Chapter 87 A Marriage Arrangement
For most countries in the world, the first step in establishing strong diplomatic ties is the exchange of ambassadors and the establishment of embassies.
As for Australia, although it had already successfully declared independence, Arthur had deliberately kept a low profile due to his close relationship with Queen Victoria. As a result, Australia had not widely appointed ambassadors abroad. Apart from Britain and Germany, Australia had no formal ties with other nations.
Upon hearing Minister Herbert's proposal for mutual diplomatic exchange, Arthur suddenly realized that Australia's presence in Europe was rather weak. It was indeed time to establish embassies in key countries to better facilitate some of his and Australia's broader plans.
With that thought, Arthur stood up and said with a smile to Minister Herbert, "You're absolutely right, Minister Herbert. We should indeed appoint ambassadors to properly fulfill the terms of the treaty we are about to sign and lay the foundation for a strong bilateral relationship. I will carefully consider the candidates for our ambassador and inform your government shortly. May the friendship between Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands endure."
Minister Herbert was slightly surprised and pleased to see Arthur agree so quickly.
The way the meeting had unfolded made it clear to Minister Herbert—especially through Prime Minister Evan's behavior—that the real power in Australia didn't lie with its ministers.
The mysterious and composed duke before him was the true master of Australia.
Delighted that Arthur had confirmed the arrangement so directly, Minister Herbert felt that the majority of his and Governor Willem's mission to Australia had now been completed.
The remaining task would fall to Queen Emma, but that was beyond their scope. For his part, Minister Herbert was more than satisfied with what they had achieved.
If he had known Arthur's actual reason for agreeing to the diplomatic exchange was to use embassies in Europe as intelligence stations and espionage hubs, he might have flipped the table in anger.
Following this, Minister Herbert and Governor Willem held further detailed discussions with Australian officials regarding the annual number of natives to be purchased, the methods of transport, destination ports, as well as the price and conditions for each native.
Strangely, Minister Herbert, acting as the full representative of the Dutch government, maintained an extremely conciliatory tone throughout, even on issues that were usually contentious and worthy of heated debate. He repeatedly yielded and even chose to retreat altogether on some matters.
On the particularly sensitive issue of price, he directly agreed to Prime Minister Evan's proposed rate of five pounds per native.
Considering the Dutch would have to deploy military forces to capture the natives and use naval fleets for transportation, the five-pound price tag almost made Arthur wonder if the Netherlands was conducting a loss-making business.
But Arthur wasn't the ruler of the Netherlands, nor did he have any relationship with it. Since the Dutch agreed to the price, Arthur had no objections.
Thanks to the Dutch side's concessions, the entire negotiation went incredibly smoothly, wrapping up in just over an hour.
Arthur and Prime Minister Evan had originally anticipated a day-long or even multi-day negotiation. They hadn't expected the entire agreement to be finalized so quickly.
Had Queen Wilhelmina herself been present, the treaty could likely have been signed and enacted on the same day.
Though the repeated compromises from Minister Herbert left Arthur and the Australian officials rather stunned, it was ultimately a win for Australia. Everyone simply assumed the Dutch were wealthy fools.
The success of the native labor acquisition plan brought smiles to the faces of all the Australian officials, especially the Minister of Industry.
Once the treaty was in effect, at least 50,000 natives would be transported to Australia annually to serve as slaves.
This would provide a strong labor force for industrial development and economic construction, giving Australia the necessary manpower for large-scale infrastructure.
Previously, some of the more dangerous industrial tasks had to be handled cautiously to prevent accidents.
While this reduced casualties, it also significantly slowed progress.
With the new influx of natives, all the dirty, dangerous, and thankless jobs could be assigned to them.
This ensured that progress would not be delayed, and all tasks could be completed efficiently. Aside from some native deaths, the outcome was a win-win for all involved.
Of course, no one cared about the deaths of natives. Every year, hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of natives died in European colonies. Who could say those deaths were all natural?
After finalizing the plan, Minister Herbert and Governor Willem spent two more days sightseeing in Sydney before reluctantly rejoining Queen Emma to board a warship bound for the Dutch East Indies.
Queen Emma truly seemed reluctant to leave. Her conversations with Princess Louise over the past two days had brought her much joy. Were it not for the ministers urging her to return, she would have happily stayed longer.
After seeing off the Dutch diplomatic delegation, Arthur finally returned to his estate, relaxed.
With sufficient development funds, access to industrial equipment from Britain and Germany, and now the labor issue resolved, Australia's industrial development faced no further obstacles.
With the help of German experts, Arthur was optimistic that next year's growth might bring some unexpected rewards.
Back at the estate, Arthur found Princess Louise smiling and cheerful, along with his two younger sisters.
Since Duke Arthur's assassination, smiles had been rare on Louise's face.
This was the first time Arthur had seen her so genuinely happy in quite some time, and he was curious. He walked over, gently touched his sisters' foreheads, and asked, "Mother, you seem to be in good spirits lately?"
Before Louise could answer, the two sisters chimed in excitedly, "Yes, Brother! Don't you know? Mother and that lady from before are arranging a marriage for you!"
That lady, of course, referred to Queen Dowager Emma.
A marriage?
Arthur was momentarily stunned. He'd been so consumed with political affairs that he had forgotten he was already eighteen—the ideal age for engagement among European nobility.
But who could Queen Emma possibly introduce as his fiancée?
Surely not her daughter, Queen Wilhelmina herself?!
(End of Chapter)
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