DISORDER AT ELECTION MEETINGS.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2705, 19 November 1881, Page 2

DISORDER AT ELECTION MEETINGS.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court at Waimate on Thursday, several cases were heard which arose out of disorderly proceedings at Mr Bateman’s and Mr Clarke’s election meetings at Makikihi on the 9th and 12th inst. In the first case James Poff, licensee of the Makikihi Hotel, charged his brother-in-law, John Coll, with riotous behaviour and wilfully damaging property on the 12th. Coll refused to leave the house when the time came for shutting up, and in the midst of a crowd the two men had a scuffle, which was apparently begun by Coll, but it was not clear that it was not begun by accident. Coll was put out of the house, and then there was some stone-throwing at the house, and a window was broken, and Pojff charged Coll with breaking it, but this the latter denied, and no person saw him break it. Both charges were dismissed by the Bench. Four other men were charged with riotous behaviour in the hotel on on the night of the 9th, the evidence of the complainant showing that there had been great disorder, eggs and flour flying about the house in all directions, his business being greatly interfered with. Complainant admitted that he would not have brought these charges had it not been for what occurred three evenings later, A man named Jests was then charged by the same complainant with wilfully damaging a door by throwing a big stone at it on the 9th, the night of Mr Bateman’s meeting. The defendant denied the charge, and the evidence being insufficient to prove that he threw the stone that did the damage, this case also was dismissed. In all cases the coats of defendants were disallowed. The Bench said the hearing of the cases had shown that a great amount of disorder and misconduct had arisen in connection with the election meetings at Makakihi, and that the larrikinism of stone throwing and pelting flour and eggs, &c., would be promptly punished when a case could be proved.