The Shadow of Great Britain

218: Chapter 148: Blue-skinned Beast 218: Chapter 148: Blue-skinned Beast Early in the morning, the carriage wheels splashed through the streets of Westminster.

Standing at the foggy and drizzly corner of Whitehall, Arthur could look up and see countless gentlemen and ladies walking with their umbrellas along the road.

He breathed out a white mist, took off his gloves, and was about to push open the door of the Greater London Police Department, but before he could step inside, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Arthur?”

Arthur turned around, standing behind him was an elderly gentleman, wearing leather gloves, holding a black umbrella, and looking robust and energetic.

Arthur looked at the old gentleman with flecks of white at his temples and couldn’t help but smile, “Sir, finishing work so early today?”

“Not finishing early.

I’ve retired,” the Magistrate laughed heartily.

“Congratulations to me, Arthur, I’ve finally said goodbye to that damned court and can now enjoy life in the countryside with my retirement pension.”

Arthur laughed, “That is indeed a cause for congratulations.

I must say, I’m quite envious of your days ahead.

Retirement pensions are not that commonly available, and all I can do now is pray to God that by the time I retire, Scotland Yard will have established a pension system too.”

The Magistrate laughed heartily, “You probably don’t know, but initially, magistrates weren’t eligible for retirement pensions either.

When the pension system was first established in 1590, it was only available to retired officers of the Royal Navy.

Later on, Parliament incorporated the Army into the system.

By the 17th and 18th centuries, public service sectors like government departments and the magistrates’ courts also began to enjoy these benefits.

In my view, policemen will eventually have pensions too.

You know, these days the government values practicality.

As long as you can create benefit and make them feel that Scotland Yard plays a far greater role than the funding they provide, Parliament and the Cabinet will sooner or later consider providing a decent retirement for the officers of Scotland Yard.”

Arthur, remember what I told you before?

Everything will be better with you around, you’re a natural-born police talent.

Look at how many major cases you’ve cracked this year.

If Scotland Yard ever were to lose a capable officer like you, the Home Office would be completely flustered.”

Arthur half-jokingly shrugged, “Right now, I dare not dream of a pension, I just hope they hurry up and pay out Scotland Yard’s performance bonus for the first half of the year.”

The Magistrate exclaimed in astonishment, “The Home Office is still holding back your performance bonus?”

Arthur smiled helplessly, “Exactly.

You must know, Scotland Yard’s funding comes entirely from the local public security tax, but whenever Rowan, the Chief, goes to the Home Secretary for money, our response always is, ‘Due to the difficulty in collecting public security taxes from some parishes, we can only issue basic salaries for now.

As for the performance bonus for the first half of the year, it will have to wait a bit longer.’”

The Magistrate frowned, “Tax revenue isn’t coming in?

What the devil is the Treasury doing?

Those lazy good-for-nothings, apart from collecting their paychecks, literally do nothing.

And the Home Office should really not disregard you like this, why don’t they urge the Treasury a bit?”

“You’re absolutely right, I heard that the folks at the Home Office even have a nickname for us at Scotland Yard behind closed doors.”

“A nickname?

What nickname?”

Arthur warmed his hands with a breath of white air, “I heard they call us ‘Blue-Skinned Beasts.’

“Blue-Skinned Beasts?” The Magistrate scoffed, slamming his walking stick heavily on the wet pavement, “Absolutely preposterous!

They do nothing themselves and yet speak so ill of those who do?”

Arthur raised his hand, gesturing for the old magistrate not to be too upset, “It’s not a big deal.

I suppose it’s probably because they were upset about the recent collective pay raise at Scotland Yard.

Maintaining the daily operations of Scotland Yard with public security tax is already tight, so the pay raise portion had to be carved out from the Home Office’s office budget.

Taking their money, it’s no wonder they’re not pleased.

Let’s drop this discouraging topic, Sir.

You’re about to retire, and I really will miss you.

After all, when I first arrived at Scotland Yard, I was almost dealing with you daily.

Seeing a colleague with outstanding capabilities and a strong sense of responsibility leave is always saddening.”

Upon hearing this compliment, the Magistrate felt refreshed and cheerfully replied, “It’s not a big deal.

The person replacing me will definitely do better than me and won’t cause any trouble for Scotland Yard.”

“Oh?

Has the new judge been decided?”

The Magistrate joked, “Perhaps you could consider training at one of London’s four Inns of Court.

Your educational background meets the entry qualifications of the four Inns, and although it’s not from Oxford or Cambridge, it’s still a university degree.

I’ve been here for so many years, I surely have some influence.

I might as well use these old bones to ask them to hold the spot for you for a few years.

Although the job won’t be easier than at Scotland Yard, it has good compensation; after all, you can earn up to 1000 pounds a year.”

Arthur knew the other party was joking, so he joked back, “If that’s the case, you might as well post the job vacancy; I estimate many people would be willing to pay a high price for it.

After that, you could use the money from selling the position to pay for my tuition at the four Inns of Court, three hundred pounds a year.

That’s not something I, a ‘blue beast of burden,’ can afford.”

“Hahaha,” the Magistrate laughed loudly, “Well then, goodbye, Arthur, and good luck.”

Arthur took off his hat and bid him farewell, “I also wish you a satisfying retirement.”

After parting with the Magistrate, Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and pushed open the grand doors of the Greater London Police Department.

“Good morning, Superintendent Hastings.”

“Hmm, good morning…”

As Arthur greeted his busy colleagues, he confidently made his way through the corridors and foyer, up the stairs, and to the front of his office.

No sooner had he entered the door than he saw several Police Superintendents, who had been waiting there, stand up and salute him.

“Superintendent Hastings.”

Arthur glanced at them, “You all arrived quite early.”

The Superintendents all smiled broadly, “It’s a habit.”

Arthur didn’t waste words with them, but instead took off his scarf and coat and hung them on the coat rack in his office, then loosened his tight white shirt before settling into his office chair.

Arthur pulled several documents from the pile on his desk, holding them he began, “We have to hold this police oversight meeting every week, and I’m sure you’re all tired of the same old pleasantries.

So let’s get to the important matters briefly, not wasting your time from daily duties.”

The Superintendents straightened their backs and sat upright in their chairs, eager to finish as soon as possible since Arthur didn’t want to make long speeches.

Glancing at them again, Arthur clutched the papers and read, “Today’s main agenda is to announce a few documents, one of which involves promoting several officers who demonstrated outstanding performance in the Hyde Park riot and over the past few months.

First, at the recommendation of Arthur Hastings, Police Superintendent of the Greenwich and Tower Hamlets districts under the London Metropolitan Police, and after approval by the senior police meeting of the Greater London Police Department, the Home Office has officially granted promotions from patrol officers to detective sergeants for Tony Eckhart, Tom Flanders, and Charles Field.

Before a sergeant position opens in the districts under the London Metropolitan Police, these newly promoted sergeants will temporarily join the London Area Temporary Measuring and Statistical Bureau to assist the Greater London Police Department in completing the surveying work of streets in the East End of London.

Second, to continuously improve the cultural proficiency of the police force, particularly to address the lack of officers capable of conducting inspections and prosecutions within the police districts, and to respond to the call for the rejuvenation of the police force by Sir Peel, the Home Secretary, the district plans to visit the University of London next week to seek suitable graduates to join the force.

When you return, organize the clerical staff vacancies within your jurisdiction, and report back to me later.

After all, we are aware of the conditions we offer, and although the University of London hasn’t been granted a Royal Charter, the graduates are still university-educated.

It’s fine for them occasionally to patrol the streets, but if it’s frequent, I reckon within a few months, everyone would have left.

After all, there are not many fools like me around these days; even a fool like me almost joined the Royal Navy once, let alone those smarter than me.”

Hearing this, the Superintendents couldn’t help but suppress their laughter, “Superintendent Hastings, you shouldn’t belittle yourself.

It’s rare to reach such a position at such a young age.”

“Is that so?” Arthur joked, holding the materials, “Isn’t there one right in front of you?”

Another Superintendent stood up and voiced his concern, “Superintendent Hastings, I think it might be tough to recruit graduates from the University of London, as you just mentioned, with the conditions we offer…”

Another Superintendent, with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised, smiled, “Indeed, our conditions might just about attract someone from Oxford or Cambridge, but the University of London is a bit tricky.”

Arthur looked at him and laughed, “Well said.

I’ve considered the issue you raised.

Considering we still have some surplus funds this year, let’s allocate a part of it for prosecution subsidies.

For each day they appear in court during the week, increase their weekly pay by a shilling.

Anyone who can stand in the Magistrates’ Court and deliver clear statements can get this money, which seems fair.

Moreover, this should also encourage those who previously hesitated to confront judges and juries in court to consider the matter.”

The Superintendents nodded continuously, “That’s a good idea.”

Arthur flipped to the next page of the document in his hands, suddenly covered his forehead as if he had a headache, “The last matter, of course, pertains to maintaining order at the venue for the forthcoming election of the new session of Parliament.

You all should understand that every time a new king is crowned, Parliament must be reelected.

But the situation this election is a bit different from before, as you all know how lively London has been recently.

We absolutely can’t have any issues at this juncture, otherwise once the new Cabinet is formed, we are definitely going to suffer…”