Chapter 218: Albert Einstein
With the completion of the 1906 Government Annual Report meeting, time swiftly moved into 1907.
As the new year began, the frequency of government decrees accelerated significantly. Many effective laws were enacted, such as the "Encouragement of Birth Law," which could substantially increase the domestic population.
According to this law, as long as one is a legitimate citizen of the Kingdom of Australasia, for every child born, the family would receive a reward of fifty Australian dollars. Additionally, each family could receive an annual subsidy of twenty Australian dollars to help with child-rearing, which would continue until the child turned six. After this, the funds would be redirected towards a subsidy for school and miscellaneous fees.
If a family had more than five children, the mother would be awarded the title of "Heroic Mother" and her name would be featured in the newspapers. All children from such families would be granted priority for school admission, even to universities, and would receive preferential treatment when applying for scholarships and financial aid. Essentially, from birth to graduation, the government provided significant welfare benefits to ease the burden of raising children.
This policy was widely welcomed by the people of Australasia. Given the country's geographic location, which is distant from international centers and largely unaffected by global crises or wars, the local population found few distractions other than their daily work. The government's solution to ease the concerns about raising children allowed people to focus on family life, with added rewards for each new child born.
Many families had already decided to embrace the "Heroic Mother" title, attracted by the various benefits that came with it, including financial aid and long-term welfare for their children.
At the same time, Australasia's various transport fleets, including cruise ships and escort fleets, were actively engaged in frequent travel between Europe and Australasia to bring more immigrants.
With the establishment of the Kingdom of Australasia, Australia was gradually becoming one of the preferred destinations for European immigrants. Although this did not mean that people had not previously immigrated to Australia, the focus had been on the Americas. The Americas offered vast lands, a developed economy, and similar languages, making it easier for immigrants to integrate.
Now, Australia shared many of the same characteristics. Though Australia's economy was not as developed, it was steadily growing in all aspects of life. More importantly, Australia was free from wars, and Arthur, the King of Australasia, was seen as more closely related to Europeans in terms of bloodline.
As a result of these factors, Australasia was becoming the second most popular immigration destination after the Americas, with more and more Europeans considering migrating to Australia.
If all went well, 1907 would see the largest population growth in Australasia in recent years. As long as there were no wars, the immigration flow would continue to grow.
With a strong source of immigration and the implementation of large-scale birth encouragement policies, Arthur and the government of Australasia saw hope in reaching a population of ten million.
Before reaching the billion mark, this level of population growth was something everyone welcomed.
Since the establishment of the federation, exchanges between Australia and New Zealand had become much more frequent. After the establishment of the Kingdom, the frequency increased even more, and the economic integration between the two regions could not be hindered by a one- or two-day journey.
This also stimulated the growth of Australasia's shipbuilding industry. During this time, more and more people had taken loans from the royal bank to set up small private shipyards. The ships they built were mostly small fishing boats or sailboats used for daily labor and travel.
Due to the fact that all the land consists of various islands and peninsulas, Australasia's fishing industry was also quite developed. Famous seafood products like Australian lobster, abalone, bluefin tuna, and yellowtail were produced in various regions across Australasia.
In particular, the southern part of the Australian mainland and the waters around Tasmania had abundant natural fishing grounds, making seafood one of Australasia's key features.
These rich fishing grounds and aquatic products supported a large number of fishermen and workers in Australasia. This also created many business opportunities. While Australasia's shipbuilding industry was not yet highly developed, with the ability to build top-class battleships and dreadnoughts, there were not many shipyards dedicated to constructing small civilian ships. Small fishing boats and ships were in high demand.
For those who applied for loans, as long as they met the basic qualifications, they could easily get the funding they needed. Naturally, the amount of the loan was balanced with the value of their collateral.
Arthur was not concerned about loan applicants running away with the money. The loaned funds were backed by collateral, and since the Australian dollar only circulated within Australasia, it would be difficult for anyone to escape the scrutiny of intelligence and security agencies in other countries, and it was uncertain whether other countries would even accept the Australian dollar.
Moreover, only individuals who had been living in Australasia for at least ten years and held legitimate Australian citizenship could apply for loans. With such stringent conditions, it was not easy for anyone with ulterior motives to obtain loans.
In January 1907, Arthur attended the Victoria Prize award ceremony as usual. This annual international award had already attracted at least ten top talents from around the world to Australasia and was continuing to do so.
This year's winner of the Victoria Prize in Physics caught Arthur by surprise, and he immediately decided to recruit him to join Australasia.
Albert Einstein was a name that would later become incredibly famous. His achievements in physics would make him one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century.
At this point, Einstein was still very young, born in 1879, and only 27 years old. He had just received his PhD in Physics from the University of Zurich.
Einstein had won the 1906 Victoria Prize for Physics due to his photon hypothesis, which successfully explained the photoelectric effect.
Initially, when Arthur saw Einstein's name, he hesitated. Based on Einstein's life trajectory and experiences, he had started as a pacifist and humanitarian, later becoming a democratic socialist. He had also been rejected from immigrating to the United States under refugee status due to his advocacy for anarchism, and he was later accused of participating in and supporting movements during 1937-1954.
Furthermore, being Jewish, Einstein supported Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Jerusalem.
Faced with such a top-tier scientist, Arthur worried that bringing him to Australasia might influence the political environment in ways that were hard to control.
However, after some thought, Arthur decided to recruit him. First, Einstein's talent and knowledge were undeniable, and someone of his caliber could not be overlooked. Regardless of Einstein's political views, he was still very young, and at this stage, he only expressed support for pacifism and humanitarianism.
With no wars in Australasia and Arthur being deeply invested in aiding the country's lower-class population, wasn't this the simplest form of pacifism and humanitarianism?
At least for the short term, keeping such a top scientist in Australasia and having him contribute to the country's scientific research was something Arthur could do.
As for the future, Arthur was not a soft-hearted person. If such a top scientist could not be controlled by Australasia, then Einstein could always be invited to enjoy the "beautiful underwater world."
On the day of the Victoria Prize award ceremony, Arthur invited all the award-winning scientists and talents to a small celebratory banquet.
At the banquet, Arthur made a general invitation to all the talent, offering them the opportunity to engage in scientific research and technical work for Australasia. He promised better laboratories and more research funding for their work.
No one expressed any objections, and most only said they needed more time to think.
They weren't fools—crossing Arthur on his own turf was equivalent to asking for trouble.
Of course, Arthur's primary target was Einstein. The day after the banquet, Arthur invited Einstein to visit the National University of Australasia and tour its various laboratories.
The National University was the first university funded by Arthur and was built to international standards.
As a result, many of the university's laboratories were world-class, and Arthur and the government had spent millions of Australian dollars to make it so.
After the tour, Arthur directly invited Einstein to become an honorary professor in the Physics Department at National University, with access to all the university's research facilities, along with an annual research fund of at least 200,000 Australian dollars.
Arthur also announced that he would be establishing the Royal Physics Research Society of Australasia and invited Einstein to become its first president, leading academic research in Australasia.
(End of Chapter)
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