The Sun.
London, England, 1852-07-01 00:00:00

JULY 1,

FATAL RIOT IN STOCKPORT.

ONE MAN *KILLED AND SIXTY WOUNDED,
THE MILITARY CALLED OUT.
We have receive) a more full and detailed account of
the riot at Stockport, of which we, yesterday, gave a
brief outline. Our correspondent prefaces his notice
with a semi-official account from the third edition of
yesterday's Manchester Guardian, whieh is as follows:
" For soma time past there has been in Stockport a
bad feeling between the two classes indicated, partly on
trade quarrels, partly on national grounds, but chiefly
the result of religious differences between ignorant Irish
Catholics on the one hand, and as ignorant English Pro-
testants on the other. Collisions have frequently oc•
curred, which have come before the magistrates—
charges and counter-charges have been made—the
English have been attacked by the Irish; the Irish have
been assailed by the English; and it has been obvious for
some time past that there only needed the spark to fire
the train and explode these inflammable materials into
some extensive and bloody fray. That occasion has arisen
under the following circumstances:—Sunday last was
the anniversary of the usual procession of al the
Roman Catholic scholars connected with the three
chapels in Stockport. The recent Royal proclamation
against, Romer' Catholic processions was much discussed,
and the Irish Orangemen and other Protestants, English
anti Irish, eentended that the procession ought not to be
allowed. Various' respectable residents of Stockport,
apprehensive that if the procession took plats it would
lead to some serious breach of the peace, applied to Mr.
Sadler, chief constable of the
prohibitbo it, under
know whether'
subject,
the authorities meant to
w e
believe, the powerswns
a i
so o
brought under the The
f
the proclamation
notice of the mayor and the borough
i dbut,
ef from
procession, w h at e whatever
iit cause,
tn took
ko
place. orders werePre-
viously, r .
the Rev. Randolph
.Brith, of he Ca-
tholicgivenev
formeri
i
g eey, who,
.we believe, is the senior
priest in Stockport Lite; on Mr. Sadler, and gave the
amkpnoposetwasnroilnetnehtahnteathsseurparnocceperstohsciat no symbol or garb should
procession beyond what had been usual on
anniversaries;e or anything that could be deemed
procession
nmwatnionnla
not
thenne iptrebveecnat
dtyefifeaenlcrieerg oaaefmetaotnnhgtsst the lower classes ran high, tmehdee
put down. Th
tdheecyl a r iwn
apar
Catholics boasting
gouldthatn. ottneirbeproseteospspinend
Edsgtealteinyt,,,wanhdich
be put
It started about two o'clock from the
The procession, however did
on , Sunday afternoon, and, on the whole,
across the Waterloo-road, '
takeoat indg ht ought et
o place
weitington-road South,
proceeded is a
suburb
down
ofEtdh!
dwunp Church-
gate co hn -.
gwaatteda'sntdrePeta'rk-surt, through Warren-street
tCpoaawstshneednhoee ffa
r chapelt
h e railway a t
and •so returning
again to the Roman Catholic Chapel, Edgeley, Th
Heaton-
lane, up the
procession was headed by the priests,and
a number of
Irish labourers Willidag SIX a breast ; then came the
numerous boys and girls in the Sunday and day schools.
There were no banners in the procession ; the priests
did not wear canonical vestments, but appeared in or-
dinary attire; even the girls handkerchiefs or vests,
which they usually wore on these occasions, were laid
aside ; and they only wore white frocks, and
little crosses suspended round the neck by ribbons.
The only badges or symbols that might be supposed
to contravene the 'proclamation were a ball and cross,
gilt dove. As we have said, the procession passed
and a
along its coarse, without the slightest disturbance,
beyond occasions' groans and hisses from zealous Pro-
entente, and they finally -dispersed without any breach
of the peace of which we have heard. Even Sunday
evening, which is often disturbed in Stockport by noisy
brawls, amonet the Irish population (who are said to
exceed 14,000 in the borough), passed over with more
than usual tranquillity, not one individual having been
apprehended by the ' police, directly or indirectly con-
cerned in any `row.
On Monday afternoon information reached the police-
office that an Englishman and an Irishman, both of them
in liquor, had been fighting in the liquor vaults of the
Bishop Blaize public-house, and that expressions had
been used having relation to the procession of the ,pre-
vious day, and to " Popery" and Protestantism ; but it
seems that the combatants were separated, and went their
ways, neither being apprehended. In
the
course of Mon-
day evening one of the police
officers reported at the police-
office that a number of English and Irish were fighting;
but as this was by no means an unusual occurrence in Stock-
port it was regarded as a mere drunken row, and by no
means supposed to be of a more serious or riotous charac-
ter. The numbers, however, of the combatants rapidly
increased, and this affair taking place in the Hillgate,
one of the principal thoroughfares, information of its
continuance and increase was dispatched to the police-
office, and Mr. Sadler, who had previously sent two or
three officers, proceeded to the spot himself at the head
of a body of firemen; but on their reaching the place
they found the mob dispersed and everything apparently
quiet. During the remainder of the evening, and
throughout the eight, all continued tranquil; there was
no renewal of the disturbance in any part of the borough.
On Tuesday morning, however, there were rumours
of much ill-blood amongst the Roman Catholics, in con-
sequence, it is said, of their regarding the English as the
aggressors in the first brawl in the Bishop Blaize vaults;
and Ma Sadler resolved to take measures to put down
any fights that might arise, not having any reason at
that time to apprehend that anything more serious than
an Irish row would occur. During the whole of Tues-
day everything remained tranquil; but the Rev.
Mr. Forster, priest of St. Michael's Roman Ca-
tholic Chapel, in the Park, called on Mr. Sadler,
and stated that there appeared 'to be considerable
angry feeling on the part of the Irish Catholics, and
that he was apprehensive that they would assemble in
the evening in considerable numbers in the locality com-
monly known in Stockport as Bomber's Brow (or Gar-
nett-street), and observing that Mr. Sadler was popular
amongst them, proposed to meet him at eight o'clock,
and that they should go together to the spot, as he was
sure that they could in this way prevent any disturb-
ance. Mr. Sadler agreed to meet him; but about half-
past seven o'clock in the evening Mr.'Forster sent to Mr.
Sadler, to say that he had an evening service at his
chapel, and would be unable to keep his appointment.
Under these circumstances Mr. Sadler proceeded to
take such precautions as he thought advisable. The
police force of the borough is obviously too small for
such a population, consisting only of Mr. Sadler him-
self and ten constables, with two or three assistants,
or at most half a dozen, for duty on Saturday nights
and Sundays, the seasons when there is most dis-
order and brawling in Stockport. Mr. Sadler sent
three or four of his officers into the Hillgate, to ob-
serve whether there were any signs of assembling;
and about a quarter before eight o'clock on Tues-
day evening, one of these officers, named John Leigh,
sent a verbal message to the police-office, by Mr. Charles
Brown, agent, &c,, to the effect that all was perfectly
quiet, and that there were no indications of any unusual
assembling. Mr. Sadler contented himself with sending
a few more officets to the locality, and within a quarter
of an hour after receiving the former message he re-
ceived information at the police-office (which is within
the Court-house, Vernon-street) that very suddenly con-
siderable numbers of English and Irish had simultane-
ously made their appearance in Hillgate, and had com-
menced fighting with sticks and other weapons. Which
party commenced the fray Mr. Sadler was unable, either
then or subsequently, to ascertain. He immediately got
together soma assistant constables, and was proceeding
with them to the spot, when information reached him
that the rioters had been driven back by the police and
others from Hillgate, and that a considerable number
of Irish had gone in the direction of High-street,
which leads to a neighbourhood principally inhabited
by them, and known as Rock-row, Petty Carr, Carr
Green, &c. On learning this, Mr. Sadler, at the
head of his small staff of assistant constables, proceeded
along Undorbauk, down Chestergate, and so to Rock-
row, which he entered from the bottom, and saw a num-
ber of people collected at the upper end of the row
(which, with only one or two exceptions, is inhabited
wholly by Irish), and extending into a field adjoining
St. Peter's Church. They appeared to be in conflict, and
as he was proceeding towards them with his men they
were met by a considerable body of Irish, who assailed
the police with stones, brickbats, and other missiles,
while various sorts of projectiles were cast from the
houses, and even women were seen upon the roofs of the
cottages hurling slates, bricks, &a, on the police. How-
ever, the small force under Mr. Sadler's command suc-
ceeded in driving back and dispersing their assailants,
many of whom rushed into the houses; souse of them
being captured and conveyed to the police-cffiee; and
ultimately comparative quiet and peace being restored,
Mr. Sadler left a number of officers, with some special
constacles, in that locality, and returned to the Cour a
Court-
house, whence he immediately dispatched
oothroyd,
messenger for the Mayor, Mr. John h-I3 distant
attorney, who resides at Shaw Heateiayor s
about a mile from the Court-house. Tess,
__as
Eoon
arrived, as did Messrs. P. E. Marsland, Pl"'
trat sk-
rigge, and Sir Ralph Pendlebury, all maga es of the
was instantly
borough. From them a communicational
made to Major Kennedy and Captain f , commanding
detachments of the 4th Regiment oftlar antry, now lying
in the barracks, Hall-street, ,Stockport,
,e,questing them to
send a detachment of troops to trou 11;n. the
civil force in
maintaining the peace of the
ahatrthg (I Both
officers,
and several others, soon arrive_ s e _ourt-house with
a detachment of about 60 rank and filo. Meanwhile, the
form of declaration, the readsin,,g of which is usually
called " reading the Riot Mt, was copied out in readi-
ness—[printed copies of this ought always to be in rea-
diness in populous towns]—and the Mayor and the ma-
gistrates named, with the addition of Mr. Turner, we
believe, with the police, and a number of special con-
stables (just before sworn in for the occasion by the
magistrates), and the, troops, proceeded down Chester-
gate to Rock-row, and Petty Carr. There they found a
considerable assemblage, and the Riot Act was im-
mediately read; on which, aided by the efforts of the
police and special constables, the mob speedily dis-
persed. The civil and military authorities and
force then proceeded by St. Peter's-square, through
High-street and Hillgate, up Edward-street, and
through Greek-street, to Edgeley, where they
found the large Catholic chapel completely sacked and
gutted, and the priest's house pretty nearly in the same
condition. The rioters hero had brought the furniture,i
&c., cut of the chapel and the residence, and piled_d ersed
the road and set fire to it. The mob hail
rol ifps of
before their arrival, and they only found , Fen_
se
e.
persons standing quietly by theShesps of
I!"_`eis6seni"g"er
terials. While the authorities were there, a messenger
arrived proceeded to
arrived with information that the main
the Park (near
St. Michael's Roman Catholic chapel
'clowe, and were c'
the Court-house), had broken the wen,
and
military ,e-
The OW
thorities the furniture, &c.
with all speed, and
and forces proceeded thither
on their arrival found that the furniture had been dragged
out, broken up, and some of it set fire to; and that some
force open
of the rioters had attemptedto a large iron
us
safe, supposed to contain various
.. articles of silver used in
l The police removed this safe
the service of the chape . .
(the look of which had resisted the efforts of the rioters)