June 16.
THE May report by the Commissioner of Police published in Thursday's Municipal Gazette is unusually full and interesting. It suggests that the connexion between an apparently ordinary crime of violence and political intrigue is both direct and close, and excites the thought that whatever dark plotting the tireless efforts of the police unearth is in all probability but a tithe of what actually takes place. No dis compliment need be looked for in that remark. The police themselves would be the first to admit it. No praise can be too high for the skill of their work and the success they achieve. For example, of property stolen to the value of $62,130 during May they managed before the end of the month to recover $17,663, while further recoveries to the extent of $8,508 en thefts reported prior to May give hope that more stolen goods may eventually get back to their owners. When one considers the language difficulty, the maze of streets, the ease with which stolen goods can be broken or melted up or otherwise disposed of, one may well feel admiration for this record. What we do feel, however, is that the police deserve greater support in their efforts and that it would repay the community to see that they get it.
For example, the available method of dealing with armed robbery is not satisfactory. In flagrant cases of old offenders, it is possible to hand them over to the Chinese authorities at Lunghua: and in passing one may say that the happy relations which exist between the Arsenal and the S.M.P. are of the greatest benefit on both sides. But as such handing over commonly means an execution, it can only be applied rarely, even though jail such cases sent from the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.