CITY RIOT SEQUEL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21250, 2 August 1932, Page 11

CITY RIOT SEQUEL

RETRIAL OF EDWARDS MANY JURY CHALLENGES HEARING NOT COMPLETED The retrial of James Henry Edwards, aged 40, canvasser, in whose case a jury disagreed last week, was commenced before Mr. Justice Herdman in the Supreme Court yesterday. The cbargo against Edwards was of taking part in a riot in Queen Street on April 14. In selecting tlio jury, 50 names were called before the required 12 were chosen. Edwards' counsel exhausted his right by challenging six and the Crown Prosecutor had 32 stood aside. The Crown Prosecutor referred to April 14 as one of the blackest nights in the records of Auckland, when unbridled violence had charge for a considerable time, with the result that tremendous damage was dono to property and grievous bodily injury to many persons, including a number of police officers. The story of the night's rioting was retold from many points of view by nearly 30 police witnesses. A good deal of the evidence was summecl, up by Sergeant B. Thompson, who said: "Things were pretty desperate. I have never seen anything like it in all my experience." Witnesses told of windows being broken as the procession passed up Queen Street. They said Edwards was prominent in marshalling the procession and leading the shouting. He was prominent also at the Town Hall, speaking through a megaphone, where several witnesses said they heard him urging the mob to crowd round the police and take their batons from them. One constable said he batoned Edwards when he found him standing with a piece of timber in his hand over a prostrate constable. The crowd violently attacked the police after Edwards had spoken to them, said other witnesses. Counsel for Edwards called the accused to give evidence on his own behalf. Edwards said he had had no desire to create a disturbance and when he found the Town Hall full his intention was to have a meeting in front of it. lie had raised his hands to get the crowd back from the Town Hall when he was struck on the head from behind. Afterwards he tried to attract the crowd to the Town Hall balustrade. The hearing will be resumed with the cross-examination of Edwards this morning.