The Anarchists in London.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 143, 16 June 1894, Page 4 (Supplement)

The Anarchists in London.

(From Ode London Correspondent.)

London, April 27.

Carnot Captured.

As I intimated last) mail the capture of the Anarchist Polti was one of the best hauls the police have ever made during their raid on Anarchism. Under the persuasive eloquence of the men deputed to interview Polbi in bis cell subsequent to the remand, thab youth made statements of a- nature calculated to send the head of theC.LD. in rapture. Polti betrayed the one man on whom, above all others, the police deBired to lay bands, Guiseppe Farnard. alias (Jarnob, the fountain head, of the English group of working" Anarchists. So completely did Polti give away' the individual that he was arrested without) trouble on Sunday at Stratford, whither, after Polti's arrest, he had moved from the dangerous neighbourhood of Clerkenwell. How important the caging of 'Carnob1 is may be best gleaned trom the following facts regarding him as supplied by the lacj Polti. Curnob was elected to direct operations in England by the unanimous vote of the Anarchist delegates from all parts of the world at a conference held at the Hague two years ago. He proved himself a capable and indefatigable worker, and in a short space of time won for himself the title of ' Head Centre' from the English group. He was well supplied with funds from the Continent—from Belgium mostly—and it is suspected thab through his agency the bombs exploded with such disastrous effect in Paris and elsewhere were obtained from London. * Carnob' was by trade a tailor, and it was in the sweating dens of Wbitechapel thab he' found plenty of good material out of which to make Anarchists. In these tailoring dens foreigners abound, and many of them are in England by reason of the oppressive civil and military laws of their native lands. The now defunct Autonourie Club was another favourite recruiting ground of' Carnob's.' It was at this place that he gathered into the fold of militant Anarchism both Bourdin and Poite. Over these men he gained a most complete ascendancy, and. to Polti he deputed the ordering of bombs, or as they were called, 'cylinders.' Polti was flattered by Carnot's tribute to his shrewdness, and threw himself heart and toul into the work. He alleges that Carnot promised him a pound a week for life if he successfully accomplished an explosion, and also thab if arrested tho very besb of counsel would at once be provided to get him out of a mess. So complete was Polti's description of Carnob thab, as I have already remarked, the authorities had little trouble in getting hold of him. The arch-conspirator seems to have been suspected for some time of .Anarchist tendencies, but his mildness of manner and meekness of bearing to a certain extent disarmed suspicion. His 'cuteness was such thab had Polti bridled his tongue Carnot's arrest would never have come about. Now the police have the Anarchists of England well in hand, for ' Carnob's ' papers have made clear many doubtful points regarding the organisation and its methods, The documents will also be mosb useful to the Belgian police, for it seems thab Belgium in the Continental chief harbour of the violent Anarchist brotherhood, and the fund centre as well. In truth, Polti's confession and ' Carnot's' papers have given away the whole Anarchist conspiracy in England and Europe, and if the Continental police will only / act quickly, Anarchism should be completely crippled for some time to come. The London police have,, it is stated, several minor arrests to make, but having thoroughly frightened their men by capturing Polti and Carnob in quick succession, expect to have great difficulty in cornering their prey. All the ports are becoming mosb carefully watched to prevent them escaping, bub the detective resources of the Yard have been severely taxed, and ib is only the cordial co-operation of the police abroad that will render the efforts of Inapecbor Meville's men completely successful. Carnob has been before the Magistrate ab Bow-street, bub, as in Polti's case, only sufficient evidence was produced to justify a remand. The latest intelligence from the Continent proves conclusively thab bhe importance attached to Carnob's arrest by bhe authorities here is justifiable. In Belgium the Anarchist pass word for the present) is sauve gui pent. . .' Carnot in Court. When Carnob was pub into the dock ab Bow-streeb on Monday morning nearly everybody in Court ejaculated, ' What — that thing Carnot — that V No wonder they were astonished. Of the mean ratty little' foreigners in London bhe alleged * Head Centre' of English Anarchism is about bhe moanesfc and rattiest. Scarce above four feet in stature, thin as a rake, dirty, unkempt, and dreseed in the shabbiest of shabby suits,' Carnob' is the embodiment of the harmless gutter merchanb, bub there is absolutely nothing about him to suggest the leader and chief plotter in the Anarchical crew. 'He doesn'b even hole vicious,1 wa3 the comment) of one pressman, and in truth he reminded one of nothing so much ns a half - starved homeless little fox terrier. The feeling of vindictivenesa which every honest man must harbour against the preachers aud teachers of the doctrine of indiscriminate slaughter almost left one's bosom ab the sight of this mean, unwholecomo little creature. Personally, 1 have a greab longing to administer a good, hearty kicking and cuffing to these Anarchist creatures, bub I couldn't kick 'Carnob' wibhoub entirely losing my self respect.- He is the sort of subject) you would hand over to the ! tender mercies of wife or mother to be well i slippered, and then washed and fed. But, his mean personality notwithstanding, 'Carnot,' is a most dangerous creature. Ho is the little starved terrier gone mad, and therefore capable of doing grievous injury to the public ab large. Detectives Quinn and Maguire's story of his capture, as told ab Bowstraeb on Monday morning is sufficient proof of Carnob's desire and intention bo

kill and maim. The ofecera wen^Cll |. Church-street, Stratford, at l^ te4l'Wl Sunday morning. In a baek*i£&£ °tt^! the fink floor of the bouse t&h£RpJs not sleeping peacefully as a tiw^ffPi They woke him up and' ordertdWKl dress, and consider himself their nSL*"^ Carnot was, mjch Burprised, bafc^SSS «r"; !All right, I'n^ your man, yon v«~fv'stronger yarby/l'll go.' .«B U bSL*S the officers with evident Sffii 11?" I should like to know how -yoSSSST } I I've only been here threerdaT*YW^ , well informed.' The; -^SiSSgfi Polti'a statement oub to hE J¥ dressed. Ib told how three wS. Sl^ I Polti bad gone to Mr OohttlsSSjS£-i3 Road as interpreter for a m an SJ I Piedmonti, and warfted to order Vi3B: I for a bomb, and who afterward. SSt-^ and gave to Polti to take care of a iS& phial of sulphuric acid and come » ! and also got him to order a second Sifri another place. «Righb you are »S£ Carnob in reply. ' I'nTthe man ™« ff ' lam Piedmonti." Then he was marchß I to West Ham Police Station an^SS, On route • Carnot' let his tongue loose3S : gave the officers a digesbthe wholeprinS and theory of Anarchism. He fnfoS them thab straightened finances were^h& ' sole cause of his tame submission to them %'* I bad had any money,' he Raid, 'Iwottldn-b ? have gone like this. I would have bbujJl - revolvers and placed themroundmeandihob everyone who attempted to lay, handson me. I should havehib a good many of '" you before you could overpower me.' i JU. I small, • but full of energy and determioaV turn. So he frothed on, infinitely amusfat Mb captors on-the journey to the sfctionl He told them of his determination to •finish with a poignard 'Inspector Mcl ' ville. He only failed to accomplish' this deed and the deaths of would,be ; captors because he had no money to buy weapons. Inspector Melville owes! .bis life to Polti's capbure and confeg. sion. ' Carnot' intended him to livel ohlv three or four days 5 atter seeing the chief detective at Bow-sbreeb on the occasion6l - Meunier's examination. In Carnob'sopinion Melville was a superfluous person in the world. And he had caused so many of the ' Head Centre's' friends to rest from their labours that his removal was an absolute necessity. Babbling 'oa the captive remarked thab ,hia capture ' meant' fifteen, twenty, or perhaps thirty ". years.' Bub ib did nob matter, as he would bo gone hence in two or three years time. He informed the officers that he * didn't ' blame Polti' for making the disclosures anenb himself, 'because he is young,and tho (Anarchist) idea, was not strong enough in him.' He confessed thab ho accompanied I Polti to Blackfriars Road to brder the bomb, and said that if he had had money 1 he would have taken the infernal thing to Paris or Italy, bub having no available ' funds he meant to use ib at the Royal Ex. change, London. The officers naturally inquired why Italians should coma to England to use their bombs. 'Carnot' kindly explained that Eng- ' land was the riohesb country, and ail the Royal Exchange his bomb would be more effective in blowing up bourgeoieun in quantity than anywhere else. He w-.,; cognised the fact thab such an outrage would have probably led to his being choked with a hempen noose, bub ha , seemed'to think th^ achievement of reducing a few dozen 'respectables' to 'BhreaV and patches' quite worth the coab. Carnob , eaid he had no religion exoepb in following oub his (Anarchist) ideas by every means possible. He expressed an opinion that! the arrests thab have taken place will nob,', baulk the Anarchists in their objects.! ' V?p ~i have failed,' said he, • bab others will buc--ceed. In three years there will be no Go- I vernments in existence either here or elsewhere. That is my religion.' The detec*-,. fcives took no tea of 'GarnobV diatribe, dDii the whole of his talk was read over to bita,;. ab Court in Italian. He quibbled a bib ab^uTtMrefereticfl. Jfcs "t^pf^tWMSi^. but with a wave of the arm assented to £ha * truth of the rest. i- ' '. He was b roughb up nexb day in conjunc tion with Polti to answer the remanded!: charge of being 'in unlawful possession of , explosives. Mr Horace Avory conducted the prosecution on behalf of the Government Almost the first words of his opening speech placed Polti in a more serious | light than the public bad regarded him in up to thab time. He had been assumed to be more or less an innocent tool of ' Carnot,' or as his name is now pub down Guiseppa, Fornaro. Mr Avory tore this mask .off innocence from Polti etraiphb away. Firati of all he reminded the Courb thab the, younger prisoner had described <i paper which was found upon him on his arrest as ■ a receipt) for polenta or porridge. , This had been found to be a receipt for an explosive identical with the yellow powder which was discovered in Polti's box. Then Mr Avory turned bo Polti's own diary in which were references to the ' martyrdom' of Vaillanb, and suggestions for vengeance on his ' assassins,' such aa the blowing up j of hotels, casblee, Houses of Parliament), etc. The prisoner's autobiography con-^ tamed some passages which read oub in Courb showed plainly that Polti hud no_in-, tention of remaining an academicAnarchUb. i | In one place he wrote: 'At one time Greab^ Britain could be called a free country, bub now ib has commenced persecutions and V seizures. And why ? On accounti of i,, France! I tail you thab all their perse", cutions and seizures will lead to their own, discomfiture.' , Again. • Vaillant is dead, bub F.A.P. is learning to revenge him. He died for. Liberty. So much for Paris. Now we will | go to' London and begin there.' , ;% In another place Polbi states that ha s senb a lebber to the • vile, infamous thief, Melville,' informing him thab he would take his life in April. He went on to use | language which seems to show that he inbended to commit some violent.deedjn,! London on May 16bh. * A postf-dfttefl letter to his1 parents bidding them farewell con* j tamed this passage: 'Tbe date 16th has always been fatal to me. I left my native country on May loth, r 1889. I became engaged to my wife on 16th March, 1893; was married on loth July; and took my wife to the infirmary on December 16th. I was taken ill on the 16th April, and have calculated to die on . the 16bh May.' Having read oub these extracts, Mr Avory - called his witnesses. Sergeanb Macjruira was the first. He told the Court how oe watched Polbi from place to place and connected him with Fornaro abundantly, M did the next witness, who deposed to Fornaro and Polbi being in company when tne latter ordered one of the • cylinders. ['■ f[] Polti's landlord deposed thab he had employed the younger' prisoner as traveller and assistant since the middle of February. He was called apparently to^rove tbab tue manuß3ripb found in Polti'a box was in the prisoner's handwriting. Finally the .case • was further remanded till Friday. ' . ' Carnob' throughout the proceedinga maintained an easy and contemptuous demeanour, bub Polti's face lost Us brigho look the moment Mr Avory produced his evidence regarding the receipt for 'polenta, and he left the box looking utterly creebv fallen. The young man will be very useful to tho police. He is an arrant coward, and to save his own bacon will incriminate every creature who has been foolish enough to connect themselves with him. 'Carnob, on the other hand, seems unlikely to betray : anybody except by thoughtless and bom-; baebic speeches. To cross-examine nim; would be a fatal error. He would be dumD | as an oyster. But let him talk as he pleases and he will probably ' give away ' quite as

much as Polti.