Chapter 114: Establishment of the Political Council
Arthur moved quickly. Just three days after his decision, he successfully persuaded most of the officials in the New Zealand colonial government, and amid widespread applause, the influential political institution, the Political Council, was established.
In essence, the Political Council was a combination of the upper and lower houses of Australia's Parliament, but with a different name.
The Political Council of New Zealand was to be formed through elections by both political parties and civilians, with all eligible voters in New Zealand participating.
In terms of authority, the Political Council did not have the same power as the legislative houses, but it could offer its opinions based on the current situation in New Zealand and submit them to the colonial government.
One particularly important power the Political Council held was the ability to oversee all New Zealand officials and, when sufficient evidence was gathered, to impeach them.
While the Political Council couldn't directly threaten officials appointed by Britain, the reality was that such officials were few in number. Apart from the Governor and the military commander, there were very few British-appointed officials. Most of the positions were either appointed by the Governor and the military commander or directly elected by the people of New Zealand.
This meant that the newly established Political Council held substantial power in New Zealand, arguably making it the second-most powerful institution in the country after the Governor, the military commander, and the colonial government.
To ensure the Political Council remained under his control, Arthur added a provision to its founding charter: the Governor of New Zealand could dissolve the Political Council if it was deemed to be harmful to New Zealand, without the need to provide any explanation.
This clause gave Arthur complete control over the Political Council. If the council strayed even slightly from his authority, it could be disbanded at his discretion.
Thanks to New Zealand not being a fully free government, no one opposed this condition.
Naturally, those eligible to join the council, all of whom were nominated by Arthur, also had no objections.
The colonial government quickly issued the announcement, and within just a few days, most New Zealanders in Wellington had heard about the establishment of the Political Council.
The majority of New Zealanders were not particularly interested in the creation of the Political Council, which was to be expected. After all, New Zealand's economic downturn had only just ended, and many New Zealanders had only recently recovered from hunger.
Under these circumstances, they had little interest or energy to engage in politics.
Arthur had anticipated this, as the Political Council was not intended for ordinary New Zealanders, but rather for the Unionist Party.
Simply put, the council was a stepping stone for the Unionist Party to gain more power. Only by allowing the Unionist Party to expand its influence could Arthur's plan to annex New Zealand move forward.
The timing of the establishment of the Political Council was perfect. As New Zealand's other major political party, the Labour Party had no strong desire to engage in politics.
The Labour Party was founded primarily to protect workers' rights, much like the workers' parties in Australia.
Compared to the Unionist Party, the Labour Party was looser in structure. Its goal was merely to improve workers' welfare and ensure basic living conditions.
Furthermore, New Zealand's economic downturn in the previous years had directly affected the workers, with factory owners reducing wages and benefits as their profits dropped due to a slowdown in product sales.
This caused a brief surge in workers' enthusiasm for politics, but in reality, they were unable to compete against the wealthy factory owners and capitalists in New Zealand.
Faced with the struggle for survival, many workers had no choice but to abandon their resistance and accept their exploited reality.
At the same time, Australia's rise had drawn the attention of many New Zealanders. Unable to succeed in internal struggles, many began to hope for New Zealand's inclusion in Australia.
The newly established industrial zones and factories in Australia strictly enforced policies set by Arthur. Not only was there a ten-hour workday, but workers were guaranteed timely payment of wages and benefits.
The ten-hour workday! This was a policy that many European countries could not even implement.
In fact, though many European countries had set ten-hour or even eight-hour workdays, very few actually enforced them. Even in the great powers, the workday often stretched far longer than ten hours.
This was a sad reality. In this grim era, capitalists often had no choice but to exploit the lower classes.
Though Australia's ten-hour workday was a common practice in Europe, at least Australia strictly enforced it, with any overtime paid at double the rate.
This alone attracted many New Zealand workers, who longed for better conditions.
As a self-governing colony, New Zealand lacked the systems and welfare policies that Australia had implemented. For example, New Zealand had no formal regulations on workers' hours, leaving factory owners and capitalists with room to exploit their workers.
As long as the workers didn't die from exhaustion in the factories, it met the government's standards.
After all, Europe saw countless workers die each year from exploitation, starvation, and overwork.
But it was what it was. This was the reality for workers in the early 20th century. For capitalists, the people were nothing more than animals to be exploited.
For New Zealand's workers, this was something they could endure, as it was a problem faced by workers around the world, including in Europe.
But then came Australia—a country of the same origins, not far away, where things were different.
Australian workers may not have earned much, but they no longer feared oppression. They were paid their wages regularly, with overtime and holidays offering double pay.
What did this represent for the workers? Heaven!
This disparity led the New Zealand Labour Party into a long period of stagnation, with many workers choosing to join the Unionist Party or, to maintain their livelihood, compromising with the capitalists.
Now that the Political Council was being established, it was almost certain that most of the seats would be secured by the Unionist Party. Even if some workers from the Labour Party were to win seats, it wouldn't necessarily mean they genuinely supported the party.
(End of Chapter)
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