TEH LONDON BIOTS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1654, 10 March 1886, Page 2

TEH LONDON BIOTS.

FULL PKTAILS PfiK MAIL 4 STEAMER.

THE MOB INCITED BJ SOIALIS* '< "■■.. LEADERS^ :,; : % THE POLICE POWERLESS. .. /■ "iSLUBS, HOUSES, AND- SHOPS- • WRECKED. THE STREETS SURRENDERED r- TO THE RIOTERS. £80,000 WORTH OF PROPERTY ..... _PESTKQXEa v .__^ ..._ LARGE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO RE- _ LIEVE THE UNEMPPLYED. _ DISTURBANCES IN-' LEICESTER AND BIRMINGHAM. '. „ |. 'V.. . .'■ '■■_".: h! f UNITED PBESjJ ASSOCIATION'! > 1 • Auckland, Monrfay.The starving mechanics of London held a mass meeting on Bth February m .TrafalgarTsquare; around the Nelson monument, which resulted m a riot. The proceedings opened with the assemblage of 10,000. men. Conspicuous among the leaders of the multitude was Burns, who ran as Socialistic candidate m Nott>ng- ; ham m the recent election. He sneered at the police, and acted generally as if . he -wished to bring: about a conflict between the police and people. He , ascended the pedestal. otthe Nelson column for the purpose of delivering, an. .harangue. He was well aware the. act could hot be tolerated,' and' the police politely ordered him to get down. This he re;fused?t6' do^'' appealing to the 1 crowd '46 resist interference with- the exercise of pbpular rights. The officers, however, were, determined* and pushed their way through the excited resisting mass, and by force removed Burns from' the pedestal. By this time the crowd had vastly augmented, and the streets adjacent were packed with a surging mob. A stir on the elevated spot where the Burns incident took place, was easily perceptible over almost the^entire area covere&by the vast concourse. The i sight of ,;thse-, helmets and the'officefs' uniforms ; m the"struggle was accepted as a visible i-profoj^ of the commencement of a fight against, the law. The response was ji general fearful howl, and « an ■ attenip'ted rush troru all directions to the point pf interest. Burros had novK bleen removed souW.djs- j tance f roni^tne' position' which he hidat- ' tempted to occupy, but,; haying bepome emboldened by the cries of the thfong, she. made a desperate effort to recover hi« lost ground/ [He {so effectually helped by the xnob thatfthe officers on the. spot were , brushed out . of , the . way, ■ and the orator was soon pressed 'tip, against the monument. He .quickly re- ' ascended the pedestal, accompanied by a ■ number of ; other 1 Socialistic leaders. Burns bore a red flag, and waved it to the assemblage's the signal of triumph over the authorities. , , .He- was, greeted,. ' w,ith deafening 'shouts, raised again and, again. Burns.now ieisurely •finished his' address, arid then read a fiercely yprded : resolution, which denounced the" authors ,ot the' present distress m England, and demanded that ' Parliament should start' piiblie . -works to . give employment and bread to, the, tens of thousands of deseryihsj. men who were out ot ,w;ork no fault of their own,, but because of rnisgovernm'ent','atid ; declared it 'was the duty of (government to afford every facility for the employment of British capital at home for the profit of the British people ; to* stive British interests advantages over foreign ; and asserted that the time had arrived for Parliament to legislate earnestly for the "relief of the depression m the English l agricultural districts. The -resolution also-demanded the immediate appointment, of a Minister 6t Commerce, and a Minister of Agriculture. It concluded with a rider to the effect that copies should be lorwarded to Me? Gladstone, ;Lord .Salisbury, , { Mr : EarnelV and ihe Board of Public "Works.- ' . . v •,. ;ik The reading of the resolutions was accompanied by fierce comments and stout explanatory^ speeches by various speakers, who 'stood- with Burns; Some of these speakers went so far as to warn the Government that although the starving mechanics of London were now r attempting to draw attention to - tpeir 1 needs by quiet and peaceful agitation, they were bound ito get it by at-, stacking bakers'. shops next if the Government did not come to their relief. Burns himself, m one of these gide ] speeches, denounced the present. House ] of Commons as a body of landlords and ; capitalists, for whom hanging was too . ;good. He also declared that, the people had assembled to summon Parliament to 'relieve at ance the distress, of 'the British forking man ; that the people wanted Hhe.queStioh settled at once-^peaeeably-if possibles-otherwise a revolution^ was inevitable. .....All this aggravated the excitement of the huge mass, so that the police re-formed with an increased force , and made -another 'assault.^ They sue- ] ceeded m *j[OTcin.?. : their; way up to the pedestal, and re^6jhe^o]his point just as ; the resolutions, wS^n|pd already been : proposed and seconded, were about to be submitted |to » the mob ( for approval. The officers' at once' ordered ihe ; proceed. ings.to.be discontinued on the pedestal,, and commanded Burns aha his colleagues' Sto come,,d,pwn.. -'This, they refused £p do. ■j'The officers therefore, dragged them down by force and drove them -..from^e; It was .evident that JJurns ej-j jieeted -that the application of violence to him iW^qld.jprecipitate the riot, , and it' was; also apparent that , , the .officers who. : were en?aged in reuapving.the Socialistic' orators feared, an attack,. '/but, the men, comprising the mob were npfrjira iiglit^-^ ing humor,; and contented themselves for a time,, with hooting the police ..arid simptheriugthem with flour, dirtj and gar^ bage. The officers behaved admirably jinder this ab use, and showed no resentment. After their ejection, neither Burns. , nor any of his colleagues made, any 'further attempt to get back- They at once left; the street proceeded to the wall : ot the National Gallery, which they, mounted, and pointing to the doors and windows, they bitterly denounced the inmates. Tins looked like an attempt to set the mob. on the building. The mob was excited, but not up to. the paint of violence yet. Burns and his colleagues seeing this, vacated the National Gallery . wall, and proceeded to the Carltpn Club, ' where, they repeated their tactics..; By this time the mob was treinendoiis.in numbers, , and verging, on desperation. Stories of w-hat the police had said and, done at the Nelson cpiumn ha.d'circulatea' from, month to .mouth, and , exaggerated with every repetition until the crowd was convinced that the authorities had actually dajed them to a conflict. Such fire as was ready for ignition, and within touching distance, was' inflaiqed by the speeches delivered on th.c Oarlton Olub steps. The mqb was split up into divisions by being forded 1 down different streets >y police from , Trafalgar- square m endeavoring to get nearer to the occupants of the Clubhouse steps, and various divisions started 1 off hooting and howling and challenging the authorities'. : The invaded streets' were' at ' once abandoned to the rioters^ who,' 'finding t^em4elvesno Iqnger opposed, vented theiriU-will against T^ell-hQused people and 1 against the , clubs by' stoning all the dwellings %nd Glu^houses'along their way. JA^ tljat part qi the ; city m ! ta,e. neighbqu'rtioqd of the National Gallery, Carltcm, Club, an& Reform; Qh^ wa^.in;ppsses?|qh of tie mob. 4 im?\\i iH9b marched through |fc. Piccadilly, . 0q,4& way tQ"HJ;^e : Park $ l}oli£ a fflee*.: ing, tbo weu QWW% t^e authorities, M,

taMkiug Dhopa, tmelUag M«IW avunlti ftHd smashing wlMtw*. wn Hi way to the Ewji tVytu the mob mm v t«fl&pWtntiisK« WnfeOfflw, btu tflPflPd .a^uy^hofrinesentiDel at tho entr*no» confronted the irttrudera with his bayofiefi Qonspicuous umqng the buildings attacked we'rethose'occupied by the Devonshire Club -.and- that occupied aa a residence by Mx Arnold Morley. The police along thVlihe,of route to the Park were Jiimply^rush^but of the way by the "rioters as^if thty- had been so many men of straw, and many of the officers were ter. ribly maltreated for interfering. .Mr Arnold Morley's residence is m Piccadilly When the rioters approached the house Mr Morley was m. He loudly called for help. A number of policemen for a- moment stood* ~in the "way of tfi* • ' men, but finally they were cast aside like* chaff Uy the host of desperate' men, who jrushed upjlr . Morley 's-.,Btej)s. He had locked and barricaded the* doori'buTHi was burst open) and the house overrun, despite his, frantic- protects. : invaders went away- they left scarcely a sound pane of glassah ' the building. A great number, ozj? other houses along their route fared much! worse,' in-' 1 cludme the Devonshire Club's house, which had been pieviously attacked m St. James-street. The attack upon this building took place at the very beginning of 'the riotfand was veryisava^e. |HatK^ chett's Hotel, a well-known hostelry, at ' 67 and 68,<.Picca u dilly; was also assaulted. When .the mob assailed this locality many of their rank and file, being hua. gi-y, made a rush for the hotel. They had it m their possession m arnomeht,,? sacked it' of ail food and drink, and} left the' building badly wrecked. . Ag- <■ the r mob were leaving they saw V carriage which had been pressed up against the kerb by the passing procession'and abandoned by its frightened occupants. It was seized s in an instant and broken up, t^e wheels, spokes, shattSj r and other good pieces being carried away for clubs; The Turf Clubhouse being m Piccadilly, presented another temptation to the lioterß, and as" they went by they smashed all the front doors and windows. Ail-along Regentstreet and, Oxford-street,' between 'Pio-' ' cadily and Hyde Park, the houses wsrt • attacked indiscriminately and their win- 1 dowß emasiied. -.>■■■■■ • . u^r; . .-> ; After Burns had been driven away 'from the Nelson monument by the police and liad spoken from the National Gallery wall and Carltbri Clbb steps, a sa'V- ' age fifi^ht; took place between ' ' his' ad^ » lierents^>the Socialista and' the anti-..; Socialists. The battle raged f»r someir tjme, but the Socialists proved victori- ' qus. They then lifted Barns to their shqulders .aud L bore him, aloft to^ Regent-street,' where with him 'they suc-'^ ceeded m sendiug the: crowd to Hyd» Park, Bums leading the whole way. At Hyde Park, when the mob had air col-" lected, Burns again addressed them. This speech was even more violent than the others he had made, his laneoas^ being exciting, and the whole, adaress calculated to set the crowd loose upon the town. Burns was followed by several other -Socialistic speaker, all. of *whoca did all m their ..pofwer to stir iip-strlfs, speaking was over th». mob b'roice up into parties. The jnain-feody went ,back east along "Oxford street again. The affrighted residents on this thoroughfare hud not yet recovered from the panic, aud the mob had the street to themselves. They Smashed 'every sound window they noticed, and the wioe shops weje brokeu into and their cpnteuts^dis.-, f tributadlfreely,'to 7 wjioinß9ever wislie^tb^ drink. Beer saloons they similarly treated. Tailors' shops , w^ere broken into, and clothes and rollscof fciota were throwu out into the streets to be taken by those strongest m the fights which resulted. Every person met who looked' like a foreigner wasr stoned ' or beaten from the street. Scores of tiuaea.ithe'policemen attempted to save thej assailed.,', property and to make arrests, but ; ,theyr were every time beaten and compelled to surrender their prisoners. Jh the ■ meantime several thousand rowdies re- 3 mained m Trafalgai^Sijiiare, occupying the time m daring the police "to com* on,V .and JDyuak^ng rushes at Jthe fop~ r : stables "jand jbthe^ obnoxious ptraopr. In] one ot these rushes the mob overtnrew 1 ' two heavy granite columns ; these fell across .Charing. Cross railway station. The police made several most desparate exertions to clear awayjthe obstruction, but were csasily resisted every time by ! the mob.' They held their ground,, *t Trafalgar Square until they volhntarify r abandoned the scene. The entire ipower of the police proved insufficient t6 c .clear. '■ thewaytooue of the most important ?- railway stations m the world, sufficientlr to j permit even a single carriage Hue to.pasß to or from the station. Some time after "dktk the mob gradually left "^ Trafalgar Squared They went away satisfied' that, without haying actually been iv collision with the police, the j ( had won the day. As the mob dispersed*iks various sections havoc m the streets until they dwindled ai^ay. The scenes which i characterised tb^e retreat of that section >6fethfr Hyde:Park {pott which went through Oxfofdrßtre«italßo..a!tended tbe retreat of other sections^of that crowd. Mery street they entjired surrenderedl to them,* l ■ •'■"' I Atmid^iight, the police reports concurreo! m J 'stating that In'ever [ baf ore 'jijx tpe present g|ner^tipn s has t> sjjbh !r a i dis- / tjirbance occurred in^fipndon yet : with uo h'ttle loss ofi blood. Some official- dej clared that upward of 50,000 men ; -must have been- rioting for, atleast.six-hours,^ with absolute, possession 6j, 1 evj^r^ ■ thoroughfare they'enose toinvade.) Yet rio lifers/ rep^te'd/to/have'djeen tak«n». Had the police been" strong- enough/to .attack the mob at any pomtitb^ere might have been a terrible -record, but at mid:night*e'vißryihing was pretty, riiuch . as it^ was during the c[ay r andjthe whple'tning " . jappears' to have been_a sort of night{mar^, it lasted. T.he. city r was thorooghly excited, but the m'dß r wa's^«'sg-A sentially English; ' It' made a frightful .demonstration, was not resisted, and iWeWte be'd'at the usual time, Accord, iiiigto the lowest estimate, 150^000:.nery Tr< sons, i were,, engaged m the, ( Traralgar Square demonstration. Two-thirds" of v " the crowd consisted of bona Jide unem* x .ployed working men, the remairiing'lieiiijp*'These two sections not being m accord, there were frequent collisions^ (between them. , ,-. ._ y^i^ f . On'the'secorid day fears were 'eiflec-rt t'ained thaj^ the riots of the Bth would be renewed^ Tn anticipa'tidn' of 'another de^ inonstratipn,? small -crqwds of raqghs^. passed ( in6i Tfafagar Sq^ai-e fpbffiiaffca ferent poiqts qf/,the city, and at 2 p,m. ,the crowd numbered 300. None of the .■lea.4ejcS|[ ! tjf / the day ; - -, before, ;• iioweyer, nqade their appearance. ' The roughs, took advantage of a- heavy fog to assemble ia^various parts, ot, the. > West End. They were bold and .imj>udenj. One gang [attempted to stp|j the carriages of inembere ;pf the nbbflityj wl\Q were on their ;way to St.' JEauc^s !Pala(» to attend a levee given by. tn^.^rinee of Wales. Tl^e force of police^ | however » drove them back, and dispersed them by .three o'plock. Th,e ; crowd-in Trafalgar ; Square was~3QOQ strong," the*°'hiajority •. being comprised of, loafers of the class. About 4,30 p.m. si^pceedeid!iri,pushih^ it^eiin.q^ ln*B. $ue.'sc(^ streets, and thus splitting ft upi *Ti£ . police folio wed u;p their w.ork ! ai^d H dtt3iY|ft ; ' elach frasn^ept qf {jn,e broken n^oh w\s its- eletflents were 1 dissipated \n « Ways and hyways o£ the city. Sparling the Socialist, teaderi and Hyndm.^h^the J President qf the Diemqcratio Federation^ were interviewed on the 9th. Both disclaimed any connection with the rio^sioif i th,e Bth. The fqrn^er saj4 tb,at y(hfh fe« ffl B9t h.'e WftW ft^ \&% rejpipe an eyent tp* shwed BQ^?tv tft b.e J iftsepnre, IniysgH^jQth* 'MoneM the mewhers of tU»t bod} kyouffct