First Meeting

A ray of morning sun pierced through the leaves outside the window, hitting the glass and then reflecting into Arthur's eyes.

Arthur uncomfortably raised his hand, trying to block the mischievous light, but found he couldn't cover it completely no matter what.

After a while, Arthur slowly opened his eyes. His mind suddenly booted up, and he shot upright, looking at the wall clock. It was already past seven in the morning.

"Damn it, it's almost eight. I hope I can make it to the meeting," Arthur muttered to himself, not stopping his movements as he quickly dressed.

According to tradition, Arthur's daily life and meals should have been taken care of by others, but Arthur really couldn't get used to the extravagance of having someone dress him. He decided to handle this himself.

After finally finishing his morning routine, it was already more than ten minutes later when he went out.

As he stepped out, the two guards at the entrance immediately bowed respectfully to Arthur. "Good morning, Your Highness!"

"Morning. The Prime Ministers haven't come looking for me, have they?" Arthur asked.

Today was April 29th, the third day since Arthur and his entourage arrived in Australia.

As agreed upon by Arthur and the Prime Ministers, a preliminary meeting on the detailed system of the Duchy of Australia was scheduled for eight o'clock this morning, in order to better perfect the country.

It was already nearly eight o'clock, and Arthur didn't want to be late for his very first meeting.

Although as the monarch, no one would say anything if Arthur were late for a meeting, he was new here and wanted to make a good impression on his subordinates and all the people.

"No, Your Highness," the guards replied.

Phew!

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and went downstairs towards the conference room.

In the two days since arriving in Australia, Arthur had managed to get a brief look at the government building and the area around Sydney.

Arthur's first impression of Australia, or rather New South Wales, was one of tradition and backwardness.

Because the main sources of income were mining and agriculture, and a considerable portion of the previous income had to be sent back to Britain, the economic situation in several colonies was not good, and the income of the colonial residents was not high.

Overall, Australia was still in a stage of rebuilding after a period of devastation. However, since it had become an independent new Duchy, its economic situation was bound to be much better than before.

Upon entering the conference room, six Prime Ministers were already waiting.

"Good morning, Your Highness," they all said, bowing.

"Yes, everyone, let's not waste time and begin," Arthur said as he took the main seat.

"Your Highness, although under Her Majesty the Queen's command, Australia has nominally become a unified and independent nation. In reality, as of now, apart from nominal unification, our system still follows the previous six colonies. I believe we first need to change the colonial system. I suggest transforming the six colonies into six Autonomous States, with the capital to be decided by vote. Based on these six Autonomous States, we can form a unified Federal Government. We Prime Ministers will then become the Governors of the new Autonomous States, all reporting to you, Your Highness." Prime Minister Evan of New South Wales spoke.

Having previously chaired the drafting of the Federal Council Act, Prime Minister Evan was very clear about Australia's current situation.

Australia's biggest problem now was that the various colonies acted independently and did not interfere with each other. Although nominally unified into one country, Australia was actually more like six independent nations.

"Regarding this matter, do the other Prime Ministers have any other opinions?" Arthur turned his gaze to the others and asked with a smile.

Prime Minister Evan's proposal was basically similar to the historical progression of Australia, which involved establishing a Federal Government composed of Autonomous States.

The advantage of this approach was that it allowed for the establishment of a unified Federal Government with minimal changes. The powers held by the Prime Ministers of the various colonies remained the same, merely changing their titles to Governor.

Perhaps because consensus had already been reached among the major colonies in the previous Federal Council, none of the Prime Ministers had any other opinions at this time.

"I believe it is very necessary to establish a unified government in the shortest possible time," Arthur said with a smile when no one else spoke. "However, the system of government still needs careful consideration."

"In my opinion, the previous Australia was composed of your six colonies, with each colony acting independently and not interfering with the others. But now that a unified nation has been formed, I believe the term 'colony' should indeed be abolished." Arthur looked at Prime Minister Evan and smiled. "Prime Minister Evan's proposal is excellent. I agree to change the six colonies into six states, with their names and capitals unchanged, but they will all be accountable to the new national government."

"As for whether the newly established states should be granted autonomy, I believe each state only needs to be responsible for its internal affairs. Defense and other matters should be handled by the unified national government. What do you all think?" Arthur asked, smiling at everyone.

"Your Highness, what about the election system for the new government? Will it emulate the government system of the British Empire?" Prime Minister Evan asked tentatively.

If one were to speak of the representatives of a constitutional monarchy, the British Empire would certainly be among them.

As one of the first countries to establish a constitutional monarchy, the British Empire quickly became a sun never-setting empire that dominated the world thanks to the Industrial Revolution.

The advanced system of the British Empire also played a significant role in this, which was why Prime Minister Evan asked this question.

"It cannot be denied that the British Empire's system is indeed very advanced. However, I believe that every country has its own national conditions, and we cannot copy it entirely. But there are many aspects that can be learned from. I plan to establish an Upper and Lower House. The members of the Lower House will be elected by each state, with quotas allocated based on population. The members of the Upper House will be appointed from members of the Royal Family, those I designate, and those elected by the Lower House. The Lower House will be responsible for proposing laws, electing Cabinet Members, amending laws, etc. The Upper House will be responsible for reviewing laws proposed by the Lower House, reviewing elected Cabinet Members, overseeing officials, impeaching officials, amending the constitution, etc. The Upper and Lower Houses will be one of the most important administrative bodies of our country, and the election of their members must be carefully considered."

The system of the Upper and Lower Houses that Arthur proposed was actually similar to the British system. The Lower House would be controlled by political parties and commoners, while the Upper House would remain in the hands of the monarch.

Although the Lower House had the power to propose and amend laws and elect Cabinet Members, the Upper House was the final review body.

Without the consent of the Upper House, all proposals and election results from the Lower House could be invalidated, which was one of Arthur's trump cards.

According to Arthur's proposal, the future Upper and Lower Houses would basically be under Arthur's control, and Cabinet Members could be replaced with those loyal to Arthur at any time.