In the reception room, Arthur leaned back on the sofa, the expression on his face was complex and indescribable.

Whether it was the occasional quarrel in the hallway outside the reception room, or the memories that flashed through his mind, it was difficult for him to accept the fact that the patient was dissected.

Although Sir Peel had drafted an Autopsy Bill in the wake of the London robberies last year, which was formally introduced to the House of Commons after the fall of the Tory Cabinet at the beginning of the year.

The bill was almost effortlessly supported by lawmakers from both parties, and was approved by the House of Lords to become part of Britain's many medical practices.

But even so, there are still many religious and medical practitioners who oppose the bill.

During the voting process, the 26 regional bishops who hold spiritual seats in the upper house voted unanimously against it, and the five most prominent bishops in the British Church – the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Dalam and the Bishop of Winchester – issued a joint statement denouncing the government for being engaged in an out-and-out farce.

This is true of the State Church, and the Catholic Church and the Jewish Church are not much better.

Both Jewish rabbis and Catholic priests were very disgusted by the Anatomy Act. Regardless of religion, clergy are reluctant to perform funeral rites on the corpse that has been dissected.

The attitude of the religious leaders further deepened the distrust of the common believers towards autopsy, and some even threatened that if he found any doctor dissecting corpses, he would have them burned at the stake.

Not long after the anatomy bill was published, all 14 private anatomy schools in England were violently attacked.

In order to protect the safety of these medical students and teachers, Scotland Yard, which is responsible for policing the Greater London metropolitan area, has been assembled several times and many participants in the violence have been arrested.

In an effort to quell public outrage, the Cabinet had to amend the Anatomy Act twice, adding an anatomy committee to the House of Commons and appointing an autopsy examiner in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

According to the regulations, these inspectors are required to pass autopsy tests and report to the Secretary of State on the specific information of the autopsy, and their duty is to inspect the places where the autopsy is possible and to ensure the legal operation of the autopsy.

Politicians such as the Prime Minister, the Earl of Grey, and the leader of the Tories Party, Sir Peel, also frequently visited the bishops who were important in the religious world, whispering that they would consider the whole picture and use their influence to persuade the priests to agree to the funeral of the autopsy.

I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky, but it just so happened that several more body thefts were exposed in Lancaster County at this time.

The bishops, motivated by the desire to ban this evil, finally decided to compromise with the government.

They agreed to bury autopsies in accordance with religious rites, and the Government must ensure that enforcement of those who use them illegally is increased.

Although the government agreed to their request, from what Arthur had learned, the fulfillment of this promise was not ideal.

Although the Autopsy Act included unclaimed bodies in workhouses in the scope of autopsies, it expanded the sources of legal corpses and to some extent cracked down on rampant corpse theft.

But the Anatomical Committee set up by the House of Commons did not actually perform their functions well, and it was too difficult to rely on four men to oversee the dissection of the whole of Britain.

Even, the introduction of the "Anatomy Act" has given birth to another gray business.

Many workhouse deacons would auction corpses as commodities, and major medical schools became bidders, and whoever offered the highest price would be given priority to get more corpses, which would also provide better teaching quality and improve their social reputation and medical strength.

Due to Arthur's personal interest in the corpse trade, he deeply understood that it was a lucrative business, and a corpse could usually be sold for twelve to sixteen ginis. In London, a worker's annual income is usually only thirty pounds, which means that only two corpses are needed to cover the annual income of a worker.

But when it comes to this trade, which wanders the line between legal and illegal, Scotland Yard is not as ruthless as it is with corpse poachers. Because from the standpoint of the security department, at least they are now using money to solve the problem, not by killing people to expand the source.

This is also verified in the unscheduled inspections of various medical schools.

By now, the source of their bodies had all gone to workhouses, not to some unexplained places.

However, although the corpses of medical schools have been clarified, it is absolutely impossible for corpses dissected by low-level doctors like Had Castle to have complete legal procedures.

First of all, he could not afford the high price of the corpse. Secondly, with the operational efficiency and consistent bureaucratic style of the British government, how could a young doctor with no qualifications and no background be able to handle the cumbersome vetting process in such a short period of time?

At this point, Rosenberg has no problem slamming Had Castle.

Even, if the incident had taken place in the Scotland Yard precinct, Arthur could have arrested the clinic doctor under the Anatomy Act and handed him over to the Magistrate's Court for unlawful possession of a body.

Under the terms of the bill, he would pay a fine of £30 per illegal corpse, and he could even spend a few more years in prison because of the sheer number of corpses. And after he comes out of prison, his sentence will not end. Because he certainly would not be able to pay the full amount of the fine to the court, he would be handed over to the debtor's prison as soon as he came out of the criminal court.

Arthur's brow furrowed at the thought of this.

When the Red Devil holding the goblet saw him like this, he just put his arm on his shoulder and mocked, "Arthur, what's wrong? Haven't you always adhered to the attitude of strict investigation to the end of this kind of case? Is it because it's in your interest that you want to let him go? Oh, or I should say it more elegantly, I should say, you look at Hardcastle like I look at you. ”

Arthur tapped his pipe and knocked out the ashes, and he smiled self-deprecatingly, "Agares, you don't need to be so yin and yang. I have never been a messenger of justice, and for the most part, I am just a lackey of the law. I'm just thinking about whether or not to lash out at Hardcastle. ”

"Oh...... My dear Arthur, why do you demean yourselves so much? ”

Agareth smiled brightly: "Anyway, they all want to be dogs, why don't you be dogs for me?" A dog who is a law is not as comfortable as a dog who is a devil. ”

"Really?" Arthur took a puff of his cigarette: "Wouldn't I be as good as Elder as a dog for you?" At least he wanted to be the dogs of the ladies, and it was free-range. ”

Agareth just pouted: "Come on, I'm just kidding." But you're not the same as you used to be, and you're getting smarter, because it's been a long time since I've heard you talk about the justice of that set of laws. It seems that studying at the University of London has really helped you, and you are finally starting to understand that law and morality are two different things. ”

"yes!"

Arthur puffed out a puff of cigarette: "Professor Austin's "Lectures on Jurisprudence" has helped me a lot, law is law, morality is morality, people who break the law are not necessarily immoral, and immoral people do not necessarily violate the law. I used to think that Professor Austin was talking about it, so when I was in college, I used to raise the bar with him in lectures.

But after working at Scotland Yard for so long, I looked back and realized that he was right. The nature of the law is mandatory, as long as you can send someone to Australia, put them in jail or hang them on the gallows, then even if you make baldness a crime, this nonsensical rule can be law.

And Professor Austin studies the laws themselves, he doesn't think about what morality is immoral, he only cares about these established facts. It is precisely because the professors at the University of London uphold a pragmatic utilitarian attitude that many people feel that they are cold and uncivilized beasts.

But in fact, it's not that they don't understand things like morality and bottom line, and even many concepts that conform to basic morality are put forward by them. However, from an academic point of view, in a society where the bottom line is broken everywhere, it is definitely not wise to continue to study things that do not exist. ”

The Red Devil took a sip of wine: "Then do you think Hardcastle has broken through the bottom line?" ”

Arthur shrugged: "I don't know, the concept of the bottom line is different for everyone. But I do know that for most people in Britain at the moment, whether it is the high standard of religion, or the general public, or the medical profession of Britain itself, Hardcastle has indeed crossed the line.

If The Lancet had known that he had used an illegal corpse for this paper, let alone published it, they would have stabbed it out. The founder of The Lancet, Thomas Wickley, who personally led the investigation of the medical committee into the murder and robbery of corpses in London, abhorred the humiliation of his colleagues in the medical profession. ”

The Red Devil just shook his head when he heard this, and he held his glass and asked, "Arthur, what are you talking about?" I'm not talking to you about the British public, I'm asking you, what is your bottom line? Professor Austin is right when he says that the nature of law is mandatory. And now, the coercion is in your hands. ”

Arthur sat on the couch in silence, and he thought about it for a long time before he got up from the couch and opened the door to the reception room.

When the servant who was guarding the door saw him come out, he hurriedly asked, "Mr. Hastings, you ......?"

Arthur raised his hand to signal him to stop, "What about the apothecary apprentice who came with Mr. Hardcastle just now?" ”

"I'm here." Snow, who was standing in the corridor with a small satchel on his back, raised his hand: "Sir, do you have something to do with me?" ”

Arthur beckoned at him, "Come in, I have something to ask you." ”

Snow trembled and followed Arthur into the reception room, sitting on the sofa nervously, and it could be seen from his expression that the young man was not very calm about what he had just witnessed.

Seeing this, Arthur just reassured: "Don't worry, no matter what the outcome is, it has nothing to do with you." Even if Hardcastle is disqualified from practicing medicine because of this, it will not affect your future, you just need to tell me what you have seen and heard. ”

As Arthur had said, the young man who had come out of the York countryside like Arthur had never seen such a battle.

The members of the Liverpool Health Committee, who are also the most prestigious doctors in the area, almost surrounded their teacher, pointed at his nose and cursed, if it had not been for the persuasion of someone next to him, Hardcastle would not have been able to escape a good beating today.

Not only that, but even the onlookers watching the play next to them were all local bigwigs in Liverpool. Who knows what they'll think of themselves as tainted doctors' students in the future?

The thought that his future might be ruined because of this, and even lose his qualification to go to medical school, Snow's lips couldn't stop shaking.

In this life, there are not many opportunities to change fate.

Seeing that the door from the miner's son to the middle-class doctor was about to close, he felt a cramping in his heart.

For Arthur, who had the same experience, it was not difficult to guess what Snow was thinking.

And his rich experience in handling cases also made him understand how to relieve the worries of witnesses.

Arthur didn't talk nonsense, but took the pen directly from his jacket pocket, took the notebook on the table, and began to write.

Snow was so frightened that his face changed color: "You...... What are you writing about? It can't be Mr. Hardcastle's arrest papers, right? ”

Arthur wrote without raising his head: "Young man, the document of approval of the arrest is not something that can be written by just ripping pages, and I am not in charge of that business. What I wrote was a letter, a letter of recommendation for admission. ”

"Letter of recommendation for admission?"

"That's right, a letter of recommendation for admission to the University of London Medical School."

Arthur tossed the notebook to Snow: "I was one of the first graduates of the University of London, so I happened to have a bit of a thin face in that place. Professor William Marsden, the administrator of the London Free General Hospital, the designated practice hospital of the University of London Medical School, is also one of my friends.

With this letter of recommendation, I'm sure the medical school will be more than happy to accept you. As for tuition, you don't have to worry at all, I can cover your tuition. As for living expenses, if you study hard enough, the annual academic gold medal is enough for you. ”

Lun, University of London...... Medical? I...... O my God! ”

Although Snow did not know much about the University of London, a school that had just been granted a royal teaching charter, and the reputation of the University of London in the field of medicine was far less resounding than that of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the two major medical universities in Scotland, but the word university alone was enough to shock his nerves.

The university represents a higher social evaluation than the medical college, and it also means that his starting point is no longer a low-level doctor, but as soon as he graduates, he can start from the backbone of the medical profession, have the opportunity to work in a high-level royal hospital such as St. Mary's Hospital, and have the opportunity to become a member of the British medical academic inner circle in Westminster.

Arthur put the pen back in his jacket pocket and asked, "Okay, Mr. Snow, now you should be able to tell me the truth, right?" What the hell is going on with Mr. Hardcastle? ”

Snow's mind was still a little dizzy, and he only felt that the door that seemed to be about to close suddenly opened to him again, and out of the glittering golden door was the same Mr. Arthur Hastings in front of him.

He never imagined that what Hardcastle wanted to obtain at all costs would be smashed on the top of his head in a daze.

Snow sniffed sharply, and he was so moved that he almost cried, "Mr. Hastings, I really don't know how to thank you. ”

"I don't need to." Arthur laughed: "Everyone is from York, and they are also fellow villagers. When I met you, I realized that there are still a lot of Yorkers from all walks of life, maybe I should consider getting a York club, as long as you can work hard and study hard, maybe you can become one of the founding members. ”

Where did the young man who had been following Hardcastle in obscurity smell such fragrant bait, and he didn't hesitate to bite the hook, and he couldn't wait to take out all his heart and show it to Arthur.

"Black ...... Mr. Hastings, I assure you that what I say next is true. Mr. Had Castle he ...... How so...... He may not be considered a particularly decent man, but he is definitely not as bad as Mr. Rosenberg suggests. He did dissect the cadavers of patients, but not to the extent of an anatomy class. If you look at it from a procedural point of view, he must have broken the law, but he also consulted with the deceased's family before the autopsy. As long as they agree to the autopsy, they can avoid medical bills, and it is because of this that he can get so much data. ”

"Well......" Arthur's heart relaxed a little when he heard this: "If you say that, the nature is not particularly bad. Are you sure he asked everyone's opinions, though? ”

"Hmm...... This ......"

Snow stammered, "Of course, there are also those who don't ask." He sometimes went to the slums to look for cholera patients who had fallen on the side of the road, and he picked up the cured patients he said he had cured. At this point, he lied to you.

What you may not know is that most families of cholera patients do not trust the new treatment of intravenous injections, and most are reluctant to take this radical treatment unless their families have reached their final moments.

Mr. Hardcastle wanted to turn over so much that in order to find enough critical case validation therapy, he would go to the slums to pick up patients whenever he had free time. That's why he has so much data......"

Arthur frowned and asked, "Don't the patients he picked up have families?" Did he consult with the patient's family? ”

Snow said with a look on his face: "Mr. Hastings, everyone is afraid of cholera. Especially for the ordinary poor, once there is a case of cholera in a poor family, the family will avoid him, and in some extreme cases, even kick him out of the house. It was not that Mr. Hardcastle had not gone to them, but one was that the patient was in critical condition and the other was that the family members were not necessarily willing to see the patient, so they ...... You understand that not all patients have permission from their families......"

(End of chapter)