The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-02 00:00:00

Serious Irish Riots on St. Patrick's Day.

(Front the Correspondent of the Morning Herald.)
NEW YORK, March 20.

" What shall we do with these Irish ?" is the
question that every native American hereabout is
asking of himself or of his neighbour. The riots and
outrages in this city on Monday were the last turn
of the screw. The insolence of " our Irish fellow-
citizens" has at last become intolerable. Throughout
the whole city there exists on the part of the Ame-
ricans a feeling of indignation against the Irish,
more bitter than any that has ever heretofore had
place. Not even after the riots of 1863, or during
the hottest period of the Know-nothing excitement,
was there so general a sentiment of dislike or de-
testation for the Irish portion of our population as
there is at the present time. Some of the bloody
scenes of Monday fell under the observation of
your correspondent. Coming from Brooklyn to
New York at one o'clock, and passing through
Grand-street, in this city, his attention was ar-
rested by the evident signs of disorder prevailing
among the thousands of people thronging that
thoroughfare and the neighbouring streets and lanes.
By published order the various societies of II iber-
nians, Sons of Temperance, Longshoremen, and the
like, had been instructed to assemble in the triangle
formed by the junction of East Broadway and
Grand-street, there to break into procession. At the
time that your correspondent reached this point the
marshals and officers of the society were be-
ginning to form the procession. This work,
owing to the drunkenness of the "patriots," was one
of great difficulty ; in fact, the triangle was filled
by a yelling, boisterous mob, which had shut up the
entrances to the numerous diverging streets
and forbidden the passage not only only of
vehicles but of pedestrians. Your correspondent's
attention was first directed to a truck standing near
the entrance of Pitt-street. This was surrounded
by a crowd. A man stood upon the truck, gesti-
culating wildly, and, pointing in various directions.
Finally this man seized the reins and endeavoured
to drive down Pitt-street. In an instant a violent
commotion began ; stones were thrown at the ad-
venturous driver ; swords flashed, staves were bran-
dished. The driver was either pulled off or knocked
off the truck. He was at once set upon by the mob,
stabbed, beaten, kicked, and rolled in the mud and
snow. A policeman appeared, swinging his club.
He seized the unfortunate truckman, and endea-
voured to draw him upon the cart. Ile in turn
was knocked down, beaten, and stabbed. Another
policeman appeared, to be served in the same brutal
way. Another and still another officer rushed into
the midst of the crowd—each in turn to be stabbed,
beaten, and trampled upon. At last some of the
injured policemen managed to gain a footing upon
the truck, and to ply their clubs upon the heads of
the mob. For a moment this battle continued; then
the truck, seized by a hundred brawny hands, was
tipped over, and the policemen thrown sprawling
upon the ground. Here they were again set upon
and most frightfully beaten. One by one, other
officers appeared. The alarm was conveyed to the
nearest station-house, and telegrams were sent to
all the precincts. Unfortunately, the officers were
compelled to straggle in ; there could be little of
concert of action among them. As each blue-coat
approached it was swallowed up by the mob. Thus
22 policemen in all were terribly wounded. At
last a detachment of police advanced in solid
phalanx, marching down Grand-street upon the
rioters. The mob instantly scattered, and in two
minutes the ground was clear, save where dotted
by the bodies of the unfortunate guardians of
the public peace. There they lay, fifteen of
them, too badly wounded to stand erect. Four
sat on the kerbstone washing their bleeding
heads in the muddy stream of the gutter. Two sat
on a neighbouring doorstep, the blood streaming
from their wounds, and flowing across the flagging.
One hung half insensble to an awning-post; another
leaned against a lamp-post. For the space of 50
feet either way the muddy snow was daubed with
blood. Blood was everywhere ; on the ash-boxes,
on the coal-boxes, on the shutters of the grocer's
windows, on the steps of the lodging-house, on the
flagging, on the inverted truck. A bloody sword
projected from a box of garbage. Bloody frag-
ments of staves and batons were scattered about,
showing that the marshals of the Irish societies had
been the leaders of the riot. The wounded police-
men were borne to the nearest station-house, pass-
ing in long and bloody procession through the
streets, a trail of blood telling to the following
crowd the route they had taken. In a short time
the procession in Grand-street was formed, and the
Irish moved toward the central portion of the city.
At the point of junction of East Broadway with
Chatham-square a policeman endeavoured to arrest
a disorderly " Son of Temperance." Thereupon a ,
burly Irishman, mounted on a powerful horse,
charged at the officer, striking him across the head
with a heavy sabre. The officer pluckily attacked
this ruffian, and finally captured him. He was
taken to the station-house, where it transpired that
his name was Clark, and that he was a marshal of
one of the societies of the "Ancient Order of
lli-
berniaus." Numerous other outrages were com-
mitted during the day. Several horses were stabbed,
cut, or frightfully beaten. Numerous peaceable
citizens were assaulted. The driver of one of the