THE DISASTROUS DINNIE.

NZ Truth, Issue 234, 18 December 1909, Page 4

THE DISASTROUS DINNIE.

"Truth" has perused Dinnie's reply tothe report; of the , Royal Commissioner that enguked into the administration of, the police force, a. copy of which was; supplied to every member of Parliament. A careful perusal of this reply has convinced "Truth" that Dinnie, with his usual lack gf tact, has blundered once* again. It is"' quite an easy thing to ai--iege bias against a lioyal Coaunissioaer, but it is another matter to substantiate that allegation. While "Truth" has n o desire to unduly prolong the controversy between Police Commissioner and Royal Commissioner, it is, however, desirable, to make the matter perfectly plain.. Mr Bishop, : the chief Stipendiary Magistrate of Christchurch, one of the oldest and, most experienced Magistrates o! the Dominion, was, after a long crusade on the part, of "Truth" against Dinnie 4 s inepfc administration, and immediately following Mr Arnold's indictment of tJx» police, force on the floor of the House, ap- . pointed by the Government to enquire into the police force. Mr Dinnie claims he asked for' a Koyal Commissioner. Unfortunately, for Dinnie, after what Mr Aruold had said, nothing brft a Jttoyal Commission coald have been appoiaied. Noiiody took exception to the appourfcm<snt of Mr Bishop ; Mr Dinnie hitaself.. according to the Minister for Just-ice and Attorney-General, acquiesced- m Mr Bishop's appointment, The Commission then started on its loag voyage oi dis-i co very throughout the Dominion. Mr Bishop too*. evidence ererywhere it was available. Right throughout that Con> mission he tolerated vrth judicial calm—, ness and fonhear&ace, the unfortunate and tactlc-ss conduct o? Conimissioner Dinnie, who xereiveii marc latitude tban he was. entitled to because his reputation as administrator was at stake. Mr Diniiie was, if anything;, partial to Binnie. Then came the adverse report ; the scathing criticism of I'innie's awful administration. Far better had it been if Dinnie had then handed m his resignation. After his . at&uinistration b a d been conderaned, Dinnie formulated his reply. He straighway accused Mr Bishop of bias; of having approached his labors as Royal C'orumifMouer prejudiced against the man on trial. That reply Dinnie wanted to have jii-aced on the table of the House. The Goyemmeat very properly refused to do anything- of the. sort, showing thereby that it still retained m Mr Bishop the confidence it has always reposed m him.

"Truth" does not propose to review what Dumie has set forth m bis reply. Suffice it, however, to say that tiie head of the poiicc very discreetly avoided any reference m his reply t 0 Mr Bishop's most, important findings. Dinnie, m his attitude to tlie Royal Oormcaissioner, is impudent and impertinent, and m characterising Mr Bisiicp as biased and prejudiced against him, the Police Coramissio:i£r crowned the long succession of tactless acts of ' which be lias been guilty. Why the Government is delaying to take demtite action has been the sub-, ject of much newspaper comment throughout the Dominion. The retention of Dinnie as Police Commissioner, with such a report against him, is out of all Question. His career as adnwEistiator has been an ignominious one, and Mr Bishop's report justifies the long crusade that "Truth" entered into against Dinnio for incompetence and ineptitude as head of trie Police Department. . The reply that Dinnie made to Mr Bishop's condemnatory report is an insult to the honor of an honorable magistrate, whose, position entitles him to the respect of the community. The Government, hy re&siag to place that' report 'on the table of the House, indicatsd , as plainly as possible that it could not consent to Dinnie making another exhibition of himself. Already a number of Mr Bishop's recommendations have been acted upon. "Truth" awaits Sir Joseph Ward's utterances concerning Dinnie. That Dinnio will be relieved of his responsibilities there can be no doubt. Who will.-, succeed him does not just now concern "Truth." '

In another part of this issue, "Truth" publishes the' facts of a rather aggravated assault committed on a railway porter of Te Horo by a man named Hood, who was, m addition to a fine of £5 for this assault, ordered to pay another line of £5 for using obscene language. This man Hood is an ex-constable, whose escapades while a police officer m Wellington, earned his dismissal. He was also selected by Mr Arnold as an instance of how blackguards were received into the police force with little or no enquiry into their previous history. Mr Bishop adversely commented on the fact that Hood, although his misconduct Corned his dismissal from the force, received "a general good character," Remarkable to relate, when before Mr A. D. Thorcsoa, S.M., at Otaki recently, HHod'so o d's solicitor put m his police certificates as a guarantee of good character, and no doubt "the generally good character" from Commissioner Dinnie was included. Again, let "Truth" a-fl u ote from the Dunedin "Star" : — "Even yet, it would appear, there is not adequate care taken to prevent 'undesirables' becoming guardians of the public safety. If we have not been misinformed, there was a narrow escape the other day from the force receiving as a member a convicted thief, whose full name, age, and appearance had been duly published m the . 'Police Gazette.' Yet this individual was accepted among the last batch of probationers and served the requisite term m the training barracks at Wellington. It was not due to Mr Dinnie's foresight that this man was not wearing; uniform, and ; was not put on street duty. Evidently he was given away by some one who knew his antecedents, and thus another scandal was averted. Is the Minister of Justice aware of this little incident ?" Every circumstance, if taken into consideration, seems to point to tfca faction that the retention of Dinnie is dangerous. The man Mmself has not the "gumption" to see that he is making matters worse by hanging on to his billet. Others see. it, and he should, therefore, without further ceremony, be relieved of his connection with the N.Z. Police Force.