THE LABOUR RIOTS IN LIVERPOOL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1242, 26 September 1911, Page 6

THE LABOUR RIOTS IN LIVERPOOL.

A FRENZIED CROWD. a V PITCHED BATTLES BETWEEN " STRIKERS AND POLICE. « SEVEN MEN SHOT-TWO FATALLY. || Wild strike scenes wero witnessed on Sun- t day, August 13, in Liverpool. A trade ( union rally on a gigantic scalft had been ]■ organised, the venue being the spacious c plateau facing St. George's Ha.ll, and at a the commencement there surely never was ja more peaceful crowd assembled on this : spot, which had been rendered famous as ! the. scene of many remarkable demonstra- i: tions of one kind and another. It was y variously computed that from 60,000 to '' 70,000 persons were present, representing all grades of railway servants, dock labourers, carters, in fact all sections of transport workers. Punctually to advertised time, viz., 3.30, the proceedings com- 6 menced, scarcely any policemen being o then in evidence, and all proceeded in o perfect order and peace until shortly after I: four o'clock. 0 How the fighting began will probably a never l>o known definitely, for two or « three explanations aro given. It is stated 1 that some irritation was given to' the. men t by policemen who were doing their best ; to keep tho tram tracks clear, and that { the strife which ensued was the outcomo ' of that irritation. Others say that a ' scuffle arose wlien some policemen en- ' deavoured to move men who were perched { on window-sills in Lord Nelson Street, that ' pushes were followed by blows with the s fists, and that in half a minute an ugly I skirmish was going on. A move forward £ by the police brought two sailors to the c front of the crowd, and these led the on- A slaught. The police—there were not a j dozen rf them at that point—drew their ' truncheons and charged for a short dis- } . tance. Then a few seconds' lull was fol- ' lowed by another charge, and in less than *■ a minute the square became something 1 like a battlefield. A body of Birmingham J police near tho entrance to the station ' were and realising .ihnt they ) were outnumbered and had no possible chance of coping with the rush they turned and took up a stand at the. gates. • It was evident then that many had come to the meeting prepared to meet or make ' trouble, for bottles, brick-ends, and htavy ] pieces of wood were thrown in all dircc- '■ tions. t Hand-to-Hand Fight. j Sticks of various sorts and conditions ' came into view, and were brandished i about, and hatches of polios, both mount- i ed and on foot, came on the scune from ] all directions, until there must have been 1 well nigli 1000 present, the Liverpool fqreo i being recruited by officers from Binning- i ham. Tho measures adopted by the police were short, - sharp, and determined. Powerful men aniied with their batons, were speedily in the thick of the crowd, slashing in all directions. They listened to no argument, but set to work to quickly disperse ■ the crowd, which was soon flying- hither and tliither in search of safety. Any establishments which happened to be open—shops, motor garages, etc., were, soon filled by fugitives from the effectively and powerfully-wielded polico staffs. As the result of baton charges many persons were afterwards noticed with blood streaming from wounds caused in this way. How many people were injured it is impossible to ascertain, but it was no infrequent sight to sec men lying on tho ground bleeding copiously, and the crowd surging ■ past in a quest for places of safety, and many streets were held up by the horse and foot constabulary, and the crowd com polled to go in specified directions in which the polico drove them. Among tho police themselves several lost their helmets and had blood streaming down their faoes, while others were hardly able to move as the result of kicks and blows on their legs. No mercy was shown on cither side; the combatants fought with a frenzy which could not have been excelled had they been'fighting for their lives. At the Centre of the Fray. In the contra of the square the fight raged fiercely round the lorries which had served as platforms for tho leaders, who were now seeing their plans for pence flung to the winds. Several times tho lorries seemed to bo going over, and somo reporters had to spring down into the surging crowd. The police were continuously reinforced, but oven when an ambulance- van appeared in the square they were > not strong enough to obviate a danger of its being overturned. Missiles dropped all around tho vehicle, and once it went over on two wheels, only to be righted by the driver putting aside all thought of safety for those in front, and lashing tho horses into full speed. ' Even when the crowd was separated into gronps the. polico continued their onslaught. They used their truncheons mercilessly, and some could be seen taking deliberate. aim at the backs of men's heads before giving them blows which, despite the din, could be heard yards away. It was when nearly all the crowds had been dispersed that the worst scene of all occurred, and that brutal unnecessary blows wero struck by some policemen, mostly young and probably inexperienced. The steps of tho Hall had been crowded with men and a few women interested in the demonstration. The orders given for the steps to bo cleared led to incredible scenes. The officers could bo eeen using their truncheons like flails. Dozens of heads were broken, and many shoulders and arms received blows the marks of which will remain for many a long day. Tho whole fight did not .last above a quarter of_ an hour, and when it was over and the Square was comparatively clear tho ground could be seen bespattered with blood. Uprooted shrubs, iron hoops, glass bottles shattered into small fragments, big heavy clubs, bricks, stones, and even iron bars were strewn everywhere. Here and there men were lying on theiri backs, receiving attentions from anyone who would befriend them. Then it was seen that the Royal Warwickshires, who had been quartered,inside the Hall, were drawn up in line on the north sido of the Square facing the Art Gallery. Their rifles were loaded with ball cartridge, and when quietness bad been obtained Mr. Stewart Deacon, the City Stipendiary Magistrate, stepped forward and read the Riot Act. His action was so unobtrusive that few people knew what ho did. . Mounted police were galloping about the main horoughfares, and some men on foot wero taking measures to disperse small groups of citizens. Tho news that the Riot Act had been read spread very slowly, and many received the news as though it was a matter of everyday occurrence. Fierce Hooligan Riots. In the early hours of Tuesday morning (August 13) there were turbulent scenes in tho neighbourhood of Great Homer Street, one of the lowest districts of tho city.' A great mob had come , together there by three o'clock, and so threatening did matters become that a coupl'e of hundred men.of the Yorks Regiment were called to tho scene. They'found it necessary to hunt tho rowdies from street to street, assisted by the police with batons drawn. "They went out for loot," stated tho Chief Superintendent of Police to a Press Association representative, "and I never saw such wanton and wicked conduct before- in my life. They destroyed things simply for the sake of destroying." The disturbance arose by the endeavour of the polico to arrest a couple of men who wero behaving in a disorderly manner. Immediately the crowds appeared like magic from tho narrow thoroughfares on each sido and leading to Great Homer Street, and the prisoners wero wrested from the hands of their captors. Then a savage attack was made upon tho police, and a widespread riot ensued. Houses were looted, and bricks, bottles, slates, and other missiles were used to fight the constables. Reinforcements wero brought out, and some 2">o constables appeared on the scene. They- were able to clear tihe street by means of a series of charges. But the rowdies returned to the affray to the number of something like fivo thousand, and it was then found necessary to call out tho military. Two companies of tho 2nd Yorkshire Regiment, which had been housed in the Drill Hall in Sonnes Street, close by, were brought up in charge of Jinjor Fife. Their influence for tho time being had a sobering influence on the hooligan?. -They conducted a guerilla warfare, which tho troops found it. most difficult to meet, from tho roofs of houses. They hurled down at the military volleys of missile?. The lamps had been nut out by the mob, oad tho fisat wm all the m«rq- .tonifvuig a^

it took place in the darkness. With each succeeding charge of the military and police, the rioters would retire, but only to make their reappearance down tho narrow streets and alleys which lead into the wider thoroughfare. Although as a rule the crowds receded as the military and police advanced, it was found necessary to fire l>cforo the mob could be finally'dispersed. The troops numbered two hundred, and each mall carried eighty rounds of ball cartridge. Seven volleys were fired, but care was taken to direct the muzzles ot tho rifles into tho air. The firin? was intended more to frighten the rioters than for effective purposes. Several revolver shots wero also fired up the streets where the people refused to budge. The crowds frequently jeered at the soldiers, and dnred them to fire. At length orders wero given for a charge. The Yorks fixed their bayonets, and made a terrific rush along Bostock Street, and helter-skelter went thOv.niob before them, darting up alleys and making good their escape wherever tneyooulil. A'feature of the rioting was tho barricading of the streets with dustbins nnd ropes, whilst the ammunition used by the rowdies chiefly consisted of bottles, slates, and pieces of brick. Rioters Shot Down. The events of the early'part of Tuesdav in Liverpool gavo a. good indication of"tho temper of tho mob, and foreshadowed that as night came on blood would be spilt. And so it turned out. Throughout the afternoon a crowd numbering about 20,000 congregated in Scotland Road and Great Homer Street and the vicinity. They had several brushes with the police, but "'these wcTe trivial by comparison with what occurred at twilight. The people arrested early in the morning had been brought before the Stipendiary and.sentenced to different terms of imprisonment. This incensed tho crowd of their comrades. About seven o'clock a. number of mounted polico were drawn up outside of St. George's Hall, and, in company with a force of Scots Greys and some of the Warwickshire Regiment, proceeded to Dale Street. Their departure was watched with some interest by tho great muster which had gathered outside the hall. When it was fcen that they were going towards the police station in Dale Street the mob followed and adopted a threatening attitude. The mounted police and soldiers were then joined'by part of a troop of the ISth Hussars, and the men and women who were following wero charged and scattered in all directions. All the thoroughfares opening upon Dale Street wero guarded by an exceptionally stroa? body of constabulary, many of whom, it was rumoured, wero carrying more weapons than their ordinary truncheons. There was a wait for some time, and the alTcady seething and infuriated crowd were goaded to a frantic pitch of excitement when, slowly after one another, there emerged from the archway five prison vans filled with the men and women who had been captured in tho melee in the early morning. They howled derision at tho military, by whom the vans wero guarded, and it looked as though thore would be an immediate onslaught. The destination of the lirisoners was Walton Gaol, and the "black niarias," to get to tho prison, jhad to nass through a district not a little prone to outbreaks of disorder. There was, as a matter of fact, no actual attack on the prison van, but as the Scots Greys and Hussars, accompanied by mounted police, rode in front, at the sides and in tho rear of the vehicles they were subjected to an almost continuous fusilado of stones and other missiles. No doubt it appeared to fhe solrijers that the object of the mob was to get between the cordon of polico, which was drawn up all along the route, and effect a rescue of .the prisoners. To the accompaniment of howls of execration, the vans passsd along Vauxhall Road until they reached the 'corner of Hopwood Strict. At this juncture the bombardment became more severe. The roads narrow at the point, and more opportunity was given for the. people on the footpath to direct a more certain aim, and also for tho occupants of the small houses to do more injury to the guards. At any rate, hero the attack became fiercer than ever. People on tho roofs of the houses showered down stones, bottlos, slates, and other missiles. Two or three men rushed out in front of tho constables lining the roads as if to get into closer quarters with the military and effect a rescue. Whether that was really their object, or whether it was merely that they were pushed forward by the pressure of those behind, does not scein clear. Half a dozen constables on duty in the street at once drew their batons. The crowds Were for the moment dispersed but one man, by some means or other, got in-front of the others, with tire result that he was shot through tho head, and his injuries proved fatal. Another man' also received injuries from a bullet. The missile went through his thigh. Both were taken to tho Northern Hospital. Tho incensed crowd worked themselves up into a state of frenzy, and, it is reported, made for the ambulances as if to attack. They wero, however, kept off by the police on duty, and tho injured v.-iire got to the institution. Tho official report about tho Yauxhall Road affair given by General Macgreear last nirfit was that a detachment of the ISth Hussars was escorting five police vans to Walton Gaol when it was attacked by a crowd with stones and broken bottles. They fired six shots. One man was killed and two wounded. Altogether about fifteen persons wero injured. Seven were shot. Michael Proudergast was shot dead, and John Sutcliffe, carter, aeed 20, was shot through. tho head and died subsequently.