Chapter 2219 - 253: Sir Arthur Has Already Decided, You’ll Be the Prime Minister

To put it bluntly, although Arthur hasn’t been promoted, his position has indeed risen.

Because the core responsibilities of the Home Office are now firmly in his grasp.

If you exclude the police department, the remaining functions of the Home Office, frankly speaking, can no longer be firmly controlled by a few assistant undersecretaries of the Home Office like in the past.

Prison affairs and the law and order system have always been inseparable, and now they must obey unified scheduling even more.

The execution of the exile system and the preliminary review of death penalty pardons are increasingly dependent on police investigation reports.

Epidemic prevention and control, local unrest, and emergency fire response often require the police to be deployed to maintain order.

Registration of foreign nationals, monitoring of exiles, and even the preliminary screening of domestic security intelligence cannot be done without the assistance of the Police Intelligence Department.

As for the censorship of publications and theater license management under the purview of the Home Office, with Imperial Publishing in his hands, Arthur doesn’t care whether the Home Office is willing to authorize him in these areas.

Nowadays, the only core power of the Home Office that Arthur finds hard to meddle in, is probably the approval or rejection of local municipal charters.

After all, even the election monitoring work managed by the Home Office requires assistance from the police department.

Of course, Sir Arthur Hastings absolutely has no intention of manipulating elections, as every UK election is conducted in accordance with the basic law and the electoral law.

However, if you insist on asking whether Sir Arthur supports his friend Mr. Disraeli in being re-elected to the seat in Tower Hamlets, he definitely supports it. After all, Mr. Disraeli’s re-election is beneficial for maintaining stability in the East End of London and is a responsible move for the people of the East End.

The government has emphasized more than once that the UK is an open and free country, and every election upholds the fundamental principles of fairness, openness, and impartiality, and is subject to the supervision of the British public. Registration officers, magistrates, and municipal committees in every constituency all play key roles in the election.

But... well...

Ultimately, an election is just a large-scale street activity.

And what was a British election like in the 1830s?

Taverns were open until the early hours, candidates hosted banquets and bribed voters, and brawls and confrontations between factions often occurred. And because of the use of named ballots, each vote had to be publicly read, naturally leading to threats, intimidation, and harassment. Riots during elections, with supporters of different factions attacking polling stations, occurred from time to time.

And when such situations arise, who should maintain order?

It would, of course, be the police.

And who leads the police?

The Home Office.

And what does this mean?

How much police force to dispatch?

Who to dispatch?

Handle it with a tough approach or a soft one?

Which public gatherings to approve? How many participants to approve?

Which activities should be deemed disturbances to the public peace and thus be dispersed, and which should be deemed reasonable venting of emotions and not subjected to arrest?

There is an art to this.

During the tenure of Sir Robert Peel as Home Secretary, Tory Party constituencies usually received more comprehensive maintenance of order, while Whig Party parades were often restricted on grounds of "disturbing residential peace." And during the tenures of Viscount Melbourne and Lord Russell as Home Secretaries, the situation was reversed.

Therefore, while the Home Office cannot decide which ballot boxes voters put their votes into, it can, to some extent, decide who can reach the ballot boxes in time on election day to exercise their legal rights.

You must know that in many fiercely contested areas, often only dozens of votes can change the election outcome.

If Arthur set his mind to it, at least in this one-acre three-furlong expanse of London, he could easily cause shifts in two or three seats. And when Conservative Party and Whig Party support is evenly matched, these two or three seats might just decide who comes to power and governs.

If one day, things really reach the "irreversible" stage...

Then, although Sir Arthur is unwilling to be embroiled in political strife, he still takes the responsibility of benefiting the country upon himself. If the time comes when it is truly the people’s desire and action alone can save the nation, then he can only take on the responsibility, completely abandon personal biases, and act strictly in accordance with legal procedures.

Yet even if Arthur is overjoyed in his heart, he must put on a worried face, as if he were genuinely discouraged by this morning’s negotiations with the Corporation of the Financial City.

Eld slapped this old friend on the shoulder, like comforting a little boy who cried after being scolded by the teacher: "Come on, don’t lose heart! Even if those people in the Financial City are impregnable, this reform is bound to succeed! Look, Peel and Russell are standing on your side now, the Conservative Party and Whig Party have joined hands, except for us signing an alliance with the French, I can’t think of anything more ridiculous."

Mentioning this, Eld seemed to shift Arthur’s mood deliberately, changing the topic: "By the way, how’s the progress of persuading Earl of Dalmo to come out of retirement? These days I’ve noticed that the Westminster Review hasn’t published many articles attacking the Cabinet, have you two reached an agreement?"

Of course, Arthur couldn’t possibly tell Eld that he hadn’t even been to see Earl of Dalmo these days, nor did he have any plan of personally traveling to Durham to visit him.

After all, he was busy pulling strings with the Home Office over the Police Bill. If he effortlessly persuaded Earl of Dalmo, the Whig Party might suspect that he and the Earl had plotted against them.

As for how to persuade Earl of Dalmo to come out of retirement, Arthur already had a conclusive plan in mind.

At the end of the day, Earl of Dalmo was merely an idealist. He’s spent his life writing critical articles and delivering reform manifestos. For someone who no longer needs to pursue material wealth, just giving him a stage to realize his political ideals and leave his name in history was enough to make his heart race.

Just place the appointment letter for the North American Governor-General and senior commissioner in front of him, how could Earl of Dalmo possibly refuse?

This is just like placing the Police Bill in front of Arthur; he would exert his last breath to pry open the coffin lid if needed.

With this thought, Arthur pulled out his pocket watch, gently flipping it open with his thumb, revealing a brilliantly polished gold watch.

"Darn it." He muttered softly, frowning even deeper: "I had previously written to Earl of Dalmo, inviting him to come to London and meet this afternoon... Given the time now, I’m afraid I must hurry."

Eld was taken aback: "So soon? Have you thought of how to persuade him?"

Arthur snapped the watch lid shut with a click: "A person like Earl of Dalmo can’t be swayed by a few flattering words. You’re familiar with his temperament; either he finds you vulgar or thinks you’re not radical enough, and with the slightest misstep, he’ll point at your nose and curse you out of the window."

Eld thought for a moment and nodded honestly: "He... indeed has this capability."

Arthur stood up, looked at Eld, and hesitated before speaking: "Eld... I mean... ah, never mind..."

Eld immediately became alert: "What do you mean by that?"

Arthur sighed: "I was planning to ask you to come with me."

Eld blinked: "Huh?"

"But upon careful consideration, you’re also busy." Arthur continued feigning hesitation: "The financial reports of the Hydrographic Office haven’t been audited today, and you have plenty of urgent matters to handle on Holborn Street. Coming with me on this trip might waste quite a bit of your time."

Eld slapped the crusty bread on the chair: "What do you mean by this? Do you genuinely think I’m too busy, or do you think I’m useless?"

Arthur raised his hand to rub his brow: "Eld, don’t misunderstand me... I absolutely trust your abilities. It’s just that Earl of Dalmo... never mind, why should you join me just to get scolded?"