SGB Chapter 308

## Chapter 308: The Timely Rain, Hastings (4K2)

“Mr. Faraday, please wait a moment.”

Several Home Office clerks were sweating profusely. This was the first time Arthur had seen officials from the higher department behave so uncharacteristically.

Normally, when Arthur visited the Home Office, these guys would always look down their noses at Scotland Yard’s external personnel.

If it wasn’t for the worsening security situation in London, and Scotland Yard’s importance being increasingly highlighted, Arthur wouldn’t even be able to meet these guys without a prior appointment and queuing up.

The clerks rushed to intercept Faraday, their faces plastered with smiles. The lead clerk even pulled out the envelope containing the cheque from his pocket and, in the most humble tone he’d ever used, pleaded:

“Mr. Faraday, I swear to God on my honor, the Minister has absolutely no intention of belittling scientific researchers. Everyone knows that scientists from the Royal Society play a crucial role in Britain. Although the Linnaean Society, the Geological Society, and the Astronomical Society are equally important, in our opinion, the Royal Society remains the brightest star in Britain’s constellation of countless scientific organizations. How could Viscount Melbourne possibly look down on a researcher from the Royal Society? You must have misunderstood his meaning.”

The other clerks joined in with their own flattering remarks.

“Indeed, first there was Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, then Henry Cavendish, John Dalton, and your mentor, Sir Humphry Davy. And now, the Royal Society is yours. Scientists from the Royal Society have contributed to Britain with the concept of chemical elements, the discovery of universal gravitation, the calculation of Earth’s mass, the atomic theory, and the dawn of the era of studying chemistry through electrolysis. And you have added the theory of electromagnetic induction to this already towering skyscraper that reaches for the clouds.”

“My God! Mr. Faraday, you are creating a century!”

“The Cabinet has always valued the development of science, and would never ignore those scientific researchers who have made significant contributions to the world while still living in poverty. Moreover, I think, under the current circumstances, if Britain can only give one person a scientific grant, I think that person must be you.”

“Mr. Faraday, I won’t hide it any longer. I am also one of your countless followers. If anyone insults you, I am willing to fight a duel on your behalf. But Viscount Melbourne is definitely not that kind of person. You just need to pay a little attention and you’ll realize he is a very approachable and socially courteous gentleman.”

However, no matter how the clerks tried to smooth things over with their sweet words, Faraday refused to budge.

Faraday raised his hand to stop them: “Regarding the scientific grant, I have left a note for Viscount Melbourne. If he thinks he can summon and dismiss scientific researchers at will, then I’m sorry, I cannot accept the grant. I will not sell my precious time and the dignity of being an ordinary person for a little bit of money.”

With that, Faraday walked straight through the clerks. No matter how they tried to persuade him, he did not look back.

The audience who had attended the scientific lecture saw this scene and the gentlemen and ladies couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment. Everyone was wondering what had happened and why Mr. Faraday, who was always so good-tempered, was suddenly angry.

Among the crowd, a few gentlemen saw this and exchanged knowing smiles. They pulled out small notebooks and pens from their coat pockets and chased after Faraday as he left.

The disheartened clerks caught sight of the gentlemen and slapped their foreheads in dismay.

“I know those guys. They are reporters from the London Morning Post and the Illustrated News!”

“Damn it! Those unscrupulous things will definitely spill the beans.”

“We have to find a way. The Melbourne affair hasn’t come out yet. If we add this Faraday incident now, he’ll have a knife stuck in every part of his body.”

“Will the Home Secretary position be replaced because of this?”

“Such a small matter won’t cause the Prime Minister to reshuffle the cabinet, but if Viscount Melbourne is in a bad mood, we will definitely be given a ‘poor performance’ hat. He has only been in the Home Secretary position for a year, and we have a long time to deal with him.”

“These goddamn reporters, they’re like flies, you fart and they smell it. They love the heavy stuff. Why don’t they just drink two gallons of Thames water? It’s not a limited edition!”

“Stop swearing. Let’s find a way to handle them first. Faraday seems determined now. We can only start with the reporters. Do you have any ideas?”

“Ideas? Of course. Reporters, they just want money. Their professional ethics are no better than those of a prostitute. Thankfully, we only met a few small-time reporters today, not Thomas Barnes from The Times.”

“What’s the difference between Barnes and a small-time reporter?”

“Of course, Barnes is the editor-in-chief, and he’s from The Times, so he’s not short of money, he’s already starting to build a facade!”

The clerks were grumbling when a calm, even voice reached their ears.

“Excuse me, I seem to have heard someone mention the word ‘prostitute.’ According to the recently passed Act of Parliament and the Home Office’s newly revised Town Police Clauses Act, this term is now officially banned due to its insulting connotations and unique social stigma. Under the provisions of the Act, anyone or any social group using this word will be subject to three to seven days of hard labor. So…”

The clerks turned to see the young officer with the bandage around his neck and his deputy, who had appeared beside them at some point.

“Inspector Hastings? And… Constable Bonaparte?”

Arthur was pretending to supervise Louis in writing a statement. When he heard this, he raised his head in feigned surprise and asked, “Do you know me?”

The clerk recognized Arthur’s face, was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in delight, “It’s really you!”

Arthur frowned and remained silent for a while, then suddenly said, “Sir, it’s no use trying to curry favor with the police after being caught red-handed. Looking at your attire, you should be a decent person. If you don’t want to be sentenced to hard labor, you can pay a fine. Considering you are a first offender and the circumstances are relatively minor, you just have to promise not to repeat the offense and pay three shillings, and we’ll let it go.”

The clerk hurriedly defended himself: “Mr. Hastings, have you forgotten? We’ve met before. You came to the Home Office to submit the equipment requirements for the Criminal Investigation Department at the beginning of the year. I am Frank Bart, from the Home Office.”

“Frank Bart?” Arthur frowned and pondered for a moment, “Submit equipment requirements? Sorry, it’s been too long. Can you give me more details?”

The clerk quickly added, “It was raining that day, and the wind was strong. There was a problem with the format of your equipment list. You had to run back and forth on Whitehall Street several times. You even fell once. It wasn’t until the fourth trip that…”

The clerk stopped before Arthur could tell him to shut up.

Bart said awkwardly, “Mr. Hastings, if it’s about that, then I apologize. But you have to understand, these are departmental regulations, and we are just following procedures.”

Before Arthur could speak, Louis, who had already finished writing the statement, tore off the page from the notebook and said to Arthur, “Officer, according to regulations, we need to escort Mr. Bart to Scotland Yard. You are injured and it’s inconvenient for you to move around, why don’t I take care of it?”

Bart quickly changed his tune, “Mr. Hastings, regulations are regulations, but people are flexible. That day, it was mainly because the Home Office’s forms were all used up, otherwise I wouldn’t have asked you to go to the printing house to reprint one. But rest assured, the Home Office has recruited many new people this year, such low-level mistakes will definitely not happen again. Even if they do, they won’t happen to you.”

The young clerk beside him saw that the Scotland Yard inspector could actually ride roughshod over the higher department and couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose slightly.

The lead clerk, seeing this, quickly glared at them, then turned to Arthur with a smile and said, “Inspector Hastings, everyone knows that you are very diligent in your work, and you always like to do everything yourself. But allow me to express some inappropriate opinions. Things like submitting equipment lists, it’s really overkill for a senior officer like you to handle.

But I can also understand, after all, at the beginning of the year, the Criminal Investigation Department was short-staffed, and often you couldn’t find anyone to share the workload. The Home Office will definitely consider this when drawing up the budget for next year. For a crucial department like the Criminal Investigation Department, it is absolutely necessary to add a few clerical positions. Don’t you think so?”

Arthur finally smiled when he heard this. He shook hands with the other man and said, “Thank you for your understanding of the work of the lower departments. Our tasks are indeed very heavy. But considering that the work of other departments is equally challenging, I have been holding back from submitting an expansion request to the Home Office. You proactively proposed adding six clerical positions with the rank of Inspector, which truly solved our urgent needs.”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the other clerks gasped in unison.

They couldn’t believe that Arthur was blackmailing the Home Office with such a small matter, and even dared to ask for six new positions, which had to be at the Inspector’s salary level.

An Inspector’s annual salary and allowance was about 50 pounds, six would be three hundred pounds.

The fine for speaking rudely was only three shillings, a price difference of two thousand times.

Bart, who was still cowering just now, was so angry that his face turned green when he heard the price. He asked, “Mr. Hastings, I know you received a university education. So you should know that three shillings is less than three hundred pounds.”

Arthur said calmly, “The relationship between three and six thousand, professors at the University of London haven’t directly taught me. But as far as I know, the general perception of the Classical Literature Department next door is that what you learn with a tuition fee of twenty-three pounds and six shillings is generally greater than what you learn with one hundred pounds. So I deduce from this that three shillings should also be able to be greater than three hundred pounds.”

“Huh?”

Bart thought Arthur was crazy when he heard this. Just as he was about to make a sarcastic remark, the older clerk beside him readily agreed.

“Of course, the changes in mathematics are always very mysterious. In the hands of a capable person, three shillings can be worth three thousand pounds. In the hands of an incompetent person, thirty thousand pounds is worthless. And that’s why Viscount Melbourne insists on delivering this annual stipend of three hundred pounds to Mr. Faraday’s hands, not anyone else. It’s because we believe that after he gets this money, he can devote himself to science without having to worry about making a living.

Adding six Inspectors for the Criminal Investigation Department is for the same purpose. Mr. Hastings, we think you can use your spare time after freeing yourself from the mountains of paperwork to do something more meaningful, like persuading Mr. Faraday to accept this money.”

With that, the old clerk smoothly pulled out the hot potato containing the cheque and stuffed it into Arthur’s hand. He said in a serious,不容拒絕的語氣, “Mr. Hastings, for the Criminal Investigation Department, and also for the Home Office, you shouldn’t let Viscount Melbourne down.”

Arthur held the envelope and slightly sneered, “Alright, for the sake of everyone working for Britain, what’s going on?”

The old clerk saw that Arthur had accepted the task and breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, “Actually, it’s nothing much, just a little misunderstanding between Viscount Melbourne and Mr. Faraday. You must have heard that the Royal Society’s financial situation has not been very good, and scientists even need to hold regular scientific lectures to raise funds. Therefore, the salaries of scientists from the Royal Society are even less satisfactory.

To solve this problem, Sir Peel publicly appealed to Parliament to establish a special annuity to reward those who have made outstanding contributions to science or literature. This work was eventually handed over to the Home Office. To show our respect for scientists, we also arranged for Viscount Melbourne to visit the Royal Society in person and hand-deliver this annuity to Mr. Faraday, who is first on the list.

However, Viscount Melbourne had some private matters to attend to that day, so he seemed distracted when talking to Mr. Faraday. And Viscount Melbourne himself is not as enthusiastic about science as Sir Peel and his sister, Lady Cowper, so he showed a little bit of frivolity in his words… well, disinterest… what happened after that is what you saw today. Faraday was angered.”

Arthur couldn’t help but frown when he heard this.

If these words hadn’t come from a senior Home Office clerk, Arthur would definitely have thought he was being lied to.

Because, based on his interactions with Viscount Melbourne, the gentle, soft-spoken nobleman, even if he really didn’t care about the scientists’ salaries, wouldn’t show it in front of others.

After all, he was an old hand who had been playing the political game for decades. If Melbourne was really stupid, he wouldn’t have been able to reach the position of Home Secretary.

Arthur couldn’t help but ask, “You said Viscount Melbourne was distracted by some private matters. Can I know what they are?”

The clerk hesitated when he heard Arthur’s question. But in order to get Arthur to take on this mess, he decided not to hide it any longer.

After all, he couldn’t hide it anyway. The Home Secretary’s love affair would definitely spread like wildfire eventually.

The clerk sighed and said, “Now that it’s come to this, I won’t hide it from you. Someone sued Viscount Melbourne, saying he seduced a married woman, corrupted public morals, was unfaithful to Christ above and his family below. I’ve said this much, and you can probably guess. That’s right, the plaintiff is Judge Norton, and the defendant is our Minister and Mrs. Norton.”

(End of Chapter)