The Globe. THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1876.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 562, 6 April 1876, Page 2

The Globe. THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1876.

The Police! The Police!! always the police, we are in this city certainly blessed with a force so ample that there is little if any chance of an offender against the laws of the land or of the laws of the Provincial Government or of the Municipal ByeLaws, escaping. But whilst admitting the efficacy of the police as a whole, and that they conscienciously endeavour to carry out their duties, it certainly behoves us to remark that there is a great deal too much police interference, too much self-assertion and a certain amount of look downishnesa —if we may use the expression—upon their part on peaceable citizens who cannot lounge about the streets dressed in as expensive blue cloth as the public supplies them with. We find not fault with the payment they receive, it is no doubt well earned. It must be a very monotonous existence that of pacing up and down certain districts, and this sameness must occasionally be broken, or otherwise it would probably increase the patients of the doctor to the force. We believe that herein lies one of the secrets of the superabundant zeal so frequently exercised by the members of the force. We quote Mr. Justice Johnson’s words —referring to Upjohn’s case—he said, “It was an ex- “ tremely improper thing for the police “ to interfere in cases where no action “ was taken by the principal parties “ concerned. If detectives and others “ went about trying to pick out “ offences of this or a similar kind, “ they ran a great chance of bringing “ the police force into deserved “ odium.” We have also the case before us of Mr.Truckle,who was charged with supplying brandy on a Sunday upon representations being made to him, that it was really needed for medicinal purposes, which was no doubt rightly dismissed by the Magistrate, as it appeared to be lonajide. The Home papers are full of instances, wherein the police have been over exerting themselves, and certainly manufacturing cases, and the press of this colony records instances innumerable of their over officiousness. The Thames Evening Star says : —“ Hard swearing and bru- “ tality seem to be predominant “ features of the Auckland Armed “ Constabulary,” and “the swearing “of some of the Auckland police “ is now getting in some cases nothing “ short of a public scandal,” and goes on to give a summary of recent cases in which such conduct was apparent, the Star does not mince matters at all, but publishes the names of the officers. In the same paper of another date is reported the case of a policeman of the name of Stanger, who charged a publican with keeping his licensed house open after the legal time; but being asked by the defendant whether “he did “ not go by Lipsey’s time a fort- “ night since, when he ordered defen- “ dant’s house to be closed, and “ before the clock struck ten “ went round to the kitchen to “ court the girl, and was kicked “ outshowed unmistakable signs of chagrin. We could go on enumerating these cases, but have no wish to fill up space needlessly; our purpose is to bring the subject of the over action of the police under public notice. The Christchurch papers teem with the cases brought before the Magistrates Court, and we should say that the amount of fines inflicted for unintentional infractions of the very numerous enactments in force at the present time, must in the aggregate amount to a very large sum of money. We should think that it was the duty of some of the numerous governing bodies under which we are allowed to exist, to furnish every voter and ratepayer will a full aud detailed statement of the various laws and bye-laws, with the penalties attached to each. That the public should be expected to bo acquainted with all ramifications of Acts of Parliament, Police Ordinances and Municipal bye-laws, without being furnished with a comprehensive guide, is to our mind, a simple piece of absurdity.