The French government is unable to provide assistance to the colonial government of Madagascar, so all the revenue of the colonial government of Madagascar comes from tax revenue in Madagascar.
The most common tax during this period was actually the poll tax. The Natal government once imposed a poll tax, which eventually led to the rebellion of Africans in Natal.
The security situation in Madagascar is more serious than in Natal, and guerrillas are active in the central highlands and southern part of the island. Therefore, more of the Madagascar colonial government's income comes from mining companies in Madagascar and farms all over Madagascar.
According to statistics, French companies in Madagascar own more than 10 million hectares of land in Madagascar, occupying one-sixth of the entire Madagascar island area.
These mining companies and plantations do not pay taxes in accordance with regulations. Large companies such as Marseille Company and Lyon Company have deep backgrounds in France, so the colonial government was often helpless.
At this time, a Mayotte company that abides by the law and takes the initiative to pay taxes pops up. You can imagine how happy Mitch Byron is.
"The Governor has decided to sell 150,000 hectares of land around Ambanza to the Mayotte Company for operation. The Mayotte Company has promised to invest no less than 1.5 million francs in these lands. This franc is certainly not
Madagascar franc - "Mitch Byron also knows that the Malagasy franc has a bad reputation.
For Madagascar, Mickey Byron is just a passerby. He is an official appointed by Paris. After staying in Madagascar for five years, he will go to other colonies. Therefore, Mickey Byron does not care about the future of Madagascar as long as he can spend it safely.
Term is the greatest victory.
Of course, if the financial statements during his term could be better, then Mickey Byron would be an outstanding colonial official.
One hundred and fifty thousand hectares of land is not a lot, but it represents Mayotte Company's official involvement in Madagascar's farms, so both Leo Parker and Brown Joel looked a little ugly.
"Wasn't the land around Ambanza previously not in the Governor's sales plan?" Brown Joel directly questioned that the land around Ambanza is a relatively mature farm and can be profitable if taken over. Previously, the Marseille Company also
I want to buy it, but the Governor's Palace doesn't sell it.
"It is normal to adjust the plan -" Mitch Byron said back. The Mayotte company purchased the land for almost one franc per hectare, and the Marseille company purchased the farm for only five sous per hectare. The price was very real.
There is a huge difference.
One franc is equal to 20 sous.
In addition to the land price, the subsequent benefits of the plantation are also different.
Most of the output of the plantations operated by the Marseille Company is sold to mainland France. Due to some well-known reasons, although the transaction volume is large, the transaction price is not high, which results in a somewhat low amount of taxes to be paid.
.
Not a little, it’s ridiculously little. The simplest example is that the price of a kilogram of sugar in France is about fifteen sous, and the price in Madagascar has also reached twelve sous. The Marseille company sells sugar to France.
For a company, the price of one kilogram is only two centimes. Even if these two centimes are all tax, that's all.
One sou is equal to five centimes.
Therefore, Mayotte Company's commitment to the Governor's Palace is that all products will be sold at actual prices and will never harm the interests of the Governor's Palace.
In fact, it is normal for the sugar from Madagascar to be shipped to France, and the price of twelve sous becomes fifteen sous. However, the Marseille Company would rather transport the sugar all the way back to France than sell it locally in Madagascar. This made the colonial government of Madagascar very dissatisfied.
But there is nothing we can do about Marseille.
Of course, the Governor of Madagascar is an official directly appointed by Paris, and the Marseille Company is also someone from the DPRK. Therefore, the colonial government of Madagascar would rather sell the land to the Mayotte Company than to the Marseille Company, which is damaging the public and enriching private interests.
"God, what did I hear? An upright Frenchman was actually discriminated against on French soil. I suspect there is a serious transfer of interests between you. Let's wait for the inquiry from Congress!" Brown Joel said fiercely.
He turned around angrily and left.
Mickey Byron smiled and ignored it. Since the establishment of the colonial government of Madagascar, the French government has not given even one franc to the colonial government of Madagascar. If Congress still wants to investigate the colonial government of Madagascar——
By the way, the Governor of Madagascar is not someone to be trifled with. After all, he is also a feudal official.
"Congratulations——" Andrew Charlie took the initiative to raise a glass to Robert.
"Thank you. We will talk about the new contract later. We will be busy next time -" Robert was in a happy mood. The 150,000 hectares of land is just the beginning. There are at least 50 million hectares of unsold land in Madagascar. Slow down.
Come on, this is big business.
Of course, this bit of business doesn't have much weight here in Roque. Roque is indeed busy with work during this period, even neglecting the construction of Port Elizabeth.
The war readiness warehouses in Rhodesia are much larger than what Rock reported, and they store not only oil, but weapons and ammunition are also important reserves.
About two weeks ago, Roque instructed the Nyasaland Arsenal to start increasing production capacity and preparing to stockpile supplies to cope with the upcoming war in Europe.
It is not World War I. World War I is still several years away. What is imminent is the war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire, which is the Italian-Turkish War.
Because of Nyasaland's aircraft, both Italy and the Ottoman Empire sent people to Nyasaland to discuss purchasing aircraft and hiring pilots with the Nyasaland Aviation Research Institute.
At a cocktail party, officials in charge of procurement from Italy and the Ottoman Empire "accidentally met" Nelson Morley from the Nyasaland Arsenal. Then officials from Italy and the Ottoman Empire visited the Nyasaland Arsenal respectively and conducted inspections of the Nyasaland Arsenal's production.
The weapons generated great interest.
It is unimaginable that it is already the 20th century and countries like Italy and the Ottoman Empire are not yet self-sufficient in weapons production and still need to purchase external weapons to meet the needs of their troops.
Italy's military industry is really not good. Before Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, Italy had been in a state of fragmentation. In 1861, the current Kingdom of Italy was established. The former King of Sardinia, Vittorio Emanuele II,
Became the King of Italy.
After its unification, Italy also embarked on the path of capitalist colonial expansion and tried to appear as a powerful country in European politics and diplomacy.
However, what does not match the ambition of the Kingdom of Italy is the strength of the Kingdom of Italy. Compared with Britain, France, and Germany, the strength of the Kingdom of Italy is still not enough, so the Kingdom of Italy went round and round and started thinking about the Ottoman Empire.<
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The Ottoman Empire is known as the "sick man of Europe", so the strength of the Ottoman Empire can be imagined.
In fact, the heavy artillery of the Ottoman Empire is still very good, but the industrial development of this country is a bit deformed. The heavy artillery technology is one of the best in Europe, but the foundation of basic industry is not good. The troops are still equipped with single-shot rifles that have been eliminated by the southern African troops.<
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Therefore, the Ottoman Empire was very interested in the Nyasaland rifles produced by the Nyasaland Arsenal.
The Nyasaland rifle is actually the Lee Enfield produced by the Nyasaland Arsenal. There are more advanced weapons. Anyway, the Ottoman Empire will not fight the southern African troops with the weapons purchased in Nyasaland.
, so the Nyasaland Arsenal did not hide any secrets. While recommending the Nyasaland rifle to the officials of the Ottoman Empire, it also demonstrated the performance of the general-purpose machine gun to the officials of the Ottoman Empire.
The general-purpose machine gun is indeed good, with advanced performance and great power. Compared with the Maxim heavy machine gun, which weighs 30 kilograms, the general-purpose machine gun produced in Nyasaland is lighter and has better maintainability because the barrel can be quickly replaced and the gun can be removed.
Reduced dependence on water sources.
But for the Ottoman Empire, whether it is a Maxim or a general-purpose machine gun, a huge problem is the consumption of bullets. Because the troops in southern Africa are equipped with trucks, they can equip general-purpose machine guns unscrupulously. The troops of the Ottoman Empire even have mules and horses.
Modernization has not been realized, and the transportation of weapons and ammunition still relies on manpower to carry it on the shoulders and hands. Therefore, no matter how good the performance of the general-purpose machine gun is, the Ottoman Empire will not buy it.
It’s not that I can’t afford it, it’s that I can’t afford it.
This kind of thinking also extended to the Nyasaland rifles, so much so that the magazine isolators, which had been eliminated in southern Africa, were required by Ottoman officials to be reinstalled on the Nyasaland rifles sold to the Ottoman Empire.<
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As a result, the magazine rifle turned back into a single-shot rifle, and it also cost more than a single-shot rifle. Rock simply couldn't understand the behavior of the Ottoman Empire.
If you don’t understand, you don’t understand. The customer is God. This is what the officials of the Ottoman Empire require. Of course, Roque will not be so pedantic that he will not sell. After all, the first batch of orders from the Ottoman Empire is for 50,000 rifles. According to the Nyasaland Arsenal
The output is enough for the Nyasaland Arsenal for one year.
That's why Roque asked the Nyasaland Arsenal to increase production. After all, there are still orders from the Kingdom of Italy to be completed. The Kingdom of Italy has a more urgent need for weapons. In addition to 20,000 rifles, the first batch of orders also includes thousands of different models.
Pistols, and mortars whose technology is already mature in Nyasaland.
The Nyasaland rifles sold by the Nyasaland Arsenal are priced at forty-five rand each, so the two orders from the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire are both valuable.
But this is not the end. Even bigger orders come from various luxury goods produced in Nyasaland, such as cars and gold jewelry.