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The CHAIRMAN.-What powers?
A. —The police and detectives under their control. What is the use of the detectives unless they are for detecting crime of a certain character? When you give a body of men or an individual power, and give him a status, and entrust to him a detective, official, or policeman, you have to hedge that power about with securities by distinct words for the sake of the liberties of those who are going to be dealt with.
Q.-Are you aware that this Society has been in existence for many years?
A.--Yes.
Q.-Are you aware that they had powers as set out in that Ordinance ?
A.--I am not aware of it.
Honourable Ho KAI.-Take the Superintendent of Police; he has power conferred on him over the police and the detection of crime. He has however no power to hold a magisterial enquiry into any case.
A.--No, he has not, but does not the Police Ordinance say that the moment a man is arrested he shall be brought before a Magistrate ?
Q. Within twenty-four hours, if you please.
A. Yes, if the Police do not do that, they are amenable to the law.
Q.-But that Police Ordinance does not state that they shall not hold an enquiry and shall not do this and that ?
A.-No, it does not.
Q. What do you mean by Police duties? Do you think Police duty includes the power to arrest ?
A. Yes.
Q.-And you do not object to the Pó Léung Kuk Committee having that power, if they bring the offender before the Magistrate?
A.-If the offender is immediately brought before a Magistrate, I see no objection. Q-No objection to their exercising Police functions to that limit? You do not object to the Pó Léung Kuk doing that?
A.-My great objection is the want of publicity all through their doings. That is my great objection. That is the groundwork of my letter--the want of publicity.
Q.-You understand my meaning—you do not object to them helping the Govern- ment to arrest offenders as long as....
A.-As long as they do it through the proper channels. I am not sure that I would like to have detectives. You are of course asking merely for my opinion?
Q.-Certainly, you do not know anything of the working of the Society ? A.-No, I know nothing of that, but I have been here a number of years, and I have received general impressions of course.
Q-I do not quite gather what you mean by Police functions, whether you intend that term to include all private enquiries, or any kind of prevention of the crime of kidnapping and other kindred offences, whether you object to the Pó Léung Kuk exercising that power at all?
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A. They may exercise the power just in the same way as any man who might see a crime committed and arrest the individual. I should have no objection to that, but when it goes further, to having detectives who are to be allowed to go into people's houses....
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