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299. The Chairman.'] You must look apart from that. You must consider that you as Inspector must go round your district and visit stations up country; and during that time who is the man at the head in Wellington ? —Well, really, my clerk is. 300. You do not hand over to the sergeant-major ?—Well, he is responsible for the duties. 301. But he does not take the office? —He goes to the office about everything. 302. Are the orders prepared by the constable and issued to the sergeant-major? —Yes. 303. Colonel Hume.] You remember, I think, when there was a second officer at Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, and Auckland ?—I was not here then. 304. Where were you then?—At Christchurch. 305. You had a second there ?—No. Mr. Shearman was Commissioner, and I was Inspector. 306. The Chairman.] Subsequently, when you were Inspector and Mr. Shearman was up here ?—I had no officer with me. 307. Colonel Hume.] Do you happen to know one out of the four places where these two officers got on together—whether there was not incessant fighting between the two ?—I do not know about that. 308. You think they did get on together?—-No, I am not saying that. 309. Supposing a crime is committed when you are away from Wellington, does Mr. Wright, your district clerk, or the sergeant-major, deal with it ?—lf there was anything serious he would telegraph to me. 310. Without saying anything to the eergeant at all ?—lt would be entered in the crime-book, and the sergeant-major would be informed. 311. Supposing a crime is reported in your office during your absence, who deals with it ?— The clerk sends out generally to the chief detective, and it passes immediately to the sergeantmajor. 312. But without any instructions ?—He can give instructions if necessary. Hβ can make any suggestion. 313. The Chairman.] Who is responsible for the detection of the crime in such circumstances ? —The chief detective and the sergeant-major. 314. The clerk only hands over the report to the detective, and the detective will be responsible?—Oh, yes. 315. And he is second in command? —Well, as regards crime he is. 316. If you were in town, does the chief detective take his instructions from you?—Oh, yes. 317. When you are away he acts as your representative in directing constables as to what they are to do in dealing with crime ?—-Well, he has detectives under him. 318. He has nothing to do with the constables?— No. 319. Who instructs the constables ? —The sergeant-major. 320. In your absence the chief detective is in charge of his department, and the sergeantmajor is in charge of the ordinary police ?—Yes. 321. And the district clerk is in charge of the office?— Yes. 322. Colonel Hume.] And he signs for you? —Yes. For instance, a telegram comes that a man is supposed to be or is coining to Wellington. If lam absent, the district clerk indorses on the back " For the immediate attention of the Chief Detective and the Sergeant-Major," and then it goes on to Mount Cook to the sergeant there. The whole of them are set in motion at once. The sergeant at Mount Cook is telephoned to. 323. The Chairman. j If you are absent from town and some one calls to see the Inspector to make some report, whom does he see ?—if he wants to see the Inspector he goes into the office of the clerk, and if it is anything in the way of the detection of crime, the district clerk takes it down in writing and sends it on to the chief detective, or the sergeant-major if he is absent. 324. Does it occur to you to express to us any opinion as to whether that is a satisfactory condition of things or not, or whether in your absence there ought to be some officer second in command to take charge ? —lt would be much better if there were an officer, of course. 325. Do you think in a large centre like this there ought to be a Sub-Inspector?—There must shortly be a Sub-Inspector, I think. 326. You think it would be an improvement on the present system ?—There is no doubt about it. As Inspector I ought to be out much more often than I am, inspecting the stations at Palmerston, and Feilding, and Pahiatua, and all round there. lam responsible for those places. 327. In your absence do you think it is essential and desirable there should be a second in command here ? —ln a large town like this I think so. 328. Colonel Pitt.] What about Christchurch, Dunedin, and Auckland?— Well, I believe Auckland is a very large place. 329. In your opinion there ought to be a Sub-Inspector there ? —I would not like to express an opinion about that, because I do not know it. 330. What about Christchurch ?—I always got on very well in Christchurch; but Ido not know how the population has increased there since I left. 331. But, having regard to what you knew of it, do you think there should be a Sub-Inspector there ?—I think it would be better. 332. And Dunedin ?—Yes, I think so. 333. Having arrived at that, what do you think of the suggestion made by Colonel Hume that in the past there has been friction between these two officers ?—There is friction in everything, but if there is proper discipline I do not see why there should be friction. 334. You do not think the service would be likely to suffer through there being two officers ?— Ido not think so at all. If there was a little sharpness between them it might be all the better. 335. Assuming they worked loyally together, you think there ought to be two rather than one? I —Oh, yes. It would be a very great assistance in a large town like Wellington,