, it could only be in a hospital bed.
Although Arthur very much wanted to persuade Queen Victoria to stay, Her Majesty the Queen's intention to leave was also quite resolute, so he could only let the matter drop.
In the central square of Sydney's streets.
This plaza had originally been a site used by the old Colonial Government to station troops. After several expansions of the city, it had turned into a public square.
Now, this plaza had taken on yet another glorious mission, which was hosting Arthur's coronation speech.
The Australian Duchy was not like nations that established their independence through separation. The establishment date of a monarchical state was generally calculated according to the monarch's coronation time.
As for Arthur's coronation date, it was January 10, 1900. In other words, the Australian Duchy had already been established on January 10, 1900, meaning that what Arthur had prepared was simply a coronation speech.
Because all the colonies had already begun the process of reforming into states a week ago, upon receiving the news that Arthur was about to hold his coronation speech in Sydney, not only the people of New South Wales, but residents of the nearby South Australian State, Victoria State, and Queensland were also spontaneously hurrying to Sydney.
As the morning sunlight spilled across the earth, the birds in the trees chirped as though urging time forward.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
With the three chimes of the clock tower, the arrival of eight o'clock was proclaimed. The crowd in the square began to stir, everyone fixing their gazes on the high platform in the center of the square, craning their necks in anticipation as though waiting for something.
Before long, Arthur arrived at the high platform escorted by a squad of guards, directly followed by several members of the Temporary Cabinet, who each concurrently served as temporary governors.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good morning!" Arthur stepped forward, greeting everyone with a slight smile.
Fortunately, loudspeakers had already been invented by this time, otherwise letting everyone in the square hear Arthur's voice would have been a rather difficult task.
Hearing Arthur's greeting, the square instantly grew quiet. Everyone was listening carefully to the first public speech of their future ruler.
"I know most of you do not yet know me, so please allow me to make a brief self-introduction here. I am Arthur of Connaught, the Duke of Australia. You needn't care where I come from, nor need you care about my birth. Because from now on, everyone shares a common identity, and that is to be a great and noble Australian!" Arthur said with a smile.
"Long live the Prince! Long live Australia!"
Arthur's speech evidently won the approval of the vast majority of people. After undergoing centuries of division, almost all Australians dreamed of living in a unified and prosperous Australia.
Now, with Arthur's arrival, the goal of unification had been accomplished, and all Australians were hoping—could this new monarch lead this newborn nation toward prosperity?
"I believe you have already heard whispers about the constitution promulgated a week ago. What we currently need most is to break the autonomy and isolation maintained by the various states during the colonial period. No matter which state the people come from, they are great Australians and should live freely and unfettered in any piece of land in the country. The various states will be able to trade freely; we can sell goods to any Australian state, and also buy what we need in any state without worrying about the policies of any state."
The Australian Labor Party, currently Australia's only political party, had as its founding goal the protection of workers' interests and the promotion of Australian free trade.
With Arthur speaking thus, it also meant his policies aligned with the Labor Party's goals, covertly winning over members of the Labor Party as well.
As Australia's only political party at present, the Labor Party was still far too naive compared to the major parties of the United Kingdom, but for the political environment of Australia, it could already be considered a behemoth.
In future Lower House elections, the Labor Party was bound to hold a large number of seats. Although Arthur did not worry about the Labor Party contending for power, it was still best if this force could be grasped in his own hands.
"Australia is a land of treasure. We possess a vast amount of arable land, as well as abundant minerals and resources. Previously, when this land was still a colony, both immigrants and Australians faced relatively high taxes and exploitation. As the Duke of Australia, I am unwilling to see such a situation occur. Therefore, I have decided to lower the taxes for all Australians and let all Australians live a prosperous life first!" Arthur continued to agitate the crowd, and the words he spoke were likewise extremely seductive.
Judging by the taxation of the former colonies, one-third of Australians' annual income was turned into tax revenue entering the colonial accounts, and was subsequently transported to the United Kingdom.
Yet if one looked at the tax revenue after Arthur lowered taxes, Australians would only need to pay one-seventh of their annual income each year, a reduction of more than half.
One had to know that the tax revenue of the Australian region each year was as high as over two million pounds, so to thank the heavens if the tax revenue after reduction could exceed one million pounds was already fortunate.
Was this because Arthur had more money than he knew what to do with and had lost his mind? Actually, no.
First, drastically lowering taxes could rapidly gather the hearts and minds of the people of Australia, which would benefit Arthur in establishing a firm autocratic monarchy and a series of reform plans in Australia.
Second, in later generations, Australia was reputed to be a country sitting on a mining cart; relying solely on the sale of abundant mineral resources every year, it could obtain a massive amount of foreign exchange income.
Under such circumstances, these Australians' tax revenue was merely a drop in the bucket, so it was better to proactively lower it to win everyone's favor.
For all ordinary civilians, government tax cuts were definitely something worth rejoicing over.
What was more, the taxes lowered this time were not just a fraction—they were directly reduced by more than half.
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