SECOND EDITION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 6 October 1917, Page 1

SECOND EDITION

RIOT IN MELBOURNE.

.LED BY GIRLS.

A telegram from Melbourne publisher! in the Sydney Morning Herald states that, led by half-a-dozen shrill-voiced girls, who carried a red flag, a mob of men and women marched through the city streets on the night of September 19. singing songs of revolt and smashing windows out of pure wantonness. Their real objective was the Federal House of Parliament, where it was arranged that they should make a demonstration l against the (■'overnment for their failure to prohibit the export of foodstuffs. Many people. anticipating violent scenes, had remained in town, and were interested spectators of tho proceedings. No attempt was made to check the. progress of the crowd until after it had passed up Flinders-street into .Spring-street: but here a Formidable barrier was presented, the police having formed a cordon which stretched from the corner of Collins and Spring-streets to the obelisk in Parliament place. All attempts to break through were resisted, and after the mounted troopers had forced a passage through the crowd once or twice the leaders tried other tactics, and endeavoured to break in at ; the carriage entrance gates leading to the rear of the House. A number did; actually force an entry., but police who were concealed in the vaults were prepared for the onrush, and heat it back with their batons. l,ater, portions of the crowd appeared on the western eide of Parliament House, in Spring-street, but the hopelessness of the project had by this time been brought home to them, and they were controlled without difficulty. It'was at this stage that the window-smashing began. The extent and seriousness of ..the damage, done to the shops in the principal streets were only ascertained with. the advent of daylight next day.' It is estimated that' the damnge is. between £4OOO and £SOOO. The fact that the seriousness of the position was not realised on the previous night is accounted for by the reduced light in v the city, owing to the precautionary measures ordered in view of the possible shortage of coal sunpUcs. and by the fact that the mob. after proceeding some distance, broke up into sections and visited different streets _' simultaneous K\ The crowd had previously attended a meetina at the Yarra. bank, at which Miss Adcla iPankhnrst was one of the principal speakers. In some of the shops brickbats and large pieces of concrete were found, shownng, that tho riot was premeditated. The area in which damage was done extended from Flinders-street to Lo'isdn)e-stre*ei., and from Rpriug-street to 'Elizabeth-street. The fit-n of , Craig. Williamson Pionrietar'v. Ltd.. was "the greatest < ! idr>ver, four of the front windows hi>'"<i- broken. The damage is ost : mnted at £l6o.