23

H.—l6b.

J. F. ARNOLD.

the members of the Force, and one of the regulations is considered to be very unfair. It was that clerks in the Police Department having ten years' service might be promoted to be sergeants on application. Ido not say that what lam now going to outline is actually done, but if a constable has been nine years in the service, and the higher officials wish to get him promoted, they have only to take him off beat, place him in the office, and in twelve months he would get promotion. It is felt very strongly that the clerical staff should be placed upon a different footing from that of the men who are doing the active practical work of the Police Force, and that there should be no regulation by which a man who is doing clerical work and who has not had practical experience should he entitled to get promotion over the heads of those who are doing the harder and more practical work. If it is convenient, I intend to allude to these promotions under the letters of the alphabet, and will hand in to the Commission a full list of the names immediately. "A " was promoted to be sergeant on the Ist March, 1905. When in a certain district up north he was transferred on account of being mixed up in a drunken row in which a young man who was a draper lost his life. He was transferred to Auckland, and.since then he has been promoted to the position of sergeant over 116 senior constables. "B" joined on the Ist July, 1899, and was promoted on the Ist October, 1906, over 273 men senior to him. "C" joined on the Ist April, 1903, and was promoted to be sergeant on the Ist April, 1909, when there was another man who had joined in 1902 --twelve months previously—and who had been passed over, although he hid done extraordinarily good work in the Force. I have some of his record here before me. "D " joined in 1897, and was promoted on the Ist April, 1906, over the heads of 182 seniors. "E " joined on the 19th September, 1898, and was promoted in 1908 over 221 who were senior to him. "F " joined on the 16th January, 1896, and wis promoted on the Ist April this year over 140 senior to him. " G " joined on the 15th January, 1896, and was promoted on the 16th March, 1909, over 139 seniors. "H " joined on the 13th September, 1890, and was promoted on the 15th February this year over 100 seniors. "I " joined on the 14th November, 1895, and was promoted on the 15th February, 1909, over 136 seniors. "J " joined on the 10th October, 1891, and was promoted on the Ist July, 1908, over 108 seniors. "X " joined on the 18th April, 1896, and was promote*, on the 10th June, 1908, over 154 seniors. "I. " joined in December, 1898, and was promoted in 1907 over the heads of more than 200 seniors. We know r there is an examination that constables recently have been asked to sit for so that they may prepare for promotion, and this is supposed to help them to promotion. As a matter of fact, however, numbers of the men —the great majority of them—never have passed this examination, and some who have passe* it have not been promoted. I wish the Commission to understand the reason I have not mentioned these men's names—l do not say they arc not qualified to fill the positions—l do not know; but I do say, and it is held by the members of the Force—l do say it seems to me absurd to say there is not one man out of 100 or 150 or out of 233 who is qualified. Surely there must be one out of that number, or else the Police Force of the Dominion is in a very bad state indeed. Sir Joseph Ward also referred to the fact that a certain man named Dart was promoted because he had passed ft solicitor's examination. As a matter of fact, he was promoted over the heads of about 300 others, and his case was not quoted by me in Parliament, nor do I quote it this morning, because if there is a case —I do not say there is—that could justify the Department in making a man a sergeant simply because he had passed a solicitor's examination—l do not say this —it was the case of , Dart. And as he is now doing the educational part of the instruction of the recruits in Wellington no doubt he is well qualified for the work he is doing. I only make this allusion because Sn Joseph Ward mentioned the name in the House. Mr. Dinnie: You make no complaint about this case? Witness: No. The Commissioner: When you say you make no complaint do you mean that his having passed the examination was sufficient excuse for promoting him over 300 others? Witness: I do not say so, but I say if there were a case that might be justifiable this would be the one. in conclusion, 1 have told the Commission what I consider the public mind to be in regard to the Force, and I have told you what I think the feeling is internally amongst members of the Force themselves; and I am sure the Commission and Mr. Dinnie, together witli all, will be very glad to have this condition of affairs removed if it exists as I have said I believe it does. How is it to be done? In the first place, if you are to restore public confidence you must remove the old larrikin element from the Police Force, if it is there. The right class of men must be induced to join the Police Force, and if you are going to have the right class of men in the Force your conditions must be such as to attract men of that class. I need not point out to this Commission what a policeman is and what he has to be. He is always on duty seven days a week. It, may be said he gets paid for it ;so he does, but he does not get paid double for Sundays. If he is on night duty he has to be up in the morning, if he has a case to attend in the Court: he must be always ready to be called upon, day and night, in case of rows, fires, or anything of that kind; he has to handle dead bodies and lunatics, and—l was going to say filthy drunks, but this is so common as to be not worth mentioning: his work is not the most pleasant in the world. His pay is 7s. 6d. a day—that of an ordinary labourer ; and yet he has to be a model man if he is to come up to the requirements of the Department. That is the remuneration he gets to commence with. If he is a married man, speaking of constables, he gets Is. towards his house-rent. He has to live within a quarter of a mile of the depot, and every one knows the difference in rent if you have to live close to the congested population! He has twelve days' holiday on full pay every year; but a man in an ordinary commercial house would have ten days on full pay, and in addition all the holidays that are going. When a policeman is on leave, if he is travelling by train or steamer, and is called upon by a guard or other person to interfere with drunks, <xc, he has to leave his wife and children, and is on duty, although supposed to be away on leave. If a man is married and has children —rightly so, we do not complain —if a transfer is necessary, he has to pack up