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The duties of the Water Police are primarily the proper discipline of the Harbour and the vessels "therein and the prevention of disorder and confusion; this embraces such matters as (i) regulation "of fairways; (ii) supervision of passenger traffic; (iii) overloading; (iv) shipment, transhipment and discharge of dangerous goods; (v) illegal boarding of vessels; (vi) improperly crowding ships or buoys "and all the other offences in the waters of the Colony' embraced in section 28 of the Merchant Shipping "Ordinance.
45
"All these duties connected with offences against the Ordinance are within the purview of the "Harbour Department, but that Department has no executive authority in most cases and no machinery "to enforce the provisions of the Ordinance which it is specially designed to carry out, viz., the control "and management of the waters of the Colony and the regulation of vessels navigating the same. "When breaches occur which this Department desires to take action on, applications have to be made through the heads of the departments concerned. Delay ensues on such communications, two sets of "orders have to be given, and in nine cases out of ten the opportunity has passed before action can be "taken, and the public only knows of the laches and condemns, being ignorant of the well-meant but "cumbrous efforts made by the two Government Departments concerned.
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That is one argument in favour of placing the Water Police under the Harbour Master. A second "and perhaps more cogent one is that the advisability of placing a body of men under an officer who "is practically familiar with the duties which his subordinates have to perform must be the best method "of obtaining the most favourable results. "and it is only reasonable to suppose that the Harbour Master, a specially qualified man constantly requiring the Water Police to assist him in the due discharge of his duties and who has an assistant "in daily personal and active intercourse with the shipping and craft amongst which the Water Police
have to do duty, would be the most fitting head for that force."
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The Committee in their report stated, with reference to my suggestion-"We beg to state that we "have no hesitation in recording our decisions that no change should be made in the existing system' (Police); yet not one word of explanation was asked of me, nor one question on the subject put to either myself or the Assistant Harbour Master when our evidence was taken, while a reference to the published evidence of the Captain Superintendent of Police and the Deputy Superintendent, will show that a considerable number of questions, some of which, I think, might be almost termed "leading" were put to these officers, with the apparent object of proving how puerile and unsupportable my suggestion was. To my mind, the answers to these, however, only showed how frail was the argument advanced against my suggestion, the real meaning of which, apparently, both the Retrenchment Commission and the Police officers entirely failed to grasp. And, it may be observed, the evidences of myself and of Captain HASTINGS were taken more than 2 months after the Captain Superintendent had given his views on my proposal.
There is, in my opinion, necessity for continuing the post of Assistant Harbour Master, and I am further of opinion that, by placing the Harbour Police under the control of the Harbour Master and making the Assistant Harbour Master their practical Head, efficiency would be increased, anomalies removed, and, very probably, economy effected.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS (OPIUM) OFFICE.
41. The Return shows that during the year the amount of Opium reported was as follows:-
*
Imported, Exported,
1893.
....39,098
1894.
Increase.
Decrease.
41,578
2,4791
.43,5491
38,978
4,571
but not landed,
Through cargo reported } 16,608)
22,986
6,377/
...
19,156 permits were issued from this Office, being a decrease of 2,582 as compared with 1893.
A daily memo. of exports to Chinese ports was during the year supplied to the Commissioner of Imperial Maritime Customs at Kowloon.
Surprise visits were paid to 95 godowns during the year.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
R. MURRAY RUMSEY, Retd. Comd., R.N., Harbour Master, &c.
The Honourable J. H. STEWART LOCKHART,
&c.,
Acting Colonial Secretary,
&c.,
&c.