As a police worker, Arthur knows the basics of interrogating prisoners.

The reason why Hearst was stubborn at first was that he felt that behind him was a group, and as a member of the group, he would naturally be protected.

Unfortunately, in many cases, this is just an illusion.

As long as he can produce some evidence and questions to make him realize that he has actually separated himself from the group, there are very few people who can still withstand the pressure of accountability in this situation.

And most of those people don't do anything like to include a single 'health care' expense in their official bills.

After all, even people like Mr. Bernie Harrison know to spend their own money on it, not in the budget of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, where he serves.

But Harrison didn't do it not necessarily because he was smart, but because he was really not ranked in London.

And the port director can be regarded as a leading figure at least in Liverpool.

As for the port authority, Director Hearst can do everything, and being powerful on his own territory is basically a common problem for the top leaders of various departments.

In response to Arthur's question, Hearst quickly smelled a bad smell of 'I'm not targeting everyone here, I'm targeting you alone'.

Facing Arthur, who had two yamen plaques above his head, 'Chancellor's Hall and General Customs', Hearst woke up suddenly, and he finally realized that this was not the Port of Liverpool Authority, which he regarded as a safe house.

Insecurity also further stimulates the human nature to seek advantage and avoid harm, and it is easy for him to figure out the truth that the best choice of the individual is not the best choice of the group, and vice versa.

Blocking the knife for the Liverpool Association could certainly win him the support of the local squire, but what good is his support if the General Customs Department removes him from the director's position because of the bill?

Snobbery is a bad habit that human beings can't get rid of, and it's a universal rule for people to take tea and cool down.

Can he still expect this group of profit-seeking merchants to remember his kindness?

The reason why Viscount Godrich, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was able to not be defeated after the revelation of embezzlement to keep his mistress was because His Excellency the Viscount's father was a veteran Tory - Lord Graham, his uncle was the Earl of Hardwick, who had served as the governor of Ireland, his wife was the daughter of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, his brother-in-law was the foreign secretary, Viscount Castlereagh who influenced the Congress of Vienna, and Viscount Godrich himself was also one of the leaders of the Canning faction of the Tory.

Therefore, even though the Viscount Godridge incident caused a storm in London at that time, the Prime Minister Earl of Liverpool did not remove him as Chancellor of the Exchequer in a big way, but chose to treat it coldly, and only asked him to make a public apology in the House of Commons and ended hastily.

And after everyone forgot about it, Viscount Godrich even briefly served as transitional prime minister for half a year after the death of the new prime minister, Sir Canning.

Although he had done a terrible job for half a year, and his plan to form a coalition with the Whigs had not been successful, he was even angrily denounced by King George IV as 'a damned, snotty, crying fool'.

And the king, who did not like him, put up with him for half a year, and finally ordered Viscount Godrich, who had repeatedly failed to form a cabinet, to submit his resignation to him in person, and the Duke of Wellington, the hardliner leader of the Tories Party, came to form a cabinet.

After the Duke of Wellington came to power, Viscount Godridge briefly faded out of the public eye for a while, but after the fall of Wellington's cabinet last year, the crybaby, who was still better at dealing with ladies than the king, returned like lightning.

In the midst of the turmoil in Wellington's cabinet, Viscount Godrich announced that he had severed ties with the Tories and led a group of Tory Cunning MPs to turn against him.

The Cannings joined the Whigs en masse, and Earl Grey was flattered and reversed. As a sign of the importance he attached to Viscount Godrich, Earl Grey announced that the Canning leader would be Minister of War and Colonial Affairs in the Whig Cabinet.

Although this position is not as good as that of the Transitional Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Viscount Godrich can be regarded as the second spring of his political career.

But Mr. Hearst, the director of the port authority, knew that neither his background nor his personal relationships could be compared to the crybaby bosses of the Canning faction. Just because someone can live out a second life doesn't mean that he can replicate this path of success.

If he had what he had, he would not have been at the Port of Liverpool Authority, but at the Public Works Board in London.

For Hirst, going down is really going down, and he can't find a chance to turn the tables around.

This truth is like lice on Darwin's head, which is on the surface.

Hearst understood, and Arthur certainly understood.

Although Liverpool's Harbour Authority may seem like a far cry from the inmates in Newgate Prison, it was much easier for Arthur to interrogate him than for ordinary criminals.

Hearst saw that Arthur had not said anything, and Mr. Director, who had just been in a relaxed manner, soon couldn't sit still.

He took out his handkerchief and wiped his shiny head, and hinted in a low voice, "Mr. Hastings, it is not uncommon for funds to be used irregularly. It's like a hole in the cheese, some big and some small, but if you want to have none, it's impossible. Moreover, this is a tradition of the Port Authority, and before William Pitt Jr. became Prime Minister, before the customs department was put in order, they made it worse than that. ”

Arthur was not in a hurry to express his position, he just smiled and asked: "How did Liverpool do it before?" ”

Hearst wiped his sweat and replied cryptically: "Let's put it this way, in the 18th century, if you wanted to climb fast in the customs department, it was very important to have a good wife. Of course, whether your wife is good or not depends on whether she is appreciated by her superiors. ”

"Hiss......" Dumas, who was standing in front of the window smoking a cigarette, almost took a sip of lung cancer when he heard this: "Britain, it's really full of surprises." ”

Heine, who had repeatedly pursued his cousin, was also shocked: "If you look at it this way, it is not bad to marry a German country girl, and the security they can provide is absolutely incomparable." ”

Louis was just writing the notes with his head bored, and he turned a new page and asked, "Sir, how do you think I can write better?" ”

Arthur crossed his fingers on his knees, leaned back in his chair and smiled and asked, "It depends on Mr. Hearst's attitude." ”

After thinking about it, Hursts finally gritted his teeth and raised two fingers at Arthur: "Their bottom line is so much, you can negotiate according to this number." If they don't get it right, they'll have to throw a rat trap. ”

Arthur nodded slightly when he heard this, and said to Louie: "Louie, you just remember it." During his tenure as Director General of the Port of Liverpool Authority, Mr. Reece Hearst swept away the stereotypes of the last century, achieved strict and clear accounting, and vigorously prohibited the phenomenon of private transactions by its employees. At the same time, it perfectly responds to the free trade ethos advocated by the Cabinet, spending every penny where it wants to go......"

Louis didn't raise his head to take notes, and he asked, "Do you need to indicate where exactly the penny went?" ”

Hearst hurriedly dissuaded: "This is not necessary!" ”

Hearing this, Arthur suddenly changed his words again: "However, at the practical implementation level, the Liverpool Port Authority also has some deficiencies, such as the problem of misplacement in social services......"

When Hearst heard this, his heart that had just been put down was lifted again: "Mr. Hastings, where does this begin?" ”

Arthur spoke, "Mr. Hearst, I have said it from the moment you entered the door, and this conversation with you was conducted in an open and honest manner. As for the evaluation of the work of the port authority, I know it from your mouth, there is no fictional part, at most it is slightly polished.

If I'm not mistaken, you mentioned earlier that the Port Authority's 'health care' spending is dedicated to the department's leadership, and does not benefit ordinary employees, let alone general social services. I would not be too much to say that I would like to give you such a comment now, right? ”

Hearst gritted his teeth and asked, "Mr. Hastings, isn't this a thing over?" ”

Arthur replied, "Mr. Hearst, I'm here to audit, and there's nothing to uncover the past. Although the specific amount is not large, if the General Administration of Customs asks what is going on with this account in the future, I can't say that it is due to personal negligence and ignore it, right?

And now in this cholera outbreak, the name 'health care' is so glaring that you have to find a reasonable explanation for it. I give you one night, and to-morrow I will see a reasonable written explanation, in duplicate, one to be kept at the Port Authority and one to be brought back to London. Last but not least, don't forget to stamp the official seal of the Port Authority, so that it will have legal benefits. ”

When Hearst heard this, he finally understood what Arthur meant.

He could not pursue the matter, but the premise of letting go of this account was that if the East Window incident happened in the future, he must have a reason to be deceived by the Port Authority to prevaricate with his superiors.

When Hearst saw that Arthur wanted a non-stick pan, and thought that he might return to London with the explanation document, the sweat on his head suddenly came out again.

He leaned closer and muttered, "Mr. Hastings, there's no need to make such a fuss, is there?" It can be as little as a few pounds a month, and as much as a hundred pounds, and the matter will be passed by wiping it on the account books. ”

Arthur nodded slightly, "It's okay, but ...... As I said at the meeting of the Port Authority and the Customs Department, the auditors were from the East India Company, and I don't particularly mind if you can convince them not to list this separately. ”

Hearst slapped him on the head.

Let him convince the East India Company? Isn't that a joke?

Although it was no longer the heyday of the East India Company, a Liverpool Port Authority was not enough to put a director in the spotlight.

Besides, the matter of coming to Liverpool to investigate the case was still led by the Cabinet, and he really didn't see any reason why the East India Company had to let him go.

Hearst was afraid of wolves and tigers, and the thought that he might be kicked out of his position as a fat and oily port master at any moment, or even imprisoned in Newgate Prison, made his heart feel empty.

He cautiously asked, "Mr. Hastings, are you free after the banquet?" Or...... Or tomorrow, if you have time any day, delay you for half an hour to come to my house? ”

The fat French man who was holding back the bad water turned around and said, "Mr. Hearst, you don't want to play some traditional crafts of the Port Authority, do you?" ”

"No, no, no, how is that possible? Mr. Hastings' report also says that it is all a stereotype. ”

Hurst's face was covered with sweat, and he sneered and asked, "You haven't asked yet, are you?" ”

Alexandre Dumas lifted his tuxedo, revealing the pistol holster around his waist: "I am a special employee of the London Police Intelligence Service, who is responsible for the security of Mr. Hastings. For security reasons, I do not think Mr. Hastings should go to you privately. ”

Hearst only met a difficult imp, he pursed his lips and replied, "Then you will come to the port authority tomorrow when you are free, and I will talk to you about Mr. Hastings's safety and security alone." ”

When Heine heard this, he also secretly said, "What about me? Mr. Hearst, I'm in charge of writing. ”

When Hearst heard this, he could only grit his back molars and reply: "All go, all go!" Tomorrow morning, I will be waiting for you at the Port Authority. ”

Arthur saw that his attitude had softened like a puddle of mud, and he knew that he couldn't be pushed too hard.

Anyway, he is also a local gentleman with a head and face in Liverpool, so he still has to be decent.

Besides, he didn't go to knock on Hearst's bamboo pole in the first place.

Arthur took off his pipe and said, "Mr. Hearst, don't need to go to such trouble. Since the bill says 'healthcare' expenses, you can do it in that name. But if you've been spending on this for five years in a row, and the Port Authority employees don't know anything about it, you're left to do something else. ”

Hearst was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Arthur to take the initiative to give him an idea.

"What do you mean?"

Arthur took out a business card from his jacket pocket and pushed it in front of Hearst: "I met a gentleman today who claims to be the president of the British Child Protection Society, and he claims that the association has been working to emigrate the country's street children overseas, I don't know if you have heard of this. ”

Hearst took the business card and glanced at it, and quickly remembered the incident: "You're talking about Mr. Brenton, right?" He had approached me before and brought me up about it. It was said that his migrant ship was detained and quarantined by the Port Authority, so hundreds of children are now stranded in Liverpool. ”

Arthur asked, "How long has he been doing this?" Is the immigration permit a regular route? ”

Hearst rubbed his temples: "It should have been two years." Immigration permits are indeed a formal channel, and the Ministry of Colonial Affairs is aware of this. You are a police officer at Scotland Yard, so you should also be aware of Cabinet policy.

Britain couldn't feed that many people, so instead of leaving those criminals at home, it was better to send them to overseas colonies to shine. It's just that when Sir Peel was the Home Secretary, didn't he always emphasize the need to gradually change the usual hard-line law enforcement style and bloody laws.

There are now fewer capital penalties than before, and exile is naturally less than before. But these felons are not exiled, they have no money in their hands, and they still have to do evil in the end. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, the Ministry of Colonial Affairs has launched some subsidy policies for overseas immigrants, hoping that those who can afford to move overseas will try to go out as much as possible.

Brenton's Child Protection Society has the same idea, but most of the street children they take in are dead parents, have no money in their pockets, and the subsidies are not enough for the boat fare to move out. So they spontaneously raised funds and contacted overseas factories and farms, planning to send these children outside as apprentices as soon as possible while they were still young.

When the apprenticeship expires, if you are lucky, you can save a little money in your hands. Whether it is to continue to work, or to engage in a small business, or to go to the reclamation, it is better than them to continue to stay in the country. ”

Louis couldn't help but ask, "At such a young age, is it really no problem to throw it out?" ”

Hearst took a drag on his cigarette: "That's hard to say. But the poor, half of them look at their hard work, and half of them look at their luck. If you stay in the country and eat the last meal, you will run away to commit a crime sooner or later. When he is caught and sentenced to exile, it is better to gamble with Brenton.

After all, the apprentices they contacted were at least paid and could learn some trade, and in exile, not only did they not pay a penny, but most of them were sold coolies. At the end of the same eight years, the apprentices will survive and the sky will be wide, and the exiled will be poor and start over.

The eldest child in Brenton is eleven or twelve years old, and the average child has to be the head of the house at the age of eight, so they should be able to think clearly about which is better or worse. And from my personal point of view, I think the attack on Brenton by the public opinion is completely unjustified. That is a group of people who think they are high and do not worry about eating and drinking, moaning without disease.

Anyone who came to Liverpool to see it knew that most of the colonial ships sent from Liverpool were families of hired farmers and artisans with some savings. A ferry ticket is not cheap, and even with the subsidy of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, it is not affordable for the average poor. It is not easy for Brenton to be willing to make up the difference for free. ”

When Arthur heard this, he just said, "Since you think this is a good thing, why don't you follow suit?" ”

"Huh?" Hearst asked, "You mean ......?"

Arthur replied: "There are hundreds of children trapped in the docks in Liverpool right now, and it's cholera. If their problems are not properly solved and the disease breaks out among them, once the news spreads, not only the port authority and the municipal council will be unlucky, but I will ...... You get the idea. From this point of view, I think it is entirely justified and unquestionable that the Port Authority should set up a special expenditure for 'health care'. ”

"Ah......" Hearst heard this, and suddenly felt the clouds clear: "This ...... I haven't thought about it from that point of view yet...... It was originally a bad thing, but it was done as a good thing, which is indeed a skill. ”

When Arthur heard this, he smiled and shook his head: "Where can bad things be done." Being able to do a good thing can only show that it was a good thing in the early morning, but everyone just started to understand that there was a problem. ”

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the door to the smoking room was pushed open, and Gladstone led an old gentleman in.

"Father, this is Mr. Hastings."

(End of chapter)