, 1886-06-12
The Belfast Riots.

BELFAST, June ll.-lne rlotlng las
night was less disastrous than that OF
Wednesday. After their days labor ha,
ended, thousands of workmen gathered il
the vicinity Of Bowers Hill police station
They execrated the police and cried out
we will have ten lives for every one o
the murdered" The country police wer,
then withdrawn and some well known
were sent to reason with the mob. The
latter demanded the withdrawal of all the
police. Archbishop Loure and several
Presbyterian clereymen, after this i'm
plored the mob to dispense. Their adj
dresses proved useless, and even while the
clergymen were speaking, the mob kept
up IL desultory stone throwing at the po-
lice, and one stone struck a divine squarely
In the face, i%njuring him seriously. Capt.
Lestrange, resident magistrate, was struck
by a brickbat on the head. When the
preachers ceased, the mob surged up to
the gates of the barracks and deied the
police to come out and take a square
fight. Things went on in this way until
about 10 o'clock, when t yo troops of dra-
goons galloped up and were followed by
300 infantry. These men have been under
arms for eleven hours. The mob was for
the moment powerless with surprise and
dispersed. The runaways SOON, however,
became ashamed of themselves and re
turned to the scene, warmly cheering the
soldiers. The latter had taken complete
possession of the streets around the bar
racks and effectively cordoned them. The
mob, realizing the impregnability of the
police position, now departed in sections,
cursing the pope, denouncing home rule
and singing 1.-THE Orange Lily" and
Rule Britannia"
While all this was going on at Bowers
Hill barracks, a mob had taken possession
of York street. They first concentrated
in front of a wine store kept by a Catho-
lie named McKenna. The building was
soon seized and wrecked and all Me
Kenna's stock of wines was emptied in
the street. This mob then proceeded to
McKlosky's tavern. The police had taken
warning and got there first. A fight then
took place and was waced with despera-
ton on both sides. The police fired six
rounds of buckshot at the rioters, but the
mob finally drove them away and smashed
McKlosky's tavern to pieces, distributing
wines and liquors to all who would drink
or carry the liquor away. Several of the
rioters were wounded in this fight, and
were left helpless in the street by their
comrades, who, maddened with liquor and
excitement, rushed to the work of wreck
and pillage. \ number of taverns were
destroyed, and all their stocks of wines,
whisky and beer thrown out to the crowd
in the streets, who drank it r%avenously or
carried it away in jugs and buckets. In
the latter work scores of women and chill
dren were engaged all the time the rioting
lasted. Towards midnight the mob, after
in the vicinity, returned to McKlosky's
and set it on fire. The glare attracted the
police, who reformed and marched down
there to put out the fiie and save the
town from conflagration. They had to
fight for every foo of the way they made.
At times when the flames fared high the
sight of the officers scattered among the
mob filling the street from house to house,
each officer fighting on Lis W account,
and all pressing in the same direction,
every man shouting or c%ursing, women
and children at windows shrieking and
g%esticulating, was terrible. Finally the
police got together and carried on the
battle with buckshot. This eventually
scattered the mob, and the fire at Me-
Klosky's was put out before it could be
extended. McKlosky and his family and
a number of his Catholic neigh.ors were
rescued from the fury of the mob by an
Orangeman, who took thew1to his house
and there gave them safe refuge.