KEEPING THE KING'S PEACE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1898, 5 November 1913, Page 6

KEEPING THE KING'S PEACE.

OFFICIAL REPORT ON RIOT.

TO THE MINISTER.

SHOTS FRdk UPSTAIR WINDOWS, il Th ® Polioe Department ha» forwarded the following offlojal roport of Monday night a not in Bucklo Stroot, to the Minister of Justice (tho Hon. A. L. Hordman "Police Department, ~,, Wellington, 4th November, 1913. Memorandum for the Hon. the Minister' . of Justice, Wellington. I have to report for your information that during the past few days crowds havo congregated at the intersection of Buckle and Taranaki Streets for tho purpose of using insulting language towards members of the permanent staff and police and special eonstables frho are employed at the Bucklo Street social constables' camp, the result being that. Taranaki Street has been blocked, and ingress or ogress to Buckle Street, or free use of the thoroughfare through Taranaki 1 Street by persons wishing to go up or 'down tho latter street, lias been prevented. "A couple of days &go soma person in the crowd that was then there drove a knife into the tiro of a motor-car which ■ 1 was being used,by the police, while it was passing through tho crowd Residents who had to pass up and down Taranaki Street, and tho special constables, complained of tho insults they ' were being subjected to, as well is tho inconvenience of being denied tho right to the froo use of the street and footpath. Yesterday largo crowd of moil and a number oF women and , boys were gathered there close to the Artillery sentries on. duty at the entrance to Buckle Street, and, as it was necessarj; to clear tho roadway, regular mounted constables wero detailed to try and clear jt jHo sooner, however., had/ ■ they got & small space clear in oho direction than the crowd rushed in behind, them, hooting., .yelling, throwing missiles, and lashmg at tllo horses' heads.

"Shots wore,fired from the door of the shop at the corner of Tnranaki and Arthur Streets, 1 and a heavy stone or iron bolt struck Sergeant-Major Thomp- i son, of tho Permanent Foreo, on the head, knocking him down and inflicting a sovcro wobjM) which rendered it necessary to immediately remove Mm to tho Hospital.

By thi,j timo the crowd had increased very much, and stones and other missiles wore being fired up Buckle Street, several of thoso about there being struck by them, and tho windows in tho Drillshed and the Defence Store being smashed. It was thon considered ah-, solutely necessary to clear tho crowd nway by a body of mounted specials and police and men wero ordered out accordingly, with instructions from mo to use no forco whatever beyond that caused by their horses puttiug back tho crowd,

"Immediately the men moved out to clear the crowd' back, shots were again fired from the crowd under the verandah of tho s'toro already referred to* and from under tlio verandah of M'Par•laiid's bakery. This caused the mounted' men to quicken their pace to (set out of the way of tho shooters, aiid shots wero fired at them from tho windows of bouses on both sides of Arthur Street as they went up there, as well as from houses in 'fa.ra.naki Street.

"Tho shooting from under shop verandahs and from upstairs Windows in Tnranaki Street, and from windows in Arthur Street, shows that men wero tliefo with tlio deliberate intention of shooting, for it must bo clearly understood that tho persons who ' shot from theso buildings were not endangered in any way by tho police clearing the disorderly mob'off the roadway, "After clearing the streets for " some distance up and down from Bucklo Street entranco, tho men cantered back to the camp in that street, but wero not long hack before tho rowdy crowd returned, throwing missiles, such as stones, lialf-bricks, iron bolts and nuts, aiid old horso shoes' The men we.ro got out again, n:ul they ouee more .cloaTeii the street, when more shots' wero fired' and ni.oro missiles thrown; but when tho mere returned after the second clearance, tho crowd kept on tho footpath on tho other side of Tar,maid Street, aiid quietened Mown. An oilicer who wa,s standing in Bttcklo Street had a bullet pass through his coat, and a, number of thoso who were standing near him heard bullets hiss past them. "Regarding statements mado to tho effect that revolvers wero fired by tho special constables, I have personally inquired from tho four gentlemen who were in charge of tho special constables engaged in clearing the street, and from a number of the siwcjal constables themselves, mid each and every ono «? them most emphatically denies that any shots woro fifed bv any of their party, or that aiiy of them even carried revolvers. As I was looking on and saw most of tho movements of the specials, I could not have helped, seeing tiio flashes if shots bad been fired by them • but I sn.v none, neither did thoso who woro in my neighbourhood., "I am quite satisfied that none Of tho specials fired any shots, aud that they wero not carrying revolvers. I am also satisfied that tho disorderly crowd was only rnrtly composed of strikers, anil that the balance was comcosed of

roughs, loafers, and lawlessly-disposed porsona, who aro always in evidence, creating disorder whenever thoy see an opportunity of doing so. . , Some women caused trouble at tho beginning of the disturbance, as they persisted in keeping in tho way of the horses and flapping garments in their v facos., ' "As Taranaki and Arthur. Streets' wero in comparative darkness, and Buckle Street was well lit up, the mob oould soo us plainly,. whilo wo could not see tliem very well'or what they wero doing individually. Lights aro. however,' now being erected' which will enable! the' authorities to' seo what is ■being done in Taranald Street."