The Express.
London, England, 1867-06-18 00:00:00

RENEWED RIOTS AT BIR--
MINOHAM.

READING THE RIOT A.
(From the Birmingham Pate of 10-day.)

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intnhoomeMnrelaenmer:d Sunday evening, no one could have expected tut
eted
in Birmingham without exciting further disturbances and
state of the streets in the immediate n i.;hb,urhood of the
" Tabernacle " yester my morning without a feeling of
surprise that matters should have assumed so threitem
ing an aspect at so early an hour, Apheege
Mr. Murphy's lecture was not to be &livered
till night, the crowd in Moorartreet, Cares-lane
High-street, sad Dale-end blocked up tie trage;
so early as 10 o'clock in the morning. Up
to 5 o'clock in the afternoon—three hours before the
lecture was to commence—no less than 22 priseuers had
been arrested, all for assaults on the police, or riotous and
disorderly conduct of a different character. lo psamag
through Park-street, the magistrates and the military
were cheered very much, notwithstanding that at that
moment a severe assault had been made upon one of the
constables with • part of an iron palisade, and a man
was being captured and taken to the lock-up for
another tumult. At Bahr time nearly every window
in the street had been smashed, and the street was
covered with the stones and bricks which had
been used as offensive !Marilee against the police-
men and the unwary passers-by. The cavalcade had
scarcely passed, and the cheering Lad scarcely ceased,
when showers of stones began to descend upon the magis-
trates and the military. A large stone was actually aimed
at the Mayor, but fortunately missed the mark. The stone
struck the " busby" of one of the soldiers who rode near
his worship. The man charged with throwing the stone
was immediately arrested and taken to the Public-office.
About • quarter past eleven o'clock, • hundred men
belonging to the 82nd Regiment, commanded by Captain
Boucher, arrived in Birmingham from Weedon, and were
marched at once to Moor-street, to be held in reserve.
They had not been there more than a quarter of an hour
before information was brought that • riot was raging in
Allison-street. Fifty of the soldiers were at once de-
tached, and marched to the scene of the disturbance,
headed by some of the borough magistrates. A troop of
hussars, consisting of about 50 men, arrived from Coven-
tryshortly after 10 o'clock. As they were being marched
through John-street, one of the head-quarters of the
Irish, a private soldier was struck en the had with a
brick end. The wounded trooper was taken to the police-
station in Moor-street, when it was aso•rtained that he had
sustained • scalp wound, and was suffering from comes.
sion of the brain. His injuries were temporarily attended
to, and he was afterwards sent to the hospital in a cab.
Fortunately the fellow who threw the missile was appre.
headed, and he proved to be • man who had had his own
wounds dressed a short time previourey. Soon after the
military had entered Moor-street, and effectually stopped
all vehicles from pawing. that way, • cab drove hurriedly
out of the Woolpack " yard. It contained three men,
one of whom was concealed in a corner behind one of the
others who sat prominently forward. The military at
once stopped this cab, and ordered it out through the
crowd at the end of Moor-stroet. But one of the magis-
trates present, ascertaining that it contained Mr. Murphy
himself, had the order re-called. Mr. Murphy got out of
the cab, and the magistrate walked beside him along
Moor-street and up Can's-lane to the "Tabernacle;
where Mr. Murphy cordially thanked his obliging escort.
It is not surprising that Mr. Murphy seemed to be under
the influence of much nervous excitement.
At about 7 o'clock, • deputation of tradesmen from
the Bull-ring waited upon the magistrates, and repre-
sented that that part of the town was entirely in the
hands of the mob. It wee then resolved that the time had
come for reading the Riot Act. The magistrates and the
military accordingly went down Freeman-street into Park-
street, and the mayor there mad the Riot Act in a loud
voice. He did so also at the Bull-ring end of Moor-
street. The crowd in both places cheered vociferously,
another indication of what we have already stated,
that the great majority of the people were well disposed,
and that the disorder was the work of comparatively a
few. An immense number of people hid got into the burial
ground in St. Martin's churchyard, and some of them
pelted the police from that coign of vantage. After the
reading of the Riot Act this place was at once cleared, and
was afterwards held by the police.
The riot, which throughout the day had been plainly
fermenting in Park street, broke out in great violence sots
after 7 o'clock. The Irish labourers had by that time
left their work for the day, and they returned evidently
ripe for any amount of mischief and blackguardism. The
street soon filled with • mob of the most desperate class of
men, women, and boys, for the two latter were by no meaty
the least active in the disturbances. A continual shower
of stones, brick-ends, tiles, and other such miesiles, son
kept up, so that it was dangerous to the life of any
person to enter the street, and when the rioters "rem
at loss for a cases 104, they would get up • rev
amongst themselves,iattacking each other indiscriminately.
They seemed, indeed, to act upon the principle of Damp
brook Fair, breaking every head they came acmes. lien
climbed to the tops of the houses, and stripping the roofs,
pelted those below with bricks, slates, and tiles ; wetness
not the less delighting in the work of the other sex,
collected material for the onslaughts that were every sow
and then made against a policeman or some ether un.
offending individual ; and boys imitated the example of
their parents to the full extent of their power.
The ruffians appeared to have, for a time, their
own way unmolested. Mob law prevailed, sad
the property of the inhabitants was destroyed
right and left. Nearly every square of glass iu the street
as we have said, was broken early in the afternoon, and
deprived now of that source of amusement, the rioters
began to demolish the more substantial portions of the
houses ; doors and shutters were wrenched from their
binges and split up to manufacture bludgeons. sign boards
were pulled down, and in sonic instances the very fiztatee
of the shops were violently dislodged sad carried wasp
The mob not only fought themselves, but compelled others
to fight. This state of things continued till about half.
past eight, when • strong detachment of police was sent
to disperse the mob, but the conriehlea, notwithstanding
that they charged with drawn cutlasses, met with
such an obstinate resistance that it was nearly twenty
minutes before they could force back the rioters. Men
stoned the police from the tops of bowies awl from Tin'
down ; others attacked them with weapons of all descrip-
tions, and not a few directed their attention to (ureter
damaging the property of the residents. The police, how-
ever, aided by • huge number of English civilian', wbe
armed themselves with anything in the shape of a bludgem
that they could lay hold of, übiniately **Puked the
rioters, and a troop of Hussars, with drawn swords,
shortly afterwards cleared the street. The edifiers were
loudly cheered by the people. Mr. Kyneersley, the
stipendiary, and Mr. Holliday, another magistrate, rode at
the bead of the troop. The police merle numerous captures,
gallantly pursuing the rioters even to the tops of the
houses, and many severe struggles rimmed, in which the
mob appeared invariably to get the wont of it. The Eng-
lish civilians undoubtedly rendered great assietanoe to the
police; but in some eases considerable damage was me
necessarily done, these special constables in their seal
breaking, without hesitation, into any place that thee
supposed to contain those who hail engaged in the dis-
turbances. It was really amusing to note the demeanour
of the semi-savages after they were in euetody. Theyyelled at the top of their voice'', merle the mate
pathetic protestations of their iaeoornee of having
even handled a stone, and begged in the most prtre=
tones to be let off on account of their wiles and fent..
Most of the men captured were injured, aitil there is so
doubt at all that the "epeeist eunateblea t
used belt'
weapons pretty freely, and to considerable effect. One.maift
in particular, who was drenched in blood. @rile"' t° be
a serious condition ; but the application of an atattrialt.t•
of cold water shortly brought bin. to his senses,
and be
was sent with his compatriots to the cells. Eel juisona
as he was brought into the station was attended to by a
surgeon, if he required it. Later in the evening a number.
of boys "arched gangs about the street with pieces of
dooms and shutters, fenders, chairs, awl other things
they
had picked out of the partially dentoliaied houses in Park-
street. The furniture of the pour people hen in a greet
many cases been destroyed by the rioters, and the road
is strewed with fragment. of all kind. of articles. As
a prevention against further disturbance the male
of the population of this locality were ordered
Wt
night to remove from the neighbourhood, but the wellies
and children, and the old men were allowed to rerwar
The unfortunate occupants of the houses were obliged la
make the best of the 'Desert Arelter left them ; but then
were some who would not be comforted, and who sat ere
the doorsteps, lamenting the loss of their property. it
debt* of which lay strewn round about them. A body