Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 535 We are a free country, we would never do such a thing!

"Snapped!"

Queen Victoria slammed a stack of newspapers in front of Prime Minister William Eulter Gladstone.

The newspapers were scattered, some in English, some in French, and the front page was almost entirely dominated by the same picture—

A handsome young man with his hands raised was being held hostage by two uniformed British policemen and half-dragged toward the customs channel marked "Great Britain".

The quality of the prints varies from artist to artist, but the poses and expressions are all quite similar. Below the image is the title, the font so large it's almost jarring:

"A Land of Freedom? Writer Sorel Forcibly Deported from Dover!" (Le Figaro)
French writer forced to return home after customs refused to provide a reason (The Daily Telegraph)
"The British Empire's 'Customs House for Ideas': Only Coffee Allowed, No Ideas?" (Le Petit Parisien)
From Napoleon to Gladstone, who is more afraid of a book? (The New York Daily News)
……

Queen Victoria pointed her finger at the newspaper: "What has happened? You have completely disgraced the Empire!"

The Queen had ruled the empire for forty-five years and had seen too many storms, but this embarrassment still infuriated her.

William Yurt Gladstone stood at his desk, top hat in hand, his back still straight, but his face was grim.

Gladstone offered a weak explanation: "Your Majesty, this is that Frenchman's scheme! He deliberately brought a group of reporters to customs to provoke the officers..."

His goal was simply to take this photo, to embarrass the empire in front of the world.

Queen Victoria interrupted him impatiently: "Everyone knows that! I want to ask you, what is the solution?"
Now the newspapers in Paris are mocking us, saying we've become Russia, we've become Prussia—

Openly suppressing freedom of speech and refusing entry to a renowned foreign writer, without even providing a decent reason!

Gladstone fell silent, leaving only the Queen's angry questioning in the study.

He knew why Victoria had lost control—some people had compared her to the Tsar of Russia, an intolerable insult.

Even though everyone knows that her first love was the eldest son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, who later became Alexander II.

After a while, the Queen calmed down: "There are a hundred ways to deal with a writer, to shut him up, to make him disappear, or to make him give up on his own."

But you chose the stupidest option—to act in public. Now the whole world sees that the British Empire fears a Frenchman with a pen.

Gladstone's face flushed red: "Your Majesty, the Interior Ministry's assessment is that he needs a clear signal."

Let him know that London does not welcome him, and let those who want to follow his example see the consequences.

“The signal? The signal was sent, but he wasn’t the only one who received it. Paris received it, New York received it, and all of Europe received it.”

The signal they saw was that the British Empire was feeling guilty, scared off by a pirate novel and forced to close its borders.

Queen Victoria stood up: “Handle this matter properly, and do not let it escalate further. The honor of the Empire cannot be allowed to remain tarnished!”

"Yes, Your Majesty."

----------

10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's Office.

Gladstone, facing Home Secretary William Harcourt, was utterly blunt: "His Majesty is very displeased. I am very displeased as well."

Harcourt, this matter falls under the purview of your Ministry of the Interior. Now that it's turned out this way, what explanation do you have?

Harcourt licked his lips: "Prime Minister, the handling of this matter was indeed ill-considered. The personnel on duty at the scene were inexperienced and responded inappropriately."

I have instructed the General Administration of Customs to submit a detailed report, and the relevant personnel will be disciplined.

“Discipline? Harcourt, you think the problem lies with a customs clerk?”

"Not entirely. But direct responsibility—"

Gladstone interrupted him: "The direct responsibility is yours! You authorized the special attention to Sorel, you made customs take notice of his entry, and you implied that 'necessary measures' could be taken."

Now that things have gone wrong, you want to find a clerk to take the blame?

Harcourt fell silent. The office was quiet; the only sound was the muffled thud of a carriage rolling across the road outside.

After a moment, Harcourt said, "Prime Minister, our concerns about Sorel are well-founded. His work does indeed spread negative sentiments."

His activities in the East End established his personal prestige, which could translate into political influence, potentially prompting action from the poor.

We simply conducted a risk assessment and took precautionary measures.

Gladstone picked up a newspaper and shook it: "Precautionary measures? This is your precautionary measure? To make us a laughing stock in all of Europe?"

Harcourt lowered his head: "We should take restrictive measures after he enters the country, such as monitoring his contacts, instead of openly intercepting him at customs."

Gladstone threw the newspaper back on the table: "What's the point of saying all this now? I need a solution. How do we get this under control?"
How can we shut the newspapers up? How can we stop that Frenchman from causing us any more trouble?

Harcourt thought for a moment and said, "We can exert influence over domestic newspapers through advertising allocation."

Those newspapers that published unfavorable reports will have their share of government announcements affected next year. They understand.

"anything else?"

Harcourt thought for a moment and said, "We can arrange for some influential commentators to publish articles in The Times and The Spectator."

This analysis of *Pirates of the Caribbean* from a literary criticism perspective downplays its political overtones and brings the debate back to the realm of literature.

Gladstone leaned back in her chair and looked at him: "That's all?"

"That's all I can think of for now, Prime Minister."

"Do you think this is enough? Enough to stop the Parisian newspapers from laughing at us? Enough to stop the New York newspapers from reprinting it? Enough to satisfy Her Majesty the Queen?" Harcourt remained silent.

Gladstone stood up: "I want you to handle this within a week, calm the public outcry, and let this matter pass!"

"Yes, Prime Minister."

----------

The Interior Ministry, William Harcourt's office.

Harcourt was standing before Edgar Winslop, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior.

He repeated the Prime Minister's words, then asked, "Winthrop, what's your opinion on this?"

Winslop paused for a few seconds before slowly speaking: "Minister, the difficulty of this matter is that none of our actions are officially documented."

Special attention was paid to Mr. Sorel, instructions were given to customs, pressure was placed on The Good Words magazine, and the termination of the Scotland Yard cooperation project—

All of this was accomplished through verbal communication and informal hints.

Harcourt frowned. "You mean, we can't assign specific responsibility?"

Winslop corrected, "It's not that it's impossible to investigate, it's that it's inappropriate to investigate. Once a formal investigation is launched, records will need to be retrieved and relevant personnel questioned."

However, many instructions are not recorded in writing, and the understanding of relevant personnel may differ, which can easily lead to gossip and give the media ammunition.

For example, we tell customs that "entry may be refused if necessary," but customs officers might interpret it as "entry must be prevented."

Harcourt quickly pressed, "So it's all customs' fault?"

Winslop's response was watertight: "From an administrative responsibility perspective, the ultimate implementing party does bear direct responsibility. But the higher-level decision-making—"

In particular, preventative measures based on risk assessment are reasonable and necessary within the scope of the Ministry of the Interior's authority.

The problem lies in the over-interpretation at the implementation level and the mishandling of media relations.

Although the words were spoken in a very roundabout way, Harcourt understood that Winthrop was paving the way for him:

The responsibility can be shifted to customs, to on-site personnel, to "misunderstanding" and "mishandling".

The Ministry of the Interior's decision was "reasonable and necessary".

Harcourt relaxed a little: "So what do we do now? The Prime Minister has given us a week."

Winslop thought for a moment and said, "We need to do a few things—"

First, the General Administration of Customs must submit a formal report acknowledging the improper handling of the situation on-site and announcing disciplinary actions against the relevant personnel.

Secondly, the Home Office could issue a brief statement emphasizing that the UK welcomes all law-abiding visitors but reserves the right to refuse entry based on public order.

Third, communicate with editors of major newspapers through informal channels and suggest that they appropriately reduce the level of coverage of this matter.

Fourth, one or two members of parliament could be assigned to raise relevant questions in the House of Commons, and then ministers could respond, thus bringing the discussion back to the parliamentary framework.

Harcourt thought for a while before speaking: "So all we need to do is deal with a few customs officers, issue a lukewarm statement, and wait for public opinion to cool down on its own?"

Winslop nodded. "Sometimes, the best course of action is inaction. Overreacting can only prolong the process."

Harcourt thought about it and agreed: "Let's do it your way! You'll draft the declaration."

"Yes, minister!"

------------

A week later, in the British Parliament, the House of Commons.

In round after round of questioning, both Prime Minister Gladstone and Home Secretary Harcourt remained impeccable.

All responsibility was distributed among different departments and different personnel.

It seems like everyone should be responsible, yet it also seems like no one should be responsible.

As the highest-ranking officials in the government and the ministers in charge of specific affairs, their expressions were utterly innocent.

It's as if all the terrible consequences were caused by poor execution from below.

The lawmakers were naturally unhappy with the performance of the two old foxes, especially those whose constituencies were in the East.

They were furious and repeatedly interrupted the speaker, to the point that the speaker had to repeatedly bang his gavel and shout, "Oder! Oder!"

In the final stage of the questioning, Liberal MP Joseph Lawrence posed his own question:
"If the Ministry of the Interior believes that a certain author or work may have a negative impact, what will it do? Will it simply ban its publication?"

Interior Secretary William Harcourt stood up and solemnly shook his head: "We will absolutely not ban its publication; we may simply choose not to publish it."

What's the difference?

"The difference is like heaven and earth! Banning publication is a tactic used by authoritarian countries like Russia. We are a free country, and we would never do such a thing."

We simply made the democratic decision not to publish it.

The lawmakers erupted in uproar again. Amid the commotion, Joseph Lawrence posed his final question:
Will we ever see Lionel Sorel's work in British newspapers and magazines again?

(First update, Happy New Year!)
(End of this chapter)