SITUATION IN LONDON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8704, 18 August 1906, Page 2

SITUATION IN LONDON.

Parliament Move? to Bristol,

London, on Monday, September 10 — a week after the sudden descent of the Germans — was breathless, stupefied. The disaster to our fleet, the defeat at Sheffield, the destruction of Newcastle and Hull, the occupation of the whole of East Ariglia, the appointment of a German Governor, and the reverses in Suffolk and Essex had followed so quickly upon one- another that the public scarce had breathing space to fully realise the extent of the appalling catastrophe. The Germans etill held command of the sea, and each day ships laden with proviskms and munitions of war were | arriving at Harwich, Yarmouth, LowesS toft, Aldborough. and in the BlackI water arid Crouch. The enemy were thus well victualled, while famine was threatening us, and the poor were already crying for bread. The aspect of the London streets was one of gloomi and despair. Business wa? at an entire standstill. All shops were , closed, there were very few cabs about, as all available horses had been seized, while the motor-buses had all disappeared from the streets. The city wore bhe business quietness of Sunday, yet fche streets were thronged all day, and of disorderly scenes there were, alas! many. From Tottenham across the Streatham, from Beckton to Shepherd's Bush, from Ilford to Wimbledon, and from Catford to the Welsh Harp, London's millions now stood powerless. At first the newspapers had been full of wild and extraordinary rumours, but by Sunday it was known that a frightful catastrophe had befall|n our beloved country. •' Over the fair pastures of rural England the enemy were advancing irresistibly with fire and sword. Thousands of lives had already been sacrificed in the great debacle; the loss to our trade had been irreparable, for .much of it would now pass into German hands. Thousands were already ruined, while millions were on the point of starvation. In both Houses of Parliament, hastily summoned, there had been memorable scenes. s Each night the House had sat until early morning, every member who had been in England on the previous Sunday being in his place. In. response to the ever-repeated questions put to the War Minister, the reply was each day fche same. All that could be done was being done. Was there any hope of victory? Th:*t was the question eagerly asked on every hand — both in Parliament and out of it. At present there seemed none. Reports from the theatres of war in different parte of the country reaching the House each hour were ever the same — ,bhe British driven back by the enemy's overwhelming numbers. The outlook was indeed a' black one. The lobby was ever orowded by members eagerly discussing the situation. The enemy were at the gates of London. What was to be done? In the House on Friday, September 7, in view of the fact that London was undoubtedly the objective of the enemy, it was decided that Parliament should. on the following day, be transferred to Bristol, and there meet in the great Colston Hall. This change had actually •been effected, and the whole of "both Houses, with their staff, were hurriedly transferred to the west, the Great Western Railway system being still intact. Monday in London wa6 a. memorable day. Thousamds of able-bodied, atnle&c men who, if Lord Roberta's scheme had been adopted in 1906, might have token, their rifles and gone to the front in defence of their homes were, alas ! now idling in tihe streets,' smoking and awaiting the inevitable. Not one in one thousand had ever fired^ gun or even knew how to load one. The riff-raff from Whiteehapel, those aliens whom we had so long welcomed, in our midst — Russians, Poles, Austrians, Swedes, and even Germans — had swarmed westward in lawless, hungry multitudes, and on Monday afternoon serious rioting occurred in Grcevenor' Square and the neighbourh d, and. also in Park Lane, where several houses were entered and pillaged by th<> alien mobs. The disorder "commenced at a great mass meeting held in the Park, just behind the Marble Arch. Oratc-ra were denouncing the Government and abusing the Mi/iisters in unmeasured terms, when owneone, seeing the many aliens around, set up the cry that they were ; German spies. A free fight at once ensued, with the result that the mob, uncontrolled by the police, dashed across into- Park Lane and wrecked three of the largest houses, on© •of j wlhioh was deliberately set on fire with a can of petrol brought from a neighbouring garage. Other houses in Grosvenor Square shared the same fate. In every quarter of London ghops containing groceries, provisions or flour were broken open by tihe lawless bands and sacked. From Kingsland and ' H-oartoai, Lambeth and Camberwell, j N'Cfcfcimig Dale and Chelsea, reports received "by the police showed that the i people were now becoming desperate- ! Not only were the aliens lawless, but ; tbe London unemployed and lower i classes wore now raising theiir voices, i I " Stop tihe waa* I Stop the war I" was j ; the cry heard on every hawd.^ NearlyJ j all "the efliops containing provisions in ■ j Whiteohapet Road, Commercial Road | ©T'Bt, aaid Gable Street were, during j Monday, ruthJesely broken open and ransacked. The police from Leman Street were utterly incompetent- to bold back the rush of the infuriated tha-usainds, who fought desperately j with each other for t-bp spoils, starving men, women and children all joining , in the fray. ' The Eatft End had indeed become a I pandemonium. The big warehouses in the vicinity of tfee docks were also aifctacked, a-nd most' ©f them enrotied of their confents, while two at % Wapping, j hfii'Tigj defended by the police, were ' dei^beraifcelV set on fere by the rioters, a/nd quantities of wheat burned. (To be continued onSaturdaj next.) , =============== I The world's ol<fe«t railway carriage \ in use may be seen at St Rollox, near Glasgow. "Built for the Aberdeen Railway in 1848, and still having the guard's outside rcof-«eat intact, it ; serves as a railwaymen's bothy. The reason why opaJs are often los* firom their settings is that tiTiey exmnd j with heat more than other precious stone®, and, conßequentUy, farce openj the gold which holds them in place, I with the result that thoy ultimately. ,f«U out.