Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 143 The New South Wales Governor's Controversy

  The full-scale opening ceremony of the coastal railway line with noisy gongs and drums began in an almost absurd atmosphere, declaring the completion of the new main railway line with the sound of thunderous laughter.

  This is a memorable day. The two neighboring autonomous states of Queensland and New South Wales have added an economic artery and are closely linked.

  The Earl of Queensland, as the main shareholder of the railway accounted for more than 80% of the shares and the owner of the Red River Valley Ranch, is the biggest beneficiary.

  This coastal railway runs through the whole territory, connecting the dotted towns along the way, shining like a chain of pearls.

  From then on

  The grazing point can drive the sheep to the nearest coastal town for shearing. The trimmed wool is transported by train to Songjiang Town or Zhuque City, where it is processed in the local woolen factory and sold overseas.

  In the future, it is possible to develop farming industries near the town, planting wheat, rice, soybeans, grapes, nuts, various fruit trees and economic plants. After primary processing, it can be easily exported by rail, which breaks the bottleneck of transportation.

  In the vast area of ​​the Red River Valley, thousands of kilometers from south to north, a good situation of flying with three wings has formed, and the future is prosperous.

  In the north, there is Red River Valley City and four surrounding cities, with a complete range of light and heavy industries, agriculture and animal husbandry, and convenient transportation by the port and railway. It has become the economic center of Queensland.

There is a thriving Songjiang Town in the central part of South Wales. The Songjiang Reservoir, which is being built in South Wales, has expanded the imagination of this new industrial town. The railway and water transportation are convenient, connecting the north and the south, crossing the Tasman Sea and New Zealand. Relatively speaking, geographical location is very important.

  The town of Beilun, located in the south of the Kangsby Plateau on the north shore, faces Sydney across a narrow strait, eroding the influence of the Red River Valley into this longest-developed city.

  The textile industry and wool series deep processing industries are the pillars, the import and export trade and the shipping industry are the two wings, and the development of food processing and manufacturing is incidental.

  One more sentence

Fulinmen Gas Cooker Company was established in Beilun Town. The first batch of 60,000 gas tanks and 60,000 gas stoves for export has been shipped to Europe. It will form a powerful new gas stove manufacturer for Beilun Town. The construction adds to the bricks and mortars, and provides more tax revenue and employment opportunities.

  Li Fushou now arranges his three generals in the three places. Xin Changjun is the mayor and state councilor of Red River Valley, and he is in control of the situation in the north.

  Wu Mozhou is the prime minister of Songjiang Town Development and Management Committee. He is in charge of Songjiang Town’s reservoir and industrial construction. He is also the direct supervisor of the farming and pastoral towns in the central region. He is responsible for the important task of economic development in the region. Red River Valley has cultivated the second emerging economic growth point.

  Pan Shoudao was transferred to the post of prime minister of Beilun Town Development Management Committee, and concurrently served as the direct supervisor of the northern agricultural and animal husbandry town, focusing on cultivating the third economic growth point.

With these three experienced assistants and a steadily growing talent team, Li Fushou can finally let go of many trivial matters, focus on strategic issues, and lead Australia's policy affairs in a direction that is conducive to Chinese immigration. Transformation, subtly changing the original historical trajectory.

  The second shearing season started at the end of July

The price of Australian wool purchasing stations from south to north was stubbornly weighed at three pounds of wool and one copper penny, which continued to cause many white ranchers in New South Wales and Victoria and northern Queensland to lose a lot of blood, and more than 90% of them fell into serious conditions. Loss situation.

  In order to reduce pasture expenses, white ranchers had to dismiss some cowboys, control the growth of the herd, and even abandon the shearing season, so that they do not have to pay high fees for shearing workers, and look forward to the rise in wool prices in October.

  Many small and medium-sized wool purchasers in the south will eventually sell the wool they buy to the Honghe Wool Spinning Factory. Therefore, the price is even harder when purchasing wool.

  Wool export, as Australia’s pillar industry, occupies a large proportion of social life. Among the more than 3 million people in Australia, almost one-third of the population directly or indirectly engages in the wool trade.

  The grievances accumulated among the people broke out one after another after entering August.

  August 3

A mob riot occurred at the wool purchasing station in Cancun, Victoria, which led to a fierce gun battle. A large amount of wool was burned by flames. A total of 14 people were killed and hundreds of people were injured on both sides of the conflict. The influence spread to surrounding towns to Melbourne, causing A considerable scale of public security chaos.

  Affected by this terrible incident, the towns surrounding Melbourne have successively erupted into conflicts of varying degrees, with the number reaching more than 40.

  August 6

The Victorian mining town of Montauk was attacked by the "Scarface" Eck bandit and the Billy Clayburn bandit nicknamed "Billy Kid". The gang with hundreds of people blood washed the local wool-buying station. .

  In the chaos, more cowboys took up guns and participated in the robbery and violence, which plunged the town of Montauk into an unprecedented **** storm.

Dozens of shops were beaten, smashed and looted. Several police officers including the town sheriff Tom Cheney and 27 white militiamen died in the riots. Many women were brutally abused by mobs, and there were no less than 22 white women. Was kidnapped by bandits.

  As the cowboys who committed evil deeds joined in, the "Scarface" gangs and "Billy Kid" gangs grew a lot and continued to ravage the southern states.

  August 11

  The city of Wollongong in South Wales, just 51 miles south of Sydney, broke out in an unprecedented riot. The cause was still that the wool purchase station kept the price down too hard, and the purchase price was reduced to 3.3 pounds a penny.

  The riots soon spread to and from this mining city with a population of just over 1.3. Fierce gun battles between armed cowboys and white miners took place, and hundreds of houses were burned...

  In a luxurious manor on the outskirts of Sydney

"Your Excellency, the current situation in New South Wales urgently needs your help. I hope you can fully support us and maintain the current smooth transition. I personally need your friendship very much." Acting Governor Cromwell The attitude is very sincere.

Li Fushou smiled politely and said politely; "Thank you, Sir Cromwell, thank you for your trust. As a responsible nobleman, I am willing to contribute as much as I can to the stability of New South Wales. Not long ago, the Benevolent Hospital I funded to build in the Sydney city area will contribute to the health of the citizens. It is the specific action of Red River Valley to give back to the society. We hope to make more contributions in this regard."

   paused, Li Fushou continued; “However, since the Red River Valley does not fully understand the current political situation in Sydney, it is cautious to maintain a neutral position for the time being. I hope you can understand this point.”

  "Your Excellency, I will try my best to explain our policy program to you." Cromwell tried to persuade.

  “Of course...Of course, I understand Mr. Governor’s urgency very well, but please forgive us for the time needed to evaluate whether it is in line with the political program and demands of the Zhi Gong Party in order to make a choice.” Li Fushou’s remarks are very suggestive.

  In layman's terms; I want to see your offer, is it worth my heavy bet?

  Since the former Governor Morgan McLurry sadly resigned, Lieutenant Governor Cromwell, who had no sense of existence, picked up a big wallet and gracefully boarded the post of acting governor.

  The political situation in New South Wales has undergone a sudden change, and various forces have appeared on the stage to fight for power, and staged a wonderful drama.

  The electoral system of the autonomous states in mainland Australia is formulated with reference to the election system of the head of the British government. Like the British prime minister, the election period for the governor of the autonomous state is 5 years.

  The former Governor Morgan McLurry took office in 1877 and has been in office for three years and two months. The remaining tenure is 22 months.

  Due to the limitation of the times

  The current autonomous continent’s electoral system and political arrangements under special circumstances are not clearly specified and detailed, which leaves a lot of room for operation.

  Acting Governor Cromwell is facing challenges from within the party and attacks from the opposition party, and calls for the statewide reelection to be held in advance are very loud.

  The biggest problem is that Cromwell has not won the unreserved support of former Governor Morgan McLurry, which has complicated matters.

  Long silence

   Cromwell seemed to have made up his mind and said flatly;

  " Lord Lord

  We are willing to fully cooperate with the Zhi Gong Party. To this end, we are willing to transfer some of the rights of the State Autonomous Office, including education, health and some police stations, and to promote the selection of the North Shore State Councillors in the parliament to demonstrate the sincerity of cooperation.

  I am sure that no one else can offer higher terms than me. "

  The cooperation between political parties, the vertical and horizontal cooperation under the table is unavoidable. In addition to their respective demands, there are also interest factors that determine whether to place bets. "

The Zhi Gong Party is a political party that represents the interests of the emerging bourgeoisie and immigrants. Although it has achieved an absolute majority in Queensland, it is still an out-and-out minority party in New South Wales.

  New South Wales has 176 state parliamentary seats, and the Zhi Gong Party has only more than 20 seats, and can influence no more than 30 state parliamentarians at most.

Morgan McLaury and Cromwell are both white political parties representing left-wing forces. They have wide-ranging influence among middle and upper-class people such as business, education, and gold mine owners. They are the current ruling party and the largest party. More than half of the seats in the parliament.

  Unfortunately, due to the internal division of the political party, infighting has given the right-wing opposition party the opportunity to stir up trouble, and the proposal to promote the early re-election of the governor in the state assembly is brewing, and various undercurrents are surging.

  Other small parties, including Zhi Gong Party, have become a force for all parties to actively draw in. The newly emerged Zhi Gong Party is the most popular. Leaders of various parties have offered favorable conditions, and the political arena is full of turmoil.

The   Governor dispute is the current top priority, and the recent wool turmoil that has plagued the southern states ranks second in importance.

   Hearing Cromwell’s offer, Li Fushou did not show any expression on his face, weighed it repeatedly in his heart, and groaned for a long time without speaking.

  This made Cromwell wait a little bit anxious. It felt like elementary school students were facing the teacher's assessment, waiting for the final results to be announced.

  He is convinced;

  As long as the opposition party’s proposal for early reelection can be blocked, the acting governor’s 22-month term is confident that he can win over a large number of supporters within the party, nothing more than an exchange of interests.

  Now that the acting governor is in control, there are a lot more resources available for mobilization. What is needed most now is time to and fro. At present, the first priority is to reject the early reelection proposal launched by the opposition and some small parties in order to buy time.

  Li Fushou did not return to the Red River Valley City for a long time, and stayed in Sydney for a long time. He did not intend to make a fortune for himself.

  Simply put it for sale.

After much deliberation, Li Fushou apologized and said to Cromwell; "Thank you, Mr. Governor, for your importance to us. We are willing to maintain long-term friendly communication and work together to maintain the stability and stability of New South Wales. Regarding all-round cooperation, At the moment, the time is not ripe. I hope to continue to deepen the understanding of both sides and look forward to a day of cooperation in the future."

Political figures speak in circles. After hearing this answer, Cromwell's face was visibly defeated, and he said with a last glimmer of hope; "Your Excellency, if I can get your support, I will promote The formation of a coast guard in New South Wales is a condition they will never give."

   "Uh... the time for cooperation is not yet ripe, I can only say sorry."

   "Well, if Lord Lord changes his mind, please remember to notify me."

"must."

   sent Cromwell away, Li Fushou regretfully smashed his mouth. The conditions put forward by the other party are not unfavourable, especially the formation of the Coast Guard.

  The problem is that no matter how good the meat is, it doesn’t count until you eat it in your mouth. What is the use of castles in the sky?

  With the split of the left-wing ruling party, Cromwell is a leaky ship about to sink. No matter how good it is, it is useless.

  According to the news obtained by Li Fushou;

  The left-wing parties have been secretly linked with the right-wing parties, and the acquiescence of the early reelection bill was passed in the state assembly. The situation is irreversible. The only blame is that Acting Governor Cromwell’s political foundation is too weak.

  The most important thing is that the former Governor Morgan has an ambiguous attitude. Instead of waiting for acting Governor Cromwell to be full of wings, it is better to support the powerful party in the party, Ben Stevens.

Who is Ben Stevens?

  He is the brother-in-law of Morgan McLurry, who is currently the independent prosecutor of New South Wales and a powerful figure in the left-wing party.

  Once the early reelection bill is passed, Ben Stevens will immediately resign from his current post and devote himself to the early election of the governor.

Ben-Stevens also put forward the terms of cooperation. The promise that the Zhi Gong Party received was only to promote the co-opting of the North Shore State Councillor in Parliament, and to obtain the posts of two police sub-chiefs in the city, and to revoke all immigrants. Unfair bills, there is no self-government office to share power in the fields of education and health.

  (End of this chapter)