SGB Chapter 277

## Chapter 277: Arthur Hastings, A Man of Patriotic Concern (5K4)

Arthur did not panic as Palmerston expected when he heard his words.

Since joining Scotland Yard and patrolling the East End at night a few times, Arthur had realized that the difference between people wasn’t as significant as he imagined, especially when it came to mental fortitude. It was something that could be trained.

As a seasoned Scotland Yard officer, he believed that threats like treason were far less direct than having a thug from the East End holding a knife to his throat.

Arthur simply chuckled, “Of course, sir, I understand your concern about the recent London public opinion. The citizens, driven by their simple sense of morality, want to pressure the government into doing something for the Polish people. However, limited by their level of understanding, they don’t know the true situation in Poland as well as you do. Therefore, as long as someone with ulterior motives stirs the pot in the media, it’s easy to incite the London citizens’ antagonism.”

Palmerston smiled contentedly, “That’s right, Arthur. Not all citizens have the ability to discern the truth. The Foreign Office possesses more specific information. From what we know so far, the actual situation in Poland is clearly not as exaggerated as the newspapers and magazines report.”

Arthur stared at the dark red wine swirling in his glass, smiling as he replied, “Of course, that’s why I think it’s a good thing that these reports about Poland appeared in the *Briton*.”

“Huh?” Palmerston’s pouring motion suddenly paused. He laughed, “Arthur, what do you mean by that?”

Arthur replied, “As I just told you, I also serialize novels in the *Briton*. Moreover, due to the public’s favor, my novel is quite popular.

Sir, you know, this era is different from before. Nowadays, people judge one’s status not only by their natural lineage and the power they hold, but also by their ability to make money, which is a very important measure.

Coincidentally, I’m very good at making money for the *Briton*. As a result, I have a little bit of say in the *Briton* editorial department. If those articles about Poland were published in the *Times*, I would probably be helpless.

Because, as you know, freedom of the press was a bill that the Whigs strongly advocated for during the Tory government. Scotland Yard cannot overturn the achievements of the current ruling party, and that’s not something that should involve the police.

Not to mention, with the influence of the *Times*, if our officers step into the editorial office today, they’ll be condemned as authoritarian gendarmes on eight or seven pages tomorrow. But the situation with the *Briton* is clearly different. If the articles are published in the *Briton*, as their main pillar and one of the shareholders, I naturally have the right to make some modifications and suggestions regarding the content of each issue of the magazine.

You are dissatisfied with the articles published in the *Briton* by Prince Czartoryski and Louis Bonaparte. You can find me and convey the Foreign Office’s dissatisfaction to the *Briton* editorial department.

But if the *Briton* directly rejects their manuscripts, and they turn to the *Times* and the *Manchester Guardian*, what should we do then? Even if you can continue to exert pressure on these two newspapers in other areas, frankly, based on my experience in Scotland Yard over the past few years, sales are the lifeblood of the news media.

As long as they can boost sales, there will always be newspapers willing to publish their articles. Even if the *Times* and the *Manchester Guardian* don’t publish them, there will always be a bunch of fearless people in other tabloids. Haha, I don’t know if you’ve heard of William Cobbett of the *Poor Man’s Politics Monthly* and Hetherington of the *Poor Man’s Guardian*. They are both typical examples of fearless individuals.

The most troublesome thing is that I heard Mr. Cobbett is actively running for Parliament and, according to recent polls, he has a good chance of winning. Before he became a Member of Parliament, Mr. Cobbett dared to sharply criticize the government and the army’s corruption, for which he was imprisoned for two years. After his release, not only did his attitude not soften, but it became even more arrogant.

Mr. Cobbett was like this without a parliamentary seat. If he is elected as a Member of Parliament, then Scotland Yard will… Sir, you must have heard about the Bernie Harrison case a while back. The officers are still haunted by it.”

Palmerston leaned back on the couch and pondered, holding his wine glass.

As Arthur said, there were countless newspapers and magazines in London criticizing the issue of Poland recently. However, the identities of the authors of the *Economist*, a supplement to the *Briton*, were simply too sensitive, which is why Palmerston had his eyes on them.

But thinking about it from another perspective, even if the *Briton* didn’t publish those articles, other newspapers would. If they really turn to Cobbett and Hetherington, those two stubborn rocks, then the Foreign Office would indeed be helpless.

Firstly, these two are not strangers to prison and have no official positions, so they are not afraid of being arrested at all.

Secondly, Hetherington’s *Poor Man’s Guardian* is an illegal tabloid that doesn’t pay stamp tax. It’s cheap, highly mobile, has a wide circulation, and is notoriously difficult to suppress.

As for Cobbett’s *Poor Man’s Politics Monthly*, it’s even worse. Although it’s a legitimate publication, Cobbett himself enjoys a high reputation in Britain. He is not only a well-known political activist and writer but also a representative of the British radical petty bourgeoisie.

In other words, William Cobbett is a political ally of the Whigs in the parliamentary reform movement. Arresting him would be tantamount to openly challenging Prime Minister Earl Grey.

Although Palmerston dislikes Cobbett, it would be too provocative to force the Prime Minister to reshuffle the cabinet for such a minor matter and remove his hat as Foreign Secretary.

Moreover, as Arthur said, it’s almost impossible for Scotland Yard to suppress a highly likely parliamentary candidate. Chief Rowan is not as blindly loyal to him as Inspector Clemens. If it has no impact on both sides, Rowan and Scotland Yard wouldn’t mind doing Palmerston a favor.

But for something that could potentially backfire on Scotland Yard, even if Palmerston argued until he was blue in the face, they wouldn’t do it. Of course, if Palmerston could directly persuade Viscount Melbourne, the Home Secretary, to issue a written order to Scotland Yard, then they could do it through gritted teeth.

However, although Viscount Melbourne is a bit lazy, often falling asleep during parliamentary meetings, it doesn’t mean he’s oblivious.

As a rational politician, a man who could remain unfazed for over a decade despite his wife’s extramarital affair with Lord Byron, Viscount Melbourne is not so naive as to voluntarily stir up trouble for his sister’s lover.

This is why Palmerston bypassed Melbourne and privately summoned Arthur today. He simply wanted to gauge his opinion.

Seeing that Arthur wasn’t falling for it, Palmerston changed his approach, “Well… I have to say, Arthur, there’s a reason why so many prominent figures admire you. What you said makes some sense, but even if their articles aren’t published in the *Briton*’s supplement, they won’t find many good places to go. Are you sure Cobbett or Hetherington would accept them?”

Hearing that Palmerston’s attitude had softened, Arthur seized the opportunity to push further. He asked, “Sir, do you know about the Westminster Union?”

Palmerston took a sip of red wine and said, “Of course I do. They’re all gentlemen. But it would be even better if they could be more friendly to me. However… why are you suddenly mentioning these gentlemen?”

The Westminster Union, which Arthur and Palmerston mentioned, is familiar to everyone in the London political circle, even Elder is aware of this organization.

The reason is simple: Jeremy Bentham, the father of the University of London, is one of the founders of the Westminster Union.

And Mr. Hunt, the MP who attacked Palmerston’s stance on the Polish issue in the House of Commons, and William Cobbett, the founder of the *Poor Man’s Politics Monthly* who Palmerston feared, are also members of this organization.

However, Arthur is not referring to them right now.

Arthur said, “The reason why the *Briton* published articles about Poland is that there are many hidden agendas. After all, the *Briton* was originally just a fashion novel magazine. We don’t really want to be involved in politics. But the situation is stronger than people. Just like Britain’s foreign policy, we have to adapt to changes in the situation.”

Palmerston smiled slightly, “Arthur, are you having some difficulties? If so, just speak up. Whatever I can help with, you just ask.”

The Red Devil, standing beside him, couldn’t help but slap his thigh and laugh, “Arthur, this bull-headed man is quite interesting. He clearly wants to probe for information, but in his mouth, it becomes helping you with your troubles. He gets to say all the good things. No wonder he can be Foreign Secretary!”

Arthur just smiled and replied, “Thank you for your concern, but since the *Briton* has already taken on this pressure, it’s best not to break its balance. Let me tell you the truth. You may have noticed that there have been a lot of articles about Polish refugees in the *Briton* lately.

The reason these articles appeared is because Mr. Thomas Campbell, a member of the Westminster Union, approached us. Oh, by the way, you may not know, Mr. Campbell founded a Polish Friends Literary Association out of sympathy for the Polish people. Almost all of our Polish authors come from there.

Mr. Campbell told us that these Polish refugees have lost their livelihoods, and many are struggling to survive. So he wanted to use his old friendship from the University of London to contact me, hoping that I would agree to let these refugees use their skills to write some novels or something to supplement their income and help their compatriots.

The *Briton* editorial department discussed it and felt that from a literary perspective, as long as the quality of the work is up to par, it doesn’t matter where the author is from. There’s no reason to prevent them from earning royalties from us.

My consideration was, if I, representing the *Briton*, rejected Mr. Campbell, they would definitely go to Mr. Cobbett, also a member of the Westminster Union, and ask him to allow them to publish these articles in the *Poor Man’s Politics Monthly*.

Once the articles fall into Cobbett’s hands, I wouldn’t even have the power to suggest edits. Sir, you can surely understand this. This would be disastrous for cabinet policy.

It’s better to keep the enemy’s weapon in our own hands than to give it to an emotionally unstable madman. Therefore, even though we had to sacrifice some objectivity and fairness of the *Briton*, as well as some of our newly established reputation in the literary world, the editorial department ultimately decided to reluctantly launch the supplement called the *Economist*.”

At this point, Arthur paused deliberately. He continued, “Sir, you might think the articles published in the *Briton* are too radical. But I bet you, if you had seen the original manuscripts, you might have fainted.”

Palmerston furrowed his brows slightly, “You mean the articles in the *Briton* are edited?”

“Of course.” Arthur nodded seriously, “That’s already the third version. We have done our best to remove a lot of controversial language.”

“Hmm…” Palmerston took a deep breath, “So Thomas Campbell is also involved in this?”

Thomas Campbell is not a particularly difficult person for Palmerston to deal with, but his identity as a co-founder of the University of London makes Palmerston have to think carefully. Because another co-founder of the University of London is sitting in the Lord Chancellor’s Hall right now.

Or rather…

Palmerston looked up and scrutinized Arthur’s clear gaze. From those bright eyes, shimmering with a faint red glow, he finally sensed something amiss.

Palmerston was suspicious, “Could this represent part of Brougham’s intention?”

It’s nothing to intimidate an ordinary Scotland Yard constable, but Palmerston hasn’t made up his mind to intimidate the powerful Lord Chancellor of Britain, nor does he intend to start a war between the Foreign Office and the Lord Chancellor’s Hall.

After much deliberation, he finally stood up and bid farewell to Arthur, “Arthur, your insights are very valuable. I also believe it’s better to keep these Polish people in our hands than to push them to Cobbett. Publishing those things in the *Briton*, undoubtedly, you made the right choice this time.”

Arthur also stood up with a smile, “I heard you’ve been under attack recently for refusing to allocate funds to Polish refugees. I have a small suggestion for that. Of course, this is only if you’re willing to listen.”

Palmerston flatly denied, “Oh, Arthur, don’t listen to those unfounded words. I sympathize with the Polish people just as much. Not allocating funds is not because I dislike them, but because our finances are also very tight. You may not know, I invited many Poles to dinner last week. That was all paid for by myself. Of course, if you have any suggestions that might improve the lives of Polish refugees, I would be happy to hear them.”

Arthur smiled and said, “I knew you must have your reasons. Tight finances are indeed a major factor. Our Scotland Yard’s budget is also chronically tight. So, as you said, I think, if we can’t directly subsidize the refugees, why not have you act as a matchmaker, allowing them to earn a living by writing manuscripts or something?

As the saying goes, ‘No work, no food.’ That’s the truth since ancient times. Although our *Briton* has limited space, we can still squeeze out some space for them. Sir, it’s really unfair to see you under such attack from Parliament. If you can recommend three or two more Polish authors, it will not only reduce their risk, but also improve your current public opinion. Why not do it?”

Palmerston didn’t pay much attention to Arthur’s suggestion at first. He thought it was just a casual remark. But when he heard this, his mind started to work.

After all, he never intended to allocate funds to Poland from the beginning. If he could pick two or three lucky Poles in exchange for a news headline like “Justice Minister Personally Places Polish Refugees,” it seems like a practical and economical deal.

Palmerston laughed and walked forward, affectionately patting Arthur’s shoulder, “Arthur, it’s a blessing for Britain to have such a righteous officer like you. If the *Briton* is willing to accept a few Poles, I must thank you on behalf of the suffering Polish people. However, I think those Polish people who are capable of writing poetry and painting have probably all been absorbed by the Polish Friends Literary Association. Do you still have relatively low-end jobs there? Like cleaners or tea ladies or something?”

Arthur smiled and agreed, “Actually, the editorial department’s cleaning work was originally handled by our literary editors. But, if you think the Polish people need it, I’ll discuss it with them later. In principle, I think cleaners and tea ladies are also acceptable. By the way, I’m also recruiting maids recently. If you’re so eager to help the Polish people, I’m willing to offer those two positions.”

“Look! Look! Arthur, that’s you, always thinking of the country’s well-being! The Belgian problem was you, and now the Polish problem is you too. I told you, you were born to do diplomacy.”

Arthur humbly said, “Sir, you’re exaggerating.”

“This isn’t an exaggeration, I’m speaking from the bottom of my heart.”

Palmerston beamed, “Of course, although you and the *Briton* editorial department are willing to help the country, the Foreign Office will also consider your needs. We will try our best to screen them and do our utmost to provide a satisfactory answer for both you and the Polish people. After all, there’s no point in having so many cleaners and maids. And from the perspective of helping the Polish people, having more cleaners is definitely not as helpful as having more novelists.”

Arthur smiled and nodded, “That’s true, from a propaganda perspective.”

Palmerston coughed, then took out his pocket watch and glanced at it. “If my schedule allows, I can start working on this soon. By the way, Arthur, do you have Prince Czartoryski’s address? I plan to visit him soon to offer my condolences and ask him if there are any Polish young talents worth recommending.”

Arthur simply reached into his tailcoat pocket and took out a small address book. He flipped open a page, tore it along the edge, and placed it on the coffee table with a smile.

“Sir, then, bon voyage.”

(End of chapter)