The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1866-10-27
The london EsIOt> oE.suiy.
LONDON, July Is, 1866.

London would Toe the scene OF an absolute riot.
The affair was - unthought OF that 1t caused a
complete panic. the police were panic stricken.
aud the Home SECRETARY shed tears. | Will give
you a brief outline OF the disturbance, merely re-
marking that | Witnessed the riJtins on Monday
night at Marble Arch
The Reform League of which Mr.. Beaics j.
President, called a ref I'm demonstration in Hyde
Park for the 22d inst. The people were II as
semble at ten places aud to march INTO the PARK
each procession being neadcI ~ Il band OF music.
You viii at once perceive that the idea was not
81 much u meeting ~ a DEMONSTRATION Ct force.
Five days before that appointed for the demon
strait N. the Chief Commissioner of Police. Sir.
L. Mayne. acting on the Instruction OF the Home
Secretary, Issued - notice that the meeting would
not be allowed ia HYDE PARK. S;Il the Reform
LEAGUE Insisted upon carrying out their pro-
graiauc. and declared that the meeting would be
held. On the morning If the I'D two llaclrd>
Were posted over the walls OF the metropolis.
One was a letter from Mr.. john Bright urging
the people to yiudicaJc their rights 10y meeting IN
the PARK. The other Was a notification from SIR
X. Maync that the park gates would be closed at
) O'Clock.
Ii Will perhaps bc well to explain that the
PARKS are legally royal property. They are I'M
der the direction Ut "a ranger, vino IL appointed
by the Sovereign, and who regulates the traffic
of the parks and prescrihes the hours at which
they shall be open. From Il purely legal point
of view. the right t. forbid u political meeting in
the parks WAS beyond question. Indeed, this
right had been viudIcated IN 1870, when there
were some disturbances about music in the parks
on Sunday. The view OF the Reform League was
that the people have an actual If not IA technical
position. Inc object of assembling 4 crowd at
the west end was 10 make a physical denonstra-
ton al the west end OF London. ani the action OF
the Government was intended To defeat this OBJ
ject.
Monday was IL very fine day, and this added to
the difficulty of the authorities. Still no oLe
I Dire, Itpb nt "A Collision ami n was stated that A.
soon ne the league had made Il formal protest,
they would meet III Trafalgar square. This, in
deed, was the programme of the League, but it
is easier to create Il crowd than To control it.
About D O'Clock the PROFESSIONS were formed in
different parts oi London and marched To Hyde
park. The professions were not very numerous,
and perhaps on the average did not muster more
than | 800 persons each. But Il VAST crowd had
assembled ut the park. The gates were closed,
and the crowd massed outside. One was in Park
lane, another was ut the gates near y psley House.
The largest crowd was ut Marble Arch, in the
Bayswater road. Ii was at this latter place |
witnessed the affair. | had Il lookout from Il
window, and could see all that took place with
out interruption.
The crowd was full of fun, and Il number of
women were present. the police were formed
outside the gates, and were chaifed by the crowd.
but goodnaturedly. The crowd sang songs, and
Yankee Doodle seemed To be the favurite chorus.
Still il was an ugly crowd, and the rOugfs were
armed WITH SUCKS. al ABOUT VI % CLOCK IIe iltl
sic ut Il band was heard, and in Il few minutes the
procession. at the head of which was Mr.. Bcales.
appeared in sight. This was the signal for Il loud
cheering. The pressure was very great, and the
women began 10 scream. The mounted police
made Il slight advance. and were loudly Missed.
After Il long struggle the carriage Of MIR. Beales
drew up in front of the Marble Arch. Mr..
Bealcs ~alighted, and asked the police to he al
lowed to enter the park. Permission was refused.
Mr.. Beales then said that he would force his way
in, and eSsayed to pass the police. lie was forced
back. In the struggle lis coat was torn, and he
lost his watch. The uprOar now became trcmen-
dous. but still there was no breach of peace.
Mr.. Bealrs returnei to his carriage, and accom-
panied by about l 900 perso 5 went to Trafalgar
square, where he held Il meeting.
But the crowd, which WAS not less than % GOO
persons, did not dispense. As soon as the Beales
procession had departed there was a cry of down
with the police. The mob evidently meant mis-
chief, and the police were ON the alert. The
crowd was driven hack, but immediately renewed
the charge with IL fearful yell. The police used
their slaves. Many were wounded. and some Of
the rioters were taken into custody. This fight
lasted for about tel minutes. One or two police
men were dismounted, but the police had the best
of the encounter.
1t WAS evident the gates could not be forced,
and the mob under the direction of their leaders,
made an attack upon the iron palliSadc between
the gates. Trat this was Il previously concerted
movement is evident, because the sumo thing WAS
done, ut nearly the same moment, at Marble
Arch, in Park Lane and Ticcadilly. For a mo-
ment the mob was 0afied. y cart and Il cab were
seized and backed against the paIliside, and it
gave way. As soon as Il break was made, the
work was easy. IN less time than it takes To
! write. about 800 yards of ~palIisade were torn down
and the mob flowed into the park.
The police were in danger of being surrounded
and retired into the park. They were at this
point about 500 strong but what could they do
against Il crowd tlat was not less than 90 900
strong? \ severe suUtilc cnsued IIhe police
were getting the worst of 1t stones were thrown {;
Sir X. Wayne was wounded en- the head Capt.
Fraser, the Deputy Commissioner, was pulled of
his horse and roughly handled. The mob vas
elated by its triumph, and the position of the po-
lice was critical. At that instant Il troop of foot
guards appeared. The mob chccred the soldiers
and fell back, but when the guards formed an
open space the attack on the police was renewed.
Then the Horse Guards appeared on the scene.
and again the mob cheered and fell back. !
thought that all was now over, but | was mis-
taken. \ little while and the mob was riotous as
ever. Some more troops, both horse and foot,
appeared on the ground, and still the crowd kept
pressing on the police. At length the troops
charged upon the crowd. There was Il cry that
the troops would fire, and then the crowd began
70 dispense.
1t was now dark, and the excitement was ire
mendous. 1t was reported that many persons
were killed, but the report was not true. Many
were severely wounded, but none were killed l.
was nearly y O'Clock before the park was cleared
by the military, and the crowd amused itself by
breaking the windows of the houses in the neigh
bOrhOod. About sixty persons were taken TO the
hospitals, and about as many were arrested. The
magistrates in some Gases fined the prisoners 40s.,
and in the Others sent them to prison for u
month.
On Tuesday night the rioting was renewed.
The mob pulled up the flowers and tore up the
shrubs in the park. At night they broke up the
windows Of some of the clubs and of many pri-
vate houses. The house OF Mr.. Di>raeli was at
tackled bat not much damaged.
On "Wednesday Mr.. Walpole received u deputa-
ton from the Reform League. In the evening
Mr.. Beales issued a plaspd stating that Il meet