The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 578 - 294: The 200,000 Pound Deal_2

He was thinking about discussing the issue further with Arthur, but before he could open his mouth, he heard Arthur’s voice ring out again.

"However, although the docks at Liverpool are quite splendidly constructed, I also found the sanitary standards and building specifications of the slums in Liverpool to be unbearably poor. Although I have only just arrived here a few days ago, if everyone insists on me making a suggestion to the municipal council, it would be that the next time public works projects are considered, perhaps the transformation of the water supply and sewage systems in the slums should be prioritized."

"Hmm?"

Hearst and Gladstone, upon hearing this, could not help but reveal a look of confusion.

What does he mean?

Lift it high only to put it down gently?

Touch upon the dock expansion project and then leave it at that?

Hearst, unable to understand Arthur’s intentions, could only respond cautiously, "I will convey your opinion to the municipal council."

Upon hearing this, Arthur directly pulled out the map from his coat pocket and placed it on the table.

"Simply conveying it won’t suffice, the municipal council and the Central Health Committee of Liverpool had better come up with a feasible plan for the renovation of the slums. Although I carry the title of customs enforcement officer, everyone should understand that my visit to Liverpool was to address the cholera issue. And now, the poor sanitary conditions in the slums have severely impacted disease prevention. If the rapid spread of cholera in the slums cannot be stopped, then even if all the smugglers are caught, it would be pointless. I won’t say more, just look here..."

In just a few minutes, Arthur had presented his work achievements of the day to the gentlemen present.

"This..."

"I must admit, Mr. Hasting. Perhaps this disease, as you’ve said, really is caused by a problem with the water source."

"The Central Health Committee had previously discovered that cholera was spreading along the canals, and at that time everyone thought it was a transmission caused by inland navigation. Now it seems, perhaps it’s not just the sick sailors, but also partially the water quality?"

"If that’s the case, then aren’t all the cities in Britain unsafe?"

Gladstone and Hearst began to speculate on the cause of cholera, but Arthur’s words gave them a piece of mind.

"With the flow of canal water, even if pollutants are mixed in, they should be diluted quickly. And as for exactly what cholera is about, let’s leave that headache to Britain’s medical authorities. The only thing we can be sure of right now is that the cholera outbreak in Liverpool is very likely related to a chaotic and dirty water supply system. What I want to know now is whether the municipal council of Liverpool has the ability to refurbish and renovate the water system in the cholera-affected area in the short term."

Upon hearing this, Gladstone decisively replied, "If all that you’ve just said is true, then I am willing to represent you and persuade the members of the municipal council."

Hearst also spoke up, "The city construction engineer of Liverpool is a child of a friend of mine. Both on a personal and a public level, I am willing to supervise and urge their design progress, and try to shorten the construction period as much as possible. However..."

As soon as Arthur heard the word ’however,’ he immediately sensed something was amiss, "Is there a difficulty?"

Hearst replied, "Mr. Hasting, municipal works are not just a matter of nodding approval by the city council and municipal council. While we are willing to initiate public fundraising, comparing it to such a large project, those donations would only be a drop in the bucket.

Especially now since it is the end of the year, Liverpool’s local treasury balance is completely insufficient to support such a large-scale transformation of the slum area. You also mentioned the dock expansion project just now, for public projects of this scale, we need to apply to the public works committee in London for central financial aid in order to build."

The Great Dumas, upon hearing this, exclaimed in surprise, "Liverpool is amongst the richest in Britain; can local finances really not even pull together money for urban reconstruction?"

Hearst, with a wry smile, said, "Mr. Dumas, you are joking. Liverpool is indeed rich, but Liverpool’s wealth comes from import and export trade, so most of our taxes are concentrated on tariffs. According to the regulations of the Treasury, Britain’s tariffs are all remitted to the central government for distribution.

Liverpool’s municipal income mainly comes from property tax and a portion of commercial taxes that need to be shared with the central government. With just such funds, every year after compiling the essential regular expenditures of the municipal government for security, health, courts, transportation, etc., there’s nothing left. Thus, whenever large public works are planned, we must apply to London for funding."

Deeply studying the financial operations of France during the era of Napoleon, Louis spontaneously asked, "Has Liverpool never considered issuing local government bonds?"

Gladstone, as an experienced city council member, replied, "Of course we’ve thought about it. However, London is very strict about local debt. According to the rules, local governments cannot issue bonds on their own but must first submit an application to the lower house Commons’ public works committee, and after obtaining approval, the Treasury can issue them.

Moreover, even though the central parliament and the Treasury have not set an upper limit on local government debt, they have an internal measure in practice. For a big city like Liverpool, the overall debt is basically locked at 100,000 pounds, and not even a penny more is allowed. For smaller-scale cities, it’s generally 50,000 pounds or less." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm