AN INCIPIENT RIOT

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16369, 14 November 1918, Page 7

AN INCIPIENT RIOT

POLICE TURN HOSE ON CROWD. What threatened to be an "ugly riot occurred in High street, a little past the Bank of New Zealand corner, about > 9.30 o'clock last night. - There was a considerable crowd in .the vicinity'at the, time, and for some ... reason or, other, they got it into their ' heads that the police wero arresting one '■>' of'their number for lotting off fire- . "works, though there was absolutely no £■' truth in tne rumour. There was an immediate outcry, and word quickly ... reached the Police Station that a sert geant and constable were in trouble, .".whereupon benior-ttergeant Cumuings and two or threo other oihcers pioceeded to the scene, and on learning that there was no suggestion of any kind of . explained the matter to the , crowd, and started to walk back to the Police Station. A large jportion of the prowd followed them, and to make matters worse a motor-car came along Hereford street and proceeded in the .. direction of the Police Station, which gave rise to the cry that; an arrested man was in it. and was being taken to t)ie cells. Tnis was, of course, quite unfounded, and the car. was merely a private one. Some hundreds of people assembled outside the Police Station, hooting and yelling, and Senior-Sergeant Cummings asked them to be quiet as there were Eeveral people lying seriously ill in the vicinity, but his words had no effect, nor had an appeal to their decency, owing to Superintendent Dwyer's re- .. cent bereavements. The uproar increased, and several stones and other missiles were thrown, one sergeant be- , ing hit on the arm with three Btones, ana one of the Btation windows being , broken. Words being of no avail, the police, , who behaved in a particularly goodnatured and quiet manner throughout the. whole affair, got two or three leads of nose, and turned strong jets of water 1 on the crowd, many of whom were well drenched. The cure proved an excellent on®, and the would-be rioters soon departed, and though little knots remained in the vicinity discussing affairs for about a quarter of an hour, there . :was no further trouble; A great number ,of the crowd were young boys and girls, and had it not been for that fact, the police would probably have charged the crowd with batons, and there wonld have beep con- i eiderably more to remember the dis- j graceful scene by than wet clothes. I