Chapter 362: Expansion of Power

Chapter 359 – Power Expansion
Viscount Melbourne sniffed and also thought of taking advantage of Lord Brougham’s presence to have a good talk with Arthur about the prosecution of the Swain riots.

And there was no better way to get someone to take on a hard job than to package it as an honor.

Viscount Melbourne said with a smile, “Pragmatism is always good for work. Analyzing specific issues is likewise my political viewpoint. Although I am a Whig, I can also support Tory on certain issues. Just like in this Swain riot, I chose to stand with Peel.”

Melbourne first named Peel and then talked to Arthur about his hairy history.

“It’s been almost two years ago, but I can still recall the headlines from that time. It was all over the place, the major media in Fleet Street, the public of Britain, the citizens of London all rejoicing at the emergence of a police officer in the courts who always stood up for truth and justice.

And it wasn’t just an honor that belonged solely to you, either; that case set off a number of chain reactions and ultimately led to Parliament’s painful determination to reform the Blood Act. 222 capital offenses are now down to 56, and Arthur, at least half of the credit for that belongs to you.”

In response to Viscount Melbourne’s bragging, Arthur did not dare to be greedy for heaven’s credit.

As a graduate of the University of London, he simply knew the beginning and end of the movement to repeal the Blood Act.

If one were to list the pioneers of the movement, in addition to the leader of the movement, Lord Samuel Romilly, followed by the Duke of Sussex, Sir Robert Peel, and his mentor, Lord Brougham, to name a few.

The case of Little Adam merely acted as a trigger, and coupled with the tumultuous period of the passage of the Catholic Emancipation Act, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel, among others, were in dire need of a propaganda image of an upstanding Catholic.

So, with their acquiescence and encouragement, Arthur was able to be pushed to the front of the stage and take all the honors. And as a result, his official career at Scotland Yard was smooth sailing.

And know their own a few pounds how much, when to reach out when not to reach out, is Arthur steady in Scotland Yard to stay in today’s winning formula.

What’s more, the other leader of the movement to repeal the Bloody Acts benefactor Lord Brougham is on the scene, whether it is out of the original intention of dragging him into the water, or to say a few words of painless cheap talk along the way, Arthur has to mention the teacher’s credits to a word.

“The movement to repeal the Blood Act, the abolitionist movement, and the parliamentary reform movement, all three of which are actually the same in essence, began to make calls to that effect as early as the end of the last century. Although there were only a few supporters at the beginning, after more than thirty years of development, everything seems to be falling into place again.

To say that the abolitionist movement was all Wilberforce’s doing, and that the repeal of the Blood Acts was all mine, would clearly be unfair to other leaders who had long supported the reform movement. Had it not been for my education at the University of London, as a little pig farmer from the York countryside, I could never have understood what the movement was and what the Bloody Act was again.”

With that, Arthur turned his attention to Lord Brougham, who smiled and said, “It was from a lecture given by Lord Brougham at the school that I first learned of the Movement. It is due to this educational experience, so to speak, that I became a staunch opponent of the Blood Act, an abolitionist, and, at the same time, a supporter of parliamentary reform.”

As Arthur said these words, even a raw and cold personality like Brougham couldn’t help but reveal a coy and proud smile.

He walked over to Arthur with two glasses of wine, handed one over, and said jokingly, “Although Thomas and I have always believed that the University of London will definitely produce many great talents for Britain someday. But what we never expected was that there was already a bubbly one among the first class.”

Arthur took the glass of wine and smiled back, “Your Excellency, there may not actually be only one. Just in terms of the outstanding people I know, the other one from the University of London is floating in the waters of South America at the moment.”

Brougham moodily raised his eyebrows and said, “Wow? That’s something I didn’t know. We have another one of our students who joined the Royal Navy to serve? Do I know him?”

“You should know him.” Arthur spoke up, “Mr. Elder Carter of the Classics Department, who graduated as a cartographer in the Royal Navy, and is at the moment on a difficult but honorable worldwide scientific research voyage by order of the Admiralty.”

“Elder Carter? ……”

Brougham heard the name and pondered it for a moment suddenly clapping his hands together, “I seem to have some recollection of that, after all, it is indeed not often that a student can get three school warnings in a semester. If it wasn’t for Mr. Bianqin’s constant opposition to the dogmatic and rigid management of Oxford, the school board might have really expelled him. Now that he’s developed so well, it seems that Mr. Bian Qin’s words really weren’t wrong, outstanding people never follow the rules.”

Brougham praised Elder so much that Arthur did not immediately choose to follow up.

He just sipped his own wine.

Other people didn’t know how Elder got his school warning, but he, who was his friend, had a clear idea.

While Arthur wasn’t in favor of following the rules either, bribing a professor after being caught peddling obscene products didn’t seem like a shining light.

Viscount Melbourne saw that Arthur was digressing from the topic and hurriedly picked up the conversation again.

“Although I had guessed from before that you were an opponent of the Blood Act, it is always reassuring to be able to get an in-person confirmation. However, while it is gratifying that you have been able to develop a good outlook from your educational experience at the University of London, unfortunately, I feel that you may have chosen the wrong college and section.

Judging from the debating skills you have shown in court, if you had gone to law school under Lord Brougham, you would surely have achieved a higher level of success than you have now. But fortunately, the creation of the London District Attorney’s Office has given us the position of prosecutor, which means that even if you don’t qualify as a solicitor, you can still do your best in a more specialized field.

More crucially, if you can make a difference in the prosecution of the Swain Riots, that will also go along way to gag those who think that the police are incapable of prosecutorial duties. That would make our nomination of you to become Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions for the London Region a legitimate one.”

How could Arthur not have expected Viscount Melbourne to play a pre-emptive game on him?

He hadn’t even agreed to it yet, and Viscount Melbourne had already unilaterally begun to plan a vision for him after the job was done.

Arthur knew that the Ministry of the Interior was afraid that it was determined to let him go on top this time.

After all, the arm could not be twisted, so it was not impossible to take the job.

Moreover, in front of Lord Brougham, he did not want to jeopardize his image as a good student.

Since a strong attack is not possible, after thinking for a moment, Arthur quickly decided to outsmart from another direction. “It is a great honor to be able to give me this heavy responsibility and distinction. But if I have to prosecute so many people, I’m afraid that I can’t accomplish it with my personal strength. After all, the London District Attorney’s Office has only just been established, and there are not enough prosecutors and they are not adapted to criminal prosecution. It may be necessary to draw some of the police officers from Scotland Yard who have extensive experience in prosecuting if the quality of the prosecution is to be assured.”

This request from Arthur was not particularly excessive, so Viscount Melbourne did not intend to refuse.

He nodded his head and said, “You have considered this very thoroughly. If there is truly a need in this regard, I will ask Director Rowan to help coordinate.”

On the side, Lord Brougham saw his student take on the hard work and also spoke softly, “I haven’t stepped down from my position as the president of the Britannia Lawyers Association, so if you need a lawyer, I can also help you contact some people through personal connections.”

Arthur smiled and nodded, “If that’s the case, then I have a lot more confidence in completing the prosecution.”

Speaking of this, Arthur turned his head back to Viscount Melbourne, “By the way, Your Excellency, I’ve heard that the Home Office is considering the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829, and that Scotland Yard may have to be reorganized?”

It was natural that such a matter as revising the law could not be hidden from others, and Viscount Melbourne had no intention of hiding anything about it.

In the view of the Home Office, the main resistance to a revision of the Metropolitan Police Act still lay with the local municipalities, which were not willing to pay an additional policing fee without being able to have full control over the newly formed local police organizations.

And the shot Arthur took in Liverpool, as he had done in that year with that brilliant speech in court, had at once silenced local opposition to the establishment of police organizations.

And the previous control measures to quell the Swain riot also made Viscount Melbourne come to a conclusion – faults may not necessarily be punished, but merits must be rewarded.

If Arthur, the young man who had helped him solve many troubles, wanted to make some ‘reasonable’ suggestions during the revision of the Metropolitan Police Act, Viscount Melbourne would not be unable to accept it for the sake of their friendship and Lord Brougham’s face.

“The revisions are still under investigation and study, and we are more than happy to listen to all voices, especially those of police officers who have served on the front line for a long time.”

Viscount Melbourne winked, “In fact, I had already called a seminar for the senior police officers of Scotland Yard before, but you went to Liverpool at that time, so your opinion was left out. Now it’s just the right time, why don’t you tell us your opinion here?”

Arthur didn’t immediately throw out his opinion, but probed, “What have the other officers suggested?”

Viscount Melbourne crossed his legs and leaned against the sofa, “Mainly suggestions about strengthening the professional functions of Scotland Yard in all areas. The current management of Scotland Yard is still too sloppy, the functions of the various departments often cross each other, and apart from the frontline duty patrols, the other duties are not completely clear.

Moreover, when Scotland Yard was first established, it was only positioned as a daily patrol and policing department for the maintenance of the London metropolitan area, neglecting the case investigation business which has a great impact on the social reputation of the police. In addition, police officers have pointed out the negative impact of the use of military and uniformed forces in the suppression of riots, and have suggested that a special unit should be set up within Scotland Yard to deal with similar situations.

So, in this reorganization process for Scotland Yard, we initially thought we should focus on these two areas. Arthur, in the area of criminal offense investigation, I particularly want to hear your suggestions.”

Arthur opened his mouth and asked, “Have they ever mentioned to you that I had suggested that a separate Criminal Records Center, Fingerprint Section, Archives Section, and Toxicology Testing Section be set up underneath the Criminal Crime Investigation Department?”

“Hmm?”

Viscount Melbourne felt a bit confused when he heard this string of new terms popping out of Arthur’s mouth, “I did hear Rowan suggest the matter of wanting to merge the management of the London Police Intelligence Bureau and the Department of Criminal Crime Investigation. I also think that since they are both police departments, there is no need to manage them in parallel, it is too troublesome to deal with.”

“Merged management?”

Arthur immediately understood what exactly Rowan had in mind when he heard this.

Although the Police Intelligence Bureau was nominally a second-tier department of the Greater London Police Service, the budget was allocated directly by the Ministry of the Interior, and did not need to make another trip from Scotland Yard.

It was well known that if you couldn’t hold a department’s financial power, then you couldn’t hold it in any way.

As a result, the officers working in the Police Intelligence Bureau have always paid little attention to the orders of Scotland Yard, and they only listen to the Director, Arthur Hastings.

And this situation naturally made the rest of Scotland Yard look the other way. When the opportunity arose, it was only natural that they would also look for a chance to bolt this sister department, which ate police funds but disobeyed management.

Seeing that the addition of a new department under his command was not even a scratch yet, yet a fire might be about to start in the backyard.

Arthur hurriedly picked up the key issues first, “Your Excellency, if the Police Intelligence Bureau only dealt with police intelligence, then of course it would be fine to merge the management. But in reality, what we deal with isn’t just police intelligence, so if we merge the management, some things will be unclear.”

“Confusing?” Viscount Melbourne was perplexed when he heard this, “Could it be that you have other lines of business besides police intelligence?”

In the presence of Lord Brougham, Arthur could only make a cryptic nod, “On that point, you can consult Sir Peel, or the Duke of Wellington and Viscount Palmerston. Of course, if you need a detailed report, after I go back in a while, I will go and have someone summarize the results of the Police Intelligence Bureau’s work for this year to your desk.

If you insist on incorporating the Police Intelligence Bureau into Scotland Yard, my suggestion would be to partially split it, i.e., Police Intelligence into the Criminal Investigation Department, with the remainder split into a new department renamed the London Intelligence Bureau. But in that case, I’m afraid you won’t be in a good position to explain to Parliament and the press what this new system is for.”

Viscount Melbourne smiled and instantly understood Arthur’s meaning, he took a sip of his wine and flipped the documents on his desktop, “Let’s talk about the Criminal Records Center, Fingerprint Section, Archives Section, and Toxicology Section that you just mentioned. What are they used for?”

Seeing that Viscount Melbourne was no longer entangled, Arthur instantly smiled and said, “In fact, I would also suggest that it would be best for you to set up a specialized training school for detectives to train professional police officers for Scotland Yard and to establish a policing education system in order to send a constant stream of fresh blood to Scotland Yard and local police organizations.”

(End of chapter)