H.—l6b.

Superintendents. A suggestion was made by Inspector Cullen that it would be of advantage to reorganize the Force by the appointment of four Superintendents, with Inspectors, &c, working under them in defined districts. lam not clear that any distinct advantage would result in altering the present system, and I prefer to express no opinion in favour of it as likely to increase the general efficiency of the Force. But it does seem to me to be worthy of consideration, looking to the enormous disparity in size and importance in the several police districts, whether the Inspectors in the four centres might not be termed, perhaps, Superintendents, with a view to give the Sub-Inspectors, and senior sergeants working under them, a step up in rank. There is certainly no comparison between the work done by these officers and that done by men of similar rank in any of the other districts. Situations outside the Force. Strong exception has been taken throughout the Force to the issue of Circular No. 14/08. This runs as follows : "In future, applications for situations outside the Police Department are not to be made without the sanction of the Commissioner being first obtained." This is dated the 26th August, 1908. No good reasons have been shown for the making of such a rule, and I recommend that the circular be withdrawn. General Complaints. A number of sergeants and constables have come before the Commission all over the Dominion and made complaint about various matters personal to themselves and mainly about questions of promotion. I have looked thoroughly into every case brought under my notice, and, without dealing specifically with each case, I may say generally that, where I make no recommendation as to special consideration of any particular case, it may be taken for granted that I have absolutely satisfied myself that the cases do not call for further consideration. I prefer to deal with them in this way to specifying the cases in particular. Educational. At my Christchurch sitting Mr. G. W. Russell, M.P., was good enough to come forward and give evidence containing suggestions on educational lines, which, coming from an expert, were most interesting and valuable. As Chairman of the Canterbury College Board of Governors, a position in which he has rendered such yeoman service, he was enabled to speak with authority and to make suggestions from the standpoint of practicability. His evidence will be found on page 158 et seq. I feel that the subject is too large a one to be dealt with at present, and within the scope of this report, and there are many other matters which must be disposed of first. Emoluments. There is a great difference in the emoluments attached to the different policestations in the Dominion. It is, of course, absolutely necessary that constables in charge of certain country stations should, as a matter of policy, act as Clerks of Courts with other minor offices. The amount paid annually to a constable acting as Clerk is generally £10; and small sums are often paid in respect of other services. But the main addition to the " extras "is the mileage that is earned. One witness told me that, when he was in a certain district, for some six years he earned no less than £130 per annum in addition to his constable's pay. This certainly is rather astonishing, but I imagine that such districts are few and far between. I happen to know this particular district very well indeed, and I should say that the money was very, well earned. lam not prepared to make any recommendation in respect of this matter.

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