The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 627 - 311 More and More Clouds of Suspicion Over Liverpool

Facing Mil’s inquiry, Arthur did not continue to conceal his intentions.

He understood well how to deal with a clever scholar like Mil.

Unlike the slick officials who were deceitful and constantly probing each other, honesty was crucial in gaining the trust of young individuals like Mil, who had spent a long time living in the ivory tower.

After listening to Arthur’s introduction, Mil also roughly understood the ins and outs of the matter.

He muttered, "Mr. Malthus was actually sent to assist in inspecting Liverpool’s customs issues? This... is indeed quite unusual..."

Arthur asked, "I also feel that given Mr. Malthus’s status, using him for such tasks is really a waste of talent. Auditing is a task that tests vision and physical endurance, and in this regard, a man in his sixties or seventies might not perform better than the accounting apprentices under you."

Mil nodded and said, "That’s right, in accounting, auditing and bookkeeping are the least technical..."

"Is that so? I am not very familiar with the industry," Arthur said as he took a sip of tea. "Then what is the highest-level job in this field?"

Upon hearing this, Mil laughed self-deprecatingly, "Although it might not be appropriate to say this in front of a Scotland Yard officer, Arthur, I don’t want to lie to you. In accounting, the most respected fellows are usually very good at cooking the books; they can make the fake look just like the real."

Arthur smiled upon hearing this, "Don’t worry too much, John, Scotland Yard doesn’t have an economic crime investigation department. So, let Parliament and the courts worry about that. Alright, let’s not digress too much. You and your father are both members of the East India Company, and you both have been active in the British economic field for a long time. You yourself have even been trained at Haileybury. So, do you know much about Mr. Malthus?"

Initially resistant to discussing Malthus, Arthur’s forthright attitude eventually made it difficult for Mil to save face.

He hesitated for a while, then finally sighed and said, "Alright, since you want to listen, I’ll talk. But you have to promise me first that whatever I say here today, you can’t tell anyone else."

Arthur crossed his fingers, rested his elbows on the table, and replied with a smile, "Of course, that’s basic ethics for a police officer. Although Scotland Yard doesn’t have explicit rules about that, personally, even private conversations with criminals are not something I would easily use as evidence. I have many secrets in my heart, secrets I wouldn’t even disclose to Rowan, the Home Secretary, or the Prime Minister."

Mil thought about it and nodded, "Alright, seeing as you graduated from the University of London and Mr. Bentham also spoke highly of you. For a University of London graduate, you might be more receptive to some sensitive views than others."

With that, Mil took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and began to describe his relationship with Malthus, or rather, the complex relationships within the entire British economic circle.

In fact, half a century ago, economics, like law and natural sciences, was not distinctly classified as a separate discipline; they were all categorized under philosophy.

This categorization method led to many seemingly out-of-place individuals flooding into Britain’s economic circle.

Malthus was deeply influenced by David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau during his upbringing, and he further developed his ’unitary god’ belief and ’population theory’ based on Hume’s skepticism and naturalism views.

Another major faction within the British economics community also had a clear lineage.

If their order were lined up along a timeline, it would represent another kind of glittering array.

This was the lineage of British classical economics development, founded by Adam Smith, followed by Jeremy Bentham as the second generation, Mil’s father James Mil as the inheritor, and David Ricardo as the one who synthesized it all.

Mr. Bentham, when giving lectures at the University of London, proudly boasted to his audience, "I am the spiritual father of James Mil, and Mil is the spiritual father of Ricardo, so Ricardo is my spiritual grandson."

And this faction of scholars was also the driving force behind the establishment of the University of London. If we were to use Eastern cultural concepts, this would be the inherent lineage engraved in the bones of the University of London.

In a British society that values alumni relationships highly, whether Arthur admitted it or not, from the moment he stepped into the University of London, he was already labeled.

Just as the East India Company tends to employ graduates from Balliol College, Oxford, the extreme conservative forces in Britain consistently loathe the University of London.

However, as long-time rivals in the field of economics, Malthus and the scholars from the University of London had a rather good relationship.

Even though Ricardo often contradicted him in economic views, especially on the Corn Laws issue where Ricardo strongly believed that abolishing the Corn Laws was beneficial for economic growth, whereas Malthus emphasized the importance of landlords to the nation and firmly supported the Corn Laws and raising grain price limits.

But this conflict in views did not prevent them from becoming a pair of close friends.