Grey River Argus SATURDAY, September 29th, 1934. N.Z. STORM TROOPS.

Grey River Argus, 29 September 1934, Page 4

Grey River Argus SATURDAY, September 29th, 1934. N.Z. STORM TROOPS.

The complaint about departmental rule being; 1 timed by Cabinet Ministers into a dictatorship will not be allayed by their latest proposal to recruit a second police force. If they have any real excuse for it, they certainly have kept it a secret. Their plea of economy is mere camouflage., Otherwise, why not quadruple the economy by making the new force 1400 strong instead of 350? On the other hand, if the regular ' force is too small, why not make up the deficiency and pay the men properly? The statement that 350 extra men may be needed during the Royal visit is manifestly no excuse for setting up a second force permanently and spending on it, £4,000 a year. For the regular force the new departure has a significance that is sinister. That, may be what is meant by the talk of economy. But more is indicated than merely the thin end of the wedge for a lowerpaid sort of service. The handling of crowds is one object in view, but if the auxiliaries remain after the Royal visit, the question arises as to what particular crowds the Government has in its ultimate, view. The silence on that point is a sound reason for the conclusion that no genuine justification has been given for the innovation. If there is a fear that the rule of the Coalition is destined to require 350 additional police in the not distant future, the public ought not to be left in rhe dark. The suggestion that.

the auxiliaries will in the popular eye appear like storm troopers is not far fetched. They will scarcely obtain the same public respect as the regular police. If used as a force to oppose the working class, they might come to enjoy no respect at all. Everybody will be at a loss in the meantime io know just what, the Government is driving at. Instead of inspiring any greater sense of security, this second line will be the source rather of suspicion. The payment of £1 per month as a retainer may not serve to place the recipients in a different categorv to

“specials” in the estimation of the majority of the populace. A policeman’s job should be a full time job. To say that the idea has been taken from oversea leaves the rase no heller. What its eventual consequences might be can only be left to conjecture. Its immediate effect will not be any greater feeling of security, but rather a sense of provocation.