THE CASUALTIES.

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

THE CASUALTIES.

Those known to have been injured during the riot are: — Sergt.-Major Thompson, Defence Department, hit by a missile, serious injury to head. Arthur Dockery, machinist, bullet wound right collarbone, shock, and loss of blood. Georgo Duncan, small boy, bullet wound in solo of foot. Sergt.-Major Thompson is a. married man, 48 years of age, residing at Roy He was on duty during the operation of hosing tho crowd, and was -struck by a missile, which cam? from the crowd. He. is not quite clear , whether it was a piece of road metal or a piece of brick. Those near him observed at once that his injury was a rather serious one, and after first-aid had been rendered he was removed to the Hospital. There was a large ugly on his forehead, and also other injuries to the head. Tho Hospital authorities reported late_ last night that his condition was serious though net critical. Arthur Dockery is a single man, 18 years of age,' residing at Jackson Street, Island Bay. Ho is a machinist in the employ of Messrs. Oalin, and was on his way, horn© 1 at tho time of tho riot. Ho states that he did not even stop in passing along the.streot. About 7.40 p.m. ho was picked up by two bystanders, who noticed a deal of blood flowing from a wound in his right shoulder, and who immediately sent for Dr.' Mackin.- A few minutes later it was decided to remove ' Doekory •to 13a Hopper Street, and Dr. Mackin, who walked through th© 'scene of tho disturbance in Taranaki Street, arrived soon after. Tho young man. was then found to bo suffering from a bullet wound, loss of blood, and shock. Tho bullet had entered in front of tho right collarbone and passed clean through the flesh without apparently causing any internal injury. Dr. Mackin bandaged tho wound and ordered Dockery to the Hospital, where lie was removed in tho ambulance. Dr. Agnes Bennett was also called to 13a Hopper Street, but aa her services were not then required she went on to Sidey Street to attend to another of the injured. George Duncan, nine years of ago, appears to have been walking along the footpath near the scene of tho riot, without'fully realising, tho danger ho Was running. From what can bo gathered a bullet appears to havo struck tho footpath and ricocheted into the sole of his foot. He was carried in the arms of a bystander to Sidey Street. Dr Agnes Bennett attended the boy, bound up his foot, and ordered his removal to the Children's Hospital. The authorities reported later in the oveuinfr that tlio bullet had been extracted and that the patient was doing well.

STRIKERS Sl OTHERS. | THE TWO ENDS OF THE CAMP. For some reason or other tho troubles of tlio guardians of law and order accommodated at-Buckle Street seem to have all come from the Taraiiaki Street side of their camp. On that Bide they have been assailed repeatedly witli abusive language, insults, and annoyances, which culminated in tlio disorderly scenes of last evening. On tlio Tory Street side of the camp a' totally different atmosphcro prevails. Here the camp lies open, and is bounded by a low fonco. iestorday the farmers who have come down to act as special constables were interviewed by numbers of Tory Street visitors, whose behaviour was unexceptionable. They endeavoured in a friendly way to bring the farmers round to their way of thinking, but there was not oven a suggestion of violence. A well-known detective and some policemen who were spoken to last night agreed in stating that the crowd responsible for' last evening's rioting contained only a small percentage of strikers, and consisted largely of riffraff and undesirable characters. Tho Tory Street men who interviewed the fanners earlier in the day were genuine strikers.

LABOUR MEMBERS' STORY, Mr. J. Robertson, Labour member for Otaki, did not witness tho Buckle Street disturbance, but was upon the senile soon afterwards. He told a reporter that numerous people who were present bad assured him that the mounted police wantonly charged the crowd, ana freely used their revolvers. Mr. Robertson displayed a flattened revolver-bullet- to which a story attached, He stated that it struck a brick wall and afterwards richocheted, striking a lad on tho back of the leg, but inflicting no serious injury. BASELESS"RUMOURS. Many baseless rumours were afloat last evening concerning tli-o meleo in Buckle Street. It was at first asserted that tho Riot Act had been read, and that a hundred men in close formation had charged through, the crowd. Another story was that the mounted police had used their revolvers freolv,and that numerous casualties had resulted. One tale told was that a mounted man had his horso shot under him, and that ho defended himself with his revolver against a horde of assailants desirous of tearing him to pieces. These stories and others as far-fetched wei'e all, of coursc.. untrue. Possibly the story about the shooting of a horse took its rise from the fact that on Sunday a horse died in the' fines. N A LUCKY ESCAPE. An artillery, officer, who was a Spectator of the happenings in Buckle Street last evening, had a very narrow escape. The front of his overcoat, j below the waist, was pierced by a revolver bullet. Had the course of tho bullet been altered by* a few inches tho office! would have 'been Beriously wounded and perhaps killed. '