The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 577 - 294: The £200,000 Transaction

Outside the smoking room in the banquet hall, several male servants of the Gladstone family stood guard.

Whenever guests wished to step in for a smoke, the servants would politely remind the gentlemen, "For various reasons, the smoking room is temporarily closed."

And when the gentlemen glimpsed through the glass on the door to see who was inside, they too would choose to find another spot to catch a breath of air, understanding the situation.

Port Director Rhys Hearst, Liverpool Association Secretary-General John Gladstone, and the most attention-grabbing young man at the banquet, Senior Superintendent of the Greater London Police Department—Arthur Hastings.

The simple presence of these three sitting together, even without them speaking further, was enough to sketch the outline of the story in everyone’s minds.

Old Gladstone, cradling his glass of wine on the sofa, glanced at Hearst who was persistently wiping sweat, and with just a look, he guessed that Hearst was likely caught in some kind of bind.

After a moment’s thought, he quickly decided to forego the pleasantries he had prepared and cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"Mr. Hastings, I hear you have taken a keen interest in Liverpool’s dock expansion work?"

At these words, Hearst’s eyebrows tightened, and he turned to look at old Gladstone, his eyes filled with questioning.

He had just managed to cover up the ’healthcare’ issue, what was old Gladstone trying to imply by bringing up another foul matter from the latrine?

But old Gladstone didn’t care what Hearst was thinking.

Compared to Britain’s political center in London, Liverpool had completed the transition of power strata in the past century. Perhaps the traditional nobility still held a significant advantage nationally, but in Liverpool, it was the merchants, especially the likes of the Gladstone family, who truly had a say.

Even if old Gladstone couldn’t directly decide on the appointment and removal of the Port Authority, he could, whenever he wished, render the Port Authority unable to get anything done.

However, most of the time, the Port Authority and the merchant class were mutually beneficial, so no one wanted to tear apart relations over petty disputes.

After all, mutual destruction was not in the nature of businessmen seeking profit.

Arthur spoke up, "Rather than saying I’m interested in the dock expansion project in Liverpool, it would be more accurate to say I’m interested in the dock area itself. As we all know, since the time of Queen Elizabeth, mercantilism has been established as Britain’s fundamental national policy, nearly three centuries to this day.

This policy has brought about a multitude of docks and created many port cities like Liverpool. As a history major, I’ve always had an affinity for places with a long historical heritage.

Moreover, my interest in the docks has not diminished since becoming a policeman; on the contrary, it has grown stronger. You’re in import and export business, so you should understand that docks have always been hotspots for various illegal and criminal activities. Among these, there are violent crimes as well as nonviolent ones."

Louis, who was taking notes on the side, couldn’t help but smile at this remark.

If there were an outsider here who knew nothing, they would not understand what Arthur meant. They might even think Arthur was just making small talk.

But the same words landed differently in the ears of old Gladstone and Hearst.

The violent crimes at the docks that Arthur spoke of were easily understood.

But what about the non-violent crimes at the docks?

Everyone knew it referred to things related to the dock expansion project funds and land expropriation compensations. Perhaps Arthur had also included smuggling and tax evasion in his considerations.

Hearst couldn’t figure out to what extent Arthur had investigated, so he dared not speak recklessly.

But old Gladstone had already learned from his son that Arthur had grown suspicious of the dock expansion, so he spoke with a certain degree of confidence.

The old man chuckled and asked, "You’ve been staying at the inn next to the old docks these past few days. How do you find the docks of Liverpool compared to London?"

"Oh! Absolutely excellent!"

Arthur praised, "High standards, strict requirements, whether in terms of scale or construction standards, it can compete with London’s West India docks. And I’ve heard that there are three such large docks in Liverpool. How do I put it, if Liverpool continues to develop for a few more years, it might just surpass London’s Britain’s top port. I can only say that the Public Works Committee’s additional investment in Liverpool has been very well spent, not a penny, not even a franc has been wasted."

Hearst’s face paled when he heard this, but old Gladstone remained as unruffled as ever.

The reason for his composure was not difficult to guess—it was simply because he hadn’t benefited from the dirty money of the dock expansion.

While the Gladstone family was also keen on property investment, the lands they acquired were largely marshlands along the Mersey River. Incidentally, that was also the direction of Liverpool’s urban development in recent years.

Although old Gladstone disdained the crude and low-level method of scooping money directly from project funds and government land requisition funds, there were always fools in the Liverpool Association who liked doing just that.

As one of the association’s key speakers, he had to come forward and help everyone settle the matter.