The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-01-14 00:00:00

Corresponbenct.
COUNTY versus BOROUGH POLICE.

To the Editor.

Dear Sir, —The oleanlines• with whioh new brooms
are said to sweep hu paased into a proverb in domeatis
life, and in official life the same remark I. eqoally
applicable. It is no with a large majority of our
senators, newly returned to St. Stephens, and bearing
their

•
!Miming honours thick upon them,"
and that the proverb holds good in municipal affairs we t
have +striking Gloatration in the speech of a member of i
the Weymouth Town Council, on Monday the 6th inst. I
Referring to the local papers of lout week, I find •
that after some anemia' business had been transacted, •
Mr. G. Eliot laid before the Council, a series of state- '
meets—for it would be • stretch of courtesy to call
them argoments—in favour of amalgamating the
Borough Police Foroe with the County Constabulary.
So for so good. Now let tin examine the reasons why
the inhabitant. of Weymouth are asked to give up their
old servants, some of whom have been in the force lines
• its formation, and surrender the pew of the two and
' the property of its inhabitants to the goardianship of the
county police. Mr Eliot based his notice on the •gend•
echoer on two plea., which may he divided into
two or three sub-beads. The first plea was
that the amalgamation would aid the ends of justice.
Takirg an imaginary, case, the spa Aar said that ifs
robbery were committed in the borough, under the
present system, facility would be offered to the esti tee
of the aritninal by the fact that two separate police
forces etist in the county. From this I apprehend
him to mean, that should the culprit suc;ed in escaping
across the borough boundaries. he would be free from
arrest by a constable of the Weymouth police force.
This objection earriee with it it own refutation.
Unless I am sadly mm-informed, the superintend. nt,
torgessita, and constable. composing that fora, have
repeatedly arrested penoes charged with various
offenses, not only just outside the borough boundarien.
or even at the other end of the county, but in other
counties, which possess, no doubt, borough and county
police of their own. Again, had such been ti e car,
why was not some proof butught forward? Here .0
have • statement made, and the only corroborative
evitlenee given is that of "the highest police
authority in the county." Taking the sub.
head coming under the above plea' we have "
increased efficiency of the force, beams' as the number
of &none into for the office of Chief Con•table amounted
to 700, 80, the best man moat nemestuitill be chosen.
Tlet•'.n the county constabulary meet alway, be in a
high state of efficieney I" admitting the dictum that
the hest will Owls be chosen, was there ever such a
lamentable ems•seqatitue? As well reaaon in this way;
btmause the Colonel of a regimer. I is a brave man, the
soul of honour, and well acquainted with his duties. the I
Snhalterns will be the same, and the non-oommiasioned
offieen and privat•ts models of everything that is good
and great in a military point of view. Rut again, are
we sure that the bent man always is chosen? Are the
gentlemen composing the police committee infallible?
If not, surely they may be mistaken sometimes, sod
el•hough they are well known to be above suspicion, yet
occasionally they my oboe.e the wrong candidate, and
endeavour to put the square peg into the round bole.
And now we Dome to the second plea, which is based on
financial grounds. We are told that the Chief Con•
stable has made • calculation that he would be
able to take charge of the Borough of Weymouth
and Melcomhe Regis for £530 per annum ; thus
effecting • saving of £l3O. But does it not strike
Mr. Bliot that what the ratepayers would save in
expenditere they would loose in efficiency. It is
a commercial maxim that low priced goods are
aa • rule by no means the cheapest, and although
Weymouth would undoubtedly save £l3O a year y
amalgamation with the County Constabulary, at the
same time it must be remembered there would be • loss
of the eery ces of the superintendent, one sergeant. and
, area constables representing a money vale. of '258 ss.
I made up as follows :—Suparititendent, £120; Sergeant,
£65; three ermatables £l6O ; £345 ; &duct
, Government allowance of one-fourth the smnunt, 50;
, leaning £258 5.. You will see, Mr. Editor. that this
, plea has signally failed. For the figures stand as
. .

-
Salary of Superintendent. sergeant and three conaaablna
with Government allowance subtracted, LISS Se ;
deduct estimated saving by amalsaination with the
_ . .

County Constabulary, £l3O, which leaves £l2B As. So
that by adopting this scheme the inhabitants of Wey-
mouth would nit only have • polies force of seven
instead of 12, btu would actually pay £l2B 5..
more to the Chief C datahte than they would
pay fore borough police force of one sergeant anti a
constables. In o.llll[lloll, I betties with the in•jority of
nor reader', I am ;Jet to see that the feeling of the
Town Council wan decidedly &anima the motion. and
the chavman eillatudetl the question ashen be stated
Oat reduction of numerical force " envie all the
difference." Mr. Alderman Ayling also male • state.
mnt, which has been made repeatedly before, and
suffered to rasa unchallenged—.e., "that the Wey-
mouth toll°e has been held up as • model to the whole
county. Under these circurnstantwa then. I venture
to hope that a petition signed by all the ratepayers of
Weymouth will be shortly presented to the Watch
Committee against the propmed amalgamation.
I am, Sit, your obedient serene,
ANrl.CgWrlta LIZ ATiON.
i January 13th, 1868.