115

H.—2.

119. Eapidity of locomotion is their chief use—getting about quickly from one part to another? —Yes. 120. The Chairman.] You have not used bicycles for the Force at all yet ?—No. Men have bicycles of their own. 121. Colonel Hume.] I would like to ask Mr. Pender if he recollects Constable William McGill being transferred into my office ? —Yes. 122. Do you remember if I consulted you before I took him in ?—I have some recollection of it. I think you did ; I am not sure. 123. Do you recollect me saying to you one day, " I want a good man for the office ; can you give me one " ?—There was something of the kind. I could not recollect what it was, but it is more than likely that is what would be said. On taking a man into the office you would be almost sure to consult me. I have some recollection of it, but lam not certain. 124. You have no reason to suppose that he was not a good man ?—No ; he was a very good man—a very good constable and a good clerk. 125. Then, of course, you cannot tell whether there was any political influence about it or not ? —No ; I know nothing about it. 126. Do you recollect a circular being issued about non-commissioned officers lecturing the men, and the Inspector lecturing the men ?—Yes. 127. Has that been carried out in Wellington?— Yes, as far as it is possible. I have paraded the men every month, and lectured them, and sometimes at night. I always speak to them about their duties, giving evidence, and other things; and when they are going out at night I speak to them very often. 128. The Chairman.] Do you consider this system of training sufficient for the purpose of training them as constables ?—No, I do not. 129. Colonel Hume.] Do you think there is a single constable in your district who has abstained from interfering at any point where he ought to have interfered, from want of knowledge of his duty ? —I think we have had some small things —small matters, nothing that came before the public. There were some small things, but very few. 130. Nothing of any great importance, you think ?—I do not recollect anything. 131. In choosing these plain-clothes constables I suppose you would not consider for a moment whether a man was junior or senior if you thought he was the best man for that duty ?—Sometimes it is on account of his being a junior man—a man recently taken on, a stranger—that he is selected for plain-clothes duty. For instance, there was a sheep-stealing case about the time that Cox was sent to me, and, he being a stranger, I thought he would be a good man to send up country. Of course, I instructed him before he left. 132. And if you had a big case on, I suppose, if you considered the junior detective or the junior plain-clothes constable would deal with the case better than the chief detective, you would send the junior plain-clothes constable ?—Yes. You must use discretion in all these things. In connection with the police, as in everything, discretion is a great thing. 133. Do you remember the Satherley case, at Blenheim?— Yes. 134. Whom did you send over for that ? —I first sent Cox. Then Cox became known, and I thought I would try Broberg, who was a stranger up here ; and then I went myself. 135. Was it not a fact that the Blenheim papers wrote, after Cox had been over there for a week or so making inquiries, finding fault with the department for not sending a detective over ?— The papers were abusing the department for not sending a detective over, while Cox was there all the time. Cox was living there at a boarding-house. Then the papers stated that they had been misrepresenting the matter; that they had discovered that Cox was there. 136. That would tend to make you think he was making his inquiries in a satisfactory manner by proving that he was not known over there ? —He is a very energetic good man is Cox. He is not well up in evidence, but he is getting to learn it now, and he is an honest, straightforward man, in my opinion. 137. Have you any reason to regret having picked out Nixon and Cox for plain-clothes duty since they have been at work?—No, I have not. Nixon is a good man; he is turning out very well. You must get steady men for plain-clothes duty—sober, steady men, that is the great thing. 138. Do you know in your district anywhere of any constables occupying subordinate positions who have served with ability and distinction, while others with nothing to recommend them but political influence are placed in positions which they are utterly incapable of fulfilling ? —No, I do not know of any case. 139. Do you know of any disorganization in the Force in your district ?—No. I am quite certain there is no disorganization. 140. I suppose you have got men with grievances, have you not?—We always have them. They are in every Police Force. There are " black sheep " too, in spite of all you can do. The same remark applies to every Force in my experience in the world. 141. You were recently in England?— Yes. 142. I suppose you saw a good deal of the London Police, and discipline of that Force ? —Yes, and of the Irish Constabulary. 143. Do you know if there are any men in those Forces who have got grievances ? —Oh, men always have in every Force. 144. Colonel Pitt.] Do you know of your own knowledge ? —Not during my Home trip, but I was in the Irish Constabulary myself at one time. 145. The Chairman.] You did not hear any complaints from them while you were in England ? —No, Ido not think so. I would not be in the way of that sort of thing. 146. Mr. Poynton.] When you were serving yourself in the Irish Constabulary there were any amount of grievances ?—Oh, yes ; and in Victoria too. This sort of thing is always occurring amongst police, soldiers, and everybody else.