PARLIAMENTARY NOTES. NEW AND COMPREHENSIVE PROVISIONS. THE GOVERNOR'S SALARY. THE POLICE FORCE COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. CRIMINAL STATISTICS. DRUNKENNESS AND SUNDAY TRADING.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 15000, 16 July 1900, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

NEW AND COMPREHENSIVE PROVISIONS.

THE GOVERNOR'S SALARY.

THE POLICE FORCE COMMISSIONER'S REPORT.

CRIMINAL STATISTICS.

DRUNKENNESS AND SUNDAY TRADING.

AN IMPORTANT MUNICIPAL MEASURE.

(By Our Special Correspondent.) (By Telegraph.) WELLINGTON, July 13. The Premier is introducing a Bill to consolidate and amend the law r-Joting to manic ; p.;l corpointions. The qualification oi a new -borough W to be an area of not mere than nine square m'les having no point* mora than six miles distant from ene another, and a population of not lesihan one thousand. There shall be a general electioivof councillors every two years, elections to be conducted and polls taken in accordance generally with the provisions applicable to elections, of members of the House of Representatives. With a view to embodying as""far in possible all the legislation affecting boroughs in one Bill, the present measure includes various provisions of the Public Works, Public Health, and other Acts affecting boroughs. The Bill contains"" provisions giving Government subsidies to boroughs and casting upon boroughs the up-keep of hospitals and the administration of charitable aid. The BUI materially enlarge- the powers of councils in relation to drainage and sanitation, and gives councils power to provide workmen's dwellings ; also to prevent the overcrowding of land with houses and houses with inhabitants. Comprehensive powers are given for making and enforcing by-laws. A Mayor's salary shall not exceed £400. In addition to the ordinary revenues, there is' provision, for a grant of ,4s per head of population, payable by th.9 Colonial Treasurer, hx such instalments and at such periods during the year iu) he thinks fit. Certain fines and penaltics will be paid into the District. Fund. There are several provisions regarding rating. Councils are empowered to do work on the co-operative principle. A council may enrol a Vplurfteer fire police as -sworn constables, and appoint 'one or more fire inspectors'. The public health provisions are very comprehensive, <and ; power is given to inspect and seize unsound meat, - lightweight bread, etc. Penalties "are provided for offering such for sal^. Councils- may establish agricultural schools, model farms, technical s-hools, rifle ranges, market place, public weighing machines. The council- must provide hospital accommodation sufficient for the needs of the district. The Bill consists of 130 pages, many of s which bristle with debateable matter.

Tho Bill to increase the Governor's allowances, provides for the re-»naotm£nt of repealed clauses;' which will bring his to tnl. salary and allowances up to £7,200 per ilnnuni. In addition to his present salary -ji £5000, he will, if the Bill beci.mes law, mow get £1200 to meet the expenses of his establishment, and £1000 for travelling expenses. Tho Ministers' Salaries and Allowances Amendment Act, brought down by Governor's message last night, opens with a preamble setting forth that whereas since the passing of the Act of 1887, the department and other work of the general Government has greatly increased, there.'ore it is . expedient that the number of ministers to whom salaries are appro.-, priated should be increased, and that their ?alaries should be restored to the rate existing at the time .when the Act of 1887 was passed. The Bill proposes that the annual appropriation for Ministers' salaries shall be £11,750, divided as follows': — The Prime Minister, £1750; eight other Ministers; each £1250.

REMARKS ON "CRIMINAL STATIST TICS. THE POLICE AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. The annual report of the Commissioner of tbe Police Force of the colony contains -ome interesting and important facts and opinions. On March' 31st-, 1900, the strength of the force was 586, of all ranks, sn increase of 32 during the year.

The criminal statistics are made 1 , up for the year ended the 31st December last, and show an aggregate increase of 487, as compared with the figures of the preceding year. The principal increases are :—Assaults 47, breaches of the pe,ace 64, disorderly and riotous conduct 47,' drunken^ nes-s 757, failing to support or near relatives 42, gaming offences 49, manslaughter 6, obstructing and resisting police 62, refusing to quit licensed premises 22. The principal decreases are : Burglary, breaking into sliops, dwellings, etc 13, conspiring to defeat the ends" of justice 24, disturbing meetings and congregations 32, forgery and uttering 15, malicious injury to property 49, receiving stolen property 14, theft (undescribed) 485, theft of cattle and ' horses 16, theft from dwellings ~/BS, and theft from tha person 63. Taking these statistics as a criterion of the efficiency or otherwise of the Police Force, as compared with the preceeding year, they are eminently satisfactory, for whereas the" increase refers almost exclusively to offences against' the person or against public or- I der and decency, which are classed as un- ! preventible offences. Tho decreases relate mainly to offences against property, -which are considered preventible. The net decrease in offences coming under the heads of burglary, "breaking into shops and dwellings," "forgery and uttering," "malicons injury to property," "receiving stolen property," and various forms of theft, being no less that 732, thus showing that during the year under --review, the primary object for which a police force exists, namely, the prevention of crime,has been much more nearly attainedTlian in the preceding year, as the following will demonstrate : —For offences against property alone, the percentage of cases brought before the Court, to the total number committed, increased from 64.62 in ISsk, to 68.19 in 1899,f0r offences against the person, the percentage increased from 97.60 in 1898 to 98.01 in 1899, and for all , offences from 89.83 in 1898 to 92.13" in 1899.

The increase iu the number of charges of drunkenness during the year has far exceeded that of any previous year, so far as the records show. The total during the year was 6287, being 757 ovqt the figures of 1898. So far as the four principal centres are concerned, Auckland stands at the top with a total of 1145 cases, against •697 an 1898, Wellirigton next with 855 against 953, Christchurch next with 568 agaj-osfc 583, and*J3unedin last with 535 against 597. From the foregoing it will be seen that out of a total increase of 757 Auckland and suburbs' -alone contribute 448. This large increase in Auckland is, in my opinion, largely due to the increased efforts of the Auckland police under Inspector Cullen, to more expeditiously remove drunken persons from the streets than was formerly the case, and to the fact that during the whole of 1899 the closing time of licensed 'houses in Auckland was 11 p.m., ..instead of 10 p.m. But to the prosperous condition of the colony and the large increase in foreign-going shipping at the various ports may be ascribed tho general increase of drunkenness. Tho total number of arrests for drunkenness on Sundays in the four prini cipal centres during the rear was 166, against 182 in 1898, divided as follows: — Dunedin 53 against 46, Wellington 46 against 63, Auckland 39 against 33, and Christchurch 29 against 40. The figures indicate that the law relating to Sunday trading is by no means strictlv observed, notwithstanding the efforts of "the police. At present those who incite the publicans to break the law run no risk, whereas the consequences "to the publican if caught are most„serious. This is "manifestly. unfair to the latter, and the licensing laws should be amended in the direction of something approximating to Section 25 of ""The Intoxicating Liquors Act, 1872," in force in England. Referring to the treatment of persons .suffering from illness owing to excessive drinking, the Commissioner says: — "During the past eighteen months several persons have died while under remand to prison for medical treatment, and the press and public generally have condemned the system of sending such cases to a prison It has. been suggested by some that the necessary accommodation for treating snch cases shpuld be provided at the Police .Stations. At some »pf the principal stations a cell has been fitted up with a bed but this, I contend, vimuvt be mwde to Wl

the want. For properly treating these cases, three things are essential, namely (1) skilled medical attendance always on hand, (2) skilled nursing, and (3). a ready sin«ly ,it all hours of suitable nourishing food. So far as I can see, a hospital is the only place whore all the foregoing cm be obtained, and I am convinced the cases m question cannot be properly treated outside one of these institutions." SLY GROG SELLING. During the year there were eighty-two prosecutions- for this offence, resulting in lorty convictions, and fines amounting in the aggregate to £432 were imposed^.as against eighty-eight prosecutions, wi»h fitty-eight convictions and fines, amount-^ ing "to £1526 10s, during the preceding year. From the foregoing it will be seen that while the prosecutions decreased by only 6.81 per cent., and the convictions by 31.03 per cent on the preceding year, the amount of fines inflicted decreased by 353.35 per cent., or in other words, while Iho fines in 1898 averaged £17 6s lid per prosecution, and £26 6s 4Jd per conviction in 1899, the figures were £5 5s 4Jd and £10 16s respectively.. This very striking diminution in the amount of the iiues-im-posed during the past year clearly indicates that sly-grog selling is not now regarded by many of those who have to administer tho law as so serious an offence as it was during the year 1898, and the inevitable result must necessarily be a very considerablo increase in this lucrative traffic. After dealing with the difficulties in the Clutha District, the Commissioner remarks : "It is futile, to attempt to enforce s\ la.w that has not the respect of a large percentage of the population, unless (1) the penalties are. made drastic enough, to deter the , people from breaking it, or (2) the police are given powers so draconic as to practically enable them to dragoon the peopleinto observing it. 'I am convinced that ■\ democratic community like this in New Zealand would never tolerate either of the two alternatives I have named." GAMING- OFFE.NCES. During the ;year there were 220 prosecutions under the Gaming laws, resulting in 179 convictions i against 171 prosecutions and 140 convictions in 1898, and fifty-five prosecutions and thirty-eight convictions in 1897. This 'increase, however, must " not be taken as an indication that the police have been able 'to rid the streets of professional betting men, or in any J way to dheck the -gambling evil, nor will they bo able to do either to any appreciable extent, so long as the law remains as it is". The Commissioner reiterates the recommendations made in his last two reports, namely, that the Gaming laws may bo amended by passing into law the Bill that has been before Parliament during the last two sessions. SECOND-HAND SHOPS. As regards second-hand shops, the Commissioner trusts that during- the' session the Bill that was introduced into Parliament in 1896, and drop'petf after the first leading, may. be re-introduced, nnd an attempt made to pass it into law. He also T>.entions that at the Trades' Council Conference, sitting in Wellington on the 18th oi April last, a motion that the Government be urged to provide for the licensing of second-hand dealers was passed. . CONDUCT OF THE MEN. The improvement mentioned in the last report on the conduct of the men, is still maintained. With about two exceptions, . the young men who have been taken into the force during the past eighteen months Jirect from private life, and who have passed through the training depot are most abstemious and well-conducted generally, nnd are a credit to the youth of the colony from which, they have been drawn. Those to whom the exceptions apply are steady enough, but are inclined to he lazy, and need being kept up to their work. The improved accommodation, especially in . Auckland, provided for the unmarried . men, is also having a marked influence on the men. UNIFORMS. "The &^£=™^ier_points out that the i-ecommendation of the recent Royal Commission that the' police be supplied with , uniforms free, has not been adopted. He urges that the men should at least be provided with waterproof overcoats and shakos free of cost. WELLINGTON, July 15. ;■£ 'MINISTERS AND THEIR SALARIES.'*" The Bills to. increase the number and' the",, salaries of Ministers which have just been circulated are just now the chief topic of conversation among members. Some of the Government part consider tlilit the proposals go too tar, further indeed than was suggested at the recent caucus which -considered the question. The proposed appointment of three new Ministers, and eho large increase of salaries provided for in the Bill will nearly double the total now paid to Ministers in the way of salaries. A caucus of Government members , will bo held to : morrow to consider the question and it is quite possible that the proposals may_be modified, lu any case .the Bills will be severely criticised when .they come before Parliament. The-pro-.posed increase in the Governor's salary is not likely to meet with serious opposition. iHE RAILWAY" QUESTION.. A deputation of Wellington, . Citizens will wait on the Premier to-morrow to urge the necessity of completing the North Island Main Trunk Line with all possible will, be practically the same as that given speed. The Premier's feply, of course, to the t. cent dcputatiorl of Auckland members, f It is intended to. hold a big public meeting here at ah early date to protest against the delay which has taken place in connection with this work in the past, and to demand that it be pushed on much more'' vigorously in future. : Owing to the deputation and a Governjnent caucus which is to be held to-mor-t:ow the meeting of North Island members 'to consider the railway question will, it is understood, be postponud. THE DISCREET WOMAN. The appointment of women as protection officers under the Young Persons Protection Bill caused a. warm discussion in . the Council. Many members had in their minds-eye^an army of "discreet women" .struggling and scheming for these billits. Mr Shrimski said if women were appointed there would be nothing but confusion and rows and litigation. At the conclusion of Mr Shrimski's speech Mi- Rigg indignantly,, exclaimed, I don t know that I ever heard a, more comprehensive insult to women." LEVIN STATE TAR?*. The Hon Mr Duncan and some of the Northern members visited the State Farm at Levin yesterday. The Farm presented a very dreary and desolute appearance. It has never been a great success," but after ™ l ec .f nt bad , weather it was looking worse than usual.