"BIG BILL."

NZ Truth, Issue 161, 18 July 1908, Page 5

"BIG BILL."

SOUT HUNP'S §ASNTLY

SERGEANT.

k Bulky Battler lor ProhihHiqji.

Peculiar Praiikp qf m Unpopular

Policeman,

Time arid agitffl i! T{uth" has been called upon to expose fraud, to preyent inju§tjpe, and 'to plead the causp of the Working man,' whose employers are unreasonable or qY^rh^afing. There haye beep jnaiiy occasions when thege criticisms cp^cerned the polices-cases where pipn j&^ye been hjirshly done by, and cages again pf flagrant' br'eaphes of regulations. l_sveryb,o4.y knows, that theppUce aj:e no? a '^bolly happy family, and that m every police district soiriewnpre there is tha.t type of man who is left severely alqne, whose naihe 'stinks 'm the mouth, and who; is' always' to* be found standpig . out when the hat corpus round q'r when, sociability looks m. T^ese individuals have repeatedly been pfpyedtp beiitiderhand m action, crawlers arid spies, If they are merely on the eight bob a day mark their •lives' are npfr all sunshine, but whep- such men put on the "stripes they are . more impmiiie from the "weli-earned discomforts previously d)_(le4 but to, them at every turn." :-„ '..-..'■';., ',' V V' ..'..,-. Ndw, away down South ip the Ipvereargill Police Stas on ttyere, is prie whq^e career and disposition are matters of UP" pbrnmph interest to the f orcp. His name '! Everybody knows him. and his coterie 61 choice official friends.l Sergeant 'Mathieson; and popularity aire an impossible cpmhin-' afjipn. In the^r least hostile moments' tihe ,meh of the Station call him ' "Biff BILL,'? but Vjien stung by some fresh imposition or hit of malice, their vehemence is >such as can only be whispered m a public place. Bill is not .quite 45 years of age and. has been m the fojrce. for twenty, years. Prior to joining he was earning a 'wagefrpm an Invercargill drapery" firjn, •The job did not suit him, or-r-to ppt it precisely-— he did not suit the job long. On passing intp the constables'' ranks, he was stationed first at, Wellington, later ■■'m. Dunedin and Auckland. Erqm the. latter pTaee he was transferred sputh to Tapariui, about ten years ago. NorX/icense was "m vogue m Tafcinui m those days, 'and the big ' chap commenced to pose pro? hibitionist '; up to the present day his public attitude has been against the libver'al sale ql liquor.. Tapanui specially ret: members the sergeant on account °f I'M kerasene case ineidep-ti The box labelled '•Kerosene .contained whisky, a fact Which greatly startled Tapappi people and was discussed at sitting.! of the ilpyal Commission appointed to yinqjiirc into the working of the police fqree. 'Frqm Tapa-. riui the bnlky hnndle >vas Packed *o Luplsden, and here, - too, the prohtbitipnist iri hfini was further nurtured and' displaypd. to the 'people. A story i§ told <tf him that" on qnp occasion lie. reclined c v omfpr^; aMy m a first-clas^ railwisly carriage anu whes_ the guard came a^ong produced on,ly his' second-class police pass". The plea that ''fi was always dpne? fell on . deaf ears, and ifftie sergtta.pt had .perforce \ to ta_ke himself and' his shame iptp the ad- ' joining se.cpnd-cl^ss car. Another story tpl'd of him is that one- day he returnee^ ■to Liumsdei} frorp a station up the line, and left -.'.'-'

A BROWN <PAPER PARCEL m the hat rack. ;, A railway officialnqticed this, " aitwf, snatching up theneglectedpa.tr ce_, upwaPP,exl it* taking out .1ft?o Wrbis&y bqtties. W|th qhe m each hand, he '^ap:, shotffihg, aitex the sergeant, Who was pb* Kged t^? receive Ms p^perty ip the face qf the aS-SeinJily oh the railway p|atf orin, Of course," there "ipay have heen kprjasqite ip the I_p*t.#. _Cn#tistih&9 : people haS«enot yet forgotten their one-time wsfaiflian:! Dunedin next had' r a 'turn of lVlatme's>h, .wbp now rahke^ as' sergeant. &{je£e \vas storm y weather m Dfiiriedin durihig the fif_it fe^y weeks, ahd Bu.T made pyixe of respect by conspicuously adorning the sleeVe oHiis top cqat" nis fiew and pretty stripes. No otniea:, sergeant, of coucsg, ever adopted tliis, and our wor r thy dropped the practice quite suddenly. Details are^'alVays unsavqry. When Setgeant, Bowden \Vent North frdm Inyercal'^ll, Mathiesoh got the uncqveted vacancy." It is now twq years slh'ce Ihyercaxgiirsaw that day. Although last on the promotion list of the sergeants, he was the only man who would take the Invercargill job. By the Way, following on this transfer, Lumsden people bene-: fitted by a new ' O /

SET OF COMMUNION CUPS from the good sergeant. It is ' only witpr m the last few months that Big Bill has ■really blossomed 'put. His actions are curiously bpuhfl up with the doings of . another worthy official whose more responsible, stewardship will provide substance for future inquiry; Bill'is always to the fore when niembers of Parliament and other powers arrive. in the town — the railway station has ever been' a favorite haunt. He has quarrelled and had angry words with his men, even while they have been \on duty' in the street. From morn till night his rqqpi is ,beseiged by Prohibition leaders, at odd times by a wellknown brewer. As a rule, his manner- m Court is oyerbe.trin-j; and to witnesses most objectionable. He bullies them m suph a relentless way that the magijstrate. is compdled very often to interfere, 'x ne men m the station 'arc looking still for a word tq say 1 m his la voir, jjiorc than one (Constable has agßlied" for "and ofi-. tampd transfer from Thver car gill, faking some plausUSe excuse just to he put of mo.st uncqhgenial arid uucqrafqrtacjle ' surrqundings.'' Tftay our brethren m the Police Station at Invercai'p;iu and the cit.iAiens of 'the to>vn henceforth find peace !