He Addresses the Electors.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3330, 25 August 1879, Page 2

He Addresses the Electors.

Uproarious Proceedings. Sir G. Grey's meeting last night was I fearfully rowdy. People began to arrive before 6 o'clock, an hour before the meeting, and at 7 o'clock the Oddfellows Hall was crammed to .suffocation. So dense was the crowd that they hung on to the windows, outgide, and stood on the edges of the wall to afford a foothold. The platform was crowded also. There was tremendous cheering when Sir George appeared, and, also, .some . determined hissing, which was kept up well throughout the meeting. The noise was so great that it Wat some time before he could commence, and then the crush in, the Hall made the audience restless, and the continual noises prevented" 1 even those on the platform hearing the Speaker distinctly. After this had gone on for some time, a man fainted and was carried gut of a door near the platform, those in the way jumped down on the, platform, and in a moment die whole crowd, who knew nothing of the cause of this proceeding, surged forward to the platform, 1 and all was confusion. It looked for, a, moment as if it were an organised, attempt tp break up the meeting,.'but it was quite accidental. Various plans were suggested, and the Mayor at length called out that the meeting would adjourn to the Drill Shed, as it was evident the Hall could not hold the people } on 'this > ieveral hundreds went to the Drill Shed, but the rest showing no" inclination, it was proposed to postpone the meeting. The curtain was dropped- .but Grey/ refused--.to give up,, and finding the vast'majority of the audience , required to hear him, the > curtain was again raised, and the gallant old Benight, stepping to the front saidi " Gentlemen, I never ran away in my life, and I am not going to do it now.;' At this there was an immense shout, and it was evident that those who had attempted.to drown his voice had been overwhelmed by the majority in the hall. The scene on the platform when the ■■■,>■* : ■' ■ i.y ■"■,' > • - . ' curtain was lifted was worse confusion than in the hall; a knot had gathered round Grey, and the remainder of the' stage,was a mass of,people, standing on cnairs and piled together in promiscuous fashion,; and so they remained to the end ,of the meeting,, Sir G. Grey immediately "w^|it l6n%itn bis speech, and fired by the little (Scrimmage spoke splendidly. At the beginning he had been hoarse and unable to ' make himself heard very well, even. when there was, lull in the room, but nowf he spoke clearly and well. ;There : were one or two bursts of interruptions, some enthusiastic admirers evermnow and again calling for threß cheers ror him, which were given, and whenever he hajdoccasipnto say, " If I am elected," there were uproarious /shouts of '!• You will," '• 3?ou shall,'* etc; At the end of his speech there was a long string of questions, nearly all written beforehand, and which were handed to the Mayor to read/ ; ; Dr. Turnbull proposed, and Mr Higgins (of/Ashley) seconded, a vote of confidence and thanks, bat when the Doctor got as far as " confidence," thY rest of the motion, and the name of the seconder, were lost in cheers. In . about .five minutes the Mayor was able to put the question, and was met with another tremendous uproar of cheers, through which could be heard the hissing that had been kept up very determinedly from the beginning to the end by a small band of Conservatives in the room. He then called for the voices against it, but as one could not be found with the courage to call "no," the motion, much to the amusement of , Sir.George Grey's sup-, porters,, had to be declared unanimously carried, though hissing was immediately! heard again. It was about twenty; minutes to eleven when the meeting; ended;-.. ; . ■ «(. ..? .' \ ' ; The football match between Canterbury and 'Otago was drawn, nothing being scored on either side, though the Southern team had slightly the best of the game.: The Wellington team had arrived} just in time to see the match.