ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1596, 13 November 1912, Page 8

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

'"■■'. .;, WILD SCENES. . " " , THE SHOOTING AND OTHER 'i .'INCIDENTS. '. ;..; v ,-. (By' Telegraph.—Prpss Association.) ..'.-' Waihi,-November 12. ..V-Thenmostvexciting'sensation'.which has ever.'happened;) in.-I'Waihi "occurred .this : morning.- Yesterday's incidents t were'; . cjting enough, but pale iritojifcignjfTba'nce : compared with this morning's events. ■'■ The. town from half-past seven till after ; eight was;seething with excitehierit and evei7thing : was so' unsettled that .work at ' the mines was not thought of,''and |perriiission' was .'obtained' from the company ! to suspend ;wprk\ for the day .v ~ The workers, as was-the case, yesterday, ■ assembled opposite the hew union hall and in a. body marched 1 - into the main • street en .route to the mines.,; The'street ■ was conspicuous. by. the scarcity'of tho unemployed section of' the community, ■' and.the.general.public.was hardly represented. The body of workers marched, to the Miners' Union. Hall., A-halt was called ' at-this point. ' The first exciting inci- ■ dent; occuned as soon as the halt was ; called.- The leaders of the'workers rushed '' at; closed doors' of the union building, : ;and in a few minutes entrance to tho • main .'building and tho offices- was effect- ' ( 'ed. Meanwhile a section rushed down , the/alleyway by the ball, smashing.all ■ the windows on that side of the building. Three Revolver Shots. Just as entrance to the hall was effected two or three revolver shots were fired by. Federationists inside the hall, and • Constable Wade, who stood in front of .' ;the workers endeavouring to .. restrain . •them, received .the bullet.in tho abdomen. Almost simultaneously a ■ worker named Harry Johnson, a resident of Eussell Street,-was .snot in-the fleshy part of the leg above the knee. The constable wasat once conveyed to the hospital, but Jolinson, regardless of his. wound, rushed with a, crowd of others in search of the users of .revolvers. ~ There, was a tremendous, hue and cry as three strikers were seen''escaping froin >the building.- .The crowd with scores of police" joined in'the pursuit. There was ,a mad rush through an adjoining timberyard. " , The. workers,, .were .literally beside ; themselves,;''and "howled , and yelled at tlie heels of the" fleeing fugitives. The chasers suddenly lost sight of-their quarries as they disappeared into tho grounds 'of- Dr. .'Craig. ; = While frantic search of the doctor's .garden and outhouses was being madie the three fugitives eected entrance to the doctor's house. Mrs. Craig saw two. men through, a window Tush past the side .of. the., house... She -.immediately ran to - th»sf ront door and met the breathless men in the , act of rushing 'in the- doorway.. She-promptly slaninied the,door in their the men wepo, not'to be denied. One; jumped through .the window of the children's room,'while,it is not clear how the other got into the house. ■ Throe Men Caught. Mrs. Craig gave the alarm, and in a few minutes police and workers rushed into the house. The rooms were searched and'.two. of the men caught/ They were : .hauled out-and the police had tho greatest I 'difficulty, in , preventing them being • lynched.-- ••. A. loaded revolver was taken from one, and.a box/of revolver cartridges from' the other. Both were taken to the lock-up with", tho howling crowd following after them. -, ■:. " ( One of,'the men found in Dr. Craig's hbuso was nauled from under the doctor's bed. Both men were badly knocked about, especially Evans, whose face was cut in . several places. His condition was such that he had to be carried by the constables to' the police station..,: 'After the, doctor's house had been cleared and order, restored,. Colonel Gudgeon (Mrs.' .Craig's father) happened into the surgery''and; discovered the .third fugitive (Sowerly), who at once protested, that he had taken no part.dn the shooting or in any part .'of .the affair. He asked to be perriiitteditoVgo home. -His assertion of ■innocence'did not satisfy Colonel Gudgeon, who later handed Trim over to the crowd Vicar iSpeaks. ' ' The workers in- the meantime tookposeessiom' of the Miners' Union Hall. .Speeches were made from the platform,', following .by-loud.:cheering. Meanwhile a great" concourse of people gathered in the main street. Tho balconies of buildings wero occupied by crowds ■of women and children, and- the main pavement was also lined with spectators for the whole 'length of the main thoroughfare. •■••".' Outside the Union flail the Eev. Mr. ; Cleary, 'the' Anglican "vicar, addressed the crowd. Ho urged the men to remember they wore.law-abiding,citizens and honest workers, and nsked tnem to see that their actions would bo such as would not reflect upon them as men. IHe honed they would not resort to violence.. The vicar wa6 ...clumsd at 'tb.9 ctow pf bis remwkj.

Union Jack Hoisted. A remarkable event took place after the Arbitrationists had taken possession of the hall. One of their number, with the aid of a ladder, ascended to the flagpole surmounting the building, and in a few minutes hoisted aloft the Union Jack. The incident was the signal for enthusiastic cheering by the immense crowd of Arbitrationists and the general public who witnessed it-. ' A few minutes after the ladder was again requisitioned for an ascent to a large calico placard on the uppermost part of the front of the building, inscribed with the words, "Parry, and Ms mates must bo released.' Finis." The calico sign was torn down amid enthusiastic cheering. Told to Clear Out There is no sign of prominent Fedorationists to-day. .From about 9 o'clock as many as were available were hunted up by the Arbitrationists ■ and given fair warning to clear out of tho town. The leaders of the Arbitrationists claim they had a perfect right to enter the Miners'. Hall as many of them are financial members of that union. ' At the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr. F. J. Burgess, S.M., several strike cases were adjourned. The Injured Men. The injury to Constable Wade is serious. It is understood the bullet has so far not been extracted, and that the constable's real condition cannot be ascertained until the lapse of- a few days. Evans, one of the federationists, who is alleged to have done tho shooting, in the hall, and. was afterwards 'so roughly handled by the crowd, is in hospital. His injuries are of a very serious nature. He is suffering principally from concussion of the brain. When he shot the constable the latter batoned him. ' " The injury to the worker Johnston is of a slight character. The bullet'grazed the upper part of his leg, and luckily did not penetrate.