shadow of britain

Chapter 78 Indentured Slaves
Arthur and Newman sat on a long bench in the cemetery. In front of them was a small, low tomb. The small milky white coffin was pressed under the blue-gray stone slab.

This is a simple tomb, and the burial objects inside are also very simple, a small red dress, a toy wooden horse, a magazine of "The Scourge", a few unopened candies, and three bunches of mourning bags. White Rose.

Newman looked at the small shallow grave, shook his head, and said, "I know that we are living in a novel age. Human beings have always relied on others, especially priests, to spread belief and knowledge from ancient times to the present, but now, Everyone starts to judge for themselves.

Freedom of religion, separation of religions, and in the end, it all became money worship. They really did everything for money.But there is no way, even the geniuses of this era are anti-church, let alone those ordinary people.

But we can't blame them. As Anglican priests, we should help these poor and helpless people.

But the deputies of the clergy, the justices of the peace, the executors of the poor law, seemed more eager to collect pew money, parish taxes, funeral expenses, and tithes.But they don't pay much attention to the relief of the poor that they should be responsible for.

Even the clergy are so money-worshipping, no wonder the Anglican Church is in decline in Great Britain, and all of this is our own fault.

To tell the truth, Britain has never been so morally corrupted in the past 1000 years.

I know that the feudal age is certainly bad, but it does far less damage to the generosity and kindness of human nature than the commercial age. "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but think of what Bentham had said to him that day.

He asked: "It seems that you must hate utilitarianism?"

Sure enough, Newman couldn't help frowning when he heard the word.

"Utilitarianism? In my opinion, this is the root of all evil. Bentham is a liar. The so-called ultimate happiness for the greatest number of people is completely advocating that only those who benefit will be crazy.

Although the spirit of pursuing wealth has existed since ancient times, this kind of philistine value has been on the rise rapidly in recent decades, and has become the current mainstream.

The prosperity of the society is only on the surface, and those who were crushed to death under the stone slabs were far more than what was seen in the newspapers.

The poison of desire for materialism and money has infiltrated the marrow of this country, and it has made everyone focus all their energies on success and wealth in life, amassing property, lusting for power, excluding others, overcoming superiors, and at the same time pretending to be A hypocritical, arrogant, yet polite face.

Religious etiquette has been simplified again and again, the status of faith has been constantly shaken, moral concepts have continued to fade, and doctrines have become empty words on paper.

To be honest, sometimes I think those people are even worse than Thomas Paine.

Since I last talked with you, I feel more and more that you are right that an atheist like Paine is far better than someone who claims to be religious but keeps going against it.

What those people worshiped was not God at all, but their desires. The scattered sects that split out from the Anglican Church were full of personal desires, and it was disgusting to look at.

See what stupid things these people are doing?Kill people and sell their bodies.The relatives of the workers died without even giving them a day off to attend the funeral.These people should all be sent to the stake! "

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but said: "Mr. Newman, to be honest, I came to you this time because I hope you can do me a favor."

Newman asked: "What's the matter? Just ask, as long as it doesn't violate the moral teachings, I'm willing to help. Although you are a Catholic, this is no big deal to me. Paine I can accept this kind of atheist, let alone you?"

Arthur said: "Well... I know that you have a high reputation in the Oxford Diocese, you are eloquent and have many followers.

I heard that Oxford University was furious over the Catholic Emancipation Act, and organized an anti-Robert Peel movement, and you, you played a very important role in it? "

Newman frowned suddenly: "Why do you know this?"

Arthur smiled helplessly: "It's very simple, because you are on the watch list of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so as a police inspector of Scotland Yard, I naturally know what you have done."

Newman did not shy away from this matter: "Yes. The reason why Oxford University wants to push Peel into the House of Commons is because he hopes that he can speak on our behalf, but he not only broke his promise, but also openly attacked Oxford in the newspaper, saying that we Is a 'slave to vanity'.

This is intolerable to us Oxford men, and Peale deserved what he deserved, and you needn't plead for him on that point, and I wouldn't change my opinion if he put me in jail.

If he has the ability, he will drive me out of Great Britain, then I can also try to learn from Paine and go to the United States and France for a while.

However, I am luckier than Paine in that I am still a little richer, at least I can afford a boat ticket, and I don't have to go to the North American colonies as an indentured slave like him. "

Arthur was stunned when he heard this.

He originally wanted to start with Newman, persuading Newman to reverse the understanding of the "Anatomy Act" in the Oxford Diocese, and to make him willing to lead the Oxford priest to hold funerals for the autopsied dead, but he did not expect to ask a knowledge blind spot.

He said, "Contract slave? What is a contract slave?"

Newman asked: "Don't you know about indentured slaves? But yes, you basically don't see such things as indentured slaves in England.

Most of our debtors who can’t repay the money here are locked in debtor’s prison, and Britain has completely abolished slavery more than 20 years ago, so you can’t see this kind of thing.

However, such things still existed in the North American colonies. The so-called indentured slaves were white slaves.

They mainly come from three sources.

The first is that I can’t live in China, so I sign a sell-off agreement with the shipowner, and use four to seven years of labor in exchange for a ticket to America.

The second type is the debtors who owed debts in the United States. Because they were unable to repay the debts, they sold themselves as slaves and used their labor to pay off the debts.

The third type is the death row inmates who were exiled in the past, who used sold labor to offset their crimes. This type should be the main source of contract slaves in North America.

However, Mr. Paine belongs to the first type of indentured slave. He was lucky at the beginning. He used the recommendation letter written by Franklin to find a job as a newspaper editor in Philadelphia when he first arrived in America, so he quickly paid off his debts and did not suffer much. sin, but others may not be so lucky. "

Arthur frowned, he remembered the missing list provided by the Duke of Sussex.

Those who disappeared from the streets are basically women and children, and the whereabouts and bodies of these people have basically been ascertained.

As for those middle-aged men who disappeared from prison, most of them were neither alive nor dead, and it was not clear where they went.

There was a flash of inspiration in his mind, and the vague clues seemed to be gradually becoming clearer and clearer.

Agares suddenly appeared beside him, and the Red Devil murmured, "Arthur, stop here, don't investigate any further."

　There are two updates tonight, writing

　　
　
(End of this chapter)