ANARCHISTS IN LONDON.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1009, 10 March 1909, Page 4

ANARCHISTS IN LONDON.

1 (By a Correspondent of the London Daily ' " ' Chronicle.) One 01 the most remarkable points m connection with the Tottenham outrage t is not to much that it was a demonstra- ' tion of the power of the anarchist force ' in Kngland, but that the men concerned were Russians. I Hitherto the Russian anarchist or tei- ■: rorist has been regarded as .perfectly harmless by tliose who are acquainted with the movements, objects, and individual characteristics of the 800 or 900 "'political refugees" who find London a convenient ceiir fre for hatching conspiracies which are al- ! most invariably abortive. The Russian ree volutionarv party has appreciated the hu--0 manitarian sympathy of Englishmen with f the sufferings of Russians who have been s the victims of a, cruelly despotic Governv ment. In fact a Russian in 1 the technical, or Scotland Yard sense ot - the term is very rare compared; with tne Italian, French, or German species. i'i There was evidence three weeks ago ot '.- abnormal activity among Russian suspects cl in London, and a corresponding energetic „ attitude among the two or three- members t of the little detective force which the Rusi, sian Government keeps constantly employa ed here. This was due, not to any fear ot v such an outrage as actually occurred, but V to the presence in London of an important St. Petersburg official to whose unrelent■o iirn- watchfulness several recent executions ~ in' Russia were attributed, and the arrival I here about the same time of several dan--1 serous Russian terrorists. lor several l' davs and in"slits the Kmbassy was carel' ful'lv guurded'witbin and without, and the / Russian Secret Service agency was otter„'i iivr liberal rewards .for the discovery of the exact whereabouts of individual sua- -- neets. ... • s Russia is the only foreign Government - that does not rely on Scotland \ ard for its detective work in this country, tne m reason is that our police, in conformity with our traditions, .are not disposed to treat. r"l'u."ecs as criminals unless there is ;,i a definite" charge brought against them ,',. The thief Russian Secret Service agent int-rests himself in the origin and _ objects of almost every Russian who visits i" :il = la,l<l - ~, w - . —Two Classes of Revolutionists.—

Th" Russian revolutionary party may }*-• divided into two distinct classes, each independent of the other, although with a common object—that of the overthrow ot Russian despotism. On the one hand, we have nillianlv members "I societies such as the Letts.' who advocate the most violent measures regardless of consequences; and on the other' hand a group of high y educated men who confine themselves to excitiiiT the sympathy of foreign countries with their downtrodden countrymen and re-aid men like "Jacob-' and llefekl as the creations of the present Russian rc-ime. Manv of tin- latter are .exile, from their own country on account of their political views, and may be met in some of Die best London clubs, or as guests at the dinner parties of distinguished Knglish politicians. Russians apart, Scotland > ard lias realised that its Special Brunch, known o racially as the "5.8.." ]ns as big a task before it as that which it had to handle in the ilavs of the dynamite outrages more than twenty years ago, when the 'SB. was created, under the direction ot UnclInspector L-ittlcchild, through whose personal efforts three members of the Irish revolutionary party were sent to the scaffold and some half-dozen to penal servitude. ~ . , But the "5.8." is badly handicapped by the inadequate knowledge of foreign lanifrua.'es possessed bv' its members. It is doubtful whether more than three detectives in London can understand Yiddish, the lan<nia<'-o used, bv many anarchists in privateTife°and at their meetings. Xearly all those who arc supposed to be familiar with French are unacquainted With everyday "avn-ot." and "Low" German is understood bv only one. This shortcoming will soon be corrected bv the introduction into the Criminal Investigation Department, on the recommendation of the Departmental Committee which has just made its report of men who have not graduated as uniformed constables, but have a thorough knowledge of one or more foreign languages. —Closer Police Observation.— Many of the habitues of three cafes in Soho. and a larger number in or near Whiteehapel-road. have deserted their favorite haunts during the past twenty-four hours, and: "5.8." detectives are among the proprietors' best customers. Individual anarchists, who have hitherto been kept under only occasional "observation, ' are now openly ''shadowed," and even frankly questioned as to their places of residence. One outcome of the present anarchist scarce will doubtless affect the frequent meetings of anarchists held in Whitechapel and elsewhere. Hitherto these meetings, at which violence is openly advocated, have been treated with tolerance, an "5.8." detective occasionally obtaining admission by subterfuge or openly and reporting on the speeches so far as he can understand them, and noting who is present. On more than one occasion the unexpected officiaL visitor has been threatened with violence : in fact the London anarchists have assumed an attitude of defiance which will not be tolerated in the .future. In all probability one or more of the three anarchist newspapers published in London will be suppressed bv measures usually repugnant to our authorities, and perhaps not absolutely legal- . . *•„ But a few arrests and convictions will prove more effectual than any suppressive measures. The anarchist, as distinguished from the nihilist, is, with rare exceptions, a. coward, however brave he may be vyhen he is addressing a cosmopolitan audience of sympathisers. If he were not so the life, of an "5.8." detective would be uninsurable. As it is Superintendent Quinn and his subordinates rarely find it necessary to carry a revolver, or even a life 'preserver, and it not infrequently happens that a blustering anarcliist may be induced to give all the information required of him with no stronger inducement than the politely-conveyed information that " the Yard,"' is as well acquainted with his 'own. movements and his past history as lie is himself.