Chapter 90 Railway Construction (Please subscribe!)

The construction of railways requires huge funds, manpower and material resources, which is why Arthur has not built railways before.

Australia's finances are very wealthy, and the royal family also has a lot of spare funds. If it were not for insufficient steel production and scarcity of manpower, the plan to build the railway would have started long ago.

However, it is not too late to start now, just in time to complete the construction of the railway before the start of World War I and speed up Australia's nationwide mobilization capabilities.

The good news is that Australia did not build railways during the colonial period, although it was only a simple railway built independently by the colony to transport minerals.

Some sections of these railways can also be included in the planning scope of industrial railways and can continue to be put into use with slight modifications.

These railways can also speed up the construction time of Australian industrial railways, while also saving some money and material resources.

In terms of manpower, Arthur is not lacking. After possessing the indigenous people of New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies, Australia also has confidence in manpower.

In various previous development plans, thousands of workers were involved, which was considered a huge scale.

But now, all construction and development plans that do not have 5,000 people are small-scale, and construction at the national level basically starts with 10,000 people.

This is very effective in advancing the construction progress. Tasks that previously took several months to complete can now be basically completed in just two days.

This not only saves Australia's capital investment to a great extent, but also reduces the casualty rate of Australians at work.

After all, all the hard, tiring and dangerous jobs are done by indigenous people, and because Australia has a small population, there are still a large number of high-paying, easy jobs waiting for Australians.

In August 1901, Arthur became busy. Not only because the railway negotiations are about to be completed and railway construction is about to begin, but also because of what Butler Hunter said before, the establishment of a global scientific research award.

In order to manage the royal family's property more conveniently, Arthur ordered Butler Hunter to establish a royal consortium to accommodate all the assets of the royal family, and to be managed by Butler Hunter as a whole.

Including shipyards, armaments factories, two steel plants, the Crown Bank, all shares of private wineries and estates, and half of the shares of the Australian National University, 150 million pounds lent to the government, and more than 100 million pounds in cash. All of Arthur's existing property.

Although Arthur's goal is not to become rich and powerful, he is not even interested in money.

But his identity is doomed. His assets cannot be small and will only increase with time.

The royal family's lack of involvement in many developments in Australia was one of the issues raised by Hunt's steward.

This has also been recognized and supported by Arthur. Hunter Butler will use at least 20 million pounds of funds to deploy in all walks of life in Australia.

Maybe it will be used to buy minerals, maybe it will be used to buy shares in other industries, maybe it will be used to create new factories and enterprises with the government.

In short, increasing participation in some special industries is also a way for Arthur to stabilize and improve his reputation and power.

When the monarch of a country controls most of the voice or share of important industries in the country, then he naturally controls many rights.

This is equivalent to the combination of plutocrats and monarchs in later generations. One has actual rights and the other has nominal power.

The combination of the two will create a ruler with real power comparable to the absolute monarchs in history.

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The industrial railway is a project invested by the royal consortium. Because it will take at least ten years to build and cost at least 20 million pounds.

The construction of this railway will be jointly funded by the royal family and the government. The royal family invested 10 million pounds, accounting for 49% of the shares, and the government invested 1.01 million pounds, accounting for 51% of the shares.

The shares only represent control rights. In fact, the profit sharing, that is, all future railway charges, is equally divided between the royal family and the government, and in addition to the initial investment, other additional costs will be borne by the government.

This is an investment that both the government and the royal family are very happy with. The government can obtain control of the railway with only half of the funds, and can build the railway smoothly.

The royal family could gain long-term benefits and the great prestige gained from funding the construction of the railway.

Don’t forget, in this era, building railways was also one of the signs of becoming an industrial country.

Being able to build a railway that runs through Australia will not only speed up Australia's construction and economic development, but is also very important for enhancing Australia's national self-confidence and cohesion.

The government and royal family that contribute the money will also gain great prestige, fame and fortune.

On August 11, 1901, after the railway plan was negotiated, Arthur asked the newspaper to rush printing and distribute it to the whole country for free.

The upcoming construction of a railway across Australia has also caused a sensation among all Australians. Some people even directly compared this unborn railway to the backbone of Australia and the hope for Australia's rise.

As a result, the government and the royal family also gained a lot of popularity, especially Arthur. With the publicity of the Australian Daily and Victoria Newspaper, Arthur's reputation in Australia reached its peak. Any news about Arthur will attract the attention of a large number of Australians. Robbery.

This is a good thing for Arthur and Australia. The strength of a monarchy depends largely on the trust its people have in their monarch.

Just imagine, when all the people and soldiers are no longer loyal to their monarch, will the country's army still have combat effectiveness?

On the contrary, if all the people and soldiers of this country are fanatically loyal to the monarch, then this country will also erupt with terrible cohesion, which is far stronger and more violent than that of non-monarchy countries.

Perhaps the only thing that can compare with this kind of cohesion is the religious forces that once dominated Europe for a long time.

On September 1, 1901, with the laying of the first steel rail of the industrial railway in Sydney, the construction plan of the industrial railway officially began.

The groundbreaking ceremony attracted tens of thousands of Australians to watch. People held homemade banners, most of which read "Long live industrial railway! Long live His Royal Highness the Duke!"

At the same time, a fleet quietly set out from Sydney, bypassed the Tasman Sea, and turned around to head west.

Second update, please support! 1901 was the year of transition and industrial development, and 1902 was the year of showing results. In addition, I plan to open a fan speech. If the fan value is greater than one point, you can comment. I don’t know if you have any opinions (mainly for some h advertisements)