RAID ON SOCIALISTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 193, 15 August 1911, Page 2

RAID ON SOCIALISTS.

MOB MAKES THINGS LIVELY. D.-seribinc the mid made by a mob it i -int-t meeting held by tho Socialists i- Wellington on Saturday night the •New Zealand Times" —"Mr. R. 1! .-_••_- was addressing a big crowd. The t . .leer's voice was not always audible ..'.,.\.. ihe din. but he w.-is heard to de-r-l-r- ih;it he bud not advocated that !,,,,_, hi'iiil should 1"' cut off be- , ,-.-.■ -I ,|, m 't believe lie has a head worth 1 -i: •_'.' This observation stirred the ,: •'<■ :.. fury, and for a time nothing coiibi be heard but hisses and hoots, h> ~iiii.j ..f trumpets and exhortations to r-,si; ~ barber. Mr- Hog;; touched upon ti.i- -object of military training, but it v - he cli.l not find his way to the .■ to uhies of his auditors. 'Look what t' ,- N :u-i. doing in Knglanil to the f >'.■ t-." he -aid. 'they are turning the v ■'••.,;-. ..n them.' "Cuiiii right, tool' replied a section of tl.e'moll, I'll.-re has been a 'ot of trouble about rr-rnpnHury training lately,' lie conf nu-.1. V>-, and you're the cause of it,' rep,i...| a young man. 'The mob which must have now num- ),.,-, ,| ,!u-e on one thousand persons be-r.-ime still more rowdy and there were frequent warnings of "Look-out, here ~.e;, lbe Johns." Mr. Hoj;<r bad now b.n speaking for about ten minutes, |, it tl rowd evidently thought tluit he 1, nl said enough, for the next moment n forward movement was made and the j tiii- became a thing of the past. fine individual (alleged to be a Social-i-Ii Hashed a revolver, but be did not make use of it. Mr. Hogg was in great il uii;-r of being trampled on. but the police came to his assistance and he was escorted to the Socialist Hall in Manr,..rs -trcct. Bags of tlour were then 1 brown about and more often than not found a mark. The crowd followed the p..1i.-.' and Mr. Hogg, one person proudly waving tho remains of Mr. Hogg's platform. By the time the hall was r. ,i. lie! some three thousand or more Ti■ r-..i]s had congregated, and the police —u dozen or so strong, in charge of the, T n sp.vtor and Sub-Inspector—were kept busy to maintpin order. The "choir" frequently rendered its favourite anthem about hanging a body on a sour apple tree and some stupid ones attempted tn enliven the proceedings by hurling '•-ingle bankers" in the direction of tho refuge. A barricade was erected in front of the entrance to the hall and behind this members of the Socialist party took post. A meeting was to take place in the hall, but carp was taken that only those likely In lie orderly were allowed to pass the barrier. The crowd attempted to force an entrance and an advance was made I not in review order) but the police repnlse.l the assault. Strategy was next r-sorted to by the crowd to try and gain admission to the hull. The hooligans <•' aru'ed out of .Manners-street, galloped Hi, Cuba and Dixon streets, tore down 1 i'i■] bert-street and back into Mannerspi net. When Herbert-street was reached

:■ packet of crackers was discharged. The nhject of this move was presumably t.. draw the police away from Mannerss* rcct and thus leave the way clear to attack the hall. Success . was not met v Mil. fur the police, much to the surprise 11' the mob, remained in Manners-street. When tho con?t was clenr Mr. Hogg slipped out of the way and went down 1 over Cuba-street. The larrikin element fiulins that it was itsele.is to stop any |. ptrcr in Manners-street dashed up Cuba-(s:r.~-t. and it was said that they afterv.irds stampeded tlinnifrh Haining-street and down Tory-street, where one or two F'-ii.p windows" were broken. A large number of persons, however, still remained outside the Socialist Hall, but no further disturbance took place.