The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 658 - 322: Good Cop Bad Cop

In the office of the Lord Chancellor, Viscount Melbourne and Lord Brougham were seated on opposite sides of the sofa.

Several documents lay before them, densely filled with names.

Behind these names were various severe criminal charges, merely glancing at which could send a shiver through one’s liver.

Theft of large livestock, burgling homes, vandalizing machinery, highway robbery, murder, treason...

Each of these charges alone could be enough for the gallows, let alone for those carrying multiple, for those, the only option was to repeatedly enforce the death penalty.

Lord Brougham, holding the list, said, "More than a thousand serious offenders; if all were to be sentenced to hanging, it would exceed the total executions of the past decade combined."

Viscount Melbourne stroked his hair and replied, "I’m well aware of that, and I had promised these rioters before that as long as they turned themselves in voluntarily, the government would certainly consider leniency. Therefore, we definitely cannot carry out the death penalty for all these thousand people, nor even for the majority of them. Times have changed since a decade ago; the spirit of liberty has taken root in Britain, and every execution will be scrutinized by the British public under a magnifying glass, not to mention Fleet Street harboring a slew of journalists who sensationalize the slightest wind."

Lord Brougham, legs crossed, wineglass in hand, leaning back on the sofa, said, "That is indeed a form of social progress, but it also brings a lot of trouble for our execution facilities. Although British courts have always been known for their stern impartiality and independent judgment, now even if the court sentences someone to death, merely a tenth of those sentenced can actually be executed."

Upon hearing this, Viscount Melbourne spoke, "My lord, regarding the Svin riots, I believe that even a tenth is too high. To suddenly execute over a hundred people, that’s already close to the total executions carried out in England last year."

"In the matter of these riot hearings, I have already discussed this with Peel, and both he as a former Home Secretary and I as the current hold the view that only those leading the riots and those who committed unforgivable crimes such as murder should be sentenced to death. As for the rest, those with less severe cases could potentially be released without charges, and those with more severe cases could have their sentences commuted to exile or penal labor," he added. freeweɓnøvel.com

Upon hearing this, Brougham slightly frowned and stated, "Viscount, forgive my frankness, but no one has the authority to interfere with the independence of British judges. Though I do hold the power to fill judge vacancies, once they have taken their positions, I have no authority to dismiss them. If it were only a few criminals, I could indeed find you a couple of flexible judges."

"However, such trials involving more than a thousand people cannot be handled by just a few judges in a short span of time. Perhaps the Home Office can wait, but Fleet Street’s journalists are not known for their patience. If they start making a fuss, the situation will only worsen," he continued.

"No, you misunderstand me," Viscount Melbourne replied.

"I fully acknowledge the sacred and unshakeable independence of the British judiciary; even His Majesty the King has been thwarted by them more than once. Were you not the lawyer who won Queen Caroline’s divorce case against the late King George IV?"

"So, I would never disrespect or undermine the courts’ fairness. On the contrary, I hope all courts judge fairly and hand down whatever sentences are appropriate. My initial intention in advocating for the establishment of a special committee to oversee the Svin riot trials is precisely to demonstrate the fairness, openness, and transparency of the judiciary," he explained.

Lord Brougham, not a fool, quickly grasped that Viscount Melbourne did not aim to manipulate the court proceedings and understood the underlying implications.

"You intend to have His Majesty the King issue a special pardon for those criminals after the trials, do you not?" he asked.

Viscount Melbourne smiled and nodded, "I’ve already clarified this with the Prime Minister, and I will be visiting the other members of the Privy Council judiciary committee subsequently. As long as you, the chairman, also agree, then I believe His Majesty the King would respect the collective opinion of the committee."

Viscount Melbourne had thought that he might have to expend considerable effort in the Lord Chancellor’s office, especially since Lord Brougham, this seasoned former senior barrister, was notoriously difficult.

Besides his somewhat aloof temperament, Brougham’s habitually caustic style of writing and speech was also intimidating.

As one of the founders of the Whig Party’s organ, the Edinburgh Review, in his younger days, besides excelling at his normal duties as a lawyer, Brougham had another major pastime: frequently attacking Romantic poets like Byron, Shelley, and Keats, whom he found disagreeably unrestrained.

In these attacks, those on Keats were particularly fierce and vehement.

It was said that Keats, when seriously ill, coughed up blood and died after reading an article by Lord Brougham that criticized him.

Although such rumors should not be completely believed, Londoners still referred to him as ’the cold-hearted Brougham’ for a long period.

However, using ’cold-hearted’ to sum up Brougham was not entirely accurate, because within the Whig Party, his political stance sometimes seemed too ’heated.’

In the long-standing rivalry between the Whig Party and the Tory Party, the Tories prided themselves on valuing tradition, while the Whigs championed the slogan of freedom and progress.