MOBS IN UGLY MOOD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19321, 7 May 1926, Page 11

MOBS IN UGLY MOOD.

CLASHES WITH POLICE. RIOTS IN SEVERAL CENTRES. INCENDIARISTS AT WORK. TIMES OFFICE SET ON FIRE. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrißht. (Received 7.5 p.m.) A. ancl N.Z.-Renter .-Sun. LONDON. May 5. Disturbances and acts of incendiarism characterised the strike situation to-day. An attempt to burn down the Times office was frustrated. Petrol was poured into the building from a lane and set on fire. This spread to some papor in the machine-room.

Tho office firemen fought tho firo until the brigades arrived and extinguished it. The early quiet appears to be giving way to local riots. Tho latest of these occurred in the suburb of Hammersmith, where six independent buses were disabled. A conductor was forcibly pulled off one bus, but ho was rescued by the police. There was an extension of tho riot when a crowd gathered outside the headquarters of tho Hammersmith branch of tho Fascists' organisation and hurled missiles at the police. Several arrests were made. Buses are now passing through the suburb with policemen alongside the drivers. The mounted police have been heavily reinforced. Several Outbreaks of Rioting. Eight arrests wore made in the East End of London in connection with riots in which two policemen were seriously injured. At Stoke-on-Trent an attempt was made to run a motor-bus but thousands of rioters prevented it. Stones were thrown, breaking tho windows of the bus. There was a serious disturbance at Leeds, where thousands of demonstrators broke the windows of trams by throwing lumps of coal at them. The mob attacked a small force of police, who were compelled to retireLater they were reinforced and charged the crowd with their batons. Buses manned by inspectors appeared at Cardiff after the corporation had notified the tramwavmen to return to work or pass in their uniforms. There was no opposition to the running of the buses. On the other hand the appearance of buses in Birmingham was the signal for general disturbances. Crowds held up the buses and demanded that the passengers should alight. The drivers were ill-treated and the tyres of the vehicles were slashed. Tho buses thereupon were withdrawn. Incendiarism and Violence. London generally is quiet and there is a marked absence of demonstrators except in tho East End. Three instances of incendiarism have been reported. Two motor-lorries and one car were burnt in the East India Dock Road. The publication of tho Government paper, the British Gazette, caused a mild disturbance in the Strand early this morning outside the Morning Post office. This culminated in the arrest of a striking printer, James Mills. The police alleged that he tried to tip a motor-driver out of a car and then went back and tried to rip the tyre with a knife, but was frustrated. Mills was fined 40s or in default three weeks' imprisonment. Instances of interference are reported, including the stoppage of non-union buses at Nottingham and Rotherham. Tne Chief Constable of the latter town intervened and effected a restoration of the services. There were also disturbances at Newcastle. WAR ON THE BUSES. NUMEROUS ATTACKS MADE. SCOTTISH STUDENTS AT WORK. Australian, and N.Z. Cable Association. (Reed. 11.55 p.m.) LONDON, May 5. Omnibuses !u the Renfrewshire district had to bo withdrawn from the road after a number of them had been forced to speed up in order to escape from pursuing assailants. At Dundee the manager of the tramways tried to run a car. Strikers blocked the line and the car had to be abandoned. At Nottingham strikers seized the carburetters and poured out the petrol from the tanks of motor-buses which were being worked by volunteers. A hundred tramcars and omnibuses are operating in Edinburgh. They are worked mostly by students. Fifty per cent, of the tramway employees at Portsmouth resumed work when they wer© threatened with dismissal. Extra police were drafted to Newcastle and they soon quelled attacks on motorbuses. NEW YORK INCIDENT. TROUBLE ON BRITISH SHIP. HOLD-UP MOVE FRUSTRATED. Renter. NEW YORK. May G. The first disturbance here in connection with tho British strike occurred at noon to-day, when 46 members of tho engine room crew of tho White Star liner Arabic attempted to rush from the ship to tho pier three minutes before tho steamer was scheduled to sail for Europe. Three officers of tho ship frustrated the attempt a.rid tho vessel sailed on time. WARSHIPS ON MOVE. HOOD REACHES CLYDE. SMALLER CRAFT ACTIVE. and N.Z. Cable Association. (Reed. 12.5 a.in.) LONDON. May 5. Destroyers have arrived at Newcastle and Middlesbrough. The battleshin Hood and the cruisers Warspite and Coinus have arrived on the Clyde. Tho Comus is proceeding up the river.