The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-08-21 00:00:00

RIOTING IN IRELAND.

In the House of Commons, on Tuesday evening, Mr.
Forster, in reply to questions, said :

I received last night a telegram which states that
there had been most serious rioting yesterday in Dun-
gannon. The polioe being attacked and fired on
several times had to fire in return. It was believed
that several persons were wounded, and one was
said to be dying. I have received a telegram
from Belfast, which states that a large Nationalist
procession, about 6,000, with banner and bands,
left Belfast yesterday morning and returned in the
evening without molestation, being effectually pro-
tected by police and military while the procession-
ists were going out of town. A publichouse of a
Roman Catholic in the suburbs, at some little distance
from the line of route, was attacked and gutted by a
Protestant mob, who overpowered the ten police there
on duty at about two o'clock yesterday. A sudden
raid was made by a Protestant mob on a Roman
Catholic street in the subtr.b, near Shankhill-road.
Tile police were for the time overpowered by the mob,
who smashed the windows in a number of houses,
one being a publichouse, from which liquor was taken
after the return of the processionists. Large mobs of
the opposing parties assembled at Buckfields, between
Falls-road and Shankhill ; some stone throwing
took place. The parties were kept asunder by the
police. The Riot Act was read, and the excite-
ment subsided at ten o'clock last night, since which
time no renewal of the disturbance has occurred. I
received that to-day. Perhaps I may be allowed to
state that I cannot understand how every man of im-
portance, every man of influence, and every minister
of every religious denomination in the north of Ireland
do not meet and agree to set their faces against the
foolish processions which lead to this rioting. (Cheers.)
These things are a perfect disgrace to the province of
Ulster and to a civilized country. (Cheers).

The Dublin Correspondent of The Times gives the
following details respecting the rioting at Belfast :

"For the moment the north has become the chief centre
of interest on account of the Lady-day processions. These
are altogether of recent origin, and are simply intended as
a protest by Roman Catholics against the Twelfth of July
processions by the Orangemen, and as assertion of equal
rights. Lady-day in Harvest had come and gone for five
or six generations since the Battle of the Boyne before the
Roman Catholics, with a growing sense of injustice suffered
and importance acquired, thought of utilising it in this
way. Although Lady-day fell upon Sunday, yet so strong
an influence has the respect shown for the Sabbath by the
Protestants of the north had upon their Roman Catholic
brethren that in nearly all instances the Lady-day celebra-
tions were put off till Monday. In several places the holding
of them at all was prohibited in vain by the Roman Catholic
clergy.
"The principal procession organized was at Belfast to
march to Hannahstown, where it was expected that Mr.
Biggar, M.P., and Mr. John Ferguson would deliver
speeches. The procession was cheered by the music of
about ten bands, and carried numerous banners, bearing
representations of Daniel O'Connell, St. Patrick, Mr.
Parnell, Robert Emmett; and other historical personages,
and such mottoes as 'Home Rule," Remember Limerick,'
'Hereditary bondsmen, know ye not who would
be free themselves must strike the blow?' On one
appeared conspicuously the representation of a weeping
emigrant with the inscription, 'Tyrants, remember we will
return,' and subscribed to another was the following, 'No
power on earth, save the King, Lords, and Commons have
power to make laws to bind us.' As the procession was about
to start, an Orangeman, overcome by his feelings, endea-
voured to snatch a sash from one of the Roman Catholics,
but was at once arrested. Passing through the town, the pro-
cesaionists were headed by the town inspector and a party of
mounted police with a view to preventing a collision with a
hostile force. The 16th Regiment and strong bodies of police
were stationed throughout the town, and at the borough
boundary, where a large body of Orangemen had collected,
special precautions were taken to avert a collision. The pro-
oessionists were accompanied by police some distance beyond
the boundary, and, after a slight disturbance, pursued the
rest of their way unmolested. At Hannahstown neither Mr.
Biggar nor Mr. Ferguson appeared, and the crov d being
dissatisfied pulled the chairs and tables about. The pro-
cession returned to Belfast, and dispersed, without encounter-
ing any serious obstacle. In the town, however, a great deal
of violence occurred. Over 20,000 of the Orange party, men,
women, boys, and girls, had congregated from the Shankhill-
road district into a vacant plot of ground of about 200 acres,
where they had a full view of the Roman Catholic procession,
going out by the Falls-road. In front of them galloped up and
down with great rapidity horse policemen, keeping them
from passing a given line, sufficiently far removed from the
Falls-road to prevent any missiles that might be thrown in
that direction from reaching the procession. At some
short distance from the line of the crowd the entire strength
of the 16th Regiment, under Colonel Horne, was stationed.
The soldiers were armed with guns and bayonets fixed
ready at a moment's notice, to quell anything in the
nature of a riot. Further over near the Falls-road
large numbers of constabulary were placed to prevent any
person from passing from the one party towards the other.
As the processionists passsd along they and the Orange
parties exchanged anything but friendly greetings. The
processionists were in a sense guarded by large crowds,
who stood on the side paths of the Falls road, and these
joined vigorously in the tantalizing shouts that were ad-
dressed to the Orangemen, who being in a fixed position at
the time appeared to be rather the persons who were kept
down by the soldiers. In the Orange gathering the women
displayed amid cheers orange handkerchiefs which they
waved high in the air by way of taunting the Roman
Catholics, and in return the women of the procession waved
green sashes and handkerchiefs. Owing to the great force
of military and police present the opposite parties were
unable to do more than shout at each ether and defiantly
wave colours in the air. The procession at length had
passed by, but there still remained to irritate the
Orangemen the unwonted sight of numerous green
arches in the Roman Catholic streets of the town,
and for the purpose of defending these large numbers of
Roman Catholic artisans had remained behind instead of
going out with the procession. A large crowd of Orange-
men gathered on the Grosvenor-road, and they were con-
fronted by a crowd of Roman Catholics from the Falls-road.
The latter had near at hand an abundant supply of loose
stones, and a member of the Roman Catholic crowd lifting
a stone flung it amongst the Orange party. Retaliation was
instantaneous, and for several minutes stones were flying
from each party at the other in great numbers; but before
any one was injured the constabulary appeared and ter-
minated this, the first riot of the day.
"About half-past eleven o'clock a Protestant mob attacked
the house of a publican named Neeson, a Roman Catholic,
on the Springfield-road, and completely wrecked the place.
The police interfered and dispersed the rioters. Constable
Ailwood was severely injured by blows which he received
from stones. Advantage was taken of the presence of the
militaryand police on the Falls-road by a number of Orange-
men, who made an attack on Ardilee-street, in the vicinity
of the Old Park-road, nearly every house of which they
completely wrecked. This is an almost exclusively Roman
Catholic district, but situakted in a Protestant district, and
no provision was made by The authorities for its protection—
no attack being expected. There were but two constables
on duty in the locality with their batons. After the pro-
cession had left the town, when the soldiers and constabulary
were actively giving attention to the great stir and excite-
ment prevailing in the Falls-road and Dever-street, a mob
of about 600 entered Ardilee-street, and proceeded without
provocation, save that which the procession and all its associa-
tions gave rise to, to wreck almost every house in the street.
It seemed that a good many of the wreckers had brought
stones with them to the place, but when these were used
the paving stones were quickly raised and utilized in the
work of demolishing the window-panes of the houses as
fast as possible. One of the houses attacked being a
publichouse, it came in for more than an ordinary share
of mob violence. The proprietor is a Mr. M`Leavy. The
mob entered the shop, seized the stock of drink and emptied
it on the street. They demolished the shop windows and
all the other windows of the house. The houses were at the
time occupied by only some women and children, the male
members of each household being then with the procession.
The two policemen, finding themselves helpless against 600
men, went off to the barracks for their rifles and for
assistance. During their absence the wrecking was being
vigorously proceeded with. Unfortunately there were
only two men in the barracks armed with their
rifles, the four went to Ardilee-street, and when
they arrived the mob had all but completed their
work. The sight of the policemen with rifles, and
probably an expectation that there were others coming,
caused the mob to flee, and there being numerous little
streets running off Ardilee-street, they had no difficulty in
escaping. There were about eighteen Roman Catholic
houses wrecked. After the affair was made known to the
magistrates an extra force of constabulary was placed in the
street, there being every reason to fear retaliation on the
part of the Roman Catholics whose houses were wrecked.
The excitement which was manifested in the street when
the processionists returned and found all windows smashed
was for a time intense.
"Twenty-one magistrates were stationed at different points
of the city during the day in parties of two and three, and at
each point there was a body of constabulary under command
of a sub-inspector. The 16th Regiment, which had effectually
prevented a collision on the going out of the procession,
went fcr a short time to the barracks, and in the afternoon
returned to their post to await the coming back of the pro.
cession from Hannahstown. All the other troops 111
garrison were confined to barracks. All along the Falls-
road, Divis-street, Mill-street, Castle-street, Castle-place,
and High-street, immense crowds congregated await-
ing the return of the procession. About half-past
four a body of police took up their position at the
base of the Albert Memorial, and another
posse appeared
at the corner of Donegall-place and Castle-place. At other
commanding points along the route detachments of eon-
stabulary were drawn up. Shortly after live o'clock High-
street and Castle-place were soon crowded. The windows
were even filled with spectators, many of whom were to be
seen on the house-tops. In order to protect the windows,
ftehwe smihuntutetress wbeefreereupsixone,ettheeekmtiatejorip'rtymeosfsiethne,
wshhioepns. A
had
been allowed to come along very peaceably, emerged out
of Castle-street into Castle-place, beaded by Town-Commis-
sioner Bailey and a body of mounted policemen, who drove
back the crowds which had gathered at the various corners,
thus allowing the processionists to move quietly onwards.
The bands continued to perform 'national airs.' One section
of the processionists dropped off at Castle-place and pro-
ceeded into Hercules-street. The other processionists con-
tinued on their way through Bridge-street, and up Donegal.
street to Carnick-hill, where they quietly dispersed."