MR D. NICOL AT THE CITY HALL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9903, 23 November 1893, Page 4

MR D. NICOL AT THE CITY HALL.

~ » ' A LIVELY TIME. The announcement that Mr D. Nicol, one of the candidates nominated for the representation of the City of Dunedin in Parliament, would again make his appearance in public was quite sufficient to attract a crowded house. Long before the. time fixed for the opening of the meeting a large crowd assembled in front of the City HaU, and it was at once evident that the candidate would have a very lively time of it Immediately on the doors being opened there was a rush for admission, and iv a few minutes the hall was filled to its utmost capacity A considerable sprinkling of women entered the hall; but, being evidently apprehensive that missiles of an unsavoury kind were likely to be thrown about in an indiscrimi--rKy* they dif ree«y took seats in the gallery. There were aU kinds of cat-calling and boo-hoomg indulged in while the audience was awaiting the appearance of the candidate, and some eggs of an advanced age were thrown The water jug on the table, placed on the stage for the accommodation of the candidate and the chairman, was made the target for these missiles. One of the eggs fell short of the mark, and the contents sprinkled themselves over some of those who had seats immediately m fron,, of the stage. Another just grazed the water bottle and broke behind the table, disclosing a chicken in an advanced hatching stage. The appearance of Mr Nicol was immediately the signal for deafening yells. In the midst of the uproar an egg was hurled at the candidate and strack him cm the leffc arm, its contents glancing off into the wings on the prompter's side of the stage. While the uproar was at its height, Mr Nicol advanced 10 the. footlights and asked them to give him fair play. He had paid for the hall, and claimed the right to be allowed to state his views on the political questions of the day. The other candidates had been allowed a fair hearing, and he was as good a citizen as either Pinkerton, Hutchison, Earnshaw, or any of the rest of them. This appeal had the momentary effect ot lulling the storm, and Mr Nicol invited the meeting to appoint a chairman. The names oi several persons in the audience were yelled out in turn, and a good deal of uproar and disorder followed. No one seemed inclined to volunteer his services as chairman, and in this emergency Mr D. C. Cameron, the temperance advocate, stepped forward amid cheers and yells and said that as Mr Nicol was stuck for a chairman he ■would take it himself, and he trusted they would listen attentively to what Mr Nicol had to say Mr Nieol then began his address, but haa not proceeded far before the uproar recommenced. When it had subsided a little, aMr Brown (known as "The Major"), a gentleman ot aldermamc proportions, volunteered to assist Mr Cameron as second chairman. The reception which this gentleman met- wifch was a rotten egg which broke upon his knuckles, but he coolly lifted up the chicken from the stage and good-humouredly held ifc up to fche audience Then " Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay " was sung foHowed by a stanza of "Auld Lang fcyne. Then the musical portion of thi audience took a leap as it were from Scotland across the Atlantic to America, and took themselves "Way down upon the Swannee river," apparently to their intense satisfaction. ■ They had evidently come to the hall for fun, and didnfc care what Mr Nicol's views were upon women s franchise, prohibition, or anything else. Some more egg-throwing followed, and Mr Nicol resumed his seat until some sort of order was restored. Immediately there was a lull the candidate resumed speaking-of course most ot wha M he said was inaudible except to those m immediate proximity fco the stage—but presently his voice was completely drowned by the footballers' chorus ■• On ths ball," succeeded by imitations of an Australian-bush chorus of laughing jackasses. Mr Brown at this stage of the proceedings vacated his chair and sought retirement m the wing S , but Mr Cameron held the fort, and told the audience that if the interruption and uproar continued he would ring the curtain down, and so put an end to the meeting. This threat of a curtailment of their fun had a good effect, for Mr Nicol was allowed a much longer innings than had previously oeeu accorded him, but eventually he was cut.short by another boisterous and discordant chorus. Mr Cameron theu walked over to the opposite prompt side of the stage, and by gestures intimated to the audience that he intended to lower the curtain. An instant lull rewarded Mr Cameron's menace, and the candidate resumed his speech. After a few minutes, it was clear that the supply of unsavoury eggs was exhausted, an iron screw being hurled towards fche stage and striking the water jug in front of the chairman, who complained that it was too bad when it came to throwing missiles of that description. After a verse of "Glory, glory, halleluiah," Mr Nicol resuming his seat until the chorus ended, he was allowed to go on for a few moments, until at last the noise became so deafening that Mr Cameron lowered the curtain, and immediately afterwards the stage gas, as a hint that tbe evening's entertainment had come to an abrupt termination. It was now 9 o'clock. Loud calls were raised for Nicol_, and tho audience kept their seats under the impression that an opportunity would be given for a continuance of the evening's amusement. In this they were nofc disappointed, for soon fche curtain was raised again, and Mr N'col's reappearance was greeted with cheers and yelis as though Bedlam had been let loose. He talked aud gesticulated in every conceivable manner of ways, but what he said did not apparently concern them. The disorder re-commenced, and again the curtain descended. The meeting ended" in a scene of disorder and uproar that baffles description, amidst which the stage was rushed by hundreds of people eager to obtain an exit by the stage staircase. It took a considerable time to empty the hall, and when Mr Nicol appeared in the open air he was cheered by some who considered he had been badly and unfairly treated by those of the audience who caused the disorder and confusion. Ifc was bad enough not to give bim a hearing, bub Mr Nicol had reason to complain still further when a youth of fche larrikin type was discovered in the act of " silently, secretly, and surreptitiously " making off wifch the candidate's overcoat. Thus endsd one of the rowdiest meetings that has ever been held in fche city of Duuedin.