Royal Commission report Appendix 1 page 1
The Royal Commission Appendix 1
EVIDENCE TAKEN WITH CLOSED DOORS.
[[../../people/peL_M/montfortWPInsp.html|Insp William B. Montfort]] further examined
See 10995
1 By the Commission— Do you consider that there should be a foot constable stationed at Oxley Bridge ?— I do, for the present.
2 What is your reason for that?— Because the premises of the Bank of Victoria there, unprotected, is a source of weakness, and liable to induce an outrage, which would lead to more serious results; and, in addition to that, that the bridge could be watched by the police, as being the most important crossing on the King River, and a good site for the mounted police to perform their proper duties.
3 Do you propose a station at any place?— Yes, temporarily. I have made arrangements. I believe that a station should be placed at a point about ten miles above Greta station, at Mason's, on the Fifteen-mile Creek. My reason for that suggestion is that the police at that station would command the country between the Fifteen-mile Creek and Benalla, a line running north and south from Greta to Mansfield, along which travelling stock pass; also, I am informed, stolen cattle to the Murray, and vice versa.
4 And that track also commands all the back country where the murders of the police took place?— Yes. I have been speaking to an intimate friend of mine, a squatter born and reared there, and when I told him confidentially of my intention to make this suggestion, he highly approved of it, and said that it commanded the whole of that country there.
5 Would you also recommend that additional telegraph offices be opened at various points, so that they may be made available?— I think it would be an unnecessary expense just at present. If I have four men there who know the country well, with the four men at Greta, and four at Glenrowan, I think it will be perfectly satisfactory.
6 Are the means of communication rapid enough without that?— Yes, I think so, for all practical purposes.
7 Do you propose to re-establish the station at Hedi?— No, certainly not. That is quite close to the Burke Range .
8 About the Fifteen-mile station: are you going to have any patrol between that and Kilfera and Tatong?— It completes the chain of patrols that I propose establishing.
9 Do you propose to make the mounted constables patrol regularly?— I have issued a district order to that effect.
10 In order that they may know all the people in that district?— I instruct them in that order to visit the residences and converse with the inhabitants, friends and foes alike, so that, should they get information, their foes might not know where they got it.
11 Do you propose that with a view of making them personally acquainted with the people?— With the view of keeping them constantly en rapport with the people.
12 We have had it in evidence that Mr. Hare's system of patrol with large parties was utterly useless, and that Mr. Nicolson's method broke down in consequence of the dishonesty of the agents or spies. Do you think it is a better way for the police to be thoroughly acquainted with the people of the country than to use either spies or large bodies to patrol?— Undoubtedly it is.
13 Do you think the police themselves will be able to get all the information that, we understand, ever was collected by those other means?— It is a difficult matter to answer that question. I believe we can get all information about such a matter as, say, this projected outbreak, as regards their movements— at least as to what is likely to take place now. But it is a different thing if there are four men out in the bush, for then it is necessary often to have a detective paid for the purpose of watching the movements of certain persons. For instance: in the detection of cattle stealing I am going to recommend, before very long, that in a certain place a paid agent is to go to work there, otherwise we could not get at this person who is killing cattle. But under any circumstances I do not believe in paying agents merely to go about broadcast to report what they like..... Next page
| ! | The text has been retyped from a microfiche copy of the original. We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged. |
The Next appendix . . . Royal Commission index
