THE RIOT AT CLUNES.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1679, 20 December 1873, Page 2

THE RIOT AT CLUNES.

The following accouut of the affray at Clunes, mentioned briefly in our telegrams yesterday, is from the correspondent of the Ballamt Cowrivr :—

Clctnes, Tuesday afternoon,

The Clunes people evidently appreciate, and are determined to enjoy a continuance of, their immunity from the Chinaman element in their population. On Monday evening, in consequence of the news of ■ a large number of them being about to leave Ballarat and Creswick for Chines to work the Lothair mine, nearly the whole population turned out to join in the demonstration of resistance. After about 500 men, members of the Miner's Association, had marched round the town, headed by the Clunes bras 3 band, and armed with pick - handles, baton 3, and waddies ■ of various descriptions, nearly the whole of the male population, and a good many women — to say nothing of the boys, who of themselves mads up an army almost formidable enough to deal with the matter immediately at issue —took up their reii&ence in the streets, or at the door- ways,; waiting the arrival of the Mongolians. From information that was brought by many willing horsemen and buggy travellers during the evening, it became known that several coaches were waiting to convey the Chinamen to Clunes, but that they would not leave until the night was far advanced. A meeting of the men was then held in the. street, and it was resolved to stop off work in all the minea until the main question had been settled ; it was als.q resolved to stop the work that was still being carried^ on by a few men, in opposition to the wish of the association, in the Lothair mine. The town fire-bell was then rung, and a crowd went up Service street, at midnight, to the Lothair claim. The braceman was asked to go down and tell the men below to come up. He went down, and on coming up said the men refused to come up vvhilo the prowd was there. Two men then went down, and other three, but couW not 6nd the men below. Planks were then put across the shaft, and- the cages lowered on to them, so that they should . not be sent down, and the men be made to .come up the ladders, for which it was said there was every facility. There was a talk about drawing the fires, but. this was not done ; neither was any harm done about the shaft 01? engine, although there was a great crowd of men there for two hours in the dark. Some of the men, however, took a rope to a building a few hundred yards oft, which had been erected for the convenience of the expected Chinamen, and passing it around it, pulled it over. Just at this time the morning mail coach lights were seen coming across tho plain, and being taken for tho§9 of the enemy, the two fi>e-bells rung out, and the whole crowd skedaddled down the street to the rendezvous at Jobson's corner. The coachman said he left the coaches still waiting in the streets at Creswick. At about four o'clock two travellers brought word that they had passed iive coaches and twelve or fifteen policemen on ,the road. The bells again rang the alarm, and a general movement was then made towards the tollgate on the Creswick road, and considerably over a thousand people must have mustered there. The gate was taken possession of, : and the fenced all across, and for a long way up both sides of the road, were manned, and in : the early morning presented-, a- rather appearance to some commercial travellers who' happened ' to come /along. Nearly all were armed with sticks. About half a dozeuhorse- 1 trien'k'ept up a continual galloping to and j fro, and telling of the nearness ef the coaches, until at last they hove in sight

and then there was a halt. Presently they turned into the Tourello road, and it became evident that they intended to reach Clnnes by the Ballarat road. The scouts kept on the hills to see thaf a 'double was not madey":and : the throng divided, and made for r the Lothair claim — some by way of the metal road through Olunes,. and some across about iwo miles of rock and thistles, down and up the steep sides' of the creek in the now blazing sun. Before those who had gone^ round the road had joined the others, horsemen came along from the Two-milo Hill to say the coaches would be in sight immediately. A roar was set up, the horsemen galloped down the road to hurry the others, and a rush was made to a house in course of erection belonging to a man named Short— whose wife was liberal with supplies of buckets of water and' milk. At the junction of two roads near the claim, and in an astonishingly shortitime, two drays, and an immense quantity of timber, stones, ploughs, harrows, : ropes, &c., were man-handledand. placed across the road) forming a very serviceable barricade. Before this was well completed, down came the troopers coaches and all, with a dash. The troopers, ; came right to the barricade, outside of "which were the army of resistance. The five coaches came close' behind each other, M'Phee driving the first— an immense handsome vehicle, with a splendid team, and evidently bent desperately on driving over any mortal opposition. They /were, . however; met by such a fast. and. furious storm of stones that, notwithstanding the most extraordinary exhibition of pluck, they were soon forced to bend and swerve, and although they rallied and dared, it seemed to be : inevitable death or surrender for them ; and Mac. and all his brave men had to turn their'horses' heads - from Clunes, and that: too in such a ?! hurry that some of the coaches were very nearly capsizing. But the. troopers fought like fury, especially Sergeant Lamer and Constable Durack — these men 'displayed daring worthy the best cause that ever gave rise to contention. They dismounted and sprang on the top of the barricade, Sergeant Larner's forehead streaming with blood, and presented— -the one. a carbine, and the other; a■, horse-Ristpl-f— £o the breasts -of the men .in. if ront. But they found those breasts as sound as their own, and without sign of flinching.- Crowds rushed over the barricade, arid surrounding the coaches, struck at them with sticks, threw stones through them at the Chinamen, arid drove them far away j the police all the time fighting witfy and doing all in their power bravely -to beat the men off and :saye the wretched Chmamen, who, it is feared, got severely and cantioned, although. they hid a3 much as possible under the .seats and behind the luggage. There was a most praiseworthy forbearance of un necessary- nforce and stoning as soon as ever the police/gave in ; and immediately upon Senior-constable Cardin coming forward- and giving his word that no further attempt ; should be made to intrude the Chinamen upon them, three loud cheers were given, arid the whole of the barricade removed and the material placed where it had been taken from. Mr Bryant, manager of the Lothair, •; received a blow with a stone, when' foolishly venturing amongst the meriy ßafter having come with the Chinamen arid being suspected of favoring their introduction. Mr Samuels, ; a Balkrat director, was in one of the coaches. The men were quite taken by surprise at the pluck ; and activity displayed, by the women, and also by the boys, in throwing stones during the skirmish, The crowd then went to Mr Bryant's house and de». manded his resignation, oir rather ordered him to walk off the claim ; but on some of the men claiming consideration for his family and on his coming to-his door, and saying that, if allowed a hearing, he would prove that he had all along been opposed to bringing Chinamen, er would give LSO to the hospital, a meeting was arranged for Wednesday evening, at seven ■ o'clock, at the Apollo Hall j to hear his explanation. Pascoe,. the director, who was working at the claim, and appears to be particularly obnoxious-^-many saving the strike is all through him— was ordered off, and tapped roughly on the hat again, and so many pieces of earth or stone were thrown from behind, so as to fall very n&ar. to . him,, that; the police found i% necessary to surround him and hurry him off down street, and keep him uuder their protection for some time; The other men who had been working the mine lately were interviewed at their houses, and 3iich were the persuasions used that they all promised to leave Clunes within twenty-four houra , except the engine-drivers, who were allowed to remain, as injury would. occu.r to the mine by allowing the water to. rise. Sergeant Lamer, who was brought to hia resilience yesterday afternoon, though badly cut about the head, and otherwise braised, is doing as well as could be expected, and nothing serious is apprehended. The sergeant, it seeni3, was knocked off the coach with a stone, which accounts for his forehead streaming with blood when he sprang on to the barricade.. The men from Ballarat returned during the afternoon. Last night fifteen men 'were ' again despatched to Clunes, and forty more have been telegraphed for from Melbourne, and are expected by the first train this morning. It; was stated last night that the Chinamen ha!d nearly air refused to proceed to Clunes again. Eight p. in. Eight hundred miners held an open %ip meeting in the afternoon, "and passed votes of thanks to the various mines for agreeing to their men being away during the last two days. It was decided that all should go to work to-morrow morning. Mr Bryant says he will resign, and objects to attend the meeting to-morrow night. The whole force of the association marched through the streets five deep, headed by the baud. The assemblage then sang God Save the Queen, and. quietly dispersed.' Mr Richardson, of Newlyn, will addresaa meeting. of miners on Saturday evening.

The following telegram is from our own (Age) correspondent :— Cluness, Pec. 40. The town is very quiet "to-day. 411 angry excitement , lias apparently died away. Work was resumed, this. morning iv the Port. Phillip and New North Olunes Companies. . Large numbers of policemen arrived in town for the preservation of the peace, and several . ,are> on guard over the property of the .Lothair Company. There, is ; every v pro ( babjlity of an amicable settler ment, .being arrived, at betwejen the cora T panyand the miners. satisfaction is expressed in the town at the failure of introducing Chinese labor into the town.