"Mr. Faraday, please wait."

Several of the Interior Affairs officers were sweating profusely, and this was the first time Arthur had seen such a gaffe from a higher department.

In the past, when Arthur went to the Home Office, these guys had always been non-staff officers who never looked at Scotland Yard with their nostrils turned to the sky.

If it weren't for the deteriorating law and order situation in London, the importance of Scotland Yard would have been highlighted, and Arthur would have to apply for a queue appointment in advance if he wanted to meet with these guys.

The clerks rushed to Faraday's side, their faces full of smiles, and the lead clerk took out the envelope with the check from his bosom and pleaded in what was probably the most humble tone of his life.

"Mr. Faraday, I swear to God here with my honour that the Minister has no intention of despising scientific researchers. Everyone knows that the scientists of the Royal Society play a pivotal role in Britain, and while the Linnaeus Society, the Geological Society, and the Astronomical Society are equally important, the Royal Society is still the brightest of the many scientific societies in Britain. How could the Viscount of Melbourne see the researchers of the Royal Society? You must have misunderstood what he meant. ”

The other ministers also flattered Faraday.

"Yes, first Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton, then Henry Cavendish and John Dalton and your mentor Sir Humphrey Davy, and now the Royal Society is your own moment. The scientists of the Royal Society contributed to Britain the concept of chemical elements, the discovery of gravitation, the calculation of the mass of the earth, the theory of the atom, the beginning of the era of the study of chemistry by electrolysis, and you added the theory of electromagnetic induction to this skyscraper that has reached into the clouds. ”

"O my God! Mr. Faraday, you are creating a century! ”

"The Cabinet has always attached great importance to the development of science, and it will not ignore the scientific researchers who have made significant contributions to the world while they are still living in poverty. What's more, I think that as things stand, if Britain can only give science subsidies to one person, then I think that person has to be you. ”

"Mr. Faraday, I won't continue to hide it, in fact, I am also one of your overwhelming followers. If someone does insult you, I am willing to duel him in your place, but the Viscount of Melbourne is by no means such a person, and you will see that he is a fairly approachable gentleman of social etiquette. ”

However, no matter how much the officials tried to make up for it, Faraday just didn't buy it.

Faraday raised his palm and motioned for them to stop: "Regarding the science subsidy, I have already left a note for His Excellency the Viscount. If he thinks he can summon scientific researchers to come and go, then in that case, the matter of scientific subsidies will be difficult to do. I would not sacrifice my precious time and dignity as an ordinary person for such a small subsidy. ”

With that, Faraday passed straight through the officers, and no matter how much they tried to keep them, they never looked back.

When the audience of the science lecture at the end of the lecture saw this, the gentlemen and ladies could not help but cry out in amazement, and everyone did not know what had happened, and why Mr. Faraday, who had always been good-natured, was angry in public.

Seeing this, several gentlemen in the crowd suddenly smiled at each other, and they took out small notebooks and pens from their jacket pockets and chased them one by one in the direction Faraday had left.

The disheartened clerks just caught a glimpse of the gentlemen, and they couldn't help but pat their heads in shock.

"I know those guys, they're reporters for the London Morning Post and Illustrated News!"

"Damn! These unethical things are going to shake things out. ”

"We have to find a way, the case of the Viscount of Melbourne hasn't broken out yet, if Faraday is added now, then he will be full of knives all over his body."

"The position of Home Secretary won't be changed because of this, will it?"

"Such a trivial matter will not make the Prime Minister reshuffle the cabinet, but if His Excellency the Viscount is in a bad mood, we will definitely not be able to escape the hat of doing things unfavorably. He's only been Home Secretary for a year, and we'll have a long way to go with him. ”

"These bitch reporters are fucking flies, you just have to fart and they'll smell it. I like heavy tastes so much, go and pour two gallons of Thames water raw! It's not a limited supply! ”

"Stop scolding, let's find a way to get them done first. Faraday now looks like he has an iron heart, and we can only start with the reporter. Do you have a solution? ”

"How? Absolutely. Journalists, they just ask for money, and their professional ethics are not necessarily much better than that of prostitutes. Thankfully, we met a few young journalists today, not Thomas Barnes of The Times. ”

"Is there any difference between Barnes and the little reporter?"

"Of course, Barnes is the editor-in-chief, and he is also from The Times, so he is not short of money now, but has already started to build the archway!"

The officers were cursing and cursing, when suddenly, a voice in their ears was so calm that there was not a trace of undulation.

"Sorry, I just heard the word 'prostitute' mentioned. According to a bill recently passed by Parliament and the newly amended Town Police Ordinance of the Ministry of the Interior, the term is now officially banned due to its insulting connotations and unique social stigma. According to the regulations, any person or social group who uses the word shall be punished with three to seven days' hard labor, then ......"

When the officers heard this, they couldn't help but turn their heads to look at the young officer and his lieutenant who had appeared beside them at some point, with a bandage around his neck.

"Superintendent Hastings? And also...... Officer Bonaparte? ”

Arthur was pretending to supervise Louis next to him to write a statement of the case, and when he heard this, he pretended to be surprised and raised his head and asked, "Do you know me?" ”

After seeing Arthur's face clearly, the clerk was stunned for a moment, and then said in surprise: "It's really you!" ”

Arthur frowned and was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "Sir, it is almost useless to play with the police after being caught committing a crime. I see what you're wearing, you should be a decent person. If you don't want to be fined for hard labor, you can pay a fine. For the sake of the fact that you are a first-time offender and the circumstances are less serious, you only need to promise not to commit it again in the future, and the matter of paying three shillings will be over. ”

When the clerk heard this, he hastened to argue: "Have you forgotten, Mr. Hastings? I met with you at the beginning of this year when you came to the Ministry of the Interior to submit your equipment requirements for the Police Intelligence Service. I'm Frank Barth of the Home Office. ”

"Frank Bart?" Arthur frowned and pondered, "Submit an equipment request?" Sorry, it's been too long, can you be more specific? ”

The clerk hurriedly added: "It was raining that day, the wind was quite strong, and there was a problem with the format of your equipment list, and you ran several times in Whitehall Street, and you fell in the middle, and you didn't ...... until the fourth trip."

When the clerk said this, he shut himself up before Arthur could tell him to shut up.

Bart smiled awkwardly, "Mr. Hastings, if it's for that, then I apologize to you." But you have to understand that this is a departmental regulation, and we also act according to the rules. ”

This time, without waiting for Arthur to speak, Louis on the side had already written a statement of the case, and with a hissing sound, he ripped off the paper of his notebook and said to Arthur: "Sir, according to the regulations, we need to send this Mr. Bart to Scotland Yard." If you're injured and can't move, I'll do it for you. ”

Hearing this, Bart hurriedly changed his words: "Mr. Hastings, rules are rules, but people are always flexible. The main thing that day was that the Ministry of the Interior ran out of forms, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to run to the printing house to reprint a copy. But rest assured, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has recruited a lot of new people this year, and this kind of low-level mistake will definitely not happen again, and even if it does, it will not happen to you. ”

The young officer on the side couldn't help but wrinkle his nose slightly when he saw that the superintendent of Scotland Yard could ride on the head of the higher department.

Seeing this, the leading affairs officer hurriedly glared at them, and then said to Arthur with a smile on his face: "Superintendent Hastings, everyone knows that you are very diligent in your work attitude and like to do everything yourself. But allow me to make some untimely comments, such as handing over a list of equipment, and that a senior police officer like you would be too much to do.

But I can understand that, after all, at the beginning of the year, the Police Intelligence Bureau was short of manpower, and many times you couldn't find anyone to help you with the tasks. This will certainly be taken into account when the Ministry of the Interior prepares its budget for the next year, and it is absolutely necessary to create a few more civilian posts in a key department such as the Police Intelligence Bureau. Don't you think? ”

Arthur finally smiled when he heard this, and he shook his hand: "Thank you for your understanding of the work of the subordinate departments, our task is indeed very heavy. However, considering that the work of the rest of the departments was also not easy, I kept holding back the request for expansion from submitting to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Your offer to add six civilian sergeant titles has really solved our urgent need. ”

As soon as Arthur said this, the rest of the affairs officers gasped.

They never thought that Arthur would use such a trivial matter to blackmail the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and even asked for six additional posts, and they must be the salary scale of the rank of sergeant.

A sergeant pays about £50 a year in a salary subsidy, and six is £300.

And the fine for unscrupulous remarks is only three shillings, and the difference between the inside and the outside is directly two thousand times the price.

Barth, who had just been cowering, couldn't help but feel angry, his face turned green when he heard this price, and he asked, "Mr. Hastings, I know you have a college education. Then you should know that three shillings are less than three hundred pounds. ”

Arthur said lightly: "The relationship between three and six thousand, the professors at the University of London have not taught me directly. But as far as I know, it is generally accepted in the Department of Classics next door that what is to be learned at twenty-three pounds and six shillings is usually greater than with a hundred pounds. Therefore, I deduce from this that three shillings should also be greater than three hundred pounds. ”

"Huh?"

When Bart heard this, he thought that Arthur had lost his mind, and just as he was about to sneer a few words, the old commissioner next to him agreed.

"Of course, mathematical changes are always very subtle. In the hands of a capable man, three shillings can be worth three thousand pounds. And in the hands of a mediocre person, thirty thousand pounds is also worthless. And that's why the Viscount of Melbourne had to give the three hundred pounds a year living allowance to Mr. Faraday, and not to anyone else. This is because we believe that after he gets this money, he will not have to worry about his life, and he can better devote himself to the cause of science.

The addition of six sheriffs to the Police Intelligence Bureau serves the same purpose, Mr. Hastings, we think you can make the most of your free time after you have escaped from the sea of literature and do something more meaningful, such as persuading Mr. Faraday to accept the money. ”

After saying that, the old clerk took out the hot potato with the check and stuffed it into Arthur's hand quite smoothly, and said in a serious tone that could not be refused: "Mr. Hastings, for the sake of the Police Intelligence Bureau and the Ministry of the Interior, you should not disappoint the Viscount of Melbourne, right?" ”

Arthur pinched the envelope and pouted slightly, "Well, for the sake of Britain, what the hell is going on?" ”

The old clerk was relieved to see Arthur take over the task, and he said with a smile on his face: "Actually, it's nothing, it's just a little misunderstanding between the Viscount of Melbourne and Mr. Faraday." As you may have heard, the Royal Society's income situation has not been very optimistic, and scientists are even required to hold regular scientific lectures to raise funds. As a result, the salaries of the scientific researchers of the Royal Society are even more encouraging.

To solve this problem, Sir Peel publicly called for the establishment of a special pension in Parliament to reward those who had made outstanding contributions to science or literature. The work was eventually entrusted to the Home Office, and as a sign of the importance we attached to the scientists, we arranged for the Viscount of Melbourne to visit the Royal Society in person, and to hand over the annuity to Mr. Faraday, who was at the top of the list.

Unexpectedly, the Viscount of Melbourne was absent-minded when talking to Mr. Faraday that day because of some personal matters. And it is true that His Excellency the Viscount himself did not love science as much as Sir Peel and his sister Madame Cowper, so there was a slight hint of frivolity and ...... in his words Uh, don't care...... And then that's what you see today. Faraday was enraged. ”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help frowning slightly.

If this had not come from a senior affairs officer in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Arthur would have thought that he was lying.

Because judging from his contact with the Viscount of Melbourne, this aristocratic gentleman with a soft personality would not show it in front of others, even if he really didn't care about the treatment of scientists.

After all, he is also an old man who has been in the political arena for decades, and if Melbourne is really lacking in heart, he will not be able to sit in the position of Home Secretary.

Arthur couldn't help but ask: "You said that the Viscount of Melbourne was distracted by some personal matters, can I know what it is?" ”

When the clerk heard Arthur's question, he felt a little embarrassed at first, but in order to let Arthur take over the mess, he finally decided not to hide it anymore.

Anyway, he can't hide this kind of thing, and the affairs of the Minister of the Interior will definitely spread all over the city in the end.

The affairs officer sighed and said, "Now that the matter is over, I will not hide it from you." Someone took the Viscount of Melbourne to court, saying that he seduced a married woman, corrupted social customs, and was sorry for Christ and his relatives. You've probably guessed that. That's right, the prosecutor is Judge Norton, and the defendants are our Minister and Mrs. Norton. ”

(End of chapter)