Inside the second-floor compartment of the Olmark Club.

Broughham placed a document in his hand on the table, and the Viscount of Melbourne glanced at it, only to see that the title of the document was impressively written, "Report on the Necessity of Establishing a Professional Public Prosecutor in Scotland Yard".

And underneath the title, there is a line of small print - drafter: Arthur Hastings.

The Viscount of Melbourne pointed to the document suspiciously and asked, "What is this?" ”

Broughham said with a smile: "The same document, I believe it is also on file with the Ministry of Home Affairs, and you should see it when the Prime Minister officially announces the cabinet candidates." Now this copy is a copy of the material from the Ministry of the Interior to the Chancellor's Hall. ”

"Can I take a look at it?"

"Of course, I came here today to discuss this matter with you."

After obtaining Broughham's permission, the Viscount of Melbourne picked up the document and flipped through it.

- Since the creation of the London Metropolitan Police Force in 1829, the crime problem in London has been improving, but as the fight against crime has intensified, the Metropolitan Police has faced a shortage of sufficient public prosecutors.

In the event of a criminal case in which the person concerned is reluctant to file a lawsuit in court for various reasons such as fear of reprisals, lack of time, etc., but is required by law, the Ministry of the Interior usually instructs the police involved in the investigation to prosecute on their behalf.

However, due to the different cultural qualities of police personnel, it is not uncommon for police officers to be unfamiliar with the prosecution rules and the relevant legal provisions.

Although the police may seek the advice of legal experts in the investigation of the case before making a decision to arrest or prosecute, this approach is narrow and often ineffective.

In the case of murder or the use of a weapon to inflict bodily injury, the help of experts is particularly important, and the Metropolitan Police has had to repeatedly refer to the Home Office to be assisted by a specialist solicitor.

When the Home Office is unable to send a lawyer, the Metropolitan Police often has to spend the budget to hire a professional lawyer to prosecute on its behalf, but in practice, the police who are responsible for the prosecution function sometimes entrust the case to some mediocre lawyer in the Magistrate's Court to investigate the case on behalf of the Magistrates' Court because of the greed for small favors, thus delaying the process of handling the case.

Under performance pressure, sometimes the police will choose to do everything possible to search for evidence against the accused and ignore the evidence in their favour in order to ensure the success of the prosecution, resulting in unfair treatment of the prosecuted party.

In addition, when dealing with poor people's cases, it is often impossible to thoroughly investigate and collect relevant evidence due to financial constraints, resulting in discrepancies between the investigation of the case and the actual situation, which in turn harms the public interest.

In view of the above shortcomings, the need to reform the litigation system in London and establish a unified public prosecution service has become urgent......

The Viscount of Melbourne held this material and studied it carefully, until he finished reading the last period, he put down the document in his hand, smiled and breathed a long sigh of relief: "Officer Arthur Hastings, this is really a young man who surprises people all the time. ”

Breham poured himself a glass of wine and said, "He took a great risk in doing so, after all, he had picked out some of the faults of Scotland Yard in this report, and he had reported them directly beyond the Metropolitan Police." To be honest, the first time I saw this document, I wondered if this young man didn't want to do it. ”

Melbourne put down the papers in his hand, leaned back on the sofa and pondered for a while, and suddenly said, "Maybe that young man really thinks so?" ”

Brumham took a sip of wine, picked up his glass, looked at the clear wine inside, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Huh? How does this mean? Actually, I have some friendship with Arthur, a young man, and you may not know that Arthur is one of the first graduates of our University of London, and it seems that he is probably the best one at the moment.

He did a great job at Scotland Yard, just as he did at school. You may only know about his accomplishments after he worked, but I have to be honest with you, Arthur was a gold medal every year when he was in school. ”

Broughham's words almost put on my face that I like Arthur Hastings very much.

Of course, the Viscount of Melbourne also understood what this future cabinet colleague meant, and he said with a smile: "Mr. Broughham, of course I have not doubted the ability of Officer Hastings, whether it is the deeds I have read in the newspaper or the research report in front of me, it is enough to show that he always has the public interest in mind.

However, what you may not know is that Officer Hastings was actually at the Olmark Club just now. I had a brief chat with the young man, and he said that he was a little tired from his recent work, and that sometimes he was fine playing the piano.

On top of that, I heard my lovely sister say that Officer Hastings seems to have accepted the invitation of the London Philharmonic Society to be the pianist and conductor of their third band. ”

"This ......" Broughham was also taken aback by the news, and John Mill didn't tell him the news.

But soon, he thought of something, and he suddenly said: "Young people, it's normal to have some novel ideas, especially someone with outstanding abilities like Arthur, who naturally wants to change his life when he doesn't go well at work, after all, even if he doesn't become a police officer, he still has a variety of options." But if he is lost, it will undoubtedly be a great loss for the British public. ”

Melbourne has a request, and when Bruham says this, he naturally won't refute it, and he has no intention of refutating it, after all, Arthur has just agreed to pre-order a gramophone for Mrs. Norton, and his first contact with Arthur, this country boy from York has also made a good impression on him.

Melbourne advised: "Even if you want a new challenge, you don't need to leave the government." And I think that if Officer Hastings can do his job well, he can play the piano part-time. ”

Broughham couldn't help but be a little happy to hear that the Viscount of Melbourne actually agreed with his idea so smoothly.

At this moment, the Viscount of Melbourne suddenly added another price, and he pointed to the cover of the document and said: "I think Officer Hastings' request for the establishment of a police prosecution service is completely reasonable. Perhaps we could set up a commission of inquiry in the House of Commons, and if all this is true, then I propose that the Ministry of the Interior and the Chancellor's Office form a unified prosecution service.

After all, this public prosecution department involves both police work and legal work, and the joint efforts of the two departments will certainly greatly promote the construction of this department. And the leadership of this public prosecution department...... I think the main post could be filled by the Attorney-General, or a senior Queen's Counsel from the English Law Society, while the deputy position of coordinating the prosecution service and the police department needs to be filled by a young police officer who is well versed in policing and has a passion for his work and has the public interest in mind. ”

The Viscount of Melbourne has said this, and who this deputy is is is about to come out.

But Broughham didn't immediately show joy, on the contrary, he was overwhelmed by the sudden concession of the other party.

Because the words of the Viscount of Melbourne just now are basically equivalent to the complete transfer of the jurisdiction of this new department to the Chancellor's Hall.

For whether it is the Attorney General or the Royal Counsel who holds the main office, these people are appointed by the Royal Chancellor.

And if Arthur were to serve as a deputy, his worthless resume as a London graduate would be very different in the eyes of Broughham, the founder of the University of London.

The first batch of graduates of the Department of History of the University of London, the academic gold medal, and the second first place, these series of things together are equivalent to the root of the blue, and the Attorney General and the Imperial Barrister directly under the jurisdiction of Bruham are also close, and they are simply the descendants of the lineage, and the Zhengmi Ziqi of the University of London.

Although Broughham did not understand Chinese idioms, he understood the truth that nothing is done to be courteous or to be a thief.

He smiled and put down his glass, and instead of immediately agreeing, he asked instead, "You told me before that you wanted to talk to me about things in the name of friends, but I don't know what it was for?" ”

When the Viscount of Melbourne heard the other party take the initiative to mention it, he no longer hid it.

"Do you know Mr. George Norton of the Tories? He has recently been considering leaving the Tory Party and returning to becoming a proper lawyer. And as a good friend of his, I'm glad to see him make this change. So, I know you're well-informed and you're president of the Law Society of England, so I'd like to ask you for him, can you recommend a job for him? ”

Hearing this, Broughham smiled and let out a sigh of relief, he took out a pen and paper and leaned on the sofa: "I don't know what Mr. Norton has to ask?" ”

The Viscount of Melbourne smiled and added another glass of wine to him: "He has a family now, and it is not suitable to run too far, so it is best to run near London." And he still has children, and his daily expenses are not low, so an annual salary of more than 1,000 pounds should be fine, and if there is, it is ......"

(End of chapter)