Norwich bulletin., 1920-03-12

Dyer was at length given authority to take whatever steps were necessary to reestabl.sh civil control. This was on April 13. General Dyer according ly considered it his duty to dis perse prohibited and unlawful meet ings, such as had been held by the natives for some time in the Jappe- walian B2Sh, an open space. regu- lariy used for public meetings with houses on all four s.des and three or four passages leading into it. The report continues in substance:
 Genersi Dyer was not able immedi- ately to provide for the purpose a larger force than fifty Indian troops together with forty Gurkhas armed with l1ukris cd knives. Accompanied to the Jappewailian Bagh. He had with him two armored cars in re- serve. ut the lane through which he entered was too narrow to admit them and they were left in the stree. outside. He took no machine guns with him.
 When he arrived, at about , o'clock 1 he found that the crowd had swollen to several thousands, and 1t was be- ng addressed by speaker on a raised platform. His troops deployed on | either side of the entrance, the ground i on which they stood being some feet 1 higher than the general level of the
 enclosure. He did not order the l crowd to disperse, but proceeded to 1 take action to disperse it at once by [ fire. There were 1850 rounds fired. ] fire being directed on the crowds not i on individuals, and restricted from | time to time where the crowds were thickets. The ammunition used was
 the ordinary .303 army cartridge. On | the conclusion Of the firing the troope retired, the number of casualties were
 not counted.
 A subsequent inquiry indicated that about 290 persons were killed. Il
 was asserted that these included many
 small children, but inquiries have
 only been able to establish the deatf !; Of one boy under 10 and four under
 15 years.
 Martial law was proclaimed at Am ritsar on April 15 and its admins
 tration seems to have provoked a se-
 ries of complaints, against which the
 Punjab government has found 1t nec-
 essary to defend itself.
 The first charge is that relating tc
 the Kucha Tawarian, a street in whicf ! Miss Sherwood, an English woman doctor was nearly beaten to death bl infuriated natives. The general of
 ficer commanding the British troop . in Amritsar closed the street to pub : lie traffic. placing a picket at eacl | end, and ordered that if anyone pass |. ing it would have to do so on hi 5 hands and knees|
 IL was clearly understood by every 2 one that it did not~apply to womer The order was actually in force be U tween April 19 and 2A, and in a about fifty persons compiled with th = directions to go through on all four e The sergeant in charge of the picke - subsequently, stated that one ma 2. crawled through three times. and ha '- to be stopped from giving further ex l. hibitions.
 l. A number of triangles (for fioggins -- were erected in the city and 2s me d sentenced by the summary courts 1 tt be fiogged. The only ioggings ths O could be considered to be in any wa
 of @ public nature were six men wh ,t were fiogged in tho street in whic )f Miss Sherwood was assaulted. Thes l. men were implicated in the attack c y. Miss Sherwood. Others were whippt le at area headquarters. at the poli' le or. in private.
 The major charges arising out l. the disorder were tried by the Ma l. tial Law Commissions. sixty-two ca D. es in all being put before them, il al volving 29S accused. Of these 2