Chapter 115: The Political Council Meeting
On April 23, 1902, after a ten-day election period, the final list of members for the first Political Council was officially revealed.
This council consisted of one hundred seats, with any adult New Zealander eligible to participate in the election.
Although the response in New Zealand was not overwhelmingly strong, several hundred New Zealanders still ran for election.
However, individual candidates were clearly at a disadvantage compared to party candidates, and most of the seats were occupied by political parties, leaving fewer than ten for individual candidates.
The Unionist Party had a significant advantage in this election. Perhaps due to the benefits brought by the Royal Relief Committee, which had gained widespread favor in New Zealand, the Unionist Party was more popular, and many New Zealanders had positive feelings towards Australia.
Out of the hundred seats, the Unionist Party occupied more than seventy. After accounting for the seats won by individual candidates, the Labour Party was left with fewer than twenty seats.
The gap in seats clearly reflected the current popularity of the Unionist Party and the New Zealand Labour Party in New Zealand.
Arthur had not interfered in the election process, and the results were entirely the result of the New Zealanders' own choices.
With the success of the Political Council election, the first meeting of the council soon followed.
Arthur briefly attended the meeting and appointed two vice-presidents for the council: Grant Wilson, the leader of the Unionist Party, and Andy Limor, the leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Appointing Andy Limor as one of the vice-presidents was not only a means of balancing power but also addressed the issue of the council lacking members.
The individual candidates, who were just common New Zealanders, could not command respect, and appointing them as vice-presidents would have been ineffective.
Excluding these individual candidates, the remaining members were either from the Unionist Party or the New Zealand Labour Party.
Allowing Grant Wilson's subordinates to take positions equivalent to Grant's own was an insult to him and went against Arthur's intent to court the Unionist Party.
Thus, Arthur had no choice but to appoint Andy Limor, the current leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, to fill the gap. After all, the vice-president had little real power, and the actual authority of the council rested with Arthur.
With the support of the two vice-presidents and under Arthur's witness, the Political Council successfully held its first meeting and discussed the next steps.
While they called it a decision, it was essentially a discussion about the scope of the council's powers and future actions.
Arthur granted the council the right to offer suggestions to the colonial government and to supervise all New Zealand officials.
If executed well, these powers could be very significant.
However, the specifics of how to carry out these powers and the methods to be used still needed further discussion.
Since most of the seats were controlled by the Unionist Party, the council quickly passed a proposal to strengthen ties with Australia and to increase public goodwill towards Australia.
Although the New Zealand Labour Party and the individual candidates did not fully understand the purpose of this proposal, they did not object to the strategy put forward by the Unionist Party.
After all, strengthening ties with Australia could benefit New Zealand as well. At the very least, the Royal Relief Committee had implemented some relief policies in New Zealand, which were definitely advantageous for the workers of the New Zealand Labour Party and individual New Zealanders.
It was clear that relying solely on New Zealand's own development was unlikely to result in a rapid rise.
Even trying to emulate Australia's development model would not be feasible. Australia had Arthur's support, along with technical and financial aid from both Britain and Germany.
But what about New Zealand? As a self-governing colony of the British Empire, once New Zealand achieved food self-sufficiency, Britain basically stopped offering assistance.
In fact, some of New Zealand's income and resources were sent to Britain, which was one of the reasons New Zealand's development had been slow.
Given that the British Empire was mired in the European arms race, depending on Britain for help was not a viable option.
Rather than hoping for continued exploitation by the British Empire, New Zealand would be better off focusing on joining Australia.
At least Australia was nearby, shared a similar history, and had common bloodlines.
The Political Council then confirmed the next steps: they would survey New Zealand's impoverished population and help the Royal Relief Committee implement a work-for-relief program. This program would help the poor and unemployed quickly enter the workforce, at least earning some money to meet their basic needs.
This was a matter of direct personal interest. Whether the Unionist Party, the New Zealand Labour Party, or the individual candidates, everyone showed great enthusiasm and initiative in this regard.
Arthur agreed, in his capacity as the Duke of Australia, to provide New Zealand with two million pounds to assist in its development.
Of course, this money would be handed directly to the New Zealand government and supervised by the Political Council.
While this was a move to win people's hearts, it did not mean Arthur completely trusted the New Zealand colonial government.
As the Duke of Australia, Arthur could not stay in New Zealand forever. The subsequent supervision would be left to the Political Council, which would act as Arthur's eyes in monitoring the New Zealand colonial government.
Once New Zealand's public sentiment was sufficiently swayed, Arthur would allow the two parties to stir up a referendum, and at that point, the annexation of New Zealand could be achieved.
It was a long-term plan, and Arthur was in no hurry, especially since he had nearly twenty years to complete the task.
As long as Arthur remained the Governor of New Zealand, no one could stop New Zealand from moving closer to Australia.
After the Political Council's meeting, Arthur summoned Grant Wilson again to the Governor's residence.
By this time, Grant Wilson was in high spirits, his face filled with a respectful smile.
With the establishment of the Political Council, Grant Wilson had become one of the most influential figures in New Zealand. While his power and status were not at the top in New Zealand, compared to his previous position as a mere city mayor, he had experienced a significant rise.
Of course, Grant Wilson knew who was behind all of this, so when he looked at Arthur, his gaze was full of respect.
"Your Highness, I have followed your orders and instructed all Unionist Party members to vigorously promote the advantages of uniting with Australia within their sphere of influence. At the same time, we are also trying to recruit those who are sympathetic to Australia. This not only expands the Unionist Party but also accelerates our plan," Grant Wilson said with a smile.
(End of Chapter)
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