The Election in Full Swing

May 10, 1900, on the streets of Sydney.

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

To make room for the upcoming Lower House election, many government agencies were relocating these past two days, giving up their former premises to the State Assembly.

"Mr. Henris, good morning! Are you going to take part in the parliamentary election?" On the street, an older woman who clearly knew Henris spotted him and immediately came forward, speaking excitedly.

"Oh, Mrs. Katie, it's you! How is your son? Has he recovered?" Henris quickly recognized the person greeting him and replied with a smile.

"I really have you to thank for that day. If you hadn't lent me seven pounds, Langpu's illness probably couldn't have been treated." At the mention of her son, Katie seemed to open the floodgates, looking at Henris gratefully while speaking with relief.

Australia had no clear statistics for per-capita income, but the previous year, 1899, the average annual income in the United Kingdom had been around fifty pounds, while a skilled worker's annual income had already reached roughly two hundred to four hundred pounds.

Don't be misled by these figures. The reason the United Kingdom's per-capita income was so enormous was that it had actually siphoned vast amounts of wealth from its colonies.

As a senior official of the Sydney City Government, Henris earned only around twenty pounds a year. This alone showed the gap between Britain itself and the colonies.

And the fact that he could lend a third of his annual income to someone with no connection to him was enough to show Henris's courage and compassion.

"It was nothing, really. Besides, after Prince Arthur came to Australia, he directly waived most of our taxes. Compared to what His Highness has done, what I did doesn't amount to anything." Henris hurriedly waved his hand as he spoke.

"That's true, but no matter what, Mr. Henris, you and His Highness are both good people. With a great monarch like His Highness and an outstanding official like you, how could Australia fail to rise again?" Katie said with a gentle smile.

Ever since Arthur had announced a tax reduction across Australia several days earlier, he had become the great ruler in the hearts of all Australians.

After all, to ordinary people, someone who could bring them tangible benefits was the truly great one.

"All right, Mr. Henris, you should get going. I'll definitely cast my vote for you. I wish you success in the election." Katie saw that it was getting late and hurriedly ended her conversation with Henris.

Although Henris's residence was barely more than ten minutes from the current State Assembly, he kept running into acquaintances along the way and did not arrive for half an hour.

Fortunately, Henris had anticipated this situation and set out half an hour early. That was how he managed to arrive in time for the opening of the Lower House election.

To enable as many Australians as possible to vote, this Lower House election was being held simultaneously in three cities in every state.

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

There were a total of 198 seats in the Lower House, with the most populous state, New South Wales, receiving 71 of them. Sydney, as the most populous city in New South Wales, had also been allocated 22 seats.

But that did not mean it was easier to succeed by running in Sydney. On the contrary, Sydney was the most populous city in all of Australia, with a population of 420,000.

More than 300,000 people were eligible to run for office. Even if most had no intention of standing, the number of competitors was certainly no small one.

Under such circumstances, Henris was already prepared to lose the Lower House election. After all, even if he failed to become a Lower House member, as long as his vote count was decent, he could still enter the lower-level New South Wales State Assembly.

The number of State Assembly seats changed according to the state's population. This time, the New South Wales State Assembly had a full 136 seats, and Henris was still quite confident that he could compete for one.

Only after entering the State Assembly did Henris discover that the number of candidates far exceeded his expectations.

The seemingly enormous State Assembly was already packed with a sea of voters. Although most of them were not candidates, there were still enough people to leave Henris stunned.

According to Henris's original expectations, it was only the first day of the election, so many people should have been observing and making plans. How had the State Assembly already become so packed?

Perhaps all of this could only be attributed to Arthur's appeal in the hearts of all Australians.

On the very first day of the election, a large number of Sydney's citizens had already taken part, and many more were still arriving one after another. At this point, there was not even room to stand inside the State Assembly.

"Henris, hey! Over here!" Just as Henris was at his wit's end, a familiar voice caught his attention.

Looking over, he saw his colleague and good friend, Martin.

Henris's heart leaped with joy. He hurriedly threaded his way through the crowd and said with a smile, "Martin! Did you come to take part in the Lower House election too?"

"Of course!" Martin nodded as if it were only natural. "This is a right we've never had before. Since His Highness has given it to us, why would we give it up?"

"What's the situation now? About how many candidates are there today?" Henris glanced at the surrounding crowd and asked curiously.

"Haha, do you know what time I came this morning, Henris?" Martin asked with a mysterious smile instead of answering directly.

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

He knew what his friend was like. When it came to something that interested him, there was nothing he would not do. But arriving at the State Assembly at five or six in the morning seemed a little too insane. The election did not officially begin until eight. If he had come at five or six, what could he have done besides face that all-too-familiar wooden door?

"Bingo! You guessed it, brother. Do you know what I saw this morning? People everywhere! These fellows were truly crazy. I thought coming at five or six was early enough, but who could have guessed that the entrance would already be packed with people by the time I arrived? If I hadn't known the layout around here, I wouldn't even have found a place to sit. I'd have had to stand until now." Martin poured out his grievances to Henris with an expression that said he absolutely would not believe it.

Martin had originally thought that arriving early would let him seize the initiative. Who could have imagined that he was not the only one with that idea? The State Assembly election did not officially begin until eight, yet by five in the morning, people were already crowding all around it.

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