A DISGRACEFUL SCENE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 162, 11 July 1910, Page 6

A DISGRACEFUL SCENE.

RIOTOUS DUNEDIN MOB. ] THE POLICE STONED. < (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) ' DUNEDIN, Sunday. s One of the most disgraceful scenes witnessed here for a long time took place i last evening. At ahout 0.4.5 the police 1 had occasion to make an arrest, and lor . i fully an hour after that they had their j hands full in coping with a mob of disorderly people, some hundreds strong, j who took almost complete charge of < affairs for the time being. , At the time mentioned Sergeant Eccles \ and Constable Sweeney arrested a man 3 named John Wilson on a charge of (lis- s orderly conduct while drunk. As they j were taking him down to a cab Wilson's j brother appeared on the scene, and, it s is asserted, assaulted Constable Sweeney, c striking him on the back of the head i and upon the cheek. This man was im- j mediately arrested by Sergeant Eccles, ] but a crowd quickly gathered, and it 1 was with the utmost difficulty that the police got their prisoners to the station, i j The road and footpaths were crowded 1 with an excited mob, who made a vio- i lent demonstration against the officers i of the law. i After much difficulty the two Wilsons < were got into a cab, but when the driver i was ready to start it was found that ; the horses' hames-straps had been un- ' done. In the course of time, however, ' the police safely lodged both men in the ' cells. * ' About half an hour later it was found i necessary to make another arrest, and ' on this occasion the disgraceful scene 1 was repeated. Several stones were thrown during the disturbance, and one 1 1 of the cab windows was smashed. ' John Wilson will he charged with ' dri_.'"enness, obscene language and re- < sisting the police, and David Wilson with ' assaulting, obstructing and resisting the • police, and with using obscene language. " As a result of the demonstration two 1 other men named Walter Spence and c Charles Graham were also arrested, the * t former on a charge of being drunk and disorderly _nd inciting the crowd to I assault Constable Sweeney, and Graham > with obstructing the police and assault- } ing Constable Fox. The trouble is be- "• lieved to "be due to the unpopularity of ' one of the constables. After the arrests ' bad "been effected another constable was ' mistaken for the one against whom there is much feeling. When he went • up the street after the occurrence a f crowd of fully 200 followed him along ' High-street, through. the Arcade, and down MacLaggan and Rattray-streets to Princes-street.