The Argus at KellyGang 7/10/1879
Police organisation
We think it must be evident by this time that there is something radically wrong in the organisation and training of our mounted police. When the KELLYS committed the atrocious murders for which they still go unwhipt of justice, it was pointed out that the troopers, however admirable they maybe in appearance, physique, and courage, are not suited to the work for which they are specially required. They are not intended to be merely ordinary constables, who, armed with batons only, can usually keep the peace, but men capable of following offenders through any country, encountering any opposition, and maintaining the majesty of the law in difficult circumstances. To enable them to do these things they are supplied with horses and equipped with arms, but it is evident that these adjuncts must be more or less useless unless accompanied by that semi- military training which renders them effective. We should have thought that the sad disaster that overtook Sergeant KENNEDY and his party would have opened the eyes of the authorities to the deficiencies of the mounted force, and have led to some reform. This, however, does not appear to have been the case. Mounted constable MONKS endeavoured to arrest a man who was "wanted; on Friday last. The miscreant used firearms in his defence, and at the that shot wounded the trooper. A regular duel then ensued, and eventually the ruffian got away, after intimating "that the police should not take him alive, that he had plenty of ammunition, and would be as bad as the KELLYS." Now, if we may believe the reports furnished, this failure to vindicate authority arose from the fact that the constable was hindered in hiss action by the restiveness of his horse, which would neither stand fire nor submit to be tied up. Our correspondent says that a general impression exists to the effect that the trooper showed great pluck but that his determination was rendered unavailing owing to his want of skill with the revolver. We need not wonder, however, at the shortcoming, for we learn, on the same authority, that "some of the police in this (the Avoca) district have not fired a shot for over 20 years. Surely this shows a culpable defect in training. For rough work in the bush we want constables who are thorough bushmen accustomed to the use of arms and furnished with horses trained to stand fire, and to remain almost motionless when temporarily abandoned-in short, properly disciplined. To send policemen into un- frequented parts of the country with unmanageable horses and arms to the use of which they are unaccustomed is not only to expose them to unfair risks but also to encourage crime, by showing that authority may be successfully resisted if an armed force is considered needless let it be abolished if it is thought necessary to the maintenance of order, let it be made efficient.
Monument
With reference to the monument to be erected to the memory of Sergeant Kennedy and Constables Scanlon and Lonigan, the Mansfield Guardian states that "the committee of the 'Murdered Police Memorial Fund are now in communication with the Government, with a view of obtaining a grant sufficient to enable them to erect a suitable stone and substantial fence over the graves of the unfortunate men in the Mansfield Cemetery. As soon as a definite answer is obtained, the committee will call for designs for the proposed monument, which will probably be erected in the cross street, between the Bank of New South Wales and the Court house.
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