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297. The misleading was this : you said you went up the river to detect poaching, and not to fish, and you said that no entry was made at the time about going therein connection with poaching. Did you not think that important enough to-enter in the column of " Occurrences" ?—No. If every time I went out I entered it in the diary the column would be filled up. 298. You took a constable off his beat and took him away—l forget how far, but it would be two or three miles, I suppose ? —About a mile and a half. 299. And looked for poachers, and the diary showed that he went on duty at the usual time, there not being a word about being after poachers ?—I do not know that there is. If there is I have not made any alteration as to the hours of duty. The town being quiet at that hour of the morning I considered the constable was of more service to me in going there than staying in town. 300. I think you said at the inquiry that you could not remember ever going for a basket of eels ?—No, I never went up and took some one else up with me for a basket of eels. 301. I think you said that you did not remember ever going there yourself for a basket of eels ?—I am perfectly certain I did not go. 302. Do you still adhere to that —that you never went there for a basket of eels, but to fish for eels ?—I will not say that. I have gone up the river with a " bob " fishing for eels. 303. Did you say that at the inquiry in Nelson ? —You talk about going with an eel-basket. I say No, but I have gone up at night. 304. Did you say to the Commissioner that you could not recollect ever having gone up for a basket of eels ?—I said and I still say I never did. 305. You did not give the explanation that you might have gone fishing without the basket ? —I did not mention that, as far as I am aware. 306. When you were asked the question I think you volunteered the information that you never went for a basket of eels ; but would it not have been a reasonable thing to have said that you went up the river fishing for eels without a basket ?—I answered the question that was put to me. 307. You did not volunteer that information ? —No. 308. But you give it now? —I say that I have at times.—l do not know when —gone up the river fishing. It was at night, after my work was done. 309. Commissioner Tunbridge.] Now, sergeant, have you been twice rewarded during your service in the Force for saving life ?—Yes. 310. Saving the lives of persons who were likely to be drowned ?—Yes. They were drowning in the open harbour. 311. And you jumped in?— Yes. 312. You have been a sergeant since 1894? —Yes. 313. What stations have you been in charge of?—Of Lawrence, in Otago, and of Nelson. 314. Other stations where you have done duty as a sergeant are, I believe, Auckland, Christchurch, and Dunedin—in Christchurch twice ? —Yes. 315. With regard to the question of entering in diaries, is it the rule for the officer in charge of a station, where he has a number of men under him, to specify the actual hours he goes on and comes off duty ?—No, it is not done. 316. Now, 1 want to ask you a question arising out of a remark made by Inspector Macdonell. Is there any truth in the Inspector's statement that you came to me behind the Inspector's back and made a statement to the effect that Mr. Trask had said he was in communication with the Inspector with reference to the conduct of the Nelson police ?—No. 317. There is no foundation for any such statement? —No. 318. The constables at the Nelson Police-station when you went there were McGrath, O'Brien, Mac Donald, Culnane, Kelly, and Bird ?—Yes. 319. Were not the whole of those men past what you might term the prime of life as regards activity ?—Yes, all of them, I should say. 320. As a matter of fact, Constable Mac Donald retired on a pension about two years ago, did he not ?—Yes. 321. And O'Brien retired on compassionate allowance very soon afterwards on account of old age ? —Yes. He retired before Mac Donald. 322. Culnane has since died ?—Yes. 323. He was a man who was getting on in years, anyhow. Do you know his history—that about ten years ago he retired as medically unfit for further service, and was taken back into the service again ?—Yes. 324. As a matter of fact, the man was past active street-work, was he not?— Yes. 325. The other two were Kelly and Bird. What would you put Bird's age down as?—l should say, from fifty-three to fifty-five years. 326. Probably you know that Kelly is a man of over twenty years' service ?—Yes. 327. They were the men under Sergeant McArdell, who was in Nelson before you went there? —Yes. 328. McArdell, I believe, is a man of nearly seventy ?—Yes, about that, I should say. 329. Well, now, with that staff was it not practically impossible to deal with the younger members of the Nelson community, who were, we will say, full of animal spirits—we will not call them larrikins, but " inclined to be disorderly " ?—The constables were not fit to cope with them. 330. Nor did they cope with them ?—No. 331. These younger men who came afterwards you say assisted you in putting down the larrikinism ? —-They did. 332. In doing so do you suppose that they would meet with the approval or the disapproval of the young men with whom they had cause to interfere ? —I should say that they would meet with 14—1. lα.