The Shadow of Great Britain

83: Chapter 43: Change of Weather in Great Britain (Subscribe please!) 83: Chapter 43: Change of Weather in Great Britain (Subscribe please!) In the office of the Home Office, Sir Peel sat in his chair, carefully reading a series of investigation reports on grave robbing and murder cases submitted by Scotland Yard.

On his right-hand side, there was a stack of proposed amendments to the Anatomy Act drafted by Arthur.

The proposed amendments elaborated on key information that Arthur had learned from the doctors and grave robbers, such as the necessity of corpses for medical development, the shortage of corpse supply, and the ability of anatomy schools in other European countries to legally acquire unclaimed bodies from hospitals, prisons, and poorhouses.

Given the revisions to the Bloody Act, the sources of legally dissected bodies would only decrease from now on.

Thus, to avoid a recurrence of large-scale grave robbing and murder cases like this one, it was deemed necessary to refer to European experiences and expand the sources of legally dissected bodies.

On the other hand, differentiated punishment should be imposed on those groups that profited from the bodies.

Last, at the end of the report, Arthur also highlighted the theme: to trade the corpses of the dead, unclaimed poor for the right to survival of those still living among the poor.

After reading these documents, Sir Peel, holding his forehead, spoke to Arthur, who was sitting opposite him.

“Arthur, actually, we’re not unaware of these things.

Since the Burke case in Edinburgh a few years ago, we have been considering expanding the sources of legal bodies.

But as you know, the people of Britain harbor deep-seated prejudices against dissection; they generally believe that the body is an ancient and sacred symbol of a person, and many of our cultural customs still entail numerous requirements regarding funerary rites.

Thus, it is very difficult for us to completely follow the experiences of other European countries and create a system that uses unclaimed bodies for dissection.”

Moreover, those who oppose this bill include not only the clergy group but also many among the medical community.

Thomas Wakley, the MP responsible for forming the Dissection Ethics Investigation Committee, is one of the staunch opponents.

He initially delivered a speech in the House of Commons for this cause.

He believed that the Anatomy Act should have eliminated the deep-rooted resentment and prejudice against dissection, but instead, we added misguided enthusiasm.

This led the public, especially the impoverished, to have more reasons to believe that their rulers were selling their corpses to anatomists for dissection.”

He also felt that if the Anatomy Act were passed by vote and officially announced, it would only embarrass researchers like him, and using the bodies of the deceased, unclaimed poor from poorhouses and hospitals for dissection studies would be not only unethical but also inhumane.

Even a few years ago when Wellington first formed the Cabinet, the Anatomy Act could not be smoothly promoted.

As for the present moment…

it is far too sensitive, and though I am willing to support your views, the rest of the Cabinet members are not willing to further agitate the public’s sensitive nerves.

I know you are well-meaning, but Arthur, at least not now, I’m sorry.

However, I can promise you that I will seriously consider this issue, but as for when to push forward, we still need the right moment.”

Arthur certainly understood the implications in Sir Peel’s words.

The Tory Party can’t even secure half of the seats in the House of Commons, and at the moment, the high clergy in the House of Lords were already filled with fury due to the Catholic Bill.

If the Anatomy Act were thrust in their faces at this time, the archbishops would likely personally take to organizing the faithful to protest in the streets.

Arthur nodded calmly and said, “No worries, I understand you.

But please understand, submitting this report is Scotland Yard’s duty; we must analyze the causes of the cases in detail.

As our police handbook states, the goal of the police is to reduce crime rates, and only by resolving the doctors’ demands can we reduce the occurrence of grave robbing and murders.”

Sir Peel nodded in agreement, “Exactly, only by resolving the demand issue can we eradicate such crimes.

Though I can’t push forward the Anatomy Act, I can start by promoting the differentiated punishment you mentioned earlier.

Before the Anatomy Act can be passed, we could try to guide those offenders to rather rob graves than commit murder.

For those doctors who used the bodies of murder victims, I will also do my best to exert the influence of the Cabinet and Parliament on the relevant schools and hospitals to pressure them into dismissing these individuals from their teaching positions and making them pay the price.”

Thus, in the future, when these doctors purchase bodies from unclear sources, they would also be compelled to consider carefully or at least ensure these bodies were not from murder cases.”

Arthur nodded, for him, today’s conversation with Sir Peel was somewhat effective, at least recognizing the importance of such cases.

“That will be enough.”

As he spoke, Sir Robert suddenly continued, “Arthur, regardless, your work this time has been outstanding and effective.

I can relay a message from the Duke of Wellington, he greatly appreciates your capabilities.

Thus, he plans to assign you a new task soon.”

“A new task?” Arthur frowned and thought for a moment, “Scotland Yard hasn’t encountered any difficult cases recently, which issue are you referring to?”

“No, no, not a case.”

Sir Robert said with a smile, “It’s about security for a major event.

You must be aware that the railway from Liverpool to Manchester is about to be completed, right?

The Duke plans to use this event to mend relations with the former Home Secretary, William Hesketh.”

After considering the local police force, the Home Office feels it’s most proper to dispatch competent officers from Scotland Yard to maintain order at the scene.

When we sought the Duke’s personal opinion, he thought of you immediately.”

At this point, Arthur roughly understood the situation.

William Hesketh is a well-known figure within the Tory Party, but his stance is quite peculiar; he is a liberal within the Tory faction.

The Tory Party itself is an extremely conservative political party, but after the Peterloo Massacre, there was significant division within the party.

A faction of Tories who sympathized with the victimized workers believed that the party policies needed to be adjusted and this liberal group was subsequently segregated.

This liberal faction of the Tory Party was led by former Prime Ministers George Canning, former Home Secretary William Hesketh, and Sir Robert Peel.

In the Cabinet organized in 1822 by the Earl of Liverpool, Robert Jenkinson, the Tories’ liberals triumphed, with George Canning taking charge of diplomacy and also serving as the leader of the House of Commons, William Hesketh overseeing trade, and Robert Peel serving as Home Secretary up until today.

These three officials reversed the conservative policies of the Tory Party, with George Canning amending foreign policies and actively supporting the independence movements in South America and Greece.

William Hesketh advocated for free trade and drastically abolished most of the regulations in the Navigation Acts, allowing most goods destined for British colonies to be transported without having to go through Britain.

Meanwhile, Sir Robert, from the beginning of his term, had been actively promoting the abolition of the “Bloody Act” and had recently achieved substantial results.

Including previous efforts, Sir Robert had successfully abolished over a hundred capital crimes.

Besides that, he had also been working to enhance prison conditions.

However, of this liberal Tory faction, only Sir Robert remains in the Cabinet today.

George Canning had passed away during his tenure as Prime Minister a few years ago.

And Hesketh had resigned from the Cabinet, bringing his supporters with him in protest against the Duke of Wellington, a representative of the conservative faction within the Tory Party.

Only Sir Robert, because of his good personal relationship with the Duke of Wellington, remained by invitation.

Given the Duke’s character, it was practically unthinkable that he would initiate reconciliation with Hesketh.

But on the other hand, this also indicates the dire situation of Wellington’s Cabinet at the moment.

The “Catholic Emancipation Act” had managed to offend all the extreme conservatives within the party, so following this trend, was the Duke intending to lean towards the liberals?

Arthur was still pondering this when suddenly,

he heard a rush of hurried footsteps outside the door.

Sir Robert’s private secretary burst in, saying in a fluster, “Sir, the Duke of Wellington urgently summons you to 10 Downing Street.”

Upon hearing this, Sir Robert stood up and took his coat from the rack, “What happened?”

The private secretary’s face was filled with urgency, “Ah, our King has just passed away at Windsor Castle!”