Chapter 14: The Election Spectacle
May 10, 1900. Sydney streets.
Henris was walking along the street as usual, heading toward the government building where he had worked for half his life—now renamed the New South Wales State Parliament.
To make room for the upcoming Lower House elections, many government departments had recently been relocated, handing their previous spaces over to the State Parliament.
"Mr. Henris, good morning! Are you going to vote for the parliamentary election?"
A familiar voice called out. A local woman, clearly someone who knew Henris, approached him excitedly.
"Oh, Mrs. Katie! How's your son doing? Is he feeling better?"
Henris immediately recognized the woman and responded with a smile.
"If it hadn't been for you lending me those seven pounds, I don't think Rumph would have recovered at all."
Speaking of her son, Katie became emotional, her eyes full of gratitude as she recounted the event.
There was no definitive statistic on per capita income in Australia at the time, but in 1899, Britain's average annual income was about 50 pounds.
A skilled worker earned around 200 to 400 pounds per year.
But don't be fooled by those numbers—the high British average income was largely the result of extracting massive wealth from its colonies.
Henris, as a senior official in Sydney's municipal government, earned only about 20 pounds a year, a clear sign of the stark disparity between Britain and its colonies.
To lend one-third of his annual income to someone with no direct connection to him showed both courage and a generous heart.
"It was nothing," Henris quickly waved his hand. "Besides, since His Grace Arthur arrived in Australia, most of our taxes have been eliminated. Compared to what he's done, what I did was nothing."
"That's true," Katie nodded. "But still, Mr. Henris, you and His Grace are both good people. With a great ruler like him and an outstanding official like you, Australia has nothing to fear when it comes to revival."
Ever since Arthur had announced nationwide tax cuts a few days prior, he had become a revered figure in the hearts of all Australians.
To ordinary people, true greatness meant delivering real, tangible benefits.
"Well then, Mr. Henris, I'll let you go. I'll definitely vote for you. Best of luck in the election!"
Realizing time was tight, Katie wrapped up the conversation quickly.
Although Henris lived only ten minutes from the State Parliament building, frequent greetings from acquaintances turned his walk into a thirty-minute journey.
Fortunately, he had anticipated this and left half an hour early, making it just in time for the opening of the Lower House election.
To ensure maximum participation, each state hosted elections in three cities simultaneously.
Henris's city, Sydney, was not only the capital of Australia but also its most populous city.
The Lower House consisted of 198 seats, with New South Wales—the most populated state—receiving 71 of them.
Sydney, in turn, was allocated 22 seats.
But that didn't make winning a seat in Sydney easier—on the contrary, it made things harder.
The city had a population of 420,000, and more than 300,000 were eligible to run.
Even if most weren't interested in candidacy, the number of competitors was still staggering.
Henris had already prepared himself for the possibility of not winning a Lower House seat.
Even if he failed, he hoped to secure a place in the lower-tier New South Wales State Parliament.
Seats in the State Parliament were distributed based on state population.
This year, New South Wales had 136 available, and Henris was confident he had a shot.
Upon entering the State Parliament building, Henris was stunned by the sheer number of participants.
The grand hall was already packed wall-to-wall with people.
Even if most were not candidates, the turnout was overwhelming.
Henris had assumed that as it was only the first day, many would be observing and planning.
But how could the building be this crowded already?
Perhaps it could all be attributed to Arthur's incredible popularity among Australians.
It was only the first day, yet Sydney's citizens had already flocked to participate in the election.
More people were arriving every minute, and the hall was already so full there wasn't even room to stand.
"Henris! Hey, over here!"
Just as Henris was feeling lost, a familiar voice drew his attention.
Looking around, he spotted his colleague and friend, Martin.
Delighted, Henris quickly made his way over and smiled.
"Martin! You're running for the Lower House too?"
"Of course!" Martin nodded as if it were obvious.
"This is a right we've never had before. Now that His Grace has granted it to us, why wouldn't we seize it?"
"How's it looking so far? About how many candidates are there today?"
Henris glanced around the crowd and asked, curious.
"Haha, want to guess what time I got here this morning, Henris?"
Martin didn't answer directly, but grinned mysteriously.
"What time? Don't tell me… you arrived at five or six in the morning?"
Henris looked at him in disbelief, half-suspicious.
He knew Martin's personality well—when it came to things he was passionate about, there was nothing he wouldn't do.
But showing up at five or six, when the election officially started at eight? That seemed insane.
At that hour, the only thing he'd have seen was a closed wooden door.
"Bingo! You guessed it, brother. And do you know what I saw when I got there? A sea of people!
These folks are crazy—I thought five or six was early enough, but the entrance was already packed.
If I didn't know this place like the back of my hand, I wouldn't have even found a place to sit. I've been standing the whole time!"
Martin wore a look of utter disbelief as he vented to Henris.
He had hoped that arriving early would give him an edge.
But clearly, he wasn't the only one with that idea.
Even before the 8 a.m. start time, by five in the morning, the State Parliament building was already surrounded by eager citizens.
(End of Chapter)
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