shadow of britain

Chapter 138 Dickens' Request
4 Whitehall Street, in the offices on the third floor of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Arthur stood in the office that originally belonged to Superintendent Tyler Clemens. Through the transparent glass windows, he had a panoramic view of the busy Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament, St. Martin's Church, and the boulevard in front of Buckingham Palace in the distance.

This is the heart of Great Britain, and Arthur, as one of the insignificant components of this heart, is standing here down-to-earth.

Agares put his feet on the desk and lay comfortably in the chair. The red devil stretched out his slender fingertips to pick up the book on the table. It was a book called "Essays on Government" by John Locke.

He opened the book casually, opened the place where Arthur had bookmarked, and read out the words and sentences on it nonchalantly.

"In participating in society, each person entrusts to it certain powers which cannot return to the individual but remain in the society as long as the society does not disappear. For otherwise there would be no society and no state, contrary to the original agreement.

If, therefore, society has committed the legislative power to an assembly, which is composed of several persons, who continue to exercise these powers, and their successors, and gives the assembly the sphere and powers to produce successors, the legislative power cannot be restored to the people, so long as the government does not disappear.

For they have given power to the legislature, and have perpetuated the legislature, so that the political power relinquished by the people cannot be taken back..."

When the Red Devil read this, he could not help but click his tongue twice.

"You're reading this stuff again. Is it of any use to your bright future? John Locke's purpose in writing this book was to suggest to the reader that King James II had violated the logic of a just government.

Although I don't deny that part of the book's logic is close to the truth, so what?The existence of the Wellington cabinet is good for you, is it possible that you still plan to play against them?
Besides, if Wellington's cabinet violated its logic as a legitimate government, then the Whig cabinet born under the same electoral criteria should also be illegitimate..."

Agares muttered to himself, and suddenly, the Red Devil frowned: "Wait... Arthur, what are you thinking, little bastard?"

Arthur turned his head and glanced at him: "I'm not interested, I'm just reading. London has been relatively peaceful recently, but this is just the calm before the storm. Don't you smell the gunpowder in the air?

Although the Duke of Wellington is thinking of delaying this cabinet at least until the general election, I heard from Charles, who has been doing parliamentary interviews for a while, that the leader of the Whig Party, Earl Gray, does not seem to plan to give him even one or two months.

It seems that Earl Gray has ordered Lord Russell to unite party MPs and independent MPs as soon as possible, intending to initiate a no-confidence resolution against Wellington's cabinet.Once the resolution is passed, the cabinet will collapse immediately, and the general election will be brought forward.

But the trouble was that even if the Whigs won the general election and formed a government, they would only control a majority of the House of Commons and control half of the legislative power.The House of Lords, which is composed of nobles, is still firmly in the hands of the Tory Party. According to the current tendency of the Tory Party, it is absolutely impossible for them to make any concessions on the issue of parliamentary reform.

And once the Whigs put forward a parliamentary reform motion in the House of Commons, it was almost certain that it would be rejected in the House of Lords.After such a back and forth, what problems do you think will happen after the news spreads? "

Agares pushed his glasses and reopened the "On Government": "You mean, you are worried about the outbreak of internal revolution, or more simply and directly, you are worried about the possibility of civil war starting?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "It's not that serious. Thank God, this is England, not Russia. If it's Tsarist Russia, or Ottoman Turkey, I really can't think of how to solve this problem except for civil war.

You know, my four years of studying History at the University of London were not in vain.As far as the historical experience of Great Britain is concerned, since the Glorious Revolution, every time it comes to the brink of a civil war, there will always be politicians with a spirit of sacrifice who will come out to solve the problem.

For example, the Duke of Wellington in the "Catholic Emancipation Act" last time, if he hadn't made compromises, he wouldn't have fallen to where he is today.I heard that during this period, protesters often ran to his door in the middle of the night and smashed his window glass. Mr. Duke was very disturbed by this, but he still tried his best to restrain his violent temper.

I don't know whether Mr. Duke is unwilling to continue to make concessions on the issue of reform, whether he is really so stubborn, or whether he has been hurt too deeply by the "Catholic Emancipation Act", so he dare not take a step further.

But in any case, whether it is out of admiration for the Duke of Wellington's sacrifice or gratitude for the Catholic Emancipation Act that allowed me to take up the senior post of Scotland Yard, I do have something to do for the Tories, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel. "

The Red Devil picked up the sugar bowl on Arthur's desk and poured all the candy into his mouth. While chewing, he analyzed, "So that's why you went to Peel and asked to set up that investigation bureau?"

Arthur shook his head and said: "Not exactly. As I said, my historical knowledge is not for nothing. From my historical understanding of the Tory Party and the Whig Party, although the Tory Party, formerly the Royalist Party, will also use violence, they generally prefer peace and order when it is not necessary.

More importantly, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel have shown me the strength of outstanding statesmen in their handling of the issue of Catholic emancipation.Even if I don't agree with them on all issues, I am satisfied that the Tory Party is gradually becoming more relaxed and open under their leadership.Since the Cattoo Street Plot of 1820, the general direction of the Tory party is changing.

First came the "Slavery Act", then the repeal of the "Prohibition of Workers' Association Act", and then the reform of the "Corn Law" to reduce the retail price of domestic food, cut tariffs on various imported goods and gradually abolished the relevant regulations of the "Navigation Act", established the Greater London Metropolitan Police Service to try to reduce the crime rate, abolished the "Blood Act" to reduce the number of executions, liberalized publication censorship, freedom of speech and restored habeas corpus, and of course, the "Catholic Emancipation Act" that was finally introduced after nearly 30 years of hard work.

I can't say that the effect of these things was immediate, and even the reform of the Corn Laws did not have the expected effect, but at least I can see that the Tories do want to do something for this country.Perhaps this party is not to be trusted, but I believe in Sir Peel and the Duke of Wellington who are leading it. "

Hearing this, the Red Devil grinned and said, "What about the Whigs? Aren't they trustworthy?"

"Whig?"

Arthur couldn't help pursing his lips when he heard this: "The Whig Party, which protects Duke Cromwell as its spiritual leader, is of course tainted with Cromwell's temper of wanting to execute others at will. If the Whig Party comes to power and there are riots in the country, I have considerable doubts about whether the problem can be resolved peacefully.

Not to mention, the part of the Tory MPs who advocated sending out the army to suppress and introduce six high-handed laws during the Peterloo incident have now almost all turned to the Whig Party.If they really come on stage, I'm really not at ease. "

Hearing this, Agares didn't say anything. The Red Devil just raised his eyebrows and snapped his fingers, and then he saw a red apple with the face of 'Fred' formed in his palm.

He bit it down, and with the painful howling of the apple and the malicious chewing sound of the devil, blood flowed down the corner of his mouth.

Agares touched his stomach and burped, then consciously gave up the office chair, and said lazily: "It seems that someone is looking for you."

As soon as the devil finished speaking, he heard knocking on the door.

Arthur called out, "Come in."

The door of the office was pushed open, and standing outside were Tom and Tony, who were transferred to the police department by Arthur, and Dickens, who was escorted by them all the way here, was holding a green canvas bag.

When Dickens saw Arthur sitting across the desk, he breathed a sigh of relief, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Arthur, it's really you! At first I thought they were lying to me. I knew that in this world, good people will definitely be rewarded, and your promotion speed is too fast. Thank God, God is watching us, and it is His mission to punish evil and promote good."

Arthur didn't respond positively when he heard the words. He just smiled and said, "Charles, you overestimate me. I'm not a good person. Although I try my best to be a good person, I think that the current me is just not so bad."

But Dickens obviously didn't take Arthur's words seriously. He took out a manuscript from his bag and put it in front of Arthur, staring at him nervously: "Let's not talk about this now, please help me to read this thing, what do you think of what I wrote?"

(End of this chapter)