shadow of britain

Chapter 30 Dickens' Social Investigations
In a dark corner at the end of the street, a young man with a light green canvas file bag was wrestling with a homeless man with a knife on the ground.

"Let go, if you don't let go, I will give you two ruthless blows! Don't blame me for not reminding you, I just sharpened this knife this morning!"

"I can give you some money, but you can't take my bag!"

Seeing that the young man would not compromise no matter what, the homeless man suddenly became angry from the heart and turned to the gallbladder.

He held the handle of the knife and raised it high, ready to stab the young man twice in the stomach.

However, before he could make a move, a hand as strong as iron pincers grabbed his wrist.

Arthur simply exerted force, and the homeless man suddenly felt his arms ache, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground.

Arthur stepped on the knife, put his head in the homeless man's ear and said, "You should be thankful that I didn't go to work today, otherwise your beating would be considered light. Get out, get out before I repent!"

As soon as he let go, the homeless man held his painful wrist, gave him a hard look, and then walked away with his back bent.

Arthur reached out to the dusty young man and pulled him up from the ground.

"As soon as the night comes, the feeding time of the crows and vultures begins, and it is easy to run into them when going to places without lights."

The young man brushed the dust off his body. He raised his head and was about to reply, but he hesitated when he saw the outline of Arthur's face.

He took a closer look, and then said pleasantly: "Officer Arthur, I didn't expect to meet you here!"

Arthur also recognized the other party: "Charles?"

The other party is Arthur's new friend, court clerk Charles Dickens.

Arthur touched his neck and shook his head: "If something happens to you here, it will be a huge loss to the entire British literature and even the world literature. You must cherish your life and stay as far away from dangerous places as possible."

Dickens smiled and said, "Officer Arthur, you're starting again. I'm just a court clerk and newspaper interviewer, not what you call a great writer."

"Even if you are an ordinary person, you shouldn't come to St. Giles at this point! You should know what this place is, right? This is the place with the highest crime rate in the entire West End of London, even compared to several famous slums in the East End Don't let me. It's a good thing you met me today, otherwise your life would really have to be accounted for here."

Dickens was also a little scared: "Actually, if he just wants money, at worst, I will give him all the coins and banknotes on my body. But if he insists on snatching the bag in my hand, then even if I die, I can't give it to him. Otherwise, I will be in vain today."

Arthur asked, "Is there anything important in the bag?"

Dickens nodded, and excitedly took out an interview manuscript from his bag and handed it to Arthur.

He said: "Thanks to you, I have gained some fame because of the article I wrote about you, so many newspapers have been looking for me to write articles recently.

Even a committee of the House of Commons privately commissioned me to conduct an investigation on their behalf, and I came to St Giles to complete the interview.

I accepted the commission excitedly at first, but when I got there, I realized that I thought things too simply.

Because I have never been here, my impression of St. Giles Parish is still in the London Beer Flood in 1814, that is, the beer cans of the Mux Brewery exploded collectively, and two nearby houses and a house were destroyed. The tavern time.

I thought that I would be able to complete the survey interview quickly by coming here during the day, but then I realized that I was thinking too much.

Most of the people who live here are engaged in low-level heavy physical work in nearby markets, factories, commercial areas or government departments, and have no time for my interview.

Even the homeless and pickpockets who sleep on the streets know that there is not much money to be made locally, so they will go out during the day to find targets in other areas.

Therefore, I can only wait here until the evening when they go home to sleep, so that I have the opportunity to interview one or two high-energy ones.

You see, the one I am handing over to you is an interview I just finished.I have been guarding this manuscript for a whole day, and no one can take it away from me. "

Arthur glanced at the manuscript. Although the content on it was short, every word written on it was extremely heavy, as if a heavy stone was pressed against his palm.

Interviewer: Elizabeth Bentley

Reporter: Charles Dickens
Di: What is your occupation?
Yi: I am a female textile worker and I work in a nearby factory.

Di: When did you start doing this job?

E: Around 1815, from when I was six years old.

Di: What kind of work do you do in the factory?
Yi: I am in charge of doffing.

Di: Can you briefly describe your work?

Yi: When the thread on the spinning key is full, stop the spinning machine, remove the counting key and all the spools, take them to the winding spool, replace the empty spool, and start the spinning machine

Di: How long do you work every day in the factory?
Yi: From 5 am to 9 pm.

Di: Has it been like this since you were six years old?

E: Yes, but I'm used to it.

Di: With such heavy work, you must be busy from morning to night, right?Is it okay if you do it a little slower or come a little later?

E: No, they'll whip me with a belt.

Di: Have you ever experienced physical deformities due to long hours of labor?
Yi: Yes, since I was 13 years old, my chest is a little sunken, my back is not straight, and I often feel out of breath.Sir, can we end the interview?I just got off work, and now I just want to sleep, I'm really tired, I can't lift my hands, I can't move my feet, I don't want to say anything now.

Di: Excuse me, ma'am, please take this shilling. This is your payment for the interview.

Yi: You are such a generous gentleman. This is already worth one day's salary. Thank you for your kindness. I hope God bless you.

Arthur saw this, looked at Dickens and said nothing, but his expression said everything.

He only felt that there was a breath stuck in his chest, and he had to growl towards the sky to release the lingering suffocation.

He was silent for a while, and then said, "Charles, you are right. No one can take this away from you."

Dickens just smiled. He took out a box of shredded tobacco from his pocket, opened the lid and asked Arthur.

"Do you want some more? To be honest, I feel the same way as you now, and I need some of this too."

Under the dim moonlight, the glowing red dot changed from one to two.

Arthur puffed out the smoke ring and asked, "Which committee of the House of Commons commissioned you to investigate?"

Dickens said: "To be precise, it is not the House of Commons, but a committee initiated by Whig MPs. They want to investigate the poverty living conditions of the local people in St. Giles, and then launch an impeachment against the current Tory government. .

In fact, that's not all, they also commissioned other investigators to go to rural areas.You should know, right?In the past two years, several agricultural counties have suffered from rural famine. Because of grain taxes and high land rents, coupled with poor crop yields, many farm laborers have not enough to eat after planting the land.

I heard that in serious areas, the income level of farm laborers has dropped to two to three shillings a week. Even if the rural consumption level is not as high as in London, it is still too difficult to feed a family with a weekly salary of two to three shillings. "

Arthur heard this, held back for a long time, and finally couldn't help cursing.

"The Whigs investigate the Tories, which sounds like nonsense. Behind the Whigs are the big factory owners, the big bankers, the barristers, etc. Why the diocese of St. Giles should ask themselves.

As for the Tory Party, behind them are nobles, priests, soldiers, and those big and small landowners who have profited from the enclosure movement. The grain tax used to protect the price of domestic agricultural products and the land rent that cannot be raised if it is raised are not the question of me. explain.

Just these bastards, do they really have the face to investigate each other?I admit that there may be some good people in both parties, but as far as the average quality is concerned, it is just half a catty! "

(End of this chapter)