## Chapter 78: The Changing Winds of Great Britain (Seeking Subscriptions!)
In the office of the Home Office, Sir Peel sat in his chair, carefully reading a series of investigation reports submitted by Scotland Yard regarding the body snatching and murder case.
On his right hand side, a stack of papers lay, containing Arthur’s proposed amendments to the Anatomy Act.
The proposed amendments detailed the information Arthur had gleaned from the medical and grave-digging communities, including the necessity of corpses for medical advancement, the shortage of bodies, and the legal acquisition of unclaimed corpses from hospitals, prisons, and workhouses by anatomy schools in other European countries.
Given the amendments to the Bloody Code, the legal sources of corpses for dissection would only dwindle further.
Therefore, to prevent a repeat of such large-scale body snatching and murder cases, the legal sources of corpses for dissection should be expanded, drawing on continental European experience.
On the other hand, those who profited from corpses should be punished with varying degrees of severity.
Finally, Arthur concluded his report with a clear message: the corpses of the dead, unclaimed poor, should be exchanged for the right to life of the living poor.
Sir Peel finished reading the documents, clutched his forehead, and turned to Arthur, who sat opposite him.
“Arthur, we’re not ignorant of these things. Since the Burke case in Edinburgh a few years ago, we’ve been considering expanding the legal sources of corpses.
But you know, the British public has deep-rooted prejudices against dissection. They generally believe that the body is the oldest and most sacred symbol of a person, and our cultural customs still retain many requirements regarding funeral rites.
Therefore, it’s difficult for us to completely emulate the experiences of other continental European countries and create a system that allows the use of unclaimed bodies for dissection.
Moreover, those opposed to this bill include not only the clergy but also many within the medical community. One of the medical experts responsible for setting up the Anatomy Ethics Inquiry Committee, Thomas Wakley, is a staunch opponent.
He specifically gave a speech in the House of Commons on this matter. He argued that the Anatomy Act should have been designed to eliminate the deep-seated resentment and prejudice against dissection, but instead, we’ve added a misplaced zeal. This has led the public, especially the poor, to believe that their rulers are selling their bodies to anatomists for dissection.
He also believes that if the Anatomy Act is passed and formally enacted, it will only bring shame upon medical researchers like him. The act of using the corpses of the dead and unclaimed in workhouses and hospitals for dissection is not only unethical but also inhumane.
Even a few years ago, when the Duke of Wellington had just formed his government, the Anatomy Act could not be smoothly implemented.
As for the current timing… it’s simply too sensitive. Even if I were willing to strongly support your opinion, the rest of the cabinet wouldn’t want to continue to provoke public sensitivity.
I know you have good intentions, Arthur, but at least not now, I’m sorry. But I can promise you that I’ll consider this issue carefully, but when exactly it will be implemented will require a suitable opportunity.”
Arthur naturally understood the subtext in Sir Peel’s words.
The Tories couldn’t even secure half of the seats in the House of Commons, and the senior clergy in the House of Lords were already filled with anger over the Catholic Emancipation Act.
If the Anatomy Act were thrown in their faces at this time, the archbishops might personally organize their congregations to protest on the streets.
Arthur nodded calmly, “It’s alright, I understand you. But please understand that it is Scotland Yard’s duty to submit this report. We must analyze the causes of the case in detail.
As our police manual states, the police aim to reduce crime rates. Only by addressing the needs of doctors will the likelihood of body snatching and murder decrease.”
Sir Peel nodded approvingly, “That’s right, only by addressing the needs can such crimes be prevented. However, while I can’t push through the Anatomy Act, I can try to promote the differentiated punishment you mentioned earlier.
Before the Anatomy Act can be passed, we can try to guide those criminals to steal bodies instead of murder.
For those doctors who have used the bodies of victims of murder, I will also try to exert the influence of the cabinet and parliament on relevant institutions and hospitals to dismiss these people from their positions and make them pay the price.
In this way, in the future, when doctors purchase corpses of unknown origin, they will be forced to consider carefully, or at least they must make sure that these corpses are not from murder cases.”
Arthur nodded. For him, today’s conversation with Sir Peel had yielded some results, at least making him realize the importance of this type of case.
That was enough.
Speaking of which, Sir Peel suddenly spoke again, “Arthur, regardless, your work in this case has been exceptional and fruitful. I can tell you on behalf of the Duke of Wellington that he highly appreciates your work ability. So, he has a new task he intends to assign to you soon.”
“New task?” Arthur frowned and pondered, “Scotland Yard shouldn’t have encountered any difficult cases recently. What issue are you referring to?”
“No, no, not a case.”
Sir Peel smiled and said, “It’s the security work for a major event. You should know that the railway from Liverpool to Manchester is nearing completion, right? The Duke of Wellington intends to use this event to reconcile with former Secretary of State Huskisson.
After considering the local police force, the Home Office believes that it would be most appropriate to dispatch Scotland Yard to select capable officers to maintain order at the scene. When we consulted the Duke’s personal opinion, the first person he thought of was you.”
Arthur understood what was going on.
William Huskisson was a prominent figure within the Tory Party, but his stance was peculiar. He was a liberal within the Tory Party.
The Tory Party itself was considered an extreme conservative party, but after the Peterloo Massacre, there was a considerable degree of division within the party.
A group of Tory liberals who sympathized with the victimized workers and believed that the party’s policies needed to be adjusted became independent.
This group of Tory liberals was led by former Prime Minister George Canning, former Secretary of State William Huskisson, and Sir Robert Peel.
In the cabinet formed by Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool, in 1822, the Tory liberals triumphed. George Canning took charge of foreign affairs and concurrently served as leader of the House of Commons, William Huskisson oversaw trade, and Robert Peel became Home Secretary, a position he held until the present day.
These three, during their tenure, reversed the conservative policies of the Tory Party. George Canning revised foreign policy, actively supporting the independence movements in South America and Greece.
William Huskisson advocated for free trade and drastically abolished a large portion of the Navigation Acts, allowing most goods destined for British colonies to be shipped without having to go through Britain.
Sir Peel, since taking office, had been actively promoting the movement to abolish the Bloody Code and had achieved significant results in the recent period. Including his previous efforts, Sir Peel had abolished over 100 death penalties. In addition, he had been dedicated to improving prison conditions.
However, of this group of Tory liberals, only Sir Peel remained in the cabinet.
George Canning died of illness during his premiership a few years ago.
Huskisson, on the other hand, resigned from the cabinet with his supporters due to the rise of the Duke of Wellington, the representative of the conservative faction within the Tory Party.
Only Sir Peel, because of his good personal relationship with the Duke of Wellington, remained in office at the Duke’s invitation.
Logically speaking, it was simply unbelievable that the Duke of Wellington, with his personality, would be willing to take the initiative to reconcile with Huskisson.
But on the other hand, this also indicated the difficult situation facing the Wellington government.
The Catholic Emancipation Act had offended all the extreme conservatives within the party, so according to this trend, was the Duke of Wellington planning to lean towards the liberals?
Arthur was still pondering this matter.
Suddenly, he heard a hurried footstep outside the door.
Sir Peel’s private secretary pushed open the door and said in a panic, “Sir, the Duke of Wellington urgently requests your presence at 10 Downing Street.”
Upon hearing this, Sir Peel stood up and took his coat from the coat rack, “What’s happened?”
The private secretary’s face was full of anxiety, “Oh dear, our King, has passed away at Windsor Castle!”
(End of Chapter)