Shadow of great britain

As soon as Arthur's words came out, the courtroom scene that was noisy just now immediately fell silent.

The trainee judge on the side asked the magistrate: "Sir, is this in line with the rules?"

The magistrate had a dark face. He was obviously very angry with Arthur, but at this time he had no intention of caring about such nonsense.

"It's court time now. Officer Arthur has the right to do whatever he wants. I can't gag him."

Although the magistrate did not object, the members of the jury were still biased against Arthur's previous behavior. They preconceived that Arthur must have forced a confession from little Adam.

If this were not the case, why would Adam be so frightened that he could not stop crying incoherently?

Just as the men on the jury were about to go outside for some air and the ladies were busy comforting little Adam, little Adam, who was at the center of the whirlpool, was holding back tears and wanted to stay at the scene.

He said softly: "Officer Arthur is a good man."

One of the ladies said angrily: "Adam, you don't have to be afraid. With us here, he doesn't dare to do anything to you. You don't need to say these things against your will."

Mrs. Peel also felt distressed and held his little hand: "As long as I am here, no one of them can even think about touching you. If you want to cry, just cry, tell all your grievances, and we will give you a fair judge." ."

But little Adam held back tears and shook his head: "No, what I said is the truth. Officer Arthur is the second best person in my heart, second only to Officer Tom's wife. Officer Tom's wife made up for me. He bought a lot of bad clothes and told me nice stories. And Officer Arthur was the only person on the street who was willing to listen to me seriously. He also gave me some money and was a good friend of mine."

When the ladies heard this, they all felt dizzy.

"my Lord!"

"What the hell is going on?"

"But he clearly wanted to send you to the gallows just now. Are you sure he is really your friend?"

The men were a little confused when they heard this, and they asked Arthur.

"Officer, can you explain to us why you are behaving inconsistently?"

Arthur saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him, and the stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground calmly.

He stated calmly: "It is my duty as a public prosecutor and a police officer to prosecute the defendant. From the first day when the Metropolitan Police was established, I have been told that my duty is to bring all criminals to justice." Law.

Little Adam did steal the umbrella. He never hid this from me. He was a very honest boy. From the first day I met him, I always knew he was an honest and trustworthy kid.

We can chat without any scruples, exchange opinions with each other, talk about our troubles, and give suggestions for our respective troubles.

Since he did commit theft, when I appear in court as a public prosecutor, I cannot unconscionably deny his mistake and let him escape legal punishment.

Because that will not help him correct his behavior, it will only increase his evil deeds and breed his deeper evil thoughts.

But on the other hand, little Adam is also a good friend of mine.

Therefore, when I leave the prosecutor's seat, I have to consider his situation at this time.

Although he broke the law, I think that stealing a parasol is punishable by hanging. Is this sentencing standard too heavy?

I needed to save my friend, even though he had committed a crime, but I wanted him to have a chance to make amends. Instead of hastily ending his life at the age of nine.

I must apologize to everyone for my behavior just now. Because of my personal reasons, I gave the jury and the judge a wrong impression, which affected your correct judgment.

I'm very ashamed and very sorry for this. "

Arthur bowed slightly: "I'm sorry, everyone."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the tense atmosphere that had filled the court just now disappeared.

The gentlemen and ladies of the jury had regained their composure, and even the magistrate was no longer in a hurry to drink tea in the back room.

The gentlemen smiled and waved their hands one by one: "It's us who should apologize to you. I'm sorry, Mr. Police Officer, we misunderstood you before."

The ladies also blushed and apologized sheepishly.

"I almost thought you were a villain. My God! You're such a gentleman."

"You certainly seem to be well-educated, well-spoken, and have a clear mind. We should give you a chance to speak."

"Officer, it's not your fault, it's because we didn't figure it out. I'm a quick-tempered person, you know, that's how mothers are."

The magistrate scratched his wig awkwardly.

"Arthur, you know that I do have some opinions about Scotland Yard. But they are not against you, but there are other legal concerns. I don't hate you as a person, I even admire you a little."

Seeing that the atmosphere at the scene had improved significantly, Arthur smiled and said, "Can I start speaking?"

"Of course, without a doubt."

"This is your right and no one can stop you."

Arthur picked up his uniform from the chair and pointed to the police badge on it and asked.

"As you can see, I'm a Scotland Yard policeman.

I was lucky enough to start working in this job right out of college.

I also had the misfortune of starting this job right out of college.

I, like all my colleagues, earned a salary of twelve shillings a week, worked fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, and patrolled over fifteen miles.

I don’t want to deceive you, this job is very tiring and not very decent, but these are not the most difficult problems for me to overcome at work.

I fully understand why the gentlemen and ladies present were so hostile to me at the beginning of the trial.

Because even in our daily work we face the same kind of malice, even more nakedly and directly exposed.

During the six months I worked at Scotland Yard, there were a total of sixty assaults on police officers in my Greenwich borough.

But the irony is that our local police force is less than thirty.

I have many colleagues who started at the same time as me, but less than a third are still with me.

Some of them left because the pay was too little and the work was too intense.

But most of it is because we don’t feel any respect at work, and we even feel that we are worse than criminals.

People all over the world are hostile to us and want to cause us trouble anytime and anywhere.

But I don't blame those people any more than I blame the ladies and gentlemen here today.

Because if a person is likely to send me to the gallows at any time, then I will probably not give him any good looks.

But do all police officers really want to send criminals to the gallows?

The example of little Adam is here today. I do not wish to send him to the gallows, but my duty does not allow it.

Take a look at our legal provisions.

Damage to roads, death penalty.

Cutting down trees, death penalty.

Stealing an envelope, death penalty.

Salvaging relics from a sunken ship is punishable by death.

Going out at night wearing black face was punishable by death.

Theft of anything of value above five shillings, punishable by death.

It is still a death sentence for an unmarried mother to conceal a miscarriage.

If I were to expand on our death penalty regulations, I probably wouldn’t be able to finish them until dark.

This strange phenomenon was not just discovered by me personally, Lord Samuel Romilly proposed in Parliament as early as 1808 the need to reform our criminal law, but unfortunately his efforts did not work.

In 1808 we instituted more than 160 capital punishments, and after more than 20 years we now have more than 70 more.

But has the rapid increase in the number of executions effectively improved the security environment?

Unfortunately, I have to report another set of data to you.

In 1805, there were 4,605 ​​arrests for criminal offenses in England and Wales alone.

And last year, just last year!

Gentlemen,

Ladies,

Do you think this number has decreased?

No!

of course not!

Last year, our criminal cases in England and Wales reached a staggering 30,000, a six-fold increase!

In other words, the increase in death penalty crimes has not only failed to help us improve the environment, but has also caused the crime rate to skyrocket.

Of course, what I say does not mean that I support the abolition of the death penalty, but I hope that minor crimes can be measured on a more appropriate scale.

I don't understand our society. I don't understand why stealing five shillings is punishable by death.

And in 1825, more than seventy of our banks failed, and countless depositors suffered heavy losses in their deposits.

The bank partners had stolen far more than five shillings, yet I did not see any of them hanging on the gallows.

I don’t understand, I don’t understand this society.

I don’t know why I do this job. I am obviously enforcing the law and complying with my duties, but I always feel like I am committing a crime!

I don’t fucking understand and no one told me why!

Why should my friend die for five shillings, while some people are still alive and well after causing five million pounds of damage!

When I joined the company, I often recited the "Police Instructions", which told me.

The police should always maintain good contact with the public and respect the historical tradition that ‘the police are the public and the public is the police’.

But now, the public is telling me that I am not one of them.

I am obviously a police officer, but I always want to make statements that are inconsistent with my duties.

I have been confused by this until I read an announcement some time ago.

It is precisely because of it!

I just decided to appear in this position today!

I keep this announcement to myself and want to share it with everyone.

No one is self-contained,

An island isolated from the world,

Everyone is part of a vast continent.

If the waves wash away a rock,

There are fewer in Europe.

Like a promontory that has lost its tip,

Like losing a piece of your friend's or your own territory.

Every death is my sorrow,

Because I am a member of the human race.

so,

Ask not for whom the bell tolls,

It chirps for you!

thank you all,

Thank you for listening to this innocuous nonsense from a retired sergeant.

Because this will probably be the last time I appear in the Magistrates Court.

Thanks,

Thank you very much. "

Arthur's chest rose and fell, breathing heavily, and his white shirt was soaked with sweat, reflecting his broad chest.

Although he knew that he would be emotionally excited by the speech, he still surprised himself by doing so.

There was silence in the court, and everyone's eyes focused on his face.

But after a brief silence, sparse applause began to ring out in the courtroom.

Immediately afterwards, everyone stood up from their seats.

Soon, the applause gathered into a ball and exploded like lightning and thunder in the magistrate court.

Accompanied by cheers and applause, Officer Tom cried bitterly, holding Arthur's thigh and kneeling in front of him.

"Arthur, I am very sad, I am very sad. Why should we lose such an outstanding colleague like you? I don't understand, I really don't understand..."

"Good job! Officer Arthur!"

"That's great! Why don't you impose a fine of five million pounds, but insist on holding on to five shillings! I can't understand it either!"

"This law should have been changed long ago. I don't agree with Adam being sentenced to death! This is irresponsible for public life!"

Even the magistrate couldn't help but look at Arthur with admiration. He clapped his hands and said to everyone.

"Please allow me to reintroduce you to Britain's finest police officer, public role model and the strongest voice from Scotland Yard, Sergeant Arthur Hastings!"

But after Arthur heard this sentence, he was slightly startled for a moment, and then slowly lowered his head.

"Officer Arthur Hastings?"

He touched the police badge on the uniform in front of him and showed a somewhat bitter smile.

"Sorry, not anymore."

Just when everyone was in jubilation, a gentleman sitting in the gallery wearing a black top hat suddenly hooked his hand at the servant next to him.

He lowered his voice and ordered: "Go to Scotland Yard immediately. I need to get the personal information of this officer Arthur Hastings immediately."

The servant bowed slightly: "At your command, Sir Peel."