BROKEN HILL STRIKE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9028, 5 November 1892, Page 5

BROKEN HILL STRIKE.

Press Association.— Telegraph.—Copyright Sydney, November 4. At a meeting at Broken Hill one of the speakers denounced the appeal of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Wilcannia to declare the strike at an end, saying that His Lordship did not understand the position, and had no business to interfere. « The Defence Committee have sat for eight hours, but have not yet decided whether to declare the strike off or not. About 2250 men are employed along the lode. Berlin, November 3. The National Zeitung contrasts the energetic action of the New South Wales Government at Broken Hill with the miserable weakness of the French Ministry at Carinaux. RIOTING AT BROKEN HILL. ' Broken Hill, October 31. A serious riot occurred on Saturday afternoon at South Broken Hill, between a small body of police and a mob of strikers. It appears that the strikers are greatly incensed at the number of old hands who have gone baok to work at the South Mine, and whenever the men leave work they are subjected to every kind of annoyance. In consequence of several disturbances having taken place, a small body of police was told off on Saturday afternoon to escort the men to their homes, and several plain-clothes constables were in attendance in the vicinity of the mine. The necessity of these precautionary measures was soon made evident, as the crowd that rolled up to hoot and jeer the men proved to be more than usually demonstrative. The non-unionists, as they came out of the mine, were received with a storm of hooting and jeering by the crowd of excited men, but at first they did not take any notice of this. This silence on the part of the non-unionists appeared to exasperate the strikers, who, as the men walked quietly along the road under tho osoort of police, followed, jostled, and pushed them. This conduct was continued some time, when the nonunionists turned upon their assailants, and then fists came into play. Both parties speedily gob their blood up, and the fight became general. The plain-clothes constables who had mixed with the crowd at once pounced on the aggressors. Seniorconstable McGumley collared his man, who called for assistance, which was at once afforded him by his fellow-unionists, and the fight waxed hotter, one party attempting to rescue and the other to hold fast their man. Then Constable Smith arrested another picket, and a moment later had his head laid open with a stone. Constable Shiner made a dart at a man who struck a fellow-constable, and succeeded in holding him, after a sharp tussle. Meanwhile the police force, which, with the uniformed men who had come up, made up a dozen, had been generally rather roughly handled by the crowd ; but they still held their own. Stones were flying about pretty thickly, and sticks were also being freely used, as were the constables* batons, as many on whose heads they fell could testify. The crowd then dragged off a couple of their more damaged fellows. A few mounted troopers now hove in sight, and their appearance put a new complexion on the struggle. The crowd of rioters were forced back, and six arrests were made. The men arrested were taken to South Broken Hill police station, followed by a crowd of 700 excited fellow-unionists, who forced their way into the police reserve, but there the police made a stand, with their prisoners in the centre, and held the mob in check until reinforcements arrived from Broken Hill station. As soon as the news reached Broken Hill station a body of mounted and foot police, under Sub-inspector Scott, was despatched with a police van. The men under arrest were placed in the van, which slowly proceeded to the central station, the constables forming a cordon round the vehicle.