Election Spectacle

May 10, 1900, the streets of Sydney.

Henris was walking the streets of Sydney as usual, his destination being the government building where he had worked for half his life, now renamed the New South Wales State Parliament.

To make space for the upcoming Lower House elections, many government agencies were relocating these past couple of days, giving up their original spaces to the State Parliament.

"Mr. Henris, good morning! Are you here to run in the election for a member of parliament?" A woman on the street, who clearly recognized Henris, saw him and immediately stepped forward, saying excitedly.

"Oh, Ms. Katie, how is your son? Is he feeling better?" Henris quickly recognized the person greeting him and responded with a smile.

"I really have to thank you for that day. If you hadn't lent me 7 Pounds Sterling, I'm afraid Langpu's illness wouldn't have been cured." Speaking of her son, Katie seemed to open up, looking gratefully at Henris as she spoke with relief.

There isn't a clear statistic for Australia's per capita income, but in the previous year, 1899, the average annual income in Britain was about 50 Pounds Sterling, with skilled workers earning around 200-400 Pounds Sterling per year.

Please don't be misled by this data. The reason for Britain's high per capita income was actually the massive wealth drawn from its many colonies.

As a senior official in the Sydney City Government, Henris's annual income was only around 20 Pounds Sterling, which clearly shows the gap between Britain and its colonies.

Being able to lend a third of his annual income to someone he had no connection with demonstrates Henris's courage and compassion.

"That was a small matter. Besides, after Your Highness Arthur arrived in Australia, he directly exempted most of our taxes. Compared to what His Highness has done, what I did is nothing," Henris said, waving his hands dismissively.

"That's true. But regardless, Mr. Henris, you and His Highness are both good people. With a great monarch like His Highness in Australia, and excellent officials like Mr. Henris, why should we worry about not being able to revive?" Katie said with a gentle smile.

Ever since Arthur announced tax cuts across Australia a few days ago, he had become a great ruler in the hearts of all Australians.

After all, for ordinary people, what truly matters is tangible benefit.

"Alright, Mr. Henris. You go ahead and get busy. I will definitely vote for you. I wish you success in your candidacy," Katie said, seeing that it was getting late and quickly ending her conversation with Henris.

Although Henris's residence was only a little over ten minutes away from the current State Parliament, he still took half an hour to arrive due to constantly running into acquaintances along the way.

Fortunately, Henris had anticipated this situation and left half an hour early, which allowed him to make it to the opening of the Lower House elections.

To maximize the number of Australians who could vote, this Lower House election was being held simultaneously in three cities in each state.

Sydney, where Henris was, was the capital of Australia and also its most populous city.

There were a total of 198 seats in the Lower House, with New South Wales, the most populous state, allocated 71 seats. Sydney, being the most populous city in New South Wales, received 22 seats.

However, this did not mean that running for office in Sydney was easier. On the contrary, Sydney, as the most populous city in Australia, had a population of 420,000.

The number of people eligible to run for office exceeded a staggering 300,000. Even if most people had no intention of running, the number of competitors was definitely not small.

Under these circumstances, Henris was prepared for the possibility of not being elected to the Lower House. After all, even if he failed to be elected to the Lower House, as long as his vote count was good, he could enter the lower-level New South Wales State Parliament.

The number of seats in the State Parliament changed based on the state's population. This time, the New South Wales State Parliament had a full 136 seats, and Henris was quite confident in competing for them.

As he walked through the entrance of the State Parliament, Henris realized that the number of people participating in the election far exceeded his expectations.

The seemingly vast State Parliament was already packed with a sea of voters. Even though most of them were not candidates, it was enough to shock Henris.

In Henris's original estimation, today was the first day of the election, and many people should have been observing and planning. Why was the State Parliament already so crowded on the first day?

All of this could perhaps only be attributed to Arthur's current influence over all Australians.

On the very first day of the election, a large number of Sydney citizens had already participated, with many more still rushing to arrive, even though the State Parliament was already overcrowded.

"Henris, hey! Over here!" Just as Henris was at a loss, a familiar voice caught his attention.

Looking around, it was his colleague and friend, Martin.

Henris's heart leaped with joy, and he quickly weaved through the crowd, saying with a smile, "Martin! Are you also running in the Lower House election?"

"Of course!" Martin nodded matter-of-factly and said, "This is a right we've never had before. Since His Highness has granted it to us, why should we give it up?"

"What's the situation like now? About how many candidates are there today?" Henris asked, looking at the surrounding crowd with curiosity.

"Haha, do you know what time I got here this morning, Henris?" Martin didn't answer directly but smiled mysteriously.

"What time? Did you come at five or six in the morning?" Henris looked at his friend in disbelief, asking skeptically.

He knew his friend's character; he would do anything for things he was interested in. But coming to the State Parliament at five or six in the morning seemed a bit too crazy, didn't it? The election wasn't scheduled to officially start until eight. What else could he do at five or six in the morning besides facing that very familiar wooden door?

"Bingo! You guessed it, brother. Do you know what I saw this morning? People everywhere! These guys are truly crazy. I thought I was early coming at five or six in the morning, but who would have thought that when I arrived, the entrance was already crowded? If I didn't know this area well, I wouldn't have even found a place to sit and would have had to wait until now," Martin said to Henris with an expression of disbelief.

Martin had initially thought that arriving early in the morning would give him an advantage, but who knew that he wasn't the only one with the same idea? The State Parliament, which officially started at eight, was already surrounded by people by five in the morning.

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