Chapter 172: Chapter 166: The First University Student Graduation Ceremony

On July 4,1903, several transport ships loaded with weapons and equipment set out from Sydney Harbour, Australia, heading directly to the Island Nation.

What was loaded here was part of the contents of the Island-Australia Treaty, including 20,000 Gew98 rifles, too German Maxim machine guns, 15 105mm Krupp howitzers, and millions of bullets and tens of thousands of shells.

Of course, a large number of bullets and shells are still being manufactured. Given Australia’s current military-industrial strength, producing so many weapons and equipment is already considered overtime work.

Within half a month, this batch of weapons and equipment was successfully delivered to the harbor of the Island Nation, and Arthur also successfully received the final payment from the Island Nation.

The total amount of the arms trade order reached nearly two million pounds, with the price of the battleship alone exceeding one million pounds.

Of course, the delivery of the battleship would have to wait until the next year, and the whole construction process would take at least one year.

With the weapons and warship trade with the Island Nation, Australia’s total profit reached over 700,000 pounds.

Although more than half of the profit belongs to Arthur’s Arms Factory, which is the Royal financial group, nearly half of the profit still goes to the Australian Government.

Although the Australian Government’s income is less than 300,000 pounds, it is already a significant improvement for Australia, which previously had no income in military industries.

On September 4,1903, another batch of weapons and equipment set sail from Sydney Harbour, using several transport ships and warships as escorts. However, the destination was not the Island Nation but the Russian Empire, which had intense friction with the Island Nation in the Far East Region.

For reasons of secrecy, these weapons and equipment were disguised as clothing and food on the surface and were very discreetly transported to the port controlled by the Tsardom of Russia.

Although these weapons and equipment are about half the quantity of the Island Nation’s, no one can deny the damage and power these heavy weapons can bring.

If the Island Nation is not fully prepared, perhaps these new heavy weapons of the Russian Empire could give the Island Nation a good run for its money. Although it would not completely reverse the war situation, there is hope of changing a small-scale war.

While the arms trade with the Russian Empire is not as profitable as the Island Nation, it has also brought tens of thousands of pounds of profit to Australia.

These two arms trades are currently Australia’s main arms trades. After the orders of the Island Nation and the Russian Empire have been produced, Australia’s arms factories can only provide weapons for domestic use.

In the meantime, there is good news for Australia. The first batch of university students from the Australian National University has successfully graduated and entered various industries in Australia.

Although the first batch of students at the Australian National University enrolled more than a month later than their successors, this did not prevent them from graduating smoothly after three years.

The first batch of university students covers five majors. The most important Mechanical major and Physics and Chemistry major each have 200 university students, making them the two departments with the highest number of university students in Australian National University to date.

Then come the Architecture and Medical majors. The Architecture major, commonly known as Civil Engineering, studies how to design and build. As for the Medical major, it goes without saying that it can provide Australia with much-needed medical talents, and these talents will provide strong manpower for many large hospitals in Australia.

The major with the least number of enrollees is the Literature major. The first batch of university students in the Literature major has only 100 students, and even now, the entire Australian National University has fewer than 500 students studying Literature.

But literature students play an important role in Australia, and the unity that Arthur hopes to see between all immigrants and native Australians has to rely on the pens and mouths of these literature students.

Don’t underestimate the guidance of literati on the people’s thoughts. As long as these people write and publish their articles about the Australian People in various newspapers, many Australians will see them and gradually believe and accept them.

The graduation of this cohort of university students has brought the most significant change to the industry and medical care fields in Australia.

With 150 medical graduates, Australia’s major hospitals are basically operational. Apart from some particularly important positions being held by foreign experts, other positions are already basically held by these medical graduates.

Many graduates of the Mechanical and Physics and Chemistry majors have been invited to Arthur’s arms factory, shipyard, and various factories and laboratories in the Industrial Area.

They are of vital importance to Australia’s scientific research capabilities. Although they are not decisive leaders, they can still become very strong backbone forces.

The enrollment of the Australian National University has shown a downward trend over the years. Apart from the first cohort of 800 students, the second cohort has only 600, and the third and fourth cohorts currently have only 500.

This has led to the current situation where, after the graduation of the first cohort of university students, the size of the faculty and students at the Australian National University is less than 1,700 people.

Although the size of the university has decreased compared to before, correspondingly, the teaching efficiency of the teachers will also improve.

With the graduation of one batch after another of university students, Australia’s shortage of middle-level talents can finally be filled. Based on the foundation of attracting top scientists with the Victoria Award, Australia’s mid and lower-level scientists can finally develop and thrive.

On September 13,1903, after presiding over the opening ceremony of the fourth Australian National University, Arthur received a request from the new Cabinet Government to convene a Cabinet Meeting, and then rushed to the Administrative Building without stopping, attending the first large-scale Cabinet Meeting of the second Cabinet Government.

The venue for the meeting is also where the Cabinet election was once held, but now it appears slightly empty, with only eleven cabinet members and Arthur.

“Prime Minister Evan, tell me! What is the purpose of convening this large- scale Cabinet Meeting?” Arthur asked.

Generally, the Prime Minister can hold a small Cabinet Meeting independently, attended by all cabinet members, and then only needs to report all the results discussed in the meeting to Arthur.

Of course, this kind of Cabinet Meeting cannot decide on major issues concerning the political situation in Australia. Its purpose is merely to allow the Cabinet to handle some of the difficult political issues and difficulties encountered daily.

There is only one reason for convening a large-scale Cabinet Meeting, and that is that Arthur must be present to decide on major issues concerning the political situation in Australia.