DISTURBANCE IN BUCKLESTREET.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 5 November 1913, Page 5

DISTURBANCE IN BUCKLESTREET.

FURTHER STONE THROWING. REVOLVER SHOTS FIRED. | SEVERAL PERSONS INJURED. TWO MEN ARRESTED. . WELLINGTON, Last Night; , Buckle "street was- the • centre of "more disturbances to-night. The fact that the special constables are quartered "in the Mount Cook Barracks seems to draw an, ugly crowd to the" vicinity. „ It must be said, however, that the crowd does not consist of strikers. There were probably not more "than 20 of them at to-night's'scenes. A great number of those who congregate at the street coi-ners in this part of the town are, according to the police authorities, nothing more .than idlers, some of whom are "well known to the police." All clay the mounted constables and permanent guard at the corner of Buckie and Taranaki streets were subjected to abuse. The vilest epithets were hurled at them, and a sto.no-or two were thrown in the afternoon, fortunately with no evil, effect. In the' evening, however, matters became decidedly worse. < At 8 p.m. a, big crowd had collected at the coiner of Taranaki and Abel Smith streets, and stones again Hew. The violence of the previous evening threatened to be repeated, arid on several occasion a squad of mounted regular police found it necessary to turn their horses to the crowd and clear the "streets. . It was at 8.10 p.m. that ipatters took .a serious turn.

A window of- the Royal Tiger Hotel was shattei'ed by half a brick. Almost immediately afterwards, from the top of a building near by, two shots were fired from a revolver towards the crowd. No one Was hit, but some of those present declare that they heard the bullets strike a house on the opposite side of the street.

There was a great scampering of the crowd from the spot, with the mounted police .behind, urging t-heni awav, T)ut two minutes later the corner was again packed with , people Investigations . were immediately made as to the origin of the. shooting, hut although a man was found with 'a revolver near t}ie hotel, it was not definitely proved who was the culprit. ' ' ' After the excitement of this incident had died down, stone-throwing was again resorted to. The crash' of broken glass was heard frequently, and the windows of the hotel received further damage

Every now and again the crowd would jeer at the police, and detonators were thrown under the horses' feet.

- Some slight- injuries were inflicted by stones during the evening. One young man, Albert Hay, a tailor living In Abel Smith street, had the back of his left hand badly lacerated by half a bricE. Another man, whose name waff not ascertainable, received a nasty gash iu the cheek from a piece of: glass which was thrown from th<j crowd. This type of missile was frequently .used last Xnight, ~ancl it-; .fairly evident that the. police were the targets. >/"' At 9 p':.m. the'arrest" of "two men caused some diversion. •*. , / j. Archibald Campbell, a middle-aged man, was arrested for being in possession ' of r n nnirderoufi-lookmg wea-

pon. This took the form of an 18inch length of lead-piping of formidable thickness. The "business" end of the weapon was bent clumsily and closed, and the pipp itself was loaded at this end with lead. Campbell bad in his possession besides a" largo piece of brick. The other man was Robert Hil!, who was taken in charge, for allegedly assaulting a constable on duty.