Shadow of great britain

Under Arthur's attention, Mr. Rimmel, who was sweating profusely, complied with his request to jump in line and dispense cologne almost immediately.

However, Arthur was obviously more concerned about the popularity of the name Bernie Harrison in the perfumer circle than the cologne.

Arthur opened the cap of the perfume bottle and took a sip, then nodded with satisfaction and said: "I have to admit, Mr. Rimmel, the perfume you prepared is almost as good as Mr. Bernie Harrison. You know Mr. Harrison Is that so? He entered the upper class by virtue of his unique skill of arranging perfume."

When Rachel heard Arthur mention Bernie Harrison, her mood softened significantly.

He responded with a smile: "You are really exaggerating. Although I think I do have some experience in perfume configuration, I am still far away from a big figure in the fashion circle like Mr. Harrison who provides long-term perfume and cosmetics supply to many big customers." Quite a distance.”

Seeing that the conversation had begun, Arthur smiled and said, "Really? But not long ago, I heard Mr. Harrison complain that there have been obviously fewer people ordering from him recently. You French perfumers bring him There is a lot of competitive pressure! But in my opinion, this is actually quite good. Britain has always advocated free competition. Only by having a sufficient number of strong competitors in the same industry can we promote the improvement of product quality."

"Mr. Harrison has fewer clients?"

Ruimi couldn't help but his eyes lit up when he heard this, but he quickly stopped his smile and waved his hands repeatedly: "But then again, isn't there a proverb in England? Even a bankrupt rich man is better than a beggar. Rich. Mr. Harrison's family has a large business, and it won't hurt even if he loses a few customers. Besides, as long as he controls big customers like Mr. Henry Drummond, Mr. Thomas Crocker and the Earl of Eldon, In a short time, not many will be able to challenge his unshakable position in the world of perfumery.”

Henry Drummond, Thomas Croker and the Earl of Eldon?

When Arthur heard these names, he felt like he had a cardiopulmonary arrest.

He now finally understands how Bernie Harrison got his position as a congressman and where this guy falls on the political spectrum.

This guy is definitely a die-hard Tory MP, and there is a big question mark over whether Sir Peel, the current leader of the Tory Party, can control him.

Among the several major customers supplied by Mr. Harrison, Mr. Henry Drummond is a member of the House of Commons and a banker who has always regarded himself as an 'old-school Tory'. In addition, he has written many books. , of course, most of his works are in the field of religion.

Moreover, Mr. Drummond is also a well-known loudmouth. He often makes some shocking remarks in the House of Commons. While these remarks of his win the cheers of his supporters, they often arouse vigorous attacks from the Whigs and anger the Trustees. Liberals in the Liberal Party frowned.

His most famous statement is that ordinary people are uncivilized, unruly, and have repeatedly threatened social order and property security, so they should not enjoy rights. The social and political elite must consolidate their status through various methods to prevent the lower class from committing rebellion. The system of British government is flawless and has a long history. It embodies the "union of providence and civil law" and cannot be changed at will. Were rulers to seek and win the applause of these subjects who were guided by this spirit, government would surely cease to exist.

As for Mr. Thomas Croker, although he is not as loud-mouthed as Mr. Drummond, his position in the Tory party is indeed very important. There is no other reason, because Mr. Crocker served as Lord of the Admiralty for twenty years from 1810 until the Tory Party fell out of power last year, and he has maintained a very good personal relationship with the Duke of Wellington.

Although Thomas Crocker rarely expressed his opinions publicly during his tenure, the political views he held can be seen from a few small things. For example, when the Duke of Wellington decided to enact the Catholic Emancipation Act, Crocker repeatedly warned his friends that this bill was not only undemocratic and unconstitutional, but would also set a precedent that would shake the independence of the House of Commons.

Since he left office last year, Crocker, who had been holding back for 20 years, has gone full force in the Tory Party organ "Quarterly Review". In just six months, he published more than a dozen articles attacking parliamentary reform and actively campaigned for The Tories shouldered the charge.

As for Earl Eldon, there is no need to mention this hardline Tory who has served as Lord Chancellor for 26 years. If the above two are mainly talkative, Earl Eldon has always been good at action. This veteran of five Tory Prime Ministers often uses Britain's highest court, the Court of Chancery, to oppose a series of reforms including amending the Corn Laws, reducing import tariffs, amending the criminal law, etc., and does everything possible to Enact regulations to limit the excesses of the 'lower mob'.

Even rough statistics on the various mobs who were tried and executed by his hands should have reached more than a thousand people.

The most famous of those executed was the Catu Street Conspiracy Five, who plotted to assassinate cabinet members. The five men were tried by the Earl of Eldon and found guilty of treason, and were publicly executed outside Newgate Prison on May 1, 1820.

When Arthur talked with many London citizens who had witnessed that scene, they all mentioned without exception that Mr. Ince, a member of the conspiracy who had a noose around his neck at that time, was still laughing and singing loudly: "Give me liberty or give me death!"

When someone asked him if he regretted it, Ince just blinked and replied: "No, I don't regret it at all. I hope that future generations can understand that although I failed, at least my efforts were sincere." "

In order to shock the 'mob', Earl Eldon also ordered that after hanging these five people, the executioner wearing a mask would cut off all their heads and hang them.

Although there are still many medieval legacy in British law, this kind of punishment of beheading has not been seen for a long time.

Earl Eldon's intention to intimidate Xiaoxiao also obviously failed. His beheading action not only failed to frighten anyone, but also aroused an increasingly strong confrontational mood among the British citizens, even causing his cabinet colleagues to panic. Together with him, he was under tremendous pressure from public opinion.

Liberal writers such as Shelley and Byron wrote articles criticizing the cabinet's bloody policies. Viscount Castlereagh, the Foreign Secretary who had supported Earl Eldon's iron-fist approach to the riots, soon lost his temper because he could not withstand the huge public opinion. He suffered a mental breakdown due to stress and eventually committed suicide two years later with a letter opener.

If Mr. Bernie Harrison had been hanging out with these gentlemen all year round, it would not be difficult to guess what was going on in his head.

As the farmhands in Arthur York's hometown once said, if you stay with a cripple all day long, it won't take long before you learn to walk with a limp.

Arthur suddenly frowned when he thought of this.

Mr. Harrison can now basically be classified as a die-hard Tory. In this faction that advocates 'toughness is everything and change is strength', will Mr. Harrison obediently accept the arrest of a few Scotland Yard scoundrels? ?

After all, according to Mr. Drummond, who is from the same faction, as rulers, they have always looked down on lower class people like Scotland Yard.

From here, it can be basically inferred that Mr. Harrison is definitely not a weak person, and his behavior of accepting arrest that day was 100% staged.

As for why he was completely unperturbed by his arrest, it seems completely understandable now. As a friend and perfume supplier of Earl Eldon, the former Lord Justice Earl Eldon has resigned, but as a reigning 26 He is a young man, and the British judicial system is almost full of his disciples and former officials who share his political views.

Nowadays, whether it is the Magistrates Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Court of Chancery, more than 70% of the judges have received their letters of appointment from the Earl of Eldon. With their guarantee, they want to kill the Earl of Eldon with a stick. And it is really difficult for a member of the House of Commons without conclusive evidence to prove his crime.

Of course, this situation can only happen in Britain. Generally speaking, when other countries change their cabinets, they can undergo a systematic overhaul. The typical example of this situation is the barbarians in the North American colonies.

Arthur remembered that there was a rather artistic term for this phenomenon called the two-party system.

But in Britain, and especially in the judicial system, this is completely impossible. Because no matter which court it is, the justice only has the power to appoint vacancies, but does not have the power to remove judges from their posts.

If you want to remove any judge from his executive duties, you must directly report to His Majesty the King's Council for approval. If the King does not nod, the matter will not be discussed at all.

As far as Arthur knew, the king rarely nodded to such things. Because for nearly a century, every time the king took the initiative to order the dismissal of a judge, he could not escape the torture of public opinion afterwards.

In this regard, various Fleet Street newspapers have made outstanding contributions. They often publish stories such as "The King Interferes with Justice", "The Spark of Despot Is Burning in the Skies of Britain" and "Shocked: Louis XVI Moves into Buckingham Palace" "Do you think it would be good for Mr. Cromwell to be Lord Protector?" "His Majesty the King said: I have decided it!" 》Big news like this.

Because of this, after being repeatedly teased by Fleet Street and finding that they could not be silenced no matter what, the kings began to accept their fate from the late George III onwards, and they simply opened up to this area.

The concept of the kings of the past dynasties is no longer about the stars and the sea, but has gradually changed to: There is an old saying in Britain, which is called silence to make a fortune. This is the best.

Therefore, even if the judge really made a mistake, as long as the problem is not serious and public opinion does not give him any strength, the king will probably turn a blind eye and pretend he did not see it.

To put it bluntly, the king is not willing to take the blame for the decisions of the ruling party. You can play with the judiciary on your own. Who told you to force me to sign the Magna Carta?

Whoever has the problem will take it home.

Therefore, even though Lord Brougham has now become the Lord Chancellor, if you want to fill the judicial system with people, you still have to do it step by step.

Because judges usually work until they die, this is why Viscount Melbourne was so grateful that Lord Brougham was willing to offer a vacancy to George Norton.

For a new justice, every vacancy is precious.

After all, not every justice can serve for 26 years like Earl Eldon. If the justice's time in office is too short, and it happens to catch up with a time period when no one retires, then it is very likely that he will be stuck from the time he takes office to the time he leaves office. Not many people came in.

And speaking of this, another possibility popped into Arthur's mind.

Everyone knows that although the Tories and the Whigs are two unified political parties in name, there are still countless small hills within the parties.

For example, the Tories include the liberals represented by Sir Peel, the die-hards represented by the Earl of Eldon, the Huskissons who were in disarray after being hit by a train, and the once-prominent Cannings.

The reason why the Duke of Wellington was so stable in the Tory Party before was because, in addition to having extremely high prestige, the Duke was also a representative of the die-hard Tory Party. However, when he became Prime Minister, the old Duke again He began to slyly turn the steering wheel to the left, and in one fell swoop gained the support of the Tory liberals represented by Lord Peel.

Of course, due to the Catholic Emancipation Act, the Duke of Wellington turned the wheel so hard that he knocked down the walls of his die-hard base, so he had to step down to apologize.

But now, although the Duke of Wellington has stepped down, liberals and diehards in the Tory Party are still fighting with each other. Many people are not satisfied with Sir Peel's decision to take over as party leader.

From a die-hard standpoint, the arrest of Bernie Harrison not only disgusts the Whigs who are in power, but also disgusts the Scotland Yard built by Sir Peel. Thinking about it this way, they seem to have sufficient reasons, motivations and strength to implement this plan.

When Arthur thought about this, although the logic seemed to be smooth, he always felt that this method seemed a bit rough.

Just to make others feel disgusted, they resorted to such despicable methods, and even involved a human life. Where did the aristocratic spirit of those die-hards who always flaunted that they were different from the lower class go?

Arthur thought about it, only to feel that this matter revealed a hint of disgusting inside and outside.

While he was deep in thought, Disraeli suddenly spoke: "Earl of Eldon? I haven't heard this name for a long time. The old man has been having a hard time these past few years! Since he left the country, he has been going to school every now and then. To be dragged out for criticism and ridicule by the public opinion circle, a while ago he even planned to find a newspaper to publish an article to defend himself, but in the end, no newspaper in Fleet Street was willing to accept it."

Arthur heard this and asked: "Is there anything else like this? How did you know about it?"

Disraeli replied: "Of course it's because he also found our "British Man" and he wanted to pay fifty pounds, but I refused."

After hearing this, Arthur just raised his eyebrows and said: "Fifty pounds? This price is not low! I can't tell that you cherish your reputation."

Disraeli said with a proud look on his face: "Of course, I plan to continue to be elected as a member of Parliament in the future. Although Earl Eldon still retains some influence in the political circles, the old man is really old and his mind is getting more and more dim. Yes. If he finds someone who can speak well as a lobbyist, maybe I will help him for the sake of fifty pounds.

But he really drank too much Thames water and actually sent over that idiot George Norton, with whom I had no dealings when I was a student at Lincoln's Inn. If I didn't have to maintain the dignity of a gentleman, I might have to give him two sticks in person. "

"George Norton?" When Arthur heard about this guy who got into the position of Westminster Justice of the Peace by selling his wife, Arthur's face suddenly became a lot weirder: "You and him are actually classmates?"

Disraeli squeezed out a breath from his nose: "Humph, we are not just classmates, we can even be regarded as enemies. How about Arthur, are you surprised? But then again, why do you know his name?"

Arthur laughed and said: "The justice of the peace in Westminster, it's hard for me to pretend I don't know him. Scotland Yard has so many cases that need to be decided by him."

"Oh! Yes, yes! I get angry when you mention this!"

Disraeli said: "He has been showing off to me about the magistrate that day. I saw that he was so arrogant, so I used the matter of him losing his position as a member of Parliament to scapegoat him. In the end, the boy had the audacity to talk to me. He said: Although he lost the election, he was still a very popular candidate. Voters hated his opponents. On the day of the voting, he saw that many voters voted against him with tears in their eyes. Look, What kind of madness did he have to say such a thing?"

Arthur was silent when he heard this. He lit his cigar: "Tearfully voting against, well... I have to admit that Mr. Norton is quite imaginative. Maybe he should be a novelist, although his wife It already is.”

Disraeli snorted: "This is the characteristic of Norton. He has been like this since he was a student at the Law Society! He is optimistic and gullible. In addition, he has a strong vanity. To sum up, he wants to save face. But he has no brains. He seems to really think that the whole world revolves around him and everyone owes him. If it weren't for Earl Eldon's sake, I would have picked up a broom and kicked him out of the editorial office early in the morning. .”

When Arthur heard this, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.

"Mr. George Norton... Maybe I should go see him, or maybe I can get in touch with Mrs. Norton first."

Arthur took out his pocket watch from his pocket and took a look at it: "At this point, she will probably be in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, right?"