CO129-319 - Governor Sir Blake - 1903 [10-11] — Page 573

ONFIDENTIAL

44000

Est 7 DEC 13

560

Έσης Άσης.

Rec

Government House.

7th November 1903.

Bars No,

jakk 2, 3, 4, 5

Sir,

I have the honour to enclose a report made by Mr May Colon-

ial Secretary on the state of the police force with the condit-

ion of which I have for some time been dissatisfied.

2.

Since the command of the force has been given over by Mr

May I have observed an increasing slackness in the men, on whose

conduct in the performance of street duty very unfavourable

comments are made by the general public, by foreign officers, and

by our own naval officers, as will be seen by the observations of

Admiral Sir Gyprian Bridge in paragraph 7 of his letter of the

24th March last attached.

3.

I enclose the letters and minutes in four cases in which I

have been obliged personally to intervene and which will show

the state of demoralisation into which the force has fallen. The

matter was so serious in consideration of the public safety that

I directed the Colonial Secretary to inquire into the condition

of the force and its working, an inquiry for which he was pecul-

iarly suited from his long experience of the force that under his HE RIGHT HONOURABLE

ALFRED LYTTELTON M.P.

command

etc

eta

etc