HOOLIGANISM.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 99, 9 December 1911, Page 2

HOOLIGANISM.

DISORDERLY SCENES IN ; OUNEDIN.

From about half-past eight o’clock last evening (says Wednesday’s Dunedin ‘‘Times”) till close on ’ midnight Cargill’s Monument was the scene of a series ofi disturbances and exhibitions of hooliganism which were : nothing short of disgraceful. Shortly after eight o’clock an unfortunate individual who was r either partly inebriated or (lacking iini;mental balance took it upon himself to address a number of people on nothing in phrticular from' tljo steps of.the fountain, n The crowd whs eager. ihr,,jum and ho obtained a ready hearing, receiving plenty of encouragement in the way of cheering and shouting. A spirit of horse-play very soon made itself evident, and before long the “orator” was being made a target for .refuse of every description. He was pelted with flour, water, rubbish, and then finally gwet sacks. By this time lie was in a very sorry condition, and on several occasions was knocked from his stand on a box on one of the steps to the .ground- |»Xia flying sackuijo This shameful,, baiting an,innfqrtunate! .maii : vient op;'" without xestraiiitr-of-ifiinterference for close on two hours. Each -time he fell or was,, knocked : down lie .was placed back on his pedestal in order to allow the. fusillade of garbage to continue, and in* order that 400 or 500 persons should not bej, deprived of their fun. Finally,, covered with filth and saturated with water, lie made to escape, and was promptly borne to the other side of Princes Street and placed up against a doorway, where he fell exhausted. The crowd, somewhat alarmed, fell hack, and members of it then turned round and hooted each other for their want of “fair play.” While the whole of this business was proceeding there were several policemen within close reach, and viewing the spectacle, hut none of them made the -slightest attempt to interfere. Robbed of their victim, a section of the crowd, which by this time had assumed very large proportions, commenced throwing three or four largo wet sacks in all directions, also pieces of fish and garbage. This proceeded merrily for some time, until a sergeant of police essayed to put a stop to it by seizing two of the sacks and making off with them. The crowd gave chase,, hooting and jeerjng, and when the sergeant threw them in behind the open doorway of the New Zealand Coal and Oil Company’s offices, and closed it, two pieces of road metal were hurled in the direction of the p’olice. One piece struck the doorway and the other a large window, which is badly damaged. Several other irresponsible individuals then essayed to address the crowd from the steps of the fountrain and met with a fnsilla.le of garbage. Proceedings at one stage were relieved by a wild chase between a half-drunken man and a small boy, who, with unerring aim, had hurled one of the wet sacks at him. The throwing about of heavy, wet sacks continued until close on twelve o’clock, by which time the crowd had practically broken up. Right throughout tiro proceedings, which were, to say the least of them, disgraceful, the police, of whom there was a large body present, saw fit to look on without making the slightest attempt to check the disturbance, save for the one incident noted.