The Shadow of Great Britain

608: Chapter 305: Everyone is Laughing, Who is Crying?

608: Chapter 305: Everyone is Laughing, Who is Crying?

“The new members of Parliament took their collective oath of office in Westminster,”

“Prime Minister Earl Grey called for the House of Commons to expedite the discussion of the parliamentary reform bill,”

“The Whig Party attempted to pass the reform bill’s third reading in the House of Commons with the utmost speed,”

“The cholera epidemic and famine led to a severe escalation of the Swin Rebellion in the rural areas of southern England, and Viscount Palmerston, the Foreign Secretary, suggested to the Prime Minister at the Cabinet meeting that military forces should be dispatched to maintain order in the rioting regions,”

Viscount Palmerston said, “To deal with the rioters, the deployment of a certain degree of military force is necessary.”

“The leader of the Tory Party and former Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel fiercely criticized Viscount Palmerston’s improper remarks in the House of Commons and reiterated the Tory Party’s stance: We oppose the deployment of the Army to suppress disturbances,”

Sir Robert Peel said, “The Peterloo incident followed by the Cato Street Conspiracy has taught us that relying solely on military force not only fails to resolve the issues but continues to exacerbate conflicts.

The government should solve problems with the least amount of violence possible, and this is also why I have been committed to abolishing the Bloody Act and establishing Scotland Yard.”

“The taciturn Viscount Melbourne, Home Secretary, after an afternoon’s discussion with Sir Robert Peel, decided to support the Tory Party’s stance on the Swin Rebellion,”

Viscount Melbourne said, “Reports from various regions show that the current riot situation is still under control.

Therefore, the Home Office is not considering sending any military forces to the rioting areas for armed suppression for the time being.”

“The extramarital affair litigation involving Viscount Melbourne is still burning, and Judge George Norton fiercely denounced the Home Secretary’s hypocrisy,”

Judge Norton said, “It’s well-known that the Viscount doesn’t even recognize his own home, which is why he often loses his way into my wife’s bed.

Hence, I believe he is not reluctant to deploy the Army to suppress the disturbances, but rather, due to his notoriously poor sense of direction, is afraid he might send the Army into the English Channel.”

“Viscount Melbourne went to 10 Downing Street and successfully convinced Prime Minister Earl Grey to accept the Tory proposal regarding the Swin Rebellion,”

“The Home Office issued new regulations regarding the Swin Rebellion, with Viscount Melbourne offering a lenient sentence to the rioters and calling for them to voluntarily surrender,”

In accordance with the temporary regulations, all sheriffs who capture rioters will receive cash rewards and honorary recognition.

After consultations between the Home Office and the Lord Chancellor’s office, the Lord High Chancellor Lord Brougham agreed that cases against all the rioters would not be governed by the ordinary domestic law.

Captured rioters would not be handed over to the court but would be judged by a special committee temporarily established by the Home Office.

To ensure fair, just, and open trials, the special committee would include a grand jury composed of members from the citizenry.

As for the prosecution of the rioters, it would be handled by the soon-to-be-established London District Prosecutor’s Office.

Sources revealed that, to gain public trust, the Home Office is likely to delegate the prosecution to London’s most trusted police officer—Mr.

Arthur Hastings, the Senior Police Superintendent at Scotland Yard, who is about to take on the role of Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the London District Prosecutor’s Office.

“Shocking!

London’s special commissioner attacked at Liverpool docks, Home Office reevaluates local public security management,”

Citing “The Honest Liverpool News”: On the afternoon of the previous day, Mr.

Arthur Hastings, the special anti-smuggling inspector assigned by the Home Office, the Lord Chancellor’s Office, Customs and Excise, and the Central Health Committee, was attacked by three Polish thugs armed with guns at the Golden Lion Hotel on the old docks in Liverpool.

The gun battle lasted for about half a minute; realizing they were outmatched, the three thugs voluntarily detonated explosives previously hidden in the horse feed troughs.

Three unfortunate Liverpool citizens passing by were injured, two gunmen died on the spot, and the last gunman died of serious injuries on the way to the hospital.

Fortunately, as Mr.

Hastings was at a safe distance when the explosion occurred, he received only a stone’s scrape at the corner of his eye.

According to our reporter’s on-site observation, it has been confirmed that after receiving six stitches, Mr.

Hastings looks somewhat askew but is otherwise unharmed.

Following the attack on Mr.

Hastings, the Liverpool city authorities immediately reinforced the security forces around the Golden Lion Hotel.

Members of the Liverpool Association, led by Secretary-General Mr.

John Gladstone, visited the Golden Lion Hotel to express their condolences to Mr.

Hastings and his entourage.

At the municipal meeting called urgently that afternoon, Mayor Carrack severely reprimanded the city’s sheriff and urged him to resign as soon as possible.

Currently, London is highly concerned about this case, and a sense of dissatisfaction with Liverpool is beginning to permeate Whitehall.

It is believed that 10 Downing Street has already sent an inquiry letter to the Liverpool city authorities regarding the assassination attempt on Mr.

Hastings.

The Home Office has lost confidence in Liverpool’s abysmal security forces, and to ensure such incidents don’t happen again, Viscount Melbourne has ordered Scotland Yard to select elite personnel to go to Liverpool and take charge of the security for the commissioner’s team.

An insider revealed that the Home Office is considering extending the success of the 1829 “Greater London Police Act” to other parts of the country.

A draft bill not yet finalized is at the drafting stage; if passed, it would authorize local magistrates to establish police forces and create a formal police force following the standards of Scotland Yard in the country’s 56 counties.

“Far-sighted!

The chaos in law enforcement and poor municipal management are significant reasons why the East India Company chose London as its shipping center instead of Liverpool,”