Evening journal., 1901-06-20
iBOERS' FRIENDS >s
WE'RE DINORDERLY
Surging Crowd 50 Great That
Many tainted
Speeches Made and Resolutions Gar
ried Amid Much Comment and
Excitement Police Busy

London .hne 20.-Thousands Of peo-
pie began collecting outside of Queens
Hall two hours before the advertised
time of the pro Boer meeting held there
last night. When the doors were
finally opened the pressure of the surg
ing mob was so great that many PEG
pie tainted. There was considerable
disturbance and windows were broken
during the attempts made by persons
without tickets to gain admission.
Some of these we're expelled.
In spite of the vigilance of the pro.
moters of the meeting many jingoes
gained an entrance TO the hall, which
was crammed from floor to ceiling
Much hooting mingled with cheers.
greeted the delegates upon their ar
rival, and during the evening the de-
livery of speeches was attended with
some difficulty from the same cause
Mr.. Henry Labouchere presided at
the meeting, and besides j. w. Sauer,
circumstance of public works OF
Cape Colony, many prominent pro
Beers, including Mr.. John Dillon. lead
er of the Nationalist party, Mr. David
Lloyd-George. Welsh Nationalist, Mr..
James Keir-Hardie, Socialist. and Sir
Wilfred Lawson, were present.
During the meeting fully 10000 jim.
goes gathered outside the Queens
Hall. in Regent street, blocked traffic
and necessitated relays of policemen
to keep a semblance of order in the
crowd. Several men mounted the par
apet Of the Langham hotel. and waving
Union Jacks proposed resolutions
against the pro-Boer agitation, which
they declared to have been carried
when the meeting in Queens Hall ter
minated
The usual speeches were made and
the usual resolutions were carried
amid much commotlon and excitement
The resolutions included an amend
ment in favor of the complete inde
pendence of the Boer republics, pro
posed by Baron Battersea, for the
Radicals. which did not meet with the
approval of the Labouchere party. The
meeting ended with the singing of thS
Marsellaise.
Several collisions occurred between
the crowd outside the hall and the 20
lice and the latter had the creates
difficulty in handling the assemblage
No casualties we're reported.
The Daily Mail asserts that the pro
moters Of the Queens Hall meeting SO
cured the services of coo or 200 "stal
warts" as stewards. There gangs Of
foreign rufians" were found inside the
hall, according to the Daily Mail, ready
to keep order and eject the malcon
tents. The "stalwarts" were drawn
from the low class of foreign clubs in
Soho Many of them were armed witt
sticks. broom handles and knuckle
busters. and the Daily Mail says they
acted with unrestrained violence IN
excluding Royalists and throwing oui
undesirable persons.
All the Loyalist papers publish arti
cles protesting against the "effrontery'
of the Queens Hall meeting.
It is generally admitted that the zoe
stewards were recruited from among
stalwart gas workers, market porters
etc. The Standard declares there is
no excuse for these Queens Hal
rhetoricians and their kind. From the
leader of the opposition downwards
they are as much the enemy of the
country as if they We're In the field
against it with rifles in their hands.
The Chronicles editorial is in a
milder strain, and says: 1T was un
doubtedly a packed meeting. The
stewards were curiously recruited, well
drilled and suitably armed to eject dis
seniors. But the promoters were not
to be blamed for packing the meeting
which, however, served the useful pur
pose of letting the cat out of the bag
as to the real policy behind the move
ment, namely, to restore independence
10 the two republics"