ROWDIES IN UNIFORM

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2379, 8 February 1915, Page 6

ROWDIES IN UNIFORM

DISORDERLY SCENE IN THE CITY FRACAS WITH THE POLICE On Saturday evening some momberi, of the Reinforcement Camp at Tren-< tbam were responsible for a disgraceful! disturbance in Manners Street. A large* crowd gathered, the police, were inter-/' fered with, and had to 6eek refuge in! a shop until reinforcements arrived,.while the, whole of the proceedings wera as nearly approaching a. riot as".'4heyf could possibly be. The trouble origin- 1 ated in the Duke of Edinburgh Hotels where an intoxicated trooper was create ing some trouble. Both military and civic police endeavoured to quieten mat- 1 ters, and eventually the cause of thai 1 trouble was removed outside. Somadozen.troopers then attempted to rescu»i the arrested trooper. _ Realising thati things were looking seriousj one or two' members of the local police hailed a,' han-som, and with some difficulty got thar recalcitrant, into the vehicle. , Then a fresh difficulty arose. The/ crowd swarmed round, clutched the* wheels, shafts, and rear of the vehicle, and refused to let it move. The polica had perforce to conduct their capturtf into the midst of the orowd_ again. . Thea another trooper, who was making him-' self too prominent, was arrested. An ex-trooper took a hand in tha melee, and seized one of the arresting constables round the reck, and was successful. enough in assisting in the escape" of the other trooper, but waa himself arrested in turn. Meanwhile the crowd waa growing larger, and eventually one or two constables, witb(> the help of some civilians, gained t-ba refreshment bar at Everybody's and temporarily sought refuge thera with their! two captures until reinforced mente arrived. Eventually a posse of. constables ai\ rived on the scene, the seige was raised, and the two remaining arrested ones— the trooper and .the ex-trooper—safely, conveyed to Manners Street Police Station. The two culprits will appear before thaf Magistrate this morning to answer vari<. ous charges arising from their exploitv

REPORTED AFFRAY IN CAMP. -. It was reported last evening that as tho result of an argument between twotroopers on the arrival of the last train at Trentham from town on Saturdaynight, one of the men was struck upon, the head with a bottle, his injuries" necessitating liis removal to the, camp; hospital.