H.—l6b

XXXVI

time was that only those officers should be appointed to the position who would be qualified for promotion to Sub-Inspectors. The Commissioner has stated in evidence that there are station sergeants who are not qualified for the higher ranks (page 84, paragraph 7, of the evidence). The station sergeants were first appointed on the Ist March, 1906, and, of those four men, three have since been promoted to commissioned rank, and one still remains a station sergeant, and he the senior in actual police service of two out of the three promoted. Of the present four station sergeants, it is to my mind very doubtful if three of them were appointed with a view to future promotion, looking to their age, &c. This extraordinary departure from the original clear intention has produced a very anomalous position. There is one station sergeant and there are five Chief Detectives presumably qualified for promotion, and from whom, according to precedent, a selection would have to be made for future promotion. Can it be wondered at that such a position has created almost a scare amongst the members to fhe uniform branch ? Such a state of things as this is clearly impossible to be allowed to continue, and the matter must be remedied as soon as possible." I do not wish it to be inferred that a man may not make an excellent station sergeant even if not fitted for further advancement, but, as the last four promotions have been exclusively made from the station sergeants and Chief Detectives, it lias come to be regarded as a necessary precedent to such promotions that a man must have served in one of the two ranks. Hence the dismay amongst the members of the uniform branch. Now, it seems to me that the only way in which to deal with a state of things that has almost created an impasse, is to do away altogether with the rank of station sergeant and substitute in its place that of senior sergeant. This grade might be limited to, say, twenty-five officers, this being a fair proportion of the eighty-eight sergeants now on the roll. Included amongst these senior sergeants, according to seniority, should be the four existing station sergeants. The others should be selected from the very pick of the sergeants now in the Force, having regard strictly to merit, with seniority, and the possession of those qualities which would approve a man for promotion to the higher ranks. From this roll of senior sergeants, in conjunction with that of the Chief Detectives, will have to be selected the future Sub-Inspectors of the Force. I suggest that these senior sergeants should be paid at the rate of 13s. 6d. per diem, with the ordinary house allowance of Is. 6d. per diem where not provided with free quarters. The majority of these men would be sergeants who are now in charge of important subdistricts. General. Headquarters Staff. For some time past there has been growing up a feeling of intense dissatisfaction at the creation and constitution of what I shall refer to as the Headquarters Staff. At the present time this feeling is very keen and deep-seated, and is seriously affecting the morale of the entire Force. It has found expression in many parts of the Dominion, and in some places has been spoken of by witnesses with intense bitterness. I have tried to view the matter from every standpoint, and especially from the point of view of the Commissioner, who is entirely responsible for the creation of this staff. The deeper I gauge the feeling on this point throughout the Force, and the more I strive to get to the true inwardness of it, the more thoroughly I am convinced that no possible benefit results either to the Commissioner or to his administration, or to the Force generally, by this surrounding of the head of the Force with a staff of officers holding police rank and discharging merely the duties of an ordinary Civil Service staff. The following statement shows the extent of the Headquarters Staff, with the salaries and allowances paid to each man : —