3

H.—9

Quay. This expenditure might easily be saved by the erection of a suitable central station at Mount Cook, where the Government have a valuable reserve, and where, from proximity to the prison, bricks can be obtained very cheaply. An expenditure of £500 would probably suffice for this work, since other accommodation could be obtained in the old wooden buildings, that cannot now be required for military purposes. The Mount Cook site is most valuable for police purposes, since all parts of South Wellington, Te Aro, and Oriental Bay can be worked from that point, and at no distant date most of the city police will have to be stationed there. Bepaibs made to Old Buildings. A comparatively large amount of money has been spent annually in repairing old buildings, which were really not worth repairing. This has been the case at Waiau, where an iron roof has been lately placed on a wooden frame built in 1857 ; and many other instances of a like nature have come under my notice, where it would have been more economical to have rebuilt rather than repair. These matters are not, however, likely to recur, since at that time I had not made a thorough inspection, which would alone enable me to decide on the requirements of each station. Paddocks necessaey foe Teoop Hoeses. As a rule, the Province of Canterbury has provided police reserves more liberally than any other provincial district. The Amberley Station is an exception to this rule. Here we have not only no paddock, but not even a yard for the horse to run in; the consequence is the animal must be kept continually in the stable, where he is soon foundered. Palmerston South and North, Winton, Naseby, Invercargill, Eiverton, Otautau, and Wyndham are similarly circumstanced; and there are numerous other stations where the small patch of ground is only a paddock by courtesy, and much more closely resembles a back-yard. The economic aspect of the case is this : that where a paddock is provided, if only one acre, the consumption of forage during six months of the year is very small indeed, and considerable saving can be made under this head. Where there is no paddock the horse is kept continually in the stable, fed on oats and hay, and worked in an intermittent manner, sometimes idle for days, and then perhaps unavoidably hard ridden. Small wonder that under these circumstances horses are foundered or die suddenly (two have died within a week). It is for these reasons that I have in my memorandum of the sth May (A.C. 914, p. 87) recommended that in all future townships at least two acres should be reserved for police. Present Disteibution op the Foece. In Schedules IV. and V., attached, I have shown the present distribution of the police—firstly, in the four large towns of the colony and their suburbs, and, secondly, in the various provincial districts. By reference to the first-mentioned schedule it will be seen that the proportion of police to population is about the same in Wellington, Christ-church, and Dunedin, but that Auckland is rather less favoured. Much the same result is obtained by reference to Schedule V., where, regard being had to the circumstances of the districts and their local features, the police (Westland excepted) are fairly distributed. In the last-mentioned district the numbers of police employed are out of all proportion to the population and requirements of that very orderly community. It is obvious that there has been no redistribution there since the years 1866 to 1869, when the population was large and contained a strong criminal element; and it is as certain that there have been at least five constables in excess of requirements in the Westland District for the last seven years. I propose to break up the following stations in that district as soon as possible : Boatman's, which can be worked from Eeefton; Kanieri and Goldsborough—the work at the latter place can be done from Staffordtown. The constables available to fill vacancies can be removed as required to the adjacent districts. In the Dunedin District I propose to dispense with the following stations : Bavensbourne, Woodhaugh, and Portobello. Woodhaugh. —This station is quite unnecessary, and whatever police-work there may be can be done equally well from Eoslyn. During the past six months there were six arrests and five prosecutions by summons. The rent of the station is £24, and fuel and light £8. Portobello. —Here we pay —rent, £26 ; fuel and light, about £8 ; and the only prosecutions for the past eighteen months have been three, by summons. Whatever work there may be in this district can be done as well from Anderson's Bay. The constables from these three stations could be more usefully and inexpensively employed in Dunedin or at other stations. By carrying out these suggestions, and others of a similar nature which I may have to make when I inspect the • Napier and Auckland Districts, there will not only be no increase in the expense of the force for several years, but possibly a decrease for the next two or three years. The City of Wellington is the only place in which I anticipate a demand for an increase in the police, and that demand may have some weight from the existence of a central prison, from whence all the worst characters in the colony will be discharged. This must affect the criminal statistics of the city; and when, in the course of a few years, this evil makes itself felt, a larger force will be required than is at present necessary. Thanks to the assistance I have received from Inspectors Kiely, Goodall, and Thompson, I have been enabled to dispense with several stations and men, especially in the Tauranga and Waikato Districts, and this without injury to the public service. LONG-SEEVICE PAY. A sum of money, amounting to £4,514 16s. Bd., has been paid during the year ending the 31st March, 1887, as long-service pay to members of the police force. 195 men received Is. a day,