Chapter 2084 - 207_3
Arthur leaned against the table; as a senior figure within the Internal Affairs system, how could he not understand what Phillips meant.
"You’re saying there will be people organizing to cause trouble when the time comes?"
Seeing Arthur bring it up, Phillips no longer hid anything. He pulled out a thin memorandum from the pile of documents and pushed it in front of Arthur: "A summary just delivered yesterday afternoon, some old acquaintances have reappeared."
Arthur glanced down at the list; just as Phillips said, it was full of old acquaintances.
The five Lower House Members on the list were all figures registered at Scotland Yard.
Irish nationalist leader, Daniel O’Connell.
Radical Liberal leader, John Ruback, who was elected as an independent candidate.
Charles Hindley, the Lancashire Cotton Mill owner, supporting factory reform, opposing the New Poor Law, and advocating for education improvement and religious emancipation.
Thomas Thompson, a retired officer who once served as Governor of Sierra Leone, supporting universal suffrage, free trade, and opposing the Corn Laws.
And William Crawford, leader of the Irish "Tenant’s Rights" movement, an Irish landlord.
Besides these members of Parliament, the list also included many of Arthur’s old "friends."
Such as Hetherington, the founder of the "Poor Man’s Political Monthly," who was once put behind bars for a few months by Arthur, the famous social reformer Robert Owen, and Francis Price, a reporter for the "Chronicle Morning Paper," among others.
Needless to say, seeing these names gathered together, it was clear they were certainly plotting something that would add to Scotland Yard’s workload.
In fact, Arthur received relevant information even earlier than Phillips, but he did not publicize the matter.
Because he was really reluctant to strike hard against them at this critical juncture where the Radical Liberal Party was nearing the end of Lord Brougham’s political life.
Moreover, the political image of these Radical Liberals largely overlapped with the supporters of the University of London, with a significant portion originally being students, teachers, and patrons of the University of London.
And according to the information Arthur currently had, it seemed they had merely established an organization named the "London Workers Association," and the gathering they held at the British Cafe a few days ago was for signing a document of the "People’s Charter."
According to reports from informants in the Police Intelligence Department, although there were violent factions within the London Workers Association, the majority were still the moral faction. Most people, at least at this stage, had no intention of inciting riots but hoped to petition Parliament.
However, what reassured Arthur the most was not that the moral faction held sway, but that due to admission threshold issues, the association still maintained a fairly small scale.
According to the informant’s report, given the setbacks faced by similar groups in the past, the London Workers Association, in order to avoid repeating past mistakes, did not allow even the true working class to join without strict scrutiny. Most membership applications were often rejected or put on hold for further investigation. The association preferred to keep its scale streamlined rather than compromise on the quality of its members or risk factional splits.
Besides, as the association membership fee was as high as 1 shilling per month, this considerable expenditure forced many applicants to reluctantly withdraw.
Arthur flipped the list over and placed it on the table. Although he knew these people weren’t a threat, since Phillips had brought it up, he couldn’t help but address it.
"A concert at Buckingham Palace could keep them out, but if they incite the crowd at Liszt’s solo performance, even without noise or chaos, holding a few placards and distributing some leaflets could make it to the front page of The Times," Arthur said calmly. "If Scotland Yard disperses them rashly, the media will have a field day. If they stand by and do nothing, opposition members in Parliament will jump out and question the Home Office’s incompetence. No matter what is done, it won’t be pleasing."
Phillips furrowed his brows slightly, "So, what do you plan to do?"
"Surveillance certainly cannot stop," Arthur said, bringing his fingers together and gently tapping the table, "but the best way is to dismantle their stage."