CHRISTCHURCH.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2131, 21 January 1880, Page 2

CHRISTCHURCH.

TOWN EDITION.

[from oue ows correspondent.] Circumstances not altogether under my control, have prevented me keeping my promise, made some weeks ago, of giving your readers a little of the Christchurch chit-chat, hut now having made a start I promise, hyc-and-bye, to make amends for ray silence. And now to tell your readers afe w incidents of the riot which the newspapers have evidently not found out, and which nobody seemed to know anything about at the trial. First of all I saw in the South Canterbury Times that the attacking party had stretched a ropelacross Manchester street This wasa mistake, but a very pardonable one, as when the struggle took place in front of the Orange banner, the long guys at each corner of the silk were pulled out their full length, on cither side, giving at a distance away, the appearance of a line across the street. No unprejudiced person who knows anything of what took place on that day would for a moment suppose that the approach of the procession was not waited for with everything ready, for when the leader had reached opposite to the hotel gate, the signal was heard “ Now boys is your time,” followed, as the hearer stated, by a sudden rush of footsteps. After the attack some of the processionists. wearing sashes, ran round the eorner of the triangle l , one side of which is formed by High-street, and thither they were quickly Hollowed by the brave wielders of the pick-axe handies. With the exception of the chemist's shop a short way round the corner, all in the row of buildings were closed, but the few shopkeepers who lived on the premises quickly opened their doors as a refuge to the pursued. One unfortunate sash-wearer, when rushing to one of the open doors, picked up a little girl under each arm, and had just got over the doorstep when he was felled by a blow from a pick-axe handle. I came up just after the blow bad been struck, and saw the children and the warm blood ; the man was being attended to further up the street. Standing a little lower down and holding on to a verandah post, was a poor fellow wearing a sash who had evidently been in the middle of the attack, as the blood was dropping from his head on to his coat. " Yon said a tine-looking fellow over six feet in height, with a fearful weapon in his hand, as he drew hack to give the bleeding man a blow with it. ‘‘ Shea,” said a strong voice. *’ jam arc destroying yourself.” and the owner of the strong voice grasped the man’s right arm. who at once let it drop, and allowed the weapon to he taken from him. He then cleared into the crowd. The name of this ruffian was O'Shea, who got out of town at once, and lias since eluded the police—or at least lias not been arrested—and the person who saved the wounded man was Detective Benjamin. This weapon was one of two of the same kind handed to the rioters by a woman related to one of the persons implicated, and the woman who saw this done is now employed in one of the hotels at Ashburton. I have heard and read a good deal about this cowardly attack not being premeditated hv these few fanatics. Well, those who think so do not know this ; two or three days before the affair took place, a subordinate member of the Christchurch police force was in a certain hotel having a refresher with a man named George Collins. In the course of conversation the Protestant Alliance procession to take place on Boxing Day was mentioned. ‘'Well.'’ said Collins, “if the Orangemen walk and show their colors, the boys have determined to stop them.' The odicer said it would he a very foolish thing to do. and lie Imped they would have more sense. lie (the officer) thought nothing more of. it and went away. On the morning of Boxing Day, when the police were getting ready to go by special train to Tiinani, this subordinate mentioned the Collin's affair to a. comrade, who used some very strong language about his not having said something about it before, and at once went and told a superior officer. The latter, however, would not believe it. and the men went away south. To this part I may add that this man. George Collins, was supposed to be working down among the hays, and before the trial came on at the Supreme Court the detectives and police searched every bay from Lyttelton to Akaroa without success. The above will be news to many more especially as the subordinate officer was not called at Court but my position enables me to know that every word is a fact. There are two things certain, one that many of the guilty ones are still at large, the other that everything that took place at this riot will never be known. Before I leave this unpleasant subject I should like to say a little more. There are many who will believe that the cowardly act of a few deluded and ignorant fanatics was approved of by the large ma’orit} r of the intelligent Catholic body, and in this belief they are unfortunately strengthened by Father Ginaty’s letter to the papers, in which lie wound up an excellently commenced epistle by an injudicious palliation of the outrage in view of the feelings raised by the exhibition of Orange colors, and this too, we the face of the fact, that only a few days before, the Hibernian Society with colours flying, and band playing bad marched unmolested to the railway station to meet Bishop Eedwood. To those people who think thus —putting it very mildly—common sense is a stranger, for there arc hundreds in this town who know* that body well,' who will bear me out in saying, that it would have been hard times for those cowardly wretches if a small section of the body I am refering to had appearred round the corner of High-street at the time when pickaxe handles were being used against defenceless Orangemen. I am afraid that before I know where I am I have got a long way down your paper, and must reserve further items for my next. I And it rather more difficult to write a correspondent’s letter than an ordinary commercial one, and cannot at first get into the way of expressing what I have heard and seen as I should like. I suppose, however, that the correct style will come with experience, my principal study being to have my facts right.