MEETING OF STARVING MECHANICS OF LONDON IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE. Socialists Precipitate a Riot. The Mob in Full Possession of the Streets, and Uncontrollable.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 145, 13 March 1886, Page 4

MEETING OF STARVING MECHANICS OF LONDON IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE. Socialists Precipitate a Riot. The Mob in Full Possession of the Streets, and Uncontrollable.

Exciting the Mob. After their ejection, neither Burns nor any of his colleaßuoa made any further attempts to get hack. They at once loft the street and pro ceeded to the Reform Club building, they mounted the Bteps, pointed to the doors and windows, and bitterly denounced the inmates. This looked like an attempt to set the mob on

tho building. The mob was excited, but not up to the p lint of violence yet. Burns and hia colleagues, seeing this, vacated the Reform Club stops and proceeded to the Carleton Club, whore they repeated thrir tactics. By this time the mob was tremondous in numbers and verging to desperation. The storieß of what the police had said and done at the Nolson column had boon circulated from mouth to mouth, and exaggerated with every repetition, until the crowd wore convinced that the authorities had actually dared them to the conflict, and such fire as was ready for ignition, and. -within touching distanoe/waa inflamed by the speeches deliveiod on Carlet'm Club steps. The mob wad split up into divisions by being forced down tho different stroeta by tho police from Trafalgar Square, to ro^ nearer the occupants of tho club-houses and the various divi&ions started off hooting, howling and challenging the authorities. The invaded streets wcrp at onco abaudoncd to tho rioters, who, finding thcmßclvea no longer opposed, vented thoir ill -will against well-housed people ar.d against tho clubs by stoning the dwollings and tho club houses along; tho way.

A Wild and Drunken Crowd. At tho time of clofrir q these despatches all that part of tho city in tho neighbourhood of the National Gillory,CarlotonolubandUeform| Anb iB in possession of the mobs. Several factioa lights ln»v « olr. n-ly token nlaco among tho riotorp, and a fuiiuus »iob is now, at 7pm, marching through St Juraes street and Piooadilly on its way to Hydo Park to hold a meeting. Tho mob is imping tho authorities, attacking tho ahi.ps sackinc saloons, getting drunk and smashing tho windows. Ou ica way to 11} do Park, tho front; of the mob made an effort to enter tho War Office, but turned away when tho sentinel at the ontranco confronted tho intruders with his bayonet. Conspicuous among tho l uildings attacked by , tho njob was thoco occupied by tho Dovonahire Olub and that orcuoiod as a rosidenco by 1 Arnold Morley, newly appointed Patronngo > Secretary. The police along tho route to Hj de Park wero brushed out oC the way by tho notors as so many men of btraw, and many of tho , onicorB were terribly whipped for their intor- ■ ference.

The Route Followed. 1 hat part of the Trafalgar Squaro mob which went to LlydoPaik wagcompodedof thohordO3 which hnd filled up Cockspur-streot, Pall Mall arid St. .lumos stropf, when the Carleton Club was attacked. This long drawn out throng bent atHc-ont ftreot, which begins at Pall Mall, about half way between Nelson's Monument and St. James-atr of, and moved northward through Regent street to l lccadiliy, a quarter of a mile away, and, passing arouud Regent Ciroup, went north attain through Re;cnt-streot a halt-mile, \o Oxford Circus. The riotors turned here to the left, a r d wont west down Oxford-street to Hydo Park, a dietanco of thrcoquartoi bof a mil \ Thb route was undoubtedly chosen by tho loadcra for tho uurpoae of keepio \s the ciovvd on bafe ground, as they would be on tho north Rido of tho park. If tho mob had gono aim.* St James stre -t to Piccadilly, and thence to Park Lano, it might run toono'>r tho barracks ou the south side of iho park. It was that part of the mob which was drawn east through St. Janit-9 street to Regetit trat attempted to ontcr tho Wai Office, opposite St. Jamoa Square, but which was scared away.

Morley's House Sacked. Arnold Morlcj a residence is in Piccadilly, a. pnition of this route, the house being one form rly occupied by Johti J3<ijjht, and w<.ll KnovMi ro renny of tuo mob. AVhcn the rioters approached the house, Morley was in. He loudly catad for holp, tuul a mirabor of policomen for a moment s ood iv the wayci the men, but li oallv they were swept away like cbafl'.and a hos, ot desperate men rushed up Morloy's stops. He had locked and barric ided the door, but it was burst open, and (he house overrun, despito his frantic screams and piotests. When the invaders wont away, they" left scarcely a sound pane of cjla&s in the whole building. A \ ory great t.umber of other piivate houses j^odr: the irob's route fared much worse than did John Bright's old homo, including tho Devon luro Club's house, which had been preicusly attacked in St. James street. The atiao'-t upon this building took placo at tho very be/ inning of the riot, and was very savage.

Hostelry Sacked, Ilatchett Hotel ia a largo well known hostelry at G7 and GS, Piccadilly. When the mob passed this locality many of the rank and file, being hungry, made a rush for the Hotel. Tnoy h<,d it in ihcir possession in a moment, aud sacko it of all fuod and drink, and left tho building badly wrecked. Ao iho men were leaving tho hotel t ,ey taw a carriages which had beon pressed up aguiust the curb by tho passing procession and abandoned by ita fi igbtoned occupant 5 !. It was seized, and in an instant broktn up, and the who. 1 spokes mid Phaft3 and other good v>ieceB carried a w«y for clubs. Tho Turf Club'a house, bciiiKin Piccadilly, presented atomptation to the riottra &s thoy went by, and they smashed all itj front doois and windows wi'h Btonee. All alone: Hogont and Oxford btreets, between Piccadilly and Hyde Park, houses wore attacked indiscriminately, and their windows smashed.

Police Beaten— People Stoned After Burns had b *en driven away from the Nelson Monument by the police, and had spoken from tha National Gallery wall and Carleton (3iub steps, a eavape light took place between hiB adherents, the Socialists, and antiThe battle raged for some time, but tho Socialists proved victorious, and lifted Bums to their shoulders, and bore him aloft to Regent s reet, where, with him, they succeeded m bending the crowd toward Hyde Park, Burns loading the whole way. At Hyde Park, when the mob had all collected, Burns again addressed them. 'I hia speech \\ as even moro violent thau the othe s he made, the language being exciting, and the whole addres3 calculated to sot the crowd loo:o upon the town. Burns was followed by several other Socialistic speakers, all of whom did all in their power to stir up strife. When the speaking was ovor the mob broke up into patties; tho main liody wen' back east along Oxford-street again. The affrighted residents ou this thoroughfare Had not yet recovered from the panic, and the mob had the street to themselves. They emashtd every sound window they noticed, and tho wineshops were broken in and then-contents distributed frocly to whoever wished to drink. Tho bfer °aloons they similarly treated. Tho luiiur bhops were biokon into and clothes and rolh of cloth were thrown out into tho streets to bo taken by those strongest in the fights which resulted. Kvery person mot who looked liko a toroigner was r-tore 1 or beatoa from tne &trei t. tfcoren of times the policemen attempted to savo issai'ed property an! mado arrests, but they were cvory tuna boaton and compelled to surrender their prisoners. In the moantirao several thousand rowoies remained in Trafalgar Square, occupying the timo in daring tho police to coma on, and makiDg rushes at the constables and other obnoxious Der-0i.3. In one of these rushes the m< b overthrew two heavy granite columns. I hese fell across Charing Cross and blocked tho I 1I 1 attic to and from the Charing Cross Railway Stat on.

The Mob Victorious. '''' o police ninde pcvcral mo9t desperate exer("io'ih to clear away the obstruction, but wore o Fily roBisfcl every timo by the mob. Tho mob Ivlcl Ilu ir ground so well ao Trafalgar Squa c that, until they voluntarily abandonbd Uio scene the entire power of the poHoo pnn o i insufficient to clear the way t.> on', of tho most imuovtant railway station's of lliu u r d— laT'go enougb to permit oven a single icuii.»tco line tj pass to or from the dep6t. Somu timo after dark the mob gradually left Trafalgar Square They went away eatisfli d tiint, without having actually collided witn the polico, they had won tho day. As ths mob dispersed its sections made havoc in tho Btreets until they dwindled away. The scones which characterised the retreat of that section of tho Hyde Park mob which went through Oxford-street also attended the retreat of the other sections of that crowd Hvery stroet they entered sur, endered to them.

The Rioters Go to Bod. At midnight the police reports concurred in stating that, never before in the present generation has Buch a disturbance occurred in London with so little loss of blood. Sonio officials doclaro that upward of 50,000 men mu~t have been rioting for ot least six horns, with absolute posRosßion of every thoroughfare they choae to inveide, yet no life is reported taken. Had the police been strong enough to attack Lho mob at any point, there m'ght bavo been terriblo records made, but at mid nicjht every thing: was pretty much as it was during tho day, and the whole thing appears to liavo beou a sort of nightmare. While it lasted, tho city waa thoroughly excited, but tho mob was essentially English. It made a frightful demonstration, was not rosisted, and went to bod at the usual timo. According to the lowest estimate?, 150,000 persona were engaged in the Trafalgar Square demonstration. Two-thirds of the crowd were bona fide unemployed working men, the remaicder being Socialists. The two sections not being in accord, thore weiv frequent collisions between them. The rioters riddled with stones all the windows in the shop of Benjamin, the inhospitable tailor,, who recently advertised that he wanted no American customers. The affair has its chief significance in showing the strength and thorough discipline of the London Socialists, and the dangerous readiness of the London arabs to engage in anything that promises mischief, and it ia undeniable that ie must have an injurious pfFect upon the prestige of the Government, boih at home and abroad. Parnell is said to be much alarmed atthe prospect that the affair will cauec a condition of chaos in tho Cabinet.

London, Feb. B.—The starving mechanic 3 of London to-day held a mass meeting in Trafalgar Square around the Nelson Monument and it resulted in a riot The proceedings were opened with the assemblage of 10.000 men. Tho police were present in large numbers They at once saw that the Socialistic element of London greatly predominated in the crowd, which was also managed by wellknown Socialists and used extraordinary vigilance to preserve pence at all hazards. Conspicuous among the leaders of thj multitude was Burns, who ran as a Socialistic candidate in Nottingham in the recent el< ction. H' sneered at the police, and acted pronera'ly as if ho wished to bring about a conflict between tho police and the people. Fin a ly, he a eenied tho pedastal of the Nelson Column, foe the purpose of delivering a haranguo. The police p litoly ordered him to get down This ho refused to do, appealing to the crowd to resist interferenc3 with tho exercise ot popular lights. The officers, however, weie determined, and they pubhed their way through the excited und resisting ma^s, and by force removed Burns from the pcdis'al Kmboldened by the cries of the throng lie nmde a desperate <IFort to rocover his lost ground. He was su efF etively help d by the m-.b that the officers on the epot were brushed out < f i h • way, and the orator was soon pressed up against the monument He quickly reasended the pedestal, accompanied by a mnnbor of ether Socialist leaders. Burns bore a red fl*g, nnd no waved it to the assemblage as a signal of his triumph over the authorities. Ho wan greeted with deafening shout*, raided again and again.

Authors of Present Distress Denounced Burns now leisurely finished his address. Ho then read a fierce^ -worded resolution. This denounced tho authors of the present distress iv England, demanded that Parliament star public works to give employment and bread to the tens of thousands of deserving men who wero out of work, through no fault of their own, but because of bad government, and declared it wag the duty o£ tho Government to afford every facility for the employment of British capital at home for the profit of the British people, and to give the British interests advantage over foreign, and asserted that the time had arrived for Parliament to ltgii-lute carneetly for tho relief of tie f'eptesdon in English agricultural industry. Tho re-solutions also demandf d the immediate appointment of a Minister of Commerce and a Minister of Aericulture, and concluded with a resolve that copies should be forwarded to Gladstone, Salisbury. Parnell, and Board of Public Worke. Tho readme: of the resolutions was accompanied by fierce comments and short explanatory speeches by the various orators who stood with Burns. Some of these orators went so far as to warn the' Government that although the starving mechanics of London were now attempting to draw atrention ta their needs by quiet and peaceful agitation, they were bound to get it by attacking the baker shops next if the Government did not come to their relief. Burns himself, in one of these side speeches, denounced the present Houeo of Cominrns as a body of landlords and capitalist?, for whom hanging was too good. He also declared that the people had assembled to summon Parliament to relieve immediately tho distress of the British workingmen ; that tho people wanted the question settled at once and peacefully, if possible; otherwise revolution was inevitable All this aggravated the excitement of ike huge mass, so that the police re-formed with an increased force and made another assault

The Police in Possession. They succeeded in forcing their way up to the pedestal. They reached this point just hh the resolutions which had already been offered and seconded were about; to be submitted to the mob for approval. The officers at once ordered the proceedings to he discontinued on Ihe pedesttl, and commanded Burns and his colleagues to come down. This they refused to do, and the officers therefore dragged them down by force, and drove them from the pedestal. It was evident that Burns expected that the application of violence to him would precipitate a i iot, and it was also apparent that the officers immediately engaged in removing the oratora feared an attack, but the men composing the mob were not in a flghtmg humour, and the mob contented itselJt for tho time by hooting the police and smothar ing them with flour, dirt, and garbage. The officers behaved admirably under this abu*e, and showed no resentmont.