MORE RIOTS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20523, 16 April 1932, Page 15

MORE RIOTS.

CROWDS FIGHT POLICE. SHOP WINDOWS SMASHED. MAYOR THREATENS TO READ RIOT ACT. SERIOUS DISORDER IN AUCKLAND. (rBESS ASSOCIATION TEI.EOJUU.) AUCKLAND, April 15. Another serious disturbance deI veloped to-night in Karangahape j road, the principal late night shopping street of Auckland. Tor a time the situation looked dangerous, but although there was a great deal of noise and disorder, and some violent clashes between the crowd and the police, no very serious damage was done. Thirty arrests were made by the police, who on this occasion, reinforced as they were by naval patrols and special constables, were able to keep the unruly sections of tho crowds reasonably well under control. An ugly fight between special constables and a section of the rioters occurred opposite the premises of tho Bon Marche in Karangahape road to-night. Two men were seriously injured by baton wounds, and a dozen more received blows of a less serious character.

A stone thrown through, a shop window "was the start of the fight. A section of special constables, in packed formation, brandishing batons above . their heads rushed forward to arrest a man shouting '' Stand back, stand back" to a dense crowd of people, men, women, and children, who got in their way. As they jostled the crowd curses were hurled at them by the men in front. Women shouted. "Leave him alone, you dirty scabs," and the next instant the street was thrown into hopeless confusion. Men used their fists and the specials laid about with their batons. For three or four minutes the street, resounded with blows and the scuffling of feet. A .frenzied yelling woman was* knocked, down ija .the and was carried into, a shop, and half a dozen rioters with bleeding heads ftlfd arms, reeled out of the struggling mass, leaving one, .of their numbers in the hands ,of the specials. The men who were in the forefront of the attapje gradually thinned out, as sonio were put out of action by wounds, and others got out of reach of the specials. At least one man was arrested. He was bleeding profusely from a deep gash on the head and was led away by two specials through a jeering, hooting mob. Difficult Police Work. Groups of specials became involved in further actions as the evening grew on. Their tactics were to band closely together, two or three deepj and move forward through the surging throng, whenever the crash and shatter of 3 breaking window offered them a point in the confused mass of humanity on which to centre their attentions. Their progress in this fashion was the signal for an outbreak of a l, storm of shouting and screaming, men and youths hurling oaths upon them and urging each other to "go for them and stand your ground."

For twenty minutes or more one section. of specials was kept moving from place to place in the dense throng by intermittent spasms of window-breaking. No sooner had they turned in one direction than a resouiiding crash oa-tlie opposite side of th,e street caused them to dash forward, alter their course, and niako for the place where the offender was thought to be. The crowd impedj ing them was so closely packed, howj ever, that by the time they reached the spot everyone round the window had scattered, and all they could do was to keep part of the crowd moving until another. window was .broken on the opposite side of the street. A dozen windows or more were broken in this manner/ • ' The Riot, Act. An announcement, that if disturbances similar to that of the past two nights occurred again, he would have r.c hesitation in reading the Riot Act, tv as made by the Mayor, Mr G. W. Hutchison, to-night. "The effect of the reading of the Riot Act will be that one hour after ■it , has been read, if the crowd does not disperse,: every person who remains in the vicinity will be liable to arrest and imprisonment for life," the Mayor said. "That would anean: that whole streets would bo cleared. As to-day was late shopping night, arid the disturbance was purely local, I dicl not consider it' was a fair thing to make everyone leave the street and thus disturb business. "Further, I was relying upon the request I had made through , the Press that everyone who proposed to walk the streets out of curiosity should stay at home. As, however, they did not go home after the shops closed, it will undoubtedly be necessary in future to take sterner measures, and bring the public to a. realisation of its duties ruder such circumstances. "If there ; is a recurrence of disturbances with an attendant' crowd of onlookers. I will not hesitate to read the Riot Act,", added the Mayor. ''Those who then elect to remain in the streets must take the consequences." Thirty Arrests. At a late hour' it was ascertained that thirty arrests had been made tonight, principally o» charges of rioting and mischief. No actual looting is reported. .The ambulance treated thirty men for minor injuries. Three cases are in hospital.