Prime Minister Evan truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned politician who had governed the New South Wales colony for over a decade. His perspective and approach to analyzing and thinking through problems were far superior to those of Henris, who was previously just a regular, minor municipal official.
Much like Arthur's own thoughts, Australia's current development center remained fixed on domestic industrialization and other foundational infrastructure.
Incorporating New Guinea into the mainland right now would only increase the burden on Australia without offering many practical benefits.
Continuing to retain the New Guinea Colony was the more pragmatic approach for Australia. It allowed them to continue oppressing New Guinea—treating the nearly seven hundred thousand indigenous people as free labor—while also concentrating their efforts on developing the Australian mainland.
However, since Arthur was a monarch, he could not simply jump out and dampen his subordinates' enthusiasm. Therefore, Arthur's viewpoint—or rather, the more correct viewpoint—needed to be voiced by another official, leaving Arthur merely to agree with it.
Clearly, Prime Minister Evan still possessed some experience in this regard. At least he knew what Australia's most correct choice was at present, and he also knew what Arthur would most likely choose.
After Prime Minister Evan expressed his views, Arthur did not arbitrarily endorse anyone's perspective. Instead, he smiled and said to everyone, "Since everyone only has these two ideas, let's hold a vote on them. We are a democratic government, so since differences have arisen among us, let's use a democratic method to decide."
Although he put it that way, clever people already knew which viewpoint to support. Most people could discern the subtle differences in Arthur's attitude toward the two ideas. Even if it was not explicitly stated, they could still sense which option satisfied him.
Nevertheless, this voting