shadow of britain

Chapter 88 Martin's Beer Hall
After listening to Mr. Martin's introduction, Arthur finally understood what the people in Cambridge he was talking about were.

As we all know, the family consciousness of the British people is relatively indifferent compared to the European continental countries. When the child grows up to seven or eight years old, the poor family usually finds ways to send him to a factory or various shops as an apprentice for seven or eight years, while the rich And middle-class families will also consider sending their children to boarding schools, or to learn a trade with skilled relatives.

Correspondingly, in order to make up for the lack of family support, Britain has developed a tradition of folk association and mutual assistance. Perhaps a British person may not necessarily reunite with his parents once a month, but he will definitely participate in various association activities every week.

The scope of associations covers a wide range of religion, study, economy, occupation, and entertainment. These associations cover almost every aspect of British life.

The so-called Cambridge group is a spontaneous association of young people who make a living out of crime, and its official name should be 'Cambridge's Little Brothers'.

According to Mr. Martin's account, this group of young people were almost all from the same neighborhood and had been engaged in criminal work together since they were very young.

In the beginning, they only carried out some petty thefts, but recently, they began to develop into active Pingci, organized theft shops with division of labor.

They also sometimes go shopping in the wealthy West End of London, and get some rewards by retrieving lost pets for the rich.

Of course, many times, a large portion of those lost pets are actually stolen from them.

But no matter what, if you want to find something or find someone, as long as you pay well, then these young people with nothing to do will always find a way for you.

After Mr. Martin finished speaking, he couldn't help flattering him in a low voice: "That... Inspector Hastings, last time I asked you about the tavern, can you help me get a clue?"

Arthur closed the notebook full of information, and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Martin, you are a little unlucky. You want to open a beer pub, and this kind of idea is really motivated.

Unfortunately, tavern licenses are no longer issued by magistrates, and I can't help you with them.

You know the Beer Act that was just passed this month?It stipulates that the business license of the beer hall should be issued by the tax office.

But at the same time, you are also very lucky, because according to the "Beer Act", as long as you can pay the license tax of 2 pounds 2 shillings per year, you can apply for a beer selling license from the tax office.

However, the selling license is only limited to beer. If we find you selling sherry, Polly and other spirits in the store, we will impose a fine of 20 pounds on you.

Of course, if you are selling light alcohol such as cider or perry, you do not need to apply for an additional license.

In addition, I have the honor to inform you that all taxes on beer and cider will be abolished from the date of the enactment of the Beer Act. "

After listening to Arthur's words, Martin was disappointed at first, and then pleasantly surprised.

"My God! There is such a good thing? Mr. Inspector, you are not making fun of me, are you?"

Arthur put the notebook in his arms: "You have to thank those who take to the streets to protest every day.

If it weren't for them, the Duke of Wellington wouldn't have come up with such a "Beer Law" suddenly.

In order to allow those people who took to the streets to go home obediently, this time the cabinet has torn face with the magistrates, and even took back the power to issue beer licenses from them.

You may not know how happy the Duke of Wellington was when the bill passed the third reading in the House of Commons. He said 'the successful passage of the bill is a victory greater than the Battle of Waterloo'.

I have to warn you though, I've heard the vintners and big taverns are not happy with the Beer Law because they don't want people like you in the beer business.

If the Duke of Wellington's cabinet falls, the "Beer Act" may be revised again.So, if you plan to open a tavern, hurry up and get the permit during this time. "

When Martin heard this, he quickly covered his forehead and exclaimed, "Oh! Damn it! Thank you for your reminder. I'll go to the tax office to apply for the permit right now!"

"Wait!" Arthur stopped him immediately when he saw that he was going out.

Mr. Martin turned back and asked: "Is there anything else you can do?"

Arthur went up and patted him on the shoulder: "Opening a tavern is a tavern, but since the beer tax has been abolished, at least you don't mix green vitriol or absinthe in the beer you sell, those things But it’s poisonous, and it’s almost enough to use some lemon juice to enhance the flavor.”

Hearing this, Martin couldn't help rubbing the back of his head with a smile and said, "Look at what you said, if I open a tavern, I must operate it with integrity."

Arthur looked at the glint in the old boy's eyes, and sighed with his mouth curled up: "Okay, I believe you."

After finishing speaking, he waved to Tom and Tony behind him, ready to take them straight to the address provided by Martin.

Unexpectedly, before they went out, it was Mr. Martin who stopped them this time.

"Inspector Hastings!"

Arthur raised his eyebrows: "What's wrong?"

Martin hesitated for a while, and then said embarrassedly: "If you plan to go to them, you'd better go with a gun. I heard that they seem to have something to do with Fred. And you know, those people are all Young people, young people's tempers are generally...not stable..."

……

Whitechapel District, 75 Brick Lane, Blackpool Private Detective Agency.

A man wearing a big-brimmed hat and a black windbreaker suddenly broke into the door.

He came to the front desk, tapped the table with his fingers, and woke up the strong man who was sleeping soundly on the office chair.

The man asked in a deep voice, "Is your boss there?"

The strong man rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked up at the customer, and asked with a frown, "Who the hell are you? Do you have a letter of introduction? We usually only do regular customer business here."

Hearing this, the man clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it on the table with a bang.

The big brim hat was shaken and fell to the ground, revealing the man's true face.

He took out a flintlock pistol from his pocket and put it in the strong man's mouth: "Let me ask you, your boss, that idiot Fred, is there?!"

Startled by his sudden violent rise, the strong man hastily raised his hands up.

Just as the scene reached a stalemate, there was a sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Yo! Isn't this Sergeant Braden Jones? Last time, in order to catch a few corpse snatchers, he dared to draw a gun in front of my face. This time he brought a gun again. It must have found a good business for me." ?”

As soon as the words fell, Jones felt that the door of the detective agency was closed with a creak, and then several guns were put on his head.

Fred, who was wearing a crumpled shirt, walked down the stairs. He easily snatched Jones' pistol with two fingers, then kicked Jones on the stomach, and kicked him to the seat used to entertain guests in the house.

Fred sank his buttocks against the corner of the table, took out a pipe from his trouser pocket and put it in his mouth.

The younger brother next to him was very sensible and took out a match to light it for him.

After two puffs of smoke rings, Fred rubbed his sore neck, pointed at Jones and said to his younger brothers, "This kid thinks that Clemens is covering him, so I dare not do anything to him. You guys Let’s go together, hit me hard, hit me first until I’m happy.”

　There is another update today, it should be later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)