BILL SYKES AND CO. The Firm's Immunity from Harm.

Free Lance, Volume II, Issue 74, 30 November 1901, Page 8

BILL SYKES AND CO. The Firm's Immunity from Harm.

AND the police force of New Zealand consists of intelligent, stalwart, and, for the most part, highly educated men, who do ci edit to a country whose administration is so admirable, and worthy of copy That is what an American paper thinks about our "foorce." Said paper possibly had files to hand in which it read that our police had had an epidemic of virtue, had been death on Chinamen, bookmakers, and vagrants, and had an eye lifted for burglars and promotion — particularly promotion Those active and intelligent police have recently been particularly busy as guardians of public morals, waylayers of the unllluminated bike and runners-in of the unwary "vag ' In the meantime, from Auckland, from Dunedin, from Chnstchurch, come news of burglaries, the perpetrators of which have all got off scot free with thenbooty * - + Possibly, the burglars are of the same gang which recently gave the police such interesting clues — and nothing else — and, having rested upon the proceeds of their former depredations, they are emboldened to once more try their hand. The man with no lawful visible means of support is "doing time," while the gentleman with the jimmy and unlawful means of living on the fat of the land is doing his best to live up to his fortune Possibly, the police at Chnstchurch, where a burglar, in broad daylight, drugged a man, and robbed his house, were poking round the street drains, watchfully expecting expectoration from pedestrians, or distributing tracts incidental to public health ■» + * Anyhow, the amateur "druggist" and his spoil got clear away, and the police are in pursuit we expect ere this Probably, if they are not on the track, they will get their orders to make all necessary efforts towards the capture of the gentleman, with a proviso not to bother if he confines his operations and his drugs to other cities Burglars are scaree — Chinamen, bookmakers, and other small fry are ready to hand, and they don t interfere with the meals of the force, and prevent them having their usual recreation at the regular times We are quite aware that the police force of New Zealand has m its ranks, as the Yankee paper says, intelligent men, but, judging by results, their intelligence and their constitution require long and frequent spells