Shadow of great britain

In the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sir Peel was sitting on a chair, carefully reading a series of investigation reports submitted by Scotland Yard on the body-stealing and murder cases.

On his right hand was a proposal to amend the Anatomy Act drafted by Arthur.

The proposed revisions elaborated on what Arthur had learned from the community of doctors and gravediggers, such as the necessity of cadavers for the development of medicine, the insufficient supply of cadavers, and the legal access to hospitals, prisons, and workhouses for anatomy schools in other continental European countries. Critical information such as those unclaimed bodies.

In light of the changes to the Bloody Act, there will only be fewer legal sources of autopsy bodies from now on.

Therefore, in order to avoid a recurrence of large-scale corpse theft and murder cases like this one, we should refer to the European experience to expand the legal sources of autopsy corpses.

On the other hand, differentiated punishments should be imposed on those groups who profit from corpses.

Finally, Arthur also pointed out the theme at the end of the report - to use the dead and unclaimed bodies of the poor in exchange for the survival rights of the poor who are still alive.

After reading these documents, Sir Peel covered his forehead and spoke to Arthur, who was sitting opposite him.

"Arthur, it's not that we don't understand these things. Ever since the Edinburgh Burke case occurred a few years ago, we have been considering expanding the legal sources of corpses.

But you know, British people have deep-rooted prejudices against anatomy. They generally believe that the body is the most ancient and sacred symbol of a person, and our cultural customs still retain many requirements for funeral rituals.

Therefore, it is difficult for us to completely refer to the experience of other European countries to create a system for using unclaimed corpses for autopsies.

And those who oppose this bill include not only the clergy, but also many people in the medical community. Thomas Weekly, the medical expert who is responsible for forming the anatomy ethics inquiry committee this time, is one of the staunch opponents.

He made a special speech in the House of Commons on this issue. He believed that the Anatomy Bill was supposed to remove the deep-rooted resentment and prejudice against dissection, but we had added a false enthusiasm to it. This led the public, especially the poor, to believe that their rulers were selling their bodies to anatomists to have their bodies mutilated.

He also felt that if the Anatomy Act was voted on and officially enacted, it would only bring shame to medical researchers like him, who would use unclaimed corpses from workhouses and hospitals for dissection research. , not only immoral, but also anti-human.

Even a few years ago, when the Duke of Wellington had just formed his cabinet, the Anatomy Act was unable to advance smoothly.

As for the current time... it is too sensitive. Even if I am willing to fully support your opinion, the other cabinet members are not willing to continue to tease the public's sensitivities.

I know you mean well, but Arthur, at least not right now, I'm sorry. But I can promise you that I will consider this issue carefully, but when to move forward will require an appropriate time. "

Arthur certainly understood the subtext of Sir Peel's words.

The Tories were now unable to secure even half the seats in the House of Commons, and the prelates in the House of Lords were already furious over the Catholic Act.

If the Anatomy Act is thrown in their faces again at this time, I am afraid that the archbishops will personally organize believers to take to the streets to protest.

Arthur nodded and said calmly: "It doesn't matter, I understand you. But please also understand that it is Scotland Yard's responsibility to submit this report, and we must conduct a detailed analysis of the cause of the case.

As it is said in our police manual, the goal of the police is to reduce the crime rate. Only by solving the needs of doctors can the incidence of body robbery and murder be reduced. "

Sir Peel nodded in approval and said: "Yes, only by solving the demand problem can such crimes be eliminated. However, although I cannot promote the anatomy bill, I can first try to promote the differentiated punishment issue you mentioned before.

Before the Anatomy Act can be passed, we can try to guide those criminals to steal corpses instead of killing people.

For those doctors who used the corpses of homicide victims, I will also try my best to use the influence of the cabinet and parliament to put pressure on relevant colleges and hospitals to remove these people from their teaching positions and make them pay the price.

In this way, from now on, when doctors purchase corpses of unknown origin, they will be forced to consider carefully or at least they must be sure that these corpses do not come from homicide cases. "

Arthur nodded. For him, today's conversation with Sir Pierre had achieved some results. At least it made him realize the importance of this type of case.

That's enough.

Having said this, Sir Peel suddenly spoke again: "Arthur, no matter what, your work this time is outstanding and productive. I can tell you something for the Duke of Wellington. He appreciates your work very much." Ability. So, soon, he will have a new task for you."

"New mission?" Arthur frowned and thought for a moment: "Scotland Yard should not have encountered any difficult cases recently. Which problem are you talking about?"

"No, no, no, it's not a case."

Sir Peel smiled and said: "It is the security of the venue for a large-scale event. You should know that the railway from Liverpool to Manchester is about to be completed, right? The Duke of Wellington plans to use this event to meet with former Minister of State Huskisson Ease relations.

After comprehensive consideration of the local police force, the Ministry of Internal Affairs felt that it was most appropriate to dispatch Scotland Yard's capable police officers to the scene to maintain order. And when we asked Mr. Duke for his personal opinion, the first thing he thought of was you. "

When Arthur heard this, he probably understood what was going on.

William Huskisson is a well-known figure in the Tory party, but this man's position is very strange. He is a liberal in the Tory party.

The Tory Party itself is considered an ultra-conservative party, but after the Peterloo massacre that year, there was a considerable degree of division within the Tory Party.

A group of Tory liberals who sympathized with the injured workers and believed that the party's policies must be adjusted was separated.

This liberal Tory group was led by former Prime Minister George Canning, former Secretary of State William Huskisson and Sir Robert Peel.

In the cabinet organized by Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, in 1822, the Tory Liberals won a great victory. George Canning was in charge of foreign affairs and also served as leader of the House of Commons, William Huskisson was in charge of trade, and Robert Peel was in charge of trade. He became Minister of the Interior and continues to do so to this day.

During these three terms, they opposed the conservative policies of the Tories. George Canning revised foreign policy and actively supported the independence movements in South America and Greece.

William Huskisson advocated free trade and drastically repealed 70% to 80% of the regulations in the Navigation Act, so that most goods destined for the British colonies no longer needed to be transshipped through Britain.

Sir Peel has been actively promoting the abolition of the Bloody Act since he took office, and has achieved fruitful results some time ago. Counting previous efforts, Sir Peel has abolished more than 100 capital crimes. In addition, he has also been committed to improving prison conditions.

However, of this liberal Tory group, only Sir Peel remains in the cabinet.

George Canning died of illness during his tenure as Prime Minister a few years ago.

Huskisson, on the other hand, led his supporters to quit the cabinet in anger because the Duke of Wellington, a conservative representative of the Tory Party, came to power.

Only Sir Peel, because of his good personal relationship with the Duke of Wellington, stayed on at the invitation of the other party.

Logically speaking, with the Duke of Wellington's character, it is simply incredible that he is willing to take the initiative to reconcile with Huskisson.

But on the other hand, this can also explain the embarrassing situation of Wellington's cabinet at this time.

A "Catholic Emancipation Act" can be said to have offended all the ultra-conservatives in the party. So according to this trend, does the Duke of Wellington want to switch to the liberals?

Arthur was still thinking about it.

Suddenly, I heard rapid footsteps coming from outside the door.

Sir Peel's personal secretary opened the door and said anxiously: "Sir, the Duke of Wellington has urgently summoned you to No. 10 Downing Street."

Upon hearing this, Sir Pierre stood up and took his coat off the hanger: "What happened?"

The private secretary's face was full of anxiety: "Oh, our king passed away at Windsor Castle!"