BOMB OUTRAGE

Hokitika Guardian, 26 November 1931, Page 3

BOMB OUTRAGE

COMMUNISTSS SUSPECTED. AN OUTSPOKEN VICTIM. SYDNEY, November 20. It is difficult to say ..whether Reds or criminal's were responsible for tlie bombing outrage .oip Monday night at the residence of the Leader of ' the Opposition (Sir Stanley, Argyle) at Toorak, Melbourne. While it is generally accepted that the bomb was set by Communists, the. police are seriously considering the theory that the criminal element was responsible. IVIeL bourne has beep experiencing a- crime wave of unusual dimensions and Wfr " n; . > iStanloy has, for some .tame, been j bringing pressure to bear, .on the Gov- ! eminent to introduce, a .Consorting Act that would give the police wider powers..,,Criminals have had..such free, doni that they have become emboldened, so , much so, it .is .feared, that they would not hesitate, to intrude into politics, even, n-s their, unsavoury j brethren of the United States. Then I again, Sir Stanley’s recent utterances I against <Gommuni.sip.: recently have been particularly strong, and he has been making matters very uncomfortable for the Reds by bringing them within the glare of public opinion. Whatever the motive for the outrage, he. made it plain that he would not be intimidated by such methods as threats with bombs. He only expressed regret that terrorism should be inflicted on women when they had fio men in thehouse to protect, them. ! •' Lady Argyle, her married daughter •(Mrs- Erie Hill), and the maid had : not long retired when the' explosion occurred. Sir-Stanley was attending the annual dinner of the City Council. Shortly before 10 o’clock Lady Argyle was awakened by the detonator. She switched on the lights, hut on seeing the havoc 'wrought by the explosion she' switched them off again, fearing that more damage might be done by a second explosion. -Groping round in the dark she reached the telephone and called the ’police. Missi Temple Smith was reading in her bed at the roan- of the house when she hoard stealthy footsteps, ' Vis she thought; crossing the tennis-courts at the side, but' she concluded"'thtiV they must ho' ■next/ door. She. had ' just resumed her reading when the whole house was shaken by a violent explosion. , • Daylight invesltiggtiqns. revealed that tlie bomb was of ‘a "death dealing var- v ietv. Pellet-s of steel had riddled the ceiling of the verandah, tearing through woodwork an inch thick, and penetrating galvanised iron on tlie upper roof. The front windows and door were splintered, and ornam'ents inside were flung in--. All directions. Plaster was shaken down from the inside walls, and a! thick curtain was shredded by shattered - glass. Some distance away a large fragment of the bomb was found embedded in a pine tree. Experts state that ; ,wlxen the piping of which the bomb.,wag made exploded, it broke into hundreds' of projectiles, any of which was capable of killing. Tlie 'piping was about three inches in dianietel;, ,' flll^t r j .V.iib gelig l ' nite,- and sealed fit each" end. ’lt had beeiv set off iritlV’a time- fuse*.