In the bustling square, several birds tentatively alighted on the branches, preparing to search for insects among the leaves, but the cheers of the crowd beneath the trees frightened them away. A feather drifted slowly down, proof that the birds had been there.
From atop the platform, Arthur looked at the cheering crowd with great satisfaction. It seemed that Arthur's plan to win the people's hearts by lowering taxes had been a tremendous success. If the Australians' longing for unity had made them look forward to Arthur's rule, then after the tax cuts, they had already begun to welcome and rejoice at his arrival.
Since that was the case, Arthur did not mind adding fuel to the fire. He signaled for the crowd to quiet down, because there was even more important news yet to be announced.
Sure enough, after seeing Arthur's gesture, the previously noisy square quickly fell silent with the speed of thunderclaps, as if it had never been them making all that noise.
Arthur was very pleased with the effect and said with a smile, "At the same time, I have another very important matter to announce. Although we are a monarchy, I am also more than willing to grant my people the rights they deserve. I hereby announce the formal establishment of the Upper House and the Lower House. Elections for the Lower House will be held from May 10 to May 17, once every two years. May 18 to May 24 will be used to tally the results, and the elected members of the Lower House will officially take office after being announced on May 25. Now, every Australian can proudly declare that you are free to fight for your own rights!"
"Long live Your Highness! Long live Australia!"
With one bombshell after another from Arthur, all the Australians present became increasingly satisfied with him. Everyone was thankful that Britain had blocked the Federal Council back then. Otherwise, if the former colonial rulers had continued governing Australia, no one could say whether taxes would have been reduced, let alone whether Australians would have been granted rights.
"My people, all adult Australians may participate in the Lower House elections, and every adult Australian will have one vote. During the election, I will dispatch the Guard Army to inspect the polling stations and ensure that not a single act of fraud occurs in our Lower House elections. The Lower House will possess the authority to formulate and amend ordinary laws and elect Cabinet Members, making it one of Australia's most important institutions. Now, as the Duke of Australia, I declare that I am granting these rights to all my people. Let every Australian participate in and witness Australia's rise in this beautiful world. Long live Australia!" Arthur grew more and more impassioned as he spoke, and in the end, he simply roared the words out.
Yet no one paid attention to Arthur's slightly undignified behavior at that moment. Everyone was immersed in joy and excitement, shouting along with him.
Amid a sea of cheers and applause, Arthur brought his coronation speech to a perfect close.
If Arthur had previously seemed mysterious and full of promise in the eyes of the Australians, then now his standing in their hearts had already surpassed that of Queen Victoria, who had ruled them for decades. He had become an exceptionally benevolent and capable monarch.
If Arthur could maintain his prestige and reputation among the Australian people, then no one would be able to shake his position in Australia.
May 9, 1900, Port of Sydney.
After staying in Australia for more than ten days, Queen Victoria finally had to continue her journey to the Isle of Wight.
Looking at the boy before her, who had already grown taller than she was, Queen Victoria felt rather emotional. With a smile, she said, "Arthur, your speech was excellent. I believe that under your leadership, Australia will become the most dazzling jewel in Oceania."
"Grandmother, you must take good care of yourself. Arthur is still waiting to attend your seventieth anniversary celebration of ascending the throne!" Arthur did not respond to Queen Victoria's praise. Instead, he spoke to her with an expression of reluctance to part.
"Hahaha, good boy, Grandmother knows. Your mother and your two younger sisters still need your care in Australia. I have already had the best teachers brought over from the United Kingdom to teach you and them. I hope that the next time we meet, my Arthur will have grown into an outstanding ruler. Grandmother will be proud of you." Queen Victoria gently kissed Arthur on the forehead, then departed with Princess Beatrice and the fleet, never looking back.
If the slight trembling of Queen Victoria's shoulders had not betrayed her feelings, perhaps this farewell would not have been quite so sorrowful.
After seeing Queen Victoria off, Arthur needed to take possession of the precious wealth she had left him.
A full two thousand members of the British Royal Guard Army and nearly eight thousand of their family members, along with two British chefs, two maids, six servants, and a personal tailor.
Besides these, there were also £237 million, industrial equipment worth £50 million, and Arthur's two munitions factories, one steel mill, and one shipyard in the United Kingdom. The important equipment and skilled workers had all been transferred here by Arthur.
To be honest, Arthur was extremely fortunate to have been born into the British Royal Family, and to be the only son of Duke Arthur, Queen Victoria's most beloved son.
Even though his domain had been changed to Australia, a land without any industry or infrastructure, he could still possess more than £200 million in start-up capital, £50 million worth of industrial equipment, and multiple factories.
Putting aside how enormous £200 million was, even just the £50 million worth of industrial equipment and these few factories would be enough to rapidly expand Australia's industry and make up the gap between it and the Western nations.
More importantly, Australia possessed abundant mineral resources, including coal, iron, aluminum, oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and various other minerals. The reserves of every one of them were extremely rich, fully sufficient to transform Australia into a powerful industrial nation.
Australia also possessed extremely abundant natural uranium deposits. It had to be known that Uranium-235 extracted from uranium ore was one of the main materials used to manufacture atomic bombs. Even in later generations, the world's exploitable natural uranium deposits amounted to only five million tons, while Australia possessed 610,000 tons—more than one-ninth of the total.
With such abundant mineral resources, enormous start-up capital, and vast quantities of industrial equipment, not to mention the short-term support of the world's most powerful industrial nation, the British Empire, Arthur had complete confidence that he could raise Australia's industrial level to that of a second-rate European power in a short time, and even challenge the leading European nations.
What was more, Australia currently enjoyed a uniquely advantageous geographical environment. Oceania, where it was located, had no rivals. Its two potential opponents—an island nation and the United States—would not pose a threat to Australia in the short term because of various factors and limitations.
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