shadow of britain

Chapter 135 Office of Temporary Surveys and Statistics for the London Area
Whitehall Street, the residence of the Home Secretary.

Sir Peel browsed through the documents in front of him one by one, then nodded in satisfaction.

He leaned back in his chair and smiled at Arthur who was sitting across the desk.

"Arthur, how should I put it. Every time I see you, I feel very happy, because you always bring me good news. You not only killed Fred on the high seas, but now you are also taking the initiative to take on the task of eliminating his remaining henchmen. If every superintendent of Scotland Yard can have the professionalism of Ni, I believe that sooner or later, the crime rate that is rising year by year in the London area can be reversed."

Arthur heard the words and said: "Sir Peel, I have always taken it as my duty to benefit the country and the public, and I am very happy to be able to do my part for the people of London. But until your goal is truly achieved, I still insist on maintaining a cautiously optimistic attitude.

Although your campaign to repeal the Blood Act has been very successful, the proportion of felony charges in London has also shown a significant reduction, which has also greatly eased the workload of Scotland Yard.

But you must have seen far-sightedness. Under your guidance, the Scotland Yard police can ensure that there will be no large-scale criminal groups in the East District, but small criminal groups cannot be completely eradicated.

The crime rate in the London area is highly positively correlated with the poverty rate. As long as London cannot provide enough jobs, there will always be people who will take risks. After all, criminals have to find ways to survive. "

Upon hearing this, Sir Peel nodded with a helpless smile and said, "Arthur, I'm very glad that you can see the essence through the phenomenon, but this is a very long-term plan. To be honest, I do have a lot of proposals to boost the economy and promote employment. But under the current situation, I am indeed a little bit hard to move by the monkeys in the House of Commons."

Arthur heard this, and asked in a timely manner: "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Sir Peel thought for a while, and finally waved his hand: "No, no, Arthur, what you have done so far is already very good, I really can't ask you for more. I'm sorry to say that I promised you to push the "Anatomy Act" before, but it has been a few months, but it still stays where it is.

But even so, you still faithfully completed every job I gave you.Sometimes I wonder if it would have been a shame to have you at Scotland Yard.Maybe I should give you another job in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to try, and you may be able to shine in other jobs as well. "

Arthur's heart twitched slightly, how he thought about Sir Peel's words, and felt something was wrong.

Sir Peel keenly captured the momentarily frozen air, he crossed his hands in front of the desk, and said.

"Don't worry too much. What I'm telling you is the real problem. You may have read from the newspaper that the situation in the Tory Party is not optimistic. I... I mean, if we go down, your situation may become very dangerous.

You've been too flashy lately, and you've got too much of a 'Peel label' on you, and if the Whigs come to power, you're in danger of being put down by them.

Arthur, you have helped me so much that you could have gone to the Royal Navy.General Codrington also visited me a while ago, and he talked to me alone about your problem..."

When Arthur heard this, he shook his head with a smile and said, "Sir Peel, I don't care about my position. If you feel that Scotland Yard no longer needs my services, or if you transfer me to some other place that will benefit the country and the public, I am of course willing to obey your orders."

Sir Peel nodded in satisfaction when he heard this, and he asked, "Very well, so it's not just for these reasons that you came to me today, right?"

Arthur nodded and said, "Now the situation in Tower Hamlets has temporarily stabilized, so I'm planning to implement the plan you mentioned in the Ministry of Internal Affairs document again."

Sir Peel thought for a while, and probably understood what Arthur was talking about.

Scotland Yard has repeatedly reported to him that the streets are too narrow in the St. Giles parish in the West End of London, or in the slums of the East End.

And this kind of urban layout with chaotic buildings and narrow streets often becomes a breeding ground for crime.

One is that after criminals enter these areas, they can easily throw off the chasing police by virtue of their familiarity with the local streets.

Secondly, the police did not dare to enter such an area alone. Most of the assaults on the police at Scotland Yard basically came from such an area.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, Peel once ordered the patrol police of Scotland Yard to mark all the areas and streets that were difficult to perform their duties while patrolling, and then handed over to the British Ordnance Survey Office under the Ministry of War and the Geographical Surveying and Topological Information Statistics Department under the Ministry of the Navy to make a rough map of these areas.

Finally, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance will meet to see how much it will cost to transform these streets.Sir Peel wouldn't mind adding to his credit if the price was right.

Arthur said: "I think it is overkill for the topographical surveying work to be assigned to the British Ordnance Survey Office under the Army Artillery Bureau or the Royal Navy's Geographical Surveying and Topological Information Statistics Department.

After all, the original intention of the former King George II to establish them was to prevent the invasion of Jacobin France, and the basis for their measurement was also for military considerations.

Moreover, the nerves of the citizens of London have been very tense due to the July Revolution in France and the Brussels Uprising in Belgium. If the Ordnance Survey Bureau of the Artillery is mobilized at this time, I am afraid that unnecessary troubles will be caused.

Just like when you founded Scotland Yard and recruited us police officers to fight crime while minimizing the mobilization of military police, I think this kind of surveying and mapping work may also need a harmless temporary organization to assist. "

Arthur's words read normally on the surface, but Sir Peel still captured a few key words - army, military police, Scotland Yard, police, British Ordnance Survey, Royal Navy Geographical Mapping and Topological Information Statistics Department, harmless temporary organization.

Sir Peel knew very well that whether it was the Army's Ordnance Survey Bureau or the Navy's Geographic Statistics Department, their work content was not as pure and clear as the names listed on the outside.

The most typical case is the Beagle, which Elder and Darwin will be boarding. The Beagle is a ship directly under the Royal Navy's Geographical Surveying, Mapping and Topological Information Statistics Department.

When Sir Peel heard this, how could he not understand what Arthur meant?

He thought about the recent situation, and suddenly asked with a smile for no reason: "Arthur, what do you think about the parliamentary reform?"

Arthur calmly said: "I'm just a mediocre person, so I can't express any visionary views. I can only borrow a famous saying from Aristotle to express my shallow views.

There are three good state systems and three bad state systems in this world, monarchy and tyranny, aristocracy and oligarchy, republic and mob rule.Monarchy and tyranny are the rule of one person, aristocracy and oligarchy are the rule of the few, and republics and mobs are the rule of the many.

The number of people is not a problem, the problem is whether it can be managed properly.Anyway, in the final analysis, even if it is a political party with a large number of people, only a few leaders are elected in the end, and the final voice of the political party is only the voice of a few leaders. "

When Sir Peel heard this, he suddenly smiled knowingly, and he asked, "Arthur, I really don't know what to say about you. Maybe you should come to the Tory Party to elect an MP. Although Superintendent is already a very good position, as far as you are concerned, it still does not match your thinking and ability."

Arthur took out a document that had been drawn up from his bag, put it on the desk and pushed it over.

Sir Peel took the document and glanced at it hastily. He muttered: "London Temporary Survey and Statistics Bureau..."

Arthur asked, "What's your opinion?"

Sir Peel smiled lightly. He picked up the quill and dipped it in the inkpot lightly, then signed his name with a big stroke of the pen.

"Anyway, this kind of temporary organization does not need to be submitted to the parliament for approval. I agree. But at the same time, Arthur, I have to remind you that I can only give you authorization, but the Ministry of the Interior has no extra budget to support you. So what you can do is up to you. But you don't have to put too much pressure on it. Your first task is to handle the police work well. As for the rest, I really can't expect more. I always remember that the Duke of Wellington's cabinet can survive until now, thanks to your efforts. "

Arthur nodded slightly, stood up and saluted Peel: "Don't worry, maybe other police districts of Scotland Yard may have problems, but I promise that at least the London Regional Temporary Survey and Statistics Bureau will always be loyal to you."

(End of this chapter)