A ROWDY SCENE.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 277, 2 December 1901, Page 2

A ROWDY SCENE.

BIG CROWD WRECK A CHINA MAN’S PLACE. A HASTY WOMAN.

(By Telegraph—Press Association.) Christchurch, last bight. The southern quarter of the town was thrown into a state of excitement last night when something like a bombardment took place at the premises of \ T ee How and Co., Chinese storekeepers. It appears that about nine o’clock a woman living in the vicinity missed one of her little girls, aged 11, and traced her to the Chinaman’s shop, where she, with two other girls, was purchasing crackers. The mother jumped to the contusion that the Chinaman had been encouraging the children to go to his plaeo, and proceeded to give the inoffensive Mongolian a piece of her mind, and made grave charges against him. She then hit the child on the head with a piece of box lid, and as the Chinaman protested, she picked up a heavy box and struck him on tho head. Tho unfortunate man replied by striking the woman on the head with a bamboo walking stick. She shrieked, and this brought a crowd round, to whom the woman told a voluble tale of the Chinaman’s perfidy, with the result that several men rushed into the shop and assaulted the Mongolian. Eventually the police came on the scene, and the intruders were got out. The door was locked, and matters quieted down. About 10.30, however, the woman returned with her husband, and a crowd of 2000 people gathered. In spite of a large reinforcement of police, the building was pretty well wrecked. The panels of the door were kicked in, and not a whole pane of glass was left in the place. So far, no arrests have been made, but tho police are satisfied there is no truth in tho statements of the woman as to tho Chinamen encouraging children to visit their house.