The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 576 - 293: Political Deal_3

Hearst was sweating profusely, and he asked with an embarrassed smile, "May I ask who you are?"

The Great Dumas adjusted his tailcoat to reveal the pistol holster at his waist, "I am a special employee of the London Police Intelligence Bureau, responsible for protecting Mr. Hasting’s safety. For safety reasons, I think Mr. Hasting should not visit you in private."

Hearst assumed he was dealing with a troublesome little devil and pursed his lips before responding, "Then please come to the Port Authority tomorrow, I will discuss Mr. Hasting’s safety and protection details with you alone."

Heine heard this and couldn’t help but stir the pot, "What about me? Mr. Hearst, I’m the one in charge of writing."

Upon hearing this, Hearst had no choice but to grit his teeth and reply, "All of you come, then! Tomorrow morning, I will await your arrival at the Port Authority."

Arthur saw that his demeanor had softened like a mud puddle, and knew that he should not push him too hard.

After all, he was a local gentleman in Liverpool with some status and deserved a bit of face-saving.

Moreover, Arthur wasn’t there to strong-arm Hearst from the start.

Arthur removed his pipe and began, "Mr. Hearst, there’s no need for all this trouble. Since the expenses are listed as ’medical and healthcare’, you should just execute it under this name. However, if such expenses have occurred for five consecutive years and yet the Port Authority’s employees know nothing about it, then you’ll have to start looking into it from other angles."

Hearst was taken aback at first, not expecting Arthur to take the initiative to give him advice.

"What do you mean?"

Arthur took out a business card from his coat pocket and slid it over to Hearst, "Today I met a man who claimed to be the chairman of the Britain Child Protection Association. He claimed that the association has been committed to migrating homeless children overseas. I don’t know if you’ve heard about this."

Hearst glanced at the business card and quickly recalled the matter, "You’re referring to Mr. Blunton, aren’t you? He approached me before and mentioned this matter. He said that his migrant ship was detained and quarantined by the Port Authority, and so now there are a few hundred children stranded in Liverpool."

Arthur inquired, "How long has he been doing this? Are the immigration permits acquired through official channels?"

Hearst rubbed his temples and replied, "It should be about two years now. The immigrant permits were indeed through official channels, and the Colonial Affairs Department is aware of it. As a Scotland Yard police officer, you should also be aware of the Cabinet’s policy.

Britain can’t support so many people, so instead of keeping the criminals at home, it’s better to send them to the oversea colonies to put them to work. Only, when Sir Peel was Home Secretary, wasn’t he always emphasizing the need to gradually change the traditional heavy-handed enforcement and bloody codes of law?

Now there are fewer capital crimes than before, so naturally, there are fewer transportations. But if these hardened criminals aren’t transported, with no money in their hands, they’ll eventually return to crime. So to solve this problem, the Colonial Affairs Department introduced some subsidy policies for overseas immigration, hoping that those who can move abroad will do so as much as possible.

Blunton’s Child Protection Association harbors the same idea, except that the orphans they take in are mostly without parents and penniless. Even with subsidies, they can’t afford the fare and can’t move out. So they spontaneously raised funds, contacted overseas factories and farms with the intention to send these young children out as apprentices while they’re still young.

When the apprenticeship is over, if they’re lucky, they might save a little money. Whether to continue working, start a small business, or go pioneering, it’s certainly better than staying at home in Britain."

Louis couldn’t help but ask upon hearing this, "They’re so young, aren’t there going to be any problems sending them out like that?"

Hearst took a drag of his cigarette, "That’s a tough call. For the poor, it’s partly about effort, mostly about luck. Staying at home with an uncertain next meal, they’ll turn to crime sooner or later. When they’re caught and sentenced to transportation, that’s even worse than taking a chance with Blunton.

After all, the apprentice work Blunton arranges for them at least pays something and they learn a skill, while those who are transported not only don’t get a penny but most of them are sold as hard labour. After the same eight years, the apprentices who make it through have a wide open future, while the transported ones start over with nothing."

The oldest kids with Blunton are already eleven or twelve years old, and regular kids have to fend for themselves at the age of eight. They should be able to figure out for themselves which is the better option. Besides, from my personal perspective, I think the media’s criticism of Blunton is entirely unreasonable. It’s just a bunch of self-righteous people who have no worries about food and drink wailing over nothing.

If they bothered to come to Liverpool and see that the majority of those leaving on the colonial ships are families of hired farmers and craftsmen with some savings. A ship ticket is nothing cheap, even with subsidies from the Colonial Affairs Department, it’s not something ordinary poor people can afford. The fact that Blunton and his group are willing to provide grants without pay is already commendable."

Upon hearing this, Arthur simply stated, "Since you think it’s a good thing, why don’t you get involved too?"

"Eh?" Hearst inquired, "You mean..."

Arthur continued, "Right now, Liverpool docks are swamped with hundreds of children, and on top of that, it’s the cholera season. If their situation isn’t properly addressed, and the disease breaks out among them, once the news gets out, not only the Port Authority and the City Council will be in trouble, but also my side... You understand. With this in mind, I think it’s completely reasonable, and beyond question, for the Port Authority to establish ’medical and healthcare’ special expenditures."

"Ah..." upon hearing this, Hearst felt like he had an epiphany, "I hadn’t considered it from that angle... What was initially a bad situation has been turned into a good one; this is indeed a skill."

Arthur, upon hearing this, smiled and shook his head, "There’s no such thing as turning a bad situation into a good one. If it turns out well, it only shows that it was always a good thing, it’s just that everyone had a misunderstanding at the beginning."

No sooner had Arthur finished speaking than the door to the smoking room was pushed open, and Gladstone, followed by an elderly gentleman, walked in.

"Father, this is Mr. Hasting."