H.—l6

7

The Papakaio Murder. This atrocious crime, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of a noted criminal—who was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and declared an habitual criminal under the new Act—for burglary, was one of those exceptionally difficult cases to investigate with any degree of satisfaction, as no direct evidence of guilt was obtainable, and the circumstantial evidence forthcoming had to be carefully obtained and linked together in order to make the chain of evidence strong enough upon which to secure a conviction. Owing to the importance of the case I devoted some considerable time to supervising the investigations, which were carried out by the officers concerned with untiring energy, assisted materially by local inhabitants of Papakaio. Although the accused was acquitted on the capital charge, owing principally to certain witnesses deviating from their original statements to police, and partly to the circulation of false rumours bearing on the case, the investigations, which had not been relaxed since the committal of the cold-blooded murder, were still continued, in the hope of the evidence being strengthened and the burglary charge proved. Success attended the continued efforts, and, on the stolen bicycle being accidentally found, accused was rearrested, and convicted as above. The subsequent dismissal of the prisoner's appeal for a new trial, on the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence, was highly satisfactory from a public point of view, as the clear and exhaustive manner in which the evidence was summarised by the Judges on the occasion must have dispelled any doubt existing as to the guilt of the prisoner. The New Zealand Police Force. The following return may be interesting as showing the growth of the Department, the continued increase of the population, and the total number of offences (irrespective of by-law offences) reported, and in which arrests or summonses resulted, each year since 1877, prior to which date each province in the colony had its own Police Force, and reliable data are not available.

In addition to the strength of the Force as shown above, there are 18 district constables, 9 Native constables, 4 police surgeons (one in each city), 4 matrons (one in each city), and 51 troop horses. The New Zealand International Exhibition. The police arrangements for the prevention and detection of crime and the preservation of order during the Exhibition, considering the large attendances and practical immunity from crime, resulted most satisfactorily. From a police point of view the Licensing Committee's action in withholding licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquor in the Exhibition or Exhibition grounds conduced considerably to the

1 d ! 1*° I loo O ' e 2 «g .§•.. O |(zi to tU > o -±-> <u o c/j CD "3 eS CO a o O Total. tj ,. , Oost per 1-olicei to Inhabit . Population. Population. ant Offences where Arrests Offences Qr gum . reported. monges M . suited. Arrests for Drunkenness (included in " Offences reported "). Year. 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 25 25 25 13 13 13 13 20 20 20 13 13 12 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 7 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 14 14 90 84 86 73 72 72 70 65 66 69 69 65 66 61 (SO 53 55 51 51 45 56 53 56 56 58 59 59 65 71 78 14 16 21 18 19 20 17 17 18 18 17 17 13 14 14 14 13 13 13 12 16 15 20 20 20 20 21 25 25 30 329 364 379 337 343 356 365 372 390 395 388 389 403 404 401 407 410 416 414 453 457 475 499 504 514 522 534 553 557 577 458 489 511 441 447 461 465 474 494 502 487 484 494 486 482 481 485 487 484 517 536 554 586 591 604 613 626 655 667 699 lto 944 \ 1 to 948 1 to 9491 1 to 1,136 f 1 to 1,1581 lto 1,173) 1 to 1,263 1 to 1,293 1 to 1,266 lto 1,265 1 to 1,328 lto 1,347 1 to 1,346 lto 1,375 1 to 1,401 1 to 1,439 1 to 1,472 1 to 1,495 lto 1,530 1 to 1,461 1 to 1,435 1 to 1,414 1 to 1,359 lto 1,381 lto 1,375 1 to 1,388 1 to 1,398 lto 1,375 1 to 1,387 lto 1,375 i f 2 i £ I 3/3 3/0| 3/2 3/2£ 3/lf 2/lOf 2/10f 2/H* 2/9 2/8* 2/7} 2/6f 2/7* 2/7* 2/8 2/9} 2/10f 2/10} 2/10* 2/10* 2/10* 2/10} 2/10* 3/0 432,352 463,572 484,939 500,976 517,626 540,753 587,295 613,212 625,849 635,215 646,913 652,125 664,855 668,353 675,775 692,426 714,258 728,121 740,699 754,016 768,910 783,317 796,359 816,290 830,800 851,068 875,648 900,682 925,605 961,604 14,157 16,374 17,837 16,635 18,613 18,775 18,263 18,955 18,135 17,752 12,897 12,945 13,115 12,674 13,153 13,165 13,530 14,010 14,673 15,219 16,378 16,865 18,358 19,909 19,771 20,736 21,066 20,249 21,160 13,959 14,696 16,723 15,212 17,470 17,727 17,322 17,723 17,000 16,500 11,854 11,885 12,177 11,748 12,187 12,100 12,500 12,435 13,171 14,042 14,730 15,561 17,131 18,742 18,802 19,867 20,118 19,251 20,241 6,668 6,794 6,484 5,587 6,860 7,572 7,151 7,034 6,260 5,226 5,387 5,444 5,866 5,416 5,360 5,251 4,594 4,636 5,005 5,204 5,532 6,289 7,299 8,057 8,269 8,815 9,615 8,707 9,210