CO129-298 - Governor Sir Blake Administrator Major Gen Gascoigne - 1900 [3-4] — Page 335

TEMENTE V

334

Chinese", but we are inclined to go still further, and

regard such a knowledge on the part of the Magistrate as

indispensable to the administration of justice in the

Public Courts.

8. We regret to have to report that inter-

pretation in the Police Charge Rooms is extremely in-

efficient. A few months ago the Captain Superintendent of

Police was compelled to engage the service of men who have

been reported incompetent by the Board of Examiners. The

post of Charge Room interpreter is an extremely important

one and it is impossible to exaggerate the harm that may

be caused by bad interpretation. The same may be said of

the Interpreters to the Sanitary Inspectors. Their duties

are very important, and yet the majority of them on

appointment could not be trusted to interpret simple

sentences accurately.

8.

In the recommendation that " a competent

translators with a European at its head should be obtained

staff of

so soon as possible" the Report of 1887 condemned by

implication the staff of translators then in the Government

Service