The Shadow of Great Britain

734: Chapter 352 Diplomacy Internal Affairs?_2 734: Chapter 352 Diplomacy Internal Affairs?_2 The Grand Duke Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, pressured by circumstances, had no choice but to reform the state’s representative assembly.

Grand Duke Leopold I of Baden, also faced with ongoing disturbances and protest marches within his territory, announced that he would delegate some financial and administrative powers to the Parliament and relax censorship of publications to promote press freedom.

As for the Kingdom of Bavaria, their king, Ludwig I, was originally an enlightened patron of art and science.

Since ascending to the throne in 1825, he had always been dedicated to pursuing grand architectural tastes, turning Munich, the capital of Bavaria, into one of the most culturally enriched and beautiful cities on the European Continent.

For this purpose, he even spared no expense to relocate the entire Bavarian State University—the University of Landshut—to Munich.

However, his enlightened image has been impacted by the recent widespread reform movement in Germany.

Whether he was frightened by the July Revolution that occurred in France in 1830 or dissatisfied with the Bavarian Parliament’s long-standing restrictions on his massive investments in architecture and art, Ludwig I, this time, absolutely refused to concede, unwilling to continue strengthening parliamentary power and promoting liberal reforms.

Ludwig I insisted that compared to the other German States, Bavaria’s parliamentary powers were already significant.

After all, he had never seen a ruler of any other German state who, like him, could not even get approval to build an art gallery.

Though his words were unpalatable, Ludwig I was speaking the truth from a realistic standpoint.

After all, among the many member states of the German Confederation, only Bavaria on the banks of the Rhine was able to publish newspapers that were almost republican in viewpoint, and it was also in Bavaria that the German university students’ associations were first to revive.

This was also the main reason why Heine was willing to swallow his pride and seek a stable job in Bavaria.

In the environment of Germany, a kingdom among dwarfs, ours in Bavaria could be considered quite capable.

Even Mr.

Schneider, who looked down on Bavaria, once said, “Austrians are a transitional species between Bavarians and humans.”

No matter how inadequate Bavaria might be, it is still closer to humanity than Austria in terms of kinship.

While the German states were in such a state of tumult, the two factions in Portugal went straight to blows, and it was only last year that the Carbonari uprisings in Modena, Parma, Bologna, and Romagna in Italy had just been suppressed by the intervention armies dispatched by Austria.

And in Poland, the Russians were still busy cleaning up the aftermath of the Warsaw uprising.

One could say that there was not a single land of peace and tranquility in all of Europe.

Even the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire was currently suffering from the aggression of the Egyptian Pasha, Muhammad Ali Pasha.

Now, reflecting on the judgment Sir Peel made a few years ago, when the July Revolution had just broken out — that every revolution in France would release equal force in Britain — it can only be said that clearly, Sir Peel had underestimated the influence of the July Revolution.

Many liberals on the European Continent are still looking forward to a French Emperor descending once again, to expel the autocratic tyrants riding over their heads, just as he did thirty years ago.

But this time, they have clearly mistaken the person.

Not only have they placed their hope in personal sentiments and the tips of writers’ pens, but they have also entrusted it to the Polish Resettlement Committee established by King Louis Philippe of France and the publicized Italian Liberation Movement.

They take the encouragement and assurances given by Louis Philippe as standards to live by, yet fail to notice that all those words are empty promises.

Before the Carbonari uprisings in Italy, Louis Philippe verbally agreed to the demands of the Italian exiles for military support, assuring them that he would dispatch a large force from Marseille.

However, until the Austrian Army hung the last Carbonari, this imaginary army had never appeared on the horizon of the Apennine Peninsula.

As for his promises to Poland, there is even less need to mention them.

The Russians still have not formally recognized the legitimacy of the July Monarchy in France, and if the atmosphere were right, given Louis Philippe’s character, he would most likely trade Poland for an invitation to a Tsar’s cocktail party.

Or rather, he stirred up trouble in Poland just to demonstrate the strength of the July Monarchy to the Russians.

This wasn’t about liberalism; it was merely a way to drive up the price.

If he indeed facilitated the growth of the spirit of freedom to some extent, it was mostly an unintended consequence.

Unfortunately, following the July Revolution, not many on the European Continent were able to see this clearly.

And these hotheads are the main reason behind the constant deterioration of London’s public security environment.

Since the beginning of the year, the number of reports to Scotland Yard had begun to increase exponentially.

What worried the police most was the rising proportion of violent crimes.

Take, for instance, the fashionable night-time lighting protests among London’s demonstrators: if those protesters discovered a house without the lights that signaled support for reform at night, at the very least, several stones would be thrown at the windows.

Thanks to their “hard work,” sales of windowpanes in London had seen a significant increase recently, and the shopkeepers and factory owners, fretting in fear, suddenly became enthusiastic about paying for public security.

Although it was just the start of spring, the social donations received by Scotland Yard this year had already surpassed the total sum of the past two years.

Nearly every shop hoped that Scotland Yard could allocate one or two officers to patrol and stand guard at their premises; even if a 24-hour online guarantee wasn’t feasible, ensuring safety at night would suffice.

In the face of unprecedented public safety pressure, Director Rowan assigned the Police Intelligence Department the task of figuring out who exactly those glass-smashing, shop-attacking, residential-district terrorizing culprits were.

Smashing windows might be something anyone could do, but accurately targeting the homes of the MPs opposed to the reform was not a job for your average hooligan.

Moreover, being able to live on without working while protesting in the streets every day was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

The information fed back to Arthur by the operatives of the Intelligence Department essentially confirmed this.

Among these protesters, the outright powers included the Metropolitan Political Alliance, the Birmingham National Political Alliance—one led by the Benthamite Price, the other centered around the banker Attwood.

Of course, mixed in were also forces from an old acquaintance of Arthur’s and Scotland Yard, Mr.

Hetherington, the founder of The Poor Man’s Guardian.

Although Arthur had no major objection to their window-smashing behavior against MPs’ homes, he couldn’t turn a blind eye, as the Cabinet had to answer to Parliament, and governmental institutions like Scotland Yard had to answer to the Cabinet.

If Scotland Yard didn’t go through the motions, once the parliamentary recess ended, those MPs terrified by the flying stones would band together and cause trouble for Scotland Yard.

Arthur’s fingertips tapped on the table: “August, what’s your take on the current events unfolding in Germany and Britain?”

Schneider lifted his cup of tea and shook his head, “The matters in Germany I might be able to discuss, but those in Britain, I’m not sure about; that’s your job.”

“Is that so?” Arthur began, “If that’s the case, then I just might hand over the fellow we caught at the rally yesterday to the criminal court.

Are you really certain the Foreign Office didn’t lose a spy?

I distinctly recall the man claiming to be a subordinate of Mr.

August Schneider, Assistant Secretary at the Foreign Office.”

“You caught one of our people?”

Schneider’s brow rose, his expression showing some surprise: “But there’s nothing strange about that; everyone has their own political views, and the Foreign Office is not devoid of reformists.

As long as he performs his official duties well, what he does in his off-hours is not our affair.

Of course, if he’s broken the law, you should handle it however you see fit, without any need for sentiment on my part.

This is Britain, not abroad, so he naturally can’t avail himself of diplomatic consular immunity.”