The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-02 00:00:00

POLICE AT LIVERPOOL.

LIVERPOOL, Jtmir 1.
Since nine o'clock last night this city has been
thrown into the utmost alarm and excitement in conse-
quence of a military riot, which broke out at that hour be-
tw, en the soldiers of the 91st regiment, commanded by
Colonel Campbell, and the police of Liverpool. In conse-
quence of some punishment inflicted on three soldiers of the
91,t regiment, at the instance of the police on duty, they
vowed vengeance on the " blue-bottles," as they termed the
constables ; and the latter, on their part, scent to have been
on the qui rice to meet promptly any aggressive act.
At 2 o'clock this afternoon, twenty-seven soldiers of the
the 91st regiment were placed at the lint. of the court ;meet
for the Nisi Prins sittings during the assizes. There were
present, John Crosfield, Esq., chairman, and a full bench
of magistrate?. Colonel Campbell, Major Gordon, and
some other officers of the regiment, occupied seats adjoining
the bench ; and during the whole day, the court, with all
its avenues, was more densely crowded than on any oc-
casion whatever that we can remember for many years past.
Mr. Dowling, the commissioner of Liverpool police, as
soon as the usual charges had been disposed of (in which
was included one aghast Private John truster, of the same
regiment), addressing the bench, said that he had upwards
of thirty witnesses iu the present case, whom lie should
proceed to cull in the following order:—Mr. Rufus Pugh,
Mr. Richard Lewis, Mr. John Smith, Messrs. W. Bickerton,
Thomas Me Cann, Edward Dooley, Wm. Barstow, R.
Spurr, It. Poole, Isaac llollimon, and John Doan, all re-
spectable inhabitants of the town; together with Dennis
Dwyer, Anne Walsh, Mary Gordon, and, some other disin-
terested spectators; and police officers 400, 302, 3i7, 17,
557, 393, 43, 86, 61, 513, 181, 7t ; and probably about ten
or a dozen others, if deemed requisite.
The following is the substance of the facts elicited. About
nine o'clock last night a number of men belonging to the
91st Regiment had assembled at Mr. Ilea,gue's public-house,
in Dak-street, one of the principal thoroughfares of Liver-
pool, in order, as some of then, were heard to express them-
selves, to wipe off the disgrace to the regiment which had
been inflicted on Saturday and Sunday night by the police.
The apprehension of some of their comrades fur an affray
in which a policeman and a respectable civilian, Mr. W.
Yates, warehouseman, were both seriously injured, seems to
have given deep offence to the soldiers, and many of them
were heard to say that last night would not pass over with-
out the blood of some of the police being spilt. Issuing
from the public-house above named into the streets, where
were a considerable number of other soldiers belonging to
the same regiment, some of them made up towards Duggan,
419, who was at the time on duty in Dale-street, and un-
fastening their cross-belts, they made a desperate attack
with them upon the poor fellow, who it is stated by the
police was wholly unconscious of the feeling of animosity
existing against the force amongst the soldiers, and who
was wounded so severely about the head and body that he
was considered in very great danger when our reporter left.
On the other hand, it is alleged that the soldiers were
first provoked by a policeman asking " How that chap of
theirs was that was in the hospital," alluding to one who
was out ruing from some injuries received in a previous con-
flict with the police. Be this as it may, after severely and
dangerously beating Duggan, they proceeded in a body up
Dale-street, and Shaw's Crow, attacking every policeman
with whom -.vie in contact. But word was passed to

they came _ ves-passed t.
the Rose-hill Police-station, where a number of officers
were in waiting, and these being joined by others, dispatched
from the central station, and commanded by Mr. Inspector
Towerson, speedily came to the spot, and a scene ensued
which wholly bathes description. The soldiers had by this
time spread themselves in skirmishing parties of tens,
civil authwiti,q elr^rtull‘ ''t
pro-
bably not expecting the concentrated movement of the
police. Attacking the military, however, thus in detail, the
AM a Aetinn pf the %tete,
opium parties, anti although the conflict was kept up wit
desperate resistance, as each fresh band was attacked, and
the whole neighbourhood was for nearly two hours kept in
a state of the greatest apprehension, captures to more than
thirty of the soldiers were effected, by the aid of all the re-
inforcements of police, which, under the personal
direction of Mr. Commissioner Dowling were even-
tually brought to the scene of the riot. At
length a demand was made at Egerton-barracks,
for assistance from the officers df the regiment, who
promptly despatched several picqueta of 30 men to aid in
quelling the disturbance. Notwithstanding this, however,
many of the soldiers within the barracks, hearing what had
occurred, scaled the wall, andprocceded to the rescue of their
comrades : about 25 of whom had by this time been lo4oi
in Rose-hill Dridewell, previous to their being conveyed to
the more secure prison of the borough. Watching, how-
ever, the absence of the piequets, who had been engaged
in clearing the streets, the scattered soldiers win aseasa,
bled at Rose-hill just as the van in which theCr comrades
were placed was being driven off, and a renewed conlict
ensued, in which the police would beyond doubt have suf-
fered the loss of many of their number, as the soldiers were
using their side-arras with horrible imprecations, just as
those of three picquets were recalled and ended the affray.
The van was then driven off with great speed, accompanied
by a large body of police at double quick time, sad the
prisoners were ultimately lodged in the main gaol of the
town.
Throughout the night, however, considerable crowds
might be seen in the line of streets where the affray had
been carried on, and even up to this hour the interest has
not subsided in the locality.
Upon the application of the commissioners, the men
were remanded until to-morrow, when the state of the
wounded police officers, as well as those of the military at
present in the hospital, will be more accurately sewer
tamed.
A r

petition, very numerously signed, has been got up, -- --p--_-, .. . • r.
EoYrT.—Yesterday the Kasseid Heir, stew...yacht, built praying for the instant removal of the regiment from Liver- and yet, in this uncertainty, a
_daring spirit was . ~ who houses were wholly or putially erected in ten days after-
for the Puha of Egypt, was launched from the premises of pool, it being quite certain that manylives will be lost, walked into the building already in flames with two more wards. The whole number of buildings going up in the
Mega,. Joyce and co., opposite the Dreadnought Hospital and renewed conflicts of frequent occurrence will take casks of powder, fired the fusee, and retreated coolly. In city at the same time was six hundred. In spite of tha
Ship. Her dimensions are—Length, 180 feet ; beam, 18 place between that regiment and the police, should the for- less than a minute after the huge building crumbled into terrible blow to the business of the city, the courage and
feet ; depth, 11 feet, builders' measure. Old measure, mer be permitted to remain in their preseas. The fragments. The shipping in the harbour escaped providen- perseverance of the sufferers does not seem to have flagged
239 52-74 tons. She is to be fitted with a screw propeller appearance of the soldier. bey..e the magistrates to-day tially the fate which for hours seemed inevitably to await for a single day, and the San Francisco papers confidently
and a pair of vibrating engines of the collective power of certain y showed that they have met with considerable in- them. But by breaking up the wharfs and cutting off predict that in two months the buret district will be entirely
89 hones. jury, whatever may be the " set off" on the other side. the connection, the progress of the km eras checked at rebuilt. We know of no parallel to such indomitable enter-