576: Chapter 293: Political Deal_3 576: Chapter 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 assud he was dealing with a troubleso little devil and pursed his lips before responding, “Then please co 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 ?
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 co, then!
Tomorrow morning, I will await your arrival at the Port Authority.”
Arthur saw that his deanor 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 so 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 ‘dical and healthcare’, you should just execute it under this na.
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 an?”
Arthur took out a business card from his coat pocket and slid it over to Hearst, “Today I t a man who claid to be the chairman of the Britain Child Protection Association.
He claid that the association has been committed to migrating holess 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 before and ntioned 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 Departnt 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 ho, it’s better to send them to the oversea colonies to put them to work.
Only, when Sir Peel was Ho Secretary, wasn’t he always emphasizing the need to gradually change the traditional heavy-handed enforcent and bloody codes of law?
Now there are fewer capital cris 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 cri.
So to solve this problem, the Colonial Affairs Departnt introduced so 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 sa 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 ho 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 ho with an uncertain next al, they’ll turn to cri 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 sothing 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 sa 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 dia’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 co to Liverpool and see that the majority of those leaving on the colonial ships are families of hired farrs and craftsn with so savings.
A ship ticket is nothing cheap, even with subsidies from the Colonial Affairs Departnt, it’s not sothing ordinary poor people can afford.
The fact that Blunton and his group are willing to provide grants without pay is already comndable.”
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 an…”
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 ‘dical 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.”
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