Q. What investigation has the Police Commissioners ever instituted to discover the falsity of those charges?
A. No special investigation.—Vol. i., p. 484.
It was the same thing with disorderly houses.
Examined by Mr. Nicoll: And, during all the years you have been Police Commissioner, you never have examined the record to see how many there are or where they are located?
A. No, sir; I have not.
Q. And hasn’t that led you to go to these records to see what houses were put down as disorderly in this category?
A. No, sir; I have not.
Q. Has the subject of suppression or diminution of these disorderly houses been a matter of discussion before the Board of Police?
A. No, sir.—Vol. i., p. 528.
Even when crime was discovered, when the criminal was, as it were, taken red-handed, there seemed to be a strange paralysis that prevented his appearance in court. This affected other Boards besides that of the Police. When the action of the Excise Board was under consideration, it was admitted by Mr. Andrews, a Commissioner of the Board, that in one notorious case the licence had been obtained by false swearing. Mr. Goff asked:—