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THE
HONG KONG TIMES.
HONG KONG, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1874.
THE POLICE.
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AFTER the reply the Honourable Mr. Rowett received from the Honourable Mr. Austin, Colonial Secretary, to his letter requesting the institution of an enquiry into the inaction of Captain Superintendent Deale at a time when it is thought he should have called out his men to try and save life, we cannot feel surprised that the petition urging an enquiry into Mr. Deane's condnet should have been replied to in the manner secu in the letter we published in our yesterday's impression. His Excellency in looking into the charges preferred against the Chief of our Police, failed to discover any good grounds for adopting such proceedings as were suggested by the peti- ioners, and the letter in reply to the petition, winds up with the remark His Excellency fuels it incumbent upon him, to state that at no time, in the history of the Colony, has the character and efficiency of the police stood higher." In reporting some time ago to the Secretary of State for the Colonies on the government and condition of this Colony, His Excellency in speaking of the police force observed, "as a body and individually (they) are as efficient and respectable" as any other similar Colonial body anywhere. From this it will be seen, that despite recent events, our Governor is as well satisfied with the police as ever he was, and we consider with very good reason, Whatever may be the general opinion upon the subject--and we doubt whether that is different to our own-we consider the police of the Colony to be in an excellent state of organiza- tion, and to be more useful to us than it has ever been before. However, the force gene- rally is not, so far as we can understand, what several gentleman complain of, but their prin- sipal, if not only, grievance lies in the conduct In refer- of Captain Superintendent Deane. ence to this gentleman's recent action however, His Excellency tells us in unmistakably plain terms, that he can discover no excuse for in- stituting such an enquiry as has been requested.
Our own opinion of the charges laid against the Captain Superintendent are too well-known to require recapitulation. We have held, through-
but, that our Chief of Police was more than instified in refusing to take his men on to the Praya during the severest portion of the typhoon, and we have likewise considered, that a great want of proper courtesy would be manifested in bringing Mr. Deane before a Board of Enquiry for a matter that, at the very worst, and admitting, for the sake of Argument, that he did not act as he should have done, was merely one of misconception of duty. The ideas we enunciated upon this
subject before, we still maintain, but withal, we consider that when a number of influential merchants and their assistants, request an enquiry into a certain matter, they should have their wishes gratified if any good is likely to result therefrom. Now, the question in this matter of the allegations laid at Mr. Deane's door, is, what good could have come of an enquiry? What is asserted upon one side is not denied on the other. The statement that Captain Superintendent Deane refused to per- mit his mon to go to the relief of the crews and passengers of the Albay and Leonor, is not denied. Nor, is it alleged that Mr. Deane sent nis men out of Barracks to the Fire when it is usserted that the contrary was the case. What ase, therefore, would a, so-called, Enquiry be? In fact, there is nothing to enquire into; and the only question to be settled, is the one of whether Mr. Deane is suited to the post he fills or whether he is not. A portion of the public says he is incompetent to the work he is called upon to perform; His Excellency the Governor considers, on the other hand, that he is not; and here, after much trouble and much writing the matter has ended. At the time that the petition was presented, we considered that until His Excellency's reply was given to it, we should adopt a wise course when pre- serving silence, and, therefore, we did not say before what we remark now, namely, that if the public of Hong Kong is dissatisfied with Captain Superintendent Doane, it should peti- tion for his removal. This is, we think, precisely what was aimed at in petitioning His Excellency, and it would have been better, such being the case, to have roquested exactly what was wanted, and not ask for an enquiry which was perfectly unnecessary in view of the admission made.
Personally, we do not think we could replace Mr. Denne very well. A residence of some years in this Colony, and the acquaintance with the heterogeneous materials of which the police force is composed which he must, of necessity, possess, fit him admirably for the post he occupies. However excellent a police- man-feclinically speaking-we might get from England to fill the post which there is a desire to deprive Mr. Deane of, it would take years for him to obtain the knowledge possessed by the present Captain Superintendent; and, therefore, instead of an improvement taking place, we should, taking for granted that we are at present in the frying pan, be making a move from this unenviable position to the fire. We do not consider that Captain Superinten- dent Deane is everything that could be desired; nor do we look upon him as infallible, but he is not singular in this respect; and this much we do hold, that although Captain Deane might, in some minor matters, act very differently to what he docs, we sincerely con- sider, that a change will not benefit us. When we do, we shall be prepared to join with those who wish to have Mr. Deane superseded.
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