Chapter 110: The Current State of New Zealand
Arthur's words struck like a heavy hammer upon the hearts of every New Zealander.
Indeed! No matter how benevolent His Highness Arthur might be, he was ultimately the monarch of the Australians. For Arthur, New Zealand was merely a territory he would temporarily govern for twenty years, and even during that time, his authority was limited to administration and still restrained by the colonial government.
Under such circumstances, no one was foolish enough to believe that he would pour all his efforts into developing a land that might never truly be his.
With that realization came disappointment—followed by a frightening new thought: what if New Zealand became His Highness Arthur's territory? What if they all became his subjects?
If New Zealand were like Australia, part of Arthur's dominion, wouldn't he then be able to develop New Zealand the same way—raising the incomes of all its people?
Many New Zealanders found themselves thinking along those lines. After all, decades ago, New Zealand was once part of Australia. Wanting to reunite now seemed only natural.
Had Arthur known their thoughts, he would surely have nodded in satisfaction at the success of his plan.
As a member of the British royal family, Arthur's position was delicate. Australia had already separated from the British Empire as a principality.
Under these circumstances, Arthur could not openly oppose Britain.
Much of Arthur's status and prestige came from Queen Victoria herself, and he would never do anything to undermine those foundations.
Thus, if he wanted to claim New Zealand, he had to rely on the New Zealanders themselves to propose joining Australia.
The speech at the port was just the first step in that plan. Many more steps would follow—each aimed at bringing people and forces together to advance New Zealand's path toward union with Australia.
The port speech was a clear success—judging by the expressions on the faces of the New Zealanders.
Regardless of how the colonial government or General Pierce felt, Arthur's speech was beyond their power to interrupt.
Later, led by colonial officials, Arthur visited the government building to receive a detailed briefing on New Zealand's current situation.
New Zealand's colonial history began in 1788, but for over fifty years until 1841, it remained under Australian colonial administration.
Only in 1841 did New Zealand formally separate to become a British colony in its own right.
Compared to Australia, New Zealand's early development was slightly ahead.
It had always been the region's food production hub and a key supplier of livestock products to Britain.
When gold was discovered in Australia, New Zealand's west coast also yielded gold.
As prospectors poured in, immigration surged, and New Zealand's production and trade boomed.
However, by the late 19th century, international agricultural prices dropped and gold yields declined, leading to high unemployment and a general economic recession in New Zealand.
Naturally, the rise of Australia was also a contributing factor to New Zealand's economic downturn.
Where once Australia had relied somewhat on New Zealand for food, it had since built a robust agricultural and livestock sector, becoming self-sufficient and even exporting food abroad.
More importantly, with advantages in land area and population, Australia easily seized much of the market for livestock and food products. This was one of the reasons New Zealand's economy faltered.
Had Britain not redirected its livestock imports to New Zealand after Australia's independence, the economic situation might have been even worse.
Nevertheless, due to its earlier growth, New Zealand still maintained a development level roughly equal to that of Australia.
As of now, New Zealand had a population of 1,014,000, most of whom lived on the North Island. Fewer than two-fifths of the population resided on the South Island.
New Zealand's total land area was about 268,600 square kilometers, made up of the North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, and a number of smaller nearby islands.
Mountains and hills accounted for 75% of the terrain—one of the key reasons New Zealand's livestock industry had become so developed.
According to intelligence from the colonial government, New Zealand's per capita income was approximately eleven pounds, with fewer than 200,000 people classified as extremely low-income.
In terms of mineral resources, New Zealand couldn't match Australia—the so-called land riding on a mine cart—but it still ranked among the more resource-rich nations.
It had gold, silver, and iron deposits. However, since most of its gold and silver had already been mined, production was declining year by year.
New Zealand also had some coal, and although coal and iron ore were not as abundant as in Australia, they were enough to support some level of industrial development.
Thanks to its earlier prosperity, New Zealand had built a fair amount of infrastructure—roads, bridges, railways, telecommunications, and other public works—giving it a slight edge over Australia in this regard.
However, as the economy declined, many public projects were abandoned. Roads and railways had fallen into disrepair due to a lack of maintenance, with some no longer usable at all.
Worse yet, as a self-governing colony of the British Empire, New Zealand was subject to various restrictions from Britain and lacked true autonomy.
A large portion of its wealth was siphoned off to Britain, with very little left behind.
Overall, thanks to its earlier success, New Zealand had temporarily managed to maintain a development level equal to Australia's.
But it was only a matter of time before Australia surpassed it—especially if New Zealand continued to stagnate or fall into deeper economic decline.
New Zealand's worsening economic conditions had already stirred discontent among its people. This was one of the reasons behind a growing independence movement.
Australia's independence, followed by its rapid development and economic integration, inspired many New Zealanders to dream of a future where New Zealand could become a self-governing nation.
Currently, two influential political parties existed in New Zealand: the New Zealand Labour Party, made up primarily of workers, and the Unionist Party, composed largely of retired soldiers and government officials.
The Labour Party advocated for New Zealand to follow Australia's path and establish a self-governing dominion.
The Unionist Party, on the other hand, hoped to achieve independence by joining Australia—either as a fully independent country or as a self-governing region within one.
(End of Chapter)
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