Chapter Ten: Monarchism
Translator: 549690339
If the prime ministers were previously unaware of Arthur’s thoughts, they were now.
In their original plan, they only needed to deceive Arthur and get him to agree to the establishment of a federal government composed of autonomous states. In this way, they could retain a significant amount of power for themselves.
Even if they could not enter the national government of Australia, they could continue to serve as governors of their states and even attempt to undermine Arthur’s authority.
But according to Arthur’s proposal, both Houses of Parliament would be at his disposal, and the cabinet elected by the House of Commons would naturally follow suit.
The states, which evolved from the colonies, would lose their other powers; they could only be governors, waiting for their term to end, seeking re-election, or giving up.
The prime ministers remained silent, looking to Prime Minister Evan for direction.
Prime Minister Evan gave a bitter smile, but didn’t dare to speak out. He fully understood the intentions of the other prime ministers, but in reality, they were all colonial governors dispatched from the British Empire to Australia. Although they had gained considerable power in Australia, their actual control was divided in two – they held administrative power, while the military commanders controlled the rest.
Now that Arthur had arrived in Australia, the Australian Army would inevitably hand over its command to him.
Moreover, with Queen Victoria present, who would have the audacity to contradict Arthur?
Queen Victoria’s destination was White Island in New Zealand; her stays in the Suez Canal and India had been brief.
But in Australia, Queen Victoria had already stayed for three days without any sign of leaving. Wasn’t this an expression of support for Arthur?
“Very well, since none of you have any objections, we can begin preparing to change the colonies into states and establish both Houses of Parliament. It is almost May now, and I hope that by mid-May, we can officially start nationwide elections for the House of Commons,” Arthur said with a smile, seeing that no one refuted him.
It seemed that these men were also quite sensible and did not dare to contradict Arthur.
Considering that the entire Australian garrison had no more than 6,000 men, scattered across the six major colonies.
Meanwhile, Queen Victoria and Arthur’s Guards totaled 4,000 men. Even if someone tried to incite a rebellion, it could be immediately suppressed.
“As you wish, Your Highness,” the six men reluctantly agreed.
“Before the formal establishment of the national government, Prime Minister Evan will temporarily serve as the acting prime minister, with the other prime ministers as acting cabinet members. We still need your collective efforts to build Australia, striving to completely overhaul and complete the construction of the government by the end of May,” Arthur said with a smile.
Arthur understood the principle of balancing the stick with the carrot. After depriving the six prime ministers of their desired state autonomy, he promoted them to the temporary cabinet, urging them to put their best efforts into the government’s establishment and speed up the process.
If they proved their competence, Arthur would not mind giving them a hand in securing a cabinet seat or even the prime ministership once the government was established.
“Yes, Your Highness!” Sure enough, upon hearing Arthur’s arrangements, the prime ministers seemed to suddenly be energized, responding one after another.
“At the same time, the establishment of a national government requires a set of guiding principles. It’s time to enact a constitution of our own, called the Australian Constitution. The content of the constitution will reference the monarchies of Europe and be revised based on our domestic situation. Did the Federal Committee have any previous proposals for the constitution?” Arthur asked.
A constitution specifies the detailed division of power among national institutions and clearly outlines the rights and responsibilities of various social classes.
Both for the ordinary people of Australia and Arthur himself, a detailed and clear constitution is needed to ascertain their rights.
“We have considered developing a constitution, but it is obvious that it would not be suitable for our current situation,” replied Prime Minister Evan.
The previous Federal Committee had been more inclined towards a federal republic, which was entirely different from the current Australian Principality.
Prime Minister Evan, being quite tactful, did not mention their prior ideas for a constitution, lest he angered Arthur and lost his position as acting prime minister.
“Let’s briefly discuss it for now. Do any of you have good suggestions for our constitution?” Arthur asked with a meaningful smile.
As far as constitutions are concerned, the United Kingdom is a rather unique country. Unlike other nations with explicit constitutional systems, the UK has no written constitution but is instead governed by a combination of written laws, customary laws, and conventions.
This has also led to British monarchs, in theory, having a considerable amount of power, including the appointment and dismissal of all officers, colonial governors, bishops, and senior clergy, as well as the convening, stopping, and dissolution of Parliament, the approval of laws, and the declaration of war and peace.
However, in practice, a significant portion of these powers has been transferred to the Cabinet, and the power of British monarchs has been severely restricted.
Yet, it cannot be denied that if a British monarch holds substantial influence, they can indeed easily wield these theoretical powers.
Take the current British monarch, Queen Victoria, for example. If Queen Victoria wished to appoint or dismiss any officer of the British Empire, it would be unlikely that the British political arena would argue against her.
However, if it were Crown Prince Edward who took the throne, his capacity to swiftly appoint and dismiss important officers would depend on Parliament’s willingness to persecute him.
“Your Highness, I believe our first constitution should first clarify the division of rights and responsibilities among various departments, and specify the system and institutions of our country. In respect for you, your rights should also be detailed,” Prime Minister Evan said with a respectful smile.
Although Prime Minister Evan spoke nicely about clearly defining Arthur’s rights out of respect for him, the fact is that once a monarch’s powers are defined, it also means that the monarch’s power is limited.
After all, only the rights stated in the Constitution are legal; wouldn’t anything not stated in the Constitution become illegal?
“I think the German system, with its clear constitution, is quite good, and Australia is also suitable for establishing a bicameral monarchy,” Arthur said with a smile. “The House of Commons would be responsible for legislation and elections, while the Upper House would oversee and dismiss officers, review laws and election results passed by the House of Commons. The House of Commons would be responsible to the electorate, and the Upper House would be responsible to me. Meanwhile, Australia’s ruler, that is, me, would hold all the powers of both Houses of Parliament and the right to dissolve the Cabinet and Parliament at any time.”