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Baldwin chuckled. “I’m afraid that won’t happen.”
“Why not?”
Growing serious, Baldwin said, “I am not opposed to building workhouses, but I don’t believe the Home Office should oversee them.”
“Ah, yes,” Lord Desmond mocked. “And how exactly do you propose we finance them?”
“I am not sure, but the Home Office has other responsibilities and obligations.”
“The parishes cannot handle the influx of the poor,” Lord Desmond argued. “We need to change the Poor Laws.”
“That may be the case, but I can’t in good conscience have you cut funding to agencies within the Home Office.”
“Have you at least read my bill?”
“I attempted to, but it is much too long and convoluted for me to wade through.”
Lord Desmond looked displeased by his admission. “We are in a position to make real changes here, Hawthorne. If we place the workhouses around the rookeries then we can save hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s lives.”
“I can respect that, but you need to find another way to fund it.”
“There is no other way. Currently, the parishes support the workhouses, but many can’t afford the cost of one. We need to oversee the poor and not just leave it to the parishes anymore.”
“I’m afraid I can’t support your bill.”
“I don’t have the faintest idea why,” Lord Desmond said, “but the Tory party is looking to you while deciding how they intend to vote on this bill.”
“You flatter me, but I daresay that is not true,” Baldwin dismissed the argument, brushing past him.
Lord Desmond’s voice came from behind him. “When will you stand for something that is greater than yourself, Hawthorne?”
Baldwin slowly turned around. “How dare you presume to know what I stand for?”
Lord Desmond took a step closer to him, his voice accusing. “You cry off your responsibilities for three years, and then you stand here and deny poor men and women an opportunity to survive.”
“I am doing no such thing,” Baldwin argued.
“I have been contracted to run many of these workhouses in London, and I have seen them change lives for the better,” Lord Desmond contended.
“I don’t dispute what you are saying is true.”
“But you won’t help me.”
“Not at the expense of the Home Office.”
Lord Desmond shook his head. “Why are you so protective of the Home Office?”
“Why aren’t you?” Baldwin asked. “They are warding off potential threats.”
“The people are rioting because they don’t have enough to eat. If we give them hope, then the people will disperse.”
“You can’t possibly be as naïve as that!” Baldwin declared.
Lord Desmond tugged down on the lapels of his jacket. “I thought if I appealed to your common decency that you would come around, but I see that I was wrong.”
“Withdraw your bill. If you can find another way to finance the workhouses, I will support it,” Baldwin said firmly.
“I will not.”
