## Chapter 238: A Constellation of Similar People (5K)
Under Arthur’s watchful gaze, Mr. Remy, drenched in sweat, almost immediately fulfilled his request to add cologne to the mix.
However, Arthur was more interested in Bernie Harrison’s fame in the perfume industry than the cologne itself.
Arthur lifted the lid of the perfume bottle, took a sniff, and nodded in satisfaction. “I must admit, Mr. Remy, the perfume you concocted is almost as good as Mr. Bernie Harrison’s. Do you know Mr. Harrison? He rose to the upper echelons of society with his skill in crafting perfumes.”
Upon hearing Arthur mention Bernie Harrison, Remy’s mood visibly eased.
He responded with a smile, “You’re flattering me, sir. While I do consider myself skilled in perfume blending, I’m still a long way from being a fashion world bigwig like Mr. Harrison, who provides long-term perfume and cosmetic supplies to numerous big clients.”
Seeing the conversation flowing, Arthur smiled and encouraged, “Really? But just recently, I heard Mr. Harrison complain that he’s been getting fewer orders lately. You French perfume makers have brought him a lot of competition! But in my opinion, this is a good thing. Britain always advocates for free competition. Only with enough strong competitors in the same industry can we promote product quality.”
“Mr. Harrison has fewer customers?”
Remy’s eyes lit up at this, but he quickly retracted his smile and waved his hands repeatedly. “But then again, isn’t there a saying in England? Even a bankrupt millionaire is richer than a beggar. Mr. Harrison has a large business, and losing a few customers wouldn’t hurt him. Besides, as long as he keeps big clients like Mr. Henry Drummond, Mr. Thomas Crooke, and the Earl of Eldon, no one can challenge his unshakeable position in the perfume-making world in the short term.”
Henry Drummond, Thomas Crooke, and the Earl of Eldon?
Arthur felt his heart skip a beat at these names.
He finally understood how Bernie Harrison secured his parliamentary seat and where his political spectrum lay.
This guy was definitely a dyed-in-the-wool Tory, and even Sir Peel, the current Tory leader, might need to place a big question mark over his ability to control him.
Among Harrison’s major clients, Mr. Henry Drummond was a House of Commons member and banker who had always considered himself an “old-school Tory.” He was also an author, although his works primarily focused on religious studies.
Drummond was also a notorious gossip. He often dropped sensational remarks in the House of Commons, which, while earning the cheers of his supporters, frequently sparked fierce attacks from Whigs and furrowed brows from Tory liberals.
His most famous statement was: “The common people are incapable of being educated, are domineering and unruly, constantly threatening social order and property security, and therefore should not enjoy rights. The social and political elite must use various methods to consolidate their position and prevent the lower classes from rebelling. The British government’s system is flawless and has a long historical legacy, reflecting the ‘combination of divine will and civil law,’ and cannot be changed at will. If the rulers seek and win the cheers of these subjects guided by this spirit, the government will surely collapse.”
As for Mr. Thomas Crooke, although he wasn’t as outspoken as Drummond, he held a significant position within the Tory Party. The reason was simple: Crooke served as the Navy Minister for twenty years, from 1810 until last year when the Tories were ousted, and maintained a strong personal relationship with the Duke of Wellington.
Although Thomas Crooke rarely expressed his own opinions during his tenure, several small incidents reveal his political views. For example, when the Duke of Wellington decided to pass the Catholic Emancipation Act, Crooke repeatedly warned his friends that this act was not only undemocratic and unconstitutional but would also set a precedent for undermining the independence of the House of Commons.
Since being ousted last year, Crooke, pent up for twenty years, went all out in the Tory Party’s official newspaper, the Quarterly Review. In just six months, he published over a dozen articles attacking parliamentary reform, taking on the role of a spearhead for the Tories.
The Earl of Eldon, a staunch Tory who served as Lord Chancellor for 26 years, needs no further introduction. If the previous two were mainly talkers, Eldon was known for his actions. This veteran politician, who had served under five Tory Prime Ministers, often used the Court of Chancery, the highest court in Britain under his control, to oppose reforms, including modifying the Corn Laws, lowering import tariffs, revising criminal law, and doing everything possible to enact regulations to restrict the “lower mob’s” radical actions.
The number of “mobsters” he personally tried and sentenced to death, even a rough estimate, should reach over a thousand.
The most well-known of those executed was the Cato Street Conspiracy, a group of five who plotted to assassinate members of the Cabinet. Eldon found the five guilty of treason and they were publicly executed on May 1, 1820, outside Newgate Prison.
Arthur, when talking to many London citizens who witnessed the scene, they all mentioned that Mr. Ings, one of the conspirators with a noose around his neck, was still laughing and singing loudly, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
When someone asked him if he regretted it, Ings simply blinked and replied, “No, I don’t regret it at all. I hope future generations will understand that even though I failed, my efforts were sincere.”
To deter the “mob,” Eldon ordered that after the five were hanged, the masked executioner would chop off their heads and hang them up.
Although British law still retained many medieval remnants, this kind of decapitation punishment had long been absent.
Eldon’s attempt to intimidate the “riffraff” was clearly unsuccessful. His decapitation actions not only failed to deter anyone but also ignited even stronger resistance among British citizens, even placing enormous public pressure on his cabinet colleagues.
Shelley, Byron, and other liberal writers wrote articles criticizing the Cabinet’s bloody policies. Viscount Castlereagh, the Foreign Secretary who had once supported Eldon’s iron-fisted approach to dealing with riots, soon succumbed to immense public pressure and suffered a mental breakdown, eventually committing suicide two years later with a letter opener.
If Mr. Bernie Harrison hung out with these gentlemen constantly, it wasn’t hard to guess what kind of thoughts filled his head.
As the saying goes in Arthur’s hometown of York, if you spend all day with a cripple, you’ll learn to walk with a limp.
Thinking this, Arthur suddenly frowned.
Harrison was now essentially a hardcore Tory. In this faction that advocated “hardline is everything, immutability is power,” would Harrison obediently accept arrest by a few Scotland Yard grunts?
After all, according to Drummond, a member of the same faction, they, as rulers, looked down upon lower-class people like Scotland Yard.
From this, it can be reasonably deduced that Harrison was definitely not a weak character, and his act of accepting arrest that day was one hundred percent a performance.
As for why he wasn’t worried at all about being arrested, now it made perfect sense. As a friend and perfume supplier to the Earl of Eldon, the former Lord Chancellor, even though Eldon had been ousted, as a veteran of 26 years, the British judicial system was almost filled with protégés and cronies who shared his political views.
Nowadays, whether it’s the Magistrate’s Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Court of Chancery, over 70% of the judges received their commissions from Eldon’s hands. With them as guarantees, it was almost impossible to put Eldon’s beloved House of Commons member, who had no conclusive evidence of crime, to death.
Of course, this situation probably only happens in Britain. In general, other countries would experience a systematic overhaul during a cabinet reshuffle. The typical example is those barbarians in the North American colonies.
Arthur remembered that they had a pretty artistic term for this phenomenon: the two-party spoils system.
But in Britain, especially in the judicial system, this was completely impossible. Because no matter which court, the Lord Chancellor only had the power to appoint vacancies, not to remove judges.
To remove any judge from office, it had to be directly reported to the King’s Privy Council for approval. If the King didn’t nod, there was no discussion.
And as far as Arthur knew, the King rarely nodded to this kind of thing. Because for almost a century, every time the King took the initiative to order a judge’s dismissal, he couldn’t escape the social media’s lashing.
In this regard, the Fleet Street newspapers were truly meritorious. They often concocted sensational headlines like “King Intervenes in Judicial Fairness,” “The Skies of Britain Are Lit with the Spark of Despotic Monarchy,” “Shocking: Louis XVI Moves into Buckingham Palace,” “What Do You Think of Mr. Cromwell as Lord Protector?” and “His Majesty Said: I’ve Decided!”
As a result, after being repeatedly teased by Fleet Street and finding that they couldn’t shut their mouths no matter what, the Kings, starting with George III, began to resign themselves to their fate. They simply let go of this aspect.
The concept of successive Kings shifted from “the vast ocean” to “There’s an old saying in England, ‘Make a fortune quietly,’ that’s the best.”
Therefore, even if a judge really made a mistake, as long as it wasn’t a big issue and the public opinion didn’t put too much pressure on him, the King would most likely turn a blind eye.
To put it bluntly, the King didn’t want to take the blame for the ruling party’s decisions. You guys play with the judicial system yourselves. Why did you force me to sign the Magna Carta back then?
Whose problem, whose responsibility.
Therefore, even though Lord Brougham had already been appointed Lord Chancellor, if he wanted to insert people into the judicial system, he still had to do it slowly, bit by bit.
Because judges usually serve until death. This is also why Viscount Melbourne was so grateful that Brougham was willing to offer a vacancy to George Norton.
For a new Lord Chancellor, every vacancy was precious.
After all, not every Lord Chancellor could hold the position for 26 years like Eldon. If the Lord Chancellor’s tenure was too short and he didn’t happen to catch a period when no one retired, he might not be able to insert a few people from his appointment to his resignation.
Speaking of this, another possibility popped into Arthur’s mind.
Everyone knows that although the Tories and Whigs are nominally two unified political parties, there are countless factions within each party.
For example, within the Tories, there are the liberals represented by Sir Peel, the hardliners represented by Eldon, the Huskisson faction, which has been hit by a train and is in shambles, and the once-illustrious Canning faction.
The Duke of Wellington was able to remain unmoved within the Tory Party because, in addition to his immense prestige, he was once the representative of the Tory hardliners. However, once he became Prime Minister, the old Duke cunningly swung the wheel to the left, earning the support of the Tory liberals represented by Sir Peel.
Of course, due to the Catholic Emancipation Act, the Duke of Wellington’s steering wheel turned too sharply, smashing his own basic hardline wall, so he had to resign in disgrace.
But now, although the Duke of Wellington has stepped down, the Tory liberals and hardliners are still fighting. Many are dissatisfied with Sir Peel’s appointment as party leader.
From the perspective of the hardliners, Bernie Harrison’s arrest not only could disgust the ruling Whigs but also disgust Sir Peel’s newly built Scotland Yard. Thinking about it, they seem to have sufficient reasons, motives, and strength to carry out this plan.
Thinking this far, although the logic seemed to be coherent, Arthur felt that the method was a bit rough.
Just to disgust others, they used such a despicable method, even involving a life. Where did the aristocratic spirit, which the hardliners had always touted as different from the lower classes, go?
Arthur pondered, feeling a sense of discomfort in every aspect of this matter.
As he was lost in thought, Disraeli suddenly spoke, “The Earl of Eldon? It’s been a long time since I heard that name. That old man hasn’t had a good time these past few years. Ever since he was ousted, he’s been dragged out to be criticized and ridiculed by the media every other day. A while back, he even wanted to find a newspaper to publish an article defending himself, but no newspaper in Fleet Street was willing to take it.”
Arthur asked, “Is that true? How do you know?”
Disraeli replied, “Of course, because he also found our *The Englishman*. He wanted to pay fifty pounds, but I refused.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, “Fifty pounds? That’s not a small price! I didn’t realize you cared so much about your reputation.”
Disraeli looked smug, “Of course. I plan to continue running for Parliament. Although the Earl of Eldon still holds some influence in the political world, the old man is really getting old, and his mind is getting dimmer. If he had found someone eloquent to be his advocate, maybe I would have helped him out for fifty pounds.
But he must have drunk too much Thames River water. He actually sent George Norton, that idiot, to do it. I was at odds with him when I was studying at Lincoln’s Inn. If I hadn’t maintained my gentlemanly decorum, I might have given him a couple of whacks right then and there.”
“George Norton?” Arthur’s face became a bit strange when he heard this guy who got his position as Westminster Magistrate by selling his wife, “You were classmates with him?”
Disraeli snorted, “Hmph, not only classmates, we can even be considered enemies. How about it, Arthur, surprised? But then again, why do you know his name?”
Arthur chuckled, “The Westminster Magistrate, it’s hard not to know him, even if I didn’t want to. Scotland Yard has so many cases that go through his hands for judgment.”
“Oh! Right, right! You remind me, and I get angry!”
Disraeli said, “He just kept circling me, boasting about this Magistrate thing. Seeing how arrogant he was, I used his losing his parliamentary seat to mock him. The guy actually had the nerve to tell me: Although he lost the election, he was still a very popular candidate. The voters all hated his opponents. On voting day, he saw many voters casting their ballots against him with tears in their eyes. Can you believe this guy, what kind of madness did he have to say such a thing?”
Arthur was silent upon hearing this, lighting his cigar, “Tears in their eyes, huh? Well… I have to admit, Mr. Norton is quite imaginative. Maybe he should be a novelist, even though his wife already is.”
Disraeli snorted, “Norton’s character is like that, it’s been like that since he was studying at Lincoln’s Inn. He’s optimistic and gullible, and on top of that, he’s vain. To sum it up, he wants face but doesn’t have brains. He seems to really think the whole world revolves around him and everyone owes him something. If it weren’t for Eldon’s sake, I would have kicked him out of the editorial department long ago.”
Arthur suddenly had an epiphany, “Mr. George Norton… maybe I should go see him. Or maybe I should contact Mrs. Norton first.”
Arthur pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it, “At this time, she’ll probably be at the Home Office, right?”
(End of Chapter)