"I have two things to complete now. One has already been carried out, and the other is about to start." Alan Wilson stroked his forehead, thinking about work arrangements.
"Withdraw positions that have too much contact with colonial residents? Give them to locals?" Pamela Mountbatten asked, if there is one more thing, it is this. Britain has always indirectly ruled the colonies, and direct rule is a last resort.
Under the circumstances, the measures adopted were taken. After World War II, the situation in Britain was already very bad, so it had to be done.
Even Alan Wilson, who has always advocated direct rule, only regards this as an emergency measure rather than a necessary measure. This is not in line with British tradition.
"Well, that's right. Our presence is too high, which is beneficial to the stability of the colony. After all, we are not French, and we can tell black people that our ancestors are all Gauls without blushing or heartbeat."
The UK is at a very poor level in terms of assimilation or national integration. Although the promotion of English exists objectively, it has never deliberately changed anything deeper.
After all, within Europe, the French are much more educated than the British, and have produced a lot of great writers. The British can only mention Shakespeare over and over again.
Language is only a small part of assimilation. Britain, Ireland, and Scotland have not been able to handle it for a long time, let alone others.
Changing direct rule back to indirect rule will not necessarily lead to instability in the colony. Even if it returns to indirect rule, it is not on the same level as the original control of nothing but taxation.
The only thing the British could do in the colonial field was taxation. Before World War I, the British took about 100 million pounds a year from British India, and then maintained this figure for a long time. How much does this amount to? After some conversions,
It is roughly equivalent to 870 million taels of silver. All the unequal treaties of the Qing Dynasty put together may not be this amount.
Professionalism in the field of taxation allowed British India to reincarnate the Qing Dynasty from 1840 to its demise every year. From this point of view, we know why Britain can be a long-term world financial center.
If it were the current Malayan colony, the issues of the times would have to be taken into consideration. The British never wanted to build British India, if railways for the convenience of transporting raw materials were also counted.
On the one hand, the British strictly prohibited the colonies from having their own industries, and the industries they supported could only meet basic needs. On the other hand, the British used the most professional tax system to manage the colonies.
In other words, as a purely agricultural country coupled with Britain's modern taxation, it is not surprising that major famines occur in India from time to time.
The current situation is different. Britain needs a place to help it stabilize its position in the world. In terms of reliability, it is best to have a colony, so it will choose to support Malayan industry.
The value created by industry is completely different. Now the tax revenue contributed by the Malayan colonies is no less than that of India, but the tragic situation of British India will never happen again. In the final analysis, scientific and technological progress can lead to different results.
The second thing Alan Wilson did was to reduce the colonial overtones of Britain. The first was to hide the white faces in various departments in various places. If this was not possible, then centralize them.
This can also begin with the beginning of investment in Myanmar. Investment in Myanmar can be regarded as an economic change, and the latter can be regarded as a policy change.
Alan Wilson, who was preparing to make policy adjustments to the colonies, received the arrival of Hedy Lamarr. "Student movements and protests in France seem to be more frequent this year. I heard that the war in Algeria caused a huge financial burden."
"Oh, that's right." Alan Wilson's face was full of surprise. He never mentioned that he had discovered clues from his wife's bonds before, and asked in a circumstantial manner, "Are there any political changes? In terms of the attitude towards Algeria."
This was the time when the French Fifth Republic emerged. De Gaulle finally came to the center of the political stage again after years of dormancy. Unfortunately, Hedy Lamarr did not know this and shook her head in confusion.
"Okay." Alan Wilson also knew that for a big star whose biggest advantage is his appearance, national events are indeed a little far away.
He only remembered that the political movements in the late Fourth Republic were closely related to the Algerian War.
Due to the fermentation of anti-war rhetoric, the French foreign group and the African French army based in Algiers followed the example of their predecessors in supporting Napoleon III and forced the Fourth Republic into submission, expecting de Gaulle to take charge of the overall situation and continue the Algerian War.
Alan Wilson, who returned home with the aura of Hedy Lamar, still wanted to ask his wife, who has a good relationship with the French elite, about the matter. "I heard that there have been a lot more protests and demonstrations in France this year?"
"I've heard about it." Pamela Mountbatten nodded, and then asked doubtfully, "Why do you suddenly ask about this?"
"Once the political situation in France becomes unstable, you have to know that the United States has always been very concerned about the situation in North Africa and tried every means to intervene."
Alan Wilson pointed out this point and said, "France is at war and the situation is not very stable. Moreover, Algeria is not far from the French mainland. Washington must be worried that France will really turn North Africa into its mainland. I am a little worried about this. You
I would like to ask friends, as well as France’s current understanding of Algeria, is it firm?”
For the French, the change of government does not affect their determination to persist in the Algerian war. Countries with a parliamentary system are much easier to interfere than countries with a presidential system. Algeria's vested interests can easily buy the members of the National Assembly who speak out for themselves, and then
Put it in a traitorous framework and allow the new government to continue supporting the war.
However, this trick is not always tried and true. Once public opinion changes, French immigrants in Algeria cannot compare public opinion with local citizens. Therefore, public opinion is still important. The most important thing is what the local French citizens think.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Of course France wants to get rid of the influence of the United States and take independent action, but it is impossible under objective conditions.
Paris is the headquarters of NATO. Alan Wilson rescued Britain and avoided the influence of the U.S. military garrison. However, he did not have the ability to save France. Moreover, he diverted the trouble to the east, causing France to bear the pressure of the British garrison.
Of course, the United States cannot openly oppose France's policy, which will arouse French resentment. The United States cannot beat France for decolonization, so the United States' method is to assist France in suppressing Algeria, and at the same time assist Algeria through Italy's military garrison.
Resist France, let the war continue, and consume France's will to fight.
"France has been negotiating with the Americans to bring Algeria within the framework of NATO. I know this." Pamela Mountbatten mentioned the thoughts of some French people when talking about the Algerian war.
"This is impossible, the French really dare to think about it." Alan Wilson shook his head slightly, "Many rebels in Algeria can enter the United States freely. Who gave those passports? But now it seems that it is mainly a matter of funds.
, if the French had not lied about the battlefield situation, there would still be a chance of success."
"Let me ask carefully." Pamela Mountbatten simply agreed, "Do you want the real public opinion of France on the war now?"
"Well, yes." Alan Wilson touched his chin and said, "I will have a meeting with the regional commissioner recently. Please keep an eye on it for me. If there is any unexpected behavior, tell me directly."
Leaving his wife to keep an eye on the situation in France, Alan Wilson himself began to prepare for a meeting. All regional commissioners from the Malayan colony were to come, because this involved policy adjustments for the entire colony.
"Singapore's oil refining center is about to be completed, and the colonial industry will also undergo some adjustments."
In the Malayan Colonial Administrative Office, Alan Wilson looked at the regional commissioners and heads of departments who had arrived from all over the country, tapping the table with pens in their hands, and then said something very unexpected, "Colonial civil servants
The scale will be reduced, and everyone must be mentally prepared."
"What..." The whole conference room started a messy debate because of the words of the immediate boss. It was obvious that everyone was dissatisfied with the words of the immediate boss.
"If the size of the civil service is smaller, the colonial character will be diluted." Alan Wilson blocked out the voices of dissatisfaction.
"That's true, but reducing the size of the civil service?" Edel persuaded with a solemn look, "Commissioner Wilson, this will be the end of our civilization."
"Edel, be patient. The direct management agencies have too frequent contact with the colonial residents, and some conflicts will arise, which is inevitable. We will shrink to some more important areas." Alan Wilson waved his hand, "
And this matter is simple, you just need not to call them civil servants. For example, the operation of the oil refining center, doesn’t it require reliable people? The oil refining center is not an administrative department, so isn’t it normal not to call them civil servants?”
The voice of dissatisfaction disappeared, and Alan Wilson was heard to continue, "We will change industries like the oil refining center into public institutions, so that the employees of public institutions will not be considered civil servants. But they are still the same people, doing the work
It's the same thing. With the support and salary of the colonial government, civil servants entering public institutions will not have their salary reduced because of this. As long as we don't admit it, everything will remain as usual."
"But the perception is completely different. For most of our colleagues, their salary is not high to begin with, and some conveniences at work are far less than the negative impact of conflicts. After entering a public institution, they still
It will receive financial support from the colonial government and will be more hidden, which is a good thing."
"This makes it look like we've reduced the size of the civil service, but in fact nothing has changed."
"But how can there be so many public institutions to be established?" Richard frowned and said, "Isn't it too obvious?"
"It doesn't need to be done right away. Let's make a good start. We can slowly transfer our people in the future." Alan Wilson twirled his pen and replied calmly, "Extensive development is over. Malaya cannot
If we win by quantity, then don’t we need to pay attention to quality? Steel, rubber, agricultural products, all kinds of products need us to strictly control them, don’t they?”