MOB ASSAILS THE POLICE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1897, 4 November 1913, Page 8

MOB ASSAILS THE POLICE.

CROWD USE REVOLYERS. SERIOUS CASUALTIES. TWO PEOPLE SHOT; PERMANENT OFFICER INJURED. ' The most serious confliot which has yet occurred since tho beginning of tho strike took placo last evening at the intersection of Taranaki Street .with Buckle Street and Arthur Street, when a crowd of some 2000, including several hundred strikers attacked a fore© of mounted police, most of them specials. The Trouble Drews. The browing of' tho troublo commenced shortly before seven o'clock, when a posso of a hundred or more mounted men were waiting preparatory to leaving for tho railway station to meet reinforcements arriving by train. A crowd of about 2000 had been gathered in, the street for some time, and the "specials" cam© in for a,good deal of abuse supplemented with stones. The First Charge. A Dominion representative had just rived on the scene at tho conclusion of a charge by tho mounted men, when the crowd, unheedful of the lesson of tho first affray, wore once more congregating towards tho seat- of tho trouble. Tho Mob Hosed. Suddenly a long stream of water flew over tho heads of tho mob, completely deluging a number of thorn; tho "specials'' wore trying more gentle means wit'h tho lios'e, which 'has been in readiness for such an emergency for some days. A fusillade of stones .followed from tho crowd, which now surged threateningly at tho foot of tho street. Excited men with missiles clenched in their haiKta hurled invectives at tho troops up tho street. Youths in their teens, with stone-loaded hands, were nono th© less clamant against tho mounted men. Another Charge. Suddenly th© cry went round—arid tho "specials" couid be seen wheeling their horses round, preparatory to charging again. The crowd scurried up pathways, and dashed headlong down tho road, and nono too soon. Down the hill camo, about thirty mounted men. Like a Whirlwind they swept to tho corner. Horses plunged and reared at tho storm of stonej;, brickbats, and palings that mot them. Even empty kerosene tins were used as missiles. There was a spurt of flame —a report—and ns if this had actcd as a signal shots reverberated through tho streets. The frightened horses plunged and reared, but these ' were men to whom the horses back was as an armchair. The horses swerved round the corner in the rear of tho almost vanished crowd. As thoy galloped past, the crowd dashed for naioty behind fencoa and vij

alleyways, and treated them to a fusillade of bricks, stones, and palings. There was a short lull before the specials returned to tho barracks, so that by tho time they had wheeled round, ppjings had been wrenched oft fences and more stones gathered. Hack at a gallop came the constables, and once moro a murderous fusilade greeted them. The first charge had told its tale —ono or two of the shots had found elfect, as a rushing riderless horse, and what was determinable by the fitful light of a solitary electric globe at the corner showed. Another Encounter. Tho crowd lappa rently thirsted' for more. Thero was another clatter of horses' lioofs, another panic-stricken j crowd scurrying to shelter, moro shots and stouvs. This time two of the specials, followed by a riderless horse, became detached from the main body, and the crowd, seeing its chance, .surged irt pursuit. The detached men, however, managed to wheel about, and in a. thrilling gallop up the street, ran the gauntlet of stones and other missiles | without the protection of their fellov.'s. j The horses swerved dangerously on to the footpath at the corner, but, fortunately for the riders, they readied protection in- safety. The Artillery Guard. Meanwhile the guard of Artillerymen which iias bessn stationed at the end of Buckle Street nau i'oufld itself in a most unenviable position. The horsemen dashing back and forwards through the street and ths surging crowd prevented them holding their ground, but they stuck to their posts coolly and manfully, and stepped into the breach time aftor time. They wore right in the line of lire, and all kinda of missiles rained on them. At the height of tho melee, Sergeant-Major Thomson was hit by a large, sharp stone over the eye, ancl received a very bad wound. . l'"or soma time his comrades thought he was shot, but they never flinched. The officer in charge of the . guard was in a difficult position. Hi's men carried rifles, with, fixed bayonets and ball cartridge, but he could not allow the use of such dangerous weapons, especially in a crowd which included a very large proportion of women and young people. Ho therefore withdrew the guard for a time, but as the horsemen passed back, into Buckle Street after the last charge, lie had them quickly in their placcs agaiu, and there they stood, steady as rocks, in tho face of the raging mob. Young Man Shot. After one of the charges a young man was seen to have sustained more serious injuries than usual —for in every rush several were knocked down by the horses, or fell in rushing for shelter, and wore more or loss hurt. It was found that he had a bullet wound in the shoulder, although not such as to incapacitate him completely. The younjj man—Arthur Dockory by name—was able to walk away from ■ the' "battlefield" supported by several of his friends. Ho was subsequently admitted to the Hospital.

A Determined Mob. It might hav© been thought that all this turmoil would have satisfied tho crowd for one night, but by this time their iro was thoroughly (iroused, and they again prepared to do battle with tho forces of law and order. They rushed oif; to gather moro stones, and tho fences all round were torn to pieces to provide weapons with which to belabour tho jiorses and men. A more serious stop was tho stretching of fencing-wire across Taranaki ana Arthur Streets. These were soon removed, however. At this stage, a number of regular polico arrived from tho Citv, reinforcing tho small detachment already on tho spot. Tho specials wero then recalled, and returned to tlieir ouarters amidst a storm of "boo-hoos." The regular oonstables rode np and down the street, and succeeded in reducinu the temper of the mob considerably.

An Ugly Incident. One incident which reflected considerable discredit on the mob occurred when tho ambulance drove off to the Hospital with the injured soldier. As it passed tho corner, someone called. "Three cheers for tho wounded,'scab,' and tho cheers were given ironically. There was also much boohing, and one man called out, "We'll come and plant flowers on your grave." That such a- joke was greeted with laughter speaks volumes for tho utter lieartlessness of the rioters. v □rill Hall Windows Smashed. Gradually tho crowd quietened down, and' began to turn its attention from tho molestation of the police to tho destruction of property. Stones, bricks, and billets of wood were tin-own through the Taranaki Street windows of the Drill Hall, hardly a single pane being loft intact. Tho smashing of tho windows was carried out in. the most deliberate manner, and under tho very oyes of' the police. A man would walk calmly along the 1 footpath until ho cam© opposite a window. Then his hand would come from his pocket, shoot out —and a crash followed. Tho vandal would then, dash into the crowd, and be instantly lost. Not content with 'destroying public property, tho mob —and especially the younger element —began to break tho windows of private , premises. Tho shop of Messrs.'M'l'arland Bros,, who havo been supplying bread for tho special police, received particular attention, and practically all tho windows were shattered. Tho Royal Tiger Hotel, a block further down Taranaki Street, was also attacked, the only apparent reason being that yesterday morning the proprietress had supplied some of the specials with breakfast. Windows in tho hotel were broken, and other damage dono. Strike Leaders Appear. •Towards ,11 p.m. the crowd began to thin a little, the fire in Vivian Street having attracted a good proportion of them. Still, there remained/' a large number bent oil mischief. Ib was difficult to see when the trouble would end, but it was brought to a conclusion by tho appearance of several of the strike leaders. Mr. G. G. Farland, secretary of the Wellington Waterside .Workers' Union, called the strikers together, and appealed to them to go home. Ho pointed out that tho special police had been withdrawn, and that there was no call for them to molest tho regular men. Thev could do their oauso no'" fjood becoming into conflict with the police, and causing further trouble.

"These Bushrangers." Mr. P. C. Webb, M.P,, also appealed to'strikers and sympathisers to go away home at once. Thousands of workers 'in all parts of the Dominion were out on strike, and. wero fighting for tho cause which was dearer to them all than life itself—the sacred eause of the labour movement. They should not allow a few irresponsible persons to ruin their cause by stone-throwing or other acts of violence. Against the regular police they had no grievance, but they had against "thoso bushrangers," who had ■ been brought from the country to rido roughshod over them. They must allow nothing to be dono which would allow tho authorities to let loose theso men with their batons and their revolvers. They must do nothing to molest tho regular What about Commissioner Cullen P ~. Mr. Webb: I have nothing to say about Commissioner Cullen now.. I shall deal with him and other assassins on tho floor of tho House to-morrow. After listening to a_ good deal more of the same kind of tirade from Mr. Webb, the crowd molted away, and by 11,30 all was quiet. Signs of the con- [ ftiit wero everywhere ovidont in tli-c

broken windows, ruined fences, and rock-strewn streets. The Artillery guard in tho street has been doubled, and mounted police continually patrol tho vicinity.