FIFTY WITNESSES HEARD

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 25 May 1932, Page 6

FIFTY WITNESSES HEARD

AUCKLAND RIOT CHARGES QUEEN ST. SCENES DESCRIBED SMASHING AND ROOTING. CBy Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, May 24. Such good progress was made to-day with the hearing of evidence against the 14 men accused of taking part in rioting in the city on the night- of April 14 that when the Supreme Court adjourned for the day the Crown’s fiftieth witness was in the box. His cross-examination will be taken,jrhen the court resumes to-morrow, and it is understood the Crown will call only one more witness. The cases are being heard together before Mr Justice Herdman and a jury. Comsiderablv public interest continued to be evinced in the trial to-day, there being a fairly large_ percentage of women among the crowd which filled the body of the court. It ifj. expected the trial will last at least two more days.

The bulk of the evidence was given by detectives and constables, who described the rioting outside the town hall and the looting in Queen Street. An attempt by some of the unemployed in the procession to upset a taxi-cab was described.

Looting was going on wholesale and when a window was smashed the crowd would cheer, said a constable in describing the scenes in Qneen Street. Evidence that he had been called to the Royal Garage, Park Road, about 8.40 on the night of the riot was given by Cyril Withell, taxi-driver. He found that' his fare had a bandaged head. When he was instructed to drive the man to the town hall witness said, “You don’t expect me to drive you there do you?” The man replied, “I am Jim Edwards; while I’m with you you are the safest man in Auckland.” Witness accepted’ that assurance and drove Edwards to the fringe of the crowd at the town hall. Edwards addressed a man there by his Christian name and asked how things were going. Edwards said he would he hack in about 10 minutes.

Witness said he then drove Edwards to the latter’s home in Manning Street. Edwards and his wife were then driven back to the town hall. Mrs. Edwards tried to dissuade Edwards from getting out of the taxi-cab as she thought there was danger of his being arrested. Edwards said he did not want to he thought a coward. He said, “I’m not going into the cooler tonight; I’ll get half a dozen men to picket my house.” A megaphone was found in the cab after Edwards bad alighted.