A Way to Live
The Britain government's administrative efficiency is not as high as it used to be, which is normal, because the struggles in Parliament are more intense than before. In the past, Parliament was mainly a battleground between the Tory Party and Whig Party, and since King George III ascended the throne, the Tory Party have gradually gained the upper hand in Parliament, thus ensuring that government policies can be passed and implemented quickly.
However, recently, this situation has suddenly changed. The Tory Party, which had previously held a clear advantage, have split, and the entire parliament has become Romance of the Three Kingdoms between the Tory Party, the New Tory Party, and the Whig Party. The three factions are constantly sabotaging each other on all sorts of issues, making it much slower than before for some government bills to pass in parliament or even for the government to draft certain bills.
However, on the issue of restoring order in London, the three parties had almost no communication. In just half an hour, the government's proposed "Public Order Regulations" were quickly passed on three readings, and the old "Vagabonds Act" was reinstated.
According to the ancient "Vagabonds Act," aimless wandering and lack of occupation were defined as criminal behavior. The unemployed or jobless were defined as "criminals." The police could arbitrarily arrest these "criminals" on the street and put them in jail.
Of course, prisons are not large enough to hold so many "criminals," so the Vagabonds Act mercifully gives these criminals a chance to repent: after their first arrest for "crime," they will not be severely punished. They will only be given two lashes, recorded, and then released.
However, if the "criminal" is lazy and repeatedly fails to take action, the punishment will become more severe. After being whipped for three days for the "crime," if the "criminal" is arrested again for the same crime, he will be sentenced to hard labor.
Of course, Britain law is very lenient. The purpose of hard labor is not to make him suffer, but to help him correct his bad habit of laziness through labor—it's about curing the disease and saving the person. Of course, considering that the bad habit of laziness is generally difficult to change and is easy to relapse, just like some online novelists who stop updating or abandon their works, a longer sentence is generally indeed needed to consolidate the effect, just like some online novelists need to be put in solitary confinement or quarantined for 14 days.
These prisoners sentenced to hard labor effectively became so-called "public slaves." In a sense, the situation of "public slaves" was extremely bad, much worse than that of "private slaves." This is because "private slaves" were the property of slave owners, who generally did not want their property to suffer unnecessary losses, so they would try their best to avoid ruining their slaves.
But "common slaves" are different. They are "common property" and therefore not actually the property of any one person. If their labor also belongs to the commons, that's fine, but if their labor belongs to someone, then it's different. That person will naturally tend to use this tool with the greatest intensity. After all, if the tool is worn out, it's not their loss.
Convicts sentenced to hard labor were often rented out to mining companies. Although the government stipulated compensation for losses (this was paid to the government, not to the tools or the families of the "public slaves"), these "public slaves" were easy to obtain for the government, almost a risk-free business. Therefore, the compensation they demanded was not very high. As a result, the plight of these "public slaves" was predictable.
Of course, in a sense, this system is still a form of benevolent governance. Even "common slaves," though their situation was far worse than that of the cotton-picking slaves in North America who had watermelons to eat during their rest periods, were not the most miserable. There was a type of slave whose situation was even worse. This most miserable type of slave had a formal name. "Free workers."
These slaves, known as "free workers," were neither slaves of any master nor of the state, so no one needed to cherish them. For any business owner renting one, the most advantageous thing was to use him at maximum intensity. If overuse led to his near-damage, the factory owner would naturally stop renting him to avoid risk. After all, it was free trade; everyone had the freedom to choose. Thus, those "free workers" whose labor capacity had declined due to structural damage were left to starve to death. In contrast, "publicly owned slaves" at least had a cell to eat. This is a major reason why Soapy preferred Blackwell Island to becoming a "free worker."
If an incorrigible "criminal" remains unrepentant and returns to Upstream and laziness after release from prison, then according to the law, he can be suspended from his post. However, the effectiveness of reform in Britain is quite evident; the vast majority of "criminals" do not commit such "crimes" again because most "sinners," after reformation, have successfully been called by the Lord.
Of course, the original "Vagabonds Act" had some rather harsh penalties, so the Addington government has made some changes, replacing hanging with exile—after all, there are plenty of Britain territories.
After this decision was made, the Britain state apparatus immediately began to operate efficiently. Large numbers of criminals were imprisoned, and then large numbers of "public slaves" were sent to various coal mines, iron mines, and other high-risk industries.
George was walking down the street when a policeman suddenly stopped him.
"What do you do? Do you have a job?" the policeman asked him, while placing his hand on the grip of the pistol tucked into his waistband.
"Officer, I have a job. I work at Andy Machine Works. Look, I have my factory work ID here."
As George spoke, he handed a small card to the policeman. The policeman took the card, glanced at it, and tossed it back to him, saying:
"You have a job, why are you wandering around here?"
"Officer, I work the night shift. I'm out buying something to eat before I go to work," George quickly replied, picking up the small card and carefully putting it into his pocket.
"Get out of here," the policeman said.
George quickly walked away, took a few steps, turned a corner, went into an alley, and then disappeared.
George did work the night shift, but not at Andy Machine Works. His work ID was a counterfeit he bought from the mob, but genuine ones in this era didn't have any decent anti-counterfeiting features, so under normal circumstances, they could be mistaken for the real thing. His real job was burglary.
With the implementation of the new law, crime has not decreased immediately; on the contrary, it has become even more rampant because everyone is rushing to act quickly.
All the "criminals" knew that staying in Britain prospect. Neither becoming a "common slave" nor a "free slave" offered a way out. The only way to survive was to quickly obtain enough money to buy a ticket to the New World and then flee New World.
George, of course, did not want to become a "public slave" or a "free slave." He planned to take a gamble with his companions, borrow some money from a respectable family that night, and then hurry to free America.
But just as he emerged from the other end of the alley, preparing to scout out the vicinity of that large mansion, he heard shouts, "Tenant recruitment! Tenant recruitment! Louisiana is recruiting tenants! Anyone who knows how to farm can come to Louisiana to grow wheat. After five years of continuous cultivation, you can obtain land ownership!"
"Is that so?" George was taken aback. He turned to look and saw a newsboy waving a newspaper and running towards them, shouting.
George grabbed the newsboy and asked, "What does it say?"
"How should I know?" the newsboy retorted.
"Then what did you shout?"
"They told me to shout it. If you want to know, go to Petticoat Lane; there are people there who specialize in this," the newsboy replied.
"Petticoat Lane?" George wasn't a native London and wasn't familiar with these place names.
"Just ask him yourself. Lots of people want to go anyway."
George thought that it was still early before nightfall, and a trip to Petticoat Lane wouldn't take much time. If he could really become a tenant farmer again, that would be better than risking a burglary.
Meanwhile, in Petticoat Lane, Agent Fagin's "Butcher" was selecting tenants willing to go to Louisiana. This task had been entrusted to him by Jacob Gallen. It was said that Jacob Gallen and his group had bought a large tract of land in Louisiana and were now short of people to cultivate it. So they wanted to take this opportunity to recruit some people here, but the Butcher felt that things might not be so simple.