Chapter 528: Chapter 101, Ding Mouth Tax
 

South Africa, since the discovery of large amounts of gold, has experienced a labor crisis. Many, lured by the prospect of sudden wealth, joined the gold rush.

With the emergence of the first wave of instant wealth, the gold fever was further ignited. Farms closed, shops went out of business, and even within the colonial government, many employees resigned to hunt for gold.

A lack of workforce had become the biggest problem for the colonial government at the moment. Despite a recent surge in immigrants, it was to no avail; these people were gold prospectors, not interested in settling down for work in the area.

Even the arrival of these outsiders disrupted the order in the South African region. To maintain stability, Governor Feckney doubled the size of the South African police force.

“Governor, last month another 386 government employees submitted their resignations, including 136 police officers. According to regulations, we approved the resignation of 194 of them.

We can’t find replacements in the short term for the rest, so we are forced to retain them. According to the regulations, this period cannot exceed three months, which puts great pressure on our recruitment efforts.

The gold rush has drastically reduced the number of applicants for government civil service positions. The Personnel Department has already lowered recruitment standards to the minimum, and still, we can’t fulfill the recruitment tasks.

The Personnel Department suggests seeking assistance from the homeland, having the Central Government coordinate the transfer of some employees from other regions of Africa to replace those who left to ensure the normal functioning of the colonial government.”

Colonial government employees couldn’t just resign whenever they wanted to; like individuals, they had signed employment contracts and had to complete the handover of their duties according to the regulations, usually within a month, and at most, this could be extended to three months.

The government finding it hard to recruit people, such an issue hadn’t occurred in Austria for many years. Ever since the Vienna Government implemented compulsory education, there was never a shortage of civil servants.

Of course, the colonies were a special case; some remote positions were still unpopular. But as long as standards were lowered and remunerations were increased, these issues ceased to exist.

This time it was different—the gold rush’s impact was too significant. Young people wanting to get rich had no interest in applying for government civil service positions.

It’s not that the government couldn’t recruit people; it’s that they couldn’t recruit enough qualified civil servants. Regardless of how much they lowered the standards, the most basic capabilities still had to be ensured, and some positions even required special skills.

Governor Feckney furrowed his brows. This situation had been ongoing for months, and apparently, it was only getting worse.

“Follow your plans and report to the homeland. In addition, please ask the Central Government’s organization department to recruit 1,000 government employees for us from the homeland, as well as 3,800 veteran police officers.

Anyone willing to come here should receive a salary double the average domestic rate for the same position and be granted bonuses and benefits in accordance with the standards of Vienna Government employees.”

If it was hard to recruit locally in the colonies, then recruit from the homeland. With the multitude of gold mines, the South African Colonial Government had become a wealthy entity capable of offering high pay.

Personnel Chief Charlie: “Yes, Governor!”

After a pause, the director of the Mining Department, Caspar-Timeso, presented a report: “Governor, here is the development report for the recent period.

Last month, another 12 gold mines were discovered in the South African region, all of high quality, with an average gold content exceeding 5 grams per ton, two of which even harbored reserves surpassing 50 tons.

As of now, 78 gold mines of various sizes have been identified in the South African region, with an initial estimated gold reserve value totalling over 3,800 tons deemed worthy of mining.

In addition, we discovered 5 diamond mines, 7 coal mines, 2 copper mines, 5 iron mines, 3 manganese mines, 1 chrome mine, and 2 phosphate mines…

What’s more remarkable is the high quality of these minerals. Based on current data, the South African region has become the Empire’s richest area in mining resources.

This is South Africa’s advantage, but exploiting these resources is extremely challenging. The biggest problem is the shortage of manpower, followed by transportation issues.

To solve the transportation issue, we must first address the manpower problem. According to the Department of Railways’ plan, to solve transportation issues within ten years, we would need at least 200,000 laborers.

Exploiting these mineral resources would require even more labor. Without two to three million workers, it’s impossible to effectively develop South Africa’s mining resources.

The reality, however, is grim. Forget two to three million workers; even two hundred thousand can’t be mustered in the South African region.

The current labor resources are barely enough for mining gold. To continue development, we need a vast influx of people.”

“Lack of workforce” is a common characteristic of all Austrian colonies and a shared challenge faced by all major Colonial Empires.

No, the British are the exception. With manpower replenishment from India, all they need to do is invest enough capital.

Austria is different, as Africa’s population wasn’t abundant to begin with. Moreover, due to the previous labor export policy, over the past few decades, Austro-Africa exported 4.3 million laborers to America and 1.1 million to the Persian region.

The indigenous population had drastically declined. West Africa, which was developed earlier, can no longer see native tribes.

Now, only in Austro-East Africa and South Africa do native tribes remain marginally more populous, but their total population certainly does not exceed 3 million.

The severity of this became evident during the Anglo-Ebura War, when, by the later stages of the conflict, there was such a shortage of cannon fodder that even the combined forces of all of Austro-Africa weren’t enough to employ a human wave strategy to overrun Cape Town.

The drastic decrease in population wasn’t just due to labor exportation, but more importantly, due to the reduction in birth rates, with the infamous “capitation tax” being the main culprit.

To increase fiscal revenue, the Colonial Government imposed a capitation tax of one Divine Shield per person per year on all native tribes, directly causing a decrease in local birth rates.

Viscount Feckney scoffed coldly, “The issue of a labor shortage has already been promised to be resolved by the homeland. The agricultural crisis in Europe has erupted, and soon there will be a wave of peasant bankruptcies. Domestic priorities will consider immigration to the South African region first.

Furthermore, the Southeast Asian Colonist Government has also promised to sell us one hundred thousand laborers over the next five years. The Arab Peninsula Governorate is preparing for a major action, and they will sell the prisoners of war to us at a low price.

In the short term, if we want to increase the labor force, we can only exploit internal potential. Very well, let’s raise the capitation tax to one Divine Shield per person per month, and anyone who cannot pay will be sent to the mines.

The scope of the capitation tax can be broadened to include all non-Austrian citizens as taxable subjects. For new immigrants, a one-year grace period can be given.

If they learn German within a year, they can apply for citizenship. The citizenship assessment period is still three years, during which they can also be exempt from tax.

Those who fail the assessment can either get lost or stay and pay taxes obediently. Thinking they can take advantage of us so easily? There’s no such easy thing!”

In order to increase the labor force, Viscount Feckney was prepared to take extreme measures. A capitation tax of one Divine Shield per person per month was virtually forcing locals to go to mines and to work hard to afford the tax for their entire household.

Even the incoming gold-diggers couldn’t escape this plight, unless they managed to strike it rich within the first year, it would be best to learn German early and apply for citizenship; otherwise, the capitation tax could significantly drain their wallets.

Come or not, Governor Feckney has never welcomed these unruly gold-diggers. As a traditional noble, Viscount Feckney despises speculators and parvenus.

While he also made his fortune from gold mines, this did not influence Viscount Feckney’s personal beliefs. He might be ruthless and merciless when colonizing, but back in Austria, Viscount Feckney strictly adhered to the noble code.

This double-standard was not exclusive to Viscount Feckney; many colonists shared it.

…

In Vienna, ever since the Austrian Government decided to find a scapegoat to divert the crisis, the Cabinet has been bustling.

War is no trivial matter; it requires a comprehensive evaluation of pros and cons. The European Continent had just stabilized, and Franz did not want to plunge the whole world into chaos, necessitating a careful choice of target.

Prime Minister Felix said, “Your Majesty, the situation is somewhat complicated now; the only suitable targets for us are Poland and the Ottoman Empire, and neither is ideal.

Moving against Poland would enable us to reduce one competitor in the international grain market, thereby alleviating the global agricultural crisis, but the sequelae would be severe.

Firstly, the Russians might get involved, and the Kingdom of Prussia wouldn’t sit idly by. The Kingdom of Poland is very poor; if we take military action, the likelihood of obtaining direct reparations is slim, we would have to depend on territorial annexations to recoup the cost of war.

As a result, there’s a fifty percent chance of a fourth partition of Poland by the Prusso-Austrian-Russian alliance, and a forty percent chance of Prusso-Polish unification, leaving only a ten percent chance of maintaining the status quo.

We must also consider the reaction of England and France; they wouldn’t be pleased to see us growing stronger. Moreover, Poland owes them a large sum of money; if we erase their debt, it will cause turmoil in the financial sectors of both countries.

Acting against the Ottoman Empire poses an equally complex situation. It again involves England, France, and Russia, with the debt issue of England and France being inescapable, along with the strategic conflicts among the nations.

Especially with Britain and Russia, the Tsarist Government has always been waiting for us to act, eager to kick the Ottoman Empire while it’s down and reclaim the Outer Caucasus region.

If we do not seize territory from the Ottoman Empire, well and good, but if we take over the Middle East Region, extending our influence into the Persian region, it may trigger the sensitive nerves of the British once more.

The South African issue still weighs on their minds; if we irritate the British further, the Anglo-Austrian relationship could be ruined.”

Franz was also troubled; the current situation was not conducive to rash actions. Regardless of which unfortunate nation was targeted, Austria was unable to maximize its benefits.

“All pain and no gain.” No matter how one looked at it, Austria was at a loss, which did not align with Franz’s style of doing things.

After pacing back and forth, Franz suddenly turned around: “To gain benefits, one must be willing to pay the price. This agricultural crisis has hurt not only us but also the Russians and Prussians.

Either everyone bands together to face the pressure from England and France, or we all hold back and see whose endurance is stronger.

Have the Foreign Ministry communicate with Prussia and Russia; whoever offers a higher price, we’ll cooperate with them. If the benefits are too low, then abandon the plan.

With our resources, we can withstand three to five years, there’s no need to rush. Prussia and Russia cannot hold out that long; whoever can’t take the pressure, let them make the first move!”