Rise of Australia

Chapter 365 Battleship Hope
This era is different from later generations, private education has not been popularized to the general public.

Although there were already many private schools in Europe at this time, Australasia also had private schools of all sizes.

These private schools generally bear the name of nobles, and those who can attend these private schools are either nobles or capitalists with a lot of money.

Even some of the more traditional aristocratic schools, even top capitalists with millions or even tens of millions of dollars, have no right to study in such schools.

Such schools are generally only open to the descendants of high-ranking aristocrats, and they are specially designed to train outstanding descendants for the aristocratic class.

Such a school is not only to provide a top education, but also to provide an excellent network for the descendants of the nobles.

You must know that in such a top traditional aristocratic school, the parents and families of every student are powerful nobles with considerable power.

The aristocrats are connected in this way, which also makes the entire aristocratic class more united.

This actually means that it is difficult for ordinary people to receive other forms of education besides the public education established by the state.

As for what is taught in public schools, the Australasian government has the final say.

Australasia's unified language policy was implemented as early as a few years ago when Archbishop Stead first came to Australasia. It not only clarified the status of English in major schools, but also established a Victorian language school among the people. .

In the mainland of Australasia, all the current public schools only teach the language of English. Only when they go to university and enter the corresponding literature department can they choose other languages.

This also means that among the current students in Australasia, they are already able to communicate effectively in English.

These students include a large number of British, as well as German, Russian, Italian and so on.

For a country like Australasia, which is made up of mostly immigrants, the importance of a common language is unparalleled.

"Minister Stefan, tell us about the current situation of our English popularization!" Arthur looked at the Minister of Education, Stefan, and asked with a smile.

Although the Victorian Language School was co-founded by the Australasian Government and the Church of Australasia, the main funder was the Department of Education.

There is no way to popularize language schools throughout Australasia, and the current strength of the Australasian Church simply cannot afford it.

Moreover, because of the importance of popularizing English, language schools are mostly unpaid, and the education sector and churches cannot profit from them at all.

Therefore, the Victorian language school has always been funded by the Ministry of Education, and the church and the education department jointly provide talents.

The reason why Bishop Stead put all his effort into setting up the Victorian language school at the risk of losing money is actually because he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of popularizing English to win more missionary opportunities among the vast number of non-English-speaking immigrants.

After all, only when there are more Protestant believers can the Protestant church and Archbishop Stead gain higher status and benefits. Therefore, the new version of the Victorian Language School is a win-win situation for the Australasian government and the church.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Minister Stefan stood up upon hearing the words, and responded with a little respect.

"Your Majesty, it has been nearly five years since the establishment of the Victorian language school. Considering the importance of popularizing English, it has been our goal to popularize the Victorian language school in many places during these five years. .

So far, there are more than 100 Victorian language schools in eight states and one territory in Australia and New Zealand, and have trained nearly 70 short-term trainees and nearly 20 long-term trainees.

Our next goal is to strive to train at least 30 people every year, so that more immigrants can communicate proficiently in English.

Because of its folk-oriented nature, Victoria Language School is divided into half-year and one-year systems, which correspond to short-term training and long-term training respectively.

Generally speaking, after studying in a language school for half a year, you will be able to communicate in most simple English, which does not hinder your life in Australasia.

At present, the training method chosen by most non-English-speaking immigrants is short-term study, mainly half a year.

In fact, the cabinet government also proposed a way to quickly increase the penetration rate of English, which is to set restrictions on the requirement of English proficiency for major factories and high-paying jobs.

If this is done, it is easy to dissatisfy immigrants who do not speak English, which is not a good thing for the stability of the country.

You must know that Australasia currently has a large population of Russian and German descent. If such restrictions are increased blindly, it will easily make these people dissatisfied.

Therefore, after all kinds of thinking, Arthur still chose a more moderate way, which is to open free English education schools like Victoria Language School among the people.

In order to make a living and live better in Australasia, these immigrants always want to contact, learn and understand English.

At present, Australasian language schools are able to teach more than 20 immigrants each year, and the English penetration rate in Australasia has also increased on a large scale.

Arthur is very supportive of the popularization of English.After giving sufficient funds to the education department, Arthur also set a new goal, which is to increase the number of people receiving English training to more than 50 within three years.

In addition to giving tasks to the Ministry of Education, Arthur also gave specific tasks to each department, including all aspects of Australasia.

Time is about to enter a new year, and no one can guarantee whether the next year will be peace or war.

Under such circumstances, Australasia must be prepared to face war at any time, and major factories and enterprises should also mobilize for this.

At a cabinet meeting, Arthur vetoed a request by some cabinet ministers for a military parade.

First of all, there are still ten days before the National Day, and the temporary preparation time must be too late.

Second, the military parade being held with great fanfare in Australasia will inevitably have a certain impact on the current tense European situation.

Even if the Germans would not misunderstand, what would the Austro-Hungarian Empire think?As a member of the Allied Powers, Australasia's large-scale military parade at this time will inevitably be provocative in the eyes of others.

However, some National Day activities are still indispensable.This may be the last peaceful National Day event for Australasians before World War I. Arthur plans to give a speech to stabilize the domestic sentiment, and at the same time inoculate all citizens. Australasia may be involved at any time A great European war.

After the cabinet meeting ended, the time quietly came to January 1914, 1.

On New Year's Day, Australasia also ushered in good news, that is, the construction of two Hope-class battleships, Hope and Dream, is about to start.

Because of the experience of building the Hope-class battleship for the Chileans, the Battleship Hope and the Battleship Dream have also undergone certain modifications, and their performance has become more advanced.

The main improvements are in armor and power.The two Hope-class battleships in Australasia are more robust in terms of armor, which also allows the standard displacement of the two Hope-class battleships to reach 23000 tons, and the full-load displacement reaches 27100 tons.

In order to match the increased weight, in terms of power system, two more mixed-fired water boilers were added, so that the power of the Hope-class battleship reached about 35000 horsepower, and the speed was expected to exceed 21.5 knots.

Of course, the improvements in artillery were not huge.Because the Hope-class battleship is expected to carry the 45-times-caliber MK V-type 13.5-inch main gun, which is currently the most advanced, largest-caliber, and most powerful main naval gun in the British Empire.

As for the more powerful 15-inch main gun, let alone Australasia, the British Empire is under intense research.

But the good news is that the construction cycle of the battleship Hope and the battleship Dream is about one year, and the time when the British Empire was equipped with a 15-inch main gun in history was also in 1915.

This also means that the two battleships are expected to be equipped with 15-inch main guns. As long as either the British Empire or Australasia develops a stable 15-inch main gun, they can be replaced immediately.

Even if it is not equipped with a 15-inch main gun, the former British Empire's 45-inch main gun with a diameter of 13.5 times is definitely one of the most powerful main naval guns in the world.

Especially the upgraded two Hope-class battleships, they will represent the highest level of shipbuilding in Australasia, and also symbolize the strength of Australasia.

Arthur attached great importance to the start of construction of the battleships Hope and Dream, and on January 1, the second day of the cabinet meeting, he personally attended the groundbreaking ceremony of these two battleships and delivered an important speech.

In his speech, Arthur compared the Hope and the Dream to the bridges for the rise of Australasia, and the important trump cards for Australasia to protect itself and its people, and safeguard its own and people's interests.

The entire 1914 naval construction plan focused on these two Hope-class battleships.If the construction is relatively smooth, the two Hope-class battleships are expected to be completed in early 1915 and enter the nautical test, and they will officially enter service from the end of 1915 to the beginning of 1916.

I have to admit, the Hope-class battleship.As one of the most powerful battleship designs in the world today, it is also very expensive to build.

Even if the Royal Dockyard's price for the Ministry of Defense is basically only a little higher than the cost price, the cost of each Hope-class battleship is nearly 460 million Australian dollars.

This also means that this year has only just begun, and the Ministry of Defense's budget has already spent nearly 1000 million. The result is only these two battleships, which will not enter service until the end of next year.

From this aspect, it can also be seen how exaggerated the current naval arms race among European countries is consuming funds.

Australasia has only built two super dreadnoughts, and the cost alone has already cost one-tenth of the government's annual fiscal revenue.

If you count the cost of follow-up testing, training and maintenance, Australasia's finances cannot afford too many super dreadnoughts.

　Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)