jmenges
12-01-2007, 11:17 AM
The Origins of the Vigilant State:
The London Metropolitan Police Special Branch
Before the First World War
Bernard Porter
1987/1991 The Boydell Press
272pp illustrated
http://img108.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2007/12/01/12643726-48oqtngu3.jpg
The late 19th century was a period of upheaval across Europe, with anarchists, nihilists, communists, Fenians, suffragettes and many other disparate groups all turning to direct action and violence in order to force their cause. While England had it’s share of terrorist attacks and attempts( the bombing of the Board of Trade and Old Scotland Yard , and the Walsall and Greenwich Park bomb incidents) they were minor compared to the seemingly rampant violent actions carried out against political and monarchial figures on continental Europe, particularly in Russia. While Europe’s figureheads bled, England was largely viewed as a safe haven for these various European nihilists and anarcho-terrorists who would use the country as a base of their operations and then export their violence to the continent. But the British did have concerns of their own, facing a relatively moderate but none the less real and sensational threat from Irish Fenians. Britain needed a force that could disrupt the activities of the Fenians as well as reassure the rest of Europe that they were keeping a watchful eye on the foreign anarchist elements bent on creating havoc in other countries. This became the job of the Special Branch. How determined and successful this department was is the subject of Bernard Porter’s book The Origins of the Vigilant State.
Porter’s evaluation of the department that started as the Special Irish Branch in 1883, encompassed Sections B, D and C of the C.I.D and went on to evolve into MI5 is that the department in its early years was not entirely successful. The Special Branch’s operations were hampered by many things, much of it beyond their control. Asked to monitor the activities of foreign anarchists for Britain's European allies, they were unable to completely satisfy Europe due to laws affording political refugees special treatment in England, which made it easy for them to immigrate and nearly impossible for the authorities to extradite known political criminals. Other barriers to the total success of the Special Branch were the governments policy of non-cooperation with foreign police agencies, the liberalism of Parliament and press with regards to political immigrants (particularly Russians, who faced exile or death if returned to their home country), a lack of manpower, and the obligatory squabbles with the Home Office over procedure. Porter presents evidence that, in the face of these barriers, it was not uncommon for the Special Branch to use extra-legal and, probably, illegal methods in order to accomplish their goals.
Mr. Porter’s book was hampered as well, but in a way that turned out to be a blessing. There is a dearth of official documentation regarding the Special Branch and so in many places the author is left to speculate on certain areas of SB history and personnel. Thankfully for the reader he mines an, in my opinion, underused resource: the Anarchist press of London. Oftentimes the author concludes that the articles published in the radical press about the activities of the Special Branch most likely get to the truth of the matter, and it is enlightening to read how openly and closely this “secret” department was scrutinized by it’s target opposition. The anarchist press in the Late victorian period, being at once an international voice for the working poor as well as (in the case of Freedom, a long running London anarchist paper) very much a local entity, containing articles of a local concern (including writings on the Whitechapel murders), is an area that needs closer investigation.
Of course, the book centers around men whose names will be familiar to students of the Whitechapel murders and Late Victorian law enforcement. Being peopled by such individuals as Anderson, Monro, MacNaghten and Littlechild, as well as possibly lesser-known, but equally interesting and colorful figures such as Edward Jenkinson, Thomas Beach (aka Henri le Caron) and William Melville, this book reads like a, for lack of a better term, sequel to works focusing on the Whitechapel murders. And, as it is a very enjoyable and informative read (although expensive to purchase new), it should be added to the collection of anyone interested in Rippperology or crime and prevention in the British LVP.
Bernard Porter is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Newcastle, and is currently teaching at Stockholm University.
He is also the author of:
Empire and Superempire: Britain, America and the World (2006)
The Absent-Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain (2004)
The Lion’s Share: A Short History of British Imperialism, 1850-1995 (1996)
Britannia’s Burden: Political Evolution of Modern Britain, 1851-1990 (1994)
Britain, Europe and the World, 1850-1982: Delusions of Grandeur (1983)
JM
The London Metropolitan Police Special Branch
Before the First World War
Bernard Porter
1987/1991 The Boydell Press
272pp illustrated
http://img108.mytextgraphics.com/photolava/2007/12/01/12643726-48oqtngu3.jpg
The late 19th century was a period of upheaval across Europe, with anarchists, nihilists, communists, Fenians, suffragettes and many other disparate groups all turning to direct action and violence in order to force their cause. While England had it’s share of terrorist attacks and attempts( the bombing of the Board of Trade and Old Scotland Yard , and the Walsall and Greenwich Park bomb incidents) they were minor compared to the seemingly rampant violent actions carried out against political and monarchial figures on continental Europe, particularly in Russia. While Europe’s figureheads bled, England was largely viewed as a safe haven for these various European nihilists and anarcho-terrorists who would use the country as a base of their operations and then export their violence to the continent. But the British did have concerns of their own, facing a relatively moderate but none the less real and sensational threat from Irish Fenians. Britain needed a force that could disrupt the activities of the Fenians as well as reassure the rest of Europe that they were keeping a watchful eye on the foreign anarchist elements bent on creating havoc in other countries. This became the job of the Special Branch. How determined and successful this department was is the subject of Bernard Porter’s book The Origins of the Vigilant State.
Porter’s evaluation of the department that started as the Special Irish Branch in 1883, encompassed Sections B, D and C of the C.I.D and went on to evolve into MI5 is that the department in its early years was not entirely successful. The Special Branch’s operations were hampered by many things, much of it beyond their control. Asked to monitor the activities of foreign anarchists for Britain's European allies, they were unable to completely satisfy Europe due to laws affording political refugees special treatment in England, which made it easy for them to immigrate and nearly impossible for the authorities to extradite known political criminals. Other barriers to the total success of the Special Branch were the governments policy of non-cooperation with foreign police agencies, the liberalism of Parliament and press with regards to political immigrants (particularly Russians, who faced exile or death if returned to their home country), a lack of manpower, and the obligatory squabbles with the Home Office over procedure. Porter presents evidence that, in the face of these barriers, it was not uncommon for the Special Branch to use extra-legal and, probably, illegal methods in order to accomplish their goals.
Mr. Porter’s book was hampered as well, but in a way that turned out to be a blessing. There is a dearth of official documentation regarding the Special Branch and so in many places the author is left to speculate on certain areas of SB history and personnel. Thankfully for the reader he mines an, in my opinion, underused resource: the Anarchist press of London. Oftentimes the author concludes that the articles published in the radical press about the activities of the Special Branch most likely get to the truth of the matter, and it is enlightening to read how openly and closely this “secret” department was scrutinized by it’s target opposition. The anarchist press in the Late victorian period, being at once an international voice for the working poor as well as (in the case of Freedom, a long running London anarchist paper) very much a local entity, containing articles of a local concern (including writings on the Whitechapel murders), is an area that needs closer investigation.
Of course, the book centers around men whose names will be familiar to students of the Whitechapel murders and Late Victorian law enforcement. Being peopled by such individuals as Anderson, Monro, MacNaghten and Littlechild, as well as possibly lesser-known, but equally interesting and colorful figures such as Edward Jenkinson, Thomas Beach (aka Henri le Caron) and William Melville, this book reads like a, for lack of a better term, sequel to works focusing on the Whitechapel murders. And, as it is a very enjoyable and informative read (although expensive to purchase new), it should be added to the collection of anyone interested in Rippperology or crime and prevention in the British LVP.
Bernard Porter is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Newcastle, and is currently teaching at Stockholm University.
He is also the author of:
Empire and Superempire: Britain, America and the World (2006)
The Absent-Minded Imperialists: Empire, Society, and Culture in Britain (2004)
The Lion’s Share: A Short History of British Imperialism, 1850-1995 (1996)
Britannia’s Burden: Political Evolution of Modern Britain, 1851-1990 (1994)
Britain, Europe and the World, 1850-1982: Delusions of Grandeur (1983)
JM