MOST WONDERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9214, 18 April 1908, Page 2

MOST WONDERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD.

Th.o Loa&oa Policeman.

(By FRANK DILNOT, in tho " Daily

Mail.")

The London policeman, when the Children's Bill becomes lawj will have to add to his many onerous and serious duties that of taking cigarettes from boys, in the street. The picture of the constable engaged in this paternal occupation made members of the House of Commons smile. k Those who smiled cannot know what a wonderful man the London constable is. They have not realised how he is able to step, so to speak, from the desperate burglar to the mischievous schoolboy with no break in his calm dignity. They do not understand that we have in our London streets men who would, with exactly the same placid confidence, set about pacifying a crying baby and quelling a revolution by the mob. No one who knows him can doubt that the London policeman is one of the most remarkable men in the worid. Of course, being human, his new duties sometimes puzzle him a little. Just now, for instance, he is privately debating how he will have to carry out the new cigarette law. Will he bo allowed to go behind a boy and unexpectedly wmove a cigarette from his mouth? Will the stained fingers of' I a boy be sufficient presumptive evidence for the searching of his pockets? But these and other questions will be settled in private, and he will go about his new work with that quiet inevitable- j ness which always carries success in its train. HIS INEXHAUSTIBLE TACT. With sidelights on London life which would have been the envy of Sam j Weller, he carries a vast store of what may be called artificial learning in his head. He even has to touch the fringe of severd learned professions. But ail this goes for little beside his knowledge of human nature and his inexhaustible fund Of tact. Those are two of the things which make the London, policeman pre-eminent. Conceive the position of the policeman who has to deal with the lady of education, for the sake of her political principles, clinging tightly to railings or flinging herself on the pavement 1 Well, the London policeman has learned to unclasp her fingers from the railings with a gentle force. He has learned to raise her from the ground with a smile on his face. Ifc she struggles on going to the station he takes her by the arm and quietly forces her along while he pretends not to be forcing her, makes believe that she is going of her owli free will. There was something truly great in the constable who, taking a " Suffragette " to the police station a few days ago, accorded hex freedom to put her hat straight before _ a Press photographer took her portrait. The~~mental attitude which would allow such a request to be made is an eloquent tribute to the whole police force. But tact and diplomacy are not the only things that make the London policeman so remarkable. He carries within him a bewildering^ amount of nolid knowledge. Down in the East End the police are learning Yiddish, bo that they may be able to deal with the great population there whose language it is. There are men walking the streets of London in blue uniform who can converse in French and German. But this is not compulsory. Most of the London "policeman's knowledge is necessary, and is frequently called-up-on. The parts he has to play are almost staggering to the outsider.

LEGAL AND MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE. First of all tho London policeman has to be a lawyer. He has to carry in his mind not only some of the general principles, but also scores of provisions under which he may summon and in some cases arrest a man. For instance, under the intoxicating liquor laws he has to remember fourteen things for which he must report keepers of licensed premises. He has to watch closely the opening of new premises and the closing of old ones. Then again the Motor-car Act has imposed upon the policeman the necessity for knowing thirty offences, which have to be reported. He has also to learn in what circumstances he has the right to arrest a )man. Sometimes he' must smile at the legal duties he has to carry in his mind. For instance, under the instructions of the Commissioner, he has to see there is no " birds-nesting" in the London streets. He has to prevent the taking of wild birds or their eggs in the close Beason. The intelligent officer may be forgiven for smiling when he thinks of thrushes and lapwings nef ting in the Strand.

Tho London policeman has to be a doctor. Ho has to assist people who have been rescued from the water and are apparently drowned. (Incidentally he is instructed to rescue them, and often does.) Then a constable renders first aid in r~?u!ents. Having diagnosed a bra ;i leg, ho quickly sets it in extempciised splints, so that the injured peiu'Wi may be safely conveyed to a doctor. He ie, moreover, the protector of the public from various kinds of deadly danger. For instance, he is ooldly and lucidly instructed what to do in the case of infernal machines. His instructions, are ac follow:—

Quench or disconnect fuse if burning. Place under water. Remove to a safe place. What may happen to him while he is removing the infernal machine to a safe place h not hinted at in the instructions. He is taught how to stop runaway horses. He must run by their eide in the same direction, and seize hold of the reins. He has also the exciting duty of killing mad dogs in the streets. If a dog is even suspected of rabies he kills it. In cases where he thinks murder is being attempted in a private house it is laid down that he is to break in to prevent it.

He is taught how to deal with outbreaks of fire, how to get the occupants of the house out quickly, how to help the firemen when they arrive. He is bhe protector of animals in the streets. He summons or arrests persons whom he deems to be cruel. If an injured horse is lying helpless in the roadway he at once 6ends for the veterinary surgeon, using telephone, telegraph, or cab. He seizes all stray dogs and take* them to the station. PROM TRIVIALITIES TO THAGEDY. With all his other occupations tne London policeman is a free-lance detective. At night he watches houses and notes that lights are to be seen in their usual places. Should he see unusual lights he aeoertains their oause. If he suspects the presence of criminals he has at once to enter. In tho streets he has to watch all furniture moved between six at night and eight in the morning, the inference being obvious. The London policeman has officially to be a gentleman, and generally is so without qualification. He assists pedestrians, gives special help to the infirm, the aged, the very young, and ladies. All .inquiries made of him he is to answer civilly and as well as he can. He has to help to trace missing persona and to recover animals stolen in the streets. Scotrs of other duties lie in front of him. Should he come across an unauthorised procession in the streets ho has to follow it to its destination. If he. sees a letter-box filled to the brim with letters, he has to send to the post office and to the nearest police station, and wait at the letterbox until nn official arrives. He warns people against throwing fruit-skina on the pavement, and servants and others against shaking door-mats in the streets after eight in the morning. At one hour he is dealing with domestio trivi-

alities, in th« next with the great tragedies of life. The London policeman takes his place xn the etreetis as a gallant adventurer in the service of the public He must help the weak and know how to deal with the brutal. How he triumphs in his task is known from St Petersburg across Europe to New York.