Chapter 9 : First Encounter

A beam of morning sunlight filtered through the leaves outside the window, casting a glow on the glass of the room before reflecting in Arthur's eyes. The light, though soft, was irritating to someone who had just woken up. Arthur awkwardly raised his hand, trying to block the mischievous rays, but no matter what he did, he couldn't completely shield himself from it. The sun's persistence forced him to face the day, even though his body still craved a few more minutes of rest.

After a while, Arthur slowly opened his eyes. His brain suddenly kicked into gear, and he sat up abruptly. He glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was already past seven in the morning. A slight panic set in as he realized time was slipping away quickly.

"Oh no, it's almost eight. I hope I can make it to the meeting," Arthur murmured to himself, but his hands didn't stop moving as he quickly got dressed.

Traditionally, someone should have been responsible for Arthur's meals and daily needs, but he wasn't accustomed to the arrogance of having others dress him, so he chose to do it himself. This small act of independence reflected his character: he preferred to take care of his own personal tasks rather than rely on others.

After finally finishing washing the dishes, more than ten minutes had passed by the time he left. Time was pressing, and Arthur knew he couldn't afford any more delays. Every minute counted if he wanted to make it to the meeting that would shape the future of Australia.

As he stepped out the door, the two guards immediately greeted him with respect: "Good morning, Your Highness!"

"Good morning. Have the prime ministers arrived to see me yet?" Arthur asked, his voice a mix of hope and concern.

Today was April 29th, the third day since Arthur and his crew had arrived in Australia. According to the agreement between Arthur and several prime ministers, a preliminary meeting about the detailed system of the Principality of Australia would be held at 8 a.m. to further improve the country.

It was almost eight, and Arthur didn't want to be late for his first meeting. Although, as the monarch, no one would say anything if he arrived late, he still wanted to make a good impression on his subordinates and the people, especially since he had just arrived.

"Not at all, Your Highness," the guard replied.

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and headed down to the meeting room.

During his two days in Australia, Arthur had taken a brief tour of the government buildings and surrounding areas of Sydney.

His first impression of modern-day Australia, or New South Wales, was that it was traditional and backward.

With mining and agriculture as the main sources of income, and a significant portion of that income having to be sent to Britain, the economic conditions of the colonies were not very good, and the income of the colonial residents was not high.

Overall, Australia was still in a phase of reconstruction, but now that it had become an independent principality, the economic situation was sure to improve significantly.

When he entered the conference room, the six prime ministers had been waiting for some time.

"Good morning, Your Highness," they all greeted.

"Well, everyone, let's get started without further delay," Arthur said as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"Your Highness, although under the order of Her Majesty the Queen, Australia has nominally become a unified and independent country, in reality, apart from the nominal unification, our system is still based on the previous six colonies. I believe we must first change the colonial system. I propose that the six colonies be transformed into six autonomous states, with the capital to be decided by vote. We can then form a unified federal government based on these six autonomous states. We, the prime ministers, will become the governors of the new autonomous states and will be accountable to you, Your Highness," said Evan, the Prime Minister of New South Wales.

Having once presided over the drafting of the Federal Council bill, Prime Minister Evan was well aware of Australia's current situation.

The biggest issue facing Australia now was that the main colonies were independent and did not interfere with each other. Although nominally unified into one country, in reality, they were more like six independent nations.

"Do the other prime ministers have any opinions on this matter?" Arthur asked, looking around with a smile.

Prime Minister Evan's proposal was essentially the same as Australia's original historical process: establishing a federal government composed of autonomous states. The advantage of this was that a unified federal government could be established with minimal changes. The power held by the prime ministers of each colony would remain unchanged, simply transferred to the governors.

Perhaps the main colonies had already reached a consensus in the previous federal committee, as none of the other prime ministers had any objections at the time.

"I think it's very necessary to establish a unified government as soon as possible," Arthur said with a smile, seeing that no one else spoke. "But the system of governance still needs to be carefully considered."

"In my opinion, Australia was previously made up of six colonies, each governed independently without interference. But now that we've formed a unified country, I believe the title of 'colony' should be abolished," Arthur said, looking at Prime Minister Evan with a smile. "Prime Minister Evan's proposal is very good. I agree that the six colonies should be changed to six states. The names and capitals will remain unchanged, but all will be accountable to the new national government."

"As for whether the new states should be granted autonomy, I believe each state should only be responsible for state affairs, while defense and other matters should be the responsibility of a unified national government. What do you think?" Arthur asked, looking around with a smile.

"Your Highness, I wonder what the new government election system will look like. Is it based on the British Empire's system of governance?" Prime Minister Evan asked hesitantly.

If we're talking about representative constitutional monarchies, the British Empire certainly holds a prominent place. As one of the first countries to establish a constitutional monarchy, the British Empire quickly became the world's dominant empire thanks to the Industrial Revolution. Its advanced system also contributed greatly to this, which is why Prime Minister Evan asked this question.

"It cannot be denied that the British Empire's system is indeed very advanced. But I believe each country has its own national conditions, and we can't copy everything. However, there are many aspects we can learn from. I plan to establish a House of Commons and a House of Lords. Members of the House of Commons will be elected by the states, with seats allocated according to population proportion," Arthur said with a smile. "The House of Lords will be composed of members of the royal family and candidates appointed by me and the House of Commons. The House of Commons will be responsible for proposing laws, electing cabinet members, amending laws, and so on. The House of Lords will be responsible for reviewing laws proposed by the House of Commons, reviewing elected cabinet members, supervising officials, prosecuting officials, amending the constitution, and so on. The House of Commons and the House of Lords will be among the most important administrative bodies of our country, and the election of their members must be done with great care."

The system of the House of Commons and House of Lords proposed by Arthur is actually similar to the British system, with the House of Commons controlled by political parties and civilians, and the House of Lords in the hands of the monarch. Although the House of Commons also has the right to propose and amend laws and elect cabinet members, the House of Lords is the final reviewing body. Without the consent of the House of Lords, all proposals and election results from the House of Commons can be invalidated, which is also one of Arthur's trump cards.

According to Arthur's proposal, the House of Commons and the House of Lords will essentially be under his control in the future, and cabinet members can be replaced at any time to ensure their loyalty to Arthur. This system, though inspired by the British model, was designed to ensure that Arthur maintained significant control over the government, guaranteeing that his vision for Australia would be carried out without unnecessary obstacles.