REIGN OF TERROR.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1911, 20 November 1913, Page 7

REIGN OF TERROR.

—s— INDIAN STRIKERS ® SOUTH AFRICA. RIOT AT LADYSMITH. ARMED CAMPS IN THE SUGAR SETTLEMENTS. ' By Tclegraphr-Press Assocfoticffl-'-Oop-yrieiiV Durban, November 18. i The majority of the' Indians at r Kynoch's works havo struck. A thousand deserters from the Elandslaagte eolleries bavo arrived at Ladysmith with their wives and fiuni- - lies. A Magistrate addressed them. Thoy displayed an attitude sullen and truculent, but ultimately promised to return if thoir fellow-workers were released from prison. A riot, however, * oecured, but it was quelled." The. au- ' thorities are now arming tho police, and enrolling an armed force of townsmen, A reign of terror exists on the North ' Coast of Natal, tho planters fearing " that if the strikers gain the upper hand * tho sugar canefields and sugar 'mills, 1 worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, 5 are likely to be wiped out. In one 5 case 150 acres of cane was burnt, the Indians standing by and cheering.' The sugar settlements 'resemble military encampments. Tho coolies aro , becoming pugnacious. They are armed with cane-cutting knives and clubs, and refuse the masters' advances, remainl ing sullen and implacable. l (Rec. November 19, 11.20 p.m.) Durban, November 19. 1 A body of one thousand Indians marched to Ladysmith, and demanded the release of a number of their com--5 patriots, who had been arrested earlier ; in the day. , The Magistrate agreed, but while the j released prisoners were feeing conducted i, through the town they broke through j the cordon formed hy the police, and a J general riot ensued. The excited mob f assailed tho police with stones and r . sticks, twenty of the latter being 1 wounded. • | The Carbineers and twenty'iWc of the I police, armed with sticks., stampeded > the Indians after a hot encounter, in . which several were injured. . The Commandant of force was - obliged to call off. the native police, * fearing that they would kill tie In- ' i dians. ■ : Later, tho Indians armed themselves with iron standards, and assembled at 3 tho Indian temple, and behaved in a . threatening manner. The Mayor called, out the Cifeen Volunteers, and served out arms and arni munition. The strikers were forced to f return to Elandslaagte. 1 The Indians in Natal number 150,000, ' outnumbering their whits opponents. The Asiatics at Durban are hailing tho 3 riots as a' long-awaited opportunity in 5 furtherance of their idtsal. There are- - signs of a schism amongst the Indians. d. The educated section contemplate a - campaign to instruct tho indentured la--1 bourcrs, who are believing, doeife tools ' in the hands of the agitators, who are " fomenting political disturbances in India. Violence is contrary to the ex- ] press orders of'the Indian leaders in 3 Natal. 3 Calcutta, November Id. 3 Natal telegrams, alleging ill-treat- . ment of Indians, are arousing intense ■ feeling in India. '