WHAT PRICE THE POLICE?

Fair Play, Volume I, Issue 16, 17 February 1894, Page 13

WHAT PRICE THE POLICE?

“ Every man has his price." Sir llobert Walpole.

Do the police make fish of ono and flesh of another; do they pounce down on one offender against the law with the voracity of a vulture and lot another, equally as bad, go scot free ; do they, in fact, exhibit a blindness to the illegalities of some people, whilst they are eagor to expose and punish the illegalities of others ? These are questions which must, we fear, be answered in the affirmative, as far, at least, as Wellington is concerned. We have a particular case in mind as we write. ’Tis that of one Gunn, vendor of alleged medicines, provider of a more or less amusing variety entertainment; also, incidentally, conductor of a so-called lottery and committer of a terrible offence against the idiotic laws of his colony, in the shape of the Gaming and Lotteries Act. This man Gunn had, it appears from the reports published in tho daily press of this city, conducted a certain “ prize distribution,” the prizes being of a trumpery value it is true, but seeing that the tickets for the said distribution only cost what is vulgarly called “a tanner,” and that, forjthis modest expenditure, the purchaser had some two hours of comic singing, step-dancing, and other joys of the multitude “chucked in” free, gratis, and for nothing,"we are not prepared to say he did not get fair value for his none too extravagant outlay. The police, however, with an omniscience in the detection of unsuspected evil, which would do credit to a Zulu witch doctor, “ smell out ” —the term is Matabelian and thoroughly “ up to date ” —a terrible offence against the majesty Of the law, the morality of the individual, and the welfare of the State, and forthwith they pounced down upon the person Gunn, and hauled him off before Mr. Martin upon a charge of having committed a breach of the Gaming and Lotteries Act. The R.M. fined him £25 —twenty-five golden sovereigns or notes of a non-“ reconstructed ” bank, and this sum Mr. Gunn had to pay up. Now we do not say that Mr. Gunn was right in committing a breach of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, nor do wo say that Mr. Martin was wrong in inflicting what is, at first sight, an extremely savere, an over-severe, penalty fine; but what we do say, and say most plainly, is that there are other people besides Mr. Gunn who commit breaches of the same Act, much more serious breaches of the Act, breaches calculated, in the opinion of many people, to work widespread evil,

and yet these offenders are allowed to go uutouched by tho police, unpunished by tho law. We will toko ono offonco ns an example, that of conducting sweeps or consultations upon horso races. On tho last Wellington Cup thoro wero two big sweeps in Wellington, each conducted in connection with a certain class of retail trado, each enrriod on in tho most flagrantly open manner, each well known by the police to bo so enrriod on, and each, we have very goed reason to boliovo, patronised personally by “mimbors of tho foorco," tho snxno virtuous men in blue who pounced down upon Mr. Gunn for his paltry little fault, but oro as blind as bats in tho day timo to tho much more serious offonco of carrying on swoops. Ono of these sweeps was for TfiOO in 1000 tickets at 10s. each ; in tho other case wo are not aware of tho exact amount, but tho tickots wero, wo boliovo, sold at tho cheaper rato of 5?., and tho amounts given in prizo money wero of courso correspondingly less. There was very little attempt at concealment as to tho existence of those swoops. Every “ man about town” knew of them, casual customers at tho shop in connection with which they wore held, wero actually importuned to buy tickets on thorn. The police, whoso ‘•sinelliug-out” powers uro so wondorful, must h;ivo stuffed their oars with cottonwool if they avoided hearing of them ; and finally, as wo said before, wo have very good reason to boliovo that members of the police forco actually purclmso shares on those consultations, which are, we need hardly say, in distinct dolianco of tho Gaming and Lotteries Act. Hero, wo think, is a public scandal. Ono man, a stranger, is very sevoroly punished for a very slight breach of tho Act, whilst other men, residents, are allowed to almost openly break the law and not ono word is said, no action is takon against them. How much did the police got ? That is what Fair Play wants to know. It also wants to lmow what action tho Government are going to take in tho mattor. Wo distinctly and plainly chargo tho police with wilfully neglecting their duty; and we assert that it is ontirely opposed to the spirit of British fair play to “ jump” after one man for a very paltry offonco and let others go free and unscathed who commit the most flagrant violations of tbs same law. We have said enough to day on this subject to give the puolic—and the police—and we trust also, the Government—something to talk about. We may return to the subject next week.