STREET CROWD GATHERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21160, 18 April 1932, Page 10

STREET CROWD GATHERS

SYMONDS STREET AREA.

NO DISTURBANCE OCCURS.

RELUCTANCE TO DISPERSE. POLICE APPEAL IGNORED. While no incidents comparable with the disturbances on Thursday and Friday nights took place on Saturday evening, the gathering of a large number of people at the top of Symonds Street provided the opportunity for an outbreak, but by tactful handling the police were ablo to disperse the crowd. About 10.30. when the crowd was thinning, a window in a shop near Scots Hall was broken by a stone-thrower, but the offender was quickly apprehended and nothing developed from the incident. During the evening groups of men, with a fair sprinkling of women, gathered on the footpaths near the top of Symonds Street, most of them being sightseers. Fuff no apparent reason the crowd slowly increased until by nine o'clock there were probably 2000 people in the vicinity. Small parties of uniformed police mingled with the people ready to deal with any incident, but the special police were not in evidence. For the most part tho crowd was ill a good-natured mood and appeared to be waiting for something to happen. The police ondcavoured to induce people to disperse, but as this had little effect Senior-Sergeant Flannigati, using a megaphono, made an appeal to the crowd from the roaf of tho verandah of tho Astor Hotel, urging them to go to their homes, He pointed out that by remaining they were providing an opportunity for the unruly elements to repeat their tactics of previous evenings and wero thus jeopardising tho property of the business people of the area. As this appeal had no appreciable effect a detachment of Mounted Constabulary was called up, and although they merely rode up one side of Symonds Street and down the ether their presence had a sobering effect. At 10 o'clock tho uniform men again moved among tho crowd, quietly advising the people to go home, and shortly after this the crowd began to disperse. This movement was assisted by tho police, who shepherded people away from the intersection, and by 10.30 the area resumed its normal appearance.

FEELING IN HUNTLY.

GENERAL STRIKE ADVOCATED LABOUR LEADERS CRITICISED. [fuom our own correspondent.] HTJNTLY, Sunday. A demonstration, attended by 200 unemployed nen and miners, was held in Huntly yesterday morning. There were six women in the procession. The assemblage marched through the main street singing "The Red Flag." Two red banners were carried, one bearing the initials "U.W.M.," repi-esenting the unemployed workers' movement, and the other bearing the words, "We want the right to live." There were as many men standing in the streets as there were in the procession. A meeting was held in the Town Hall and was attended by about 500 residents of the town. It was called by the Northern Miners' Council to receive the reports of delegates who attended an industrial corference held at Wellington at Easter. In opening the meeting the chairman, Mr. A. Robinson, said the incidents which occurred in Auckland were regrettable to a certain extent, but the men concerned were driven to desperate limits. The responsibility for the disturbances, he said, rested not on the workers, but on the heads of tho leaders of the Government, the Rt. Hon. G. W. Forbes and the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates. Messrs. W. Davison and T. Hall dealt at length with the deliberations of tho industrial conference. Mr. Hall said the main businsss of the conference was concerned with organisation and, in his opinion, ths conference was a failure. The leaders of the Labour movement in New Zealand were the subject of a good deal of criticism by subsequent speakers and the conference in Wellington was described as abortive, as it did not give the workers a lead in the present diTiculties in which they were placed. The following motion, proposed by Mr. D. Fuller, secretary of the Huntly branch of the unemployed workers' movement, was carried unanimously: "The members of the Huntly unemployed workers' movement call upon all organised labour to down tools immediately in support of the unemployed, and that employed workers join the unemployed workers' movement and adopt the policy of the movement."

A telegram was despatched to the secretary of the Alliance of Labour, Wellington, containing the purport of the resolution.

The demonstration and meeting were well conducted and the services of the police force, which had been heavily reinforced, were not required. A detective, who did not disclose Jiis identity, was not permitted to attend the meeting, but a Herald representative was sent for and was treated with every courtesy.

WELLINGTON SAFEGUARDS.

PROTECTION OF PARLIAMENT. MANY CIVILIANS VOLUNTEER. [liY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] WELLINGTON, Saturday. An indication that authorities in Wellington tak 3 a serious view of the possibility of trouble in the city during the next few days is given by the fact that special precautions are being taken to protect Parliament House, which is recognised as Leing tho place that would lie most likelv to attract attention.

Although too inticli credence is not placed by the Cabinet on rumours of impending trouble, the Prime Minister stilted thai. ;i large body of civilians had offered their services and they would supplement tlie police force at short notice.

Mr. I'Vj-bes added that every step would bo taken to quell any trouble, as the. Government was not prepared to countenance violence and insurrection.

ATTITUDE AT TE KUITI.

MEN REFUSE TO CEASE WORK. [RY TELEGRAPH. —I'UKSS ASSOCIATION'.] TK KUITI, Saturday. A meeting of the unemployed was held last evening and a resolution forwarded from Auckland requesting all workers to cease wo k was defeated. The unemployed refused to identify themselves with the recent happenings in Auckland. A resolution was passed that (he To Kuiti unemployed definitely refused to be dictated to by Auckland and expressing satisfaction at the treatment received from the local Unemployment Committee.