Walsall Anarchists - Subsequent Arrests and Confessions

Subsequent Arrests and Confessions

Under the false belief that Charles was a police spy, Deakin made a confession. However, his confession also implicated Auguste Coulon, a French anarchist, who worked as an assistant in the school set up by Louise Michel for the education of the children of the foreign socialists in London. He was also involved in trying to organise chemistry classes and translating and circulating information about bomb making. The police also arrested a Swiss inventor called Cavargna, who had invented some small explosive shells for exterminating rabbits in Australia. He was released after two days. A further person named McCormack, who had been recently expelled from the socialist club in Walsall, offered his services to the police, who soon decided he was unreliable. He went to Birmingham where he sold his story to the newspaper and got drunk on the proceeds. Arrested for being drunk and disorderly, he promptly declared in court next day that he had been employed by the police to fabricate evidence against the Walsall Anarchists. Charles Mowbray and David Nicholl were soon also arrested on conspiracy charges.

Following his release, Nicholl was raising money for the Walsall anarchists when, by chance, Coulon's brother let slip that Coulon himself was a police agent. The defense brought up the situation at the police court and gave Coulon's address asking why he had not been arrested as well. In the event, this allowed the police to evade this issue by the time the case came to trial. After Nicholl had set up an anarchist defense fund, Edward Carpenter set up one which raised money in socialist circles. Their different political outlook was especially noticeable as regards what extent they felt the whole trial was a case of police provocation.