ATTACK ON A CHINAMAN'S SHOP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11826, 2 December 1901, Page 5

ATTACK ON A CHINAMAN'S SHOP.

WRECKED BY AN EXCITED CROWD. [BY TELEGRAPH.PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CiiRiSTCiiURCiT, Sunday. The south-east quarter of the town was thrown into a state of excitement last night when something like a bombardment took place at the premises of Yee Bow and Co-, Chinese storekeepers. It appears that lout nine o'clock a woman living in the vicinity missed one of her little girls, aged 11, and traced her to the Chinaman's shop, where she. with two other girls, was put chasing crackers. The mother jumped to tne conclusion that the Chinaman had been encouraging children to go to his place, and proceeded to give the inoffensive .Mongolian a piece of her mind, and made grave charges against him. She then hit the child on the head with a piece of a box lid, and as the Chinaman protested she picked up a heavy box and struck him oil the head. The Chinaman replied by striking the woman on the head with a bamboo walkingstick. She shrieked, and this brought a crowd round, to whom the woman told a voluble tale of the Chinaman's perfidy, with the result that several men rushed into the shop and assaulted the Mongolian. Eventually the police came on (he scene, and intruders were got out and the door locked, and matters quieted down. About half-past ten, however. the woman returned with her husband, and a crowd of about 2000 people gathered, and, in spite of a huge reinforcement of police, the. building was pretty well wrecked. The panels of the door were kicked in, and there was not a whole pane of glass left in the place. So far no arrests have been made, but the police are satisfied (here is no truth in the statements of the woman as to the Chinamen encouraging children to visit their house.