Arthur raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "A 12-gun ship turned into a 6-gun ship? Didn't the Navy Department go after the ship designer? That's not like them."
"Go after the ship designer?" Eld scoffed at this: "Come on, who would risk offending Sir William Symonds? A 12-gun ship turning into a 6-gun ship only cost less than several thousand pounds, and it's not even their money, no one would be foolish enough to be the scapegoat."
Arthur immediately understood what was going on as soon as Eld said this.
Sir William Symonds was the Navy Department's Surveyor of the Navy, and at the same time, he was a crucial assistant to Sir James Graham, the Whig Party Naval Minister in 1832, implementing reforms in the Navy Department. He was also a favorite of the late King William IV; last year, King William IV even conferred the title of Junior Knight upon him at St. James's Palace without prior notice to the Navy Department.
