Shadow of great britain

Disraeli told Arthur the ins and outs of the new Poor Law draft, and his harsh voice could be heard from time to time in the Superintendent's office.

Disraeli put down his glass and cursed everyone from Prime Minister Earl Gray to the Chancery Hall, and finally from the Whig Party to the Tory Party.

"Arthur, although I know that as a Tory, I should not say this about the leader of our party. But in my opinion, Robert Peel completely does not have the basic qualities required to lead the Tory party. I know that at present Our party did not have a majority in the House of Commons, but at least we had an equal tie with the Whigs in the House of Lords, or even a slight advantage.

See how the Whigs caused us trouble when they were in opposition? He launched a public opinion offensive to seize the moral high ground, and even flirted with the French during the French Revolution. And now, what about the Tories under Lord Peel? I saw no fierce opposition to the Whig motions, and Sir Peel even actively cooperated with them on some issues. "

When he said this, Disraeli turned red with anger: "Robert Peel is an undercover agent from the Whig Party to the Tory Party. He clearly holds Whig views, but he insists on claiming to be a Tory Party member." A liberal who occupies the position of party leader and does nothing. With such a leader, I don’t think we will be able to turn around in at least ten or twenty years!”

Arthur poured another glass of wine for Disraeli. He looked at the amber wine filling the glass in front of him and said slowly: "It seems that you prefer an authoritative leader like the Duke of Wellington." , you want a guy who can give orders to the whole party as a field commander?"

When Disraeli heard Arthur's comment, he had a feeling of "You really understand me."

"A sharp assessment! What the Tory party needs most now is for the Duke of Wellington to return to take charge of the overall situation. The Tory party under the leadership of Peel is divided and fighting on its own. The radicals, traditionalists, and liberals each have their own small circles. , this split situation further aggravated the Whig party's dominance in Parliament.

Peel simply did not understand the importance of traditional values ​​to the entire party. He did not understand that the spirit of ancient England was the most important rope that united the Tory party. He issued the "Tamworth Declaration" not long ago, asking the whole party to put aside historical baggage and move with the times, but it is just like what Mr. Richard Osler called for.

If the church, monarchs, and nobles are determined to rob the poor of their freedom, wives, and children, such a church will not be the church of Christ, such a monarch will no longer be the monarch of England, and the nobles will no longer be the protectors of the people. Then they do more harm than good. To these most hated enemies, I will shout: 'I will strike them down and throw them all to the ground! ’”

Disraeli was so excited that he stood with one foot on his chair and waved his right hand high, as if he were not standing in the Chancellor's office but in the House of Commons at the Palace of Westminster debating.

"No matter what Peel says, I will put all my reputation on the line and never give an inch to the Whigs on the Poor Law question. Yes, I am standing here and I will fight in the Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. I I will fight in the editorial office of The British, and I will fight in the Palace of Westminster. I will never retreat! Just to protect the ancient morality that has been passed down since the Middle Ages and the entire British people!”

When Arthur saw Disraeli's appearance, he knew that this guy must have been suppressed for more than a year.

Although he was elected as a member of the parliament, he was unable to transform the country according to his own intentions. Instead, he had to watch the trajectory of history slide towards the opposite trajectory. For a young man who harbored dreams of standing shoulder to shoulder with all the great men in the world, this was probably the greatest pain Disraeli encountered in his life.

That feeling was simply more uncomfortable than being attacked by the entire British literary world a few years ago, and even more uncomfortable than being rejected by a noble lady.

After Disraeli finished his mouthful, he noticed that Arthur didn't seem to be in a very high mood.

He looked at the friend in front of him in surprise, who looked very familiar but felt very strange at the same time, and asked: "Arthur, don't you agree with my point of view?"

Arthur just smiled when he heard this: "Of course I agree with you, Benjamin. This is not just because of our friendship. Have you forgotten? As early as the first time we met, you could tell that we We are the same kind of people and our ideals are the same.”

Disraeli frowned and sat down: "Then why don't you cheer for me, or even applaud. You didn't do anything, it seems that the speech I just gave was very inappropriate."

"Of course I can if you want."

Arthur clapped his hands calmly: "I support Mr. Benjamin Disraeli's point of view."

"Come on, it's really disappointing." Disraeli rolled his eyes: "You just don't support me."

"No, quite the opposite."

Arthur commented: "It is precisely because I support you so much that I cannot publicly stand up and applaud you. Benjamin, you cannot use the MP's views to apply the logic of the affairs officer. In the MP's view, applause is support, But for a clerk like me, verbal support means substantive opposition, and verbal opposition means substantive support.”

Disraeli was not stupid. He briefly thought about a few things he had done with Arthur in the past and quickly understood what he meant.

But he still wanted to say: "Arthur, although you have been like this a long time ago. But since you asked someone to take a shot, you seem to have become more cautious."

Arthur smiled and took a sip of wine: "Not only that, but my attitude towards all radicals is even worse, whether they are radical conservatives or radical liberals, they'd better not fall into my hands, Otherwise, they look good.”

Disraeli couldn't help but smile: "On this point, I fully support you, and I have the honor to inform you that our old friend Charles Dickens also did the same. Ever since Charles saw the draft of the new Poor Law In the end, Charles, a former Whig supporter, was almost crushed. He had once naively believed that the Whigs were a better choice than the Tories, but he now understood that he was wrong.

If the New Poor Law were successfully passed, not only would the wage subsidy be abolished, but outdoor relief would no longer exist. All poor people were sent to workhouses for forced labor, whether they hated it or liked it. Well, now, they helped the Whigs during the parliamentary reform last year, which made you get shot under the Tower of London. What are they for? In order to send himself to the workhouse for forced labor! "

Arthur sighed softly: "Is the bill really unstoppable?"

"Although I am a staunch opponent of the new Poor Law, I cannot distort reality because of my personal feelings. I have to be honest and say that the current situation is very bad. Since the parliamentary reform, the middle class has the most voting rights. And their support for the New Poor Law is also the strongest. In their words, the government cannot spend six to seven million pounds a year to support lazy people, and taxpayers' money should not be spent on this."

Disraeli fanned the wind with his hat dejectedly: "But although there is no way to stop the trend, we still plan to do something. Arthur, I rarely praise a person, but I must say, you were in London last year What we did down there inspired us. Charles, Alfred, and I, the three of us, are going to imitate you, imitate Don Quixote in charging at the windmill, and try to stop this bill.

The three of us are preparing for the serialization of new works. Charles has already gone to workhouses in various places to conduct research. According to him, he plans to write a novel with the orphans of the workhouse as the protagonist. The tentative title of the work is "The Twist" orphan". Alfred planned to serialize a series of rural poems denouncing the evils of large-scale industrialization.

As for me, my new work "Coningsby, or the Young Generation" will detail the political tolerance that has long been included in the British aristocratic spirit, highlighting the Tories' always moderate, conservative and compromising political image. If I had published this book before the parliamentary reform, I would have been scolded by everyone. But after the new Poor Law is passed, those people will know that everything I say is true. "

At this point, Disraeli also suggested: "Arthur, your book "The Detectives of Hastings" is almost over. Are you willing to work with us to unify our position on the issue of the Poor Law? "

Disraeli thought Arthur would agree immediately, but unexpectedly he saw Arthur shake his head slightly.

Disraeli asked puzzled: "Why?"

Arthur stood up and paced with his hands behind his back: "Because someone has to stab you in the back. And my reputation in the literary world is far less than that of Charles, Alfred and you, so I don't need to get involved. The most important thing is , I think that for such an important matter as the New Poor Law, maybe even "Blackwood" will unite with us "British".

After all, even you three moderates can't stand this bill. How could Southey, Coleridge, and Wordsworth, the three Lakeside poets, be able to stand it? From what I know of Blackwood, as soon as the new Poor Law is enacted, they will definitely start firing on Whitehall. "

"Oh, Arthur, you guessed it wrong."

Disraeli put a hand on the back of his chair: "Now they are firing. You judged them very accurately. Southey, Coleridge and Wordsworth were already mad. They said frankly The Platts are a bunch of robbers. I rarely support Blackwood, but I have to applaud them this time.”

Arthur nodded slightly: "I think most people in the British literary world will not agree with the new poor law. Judging from the content of the bill, most of the people pushing this bill are political economists who believe in utilitarianism. I have already See the Malthusian followers cheering in the House of Commons."

Disraeli pinched his nose in disgust: "Arthur, you should really stand out to elect members. You are absolutely right. The Abolition Act, the Factory Act, and the New Poor Law are the Holy Trinity of British economics. , most of the followers of Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus agreed on these three bills and they were completely united.

What's even more abominable is that together, they control almost the entire British banking industry, import and export trade, and industrial production. Nothing can shake the huge power of their merger. I can't say that I completely oppose their opinions, but if I had to choose, I would rather not pass the "Abolition of Slavery Act" than enact a "New Poor Law."

And the money saved on the Abolition Act, I will use to invest in education. After the Factory Act is passed, there will definitely be a lot of uneducated kids on the streets, and I will put them all into schools. Arthur, do you know what I discovered while traveling all this way? I found that even the Germans and the French attach more importance to education than we do! "

Disraeli emphasized: "If we attach importance to education like the Germans and the French, and encourage common experience and common culture in school textbooks, then in forty or fifty years, there will be no Irish separatists. Look at Germany, there are so many countries in the German region, and the residents of the Alsace-Lorraine region of France can't even speak French, but the Germans think of unity in their heads, while the Alsace and Lorraine people think they are French! And in Britain? The Scots speak English, but they would rather think of themselves as donkeys than stand with their English brothers. "

Arthur certainly knew that what Disraeli said was true.

Everyone knows that the British government is not only very stingy in terms of education investment, but also quite averse to adding patriotism education to textbooks, which is widely regarded as a disgusting means of autocracy and centralization in British society. Perhaps because of the remnants of medieval feudal consciousness, the upper class believes that patriotism is the business of aristocratic gentlemen, and the lower class thinks the same.

In other words, patriotism is a right in Britain, and only when you reach a certain social class are you qualified to be patriotic.

Therefore, except for those old aristocratic schools, such as Harrow School and Eton College, other schools rarely talk about the magnificent British Empire in history classes.

Even if we have to talk about history, we basically talk about Britain. In ancient history, the colonies of the empire were only mentioned in passing, and the main point was what kind of free order the empire brought to these places, and we should cherish such free spirit and other remarks.

Even for a college student like Arthur who completed higher education at the University of London, the book "History of England" by David Hume that he learned at the university must be quite strange in the eyes of other countries.

Because in this 3,500-page magnum opus, only 15 pages talk about the British Empire and overseas colonies, and the rest of the book basically talks about the changes in the social structure, legal system and religious beliefs in Britain.

If this book was written by a German or a Frenchman, no matter how free-spirited this person is, it is absolutely impossible to only talk about 15 pages.

When Arthur first discovered this phenomenon, he thought it might be because David Hume believed that overseas colonization was not a glorious cause, so he did not take the initiative to mention it. But soon, he found in the library of the University of London that almost all scholars wrote "British History" in this way.

When Arthur entered Scotland Yard, he had the opportunity to contact Whitehall Street again.

One time when he walked into the Colonial Affairs Department for some official business, this top student of history finally confirmed: so many "British History" did not mention overseas colonies not because of the high moral level of scholars, but because most British people's concept of colonies and the British Empire was limited to verbal bragging, and when it came to the practical level, they were most concerned about trade issues. .

It is hard for ordinary people to imagine that the Colonial Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which manages tens of millions of square kilometers of colonies in the British Empire, only includes:

a Secretary of State, a Deputy Secretary, a Permanent Secretary, a Chief Clerk, 17 Clerks, a Lawyer, a Librarian and his Assistant, a Registrar and his Assistant, a Minister's Private Secretary, a Recorder, a Butler, and then two office cleaners and two porters, a total of 31 people.

When Arthur discovered this fact, the York pig farmer, who had always been proud of being able to manage hundreds of pigs, felt ashamed, and he sincerely began to repent for his previous ridicule of the inefficiency of Whitehall Street.

At this moment, Arthur deeply realized what it meant to be a seventh-rank official in front of the Prime Minister.

Because, if calculated according to the population of the colonies, even the two cleaners and two porters of the Colonial Office were responsible for managing at least millions of people.

However, despite the shortage of manpower, the Colonial Office was still able to manage the British Empire in an orderly manner and manipulate the East India Company, Levant Company and other franchise companies at its fingertips. This has to be said to be a miracle in social management in the 19th century.

Whenever the Palace of Westminster discussed the management and legislation of the colonies, there would always be a lot of empty seats in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. These people were not at all concerned about the colonies.

The Parliament and the Colonial Office were so careless, and the whole British society was so indifferent to the colonies. It was no wonder that Disraeli was so angry and pointed directly at the British education problem.

After all, according to Arthur's understanding of him, although Benjamin looked unreliable and often dressed himself up like a peacock with a spread tail, he was dreaming of an empire like Augustus and Caesar in his heart.

As an unsociable imperialist, it was not difficult to understand that he envied the patriotic education of Germany and France.

Disraeli asked directly: "Arthur, to tell you the truth, I came to Göttingen not only to connect with old friends, but also to conduct in-depth research on education issues in Germany. If possible, I hope you can allow me to enter and leave the University of Göttingen at will and open your library to me. If possible, I would also like to communicate more with your history professors.”

Arthur certainly had no reason to refuse Disraeli's request. If he could really take advantage of this research opportunity to propose a feasible education reform bill in the UK, that would definitely be a good thing.

Although this may bring some unknown side effects, politics has always been the art of manipulating possibilities. No bill is beneficial or harmless. In most cases, everyone just presses the gourd and floats the gourd, muddling along and getting through this section first.

"Of course, it would be a pleasure, Benjamin."

Arthur stood up with a smile and said: "I said, I am your most enthusiastic supporter. And I am also very happy to see that once again, we both have the same views. At this moment when the Tory Party is falling apart, you Not only was he not knocked down by the difficulties, but he persevered, which is really gratifying!”

Arthur was chatting and laughing with Disraeli, and he was about to take Disraeli to the School of Philosophy to meet the professors.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the door, he found someone arguing in the corridor.

"As for the procurement of experimental equipment, we have decided to contact British manufacturers. Why do you continue to struggle here?"

"But, sir! I know that British instruments are first-class, but this does not mean that German manufacturing will be any worse! And look at the price, look at the price of our instruments, the products quoted by our factory are comparable to those of British products. It’s so much cheaper. The most important thing is that we are willing to provide a five-year warranty, which is completely free and will not charge any more.”

"Stop talking, Superintendent Hastings will not agree. He said that the pursuit of the University of Göttingen is to be the highest and strongest. Even if we don't use British products, it is impossible to place an order with a small Prussian factory. Friedrich Krupp Steel Foundry, I have never heard of the name of your factory. Where did you get the news that we are going to purchase products?”

"Sir, what do you think of this? I can give you another 10% discount, or you can let me go to see Superintendent Hastings. Regardless of whether I convince him or not, I can give it to you afterwards..."

"You are simply talking nonsense! You don't even look 20 years old. What right do you have to give preferential prices on behalf of your factory? I think you are probably a liar! Are you leaving? If you don't leave, I will call the police "